Oprichnika, m. 1. A serving nobleman, a warrior who served in the oprichnina troops during the reign of Ivan IV (historical). With the help of the guardsmen, Ivan IV finally broke the major boyars of the patrimonial estates and strengthened the unified power of the tsar. “We are the royal people, oprichniki!” A … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Henchman Dictionary of Russian synonyms. guardsman noun, number of synonyms: 3 warrior (78) pitch-black ... Synonym dictionary

OPRICHNIK, huh, husband. A person who served in the oprichnina (3 digits). Tsarsky Fr. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Ship (clipper) of the Baltic Fleet, died in December 1861 in the Indian Ocean, returning from a trip to the Far East. In 1873, a monument to “O.” was unveiled in Kronstadt. a 1.9 m high granite rock on a 0.75 m high base topped with a broken anchor and... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

"Oprichnik"- "Oprichnik", a ship (clipper) of the Baltic Fleet, died in December 1861 in the Indian Ocean, returning from a trip to the Far East. In 1873, a monument to the “Oprichnik” was opened in Kronstadt - a granite rock 1.9 m high on a base 0.75 m high... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

- (foreign) not submitting to general views (a hint at the guardsmen under Ivan the Terrible, who enjoyed special rights) Cf. Apart from, exclusively, especially. Wed. Temporary workers and favorites are the same guardsmen. Wed. Oprichnik bobyl. Wed. And there is no shelter anywhere, and... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

OPRICHNIK- A service man serving in the ranks of the oprichnina army of Tsar* Ivan the Terrible*. In 1565, Ivan IV the Terrible divided the territory of the Russian state into oprichnina and zemshchina. The word oprichnina (from the Old Russian oprichny, that is, special) previously meant... Linguistic and regional dictionary

guardsman- (Russian oprichnik) attacker on telesata garda (military police odredi) in Ruskiot Tsar Ivan Vasilevich, named Grozni oprichnicite bile regrutirani pretezhno od sitnoto nobleshtvo, and tsarot gi koristel in his own potfati against visokat and rich... ... Macedonian dictionary

Bay of the Primorsky region, Northern Ussuri Territory, on the Northern coast. Sea of ​​Japan, north of the Gulf of St. Vladimir, 44°28 s. w. and 195°43 E. d. (from Pulkovo). It goes deep into the mainland for almost 4 centuries; the same distance between the entrance capes; in my own way... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Oprichnik (foreigner) disobeying general views (an allusion to the oprichniks under Ivan the Terrible, who enjoyed special rights). Wed. Besides, except, exclusively, especially. Wed. “Temporary workers and favorites are also guardsmen.” Wed. Oprichnik bobyl. Wed. AND… … Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Books

• Oprichnik, Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Reprint sheet music edition by Tchaikovsky, Pyotr`The Oprichnik`. Genres: Opera; Stage Works; For voices, mixed chorus, orchestra; Scores featuring the voice; Scores featuring mixed chorus; Scores…
• Oprichnik, Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. Reprint sheet music edition by Tchaikovsky, Pyotr "The Oprichnik". Genres: Opera; Stage Works; For...

Text: Matvey Vologzhanin
Illustrations: Vlad Lesnikov

Historians are often tempted to do their science the way, say, biologists, physicists, or mathematicians do. They want to create harmonious systems, inflated general theories, and generally classify everything into shelves and boxes. Here is the early formation of feudalism, here is an ideal example of a tribal community, here are the structures of land use and their influence on the historical process of passionarity...

Historians do this not out of innate malice and not because they are tired of being in the eyes of society the types who can tell a cool joke about Madame Sorel’s garter, but are no longer good for anything. In fact, historians have a dream. They want to study humanity's past in such a way that it will be possible to predict its future. To create a science with the help of which every fifth grader would know how to effectively manage countries and peoples and, in general, the entire process of human existence.

So they strive to make history a real science, which is why more than half of serious historical works are completely impossible to read. Although the best, the greatest historians simply tell cool jokes about Madame Sorel's garters. They are great because they know: it is impossible to calculate, predict, or direct the historical process, because it consists of a huge number of insignificant random facts that cannot be taken into account, determined and, pierced with a pin, cataloged. When great empires lose battles just because one mule in the train had an upset stomach caused by too juicy a thistle bush, you can’t make real science out of it. Alas.

But no one is stopping you from crawling back and forth along the timeline with a ruler and a hygrometer, periodically exclaiming: “Just look at what the establishment of the proto-parliament in Catal Huyuk led to!”

