Lost Worlds: Ivan the Terrible's Fortresses (S2, E16) | Full Episode | History

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Narrator: ON AUGUST 25TH, 1530, A VIOLENT STORM BLEW OVER MOSCOW. IT MARKED A ROYAL BIRTH, THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT GRAND PRINCE. THE INFANT WOULD COME TO BE KNOWN IN HIS LIFETIME AS IVAN THE TERRIBLE. THE 50 YEARS OF HIS REIGN WOULD SCAR RUSSIA AND SET THE COURSE OF ITS HISTORY. HE WAS INTELLIGENT AND RUTHLESS. HE BELIEVED HE WAS ON A DIVINE MISSION. HE HAD LITTLE TIME FOR MERCY AND AN APPETITE FOR CRUELTY. SO IVAN WAS A BIG FAN OF TORTURE. HE WOULD EVEN PARTICIPATE AND LAUGH DURING THE TORTURE PROCESS. BUT THE POWER OF HIS WILL TRANSFORMED RUSSIA. PUSHING BACK ITS BORDERS, HE CRUSHED HIS ENEMIES AND BUILT AN EMPIRE. HIS CATHEDRAL SHOW HIS DESIRE TO MAKE MOSCOW THE NEW JERUSALEM. AND HIS TRADING NETWORKS TURNED THE CITY FROM A BACKWATER TO A CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. AND YET ALL THE WHILE, SUSPICION DROVE IVAN TO CREATE A PRIVATE DOMAIN RULED BY SECRET POLICE AND TERROR. NOW OUR INVESTIGATORS GO IN SEARCH OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY, PARANOID WORLD-- THE WORLD OF THE FIRST MAN TO CALL HIMSELF TSAR. THE LOST WORLD OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE. LESS THAN 500 YEARS AGO, RUSSIA WAS STILL LOCKED IN THE MIDDLE AGES. THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE OCCUPIED A FRACTION OF WHAT WE TODAY CALL RUSSIA. THEIR LAND WAS HEMMED IN BY THE TARTAR MONGOLS, DESCENDANTS OF GENGHIS KHAN. AND IT WAS DIVIDED INTO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PRINCIPALITIES. MUSCOVY, WITH ITS CAPITAL MOSCOW, WAS THE STRONGEST. FOR CENTURIES, ITS GRAND PRINCES HAD BEEN TRYING TO UNITE RUSSIA INTO A SINGLE NATION AND EXTEND ITS TERRITORY. IVAN THE TERRIBLE WAS BORN INTO A WORLD OF AMBITION SURROUNDED BY CONSTRUCTION ON A MASSIVE SCALE. IN THE HEART OF MOSCOW, ITALIAN ARCHITECTS WERE BROUGHT IN TO REBUILD THE CITADEL-- THE KREMLIN-- AS A STATEMENT OF FUTURE INTENT. OUR INVESTIGATORS HAVE COME TO RUSSIA TO LOOK FOR WHAT IS LEFT OF THE LOST WORLD OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE. THEY'LL HUNT FOR THE KEYS THAT WILL HELP THEM REBUILD THAT WORLD. MIKE SCHULLER IS AN ENGINEER SPECIALIZING IN THE RESTORATION OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS. HE WANTS TO SEE THE PHYSICAL CHANGES THAT IVAN BROUGHT TO HIS KINGDOM. WELL, I'M FASCINATED BY IVAN'S USE OF WOOD TO BUILD CHURCHES AND MASSIVE FORTIFICATIONS, SO I'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT. AND ALSO HOW THEY BEGAN TO USE STONE AND BRICK FOR THEIR MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES. AS A FOUNDER MEMBER OF THE MOSCOW ARCHITECTURE PRESERVATION SOCIETY, GUY ARCHER WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THESE BUILDINGS CAN TELL US ABOUT THE MAN AND HIS OWN PERSONAL WORLD. WHAT I'M HOPING TO FIND ARE-- ARE MORE THE-- THE CONCRETE SIGNATURES OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE-- HIS MARK ON ARCHITECTURE, ON THE BUILDINGS THAT STILL EXIST. AND WHAT WE CAN FIND FROM THOSE BUILDINGS AND HOW WE CAN DEVELOP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THAT PERIOD OF TIME. THEIR JOURNEY STARTS AT KOLOMENSKOYE, A PARK ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF MOSCOW. THE FIRST OF IVAN'S GREAT MONUMENTS STANDS HERE. 190 FEET TALL, IT'S THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION. TODAY, THE CHURCH IS UNDERGOING MUCH-NEEDED RESTORATION. MIKE SCHULLER HAS CLIMBED THE SPIRE WITH PROFESSOR ROBIN MILNER-GULLAND, AN EXPERT ON 16TH-CENTURY RUSSIA. THIS TOWER IS REALLY QUITE AN INNOVATIVE BIT OF CONSTRUCTION FOR THE TIME, YES? IT IS, YEAH. THEY'D NEVER PUT UP ANYTHING THIS HEIGHT IN MASONRY. THERE WERE WOODEN CHURCHES BEFORE, OF COURSE, THAT WENT UP THIS HIGH, BUT, UH, THIS IS-- THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE A STONE VERSION OF A WOODEN TENT OR SPIRE CHURCH. AND TO DO THAT, OF COURSE, THEY HAD TO HAVE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF MASONRY. YEAH, THE WALLS DOWN AT THE BASE ARE OVER 9 FEET THICK. THEY DIDN'T USE BUTTRESSING SUCH AS THEY WOULD HAVE DONE IN WESTERN EUROPE. AND THEY RELIED ON A HUGE MASS OF MATERIAL. MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES IN WESTERN EUROPE USED BUTTRESSING TO GO UPWARDS. BUT RUSSIAN BUILDERS USED A CRUDER SYSTEM-- AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF STONE. THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION WAS INTENDED TO MAKE A BOLD STATEMENT, AND SPIRES LIKE THIS WOULD BECOME THE MOST DISTINCTIVE STRUCTURES OF IVAN'S REIGN. IT WASN'T BUILT BY HIM BUT BY HIS FATHER. GRAND PRINCE VASILI HAD BEEN WAITING FOR AN HEIR FOR 25 YEARS. AND WHEN IVAN WAS BORN IN 1530, HE BUILT THE CHURCH IN CELEBRATION. IN ITS TIME, ITS DESIGN WAS UTTERLY UNIQUE BOTH ON THE OUTSIDE AND ON THE INTERIOR. THE ENTRANCE HAS TO BE APPROACHED VIA A GRAND, CANOPIED STAIRCASE WHICH LEADS TO A RAISED TERRACE RUNNING AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE ENTIRE CHURCH. THE TERRACE IS RAISED QUITE HIGH WITH 3 SETS OF STAIRS FROM 3 OF THE 4 SIDES. VERY DRAMATIC, VERY SHARP TURNS. GREAT FOR PROCESSIONS AND CEREMONIES. AND BECAUSE IT'S ON A HILL, IT COULD BE VIEWED