1682 event in Russia. How Peter the Great suppressed the Streltsy rebellion
Plan
Introduction
1 Background of the rebellion
2 Beginning of the riot
3 Khovanshchina
4 End of the riot
Bibliography
Introduction
Streltsy rebellion of 1682 (Moscow Troubles, Khovanshchina) - a rebellion of Moscow archers, as a result of which power was transferred to Princess Sofia.
1. Background of the rebellion
The dissatisfaction of the archers was brewing for a long time during the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich. The treasury was empty, and the salaries of the archers were paid irregularly, with long delays. In addition, the senior commanders of the streltsy troops - centurions and colonels often abused their position: they withheld part of the streltsy salary in their favor, forced the archers to do chores on their estates, etc.
On April 27, 1682, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died without leaving a direct heir. The throne was to pass to one of his brothers - 15-year-old Ivan - the son of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, the late Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna (nee Miloslavskaya), or 10-year-old Peter - the son of the second wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Dowager Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna (nee Naryshkina). The struggle between the two boyar families reached its climax - the Miloslavskys - relatives of Tsarevich Ivan by the mother, and the Naryshkins - relatives of Natalia Kirillovna and Peter. It depended on who became king, which of these clans would take the position near boyars- advisers to the king in making the most important state decisions and responsible executors of these decisions, distributing the highest positions in the state and managing the royal treasury.
The final decision on the issue was made by the boyar duma. For the majority of the boyars, whose future depended on the favor or disfavor of the tsar, it was very important to guess which of the applicants would win in order to take his side in advance. Ivan is the eldest, from infancy he was very ill (like all the male offspring of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna), it was considered likely that he would soon die, and then Peter would still become king. In this situation, the majority of the boyar duma and Patriarch Joachim leaned in favor of the more “promising” Peter, and on April 27, 1682 (on the day of the death of Fyodor Alekseevich), Peter was proclaimed tsar.
For the Miloslavskys, such a turn of events meant the loss of all power prospects, and the smart, energetic princess Sophia decided to take advantage of the discontent of the archers in order to change the situation in her favor, relying on the Miloslavsky clan, and on a number of boyars, including princes V.V. Golitsyn and I. A. Khovansky - representatives of the ancient Russian aristocracy, who painfully perceived exaltation artistic Naryshkins.
2. The beginning of the riot
The emissaries of the Miloslavskys began to inflame the discontent of the archers, spreading rumors among them that now, under the rule of the Naryshkins, even greater oppression and deprivation await them. Among the archers, cases of disobedience to the authorities became more frequent, and several archer commanders, who were trying to restore discipline, were dragged by the archers to the bell tower and thrown to the ground.
On May 15, a rumor spread that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan in the Kremlin. The tocsin bell struck and the archers of many regiments rushed to the Kremlin with weapons, crushed the few guards from the royal household and filled the Cathedral Square in front of the palace. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna came out onto the Red Porch, holding the hands of Tsar Peter and Tsarevich Ivan, the patriarch and several boyars who were not afraid to face danger. There was confusion among the archers: Tsarevich Ivan was alive and unharmed, answering questions from the archers: “No one is harassing me, and I have no one to complain about.” The actions of the archers, in this case, had no justification and could be regarded as a riot. At this time, Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov, the son of the highest archery chief, Prince. Yu. A. Dolgoruky began to shout at the archers, accusing them of theft, treason and threatening severe punishment. This blew up the crowd, heated to the limit, the archers climbed onto the porch and threw Dolgoruky onto the spears, after which the bloodshed began to increase: the next victim was the boyar Artamon Matveev, the generally recognized leader of the Naryshkin clan. The archers broke into the inner chambers of the palace, killed several boyars, including the brother of the tsarina Afanasy Kirillovich Naryshkin, Prince Grigory Grigorievich Romodanovsky, boyar Yazykov, head of the embassy order Larion Ivanov. The archers were looking for another brother of the queen - Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin, but that day they did not find him, he was hiding in his sister's chambers. The city also saw the killing of boyars and archery chiefs, including the boyar of the archery order, Prince. Yu. A. Dolgoruky, who was old, sick and did not leave the house, he was killed for fear of revenge for his son Mikhail. Streltsy placed their guards in the Kremlin, which were not supposed to let anyone in or let out.
In fact, all the inhabitants of the Kremlin, including the royal family, turned out to be hostages of the rebels.
The next day, the archers again came to the Kremlin, demanding the extradition of Ivan Naryshkin, threatening, otherwise, to kill all the boyars. Sophia and the boyars put strong pressure on Natalya Kirillovna: “Your brother cannot leave the archers; let us not all die for him!” Ivan Naryshkin was extradited, tortured and executed. The tsarina's father, the elderly Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, at the insistence of the archers, was tonsured a monk and exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
Extrajudicial reprisals against the boyars and archery commanders continued until May 18. One of the last victims of the archers was the German doctor von Gaden. He was accused of poisoning Tsar Fedor Alekseevich. The intercession of the widow of the late king, Queen Martha, did not help either, testifying that von Gaden tasted all the drugs that he gave to the sick king before her eyes.
The state power was destroyed: the juvenile Peter nominally remained the tsar, the tsarina Natalya Kirillovna - the regent, but they did not have any capable government: all their relatives and supporters were either killed or fled from Moscow, fleeing from the archers.
On May 19, the elected representatives of the archery regiments filed to the tsar petition(formally - a request, but in fact - an ultimatum demand) to pay the entire salary arrears, which, according to their calculations, amounted to 240,000 rubles. There was no such money in the treasury, nevertheless, this requirement had to be satisfied, and Sophia (who did not yet have any formal powers) ordered to collect money for this throughout the country and melt down the gold and silver dishes of the royal dining room for money.
On May 23, the archers filed a new petition, so that in addition to Peter, Tsarevich Ivan was also named the king (moreover, the eldest), and on May 29 another petition was filed so that, due to the infancy of the kings, Princess Sofya Alekseevna would be the ruler (regent). These demands of the archers, which mainly met the interests of the Miloslavsky clan, were obviously suggested to them by the supporters of Sophia, and in the strengthening of the Miloslavskys and the overthrow of the Naryshkins, the archers saw for themselves some guarantees from the revenge of the latter. The Patriarch and the Boyar Duma complied with the requirements of the archers.
The archers turned out to be masters of the situation, dictating their will to the government, but they felt insecure, realizing that as soon as they left the Kremlin their power would end, and then they would not have to expect anything good from the government. In an effort to protect themselves from possible persecution in the future, the archers submit a new petition-ultimatum to the ruler, according to which all the actions of the archers on May 15-18, including the murders of the boyars, must be recognized by the government as legitimate, in the interests of the state and the royal family, henceforth not entailing persecution of the archers, in a sign of which a memorial pillar should be erected at the Execution Ground, on which the names of all thieves-boyars exterminated by archers, with a list of their faults and abuses (real or far-fetched). The government was forced to comply with these humiliating demands. Sophia, who came to power on archery spears, now felt all their inconvenience.
3. Khovanshchina
Sophia appointed Prince I. A. Khovansky, who was popular among the archers and a supporter of the Miloslavskys, as the supreme chief of the archers. Sofya hoped that Khovansky would calm the archers, but he apparently decided to play his game. He indulged the archers in everything and, relying on them, tried to put pressure on the ruler, assuring her: “When I am gone, then in Moscow they will walk knee-deep in blood.” Streltsy continued to control the Kremlin under the pretext of protecting it, while retaining the possibility of putting forward new humiliating and ruinous demands on the government. This time was called in Russian history Khovanshchina .
At this time, sensing the weakness of the government, the Old Believers, who until then had been subjected to cruel persecution by the tsarist authorities, decided that their hour had come. Their activists gathered in Moscow from distant sketes and preached in the streltsy regiments a return to the old faith. These claims were enthusiastically supported by Khovansky, who found in this another leverage to put pressure on the government. But neither the Streltsy chief Khovansky, nor the ruler Sophia, with all their desire, could solve this issue, which was within the competence of the church - the patriarch and bishops. The Church, however, which had been implementing the reforms of Patriarch Nikon for a long time, could not now abandon them without completely losing its authority in the eyes of the people. Sophia was also at the same time with the patriarch, for whom a return to the old faith meant the recognition of the wrongness of her father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and brother, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, who supported the new rite.
