25 August
Dates in History
1530Ivan the Terrible IV, the first tzar of Russia, is born. He establishes trade ralations with England and builds the first Russian printing house in Moscow. He also conqueres Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and starts annexation of Siberia. Ivan the Terrible reforms the governmental and judical systems. In 1565 he sets up “oprichnina”, a group of bodyguards who are used by the tzar in order to regulate different political disagreements and control aristocracy. The short epoch of oprichnina is known as one of the most murderous times in Russian history. |