Church schism of the 17th century in Russia and the Old Believers. Solovetsky uprising "To eradicate theft and rebellion by any means"
In 1652, the fifth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Joseph, died, and Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, a favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the Quietest, was elected in his place. The newly minted patriarch forced the tsar to give a written promise not to interfere in any spiritual affairs and set about reforming church rites and books.
Nikon replaced earthly prostrations with waist ones, introduced baptism with three fingers, and corrected icons according to Greek patterns. Soon the Patriarch convened the Moscow Council, at which it was decided that all those who are baptized with two fingers during the service should immediately be anathematized.
Nikon's reforms caused widespread criticism among adherents of the old church traditions, but all those who disagree were quickly persecuted by the former metropolitan. For example, the patriarch's opponent, Archpriest Avvakum, was thrown into the monastery cellar for three days, and then exiled to Tobolsk. “They reproach me that I didn’t submit to the patriarch, but I scold him for writing, yes, I bark, they pull my hair, and push me under my sides, and they trade for a chain, and they spit in my eyes,” wrote the archpriest.
“Nikon is a person who arouses disgust in me,” Catherine II will say later. - I would be happier if I had not heard about his name ... Nikon and the sovereign tried to subjugate himself: he wanted to become a pope ...
Nikon brought confusion and division into the domestic church, peaceful before him and integrally united. Trippers was imposed on us by the Greeks with the help of curses, torture and death penalty... Nikon made a tyrant and torturer of his people from Alexei the tsar-father.
From old books
The monks of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery actively opposed Nikon's reforms. They hid Nikon's new missals and continued to hold services based on old books. Archimandrite Ilya became the initiator of a large-scale propaganda of the Old Believers, but a few years later he died, and his position was taken by Bartholomew, who stood on the side of the patriarch-reformer.
Bartholomew tried to introduce the books and icons of Nikon, but the religious community of the Solovetsky Monastery criticized the new archimandrite. Soon Bartholomew arrived in Moscow, where he spoke about the disobedient monks.
At the same time, several petitions were sent to the capital from the Solovetsky Monastery. One said that Bartholomew was a drunkard who needed to be removed immediately, and the second said that riots were starting in the monastery.
The Moscow Cathedral decided to look into the situation and sent the Yaroslavl-Spassky Archimandrite Sergius to the Solovetsky Monastery, accompanied by archers. Returning to the capital, Sergius reported that the local brethren were raising a cry against new books and rituals. Then the Moscow Cathedral appointed Archimandrite Joseph to the recalcitrant monastery, who immediately told the Solovetsky Old Believers that he intended to hold services in accordance with the new canons. The monks again did not submit and drove Joseph out of their monastery.
"Theft and rebellion to be eradicated by any means"
Angry Alexei Mikhailovich forbade the delivery of bread to the rebels, and in 1668 he sent a detachment of archers under the command of the solicitor Ignatius Volokhov to the Solovetsky Monastery.
However, the monks with the laymen who were on their pilgrimage armed themselves, sat down under siege and did not let the royal troops approach them. According to historians, enough food was stored inside the monastery to last for a whole decade.
Deciding that Volokhov was not coping with his task, the angry tsar replaced him with the governor of Ievlev. However, Ievlev turned out to be no better than his predecessor, and then Alexei Mikhailovich sent Ivan Meshcherinov to the Solovetsky Monastery. The king ordered the voivode "to eradicate theft and rebellion by any means."
"Warmen will scatter like sheep"
By order of Ivan Meshcherinov, the archers launched an armed attack against the monks. In response to the actions of the governor, one of the rebels, the former archimandrite of the Savva-Storozhevsky monastery Nikanor, blessed his comrades to fire cannons. “If you hit the shepherd, the soldiers will scatter like sheep,” he told the monks, urging them to shoot at Meshcherinov.
Soon, dissension began inside the Solovetsky Monastery: some monks insisted that they should continue to pray for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, while others considered the ruler to be Herod, unworthy of prayer. Because of these disagreements, several rebels left the fortress and took the side of Meshcherinov.
