The Presidential Library’s webinar to spotlight Ivan the Terrible and his reign

Online webinar dedicated to one of the most controversial figures in Russian history, the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, will be held on the Presidential Library’s portal on July 29, 2020 at 10:00.

The era of his reign became the peak of the development of the Moscow principality, and the coronation of Ivan IV not only helped to strengthen the power of the Moscow autocrat, but also contributed to the growth of the international prestige of the Russian state. The name of Ivan the Terrible is associated with the conquests of the Kazan (1547-1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates, the return of a number of Russian territories on the western borders, and the beginning of the development of Siberia.

The webinar will present numerous historical studies dedicated to the personality of Ivan the Terrible: works by E. A. Tikhomirov "The first Tsar of Moscow, John IV Vasilyevich the Terrible: a brief overview of his reign" (1892), S. F. Platonov "Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584)" (1923), R. Yu. Vipper "Ivan the Terrible" (1922) and others.

During the reign of Ivan IV, a number of internal reforms were carried out, which will also be covered by sources of the electronic collections of the Presidential Library, such as "Criminal laws of the Tsar and Grand Duke John IV Vasilyevich: [Charter on robbery and criminal affairs]" published by K. M. Obolensky in 1841, "Code of Laws of John III and John IV 1497 and 1555 [!1550]" (1915).

Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich was one of the most educated people of his time and played an important role in organizing book printing, which is told in the book “The First Russian Printer Ivan Fedorov: historical story from the times of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible” (1912).

The personality of the first Russian tsar was reflected in fiction and folk art, as evidenced by the works that will be presented at the webinar. This is not only the well-known "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the young oprichnik and the dashing merchant Kalashnikov" by M. Yu. Lermontov, but also the lesser-known poem of Baron G. F. Rosen "The Birth of Ivan the Terrible", the historical story of N. I. Fomin "Memorable marriage of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible", etc.

These and many other historical materials are available in more than 1000 remote access centers opened in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation and 30 foreign countries. The electronic collections of the Presidential Library, numbering almost a million items, are publicly available.

Webinars on various topics are regularly held in the Presidential Library in the form of video conferencing mode. Thanks to them, one can discover the unique collections of the national electronic repository and learn about rare historical documents, publications and other materials little-known to a wide audience.

The webinar will be broadcasted on July 29 from 10:00 (Moscow time) online in the Live broadcasts section of the Presidential Library’s portal. Please note that just before watching the webinar in the Live broadcasts section, please, refresh the portal’s page.

The Presidential Library’s portal provides all the information about past and upcoming webinars in the Webinars section, as well as information about remote access centers in Remote Access Centers section.