Ana Jakšić

Ana Jakšić (died 1553), was a Russian noble.

She was the mother of Elena Glinskaya and grandmother of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. She wielded influence over Russian affairs of state during the regency of her daughter from 1533 until 1538. After the death of her daughter, Ana and the Glinskij family were removed from influence. When her grandson Ivan IV was declared of age and the regency terminated, Ana and her son Mikhail arranged the coronation of Ivan and secured influence over him during his early reign. Ivan granted them a principality, and allowed for an reprisals of their former opponents, which where carried out "on the orders of Prince Mikhail and his mother Anna" rather than the Tsar himself.^[1]

The influence of Anna and Mikhail created public hatred toward them, and when a fire destroyed large parts of Moscow in June 1547, the public demanded that Ana be turned over to them, and accused her of being a sorceress who had stolen the hearts of people and then flew over the city and sprinkled it with the water from the hearts, causing the fire.^[1] Anna and Mikhail was forced to flee and hide in the village of Vorobievo.

This incident destroyed their power base also at court, but despite this, they returned to court and their former position of influence. When they appeared in public to attend the wedding of Ivan's brother Iurii, the court nobility protested and convinced the Tsar to remove his grandmother and uncle from court. Ivan IV confiscated their principality and land grants and declared them in disgrace. It is unknown what happened to them, but they were likely imprisoned.^[1]

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