In the history of the Russian kingdom, then the Russian Empire, popular uprisings occurred frequently. Usually small, but there were also large ones. Most often, the goal of the rebels is the struggle against the cabal, or simply the struggle for physical survival.

Basically, the rebels are the lower strata of society, that is, serfs, serfs, whom the Orthodox lords could sell in the same way as cattle are sold. Their motive is clear.

And here the reaction of the Orthodox Church is interesting, where it was argued that in Orthodoxy there is some abstract truth, established once and for all, which cannot be changed.

Bolotnikov's uprising

The main forces of the uprising were the serfs. What is serfdom:

“Serfdom, a set of legal norms of the feudal state, fixing the most complete and severe form of peasant dependence under feudalism. Serfdom included a ban on peasants leaving their land allotments (the so-called attachment of peasants to land or “fortress” of peasants to land; fugitives were subject to forced return), hereditary subordination to the administrative and judicial power of a certain feudal lord, deprivation of peasants of the right to alienate land plots and acquire real estate , sometimes - an opportunity for the feudal lord to alienate peasants without land.

The rebels took advantage of the situation, since during the Time of Troubles rumors spread that they had killed not False Dmitry I, but someone else. The rebels, led by Bolotnikov, claimed that they represent the supposedly surviving tsar, Bolotnikov called himself the governor of Dmitry.

The position of Tsar Shuisky was precarious, so the rebels were supported by some representatives of the nobility. The uprising can be considered a civil war, since in reality all social strata of that period participated in the conflict.

The clergy not only sided with Shuisky, but also actively suppressed the uprisings themselves. In the Antoniev-Siysky Monastery, during the period of Bolotnikov’s speech, monks and peasants constantly clashed. The fact is that earlier the king gave the monastery 22 independent villages, the monks enslaved the peasants.

What's happened:

"and from other peasants, they, the elders, took away the villages with bread and hay, and broke the yards and delivered them, and from their villages the peasants fled from that abbot's violence, with wives and children from the yards".

The monks themselves dealt with recalcitrant peasants. Sometimes killed:
"and everyone took the remains of the stomach [property] to the monastery."

And sometimes:

"with many people, they have peasants, they put out doors from huts and broke stoves."

In general, that still spiritual harmony. Shuisky's government involved the Orthodox Church in the fight against "traitors". Although in the Time of Troubles it was not yet obvious who would take power, the clergy still put on Shuisky, since he controlled almost the entire territory.

The main ideological weapon of that time was the church. Patriarch Hermogenes spoke on her behalf:

“And with it, son, he ordered honor at the cathedral not one by one, so that all Orthodox peasants would know. And in his monastic villages, in all the holy churches, from this list of our letters he sent lists to the priests and, calling them, punished them with instruction from the divine scriptures, so that the robbers and destroyers of peasants, villains, thieves who fell away from the peasant faiths, villains, thieves, would not listen in any way ... and remembering what the cross was kissed to the sovereign tsar and grand duke Vasily Ivanovich of all Russia, would stand strong against thieves, so that they would not perish with their wives and children in ruin ... But those thieves stand under Moscow, in Kolomenskoye, and they write their cursed sheets to Moscow and order the boyar lackey to beat their boyars and their wives and their estates and estates, and they promise the thieves and nameless thief guests and all merchants to beat and rob their stomachs, and call on their thieves to themselves and they want to give them the boyars, and the voivodship, and the roundabout, and the deacon ... And the merciful sovereign is waiting for their thieves to turn to him, and so that internecine warfare stops and there would be no death for the peasant, there is not a single villain from Moscow to them laughing, and from them many who come to the sovereign finish off with their foreheads, and the sovereign, merciful to their guilt, releases them.

Criminals - those who are at war with the feudal lords. And this is substantiated by "divine scripture", there is no need for other grounds. The patriarch also stated that the participants in the uprising:

"apostatized from God and from the Orthodox faith and obeyed Satan and the devilish couples."

And the will of Shuisky:

"truly holy and righteous of the true peasant (i.e., "Christian") tsar."

All these messages were distributed among the population. It was necessary to inspire everyone that Bolotnikov is a servant of the devil, since he opposes the God-given tsar.

Bolotnikov lost to the tsar, the churchmen distributed the letter of Hermogenes:

“Sin for the sake of ours and all Orthodox Christianity from enemies and cross-criminals who rise up against the Church of God and against our true Christian faith will not stop internecine strife. And the boyars, and the nobles, and the children of the boyars, and all kinds of service people are constantly beaten, and their fathers, and mothers, and wives, and their children are dishonored by all kinds of evil reproach. And the blood of Orthodox Christians, who are fought for the pious Christian faith and for the holy churches of God, like water is shed. And the death flogging by Orthodox Christians does a lot, and their estates and estates are ruined, and the land is repaired empty from thieves.

As you can see, the patriarch is only concerned about the nobles and the boyars, his real masters, in whose interests he always broadcast. And Shuisky won only because he fought for the faith:

“And the zealous piety, our great sovereign, the tsar and the great prince Vasily Ivanovich of all Russia, seeing the holy churches ruined and Orthodox blood shed in vain, asking ... [all heavenly powers] for mercy, went himself against those villains and merciless destroyers, like the ancient pious Christian sovereign, who for the pious Christian faith is stronger and more courageous.

Subsequently, the king was extolled in the church, they claimed that he was appointed by God and would defeat all enemies. In reality, he ruled for only a few years, then was overthrown with the support of former supporters. The same fate awaited Patriarch Hermogenes, since he was Shuisky's closest associate.

Razin's uprising

In the years when Razin spoke, serfdom took shape completely. At that time, there were also big problems in the economy, since the main resources went to the war.

Razin freed everyone who joined the army. This attracted serfs and especially the so-called foreigners, so almost all adult men in some cities went to him. The serfs, of course, had no reason to defend the state, and even more so the gentlemen.

Razin is the hero of commoners, he said:

A "Cossack system" was created on the occupied territory. The inhabitants were divided into thousands and hundreds with elected chieftains and all problems were solved in the "circle". Razin treated the church negatively, he understood that she was the tsar's servant:

"What are the churches for? What are the priests for? To marry, or what? But it doesn't matter: stand in a pair near a tree, and dance around it - that's what they got married."

Razin was a believer, but in his views he was close to the Bogomils. The rebels generally treated the church with contempt, because the churchmen themselves were oppressors. For example, in the 60s of the XVII century. monasteries alone owned 87,907 peasant households. The church was directly interested in the fact that such uprisings did not end in success.

Therefore, as in the case of Bolotnikov, the churches preached that Razin was a servant of the devil. In 1671, Stepan Razin was anathematized. Freedom for serfs is worse than bondage, as the priests believed, because the peasants must endure exploitation for the sake of life after death.

Given the massive support of Razin, one can understand that even ignorant peasants did not always believe the churchmen. It is noteworthy that Razin tried to negotiate with the already former and disgraced Patriarch Nikon in order to use his influence against the authorities.

This does not mean that Razin supported Nikon's ideas. In fact, he could cooperate with both the Old Believers and sectarians. Razin also stated that Tsar Alexei Alekseevich was on his side, who actually died shortly before the uprising. On his behalf, it was announced that serfdom would be abolished.

Patriarch Joasaph II "denounced" Razin. Here is a typical church document from that period:
"And he, Stenka, indulging in an inexperienced mind to create incomparable things, blasphemed in the name of the Lord and on his holy church, and taught priests from the Don to be beaten, although to live without marriage, and thus the true Christian peoples were excommunicated from God to commit and desecrate."

These are worse accusations than human trafficking. Here is another example (they are all similar):

"The Don Cossack, forgetting the Lord God and the holy catholic and apostolic church and the Orthodox Christian faith, stole, he, the great sovereign, and the entire Muscovite state ... And he says all sorts of blasphemous words about our Savior Jesus Christ."

The question is, how does this priest know what Stepan Razin said or did not say there? If there were blasphemous words, then rather they concerned the patriarch, and not Jesus Christ, in whom Razin himself believed.

In the course of successful battles, more and more peasants, including monastic peasants, joined Razin, and this is a blow to the church's wallet.

The churchmen constantly tried to stop the rebels with the words that if they surrender, then the authorities will immediately pardon them. Few people listened to such calls, because it is a lie. Many rebels, who surrendered after the defeat of Razin, were killed.

The rebels lost, which is not surprising. Still, trained troops are stronger than the poor. At the trial, Razin was accused not only of organizing the uprising, but also of “blasphemy”, “apostasy”, and so on.

