Daud Mansuar
Mrs. Stevens
CHY 4U
May 30, 2014
The Legacy of Ivan the Terrible
The legacy of Ivan Vasilyevich, Tsar of Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584 (Kort 31), is like a pineapple. In order to enjoy the goodness of the sweet fruit inside, one must laboriously get past the tough skin and sharp, stiff leaves. Much like a pineapple, determining the legacy of Ivan Vasilyevich has its drawbacks, as there was a fair share of inadequacies during his reign, but after one gets past this, one will discover that Ivan’s reign was indeed one that benefitted Russia for the short and long term. Ivan Vasilyevich was indeed an effective leader of Russia as his reign would lay the foundation for making Russia one of the most powerful nations the world has ever seen. His expansion of Russia, Renaissance pursuits, and effective domestic policies are all reasons why Ivan was an effective leader of Russia. Ivan’s territorial gains that included Siberia as well as Kazan and Astrakhan to the east (Kort 35) would benefit Russia from an economic, political, and social standpoint. First of all, he managed to annex a large Muslim population that lived in these areas (“Prominent Russians: Ivan IV the Terrible”) and turned Russia into a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. The significance of this is enormous as this happened in the 1500’s, a time where Europeans, fresh off the Dark Ages, were generally intolerant to any religions other than Christianity. In fact, Ivan made the people that he conquered, including the Finno-Ugric population who were referred to as “black peasants” by contemporary sources, subject to the tsar alone, not any landlords (Freeze 31). Also, after invading Kazan which contained a large Muslim population, Ivan did not make it a goal to Christianize these people (Freeze 37). One of the primary goals of Ivan was to ensure stability in his new and expanded nation (Freeze 48) and to do this, the major strategy was to tolerate diversity and Ivan did just that (Freeze 48). He left the landlords of Kazan relatively untouched and instructed Muscovite governors to govern fairly without coercion to these Muslim landlords from Kazan (Freeze 37). By invading the easterners and making them a part of the Russian Empire, Ivan would promote racial equality and religious tolerance in Russia. Secondly, economic benefits also arose as a result of this new land as it opened up new trade opportunities with other European nations. By the 1550’s, the Livonian monopoly, which used to be the centre of Russia’s commerce with Europe (Fisher 16), was broken because of Ivan’s attempt to re-conquer Slavic lands to the west which had been annexed by Livonia as well as Lithuania and Poland (“Prominent Russians: Ivan IV the Terrible”). Russia needed new, and wealthy trade partners. In large part due to Russia’s newfound military prowess, Russia and Britain became trade partners and established the Muscovy Company (“Muscovy Company”). This company would retain the monopoly in Russo-English trade until 1698 (“Muscovy Company”). By trading directly with Western Europe, Russia boomed from an economic standpoint (Freeze 46). Also, by conquering Siberia, Russia’s coffers were filled from a tax on any furs brought to market from Siberia by Russian trade (Freeze 46). Furthermore, as a result of his territorial expansion, Ivan was able to increase his army and do a more effective job at landholding. Before conquest to the east, Russia’s army were estimated to have contained 30,000 men (Freeze 41). By the end of the century there were 30,000 cavalrymen alone, 20,000 musketeers and around 3500 artillery men (Freeze 41). With the expansion of the army, Russia was able to do a better job at landholding and preventing any invasions from nearby threats such as the Ottoman Empire (Freeze 42). Lastly, as a result of this new land and trade opportunities that Ivan gained during his reign, Russia became one of the world’s most powerful nations under the rule of Peter the Great. Even though his attempt to gain access to the Baltic Sea and its major trade routes in a direct war with the Swedes, Lithuanians, and Poles had resulted in defeat (Kort 37), it still ignited a major conflict with Russia and this region. This animosity brought on the Great Northern War in 1700 fought by the Russians under the rule of Peter the Great against the Swedes to gain access to the Baltic (“Second Northern War”). The war resulted in a victory for the Russians and the emergence of Russia as a major power in that region (“Second Northern War”). Not only did Ivan spur on the Great Northern War 150 years before it happened, but the new trade routes and water, including the Volga as well as the Dnieper and Don Rivers (Kort 35), that he acquired during his conquests would transform Russia into more of a seafaring nation and that would lay the foundations for Peter who would turn Russia into a naval powerhouse. Peter’s military reforms massively modernized Russia’s navy (“Peter the Great - Military Reforms”) and was crucial in defeating the Swedes in the Great Northern War. For all those reasons, Ivan’s territorial expansion benefitted Russia immediately and in the long run.
