ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about a sizable minority of cases, however, involve woman, and the story of fictional Oksanka who occupied a precarious position as the widow of a soldier. It discusses the records from two trials of alleged witches in the late seventeenth century. Muscovite records, predominantly generated by state administrators or churchmen and reflecting their particular interests, do not usually devote much space to describing people's domestic or emotional lives. It is important to note that most of the people accused of witchcraft in Muscovite courts were men. Transcripts of the testimony provided by plaintiff, accused, and witnesses allow us to hear the voices and inflections of the wide variety of people who came before the courts. The governor reported the court's findings that she was guilty of practicing criminal witchcraft with the intent of killing her master and mistress. A decree arrived from Moscow bearing the tsar's sentence: she was to be buried alive.
