Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian:Иван IV Васильевич;[a] 25 August [O.S. 15 August] 1530 – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584), commonly known asIvan the Terrible,[b] wasGrand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the firstTsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584.[4] Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to a fledgling empire, but at an immense cost to its people and long-term economy.
Ivan IV was the eldest son ofVasili III by his second wifeElena Glinskaya, and a grandson ofIvan III. He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him astsar in 1547 at the age of 16. In the early years of his reign, Ivan ruled with the group of reformers known as theChosen Council and established theZemsky Sobor, a new assembly convened by the tsar. He also revised thelegal code and introduced reforms, including elements of local self-government, as well as establishing the first Russian standing army, thestreltsy. Ivan conquered the khanates ofKazan andAstrakhan, bringing the entire length of theVolga river under Russian control.
After he had consolidated his power, Ivan rid himself of the advisers from the Chosen Council and, in an effort to establish a stronghold in theBaltic Sea, he triggered theLivonian War of 1558 to 1583, which ravaged Russia and resulted in failure to take control overLivonia and the loss ofIngria, but allowed him to establish greater autocratic control over theRussian nobility, which he violently purged using Russia's first political police, theoprichniki. The later years of Ivan's reign were marked by themassacre of Novgorod by theoprichniki and theburning of Moscow by theTatars. Ivan also pursued cultural improvements, such as importing the first printing press to Russia, and began several processes that would continue for centuries, including deepening connections with other European states, particularlyEngland, fightingwars against theOttoman Empire, and theconquest of Siberia.
Contemporary sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's complex personality. He was described as intelligent and devout, but also prone to paranoia, rage, and episodic outbreaks of mental instability that worsened with age.[5][6][7] Historians generally believe that in a fit of anger, he murdered his eldest son and heir,Ivan Ivanovich;[8] he might also have caused the miscarriage of the latter's unborn child. This left his younger son, the politically ineffectualFeodor Ivanovich, to inherit the throne, a man whose rule and subsequent childless death led to the end of theRurik dynasty and the beginning of theTime of Troubles.[9]
The English wordterrible is usually used to translate the Russian wordgrozny (грозный) in Ivan's epithet, but this is a somewhat archaic translation. The Russian wordgrozny reflects the older English usage ofterrible as in "inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful" (i.e., similar to modern Englishterrifying orformidable). It does not convey the more modern connotations of Englishterrible such as "defective" or "evil".[10] According toEdward L. Keenan, Ivan the Terrible's image inpopular culture as atyrant came from politicisedWestern travel literature of theRenaissance era.[11] Anti-Russian propaganda during theLivonian War portrayed Ivan as a sadistic and oriental despot.[4]Vladimir Dal definesgrozny specifically in archaic usage and as an epithet for tsars: "courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience".[12] Other translations have also been suggested by modern scholars, includingformidable,[13][14][15] as well asawe-inspiring.[4]
When Ivan was three years old, his father died from an abscess and inflammation on his leg that developed intoblood poisoning. The closest contenders to the throne, except for the young Ivan, were the younger brothers of Vasily. Of the six sons ofIvan III, only two remained:Andrey andYuri. Ivan was proclaimed thegrand prince at the request of his father. His mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent, but died in 1538,[24][25] when Ivan was eight years old; many believe that she was poisoned.[24] The regency then alternated between several feudingboyar families that fought for control. According to his own letters, Ivan, along with his younger brotherYuri, often felt neglected and offended by the mighty boyars from theShuisky andBelsky families. In a letter toAndrey Kurbsky, Ivan remembered, "My brother Iurii, of blessed memory, and me they brought up like vagrants and children of the poorest. What have I suffered for want of garments and food!"[26] That account has been challenged by the historian Edward Keenan, who doubts the authenticity of the source in which the quotations are found.[27]
By being crowned tsar, Ivan was sending a message to the world and to Russia that he was now the only supreme ruler of the country, and his will was not to be questioned. According to historian Janet Martin, the new title "symbolized an assumption of powers equivalent and parallel to those held by the former Byzantine caesar and the Tatar khan, both known in Russian sources as tsar. The political effect was to elevate Ivan's position".[31] The new title not only secured the throne but also granted Ivan a new dimension of power that was intimately tied to religion. He was now a "divine" leader appointed to enact God's will, as "church texts described Old Testament kings as 'Tsars' and Christ as the Heavenly Tsar".[32] The newly appointed title was then passed on from generation to generation, and "succeeding Muscovite rulers... benefited from the divine nature of the power of the Russian monarch... crystallized during Ivan's reign".[33]
Like theHabsburgs and other monarchs in Europe, the first Russian tsars adopted mythological genealogies that connected them toAncient Rome. InThe Tale of the Princes of Vladimir, their lineage is traced toRurik, the first prince ofNovgorod in northern Russia, while a certain Prus, an alleged brother ofAugustus who ruled what would becomePrussia, is mentioned as a direct ancestor of Rurik.[34] Ivan IV often mentioned his apparent kinship with Augustus, claiming not to be a "Russe" and highlighting his "German" descent from Rurik.[34] Such genealogies served to elevate the position of the Russian monarch in the eyes of his subjects and other European powers, who were also creating mythological ancestors for themselves.[35]
Despite the devastation caused by theGreat Fire of 1547, the early years of Ivan IV’s reign were characterized by a period of reform and modernization. Ivan revised the legal code, issuing theSudebnik of 1550, and established astanding army, thestreltsy.[36] He also convened theZemsky Sobor, regarded as the first Russian parliament of feudal estates. He also established theChosen Council, a body of advisers drawn from the nobility and clergy.
