Ivan was the Tsarovich, the heir to the throne of Russia. He was the son of Ivan the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna. We don’t know a great deal about Ivan’s early life, but the little we do know indicates that he was truly his father’s son.
Ivan the Terrible’s name has been much misunderstood by Westerners. In Russian, he was called Ivan Grozny, which has usually been translated as “Ivan the Terrible.” Grozny actually means something closer to “fearsome” or “awe-inspiring.” A more accurate translation would be something like “Ivan the Formidable.” Once we learn a little of his life and rule, however, the term “Terrible” seems apt.
Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) was only three years old when he became tsar. His mother was his first regent, but she died when Ivan was eight, possibly from being poisoned by her political adversaries. After that, Ivan was in the hands of the boyars. He never quite forgave them.
He showed signs of great intelligence and religious devotion, and his early reign seemed relatively enlightened. In about 1553, however, he became extremely ill and almost died A few years later, his wife, Anastasia, died. He suspected poison, and believed that his boyars were trying to remove him from the throne. In 1554, he attempted to abdicate, but the general populace panicked, begging him to return. He agreed — but demanded absolute power to deal with his enemies.
Ivan’s enemies were many, and his grasp on sanity was intermittent, at best. He created the Oprichnina, his own personal police force. The Oprichnina dressed in black and rode black horses. They carried dogs’ heads and brooms — for sniffing out disloyalty and sweeping away the Tsar’s enemies. He had a lot of enemies, apparently.
In 1570, Ivan received information that the boyars of Novgorod planned to surrender the city to the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. The rumors might have been true, but probably were not. In response, Ivan sent the Oprichnina. Ivan went with them, with his son Ivan Ivanovich, and set up his court on the outskirts of the city.
They began with the clergy, rounding up some 500 fathers superior and monks and flogging them for hours. Ivan believed that the Archbishop and other churchmen were the instigators of the alleged plot. After that, he turned to the upper classes. The men were tortured for information. The women and children were thrown into the Volkhov river. Soldiers in boats pushed down anyone who surfaced with boat hooks and spears until they drowned.
Later, he punished the middle classes, confiscating all their goods and destroying their shops and warehouses. Homes were looted and destroyed, and anyone who resisted was put to death. The poor were relatively undisturbed — they were merely evicted from the city, and put out into the world to die of cold and starvation, in the middle of a Russian winter. The number of dead in Novgorod may have been as high as 60,000.
Through all this, Ivan was attended by his son, the 15-year-old Tsarovich. Both enjoyed watching the punishments and torture greatly. Afterwards, they would retire to the church for prayer.
Ivan Ivanovich was quite the apple of his father’s eye. He was the oldest of the Tsar’s three sons. Feodor, the second, who eventually succeeded him, was considered feeble-minded, or at least a little simple. The youngest, Dmitry, an epileptic, was not considered legitimate by Church law. Only offspring of a man’s first three wives were considered legitimate issue. Dmitry’s mother was Ivan’s fifth wife — or possibly his seventh. Ivan had a tendency to put his women aside if they proved infertile.
He did the same with his son’s wives, too. Ivan Ivanovich’s first wife was Eudoxia Saburova, whom he married when he was 17. When she proved infertile, the Tsar had her sent away. Ivan Ivanovich was then married to Praskovia Solova — she didn’t produce a child either.
The Tsarovich then married Yelena Sheremeteva, and in October of 1581 learned that she was pregnant. He was overjoyed — at last he had a wife he could keep.
But Ivan Ivanovich had been arguing more and more with his father. The Tsarovich was impatient with his father’s battle strategies, which were resulting in more and more defeats. He wanted a command of his own, and his father wouldn’t give it to him.
On November 15, 1581, Ivan Ivanovich heard his wife scream. His father, entering her chambers, had discovered that she was wearing unconventionally light clothing, and started berating her. He also physically attacked her. The Tsarovich rushed to her defense, saying, “You sent my first wife to a convent for no reason , you did the same with my second, and now you strike the third, causing the death of the son she holds in her womb.”
As the pair continued arguing, the topic turned to military matters. Ivan accused his son of inciting rebellion. Ivan the younger denied it, but held to his own military opinions. Incensed, Ivan struck his son on the head with his scepter. The younger man fell, bleeding from his temple. Ivan caught him up in his arms, crying and screaming, “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!”
The young Ivan regained consciousness briefly and told his father, “I die as a devoted son and most humble servant.” His father prayed for a miracle, but four days later, on November 19th, Ivan Ivanovich died.
Sources: “Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich of Russia”, Wikipedia; “Ivan the Terrible”, Wikipedia; “Massacre at Novgorod”, Wikipedia; “Ivan the Terrible”, Best of Russia website; “Ilya Repin”, Allart.biz; “Prominent Russians: Ivan the Terrible”, Russiapedia.