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Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich was born on August 25, 1530 in Russia.
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Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich's father Vasili III passed away when Ivan was only 3 years old forcing his mother to rule as regent.
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Ivan's mother Yelena Glinskaya dies leaving her 8 year old son orphaned and creating a power struggle among the noble class.
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After his mother's death, Ivan was raised by nobility that often neglected and mistreated him causing his sensitive and intelligent nature to deteriorate taking a suspicious and ruthless turn.
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After being crowned the first tsar Ivan the Terrible he made Anastasia Romanovna his wife.
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Ivan the Terrible was crowned the first tsar in 1547.
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Ivan the Terrible almost did not recover from a severe illness.
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Ivan's wife Anastasia Romanovna dies.
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Following the death of his wife, Ivan struggled with depression and his behavior became more uncontrollable. He was eventually nicknamed "Grozny" because of the fear and suffering he caused his people.
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Ivan the Terrible had St. Basil's Cathedral built by very talented architects. After it was completed he thought it was so splendid that he had the architects blinded so that they could never create anything more beautiful.
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A few years after his wife's death, probably because of his mental state, Ivan the Terrible left for a short time and threatened to abdicate the throne until people eventually convinced him to come back and agreed to his conditions.
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Ivan the Terrible gets into a fight with his son after beating his daughter-in-law causing her to suffer a miscarriage. The fight escalates and he ends up killing his son the first heir.
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As Ivan the Terrible began to have problems with his health he also became obsessed with the idea of death. He started to do anything possible to prolong his life such as bringing in soothsayers and witches.
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Ivan the Terrible died of what was probably a stroke on March 18, 1584.
