Monument to Ivan the Terrible installed in the centre of Vologda overnight

The driving force behind the new monument was regional Governor Georgy Filimonov, an ultra-nationalist politician who has described Ivan the Terrible as a “multiplier of Russian lands,” a “symbol of the Russian world,” and a “conquering tsar in a good sense”.

Filliminov has gained notoriety for his Mao suits and his outspoken praise for Soviet dictators Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and raised eyebrows in December when he unveiled a statue to the latter in Vologda while urging those present to “cherish” Stalin’s memory.

Recent interest in rehabilitating discredited Russian historical figures has not been limited to Vologda, however, with the honouring of brutal autocrats and dictators now a nationwide phenomenon, one perhaps most notably demonstrated when a wall sculpture depicting Stalin that had been destroyed in the 1960s was restored to a Moscow metro station in May.