.Urban uprisings in the middle of the 17th century. The 17th century went down in the history of Russia as a "rebellious time . "Salt Riot" of 1648 in Moscow. Participants: townspeople, archers, nobles, dissatisfied with the pro-boyar policy of the government of B.I. Morozov. The reason for the speech was the dispersal of the delegation of Muscovites by the archers, who were trying to submit a petition to the tsar at the mercy of the clerks, who, in their opinion, were guilty of imposing a tax on salt. The uprising was suppressed by the archers, who were forced by the government to give increased salaries.

The uprising in Moscow received a wide response - a wave of movements in the summer of 1648 swept many cities: Kozlov, Sol Vychegodskaya, Kursk, Ustyug the Great, etc. In total, in 1648-1650. there were 21 uprisings. The most significant of them were in Pskov and Novgorod. They were caused by a sharp increase in the price of bread as a result of the government's commitment to deliver grain to Sweden. In both cities, power passed into the hands of zemstvo elders. The Novgorod uprising was suppressed by an army led by Prince Khovansky. Pskov, on the other hand, offered successful armed resistance to government troops during a three-month siege of the city (June-August 1650). The zemstvo hut, headed by Gavriil Demidov, became the sovereign owner of the city, distributing bread and property confiscated from the rich among the townspeople. At the emergency Zemsky Sobor, the composition of the delegation was approved to persuade the Pskovites. The resistance ended after all the participants in the uprising were forgiven.

In 1662, the Copper Riot in Moscow, caused by the protracted Russian-Polish war and the financial crisis. The monetary reform (the minting of depreciated copper money) led to a sharp fall in the exchange rate of the ruble, which primarily affected the soldiers and archers who received monetary salaries, as well as artisans and small merchants. On July 25, "thieves' letters" with an appeal to action were scattered around the city. The excited crowd moved to seek justice in Kolomenskoye, where the tsar was. In Moscow itself, the rebels smashed the courts of the boyars and wealthy merchants. While the tsar was persuading the crowd, archery regiments loyal to the government approached Kolomenskoye. As a result of the brutal massacre, several hundred people died, and 18 were publicly hanged. The "Copper Riot" forced the government to stop issuing copper coins. But even in the autumn of 1662, the archery tax on bread was doubled. This put the townspeople in a particularly difficult situation, since they practically did not engage in agriculture. Mass runs to the Don began - people fled from the settlements, peasants fled.

Peasant war led by Stepan Razin. The culmination of popular performances in the XVII century. there was an uprising of Cossacks and peasants led by S.T. Razin.

Causes of the war: the strengthening of serfdom and the general deterioration of the life of the people. Participants: peasants, the poorest Cossacks, the urban poor. Razin's uprising 2 periods.

1st period from the robbery campaign of the Cossacks to the Caspian Sea in 1667, the Razintsy captured the Yaitsky town. In the summer of 1668, almost 2,000 Razin troops successfully operated in the possessions of Persia (Iran) on the Caspian coast. The captured valuables were exchanged by the Razintsy for Russian prisoners who replenished their ranks. In the winter of 1668, the Cossacks defeated the Persian fleet sent against them. This greatly complicated Russian-Iranian relations and changed the attitude of the government towards the Cossacks.

Then Razin approached Astrakhan. The local governor preferred to peacefully let him into Astrakhan, on the condition that part of the booty and weapons be ceded. In September 1669, Razin's detachments sailed up the Volga and occupied Tsaritsyn, after which they departed for the Don. Inspired by good luck, Razin set about preparing a new campaign, this time “for the good tsar” against the “traitors of the boyars”.

2nd period. The second campaign of Razin from the Don to the Volga began in April 1670. The Cossacks remained the military core, and with the influx into the detachment of a huge number of fugitive peasants, the peoples of the Volga region - Mordovians, Tatars, Chuvashs, the social orientation of the movement changed dramatically.

In May 1670, Razin's 7,000-strong detachment captured Tsaritsyn again. At the same time, detachments of archers sent from Moscow and Astrakhan were defeated. Having approved the Cossack administration in Astrakhan, the rebels headed up the Volga. Samara and Saratov surrendered without a fight. Throughout the second period, Razin sent out "charming letters" in which he called the people to fight. The peasant war reached its highest limit and covered a vast territory, on which numerous detachments were operating, led by chieftains M. Osipov, M. Kharitonov, V. Fedorov, and nun Alena. The rebels sacked monasteries and estates.

