What is oprichnina? This is a component of Ivan the Terrible’s policy, based on repressive measures and confiscation of land and property in favor of the state. Oprichniki are people who were part of the personal guard of the king.
Origin of the word
You can learn about what the oprichnina is from the Great Russian Encyclopedia. This is one of the periods of Russian history when terrorist despotism began to take on a state scale. “Oprichit” is an old Russian word meaning “separately”, “outside”, “outside”. The essence of the oprichnina lies in the allocation of certain territories for the needs of the state.
Initially, the king planned to gather about a thousand employees. However, in the end, six thousand guardsmen were elected. These included mostly noblemen and boyar children. To the question of what the oprichnina is, one can answer this way: a territory on which no legal tradition operates. The origin of this phenomenon, as well as its influence on the course of history, is a topic to which many studies are devoted.
Oprichnina Ivan the Terrible
According to one historian, in 1560, the king decided to tighten power, which led to repressive measures. What is oprichnina? Favorite brainchild of Ivan IV. This king is one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. If not the most controversial. No wonder politicians have so far failed to give an adequate assessment of its activities.
According to Karamzin, the peculiar character of Ivan the Terrible was to blame for the terror of the mid-16th century. Oprichnina was the result of a series of random, chaotic acts. In the king’s personality, virtue was whimsically intertwined with tyranny, but the latter often won.
Sergei Solovyov claimed that the tsar used the oprichnina as a tool in the struggle for the new regime. The historian tried to justify the cruelty of the ruler, whom his colleagues have more than once accused of genocide. Ivan the Terrible is devoted to many books: fiction, scientific, journalistic. But the closest to unraveling this mysterious historical figure came Alexei Tolstoy, author of the novel "Prince of Silver".
Highly appreciated the role of satrap in Russian history, Joseph Stalin. The tyrant of the 20th century called the Oprichnikov “a progressive army”. It is not surprising that in the Stalin years, the image of the great tsar appeared in history books, striving to strengthen the state and rightly punishing traitors and separatists.
But there is an objective judge whose opinion differs from the point of view of many historians and even more so leaders. This is the people. Many legends and songs have been preserved in which the word “oprichnik” is almost swearing. The image of Malyuta Skuratov in folk art is the embodiment of a villain. And some historical facts indicate that in the second half of the 16th century the executioner and the sadist sat on the Moscow throne. So, what are the causes and consequences of the oprichnina? How was it organized?
Reasons for oprichnina
In 1558, the Livonian War began. A year later, a truce was declared, after which a powerful coalition of enemies formed in the Russian kingdom. The lands of Ivan the Terrible were at a disadvantage, which was the reason for the oprichnina.
In the sixties, repression began. Ivan the Terrible dismissed Sylvester, who repeatedly opposed radical measures. Among the boyars, discontent began, caused by attempts on the prerogatives of the Duma. And the royal decree, which limited patrimonial rights, caused a storm of indignation.
Surrounded by Ivan the Terrible, tension reached a climax by 1563. The tsar sent several defectors into exile, sent Efrosinya Staritskaya to the monastery, and then executed those responsible for the defeat on the Ule River.
Organization
The device of the oprichnina king carried out on the model of monastic orders. Alexandrovskaya Sloboda became the spiritual center. The ideological meaning is “sifting of Russian life”. Ivan the Terrible planned to sift through Russian life primarily from heretical tares.
As already mentioned above, at first there were about a thousand guardsmen, but over time their number increased several times. Outwardly, they resembled monks - the same black skufeyka and cassock. Of course, they were armed. The Oprichniki swore allegiance to Ivan the Terrible, while the tsar himself called himself an “oprichnina hegumen”. Afanasy Vyazemsky and Malyuta Skuratov became close to him. The latter was listed as a sexton. The service took about nine hours. Years of oprichnina - 1565-1572.
Metropolitan Philip
In early 1565, Ivan the Terrible announced his abdication, while explaining his decision by treason of the boyars. The situation escalated. The Boyar Duma had to persuade the tsar to stay, which he did by establishing Oprichnina.
In 1566, Philip became Metropolitan. According to the letter signed by the king, he should not interfere in the affairs of the oprichnina. The consequences of speaking out against the decrees of the king for Metropolitan Philip were terrible. Oprichniki killed his servants to death, and a case was brought against him. Philip was eventually exiled to the Tver Monastery.
Executions
Ivan the Terrible and not in vain was nicknamed the Terrible. Very cruelly and sharply he treated those whom he considered traitors or heretics. In 1568, the first mass execution took place. Chelyabin-Fedorov was accused of plotting against the tsar. They executed not only him, but thirty more people who allegedly were his accomplices. The traitors' estates were defeated, the servants were killed.
The results of the oprichnina were easy to predict. A huge number of boyars were executed, who were accused of treason very hastily. The repressions were erratic - they killed everyone who protested against the Oprichnina.
Researchers have repeatedly put forward the opinion of Ivan the Terrible's mental illness. A careful analysis of this historical personality shows that over the years his negative traits have escalated, as is often the case. Yet cruelty was pathological. The version of the presence of a mental illness in the Russian Tsar is supported by most researchers. Moreover, the disease with which he suffered is paranoid schizophrenia. He had a persecution mania, which prompted him to numerous executions and exile. That is, the oprichnina is the policy of a mad ruler? Maybe you are right.
Repressions of 1570-1571
This time, the king’s anger aroused his close ones. The leaders of the oprichnina were executed, among them Athanasius Vyazemsky and Ivan Viskovaty. In total, in Ivan Ivan the Terrible sentenced about two hundred people to death in 1570. Such a number of traitors cannot be quickly destroyed. The executioner executioners had to chop, hang, chop, pour boiling water over. The king was directly involved in the executions. Oprichniki supported him with shouts of "goida."
It was hard not only for convicts, but also for their families. Wives were taken away estates, but they themselves were sent into exile. Later, the king came up with new tools for execution, namely hot pans, mites, stoves, special ropes that fray the body.
the end
And in 1571, the campaign of the Crimean Khan to Moscow took place. This event put an end to the oprichnina. Those who organized the mass executions were unable to confront the real enemy. Oprichniki are accustomed to rob civilians, but not to fight.
Effects
Eliminate the remnants of feudal fragmentation - this is the main purpose of the oprichnina. The results did not correspond to the tasks set. It was not possible to either eliminate fragmentation or undermine boyar-princely independence. The result of the oprichnina was the deep crisis in which Russia found itself at the end of the 16th century. Social instability intensified. The Time of Troubles came: famine, crop failure, the invasion of foreign troops, the appearance of impostors, the complete impoverishment of the people, the degradation of the state.
Repression continued for seven years. Their victims were about four thousand people. However, here historians disagree. Some believe this figure is extremely low. The famine that came at the end of the century is one of the terrible results of the oprichnina. The shoots of peasants became more frequent, which led to the need to tighten measures. The consequences of the oprichnina should also include the fall in the authority of the tsarist authorities. The system of government by the end of the century was replaced by a military dictatorship.