BY A GREAT MANY PEOPLE. IVAN WAS ONLY 3 WHEN HIS FATHER DIED. FROM AN EARLY AGE, HE WAS STRONG-HEADED, ATHLETIC AND AGGRESSIVE. IT'S SAID THAT HE LOVED TO HUNT. A DEDICATED CHRISTIAN, HE THOUGHT NOTHING OF STANDING IN RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE FOR 5 HOURS AT A TIME. AS HE WALKS AROUND, GUY FINDS MORE AND MORE DETAILS TO INDICATE THIS CHURCH'S STRONG PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE YOUNG HEIR. HE DISCOVERS A REMARKABLE FEATURE BUILT INTO THE WALL. LOOKS LIKE I'VE FOUND, UH, A THRONE. IMAGINE THIS IS WHERE IVAN WOULD HAVE SAT, UH, WATCHING THE RIVER, WHICH IS, UH, KIND OF AMAZING. IT'S A SYMBOL OF A DYNASTY AND THE DESTINY TO WHICH IVAN WAS BORN. THE LOCATION OF THIS CHURCH IS VERY IMPORTANT. BECAUSE IT'S ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF MOSCOW, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST STRUCTURES PEOPLE SAW AS THEY APPROACHED THE CITY. CLEARLY THE BUILDING IS ABOUT SYMBOLISM. IT'S NOT ABOUT THIS CHAPEL, IT'S ABOUT BEING SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER, AND BASICALLY IT SYMBOLIZES THE POWER OF IVAN. AND THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION'S IMPACT IS ALL THE GREATER AS IT WAS BUILT ON THE SIDE OF A HILL. MIKE SCHULLER HAS BEEN LOOKING INTO HOW THE BUILDERS MANAGED TO SECURE IT INTO THE SLOPE. WELL, THE KEY TO MAKING THIS TOWER WORK AND THE REAL SECRET OF ITS CONSTRUCTION IS THE FOUNDATION. WE'VE GOT A HUGE, MASSIVE TOWER BUILT OF BRICK AND STONE, AND THEY CHOSE TO PLACE IT RIGHT ON A, UH, AN UNSTABLE BLUFF OVERLOOKING THE RIVER, SO THE FOUNDATION ITSELF RANGES IN THICKNESS FROM 25 FEET UP THE HILL TO OVER 40 FEET THICK DOWN THE HILL. SO IT'S THIS MASSIVE, INCREDIBLY HUGE FOUNDATION PIERCING LIKE A TOOTH DOWN INTO THE BEDROCK BELOW. THIS FOUNDATION PLAN LOCKS THE CHURCH INTO THE HILLSIDE AND STOPS IT FROM SLIDING INTO THE RIVER BELOW. THE INTERIOR SPACE OF THE CHURCH IS VERY SMALL. IT'S A CONSEQUENCE OF THE RUSSIAN BUILDERS' LIMITED EXPERTISE. IN IVAN'S TIME, THIS DID NOT MATTER. THIS WAS NOT A CHURCH FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE. WHAT WAS IMPORTANT WAS THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON THE LANDSCAPE. INSIDE, THE CHURCH HAS BARELY ENOUGH ROOM FOR 20 PEOPLE. BUT WITH ITS MONUMENTAL TOWER SUPPORTING AN 8-SIDED TENT ROOF AND SOARING 190 FEET INTO THE SKY, THIS WAS A STRUCTURE TO BE SEEN AND ADMIRED FROM AFAR. IN IVAN'S TIME, ONLY A SMALL ELITE WOULD EVER HAVE STEPPED INSIDE, AND IT WAS THIS ELITE WORLD IN WHICH IVAN GREW UP. HE SUFFERED AN UNHAPPY CHILDHOOD. BOTH HIS PARENTS DIED WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG CHILD. IT WAS RUMORED THAT HIS MOTHER WAS POISONED. THE RUSSIAN NOBLES, KNOWN AS THE BOYARS, JOCKEYED FOR POWER AND INFLUENCE OVER THE YOUNG PRINCE. THEY CREATED AN ATMOSPHERE OF INTENSE RIVALRY AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE. MURDER AT COURT BECAME COMMONPLACE. IVAN GREW UP TO BE DISTRUSTFUL OF EVERYONE AND RESENTED THE BOYARS' CONTROL OVER HIM. HISTORY PAINTS A PICTURE OF A DISTURBED CHILD. LEGEND HAS IT THAT HE LIKED TO THROW LIVE ANIMALS OUT OF THE WINDOWS OF THE KREMLIN ONTO THE STREETS BELOW. HIS EARLY LIFE WAS A FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL, BUT HE LEARNED FROM IT, AND HE WANTED MORE. HE WANTED TO WREST POWER AWAY FROM THE BOYARS AND TAKE CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY FOR HIMSELF. SO IN 1547, WHEN HE WAS JUST 17, HE ORGANIZED HIS OWN CORONATION. HE DIDN'T TAKE THE TITLE "GRAND PRINCE" LIKE HIS FATHER. INSTEAD, HE HAD HIMSELF CROWNED AS "TSAR," THE RUSSIAN FOR "CAESAR." BY CALLING HIMSELF "TSAR," IVAN WAS CLAIMING A DIVINE RIGHT TO RULE MUSCOVY AS ITS SOLE LEADER. HE MADE CLEAR HIS INTENTION TO CREATE AN EMPIRE. HE MARKED HIS CORONATION WITH THE BUILDING OF ANOTHER CHURCH, THE CHURCH OF THE DECAPITATION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AT DYAKOVO. MIKE CAN SEE THAT, AGAIN, ALTHOUGH THEY BUILT THIS CHURCH IN BRICK AND STONE AND CREATED A STRUCTURE UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE IN RUSSIA, THE BUILDERS' STRATEGY OWED A LOT TO TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED FROM BUILDING IN WOOD. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THEY USE AN OCTAGONAL SHAPE IS FOR ECONOMY OF MATERIALS. YOU GET A MUCH LARGER ENCLOSED AREA. IF WE GO FROM A SQUARE USING 4 PIECES OF WOOD, TRANSITIONING TO AN OCTAGONAL SHAPE, WHICH IS AN 8-SIDED STRUCTURE, WE GET A MUCH LARGER ENCLOSED SPACE FOR ONLY TWICE THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL. AND THE SECOND REASON, REALLY, IS FOR STRUCTURAL STABILITY. AN OCTAGONAL SHAPE IS MUCH MORE STABLE AND BETTER ABLE TO RESIST LATERAL LOADS SUCH AS FROM WIND. THE CHURCH OF THE DECAPITATION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AT DYAKOVO HAS A CENTRAL OCTAGONAL TOWER WITH 4 CHAPELS POSITIONED AROUND IT. IVAN CAME AND WORSHIPPED HERE WHEN HE FIRST DECLARED HIMSELF TSAR. AND HERE, HE CONVINCED HIMSELF OF HIS DIVINE MISSION TO TRANSFORM MOSCOW INTO THE NEW JERUSALEM AND MAKE RUSSIA A HOLY EMPIRE. TO FULFILL THIS MISSION, THE TIME HAD COME...FOR WAR. OUR INVESTIGATORS HAVE ALREADY SEEN 2 REMARKABLE RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES FROM IVAN THE TERRIBLE'S