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The 17th century in Russian history gained a reputation as “rebellious.” And indeed, it began with the Troubles, the middle of it was marked by urban uprisings, the last third - by the uprising of Stepan Razin.

The most important reasons for this unprecedented scale of social conflicts in Russia were the development of serfdom and the strengthening of state taxes and duties.

In 1646, a duty on salt was introduced, significantly increasing its price. Meanwhile, salt in the 17th century. It was one of the most important products - the main preservative that made it possible to store meat and fish. Following salt, these products themselves have risen in price. Their sales fell. General dissatisfaction continued to grow.

On June 1, 1648, the so-called “salt” riot took place in Moscow. The crowd stopped the carriage of the Tsar, who was returning from a pilgrimage, and demanded that the head of the Zemsky Prikaz, Leonty Pleshcheev, be replaced. Pleshcheev's servants tried to disperse the crowd, which only provoked even greater anger. On June 2, pogroms of boyar estates began in Moscow. The clerk Nazariy Chistoy, whom Muscovites considered the mastermind of the salt tax, was killed. The rebels demanded that the tsar's closest associate, boyar Morozov, who actually led the entire state apparatus, and the head of the Pushkarsky order, boyar Trakhaniotov, be handed over for execution. Not having the strength to suppress the uprising, in which, along with the townspeople, the "regular" servicemen participated, the tsar gave in, ordering the extradition of Pleshcheev and Trakhaniotov, who were immediately killed. Morozov, his tutor and brother-in-law (the Tsar and Morozov were married to sisters) were “begged” by Alexei Mikhailovich from the rebels and sent into exile to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The government announced an end to the collection of arrears, convened a Zemsky Sobor, at which the most important demands of the townspeople for a ban on moving to the “white settlements” and of the nobles for the introduction of an indefinite search for fugitives were satisfied. Thus, the government satisfied all the demands of the rebels, which indicates the comparative weakness of the state apparatus (primarily repressive) at that time.

Following the Salt Riot, urban uprisings swept through other cities: Ustyug Veliky, Kursk, Kozlov, Pskov, Novgorod.

The most powerful uprisings were in Pskov and Novgorod, caused by the rise in price of bread due to its supplies to Sweden.

In 1662, there was again a major uprising in Moscow, which went down in history as the “Copper Riot.” It was caused by the government's attempt to replenish the treasury, devastated by the long and difficult war with Poland (1654-1667) and Sweden (1656-58). In order to compensate for the enormous costs, the government issued copper money into circulation, making it equal in price to silver. At the same time, taxes were collected in silver coins, and goods were ordered to be sold in copper money

The largest popular performance of the second half of the 17th century. happened on the Don and Volga.

In the spring of 1670, Razin organized a new campaign against the Volga, which already had the character of an open uprising. He sent out “charming” (seductive) letters, in which he called to his side all those seeking freedom and wanting to serve him. He did not intend (at least in words) to overthrow Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but declared himself an enemy of the entire official administration - governors, clerks, representatives of the church, accusing them of “treason” to the Tsar. The Razins spread a rumor that in their ranks were Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich (who actually died in Moscow on January 17, 1670) and Patriarch Nikon (who was in exile at that time). In all cities and fortresses occupied by the Razins, the Cossack system was introduced, representatives of the central government were killed, and office papers were destroyed. Merchants traveling along the Volga were detained and robbed.

Razin's campaign against the Volga was accompanied by massive uprisings of serfs in the recently enslaved regions of the Volga region. Here the leaders were, of course, not Razin himself and his Cossacks, but local leaders, of whom the most famous was the fugitive nun Alena Arzamasskaya. Large groups of Volga peoples also broke away from the king and began an uprising: Mari, Chuvash, Mordovians.

Having captured Astrakhan, Tsaritsyn, Saratov and Samara, as well as a number of minor fortresses, Razin was unable to successfully complete the siege of Simbirsk in the fall of 1670, was wounded (October 4, 1670) and retired to the Don, where he and his supporters fortified himself in the town of Kagalnitsky.

Reasons for the "rebellion" of the 17th century. - the formation of serfdom and the growth of state duties, caused by numerous wars and the increase in the state apparatus in connection with the completion of centralization and the gradual formation of absolutism.

All the uprisings of the 17th century. were spontaneous. The participants in the events acted under the influence of desperation and the desire to seize prey. It should be noted that there was a fundamental difference in the outcome of the Salt and Copper riots, caused by the strengthening of power between 1648 and 1662.

Speaking about Razin's uprising, it should be noted that most of the major uprisings began on the outskirts, since, on the one hand, many fugitives accumulated there, not burdened with large households and ready for decisive action, and on the other hand, the power there was much weaker than in center of the country.

Church schism. The church played a leading role in the spiritual life of Russian society. However, religious regulation of all spheres of social life hindered its development. Legal secular regulation by the state, introduced by the Council Code of 1649, was negatively received by the clergy. The Code limited the growth of church land ownership, curtailed the immunity rights of monasteries, and authorized the creation of the Monastic Order, which became the jurisdiction of the clergy, excluding the patriarch and patriarchal people and peasants. The church retained only the court for ecclesiastical affairs.