Ivan the Terrible was a Renaissance man living in the Renaissance, and his personality and actions contributed to bringing Russia out of the Dark Ages. First of all, Ivan was a huge advocate for literacy and education. He proved this in 1553 as the Moscow Print Yard was established under his order and the first printing press was introduced to Russia (Staden 55). The Moscow Print Yard has also been known to print out several religious books which include Triodion, Gospel, and Psalter (Staden 56) to educate people on their religion. Before Ivan introduced the first printing press to Russia, commoners could not afford these books and when it was introduced, education in Russia would increase as a result of people reading and becoming educated on topics like religion, science, philosophy and politics. This was a huge factor contributing to the Renaissance and new humanist ideas. Secondly, Ivan promoted beauty and architecture during his reign, two major themes of the Renaissance. He proved this by having St. Basil's Cathedral constructed in Moscow to commemorate the seizure of Kazan (Kort 35). It was, and still is today, a beautiful piece of architecture and is as symbolic of Moscow as the Eiffel Tower is of Paris and the Empire State building is of New York City (Kort 35). Ivan also reconstructed the Kremlin Churches into a magnificent ensemble (Freeze 49). Similar cathedrals were replicated under Ivan’s rule which include the Trinity Sergius Monastery, Sviazhsk, and Mozhaisk (Freeze 49). All these magnificent structures would bring beauty to Russia and bring the Renaissance into full swing. Lastly, Ivan’s personality alone was a great reflection of the Renaissance. He was said to be a poet as well as a composer and even composed his own Orthodox liturgical hymn called "Stichiron No. 1 in Honor of St. Peter" (Tsivian 44). He was also said to be a very well-read man (Scandiffio 71). Being the leader of Russia, these traits of Ivan would no doubt have an influence on his people and would be important in bringing Russia out of the Dark Ages where music and literature was not encouraged among commoners. In summary, Ivan’s Renaissance pursuits are a reason why he was an effective leader for Russia during his reign. During the early stages of his reign, Ivan put forth a strong and effective domestic policy that would make Russia a better nation. First of all, Ivan revised the law code, creating the Sudebnik of 1550 which was designed to improve government efficiency in areas like judicial procedure and tax collection (Kort 33). It did many advantageous things for Russia, such as allowing for the right of peasants to leave their feudal lords (“Sudebnik of 1550”). It also abolished the judicial privileges of the Russian landlords (Letiche 150). In fact, in the mid-1550’s Ivan gave tax-collection authority to taxpayers – peasants or townsmen (Freeze 44). So in a sense, Ivan temporarily abolished feudalism in Russia. Also, by taking power away from landlords and creating a more centralized government, Ivan was able to stabilize Russia more. Russian landlords had relied on coercion and passed out harsh punishments to disloyal servitors, tax cheats, and rebellious subjects (Freeze 48). They also used to dish out even harsher punishments such as exile, imprisonment, and execution (Freeze 48). By limiting the influence of these landlords, which was Ivan’s main goal when he set out his reforms (Kort 33), he was able to provide more of an efficient government (Kort 33). Lastly, Ivan passed out the Book of One Hundred Chapters in 1551 (Kollman 1). This regulated canon law and the everyday practices of the Church (Runciman 329). This was very significant because during this time period, the church had authority over the activities of authors, artists, and others. What Ivan also did to the church was remove tax immunities that were traditionally enjoyed by members of the clergy (Freeze 46) which created more equality in Russia since commoners were now not the only social class that was forced to pay taxes. By regulating canon law, Ivan was able to improve the Russian government because he limited the influence of the church, which in Europe had negatively affected people by doing things like limiting the ideas of religious tolerance and social equality. In summary, Ivan’s domestic policies would improve Russia from a political and social perspective.
All in all, Ivan Vasilyevich was a more than adequate leader of Russia. By expanding Russia, contributing to the Renaissance in Russia, and by putting forth a strong and effective domestic policy, Ivan would lay the foundation for making Russia one of the most powerful nations that the world has ever seen. So why do people refer to him as “the Terrible” when his counterparts, Catherine and Peter, have “the Great” attached to their names? From looking at it from the perspective of the things that Ivan did to better Russia, he certainly does not deserve to be called Ivan “the Terrible”.

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