EARLY LIFE. NOW, JOURNALIST GUY ARCHER IS ON A JOURNEY 600 MILES EAST. HE'S TRAVELING TO KAZAN, THE SITE OF IVAN'S FIRST GREAT MILITARY VICTORY OVER THE TARTARS. FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, THE RUSSIANS HAD BEEN FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE WITH THE TARTARS, DESCENDANTS OF THE MONGOLS WHO CONTROLLED THE LANDS TO THE EAST. THE TARTAR CITY OF KAZAN WAS OF CRUCIAL STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE. ONLY BY CONQUERING IT COULD MUSCOVY GAIN ACCESS TO, AND CONTROL OF, RUSSIA'S MAIN RIVER, THE VOLGA. AFTER 2 UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO TAKE THE CITY, IVAN SET OUT FOR THE THIRD TIME IN 1552. ONLY 22 YEARS OLD, THIS TIME IVAN BROUGHT WITH HIM A SECRET WEAPON. WEEKS FROM HOME, IN HOSTILE TERRITORY WITH FEW NATURAL RESOURCES, IVAN'S PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT CONQUEST HAD CONVINCED HIM OF THE NEED FOR A SECURE BASE. SO NOW HE BROUGHT HIS BASE WITH HIM. WHERE THE VOLGA AND SVIYAGA RIVERS CONVERGE, ENGINEER MIKE SCHULLER MEETS HISTORIAN LEONARD NEDASHKOVSKY. THEY'RE SEARCHING SVIYAZHSK, IVAN'S VERY OWN QUICK-ASSEMBLY TOWN. IVAN HAD HIS ARMY BUILD A CHURCH AND HOMES AND TOWERS AND A WHOLE LINE OF WOODEN FORTIFICATIONS AROUND THIS HILL SITE. WHERE DID IVAN GET ALL THE MATERIALS TO BUILD THIS FORTRESS? THE FORTRESS ITSELF, THE WALLS, THE TOWERS AND CHURCHES WERE BUILT UP AT UGLICH TOWN AREA, 600 MILES UP THE VOLGA. I SEE. SO THEY ACTUALLY WENT TO THE TOWN OR THE REGION OF UGLICH, DISMANTLED HOMES AND CHURCHES THERE-- NO. NO. NO? OH, THEY BUILT THEM THERE FIRST? THEY BUILT THEM FIRST THERE AND AFTER THAT, UH, THEY DECONSTRUCT THIS NEWLY-BUILT CITY IN THIS AREA-- AH. OK. OK. AND PUT IT ON THE RAFTS AND SHIPS AND MOVED IT HERE. IVAN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF EXPERT WOODWORKERS IN UGLICH WHO COULD ASSEMBLE AN ENTIRE FORTRESS, TAKE IT APART, AND THEN QUICKLY REASSEMBLE IT 600 MILES DOWNRIVER IN SVIYAZHSK. SUCH WAS THEIR SKILL AND CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT SOME OF THE BUILDINGS THEY MADE FOR IVAN STILL STAND TODAY. WE ARE STANDING IN THE OLDEST WOODEN CHURCH BUILT UP IVAN-- UNDER IVAN THE TERRIBLE. UH, IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST WOODEN CONSTRUCTIONS BUILT UP IN SVIYAZHSK. AND IT LOOKS LIKE EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE 16TH CENTURY. I'M WONDERING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, HOW 500 YEARS AGO THEY MIGHT HAVE BUILT A LOG CHURCH LIKE THIS. HOW DID THEY KEEP EVERYTHING TOGETHER? THEY KEEP THE LOGS TOGETHER WITHOUT ANY NAILS. THEY JUST PUT ONE ABOVE ANOTHER ONE. AND YOU COULD CLEARLY SEE IT. OH, SO THEY'RE CUT. THEY'RE FORMED, ACTUALLY, TO FIT EACH OTHER. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. JUST LOCKING SO THE JOINT LOCKS TOGETHER. YES, BY THEIR OWN WEIGHT, YES. THE TECHNIQUES THAT PRODUCED THESE EXTRAORDINARY BUILDINGS ARE STILL PRACTICED TODAY. I'VE COME HERE TO THIS CARPENTER'S WORKSHOP TO SEE HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO JOIN LOGS TOGETHER WITHOUT USING ANY KIND OF METAL SPIKES OR PINS. YEAH, SO HE'S EYEBALLED THINGS. HE'S SIZED UP THE LOG BELOW. AND HE'S CUTTING THE JOINT NOW, AND THE INTENT IS FOR THE TOP LOG TO JUST SIT RIGHT ON IT AND LOCK INTO THE LOG BELOW. SO THE WIDTH OF THE JOINT IS PRETTY CRITICAL. HEY, CAN I TRY? [speaks Russian] OK, HERE AND HERE. OH MAN, THAT'S REALLY SHARP. SO... MORE. GOOD. HOW BAD DID I MESS UP? MORE. WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. OK. GOOD ENOUGH? OK. HERE YOU GO. YES. OK. OK. HEY, GOOD JOB. LOOKS GREAT. TELL YOU WHAT. A SHARP TOOL, SKILLED HANDS. YOU GOT A PRETTY QUICK WOOD JOINT. SO LET'S ROLL IT INTO PLACE. LOOK AT THAT. LOCKED RIGHT INTO PLACE. SO I'VE JUST LEARNED HOW YOU CAN BUILD A WALL WITHOUT ANY KIND OF NAILS THAT FITS TIGHTLY TOGETHER. THESE QUICK, SLOT-TOGETHER TECHNIQUES ENABLED IVAN'S MEN TO ASSEMBLE SVIYAZHSK'S PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS ALMOST OVERNIGHT. WITHIN A MONTH, IT WAS A FULLY-FUNCTIONING GARRISON TOWN, COMPLETE WITH CHURCHES AND BARRACKS. ALTHOUGH SOME BUILDINGS STILL SURVIVE, TRACES OF THE FORT THAT WAS THE CENTER POINT OF IVAN'S GARRISON TOWN ARE HARDER TO FIND. SO THE FORTRESS WOULD HAVE COVERED THIS WHOLE AREA, BUT, UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW-- WOULD IT HAVE LOOKED LIKE THIS IN IVAN'S DAYS? NO. ALL THE HILLS WAS COVERED BY TREES, AND THEY HAVE TO CUT ALL THESE TREES TO BUILD UP THE CITY WITH ITS WALLS, TOWERS, UH, CHURCHES AND HOUSES. SO ON THIS HILL THEY CUT DOWN ALL THE TREES, YES. AND THEN-- AND THEN PROBABLY USED SHOVELS AND PICKS AND SPADES TO LEVEL THE GROUND AS WELL. SO WE'RE HERE AT THE BASE OF THE HILL, BUT I'M SEEING SOME OLD LOGS AND REMAINS OF SOME STRUCTURE. