The execution of Stepan Razin

The execution of Stepan Razin

Depicting all the Russian riots and all those executed during them is a difficult and thankless task, there were too many first and second ones, and law and order were not always observed during the repressions. In a word, they hung, one might say, right and left, without trial or investigation ... However, in our history there are outstanding personalities who cannot be ignored on the pages of our study.

The whole way of Russia of the 17th century - the ferocity of laws, the lack of rights of the people, the consolidation of the bondage of the peasants - everything provided food for popular discontent. Towns and villages were surrounded by countless duties, moreover, any folk crafts and crafts were subject to a variety of duties. The greed of the governors and the arbitrariness of officials increased the plight of the people.

In Russian legal proceedings, everything depended on the arbitrariness of the authorities. People convicted or robbed by officials fled to the free Cossacks, they were sympathized with and saw hope in them.

In 1665, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky was on a campaign against the Poles. In his army there were detachments of Don Cossacks. Autumn came. The ataman of one of the Cossack detachments, Razin, appeared to the prince, struck with his forehead and asked to let the Don people go to the free Don. The prince ordered him to remain in the service. None of the military people dared to leave the service without the permission of the chief, but the Cossacks, even in the service, considered themselves free people. The ataman voluntarily left with his village, but they were caught up, and Dolgoruky condemned the ataman to death. He had two brothers. Stepan, or Stenka, and Frol, or Frolka. They saw how the older brother was hanged.

It is not known whether Stenka left immediately or completed his term, but the next year he decided not only to avenge his brother, but also to put fear in all the boyars and noble people of the Moscow State, whom the Cossacks could not stand at all.

Stenka put his gang on 4 plows and in April sailed up the Don. Along the way, the gang robbed the rich Cossacks and ruined their homes.

Between the rivers of Silence and Ilovnia, Stenka chose a high place and laid his camp there. “Stenka is standing on high mounds, and all around him is hollow water: you can’t go through, or drive, or see how many of them there are, you can’t catch your tongue, but, it seems, there will be a thousand people, and maybe more” .

Soon a rumor spread around Tsaritsyn that Cossack thieves were gathering on the Don and wanted to cross to the Volga, attack Tsaritsyn, take ships there and sail down the Volga. This turned out to be no empty rumor. Soon the "horde of thieves" withdrew from their camp and crossed to the Volga. The army of Stepan Razin was divided into hundreds and tens; a centurion was in charge of a hundred, a foreman was in charge of a ten. Razin himself was chieftain over them.

In the spring, Razin's gang began to rob caravans. The ataman robbed with bizarre cruelty: he would kill another without a reason, spare another without a reason; in one place he will take everything, in another he will not touch anything. Having obtained ship's guns and having collected supplies, Razin headed across the water to Tsaritsyn. The city surrendered without firing a shot. In the last days of May, Stenka went to Yaik. He had 30 plows and up to 1300 troops - by cunning he captured Yaik and executed 170 people. There he replenished the army from the local population, those who did not want to go with him, Stenka "burned with fire and beaten to death."

By sea, the Cossacks went to the shores of Dagestan. The Cossacks mercilessly mocked the Dagestan Tatars - they burned villages and villages, killed the inhabitants, ruined their property. So they reached Baku, here they managed to destroy the city, kill many inhabitants, take prisoners and lose no more than seven people killed and two wounded. Meanwhile, a fleet was built in Persia to calm Stenka. A battle ensued. Persian ships were sunk and taken prisoner, only three ships left with the khan, but the Cossacks captured his son and beautiful daughter. Stenka took a Persian princess as his wife. However, the victory was not easy for the Cossacks - about 500 people were killed in the naval battle. It was necessary to return to the Don. The Cossacks returned along the Volga back through Astrakhan. The Astrakhan authorities were preparing to meet the Cossacks much more mercifully than they deserved. The governors corrected in advance on behalf of the king a letter that gave forgiveness to the Cossacks if they brought guilt. It turned out that Stenka somehow repaid Persia for the insults inflicted on Russia, while Russia did not violate the agreement with Persia, and blamed the ruin of its shores on the masterful Cossacks. Stenka with his faithful companions arrived in Astrakhan and in the command hut laid, as a sign of obedience, his bunchuk - a symbol of power. The Cossacks handed over five copper and 16 iron cannons to the authorities, handed over the khan's son, one Persian officer and three Persian nobles.

Legends say that Stenka, in a fit of his devotion to the great sovereign, said that the Cossacks present to his royal majesty the islands that they conquered with a saber from the Persian Shah.

Having gone to the Don, Razin chose a place between Kagalnitskaya and Vedernikovskaya villages, on an island. There he arranged the town of Kagalnik and ordered to surround it with an earthen rampart. The Cossacks built earthen huts for themselves.

Everywhere there was a rumor about his glory; a squalor ran towards him from everywhere; the Cossacks of the upper villages and people walking from the Volga ran to him; his fame reached Ukraine. A month later, there were 2,700 people in his army. He was generous and affable, clothed the poor and the hungry. They called him a father, considered him a sorcerer, believed in his mind, strength and happiness.

He did not rob anyone, and it was much worse. “And Stenka orders his Cossacks incessantly so that they are ready, and what is his thought, the Cossacks know about it, but are silent.” Stenka said that the time had come to go against the boyars, and called the army with him to the Volga. Boyars were hated by many, but the name of the tsar was sacred. Stenka went further than anyone - he became an enemy of the church.

“What are the churches for? Why do you need priests? - said Stenka. “But it doesn’t matter: stand in a pair near a tree and dance around it - that’s what got married!”

In May, Stenka sailed up the Don to Tsaritsyn and took it by storm.

He said to the townspeople: “We are fighting against the traitorous boyars, for the great sovereign!” The Astrakhan governors began to gather an army against the rebel. This time, Razin's army already had from 8 to 10 thousand sabers.

As Stenka will say to his comrades:
“It’s something, brothers,
I'm sick, sick
Today is my day
Is it sad?
I'll go to Astrakhan -
I will burn, I will cut
Astrakhan governor
I'll take it to court."

Stenka was approaching Astrakhan, and nature threatened with ominous omens. There were torrential rains with hail; the cold set in, and three pillars played in the sky with a rainbow color - at the top of them were circles, like crowns.

"The fat is in the fire! Be the wrath of God!" people said.

With the help of the Astrakhan traitors, Stenka took the city of Astrakhan without loss. Razin ordered the execution of 441 people, some were cut with a sword, others with reeds, others were stabbed with spears. Human blood flowed like a river past the church to the very command hut.

Astrakhan was converted to the Cossacks, Razin forced the inhabitants to take the oath "to the great sovereign and ataman Stepan Timofeevich, to serve the army and bring out the traitors."

