Stepan, like his father Timofey, who probably came from the Voronezh settlement, belonged to the homely Cossacks. Stepan was born around 1630. He visited Moscow three times (in 1652, 1658 and 1661), and on the first of these visits he visited the Solovetsky Monastery. The Don authorities included him in the “stanitsa”, who negotiated with the Moscow boyars and Kalmyks. In 1663, Stepan led a detachment of Donets who marched together with the Cossacks and Kalmyks near Perekop against the Crimean Tatars. At Molochnye Vody they defeated a detachment of Crimeans.
Even then, he was distinguished by courage and dexterity, the ability to lead people in military enterprises, and negotiate important matters. In 1665, his older brother Ivan was executed. He led a regiment of Don Cossacks that took part in the war with Poland. In the fall, the Donets asked to go home, but they were not allowed to go. Then they left without permission, and the commander-in-chief, boyar Prince Yu. A. Dolgoruky, ordered the execution of the commander.
The situation on the Don was heating up. In 1667, with the end of the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, new parties of fugitives poured into the Don and other places. Famine reigned on the Don. In search of a way out of a difficult situation in order to get their daily bread, poor Cossacks in the late winter - early spring of 1667 united in small bands, moved to the Volga and Caspian Sea, robbed merchant ships. They are broken up by government troops. But the gangs gather again and again. They are headed by .
To the Volga and Caspian Sea. To Razin and his associates early. In the spring, masses of poor Cossacks, including Usovites, rush to go on a campaign to the Volga and the Caspian Sea. In mid-May 1667, the detachment moved from the Don to the Volga, then to the Yaik.
In February 1668, the Razins, who wintered in the Yaitsky town, defeated a 3,000-strong detachment that came from Astrakhan. In March, throwing heavy cannons into the river and taking light ones with them, they went out into the Caspian Sea. On the western coast, the detachments of Sergei Krivoy, Boba and other atamans united with Razin.
The differences float along the western shore of the sea to the south. They plunder merchant ships, the possessions of Shamkhal Tarkov and the Shah of Persia, and free many Russian captives who came to these lands in different ways and at different times. Daredevils attack “sharpalniks” to Derbent, the outskirts of Baku, and other villages. Along the Kura they get to “Georgian district”. They return to the sea and sail to the Persian shores; Cities and villages are being destroyed here. Many die in battle, from disease and hunger. In the summer of 1669, a fierce naval battle took place; the thinned Razin detachment completely defeated the fleet of Mamed Khan. After this brilliant victory, Razin and his Cossacks, enriched with fabulous booty, but extremely exhausted and hungry, head north.
In August they appear in Astrakhan, and the local governors, having made them promise to faithfully serve the Tsar, hand over all ships and guns, and release the servicemen, let them go up the Volga to the Don.
New campaign. In early October, Stepan Razin returned to the Don. His daring Cossacks, who acquired not only wealth, but also military experience, settled on an island near the town of Kagalnitsky.
Dual power was established on the Don. Affairs in the Don Army were managed by a Cossack foreman, led by an ataman, who was stationed in Cherkassk. She was supported by homely, wealthy Cossacks. But Razin, who was with Kagalnik, did not take into account the military ataman Yakovlev, his godfather, and all his assistants.
The number of Razin rebel troops forming on the Don is growing rapidly. The leader does everything energetically and secretly. But soon he no longer hides his plans and goals. Razin openly declares that he will soon begin a new big campaign, and not only and not so much for “sharpanya” by trade caravans: “Go to the Volga for the boyars of the witness!”
At the beginning of May 1670, Razin left the camp and arrived in Panshin town. V. Us also appears here with the Don Cossacks and Ukrainians. Razin convenes a circle, discusses the plan for the campaign, asks everyone: “Would you all like to go from the Don to the Volga, and from the Volga to go to Rus' against the sovereign’s enemies and traitors, so that they can bring out the traitorous boyars and Duma people from the Moscow state and the governors and officials in the cities?” He calls on his people: “And we should all stand and take the traitors out of the Moscow state and give the black people freedom.”.
On May 15, Razin’s army reached the Volga above Tsaritsyn and besieged the city. The residents opened the gates. After reprisals against the governor, clerks, military leaders and rich merchants, the rebels staged a duvan - the division of confiscated property. The people of Tsaritsyn elected representatives of the authorities. The Razinites, whose ranks had grown to 10 thousand people, replenished supplies and built new ships.
Leaving a thousand people in Tsaritsyn, Razin went to Black Yar. Beneath its walls “ordinary warriors” from the government army of Prince S.I. Lvov, with drums beating and banners unfurled, they went over to the rebels.
