Oprichnina
Videos
The oprichnina was a state policy implemented by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Russia between 1565 and 1572. The policy included mass repression of the boyars, including public executions and confiscation
Oprichniki, by Nikolai Nevrev, shows the mock coronation of Ivan Fyodorov-Chelyadnin (enthroned) accused of conspiracy, before his execution. The man with the knife is Ivan the Terrible himself: according to Alexander Guagnini, Ivan stabbed Fyodorov-Chelyadnin in the heart and the oprichniks finished him off.
The oprichniki and the Boyars, by Vasily Khudyakov
"The street in the town": people fleeing at the arrival of the oprichniki, inspired by the opera The Oprichnik by Tchaikovsky, painted by Apollinary Vasnetsov in 1911
Secret police
Videos
Secret police are police, intelligence or security agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, ideological or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizatio
Oprichnina
…confiscation of their land and property. In this context the term can also refer to: The notorious organization of six thousand oprichniki, the first political police in the history of Russia. The portion of Russia, ruled directly by Ivan the Terrible, where his oprichniki operated…
A machine used by the East German Ministry for State Security to re-glue envelopes after mail had been opened for examination