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

The state, which guarded the interests of the ruling class of feudal lords, organized massive searches for fugitives and returned them to their former owners. In the 50-60s of the 17th century, unsuccessful experiments of the treasury, the war between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, aggravated the brewing discontent. Already insightful contemporaries clearly saw the essential features of the new. “Rebellious age” - this is how they assessed their time.

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

1 . The origins of the social upheavals of the “rebellious age”

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

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

The nobles were given “obedient letters”, according to which the peasants had to pay dues not as before, according to established rules and amounts, but as the owner wanted.

The new “posad structure” provided for the return of fugitive “travelers” to the cities, the addition to the posads of the owning peasants who were engaged in crafts and trade in the cities, but did not pay taxes, the liquidation of courtyards and settlements within the cities, which also did not pay taxes.

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

This policy caused enormous discontent among the peasantry, which formed the overwhelming majority in Russia at that time. Periodically there was unrest in the villages. A push was needed for discontent to result in “turmoil.”

Meanwhile, the impoverishment and ruin of Russia under Ivan the Terrible was not in vain. Peasants left in droves to new lands from fortresses and state burdens. The exploitation of those who remained intensified. Farmers were enmeshed in debts and obligations. The transition from one landowner to another became increasingly difficult. Under Boris Godunov, several more decrees were issued reinforcing serf bondage. In 1597 - about a five-year search period for fugitives, in 1601–02 about limiting the transfer of peasants by some landowners from others. The wishes of the nobility were fulfilled. But this did not weaken public tension, but only grew.

The main reason for the aggravation of contradictions at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. there was an increase in the burden of serfdom and state duties of peasants and townspeople (townspeople). There were big contradictions between the Moscow privileged and the outlying, especially southern, nobility. Made up of runaway peasants and other free people, the Cossacks were combustible material in society: firstly, many had bloody grievances against the state, the boyars-nobles, and secondly, these were people whose main occupation was war and robbery. Intrigues between different groups of boyars were strong.

In 1601–1603 An unprecedented famine broke out in the country. At first there were torrential rains for 10 weeks, then, at the end of summer, frost damaged the bread. Next year there will be a bad harvest again. Although the tsar did a lot to alleviate the situation of the hungry: he distributed money and bread, reduced the price of it, organized public works, etc., but the consequences were dire. About 130 thousand people died in Moscow alone from diseases that followed the famine. Many, out of hunger, gave themselves up as slaves, and, finally, often the masters, unable to feed the servants, kicked out the servants. Robberies and unrest began among fugitive and walking people (the leader of Khlopka Kosolap), who acted near Moscow itself and in a battle with the tsarist troops even killed the governor Basmanov. The riot was suppressed, and its participants fled to the south, where they joined the troops of the impostor, Bolotnikov and others.

2. “Salt” and “copper” riots in Moscow. Urban uprisings

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

The “salt” riot involved archers, serfs - in a word, those people who had reasons to be dissatisfied with the government’s policies.

The riot began, it would seem, with little things. Returning from a pilgrimage from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was surrounded by petitioners asking the Tsar to remove L.S., the head of the Zemstvo Council, from his post. Pleshcheev, motivating this desire by the injustice of Leonty Stepanovich: by the fact that he took bribes, carried out an unfair trial, but there were no retaliatory actions on the part of the sovereign. Then the complainants decided to turn to the queen, but this also did not yield anything: the guards dispersed the people. Some were arrested. The next day, the king organized a religious procession, but even then complainants appeared demanding the release of those arrested on the first number of petitioners and still resolve the issue of cases of bribery. The tsar asked his “uncle” and relative, boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, for clarification on this matter. After listening to the explanations, the king promised the petitioners to resolve this issue. Hiding in the palace, the tsar sent four ambassadors for negotiations: Prince Volkonsky, clerk Volosheinov, Prince Temkin-Rostov, and the okolnichy Pushkin.

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

On the next day of the riot, forced people joined the royal disobedients. They demanded the extradition of the bribe-taking boyars: B. Morozov, L. Pleshcheev, P. Trakhanionov, N. Chistoy.

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

In an atmosphere of rebellion, the top of the settlement and the lower strata of the nobility sent a petition to the Tsar, in which they demanded the streamlining of legal proceedings and the development of new laws.

As a result of the petition, the authorities made concessions: the archers were given eight rubles each, debtors were freed from beating money, and the thieving judges were replaced. Subsequently, the riot began to subside, but the rebels did not get away with everything: the instigators of the riot among the slaves were executed.

On July 16, the Zemsky Sobor was convened and decided to adopt a number of new laws. In January one thousand six hundred and forty-nine, the Council Code was approved.

This is the result of the “salt” riot: the truth has triumphed, the people’s offenders have been punished, and to top it all, the Council Code has been adopted, which was designed to ease the people’s lot and rid the administrative apparatus of corruption.

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

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

On June 11, 1663, the royal decree was issued to close the courts of the “money copper business” and return to the minting of silver coins. Copper money was redeemed from the population in a short time - within a month. For one silver kopeck they took a ruble in copper money. Trying to benefit from copper kopecks, the population began to cover them with a layer of mercury or silver, passing them off as silver money. This trick was soon noticed, and a royal decree was issued banning the tinning of copper money.

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

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

3. Peasant war led by S. Razin

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

Back in March 1667, Moscow learned that many residents of the Don were “trying to steal on the Volga.” At the head of the mass of unorganized, but brave, determined and armed people stood the Cossack Stepan Timofeevich Razin. He showed self-will by recruiting his detachment from the Cossack Goli and newcomers - fugitive peasants, townsman drafters, archers, who were not part of the Don army and did not obey the Cossack elders.

He planned a campaign in order to distribute the captured booty to those in need, feed the hungry, clothe and put on shoes the undressed and shoeless. Razin, at the head of a detachment of Cossacks of 500 people, went not to the Volga, but down the Don. It is difficult to say about his intentions at that moment. It seems that this campaign was intended to lull the vigilance of the Volga governors and attract supporters. People came to Razin from different places. They led their troops to him.

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

Clashes between the Cossacks and government troops began. As the events of the Caspian campaign developed, the rebellious nature of the movement became more and more apparent.

Avoiding a collision with government troops, he quickly and with minor losses carried his flotilla out to sea, then moved to the Yaik River and easily captured the Yaik town. In all battles, Razin showed great courage. More and more people from nasads and plows joined the Cossacks.

Having entered the Caspian Sea, the Razins headed to its southern shores. Some time later their ships arrived in the area of ​​the Persian city of Rasht. The Cossacks destroyed the cities of Rasht, Farabat, Astrabad and wintered near the “amusing palace of the Shah”, setting up an earthen town in his forest reserve on the Miyan-Kale peninsula. Having exchanged prisoners for Russians in the proportion of “one to four”, they thus replenished with people.

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

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

Reports from the governors of the southern cities about Razin’s independent behavior, that he had “become strong” and was again plotting “troubles” alerted the government. In January 1670, a certain Gerasim Evdokimov was sent to Cherkassk. Razin demanded that Evdokimy be brought in and interrogated him about who he came from: the great sovereign or the boyars? The messenger confirmed that he was from the tsar, but Razin declared him a boyar spy. The Cossacks drowned the Tsar's envoy. In the town of Panshin, Razin gathered the participants of the upcoming large circle hike. The ataman announced that he intended to “go from the Don to the Volga, and from the Volga to Rus'... in order... to bring out the traitorous boyars and duma people and the governors and clerks in the cities from the Moscow state” and give freedom to the “black people.”