In ecclesiastical matters, Ivan strengthened the authority of theRussian Orthodox Church through theCouncil of the Hundred Chapters (Stoglavy Sobor, 1551), which standardized rituals and ecclesiastical law across the realm. He further introduced forms of local self-government in rural areas—particularly in northeastern Russia, populated by state peasants—to improve local administration and tax collection.[29][30]
In 1553, Ivan suffered a near-fatal illness and was thought not able to recover. While on his presumed deathbed Ivan had asked the boyars to swear an oath of allegiance to his eldest son, an infant at the time. Many boyars refused since they deemed the tsar's health too hopeless for him to survive. This angered Ivan and added to his distrust of the boyars. There followed brutal reprisals and assassinations, including those ofMetropolitan Philip and PrinceAlexander Gorbatyi-Shuisky.[37]
In 1553,Ivan IV ordered the establishment of theMoscow Print Yard, introducing the first printing press toRussia. During the 1550s and 1560s, several religious books in Church Slavonic were printed, marking the beginning of Russian movable-type printing. However, the new technology provoked strong opposition from traditional scribes, culminating in an arson attack that destroyed the Print Yard. The printersIvan Fyodorov andPyotr Mstislavets subsequently fled to theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, where they continued their work. Printing in Moscow resumed in 1568, under Andronik Timofeevich Nevezha and his son Ivan, who reestablished production at the rebuilt Print Yard.[29][30][38]
16th century portrait of Ivan by Hans Weigel
Ivan hadSaint Basil's Cathedral constructed in Moscow to commemorate the seizure ofKazan. There is a legend that he was so impressed with the structure that he had the architect,Postnik Yakovlev, blinded so that he could never design anything as beautiful again. However, in reality Postnik Yakovlev went on to design more churches for Ivan and the walls of theKazan Kremlin in the early 1560s as well as the chapel over Saint Basil's grave, which was added to Saint Basil's Cathedral in 1588, several years after Ivan's death. Although more than one architect was associated with that name, it is believed that the principal architect is the same person.[39][40][41]
Other events of the period include the introduction of the first laws restricting peasants' mobility, which would eventually lead toserfdom and were instituted during the rule of the future TsarBoris Godunov in 1597.[42] (See alsoSerfdom in Russia.)
The combination of poor harvests, the devastation caused by theOprichnina and Tatar raids, the strain of a prolonged war, and overpopulation led to a severesocial and economic crisis during the latter part ofIvan IV’s reign.[29][43]
The 1560s brought a series of hardships that marked a turning point inIvan IV’s reign and led to a sharp change in his domestic and foreign policies. Russia suffered from a combination of drought, famine, military defeats in the wars against thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, recurringTatar invasions, and a naval blockade of Baltic trade imposed by theSwedes,Poles, and theHanseatic League.[29]
In 1560, the death of Ivan’s first wife,Anastasia Romanovna,—believed by some contemporaries to have been caused by poisoning—was a profound personal blow that reportedly worsened his already volatile temperament and mental state. Around the same time, one of his closest advisers,Andrey Kurbsky, defected to Lithuania, where he took command ofLithuanian forces and led raids into Russian territory, including theVelikiye Luki region. This perceived betrayal, combined with mounting internal instability, deepened Ivan’s distrust of the nobility, leading to increasingly repressive measures against the boyar class.[44][30]
On 3 December 1564, Ivan left Moscow forAleksandrova Sloboda, where he sent two letters in which he announced hisabdication because of the alleged embezzlement and treason of the aristocracy and the clergy. The boyar court was unable to rule in Ivan's absence and feared the wrath of the Muscovite citizens. A boyar envoy departed for Aleksandrova Sloboda to beg Ivan to return to the throne.[45][46] Ivan agreed to return on condition of being granted absolute power. He demanded the right to condemn and execute traitors and confiscate their estates without interference from the boyar council or church. Ivan decreed the creation of theoprichnina.[47]
Theoprichnina was a separate territory within Russia, mostly in the formerNovgorod Republic in the north. Ivan held exclusive power over the territory. The Boyar Council ruled thezemshchina ('land'), the second division of the state. Ivan also recruited a personal guard known as theoprichniki, originally numbered 1,000.[46][48] Theoprichniki were headed byMalyuta Skuratov. One knownoprichnik was the German adventurerHeinrich von Staden. Theoprichniki enjoyed social and economic privileges under theoprichnina. They owed their allegiance and status to Ivan, not heredity or local bonds.[46]
The first wave of persecutions targeted primarily the princely clans of Russia, notably the influential families of Suzdal. Ivan executed, exiled or forciblytonsured prominent members of the boyar clans on questionable accusations of conspiracy. Among those who were executed were the Metropolitan Philip and the prominent warlord Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky. In 1566, Ivan extended theoprichnina to eight central districts. Of the 12,000 nobles, 570 becameoprichniki and the rest were expelled.[49][c]
Under the new political and administrative system of theOprichnina, members of theOprichniki were granted large estates, but—unlike earlier landholders—they were not held accountable for their actions. According to contemporary accounts, they seized nearly all that peasants possessed, forcing them to pay “in one year as much as they used to pay in ten.”[50] The resulting oppression and instability prompted a growing number of peasants to flee their lands, leading to a decline in agricultural production. As a consequence, the price of grain increased roughly tenfold, exacerbating the wider economic crisis of Ivan’s later reign.[29][51][44]
Following the death of his son and the excesses committed under theOprichnina,Ivan IV reportedly expressed remorse for his actions. He is said to have compiled lists of the Christian victims executed or persecuted during the period and sent them to monasteries, requesting that prayers be offered for each by name.[44][29]
Conditions under theoprichnina were worsened by the 1570 epidemic, a plague that killed 10,000 people in Novgorod and 600 to 1,000 daily in Moscow. During the grim conditions of the epidemic, a famine and the ongoing Livonian War, Ivan grew suspicious that noblemen in the wealthy city of Novgorod were planning to defect and place the city under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A Novgorod citizen, Petr Volynets, warned the tsar about an alleged conspiracy, that modern historians believe never happened. In 1570, Ivan ordered theoprichniki to raid the city. Theoprichniki burned and pillaged Novgorod and the surrounding villages; the city has never regained its former prominence.[52]
The Oprichniki byNikolai Nevrev (1888). The painting shows the last minutes ofboyarin Feodorov, who was arrested for treason. To mock his alleged ambitions on the tsar's title, the nobleman was given the tsar'sregalia before his execution.
