"Rebellious age. Urban uprisings in the mid-17th century

rebellious age- this is a period of time in the history of Russia, namely in the 17th century, when various uprisings and wars took place, which entailed great consequences and went down in history under different names. "", Peasant revolt, peasant wars of Bolotnikov and Razin, as well as the uprising of 1682.

Causes of the rebellious age

Any rebellion has its own prerequisites, reasons that made people start uprisings or rebellion. The rebellious age had one main reason - the ruler Boris Morozov. He had a great influence on Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, whom he brought up from childhood. There are several main reasons for the uprisings of the people:

• Big taxes
• In addition to unbearable taxes, emergency taxes were sometimes introduced.
• All new categories of residents were classified as draft population
• Abuse of power and unwillingness to listen to the people
• The emergence of the townsman draft class.

All this was the cause of popular riots. People could no longer tolerate the abuse of power not only by the king, but also by his entourage. Sooner or later the people had to explode and it happened.

Events of the rebellious age

During the rebellious age, there were several uprisings and riots of the people. In 1648, the "Salt Riot" began, its cause was an increase in the tax on salt, which was unbearable for people, the greed of the Moscow ruling elite led to the Moscow uprising. The townspeople, peasants and archers smashed the houses of the Moscow nobility and demanded the extradition of Morozov. As a result, at the direction of the people, most of the boyars were executed. But that was only the beginning.

In 1650, the price of bread jumped sharply, due to the fact that he went to Sweden, as a payment for defectors from the regions that Russia had captured. And finally, July 25, 1662 was marked by a "copper riot", as a sign of the immoderate production of copper coins. Counterfeits appeared, copper money depreciated sharply, and people began to starve. Copper money ceased to be printed in 1663.

In 1661-1667, a peasant uprising began under the leadership of . The uprising was directed against the boyars and those close to the king. It was a bloody clash, as a result of which Stepan Razin was caught and executed. But this only strengthened the desire of the people to fight for their interests.

The Streltsy revolt of 1682 was the crown of the rebellious age. Its reasons are not exactly clarified, but presumably this is an abuse of power by the Streltsy military leaders. The result of the Streltsy rebellion was the actual reign of Sofya Alekseevna for 7 years.

The results of the rebellious age

Mismanagement of the country and ignoring the will and desires of the people. The result of the rebellious age was inconclusiveness. Despite all the uprisings and confrontations, the voice of the villagers was not heard, taxes continued and the people were ignored. The abuse of power only expanded and intensified, everyone was eager for more powers, no one obeyed the law that they did not like.

The reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in history is called the “rebellious age”. During this period, there was a huge number of various uprisings and riots, which were caused by increased tax oppression and tightening of government policy.

Causes:

1. the folding of the townsman taxable estate (the townspeople spoke about their interests at the top of their voices);
2. strengthening of centralization and serfdom, abuse of power;
3. unbearable tax burden (building a state with scarcity of natural resources, harsh climate, poverty and relative small population, low yields and frequent natural disasters).
4. the government sometimes embarked on frank financial adventures (an example is the replacement of a silver coin with a copper one at the same cost);
5. 1613-1633 – 7 times emergency taxes were collected (the state needed funds to maintain the army and return lost lands);
6. the government sought to include all new categories of residents in the taxed population.

Population Struggle:

However, the weakening of the state threatened the Russian even worse - anarchy, death in internal strife, the invasion of foreigners.

1648 - Moscow uprising (salt riot); the actions of the rebels were directed against the entire government elite, the aspirations of various social forces and strata of the inhabitants of Moscow and the provinces were united. Reasons: the growth of the "salt tax", the abuses and greed of the Moscow administration.

1650 - an uprising in Pskov and Novgorod, the impetus for it was an attempt by the government to pay off with Sweden for defectors from the regions captured by it from Russia, with bread bought in the Pskov market → a sharp rise in the price of bread. The social base of the movement in both cases was ordinary, "young", townspeople and instrumental ranks.

July 25, 1662 - uprising in Moscow (copper riot); the immoderate issue of copper money, as well as the appearance of "thieves'" copper coins, led to their depreciation → rising prices and hunger.

1666 - the uprising of the Don Cossack Vasily Us.

Late 60s-early 70s - "Stenka Razin's rebellion"; the actions of the rebels were considered anti-state (S.M. Soloviev), explaining their cause by the clash of the specific-veche and autocratic ways of Russian life (N.I. Kostomarov).

