The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 plus 8 letter word IVAN THE TERRIBLE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
I
V
A
N
T
H
E
T
E
R
R
I
B
L
E
More clues leading to the result IVAN THE TERRIBLE
- One with rather evil bent cast as tyrant
- The first Tsar? I haven’t a clue
- Ruler I haven’t clued cryptically?
- I’ve killed a lot of people, haven’t I?
- Former people’s champion? Perhaps, I haven’t the result
- Haven’t I clued him?
- Ruler of yesteryear — I haven’t the answer to this clue?
- Shocking Russian TV with three Liberian plays
- Cryptically, this suggests I haven’t a ruler
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Shocking Russian" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case shocking russian = ivan the terrible.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.