What the Russian tyrant Ivan the Terrible looked like: the most cruel man who ever lived. Photo.

Scientists are reconstructing the true face of the Russian tyrant Ivan the Terrible. It is believed that he was the most cruel man who ever lived in the world, as he boiled his subjects alive.

Scientists have restored the face of the Terrible from his skull. The cold gaze of this monster is still frightening 440 years after his death, writes DailyMail.

Ivan the Terrible was the first Russian tsar to turn his country into an empire, expanding its borders eastward into Siberia and southward to the Caspian Sea.

But this cruel ruler is best remembered for his barbarism. On Grozny's orders, "undesirable" subjects were quartered, boiled alive, put on a stake, roasted, drowned under ice, and torn apart by horses. Ivan was extremely cruel since childhood. He pulled feathers from live birds and threw cats and dogs out of windows, which brought him pleasure.

Grozny died in 1584. And in 1963, Soviet scientist Mikhail Gerasimov excavated the tsar's tomb for research.

"According to Dr. Gerasimov's research, it appears that Ivan led a disorderly lifestyle, eating excessively and abusing alcohol, which probably worsened his condition in his later years. This is different from the appearance he had in his youth, when he was described as tall, with good hair, broad shoulders, strong muscles and a pleasant face," said Cicero Moraes, lead author of the new study, a Brazilian graphic arts expert.

An interesting fact is that a large amount of mercury was found in Ivan the Terrible's body, which led some scientists to suspect that the tsar was poisoned. "But, given the habits of the time, mercury may have been used as a treatment for some health problems," Moraes suggested.

Scientists have used several approaches to reconstructing Grozny's face. One method involved using data from living donors to identify the likely thickness of the tsar's skin in different parts of his skull.

Another technique used was anatomical deformation, in which the face and skull of a living donor were digitally altered until they matched Ivan the Terrible's dimensions. And the last step was to combine all this data.

"It was a very interesting experience because it involved not only getting up close and personal, but also learning about the history of the king. I found sources that confirm the epithet "terrible" and others with various evidence that indicate that the king's "glory" may have been exaggerated, for example, by enemies and opponents," said Cicero Moraes.

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