IN Patriotic history There are many topics to which neither the attention of scientists nor the interest of readers fade away. No matter how many essays, brochures, books, articles are devoted to them, people will always look forward to publications on these problems. And one of them is the uprising of Stepan Razin. The reasons that predetermined as the beginning of this peasant war, and the defeat of Razin are quite obvious. Let's look at them in more detail.

Reasons for the start of the war

The uprising of Stepan Razin was a response to strong oppression from the wealthy population and the Moscow authorities. This rebellion was only part of a protracted crisis that tormented Muscovy during the 2nd half of XVII century. The first popular unrest in the cities (Moscow, Pskov, Nizhny Novgorod and others) began with the ascension to the throne of Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1649, the Zemsky Sobor approved the Code, according to which the owners of estates and estates were given guarantees of rights to peasants. That is, if the serfs fled from the owner, they had to hide until the end of their days. The terms of their search became unlimited. The adopted code aroused the discontent of the people and became the first reason that predetermined the uprising of Stepan Razin. From the beginning of the reign of the new king, the economic situation of the country was greatly shaken. Exhausting wars with Sweden, Poland and the Crimean Tatars required a lot of money. In addition, the monetary reform carried out at that time failed miserably. Due to the huge number of copper coins that did not find proper use, inflation broke out.

Unrest intensified both in the power structure and among the people. The Don Cossacks were also dissatisfied. They had to defend the lands of the Don and neighboring territories of Muscovy from raids Crimean Tatars. In addition, the Turks closed the Cossacks all the way to the Sea of ​​Azov. The Don government could not conduct serious campaigns against the enemy, because in the event of a defeat, their lands would have gone to the Turks and Tatars. Muscovy could not help because it was preoccupied with Ukraine and Poland. There were other reasons for the rebellious mood of the Cossacks. Fugitive serfs flocked to the Don territories. Naturally, they were forbidden to cultivate the land, and in order to somehow survive, they began to rob ships passing along the Volga. Repressive measures were taken against the thieves' detachments, which increased the unrest of the poor. This was another reason that gave rise to the uprising of Stepan Razin. Soon, under the leadership of Vasily Us, a detachment consisting of Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks went to the lands of Muscovy. Their forces were small, but they were inspired by the support of the peasants and serfs who joined them along the way. This indicated that in the event of a major riot, it would be possible to count on the help of the people. And after a while, the peasant war began.

Reasons for the defeat

The uprising of Stepan Razin was defeated due to the destructive ("rebellious") nature of the movement and poor organization. Also, the reasons were the obsolescence and insufficiency of weapons, unclear goals and lack of unity among the serfs, Cossacks and townspeople. Razin's uprising did not alleviate the situation of the peasants, but it affected the life of the Don Cossacks. In 1671, they swore allegiance to the tsar, thereby making the Cossacks the backbone of the tsar's throne.

At the end of the XVII century. in Russia, the largest Cossack-peasant uprising broke out. The reasons that people took up arms and stood up against the authorities were different for each layer - the peasants, archers and Cossacks had their own reasons for this. The uprising led by Stepan Razin consisted of two stages - a campaign against the Caspian, which was of a predatory nature, and a campaign against the Volga, which already took place with the participation of peasants. S.T. Razin was a strong, intelligent and cunning man, which allowed him to subjugate the Cossacks and gather a large army for his campaigns. You will learn more about all this in this lesson.

Historians of the 20th century most often assessed the uprising of Stepan Razin as the second peasant war in Russia. They believed that this movement was a response to the enslavement of the peasants in 1649.

As for the reasons for the uprising led by Stepan Razin, they were complex and quite complex. Behind each factor of the uprising was a certain social type of the rebellious people. First, they were Cossacks (Fig. 2). When in 1642 the Cossacks refused to conquer the fortress of Azov, they could no longer go on predatory campaigns in the Black Sea region and in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov: Azov, the Turkish fortress, blocked their path. Therefore, the size of the military booty of the Cossacks decreased significantly. Due to the difficult situation in Russia (Russian-Polish war) and the enslavement of peasants, the number of fugitive peasants to the south of the country increased. The population grew, and the sources of livelihood turned out to be less and less. Thus, tension arose on the Don, which explains the participation of the Cossacks in the uprising of Stepan Razin.

Rice. 2. Don Cossacks ()

Secondly, archers took part in the uprising (Fig. 3), which made up the bulk of the garrisons in southern Russia. That is, the main military force countries went over to the side of the rebels. Financial problems did not allow paying full salaries to servicemen, which the archers did not like. This was the reason for their joining the uprising.

