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

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

“I CAME TO BEAT ONLY THE BOYARS AND THE RICH GENTLEMEN”

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

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

“AND OVERBOARD HER BORS…”

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

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

FILL THE STOMACH WITH SAND

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

RAZIN'S NEW CAMPAIGN TO THE VOLGA 1670

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

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

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

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

HOOK

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

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

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

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

THE DEFEAT OF RAZIN UNDER SIMBIRSK

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

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

RESPECT

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

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

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

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

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

RAZINTS ON SOLOVKI

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

RAZIN IN EUROPEAN PERIODICALS AND CHRONICS

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

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

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

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

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

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

When it happened:

1670-1671

The reasons:

the spread of serfdom in the south and south-east of Russia, caused by the adoption of the Council Code of 1649, the beginning of a mass search for fugitive peasants, which caused popular discontent, especially in the Don, where there was a tradition "No extradition from the Don."

massive deterioration in the situation of peasants and townspeople due to higher taxes caused by the wars with Poland (1654-1657) and Sweden (1656-1658), the flight of people to the south.

deterioration in the position of service people, "on the instrument" who guarded the southern borders of the country: heavy duties and the nature of land use.

Where did it happen

Don, Trans-Volga, Volga.

Driving forces:

Cossacks

townspeople

peasants

non-Russian peoples of the Volga region (Tatars, Maris, Chuvashs, Mordovians)

Goals

freedom for "black", i.e. dependent people

punish (“beat”) boyars, nobles, merchants, governor for “treason”

capture Moscow, establish Cossack order everywhere.

Leaders of the uprising

• Stepan Razin, the son of a wealthy Cossack. Led the Cossack army in campaigns against Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. After the execution of his older brother for trying to leave the theater of action, he decided to take revenge, to ensure a free life for the Cossacks.

  V.Us

  F. Sheludyak

  Stages of the uprising

• Stage 1: 1667-1669 - “campaign for zipuns”, to the Volga and the Caspian Sea, capture and robbery of trade caravans, victory over the fleet of the Persian Khan, return with booty.

  Stage 2: Trip to Moscow. Tsaritsyn - Kamyshin - Black Yar - Astrakhna - Saratov - Samara. Siege of Simbirsk, unsuccessful. Defeat. Capture and execution of Razin.

The course of the uprising:

Dates	Developments
Spring 1667	S. Razin gathered a group of slanderous, that is, poor Cossacks, and fugitive people on a campaign "for zipuns" (a common robbery) - to the Volga and the Caspian. They took possession of the Yaitsky city (today Uralsk), wintered. Next - Persian Shores 9 1667-1669)
August 1669	With rich booty they returned to the Don, to the Kagalnitsky town.
From 1670	Razin became the de facto head of the Don Cossacks. Hike to the Volga. Appeared anti-government slogans. Local self-government bodies were created. They killed the governor, clerks, landlords. Razin's call: exemption from taxes of "black people". Purpose: capture of Moscow.
May 1670	The rebels occupied Tsaritsyn
April - July 1670	Hike to the Volga.
	capture Astrakhan, the murder of the voevoda and archery chiefs.
August–September 1670	Movement up the Volga. The 10,000th army moved to Saratov. Saratov surrendered without a fight, Samara. But don't you dare to take Simbirsk. Razin was wounded, transported to the Kagalnitsky town. His authority is falling.
April 1671	Contradictions with the Cossacks, they set fire to the Kagalnitsky town, the ataman was captured and issued by the Cossack elite, led by Kornil Yakovlev.
	The execution of Razin in Moscow - quartering.

Reasons for the defeat

The spontaneous nature of the uprising, the lack of a clear unified leadership.

The lack of clear discipline, the rebellious nature of the uprising.

Vague, overly generalized goals.

Lack of weapons and military training of the main part of the rebels.

Enslavement of peasants according to the Council Code of 1649;

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. Don in chains, the Don Cossacks lost access to the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, "campaigns for zipuns" in this direction ceased. In 1666 Cossack ataman Vasily Us with a detachment he went to Moscow, robbing estates and estates. Us reached Tula, but retreated to the Don in front of the tsarist army.

