How Terrible was Ivan the Terrible? (Short Animated Documentary)

[@adamlatosinski5475]

So... he abdicated to get absolute power? That's a pro gamer move.

[@caad5258]

outstanding move!

[@ChristianAuditore14]

40D chess

[@Gala-yp8nx]

Sounds like an exploit the devs missed. I bet the Russian forums were pretty salty when Ivan was still playing.

[@JakeandElwoodBlues]

It’s a bold move Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off.

[@jadenk1409]

200iq move

[@Nic5Cyprus]

What if Russia was big? Said Ivan, trying not to be terrible.

[@dariushenker5400]

"We could make a religion out of -" "no don't"

[@goodmorning8526]

"OK fair enough"

[@OneRichMofo]

I dont get it

[@Nic5Cyprus]

@@OneRichMofo Bill Wurtz history of the entire world, I guess

[@hectisch1727]

“China is whole again” ”Then it broke again”

[@deathsomenow2196]

“What are you going to do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?” Turns out YES 😂

[@eisenkrieg553]

-Man beaten to death with a Sceptre.

[@deathsomenow2196]

EisenKrieg that is some breaking news

[@aroundhere1200]

*meat scepter*

[@arianas0714]

BREAKING NEWS: A man was beaten to death with a Sceptre. ”What are you gonna do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?” - said the man before his death.

[@VVdeRibas]

Yeeet actually this is a very recent myth. Probably his son was poisoned by someone else.

[@PiastTorun]

Fun fact "Grozny" in polish (another slavic language) means "dangerous" which I think is more fitting.

[@nebeskisrb7765]

In Serbian it means "disgusting" lel

[@PiastTorun]

@sa Truly beautiful my slavic brothers

[@nebeskisrb7765]

@sa It's kinda pain in the ass when you're learning another Slavic language. You see a word, you recognize it, think you know what it means, and then you learn it has a completely unrelated meaning.

[@idiocrat3744]

In russian it ain't anymore used but in ancient Russian it means the same

[@Pajdas610]

@@nebeskisrb7765 "Grozni" does not mean "disgusting".

[@-----Alcatraz------]

He used reverse psychology. What a lad. Ivan: Im leaving because of these nobles. People: Come back plz. Ivan: oh alright... under one condition.

[@australianword3812]

@@alexandrep4913 your point being?

[@kindadumb916]

@@australianword3812 we might never know..

[@jancyraniak4739]

That's not reverse psychology, that's being passive agressive xD

[@sorcierenoire8651]

@@alexandrep4913 cope

[@spirit9686]

@@alexandrep4913 "Nah, you're wrong, goofy westerner. *Agrees with what they just said*" ??? lol

[@leonidartemiev5668]

Grozny is actually closer to "the one who is feared" or "storm-like". Great video as always!

[@dominikdobrowolski3908]

Same in polish. The terrible is pretty bad translation

[@cageybee7221]

so "Ivan the Terror" would have been better?

[@bakedbread9443]

@@dominikdobrowolski3908 nah, the problem is our understanding of the word terrible. in the past, "terrible" meant "invoking terror" just like "awesome" meant "invoking awe" or "horrible" meaning "invoking horror". the older meaning of terrible perfectly describes Ivan IV, but the modern meaning makes him sound evil

[@leonidartemiev5668]

@@cageybee7221Well kind of I suppose. The word Grozny is made from the word "groza", which means thunderstorm, and it shows his unstable nature and explosive and character, so something like "The terror" or "the terrifying" would be good enough. Much better than terrible, that`s for sure.

[@dominikdobrowolski3908]

Ivan the dreadful for example

[@ricardoguanipa8275]

well once while playing Crusader Kings 2 I got the title of "the Impotent" for failing to impregnated my wife

[@oihanlarranegi472]

Imagine having the whole world know you as the guy who couldn't get a child. Oof.

[@alexmikhylov]

she failed to get pregnant when you are a tzar you've got to talk like one

[@dominikdobrowolski3908]

You failed to go full Henry the VIII on her.

[@someoneonearth1617]

I got ‘the Bloodhound’...

[@philemon26]

LOL

[@ilnur9973]

"What are you gonna do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?" Last words of a man who got beaten to death with a sceptre.

[@nathanhiggers4606]

The last words were "ай, блять, больно, не надо"

[@isaiahsmith6016]

Pretty lackluster choice of final words if I'm being honest.

[@stevenredpath9332]

He got off lightly. One noble had a hole drilled through his body and thick string (or similar) threaded through the hole which was then pulled back and forth. He died, painfully.

[@homoe7976]

"What are you gonna do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?" "Stop! You're beating me to death with a sceptre!"

[@tyronepowell147]

Lmfaoooooooooo 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

[@СтаниславКиров-ю2э]

I remember reading this a long time ago, so I might get some details wrong, but I think Ivan's deep seated hatred for the nobility came from losing his parents to court intrigue and the power schemes of the nobility, becoming an orphan at a very early age and growing up around those same bolyars that were complicit and seeing much more bloodshed. That's why he could never trust them.

[@Vitorruy1]

I played CK2, I understand how he feels

[@HappyAspid]

He had an awfull childhood, that made him a bit paranoid from the very start.

[@promethium-145]

@@HappyAspid The nobility also made him dress in rags and sleep outside in the cold, barely giving him enough to eat. This probably contributed to his murder of animals, and eventually humans. Child abuse is one helluva drug.

