Ivan the Terrible Story - Essay Example

 Ivan the Terrible Introduction The first person to assume the title of Tsar in Russia was Ivan Vasilyevich who was born in the year 1530 (Madariaga, 2005). The highlight of his rule, as is the highlight of many emperors of the previous ages, was conquest. He captured areas which were ruled but the Tartars and the vast frozen wasteland of Siberia. This in turn leads to his most significant contribution to Russian history since it turned Russia into a gigantic country by size and brought several nations under the Russian banner. Feared by his enemies as well as his own people, he was given the title of Ivan the Terrible which is now commonly taken to be a part of his name (Troyat, 2001). Early Life Ivan was born to Vasili the Third but his father did not see him grow up to be the man he would become since Ivan was orphaned in 1533 just when he was three years old. Since he was the heir to the monarchy of Russia he took the throne in ceremonial terms but it was his regents who ruled in his place. Ivan’s mother was the first regent but she too died before he gained the age of maturity and caretakers from the boyars group governed his land before he assumed complete power in 1544 (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). A lot of the analysis done on Ivan’s life points towards his early life and the conditions he was placed in as a young king. He felt neglected and alone in the world without any real friends and thought that the regents were insulting and mean towards him (Troyat, 2001). The psychological effects of being a powerless king must have affected him deeply since he displayed his hatred towards the Boyars in later life while as a child he was known to throw out small animals from the windows of the palace. His childhood was over once he assumed the throne with full responsibility (Madariaga, 2005). Early Rule Strangely enough, given the early history of his reign, he does not seem to deserve the title of terrible since soon after his ascent, he started a series of reforms which were for the betterment of Russian society. Although Peter the Great is the one who is given credit for modernizing and industrializing Russia, it was Ivan who created the greater Russia with reforms as well as conquest. The first step taken by Ivan was to update and revise the code of law so that old rules could be replaced by more modern ones (Madariaga, 2005). He also modified the despotic form of government with Council of Nobles which had some function and authority to act and recommend reforms to the king. He also defined the relationship of the church in Russia and by combining various sects he created a unified doctrine for the Christians in Russia. This act did not make him the head of the church or make the church subservient to the government; rather, it clarified the relationship between the church and the crown while unifying various elements of Russian Christian rituals (Wikipedia, 2006). In some way, it seems that Ivan was inspired by beauty since he gathered many artisans and architects for the development and creation for several projects around Russia. St. Basil’s Cathedral which often stands as a symbol of Russia was created under his reign to celebrate his victories and the expanding empire of Russia (Troyat, 2001). This expenditure and other spending which the crown conducted often placed a heavy burden on the treasury and both conquest and trade was used to foot the bill. Ivan developed the trade relations which Russia had with other countries in the world by opening sea ports in the White Sea. However, due to the uneven handling of Russian rulers in the past, traders were not motivated to land on these ports and continued trading with other Baltic countries which meant that the Russian empire would have to wait for several more years before sea trade could become possible (Wikipedia, 2006). Personal Life His personal life certainly shows signs of him being a terrible person. From a disturbed and abused child, Ivan grew into a disturbed man who was violent and often considered mad. He drank too much and too often and roamed about Moscow with a group of his courtiers where they beat up people or raped women. The victims were often disposed off by being burnt, buried or thrown to hungry bears while they were still alive. Although he had little personal need of money, he enjoyed robbing farmers (Troyat, 2001). At the same time, he was a voracious reader and had read hundreds of books on history, religion and theology which led to him being far more polished than other members of the court. Often he displayed a religious fervor and would ask for God’s forgiveness by doing penance in front of the icons. He would also fast for days and spend time in monasteries studying or repenting his sins. The polarity of his personality shows that he hated with a passion and loved with a passion as well (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). His married life was also good at the beginning when he fell in love with Anastasia Romanovna and her affect on him was also very positive since he did not engage in his cruel activities as much. He had six children with her but only two lived beyond infancy while she herself died after thirteen years of being married to Ivan. After her death, Ivan suspected foul play and to a certain extent that can be used as a point of reference from where Ivan became the terrible tyrant the world remembers him to be (Troyat, 2001). In terms of family life, after his first wife, he married only to fulfill his desires and egocentric nature. In 1561 he was married to Maria Temriukovna but did not treat her as he treated his first wife, after her death he turned to Martha Sobakin, but she only lived for two weeks after she was married. The fourth wife was Anna Koltovskaya whom Ivan sent away (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). The fifth marriage was with Anna Wassilchikura and the sixth was with Wassilissa Melentiewna. Wassilissa had a secret lover and once Ivan