The results of the peasant war led by Stepan Razin. The uprising of Stepan Razin. Reasons for onset and failure. “I came to beat only the boyars and rich gentlemen”

At the end of the 17th century. The largest Cossack-peasant uprising broke out in Russia. The reasons that people took up arms and stood up against the authorities were different for each layer - peasants, archers and Cossacks had their own reasons for this. The uprising led by Stepan Razin consisted of two stages - a campaign against the Caspian Sea, which was of a predatory nature, and a campaign against the Volga, which took place with the participation of peasants. S.T. Razin was a strong, intelligent and cunning man, which allowed him to subjugate the Cossacks and gather a large army for his campaigns. You will learn about all this in more detail from this lesson.

Historians of the 20th century Most often the uprising of Stepan Razin was assessed as the second peasant war in Russia. They believed that this movement was a response to the enslavement of the peasants in 1649.

As for the reasons for the uprising led by Stepan Razin, they were complex and quite complex. Behind each factor of the uprising there was a certain social type of the rebel people. Firstly, they were Cossacks (Fig. 2). When in 1642 the Cossacks abandoned the conquest of the Azov fortress, they could no longer go on predatory campaigns in the Black Sea region and in the Azov region: their path was blocked by Azov, the Turkish fortress. Therefore, the size of the Cossacks’ military booty decreased significantly. Due to the difficult situation in Russia (Russian-Polish War) and the enslavement of peasants, the number of fugitive peasants to the south of the country increased. The population grew, and there were fewer and fewer sources of livelihood. Thus, tension arose on the Don, which explains the participation of the Cossacks in the uprising of Stepan Razin.

Rice. 2. Don Cossacks ()

Secondly, the archers took part in the uprising (Fig. 3), who made up the bulk of the garrisons in southern Russia. That is, the main military force of the country went over to the side of the rebels. Financial problems did not allow the servicemen to be paid their salaries in full, which the archers did not like. This was the reason for their joining the uprising.

Rice. 3. Sagittarius ()

Thirdly, the peasant movement could not do without the peasants themselves (Fig. 4). The formal enslavement of the peasants according to the Council Code of 1649 did not yet mean the establishment of a complete serfdom regime, but still greatly limited the rights of the peasants. This was the reason for their participation in the uprising of Stepan Razin.

Rice. 4. Peasants ()

Thus, each social type had its own reason for dissatisfaction with the Russian government.

The Cossacks were the driving force behind the uprising led by Stepan Razin.Towards the middleXVIIV. Among the Cossacks, a top group stood out - the homely Cossacks. If the main part of the Cossacks were mostly poor people, former peasants and serfs, then the homely Cossacks were rich people with personal property. Thus, the Cossacks were heterogeneous, and this became evident during the uprising.

As for the personality of Stepan Timofeevich Razin (c. 1631-1670), he was an amazing person with extensive life experience. Several times the Cossacks elected him as their chieftain. Razin knew the Tatar and Turkish languages, since on the Don it was necessary for the leader of the Cossacks to know the languages of his opponents. Stepan Razin crossed the Moscow state twice - he went to Solovki in the White Sea. S.T. Razin was an educated man with a broad outlook. He also had a strong-willed character, and he kept all the Cossacks in obedience.

On the eve of Stepan Razin's uprising, a social explosion occurred - a harbinger of a formidable uprising. Several hundred Cossacks, led by Vasily Us, moved towards Moscow. They wanted to be recognized as servicemen and paid. However, near Tula they were stopped and forced to turn back.

In the spring of 1667, Stepan Razin decided to go with the Cossacks on a predatory campaign to the Caspian Sea. Having sailed along the Volga, Razin’s army approached Astrakhan. Here the royal governor tried to detain the “thieves’ army,” but the Razins managed to slip along one of the branches in the Volga delta (Fig. 5) and entered the Caspian Sea. Then they moved up, then to the East along the river. Yaik. On this river there was a royal fortress called Yaitsky town with the Yaitsky Cossacks living there. Stepan Razin and his Cossacks used a trick: they dressed in simple clothes and, having entered the city, killed the guards at night and allowed their army into the city. The entire leadership of the Yaitsky town was executed by Razin’s Cossacks. Most of the service people in this fortress went over to the side of the rebels. Then Stepan’s entire army took part in the duvan - dividing the looted property equally between the Cossacks. After Razin and Duvan joined the army, the archers became full-fledged Cossacks.

Rice. 5. Crossing ships by portage ()

In the spring of 1668, the Cossack Razin army descended down the river. Yaik and went to the western coast of the Caspian Sea - the Persian shores. The Cossacks subjected the coast to a devastating defeat. They captured and plundered the large city of Derbent, as well as a number of other cities. An episode occurred in the town of Farabat that showed the truly predatory intentions of Razin’s army. Having agreed with the residents of the city that Stepan Razin’s army would not plunder their city, but would only trade, after all the trading, it attacked the residents and plundered the city.

In 1669, the Razin Cossacks plundered the eastern Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea. Finally, the Persian Shah sent his fleet against the Cossacks. Then Razin resorted to a trick. Again using cunning, the Razin fleet pretended to flee, and then, gradually turning their ships, defeated the Persian ships one by one.

Burdened with booty, the Razins moved home in 1669. This time, Razin’s army could not slip past Astrakhan unnoticed, so Stepan Razin confessed to the Astrakhan prince Prozorovsky. In Astrakhan (Fig. 6) the Razins stopped for a while. Stepan Razin’s Cossacks went on a campaign “for zipuns” as ordinary people, modestly dressed and not rich, and returned with money, in expensive clothes with magnificent weapons, thus appearing before the people of Astrakhan, including servicemen. Then a doubt crept into the minds of the Tsar’s serving people: whether it was worth serving the Tsar further or joining Razin’s army.

