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  "path": "/history/165935-lost-library-ivan-terrible-kremlin-mystery/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-20T16:19:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://english.pravda.ru",
  "tags": [
    "History, traditions"
  ],
  "textContent": "In the winter of 1564, Ivan IV abruptly departed from Moscow, taking with him not only the treasury and royal regalia. Many historians believe that a mysterious book collection vanished alongside the tsar. Later generations attributed to this library a Byzantine origin and the presence of unique ancient works. Centuries passed, yet the mystery refused to fade. Researchers even discovered a sealed iron door beneath the Kremlin, but authorities never allowed anyone to open it.\nSophia Palaiologos and the Byzantine Connection\n\nThe story of the library reaches back long before Ivan's reign. In 1472, Sophia Palaiologos, niece of the last Byzantine emperor, arrived in Moscow. According to legend, her wedding procession included roughly seventy carts carrying a cargo that officials forbade anyone to open without special authorization.\nThe tale claims that these carts transported manuscripts from Constantinople, including Greek, Latin, and Hebrew texts. Custodians allegedly concealed them within Kremlin cellars to protect them from frequent fires. When flames again swept through Moscow in 1473, underground storage appeared not only logical but necessary.",
  "title": "The Lost Library of Ivan the Terrible: Legend, Evidence, and the Sealed Kremlin Door"
}