At the same time, the church felt the need for reform. Russian petitions about church untruths and letters from church leaders speak about this. The district patriarchal order of 1646 indicated that tramps and beggars “come to the church of God, like robbers, with a stick... and they have a fight between themselves until blood is drawn and stinking barking.” In the 40s of the 17th century . supporters of the reform created a circle of zealots of ancient piety in the capital, supported by the tsar himself. The circle was headed by the royal confessor Stefan Vonifatiev, it included Nikon, Avvakum, and other secular and church figures. The overdue “correction” of church services, the raising of the morality of confessors and the return. proper splendor in the church became the main subject of concern for zealots of piety.

The main features of church reform were outlined by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his confessor, Archpriest Stefan Voni-fatyev. But the implementation of these plans was entrusted to Nikon, who in 1652, at the request of the tsar, was elected patriarch. The Church Council of 1654 confirmed the need for church reform. The Council authorized Nikon to carry out corrections on the ancient Slavic and Greek lists. But Russian church books were verified according to modern Greek Venetian models. Technically, it was easier and faster to make corrections. Thus, the powers given by the council to the new patriarch were violated. The issue of correcting books and rituals caused a bitter split in matters of faith. Outwardly, the difference between the old and the new was expressed as follows: the Old Believers were baptized with two fingers, and the Nikonians began to be baptized with three, with a pinch (in the opinion of the Old Believers, with a “kukish”, in an inappropriate manner), prostrations were replaced by bows from the waist. The foundations of Orthodoxy remained intact.

Changes in the religious sphere turned into a real national tragedy for the Russian people. There were many reasons for this.

Russia of those times recognized itself as the third Rome. The Russian people expressed their messianic calling in devotion to the purity of the Orthodox faith received from their ancestors. The people honored the purity of the ideals of faith as the basis of their world mission. The upcoming changes threatened to lose the meaning of the country's existence. The character of the church reformer Patriarch Nikon determined the degree of intensity of the passions that flared up.

The clergy did not represent a single force. Differences in the church environment resulted in open indignation at Nikon’s actions. Violent changes were accompanied not only by mutual curses, but also by cruel persecution, terrible torture, even the burning of those who disagreed at the stake. All this, as if in a mirror, reflected the level of darkness of ignorance, the degree of enlightenment of the reformed society. Nikon began to claim leadership, seeking to free the church from the control of the state and elevate it above it. The council deprived him of his patriarchal rank. Exile followed and he died.

Social movements of the “time of troubles”

There were visions in Nizhny Novgorod, in Vladimir. The authorities of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Archimandrite Dionysius and cellarer Palitsyn, sent one letter after another to Russian cities. The Cossacks were agitating distant Kama Rus'. When the Trinity Charters came to Nizhny, and when the archpriest read them to the assembled people, then one of the Nizhny Novgorod citizens, the meat merchant Kuzma Minin, began to say: “If we want to help the Moscow state, then there is no need for us to spare the estate, we will not regret anything: we will sell our houses , we will pawn our wives and children and beat them with our brows - who would stand up for the Orthodox faith and be our boss.” To sacrifice everything, to arm ourselves – this was the general desire. Minin and other citizens gave a third of their property; one woman, who had 12 thousand rubles, donated 10 thousand. Those who hesitated were forced to sacrifice. Minin agreed to be treasurer, with the only condition that his fellow citizens completely trust him. A leader was needed, the citizens realized that he had to be chosen from among the nobles. At this time, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky lived in Starodub, being treated for wounds he received during the destruction of Moscow. Minin hit him with his forehead, asking him to be the leader of the army. Preparations began immediately. Before starting we fasted. Russia felt like a sinner: it gave and broke many oaths - to Godunov, his son Feodor, Otrepiev, Shuisky, Vladislav. A three-day fast was prescribed, from which even infants were not excluded. With the collected money they armed the boyars' children, did not accept the assistance of unclean elements who were ruining the national cause: they refused the help of Margeret, who betrayed the mercenary many times, and the help of the Cossacks, devoted to robbery and murder - Lyapunov's death was still fresh in memory.

Monks and bishops walked with the army, carrying icons in front. However, this enthusiastic ardor did not exclude political wisdom: they wanted to secure Swedish help against Poland and occupied Del Hardy with negotiations on the election of a Swedish prince to the Moscow throne. When the troops gathered in Yaroslavl, Pozharsky moved towards Moscow, under the walls of which the Cossacks of Zarutsky and Trubetskoy were already standing, but both of these troops, although striving for the same goal, did not want to stand together. The attempt on Pozharsky's life increased distrust of the Cossacks. But Hetman Khodkevich, who wanted to bring auxiliary troops into Moscow, was defeated by Pozharsky on the right bank of the Moscow River and by the Cossacks on the left. True, the latter refused to fight at the decisive moment, and only the requests of Abraham Palitsyn forced them to take action; the victory was won thanks to the bold movement of Minin with a selected army. Then the Poles sitting in the Kremlin were reduced to eating human flesh. They surrendered on the condition that their lives be spared, and they returned the Russian prisoners, among whom was the young Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov.

The Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod had already been cleared when the news spread that Sigismund was coming to the aid of the Poles. Help came too late, and Sigismund, having learned about what had happened, turned back. The devotion of the Russian people liberated the fatherland, and the year 1612 remained in the memory of the Russians.