The garrison of Black Yar also rebelled and moved to Razin. This victory opened the way to Astrakhan. As they said then, Volga “became theirs, Cossack”. The rebel army approached the city. Razin divided his forces into eight detachments and placed them in their places. On the night of June 21-22, the assault on the White City and the Kremlin, where the army of Prince Prozorovsky was located, began. An uprising of residents, archers and garrison soldiers broke out in Astrakhan. The city was taken. According to the verdict of the circle, the governor, officers, nobles and others, up to 500 people in total, were executed. Their property was divided.
The highest authority in Astrakhan became circles - general meetings of all residents who rebelled. Atamans were elected, the main one being Usa. By decision of the circle, everyone was released from prison, destroyed “many bondages and fortresses”. They wanted to do the same throughout Russia. In July, Razin left Astrakhan. He goes up the Volga, and soon, in mid-August, Saratov and Samara surrender to Razin without a fight. The Razins enter areas with extensive feudal estates and a large peasant population. Concerned authorities are gathering here many noble, streltsy, and soldier regiments.
Razin hurries to Simbirsk - the center of a heavily fortified line of cities and fortresses. The city has a garrison of 3-4 thousand warriors. It is headed by the Tsar's relative by wife, I. B. Miloslavsky. Prince Yu. N. Boryatinsky arrives to his aid with two Reitar regiments and several hundreds of nobles.
The rebels arrived on September 4th. The next day, a hot battle broke out and continued on September 6. Razin stormed the fort on the slopes "crown"- Simbirsk mountain. An uprising of local residents - archers, townspeople, and serfs - began, as in other cities. intensified the onslaught and burst into the prison literally on the shoulders of Boryatinsky’s defeated regiments. Miloslavsky withdrew his forces to the Kremlin. Both sides suffered considerable losses. Razin began a month-long siege of the Kremlin.
Illustration. Stepan Razin's troops storm Simbirsk.
Expansion of the movement and its end. The flames of the uprising cover a vast territory: the Volga region, Trans-Volga region, many southern, southeastern, and central counties. Slobodskaya Ukraine, Don. The main driving force is the masses of serfs. Actively participating in the movement are the lower classes of the city, working people, barge haulers, small serving men (city archers, soldiers, Cossacks), representatives of the lower clergy, all sorts of “walking”, “homeless” People. The movement includes Chuvash and Mari, Mordovians and Tatars.
A huge territory, many cities and villages, came under the control of the rebels. Their inhabitants dealt with feudal lords, the rich, and replaced the governor with elected authorities - atamans and their assistants, who were elected at general meetings, similar to Cossack circles. They stopped collecting taxes and payments in favor of the feudal lords and the treasury, and corvee work.
The lovely letters sent out by Razin and other leaders stirred up new layers of the population to revolt. According to a foreign contemporary, up to 200 thousand people took part in the movement at this time. Many nobles fell victim to them, their estates burned down.
Razin and all the rebels wanted “ go to Moscow and beat the boyars and all sorts of leading people in Moscow" A charming letter - the only one that has survived, written on behalf of Razin - calls on everyone to “ bonded and apostal” join his Cossacks; “ and at the same time you should take out the traitors and take out the worldly crooks" The rebels use the names of Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich and former Patriarch Nikon, who are supposedly in their ranks, sailing in plows along the Volga.
The main rebel army besieged the Simbirsk Kremlin in September and early October. In many districts, local rebel groups fought against the troops and nobles. They captured many cities - Alatyr and Kurmysh, Penza and Saransk, Upper and Lower Lomov, villages and hamlets. A number of cities in the upper reaches of the Don and in Sloboda Ukraine also went over to the side of the Razins (Ostrogozhsk, Chuguev, Zmiev, Tsarev-Borisov, Olshansk).
Frightened by the scale of the uprising, which was called war in documents of the time, the authorities mobilized new regiments. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself arranges a review of the troops. He appoints the boyar Prince Yu. A. Dolgoruky as commander-in-chief of all forces, an experienced commander who distinguished himself in the war with Poland, a stern and merciless man. He makes Arzamas his bet. The royal regiments are coming here, repelling attacks from rebel troops along the way, giving them battles.
Both sides suffer significant losses. However, slowly and steadily the resistance of the armed rebels is being overcome. Government troops are also gathering in Kazan and Shatsk.
At the beginning of October, Yu. N. Boryatinsky returned to Simbirsk with an army, eager to get revenge for the defeat he suffered a month ago. A fierce battle, during which the Razins fought like lions, ended in their defeat. Razin was wounded in the thick of the battle, and his comrades carried him, unconscious and bleeding, from the battlefield, loaded him into a boat and sailed down the Volga. At the beginning of 1671, the main centers of the movement were suppressed. But Astrakhan continued to fight almost the entire year. On November 27, this last stronghold of the rebels also fell.
