The split in the ideology of «the Possessors» and the establishment of the Institute of Oprichnina (to the 450th anniversary of this event)

Abstract

The problem of a strong government is not new to the country's history. Finding an answer to it was conducted over a number of centuries and it often led to inconsistent results. Instructive experience of this kind of research can be considered a split that occurred on this occasion in the camp of «the Possessors», who linked the rescue of the country with the strengthening of the role of Church leader, and the Emperor as the main defender of Orthodox Russia. However, by the early sixteenth century, their ranks were split into supporters and opponents of formidable power. Creating the Oprichnina, Ivan IV supported radicals, what, in the author’s opinion, despite all its shortcomings, has saved Russia from the religious-political division, which earlier experienced Germany, and has saved it as the last bulwark of Slavic-Orthodox civilization.