Now Russia could freely begin to elect a tsar. Elected representatives of the clergy, nobles, boyar children, merchants, townspeople and district people who had the authority to elect the Tsar came to Moscow. First of all, we decided not to elect a foreigner: neither a Pole nor a Swede. When it was necessary to make a choice between the Russians, then intrigues and unrest began again, and finally one name was pronounced that reconciled all parties - the name of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov. He was chosen not for his own sake, for he was only fifteen years old, but for the sake of his Romanov ancestors and his father, Metropolitan Philaret, who was languishing in captivity in Marienburg. The name of the Romanovs, related to the house of John IV, was then the fullest expression of national feeling (1613).

The new reign had a chance of strength that neither Godunov nor Shuisky had. He could not be accused of a crime; it was based on a marvelous national movement, memories of the liberation of the fatherland and other glorious events were associated with it. Not a single ghost, not a single bitter memory or regret: the house of Ivan the Terrible was the cause or reason for many sufferings in Russia, False Dmitry killed regret about the true. The accession of the Romanovs to the throne coincided with a powerful awakening of patriotism, with the desire for unity and with a general desire for order and pacification. They already enjoyed the same devotion that the most ancient dynasty enjoys. They say that the Poles, having learned about the election of Mikhail, sent armed men to seize him in Kostroma; one peasant, Ivan Susanin, led these envoys into the thicket of the forest and fell under the blows of their sabers, saving his sovereign. The time of troubles is over.

The Don Cossacks were generally quite calm at this time, but one of them, Stenka Razin, confused all of eastern Russia. Settlers from the Dnieper, expelled from their country by the war, were the cause of real famine in the poor Don villages. Stenka gathered several golutvenny people (goly, golyaki) and wanted to try his luck to take Azov. The Don elders prevented him from doing this, then he went to the East, to the Volga and Yaik (Ural). His fame spread far: they said that he was a sorcerer, that neither a saber, nor a bullet, nor a cannonball could take him; robbers flocked to him from all sides. He plundered the Caspian Sea and devastated the shores of Persia. The Russian government, not being able to fight him, promised to forgive him if he handed over the royal ships and guns he had taken. Razin agreed. Thanks to his exploits, the countless looted wealth and royal generosity, he acquired many followers from the mob, Cossacks and even city archers. The Volga region was always ready for a social revolution; this explains the success of Razin, and later the success of Pugachev. Robbers were popular and honored there; The merchants who arrived on the Don on commercial business learned that Stenka was launching a raid, and did not think about pestering him.

In 1670, Razin, having spent the stolen money, went with a crowd of golutvenniks up the Don and from there to the Volga. The whole region was excited at the news of the approach of the already famous chieftain. The residents of Tsaritsyn surrendered their city to him. A fleet was sent against Razin, but the troops and archers handed over their commanders to him, one of whom was thrown from the bell tower. Sailing up the Volga, he took Saratov, Samara and rebelled in the Nizhny Novgorod, Tambov and Penza provinces. Throughout the Volga region, peasants rebelled against their landowners, and the Tatars, Chuvash, Mordovians and Cheremis rebelled against Russian rule. The mutiny was terrible. Near Simbirsk, Razin was defeated by Yuri Baryatinsky, and the charm he produced disappeared; he was pursued in the steppe, captured on the Don and executed in Moscow (1671).

The rebellion, however, did not stop with the death of Razin: the gangs stubbornly continued to operate. In Astrakhan, Vasily Us ruled despotically and threw the archbishop from the bell tower. Finally, all these imitators of Razin were killed or captured, the Volga was cleared and the Don was calmed.

The Moscow riot showed how deeply barbaric the capital's mob, servants, small traders, and factory workers were still. The Pugachev rebellion showed what personalities still roamed the remote provinces of the empire. The peasants, on whom all the state burdens fell, all the demands of the owners and the extortion of officials, constantly thirsted for impossible changes, in their deep ignorance they were always ready to follow the deceiver, False Peter III, False John VI, even False Paul I used rude minds, prejudiced against "the reign of women." The schismatics, wild and driven to despair by previous oppressions, burned in the depths of the forests and in the Volga cities with irreconcilable hatred of the state. The Yaik and Don Cossacks, as well as the Cossacks, trembled from the new yoke of power for them. The Volga peoples - pagans, Muslims or disaffected Orthodox Christians - were only waiting for an excuse to regain their wild freedom or the lands taken from them by Russian settlers.

How little these unbridled elements agreed with the new state was evident already in 1770, when the Turgai Kalmyks, numbering almost 300 thousand people, men, women and children, took their cattle, tents and carts, crossed the Volga, devastating everything on the way , and retired to the Chinese Empire. Add to these dissatisfied vagabonds of all kinds, ruined nobles, disrobed monks, deserters, runaway servants, robbers and Volga bandits. Russia, especially its eastern part, contained all the materials necessary for a huge uprising, such as that raised by False Dmitry or Stenka Razin. The Yaik Cossacks, who rebelled already in 1766 and were severely punished for it, were destined to give the uprising the expected leader: a fugitive Cossack, a schismatic, who was already in the Kazan prison and fled from Siberia, Emelyan Pugachev, impersonated Peter III; Having dismissed the Holstein banner, he announced that he was going to St. Petersburg to punish his wife and crown his son as king. With three hundred men, he besieged the Yaitsky town, his army was very small, but all the troops sent against him went over to his side and betrayed their commanders. He usually ordered officers to be hanged and soldiers' hair to be cut in Cossack style; in the villages he hanged landowners; whoever resisted him was punished for it as for rebellion, as for lese majeste.

