The variety of corporal punishment has shocked since ancient times with its inhumanity and cruelty. What they didn’t do with the prisoners in order to get the truth from them: they broke their ribs, quartered them, raised them on the rack. Torture in Russia was very sophisticated. Even the West poached the Slavic experience using the methods of savage torment.
Hanging on the rack
Rising on the rack - torture in Russia, which was used with particular severity. In another way, such corporal punishment was called "Russian whiskey." The rack is a torture device used to stretch the human body.
As a result, soft tissues were torn, limbs fell out of the joints. The prisoner experienced unbearable pain, so often the victim confessed to all crimes, even those he did not commit.
In Russia, this type of execution appeared in the 13th century. The prisoner was tied by the legs and arms to two pillars, which were connected by a crossbar. Gradually, the body began to stretch until the arms twisted out.
Hanging time was determined differently each time, and a person couldbe subjected to such torture from a few minutes to a couple of hours. It all depended on whether he confessed to what he had done or not.
Such corporal punishment was extremely common under the rule of the Romanov dynasty. When Peter 1 was on the throne, archers who rebelled in 1698 were hung on the rack. Moreover, they not only twisted their joints, but also beat them with a whip.
Torn tendon ruptures were common. As a result, a painful shock set in, and the prisoner fell unconscious. Until he came to his senses, the torture was stopped. After this execution, all joints were again set to the man, and he continued to live and work.
Batogi
The second most popular torture in Russia. This is when a prisoner was beaten with thick rods, on which the end was cut off. They were called batogs. This corporal punishment was especially popular under Ivan the Terrible. They resorted to him for various violations: for incorrectly addressing the owner, the king, or for petty theft (chickens, for example).
The victim was laid face down on the ground. One person sat on the neck, and the other on his feet, so that the condemned person was completely immobilized. The executioner took two whips in his hands and began to beat the man on the back until he heard the truth. The torture could also be continued until the prisoner had taken all the prescribed blows.
Under Ivan the Terrible, drunkenness was punished in this way. Also, a drunkard could be shackled and dip his head in ice water or put naked on an anthill.
Barrel of wine
This is another punishment for those who liked to drink. The victim was placed ina barrel of wine so that he could not get out of there. After that, the barrel was transported around the city for show to everyone in order to publicly humiliate the drunkard.
It happened that a person was in an alcohol solution for quite a long time, as a result of which soft tissues began to exfoliate from the bones. This caused colossal torment to the imprisoned. Often such punishment ended tragically and a dead body was taken out of the barrel.
Cutting off the tongue
This torture appeared in Muscovite Russia in the middle of the 13th century. The alleged culprit was forced to open his jaw, with the help of special forceps, his tongue was pulled out and cut off.
For the first time, such a punishment was tried on the Novgorodians who rebelled against the Tatar Baskaks in 1257. Also in the 1670s, they tortured Archpriest Avvakum, who went against church reform under Patriarch Nikon.
Plucking nostrils
This torture appeared in Russia during the reign of Prince Vladimir and was described in the "Council Code" - a set of laws in 1649. Those who were seen in adultery were subjected to this execution. In those days, it was called "Urezasha noses".
Under the Golden Horde, those who killed tribute collectors and Tatar-Mongol scribes were punished with this torture. When Ivan the Terrible ruled, they could tear out the nostrils of someone who slandered the ruler.
Mikhail Romanov and Alexei Mikhailovich (his son) resorted to pulling out their nostrils for smoking. Under Peter 1, thieves were punished in this way, and Anna Ioanovna (his niece) assigned such torture to convicts. And it doesn't matterwhat class of people.
When Catherine II began to rule, this type of corporal punishment was used as a mark. This is how the captured participants of the Pugachev uprising were “marked”.
Plucking nails
Thanks to such torture in Russia, it was possible to "learn the whole story." Malyuta Skuratov (a close associate of Ivan the Terrible) began to practice its use from the 16th century to extract the necessary evidence. He drove needles under the victim's nails.
Also, Malyuta tried to catch those who made fun of the king, the so-called parsley-comedians. After the capture, they were threatened with such a punishment: the fingers were clamped in a vise in such a way that the bone came out from under the skin, like a stone from a cherry. After that, the fingers remained non-functional, so they were often simply removed.
Walking on the spokes
This is one of the most famous tortures of ancient Russia used in the Peter and Paul Fortress. She found the greatest use during the reign of Peter 1. Sharp wooden pegs were dug into the ground, and the victim was forced to stand or walk on them with bare feet. At the same time, the man was chained up so that it was impossible to move away from the spokes.
This execution was carried out at the commandant's house in the fortress itself. Therefore, this area was called the dance square, because it is simply impossible to stand still on the sharpest pegs.
Wooden horse
This is another instrument of torture in Russia. On a model of a horse made of wood, they put the sentenced man for several hours, after which they put him at his feet.hung cargo. It so happened that at the same time the victim was still beaten with batogs and whips. The guardsmen of that time had a very popular phrase: “You will ride a horse that drives the rider himself.”
Artemy Volynsky, governor of Astrakhan, tortured Lieutenant Prince Meshchersky in this way, only he tied live dogs to his feet, which bit the feet of the punished.
Thieves' Throne
This is a torture device that was intended for traitors and conspirators. The prisoner was put on this "throne", carefully tied up and slowly began to fold and twist the ropes. As a result, multiple spikes pierced the body, causing unbearable agony to the victim.
After a couple of days, the victim confessed even to something that she did not commit at all. And since all this time a person could not go to the toilet normally, the wounds on the body began to get wet and rot.
Torture by fire
This corporal punishment was invented by Ivan the Terrible and his associate Malyuta Skuratov. The punishment was carried out in the bath. A broom was set on fire, and the prisoner was beaten with it. Moreover, everything was done in such a way that the person would not die in any case.
After that, the burns itched insanely, but when touching the back, the person experienced terrible pain. Many simply died from wild pain in terrible agony.
Toad Legs
Often this method of corporal punishment was applied to the actors who were caught under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. With the help of a special device, the offender was literally squeezed out the knuckles, after which the hands resembled the paws of a toad.
Hook hanging
This is one of the worst tortures in Russia. Rebels and robbers were subjected to it, who were hung by the ribs. Also, the hook could be passed through other parts of the body.
If the offender was a woman, a through hole was made in her chest, through which a rope was threaded and hung on a crossbar.
Burial alive
This punishment was purely female and it was assigned to those who killed their husbands. According to the Council Code of 1649, a wife who killed her husband was placed in the ground so that her head remained on the surface.
A guard was placed around her, who had to make sure that no one watered, fed or released the delinquent. As a result, the person simply died of starvation and insane thirst.
Hanging upside down
For rapists and pedophiles, especially sophisticated punishment was intended. They were hung upside down and sawed through the body to the navel. As a result, the blood rushed to the head, and the criminal was conscious for quite a long time, but still died of hellish pain.
Wheeling
This is one of the most terrible tortures, which ended with the death of the criminal. He was tied to a large wheel in the “eagle pose”, after which they began to break bones with a club. They could also be tied and rolled over stones. This torture came from Europe and was used until the 18th century.
Water drop torture
This torture was used to drive a person into insanity. They called her "thin jug." The prisoner was shaved off at the crownall hair and tied him to a post. A jug was placed on top, from which water oozed drop by drop. So to a greater extent punished those who cursed.
So you found out what tortures were in Russia. The punishment for any offense was more than severe. Many criminals fled, only to avoid being punished by any of these methods, which itself promised a certain and painful death.
