Another famous work of the same century is the "Domostroy," or "House-Regulator," attributed to Pope (priest) Sylvester, the celebrated confessor and counselor of Ivan the Terrible in his youth.

In an introduction and sixty-three chapters Sylvester sets forth the principles which should regulate the life of every layman, the management of his household and family, his relations to his neighbors, his manners in church, his conduct towards his sovereign and the authorities, his duties towards his servants and subordinates, and so forth.

The most curious part of the work deals with the minute details of domestic economy--one injunction being, that all men shall live in accordance with their means or their salary--and family relations, in the course of which the position of woman in Russia of the sixteenth century is clearly defined.
This portion is also of interest as the forerunner of a whole series of articles in Russian literature on women, wherein the latter are depicted in the most absurd manner, the most gloomy colors--articles known as "About Evil Women"-- and founded on an admiration for Byzantine asceticism.

In his Household Regulations Sylvester thus defines the duties of woman: "She goeth to church according to opportunity and the counsel of her husband.

Husbands must instruct their wives with care and judicious chastisement.