Ivan IV of Russia: Did you mean...?

In the early years of the 20th century, the Russian Empire, ruled by Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917), faced increasing unrest from within by all sections of society. The peasantry, working classes, middle classes, and nationalist movements...

Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. Built in 1508. Photo taken in 2004.

Portrait of Ivan IV, oil on canvas by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1897. The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Ivan the Great Tearing the Khan's Letter to Pieces, oil on canvas by Aleksey Kivshenko (1851-1896).

The Russian Revolution of 1905 challenged the absolute power of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917) as ruler of the Russian Empire. Bloody Sunday in 1905 started the year disastrously for the tsar when soldiers fired upon an unarmed crowd...

There were many causes behind the Russian Revolution of 1917, ranging from the unpopular authoritarian rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917) to the radical mobilisation of the working class, who wanted better working conditions and more...

The Russian Civil War (1917-22) began shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917. The Bolsheviks (the Reds) immediately found themselves in conflict with various opposition forces who disagreed with Bolshevik policies like abolishing...

The Ninth Wave, oil on canvas painting by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1850. Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. The painting depicts the sea after a huge night storm and people injured in a shipwreck. The sun's rays illuminate the huge waves. The...

Illustration from the Russian folk tale The Frog Princess, by Ivan Bilibin, 1930.

The long-term goal of the Bolsheviks, who took power by force in Russia in November 1917, was a fairer society where workers and peasants were not exploited by wealthy capitalists. The more immediate consequences, though, of the Bolshevik...