Ivan the Terrible /

Pavlov (Russian Academy of Sciences) and Perrie (Univ. of Birmingham) favor a "rational" interpretation of Ivan's acts in this new history of Ivan the Terrible. Consequently, scholars may want to contrast Pavlov and Perrie's introduction with that written by Richard Hellie for a 1974 translation of Sergei Platonov's Ivan the Terrible (CH, Nov'74). Avoiding speculation to concentrate on the known consequences of Ivan's actions, the authors follow three themes: territorial expansion, origins of autocracy, and symbolic power. Their approach persuasively demonstrates that Ivan's Russia could have developed into either a "European" estates-representative system, or a real autocracy. The authors show how Ivan's early reforms tended to favor the estates concept until his power was threatened. He then adopted an effective policy of coercion that ensured the victory of autocracy. The book graphically depicts the sadistic cruelties of the mass terror, offering some cultural perspective to help make sense of the suffering. Particularly touching is the picture of an aged, suddenly remorseful Ivan attempting to do penance for his sins, thereby unwittingly providing the evidence by which history has convicted him of monstrous crimes. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Professors and students alike, upper-division undergraduates and above. E. A. Cole Grand Valley State University