Rice. 3. Archers ()

Thirdly, the peasant movement could not do without the peasants themselves (Fig. 4). Formal enslavement of peasants by Cathedral Code 1649 did not yet mean the establishment of a complete serfdom regime, but still very severely limited the rights of the peasants. This was the reason for their participation in the uprising of Stepan Razin.

Rice. 4. Peasants ()

Thus, each social type had its own reason for dissatisfaction with the Russian government.

The Cossacks were the driving force behind the uprising led by Stepan Razin.towards the middleXVIIV. among the Cossacks, the top stood out - the homely Cossacks. If the main part of the Cossacks were mostly poor people, former peasants and serfs, then the wealthy Cossacks were rich people with personal property. Thus, the Cossacks were heterogeneous, and this manifested itself during the uprising.

As for the personality of Stepan Timofeevich Razin (c. 1631-1670), he was an amazing person with great life experience. Several times the Cossacks elected him as their chieftain. Razin knew the Tatar and Turkish languages, since on the Don the leader of the Cossacks needed to know the languages ​​of his opponents. Double Stepan Razin crossed Moscow State- traveled to Solovki in the White Sea. S.T. Razin was an educated person with a broad outlook. He also had a strong-willed character, and he kept all the Cossacks in subjection.

On the eve of Stepan Razin's uprising, there was a social explosion - a harbinger of a formidable performance. Several hundred Cossacks, led by Vasily Us, moved towards Moscow. They wanted to be recognized as service people and paid them a salary. However, near Tula they were stopped and forced to turn back.

In the spring of 1667, Stepan Razin decided to go along with the Cossacks on a predatory campaign against the Caspian Sea. Sailing along the Volga, Razin's army approached Astrakhan. Here the tsarist governor tried to detain the "thieves' army", but the Razintsy managed to slip through one of the branches in the Volga delta (Fig. 5) and entered the Caspian Sea. Then they moved up, then to the East along the river. Yaik. On this river was the royal fortress Yaitsky town with the Yaik Cossacks living there. Stepan Razin and his Cossacks used a trick: they changed into simple clothes and, having entered the city, killed the guards at night and let their army into the city. All the authorities of the Yaitsky town were executed by Razin's Cossacks. Most of the service people in this fortress went over to the side of the rebels. Then the whole army of Stepan participated in the duvan - the division of the looted property between the Cossacks equally. After Razin and Duvan entered the army, the archers became full-fledged Cossacks.

Rice. 5. Ferrying ships by dragging ()

In the spring of 1668, the Cossack Razin army descended down the river. Yaik and went to the western coast of the Caspian - the Persian shores. The Cossacks subjected the coast to a devastating rout. They took and plundered Big City Derbent, as well as a number of other cities. In the town of Farabat, an episode occurred that showed the truly predatory intentions of the Razin army. Having agreed with the inhabitants of the city that the army of Stepan Razin would not plunder their city, but would only trade, after all the bargaining, it attacked the inhabitants and plundered the city.

In 1669, the Razin Cossacks plundered the eastern Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea. Finally, the Shah of Persia sent his fleet against the Cossacks. Then Razin embarked on a trick. Using cunning again, the Razin fleet pretended to flee, and then, gradually turning its ships, smashed the Persian ships one at a time.

Burdened with prey, the Razintsy moved home in 1669. This time, Razin's army could not slip past Astrakhan unnoticed, so Stepan Razin brought guilt to the Astrakhan prince Prozorovsky. In Astrakhan (Fig. 6), the Razintsy stopped for a while. The Cossacks of Stepan Razin went on a campaign “for zipuns” as ordinary people, discreetly dressed and not rich, and returned with money, in expensive clothes with magnificent weapons, thus appearing before the people of Astrakhan, including before service people. Then a doubt crept into the minds of the serving tsar's people: is it worth serving the tsar further or going to Razin's army.

Rice. 6. Astrakhan in the 17th century ()

Finally, the Razintsy set sail from Astrakhan. Before leaving, Stepan presented his dear lip to Prozorovsky. When the Cossacks sailed from Astrakhan, Stepan Razin threw, according to one version, the Persian princess, according to another, the daughter of an influential Kabardian prince overboard his ship, since his legal wife was waiting for him at home. This story was the basis of the folk song "From the island to the rod." This episode shows the essence of the predatory campaign of Stepan Razin to the Caspian Sea. Having dragged between the Volga and the Don, the Razintsy returned home. But Razin did not disband his army.

