Publication date 28.01.2015

At the time of my childhood in the 60s of the last century, in the small village of Protasy, Shabalinsky district, there was Primary School. There was one empty classroom in the school building. It was cold here and a little scary from the pictures that evoke horror. For some reason, one of the reproductions, called "Morning of the Streltsy Execution", was especially remembered.

No wonder: paintings famous artists long years The Ministry of Education included history textbooks in the appendices. Reproductions at that time could be seen in various kinds of art albums and small calendars.

Before today the image of the Sovereign - the reformer causes conflicting opinions among people. Historians - Freemasons claim that Peter the Great in the wild uneducated Russia instilled civilization with fire and sword. The consciousness of Russians is disturbed by pictures of the suppression of the streltsy rebellion. It must be said that everything bloody events taking place in Russia are interpreted in such a way that they were committed in the name of the interests of the country. But is it? Or are the interests of the country just a cover for powerful persons to maintain their own power?

About the history of the Streltsy rebellion

The victory over the Turks after the completion of the Azov campaign was heroic history the entire Russian army. However, all the laurels from the victory went to the "amusing" regiments of the Sovereign. With honor, they returned to Moscow from the battlefields, having passed through triumphal gate. Streltsy regiments, thanks to which victory was won, continued to carry in the defeated Azov military service. They were engaged in the restoration of city fortifications, led construction work, carried out sentinel service.

A murmur began to arise among the archers due to the fact that an order had come from the command to transfer four regiments to the city of Velikiye Luki. It was necessary to strengthen western border. archers allowance did not receive. Draft horses were sorely lacking. The command gave the order to the archers to carry the guns.

All these problems caused displeasure among servicemen.

In March 1698, they decided to find mother truth in Moscow. For this purpose, 175 soldiers from the notorious four regiments left the location of the garrison and went to the capital.

Sovereign Peter the Great was in this period of time in England. No one deigned to receive Streltsov in the palace. And then, as their last hope, the servants turned to Princess Sophia for help. The princess could not solve the problem of the soldiers simply because of their ability. The fact of the conversion of the archers later served as their formidable accusation! Allegedly, there was a conspiracy between the princess and the archers, the purpose of which was to overthrow Peter the Great from the throne.

Not salty slurping, the soldiers returned to the positions they had left earlier.

Sagittarius were residents of the capital. Their families, parents, wives, children lived in Moscow. They were not rebels, they just wanted to achieve elementary justice - to receive their due salary and return home after the war. To achieve this goal, they decided to send their representatives in order to ask for the sovereign's mercy. The dramatic event took place on June 18, 1698. Representatives of the shooters at the New Jerusalem Monastery were waiting for the noble cavalry militia and "amusing" regiments in the amount of 2300 people. Led this formidable force A. S. Shein and P. Gordon. Sagittarius went not with war, but with peace. They considered the voivode Alexei Semenovich to be "their own". It was a comrade, participant Azov campaigns. Generalissimo Shein was, according to historians, the first generalissimo of the Russian army.

Quite unexpectedly for the petitioners was the shelling of artillery from the side of the "amusing". The cavalry drove the scattered archers into one heap. The court took place right in the field. Shein and Romodanovsky conducted an inquiry. 57 archers were hanged. They were charged with turmoil and refusal to obey the requirements of regimental commanders.

Continuation of a story

In 1698, at the end of August, the tsar returned from abroad. At that time, Peter the Great became famous for the fact that he began to shave the beards of the boyars with special zeal. When the sovereign got bored with this occupation, he remembered the archers and decided to teach them a lesson.

There is evidence of this story in the memoirs of Patrick Gordon, who was a participant in those distant tragic events in Russian history.

The retinue hoped that the drunken Peter, having sobered up, would forget about his threats against the archers. But everything turned out differently. The tsar appeared in the economy of the Preobrazhensky order, whose duty it was to search for people objectionable to the authorities throughout the country. It was these servicemen who received the formidable order of Peter the Great. He ordered the immediate construction of 14 torture chambers. Romodanovsky was directly subordinate to 10 people who can be called "shoulder masters". In Preobrazhensky, for the speed of inquiry, an investigative conveyor was formed: interrogation was conducted in one torture chamber with a protocol being drawn up. In another cell, the agonizing cries of archers from the most severe tortures were heard.

Peter the Great personally conducted the interrogation of his sister Sophia. The princess was subjected to painful torture. She was flogged with a whip and pulled up on the rack. Probably, not all of our contemporaries have an idea of ​​what this instrument of torture was?

Patrick Gordon in his memoirs shares about the cruelty of the "great" Sovereign. Princess Sophia during the torture behaved with royal dignity, nor in one word did not slander the archers.

The king imprisoned the rebellious sister forever in a monastery. Peter also sent another sister, Princess Martha, to prison. All her fault was that she was on the side of Sophia. The sisters were separated. Sophia was in Moscow, and Martha whiled away her imprisonment in Vladimir.

"Great Detective"

In September, the "great detective" began. This means that Moscow archers began to be arrested indiscriminately. During the week, as a result of raids, approximately 4 thousand people were arrested. All of them were destined for a tragic fate "on the assembly line" in the Preobrazhensky order.

Sagittarius did not feel any guilt behind themselves and did not want to slander themselves in vain. They were tortured in the dungeons of the torture chambers: they burned the body with red-hot tongs, pulled them up on the rack, and whipped them with animal frenzy.

It was enough to make a few jerks on the rack and 10 - 15 blows with a whip, as a person was literally put out of action. There was a rupture of the tendons, there was a pain shock. Elderly archers had a stroke or heart attack. In this case, the executioners stopped the torture, since it was already physically impossible to torture the half-corpse, which could no longer respond to painful effects.