found out about it, the lover was impaled while she was sent away. The seventh wedding was with Maria Dolgurukaya whom Ivan drowned in the river while the eighth and wife was Maria Nagaya whom Ivan married in 1581. During the time his first wife was alive; Ivan was taken ill and was not expected to survive. When he thought the end was near, he called the nobles and the high families to his bed and asked them to swear an oath of allegiance to his infant son (BBC, 2006). The nobles were hesitant and most of them refused to do as the dying king commanded them to do and sadly for them, Ivan recovered and exacted his revenge for their treachery. The lesson learnt from this incident also affected his later rule since he decided that a strong government in the centre would be more important and the destruction of all enemies would be a requirement if he were to rule (Troyat, 2001). Later Rule The death of his beloved wife and the treachery of the nobles probably had a large effect on the mental health of Ivan as well since his behavior and actions afterwards show little coherence. He married several times after his wife but would divorce the wife sometimes only after a week of the marriage ceremony. He changed the laws of the land and restricted the movements of peasants creating a type of serfdom in Russia. Fearing for the safety of himself and his family, he created an elite force within the army he had established to act as his personal bodyguards and force of power. The Oprichnina served as murderers and looters for Ivan and assassinations of nobles became commonplace. They also gathered men to fight Ivan’s battles for empire building and wars on several fronts ensured that famine would be created in many areas of Russia (BBC, 2006). The list of murders, rapes and torture victims at the hands of Ivan and the Oprichnina is a very long one and entire cities were wasted at the Tsar’s whim. Dressed in black and riding black horses the Oprichnina could certainly inspire fear, but more than that they became the cruel force which led to Ivan being called the terrible. His instability can be demonstrated by his act of dismissing the Oprichnina in 1572 and ending the orgy of violence which he had started. He then abdicated the throne and gave it to a Tartar general while he himself went out to a country estate where he continued his studies and meditation. He exhibited his seriousness by paying regular homage to the new Tsar but after a year of this behavior, he dismissed the Tartar general and retook the crown for himself and began ruling as he had in the past (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). Ivan the Terrible is also known for killing his own son and heir and the events are reported as Ivan becoming angry with his son’s wife and beating her. She was pregnant at the time and as a result of the beating, miscarried the child. The son became angry and argued with his father during which Ivan hit him with his staff which wounded his son mortally (Wikipedia, 2006). The prince could not recover from the wound on his head and died a few days later while Ivan displayed his immense grief by repeatedly knocking his head against the coffin of his son. This incident has been made a part of culture and art by several artists who have depicted this incident in paintings of the time (Madariaga, 2005). With the murder of his son he was left without a suitable heir to the throne and the dynasty was finished. He himself died while he was playing chess in 1854 and the rule of Ivan the terrible was finished as he asked to be buried in a monk’s dress and to be rechristened as a monk (BBC, 2006). The kingdom was passed to his surviving son Feodor who was not equipped to handle the government of Russia which resulted in more civil war between the nobles of the time and the great families of Moscow (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). Conclusion Ivan the Terrible is certainly a fitting name for an individual who acted, worked and was as cruel as Ivan. At the same time, it has been reported that the word grozny in Russian is closer in meaning to fearsome and awe inspiring. However, given the list of his atrocities and the cruelty displayed by Ivan as a boy, youth and a man, it is clear that both fearsome and terrible are fitting tributes. While he reigned in Russia, fear and terror were common while noble families regardless of their alliances were under threat of his wrath. In fact, some families which he thought had slighted or abused him as a child were eliminated altogether along with their relatives, servants and connections. His plans for Russia and the unreasonable expansionist wars drained the economy since the farmers were afraid to cultivate land which might be destroyed by war (Perrie & Pavlov, 2003). Thousands deserted their homes to escape his terrible revenge and vast areas of fertile Russian soil were rendered useless. Famine, disease and death highlighted his rule and his own polarity of behavior meant that there could be no stability in Russia or the mind of the king. Overall, the first Tsar of Russia is a natural inspiration of Joseph Stalin who considered him to be a good ruler because he ruled with an iron fist and his early reforms were going to put Russia on the path to modernization (BBC, 2006). However, the end result of the rule of Ivan is judged by historians as a dark chapter simply because he was cruel to his own people as well as his friends. History has judged Ivan to be a tyrant and a man who was paranoid and cruel. Given all the evidence of his reign and the bloodshed which he carried out, it is clear that the judgment of history stands true. Word Count: 2,130 Works Cited BBC. “Ivan the Terrible” BBC.co.uk. 2005. British Broadcast Corporation. 22 May, 2006 Madariaga, I. Ivan the Terrible. Yale University Press, 2005. Perrie, M. & Pavlov, A. Ivan the Terrible. Longman, 2003. Troyat, H. Ivan the Terrible. Phoenix, 2001. Wikipedia. “Ivan the Terrible” Wikipedia.org. 2006. Wikipedia, the free enclyclopedia. 20 May, 2006 Read More