[@pushista9322]

@@HappyAspid He had a good reason to be paranoid. He launched a big war in the Baltic sea, an access to which was desperately needed to modernize the military and protect the country against future European invasions. But right then Ivan accidentally found out that some influencial members of elite were planning to kill him. He was terrified and naturally took a different approach to domestic politics.

[@PrincessLockette]

So kinda like Peter the Great?

[@rjdruhan]

So, a better translation for modern context might be something like "Ivan the Fearsome" or "Ivan the Dangerous"

[@DieFlabbergast]

Ivan the Terrible is the name by which he has been known in English since his own lifetime. "Terrible" meaning "terrifying" is NOT archaic English. We STILL refer to "a terrible storm," "a terrible earthquake," "a terrible tragedy" and so on. "Terrible" meaning "bad" or "not up to standard" is colloquial English, and would NOT be used in a respectable serious book, such as a history or philosophy textbook. ANYONE with an IQ of more than 90 knows very well what the "terrible" in this Tsar's name means. We do NOT have to dumb down the language for the benefit of a few morons.

[@SixteenJacobsCreams]

@@DieFlabbergast What year did you come from? Terrible has meant 'low quality' for decades and this is in the definition listed in the Cambridge Dictionary. Both meanings are standard English.

[@Mastakilla91]

@@SixteenJacobsCreams "terrible" comes from "terror".

[@chelvo56]

Maybe terrifying would be better of a term

[@Your_President_Kanye_East]

In modern context, he would be Ivan Not To Be Fucked With. Doesn't really roll off the tongue, though.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

How Great was Catherine The Great? How Great was Peter the Great? How Great was Frederick the Great?

[@John-Ginger]

In one word? Great!

[@Pawn2e4]

They got nothing on Alexander and Alfred

[@ErikHare]

None of them have anything on Tarquin Superbus by name. And he was so awful that they got rid of Kings for hundreds of years and declared a republic

[@chuckles5689]

How Fat was Louis the Fat?

[@tihanyidani3862]

How Silent was William the Silent?

[@igorsmihailovs52]

Thank you for another great video! Ivan before his first wife died was actually a kind and beloved ruler; she is believed to have been softening his negative treats. After she died, they surfaced; remember that Ivan's mom was murdered by boyars practically in his eyes, so he disliked them. In the first part of his reign he actually tried to be 'not like them'. But then he ended up worse than them...

[@acp4567]

They used to treat his back pain with mercury, he went fucking nuts.

[@promethium-145]

@@acp4567 They also abused him as a child. I wonder how things would've turned out if his wife didn't die prematurely.

[@ramon1954]

He was also paranoid the Boyars had actually poisoned his first wife iirc

[@Stejers]

​@@ramon1954 you know what they say, you are not being paranoid if they really are after you In a study it was found lead in the hair of ivans wife (lead is poison)

[@kingofcards9]

Tbf, the aristocrats and nobility of every country are never to be trusted.

[@pavels.6670]

Abdicate only to make yourself a Absolute monarch ? Ivan the Terrible: *I'm Gonna Do What's Called a Pro Gamer Move*

[@marjanp]

It's called 4D chess.

[@eap1234]

Stolen

[@AlternativaRed]

Many kings and queens who had bad names like Bloody Mary or Ivan the Terrible actually gained those nicknames because of their meddling with the nobility or the church or both.

[@robkirchhof133]

"Aside from developing absolute rule, instituting a secret police, massacring a city and beating his own son to death with a sceptre, there isn't too much he did differently to other rulers."

[@steve8610]

He didn't develop absolute rule, absolutism already existed in Europe, particularly in France. And yeah, besides what he did to his son, he was pretty much the same as all the other European monarchs of his time.

[@robkirchhof133]

@@steve8610 "Aside from developing absolute rule (in the state he ruled), instituting a secret police, massacring a city and beating his own son to death with a sceptre, there isn't too much he did differently to other rulers."

[@steve8610]

@@robkirchhof133 I'd also nix the “instituting a secret police force” and “massacring a city”. Those were certainly not abnormal actions. The 30 Years War, for example, saw the monarchs of France, Denmark, Sweden and Spain and Germany/Holy Roman Empire do much, _much_ worse.

[@robkirchhof133]

@@steve8610 No doubt it was a bad time across Europe, but i haven't heard of too many others " beating his own son to death with a sceptre", right? So can we agree he was a terrible father at least?

[@marcospatricio8283]

@@robkirchhof133 We can. But honestly, murdering family wasn't that uncommon either. Specially between uncles and nephews. Ivan technically also murdered his grandchild, since the fight that led to the murder of Ivan the younger supposedly was proompted by an abortion Yelena Sheremeteva had, after Ivan Father beat her up.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

In other words, although it wasn't the original meaning of the word, Ivan ended up being terrible anyway

[@JonyTony2018]

It’s not the current meaning of the Russian word either. It means someone who inspires fear.

[@JoeSmith-sl9bq]

Well he ended the Kazan Tatars and thus stopped their slave raids.