The torture was so sophisticated that some archers slandered themselves, if only the torment would stop. They confessed to all mortal sins that they hated foreigners and dreamed of overthrowing the king from the throne.

Among the archers came across especially persistent warriors who did not want to slander themselves. They were tortured up to seven times, i.e. tortured so much until they killed their victim, but never received a word of repentance. This fact especially infuriated the king, that he could not even under torture break the spirit of a warrior.

What was said official version? The shooters wanted to elevate Princess Sophia to the Russian throne, and overthrow Peter the Great. Drive foreigners out of Moscow, burn the German settlement.

Blood trail of reckoning

The first execution took place on September 30, 1698. A column of 200 archers tormented after torture was taken out of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. They were taken to Lobnoye Mesto in Moscow. Peter the Great, distraught from all permitted power, ordered to cut off the heads of the victims right on the road.

Five men, randomly snatched from the ranks of convicts, were beheaded right there. Streams of blood, severed heads, horror froze in the eyes of subjects ...

Peter the Great at the Execution Ground himself decided to have some fun. And before the eyes of the people, as if on a battlefield, he ruthlessly cut off the heads of the archers. Chopped heads like cabbages... And it's terrible... The thought creeps in that the heir Russian throne was mentally ill...

There were many heads that were not cut off, and a retinue came to the aid of the sovereign. From the massacre, according to historians, foreign subjects refused, not wanting to arouse the hatred of the common people.

Next mass execution convicts took place on October 11, 1698. Two ship pines were brought to the place of execution. 50 martyrs laid their necks on logs. The executioner did his dirty work faster, only heads flew one after another, flooding the pavement with an endless stream of blood ... On that day, 144 people were executed. The drunken monarch again waved his ax with pleasure this time. Having exhausted himself, he ordered to call for help from the crowd of people who wanted to. And there were helpers... It was terrible sight! grand show! The people were given free vodka! How about a holiday...

Along with the executioners, the king chopped off the heads of archers and people from the common people. Peter the Great, as it were, wished to share his sin with the people. Red Square was stained with blood, vodka flowed like a river, drunken people assured the tsar of love and devotion.

About 800 people were executed. The show goes on!

In the autumn of 1698, the first snow fell in the capital. By order of Peter the Great, the convicts were taken to the Execution Ground in a black sleigh. The victims were seated two by two in a wagon. Lighted candles burned in their hands.

On October 17, 1698, 109 people were put to death. On the following day, the heads of 65 archers were cut off, on October 19 - 106.

Fortunately, the tsar left for Voronezh. The shooters were left alone.

Returning to the capital in January 1699, the king continued his lawlessness, while showing a certain ingenuity. In January - February 1699, 215 archers were hung on the wall. The gallows were set around Novodevichy Convent in Moscow. And it is no coincidence that Princess Sophia was in this monastery. The executed until the very spring hung on the gallows, instilling fear and genuine horror in the subjects of the king!

AT total from September 1698 to February 1699, 1182 archers were executed, over 600 people were sent to a settlement in Siberia. 2,000 men were sent to serve in remote archery regiments.

This story clearly shows how people's sacrifices rulers can go to preserve their own power.

History knows many examples when, as a result of coups organized by the military, countries dramatically changed their foreign and domestic policies. Putschs and attempts to seize power, relying on the army, happened in Russia as well. One of them was the Streltsy revolt of 1698. Its reasons, participants and their future fate this article is about.

Prehistory of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698

In 1682, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died childless. The most likely contenders for the throne were his younger brothers - 16-year-old Ivan, who was in poor health, and 10- summer peter. Both princes had powerful support in the person of their relatives Miloslavsky and Naryshkin. In addition, Ivan was supported by his own sister, Princess Sophia, who had influence on the boyars, and Patriarch Joachim wanted to see Peter on the throne. The latter declared the boy king, which did not please Miloslavsky. Then they, together with Sophia, provoked a streltsy riot, later called the Khovanshchina.

The victims of the uprising were the brother of Empress Natalia and other relatives, and her father (grandfather of Peter the Great) was forcibly tonsured a monk. It was possible to calm the archers only by paying them all their salary arrears and agreeing that Peter ruled with his brother Ivan, and Sophia performed the functions of regent until they came of age.

The position of the archers by the end of the 17th century

To understand the reasons for the Streltsy rebellion of 1698, one should get acquainted with the position of this category of service people.

In the middle of the 16th century, the first regular army. It consisted of streltsy foot units. Moscow archers were especially privileged, on whom the court political parties often relied.

The capital's archers settled in the settlements outside Moscow and were considered a prosperous category of the population. They not only received a good salary, but also had the right to engage in trade and crafts, without burdening themselves with the so-called township duties.

Azov campaigns

The origins of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698 should be sought in the events that took place thousands of miles from Moscow several years earlier. As is known, in last years of his regency waged war against Ottoman Empire, attacking mainly Crimean Tatars. After her imprisonment in a monastery, Peter the Great decided to continue the struggle for access to the Black Sea. To this end, he sent troops to Azov, including 12 archery regiments. They came under the command of Patrick Gordon and that caused discontent among the Muscovites. The archers believed that foreign officers sent them on purpose to the most dangerous sections of the front line. To some extent, their complaints were justified, since Peter's associates really protected the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, which were the favorite brainchild of the tsar.

