25 Most Cruel Rulers In History
Ivan the Terrible
Grandson of Ivan the Great, Ivan the Terrible brought about a unified Russia but in the process lived up to his name and instituted a reign of terror in the region. He’s said to have a terrible childhood and enjoyed torturing animals. When he became Tsar, he started off pretty well, constructing reforms. But when his wife died, he fell into a deep depression and his reign of terror began. He seized lands, created a police force to destroy dissent, and displaced many of the nobles he blamed for his wife’s death. He beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, killed his son in a fit of rage, and blinded the architect of St. Basil’s Cathedral.
