31. The Novgorod Massacre
Ivan the Terrible’s most infamous act of cruelty occurred in Novgorod, when that city defied him in 1570. He marched on it in the dead of winter, and after seizing it, Ivan indulged in an orgy of violent depravity. He started off with the clergy, whom he rounded up and ordered flogged from dawn until dusk, for days on end, until they each paid a 20 ruble fine. Hundreds died, and afterward, he ordered the survivors executed.
Novgorod’s population fared no better: he ordered the torture of leading citizens, along with their families. Men were executed, and women and children were bound and thrown into a nearby river, where they were trapped under the ice as soldiers patrolled the area on foot, wielding hooks and spears to push down any who surfaced. By the time Ivan was finally sated, over 60,000 had perished.