Ivan the Terrible

Has Ivan Chetvyorty been a wicked and ruthless leader? Has his nation suffered as he pursued his own corrupted agendas? Surely, though, none comes close to the violent, lascivious, vengeful reign of Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich, born to the Rurik Dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Muscovy. Indeed, this man's period in power was one of the longest in Russian history, lasting more than half a century. If the early years of his rule saw him as just a child, powerless to stop the corruption of his supposed mentors, he more than made up for it when coming of age. And Russia suffered as a result.

Inside you'll read aboutBirth of a TyrantA Menagerie of MarriagesA Tyrant's AgonyThe Sacking of Novgorod, and Other CampaignsDeathAnd much more He was also the first Tsar of this great country. A title he endowed upon himself which, as we shall later see, carried much greater significance to the Russian people than those four small letters might suggest. This is a man whose reign went unrecorded - the fear of putting in writing anything he said or did is far too great to entertain. Thus, his history is told through stories passed down through generations, legends which have entered folklore. If his history is therefore subject to the variations wrought by time, and the passions and fear he generated, one fact does stand tall and true. That is that we know this tyrant by a more memorable name. Ivan the Terrible. Perhaps the most understated title in the history of mankind.