Stepan Razin was captured on April 14, 1671 in Kagalnik by homely Cossacks led by K. Yakovlev. Soon he was brought to Moscow and, after torture, executed on Red Square, the fearless leader in his last, mortal hour.” not a single breath revealed weakness of spirit" The uprising he led became the most powerful movement "rebellious age".
"Stepan Razin" Sergey Kirillov, 1985-1988
Enslavement of peasants according to the Council Code of 1649;
There is an excess of runaway peasants on the Don;
Dissatisfaction of the peoples of the Volga region with state oppression.
driving forces uprisings: Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople, archers, peoples of the Volga region.
The Crimean Khanate blocked the river. The Don is in chains, the Don Cossacks have lost access to the Sea of Azov, and “hikes for zipuns” in this direction have stopped. In 1666, the Cossack chieftain Vasily Us with a detachment he headed to Moscow, plundering estates and estates. Us reached Tula, but retreated to the Don in front of the tsarist army.
Cossack ataman, native of the village of Zimoveyskaya Stepan Razin(c. 1630–1671) in 1667–1669 made a daring campaign “for zipuns” in Persia, devastated the coast of the Caspian Sea, defeated the Persian army and navy. Then Razin captured the Yaitsky town, plundered the caravan of ships of the Tsar, the Patriarch and the merchant V. Shorin. in spring 1670 Mr. Razin attacked Russian lands. Vasily Us joined him. Razin sent out " lovely letters"(propaganda messages) calling for a campaign against the boyars and nobles. To attract the people, Razin spread a false rumor that in his army were Tsarevich “Alexey Alekseevich” (the Tsar’s son, who had already died in 1670) and the disgraced Patriarch Nikon. The main goal of the campaign was Moscow, the route was the Volga. The rebels took Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara, and besieged Simbirsk. Destroying the boyars and nobles, they introduced Cossack self-government. In Astrakhan, all noble and rich people, the elderly governor I. Prozorovsky thrown “from the rampart” (the fortress wall), his 12-year-old son was hung upside down on the wall. The movement spread to Solovki and Ukraine, where Stepan’s younger brother was active. Frol Razin.
To suppress the uprising, the king sent a 60,000-strong army of governors Yu. Dolgoruky And Yu. Baryatinsky. They severely punished the rebels; there were gallows with hanged people everywhere. In October 1670, near Simbirsk, the Razins were defeated. The wounded chieftain fled to the Don, to the town of Kagalnitsky. However, the homely Cossacks, led by the ataman Kornila Yakovlev, fearing the royal wrath, they handed over Razin. After severe torture in the summer of 1671, he was quartered in Moscow. Frol Razin, seeing his brother’s torment, shouted in horror, “The sovereign’s word and deed!” He was taken away from under the executioner's ax, tortured to find out where the looted treasures were hidden, and executed five years later in 1676.
Reasons for the defeat of Stepan Razin :
Tsarist character of the uprising. The peasants believed in the possibility of a better life under the new “good king” ( naive monarchism);
Spontaneity, fragmentation and locality of movement;
Weak weapons and poor organization of the rebels.
Thus, the popular movements of the 17th century, on the one hand, played the role of limiting the exploitation of feudal lords. But, on the other hand, the suppression of these uprisings led to the strengthening of the state apparatus and the tightening of legislation. Now there is a rethinking of the meaning of peasant wars, their Cossack, free-rebellious content is noted. The negative impact of peasant wars, and, in essence, Cossack-peasant revolts, on the fate of Russia is emphasized. Even if the Razins had managed to capture Moscow (in China, for example, the rebels managed to take power several times), they would not have been 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 Stepan Razin would inevitably lead to great casualties and would cause significant damage to Russian culture and the development of the state.
Repeat § 38 from the textbook “History of the USSR”. Pay special attention to questions and assignments. Remember from the history of the Middle Ages the largest peasant uprisings in Western Europe and Russia. What is their character?
§ 1. EXCERNSATION OF CLASS CONTRADICTIONS
The 17th century was a turbulent period in Russian history. Its beginning was marked by the Polish-Swedish intervention and a number of popular movements. The largest of them was the Peasant War led by Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov (1606 - 1607). It covered a vast territory from the Dnieper to the Volga. The Don Cossacks also took an active part in it, fighting bravely on Bolotnikov’s side.
But the uprising was brutally suppressed. After his defeat, the nobles began to oppress the people even more. In 1649, according to the Council Code, peasants in the center of the country were finally enslaved.
