THE TERRIBLE FIRST TSAR IVAN

Was Ivan really ‘terrible’? The Russian word ‘grozny’, which is usually translated into English as ‘terrible’, did not originally have the meaning of ‘cruel and sadistic’ that it has subsequently acquired: rather, it meant something like ‘awe-inspiring’, ‘dread’, or ‘formidable’, and generally had positive rather than negative connotations. But this does not necessarily mean that Ivan’s behaviour was not ‘terrible’ in its present-day sense…

IVAN’S CHILDHOOD

Ivan was born in 1530, the elder of two sons of Grand Prince Vasily III of Muscovy (the name by which Russia was known to foreigners at the time). His father died in 1533, and the three-year-old boy succeeded him on the throne as Ivan IV. Muscovy was then a ‘grand principality’ that had expanded its territory over the previous century by annexing neighbouring Russian principalities. All of these lands, including Muscovy, had been under Tatar (Mongol) domination since the middle of the 13th century, but by the end of the 15th century Muscovy had become an independent realm.

After the death of Vasily III his widow, Elena Glinskaya, acted as regent for her small son. Elena died in 1538, and her death was followed by a period of intense conflicts at court for influence over the young Ivan. Various clans of boyars (the grand prince’s aristocratic counsellors) clashed in often bloody rivalry. Ivan himself was very embittered about his childhood powerlessness. He later complained that he and his younger brother had been inadequately fed and clothed, and that one of the courtiers had dared to lounge in the royal apartments “leaning with his elbows on our father’s bed” and ignoring the two little princes who were playing nearby. Ivan’s resentment of the behaviour of the boyars during his minority may have influenced his attitude towards them later in his life.

Ivan’s alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the boyars in his