Ivan the Terrible — Russian folklore character

Ivan the Terrible was a rather popular character in Russian folklore. Interest is caused by its contradiction to the real historical figure of the first Russian Tsar, as well as the possible reasons for this.
By studying a variety of folktales about Ivan the Terrible Maureen Perrie states that “in so far as he is the friend of the common people, and the enemy of the boyars, he (Ivan IV) is seen as a ‘good’ tsar”, despite the fact that because of his hot temper, he does injustice and executes the innocents. This is attributed to "evil people" who bear false witness, or to his excessive zeal to eliminate a treason. Consequently, the image depicted of Ivan is not one in which he is a “meaningless, bloodletting” ruler, but rather he is kind and compassionate towards his lower subjects.  By creating the tsar to be either a friend of the commoners or an enemy to the boyar, a positive image of Ivan IV is represented through the particular folktale.