Razin's next prey was Saratov. Thus, in early September, Stenka reached Simbirsk.

Razin's agents scattered throughout the Moscow State, they reached the shores of the White Sea, sneaked into the capital. In his appeals and speeches, Stenka announced that he was going to exterminate the boyars, nobles, clerks, to eradicate all power, to establish the Cossacks in all of Russia and to do so that everyone was equal to everyone.

Having trampled down the church and the supreme power, Razin nevertheless realized that the Russian people retained respect for them, and decided to hide behind the guise of this respect. He made two ships: one was covered with red, the other with black velvet. About the first, he spread a rumor that it contained the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarevich Alexei, who died in the same year on January 17, allegedly escaping from the anger of the boyars. In another ship was the deposed Patriarch Nikon. Near Simbirsk, Stenka was defeated for the first time. This brought him down in the eyes of the people. As the winter continued, Razin's rebellion was strangled by the governors. The details of the arrest of the ataman are unknown. The sovereign's charters speak of this in different ways: in one, that Stenka was bound by an iron chain by the Don Cossacks, who betrayed him to the royal troops "out of their malice", in the other, that Stenka was captured by deceit.

Stenka and Frolka were brought to Cherkask. Tradition says that the Cossacks were very afraid that Stenka would not leave captivity: they assured him that he was a warlock; no prison would hold him back, no iron would stand against witchcraft. Therefore, he was bound with a consecrated chain and kept in the church porch, hoping that only the power of the shrine would destroy his magic. At the end of April, both remote brothers were taken to Moscow.

On June 4, the news spread throughout Moscow that the Cossacks were taking Stenka. Crowds of people poured out of the city to look at the monster, whose name has not left the lips of all Russian people for so long. A few miles from the capital, the train stopped. Stenka was still dressed in his rich dress; there they took off his rich clothes and dressed him in rags. A large cart with a gallows was brought from Moscow. Then Stenka was put on a cart and tied with a chain by the neck to the crossbar of the gallows, and his arms and legs were attached with chains to the cart. Frolka had to run after the cart like a dog, tied by a chain around the neck to the cart.

In such a triumphant chariot, the ataman of the thieves' Cossacks rode into the capital of the Moscow sovereign, which he threatened to burn to the ground. He followed with a cool air, lowering his eyes, as if trying to hide what was in his soul. Some looked at him with hatred, others with compassion. No doubt there were those who would have wished a different entry for this man, who had been the idol of the mob for so long.

They were brought directly to the Zemsky Prikaz, and the interrogation immediately began. Stanka was silent. He was taken to be tortured. The first torture was a whip - a thick belt strip as thick as a finger and five cubits long. The offender's hands were tied back and lifted up, then they tied his legs with a belt; one executioner sat on a belt and stretched the body so that the hands came out of the joints and became level with the head, and the other executioner beat the victim on the back with a whip. The body swelled, burst, ulcers opened, as if from a knife. Stenka received about a hundred such blows, and, of course, the executioner showed no compassion for such a defendant. But Stenka did not let out a groan. Everyone around him marveled at his endurance.

Then they tied his hands and feet, passed a log through them and laid them on burning coals. Stanka was silent.

Then, over the beaten, burned body, they began to drive with a red-hot iron. Stanka was silent.

They gave him a break and set to work on Frolka. Weaker, he started screaming in pain. “What a woman you are! - said Stenka. - Remember our former life; for a long time we lived with glory, commanded thousands of people: now we must also cheerfully endure misfortune. What, does it hurt? Like a woman pricked!”

They began to torture Stenka with another torture. They shaved the top of his head and left his whiskey. “That's how! - said Stenka to his brother. “We heard that they put crowns on the heads of learned people, and we, brother, are simpletons with you, but they give us such an honor!” They started pouring drops of cold water on the top of his head. It was a torment that no one could resist; the hardest natures lost their presence of mind. Stenka endured this torment and did not utter a single sound.

His whole body was an ugly, crimson mass of blisters. Out of annoyance that nothing bothered him, they began to beat Stenka with all their might on the legs. Stanka was silent.

Tradition says that, sitting in prison and waiting for the last mortal torment, Stenka composed a song and is now known everywhere, in which, as if as a sign of his glory, he bequeathed to bury him at the crossroads of three roads of the Russian land:
“Bury me, brothers, between three roads:
Between Moscow, Astrakhan, glorious Kyiv;
Put a life-giving cross in my heads,
Place a sharp saber at my feet.
Who will pass, or pass - will stop,
Will he pray to my life-giving cross,
My saber, my vostroy is frightened:
What lies here is a thief, a daring good fellow,
Stenka Razin Timofeev, nicknamed!

On June 6, 1671, he was taken to the place of execution along with his brother. Many people flocked to the bloody spectacle. They read a long verdict, which outlined all the crimes of the accused. Stenka listened calmly, with a proud air. At the end of the reading, the executioner took him by the arms. Stenka turned to the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (Basil the Blessed), crossed himself, then bowed to all four sides and said: “Forgive me!”

It was placed between two boards. The executioner cut off his right arm first at the elbow, then his left leg at the knee. During these sufferings, Stenka did not utter a single groan, did not show a sign that he felt pain. He, according to a contemporary, seemed to want to show the people that he was taking revenge with proud silence for his torments, for which he was no longer able to avenge with weapons. The terrible tortures of his brother finally deprived Frolka of courage, who saw what awaited him in a few minutes. "I know the word sovereign!" he shouted.

"Shut up, dog!" - Stenka told him.

Those were his last words. The executioner cut off his head. His body was cut into pieces and impaled on stakes, like his head, and the insides were thrown to the dogs to be eaten.

Biography and episodes of life Stepan Razin. When born and died Stepan Razin, memorable places and dates of important events in his life. ataman quotes, images and videos.

The years of the life of Stepan Razin:

born 1630, died 6 June 1671

Epitaph

"Steppes, valleys,
Grass and flowers -
Spring hopes
Spilled into the ocean.
And he, who deeds,
Like the sun shone
He's in a cage
I sat as an ataman.
From Vasily Kamensky's poem "Stepan Razin"

Biography

The biography of Stepan Razin is a loud and tragic story of the life of a man who decided that he could change the fate of his country. He never aspired to become a king or ruler, but he wanted to achieve equality for his people. Alas, by cruel methods and by enlisting the support of people who did not have such lofty goals as his. It should be noted that even if Razin managed to win and take Moscow, he, together with his entourage, would not be able to create the new democratic society he dreamed of. If only because a system in which enrichment is made through the division of other people's property would still not be able to exist successfully for a long time.

