Which tsar was known as the terrible

Ivan IV Vasylievich's carcass in his tomb, photograph of Archive photo. Maximus the Greek, a 16thth century image, author unknown Public domain.

Kharkiv Art Museum. The Kazan fortress in the first half of the 16th century. Public domain. A 17th-century view of the St.

Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Woodcut, Getty Images. Russian history. Subscribe to our newsletter! Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. We've got more than 2,2 million followers on Facebook. Join them! Read more. The nicknames of Russian tsars. Accept cookies. From the 11 th till the end of the 16 th century the elements of serfdom were scattered among certain classes of the rural population. Continue Reading from Russiapedia.

Russia during the 16th Century is dominated by one figure: Ivan the Terrible, who has gone down in history as one of the most infamous leaders of all times. His long reign, firstly as grand prince and then as the first tsar, witnessed Russia conquer the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates and expand its borders into Siberia but this coincided with a long and costly war in Livonia, raids at the hands of the Crimean Tatars and the madness and violence of the Oprichnina as Ivan lost his mind.

His legacy even threatened the destruction of the state itself and led to the eventual downfall of the House of Ryurik. Continue Reading from Rusmania. Read: Ivan the Terrible. Read: History of Russia to Watch; I van the Terrible. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. However, they had not reckoned on the boy they had ignored and abused for so many years. At a feast held in , Ivan accused the most powerful of the Shuiskys, Prince Andrei, of mismanaging the country and had him arrested and put to death.

Full power was transferred to Ivan on his sixteenth birthday. Two weeks later, he married his first wife, Anastasia. Indeed, it was a time of relative peace and progress. He introduced reforms that included an update of the penal code introduced by his grandfather, the establishment of a standing army and the introduction of regional self-governance.

Ivan also introduced the first printing presses into Russia and ordered the construction of the magnificent St. There is a story that persists to this day that Ivan was so impressed with the finished cathedral that he had the architect blinded so he could never produce anything so beautiful again. Read more about: Russia Catherine the Great and the coup that made her Empress. What tipped Ivan over the edge and turned him from a reasonable ruler into a full-blown tyrant were two events that both took place in and The first was the betrayal of his great friend Prince Kurbsky.

The second event was the death of his beloved wife Anastasia in Ivan was certain that his wife had been poisoned by his enemies. Here, he wrote two letters signalling his intention to abdicate. His council of noblemen and clergymen attempted to rule in his absence, but when this proved impossible, an envoy was sent to beg Ivan to change his mind.

He did so, on the proviso that he be given the right to seize the lands of those who had betrayed him and execute anyone he suspected of treason. It was to prove a costly mistake. Favourite execution methods included boiling alive, impalement, being roasted over an open fire or being torn limb.

Ivan returned to Moscow and set about separating the country into two administrative areas. One would be ruled by the nobility and the other, named the Oprichnina, would be governed by Ivan himself in any way he saw fit. This, it turned out, involved the torture and execution of the vast majority of his political rivals and pretty much anyone else who got in his way.

To police his new territory, Ivan created the Oprichniki. The Oprichniki were given carte blanche to torture and murder anyone Ivan suspected of betrayal. It soon became a common sight in the towns and villages of the Oprichnina to see peasants, the middle classes and the high-born fleeing for their lives as word spread that the Oprichniki were in the area.