Soon Razin's army of 7,000 moved to Tsaritsyn. Having captured it, the Razinites remained in the town for about 2 weeks. The battles in the lower reaches of the Volga in the spring and summer of 1670 showed that Razin was a talented commander. On June 22, the Razins captured Astrakhan. Without firing a single shot, Samara and Saratov passed to the Razinites.

After this, the Razins began the siege of Simbirsk. At the end of August 1670, the government sent an army to suppress Razin's uprising. A month's stay near Simbirsk was a tactical miscalculation by Razin. It allowed government troops to be brought here. In the battle of Simbirsk, Razin was seriously wounded and subsequently executed in Moscow.

Apparently one of the main reasons for the Simbirsk failure was the lack of permanent personnel in the rebel army. Only the core of the Cossacks and Streltsy remained stable in the Razin army, while numerous peasant detachments, who made up the bulk of the rebels, came and went every now and then. They had no military experience, and during the period that they were in the ranks of the Razinites, they did not have time to accumulate it.

4. The schismatic movement

An important fact of Russian history of the 17th century. There was a church schism, which was the result of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon.

The most significant of the innovations adopted by Patriarch Nikon and the church council of 1654 were the replacement of baptism with two fingers with three fingers, pronouncing the praise to God “Hallelujah” not twice, but three times, and moving around the lectern in the church not in the direction of the Sun, but against it. All of them concerned the purely ritual side, and not the essence of Orthodoxy.

The schism of the Orthodox Church occurred at the council of 1666–1667, and from 1667 the schismatics were brought to trial by the “city authorities,” who burned them for “blasphemy against the Lord God.” In 1682, Archpriest Avvakum, the main opponent of Patriarch Nikon, died at the stake.

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

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

The schism united a variety of social forces that advocated preserving the integrity of the traditional nature of Russian culture. There were princes and boyars, such as the noblewoman F.P. Morozova and Princess E.P. Urusova, monks and white clergy who refused to perform the new rituals. But there were especially many ordinary people - townspeople, archers, peasants - who saw in the preservation of old rituals a way of fighting for the ancient folk ideals of “truth” and “will”. The most radical step of the Old Believers was the decision taken in 1674 to stop praying for the health of the Tsar. This meant a complete break between the Old Believers and the existing society, the beginning of the struggle to preserve the ideal of “truth” within their communities.

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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

Bibliography

1. History of Russia from antiquity to the present day. / Edited by M.N. Zueva. – M.: Higher School, 1998. – 543 p.

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

4. Skrynnikov R.G. Hard times. Moscow in the 16th–17th centuries. / R.G. Skrynnikov. – M.: Moscow worker, 1988. – 430 p.

5. Chistyakova E.V. “Stepan Razin and his associates” / E.V. Chistyakova, V. M. Solovyov, M.: Book, 1989, – 380 p.

In the 17th century in Russia there were mass phenomena. The era of the Time of Troubles is over. All spheres of public life were completely destroyed: economics, politics, social relations, culture, spiritual development. Naturally, it was necessary to restore the economy. Many reforms and innovations hit the population of that time hard. The result is popular movements. Let's try to analyze this topic in more detail.

Subject "history" (7th grade): "Popular movements"

The period of the “rebellious age” is included in the compulsory school minimum. The course “Domestic History” (grade 7, “Popular Movements”) identifies the following causes of social upheaval:

• due to constant military conflicts.
• Attempts by the authorities to limit Cossack autonomy.
• Increased administrative red tape.
• Enslavement of the peasants.
• Church reforms that led to a split among the clergy and the population.

The above reasons give reason to believe that popular movements in the 17th century were associated not only with the peasantry, as was the case earlier, but also with other social strata: the clergy, the Cossacks, the archers.

This means that powerful forces who know how to wield weapons are beginning to oppose the authorities. The Cossacks and archers managed to gain combat experience in constant wars. Therefore, their participation in unrest can be compared in scale to civil wars.

Salt riot

I would like to remember modern pensioners who actively monitor salt prices in stores. An increase of one or two rubles is today accompanied by various reproaches and criticism of the authorities. However, the rise in salt prices in the 17th century provoked a real revolt.

On July 1, 1648, a powerful wave of protest broke out. The reason was an additional duty on salt, through which the government decided to replenish the budget. The situation led to protesters “intercepting” Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich as he returned from prayer to the Kremlin. People complained to the “good king” about the actions of the “bad” boyar - the head of L. S. Pleshcheev. In the eyes of the ordinary man in the street, he alone was to blame for all the troubles of the state: red tape, embezzlement, rising prices not only for salt, but also for other food products.

The “bad” boyar had to be sacrificed. “On the quiet,” the tsar got rid of not only the “scoundrel” Pleshcheev, but also his relative, boyar B. Morozov, his teacher. In fact, he was the “secret cardinal” in the country and resolved almost all administrative issues. However, after this, popular movements in the country did not end. Let's move on to the rest in more detail.

Popular movements (7th grade, history of Russia): copper riot

The salt situation has not taught the government to approach reforms cautiously. There was a catastrophic shortage of money in the country. And then the authorities carried out the most “killer” economic reform that could be imagined - the devaluation of the coin.

Instead of silver money, the government introduced copper coins into circulation, which were 10-15 cheaper. Of course, it was possible to come up with wooden (in the literal sense of the word) rubles, but the authorities did not dare to tempt fate so much. Naturally, merchants stopped selling their goods for copper.

In July 1662, pogroms and riots began. Now people did not believe in the “good king”. The estates of almost all the tsar's associates were subjected to pogroms. The crowd even wanted to destroy the residence of the “anointed one of God” himself in the village of Kolomenskoye. However, the troops arrived in time, and the king went out to negotiate.

After these events, the authorities treated the rebels harshly. Many people were executed, arrested, some had their arms, legs, and tongues cut off. Those who were lucky were sent into exile.

The uprising of Stepan Razin

If previous popular movements were organized by a peaceful unarmed population, then armed Cossacks with combat experience took part in them. And this turned into a more serious problem for the state.

The Council Code of 1649 was to blame for everything. This document finally established serfdom. Of course, it began to take shape since the time of Ivan III, with the introduction of St. George’s Day and the assignment of workers to the lands of feudal lords. However, it established a lifelong search for fugitive peasants and their return to their former owners. This norm went against the Cossack liberties. There was a centuries-old rule “there is no extradition from the Don,” which implied the protection of everyone who ended up there.

By the mid-60s of the 17th century, a huge number of runaway peasants had accumulated on the Don. This led to the following consequences:

• The impoverishment of the Cossacks, as there was simply not enough free land. In addition, there were no wars, which traditionally reduce the Cossack population and serve as a source of wealth.
• Concentration of a huge combat-ready army in one place.

All this, naturally, could not help but result in popular movements

"Hike for zipuns"

The first stage of the uprising of peasants and Cossacks under the leadership of S. Razin went down in history as a “campaign for zipuns,” that is, for booty (1667-1669). The purpose of the campaign was to plunder merchant ships and caravans carrying cargo from Russia to Persia. In fact, Razin’s detachment was a pirate gang that blocked the main trade artery on the Volga, captured the Yaitsky town, defeated the Persian fleet, and then returned in 1669 with rich booty to the Don.

This successful and unpunished campaign inspired many other Cossacks and peasants who were suffocating from poverty. They massively reached out to S. Razin. Now the idea of ​​carrying out a revolution in the country has already arisen. S. Razin announced a campaign against Moscow.

Second stage (1670 - 1671)

In fact, S. Razin’s speech resembles a future peasant war led by E. Pugachev. Wide numbers and participation of local national tribes in the conflict speak of a full-scale civil war. In general, Russian history (popular movements in particular) had never seen such mass protests by its own people before this time.