The king thanked especially zealous priests - he gave them land with peasants. After the victory in all the churches, people were forced to swear "spiritually" to the tsar-father. It was said that rebelling against authority is like rebelling against God. And since any power is from God, nothing can be changed. Serfdom is something eternal, God-given, which will never be a thing of the past.

Pugachev's uprising

The main reason for the uprising, which was the largest in those years, was the discontent of the Cossacks, who were deprived of their freedom. Up to a certain point, the Cossacks were indeed a free class with their own rules. Only later did they become symbols of reaction, defenders of tsarism and obscurantism.

Due to the loss of freedom, the Cossacks often resisted, which had to send troops to them. No less dissatisfaction was expressed by the peasants, who were assigned to private factories. Then there were no rights, and the labor force was used as you like.

In the end, the rebels united. And they were headed by Emelyan Pugachev, who called himself Peter III. He claimed to have escaped from prison and not perished, as the authorities claimed.

Naturally, the common people believed this quite easily, especially since they were promised to return their freedom. The serfs had the hardest time. Catherine II, who overthrew her husband with the help of the elite, became dependent on this elite, acted in its interests. First of all, it endowed persons of the upper class with great privileges, and partially abolished certain "hard" provisions of Peter the Great.

Catherine forbade serfs to complain about their owners. And "freedom" in terms of attitudes towards serfs reached its peak. There were no more rules. Serfs were even lost at cards, they were not considered people at all. But the worst thing is that the murders of serfs went unpunished.

It is clear that it is the right of the oppressed to oppose such practices. Especially since they are the majority. And cruelty in this case, of course, is justified.

And here there is an interesting point - the position of the clergy. If in the past they had every reason to speak out for the oppressors, now the situation is more complicated. As mentioned earlier, Catherine was completely subordinate to the interests of the ruling class, otherwise she would not have taken power. And representatives of the upper classes decided that the church had too much land - it's time to share!

On the other hand, time itself was against the church, since the economy was already rapidly developing all over the world, it was just necessary to use resources more rationally, including land. In general, the church lost its property, and this hit the wallet hard.

The priests did not live in poverty, but they lost their economic influence. Under Catherine II, dozens of monasteries were also liquidated. It would seem that horror is “persecution”. But what could the church really do?

Catherine's husband Peter began the reform, but she did not cancel it. Pops reaction:

"A strange course of action, which could not be expected even from the infidel government".

But all this was said quietly, the priests could not go against the government.

What would be? No one would really stand up for the priests, and the government troops would easily calm the indignant churchmen, and put in their place those who agree with everything, especially since the state continued to use the services of the church, allocated money to the priests.

Of the highest circles of the church, there was only one opponent of the secularization of the lands - Metropolitan Arseniy (Matseevich). This is one of the most important church figures of that time. But no one openly supported him, and the synod condemned him. Then he was deprived of his dignity and imprisoned in a monastery. The main criminal in those years is the one who opposes the authorities. It doesn't matter what position he holds.

Despite everything, the clergy remained loyal to Catherine during the uprising. Although everything was not so simple here, since the priests often greeted “Emperor Peter” on the territory occupied by the rebels, although they understood that this was not Peter. Well, this is a common story, the clergy of any authority served.

During the uprising, foreigners fought especially actively with the churchmen, who were forcibly baptized and oppressed. They destroyed not only landowners and nobles, but also priests. The scheme of tsarism was simple: the seizure of land, the establishment of strict rules, forced baptism. Pogroms were taking place even before Pugachev appeared on the spot. Often he entered the cities of foreigners without hindrance, and new people joined his troops. In the territories controlled by Pugachev, there was a decree on the freedom of the peasants.

The church is the place where information, including political information, was distributed at that time. Pugachev was denounced. He is a "blasphemer", "servant of the devil" and so on. and so on. But most importantly, in the churches they proved that Pugachev was not Peter III. The following “fact” was cited as evidence: Pugachev wears a hat because the executioner burned signs on his head for some kind of misconduct (it is clear that the executioner would not have touched the emperor). Since this message reached almost everyone, Pugachev easily refuted it, that is, he took off his hat and demonstrated that there were no signs there.

The state won this time too. Pugachev and his closest associates were executed, supporters of the uprising were demonstratively killed in some villages, and in churches they again talked about “power from God”, which was established for centuries.

spoilerID ")">

spoilerID_show_label" class="show_label_img"> Sources

spoilerID_hide_label" class="hide_label_img"> Sources

spoilerID "name=" spoilerID">

1. Serfdom. URL: http://bse.sci-lib.com/article066160.html

2. I. I. Smirnov. The uprising of Bolotnikov 1606-1607. - M.: Politizdat, 1951. - S. 60 - 61.

3. The uprising of I. Bolotnikov. Documents and materials. - M.. 1959. S. 196-197.

4. Smirnov I.I. "A Brief Essay on the History of the Bolotnikov Uprising" - Moscow: Gospolitizdat, 1953.

5. Acts collected in the libraries and archives of the Russian Empire by the Archeographic Expedition of the Academy of Sciences. - St. Petersburg, 1836. T. 2. No. 74.

6. N. Kostomarov. Rebellion of Stenka Razin, 1994.

7. Yearbook of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, vol. 4, 1960, p. 232.

8. Cossacks: problems of history and historiography: materials of the 28th All-Russian correspondence scientific conference, 2003.

9. P. Malygin. Painting of 170 "Notes of the Department of Russian and Slavic Archeology of the Russian Archaeological Society". T. II. SPB. 1861, pp. 401 - 402.

10. Peasant war led by Stepan Razin. T. 1, 1954.

11. "Peasant war led by Stepan Razin". Collection of documents. T. III. M. 1962, N 288, pp. 355 - 358.

12. N. N. Firsov. Historical characteristics and sketches. Volume 2. State. publishing house, 1922. Pp. 59.

13. Mavrodin V.V. Peasant War in Russia 1773-1775. Pugachev's uprising. Volume III. - L .: Publishing house of the Leningrad University, 1970. - C. 160.

14. Aksenov A. I., Ovchinnikov R. V., Prokhorov M. F. Documents of the headquarters of E. I. Pugachev, rebel authorities and institutions / otv. ed. R. V. Ovchinnikov. - Moscow: Nauka, 1975. - C. 46-47.

By the second half of the 17th century, serfdom had reached its zenith. Following the publication of the Code of 1649, the tendency towards self-liberation of the peasants intensified - their spontaneous and sometimes threatening flight to the outskirts: to the Volga region, Siberia, to the south, to the places of Cossack settlements that arose back in the 16th century and have now become centers of concentration of the most active layers of the unfree population.

The state, which stood guard over the interests of the ruling class of feudal lords, organized mass searches for the fugitives and returned them to their former owners. In the 50-60s of the 17th century, the unsuccessful experiments of the treasury, the war between Russia and the Commonwealth for the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, exacerbated the brewing discontent. Even shrewd contemporaries clearly saw the essential features of the new. "The rebellious age" - such an assessment they gave to their time.

At the very beginning of this century, the country was shaken by the first Peasant War, which reached its peak in 1606-1607, when Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov stood at the head of the rebels - peasants, serfs, urban poor. With great difficulty and considerable effort, the feudal lords suppressed this mass popular movement. However, it was followed by: a speech led by the monastery peasant Balash; unrest in the troops near Smolensk; more than 20 urban uprisings that swept across the country in the middle of the century, starting from Moscow (1648); uprisings in Novgorod and Pskov (1650); "copper riot" (1662), the scene of which again becomes the capital, and, finally, the Peasant War of Stepan Razin.

1 . The origins of the social upheavals of the "rebellious age"

A difficult situation at the end of the 16th century developed in the central districts of the state and to such an extent that the population fled to the outskirts, abandoning their lands. For example, in 1584, only 16% of the land was plowed up in the Moscow district, and about 8% in the neighboring Pskov district.

The more people left, the harder the government of Boris Godunov put pressure on those who remained. By 1592, the compilation of scribe books was completed, where the names of peasants and townspeople, owners of yards were entered. The authorities, having conducted a census, could organize the search and return of the fugitives. In 1592–1593, a royal decree was issued to abolish the peasant exit even on St. George's Day. This measure extended not only to the owner's peasants, but also to the state, as well as to the townspeople. In 1597, two more decrees appeared, according to the first, any free person who worked for six months for a landowner turned into a bonded serf and did not have the right to redeem himself for freedom. According to the second, a five-year period was set for the search and return of the runaway peasant to the owner. And in 1607, a fifteen-year investigation of the fugitives was approved.

The nobles were given "obedient letters", according to which the peasants had to pay dues not as before, according to the established rules and sizes, but as the owner wants.

