Crib: Urban uprisings of the middle of the XVII century. rebellious age

17th century was remembered by contemporaries as a "rebellious" century. This century began with the uprising of Khlopok and the war led by Ivan Bolotnikov and ended with streltsy unrest. Popular unrest covered vast territories, and during city riots, the rebels became the masters of the capital.

17th century was remembered by contemporaries as a "rebellious" century. This century began with the uprising of Khlopok and the war led by Ivan Bolotnikov and ended with streltsy unrest. Popular unrest covered vast territories, and during city riots, the rebels became the masters of the capital. However, the rebels did not have a well-thought-out plan of action, often pursued narrow class interests, were disunited and undisciplined. A common feature of the popular unrest of the XVII century. were pronounced tsarist illusions. Those who rebelled, with rare exceptions, did not think about actions against the royal person, and even more so against the very institution of the monarchy. Their anger was directed against the boyars, duma people, governor, and the autocrat, on the contrary, was looking for protection against "traitors". The tsar was addressed with petitions, they asked him to punish mercenary people and put honest servants in their place.

Salt riot of 1648

The "Salt Riot" got its name because it was provoked by dissatisfaction with the salt tax. This event was preceded by a general crisis in the taxation system. In the section of the lecture devoted to the feudal estates, it was said about the tax - a complex of monetary and in-kind duties that the townspeople carried. Meanwhile, in the cities, side by side with the taxable townspeople, artisans and merchants from white settlements lived, so called because they were whitewashed, or exempted from taxation. White settlements belonged to large spiritual and secular feudal lords. The population of the 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 heavy freedom for a relatively light dependence by enslaving powerful nobles was observed. It got to the point that in some cities the population of white settlements caught up with the population of suburbs. Thus, fewer and fewer taxpayers paid taxes, and the tax that fell on each of them naturally increased.

It soon became apparent to the authorities that it was pointless to further increase direct taxes in view of the reduction and undermining of the paying capacity of the hard-won population. Official documents of that time frankly admit that the collection of streltsy and yamsky money was extremely uneven due to the massive evasion of townspeople: "others do not pay, because neither in the category in the lists, nor in the cadastral books of their names are there, and everyone lives in county in the surplus". 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 quadrupled - from five kopecks to two hryvnias per pood. Since the sale of salt was a state monopoly, Chisty assured that the salt tax would enrich the treasury. In fact, the opposite happened, as buyers reduced 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 rotted, which the common people ate during fasting. At the beginning of 1648, the unsuccessful tax was abolished, but at the same time, taxable 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 tutor of the tsar, the boyar Morozov, the tsar's father-in-law, Prince I.D. Miloslavsky, the roundabout L.S. Pleshcheev, head of the Pushkar order Trakhaniotov.

An outbreak of spontaneous discontent occurred at the beginning of the summer of 1648. The ordinary population of Moscow tried several times to file a petition against the royal entourage, 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 pilgrimage, the crowd stopped his carriage and demanded that L. S. Pleshcheev be dismissed. 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 brought down a hail of stones on them and burst into the Kremlin. To stop the rebellion, Pleshcheev was handed over for execution, but the crowd pulled him out of the hands of the executioner and killed him. The fugitive Trakhaniotov was caught and executed. When they killed the clerk Nazarius the Pure, the crowd said: "Here you are, traitor, for the salt." The house of Shorin's guest was looted, who was accused of raising the price of salt. On top of the misfortunes, a terrible fire broke out in Moscow.

Salt riot of 1648

Streltsy, who had been delayed by salary 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 unfurled banners and drumming. Under cover of the Germans, negotiations began with the rebels. Most of the close associates, whose heads the crowd demanded, were handed over for reprisal. The tsar announced to the people that he was sorry for the atrocities of Pleshcheev and Trakhaniotov. With great difficulty it was possible to save boyar Morozov. The tsar tearfully asked the crowd: “I promised to give you Morozov and I must admit that I can’t justify him completely, but I can’t make up my mind and condemn him: this is a man dear to me, the husband of the tsarina’s sister, and it will be very hard for me to give him 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 to treat the archers with wine and honey, they were given an increased salary. The tsar's father-in-law Miloslavsky invited the elect from the Black Hundreds to the feast and treated them for several days in a row. Judges were replaced in all major orders. By royal decree, the debtors were released from the right. Alexei Mikhailovich also promised to lower the price of salt.

Following Moscow, unrest occurred in Kozlov, Vladimir, Yelets, Bolkhov, Chuguev. The main consequence of the city uprisings was the township reform and the adoption of the Council Code of 1649.

Uprisings in Pskov and Novgorod in 1650

Less than a year after the adoption of the Council Code, unrest broke out in Pskov and Novgorod, two cities in which the veche spirit had not yet died out. The reason for the unrest was the news that bread was sent to Sweden to pay off the debts of the government. The "young people" of Pskov, that is, the urban poor, appealed to the authorities with a request not to send bread, as the city was threatened with starvation. Having received a refusal on February 28, 1650, the Pskovites withdrew from obedience. A Swedish agent was captured, the governor Sobakin lost power over the city. The Pskovites chose as their leaders a triumvirate of the square clerk Tomilka Vasiliev and archers Porfiry Koza and Iov Kopyto.

