Ivan the terrible biography video youtube

Ivan IV Vasilyevich was just a teenager when he was crowned czar and grand prince of all Russia on January 16, 1547.

Today, Ivan is better known as Ivan the Terrible, though the name wouldn’t be attached to him until much later.

Ivan ruled as Russia’s first-ever czar for nearly four decades. He transformed Russia, centralizing it administratively and culturally.

Ivan the terrible biography video youtube full

Early on, Ivan instituted several reforms, strengthening the church and reorganizing the military. And during his reign, the Russian Army also successfully secured the Volga River, and thereby the trade route to the Caspian Sea.  

However, Ivan’s policies would also cost many lives, and he brought Russia to economic crisis through an unsuccessful war before setting it up for the Times of Troubles.

A large part of what earned Ivan his brutal reputation—and later his nickname—was his bloody oprichnin