To resolve the dispute, the Old Believers proposed an open theological dispute between the apologists of the new and old faiths, which should be held on Red Square in the presence of the whole people. The Old Believers believed that in the face of the people everything heresies and untruths Nikonian will become obvious, everyone will see and recognize the truth of the old faith. In fact, the differences between the new and the old rites concerned numerous details of the liturgy, and the spelling of the writing of religious texts. The meaning of these differences was clear only to professional clergy, and even then not to all, but only to the most educated of them (see Old Believers).
The Streltsy rebellion of 1682, or "Khovanshchina", as it is often called after the main participants in the movement of the Khovansky princes, was a complex and confusing phenomenon. On the one hand, these events reflected the struggle of the boyar groups - "parties", in the words of one of his contemporaries. On the other hand, this movement was a kind of urban uprisings, which were so rich in the "rebellious" 17th century.
The impetus for the Streltsy rebellion was the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in the spring of 1682. The tsar was childless, and his two younger brothers, sixteen-year-old Ivan and ten-year-old Peter, were contenders for the throne. The princes were born from different marriages and behind them are kindred clans, behind Ivan - the Miloslavskys, behind Peter - the Naryshkins. The right of seniority was on the side of Ivan, but he was sickly, half-blind and weak-minded, while Peter already at an early age showed extraordinary liveliness and abilities. It had to be decided who would take the throne. The situation was tense to the limit, and the boyars, who had gathered in the palace to elect a new tsar, put on shells under their dresses, fearing that it would come to a stabbing. The debate in the Boyar Duma yielded nothing. The custom demanded that the issue be referred to the resolution of "all ranks by the people of the Muscovite state." This meant the Zemsky Sobor, but this institution already had a nominal value. The cathedral of 1682 can be called by this name only with a big stretch. It was convened in haste, literally in a few hours without any elections. All the ranks of the people gathered in Red Square were asked which of the two tsars should be in the kingdom. The majority shouted: "Peter Alekseevich!" For the sick Ivan, only a few voices were heard. So, ... in 1682, Peter, the future emperor Peter the Great, was elected to the kingdom.
The mother of the tsar, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, and her entourage, from the very first hours of her reign, had to face a new force that intervened in events. We are talking about the Moscow archers, who had good reason to be dissatisfied with their position. The colonels of the archery regiments looked at their subordinates as if they were serfs, withheld in their favor the archery salary and food, burdened them with requisitions and work. The turmoil at the top gave the archers a reason to declare their claims. Already on the day of Peter's election, one of the regiments refused to swear allegiance to the new tsar, and a few days later, elected representatives from sixteen streltsy and one soldier regiment filed a petition demanding an end to the abuses of the initial people. The government gave in. The regimental commanders were ordered to return the salaries to the archers, and two colonels, especially famous for their extortion, Semyon Karandeev and Semyon Griboyedov, were punished with a whip in the square. Before being punished, Griboedov was read a “tale” about his wars, typical of the streltsy elite: “The Pentecostals, foremen and ordinary archers of your order beat the forehead of the great sovereign on you: you made them taxes, grievances and all sorts of cramps; for bribes and work, he beat them with cruel fights ... forcibly forced them to sew colored dresses, velvet hats, yellow boots; I deducted money and bread from their salaries ... ".
However, the concession did not lead to calm, especially since the archers were skillfully directed by the hostile boyar group. Many of the old families were dissatisfied with the humble Naryshkins, who emerged from the nobility only thanks to the marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich with the beautiful Natalya. The nobility was especially outraged by the rapid rise of the queen's brothers, young people who did not have any merit: I.K. Naryshkin at the age of 23 was granted the boyar rank. The dissatisfied rallied around the Miloslavskys, and their leader was Princess Sofya Alekseevna, Ivan's sister and half-sister of Tsarevich Peter.
It should be said that the princess was a unique figure in Russian history of the 17th century. Usually, the royal daughters from birth were in a kind of golden cage, and even tightly closed from prying eyes. They lived as recluses in the palace chambers, and if they happened to go to church, then during the exit, cloth floors were carried on both sides of them to isolate them from the people, and in the temple their places were covered with taffeta - all in order to avoid the "evil eye" . The tsar's daughters were doomed to celibacy, because, according to G. Kotoshikhin, “they were not allowed to marry their state to princes and boyars, because their princes and boyars are serfs and in their petition the writer of serfs, and that is set in eternal a shame, if a mistress is given out for a slave; and it was not customary to give other states for the kings and princes, for the fact that not one faith, and they will not abolish their faith, they put their faith in reproach, and even for the fact that other states do not know the language and politics, and from that they would was a shame."
Under Fyodor Alekseevich, the strict supervision of his six sisters was relaxed, but if the five princesses took advantage of their relative freedom only to dress up in Polish dress and take lovers, then Sophia had far-reaching political plans. As N.I. Kostomarov wrote, Princess Sophia, “although she also led a far from lean life, she differed from others in her remarkable mind and abilities. She, more than her sisters, approached Fedor and hardly left him when he suffered from his ailments; in this way, she accustomed the boyars who came to the tsar to her presence, she herself got used to listening to conversations about state affairs and, probably, to a certain extent, already participated in them with her advanced mind. She was then 25 years old. To foreigners, she seemed not at all beautiful and was distinguished by obesity; but the latter in Russia was considered beauty in a woman.
According to a figurative comparison of one of his contemporaries, the news of the streltsy unrest became as joyful for Princess Sophia as for Noah the olive branch brought by the dove to the ark. Taking advantage of the discontent of the archers, it was possible to wrest power from the Naryshkins, but Sophia and Miloslavsky had to hurry, since the opposite side was taking measures to strengthen itself. The boyar A.S. Matveev, once one of the closest employees of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who had been exiled to Mezen due to the machinations of the Miloslavskys, was urgently called to Moscow. From him Miloslavsky had nothing to expect mercy. The boyar, who had returned from exile, also condemned the concessions to the archers: “They are such that if they let the reins go even a little, they will reach extreme outrages ...”.
May 15 is a fateful date, on this day in 1591 Tsarevich Dmitry died in Uglich, and on the same day in 1682 in Moscow it was marked by a series of massacres, supporters of the Miloslavskys spread rumors among the archers that the Naryshkins had exhausted Tsarevich Ivan. Approximately according to the same pattern, the events of May 17, 1606 developed, when Shuisky's henchmen alarmed the people with a rumor that the Poles had killed Tsar Dmitry - False Dmitry I and, taking advantage of the uprising, elevated Vasily Shuisky to the throne. In May 1682, the archers and the common people rushed to the Kremlin. The queen, together with the patriarch and the boyars, led Ivan and Peter to the Red Porch. The crowd, making sure that the prince was alive, calmed down and began to succumb to negotiations. However, at this decisive moment, as contemporaries said, the whole thing was decided by the unreasonable behavior of Prince M.Yu. The prince began to threaten the archers and brought the crowd out of himself. The archers threw the boyar Matveev from the porch and chopped him to pieces, killed the tsarina's brother Athanasius Naryshkin, the boyars G. G. Romodansky and I. M. Yazykov, the duma clerk Larion Ivanov and many others. The bodies of the dead were dragged through the Spassky Gates to Red Square, archers walked in front of them and mockingly proclaimed: “Here is the boyar Artemon Sergeevich! Here is the boyar, Prince Romodansky, here is the duma one, give way! Streltsy also dealt with the head of the Streltsy Department, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, who suppressed the uprising of Stenka Razin. When an eighty-year-old man was informed about the murder of his son Mikhail, he had the imprudence to say to the archers: “They ate the pike, but their teeth remained, they would not rebel long, they would soon hang on the battlements along the walls of the White and Earthen City.” One of the prince's serfs reported these words to the archers, who dragged the old man out of bed, cut him into pieces, threw the body into a dunghill and put a salted pike. The next day, the archers demanded that I.K. Naryshkin be handed over to them, threatening to kill all the boyars otherwise. Tsarevna Sofya sharply said to Tsarina Natalya: “Your brother cannot leave the archers; let us not all die for him!” The young boyar was confessed, communed and unction before his inevitable death, after which he was led out to the rebellious crowd. Naryshkin was brutally tortured, then dragged to Red Square and cut into pieces. The tsar's physician Daniil von Gaden was forced under torture to confess that he, together with the Naryshkins, allegedly poisoned Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich.
The entire capital was in the hands of the archers and the serfs who joined them. Streltsy and Kholopy orders were crushed. The archers called on the serfs to destroy the bondage records, and some of the serfs took advantage of the opportunity, but not all, since many became enslaved quite voluntarily.