[@TheManinBlack9054]

Грозный literally means storm-like in Russian i.e. fearful or dreadful

[@sgsggsgsshshs8900]

He expanded his kingdom and brought down the boyars (aristocrat) power. To put it simple, he reduced the centralisation on the aristocrats but that thing made the nobles alike mad and tried to bring him down (ex. build nobles coalition to oppose him, wrote things to smear his reputation reputation, and so on). That's why he build the 'NKVD look alike' to secure his position. PS: Well, Louis XVI was nicknamed as the great, but even so he still ended up in the guillotines because of his 'tyranny'. On the king ivan's case, his nickname (The Terrible) was more like he was feared by his enemies inside and even outside his kingdom. :)

[@dankmemes8714]

Hey you know the supreme leader

[@noytelinu]

Terrible enough to not be in civilization games

[@PANZERFAUST90]

but Genghis Kahn was okay lol

[@varana]

Russia has other rulers to choose from. Mongolia - not so much. :D

[@wesleybarton3423]

AOE 3 does have him as the Russian leader though.

[@crocodileguy4319]

Well since for Sweden they literally chose the worst leader in the country's history because she was a woman, I'm pretty sure they would but Ivan the terrible into all their games, if he had a box.

[@omologo95]

@@PANZERFAUST90 Genghis was only terrible towards his enemies. Mongolia as an empire under Genghis was oddly stable and flourished, because Genghis was a good statesman as well.

[@tomrowell1558]

2:55 “What are you gonna do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?” *Turns out, yes.* 😂

[@rembrandt972ify]

Famous last words.

[@sergueileonardoafonin7950]

There's even a famous painting depicting this.

[@trololoev]

"Also the fact that he killed his son was just a rumor. His son was actually poisoned. He was sick for some time before his death(like a month or so), and when his remains were observed in a laboratory in 1963 there were found very high levels of quicksilver, 32 times the normal amount."

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Every time a video has someone running happily through a field of flowers, I can't help but laugh uncontrollably.

[@iamsithazagoth3728]

Rumor has it, that after Ivan beat his son to death with a scepter, he ran happily through a field of flowers.

[@intergalactic92]

This reminds me of that scene in 'The Great' where Peter expresses his desire to have a nickname like his father (Peter the Great), and one of his friends says "we haven’t had Terrible for a long time, everyone likes a good Terrible."

[@tallest4eva]

Famous last words: “What are you going to do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?”

[@ChuckNorris-wx6xh]

Something worth to mention: After the Basil's cathedral was finished Ivan asked the chief constructer, if it was possible for him to build anything that looks better than this. And the architect said that with more time and more ressources he probably could. Because of that Ivan took his eyelight from him (either with a glowing sword or by hammering to glowing nails into his head) to ensure that their wont be a more beautiful citadel build. After that he paid the architect his loan

[@mrvk39]

now, they think it's not a true story but more likely borrowed from the time of Mongols who used to blind some skilled laborers to deny others their services.

[@cow_tools_]

Is that true, or is it a legend?

[@RasheedKhan-he6xx]

There's also a legend about the Taj Mahal, Emperor Shahjahan summoned the top architects and met with each individually. To each he said, "I know that you are the best. Who do you consider second best?" and then gave the job to the one who had been named as second best most often. This is of course just a myth. Shahjahan designed the Taj Mahal himself with help on the technical side.

[@KA-zo2he]

​@@cow_tools_ it is usually considered a legend. Just like killing his son. I got some additional information from Soviet films (as i remember) that all of his family had too much plumbum and mercury in their bodies, especially his first son. It is implied that his second son Fyodor, was born weak because of this

[@Tarnthewarrior]

Ivan is like that one guy who would be labled as terrible by a group of friends, meanwhile the group of friends do the same thing he did only probably worse

[@MrBrock314]

I mean, when you're all bad, it doesn't really matter who gets the nickname of Terrible.

[@knockknock5231]

Charles IX and Catherine de Medici have left the chat.

[@jamesson1154]

@@MrBrock314 he’s referring to the boyars. They terrorized Ivan when he was a child. He just returned the favor

[@Nightingale1986]

1. "Grozny" is translated as "Menacing" or "Formidable" 2. Oprichnina was not the territory shown on the map 3. Oprichnina was good enough to win the most important battle of Ivan IV reign. The Battle of Molodi against Crimea and Ottomans

[@trololoev]

Fow western standarts it count good if they read article at wikipedia, did you really think they will check any facts? P.s. Also Ivan didn't kill his son. "Also the fact that he killed his son was just a rumor. His son was actually poisoned. He was sick for some time before his death(like a month or so), and when his remains were observed in a laboratory in 1963 there were found very high levels of quicksilver, 32 times the normal amount."

[@Er1qiaxdas]

Only Crimean Tatars. Several years before they ALONE burb moscow,soo,if turjs join them-you will be lost

[@AnasSaahirHuq-or9bv]

@@Er1qiaxdasThe Turks were also in that battle. The Battle of Molodi was between Ivan and his forces against the Crimean Tatars with backup from the Ottoman Empire and Ivan came out victorious. Over 100 000 soldiers were lost by the Tatars and Turks and were never seen again.

[@potestoniko]

"they were only good at repressing people but terrible at fighting competent enemies" Colombian police in 2021: why do this sounds similar?

[@Thomas_Name]

Every normal healthy person ever.

[@Nasrudith]

That is a common thing with dictatorships and selecting for loyalty and willingness to do terrible things instead of actual competence. Reality ensues when facing competent foes while not vastly outresourcing them.

