Cossack ataman, leader of the Cossack-peasant uprising, which in later historiography received the name of the Peasant War under the leadership of S. T. Razin of 1670-1671.

According to the most common version, Stepan Timofeevich Razin was born around 1630 in the village of Zimoveyskaya (now the village of). Some sources call his birthplace the city. He was probably the middle of three sons (Ivan, Stepan, Frol) of the wealthy Cossack Timofey Razin. There is information that his godfather was the military chieftain Kornila Yakovlev.

The first reliable document about the life of S. T. Razin is his request for leave to travel to the Solovetsky Monastery, dated 1652.

In 1658, S. T. Razin was among the Cherkasy Cossacks sent to the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In 1661, together with Ataman F. Budan, he negotiated with the Kalmyks to conclude peace and joint actions against the Tatars. In 1662, S. T. Razin became ataman; in 1662-1663, his Cossacks fought against the Turks and Crimeans, and took part in the Battle of Molochnye Vody on the Crimean Isthmus. He returned to the Don with rich trophies and prisoners.

In 1665, the governor, Prince Yu. A. Dolgorukov, hanged S. T. Razin’s elder brother Ivan for leaving without permission with the Cossacks to the Don during the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667. Deciding not only to avenge his brother, but also to punish the boyars and nobles, the ataman gathered a “band” of 600 people and set off in the spring of 1667 from the town of Zimoveysky up the Don, along the way plundering government plows with goods and the houses of rich Cossacks. The enterprise was called a “campaign for zipuns” and was a violation of the promise given by the Don Cossacks to the Moscow authorities to “stop theft.”

S. T. Razin’s “band” quickly grew to 2 thousand people in 30 plows. Having captured Yaik (now Uralsk in Kazakhstan) by cunning, S. T. Razin executed 170 people who saw a “horde of thieves” in his army, and replenished the “band” with sympathizers from the local population.

Having established a camp between the rivers Tishini and Ilovnya, S. T. Razin reorganized his “army”, giving it the features of a regular one, divided into hundreds and dozens, led by centurions and tens.

In 1667-1669, S. T. Razin made a Persian campaign, defeating the fleet of the Iranian Shah and gaining experience in the “Cossack war” (ambushes, raids, outflanking maneuvers). His Cossacks took and plundered Baku, Reshet, Farabad and Astrabad.

In August 1669, S. T. Razin’s flotilla approached and the Cossacks “brought their guilt to the great sovereign,” handing over part of the captured guns, prisoners and goods to the governor Prince I. S. Prozorovsky, after which they returned to the Don with rich booty, proving their prowess and military happiness. The name of S. T. Razin has become legendary. The Moscow government's attempt to punish the obstinate Cossacks by stopping the supply of grain to the Don only added more supporters to the ataman.

In August-September 1669, S. T. Razin built a fortress on one of the Don islands - Kagalnitsky town. In it, Razin’s “band” and he himself distributed the spoils of war, attracting recruits to the Cossack army.

In May 1670, at the “larger circle”, S. T. Razin announced that he intended to “go from the Don to the Volga, and from the Volga to Rus'... in order... to remove the traitorous boyars and duma people from the Moscow state and in the cities governor and officials”, “to stand for the great sovereign” and give freedom to the “black people”. The ataman’s “charming letters” gathered a lot of supporters, and the campaign turned into a powerful peasant war. The rumor about Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich (who actually died in 1670) and the patriarch walking with S.T. Razin turned the campaign into an event that received the blessing of the church and the authorities. S. T. Razin vaguely imagined the result of a successful uprising as something like a large “Cossack republic.”

In May 1670, the Cossacks of S. T. Razin took possession. In June 1670, the Astrakhan archers went over to the side of the rebels. The rebels moved to, took the city by storm, executed the governor Prince I.S. Prozorovsky, the Streltsy chiefs, Metropolitan Joseph and many clergy of the Astrakhan diocese.

In July, at the Cossack circle, it was decided to go with the main forces to. In August, the 10,000-strong detachment of S. T. Razin surrendered without a fight. In September-October, the ataman unsuccessfully besieged the Simbirsk Kremlin.

In October 1670, the army of S. T. Razin was defeated under. The seriously wounded chieftain went to the Don. Having fortified himself in the town of Kagalnitsky, he began to gather strength for a new campaign. However, in April 1671, the military foreman captured him along with his brother Frol and handed him over to the authorities. S. T. Razin was transported to, and then to. In the capital, he was interrogated, tortured and quartered on the scaffold near Lobnoye Mesto on June 6 (16), 1671.

