Ivan the Terrible

One of Russia's best and worst Tsars, was Ivan the Terrible. Ivan was crowned Tsar in 1547 at the age of 16. His view of the position of Tsar was that it meant being an ultimate and supreme ruler. Ivan was not going to let anyone stand in his way. His policies involved making sure all Russian lands succumb to his great power. Ivan waged wars against everybody and everything that stood in his path to power. In his lifetime had conquered Siberia, he kept the Novgorod Republic under imperial control, fought and beat the Turks, raided Crimea and almost succeeded in gaining access to the Baltic sea by waging war. Ivan's Tsarship consisted primarily of desire for land and power and he failed to actually bring about a good policy to help his people. However, he did succeed to putting Russia on the map as a force to be feared when it comes to military prowess. Ivan died in 1584, leaving Russia to his son, who would then died childless and send Russia into the Time of Troubles.