1. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE”

2. A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE  Most assessments negative  Some credit his accomplishments in state building  Even term “Grozny” misleading

3. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” HISTORICAL ASSESSMENTS  Condemnation for cruelty, oppression, excessive bloodshed  Psychological explanations for excesses  “Good” v. “Bad” period  Rational & positive contributions

4. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” SOURCES  Sparse information in Chronicles  Foreign accounts mostly biased & fluctuate wildly  imposing impression & deep religiosity mixed with reports of sadistic cruelty

5. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” IVAN THE MAN  Physical problems  Psychological problems (?)  a difficult childhood  reports of sadistic behavior  paranoia & poor anger management

6. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” A MORE POSITIVE LIGHT(?)  Some contend Ivan worked to build national state with best interests of people in mind  Rational reform of administration  New law code  Zemskii Sobor  Strelsty  Successes in foreign policy

7. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” IVAN IN RUSSIAN FOLKLORE  Often portrayed as hero of people  Some even praise Oprichnina  Terror perceived as directed against Russia’s enemies  Compared to Time of Troubles, things seemed stable under Ivan  Ivan contributed to shaping own image

8. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” OPRICHNINA  Criticisms:  Ruthless reign of terror  Acknowledgements:  Attempt to forge new service class  Needed to overcome boyar opposition

9. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” A MODERATE VIEW  Concerns for survival of state may justify some actions  But resulted in tyranny  Stunning display of arbitrary autocratic power

10. IVAN IV: “THE TERRIBLE” LEGACY  Part of continuing debate over need for strong central authority in Russia  Stalin’s favorite Tsar  Eisenstien film