    an oprichnik (, , man aside; plural oprichniki) was a member of an organization established by tsar ivan the terrible to govern the division of russia known as the oprichnina (1565-1572). it is thought by some scholars that it was ivan's second wife, the circassian maria temryukovna who first gave the tsar the idea of forming the organization. this theory comes from a german oprichnik, heinrich von staden. her brother also became a leading oprichnik. their oath of allegiance was: i swear to be true to the lord, grand prince, and his realm, to the young grand princes, and to the grand princess, and not to maintain silence about any evil that i may know or have heard or may hear which is being contemplated against the tsar, his realms, the young princes or the tsaritsa. i swear also not to eat or drink with the zemschina, and not to have anything in common with them. on this i kiss the cross.isabel de madariaga, ivan the terrible, page 183 ==description== the oprichniki were in charge of the suppression of internal enemies of the tsar. guided by ivan, they laid waste to civilian populations. they dressed in black garb, similar to a monastic habit, and bore the insignia of a severed dog's head (to sniff out treason and the enemies of the tsar) and a broom (to sweep them away). the dog's head was also symbolic of "nipping at the heels of the tsar's enemies". they were sometimes called the "tsar's dogs" on account of their loyalty to him. they also rode black horses in order to inspire greater terror. the oprichniki were given orders to execute anyone who was disloyal to ivan iv. the oprichniki would supposedly use various methods of torture, including tying each limb to a different horse and riding in opposite directions or dropping the person into a vat of boiling water . they would impale victims or even tie victims to poles and roast them over open fires . when ivan declared himself the "hand of god", 300 of the oprichniki were selected to be his personal "brotherhood" who lived in ivan's castle at aleksandrovskaia sloboda near vladimir. every night at 4 am, these oprichnik "monks" would attend a sermon given by ivan himself before the morning's ritual executions. the oprichniki would lead an externally ascetic lifestyle, like the monks they emulat
Extrajudicial_killings Politics_of_Muscovy Secret_police