Thus, he captured many steppe fortresses. While those close to him, who knew the secret of his origin, addressed him easily, the people greeted him with the ringing of bells and with bread and salt. Polish confederates, exiled to these places, organized artillery for him. For almost a whole year, he trembled Kazan and Orenburg and defeated the troops sent against him; landowners fled everywhere, and barbarian peoples came to his main apartment. The peasants rebelled against the nobles, the Tatars and Chuvash against the Russians; A tribal, social and slave war broke out throughout the Volga basin. Moscow, which had 100 thousand serfs, began to worry; The mob, seeing the flight of the landowners from all of Eastern Russia, began to speak loudly about freedom and the beating of the masters. Catherine II instructed Alexander Bibikov to put an end to the disaster. Bibikov, arriving in Kazan, was struck by general demoralization; he calmed and armed the nobles, restrained the people and seemed cheerful and contented, and meanwhile he wrote to his wife: “The evil is great, terrible! Wow! Bad!" He fully understood that all these disturbances were not the work of one person. “Pugachev is nothing more than a scarecrow played by Cossack thieves,” he wrote, “Pugachev is not important, it is the general indignation that is important.

Relying little on his troops, he decided, however, to attack the impostor, defeated him first at Tatishchev, and then at Kagul, scattered his army and captured artillery. Bibikov died amid his successes, but Mikhelson, de Collonges and Golitsyn continued to pursue the vanquished. Pugachev, driven along the lower reaches of the Volga, suddenly turned up the river, rushed to Kazan, burned and plundered it, but failed in the capture of the Kazan fortress and was completely defeated on the banks of the Kazanka; then he sailed down the Volga, entered Saransk, Samara and Tsaritsyn, where, despite relentless pursuit by the imperial troops, he hanged the nobles and established a new government. While he was heading south, the people were waiting for him on the way to Moscow; in response to this expectation, False Peters III and the False Pugachevs appeared everywhere, who, becoming the head of unbridled gangs, hanged landowners and burned their estates. Moscow was ready to rebel. It was necessary to catch Pugachev. Surrounded by troops between the Volga and Yaik, at the moment he was preparing to flee to Persia, pursued by Mikhelson and Suvorov, he was tied up and handed over by his accomplices. He was brought to Moscow and executed. Many did not believe that False Peter III had died, and although the rebellion was pacified, its spirit still existed for a long time.

The Pugachev rebellion served, so to speak, as a lesson for the Russian government, which recalled it in 1775, destroying the Zaporozhye Republic. The Dnieper braves, expelled under Peter the Great, called again under Anna Ioannovna, did not recognize their former location. Southern Russia, protected from Tatar invasions, was quickly populated: cities sprang up everywhere, arable land captured large and large spaces, the boundless steppes, along which the ancestors of the Cossacks rode as freely as the Arabs through the desert, turned into fields. The Cossacks were very unhappy with this transformation, they demanded the return of their land, their desert, and patronized the Haidamaks, who were disturbing the settlers. Potemkin, the creator of Novorossiya, was tired of these restless neighbors. On the orders of the empress, he took and destroyed the Sich. The dissatisfied fled to the domains of the Turkish Sultan, others were transformed into the Black Sea Cossacks, who in 1792 were assigned the Phanagoria Peninsula and the eastern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov for residence. This is how the Cossacks ended: they live only in the songs of the kobzars.

1603 - uprising led by Cotton.

1606–1607 - uprising led by I. I. Bolotnikov.

1648–1650 - uprising of Bohdan Khmelnitsky.

1662 - Uprising in Moscow - “copper riot”.

1670–1671 – Uprising led by S. T. Razin.

1698 – Uprising of the Streltsy in Moscow.

1771 – “Plague riot” in Moscow.

1773–1775 – Uprising led by E.I. Pugachev.

In the 17th century in Russia there were mass phenomena. The era of the Time of Troubles is over. All spheres of public life were completely destroyed: economics, politics, social relations, culture, spiritual development. Naturally, it was necessary to restore the economy. Many reforms and innovations hit the population of that time hard. The result is popular movements. Let's try to analyze this topic in more detail.

Subject "history" (7th grade): "People's movements"

The period of the “rebellious age” is included in the compulsory school minimum. The course “Domestic History” (7th grade, “Popular Movements”) identifies the following causes of social upheaval:

• due to constant military conflicts.
• Attempts by the authorities to limit Cossack autonomy.
• Increased administrative red tape.
• Enslavement of the peasants.
• Church reforms that led to a split among the clergy and the population.

The above reasons give reason to believe that popular movements in the 17th century were associated not only with the peasantry, as was the case earlier, but also with other social strata: the clergy, the Cossacks, the archers.

This means that powerful forces who know how to wield weapons are beginning to oppose the authorities. The Cossacks and archers managed to gain combat experience in constant wars. Therefore, their participation in unrest can be compared in scale to civil wars.

Salt riot

I would like to remember modern pensioners who actively monitor salt prices in stores. An increase of one or two rubles is today accompanied by various reproaches and criticism of the authorities. However, the rise in salt prices in the 17th century provoked a real revolt.

