14. As a Child, This Tyrant Used to Torture Small Animals
Ivan the Terrible ascended the throne of the Grand Duchy of Moscow when he was three years old, and his mother governed as regent in his name. However, she died when Ivan was seven, and a power struggle erupted between rival boyars, or Russian nobles, in which the child Ivan was left defenseless. He was exploited and tormented by boyars who mistreated and abused him in his own palace. That made him bitter, and bitterness gave way to insanity. Before long, he began to vent his frustrations by torturing small animals.
By the time he took personal control of the government, Ivan was a paranoid, resentful, and angry young man. He distrusted people in general, and detested the boyar class in particular. So he instituted a system known as the oprichnina in the 1560s that amounted to a reign of terror. It augured the absolute monarchy that was to be Russia’s hallmark for centuries to come. With a special police force, the Oprichniki, Ivan kicked off a wave of brutal persecutions that targeted the boyars, and spread from there in ever greater ripples that soon covered all his lands.