Old folio books digitized by the Presidential Library cast light on Ivan the Terrible

“Predecessor of Peter the Great, who foresaw the reformer’s plans 150 years ago” – this is the image of the tsar Ivan for some people. „Narrow-souled person with a mind of a minor official” – is Ivan’s portrait by others. Where is the truth? – Ye. Solovyov poses the question in his study “Ivan the Terrible: his life and state policy” (1893), available on the portal of the Presidential Library.

Rare books of the Presidential Library give an all-round portrayal of the contradictory personality of the first tsar of all Russia, Ivan IV, who was called “Grozny” (formidable or sparking terror or fear) by subjects. The 488th anniversary of his birth will be marked on August 25, 2018.

It seemed that Rus’, that had suffered from wars and internecine conflicts, found a "strong" ruler at last. The genealogy of the prince was impressive: his father was a descendant of the Rurik dynasty, his mother – was descended from the ancient Lithuanian clan of Glinsky, and the grandmother belonged to the dynasty of the emperors of the Byzantine Empire. "Ivan was born with a soul, ready for great endeavors, passion, strong will: his life frequently proved this. The upbringing destroyed these natural gifts", the book “The Memorable Marriage of the Tsar Ivan the Terrible” (1834) by N. Fomin reads.

Ivan became the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia at the age of 3, after the death of his father Vasily III, who set up a council of seven boyars, which had custody of the successor and was to rule the country until Ivan Vasilyevich turned 15. However the guardians of the young prince, Shuysky boyars "imparted to him just disastrous thoughts about his strength and power, encouraged his cruel inclinations, indulged all his whims, hoping to win the favor of the future tsar," the historical essay entitled “Tsar Ivan the Terrible” (Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich Grozny) (1868) reads. Later, according to "Tsar Ivan the Terrible” of N. Firsov (1892), available in the collections of the Presidential Library, Ivan IV recalled that under that guardianship he and his brother Georgy suffered because of acute shortage of clothes and food.

Under such "guidance", the young tsar, who faced the solitude of being an orphan, "did not recognize compassion or mercy, and during those years he is shown as an impulsive and angry person, unable to restrain himself not one iota, unless out of fear," Solovyov points out in his book “Ivan the Terrible: his life and state policy”. The book by S. Knyazkov "Tsar Ivan the Terrible and His Time" (1914) from the Presidential Library’s collection reads "he started reading at an early age, being very young Ivan read holy scriptures, books about the church and the Roman history, Russian chronicles, patristic writings. In everything he read he searched for the extracts dealing with the greatness of the tsar’s power, lawless servants and disloyal slaves – this all the young tsar applied to his position and deeply harbored in his heart discontent with those, who made him feel humiliated. Constant political intrigues made the Grand Prince suspicious, cruel and hot-tempered. Nevertheless he was deeply religious. According to some authors, it was childhood loneliness and the desire to find a place in the cruel and unjust life that encouraged him turn to God:  “Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan IV the Terrible of Moscow and All Russia”, “Ivan the Terrible” by Sergei Platonov and “Ivan the Terrible” by Robert Vipper deal with this issue.

In 1547, the solemn coronation of Ivan Vasilyevich took place in the Assumption Cathedral. “The First Tsar of Moscow Ivan IV the Terrible” (1892) by Ye. Tikhomirov reads that "he wished to resemble David, Solomon and Constantine the Great both in terms of power and title”. Having become "the tsar of all Russia" at his own proposition, the young sovereign believed that the higher status would help him in dealing with geopolitical issues while meeting with diplomats and rulers of foreign states.

But in the beginning, Glinsky led by the young tsar did away with Andrey Shuysky (he was attacked by dogs). This was the first independent step of young Ivan, which marked the start of his long reign, highlights I. Belyaev in the book “Tsar and Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia Ivan IV the Terrible” (1866).

“History of the Russian State” by N. Karamzin reads: "Moscow was to be destroyed by the fire to make Ivan change for the better." On April 12, 1547 the infamous fire started. "Now dying, now flaming with even greater force, it lasted for more than two months," the book by Solovyov reads. The day of June 24 was never to be forgotten. Flames poured out like a river, and the Kremlin, Kitai-gorod, the Great Possad were soon on fire. The whole Moscow was a huge flaming fire covered by the clouds of thick smoke. Wooden buildings disappeared, the stone ones were destroyed, the iron was heated like in the crucible. The roar of the storm, the crackling of the fire and people’s cries were drowned from time to time by explosions of gunpowder stored in the Kremlin and other parts of the city".

After the fire, the life of the court dramatically changed. Zemsky Sobor (advisory assembly) was called by the tsar. The essay “Tsar Ivan the Terrible” (Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich Grozny) details the first veche (meeting of the assembly) of Rus’. Delegates from all Russian cities and from all classes of society gathered in Moscow. Tsar opened Zemsky Sobor with his speech: “The people of God… be generous! It is impossible now to fix the evil of the past, from now on I can only save you from such harassment and robbery. Forget all that does not exist anymore and will never happen again!”

Despite the fact that in the memory of descendants Ivan the Terrible remained a despot, his contribution to the development of the Russian state can’t be underestimated. His reign was the time of reforms in military service, the judiciary system and government administration. In 1550, Ivan Vasilyevich issued the tsar’s code of laws, whose role in strengthening of law in Russia was estimated by N. Karamzin, V. Tatischev, A. Shletser, S. Bashilov, I. Popov in the publication  “The Code of Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich” (1768).

“Stoglav” (The Book of One Hundred Chapters) (1860) that regulated canon law, was compiled by order of the Tsar. The original text of 16th century attributes particular value to the publication.

Ivan the Terrible was the one who initiated book printing in Russia. In 1563 the first printing house was set up in Moscow with the financial backing of the tsar, and in 1564 Ivan Fyodorov and Pyotr Mstislavets published the "Apostle", the first dated printed book in Russia. It has been digitized and made available in the electronic reading room of the Presidential Library.

Actively engaged in the internal affairs of his state, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich successfully continued to spread the influence of Russia in neighboring lands. One of the campaigns to Kazan was headed by Ivan the Terrible himself. During his reign, in addition to conquering the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, Western Siberia, Bashkiria, Nogai Horde lands entered the Russian state. In memory of the conquest of the Kazan Khanate in 1555, the tsar ordered to build a church in Moscow with nine domes, which remained to the present time and is known under the name of Saint Basil’s Cathedral.