In the history of Russia there are not many uprisings that lasted long time. But the uprising of Stepan Razin is an exception to this list.

It was one of the most powerful and destructive.

This article provides short story about this event, the reasons, prerequisites and results are indicated. This topic studied at school, in grades 6-7, questions are included in exam tests.

Peasant war led by Stepan Razin

Stepan Razin became the Cossack leader in 1667. He was able to gather several thousand Cossacks under his command.

In the 60s separate units Fugitive peasants and townspeople were repeatedly robbed in different places. There were many reports of such detachments.

But the gangs of thieves needed an intelligent and energetic leader, with whom small detachments could gather and form a single force that would destroy everything in its path. Stepan Razin became such a leader.

Who is Stepan Razin

The leader and leader of the uprising, Stepan Razin, was a Don Cossack. Almost nothing is known about his childhood and youth. There is also no exact information about the place and date of birth of the Cossack. There are several different versions, but all of them are unconfirmed.

History begins to become clearer only in the 50s. By that time, Stepan and his brother Ivan had already become commanders of large Cossack detachments. There is no information about how this happened, but it is known that the detachments were large, and the brothers had great respect among the Cossacks.

In 1661 they made a campaign against Crimean Tatars. The government didn't like it. A report was sent to the Cossacks reminding them that they were obliged to serve on the Don River.

Discontent and disobedience to authorities in the Cossack detachments began to grow. As a result, Stepan's brother Ivan was executed. This was precisely the reason that pushed Razin to revolt.

Causes of the uprising

The main reason for the events of 1667 - 1671. in Rus' was that a population dissatisfied with the government had gathered on the Don. These were peasants and serfs who fled from feudal oppression and the strengthening of serfdom.

Too many dissatisfied people gathered in one place. In addition, Cossacks lived on the same territory, whose goal was to gain independence.

The participants had one thing in common - hatred of order and authority. Therefore, their alliance under the leadership of Razin was not surprising.

Driving forces of the uprising of Stepan Razin

Various groups of the population took part in the uprising.

Participants:

• peasants;
• Cossacks;
• Sagittarius;
• townspeople;
• serfs;
• peoples of the Volga region (mostly non-Russian).

Razin wrote letters in which he urged the dissatisfied to carry out campaigns against nobles, boyars and merchants.

Territory covered by the Cossack-peasant uprising

In the first months, the rebels captured the Lower Volga region. Then most of the state fell into their hands. The map of the uprising covers vast areas.

Cities that the rebels captured include:

• Astrakhan;
• Tsaritsyn;
• Saratov;
• Samara;
• Penza.

Worth noting: most cities surrendered and went over to Razin’s side voluntarily. This was facilitated by the fact that the leader declared all people who came over to him free.

Rebel demands

The rebels presented Zemsky Sobor several requirements:

1. Cancel serfdom and completely free the peasants.
2. To form an army of Cossacks, which would be part of the tsarist army.
3. Decentralize power.
4. Reduce peasant taxes and duties.

The authorities, naturally, could not agree to such demands.

Main events and stages of the uprising

The Peasant War lasted 4 years. The rebels' performances were very active. The entire course of the war can be divided into 3 periods.

First campaign 1667 - 1669

In 1667, the Cossacks captured the Yaitsky town and stayed there for the winter. This was the beginning of their actions. After this, the rebel troops decided to go “for zipuns,” that is, booty.

In the spring of 1668 they were already in the Caspian Sea. Having ravaged the coast, the Cossacks went home through Astrakhan.

There is a version that upon returning home, the chief governor of Astrakhan agreed to let the rebels pass through the city on the condition that they give him part of the loot. The Cossacks agreed, but then did not keep their word and avoided fulfilling their promises.

The revolt of Stepan Razin 1670-1671

In the early 70s, the Cossacks, led by Razin, undertook a new campaign, which had the character of an open uprising. The rebels moved along the Volga, capturing and destroying cities and settlements along the way.

Suppression of the uprising and execution

The uprising of Stepan Razin dragged on too long. Finally, the authorities decided to take more decisive action. At a time when the Razins were besieging Simbirsk, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich sent a punitive expedition to them in the form of a 60,000-strong army to suppress the uprising.

