Ivan the Terrible

"I think no person in Christendom is more feared of his own than he is, nor better loved." --- Anthony Jenkins, an Englishman on Ivan IV "the Terrible" (incidentally, drop the words 'in Christendom' and the same was said about Stalin)

Ivan IV ruled in the 16th Century. During his reign, his forces captured the Tatar stronghold, Kazan. This victory started a mini-growth of the Russian empire and gave Ivan IV the title, Tsar of all Russia. St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square was built to commemorate the capture of Kazan.
The Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin is where Ivan IV was coronated in 1547. Grand Princes and Czars were subsequently coronated in the cathedral until the Russian Revolution in 1917. A fabulous history channel documentary, Engineering an Empire - Russia, can be seen here.

 

Photos of Kazan, Russia. My friend Timour visited there.