Ivan the Terrible Ivan the Terrible, the Grand Prince of Moscow (until he gained the title of tsar) was an extreme absolute monarch. As a child, he faced cruel abuse and hostility from his mother. As he grew older, he accumulated countless enemies. When he gained full power of Moscow at 17, he began destroying his rivals and anybody he thought might be against him. Ivan the Terrible gained his name particularly from his unforgiving torture methods, so unforgiving that he even used them on his own son. He is known as one of the most extreme monarchs in all of history. Ivan the Terrible’s rule was one of the most extreme in all of history - he killed those who opposed him, he was the only one that called the shots, and the power of the country …show more content…
For example, some of the key aspects of extremely controlling monarchs is that there is only one ruler, you rule until you die, and that power gets passed down from generation to generation. Ivan the Terrible obtained his power not through his own hard work, but through his blood line. He ruled until he passed away, and Ivan was the only ruler. Another aspect of extremely controlling dictators is that they have complete control of society and government. At the very start of Ivan 's rule, he had two chairmen guide him in the right direction to show him how everything worked, but they were soon fired leaving Ivan the Terrible to make every decision on his own. With all of the power in his hands, he proceeded to slaughter thousands and invade inhabited lands just to steal and control new areas. He decided what cultures would live in which countries, where peasants would live, and where the middle class would live. Ivan the Terrible left virtually no room for the Russian people to make their own decisions. Also, another aspect of an extremely controlling monarch is that they have control over all of the people in the country. Ivan the Terrible did obtain complete control of all of the people in his territory, mostly by threatening them with death if they ever opposed something he said. If he murders his own son in cold blood, what would stop him from going on a rampage on his own