Marfa Sobakina
| Marfa Sobakina | |
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| Tenure | 28 October 1571 – 13 November 1571 |
| Spouse | Ivan IV of Russia |
| Full name | |
| Marfa Vasilevna Sobakina | |
| Dynasty | Rurik |
| Father | Vasiliy Sobakin |
| Born | 1552 |
| Died | 13 November 1571 |
| Burial | Ascension Convent, Kolomenskoye Archangel Cathedral, Kremlin (1929) |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Marfa Vasilevna Sobakina (Марфа Васильевна Собакина; 1552–1571), was Tsaritsa of the Tsardom of Russia and was the third wife of Ivan the Terrible. The daughter of a Novgorod based merchant Vasiliy Sobakin, Marfa was selected by Ivan among 12 marriage finalists. A few days after her selection, Marfa began to succumb to a mysterious ailment. It was rumoured that she was unintentionally poisoned by her mother, who gave her a potion supposedly meant to increase her fertility. Despite rapidly losing weight and barely standing, Marfa was nonetheless married to Ivan on 28 October 1571 in Aleksandrovska Sloboda. Marfa died a few days later. Her death increased her husband's paranoia, because she died in what was meant to be an impregnable fortress filled with loyal subjects. Ivan, remembering the death of his first wife, immediately suspected poison and put to death many of his subjects, including Mikail Temjruk (brother to the Tzar's previous wife) who was impaled.
References[edit]
- Troyat, Henri Ivan le Terrible. Flammarion, Paris, 1982
- de Madariaga, Isabel Ivan the Terrible. Giulio Einaudi editore, 2005
| Russian royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Maria Temryukovna |
Tsaritsa of All Russia 1571 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Anna Koltovskaya |
