10. A Russian tsar kept Russian bears as pets
In the customary depictions of the European powers as animals, in which England is the British Lion, Russia is invariably considered to be a bear. How the Russian Bear evolved as a symbol is debatable, but one Russian Tsar, the notorious Ivan IV, known to history as Ivan the Terrible, made the bear an icon of his reign by keeping two in his Moscow palace, where he ensured that they remained underfed and thus always hungry. Ivan the Terrible was the Tsar who gave Russia another of its enduring symbols, the Cathedral of St. Basil in Moscow, with its onion domes making it instantly recognizable in paintings and photographs.
Another often repeated tale that persists despite no contemporaneous sources supporting it is that Ivan’s bears, frequently referred to as his pets, were used by the Tsar to execute those who had displeased him. Prisoners were thrown into the dens where the hungry bears tore them to pieces. Others relate that Ivan, presumably to alleviate a moment of boredom, would unleash the bears on innocent passers-by, giving the Tsar a moment of amusement. Whether the Tsar in fact kept and used his pet bears in the manner described is unproven and likely unprovable, and the growing repetition of the story is steadily engraving it into consciousness.