A biography of the infamous czar.

This is the first major re-assessment of Ivan the Terrible to be published in the West in the post-Soviet period. It breaks away from older stereotypes of the tsar – whether as ‘crazed tyrant’ and ‘evil genius’, on the one hand, or as a ‘great and wise statesman’, on the other – to provide a more balanced picture. It examines the ways in which Ivan’s policies contributed to the creation of Russia’s distinctive system of unlimited monarchical rule. Ivan is best remembered for his reign of terror, the book pays due attention to the horrors of his executions, tortures and repressions, especially in the period of the oprichnina (1565-72), when he mysteriously divided his realm into two parts, one of which was under the direct control of the tsar and his oprichniki (bodyguard). This work argues that the often gruesome forms assumed by the terror reflected not only Ivan’s personal cruelty and sadism, but also his religious views about the divinely ordained right of the tsar to punish his treasonous subjects, just as sinners were punished in Hell. Primarily chronological in its organisation, the book focuses on three main aspects of Ivan’s power: the territorial expansion of the state, the mythology, rituals and symbols of monarchy; and the development of the autocratic system of rule.

A biography of Russia's first tsar Ivan the Terrible that describes his life, cruelty, andvictims.

This Thing of Darkness, Joan Neuberger's engrossing production history of Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible, is a major contribution to the study of Eisenstein and thus informs the history and theory of cinema and the study of Soviet culture and politics. Neuberger's ability to mine, interpret, and connect Eisenstein's voluminous, intriguingly digressive writings makes this book exceptional.— Karla Oeler, Stanford University Sergei Eisenstein's unfinished masterpiece, Ivan the Terrible, was no ordinary movie. Commissioned by Joseph Stalin in 1941 to justify state terror in the sixteenth century and in the twentieth, the film's politics, style, and epic scope aroused controversy even before it was released. In This Thing of Darkness, Joan Neuberger offers a sweeping account of the conception, making, and reception of Ivan the Terrible that weaves together Eisenstein's expansive thinking and experimental practice with a groundbreaking new view of artistic production under Stalin. Drawing on Eisenstein's unpublished production notebooks, diaries, and manuscripts, Neuberger's riveting narrative chronicles Eisenstein's personal, creative, and political challenges and reveals the ways cinematic invention, artistic theory, political critique, and historical and psychological analysis went hand in hand in this famously complex film. Neuberger's bold arguments and daring insights into every aspect of Eisenstein's work during this period, together with her ability to lucidly connect his wide-ranging late theory with his work on Ivan, show the director exploiting the institutions of Soviet artistic production not only to expose the cruelties of Stalin and his circle but to challenge the fundamental principles of Soviet ideology itself. Ivan the Terrible, she argues, shows us one of the world's greatest filmmakers and one of the 20th century's greatest artists observing the world around him and experimenting with every element of film art to explore the psychology of political ambition, uncover the history of recurring cycles of violence and lay bare the tragedy of absolute power.

“This significant biography of the 16th-century Russian czar…is likely to become the definitive work on Ivan for some time” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). One of the most important figures in Russian history, Ivan IV Vasilyevich has remained among the most neglected. The country’s first Tsar, he is notorious for pioneering a policy of unrestrained terror—and for killing his own son. In Ivan the Terrible, Russian historian Isabel de Madariaga presents the first comprehensive biography of Ivan from birth to death, shedding light on his policies, his marriages, his atrocities, and his disordered personality. Situating Ivan within the Russian political developments of the sixteenth century, de Madariaga also offers revealing comparisons with English, Spanish, and other European courts of the time. The biography includes a new account of the role of astrology and magic at Ivan’s court and provides fresh insights into his foreign policy. Addressing the controversies that have paralyzed western scholarship as well as the challenges of authentication—since much of Ivan’s archive was destroyed by fire in 1626—de Madariaga seeks to present Russia as viewed from within Russia rather than from abroad. The result is an enlightening work that captures the full tragedy of Ivan’s reign.

Ivan the Terrible - the name evokes the legend of a cruel and dangerously insane tyrant. Fearful Majesty explores that legend and exposes the man, his nature, and his time. This acclaimed biography of one of Russia's most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan's reign. Ivan IV oversaw huge conquests of neighboring lands, the creation of a national church, and Russia's emergence as a world power. Arrogant, handsome, a gifted orator and theologian, Ivan was well educated but cruel, profoundly egotistical yet cowardly, scarred by childhood terrors. He was also the Russian ruler whose policies first cast Russia in the role of "Evil Empire" to the West. Throughout his reign, Ivan's unbalanced genius erupted in a tyranny so violent that it threatened to destroy his bloodline, his court, his church, his country.

Soon in their zeal to send to his death the man they claimed was Ivan, U.S. government officials were concealing evidence that proved Demjanjuk innocent so they could take away his citizenship and extradite him to Israel, all the while hiding the truth.