Leaving the cities and villages of Central Russia for the Don, Volga, Yaik, peasants and townspeople took with them hatred of the ruling classes. Those who managed to hide on the Don in Cossack settlements became free. “There is no extradition from the Don” - this was the law of the “free” Don, which Moscow also recognized.
During this period, a significant increase in population was observed on the Don due to runaway, bankrupt peasants. The homely Cossacks cruelly exploited the poor and accumulated great wealth. This led to further property and social stratification among the Cossacks. The situation of the Golutven Cossacks was further aggravated by the fact that on the Don, under threat of death, it was forbidden to plow the land and sow grain. The Cossacks were afraid that the plowed lands would attract the attention of the boyars and nobles and they would deprive them of their liberties.
The homely Cossacks continued to receive the royal salary from Moscow for performing border service, while the golytba did not receive it. She lived mainly off the booty captured during campaigns in the Crimea, Turkey and Azov. But the lion's share of this booty went to the house-smarts, who supplied the poor with weapons and ships.
In the second half of the 17th century, the situation of the naked people worsened even more. The Thirteen Years' War with Poland and a series of lean years led to a mass exodus of serfs to the Don. This caused a famine. The Turks, meanwhile, greatly strengthened Azov, blocked the arm of the Don with three rows of iron chains, strengthened their fleet and blocked the Cossacks’ access to the Azov and Black Seas. The Don Golytba had one route left for raids - the Volga, the most important trade artery of the Russian state in the 17th century.
At the end of the 50s of the 17th century, the Don Golytba built the town of Riga, near Tsaritsyn, on the crossroads between the Don and the Volga. From here she attacked merchant caravans of ships. The homely Cossacks, on the instructions of the government, ravaged this town and dealt harshly with the Golytba atamans. But the naked movement did not end there.
In 1666, Ataman Vasily Us, at the head of a large detachment of golytba, mainly from riding towns, headed to Moscow. The Cossacks declared that they were going to ask the Tsar to assign them to military service and assign them a monetary salary. When a detachment of free Cossacks entered the feudal regions of Russia, peasants began to join them, abandoning their landowners, and sometimes even dealing with them. In addition to the rebel peasants, working people from Tula manufactories came to the Cossack camp near Tula. Here the Cossack army reached the number of 3 thousand people.
Frightened nobles abandoned their estates, hid behind strong city walls, and demanded that the government suppress the uprising that had begun.
Large forces from Moscow moved against the detachment of Vasily Us. The tsarist troops threw him back to the Don and suppressed peasant uprisings.
But this reprisal did not change the situation. The dissatisfaction of the poor with cruel oppression, the lawless oppression of governors, boyars and nobles grew ever wider.
§ 2. CASPIAN CAMPAIGN OF STEPAN RAZIN
The golytba movement became especially widespread when it was led by Stepan Razin, whose name was well known in the Don. As a young man, he took part in battles and campaigns. The Cossack Circle at one time instructed him to negotiate with the Kalmyks. Razin visited Moscow twice. On the way to the Solovetsky Monastery, he traveled from end to end of Russia and saw how the nobles oppressed the Russian people, how they suffered from poverty.
In the spring of 1667, Razin became the head of a detachment of 600 people and headed to Azov, but was unable to get into the Sea of Azov. Then he moved to the Volga. The homely Cossacks were happy about Razin’s departure from the Don. Wanting to get rid of the dangerous rebel and the dissatisfied poor, and hoping to get a good sum from the spoils of war, they supplied the poor with food and plows. The Razins began to act. They attacked the caravan of the wealthy Moscow merchant Shorin, hated by the poor, and seized barges with prisoners on the Volga.
Razin's detachment grew quickly. Near Tsaritsyn there were already 1,500 people there. Almost without a fight, the Razins captured Tsaritsyn and moved towards Astrakhan, the largest Russian border fortress. Having deceived the vigilance of the Astrakhan governors, Razin went out into the Caspian Sea and headed to the Yaitsky town, the capital of the Yaitsky Cossack army. By cunning he captured the city and stayed there for the winter.
In March 1668, Razin and his Cossacks appeared in the Caspian Sea and took Derbent. This was the territory of Persia, from where campaigns against Rus' were often made to capture people and loot. Russians and Ukrainians freed from slavery joined Razin’s troops. A detachment of Don Cossacks, who reached the Caspian Sea through the Mozdok steppes, also joined the ranks.
Razin's fleet moved to Baku and Rasht. In Rasht, Stepan Razin began negotiations with the Persian government. He wanted to get land here for the detachment to settle, but the government refused him.
