Russian Czars - Absolute Monarchs
The first czar was Ivan IV, as known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan inherited the throne in 1533 when he was only three years old. His young life was full of struggles for power among Russia’s nobles, known as boyars. When he was 16, Ivan took power and had himself crowned czar. Ivan was the first Russian ruler to officially crown himself. He also married the beautiful Anastasia, related to an old boyar family. 1547 to 1560 are often called Ivan’s “good period.” He won great victories, gave Russia a code of laws, and ruled justly and equally, or however equal that was normal in the 1500’s. Ivan’s “bad period” began in 1560 after Anastasia died. Accusing the boyars of murdering his wife, Ivan turned against them. He made his own police force, whose main job was to hunt down and murder people Ivan didnt like, or
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Eventually, Ivan committed an act that was both a personal tragedy and a national disaster. In 1581, during a violent fight, he killed his oldest son and heir. When Ivan died three years later, only his weak second son was left to rule. Ivan’s son proved to be physically and mentally incapable of ruling. After Ivan’s son died without an heir, Russia experienced a period known as the Time of Troubles. Boyars struggled for power, and heirs of czars died under mysterious conditions. Several impostors tried to claim the throne. Finally, in 1613, people from many Russian cities met to choose the next czar. Their choice was Michael Romanov, the grandnephew of Ivan IV’s wife, Anastasia. Thus began the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia for over 300 years. The Romanov dynasty, over tim, had