The Main People of the Oprichnina. Diplomats. Voivodes. Punishers. The Second Half of the 16th Century.

The Oprichnina existed in Russia from 1565 to 1572. Its "elite" included very different people: Alexei Basmanov, Fyodor Trubetskoy, Vasily Temkin-Rostovsky, Afanasy Vyazemsky, Mikhail Beznin, Grigory Skuratov-Belskoy nicknamed Malyuta, and thousands of others - both aristocrats and lesser-known gentry. They had opposing interests. Some were ready to destroy the traditional order. Others only intended to refresh the old way of life. The third group stood for this way of life and felt like outsiders in the "black tsar's host." Whether they liked it or not, all Oprichnina leaders had to bear part of the burden of great state affairs. Some were willing to serve at the heights of power, had the desire and abilities for significant state work. Others sought elevation but did not understand the full responsibility of their future position. And some were ready to buy their elevation through punisher work, knowing only one tool of state policy - executions.
The book by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor D.M. Volodikhina, tells about the mysteries of the Oprichnina and the people who were in the entourage of Ivan the Terrible during this period. The Oprichnina is shown through the eyes of the Oprichniks themselves, and this is the novelty of the book.