Betrayal and the end of the siege
By 1675, the number of archers had increased significantly, and the governor Meshcherinov intensified his attempts to pacify the rebels, but all of them again turned out to be futile.
Then the monk Feoktist came from the Solovetsky Monastery to the tsar's troops, who had betrayed their comrades. Feoktist undertook to lead a detachment of archers into the fortress. On the night of January 22, 1676, 50 archers, together with the Solovetsky traitor, entered the monastery through a bricked-up window under dryer at the White Tower.
The tsarist troops began to massacre the rebels. “At present, we do not have sufficient information to indicate the exact number of those executed, but the fact of numerous and cruel executions, which has long been preserved in the people's memory, is beyond doubt,” write researchers of the Old Believers Elena Yukhimenko and. - According to the census conducted in September 1668, at the very beginning of the siege in the Solovetsky Monastery there were about 670-700 people, by the end of the "sitting" in the monastery, according to some sources, there were 300 people left, according to others - 500 (losses should also be taken into account among the besieged, and there were defections).
After the capture of the monastery, by June 1676, when Meshcherinov submitted the “painting” to the newly sent archimandrite Macarius, only 14 chernets taken from the monastery were listed as alive. According to Old Believer sources, from 300 to 500 people died in the monastery; 500 Solovyans who suffered for the old faith are commemorated in the Old Believer Synod.
After 1676, the monastery was settled by a new brethren, composed of monks from various Russian monasteries.
Contemporaries wrote that the bloodthirsty Meshcherinov "hung with the corpses of monks all the trees around the monastery." But soon the suppressor of the uprising was accused of stealing the monastery treasury, and then he became the first prisoner of the Solovetsky prison after the destruction of the Solovetsky monastery by him.
In the middle of the White Sea on the Solovetsky Islands is the monastery of the same name. In Russia, he is glorified not only as the greatest among the monasteries that support the old rites. Thanks to strong weapons and reliable fortification, the Solovetsky Monastery in the second half of the 17th century became the most important post for the military, repelling the attacks of the Swedish invaders. Local residents did not stand aside, constantly supplying provisions to his novices.
The Solovetsky Monastery is also famous for another event. In 1668, his novices refused to accept the new church reforms approved by Patriarch Nikon, and rebuffed the tsarist authorities by organizing an armed uprising, named in history the Solovetsky. Resistance lasted until 1676.
In 1657, the supreme authority of the clergy sent out religious books, according to which it was now necessary to conduct services in a new way. The Solovetsky elders met this order with an unequivocal refusal. After that, all the novices of the monastery opposed the authority of the person appointed by Nikon to the post of abbot and appointed their own. They became Archimandrite Nikanor. Of course, these actions did not go unnoticed in the capital. Adherence to the old rites was condemned, and in 1667 the authorities sent their regiments to the Solovetsky Monastery in order to take away its lands and other property.
But the monks did not surrender to the military. For 8 years, they confidently held back the siege and were faithful to the old foundations, turning the monastery into a monastery that protected the novices from innovations.
Until recently, the Moscow government hoped for a quiet settlement of the conflict and forbade attacking the Solovetsky Monastery. And in winter, the regiments generally left the siege, returning to the mainland.
But in the end, the authorities still decided to carry out stronger military attacks. This happened after the Moscow government found out about the concealment by the monastery of Razin's once unfinished detachments. It was decided to attack the walls of the monastery with cannons. The governor who led the suppression of the uprising was appointed Meshcherinov, who immediately arrived in Solovki to carry out orders. However, the king himself insisted on pardoning the perpetrators of the rebellion if they repented.
It should be noted that those wishing to repent to the king were found, but were immediately seized by other novices and imprisoned in a dungeon within the monastery walls.
More than once or twice the regiments tried to capture the besieged walls. And only after lengthy assaults, numerous losses and the report of a defector who indicated the entrance to the fortress unknown until then, the regiments finally occupied it. Note that at that time there were very few rebels left on the territory of the monastery, and the prison was already empty.
The leaders of the rebellion in the amount of about 3 dozen people who tried to preserve the old foundations were immediately executed, other monks were exiled to prisons.