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ARE WE SEEING HERE? OH, WE ARE STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE, UH, BASEMENT OF THE SVIYAZHSK CITY WALLS. THEY WERE WOODEN, BUILT UP FROM THE LOGS AND FILLED BY THE EARTH AND STONES. AND ABOVE THESE CONSTRUCTIONS WERE WOODEN WALLS TOO. SO A BIG, TALL WALL ON THE FRONT REINFORCED WITH LOGS COMING INTO IT AND FILLED WITH DIRT? YES, IT IS. A GOOD DEFENSE AGAINST PEOPLE. UH, HOW TALL WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN? OH, UP TO 20 FEET. IT'S A GOOD DEFENSE. ANY-- ANY OTHER MEANS TO KEEP, UH-- TO HELP DEFEND THIS FORTIFICATION? THEY HAVE AT LEAST 20 TOWERS. TO SUPPORT 20 TOWERS, IVAN'S FORTRESS NEEDED TO BE EXTREMELY STRONG-- STRENGTH GAINED FROM NOVEL CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES. THEY USED KIND OF AN INTERESTING FORM OF CONSTRUCTION. THEY HAD A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF OVERLAPPING LOGS AT THE FRONT AND STIFFENED BY PERIODIC CROSS WALLS HERE EVERY 12 TO 15 FEET. AND SO, IN THAT FASHION, UH, THIS FORM OF CONSTRUCTION FORMED A CONTINUOUS CHAIN OF INTERLOCKING LOG CELLS CALLED A TARASY WALL. AND THE LOG CELLS ARE ACTUALLY FILLED WITH SOME TYPE OF RUBBLE, EITHER EARTH, SOIL, ROCKS, AND THAT MAKES IT BETTER ABLE TO WITHSTAND ARTILLERY FIRE. WE CAN NOW REVEAL WHAT THE FORTRESS OF SVIYAZHSK, WITH ITS DITCHES, 3-STORY WATCHTOWERS AND RAMPARTS HIDING STAGE TRAPS, LOOKED LIKE. THIS RAPIDLY-ASSEMBLED FORTRESS WAS A SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO BREAK INTO A NEW FRONTIER. IVAN WAS NOW READY TO TAKE ON KAZAN, A CITY WHOSE CITADEL, CALLED IN RUSSIAN A "KREMLIN," WAS SAID TO BE IMPREGNABLE. IVAN'S MASSED ARMY TOOK UP POSITIONS OUTSIDE KAZAN. GUY MEETS ARCHITECT RUSTEM ZABIROV TO LEARN HOW THE CITY WAS BESIEGED. I'VE JUST LEARNED OUTSIDE OF THESE VERY WALLS, IVAN THE TERRIBLE'S ARMIES OF ABOUT 150,000, LAID SIEGE FOR 6 LONG WEEKS. BUT DESPITE A MONTH AND A HALF OF HIS ARTILLERY POUNDING THE CITADEL WALLS, THEY STILL HELD. PINNED BACK BY TARTAR COUNTER ATTACKS AND CONSTANTLY ENGAGED IN SKIRMISHES WITH THE TARTAR CAVALRY, IT LOOKED AS THOUGH IVAN WAS ABOUT TO BE DRIVEN OFF FOR A THIRD TIME. DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR A WAY TO GET THE UPPER HAND, IVAN ORDERED HIS ENGINEERS TO GET UNDERNEATH THE "TAINKITSKAYA," OR SECRET TOWER IN THE KREMLIN WALL. IN THIS AREA, THE ARMIES OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE TRIED TO DIG UNDERGROUND AND BLOW UP THE KHAN'S WATER SUPPLY. THEY DID BLOW IT UP, BUT THE KHAN FOUND A WATER SUPPLY FURTHER DOWN IN THE GROUND AND THWARTED IVAN'S ATTEMPT, UH, TO-- TO CUT ALL THE WATER OFF. IN ONE FINAL ATTEMPT TO BREAK THROUGH INTO THE CITY, IVAN'S ENGINEERS POSITIONED STRATEGIC MINES IN TUNNELS UNDERNEATH KAZAN'S FORTRESS WALLS. IN A SINGLE MOMENT, 3 MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS SHOOK THE CITADEL OF KAZAN. THE TARTARS WERE ASTONISHED TO DISCOVER THAT THE MINES MADE 3 BREACHES IN THE WALLS OF THE KREMLIN. [men yelling] A BLOOD BATH ENSUED. MUSCOVITE TROOPS PLUNDERED AND LOOTED EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. THE STREETS OF KAZAN WERE SAID TO HAVE BEEN STAINED RED. A HUMILIATING DEFEAT HAD BEEN INFLICTED ON THE TARTARS. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS IVAN DID WHEN HE CONQUERED KAZAN, WAS TO COMMISSION THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW KREMLIN. IT'S HARDLY BEEN ALTERED SINCE IVAN'S TIME. THE DEFEAT OF KAZAN ESTABLISHED IVAN'S REPUTATION AS A CONQUEROR AND BEGAN RUSSIA'S CONQUEST OF THE EAST. IT WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT, AND IVAN WAS DETERMINED TO BUILD A MONUMENT THAT WOULD REFLECT THE FULL GLORY OF HIS VICTORY. IVAN, THE RETURNING HERO, NOW WANTED A LASTING SYMBOL OF HIS VICTORY. IN CELEBRATION AND THANKSGIVING FOR HIS TRIUMPH, WORK BEGAN IN 1552 ON MOSCOW'S MOST FAMOUS LANDMARK. ORIGINALLY NAMED THE CATHEDRAL OF THE INTERCESSION ON THE MOAT, IT HAS BECOME KNOWN AS ST. BASIL'S AFTER THE SAINT WHO LIES BURIED IN ITS GROUND. JOURNALIST GUY ARCHER NOW MEETS PROFESSOR ROBIN MILNER-GULLAND TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE HISTORY AND SYMBOLISM OF THE CATHEDRAL. YOU CAN SEE IT FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT ANGLES AND SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. YOU CAN SEE IT LITERALLY FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES AND ALSO METAPHORICALLY BECAUSE IT MEANS A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. UH, WHEN YOU SEE IT FROM THE FAR END OF RED SQUARE, IT LOOKS LIKE A FAIRY TALE CONFECTION THAT FLOATS IN THE AIR. FROM DOWN BELOW, FROM THE MOSCOW RIVER BANK, IT LOOMS OVER YOU. FROM CLOSE TO, AS YOU GO IN THE DOOR, IT LOOKS LIKE A BRICK CASTLE. LEGEND HAS IT THAT IVAN BLINDED THE ARCHITECT SO HE NEVER AGAIN BUILD SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL. THE BUILDING IS UNIQUE AND, SIGNIFICANTLY, IT'S A BUILDING FOR THE PEOPLE. IT STANDS OUTSIDE THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW'S CITADEL, ON RED SQUARE, A PLACE WHOSE NAME ACTUALLY PREDATES COMMUNISM AND MEANS "BEAUTIFUL" IN OLD RUSSIAN. NOW, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT IT WAS LOCATED RIGHT HERE WAS THAT IVAN WANTED SOME DISTANCE FROM THE KREMLIN AND FROM THE BOYARS, IS THAT-- IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK THAT IS CORRECT, THAT HE WANTED TO ASSOCIATE HIMSELF-- NOT PHYSICALLY SO MUCH, BECAUSE HE CONTINUED TO LIVE IN THE KREMLIN, BUT METAPHORICALLY WITH THE TOWNSFOLK. INVESTIGATING HOW ST. BASIL'S WAS BUILT, MASONRY SPECIALIST MIKE SCHULLER MEETS ENGINEER ALEKSANDR TSUKERMAN. FIRST, THEY WANT TO EXAMINE THE MATERIALS USED TO BUILD THE CATHEDRAL. LIMESTONE WAS WIDELY USED IN THE OLD