The uprising of Pugachev (peasant war) 1773-1775 under the leadership of Yemelyan Pugachev - the uprising of the Yaik Cossacks, which grew into a full-scale war.
Rationalism and disregard for tradition, so characteristic of the imperial regime, alienated the masses from it. The Pugachev uprising was the last and most serious in a long chain of uprisings that took place on the southeastern borders of the Russian state, in that open and hard-to-define region where Old Believers and fugitives from the imperial authorities lived side by side with non-Russian steppe tribes and where the Cossacks who defended the royal fortresses still dreamed of the return of their former liberties.
The reasons for the uprising of Pugachev
At the end of the 18th century, the control of the official authorities in this area became more and more tangible. In general, the Pugachev uprising can be seen as the last - but the most powerful - desperate impulse of people whose lifestyle was incompatible with a clearly expressed and clearly defined state power. The nobles received land in the Volga and Trans-Volga regions, and for many peasants who had long lived there, this meant serf bondage. Peasants from other regions of the country also settled there.
Landowners, wishing to increase their income and trying to take advantage of the opening opportunities in trade, increased the rent or replaced it with corvee. Soon after the accession of Catherine, these, still unusual for many, duties were fixed in the course of the census and measurement of the land. With the advent of market relations to the Volga territories, the pressure on more traditional and less productive activities increased.
A special group of the population of this region was made up of one-family palaces, the descendants of peasant soldiers sent to the Volga borders in the 16th-17th centuries. Most of the one-courtyards were Old Believers. Remaining theoretically free people, they suffered greatly from economic rivalry from the nobility and at the same time feared they would lose their independence and fall into the burdensome estate of state peasants.
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How it all began
The uprising began among the Yaik Cossacks, whose position reflected changes associated with increasingly intrusive state intervention. They have long enjoyed relative freedom, which made it possible to go about their own affairs, elect leaders, hunt, fish and raid the regions adjacent to the lower Yaik (Ural) in exchange for recognizing the tsar's authority and providing certain services, if necessary.
The change in the status of the Cossacks took place in 1748, when the government gave an order to create the Yaitsk army from 7 defense regiments of the so-called Orenburg line, built in order to separate the Kazakhs from the Bashkirs. Some of the Cossack elders welcomed the creation of the army, hoping to secure a solid status within the "Table of Ranks", but the majority of ordinary Cossacks opposed joining the Russian army, considering this decision a violation of freedom and a violation of Cossack democratic traditions.
The Cossacks were also alarmed that they would become ordinary soldiers in the army. Suspicion intensified when, in 1769, to fight the Turks, it was proposed to form a kind of "Moscow Legion" from small Cossack troops. This meant wearing military uniforms, training, and - worst of all - shaving beards, which caused deep rejection from the Old Believers.
The appearance of Peter III (Pugachev)
Emelyan Pugachev stood at the head of the disgruntled Yaik Cossacks. A Don Cossack by birth, Pugachev deserted from the Russian army and became a fugitive; several times he was caught, but Pugachev always managed to escape. Pugachev introduced himself as Emperor Peter III, who allegedly managed to escape; he defended the old faith. Perhaps, Pugachev went to such a trick at the suggestion of one of the Yaik Cossacks, but accepted the proposed role with conviction and panache, becoming a figure not subject to anyone's manipulation.
The appearance of Peter III revived the hopes of peasants and religious dissidents, and some measures taken by Yemelyan as tsar strengthened them. Emelyan Pugachev expropriated church lands, elevating monastic and church peasants to the more preferred rank of state; banned the purchase of peasants by non-nobles and stopped the practice of registering them with factories and mines. He also eased the persecution of Old Believers and granted pardon to schismatics who voluntarily returned from abroad. The release of the nobles from compulsory public service, which did not bring direct benefits to the serfs, nevertheless gave rise to expectations of such relief for themselves.