[@ellismarquez8410]

*Venezuelan police in 2021

[@chuckleshelicopterwigwamjo7315]

*Russian army in 2022

[@plumebrise4801]

French police in a nutshell .

[@franciscosequeira5668]

The winter war The Iberian Union Louis XIV's Reign Like if you want to see one of these episodes.

[@freekmulder3662]

Iberian Union would be really interesting. Winter War has been done to death

[@nunomartins2209]

@@freekmulder3662 Iberian Union never existed Portugal was never a united state with spain or castike

[@multienergico9299]

@@nunomartins2209 Philip II was king of Spain and Portugal starting a union that lasted for 60 year. It is true that they remained as separate states with different governments but under the same Monarchy.

[@kamanashiskar9203]

@@nunomartins2209 It existed between 1588 and 1640.

[@ronrontall6370]

It's interesting that Ivan IV negotiated Elizabeth I the Queen of England about their possible marriage. By the way, Queen Elizabeth I is loved by people and they make movies about her, but she killed much more people than Ivan IV. In the period she was on the throne, 60 thousand people were executed by authorities just for being homeless. So it's strange that only Ivan IV is called "the terrible".

[@krashanb5767]

I guess nobody missed the homeless.

[@RictusHolloweye]

@@krashanb5767 - Yep, rulers can kill and oppress the poor and powerless as much as they want and few will notice, fewer will care.

[@OmegaIL]

That's unbiased history for ya.

[@Leo-fy3wg]

She only executed 2432- which sounds bad but she reigned for about 44 years

[@stevenredpath9332]

First time I heard she killed homeless people. Guess the message was: don’t leave home. Or else.

[@johnbourlier7883]

One thing that wasn’t mentioned: when St. Basil’s Cathedral was finished, Ivan was so taken by its beauty that he ordered the architect who made it blinded so that they couldn’t make anything that topped it.

[@trololoev]

it is same fake as killing his son. He was very religion and didn't kill without reason.

[@elgoog7830]

If true, what a fnckin lunatic!

[@DavidB5501]

Interesting that Ivan temporarily 'abdicated' and gave power to a close friend, and then resumed power when it suited him. Sound familiar?

[@ChituOkoli]

It's the Russian power play.

[@Vinemaple]

Good point, this is indeed something that's been done by multiple people in multiple countries.

[@hashbrown7845]

The scenes where they hold up a sign and get really close are honestly the best

[@perfectlyfine1675]

Didn't even mention the brilliant Soviet sci-fi comedy "Ivan Vasil'evich changes his job". I'm quite disappointed.

[@sviatoslavs.1305]

Maybe because this film is mostly known in post-Soviet countries, not a worldwide one.

[@alwinpriven2400]

@@sviatoslavs.1305 so we must change that!

[@anthonyc4138]

@@alwinpriven2400 lol

[@ccooll2008]

Perfectly Fine Ivan looking at a painting of him murdering his son [...]

[@ДанилМуромец-п1ь]

Красота то какая, ляпота!

[@arxontas2593]

In age of empires 3 he isnt even close to terrible Cause hes fantastic

[@arxontas2593]

@@AlOlexy I always take ivan bc hes good at spamming soldiers

[@apexlex1255]

laughs in great bombard

[@ShahTalks]

The Ottoman great bombards are Op

[@musAKulture]

i love fighting ivan...boom-a dozen strelets flying. so satisfying.

[@apexlex1255]

@@ShahTalks they are very good

[@Theamsice]

"what are you going to do? beat me to death with a scepter?" -quote from man beaten to death with a scepter

[@benoitbedock1064]

Your videos are an absolute blast! Thank you for this great work! The themes are often really originial an fresh, and I cannot manage not to laugh when any of the little characters run in the field of flowers, even after watching dozens of them. Congrats!

[@kourii]

2:49 'mistreating his son's wife' = he beat his _pregnant_ daughter-in-law for wearing clothing he thought too tight, a beating which caused her to miscarry. For context, this was actually Ivan Ivanovich (son of Ivan IV)'s third wife; Tsar Ivan had forced the divorce of the preceding two wives (and banished them to convent) because they did not get pregnant (although for the first he only waited about a year before deciding this was taking too long). Suffice it to say, by this point Ivan Ivanovich was getting tired of the tsar's 'terrible' antics.

[@YoussefAhmed-jd5zu]

Source?

[@kourii]

@@YoussefAhmed-jd5zu you have Google bro

[@eluilus4017]

@@kourii not that there are anybody at all who want to lie about him ..

[@YoussefAhmed-jd5zu]

@@kourii good point

[@KaiCross]

1:00 I can’t unsee Trumps face after that red split

[@mhbcrowley]

Been binging through alot of your videos lately, "What are you going to do, beat me to death with a sceptre?" Has been my favorite moment so far

[@makaveli2tt]

I really enjoy the material on this History Matters channel. Keep up the good work. ☺ ☺

[@reycesarcarino4653]

2:11 "Our men are running from the Battlefield, such a shameful display

[@SimpleReally]

I remember reading that he possibly suffered from lead poisoning and had severe chronic pain that further pushed him into cruelty

[@trololoev]

he with his "cruelty" kill dozen or even hundreds times less own people that any european leader of that time.

[@Lebaneselinguist]

You should have talked about the fire of Moscow of 1571 and the conflict with the ottomans and the taters

[@fulcrum2951]

Tater tots?

