On today's post we turn our eyes again to the Russian monarchy. This tsar, a contemporary fellow king to others as Catherine de' Medici and her sons in France, Elizabeth Tudor in England, Phillip of Habsburg in Spain, is one of the most infamous of the House of Romanov. His name is Ivan and he is known for being such a "terrible" sovereign in terms of personality and as politician. However, it is our intention to question how terrible was he as person and as a monarch, so we hope to at least present a discussion to better enlight his historical figure.
Ivan IV was born Ivan Vasilyevich in 1530 as the first of two children of Basil III and Elena Glinskaya. Not much is known about his childhood in matters of education, but his early years were not the happiest one for someone of his position. Ivan was only three when his father died and ascended to the throne as Ivan IV. After a struggle against his uncle, his mother Elena became regent for four years before her own death, which is said to have been caused by poison.
Ivan IV was born Ivan Vasilyevich in 1530 as the first of two children of Basil III and Elena Glinskaya. Not much is known about his childhood in matters of education, but his early years were not the happiest one for someone of his position. Ivan was only three when his father died and ascended to the throne as Ivan IV. After a struggle against his uncle, his mother Elena became regent for four years before her own death, which is said to have been caused by poison.
"Once Basil died the boyars took over Russia, denying Ivan's right to the throne. Ivan's mother then with other trusted boyars took over the ruling party. Elena was able to successfully rule Russia for four years, until she died suddenly in 1538, apparently from poisoning, leaving eight-year-old Ivan an orphan."
This would prove to have dangerous consequences in Ivan when shaping the young tsar's character:
It did surprise us to see a side of Ivan that few propose to discuss it. A man fond of arts, Ivan not only was a great supporter of them but was, apparently a poet himself. Also, "his Orthodox liturgical hymn, Stichiron No. 1 in Honor of St Peter, and fragments of his letters were put into music by Soviet composer Rodion Shchedrin."
In terms of diplomacy, Ivan had a good relationship with England, with Anglo-Russian relations being traced to the reign of King Edward VI, around 1551,
Looking back to the domestic affairs, it is said that his temper worsened after the death of his first wife, the first tsarina Anastasia. His discontent and grief were shown in public, it is said, when he hit his head. It is apparently from that moment onwards that he begins to be the terrible monarch he would later be remembered. For
The murder of his son and heir after an argument he had with his daughter-in-law, in which resulted a miscarriage that made the prince discuss with Ivan, certainly is not excusable for the eyes of our days and those of theirs. Yet, it does not compete to us to have it as a single subject to explore Ivan's reign as Russia's sovereign. In fact, the websites here consulted were mostly concerned about drawing out his policies, though some of which produced judgement of value that we hope to avoid by writing about this monarch regardless of our opinion about him.
Therefore, to end it, we can tell that Ivan's heritance to Russia after he died in March 18 1554 in consequence of a heart attack, was that he not only "altered Russia's governmental structure", but he established "the chracter of modern Russian political organisation".
"Ivan's brutal behavior later on in life is testimony to his never having forgotten nor forgiven the childhood indignities he had suffered. The boyars would only pay attention to him when his presence was required at a ceremony. As the rivalry in the Palace for the power of Russia escalated into a bloody feud, Ivan witnessed horrible things. Living in poverty he watched and heard murders, beatings, and verbal and physicial abuse regularly. The boyars alternately neglected or molested him; Ivan and his deaf-mute brother Yuri often went about hungry and threadbare. Incapable to strike at his tormentors, Ivan took out his terrible frustrations on defenseless animals."It would not be until 1543 that Ivan responded the ill treatments to him and his brother directed by violence. According to the next paragraph,
"On December 29, 1543 Ivan surprised his boyars by calling them to a meeting. He condemned them for their neglect of him and the nation, and denounced them for their misconduct. Prince Andrew Shuiksy, the leader of the boyars was thrown to a pack of hungry hunting dogs as an example to the others. After this, the boyars conceded that their rule had ended and that Ivan had complete power. [...] Ivan soon married Anastasia Romanova-Zakharyna-Yurueva. Anastasia bore him six children of whom only two survived infancy."We will speak briefly of this marriage and it's offspring in the next paragraphs. For now, however, we must understand how significant was when Ivan finally managed to hold power for himself, despite being contested that he did so after he practiced the idea of divine right. A first step to this can be observed in his own coronation, when he took the title of "Tsar" instead of Grand Prince, as we can see in the following excerpt:
"On 16 January 1547, at age sixteen, Ivan was crowned with Monomakh's Cap at the Cathedral of the Dormition. He was the first to be crowned as 'Tsar of All The Russias', hence claiming the ancestry of Kievan Rus. Prior to that, rulers of Muscovy were crowned as Grand Princes, although Ivan III the Great, his grandfather, styled himself 'tsar' in his correspondence. Two weeks after his coronation, Ivan married his first wife Anastasia Romanovna [...] who became the first Russian tsaritsa."There was a symbolic meaning before the self entitlement as Tsar of all the Russias. Apparently,
"The new title symbolized an assumption of powers equivalent and parallel to those held by former Byzantine Emperor and the Tatar Khan, both known in Russia sources as Tsar. The political effect was to elevate Ivan's position. The new title not only secured the throne, but it also granted Ivan a new dimension of power, one intimately tied to religion. He was now a "divine" leader appointed to enact God's will, as 'chuch texts described Old Testament kings as 'Tsars' and Christ as the Heavenly Tsar'. The newly appointed title was then passed on from generation to generation [...]."From that moment on, a government was formed as the council was appointed by the tsar. Despite the principle of divine representative in earth, Ivan did not rule exactly alone. He is "believed to have governed with the aid of a talented group of advisers [...]." What can be surprising for many is that Ivan was an effective ruler, at least in the first half of his reign. He did implant important measures for Russia as we will see next. One of which was the law code, which he not only revised but also reformed.
"In 1550, Ivan announced a reformed code of laws and a new system for justice, the Sudebnik. Criminal acts now were clearly defined, and punishments were prescribed for each. In addition, judges who were appointed by Moscow, would share their benches with representatives elected by local populations, in an effort to curb the practice of corrupt judges that sold justice to those who could afford it. Now magistrates would, at least in theory, enforce the laws equally, without discrimination against persons of low status."Ivan, aside of having implanted local police officers in order to prevent crimes, established
"a standing army (the streltsy), [...] the Zemsky Sobor (the first Russian parliament of the feudal Estates type) and the council of the nobles [...], and confirmed the position of the Church with the Council of the Hundred Chapters [...] which unified the rituals and ecclesiastical regulations of the whole country. He introduced local self-government to rural regions, mainly in the northeast of Russia, populated by the state peasantry."In 1553, the first printing press reached Russia, being introduced upon Ivan's orders. It would not last, however, after a few religious books were published for it angered the conservative writers who did not see this "improvement" with good eyes. Though not doing nothing in favour of the printing press, Ivan IV apparently held books written by Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets, the first Russian printers, who were forced to seek exile in Lithuania to avoid prosecution.
It did surprise us to see a side of Ivan that few propose to discuss it. A man fond of arts, Ivan not only was a great supporter of them but was, apparently a poet himself. Also, "his Orthodox liturgical hymn, Stichiron No. 1 in Honor of St Peter, and fragments of his letters were put into music by Soviet composer Rodion Shchedrin."
In terms of diplomacy, Ivan had a good relationship with England, with Anglo-Russian relations being traced to the reign of King Edward VI, around 1551,
"when the Muscovy Company was formed by Richard Chancellot, Sebastian Cabot, Sir Hugh Willoughby and several London merchants. [...] In 1553, Richard Chancellor sailed to the White Sea and continued overland to Moscow, where he visited Ivan's court. Ivan opened up the White Sea and the port of Arkhangelsk to the Company and granted the Company privilege of trading throughout his reign without paying the standard customs fees. Muscovy Company retained the monopoly in Russo-English trade until 1698."During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, relations continued, though of one part it was focused to commerce, and the other, military alliance. By then, Ivan was facing problems concerning military and political issues. He also engaged with other Orthodox leaders.