Progress of the uprising

The rebels immediately took the city of Tsaritsyn. We approached the well-fortified fortress of Astrakhan, which then surrendered without a fight. All governors and nobles were executed.

Success provoked a massive transition to Razin’s side in such large cities as Samara, Saratov, Penza, which indicates a serious political crisis within Russian society. In addition to the Russian population, the peoples of the Volga region also flocked to him: Chuvash, Tatars, Mordovians, Mari, etc.

Reasons for the large number of rebels

The total number of rebels reached 200 thousand people. There are several reasons why thousands flocked to Razin: some were tired of poverty and taxes, others were attracted by the status of “free Cossacks,” and others were criminals. Many national communities wanted autonomy and even independence after the victory of the revolution.

End of the uprising, massacres

However, the goals of the rebels were not destined to come true. Lacking organizational unity and common goals, the army was uncontrollable. In September 1670, it tried to take Simbirsk (modern Ulyanovsk), but failed, after which it began to disintegrate.

The main force, led by S. Razin, went to the Don, many fled to the internal regions. The punitive expedition against the rebels was led by the governor, Prince Yu. Baryatinsky, which actually means the use of all available military forces. Fearing for their lives, the rebels betrayed their leader, who was then quartered.

Up to 100 thousand people were killed and tortured by the official authorities. Russia had never known such mass repressions before this time.

Cotton's Rebellion 1603

Leader: Cotton Clubfoot

Reasons for the uprising:

Rising prices;

Speculation in bread;

Oppression of the people;

Composition of the rebels: Slaves.

The main task of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (the Terrible's middle son) and his advisers was to overcome economic devastation. Having given some benefits to the nobility and townspeople, the government at the same time took the path of further enslavement of the peasantry. This caused discontent among the broad masses. The peasants associated the deterioration of their situation with the name of Boris. They claimed that they were enslaved under Tsar Fedor Ioannovich at the instigation of the boyar Boris Fedorovich Godunov.

The situation in the country has become even more aggravated due to crop failure. In 1601 it rained for more than two months. Then very early, in mid-August, frosts hit and snow fell, which led to the destruction of the crop. Prices increased several times, and speculation in bread began. The following year, 1602, the winter crops again failed to sprout. Again, as in 1601, early cold weather set in. Prices have already increased more than 100 times. Boris Godunov organized government works. He attracted Muscovites and refugees who poured into the capital to the construction, using the already existing experience of erecting the bell tower of Ivan the Great, distributing bread from state bins, and allowed serfs to leave their masters and look for opportunities to feed themselves. But all these measures were unsuccessful. Rumors spread that the country was being punished for violating the order of succession to the throne, for the sins of Godunov. A serfs' revolt (1603–1604) broke out in the center of the country, led by Cotton Crookshanks. It was brutally suppressed, and Khlopok was executed in Moscow.

Uprising of I. I. Bolotnikov 1606

Leader: I. I. Bolotnikov

Reasons for the uprising:

The desire to return to the old communal order;

Oppression of the people;

The composition of the rebels: peasants, serfs, townspeople, Cossacks, nobles and other service people.

In 1606, after the death of False Dmitry, on whose instructions Boris Godunov was killed, the boyar Tsar Vasily Shuisky ascended the throne. The political conflict generated over power and the crown grew into a social one; the people finally lost faith in improving their situation and again opposed the authorities. In 1606-1607, an uprising broke out under the leadership of Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov, which many historians consider the peak of the Peasant War.

I. I. Bolotnikov was a combat (military) slave of Prince Telyagevsky. From him he fled to the Don Cossacks, was captured by the Crimean Tatars and sold into slavery as an oarsman on a Turkish galley. After the defeat of the Turkish fleet by German ships, I. I. Bolotnikov ended up in Venice. After the meeting of I. I. Bolotnikov in Sambir in the Mnishkov castle with Mikhail Molchanov, who looked like False Dmitry I, who fled from Moscow and posed as the saved tsar. I. I. Bolotnikov received a letter from Molchanov, sealed with a state seal stolen from Moscow by Molchanov, in which he was appointed governor of the Tsar, and also received a saber, a fur coat and 60 ducats. Then, through Germany and Poland, he arrived in Putivl as a governor of Tsar Dmitry.

Komaritsa volost became the support of I.I. Bolotnikov. Here, in the area of ​​the city of Kromy, many Cossacks gathered who supported False Dmitry I, who freed this region from taxes for 10 years. Having become the head of the Cossack detachments, I. I. Bolotnikov from Krom moved to Moscow in the summer of 1606. Soon, the small detachment of I.I. Bolotnikov turned into a powerful army, which included peasants, city residents, and even detachments of nobles and Cossacks dissatisfied with the boyar government. Acting as the governor of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich, a rumor about the salvation of which came to life again during the reign of Vasily Shuisky, I. I. Bolotnikov defeated government troops near Yelets, captured Kaluga, Tula, Serpukhov.

In October 1606, the army of I. I. Bolotnikov besieged Moscow, settling near the village of Kolomenskoye. At this time, more than 70 cities were on the side of the rebels. The siege of Moscow lasted two months. At the decisive moment, the betrayal of the noble detachments who went over to the side of Vasily Shuisky led to the defeat of the army of I. I. Bolotnikov. Seeking the support of the boyars and nobles, Vasily Shuisky in March 1607 issued the “Code on Peasants,” which introduced a 15-year period for searching for fugitives.

I. I. Bolotnikov was thrown back to Kaluga and besieged by tsarist troops. With the help of the rebel army of “Tsarevich Peter” (as the slave Ilya Gorchakov called himself - Ileyka Muromets) that came from the Terek along the Volga, I. I. Bolotnikov broke out of the siege and retreated to Tula. The three-month siege of Tula was led by Vasily Shuisky himself. The Upa River was blocked by a dam and the fortress was flooded. After V.I. Shuisky’s promise to save the lives of the rebels, they opened the gates of Tula. The king brutally dealt with the rebels. I. I. Bolotnikov was blinded and then drowned in an ice hole in the city of Kargopol. Ileika Muromets was executed in Moscow.

Representatives of different social strata took part in the uprising of I.I. Bolotnikov - peasants, serfs, townspeople, Cossacks, nobles and other service people. The Cossacks, possessing weapons, having military experience, and a strong organization formed the core of the rebel army.

The ideological ideas of the rebels, despite the categorical nature of their demands, had a tsarist character. Naive monarchism and faith in a “good” tsar underlay the views of the Cossacks and the peasantry on the state structure. The peasantry and Cossacks saw the goal of the uprising as a return to the old, communal order.

Salt Riot of 1648

The composition of the rebels: Serfs, townspeople, the top of the settlement, archers, nobles;

Reasons for the uprising:

Increase in indirect taxes on salt by 4 times;

Deterioration of the situation of the population in the country;

The “Salt Riot” got its name because it was motivated by dissatisfaction with the salt tax. This event was preceded by a general crisis in the taxation system. All complex monetary and in-kind duties were borne by the townspeople. Meanwhile, in the cities, handicraftsmen and traders from white settlements lived side by side with the tax-paying townspeople, who were called so because they were whitewashed, or exempted from taxes. White settlements belonged to large spiritual and secular feudal lords. The population of white settlements was dependent on their feudal lords, but their financial situation was better than that of free people. Hence, the desire of the townspeople to exchange their difficult freedom for a relatively easy dependence through enslavement to powerful nobles was observed. It got to the point that in some cities the population of white settlements became equal to the population of suburbs. Thus, fewer and fewer taxpayers paid taxes, and the burden that fell on each of them naturally increased. Soon it became obvious to the authorities that there was no point in further increasing direct taxes due to the reduction and erosion of the solvency of the tax-paying population.

