Ivan the Terrible

About Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, known as Ivan the Terrible (1530–1584), was the first Tsar of Russia, reigning from 1547 until his death. His historical importance stems from his role in transforming the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow into the centralized, expansive Russian state, overseeing significant territorial expansion, including the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. MIT's Pantheon project ranks him #431 in historical importance for these foundational political and military contributions that set the stage for the Russian Empire.

Despite his high historical ranking, Ivan the Terrible receives a comparatively modest 1.1 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places him in a category of overattention relative to importance, with an Attention Gap calculated at +3x. To contextualize this, he garners fewer views than the less historically significant politician Mary, Queen of Scots (#532 importance) who attracted 3.2M views, and significantly less than American politician Bill Clinton (#704 importance) with 6.6M views.

Interestingly, the figure shows a clear decline in modern interest, with his 2025 views dropping by 11.8% year-over-year, and a sharp -14% drop in momentum between Q1 and Q3 of the year, suggesting his online relevance is actively waning.