Streletsky revolt (1682): causes, results

In 1682, the Moscow archers staged a riot, leading to power Sophia Alekseevna - the elder sister of the underage princes Ivan and Peter. This uprising was marked by numerous murders of boyars and officials.

Prerequisites

The famous Strelets' revolt of 1682 occurred for several reasons. Shortly before that, regiments of the new system were created , which markedly changed the order in the army. Earlier, the Archers were the backbone of the army, its elite parts. With the advent of the regiments of the new system, they actually turned into a city guard.

In addition, on the eve of the uprising of wages, the streltsy began to be given out irregularly because of the empty treasury. There was also hazing in this stratum, in which commanders kept the wages of subordinates and in every possible way abused their position. All this created tension. Sooner or later it had to turn into an open protest. All that was needed was some external reason. And he was found.

Problem of successor

On April 27, 1682, the young Tsar Fyodor Alekseyevich died . His death led to dynastic confusion. The deceased had no children. The throne was to go to one of his younger brothers - the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich. Ivan and Peter were still quite children. By tradition, the throne had to go to the first of them. However, Ivan was a painful child, and the Kremlin believed that he would die early. In addition, the brothers had different mothers by their fathers, behind whom stood boyar groups. On such an intricate political background, the Streltsi revolt of 1682 occurred.

The mother of the sixteen-year-old Ivan was Maria Miloslavskaya, a representative of a noble and powerful family. She died before her husband, so at the back of the baby were uncles and other relatives. Ten-year-old Peter was the son of Natalia Naryshkina. Streletsky revolt in 1682 was due to the confrontation between the two families when choosing a new king.

Tsarevich Peter

According to the law, the boyar's Duma was to determine the heir. She gathered, when already deadly sick, Fyodor Alekseevich was preparing to say goodbye to life. Boyars chose Peter. This boy was healthier than his brother, which means his supporters could not fear for their future in the event of another fleeting change of power.

Another key character in this story was Ivan's older sister and Pyotr Sophia Alekseevna. It was she who initiated the mutiny of the archers. She was 25 years old, she was an adult with great ambitions. Sophia wanted to pull the power blanket over herself. To do this she was going to, first, with the help of archers who were dissatisfied with her position, and secondly, thanks to the support of the infringed Miloslavskys. The princess also relied on the influential princes Ivan Khovansky and Vasily Golitsyn. These nobles were not at all pleased with the rise of the art Naryshkins.

Unrest in Moscow

Very soon after the decision of the boyar Duma to choose an heir in Moscow began to spread rumors about the upcoming infringements of the archers. These conversations were supported by a broad network of supporters of the Miloslavskys. Streletsky revolt in 1682 was due to a massive propaganda in the armed forces. Cases of disobedience to their own bosses have become more frequent.

For two weeks the situation in the capital was extremely tense and unclear. Finally, on May 15, the approximate Sophia began to act even more decisively. Ivan Miloslavsky and Pyotr Tolstoy went to the Streltsy settlements and there they publicly called the streltsy to the Kremlin, allegedly because the Naryshkins killed the young Tsarevich Ivan. The crowd of armed people really went to the sovereigns' chambers. There she demanded that the boyars who were against Sophia and Miloslavskys and guilty of the death of the child be extradited.

Dissatisfied met the queen Natalia Naryshkina. Having learned the cause of the trouble, she led to the porch of the palace of Ivan and Peter, visually showing that the children are all right. The reasons for the streltsy revolt consisted of rumors that were not confirmed. Thus, the unauthorized action could already be treated as state treason.

The beginning of the bloodshed

The situation in the Kremlin reached its boiling point. The crowd still did not disperse when the boyar Mikhail Dolgorukov, a supporter of the Naryshkins, appeared on the same porch. This nobleman began to shout at the streltsy, accusing them of treason and threatening with speedy reprisals. At that moment, agitated armed men finally found someone to sweep their anger out. Dolgorukov was thrown from the porch directly onto the spears of the soldiers standing below. So the first blood was spilled.

There was nowhere to retreat. Therefore, the events of the Streltsy rebellion developed swiftly, and even the alleged organizers of the riots, who had spread false rumors before, ceased to control the situation. The rebels dealt with the other associates of the Naryshkins, including the leader of their party, Artamon Matveyev. In the palace soldiers killed the brother of Queen Athanasius. The murders lasted all day. Streltsy took the Kremlin under their control. The entrances and exits of the palaces and chambers were guarded by the rebels. In fact, members of the royal family became hostages.

Repression against the Naryshkins

The first streltsy revolt led to perfect anarchy in the city. The power was paralyzed. The rioters were looking for another brother of the queen Ivan Naryshkin with special zeal. On the day of the beginning of the bloodshed, he hid himself in the royal chambers, thanks to which he survived. However, a day later the archers again came to the Kremlin and demanded the extradition of Ivan Kirillovich. Otherwise, they promised to create even greater chaos.

