Portrait of Ivan IV, the first tsar of Russia, by Viktor Vasnetsov
Hello Watson readers and welcome back for the winter semester! We’re opening this semester’s #TBT by heading to Russia!
When thinking about impressive figures in Russian history, Ivan the Terrible is a name that graces many minds if not for his influence over Russia, then for his amusing epithet! In 1547, Ivan the Terrible became the first Tsar of Russia.
But, for context, let’s go back in time. The Russians – or the Rus – went through many political changes in their early history. They went from being consolidated as the Christian Kievan Rus under Vladimir in the late tenth century, to being subordinate under the Mongol’s Golden Horde in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, to the establishment of Muscovy with its Grand Princes in the fifteenth century. There was a lot of succession problems throughout and the influence of the Mongols, Lithuania, and Byzantium was strong. The Grand Princes had overseen an expansion in territory, the creation of military establishments, economic growth, and centralized political organization in Muscovy.
In 1533, Vasily III – Ivan’s father – died, when Ivan was three years old. What followed was a whirlwind of succession questions which led to many individuals dying during the regency of Ivan’s mother Elena and the boyar rule.
Once Ivan was old enough, he took the throne for himself on 16 January 1547 and was crowned as Grand Prince and Tsar of all Rus. He attempted – and succeeded – at creating an autocracy. He wanted to be seen as the dominant authority, where previously there were princes responsible for their independent appanages and wished for undisputed acceptance of his heir as ruler. This was a significant change because it showed that there was a wish and a need for political stability that grew from this decision.
From this point onward, the Rus were led by a Tsar until the death of Nicholas II.