Rice. 6. Astrakhan in the 17th century. ()

Finally, the Razins sailed from Astrakhan. Before leaving, Stepan gave his expensive lip to Prozorovsky. When the Cossacks sailed from Astrakhan, Stepan Razin threw, according to one version, the Persian princess, according to another, the daughter of an influential Kabardian prince overboard his ship, since his legal wife was waiting for him at home. This plot was used as the basis for the folk song “Because of the Island to the Rod.” This episode shows the essence of Stepan Razin’s predatory campaign to the Caspian Sea. Having walked between the Volga and Don, the Razinites returned home. But Razin did not disband his army.

In the spring of 1670, a royal messenger arrived on the Don in Cherkassk. Stepan Razin arrived here with his army. A general Cossack circle took place (Fig. 7). Razin proved to his Cossacks that the messenger came not from the tsar, but from the traitorous boyars, and he was drowned in the river. Thus, the bridges were burned, and Stepan decided to march with his Cossack army to the Volga.

Rice. 7. Cossack circle led by Stepan Razin in Cherkassk ()

On the eve of the campaign against the Volga, Stepan Razin sent out lovely letters to people (Fig. 8) - propaganda for his army. In these letters, Razin called on “to remove the worldly bloodsuckers,” that is, to destroy all the privileged classes in Russia, which, in his opinion, interfere with the lives of ordinary people. That is, S.T. Razin spoke not against the tsar, but against the shortcomings of the then existing system.

Rice. 8. Lovely letters from Stepan Razin ()

Stepan Razin did not want to leave the strong Astrakhan fortress in his rear, and his army first moved down the Volga. Voivode Prozorovsky sent a large rifle detachment to meet the Razinites, but he went over to the side of the rebels. When Razin's army approached Astrakhan, the first assault on the fortress was unsuccessful. But then most of the archers went over to the side of the rebels, and the Razins took the fortress. Voivode Prozorovsky and the authorities of Astrakhan were executed.

After the capture of Astrakhan, Stepan Razin's army moved up the Volga. One after another, the cities were captured by Razin’s troops, and the Streltsy garrisons went over to the side of the rebels. Finally, the best Moscow infantry - the capital's archers - was sent against Razin's army (Fig. 9). The Razins captured the Volga region city of Saratov, but the Moscow archers did not yet know about it. Then S.T. Razin once again resorted to cunning. Some of Razin’s troops imitated an assault on the fortress, and some settled in the city. As soon as the Moscow archers landed near Saratov, all the Razins attacked them, and then the tsarist troops laid down their arms. Most of the Moscow archers joined the Razin army, but the Razins did not really trust them and put them on the oars.

Rice. 9. Capital archers ()

Next, Razin’s army reached the city of Simbirsk (Fig. 10). The fortress stood, and the government army approached it. However, Razin gained the upper hand and forced government troops to retreat. Near Simbirsk, the peasant nature of the uprising became more evident. In this area, peasants joined the rebels en masse. But they acted within the boundaries of their region where they lived: they killed landowners, stormed fortresses and monasteries, and then returned to their farms.

Rice. 10. Stepan Razin’s troops storm Simbirsk ()

In September 1670, newly formed and trained government regiments approached Simbirsk, which this time defeated Stepan Razin’s army. He was wounded and with several Cossacks fled down the Volga and to the Don. On the Don, the homely Cossacks handed Razin over to the authorities because they were saving their lives.

Stepan Timofeevich Razin and his brother Frol were taken to Moscow. Razin endured all the torture and in the summer of 1671 was executed by quartering. Razin's brother, Frol, was executed a few years later, because at first he said that he knew where the treasures of the Razins were hidden, but this turned out not to be the case.

After the execution of Stepan Razin, the core of the rebel army - the Cossacks - was defeated, but the uprising did not stop immediately. In some places, peasants also came out with weapons. But the peasant movement was also soon suppressed. Boyar Yuri Dolgoruky hanged 11,000 peasants during punitive campaigns.

Theoretically, if Razin’s army had won, the structure of the Moscow state would not have changed, since it could not be structured in the image of the Cossack circle; its structure was more complex. If the Razins had won, they would have wanted to take the estates with the peasants and settle down. Thus, the political system would not have been changed - the movement had no prospects.

Bibliography

Baranov P.A., Vovina V.G. and others. History of Russia. 7th grade. - M.: “Ventana-Graf”, 2013.
Buganov V.I. Razin and the Razins. - M., 1995.
Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. Russian history. 7th grade. The end of the 16th - 18th centuries. - M.: “Enlightenment”, 2012.
The Peasant War under the leadership of Stepan Razin: in 2 volumes. - M., 1957.
Chistyakova E.V., Solovyov V.M. Stepan Razin and his associates / Reviewer: Dr. ist. sciences, prof. IN AND. Buganov; Design by artist A.A. Brantman. - M.: Mysl, 1988.

Protown.ru ().
Hiztory.ru ().
Doc.history.rf ().

Homework

Tell us about the reasons for the uprising led by Stepan Razin.
Describe the personality of S.T. Razin.
To what type can the first stage of the uprising be classified - the predatory Cossack or the peasant?
What contributed to the continuation of Stepan Razin's uprising after the first stage? Name the reasons for the defeat of the Razins. Comment on the consequences of this uprising.

