Ivan IV - known as Ivan the Terrible or Ivan the Formidable - lived in Alexandrov for several months in the 16th Century, and despite his fearsome reputation, he played a key role in forming the Russian state. However, he remains a controversial figure among Russians. In October last year, an artist responded to the installation of a statue to Ivan in the city of Orel with a bloodied stake to remind people that "it's not so long ago that people were killed just for sport".