Streltsy revolt of 1698: background

After the capture of Azov, the "Muscovites" were not allowed to return to the capital, instructing them to carry out garrison service in the fortress. The rest of the archers were assigned the responsibility of restoring the damaged and building new bastions, as well as repelling the incursions of the Turks. This situation continued until 1697, when the regiments under the command of F. Kolzakov, I. Cherny, A. Chubarov and T. Gundertmark were ordered to go to Velikiye Luki to guard the Polish-Lithuanian border. The dissatisfaction of the archers was also fueled by the fact that they had not been paid salaries for a long time, and disciplinary requirements became stricter day by day. Many were also worried about the isolation from their families, especially since disappointing news came from the capital. In particular, letters from home reported that wives, children and parents were in poverty, as they were not able to engage in crafts without the participation of men, and the money sent was not even enough for food.

The beginning of the uprising

In 1697, Peter the Great left for Europe with the Great Embassy. The young sovereign appointed Prince-Caesar Fyodor Romodanovsky to rule the country during his absence. In the spring of 1698, 175 archers arrived in Moscow, deserting from units stationed on Lithuanian border. They reported that they had come to ask for a salary, as their comrades were suffering from "lack of food." This request was granted, which was reported to the tsar in a letter written by Romodanovsky.

Nevertheless, the archers were in no hurry to leave, citing the fact that they were waiting for the roads to dry out. They tried to expel and even arrest them. However, Muscovites did not give offense to "their own". Then the archers took refuge in the Zamoskvoretskaya Sloboda and sent messengers to Princess Sophia, imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent.

In early April, with the assistance of the townspeople, he was able to put the rebels to flight and force them to leave the capital.

Attack on Moscow

The participants in the Streltsy rebellion of 1698, having reached their regiments, began to campaign and incite their comrades to go to the capital. They read them letters allegedly written by Sophia and spread rumors that Peter had abandoned Orthodoxy and even died in a foreign land.

At the end of May, 4 archery regiments were transferred from Velikiye Luki to Toropets. There they were met by the governor Mikhail Romodanovsky, who demanded to extradite the instigators of the unrest. The archers refused and decided to go to Moscow.

At the beginning of the summer, Peter was informed about the uprising, and he ordered to immediately deal with the rebels. In the memory of the young king, childhood memories of how the archers tore apart his mother’s relatives were fresh in his eyes, so he was not going to spare anyone.

The rebellious regiments in the amount of about 2200 people reached the walls of Voskresensky, located on the banks of the Istra River, 40 km from Moscow. There they were already waiting for government troops.

Battle

The tsarist governors, despite their superiority in armament and manpower, made several attempts to end the matter amicably.

In particular, a few hours before the start of the fight, Patrick Gordon went to the rebels, trying to persuade them not to go to the capital. However, they insisted that they should definitely see at least briefly the families from whom they had been separated for several years.

After Gordon realized that things could not be resolved peacefully, he fired a volley of 25 guns. The whole battle lasted about an hour, because after the third volley from the cannons, the rebels surrendered. Thus ended the Streltsy revolt of 1698.

executions

In addition to Gordon, Peter's commanders Aleksey Shein, Ivan Koltsov-Mosalsky and Anikita Repnin took part in the suppression of the rebellion.

After the arrest of the rebels, the investigation was led by Fedor Romodanovsky. Shein helped him. After some time, they were joined by Peter the Great, who returned from Europe.

All instigators were executed. Some were cut off by the king himself.

Now you know who participated in the suppression of the Streltsy revolt of 1698 and what caused the discontent of the Moscow warriors.

Streltsy revolt of 1682 (also known in history as Khovanshchina) - a revolt of Moscow archers at the beginning of the reign.

1682, April 27 - Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died at the age of 20. Either Ivan or Peter could become his successor. The 10-year-old Peter, born of the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, ascended the throne by the common consent of all the ranks of the Moscow State. 14-year-old Ivan, the son of the king from his first wife, from the Miloslavsky family.

With the accession of Peter at the court, the strengthening of the Naryshkins began. This could not suit another court party - the Miloslavskys, at the head of which were Princess Sophia and her favorite Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky. There was also a force that could help them - archers.

The position of the archery troops

On the archery regiments lay the maintenance of order, and the performance of punitive service. Two regiments were on a special regime and enjoyed special privileges - they accompanied the sovereign on trips to monasteries, took part in all kinds of ceremonies. Streltsy were housed by families in the Streltsy settlements of Moscow. The service was for life, and the salary that they received from the treasury was meager. Therefore, the archers, burdened with families, were forced to seek additional income. Those who were less well off traded in crafts, the wealthy made trade deals.

The archers decided to take advantage of the new tsar's accession to the throne, and on April 30, 1682, they turned to the government with a complaint against Colonel Semyon Griboyedov, who had imposed "taxes and insults and all sorts of cramps" on them.

The throne was occupied by 10 summer child, behind whose back was a mother - a woman, according to B.I. Kurakin, absolutely not experienced in politics: “This princess of good temperament, virtuous, only was neither diligent nor skillful in business, and crazy lung". Natalya Kirillovna, who did not have experienced advisers and was at a loss, satisfied all the requirements of the archers. Griboyedov was not only removed from the post of colonel, but also subjected to punishment by batogs; he was ordered to recover, according to the list filed by the archers, the money appropriated by them and pay the archers for all the work they performed; his estates were subject to confiscation.

Background of the rebellion

One concession led to others. On the same day, the government was forced to satisfy the demands of the archers of the remaining 19 regiments.