*- Note Phacochoerus "a Funtik:
« In fact, in the Russian tradition the name Çatal Hüyük is more often written as “Chatal-Hüyük” or “Chatal-Hüyük”, I don’t know for what reasons. This is one of the oldest cities in the world, existing approximately 8-9 thousand years ago. Very little is known about the Chatal-Khuyuks. For example, the fact that for some reason they made a bunch of stone figurines depicting women with large breasts. Researchers believe that here we see evidence of the cult of the Mother Goddess, but I will see what these researchers will say when they dig up our editorial office and find MAXIM»

Therefore, in this article we are not going to argue that if Ivan the Terrible had been strangled with a pillow in infancy, then we would now be inventing iPads for the whole world. It may very well not be the case. But we can quite scientifically insist that some remnants of the system built by this king are still alive. For example, some elements of the oprichnina are undoubtedly still with us. Unfortunately.

A few words about little Titka

If we are talking about random factors in history, then, apparently, they include the amazing innate cowardice of little Titus, better known to us under the name.

Yes, the little one had to go through a lot. He was born in 1530 and lost his father at the age of three, and his mother at eight. The childhood of the future king passed under the endless strife of his uncles and guardians, who fought for the right to control the young Grand Duke. Conspiracies, executions of traitors, coups and popular uprisings followed an endless series, and the fact that Titus-John managed to survive in this viper forest, and not accidentally cut himself with a knife due to childish thoughtlessness, can again be considered a historical accident.

Mistrust, panic attacks and frequent attacks of pure paranoia as a result became important features of the royal character: for the ruler of that warlike era, he was incredibly afraid of death, pain and illness.

But still, his character cannot be explained only by a difficult childhood. People who suffered a lot in their youth often turn out to be inclined to mercy and altruism - things for which Ivan the Terrible cannot be blamed. For example, the English Elizabeth the Great, a contemporary of Grozny, saw even worse pictures in her childhood, including the view of her mother on the scaffold and her own many-year imprisonment awaiting possible execution, but at the same time she did not become a bloodthirsty beast, and ruled in a completely vegetarian way for those times, which, however, However, this did not prevent her from laying the foundation of the British Empire.

Grozny, in principle, was not familiar with the feeling of mercy, but until his old age he knew how to hide under benches if there was a suspicious noise near the royal bedchamber.

The world for Ivan the Terrible, judging by his own notes, looked something like this.

Knowing his own worth very well, this cowardly, superstitious and ignoble man saw the undoubted will of God in the fact that he was a Grand Duke. In his letters, he repeatedly expressed the idea that since the finger of the Lord pointed at him, then, as he is, this is how God needs him. Iron logic. In fact, if higher powers could have elevated a handsome hero with a knightly disposition to the throne, but chose him, the evil Titka, urinating under himself at the sight of a bug, then why try to be better? As you were born, so you will be useful...

Ivan the Terrible was even angry with God because he seemed to be preparing him for the fire of hell, forcing him to drown the damned Novgorod babies and execute the peasants who dared to complain. With his hands, John’s, the Goddess clears out this stable. What if he then takes it and pours demonic coals into these little hands?!

Grozny felt very sorry for himself.

However, until the age of 35, John more or less held on. Not trusting the boyars - the highest aristocracy of Rus', he gathered around himself a circle of relative like-minded people, half of whom were not very noble people (Prince Kurbsky calls this circle the Chosen Rada, since then the term has stuck).

The Tsar and these advisers carried out reforms that subsequently led to the creation in the country of that autocracy that appeared before us several centuries later. He takes care of the additional enslavement of the peasants, takes power into his own hands, grabs land from his neighbors, but behaves relatively carefully. For example, it does not openly encroach on civil liberties - on the contrary, it often promotes completely democratic norms, granting freedom and election to various communities to the detriment of the boyars. Heads, of course, sometimes roll, but that’s the king’s job.

But the older the king became, the worse his character became. And soon yesterday’s favorites had to scatter from him to all corners of the world - from Livonia to Italy, since Ivan the Terrible developed an unpleasant habit of looking for conspiracies everywhere, starting with his own outhouse, after which the culprits tried the whole range of medieval investigative activities (we’re not kidding about the outhouse: due to frequent indigestion, the king suspected his relatives, servants and relatives of poisoning him and causing damage). The numerous wars of the 1550s–1560s also did not improve the mood of any of the Muskovits, as we were called in European chronicles of that era. Foreigners who came here left damning evidence that the people were swelling from hunger, dying out in entire volosts; in the troops going against the Swedes, then the Tatars, then the Lithuanians, villages from young to old and almost women are taken, and the readiness of the Muscovites to endure everything that happens is truly amazing. After another serious defeat on the Ula River in 1564, Grozny finally decided to restore order and began to remake the country. First, he announced that he was abdicating the throne, confidentially telling the people, they say, let the greedy and evil sorcerers-boyars deal with you now, but I’m tired, I’m leaving.