Two weeks later, the unrest spread to Novgorod, and the Novgorodians acted approximately according to the same pattern. The Danish envoy was captured, and on March 16 the bell rang and shouts were heard: “The sovereign does not care about us, he helps with money and feeds the German lands with bread.” Voivode Prince Khilkov and Metropolitan Nikon tried to suppress the unrest by force, but the shooters' heads and boyar children could not do anything with the rebels. Metropolitan clerk Ivan Zheglov, released from prison, became the leader of the Novgorodians. In the zemstvo hut, the government consisted of Zheglov, the shoemaker Elisey Grigoriev, nicknamed Lisitsa, the Pentecostal archer 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, vacillations began very quickly. The prosperous part of the townspeople was afraid of a repetition of the Novgorod pogrom eighty years ago: “We will bring upon ourselves the same misfortune for the current turmoil that was under Tsar Ivan,” and the nobles refused to put their hands on the record that they should stand at the same time with worldly people.

Meanwhile, a detachment of military men was sent to pacify Novgorod, headed by Prince I. N. Khovansky. And although the leader of the settlement, Elisey Lisitsa, said: “We will not let the boyar Prince Khovansky into the city, and if there is any unmeasure, then we, having taken banners and drums, will all go to Pskov,” Novgorod nobles and boyar children began to run across to the government camp. Hopes for a petition did not come true, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich demanded to extradite the instigators, otherwise threatening to send a governor with many military men. Metropolitan Nikon spoke with eloquent admonitions, and the prosperous 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 beat the other instigators mercilessly with a whip and exile them to Astrakhan for eternal life.

The younger brother of Novgorod the Great - Pskov put up more fierce resistance. The rebels by force took lead, gunpowder and the keys to the city from the governor. Okolnichiy F. F. Volkonsky, who came to Pskov for the search, was himself captured, interrogated and barely escaped execution. Prince Khovansky, who, after the conquest of Novgorod, laid siege to Pskov with his detachment, was met with firing from cannons and squeakers. It is characteristic that at the same time the rebels continued to hope for the tsar, did not believe the negative answer to their petition (they even tortured one of the petitioners who returned from Moscow, seeking recognition that he had brought a false letter). There were rumors that Alexei Mikhailovich fled to Poland and would soon come to the rescue of Pskov with the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks. 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, and responded to the message of Metropolitan Nikon: "It will be with him that Novgorod deceived, and we are not Novgorodians, we do not send guilty people to the sovereign, and we do not know any guilt over ourselves."

At the end of July 1650, the Zemsky Sobor was convened in Moscow, for consideration of which the question of Pskov affairs was proposed. The answer of the elected people has not been preserved, but the royal decree, adopted immediately after the cathedral, did not require the extradition of the breeders and promised the Pskovites that if they expressed their obedience, the military people would immediately retreat from Pskov. Historian S. M. Solovyov wrote that such a decision had its own explanation: “... let us point out only one fear, which the sources directly speak about: immediately after the cathedral, the Black Hundreds of the Socialists were called to the Ambassadorial order and they were told to inform the sovereign about all sorts of people who will speak thieves' speeches or accommodate the people. Obviously, the turbulent situation in Moscow itself and other cities forced them to refrain from using force.

The authorities relied on attracting the wealthy part of the townspeople, and indeed, the "best people" of Pskov persuaded their fellow citizens to kiss the sovereign's cross. This happened already in August and was accompanied by violent clashes between the "best" and the "youngest" people. Pop Yevsey, headman Gavrila Demidov, Tomilka Slepoy "talked about the sovereign in speeches incomprehensible to the human mind." With great difficulty, the Pskovites managed to take the oath, and then, despite all the assurances made before, the massacre of the instigators began. They were captured by "the best people" and sent to Novgorod, where they were imprisoned in chains.

Copper Riot of 1662

If the "salt riot" was generated by the crisis of taxation, then the cause of the "copper riot" was the crisis of the monetary system. At that time, the Muscovite state did not have its own gold and silver mines, and precious metals were brought from abroad. At the Money Yard, silver Joachimstalers, or, as they were called in Rus', "Efimkov", minted Russian coins: kopecks, money - half kopecks and half kopecks - quarter kopecks. The protracted war with Poland over Ukraine required huge expenses, in connection with which, on the advice of A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin began issuing copper money at the price of silver. As with the salt tax, the result was just 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 poltins 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 re-coined into kopecks. A small copper coin at first really had circulation on a par with silver kopecks. However, the government could not avoid the temptation to replenish the treasury in an easy way and immensely increased the issuance of unsecured copper money, which was minted in Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov. At the same time, paying salaries to servicemen in copper money, the government demanded the payment of taxes ("fifth money") in silver. Soon copper money depreciated, for 1 ruble silver they gave 17 rubles copper. And although a strict royal decree forbade raising prices, all goods rose sharply in price.

