We call Ivan IV the Terrible, because we were told to call him that in history lessons. However, to the question of when and why Ivan IV became "formidable" still few can answer. We tried it.
Not only Ivan IV
Ivan IV was not the only "formidable" tsar in Russian history. His grandfather, Ivan III, was also called "Terrible", who, in addition, had the nicknames "justice" and "great." As a result, the nickname "great" was stuck for Ivan III, and his grandson became "formidable".
It is also interesting that Ivan the Terrible was not always Ivan IV. For the first time this digital part of the title was officially assigned to him in his "History of the Russian State" by Nikolai Karamzin, he led the calculation of the tsars from Ivan Kalita. “Before Karamzin,” Ivan the Terrible was “listed” as Ivan I.
Since 1740, when the infant emperor John Antonovich (Ivan VI) ascended the Russian throne, a digital part was added to all Russian Tsars-Ivan. John Antonovich himself began to be called John III, his great-grandfather became John II, and Ivan the Terrible received the title Tsar Ivan I Vasilievich of All Russia.
When did Grozny become "formidable"?
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When and why did they call Ivan IV “formidable”? The question is far from idle. If you ask a person about this, then he, most likely, will answer that this is how the king was called for his infinite cruelty, for oprichnina and manic-depressive syndrome. Because something like this is told to us in history lessons. The question is: who named him that and when? There was no such title, no one called Ivan IV "formidable" during his lifetime, just as he did not call Ivan IV. He was Ivan Vasilievich.
The absurdity of the situation with the nickname of the tsar is confirmed by the fact that once Alexander Dumas wrote literally the following: “Ivan the Terrible for his cruelty was called“Vasilich”.
Here is what Skrynnikov, a prominent researcher of the life of Ivan the Terrible, writes about this: “In the sources of the 16th century, the nickname“Terrible”was not found. Most likely, Tsar Ivan received it when he became the hero of historical songs."
That is, even Skrynnikov cannot answer the question: “When exactly the nickname“formidable”appeared. But he says that this nickname was given to the king by the people. And not during the life of Ivan IV, but after his death. That is, it turns out that "formidable" is, as it were, a nickname, not even of the king, but of the memory of him.
When did this happen? Skrynnikov writes that, most likely, during the Troubles. When the country was going through a difficult situation: the Polish-Swedish intervention, high mortality, low harvests. It was all bad. And then the king, who was no longer there, began to be called "formidable."
Tales about Ivan the Terrible
It is significant that Ivan the Terrible became the first Russian tsar, about whom the people began to compose fairy tales. Himself, without any coercion by the state authorities. Before that, under this very compulsion, only chroniclers wrote about the kings, who, as you know, were far from independent people.
There are many fairy tales about Grozny. And from them, by the way, the image of some despot tormenting his people does not in any way form. On the contrary, each fairy tale about Ivan IV carries the thesis that the tsar is a man, that he is placed in the kingdom by the Lord himself, that he sins just like any person, but just like anyone he repents, and the burden he experiences his sins during his lifetime.
In general, Ivan the Terrible was not an arrogant tsar, a simple one. He loved to communicate with common people, learn about their troubles and hopes and even argue sometimes."
“Ivan the wise and just was extremely hot-tempered and often did things that he later regretted.”
We will cite only two tales about Grozny - "Ivan the Pious" and "Ivan Singing".
“Ivan was a formidable tsar, but a pious one. He sacredly honored the Christian commandments and was very sad because a lot of all kinds of evil spirits were spreading on Russian soil. Once he decided to exterminate all witches-sorcerers, and not just exterminate, but, following the example of the Inquisition, burn them. From the fortified cities, the old women-workers were taken to the square in Moscow, covered with straw and set on fire. But our witches turned out to be more nimble than Western European ones: they turned into forty and scattered. However, they failed to escape: Ivan the Terrible was a pious tsar. He cursed the witches, and his righteous curse was stronger than their black spell. The old women remained forty forever and, in order not to incur a new misfortune, since then they have not come close to Moscow."
“As a pious person, Ivan Vasilievich loved church services. Especially the chants. He himself was not deprived of hearing and voice and was considered an excellent singer. Still, who will contradict the formidable king! There is always a brave man, a sage or a fool. Once the tsar arrived at the Sergiev Monastery for a vigil and heard wonderful, fabulous singing. The local monk sang, whose name the fairy tale did not keep. Captivated by a wonderful voice, Tsar Ivan wanted to know who this old man was, where he was from. But the monk did not respond to questions or prayers and continued to sing. When, at last, Ivan Vasilyevich became angry, the elder calmly replied that during the service in the church one voice should sound - his. Although the tsar wanted to sing, in the end he was forced to admit the correctness of the wise monk and bestow on him for reason."
Formidable father
Moscow is the capital of Russia, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and Ivan the Terrible killed his son. Nobody cares, for example, that there is an opinion that the Volga first flows into the Kama. The same thing that Ivan the Terrible killed his son has long been questioned.
There is an opinion that they began to call Ivan IV "formidable" just after he killed his son. Did he kill him?
The main evidence is … Repin's painting.
