They played a significant role in the history of the formation of the Russian state. The king was placed on the throne in 1547. But in the first years of his reign, the main political course of the state was not the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible.
Briefly about the reforms Elected Rada
The elected Rada became the de facto government, assembled from noble boyars, nobles, some government officials and representatives of the clergy. This government operated from 1547 to 1560. Essentially, all of his reforms were aimed at state centralization and absolutization of power, the creation of unified government agencies and orders. In fact, time itself required such trends. The absolutization of monarchical government occurred in exactly the same way in
Briefly about the reasons
However, the activities and the very existence of the Elected Rada, for a number of reasons, over time begins to contradict the aspirations of Ivan the Terrible. In 1560, a break occurred between the tsar and his associates, which resulted in the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible. Briefly speaking about the reasons for the breakdown of this union, it should be noted that the progressive nature of the reforms of the Elected Rada eventually became tired of the tsar. It began to seem to the latter that the boyars were deliberately delaying the centralization of the state; moreover, in 1560 he accused two members of the Elected Rada
Sylvester and Adashev - that they want to concentrate the real levers of power in own hands. An important reason The gap becomes a conflict between the figures of the informal government and the royal wife Anastasia Yuryeva. After her imminent death, the tsar repeatedly accused the boyars of having “destroyed her from the world.” The last spark that finally inflamed Ivan IV’s hostility towards the boyar elite was the transition of one of the members of the former Elected Rada, Andrei Kurbsky, to the side of the Poles during the reason that prompted the latter to do this was dissatisfaction with the fact that the tsar was trampling on the eternal liberties and rights of the boyars. In response to this, the tsar forms an obedient corps of oprichniki, which begins large-scale terror against the aristocracy in the country.
Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible: briefly about the conduct
Since 1565, the Moscow kingdom begins fierce fight to eliminate, or rather, physically destroy the boyar stratum. The country was divided into two parts: one of the parts became the personal inheritance of the king and was called the oprichnina. The other was governed and called the Zemshchina. The territory of the oprichnina continuously increased and covered most of lands in the country. Political essence The oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible was that the tsar obtained for himself the right and consent of the boyars to the fact that he could arbitrarily disgrace and execute all those whom he himself considered traitors. Needless to say, after Kurbsky’s flight, the tsar saw traitors and conspirators everywhere among the boyar elite? Over the following years, hundreds of aristocratic families were evicted from their lands, which were given to the guardsmen. Terror reached its apogee in 1570, when the last man in Rus' was killed appanage prince Vladimir Staritsky. Punitive campaigns were carried out against Novgorod, Klin, Torzhok, and Tver. Hundreds of villages were burned, mass executions were carried out in Moscow.
Results of the oprichnina
The result of this policy was the weakening political role in the country of the boyars. As a result, the king achieved autocracy. On the one hand, despotism and the very fact of mass destruction and murder are negative trends. However, autocracy made it possible to create a strong army and effective for its time, which resulted in the progressive expansion of state territories.
Initially, the term “oprichnina” was used to refer to the allotments of the wives of deceased nobles and widows’ land. Under Ivan the Terrible, the meaning of the concept changed; the lands belonging to the tsar, as well as an entire period in the history of the Russian state, began to be called oprichnina. An interesting stage in the history of the Russian state is the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible. Briefly about this in this article.
Personality of the king
Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584) is a very unusual historical person, one of the most memorable and vivid images in the history of Russia. Only for most of our contemporaries it evokes negative emotions and is associated with oppression, repression, restriction human rights and cruelty. But we shouldn’t forget about the positive deeds of the tsar; it was he who was the first Russian ruler to be crowned king, and not reign, and it was he who completed the formalization of absolutism in Russia, which was simply necessary at that time. And it was he who contributed to the significant expansion of the country’s borders.
What so spoiled his reputation among modern ordinary people? Probably the most main reason That's why - the policy of oprichnina. And here it’s hard to disagree; it cannot be called completely balanced and thoughtful. For many researchers, its main characteristic is cruelty. But if you take into account the mentality of Russian society in the sixteenth century, and also political situation at court and the fact that the king was young, then everything becomes completely understandable. Apparently, democratic measures, namely the creation of the Elected Rada and the convening of the Zemsky Sobor, were ineffective.
Compared to the first period of his reign, Ivan the Terrible's oprichnina, in short, was not a policy that worked for the benefit of the country's inhabitants. Many historians wonder why the tsar resorted to such harsh measures and whether the oprichnina was the cause of the Troubles. In any case, if we talk about the preconditions of the oprichnina, then it is worth taking into account not only the political situation, but also the personality of Ivan the Terrible himself.