On July 1, 1648, a powerful wave of protest broke out. The reason was an additional duty on salt, through which the government decided to replenish the budget. The situation led to protesters “intercepting” Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich as he returned from prayer to the Kremlin. People complained to the “good king” about the actions of the “bad” boyar - the head of L. S. Pleshcheev. In the eyes of the average man in the street, he alone was to blame for all the troubles of the state: red tape, embezzlement, rising prices not only for salt, but also for other food products.

The “bad” boyar had to be sacrificed. “On the quiet,” the tsar got rid of not only the “scoundrel” Pleshcheev, but also his relative, boyar B. Morozov, his teacher. In fact, he was the “secret cardinal” in the country and resolved almost all administrative issues. However, after this, popular movements in the country did not end. Let's move on to the rest in more detail.

Popular movements (7th grade, history of Russia): copper riot

The salt situation has not taught the government to approach reforms cautiously. There was a catastrophic shortage of money in the country. And then the authorities carried out the most “killer” economic reform that could be imagined - the devaluation of the coin.

Instead of silver money, the government introduced copper coins into circulation, which were 10-15 cheaper. Of course, it was possible to come up with wooden (in the literal sense of the word) rubles, but the authorities did not dare to tempt fate so much. Naturally, merchants stopped selling their goods for copper.

In July 1662, pogroms and riots began. Now people did not believe in the “good king”. The estates of almost all the tsar's associates were subjected to pogroms. The crowd even wanted to destroy the residence of the “anointed one of God” himself in the village of Kolomenskoye. However, the troops arrived in time, and the king went out to negotiate.

After these events, the authorities treated the rebels harshly. Many people were executed, arrested, some had their arms, legs, and tongues cut off. Those who were lucky were sent into exile.

The uprising of Stepan Razin

If previous popular movements were organized by a peaceful unarmed population, then armed Cossacks with combat experience took part in them. And this turned into a more serious problem for the state.

The Council Code of 1649 was to blame for everything. This document finally established serfdom. Of course, it began to take shape since the time of Ivan III, with the introduction of St. George’s Day and the assignment of workers to the lands of feudal lords. However, it established a lifelong search for fugitive peasants and their return to their former owners. This norm went against the Cossack liberties. There was a centuries-old rule “there is no extradition from the Don,” which implied the protection of everyone who ended up there.

By the mid-60s of the 17th century, a huge number of runaway peasants had accumulated on the Don. This led to the following consequences:

• The impoverishment of the Cossacks, as there was simply not enough free land. In addition, there were no wars, which traditionally reduce the Cossack population and serve as a source of wealth.
• Concentration of a huge combat-ready army in one place.

All this, naturally, could not help but result in popular movements

"Hike for zipuns"

The first stage of the uprising of peasants and Cossacks under the leadership of S. Razin went down in history as a “campaign for zipuns,” that is, for booty (1667-1669). The purpose of the campaign was to plunder merchant ships and caravans carrying cargo from Russia to Persia. In fact, Razin’s detachment was a pirate gang that blocked the main trade artery on the Volga, captured the Yaitsky town, defeated the Persian fleet, and then returned in 1669 with rich booty to the Don.

This successful and unpunished campaign inspired many other Cossacks and peasants who were suffocating from poverty. They massively reached out to S. Razin. Now the idea of ​​carrying out a revolution in the country has already arisen. S. Razin announced a campaign against Moscow.

Second stage (1670 - 1671)

In fact, S. Razin’s speech resembles a future peasant war led by E. Pugachev. Wide numbers and participation of local national tribes in the conflict speak of a full-scale civil war. In general, Russian history (popular movements in particular) had never seen such mass protests by its own people before this time.

Progress of the uprising

The rebels immediately took the city of Tsaritsyn. We approached the well-fortified fortress of Astrakhan, which then surrendered without a fight. All governors and nobles were executed.

Success provoked a massive transition to Razin’s side in such large cities as Samara, Saratov, Penza, which indicates a serious political crisis within Russian society. In addition to the Russian population, the peoples of the Volga region also flocked to him: Chuvash, Tatars, Mordovians, Mari, etc.

Reasons for the large number of rebels

The total number of rebels reached 200 thousand people. There are several reasons why thousands flocked to Razin: some were tired of poverty and taxes, others were attracted by the status of “free Cossacks,” and others were criminals. Many national communities wanted autonomy and even independence after the victory of the revolution.

End of the uprising, massacres

However, the goals of the rebels were not destined to come true. Lacking organizational unity and common goals, the army was uncontrollable. In September 1670, it tried to take Simbirsk (modern Ulyanovsk), but failed, after which it began to disintegrate.

The main force, led by S. Razin, went to the Don, many fled to the internal regions. The punitive expedition against the rebels was led by the governor, Prince Yu. Baryatinsky, which actually means the use of all available military forces. Fearing for their lives, the rebels betrayed their leader, who was then quartered.

Up to 100 thousand people were killed and tortured by the official authorities. Russia had never known such mass repressions before this time.

1. "Salt Riot"

The 17th century in Russian history gained a reputation as “rebellious.” And indeed, it began with the Troubles, the middle of it was marked by urban uprisings, the last third - by the uprising of Stepan Razin.

