First Russian Ruler Crowned With the Title "Tsar"
Ivan IV (1530–1584) was the first Russian ruler formally crowned with the title "tsar" (from "Caesar"), who in his early years carried out a series of effective centralizing and legal reforms, but grew ever more tyrannical and suspicious in middle age, establishing the "oprichnina" to launch a bloody purge of the nobility, and late in life killing his own son and heir in a fit of rage — a tragedy that led directly to over a decade of the "Time of Troubles" after his death, until the founding of the Romanov dynasty restored stability. For the cruelty of this reign he earned the name "the Terrible" (Grozny, also rendered "the Formidable" or "the Awesome").
Late in life Ivan IV split the state in two, and in the "oprichnina" he directly controlled he set up a black-clad guard to launch mass purges, confiscations, and executions of nobles suspected of disloyalty, and the city of Novgorod suffered a bloody massacre by the guard — the most direct origin of the name "the Terrible."
In 1581, in a quarrel with his son Ivan (the heir), Ivan IV in a fit of rage struck him with his staff, and the heir died of the grievous wound. This family tragedy left Ivan the Terrible in lifelong remorse and left the throne, which should have passed smoothly, to his mentally deficient second son Feodor — a direct cause of the "Time of Troubles" after his death.
The word "Terrible" (Grozny) in the original Russian can also be rendered "awe-inspiring," carrying a degree of favorable coloring not fully matched by the negative associations of the English "Terrible" — a difference of translation important to understanding the complexity of his historical reputation.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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