Cossack ataman, a 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 courts of the king, patriarch and merchant V. Shorin. spring 1670 Razin attacked Russian lands. Vasily Us joined him. Razin sent " lovely letters”(propaganda messages) calling for a campaign against the boyars and nobles. To attract the people, Razin spread a false rumor that Tsarevich "Aleksei Alekseevich" (the son of the tsar, who had already died in 1670) and the disgraced patriarch Nikon were in his army. The main goal of the campaign was Moscow, the route was the Volga. The rebels took Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara, besieged Simbirsk. Destroying the boyars and nobles, they introduced Cossack self-government. In Astrakhan, all noble and wealthy people were executed, the elderly governor I. Prozorovsky thrown "off the roll" (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 acted - Frol Razin.

To suppress the uprising, the king sent a 60,000-strong army of governors Y. Dolgoruky and Y. Baryatinsky. They severely punished the rebels, there were gallows with hanged men everywhere. In October 1670, the Razintsy were defeated near Simbirsk. The wounded chieftain fled to the Don, to the Kagalnitsky town. However, the homely Cossacks, led by the ataman Korniloy Yakovlev, fearing royal wrath, gave Razin. After cruel torture in the summer of 1671 he was quartered in Moscow. Frol Razin, seeing the torment of his brother, shouted in horror "The word and deed of the sovereign!" 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 improving life under the new "good king" ( naive monarchism);

Spontaneity, fragmentation and locality of the movement;

Weak weapons and poor organization of the rebels.

In this way, the popular movements of the 17th century, on the one hand, played the role of limiting the exploitation of the feudal lords. But, on the other hand, the suppression of these uprisings led to the strengthening of the state apparatus, the tightening of legislation. Now there is a rethinking of the meaning of the 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 Razintsy managed to capture Moscow (in China, for example, the rebels managed to take power several times), they would not be able to create a new just society. After all, the only example of such a just society in their minds was the Cossack circle. But the whole country cannot exist due to the seizure and division of other people's property. Any state needs a system of government, an army, taxes. Therefore, the victory of the rebels would inevitably be followed by a new social differentiation. The victory of Stepan Razin would inevitably lead to great sacrifices and would cause significant damage to Russian culture and the development of the state.

The uprising led by Razin

Stepan Timofeevich Razin

The main stages of the uprising:

The uprising lasted from 1667 to 1671. Peasant War - from 1670 to 1671.

The first stage of the uprising - a campaign for zipuns

In early March 1667, Stepan Razin began to gather around him Cossack army in order to go on a hike to the Volga and Yaik. The Cossacks needed this in order to survive, since there was extreme poverty and hunger in their areas. By the end of March, the number of Razin's troops is 1000 people. This man was a competent leader and managed to organize the service in such a way that the tsarist scouts could not get into his camp and find out the plans of the Cossacks. In May 1667, Razin's army crossed the Don to the Volga. Thus began the uprising led by Razin, or rather its preparatory part. It can be safely asserted that at this stage a mass uprising was not planned. His goals were far mundane - it was necessary to survive. However, at the same time, even the first campaigns of Razin were directed against the boyars and large landlords. It was their ships and estates that the Cossacks robbed.

Uprising map

Razin's trip to Yaik

The uprising led by Razin began with the fact that they moved in May 1667 to the Volga. There, the rebels with their army met rich ships that belonged to the tsar and large landowners. The rebels robbed ships and seized rich booty. Among other things, they got a huge amount of weapons and ammunition.

