Tsardom of Russia

Ivan IV becomes the first Tsar of Russia
Portrait of Ivan IV by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1897 ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1547 Jan 16

Ivan IV becomes the first Tsar of Russia

Dormition Cathedral, Moscow
On 16 January 1547, at 16, Ivan was crowned with Monomakh's Cap at the Cathedral of the Dormition. He was the first to be crowned as "Tsar of All the Russias", partly imitating his grandfather, Ivan III the Great, who had claimed the title of Grand Prince of all Rus'. Until then, rulers of Muscovy were crowned as Grand Princes, but Ivan III the Great had styled himself "tsar" in his correspondence. Two weeks after his coronation, Ivan married his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, a member of the Romanov family, who became the first Russian tsaritsa.

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