The most important reasons for this unprecedented scale of social conflicts in Russia were the development of serfdom and the strengthening of state taxes and duties.

In 1646, a duty on salt was introduced, significantly increasing its price. Meanwhile, salt in the 17th century. It was one of the most important products - the main preservative that made it possible to store meat and fish. Following salt, these products themselves have risen in price. Their sales fell, and unsold goods began to deteriorate. This caused discontent among both consumers and traders. The growth of government revenues was less than expected as the smuggling trade in salt developed. Already at the end of 1647, the “salt” tax was abolished. In an effort to compensate for losses, the government cut the salaries of service people “on the instrument”, that is, archers and gunners. General discontent continued to grow.

On June 1, 1648, the so-called “salt” riot took place in Moscow. The crowd stopped the carriage of the Tsar, who was returning from a pilgrimage, and demanded that the head of the Zemsky Prikaz, Leonty Pleshcheev, be replaced. Pleshcheev's servants tried to disperse the crowd, which only provoked even greater anger. On June 2, pogroms of boyar estates began in Moscow. The clerk Nazariy Chistoy, whom Muscovites considered the mastermind of the salt tax, was killed. The rebels demanded that the tsar's closest associate, boyar Morozov, who actually led the entire state apparatus, and the head of the Pushkarsky order, boyar Trakhaniotov, be handed over for execution. Not having the strength to suppress the uprising, in which, along with the townspeople, the "regular" servicemen participated, the tsar gave in, ordering the extradition of Pleshcheev and Trakhaniotov, who were immediately killed. Morozov, his tutor and brother-in-law (the Tsar and Morozov were married to sisters) were “begged” by Alexei Mikhailovich from the rebels and sent into exile to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The government announced an end to the collection of arrears, convened a Zemsky Sobor, at which the most important demands of the townspeople for a ban on moving to the “white settlements” and of the nobles for the introduction of an indefinite search for fugitives were satisfied (for more details, see topic 24). Thus, the government satisfied all the demands of the rebels, which indicates the comparative weakness of the state apparatus (primarily repressive) at that time.

2. Uprisings in other cities

Following the Salt Riot, urban uprisings swept through other cities: Ustyug Veliky, Kursk, Kozlov, Pskov, Novgorod.

The most powerful uprisings were in Pskov and Novgorod, caused by the rise in price of bread due to its supplies to Sweden. The urban poor, threatened by famine, expelled the governors, destroyed the courts of wealthy merchants and seized power. In the summer of 1650, both uprisings were suppressed by government troops, although they managed to enter Pskov only due to discord among the rebels.

3. "Copper Riot"

In 1662, there was again a major uprising in Moscow, which went down in history as the “Copper Riot.” It was caused by the government's attempt to replenish the treasury, devastated by the long and difficult war with Poland (1654-1667) and Sweden (1656-58). In order to compensate for the enormous costs, the government issued copper money into circulation, making it equal in price to silver. At the same time, taxes were collected in silver coins, and goods were ordered to be sold in copper money. The salaries of servicemen were also paid in copper. Copper money was not trusted, especially since it was often counterfeited. Not wanting to trade with copper money, peasants stopped bringing food to Moscow, which caused prices to soar. Copper money depreciated: if in 1661 two copper rubles were given for a silver ruble, then in 1662 - 8.

On July 25, 1662, a riot followed. Some of the townspeople rushed to destroy the boyars' estates, while others moved to the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, where the tsar was staying those days. Alexey Mikhailovich promised the rebels to come to Moscow and sort things out. The crowd seemed to calm down. But in the meantime, new groups of rebels appeared in Kolomenskoye - those who had previously broken up the courtyards of the boyars in the capital. The tsar was demanded to hand over the boyars most hated by the people and threatened that if the tsar “does not give them back those boyars”, then they “will begin to take it themselves, according to their custom.”

However, during the negotiations, archers called by the tsar had already arrived in Kolomenskoye, who attacked the unarmed crowd and drove them to the river. Over 100 people drowned, many were hacked to death or captured, and the rest fled. By order of the tsar, 150 rebels were hanged, the rest were beaten with a whip and branded with iron.

Unlike the “salt”, the “copper” revolt was brutally suppressed, since the government managed to keep the archers on its side and use them against the townspeople.

4. The uprising of Stepan Razin

The largest popular performance of the second half of the 17th century. happened on the Don and Volga.

The population of the Don was Cossacks. The Cossacks did not engage in agriculture. Their main activities were hunting, fishing, cattle breeding and raids on the possessions of neighboring Turkey, Crimea and Persia. For guard duty to protect the southern borders of the state, the Cossacks received a royal salary in bread, money and gunpowder. The government also tolerated the fact that fugitive peasants and townspeople found shelter on the Don. The principle “there is no extradition from the Don” was in effect.

In the middle of the 17th century. There was no longer equality among the Cossacks. The elite of the wealthy ("home-loving") Cossacks stood out, who owned the best fisheries, herds of horses, who received a better share of the spoils and the royal salary. Poor (“golutvennye”) Cossacks worked for house-suckers.

In the 40s XVII century The Cossacks lost access to the Azov and Black Seas, as the Turks strengthened the Azov fortress. This prompted the Cossacks to move their campaigns for booty to the Volga and the Caspian Sea. The robbery of Russian and Persian merchant kravans caused great damage to trade with Persia and the entire economy of the Lower Volga region. Simultaneously with the influx of fugitives from Russia, the hostility of the Cossacks towards the Moscow boyars and officials grew.