The beginning of the oprichnina
The reasons for the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible should be sought back in the tsar’s childhood. Although the official beginning of the oprichnina policy was associated with the events of 1565, when the sovereign accused the ancient boyar families of treason and was forced to renounce the throne. If you look at it, the logic of this act was as follows: Tsar Ivan the Terrible agreed to return to the capital to the grand-ducal throne if his subjects met three conditions: permission to execute without trial for treason; introduction of oprichnina; providing the boyars with zemshchina. Now half of the country's land plots, the best ones at that, belonged to the tsar, the rest to the Boyar Duma.
Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible: briefly about the main thing
In December 1564, the tsar, quite unexpectedly, ordered his sons, wife, and associates to gather and went to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, taking with him the entire treasury, as well as many valuable masterpieces of icon painting. And a month later, Metropolitan Afanasy received a letter from the sovereign, which listed all the atrocities and betrayals of the boyars. In this document, he wrote that he was no longer able to tolerate this, but another letter was sent to ordinary people, where Ivan the Fourth assures the people that he holds no grudge against them, that they were not the reason for his departure.
Then they went to the settlement, where the tsar and the boyars, the metropolitan, and ordinary people were staying. All with one goal: to call the king to rule again. With tears in their eyes, people begged him to return and asked him to forgive. Ivan the Terrible returned to reign, but only demanded that the three conditions mentioned above be fulfilled. That's when the oprichnina began.
The essence of the phenomenon
The tsar introduced the richest, most fertile and profitable lands into his oprichnina. And there is also something new social phenomenon"oprichnina corps" - a thousand young and strong people noble origin, who became the king’s personal army, received for their service, in addition to salaries, also the best land plots, evicting those to whom they rightfully belonged before.
And this is where absolutism manifested itself in full, the tsar single-handedly decided all issues relating to domestic policy state, the Duma boyars had to take care of the Livonian War. The guardsmen were obliged to perform only two functions: to protect the sovereign and to get rid of traitors. On black horses they raced through the streets of the capital with a broom and a dog's head attached to the saddle. This was a symbol that they would mercilessly cut off the heads of traitors and sweep out treason from the country. The oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, in short, was a mournful and terrible period.
Repression
Infidelity (real and imaginary) was indeed fought very cruelly. People who were suspected of this crime were executed and their property was confiscated. After some time, not only were they subjected to repression individual citizens or families, but even entire settlements. Novgorod suffered more than others in this sense; three thousand people were killed here at once, and all because the Tsar suspected the Novgorodians of conspiring with Poland.
The commanders of the guardsmen changed, but the meaning did not change; terror swept through the country with fire and sword. Regardless of the person’s clan or tribe, be it a nobleman, a boyar, or even a peasant, everyone felt the threat then, and this lasted for seven whole years.
Fortunately, the oprichnina had to be abolished; it led to the economic ruin of the country, and also in the war Russian state lost, and the khan decided to go to war in Rus'.
Consequences of the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible
The oprichnina policy of Ivan the Terrible led to very disastrous consequences. It led the country into a severe economic crisis. Many villages were abandoned due to the ruin of nobles, boyars and peasants; approximately ninety percent of arable land was not used. IN social sphere There were also huge problems; the demography of the country suffered greatly as a result of the Tsar’s extremely unreasonable and suspicious policy. There were about fifteen thousand people who died in these seven years.
Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible
Oprichnina – public policy terror that reigned in Rus' at the end of the 16th century under the reign of Ivan 4.
The essence of the oprichnina was the seizure of property from citizens in favor of the state. By order of the sovereign, special lands were allocated, which were used exclusively for the royal needs and the needs of the royal court. These territories had their own government and were closed to ordinary citizens. All territories were taken from the landowners with the help of threats and force.
The word "oprichnina" comes from the Old Russian word "oprich", which means "special". Also called oprichnina was that part of the state that had already been transferred to the sole use of the tsar and his subjects, as well as oprichniki (members of the sovereign's secret police).
The number of oprichnina (royal retinue) was about a thousand people.
Reasons for introducing the oprichnina
Tsar Ivan the Terrible was famous for his stern disposition and military campaigns. The emergence of the oprichnina is largely connected with the Livonian War.
In 1558 he began Livonian War for the right to take possession of the Baltic coast, but the course of the war did not go as the sovereign would have liked. Ivan repeatedly reproached his commanders for not acting decisively enough, and the boyars did not at all respect the tsar as an authority in military matters. The situation is aggravated by the fact that in 1563 one of Ivan’s military leaders betrays him, thereby increasingly undermining the tsar’s trust in his retinue.