In this turmoil, Princess Sophia and Miloslavsky managed to achieve the desired goal. On May 26, a new council was convened, again only from the inhabitants of Moscow. In fear of the archers, the participants in the council found a compromise solution to put two brothers in the kingdom at once: both Ivan and Peter. At the same time, Ivan, at the request of the elected from the archers, was proclaimed the first king, and Peter the second. A few days later, at the request of the streltsy regiments, it was announced that, in view of the youth of the sovereigns, the reign was handed over to their sister Sofya Alekseevna.
Princess Sophia gained power thanks to the archers, whom in return she was forced to appease and reward in every possible way. Streltsy received the honorary title of "outdoor infantry". Moscow archers, soldiers, townspeople and coachmen were given letters of commendation so that they would not be called rebels. The letter monotonously listed: “... there was a beating, for the house of the Most Pure Mother of God and for you, great sovereigns, for peaceful enslavement and fury towards you, and from the great tax to us, insults and lies to the boyars, Prince Yury and Prince Mikhail Dolgoruky ... Duma clerk Larion Ivanov Yazykov was killed because he, stacked with our colonels, paid us great taxes and took bribes. Boyarin Matveev and Dr. Danila were killed because they made a poisonous potion for Your Royal Majesty, and Danila blamed it with torture. Ivan and Afanasy Naryshkin were beaten because they applied your royal purple to themselves and thought all evil against the sovereign Tsar John Alekseevich ... ". As a sign of the streltsy exploits, a pillar was erected on Red Square with the names of the traitors beaten by them.
Archers were not satisfied with moral encouragement. Each was granted ten rubles, and in addition they received the property of the killed boyars and demanded the return of unpaid salaries for almost 40 years. According to the archery calculations, a huge amount of 240 thousand rubles came out. There was no such money in the treasury, and from all over the state it was ordered to collect silver dishes and pour money from it for the archers.
Sophia's government became a hostage to the streltsy demands. It turned out that it was much easier to create a storm than to calm it down. Moreover, the streltsy regiments threatened to finally go out of obedience. They had their own ideological program, which consisted in restoring the old faith. 1682 was in many ways a turning point for the dissenters. In April, in Pustozersk, by royal decree, the spiritual leader of the schism, Archpriest Avvakum, was burned, and literally two weeks later, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died. The schismatics saw this as a clear sign of God's wrath. Among the archers there were many adherents of Avvakum. Aleksey Yudin, one of the leaders of the Streltsy revolt, belonged to the split. Prince Khovansky was also considered a champion of the old faith, whose name gave the name to the whole movement.
Prince Ivan Andreevich Khovansky, nicknamed Tararuy, belonged to the Gediminovich family, who, in their nobility, argued with the Rurikovichs. He was a famous voivode, although, as one historian quipped, he was most famous for his defeats. In the days of May, he was one of the supporters of Princess Sophia, who raised the archers to rebellion. As a reward, he was made chief ("judge") of the Streltsy order. But, having received command of the "outdoor infantry", Khovansky began to claim an independent role. Together with Khovansky, the archers swore to stand for the old faith. The elected regiments demanded a debate about faith and put up against the Nikonians several schism teachers, led by the Suzdal priest Nikita.
The religious debate took place on July 5 in the Palace of Facets. Raskolnikov was accompanied by a whole crowd, who approved of their haggard appearance: “Their belly is not thick, not like the current New Testament teachers!” The dispute itself did not decide anything, each of the parties - the patriarch with the synclite and the schismatics remained with their convictions. Princess Sophia behaved courageously, was not afraid, like many boyars, of the crowd seething outside and ardently defended church reforms. The princess warned the chosen ones from the archers: “... in the hope of you, these schismatic men came here so boldly ... ruin."
The threat of the princess to leave the capital had an effect on the archers. In addition, the elected regiments were generously treated with wine, and they departed from the old faith. As S.M. Solovyov wrote, “ordinary archers rioted, but could not resist the royal cellar, when they put up ten people by the tub: they brought handguards that they would not stand up for the old faith in advance, and they began to beat the schismatics, shouting: “You , rebels, revolted the whole kingdom! They rushed to run wherever they could: their fathers were intercepted; Nikita, as the most impudent breeder of unrest and the violator of his promise, was beheaded ... "
After the failure to return to the old faith, it was increasingly difficult for Prince Khovansky to play the role of an intermediary between the government and the archers. A rich and distinguished boyar himself, he acted as an intercessor for the archers before the bloodsucking boyars, and the boyars assured that he was indulging the archers for the sake of general peace. “When I am gone, in Moscow they will walk knee-deep in blood,” he said. But Sophia and her entourage no longer believed the prince. He was accused of pandering to schismatics and was even suspected of wanting to take the throne himself. There were rumors that during the crusade, the archers planned to take the lives of kings and queens and call out their idol to the kingdom. Whether these suspicions were true or not, in August the entire royal family left Moscow and settled in the village of Vozdvizhensky.
Prince Khovansky rushed about, not knowing what to do. He was afraid to finally break with the government, and when the tsar's decree came to all thoughtful people to come to Vozdvizhenskoye, he obeyed and left Moscow. In the capital, his carriage was constantly surrounded by fifty archers and another hundred guarded the house, but outside the city he turned out to be completely defenseless, which Sophia's supporters did not fail to take advantage of. On September 17, the prince was captured near the village of Pushkino and taken to Vozdvizhenskoye. Before the eyes of the princess, the prince was not allowed, at the outskirts of the village they read an accusatory tale to Khovansky, and right there at the Moscow road they “performed” - they were executed along with their son.
Left without a leader, the archers were finally at a loss, especially since, by order of the ruler, the noble militia from the counties began to pull up to the Trinity Monastery. Seeing that the forces of the ruler are increasing every day, the archers decided to bring guilt. Elected from the regiments went to the Trinity, however, some of them fled back halfway in fear. The rest, appearing before the princess, tearfully prayed for her forgiveness.
On November 6, Princess Sophia returned to Moscow as a winner. The column erected on Red Square in honor of the archers was destroyed, the regiments were brought into obedience. The head of the Streltsy order was appointed a person loyal to Sophia - the Dumny clerk F. L. Shaklovity. In February 1683, a decree was issued on the return to the former owners of the serfs who received vacation pay during the riot: “and henceforth do not believe such vacation pay, because they took them in troubled times, without will, for vague insurance, but to these same serfs when giving them inflict cruel punishment, beat them with a whip mercilessly, but if the former masters do not take them, then exile them to Siberian and other distant cities for eternal life.
For the next 7 years, power passed under the nominal reign of Ivan and Peter into the hands of Princess Sophia and her favorite, Prince V.V. Golitsyn.
In 1550, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible established archery regiments. This was special genus troops, formed from the free population, townspeople and peasants. The right to serve in the Streltsy regiment was for life and was inherited. The archers received a salary from the treasury, and they had to provide themselves with weapons, supplies and uniforms. In addition to guarding, the archers did not carry weapons. The archers lived with their families in special settlements-slobodas, where in their free time they conducted subsidiary farming, were engaged in crafts and crafts.
The entire regiment was subordinate to the Streltsy order, which decided military proceedings. The order was divided into smaller ones, scattered throughout Moscow. On the ground, generals and colonels ran the affairs.
By the end of the 7th century, there were more than 20,000 people in the regiment. Sagittarius were the main branch of the Muscovite state. Despite the military organization, they led a free way of life, had the opportunity to receive additional income.
What preceded the Streltsy revolt of 1682
With the death of Tsar Fedor in the spring of 1682, a struggle for power unfolded. Two families claimed the throne: the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys. Alexei Mikhailovich, Fyodor Alekseevich's father, was married twice. The first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, gave birth to sons Fedor and Ivan, as well as several daughters. The second wife, Natalya Naryshkina, gave birth to the heir, Peter.The Naryshkins had great influence among the Moscow nobility. The Miloslavskys were supported mainly by Golitsyn and one of the commanders of the Streltsy regiment, Ivan Khovansky.
According to the law, after the death of Fedor, the throne was to pass to his younger brother Ivan, the heir in the line of the Miloslavskys. But Tsarevich Ivan was sickly and mentally retarded, and therefore could not fully rule. What did the Naryshkins use. At that time, the issue of succession to the throne was decided by the Zemsky Assembly, convened from all lands. But under the guise of a general meeting, only local boyars loyal to the Naryshkins were invited to the Church of the Savior. And the issue was decided in favor of Peter.
Peter was blessed by the patriarch to reign. But due to his infancy (at that time Peter was 10 years old), his mother Natalya Naryshkina became the regent. She did not have sufficient intelligence and character to take power into her own hands. Her relative Artamon Matveev hurried to help her, who had once arranged their marriage with Alexei Mikhailovich. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, Matveev was expelled from Moscow and could now return safely.