Stepan Razin was born around 1630, his father was a Cossack, and his godfather was a military chieftain, so from childhood he grew up among the Don foremen, knew the Tatar and Kalmyk languages, and while still a young Cossack led a detachment to make a campaign against the Crimean Tatars. He immediately gained fame on the Don - tall, sedate, with a direct and arrogant look. Contemporaries note that Razin always behaved modestly, but strictly. The formation of Razin's personality and his worldview was greatly influenced by the execution of his brother Ivan, who brutalized Stenka, by order of the voivode Prince Dolgorukov.

Starting in 1667, Razin began to make one military campaign after another. The campaigns ended with the victory of Razin, his authority grew, and soon not only Cossacks, but also runaway peasants began to join him from all over the country. One by one Razin took the city - Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov. A huge peasant uprising engulfed most of the country. But in one of the decisive battles, these forces were not enough, and Razin was only miraculously able to leave the battlefield - he was taken away wounded. The authority of Razin began to fall, besides, not only government troops, but also grassroots Cossacks began to resist the Razintsy. Finally, the Kagalniysky town, where Razin settled, was captured and burned, and Razin, along with his brother, was handed over to the Moscow authorities.

The death of Razin became a public demonstrative reprisal against those who dared to rebel against the highest ranks. The cause of Razin's death was strangulation by hanging, but even if he had not been hanged, the ataman would have died from the cruel actions of the executioners, who cut off his arms and legs. There was no funeral for Razin, but his remains were buried at the Tatar cemetery in Moscow, which today houses a park of culture and recreation. The Muslim cemetery for Razin's grave was chosen because Razin was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church long before his death.

life line

1630 Year of birth of Stepan Timofeevich Razin.
1652 The first mention of Razin in historical documents.
1661 Razin's talks with the Kalmyks about peace and joint action against the Crimean Tatars and Nagais.
1663 Campaign against the Crimean Tatars along Perekop led by Stenka Razin.
1665 The execution of Stepan Razin's brother, Ivan.
May 15, 1667 The beginning of the anti-government campaign led by Stepan Razin.
spring 1669 Fights in the Trukhmenskaya Land, the death of a friend of Stepan Razin, Sergei Krivoi, a battle near Pig Island.
spring 1670 Campaign-uprising on the Volga led by Razin.
October 4, 1670 Razin was seriously wounded during the suppression of the uprising.
April 13, 1671 The assault on the Kagalnitsky town, which led to a fierce battle.
April 14, 1671 The capture of Razin, his extradition to the royal governors.
June 2, 1671 Razin's arrival in Moscow as a prisoner.
June 6, 1671 Date of Razin's death (execution by hanging).

Memorable places

1. The village of Pugachevskaya (the former village of Zimoveyskaya), where Stepan Razin was born.
2. Monument to Razin in the village of Srednyaya Akhtuba, which, according to legend, was founded by Stenka Razin.
3. Sengi Mugan (Pig Island), near which in 1669 a battle took place between Razin's army and the Persian flotilla, culminating in a major Russian naval victory.
4. Ulyanovsk (the former city of Simbirsk), where in 1670 a battle took place between Razin's rebels and government troops, ending with Razin's defeat.
5. Bolotnaya Square, where Stenka Razin was publicly executed.
6. Central Park of Culture and Recreation. M. Gorky (the former territory of the Tatar cemetery), where Razin was buried (his remains were buried).

Episodes of life

Razin was often compared with Pugachev, but in fact there is a fundamental difference between these two historical figures. It lies in the fact that Razin did not kill out of combat, unlike Pugachev, who was known for his bloodthirstiness. If Razin or his people considered someone guilty, they beat the person and threw him into the water, according to Russian tradition, “maybe” - they say, if God decides to protect a person, he will save him. Only once Razin changed this rule, throwing the governor of the city of Astrakhan, who was hiding in the church during the siege of the city, from the bell tower.

When Razin was sentenced, he did not reconcile at all and did not begin to prepare for death. On the contrary, all his movements expressed hatred and anger. The execution was terrible, and Razin's torment was even more terrible. His arms were cut off first, then his legs, but he did not give out pain even with a sigh, retaining his usual facial expression and voice. When his brother, frightened by the same fate, shouted: “I know the word and deed of the sovereign!”, Razin looked at Frol and shouted at him: “Be quiet, dog!”

Covenant

"I don't want to be king, I want to live with you as a brother."

Documentary film about Stepan Razin from the series "Secrets of the Rulers"

condolences

“The personality of Stenka must certainly be somewhat idealized and must arouse sympathy, and not repel. It is necessary that some gigantic figure rise up and sweep among the oppressed people ... "
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer

Stenka Razin is the hero of the song, a violent robber who drowned the Persian princess in a fit of jealousy. Here's everything most people know about him. And all this is not true, a myth.

The real Stepan Timofeevich Razin - an outstanding commander, politician, "father of the native" of all the humiliated and insulted, was executed either on Red or on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow on June 16, 1671. He was quartered, his body was cut into pieces and put up on high poles near the Moscow River. It hung there for at least five years.

"A sedate man with an arrogant face"

Either from hunger, or from harassment and lawlessness, he fled from Voronezh to the free Don Timofey Razya. Being a strong, energetic, courageous man, he soon became one of the "household", that is, rich Cossacks. He married a Turkish woman captured by him, who gave birth to three sons: Ivan, Stepan and Frol.

The appearance of the middle of the brothers is described by the Dutchman Jan Streis: “He was a tall and sedate man, of strong build, with an arrogant straight face. He behaved modestly, with great severity. Many features of his appearance and character are contradictory: for example, there is evidence from the Swedish ambassador that Stepan Razin knew eight languages. On the other hand, according to legend, when he and Frol were tortured, Stepan joked: “I heard that only learned people are shaved as priests, you and I are both unlearned, but still we waited for such an honor.”

shuttle diplomat

By the age of 28, Stepan Razin becomes one of the most prominent Cossacks on the Don. Not only because he was the son of a well-to-do Cossack and the godson of the military ataman Kornila Yakovlev himself: diplomatic qualities appear in Stepan before the qualities of a commander.

By 1658, he was sent to Moscow as part of the Don embassy. He performs the assignment exemplarily, in the Ambassadorial Order he is even noted as a sensible and energetic person. Soon he reconciles Kalmyks and Nagai Tatars in Astrakhan.

Later, in campaigns, Stepan Timofeevich will repeatedly resort to cunning and diplomatic tricks. For example, at the end of a long and ruinous campaign for the country “for zipuns”, Razin will not only not be arrested as a criminal, but will be released with an army and part of the weapons to the Don: this is the result of negotiations between the Cossack ataman and the royal governor Lvov. Moreover, Lvov “adopted Stenka as his named son and, according to Russian custom, presented him with the image of the Virgin Mary in a beautiful gold frame.”