The main value is in limiting the exploitation, abuses of the authorities.

But in general, they pushed the state to centralize and strengthen the state apparatus.

Contemporaries called the 17th century a rebellious century. Indeed, neither before nor after in the history of Russia was there such a number of various popular uprisings and indignations. This period began with the actions of Bolotnikov, due to the discontent that the people experienced in relation to Vasily Shuisky. In addition, the events mentioned can also be regarded as the consequences of the Time of Troubles, which shook the country. A certain role was played by the fact that the ruler, in fact, did not control the entire territory of the state.

It should be borne in mind that historians have changed their points of view in different periods of time. So, in the USSR it was believed that it was a people's war. However, in reality, the leader of the peasant army in his actions relied on small and medium-sized nobles, and when he lost their support, he lost. In addition, he did not strive to make life easier for the people, but to put his protege on the throne, to seize power. So what was happening can be rather regarded as an uprising.

However, the popular movements of the rebellious age did take place. A striking example is the Salt Riot, which ended successfully for many of its participants. Events unfolded in 1648. The boyars decided to improve things by raising taxes on products. Salt was especially affected (which is the reason for the name of the unrest). But according to some reports, the price for it was increased either by 2 or 4 times. And since in those days it was the main preservative, they stopped salting the fish. People began to face hunger. In addition, the government tried to recover already forgiven debts from previous years.

As a result, such an indefinite and largely unbalanced policy led to a revolt. People were especially angry with the boyar Morozov, who, as they knew, was behind these ideas. His estate was destroyed, and the crowd, having come to the king, demanded extradition. Alexei Mikhailovich proposed a compromise: he promised that Morozov would be sent away from the capital, and now he would not hold any serious government posts. The tsar also handed over to the rebels for reprisal all the other dignitaries on the list, who were considered guilty of the misfortunes that were taking place.

The rebellious age simply could not but affect such cities as Pskov and Novgorod, where veche traditions were still alive. Rumors spread here that the tsar was collecting bread to resolve issues with the Germans. Such news excited the urban poor, who feared that they were in danger of starvation. As a result, unrest began, but at the same time people believed in the “good king” to the last, which the authorities took advantage of, deceiving the Novgorodians. As a result, the instigators were executed. Pskov resisted much longer; Khovansky, sent to sort it out, could not take it for a long time, since the city was well fortified. The tsar, on the other hand, was afraid to act too aggressively, because even in Moscow itself it was frankly restless. As a result, the rebels were let down by wealthy people who betrayed the instigators. But most of the participants escaped serious punishment. But the poor really got bread.

Copper Riot of 1662

In many ways, the rebellious age was provoked by ill-considered actions on the part of the government itself. And the Copper Riot was a clear confirmation. In the 17th century, Russia did not yet have its own silver and gold mines. For minting money, raw materials were brought from abroad, which in itself is quite expensive. And the war with Poland over Ukraine required constant expenses.

As a result, the government decided to go for a trick and began to make copper money. However, despite the fact that there was a direct royal decree, the peasants simply stopped selling food if they were not paid in silver. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the government itself accepted taxes only if the rubles were gold or silver. And the incredible scope of counterfeiting has led to the fact that the situation has become critical. An active search for criminals led to the boyars, who paid off. This greatly angered the common people. They went to the king to demand that he deal with the situation. But if one crowd was set up more or less peacefully, then the second one that came immediately after it was already much more aggressive. And the king gave the order to cut them all. As a result, bloody one way or another, the events ended for 7,000 people.

However, the Copper Riot did not go completely without a trace. The king, not wanting a repetition of the situation, canceled the minting of copper coins, returning gold and silver money to circulation. True, many have lost significantly on the exchange.

Causes of the rebellious age

What exactly happened in the period described can already be understood at least by the number of various uprisings and how much space the described events occupy. The history of Stepan Razin alone and the events connected with him formed the history of many books and films. The rebellious age turned out to be so turbulent that historians usually describe only the major events themselves, omitting all the others. Therefore, it is named so not by chance. It is also noteworthy that only a pivot table could fit all the data, and even then very briefly.