Razin's troops numbered 20 thousand. The siege of the city was lifted and the rebels were defeated. Comrades carried the wounded leader of the uprising from the battlefield.

Stepan Razin was captured only six months later. As a result, he was taken to Moscow and executed on Red Square by quartering.

Reasons for the defeat of Stepan Razin

The uprising of Stepan Razin is one of the most powerful in history. So why did the Razinites fail?

The main reason is the lack of organization. The uprising itself had a spontaneous character of struggle. It mainly consisted of robbery.

There was no management structure within the army; there was fragmentation in the actions of the peasants.

Results of the uprising

However, it cannot be said that the actions of the rebels were absolutely useless for the dissatisfied sections of the population.

• introduction of benefits for the peasant population;
• free Cossacks;
• reduction of taxes on priority goods.

Another consequence was that the beginning of the liberation of the peasants was laid.

Those associated with the uprising of Stepan Razin cover the period from 1670 to 1671. The parties to the armed conflict were the Cossack-peasant troops on one side and the tsarist troops on the other. The uprising spread to the Volga, Don and Mordovia regions. Some historians call these events the peasant war of Stepan Razin.

The leader of the uprising, the Cossack ataman Razin, was born on the Don in the village of Zimoveyskaya around 1630. The first mention of it dates back to 1652. By this time, Razin was already an ataman and acted as an authorized representative of the Don Cossacks, which indicates high authority and rich military experience. In the period from 1662 to 1663, he successfully led the Cossack troops during military operations against Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.

In 1665, during unrest on the Don, by order of Prince Dolgorukov, Razin’s brother Ivan, who was also a prominent Cossack leader, was executed. Apparently, this event had a very strong influence on Razin’s views and his future fate. The ataman was fired up with the intention of taking revenge on the tsarist administration and everywhere establishing a military-democratic system inherent in the Cossack environment.

Among global causes During the peasant war under the leadership of Razin, it is necessary to note the strengthening of centralized power, which was not pleasing to the Cossacks, and the strengthening of serfdom. It is also worth mentioning the situation of severe economic recession caused by the long war with Poland and Turkey, which led to increased taxes and decreased general level life. The situation was aggravated by raging epidemics and the beginning of mass famine.

The uprising was preceded by Razin’s “campaign for zipuns,” that is, a campaign to seize booty, which lasted from 1667 to 1669. The Cossacks, led by Razin, blocked the Volga, which was the main navigable river of the country, and began to capture passing ships in order to obtain booty. In the summer of 1169, the Cossacks captured the Yaitsky town and continued to move towards the Kagalnitsky town. Having captured it, Razin began to massively recruit troops. Having received a sufficient number of people at his disposal, he announces the beginning of a campaign against Moscow.

Massive military operations began in the spring of 1670. First, the rebels take Tsaritsyn by storm, then they take Astrakhan, which surrendered without a fight. The local governor and representatives of the nobility were executed, and their own Cossack government was organized in their place. After these events, a massive transition to Razin's side began among the peasants of the Middle Volga region and representatives of local peoples. In the early autumn of 1670, the rebels laid siege to Simbirsk, but were unable to take it. The tsarist troops led by Prince Dolgoruky moved to meet the Razins.

As the battle broke out, the siege was lifted, and Cossack troops a crushing defeat was inflicted. Seriously wounded, Stepan Razin was taken by his associates to the Don. Fearing reprisals, other leaders of the uprising decide to hand over Razin. royal authorities. The captured chieftain was taken to Moscow, where in June 1671 he was executed by quartering. The rebels who remained loyal to Razin continued to hold Astrakhan, despite his death. The city was taken only in November 1671.

The reason for the defeat of the Razins was their disorganization, fragmented actions and lack of clear goals. After the end of the war, massacres began against the rebels; in total, about one hundred and ten thousand people were killed.

Because the rule “there is no extradition from the Don” was in force there.

