Execution of Pugachev on Bolotnaya Square: date. Emelyan Ivanovich Pugachev in history

Emelian Ivanovich Pugachev was a Don Cossack who went down in history as the leader of the Peasants' War, which took place in Russia from 1773 to 1775. He used the rumors that were going on at that time that Emperor Peter III was supposedly alive, but illegally removed from power by Catherine II and her lover Grigory Orlov. Pugachev turned out to be the most fortunate of all pretenders who pretended to be a monarch.

Plans of the rebel leader

In the battle that occurred at Solenikova's company in late August 1774, the rebels suffered a crushing defeat. The remnants of their troops moved south-east along the Volga. In the evening of August 25, before reaching Black Yara, they managed to cross first from the right bank of the river to one of the islands, and then from the opposite side. Pugachev led the remnants of his army to the east, overcame the river Akhtuba, on the left bank of which he called a meeting. It was decided on further actions.

The leader of the rebels offered several options for retreat. The first of them is to go downstream along the Volga and reach the Caspian Sea, and then make a roundabout way to Ukraine and join the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The second option concerned the flight to Bashkiria or Siberia.

Betrayal

However, planning the way out, Emelyan Ivanovich Pugachev did not know that at that time a conspiracy, in which Cossack colonels participated, decided to betray him. His closest associates decided to extradite him to the authorities, and in return receive a pardon from the government for himself.

In the conspiracy FF Chumakov, IP Feduev, IA Tvorogov and about two dozen Yaik Cossacks took part. They categorically disagreed with none of Pugachev's plans and put forward a counter offer to go towards Uzenai. To do this, they chose the circuit route and arrived on 8 September. Having seized the moment when the main troops of the Cossacks were in the distance, the conspirators attacked Pugachev. On the way to Yaitsky town he twice tried to escape, but without success. Chumakov and Tvorogov, who went ahead, faced a search squad commanded by the centurion Harchev. He brought a rebel to the Yaitsk town.

So Emelyan Pugachev was caught. The peasant war, led by this extraordinary man, soon ended, but Suvorov and Panin had to adjust for a long time in the troubled provinces, establishing the former power in them.

Consequence

The first interrogation of Emelian Pugachev was carried out on September 15 in the town of Yaitsk. The investigation was conducted by Mavrin and first of all he found out all the details of the detainee's biography. Later, in his report to Major-General Potemkin, he wrote that Pugachev behaved calmly and with restraint. Three days later, Lieutenant-General Suvorov arrived to interrogate the impostor, who personally conducted the inquiry. After that the arrested person was escorted to Simbirsk. For its transportation a special tight cage was installed, mounted on a two-wheeled wagon.

In Simbirsk from 2 to 6 October, Pugachev was not only interrogated, but also applied to his torture. He had to stipulate himself and his comrades-in-arms. On October 26, Pugachev was sent to Moscow under heavy guard. Upon his arrival in the capital, he was kept in the basement of the building where the Mint was located. Together with him were brought and other participants in the uprising. On December 30, the first session of the court took place, which took place in the Throne Room of the Kremlin. The next day Pugachev was brought here, who, on his knees, answered questions, after which he heard the court's decision. The verdict was severe: the criminal was first quartered, they would chop off his head, and then they would take the parts of the body to different parts of the city and burn them.

Last preparations

The date of execution of Pugachev was appointed on January 10, 1775. In the morning, a clergyman of the Kazan Cathedral of the Protopope Theodore was sent to his cell, who was to receive the condemned person to death. After this, the convoy led the rebel shackled into shackles and seated him in a sleigh. Together with him went two priests, who on the way persuaded him to repent of the deed.

Such an extraordinary event, like the execution of Pugachev, caused a huge number of people to gather in the Swamp area long before dawn. The scaffold itself was cordoned off in advance by police units, as well as sent to them by reinforcements of infantry regiments. They with great difficulty held back the enormous pressure of the human crowd. The people flooded not only the whole area, but also the streets adjoining it. People were sitting on the roofs of surrounding houses and churches.

The behavior of Pugachev on execution

When a string of sledges with a convoy passed the Resurrection Bridge, Pugachev got up and began to bow in all directions. So he said goodbye to the people. Sledges with prisoners moved into the square and stopped at the scaffold. Emeliana Pugacheva, along with Afanasy Perfiliev, was taken to the platform. Several priests, police officers, judicial officials and executioners followed them.

They began to read out the verdict, during which the chief rebel was baptized from time to time and quietly uttered prayers. After this, the priest blessed the condemned to death and said a few comforting words. Then Pugachev uttered his last phrase, beginning with the words: "Forgive me, the Orthodox people ...", and at that time he himself bowed his earthly bows and crossed himself without bored, turning his eyes to the cathedrals of the Kremlin.

Further events unfolded rather quickly. The execution of Pugachev began with the fact that the shackles were removed from the prisoner and the clothes were torn off, and a minute later his executioner was holding the executioner in his hands with a bloody head.

Memories of eyewitnesses

The poet-fabulist of that era, Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev, like most of the Moscow nobles, was not far from the scaffold and could see in every detail how Pugachev was executed. Despite the fact that the chief rebel had a reputation as a formidable robber, the writer in his face did not notice anything fierce or brutal. He described him as an ordinary man of about forty, of medium height, with a swarthy face and a wedge-shaped beard. Outwardly, he absolutely did not resemble emperor Peter III, and it was amazing how the people could take one for another.

Another eyewitness of those events, scientist, writer and philosopher Andrei Timofeevich Bolotov, noticed a strange deviation in the procedure of execution. According to the sentence, Emelian Pugachev had to quarter, that is, first cut off his hands and feet, and only after that to cut his head. However, the executioner did the opposite. Ober-politsmeyster Arkharov was in great confusion and scolded the executioner for such a mistake. As a result, the hands and legs of the convict were severed after his death.

The grace of Empress Catherine II

Was such an oversight of the executioner accidental, or did he do it intentionally? This was written by AS Pushkin in his book The History of the Pugachev Riot. Here the poet referred to the letter of the Empress to Prince Volkonsky, where it was said that her philanthropy does not allow him to act cruelly even with criminals. Therefore, before the execution of Pugachev was to take place, Catherine allegedly in words passed through the chief policeman Arkharov a secret instruction to the executioner, so that he first cut off Emelian Pugachev's head, and after that he quartered. An interesting fact is that the Empress allegedly strictly forbade mentioning this anywhere.

It is not known exactly whether there really was such an indication of Catherine II, but there were no more official quarterings in Russia. In addition, the public execution of Pugachev in Bolotnaya Square was also the last. According to the verdict, his head was put on the stake and put on public display, and the severed parts of the body were taken to different parts of the city and burned in a day.

Results of the Peasants' War

Thus ended the mutiny, once raised by a handful of obstinate Cossacks, headed by Emelyan Pugachev. In the history of Russia, this Peasant War left a deep trail, as it affected most of the country, sweeping from Siberia to Moscow, as well as from Kuban to Murom.

After the Pugachev rebellion was completed, a manifesto was published on the orders of Empress Catherine II, where it was said that this uprising should be committed to "eternal oblivion." And in order to destroy even the slightest memory of this bloody era, she ordered to rename the rebellious Yaitsk town in Uralsk.