The new “township building” provided for the return of fugitive “taxers” to the cities, the assignment to the townships of the owner’s peasants who were engaged in crafts and trade in the cities, but did not pay taxes, the elimination of courtyards and settlements inside the cities, which also did not pay taxes.

Thus, it can be argued that at the end of the 16th century, a state system of serfdom, the most complete dependence under feudalism, actually took shape in Russia.

Such a policy caused great dissatisfaction among the peasantry, which at that time formed the overwhelming majority in Russia. Periodically, unrest broke out in the villages. An impetus was needed in order for discontent to turn into "distemper".

The impoverishment and ruin of Russia under Ivan the Terrible meanwhile did not pass in vain. Masses of peasants left for new lands from fortresses and state burdens. The exploitation of the rest intensified. The farmers were entangled in debts and duties. The transition from one landowner to another became more and more difficult. Under Boris Godunov, several more decrees were issued that strengthened serfdom. In 1597 - about a five-year term for the search for fugitives, in 1601-02 - about limiting the transfer of peasants by some landowners from others. The desires of the nobility were fulfilled. But social tension from this did not weaken, but only grew.

The main reason for the aggravation of contradictions in the late XVI - early XVII centuries. there was an increase in serf burden and state duties of peasants and townspeople (posad people). There were great contradictions between the Moscow privileged and the outlying, especially the southern, nobility. Made up of fugitive peasants and other free people, the Cossacks were a combustible material in society: firstly, many had blood grievances against the state, boyars-nobles, and secondly, they were people whose main occupation was war and robbery. There were strong intrigues between various groups of boyars.

In 1601–1603 an unprecedented famine broke out in the country. First there were heavy rains for 10 weeks, then, at the end of summer, frost damaged the bread. Another crop failure next year. Although the king did a lot to alleviate the situation of the hungry: he distributed money and bread, brought down the price of it, arranged public works, etc., but the consequences were severe. About 130,000 people died in Moscow alone from the diseases that followed the famine. Many, from hunger, gave themselves up as slaves, and, finally, often the masters, unable to feed the servants, expelled the servants. Robbery and unrest of runaway and walking people began (the leader of Khlopko Kosolap), who operated near Moscow itself and even killed governor Basmanov in a battle with the tsarist troops. The rebellion was crushed, and its participants fled to the south, where they joined the troops of the impostor, Bolotnikov and others.

2. "Salt" and "copper" riots in Moscow. Urban uprisings

The "salt" riot, which began in Moscow on June 1, 1648, was one of the most powerful actions of Muscovites in defense of their rights.

The "salt" rebellion involved archers, lackeys - in a word, those people who had reasons to be dissatisfied with the government's policy.

The rebellion began, it would seem, with a trifle. Returning from a pilgrimage from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was surrounded by petitioners who asked the Tsar to remove L.S. Pleshcheev, motivating this desire with the injustice of Leonty Stepanovich: the fact that he took bribes, created an unfair court, but there was no response from the sovereign. Then the complainants decided to turn to the queen, but this also did not work: the guard dispersed the people. Some were arrested. The next day, the tsar staged a religious procession, but even here complainants appeared demanding the release of the first number of petitioners arrested and still resolving the issue of cases of bribery. The tsar asked his “uncle” and relative, the boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, for clarification on this matter. After listening to the explanations, the king promised the petitioners to resolve this issue. Hiding in the palace, the tsar sent four ambassadors for negotiations: Prince Volkonsky, deacon Volosheinov, Prince Temkin-Rostov, and roundabout Pushkin.

But this measure did not turn out to be a solution to the problem, since the ambassadors behaved extremely arrogantly, which greatly angered the petitioners. The next unpleasant fact was the exit from the subordination of the archers. Due to the arrogance of the ambassadors, the archers beat the boyars sent for negotiations.

On the next day of the rebellion, forced people joined the tsar's disobedient. They demanded the extradition of the bribe-taking boyars: B. Morozov, L. Pleshcheev, P. Trakhanionov, N. Chisty.

These officials relying on the power of I.D., who was especially close to the tsar. Miloslavsky, oppressed Muscovites. They "created an unfair trial", took bribes. Having taken the main places in the administrative apparatus, they had complete freedom of action. By slandering ordinary people, they ruined them. On the third day of the “salt” riot, the “mob” defeated about seventy courtyards of especially hated nobles. One of the boyars (Nazarius Pure) - the initiator of the introduction of a huge tax on salt, was beaten and chopped to pieces by the "mob".

After this incident, the tsar was forced to turn to the clergy and opposition to the Morozov court clique. A new deputation of the boyars was sent, headed by Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, a relative of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The inhabitants of the city expressed their desire that Nikita Ivanovich began to rule with Alexei Mikhailovich (it must be said that Nikita Ivanovich Romanov enjoyed confidence among Muscovites). As a result, there was an agreement on the extradition of Pleshcheev and Trakhanionov, whom the tsar, at the very beginning of the rebellion, appointed governor in one of the provincial towns. Things were different with Pleshcheev: he was executed the same day on Red Square and his head was handed over to the crowd. After that, a fire broke out in Moscow, as a result of which half of Moscow burned out. It was said that Morozov's people set the fire in order to distract the people from the rebellion. Demands for the extradition of Trakhanionov continued; the authorities decided to sacrifice him just to stop the rebellion. Streltsy were sent to the city where Trakhanionov himself commanded. On June 4, 1648, the boyar was also executed. Now the look of the rebels was riveted by the boyar Morozov. But the tsar decided not to sacrifice such a “valuable” person and Morozov was exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery in order to return him as soon as the rebellion subsided, but the boyar would be so frightened by the rebellion that he would never take an active part in state affairs.

In an atmosphere of rebellion, the top tenants, the lower strata of the nobility sent a petition to the tsar, in which they demanded the streamlining of the judiciary, the development of new laws.

As a result of the petitioned authorities, concessions were made: the archers were given eight rubles each, the debtors were freed from beating money, the stealing judges were replaced. Subsequently, the rebellion began to subside, but not everything got away with the rebels: the instigators of the rebellion among the serfs were executed.

On July 16, the Zemsky Sobor was convened, which decided to adopt a number of new laws. In January 1649, the Council Code was approved.

Here is the result of the "salt" rebellion: the truth triumphed, the people's offenders were punished, and to top it all off, the Council Code was adopted, which was designed to alleviate the people's lot and rid the administrative apparatus of corruption.

Before and after the Salt Riot, uprisings broke out in more than 30 cities of the country: in the same 1648 in Ustyug, Kursk, Voronezh, in 1650 - "bread riots" in Novgorod and Pskov.

The Moscow uprising of 1662 (“Copper Riot”) was caused by a financial catastrophe in the state and the difficult economic situation of the working masses of the city and countryside as a result of a sharp increase in tax oppression during the wars of Russia with Poland and Sweden. The mass issue by the government of copper money (since 1654), equated to the value of silver money, and their significant depreciation against silver (6–8 times in 1662) led to a sharp rise in the price of food, huge speculation, abuse and mass counterfeiting of copper coins ( in which individual representatives of the central administration were involved). In many cities (especially in Moscow), famine broke out among the bulk of the townspeople (despite good harvests in previous years). Great dissatisfaction was also caused by the decision of the government on a new, extremely difficult, extraordinary tax collection (pyatina). Active participants in the "copper" rebellion were representatives of the urban lower classes of the capital, and peasants from villages near Moscow. The uprising broke out in the early morning of July 25, when leaflets appeared in many districts of Moscow, in which the most prominent government leaders (I.D. Miloslavsky; I.M. Miloslavsky; I.A. Miloslavsky; B.M. Khitrovo; F.M. Rtishchev ) were declared traitors. Crowds of rebels went to Red Square, and from there to the village. Kolomenskoye, where Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was. The rebels (4-5 thousand people, mostly townspeople and soldiers) surrounded the royal residence, handed over their petition to the tsar, insisting on the extradition of the persons indicated in the leaflets, as well as on a sharp reduction in taxes, food prices, etc. Taken by surprise, the tsar, who had about 1,000 armed courtiers and archers, did not dare to take reprisals, promising the rebels to investigate and punish the perpetrators. The rebels turned to Moscow, where, after the departure of the first group of rebels, a second group formed and the destruction of the courtyards of large merchants began. On the same day, both groups united, arrived in the village. Kolomenskoye, again surrounded the royal palace and resolutely demanded the extradition of government leaders, threatening to execute them even without the tsar's sanction. At this time in Moscow, after the departure of the second group of rebels in the village. With the help of archers, the Kolomenskoye authorities, by order of the tsar, switched to active punitive actions, and 3 archery and 2 soldier regiments (up to 8 thousand people) were already pulled into Kolomenskoye. After the rebels refused to disperse, the beating of mostly unarmed people began. During the massacre and subsequent executions, about 1 thousand people were killed, sunk, hanged and executed, up to 1.5–2 thousand rebels were exiled (with families up to 8 thousand people).