Beginning of the 1682 riot
Meanwhile, protest moods were growing in the Streltsy regiment. Streltsy repeatedly complained about the arbitrariness of the bosses, that they rob them and force them to work for themselves for free. But the complaints were left without consideration, and the petitioners were flogged and driven out of the yard.Shortly before the death of Tsar Fedor, the archers again turned to the court. A whole regiment was already head-butting its commander, Griboyedov. This time the complaint was considered and satisfied. The colonel was stripped of all ranks and expelled from Moscow.
Inspired by success, the archers, immediately after the election of Peter, came to the palace and filed a petition simultaneously to all their command, threatening to deal with the offenders on their own if their complaint was not satisfied. Frightened by the threats, the boyars ordered that all the colonels be punished and expelled, as well as demanding from them the missing salary in favor of the archers. No one doubted the authenticity of the testimony. The new government succumbed to provocation, which gave confidence to the archers.
Riot
Gradually, a rebellion grew in the streltsy environment, and the Miloslavskys gave it direction. At the suggestion of Princess Sophia, one of the daughters of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Miloslavskaya, rumors spread in the regiment that the Naryshkins decided to seize all power for themselves, Natalya Kirillovna's brother Ivan would reign, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was poisoned, and the legitimate heir Tsarevich Ivan was strangled. The new rulers want to make peace with the Polish king and surrender to the enemies. And destroy the Orthodox faith.Such rumors caused a strong reaction in the regiment. Armed to the teeth, the archers moved to the Kremlin. The rebels smashed the carriages of the boyars they met on the way. And the guards who tried to pacify them were thrown from the tower onto the substituted peaks.
When the angry crowd reached the royal chambers, the regent Natalya Kirillovna realized that she had no choice but to bring the unharmed Tsarevich Ivan to the rebels, as proof that they had been deceived. The ruler found strength in herself, and, taking Ivan and Peter by the hands, went out with them to the porch. Seeing the living prince in front of them, the crowd was confused. Artamon Matveev and Patriarch Joachim, who spoke before them, finally managed to calm the rebels. In their speeches, they assured the archers that their actions would not be regarded as a rebellion. And everything they have done will be perceived as an attempt to protect Tsarevich Ivan.
When the crowd was about to disperse, Mikhail Dolgorukov, the son of the regiment commander, came out in front of her and began to drive the archers away in a sharp form, thereby enraging them. The rebellion resumed with renewed vigor. Mikhail Dolgorukov was captured by the archers and thrown onto the peaks.
Then the archers remembered their dislike for the Naryshkins and rushed into the wards to look for everyone they wanted to deal with. They pre-determined their victims. They had lists of enemies prepared.
Hearing the furious cries of the angry men, the nobles scattered in all directions in the hope of escaping. The first victim of outrage was Matveev. Streltsy burst into the chambers in a crowd demanding that the minister be handed over to them. And no matter how hard Natalya Kirillovna and Prince Cherkassky tried to win him back, the rebels picked him up in their arms and threw him into the yard. He was also thrown onto the pikes, and his body was cut to pieces.
Streltsy scoured the entire Kremlin in search of victims and did not disdain anything. They dealt with Athanasius Naryshkin right in the altar of the Resurrection Church. The clerk Larion Ivanov and his son were killed, because they found a cuttlefish with which, according to the archers, he could poison Tsarevich Ivan. Archers first came to Prince Yuri Dolgorukov to apologize for having killed his son. But when he began to angrily expel them, they got angry, and also raised him to the peaks. In total, about ten people were shed blood on the first day of the riot. Sagittarius were looking for everyone who was objectionable to them.
On the second day, the bloodshed continued. Streltsy demanded to extradite Ivan Naryshkin, brother of Natalya Kirillovna. In search of him, they tortured and killed everyone who was close to him. On the third day, Princess Sophia turned to Natalya Kirillovna with a request to give Ivan to the archers. To stop the bloodshed, Natalia had to give in. He was confessed and taken to the rebels. After severe torture, Ivan's legs, arms and head were cut off, and then the remains were tortured for a long time.
Thus ended the atrocities that lasted from 16 to 18 May. The archers were pleased that they had avenged the poisoning of Fedor Alekseevich and prevented the death of Tsarevich Ivan. Among the objectionable, only Natalya's father Kirill remained. But since he no longer posed any danger, he was exiled to a monastery away from Moscow.
Consequences of the rebellion
On May 23, those chosen from the archers came to the court and demanded that both heirs Peter and Ivan be placed on the throne. The question was ready for discussion. And on May 26, the newly appeared archers put forward a new demand that Ivan be the first king, and Peter the second. And they threatened another rebellion. So Princess Sophia managed to take away power with the help of archers. She, as the guardian of the first king, became the main ruler, and the Naryshkins were relegated to the background.Instead of the murdered Dolgoruky, Prince Khovansky, who was close to Sophia, was placed at the head of the streltsy army.
Streltsy, fearing retribution, demanded guarantees. They wanted to erect a pillar on Red Square with the names of all the killed boyars and their faults, so that no one would have any doubts about the justice of the archers. Their demand was met.
Old Believer movement during the Streltsy rebellion
The Old Believers decided to take advantage of the influence of the Streltsy troops on the authorities. Khovansky, who was at the head of the troops, sympathized with them. The schismatics, under the cover of archers, staged processions, freely conducted sermons and agitations in the square. They urged Sophia to declare the patriarch a heretic and remove him from the church. This state of affairs did not suit Sophia. Everyone feared a new rebellion. In a debate with the Old Believers, Sophia declared that since the patriarch is a heretic, then she is a heretic, and her father, who stood for the faith, and all in the palace. Then she ordered to seize and punish the leaders of the Old Believers. Some were executed, others exiled. So the Old Believer movement lost its power.The end of the Streltsy revolt of 1682
Khovansky, who was at the head of the archery regiment, ceased to coordinate his actions with the Miloslavskys. He behaved independently, endeared himself to the army. Sagittarius was allowed to do a lot and got away with it. Those, in turn, behaved arrogantly and confidently. Often turned to the court with various demands and complaints. And the Kremlin spent the whole summer of 1682 in fear of a new rebellion. Sophia wanted to get rid of Khovansky, however, this was not easy to do. He was surrounded by archery guards, and guards were posted at the house.In September of that year, the entire yard went to the Moscow region to rest. Later, by decree, the boyars and nobles, including the Khovanskys, were summoned to the village of Vozdvizhenskoye. On September 17, at a meeting of the Boyar Duma, a report was read on the atrocities of the archers, where their actions were regarded as a riot, and the princes Khovansky, Ivan and his son Andrei, were accused as instigators. The proof was a letter in which the Khovanskys called on the archers to revolt, and set their goal to come to power.
There was no lengthy discussion. Khovansky were sentenced to death. Nobody listened to their arguments. And soon the sentence was carried out.
Upon learning of this, the archers at first became alarmed and started a new rebellion. But then the news reached them that Sophia had moved to the well-guarded Trinity Lavra. And regiments of nobles are brought to readiness from all over the district.
Frightened, the archers rushed to ask for protection from the patriarch. On September 27, they were ordered to appear at the Lavra. At the reception, Sophia angrily reproached them and demanded from all orders to file a petition for forgiveness. And also an obligation was taken from the archers not to organize riots in the future, and not to arbitrarily reprisal anyone. The memorial pillar from Red Square was demolished.
On November 6, the entire court returned to Moscow, accompanied by noble guards. The clerk Shaklovity, devoted to Sophia, was placed at the head of the streltsy army. He pacified the remnants of the rebellion in the regiment without neglecting the death penalty. And the Kremlin was now reliably guarded by an escort from a noble regiment.
