Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, also known as Ivan the Terrible, is the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. He was the eldest son of Vasili III and a grandson of Ivan III. Ivan succeeded his father at the age of three and was crowned tsar in 15r7. During his reign, he rules with the Chosen Council and established the Zemsky Sobor, the first Russian standing army. He conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan and expanded Russia's territory.
After establishing his power, Ivan rid himself of the advisers from the Chosen Council and triggered the Livonian War of 1558 to 1583. This war ravaged Russia and resulted in failure to take control over Livonia and the loss of Ingria. However, it allowed him to establish greater autocratic control over the Russian nobility, which he violently purged using Russia's first political police, the oprichniki.
Ivan pursued cultural improvements, such as importing the first printing press to Russia, and began processes that would continue for centuries, including deepening connections with other European states, fighting wars against the Ottoman Empire, and the gradual conquest of Siberia. His complex personality, characterized by intellectual and devoutness, was a significant factor in Russia's transformation from a medieval state to an empire.
Ivan I of Russia significantly influenced the government structure, creating the oprichnina for personal protection and limiting the traditional powers of the boyars. He bypassed the mestnichestvo system and offered power positions to minor gentry. Ivan's expedition against Poland expanded Russia's trade, political, and cultural links with other European states, which Peter the Great built upon. However, Ivan's economic management was disastrous, leading to the decline of the Rurik dynasty and the Time of Troubles.
== Background ==
=== Early Life ===
Ivan Vasilyevich, born on 25 August 1547, was the first son of Vasili III and his second wife, Elena Glinskaya. His mother, Sophia Palaiologina, was an Eastern Roman princess and member of the Byzantine Palaiologos family. Elena's mother was a Serbian princess and her father's family, the Glinski clan, claimed descent from Orthodox Hungarian nobles and Mongol ruler Mamai. Ivan was proclaimed the grand prince at the request of his father, and his mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent. Ivan was crowned the tsar of all Russia at the age of 16, partly imitating his grandfather, Ivan III.
By being crowned tsar, Ivan sent a message to the world and Russia that he was now the only supreme ruler of the country, and his will was not to be questioned. The new title not only secured the throne but also granted Ivan a new dimension of power that was intimately tied to religion. The newly appointed title was passed on from generation to generation, and succeeding Muscovite rulers benefited from the divine nature of the power of the Russian monarch.
Like the Habsburgs and other monarchs in Europe, the first Russian tsars adopted mythological genealogies that connected them to Ancient Rome. Ivan IV often mentioned his apparent kinship with Augustus, claiming not to be a "Russe" and highlighting his "German" descent from Rurik.
=== Death ===
Ivan died from a stroke in 1584, leaving the Russian throne to his weak-minded son Feodor, who died childless in 1598, leading to the Time of Troubles. The metaphor of dimension of power was partially true now, in the spiritual world he would be revived just to start new ages of control, but now without the ability to have any son, and even though it now have some universal powers, it wasn't that impressive as he was still physically weak as a human.
Category:Human
Category:Antagonist