The personality of Tsar Ivan the Terrible still remains one of the most mysterious in Russian history. The motives of his political and everyday actions are not entirely clear even to sophisticated researchers. One of the bloody deeds attributed to the king is the murder of his own son. What was the reason for this atrocity, which Ivan the Terrible himself later greatly regretted?
Facts that have been transmitted for several centuries by different historians indicate that on July 3, 1583, in the royal chambers, Ivan the Terrible, being in a fit of anger, struck Tsarevich Ivan with a staff, hitting the temple. The tsarevich died from his injury. It is believed that the king was very saddened by what he had done and for a long time repented of the murder of his eldest son. Since then, researchers have put forward several versions of the events described, which illuminate the act of the Russian sovereign in different ways.
One of the most common versions of the murder is associated with politics. There is evidence that the prince openly expressed his disagreement with the military policy of his father; in particular, we are talking about the Livonian War. The war ended not very well for Russia. Several strategically important points were lost. It is possible that the son of Ivan the Terrible, in a fit of indignation, sharply spoke out not in favor of the concluded agreement, which overflowed the tsar's cup of patience and became the cause of anger, which had tragic consequences.
Another version has nothing to do with foreign policy, but is associated with family troubles. It was rumored that one morning the king met his son's pregnant wife, Helen, in the mansion. Ivan the Terrible was allegedly angered by the appearance of Elena, who did not have a belt with her. Walking in such an obscene form was obscene in those days, because the hot-tempered king in anger gave his daughter-in-law a slap in the face, from which she lost her balance and fell. The result of this domestic violence was a miscarriage. The enraged prince stood up for the honor of his wife, for which he was punished with the fatal blow of the staff.
Another "family" version suggests that the loving Ivan the Terrible showed his son's wife clear signs of attention, almost persuading her to cohabitation. Elena did not tolerate such an insulting attitude towards herself and told her husband about the unattractive behavior of the king. An angry prince, who was not inferior to his father in his hot temper, could immediately present justified claims to Ivan the Terrible. The love scandal, according to some historians, just led to a sad outcome. The prince was gone, and Elena, who had fallen out of favor, was imprisoned in a monastery.
One of the most recent versions, connected with the relationship between Ivan and his son, completely refutes the very fact of the murder. At the same time, scientists refer to a certain unnamed monk who argued that the events described did not take place in reality. The monk believed that the disinformation discrediting the tsar was launched by ill-wishers who sought to denigrate Ivan the Terrible in front of the Poles. According to this version, the son of Grozny died a natural death two years before the official generally accepted date. Each of the versions has the right to exist, but it is apparently no longer possible to reliably confirm or refute them today.