DAYS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF MANY BUILDINGS IN MOSCOW. BUT THIS CATHEDRAL HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED USING BRICK BECAUSE IT'S MUCH BETTER MATERIAL. A NUMBER OF REASONS LAY BEHIND THIS CHANGE. BRICK IS MORE ECONOMICAL TO USE. IT'S READY TO GO IN THE WALL ONCE IT'S FABRICATED, WHEREAS A PIECE OF LIMESTONE REQUIRES, UH, A HIGH DEGREE OF TOOLING AND A HIGH LEVEL OF EXPERTISE FOR CONSTRUCTION. IT'S MORE DURABLE. BRICK MASONRY IS MORE ELASTIC AND BETTER ABLE TO WITHSTAND-- DISTRIBUTE. AND HANDLE THE DEFORMATIONS OVER TIME. SO LET'S DO IT. SURE. GRANTED SPECIAL ACCESS TO THE NORMALLY OFF-LIMIT UPPER GALLERY, MIKE AND ALEKSANDR WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE REASON BEHIND THE SHAPE OF THE CATHEDRAL'S DOME. ONION-SHAPED CUPOLAS AND COLORFUL GABLES ARE EVERYWHERE. EACH DOME IS UNIQUE. WHAT WAS THE REASON, THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE SHAPE OF THIS DOME? ONE OF THE REASONS IS FOR SNOW TO FALL OFF FROM THEM. SO IN A NORTHERN CLIMATE THEY USE THIS SHAPE TO SHED SNOW, WHEREAS IF THEY USED A SPHERICAL DOME, THE SNOW WOULD STAY UP ON TOP. AND ALSO FOR AESTHETICAL REASONS TOO. AESTHETICS, YES. IT'S BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURALLY. MIKE HAS DISCOVERED THAT WHEN THEY WERE PUTTING A CIRCULAR BASED DOME ON A SQUARE OR OCTAGONAL STRUCTURE BENEATH, THE BUILDERS OF THIS CATHEDRAL HAD TO FIND A WAY TO SOLVE AN AGE-OLD ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM-- FITTING A SQUARE INTO A CIRCLE. THEY HAD TO FIND A SPECIAL TRANSITION DEVICE CALLED A PENDENTIVE THAT COULD BE CONCEALED WITHIN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING. ONE THING I'VE NOTICED IS THAT MANY OF THESE CHURCHES USE WHAT IS CALLED A PENDENTIVE-- A DEVICE THAT ENABLES THE BUILDER TO TRANSITION BETWEEN A SPHERICAL DOME AND A SQUARE ROOM BELOW. AND A PENDENTIVE, BY DEFINITION, IS NOTHING MORE THAN A TRIANGULAR SEGMENT OF A SPHERE. SO WE HAVE AN ORANGE HERE WHICH IS A PRETTY CLOSE APPROXIMATION OF A SPHERE, AND WITH ONLY 3 CUTS OF THE KNIFE, WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE 8 PENDENTIVE SHAPES, WHICH ALLOWS US TO TRANSITION FROM THE DOME ABOVE TO THE CORNER OF THE ROOM BELOW. USING PENDENTIVES ENABLED THE BUILDERS TO CREATE COMPLEX AND MAGICAL STRUCTURES, BRINGING TOGETHER DIFFERENT FORMS RISING HIGH INTO THE SKY. BUT THE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FORMS ARE ALL HARNESSED TO PROMOTE ONE CENTRAL MESSAGE-- A DECLARATION OF TRIUMPH. WHY DID IVAN THE TERRIBLE BUILD ST. BASIL'S? HE BUILT IT TO CELEBRATE HIS GREAT VICTORY OVER THE TARTAR KINGDOM OF KAZAN, WHICH SEEMED LIKE, TO HIM, LIKE A CRUSADE. HE HURRIED BACK AND ENTRUSTED 2 RUSSIAN ARCHITECTS WITH PLANNING A BUILDING OF 8 CHAPELS, SEVERAL OF WHICH ARE DEDICATED TO EVENTS IN THE SIEGE OF KAZAN, AND THE CENTRAL CHAPEL IS DEDICATED TO THE POKROV, A RUSSIAN FEAST DAY COMMEMORATING A MIRACLE WHEREBY THE PROTECTIVE VEIL OF THE VIRGIN MARY WAS CAST OVER THE PEOPLE. THE VICTORY OVER KAZAN IS COMMEMORATED THROUGHOUT THE CATHEDRAL. BUT THERE IS ALSO MUCH SYMBOLISM POINTING TO WHAT IVAN SAW AS RUSSIA'S SACRED DESTINY. NOW, CLEARLY, THIS IS A BUILDING OF-- OF IMMENSE SYMBOLISM. WHAT'S AT THE CORE OF THIS SYMBOLISM? IT REPRESENTS A CITY. IT'S NOT AN INDIVIDUAL CHURCH. YOU CAN SEE THE CHAPEL STANDS SEPARATELY WITH PASSAGEWAYS BETWEEN THEM. AND WHAT'S THE CITY? THE CITY'S JERUSALEM. THROUGHOUT THE 15TH AND 16TH CENTURIES, MUSCOVY'S GRAND PRINCES AND PRIESTS HAD DEVELOPED THE IDEA OF MOSCOW AS A HOLY CITY. THIS CATHEDRAL CONNECTS IT WITH THE HOLIEST CITY OF ALL. THE POINT IS THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE CHURCHES OF JERUSALEM, IT'S THE PALACES, THE HOUSES, AND SO ON. AND WITHIN THE CORRIDORS PARTICULARLY, YOU GET A LOT OF APPARENT ARCHITECTURAL DETAIL REPRESENTING WOODEN HOUSES, AND A WONDERFUL PAINTED DECORATION THAT REPRESENTS THE GARDENS OF PARADISE. IVAN WANTED ANYONE WALKING INTO THIS CATHEDRAL TO FEEL THAT THEY WERE ENTERING THE CENTER OF A HOLY EMPIRE. THIS IDEA IS REFLECTED IN THE BASIC DESIGN OF THE BUILDING. STUDYING A FLOOR PLAN, MIKE FINDS THAT, DESPITE ITS RANDOM APPEARANCE, THERE'S A METICULOUS GEOMETRY TO THE STRUCTURE. YEAH, SO I'VE GOTTEN A BIT CONFUSED WANDERING AROUND THE CATHEDRAL OUT THERE. IT SEEMS TO BE JUST A JUMBLE OF SMALL CHAPELS AND PASSAGEWAYS, BUT IN LOOKING AT THE MODEL AND THE PLAN, IT'S VERY EASY TO SEE THAT IT WAS BUILT TO TAKE ON A VERY SPECIFIC GEOMETRIC FORM. WE HAVE ONE CENTRAL CHURCH SURROUNDED BY 8 ANCILLARY CHAPELS. ALL OF THESE ARE LINKED TOGETHER BY ONE GALLERY. AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, WE LOOK AT THE PLAN VIEW, AND THE ENTIRE CATHEDRAL TAKES ON THE SHAPE OF AN 8-POINTED STAR. WE CAN NOW REVEAL THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. BASIL'S AS IT LOOKED IN THE 16TH CENTURY. AT ITS CENTER IS THE 187-FOOT-TALL OCTAGONAL TOWER CROWNED WITH A TENT ROOF AND A SMALL GOLDEN DOME. ENCIRCLING THIS ARE 4 LARGE AND 4 SMALL DOMED CHAPELS, THE DOMES OF WHICH, IN IVAN'S TIME, WERE HELMET-SHAPED. AND THIS GRAND DESIGN REPRESENTED A VAST CONCEPTUAL MAP OF JERUSALEM, A SYMBOL OF MOSCOW'S DESTINY TO BECOME THE NEW CENTER OF THE WORLD. HAVING SUBDUED THE RUSSIAN EAST AND GLORIFIED THE MUSCOVITE CAPITAL, IVAN THE