Casualty figures vary between different sources. The First Pskov Chronicle estimates the number of victims at 60,000.[52][53][d] According to the Third Novgorod Chronicle, the massacre lasted for five weeks. The massacre of Novgorod consisted of men, women and children who were tied to sleighs and run into the freezing waters of theVolkhov River, which Ivan ordered on the basis of unproven accusations of treason. He then tortured its inhabitants and killed thousands in a pogrom. The archbishop was also hunted to death. Almost every day, 500 or 600 people were killed, some by drowning, but the official death toll named 1,500 of Novgorod's "big" people (nobility) and mentioned only about the same number of "smaller" people.[citation needed] Many modern researchers estimate the number of victims to range from 2,000 to 3,000 since after the famine and epidemics of the 1560s the population of Novgorod most likely did not exceed 10,000–20,000.[e] Many survivors were deported from the city.[29]
TheOprichnina did not survive long after theMassacre of Novgorod. During theRusso-Crimean campaigns of 1571–1572, theOprichniki failed to demonstrate effectiveness against regular Tatar and Ottoman forces. Their poor performance during theCrimean raid of 1571 and subsequent defeats highlighted the system’s military and administrative weaknesses. In 1572,Ivan IV formally abolished theOprichnina and disbanded theOprichniki, reintegrating the territories and administration into the regular state structure.[44][29][30]
In September or October 1575,Ivan IV unexpectedly proclaimedSimeon Bekbulatovich, a statesman of Tatar origin, as Grand Prince of All Russia.[54][55] Simeon served as a nominal ruler for about a year, while Ivan retained de facto control of the government. According to the English envoyGiles Fletcher the Elder, Simeon—acting on Ivan’s instructions—confiscated lands belonging to monasteries, while Ivan publicly feigned opposition to the measure. When the throne was formally restored to Ivan in September 1576, he returned some of the confiscated estates but retained a substantial portion for the crown.[54]
In 1547, Ivan IV sent his agent Hans Schlitte to Germany to recruit skilled craftsmen and specialists for service in Russia. However, the recruits were arrested inLübeck at the request ofPoland andLivonia, preventing their arrival. Despite Ivan’s efforts to open direct access to Western trade, his newly establishedIvangorod port on theNarva River in 1550 was largely ignored by German merchant companies, which continued to route commerce throughLivonian-controlled Baltic ports. As a result, Russia remained effectively isolated from maritime trade with Western Europe.[43][29][30]
Ivan established close ties with theKingdom of England. Russian–English relations can be traced to 1551, when theMuscovy Company was formed byRichard Chancellor,Sebastian Cabot, SirHugh Willoughby and several London merchants. In 1553, Chancellor sailed to theWhite Sea and continued overland to Moscow, where he visited Ivan's court. Ivan opened up the White Sea and the port ofArkhangelsk to the company and granted it the privilege of trading throughout his reign without paying the standard customs fees.[56]
Through English merchants, Ivan engaged in a long correspondence withElizabeth I of England. While the queen focused on commerce, Ivan was more interested in a military alliance.[57] Ivan even proposed to her once, and during his troubled relations with the boyars, he even asked her for a guarantee to be granted asylum in England if his rule was jeopardised.[58] Elizabeth agreed on the condition that he provide for himself during his potential stay.[59]
Ivan corresponded with overseas Orthodox leaders. In response to a letter ofPatriarch Joachim of Alexandria asking him for financial assistance for theSaint Catherine's Monastery, in theSinai Peninsula, which had suffered by the Turks, Ivan sent in 1558 a delegation toEgypt Eyalet by Archdeacon Gennady, who, however, died in Constantinople before he could reach Egypt. From then on, the embassy was headed bySmolensk merchant Vasily Poznyakov, whose delegation visited Alexandria, Cairo, and the Sinai; brought the patriarch a fur coat and an icon sent by Ivan and left an interesting account of his two-and-a-half years of travels.[60]
Ivan was the first ruler to begin cooperating with the free Cossacks on a large scale. Relations were handled through thePosolsky Prikaz diplomatic department; Moscow sent them money and weapons, while tolerating their freedoms, to draw them into an alliance against the Tatars. The first evidence of cooperation surfaces in 1549 when Ivan ordered the Don Cossacks to attack Crimea.[61]
While Ivan was a child, armies of theKazan Khanate repeatedly raided northeastern Russia.[f]
In the 1530s, theCrimean Khan formed an offensive alliance with his relative Safa Giray, the Khan of Kazan, in an effort to counter the growing power ofMuscovy. Both khanates, successor states of theGolden Horde, sought to reassert influence over the Volga and Oka river regions, where Moscow had steadily expanded its control. In December 1540, Safa Giray launched an invasion of Muscovite territory, advancing towardMurom. His campaign was checked by forces that includedQasim Tatars, Muslim allies of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. After his advance was halted near Murom, Safa Giray was forced to withdraw to Kazan.[62][43]
The failure of the 1540 campaign marked a turning point in relations between Kazan and Moscow. Continued raids and internal instability within the Kazan Khanate prompted renewed Muscovite military expeditions in the 1540s and early 1550s. These culminated inIvan IV’s successfulconquest of Kazan in 1552, which brought the khanate under Russian control and extended Muscovy’s dominion deep into the Volga basin.[29][30]
The military setbacks suffered by Safa Giray weakened his authority within theKazan Khanate. In the aftermath, a pro-Russian faction led byShahghali (also known as Shah Ali), the khan of theQasim Khanate, gained influence and made several attempts to seize the Kazan throne with Muscovite backing. In 1545,Ivan IV personally led an expedition down theVolga River to demonstrate support for Shahghali and the pro-Moscow party within Kazan.[43][29]
Ivan IV under the walls of Kazan by Pyotr Korovin (1890)
In 1551,Tsar Ivan IV dispatched envoys to theNogai Horde, who agreed to maintain neutrality during the impending campaign against theKhanate of Kazan. During the same period, several local groups, including theAr begs andUdmurts, acknowledged Muscovite authority, strengthening Russia’s strategic position along theVolga River frontier in preparation for the final assault on Kazan.[43][29]
