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I'm doing my report on Ivan the Terrible. Ivan Vasiljevich the Terrible was born in 1530 and died in 1584. He was the son of the Grand Duke Vasili III. His mother Helena Glinsky was the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee who had found asylum in Russia.
She was young, vivacious, intelligent, and beautiful. Vasili had married her after he tried to have an heir for 20 years with his first wife Salome. Vasili was in his 50 's, and Helena was 20 when Ivan was born. Ivan had another brother Yuri born 18 months later. The day of Ivans birth, August 25, 1530, was a joyful one. The Grand Duke ordered prison doors opened and chains of thousands of prisoners were removed and the prisoners freed.
Nobles who had fallen into disgrace were pardoned. Hermits and holmes were invited into the walls of the Kremlin, and seated as honored and guests. "The cloud under which his son Ivan was born, and under which he would have to live his life, was a dark one. " (Koslow, Jules). In 1553, Vasili died after a long ailment. Ivan, whom was only 3 years old at the time of his fathers death. With out a ruler boyars (advisors) took over, only to have wars and suffrage in Russia. For the next several years, the struggle continued with out out mercy on either side.
Tyranny prevailed. Prisons filled. relief Anarchy supplanted oligarchy. The boyars behaved like wild beasts. "Russia was rent by contending factions, bathed in blood and ruled by barbarity. " (Koslow, Jules). But with in the mist of the struggles Ivan grew up behind the fortress of the Kremlin walls.
Ivan was 8 years old when his mother died. Throughout his child years, he never had a fathers hand to guild him, or a mothers love tender love. Him being an orphan was a blow that shaped his entire life. It was marked with violence and indelibly stamped his character, and future actions and thoughts. He lived his earliest years in a struggle for power, with murder, imprisonment, and torture being common. Boyars killed boyar & henchmen marched them off to prisons at swords point.
When Ivan was only 12, followers of Prince Ivan Shuisky, made a midnight raid upon the Metropolitan's quarters. Breaking down Ivan's door, he looked around only to see fierce, armored soldiers with swords, coming to murder him. The soldiers left with out harming him. But Ivan could never get the fear of coming close to death to leave him. In later years several times this happened, and Ivan grew up with terror and violence as a part of life. Ivan and his boyhood friends would ride their horses full speed down the streets of Moscow.
Some citizens who were lucky escaped with no more than a scare, others were trampled beneath the horse's hooves. Fighting with his friends was common. Kicking, punching and biting, who ever won the struggle for power won, who ever lost was sometimes beat to near death. As Ivan grew older, he began to under stand the benefits of being a prince Czar. Because Ivan grew up the way he did was why he became the ruler that he did. He knew from experience what would happen if he wasn't a strong ruler.
As a Czar, when Ivan met someone new, he would look for the thing to fear in that person, then, he would do whatever it took to minimize whatever that something was that he was afraid of. It might require taking harsh action, but then Ivan wouldn't have to worry about that person becoming too powerful. Along with the early influences of the boyars, also came the influence of ideas gained from the books that Ivan read. He read everything that he could get his hands on.
Although there wasn't much to read, he read it, including the Bible, religious books, and some of the Western books that had been brought in from the Byzantine Empire. Ivan planned his own Czar coronation to the smallest detail, even though he was only 16 years old... Everything had to be perfect for the future. He was crowned in 1547 and married a month later.
Ivan married a young Russian lady from the Roman family. He did this despite the unspoken rule that the ruler should marry a foreign princess. This is where the later, more famous Romans received their claim to the throne. Ivan's first marriage was supposed to have been a love match. Two of the most influential people to Ivan was the Metropolitan of Moscow, Sylvester, and his friend, Alexi Adashev. They showed Ivan how to reform some of the laws and the church.
Ivan was very religious during this time. He called a Church council in 1551. It clearly stated the relation between the Church and the state. A new legal code was presented in 1550. Reforms in the military were made. These included defense lines, changing the emphasis of the army and adding new regiments.
After these reforms, Ivan used his military in a series of wars. He also built a cathedral in Moscow. During this time, Ivan showed little sign of what was to come in the future. It was only after his wife died that the influence of the church ended and Ivan's cruel side once again come out. In 1553, Ivan became ill.
He was told that he was going to die and that he should make a will. He designated all his lands and wanted the boyars to swear alliance to his young son, Dmitry, who was not even a year old. The boyars refused. They wanted to have a strong ruler, not a child with regents. Ivan's childhood and the actions of the regents at that time were still too close for comfort.
Ivan was outraged by the boyars refusal and disobedience. Even though they eventually did agree to allow Dmitry on the throne, Ivan was dissatisfied with them and the power they had over him. In 1560, Anastasia suddenly died. Ivan believed that Sylvester and Adashev had conspired together to poison her. Anastasia's death came during the time when Ivan was consolidating his power against the boyars. Anastasia's death made Ivan step up his plan to get power form the boyars.
In 1564, Ivan suddenly changed the way he ruled. He moved his family to an estate outside of Moscow. A letter was sent to the boyars, informing them that Ivan was abdicating from the throne. This terrified the boyars. They went to the estate and begged the Czar to come back and rule. Ivan agreed to do this but only if the boyars would agree to some provisions.
These provisions included allowing Ivan to split the country. There would be two different governments in Russia. Ivan would have direct control of his part of the land. The boyars agreed to Ivan's demands. Ivan came back to Moscow stronger that ever. A year after Anastasia's death, and few days before his thirty first birthday, Ivan remarried.
The daughter of Cicassians Prince Temgryuk from the northern Caucasus, who was immediately baptized Maria. In 1581, Ivan killed his son Ivan, the heir to the throne, in a fit of rage. Ivan's son had his father's temper. One day, Ivan IV walked into the apartment of Ivan (the son) and started criticizing Ivan's seven month pregnant wife about her dress. Ivan was so enraged by her unacceptable dress, that he started to hit her. His son heard her screaming and ran in.
He tried to stop his father. Ivan IV was so enraged with his son's actions that he took his taff and struck his son on the head, killing him. Because of his kicks and blows, Ivan's daughter-in-law also lost her child. In one day, Ivan killed the future Czar and Czarvich of Russia. Ivan was instantly remorseful about his actions, but nothing could be done.
With the death of Ivan IV and his son, Fedor, a half-witted man who liked the Church and ringing bells, ruled the country. (The first son, Dmitry had died. ) Because of this tragedy, after Ivan's death in 1584, the country entered a time of troubles. He had left Russia without a strong ruler. Because of the troubles after Ivan's death, some people actually wished that Ivan was still there to rule them. This is my report on Ivan the Terrible.
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Research essay sample on Struggle For Power Ivan The Terrible
