Ivan the Terrible is a very complicated ruler to label as simply “a good guy” or “a bad guy.” \u00a0Both good and overlapped throughout his life,\u00a0coming up at different times, but I don’t believe one is more prominent than the other. \u00a0Even more interesting and important to remember is all of Ivan’s personal troubles while he was young and how they could have possibly affected his future as Tsar.<\/p>\n
Ivan was successful in bringing change to Russia, although it can be difficult to view his rule as a reformation rule. \u00a0Ivan implemented a new law code, paid order to the church, strengthened the military and ordered out bureaucracy. \u00a0Ivan was creating an honest and efficient administration. \u00a0These reforms were positive towards Ivan’s rule and Russia benefitted greatly.<\/p>\n
However the bad of Ivan also has to be analyzed. \u00a0Because Ivan was so skeptical of who to trust, he began to “wipe out all the chief people of the oprichnina” ((Kaiser and Marker 153)). \u00a0Brutal, horrific deaths began occurring; Ivan’s brother in law “was chopped to death by the harquebusiers [musketeers] with axes,” “Prince Vasilii Temkin was drowned,” “Peter Seisse was hanged from his own court gate,” and more ((Kaiser and Marker 153)). \u00a0What was the cause of these awful deaths?<\/p>\n
It is interesting to analyze the beginning or early periods of Ivan’s life. \u00a0Many tragic things, the death of his mother when he was a young boy and the death of his beloved wife, could be possible reasons as to why he was so agonized. \u00a0Ivan also came to power at age three, so it’s possible he never knew who to trust from the beginning since his mother and wife died early on. \u00a0His life and personality are too difficult to label as just good or bad; regardless he was a powerful ruler.<\/p>\n
Can Ivan the Terrible be classified as just good or bad?<\/p>\n
Is it wrong to blame the tragedies of Ivan’s early life for the brutality\u00a0in his later life?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Works Cited<\/p>\n
Kaiser, Daniel H., and Gary Marker. Reinterpreting Russian History: Readings, 860-1860’s<\/i>. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ivan the Terrible is a very complicated ruler to label as simply “a good guy” or “a bad guy.” \u00a0Both good and overlapped throughout his life,\u00a0coming up at different times, but I don’t believe one is more prominent than the … Continue reading