Official documents of that time openly admit that the collection of Streltsy and Yam money went extremely unevenly due to the massive evasion of the townspeople: “some do not pay, because their names are not listed either in the lists or in the scribe books, and they all live in the county is in excess." Nazariy Chistoy, a former guest who became a Duma clerk, proposed, following the example of Western European countries, to place the main emphasis on indirect taxes. In 1646, some of the direct taxes were abolished, and instead the duty on salt was increased fourfold - from five kopecks to two hryvnias per pood. Since the sale of salt was a state monopoly, Chistoy assured that the salt tax would enrich the treasury. In fact, the opposite happened, as consumers cut their salt intake to the limit. Moreover, the salt tax led to unpredictable consequences. On the Volga, due to the high cost of salt, thousands of pounds of fish, which ordinary people ate during Lent, rotted. At the beginning of 1648, the unsuccessful tax was repealed, but at the same time tax-paying people were required to pay the old taxes for three years in a row. The dissatisfaction of the people was intensified by the abuses of the tsar's entourage: the tsar's educator, boyar Morozov, the tsar's father-in-law, Prince I. D. Miloslavsky, the okolnichy L. S. Pleshcheev, the head of the Pushkarsky order, Trakhaniotov.

An outbreak of spontaneous discontent occurred in the early summer of 1648. The common population of Moscow tried several times to file petitions against the tsar's associates, but the petitions were not accepted, which prompted the dissatisfied to take more decisive action. On May 25, 1648, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was returning from a pilgrimage, a crowd stopped his carriage and demanded that L. S. Pleshcheev be stopped. The Tsar promised, and the people had already begun to disperse, when suddenly several courtiers from among Pleshcheev’s supporters hit several people with whips. The enraged crowd rained down stones on them and burst into the Kremlin. To stop the rebellion, Pleshcheev was handed over for execution, but the crowd snatched him from the hands of the executioner and killed him. Fucking, who escaped, was caught and executed. When they killed clerk Nazariy Chisty, the crowd said: “Here’s to you, traitor, for the salt.” The house of Shorin's guest, who was accused of increasing the price of salt, was looted. To top off the misfortunes, a terrible fire started in Moscow.

The archers, whose salaries had been delayed for a long time, went over to the side of the rebels, which gave the rebellion a special scope. Only a detachment of serving foreigners remained loyal to the government, moving to defend the royal palace with banners flying and drums beating. Under the cover of the Germans, negotiations began with the rebels. Most of those close to them, whose heads the crowd demanded, were handed over to be killed. The Tsar announced to the people that he regretted the atrocities of Pleshcheev and Trakhanitov. With great difficulty it was possible to save boyar Morozov. The Tsar tearfully asked the crowd: “I promised to hand over Morozov to you and I must admit that I cannot completely justify him, but I cannot decide to condemn him: this is a man dear to me, the husband of Tsaritsyn’s sister, and it will be very hard for me to hand him over to death.” Morozov was sent to a safe place, to an honorable exile in the Kirillov-Belozersky Monastery, and the tsar had to promise that he would never return the boyar to Moscow.

The king ordered the archers to be treated to wine and honey, and they were given increased salaries. The Tsar's father-in-law Miloslavsky invited elected representatives of the Black Hundreds to the feast and treated them for several days in a row. With the help of bribed archers, whose salaries were increased, the uprising was suppressed.

The uprising in Moscow, called the “salt riot,” was not the only one. Over the course of twenty years (from 1630 to 1650), uprisings took place in 30 Russian cities: Veliky Ustyug, Novgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Vladimir, Pskov, and Siberian cities.

Uprisings in Novgorod and Pskov in 1650

Leaders: clerk Tomilka Vasiliev, archers Porfiry Kozu and Iova Kopyto. (Pskov) Metropolitan Clerk Ivan Zheglov. (Novgorod)

Composition of the rebels: Urban population, peasantry

Reasons for the uprising:

The difficult economic situation of the country;

Buying bread to pay off Sweden's debt;

Bad year;

Rising prices for bread.

Less than a year after the adoption of the Council Code, unrest broke out in Pskov and Novgorod, two cities in which the assembly of citizens to decide public affairs had not yet died out. The reason for the unrest was the news that bread was being sent to Sweden to pay off government debts. The urban poor turned to the authorities with a request not to send bread, as the city was threatened with famine. Having received a refusal on February 28, 1650, the Pskovites withdrew from obedience. Voivode Sobakin lost power over the city. The Pskovites chose as their leaders a triumvirate of the area clerk Tomilka Vasilyev and the archers Porfiry Koza and Job Kopyto.

Two weeks later, the unrest spread to Novgorod. Voivode Prince Khilkov and Metropolitan Nikon tried to suppress the unrest by force, but the archery heads and boyar children could not do anything with the rebels. The leader of the Novgorodians was the metropolitan clerk Ivan Zheglov, released from prison. In the zemstvo hut the government met, consisting of Zheglov, shoemaker Elisey Grigoriev, nicknamed Fox, Streltsy Pentecostal Kirsha Dyavolov and others. But this elected government failed to organize the defense of Novgorod. They thought of sending ambassadors to Pskov so that both cities could stand together, but these plans were not fulfilled, and the matter was limited to the fact that a petition was sent to Moscow with assurances of the loyalty of the Novgorodians, who punished the traitors. Among the rebels themselves, hesitation quickly began. The wealthy part of the townspeople feared a repetition of the Novgorod pogrom of eighty years ago.

Meanwhile, a detachment of military men led by Prince I.N. Khovansky was sent to pacify Novgorod. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich demanded that the instigators be handed over, threatening otherwise to send the governor with many military men. Metropolitan Nikon spoke with eloquent admonitions, and the wealthy part of the Novgorodians took his side. As a result, in mid-April, Prince Khovansky was allowed into the city, and a sentence came from Moscow: to execute Zheglov and Elisha Lisitsa by death, and to beat the other instigators mercilessly with a whip and exile to Astrakhan to live forever.

Pskov offered more fierce resistance. The rebels took lead, gunpowder and the keys to the city from the governor by force. Prince Khovansky, who, after the conquest of Novgorod, besieged Pskov with his detachment, was greeted with fire from cannons and arquebuses. The hostilities continued for several months, and Prince Khovansky could not take the well-fortified city. Moreover, Gdov and Izborsk joined Pskov. The rebels, knowing about the massacre of the Novgorodians, refused to submit.

The unsettled situation in Moscow itself and other cities forced us to refrain from using force. The authorities relied on attracting the wealthy part of the townspeople, and they really persuaded their fellow citizens to kiss the cross to the sovereign. With great difficulty, the Pskovites managed to take the oath, and then, despite all the assurances made before, the reprisal against the instigators began. They were captured and sent to Novgorod, where they were imprisoned in chains.

Copper Riot of 1662

Composition of the rebels: Mob, soldiers, townspeople, peasants.

Reasons for the uprising:

Economic situation of the country;

Issue of copper money;

Rising prices.

If the “salt riot” was generated by a taxation crisis, then the cause of the “copper riot” was a crisis in the monetary system. The Moscow state at that time did not have its own gold and silver mines, and precious metals were brought from abroad. At the Money Court, Russian coins were minted from silver Joachimsthalers, or, as they called them in Rus', “efimks”: kopecks, money-half-kopecks and half-quarters of kopecks. The protracted war with Poland over Ukraine required huge expenses, and therefore, on the advice of A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin, the issue of copper money began at the price of silver. As with the salt tax, the result was exactly the opposite of what was intended. Despite the strict royal decree, no one wanted to accept copper, and the peasants, who were paid with copper half rubles and altyns, “thin and uneven,” stopped the supply of agricultural products to the cities, which led to famine. Poltinas and altyns had to be withdrawn from circulation and minted into kopecks. At first, small copper coins actually circulated on a par with silver kopecks. However, the government was unable to avoid the temptation to replenish the treasury in an easy way and immensely increased the issue of unbacked copper money, which was minted in Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov. At the same time, while paying salaries to service people in copper money, the government demanded payment of taxes (“fifth money”) in silver. Soon copper money depreciated; for 1 ruble in silver they gave 17 rubles in copper. And although a strict royal decree prohibited raising prices, all goods rose sharply in price.

