Who is the oprichnik? What role did the royal oprichnik perform?

Practically every person is familiar with the term "oprichnina". Usually this word is associated with the gloomy times of the confrontation of Ivan the Terrible, the descendants of the specific princes and boyars. Who is the oprichnik? This is a person who was in the ranks of the oprichnina army, or the guard created by Tsar Ivan IV in the framework of the political reform of 1565.

The history of oprichnina

Tired of the lust of the boyars and the arbitrariness of the princely aristocracy, which began to pretend to be the co-ruler of the sovereign, on February 3, 1565, Ivan the Terrible introduced a reform by his decree. She was called oprichnina. Its purpose was to take away from the opponents of the king all meaning and strength. Henceforth, the whole country was divided into two parts: oprichnina and zemstvo (territories not included in oprichnina). The first included the northeastern land, where a small number of boyars-votchinnikov was concentrated. Oprichnina existed for seven years, but the memory of it is still fresh.

The immediate participants in the reform

Who is the oprichnik? First of all, it is the servant of the sovereign, who was in the ranks of the oprichnina army. They could become a representative of different masses. The tsarist oprichnik swore allegiance to Ivan the Terrible . At the same time, he renounced his family and promised not to communicate with the local people.

The characteristic of the oprichnik included a distinctive feature - black robes, similar to monastic. In addition, they had special signs - an image of a broom and a dog's head. This symbolized a firm determination to sweep and gnaw treason. Thus, everyone could determine who the oprichnik was. Subsequently, the very word in the people was abused.

The essence of the oprichniki

From the lands united in the tsar's possession, all the descendants of the specific princes were removed, which seemed to Ivan the Terrible suspicious. All of them were subject to resettlement to new lands and the outskirts of the state. According to the king, there the traitors could not represent any danger to the throne. The former landed estates of the resettled people were settled by small landlords and nobles.

The day of the oprichnik consisted of the ruin and expulsion of the old nobility. Ivan the Terrible called it "touch people". Almost half of the state was collected during the entire period of the persecutions of those disliked by the tsar in oprichnina. The remaining half was in the former position and was called "zemshchina". Managed there boyar Duma.

Of course, all these activities ran into active opposition. Most powerful people did not approve of Russia's policy of centralizing and liquidating old liberties. Therefore, a considerable proportion of the oprichniki cases initiated by the opponents of change were artificially lowered onto the brakes or brought to nothing. These people had allies in other countries, in particular Poland. Many traitors passed information on to the adversaries, and the tsar had information about this.

Obligations of the Oprichniki

The leakage of important state information represented an immediate threat to the ruler. Therefore, the day of the oprichnik included the protection of Ivan IV. In fact, this meant the creation of the first in Russia special service. All those who swore fealty had to serve, like dogs, to guard their sovereign and power. Who such oprichnik can be represented, having familiarized with activity of known persons: Malyuta Skuratova, boyar Alexey Basmanov, prince Afanasy Vyazemsky.

Main characters

Malyuta Skuratov is a nickname, the real name of the oprichnik was Grigory Lukyanovich Skuratov-Belsky. Thanks to the strict adherence to the tsar's instructions in times of change in the country, he quickly became one of the closest Ivan the Terrible. The people became known as the main villain of those times. This happened mainly because of the January events of 1570. Novgorod suspected of treason, in connection with this Malyuta undertook to lead the pogroms in the city, during which the inhabitants were cut out by thousands. Who such oprichnik can be imagined also, having heard the popular saying: "The king is not so terrible as his Malyuta." It was Skuratov who became an active performer of all state affairs.

The main inspirer of oprichnina was Alexey Basmanov. He also became its leading figure, blindly following all the tsar's instructions. Basmanov tarnished himself by the deposition of Metropolitan Philip, driving him out of the cathedral with a broom.

The immediate adviser of the tsar and one of the main oprichniki was Prince Athanasius of Vyazemsky. He had the unlimited confidence of Ivan the Terrible. Despite this, at the end of the Novgorod pogrom, Vyazemsky, like Basmanov, was accused of organizing plans to transfer Novgorod and Pskov to Lithuania.

Thus, the oprichnik was an approximate Ivan the Terrible, a participant in the tsarist reform of 1565 and a direct executor of state instructions for the expulsion and neutralization of the Tsar's traitors. It is a member of the "elected thousand", "sovereign". Oprichniki were people from different social strata. And the taking of a personal oath of allegiance to the tsar and the state testified to the creation of a single order education.