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Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825
1453 Through the Reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) The Time of Troubles to the First Romanovs (1598-1682) Peter the Great and His Legacy (1682-1762) The Age of Catherine the Great (1762-1801) The Reign of Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825)

                                     

Explore this Section:

Overview
History
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Personalities
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  Russia Events
Engagement Symbol The Building of the Kremlin, 1156–1516
Russia Symbol Ivan IV Takes a Wife, 1547
Engagement Symbol Taking of Kazan, 1552
Russia Symbol Printing of the First Book in Moscow, 1564
Russia Symbol Oprichnina, 1564
  World Events
World Symbol
The Golden Horde, 1300s
World Symbol
Ottoman Capture of Constantinople (Istanbul), 1453
Engagement Symbol The Establishment of the Safavid Dynasty, 1502
World Symbol
The Protestant Reformation, 1517
Engagement Symbol The Jenkinson Mission to West Asia, 1558
Special Features


Russia's Globalization:
A Key

Events marked Russia Symbol are specific to Muscovy/Russia's internal development.
Those marked World Symbol are important world historical or cultural events.
Engagement Symbol indicates specific points of sociocultural or military engagement between Muscovy/Russia and foreign powers or individuals.




















 

 


 Russia Symbol    Oprichnina, 1564

Russia Symbol Ivan the Terrible's Retreat
 

Ivan the Terrible's Retreat
NYPL, Rare Books Division

The oprichnina occurred during the latter or “bad” half of the reign of Ivan IV and earned him the epithet “the Terrible.” In this era, the tsar orchestrated a reign of terror directed principally against the boyars, or hereditary aristocracy, with the aim of breaking their influence and power in government. While some boyars aspired to tsarist power and others challenged Ivan because of his misdirected policies, as a group they lacked solidarity, so the need for terror was a product of Ivan’s paranoia. The tsar and his henchmen, called oprichniki, murdered boyars – and their wives, children, and retainers – usually after long and sadistic torture that often took place during church services. The episode shattered Russia’s political, economic, and social life.