If you need short description of the events of the Streltsy riots, check out the following articles: Streltsy rebellion of 1682 and (gymnasium textbook of Academician S. F. Platonov), Streltsy rebellion of 1682 (university lectures by S. F. Platonov) and
Reason for the Streltsy revolt of 1682
After the death in the spring of 1682 of the childless Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1676–1682), the throne was to pass to his sixteen-year-old half-brother, the mentally retarded Ivan. Both Fedor and Ivan were the sons of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Miloslavskaya. From Miloslavskaya, Alexei Mikhailovich also had several princess-daughters. But after the death of Mary (1669), Alexei Mikhailovich remarried (1671) to Natalya Naryshkina, who in 1672 gave birth to a healthy and energetic son Peter - the future Peter I. Ivan V was the legal heir of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, but his obvious dementia persuaded many prominent Russian figures to remove Ivan from the throne and transfer the reign to Peter. The Moscow court was divided into two parties: the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins. The Naryshkin side turned out to be much stronger; most of the noble families and Patriarch Joachim stood for her. Of the prominent boyars, the Miloslavskys were supported only by the well-known Westerner Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn and the governor Ivan Khovansky, who was not distinguished by great talents, one of the commanders of the streltsy army stationed in Moscow. However, the Miloslavsky party decided not to yield to rivals and stand for Ivan V. It was headed by the boyar Ivan Miloslavsky and the most intelligent of the daughters of Alexei Mikhailovich - Princess Sophia.
The higher clergy and the Boyar Duma, gathered after the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, decided to ask about who should be the new tsar, "all the ranks of the Muscovite state." In fact, this was only the appearance of "counsel with all the earth." The Zemsky Sobor from all over Russia was not convened in the capital. Under the guise of “all the ranks of the Muscovite state,” the patriarch gathered in the Church of the Savior the court stewards, nobles, children of the boyars, merchants and turned to them with the question: who should reign now? The meeting was apparently already prepared. A few voices in favor of Ivan Alekseevich were drowned out by numerous cries for Tsarevich Peter. The patriarch blessed Peter to reign.
However, the Naryshkins failed to quickly consolidate this election, while the Miloslavskys acted quickly and skillfully. The ten-year-old Peter's regent, his mother Natalya Kirillovna, was "a woman of small mind", inexperienced, devoid of energy. Natalya was in no hurry to firmly take power into her own hands, relying on the government art of her relative, Artamon Matveev, who once arranged her marriage to Alexei Mikhailovich. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, son of Maria Miloslavskaya, Matveev, one of the most prominent figures in the era of Tsar Alexei, was exiled. Now Natalya Naryshkina ordered him to be returned from exile, but Matveev's arrival in Moscow took time.
The Miloslavskys deftly took advantage of the indecision of the Naryshkins, starting to get closer to the leaders of the main military force of the capital - the streltsy army. Princess Sophia began to spread rumors that Tsar Fyodor was poisoned by his enemies, who illegally removed his brother Ivan from the throne. Sophia assured that she and other princesses, daughters of Maria Miloslavskaya, were also in danger, and spoke of her intention to flee Russia. The Naryshkins were disliked in Moscow. Many did not like the too rapid rise of the five brothers of Queen Natalia - young men who did not have any merit. The eldest of them, Ivan, was only 23 years old, and he already bore the rank of boyar and gunsmith.
The beginning of the Streltsy revolt of 1682
The Miloslavskys and Princess Sophia found support in the face of the streltsy army and deftly took advantage of the rebellious turmoil that was ripening among them.
Streltsy regiments in Moscow lived in special settlements, mainly in Zamoskvorechye. Sagittarius were settled, family and prosperous people; since, receiving a salary, they could still engage in various crafts and trade, without incurring township duties. But their discipline at that time was shaken, which was facilitated by weak government supervision during the sickly Fyodor. They were used by the chiefs of the archers. The greedy colonels appropriated a part of the archery salary, tried to profit from the most prosperous subordinates, bought horses and cannon equipment at their expense; forced archers to work for themselves for nothing, and even on holidays; the unzealous were punished with batogs. Shortly before the death of Fedor, the archers began to submit petitions to the tsar against the colonels. The tsar instructed his favorite Yazykov to sort out the case. Yazykov took the side of the colonels. Some petitioners were punished with a whip and exiled. Encouraged colonels intensified the oppression. On April 23, 1682, Semyon Griboyedov, elected from the regiment, came to the Streltsy Prikaz and filed a complaint against him. The clerk who received her, peaceably to the colonel, reported to the head of the order, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, as if the elected archer had come drunk and threatened. When the next day the same archer came again, they took him under guard and led him to beat with a whip. But fellow soldiers pulled him out of the hands of the orderly servants and severely beat them. Griboyedov's regiment raised a revolt; the next day, this rebellion swept almost all the archery regiments. They wrote petitions against their colonels and, in case of indulgence, threatened to deal with them themselves. The death of Fedor, which followed at that time, stopped the movement, and the archers unquestioningly swore allegiance to Peter. But already on April 30, a crowd with petitions from sixteen streltsy regiments and one soldier came to the palace, and with threats demanded that the colonels be brought to justice so that they would pay the money due to the archers.
The government of Natalya Kirillovna was confused and rushed to the opposite extreme: it made concessions to the participants in the Streltsy rebellion. It ordered the accused colonels to be placed under guard; but the archers demanded to betray them with their heads. At the reinforced request of the patriarch, the archers then agreed that the colonels should not be sent to their settlements for reprisal, but would be placed on the right in front of the Discharge. Here the unfortunate were beaten with batogs until they paid the claims brought by the archers. Streltsy were present in crowds during the torture and shouting forced them to continue or stop the right. The arbitrariness of the archers also went on in their settlements. There they persecuted minor bosses, beat them with sticks, threw stones; and those who tried to curb self-will with severity were cocked to towers and thrown from there; At the same time, the crowd shouted: “Love, love!”
The flaming up of the Streltsy rebellion played into the hands of Miloslavsky. Their leaders, Ivan Mikhailovich and Princess Sophia, plotted. At night, trusted people gathered to Ivan and discussed the plan of action. According to some reports, the role of his main assistants was played by: the stolnik brothers Tolstoy, Ivan and Peter, the lieutenant colonels of the archers Tsikler and Ozerov, the elected archers Odintsov, Petrov and Chermny. The bed of Princess Sophia Fyodor Rodimitsa, went to the streltsy settlements, poured money and promises. One of the streltsy commanders, Prince Khovansky, nicknamed Tararuy, kindled a streltsy revolt, embarrassing the streltsy with predictions of all sorts of troubles from the Naryshkins, as well as the danger that allegedly threatened Orthodoxy from their penchant for foreigners. Among the archers there were many adherents of the split. The rebellious mood was greatly facilitated by the fact that after the Razin uprising, many Astrakhan archers who participated in it were transferred to the northern cities and to the capital. The rebellion had already spread to all the archery regiments, which were already loudly boasting of overthrowing the Naryshkins. The only exception was the Sukharev Regiment. All the archery regiments in Moscow at that time were nineteen - more than 14 thousand soldiers.
On May 12, Artamon Matveev returned to Moscow from exile and was greeted with great joy by Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna. The boyars came to his house with greetings, assuming that he would take the place of the main ruler under the teenage Tsar Peter. Elected from all the archery regiments brought him bread and salt and beat with their foreheads about their needs. An experienced statesman, he immediately began to discuss the state of affairs with the help of Patriarch Joachim and the elderly Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Princess Sophia and the Miloslavskys realized that they had to hurry, otherwise it would be too late.
A list was drawn up of those who were to be exterminated. This list was sent to the rebellious archery regiments. Ridiculous rumors about the Naryshkins also spread there. It was said that the eldest of them, Ivan Kirillovich, put on the royal vestments and, trying on the crown, said that she would not stick to anyone as much as to him; and when Princess Sophia began to reproach him for this, he rushed at Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich and grabbed him by the throat. Such tales perfectly prepared the ground for the Streltsy rebellion to become open.
Outrages of archers in the Kremlin and Moscow
On the morning of May 15, 1682, Alexander Miloslavsky and Pyotr Tolstoy, sent by Tsarevna Sophia and her party, galloped into the streltsy settlements, shouting that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan, and called the archers to the Kremlin. The tocsin rang in the suburban churches. Streltsy regiments quickly gathered and with cannons and drumming moved towards the royal palace, taking the government by surprise. The time was around noon. The members of the Boyar Duma had just finished the meeting and began to disperse. A. S. Matveev, having learned about the Streltsy rebellion, returned to the palace and hurried to Tsaritsa Natalya. They sent for the patriarch, tried to lock the Kremlin gates. But the rebels had already broken into the Kremlin, approached the Red Porch and demanded the extradition of the Naryshkins, who supposedly killed Tsarevich Ivan. On the advice of Matveev, Natalya Kirillovna took both brothers, Ivan and Pyotr Alekseevich, and, accompanied by the boyars, led them out onto the porch. The crowd was taken aback, seeing that they had been blatantly deceived. Some archers asked their elder brother if he was really Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich and who was harassing him? “I am the best,” answered the prince. “And no one is harassing me.”
Streltsy revolt of 1682. Painting by N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, 1862.
