(June 14, 2011 at 12:34 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: The orthodox church had other persecution agencies e.g. the Oprichnik of Ivan the terrible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprichniki
that page which you specified doesn't contain anything about "religion". On the other hand, it is talked about "internal enemies of the Tsar" (i.e. it is politics, people who would have wanted the Tsar dead or to replace him, things like that)