Ivan The Terrible

Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584) was ruler of Russia from 1533 until 1584. He was the first to assume the title of Czar (emperor). During his reign, Russian power and territory expanded dramatically.

Ivan modernized the legal code, created a council of nobles, and asserted state power over the church. He created a standing army and fought wars against Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, and the Teutonic knights (Livonia). Russian territory expanded to the south and also across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

He restricted the power of the nobility, accumulating absolute power in Moscow under the Czar himself. He also passed laws restricting the mobility of peasants, establishing serfdom.

Ivan the Terrible was mentally ill and unbalanced. In 1581, in a fit of rage, he accidentally killed his son, Ivan.