Saltykova has been compared by many to the Hungarian "Blood Countess," Elizabeth Báthory (1560–1614), who allegedly committed similar crimes in her home, Čachtice Castle, against servant girls and local serfs, although historians debate the accuracy of these charges.

[1] Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova was born into a rich and ancient Russian noble family, as one of five daughters of Nikolai Avtonomovich Ivanov and his wife, Anna Ivanovna Davydova.

With her husband's death, she inherited a substantial estate, where she lived with her two young sons and a great number of serfs.

Saltykova was found guilty of having killed 38 serfs by beating and torturing them to death, but Empress Catherine was unsure how to punish her.

[4] In 1768, Saltykova was chained on a public platform in Moscow for one hour, with a sign around her neck with the text: "This woman has tortured and murdered".