Some of the people, in the best traditions, howled: “They are insulting the Tsar-Father!” - and Grozny hastened to make a statement: so be it, since you can’t live without me, then I probably won’t renounce, but now hold on, I’ll take care of you all! This is such a simple PR campaign.

First of all, Grozny divided the country in half. He called the southern part, where mainly the estates of the ancient aristocracy were located, “zemshchina”. He declared the northern volosts, inhabited predominantly by free peasants, including Vologda and Galich, a special, that is, oprichnina, territory. Grozny also recruited his personal guard - unborn descendants of boyar families, nobles, as well as completely rootless adventurers, both local and European.

These worthy people received the title “oprichniki” - “special officers”. Ivan the Terrible calculated that since their rise and income would depend only on him, then he did not need to fear betrayal on their part. And to be on the safe side, he did everything to pit the guardsmen against the boyars and the common population.

The laws did not apply to the guardsmen; they were forbidden to be tried.

The guardsmen did not have the right to be friends, or even simply talk with anyone from the zemshchina, in order to reduce the risk of bribery and conspiracy.

The guardsmen could take any property of the zemshchina for free. If anyone is dissatisfied, you are welcome to submit a petition to the Tsar, as long as you don’t feel sorry for your own skin.

First of all, Grozny sent the guardsmen to slaughter and kill the boyars who were especially unsympathetic to him, members of the boyar families, their servants, their friends, their wives and children. By that time, the tsar had become so Orthodox that he set up his office in the Alexander Sloboda church. Here orders for arrests and executions were given, the still breathing remains of the punished were dragged here if the tsar wanted to admire the traitor one last time or to work with a knife himself.

In order for the guardsman to be visible from afar, he was given special insignia: a broom, symbolizing the establishment of order, and the severed head of a dog, signifying his readiness to gnaw the royal enemies with his teeth. All this was hung on the saddles.

In order for the people to understand everything correctly, the tsar issued several appeals explaining why the servant of the tsar - God’s protege - is above any law and why a person in the sovereign’s service cannot be judged by an ordinary court. Because he is in the government service!

The common people watched, not without pleasure, how the damned boyars were slaughtered, but they turned out to be not humble enough to experience the same pleasure from the fact that the guardsmen were killing and robbing ordinary loyal subjects. At first, the young men who flew into the huts tried to fight back. But punishment for resisting the lawful actions of a representative of the authorities came immediately, and soon the streets of Moscow, Rostov and Yaroslavl began to look like toothless mouths - there were so many burned houses of rebellious owners, whom the guardsmen hanged on their own gates with all their children and household members. And so that the people would not doubt that the oprichniki were committing lawlessness according to the royal will, Grozny himself periodically participated in small campaigns against villages and cities.

The most detailed surviving description of oprichnina life comes from the pen of the German adventurer Heinrich Staden, a native of Munster. He came to the Moscow state from Lithuania because he had, in his words, “an unfortunate habit of getting involved in enterprises that promised not so much benefit to the wallet as a rope to the neck.” Having learned that leaving the Moscow state, once you got here, is impossible, since anyone trying to cross the border will be immediately executed, Henry became despondent, but soon met fellow countrymen who seduced him into joining the ranks of the guardsmen, which “is not difficult to do, since the tsar is much more trusts his fellow tribesmen less than foreigners.”

Having added to his rank and birth, since this only required his own verbal confirmation, Henry went to the royal court, where he was immediately accepted into the service. He was generously given money, and soon several estates with peasants were also easily given away, and life for Staden went very well.

“Then the Grand Duke went to plunder his own people, his land and cities. And I was with the Grand Duke with one horse and two servants. All the cities and roads were occupied by outposts, and therefore I could not pass with my servants and horses. When I returned to my estate with 49 horses, 22 of them were harnessed to a sleigh loaded with all sorts of goods, I sent it all to my Moscow yard.”

“When the Grand Duke left for Pskov, merchants from the city of Kholmogory came running to me. They had a lot of sables - they were afraid that the guardsmen would take their goods from them at the outposts. They asked to buy these sables and give at least some money for them. I could have taken these sables from them and not paid them at all, but I did not need the sables, since a lot of them were sent to me by the man who collects tribute from Samoyed sables. I didn’t do anything to the merchants and let them go.”

