Resumes for Royals: Ivan the Terrible

The king of the nation of Absolutopia recently died without an heir and with no living relatives. Absolutopia is now seeking a new ruler to continue the previous king’s tradition of absolute rule. To fill this position, the powerful noblemen and noblewomen of the nation have posted a job opening and are seeking resumes from qualified candidates.

The monarch I am recommending is Ivan IV “the Terrible” of Russia. Ivan was born of Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich on the date of August 25th, 1530. He was proclaimed king at age 3, so his reign ranged from 1533 to his death in 1584. His mother served as regent until he was 8 years old, when she died. He was crowned the Czar of Russia at age 16. It was said he was respected in public, but neglected in private, which may have led to his later attitude.

One example of divine right that Ivan has is when he was born from Vasily III. He was crowned king at only 3 years old. Ivan also created quite a powerful army. He had a goal to turn the country into a military heavyweight. He destroyed the Tatar stronghold, and later Astrakhan. However, Ivan also showed many moments of limiting power of nobility and church officials. Although Ivan was highly respected in public, he was very neglected in private by the nobles. This may have led to his further repressions against them. When his wife died, he accused them of poisoning her and and continued on a campaign of repressions. He however, did amass some wealth. He had the St. Basil’s Cathedral built for him on Red Square. However, he made a very poor decision. Because he found it so beautiful, he blinded all his workers to prevent them from building anything for anyone else.

In conclusion, I do not recommend Ivan for the role. When he was young, he was a respectable person, but as he grew, and stayed neglected, he became almost erratic in his behavior. He grew more and more constantly angry and upset, and he set many repressions on the nobles and church officials. If he were considered for the role, he would only cause harm and discomfort in it.