As a result, the Solovetsky Monastery is now the bosom of the New Believers, and its novices are serviceable Nikonians.
Rate the news
Key dates and events: 1648 - "salt" riot; 1662 - "copper" riot; 1667--1671 -- an uprising led by S. Razin.
Historical figures: Alexei Mikhailovich; Stepan Razin.
Answer plan: 1) the reasons for popular demonstrations; 2) features of popular performances in the 17th century. ; 3) "salt" rebellion; 4) "copper" rebellion; 5) the uprising of S. Razin; 6) speeches of the Old Believers; 7) the significance of the popular movements of the 17th century.
Material for answer: Contemporaries called the 17th century "rebellious". The main reasons for popular uprisings were: the enslavement of the peasants and the growth of their duties; increased tax burden; strengthening of red tape and bureaucracy; attempts to limit Cossack liberty; church schism and the persecution of the Old Believers.
All this led to the participation in the protests against the authorities not only of the peasantry (as it was before), but also of the Cossacks, the urban lower classes, archers, and the lower strata of the clergy. The participation of the Cossacks and archers, who had not only weapons, but also experience in conducting military operations, gave popular performances of the 17th century. the nature of a fierce struggle that led to great loss of life.
The most serious performances began in the middle of the century. On June 1, 1648, Alexei Mikhailovich was returning from pilgrimage from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery to the Kremlin. A crowd of Muscovites tried to file a complaint with him against the Moscow mayor, the head of the Zemsky order, L. S. Pleshcheev, who was accused of embezzlement, red tape, pandering to wealthy citizens, and raising the price of bread and salt. The performance was so powerful that the tsar was forced to hand over Pleshcheev to the massacre of the people. The boyar B. I. Morozov, the tutor of Alexei Mikhailovich and the de facto head of government, was dismissed and expelled from Moscow. Following Moscow, uprisings broke out in Kursk, Kozlov, Yelets, and Tomsk.
Constant wars exhausted the royal treasury. To replenish it, it was decided to mint a coin not from silver, as before, but from copper. As a result, the money depreciated sharply. This caused discontent among the population. In July 1662, having destroyed the estates of some of the boyars and officials close to the tsar, crowds of townspeople rushed to the out-of-town royal palace in the village of Kolomenskoye. In anticipation of the arrival of troops, the king was forced to promise the rebels the abolition of copper money. The townspeople headed back to Moscow, but on the way they met a new crowd of thousands, and the procession to Kolomenskoye resumed. Meanwhile, government troops approached, and the unarmed crowd was put to flight. The reprisals against the participants of the speech began. The instigators of the riot were hanged in the center of Moscow, the participants were cut off their hands, feet, tongues, flogged with a whip, sent into exile. Nevertheless, the circulation of copper money was canceled.
The largest popular performance of the XVII century. there was an uprising of Cossacks and peasants led by S. T. Razin.
The introduction of the Council Code of 1649, the search for and reprisals against fugitive peasants, the ruin of many villagers, townspeople and soldiers led to an outflow of people to the outskirts of the country, primarily to the Don. By the mid 1660s. a large number of refugees from the central regions have accumulated here. Many local Cossacks also remained poor. A beggarly existence forced 700 Don Cossacks, led by ataman Vasily Us, in 1666 to go towards Moscow with a request to the government to accept them into the royal service. After the refusal of the king, the peaceful campaign turned into an uprising, in which, in addition to the Cossacks, thousands of peasants took part. Soon the rebels withdrew to the Don, where they joined the detachments of Ataman S. T. Razin (1630-1671).
The first stage of Razin's speech (1667-1669) is usually called the "campaign for zipuns." Razin's detachment blocked the main trade artery of the South of Russia - the Volga, capturing merchant ships of Russian and Persian merchants. The rebels captured the Yaitsky town, and then defeated the fleet of the Persian Shah. Having taken possession of rich booty, in the summer of 1669 Razin returned to the Don and settled with his detachment in the Kagalnitsky town. The people reached out to the successful leader of the rebels from everywhere. Feeling the strength, Razin announced his intention to march on Moscow, promised "to beat all the princes and boyars and all the Russian gentry (nobility)."