Counterfeiting was on the rise. According to the Council Code of 1649, criminals had their throats filled with molten metal for counterfeiting coins, but the threat of a terrible execution did not stop anyone, and a stream of "thieves' money" flooded the state. The search led to the craftsmen who worked at the Money Yard, "because before that time, when there were no copper money, and at that time they did not live by a rich custom, and with copper money they set up courtyards, stone and wooden, and clothes for themselves and wives were made from the boyar custom, and in the ranks they began to buy all sorts of goods and vessels, silver and food stocks at a high price, not sparing money. In the forgery of the coin, faithful heads and kissers were involved, assigned to the Money Yard to control the minting of the coin. They were from guests and merchants, "honest and well-to-do people." As G. Kotoshikhin wrote, “the devil angered their minds, that they were still imperfectly rich, they bought copper in Moscow and in the Sveian state, and brought it to the Money Yards with royal copper together, and ordered to make money, and having made it, they brought it from the Money Court with royal money together, and they gave the royal money to the treasury, and took their own 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 "big promises to the boyar, the tsar's father-in-law, Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky, and the Duma nobleman Matyushkin, who was the former tsar's sister, and a deacon, and in the cities, promises to the voevodas and orderly people; and they, for those promises, that thief helped and delivered from troubles.

The common people were outraged by the impunity of the boyars. On July 25, 1662, sheets with accusations against Prince I. D. Miloslavsky, several members of the Boyar Duma and a wealthy guest Vasily Shorin were found in the Lubyanka. They were accused of secret relations with Poland, which had no basis. But disgruntled people needed a reason. It is significant that the same people who were accused of abuses during the "salt riot" became the object of general hatred, and just like fourteen years ago, the crowd attacked and destroyed the house of Shorin's guest, who collected the fifth money in the whole 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 played out 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 beat the tsar of all Rus' on the hands. The crowd went home, but this day was not destined to end peacefully.

Another crowd of many thousands, much more belligerent, was pouring towards them from Moscow. Petty merchants, butchers, bakers, pie-makers, village people again surrounded Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and this time they no longer asked, but demanded that the traitors be handed over to her for reprisal, threatening “if he won’t give them those boyars for good, and they will teach him to have them themselves according to your custom." However, archers and soldiers have 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 stolniks, solicitors, tenants and archers to cut 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 rebellion, “And that same day, 150 people were hanged near that village, and a decree was given to everyone, they tortured and burned, and, according to the investigation for guilt, they cut off their hands and feet, and fingers at the hands and feet, and some were beaten with a whip, and they put signs on the face on the right side, setting the iron on fire, and put “beeches” on that iron, that is, a rebel, so that he would be grateful for a century; and inflicting punishment on them, they sent everyone to distant cities, to Kazan, and to Astarakhan, and to Terki, and to Siberia, for eternal life ... and by another greater thief of that day, in the night, a decree was issued, having tied his hands back, putting him in big courts, drowned 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.

"Copper Riot" was a performance of the city's lower classes. Craftsmen, butchers, pie-makers, peasants of suburban villages took part in it. Of the guests and merchants, "not a single person stuck to those thieves, they even helped those thieves, and they received praise from the king." Despite the merciless suppression of the rebellion, it did not go unnoticed. In 1663, by the royal decree of the copper business, the courtyards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in Moscow. The salaries of all ranks to service people were again paid in silver money. Copper money was withdrawn from circulation, private individuals were ordered to melt it into boilers or bring it to the treasury, where 10 rubles were paid for each ruble, and later even less - 2 silver coins. According to V. O. Klyuchvsky, "The treasury acted like a real bankrupt, paid creditors 5 kopecks or even 1 kopeck per ruble"

Streltsy revolt of 1682

The Streltsy rebellion of 1682, or "Khovanshchina", as it is often called after the main participants in the movement of the Khovansky princes, was a complex and confusing phenomenon. On the one hand, these events reflected the struggle of boyar groups - "parties", in the words of one of his contemporaries. On the other hand, this movement was a kind of urban uprisings, in which the "rebellious" 17th century was so rich.

The death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in the spring of 1682 served as a reason for the Streltsy rebellion. The Tsar was childless, and his two younger brothers, sixteen-year-old Ivan and ten-year-old Peter, were contenders for the throne. The princes were born from different marriages and behind them are kindred clans, behind Ivan - the Miloslavskys, behind Peter - the Naryshkins. The right of seniority was on the side of Ivan, but he was sickly, half-blind and weak-minded, while Peter already at an early age showed extraordinary liveliness and abilities. It had to be decided who would take the throne. The situation was tense to the limit, and the boyars, who had gathered in the palace to elect a new tsar, put on shells under their dress, fearing that it would come to a stabbing. The debate in the Boyar Duma yielded nothing. The custom demanded that the issue be submitted for resolution to "all ranks by the people of the Muscovite state." This meant the Zemsky Sobor, but this institution already had a nominal value. The cathedral of 1682 can be called by this name only with a big stretch. It was convened in haste, literally in a few hours without any elections. All the ranks of the people gathered in Red Square were asked which of the two princes should be in the kingdom. The majority shouted: "Peter Alekseevich!" For the sick Ivan, only a few voices were heard. So, .... 1682, Peter, the future emperor Peter the Great, was elected to the kingdom.