Ivan 4 begins to suspect the existence of a conspiracy between the governor and the boyars against his royal power. He believes that his entourage dreams of ending the war, overthrowing the sovereign and installing Prince Vladimir Staritsky in his place. All this forces Ivan to create a new environment for himself that would be able to protect him and punish everyone who goes against the king. This is how oprichniki were created - special warriors of the sovereign - and the policy of oprichnina (terror) was established.
The beginning and development of the oprichnina. Main events.
The guardsmen followed the tsar everywhere and were supposed to protect him, but it happened that these guards abused their powers and committed terror, punishing the innocent. The Tsar turned a blind eye to all this and always justified his guardsmen in any disputes. As a result of the outrages of the guardsmen, very soon they began to be hated not only by ordinary people, but also by the boyars. All the most terrible executions and acts committed during the reign of Ivan the Terrible were committed by his guardsmen.
Ivan 4 leaves for Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, where he creates a secluded settlement together with his guardsmen. From there, the tsar regularly makes raids on Moscow in order to punish and execute those whom he considers traitors. Almost everyone who tried to stop Ivan in his lawlessness soon died.
In 1569, Ivan begins to suspect that intrigues are being woven in Novgorod and that there is a conspiracy against him. Having gathered a huge army, Ivan moves into the city and in 1570 reaches Novgorod. After the tsar finds himself in the lair of what he believes are traitors, his guardsmen begin their terror - they rob residents, kill innocent people, and burn houses. According to the data, mass beatings of people took place every day, 500-600 people.
The next stop of the cruel tsar and his guardsmen was Pskov. Despite the fact that the tsar initially planned to also carry out reprisals against the residents, in the end only some of the Pskovites were executed, and their property was confiscated.
After Pskov, Grozny again goes to Moscow to find accomplices of the Novgorod treason there and commit reprisals against them.
In 1570-1571, in Moscow, he died at the hands of the Tsar and his guardsmen. huge amount Human. The king did not spare anyone, not even his own close associates; as a result, about 200 people were executed, including the most noble people. A large number of people survived, but suffered greatly. The Moscow executions are considered the apogee of oprichnina terror.
The end of the oprichnina
The system began to fall apart in 1571, when Rus' was attacked Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey. The guardsmen, accustomed to living by robbing their own citizens, turned out to be useless warriors and, according to some reports, simply did not show up on the battlefield. This is what forced the tsar to abolish the oprichnina and introduce the zemshchina, which was not much different. There is information that the tsar’s retinue continued to exist almost unchanged until his death, changing only the name from “oprichniki” to “court”.
Results of the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible
The results of the oprichnina of 1565-1572 were disastrous. Despite the fact that the oprichnina was conceived as a means of unifying the state and the purpose of the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible was to protect and destroy feudal fragmentation, it ultimately led only to chaos and complete anarchy.
In addition, the terror and devastation carried out by the guardsmen led to an economic crisis in the country. The feudal lords lost their lands, the peasants did not want to work, the people were left without money and did not believe in the justice of their sovereign. The country was mired in chaos, the oprichnina divided the country into several disparate parts.
The best thing that history gives us is the enthusiasm it arouses.
Goethe
The oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible is considered briefly by modern historians, but these were events that had great influence, both on the tsar himself and his entourage, and on the entire country as a whole. During the oprichnina of 1565-1572, the Russian Tsar tried to strengthen his own power, whose authority was in a very precarious position. This was due to the increasing incidence of treason, as well as the disposition of the majority of the boyars against the current tsar. All this resulted in massacres, largely because of which the tsar received the nickname “Terrible”. In general, the oprichnina was expressed in the fact that part of the lands of the kingdom was transferred to the exclusive rule of the state. The influence of the boyars was not allowed on these lands. Today we will briefly look at the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, its causes, stages of reform, as well as the consequences for the state.
Reasons for the oprichnina
Ivan the Terrible remained in historical view descendants suspicious person, who constantly saw conspiracies around him. It all started with the Kazan campaign, from which Ivan the Terrible returned in 1553. Tsar (at that time still Grand Duke) fell ill, and greatly fearing the betrayal of the boyars, he ordered everyone to swear allegiance to his son, baby Dmitry. The boyars and courtiers were reluctant to swear allegiance to the “diaperman”, and many even evaded this oath. The reason for this was very simple - the current king is very sick, the heir has less than a year from birth large number boyars who claim power.