"In response to a letter of Patriach Joachim of Alexandria asking the Tsar for financial assistance for the Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, which had suffered from the Turks, Ivan IV sent in 1558 a delegation to Egypt Evalet [...]"In terms of religion, the tsar a religious, pious man which did not difer to his contemporaries as King Edward VI of England or Queen Catherine de' Médici in France years later. He used of burning and other sadistic methods to execute those who had different religious concepts of his. Those were the correspondent of the "torments of Hell, consistent with Ivan's view of being God's representative on Earth with a sacred right and duty to punish, [...] inspired by the model of Archangel Michael with the idea of divine punishment."
Looking back to the domestic affairs, it is said that his temper worsened after the death of his first wife, the first tsarina Anastasia. His discontent and grief were shown in public, it is said, when he hit his head. It is apparently from that moment onwards that he begins to be the terrible monarch he would later be remembered. For
"the first wave of persecutions targeted primarily the princely clans of Russia, notably the influential families of Suzdal. Ivan executed, exiled or forcibly tonsured prominent members of the boyar clans on questionable accusations of conspiracy. [...] In 1566 Ivan extended the oprichnina to eight central districts. Of the 12,000 nobles there, 570 became oprichniks, the rest were expelled."It is suggested that the serfdom system that would mark Russia throughout the next centuries began in his reign. A better explanation is seen below:
"The country's vast lower class, the peasants, also saw their lot worsened during Ivan's reign. Much of the land turned over to the military servicemen had been state land worked by free peasants. The system gradually turned many peasants into serfs, bound to the land they tilled. In 1581 Ivan even issued an edict forbidding some peasants on service lands from moving."As complicated it is to make a judgement of this act, it must be remembered that peasants who did not work were unseen with bad eyes during the 16th century. Even in England of the 17th century, Lord Cromwell would send to execution thousands of men who were "merely vagabonds". And much less trustable is to divide the Tsar's reign according to the perceptions of what was good or bad. Putting aside his personal character and what was the cause of the problems in his personal life that certainly led to his misconduct which turned Ivan into a dubious historical character, we have only brought facts of his reign in days that were burned by religious differences as a result of the Protestant Reformation.
The murder of his son and heir after an argument he had with his daughter-in-law, in which resulted a miscarriage that made the prince discuss with Ivan, certainly is not excusable for the eyes of our days and those of theirs. Yet, it does not compete to us to have it as a single subject to explore Ivan's reign as Russia's sovereign. In fact, the websites here consulted were mostly concerned about drawing out his policies, though some of which produced judgement of value that we hope to avoid by writing about this monarch regardless of our opinion about him.
Therefore, to end it, we can tell that Ivan's heritance to Russia after he died in March 18 1554 in consequence of a heart attack, was that he not only "altered Russia's governmental structure", but he established "the chracter of modern Russian political organisation".
"Ivan's creation of the Oprichnina, answerable only to him, not only afforded him personal protection but curtailed the traditional powers and rights of the boyars. Henceforth, Tsarist autocracy and despotism would lie at the heart of the Russia state. Ivan bypassed the Mestnichestvosystem and offered positions of power to his supporters among the minor gentry. The Empire's local administration combined both locally and centrally appointed officials; the system proved durable and practical, and sufficiently flexible to tolerate later modification."A curiosity about Ivan is that in 1963, when the Soviets found the graves of Ivan and his sons,
"chemical and structual analysis of his remains disproved earlier suggestions that Ivan suffered from syphilis, or that he was posioned by arsenic or strangled. At the time of his death he was 178 cm [...] and weighed 85-90 kg. His body was rather asymmetrical and had a large amount of osteophytes uncharacteristic of his age; it also contained excessive concentration of mercury. Researchers concluded that while Ivan was athletically built in his youth, in his last years he had developed various bone diseases and could barely move. They attributed the high mercury content in his body to the use of ointments for joints healing."Ivan IV was also much compared to the dictator Stalin and would be studied with suspicious eyes until nowadays. He is too, like Henry VIII of England, remembered for depousing more than three wives, managing to make seven consorts, though some of these marriages are disputed. Whatever the case, Ivan IV was succeeded by his second son, Feodor I.
Bibliography:
-http://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/ivan-terrible.htm
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible
-https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-the-Terrible
-http://madmonarchs.guusbeltman.nl/madmonarchs/ivan4/ivan4_bio.htm
-https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-8-Wives-of-Ivan-The-Terrible
-http://historycooperative.org/paranoid-proactive-story-ivan-terrible/
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