Sagittarius realized that they are the masters of the situation. We don’t know who in the Miloslavsky camp came up with the idea to rely on the archers in the fight against the Naryshkins: either the experienced intriguer Ivan Mikhailovich, or the treacherous and ambitious Sofya Alekseevna, who dreamed of hoisting royal crown. Whatever it was, but Miloslavsky and Sophia were able to direct the anger of the archers in the right direction for themselves. However, the implementation of their plans was objectively helped by Natalya Kirillovna herself, who made a number of significant mistakes in the first days of her reign.

According to the custom of that time, the queen's relatives received awards with ranks and estates. On April 27, 5 brothers of Natalya Kirillovna (Ivan, Afanasy, Lev, Martemyan, Fedor) were sent to sleeping bags. Only 5 days passed, as a new award was announced, which caused the greatest gossip: the 22-year-old sleeping bag Ivan Kirillovich was declared a boyar, bypassing the ranks of a duma nobleman and roundabout. The conspirators, on the other hand, skillfully managed to use the mistakes of the government, in every possible way arousing the wrath of the archers. “Do you see how the Naryshkins climb up the mountain? They don't care anymore."

So, Natalya Kirillovna came under attack from two sides: the archers and the Miloslavskys, who claimed the royal throne. She could not rely on the wisdom of the newly-made sleeping bags and the boyar Ivan Kirillovich: both the brothers and father Kirill Polievktovich did not differ either in intelligence, or insight, or political experience. The only hope of the Naryshkins is Artamon Sergeevich Matveev, Natalya Kirillovna's tutor, who arranged her marriage to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Matveev showed abilities in matters not only matrimonial, but also state: in the last years of the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, he was the first minister and actually led the government. But after the death of the king, he was sent by the Miloslavskys to imprisonment in Pustozersk. The boyars were returned to Artamon Matveev and an official, the stolnik Almazov, was sent to invite him to Moscow immediately.

Preparing a riot

Matveev appeared in Moscow only on the evening of May 12. Upon arrival, he was given another favor - they returned all the confiscated estates. If Natalya Kirillovna was looking forward to the arrival of Matveev and was practically inactive, then the Miloslavskys and Sofya developed a storm of activity and, in the figurative expression of SM. Solovyov, "boiled a conspiracy", at night representatives of the streltsy regiments came to the house of the Miloslavskys, and from Sophia's chambers her emissaries drove around the settlements, who spared neither wine nor money to bribe the archers.

The boyar Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky found assistants for himself - a relative of Alexander Ivanovich Miloslavsky, a man of "villainous and most rude", two nephews, Ivan and Peter Andreevich Tolstoy, "intelligently sharp and filled with great cunning and gloomy evil," as young Matveev described them, left notes about the events of those times. From the archery chiefs, they attracted Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Tsykler, a "stern foreigner", and Ivan Ozerov, from the lower Novogorod nobility. Between ordinary archers, 10 people were chosen attorneys. The mediator was the Cossack Fyodor Semenova, who carried the news from the princess to Ivan Miloslavsky, from that to the streltsy settlements, from the settlements to Sophia.

The beginning of the riot

Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna shows the archers that Tsarevich Ivan is unharmed

The arrival of Matveev in the capital could not at all strengthen the positions of the Naryshkin "party". Maybe Matveev did not appreciate the measure of danger hanging over the Naryshkins. What retaliatory measures Matveev was planning is unknown. By at least, until noon on May 15, nothing was done against the archers. And at noon it was already too late - at the call of the alarm, with unfolded banners, armed archery regiments advanced to the Kremlin. While Matveev reported this to the queen and pondered whether it was worth closing the Kremlin gates and taking measures for security royal family, archers burst into the Kremlin with drumming.

The reason for the unexpected appearance of the archers in the Kremlin was the rumors that the Naryshkins "exterminated" Tsarevich Ivan. They were dismissed by active supporters of Sophia and Miloslavsky. The eldest of the Tolstoy traveled around the streltsy settlements and angered the streltsy with rumors. He threatened new injustices and predicted changes for the worse. Archers were told that they were waiting for execution, and therefore the time has come to show strength.

Having learned the reason for the unrest of the archers, Tsarina Natalya, together with the patriarch and the boyars, went to the Red Porch with the princes Ivan and Peter. An angry army raged below.

After the deception was discovered, there was a momentary stupor among the archers, followed by a new outburst of their indignation. Several archers climbed the stairs to the porch and began to ask Ivan if he was a real prince. It would seem that, having been convinced of the good health of the prince, the archers should have gone home. But the fact of the matter is that the question of the prince was only a pretext for the appearance of archers in the Kremlin. The persons who led the archers and directed their discontent against the Naryshkins threw them a list of "traitor-boyars" who were to be destroyed.

The leaders of the Streltsy Order, father and son Dolgoruky, the boyars Yuri Alekseevich and Mikhail Yuryevich, helped the revelry of passions. At the very moment when screams were heard in the crowd of archers about the extradition of "traitor-boyars", Mikhail Dolgoruky turned to them with the rudeness of the winner: "Go home, there is nothing for you to do here, it's full of rowdy. The whole thing will be sorted out without you!”

The archers were furious. Some of them climbed onto the porch, grabbed Mikhail Dolgoruky and threw their comrades who were standing below onto spears. The bodies of other boyars and "traitors" who were on the list flew to the spears. Among them were the boyars A.S. Matveev and I.M. Yazykov, the stolnik Fyodor Petrovich Saltykov, who was killed by mistake instead of the brother of the tsarina Ivan Kirillovich, her other brother, Afanasy Kirillovich, the duma clerk Larion Ivanov and others. on the ground, shouting: “Here is the boyar Artamon Sergeevich, here is Dolgoruky, here is the thoughtful one, give way!”

