Throughout the Russia's history, and as far back as civilization was accounted for, they had rulers known as Tsars. Tsars were perceived as absolute monarchs, which most held that title true. With the decline of the churches power, and the greed for power, the men who became Russian Tsars tried their very best to distinguish themselves as a king who had infinite power, and sought control over society (absolute monarchs).
             One of the first well-known Tsars was Ivan the Terrible. Ivan then "came to throne" in 1533, at the tender age of three. After a long childhood of defending his title, he crowned himself king at the age of sixteen. Growing up, Ivan was forced to witness the death of his mother, and father as well as many others. With the seeds of death planted in his mind, it was no wonder he was so prone to killing and death himself. The main reason for the title Ivan the Terrible was that after the death of his wife, Ivan was furious with boyars (landowning nobles), and wanted to murder every one who betrayed him. In addition, he not only killed the boyars, but their families, and the peasants who had worked on their land. He ended up killing thousands of people. He was considered an absolute monarch because he had reduced the power of landowners, leaving himself to much more control over Russia. Therefore, he had used his power to rule in terror, complete terror.
             Many Tsars later, a boy named Peter was born in 1672, only to be nicknamed Peter the Great. Peter and his half brother first shared the throne, but in 1696, Peter became the only leader after his brother's death. The ruler is now known as Peter the Great, because he was one of the "greatest reformers." He spent many years in Europe to find that Russia was still living in the "dark ages." Upon his return, he made drastic changes. One example was the cutting off of all beards, because it showed a barbaric rela
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