Unexpectedly, the residents of Rasht attacked Razin’s detachment and killed 400 people. The Cossacks brutally avenged their killed comrades. They devastated the city of Farabad and the Turkmen coast.
Having defeated the Persian fleet in July 1668, Razin captured rich trophies and remained to winter on an island near the mouth of the Kura River.
In August, the detachment returned to Astrakhan with huge booty. The Astrakhan governor was forced to let Razin into the city, as the population enthusiastically greeted the leader of the Golytba.
The Caspian campaign led by Razin was basically a typical campaign of the Cossacks “for zipuns”. But it was also different from all previous Cossack expeditions: it had a pronounced class orientation, the Razintsy dealt with the lower-ranking people, and the poor and convicts were released or willingly accepted into their detachments. All this explains the enthusiastic attitude towards the differences of the poor of the Lower Volga region and the hatred of the governors and the tsar, who emphasized in their letters the anti-government and anti-feudal nature of the movement.
§ 3. THE HEIGHT OF THE PEASANT WAR
On September 4, 1669, Razin reappeared on the Don. His return was a holiday for the poor. Ataman Golytba built the fortified town of Kagalnitsky, near the confluence of the Seversky Donets and the Don (the remains of this town have been sought by archaeologists for many years). New brigands began to flock here. Within a month the army doubled in size.
The homely Cossacks looked at the Razins with hostility. In fact, two troops were formed on the Don - the army of Stepan Razin and the army of the Don ataman Kornila Yakovlev. Relations between them became increasingly strained.
To secretly monitor the differences, clerk Evdokimov was sent from Moscow to the Don. The homely Cossacks received Evdokimov warmly, but the Don Cossacks treated him with distrust. Arriving in Cherkassk with a group of his supporters, Razin demanded that Evdokimov be brought to the Circle. During interrogation, Razin exposed him as a spy for the tsarist government and ordered him to be drowned in the river. Kornila Yakovlev tried to object to Razin, but he sharply answered him: “You control your army, and I control mine.” This was the moment of the final demarcation between the golutvenny and homely Cossacks.
In the spring of 1670, the Razins opposed the tsarist government and decided to “shake boyar Moscow.” The detachments moved up the Don to the Volga. On the way, they were joined by a detachment of Vasily Us. Razin's fleet approached Tsaritsyn and besieged the city. The city poor opened the gates and let the Razins in. Having captured the city, the rebels destroyed the tsarist officials and introduced Cossack administration.
Razin approached Astrakhan. The city was heavily fortified, there were 300 cannons on the walls of the fortress, and the sea ship "Eagle" stood on the Volga. But the Astrakhan poor were on the side of the rebels. With her help, Razin easily captured the city.
He captured Saratov and Samara, and sent out his appeals from there - “lovely letters.” Razin promised to “tear up” all “affairs” in Moscow and introduce Cossack administration everywhere.
Indeed, already in Astrakhan, a new form of government was created on the ruins of the autocratic-voivodeship system of government. The population of Astrakhan was divided into thousands, hundreds, tens with elected atamans, centurions, tens. The Cossack Circle became the highest authority. The circle tried feudal lords, their servants and imposed death sentences. Another significant function of the new government was the confiscation of the property of feudal lords, merchants and the treasury. Thus, on the distant outskirts of autocratic Russia, during the people’s fierce war for their freedom, a unique form of people’s power was born, modeled after the Cossack military community. The main support of this power was the urban poor, working people, runaway peasants and archers. However, Razin did not have a clear and definite political program. He could not imagine what Rus' should be like after the overthrow of the Tsar.
Having reached the middle reaches of the Volga, Razin’s army found itself in places inhabited by the Chuvash, Tatars, and Mordovians. This population was cruelly oppressed by the tsarist government; there were many dissatisfied here, they went over to Razin’s side and fought in his troops. The entire southeast of Russia was engulfed in a peasant uprising.
The tsarist government urgently announced a general mobilization of the nobles and sent large formations and artillery detachments to the Volga. Razin's army numbered twenty thousand by this time.
The government army that arrived to suppress the uprising was significantly smaller in composition, but had good weapons, which Razin’s army did not have: many Razins were armed with clubs, spears, axes, they did not know military affairs.
The decisive battle took place near Simbirsk. Stepan Razin's army was defeated, and he himself, seriously wounded, was rescued by his comrades and brought to the Don.
§ 4. SUPPRESSION OF THE UPRISING
The tsarist commanders carried out terrible reprisals against the vanquished. Here, for example, is what a contemporary writes: “It was scary to look at Arzamas, its suburbs seemed like a complete hell, there were gallows everywhere and 40-45 corpses hung on each, scattered heads lay there and smoked with fresh blood; there were stakes sticking out here on which the criminals were tormented and some were alive for three days, experiencing indescribable suffering.” In Arzamas alone, 11 thousand people were executed, and in total up to 100 thousand were destroyed!