Fighter against bureaucracy and tyranny

A brilliant career awaited Stepan Razin, if an event had not happened that radically changed his attitude to life. During the war with the Commonwealth, in 1665, Stepan's elder brother Ivan Razin decided to take his detachment home from the front, to the Don. After all, a Cossack is a free man, he can leave whenever he wants. The sovereign governors had a different opinion: they caught up with Ivan's detachment, arrested the freedom-loving Cossack and put him to death as a deserter. The extrajudicial execution of his brother shocked Stepan.

Hatred of the aristocracy and sympathy for the poor, disenfranchised people finally took root in him, and two years later he began to prepare a big campaign "for zipuns", that is, for prey, in order to feed the Cossack hoard, for twenty years, since the introduction serfdom, flocking to the free Don.

The fight against the boyars and other oppressors will become the main slogan of Razin in his campaigns. And the main reason for the fact that at the height of the Peasant War, up to two hundred thousand people will be under his banner.

Cunning commander

The leader of the bareness turned out to be an inventive commander. Posing as merchants, the Razintsy took the Persian city of Farabat. For five days, they traded in goods they had stolen earlier, scouting where the houses of the richest citizens were located. And, having scouted, they robbed the rich.

Another time, by cunning, Razin defeated the Ural Cossacks. This time, the Razintsy pretended to be pilgrims. Entering the city, a detachment of forty men seized the gate and allowed the entire army to enter. The local ataman was killed, but the Yaik Cossacks did not show resistance to the Don Cossacks.

But the main of Razin's "smart" victories was in the Battle of Pig Lake, in the Caspian Sea not far from Baku. On fifty ships, the Persians sailed to the island where the Cossacks camped. Seeing the enemy, whose forces exceeded their own several times, the Razintsy rushed to the plows and, ineptly controlling them, tried to swim away. The Persian naval commander Mammad Khan took a cunning maneuver for an escape and ordered the Persian ships to be linked together in order to catch Razin's entire army, as if in a net. Taking advantage of this, the Cossacks began to shoot at the flagship with all their guns, blew it up, and when it pulled the neighbors to the bottom and panic arose among the Persians, they began to sink other ships one after another. As a result, only three ships remained from the Persian fleet.

Stenka Razin and the Persian princess

In the battle at Pig Lake, the Cossacks captured the son of Mamed Khan, the Persian prince Shabalda. According to legend, his sister was also captured, with whom Razin was passionately in love, who allegedly even gave birth to a son to the Don ataman and whom Razin sacrificed to Mother Volga. However, the existence of the Persian princess in reality there is no documentary evidence. In particular, the petition is known, with which Shabalda addressed, asking to be released, but at the same time the prince did not say a word about his sister.

lovely letters

In 1670, Stepan Razin began the main work of his life and one of the main events in the life of all of Europe: the Peasant War. They did not get tired of writing about it in foreign newspapers, its progress was followed even in those countries with which Russia did not have close political and trade ties.

This war was no longer a campaign for prey: Razin called for a fight against the existing system, he planned to go to Moscow in order to overthrow, but not the tsar, but the boyar power. At the same time, he hoped for the support of the Zaporozhye and Right-Bank Cossacks, sent embassies to them, but did not achieve any result: the Ukrainians were busy with their own political game.

Nevertheless, the war became nationwide. The poor saw in Stepan Razin an intercessor, a fighter for their rights, they called their father. The cities surrendered without a fight. This was facilitated by an active propaganda campaign conducted by the Don ataman. Using the common people's love for the king and piety,

Razin spread a rumor that the heir to the tsar Alexei Alekseevich (who actually died) and the disgraced Patriarch Nikon were following with his army.

The first two ships sailing along the Volga were covered with red and black cloth: the first was allegedly carrying a prince, and the second was Nikon.

Razin's "charming letters" dispersed throughout Russia. "To work, brothers! Now take revenge on the tyrants who have hitherto kept you in captivity worse than the Turks or the pagans. I came to give you all freedom and deliverance, you will be my brothers and children, and you will be as good as I am, just be courageous and remain faithful, ”wrote Razin. His propaganda policy was so successful that the tsar even interrogated Nikon about his connection with the rebels.

execution

On the eve of the Peasant War, Razin seized actual power on the Don, having made an enemy for himself in the person of his own godfather, ataman Yakovlev. After the siege of Simbirsk, where Razin was defeated and seriously wounded, the homely Cossacks, led by Yakovlev, were able to arrest him, and then his younger brother Frol. In June, a detachment of 76 Cossacks delivered the Razins to Moscow. On the way to the capital, they were joined by a convoy of a hundred archers. The brothers were dressed in rags.

Stepan was tied to a pillory mounted on a cart, Frol was chained so that he ran alongside. The year has been dry. In the midst of the heat, the prisoners were solemnly paraded through the streets of the city. Then they brutally tortured and quartered.

After the death of Razin, legends began to form about him. Either he throws twenty pounds of stones from a plow, or he defends Russia together with Ilya Muromets, or he voluntarily goes to prison to release the prisoners. “He will lie down so little, rest, get up ... Give, he will say, coal, write a boat on the wall with that coal, put convicts in that boat, splash water: the river will overflow from the island to the Volga itself; Stenka and the fellows will burst out songs - yes to the Volga! .. Well, remember your name!

Related posts:

Discussion

Revenge for a brother, what comes first? The reasoning of such "historians" lacks specifics. Parallel Ulyanov - Razin is far-fetched.

EXECUTION

In the early morning of June 4, 1671, an unusual procession advanced along the road from Serpukhov to Moscow. Several dozens of mounted Cossacks armed with rifles and sabers accompanied a simple peasant cart, in which two people sat on boards covered with matting. Both were shackled in heavy hand and foot shackles, their necks were seized with slingshots. As soon as one of them made a move, turned around, the guards immediately began to fuss: the head of the detachment, a heavyset elderly Cossack, urged his horse, rode close to the cart and for the umpteenth time ordered the Cossacks not to take their eyes off the prisoners.

Hour after hour passed. The sun was hotter and hotter, but the procession moved, albeit slowly, but without stopping. Around noon, in the distant haze, the domes of Moscow churches began to be visible.

A few versts before the city, people began to come out in groups. At first there were few of them, and then the people poured thicker. People stood along the road in dense rows, crowding, peering into the faces of the prisoners. Exclamations were heard: “Yes, which Stenka?”, “In a caftan, is it?”

The prisoners sullenly looked around, listened to fragmentary phrases, were silent.

