Ivan the great or Ivan III was the grand prince of Moscow from 1462 to 1505. He was one of the first sovereign to expand the territory of Russia and although the tsars of Russia are infamous for their tyranny and ruthlessness, once in a blue moon does one like Ivan the Great who was a good Tsar comes along and changes the path of the country.

Facts about Ivan the Great in a nutshell are:

• At the time of Ivan III, the Russian states were called Muscovy and were a much smaller area than the Russia which emerged later.

• Ivan the great is often confused with Ivan the terrible, his grandson, who ruled later from 1530 to 1584 and is better known for his blood thirstiness and cruelty. While Ivan the great started the expansion of the land, it was Ivan the terrible who unified it.

• Ivan the great was the son of Vasily II and he learnt trick of his trade from his father as he ruled with him as co-regent before taking over in 1462.

• He is often known as the ‘œgatherer of lands’ for starting a land expansion process.

• He was the first to use the title ‘œTsar’ or’œThe Grand Prince of Rus’ for tripling the territory and laying the groundwork for the Russian state. He wanted to make Moscow the third Rome.

• When his first wife died, he married Byzantine princess Sophia and from then onwards used the Byzantine two headed eagle as his seal. Sophia’s original name was Zoe, which she changed on arrival to Moscow.

• During a time when Mongols were seen as a great terror in Russia, called Tartars, they were paid a Tartar tribute. Ivan the great terminated this tribute anddefeated the Golden Horde and their dominance over Russian areas. The Golden Horde was a Mongolian group led by Batu Khan, grandson of Jhengis Khan, so known for the colour of the tent he slept in.

• Despite the myth of Russian rulers love for war, Ivan the great was wary of confrontations and avoided violent ones till absolutely necessary instead increasing his empire through a series of campaigns.

• He was also interested in art and wanted to make the city of Moscow as beautiful as possible. To this purpose, he got the Moscow Kremlin renovated and also hired a group of Italian art and craftsmen to enhance the city.

• He bought into effect a set of new laws or ‘œSudebnik’ to administer justice and manage internal conflicts in Muscovy, giving them the time to look beyond their own borders.

• He died in 1505 at the age of 65 having ruled for 43 years, the longest reign in Russia’s history.

Ivan II was not mourned though as he had been a stern person and so had not developed close relations with anybody. He was well known, however, for reforms in administration. He awarded loyalty by granting land tenure for life and eliminated the powers of the hereditary warrior class or Boyars who were well known for exploiting people.