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Ivan The Terrible's torture chamber discovery...
Ivan The Terrible's torture chamber discovery...
Item # 724994
July 10, 1935
THE NEW YORK TIMES, July 10, 1935
* Ivan the Terrible
* Torture chambers found
* Grand Prince of Moscow
* 1st Tsar of Russia
Near the bottom of the front page is a two column heading: "Ivan the Terrible's Torture Court Found Under Moscow by Excavators for Subway" (see images)
Complete in 42 pages, this is the rare rag edition that was produced on very high quality newsprint, with a high percentage of cotton & linen content, allowing the issues to remain very white & sturdy into the present. Given the subscription cost, libraries & institutions rather than individuals were the primary subscribers of these high-quality editions. Nice condition.
background: The 1935 discovery of Ivan the Terrible’s subterranean chambers remains one of the most chilling archaeological milestones of the Soviet era. During the frantic expansion of the Moscow Metro, laborers excavating near the Kremlin’s Nikolskaya Tower breached a series of massive, 16th-century white-stone vaults that had been sealed for centuries. Under the guidance of archaeologist Ignatius Stelletskii, the team uncovered a grim interior outfitted with heavy iron rings, wall-mounted shackles, and human skeletal remains, confirming the site’s function as a secret dungeon for the Oprichnina—Ivan’s dreaded personal guard. The architecture itself was purposefully sinister, featuring "acoustic-proof" vaulted ceilings and narrow, winding passages designed to isolate prisoners from the world above. While Stelletskii had hoped the dig would reveal the Tsar's legendary "Lost Library" of gold-encrusted manuscripts, the find instead provided a visceral, physical link to the reign of terror that defined Ivan’s later years, serving as a stark reminder of the city's dark layers buried just beneath its modernizing streets.
Category: The 20th Century
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