The Image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian Folklore

A study of Ivan the Terrible's depiction in Russian folklore, and the controversies surrounding it.

Maureen Perrie (Author)

9780521891004, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 April 2002

280 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.42 kg

Ivan the Terrible has long been a controversial figure. Some historians regard him as a crazed and evil tyrant; while others (especially Soviet scholars of the Stalin period) have viewed him as a progressive and far-sighted statesman. The folklore about Ivan has played an important part in these debates. Was Ivan's depiction in folklore favourable or hostile? And how far can it be regarded as evidence of contemporary popular attitudes towards the tsar? In this unusual and far-ranging study, Maureen Perrie discusses the nature of Ivan's image in Russian folklore; its historical basis; its development; and the controversies which have surrounded it in pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russian scholarship. She argues that Ivan was in general portrayed in folklore in a positive light, but that this image does not necessarily reflect sixteenth-century views.

Preface
Introduction: the myth of the tsar
Part I. Folkloristics: 1. The image of the tsar: a review of the literature
2. History and folklore: some methodological
Part II. Folklore: 3. The image of Ivan the Terrible in folklore
4. The historical content of the folklore
5. The development of Ivan's popular image
Conclusion
Texts
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]