10. Ivan The Terrible Was Also Terrible to His Own Family
Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible (1530 – 1584), richly deserved his name. He was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, after which he declared himself “Tsar of all the Russias” – which became the title of Russian monarch from then on. He created a centralized government and was a grand conqueror. He finally overthrew the last remnants of Mongol subjugation beneath which Russia had groaned for centuries, dominated the neighboring nomadic Khanates and greatly expanded Russia’s borders. On the other hand, Ivan was an insanely cruel despot who subjected his people to a decades-long reign of terror. That terror extended to his own family.
Ivan the Terrible ascended Russia’s throne at age three. His mother, as his closest family member, governed the country as regent in his name. However, she died when Ivan was seven, and a power struggle erupted between competing boyars, or Russian nobles, in which the child Ivan was left defenseless. The young ruler was exploited and tormented by boyars who mistreated and abused him in his own palace. That made him bitter, bitterness gave way to violent rage, and before long, Ivan was venting his frustrations by torturing small animals.
