Marina Mnishek. Kozlyakov V.

Marina Mnishek is one of the brightest figures of the Russian Troubles of the beginning of the 17th century. Polka, who became the wife of two impostors and the first Russian “empress” crowned in the kingdom, she managed to cause the cruel hatred of her subjects. She was considered the main culprit of all troubles and misfortunes that fell on the Russian state, the embodiment of evil, a heretic and even a sorceress. The author of the book, relying on documents from Russian and Polish archives, tried to give a more balanced portrait of Marina, to look at it not so much as a villain, but as a victim of tragic circumstances, and at the same time asking the question: what this outstanding woman managed to bring to Russian history ?