Oprichnik
Guard of Tsar Ivan the Terrible / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Oprichnik?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
For the opera, see The Oprichnik.
Oprichniks (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.