• On May 28, Razin with his army, which by this time already numbered 1.5 thousand people, sailed past Tsaritsyn. The uprising led by Razin could well continue with the capture of this city, but Stepan decided not to take the city and limited himself to the demand that he hand over all the blacksmith's tools. The townspeople hand over everything that was demanded of them. Such haste and swiftness in actions was due to the fact that he needed to get to the city of Yaik as soon as possible in order to capture it while the city's garrison was small. The importance of the city lay in the fact that from there there was direct access to the sea.
• On May 31, near the Black Yar Razin, they tried to stop the tsarist troops, numbering 1,100 people, of which 600 were cavalry, but Stepan avoided the battle by cunning and continued on his way. In the Krasny Yar area, they met a new detachment, which they defeated on their heads on June 2. Many of the archers went over to the Cossacks. After that, the rebels went to the open sea. The royal troops could not hold him.

The trip to Yaik has reached its final stage. It was decided to take the city by cunning. Razin and with him another 40 people pretended to be wealthy merchants. They opened the gates of the city, which was used by the rebels who were hiding nearby. The city fell.

Razin's campaign against Yaik led to the fact that on July 19, 1667, the Boyar Duma issued a decree on the beginning of the fight against the rebels. New troops are sent to Yaik in order to subdue the rebels. The tsar also issues a special manifesto, which he personally sends to Stepan. This manifesto stated that the tsar would guarantee him and his entire army a complete amnesty if Razin returned to the Don and released all the prisoners. The Cossack meeting rejected this proposal.

Razin's Caspian campaign

Since the fall of Yaik, the rebels began to think about the Caspian campaign of Razin. Throughout the winter of 1667-68, a detachment of rebels stood in Yaik. With the beginning of spring, the rebellious Cossacks entered the Caspian Sea. Thus began Razin's Caspian campaign. In the Astrakhan region, this detachment defeated the tsarist army under the command of Avksentiev. Here, other chieftains with their detachments joined Razin. The largest of them were: Ataman Bob with an army of 400 people and Ataman Krivoy with an army of 700 people. At this time, the Caspian campaign of Razin is gaining mass. From there, Razin sends his army along the coast to the South to Derbent and further to Georgia. The army continued its way to Persia. All this time, the Razintsy have been rampaging in the seas, robbing ships that come across their way. The whole of 1668, as well as the winter and spring of 1669, passes behind these classes. At the same time, Razin is negotiating with the Shah of Persia, persuading him to take the Cossacks into his service. But the shah, having received a message from the Russian tsar, refuses to accept Razin with the army. Razin's army stood near the city of Rasht. The shah sent his army there, which inflicted a tangible defeat on the Russians.

The detachment retreats to Miyal-Kala, where it meets the winter of 1668. Retreating, Razin instructs to burn all the cities and villages on the way, thereby taking revenge on the Persian Shah for starting hostilities. With the beginning of the spring of 1669, Razin sent his army to the so-called Pig Island. There, in the summer of that year, major battle. Razin was attacked by Mamed Khan, who had 3.7 thousand people at his disposal. But in this fight Russian army utterly defeated the Persians and went home with rich booty. Razin's Caspian campaign turned out to be very successful. On August 22, the detachment appeared near Astrakhan. The local governor took an oath from Stepan Razin that he would lay down his arms and return to the service of the tsar, let the detachment up the Volga.

Anti-serfdom action and Razin's new campaign on the Volga

The second stage of the uprising (the beginning of the peasant war)

In early October 1669, Razin and his detachment returned to the Don. They stopped at the Kagalnitsky town. The Cossacks in their sea campaigns acquired not only wealth, but also vast military experience, which they could now use for an uprising.

As a result, a dual power was formed on the Don. According to the tsar's manifesto, K. Yakovlev was the ataman of the Cossack district. But Razin blocked the entire south of the Don region and acted in his own interests, violating the plans of Yakovlev and the Moscow boyars. At the same time, Stepan's authority within the country is growing with terrible force. Thousands of people seek to escape to the south and enter his service. Thanks to this, the number of the rebel detachment is growing at an enormous pace. If by October 1669 there were 1.5 thousand people in the Razin detachment, then by November there were already 2.7 thousand, and by May 16700 4.5 thousand.

It can be said that it was from the spring of 1670 that the uprising led by Razin passed into the second stage. If earlier the main events developed outside of Russia, now Razin began an active struggle against the boyars.

