Ivan the Terrible Becomes First Czar of Russia
Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, was crowned the first czar of Russia on January 16, 1547, marking a pivotal moment in Russian history. Born on August 25, 1530, he ascended to the throne at a young age after the death of his mother, with the Russian nobility, or boyars, vying for control during his formative years. His coronation symbolized not only his authority but also the rising power of Muscovy. Throughout his reign, Ivan implemented significant reforms, enhancing state control over the Russian Orthodox Church and consolidating power in a diverse and expanding realm.
Ivan is known for military campaigns that resulted in territorial gains, notably the conquest of the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan, which opened the Volga River for navigation. However, his reign was also marked by brutality and paranoia, leading to the execution of thousands and the establishment of a repressive force known as the Oprichniki. His violent tendencies culminated in personal tragedies, including the killing of his own son. After his death on March 18, 1584, Russia entered a tumultuous period known as the Time of Troubles, which eventually concluded with the rise of the Romanov dynasty, inheriting Ivan's extensive conquests and centralized authority.
Ivan the Terrible Becomes First Czar of Russia
Ivan the Terrible Becomes First Czar of Russia
Ivan Vasilyevich, Grand Duke Ivan IV of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy, was crowned czar of all Russia on January 16, 1547. He was the first to hold that title. His reign was controversial and violent, earning him the name Ivan the Terrible. After his death, the Russian state nearly collapsed from years of misrule and abuse, but Ivan's territorial conquests and administrative reforms put Russia irrevocably on the path to empire, enabling it to become an important power in Europe, Asia, and, eventually, the world.
Ivan was born on August 25, 1530, in Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, Russia. He was the son of Basil III and grandson of Ivan III (known as Ivan the Great), grand dukes of Muscovy and heirs to the historic dynasty of Rurik, who centuries earlier had established himself as the first ruler over the peoples of northern Russia after years of Mongol domination. Ivan's father died when he was only three years old. On December 4, 1533, Ivan, a toddler, was crowned Grand Duke of Muscovy, although his mother served as the defacto ruler until she died in 1538. Afterward the Russian nobles, known as boyars, competed for control over young Ivan and the throne. With the support of loyal boyars and such influential figures as the metropolitan of Moscow, the local head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Ivan took the title of czar in January 1547 at the age of 16. It was an assertion not only of his own independence but of the growing power of Muscovy. Czar, or alternatively tsar, is derived from the word Caesar, which after the death of Julius Caesar became an honorific meaning emperor in the Roman Empire.
Shortly after his coronation Ivan began a series of reforms that included increasing the power of the state over the Russian Orthodox Church and bringing the sprawling domains of Muscovy under firmer central control. In the 1550s Ivan began a series of military campaigns in which he conquered important Mongol territory, including the khanate of Kazan and the khanate of Astrakhan, through which he gained control of the Volga River, the most important Russian waterway. He was less successful in trying to conquer the Baltic state of Livonia, which roughly comprises present-day Latvia and Estonia. The war ground on for decades, weakening the Russians to the point where Mongol raiders from the khanate of the Crimea were able to sack and burn Moscow itself. Ivan finally submitted to an armistice arranged by the pope in 1582, in which he surrendered all of his initial conquests.
Russia did manage to retain its possessions in the east, such as Kazan and Astrakhan, and then expanded them. A particularly important conquest was that of Siberia, the vast expanse of land that reaches across northern Asia. The conquest of Siberia would, in centuries to come, bring the Russians to the Pacific Ocean and across the Bering Strait into Alaska as well as down the Amur River valley into Manchuria.
Ivan's reign included many dark events. He was extremely paranoid and executed thousands of suspected traitors, particularly boyars. Ivan organized the Oprichniki, a sort of personal praetorian guard that enforced a rule of terror over Russia while he eliminated all opposition. His actions became so violent that it is likely Ivan was mentally ill during the later years of his reign. He killed his own son in a fit of rage and massacred thousands of people in the city of Novgorod to suppress a conspiracy that may have existed only in his mind.
Ivan died on March 18, 1584, in Moscow. His reign was followed by the Time of Troubles, which was marked by turmoil and was one of the worst periods in Russian history. It ended only with the accession of Michael Romanov (a grandnephew of Ivan's first wife) to the throne. That event marked the beginning of the Romanov dynasty, which would last until the 20th century. The Romanovs inherited Ivan's territorial conquests and centralization of state authority, which made them the rulers of what was to become one of history's most powerful empires.