Ivan The Terrible in Russian Folklore - Friend of The People

Friend of The People

Primarily, throughout folktales, the tsar is typically described as an “ally and protector of the ordinary people against their common enemies, and especially the boyars”. One example of a folktale in which the tsar befriends the commoner can be found in Samuel Collins’ recording. In this story, a friendship develops between a disguised Ivan and a thief. Eventually the thief asks the tsar if he wants to go robbing with him and the tsar agrees. After they had robbed from a few shops in the marketplace, the tsar wanted to test his new friend’s loyalty and suggests that they rob the treasury. At this suggestion, the thief slaps the tsar saying that ‘I’ve been thieving for ages, but I’ve never dreamt of robbing the tsar!”. The story continues that the thief suggests that instead of robbing the tsar, the two should rob the boyars because “they get their money for nothing”. For his faithfulness and respect for the tsar, Ivan rewards the young man by asking him to become his counselor.

This tale exemplifies a story in which the tsar befriends a common peasant. Collins’ tale also provides us evidence that the folklore regarding Ivan the Terrible often shows him heroically allying with those of the lower classes against the sly and devious middle and upper class citizens. By agreeing to help the thief rob the boyar, the tsar is ultimately legitimizing the thief’s actions. Continually, Maureen Perrie justifies the formation of the friendship between the tsar and the thief because “the tsar endorses the values and attitudes of the representative of the people, and demonstrates that he has more in common with them than with the boyars”. Consequently, the image depicted of Ivan is not one in which he is a “meaningless, bloodletting” ruler, but rather he is kind and compassionate towards his lower subjects.