In the spring of 1670, a royal messenger arrived on the Don in Cherkassk. Stepan Razin arrived here with his army. A general Cossack circle took place (Fig. 7). Razin proved to his Cossacks that the messenger did not come from the tsar, but from traitors to the boyars, and he was drowned in the river. Thus, the bridges were burned, and Stepan decided to go with his Cossack army to the Volga.

Rice. 7. Cossack circle led by Stepan Razin in Cherkassk ()

On the eve of the campaign on the Volga, Stepan Razin sent lovely letters to people (Fig. 8) - agitation to his army. In these letters, Razin urged "to bring out worldly bloodsuckers", that is, to destroy all the privileged classes in Russia, which, in his opinion, interfere with life. ordinary people. That is, S.T. Razin spoke not against the tsar, but against the shortcomings of the then existing system.

Rice. 8. Charming letters of Stepan Razin ()

Stepan Razin did not want to leave the strong Astrakhan fortress in his rear, and his army first moved down the Volga. Voivode Prozorovsky sent a large detachment of archers to meet the Razints, but he went over to the side of the rebels. When Razin's army approached Astrakhan, the first assault on the fortress was unsuccessful. But then most of the archers went over to the side of the rebels, and the Razintsy took the fortress. Voivode Prozorovsky and the authorities of Astrakhan were executed.

After the capture of Astrakhan, the army of Stepan Razin moved up the Volga. One by one, the cities were captured by Razin's troops, the archery garrisons went over to the side of the rebels. Finally, the best Moscow infantry, the capital's archers, was sent against the Razin army (Fig. 9). The Razintsy captured the Volga city of Saratov, and the Moscow archers did not yet know about it. Then S.T. Razin once again embarked on a trick. Part of the Razin troops imitated the assault on the fortress, and part settled in the city. As soon as the Moscow archers landed near Saratov, all the Razintsy attacked them, and then the tsarist troops laid down their arms. Most of the Moscow archers joined the Razin army, but the Razintsy did not really trust them and put them on the oars.

Rice. 9. Capital archers ()

Further, the Razin army reached the city of Simbirsk (Fig. 10). The fortress resisted, and the government army approached it. However, Razin took over and forced the government troops to retreat. Near Simbirsk, the peasant character of the uprising manifested itself to a greater extent. In this area, the peasants en masse joined the rebels. But they acted within their area where they lived: they killed landlords, stormed fortresses and monasteries, and then returned to their farms.

Rice. 10. Stepan Razin's troops storm Simbirsk ()

In September 1670, newly formed and trained government regiments approached Simbirsk, which this time defeated the army of Stepan Razin. He was wounded and with several Cossacks fled down the Volga and to the Don. On the Don, the homely Cossacks handed over Razin to the authorities, as they were saving their lives.

Stepan Timofeevich Razin and his brother Frol were taken to Moscow. Razin endured all the tortures and in the summer of 1671 was executed by quartering. Razin's brother, Frol, was executed a few years later, since at first he said that he knew where the treasures of the Razin people were hidden, but this turned out not to be the case.

After the execution of Stepan Razin, the core of the rebel army, the Cossacks, was defeated, but the uprising did not immediately stop. In some places, the peasants still came out with weapons. But the peasant movement was soon also suppressed. Boyar Yuri Dolgoruky hanged 11,000 peasants during punitive campaigns.

Theoretically, in the event of the victory of Razin's troops, the structure of the Muscovite state would not have changed, since it could not be arranged in the image of the Cossack circle, its structure was more complex. If the Razintsy won, they would want to take the estates with the peasants and settle down. Thus, the political system would not have been changed - the movement was unpromising.

Bibliography

1. Baranov P.A., Vovina V.G. etc. History of Russia. 7th grade. - M.: "Ventana-Count", 2013.
2. Buganov V.I. Razin and Razintsy. - M., 1995.
3. Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. Russian history. 7th grade. Late 16th - 18th century. - M.: "Enlightenment", 2012.
4. Peasant war led by Stepan Razin: in 2 volumes. - M., 1957.
5. Chistyakova E.V., Solovyov V.M. Stepan Razin and his associates / Reviewer: Dr. ist. sciences, prof. IN AND. Buganov; Design by artist A.A. Brantman. - M.: Thought, 1988.

1. Protown.ru ().
2. Hiztory.ru ().
3. Document.history.rf ().

Homework

1. Tell us about the reasons for the uprising led by Stepan Razin.
2. Describe the personality of S.T. Razin.
3. What type can be attributed to the first stage of the uprising - to the predatory Cossack or to the peasant?
4. What contributed to the continuation of the uprising of Stepan Razin after the first stage? Name the reasons for the defeat of the Razintsy. Comment on the consequences of this uprising.

