This is the first major re-assessment of Ivan the Terrible to be
published in the West in the post-Soviet period. It breaks away
from older stereotypes of the tsar A whether as Acrazed tyrantA and
Aevil geniusA, on the one hand, or as a Agreat and wise statesmanA,
on the other A to provide a more balanced picture. It examines the
ways in which IvanAs policies contributed to the creation of
RussiaAs distinctive system of unlimited monarchical rule.
Ivan is best remembered for his reign of terror, the book pays
due attention to the horrors of his executions, tortures and
repressions, especially in the period of the oprichnina (1565-72),
when he mysteriously divided his realm into two parts, one of which
was under the direct control of the tsar and his oprichniki
(bodyguard). This work argues that the often gruesome forms assumed
by the terror reflected not only IvanAs personal cruelty and
sadism, but also his religious views about the divinely ordained
right of the tsar to punish his treasonous subjects, just as
sinners were punished in Hell.
Primarily chronological in its organisation, the book focuses on
three main aspects of IvanAs power: the territorial expansion of
the state, the mythology, rituals and symbols of monarchy; and the
development of the autocratic system of rule.
General
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