Ivan the Terrible - a wise king, educator and reformer

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Great sovereign, by God's grace, the tsar and great prince of all Russia, the murderer of his own son, terrible and powerful. Today, books and films, paintings and plays are dedicated to him, and, as a rule, he is portrayed as an inhuman monster. But Ivan IV the Terrible entered Russian history not only as a tyrant. He was perhaps one of the most educated people of his era, with a theological erudition and phenomenal memory. Despite various "excesses", this man has done a lot for Russia. Today we are talking about this.

Ivan the Terrible executed no more people than his European "colleagues"

While some call Ivan the Terrible the Russian Count Dracula, a bloodthirsty monster, he was not. Or rather, he did not do anything that the European monarchs did not do at that time. Historians claim that, without taking into account, during the reign of John Vasilyevich and on his order, fewer people were executed than the Huguenots were killed in France in just one Bartholomew's night.

It is worth noting that since 1578 Ivan the Terrible has ceased to be executed. In his will in 1579, he repented of his deed, however, these periods of prayer and repentance were abruptly replaced by bouts of rage. In November 1582, during such an attack, the king, unwillingly, killed his own son, hitting his temple with an iron tip of a staff.

Ivan the Terrible doubled the territory of the state

Despite the fact that in the second half of his reign, John Vasilyevich met many military failures, for example, in the Livonian War, the first half of the tsar's reign was marked by significant territorial expansions of Rus. During the years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the territory of Rus has more than doubled and has become larger than the territory of the rest of Europe. There is evidence that during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the population in Russia increased by almost a third of people. For comparison, it should be noted that during the reign of Peter the Great, the population decreased by about a quarter.

Ivan the Terrible took measures to limit the arbitrariness of the authorities

Ivan the Terrible made an attempt not only to streamline some relations between the estates, but also to limit the arbitrariness of the authorities. This was reflected in the 1550 code of law. According to the decrees recorded in the law code, the peasant communities were granted the right to self-government. In addition, the representatives of the upper classes could not detain the representatives of the lower classes without reason. Moreover, if the latter happened, then the “dishonored” could demand payment in money or blood for the damage caused to them. If it came to blood, then anyone could challenge the offender with any of the weapons. The only limitation for the kind of fights was that they could not be carried out without the participation of the local voivode, who had to act as a witness.

Ivan the Terrible laid the foundations of the Russian army

Under Ivan IV, the makings of a regular army appeared in the Russian army, which subsequently had a considerable influence on the Peter's army. So, under Ivan, the "outfit" or artillery was reorganized. The cannons of the times of John, made by the cannon master Andrey Chokhov, served until the accession of Peter I and his military reform. Under John IV, they began to form streltsy regiments, which not only were not inferior to the military formations of Europe, but in some respects they were superior.

Ivan the Terrible - the author of the first border charter in the history of Russia

It was during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in Russia that the first border charter in history was created - "The verdict on the stanitsa and guard service" (1571). By order of the tsar, the first frontier outposts were created on the border of the Russian lands, which were supposed to warn the tsar about the raids of the nomads. The system introduced by John took root for many centuries and was reformed only under Catherine II. Even Peter I, an outstanding reformer, did not see any flaws in the border regulations of Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible developed peasant communities

The years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible were marked by a boom in the growth of the country's population. During the years of his reign, the number of subjects of the Russian tsar increased from 8-9 million to 12-13 million. And this is due to the fact that John created a very good standard of living for the people. This was achieved with the help of the development of the bourgeois and peasant communities, into which almost the entire society of the lower classes was divided.

Ivan the Terrible - educator

Ivan the Terrible paid special attention to culture and education. Under him, one of the most recognizable symbols of Russia was erected - the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. Under John, the Facial Chronicle Arch was erected. It is known that the tsar had a particular weakness for chess … Ivan the Terrible patronized typography and was known even in enlightened Europe as a man of outstanding intelligence and erudition.