Do modern Russians view Ivan the Terrible as a monster?

It's mixed. To start with, our designation for Ivan IV is not “terrible”, but grózny (“intimidating”, “imposing”). read more

Modern Russians do not think too much about Ivan IV, called in Russian tradition “Грозный,” which might be translated Fearsome rather than Terrible. We enjoyed a great comedy about him made 1973 by the great Russian director Leonid Gaidai. read more

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич, tr. Ivan Vasilyevich; 25 August 1530 – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Fearsome (Russian: Ива́н Гро́зный (help · info), Ivan Grozny; a better translation into modern English would be Ivan the Formidable), was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then Tsar of All Rus' until his death in 1584. read more

The governor of Russia’s Oryol region, about 335km (200 miles) south of Moscow, has nonetheless backed the monument, saying during its inauguration on Friday that Ivan the Terrible “was a defender of our land, a tsar who expanded its frontiers”. read more