Counterfeiting has become widespread. According to the Council Code of 1649, for counterfeiting coins, criminals had molten metal poured down their throats, but the threat of a terrible execution did not stop anyone, and a flow of “thieves’ money” flooded the state. The search led to the craftsmen who worked at the Money Court, “because until that time there was no copper money, and at that time they did not live according to a rich custom, but with copper money they built yards for themselves, stone and wooden, and dresses for themselves and they did the same for their wives according to boyar custom, and in the same way in the ranks they began to buy all sorts of goods and silver vessels and food supplies at high prices, sparing no money.” The faithful heads and kissers assigned to the Money Court to control the minting of the coin were involved in the counterfeiting of the coin. They were guests and traders, “honest and wealthy people.” As G. Kotoshikhin wrote, “the Devil outraged their minds, that they were still imperfectly rich, bought copper in Moscow and in the Sveisky state, and brought it to the Money Yards with royal copper together, and ordered them to make money, and, having done so, took it from the Money Yard with the king’s money together, and they gave the king’s money to the treasury, and took their own money to themselves.” As always, ordinary performers suffered - they were executed, their hands and fingers were cut off and exiled to distant cities. The rich paid off the punishment by giving “great promises to the boyar, the Tsar’s father-in-law, Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky, and the Duma nobleman Matyushkin, who had the former Tsar Tsaritsyn’s relatives as his sister, and a clerk, and in the cities promises to the governors and clerks; and they, for those promises, helped the thief and delivered them from troubles.”

The common people were outraged by the impunity of the boyars. On July 25, 1662, sheets of accusations against Prince I. D. Miloslavsky, several members of the Boyar Duma and the wealthy guest Vasily Shorin were discovered in Lubyanka. They were accused of secret relations with Poland, which had no basis. But dissatisfied people needed a reason. It is significant that the object of universal hatred became the same people who were accused of abuses during the “salt riot”, and just like 14 years ago, the crowd attacked and destroyed the house of Shorin’s guest, who collected the fifth money in the entire state. Several thousand people went to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who was in his country palace in the village of Kolomenskoye. The king was forced to go out to the people, and a scene took place in front of the church, which was a violation of all the rules of court etiquette. The common people surrounded the tsar, held him by the buttons, asked: “What to believe?”, and when Alexei Mikhailovich gave his word to investigate the matter, one of the crowd struck hands with the tsar of all Rus'. The crowd went home, but this day was not destined to end peacefully.

Another crowd of thousands, much more militant, was pouring towards us from Moscow. Small traders, butchers, bakers, cake makers, village people again surrounded Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and this time they did not ask, but demanded that he hand over the traitors to her for reprisal, threatening: “If he doesn’t give them the good of those boyars, they will learn to take from him.” themselves, according to their custom." However, archers and soldiers had already appeared in Kolomenskoye, sent by the boyars to the rescue. Therefore, when they began to threaten Alexei Mikhailovich, he raised his voice and ordered the stewards, solicitors, tenants and archers to chop down the rebels. The unarmed crowd was driven into the river, more than seven thousand people were killed and captured. G. Kotoshikhin describes the bloody finale of the Copper Riot, “And that same day, 150 people were hanged near that village, and everyone else was decreeed, they were tortured and burned, and on investigation for guilt they cut off their arms and legs, and the fingers and toes of their hands and feet, and others, beaten with a whip, and placed signs on the face on the right side, lighting the iron red, and placing “beeches” on that iron, that is, a rebel, so that he would be recognized forever; and inflicting punishment on them, they sent everyone to distant cities, to Kazan, and to Astrakhan, and to Terki, and to Siberia, for eternal life... and another thief of the same day, in the night, made a decree, tying his hands back and putting him in large the ships were sunk in the Moscow River." The search in connection with the “copper riot” had no precedents. All literate Muscovites were forced to give samples of their handwriting in order to compare them with the “thieves' sheets”, which served as a signal for indignation. However, the instigators were never found.

The "Copper Riot" was a performance of the urban lower classes. It was attended by artisans, butchers, pastry makers, and peasants from suburban villages.

Of the guests and merchants, “not a single person accosted those thieves; they even helped those thieves, and they received praise from the king.” Despite the merciless suppression of the rebellion, it did not pass without a trace. In 1663, according to the tsar's decree of the copper industry, the yards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in Moscow. Salaries of all ranks to service people again began to be paid in silver money. Copper money was withdrawn from circulation, private individuals were ordered to melt it down into cauldrons or bring it to the treasury, where for each deposit they paid 10, and later even less - 2 silver money. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, “The Treasury acted like a real bankrupt, paying creditors 5 kopecks or even 1 kopeck per ruble.”

Campaign of Vasily Usa 1666

uprising riot Cossack schism church

Leader: Vasily Us

Reasons for the campaign: improving the existence of the Cossacks

Composition of the army: Cossacks, townspeople, peasants

One of the main areas where fugitive peasants were sent was the Don. Here, on the southern border of Russia, the principle was in force: “There is no extradition from the Don.” Defending the borders of Russia, the Don Cossacks often undertook successful campaigns (the so-called “campaigns for zipuns”) against the Crimea and Turkey and returned with rich booty. In 1658-1660. Turks and Crimean Tatars blocked the exit to the Azov and Black Seas: two towers were built at the mouth of the Don, blocking the river with chains stretched between them. The Caspian coast increasingly became the target of Cossack attacks.

In 1666, a detachment of 500 Cossacks led by Ataman Vasily Us undertook a campaign from the Don through Voronezh to Tula. The Cossacks, wanting to earn a living through military service, went to Moscow to offer their services to the government in connection with the war between Russia and Poland. During the movement, peasants who fled from their masters, as well as townspeople, joined the detachment. Vasily Us's detachment grew to 3 thousand people. With great difficulty, the tsarist commanders, with the help of regular troops, forced Vasily Us to retreat to the Don. Many of the participants in Vasily Us’s campaign subsequently joined the rebel army of Stepan Razin.

Revolt of Stepan Razin 1670–1671

Leader: Stepan Razin

Reasons for the uprising:

Excessive feudal oppression;

Strengthening centralized power;

Introduction of the cathedral code of 1649 (an indefinite search for fugitive and taken away peasants was introduced).

In the spring of 1670, S. T. Razin began a campaign against the Volga. This campaign was openly anti-government in nature. It was attended by serfs, Cossacks, townspeople, small service people, barge haulers, and working people. Along with Russians and Ukrainians, many representatives of the peoples of the Volga region took part in the campaign: Chuvash, Mari, Tatars, Mordovians, etc.

“Lovely (from the word “to seduce”) letters” by S. T. Razin circulated among the people, which set out the demands of the rebels: to exterminate the governors, boyars, nobles, and officials.

In the spring of 1670, S. T. Razin took possession of Tsaritsyn. To secure their rear, in the summer of that year the Razins occupied Astrakhan, whose black people opened the gates of the city to the rebels. The rebel army moved up the Volga. Saratov and Samara surrendered without a fight. It should be noted that the Razins, in the spirit of that time, did not spare their opponents - torture, cruel executions, and violence “accompanied” their actions during the campaigns. The period of the protracted siege of Simbirsk saw the highest rise in the movement. The uprising covered a vast territory - from the lower reaches of the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod and from Slobodskaya Ukraine to the Volga region.

