Ivan the Terrible

Paper Summary:

The paper illustrates the terrors and unremitting hostility of Ivan IV and shows how Russia suffered greatly under his leadership. The paper discusses how, although Ivan started out with improvements for Russia in mind and certainly had the intelligence and political pull to accomplish great things, he allowed himself and his government to get dragged down in impossible battles. The paper shows how due to his mental state, Ivan ran his government in a formidable way and was considered fearsome by many of his subjects. The paper concludes that Ivan perpetuated the flawed system and created deep animosities that would cause more problems in the future.

From the Paper:

"The baby destined to be Ivan IV was born to Tsar Vasily III and his second wife, Elena Glinskaia. Vasily III was much older than Ivan's mother. By the time Ivan was born, he was desperate for a son to be the future tsar of Russia. Vasily's first wife, Solomonia, never produced a child of either sex. After years of marriage, Vasily pursued a controversial divorce and re-marriage. Vasily received permission for his new marriage from the Metropolitan Daniel in Russia, however, Vasily wanted assurance from a higher power and sought approval from the Greek Patriarch who may have inadvertently cursed the unborn Ivan. The Patriarch wrote to Vasily, "if you contract a second marriage, you will have a wicked son; your states will be prey to terror and tears; rivers of blood will flow; the heads of the mighty will fall; your cities will be devoured by flames.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Crummey, Robert O. The Formation of Muscovy: 1304-1613. London: Longman, 1991.
• De Madariaga, Isabel. Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia. New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2005.
• Pavlov, Andrei and Maureen Perrie. Ivan the Terrible: Profiles in Power. London:Pearson Longman, 2003.
• Platonov, S. F. Ivan the Terrible. Florida: Academic International Press,1978.
• Troyat, Henri. Ivan the Terrible. London: Phoenix Press, 2001.

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• Research Paper # 95406 : "Ivan the Terrible"

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