They were about the same age and the same height, there was something subtly close in their appearance, and yet they differed sharply from each other. One of them was dressed in a luxurious silk caftan, under the caftan he could see a shirt of thin, expensive linen, his feet were shod in red morocco boots. He was a man of about forty, broad in the shoulders, with a powerful neck and a proudly planted head. His dark, sparse hair, cut in a circle according to the Cossack custom, fell freely on a high forehead. A small curly beard and a thick mustache framed a pale, pockmarked, motionless face, an ordinary Russian peasant face, of which there are dozens in every village, if not for the eyes: they looked, it seemed, each in his own way. The look of the left is calm, firm, confident, open; right - with an evil squint, with poison, mockery. And yet this look was one, and he turned to people - passionate, hot, intent, and he threatened, and pleaded, and demanded. And it was impossible not to answer this look. People, as if spellbound, were drawn to him, and then, averting their eyes, stood looking down ... Some of this look frightened, caused confusion, others attracted, lured with something inexplicable. And long after the dust from the cart wheels had dispersed and settled on the road, the Moscow residents were baptized, saying in a whisper: “But Stenka is glaring, frost on the skin ...”

Another prisoner is dressed more simply, but also in clothes that are not cheap. Everything in him seemed to be crushed, blurry - lighter hair, softer beard, thinner mustache, and in his eyes there was no such passion, such torment.

About three versts before the Earthen City, horsemen were waiting. On the road, two thousand archers armed with berdysh were lined up in a quadrangle. In the center of the quadrangle stood a wagon drawn by three horses with a gallows mounted on it - two pillars intercepted at the top by a crossbar.

Well, we’ve arrived, chieftain, come out, - the head of the Cossack detachment turned to the prisoner in a silk caftan. - Take a walk now on another cart, father Stepan Timofeevich.

Thank you, father, - he answered slowly. - Something painfully talkative you have become, Kornilo.

Well you! shouted Kornilo. - Speak, don't talk! - And swung the whip.

The prisoner calmly withstood the rider's angry gaze and said:

One thing I can’t understand, Kornilo, is how I didn’t finish with you on the Don. It was necessary to start with you, godfather you are my dad.

Kornilo was about to jump up, but hesitated and drove aside. And the people poured out, made noise: “There he is, Stenka, in a caftan, with eyes, and this Frolka, his brother ...”

The detachment drove into the quadrangle formed by the archers.

The prisoners were dragged off the cart and led to a new wagon. Their arms dangled under the weight of the shackles, their legs barely crossed, weighed down by glands. Heavy chains dragged along the road, kicking up clouds of dust.

Eh, brother, it is you who are to blame for all our troubles, - Frol said quietly.

Don't be foolish, Frol, - answered Stepan. - No trouble yet. You'll see, they will receive us with honors, like boyars and governor, they will come out to meet us and look at us. And he looked around mockingly.

But these words did not cheer up Frol. He walked with his head down, not raising his eyes from the ground, and occasionally whispered: "Oh, brother, brother ..."

A blacksmith was waiting for them near the wagon. The archers grabbed the elder from both sides and at once, as usual, twisted his hands behind his back. The blacksmith with deft, agile movements knocked the shackles from his hands. The prisoner was dragged onto a wagon and placed under the gallows. One of the archers tore off his expensive caftan from his shoulders, pulled off his boots, and with one jerk tore his expensive shirt to the waist. Someone threw rags on the wagon, and the prisoner slowly put them on. The blacksmith, with the same dexterity, quickly chained his hands to the posts of the gallows; a noose made of a thin iron chain was thrown over his head and the end of the chain was tied to the upper crossbar. On both sides stood two archers.

Frol, shackled hand and foot, was tied with a long thin chain to a cart. The head of the archery detachment waved his hand, and the cart with the gallows, surrounded by archers, slowly moved towards the city gates.

As soon as the wagon rolled into the city gates, the bells were struck in the surrounding churches. Razin is being brought! Razin is being brought! Anxious and joyful, the rumble of the Moscow alarm floated over the city. Stenka Razin, a rebel, a thief and apostate, an enemy of the tsar, the fatherland and the holy Orthodox Church, must now accept punishment for all his crimes and sins. People ran headlong from neighboring streets, people filled the windows of houses, hung in clusters on high porches.

Boyars, nobles, clerks, dressed in rich clothes, came out of the houses sedately and decorously. Behind, dressed more simply, crowded merchants, clerks. Many threatened after the wagon: “Thief! The villain! Killer! Herod! Antichrist!" And the bell ringing floated and floated over the city. Boyar Moscow triumphed over its terrible enemy. Stenka Razin, who six months ago was followed by thousands of rebellious peasants, Cossacks, serfs, working people, erratic townspeople; Stenka Razin, who boasted of reaching Moscow and burning all the affairs of the sovereign, exterminating the boyars and governor, now stood crucified under the gallows with a chain around his neck. The ringing of bells joyfully and anxiously called the people of Moscow to an unprecedented celebration. It was as if those five long years had never happened, when, at every news from the south, the heart of the quiet, obese Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich sank, and the neighboring boyars that day were afraid to catch his eye. Now all this is behind. Here he is, the people's father, his own father, jingling his shackles, twisting his neck in an iron necklace. Victory! Victory! Now the surrounding countries can breathe easier. From distant England, the dearest brother, King Carlus II, sent a letter of congratulations. A messenger from the Qizilbash also arrived; His Majesty the eternal friend and brother Shah Suleiman rejoiced at the end of Stenka's evil deed. In the Swedish city of Riga and the French capital city of Paris, printed chimes announced the glorious victory of the Tsar of All Russia. Merchants came from Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and said that the noble korunas of the Polish and Grand Duchy of Lithuania bless the victory of the princes Dolgoruky, Yuri and Danila Boryatinsky. From now on, their pansky will is safe.

Damn you, wicked one!

Cursed! Fiend of the human race! The blasphemer of the faith of Christ!

Under this stream of scolding, Frol, wandering after the cart, only cringed, and Stepan, on the contrary, stood proudly raising his head, looking around intently and menacingly.

The procession stopped near Zemsky Prikaz. Here everything was ready for interrogation. Down in the basement a fire was burning, and in it were red-hot tongs, iron rods. Nearby, the executioner was fixing a rope for the rack.

Stepan was interrogated first.

Well, tell me, villain, how did you start your theft, when did you have the intent to raise your thieving hand against the king-father, against the honest Orthodox people? the Zemstvo clerk began to ask affectionately.

Razin was silent.

Well, give him a whip for a start.

The executioner tore rags from Razin's shoulders, bared his back, and examined it in a businesslike manner. Then he signaled to his assistants. They rushed to the prisoner, tied his hands and lifted his hands up on a belt. Immediately, the executioner wrapped the belt around Stepan's legs and leaned on the end of the belt, stretching and pulling the body into a string. Hands turned up, stretched out above the head. There was a crunch. But Razin did not utter a groan.

