History of the Russian State, Vol. 9

A.D. 1560 — 1561.— heart; others write that he ordered him to be strangled original: "(34)". The Boyar, Prince Mikhail Repnin, was also a victim of magnanimous boldness. Seeing an indecent spectacle in the palace where the Tsar, intoxicated with strong mead, danced with his favorites in masks, this nobleman wept from grief. Ivan wanted to put a mask on him: Repnin tore it off, trampled it underfoot, and said: "Is it for a Sovereign to be a jester? At the very least I, a Boyar and Councilor of the Duma Council of State, cannot engage in madness." The Tsar drove him away and, a few days later, ordered him to be killed while he stood in the holy church at prayer; the blood of this virtuous man stained the church floor original: "(35)". Catering to Ivan’s unfortunate disposition, crowds of informers appeared. They eavesdropped on quiet conversations in families, among friends; they watched faces, guessed the secret of thoughts, and vile slanderers did not fear inventing crimes, for denunciations pleased the Sovereign and the judge did not demand certain proof. Thus, without guilt or trial, they killed Prince Yury Kashin, a member of the Duma, and his brother; Prince Dmitry Kurlyatev, a friend of the Adashevs, was forcibly tonsured and soon killed with his entire family; the first-rank nobleman, a notable servant of the Sovereign and conqueror of the Kazan Tatars, Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky, was exiled to Beloozero with his wife, son, and daughter original: "(36)". Terror