The archers did not calm down the next day either. On May 16, they demanded Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin for reprisal. Princess Sofya said to her stepmother: “Your brother will not leave the archers; let us not all perish because of him.” The queen was forced to sacrifice her brother. Togo was first taken to the dungeons of the Konstantinovskaya Tower, where they were tortured, seeking a confession of treason. Despite the fact that Ivan Kirillovich withstood the torture, the archers took the victim to Red Square and chopped him to pieces. Following Ivan Kirillovich was executed royal doctor German Daniel von Gaden, accused of poisoning Tsar Fedor. They also tortured him to confess to the crime and failed to get the desired results.

The leaders of the conspiracy wanted the Naryshkin family to be completely exhausted, and they prompted the archers to present new demands to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna. On May 18, in a petition addressed to Peter, they wished that his grandfather, Kirill Polievktovich, be tonsured a monk, and two days later a new “request”, which sounded like an ultimatum, to expel the surviving Naryshkins from Moscow. The "requests" of the archers were immediately satisfied: all relatives were sent to distant lands- to the Terek and Yaik, to Pustozersk, Martemyan and Lev Kirillovich kept their way.

As a result of the May events, the Naryshkins were either killed or exiled. The Miloslavskys and Sofya were now striving to secure the victory legally. Archers appear on the scene again. On May 23, in another petition, they began to demand that both brothers rule the country, and on May 26, that the eldest of them, Ivan Alekseevich, be considered the first king. The Patriarch performed a solemn prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral for the two named kings. The boyars and clerks, who held the side of Peter, involuntarily swore allegiance to the second tsar, fearing a renewal terrible phenomena May 15.

Streltsy pull Ivan Naryshkin out of the palace. While Peter I comforts his mother, Princess Sophia watches.

A week later, the archers announced through their chief, Prince Khovansky, that Princess Sofya Alekseevna would take over the government due to the infancy of the brothers. She agreed, and immediately notification letters flew to all cities with an example from Roman history, where, after the death of Emperor Theodosius in the early childhood of his sons, Arcadius and Honorius, their sister Pulcheria ruled the empire.

It seemed that Sophia was able to achieve the desired goal. Meanwhile, the archers got out of the influence of Sophia and the Miloslavskys. The archers, led by the new head of the Streltsy order, Ivan Andreevich Khovansky, became the masters of the situation in Moscow. He maneuvered so skillfully, indulging the archers and encouraging Sophia, that in the summer of 1682 he personified power in the capital.

1682, August 20 - Sophia left Moscow, taking both princes with her, and went, accompanied by her retinue, to Kolomenskoye. Such a decisive measure led the outward infantry into confusion, and a deputation went to Kolomenskoye, the purpose of which was to convince Sophia and her entourage of the falsity of the rumors, "as if they, the outward infantry, had caused confusion both to the boyars and to their neighbors with evil intent."

Sophia, still not confident in her abilities, decided not to aggravate relations with the archers and gave them an evasive answer. The decree handed to the representatives of the out-of-door infantry said: “... they, the great sovereigns, about their intent, as well as about the secret transfers from regiment to regiment, are unknown”, the campaign to Kolomenskoye was undertaken “at the sovereign’s will”, similar campaigns have happened before. Sophia had to buy time to mobilize forces capable of resisting the rebellious archers. Such a force was the noble militia. On behalf of the kings, she turned to the nobles with an appeal to urgently gather at the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

Sophia herself got to the Trinity in a roundabout way, through Zvenigorod, where she arrived on September 6th. In the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery, a solemn meeting was organized for her. From Zvenigorod, the royal motorcade turned towards the Trinity, with a long stop in the village of Vozdvizhensky, from where Sophia decided to deal a crushing blow to the archers. She was able to successfully carry out an insidious plan.

Under the pretext of a solemn meeting with the son of the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Samoylovich, Sophia, on behalf of the tsars, invited the boyar ranks, as well as the stewards, solicitors and nobles of Moscow, to arrive in Vozdvizhenskoye by September 18. “And who are the boyars and devious and thoughtful people on vacation, and they should be from their villages to them, great sovereigns, on a campaign to everyone to the same number.” Ivan Andreevich Khovansky also received a decree to appear in Vozdvizhenskoye, while the real purpose of summoning the prince was masked by the duty assigned to him to ensure the appearance of the boyars and other service people so that they “were not crowded”.

The end of the riot

These letters were sent out on September 14, and three days later the boyar Mikhail Ivanovich Lykov was ordered to lead a detachment of archers, solicitors, tenants and others, so that “Prince Ivan Khovansky and Evo’s son Prince Andrei were taken on the road. and bring it to the village of Vozdvizhenskoye. Boyarin Lykov exactly carried out the decree of the tsars: I.A. Khovansky was caught near the village of Pushkin, and his son was caught in his own village.

By inviting the ruling elite to Vozdvizhenskoye, Sophia beheaded archery movement, depriving him of Khovansky.

As soon as the Khovanskys were taken to Vozdvizhenskoye, a trial took place immediately. The actual members acted as judges Boyar Duma. They without investigation sentenced father and son to death penalty. The sentence was immediately carried out "in the village of Vozdvizhensky on the square near the big Moscow road."

The execution of the Khovanskys did not relieve tensions in Moscow. Sophia and both tsars were still in danger due to one miscalculation of the princess - she left at liberty the youngest son of Prince Ivan Andreevich, also named Ivan, and the nephew of Prince Ivan Ivanovich managed to escape to Moscow, where he tried to raise archers at night for a new performance assurances, "as if his father, Prince Ivan, and his brother, Prince Andrei, were executed in vain and without being searched."

