Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, received a good education under the guidance of Metropolitan Macarius. He read a lot and studied the history of Kievan Rus, the Principality of Vladimir and European countries. Ivan realized early on that many princes and boyars did not want to unite Russia, but wanted to be independent rulers in their lands. He decided to strengthen the state and make it stronger.
Ivan was an intelligent and talented man. In his youth, he surprised everyone with his knowledge and thoughts. He was a good politician, diplomat and military commander. But he had a difficult personality: he often got angry and lost his temper. Since childhood, Ivan has been suspicious and violent. He did not tolerate disobedience and could punish even a small offense.
At a time when the country was ruled by boyars, the life of peasants and townspeople became very difficult. The Boyars took away a lot of money and land from people, and the peasants suffered from this. In some places, people began to rebel against the boyars.
In 1547, a great fire broke out in Moscow. The fire destroyed almost all the houses and killed many people. It was a terrible disaster, and many were left homeless and without food. People started accusing the Boyars of arson and rebelled. The crowd broke into the Assumption Cathedral and killed one of the boyars.
Ivan the Terrible was very frightened by these events. He decided to change the government and brought new people closer to him, who were not connected with the boyars. These people were nobles who received lands and positions from the tsar in exchange for service.
The nobles were interested in the strong power of the tsar because he gave them lands and the opportunity to serve the state. Ivan the Terrible wanted everyone to live peacefully and amicably, and for the country to be strong and united.
Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, created a new government called the Elected Rada. It included nobles and boyars loyal to him, who wanted Moscow to become even stronger. The rada was led by nobleman Alexei Adashev. Priest Sylvester and Prince Andrey Kurbsky, Ivan's childhood friend, also played an important role.
The elected rada sought to unite the country and establish good relations between boyars, nobles and the church. In 1549, Ivan IV convened the first Zemsky Sobor, an assembly of representatives of different classes. At it, the tsar accused the boyars of abuses and called on everyone to work together to strengthen the state. In the future, such cathedrals were held to resolve important state issues.