The Streletsky revolt, which shook the foundations of the statehood of the Muscovite kingdom, was recorded in the annals of history 2 times - this is 1682 and 1698. Its background is inextricably linked with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. 5 years before his death, the widowed sovereign married again. Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina became his betrothed. From his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, Alexei Mikhailovich survived 5 daughters and 2 sons - Fyodor and Ivan. They were all unremarkable. Among them, only Princess Sophia stood out. Natalia gave birth to a strong and energetic boy. They named him Peter.
In 1576, the short reign of Fedor Alekseevich began. For him and the rest of the Miloslavskys, Natalia Naryshkina was a stepmother. It so happened that in Russia the stepmother was never favored. They always treated her with prejudice. Perhaps this was the reason that enmity broke out between the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins.
Natalya Kirillovna was a narrow-minded woman and had weak positions at court. But Princess Sophia had an energetic and purposeful character. She practically led the opposition to the Naryshkins, relying on her relatives.
In 1682, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died at a very young age. There were 2 contenders for the royal throne - Ivan and Peter. Formally, Ivan had all the advantages, since he was older in age. But he was in poor health, and Peter was strong and healthy. Naturally, disagreements arose in the boyar duma, aggravated by the opposition of the Naryshkins and Miloslavsky.
Patriarch Joachim put an end to this issue. For purely state reasons, he gave preference to the young Peter. The fate of the Miloslavskys became unenviable. Disgrace and exile awaited them. But Princess Sophia was not the right person to meekly await the sad end prepared by fate. She decided to play her game, and made a bet on the rifle army.
In Moscow it numbered 40 thousand people. It was a strong military unit, but during the specified period of time, the archers had a lot of unresolved problems. Streltsy not only carried out military service. In parallel with her, they were engaged in trade, various crafts, gardening. They had their own houses and farms. But the salaries of the service people were small and paid irregularly.
The matter was aggravated by the fact that the streltsy colonels, taking advantage of the complete lack of control on the part of the government, became such little feudal lords. They withheld the salaries of the archers, took bribes for indulgence in the service, forced the archers and their family members to work for themselves. Sagittarius didn't like it very much. Why hunchback in the colonel's garden when your garden requires tireless care and attention.
Taking advantage of the election of a new tsar, the archers, through their elected people, turned to the government with a complaint against the colonels. They demanded to cover wage arrears, pay for forced labor in the gardens of the chiefs at the rates set by the archers themselves, and remove unwanted colonels from their posts.
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The Naryshkins' government, frightened by the rifle revolt, satisfied all the requirements. The colonels were removed and punished with batogs. Huge sums of money were collected from them to cover the streltsy debts, and the estates were confiscated.
But, flirting with the archers, the Naryshkins showed their weakness and indecision. They were clearly afraid of the military people, and the Miloslavskys decided to take advantage of this. Through the provocateurs, they spread a rumor among the archers that the Naryshkins wanted to kill Tsarevich Ivan.
Sagittarius felt their strength, and they wanted more. Rumors like these provided an excellent reason to dictate their terms to the government. Thus, on May 15, 1682, a streltsy revolt began. At the call of the alarm, armed people broke into the Kremlin and demanded to show them Tsarevich Ivan.
Both young men, Ivan and Peter, were taken out onto the porch. But the archers did not calm down. They began to demand the extradition of the traitor boyars who were plotting a crime against Ivan and the entire Russian land. The list of surnames was prepared in advance by the Miloslavskys. Naturally, this demand was not met, and then the massacre began.
Many Naryshkins died. Among them are the brothers of the Queen Athanasius and Ivan Naryshkin. The surviving boyars Miloslavsky were sent into exile. But the victorious opposition did not receive real power. Streltsy regiments took power, smashing and plundering the boyars' estates. They have become a very convenient weapon in the hands of any adventurer. And such was soon found.
At the head of the Streletsky order, Sophia put Prince Ivan Khovansky, nicknamed Tararui. He got it for his penchant for empty promises. The prince had a noble origin, but in the war with Poland he showed his complete unfitness for the art of war. He was transferred to Moscow and became a "buffer" between the Miloslavskys and Streltsy.
But this man was not distinguished by the nobility of thoughts. He began to skillfully incite discontent among the rebellious military people, and at the same time, in every possible way, emphasized his loyalty to Princess Sophia. But the smart woman quickly figured out the double game of the cunning prince and realized that her life was in danger.
The ruler took Ivan and Peter with her and, accompanied by her retinue, left Moscow, leaving for the village of Kolomenskoye. From there, she announced that in the very near future she would go to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and ordered the noble militia to gather there.
Sagittarius, learning about Sophia's act, were confused. To face in a battle with the noble militia - this meant dooming yourself to certain death. They saw the only salvation in maintaining the status quo. With this order, they could blackmail the government, eat and drink deliciously.
A deputation urgently went to Sophia. Her goal was to convince the princess of the complete loyalty of the military people who had gone out of control. The main task was to persuade the woman to return back to Moscow.
The ruler prudently refused to return to the capital. At the same time, in order to calm the streltsy electives, she pretended to be a narrow-minded and naive woman. When the elected people left, an order was immediately given to all the boyars to appear in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye, which is on the way to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Khovansky was also summoned there.
He, not suspecting anything, went on the road. Meanwhile, boyar Mikhail Lykov received an order from Sophia to seize Khovansky. Early in the morning he attacked the camp in which the prince was peacefully sleeping with people loyal to him. The head of the Streletsky order was arrested and taken to the princess. She did not begin to understand the prince's behavior for a long time. Immediately in the road dust Khovansky was beheaded. So the double-dealer ended his life, and a short period of his activity was called Khovanshchina.
The archers, frightened by the execution of the prince and the noble militia, showed amazing compliance. They agreed to all the conditions of the government, betrayed the instigators and resignedly accepted Fyodor Shaklovity as the head of the Streletsky order. This Duma clerk was loyal to Sophia and was tough on punishment.
In November, the princess returned to Moscow. She announced that she forgives the archers. There were no executions or reprisals. Only Alexey Yudin lost his head. He was the closest person to Khovansky. This was the end of the 1682 Streltsy Riot.
The Miloslavskys established themselves in Moscow, and Sophia began to rule the country on behalf of the young tsars Peter I and Ivan V. Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina refused to live in the capital. She moved to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, taking her son with her. Princess Sophia ruled the country for 7 years. In 1689 she was removed from power by the matured Peter.
In 1698, the last rifle revolt broke out. While the young tsar was traveling abroad and gaining intelligence, the country was ruled by the government of Prince Caesar Romodanovsky. It expelled all the archers from the capital and sent them to the borderlands. But the capital's public did not like military service full of dangers. It was much better to live in Moscow, taking care of their own household. Therefore, discontent began to ripen.
In the indicated year of the revolt, 40 thousand archers voluntarily left the border and moved to the capital. A Moscow garrison of 5 thousand men advanced to meet them. It was commanded by General Patrick Gordon. By his order, guns were directed at the mutinous archers. After the first volley, the entire huge army capitulated at the mercy of the victors.
When Peter I returned to Russia, he was furious. He ordered a thorough inquiry. After painful torture, a huge number of archers were executed. They went to slaughter with complete obedience, without offering any resistance. After that, the streltsy army left the historical scene. All the survivors were expelled from Moscow to other cities and enrolled in the townspeople. Thus ended an entire era, and the Russian land entered a new phase of its development as not the Muscovy, but the Russian Empire.
Igor Tomshin