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oprichters

Oprichniki, sometimes transliterated as oprichters, were the members of the oprichnina, a policy and parallel administration in 16th-century Russia created by Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible). From 1565 to 1572 they formed a personal bodyguard and secret police loyal to the Tsar, tasked with enforcing his will within a designated domain called the oprichnina, and with suppressing opposition, especially among the boyars. The oprichnina operated separately from the zemshchina, the rest of Muscovy governed by the traditional aristocracy; the two systems coexisted for a time but the oprichniki reported directly to Ivan IV.

In practice, the oprichniki carried out surveillance, arrests, executions, and the confiscation of estates from political

The Oprichnina was dissolved in 1572 as Ivan IV curtailed the policy and reintegrated the lands and

rivals.
They
were
known
for
brutal
methods
and
for
creating
an
atmosphere
of
fear
as
a
tool
of
state
policy.
Their
campaigns
affected
several
regions,
including
the
infamous
1570
attack
on
Novgorod,
where
many
residents
were
killed
or
dispossessed
as
part
of
the
Tsar’s
efforts
to
eliminate
perceived
traitors
and
restore
order
in
his
view.
people
into
the
broader
state
apparatus.
The
oprichniki
left
a
controversial
legacy
as
a
dramatic
example
of
state-sponsored
terror
in
early
modern
Russia;
historians
debate
the
scope
and
organization
of
the
force,
but
consensus
recognizes
their
role
as
the
Tsar’s
private
instrument
of
power.