16. Darya Saltykova’s Depravities Were Known, But She Was Allowed to Continue On for Years
In one of the greater indictments of Russian slavery that went under the guise of serfdom, nothing was done about the depraved goings on at Darya Saltkova’s estate, even though they were an open secret for years. She was a noblewoman, her victims were serfs, and Saltykova and her family were well-connected to Russia’s imperial court. Complaints from the victims’ relatives were routinely ignored, and many complainants were punished for their complaints. Finally, the victims’ relatives victims managed to bring a petition directly before Empress Catherine the Great, who ordered Saltykova arrested.
She was imprisoned while the authorities conducted a six-year investigation. In 1768, Saltykova was found guilty of the murder of 38 serfs. It was a severe undercount, as scholars estimate that she had killed at least a hundred more, and the actual number of victims might have been significantly higher. Catherine the Great was unsure how to punish Saltykova. The death penalty had recently been abolished, and the empress needed the Russian nobility’s support. Eventually, Saltykova was chained in public for an hour with a sign that described her crimes, while onlookers hurled abuse at her. Then she was sent to a convent, where she was imprisoned in a cellar until her death in 1801.