The Cult of Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia

by Maureen Perrie

Ivan IV, the sixteenth-century Russian tsar notorious for his reign of terror, became an unlikely national hero in the Soviet Union during the 1940s. This book traces the development of Ivan's positive image, placing it in the context of Stalin's campaign for patriotism. In addition to historians' images of Ivan, the author examines literary and artistic representations, including Sergei Eisenstein's famous film, banned for its depiction of the tsar which was interpreted as an allegorical criticism of Stalin.

Genres: History

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Maureen Perrie is Professor Emeritus of Russian History at the University of Birmingham, and a lecturer in Russian History at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Birmingham.

Reviews

[Nastja · Rating 5 out of 5]

maureen perrie du absolute maschine

[Pterodactyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on historiography in Stalin's Russia, specifically how the memory of Ivan the Terrible and other figures were reinterpreted to benefit Soviet foreign and domestic policy.