Bay! shouted the clerk, and blows of a thick leather whip rained down on his bare back.

After the very first blows, Stepan's back was swollen, hoarse, the skin began to burst, as if from knife cuts.

Speak, villain, who inspired you to steal, who helped, who was your accomplice.

And you ask my brother Ivan, - only Razin said and fell silent.

Your brother is hanged, villain, do not blaspheme, speak everything as it was truly.

The whip whistled, the blood spattered on the earthen floor and drank. The executioner had already rolled off fifty blows, but Razin was still silent.

On his fire, - ordered the clerk.

They untied Stepan, doused him with cold water to revive him a little, then threw the bound man to the ground, passed a log between his arms and legs, and dragged him to the blazing brazier. Four hefty fellows lifted a log and brought the hanging body to the fire. The stuffy basement smelled of burning meat. Sobbed, huddled in the corner Frol.

Oh, brother, brother, tell them everything, repent!

Shut up, - croaked Stepan.

With its rods, - said the deacon.

The executioner grabbed a red-hot iron rod with tongs and began to drive it over the beaten, burned body, but Razin was still silent. The sovereigns sitting on the benches of the boyars marveled at such vicious obstinacy, whispered, and called the deacon to them. Stepan was immediately dragged aside and set to work on Frol. And as soon as the red-hot rod touched his bare back, Frol writhed, screamed, and wept. Stepan raised his head.

What a woman you are, Frol. Remember how we lived with you. And now it is necessary to endure the misfortunes. What, does it hurt? - And he defiantly smiled in the direction of the boyars.

They whispered again, and the executioner lifted Razin from the floor. They shaved the top of his head and began to pour water on the bare spot, drop by drop. The most inveterate and stubborn villains could not resist this torture, they were amazed, they begged for mercy. Stepan Razin endured this torment and did not utter a single word. Only when they threw him half-dead on the floor, he raised his head and, barely moving his blood-cured lips, said to his brother:

I heard that they put learned people in the priesthood, and we, brother, are simpletons, and we were tonsured.

Beat him! Beat the son of a bitch! squealed the Zemstvo clerk in furious impotence. The executioner and his henchmen rushed to Stepan and began, screaming wildly, trampling him with boots, beating him with iron rods.

Oh, that's enough, that's enough, you kill him, that's enough, - the clerk almost sobbed, - but we need him, we need more ...

The lifeless Stepan was again doused with water and, as soon as he woke up, they dragged him to the exit.

The next morning he was again taken to the basement of the Zemsky Prikaz.

Well, tell me, villain, how did you plan your villainy? - asked the deacon.

Razin was silent.

Fuck him!

Around noon, the interrogation suddenly stopped. The great sovereign himself, the tsar and grand duke Alexei Mikhailovich of all the Great and Small and White Russia, the autocrat, and many states and lands of the eastern, and western, and northern patriarchs, and grandfathers, and the heir, and the owner, granted to the basement. Cautious, quiet, corpulent, he went into the cellar, sat down, fixed his eyes on Razin.

Great sovereign before you, repent, villain, bring your guilt.

Razin raised his head, looked intently at the king, but continued to be silent.

The king made a sign with his hand, the roundabout jumped up in an instant, took a scroll from the casket, unfolded it.

The great sovereign, the tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, ordered you to ask: did you, the villain, write letters to Nikon, deprived of the dignity of his patriarch by the sacred cathedral, did you send messengers to the Ferapontov Belozersky Monastery?

He wrote letters and sent messengers, but the holy father did not answer us.

Razin closed his eyes.

The king again waved his hand in the direction of the roundabout. He hurried, reading the articles of the royal interrogation:

Did you secretly send your messengers to Moscow with letters to the Cherkassky boyars, and did those boyars give you an answer?

I don't know anything about the Cherkassky boyars.

Who was with your villainous charming letters on Izhora and in Korel, at the Svei border, and didn’t you, the villain, have a link with letters from Svei?

Razin was silent.

Slowly and sullenly, Alexei Mikhailovich got up, the boyars moved after the tsar. The Zemstvo clerk signaled to the executioner to continue the torture. After some time, the roundabout returned.

The royal order, clerk: do whatever you want, and the villain must speak, the king ordered to bring him guilt ...

And unprecedented rumors crawled around Moscow that Stenka was bewitched - neither fire, nor the rack, nor iron takes him. Stenka laughs at the boyars, makes fun. In those days, a certain Akinfey Goryainov sent a letter to his friend in Vologda: “The boyars are now constantly sitting behind it. Days move out of the court at the first hour, and they depart at the hour in the thirteenth day. They tortured me for two days. On Red Square, pits and stakes were made.”

All night from June 5 to 6, Razin lay in a gloomy, damp dungeon. Near the iron-bound oak doors, near the small barred window, a detachment of archers was on duty all night. The Streltsy centurion checked the posts several times a night, asking: “How is the villain?”

Sings something, - the archers answered frightened. The archers later told that Stepan sang such a song:

Bury me, brothers, between three roads:

Between Moscow, Astrakhan, glorious Kyiv.

Put a life-giving cross in my heads,

Place a sharp saber at my feet.

Who will pass or pass - will stop,

Will he pray to my life-giving cross,

My saber, my vostroy, is frightened.

June 6th arrived. Hundreds of people rushed to the Execution Ground from early morning. All of Moscow already knew that Stenka Razin would now be executed. From the miserable shacks in the settlements near Moscow, workmen crawled out, the hard-working townspeople were drawn to Red Square. The merchant Zamoskvorechye also began to move. Great Moscow people came out of the stone houses of the White City - the arbiters of the destinies of the state. Foreign guests arrived from the English and German households, the archers cleared the way for foreign ambassadors, envoys and messengers. Three rows of selected reytars surrounded the Execution Ground from all sides. Only foreigners and the biggest people were let through this cordon. Streltsy outposts stopped the mob and common people already far from the square: several streltsy regiments occupied the main streets of the city, squares. Posadskys spat sunflower husks at the archers, shouting: “Something we have already become muddy at home!” The archers kept silent, rubbed those who were more impudent with reeds.

Stepan and Frol were taken out of the basement and taken to the place of execution under reinforced archery guards. In rags, tormented, Stepan stood before the eyes of thousands of people in the very center of the Russian state, which he had recently promised to cleanse from all covetous and bloodsuckers, from all enemies and traitors of the sovereign. Now the boyars, nobles, clerks, merchants, and clerics looked arrogantly at their enemy.

The clerk came out to the edge of the platform and, raising the scroll to his eyes, slowly began to read a fairy tale **, which Razin was supposed to listen to before the execution:

- “Thief and apostate and traitor Don Cossack Styopka Razin! In the past, in the year 175 (1667), having forgotten the fear of God and the great sovereign and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, he changed the kiss of the cross and his sovereign mercy to him, the great sovereign, and having gathered, went from the Don to steal on the Volga. And he repaired many dirty tricks on the Volga ... ”- The deacon took a breath and looked sternly at Razin.