The uprising of Stepan Razin or the Peasant War (1667-1669, 1st stage of the uprising “Campaign for Zipuns”, 1670-1671, 2nd stage of the uprising) is the largest popular uprising of the second half of the 17th century. The war of the rebel peasantry and Cossacks with the tsarist troops.
Who is Stepan Razin
The first historical information about Razin dates back to 1652. Stepan Timofeevich Razin (born around 1630 - death on June 6 (16), 1671) - Don Cossack, leader of the peasant uprising of 1667-1671. Born into a wealthy Cossack family in the village of Zimoveyskaya on the Don. Father - Cossack Timofey Razin.
Causes of the uprising
. The final enslavement of the peasants, which was caused by the adoption of the Council Code of 1649, began a massive search for fugitive peasants.
. The deterioration of the situation of peasants and townspeople due to the increase in taxes and duties caused by the wars with Poland (1654-1657) and Sweden (1656-1658), the flight of people to the south.
. An accumulation of poor Cossacks and fugitive peasantry on the Don. Deterioration of the situation of servicemen guarding the southern borders of the state.
. Attempts by the authorities to limit the Cossack freemen.

Rebel demands
The Razintsy put forward the following demands to the Zemsky Sobor:
. Abolish serfdom and complete emancipation of the peasants.
. Formation of Cossack troops as part of the government army.
. Reducing taxes and duties imposed on the peasantry.
. Decentralization of power.
. Permission to sow grain on the Don and Volga lands.

Background
1666 - a detachment of Cossacks under the command of Ataman Vasily Us invaded Russia from the Upper Don and was able to reach almost Tula, ruining noble estates along the way. Only the threat of a meeting with large government troops forced Us to turn back. Many serfs who joined him went to the Don with him. The campaign of Vasily Us showed that the Cossacks were ready at any time to oppose the existing order and power.
First campaign 1667-1669
The situation on the Don became increasingly tense. The number of fugitives increased rapidly. The contradictions between poor and rich Cossacks intensified. In 1667, after the end of the war with Poland, a new stream of fugitives poured into the Don and other places.
1667 - a detachment of a thousand Cossacks, led by Stepen Razin, went to the Caspian Sea on a campaign “for zipuns,” that is, for booty. During the years 1667-1669, Razin’s detachment robbed Russian and Persian merchant caravans and attacked coastal Persian cities. With rich booty, the Razins returned to Astrakhan, and from there to the Don. The “hike for zipuns” was, in fact, predatory. But its meaning is much broader. It was during this campaign that the core of Razin’s army was formed, and the generous distribution of alms to ordinary people brought the ataman unprecedented popularity.

Revolt of Stepan Razin 1670-1671
1670, spring - Stepan Razin began a new campaign. This time he decided to go against the “traitor boyars.” Tsaritsyn was taken without a fight, whose residents themselves joyfully opened the gates to the rebels. The archers sent against the Razins from Astrakhan went over to the side of the rebels. The rest of the Astrakhan garrison followed their example. Those who resisted, the governor and the Astrakhan nobles, were killed.
Afterwards the Razins headed up the Volga. Along the way, they sent out “lovely letters”, calling on ordinary people to beat the boyars, governors, nobles and clerks. In order to attract supporters, Razin spread rumors that Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich and Patriarch Nikon were in his army. The main participants in the uprising were Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople and working people. The cities of the Volga region surrendered without resistance. In all the cities taken, Razin introduced administration on the model of the Cossack circle.
It should be noted that the Razins, in the spirit of those times, did not spare their enemies - torture, cruel executions, and violence “accompanied” them during their campaigns.

Suppression of the uprising. Execution
Failure awaited the ataman near Simbirsk, whose siege dragged on. Meanwhile, such a scale of the uprising caused a response from the authorities. 1670, autumn - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich reviewed the noble militia and a 60,000-strong army moved out to suppress the uprising. 1670, October - the siege of Simbirsk was lifted, the 20 thousand army of Stepan Razin was defeated. The ataman himself was seriously wounded. His comrades carried him out of the battlefield, loaded him into a boat and, early on the morning of October 4, sailed down the Volga. Despite the disaster near Simbirsk and the wounding of the ataman, the uprising continued throughout the autumn and winter of 1670/71.
Stepan Razin was captured on April 14 in Kagalnik by homely Cossacks led by Kornila Yakovlev and handed over to government governors. Soon he was delivered to Moscow.
The Execution Place on Red Square, where decrees were usually read, again, as in the times of... Ivan the Terrible..., became the place of execution. The square was cordoned off by a triple row of archers, and the execution site was guarded by foreign soldiers. There were armed warriors all over the capital. 1671, June 6 (16) - after severe torture, Stepen Razin was quartered in Moscow. His brother Frol was presumably executed on the same day. Participants in the uprising were subjected to brutal persecution and execution. More than 10 thousand rebels were executed throughout Russia.

Results. Causes of defeat
Exiles, executions, burning of the guilty and suspects.
The main reasons for the defeat of Stepan Razin's uprising were its spontaneity and low organization, the disunity of the actions of the peasants, who, as a rule, were limited to the destruction of the estate of their own master, and the lack of clearly understood goals among the rebels. Contradictions between different social groups in the rebel camp.
Considering the uprising of Stepan Razin briefly, it can be attributed to the peasant wars that shook Russia in the 16th century. This century was called the “rebellious century.” The uprising led by Stepan Razin is just one episode of the time that came in the Russian state after the Time of Troubles.
However, due to the fierceness of the clashes and the confrontation between two hostile camps, Razin’s uprising became one of the most powerful popular movements of the “rebellious century.”
The rebels were unable to achieve any of their goals (the destruction of the nobility and serfdom): the tightening of tsarist power continued.

