He defeated the Tartars (Mongols) at Kazan and Astrakhan. With the Tartar danger removed, the Russian nobles (boyars) began to strive form more autonomy. Ivan IV acquired his title 'the Terrible' through the bloody violence with which he destroyed the aristocratic opposition to his autocratic rule.

Ivan IV nonetheless did much for Russian culture and commerce. He initiated the opening of Sibiria, established commercial links with England, centralized the administration of Russia, and created an empire that included non-Slav states.