Knout

Commonly used for prodding horses or cattle, knouts were also used for flagellation as a corporal punishment in Russian history.

The stem knut is of generic Germanic origin; compare with the German Knute, Dutch knoet (both meaning knout) and with Old Norse knutr, Anglo-Saxon cnotta and English knot.

[1] According to Brockhaus and Efron, a typical knout used by Russian executioners consisted of a wooden handle about half arshin (35 cm (14 in)) to which attached was a thick braided rawhide piece, one arshin (70 cm (28 in)) long.

[2] Knouts were used in Russia for flogging as formal corporal punishment of criminals and political offenders.

The victim was tied to a post or on a triangle of wood and stripped, receiving the specified number of strokes on the back.