Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV
Tsar of Russia
Reign	16 January 1547 – 28 March 1584 Except in 1575-76 when Ivan let Simeon Bekbulatovich be Tsar instead, but Ivan was still in charge.
Coronation	16 January 1547
Predecessor	Monarchy created
Successor	Feodor I
Grand Prince of Moscow
Reign	3 December 1533 – 16 January 1547
Predecessor	Vasili III
Successor	Himself as Tsar of Russia
Born	25 August 1530 Kolomenskoye, Grand Duchy of Moscow (now Russia)
Died	28 March 1584 (aged 53) Moscow, Russia
Wives	See list Anastasia Romanovna Maria Temryukovna Marfa Sobakina Anna Koltovskaya Anna Vasilchikova Vasilisa Melentyeva Maria Dolgorukaya Maria Nagaya
Children	See list Dmitry Ivanovich Ivan Ivanovich Feodor I of Russia Dmitry Ivanovich
House	Rurik dynasty
Father	Vasili III of Russia
Mother	Elena Glinskaya
Religion	Russian Orthodox Church

Ivan the Terrible by Viktor Vasnetsov

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (25 August 1530 – 28 March 1584), more often known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the first Tsar (Emperor) of Russia. He was the Grand Prince of Moscow before that. He was called Ivan the Terrible because in those days the word terrible meant "formidable" or "fearsome", not "really bad". This comes from his Russian nickname Ivan Grozny, which also means "Ivan the Formidable".

Life

Ivan became the Grand Prince of Moscow when he was just three years old. When he was young, a group of Russian nobles ran the country in his place. In those days, Russia was divided into many kingdoms like Moscow. At the age of 16, Ivan and his government changed his title to Tsar of all Russia. Over the next few years, Ivan took full control of the government and conquered lands to the east of the Tatars. He began turning Russia from a divided group of kingdoms into an empire with one powerful ruler, at the cost of many lives. He died in 1584 at age of 54, Nevertheless, he remains the longest ruling Russian leader in Russian History.

Wars

In 1558-63, Russia fought countries to the west in the Livonian War. They lost lands around the Baltic Sea to the west, but the war gave Ivan more control over his own country. Ivan was harsh towards the Russian nobles (known as the boyars). He executed many and took lands from others in order to make himself more powerful. This was known as the oprichnina, and it was done by his private army called the Oprichniks. In 1570 Ivan and the Oprichniks also killed many people in Novgorod, a city he thought was not being loyal to him. Later in his reign, Russia had battles with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Tatars and conquered more lands to the east, including Siberia. Ivan also increased trade with England and set up Russia's first printing press.

Ivan was known to get very angry at times. His behaviour seems to have varied a lot, as he could at times be intelligent and quiet. His mental health became worse in the second half of his reign, especially after the death of his first wife Anastasia in 1560. It is believed that during one of his rages he caused the death of his son and heir Ivan as well as the same son's unborn son. His other son Feodor would be the next Tsar. Feodor was a weak ruler, and this led to a war called the Time of Troubles.