The homely Cossacks, having learned about the defeat of Razin’s army and the return of the ataman to the Don, began to pursue him. They besieged the town of Kagalnitsky and forced the Razinites to surrender, promising them forgiveness and freedom. But it was a deception. Razin was captured, taken to Cherkassk, shackled and put in the basement of the cathedral, where he was tortured. The Starocherkassk Cathedral houses the shackles and chains in which, according to legend, Stepan Razin was shackled.
In June 1671, Razin and his brother Frol were sent under escort to Moscow. Here he was interrogated and tortured again. On June 16, 1671, in front of a huge crowd of people in the center of Moscow, at Lobnoye Mesto, the leader of the popular uprising Stepan Razin was executed.
§ 5. SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PEASANT WAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF STEPAN RAZIN
The government and the church tried in every possible way to slander and disgrace Stepan Razin. He was anathematized in the churches, and the participants in the uprising were called “thieves” and “robbers” in tsarist documents. But the common people saw Razin and his differences as their defenders.
Decembrists, populists, and the first Russian Marxists deeply studied the history of Stepan Razin’s uprising. Karl Marx dedicated a special work to him - “Stenka Razin”.
In 1919, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin spoke at the laying of the monument to Stepan Razin on Red Square. He said: “This Place of Execution reminds us how many centuries the toiling masses suffered torment and hardship under the yoke of oppressors... This monument represents one of the representatives of the rebellious peasantry. At this place he laid down his head in the struggle for freedom.”
Our people will forever keep in their hearts the memory of the glorious and proud son of the Don region.
DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL
Certificate of Stepan Razin
Certificate from Stepan Timofeevich, from Razin. Stepan Timofeevich writes to you, to all the mob. Who wants... to serve the great army, and Stepan Timofeevich, and I sent out the Cossacks, and for one thing you would have to drive out the traitors and the worldly crooks...
And my Cossacks would begin to repair some kind of fishing, and you would go to their council, and the enslaved and disgraced would go to the regiment of my Cossacks...
Get to work, brothers! Now take revenge on the tyrants who have hitherto kept you in captivity worse than the Turks or the pagans. I have come to give you all freedom and deliverance, you will be my brothers and children... just be courageous and remain faithful.
“Anthology on the history of the USSR”, vol. I M., 1949, p. 134.
Questions and tasks:
1. Note the general, typical features of the peasant wars of the uprising under the leadership of S. Razin, highlight the features.
2. Give examples from the history of medieval Western Europe and Russia, when forces that were heterogeneous in terms of class took part in the peasant movement. How did representatives of the propertied classes behave? What conclusions can be drawn from this?
3. What assessment does V.I. Lenin give to the personality of S. Razin and the movement under his leadership?
The culmination of popular uprisings in the 17th century. was an uprising of Cossacks and peasants led by S.T. Razin. This movement originated in the villages of the Don Cossacks. The Don freemen have always attracted fugitives from the southern and central regions of the Russian state. Here they were protected by an unwritten law - “there is no extradition from the Don.” The government, needing the services of the Cossacks for the defense of the southern borders, paid them a salary and put up with the self-government that existed there.
The norms of the Council Code of 1649 sharply worsened the situation of the peasants. The growth of monetary rent led to their impoverishment, especially where the land was infertile. Accordingly, the flow of fugitive peasants who went to the Don and its tributaries increased, since the Cossacks lived there and did not have to pay taxes. A particularly large number of fugitive peasants was noted in the fertile regions of the Volga region, which were located next to the Trans-Volga steppes. All these circumstances predetermined the development of the peasant war here.
The regions inhabited by the Cossacks were part of the Russian state in an autonomous position. Using the Cossacks to protect the borders from the attacks of the Crimean Tatars, the Russian government reduced their taxes and determined their salary in money, bread and weapons. This circumstance sharply exacerbated the inequality between the “homely” Cossacks and the “golytba”, which made up the bulk of the population of the towns located on the Don, Volga and their tributaries. It was these Cossacks who began organizing robbery expeditions to the lower reaches of the Volga and to the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Stepan Timofeevich Razin came from “homely” Cossacks and repeatedly participated in the embassies of the Don Army to the Kalmyks and to Moscow. He became the leader of the rebel peasants and Cossacks.