[@davesy6969]

Where i come from taters means potatoes.

[@Chris-hl4on]

@@davesy6969 he needs something to dip in the tatar sauce

[@sarcasmo57]

Well, he was pretty terrible but this could be said about many rulers.

[@m.a.t.a.s]

Grozny is a town in C̶h̶e̶c̶h̶n̶y̶a̶ *Ahem...* Russia.

[@seneca983]

It shouldn't be controversial to say Chechnya. I mean, it's still Chechnya (or the Chechen Republic) even if it's part of the Russian Federation and not an independent country.

[@fulcrum2951]

Its officially called the Chechen Republic

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

Why not both, Chechnya is a Republic

[@kostam.1113]

Chechnya is a republic inside Russia Same way Texas is a state inside US Or Scotland is constituent part of the UK.

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

@@kostam.1113 Russian Republics have more autonomy that either of those. Texas would be similar to a Russian Oblast for example. Chechnya is almost entirely autonomous except for matters of foreign policy.

[@randomobserver8168]

Even in English, "terrible" retains some of its older, broader senses that may include frightening but also magnificent. Consider the classic line from the Song of Solomon in the King James translation [and possibly also later English versions], in which the lover describes his beloved by many superlatives and concludes with, "terrible as an army with banners." Who has seen LOTR or GoT without understanding the combination of magnificence and intimidation that goes with that phrase? And this was a traditional part of the meaning of "terrible" or any of the terror-rooted words. As horror is fear plus revulsion and disgust, so terror is fear plus awe and respect. Among other things, the reason why horror, horrible, horrifying, horrific are all bad, where terror, terrible, terrifying are all slightly less bad and terrific ended up with a wholly positive sense, travelling the other direction. Basically, Ivan is being described as a magnificent bastard. No doubt he is an archetype of both fear and awe in the Russian psyche. How not? His reputation is practically that of Russia.

[@eluilus4017]

Not bastard That is who wants to do evil He didn't

[@Victor-iq5rd]

Song of Solomon 6:4 AKJB Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

[@phx24]

“What are you going to do, beat me to death with a sceptre?” *Famous last words*

[@nikolay4101-s7r]

Last time I was this early Ten Minute history was promising us an hour long video on ww2 due to be released on Spetember 1st 2019

[@leokennedy7624]

Yeah, he LIED!! 🤥

[@vallraffs]

I actually think too many of the historical figures that we think of as evil or tyrannical are just seen so because of how they treated the lower nobility and aristocracy, and not based on how they actually treated the people, the bulk of the population. Other examples are Julius Caesar, Christian II, king John of England.

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

I mean Ivan here sacked Novgorod for little reason than his own paranoia. It's usually more complicated than that, because peasants and lower born people of the time identified with their noble family that they served, or their monarch, rather than for any sort of national identity. The borders of countries were based on land the monarch or the nobles owned, rather than on divisions between the people like today. If the noble called a monarch an epithet, it stands to reason his peasants would follow suit.

[@vallraffs]

@@Flight_of_Icarus imo we shouldn't over-romanticize social relations under feudalism between serfs and the lords whose land they worked. Ascribing a kind of nationalism to them, and pretending that they were all too happy to serve and obey the duke who owned their fief, might tell one side of the story. But it might be far more accurate to see them as living in terror under the whim of a person or dynasty who could have subjected them to any kind of cruelty as reprisal for being shown any less than absolute obedience. Like we know that the idea of Prima Nocta is an ahistorical myth. But I think it kinda paints a good picture of how unjust and barbaric the relationship between the underclasses and the nobility was.

[@alexanderdesturion4346]

Although I personally regret that it happened, Ivan had plenty of reason to stop Novgorod from being a major economic center and keeping its institutions. It was a danger to centralized Russia. There were multiple attacks on Novgorod actually, ending in the "Sack of Novgorod". Each were provoked by disloyal attitudes there. Also, regarding his relationship with smallfolk - almost every folk legend we know of Ivan paints him in an extremely positive light. Peasants sincerely believed he was the " peoples-tsar", suppressing boyars while promoting peasants as his new elite in fork of oprichniki.

[@Alexanderrr3r]

@@alexanderdesturion4346 Well, name me some of those legends, please. Unless you made them up, ofc.

[@benl2140]

"The Great" or "The Terrible"? I wonder, which of these will James Bissonnette be remembered by?

[@lukezuzga6460]

Love these videos and "the way" they are made. Thanks Mate.

[@benjaminjohannessanchez3310]

We need a compilation of ALL video fragments featuring historical figures jumping through a field of flowers.

[@benjaminjohannessanchez3310]

Apparently I commented this a year ago... What is time...

[@firefox3249]

I wonder how long I've been asking for the renewal of a well-known series... Seems like forever

[@andriyg1244]

0:20 Right-top of the screen: Hi there!

[@Turalcar]

You might've as well explained that when that term appeared in English historiography it meant "Terrifying" which is a closer translation of "Grozny"

[@ГеоргийМурзич]

More like formidable, fearsome

[@DieFlabbergast]

It still does: e.g. "a terrible storm" etc.

