He established Russia's first secret police force

Another interesting fact about Ivan the Terrible is that he established Russia's first secret police force. Ivan hired a personal guard known as the Oprichniki. It was originally numbered 1000. Malyuta Skuratov was in charge of the oprichniki. Heinrich von Staden, a German adventurer, was one well-known oprichnik. Under the oprichnina, the oprichniki had social and economic advantages. They owed their allegiance and position to Ivan, not to their ancestors or local ties.

The initial wave of persecutions predominantly targeted Russia's princely clans, particularly the powerful Suzdal families. Ivan murdered, exiled, or tonsured prominent members of the boyar clans on spurious charges of conspiracy. Among those killed were Metropolitan Philip and famed warlord Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky. Ivan extended the oprichnina to eight key regions in 1566. Ivan extended the oprichnina to eight key regions in 1566. Only 570 of the 12,000 nobility became oprichniki, while the remainder were banished.

The oprichniki were given huge estates under the new political structure, but unlike previous landlords, they could not be held accountable for their acts. The men grabbed almost all the peasants' owned, forcing them to pay in one year what they used to pay in ten. That level of tyranny resulted in an increase in the number of peasants fleeing, lowering overall production. Grain prices jumped tenfold.