In the Russian Empire, monuments to Ivan the Terrible were not erected for some reason.
At night, a 9-meter monument to Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible appeared in Kremlin Square in Vologda. The solemn opening of the monument took place on November 4, on National Unity Day.
The initiative to install the monument belongs to the controversial Vologda governor Georgy Filimonov. Ivan IV, who went down in history as the author of mass repressions and the destroyer of Novgorod, stands as a miniature bronze copy on Filimonov's desk. In his office, there are also portraits of Putin, Beria, Dzerzhinsky, and a painting showing Stalin shaking hands with the governor.
In December 2024, at the initiative of Governor Filimonov, a monument to Stalin was erected in Vologda. Just six months later, the court ordered the sculpture to be dismantled, declaring the deal for its installation invalid.
Filimonov had previously stated that Ivan the Terrible, who ruled from 1533 to 1584, was the "multiplier of Russian lands," the "symbol of the Russian world," and a "conqueror Tsar in a good sense." "The dynamics, somewhere harsh, in a good sense aggressive movement forward," Filimonov characterized the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He also pointed out that by the tsar's decree, the Cathedral of St. Sophia was laid in the city, and the Archierey Palace, also known as the Vologda Kremlin, was built. In Kremlin Square, the monument will neighbor one of the most famous Vologda monuments - the monument to poet Konstantin Batyushkov.
In Russian historiography and historical literature, negative assessments of Ivan the Terrible's actions prevail, associated both with the cruelty of his rule and with failures in foreign and domestic policy, which, according to some researchers, led to the subsequent Time of Troubles. In the Russian Empire, monuments to Ivan the Terrible were not erected; however, in modern Russia, as calculated by "Dozhd," five monuments have already been opened in his honor. The first statue was erected in Oryol in 2016.