Stepan Timofeevich Razin was born in 1630, as we know from reading the works of Streis, a traveler from the Netherlands. They had several meetings. In 1670, the writer noted in his work that his interlocutor began to approach his fifth decade. We will learn a lot of interesting things about this further from the article.

Speculation regarding his birth

The Don coast became the first home that Stepan Timofeevich Razin had. A biographical certificate does not provide more accurate information. There is a version that is the most reliable and says that he was born in the Zimoveyskaya village. Now this land has been given the name Pugachevskaya.

Some researchers have refuted this version. There is still a lot of speculation surrounding the birthplace of Stepan Timofeevich Razin. His biography may vary from different authors. So, some claim that he was born in Cherkassk, which is now located in the Rostov region. So was Stepan Timofeevich Razin really from the family of Circassian sultans? Folk legends differ from each other.

A number of other settlements, such as Esaulovsky or Kagalnitsky, are also called his place of birth. However, Cherkasy is called its homeland.

Life

Stepan Timofeevich Razin attracted the attention of many people for a long time. Folklore and the beginnings of Russian cinema were formed around his personality. In the West, Stenka became the first Russian on whom a dissertation was defended just a few years after his death.

Razin Stepan Timofeevich died before reaching old age. Around 1630-1671 lived and accomplished his exploits. He and his family became the subject of folk works, in which new details were introduced, making him an almost fairy-tale character.

Before the uprising happened

Timofeevich is quite interesting. The main dates of his life begin in 1652. At that time, he was an ataman and, by virtue of his powers, represented the Don warriors. Razin Stepan Timofeevich is a Cossack who even then had rich experience in military affairs and enjoyed the respect of his brothers in arms. Even in his early years, he already had the makings of a leader.

Stepan Timofeevich Razin fought in the company of his older brother Ivan as part of the Don Army. The year 1661 is significant in that negotiations were conducted with the Kalmyks. The warrior's companion was Fyodor Budan, as well as Cossacks from the Don and Zaporozhye. The establishment of peace and general steps to expel the Tatars and Nogais from Crimea were discussed.

The year 1663 is recorded in the chronicles as the moment when Stepan Timofeevich Razin led the Don and Kalmyks against the warriors from the Crimea who were near Perekop.

In 1665, the chieftain's brother was executed by Dolgorukov. This happened when a conflict broke out, during which the soldiers wanted to go to the Don, despite the tsar's service. Stepan Timofeevich Razin was filled with the desire to take revenge on the prince, as well as on the entire circle of the king. He also wanted to get a free and quiet life for his brothers who followed him. Stepan Timofeevich Razin began to hatch great ideas. was supposed to become a model of military and democratic structure for the entire Russian state.

During the uprising

He picked up his movement. The reason for this can be attributed to the aggravated social situation that reigned in the lands of the Cossacks. The epicenter of these processes was the Don. More and more runaway peasants appeared in its vicinity. This influx can be explained by the year 1647. The people were in complete captivity, tied hand and foot by the nobility.

Why was this person included in the list of “Great People of Russia”? Razin Stepan Timofeevich gave people the opportunity to breathe more freely, to become Cossacks, free warriors. At that time, everyone wanted to stop feeling like a drag force. And this opportunity was given by Stepan Timofeevich Razin. The biography of the Don Cossack does not recall that he had much property or family connections that many other governors had. On the territory of the region he lived on equal terms with others. The term “golutvenny” Cossack was applied to him. He stood apart from the old-timers, felt affection for the common people, did not have significant property, and did not boast of titles.

Who is Stepan Timofeevich Razin? He is both a hero and a robber. He was a savior to his loved ones and a natural disaster to those he attacked. Together with the Golytba, he went to the Volga for the purpose of robbery. At that time he needed fame and material resources. The richer and more famous Cossacks sponsored these campaigns with the condition of subsequent division of the loot. All armies - Yaik, Don and Terek - were involved in these operations.

Razin Stepan Timofeevich from the family of Egyptian sultans became the center around which the poor gathered, thanks to which they could feel like important and necessary people, being an integral part of the Cossack army.

The popular mass grew rapidly and became increasingly visible thanks to the fugitive serfs who wanted to join the uprising.

