Here Are 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Mad Tsar Of Russia

Ivan the Terrible ruled Russia between 1547 and 1584. Although he achieved some good things for the country such as increasing trade with other nations, expanding the country's territory, and importing the first printing press, these things were overshadowed by his intense madness. He is most remembered for his extreme paranoia, violent acts, and random bouts of rage which gave him his terrible nickname. Here are 20 chilling facts about Russia's maddest monarch. 

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1. He Killed His Own Son

Ivan is believed to have killed his eldest son and heir in a random fit of rage by striking him in the head with a staff. This left his much less suitable younger son to rule, leaving Russia in poor hands.

Ilya Repin on Wikimedia

2. He Caused His Daughter-In-Law To Have A Miscarriage

In the same incident that caused the death of his son, he beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, Yelena, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. Historians believe the altercation stemmed from Ivan's dislike of Yelena who he accused of dressing immodestly. 

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3. He Triggered The Livonian War

Ivan the Terrible invaded Livonia in 1558 after the Livonians failed to pay the tribute he demanded and to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The Livonian War resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the dissolution of Livonia. 

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4. He Violently Purged The Russian Nobility

Ivan was notoriously mistrustful of nobles, paranoid they would overthrow him. Using the secret police that he set up, he executed countless Russian nobles over perceived threats to his power.

Kazimierz Waliszewski on Wikimedia

5. He Established the Oprichnina

In response to his paranoia, Ivan established Russia's first secret police, the Oprichnina. They were a brutal force who terrorized anyone Ivan suspected of treason. 

Vasily Khudiakov on Wikimedia

6. He Threw Dogs & Cats From Towers As A Child

Ivan threw dogs and cats from the Kremlin walls as a child, watching them suffer. An early sign of a psychopath, evidently psychologists weren't employed back in those days. 

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7. He Was Abused As A Child

As Ivan was orphaned at a young age, his childhood was plagued by abuse and betrayal by the noble boyars. They denied him regular food, stole his family's riches, and murdered people in front of him. This explains his later hatred of the nobles and his lust for revenge. 

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8. He Murdered His Advisors

Because of his unhinged paranoia, Ivan trusted no one. He even had his most trusted advisers tortured and murdered at the slightest hunch that they were conspiring against him.

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9. He Caused The Massacre Of Novgorod

In 1570, Ivan had 60,000 inhabitants of the town of Novgorod slaughtered by the Oprichniki because he believed them to be disloyal. 

Дмитрий Зек on Wikimedia

10. He Had People Executed In Unusual Ways

As if his random executions weren't bad enough, Ivan was the king of cruel and unusual punishment. He often skinned, boiled, or impaled people. 

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11. He Had Entire Families Wiped Out

Merciful was not a word people would use to describe Ivan. If one person was suspected of treason, (based on his random whim) their entire family would be sentenced to death. By the end of his reign, there was hardly a family in Russia that wasn't affected by this brutality.

Alexander Litovchenko on Wikimedia

12. He Came Up With New Methods Of Torment

He reportedly enjoyed watching his henchmen torture people and even came up with new methods. Even for the medieval period that he lived in, that’s pretty extreme.

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13. He Killed His Wives

Ivan had seven wives throughout his life but this was before divorce was a thing so he had to wait until one died to remarry. Surprise surprise, they mysteriously died, one by one, we can only guess from poisoning or execution.

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14. He Was Obsessed With The Occult

Far from burning witches, Ivan tapped into their wisdom. He reportedly consulted sorcerers and performed rituals to ward off his enemies.

Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875] on Wikimedia

15. He Died While Playing Chess

In 1584, Ivan the Terrible passed away while playing chess. His death could’ve been caused by poisoning or natural causes. Either way, that’s not a bad way to go for a guy who caused so much suffering.

Ivan Bilibin on Wikimedia

16. He Contributed To The Time Of Troubles

As stated above, Ivan killed his true heir in a fit of rage, leaving the throne to his much more inept younger son. His rule and childless death led to the end of the Rurik dynasty and the beginning of the Time of Troubles, a lawless period of violence, poverty, and famine.

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17. His Cruelty Got Worse Over Time

Ivan was prone to random acts of violence, madness, and fits of rage that only got worse throughout his life. To this day, historians debate what was wrong with Ivan, some argue he had syphilis while others chalk his madness up to mercury poisoning or a mental health disorder.

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18. He Performed Sacrilegious Masses

With the Oprichniki as his “monks,” Ivan would act as master performing pseudo-religious rituals consisting of rape and torture. He mocked religion, allowing his Oprichniki to interrupt masses and abduct or humiliate the priest.

Hans Weigel der Ältere (1520—1577) on Wikimedia

19. He Blinded the Architect of St. Basil’s Cathedral

Postnik Yakovlev was the architect behind the iconic Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square. Ivan the Terrible reportedly blinded him so that he could never build anything so beautiful again.

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20. He Carried A Sharpened Baton Around

Ivan carried a sharpened baton everywhere he went that allowed him to beat anyone he pleased with the flick of his wrist. It’s the same baton that he used to kill his eldest son.

Alexander Litovchenko on Wikimedia