In the fall of 1670, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich reviewed the noble militia, and a 30,000-strong army moved to suppress the uprising. In October 1670, the siege of Simbirsk was lifted, the 20,000-strong army of S. T. Razin was defeated, and the leader of the uprising himself, seriously wounded, was taken to the town of Kagalnitsky. Wealthy Cossacks captured S. T. Razin by deception and handed him over to the government. In the summer of 1671, S. T. Razin, who bravely held his ground during torture, was executed on Red Square in Moscow. Individual rebel detachments fought with the tsarist troops until the fall of 1671.

Having suppressed the uprising, the government forced the Don Cossacks to take an oath that they would not give shelter to the tsar’s enemies; and in 1667, the Cossacks for the first time took an oath of allegiance to the tsar, common to all subjects. The Cossacks began to pay more and more attention to arable farming.

The uprising of S. T. Razin forced the government to look for ways to strengthen the existing system. The power of local governors was strengthened, a reform of the tax system was carried out, and the process of spreading serfdom to the southern outskirts of the country intensified. It pushed the government to reforms, which were carried out at the end of the 17th - first quarter of the 18th century.

Church Schism 1666–1667

Leader: Patriarch Nikon, Archpriest Avvakum.

Reasons for the split:

The powerful Patriarch Nikon sought to transform the Russian Church into the center of world Orthodoxy;

Disagreements between Nikon and the Old Believer Archpriest Avvakum.

The reforms, carried out in conditions of massive popular discontent, aroused protest from some of the boyars and church hierarchs, who were afraid that changes in the church would undermine its authority among the people. There was a schism in the Russian church. Adherents of the old order - the Old Believers - refused to recognize Nikon's reform and advocated a return to the pre-reform order. Outwardly, the disagreements between Nikon and his opponents, the Old Believers, among whom Archpriest Avvakum stood out, boiled down to what models - Greek or Russian - should be used to unify church books. There was a dispute between them about how one should cross oneself - with two or three fingers, how to make a religious procession - in the direction of the sun or against the sun, etc.

The schism became one of the forms of social protest of the masses, who linked the deterioration of their situation with the reform of the church. Thousands of peasants and townspeople, carried away by the passionate sermons of the dissenters, fled to the Pomeranian North, the Volga region, the Urals, and Siberia, where they founded Old Believer settlements.

The most powerful protest against church reform manifested itself in the Solovetsky uprising of 1668-1676. Opponents of the reforms flocked here, to a distant monastery with powerful walls and a significant supply of food. Many Razin residents found shelter here. In 1676, a traitor let the royal troops into the monastery through a secret hole. Of the 600 defenders of the fortress, only 50 survived.

The leaders of the Old Believers, Archpriest Avvakum and his associates, were exiled to Pustozersk (lower Pechora) and spent 14 years in an earthen prison, after which they were burned alive. Since then, Old Believers have often subjected themselves to “baptism of fire”—self-immolation in response to the coming of “Nikon the Antichrist” into the world. The fate of the main enemy of the Old Believers, Patriarch Nikon, was also tragic. Having achieved the title of “great sovereign,” His Holiness the Patriarch clearly overestimated his strength. In 1658, he defiantly left the capital, declaring that he did not want to be a patriarch in Moscow, but would remain the patriarch of Rus'. In 1666, a church council with the participation of the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, who had powers from two other Orthodox patriarchs - Constantinople and Jerusalem, removed Nikon from the post of patriarch. The place of his exile was the famous Ferapontov Monastery near Vologda. After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon returned from exile and died (1681) near Yaroslavl. He is buried in the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery near Moscow (Istra), which he himself built according to the same plan as the Jerusalem shrines - Nikon saw Moscow as the true center of world Christianity.

The most important reasons for this unprecedented scale of social conflicts in Russia were the development of serfdom and the strengthening of state taxes and duties.

The “Cathedral Code” of 1649 legally formalized serfdom. The strengthening of serfdom's oppression met fierce resistance from the peasants and the lower urban population, which was expressed, first of all, in powerful peasant urban uprisings (1648,1650,1662, 1670-1671). The class struggle was also reflected in the largest religious movement in Russia in the 17th century. - schism of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Decree of 1607

Legislative measures against runaway peasants ended with a decree on March 9, 1607, which for the first time attempted to remove peasant escapes from the field of civil offenses prosecuted on the private initiative of the victim, turning them into a criminal offense, into a matter of public order: the search and return of runaway peasants, regardless of the claims of landowners he imposed on the regional administration, under pain of grave responsibility, for failure to fulfill this new duty for it, and for the reception of fugitives, previously unpunished, in addition to the remuneration to the injured landowner, he imposed a large fine in favor of the treasury of 10 rubles for each household or for a single peasant, and who incited the escape In addition to the monetary penalty, he was also subject to trade punishment (whip). However, this decree also allowed for a statute of limitations for claims about runaway peasants, only extended to 15 years. But he directly recognized the personal, and not land, attachment of the land-owning peasants: those of them who, 15 years before the decree, were recorded in land inventories, in the scribe books of 1592-1593, were instructed to “be with those for whom they are registered.” However, the decree either failed, or was understood only in the sense of prohibiting peasant escapes and exports, and not as the abolition of the legal exit of peasants. Even after that, peasant orders were carried out on the same terms; the very assumption of a 15-year statute of limitations for fugitives supported the character of purely civil relations behind peasant land contracts. The decree was issued when the Troubles were flaring up, which undoubtedly prevented its action. He tightened the knot of obligatory relations between peasants and masters, when all the foundations of the state order were shaking, when the taxing and unfree classes threw off their old obligations and were even less embarrassed by new ones.

The 17th century in Russian history gained a reputation as “rebellious.” And indeed, it began with the Troubles, the middle of it was marked by urban uprisings, the last third - by the uprising of Stepan Razin.

Uprisings of the 17th century

"Salt Riot"

In 1646, a duty on salt was introduced, significantly increasing its price. Meanwhile, salt in the 17th century. It was one of the most important products - the main preservative that made it possible to store meat and fish. Following salt, these products themselves have risen in price. Their sales fell, and unsold goods began to deteriorate. This caused discontent among both consumers and traders. The growth of government revenues was less than expected as the smuggling trade in salt developed. Already at the end of 1647, the “salt” tax was abolished. In an effort to compensate for losses, the government cut the salaries of service people “according to the instrument”, that is, archers and gunners. General discontent continued to grow.

On June 1, 1648, the so-called “salt” riot took place in Moscow. The crowd stopped the carriage of the Tsar, who was returning from a pilgrimage, and demanded that the head of the Zemsky Prikaz, Leonty Pleshcheev, be replaced. Pleshcheev's servants tried to disperse the crowd, which only provoked even greater anger. On June 2, pogroms of boyar estates began in Moscow. The clerk Nazarei Chistoy, whom Muscovites considered the mastermind of the salt tax, was killed. The rebels demanded that the tsar's closest associate, boyar Morozov, who actually led the entire state apparatus, and the head of the Pushkarsky order, boyar Trakhaniotov, be handed over for execution. Not having the strength to suppress the uprising, in which, along with the townspeople, the “regular” servicemen took part, the tsar gave in, ordering the extradition of Pleshcheev and Trakhaniotov, who were immediately killed. Morozov, his tutor and brother-in-law (the Tsar and Morozov were married to sisters) were “begged” by Alexei Mikhailovich from the rebels and sent into exile to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The government announced an end to the collection of arrears, convened a Zemsky Sobor, at which the most important demands of the townspeople for a ban on moving to the “white settlements” and of the nobles for the introduction of an indefinite search for fugitives were satisfied. Thus, the government satisfied all the demands of the rebels, which indicates the comparative weakness of the state apparatus (primarily repressive) at that time.