Interesting Facts
. Ataman Kornilo (Korniliy) Yakovlev (who captured Razin) was “on Azov affairs” an ally of Father Stepan and his godfather.
. The brutal executions of representatives of the nobility and members of their families became, as we can now say, the “calling card” of Stepan Razin. He came up with new types of executions, which sometimes made even his loyal supporters uncomfortable. For example, the ataman ordered one of the sons of governor Kamyshin to be executed by dipping him into boiling tar.
. A small part of the rebels, even after Razin was wounded and fled, remained faithful to his ideas and defended Arkhangelsk from the tsarist troops until the end of 1671.

The uprising of 1662 became one of the harbingers of the impending peasant war, led by Ataman S.T. Razin. The norms of the Council Code of 1649 sharply aggravated class antagonism in the village. The development of commodity-money relations led to increased feudal exploitation, which was expressed in the growth in the black soil regions of corvée and monetary dues in places where the land was infertile. The deterioration of the situation of peasants in the fertile lands of the Volga region, where land ownership of the Morozov, Mstislavsky, and Cherkasy boyars was growing rapidly, was felt with particular acuteness. The specificity of the Volga region was that there were lands nearby where the population had not yet experienced the full weight of feudal oppression. This is what attracted the Trans-Volga steppes and the Don to runaway slaves, peasants, and townspeople. The non-Russian population - Mordovians, Chuvash, Tatars, Bashkirs were under double oppression - feudal and national. All this created the preconditions for the development of a new peasant war in this area.

The driving forces of the peasant war were peasants, Cossacks, serfs, townspeople, archers, and non-Russian peoples of the Volga region. Razin’s “charming (from the word “to seduce”) letters” contained a call for a campaign against the boyars, nobles, and merchants. They were characterized by faith in a good king. Objectively, the demands of the rebel peasants boiled down to the creation of conditions in which peasant farming could develop as the main unit of agricultural production.

The harbinger of the peasant war was the campaign of Vasily Usa from the Don to Tula (May 1666). During its advance, the Cossack detachment was replenished with peasants who destroyed estates. The uprising covered the territories of Tula, Dedilovsky and other districts. The government urgently sent the noble militia against the rebels. The rebels retreated to the Don.

In 1667-1668. Cossack bastards, alien slaves and peasants made a campaign in Persia. It was called the “zipun trek.” The Don Golytba had made such attacks before, but this campaign amazes with its scope, thoroughness of preparation, duration and enormous success.

During the “campaign for zipuns,” the differences devastated not only the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea, defeated the Persian army and navy, but also opposed government troops. They defeated a detachment of Astrakhan archers, destroyed a caravan of ships belonging to the Tsar, the Patriarch, and the merchant Shorin. Thus, already in this campaign, features of social antagonism appeared, which led to the formation of the core of the future rebel army.

In the winter of 1669-1670. upon returning from the Caspian Sea to the Don, Razin is preparing for a second campaign, this time against the boyars, nobles, merchants, on a campaign for all the “rabble,” “for all the enslaved and disgraced.”

The campaign began in the spring of 1670. Vasily Us joined Razin with his detachment. Razin's army consisted of golutvenny Cossacks, runaway slaves and peasants, archers. The main goal of the campaign was to capture Moscow. The main route is the Volga. To carry out the campaign against Moscow, it was necessary to provide the rear - to take the government fortresses of Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan. During April-July the differences took hold of these cities. The courtyards of the boyars, nobles, and clerks were destroyed, and the archives of the voivod's court were burned. Cossack administration was introduced in cities.

Leaving a detachment led by Usa and Sheludyak in Astrakhan, Razin’s rebel detachments took Saransk and Penza. A campaign against Nizhny Novgorod was being prepared. The actions of peasant detachments turned the Volga region and surrounding areas into a hotbed of the anti-feudal movement. The movement spread to the Russian North (there were differences in Solovki), to Ukraine, where a detachment of Frol Razin was sent.

Only by exerting all its forces, by sending numerous regiments of government troops, did tsarism by the spring of 1671. was able to drown the peasant movement in the Volga region in blood. In April of the same year, Razin was defeated and was handed over to the government by the homely Cossacks. On June 6, 1671, Razin was executed in Moscow. But Razin's execution did not mean the end of the movement. Only in November 1671 did government troops capture Astrakhan. In 1673-1675. Rebel detachments were still active on the Don, near Kozlov and Tambov.

The defeat of the peasant war led by Stepan Razin was predetermined by a number of reasons. The main one was that the peasant war was of a tsarist nature. The peasants believed in the “good king”, because due to their position they could not see the true cause of their oppression and develop an ideology that would unite all the oppressed sections of the population and raise them to fight the existing feudal system. Other reasons for the defeat were spontaneity and locality, weak weapons and poor organization of the rebels.

Previous68697071727374757677787980818283Next

SEE MORE:

Stepan Timofeevich Razin

Main stages of the uprising:

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

The first stage of the uprising - the campaign for zipuns

At the beginning of March 1667, Stepan Razin began to gather a Cossack army around him in order to go on a campaign to the Volga and Yaik.

The Cossacks needed this to survive, since there was extreme poverty and hunger in their areas. By the end of March, the number of Razin’s troops was 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 moved across the Don to the Volga. Thus began the uprising led by Razin, or rather its preparatory part. We can safely say that at this stage a mass uprising was not planned. His goals were much more mundane - he needed to survive. However, even Razin’s first campaigns were directed against the boyars and large landowners. It was their ships and estates that the Cossacks robbed.

