This popular science book gives a technocratic view of Russian history of the 16th century. Cold climate, poor soils, regular enemy raids, Moscow captives sold on the slave markets of neighboring states at bargain prices, isolation from world trade routes - this tangle of problems made the construction of a strong national state in Russia an order of magnitude more difficult than in European countries. But Ivan IV copes with this, his will and intellect created a powerful state in northern Eurasia that might not have existed.