The leader of the Cossacks, Stepan Timofeevich Razin, also known as Stenka Razin, is one of the cult figures Russian history, about which a lot has been heard even abroad.

The image of Razin was overgrown with legends during his lifetime, and historians still cannot figure out where is the truth and where is fiction.

Rebellion or war with the invaders?

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, a rebellion broke out in Russia in 1667, later called the uprising of Stepan Razin. This rebellion is also called the peasant war.

This is the official version. The peasants, together with the Cossacks, rebelled against the landowners and the tsar. The rebellion lasted for four long years, covering large territories of imperial Russia, but was nevertheless suppressed by the efforts of the authorities.

What do we know about Stepan Timofeevich Razin today?

Stepan Razin, like Emelyan Pugachev, was from the Zimoveyskaya village. The original documents of the Razintsy, who lost this war, have almost not been preserved. Officials believe that only 6-7 of them survived. But historians themselves say that of these 6-7 documents, only one can be considered the original, although it is extremely doubtful and looks more like a draft. And the fact that this document was compiled not by Razin himself, but by his associates, who were far from his main headquarters on the Volga, no one doubts.

Russian historian V.I. Buganov, in his work “Razin and Razintsy”, referring to a multi-volume collection of academic documents about the Razin uprising, wrote that the vast majority of these documents came from the Romanov government camp. Hence the hushing up of facts, and bias in their coverage, and even outright lies.

What did the rebels demand from the rulers?

It is known that the Razintsy performed under the banner great war for the Russian sovereign against the traitors - the Moscow boyars. Historians explain this, at first glance, a strange slogan, by the fact that the Razintsy were very naive and wanted to protect poor Alexei Mikhailovich from their own bad boyars in Moscow. But in one of Razin's letters there is the following text:

This year, in October 179, on the 15th day, by decree of the great sovereign and according to his letter, the great sovereign, we, the great army of the Don from the Don, went to serve him, the great sovereign, so that we, these traitors of the boyars, would not die completely.

Note that the name of Alexei Mikhailovich is not mentioned in the letter. Historians consider this detail insignificant. In their other letters, the Razintsy express a clearly dismissive attitude towards the Romanov authorities, and they call all their actions and documents thieves', i.e. illegal. There is an obvious contradiction here. For some reason, the rebels do not recognize Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov as the legitimate ruler of Rus', but go to fight for him.

Wars, tax increases, and monetary adventures of the authorities during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich shook the country's economy. The tyagles "lost weight", went bankrupt and fled. The scale of the flight of the peasants, especially the landlords, was such that the authorities organized a massive search for the fugitives. In 1663-1667. in one Ryazan district they managed to find and return 8 thousand peasants and serfs. How many weren't found? How many fugitives took refuge in Ukraine, on the Volga, in the Urals, in Siberia? How many did Don accept? There was still no extradition from the Don. The "old" "domovitye" Cossacks lived there in a very comfortable way. They ran a household, trade, received from the king a salary, lead and gunpowder for their service in protecting the border. But, in addition, there lived a lot of "young" "blank" Cossacks - "bad". Golutvenye Cossacks earned extra money from the housewives, but mostly lived by robbery. They were constantly ready to go to catch their luck in the Crimean, Turkish, Persian, Polish borders, and did not disdain the robbery of Orthodox merchants.

One ataman (from the homely Cossacks) Vasily Us fought bravely with the Poles in Ukraine and Belarus, and upon his return to the Don he gained popularity among the slanderous Cossacks. In 1666 there was a famine on the Don. First of all, the “young” Cossacks, who did not have their own economy, suffered. Vasily Us gathered a gang of slanderous Cossacks and moved to Sloboda Ukraine, then to the southern districts of Russia, and then to Moscow. His detachment consisted mainly of "young Cossacks". The Cossacks said that they were going to the king with a request to enroll them in royal service and give a salary, above all bread. However, the Don people did not act as petitioners. Along the way, they sacked estates and rich houses. The peasants joined Us in droves. On the river Upe, 8 km from Tula, the rebels built a prison. Tsar Alexei sent regiments against the rebels, and then, without waiting for the battle, the Cossacks and many local peasants and serfs who had joined them went to the Don.

"I CAME TO BEAT ONLY THE BOYARS AND THE RICH GENTLEMEN"

Part of the archers went with the ataman. On 35 large plows, the Cossacks passed Astrakhan, passed the Caspian Sea and appeared at the mouth of the Yaik (Ural River). The Cossacks took possession of the fortified town of Yaik, where they spent the winter trading the captured goods with the local population and preparing for new raids.