Be that as it may, regardless of policy, the unexpected removal of Peter III from the throne aroused strong suspicions among the peasants, especially since a German woman became his successor, and, moreover, was not Orthodox, as many thought. Pugachev was not the first to earn a reputation for assuming the identity of the victimized and hiding Tsar Peter, ready to lead the people towards the restoration of true faith and the return of traditional freedoms. From 1762 to 1774, about 10 such figures appeared. Pugachev became the most visible personality, partly because of the widespread support, partly because of his abilities; besides, he was lucky.
The popularity of Pugachev in many respects increased due to the fact that he appeared in the form of an innocent victim, who humbly accepted his removal from the throne and left the capital in order to wander among his people, knowing his suffering and hardships. Pugachev stated that he had allegedly already visited Constantinople and Jerusalem, confirming his holiness and power by contacts with the "Second Rome" and the place of Christ's death.
The circumstances under which Catherine came to power, in fact, made one think about her legitimacy. Discontent with the empress intensified even more when she canceled some of her ex-husband's popular decrees, curtailing the freedoms of the Cossacks and further curtailing the already meager rights of serfs, depriving them, for example, of the opportunity to petition the sovereign.
The course of the uprising
The Pugachev uprising is usually divided into three stages.
• The first stage - lasted from the beginning of the uprising until the defeat at the Tatishcheva fortress and the lifting of the siege of Orenburg.
• The second stage - was marked by a campaign to the Urals, then to Kazan and defeat under it from the army of Mikhelson.
• The beginning of the third stage - the crossing to the right bank of the Volga and the capture of many cities. The end of the stage - defeat at the Black Yar.
The first stage of the uprising
Pugachev approached the Yaitsky town with a detachment of 200 people, there were 923 regular troops in the fortress. An attempt to seize the fortress by storm failed. Pugachev left the Yaitsky town and headed up the Yaitskaya fortified line. Fortresses surrendered one by one. The advanced detachments of the Pugachevites appeared near Orenburg on October 3, 1773, but the governor of Reinsdorp was ready for defense: the ramparts were repaired, the garrison, numbering 2,900, was put on alert. One thing the Major General missed was that he did not provide the garrison and the population of the city with food supplies.
Pugachev's trial. Painting by V. G. Perova
A small detachment from the rear units under the command of Major General Kara was sent to suppress the uprising, while Pugachev near Orenburg had about 24,000 people with 20 guns. Kar wanted to take the Pugachevites in ticks and divided his already small detachment.
Pugachev defeated the punishers in parts. At first, the grenadier company, without resisting, joined the ranks of the rebels. Then, on the night of November 9, Kar was attacked and fled 17 miles from the rioters. It all ended with the defeat of Colonel Chernyshev's detachment. 32 officers led by the colonel were taken prisoner and were executed.
This victory played a bad joke on Pugachev. On the one hand, he was able to strengthen his authority, but on the other, the authorities began to take him seriously and sent entire regiments to suppress the rebellion. Three regiments of the regular army under the command of Golitsyn met in a battle with the Pugachevites on March 22, 1774 in the Tatishcheva fortress. The assault lasted for six hours. Pugachev was defeated and fled to the Ural factories. On March 24, 1774, the rebel detachments that were besieging Ufa, near Chesnokovka, were defeated.
Second phase
The second stage had some peculiarities. A significant part of the population did not support the rebels. The Pugachev detachments arriving at the plant seized the plant treasury, robbed the plant population, destroyed the plant, and repaired violence. The Bashkirs stood out in particular. The factories often resisted the rebels by organizing self-defense. 64 plants joined the Pugachevites, and 28 opposed it. In addition, the superiority in forces was on the side of the punishers.
1774, May 20 - the Pugachevites captured the Troitskaya fortress with 11-12,000 men and 30 cannons. The next day, General de Colong overtook Pugachev and won the battle. On the battlefield, 4,000 were killed and 3,000 were taken prisoner. Pugachev himself with a small detachment went to European Russia.