June 11, 1663 was followed by a royal decree on the closure of the yards of the "money copper business" and the return to the minting of silver coins. Copper money was redeemed from the population in a short time - within a month. For one silver kopeck they took a ruble in copper money. Trying to benefit from copper kopecks, the population began to cover them with a layer of mercury or silver, passing them off as silver money. This trick was soon noticed, and a royal decree appeared on the prohibition of tinning copper money.

So, the attempt to improve the Russian monetary system ended in complete failure and led to a breakdown in monetary circulation, riots and general impoverishment. Neither the introduction of a system of large and small denominations, nor an attempt to replace expensive raw materials for minting money with cheaper ones failed.

Russian monetary circulation returned to the traditional silver coin. And the time of Alexei Mikhailovich was called "rebellious" by his contemporaries

3. Peasant war led by S. Razin

In 1667, after the end of the war with the Commonwealth, a large number of fugitives poured into the Don. Famine reigned in the Don.

Back in March 1667, Moscow became aware that many residents of the Don "selected to steal to the Volga." The Cossack Stepan Timofeevich Razin stood at the head of the mass of unorganized, but brave, determined and armed people. He showed his willfulness by recruiting his detachment from the Cossack goal and alien people - fugitive peasants, townspeople, archers, who were not part of the Donskoy army and were not subordinate to the Cossack foreman.

He conceived a campaign in order to distribute the captured booty to the needy, feed the hungry, clothe and shoe the undressed and undressed. Razin, at the head of a detachment of Cossacks of 500 people, did not go to the Volga, but down the Don. It's hard to tell what his intentions were at that moment. It seems that this campaign was aimed at lulling the vigilance of the Volga governors and attracting supporters. People came to Razin from different places. Lead your troops to him.

In mid-May 1667, the Cossacks and the fugitive peasantry crossed over the crossing to the Volga. Razin's detachment grew to 2000 people. First, the Razints met a large trade caravan on the Volga, which included ships with exiles. The Cossacks seized goods and property, replenished stocks of weapons and provisions, took possession of the plows. Streltsy commanders and merchant clerks were killed, and exiles, most of the archers and rivermen who worked on merchant ships voluntarily joined the Razintsy.

Cossacks clashed with government troops. As the events of the Caspian campaign developed, the rebellious nature of the movement became more and more manifest.

Avoiding a clash with government troops, he in a short time and with small losses spent his flotilla at sea, then moved to the Yaik River and easily captured the Yaitsky town. In all battles, Razin showed great courage. The Cossacks were joined by more and more people from the huts and plows.

Having entered the Caspian Sea, the Razintsy headed to its southern shores. Some time later, their ships stopped in the area of ​​the Persian city of Rasht. The Cossacks sacked the cities of Rasht, Farabat, Astrabad and wintered near the "amusing palace of the Shah", setting up an earthen town in his forest reserve on the Miyan-Kale peninsula. Having exchanged the captives for the Russians in the ratio of "one to four", in this way they replenished with people.

The release of Russian captives languishing in Persia and the replenishment of the Razin detachment with the Persian poor goes beyond the scope of military predatory actions.

In a naval battle near Pig Island, the Razintsy won a complete victory over the troops of the Persian Shah. However, the trip to the Caspian Sea was marked not only by victories and successes. Razintsy had heavy losses and defeats. The fight with large Persian forces near Rasht ended unfavorably for them.

At the end of the Caspian campaign, Razin gave the governors a bunchuk, a sign of his power, and returned some of the weapons. Then the Razintsy, having received the forgiveness of Moscow, returned to the Don. After the Caspian campaign, Razin did not disband his detachment. On September 17, 1669, 20 versts from the Black Yar, Razin demanded that the archers' heads come to him, and renamed the archers and feeders into his "Cossacks".

The reports of the governors of the southern cities about the independent behavior of Razin, that he “became strong” and was again plotting “distemper”, alerted the government. In January 1670, a certain Gerasim Evdokimov was sent to Cherkassk. Razin demanded that Evdokim be brought in and interrogated him, from whom did he come: from the great sovereign or the boyars? The messenger confirmed that from the king, but Razin declared him a boyar scout. The Cossacks drowned the royal envoy. In the town of Panshin, Razin gathered the participants of the upcoming campaign in a large circle. The ataman announced that he intended to “go from the Don to the Volga, and from the Volga to go to Russia ... so that ... from the Muscovite state, bring the boyars and duma people as traitors and in the cities the voivodes and clerks people” and give freedom to “black people”.

Soon 7000 Razin's army moved to Tsaritsyn. Having captured it, the Razintsy remained in the town for about 2 weeks. The battles in the lower reaches of the Volga in the spring and summer of 1670 showed that Razin was a talented commander. On June 22, Astrakhan was captured by the Razintsy. Without a single shot, Samara and Saratov passed to the Razintsy.

After that, the Razintsy began the siege of Simbirsk. At the end of August 1670, the government sent an army to suppress the Razin uprising. A month's stay near Simbirsk was Razin's tactical miscalculation. It made it possible to bring government troops here. In the battle near Simbirsk, Razin was seriously wounded, and later executed in Moscow.

Apparently, one of the main reasons for the failure of the Simbirsk was the lack of a permanent staff in the rebel army. Only the core of the Cossacks and archers remained stable in the Razin army, while numerous peasant detachments, which made up the bulk of the rebels, kept coming and going. They did not have military experience, and during the period that they were not in the ranks of the Razintsy, they did not have time to accumulate it.

4. Movement of schismatics

An important fact of Russian history of the XVII century. there was a church schism, which was the result of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon.

The most significant of the innovations adopted by Patriarch Nikon and the church council of 1654 was the replacement of baptism with two fingers with three fingers, the pronunciation of the doxology to God “aleluia” not twice, but three times, the movement around the lectern in the church not in the course of the Sun, but against it. All of them dealt with the purely ritual side, and not with the essence of Orthodoxy.

The schism of the Orthodox Church took place at the council of 1666-1667, and from 1667 the schismatics were put on trial by the "city authorities", who burned them for "blasphemy against the Lord God." In 1682, Archpriest Avvakum, the main opponent of Patriarch Nikon, died at the stake.

Archpriest Avvakum became one of the brightest personalities in Russian history. Many considered him a saint and a miracle worker. He participated together with Nikon in correcting liturgical books, but was soon dismissed due to ignorance of the Greek language.

On January 6, 1681, the tsar went with a large number of people to consecrate the water. At this time, the Old Believers committed a pogrom in the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals of the Kremlin. They smeared royal vestments and tombs with tar, and also placed tallow candles, which were considered unclean in church use. At this time, the crowd returned, and an associate of the rebels, Gerasim Shapochnik, began to throw "thieves' letters" into the crowd, which depicted caricatures of the tsar and the patriarchs.

The schism brought together a variety of social forces that advocated the preservation of the traditional character of Russian culture intact. There were princes and boyars, such as the noblewoman F.P. Morozova and Princess E.P. Urusov, monks and white clergy who refused to perform new rites. But there were especially many ordinary people - townspeople, archers, peasants - who saw in the preservation of the old rites a way of fighting for the ancient folk ideals of "truth" and "freedom". The most radical step taken by the Old Believers was the decision taken in 1674 to stop praying for the tsar's health. This meant a complete break of the Old Believers with the existing society, the beginning of the struggle to preserve the ideal of "truth" within their communities.

The main idea of ​​the Old Believers was "falling away" from the world of evil, unwillingness to live in it. Hence the preference for self-immolation over compromise with the authorities. Only in 1675-1695. 37 fires were registered, during which at least 20 thousand people died. Another form of protest of the Old Believers was the flight from the power of the tsar, the search for the "secret city of Kitezh" or the utopian country Belovodie, under the protection of God himself.

Conclusion

The 17th century is called by contemporaries the "rebellious age". This is the time of major social movements: two powerful peasant uprisings, a number of urban uprisings, as well as a church uprising that grew into a social movement. The reasons for the speeches were different. The "salt riot" was caused by dissatisfaction with the policy of the government of B.I. Morozov; urban uprisings in Pskov and Novgorod occurred as a result of a sharp increase in the price of bread; "copper rebellion" caused a financial crisis, and the Solovetsky uprising - the reform of Patriarch Nikon. The culmination of the popular uprisings was an uprising led by S.T. Razin.