The year 1667 was the moment when Razin led the Cossacks. In the spring, about 700 soldiers gathered for the Volga-Don transport. New rebels were also added, so that there were already two thousand of them. They passed near the Volga and Yaik. The goal was to express disagreement with the policies of Moscow's rule and to blockade the trade route that passed through the river. The royal commanders responded to the call and a clash occurred.

Growing strength of the Cossacks

Stepan Timofeevich Razin devoted the years of his life to many campaigns, and this was one of the most important. It began in May 1667. His army went to the Volga. The fleet of Shorin, a guest of the country, as well as other merchant figures, was located near Tsaritsyn. Patriarch Joseph also stationed several of his ships here, which he later regretted. Stenka and the robbers attacked the ships, plundered them, and carried out bloody reprisals against the clerks and heads of the courts.

By and large, the Cossacks were often engaged in robbery. However, later simple theft grew into an uprising; they opposed the government, defeated the Streltsy and took the Yaitsky town. The winter was spent on the territory of Yaik. When 1668 began, the Caspian Sea became the new battlefield. More and more Don Cossacks, Cherkassy and residents from other districts of Russia arrived. A battle took place against the Shah's forces near Rashta, a city of the Persians.

It was a tough fight that ended in negotiations. During this process, Shah Suleiman was visited by the messenger of the Tsar of Russia and reported that the thieves' detachments were going to sea. The Persians were called upon to defeat the Razins. It was then that the negotiations broke down. The Cossacks were chained. One of them died from being bullied by dogs. The rebels had no choice but to take Farabat and stay there for the winter, fenced off from the enemy troops.

Legendary Events

The year 1669 came, several battles were held on the territory of the “Trukhmensky lands”. There the life of Razin’s friend, a Cossack nicknamed Crooked, was interrupted. When the army reached Skina Island, they were attacked by the Shah's sailors, commanded by Mamed Khan. They fought to the death.

The enemy linked his fleet with a chain and surrounded the Don army, but the strategy did not justify itself. The enemy's flagship ship sank. Then the Razins dealt with the rest of the fleet. They managed to capture the daughter and son of the commander of the Persian naval forces.

Peasants' War

A new decade has arrived. As always, hostilities began in the spring of 1670. A trip to the Volga was made again. Now it was not just robbery, but a real uprising, which was positioned under precisely this status. Everyone who wanted freedom and freedom was called up by Razin to serve.

The ataman’s goals were not to overthrow the tsar, but he wanted to overcome the then system, which made cattle out of peasants. It was planned to eliminate the highest ranks, personified by clerks, governors and clergymen who allegedly betrayed the royal power. A rumor was spread about the presence of Tsarevich Alexei among the Razinites, who in fact had been dead since January.

They also claimed to have power over life. In reality, he simply went into exile. The Razins occupied fortresses and cities, introduced their own system there, dealt with local rulers, and destroyed documents. If they came across a merchant on the Volga, they grabbed him and robbed him.

“Certificate from Stepan Timofeevich, from Razin” - that was the title at that time of the document that was sent to the mob. It was proposed to serve God and the state, as well as support the army and its leader, and hand over all traitors and people who drink the blood of the people. It was necessary to come to the council of the Cossacks.

The peasants rebelled en masse and accompanied the ataman during his Volga campaign. The local areas were recently enslaved and ordinary people did not agree to put up with imprisonment. The battles were fought under the leadership of the Cossack commanders of these places. The fighting began with the Mari, Tatars, Chuvash and Mordovians.

Tsaritsyn was captured, as well as Samara, Astrakhan was taken, Saratov and other fortresses were subjugated. In the fall of 1670, the siege operation near Simbirsk ended in failure. The king sent an army of 60 thousand people to these places in order to suppress the popular upsurge. The Razins were defeated as a result of the battle near Simbirsk.

The governor then was Yuri Baryatinsky. Razin himself was seriously wounded, and trusted people took him to the Don. For some time his refuge was the town of Kagalitsky. It was from there that he set out on a campaign a year earlier. The chieftain still cherished plans to gather a new army. The situation was escalating, and the king’s anger was no longer an illusory threat. Military ataman Yakovlev Kornila and other Cossacks betrayed their leader, surrendering him on April 13, 1671 during the assault on Kagalitsky. Razin was given to Russian troops.

Captivity and death

The month of April 1671 was remembered for the fact that the ataman and Frolk’s brother, who was younger than him, found themselves in the hands of the tsar’s henchmen. They were captured. They were received by Grigory Kosogov, the steward, and Andrey Bogdanov, the clerk.

