Ivan IV of Russia more than earned his nickname “The Terrible.” And I don’t mean terrible like cafeteria-mystery-meat terrible or physics-exam-I-haven’t-studied-for terrible. I mean more like accidentally-killed-his-son-and-heir terrible. Like beat-his-pregnant-daughter-in-law terrible. Despite having a reputation of being intelligent and diplomatic, Ivan was prone to violent rages and episodes of mental illness.
Ivan was crowned the first “Tsar of All the Russias” in 1547 at the age of 16 (another crazily young ruler). The new title granted him both unquestionable power as well as the “divine right to rule.” His early reign was actually relatively peaceful and was marked by accomplishments such as the introduction of the printing press in Russia and the construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, though he also saw to the enactment of laws that would later lead to serfdom. Later, Ivan went on to conquer vast territories of land and solidify the centralized government in Russia for centuries to come.
Now I’m sure you’re wondering about Ivan’s terrible-ness. He did once in a deranged rage beat his heir, Ivan Ivanovich, to death, leaving the throne to be passed down to his younger son, who was weak and mentally handicapped. He also possibly cause his daughter-in-law to have a miscarriage by beating her because he thought she was wearing immodest clothing. Ivan was also extremely paranoid of the nobility, and executed and exiled many clan leaders on grounds of conspiracy.
Fun Fact: There is currently a movement in Russia to grant Ivan sainthood, which the Russian Orthodox Church does not support.
Wow, he is actually terrible! I think that movement is really interesting, given all of his offenses.You probably shouldn’t hand the throne over to someone who isn’t even an adult. Lesson learned.
I’d be interested to see who exactly is behind this movement toward Sainthood. He may have introduced the printing press to Russia, initiated the construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral, and helped in centralizing the government but beating your son to death? Sorry, there’s just no justification for that.
I agree with Nicole–seems crazy to me whoever made up the idea. Maybe it’s someone related to him.
That’s crazy–especially the fact that they want to make him a saint. Do you have any idea who decided that, or why they want to? He doesn’t sound like a saint to me.
How do you accidentally kill your son??? This guy is only slightly crazy. I agree with Drew that putting a 16-year-old in charge of a country is just stupid. I hate the whole idea of “the divine right” because it makes the monarchs think so much better of themselves and puts them even higher above everyone else, which just bothers me. But it’s definitely one of those things that you can’t argue against, which, I suppose, is the point. Ivan is crazy, but interesting.
I sometimes wonder if the atheist movement might have begun with crazy rulers like Ivan, in power because of the “divine right” doctrine – why would God allow such a crazy person to rule over others?
It just seems so ridiculous that it would be acceptable to put a 16 year old in charge. I wouldn’t even let my 16 year old self be in charge. I have also always been intrigued by this idea of “the divine right to rule”. I guess it is difficult to argue against that.