The only problem as probably you know Oagre, is that the epithet Grozny applied to Tsar Ivan IV Ива́н Гро́зный in Russian means: awe-inspiring, formidable, mighty, powerful, strict. Not: cruel or horrible.
Also, if memory serves me, didn't he drown trying to save a peasant? While not a nice guy, he made Russia a world player.
Stalin was also poisoned.
The movie was really made but the story is pure fiction. The real Anastasia died with the rest of the Russian Royal family.
An interesting article is shortly to be published in Science on the hemophilia that caused so much pain for both the Imperial Family and Russia. In the irony with which history abounds, none of the three oldest Grand Duchesses were carriers while H.I.H. Grand Dutchess Anastasia was a carrier and H.I.H. Tsarevich Alexis had Hemophilia.
Of course, one has to bring up the subject of Rasputin in this context. (See my signature line below.) Aside from having an allegedly immense "willy", Rasputin apparently was able to cure the Tsarevich's haemophilia. Later-day writers have speculated that this was in fact because R forbade the use of drugs on the young prince and insisted that only prayer would cure the boy. Faith-healing, you ask?
With respect to Collins, I still think I'll stick with what I wrote as being closer to the meaning in Russian.
No argument from me on that point.
That was just one of his major contributions. He remains one of the most important figures in Russian History on a par with Grand Duke Vladimir and Emperor Peter I
Rasputin (which by the way means "the Disolute one" in Russian) obviously had some ability to affect the Tsarevich, this in no way means that I believe he had a religious gift or a supernatural evil power, rather he had an ability to calm the Tsarevich which would have helped to control his bleeding and you may well be right about the aspirin - I'll ask around on that. Many historians believe that it was H.I.H. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich rather than Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston who killed Rasputin, for me the argument seems convincing.
There was a doc on it a while back that said that the headshots came from a British service issue side arm. Not conclusive, of course. IIRC, there was some other evidence as well.
Quite true of many perhaps the majority of Russians, who have a deep desire for "the man on the white horse." Or in more Russian terms a Tsar and Little Father.
