Ivan IV the Terrible is one of the brightest and most controversial personalities in Russian history. His reign was marked by a significant increase in Russian lands, the construction of new cities, and important reforms. However, legends still circulate about the tsar's cruelty, although in Europe at that time there were many rulers who surpassed him both in the number of victims and in the bloodiness of executions.
1. Origin
Ivan the Terrible's parents are Prince Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya. On his father's side, he belonged to the Rurik dynasty. His mother was also of high birth, she was the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Vasily Glinsky. The ancestor of the Glinsky dynasty is considered to be the grandson of Khan Mamai himself - Lex. He moved to the principality of Lithuania and changed his faith to Christianity under the then ruler Vitovt. Among the ancestors of Grozny were also the prince of Serbia Stefan Yakshich and the Byzantine princess Sophia Palaeologus.
2. Difficult childhood
Ivan IV became tsar when he was three years old, after the death of his father Vasily III. In fact, he began to rule much later, after his majority. In childhood, his mother Elena Glinskaya and the Council of Boyars made decisions for him. The guardians quickly quarreled, and little Ivan grew up in an atmosphere of conspiracies, which affected his mental health and left an imprint on his character.
3. First king
Ivan the Terrible was the first Russian tsar. He was crowned the state throne in 1547 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Before that, the rulers in Russia were not tsars, but grand dukes.
4. Expansion of Russia
During the years of the reign of Ivan IV, the area of Russian lands increased at least twice. So, the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates, Bashkiria, Udmurtia, Kabarda, began to develop the Perm Territory and Western Siberia.
5. First regular army
In 1550 Ivan the Terrible issued an order on the establishment of an army of archers. It consisted of six regiments and was armed with firearms. The state paid salaries to the soldiers, allocated land and funds for the management of the economy.
6. Wives
Historians are still arguing about the number of wives of Ivan the Terrible. According to one version, he was married six times, and according to another - eight. At the age of 16, Ivan IV intended to marry the English Queen Elizabeth I. However, she refused his offer.
7. Children
Grozny had eight children from three different wives. The first wife of the tsar was Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva, who was his fifth aunt. She gave birth to six children to Grozny, but only two survived: Ivan and Fyodor. Three daughters died in infancy, and the son drowned. The second wife Maria Temryukovna Kucheny gave birth to his son, but he also died at the age of two months. The last wife Maria Nagaya gave Grozny a son.
8. Illness
In old age, Grozny suffered from arthritis. Due to an illness in the last years of his life, he was carried on a stretcher.
9. The last of the Rurik
Ivan IV ruled Russia for 50 years. With his death, the Rurik clan was interrupted, tk. the only heir to the throne was a mentally handicapped person.
