The oprichnina existed in Russia from 1565 to 1572. Its “top” included very different people: Alexey Basmanov, Fyodor Trubetskoy, Vasily Temkin-Rostovsky, Afanasy Vyazemsky, Mikhail Beznin, Grigory Skuratov-Belsky, nicknamed Malyuta. At times, many of them had opposing interests. Some were ready to destroy the traditional order. Others were only going to update the old way of life. Still others stood for this way of life and felt like random people in the “black royal army.” Willy-nilly, all oprichnina leaders had to take on part of the burden of great state affairs. Some were ready to serve at the top of power and had the desire and ability to do great government work. Others were looking for elevation, but did not understand the full responsibility of their future position. The book of the famous historian D. M. Volodikhin tells about the mysteries of the oprichnina and the people who were surrounded by Ivan the Terrible during this period.