He conquered Kazan and Astrakhan - but he was not given a place on the monument to the Millennium of Rus'. The Orthodox Church included his name among the saints - and they call him a maniac and murderer. During the 50 years of his reign, he executed 8 times fewer people than the French king Charles IX killed on St. Bartholomew's Night, and he was declared the greatest tyrant of all times. He never missed a church service in his entire life - and he was credited with the murder of St. Metropolitan Philip and his own son. They lied about him during his life and after his death. But the time has come to clear the memory of the great Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible from slander. The first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible died more than four hundred years ago, but his name still arouses keen interest. Some see him as a bloodthirsty maniac, others as a great statesman, and still others revere him as a saint. Today they talk about him both from the Kremlin rostrum and at church councils. And this is not just like that. The question of the historical role of the Terrible Bet is a question of suit. Today, humiliated, bloodless Russia needs an iron hand that can stop it on the brink of the abyss. In the 16th century, the Moscow sovereign managed not only to save Rus' from destruction, but also to turn it into a great empire. What was this king like? What did he mean for our country and for the whole world? Is there a politician in Russia today who can take advantage of the ideological and spiritual heritage of John IV? A book by journalist and writer Vyacheslav Manyagin is about this.