“Then I began to take in all kinds of servants, especially those who were naked and barefoot; dressed them. They liked it. And then I began my own campaigns and led my people back into the country along a different road. For this, my people remained loyal to me. Every time they took someone into captivity, they asked with honor where - in monasteries, churches or farmsteads - they could take money and goods, and especially good horses. If the captured person did not want to respond kindly, then they tortured him until he confessed. This is how they got me money and goods.”

“One day we came to a church in one place. My people rushed inside and began to rob, taking away icons and similar nonsense. And it was not far from the courtyard of one of the zemstvo princes, and the zemstvo princes gathered there about three hundred armed people. These three hundred men were chasing six horsemen. At that time, I was the only one in the saddle and, not knowing whether those six people were zemstvo or oprichnina, I began to call my people from the church to the horses. But then the real state of the matter became clear: those six were guardsmen who were being persecuted by the zemstvos. They asked me for help, and I set out to attack the zemstvos. When they saw so many people leaving the church, they turned back to the courtyard. I immediately killed one of them with one shot, broke through their crowd and slipped through the gate. Stones rained down on us from the windows of the women's quarters. Calling my servant Teshata with me, I quickly ran up the stairs with an ax in my hand. At the top I was met by the princess, who wanted to throw herself at my feet. But, frightened by my menacing appearance, she rushed back into the chambers. I stabbed her with an ax in the back, and she fell on the threshold. And I stepped over the corpse and met their girl. Then we drove through the night and came to a large unprotected plantation. I didn't offend anyone here. I was resting."

However, Staden eventually had to flee from these heavenly places. And he succeeded. He made it to Germany, managed to live there to a ripe old age, and not even die on the gallows. The Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, who decided to plunder Moscow in 1571, saved our ancestors from “special” power.

Grozny took the news of the Tatar invasion calmly. The Tsar knew very well what his brave guardsmen were capable of, with the help of whom he had just pacified the rebellious Novgorod - then the sovereign’s servants slaughtered more than six thousand people in a day, including women and babies, and without even breaking a sweat. Grozny believed in his guardsmen. To their reliable head - the valiant Malyuta Skuratov, who had just brutally punished all the rebels in Moscow. Two hundred people were executed at the Execution Ground at the same time: they were chopped with axes, hanged, burned, and skinned. The cry was heard throughout Moscow... What would the frail Tatars do to such brave dogs? The brave dogs, however, had a different opinion. Having heard that a Tatar army of forty thousand people was marching on Moscow, the oprichniki suddenly remembered that they had an awful lot of important matters to do in their northern oprichnina estates. By the time Devlet-Girey approached Moscow, no more than five hundred guardsmen remained there. (To the credit of Heinrich Staden, let us mention that he and his men were just making an attempt to attack the approaching Tatars. True, this ended in the loss of the entire detachment, while Heinrich himself was saved by falling from his horse into the river at the moment of the attack.)

Boyar Mikhail Vorotynsky, the founder of Voronezh, arrived in time to take the battle. His army, albeit small, drove away the Tatars, who had already set fire to and plundered the Moscow outskirts. The Tatars at that moment were more concerned about the safety of the booty, especially the 60 thousand Russian male and female slaves, whom they drove in front of them for sale. Therefore, they preferred to slowly retreat, avoiding an attack on Vorotynsky, but being ready to repel him if he attacked. He never decided to attack, but the job was done: Devlet-Girey was not allowed into Moscow. (As a reward for this, in a couple of years the tsar will personally rip out Vorotynsky’s beard and cover his body with hot coals on the torture table. If you believe Kurbsky’s testimony, this is how the savior of Moscow died, suspected by the paranoid tsar of yet another conspiracy.)

Oddly enough, the tsar reacted quite calmly to the treason of the guardsmen. True, the very word “oprichnina” was forbidden to be uttered; punishment for this was punishable by whipping, but most of the oprichniki were not punished (the same Malyuta Skuratov still enjoyed the royal favor), and many of them simply quietly dispersed to the estates granted to them and became Thus, the main founders of the Russian small nobility.

“Everything they did,” wrote Heinrich Staden, “was with the approval of the king. They did evil deeds not against the sovereign power, but against the people, and in Muscovy they do not punish for that.”

And for a very long time in Russia, those in power will be above the law, which ceases to apply when it comes to the offenses of “sovereign people.”

