Ivan the Terrible: Notorious Bad Boy

A Pithy Chronicler

Feb 13, 20223 min read

Ivan the Terrible by Ilya Repin

Flash Points:

Grand Prince of Moscow (1533–84); Tsar of Russia (1547–84)
Tsar is a translation of Caesar because they believe themselves to be the inheritors of the empire through Byzantine Princess and Grand Princess of Moscow Zoe Paleologina (Sofia Palaiologina) Wife of Grand Prince Ivan III
Political football between noble families Shuisky (prince andrei was beaten to death by his jailer, but folks said he was torn apart by hungry hunting dogs) and Belskey which would create a hate and distrust for the aristocrats and lead to the Oprichnina later and his reputation as blood thirsty
Commissioned St. Basil’s Cathedral (allegedly blinded the architect, but no real evidence survives of this)
Revised the law code, the Sudebnik of 1550, which initiated a standing army, known as the streltsy. This army would help him in future military conquests.
Developed the Zemsky Sobor, a Russian parliament, along with the council of the nobles, known as the Chosen Council.
Regulated the Church more effectively with the Council of the Hundred Chapters, which regulated Church traditions and the hierarchy.
Established the Moscow Print Yard in 1553 and brought the first printing press to Russia.
Weakened the Boyars and changed the laws so that it would
War with the Tartars
Creation of the serf class
Latvia and estonia failed invasion
Andre Kurskii- best friend and betrayer
Attempted abdication-> absolute monarchy
Massacre of Novgorod (12,000-60,000) by drowning in Volkhov
Collapse of farming was a direct precursor to the Massacre of novgorod
Anastasia Romanovna- mercury poisoning
1564 blamed the boyars at the height of his popularity
Killing his son and daughter in law

Bibliography:

"Oprichnina". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
^ Walter Leitsch. "Russo-Polish Confrontation" in Taras Hunczak, ed. "Russian Imperialism". Rutgers University Press. 1974, p. 140
^ Oleg Gordievsky and Christopher Andrew (1999). KGB: The Inside Story of its intelligence operations from Lenin to Gorbachev (Russian language edition, Moscow, Centerpoligraph, ISBN 5-227-00437-4, p. 21)
^ Manaev, G. (2019-01-07). "The madness of 3 Russian tsars, and the truth behind it". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
^ R. Skrynnikov, Ivan Grosny, M., Science, 1975, pp. 93–96
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 123.
^ S.F. Platonov, Ivan the Terrible, trans. Joseph L. Wieczynski (Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press, 1986), 101–02.
^ Isabel de Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 364–65, 368–70.
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 107.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 176–78; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 112–13.
^ Isabel de Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible, 179–80
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 109–11, 140.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 182–83; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 112–13.
^ Henri Troyat, Ivan the Terrible, trans. E.P. Dutton (London: Phoenix Press, 2001), 129–30.
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 113.
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 143–45; S.F. Platonov, Ivan the Terrible, trans. Joseph L. Wieczynski (Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press, 1986), 130.
^ Isabel de Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible, p. 182
^ Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 113.
^ Isabel de Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible, p. 183
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 202–08, 231–32; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 130–34.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 242–50; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 147–52.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 255–60; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 155–56, 161–62.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 282; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 166–67.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 278–79; Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London: Pearson Education Limited, 2003), 162–67.
^ Robert O. Crummey, "Ivan IV: Reformer or Tyrant?" in Reinterpreting Russian History, ed. Daniel H. Kaiser and Gary Marker (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 162–63; S.F. Platonov, Ivan the Terrible, trans. Joseph L. Wieczynski (Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press, 1986), 114–19.
^ Isabel De Madariaga, Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia(London: Yale University Press, 2005), 368–70.
^ Robert O. Crummey, "Ivan IV: Reformer or Tyrant?" in Reinterpreting Russian History, ed. Daniel H. Kaiser and Gary Marker (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 162.

^ Quoted from: Alexander Yanov. The Origins of Autocracy: Ivan the Terrible in Russian History. University of California Press, 1981. ISBN9780520042827. p. 315.