Ivan IV or Ivan the Terrible, 1530–84, grand duke of Moscow (1533–84), the first Russian ruler to assume formally the title of czar.

Early Reign

Ivan succeeded his father Vasily III Vasily III (Vasily Ivanovich) (vəsē`lyē ēvä`nəvĭch), 1479–1533, grand duke of Moscow (1505–33).
..... Click the link for more information. , who died in 1533, under the regency of his mother. When she died (1538), the regency alternated among several feuding boyar families (see boyars boyars (bōyärz`), upper nobility in Russia from the 10th through the 17th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Boyar rule ended only in 1546, when Ivan announced his intention of becoming czar. He was crowned in 1547. As czar, Ivan attempted to establish czarist autocracy at the expense of boyar power. In the early years of his reign, he reduced the arbitrary powers of the boyar provincial governors, transferring their functions to locally elected officials. The former boyars' council was replaced by a "chosen council" consisting of members who owed their status to the czar.

In 1566, Ivan summoned what was probably the first general council of the realm (Zemsky Sobor), composed of representatives of different social ranks, including merchants and lower nobility. After reorganizing the army, Ivan conquered Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556), thereby inaugurating Russia's eastward expansion. The conquest of Siberia by the Cossack Yermak Yermak or Ermak (both: yĕrmäk`), d.
..... Click the link for more information. took place late in his reign (1581–83). Ivan also began trade with England via the White Sea in the mid-1550s. To improve his access to the Baltic Sea, he undertook (1558) a campaign against Livonia. In the resulting war with Poland and Sweden, he was at first successful but was later defeated by Stephen báthory Stephen Báthory (bä`tôrĭ), Pol.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of Poland and Lithuania. The peace treaties (1582, 1583) forced the czar to renounce his territorial gains and cede additional territory to Sweden.

Later Reign

In his later years, Ivan's character, always stern, grew tyrannical. Apart from the reverses of the war, the change has been attributed to humiliations at the hands of the boyars during his childhood; a serious illness (1553) and resistance at that time to his efforts to secure the succession of his infant son; the death of his wife, Anastasia Romanov (1560), whom historians credit with exercising a moderating influence; and the defection to Poland of his favorite, Prince Andrew Kurbsky (1564). Suspecting conspiracies everywhere, he acted ruthlessly to consolidate his power. In 1565 he set aside an extensive personal domain, the oprichnina, under his direct control. He established a special corps (oprichniki), responsible to him alone, to whom he granted part of this domain at will. With the help of this corps, he diminished the political influence of the boyars and forcibly confiscated their lands in a reign of terror. Many boyars were executed or exiled.

Ivan formally abolished the oprichnina in 1572, although in effect it continued until 1575. Fits of rage alternated with periods of repentance and prayer; in one of his rages he killed (1581) his son and heir, Ivan. Although the exact number of his wives is uncertain, Ivan probably married seven times, ridding himself of unwanted wives by forcing them to take the veil or arranging for their murder. Despite his cruelty, he was a man of intelligence and learning. Printing was introduced into Russia during his reign. Two sons, Feodor I Feodor I (Feodor Ivanovich) (fyô`dər, ēvä`nəvĭch)
..... Click the link for more information. and Dmitri Dmitri (dəmē`trē) or Demetrius
..... Click the link for more information. , survived the czar, but after his death his favorite, Boris Godunov Godunov, Boris (bərēs` gədnôf`), c.
..... Click the link for more information. , gained power.

Bibliography

See biographies by C. Francis (1981), B. Bobrick (1987), T. Butson (1987), and H. Troyat (1988); study by M. Perrie (1987).

Ivan IV

Russian Ivan Vasilyevich known as Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV, icon, late 16th century; in the National Museum, Copenhagen.

(credit: Courtesy of the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen)

(born Aug. 25, 1530, Kolomenskoye, near Moscow—died March 18, 1584, Moscow) Grand prince of Moscow (1533–84) and first tsar of Russia (1547–84). Crowned tsar in 1547 after a long regency (1533–46), he embarked on wide-ranging reforms, including a centralized administration, church councils that systematized the church's affairs, and the first national assembly (1549). He also instituted reforms to limit the powers of the boyars. After conquering Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556), he engaged in an unsuccessful war to control Livonia, fighting against Sweden and Poland (1558–83). After the defeat and the suspected treason of several Russian boyars, Ivan formed an oprichnina, a territory separate from the rest of the state and under his personal control. With a large bodyguard, he withdrew into his own entourage and left Russia's management to others. At the same time, he instituted a reign of terror, executing thousands of boyars and ravaging the city of Novgorod. During the 1570s he married five wives in nine years, and, in a fit of rage, he murdered his son Ivan, his only viable heir, in 1581.

Ivan IV

known as Ivan the Terrible. 1530--84, grand duke of Muscovy (1533--47) and first tsar of Russia (1547--84). He conquered Kazan (1552), Astrakhan (1556), and Siberia (1581), but was defeated by Poland in the Livonian War (1558--82) after which his rule became increasingly oppressive