None of the performances ended in victory. In the course of the struggle for the final centralization of the state against local sovereignty and local liberties, the government brutally suppressed any manifestation of freethinking - whether it manifested itself in the economic, social or religious sphere. But despite the defeat, the "copper" rebellion led to the abolition of copper money and other government concessions.

The reasons for the defeat of the performances were their spontaneous nature, the lack of a clear program of action in some cases, the contradictions between social groups in the camp of the rebels, as was the case during the uprising of Stepan Razin. Some performances were suppressed after the betrayal of some of their participants.

During the century, there was more than one urban uprising, the cause of which was the illiterate policy of the government. Indeed, in the middle of the seventeenth century, the situation in the cities became tense: the authorities looked at the inhabitants of the cities as an inexhaustible source of income. This was manifested in the following: from year to year, the state sought to increase the taxes of the settlement and, at the same time, reduce the salaries of service people.

Bibliography

1. History of Russia from antiquity to the present day. / Edited by M.N. Zuev. - M.: Higher school, 1998. - 543 p.

2. Kargalov V.V. History of Russia from ancient times to 1917. / Yu.S. Saveliev, V.A. Fedorov. - M.: Russian Word, 1998. - 500 p.

3. Handbook on the history of the Fatherland for applicants to universities. / Edited by A.S. Orlova, A.Yu. Polunova and Yu.A. Shchetinov. – M.: Prostor, 1994. – 389 p.

4. Skrynnikov R.G. Hard times. Moscow in the XVI-XVII centuries. / R.G. Skrynnikov. - M.: Moskovsky worker, 1988. - 430 p.

5. Chistyakova E.V. "Stepan Razin and his associates" / E.V. Chistyakova, V. M. Solovyov, M .: Book, 1989, - 380 p.

Popular uprisings in the then Russian Empire were swept by waves of violent popular indignation. Not all of them are widely known now, but readers keep the memory of these unrest. The largest popular uprisings in the Russian Empire will be considered in this article.

salt riot

“Hunger at the salt hut will be trampled on the threshold, but it will never enter inside.” This saying was well understood by our ancestors, for whom salt was the only available preservative. Without it, it was impossible to prepare neither fish nor cucumbers for the winter. And the authorities were well aware of the importance of this consumer product. Realizing that they would still buy salt, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1646, on the advice of the boyar Boris Morozov, imposed an additional tax on it.

Thus, it was possible to replenish the treasury and ruin the people. After all salt prices skyrocketed by 4 times. A year later, the authorities canceled the unpopular tax. True, this did not make life easier for people - the Morozov government announced the collection of arrears for the last three years. Non-payers were beaten or thrown into jail. The increased pressure from the state repressive apparatus resulted in a spontaneous revolt.

In 1648, when Alexei Mikhailovich was returning from a pilgrimage, a crowd blocked the path of his cortege. Hundreds of people complained to the tsar about the harassment and "untruths" on the part of the boyars, who, out of self-interest, increased the amount of arrears. Alexey Mikhailovich promised to sort everything out and punish the guilty, but the excited crowd decided not to wait for this moment. The rebels rushed to cut the heads of the most hated nobles and rob their houses, fires broke out.

The authorities were unable to stop the violence, as nobles and archers joined the large-scale pogrom. The rebels demanded that Morozov be extradited, but Alexei Mikhailovich, with tears in his eyes, asked for mercy on his tutor. The boyar was sent to the distant Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, however, he did not stay in this exile for long. Within a couple of months, the influential dignitary returned to the capital.

Riot results:

Alexei Mikhailovich in 1648 stopped collecting arrears and announced the convening of the Zemsky Sobor. Its meetings ended with the adoption of the Council Code. This set of laws legally finally fixed serfdom in Russia.

Pskov and Novgorod

On February 8, 1650, Pskov rebelled against Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and 15 days later the rebellion spread to Novgorod. The population of the two cities was dissatisfied with the rise in the price of bread. The rise in prices was spurred on by the supply of grain to Sweden, which was carried out in accordance with the conditions of the Stolbovsky peace.

The king could not allow fermentation in the two most important outposts on the northwestern border. Troops were sent to Novgorod and Pskov, which defeated the forces of the rebels. The nobles did not support the rebels. Alexei Mikhailovich managed to achieve the disposition of the landowners thanks to the recently adopted Cathedral Code, which finally enserfed the peasants.

copper riot

Before Moscow had time to rebuild after the fires of the Salt Riot, in 1662, popular uprisings in the city resumed. The rebellion is called Copper. The reason for this uprising also lay in finances. The war with Poland exhausted the state treasury, and in 1654 the same Alexei Mikhailovich decided to start issuing copper money at the price of silver. This decision, however, ultimately upset the financial system even more.

After all, salaries were paid in copper, and taxes continued to be collected in silver. Coppers were also much easier to fake, which was what counterfeiters used. As a result, over 8 years, the market price of copper money fell by almost 15 times. All this led to the fact that in 1662 the population of the "black" settlements once again went to seek justice for Alexei Mikhailovich.

The common people complained to the tsar about the harassment by the boyars, who allegedly minted counterfeit coins and even had secret relations with unfriendly Poland. The serfs, holding Alexei Mikhailovich by the dress, demanded that a number of officials be handed over to the crowd for reprisal. However, it didn't come to that. The rebels were dispersed by the archers, during the suppression of the rebellion, about a thousand people died. More rebels were exiled to the uninhabited Siberian lands.

Results of the uprising:

The authorities withdrew copper coins from circulation.

Rebellion of Stepan Razin

Alexei Mikhailovich was most troubled by the uprising led by Stepan Razin. The Cossacks in 1670 rebelled against the expansion of serfdom to the southern outskirts of Russia. They were outraged by the fact that after the adoption of the Council Code, the nobles ceased to respect the principle "there is no extradition from the Don." Razin promised the Cossacks to "protect the old customs", "bring out the traitors of the boyars" and give free rein to the "black people". And in order to give a certain illusion of legality to the mass plunder of the estates, the ataman announced that he was acting at the behest of Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich, who had miraculously escaped, who allegedly follows along with his army. In the event of the victory of the rebels, all of Russia was supposed to turn into one large Cossack circle, but this did not happen. After a series of defeats from the tsarist troops, the rebels betrayed their chieftain. The wounded Razin was handed over to the authorities in 1671. In the same year, the leader of the uprising was quartered on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow.

Results of the uprising:

The practice of detecting fugitive peasants became stronger in the southern outskirts of Russia.

Khovanshchina

In 1682 Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died. He did not leave an heir, which provoked an internal political crisis. The Miloslavsky group advocated that 15-year-old Ivan (son of Alexei Mikhailovich's first wife) take the throne, while the Naryshkin family insisted that 10-year-old Peter (son of Alexei Mikhailovich's second wife) should put on the Monomakh's hat. The Miloslavskys decided in this dispute to rely on the archers, who at the right time staged large-scale unrest in Moscow. The rebels demanded an increase in salaries and reprisals against the "bad" boyars. The latter were understood as the Naryshkins, who allegedly strangled Tsarevich Ivan. As a result of the unrest that arose, power in Moscow ended up in the hands of the archers, who elevated both boys to the throne, and Princess Sophia (daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich, Miloslavsky family) was appointed regent under them.

Later, however, the rebels decided to replay the situation and make Prince Ivan Khovansky, head of the Streltsy Order, head of state. But these plans were thwarted by the active actions of Sophia, who began to collect the noble militia loyal to her. Khovansky then tried to negotiate with the princess and solve the matter amicably, but was killed. The eldest son of the head of the Streltsy order was also killed, the youngest was exiled.

Results of the uprising:

Khovanshchina showed that the archers were no longer able to compete with the nobles.

Streltsy uprising

After 16 years, the Moscow archers still rebelled. In 1698, deserters who participated in the Azov campaigns organized an uprising in several regiments. The rebels did not want to fight - they wanted to increase their salaries and overthrow, which they really did not like for trying to modernize the army. Instead of the young tsar, the archers were going to enthrone Princess Sophia, who at that time was already imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent.

The implementation of this project was thwarted by the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments loyal to Peter I. The forces of the rebels were utterly defeated. During the investigation that began later, 195 archers were hanged in front of the cells of Princess Sophia. In total, more than 2,000 people were executed.

Results of the uprising:

Peter I ordered the disbandment of the Streltsy army. True, after the Narva Confusion, the emperor realized that he had gotten a little excited. The most combat-ready archery regiments were returned to service. Gradually they were absorbed by the regular army.