That same year, the Russians constructed the wooden fortress ofSviyazhsk, which was assembled inUglich and transported in sections down theVolga River to a site near Kazan. The fortress served as the mainplace of arms—a fortified base of operations—for the decisivecampaign of 1552, from which Ivan IV’s army launched its successful assault on the Tatar capital.[43][30][29]
On 16 June 1552,Ivan IV led a large Russian army towardKazan, beginning the final campaign against theKazan Khanate. The siege of Kazan began on 30 August 1552. Under the command of Prince Alexander Gorbaty-Shuysky, the Russians employed battering rams, a siege tower, undermining tactics, and a formidable artillery train of around 150 cannons. The army also benefited from the expertise of foreign military engineers, who played a crucial role in breaching the city’s defences.[43][29][30]
The Russian forces cut off Kazan’s water supply, bombarded its fortifications, and eventually breached the walls. On 2 October 1552, the city fell after intense fighting; its fortifications were destroyed, and a large portion of the population was killed, though thousands of Russian prisoners and slaves held within the city were freed. Ivan IV marked his victory with the construction of several commemorative churches in Moscow, the most famous beingSaint Basil’s Cathedral onRed Square, whose distinctive design incorporates oriental architectural features in tribute to the conquest.[43][29][30]
The fall of Kazan marked the beginning of a prolonged period of resistance along the Middle Volga, known as theCheremis wars. These uprisings, led by theCheremis (Mari) and other local groups, challenged Moscow’s attempts to consolidate its control over the region and were suppressed only with great difficulty. TheFirst Cheremis War (1552–1556) concluded in 1557, by which time theBashkirs had also accepted Ivan IV’s authority, completing the first stage of Muscovite expansion into the Volga basin.[62]
Khanates of Crimea, Astrakhan and Kazan in 1550, before Ivan's expansion into the Volga basin
In campaigns in 1554 and 1556, Russian troops conquered the Astrakhan Khanate at the mouths of the Volga River, and the newAstrakhan fortress was built in 1558 byIvan Vyrodkov to replace the old Tatar capital. The annexation of the Tatar khanates meant the conquest of vast territories, access to large markets and control of the entire length of the Volga River. According to Martin (2007), "the subjugation of the Muslim khanates transformed Muscovy into an empire and fundamentally altered the balance of power on the steppe."[63]
After his conquest of Kazan, Ivan is said to have ordered the crescent, a symbol of Islam, to be placed underneath theChristian cross on the domes of Orthodox Christian churches.[64][65][66]
In 1568, Grand VizierSokollu Mehmed Pasha, who was the real power in the administration of theOttoman Empire underSultan Selim, initiated the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and its future northern rival. The results presaged the many disasters to come. A plan to unite the Volga and Don by a canal was detailed in Constantinople. In the summer of 1569, a large force under Kasim Pasha of 1,500Janissaries, 2,000Sipahis, and a few thousandAzaps andAkıncıs were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and to begin the canal works while an Ottoman fleet besiegedAzov.[67][68][69]
In early 1570, Ivan's ambassadors concluded a treaty at Constantinople that restored friendly relations between the sultan and the tsar.[70] The envoys were directed to tell the sultan: "My Tsar is not an enemy of the Moslem faith. His servant Sain Bulat rules the Khanate of Kassimov; Prince Kaibula in Yuriev, Ibak in Suroshsk, and the Nogai Princes in Romanov.”[71]
The prolonged war devastated the Russian economy and, together with the internal turmoil caused by theoprichnina, severely disrupted governance and social stability. During the later stages of the conflict, theUnion of Lublin (1569) united Lithuania and Poland into thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which soon gained a vigorous new monarch,Stephen Báthory, a skilled military commander supported by Russia’s southern rival, theOttoman Empire. By the 1570s, Ivan’s realm found itself strategically encircled, pressured by two of the era’s dominant powers to the west and south.[29][43][30]
After rejecting several peace proposals from his adversaries,Ivan IV found himself in an increasingly unstable position by 1579. The protractedLivonian War had drained Russia’s resources, while refugee movements from devastated border regions worsened the effects of a severe drought that struck the country at the same time. These overlapping crises contributed to widespread famine and epidemic outbreaks, resulting in heavy loss of life and further weakening the stability of the Russian state.[29][43][72]
Báthory then launched a series of major offensives against Muscovy between 1579 and 1581, aiming to sever theKingdom of Livonia from Russian control. In his first campaign of 1579, Báthory capturedPolotsk with an army of approximately 22,000 men. During his second offensive in 1580, he seizedVelikiye Luki with a force estimated at 29,000 troops. The following year, in 1581, he initiated theSiege of Pskov with an army reportedly numbering around 100,000 men, marking the largest engagement of the war. Meanwhile, in the north,Narva—in present-dayEstonia—was recaptured by Sweden in the same year, further eroding Muscovy’s positions along the Baltic frontier.[43][29][73]
UnlikeSweden and thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,Frederick II of Denmark struggled to sustain Denmark’s involvement in theLivonian War. In 1580, he reached an agreement withJohn III of Sweden, transferring Denmark’s titular claims to Livonia to the Swedish crown. Muscovy formally recognised Polish–Lithuanian control of Livonia only in 1582, following theTruce of Yam-Zapolsky. After the death ofMagnus of Livonia, Frederick’s brother and a former ally ofIvan IV, in 1583, Polish forces occupied Magnus’s holdings in theDuchy of Courland. Facing limited influence in the region, Frederick II sold his hereditary claims. By 1585, Denmark had effectively withdrawn from Livonia, retaining only the island ofSaaremaa in the Baltic Sea.[73][43][74]
TheLivonian War concluded in 1583 with theTruce of Plussa betweenMuscovy andSweden, following the earlierTruce of Yam-Zapolsky (1582) with thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The twin agreements effectively ended Muscovy’s presence in Livonia and deprived it of direct access to theBaltic Sea. The war established Sweden and Poland–Lithuania as the dominant powers in the eastern Baltic region, while Muscovy’s defeat marked the end of Ivan IV’s expansionist ambitions in the northwest. The economic exhaustion and social disruption that followed contributed to the political instability of the late 16th century, laying part of the groundwork for theTime of Troubles that engulfed Russia in the early 17th century.[43][29][74]