The capital received false information; as if the "thieves' Cossacks" are sitting in the Yaik town, besieged by the steppes. Therefore, a small detachment of archers of 3 thousand people was sent against Razin. In the meantime, Cossacks and runaway people flocked to Razin from all sides, where fame about his luck and exploits reached. The royal detachment was defeated, part of it joined the ranks of the rebels.

“AND OVERBOARD HER BORS…”

Russia in those days had good relations with Persia, but at the end of the 17th century. the situation changed, which was largely facilitated by Razin's raid on the Azerbaijani principalities and Persia. In the spring of 1668, Stepan Razin with several hundred Cossacks loaded gunpowder, lead, cannonballs and light cannons onto the plows. The heavy guns of the Yaitsky township were flooded. Cossack boats entered the Caspian Sea. At the mouth of the Terek, a detachment of slanderous Cossacks, led by Sergei Khromy (Krivy), landed at Razin. After that, 2 thousand (according to some sources - 6 thousand) people turned out to be at hand of Stepan. How did the trip unfold? In Moscow, from the words of an Astrakhan who came from Shemakha, they knew: “The thieves' Cossacks of Stenka Razin were in the shah region, in Nizovaya, and in Baku, and in Gilan. A lot of yasyr (prisoners) and belly (prey) were caught. And de Cossacks live on the Kura River and travel around the sea separately for prey, and they say that, de, there are many planes of them, Cossacks. Soon ataman Razin appeared off the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. The Shah of Persia sent a fleet of 70 ships against the robbers, but the Cossacks defeated it. The Shah complained about Cossack robberies to Moscow, but they answered that Razin's Cossacks were "thieves", and the Tsar of Moscow did not send them to Persia. Razin's campaign was captured not only by Persian chronicles, but also by Iranian folklore. The ataman in Iranian fairy tales looks no better than the “foul snake Tugarinovich” in ours.

In the autumn of 1669, Razin reappeared near Astrakhan. Knowing about the "great power" of the ataman, the Astrakhan governor did not dare to fight. We agreed that the Cossacks would surrender their weapons, and the governor would let them pass through Astrakhan. The Razintsy entered the city, handed over several cannons, but, of course, they did not part with muskets, carbines, squeakers, sabers and pikes. A foreign observer wrote later with what delight the common people met the hero who beat the Persians. Ataman was called "father". Razin "promised soon to free everyone from the yoke and slavery of the boyars." "The mob willingly listened," promised to come to the rescue, "if only he would start." With booty, Stenka returned to the Don, where most of the homely and goofy Cossacks were ready to recognize him as the supreme chieftain. The rumor about the dashing ataman spread far beyond the free Don.

FILL THE STOMACH WITH SAND

This man is cruel and rude, especially when drunk: then he finds the greatest pleasure in the torment of his subordinates, whom he orders to tie his hands above his head, fill his stomach with sand and then throw them into the river.

RAZIN'S NEW CAMPAIGN TO THE VOLGA 1670

In the spring of 1670, Stepan Razin appeared on the Volga. People ran from all sides to the ataman: peasants, Cossacks, "working people" from the Volga fisheries, all kinds of walking people. This time the ataman acted in the name of the "Great Sovereign Tsarevich" Alexei Alekseevich. The eldest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - Tsarevich Alexei died unexpectedly. There were various rumors about him among the people. Stepan Razin said that the prince did not die, but fled from the “boyar lies” and conveyed to him, the Don ataman, the order of his father, the tsar: to wage war against the “traitor boyars” and give all ordinary people freedom. The beautiful letters of Stenka flew around the country, which called ("seduced") the mob to the uprising. A peasant war began in Russia. The cry of the ataman: "I have come to give you freedom!", found a response in the hearts of enslaved people. Razin declared that the life of the country would be organized following the example of the Cossack Don with its Cossack circle and the choice of chieftain.

Tsaritsyn surrendered to Razin without a fight. The rebels moved to Astrakhan. The vents of 400 guns looked at the rebels from the stone walls of the city. The governor and the nobles were preparing to fight, and the black people shouted to the Cossacks: “Climb up, brothers. We've been waiting for you for a long time."

The assault began at night, and by morning Astrakhan had fallen. The governor was thrown from the bell tower, the hated boyars, merchants, orders were killed. Razin left Vasily Us and Fyodor Sheludyak to manage the city, and he himself went up the Volga.