Astrakhan uprising

In the summer of 1705, the inhabitants of Astrakhan revolted against the city governor Timofey Rzhevsky, who arbitrarily increased the tax on salt, and also imposed duties on baths, stoves and cellars. The cup of patience of the people, however, was overwhelmed not by these requisitions, but by the zeal with which Rzhevsky rushed to fulfill decree of Peter I on the prohibition of wearing Russian dress and beards. According to contemporaries, the governor "trimmed his beards right with the meat." Therefore, it is not surprising that the freshly shaved rebels first of all rushed to look for Rzhevsky, but they could not find him for a long time. The rebels began to wonder where the governor was, and even suggested that Rzhevsky could collude with the sorcerer, who, with the help of his charms, helped him leave the city unrecognized.

In fact, however, everything turned out to be much more prosaic: from the very beginning of the riot, the cunning manager was hiding in a chicken coop. The rebels immediately executed the hated voivode, canceled the taxes he had imposed and went on to rebel further. The rebellion spread to the neighboring cities of Krasny Yar, Cherny Yar, Guryev and Terki. The rebels moved up the Volga, but were defeated near Tsaritsyn. Peter I managed to finally defeat the forces of the rebels only in the spring of 1706. The leaders of the uprising were wheeled.

Results of the uprising:

The decree on barbering and wearing foreign dress was repealed.

Bashkir uprising

The Northern War forced Peter I to constantly increase the fiscal burden on the population, which in turn contributed to rampant corruption. In 1704, tsarist officials arrived in Ufa for a meeting of the Bashkir clans, who announced the introduction of 72 new taxes. At the same time, mercenary profit-makers invented a significant part of the taxes themselves.

So, charges were introduced for each wheel in a cart, ice holes, collars, mosques, and even for the eyes: six kopecks were to be charged from the light-eyed, and eight kopecks from the black-eyed. On top of all this, the officials demanded that 5,000 horses be put up for the needs of the army.

The steppe nobility responded to these extortions with a riot: the profit-makers were beaten, and the royal papers were thrown into the river. The outbreak of the uprising was fueled by rumors that Peter I was going to forcibly baptize the local Muslim population. Therefore, it seems quite logical that the Bashkirs decided to turn to powerful Turkey for support. But fellow believers either did not want to help the rebels, or did not have time. In 1711 the uprising was crushed.

Results of the uprising:

The authorities in the Bashkir steppes reduced the amount of quitrent payments, exempted some lands from renting.

Bulavin's uprising

The fire of the Astrakhan rebellion set fire to the Don. In 1707, a group of Cossacks led by Kondraty Bulavin destroyed the tsar's detachment, which arrived to search for runaway peasants. During the uprising, the rebels removed from power those atamans who opposed the confrontation with Peter I. Thus, Bulavin managed to lead the entire Don Army. However, he did not last long in his new post. In 1708, the tsarist troops defeated the rebellious detachments of Semyon Dranoy, Nikita Goly and Sergei Bespaly. Seeing the futility of further struggle, the Cossacks killed Ataman Bulavin.

Results of the uprising:

Peter I took away part of the land along the Seversky Donets River from the Don Cossacks.

Kizhi uprising

In 1769, Karelian peasants rebelled, who were assigned to state mining plants. The island of Kizhi became the center of the uprising. The rebels demanded better working conditions and lower taxes. In a matter of months, the army of rebels grew to 40 thousand people. The men, armed with "sticks and clubs", for several years effectively opposed the local authorities. In order for the industry in Karelia not to completely stop, Catherine II had to send serious forces to the region. In 1771, troops were sent to suppress the uprising, which shot the rebels from cannons.

Results of the uprising:

The authorities slightly improved the working conditions of Karelian workers and peasants assigned to factories.

Plague Riot

In 1771, a plague epidemic raged in Moscow, which came to the city from the battlefields of the Russian-Turkish war. The authorities took measures to prevent the spread of pestilence: forced quarantines were created, mass events were banned. But this was not enough - the epidemic continued to mow down the population (in the Moscow region, the disease claimed the lives of more than 200 thousand people). Then the inhabitants of the city decided that only the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God could save them from the plague. Tens of thousands of people rushed to Kitai-Gorod to venerate the miraculous icon. Archbishop Ambrose, realizing that such a pilgrimage contributes to the spread of infection, ordered to remove the icon. The townspeople interpreted this decision in their own way.

The crowd began to shout that Ambrose served the Antichrist and intended to exterminate the entire Orthodox people. To the ringing of the Nabatnaya Tower bell, people rushed to clean up Moscow from all those who had at least something to do with the introduction of quarantine measures. During the uprising, Ambrose was killed, and the Donskoy and Chudov monasteries were destroyed. Troops under the command of Grigory Orlov rescued Moscow from further looting. Sparing his soldiers, the count suppressed the uprising with dense cannon fire.

Outcome of the uprising:

The authorities deprived the bell on the Nabatnaya Tower of the Kremlin of its language and issued a decree "On measures to stop epidemics and arrange cemeteries."

Pugachev uprising

“Boyars, generals, captains and others - cut off their heads, take the estate. At one time they ate you, deprived you of your will, now you chop them up. On September 28, 1773, Yemelyan Pugachev made such a policy statement from the banks of the Yaik River. The rebel, posing as the miraculously saved Emperor Peter III, called on all those dissatisfied with the “injustices” perpetrated by the central authorities to join his army. And the people actively responded to this appeal. After all, the figure of Peter III was incredibly popular among the peasants - it was believed that it was this ruler who was going to abolish serfdom, but traitor nobles who killed the tsar prevented him from doing so.

Another secret of Pugachev's success is the ideal place chosen to start the uprising. The impostor decided not to disturb his native Don, who by that time had sworn allegiance to the Romanovs, but to go to the rebellious Urals. Local Cossacks sheltered runaway peasants and Old Believers, and also categorically refused to give up their liberties. Pugachev led all the dissatisfied with him on a campaign against St. Petersburg. At the same time, many cities not only did not offer any resistance to the rebels, but they themselves plowed open the gates in front of the army of the impostor.

The triumphal procession of Pugachev was accompanied by massive arson of estates and brutal murders of noble landlords. True, in military terms, Pugachev's army was not as strong as in looting. In 1774, Catherine II, having decided "once and for all to burn out treason", sent her favorite Alexander Suvorov to the Volga. The commander, recalled from the theater of the Russian-Turkish war, justified his trust: Pugachev's army was defeated, and the impostor himself was betrayed by yesterday's comrades.

On January 10, 1775, with a mass gathering of people, the rebel was quartered on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. Other leaders of the uprising did not escape severe punishment. The gallows with the hanged rebels were installed on wooden rafts and let them float down the Volga so that all of Russia could see how mother Catherine treats the traitors.

Results of the uprising:

From the uprising, Catherine II concluded that the throne could only count on the nobles. As a result, the peasants fell into even greater dependence on the landowners. So that nothing would remind of the uprising, the Empress renamed the Yaik River into the Urals, and the Yaik Cossacks into the Urals. The ruler and the free Don did not bypass her attention. The village of Zimoveyskaya, in which Emelyan Pugachev and Stepan Razin were born, was renamed Potemkinskaya. Also, under the hot hand of Catherine II, the Zaporozhian Sich fell, which the Empress decided to liquidate just in case.

Decembrist revolt

On December 14, 1825, a group of nobles tried to thwart the accession to the throne of the new emperor Nicholas I by force of arms. 1271 people died. The fundamental difference between this putsch and the previous ones was that the conspirators did not want to expand, but, on the contrary, to narrow their privileges. The rebel nobles wanted to abolish serfdom and proclaim a constitutional monarchy. The soldiers, more than 900 of whom, after cannon volleys, remained lying on the square, were completely unaware of the noble impulse of the organizers of the rebellion. According to the urban legend, during interrogations, one of the surviving privates was asked why he and his comrades shouted “KON-STI-TU-ZIA”? And then, with a blue eye, he told the investigators that, in his opinion, the constitution is the wife of Konstantin Pavlovich, the elder brother of Nicholas I.

Results of the uprising:

Nicholas I decided that Russia needed not reforms, but order. Throughout his reign, the emperor tirelessly fought against revolutionary ideas both within the country and abroad. All this contributed to the sharp growth of the bureaucratic apparatus.

cholera riots

In 1830, Russia fell under the onslaught of a cholera epidemic. The disease, having launched an offensive from the Orenburg steppes, quickly subjugated first the central, and then the northern regions of the empire. An attempt by the authorities to fend off the scourge with the help of quarantine measures met with sharp opposition from the population.

