Massacre of Novgorod
Massacre of Novgorod
In 1570, Ivan the Terrible sent his private army, the oprichniki, to attack the city of Novgorod in Russia. He believed the city and its church had betrayed him and planned to join Poland–Lithuania against Russia.
From January 2 to February 12, the invaders blocked the city, looted monasteries, and arrested clergy and prominent citizens. When Ivan arrived on January 8, he ordered the clergy to be beaten and took the Archbishop Pimen into custody. The oprichniki stripped churches of their treasures and brutalized many church leaders.
Across the following weeks, the troops tortured merchants, officials, and nobles for information about supposed plots. Families were driven from their homes, some were killed or drowned in the Volkhov River, and violence spread through the city. The target was the upper and middle classes, but the suffering also hit peasants and the poor. Shops were looted, farms were destroyed, and disease and cold worsened the misery.
By February 12 the troops left, leaving Novgorod devastated. The city lost much of its wealth, thousands of people were dead or exiled, and arable land around it was burned—about 90% of it in some areas. Novgorod’s power and status declined sharply, and the city never regained its former prominence.
The massacre is remembered as one of the most brutal acts of Ivan the Terrible’s oprichnina, leaving a dark mark on Russian history.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:16 (CET).