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Muscovy Was A Rising Power Not Modern Russia
- Muscovy in the 1500s was a growing power, not the Russia we imagine, rising around Vladimir and Moscow after Mongol disruption.
- Peter Frankopan explains Ivan was born into a centralising state that was 'taking steroids' politically and religiously influential.
Ivan's Orphaned Childhood Shaped His Rule
- Ivan lost both parents early: his father died at age three and his mother at eight, leaving him vulnerable to boyar manipulation.
- Frankopan says boyars exploited his youth, enriching themselves while destabilising his childhood.
Wedding Rituals Mixed Religion And Political Display
- Ivan's coronation rituals mixed fertility superstition with political theatre, using wheat, rye and symbolic sword-waving.
- Greg describes Anastasia's wedding night with grain strewn on the bed and a relative sleeping nearby for protection.