TERRIBLE NOW TURNED HIS GAZE WESTWARD TOWARD THE RICHES OF EUROPE. IN 1553, AN ENGLISH TRADING EXPEDITION WAS BLOWN OFF COURSE AND SHIPWRECKED ON THE RUSSIAN COAST. IVAN IMMEDIATELY SAW AN OPPORTUNITY. HE OFFERED THE SURVIVORS HIS HOSPITALITY AND A PERMANENT BASE IN MOSCOW. IT BECAME A TRADING POST AND THE FIRST FOREIGN EMBASSY IN RUSSIA. CALLED THE ENGLISH COURT, THE BUILDING WAS LOST FOR CENTURIES, BUT GUY ARCHER IS LOOKING FOR CLUES ABOUT ITS LOCATION IN THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF MOSCOW. THE ENGLISH COURT WAS BUILT DURING THE TIME OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE. OVER THE CENTURIES, IT WAS USED FOR MANY DIFFERENT THINGS AND THEY LOST WHAT ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE HAD BEEN. JUST 40 YEARS AGO, IT WAS LITERALLY BURIED UNDER NEWER STRUCTURES. THE BUILDING HAD BEEN USED AS A LIBRARY, OFFICES AND ACCOMMODATION. ONLY WHEN CONSTRUCTION BEGAN ON A MASSIVE NEW HOTEL DID ARCHAEOLOGIST REDISCOVER THE ENGLISH COURT-- THE LAST REMAINING PRIVATE HOUSE FROM IVAN'S TIME STILL STANDING IN THE CITY. IT WAS AN AMAZING DISCOVERY. AND I'M VERY KEEN NOW TO ACTUALLY GO OVER AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT. GUY HAS ASKED PROFESSOR ROBIN MILNER-GULLAND TO SHOW HIM AROUND THE OLD ENGLISH COURT. Guy: WHAT ABOUT THESE FOUNDATIONS? FIRST YOU'VE GOT A LIMESTONE FOUNDATION STORY, AND THAT LIMESTONE COMES FROM FURTHER DOWN THE MOSCOW RIVER SO IT WAS FAIRLY, UH, WIDELY AVAILABLE. THEN YOU HAVE THE MAIN STRUCTURE OF THE PLACE IN BRICK. RIGHT. AND ABOVE THAT, YOU'D PROBABLY HAVE A WOODEN SUPERSTRUCTURE. THAT HAS CLEARLY BEEN LOST IN ONE OF THE MANY FIRES THAT HAVE HAPPENED HERE, BUT WE CAN IMAGINE IT LIKE THAT. INSIDE, THE BUILDING HAS BEEN RESTORED TO LOOK AS IT DID IN IVAN'S TIME. NOW THIS IS A MARVELOUS ROOM. WHAT ROOM IS THIS? THIS IS THE MAIN RECEPTION ROOM OF THE ENGLISH COURT. NOW, WOULD IVAN HAVE ACTUALLY COME-- COME HERE? VERY UNLIKELY. VERY UNLIKELY. THE TSAR HIMSELF WAS TOO GRAND. AND HE WOULD HAVE RECEIVED AMBASSADORS AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT IN THE KREMLIN, IF HE SO DESIRED TO. I SEE. BUT HIS HIGH OFFICIALS WOULD HAVE COME HERE. THIS WAS THE HUB OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE IN IVAN'S MOSCOW. ENGLISH AMBASSADORS HELD LAVISH RECEPTIONS HERE TO SET THE SCENE FOR TRADE TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE WEST. NOW, HERE ARE PAINTINGS OF TSAR IVAN THE TERRIBLE AND QUEEN ELIZABETH. AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE RELATIONSHIP THAT IVAN HAD DEVELOPED WITH THE WEST WAS SO STRONG THAT HE ACTUALLY PROPOSED TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. THAT'S TRUE, YES. THEY CORRESPONDED FOR 15 YEARS. HE ACTUALLY PUT OUT FEELERS HOPING TO MARRY QUEEN ELIZABETH. SHE WOULDN'T HAVE IT, OF COURSE. TRADE OPENED UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR IVAN'S MUSCOVY. WHEN IVAN THE TERRIBLE OPENED UP TRADE WITH THE WEST, RUSSIA EXCHANGED HONEY, CAVIAR, FURS FOR CLOTH, METALS, TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERTISE, UH, WEAPONS. THE ENGLISH COURT IS IN THE HEART OF A DISTRICT CALLED KITAI-GOROD AND SERVED AS A LASTING REMINDER IN BRICK AND STONE OF THE THRIVING COMMERCIAL CENTER WHICH GREW UP HERE IN THE 16TH CENTURY OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF MOSCOW'S CITADEL, THE KREMLIN. MOST OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE AREA WERE WOODEN AND HAVE BEEN LOST TO FIRE OVER THE CENTURIES. IN IVAN'S TIME, THIS WAS A VERY REAL DANGER, AND HE KNEW THAT THIS PROSPEROUS COMMERCIAL QUARTER NEEDED PROTECTION-- BUT NOT JUST FROM FIRE. WITH THE TARTARS STILL A GENUINE THREAT EVEN TO MOSCOW, IVAN DECIDED TO GIVE THE AREA SPECIAL PROTECTION. HE ORDERED A FULLY-FORTIFIED WALL TO BE BUILT AROUND THE WHOLE AREA. LITTLE REMAINS OF THE KITAI-GOROD WALL, BUT MIKE SCHULLER IS HUNTING FOR IT WITH HISTORIAN DMITRY OLEINIKOV. THEY WANT TO RECREATE A SENSE OF THE LOST WALLED CITY. DMITRY, THIS IS PART OF THE WALL AROUND KITAI-GOROD, THE ANCIENT TOWN CENTER. YES, EXACTLY. THIS IS PART OF KITAI-GOROD WALL. IT WAS BUILT AFTER THE KREMLIN BECAUSE THE CITY BECAME WIDER AS THEY NEED MORE WALLS AROUND THE CITY TO PROTECT ITS CITIZENS. AND IT'S ABOUT, UH, 2 MILES LONG. 2 MILES LONG? WOW. 2 MILES LONG AROUND THE CITY. AND YOU SEE IT'S 20 FEET WIDE, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO PUT CANNONS, AND YOU NEED HORSES TO DRIVE THEM OVER THE WALL AND PUT THESE CANNONS ON THE WALL TO ATTACK-- THIS IS REALLY A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO GET AN IDEA OF THE CROSS-SECTION OF THE WALL, BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE HOW MASSIVE IT IS. THIS IS A PART OF A TOWER. THERE WERE ABOUT 15 TOWERS ALL OVER THE... ALL ALONG THE WALL. MIKE SCHULLER HAS DISCOVERED THAT FOLLOWING THEIR HISTORIC DEFEAT OF THE TARTAR CITY OF KAZAN BY LAYING MINES, THE RUSSIANS DECIDED TO TAKE SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT THE SAME THING HAPPENING IN MOSCOW. WELL, I FOUND SOMETHING OUT VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THE WALLS OF THE KITAI-GOROD. ALL ALONG THE WALL THEY HAD A SERIES OF TOWERS, AND IN THE FOUNDATION OF THESE TOWERS, SPECIAL GALLERIES, WHERE THE WALLS WERE ACTUALLY HUNG WITH THIN