The opinion has strengthened among the people that the main distributors of cholera are doctors. And they act on the orders of the gentlemen, who, for some reason, decided to exterminate the common people. Such rumors raised riots in dozens of cities. The most powerful performances took place in Sevastopol, Tambov and the Novgorod district of military settlements. Well, the most resonant was the St. Petersburg uprising of 1831.

The townspeople broke into the cholera hospital on Sennaya Square, whose staff was soon either killed or seriously maimed. The same fate would surely have befallen other hospitals in the capital, if the emperor himself had not come to the square. Nicholas I, rising in an open carriage to his full gigantic height, rudely scolded the rebels for having decided to rebel like some kind of Poles or French.

The loud speech of His Majesty stunned the crowd: hundreds of peasants fell to their knees and began to ask for forgiveness from the sovereign. However, many professional researchers believe that this whole story is nothing more than an invention of the empire's propaganda machine. The facts indicate that Nicholas I forced people to disperse not with a word, but with rifle volleys.

Results of the uprising:

The authorities continued to carry out quarantine measures that made it possible to cope with the cholera epidemic.

potato riots

In the 1840s, the Urals, the Volga region and the northern provinces were shaken by powerful riots, in which more than half a million people took part. The reason for the speeches was the introduction of planting potatoes, which was carried out by violent methods.

The peasants were not at all enthusiastic about the new state experiment. Fearing famine, province after province rebelled against foreign tubers, which the people called "devil's apples" and "satanic spit." Nicholas I could not bear such disrespect for his own imperial initiative. Peasant uprisings were suppressed.

Results of the uprising:

Russian peasants were forced to recognize the need for planting potatoes.

Polish uprising

In 1855, Alexander II ascended the throne. Russia fell to the emperor in not the best condition: the loss in the Crimean War exposed the urgent need to reform the cumbersome and inefficient state apparatus. The Nikolaev “frosts” were naturally replaced by the Alexander “thaw”. The weakening of censorship and other liberal transformations of the new king on the outskirts of the empire were perceived as a signal for further bargaining.

Warsaw demanded from St. Petersburg to grant autonomy to the Kingdom of Poland. And Alexander II satisfied this requirement. True, instead of gratitude to the emperor, a new demand was soon put forward - to grant the Kingdom of Poland now full independence. A poor understanding of the specifics of the region led to the fact that a powerful revolutionary movement arose on the western outskirts.

The reason for the organized action that began in 1863 was the announcement of recruitment. Instead of going to serve, the Poles attacked the Russian garrisons in Plock, Kurow and Lukov. The rebels received support from abroad, not only material, but also diplomatic. Austria, France and Great Britain demanded that Russia immediately amnesty all the rebels, and at the same time withdraw troops from the region. Europe tried with all its might to tear off a piece from the Russian Empire.

The future status of the Kingdom of Poland was proposed to be discussed at a pan-European conference. Alexander II rejected inappropriate proposals and advised foreign partners not to interfere in domestic Russian affairs, unless, of course, they want to fight. For some reason, the European powers did not want to shed blood for Polish statehood. In 1864, the uprising in the west of the empire was completely crushed.

Results of the uprising:

Polish peasants were given lands confiscated from the rebellious gentry.

First Russian Revolution

The first Russian revolution began with Bloody Sunday. On January 9, 1905, St. Petersburg workers went to the Winter Palace to hand Nicholas II a petition about the needs of the working people. The emperor at that moment was outside the city and therefore could not personally accept the petition. The demonstrators, deciding that they were being deceived, tried to break into the Winter Palace. The security did not let me in, the riots began. During the clashes, according to various estimates, from a hundred to a thousand people died.
Researchers point out that the procession from the very beginning was a well-planned provocation. On the eve of January 9, the chief coordinator of the demonstration of workers, priest Georgy Gapon, was frank with like-minded people: “Well, I will submit a petition to the tsar, what will I do if the tsar accepts it? Then I will take out a white handkerchief and wave it, which means that we have a king. What should you do? You must disperse to your parishes and immediately elect your representatives to the Constituent Assembly. Well, if... the tsar doesn't accept the petition... what will I do then? Then I will raise the red banner, which means that we do not have a king, that we ourselves must get our rights.

To accept a petition drawn up in an ultimatum form, which, in addition to economic requirements, also provided for a serious restriction of the monarchy, Nicholas II would definitely not. And therefore, even if the emperor had been in the Winter Palace on January 9, Gapon would still have thrown out a pogrom banner and popular uprisings were inevitable.

"Bloody Sunday" had a wide resonance, both in Russia and abroad. The shooting down of the workers' demonstration hit hard on the popularity of Nicholas II, whose authority at that time had already been undermined by the failures of the Russian army on the Japanese front. Distrust of the political course of the monarch was also fueled by unresolved problems in the agricultural sector and the onset of the global economic crisis. All these factors led to the fact that the country was swept by a wave of demonstrations, strikes and political assassinations. To restore order in the country, Nicholas II was forced to make serious concessions to the rebels. As a result of the first Russian revolution, the workers received the right to an eight-hour working day, and Russia gained a parliament.

Results of the uprising:

The people received a number of political freedoms (freedom of speech, conscience, assembly, unions, inviolability of the person), a representative body of power with legislative powers appeared - the State Duma.

As we can see, most often popular uprisings in Russia in the 17th - early 20th centuries arose under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and under the reformer Peter I. Catherine II still had a major and well-established popular uprising by Yemelyan Pugachev.

1. "Salt Riot"

The 17th century in Russian history gained a reputation as "rebellious". 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 such a scale of social conflicts, unprecedented before in Russia, were the development of serfdom, the strengthening of state taxes and duties.

In 1646, a duty was introduced on salt, which significantly increased its price. Meanwhile, salt in the XVII century. was one of the most important products - the main preservative that allowed the storage of meat and fish. Following the salt, these products themselves have risen in price. Their sales fell, unsold goods began to deteriorate. This caused discontent, both consumers and merchants. Growth in government revenues was less than expected as salt smuggling developed. Already at the end of 1647, the "salt" tax was abolished. In an effort to compensate for the losses, the government cut the salaries of service people "according to 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 pilgrimage, and demanded that the head of the Zemsky order, Leonty Pleshcheev, be replaced. Pleshcheev's servants tried to disperse the audience, which only provoked even more bitterness. On June 2, pogroms of boyar estates began in Moscow. The clerk Nazariy Chistoy, whom Muscovites considered the inspirer of the salt tax, was killed. The rebels demanded that the closest associate of the tsar, boyar Morozov, who actually led the entire state apparatus, and the head of the Pushkar order, boyar Trakhaniotov, be handed over for reprisal. Not having the strength to suppress the uprising, in which, along with the townspeople, servicemen "according to the instrument" participated, the tsar yielded, 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) Aleksey Mikhailovich "prayed" from the rebels and sent him into exile to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.

The government announced the cessation of collecting arrears, convened a Zemsky Sobor, at which the most important demands of the townspeople to ban the transition to the "white settlements" and the nobles - to introduce 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 relative 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: Veliky Ustyug, Kursk, Kozlov, Pskov, Novgorod.

The strongest were the uprisings in Pskov and Novgorod, caused by a rise in the price of bread due to its deliveries to Sweden. The urban poor, who were threatened by famine, expelled the governor, defeated 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, a major uprising again took place in Moscow, which went down in history as the "Copper Riot". It was caused by an attempt by the government to replenish the treasury, devastated by a difficult long war with Poland (1654-1667) and Sweden (1656-58). In order to compensate for the huge costs, the government put copper money into circulation, equating it with silver in price. At the same time, taxes were collected in silver coins, and goods were ordered to be sold with copper money. The salaries of servicemen were also paid in copper. Copper money was not trusted, especially since they were often forged. Not wanting to trade for copper money, the peasants stopped bringing food to Moscow, which caused prices to skyrocket. 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 smash the boyar estates, while others moved to the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, where the tsar was in those days. Alexei 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 the courtyards of the boyars in the capital. They demanded that the tsar extradite the boyars most hated by the people and threatened that if the sovereign "does not give them back the boyars," then they "will begin to have them themselves, according to their custom."

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

Unlike the "salt", "copper" rebellion was brutally suppressed, as the government managed to keep the archers on its side and use them against the townspeople.

4. Rebellion of Stepan Razin

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

The population of the Don was the Cossacks. The Cossacks were not engaged in agriculture. Their main occupations were hunting, fishing, cattle breeding and raids on the possessions of neighboring Turkey, the Crimea and Persia. For guard service to protect the southern borders of the state, the Cossacks received royal salaries in bread, money and gunpowder. The government also put up with the fact that runaway peasants and townspeople found shelter on the Don. The principle "no extradition from the Don" was in effect.