Several reasons prompted Tsar Ivan IV to create this unprecedented political system. The first is a sharp aggravation of contradictions with the highest nobility after the issuance of a decree on the confiscation of escheated princely estates in 1562 (Previously, these estates went to the relatives of the deceased or went to the monastery “for the wake of the soul.”) The second is the heavy defeats of the Russian army in the Livonian War in 1564, flight to Lithuania of Prince Andrei Kurbsky. Fear of a boyar conspiracy haunted the Tsar. And then he decided to get ahead of his enemies.

Oprichnina had two goals: undermining the economic power of the large aristocracy And physical extermination of its most prominent representatives.

The first goal of the oprichnina was achieved by the policy of resettlement. Tsar Ivan the Terrible carefully thought out the list of regions included in the oprichnina. In addition to rich trading cities and salt production areas, there were counties in which the ancestral estates of the old Rostov-Suzdal nobility were located - the core of the Moscow boyar corporation. All these estates were immediately “assigned to the sovereign” and distributed to the estates of the guardsmen. Their owners were forcibly deported to the zemshchina. There they were ordered to give small estates somewhere on the southern or eastern borders of the country. The resettlers were forbidden to take property and valuables with them. All this became the prey of the new owners - the guardsmen. And the recent owners of the golden-domed towers overnight turned into beggars.

The second goal of the oprichnina—the physical destruction of a significant part of the aristocracy—was achieved through terror. By order of the tsar, the oprichniki seized the unwanted, took them to Alexandrov Sloboda (the oprichnina capital of Ivan the Terrible) and killed them there after cruel torture. Sometimes executions were carried out in Moscow, where next to the Kremlin, on the other bank of the Neglinka River, a gloomy castle grew up - the “sovereign oprichnina courtyard”. Tsar Ivan IV experienced sadistic pleasure looking at the torment of the unfortunate, and personally took part in torture and executions. Some historians believe that he suffered from serious mental disorders from his youth.

The Fall of the Chosen One

In 1560, relations between the Tsar and the Elected Rada unexpectedly deteriorated. The reason for the discord was the tsar’s disagreements with Alexei Adashev in the field of foreign policy, and the real reason was Ivan’s long-overdue desire to rule independently. He believed that peaceful methods of fighting the large aristocracy were insufficient, and that to achieve complete control over the ruling class one should resort to the sword. However, the advisers (people, as a rule, religious and virtuous) prevented the king from giving free rein to his base instincts, his innate tendency to cruelty and tyranny.

As a result, the main figures of the Chosen Rada - Adashev and Sylvester - lost their posts and went into exile. Prince Kurbsky was sent by the governor to Livonia. The elderly Metropolitan Macarius no longer had the strength for political struggle. On December 31, 1563, he died at the age of 82.

Boyar Duma

Having gotten rid of his advisers, the king still could not rule with absolute authority. Standing in his way was the Boyar Duma with its traditional authority and deep connections in all layers of society. It was decided to coordinate all the most important decisions of the sovereign with the Boyar Duma. Having dispersed this body of power of the highest aristocracy, the tsar could well have gotten into severe internal turmoil. The only solution was to bring the aristocracy to its knees.

The beginning of the oprichnina

In 1564, Ivan IV unexpectedly left Moscow with his family and went to Alexandrovskaya Sloboda (now the city of Alexandrov, 100 km north-east of Moscow). From here he sent a letter to the boyars, clergy and service people to the capital, accusing them of treason. His message was read on Red Square. Unrest began in the city. They decided to persuade the king to return. He agreed, but on the condition that “he has the right to punish everyone he considers a traitor.” For these punitive purposes, the oprichnina with its well-armed army was created.

In 1565, Ivan IV allocated himself a special possession - oprichnina, and the territory not included in the oprichnina was called Zemshchina.

The whole country was divided into two parts: oprichnina And zemshchina. Each had its own government, its own Boyar Duma. The zemshchina was led by the boyars. In the oprichnina, all power passed to the tsar.

The best lands with the most developed economy were taken into the oprichnina. When the guardsmen ruined them, the tsar took new rich lands for himself. The oprichnina had its own treasury, its own army, its own administration. It was a “state within a state.” The Zemshchina found itself defenseless against the predatory raids of the guardsmen, who were supported by the Tsar himself. In addition, she had to pay a ruinous tax to maintain the oprichnina.

Oprichniki

An oprichnik was someone who was in the ranks of the oprichnina. The people called the guardsmen "kromeshniks" - the black forces of the king.