The rebels were brought to Moscow in the middle of June and were brutally tortured. That same month, Stepan was led to the scaffold and quartered. The whole square witnessed this. The sentence was long. The rebel listened calmly. His farewell gesture was to bow in front of the church. The executioner first cut off his right arm up to the elbow. Then the left leg was cut off at the knee, and finally the head. Before Stepan was beheaded, his brother Frol tried to beg for mercy, but he received only a short reprieve of death. He was executed there and in the same way.

The military operations in the Volga region did not end there. The leaders of the Cossacks were Vasily Us and Fyodor Sheludyaka. Astrakhan was taken from the Razins by government troops only in November 1671. It was a particularly brutal fight that ended the standoff.

Attention from abroad

European politicians closely watched Razin's actions. The most important trade routes were at stake in this battle. They connected Europe with Persia and Russia. At that time, rebel battles took place in parallel in Germany, England and the Netherlands. In these countries, articles and books were published about the adventures of the chieftain. Some had fantastic details along with important data.

Foreigners watched as the Cossack was brought to the capital as a prisoner and executed. It was especially beneficial for the king to show that power was completely in his hands, and no one could shake it. Moreover, some kind of bandit, coming from a poor background.

Although the victory was not yet final, the death of the Cossack leader still looked very impressive. One of the literary works on this topic is “Three Voyages”, which was written by Jan Streis. He witnessed the uprising and visited the territory controlled by Razin. To create this story, we used our own observations and materials that the writer gleaned from information presented by other authors.

Scientific and literary works

In 1674, within the walls of the Wittenberg Institute, historians defended a work that told about the exploits of the chieftain. The work was reprinted many times in the 17th and 18th centuries, Pushkin showed great interest in it.

Subsequently, many legends began to be made about the rebel hero. For example, we can read about him in the work “How Stepan Timofeevich Razin left the prison.”

Folk songs were composed about the ataman in Russia. In some, he was idealized as a hero winning epic battles. Sometimes the image was identified with Ermak Timofeevich, another famous Cossack who conquered Siberia. There are more accurate works that dryly present documentary facts, biography and historical events.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin dedicated three of his works to Razin. D.M. also wrote about him. Sadovnikov. In 1908, the first Russian-made feature film appeared. They called him “Ponizovaya Volnitsa”. Gilyarovsky V.A. wrote the poem “Stenka Razin”.

Any revolutionary movement needs a strong leader who can put aside fear and lead large masses. Against the backdrop of general enslavement, people needed a person who could gather and organize them in order to achieve general freedom. Stepan Razin made the Cossacks a real family, a united force that fought for their rights. It is this way, fearless and purposeful, that he comes to us from the pages of history. Even on his deathbed, he did not show a single sign of fear and adhered to his views until his last breath. It was these traits and actions that made him a significant historical figure and hero of folklore.

Razin Stepan Timofeevich - (c. 1630-1671) - leader of the Peasant War of 1670-1671, leader of a large protest movement of peasants, serfs, Cossacks and urban lower classes of the 17th century.

Born approx. 1630 in the village of Zimoveyskaya on the Don (or in Cherkassk) in the family of a wealthy Cossack Timofey Razin, probably the middle son of three (Ivan, Stepan, Frol). The first document about him is his request for leave to travel to the Solovetsky Monastery in 1652.

In 1658 he was among the Cherkasy Cossacks sent to Moscow to the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In 1661, together with Ataman F. Budan, he negotiated with the Kalmyks to conclude peace and joint actions against the Tatars. In 1662 he became an ataman; in 1662-1663 his Cossacks fought against the Turks and Crimeans and took part in the Battle of Molochny Vody on the Crimean Isthmus. He returned to the Don with rich trophies and prisoners.

In 1665, the governor and prince. Yu.A. Dolgorukov hanged Razin’s elder brother Ivan for leaving without permission with the Cossacks to the Don during the Russian-Polish War. Stepan decided not only to avenge his brother, but also to punish the boyars and nobles. Gathering a “gang” of 600 people, he set off in the spring of 1667 from the Zimoveysky town near Tsaritsyn up the Don, along the way robbing government plows with goods and the houses of rich Cossacks. The enterprise was called a “campaign for zipuns” and was a violation of the promise given by the Don Cossacks to the Moscow authorities to “stop theft.” “Vataga” quickly grew to 2 thousand people. on 30 plows. Having captured Yaik by cunning, Razin executed 170 people who saw in his army a “horde of thieves” and replenished the “band” with sympathizers from the local population.