(Tsaritsa Natalya Kirillovna shows the archers that Tsarevich Ivan is unharmed)
Matveev went downstairs to the archers and made a smart speech about their former merits, reminded them of how they themselves tamed the riots. The archers fell silent and asked Matveev to intercede for them before the tsar. He promised and returned to the Top. The Streltsy rebellion seemed to be calming down, but it was rekindled by the imprudence of Mikhail Dolgoruky, a friend of his father Yuri Alekseevich in command of the Streltsy order, very unloved by his subordinates. As they say, he began to threaten the hushed archers with punishment if they did not immediately leave the Kremlin, which infuriated them. Tsarevna Sophia's minions, revolving in the crowd, aroused her against the intended boyars, who, as soon as they got rid of the danger, would begin to cruelly take revenge on the archers. They managed to captivate the crowd again. Part of the archers penetrated the top. Some seized Dolgoruky and threw him down onto the spears of his comrades, who then chopped him with reeds. Others attacked Matveyev, although Tsarina Natalya and Prince Mikhail Alegukovich Cherkassky tried to block him off; the killers also threw him down and cut him to pieces. Patriarch Joachim was not allowed to speak. A crowd of rebellious archers burst into the palace and began to look for their victims. Here everything was on the run. The boyars, always accompanied by select servants, numerous nobles and other court officials, being military people, could put up significant resistance. But the unexpectedness of the Streltsy rebellion and the absence of an energetic leader created a panic between them.
Archers roamed the palace chambers, looked under beds, feather beds and into dark corners; moreover, they did not spare the towers of queens and princesses, broke into palace temples and even into altars, where sacrilegiously poked spears under the altars. Archers came with searches to the chambers of the patriarch. They were looking mainly for the Naryshkins. The rebels killed the young stolnik Saltykov, mistaking him for the brother of the queen Athanasius Naryshkin. Athanasius himself hid under the altar in the altar of the Church of the Resurrection, but Tsaritsyn Carlo Khomyak pointed out his refuge to the rebellious archers. The archers killed him and threw him into the square. Other victims were also thrown there, and they asked: “Is it nice?” The crowd of curious people standing on the square was supposed to answer: “Love!” Those who were silent were beaten by archers. On this day of the Streltsy rebellion, the famous Belgorod governor Gr. Romodanovsky, who was accused of treason for surrendering Chigirin to the Turks, and the head of the Ambassadorial Department, clerk Larion Ivanov. The bodies of the dead were dragged to Red Square to the Execution Ground; the monsters sneered at them and shouted: “Behold the boyar Artamon Sergeevich! Behold the boyar Romodanovsky, behold Dolgoruky is coming, give way!
The Streltsy rebellion flared up more and more. Streltsy scattered around the city, looking for the intended victims. Before evening, a crowd of murderers came to the sick eighty-year-old prince Yuri Dolgoruky, and pretended to repent of the murder of his son. The old man hid his feelings and even ordered the archers to bring out beer and wine; and when they left, he consoled his daughter-in-law, the wife of the murdered man: “Don’t cry, they ate the pike, but she still had her teeth. To be hung on the battlements of the White and Earthen City. Some serf told the archers these words. They returned, dragged the prince out into the yard, chopped him up and threw the corpse into a dunghill. Other crowds at that time smashed the Judgment and Kholopius orders, tore up acts, especially serf and bondage ones. They declared the boyar serfs free, trying to win them over to their side. At night, the streltsy rebellion subsided. The rebellious soldiers left for their settlements, leaving strong guards around the Kremlin.
But the following morning, May 16, the Streltsy rebellion resumed. Streltsy again rushed to the Kremlin and other places, looking for "traitors". On this day, the famous favorite of Tsar Fedor, Ivan Yazykov, died. He hid in the house of his confessor; but the serf-traitor betrayed him. Streltsy cut down Yazykov on Red Square. From the domestic servants there were many traitors who took revenge on unkind gentlemen. But other chelyadintsy differed in devotion. Several of these also fell victim to the archers. The efforts of the rebels to revolt the large class of servile gentry with the promise of freedom and thereby turn a purely archery revolt into a general uprising of the common people remained in vain. An unfree state was in the customs of the time, and a person who freed himself from one master often immediately became enslaved to another.
So far, the Streltsy have searched in vain for the Naryshkins, mainly Ivan, and the tsar's doctor Daniel von Gaden, a baptized Jew who was accused of poisoning Fyodor Alekseevich. The doctor ran away from the German Quarter and hid in Maryina Grove. And the Naryshkins, the father of Tsarina Natalya Kirill Poluektovich with his sons, and Andrei Matveev, the son of the murdered Artamon Sergeevich, fleeing the Streltsy rebellion, hid in the rooms of the widow of the deceased Tsar Fedor, Tsarina Marfa Matveevna. Not finding the Naryshkins on this day, the archers announced that they would come for them the next.
On May 17, the Streltsy riot and the killings continued. The main crowd of archers cordoned off the palace, demanding to hand over the Naryshkins. They were now hidden in a dark closet filled with feather beds and pillows, leaving the door to it open to deflect suspicion. The rebels passed by several times, looked into the closet, but did not conduct a thorough search there. Finally, they announced that they would not leave and beat all the boyars until Ivan Naryshkin was handed over to them. Obviously, Princess Sophia and Prince Khovansky considered his death necessary. They say that Khovansky asked the archers the day before whether to expel Natalya Kirillovna from the palace? They answered: "Lubo"; however, did not dare to do so.
Hiding until now in the shadows, Princess Sophia now, having come to Tsarina Natalya, said to her in the presence of the boyars: “Your brother cannot leave the archers; let us not all die for him.” Natalya Kirillovna, having lost hope of saving her brother, ordered him to be confessed and partake of the Holy Mysteries. The boyars were in a hurry. The aged prince Yakov Odoevsky said: “How much you, empress, do not regret, but you need to part; and you, Ivan, have to go faster, so that we don’t all die for you alone. ” Holding her brother's hand, the queen led him out of the church. The archers rushed at him like animals and dragged him to the Konstantinovsky dungeon; there he was subjected to cruel torture and search for imaginary treason and an attempt on the life of Tsarevich Ivan. He answered all questions with silence. The rebels dragged him to Red Square and there they cut him to pieces with reeds.
Streltsy revolt of 1682. Painting by A. Korzukhin 1882.
(Archers drag Ivan Naryshkin. His sister, the mother of Peter I, Natalya Kirillovna, cries on her knees, consoled by ten-year-old Peter. Princess Sophia watches Ivan's death with ill-concealed joy)
Ivan's younger brothers managed to hide. Their father Cyril Poluektovich was released from death by the archers on the condition that he take the vows as a monk. On the same day Dr. von Gaden was arrested. Tsarina Marfa Matveevna and the princesses assured the archers that he was innocent of Fedor's death. But the leaders of the Streltsy rebellion shouted that he was a warlock. He was tortured, and the nervous doctor, in order to end his torment, confirmed the accusations against him. He was also hacked to pieces in Red Square.
The three-day killings finally fed up the participants in the streltsy rebellion. Before evening, they gathered at the palace and shouted: “We are now satisfied. With the rest of the traitors, let the king repair according to his will. The archers, of course, did not think what a stunning impression they made with their bloody rebellion on the youth Peter, and how terribly he would repay them later for the murder of relatives and for the humiliation of his royal dignity.
It is remarkable that the Streltsy rebellion was not connected with the robbery of the propertied classes. The archers even gave a spell not to touch the property of the people beaten by them, and kept their oath; those who transgressed it, they themselves executed for the most insignificant theft. But when the extermination ended, a wide revelry began: unbridled archers began to drink and gossip; drunks roamed the city with their wives, singing shameful songs. Instead of the streltsy army, they began to call themselves "the sovereign's court (i.e., court) infantry." Electives from them came to the palace and demanded awards for "loyal" service or unpaid salaries, which were calculated for many years ago. For a while, everyone trembled before them. The government during the Streltsy revolt seemed to be absent. But the power that had fallen from the hands of the Naryshkins was taken up by the Miloslavskys in the person of the energetic Princess Sophia.