Without a fight, the well-fortified Saratov and Samara surrendered to the ataman. Everywhere the commoners rejoiced. “Many years to our dad! May he defeat all boyars, princes!” the people shouted. “For the cause, brothers,” the ataman answered, “now we will take revenge on the tyrants who have so far kept you in captivity worse than the Turks or 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 stay faithful!”

HOOK

On July 3, my first tormentors dragged me out of Faber's house and brought me to the river bank, threatening to throw me into it if I did not pay them a ransom of 500 francs ... Three days later they took me to the leader, who was drinking with his friends in the governor's cellar. Here I saw three Cossacks dressed up in my best clothes. There I remained for a quarter of an hour, during which the leader drank several times to my health...

On the 9th, they stuck a hook in the side of Secretary Alexei Alekseevich and hung him, along with the son of the Gilan Khan, on a pole, on which they died a few days later.

After that, two sons of the governor were hanged on the wall of the Kremlin by the feet, one of whom was only 8 years old, and the other 16. before that, the father was thrown ...

On the 21st, the leader, accompanied by 1200 people, left Astrakhan ... In his absence, as in his time, the massacre continued, and not a day passed in which more than 150 people were not killed.

THE DEFEAT OF RAZIN UNDER SIMBIRSK

Alexei Mikhailovich, frightened by the scale of the rebellion, called on all the capital and provincial nobles and boyar children "to serve for the great sovereign and for their homes." 60 thousand horsemen lined up for a review near Moscow. Archers and regiments of the new system were added to them. Voivode Yuri Dolgoruky "with comrades" K. Shcherbatov, Yu. Baryatinsky and others were waiting for these troops near Arzamas to attack the "rebels and thieves." Yuri Baryatinsky with the vanguard of the tsarist troops moved to Kazan, then to Sviyazhsk. Razintsy's attempts to stop him here were unsuccessful. On October 1, 1670, a decisive battle began under the Simbirsk walls. Baryatinsky lifted the siege from the Simbirsk Kremlin and released the warriors of the governor Miloslavsky from there.

Stenka Razin fought in the hottest places. The chieftain's head was cut open, his leg was shot through, but the "father" kept on fighting until his army ran. The chieftain with the Cossacks locked himself in one of the towers of the old prison. Waking up from his wounds, he rushed with the Cossacks to a new attack, but fell victim to the cunning of the governor Yuri. Baryatinsky sent one detachment to Sviyaga and ordered to shout loudly. Hearing "shouts", Stenka thought that a new royal army was coming. The ataman loaded the Don Cossacks onto the boats and sailed with them to Tsaritsyn, and then went to the Don to collect a new army.

RESPECT

Without mercy, the tsarist governors smashed the "orphaned" rebels of the Volga region, Tambov region, and Sloboda Ukraine. “It’s scary to look at Arzamas,” a contemporary wrote, “its suburbs seemed like a perfect hell: gallows stood everywhere and 40 and 50 corpses hung on each; scattered heads lay there and smoked with fresh blood; stakes stuck out here, on which criminals were tormented and often lived for three days, experiencing indescribable suffering. In the course of three months, 11,000 people were executed.” They tortured and killed not only in Arzamas. In Kozmodemyansk, Baryatinsky executed 60 people, ordered a hundred to cut off their hands, and beat 400 people with a whip.

The cathedral of the Russian clergy cursed Stepan Razin and his followers.

And Stenka tried to lift Don. But the homely Cossacks, led by the godfather Stenka Razin, the military ataman Kornila Yakovlev, who for a long time supported the dashing godson, but did not want the punitive expedition of the tsarist troops to appear on the Don, hostilely met Razin's Cossacks. On April 14, 1671, they attacked Kagalnik, where the ataman was standing. The town was on fire from four sides, its defenders were cut down. Desperately fighting Razin was captured. Soon, Stenka's brother, Frol, was also caught. Through Kursk and Serpukhov, 200 Cossacks were taken to Moscow by Stepan and Frol Razin. "You're the cause of all the trouble!" Frol sobbed. “There is no trouble,” his brother answered, “we will be received honorably; the greatest gentlemen will come out to meet us to look at us. For the capture of the Razins, the homely Cossacks of the Don received a special “sovereign salary”: 3 thousand silver rubles of money, 4 thousand quarters of bread, 200 buckets of wine, 150 pounds of gunpowder and lead.

