IVAN THE TERRIBLE WAS A MONK
Ivan the Terrible was as bad as he sounds. Still as far as he is concerned, he made it into heaven. The Russian Czar tortured thousands of citizens, indulged in long drunken periods, and had seven wives. After each wild affair, Ivan would atone by prostrating himself in front of the church altar with such sincerity that he would bruise his forehead from hitting the stone church floor. Ivan believed he was divinely chosen to rule Russia, so any of his acts, no matter how terrible, were acts of God. Ivan could be an eloquent and able government executive; but his violent temper and cruelty were also life-long attributes. As a child, he amused himself by throwing cats and dogs off the roof of the Kremlin. When it was rumored that the city of Novgorod was conspiring to defect to neighboring Lithuania, Ivan exterminated the city, torturing its citizens for five weeks and killing 60,000 people. In one…
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