Massacre of Novgorod

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The massacre of Novgorod (Russian: Новгородский погром, romanized: Novgorodsky pogrom) was an attack launched by Ivan the Terrible's oprichniki on the city of Novgorod, Russia, in 1570. Although initially an act of vengeance against the perceived treason of the local Orthodox church, the massacre quickly became possibly the most vicious in the brutal legacy of the oprichnina, with casualties estimated between two thousand and fifteen thousand and innumerable acts of extreme, violent cruelty. In the aftermath of the attack, Novgorod lost its status as one of Russia's leading cities, crippled by decimation of its citizenry combined with Ivan's assault on the surrounding farmlands.

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