In the spring of 1670, the second stage of the performance began, when the differences captured Tsaritsyn and approached the well-fortified Astrakhan, which surrendered without a fight. Having dealt with the governor and nobles, the rebels formed a government headed by atamans Vasily Us and Fyodor Sheludyak. The success of the rebels served as a signal for the transition to the side of Razin of the population of many Volga cities: Saratov, Samara, Penza, etc. Among the participants in the performance were representatives of the peoples of the Volga region: Chuvash, Mari, Tatars, Mordovians. Most of them were attracted by the fact that Razin declared each participant in the uprising a Cossack (that is, free). The total number of rebels was up to 200 thousand people.
In September 1670, the rebel army besieged Simbirsk, but could not take it and retreated to the Don. The punitive expedition against Razin was led by the governor, Prince Yu. Baryatinsky. Fearing reprisals, wealthy Cossacks seized Razin and handed him over to the authorities. After torture and trial, the leader of the rebels was quartered near the Execution Ground in Moscow.
However, the uprising continued. Only a year later, in November 1671, the tsarist troops managed to occupy Astrakhan and completely suppress the uprising. The scale of the reprisals against the Razintsy were enormous. In Arzamas alone, up to 11 thousand people were executed. In total, up to 100 thousand people were killed and tortured. Russia has not yet known such massacres.
The church schism for the first time led to mass religious uprisings. The movement of the Old Believers united representatives of various social strata, who in their own way understood adherence to the traditions of their faith. The forms of protest were also varied - from self-immolation and starvation, refusal to recognize Nikon's reform, evasion of duties to armed resistance to the tsarist governors. Only in 20 years (1675-1695) up to 20 thousand Old Believers died in mass self-immolations.
The largest armed uprisings of fighters for the faith were the Solovetsky uprising of 1668-1676, the performance on the Don in the 1670s-80s. The uprising of the monks of the Solovetsky Monastery was especially brutally suppressed. However, the performances of the Old Believers continued until the end of the century.
Thus, the strengthening of oppression, the enslavement of the peasants, attempts to eliminate the remnants of Cossack self-government, the struggle of the tsarist and church authorities against the schismatics led to mass popular uprisings, the main results of which were individual concessions to the government.
Description of the presentation on individual slides:
1 slide
Description of the slide:
Popular movements of the 17th century. "Rebellious Age" Prepared by the teacher of history and social studies of the FGOU secondary school No. 4 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Latypova O.Sh.
2 slide
Description of the slide:
To characterize the difficult internal situation in Russia in the 17th century, to present the cause-and-effect relationships of popular uprisings in the 17th century, to determine the features of popular uprisings. LESSON OBJECTIVES: LESSON PLAN: Causes of popular uprisings Salt Riot Copper Riot The Rebellion of Stepan Razin Performances of the Old Believers Chronological table "17th century -" rebellious age "
3 slide
Description of the slide:
REASONS FOR THE PUBLIC ACTIONS The main reasons for the popular uprisings were: the enslavement of the peasants and the growth of feudal duties; increased tax oppression, waging almost continuous wars, increased bureaucracy; attempts to limit Cossack liberty; church schism and reprisals against the Old Believers. The main tax burden falls on the shoulders of the people, who express their protest with riots. Moscow 17th century
4 slide
Description of the slide:
REASONS FOR PEOPLE'S ACTIONS During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (the Quietest), the country was shaken by popular uprisings, which were remembered by both contemporaries and posterity. The 17th century was nicknamed "Rebellious". The most famous social performances: Salt, Plague and Copper riots, the peasant war under the leadership of Stepan Razin and the movement of the Old Believers "Rebellious Age"
5 slide
Description of the slide:
The reason was the attempt of the boyar B.I. Morozov to introduce an additional tax on the sale and purchase of salt in Since salt was the most important consumer product, its rise in price hit the population. A crowd of Muscovites tried to give him a petition, but the archers dispersed the crowd. Ernest Lissner "Salt Riot"
6 slide
Description of the slide:
SALT REVOLT On June 2, 1648, the townspeople broke into the Kremlin, but they failed to hand over the petition to the tsar - the boyars tore up the petition and threw it to the people. On the same day, the dissatisfied smashed the houses of the hated boyars. On June 4, 1648, Leonty Pleshcheev, head of the Zemsky order, was torn to pieces on Red Square. The tsar managed to save only his "uncle" Morozov B.I., urgently sending him into exile in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. . B. Kustodiev. "Rebellion of the townspeople in the 17th century"
7 slide
Description of the slide:
SALT REVOLT Results and results of the salt rebellion The king made concessions to the rebels. The perpetrators of the corrupt policy were handed over to the crowd for reprisals. Later, the Zemsky Sobor was convened in 1649, at which a single procedure for legal proceedings was introduced, most taxes were abolished. The archers who participated in the rebellion were not punished, but on the contrary, they were left in the service and their salaries were increased. The leaders and the most active participants were executed Torture on the rack. Ancient engraving.
