這是 Bank Imperial 的其中一系列廣告之一
Translation:
Ivan IV: Darkness is upon us….DARKNESS! The boyars are looters of the treasury of the Russian land!
Crier: The boyars looted the treasury!
Ivan: They no longer wish to be defenders of Christendom!
Crier: The voivodes no longer defend us!
Ivan: They gave Russia to be devoured to Lithuania, to the Germans! Everyone thinks only of their own enrichment, forgetting about the Fatherland! Therefore, obeying the great sorrow, which fills my heart, I once more return to the reigns of the state, and I shall rule as an Autocrat!
Guy in crowd: On what conditions?
Ivan: You’ll find out later…
Narrator: Ivan the Terrible, World History, Bank Imperial
Comments: In the period depicted in this video, Ivan was deeply mistrustful of the boyars, whom he blamed for the death of his wife (she was, supposedly, poisoned). Also, he fell deathly ill, and asked the boyars to swear allegiance to his infant son. The boyars, thinking that the Tsar was dying and couldn’t punish them for their disloyalty, refused. Unfortunately for them, Ivan recovered. In 1564, Ivan IV abdicated the throne and retired to a monastery. As that left Russia without a divinely ordained ruler, the people begged him to return. Ivan did, on the condition that he will reign as an autocrat. He then proceeded to establish the Oprichnina, and launched the first Great Purge in Russian history, almost wiping out the boyars and their families in their entirety.