In the Kazan province, he was greeted with bell ringing and bread and salt. The army of Yemelyan Pugachev was replenished with new forces and near Kazan on July 11, 1774 already totaled 20,000 people. Kazan was taken, only the Kremlin held out. Mikhelson was in a hurry to the rescue of Kazan, who was able to defeat Pugachev once again. And again Pugachev fled. 1774, July 31 - his next manifesto was promulgated. This document freed the peasants from serfdom and various taxes. The peasants were called upon to destroy the landlords.
Third stage of the uprising
At the third stage, we can already talk about the peasant war, which engulfed the vast territory of the Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh provinces. Of the 1,425 nobles who were in the Nizhny Novgorod province, 348 people were killed. It got not only the nobles and officials, but also the clergy. In Kurmysh district, out of 72 killed, 41 are representatives of the clergy. 38 members of the clergy were executed in Yadrinsky district.
The cruelty of the Pugachevites should in fact be considered bloody and monstrous, but no less monstrous was the cruelty of the punishers. On August 1, Pugachev in Penza, on August 6 he occupied Saratov, on August 21 he approached Tsaritsyn, but he could not take him. Attempts to raise the Don Cossacks were unsuccessful. On August 24, the last battle took place, in which Michelson's troops defeated Pugachev's army. He himself fled across the Volga with 30 Cossacks. Meanwhile, A. V. arrived at Michelson's headquarters. Suvorov, urgently recalled from the Turkish front.
Capture of Pugachev
On September 15, Pugachev was handed over to the authorities by his associates. In Yaitsky town, lieutenant captain Mavrin made the first interrogations of the impostor, the result of which was the assertion that the uprising was caused not by the evil will of Pugachev and the riot of the mob, but by the difficult living conditions of the people. At one time, wonderful words were said by General A. I. Bibik, who fought against Pugachev: "Pugachev is not important, general indignation is important."
Execution of Emelyan Pugachev
From the Yaitsk town, Pugachev was taken to Simbirsk. The convoy was commanded by A. V. Suvorov. On October 1, we arrived in Simbirsk. Here on October 2 the investigation was continued by P. I. Panin and P. S. Potemkin. Investigators wanted to prove that Pugachev was bribed by foreigners or the noble opposition. It was not possible to break Pugachev's will, the investigation in Simbirsk did not achieve its goal.
1774, November 4 - Pugachev was taken to Moscow. Here the investigation was led by S. I. Sheshkovsky. Pugachev persistently confirmed the idea of people's suffering as the cause of the uprising. Empress Catherine did not like this very much. She was ready to admit external interference or the existence of noble opposition, but she was not ready to admit the mediocrity of her rule by the state.
Execution of Emelyan Pugachev
The rebels were accused of desecrating Orthodox churches, which did not happen. On December 13, the last interrogation of Pugachev was removed. The court hearings took place in the Throne Room of the Kremlin Palace on December 29-31. 1775, January 10 - Pugachev was executed on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. The reaction of the common people to the execution of Pugachev is interesting: "Some Pugach was executed in Moscow, and Pyotr Fedorovich is alive." Pugachev's relatives were placed in the Kexholm fortress. 1803 - Alexander I freed prisoners from captivity. They all died in different years without offspring. The last to die in 1833 was Pugachev's daughter Agrafena.
The consequences of the Pugachev uprising
Peasant War 1773-1775 became the most massive spontaneous popular performance in Russia. Pugachev seriously frightened the Russian ruling circles. Even during the uprising, by order of the government, the house in which Pugachev lived was burned down, and later his native village Zimoveyskaya was moved to another place and renamed Potemkinskaya. The Yaik River, the first hotbed of disobedience and the epicenter of the rebels, was renamed the Ural, and the Yaik Cossacks began to be called the Ural. The Cossack Host that supported Pugachev was disbanded and moved to the Terek. The restless Zaporizhzhya Sich, given its rebellious traditions, was liquidated in 1775, without waiting for another performance. Catherine II commanded to impart eternal oblivion to the Pugachev Uprising.