Razin's movement began with the Cossacks' robbery campaign in Persia in 1667. First, Razin's army of thousands captured the Yaitsky town, and then, in the spring of 1668, headed to the shores of Persia. Having united with a detachment of Cossacks who arrived from the Don, they devastated the coast from Derbent to Baku, and also defeated the flotilla of the Persian Shah directed against them, capturing rich booty, as well as the Shah’s son Mendykhan.
On the way back, Razin's forces approached Astrakhan. The Astrakhan governors preferred to peacefully allow them into the city because they were given part of the weapons and booty.
In September 1669, Razin's troops sailed up the Volga and occupied Tsaritsyn. Having freed the prisoners who were in prison, the Razins went to the Don. Thus ended the first period of Razin’s movement, which marked the beginning of the peasant war. In the first campaign there were still elements of robbery, although the direction of the movement against exploitation was already clearly visible.
In the spring of 1670, Razin began a second campaign, which was directed against the boyars, nobles, merchants, “for all those who were dug and disgraced.” In April 1670, having significantly replenished the ranks of his army, which now numbered 7,000 people, Razin again captured Tsaritsyn. At the same time, the detachments of archers sent from Moscow and Astrakhan were defeated. The Cossack movement took on an openly anti-feudal character. The main goal of the campaign was to capture Moscow. For the campaign against Moscow, Razin wanted to provide the rear by capturing two large government fortresses - Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan.
Astrakhan was taken after a short assault, after which Razin’s detachment began to climb up the Volga. Saratov and Samara surrendered to him without a fight. At the beginning of September, Razin’s troops approached Simbirsk (modern Ulyanovsk). Behind the strong walls of his fortress, Voivode Miloslavsky was holed up with large forces. Even from Tsaritsyn, Razin sent out “charming letters” everywhere, in which he called on people to join the uprising and harass the “traitors,” i.e. boyars, nobles, governors, officials. The peoples of the Volga region - the Tatars and Mordovians - joined Razin's army. The uprising covered a vast territory in which numerous detachments operated, led by atamans M. Osipov, M. Kharitonov, V. Fedorov, nun Alena and others. The movement spread to Ukraine, where a detachment of Frol Razin, the chieftain’s brother, was sent. The rebels besieged monasteries and destroyed estates.
In September 1670, Razin's army approached Simbirsk and stubbornly besieged it for a month. The frightened government announced mobilization - in August 1670, the 60,000-strong royal army headed to the Middle Volga region. In early October, a government detachment under the command of Yu. Baryatinsky defeated the main forces of Razin and joined the Simbirsk garrison under the command of the governor, Prince I. Miloslavsky. Razin with a small detachment went to the Don, where he hoped to recruit a new army, but was betrayed by the top of the Cossacks and handed over to the government. On June 4, 1671, he was taken to Moscow and two days later executed on Red Square. In November 1671, Astrakhan, the last stronghold of the rebels, fell. Participants in the uprising were subjected to brutal repression. In Arzamas alone, over 11 thousand people were executed.
The uprising led by Stepan Razin had features characteristic of the peasant wars of the Middle Ages - spontaneity of actions, local character, lack of a mature political program. No less characteristic is the main slogan of the rebels - to install a “good king”. But at the same time, the uprising left an indelible mark on the people's memory, reflected in historical and lyrical songs, legends and folk stories. Stepan Razin became one of the legendary heroes, a symbol of freedom.
PEASANT UPRISING UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF S.T. RAZIN - a movement of social protest and resistance, which in 1670–71 covered the Lower and Middle Volga region, Voronezh-Kursk region, Sloboda Ukraine. Until the 1930s This movement was called Razinism, later - the peasant war.
Don Cossack in 1667–69, having gathered around him a detachment of Cossacks. poor and fugitive fortress. peasants, raided western cities. coast of the Caspian Sea. In the spring of 1670 he led the people's insurrectionary movement. The lower classes, with a detachment of Cossacks, fugitive slaves and peasants, set out from the Don to the Volga and captured Tsaritsyn. On the way to Astrakhan, his detachment grew. At Black Yar, Razin addressed the people: “Now take revenge on the tyrants who have hitherto held you worse than the Turks... I have come to give you freedom and deliverance.” On June 22, Razin’s army captured Astrakhan. fortress. The rebel archers went over to his side. The government sent to Nizh. Volga regiments of nobles. militia. Razin's army was replenished through plantings. the lower classes, barge haulers, runaway peasants. In occupied cities, Razin installed “Cossacks.” build." The Razins spread a rumor that Tsarevich Alexei (died in 1670) was with them, supposedly having escaped the wrath of his father and the evil boyars. Razin decided to head with his army along the Volga to Moscow. On July 20, his army left Astrakhan, and on August 7, from Tsaritsyn. Saratov and Samara went over to Razin's side without resistance. By the beginning of September, the rebels approached Simbirsk and captured the settlement. The siege of the Kremlin began. Razin in his “charming letters” called on the people to destroy the boyars, landowners, and the order. ministers, promised to transfer all the land to the people, to establish a customs-free system. bargaining, give the people freedom and freedom. At this time the Russians rebelled. fortress peasants total Avg. Volga region, Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars, Mari, who opposed the national-colonial. oppression. The uprising also spread to Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. counties, Don region, Voronezh-Kursk region, Sloboda Ukraine.