In the later years of Ivan's reign, the southern borders of Muscovy were disturbed by Crimean Tatars, mainly to capture slaves.[75] (See alsoSlavery in the Ottoman Empire.)Devlet I Giray, Khan of the Crimean Khanate, conducted several raids into Muscovite territory during the late 16th century. In 1571, a Crimean–Ottoman army of about 40,000 men launched a large-scale invasion of theMoscow region. Because most Russian forces were engaged in the ongoingLivonian War, the capital was defended by a garrison of only around 6,000 troops, insufficient to resist the Tatar advance. The Crimean force entered Moscow virtually unopposed, burning much of the city and its surrounding settlements in what became known as theFire of Moscow (1571). Contemporary and modern estimates of the number of people killed in the fire vary widely, ranging from 10,000 to 80,000.[43][29][30]
In the aftermath of the1571 raid,Ivan IV sought to buy peace fromDevlet I Giray by offering to relinquish Russian claims to Astrakhan in favor of theCrimean Khanate. However, the proposed concession was purely diplomatic and was never implemented, as Astrakhan remained under Russian control. The devastation of Moscow deeply angered Ivan, who began preparing for a renewed confrontation with the Crimean Tatars. Between 1571 and 1572, extensive defensive preparations were undertaken on his orders. In addition to reinforcing theZasechnaya cherta (a line of fortified earthworks and wooden walls), a new system of advanced fortifications was constructed beyond theOka River, then forming the southern frontier of the Russian state.[29][43][30]
The following year, Devlet launched another raid on Moscow, now with a numerous horde,[76] reinforced by Turkishjanissaries equipped with firearms and cannons. The Russian army, led by PrinceMikhail Vorotynsky, was half the size but was experienced and supported bystreltsy, equipped with modern firearms andgulyay-gorods. In addition, it was no longer divided into two parts (theoprichnina andzemsky), unlike during the 1571 defeat.[77] On 27 July, the horde broke through the defensive line along the Oka River and moved towards Moscow. The Russian troops did not have time to intercept it, but the regiment of Prince Khvorostinin vigorously attacked the Tatars from the rear. The Khan stopped only 30 km from Moscow and brought down his entire army back on the Russians, who managed to take up defense near thevillage of Molodi. After several days of heavy fighting, Mikhail Vorotynsky with the main part of the army flanked the Tatars and dealt a sudden blow on 2 August. Khvorostinin made asortie from the fortifications. The Tatars were completely defeated and fled.[78] The next year, Ivan, who had sat out in distant Novgorod during the battle, killed Mikhail Vorotynsky.[79]
Russian expansion into Siberia dates back to the 16th century, when Ivan granted the Stroganov family permission to conquer theKhanate of Sibir. Area conquered by Ivan IV in dark green.
During the reign ofIvan IV, Russia began its large-scale expansion and colonization ofSiberia, laying the foundations for future eastward conquest. In 1555, shortly after theConquest of Kazan, the Siberian khan Yadegar andKhan Ismail of theNogai Horde pledged their allegiance to Ivan in hopes of gaining his support against rival steppe powers. However, Yadegar failed to deliver the full tribute he had promised to Moscow, and Ivan took no action to assist his struggling vassal. In 1563, Yadegar was overthrown and killed byKhan Kuchum, who consolidated power in theKhanate of Sibir and refused to acknowledge Moscow’s authority or pay tribute.[43][80][29]
In 1558,Ivan IV granted theStroganov family, a prominent merchant dynasty, a charter to colonize the rich lands along theKama River. In 1574, their holdings were expanded to include territories beyond theUral Mountains, along theTura andTobol. The Stroganovs were also authorized to construct fortified settlements along theOb andIrtysh, facilitating trade and defense in the region.[80]
By around 1577, facing frequent raids from the forces of theSiberian KhanKuchum, the Stroganovs enlisted the Cossack leaderYermak Timofeyevich to defend their frontier lands. This alliance would soon evolve into the first Russian-led expedition into Siberia, marking the beginning of the region’s gradual conquest and incorporation into the Russian state.[43][29]
In 1580, Yermak started his conquest of Siberia. With some 540Cossacks, he started to penetrate territories that were tributary to Kuchum. Yermak pressured and persuaded the various family-based tribes to change their loyalties and to become tributaries of Russia. Some agreed voluntarily because they were offered better terms than with Kuchum, but others were forced. He also established distant forts in the newly conquered lands. The campaign was successful, and the Cossacks managed to defeat the Siberian army in theBattle of Chuvash Cape, but Yermak still needed reinforcements. He sent an envoy to Ivan the Terrible with a message that proclaimed Yermak-conquered Siberia to be part of Russia, to the dismay of the Stroganovs, who had planned to keep Siberia for themselves. Ivan agreed to reinforce the Cossacks with his streltsy, but the detachment sent to Siberia died of starvation without any benefit. The Cossacks were defeated by the local peoples, Yermak died, and the survivors immediately left Siberia. Only in 1586, two years after the death of Ivan, would the Russians manage to gain a foothold in Siberia by founding the city ofTyumen.[80][43][29]
Ivan the Terrible had at least six (possibly eight) wives, although only four of them were recognised by the Church. Three of them were allegedly poisoned by his enemies or by rival aristocratic families who wanted to promote their daughters to be his brides.[10]
Ivan IV had nine children, though not all survived infancy. His offspring were born from multiple marriages, most prominently with his first wife,Anastasia Romanovna, who bore him several heirs. Of his sons,Ivan Ivanovich,Feodor I, andDmitry of Uglich are the best known. Only Feodor survived to inherit the throne, reigning from 1584 to 1598.[29][30]
On 19 November [O.S. 9 November] 1581, Ivan chastised Yelena for being unsuitably dressed, considering her advanced pregnancy, leading to an altercation with his son Ivan Ivanovich.[83] Historians generally believe that Ivan killed his son in a fit of rage,[8] with the argument ending after the elder Ivan fatally struck his son in the head with his pointed staff.[84] Yelena also suffered a miscarriage within hours of the incident.[83]
Anna Koltovskaya (married 29 April 1572 – 31 May 1572; sent to monastery);[86] this was the last of his church-authorized weddings and she was later canonized as Saint Daria.[87]