Having established a camp between the rivers Tishini and Ilovnya, he reorganized the “army”, giving it the features of a regular one, divided into hundreds and dozens, led by centurions and tens. Anyone who met his “band” and did not want to go with her was ordered to be “burned with fire and beaten to death.” Despite the cruelty, he remained in people's memory as generous, friendly, and generous to the poor and hungry. He was considered a sorcerer, they believed in his strength and happiness, and called him “father.”

In 1667-1669, Razin made a Persian campaign, defeating the fleet of the Iranian Shah and gaining experience in the “Cossack war” (ambushes, raids, outflanking maneuvers). The Cossacks burned villages and hamlets of the Dagestan Tatars, killed residents, and destroyed property. Taking Baku, Derbent. Reshet, Farabat, Astrabat, Razin took prisoners, among them was the daughter of Meneda Khan. He made her a concubine, then dealt with her, proving the ataman’s prowess. This fact was included in the text of the folk song about Stenka Razin, but already at that time legends about the “bewitched by a bullet and a saber” destroyer of other people’s property, about his strength, dexterity and luck, were spreading everywhere.

In August-September 1669, having returned to the Don, he and his “comrades” built a fortress on the island - the town of Kagalnik. On it, Razin’s “gang” and he himself distributed the spoils of war, inviting him to join the Cossack army, enticing him with wealth and prowess. The Moscow government's attempt to punish the obstinate people by stopping the supply of grain to the Don only added to Razin's supporters.

In May 1670, at the “larger circle”, the ataman announced that he intended to “go from the Don to the Volga, and from the Volga to Rus'... in order... to remove the traitorous boyars and duma people from the Moscow state and the governors and officials in the cities ", give freedom to "black people".

In the summer of 1670 the campaign turned into a powerful peasant war. The rumor about Tsarevich Alexei (actually deceased) and Patriarch Nikon walking with Razin turned the campaign into an event that received the blessing of the church and the authorities. Near Simbirsk in October 1670, Stepan Razin was wounded and went to the Don. There, together with his brother Frol, on April 9, 1671, the “homely Cossacks” led by Kornil Yakovlev were handed over to the authorities. Brought to Moscow, Stepan was interrogated, tortured and quartered on June 6, 1671.

The image of Razin inspired V.I. Surikov to paint the canvas Stepan Razin (1907, Russian Museum). Razin was imprinted in the people's memory in the name of the cliff and tracts on the Volga. His personality is reflected in the novels of S. Zlobin (Stepan Razin), V. Shukshin (I came to give you freedom...).

The dashing free Cossack, popularly known as Stenka Razin, appeared on the Don not by chance. The oppression of serfdom became more and more severe, and the dependence of the peasants became more and more entrenched. The governors and the bureaucracy were rotten, bribery and red tape flourished in Rus', and there was no fair trial. The flight of peasants acquired colossal proportions, even in petitions of that time there were often threats to “scatter apart.” In such a situation, the emergence of a strong leader and defender was a natural occurrence. The riot was not caused by Razin; rather, Stepan Timofeevich became the product of popular anger.

The amazing, adventurous life of a freedom-loving, extraordinary person, a successful chieftain, was spent on the battlefield. The personality of Stepan Timofeevich, covered with glory, which any crowned autocrat could envy, is attractive to the Russian people, primarily for his open and desperate character. Stepan Razin in folk tales personifies the leader of the peasants and valiant Cossacks, protector and liberator.

The future formidable chieftain was born in the village of Zimoveyskaya on the Don. The Russian people have a lot to do with this mysterious place. A little later, Emelyan Pugachev will be born, who passed through the territory of our country on a road no less bloody than the accursed Stenka Razin. It is not known what kind of anomaly is in these places. However, the fact remains that it was here that the two most desperate rebels, so dearly loved and respected in Rus', were born.

Vasily Surikov. Stepan Razin. 1903–1907

By the middle of the sixteenth century, the Don Cossacks consisted of two specific layers: indigenous residents and fugitives or newcomers. The “baby”, who did not have a permanent place of residence, often went on campaigns in order to rob passing ships with goods and nearby territories. Such thieving actions were called by the Cossacks campaigns “for zipuns,” and although the indigenous wealthy residents did not publicly approve of such raids, they still secretly financed them for a certain share in the spoils. One of these campaigns began the people’s “storm,” whose name is Stepan Timofeevich Razin.