After recovery, Ivan the Terrible changed, becoming more cautious and angry towards others. He could not forgive the courtiers for their betrayal (refusing the oath to Dmitry), knowing full well what caused this. But the decisive events that led to the oprichnina were due to the following:
- In 1563, Moscow Metropolitan Macarius dies. He was known for having enormous influence on the king and enjoying his favor. Macarius restrained the king’s aggression, instilling in him the idea that the country was under his control and there was no conspiracy. The new Metropolitan Afanasy took the side of the dissatisfied boyars and opposed the tsar. As a result, the king only grew stronger in the idea that there were only enemies around him.
- In 1564, Prince Kurbsky abandoned the army and went to serve in the Principality of Lithuania. Kurbsky took many military commanders with him, and also declassified all Russian spies in Lithuania itself. This was a terrible blow to the pride of the Russian Tsar, who after this became finally convinced that there were enemies around him who could betray him at any moment.
As a result, Ivan the Terrible decided to eliminate the independence of the boyars in Russia (at that time they owned lands, maintained their own army, had their own assistants and their own courtyard, their own treasury, and so on). The decision was made to create an autocracy.
The essence of the oprichnina
At the beginning of 1565, Ivan the Terrible leaves Moscow, leaving behind two letters. In the first letter, the tsar addresses the metropolitan, saying that all the clergy and boyars are involved in treason. These people only want to have more lands and plunder the royal treasury. With the second letter, the tsar addressed the people, saying that his reasons for absence from Moscow were related to the actions of the boyars. The tsar himself went to Alexandrov Sloboda. There, under the influence of the residents of Moscow, the boyars were sent in order to return the Tsar to the capital. Ivan the Terrible agreed to return it, but only on the condition that he would receive the unconditional power to execute all enemies of the state, as well as create new system in the country. This system is called the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, which is expressed in the division of all lands of the country into:
- Oprichnina - lands that the tsar seizes for his own (state) administration.
- Zemshchina - lands that the boyars continued to control.
To implement this plan, Ivan the Terrible created a special detachment - the guardsmen. Initially their number was 1000 people. These people made up the tsar's secret police, which reported directly to the head of state, and which brought the necessary order to the country.
Part of the territory of Moscow, Kostroma, Vologda, Mozhaisk and some other cities were chosen as oprichnina lands. Locals, which were not included in state program oprichnina were forced to leave these lands. As a rule, they were provided with land in the most remote hinterlands of the country. As a result, the oprichnina decided one of most important task, which was staged by Ivan the Terrible. This task was to weaken the economic power of individual boyars. This limitation was achieved due to the fact that the state took over some of the best land in the country.
The main directions of the oprichnina
Such actions of the tsar were met with sincere discontent of the boyars. Wealthy families, which had previously actively expressed their dissatisfaction with the activities of Ivan the Terrible, now began to wage their struggle even more actively to restore their former power. To counter these forces, a special military unit"oprichniki". Their main task, by order of the tsar himself, was to “gnaw” all traitors and “sweep out” treason from the state. It is from here that those symbols that are directly associated with the guardsmen came from. Each of them carried a dog's head at the saddle of his horse, as well as a broom. The guardsmen destroyed or sent into exile all people who were suspected of treason against the state.
In 1566 another Zemsky Sobor. On it, an appeal was submitted to the tsar with a request to eliminate the oprichnina. In response to this, Ivan the Terrible ordered the execution of everyone who was involved in the transfer and in the preparation of this document. The reaction of the boyars and all the dissatisfied followed immediately. The most significant is the decision of Moscow Metropolitan Athanasius, who resigned from his priesthood. Metropolitan Philip Kolychev was appointed in his place. This man also actively opposed the oprichnina and criticized the tsar, as a result of which literally a few days later Ivan’s troops sent this man into exile.
Main blows
Ivan the Terrible sought with all his might to strengthen his power, the power of the autocrat. He did everything for this. That's why main blow oprichnina was aimed at those people and those groups of people who could realistically lay claim to the royal throne:
- Vladimir Staritsky. This cousin Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who was highly respected among the boyars, and who was very often named as the person who should take power instead of the current Tsar. To eliminate this man, the guardsmen poisoned Vladimir himself, as well as his wife and daughters. This happened in 1569.
- Veliky Novgorod. From the very beginning of the formation of the Russian land, Novgorod had a unique and original status. It was an independent city that obeyed only itself. Ivan, realizing that it is impossible to strengthen the power of the autocrat without pacifying the rebellious Novgorod is impossible. As a result, in December 1569, the king, at the head of his army, set out on a campaign against this city. On its way to Novgorod royal army destroys and executes thousands of people who in any way showed dissatisfaction with the actions of the king. This campaign lasted until 1571. As a result of the Novgorod campaign, the oprichnina army established the power of the tsar in the city and in the region.