8 slide
Description of the slide:
The Copper Riot is an uprising against raising taxes and issuing copper coins that are depreciating compared to silver since 1654, which took place in Moscow on July 25, 1662. It was prescribed to trade with copper money, and pay taxes in silver. “When a peasant saw such badly made money at one time ... they didn’t start to carry hay and firewood and food supplies to the cities,” and “great poverty began throughout the country ... and in all grubs the cost is great ... from thieves from copper money." From the annals of the COPPER REVOLT Copper penny
9 slide
Description of the slide:
COPPER REVOLT In August 1662, sheets with accusations against a number of wealthy boyars were found in Lubyanka, who were accused of secret relations with Poland. Although the accusations had no basis, the crowd rushed to smash their houses, and then went to the king in the village. Kolomna Ernest. Lissner. "The uprising in Kolomenskoye in 1662"
10 slide
Description of the slide:
The king entered into negotiations with the rebels and promised to abolish copper money. Believing the king, the townspeople headed back to Moscow. However, on the way they met a new crowd of many thousands, and the procession to Kolomenskoye resumed. Meanwhile, the king managed to gather troops. The unarmed crowd was put to flight by force of arms. COPPER REVOLT
11 slide
Description of the slide:
THE COPPER REVOLT “And that same day, 150 people were hanged near that village, and the rest were all given a decree, tortured and burned, and, according to the investigation for guilt, they cut off their hands and feet, and fingers at the hands and feet, and beat others with a whip, and laid them on on the face on the right side there are signs, having kindled the iron on red, and “beeches” are placed on that iron, that is, a rebel, so that he is forever grateful; and inflicting punishment on them, they sent everyone to distant cities, to Kazan, and to Astarakhan, and to Terki, and to Siberia, to eternal life ... and another greater thief of that day, in the night, issued a decree, tying his hands back, putting him in large courts, drowned in the Moscow River"
12 slide
Description of the slide:
Outcomes and results of the copper riot The result of the copper riot was the gradual abolition of the copper coin. In 1663, the copper yards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the minting of silver coins resumed. Copper money was completely withdrawn from circulation and melted down into other necessary copper items. COPPER REVOLT Palekh miniature. "Copper Riot"
13 slide
Description of the slide:
The largest popular uprising of the 17th century was the uprising of Cossacks and peasants led by S. T. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Razin, a native of the Don village of Zimoveyskaya. Peasants, townspeople, everyone who wanted to become free fled to the Don from serfdom. ". In the Cossack environment, there was an unwritten law - "there is no extradition from the Don." The source of income for the Cossacks was campaigns "for zipuns", i.e. for prey Stepan Razin
14 slide
Description of the slide:
Stepan Razin himself was an evil and intelligent man, experienced and cunning, had a penchant for adventures, military dexterity and the qualities of a ruthless chieftain. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN BM Kustodiev. "Stepan Razin"
15 slide
Description of the slide:
During the first campaign (1667-1669), which is called the "zipun campaign", Razin's detachment blocked the main economic artery of southern Russia - the Volga, captured merchant ships of Russian and Persian merchants. S. Razin captured the Yaitsky town, defeated the Persian fleet. Having received rich booty, in the summer of 1669 Razin returned to the Don and settled with his detachment in the Kagalnitsky town. Stepan Razin's campaign for the "zipuns" THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN
16 slide
Description of the slide:
THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Thousands of the destitute began to come here from everywhere. Feeling the strength, Razin announced a campaign against Moscow, where he promised "to beat all the princes and boyars and all the gentry (nobility) of Russia."
