Ivan IV Vasilyevich (August 25, 1530 - March 28 or 18 (OS) 1584), also known as Ivan the Terrible, Ivan the Formidable, Ivan the Dreaded, or Ivan the Fearsome, was the Grand Prince of Moscow (1533-1547) and first Tsar of Russia (1547-1584).
His most known epithet, 'Ivan the Terrible', comes from the fact that throughout his rule, he was known as a man who was dangerous, powerful, formidable, and inspiring fear or terror (positive interpretations include being courageous, magnificent, magisteral, keeping his enemies in fear but his people in obedience), which matches the archaic meaning of 'terrible' (or 'grozny', as his name and epithet were spelled as 'Ivan Grozny' in Russian) instead of the modern meaning (defective and evil). Arguably he embodied all of these different meanings to one degree or another at various times in his life as heir to Moscow's struggle for both independence from Mongol overlordship and imperial dominance over Eastern Europe, being one of the last major Rurikids before the Time of Troubles and the ascendency of the Romanovs.
After his conquest of the Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan (which he celebrated by having the most famous Russian church
built), he consolidated power and got rid anyone who would threaten his power and went on to rule Russia with full control, supported with his personal bodyguard groups dubbed the 'Oprichnina', who did their best to silence and oppress any possible oppositions to his rule in the shadows... that is until they had a falling out for not responding to Ivan's questions about a sack in the area of Tartar. Hence, afterwards, discussing members of the Oprichnina (dubbed 'Oprichniks') was considered a capital offense by Ivan himself. While officially the organization existed for only 7 years, they were the first of a consistent tradition of Russian political police, the purpose of which was to be used by the sovereign against his own population. In a political and social sense, Stalin's NKVD, the later Soviet KGB, or today's FSB are all descendants of the Oprichnina.
Ivan is also subject to controversy on his mental state, as he infamously killed his oldest son and kicked his pregnant daughter-in-law, causing her to miscarry, leaving problems with the line of succession. Ivan also had six, seven, or eight wives in a row, even though the church only allowed him four marriages with a marriage history that could rival that of Henry VIII - in fact here's a fun way to remember what happened to them: died, died, died, nunnery, nunnery, nunnery, ''drowned'', survived. These controversies, however, are merely coincidental with why he's called 'Ivan the Terrible' in the first place, as stated above.
He died in 1584 of a stroke and the throne was left to his son, Feodor, who later died without an heir, leading to the end of the Rurikid dynasty and the succession crisis known as the Time of Troubles, after which the Romanovs would enter the picture.
Media about Ivan the Terrible:
Art- Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581◊ by Ilya Repin, depicting Ivan's remorse after killing his son. Former Trope Image for My God, What Have I Done?— with good reason. Look at those eyes.
Comic Books
- The Shazam! villain Ibac derives his superpowers from four ruthless historical figures, with Ivan the Terrible providing terror and the "I" in his name.
Film
- Ivan the Terrible (1944): A film duology (conceived as a trilogy but the third film never got finished), the last works directed by Sergei Eisenstein, commissioned by Josef Stalin (who admired and identified with Ivan). He's portrayed by Nikolay Cherkasov.
- Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1991): Portrayed by Kakhi Kavsadze. One of the very last films made in the Soviet Union.
- Tsar (2009): Portrayed by Piotr Mamonov.
- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: He is played by Christopher Guest, who allies with Kahmunrah after coming to life.
Television:
- Ivan the Terrible (2014), German Docudrama. Ivan is portrayed by Anton Uspenskiy.
- The Terrible (2020), Russian drama series. Portrayed by Sergei Makovetsky.
Video Games
- Fate/Grand Order: Ivan the Terrible is a Rider-class Servant who takes form of a gigantic mammoth-like beast-human hybrid capable of shooting out lightning and generally very imposing. This is based on an in-story Alternate Universe version of himself: Facing an dawning Ice Age caused by a meteor impact that could have wiped out Earth, Ivan resorted to magecraft to transform himself and his people of Russia into beast people, allowing them to survive while humanity as it was known of went extinct, and to preserve his people, he implemented extremely harsh Social Darwinist law with his Oprichnik enforcing the rule. All of this makes him the main focus of the first Lostbelt scenario as the Lostbelt King that the player must defeat, at cost of pruning the Alternate Universe he lived in. He can be summoned as an Limited Servant in certain times, but it's implied that it's his very human version from the Proper Human History in mind, stuck in his Lostbelt beast body.
Web Original
- He faces off against Alexander the Great in Season 5 of Epic Rap Battles of History.
Western Animation
- Clone High: His teenage clone appears in the revival seasons, depicted as a gawky juvenile delinquent and incel with a thick coat and an ushanka. He's friends with fellow social outcasts/troublemakers Christopher Columbus, Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, and Vlad the Impaler.
