Ivan the Great – Ivan III Vasilyevich aka Ivan the Great
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Ivan_the_Great
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_III_of_Russia
When you are sent to Polaris by Professor Drake, he recommends you find Ivan the Great as someone who can lead you to Baba Yaga. Unfortunately, Ivan has been locked up by the investigative force of Polaris. Once you help him escape he helps your wizard throughout the world of Polaris.
Ivan the Great was an acclaimed circus performer. He was also once associated with the mystical witch Baba Yaga, which is why Professor Drake sent you to find him.
Ivan III Vasilyevich (Russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and Sovereign of all Russia. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II from the mid-1450s before he officially ascended the throne in 1462.
Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia
He multiplied the territory of his state through conquest, purchase, inheritance and the seizure of lands from his dynastic relatives, and laid the foundations of the centralized Russian state. He also renovated the Moscow Kremlin and introduced a new legal code. Ivan is credited with ending the dominance of the Tatars over Russia; his victory over the Great Horde in 1480 formally restored its independence.
Ivan began using the title Tsar, and used the title tentatively until the Habsburgs recognized it. While officially using “Tsar” in his correspondence with other monarchs, he was satisfied with the title of grand prince at home. Through marriage to Sophia Palaiologina, Ivan made the double-headed eagle Russia’s coat of arms, and adopted the idea of Moscow as the third Rome. His 43-year reign was the second-longest in Russian history, after that of his grandson Ivan IV.
The current list of all the (known) Polaris references can be found here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Ivan the Great image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment
Merchant Ship Attacked by Chinese Pirates is borrowed from and © North Wind Picture Archives
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
Vulcan Stev's Database 