The archers were not so much concerned about the execution of the father and son of the Khovanskys, but about the rumor about the boyars who were going to Moscow to beat them, the archers. Therefore, the campaign of the son and nephew of the executed I.A. Khovansky at first was a success.

On September 18, an admonishing decree was sent to the infantry regiments so that the archers would not believe the “charming and crafty words” of the relatives of the executed and show prudence. The decree assured the archers that royal wrath they do not, and they can "without any hesitation and fear" rely on the royal mercy.

Convinced of the safety of her stay in Moscow, Sophia decided to return to the capital. On November 2, the boyar Golovin, who ruled Moscow, received a decree on preparations for the solemn meeting of the tsars and Sophia.

The participants in the rebellion received relatively mild punishments: only a few of them were executed, a significant part of them were at large. Sofya and Miloslavsky were not interested in blowing up the case - this would bring them continuous trouble, because as soon as it would confirm their obvious involvement in the rebellion. Sophia and Miloslavsky prudently decided to remain in the shadows. After the streltsy rebellion was pacified, the seven-year reign of Sophia began.

When Peter was four years old, Alexei Mikhailovich died. His brother Fedor became king.

Since 1676 - Tsar Fedor Alekseevich - son from the first wife of Tsar Miloslavskaya - "sickly and sickly."

Due to the nominality of his power - at court - the confrontation of two parties: the Miloslavskys (the mother of Fyodor Alekseevich and her numerous relatives) and the Naryshkins (relatives and friends of N.K. Naryshkina).

There is a fierce struggle for power between them.

On the throne is the son of Miloslavskaya, and the state is ruled by Naryshkina's educator, the boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev.

The main support of the Miloslavsky party was Princess Sofya Alekseevna - the fourth oldest of the six daughters of Alexei Mikhailovich from her first marriage to Miloslavskaya Maria Ilyinichnaya.

Immediately after the death of Fyodor Alekseevich in 1682, Peter was proclaimed tsar and blessed by the patriarch, but then he was not even 10 years old. Consequently, the regent with him is his mother N.K. Naryshkin. And this exalted the Naryshkin group.

The struggle for the throne after the death of Fedor - 1682

Peter and Sophia - opposition.

Peter I - son of N.K. Naryshkina - the 2nd wife of Alexei Mikhailovich (love marriage) On January 22, 1671, Alexei Mikhailovich married Naryshkina, and on May 30, 1672 they had a son, who was named Peter.

Sofya - the daughter of Miloslavskaya Maria Ilyinichna - the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich.

Sophia skillfully used the discontent of the archers, which began with the death of Alexei Mikhailovich. Under him, they received a large salary for their service, were exempted from taxes and had the right to engage in any trade.

Streltsy - the army approved by Ivan the Terrible and used by him not only for military affairs, but also for the execution of his orders - has always been distinguished by love of freedom and adherence to old customs. Sophia announced that if not Peter reigns, but his brother Ivan, then the whole new order, introduced by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, will be destroyed; all changes made by Patriarch Nikon in church books will be cancelled. Because most of archers are Old Believers, it suited them.

Shooters Dissatisfied:

1. The new Tsar Fedor did not distinguish them from the rest of the service people, did not give awards;

2. The colonels of the archers began to withhold their salaries in their favor;

3. They forced to buy expensive uniforms at their own expense;

4. Punished with batogs;

5. Transferred from city to city, etc.

The main thing is that the complaints of the archers did not reach the king.

When Peter ascended the throne, the archers felt that they represented a force to be reckoned with. They, taking advantage of their position, sent a petition to their superiors, threatening their own reprisals if the matter was not settled. The government immediately dismissed the colonels and appointed new ones, the new ones demanded reprisals against the old ones. The government gave in: the old ones were punished, the new colonels refused to obey and spent their time in drinking and fighting.

The mutiny of May 15, 1682 was provoked by Sophia. The Moscow Troubles of 1682 entered the history of the state under the name "Khovanshchina" after the leader of the archers Ivan Andreevich Khovansky.

Sophia was not slow to take advantage of the situation: her adherents rotated among the archers and persuaded them to rise against the Naryshkins. The most active of Sophia's supporters: two Tolstykh, Boyar Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky and Prince Ivan Khovansky rumors spread that the Naryshkins were demanding trial and punishment of the archers for their massacre of the colonels. A new rumor that Tsarina Natalya's brother, Ivan Naryshkin, tried on a crown in the Kremlin and strangled Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich, drove them into a frenzy. They rushed to the Kremlin. Some boyars rushed to the carriages - they wanted to leave, but the archers chopped off the legs of the horses. In front of the eyes of 10-year-old Peter, the boyar Matveev, his mother's brothers, were hacked to death: Athanasius and Ivan Naryshkin. This massacre affected the psyche of young Peter.

Sophia, in order to calm the rebels, gave each of them ten rubles and paid the lost salary. This made her even more endearing to them.

Prince Khovansky, on behalf of the archers, drew up a petition in which he demanded that both princes rule together, and the Boyar Duma and Consecrated Cathedral They called Ivan the first king, and Peter the second. In the new petition, the archers insisted that "the government, for the sake of the young years of both sovereigns, hand them over to their sister."

As a result: 2 brothers were proclaimed rulers, but Sophia was appointed regent under them.

The archers decided that they could also solve religious issues and took part in the struggle of the Old Believers-schismatics with the "Nikon church". Khovansky himself openly went over to the side of the schismatics. The schismatics began to convince the archers to demand the restoration of the "old faith". Defender of the Old Believers acted Nikita Pustosvyat.

