Marfa Boretskaia, Posadnitsa of Novgorod by Nikolay Karamzin. Short summary

5 seconds

Ivan the Terrible wants power over Great Novgorod, which has declared its independence. The Novgorodians do not want to submit to the cruel tsar and a war breaks out.

1 minute

Ivan the Terrible’s envoy, Prince Kholmsky, arrives in Veliky Novgorod. He urges the Novgorodians to unite with the rest of the Russian lands in the name of peace. The prince is followed by Martha the Saddress, intercessor of Novgorod. She declares that the great city will always be free and will not submit to the power of Ivan III. Kholmsky declares war on the city.

Marfa consults her grandfather, who lives as a hermit. The grandfather foresees that war will bring grief to the city. But the woman decides Miroslav will be the leader of the army and announces this to the people of Novgorod. Martha gives her daughter Ksenia in marriage to the young commander. An envoy from the Polish sovereign Casimir appears at the woman’s house. He offers her military assistance, which Martha rejects.

So now the time for battle has come. The Novgorodian army moves towards the enemy to fight outside the city walls. The Novgorodians lose the battle. Miroslav and Martha’s two sons are killed in the battle. The city is besieged and famine begins. At last the Novgorodians surrender, Martha is executed.