Ivan the Terrible is the first Russian tsar who was officially crowned king in 1547.
The Moscow prince Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya in August 1530 had a long-awaited son - their heir John. When Ivan was 3 years old, his father died, and his mother raised him, who also died in 1538 when he was 8 incomplete years old. Ivan grew up surrounded by the struggle for power of the boyar families, who were at enmity with each other, surrounded by palace coups.
Violence, murder, intrigue made him suspicious, vengeful and cruel. Even when he was young, he already dreamed of unlimited power. And when Ivan came of age in 1545, he became the ruler of Russia. In 1547, on January 16, in the Moscow Kremlin in the Assumption Cathedral was his wedding to the kingdom. The title "king" in translation means "emperor".
During his reign, the first Russian Emperor Ivan IV carried out many reforms: zemstvo, church, judicial, administrative, military. He carried out many innovations useful for the state, drew up orders - unified administrative bodies. During his reign, the Sudebnik was compiled - the charter of Russian laws. The first Russian tsar in domestic politicsgreatly strengthened the state. He expanded the borders of Russia, having conquered the khanates of Kazan (1547-1552) and Astrakhan (1556), began to penetrate into Siberia. In the international arena, Russia's positions have rather strengthened.
In connection with the expansion of the territory of the Moscow state and the creation of the order system, economic and trade relations between the regions have intensified. Bread was brought from the center to the north, and from there - s alt, furs, and fish. Under the reign of Ivan IV, trade with Western Europe began through Novgorod and Smolensk. Trade with England became more regular. Through the White and Barents Seas opened the way from Britain to Russia. They founded the English trading house in Moscow, and in 1584 the port of Arkhangelsk on the banks of the Dvina Bay.
But the prosperity of the kingdom was short-lived. The Livonian War (1558-1583) brought bad luck to Russia. In 1565, the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV created the oprichnina, and after that they began to call him the Terrible. He wanted to assert his power by terror. And he did not even spare his son in this anger. The guardsmen in 1569 plundered many Russian cities under the leadership of Ivan the Terrible.
The first Russian tsar, Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, was one of the most educated people, he had a phenomenal memory, he was an erudite in theology. He was the author of many epistles. He wrote the text and music for the service for the feast of Our Lady of Vladimir, as well as the canon to the Archangel Michael. He played a very important role in the organization of printing. In Moscow, on Red Square, the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral was carried out, the first tsar - Ivan - was the initiator of itconstruction.
The activities of Ivan the Terrible received a versatile characterization in Russian history, because pre-revolutionary historians characterized him negatively, while Soviet historians emphasized his positive aspects during his reign. And in the twentieth century, in the second half, historians began to deeply study the domestic and foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible.