May 9, 1670 the detachment is in Panshin. A new Cossack circle took place here, at which it was decided to go again to the Volga, to punish the boyars for their excesses. Razin did his best to show that he did not oppose the tsar, but opposes the boyars.

The height of the peasant war

On May 15, Razin with a detachment, which already numbered 7 thousand people, laid siege to Tsaritsyn. The city rebelled, and the inhabitants themselves opened the gates to the rebels. Having captured the city, the detachment grew to 10 thousand people. Here the Cossacks determined their further goals for a long time, deciding where to go: north or south. In the end, it was decided to go to Astrakhan. This was necessary because a large group of tsarist troops was gathering in the south. And leaving such an army in your rear was very dangerous. Razin leaves 1,000 men in Tsaritsyn and heads for Cherny Yar. Under the walls of the city, Razin was preparing for a battle with the tsarist troops under the command of S.I. Lvov. But the royal troops evaded the battle and went over to the winner in full force. Together with the royal army, the entire garrison of Cherny Yar also went over to the side of the rebels.

Further on the way was Astrakhan: a well-fortified fortress with a garrison of 6 thousand people. On June 19, 1670, Razin approached the walls of Astrakhan, and on the night of June 21-22, the assault began. Razin divided his detachment into 8 groups, each of which acted in its own direction. During the assault, an uprising broke out in the city. As a result of this uprising and the skillful actions of the "Razintsy", Astrakhan fell on June 22, 1670. The governor, boyars, large landowners and nobles were taken prisoner. All of them were sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out immediately. In total, about 500 people were executed in Astrakhan. After the capture of Astrakhan, the number of troops increased to 13 thousand people. Leaving 2 thousand people in the city, Razin headed up the Volga.

On August 4, he was already in Tsaritsyn, where a new Cossack gathering took place. On it, it was decided not to go to Moscow for the time being, but to go to the southern borders in order to give the uprising a greater mass character. From here, the rebel commander sends 1 detachment up the Don. Frol, Stepan's brother, stood at the head of the detachment. Another detachment was sent to Cherkassk. It was headed by Y. Gavrilov. Razin himself, with a detachment of 10 thousand people, heads up the Volga, where Samara and Saratov surrender to him without resistance. In response, the king orders to collect a large army in these areas. Stepan is in a hurry to Simbirsk, as to an important regional center. On September 4, the rebels were at the walls of the city. On September 6, the battle began. The tsarist troops were forced to retreat to the Kremlin, the siege of which continued for a month.

During this period, the peasant war acquired its maximum mass character. According to contemporaries, only in the second stage, the stage of expansion peasant war under the leadership of Razin, about 200 thousand people participated. The government, frightened by the scale of the uprising, is gathering all its strength to subdue the rebels. At the head of a powerful army stands Yu.A. Dolgoruky, a commander who glorified himself during the war with Poland. He sends his army to Arzamas, where he sets up a camp. In addition, large tsarist troops were concentrated in Kazan and Shatsk. As a result, the government managed to achieve a numerical superiority, and from that time a punitive war began.

In early November 1670, a detachment of Yu.N. Boryatinsky. This commander had been defeated a month ago and now sought revenge. There was a bloody battle. Razin himself was seriously wounded and on the morning of October 4 he was taken out of the battlefield and sent down the Volga by boat. The group of rebels suffered a severe defeat.

After that, the punitive expeditions of government troops continued. They burned entire villages and killed everyone who was in any way connected with the uprising. Historians cite simply catastrophic figures. About 11 thousand people were executed in Arzamas in less than 1 year. The city has turned into one big cemetery. In total, according to contemporaries, during the period of the punitive expedition, about 100 thousand people were destroyed (killed, executed or tortured to death).

The end of the uprising led by Razin

(Third stage of Razin's uprising)

After a powerful punitive expedition, the flames of the peasant war began to fade. However, for the whole of 1671, its echoes spread throughout the country. So, almost the whole year Astrakhan did not surrender to the tsarist troops. The garrison of the city even decided to go to Simbirsk. But this campaign ended in failure, and Astrakhan itself fell on November 27, 1671. It was the last stronghold of the peasant war. After the fall of Astrakhan, the uprising was over.

