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Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Menke. Listener discretion advised. For most, it was just another very early morning in Imperial Russia. The large estate was beginning to come to life as servants woke up and started their morning work. But the true hustle and bustle of the day was still a ways off. Still in the silence, there was a man creeping towards one of the mansion's many bedrooms. There was a woman asleep inside the bedroom, completely unaware as to what was about to happen to her. Perhaps she should have had an inkling. The woman still asleep in bed was the de facto lady of the house, the mistress of the estate's owner. And she, Natasya Minkin, was so cruel that she had pushed the staff to the breaking point. She was abusive, petty, vindictive and violent. And now there was a man standing over her bed, brandishing a large kitchen knife. What happened next was intimate, visceral and brutal. The murder was so brutal, it would traumatize even the man who carried it out. And it would devastate Natasya's lover, a man many people considered to be the cruelest man in tsarist Russia. Back when he and Natasya had both been alive. It must have seemed like a perfect match. I'm Dana Schwartz and this is Noble Blood. Very little information has survived about the woman known as Madame Minkin. I first encountered her name as a partygoer at Satan's Ball in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel the Master and Margarita. Even if you haven't read the novel, you can probably guess that no one portrayed as a guest of the devil is considered one of history's good guys. Like so many women from history, the most famous thing about Madam Minkin was her association with a powerful man. In her case, that man was Alexei Arakcheev, the infamously cruel military advisor to Tsar Alexander I. Though she's referred to frequently as Madame Mincken, she wasn't technically a madam in the formal sense, but rather the mistress of the man whose cruelty became legendary. While his reign of terror operated on a national scale, hers was contained to the domestic sphere, but it was no less brutal within those confines. Arakcheev's rise to power began under Tsar Paul I in the 1790s, under whom he quickly gained favor thanks to his artillery expertise and rigid discipline. He was given the title of Count. When Paul was murdered in 1801, the New Young Tsar Alexander inherited not just a throne, but also his father's most capable and most ruthless military advisor. Tsar Alexander I was a complicated ruler, a man who spoke eloquently about liberal reforms and Enlightenment ideals. In his early years. He created new universities, made improvements to the country's legal system and appointed progressive advisors. He dreamed, at least publicly, of modernizing Russia into a European style state where even peasants might enjoy citizenship rights. But he never followed through on the most meaningful reforms and eventually he lost interest in effecting positive change. That impulse grew exponentially after the war with Napoleon, who, which left Alexander increasingly conservative and religiously fervent. He created the Holy alliance to squash potential revolutionary uprisings across Europe and reversed many of his earlier progressive policies. Into that moral swamp stepped Arakcheev, whose power grew in direct correlation with his Tsar's descent into reactionary conservatism. For over a decade, Arakcheev was arguably the most influential figure in the Russian government, with authority that at times seemed to exceed the Tsar's own. Those who once dreamed of bringing European enlightenment back to Russia found their country unchanged, with peasants still treated as slaves and Arakchayev's military colonies imposing forced labor under violent discipline. One officer wrote that returning to Russia after Paris and London felt like going back to a prehistoric past. One contemporary described the era as an iron age of gloom and cruelty, beneath which almost the whole of Russia gold groaned. The gratuitous and arbitrary violence was Perhaps the worst feature of the country. Beatings everywhere, from army camps to schools, from market squares to family homes. Stories of Count Arakcheev's own personal cruelty were widespread and, frankly, stomach turning. He allegedly executed two Jesus junior officers by baring them up to their necks and leaving them to die. Another officer lost his head entirely. At Grzino, the expansive estate given to Arakcheev by Tsar Paul, the count imposed bizarre and tyrannical rules. Local peasant women were required to produce a child each year, and because he enjoyed hearing nightingales sing, he ordered all cats on his property to be exterminated. In this world of systemic brutality, we meet Natasia Minken. Details about her background are scarce and contradictory. What we know is that she was physically striking, with dark features and what one observer called the figure of a grenadier. No one at Gruzino seemed to know where she came from, but one thing was certain, she wasn't one of them. According to one account, Arakcheev had purchased her from an advertisement in a St. Petersburg newspaper. It's not explicitly stated what her advertised services were, but based on the quick progression of their relationship, we can make some assumptions about their general nature. Although it's possible the original arrangement with her started with her merely working as a servant. Immediately smitten with Natasya, Arakcheev granted her freedom and provided her with an endowment of several thousand rubles. The peasants at Grozina, unable to explain the influence she wielded over their master, became