Abstract
The image of the "Terrible Tsar" has resonated profoundly in both popular historical imagination and the hearts of the Russian people for hundreds of years. This paper examines how Andrei Pavlov and Maureen Perrie reexamine the sadist tsar's rule under equitable microscope, finding a powerful leader whose religious and personal beliefs birthed a powerful Russian led by a dangerous Renaissance prince. It looks at how they present Ivan as a leader obsessed with his unlimited rule, infuriated by his power struggles and powerfully devout to a stately religion and how he also achieved a system of autocratic rule yet previously not witnessed in Russia.

From the Paper
"As he tended to greatness that might serve to further cultivate his own crown, he denied those less glorified even the hope of upward mobility, not only socially, but also politically, and geographically. In 1553, his abrupt change from expansion and focus on the building of the nation came at the same time as his near-fatal illness; historians traditionally associate his fear of death and illness to his approach to life and the manner in which he led his territory. This socio-interpersonal change was made greater by the death of his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, whom the ruler suspected to have been poisoned by the boyars in hopes of putting his cousin Vladimir on the throne."

Tags:boyars, oprichnina, wealth, religion, sadistic