Czar Ivan IV (1530–1584) killed tens of thousands of Russians, started three wars against neighboring countries, and even killed his own son with a scepter. Nicknamed Ivan Grozny—Ivan the Terrible—he has gone into history as one of Russia’s cruelest rulers.
However, Ivan’s brutal reign was also marked by significant political and foreign policy accomplishments. He centralized the power of the Russian state, weakened the traditional boyar aristocracy, and expanded the country’s borders. Some, including dictator Joseph Stalin (1879–1953), have viewed him as a Russian national hero.
Ivan, the son of Grand Prince Vasily III (1479–1533), inherited the crown at age three. His family, the Rurik dynasty, had governed Russia since the ninth century. As a child monarch, however, Ivan struggled to win the support of various boyar factions, leaving him with a lifelong hatred of the Russian nobility.
Ivan married for the first time in 1547. He would eventually have seven wives and eight children, including Ivan Ivanovich (1554–1581), whom he murdered, and Fyodor Ivanovich (1557–1598), who succeeded him as czar.
During the early years of Ivan’s reign, the czar’s major priorities were to fight the nobles at home and the Tatars abroad. Ivan won a major victory against the Tatars in 1556, but was less successful in his wars against Poland and Sweden between 1558 and 1583. The czar was also a notable writer and propagandist for his wars, and his pamphlets are considered Russian literary landmarks.
After the death of Ivan’s first queen in 1560, the czar became increasingly mentally unbalanced. Convinced that he was surrounded by enemies, he slaughtered thousands of nobles and seized their lands. In 1570, he unleashed the Massacre of Novgorod, in which up to 60,000 people may have been murdered.
The murder of the crown prince occurred November 16, 1581. That day, Ivan assaulted his pregnant daughter-in-law for wearing light clothing, which he considered indecent. When the prince heard his wife’s screams and rushed to her defense, Ivan became infuriated and struck the prince with his staff. The prince lost consciousness and died four days later. Three years later, Ivan himself died while playing chess. He was fifty-three.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Ivan was the first Russian ruler to use the title czar, which is derived from the word Caesar.
- Ivan the Terrible was a two-part movie filmed by the Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948). The second installment, which portrayed Ivan in an unflattering light, was banned by Joseph Stalin and not released until after the dictator’s death. It featured a score by the classical musician Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953).
- Ivan ordered the construction of the famed Saint Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square. According to legend, he then had the architect blinded so he could never design another that would surpass the famous onion-domed monument.