Stepan Razin was betrayed by his own Cossacks, who, wanting to soften their consideration, decided to hand over the ataman to the tsarist troops. On April 14, 1671, the Cossacks from Razin's inner circle seized and arrested their ataman. It happened in the Kagalnitsky town. After that, Razin was sent to Moscow, where, after brief interrogations, he was executed.

Thus ended the uprising led by Stepan Razin.

Synopsis on the history of Russia

The culmination of popular performances in the XVII century. became uprising of Cossacks and peasants led by S.T. Razin. This movement originated in the villages of the Don Cossacks. Don freemen has always attracted fugitives from the southern and central regions Russian state. Here they were protected by the unwritten law "no extradition from the Don." The government, needing the services of the Cossacks for the defense of the southern borders, paid them a salary and put up with the self-government that existed there.

The causes of the war were strengthening of the oppression and the general deterioration of the life of the people. The main participants in the movement were peasants, the poorest Cossacks, and the urban poor. At the second stage of the movement, the peoples of the Volga region joined him. Razin's uprising can be divided into two periods.

1st period It began with a robbery campaign of the Cossacks to the Caspian Sea in 1667. The Razintsy captured the Yaitsky town. In the summer of 1668, almost 2,000 Razin troops successfully operated in the possessions of Persia (Iran) on the Caspian coast. The captured valuables were exchanged by the Razintsy for Russian prisoners who replenished their ranks. In the winter of 1668, the Cossacks defeated the Persian fleet sent against them. This greatly complicated Russian-Iranian relations and changed the attitude of the government towards the Cossacks.

Then Razin approached Astrakhan. The local governor preferred to peacefully let him into Astrakhan, on the condition that part of the booty and weapons be ceded. In September 1669, Razin's detachments sailed up the Volga and occupied Tsaritsyn, after which they departed for the Don. Inspired by good luck, Razin set about preparing a new campaign, this time "for the good tsar" against the "traitors of the boyars."

2nd period. The second campaign of Razin from the Don to the Volga began in April 1670. The Cossacks remained the military core, and with the influx into the detachment of a huge number of fugitive peasants, the peoples of the Volga region - Mordovians, Tatars, Chuvashs, the social orientation of the movement changed dramatically.

In May 1670, Razin's 7,000-strong detachment captured Tsaritsyn again. At the same time, detachments of archers sent from Moscow and Astrakhan were defeated. Having approved the Cossack administration in Astrakhan, the rebels headed up the Volga. Samara and Saratov surrendered without a fight. Throughout the second period, Razin sent out "lovely letters" in which he called the people to fight. The peasant war reached its highest limit and covered a vast territory, on which numerous detachments were operating, led by chieftains M. Osipov, M. Kharitonov, V. Fedorov, nun Alena and others. The rebels smashed monasteries and estates.

In September, Razin's army approached Simbirsk and stubbornly besieged it for a month. The frightened government announced the mobilization of the nobility - in August 1670, a 60,000-strong army headed for the Middle Volga region. In early October, a government detachment under the command of Yu. Baryatinsky defeated the main forces of Razin and joined the Simbirsk garrison under the command of governor I. Miloslavsky. Razin, wounded, with a small detachment went to the Don, where he hoped to recruit a new army, but was betrayed by the top of the Cossacks and handed over to the government. June 6, 1671 Razin was executed on Red Square in Moscow. In November 1671, Astrakhan fell - the last stronghold of the rebels. The participants in the uprising were severely repressed.

Reasons for the defeat of the uprising: spontaneous character; lack of a clear action plan; weak discipline and poor weaponry of the rebels; lack of a clear political program; contradictions between various social groups in the camp of the rebels.

Like all peasant unrest, Razin's uprising was defeated. But it was one of the largest anti-feudal actions in the history of Russia.