We don't know for sure what happened to Anatoliy, Tatianna and Villanelle blame each other. She hated Villanelle, she felt her husband loved their daughter more than he loved her. That meant being very involved in her upbringing, something Tatianna, Villanelle's mother did not like not because she cared for her daughters future. There is a possibility that Villanelle's father saw potential in Villanelle to be an assassin or he was told she had potential. Villanelle's father Anatoliy Astankov was probably apart of the 12, albeit not high up (many speculated he was or is high up but I disagree), most likely low level (as in a runner, regular crook, handler.assassin? well that's a stretch), and most likely knew Konstantin. This is not a new theory, but it's still a juicy one to consider as Dasha claims at knowing Villanelle since she was a prepubescent. Villanelle may have been born into the arms of the 12,her entire life could have been in their shadow. The two even had their own separate regiments. Those who were evicted from the Tsar's court were also permanently exiled to zemschina. Travelling between the two was permitted, but costly. The country was basically separated in two: with oprichnina being ruled by the Tsar from his residence in Alexandrov, and zemschina ('the land outside her'), headed by the boyars and the king in Moscow. Because the Oprichniks were all hand-picked by the Tsar, they were also called cromeshnina ('selected') by the public.

They rode black stallions and wore black robes similar to those worn by monks, with their lifestyle often described as ascetic. Led by the Tsar Ivan himself, the Oprichniks performed a lot of public executions and confiscations, sometimes also terrorizing the civilian population. The 'oprichnina times' started with a state policy established by the Tsar in order to repress the boyars (aristocrats) who opposed him.

Nikolai astankov murder