COPPER SHEETS AS A FORM OF A-- AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM TO DETECT ANY TYPE OF ENEMY MOVEMENT. SO I'VE SET UP A LITTLE BIT OF AN EXPERIMENT. I'VE GOT A FELLOW DIGGING A HOLE OUT HERE TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE ENEMY MINE ACTIVITY. AND ON THE INSIDE OF THIS WALL, I'VE GOT A LITTLE COPPER SHEET HUNG UP THERE, SO I'M GOING TO GO INSIDE AND SEE IF THIS SYSTEM MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK. YEAH, LISTEN TO THAT. I CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE SOUND OF DIGGING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL. SO I COULD IMAGINE WHAT THE WHOLE SERIES OF THESE SHEETS LINING THE WALL, YOU COULD LISTEN IN AND TELL IF THE ENEMY'S IS DOING ANYTHING, UH, DIGGING MINES UNDERNEATH THE WALL. YOU COULD LISTEN FOR ENEMY HORSES, MAYBE 40, 50 FEET AWAY. SO IT'S VERY SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY, BUT AN EFFECTIVE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM. NOW, WE CAN REVEAL WHAT THE WALLS OF THE KITAI-GOROD LOOKED LIKE WHEN IVAN HAD THEM BUILT IN THE 16TH CENTURY. THE TIDE WAS TURNING AGAINST IVAN. HE HAD EMBARKED ON A LONG AND DRAINING WAR ON RUSSIA'S WESTERN BORDER. AND EVER SUSPICIOUS OF THE BOYARS-- THE NOBILITY-- IVAN HAD BEGUN TO RETREAT INTO A PRIVATE AND PARANOID WORLD. HE SAW TREACHERY ALL AROUND HIM AND FELT THE THREAT OF ASSASSINATION EVERYWHERE. HIS FINAL YEARS WERE SPENT IN CONSTANT FEAR. GUY ARCHER HAS COME TO EXPLORE THE DARK WORLD OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE'S COURT DURING THE FINAL YEARS OF HIS REIGN. HE HAS DISCOVERED THAT IN 1564, IVAN HAD A BREAKDOWN FROM WHICH HE NEVER FULLY RECOVERED. HE LEFT MOSCOW AND WANDERED FOR A MONTH, FINALLY FINDING REFUGE IN HIS FATHER'S OLD HUNTING LODGE AT ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA, 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF MOSCOW. IN 1565, IVAN DIVIDED THE COUNTRY UP, KEEPING ALL THE BEST TERRITORY FOR HIMSELF AND LEAVING THE REST FOR THE BOYARS. HE CALLED THIS TERRITORY "OPRICHNINA," WHICH TRANSLATES AS "A LAND APART." THE REMAINING LAND WAS CALLED "ZEMSHCHINA," AND IVAN WANTED TO KEEP THE 2 COMPLETELY SEPARATE. HE EVEN PASSED A LAW FORBIDDING DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN THEM. GUY HAS MET UP WITH 16TH-CENTURY HISTORIAN LEONARD NEDASHKOVSKY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OPRICHNINA AND WHAT IT MEANT FOR RUSSIA. THE PURPOSE OF IT PROBABLY WAS TO CRUSH OPPOSITION TO HIS RULE AND, UH, TO UNITE RUSSIA. IVAN WANTED TOTAL CONTROL OF HIS TERRITORY AND DEMANDED ABSOLUTE LOYALTY FROM THE PEOPLE IN IT. HE CREATED A POWERFUL FORCE, 6,000 STRONG, RECRUITED FROM ALL RANKS OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY. THIS WAS IVAN THE TERRIBLE'S SECRET POLICE, THE "OPRICHNIKI." SO HE CREATED THE OPRICHNINA SYSTEM AND THEN HE CREATED SPECIAL SOLDIERS, THE OPRICHNIKI. WHAT WAS THEIR ROLE? HOW DID THEY LOOK? THEY WERE UNUSUALLY DRESSED IN BLACK COSTUMES AND, UH, THEY HAD, UM, DOGS' HEADS AND BROOMS ON THEIR SADDLES. REAL DOG HEADS? YES. THAT'S A PRETTY GRUESOME PICTURE. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS? THE PURPOSE OF THIS WAS CLAIMED THAT THEY SHOULD ACT AS THE DOGS OF THE TSAR, AND THEY SHOULD REMOVE, UH, BY THE VERY BROOMS, THE ENEMIES OF THE TSAR. IVAN MADE THE HUNTING LODGE AT ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA THE HEADQUARTERS OF HIS OPRICHNINA. IT WAS THE HEART OF HIS STATE WITHIN A STATE, AND EFFECTIVELY IT BECAME THE CAPITAL OF RUSSIA. ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA IS NOW HOME TO A CONVENT. ITS TRANQUILITY TODAY IS IN SHARP CONTRAST WITH THE MOST TURBULENT TIME IN ITS HISTORY OVER 400 YEARS AGO. THE FACE OF THE COMPOUND HAS CHANGED OVER THE CENTURIES, BUT IVAN LEFT HIS MARK ON ONE OF THE STRUCTURES. HE CONVERTED A SMALL CHURCH BUILT BY HIS FATHER VASILI INTO THE CRUCIFIXION BELL TOWER. ADDING A THIRD LEVEL OF "KOKOSHNIKI"-- ARCHES SHAPED LIKE HEADDRESSES-- IVAN CREATED A BELFRY BENEATH A SOARING TENT ROOF, GIVING HIM THE HEIGHT HE WANTED TO SURVEY HIS DOMAIN. MIKE SCHULLER AND ENGINEER ALEKSANDR TSUKERMAN CLIMB UP THE 187-FOOT TOWER TO INVESTIGATE. FINALLY MADE IT UP TO THE BELL LEVEL. YES. IT'S AN IMPRESSIVE TOWER. IT MUST HAVE DOMINATED THE SKYLINE. YOU CAN SEE FOREVER IN EVERY DIRECTION. YOU CAN SEE 10, 15 MILES AROUND. I KNOW TOWERS LIKE THESE WERE USED TO SIGNAL FOR, UH, SERVICES FOR THE CHURCH, BUT THAT MUST HAVE SERVED SOME OTHER PURPOSE, YEAH? YES. THEY WERE ALSO THE WATCHTOWERS, RIGHT? THEY CONVEYED THE MESSAGES. RIGHT, AND A GREAT SYMBOL OF PRIDE AND THE POWER OF IVAN. YEAH. SOME OF THESE BELLS ARE MASSIVE. IT MUST HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF EFFORT TO MAKE ONE. OFTEN, THEY DID THE BELLS BEFORE THE TOWER. AND THEN BUILD THE TOWER AROUND THE BELLS. SO THEY WOULD CAST THE BELL RIGHT DOWN IN THE BASE OF THE TOWER? YES. WOW. THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A GOOD SOLUTION. THE VERTICAL SOAR OF THE BELL TOWER WAS ANOTHER MANIFESTATION OF IVAN'S POWER. BELLS WERE NOT ONLY USED TO SUMMON PEOPLE TO CHURCH SERVICES BUT ALSO TO CONVEY MESSAGES AND SEND OUT ALERTS FOR WAR. MIKE SCHULLER HAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WERE WALLS BEYOND THE EXISTING