The Many Deaths of Ivan the Terrible and Their Interpretations

Born on August 25th 1530, Ivan the Terrible lived a relatively long life but was thought to be dead many times. During his childhood many rumors about his death circulated, contributing to the instability of court politics. In March 1553, shortly after his triumph, the conquest of Kazan (October 2 1552), he fell extremely ill, and a tragicomedy was played around his bed about the would-be succession. The many tales about this episode do not add up and were rewritten several times. Ivan’s real death, on March 18th 1584, is recorded in very different ways in English and Russian sources. This paper explores the mechanics of History writing in Muscovy and the birth of Kremlinology abroad. The positivist approach consists of eliminating “errors” in each tale and establishing a plausible reconstruction of the chain of events. We try to understand the purpose of each narration and the reason why some elements are kept or omitted