Ivan the Terrible. The Beginning of the Path. Essays on Russian History of the 30s and 40s of the 16th Century

The new book by Russian historian V.V. Pensky is dedicated to a complex and contradictory time in the history of the Russian state and to the man who became a symbol of this era, Ivan the Terrible. The long reign of Ivan IV essentially summed up the results of the Rurik dynasty's time at the peak of power in the Russian political Olympus. The first Russian tsar completed the work started by his great-grandfather Vasily II and grandfather Ivan III—the gathering of lands and power. He completed the construction of the Russian 'service state,' which was then repeatedly rebuilt, especially under Peter the Great, and existed until the second half of the 18th century, when under Catherine II its gradual dismantling began. This process was complex and by no means linear—after the leap forward made during Ivan III's reign, there was a lull during Vasily III's time, when both the country and the power seemed to be preparing, gathering strength and energy for a new leap. The unexpected death of Vasily III postponed this process for a time. The author tells about the years of 'boyar rule' that followed the death of Ivan IV's father, the period of 'interregnum' and lawlessness, when the personality and character of the future terrible tsar were being formed, and how his path to power began.
The author included numerous quotes from chronicles and charters of the time of Ivan the Terrible in order to convey the spirit of the era as much as possible.