Russia is the country with the largest land area in the world and one of the major countries in the world. Like us in China, the ancient Russians have made extraordinary historical achievements, and their history is equally glorious. Among the thousands of industrious and courageous Russian people, many great historical figures have been born, and the next one to be introduced is one of them.
Thanks to his efforts, Russia, as a remote and backward country located in eastern Europe, successfully expanded eastward, the vast Siberia was conquered, and Russia became a great power in Europe and even in the world. He was Tsar Ivan IV of Russia.
Ivan was born into an imperial family, his father was king of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and his mother came from the Golden Horde founded by the Mongols in Asia. Ivan was the only son of his father, and according to legend, the Grand Duke of Moscow was only fifty years old and still childless, and ivan was born just when his subjects were no longer hopeful. Ivan was made Crown Prince at birth, and three years later his father died, and Ivan became the new king of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
(Photo 1: Portrait of Ivan the Terrible)
Ivan was later known as Ivan the Terrible, according to legend because Ivan was born at the time of lightning and thunder, but many people do not agree with this statement, they believe that Ivan has this title because of his later brutal personality. Because Ivan was so young when he ascended the throne, the subjects had to let Ivan's mother, Yelena, temporarily take his place. Yelena was very ambitious, and her sweeping style after coming to power made the nobles dissatisfied. The contradictions between her and the nobles became more and more acute.
Later, Yelena executed Ivan's two uncles, and the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Moscow became even more dissatisfied with her, and the contradictions between the two sides intensified. In 1538 A.D., the nobles plotted to poison Yelena, when Ivan was only eight years old. Probably because of the lack of parental love from an early age, coupled with the fact that he witnessed the cruelty of the political power struggle, Ivan behaved coldly, bloodthirstily, and cruelly from an early age. Unlike normal children, Ivan liked to see small animals tortured to death. Legend has it that as a teenager Ivan once let his dog bite one of his attendants alive.
After Yelena's death, her brother seized power and continued to assist Ivan. When Ivan was seventeen years old, his uncle was killed by civilians in the riots, and Ivan the Terrible began to officially enter the political arena. As soon as the young Ivan the Terrible came to power, he carried out drastic reforms of the country's politics, he tried his best to strengthen the absolute monarchy, improve the military management system, and he attacked the big aristocratic clique, which plunged the country's politics into turmoil, and the big nobles fiercely resisted, which once made Ivan the Terrible's reforms unable to continue.
(Picture 2: Ivan IV in the painting)
In 1564 AD, Ivan the Terrible, who was once again faced with the constraints of the nobility, left Moscow with his relatives, and the subjects were so shocked that he was soon caught up with him and asked him to return to continue ruling the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and Ivan the Terrible demanded that the archbishop of the country give him all the power and that no nobleman was allowed to interfere with his reforms. Faced with the panic that the country might lose its king, the archbishop had to answer him, and in this way Ivan the Terrible gained supreme power in his country.
Later, Ivan the Terrible divided the country into two parts. One is the Special Jurisdiction, which is basically the main core territory of the country, under the jurisdiction of the king, that is, Ivan the Terrible himself. The other was the ordinary district, located on a remote frontier far from the capital, ruled by various great nobles.
In addition, Ivan the Terrible killed restless or potentially disobedient nobles, and according to historical records, Ivan the Terrible killed more than 4,000 nobles in four years, and the country's aristocratic class was almost purged by him.
Ever since Ivan the Terrible ascended the throne at the age of seventeen, with the assistance of several major ministers, he began to actively expand outward. In the first five years, he conquered the Kazan Khanate and expanded a vast territory to the east. This achievement was of great significance to the Russian Empire.
Since then, the obstacle to the eastward expansion of the Russian Empire has ceased to exist, after which Russia has been able to successfully occupy the vast siberian region. Not only that, but the strength of the Russian Empire thus increased dramatically, becoming a powerful ancient country in the north.
(Fig. 3: Ivan the Terrible sculpture)
Later, the then powerful Ottoman Empire invaded Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, which spanned the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, attempted to defeat the Russian Empire and rule the whole of Eastern Europe. Under the plot of Ivan the Terrible, the Russian army taught the Ottoman army a harsh lesson on the battlefield and crushed the enemy's plot. Not only that, but in 1556 AD, Ivan the Terrible conquered the ancient Athro-Khan Empire, and under his leadership, the Russian army frightened its opponents on the battlefield.
In 1579 AD, the Siberian Khanate in northern Asia also submitted to Ivan the Terrible. Of course, Ivan the Terrible did not win every battle on the battlefield, and the war for the mouth of the Baltic Sea in Europe made him suffer a lot. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, he spent twenty-five years conquering the place, but it ended in failure.
The historical Ivan the Terrible was a highly educated Tsar who loved to read and was widely involved, and it is said that ivan the Terrible in his later years was more knowledgeable than the royal scholars in the Russian court. In addition, Ivan was an excellent orator, and his speeches were passionate and infectious. Ivan, as a cultural man, valued the development of Russian culture, and under his impetus, Chinese printing was spread in Russia.
(Figure 4: Ivan IV in his later years)
In addition, Ivan the Terrible was a vicious and brutal Tsar. His brutality was evident not only in his attitude towards the aristocracy, but also in his life. According to legend, Ivan the Terrible had few heirs, he only had a healthy prince, and the other sons were born stupid, so this only son naturally became Prince Ivan.
Ivan the Terrible attached great importance to this prince and placed high hopes on him. It is in this context that you dare to believe that ivan the terrible prince killed him with his own hands in history? What did Prince Ivan do to make Ivan the Terrible kill him?
(Picture 5: Ivan the Terrible after killing his son)
One day, Prince Ivan's wife was discovered by Ivan the Terrible because her dress did not conform to the norms, and because of this small matter, Ivan the Terrible inexplicably began to be angry, and he reprimanded and scolded the Princess. At this time, the crown princess was pregnant, and was beaten by Ivan the Terrible and had been miscarried, and when Prince Ivan came to see it, he was ready to pull Ivan the Terrible apart, and Ivan the Terrible angrily hit him on the head with his scepter, and within a few clicks Prince Ivan was killed by him. The story was widely circulated in Russian folklore, so the Russians regarded Ivan IV as a symbol of "terror".
Russian historians have mixed opinions of Ivan IV, some people think that he single-handedly created the prosperity of Russia, and some people think that he is mentally ill, which is why he is so cruel and ruthless. In fact, everyone has his strengths and weaknesses, but I think Ivan the Terrible has a lot of personality, and a historical figure with a distinct personality like him is more realistic. We should look at history with a more rational and objective attitude, and should not mix our own moral value standards.