What was life like in Russia at the time of Ivan IV's death?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Following many years of despotic reign under the terror of the oprichnina, Russia was devastated not only politically but also had suffered major military losses and the loss of many of its elite families when they left the country to avoid the purges of Ivan IV. During his reign, he had expanded the Russian Empire and assimilated a diverse population stretching from European Russia beyond the Ural Mountains to Siberia. He had waged war with the West trying to obtain a port on the Baltic and suffered heavy losses. As a result, the Russian Empire was highly fragmented and demoralized. The territory was not only split ethnically but also religiously, with Muslims in the lands to the south, pagans to the east, and Slavs in the center who adhered to Orthodox Christianity (which was at odds with Western Catholicism and the new offshoot, Protestantism). Finally, Ivan IV left Russia in a precarious position when he killed his son and heir (also named Ivan) in a fit of rage, leaving Russia bereft of a legitimate heir when Ivan IV died in 1584.