[@Vinemaple]

Wow... this one's 3 years old, and it's as good as the new ones! I read up on Ivan Grozny once, and to me the pattern was pretty clear. It was all about becoming an absolute monarch. You see, feudal kingdoms weren't like ancient kingdoms, or the kingdoms of the Renaissance and later. In the kingdoms of feudal Europe, the king ruled at the sufferance of the other nobles. Kind of like how Westeros worked before the Targaryens went mad. The nobles agreed (for whatever reason) to elevate one of their number as "first among equals," but the earls and dukes and margraves all had plenty of land, troops, and resources, and could, at some cost to themselves, remove a king they had elevated. The power struggle between king and feudal nobles, as the king seeks to stay in power, and the nobles seek to retain their own liberty in the face of the king's power, drove much of European politics in that era. Ivan's actions often seemed to stem from an attempt to force the nobles and others to confirm his right to absolute power, instead of being constrained by the traditions of feudalism. Sometimes it seems like he felt entitled to such power... he most likely would have been aware of the powers that ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Mesopotamian kings had in earlier times, so it's not like he conceived the idea out of pure arrogance.

[@trololoev]

nobles destroy country, they was corrupt this is why he fight with them.

[@matthewlui1004]

Ivan: Bro, could you help me? Simeon: Sure, anything for you. Ivan: Become the regent when I abdicate and take all the church land so I'm not the one doing it until I unabdicate myself. Simeon: Sure thing bro.

[@igorsmihailovs52]

An interesting parallel with Henry VIII: Ivan IV has had 7 wives.

[@СергейПлугатырюв]

Sorry,what?

[@igorsmihailovs52]

@@СергейПлугатырюв, Ivan IV had 3 wives officially recognized (i.e., the marriages were blessed by the Church) and the rest were unofficial "wives", but they were not just concubines, and were seen as wives by contemporary people, though somewhat "limited" in their status. I mean, it would be not that safe to do otherwise, at least for a noble... But the Tsar was excommunicated for the rest of his life since the fourth "marriage", I even read he was even prohibited from visiting a service in the church.

[@igorsmihailovs52]

Henry VIII had his own issues with wives, and English Reformation started on the occasion of him willing to devorce. He had a total of 6 wives...

[@igorsmihailovs52]

Also, remember that Dimitry, the youngest son of Ivan IV, was officially considered a heir to the throne because Theodore had no issue. And Dimitry was the son of Ivan's last, seventh wife, Maria Nagaya.

[@ЛекПор]

But Henry killed 10 times more people

[@FabulousFadz]

There was only one course or action to win them over and calm things down: *Murder!* 1:57 Very on brand

[@stevenwills4660]

Gronzy was also translate to awesome i the sense of awe-inspiring or intimidatingly powerful.

[@caad5258]

Ivan the Terrific

[@pplayer666]

For-mid-able, zzzz

[@codeviper8665]

"What are you gonna do, beat me to death with a scepter?" -Someone who was beaten to death with a scepter

[@Sachi000]

Grozny (or how we know him in PL, Groźny) is more "Dangerous//Threatening" than "Terrible"

[@LangChainAI]

Ivan the Redpilled

[@DieFlabbergast]

That is what "terrible" still means. Other uses are slang, or at best colloquial. We still speak of "a terrible storm" or "a terrible tragedy." We will not dumb down the English language for the benefit of uneducated young people on the Internet.

[@MrBrock314]

Terrible has multiple meanings including the one you mentioned as an alternative.

[@RustedCroaker]

@@MrBrock314 And that's a problem. Terrible - more like a anti-russian propaganda then a genuine accurate translation of his real nickname.

[@michaeljohnson8250]

Grozny means something like "awe inspiring" in the biblical sense. So it means something like fear combined with reverence and wonder. Like when you see a thunderstorm you're filled with awe at its power.

[@hukubis]

Groznij litterally means "thundering", or "imposing", if you want to avoid fart jokes, The only reason he is remembered as "the Terrible" is because he had a misfortune of having a very, very strained relationship with Brits. Basically, at some point he proposed a marrige and a union to English queen Elizabeth the first, but was rejected(and rediculed harshly, if specultaions to be belived) afterwhich he emabrgoed all the trade with England, that inclueded, but was not limited by - dirt cheap lumber of pristine quality (Brits kinda needed those to build their famous naval armada), and whats more important - rare arctic furs, basically the best thing any european women at the time could hope for before the reestablishment of silk trade with asia. So yeah an evil, evil man indeed :D.

[@georgeniceguy3934]

Also the fact that he killed his son was just a rumor. His son was actually poisoned. He was sick for some time before his death(like a month or so), and when his remains were observed in a laboratory in 1963 there were found very high levels of quicksilver, 32 times the normal amount.

[@shorewall]

@@georgeniceguy3934 I don't think that disproves that he killed his son, it just casts doubt that his son died by scepter beating. :D

[@Alexanderrr3r]

Word "грозный" doesn't mean "thundering". It means dreadful or scary. Second - he was described as really bad-bad man indeed even by very loyal Russian historians - like Karamzin.

[@hukubis]

@@Alexanderrr3r Dude, you are arguing with a native speaker, Groza(гроза) means thunder. Groznij litterally means "thunder like"(which in equal terms can be interprited as awe inspiering, terrifing, and unpredictable, but not "terrible"). If eastern slavs use double meaning to describe someone like this, we usually mean all of the meanings included. He would have been called something like Užhasnij (ужасный) otherwise (both means scary and terrible) Mind that half of historians of the era he lived in, and up to early renesans in Russia weren't russians but foreign citizens invited to do chronicles, and things that foreigners wrote was only questioned during late 19th, early 20th centry. Was Groznij paranoid ruthless fuck of a Tzar? Probably. Was he worse than any other monarch to the point that western Europe still teaches that he tortured dogs in his early years or killed his son(both cases litterally unprovable and highly questionable till this day) no. Despite the popular paiting that was made based on unprovable historical event. He could have, but again, historians must operate with certanty, and conserning Groznij, there is a clear bias in the west.