Uprising map

Razin's hike to Yaik

The uprising led by Razin began when it moved to the Volga in May 1667.

There, the rebels and their army met rich ships that belonged to the king and large landowners. The rebels robbed the ships and took possession of rich booty. Among other things, they received a huge amount of weapons and ammunition.

On May 28, Razin and his army, which by this time numbered 1.5 thousand people, sailed past Tsaritsyn.
The uprising led by Razin could well have continued with the capture of this city, but Stepan decided not to take the city and limited himself to demanding that all the blacksmith's tools be handed over to him.

The townspeople hand over everything that is demanded of them. Such haste and swiftness in action 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 it had direct access to the sea.
On May 31, near Cherny Yar, Razin tried to stop the tsarist troops, whose number was 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 routed on June 2. Many of the archers went over to the Cossacks. After this, the rebels went out to the open sea. The tsarist troops could not hold him.

The campaign to Yaik has reached its final stage. It was decided to take the city by cunning. Razin and 40 other people with him passed themselves off as rich merchants. The gates of the city were opened for them, which was taken advantage of by the rebels who were hiding nearby.

Uprising led by Razin

The city fell.

Razin's campaign against Yaik led to the fact that on July 19, 1667, the Boyar Duma issued a decree to begin the fight against the rebels. New troops are sent to Yaik in order to pacify the rebels. The tsar also issues a special manifesto, which he sends personally 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 prisoners.

The Cossack meeting rejected this proposal.

Razin's Caspian campaign

From the moment of the fall of Yaik, the rebels began to consider Razin’s Caspian campaign. Throughout the winter of 1667-68, a detachment of rebels stood in Yaik. With the beginning of spring, the rebel 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 atamans with their detachments joined Razin. The largest of them were: Ataman Boba with an army of 400 people and Ataman Krivoy with an army of 700 people.

At this time, Razin’s Caspian campaign was gaining popularity. From there, Razin directs his army along the coast to the South to Derbent and further to Georgia. The army continued its journey to Persia. All this time, the Razins are rampaging in the seas, robbing ships that come their way. The entire year of 1668, as well as the winter and spring of 1669, passed during these activities. At the same time, Razin negotiates with the Persian Shah, persuading him to take the Cossacks into his service.

But the Shah, having received a message from the Russian Tsar, refuses to accept Razin and his army. Razin's army stood near the city of Rasht. The Shah sent his army there, which inflicted a significant defeat on the Russians.

The detachment retreats to Mial-Kala, where it meets the winter of 1668. Retreating, Razin gives instructions to burn all cities and villages on the way, thereby taking revenge on the Persian Shah for the start of hostilities. With the beginning of spring 1669, Razin sent his army to the so-called Pig Island. There, in the summer of that year, a major battle took place. Razin was attacked by Mamed Khan, who had 3.7 thousand people at his disposal. But in this battle, the Russian army completely 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, and let the detachment go up the Volga.

Anti-serfdom speech and Razin’s new campaign on the Volga

Second stage of the uprising (beginning of the peasant war)

At the beginning of October 1669, Razin and his detachment returned to the Don.

They stopped at the town of Kagalnitsky. In their sea campaigns, the Cossacks acquired not only wealth, but also enormous military experience, which they could now use for the uprising.

As a result, dual power arose on the Don. According to the tsar's manifesto, the ataman of the Cossack district was K. Yakovlev.

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 strive to escape to the south and enter his service. Thanks to this, the number of rebel troops is growing at a tremendous pace. If by October 1669 there were 1.5 thousand people in Razin’s detachment, then by November there were already 2.7 thousand, and by May 16700 there were 4.5 thousand.

We can say that it was in the spring of 1670 that the uprising led by Razin entered the second stage.

If earlier the main events developed outside Russia, now Razin began an active struggle against the boyars.

On May 9, 1670, the detachment is in Panshin. Here a new Cossack circle took place, at which it was decided to go to the Volga again and punish the boyars for their outrages.

Razin tried in every possible way to show that he was not against the tsar, but against the boyars.

The height of the peasant war

On May 15, Razin with a detachment that already numbered 7 thousand people besieged 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 spent a long time determining their further goals, deciding where to go: north or south.

As a result, it was decided to go to Astrakhan. This was necessary because a large group of royal troops was gathering in the south. And leaving such an army in your rear was very dangerous. Razin leaves 1 thousand people in Tsaritsyn and heads to Black Yar.

Under the walls of the city, Razin was preparing for battle with the tsarist troops under the command of S.I. Lvov. But the royal troops avoided the battle and went over to the victor in full force. Together with the royal army, the entire garrison of Black Yar went over to the side of the rebels.

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 “Razins,” 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. It was decided not to go to Moscow for now, but to head to the southern borders in order to give the uprising greater mass appeal. From here the rebel commander sends 1 detachment up the Don.

The detachment was led by Frol, Stepan’s brother. 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 to this, the king orders the collection of 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 city walls. 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 gained maximum mass popularity.

According to contemporaries, only in the second stage, the stage of expansion of the peasant war under the leadership of Razin, about 200 thousand people took part. The government, frightened by the scale of the uprising, is gathering all its forces in order to pacify the rebels. Yu.A. stands at the head of a powerful army. 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 then on a punitive war began.

In early November 1670, Yu.N.’s detachment approached Simbirsk. Boryatinsky. This commander had been defeated a month ago and now sought revenge. A bloody battle ensued. Razin himself was seriously wounded and on the morning of October 4 he was taken from the battlefield and sent down the Volga by boat. The rebel detachment suffered a brutal defeat.