Cancellation of the oprichnina
At a time when the oprichnina was established by a campaign against Novgorod, Ivan the Terrible received news that Devlet-Girey, the Crimean Khan, with an army raided Moscow and almost completely set the city on fire. Due to the fact that almost all the troops that were subordinate to the king were in Novgorod, there was no one to resist this raid. The boyars refused to provide their troops to fight the tsarist enemies. As a result, in 1571 the oprichnina army and the tsar himself were forced to return to Moscow. To fight the Crimean Khanate, the tsar was forced to temporarily abandon the idea of oprichnina, uniting his troops and zemstvo troops. As a result, in 1572, 50 kilometers south of Moscow, the united army defeated the Crimean Khan.
One of the most significant problems Russian land this time was on western border. The war did not stop there Livonian Order. As a result, constant raids Crimean Khanate, ongoing war against Livonia, internal unrest in the country, the weak defense capability of the entire state contributed to the fact that Ivan the Terrible abandoned the idea of the oprichnina. In the fall of 1572, the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible, which we briefly reviewed today, was canceled. The tsar himself forbade everyone to mention the word oprichnina, and the oprichniki themselves became outlaws. Almost all the troops that were subordinate to the tsar and established the order he needed were later destroyed by the tsar himself.
Results of the oprichnina and its significance
Any historical event Well, especially since something as massive and significant as the oprichnina carries with it certain consequences that are important for posterity. The results of the oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible can be expressed in the following main points:
- Significant strengthening of the tsar's autocratic power.
- Reducing the influence of the boyars on state affairs.
- The severe economic decline of the country, which occurred as a result of the split that emerged in society due to the oprichnina.
- Introduction reserved years in 1581. The protected summers, which prohibited the transition of peasants from one landowner to another, were due to the fact that the population of the central and northern parts of Russia fled en masse to the south. Thus, they escaped from the actions of the authorities.
- The destruction of large boyar lands. Some of the first steps of the oprichnina were aimed at destroying and taking away their property from the boyars, and transferring this property to the state. This was successfully implemented.
Historical assessment
Brief narrative about the oprichnina does not allow us to accurately understand the essence of those events. Moreover, this is difficult to do even with more detailed analysis. The most revealing in this regard is the attitude of historians towards this issue. Below are the main ideas that characterize the oprichnina, and which indicate that common approach there is no way to assess this political event. The basic concepts are as follows:
- Imperial Russia. Imperial historians presented the oprichnina as a phenomenon that had a detrimental effect on the economic, political and social development Russia. On the other hand, many historians Imperial Russia they said that it was in the oprichnina that one should look for the origins of autocracy and the current imperial power.
- The era of the USSR. Soviet scientists have always described with particular enthusiasm bloody events tsarist and imperial regime. As a result, in almost all Soviet works oprichnina was presented as a necessary element that formed the movement masses against oppression by the boyars.
- Modern opinion. Modern historians they talk about the oprichnina as a destructive element, as a result of which thousands of innocent people died. This is one of the reasons that allows one to accuse Ivan the Terrible of bloodiness.
The problem here is that studying the oprichnina is extremely difficult, since there are practically no real historical documents of that era left. As a result, we are not dealing with the study of data, nor with the study historical facts, and very often we are dealing with the opinions of individual historians, which are not substantiated in any way. That is why oprichnina cannot be assessed unambiguously.
All we can talk about is that at the time of the oprichnina, there were no clear criteria within the country by which the definition of “oprichnik” and “zemshchik” was made. In this regard, the situation is very similar to the one that was in initial stage formation Soviet power when the dispossession took place. In the same way, no one had even the remotest idea of what a fist was, and who should be considered a fist. Therefore, as a result of dispossession as a result of the oprichnina, a huge number of people suffered who were not guilty of anything. This is the main historical assessment of this event. Everything else fades into the background, since in any state main value is human life. Strengthening the power of the autocrat through destruction ordinary people is a very shameful step. That is why in recent years life, Ivan the Terrible forbade any mention of the oprichnina and ordered the execution of almost people who took an active part in these events.
The remaining elements that are presented modern history both the consequences of the oprichnina and its results are very doubtful. After all main result, which all history textbooks talk about, is the strengthening of autocratic power. But what kind of strengthening of power can we talk about if after the death of Tsar Ivan there came time of troubles? All this resulted not just in some riots or other political events. All this resulted in a change in the ruling dynasty.
