Oprichnina

Oprichnik forces
Russian: Опричные войска, romanizedOprichnie voyska
Active1565—1572;
de jure to 1584
CountryTsardom of Russia
AllegianceTsar
Size6,000
Nickname(s)Oprichnina
The Oprichniks by Nikolai Nevrev shows mock coronation of Ivan Fyodorov-Chelyadnin [ru] (enthroned) accused of conspiracy, before his execution by oprichniks.

The oprichnina (Russian: опри́чнина, IPA: [ɐˈprʲitɕnʲɪnə]) was a state policy implemented by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Russia between 1565 and 1572. The policy included mass repression of the boyars (Russian aristocrats), including public executions and confiscation of their land and property. In this context the term can also refer to:[1][2]

The term oprichnina, which Ivan coined for this policy, derives from the Russian word oprich (опричь 'apart from', 'except').

  1. ^ "Oprichnina". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ Walter Leitsch. "Russo-Polish Confrontation" in Taras Hunczak, ed. "Russian Imperialism". Rutgers University Press. 1974, p. 140
  3. ^ Oleg Gordievsky and Christopher Andrew (1999). KGB: The Inside Story of its intelligence operations from Lenin to Gorbachev (Russian language edition, Moscow, Centerpoligraph, ISBN 5-227-00437-4, p. 21)
  4. ^ Manaev, G. (2019-01-07). "The madness of 3 Russian tsars, and the truth behind it". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved 2020-01-29.