Grandfather Ivan () is a

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

image of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the minds of

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

from the times of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

, portraying Russia as a benevolent, protective force. Ivan is a

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

form of the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

name Joan (John). The apparition of the

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

of "Grandfather Ivan" is associated with the marriage of Ivan III to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor,

Sophia Palaiologina Sophia Fominichna Palaiologina or Paleologue (; born Zoe Palaiologina; ; – 7 April 1503) was a Byzantine princess from the Palaiologos imperial dynasty and the grand princess of Moscow as the second wife of Ivan III of Russia. Her fath ...

, in 1472. Through this marriage, Ivan III was formally entitled to ascend to the throne of the already nonexisting

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and also received the moral obligation to liberate the Balkan Orthodox peoples from the Ottoman invaders. "Grandfather Ivan" was accepted as an "old clever patron". This vision was applied not only to the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

but also to the

Russian people Russians ( ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian, the most spoken Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Orthodox Christianity, ever since the Middle Ages. By total numbers ...

. Sometime in the 18th century, during the

Bulgarian National Awakening The Bulgarian National Awakening () is the initial period of the Bulgarian National Revival in the history of Bulgaria, from the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Ottoman coups of 1807–08. During this historical period of enlightenment (''The Age of ...

, the Bulgarians came to the conclusion that "Grandfather Ivan" should come to set them free from the Ottoman rule.Асен Димов, Дядо Иван. Мит или действителност, Издателство "Абагар", Велико Търново, 2004,
стр. 18.
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References

{{Reflist Bulgarian folklore Cultural depictions of Russian monarchs Cultural depictions of Russian people

See also

References