1533-1584
The process of centralizing power was completed under Ivan IV (the Terrible). He expanded Russia’s territory in great magnitude and caused the death of hundreds of thousands.
“Ivn the Terrible and His Son on November 16, 1581” by Ilya Repin (1885)
Background
Ivan was 3 years old when his father Vasily III died. For the next 14 years a vicious fight for power between boyar families resulted in 14 murders, including that of his mother Elena Glinskaya.
First tsar
In 1547 the first half of Ivan IV’s reign was promising. He rewrote laws and summoned the parliament (Zemsky Sobor) in 1549.
Ivan expanded his territory to the Caucasus by conquering Khazan and Astrakhan, which were under the rule of the Mongol khans.
Terror
After the death of his wife Ivan IV changed. He became extremely paranoid and vengeful and instituted the Oprichnina (1564-72), a domestic policy of state repression and terror.
That was the tsar’s personal state. The rest of the country was called Zemschina and was where his loyal warriors, called Oprichniki, had unlimited power to terrorize the boyars.
The wave of terror reached unimaginable heights. Some areas were entirely depopulated. The defection of Ivan’s close friend Andrey Kurbsky further worsened his mental health.
Later years
When the Crimean khan burned down Moscow in 1571 Ivan broke down and spent his last days in a monastery pleading forgiveness for his sins.
Russia Under Ivan the Terrible
1533-1584
The process of centralizing power was completed under Ivan IV (the Terrible). He expanded Russia’s territory in great magnitude and caused the death of hundreds of thousands.
“Ivn the Terrible and His Son on November 16, 1581” by Ilya Repin (1885)
Background
Ivan was 3 years old when his father Vasily III died. For the next 14 years a vicious fight for power between boyar families resulted in 14 murders, including that of his mother Elena Glinskaya.
First tsar
In 1547 the first half of Ivan IV’s reign was promising. He rewrote laws and summoned the parliament (Zemsky Sobor) in 1549.
Ivan expanded his territory to the Caucasus by conquering Khazan and Astrakhan, which were under the rule of the Mongol khans.
Terror
After the death of his wife Ivan IV changed. He became extremely paranoid and vengeful and instituted the Oprichnina (1564-72), a domestic policy of state repression and terror.
That was the tsar’s personal state. The rest of the country was called Zemschina and was where his loyal warriors, called Oprichniki, had unlimited power to terrorize the boyars.
The wave of terror reached unimaginable heights. Some areas were entirely depopulated. The defection of Ivan’s close friend Andrey Kurbsky further worsened his mental health.
Later years
When the Crimean khan burned down Moscow in 1571 Ivan broke down and spent his last days in a monastery pleading forgiveness for his sins.
Ivan the Terrible