Initially, the oprichnina army consisted of one thousand people, and by the end of the oprichnina it grew to six thousand. These were carefully selected nobles who had no family ties to the zemshchina, ready to carry out any order of the sovereign. The guardsmen dressed in all dark and wore a special uniform - black robes with a wide belt. We rode black horses with black harness. The guardsmen attached a broom to the saddle of their horses, and a dog’s head to the horse’s neck - a sign of their readiness to sweep out any treason from the state and chop off the “dog heads” of traitorous boyars. They had the right to break into any estate, into any yard of a person from the zemshchina suspected of treason, ruin his house, drive out his household (or even kill). No one knew against whom the king's next wrath would be directed.

After the liquidation of the Chosen Rada, the goals of Ivan IV’s internal policy generally remain the same as before. However, the methods for achieving them are different. Carefully thought out, consistent reforms are becoming a thing of the past. The main instrument of political struggle becomes the executioner's ax. The Boyar Duma, intimidated by the bloody massacres, is silent, and the rapidly successive governments serve as an obedient instrument in the hands of an autocrat intoxicated by limitless power and sometimes losing his mind.

The oprichnina destroyed the normal order of governing the country. Fear and chaos reigned everywhere. No one - not even the king's closest henchmen - was sure of the future. Having received the estates of the expelled and disgraced boyars, the guardsmen treated them as if they were enemy territories. In a short time, previously prosperous, populous farms turned into wastelands. The peasants ran away in horror. The aristocracy, intimidated by repression, remained silent.

The fate of those who tried to resist the oprichnina was difficult. Metropolitan Macarius had already died by this time, and the new one had retired to a monastery. Instead, Filipp Kolychev became Metropolitan (1566-1568), who sought to stop the atrocities of the oprichniki: he alone dared to publicly speak out against the oprichnina. For this, the courageous hierarch was defrocked, deposed, imprisoned in a monastery and soon strangled by guardsmen on the tsar's orders.

Then the executions of the guardsmen themselves, who stood at its origins, began. They were replaced by “particularly distinguished” ones. Among them, history has preserved the name of the guardsman Malyuta Skuratov. It has become descriptive. It is still used today in the sense of cruel and senseless reprisals against the innocent.

Suspicion and fear reigned in the country. The tsar's anger was directed not only against rich boyar families, but also against entire cities.

Campaigns of Ivan the Terrible

At the end of 1569, the tsar accused the city of Novgorod of treason and launched a campaign against it. Ivan the Terrible's campaign against Novgorod in 1570 became the largest massacre of the oprichnina era.

Suspecting the Novgorodians of treason, the tsar committed a terrible pogrom in the city. The defeat of the city lasted six weeks. Many service people, townspeople, priests and monks were killed or drowned in the Volkhov River. The property of the Novgorodians, as well as the valuables of the church, were plundered. The outskirts of the city are devastated.

The cities of Tver, Torzhok and the villages adjacent to them were also destroyed. Military garrisons and residents in Narva, Ivangorod and Pskov were destroyed.

Famine and plague

Simultaneously with the oprichnina, the central regions of the country were visited by two other disasters: a terrible three-year famine and a plague epidemic in 1569-1571. Added to all this were the heavy duties imposed on the population in connection with the endless Livonian War. As a result, in the 70s. XVI century There is a sharp decline in the population of Moscow lands. A significant part of the people died from natural disasters and oprichnina terror, and the rest rushed to the outskirts of the country, to the impenetrable forests of the Russian North or to the southern steppes. Material from the site

The Englishman D. Fletcher, traveling around Russia, noted: “It happens to see many villages and towns, completely empty, the people have all fled to other places... So, on the road to Moscow, between Vologda and Yaroslavl, there are up to fifty villages along at least completely abandoned, so that there is not a single inhabitant in them.”

While the oprichnina army was dealing with the cities and villages of their country, the Crimean Khan Girey approached Moscow and burned it down. The Russian state was ruined to the ground. Its population has decreased several times. The fields were abandoned. The cities are empty.

The section is very easy to use. Just enter the desired word in the field provided, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-formation dictionaries. Here you can also see examples of the use of the word you entered.

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The meaning of the word oprichnik

oprichnik in the crossword dictionary

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

guardsman

guardsman, m.