The mother of the tsar, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, and her entourage, from the very first hours of her reign, had to face a new force that intervened in events. We are talking about the Moscow archers, who had good reason to be dissatisfied with their position. The colonels of the archery regiments looked at their subordinates as if they were serfs, withheld in their favor the archery salary and food, burdened them with requisitions and work. The turmoil at the top gave the archers a reason to declare their claims. Already on the day of Peter's election, one of the regiments refused to swear allegiance to the new tsar, and a few days later, elected representatives from sixteen streltsy and one soldier regiment filed a petition demanding an end to the abuses of the initial people. The government gave in. The heads of the regiments were ordered to return the salaries of the archers, and two colonels, especially famous for extortion, Semyon Karandeev and Semyon Griboyedov, were punished with a whip in the square. Griboedov was read a “fairy tale” about his wines, typical of the archery elite, before being punished: for bribes and work, he beat them with cruel fights ... forcibly forced them to sew for themselves a colored dress, velvet hats, yellow boots; deducted from them money and bread from the state salary ... ".

However, the concession did not lead to calm, especially since the archers were skillfully directed by the hostile boyar group. Many of the old families were dissatisfied with the humble Naryshkins, who emerged from the nobility only thanks to the marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich with the beautiful Natalya. The nobility was especially outraged by the rapid rise of the tsarina's brothers, young people who had no merit: I.K. Naryshkin at the age of 23 was granted the boyar rank. The dissatisfied rallied around the Miloslavskys, and their leader was Princess Sofya Aekseevna, the sister of Tsarevich Ivan and the half-sister of Tsar Peter.

You can learn more about Princess Sophia from the essay by N.I. Kostomarov here. It should be said that the princess was a unique figure in Russian history of the 17th century. Usually, from birth, the royal daughters were in a kind of golden cage, and even tightly closed from prying eyes. They lived as recluses in the palace chambers, and if they happened to go to church, then during the exit, cloth floors were carried on both sides of them to isolate them from the people, and in the temple their places were covered with taffeta - all to avoid the "evil eye" . The tsar's daughters were doomed to celibacy, since, according to G. Kotoshikhin, "it was not customary to marry their state to princes and boyars, because their princes and boyars are serfs and in their petition the writer of serfs, and that is set in eternal it’s a shame if you give out a mistress to a slave; and it’s not customary to give other states for kings and princes, for the fact that they won’t abolish more than one faith, and they won’t abolish their faith, they put their faith in reproach, and even for the fact that other states of language and politics they don't know, and they would be ashamed of it."

Under Fyodor Alekseevich, the strict supervision of his six sisters was relaxed, but if the five princesses took advantage of their relative freedom only to dress up in Polish dress and take lovers, then Sophia had far-reaching political plans. As N. I. Kostomarov wrote, Princess Sophia, “although she also led a far from lenten life, she differed from others in her remarkable mind and abilities. She approached Fedor more than her sisters and almost did not leave him when he suffered from his ailments; in this way she accustomed the boyars, who came to the tsar, to her presence, she herself was used to listening to conversations about state affairs and, probably, to a certain extent, she already participated in them with her advanced mind. She was then over 25 years old. To foreigners she seemed not at all beautiful and was distinguished by obesity; but the latter in Russia was considered beauty in a woman.

According to a figurative comparison of one of his contemporaries, the news of the streltsy unrest became as joyful for Princess Sophia as for Noah the olive branch brought by the dove to the ark. Taking advantage of the discontent of the archers, it was possible to wrest power from the Naryshkins, but Sophia and Miloslavsky had to hurry, since the opposite side was taking measures to strengthen itself. The boyar A. S. Matveev, once one of the closest employees of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was urgently called to Moscow, exiled to Mezen due to the machinations of the Miloslavskys. From him Miloslavsky had nothing to expect mercy. The boyar, who returned from exile, also condemned the concessions to the archers: "They are such that if they let the reins go even a little, they will reach extreme outrages ...".

May 15 is a fateful date, on this day in 1591 Tsarevich Dmitry died in Uglich, and the same day in 1682 in Moscow was marked by a series of massacres. Supporters of the Miloslavskys spread rumors among the archers that the Naryshkins had exhausted Tsarevich Ivan. Approximately according to the same pattern, the events of May 17, 1606 developed, when Shuisky's henchmen alarmed the people with a rumor that the Poles had killed Tsar Dmitry - False Dmitry I and, taking advantage of the uprising, elevated Vasily Shuisky to the throne. In May 1682, the archers and the common people rushed to the Kremlin. The queen, together with the patriarch and the boyars, led Ivan and Peter to the Red Porch. The crowd, making sure that the prince was alive, calmed down and began to succumb to negotiations. However, at this decisive moment, as contemporaries said, the whole matter was decided by the unreasonable behavior of Prince M. Yu. Dolgorukov, his father's assistant on the Streltsy order and one of the boyars most hated by the archers. The prince began to threaten the archers and brought the crowd out of himself. The archers threw the boyar Matveev off the porch and chopped him to pieces, killed the tsarina's brother Athanasius Naryshkin, the boyars G. G. Romodanovsky and I. M. Yazykov, the duma clerk Larion Ivanov and many others. The bodies of the dead were dragged through the Spassky Gates to Red Square, archers walked in front of them and mockingly proclaimed: “Here is the boyar Artemon Sergeevich! Here is the boyar Prince Romodanovsky, here is the duma one is coming, give way! Streltsy also dealt with the head of the Streltsy Department, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, who suppressed the uprising of Stenka Razin. When an eighty-year-old man was informed about the murder of his son Mikhail, he had the imprudence to say to the archers: “They ate the pike, but their teeth remained, they would not rebel long, they would soon hang on the battlements along the walls of the White and Earthen City.” One of the prince's serfs reported these words to the archers, who dragged the old man out of bed, cut him into pieces, threw the body into a dunghill and put a salted pike. The next day, the archers demanded that I.K. Naryshkin be handed over to them, threatening to kill all the boyars otherwise. Princess Sophia sharply said to Queen Natalya: “Your brother cannot leave the archers; let us not all die for him!” The young boyar was confessed, communed and unction before his inevitable death, after which he was led out to the rebellious crowd. Naryshkin was brutally tortured, then dragged to Red Square and cut into pieces. The tsar's physician Daniil von Gaden was forced under torture to confess that he, together with the Naryshkins, allegedly poisoned Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich.