Changes in the government due to the Streltsy rebellion - the transfer of power to Princess Sophia
Tsaritsa Natalya with her son Peter took refuge from the Streltsy rebellion. Coming to the palace with demands and statements, they, in the absence of other authorities, began to turn to the princesses; and Sofya Alekseevna answered and acted on their behalf. On account of the unpaid salary for the past years, she distributed large sums to the archers, and promised to pay another 10 rubles each. per person. Princess Sophia also agreed to the name of the "outdoor infantry", the head of which, in place of the killed Dolgoruky, was appointed Prince Khovansky. Khovansky, leading the archers, on May 23 came to the palace with elected representatives from their regiments and announced that all the archers, as well as the ranks of the Muscovite state, demand that both brothers, John and Peter Alekseevich, be placed on the royal throne. To resolve this issue, Princess Sophia convened the Boyar Duma, the clergy and elected representatives from various ranks of the capital.
At this private Zemsky Sobor, some objections were heard against dual power; but the majority, under the pressure of the streltsy rebellion, found it useful in case of war: one king can go with an army, and the other will rule the kingdom. They also gave suitable examples of dual power from Byzantine history. The council decided to be two kings. However, Princess Sophia wanted to more accurately determine their mutual relationship, and now the Streltsy elected representatives appeared again and demanded that John be the first king, and Peter the second. The next day, May 26, the Boyar Duma with the Consecrated Cathedral confirmed this demand. Because of this, Peter's mother Natalya Kirillovna was relegated to the background, and the sisters of the sickly John came to the fore, especially Princess Sofya Alekseevna.
A special favor was announced to the participants of the Streltsy rebellion, and two regiments were treated to food every day in the palace. Having seized power in fact, Sophia wished to secure it legally with the influence of the same streltsy army. On May 29, the rebels announced a new demand: due to the youth of both sovereigns, to hand over control to Princess Sophia. At the same time, they referred to examples of Byzantine history: the famous Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius II. The boyars and the patriarch turned to the princess with a request to take over government concerns. Sophia, according to custom, at first refused, but then agreed. She began to call herself "the great empress, the noble princess and grand duchess Sofya Alekseevna."
Perhaps the first government act was the approval of the new streltsy petition of June 6. Apparently, the population of the capital began to express indignation at the murders committed during the Streltsy rebellion. Archers were called rebels, traitors, villains. In response, the "outdoor infantry" asked the kings for permission to put a stone pillar on Red Square with the names of the killed "criminals" and their wines and with praise to the outward infantry for their faithful service; asked to be banned from calling her rebels and other slanderous words, as well as about various official benefits. The request of the archers was immediately fulfilled, a stone pillar was erected, and on four iron sheets on the four sides of the pillar, the names and guilt of the people killed on May 15–17 were written. Due to this, the Streltsy revolt was presented as a very beneficial coup, and all the violence of the archers was justified by the imaginary benefit of the state.
Old Believer movement in Moscow during the Streltsy revolt of 1682
But Princess Sophia saw that it was time for their self-willed archers to put a limit and free the government from their pressure. A convenient case for this was provided by the Old Believer movement that arose with the beginning of the Streltsy rebellion.
Despite the cruel persecution, the Russian "schism" took root and multiplied. He already had his own martyrs, with Avvakum and Lazarus at their head, whose memory was reverently honored. Their numerous followers continued their schismatic preaching in Moscow. They found the most sympathy among the archers and suburban Slobozhans; there were supporters of the split among noble families, including the Khovansky family. The perplexity of the government during the days of the Streltsy revolt helped the split to rear its head; and when Prince Khovansky Tararui appeared at the head of the streltsy army, the split decided to rely on armed force and came up with its own demands.
A few days after the May Riot, in Titov's Streltsy Regiment, the Old Believers decided to submit a petition to the authorities: why did they hate the old books and the old faith, and why did they love the new - Latin-Roman? In search of a knowledgeable, skillful person who could compose such a petition and conduct a debate about faith, the archers turned to the Goncharnaya Sloboda; there was an Old Believer Savva Romanov, who later described the whole thing with a streltsy petition. The petition was written by some monk Sergius. When Savva Romanov read from it in Titov, and then in other shelves, indications of the “errors” of the books corrected under Nikon, the archers decided to “stand up for the old faith and shed their blood for the Christ of light.”
Obviously, this new movement, which imparted a religious connotation to the Streltsy rebellion, took place with the encouragement of Prince Khovansky, who began to act independently of Princess Sophia and told the Old Believers that he would no longer allow them to be hanged or burned in log cabins. Khovansky also listened to the petition, but he found the monk Sergius humble and not eloquent enough to debate with the authorities. Then he was pointed to the well-known Suzdal priest Nikita (whom the "Nikonians" scornfully called Pustosvyaty), who again worked on preaching schism, despite his solemn renunciation of him. Khovansky knew him, and gladly agreed to his participation in the debate. The zealots of the old faith wanted the debate to be held publicly at the Execution Ground or in the Kremlin at the Red Porch in the presence of both tsars, next Friday, June 23, before the 25th royal wedding scheduled for Sunday. The Old Believers did not want the patriarch to serve according to the new breviary at this wedding and to perform the sacrament of Communion on five prosphora with a Latin (four-pointed) roof.
So the Streltsy rebellion intensified the Russian religious strife. On Friday, a procession of the Old Believer crowd took place in the Kremlin, to the government and Princess Sophia. At the head were Nikita, monk Sergius and another monk Savvaty; people ran to see this unprecedented procession. They stopped at the Red Porch. They called Khovansky. He pretended to know nothing and kissed the Old Believer cross that Nikita was carrying. Nikita set out to him a petition about the old Orthodox faith, about seven prosphora, a three-part cross, that the patriarch would give an answer why he was persecuting people for the old faith. Khovansky took the petition and took it to the palace, to Sofya. Returning, he announced that the sovereigns had appointed the cathedral to be a few days after his wedding. Nikita insisted that the kings be crowned on seven prosphora, with the image of the True Cross. Khovansky advised him to prepare such prosphora and promised to bring them to the patriarch so that he would serve on them during the coronation ceremony.
On June 25, the solemn coronation of both kings took place in the Assumption Cathedral. Nikita Pustosvyat brought his prosphora to the Kremlin. But there was such a crowd of people that he could not get into the cathedral and returned. Nevertheless, the Moscow Old Believers were preparing for a nationwide debate with the patriarch and, to reinforce themselves, summoned schismatic teachers from the Volokolamsk deserts: the aforementioned Savvaty, Dositheus, Gabriel, etc. dissenters. When elected from Titov's regiment went around the settlements and urged them to sign a petition, only nine streltsy orders and the tenth Pushkarsky had a hand in it; disputes arose in ten other regiments; many objected that it was not their business to enter into a debate with the patriarch and bishops. However, these regiments also promised that they would stand for the Orthodox faith and would not allow them to be burned and tortured again.
On July 3, 1682, elected representatives from all the regiments that participated in the Streltsy revolt gathered at the palace, along with schismatic teachers and a crowd of townspeople. Khovansky led them into the Patriarchal Chamber of the Cross and summoned the Patriarch. Joachim persuaded them not to interfere in the affairs of the bishops and tried to explain the need to correct books in agreement with the ecumenical patriarchs. The schismatics objected to him and mainly rebelled against the persecution of the old faith, which was inconsistent with Christ's teaching, against the desire to convince the trinity of the truth with fire and sword. The Old Believer Pavel Danilovich, when the elected approached the patriarch for blessing, refused to receive him, not according to the old custom. Khovansky kissed him on the head with the words: “I didn’t know you until now!” We agreed to have a conciliar debate every other day, July 5, on Wednesday.
On Moscow streets and squares, the Old Believers, emboldened by the Streltsy revolt, freely preached their doctrine. Crowds of men and women gathered around them, and when the "Nikonian" priests tried to justify correcting the books, some of them were beaten. It seemed that Moscow was on the eve of a new rebellion. Miloslavsky and Princess Sophia were in terrible danger.
Debate about faith in the Kremlin with the Old Believers
On the morning of July 5, a crowd of Old Believers, led by Nikita, with a cross, old icons and books, moved to the Kremlin, to Princess Sophia, accompanied by archers and a multitude of people. The schismatic elders, having thin, lean faces and old-style hoods, made an impression on the people and evoked unflattering remarks about the obesity of the state, "Nikonian" clergy. The schismatic crowd settled down between the Cathedral of the Archangel and the Red Porch, placed levies, laid out books and icons on them, and lit candles. The patriarch did not want to go out to the people himself. On his orders, Archpriest Vasily came out to the crowd and began to read, Nikita's renunciation of the schism and his repentance before the cathedral in 1667. Archers rushed to Vasily; but the monk Sergius mentioned above intervened and ordered him to continue reading. However, nothing could be heard behind the screams. Then Sergius stood on a bench and read the notebooks of the Solovetsky elders with teachings on the sign of the cross, prosphora, etc. The crowd, hushed, listened to these teachings with emotion and tears. But then the noise and excitement arose again.