convinced she was a Romani witch with magical abilities. It's possible that she was a master manipulator. But it's also possible that the Count saw something in Natasya Mencken that he recognized in himself, a boundless capacity for cruelty. Either way, he needed her in his life. He installed her at Grozino as his housekeeper and gave her ultimate authority. When Arakcheev was called back to public service, he left the estate entirely in Natasya's hands, with complete confidence in her managerial ability. It's unclear how much experience she had at managing an estate of that size. Size. But she took to it like a natural. She ran the place straight out of an Arachayev playbook. She was strict, exacting and punishingly cruel. In this way, she was a perfect mirror of Arakcheev himself. But she was also sowing the seeds of her own destruction. In the spring of 1803, Arakcheev left for St. Petersburg. No sooner was he back in the capital than he received word from Nastasya was pregnant with his child. The news created immediate suspicion among the local population. Natasya had already made herself deeply unpopular at Grozino, ruling the household with the same iron discipline Arakcheev himself employed. The serfs didn't trust her. Horrendous behavior aside, her exotic looks and murky origins certainly didn't help endear her to the local peasant population. Rumors spread that she had faked the pregnancy, orchestrating an elaborate deception involving a widowed peasant woman and a stolen infant. Though such a scheme would have required near impossible coordination and secrecy. But when the child finally came, the gossip only intensified. The baby was a boy named Shumsky, with bright red hair and blue eyes, neither of which were seen in his parents. Despite the physical irregularities, Arakcheev never questioned the child's parentage and raised Shumsky as his son. A couple of years later, still in St. Petersburg, Arakcheev made the unexpected decision to take a wife. His bride was Anastasia Vasilievna Koumatova, 18 years old, the shy and beautiful daughter of wealthy landowners. His plan was to bring his new wife to Gruzino and arrange a marriage for his former mistress, Natasya. He saw no reason why everyone couldn't coexist on the large estate. For Natasya, we can imagine the situation would have been panic inducing. Whatever security she thought she'd built through her position and her son now seemed threatened by a legitimate wife with good social standing and imperial connections. But Natasya didn't need to worry for long. The marriage collapsed quickly. Arakcheev's controlling nature proved too much for the young woman, and his wife soon withdrew to the countryside. One has to wonder if the presence of Madame Mincken at the estate had anything to do with the bride's eagerness to get away. With the marriage dissolved, the bond between Arakcheev and Natasya only intensified. He managed government business in St. Petersburg while she ran Grazino, sending him regular correspondence about estate operations. Her letters also revealed deep emotion mixed with constant anxiety about his fidelity. She wrote of her complete devotion, while acknowledging her fear that younger women might replace her in his affections. But while Nastasya's emotional position remained vulnerable and dependent on favor, she held complete authority over the household staff, and she exercised that authority with increasing cruelty. By the summer of 1825, conditions at Gruzino had deteriorated to a crisis point. Natasya became more erratic and more vicious, dishing out harsh punishments for or trivial offenses. The staff understood a grim reality. Arakcheev was either unaware of Minken's behavior or he was aware and simply didn't care. And given his history, possibly even encouraged her behavior. The staff knew that any complaint to him would surely result in far worse treatment. They were trapped, with no avenue for appeal. Three young maids in particular suffered under Natasha's rule. She tormented them constantly, no doubt fueled by jealousy of their youth and beauty, as well as the rage she couldn't direct at her benefactor. She ordered the young women beaten and imprisoned in the house jail for the slightest of infractions. One account to describes her attacking a maid's face with a heated curling tong. At least one maid unsuccessfully attempted to poison Natasya. The situation reached a critical breaking point in August, when the butler took his own life after Natasya threatened to report him to Arakcheev. Over a disorganized cellar, a member of the staff staff approached Vasily Antonov, whose sister Praskovya was one of the three tormented maids. Vasily was offered money to kill the lady of the house, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not yet anyway. Shortly after Arakcheev departed for the Novgorod colonies one Sunday, Natasya unleashed her rage on her maids again. Praskovya was beaten twice, the others locked up days later. Early Thursday morning, Praskovya found Natasya asleep. Her own body was still riddled with aches and pains from her recent beating, and as she looked down on her sleeping mistress, something snapped inside her. She ran to find her brother Vasily, who and begged him to act now, insisting that she would accept all of the blame, her brother Vasily took a kitchen knife and followed his sister to Madam Minkin's quarters. He tried to move quietly, but a small dog started barking and had to be carried out by Praskovya. Alone with his target, Vasily summoned the courage and attacked. His first attempt missed the mark and he slashed Natasya on the cheek. She woke immediately and threw herself from the bed, screaming. The struggle was violent and ugly, but