Simbir is under siege. The Kremlin initially involved 20 thousand rebels. Tens of thousands of Chuvash, Mordovians, and Tatars arrived to them. Besieged to the rescue. The tsar's army led by Yu. Baryatinsky set out from Kazan. On the way to Simbirsk, this army had to endure four battles with many thousands. detachments of Chuvash and Tatars. and Mordov. rebels. On October 1, near Simbirsk, the rebels were defeated, Razin was wounded and returned to the Don with a small detachment of Cossacks.
Almost all Chuvash peasants took part in the uprising. the edges. On September 9, they besieged Tsivilsk. There were 10 thousand troops under the city. rebel camp. Near Tsivilsk, Razin sent a “charming letter.” In October, the rebels made several attacks on Tsivilsk. The army led by D.A. Baryatinsky, sent from Kazan to help Tsivilsk, from October 19 to 22, withstood 3 battles with the Chuvash along the way. rebels and on October 23 liberated the city from the siege.
15 thousand Razin squad. ataman Maxim Osipov walked along the Simbirsk-Karsun line, where the detachment was joined by peasants, archers and Cossacks, in September he took Alatyr in battle, which was held until the end of November, occupied Kurmysh, Yadrin (the rebels left the city at the end of November, made a zasur . forests camp). The detachment of Ataman Prokopiy Ivanov (Noisy) occupied Kozmodemyansk in early October. Here Ivan Dolgopolov gathered a detachment of 15 thousand rebels. B is indicated. In cities, the participants in the uprising dealt with the governors and orders. servants, established their own governance. In November–December 1670, Tsivilsk was again besieged. The village became a major rebel center on the Volga. Sundyr (now Mariinsky Posad). The rebels dealt with the landowners, the monastery. authorities, clerks, merchants and moneylenders.
In con. 1670 large detachments of rebels were located in the croup. villages of Yadrin., Tsivil., Kurmysh. counties, in the Russian region. With. Algashi and Chuvash. village Algashi Cheboksary. u. Considerable forces were concentrated in the village of Bolshie Tuvany Kurmysh. u. (now the village of Tuvany, Shumerlin district), where the chieftain was the civilian Sergei Vasiliev.
K con. 1670 4.5 thousand people took part in suppressing the rebels in Chuvashia. tsarist troops led by D.A. Baryatinsky, M. Kravkov and others. Battles between the rebels and the tsarist troops took place near the villages of Yandoba and Sormin. mill (now the territory of Alikov district), Khorakasy (now Morgaush district), etc.
Information about Razin has been preserved. colonels, atamans, esauls and ensigns from the Chuvash. For example, a colonel (from the village of Kibeki Civil. u.) and his chieftain (from the village of Iskeyevo-Yandushi Civil. u.) participated in leading many thousands. detachments of Chuvash rebels in battles with the army of D.A. Baryatinsky on the approaches to Tsivilsk and under this city, near the villages of Dosaevo, Yandoba, Khorakasy. Govt. The troops brutally dealt with the rebels. They were executed, their property was taken away in favor of the sovereign, many villages were destroyed. Hundreds of rebels fled to the Pri-u-ralye, Trans-Kama region.
April 14, 1671 on the Don S.T. Razin was arrested and executed in Moscow in June. After the uprising, the tsarist government took certain measures to make life easier for non-Russians. peoples Avg. Volga region: collection of yasach. the exactions were assigned to the choice. people from non-Russian representatives. peoples, in 1685 a special order was issued on the census and delimitation of the Mordov, Mari and Chuvash. lands, return of yasach. people's lands, captured. rus. landowners. Many Chuvash historical legends about S.T. have been preserved. Razin and Razin people.
Lit.: Peasant war under the leadership of Stepan Razin: Sat. documents. T. 1–4. M., 1954–1976; Stepanov I.V. Peasant War in Russia in 1670–1671. The uprising of Stepan Razin. T. 1–2. L., 1966–1972; History of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. T.1. Ch., 1983; Dimitriev V.D. Chuvash historical legends. Ch., 1993.