[@eventyraren]

3:09 actually Suleiman the Magnificent Sultan in the Ottoman Empire between 1520-1566 Also killed hes son. Exept i dont think ivan ment to kille his but Suleiman planed it and lured his son in to a trap and watshed from behind a curtain and he is the Magnificent whell Ivan is the terrible.

[@idiocrat3744]

He did it out of rage

[@СиняяЗвезда-ж8б]

Peter the Great also killed his son Alexey

[@idiocrat3744]

@@СиняяЗвезда-ж8б Он арестовал, а Алексей умер от истощения в темнице

[@eluilus4017]

And of course Stalin didn't exchange his son against German general..

[@leewald733]

“What are you going to do? Hit me with a scepter?” Turns out... yes. Haha 😂 love this.

[@mariolis]

1:45 Reminds me of that law from "Gate So the SDF Fought there"

[@albogurkku6281]

Everyone: let's be great! Ivan has left the server

[@jaxsonh.266]

*Ivan has abdicated from the server

[@tarasdubenskyy508]

I'd say "грозный" is more like "fearsome"

[@Cjnw]

I think that it was written as *Гроѕнꙏıй* back then

[@r8rgtrs]

Yes, but “terrible” also means that. Like he’s so fearsome he instills terror in you

[@SeoulMan]

1:38 "No!" "You are mean and all you do is embezzle and treason!"

[@helenel4126]

"There was only one cause of action to win things over and calm them down. Murder." I wish my history teachers had taught their subject like this. I'm glad I had swallowed my coffee before I heard this part of your video.

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

"What are you going to do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?" huh .. I never thought of that, thanks son Wait what *smack* ... *smack* x 100

[@idiocrat3744]

Well, actually it was like "COME HERE YOU DEVIL! I WILL KILL YOU!!!!" *THROWS A SON ON THE FLOOR AND STABS HIS HEAD*

[@jasongonsalves2704]

Abdicating for more power has the same energy as losing a civil war in CK2 so you can play as your genius younger brother.

[@rishichopra1130]

That simeon geezer at 2:24 looks like Jock from young offenders ngl

[@nikolay4101-s7r]

Ivan the Terrible: Hates Norhtern Russa Joseph Stalin: Hates Southern Russia

[@NarquelieNarmo]

Really ? Yet Stalin was georgian

[@PasserMontanus]

Ukraine is not Russia.

[@Кристина_Шульц]

@@PasserMontanus Ukraine is Russia.

[@viktorpetukhov727]

@@PasserMontanus Ukraine is half-Russia half-Poland

[@PasserMontanus]

ok boomer

[@sailordude2094]

As long as that seemed, I'm happy I only watched a 3 minute video! Thanks for the history!

[@pfzt]

Man, that flower meadow animation is subconsciously entering my day-to-day thinking.

[@PuzzlingGoal]

I'm very dissapointed you didn't mention the Polish translation of the name Grozny was "dangerous". Which is both accurate to a tee and positively metal.

[@idiocrat3744]

He was named that by russian peasants. Shut up polish nationalist

[@alexstorm2749]

What does Polish have to do with the name of the Russian tsar? Grozny in Russian means “formidable”, “feared” and “storm-like”.

[@kourii]

Why would he mention the Polish?

[@alexmikhylov]

Terrible isn't really a correct translation, Грозный means Intimidating

[@joelthomastr]

It wouldn't be a good translation now, but it was translated at the time when "terrible" simply meant "inspires terror". Like how "awful" used to mean "inspires awe" and "faithful" used to mean "has faith"

[@alexmikhylov]

@@joelthomastr that's fair

[@ivan.gryazin]

The word “Grozny” in Russian means “terrible” without additional meanings, like “evil” or “bad”. It is somewhat stronger than the word “angry” or “serious”. Much like the word “badass” but in a slightly more negative way

[@captainsuperfreak1607]

Would Ivan The Arsehole be closer?

[@ivan.gryazin]

Captain Superfreak the same as calling William the Conquerer “Billie the Gaylord”

[@captainsuperfreak1607]

@@ivan.gryazin BIG GAY WILLIE

[@ivan.gryazin]

Captain Superfreak indeed

[@ИммануилБормотухин]

It means ''terrifying' or ''menacing'' , not ''terrible'' Хуй знает кто и зачем этот ''перевод'' сочинил о нем.

[@napalmblaziken]

"But I wasn't terrible. I was quite an effective ruler." -Ivan the Terrible, Night at the Museum 3

[@TheGuyInTheCheapSeats]

It's funny they put that in a kid's movie.

[@markscott554]

I did a spot of acting around school-leaving age, and there was an old-ish man who was fine with getting make-up, but wouldn't let anyone touch his hair. It was clearly a run and so I always (to myself) called him Ivan the Terrible Wig.

[@ГригорийГ-ч4н]

Grozny doesn't mean terrible. It means de facto more of mighty, awe-inspiring. Also mentioning Livonian war and not succesful conquest of 3 different khanates is rich move.