ultimately Madame Minkin lost the fight to keep her life. Vasily threw down the knife and ran from her chambers in a panic. No one at Grisino would later admit to hearing their mistress's screams, despite people being awake and the windows not yet fitted with winter insulation. Eventually, Praskovya's sobbing was impossible to ignore. The gruesome scene was discovered and the household was thrown into panic. Arakcheev was expected back that evening. How could they tell Russia's most fearsome man that his beloved companion of two decades had been murdered by Servants. They sent a messenger to find him and bring him the news that Natasya had fallen gravely ill. When his carriage neared Grozino, Arakcheev stopped a man from the estate to ask about Natasya's condition. The man, unaware that the truth had been withheld, answered directly. Her head had barely remained attached to her body. Arakcheev's response was immediate and total. He threw himself onto the ground, tearing at his hair and the earth, shouting, you have killed her. Kill me too. Kill me and kill me quickly. The people traveling with him stood frozen, watching something no one had thought possible. The cruelest man in Russia reduced to a sobbing, broken figure at their feet. When Arakcheev reached Grzino, he went straight to Natasya's room and threw himself onto her body. He stopped eating and refused to shave. He took a handkerchief stained with his slain mistress's blood, tied it around his neck and refused to remove it. The household staff were placed under arrest while officials worked to identify who was responsible. In a bizarre decision, Vasily Antonov chose not to flee. Instead, he remained at the estate, even helping prepare Natasya's body for burial, apparently betting that his sister's confession would be treated as the complete story. Questions arose about the burial itself, given the nature of Natasya's relationship with Rekchayev with was never formalized by marriage. The local priest sought guidance from church authorities about whether she could be buried on consecrated ground. When Arakchayev found out, he erupted, declaring that a priest who would ask such a question had no place anywhere on earth. Even through his grief, the Tsar's Grand Vizier always had a death threat at the ready. At the funeral, Natasya was lowered into a grave next to the one Arakcheev had long ago earmarked for himself. He rushed forward as the coffin descended, bending over it and crying out, kill me, you villains. You have taken my only friend from me. Now I have lost everything. The next day, Arakcheev composed a message to Tsar Alexander I first. In it, he described himself as destroyed, his health and reason shattered by loss. He wrote that he only wanted to die and could no longer handle any official responsibilities without authorization. He immediately transferred his military and administrative duties to subordinates, a legally questionable action that would have brought severe consequences for anyone else. When Alexander received word of the tragedy at Grazino, the Tsar's first assumption was political. He guessed that Natasya had been killed as part of a scheme to force Arakcheev from power, not that she was murdered in response to her own actions. The Tsar was initially displeased by Arakcheev's unauthorized trust transfer of power. But he ultimately forgave him, chalking it up to his grief stricken state. Justice came quickly for the murderous siblings and as to be expected, it was extreme. Though Praskovya confessed, Vasily was unable to avoid blame and he received a sentence of 175 lashes. Praskovya received 125. Both punishments proved fatal, as they were surely designed to be. The system had completed its cycle. Cruelty leading to desperation, which led to cruelty of a deadlier nature, which in turn was met with deadly cruelty again. Tsar Alexander I died in November 1825, just months after Natasya's murder. And the new Czar Nicholas I had different advisors and different priorities. Arakcheev returned to Gruzino permanently, living at the scene of the crime until his own death in 1834. He built a monument to Natasya on the grounds and visited it often. What happened at Grazzino wasn't just a domestic tragedy. It reflected the larger system Uracheyev had spent decades constructing and maintaining. For more than 20 years, he had been among Russia's most powerful figures, creating an environment where violence functioned as the default method of control. The culture of systemic brutality that Arakcheev helped establish at the national level had filtered into his own household. When looking at what you might call complicated women in history, there is often the urge to rationalize behavior by looking at the bigger picture. Systemic injustices and historical circumstances can often go a long way towards viewing someone's life through a more generous lens. But Natasia Mencken had a well documented history of cruelty and abuse, and no amount of context can justify the pain that she caused for others. She certainly did not deserve to be violently murdered for it, of course, but for the serfs at Grozino, there was nowhere else to turn. And the chronic abuse had pushed them far beyond what people can be expected to endure. The Russian Revolution wouldn't arrive from for nearly another century, but common themes were already visible. Sustained oppression with no possibility of relief eventually produces violent resistance. Natasya Mencken's death was a small scale demonstration of what occurs when systemic cruelty becomes intolerable and people don't see any other ways out. That's the tragic story of Madame Minkin. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about her legacy in literature.