36. A Merciless Murderess
Darya Saltykova was merciless. She tortured the young, the old, and even pregnant women, in a variety of fiendish ways. Some were flogged with the knout – a heavy Russian whip that tapered towards the end. Lashes delivered by the knout’s thin tip could slice the subject’s flesh open like a sharp knife, while a strong blow with the thicker part could snap a serf’s spine.
She had others thrown outdoors naked in the dead of Russia’s terrible winter to freeze to death. Sometimes she went to the opposite extreme, and poured boiling water on their bodies. A sadist through and through, Saltykova thoroughly enjoyed inflicting pain upon her serfs, whose screams were music to her ears.