The Streltsy revolt, thus, increasingly acquired an unfavorable turn for Sophia and Miloslavsky. Khovansky fussed in vain in the palace so that Joachim and the clergy would go out to the Old Believers and start a debate in the square in front of the people. Princess Sophia did not agree to such a demand and pointed to the Faceted Chamber, where she herself wanted to be present. Tararui advised her this presence; the boyars convinced by him also asked Sophia to abandon her intention. But she did not want to leave the patriarch without the support of secular power and went to the Faceted Chamber; together with Sophia went Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, princesses Tatyana Mikhailovna and Marya Alekseevna, with boyars and elected archers. The schismatics, when Khovansky invited them to enter the chamber, did not immediately agree, fearing violence; but Khovansky swore that no harm would be done to them. Then the schismatic fathers, accompanied by many people from the people, entered the chamber in a crowd.
The Patriarch urged them not to "be wise," to obey their bishops and not to interfere in the correction of books, not having a "grammatical mind." Nikita exclaimed: “We didn’t come to talk about grammar, but about church dogma!” Archbishop Athanasius of Kholmogory began to answer him. "I'm not talking to you, but to the patriarch!" Nikita shouted and rushed at the archbishop, but the elected archers held him back. Then Princess Sophia, getting up from her chair, began to say that Nikita had dared to beat the bishop in the presence of royal persons, and reminded him of his oath renunciation of schism. Nikita confessed that he had repented on pain of execution, but claimed that the refutation composed in response to his petition by Simeon Polotsky called Wand does not answer even a fifth part of this petition.
Nikita Pustosvyat. Dispute about faith. Painting by V. Perov, 1881
Sophia ordered to read the petition, which the schismatics brought. Among other things, it said that the heretics Arseniy the Greek and Nikon (the former patriarch) "shaken the soul of Tsar Alexei." Hearing this, Princess Sophia said with tears in her eyes: “If Arseny and Patriarch Nikon are heretics, then our father and brother, and we are all heretics. We cannot tolerate such blasphemy, and we will go out of the kingdom.” She took a few steps to the side. But the boyars and you / div / pborny archers persuaded her to return to her place. She reproached the archers for allowing peasants and ignoramuses to come to the tsars with a rebellion, against which it remains for the royal family to go to other cities and announce it to all the people. The archers were alarmed by such a threat from Sophia and swore to lay down their heads for the kings.
The reading of the petition continued in the presence of Princess Sophia with objections. When it ended, the patriarch took the gospel, written by the hand of St. Metropolitan Alexei, which contained the symbol of faith, and showed that this symbol is the same in the newly corrected books. Due to the coming twilight, the debate was adjourned, and the schismatics were released with a promise to issue a decree about them. Coming out to the crowd of people, they raised two fingers and shouted: “Believe so, do so; all hierarchs perepoh and disgrace!
At the Execution Ground they stopped and taught the people. Then they went to the Titov Streltsy Regiment, where they were met with bell ringing; served a prayer service, and dispersed to their homes.
In order to prevent the Streltsy rebellion and the Old Believer movement from growing further, Princess Sophia took decisive measures. At her request, elected representatives of all the archery regiments, except for Titov, came to the palace. Sophia asked if they, like lawless rebels, were ready to exchange the royal family and the entire Russian state for six blacks and give up the most holy patriarch for desecration? The princess again threatened to leave Moscow together with the sovereigns. The elected Stremyanniy Streltsy Regiment answered that they would not stand for the old faith, that this was not their business, but the patriarch's. The same was repeated by others. All of them were treated and presented. But when they returned to their settlements, the archers reproached them for treason and threatened to beat them; especially noisy in the Titov regiment. The Streltsy rebellion threatened to resume, but many ordinary archers could not resist the caress and treats from the royal cellar and took the side of the authorities against the schismatics. Then Princess Sophia ordered to seize the main leaders. Nikita Pustosvyat was beheaded in Red Square, while others were exiled.
Pacification of the Streltsy revolt of 1682 by Sofia
But the main indulgent of the streltsy rebellion, Khovansky, while he remained at the head of the streltsy, allowed them any self-will and did not appease the streltsy, who went to the palace with various impudent demands. Once they demanded the extradition of many boyars by rumor, as if they wanted to exterminate the entire streltsy army in retaliation for the rebellion. The spreader of this rumor, the baptized Tatar prince, Matvey Odyshevsky, was executed. But the unrest between the archers did not stop. Throughout the summer of 1682, the court and the capital spent in fear of a new streltsy revolt. The court did not dare to openly act against Khovansky: more recently, the Miloslavskys, with his help, seized control. Tararui was always surrounded by a crowd of archers, and his courtyard was guarded by a whole detachment. There were rumors that he, being a descendant of Gediminas, wants, using the Streltsy rebellion, to seize the throne and marry his son to one of the princesses in order to intermarry with the Romanovs. A well-known conspirator, a close relative of Princess Sophia, Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky, fearing a new streltsy rebellion, left the capital and "like an underground mole" took refuge in his estates near Moscow. For fear of a rebellion, on August 19, neither Sophia nor other members of the royal family participated in the usual procession from the Assumption Cathedral to the Donskoy Monastery.
Following this, Sophia and the entire royal family suddenly left for the village of Kolomenskoye. The great boyars also departed from Moscow. The archers were alarmed by the absence of the royal court, which could easily gather around itself an army of nobles. Elected from the streltsy regiments urged not to believe the rumors about the imminence of a new streltsy rebellion and asked the sovereigns to return to the capital. The archers were reassured by the answer that Princess Sophia and the court only went on vacation to the villages near Moscow,
On September 2, Sophia and the court moved from Kolomenskoye to Vorobyevo, then to the monastery of Savva Storozhevsky and stayed for several days in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye. Regarding various government affairs, the tsars and Sophia sent a decree to Moscow to all the boyars and duma people, including the Khovanskys, as well as the stewards and nobles of Moscow, to rush to Vozdvizhenskoye. On the 17th, a meeting of the Boyar Duma opened there, in the presence of the tsars and Sophia. Here a report was made on the Streltsy rebellion and the lawlessness perpetrated by Prince Ivan Khovansky and his son Andrei in the orders of Streltsy and the Ship; and then an anonymous letter is presented that they called to themselves some archers and townspeople and persuaded them to rebel, destroy the royal house, put Prince Ivan on the throne, and marry Andrey to one of the princesses.
The Duma did not examine the authenticity of this news. The boyars were sentenced to execute the Khovanskys. The latter, following the aforementioned royal call, traveled by different roads to Vozdvizhenskoye. To meet them, Sophia sent Prince Lykov with a detachment of nobles. Lykov captured the old man Khovansky near the village of Pushkin, and Andrei in the village on the river. Klyazma and delivered both to Princess Sophia in Vozdvizhenskoye. Here, in the presence of the Boyar Duma, the clerk Shaklovity read them a death sentence for the Streltsy rebellion. The Khovanskys appealed to justice, demanded face-to-face confrontations, but in vain. Sophia ordered the execution to be hastened, and it was completed.
This was followed by a quick end to the Streltsy rebellion. The archers were very alarmed when the youngest son of Khovansky, Ivan, who had fled from Vozdvizhensky, brought news of the execution of his father, carried out by the boyars allegedly without a royal decree. The archers armed themselves, seized a cannon outfit, posted guards everywhere, threatened to kill the patriarch. But the threats were replaced by fear and despondency when the rebels learned that the court and Princess Sophia had moved to the fortified Trinity Lavra, where detachments of service people went from all sides.
When the boyar M. Golovin arrived in the capital to manage it in the absence of sovereigns, and a decree came to send two dozen elected representatives from each streltsy regiment to the Trinity, the participants in the streltsy rebellion obeyed and asked the patriarch to save them from execution. On September 27, trembling with fear, they came to the Lavra. Sophia showered them with reproaches for indignation against the royal house. Elected from the archers fell on their faces and promised to continue to serve faithfully. The princess ordered that all the regiments reconcile themselves and submit a common petition for forgiveness. Meanwhile, along the four main roads leading to the capital (Tverskaya, Vladimirskaya, Kolomenskaya and Mozhaiskaya), numerous military forces of the nobles have already settled down, ready to suppress the streltsy rebellion. The archers hurried to fulfill the princess's demand - they sent her a general petition for forgiveness. At the request of the petitioners, the patriarch sent an intercessor with them.