17 slide
Description of the slide:
Charming letters from S. Razin “... by decree of the great sovereign, the tsar and the grand duke REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Alexei Mikhailovich ... and according to the letter of Evo, the great sovereign, we, the great army of the Don, left the Don Donets for him, the great sovereign, to serve, because nevo, the great sovereign, did not become princes from them, the traitors of the boyars. And we, the great army of the Don, stood for the house of the Most Holy Theotokos and for Evo, the great sovereign, and for all the mob. » Cossack planes
18 slide
Description of the slide:
19 slide
Description of the slide:
Among the participants in the speech were Cossacks, Russian peasants, representatives of many peoples of the Volga region: Chuvash, Mari, Tatars, Mordovians. Most of them were attracted to Razin by the fact that he declared each participant in the speech a Cossack (that is, a free man). The total population of the rebel lands was about 200 thousand people. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN The territory covered by the uprising of S. Razin.
20 slide
Description of the slide:
In the spring of 1670, the second stage of Razin's speech began. The rebels immediately captured Tsaritsyn and approached the well-fortified Astrakhan, which surrendered without a fight. The success of the rebels served as a signal for the transition to the side of Razin of the population of many Volga cities: Saratov, Samara, Penza and others. In September 1670, the rebels laid siege to Simbirsk. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Weapons of the Razintsy.
21 slide
Description of the slide:
THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN On 10/01/1670, a decisive battle began under the walls of Simbirsk. S. Razin fought in the thick of things, but his army could not resist, it ran. The wounded S. Razin was taken out of the battle. With his closest associates, he sailed down the Volga, disappeared on the Don. The forces of the rebels scattered, they suffered defeat. About 11 thousand people were executed in Arzamas. Up to 100 thousand participants in the uprising were repressed. V. Surikov. "Stepan Razin"
22 slide
Description of the slide:
THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Fearing reprisals, wealthy Cossacks, led by ataman Kornila Yakovlev, seized Razin and handed him over to Moscow. On June 6, 1670, after being tortured, Stepan Razin was quartered on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. S. A. Kirillov “Razin is being taken!” S. A. Kirillov "Stepan Razin"
23 slide
Description of the slide:
However, the uprising continued. Only a year later, in November 1671, the tsarist troops managed to occupy Astrakhan and completely suppress the uprising. The scale of reprisals against differences was enormous. In Arzamas alone, up to 11 thousand people were executed. In total, up to 100 thousand rebels were killed and tortured. The country has not yet known such massacres. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Massacre of the rebels
24 slide
Description of the slide:
results of the uprising. The rebels did not achieve the satisfaction of any of their goals: the tightening of the tsar's power continued, the Cossacks were for a long time pushed aside from government, and serfdom was not abolished. THE REBELLION OF STEPAN RAZIN Massacre of the rebels
25 slide
Description of the slide:
SPEECH OF THE OLD BELIEVERS The movement of the Old Believers brought together representatives of various social strata. The forms of protest were also varied: from self-immolation and starvation, refusal to recognize Nikon's reform, evasion of duties and disobedience to the authorities, to armed resistance to the tsarist governors. For the Old Believer peasants and townspeople, this was a form of social protest. V. Surikov "Boyar Morozova"
26 slide
“The main driving force of the Solovetsky uprising at both stages of the armed struggle was not the monks with their conservative ideology, but the peasants and Balti - temporary residents of the island who did not have a monastic rank. Among the Balti there was a privileged group, adjoining the brethren and the cathedral elite. These are the servants of the archimandrite and the cathedral elders (servants) and the lower clergy: sexton deacons, kliroshans (servants). The bulk of the Balti were laborers and working people who served the intramonastic and patrimonial economy and were exploited by the spiritual feudal lord. Among the workers who worked "for hire" and "under a promise", that is, for free, who vowed "by charitable work to atone for their sins and earn forgiveness", there were many "walking", fugitive people: peasants, townspeople, archers, Cossacks, yaryzhek. It was they who made up the main core of the rebels.