Uprisings in other cities

Following the Salt Riot, urban uprisings swept through other cities: Ustyug Veliky, Kursk, Kozlov, Pskov, Novgorod.

The most powerful uprisings were in Pskov and Novgorod, caused by the rise in price of bread due to its supplies to Sweden. The urban poor, threatened by famine, expelled the governors, destroyed the courts of wealthy merchants and seized power. In the summer of 1650, both uprisings were suppressed by government troops, however, they managed to enter Pskov only due to discord among the rebels.

"Copper Riot"

In 1662, a major uprising occurred again in Moscow, which went down in history as the “Copper Riot.” It was caused by the government's attempt to replenish the treasury, devastated by the long and difficult war with Poland (1654-1667) and Sweden (1656-58). In order to compensate for the enormous costs, the government issued copper money into circulation, making it equal in price to silver. At the same time, taxes were collected in silver coins, and goods were ordered to be sold in copper money. The salaries of servicemen were also paid in copper. Copper money was not trusted, especially since it was often counterfeited. Not wanting to trade with copper money, peasants stopped bringing food to Moscow, which caused prices to soar. Copper money depreciated: if in 1661 two copper rubles were given for a silver ruble, then in 1662 - eight copper ones.

On July 25, 1662, a riot followed. Some of the townspeople rushed to destroy the boyars' estates, while others moved to the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, where the tsar was staying those days. Alexey Mikhailovich promised the rebels to come to Moscow and sort things out. The crowd seemed to calm down. But in the meantime, new groups of rebels appeared in Kolomenskoye - those who had previously broken up the courtyards of the boyars in the capital. The tsar was demanded to hand over the boyars most hated by the people and threatened that if the tsar “does not give them back those boyars”, then they “will begin to take it themselves, according to their custom.”

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

Unlike the “salt”, the “copper” revolt was brutally suppressed, since the government managed to keep the archers on its side and use them against the townspeople.

The uprising of Stepan Razin

The largest popular performance of the second half of the 17th century. happened on the Don and Volga.

The population of the Don was Cossacks. The Cossacks did not engage in agriculture. Their main activities were hunting, fishing, cattle breeding and raids on the possessions of neighboring Turkey, Crimea and Persia. For guard duty to protect the southern borders of the state, the Cossacks received a royal salary in bread, money and gunpowder. The government also tolerated the fact that fugitive peasants and townspeople found shelter on the Don. The principle “there is no extradition from the Don” was in effect.

In the middle of the 17th century. There was no longer equality among the Cossacks. The elite of the wealthy (“homely”) Cossacks stood out, who owned the best fisheries, herds of horses, who received a better share of the spoils and the royal salary. Poor (“golutvennye”) Cossacks worked for house-suckers.

In the 40s XVII century The Cossacks lost access to the Azov and Black Seas, as the Turks strengthened the Azov fortress. This prompted the Cossacks to move their campaigns for booty to the Volga and the Caspian Sea. The robbery of Russian and Persian merchant caravans caused great damage to trade with Persia and the entire economy of the Lower Volga region. Simultaneously with the influx of fugitives from Russia, the hostility of the Cossacks towards the Moscow boyars and officials grew.

Already in 1666, a detachment of Cossacks under the command of Ataman Vasily Us invaded Russia from the Upper Don, reached almost Tula, destroying noble estates on its way. Only the threat of a meeting with a large government army forced Us to turn back. Numerous serfs who joined him also went to the Don with him. The speech of Vasily Us showed that the Cossacks are ready at any moment to oppose the existing order and authorities.

In 1667, a detachment of a thousand Cossacks set off to the Caspian Sea on a campaign “for zipuns,” that is, for booty. At the head of this detachment was Ataman Stepan Timofeevich Razin - a native of the homely Cossacks, strong-willed, intelligent and mercilessly cruel. Razin's detachment during 1667-1669. robbed Russian and Persian merchant caravans, attacked coastal Persian cities. With rich booty, the Razins returned to Astrakhan, and from there to the Don. The “hike for zipuns” was purely predatory. However, its meaning is broader. It was in this campaign that the core of Razin’s army was formed, and the generous distribution of alms to the common people brought the ataman unprecedented popularity.

In the spring of 1670, Razin began a new campaign. This time, he decided to go against the “traitor boyars.” Tsaritsyn was captured without resistance, whose residents happily opened the gates to the Cossacks. The archers sent against Razin from Astrakhan went over to his side. The rest of the Astrakhan garrison followed their example. The resisting governors and Astrakhan nobles were killed.

After this, Razin headed up the Volga. Along the way, he sent out “charming letters”, calling on the common people to beat the boyars, governors, nobles and clerks. To attract supporters, Razin spread a rumor that Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich (in fact, already deceased) and Patriarch Nikon were in his army. The main participants in the uprising were Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople and working people. The cities of the Volga region surrendered without resistance. In all the captured cities, Razin introduced administration on the model of the Cossack circle.

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

Razin was tortured and executed in the summer of 1671 on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow along with his brother Frol. Participants in the uprising were subjected to brutal persecution and execution.

The main reasons for the defeat of Razin's uprising were its spontaneity and low organization, the fragmented actions of the peasants, which, as a rule, were limited to the destruction of the estate of their own master, and the lack of clearly understood goals for the rebels. Even if the Razinites managed to win and capture Moscow (this did not happen in Russia, but in other countries, for example, in China, rebel peasants managed to take power several times), they would not be able to create a new just society. After all, the only example of such a fair society in their minds was the Cossack circle. But the entire country cannot exist by seizing and dividing other people's property. Any state needs a management system, an army, and taxes. Therefore, the victory of the rebels would inevitably be followed by new social differentiation. The victory of the unorganized peasant and Cossack masses would inevitably lead to great casualties and would cause significant damage to Russian culture and the development of the Russian state

In historical science there is no unity on the question of whether to consider Razin’s uprising a peasant-Cossack uprising or a peasant war. In Soviet times, the name “peasant war” was used; in the pre-revolutionary period, it was about an uprising. In recent years, the term “uprising” has once again become dominant.

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

Uprising in the Solovetsky Monastery.

Nikon comes from the family of the Mordovian peasant Mina, in the world - Nikita Minin. He became Patriarch in 1652. Nikon, distinguished by his unyielding, decisive character, had enormous influence on Alexei Mikhailovich, who called him his “sobin (special) friend.”

The centralization of the Russian state required the unification of church rules and rituals.

The most important ritual changes were: baptism not with two, but with three fingers, replacement of prostrations with waist ones, singing “Hallelujah” three times instead of twice, the movement of believers in the church past the altar not with the sun, but against it. The name of Christ began to be written differently - “Jesus” instead of “Iesus”. Some changes were made to the rules of worship and icon painting. All books and icons written according to old models were subject to destruction.

For believers, this was a serious departure from the traditional canon. After all, a prayer pronounced not according to the rules is not only ineffective - it is blasphemous! Nikon’s most persistent and consistent opponents were the “zealots of ancient piety” (previously the patriarch himself was a member of this circle). They accused him of introducing “Latinism,” because the Greek Church since the Union of Florence in 1439 was considered “spoiled” in Russia. Moreover, Greek liturgical books were printed not in Turkish Constantinople, but in Catholic Venice.

Nikon's opponents - the "Old Believers" - refused to recognize the reforms he carried out. At the church councils of 1654 and 1656. Nikon's opponents were accused of schism, excommunicated and exiled.