Stepan listened indifferently to the deacon and peered attentively at the planks of the platform.

And the people kept coming. It is not known what paths the townspeople took through the streltsy outposts along Nikolskaya Street, climbed the hill from the banks of the Moskva River, and made their way along the Neglinka. The Reiters could hardly hold back the onslaught of the crowd. In some places, nobles and merchants have already been squeezed out. They silently stepped aside, did not get involved in conversations and squabbles.

And the clerk kept listing Razin's atrocities on the Volga, Yaik, in Persia.

Shouts were heard around the platform:

Oathbreaker!

Fierce fiend!

The clerk again looked impressively at Razin, unfolded the scroll further and continued shouting loudly:

- “And in the year 178 (1670), you are the thief Stenka and his comrades, forgetting the fear of God, retreating from the holy cathedral and apostolic churches, being on the Don, and spoke all sorts of blasphemous words about our Savior Jesus Christ and on the Don to build churches of God and did not order to sing any singing, and he beat the priests from the Don, and ordered the crown near the willow.

What a villain! - the spiritual ones rustled. - He raised his hand against our savior himself, the Antichrist.

The townsfolk were silent.

Suddenly, from under his feet, a foolish hunchback from the Kozitskaya patriarchal settlement, the feeble-minded Misha, emerged from under his feet, spun like a top, wailed:

Oh, our savior, you save us, oh, our savior ...

Archers rushed to him, dragged him aside, so as not to ruin the dean's rite. And over the square thundered the voice of the deacon:

- “Well, you, thief, having forgotten the great sovereign, merciful mercy, both you and your comrades, instead of death, the stomach is given; and betrayed him, the great sovereign, and the entire Muscovite state, went to the Volga for his theft. And he robbed the old Don Cossacks, the kindest people, and beat many to death and put them in the water ... ”The clerk read about Tsaritsyn and Cherny Yar, Astrakhan and Saratov, and the people gathered on the square saw Stenkina’s deeds more and more terrible.

- “And in that diabolical hope of yours, you, the thieves and crusaders Stenka and Frolk, with your like-minded people, wanted to curse the holy church, not knowing the mercy of the great god and the intercession of the Most Pure Mother of God ... And in that your theft were from the year 175 to the present to the year 179 April to the 14th (1667-1671), and innocent Christian blood was shed, not sparing even the babies themselves.

The clerk raised his hand and shook his finger in the air. Nearby inhabitants crossed themselves in fright. And suddenly a voice came from somewhere:

Reveal all this! You want to trample on the truth with lies!

- “And now, according to the position and the great sovereign, the tsar and the grand prince Alexei Mikhailovich, by the service and zeal of the troops of the Don ataman Korney Yakovlev and all the troops and you yourself are paid and brought to the great sovereign in Moscow, they were guilty of their theft with questioning and torture.”

For the first time in reading the tale, Razin stirred, raised his head, looked frowningly at the deacon. He was in a hurry:

- “And for such your evil and meritorious deeds before the Lord God, and to the great sovereign, the tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich for treason, and to the entire Muscovite state for ruin, by decree of the great sovereign, the boyars were sentenced to be executed by an evil death - to be quartered.”

The clerk carefully rolled up the scroll, tied it with a silk cord, and signaled to the executioner to begin the work. The executioner went up to Razin and touched him on the shoulder. Stepan took his hand away, crossed himself on the cheerful domes of the Church of the Intercession, bowed to the assembled crowd on all four sides according to Russian custom, and said:

Forgive me... Forgive me, Orthodox... - Confession before death Razin, as a rebel, anathematized, was not supposed to. He lay down on the chopping block, spread his arms and legs to the sides and prepared for the quartering. The crowd froze, and suddenly it was heard how the ax cracked on the tree, went through the meat and bone with a sting. People shuddered and froze again.

First, the executioner cut off Razin's right arm to the elbow, then the left leg to the knee. But even at that moment Razin did not utter a word, did not utter a single groan. Unable to bear the sight of his brother's execution, Frol thrashed and shouted:

I know the word sovereign ...

Be quiet, dog, - Stepan, who was bleeding, said.

Those were his last words.

There was a cry in the crowd. Someone shouted:

Father, relative!

The deacon shouted to the executioner:

In violation of the order, the executioner swung his ax down on Razin's neck, and then hastily cut off the right leg and left hand of the dead man. Then they cut the body into pieces and stuck them together with the head on wooden needles placed around the place of execution. The entrails were thrown out to the dogs.

For several days Moscow shuddered from this terrible execution. Streltsy cleared the city day and night. At night, they called out to every passer-by - what kind of person, where from, with what he was going. And already at the end of the second week, rumors spread around Moscow that it was not Stenka at all, but a simple Cossack. And Stenka miraculously escaped and lives somewhere in the Don villages, hiding for the time being. Chatterboxes were seized and brought to torture, they were executed by a commercial execution - they were beaten mercilessly in the square with whips as an edification to the rest. Moscow burned twice in those days. And terrible news came from the south - the peasant revolt continued with unceasing force. Landlord peasants, Cossacks and various free people besieged Shatsk, fought near Tambov. Fyodor Sheludyak threatened a new campaign from Astrakhan. The governors sent letters to Moscow, beat the great sovereign with their foreheads, and asked for help. It was vague in the capital ...

The execution of Frol Razin at that time was postponed. At the next questioning, he told the sovereign's business, said that he knew where his brother had buried the jug with his lovely letters, various letters. Frol also indicated the place of the treasure: “On the island of the Don River, on the tract, on the Prorva, under the willow. And that willow is crooked in the middle.

For six years, the tsarist archers were looking for a jug with Razin's letters, but they never found it. Over the years, Frol was tortured more than once and was finally executed on May 26, 1676.

From the book of Tiradentis author Ignatiev Oleg Konstantinovich

14. Execution On the night of April 16-17, 1792, the prisoners held in various prisons were transferred to the so-called public prison. The meeting room of the prison was specially equipped for the upcoming ceremony of reading the verdict.