Sophia was present at the "debate about faith" and was indignant at the behavior of the schismatics. The debate ended with a seemingly complete defeat of the schismatics, but they shouted “victory!” carried away with them a mass of people;

Sophia, on the other hand, decided to stop the rebellion in the bud and gave the order: to seize and execute Nikita Pustosvyat and his accomplices.

She changed her attitude towards the archers themselves. Sophia left for the Trinity Church and there she began to gather noble militias around the cities to fight the rebels. Khovansky was summoned there and executed. Upon learning of his execution, the archers revolted. Prepared for the siege of Moscow: together with younger son Khovansky began to prepare for the fight against the boyars, occupied the Kremlin, but soon lost heart, because. understood that they were rebelling against God-given power.

About 3,000 of them went to the monastery with a confession. As a sign of duty, they carried axes and chopping blocks for their execution. Sophia executed 30 people, the rest obeyed her in everything.

Forgiveness was given to them on the condition of unquestioning obedience and non-interference in state affairs.

Thus ended the Moscow Troubles of 1682.

The rebellion of the archers was another attempt by adherents of the old faith to restore what was lost, they fiercely resisted Western trends in Russian life. Honoring the precepts of antiquity: In the words of Archpriest Avvakum: "Torment for Christ well, do not look back."

In 1682, the Moscow archers staged a riot, bringing Sofya Alekseevna, the elder sister of the young princes Ivan and Peter, to power. This uprising was marked by numerous murders of boyars and officials.

Prerequisites

The famous Streltsy rebellion of 1682 occurred for several reasons. Shortly before that, regiments of the new system were created, which noticeably changed the order in the army. Before the archers were the basis of the army, its elite units. With the advent of the regiments of the new system, they actually turned into city guards.

In addition, on the eve of the uprising, the salaries of the archers began to be issued irregularly due to the empty treasury. Hazing also existed in this stratum, in which commanders withheld the salaries of their subordinates and abused their own position in every possible way. All this created tension. Sooner or later it was bound to turn into an open protest. All that was needed for this was some external reason. And he was found.

Heir problem

On April 27, 1682, the young king died. His death led to dynastic confusion. The deceased had no children. The throne had to go to one of his younger brothers- to the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich. Ivan and Peter were still quite children. By tradition, the throne was supposed to go to the first of them. However, Ivan was a sickly child, and the Kremlin believed that he would die early. In addition, the paternal brothers had different mothers, behind whom were warring boyar groups. It was against such a confusing political background that the Streltsy revolt of 1682 took place.

The mother of sixteen-year-old Ivan was Maria Miloslavskaya, a representative of a well-born and powerful family. She died before her husband, so there were uncles and other relatives behind the baby. Ten-year-old Peter was the son of Natalya Naryshkina. The Streltsy rebellion of 1682 occurred due to the confrontation between two families in choosing a new king.

Tsarevich Peter

According to the law, the boyar duma had to determine the heir. She gathered when the already mortally ill Fyodor Alekseevich was preparing to say goodbye to life. The boyars chose Peter. This boy was healthier than his brother, which means that his supporters could not be afraid for their future in the event of another fleeting change of power.

Another key character in this story was the elder sister of Ivan and Peter Sofya Alekseevna. It was she who initiated the rebellion of the archers. The princess was in her 25th year, she was an adult with great ambitions. Sophia wanted to pull the blanket of power over herself. She was going to do this, firstly, with the help of archers dissatisfied with their position, and secondly, thanks to the support of the Miloslavskys, who were infringed by the thought. The princess also relied on the influential princes Ivan Khovansky and Vasily Golitsyn. These nobles were not at all happy with the rise of the noble Naryshkins.

Unrest in Moscow

Very soon after the decision of the Boyar Duma to choose an heir in Moscow, rumors began to spread about the impending infringement of the archers. These conversations were supported by a wide network of Miloslavsky supporters. The Streltsy rebellion of 1682 was due to massive propaganda in the armed forces. Cases of disobedience to their own superiors became more frequent.

For two weeks the situation in the capital was extremely tense and unclear. Finally, on May 15, Sophia's close associates began to act even more decisively. Ivan Miloslavsky and Pyotr Tolstoy went to the streltsy settlements and there they publicly began to call the streltsy to the Kremlin, allegedly because the Naryshkins had killed the young prince Ivan. A crowd of armed people really went to the sovereign's chambers. There she demanded to extradite the boyars who opposed Sophia and Miloslavsky and were responsible for the death of the child.

The queen met the dissatisfied. Having learned the cause of the turmoil, she brought Ivan and Peter to the porch of the palace, clearly showing that everything was in order with the children. The reasons for the Streltsy rebellion were rumors that were not confirmed. Thus, an unauthorized action could already be interpreted as

Beginning of bloodshed

The situation in the Kremlin has reached a boiling point. The crowd had not yet dispersed when a supporter of the Naryshkin boyar Mikhail Dolgorukov appeared on the same porch. This nobleman began to shout at the archers, accusing them of treason and threatening them with imminent reprisals. At that moment, the excited armed men finally found someone to vent their anger on. Dolgorukov was thrown from the porch directly onto the spears of the soldiers standing below. Thus the first blood was shed.

There was nowhere to go now. Therefore, the events of the Streltsy rebellion developed rapidly, and even the alleged organizers of the riots, who had previously spread false rumors, ceased to control the situation. The rebels dealt with other close associates of the Naryshkins, including the leader of their party, Artamon Matveev. In the palace, the soldiers slaughtered the brother of the queen Athanasius. The killings continued throughout the day. Streltsy took control of the Kremlin. The entrances and exits of the palaces and chambers were guarded by the rebels. In fact, members of the royal family became hostages.