Anna Vasilchikova (married between 7–30 January 1575 or September–October 1574; sent to monastery in August–September 1576)
Some contemporary and later foreign accounts alleged thatIvan IV maintained a close relationship with the courtierFyodor Basmanov, a member of theoprichnina guard. According to these reports, when the boyar Dmitry Ovchinin mocked Basmanov over his intimacy with the tsar, Ivan allegedly killed Ovchinin in a fit of rage. However, modern historians regard these claims—recorded mainly by hostile or second-hand sources—as anecdotal and unsubstantiated by Russian chronicles.[72][44][29]
Ivan was a poet and a composer of considerable talent. His Orthodox liturgical hymn, "Stichiron No. 1 in Honor of St. Peter", and fragments of his letters were set to music by the Soviet composerRodion Shchedrin. The recording, the first Soviet-produced CD, was released in 1988 to mark the millennium of Christianity in Russia.[89][90]
D. S. Mirsky (1958) called Ivan "a pamphleteer of genius".[91] The exchange of letters attributed to Ivan and his former vassalAndrey Kurbsky, who defected to Lithuania in 1564, is often said to be the only existing source on Ivan's personality that could provide crucial information on his reign, but Harvard professor Edward L. Keenan (1971) has argued that the letters are 17th-century forgeries.[92] That contention, however, has not been widely accepted (exceptions includeDonald Ostrowski andBrian Boeck); most other scholars, such as John Fennell andRuslan Skrynnikov, have continued to argue for their authenticity.[93] The most frequently cited argument by proponents of authenticity is the 1987 Morozov article on a manuscript, variously dated to 1594–95 or the 1620s,[94] of the first Kurbskii letter to Ivan,[94] which Martin (2007) asserted "has substantially strengthened the argument for the authenticity of the correspondence".[95] Skeptics point out that Morozov later acknowledged the 1620s as the date of composition, and that he never followed-up his preliminary findings with a separate study that he called for.[94]
Ivan was a devoted follower of Orthodox Christianity but in his own specific manner. He placed the most emphasis on defending the divine right of the ruler to unlimited power under God.[96] Some scholars explain the sadistic and brutal deeds of Ivan the Terrible with the religious concepts of the 16th century,[97] which included drowning and roasting people alive or torturing victims with boiling or freezing water, corresponding to the torments of hell. That was consistent with Ivan's view of being God's representative on Earth with a sacred right and duty to punish. He may also have been inspired by the model ofArchangel Michael with the idea of divine punishment.[97]
Despite the absolute prohibition of the Church for even the fourth marriage, Ivan had seven wives. Even while his seventh wife was alive, he was negotiating to marryMary Hastings, a distant relative of QueenElizabeth of England.Polygamy was also prohibited by the Church. Still, Ivan planned to "put his wife away".[98] Ivan freely interfered in church affairs by oustingMetropolitan Philip and ordering him to be killed and accusing of treason and deposing the second-oldest hierarch,Novgorod Archbishop Pimen. Many monks were tortured to death during theMassacre of Novgorod.[99]
In the conquered Khanates of Khazan and Astrakhan, Ivan was somewhat tolerant of Islam. This was largely to avoid a conflict with theOttoman sultan over control of newly conquered Tatar regions. He considered these conquests to be a Christian victory.[citation needed] He was notable for hisanti-Semitism. For example, after the capture ofPolotsk, all unconverted Jews were ordered to be drowned, despite their role in the city's economy.[100]
Ivan died from a stroke while he was playing chess withBogdan Belsky[101] on 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584.[101] Upon Ivan's death, the Russian throne was left to his middle son,Feodor,[84] a weak-minded figure.[102] Feodor died childless in 1598, which ushered in theTime of Troubles.[103] He was buried at the Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow.
The only authentic lifetime portrait of Ivan IV is embossed on the binding of the first printedApostle of 1564.
Little is known about Ivan's appearance, as virtually all existing portraits were made after his death and contain uncertain amounts ofartist's impression.[1] In 1567, the ambassador Daniel Prinz von Buchau said about Ivan that: "He is very tall. His body is full of strength and quite thick, his large eyes, which constantly run around, observe everything carefully. His beard is red with a slight shade of black, quite long and thick, but like most Russians, he shaves his hair with a razor".[84]
According toIvan Katyryov-Rostovsky, the son-in-law ofMichael I of Russia, Ivan had an unpleasant face with a long and crooked nose. He was tall and athletically built, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.[84]
In 1963, the graves of Ivan and his sons were excavated and examined by Soviet scientists. Chemical and structural analysis of his remains disproved earlier suggestions that Ivan suffered fromsyphilis or that he was poisoned by arsenic or strangled. At the time of his death, he was 178 cm tall (5 ft. 10 in.) and weighed 85–90 kg (187–198 lb.). His body was rather asymmetrical, had a large amount ofosteophytes uncharacteristic of his age and contained excessive concentration of mercury. Researchers concluded that Ivan was athletically built in his youth but, in his last years, had developed various bone diseases and could barely move. They attributed the high mercury content in his body to his use of ointments to heal his joints.[1]
Kazan was added to Ivan's title in 1553 and Astrakhan in 1554. The titles "tsar of Kazan, tsar of Astrakhan" first appeared in 1556. The title "master of all the Siberian lands" first appeared in 1555, and from 1582, was written as "dominator of all the Siberian lands and northern countries".[g] During the Livonian War, Livonia first appeared in his title in 1558. Polotsk was also included following its capture in 1562. Despite Russia's defeat in the Livonian War, the title of Livonia was not abandoned.[106]
In English, Ivan's title of tsar was often translated as "emperor" from the first visit ofRichard Chancellor to Moscow in 1553. For example: "We, greatest Ivan Vassilleviche by the Grace of God Emperor of all Russia and Great Duke". However, the title was not consistently translated as "emperor", such as in 1582: "The Great Lord, King and Great Duke John the sonne of Vasili of all Russia...".[107][h]
16th century German engraving of Ivan IV[109]Coins of Ivan IV:kopecks anddengas, in silver.