A small detachment of Cossacks, according to some sources, numbered about 2 thousand people, headed down the Volga for robbery. At the head of the detachment was the young and successful ataman Stepan Timofeevich. The campaign quickly went beyond the usual raid typical of the Don Cossacks. At first the government made rather sluggish attempts to pacify the Cossacks, and time was lost. Already in May 1667, Cossack detachments defeated the archers and plundered Shorin's caravan of ships, which accompanied the ship with exiles. The prisoners were released and willingly joined the Cossacks. Razin invaded Yaik, then headed to the Persian shores, where he captured the Persian princess, famous from folk songs. Whether Stepan Timofeevich threw the Persian woman into the water or not has not yet been clearly established, but one thing is known that the daughter of Mamed Khan of Astara never returned from captivity by the Cossacks.

The return to Astrakhan was triumphant for Stenka Razin. The governors confessed in exchange for passage to the Volga. During his stay in the city, the ataman rode on plows and in every possible way emphasized his independence and rebellion. Despite the promise to give the authorities all the loot and prisoners, the Cossacks gave them absolutely nothing and left for Tsaritsino.

In the city, an attempt to ban the Cossacks from visiting taverns was severely punished by Razin. In fact, Stepan Timofeevich refused to obey the tsarist administration and captured the city. The ataman responded to all threats with abuse and retaliatory promises of reprisals. Razin emphasized in every possible way his non-acceptance of the existing regime of oppression, preached equality, severely punished those he disliked, but did not directly dishonor the tsar. The desperate ataman understood well that the tsar in the minds of the population could easily be contrasted with the hated governors and greedy boyars, which he actively used in his speeches and deeds. Stepan Timofeevich publicly flogged the defeated governor and military commanders with rods, which also raised his authority in the eyes of his subordinates.

Buzulukov S. A. Stepan Razin in Saratov. 1952

Each city occupied by Razin switched to Cossack control and adopted their way of life. Many joined the valiant and riotous army. Chiefs, gentlemen, and boyars who were disliked by the local population were mercilessly exterminated, and daughters from noble and noble families, at best, were married off to simple peasants or Cossacks. It is interesting that Stepan Timofeevich completely refused to recognize the wedding ceremony and organized the wedding ceremonies himself. The sacrament consisted of crazy dancing for a short time, after which the couple was declared legal spouses.

After Tsaritsyn, Razin occupied Samara, Saratov and a number of other cities. Moving on the crest of the peasant war, which originated back in 1670, the forces of the Cossacks kept growing and became more and more like a rebel army. In order to attract the people, Razin ordered one of his ships to be lined with red cloth and an unknown captive seated as Tsarevich Alexei, and the second boat was covered with black blankets and rumors were spread about the presence of Patriarch Nikon on it. Thus, Stepan Timofeevich actively tried to discredit the image of the sovereign, without expressing direct intentions to overthrow the autocracy. Razin pointed out that he was fighting for the tsar, but against the stolen governors, boyars and other nobility.

However, during the campaign, the chieftain constantly drank, became rowdy and indulged in various bloody entertainments. Gradually, he lost his original image of a protector and transformed into a possessed, ruthless killer, driven by the opinion of the crowd, proud of his achievements and victories. The measures taken by Razin’s entourage against the sovereign’s henchmen were very cruel. The unfortunates were hanged, wheeled, drowned and tormented in various sophisticated ways. The punishments were intimidating. Detachments of Cossacks were divided and occupied more and more new cities, the excitement swept not only the Volga region and the central part of Rus', but even reached the territories of the White Sea.

In 1670, Razin’s army suffered its first failure in the siege of Simbirsk, and already in early October it was defeated by the tsarist army of 60 thousand soldiers under the command of Baryatinsky. Stepan Trofimovich was seriously wounded and, abandoning the bulk of his detachment, fled to his native Don. Subsequently, Razin was extradited by the Cossacks along with his brother Frol.

