Ivan

Ivan [John], the name of four Czars of Russia, of whom Ivan IV. (1530-84), known as Ivan the Terrible, is the most famous. He reigned from 1533, did much for arts and commerce, and extended his dominions by arms. He concluded a treaty with Queen Elizabeth in 1553. He conquered Kazan and Astrakhan and annexed Siberia. He showed no mercy to the boyars and cruelly oppressed some of the towns of his kingdom, such as Moscow, Jven, and Novgorod (where 60,000 people were slain in six weeks). He slew his son in a mad fit in 1581.