Exiles and disgraced people turned out to be a good "fuel material", of which there were up to 40 people on the island.
In addition to the working people, but under his influence and pressure, part of the ordinary brethren joined the uprising. This is not surprising, because the black elders, by their origin, were “all peasant children” or people from the settlements. However, as the uprising deepened, the monks, frightened by the decisiveness of the people, broke with the uprising.
An important reserve of the insurgent monastic masses was the Pomeranian peasantry, working in the salty, mica and other crafts, who came under the protection of the walls of the Solovetsky Kremlin. [Frumenkov 3 - 67]
“The testimonies of Elder Prokhor are characteristic in this regard: “There are three hundred people in the monastery in all, and more than four hundred people from Beltsy, they locked themselves in the monastery and sat down to die, but the images do not want to build. And it became with them for theft and for capitonism, and not for faith. And many Kapitons, blacks and Beltsy, from low-lying cities came to the monastery de Razinovshchina, they excommunicated their thieves from the church and from the spiritual fathers. Yes, they have gathered in the monastery fugitive Moscow archers and Don Cossacks and runaway boyar serfs and pink state foreigners ... and all the root of evil gathered here in the monastery. [Likhachev 1 - 30]
“There were more than 700 people in the insurgent monastery, including over 400 resolute supporters of the struggle against the government by the method of peasant war. The rebels had at their disposal 990 cannons placed on towers and a fence, 900 pounds of gunpowder, a large number of handguns and edged weapons, as well as protective equipment. [Frumenkov 2 - 21]
Stages of the uprising
“The uprising in the Solovetsky Monastery can be divided into two stages. At the first stage of the armed struggle (1668 - 1671), the laity and monks came out under the banner of defending the "old faith" against Nikon's innovations. The monastery at that time was one of the richest and economically independent, due to its remoteness from the center and the wealth of natural resources.
In the “newly corrected liturgical books” brought to the monastery, the Solovki discovered “ungodly heresies and crafty innovations,” which the monastery theologians refused to accept. The struggle of the exploited masses against the government and the church, like many speeches of the Middle Ages, took on a religious guise, although in fact, under the slogan of defending the "old faith", the democratic sections of the population fought against state and monastic feudal serf oppression. V.I. drew attention to this feature of the revolutionary actions of the peasantry crushed by darkness. Lenin. He wrote that "... the appearance of political protest under a religious veneer is a phenomenon characteristic of all peoples, at a certain stage of their development, and not of Russia alone" (vol. 4, p. 228)". [Frumenkov 2 - 21]
“Apparently, initially, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich hoped to take the monastery by starvation and intimidation, blocking the delivery of food and other necessary supplies. But the blockade dragged on, and a peasant war flared up in the Volga region and in the south of Russia under the leadership of S. T. Razin. [Sokolova]
“In 1668 the tsar ordered the siege of the monastery. An armed struggle began between the Solovki and government troops. The beginning of the Solovetsky uprising coincided with the peasant war that flared up in the Volga region under the leadership of S.T. Razin". [Frumenkov 2 - 21]
“The government, not without reason, feared that its actions would stir up all of Pomorie, turn the region into a continuous area of \u200b\u200bpopular uprising. Therefore, the first years of the siege of the rebellious monastery was carried out sluggishly and intermittently. In the summer months, the tsarist troops landed on the Solovetsky Islands, tried to block them and interrupt the connection of the monastery with the mainland, and for the winter they moved ashore to the Sumy prison, and the Dvina and Kholmogory archers, who were part of the government army, went home for this time.
The transition to open hostilities exacerbated the social contradictions in the camp of the rebels to the extreme and accelerated the demarcation of the fighting forces. It was finally completed under the influence of the Razintsy, who began to arrive at the monastery in the autumn of 1671. [Frumenkov 3 - 69]
“The participants in the peasant war of 1667-1671 who joined the insurgent mass. took the initiative in the defense of the monastery and intensified the Solovetsky uprising.
