Malyuta Skuratov - "the faithful dog of the sovereign", whose name has become synonymous with cruelty and ruthlessness
Malyuta Skuratov - "the faithful dog of the sovereign", whose name has become synonymous with cruelty and ruthlessness

Video: Malyuta Skuratov - "the faithful dog of the sovereign", whose name has become synonymous with cruelty and ruthlessness

Video: Malyuta Skuratov -
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Malyuta Skuratov is a famous guardsman of Ivan the Terrible
Malyuta Skuratov is a famous guardsman of Ivan the Terrible

Name Malyuta Skuratova became a common noun among the people. There were legends about the cruelty of "the sovereign's faithful dog". How did a native of an impoverished noble family become the main guardsman and murderer of Ivan the Terrible - further in the review.

Tsar's Decree. Malyuta Skuratov. P. Ryzhenko, 2006
Tsar's Decree. Malyuta Skuratov. P. Ryzhenko, 2006

The real name of the guardsman is Grigory Lukyanovich Skuratov-Belsky. He received the nickname "Malyuta" for his short stature. Later, the people called the executioners and murderers this way. Information about when and where the future oprichnik was born has not been preserved. It is only known that Malyuta Skuratov came from an impoverished noble family, and he climbed the career ladder for a very long time. He became one of the main guardsmen closer to the end of Ivan the Terrible's bloody policy.

Malyuta Skuratov. K. V. Lebedev, 1892
Malyuta Skuratov. K. V. Lebedev, 1892

During the Livonian War, Skuratov was accepted as a centurion in the oprichnina army. He showed his "abilities" during the inquiry on the Zemstvo conspiracy in 1567. In one of the estates, in search of conspirators, Malyuta Skuratov tortured 39 people, but nevertheless received the necessary information. Torture has always been considered the most effective form of inquiry.

Two years later, Malyuta Skuratov moved up the career ladder and became the head of the "highest police for treason." Ivan the Terrible, seeing conspiracies everywhere, instructed his "faithful dog" to deal with his cousin, Prince of Novgorod Vladimir Staritsky, since he was the only competitor of the tsar to the throne. When Malyuta Skuratov got down to business, the culprits and evidence were immediately "found". The tsar's chef Molyava and his sons were accused of attempting to poison Ivan the Terrible. Like, when they went to Novgorod for the white fish, Prince Vladimir gave them poison for the king. The prince was executed.

Ivan the Terrible and Malyuta Skuratov. G. S. Sedov, 1871
Ivan the Terrible and Malyuta Skuratov. G. S. Sedov, 1871

After that, Ivan the Terrible conceived a campaign against Novgorod. The chronicles preserved a report on the actions of the oprichnik: "In the Novgorod parcel, Malyuta trimmed 1490 people (by manual truncation), and 15 people were trimmed with a squeak." That is, Skuratov personally killed and shot so many people. After the Novgorod defeat, sayings appeared among the people: "On the streets where Malyuta rode, the chicken did not drink" (that is, nothing was left alive), "The tsar is not so terrible as his Malyuta."

Maria Grigorievna Skuratova-Belskaya - daughter of Malyuta Skuratov, wife of Tsar Boris Godunov
Maria Grigorievna Skuratova-Belskaya - daughter of Malyuta Skuratov, wife of Tsar Boris Godunov

While Malyuta Skuratov was in the service of the sovereign and tortured people he disliked, he did not forget about the well-being of his family. All three of his daughters were successfully married off. One daughter went to Dmitry Shuisky, the second to Prince Glinsky, and the third became the wife of Boris Godunov, the future tsar.

The guardsmen. N. Nevrev, 1904
The guardsmen. N. Nevrev, 1904

In 1571, as a result of the raid of the Crimean Tatars, Moscow was burned by Khan Davlet-Girey. The guardsmen failed to prevent him from destroying the capital. This event greatly angered Ivan the Terrible, and some of the governors lost their heads. Malyuta Skuratova bypassed the execution, but in the next campaign he no longer got the place of the courtyard governor. During the assault on the Weissenstein fortress in the war with the Swedes, the oprichnik was on the front line and was shot by enemies.

Oprichnina. O. Betekhtin, 1999
Oprichnina. O. Betekhtin, 1999

By order of the Tsar, Malyuta Skuratov was buried in the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery. For his commemoration, Ivan the Terrible granted 150 rubles. This amount was much larger than donations to the king's brother and his wife Martha. The name of Malyuta Skuratov became synonymous with ruthlessness and cruelty due to his savage torture. Ivan the Terrible also liked to watch executions carried out in the most ruthless ways.

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