But if we talk about the reasons, then they relate to the lack of a reasonable and balanced policy, the frequent tax and monetary adventures that the government embarked on. People were often put in a situation where only by risking their lives, they could achieve something. At the same time, the lack of a unified organization even affected the life of the king. From time to time there was no one to defend Alexei Mikhailovich. Or it just became a matter of chance.

The difficult economic situation of the country, the need to wage war with Poland, the constant tightening of the emerging serfdom - all this also had its consequences. So serious that the rebellious century also affected the character of the next century.

The more a person is able to respond to the historical and universal, the wider his nature, the richer his life and the more capable such a person is of progress and development.

F. M. Dostoevsky

The Rebellious Age is the name given to the 17th century in Russian history. Most often it is said that the name of the century is associated with a large number of uprisings and riots at that time. But this is only one side of the coin. The other side lies in the rebellious display of the church and the estates of society.

Causes

The reasons why the Rebellious Age became possible:

1. Increasing taxes. The state after the Time of Troubles tried by all means to attract money to the treasury.
2. Strengthening of serfdom and completion of the process of enslavement of peasants.
3. Wars. At this time, there were wars within the country (Trouble), as well as confrontation mainly with Poland and Sweden. The people are tired of the warriors who are known to drain society (demographically, financially).
4. Church split. Almost everything changed in the church way of life, so naturally ordinary people did not like it. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the authorities persecuted the Old Believers.

Popular uprisings

The 17th century is called "Rebellious" largely because of the popular movements (riots and uprisings), which arose with great regularity and were distinguished by their scope. In the Rebellious Age, there were 6 major uprisings (one is called the peasant war) and a huge number of small uprisings that cannot even be counted. The main popular movements of that era are presented in the table below.

Popular movements Rebellious Age"> Table: Popular movements in the Rebellious, 17th century

Event and date	Regions Covered	Effects
Salt riot. 1648.	Moscow, Voronezh, Kursk, Kozlov	The Council Code of 1649 was adopted. The rebels killed many boyars.
Urban uprisings of 1650	Novgorod and Pskov	The uprising was crushed by the tsarist army. Order restored.
Copper Riot. 1662.	Moscow	The state stopped minting copper money.
The Rebellion of V. R. Mustache. 1666.	Don	The shooting of the rebels.
Razin's uprising. 1667 - 1671	Don, Volga region	The uprising was crushed by the tsarist army. Razin is executed.
Solovetsky uprising. 1667-1671	Solovetsky Monastery	Exacerbation of contradictions between the church and the Old Believers. Persecution of the Old Believers.

Please note that the regular army was used to suppress most of the uprisings. And not small units, but the most combat ones. It is believed that if there are 2-3 large popular unrest in a century, then there is a problem in the country. In the 17th century in Russia there were 6 major riots and more than a dozen smaller ones, and they all happened a little more than 20 years(1648-1671), which speaks of the critical point of popular patience, which was overcome at this time. Do not forget also that Russia, by the beginning of all these movements, had just overcome the Time of Troubles, which also overlaps with the 17th century.

Popular performances of the 17th century clearly show that the country needed changes. The old order had become obsolete, and something new was needed. As a result, at the beginning of the 18th century, the mood of Russian society and the desires of Peter 1 coincided - large-scale reforms began in Russia.

Uprising map

Map of popular uprisings in Russia in the 17th century.

International conflicts

One of the reasons for popular dissatisfaction with power and position in the country was wars. Russia in the 17th century waged the following international wars:

1. Russo-Swedish war (1656-1661)
2. Russian-Turkish war (1677-1681)

Church in the 17th century

Separately, it should be noted that the Rebellious Age refers not only to popular performances, but also to church life. There, too, a serious crisis was brewing, culminating in a church schism. It is also called the Nikon reform.

To be fair, it should be noted that the need church reforms in Russia, the 17th century is objectively overdue. But the methods of their implementation left much to be desired. In a certain sense, Nikon was very similar to Peter 1. Nikon reworked Orthodox Church in the Greek way, and Peter remade Russia itself in the Dutch way. But the main thing that these people have in common is that they very easily broke with the past. And these breaks went with such an inflection that Russia recovered spiritually and physically for a very long time after Nikon and after Peter 1.

The rebellious age almost completely changed the Russian church: customs, rituals, icons, books, and so on changed. Imagine how much it affected people. Even today, if the church decides to completely change its rites, this will lead to popular unrest. In the 17th century, when people were more pious, this caused an inevitable and inescapable reaction from the population.