Ivan completely altered Russia's governmental structure, establishing the character of modern Russian political organisation.[110] Ivan's creation of theoprichnina, answerable only to him, afforded him personal protection and curtailed the traditional powers and rights of theboyars.[111] Henceforth, tsarist autocracy and despotism would lie at the heart of the Russian state.[112] Ivan bypassed themestnichestvo system and offered positions of power to his supporters among the minor gentry.[113] The empire's local administration combined both locally and centrally appointed officials; the system proved durable and practical and sufficiently flexible to tolerate later modification.[33]
Ivan's expedition against Poland failed at a military level, but it helped extend Russia's trade, political and cultural links with other European states.Peter the Great built on those connections in his bid to make Russia a major European power. At Ivan's death, the empire encompassed the Caspian to the southwest and Western Siberia to the east. His southern conquests ignited several conflicts with the expansionist Ottoman Empire, whose territories were thus confined to theBalkans and theBlack Sea regions.[114]
Ivan's management of Russia's economy had negative consequences, both in his lifetime and afterwards. He had inherited a government in debt, and in an effort to raise more revenue for his expansionist wars, he instituted a series of taxes on the peasantry and urban population.[115] Martin (2007) stated: "The reign of Ivan IV the Terrible was, in short, a disaster for Muscovy. (...) his subjects were impoverished, his economic resources depleted, his army weakened, and his realm militarily defeated. (...) By the time Ivan IV the Terrible died in 1584 , Muscovy (...) was on the brink of ruin".[116]
Ivan's notorious outbursts and autocratic whims helped characterise the position of tsar as one accountable to no earthly authority but only to God.[33] Tsarist absolutism faced few serious challenges until the 19th century. The earliest and most influential account of his reign prior to 1917 was by the historianNikolay Karamzin, who described Ivan as a 'tormentor' of his people, particularly from 1560, though even after that date Karamzin believed there was a mix of 'good' and 'evil' in his character. In 1922, the historianRobert Wipper wrote a biography that reassessed Ivan as a monarch "who loved the ordinary people" and praised his agrarian reforms.[117]
In the 1920s,Mikhail Pokrovsky, who dominated the study of history in the Soviet Union, attributed the success of theoprichnina to their being on the side of the small state owners and townsfolk in a decades-long class struggle against the large landowners, and downgraded Ivan's role to that of the instrument of the emerging Russian bourgeoisie. But in February 1941, the poetBoris Pasternak observantly remarked in a letter to his cousin that "the new cult, openly proselytized, is Ivan the Terrible, theOprichnina, the brutality."[118]Joseph Stalin, who had read Wipper's biography, had decided that Soviet historians should praise the role of strong leaders, such as Ivan,Alexander Nevsky and Peter the Great, who had strengthened and expanded Russia.[119]
A consequence was that the writerAlexei Tolstoy began work on a stage version of Ivan's life, andSergei Eisenstein began what was to be a three-part film tribute to Ivan. Both projects were personally supervised by Stalin, at a time when the Soviet Union was engaged in a war with Nazi Germany. He read the scripts of Tolstoy's play and the first of Eisenstein's films in tandem after theBattle of Kursk in 1943, praised Eisenstein's version but rejected Tolstoy's. It took Tolstoy until 1944 to write a version that satisfied Stalin.[120] Eisenstein's success withIvan the Terrible Part 1 was not repeated with the follow-up,The Boyar's Revolt, which angered Stalin because it portrayed a man suffering pangs of conscience. Stalin told Eisenstein: "Ivan the Terrible was very cruel. You can show that he was cruel, but you have to show why it was essential to be cruel. One of Ivan the Terrible's mistakes was that he didn't finish off the five major families."[121] The film was suppressed until 1958.[citation needed]
In post-Soviet Russia, there was a campaign to seek the granting ofsainthood to Ivan IV,[122] but the Russian Orthodox Church opposed the idea.[123]The first statue of Ivan the Terrible was officially open inOryol, Russia, in 2016. Formally, the statue was unveiled in honor of the 450th anniversary of the founding of Oryol, a Russian city of about 310,000 that was established as a fortress to defend Moscow's southern borders. Informally, there was a big political subtext. The opposition thinks that Ivan the Terrible's rehabilitation echoes Stalin's era. The erection of the statue was widely covered in international media likeThe Guardian,[124]The Washington Post,[125]Politico,[126] and others. The Russian Orthodox Church officially supported the erection of the monument.[127]
Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations – which means that if Ivan IV were to choose a historically accurate house name, it would be Rurikid, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.
Ivan is a member of theRurikid dynasty. Ivan's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son:
^As the tonsure was the distinctive hairstyle of monastic orders, a forcibly tonsured boyar was effectively exiled from power by being made to enter a monastic life.
^According to the Third Novgorod Chronicle, the massacre lasted for five weeks. Almost every day, 500 or 600 people were killed or drowned.
^Having investigated the report of Maljuta Skuratov and commemoration lists (sinodiki), R. Skrynnikov considers that the number of victims was 2,000–3,000. (Skrynnikov R.G., "Ivan Grosny", M., AST, 2001)
^Russian chronicles record about 40 attacks of Kazan Khans on Russian territories (the regions ofNizhniy Novgorod,Murom,Vyatka,Vladimir,Kostroma andGalich) in the first half of the 16th century. In 1521, the combined forces of KhanMehmed Giray and his Crimean allies attacked Russia, captured more than 150,000 slaves.The Full Collection of the Russian Annals, vol. 13, SPb, 1904
^The "country" should be understood asNorrbotten, which was added as a result of theRusso-Swedish War of 1554–1557.
^May 1582. Instructions of the Emb-ra of Russia.[108]
^Francis Carr,Ivan the Terrible, David & Charles Publishers (1981), p. 61
^Walter G. Moss,A History of Russia : To 1917, Volume 1, Anthem Press (2003), p. 130
^Литвина, А. Ф.; Успенский, Ф. Б. (2006).Выбор имени у русских князей в X–XVI вв.: Династическая история сквозь призму антропонимики. М. Индрик. p. 218.