The Cossacks who previously lived here were called “domovitye”. They received a salary from the king, ran their own household, and could engage in trade. The mass exodus of peasants from the central regions of Russia led to the creation of a new layer - “young, golutvenny” Cossacks, i.e. golytba.

In the 60s XVII century famine began on the Don. The ego caused the dissatisfaction of being naked. Ataman Vasiliy Us stood at the head of the Golutven Cossacks. His troops headed to Moscow in 1666. Along the way they destroyed estates and houses of the rich. The royal army was sent against them. Without waiting for the army to arrive, Vasily Us' troops returned to the Don.

In 1667, new brigade troops moved from the Don to the Volga. The campaign was led by Ataman Stepan Razin. He also had many of those Cossacks who used to go with Vasily Us. Razin's troops robbed merchants who sailed along the Volga. The detachments left the Volga for the Yaik River, where they spent the winter. In 1668-1669 Razin's ships sailed across the Caspian Sea to Persia, where they defeated the Persian fleet and took large amounts of booty. Then they moved through Astrakhan to the Don. The Astrakhan governor, not wanting to get involved with Razin, let the armed detachments through, demanding only to hand over the heavy guns. Returned to the Don armed, united, strengthened military force. Ra-zin's authority as a leader increased.

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

Battle of Tsaritsyn

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

Hike to Astrakhan

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

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

March on Moscow

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

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

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 just society in their minds was 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.

Wars, rising taxes, and monetary adventures of the authorities during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich undermined the country's economy. 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. In 1663-1667. in one Ryazan district they managed to find and return 8 thousand peasants and slaves. How many were not found? How many fugitives took refuge in Ukraine, on the Volga, in the Urals, in Siberia? How many did Don take in? There was still no issue from Don. The “old” “homely” Cossacks lived there in a very comfortable manner. They carried on farming, trade, and received salaries, lead and gunpowder from the tsar for their service in protecting the borderlands. But, in addition, many “young” “golutvenny” Cossacks lived here - “golytby”. The Golutvennye Cossacks earned money from the homely ones, but mostly lived by robbery. They were constantly ready to go to catch their luck in the Crimean, Turkish, Persian, Polish borders, and did not disdain robbing Orthodox merchants.

One ataman (from the homely Cossacks) Vasily Us bravely fought with the Poles in Ukraine and Belarus and upon returning to the Don gained popularity among the Golutven Cossacks. In 1666 there was a famine on the Don. First of all, the “young” Cossacks who did not have their own farm suffered. Vasily Us gathered a band of golutvenny Cossacks and moved to Slobodskaya Ukraine, then to the southern districts of Russia, and then to Moscow. His detachment consisted mainly of “young Cossacks”. The Cossacks said that they were going to the Tsar with a request to enroll them in royal service and give a salary, first of all bread. However, the Don people did not act as supplicants. Along the way they destroyed estates and rich houses. Peasants joined Us in droves. On the river Upa, 8 km from Tula, the rebels built a fort. Tsar Alexei sent regiments against the rebels, and then, without waiting for a battle, the Cossacks and many local peasants and slaves who had joined them went to the Don.

“I CAME TO BEAT ONLY BOYARS AND RICH GENTLEMEN”

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

The capital received false information; as if the “thieves’ Cossacks” are sitting in the Yaitsky town, besieged by the steppe inhabitants. Therefore, a small detachment of archers of 3 thousand people was sent against Razin. Meanwhile, Cossacks and fugitives flocked to Razin from all sides, where the fame of his luck and exploits had reached. The royal detachment was defeated, part of it joined the ranks of the rebels.

“AND HE’S THROWING OVERBOARD...”

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

In the fall of 1669, Razin reappeared near Astrakhan. Knowing about " great power” ataman, the Astrakhan governor did not dare to give battle. It was agreed that the Cossacks would surrender their weapons, and the governor would let them pass through Astrakhan. The Razins entered the city, gave up several guns, but, of course, did not part with muskets, carbines, arquebuses, sabers and pikes. A foreign observer later wrote how delighted the common people were to greet the hero who had defeated the Persians. Ataman was called “father.” Razin “promised to soon free everyone from the yoke and slavery of the boyars.” “The mob listened willingly,” promised to come to the rescue, “if only he would start.” Stenka returned with the booty to the Don, where the majority of the homely and arrogant Cossacks were ready to recognize him as the supreme chieftain. The rumor about the dashing chieftain spread far beyond the borders of the free Don.

