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Grace Hakim

HIST152 Section 1

Professor Thompson

11 April 2022

Bonus Report 1 on Ivan the Terrible

For this bonus report I watched a documentary on Amazon Prime Video about Ivan the

Terrible. This film follows a timeline structure format beginning with Ivan's childhood to his

death later on. The interviews conducted are with historians, professors, and a criminal profiler

to detail specific attributes and details of Ivan's life. This documentary did a great job of

overviewing the main and key aspects of who Ivan was and why he did malicious actions.

Ivan’s childhood was rough. He was abused and forced to fight adults for basic needs

such as food. This trauma is relevant to his horrendous actions later in life. As a child he is

powerless, so as an adult power is what he desired most. When looking through his adolescence

Ivan began having vicious dogs harm those who he did not like. Although he was still young the

dogs allowed him to gain power and fear which a historian stated is a feeling “he got addicted to”

(timestamp 5:35). At age 17 he marries his wife Anastasia. She proves to be a calming person in

his life which tones down his intense side. Soon after their marriage he proclaimed himself the

Tsar of the Russian Empire.

As Ivan transitions into adulthood as “God’s chosen” he instills a sense of Russian

nationalism which has a lasting effect through generations. The nationalism created through

winning battles intensifies Ivans violent behaviors. The historians describe Ivan as a serial killer

of the 16th century which typically leads to two motives of behaviors: aggressive mutilation and

sexual gratification. Throughout the documentary there are parallels drawn between Ivan the
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Terrible and Stalin. During Stalin's rule he created a documentary about Ivan and propaganda

which continues the sense of nationalism in Russia.

Once Ivan’s first wife dies he goes into self exile and paranoia. He makes this calculated

choice to gain popularity by the Russian people to realize that they need him. Through

negotiation he gains the title of an absolute monarch. At the end of the documentary it is evident

that Ivan the Terrible essentially becomes mad and takes his malicious feelings out on those

closest to him. He eventually beat his son to death which the public strongly disliked. The

documentary ends with Ivan losing the control and power which he had spent so long desiring

and chasing.

Overall, I learned a lot about Ivan the Terrible and the psychological factors which lead to

his rule and loss of power. Although the information is presented in a basic manner I found it

insightful with visual reenactments. Here is the link of the documentary:

https://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Terrible-Peter-Moers/dp/B01NCXOQ20/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3CUK

6MQVRXK44&keywords=ivan+the+terrible&qid=1649700141&s=instant-video&sprefix=ivan

+th%2Cinstant-video%2C82&sr=1-2