Help
ivan the terrible was a russian ruler in the 16th century. he ruled the country from 1547 until his death in 1584. he helped expand russia into a great empire, was a lover of the arts, and created russia's first publishing house. so what was so 'terrible' about him?
born ivan iv vasilyevich in 1530, he was the son of vasili iii, grand prince of moscow, a title ivan took after his father's death. this occurred when ivan was just three years old. his mother ruled in his place, hoping to do so until ivan was old enough to take on the responsibilities himself. she died, however, when ivan was eight years old. ivan and his younger brother were raised by noble russian families. when he turned 16, he was crowned tsar of all the russias, the first person to receive the title. this meant he was
the top ruler of moscow as well as the lands in the region. this began his powerful reign of the country.
the early years of his rule were a time of peace, and he worked to make russia more modern. in 1553 he created the print yard, russia's first publishing house, which used a printing press to make books.
the task had previously been done by hand, and the workers who did this job were not happy about the new operation. they set fire to the print yard, but ivan had it repaired and it continued making books.
in the years 1555-1561, ivan ordered st basil's cathedral to be built. the cathedral still stands today as a monument to russia, and is recognised all over the world.
the years afterward were not so lucky for ivan. his wife died, possibly from poisoning, and the event seemed to change ivan's character. russia also suffered from droughts and invasions in the 1560s. these events caused ivan to change his policies. at one point, he tried to step down from his duties. the noble families begged ivan to change his mind, which he did. he insisted, though, on having total power.
with that, ivan began to kill members of the noble families that he did not trust. in one terrifying incident, he killed his own son, whom he had raised to replace him one day. during this period, he fought to get more power and more control over local authorities.
these events left ivan with the unfortunate label of 'terrible'. the meaning of 'terrible', though, is more related to creating fear, rather than being evil. his personality didn't stop him from creating close ties with england. this allowed russia to trade with europe and their relationship continued to grow stronger.
despite his name, he is remembered today as a man who made russia stronger and brought it into the modern world.
a7 ivan the terrible's mother died five years after his father.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a8 ivan's younger brother wanted to become tsar of all the russias.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a9 the fire at the print yard was an accident.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a10 ivan created a symbol of russia that still exists today.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
all ivan's wife died very early in their marriage.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a12 when ivan tried to quit as leader, many poorer people were pleased.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a13 in his later years, ivan felt that some people were against him.
1) true 2) false 3) not stated
a14 the english were the first people to call him 'ivan the terrible'.
,1) true 2) false 3) not stated

vanyanazarenko1    1   12.10.2019 21:05    159