The runaway boyar serf Isachko Voronin, the Kemsky resident Samko Vasiliev, Razin chieftains F. Kozhevnikov and I. Sarafanov came to lead the uprising. The second stage of the uprising began (1671 - 1676), at which religious issues receded into the background and the idea of \u200b\u200bstruggle for the "old faith" ceased to be the banner of the movement. The uprising takes on a pronounced anti-feudal and anti-government character, becomes a continuation of the peasant war led by S.T. Razin. The Far North of Russia became the last hotbed of the peasant war. [Frumenkov 2 - 22]
“In the “interrogative speeches” of people from the monastery, it is reported that the leaders of the uprising and many of its participants “do not go to the church of God, and do not come to confession to the spiritual fathers, and the priests are cursed and called heretics and apostates.” To those who reproached them for their fall into sin, they answered: "We will live without priests." Newly corrected liturgical books were burned, tore, and drowned in the sea. The rebels “set aside” the pilgrimage for the great sovereign and his family and did not want to hear more about it, and some of the rebels said about the king “such words that it’s scary not only to write, but also to think.” [Frumenkov 3 - 70]
“Such actions finally scared away the uprising of the monks. On the whole, they break with the movement and try to divert the working people from the armed struggle, take the path of treason and plotting against the uprising and its leaders. Only a fanatical supporter of the "old faith", the exiled archimandrite Nikanor, with a handful of adherents, hoped to cancel Nikon's reform with the help of weapons until the end of the uprising. The leaders of the people resolutely dealt with the reactionary-minded monks who were engaged in subversive activities: they put some in prisons, others were expelled outside the walls of the fortress.
The population of Pomorye expressed sympathy for the rebellious monastery and provided it with constant support with people and food. Thanks to this help, the rebels not only successfully repulsed the attacks of the besiegers, but also made bold sorties themselves, which demoralized the government archers and inflicted great damage on them. [Frumenkov 2 - 22]
“The entire civilian population of Solovki was armed and organized in a military way: divided into tens and hundreds with the appropriate commanders at the head. The besieged greatly fortified the island. They cut down the forest around the pier so that no ship could approach the shore unnoticed and fall into the zone of fire of the fortress guns. A low section of the wall between the Nikolsky Gates and the Kvasoparennaya Tower was raised with wooden terraces to the height of other sections of the fence, a low Kvasoparennaya Tower was built on, a wooden platform (peal) was arranged on the Drying Chamber for the installation of guns. The courtyards around the monastery, which allowed the enemy to secretly approach the Kremlin and complicate the defense of the city, were burned. Around the monastery it became "smooth and even." In places of a possible attack, they laid boards with stuffed nails and fixed them. Guard duty was organized. A guard of 30 people was posted on each tower in shifts, the gate was guarded by a team of 20 people. The approaches to the monastery fence were also significantly strengthened. In front of the Nikolskaya Tower, where most often it was necessary to repulse the attacks of the tsarist archers, trenches were dug and surrounded by an earthen rampart. Here they installed guns and arranged loopholes. All this testified to the good military training of the leaders of the uprising, their familiarity with the technique of defensive structures. [Frumenkov 3 - 71]
“After the suppression of the peasant war under the leadership of S.T. Razin's government took decisive action against the Solovetsky uprising.
In the spring of 1674, a new governor, Ivan Meshcherinov, arrived in Solovki. Under his command, up to 1000 archers and artillery were sent. In the autumn of 1675, he sent a report to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich outlining the plans for the siege. Streltsy dug under three towers: Belaya, Nikolskaya and Kvasoparennaya. On December 23, 1675, they attacked from three sides: where there were diggings, and also from the side of the Holy Gates and the Seldyanaya (Arsenal) Tower. “The rebels did not sit idly by. Fortifications were erected in the monastery under the guidance of the fugitive Don Cossacks Piotr Zapruda and Grigory Krivonog, experienced in military affairs.
In the summer-autumn months of 1674 and 1675. hot battles unfolded under the walls of the monastery, in which both sides suffered heavy losses. [Frumenkov 2 - 23]