The most prominent supporter of the schism was Archpriest Avvakum, a talented publicist and preacher. A former court priest, a member of the circle of “zealots of ancient piety,” he experienced severe exile, suffering, and the death of children, but did not give up his fanatical opposition to “Nikonianism” and its defender, the tsar. After 14 years of imprisonment in an “earth prison,” Avvakum was burned alive for “blasphemy against the royal house.” The most famous work of Old Believer literature was the “Life” of Avvakum, written by himself.

The Church Council of 1666/1667 cursed the Old Believers. Brutal persecution of schismatics began. Supporters of the split hid in the hard-to-reach forests of the North, Trans-Volga region, and the Urals. Here they created hermitages, continuing to pray in the old way. Often, when the royal punitive detachments approached, they staged a “burn” - self-immolation.

The monks of the Solovetsky Monastery did not accept Nikon’s reforms. Until 1676, the rebellious monastery withstood the siege of the tsarist troops. The rebels, believing that Alexei Mikhailovich had become a servant of the Antichrist, abandoned the traditional Orthodox prayer for the Tsar.

The reasons for the fanatical persistence of the schismatics were rooted, first of all, in their belief that Nikonianism was the product of Satan. However, this confidence itself was fueled by certain social reasons.

The bulk of the schismatics were peasants, who went to monasteries not only for the right faith, but also for freedom, from lordly and monastic exactions.

The ideology of the schism, based on the rejection of everything new, the fundamental rejection of any foreign influence, secular education, was extremely conservative.

All the uprisings of the 17th century. were spontaneous. The participants in the events acted under the influence of desperation and the desire to seize prey.

rebellious age uprising razin

§ 12. Popular uprisings in the 17th century

During the reign of Alexei the Quiet, the country was rocked by popular uprisings. They were remembered by both contemporaries and descendants. It is no coincidence that the 17th century. nicknamed "rebellious".

1. COPPER RIOT

In the summer of 1662, the Copper Riot broke out in the capital. The name “copper” very accurately describes the reason for this outrage. The riot was a sad consequence of yet another financial gamble by the government.

In 1654, when Russia was preparing to start a war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for Ukraine, it was discovered that the Moscow treasury did not have enough silver coins to pay the army.

Silver was not mined in Russia at that time, and coins were minted from German Joachimsthalers (Efimks). Moreover, the treasury received additional income by spoiling the coin: an efimok on the market went for 40-42 kopecks, and 64 silver kopecks were poured out of it at the Mint. Having no silver and efimoks at hand, the authorities issued a copper coin with a forced rate of silver money, which they paid merchants, servants, etc. However, taxes were still collected in silver money.

Silver money of the 17th century.

Soon amazing things began to happen. Poor moneymakers from the Mint suddenly dressed up like boyars and acquired expensive things. The merchants assigned as overseers to print copper money doubled and tripled their capital. The fact was that everyone involved in the production of copper coins could not bear the temptation. They bought copper, took it to the Mint and produced coins for themselves. “Thieves’ money filled the country, and its price began to fall uncontrollably. At the beginning of 1662, 4 copper rubles were given for a silver ruble, in the middle of 1663 - 15. Prices for all goods increased. The people grumbled.

On July 25, 1662, excited crowds of artisans, small traders, merchants, lordly serfs, and peasants began to gather in Moscow. Even soldiers and some officers joined the riot. They began to destroy the yards of those people who were associated with the issue of copper money. Someone shouted that we had to go to Kolomenskoye, where the tsar was at that time, to demand the extradition of the main traitors - boyar I. D. Miloslavsky and the okolnichy? ?. Rtishcheva. They invented copper money.

Small silver money. XVII century

1662 Copper Riot

Horse warrior. Drawing. 1674

A crowd of rebels burst into Kolomenskoye and began to demand a king. Alexei came out to the people and promised to give justice to the “traitors.” Frightened Miloslavsky and Rtishchev were holed up in the queen’s apartment. The queen was barely alive from fear and later was ill for more than a year.

The king's peaceful tone pacified the anger of the rebels, and it seemed that the matter would end peacefully. But then an even larger crowd of Muscovites came to Kolomenskoye, very determined. “Give up the traitors,” people shouted, “or we’ll take them by force!”

Alexey Mikhailovich sent archers and nobles against the rebels. The wholesale extermination of the unarmed began. The people ran to Moscow, but along the way people were captured and many were drowned in the river.

Tsar Alexei generously rewarded the archers. Unlike the Salt Riot in Medny, not a single archer took part.

It was decided to abolish copper money. The Tsar's decree of 1663 prohibited holding copper money. The coins were ordered to be melted down or exchanged in the Treasury at the rate of two silver money for a copper ruble (200 money). Thus, the deceived Russian subjects were robbed by their own tsar and government twice: during the issuance of copper money and during its abolition.

2. UPRISING OF VASILY USA

Wars, rising taxes, and monetary adventures by the authorities undermined the economy of the country, which had just recovered from the Time of Troubles. The heavyweights lost weight, went bankrupt and fled. The scale of the flight of peasants, especially landowners, was such that the authorities organized a massive search for the fugitives. Special detective orders, together with nobles and governors, caught and returned fugitives. Those who dared to offer shelter and bread to the fugitives were now punished with batogs and whips. In 1663-1667. in one Ryazan district they managed to find and return 8 thousand peasants and slaves. And how many were not found! How many fugitives took refuge in Ukraine, on the Volga, in the Urals, in Siberia! How many were received by the Don, where the custom was still in force: “There is no extradition from the Don!”

Moscow Sagittarius. Drawing. 1674

The “old”, homely Cossacks lived in a very comfortable place on the Don. They ran a farm, traded, and received wages, lead, and gunpowder from the tsar for their service in protecting the borderlands. But in addition, many “young people” settled here, golutvennyh, Cossacks - naked. These fugitives who had recently come to the Don earned money from house-smart people, but mostly lived off robbery. They were constantly ready to go to catch their luck in the Crimean, Turkish, Persian, Polish lands, and did not disdain the ruin of Orthodox merchants.

One chieftain of the homely Cossacks, Vasily Us, bravely fought with the Poles in Ukraine and Belarus. Upon returning to the Don, he gained popularity among the Golutven Cossacks. His detachment consisted mainly of “young” Cossacks. In 1666, Vasily Us moved to Sloboda Ukraine and the southern districts of Russia. The Cossacks said that they were going to Moscow to the tsar with a request to enroll them in the tsar’s service and give them a salary (at that time famine began on the Don and in the upper cities). However, the Don people did not act as petitioners; they destroyed estates and rich houses. Peasants flocked to Us in droves, releasing a “red rooster” to the neighbor, “not their own,” and profiting from his goods. On the Una River, 8 km from Tula, the rebels built a fort. Alexey sent regiments against the rebels. Without waiting for the battle, the Cossacks and many local peasants and slaves left for the Don.

Soon, most of the Usa youths joined Ataman Stenka Razin.

Coat of arms of Russia. Drawing by A. Meyerberg. 1662

Questions and tasks

1. What is the Copper Riot? What caused it? What were the causes of other urban uprisings in the 17th century? 2. Tell us about the Cossacks. Why, in your opinion, did the Cossacks become in the 17th century? the initiator of major popular unrest and uprisings?

§ 12. Popular uprisings in the 17th century During the reign of Alexei the Quiet, the country was shaken by popular uprisings. They were remembered by both contemporaries and descendants. It is no coincidence that the 17th century. nicknamed "rebellious".1. COPPER RIOT In the summer of 1662, the Copper Riot broke out in the capital. The name "copper" is very