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a very controversial fact. In 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Research has led to the assertion that Tsarevich John was poisoned.
The content of poison in his remains is many times higher than the permissible rate. It is interesting that the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilievich. Scientists concluded that the royal family had been a victim of poisoners for several decades. Or they themselves used too much mercury for treatment, which was then considered almost a panacea.
However, it remains a mystery who launched the legend of Grozny's filicide, but the attitude to this myth about Ivan the Terrible was quite unambiguous among other rulers of Russia. When Tsar Alexander III saw the famous painting by Repin in the gallery, he simply banned it from being shown.
Konstantin Pobedonostsev also confidently and uncompromisingly expressed his opinion about the picture: "You cannot call the picture historical, since this moment … is purely fantastic."
A real attempt was made on Repin's painting in 1913. It was made by the Old Believer Ivan Balashov. He slashed the painting with three knife strokes. Upon learning of this, the curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, Yegor Khruslov, threw himself under the train.
What does "formidable" mean?
The question is also not idle: what did the people mean by the word "formidable" when they called the king so? In today's understanding, this word contains only a negative connotation, but not everything is so obvious.
In fairy tales and songs, the tsar was not at all recalled as a tyrant, they recalled with a kind of folk nostalgia, as a strong sovereign. And this despite the fact that it was Ivan the Terrible, who accelerated the Russian car to the speed of uncontrollability, and predetermined the Time of Troubles itself, when he did not leave behind anyone who could retain power.
Skrynnikov writes:
“In an atmosphere of unheard-of disasters, the time of Tsar Ivan began to be remembered as the era of the power of the Russian state, its prosperity and greatness. Bloody and dark deeds were forgotten."
He also writes that "in the minds of people of that time, the 'thunderstorm' symbolized an incinerating, inevitable and brilliant element, moreover, the element was not so much natural as divine, a sign of the intervention of heavenly forces in the life of people."
Ivan the Terrible thought of himself as God's anointed one, and all his deeds, up to executions, fit into the logic of this mission. He not only executed bodies, he also executed souls, carrying out his executions in such a way that the criminals became "mortgaged dead". Practiced: drowning (sending criminals to their "native" element - to evil spirits, persecuting suicide bombers by bears (bears were considered "clean" animals, so they punished a person for his sins).
The repressive machine did not work for the demonstrative purpose “to discourage others”. The Tsar was feared and respected anyway. Any action against the Crowned One was supposed to be “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” that is, a sin that cannot be atoned for.
Not only the criminals themselves were subject to execution, but also their property (including household members), which was recognized as "bad" and "unclean." Here the king was strictly guided by the Old Testament Book of Joshua, namely the capture of Jericho by the ancient Jews. According to Scripture, the fate of the inhabitants of Jericho was dire:
"… everything in the city, and men and wives, and young and old, and oxen, and sheep, and donkeys, they destroyed everything with the sword … And the city and everything that was in it, they burned with fire", except for "silver and gold, and vessels of copper and iron ", which were declared" cursed, "and which were forbidden to take for personal use, they were to be given only to the Jewish priests."
It must be said that in the Middle Ages, the biblical tradition of destroying "unclean" property was strictly observed in almost all European countries.
Who benefits from?
Ivan the Terrible is not only the first tsar, about whom they began to compose fairy tales, but also the first Russian tsar, about whom they began to write and shoot comedy plots (remember Bulgakov and the film adaptation of his play "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession").
How did it happen that "formidable" acquired the meaning that is associated in the popular mind only with executions, tyranny and madness (Film "Tsar" by Lungin)?
Most likely, "legs grow" from the historiography of Nikolai Karamzin, as well as the conversations of the liberal public on the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible at the beginning of the "golden" XIX century.
This myth also has deeper roots, namely, European historiography, which referred to Grozny as a dictator and satrap. Let us remind that Ivan IV was an Anglomaniac, and around him dubious personalities of European origin always "spun" who tried to lobby for Catholicism and "get their hands on" Muscovy. Ivan the Terrible did not allow this, the attitude towards him was not the most favorable.
By the way, the very rumor that Ivan the Terrible had killed his son was first spread by Antonio Possevino, the papal legate. According to this version, Ivan the Terrible found his son's third wife, Elena, in an inappropriate state. Terrible's daughter-in-law was pregnant and lay in one underwear. Ivan IV got angry and began to "teach" Elena, hit her in the face and beat her with a staff.
Then, according to the same Possevino, Ivan the Terrible's son ran into the wards and began to reproach his father with these words: “You imprisoned my first wife in a monastery for no reason, you did the same with your second wife, and now you are beating the third in order to destroy your son, which she carries in her womb. The final is known. The father's staff also took out his son, breaking his skull.
It is significant that the populist sovereigns treated Ivan the Terrible with reverence and respect (the example of the same Alexander III), although the image of the Terrible Tsar in the past is very convenient for the current government - it levels out all the miscalculations, says that “remember and do not murmur, it was worse. It is also convenient for those who look at Russia from abroad.
Now we are also instilled with fear of the Soviet era.
Read also "Very nice, king"! About how John Vasilyevich cleansed Russia of evil spirits …"