In September, Razin's army approached Simbirsk and stubbornly besieged it for a month. The frightened government announced the mobilization of the nobility - in August 1670, a 60,000-strong army headed for the Middle Volga region. In early October, a government detachment under the command of Yu. Baryatinsky defeated the main forces of Razin and joined the Simbirsk garrison under the command of governor I. Miloslavsky. Razin, wounded, with a small detachment went to the Don, where he hoped to recruit a new army, but was betrayed by the top of the Cossacks and handed over to the government. June 6, 1671 Razin was executed on Red Square in Moscow. In November 1671, Astrakhan fell - the last stronghold of the rebels. The participants in the uprising were severely repressed.

Reasons for the defeat of the uprising: spontaneous nature; lack of a clear action plan; weak discipline and poor weaponry of the rebels; lack of a clear political program; contradictions between various social groups in the camp of the rebels. Razin's uprising was defeated. But it was one of the largest anti-feudal actions in the history of Russia.

The rebellious age is a period of time in the history of Russia, namely in the 17th century, when various uprisings and wars took place, which entailed great consequences and went down in history under different names. "", Peasant revolt, peasant wars of Bolotnikov and Razin, as well as the uprising of 1682.

Causes of the rebellious age

Any rebellion has its own prerequisites, reasons that made people start uprisings or rebellion. The rebellious age had one main reason - the ruler Boris Morozov. He had a great influence on Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, whom he brought up from childhood. There are several main reasons for the uprisings of the people:

• Big taxes
• In addition to unbearable taxes, emergency taxes were sometimes introduced.
• All new categories of residents were classified as draft population
• Abuse of power and unwillingness to listen to the people
• The emergence of the townsman draft class.

All this was the cause of popular riots. People could no longer tolerate the abuse of power not only by the king, but also by his entourage. Sooner or later the people had to explode and it happened.

Events of the rebellious age

During the rebellious age, there were several uprisings and riots of the people. In 1648, the "Salt Riot" began, its cause was an increase in the tax on salt, which was unbearable for people, the greed of the Moscow ruling elite led to the Moscow uprising. The townspeople, peasants and archers smashed the houses of the Moscow nobility and demanded the extradition of Morozov. As a result, at the direction of the people, most of the boyars were executed. But that was only the beginning.

In 1650, the price of bread jumped sharply, due to the fact that he left for Sweden, as a payment for defectors from the regions that Russia had captured. And finally, July 25, 1662 was marked by a "copper riot", as a sign of the immoderate production of copper coins. Counterfeits appeared, copper money depreciated sharply, and people began to starve. Copper money ceased to be printed in 1663.

In 1661-1667, a peasant uprising began under the leadership of . The uprising was directed against the boyars and those close to the king. It was a bloody clash, as a result of which Stepan Razin was caught and executed. But this only strengthened the desire of the people to fight for their interests.

The Streltsy revolt of 1682 was the crown of the rebellious age. Its reasons are not exactly clarified, but presumably this is an abuse of power by the Streltsy military leaders. The result of the Streltsy rebellion was the actual reign of Sofya Alekseevna for 7 years.

The results of the rebellious age

Mismanagement of the country and ignoring the will and desires of the people. The result of the rebellious age was inconclusiveness. Despite all the uprisings and confrontations, the voice of the villagers was not heard, taxes continued and the people were ignored. The abuse of power only expanded and intensified, everyone was eager for more powers, no one kept the law that they did not like.

The treasury was always short of money. The government came up with new taxes. Salt is a product that everyone needs, and the government hoped to replenish the treasury by introducing a tax on it. Salt prices increased 3-4 times. Salt consumption in the country has decreased. But without it it was impossible to prepare food for the winter: pickle mushrooms, cabbage, lard, fish. Salted fish was the staple food in the cities. Thousands of pounds of fish without salt rotted on the Volga. Thus, not only the poor population turned out to be dissatisfied, but also the merchants, who suffered heavy losses. And the treasury was not replenished.

As a result of general discontent in 1648, a “salt riot” took place in Moscow. The people stormed the gates of the Kremlin. People close to the king were killed. The courtyard of the boyar Morozov, who was considered the main culprit of the increase in the tax on salt, was plundered. The king was afraid. He dismissed the boyar Morozov and exiled him. The revolt in the capital began to subside.

In 1648-1650. a wave of urban uprisings swept the country. The salt tax was abolished, but the people demanded to restore order in the state and curb the willfulness of officials. In England, at the same time, the rebels cut off the head of the king. In France, the "king-role-sun" was forced to flee from the insurgent Paris. And in Russia, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich convened a Zemsky Sobor and made peace with representatives of the estates. The Council in 1649 adopted the Code, bringing the laws in line with the new situation in the country.

Novgorod uprising

The largest uprising in the capital broke out in 1682, and went down in history under the name Streltsy revolt, or Khovanshchina. People's dissatisfaction with the seizure of power by the boyars, who put 10-year-old Peter on the throne, was led by archers and "elected" (guards) soldiers of the Moscow garrison. The rebels dealt with those who oppressed the people with impunity, and held power in the capital for three months. The uprising also spread to other cities and garrisons of Russia.