TERRITORY OF ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA. WELL, YEAH, I CAN SEE HIS EARTHWORKS HERE THAT IT'S CLEAR THAT THE ORIGINAL BOUNDARY OF THE MONASTERY WAS MUCH LARGER THAN WHAT WE SEE TODAY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'VE JUST DISCOVERED THAT IVAN HAD SET UP A SERIES OF CHECK POINTS WITHIN A 2-MILE RADIUS OF THE MONASTERY, AND HIS PEOPLE HAD TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION CARDS TO ENTER OR LEAVE. SO, IN A SENSE, HE SET UP THIS MILITARY STATE OF CONTROL FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. IVAN TURNED HIS FATHER'S HUNTING LODGE INTO A COMBINATION OF SECRET POLICE HEADQUARTERS AND MONASTERY. STYLING HIMSELF AS THE ABBOTT, HE EXPECTED HIS MEN TO SHOW AS MUCH DEVOTION TO PRAYER AS HE DID. THE MORNINGS WERE DEDICATED TO MASS, WHICH LASTED 3 HOURS. THIS IS THE PERSONAL CHAPEL OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE. IT WAS HERE EVERY MORNING AT 4 A.M. HE WOULD HAVE SPECIAL MORNING PRAYER. AND IT WOULD BE ATTENDED BY ABOUT 300 OF HIS SPECIAL BROTHERHOOD OF OPRICHNIKI. THEY HAD TO COME. THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY AN OBLIGATION. IF ANYBODY MISSED THESE PRAYERS, THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO TO JAIL FOR 8 DAYS. FROM HERE, IVAN WOULD PRAY, BUT ALSO SOMETIMES ISSUE POLITICAL COMMANDS AND ORDERS. AND LEGEND HAS IT, DURING THE 3 HOURS OF PRAYER, HE WAS SO FERVENT IN HIS PRAYING THAT HE WOULD-- HE WOULD LAY LIKE THIS, AND BANG HIS, UH, HIS FOREHEAD AGAINST THE-- THE STONE CAUSING IT TO BLEED OR AT LEAST BRUISE. THE EVENINGS WERE DEVOTED TO TORTURE-- IMPALING VICTIMS, PULLING THEIR TONGUES OUT, OR BOILING THEM WHOLE IN A LARGE CAULDRON SO THE FLESH WOULD COME OFF THEIR BONES. HISTORIAN BORIS SOKOLOV TELLS GUY ABOUT THE BRUTAL SIDE OF IVAN'S REGIME. WHO WERE THE VICTIMS OF HIS TORTURE? IVAN, UH, TORTURED AND MURDERED THE PEOPLE WHICH, UH, HE CONSIDERED TO BE HIS, UH, ENEMIES. MM-HMM. THEY WERE BOYARS, NOBLEMEN, AND THEIR SERVANTS. HE WAS A GREAT FAN OF TORTURES. HE FRIED PEOPLE, HE BOILED PEOPLE, HE HANGED PEOPLE, HE BEHEADED PEOPLE. HOW MANY VICTIMS DO YOU THINK THERE WERE IN THE END DURING THE TIME OF IVAN? I THINK, UH, THE MOST CORRECT FIGURE IS ABOUT 15,000 VICTIMS OF OPRICHNINA. IVAN, IN 10 YEARS, KILLED MUCH MORE PEOPLE THAN THE SPANISH INQUISITION KILLED IN 150 YEARS. IVAN EVEN ORDERED HIS OPRICHNIKI TO PURGE WHOLE CITIES. THEY WERE MERCILESS, AND THOUSANDS WERE MASSACRED. IVAN SAW HIMSELF AS A REDEEMER REPRESENTING GOD ON EARTH. HIS WAS A BLOODY WAR WITH THE FORCES OF EVIL. IT WAS HIS DIVINE RIGHT TO PURIFY THOSE WHO WOULD BECOME CORRUPT. IVAN COMMISSIONED 2 CHURCHES AT ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA TO REPENT FOR HIS SINS AND COMMEMORATE THE BARBARITIES WHICH HE HAD VISITED ON HIS OWN PEOPLE. AND THIS IS WHAT THE ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA COMPOUND LOOKED LIKE WHEN IT WAS COMPLETE. SURROUNDED BY STRONG FORTIFIED WALLS OF WOOD AND STONE, IT HAD AN ENORMOUS MASONRY GATE HOUSE. INSIDE WERE PLACES OF PRAYER AND PLACES OF TORTURE, A TERRIFYING COMBINATION OF THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE WHICH WAS EMBLEMATIC OF IVAN'S WHOLE REIGN. IT WAS AT ALEKSANDROVA SLOBODA THAT IVAN'S FIERY TEMPER WRECKED THE FUTURE OF HIS DYNASTY. IN 1581, HE STRUCK HIS SON'S PREGNANT WIFE FOR BEING IMPROPERLY DRESSED. HIS SON LEAPT TO HER DEFENSE, AND IVAN STRUCK HIM WITH HIS STAFF. HE DIED FROM THE BLOW. A FEW DAYS LATER, THE BABY MISCARRIED. THE TSAR HAD LOST BOTH HIS ONE STRONG SON AND A FUTURE GRANDCHILD. FYDOR, HIS ONLY SURVIVING SON, WAS WEAK AND NOT FIT TO RULE. IVAN'S DYNASTY WAS TO DIE WITH HIM. WHEN HE DIED IN 1584, RUSSIA WAS RAVAGED BY TERROR AND UNCERTAIN OF ITS FUTURE. YET HE HAD ALSO ACHIEVED GREAT THINGS FOR HIS COUNTRY AND LEFT A REMARKABLE LEGACY IN BRICK AND STONE. HIS BIRTH HAD BEEN MARKED BY BUILDING THE MONUMENTAL AND IMPRESSIVE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION. HE CELEBRATED HIS OWN CORONATION AS TSAR WITH THE MAJESTIC CHURCH AT DYAKOVO. THE AMAZING ST. BASIL'S STANDS AS A LASTING MONUMENT BOTH TO HIS VICTORY OVER THE TARTARS IN KAZAN AND TO MOSCOW'S SACRED STATUS AS A HOLY CITY. HE HAD FOSTERED INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY, ENCOURAGING HIS BACKWARD COUNTRY TO OPEN UP TO THE WEST. YET, IN THE END, HIS FEAR OF OPPOSITION AND HIS GROWING MADNESS ALMOST DESTROYED THE COUNTRY HE HAD FOUGHT SO HARD TO MAKE GREAT. CAPTIONED BY FEATURE SUBTITLING & TRANSLATION www.featuresubtitling.com

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Channel: HISTORY

Views: 92,771

Rating: 4.810101 out of 5

Keywords: ivan the terrible's fortresses, lost world, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, history lost worlds, lost worlds show, lost worlds full episodes, lost worlds clips, lost worlds season 2 episode 16, lost worlds se2 e16, lost world s2 e16, lost worlds s02 e16, watch lost worlds, watch history shows, watch history full episodes, lost worlds season 2 clips, lost worlds full episode clips, watch lost world, watch lost world fullepisodes, Terrible's Fortresses

Id: AlpiN6vp8yQ

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 43min 26sec (2606 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 24 2020