In the middle of the XVII century. equality no longer existed in the Cossack environment. The elite of the wealthy ("home-loving") Cossacks stood out, who owned the best fisheries, herds of horses, who received the best share in the booty and the royal salary. Poor ("goat-like") Cossacks worked for the homely.

In the 40s. 17th century the Cossacks lost access to the Azov and Black Seas, as the Turks fortified the fortress of Azov. This prompted the Cossacks to move their campaigns for prey 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 to the Moscow boyars and clerks also 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 Mustache to turn back. Numerous serfs who joined him went with him to the Don. 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 went to the Caspian Sea on a campaign "for zipuns", that is, for prey. 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 Razintsy returned to Astrakhan, and from there to the Don. "Campaign for zipuns" was purely predatory. However, its meaning is wider. It was in this campaign that the core of the Razin army was formed, and the generous distribution of alms to the common people brought unprecedented popularity to the ataman.

In the spring of 1670, Razin began a new campaign. This time he decided to go against the "traitor boyars". Without resistance, Tsaritsyn was captured, the inhabitants of which gladly opened the gates to the Cossacks. The archers sent against Razin from Astrakhan went over to his side. Their example was followed by the rest of the Astrakhan garrison. The resisting voevoda and the Astrakhan nobles were killed.

After that, 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 (actually already deceased) and Patriarch Nikon were in his army. The main participants in the uprising were Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople and workers. The cities of the Volga region surrendered without resistance. In all the captured cities, Razin introduced management along the lines of the Cossack circle.

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

Razin was tortured and in the summer of 1671 he was executed on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow along with his brother Frol. The participants in the uprising were subjected to cruel persecution and executions.

The main reasons for the defeat of the Razin uprising were its spontaneity and low organization, the fragmentation of the actions of the peasants, as a rule, limited to the destruction of the estate of their own master, the lack of clearly conscious goals for the rebels. Even if the Razintsy managed to win and capture Moscow (this did not happen in Russia, but in other countries, for example, in China, the rebellious 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 just society in their minds was the Cossack circle. But the whole country cannot exist due to the seizure and division of other people's property. Any state needs a system of government, an army, taxes. Therefore, the victory of the rebels would inevitably be followed by a new social differentiation. The victory of the unorganized peasant and Cossack masses would inevitably lead to great sacrifices 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 Razin's uprising should be considered 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 definition of "rebellion" has again prevailed.

What to look for when answering:

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

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

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

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

________________________________________

Balashov movement

The situation of the lower social classes in the conditions of heavy extortions and duties of the post-troubles period was very difficult, their discontent broke out during the years of the Smolensk War (1632-1634), when they smashed the noble estates in the area of ​​military operations and in neighboring counties. The most powerful popular movements began in the middle of the century.
Salt Riot. In 1648, a movement broke out, which received the name "salt riot" in the sources and in pre-October historiography. The uprising began on June 1, when Alexei Mikhailovich was returning from pilgrimage from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In the city he was met by a large crowd of Muscovites and visitors. Shouting, they surrounded the tsar's carriage and complained about L.S. Pleshcheev, the head of the Zemsky order, who was in charge of the administration of the capital. The king went on. The rebels tried to submit a petition to the queen. But the Streltsy guard dispersed them, arresting 16 people. This infuriated the people, and stones flew into the royal retinue. The next day, a procession to the Sretensky Monastery took place. The rebels demanded that the tsar release the arrested, resign Pleshcheev, stop the oppression and bribery of ordered people. After the prayer service, the tsar returned to the Kremlin. Following him, several thousand rebels entered there. Streltsy and serfs joined the movement. On June 2 and the next day, the rebels moved from demands and threats to action: dozens of courts of Moscow boyars and nobles, clerks and wealthy merchants suffered. N. Chisty, who was known among the people as a shameless bribe taker, the initiator of a huge tax on salt, introduced a few years before the uprising and canceled six months before it, was hacked to death by the rebels, throwing his body on a heap of dung.
Forced to give in under the pressure of the elements of the popular movement, Alexei Mikhailovich ordered "to betray the whole people with their heads" Pleshcheev. The executioner took him out of the Kremlin, and the crowd literally tore the “burgomaster” to pieces. On June 4, the pogroms of the courts of noble and wealthy people continued. The rebels demanded the extradition of Trakhaniotov, the head of the Pushkar order, on June 5 they executed him. The people demanded the extradition of the head of government boyar Morozov for reprisals. On June 12, a detachment of nobles and archers left Moscow to escort Morozov, who was sent into exile.
The nobles and the top tenants, using the current situation, confusion and weakening of the government, filed a petition to the Tsar. It put forward demands for the streamlining of legal proceedings, the correct conduct of all cases in orders, the convening of the Zemsky Sobor to develop a new Code.
The authorities convened the Zemsky Sobor, which decided to prepare a new Code. Unrest in the capital did not stop until the end of the year. The government managed to stabilize the situation by this time.
Under the influence of events in Moscow in the cities of South Russia, the strongest movements took place in Kursk, Kozlov, Yelets, Livny, Valuyki, Chuguev and others; in the north - in Solvychegodsk, Ustyug the Great. In Siberia - in Tomsk, Yenisei jail, Kuznetsk, Verkhoturye; they continued into the second half of the 17th century.
Two years after the uprisings in Moscow and other cities, the townspeople and other people of Pskov and Veliky Novgorod rise up to fight against speculation in bread, high prices, and hunger.

copper riot

A powerful, albeit short-lived, uprising broke out in Moscow - the "copper riot" on July 25, 1662. Its participants - the capital's townspeople and part of the archers, a soldier, a reiter of the Moscow garrison - presented their demands to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich: tax cuts, which had greatly increased due to wars with Poland and Sweden, the abolition of copper money, peeled in huge quantities and equated to silver. In addition, a lot of counterfeit money appeared on the market. All this led to a strong depreciation of the copper coin, high cost, hunger.
In all their hardships, suffering, ordinary people blamed I.D. Miloslavsky, the tsar's father-in-law and head of government, other boyars, wealthy merchants V.G. Shorin and others.
Talk about the upcoming action against the boyars, "traitors", the authorities in Moscow were conducted in the spring. And a few days before the riot, "thieves' lists" appeared on the squares and streets - proclamations with accusations against the same boyars and guests and calls for an uprising. The compilers of the "sheets" complained about copper money, high prices for salt and so on, about the violence and bribery of the "traitor" boyars, demanded their punishment. The demands of the lower classes, reflected in the "sheets", were reduced to tax cuts, an end to the abuses of the administration, the rich, and their punishment.
The performance, prepared in advance, began early in the morning on July 25. Many thousands of Muscovites listened to the reading of "thieves' lists" on the Lubyanka, Red Square. Up to 4-5 thousand rebels with "lists" and a petition went to the village of Kolomenskoye, where the tsar and his court were. And in the capital, pogroms began in the courtyards of the boyars, guests, and orderly chiefs.
In Kolomenskoye, the rebels, who burst through the gate, broke the resistance of the streltsy guards, handed their demands to Tsar Alexei. Alexei Mikhailovich and the boyars persuaded the rebels, called for patience, "reproached" for "rebellious" behavior, promised to investigate the guilt of "traitors", to reduce taxes. In the course of further conversations, they were able to convince, and one of the rebels "beat his hands with the king." The participants in the movement, the tsarists in their convictions and illusions, calmed down and headed for Moscow. Halfway there, they were met by a new crowd of Muscovites on their way to Kolomenskoye. Both parties of the rebels united and went to the royal residence. There were already up to 9-10 thousand of them. They came to the king's court again "strongly", i.e. overcoming the resistance of the guard. They negotiated with the boyars, "angrily and impolitely" talked with the king. Again demanded the boyars "to kill." Aleksey Mikhailovich "dissuaded" by the fact that he was supposedly going to Moscow to be searched. The rebels threatened the tsar: “It will be good if you don’t give up those boyars to us, and we will teach you to have it ourselves according to our custom!”
By this time, troops (from 6 to 10 thousand people) had already been pulled into Kolomenskoye by order of the tsar. Alexei Mikhailovich “shouted and ordered” the archers, courtiers and serfs to “beat” the rebels, “cut and chop without mercy, after imposing them, hang them ... and drown them in rivers and swamps.” A bloody and merciless massacre began. At least 2,500-3,000 people were killed or arrested (the number of those killed, according to some documents, was slightly less than a thousand people). At the beginning of 1663, copper money was abolished, frankly motivating this measure with the desire to prevent a new “bloodshed” - “so that nothing else happens between people about money”, the king ordered them to be “set aside”.