Already in 1666, a detachment of Cossacks under the command of Ataman Vasily Us invaded Russia from the Upper Don, reached almost Tula, destroying noble estates on its way. Only the threat of a meeting with a large government army forced Us to turn back. Numerous serfs who joined him also went to the Don with him. The speech of Vasily Us showed that the Cossacks are ready at any moment to oppose the existing order and authorities.

In 1667, a detachment of a thousand Cossacks set off to the Caspian Sea on a campaign “for zipuns,” that is, for booty. At the head of this detachment was Ataman Stepan Timofeevich Razin - a native of the homely Cossacks, strong-willed, intelligent and mercilessly cruel. Razin's detachment during 1667-1669. robbed Russian and Persian merchant caravans, attacked coastal Persian cities. With rich booty, the Razins returned to Astrakhan, and from there to the Don. The “hike for zipuns” was purely predatory. However, its meaning is broader. It was in this campaign that the core of Razin’s army was formed, and the generous distribution of alms to ordinary people brought the ataman unprecedented popularity.

In the spring of 1670, Razin began a new campaign. This time he decided to go against the “traitor boyars.” Tsaritsyn was captured without resistance, whose residents happily opened the gates to the Cossacks. The archers sent against Razin from Astrakhan went over to his side. The rest of the Astrakhan garrison followed their example. The resisting governors and Astrakhan nobles were killed.

After this, Razin headed up the Volga. Along the way, he sent out “charming letters”, calling on the common people to beat the boyars, governors, nobles and clerks. To attract supporters, Razin spread a rumor that Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich (in fact, already deceased) and Patriarch Nikon were in his army. The main participants in the uprising were Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople and working people. The cities of the Volga region surrendered without resistance. In all the captured cities, Razin introduced government on the model of the Cossack circle.

Failure awaited Razin only near Simbirsk, the siege of which dragged on. Meanwhile, the government sent 60,000 troops to suppress the uprising. On October 3, 1670, near Simbirsk, the government army under the command of governor Yuri Baryatinsky inflicted a severe defeat on the Razins. Razin was wounded and fled to the Don, to the town of Kagalnitsky, from which he began his campaign a year ago. He hoped to gather his supporters again. However, the homely Cossacks, led by military ataman Kornila Yakovlev, realizing that Razin’s actions could bring the tsar’s wrath on all the Cossacks, captured him and handed him over to the government governors.

Razin was tortured and executed in the summer of 1671 on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow along with his brother Frol. Participants in the uprising were subjected to brutal persecution and execution.

The main reasons for the defeat of Razin's uprising were its spontaneity and low organization, the fragmented actions of the peasants, which, as a rule, were limited to the destruction of the estate of their own master, and the lack of clearly understood goals for the rebels. Even if the Razinites managed to win and capture Moscow (this did not happen in Russia, but in other countries, for example, in China, rebel peasants managed to take power several times), they would not be able to create a new just society. After all, the only example of such a fair society in their minds was the Cossack circle. But the entire country cannot exist by seizing and dividing other people's property. Any state needs a management system, an army, and taxes. Therefore, the victory of the rebels would inevitably be followed by new social differentiation. The victory of the unorganized peasant and Cossack masses would inevitably lead to great casualties and would cause significant damage to Russian culture and the development of the Russian state

In historical science there is no unity on the question of whether to consider Razin’s uprising a peasant-Cossack uprising or a peasant war. In Soviet times, the name “peasant war” was used; in the pre-revolutionary period, it was about an uprising. In recent years, the term “uprising” has once again become dominant.

What to pay attention to when answering:

Reasons for the "rebellion" of the 17th century. - the formation of serfdom and the growth of state duties, caused by numerous wars and the increase in the state apparatus in connection with the completion of centralization and the gradual formation of absolutism.

All the uprisings of the 17th century. were spontaneous. The participants in the events acted under the influence of desperation and the desire to seize prey. It should be noted that there was a fundamental difference in the outcome of the Salt and Copper riots, caused by the strengthening of power between 1648 and 1662.

Speaking about Razin's uprising, it should be noted that most of the major uprisings began on the outskirts, since, on the one hand, many fugitives accumulated there, not burdened with large households and ready for decisive action, and on the other hand, the power there was much weaker than in center of the country.

This topic also includes the uprising in the Solovetsky Monastery (1667-1676), which is discussed in topic 28 in connection with the church schism.

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§ 12. Popular uprisings in the 17th century

During the reign of Alexei the Quiet, the country was rocked by popular uprisings. They were remembered by both contemporaries and descendants. It is no coincidence that the 17th century. nicknamed "rebellious".

1. COPPER RIOT

In the summer of 1662, the Copper Riot broke out in the capital. The name “copper” very accurately describes the reason for this outrage. The riot was a sad consequence of yet another financial gamble by the government.

In 1654, when Russia was preparing to start a war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for Ukraine, it was discovered that the Moscow treasury did not have enough silver coins to pay the army.