FILL YOUR STOMACH WITH SAND

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

RAZIN'S NEW CAMPAIGN TO THE VOLGA 1670

In the spring of 1670, Stepan Razin appeared on the Volga. People ran to the ataman from all sides: peasants, Cossacks, “working people” from the Volga fisheries, all kinds of walking people. This time the ataman acted in the name of the “Great Sovereign Tsarevich” Alexei Alekseevich. The eldest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarevich Alexei, died unexpectedly. There were various rumors about him among the people. Stepan Razin stated that the prince did not die, but fled from “boyar untruths” and conveyed to him, Don Ataman, the order of his father the Tsar: to wage war against the “traitor boyars” and give everyone ordinary people will. Stenka’s lovely letters flew around the country, calling (“seducing”) the mob to revolt. It started in Russia peasant war. The ataman’s cry: “I have come to give you freedom!” found a response in the hearts of enslaved people. Razin stated that the life of the country would be organized following the example of the Cossack Don with its Cossack circle and the choice of ataman.

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

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

The well-fortified Saratov and Samara surrendered to the ataman without a fight. Everywhere the common people rejoiced. “Many years to our dad! Let him defeat all the boyars and princes!” - the people shouted. “For the cause, brothers,” answered the ataman, “now we will take revenge on the tyrants who until now have kept you in captivity worse than the Turks or pagans. I came to give you all freedom and deliverance, you will be my brothers and children, and it will be as good for you as it is for me. Just be courageous and remain faithful!”

HOOK

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

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

After that, two of the governor’s sons were hanged on the Kremlin wall by their feet, one of whom was only 8 years old, and the other 16. Since both of them were still alive, the next day the younger one was untied, and the older one was thrown from the tower, from which a few days later before that the father was thrown away...

On the 21st, the leader, accompanied by 1,200 people, left Astrakhan... In his absence, as in his presence, the massacre continued, and not a day passed on which more than 150 people were not killed.

DEFEAT OF RAZIN NEAR SIMBIRSK

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

Stenka Razin fought in the hottest places. The ataman’s head was cut open, his leg was shot, but the “father” kept fighting until his army fled. The ataman and the Cossacks locked themselves in one of the towers of the old fort. Having woken up from his wounds, he rushed with the Cossacks into a new attack, but became a victim of the cunning of governor Yuri. Baryatinsky sent one detachment to Sviyaga and ordered them to shout loudly. Hearing the “shouts,” Stenka thought that a new royal army was coming. The chieftain loaded the Don Cossacks onto plows and sailed with them to Tsaritsyn, and then went to the Don to gather a new army.

MASSACRE

They smashed without mercy royal commanders“orphaned” rebels of the Volga region, Tambov region, Sloboda Ukraine. “It’s scary to look at Arzamas,” wrote a contemporary, “its outskirts seemed like a complete hell: there were gallows everywhere and 40 and 50 corpses hung on each; scattered heads lay there, smoking with fresh blood; there were stakes sticking out here, on which the criminals were tortured and were often alive for three days, experiencing indescribable suffering. Over the course of three months, 11 thousand people were executed.” They tortured and killed more than one in Arzamas. In Kozmodemyansk, Baryatinsky executed 60 people, ordered the hands of a hundred to be cut off, and beat 400 people with a whip.

The Council of the Russian Clergy cursed Stepan Razin and his followers.

And Stenka tried to raise Don. But the homely Cossacks, led by godfather Stenki Razin, military ataman Kornila Yakovlev, who had long supported the dashing godson, but did not want the punitive expedition of the tsarist troops to appear on the Don, met Razin’s Cossacks with hostility. On April 14, 1671, they attacked Kagalnik, where the ataman was stationed. The town burned on four sides, its defenders were cut to pieces. Razin, who fought desperately, was captured. Soon Stenka’s brother, Frol, was also caught. Through Kursk and Serpukhov, 200 Cossacks took Stepan and Frol Razin to Moscow. “All the trouble is because of you!” - Frol sobbed. “There is no trouble,” his brother answered, “we will be received honorably; the greatest gentlemen will come out to look at us.” For the capture of the Razins, the homely Cossacks of the Don received a special “sovereign salary”: 3 thousand silver rubles of money, 4 thousand quarters of bread, 200 buckets of wine, 150 pounds of gunpowder and lead.