The entire capital was in the hands of the archers and the serfs who joined them. Streltsy and Kholopy orders were crushed. The archers called on the serfs to destroy the bondage records, and some of the serfs took advantage of the opportunity, but not all, since many became enslaved quite voluntarily.

In this turmoil, Princess Sophia and Miloslavsky managed to achieve the desired goal. On May 26, a new cathedral was convened, again only from the inhabitants of Moscow. In fear of the archers, the participants in the council found a compromise solution to put two brothers in the kingdom at once: both Ivan and Peter. At the same time, Ivan, at the request of the elected from the archers, was proclaimed the first king, and Peter the second. A few days later, the demand of the archery regiments was announced that, in view of the youth of the sovereigns, the board was handed over to their sister Sofya Alekseevna.

Princess Sophia gained power thanks to the archers, whom in return she was forced to appease and reward in every possible way. Streltsy received the honorary title of "outdoor infantry". Moscow archers, soldiers, townspeople and coachmen were given letters of commendation so that they would not be called rebels. The letter monotonously listed: "... there was a beating, for the house of the Most Pure Mother of God and for you, great sovereigns, for peaceful enslavement and fury towards you, and from the great tax, insults and lies to the boyars, Prince Yury and Prince Mikhail Dolgoruky .. .. Duma clerk Larion Ivanov was killed because he was decent to them, Dolgoruky ... yes, reptiles were taken from him in the likeness of a snake. Prince Grigory Romodanovsky was killed for his treason and neglect ... And Ivan Yazykov was killed for that he, having stacked with our colonels, paid us great taxes and took bribes. Boyarin Matveev and Dr. Danila were killed because they made a poisonous potion for Your Royal Majesty, and Danila was tortured to blame for that. Ivan and Afanasy Naryshkin were beaten for that they applied your royal purple to themselves and thought of all evil against the sovereign Tsar John Alekseevich ... ". As a sign of the streltsy exploits, a pillar was erected on Red Square with the names of the traitors beaten by them.

Archers were not satisfied with moral encouragement. Each was granted ten rubles, and in addition they received the property of the killed boyars and demanded the return of unpaid salaries for almost forty years. According to the archery calculations, a huge amount of 240 thousand rubles came out. There was no such money in the treasury, and from all over the state it was ordered to collect silver dishes and pour money from it for the archers.

Sophia's government became a hostage to the streltsy demands. It turned out that it was much easier to create a storm than to calm it down. Moreover, the streltsy regiments threatened to finally go out of obedience. They had their own ideological program, which consisted in restoring the old faith. The year 1682 was in many ways a turning point for the schismatics. In April, in Pustozersk, by royal decree, the spiritual leader of the schism, Archpriest Avvakum, was burned, and literally two weeks later, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died. The schismatics saw this as a clear sign of God's wrath. Among the archers there were many adherents of Avvakum. Aleksey Yudin, one of the leaders of the Streltsy revolt, belonged to the split. Prince Khovansky was also considered a champion of the old faith, whose name gave the name to the whole movement.

Prince Ivan Andreevich Khovansky, nicknamed Tararuy, belonged to the Gediminovich family, who, in their nobility, argued with the Rurikovichs. He was a famous voivode, although, as one historian quipped, he was most famous for his defeats. In the days of May, he was one of the supporters of Princess Sophia, who raised the archers to rebellion. As a reward, he was made chief ("judge") of the Streltsy order. But having received command of the "outdoor infantry" Khovansky began to claim an independent role. Together with Khovansky, the archers swore to stand for the old faith. The elected regiments demanded a debate about faith and put up against the Nikonians several schism teachers, led by the Suzdal priest Nikita.

The religious debate took place on July 5 in the Palace of Facets. Raskolnikov was accompanied by a whole crowd, who approved of their haggard appearance: “Their belly is not thick, not like the current New Testament teachers!” The dispute itself did not decide anything, each of the parties - the patriarch with the synclite and the schismatics remained with their convictions. Princess Sophia behaved courageously, was not afraid, like many boyars, of the crowd seething outside and ardently defended church reforms. The princess warned those elected from the archers: "... in hope of you, these schismatic peasants so boldly came here .... If we must be in such enslavement, then the kings and we can no longer live here: let's go to other cities and announce to everyone people about such disobedience and ruin."

