History 2145A/B Lecture Notes - Risiera Di San Sabba, Giacomo Matteotti, Oprichnik
28 Apr 2012
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1500"s ivan the terrible oprichniki (his secret service) Oprichniki = separate men; they were apart from society and did what he told them to; known for torturing people, wore black robes and rode black horses: streltsy. A more elite group selected by ivan. Makes st. petersburg a beautiful place; insists that canals be built (like amsterdam). Travelled to western nations, but gained a reputation as an alcoholic. Insisted that anyone with labour/construction knowledge move to st. petersburg. First to use the name tsar peter; he centralizes his forces. The cheka was an extremely vicious, brutal, and terrifying authority. Same function and fear factor as cheka, just a different name. He then put his friend in charge so that he couldn"t be held responsible. (e. g. Have to deal with families trying to find their lost members. ) In 1930, thousands of ukrainians died of starvation in a famine. Stalin didn"t want to be associated with this.
