To the history of the oprichnina court (1572/73 response letter to Razboynaya izba from the “Smolensk collection” of the Swedish State Archives)

Introduction. The article examines a judicial incident from the times of the oprichnina, connected with the accusation of murdering a peasant near prisons in Smolensk. The case was started on the petition of the Smolensk son of the genntrymen V. Sokolov against another representative of the Smolensk service “city”I.V. Bashmakov. The court in zemstvo Smolensk decided the case in favor of the plaintiff, because of his relationship with the oprichnik (guardsman). As the father of the defendant, V.D. Bashmakov argued the zemstvo judges were biased, so he bowed low to review the case in the oprichnaya Razboynaya izba because of his ruin after paying money and fees on the claim. However, the oprichnina judges did not decide the Smolensk case, but handed it over to the discretion of the Zemsky boyar prince M.I. Vorotynsky. A new trial of the case was scheduled only after the cancellation of the oprichnina. Methods and materials. In the center of investigation the petition of theBashmakov to review the case. The document published in the appendix comes from the “Smolensk Collection” held in the Swedish State Archives. Analysis. The analysis of references to personalities and historical circumstances allows us to date the document, and to bring a parallel to the well-known characteristic of the biased court against the zemstvo people by the author of the modern work on the oprichnina G. Staden. Results. The source contains information about the composition of the oprichnina Razboynaya izba and other important evidence about the organization of the court in the oprichnina and zemstvo, which makes it possible to clarify the details of the proceedings of the 1570s.