"Salt revolt", the Moscow uprising, it is considered to be the beginning of June 1, 1648, one of the largest urban uprisings of the mid-17th century in Russia, mass demonstrations of the lower and middle strata of the townspeople, urban artisans, archers and courtyard people. The riot was a reaction of the people to the policy of the government of the boyar Boris Morozov, the educator and brother-in-law of Tsar Alexei Romanov, the de facto leader of the country (together with ID Miloslavsky).
Reason: Increased salt tax, new direct taxes. Territory of the uprising: Kozlov, Voronezh, Kursk, Moscow, etc. An outbreak of spontaneous discontent, the crowd lynched the boyars L. Pleshcheev, P. Trakhaniotov, N. Chisty, the tsar's educator B. Morozov could barely stay alive. Outcome: suppressed, the tsar postponed the collection of arrears by a special decree. The final decision on the convocation of the Zemsky Sobor and the drafting of a new code of laws. The enslavement of the peasants and townspeople according to the Code of 1649, estates and estates were equalized, the "white" settlements were liquidated.
Reasons for the Salt Riot
Boyarin B. Morozov, who began to rule the state on behalf of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, came up with a new taxation system, which came into effect by the Tsar's decree in February 1646. An increased duty was introduced on salt to sharply replenish the treasury. But, such an innovation did not justify itself, since they began to buy less salt, and revenues to the treasury decreased.
The boyars canceled the salt tax. But the prices for essential goods rose sharply: honey, wine, salt. And at the same time, they came up with another way of replenishing the treasury. The boyars decided to collect taxes, which had previously been abolished, just three years earlier. But the main thing is salt. Salt became so expensive that the fish caught in the Volga was left to rot on the banks: neither the fishermen nor the merchants had enough funds to salt it. Salted fish was the main food of the poor. Salt itself was the main preservative.
There and then followed a massive ruin of the peasants and even wealthy people. Due to the sudden impoverishment of the population, spontaneous popular unrest began in the state.
Promotional video:
The beginning of the uprising
A crowd of people gathered to try to give the tsar a petition when on June 1, 1648, he was returning from a pilgrimage. However, the 19-year-old monarch was afraid of the people and did not accept the complaint. Morozov ordered the archers to drive away the petitioners. The townspeople had the last hope for the intercessor king. They came with the whole world to beat him with their foreheads, but he did not want to listen. Still not thinking about a riot, defending themselves from the lashes of the archers, people began to throw stones at the procession. Fortunately, almost all of the pilgrims had already managed to enter the Kremlin, and the skirmish lasted only a few minutes.
Salt riot. Stroke
The next day, during a procession with the cross, people again went to the tsar, then the crowd rushed into the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. The indignant crowd shouted under the walls of the royal chambers, trying to get through to the king. However, letting her in now was simply dangerous. And the boyars had no time for thought. They also succumbed to emotions and tore the petition to shreds, throwing it at the feet of the petitioners. The crowd crushed the archers, rushed to the boyars. Those who did not have time to hide in the wards were torn to pieces. The crowd flowed through Moscow, began to smash the hated boyar houses - Morozov, Pleshcheev, Trakhaniotov … - and demanded from the tsar their extradition, set fire to White and Kitai-Gorod. She needed new sacrifices. Not lowering the price of salt, not abolishing unfair taxes and forgiving debts - the crowd needed one thing: to tear to pieces those whom it considered the perpetrators of their misfortunes.
There was no point in thinking about the violent suppression of the riot. Moreover, out of 20 thousand Moscow archers, most of them went over to the side of the rebels. A critical situation arose, the sovereign had to make concessions. The Pleshcheevs were handed over to the crowd (they did not have to execute the condemned man: the people snatched him from the executioner's hands and tore him to pieces), then the Trakhaniots. The life of the educator, Tsar B. Morozov, was under the threat of mass reprisals. But the king decided to save his teacher at any cost. He tearfully begged the crowd to spare the boyar, promising the people to remove Morozov from business and send him away from Moscow. The young tsar kept his promise and sent Morozov to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.
Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov.
Results of the Salt Riot
After these events, called the "Salt Riot", Alexei Romanov changed a lot, and his role in governing the country became decisive.
At the request of the nobles and merchants, the Zemsky Sobor was convened on June 16, 1648, at which a decision was made to prepare a new set of laws for the Russian state.
The result of the huge and lengthy work of the Zemsky Sobor was the Code of 25 chapters, which was printed in an edition of 1200 copies. The code was sent to all local governors in all cities and large villages of the state. In the Code, legislation on land ownership, on legal proceedings was developed, the statute of limitations for the search for fugitive peasants was canceled (which finally confirmed serfdom). This set of laws became a guiding document for Russia for almost 200 years.
Due to the abundance of foreign merchants in Russia, the tsar signed a decree on June 1, 1649 on the expulsion of English merchants from the state.
When the discontent completely subsided, Boris Morozov was returned from the monastery. True, he no longer received any positions and was no longer an all-powerful temporary worker. And the leaders of the uprising were arrested, convicted and executed.