[@danghostman2814]

Terrible can also mean those things; it mostly gets used as a replacement for "very bad", but there's prayers to "the great and terrible Lord, our God", or the phrase "the terrible might of nature". Neither of which intend to cast a negative connotation, only an impressive one.

[@ГригорийГ-ч4н]

@@danghostman2814 that's the thing. Grozny in russian does not have a negative connotation (as in bad quality) at all. That word in expression like groznoie oruzhie in fact points on such high quality (and destructive potential in case of, say, bombs) that it is terrifying. Look, main city of Chechnya is called Grozny because it was, intially, russian guard fort.

[@not_flobby]

Ivan the terrible when Ivan the Great walks in:

[@_Lewo]

As a Russian I can point out that "Грозный" means something more amongst the lines of "menacing" or "frightening", something that scares people with its might. "Terrible" is such an odd way to translate it, I actually didn't realize it was referring to Иван Грозный, and went in whatching this wondering who that "Ivan The Terrible" guy must have been.

[@lordgarion514]

You should look up the word terrible in an American dictionary, and then look at all the synonyms.

[@sussurus]

"Terrible" meant "inspiring terror" before its current meaning of "very bad"

[@trololoev]

@@lordgarion514 you should translate Грозный in any dictonary and noone of them thanslate it as "terrible"

[@lisbon1492]

Great video! We must always remember to be critical of our sources. Who is writing the history can be just as if not more important than the history that they write.

[@scoman91]

When I was learning about Ivan, the translation I heard for "Grozny" was "Thunderclap," which was generally more equated to "awesome" in the sense of being awe-inspiring and powerful. If anyone remembers that joke from Night at the Museum 2 when Ivan calls himself "Ivan the Awesome," it's a play on that meaning.

[@sibah8314]

I was always confused by this English nickname. Terrible doesn't fit it's russian version, which is much closer to Formidable or Dangerous, even Fear Inducting. Terrible sounds more like he was incompetent, which couldn't be farther from truth.

[@ievimonkey]

I always thought Ivan was called "the Terrible" because he was a very cruel monarch, not because he was awful at administrating.

[@iapetusmccool]

Yeah, it puzzles me a bit when I see people say "'terrible' is a mistranslation, it should be something like "fearsome/frightening/horrifying/awesome/dangerous". Those are literally all meanings of the word "terrible".

[@howtoappearincompletely9739]

@@iapetusmccool "Terrible" as in "inspiring terror".

[@trololoev]

but he wasn't cruel, he killed for all his life less own people that modern USA president write death sentence. In average europe in year killed more people that he killed in 40 year

[@ZazoShamo]

He dude, make a video “How bloody is Bloody Mary”

[@-JA-]

Thank you as always.

[@master_ace]

Grozniy is like mix of imposing, formidable and fearsome rather than terrible and comes from the word groza - storm

[@alexandrevidal5203]

I am learning russian and in facts, грозный (grozny) literally means "great" and also "terrible" . So... technically, he could be called Ivan the Great like other kings in history. By the way, I love your videos.

[@gabenapier4361]

I think the “beating his son to death” was actually a myth spread after Ivan’s death.

[@corey2232]

It's actually the opposite. The myth was that Ivan's son might have been poisoned, which didn't come about until centuries after he died.

[@eluilus4017]

I bet Ivan was poisoned

[@trololoev]

@@corey2232 "Also the fact that he killed his son was just a rumor. His son was actually poisoned. He was sick for some time before his death(like a month or so), and when his remains were observed in a laboratory in 1963 there were found very high levels of quicksilver, 32 times the normal amount."

[@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

I dunno, I dunno, seems pretty terrible to me

[@housesports000]

Imagine your last words being “What are you gonna do? Beat me to death with a sceptre?” before getting getting beat to death by a sceptre

[@joshuaarroyo7235]

I just love it when he slides to the guy who accepted his demands and Ivan got that "I got you now" look.

[@jack1494]

Its more like "intimidating" than "terrible"

[@ΑθανάσιοςΚΥΡΙΑΚΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ-θ7γ]

What is meticulously silenced here, is that the term "Terrible" was given to him by the Pope, when he denied to become a Catholic. The same happened to Vlad the "Impaler", when he resisted the Ottomans, and Idi Amin the "Butcher" of Uganda, when he refused to work with Israel. History is written by the victors, you see... But to me he'll be forever Ivan the Badass

[@diddlypoop]

well Idi Amin is actually a little fucking nuts and probably deserves that title.

[@MrBrock314]

Badass is a bit too high of praise for those actions. Notable perhaps.

[@nts821]

He was much less terrible than Tudors.

[@moritamikamikara3879]

Ah yes, History is HORRIBLE. Jokes and references aside, the Tudors weren't that bad. I mean yeah they burned people alive occasionally but that's par for the course in 1500s Europe.

[@theliberator5126]

Nah, the mid-Tudors and some parts of Henry VIII’s reign were awful. But both Henry VII and Elizabeth rank as some of a England’s best rulers. (Especially Henry VII)

[@scudb5509]

Forgot to mention that he cut out the eyes of the people who built the St Bazils cathedral, so they wouldn’t be able to build another one of such beauty.

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

There's actually a painting of Ivan holding his son's body, it's really haunting to see.