A serving nobleman, a warrior who served in the oprichnina troops during the reign of Ivan IV (historical). With the help of the guardsmen, Ivan IV finally broke the large patrimonial boyars and strengthened the unified power of the tsar. - We are the royal people, guardsmen! And you are a Zemshchina! We are supposed to rob and rip you off, but you are supposed to endure and bow down! A.K. Tolstoy. The evil guardsman of the Tsar, Kiribeevich, disgraced our honest family. Lermontov.

trans. Oppressor of the people, faithful henchman of the enemies of the people (despise). Ugly forms of exploitation in enterprises, plus the intolerable police regime of the Tsarist guardsmen - a circumstance that turned every serious strike of workers into

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

guardsman

A, m. A person who served in the oprichnina (in 3 digits). Tsarsky Fr.

New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

guardsman

A serving nobleman, a warrior who served in the oprichnina troops (1*3) during the reign of Ivan IV (the Terrible).

trans. Oppressor of the people, loyal henchman of the enemies of the people.

Wikipedia

Oprichnik

Oprichnik- bodyguard, a person serving in the ranks of the oprichnina army (detachment of bodyguards), that is, the personal guard created by Ivan the Terrible as part of his political reform in 1565.

"Oprichnik" is a later term for this phenomenon. The Old Russian word “oprich”, according to Dahl’s dictionary, means: “Outside, around, outside, beyond what.” Hence “oprichnina” - “separate, allocated, special.” During the time of Ivan Vasilyevich the guardsmen were called "sovereign people". The word “oprichnik” returned to the Russian language through the efforts of N.M. Karamzin at the beginning of the 19th century and became a household name for those who fought the revolutionaries with cruel measures.

Oprichnik (opera)

"Oprichnik"- an opera by P. I. Tchaikovsky based on the composer’s libretto based on the story of the same name by I. I. Lazhechnikov. Written in 1870-1872, the premiere took place on April 12, 1874 at the Mariinsky Theater (conducted by Eduard Napravnik).

Oprichnik (clipper, 1880)

Oprichnik- Russian sail-screw clipper (2nd rank cruiser) of the fourth series. Built at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg under the supervision of Lieutenant Colonel N. A. Samoilov. The only ship in the series is equipped with two side sponsons to accommodate main caliber guns.

Oprichnik (disambiguation)

Oprichnik:

• An oprichnik is a person in the ranks of the oprichnina army, that is, the guard created by Ivan the Terrible as part of his political reform in 1565.
• “The Oprichnik” is the tragedy of I. I. Lazhechnikov.
• “The Oprichnik” is an opera by P. I. Tchaikovsky.
• Oprichnik - bay of the Sea of ​​Japan.

"Oprichnik"- Russian sail-screw clippers:

• The clipper "Oprichnik" is a six-gun sail-screw clipper of the Russian Imperial Navy, launched in Arkhangelsk in 1856. Killed in the Indian Ocean while returning from the Far East to Kronstadt in November 1861.
• The Oprichnik clipper is a sail-screw clipper of the Russian Imperial Navy, built in 1880.

Oprichnik (bay)

in Oprichnik Bay

Oprichnik (clipper, 1856)

"Oprichnik"- Russian six-gun sail-screw clipper, launched in 1856. He served in Kronstadt, then in the Far East. While returning from there to Kronstadt in November 1861, he died.

Examples of the use of the word oprichnik in literature.

In these words of the boyar there was hatred for the enemy of all the greatest boyars: guardsman, not just some nobleman, but a boyar himself, of an old family, he ruined the boyars, depriving them of their ancestral and great-grandfather’s privileges and rights.

The service was rendered by the prince in the same scene to the virtuous robber Ivan Ring, whom guardsmen they were going to execute him: the prince saved him from death, and he would then lead the prince out of the royal prison and save him.

IN guardsmen Tolstoy sees only a gang of ambitious people, false friends of power, not realizing that the oprichniki were a landowner layer, nobles, more than the boyars, loyal to the autocrat tsar, who helped him strengthen centralized power in the state.

Both the zemstvo people and guardsmen, the tsar praises for his youth, curses the Orthodox people.

As the prince walked away, guardsmen, pacified by the appearance of the holy fool, began to rage again.

Robberies in the vicinity of Moscow have especially increased since guardsmen They displaced entire villages of farmers, entire settlements of burghers.

But from time to time John or guardsmen They let the animals out of their cages, tore people with them and made fun of his fear.

True, he has changed since, to the disgrace of all the boyars, guardsmen let's go!

Just fallen asleep guardsmen They heard a familiar ringing, jumped up from their beds and hurried to get dressed.

All guardsmen, dressed individually in shlykas and black cassocks, carried resin lanterns.

To this damned place, but not on a dark night, on a sunny morning, Malyuta and guardsmen they directed him to run.