A stone monument was erected on Red Square - a monument to the victory of the rebels. Their representatives controlled the work of the Boyar Duma and orders. Archers and soldiers were sure that the class of servicemen on the instrument should be on a par with the nobility in the state. But they allowed themselves to be deceived, bribed with privileges. The uprising ended in peace with the government of Princess Sophia, who promised to observe justice and fairness in the country. material from the site

Peter I had to interrupt his stay abroad as part of the Great Embassy and in 1698 urgently returned to Russia. A streltsy revolt began in the country. The king brutally dealt with its participants. The rioters were hanged on the ramparts in Moscow, many were executed on the chopping blocks. Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna Peter I considered the instigator of a riot. There was no direct evidence, but for him she personified all the past he hated. Sophia was forcibly forced to take the veil as a monk. So from Princess Sophia of the Romanov family, she turned into the nun Susanna.

Contemporaries called the 17th century a rebellious century. Indeed, neither before nor after in the history of Russia was there such a number of various popular uprisings and indignations. This period began with the actions of Bolotnikov, due to the discontent that the people experienced in relation to Vasily Shuisky. In addition, the events mentioned can also be regarded as the consequences of the Time of Troubles, which shook the country. A certain role was played by the fact that the ruler, in fact, did not control the entire territory of the state.

It should be borne in mind that historians have changed their points of view in different periods of time. So, in the USSR it was believed that it was a people's war. However, in reality, the leader of the peasant army in his actions relied on small and medium-sized nobles, and when he lost their support, he lost. In addition, he did not strive to make life easier for the people, but to put his protege on the throne, to seize power. So what was happening can be rather regarded as an uprising.

However, the popular movements of the rebellious age did take place. A striking example is the Salt Riot, which ended successfully for many of its participants. Events unfolded in 1648. The boyars decided to improve things by raising taxes on products. Salt was especially affected (which is the reason for the name of the unrest). But according to some reports, the price for it was increased either by 2 or 4 times. And since in those days it was the main preservative, they stopped salting the fish. People began to face hunger. In addition, the government tried to recover already forgiven debts from previous years.

As a result, such an uncertain and largely unbalanced policy led to a revolt. People were especially angry with the boyar Morozov, who, as they knew, was behind these ideas. His estate was destroyed, and the crowd, having come to the king, demanded extradition. Alexei Mikhailovich proposed a compromise: he promised that Morozov would be sent away from the capital, and now he would not hold any serious government posts. The tsar also handed over to the rebels all the other dignitaries on the list, who were considered guilty of the misfortunes that were taking place.

The rebellious age simply could not but affect such cities as Pskov and Novgorod, where veche traditions were still alive. Rumors spread here that the tsar was collecting bread to resolve issues with the Germans. Such news excited the urban poor, who feared that they were in danger of starvation. As a result, unrest began, but at the same time, people believed in the “good king” to the last, which the authorities took advantage of, deceiving the Novgorodians. As a result, the instigators were executed. Pskov resisted much longer; Khovansky, sent to sort it out, could not take it for a long time, since the city was well fortified. The tsar, on the other hand, was afraid to act too aggressively, because even in Moscow itself it was frankly restless. As a result, the rebels were let down by wealthy people who betrayed the instigators. But most of the participants escaped serious punishment. But the poor really got bread.

Copper Riot of 1662

In many ways, the rebellious age was provoked by ill-conceived actions on the part of the government itself. And the Copper Riot was a clear confirmation. In the 17th century, Russia did not yet have its own silver and gold mines. For minting money, raw materials were brought from abroad, which in itself is quite expensive. And the war with Poland over Ukraine required constant expenses.

As a result, the government decided to go for a trick and began to make copper money. However, despite the fact that there was a direct royal decree, the peasants simply stopped selling food if they were not paid in silver. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the government itself accepted taxes only if the rubles were gold or silver. And the incredible scope of counterfeiting has led to the fact that the situation has become critical. An active search for criminals led to the boyars, who paid off. This greatly angered the common people. They went to the king to demand that he deal with the situation. But if one crowd was set up more or less peacefully, then the second one that came immediately after it was already much more aggressive. And the king gave the order to cut them all. As a result, bloody one way or another, the events ended for 7,000 people.

However, the Copper Riot did not go completely without a trace. The king, not wanting a repetition of the situation, canceled the minting of copper coins, returning gold and silver money to circulation. True, many have lost significantly on the exchange.