And the famous ataman Stepan Razin, after being tortured, was quartered on June 6, 1671 on Red Square in Moscow. By the time of the execution of Stepan Razin, his atamans were still fighting. The entire Lower Volga region was in their hands. But the royal troops were advancing. The refusal of the homely Cossacks to support the rebels deprived them of the opportunity to draw strength from the Don. The rebellious peasants and Cossacks conducted scattered actions.

In July 1671, Ataman Vasily Us tried to climb up the Volga and even reached Simbirsk. Here he was defeated and returned to Astrakhan. The siege of Astrakhan began, and at the end of November the city was taken. Executions and reprisals followed again. Fleeing, the rebels fled to Siberia, to the Urals, some made their way north to the Old Believer Solovetsky Monastery.

RAZINTS ON SOLOVKI

The abbot of the monastery, the schismatic Nikanor, received everyone: runaway archers, Cossacks, walking people, serfs who had left their masters. Under the banner of the old faith, the last Razintsy began to fight. Solovki fell on January 22, 1676 from betrayal. The monk Feoktist ran across at night to the side of the enemy and pointed out the secret entrance to the monastery. When darkness descended on the Solovetsky Island, the archers entered the monastery and, after a fierce battle, occupied it. The Old Believers were slaughtered, and 60 people, "the instigators who were willing to steal," were subjected to cruel executions. Some were hung upside down, others, stripped naked in the bitter cold, were hooked under the ribs. The unfortunate died in terrible agony.

RAZIN IN EUROPEAN PERIODICALS AND CHRONICS

Among foreign sources about the uprising of S. Razin, a special place is occupied by news that appeared on the pages of the then newspapers and other ongoing publications. These messages served at one time as the main type of information for the Western European reading public about events in Russia and, for this reason alone, are of undoubted interest to historians.

"European Saturday newspaper", 1670, No. 38 Moscow, August 14. Reliable news has come that the well-known rebel Stepan Timofeevich Razin is not only joining more and more people and troops every day, but has also achieved great success near Astrakhan. After he put to flight the archers sent against him and destroyed several thousand of them, he began to storm Astrakhan, and since the local garrison, contrary to the will of the commandant, opened the gates to him, he took the city, and the commandant and those princes and boyars who remained faithful to the king, ordered to hang. The looting of churches was prevented by the local metropolitan.

The aforementioned rebel sent a letter to the archimandrite in Kazan, demanding that upon his arrival he come out to meet him with proper honors. They fear that he will try to capture the fortress of Tarki, located on the very border of the royal possessions near the Caspian Sea. And since this place is far from Moscow, and under the present circumstances, as already seen, it will be difficult to send help there, it is possible that Tarki will also be under the rule of the rebels and trade with Prussia and Russia may be interrupted. Moscow, as a result of this, will also find itself in great difficulty, since until now all salted fish has been brought here from these places [from the Caspian Sea], which this people, observing many fasts, is in great need of. Salt was also delivered from there and 40,000 horses were brought to the king from these possessions every year.

Moscow General Dolgorukov, sent against the rebels, demands an army of one hundred thousand, otherwise he does not dare to show himself in front of the enemy. But the court is not able to muster such an army, since the hard-working people do not want to pay a fifth for this, referring to their insolvency.

Reliable news of the rebellion in Muscovy. A certain person writes on October 3 from Copenhagen: by the grace of God, he traveled from Moscow in five weeks and heard a lot of amazing things about the rebellion of Stepan Razin there. This is a great tyrant, and during the capture of the city of Astrakhan, he ordered the governor of this fortress to be thrown from the tower, he himself outraged his wife and daughter, and then ordered them to be tied completely naked to horses, backwards, and given to the Kalmyks, the most terrible of all Tatars, for desecration . He ordered to cut off the arms and legs of many German officers, and then tie them in bags and throw them into the Volga. He abused their wives himself, and then gave them to the Kalmyks

