William Tyler
The First Tsar: Ivan the Terrible 1533-1598
Summary
The focus of this lecture is Tsar Ivan IV (1533–1598), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, and his reign, which marks the beginning of Imperial Russia. Ivan’s rule spanned over 50 years, characterized by autocracy without constitutional restraints. Ivan sought to unite Russian mini-states under Moscow, laying the foundation for Imperial Russia and emphasizing the imperialistic view alive in Putin’s Kremlin today. His regime echoes the tactics of the Soviet Union, illustrating how autocratic methods persist in Russian history.
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
The Habsburg Empire failed because they lost the First World War and they split apart, aided by the Allies in wanting to break the Empire. When Russia collapses in 1991, the same thing happened. Countries like Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine broke away from Russia. So the story is a similar one.
A lot of parts are not overly pleasant places to live in. It is not an important constraint on its military. The problem of this economic power is the way it spends its money, like all countries. It’s spending its money on military matters and not on economic progress, but also because economically it declined under socialism, and under the rampant capitalism of Yeltsin and Putin, it isn’t a good base for economic power.