Ivan the Terrible was the first Tsar of Russia, and legend has it that he hid a vast collection of precious books in the basement of the Kremlin, yet no one has ever seen them. Since the 16th century, many have attempted to uncover the truth, but to no avail. Ivan IV ascended to the throne at the young age of 18 in 1533 and was crowned Tsar in 1547. According to the monk Maxim Krik, Ivan the Terrible indeed possessed a significant number of valuable ancient texts. The 16th-century 'Ripalya Chronicle' mentions that a German priest named Weitmayr had seen these books, which supposedly filled two rooms in the basement. However, other documents do not reference this, possibly due to the loss of the collection or its non-existence.
In the early 19th century, a German man traveled to Moscow specifically to investigate but found no leads. In 1724, Peter the Great considered moving the capital to Petersburg, and Moscow official Osipov reported that there were secret rooms in the Kremlin basement, but the investigation was ultimately halted. In 1733, Osipov requested another inquiry, but again, no secret locations were discovered. Russian historian Zabelin believes that the mystery will eventually be solved.