The story of how the leader of the rebels, Stepan Razin, together with his brother, were arrested, taken to Moscow and tortured to death here. The world-famous, main and foremost rebel against Moscow named Stepan Razin is reported in a report dated July 1 from Riga to Livonia. Here there is almost no doubt that he was arrested, since all letters confirm this, and the last mail says: The method by which the said rebel was captured was this: side of the Don Cossacks and to act by force against the king, the mentioned Don Cossacks pretended that they approved his desire and wanted to fulfill it, having the intention of trapping the fox by such cunning. When the Cossacks learned that Razin and his brother had stopped in a shelter where he was not afraid of anything, they attacked him and captured him and his brother. Finally, they were both brought under the escort of thousands of musketeers to the capital Moscow. According to a message from Moscow dated June 16, on this day the sentence was executed on the leader of the rebels, Razin. In order to be seen by as many people as possible (for more than a hundred thousand people gathered) and in order to subject the villain to the greatest shame, he was placed on a wide wagon seven feet high. A gallows was built on the wagon, under which Razin stood, tightly chained to it with chains: one - by the neck, the other - around the waist and the third - by the legs. Both hands were nailed to the sides of the wagon, and much blood flowed from them. In the middle of the gallows was nailed a board that supported his head. His brother was also bound with chains hand and foot, and chained to the cart he was to follow, and he felt very bad because he had been shamed in front of so many thousands of people. [Stepan] looked at his brother all the time, and as he became more and more shy, [Stepan], hardened with anger, said to him: “Brother, what are you so afraid of? We should have thought about this earlier before starting this game, and now it's too late. So drop your fear! Since we bravely set to work, we must remain so. Are you afraid of death? But we have to die someday. Or are you worried that the rest of our accomplices will also have a bad time? They will be more prudent, and heaven will help them in their affairs, so that they will not have to fear such a punishment. From these cruel and inflammatory speeches, the brother turned even paler, and Razin made many other threats to the Muscovites, until, finally, at the appointed place, he was put to death. At the request of some noble Germans, envoys from different lands, and the Persian ambassador, they were honored and they were led under the strong guard of soldiers through the assembled crowd to the wagon, and this was allowed to them so that they could see and hear everything well and tell in detail about the execution that had taken place . They were so close that some of them returned [home] splashed with the blood of the executed. This execution took place as follows: first he was cut off both hands, then both legs and, finally, his head. These five parts of the body were impaled on five stakes - for show to everyone, as a frightening example for passers-by, and the mutilated body was thrown out in the evening to be eaten by hungry dogs. Such was the end of this execution.

Since the rule “no extradition from the Don” was in effect there.

The Cossacks who lived here earlier were called "domovity". They received a salary from the king, ran their own household, could engage in trade. The mass exodus of peasants from the central regions of Russia led to the creation of a new layer - "young, stupid" Cossacks, i.e., squalor.

In the 60s. 17th century famine began on the Don. The ego caused dissatisfaction with the homelessness. At the head of the slanderous Cossacks stood ataman Vasiliy Us. His detachments in 1666 headed for Moscow. On the way, they smashed the estates, the houses of the rich. The royal army was sent against them. Without waiting for the arrival of the army, the detachments of Vasily Us returned to the Don.

In 1667, new detachments of the barren moved from the Don to the Volga. The campaign was led by ataman Stepan Razin. He also had a lot of those Cossacks who used to go with Vasily Us. Razin's detachments robbed merchants who sailed along the Volga. From the Volga, the detachments went to the Yaik River, where they wintered. In 1668-1669. Razin's ships passed across the Caspian to Persia, where they defeated the Persian fleet and took a lot of booty. Then we moved through Astrakhan to the Don. The Astrakhan governor, not wanting to get involved with Razin, let the armed detachments through, demanding only to hand over heavy guns. An armed, united, strengthened military force returned to the Don. The authority of Razin as a leader has grown.

In 1670, Razin again went to the Volga. He sent out "charming" letters in which he called ("tempted") to revolt against the oppressors of the people. Peasants, Cossacks, working people from the Volga fisheries, archers flocked to his army.

Battle for Tsaritsyn

Razin's army approached Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) and took it without a fight.

Hike to Astrakhan

Atamans Stepan Razin and Vasily Us jointly moved to Astrakhan. It was a well-fortified, strategically important point on the Volga, and Razin did not want to leave it unconquered in his rear. The city prepared for defense. The rebels took it by storm. They were helped by archers and townspeople who went over to the side of Razin. Having dealt with the governors, boyars, clerks, Razin left Ataman Us in Astrakhan, and he himself moved up the Volga. The cities of Saratov and Samara were well fortified, but surrendered without a fight.

The people were on the side of the rebels. material from the site

Trip to Moscow

In the fall of 1670, Razin's troops approached Simbirsk. His siege continued for a month. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, frightened by the scale of the uprising, moved a large army to Simbirsk. There was a battle. Razin showed himself to be a brave warrior, but he was wounded, and the rebels were forced to retreat to Tsaritsyn, and from there to the Don. There, the "domovitye" Cossacks betrayed him to the royal troops. In 1671 Razin was executed in Moscow.

The Lower Volga region was still in the hands of the rebels. When the tsarist troops took Astrakhan, the surviving rebels fled to the North, to the Solovetsky Monastery. The centers of the uprising did not die out for many years.