Sergei Kirillov Stepan Razin. 1985-88

The people's ataman was tortured in the royal dungeons, but his courage aroused respect even among the executioners. The hardy Cossack did not utter a word, he did not ask for mercy and did not beg for leniency. A proud and surprisingly strong man, even in the face of imminent death, retained his dignity. The execution was terrible and painful. Stepan Trofimovich's hand was cut off, and then his leg, and only then the executioner, who took pity, cut off the ataman's head. According to the verdict, Razin was supposed to be quartered, but death came faster. The ataman's indignation was caused by the behavior of brother Frol, who, frightened by the bloody spectacle, uttered words of repentance. According to eyewitnesses, only then did Razin curse loudly at him.

The amazing, desperate life of the rebel ended on the chopping block, which is typical for the leaders of popular uprisings in Russia. The bloodthirsty crazy robber remained in the people's memory as a hero-liberator. Whether this is so, everyone decides for himself. Stenka Razin is one of those great and mysterious personalities who are judged only by...

Don Ataman, leader of the largest Cossack-peasant uprising. Stepan Timofeevich Razin was born in 1630 in the village of Zimoveyskaya-on-Don. Stepan's father is the noble Cossack Timofey Razin, and his godfather was the military ataman Kornila Yakovlev. Stepan had two brothers: the elder, Ivan, and the younger, Frol. Already in his youth, Stepan occupied a prominent place among the Don elders. In 1652 and 1661 he made two pilgrimages to the Solovetsky Monastery. As part of the winter villages - the Don embassies - he visited Moscow in 1652, 1658 and 1661. Knowing the Tatar and Kalmyk languages, he repeatedly successfully participated in negotiations with Kalmyk leaders. In 1663, leading a Cossack detachment, he, together with the Cossacks and Kalmyks, made a campaign near Perekop against the Crimean Tatars.

The idea of ​​an uprising against the feudal-serf system in Russia arose from Razin in connection with the autocracy’s attack on the liberties of the Don Cossacks and, in particular, in connection with the brutal reprisal in 1665 of Prince Yuri Dolgorukov of Stepan’s older brother Ivan for attempting to leave without permission with a detachment of Cossacks theater of military operations against the Poles. Thanks to his luck and personal qualities, Stepan Razin became widely known in the Don. A verbal portrait of Razin was compiled by the Dutch sailing master Jan Streis, who saw him more than once: “He was a tall and sedate man of strong build with an arrogant, straight face. He behaved modestly, with great severity.”

The return of the Cossacks to the Don in August 1669 with rich booty strengthened Razin’s fame as a successful chieftain; not only Cossacks, but also crowds of fugitives from Russia began to flock to him from different directions.

Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara were taken, and the entire Lower Volga region was in his hands. Beginning as a Cossack uprising, the movement led by Razin quickly grew into a huge peasant uprising that covered a significant part of the country. A riot flared up throughout the entire space between the Oka and Volga. The rebels put the landowners to death, overthrew the governors, and created their own authorities in the form of Cossack self-government.

The tsarist government took emergency measures to suppress the uprising. The main forces of the rebels were unable to take Simbirsk; government troops managed to defeat Razin in October 1670. The ataman himself, wounded in battle, barely had time to be rescued and taken to the Kagalnitsky town.

Having recovered from the wounds received near Simbirsk, Stepan Razin had no intention of laying down his arms. He hoped to gather a new army and continue the fight.

But in 1671, different sentiments already prevailed on the Don, and the authority and influence of Razin himself fell sharply. The confrontation between Razin and the lower-ranking Cossacks intensified. As the success of the government troops developed, the wealthy Don Cossacks were inclined to think about the need to capture Razin and transfer him to the royal court.

After an unsuccessful attempt by the leader of the rebels to take Cherkassk, military ataman Yakovlev struck back. In April 1671, the lower-ranking Cossacks captured and burned the town of Kagalnitsky, and the captured Razin was handed over to the Moscow authorities. After torture, Stepan Razin was publicly executed (quartered) on June 16 (June 6, Old Style) 1671 in Moscow near Lobnoye Mesto. Three days later, Razin’s remains “for everyone to see” were “lifted up into tall trees and placed across the Moscow River on (Bolotnaya) Square until they disappeared.” Later, the remains of Stepan Razin were buried at the Tatar cemetery in Zamoskvorechye (now the territory of the M. Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure). The burial in a Muslim cemetery is explained by the fact that the leader of the Peasant War was excommunicated from the church during his lifetime.

Razin's personality left a deep mark in people's memory. A whole cycle of songs is dedicated to him; a number of tracts along the Volga are named after him.

The material was prepared based on open sources