^Pushkareva, N. (1997)Women in Russian History. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 65–67.ISBN0765632705.
^Kurbsky, Andrey, Ivan IV,The Correspondence Between Prince A.M. Kurbsky and Tsar Ivan IV, of Russia, 1564–1579, Cambridge University Press, 1955, 275 pp.,ASINB000X81MHO, p. 75.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaPerrie, Maureen (ed.). The Cambridge History of Russia, Volume 1: From Early Rus’ to 1689. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
^abcdefghijklmnCrummey, Robert O. The Formation of Muscovy, 1304–1613. Routledge, 2015.
^Paul, Michael C. (2004). "The Military Revolution in Russia 1550–1682".The Journal of Military History.68 (1):9–45.doi:10.1353/jmh.2003.0401.S2CID159954818.
^Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. (2000). "The Second Part of Ivan the Terrible's Rule".A History of Russia. Oxford University Press.ISBN0195121791.
^Zernova, A. S. Kniga v Rossii v XVI–XVII vekakh [The Book in Russia in the 16th–17th Centuries]. Moscow: Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, 1959.
^abLloyd, J. E. (1968).Rude & Barbarous Kingdom: Russia in the Accounts of Sixteenth-Century English Voyagers. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 166.ISBN0299047644.
^Chaudet, Didier (2009). "When the Bear Confronts the Crescent: Russia and the Jihadist Issue".China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly.7 (2). Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program:37–58.ISSN1653-4212.It would be convenient to characterize the relationship between Russia and Islam by its history of conquest and tension. After all, the emblem of the Orthodox Church is a cross on top of a crescent. It is said that this symbol was devised by Ivan the Terrible, after the conquest of the city of Kazan, as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over Islam through his soldiers.
^"Russian Orthodox Church".Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.17: 4. 1993. Retrieved20 May 2015.Finally, the Russians, under Ivan the Terrible, defeated the Tatars in 1552 and firmly established Russian rule. In celebration of this conquest, the czar built two churches in the Moscow Kremlin and on the spires of the Church installed the Orthodox Cross over an upside-down crescent, the symbol of Islam.
^"Church Building and Its Services". Orthodox World. Retrieved28 March 2014.Sometimes the bottoms of the Crosses found on Russian churches will be adorned with a crescent. In 1486, Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) conquered the city of Kazan, which had been under the rule of Moslem Tatars, and in remembrance of this, he decreed that from henceforth the Islamic crescent be placed at the bottom of the Crosses to signify the victory of the Cross (Christianity) over the Crescent (Islam).
^Kurat, Akdes Nimet. The Despatch of the Turkish Fleet to the Volga in 1569 and the Capture of Astrakhan by the Russians. Ankara University Press, 1966.
^Kurat, Akdes Nimet. "The First Turkish Attempt to Reach the Caspian Sea (1569)." Cahiers du Monde russe et soviétique, 13(4), 1972, pp. 505–518.
^Fisher, Alan W. The Russian Annexation of the Crimea, 1772–1783. Cambridge University Press, 1970.
^Garvin, James Louis; Hooper, Franklin Henry; Cox, Warren E. (1929).The Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Company, Limited. p. 307.
^abPlatonov, Sergei F. Ivan the Terrible. Moscow: Nauka, 1923 (translated ed. 1974).
^abFrost, Robert I. The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania: Volume I: The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385–1569. Oxford University Press, 2015.
^abKirby, David. Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period: The Baltic World 1492–1772. Longman, 1990.
^abcdZimin, A.A; Khoroshkevich, A.L. (1982)."Отечественные историки о государе Иване IV Грозном".Россия времен Ивана Грозного (in Russian). Moscow. pp. 147–51. Archived from the original on 20 March 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Keenan, Edward L. (1971)The Kurbskii-Groznyi Apocrypha: the 17th Century Genesis of the "Correspondence" Attributed to Prince A.M. Kurbskii and Tsar Ivan IV. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
^Riasanovsky, Nicholas V., and Mark D. Steinberg (2011). "Russia at the Time ofIvan IV, 1533–1598" inA History of Russia 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 151.ISBN978-0195341973.
^Shrynnikov, Ruslan G. (1975) "Conclusion", p. 199 inIvan the Formidable, translated by Hugh F. Graham. Moscow: Academic International.
^Maureen, Perrie (2001).The Cult of Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia. New York: Palgrava. pp. 6, 12-17
^McSmith, Andy (2015).Fear and the Muse Kept Watch, The Russian Masters - from Akhmatova and Pasternak to Shostakovich and Eisenstein - Under Stalin. New York: New Press. p. 233.ISBN978-1-59558-056-6.
^Perrie, Maureen (1987).The Image of Ivan the Formidable in Russian Folklore. Cambridge, UK: Pitt Building.
Cherniavsky, Michael. "Ivan the Terrible as Renaissance Prince",Slavic Review, Vol. 27, No. 2. (Jun. 1968), pp. 195–211.
Hunt, Priscilla. "Ivan IV's Personal Mythology of Kingship",Slavic Review, Vol. 52, No. 4. (Winter, 1993), pp. 769–809.
Menken, Jules. "Ivan the Terrible."History Today (Mar 1953) 3#3, Vol. 3 Issue 3, pp. 167–73.
Perrie, Maureen.The Image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian Folklore (Cambridge University Press, 1987;ISBN0-521-33075-0,0-521-89100-0).
Perrie, Maureen.The Cult of Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia. (New York: Palgrave, 2001ISBN0-333-65684-9).
Platt, Kevin M.F.; Brandenberger, David. "Terribly Romantic, Terribly Progressive, or Terribly Tragic: Rehabilitating Ivan IV under I.V. Stalin",Russian Review, Vol. 58, No. 4. (Oct. 1999), pp. 635–54.
Isolde Thyrêt, "The Royal Women of Ivan IV's Family and the Meaning of Forced Tonsure," in Anne Walthall (ed),Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History (Berkeley, Univ. California Press, 2008), 159–71.
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