Ivan the Terrible : free to reward & free to punish / Charles J. Halperin.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Part I. Muscovy in the sixteenth century. Muscovy in 1533 -- The young Ivan's world -- part II. Ivan's life from his accession to the oprichnina. Ivan's minority -- Ivan's coronation and first marriage -- Life at Ivan's court -- The dynastic crisis of 1553 -- The prehistory of the oprichnina -- part III. Muscovy from Ivan's accession to the oprichnina. Domestic political reform -- Church reform and heresy -- Intellectual and cultural history -- The economy and economic management -- Early foreign policy -- part IV. Ivan and Muscovy during and after the oprichnina. The oprichnina and its aftermath, 1564-1584 -- The problem of the oprichnina -- The oprichnina in action -- Ivan's ideology, the oprichnina, and Muscovite society -- Muscovy, 1572-1584 -- Ivan, 1572-1584.

Ivan the Terrible is infamous as a sadistic despot responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, particularly during the years of the oprichnina, his state-within-a-state. Ivan was the first ruler in Russian history to use mass terror as a political instrument. However, Ivan's actions cannot be dismissed by attributing the behavior to insanity. Ivan interacted with Muscovite society as both he and Muscovy changed. This interaction needs to be understood in order properly to analyze his motives, achievements, and failures. Ivan the Terrible: Free to Reward and Free to Punish provides an up-to-date comprehensive analysis of all aspects of Ivan's reign. It presents a new interpretation not only of Ivan's behavior and ideology, but also of Muscovite social and economic history. Charles Halperin shatters the myths surrounding Ivan and reveals a complex ruler who had much in common with his European contemporaries, including Henry the Eighth.

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