Ivan the Terrible as a problem of Russian Philosophy of History

The purpose of the article is to consider the historiosophical ideas about the personality of Ivan IV the Terrible and his role in the history of the Russian state. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been solved: 1) the assessments of the largest historians and philosophers, whose works formed historiosophical ideas about the figure of Ivan the Terrible and, thereby, influenced the historical consciousness and memory of Russian society, are studied; 2) the images of Ivan the Terrible in fiction are considered; 3) the contribution of artists and sculptors to the historiosophical assessment of Ivan the Terrible is considered. Historians, philosophers and public opinion mutually influenced each other, dialectically shaping the image of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in an effort to create the most objective representation of him. The role of literature and fine arts is significant, but writers and artists draw images of the past and give them a historiosophical assessment based on the works of historians and philosophers. The methodological basis of this research is historical-philosophical and comparative-historical analysis, as well as a cultural approach. The figure of Ivan the Terrible is considered through the prism of public consciousness and some works of Russian literature and art. Due to the vastness of the topic, the author used the most characteristic and significant examples illustrating the evolution of historiosophical ideas on the figure of Ivan the Terrible. Even during the life of Ivan the Terrible, there were three main assessments of his personality and deeds that continue to live to this day: 1) impartial and accusatory, 2) uncritical and glorifying, and 3) neutral and objective. Through the personality of Ivan the Terrible, historians and philosophers considered such important historiosophical problems as the relationship between the people and state power, politics and morality, the role of personality in the historical process. The assessment of Ivan the Terrible largely depends on the historiosophical approach to the problem of the role of personality in history, which is followed by historians, philosophers, writers or artists.