Silver was not mined in Russia at that time, and coins were minted from German Joachimsthalers (Efimks). Moreover, the treasury received additional income by spoiling the coin: an efimok on the market went for 40-42 kopecks, and 64 silver kopecks were poured out of it at the Mint. Having no silver and efimoks at hand, the authorities issued a copper coin with a forced rate of silver money, which they paid merchants, servants, etc. However, taxes were still collected in silver money.

Silver money of the 17th century.

Soon amazing things began to happen. Poor moneymakers from the Mint suddenly dressed up like boyars and acquired expensive things. The merchants assigned as overseers to print copper money doubled and tripled their capital. The fact was that everyone involved in the production of copper coins could not bear the temptation. They bought copper, took it to the Mint and produced coins for themselves. “Thieves’ money filled the country, and its price began to fall uncontrollably. At the beginning of 1662, 4 copper rubles were given for a silver ruble, in the middle of 1663 - 15. Prices for all goods increased. The people grumbled.

On July 25, 1662, excited crowds of artisans, small traders, merchants, lordly serfs, and peasants began to gather in Moscow. Even soldiers and some officers joined the riot. They began to destroy the yards of those people who were associated with the issue of copper money. Someone shouted that we had to go to Kolomenskoye, where the tsar was at that time, to demand the extradition of the main traitors - boyar I. D. Miloslavsky and the okolnichy? ?. Rtishcheva. They invented copper money.

Small silver money. XVII century

1662 Copper Riot

Horse warrior. Drawing. 1674

A crowd of rebels burst into Kolomenskoye and began to demand a king. Alexei came out to the people and promised to give justice to the “traitors.” Frightened Miloslavsky and Rtishchev were holed up in the queen’s apartment. The queen was barely alive from fear and later was ill for more than a year.

The king's peaceful tone pacified the anger of the rebels, and it seemed that the matter would end peacefully. But then an even larger crowd of Muscovites came to Kolomenskoye, very determined. “Give up the traitors,” people shouted, “or we’ll take them by force!”

Alexei Mikhailovich sent archers and nobles against the rebels. The wholesale extermination of the unarmed began. The people ran to Moscow, but along the way people were captured and many were drowned in the river.

Tsar Alexei generously rewarded the archers. Unlike the Salt Riot in Medny, not a single archer took part.

It was decided to abolish copper money. The Tsar's decree of 1663 prohibited holding copper money. The coins were ordered to be melted down or exchanged in the Treasury at the rate of two silver money for a copper ruble (200 money). Thus, the deceived Russian subjects were robbed by their own tsar and government twice: during the issuance of copper money and during its abolition.

2. UPRISING OF VASILY USA

Wars, rising taxes, and monetary adventures by the authorities undermined the economy of the country, which had just recovered from the Time of Troubles. The heavyweights lost weight, went bankrupt and fled. The scale of the flight of peasants, especially landowners, was such that the authorities organized a massive search for the fugitives. Special detective orders, together with nobles and governors, caught and returned fugitives. Those who dared to offer shelter and bread to the fugitives were now punished with batogs and whips. In 1663-1667 in one Ryazan district they managed to find and return 8 thousand peasants and slaves. And how many were not found! How many fugitives took refuge in Ukraine, on the Volga, in the Urals, in Siberia! How many were received by the Don, where the custom was still in effect: “There is no extradition from the Don!”

Moscow Sagittarius. Drawing. 1674

The “old”, homely Cossacks lived in a very comfortable place on the Don. They ran a farm, traded, and received wages, lead, and gunpowder from the tsar for their service in protecting the borderlands. But in addition, many “young people” settled here, golutvennyh, Cossacks - naked. These fugitives who had recently come to the Don earned money from house-smart people, but mostly lived off robbery. They were constantly ready to go to catch their luck in the Crimean, Turkish, Persian, Polish lands, and did not disdain the ruin of Orthodox merchants.

One chieftain of the homely Cossacks, Vasily Us, bravely fought with the Poles in Ukraine and Belarus. Upon returning to the Don, he gained popularity among the Golutven Cossacks. His detachment consisted mainly of “young” Cossacks. In 1666, Vasily Us moved to Sloboda Ukraine and the southern districts of Russia. The Cossacks said that they were going to Moscow to the tsar with a request to enroll them in the tsar’s service and give them a salary (at that time famine began on the Don and in the upper cities). However, the Don people did not act as petitioners; they destroyed estates and rich houses. Peasants flocked to Us in droves, releasing a “red rooster” to their neighbor, “not their own,” and profiting from his goods. On the Una River, 8 km from Tula, the rebels built a fort. Alexei sent regiments against the rebels. Without waiting for the battle, the Cossacks and many local peasants and slaves left for the Don.

Soon, most of the Usa youths joined Ataman Stenka Razin.

Coat of arms of Russia. Drawing by A. Meyerberg. 1662

Questions and tasks

1. What is the Copper Riot? What caused it? What were the causes of other urban uprisings in the 17th century? 2. Tell us about the Cossacks. Why, in your opinion, did the Cossacks become in the 17th century? the initiator of major popular unrest and uprisings?

§ 12. Popular uprisings in the 17th century During the reign of Alexei the Quiet, the country was shaken by popular uprisings. They were remembered by both contemporaries and descendants. It is no coincidence that the 17th century. nicknamed "rebellious".1. COPPER RIOT In the summer of 1662, the Copper Riot broke out in the capital. The name "copper" is very