Statehood of Russia went through many difficult stages, sometimes one was worse than the other. The most terrible and dark period in the history of Russia, most historians call the years of oprichnina. Oprichnik is a myth, or did he really exist? A terrible rumor went about these sovereign servants, they said that they were not at all, real monsters, "demons in the flesh." So what can be said about the guardsmen, who they really were and why such really scary stories are told about them?
Forced measures
The appearance of the oprichnina is preceded by a series of negative events for Moscow. The Moscow kingdom during this period waged a bloody Livonian war. The Livonian conflict is one of the largest military companies of the 16th century in the Baltic region, led by large, influential states in those regions - the Moscow kingdom, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Denmark. In January 1558, Moscow attacked Livonia. At first, the Russian troops brought Ivan the Terrible a number of significant victories; Narva, Derpt and many other cities and villages of the Baltic states were conquered.
In war
For seven years, the Russian state continued the bloody and difficult war with the Livonian state. Not only Emperor Peter I dreamed of “cutting through a window to Europe”. Ivan the Terrible also decided to dot all the “and” in the seemingly eternal problem of the Russian economy. The start of the military company was quite successful for Russia. After a crushing defeat near Ulla, the Russian commander fled to the Lithuanians. In connection with the situation, Ivan the Terrible introduced martial law in the country , creating a structure of oprichnikism in the state.
Strict selection
At that time, the country had power not only with the tsar; large feudal lords who divided into eight nests - in a kindred and allotted principle - influenced foreign and domestic policy. None of them acted for the good of their country and, of course, taxes put in their pocket. One serf sometimes had two feudal lords. Only the Yaroslavl princes at that time were about eighty. All these princes did not put a dime in the treasury, which made the Russian Tsar very angry . Since the country already had enough problems, and especially during the war, the tsar needed to solve this feudal problem. On January 3, 1565, Ivan the Terrible announced that he was abdicating because of anger at the nobles. After such a shocking announcement, thousands of people gathered and went to the king to beg him to return to the throne and again lead the country. Exactly one month later, the Russian Tsar announced that he would return to rule, but with the right to execute the boyars without trial, to tax them, to deprive them of property. The rest of the state was supposed to give up the zemstvo. To all this, he added that he was introducing oprichnina in the country. In it, he identified individual boyars, clerks and servants. Therefore, the oprichnik is a person who has certain powers and executes orders directly from the king himself. The Tsar obliged certain cities to contain the oprichnina : Veliky Ustyug, Vologda, Suzdal, Vyazma, Kozelsk, Medyn, etc.
The essence of the oprichnina
The Oprichnik is a person who took on the function of a lightning rod, deprived the prince of power, and a feudal lord in a certain region. Ivan the Terrible acted very cunning, thus killing two birds with one stone. Deprived the arbitrariness of the nobility and distributed to the remaining lands conquered in the Baltic states. The meaning of the word “Oprichnik” is “a person who is in the position of a king in the ranks of his supporters”.
Black guardsmen
The Oprichnik is the Tsar’s personal guard, in which not only mature husbands are recruited, but also boyar children and elected noblemen. The main condition under which the selection was carried out was the absence of kinship, blood relations with noble persons of the nobility. All that Ivan the Terrible demanded of his people was unconditional obedience. The most important for domestic politics was the oprichnik. Its significance was narrowly targeted and somewhat reminded the function of special forces in our time.
Combat clashes
Since the princes had military slaves subordinate (a detachment of soldiers guarding the interests of their master), to deprive the land of this nobleman was not an easy task. This is where the "black horseman" appeared - the oprichnik. The definition of the word we gave a little higher. The nature of his occupation was essentially the strengthening of the unified power of the king and the killing of those who disagree with this. Often they are characterized as cowardly and vile people. But not everyone was like that; among the guardsmen there were good military leaders and field commanders. There was a case: during the capture of the Livonian city, an army under the command of Prince Tyufyakin stood near the fortress and began to "argue", unwillingness to attack and constant excuses angered the tsar, and he sent there the oprichnik, who, having shown the tsar’s decree, removed Tyufyakin and him from command of the army assistants, and he undertook to lead the assault on fighters.
Dog head and broom
Modern historians describe the personal protection of the king as follows. A man dressed in all black, with his head trimmed to the saddle and a broom behind his back. The head symbolized that the young oprichnik would sniff out treason, and sweep her away with a broom. This was not entirely true. Yes, the oprichnik was dressed in a black caftan, since they were a kind of order and dressed accordingly. As for carrion - complete nonsense, on a hot day with a severed head is not particularly clear. For the first time, this information came from foreigners who, most likely, drew an analogy with the Dominican monks, in this order the symbol was the head of a dog that adorned the gates of the monastery. Why a dog’s head? Dominicans called themselves dogs of the Lord. They, like the guardsmen, investigated crimes (against faith), and perhaps this was the reason for the emergence of such an analogy. And the broom was not quite a broom. As a sign of their belonging to the chosen caste of the king, the guardsmen wore a woolen brush on their belts - a broom sweeping treason.
Hard facts
During the oprichnina, a lot of people died, to say how much is definitely not possible until now. The Oprichnik is a murderer whose fault killed at least 6 thousand people. It is this figure that the historian Skrynnikov calls.
Oprichniki
Those terrible years are characterized by many as a period of repression and arbitrariness. And, of course, there are the most famous guardsmen who are most remembered for their deeds.
Fedor Basmanov - the son of the guardsman Alexei Danilovich. There was a rumor about Fedor that he was Ivan the Terrible’s lover, in particular, they refer to the stories of foreigners. Reflected the Tatar offensive on Ryazan. In 1569 he commanded the oprichnina troops in the south of the country. Has been awarded.
Malyuta Skuratov is an oprichnik, the main villain who received his nickname due to his small stature. He was the head of the oprichnina. He started his career from the lowest position, but, thanks to his cruelty, he reached great heights. He became famous for the fact that he liked to conduct inquiries with bias. He was more of a killer than an oprichnik. He died in battle in 1573.
Athanasius Vyazemsky is another famous oprichnik. He had a special status with the tsar, they even said that he was a favorite of Ivan the Terrible and enjoyed unlimited trust. It was so strong that the tsar took the medicines prepared by the personal doctor of Grozny by Lensei only from the hands of Athanasius of Vyazemsky. During the time of brutal repressions, Vyazemsky, together with Malyuta Skuratov, stood at the head of the guardsmen. Vyazemsky ended his earthly existence during torture, accused of conspiring with Russian enemies and wanting to transfer Pskov to Lithuania.
Mikhail Temryukovich Cherkassky is a prince. He came to Muscovy in 1556. Obeying the will of his father, he was baptized and became one of the specific princes. Michael became a volunteer thanks to his valiant company against the Tatars and his sister Maria, who akin to him with Tsar Ivan the Terrible. After some time, Prince Cherkassky gained sufficient influence at the court of the Moscow Tsar.
Officially among the guardsmen, Mikhail Cherkassky was mentioned since September 1567. He, like all significant figures of the Tsar’s personal guard, took an active part in the tortures of the gentlemen unfavorable to the monarch. In May, Cherkassky was allegedly executed for treason, and one of the popular versions says that he was even put on a stake.