In the winter of 1565, the country was covered by a seven-year "pitch darkness" - oprichnina. Its causes, course and consequences have been argued for more than one century. The phenomenon of the oprichnina has already become a myth, living in parallel with the historical truth.
Thousand Best Servants
It is known that in 1550 Ivan the Terrible handed out the estates near Moscow to a thousand "best servants", among whom there were noblemen and noble princes. Little was required of the new landowners near Moscow: to always be "at hand" and at the right time to fulfill the instructions of the sovereign. It is these people that will be useful to Ivan the Terrible when he decides to introduce the oprichnina: reliable, proven, ready to repay "debt." True, the results of the reform of the "thousand of the best servants" turned out to be more effective than the oprichnina - in October 1552 Kazan was finally taken. After failures - the burning of Moscow, and the loss of everything that had been conquered during the successful stage of the Livonian War, in 1572 the oprichnina was canceled.
What was Ivan the Terrible guided by when he made the decision to introduce the oprichnina?
The opinion is widely known about his desire to take revenge, as well as about the "madness" of the king. Despite the fact that the question of Grozny's insanity has not yet been resolved unequivocally, should we admit without hesitation that he was guided only by insanity and a desire for revenge? Perhaps he wanted to confirm his new title and the ceremony of the wedding to the kingdom, which was held in 1547 and was not recognized by everyone? Or maybe the tsar sought to overcome childhood fears? Or did he want to create a new support for himself - the nobility, which, moreover, would cease to make claims to the throne, concentrated in the end in the hands of one dynasty? The question remains open.
Widow's share
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Interestingly, the term "oprishnina" in legal documents of the era of Grozny was called "widow's share" - that part of the property that a woman who lost her spouse received. Thus, using the term in a new meaning, Grozny once again engaged in humiliation, comparing himself to an orphaned widow. This has already happened more than once: for example, at the beginning of his message to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, he refers to himself only as "sinful" or "stinking dog." The sovereign generally possessed a peculiar sense of humor and liked to “play” with words and terms. For example, during the execution of a certain Sheep, he could hang a sheep next to the condemned.
It is a mistake to define oprichnina solely as the formation of special punitive detachments. The "black avengers" did indeed fulfill the sovereign's command: they mercilessly exterminated the traitors. Ivan the Terrible himself said that he always fought against traitors, and it does not matter in whose face: a boyar, a nobleman or an ordinary cook.
When the boyars and clergy came to Ivan the Terrible in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda with requests to return, the sovereign announced his desire: to divide the land into Zemshchina and Oprichnina.
In the first, the boyars were allowed to rule, while the tsar left the oprichnina for himself, in which only he could decide how to rule, whom to execute, and whom to have mercy. Grozny wanted to free himself from the existing system of government and feudal ties that hindered him. The oprichnina includes the best lands and more than 20 large cities, including Moscow, Vyazma, Suzdal, Vologda and Veliky Ustyug. Thus, the system was formed, which marked the beginning of the true autocracy in Russia. In subsequent history, the autocrats again and again resorted to "oprichnina methods of government."
Broom and dog head
The guardsmen were trusted people who proved their loyalty, often very clever. By the end of the oprichnina, the total corps of the troops reached, according to various estimates, 7 thousand people. With the light hand of Prince Kurbsky, who loved puns, the oprichniks were sometimes called outcasts - from the word “oprich” in the meaning “except”, “special”. They really were “special” - they had almost unlimited power and decisive character. In black caftans, on black horses decorated with black harness - the look of the royal "servants" was terrifying. An invariable attribute of the guardsmen were the broom and the head of the dog, which "decorated" the saddle. The symbols made it clear that any traitor to the sovereign would be “gnawed out” and “swept away” by a filthy broom like a dog. However, the dog's heads could also remind of a terrible execution, which was often resorted to:the convict was sewn into a bearskin and hounded by dogs.
During the repressions in Novgorod alone, according to various estimates, from 3 to 10 thousand people were killed. Considering that the population of the city was at that time 30 thousand people, at least one in ten was killed.
After the brutal reprisal against the head of the Boyar Duma, Ivan Fedorov, the tsar personally traveled with the guardsmen and destroyed the traitor's property. Today this is associated not so much with the bloodthirstiness of the sovereign, but with his special attitude to the so-called "unclean property", which was displeasing to God and could not be accepted, for example, by a monastery.
Apparently, anticipating a quick reprisal, Fedorov assigned part of the lands to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, and part to the Moscow monastery. It is interesting that Ivan the Terrible "confirmed" the gift, while, however, he took the second part to his treasury.
The actions of the guardsmen were striking, but not so much by their bloodthirstiness, to which, by and large, the Russian people were accustomed, but by their scale and often meaninglessness. Of course, there were executions and robberies. They could have killed not only the traitor, but also members of his family and servants, however, not a single sane oprichnik would massacre the peasants. The fact is that during the time of Ivan the Terrible there was an acute shortage of workers. Perhaps that is why the Russian court was the “most humane” in the world: for “minor” violations more often followed shameful punishment, for example, public flogging. Who will need a worker whose hand was cut off? This was the case with the oprichnina. The estates that were received by the sovereign's servants were not valuable in land, but in courtyards with peasants. Many had plenty of land, but there was practically no one to work on it. Therefore, the guardsmen tried not to miss the opportunity to "profit" from the labor force: sometimes by persuasion, sometimes by force, they took the traitorous peasants to their fiefdom. Too practical ones even forced the men to disassemble the huts and transport them to a new place of residence.