The threat of the princess to leave the capital had an effect on the archers. In addition, the elected representatives of the regiments were generously treated with wine and they departed from the old faith. As S. M. Solovyov wrote, “ordinary archers rioted, but could not resist the royal cellar, when they put up ten people by the tub: they brought bails that they would not stand up for the old faith in advance, and they began to beat the schismatics, shouting: “You , rebels, revolted the whole kingdom! They rushed to flee wherever they could: their fathers were intercepted; Nikita, as the most impudent breeder of unrest and the violator of his promise, was beheaded ... "

After the failure to return to the old faith, it was increasingly difficult for Prince Khovansky to play the role of an intermediary between the government and the archers. A rich and distinguished boyar himself, he acted as an intercessor for the archers in front of the bloodsucking boyars, and the boyars assured that he was indulging the archers for the sake of general peace. "When I'm gone, then in Moscow they will walk knee-deep in blood," he said. But Sophia and her entourage no longer believed the prince. He was accused of pandering to schismatics and was even suspected of wanting to take the throne himself. There were rumors that during the procession, the archers planned to take the lives of kings and queens and call out their idol to the kingdom. Whether these suspicions were true or not, in August the entire royal family left Moscow and settled in the village of Vozdvizhensky.

Prince Khovansky rushed about, not knowing what to do. He was afraid to finally break with the government, and when the tsar's decree came to all thoughtful people to come to Vozdvizhenskoye, he obeyed and left Moscow. In the capital, his carriage was constantly surrounded by fifty archers and another hundred guarded the house, but outside the city he turned out to be completely defenseless, which Sophia's supporters did not fail to take advantage of. On September 17, the prince was captured near the village of Pushkino and taken to Vozdvizhenskoye. Before the eyes of the princess, the prince was not allowed, at the outskirts of the village they read an accusatory tale to Khovansky, and right there at the Moscow road they "performed" - they were executed along with his son.

Left without a leader, the archers were completely at a loss, all the more so because, by order of the ruler, the noble militia from the counties began to pull up to the Trinity Monastery. Seeing that the forces of the ruler are increasing every day, the archers decided to bring guilt. Elected from the regiments went to the Trinity, however, some of them fled back halfway in fear. The rest, appearing before the princess, tearfully prayed for her forgiveness.

On November 6, Princess Sophia returned to Moscow as a winner. The column erected on Red Square in honor of the archers was destroyed, the regiments were brought into obedience. the head of the Streltsy order was appointed a person loyal to Sophia - the duma clerk F. L. Shaklovity. In February 1683, a decree was issued on the return to the former owners of the serfs who received vacation pay during the riot: "and henceforth do not believe such vacation pay, because they took them in troubled times, unwillingly, for vague insurance, but to these same serfs when giving them inflict cruel punishment, beat them with a whip mercilessly, but if the former masters do not take them, then exile them to Siberian and other distant cities for eternal life.

For the next seven years, power under the nominal reign of Ivan and Peter passed into the hands of Princess Sophia and her favorite, Prince V.V. Golitsyn.

Historians call the 17th century "rebellious" because of the many popular uprisings and riots that took place in this century. Popular uprisings engulfed huge masses of the tax-paying population. In addition, performances were not limited to the capital, but took place throughout Russia.

The most massive uprisings of the 17th century: 1. Salt riot in Moscow in 1648; 2. Bread riots in Pskov and Novgorod in 1550; 3. Copper riot in Moscow in 1662; 4. Cossack-peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin in 1667-1671.

The reasons for the popular uprisings were the enslavement of the peasants and the growth of their duties, the strengthening of the tax burden, an attempt to limit the Cossack liberties, the church schism and the persecution of the Old Believers. Urban unrest had a complex and ambiguous character. The main force of the uprisings were "black people" - the lower and middle strata of the population of cities. Inside the settlements, there was a struggle against the privileged commercial and industrial strata (guests, trading people of the living room and cloth hundreds), as well as the "best people" (the rich), who shifted the burden of taxes on the "middle" and "young" people. Streltsy often joined the poor peasants, who, by origin and type of economic activity, were closely connected with them. Cossacks also took an active part in the popular movements, dissatisfied with the government's attack on their liberties. With Nikon's church reform, the army of those who were dissatisfied and ready to fight the authorities was replenished by schismatics who endured severe persecution.

SALT riot , the movement of the lower and middle strata of the townspeople, urban artisans, archers and courtyards in June 1648 in Moscow, one of the largest urban uprisings of the mid-17th century. The uprising was caused by the dissatisfaction of the "hard" population with the policy of the government of B.I. Morozov and his closest associates L.S. Pleshcheev and P.T. Trakhaniotov. In order to replenish the state treasury, the government replaced various direct taxes with a single tax on salt, which caused its price to rise several times. The indignation of peasants and townspeople forced the government to cancel the new procedure for levying taxes, however, the previous arrears were collected by the authorities for the last three years at once

COPPER REVOLT (Moscow uprising of 1662), an anti-government protest by Muscovites on July 25, 1662, caused by the disruption of economic life during the years of Russia's wars with Poland and Sweden, an increase in taxes, and the issuance of depreciated copper money. Since 1654, the production of large quantities of copper money began, equated to the cost of silver, which led to their depreciation, speculation with essentials, and the mass production of counterfeit copper money, in which the ruling elite also participated. A financial disaster broke out in the country. A few days before the uprising, people were talking about "thieves' sheets", which on the night of July 24-25 were pasted in certain areas of the city.

