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The Welcome to a history of Europe, the Siege of Kazan of 1552, Part 2 of 3.

In October 2016, took place in the Russian city of Oriol, the unveiling of the first ever

statue of Tsar Ivan, the 4th of Russia, known as Ivan the Terrible.

The nationally televised event officially celebrated the 450th anniversary of the founding

of the city of Orion, established as a fortress to defend Moscow's southern borders.

It caused mixed reactions among Russians, dividing those who

favour the rule of a strong leader and others who decry the type of repression on authoritarianism

symbolized by Ivan the Terrible. Indeed, it was not difficult to spot the political subtext

from the words of the governor of the Oriol region, Vadim Potomsky.

Quote, we have a great and most powerful president who has forced the whole world to respect Russia and to reckon with us, as did Ivan the Terbil in his own time. God is with us.

The debate about the statue is as much about Russia's future as it's

past. When major historical characters or events are given prominence by today's leaders,

it becomes even more important to learn their true story, as is the aim of this podcast.

Ivan IV, is the first Russian leader for whom we are fortunate enough to have a number of good quality contemporary sources with which to assess the Tsar and his leadership.

The common perception is of a ruthless autocrat, perhaps even half crazed, who did not hesitate to commit mass murder to achieve his political

objectives. His moniker of The Terrible derives from the so-called Oblijnina, a secret police

force that spread mass terror and executed thousands of people. However, the Terrible is a poor

translation of the Russian word

Grosny, which means something more like the fearsome. As sports pundits might put it,

Ivan had a reign of two halves, the first years with a very different character than the later ones.

It is in that latter part of his reign where he commits his worst atrocities, and so

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