After this, punitive expeditions by government troops continued. They burned entire villages and killed everyone who was in any way connected with the uprising. Historians give simply catastrophic figures. In Arzamas, about 11 thousand people were executed in less than 1 year. The city 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 flame of the peasant war began to fade.

However, throughout 1671 its echoes echoed throughout the country. Thus, Astrakhan did not surrender to the tsarist troops for almost the entire year. The garrison of the city even decided to head to Simbirsk. But this campaign ended in failure, and Astrakhan itself fell on November 27, 1671.

This 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 feelings, decided to hand over the ataman to the tsarist troops. On April 14, 1671, Cossacks from Razin’s inner circle captured him and arrested their chieftain.

It happened in the town of Kagalnitsky. After this, Razin was sent to Moscow, where, after short interrogations, he was executed.

Thus ended the uprising led by Stepan Razin.

(16701671) protest movement of peasants, serfs, Cossacks and urban lower classes in the 17th century. In pre-revolutionary Russian historiography it was called a “rebellion”, in Soviet it was called the Second Peasant War (after the Uprising under the leadership of I.I. Bolotnikov).

The prerequisites for the uprising include the registration of serfdom ( Cathedral Code 1649) and the deterioration of the life of the social lower classes in connection with the Russian-Polish war and the monetary reform of 1662. The ideological and spiritual crisis of society was aggravated by the reform of Patriarch Nikon and the church schism; the desire of the authorities to limit the Cossack freemen and integrate them into the state system added tension.

The situation on the Don also worsened due to the growth of the golutvenny (poor) Cossacks, who, unlike the “domovity” (rich Cossacks), did not receive a salary from the state and a share in the “duvan” (division) of fish production. The harbinger of a social explosion was the uprising of 1666 under the leadership of the Cossack ataman Vasily Us, who managed to reach Tula from the Don, where he was joined by Cossacks and fugitive slaves from the surrounding counties.

Cossacks mainly took part in the unrest of the 1660s, and the peasants who joined them tried to protect the interests not of their class, but of their own.

If they were successful, the peasants wanted to become free Cossacks or servicemen. The Cossacks and peasants were also joined by those from the townspeople who were dissatisfied with the liquidation of “white settlements” free from taxes and duties in the cities in 1649.

In the spring of 1667, a detachment of six hundred “golytba” people appeared near Tsaritsyn, led by the “homely” Cossack of the Zimoveysky town S.T. Razin.

Having brought the Cossacks from the Don to the Volga, he began a “campaign for zipuns” (i.e., for booty), robbing caravans of ships with government goods. After wintering in the Yaitsky town (modern Uralsk), the Cossacks raided the possessions of the Iranian Shah Baku, Derbent.

Reshet, Farabat, Astrabat, having gained experience in the “Cossack war” (ambushes, raids, flanking maneuvers). The return of the Cossacks in August 1669 with rich booty strengthened Razin's fame as a successful chieftain. At the same time, a legend was born that ended up in a folk song about the ataman’s reprisal against a Persian princess captured as war booty.

Meanwhile, a new governor, I.S. Prozorovsky, arrived in Astrakhan, carrying out the tsar’s order not to let the Razins into Astrakhan. But the Astrakhan residents let the Cossacks in, greeting the successful chieftain with volleys of cannon from the only ship, the Eagle. According to an eyewitness, the Razins “camped near Astrakhan, from where they went to the city in crowds, dressed luxuriously, and the clothes of the poorest were made of gold brocade or silk. Razin could be recognized by the honor that was shown to him, because they approached him only on their knees and falling on their faces.”

Voivode Prozorovsky himself could not resist the temptation and begged for a sable fur coat from Razin. In the propaganda “lovely sheets” (from seduce attract) Razin promised to “free everyone from the yoke and slavery of the boyars,” calling for them to join his army.

Concerned, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich sent G.A. Evdokimov to the Don to find out about the plans of the Cossacks, but he was executed by the Razins on April 11, 1670 as an enemy spy.

The appearance of Evdokimov became the reason for the start of hostilities among the Razinites, which are now recognized as the Peasant War itself.

In May 1670, Razin and the Cossacks rowed up the Volga to Tsaritsyn, took it and, leaving 500 people there, returned to Astrakhan with a 6,000-strong army.

In Astrakhan, Prozorovsky, trying to appease the Streltsy, paid them the salary they were owed and gave the order to strengthen the city, and sent one of the Streltsy detachments to detain the Razinites. But the archers went over to the side of the rebels “with unfurled banners and the beating of drums, began to kiss and hug, and agreed to stand for each other soul and body, so that, having exterminated the traitorous boyars and throwing off the yoke of slavery, they would become free people” (J. Struys) .

In June, about 12 thousand Cossacks approached Astrakhan. Razin sent Vasily Gavrilov and the servant Vavila to Prozorovsky for negotiations on the surrender of the city, but “the governor tore up the letter and ordered the beheading of those who came.”

Astrakhan residents A. Lebedev and S. Kuretnikov led the rebels through the Bolda River and the Cherepakha tributary to the rear of the city at night. Inside the fortress, Razin's supporters prepared ladders to help the attackers. Before the assault, Razin declared: “Let’s get to work, brothers! Now take revenge on the tyrants who have hitherto kept you in captivity worse than the Turks or the pagans.

I came to give you freedom and deliverance, you will be my brothers and children, and it will be as good for you as it is for me, just be courageous and remain faithful.”

