Ivan IV Vasilyevich, a ruler over Russia during the 1500s, has much controversy surrounding him. Many historians debate whether Ivan's name was really meant to mean cruel and sinister or awesome and threatening. The nickname of "Ivan the Terrible" is a translation from the Russian language. The original word used for terrible was "grozny", which is believed by some to have meant "fearsome" or "formidable", rather than horrific and monstrous ("Prominent Russians"). Ivan was truly terrible because his methods were overly harsh, he left the Russian government in shambles, and he was mentally unstable, which rendered him unfit to rule the country.
Firstly, his mental state was completely disturbed. When Ivan was younger, his parents died, so he …show more content…
His effect on the aristocracy, as well as the overall central government, is clear- he only affected it negatively (“Prominent Russians”). Ivan's hatred for boyars caused him to disassemble the aristocracy, completely breaking down the current social system and reforming the government. Instead of the previous assembly, he favored the people who served him by giving them power and property. This move seemed unnecessary to some, however, because it just formed a new aristocracy and hereditary line of power (History.co). Ivan the Terrible's unchecked ambition led to exhaustion in many forms for Russia. Another one of these was in population. His murderous plots and policies weakened and declined the population incredibly, causing the army to be affected as well. Because of the falling population, Russia's military could not bring in enough soldiers to sustain order ("What Was the Impact of Ivan the Terrible on Russia?”). As a part of Ivan's vicious policies, peasants were slammed with taxes of astronomical amounts, as well as serious threats of violence. These undesirable effects caused the peasants to flee, which decreased the population of Ivan's empire also ("Russia Ivan IV”). Ivan weakened the power of his own military personnel that he put into place, and this led to financial repercussions as well. His decision to engage in and drag on the Livonian war and his failure to reap success from it resulted in a shortage of Russian resources, as well as a dramatic decrease their economy (Andreyev). Ivan's successor also had an effect on the weakening of Russia's economy. His incompetence brought instability, and Russia's neighbors took advantage of that, causing what we refer to as The Time of Troubles. During this period of time, which was ultimately caused by Ivan the Terrible, Russia nearly fell from power completely ("What Was the Impact of Ivan the Terrible
Firstly, his mental state was completely disturbed. When Ivan was younger, his parents died, so he …show more content…
His effect on the aristocracy, as well as the overall central government, is clear- he only affected it negatively (“Prominent Russians”). Ivan's hatred for boyars caused him to disassemble the aristocracy, completely breaking down the current social system and reforming the government. Instead of the previous assembly, he favored the people who served him by giving them power and property. This move seemed unnecessary to some, however, because it just formed a new aristocracy and hereditary line of power (History.co). Ivan the Terrible's unchecked ambition led to exhaustion in many forms for Russia. Another one of these was in population. His murderous plots and policies weakened and declined the population incredibly, causing the army to be affected as well. Because of the falling population, Russia's military could not bring in enough soldiers to sustain order ("What Was the Impact of Ivan the Terrible on Russia?”). As a part of Ivan's vicious policies, peasants were slammed with taxes of astronomical amounts, as well as serious threats of violence. These undesirable effects caused the peasants to flee, which decreased the population of Ivan's empire also ("Russia Ivan IV”). Ivan weakened the power of his own military personnel that he put into place, and this led to financial repercussions as well. His decision to engage in and drag on the Livonian war and his failure to reap success from it resulted in a shortage of Russian resources, as well as a dramatic decrease their economy (Andreyev). Ivan's successor also had an effect on the weakening of Russia's economy. His incompetence brought instability, and Russia's neighbors took advantage of that, causing what we refer to as The Time of Troubles. During this period of time, which was ultimately caused by Ivan the Terrible, Russia nearly fell from power completely ("What Was the Impact of Ivan the Terrible