Natalia Naryshkina hesitated. Sofya Alekseevna personally pressed upon her and began to explain that this alone could avoid further anarchy. Ivan was extradited. He was tortured and then executed. Father Ivan and Natalia - old and sick Cyril Naryshkin - was sent to a monastery.

Payment of arrears

The massacre in Moscow continued for another three days. One of the last significant victims of terror was von Gunden - a foreign doctor, written for Fyodor Alekseevich. Streltsy accused him of poisoning the king and killed him. The execution took place even despite the persuasions of the widow of the deceased not to touch the doctor. Queen Martha testified that the foreigner personally tried all the medicines that were prescribed to Fedor. This example shows how ruthless and ruthless the riot revolt was. Sophia at the same time did everything to establish itself in power.

However, before the insurgents and the government began discussing the political future of the country, the rebels on May 19 came to the young king with an ultimatum. Sagittarians demanded the payment of all the detained pay. According to their calculations, the treasury was to pay 240 thousand rubles. For those times it was a colossal amount. At the power of such money simply was not. Then the initiative was taken in hand by Sophia, who, formally still without any authority, ordered to increase taxes and fees in the provinces and begin melting down Kremlin values.

Two princes

Soon new circumstances were discovered, to which the Streltsy revolt led. Briefly assessing the situation, Sophia decided through the archers to require actual power for themselves. It looked like this. May 23 rioters filed in Petr's petition petition, which insisted that the second king became his brother Ivan. A week later this combination was continued. Sagittarius also suggested that Sophia Alekseevna be regent because of her juvenile co-rulers.

The Boyar Duma and Metropolitan agreed to these changes. They did not have a choice, as the residents of the Kremlin continued to be hostage to the soldiers. The ceremony of the wedding of Ivan V and Peter I took place on June 25 in the Assumption Cathedral. She summed up the results of the Streltsy rebellion - the power in the country was changed. Instead of the sole Tsarevich Peter, Russia received two co-rulers-children. The actual power was in the hands of their elder sister, Sophia Alexeevna.

Khovanshchina

Events after the Streltsi rebellion of 1682 still stirred Moscow for some time. When Sophia came to power, she appointed Ivan Khovansky as the head of this military formation. The Tsarina counted on his help in appeasing the streltsy. The queen feared for her fate. She did not want to be the victim of another rebellion.

However, the figure of Khovansky was not the most successful choice for this responsible post. The prince was not only inferior to the archers in their demands, but he himself began to press on Sophia. In addition, the military never left the Kremlin, motivating its action by the need to protect the royal residence. This short period in the people was remembered as "Khovanshchina".

Old Believers' Trouble

Meanwhile, in the confrontation of the streltsy and the central government, a new factor appeared. They became the Old Believers. This religious movement broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. The conflict was caused by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, who touched upon the essence of important Christian rites. The Church recognized the schismatics as heretics and drove them to the outskirts of the country to Siberia.

Now, when in Moscow there was a riot, the Old Believers once again reached the capital. They secured the support of Khovansky. In the Kremlin, he began to defend the idea of the need for a theological debate between supporters of the Old Believers and the official church. Such a public dispute really took place. However, this event ended with yet another mass riots. Now the commoners became the source of unrest.

It was at that moment that another conflict took place between Sophia and Khovansky. The queen insisted that it was necessary to tamper with the Old Believers. In the end, some of their leaders were killed, although Khovansky guaranteed them immunity. Fearing reprisals from the authorities, the streltsy agreed to recognize the schismatics as instigators to another riot.

Moving the yard

After the story with the Old Believers, the relationship between Sofya Alekseyevna and Ivan Khovansky finally deteriorated. At the same time, the government continued to remain in a dependent position from the streltsy. Then the regent gathered the entire yard and literally fled with him from the city. It happened on the 19th of August.

That day in the outskirts of Moscow was planned a religious procession. Sophia took advantage of this pretext to move away from the streltsy to the province. She took the princes with her. The ruler could call a noblemen's militia, which would become a new army capable of protecting the authorities from unstable archers. The court secretly moved to the well-fortified Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

Sagittarius laying down arms

Could a new streltsi rebellion occur in connection with this maneuver of power? The causes and results of the first bloodshed were still well remembered by Sophia, who decided to finally get rid of this threat. She believed that such an opportunity really existed, and wanted to stop it in advance.

Khovansky, learning about the actual escape of the regent with the princes, decided to go straight to Sofya, in order to settle the conflict with the help of negotiations. On the road, he stopped in Pushkin, where he was seized by loyal authorities as stooges. On the same night, September 17, he was executed on charges of organizing a coup d'état. Khovanshchina is over.

There was no second bloodshed. Sagittarians, having learned about the infamous death of their leader, were demoralized. They surrendered to the authorities and cleared the Kremlin. To the place of the chief of the Streletsky army was appointed the Duma clerk Fedor Shaklovitiy. He began to recreate discipline and order in these parts. After 16 years, the Streltsi again rebelled, already during the reign of Peter I, after which they were finally repressed, and their army was dissolved.