The conduct of the monarch from this time forward certainly indicates a condition of semi-insanity. In December, 1564, he retired with a small retinue to a retreat near Moscow, and the nobility, afraid that the monarch was about to desert the country and plunge them into a turmoil over the succession, waited upon him in a body and implored his return. He finally consented and brought back with him woes and miseries to which the devoted citizens of his capital were compelled to submit. It is surprising what Russians will stand from the autocrat whom they regard as their ruler by the will of God. It is worthy of notice that in 1564 the first printing press was set up in Moscow, and thus the supreme agent of modern enlightenment found a humble foothold in the capital of the chief tyrant of the century.
Ivan, after his return, began a series of atrocities too numerous to mention, but among them may be noted the murder of Philip, the archbishop of Moscow, the execution of Alexandra, the widow of his brother, the burning and sacking of Novgorod for having questioned his authority, and lastly the terrible butcheries on the Red Square.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
