5 oprichniks of Ivan the Terrible, remaining in history

The date of foundation of the oprichnina is considered to be February 3, 1565. It was on this day that Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible issued a decree that legally assigned a special territory to the tsar, with a separate state apparatus and his army. In fact, Oprichnina turned out to be a state policy, the purpose of which was the confiscation of property and land from the objectionable, as well as their repression. We will tell you about the five main figures of the oprichnina, who have entered the history of Russia.

One of the main leaders of the oprichnina was Grigory Lukyanovich Belsky. Everyone knows this man by his nickname — Malyuta Skuratov. It is believed that they began to call the oprichnik so because of his short stature. Malyuta joined the ranks of the oprichniks at the lowest position, but very quickly managed to rise.

Thanks to cruelty and selfless loyalty to the tsar, the oprichnik headed the "sovereign's dogs". He personally took part in attacks on the estates of disgraced boyars, during which the oprichniks robbed, killed, raped and abducted people. The loudest "feat" of Malyuta was the organization of an attack on Novgorod.

On January 2, 1570, an army of oprichniks broke into the city and began to "look for sedition." Thousands of innocent people were killed and tortured. Malyuta Skuratov is also considered the murderer of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Philip of Moscow. Allegedly, the oprichnik strangled the elder exiled to the monastery with a pillow in his cell.

Malyuta Skuratov died in battle on January 1, 1573, personally leading his men to attack the German fortress of Weissenstein. Now it is the city of Paide in the central part of Estonia. According to some reports, the cause of death of the chief oprichnik was a gunshot wound. Skuratov's body was buried in the Iosifo-Volokolamsk Monastery, but the grave has not been preserved to this day.

There were also family contracts among the oprichniks. Fyodor Basmanov— one of the nobles closest to the tsar, was the son of an oprichnik. Many considered Fyodor to be Ivan the Terrible's lover, and several foreigners who lived in Moscow in the 16th century mentioned this fact in their records.

Fyodor Basmanov began his career advancement after the defense of Ryazan from the Tatar Horde in 1564. Together with their father, they showed courage and talent of military leaders, which the monarch could not help noticing. Soon Fedor was appointed the tsar's kravchik, and in 1669 Basmanov was already leading detachments of oprichniks in the south.

The Oprichnik was selflessly devoted to Tsar Ivan. This is evidenced by the fact that when his father was suspected of treason in 1570, he killed him with his own hands. But Basmanov himself did not stay in the oprichnina. In 1571, according to some sources, he was executed by order of the tsar, and according to others, he was exiled to a monastery.

An outstanding member of the Oprichnina, Andrei Petrovich Khovansky, was the grandfather of Ivan Khovansky, who became the leader of the Streltsy rebellion, known as Khovanshchina. In 1564, Andrei Khovansky was appointed voivode in Bryansk. After that, he served the tsar in Dorogobuzh and Kaluga, and also defended Ryazan lands from the Tatars.

He became famous for the fact that he always found himself in the most difficult places and always coped with the task with honor. In September 1576, Prince Andrey Petrovich Khovansky was appointed to command a left-hand regiment on a campaign "to the German land for the winter with an outfit." Together with other voivodes, he took part in the battles of Kolyvan (Tallinn).

Surprisingly, Andrei Khovansky died of natural causes in 1579. For an oprichnik and a participant in numerous military campaigns and court intrigues, this was an unheard-of luxury. During his lifetime, Khovansky showed himself as a talented commander and a wise politician. At the same time, he passed the glory of the bloody executioner, inherited by most of his comrades in the oprichnina.

Prince Mikhail Temryukovich Cherkassky is a Kabardian murza who swore allegiance to Ivan the Terrible and was baptized. The prince appeared in Moscow in 1558 together with his elder brother Bulgeruk. After his baptism, he was awarded the title of a specific servant prince. Already in 1559, the newly-made Russian nobleman took an active part in the campaign against the Crimean Tatars.

Mikhail's sister was one of the tsar's wives, so the prince received great power at court. With the sovereign's blessing, Cherkassky married the 15-year-old daughter of the boyar Zakharin-Yuryev. From the tsar, he received huge patrimony near the city of Gorokhovets along the Oka and Klyazma rivers.

Since the autumn of 1567 Cherkassky appears in the lists of oprichniks. He personally took part in tortures, executions and robberies, showing bestial cruelty. His activity did not last long – in 1571, Ivan the Terrible suspected Mikhail Cherkassky of a conspiracy and the oprichnik was put on a stake .

Among the favorites of Ivan IV, Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky can be singled out in particular. This oprichnik enjoyed the almost unlimited confidence of the tsar. Suspicious and cautious Ivan took medicines only from the hands of Athanasius and discussed the most important matters with him alone.

When the Oprichnina was in its bloodiest phase, Vyazemsky hunted together with Malyuta Skuratov. The prince fell into disgrace in 1570 after the boyars accused him and Basmanov of collusion with the Lithuanians. Allegedly, the traitors planned to transfer Novgorod and Pskov to Lithuania. Athanasius Vyazemsky was tortured in the presence of the tsar and during one of the executions he died.