The Russian Knout ( pronounced k'noot - to rhyme with boot) was
a savage, brutal instrument of flogging. It was introduced by Grand
Duke Ivan III, (r.1462-1505) . For centuries it served as the official
method of corporal punishment under the Tzars. Various forms of this
whip existed. Depicted here is the form with multiple leather thongs;
some tipped with metal rings and one tipped with a sharpened metal hook.
A punishment of 100 lashes was almost certainly a death sentence.
Even a "light" sentence such as 20-25 lashes could maim the victim.