On the night of June 22, 1670, an uprising began in Astrakhan, the rebels took possession of Zemlyanoy and Bely cities, entered the Kremlin, where they dealt with the boyars and governor Prozorovsky, throwing them from the multi-tiered Raskat tower. The rebels formed a people's government in the city based on the principle of the Cossack circle (Fedor Sheludyak, Ivan Tersky, Ivan Gladkov and others, headed by Ataman Vasily Us), after which the main part of the army moved up the Volga.

The cavalry (2 thousand people) walked along the shore, the main forces floated by water. On July 29, the Razins arrived in Tsaritsyn. Here the Cossack circle decided to go with the main forces to Moscow, and launch an auxiliary attack from the upper reaches of the Don. Razin himself had little idea of the result of the uprising and apparently only intended to create a large “Cossack republic.”

people were greeted with bread and salt in Saratov, Samara surrendered without a fight. On August 28, when Razin was 70 versts from Simbirsk, Prince Yu.I. Baryatinsky tried to drive the Cossacks out of Saransk, but was defeated and retreated to Kazan. Capturing cities, the Razins divided the property of the nobility and large merchants between the Cossacks and the rebels, calling on them to “stand for each other unanimously and go up and beat and bring out the traitorous boyars.”

The tsar’s attempt to punish the Cossacks by stopping the supply of grain to the Don added Razin’s supporters, and fugitive peasants and slaves came running to him. 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. The Moscow authorities had to send a 60,000-strong army to the Don under the command of Yu.A. Dolgorukov.

An auxiliary detachment of Razinites, marching up the Don to the Seversky Donets, led by atamans Ya. Gavrilov and F. Minaev (2000 people) was defeated by the Moscow army under the command of G.G. Romodanovsky, but another detachment took Alatyr on September 16, 1670.

Razin stopped near Simbirsk and tried to take the city four times without success. His supporter, the runaway nun Alena, posing as a Cossack ataman, was taken by Temnikov, then Arzamas, where, elected head of the Cossack circle, she received the nickname Alena of Arzamas.

A significant part of the rebels reached the Tula, Efremov, Novosilsky districts, executing nobles and governors along the way, creating authorities on the model of Cossack councils, appointing elders, atamans, esauls, and centurions.

Razin failed to take Simbirsk. In mid-October 1670, Dolgorukov’s Moscow army inflicted a significant defeat on a 20,000-strong detachment of rebels.

Razin himself was wounded and went to the Don. There, on April 9, 1671, the “homely Cossacks” led by Kornil Yakovlev handed him over to the authorities along with his brother Frol.

PEASANT WAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF STEPAN RAZIN.

Brought to Moscow, the leader of the rebels was interrogated, tortured and quartered in June 1671 in Moscow.

The news of the execution of the ataman, reaching Astrakhan, broke the fighting spirit of the rebels. On November 20, 1671, the new head of the Cossack circle, F. Sheludyak, tore up the verdict in which the Astrakhan people swore to go to war against Moscow against the “traitor boyars.” This meant that everyone was released from this oath. On November 27, 1671, Miloslavsky’s troops recaptured Astrakhan from the Cossacks, and a massacre began that lasted until the summer of 1672.

The Kremlin's artillery tower was turned into a place of bloody interrogations (the tower has since been renamed Torture). Dutch eyewitness L. Fabricius recorded that they dealt with not only the leaders, but also ordinary participants through quartering, burying alive in the ground, and hanging (“after such tyranny, no one remained alive except decrepit old women and small children”).

The reasons for the defeat of the uprising, in addition to its weak organization, insufficient and obsolete weapons, and lack of clear goals, lay hidden in the destructive, “rebellious” nature of the movement and the lack of unity of the rebel Cossacks, peasants and townspeople.

The Peasant War did not lead to changes in the situation of the peasantry, did not make their life easier, but changes occurred in the life of the Don Cossacks.

In 1671 they were first sworn to the oath of allegiance to the king. This was the beginning of the transformation of the Cossacks into the support of the royal throne in Russia.

S. Zlobin’s novels are dedicated to the history of the uprising Stepan Razin and V. Shukshina I have come to give you freedom...See. Also WAR.

Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva

Peasant wars in Russia in the 17th-18th centuries. M. L., 1966
Stepanov I.V. Peasant War in Russia in 16701671., vol.

12. L., 19661972
Buganov V.I., Chistyakova E.V. On some issues in the history of the Second Peasant War in Russia. Questions of history. 1968, no. 7
Soloviev V.M. . Contemporaries and descendants about the uprising of S.T. Razin. M., 1991

Find "PEASANT WAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF STEPAN RAZIN" on

Table: “The uprising of Stepan Razin: causes, results, stages, dates”

Causes: the complete enslavement of peasants in Rus' by the Council Code of 1649 and therefore the mass escapes of peasants to the Don, where the runaway was no longer considered a serf slave of the master, but a free Cossack.

PEASANT WAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF STEPAN RAZIN

Also a strong increase in taxes in the country, famine and an anthrax epidemic.

Participants: Don Cossacks, runaway serfs, small peoples of Russia - Kumyks, Circassians, Nogais, Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars

Requirements and goals: the overthrow of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the expansion of freedoms of the free Cossacks, the abolition of serfdom and the privileges of the nobles.

Stages of the uprising and its course: uprising on the Don (1667-1670), peasant war in the Volga region (1670), the final stage and defeat of the uprising (lasted until the autumn of 1671)

Results: the uprising failed and did not achieve its goals.

