Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia, deemed Ivan "the Terrible" by the people under his reign, is probably the most famous insane ruler in the history of the world. Practically everyone, at one time in their lives, has heard the name spoken, whether it be in literature, movies, television, or brought up in conversation. Despite his notorious name, not many people know what Ivan did to earn his nickname, nor are they sure if he was actually insane or just a terrible person. Ivan led an unusual life plagued with horror and tragedy. He was a person who was brought up in an unstable, violent situation and therefore turned out to be an unstable, violent person. The key to unlocking the motives behind Ivan's terrible crimes against humanity is to learn about the life he lived and the situations that he was faced with during his reign.
Ivan's father was the Grand Prince Vasily III and his mother was the Grand Princess Elena. His father was a good man and a strong ruler, a man that ruled fairly but with a strong hand. The aristocrats of Russia, commonly known as boyars, were deceitful, cunning men always vying for power against Vasily. Ivan was born August 25, 1530, on a stormy night. This later was used as a foreshadowing symbol of the terror that Ivan brought upon his subjects. His younger brother, Yury, was born October 30, 1532. Yury was born deaf and dumb, but despite this, Ivan loved him very much and he was Ivan's only playmate in their youth. Vasily died on December 3, 1533 of an infection that stemmed from a saddle sore that he had let go untreated. His father left Russia to his son, then only three years old, who would rule until the age of fifteen under the regency of his mother and advised by the Council o...
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...n ill-treated and scoffed at in his youth, and all his life long he seems to have sought impossible revenges"(Waliszewski, p. 382). He thought, "everyone was guilty, except himself"(Troyat, p. 242). There are some people who believe that he never had a mental illness to begin with. He was doing what the times had conditioned him for, even if they were extreme. He might not have been mad when he had thousands of people murdered, but the symptoms that came about after the death of his son cannot be dismissed. His history, presented here, is merely a testimony for the reader to think about and make a judgement call.
Bibliography:
Payne, Robert and Nikita Romanoff. Ivan the Terrible.Thomas Y. Crowell: New York,
1975
Troyat, Henri. Ivan the Terrible. E.P. Dutton: New York, 1984
Waliszeski, K. Ivan the Terrible. Archon Books: Hamden, 1966
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