Word: boyars
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...detail that helps explain motive and madness, Troyat finds the key to Ivan's character in the ruler's early life. The heir to the throne of Muscovy was orphaned at seven, and he grew up amid endless scheming by Russia's landed aristocracy, the boyars. "Observing the brutal treatment that grown men inflicted on their fellows, he made ready to imitate them by tormenting animals," writes Troyat. "Standing on the ramparts of the Kremlin fortress, he would whirl young dogs above his head and hurl them down to the courtyard to break their bones. Their plaintive...
...extras range from 15 years old--when I started out I was definitely the youngest--to 50. The older ones are more used in roles like "archbishop" or "dignitary" or "boyar." The really hard core people have been there since the opening of the house ten years...