From the book Alexander the Great. Genius whim of fate author Levitsky Gennady Mikhailovich

Execution followed by execution Of the three sons of Parmenion, two died in battles in front of their father, and together with the third son, he himself died. Plutarch. Alexander The new phalanx of the Persians grew very slowly, and the Macedonian king had to fight with the army that was available. But here

From the book of Stepan Razin author Sakharov Andrey Nikolaevich

Execution In the early morning of June 4, 1671, an unusual procession advanced along the road from Serpukhov to Moscow. Several dozens of mounted Cossacks armed with rifles and sabers accompanied a simple peasant cart, in which two people sat on boards covered with matting. Both

From the book Army of Shadows author Kessel Joseph

Execution The instructions received from the organization to which he belonged ordered Paul Duna (whose name was now Vincent Henri) to arrive in Marseille by mid-afternoon and wait in front of the Reformist Church for a comrade whom Duna knew well. Duna stood by

From the book A Reliable Description of the Life and Transformations of NAUTILUS from POMPILIUS author Kormiltsev Ilya Valerievich

2. “Execution of Silence” “They beat him into digital” right in the hostel, Khomenko and Elizarov beat him, they had keyboards in their room, and a sequencer that the Finns gave Slava. Here we should dwell in more detail on the “humanitarian” results of personnel reshuffles: because

From the book How much does a person cost. Book Twelve: The Return author Kersnovskaya Evfrosiniya Antonovna

"Civil execution" Bright, sunny April day. Time - 17.15. Five minutes before the opening of the meeting. Usually it is not easy to gather people. Baits are used: a buffet with beer, a free movie, and so on. And then people reach out, reach out ... And the meeting opens, if it is destined at all

Execution Your indignation frightens me; You demand execution like an enemy! I confess that I do not ask your forgiveness, I confess that I myself cannot forgive you

From the book Garshin author Porudominsky Vladimir Ilyich

Execution "Sitting in your room with folded arms ... and knowing that blood is pouring near, they are being cut, stabbed, that they are dying near - you can die from this, go crazy." BUT.

From the book of Sholokhov author Osipov Valentin Osipovich

Execution by Expectation At the beginning of the year, Sholokhov wrote in despair that he had almost begun to bend. And yet, as you can see, he held on. By the end of the summer, the writer's enemies became more active, deciding to settle the protracted scores (cutting, cutting - they began to sew); explicitly used the conclusions of Shkiryatov and

From the book Signs and religion in the life of A. S. Pushkin author Vladmeli Vladimir

Execution After the defeat of the rebel troops on December 14, Nicholas I created a Secret Committee to investigate the conspiracy. It included dignitaries of the state, who knew perfectly well that the emperor wanted to punish the guilty in an approximate way. Nicholas could not be stopped by the most cruel measures. "If a

From the book of Marie de Medici by Carmon Michel

The trial and execution of Ravaillac D'Epernon ordered not to kill Ravaillac, but to arrest and escort Retz to the mansion. But the prisoner turned out to be too talkative, and he was transferred to the Conciergerie. During the investigation, interrogations alternated with torture with a Spanish boot. In fact, everything was clear

From the book of Zhelyabov author Voronsky Alexander Konstantinovich

From the book by Richard Sorge. James Bond of Soviet intelligence author Sokolov Boris Vadimovich

The execution of Ozaki wrote the story of his collaboration with Soviet intelligence, but in a completely different way - as the story of the fall. "Now I'm awaiting the final verdict. I'm quite aware of the importance of the laws I've broken... Go outside, live among friends,

Berendeyka

For firing from a squeaker, the archers used a berendeyka "with pencil cases with powder charges attached to it, a bag for bullets, a bag for a wick, a horn with gunpowder for squeaking gunpowder onto the charging shelf. Berendeyka is a baldric worn over the left shoulder with hanging accessories for loading a gun.
They went out of use at the end of the 17th century due to the introduction of a new type of cartridge.

3

archers

The first regular army in Russia, organized in 1550. By the beginning of the 1680s, the number of streltsy troops increased to 55 thousand people.
Abolished by Peter I during the military reform. The tsar's decision to disband the streltsy army was largely based on the increased influence that the streltsy began to have in the political processes of the late 17th century.

3

Berdysh

Berdysh - a cold weapon in the form of an ax with a curved blade on a long shaft. Appeared in Russia in the first half of the XV century. In addition to archers, the berdysh was in service with the city guards. In case of war, peasants had to store weapons, among which were reeds. They fell into disuse at the beginning of the 18th century.

3

gonfalon

Banner with the image of Christ, used by the Slavic peoples during the hostilities. In addition to Jesus, the banner could have an image of the Virgin, saints or holy relics. The banner was used in the war against the Gentiles.

3

Foreigners in the crowd

The fate of trade routes along the Volga depended on the outcome of the Peasants' War, so the events were closely followed in the West. Among those who witnessed the execution of Razin, there were many foreigners. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was interested in this. Having demonstrated the punishment to the rebel, the tsar wanted to convince Europe of stabilizing the situation on the Volga.

3

Bolotnaya area

Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the Moat (Intercession Cathedral, also commonly called St. Basil's Cathedral). The artist depicted the events as if the execution of Razin took place at the Execution Ground on Red Square. However, in reality, the Cossack was quartered on Bolotnaya Square.

3

execution

Razin was brought to Moscow under escort in June 1671. The Cossack was subjected to severe torture. According to the verdict, announced on June 6 (16), 1671, Stepan Razin was to be quartered on the scaffold on Bolotnaya Square.
After the verdict was read, Razin turned to the church, bowed on three sides, bypassing the Kremlin with the tsar and said: "I'm sorry."
The executioner first cut off his right arm to the elbow, then his left leg to the knee. Razin's brother Frol, who was also awaiting execution, seeing the torment of Stepan, was confused and shouted: "I know the word and deed of the sovereign!" "Shut up, dog!" Stepan croaked in response. These were his last words: after them, the executioner hastily cut off his head. The arms, legs and head of Razin, according to the testimony of the Englishman Thomas Hebdon, were stuck on 5 specially installed stakes, and the body was thrown to be eaten by dogs.

3

Stepan Razin

Don Cossack, leader of the largest uprising in pre-Petrine Russia (1670-1671). The first historical evidence of Razin dates back to 1652. By this time he was already an ataman and acted as one of two authorized representatives of the Don Cossacks.
After the adoption of the Council Code of 1649, which actually completely enserfed the peasants, fugitive serfs began to concentrate on the Don. There were not enough resources for everyone in the Cossack regions. From the second half of the 1660s, when Razin became the leader of the Cossacks, the first signs of the region's disobedience to Moscow appeared. In particular, the Cossacks robbed merchant ships, including foreign ones, on the Volga.
Raising an uprising in 1670, Razin did not openly declare his intention to overthrow Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but declared himself an enemy of the entire official administration, including the church. A 60,000-strong army was sent to suppress the uprising. The decisive clash took place in October 1670 in the Simbirsk region. Razin was seriously wounded, his Cossacks were forced to retreat. Soon, part of the Cossacks, led by ataman Kornila Yakovlev, fearing the tsar's wrath, captured Razin and handed him over to the tsar's governors.

3