How guardsmen They set fire to the hut, so at first it became hot, but as soon as the hut burned down, there was enough frost in the yard!

It’s not because people destroy people because they’re alone guardsmen, others zemstvo, but because both of them are people!

He hurries them to Poganaya Luzha, adjusts the prince’s cap so that they don’t find out guardsmen who is being taken to death.

But they think guardsmen that a simple man is galloping between Khomyak and Malyuta, and they are only surprised that they are taking him so far to be executed.

Almost every person is familiar with the term “oprichnina”. Is this word usually associated with the dark times of confrontation between Ivan the Terrible, the descendants of appanage princes and oprichniks? This is a man who served in the ranks of the oprichnina army, or guard, created by Tsar Ivan IV as part of the political reform of 1565.

History of the creation of the oprichnina

Tired of the boyars' lust for power and the arbitrariness of the princely aristocracy, which began to imagine itself as co-ruler of the sovereign, in 1565 Ivan the Terrible introduced a reform by his decree. It was called oprichnina. Its goal was to deprive the king's opponents of all importance and power. From now on, the whole country was divided into two parts: the oprichnina and the zemstvo (territories not included in the oprichnina). The first included the northeastern lands, where a small number of patrimonial boyars were concentrated. The oprichnina lasted for seven years, but the memory of it is still fresh.

Direct participants in the reform

Who is the guardsman? First of all, this is an employee of the sovereign who was in the ranks of the oprichnina army. It could be a representative of different masses. The Tsar's guardsman swore an oath of allegiance. At the same time, he renounced his family and promised not to communicate with the zemstvo.

The characteristics of the guardsman included a distinctive feature - black robes, similar to those of a monk. In addition, they had special signs - the image of a broom and a dog's head. This symbolized a firm determination to sweep away and chew out the betrayal. Thus, everyone could determine who the guardsman was. Subsequently, this word itself became a dirty word among the people.

The essence of the activities of the guardsmen

All descendants of appanage princes who seemed suspicious to Ivan the Terrible were removed from the lands united into the royal possessions. All of them were subject to resettlement to new lands and the very outskirts of the state. According to the king, traitors there could not pose any danger to the throne. Small landowners and nobles settled on the former land holdings of the resettled people.

The day of the oprichnik consisted of the ruin and expulsion of the old nobility. Ivan the Terrible called it “sorting through little people.” During the entire period of persecution of those disliked by the tsar, almost half of the state was collected into the oprichnina. The remaining half was in the same position and was called “zemshchina”. I managed there

Of course, all these measures ran into active opposition. Most powerful people did not approve of Russia's course towards centralization and the elimination of old liberties. Therefore, opponents of the changes artificially or nullified a considerable share of the oprichniki’s cases. These people had allies in other countries, in particular Poland. Many traitors passed on information to their opponents, and the king had information about this.

Responsibilities of the guardsmen

The leak of important state information posed an immediate threat to the ruler. Therefore, the guardsman’s day included guarding Ivan IV. In fact, this meant the creation of the first in All those who swore allegiance were obliged to serve like dogs, to protect their sovereign and power. Who the guardsman is can be imagined by familiarizing himself with the activities of famous personalities: Malyuta Skuratov, boyar Alexei Basmanov, Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky.

Main characters

Malyuta Skuratov is a nickname, but the oprichnik’s real name was Grigory Lukyanovich Skuratov-Belsky. Thanks to his strict adherence to the tsar’s instructions during times of change in the country, he very quickly became one of those closest to Ivan the Terrible. He became popularly known as the main villain of those times. This happened mainly due to the January events of 1570. Novgorod was suspected of treason, and therefore Malyuta undertook to lead pogroms in the city, during which residents were slaughtered in the thousands. You can also imagine who the guardsman is by hearing the popular saying: “The Tsar is not as terrible as his Malyuta.” It was Skuratov who became an active executor of all government affairs.

The main inspirer of the oprichnina was Alexey Basmanov. He became its leading figure, blindly following all the king’s instructions. Basmanov stained himself by deposing Metropolitan Philip, driving him out of the cathedral with a broom.

The tsar's immediate advisor and one of the main guardsmen was Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky. He had the unlimited trust 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 guardsman was a close associate of Ivan the Terrible, a participant in the tsarist reform of 1565 and a direct executor of state instructions to expel and neutralize the tsar’s traitors. This is a member of the “chosen thousand”, “the sovereign’s people”. The guardsmen were people from different social strata. And taking a personal oath of allegiance to the tsar and the state also testified to the creation of a single order formation.