Peasant war led by Stepan Razin, The Peasant War of 1670-1671 or the uprising of Stepan Razin is a war in Russia between the troops of peasants and Cossacks with the tsarist troops. It ended with the defeat of the rebels.

Causes: In Soviet historiography, the reasons indicate that the period of investigation of fugitive peasants became indefinite, excessive feudal oppression manifested itself. Another reason was the strengthening of centralized power, the introduction of the Council Code of 1649. It is possible that the direct cause of the war was the general weakening of the country's economy as a result of a protracted war with the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire for Ukraine. The state tax is increasing. An epidemic of pestilence and mass famine begins.

background: The so-called Campaign for zipuns (1667-1669) is often attributed to the uprising of Stepan Razin - the campaign of the rebels "for prey". Razin's detachment blocked the Volgui and thereby blocked the most important economic artery of Russia. During this period, Razin's troops captured Russian and Persian merchant ships. Having received booty and captured the Yaitsky town, in the summer of 1669 Razin moved to the Kagalnitsky town, where he began to gather his troops. When enough people had gathered, Razin announced a campaign against Moscow.

Results: The scale of the massacre of the rebels was enormous, in some cities more than 11 thousand people were executed. In total, more than 100 thousand rebels were destroyed. Razintsy did not achieve their goal: the destruction of the noblesserfdom. But the uprising of Stepan Razin showed that Russian society was split. Reaching a compromise proved impossible.

The more a person is able to respond to the historical and universal, the wider his nature, the richer his life and the more capable such a person is of progress and development.

F. M. Dostoevsky

The rebellious age is the name of the 17th century in Russian history. Most often it is said that the name of the century is associated with a large number of uprisings and riots at that time. But this is only one side of the coin. The other side lies in the rebellious display of the church and the estates of society.

Causes

The reasons why the Rebellious Age became possible:

1. Increasing taxes. The state after the Time of Troubles tried by all means to attract money to the treasury.
2. Strengthening of serfdom and completion of the process of enslavement of peasants.
3. Wars. At this time, there were wars within the country (Trouble), as well as confrontation mainly with Poland and Sweden. The people are tired of the warriors who are known to drain society (demographically, financially).
4. Church split. Almost everything changed in the church way of life, so naturally ordinary people did not like it. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the authorities persecuted the Old Believers.

Popular uprisings

The 17th century is called "Rebellious" largely because of the popular movements (riots and uprisings), which arose with great regularity and were distinguished by their scope. In the Rebellious Age, there were 6 major uprisings (one is called the peasant war) and a huge number of small uprisings that cannot even be counted. The main popular movements of that era are presented in the table below.

Please note that the regular army was used to suppress most of the uprisings. And not small units, but the most combat ones. It is believed that if there are 2-3 large popular unrest in a century, then there is a problem in the country. In the 17th century in Russia there were 6 major riots and more than a dozen smaller ones, and they all happened a little more than 20 years(1648-1671), which speaks of the critical point of popular patience, which was overcome at this time. Do not forget also that Russia, by the beginning of all these movements, had just overcome the Time of Troubles, which also overlaps with the 17th century.

Popular performances of the 17th century clearly show that the country needed changes. The old order had become obsolete, and something new was needed. As a result, at the beginning of the 18th century, the mood of Russian society and the desires of Peter 1 coincided - large-scale reforms began in Russia.

Uprising map

Map of popular uprisings in Russia in the 17th century.

International conflicts

One of the reasons for popular dissatisfaction with power and position in the country was wars. Russia in the 17th century waged the following international wars:

1. Russo-Swedish war (1656-1661)
2. Russian-Turkish war (1677-1681)

Church in the 17th century

Separately, it should be noted that the Rebellious Age refers not only to popular performances, but also to church life. There, too, a serious crisis was brewing, culminating in a church schism. It is also called the Nikon reform.

In fairness, it should be noted that the need for church reforms in Russia in the 17th century is objectively overdue. But the methods of their implementation left much to be desired. In a certain sense, Nikon was very similar to Peter 1. Nikon remade the Orthodox Church in the Greek way, and Peter remade Russia itself in the Dutch way. But the main thing that these people have in common is that they very easily broke with the past. And these breaks went with such an inflection that Russia recovered spiritually and physically for a very long time after Nikon and after Peter 1.

The rebellious age almost completely changed the Russian church: customs, rituals, icons, books, and so on changed. Imagine how much it affected people. Even today, if the church decides to completely change its rites, this will lead to popular unrest. In the 17th century, when people were more pious, this caused an inevitable and inescapable reaction from the population.

The "Salt Riot" got its name because the reason for it was dissatisfaction with the salt tax. This event was preceded by a general crisis in the taxation system. Official documents of that time frankly admit that the collection of streltsy and yamsky money was extremely uneven due to the mass evasion of the townspeople. In 1646, some of the direct taxes were abolished, and instead the duty on salt was quadrupled - from five kopecks to two hryvnias per pood. Since the sale of salt was a state monopoly, Chisty assured that the salt tax would enrich the treasury. In fact, the opposite happened, as buyers reduced 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 rotted, which the common people ate during fasting. At the beginning of 1648, the unsuccessful tax was abolished, but at the same time, taxable people were required to pay the old taxes for three years in a row. The discontent of the people intensified. An outbreak of spontaneous discontent occurred in the early summer of 1648.

