The reign of Ivan the Terrible, who was the first Grand Duke to be anointed to the kingdom officially in 1547, began in 1533. In many sources, one can find negative characteristics of the time of his reign. However, history indicates a large number of achievements of Russia in the era of the reign of John 4 Vasilyevich.
Instead of the orphaned three-year-old Prince Ivan, his mother, Elena Glinskaya, entered the throne. However, five years later, she died. Little John grew up in a fierce struggle of the boyars for rule, one or the other came to power. The head of the Russian church also changed. All this was reflected in the character of the future sovereign. At sixteen, the King ascended the throne.
The reign of Ivan the Terrible in the first period was greatly influenced by the holy Metropolitan Macarius. In this era of Zemsky Sobor, the Judicial Code was issued. Everyone was granted the right to their own defense by judicial reform, and the death penalty was applied only after the sovereign considered the case. In addition, local government gained great importance, and a system of primary church education was formed. The reign of Ivan the Terrible was marked by the beginning of printing.
The tsar stopped the slave khanates that troubled Russia at that time (Astrakhan and Kazan), freeing hundreds of thousands of Russian people from captivity. A victory was won in 1560 over the Livonian Order. Russia regained the old cities of Kolyvan, Yuryev and others. Unfortunately, in the second period of the reign of John Vasilyevich, they were again lost as a result of defeat in the war. Under the Sovereign, the development of the territory of Siberia was begun - in 1581 the campaign of Ermak was undertaken .
The death of the wife of Anastasia (she was poisoned in 1560), Metropolitan Macarius, new attempts by the boyars to oppose the authorities changed the behavior of the Sovereign. At this time, the reign of Ivan the Terrible is characterized by historians as cruel, tough, formidable. The king began to eliminate suspected and objectionable people.
In 1564, in April, Ivan the Terrible was betrayed by his close associate, the governor of the Sovereign in Derpt, Andrei Kurbsky. It should be noted that a fairly large part of the boyars sympathized with Kurbsky. The situation in the country forced Ivan the Terrible to leave Moscow at the end of 1564, and in January next year to announce his descent from the throne.
However, the Muscovites rebelled against the boyar power asked the Tsar to return. On February 2, having returned to the throne, John 4 Vasilyevich proceeded to the establishment of the โoprichninaโ. This special army with a certain control and territory was to become a cartel body against traitors. The rest of the state belonged to the "zemstvo". It should be noted that the oprichnina was not able to destroy the boyars, but significantly weakened him.
The reign of Ivan the Terrible was marked by a significant expansion of the country. During the reign of John Vasilyevich, the Siberian, Astrakhan, Kazan kingdom, part of the North Caucasus and Nagaya joined Russia. The dimensions of Russia began to exceed the area of โโEurope.
The consequences of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, no doubt, were both positive and negative. Negative phenomena include continued oppression, violence by the central and local administrations and spiritual authorities, as well as the seizure of land by feudal lords. All this provoked clashes and contradictions. Rebellions flared up among the local population, people refused to fulfill duties.
The reign of Ivan the Terrible was an important stage in the development of the state. Under John 4 Vasilievich, 300 new cities and 155 fortresses were erected; the country's population increased to 4.5 million people (from 2.5 million people). In the era of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, an attempt was also made to form the first fleet in Russia.