Better known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan the Terrible ruled from 1533 to 1584, taking the throne at the age of 16. Yet more evidence that adolescents should not be trusted with emerging empires. Ivan the Terrible's reign represents the end of princely power and the beginning of the autocracy that Russia is famous for. But in the beginning, he was really an innovative leader. As a young king, he worked with a group of advisors called the Chosen Council, which certainly sounds like a good thing. He also called the very first meeting of the Zemsky Sabor a grand council of representatives similar to the Estates General that would become so important in France 200 years later.