Repressions against the Naryshkins

The first streltsy rebellion led to complete anarchy in the city. Power was paralyzed. The rebels with particular zeal were looking for another brother of the queen - Ivan Naryshkin. On the day the bloodshed began, he hid in the royal chambers, thanks to which he survived. However, a day later, the archers again came to the Kremlin and demanded the extradition of Ivan Kirillovich. Otherwise, they promised to make even more chaos.

Natalnaya Naryshkina hesitated. Sofya Alekseevna personally put pressure on her and began to explain that this was the only way to avoid further anarchy. Ivan was released. He was tortured and then executed. The father of Ivan and Natalia - the old and sick Kirill Naryshkin - was sent to the monastery.

Shooter's salary

The reprisals in Moscow continued for another three days. One of the last significant victims of terror was von Ganden, a foreign doctor prescribed for Fyodor Alekseevich. The archers accused him of poisoning the king and killed him. The execution took place even despite the persuasion of the widow of the deceased not to touch the doctor. Queen Martha testified that the foreigner personally tried all the medicines that were prescribed to Fedor. This example shows how merciless and blind the Streltsy rebellion was. Sophia at the same time did everything to establish herself in power.

However, before the rebels and the government began to discuss the political future of the country, the rebels on May 19 came to the underage king with an ultimatum. Streltsy demanded payment of all delayed salaries. According to their calculations, the treasury had to pay 240 thousand rubles. At the time, this was a huge amount. The authorities simply did not have that kind of money. Then Sophia took the initiative into her own hands, who, formally still without any authority, ordered to increase taxes and requisitions in the provinces and begin to melt down the Kremlin's values.

Two princes

New circumstances were soon revealed, to which the streltsy rebellion led. Briefly assessing the current situation, Sophia decided through the archers to demand actual power for herself. It looked like this. On May 23, the rebels filed a petition in the name of Peter, in which they insisted that his brother Ivan become the second king. A week later, this combination was continued. The archers also proposed to make Sofya Alekseevna regent due to the infancy of the co-rulers.

The Boyar Duma and the metropolitan agreed to these changes. They had no choice, since the inhabitants of the Kremlin continued to be hostages of the soldiers. The wedding ceremony and Peter I took place on June 25 in the Assumption Cathedral. She summed up the results of the Streltsy revolt - the power in the country was changed. Instead of the sole prince Peter, Russia received two co-rulers-children. The actual power was in the hands of their elder sister Sofya Alekseevna.

Khovanshchina

Events after the Streltsy revolt of 1682 disturbed Moscow for some time. When Sophia came to power, she appointed the head of this military formation Ivan Khovansky. The queen counted on his help in calming the archers. The queen feared for her fate. She did not want to become a victim of another rebellion.

However, the figure of Khovansky was not the most successful choice for this responsible position. The prince not only yielded to the archers in their demands, but he himself began to put pressure on Sophia. In addition, the military never left the Kremlin, motivating their action by the need to protect the royal residence. This short period was remembered by the people as "Khovanshchina".

Old Believer unrest

Meanwhile, in the confrontation between archers and central government there is a new factor. They became a religious movement that broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. The conflict was caused by reforms that affected the essence of important Christian rites. The Church recognized the schismatics as heretics and expelled them to the outskirts of the country in Siberia.

Now, when there was a riot in Moscow, the Old Believers again reached out to the capital. They enlisted the support of Khovansky. In the Kremlin, he began to defend the idea of ​​the need for a theological dispute between supporters of the Old Believers and the official church. Such a public dispute really took place. However, this event ended with another riots. Now commoners have become a source of unrest.

It was at this moment that another conflict occurred between Sophia and Khovansky. The queen insisted that it was necessary to rein in the Old Believers. In the end, some of their leaders were killed, although Khovansky guaranteed them immunity. Fearing reprisals from the authorities, the archers agreed to recognize the schismatics as instigators of another rebellion.

Yard moving

After the story with the Old Believers, relations between Sofia Alekseevna and Ivan Khovansky finally deteriorated. At the same time, the government continued to dependent position from shooters. Then the regent gathered the whole court and literally fled with him from the city. It happened on August 19th.

On that day, on the outskirts of Moscow, it was planned procession. Sophia took advantage of this pretext to move away from the archers to the provinces. She also took the princes with her. The ruler could convene a noble militia, which would new army, capable of protecting power from fickle archers. The courtyard secretly moved to the well-fortified Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

Archers lay down their weapons

Could a new streltsy rebellion have occurred in connection with this maneuver of power? The causes and results of the first bloodshed were still well remembered by Sophia, who decided to finally get rid of this threat. She believed that such a possibility really existed, and wanted to stop it in advance.

Khovansky, having learned about the actual flight of the regent with the princes, decided to go straight to Sophia in order to resolve the conflict through negotiations. On the way, he stopped in Pushkin, where he was captured by stolniks loyal to the authorities. On the same night, September 17, he was executed on charges of organizing coup d'état. The hovanie is over.

There was no second bloodshed. Sagittarius, learning about inglorious death their leader were demoralized. They surrendered to the authorities and cleared the Kremlin. The Duma clerk Fyodor Shaklovity was appointed to the place of the chief. He set about restoring discipline and order in these parts. After 16 years, the archers rebelled again, already during the reign of Peter I, after which they were finally repressed, and their army was disbanded.