Copper Riot of 1662

If the "salt riot" was generated by the tax crisis, then the cause of the "copper riot" was the crisis of the monetary system. At that time, the Muscovite state did not have its own gold and silver mines, and precious metals were brought from abroad. At the Money Yard, silver Joachimstalers, or, as they were called in Rus', “Efimkov”, minted Russian coins: kopecks, money - half kopecks and half kopecks - quarter kopecks. The protracted war with Poland over Ukraine demanded huge expenses, in connection with which, 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 just 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 poltins 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 re-coined into kopecks. A small copper coin at first really had circulation on a par with silver kopecks. However, the government could not avoid the temptation to replenish the treasury in an easy way and immensely increased the issuance of unsecured copper money, which was minted in Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov. At the same time, paying salaries to service people with copper money, the government demanded the payment of taxes (“fifth money”) in silver. Soon copper money depreciated, for 1 ruble silver they gave 17 rubles copper. And although a strict royal decree forbade raising prices, all goods rose sharply in price.

Counterfeiting was on the rise. According to the Council Code of 1649, for counterfeiting a coin, criminals were poured with molten metal in their throats, but the threat of a terrible execution did not stop anyone, and a stream of "thieves' money" flooded the state.

"Copper Riot" was a performance of the city's lower classes. Craftsmen, butchers, pie-makers, peasants of suburban villages took part in it. Of the guests and merchants, “not a single person stuck to those thieves, they even helped those thieves, and they received praise from the king.” Despite the merciless suppression of the rebellion, it did not go unnoticed. In 1663, by the royal decree of the copper business, the courtyards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in Moscow. The salaries of all ranks to service people were again paid in silver money. Copper money was withdrawn from circulation, private individuals were ordered to melt it into boilers or bring it to the treasury, where 10 rubles were paid for each ruble, and later even less - 2 silver coins.

Major performances took place in 1650 in Pskov and Veliky Novgorod. The impetus for the speeches was the purchase of bread, which was carried out to send it to Sweden. These events are often referred to as the "Bread Riot".

Under the terms of the peace agreement with Sweden, Russia undertook to supply good grain for the resettling Russians and Karelians who left the territories lost as a result of the Time of Troubles. Bulk purchases of grain, carried out by a large Pskov merchant Fedor Yemelyanov on behalf of the government, led to an increase in grain prices. At the end of February 1650, the townspeople, archers, gunners and other people demanded that the local governor N.S. Sobakin stop the export of bread, detained the Swedish representative in Pskov and plundered Yemelyanov's yard. By the beginning of March, the governor had practically no power in the city, the real control was in the hands of the "all-city hut" (zemstvo hut), which included elected representatives from different segments of the population. On March 15, an uprising began in Veliky Novgorod. To suppress the unrest, troops were sent under the command of Prince I. N. Khovansky. On April 13, government forces entered Novgorod without resistance, the main participants in the uprising were arrested and subjected to corporal punishment.

The 17th century in the history of Russia is nicknamed the “rebellious century”. In this century, our country was shaken by riots, riots and uprisings of various scope and causes. Below are the events of the rebellious age in the form of a table:

The treasury was always short of money. The government came up with new taxes. Salt is a product that everyone needs, and the government hoped to replenish the treasury by introducing a tax on it. Salt prices increased 3-4 times. Salt consumption in the country has decreased. But without it it was impossible to prepare food for the winter: pickle mushrooms, cabbage, lard, fish. Salted fish was the staple food in the cities. Thousands of pounds of fish without salt rotted on the Volga. Thus, not only the poor population turned out to be dissatisfied, but also the merchants, who suffered heavy losses. And the treasury was not replenished.

As a result of general discontent in 1648, a “salt riot” took place in Moscow. The people stormed the gates of the Kremlin. People close to the king were killed. The courtyard of the boyar Morozov, who was considered the main culprit of the increase in the tax on salt, was plundered. The king was afraid. He dismissed the boyar Morozov and exiled him. The revolt in the capital began to subside.

In 1648-1650. a wave of urban uprisings swept the country. The salt tax was abolished, but the people demanded to restore order in the state and curb the willfulness of officials. In England, at the same time, the rebels cut off the head of the king. In France, the "king-role-sun" was forced to flee from the insurgent Paris. And in Russia, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich convened a Zemsky Sobor and made peace with representatives of the estates. The Council in 1649 adopted the Code, bringing the laws in line with the new situation in the country.

Novgorod uprising

The largest uprising in the capital broke out in 1682, and went down in history under the name Streltsy revolt, or Khovanshchina. People's dissatisfaction with the seizure of power by the boyars, who put 10-year-old Peter on the throne, was led by archers and "elected" (guards) soldiers of the Moscow garrison. The rebels dealt with those who oppressed the people with impunity, and held power in the capital for three months. The uprising also spread to other cities and garrisons of Russia.

A stone monument was erected on Red Square - a monument to the victory of the rebels. Their representatives controlled the work of the Boyar Duma and orders. Archers and soldiers were sure that the class of servicemen on the instrument should be on a par with the nobility in the state. But they allowed themselves to be deceived, bribed with privileges. The uprising ended in peace with the government of Princess Sophia, who promised to observe justice and fairness in the country. material from the site