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

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

RAZINTS ON SOLOVIKI

The abbot of the monastery, the schismatic Nikanor, received everyone: fugitive archers, Cossacks, walking people, slaves who had abandoned their masters. The last Razins began to fight under the banner of the old faith. Solovki fell on January 22, 1676 from betrayal. Chernets Feoktist ran over to the enemy’s side at night and pointed out the secret entrance to the monastery. When darkness fell on Solovetsky Island, the archers entered the monastery and, after a fierce battle, occupied it. The Old Believers were killed, and 60 people “who were the instigators of theft” were brutally executed. Some were hanged upside down, others, stripped naked in the bitter cold, were hooked under the ribs. The unfortunates died in terrible agony.

RAZIN IN EUROPEAN PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS AND CHRONICLES

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

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

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

The Moscow general Dolgorukov, sent against the rebels, demands an army of one hundred thousand, otherwise he does not dare to show himself to the enemy. But the court is not able to assemble such an army, since the taxing people do not want to contribute to this, citing their insolvency

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

The story of how the rebel leader Stepan Razin and his brother were arrested, taken to Moscow and here they were put to a painful death. The world-famous, main and foremost rebel against Moscow named Stepan Razin is reported in a report dated July 1 from Riga to Livonia. Here there is almost no doubt that he was arrested, since all the letters confirm this, and the last mail says: The method by which the said rebel was captured was as follows: since he tried in every possible way, according to his successes, to attract to his side of the Don Cossacks and act by force against the tsar, the mentioned Don Cossacks pretended that they approved of his desire and wanted to fulfill it, intending to trap the fox through such a trick. When the Cossacks found out that Razin and his brother were staying in a shelter where he was not afraid of anything, they attacked him and captured him and his brother. Finally, they were both brought under escort of thousands of musketeers to the capital Moscow. According to a report from Moscow on June 16, on this day the sentence was carried out on the leader of the rebels, Razin. In order for as many people as possible to see him (for more than a hundred thousand people had gathered) and to expose the villain to the greatest shame, he was placed on a wide cart seven feet high. They built a gallows on the cart, under which Razin stood, tightly chained to it with chains: one around his neck, another around his waist, and a third around his legs. Both hands were nailed to the sides of the cart and a lot of blood was flowing from them. In the middle of the gallows there was a board nailed to support his head. His brother was also chained hand and foot and chained to the cart behind which he had to follow, and he felt very bad because he had been disgraced in front of so many thousands of people. [Stepan] looked at his brother all the time, and since he became more and more timid, [Stepan], hardened with anger, said to him: “Brother, why are you so afraid? We should have thought about this earlier before we started this game, but now it's too late. So throw away your fear! Since we have bravely taken up the task, we must remain so. Are you afraid of death? But we will have to die someday. Or do you care that the rest of our accomplices will have a bad time too? They will be more prudent, and heaven will help them in their affairs, so that they will not have to fear such punishment." From these cruel and inflammatory speeches, the brother turned even more pale, and Razin made many other threats to the Muscovites, until, finally, at the appointed place he was put to death. At the request of some noble Germans, envoys from various lands, and the Persian ambassador, they were given the honor and were led under strong guard of soldiers through the assembled crowd to the cart, and this was allowed to them so that they could see and hear everything clearly and tell in detail about the execution that took place. . They were so close that some of them returned [home] splashed with the blood of the executed man. This execution took place as follows: first they cut off both his hands, then both legs and, finally, his head. These five parts of the body were impaled on five stakes - for everyone to see, as a terrifying example for passers-by, and the mutilated body was thrown out in the evening to be devoured by hungry dogs. This was the end of this execution.