The tsarist authorities executed its participants en masse (tens of thousands)

Causes of defeat: spontaneity and disorganization, lack of a clear program, lack of support from the top of the Don Cossacks, lack of understanding by the peasants of what exactly they were fighting for, selfishness of the rebels (often they robbed the population or deserted from the army, came and went as they wanted, thereby letting down the commanders)

Chronological table according to Razin

1667- Cossack Stepan Razin becomes the leader of the Cossacks on the Don.

May 1667- the beginning of the “campaign for zipuns” under the leadership of Razin. This is the blocking of the Volga and the capture of merchant ships - both Russian and Persian. Razin gathers the poor into his army. They took the Yaitsky fortified town, and the royal archers were expelled from there.

Summer 1669- a campaign against Moscow against the Tsar was announced.

Razin's army grew in size.

Spring 1670- The beginning of the Peasant War in Rus'.

Razin's siege of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd). A riot in the city helped Razin take the city.

Spring 1670- battle with the royal detachment of Ivan Lopatin. Victory for Razin.

Spring 1670- Razin’s capture of Kamyshin. The city was plundered and burned.

Summer 1670- the archers of Astrakhan went over to Razin’s side and surrendered the city to him without a fight.

Summer 1670– Samara and Saratov were taken by Razin. A detachment under the command of Razin’s comrade-in-arms, nun Alena, took Arzamas.

September 1670- the beginning of the siege of Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk) by the Razins

October 1670- battle near Simbirsk with the royal troops of Prince Dolgoruky. Defeat and serious injury of Razin. The siege of Simbirsk has been lifted.

December 1670- the rebels, already without their leader, entered into battle with Dolgoruky’s troops in Mordovia, and were defeated.

Dolgoruky burned Alena Arzamasskaya at the stake as a witch. Razin's main forces were defeated, but many detachments are still continuing the war.

April 1671- Some of the Don Cossacks betray Razin and hand him over to the Tsar’s archers. The captive Razin is transported to Moscow.

November 1671– Astrakhan, the last stronghold of the Razin troops, fell during the assault of the tsar’s troops. The uprising was finally suppressed.

When it happened:

1670-1671

Causes:

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 massive search for runaway peasants, which caused popular discontent, especially in the Don, where there was a tradition of “No extradition from the Don.”

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

deterioration of the situation of service people, “according to the device”, guarding the southern borders of the country: heavy duties and the nature of land use.

Where did it happen?

Don, Trans-Volga region, Volga region.

Driving forces:

Cossacks

townspeople

peasants

non-Russian peoples of the Volga region (Tatars, Mari, Chuvash, Mordovians)

Goals

freedom for “blacks”, that is, dependent people

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

capture Moscow, establish Cossack order everywhere.

Leaders of the uprising

Stepan Razin, the son of a wealthy Cossack. He led the Cossack army in campaigns against the 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 and 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: March to Moscow. Tsaritsyn - Kamyshin - Black Yar - Astrakhnai - Saratov - Samara. The siege of Simbirsk, unsuccessful. Defeat. Capture and execution of Razin.

Progress of the uprising:

Dates	Events
Spring 1667	S. Razin gathered a group of golutvenny, that is, poor Cossacks, and fugitives on a campaign “for zipuns” (common robbery) - to the Volga and Caspian Sea. They captured the Yaitsky city (today Uralsk) and spent the winter. Next - Persian shores 9 1667-1669)
August 1669	With rich booty they returned to the Don, to the town of Kagalnitsky.
Since 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 governors, clerks, and landowners. Razin's call: exemption from taxes for “black people”. Goal: capture of Moscow.
May 1670	The rebels occupied Tsaritsyn
April–July 1670	Hike to the Volga.
	Capture Astrakhan, murder of the governor and rifle chiefs.
August–September 1670	Movement up the Volga. A 10,000-strong army moved to Saratov. Saratov surrendered without a fight, Samara. But you couldn't take it Simbirsk Razin was wounded and transported to the town of Kagalnitsky. His authority is falling.
April 1671	Contradictions with the Cossacks, they set fire to the town of Kagalnitsky, the ataman of the ball was captured and handed over to the Cossack elite, led by Kornil Yakovlev.
	Execution of Razin in Moscow - quartering.

Causes of defeat

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

Lack of clear discipline, rebellious nature of the uprising.

Unclear, overly generalized goals.

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

Results

Brutal reprisals against the rebels, in some cities more than 11 thousand people were executed. Execution of Stepan Razin.

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

It was one of the most powerful and destructive.

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

Peasant war led by Stepan Razin

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

In the 60s, separate detachments of fugitive peasants and townspeople repeatedly committed robberies in different places. There were many reports of such detachments.

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

Who is Stepan Razin

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

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

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

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

Causes of the uprising

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

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

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

Driving forces of the uprising of Stepan Razin

Various groups of the population took part in the uprising.

List of participants:

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

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

Territory covered by the Cossack-peasant uprising

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

Cities that were captured by the rebels include:

Astrakhan;
Tsaritsyn;
Saratov;
Samara;
Penza.

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

Rebel demands

The rebels presented several demands to the Zemsky Sobor:

Abolish serfdom and completely free the peasants.
Form an army of Cossacks, which would be part of the tsarist army.
Decentralize power.
Reduce peasant taxes and duties.

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

Main events and stages of the uprising

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

First campaign 1667 - 1669

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

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

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

The revolt of Stepan Razin 1670-1671

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

Suppression of the uprising and execution

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

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

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

Reasons for the defeat of Stepan Razin

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

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

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

Results of the uprising

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

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

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