Oprichniks (‹See Tfd›Russian: опри́чники, IPA: [ɐˈprʲitɕnʲɪk], oprichniki, meaning "men of oprichina"; singular: oprichnik) were a corps that served as bodyguards,[1] police, and soldiers[2] established by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The term derives from the policy of oprichina in Russia carried out by Ivan the Terrible between 1565 and 1572 in an attempt to strengthen his autocracy.