Anastasia Romanovna

Who was Anastasia Romanovna?

Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva was the first wife of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible and the first Russian tsaritsa. She was the daughter of Boyar Roman Yurievich Zakharyin-Yuriev, Okolnichi, who died on 16 February 1543, who gave his name to the Romanov Dynasty of Russian monarchs, and wife Uliana Ivanovna, who died in 1579.

She was selected as the best bride for Ivan from a large number of suitable mates, brought to the Kremlin specifically for the selection process. All the noble families throughout Russia were given an invitation to present their eligible daughters for this purpose. Anastasia and Ivan's marriage took place on 3 February 1547 at the Cathedral of the Annunciation. She gave birth to a total of six children.

It is widely believed that Anastasia had a moderating influence on Ivan's volatile character. In the summer of 1560, she fell ill to a lingering illness. In consequence to these events, Ivan suffered a severe emotional collapse suspecting that his wife had been a victim of malicious actions and had been poisoned by the Boyars. Although he had no evidence of such crimes, he had a number of them tortured and executed.