Causes of the rebellious age

What exactly happened in the period described can already be understood at least by the number of various uprisings and how much space the described events occupy. The history of Stepan Razin alone and the events connected with him formed the history of many books and films. The rebellious age turned out to be so turbulent that historians usually describe only the major events themselves, omitting all the others. Therefore, it is named so not by chance. It is also noteworthy that only a pivot table could fit all the data, and even then very briefly.

But if we talk about the reasons, then they relate to the lack of a reasonable and balanced policy, the frequent tax and monetary adventures that the government embarked on. People were often put in a situation where only by risking their lives, they could achieve something. At the same time, the lack of a unified organization even affected the life of the king. From time to time there was no one to defend Alexei Mikhailovich. Or it just became a matter of chance.

The difficult economic situation of the country, the need to wage war with Poland, the constant tightening of the emerging serfdom - all this also had its consequences. So serious that the rebellious century also affected the character of the next century.

The 17th century was remembered in the history of Russia as a period of mass uprisings, born due to the difficult economic and political state of the country. At this time, famine, dispersion of power, civil strife for the royal throne raged.

In the second half of the 17th century, serfdom was in the decline of its existence. The peasants, uncontrollably on a large scale, organized flights to the periphery of the country.

The government instituted everywhere the search for fugitives and their return to the landowners. Contemporaries called their age "rebellious". At the beginning of the century, the state was agitated by the first Peasant War. Bolotnikov was the leader of the peasants, the poor. The suppression of this movement was followed by an attack by the peasant Balash, followed by discontent in the Smolensk troops, about 20 uprisings that took place in different cities of the country, the Copper Riot, and of course, the war of Stepan Razin. The country was literally in a fever from widespread upheavals.

Salt Riot:

At the very beginning of the 17th century, there was a terrible famine in the country. For several years, due to weather conditions, there was a crop failure, the tsar made attempts to help: he distributed bread and money, reduced the price, organized work, but this was not enough. Subsequently, pestilence began from the disease, times passed, terrifying.

In 1648, Moscow replaced the single duty with a tax on salt. Naturally, this prompted its increase in price. The lower strata of the population (serfs, archers) were involved in this performance. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who was returning from worship, was surrounded by petitioners (messengers from the people) with a request to intercede for the people before the boyars who issued this decree. There was no positive action on the part of the king. The queen dispersed the people, many were arrested.

The next fact was the disobedience of the archers, who beat the boyars. The officials had complete freedom of action. On the third day, the participants of the salt riot destroyed many noble houses. The initiator of the introduction of the tax on salt "mob" chopped. To distract the people from the rebellion, a massive fire was set up in Moscow. The authorities compromised: the archers were given 8 rubles each, the debtors were saved from extorting money, and the judges were replaced. The rebellion subsided, but the instigators among the lackeys were taken and then executed.

Before and after the Salt Riot, unrest broke out in more than 30 cities.

"Copper" rebellion:

In 1662, a collapse of copper coins occurred in Moscow, due to their mass production. There was a depreciation of money, a rise in the price of products, speculation, a fake of copper coins. The government decided to collect extraordinary taxes from the people, which caused great discontent.

The rebellious townspeople and soldiers (about 5 thousand people) handed over to the tsar a petition, insisting on a reduction in the tax rate, the price of bread. There was a defeat of the merchants, the royal palace was surrounded with a demand for the extradition of government leaders. The rebels refused to disperse, after the suppression of the uprising, more than 1 thousand people were executed and up to 8 thousand were exiled. The king put forward a decree banning copper money. An attempt to improve the monetary reform ended in failure.

Stepan Razin's uprising:

In 1667, Stepan Razin stood at the head of the people, who recruited a detachment of poor Cossacks, runaway peasants, offended archers. He came up with the campaign because he wanted to distribute booty to the poor, give bread to the hungry, clothes to the undressed. Wherever people went to Razin: both from the Volga and from the Don. The detachment grew to 2000 people.

On the Volga, the rebels captured the caravan, the Cossacks replenished the supply of weapons and food. With renewed vigor, the leader moved on. There were clashes with government troops. In all battles he showed courage. Many people were added to the Cossacks. There were battles in various cities of Persia, where they went to free Russian prisoners. Razintsy defeated the Persian Shah, but they had significant losses.
The southern governors reported on Razin's independence, about his intention of turmoil, which alarms the government. In 1670, a messenger from Tsar Evdokimov arrived at the leader, whom the Cossacks drowned. The rebel army grows to 7,000 and advances on Tsaritsyn, captures it, as well as Astrakhan, Samara and Saratov. Near Simbirsk, the seriously wounded Razin is defeated, and then he is executed in Moscow.
During the 17th century, there were many popular uprisings, the cause of which lay in the policies of the government. The authorities saw in the inhabitants only a source of income, which caused discontent among the lower masses.