On December 3, 1564, Ivan IV fled from Moscow and established the oprichnina. Until now, the motives for this act remain a mystery to historians. Analyzing his actions and changes in the character of the ruler, some historians began to explain the actions of Ivan the Terrible by mental illness. Together with a neurologist, geriatrician, and researcher of the history of Russian medicine, Valery Novoselov, Gazeta.Ru figured out why Ivan Vasilyevich could go crazy.
The reign of Ivan Vasilyevich (1530–1584), who went down in history under the name of Ivan IV the Terrible, like the reign of many other autocrats, is contradictory. Judging by historical descriptions, in the second half of his life the ruler changed. If earlier he was calm, then after 1564 he became a maniacally cruel ruler.
According to historical data, in 1564 the king suffered a dangerous illness and lost his beloved wife Anastasia, which negatively affected his psyche. That same year, he left Moscow, fearing a plot by the boyars, although historians claim there was none. Increasingly, representatives of the nobility were executed without trial or investigation, and Grozny's relations with the metropolitan see deteriorated. After escaping from Moscow, he created the oprichnina, and a period of brutal repression began in the country.
Among the possible versions that explain the changes in the character of Ivan the Terrible are syphilis, as well as mercury intoxication during his treatment. It is also possible that Ivan IV had a paranoid (paranoid) psychopathy with ideas of grandeur and persecution against a background of epilepsy.
According to neurologist, geriatrician, researcher of the history of Russian medicine Valery Novoselov, who previously published the article “A Look at Ivan the Terrible’s Disease through the Eyes of V.I. Lenin’s Attending Doctors,” the reason for this behavior of the autocrat could only be syphilis – this is indicated by several historical facts.
Seven signs of neurosyphilis
There is no medical history of Ivan IV, like all rulers of the distant past. Therefore, it is impossible to say exactly what ailments he suffered from. However, according to Novoselov, based on knowledge of the history of medicine, it is possible to build a fairly substantiated version that we have before us a detailed clinical picture of late neurosyphilis or psychosis of a syphilitic nature. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this condition could also be called parasyphilis.
“Syphilis first appeared on the western borders of the Moscow Principality in 1499, penetrating through Krakow from Southern Europe from Naples, where there was the first documented epidemic. In fact, this was the beginning of a syphilis epidemic that would last almost four and a half centuries. Why can modern historians of medicine quite reasonably claim that Ivan Vasilyevich could have suffered from syphilis? Several indirect signs indicate this. The first and most important evidence is that in 1963, an autopsy was carried out on the burial of Ivan the Terrible, and a forensic examination discovered traces of mercury in its decay. The excess was hundreds of times,” Novoselov noted.
The second factor indicating the development of neurosyphilis is that descriptions of its nature after 1564 coincide with exposure to mercury. She was constantly in the king’s chambers. In those days, syphilis was treated with mercury – “liquid silver”. Excessive use of mercury preparations led to chronic intoxication, which, due to the effects of mercury on the nervous system, is manifested by mental agitation, anxiety, fearfulness, irritability and other psychological symptoms.
In addition, with an overdose of mercury, epileptic seizures and chaotic mental agitation are observed. According to eyewitnesses, Ivan the Terrible also had such attacks, during which the Tsar would go “as if into madness,” foam would appear on his lips, and he would throw himself at other people in hysterics.
“Today it is clearly clear that not only the infectious disease itself, but also products made from this metal had a toxic effect on the entire body as a whole. Mercury had the most negative effect on the human nervous system. It can be assumed that Ivan the Terrible received both infectious and toxic damage to the nervous system,” Novoselov reasoned during a conversation with Gazeta.Ru.
The third most important piece of evidence: an autopsy of Grozny revealed osteophytes—bone growths on the joints. These growths were unusually large, which is unusual for any other disease except syphilis. This pathology affects all structures of the body, but bone tissue, as a rule, suffers more often and more than other systems.
“Another sign of neurosyphilis is changes in the patient’s behavior, which are characteristic of patients at a certain stage of the disease. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was called the neurasthenic stage. Such patients, in the past kind and loving fathers of families, became unusually aggressive, cruel despots. Such characteristic behavioral traits were observed not only in the behavior of Ivan the Terrible, they were fully described by doctors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in many people who had parasyphilis. But both the beginning of the 16th century and the very beginning of the 20th century are, from the point of view of the history of medicine, the same time. This entire period was characterized by three signs: patients were treated with mercury rubs, the cause of the disease had not yet been discovered, and antibiotics would appear later,” Novoselov said.
Irritability, pickiness, suspiciousness, suspicion, anxiety, restlessness, nervous disorders – all this can be symptoms of the neurasthenic stage of syphilitic psychosis.
“The fifth fact is that only syphilis can give the symptom complex described above with periodically occurring debilitating headaches from which Ivan the Terrible suffered,” Novoselov noted.
The sixth indirect sign may be the fact that Ivan IV did not leave healthy offspring after the birth of his son Ivan. That is, only one, the eldest son, was healthy.
“The rest of the children were either stillborn or born sick and, accordingly, did not live long. But we know that syphilis, which infects one of the parents, is transmitted to the child. If such children are born, then, as a rule, their nervous system is damaged and they are inferior. Moreover, we can say that his son Ivan was also susceptible to this infectious disease, since a sharp excess of mercury was found in his remains, and he also did not leave offspring. Logically, the disease interrupted the dynasty and was the reason for the change from the Rurik to the Romanovs,” Novoselov said.
It is also interesting that mercury was found only in Ivan Vasilyevich and his son Ivan Ivanovich; there were no such inflated indicators in the remains of other buried people. Later, an increased metal content was established in the remains of Grozny’s first wife. This may indicate that both spouses suffered from syphilis.
“Please note that Ivan IV had many marriages, which is not typical for Orthodox rulers of Russia. This change in sexual behavior – sexual disinhibition – can also be an indirect sign of syphilis. Seventh. Today we do not see such patients, but in the past this was observed quite often. We understand that syphilis was widespread at that time, and it can be compared to a pandemic that has existed for many centuries. Many countries were affected by this disease, so there is nothing surprising or reprehensible in the fact that the king could be sick with it,” the specialist concluded.
