IVAN'S FAMILY
Ivan's father was the Grand Duke Vasily III of Moscow. His mother was Yelena Glinskaya. Ivan's mother died in 1538, allegedly by poison.

Ivan's spouse was Anastasia Romanovna. They married in 1547 and she died in 1560. Ivan seemed especially off-balance after Anastasia's death. He then married six more times, disposing of unwanted wives quickly. Ivan's children were Ivan and Fyodor (by Anastasia), he then had six more children by his various other wives.

And here is Ivan's map

RUSSIA IN EUROPE
Click map to enlarge

HOW IVAN BECAME TERRIBLE
Ivan suspected conspiracies everywhere and eventually announced he would abdicate because of the lack of loyalty around him.

He was only willing to continue to rule under two conditions:

First, he would be allowed to deal with alleged deserters at his discretion. Second, he would be permitted to possess pieces of land throughout Russia that were exclusively under his control.

These terms were accepted, and Ivan launched his reign of terror. He hired a large personal army, the oprichniki, and all potential traitors were cruelly executed. Ivan retreated and left the daily duties to his dubious executives. This infamous corps of bodyguards was finally dissolved after the Tartars sacked Moscow.

SUCCESSION
Ivan was angered by the way his pregnant daughter-in-law had dressed herself. When Ivan began to beat her, her husband Ivan came to her rescue. The fight escalated and father Ivan killed his son and successor Ivan. Thus Fyodor later became Ivan's successor.

When Fyodor died without an heir in 1598, the Time of Troubles began and lasted approximately 15 years.

IVAN'S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS
The Livonian War
The Livonian War (1558 - 1583) was provoked by Ivan who desired to possess Livonia (modern Estonia and Latvia) with its access to the Baltic Sea.

Russia fought Lithuania, Poland and Sweden but was defeated. It had to refrain from all claims on Livonian territories. The financing of this lengthy war seriously strained Russia's economy.

And here is a map of the Baltic 1560 - 1661

THE BALTIC 1560 - 1661
Click map to enlarge

The Tartars
The Tartars were a constant threat to Russia. Ivan captured their city Kazan and later Astrakhan.

When Ivan was distracted by the Livonian War, the Tartars came back with a vengeance and burned Moscow to the ground, decimating the number of inhabitants from 200,000 to 30,000.

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