History knows many examples when, as a result of military coups, countries abruptly changed their foreign and domestic policies. Coups and attempts to seize power, relying on the army, occurred in Russia. One of them was the Streltsy rebellion of 1698. This article is dedicated to its reasons, participants and their future fate.
Background to the Streltsy Riot of 1698
In 1682, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died childless. The most likely candidates for the throne were his younger brothers - the poor health of 16-year-old Ivan and 10-year-old Peter. Both princes had strong support in the person of their relatives Miloslavsky and Naryshkins. In addition, Ivan had his own sister, Princess Sophia, who had influence on the boyars, and Petra wanted to see Patriarch Joachim on the throne. The latter announced the boy the king that did not like Miloslavsky. Then they, together with Sophia, provoked a streltsy revolt, later called Khovanshchina.
The victims of the uprising were the brother of Tsarina Natalia and other relatives, and her father (the grandfather of Peter the Great) was forcibly tonsured a monk. It was possible to calm the archers only by paying them all the salary arrears and agreeing that Peter would rule together with his brother Ivan, and until their coming of age Sofia would serve as regent.
The position of the archers by the end of the 17th century
To understand the reasons for the streltsy rebellion of 1698, one should get acquainted with the situation of this category of service people.
In the middle of the 16th century, the first regular army was formed in Russia. It consisted of archery foot units. Particularly privileged were Moscow archers, on whom court political parties often relied.
Archers in the capital settled in Zamoskvoretsky settlements and were considered a prosperous category of the population. They not only received good salaries, but also had the right to engage in trade and crafts, without burdening themselves with so-called Posad duties.
Azov campaigns
The origins of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698 should be sought in the events that took place thousands of miles from Moscow several years earlier. As you know, in the last years of her regency, Princess Sophia waged a war against the Ottoman Empire, attacking mainly the Crimean Tatars. After her imprisonment in the monastery, Peter the Great decided to continue the struggle for access to the Black Sea. To this end, he sent troops to Azov, including 12 Streltsy regiments. They came under the command of Patrick Gordon and Franz Lefort, which caused discontent among Muscovites. Sagittarius believed that foreign officers specifically sent them to the most dangerous sections of the front line. To some extent, their complaints were substantiated, since Peter's associates really guarded the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, which were the king’s favorite offspring.
Sagittarius riot 1698: prerequisites
After the capture of Azov, “Muscovites” were not allowed to return to the capital, instructing them to carry out garrison service in the fortress. The remaining archers were assigned the responsibility of restoring the damaged and building new bastions, as well as repelling the invasions of the Turks. This situation continued until 1697, when the regiments under the command of F. Kolzakov, I. Cherny, A. Chubarov and T. Gundertmark were ordered to go to Velikiye Luki to guard the Polish-Lithuanian border. The discontent of the archers was also fueled by the fact that they had not been paid a salary for a long time, and the disciplinary requirements became stricter every day. Separation from families worried many, especially since disappointing news came from the capital. In particular, in letters from home it was reported that wives, children and parents are in poverty, as they are not able to engage in fishing without the participation of men, and the money sent is not enough even for food.
The beginning of the uprising
In 1697, Peter the Great departed for Europe with the Great Embassy. The young sovereign appointed Prince Caesar Fyodor Romodanovsky to rule the country during his absence. In the spring of 1698, 175 archers arrived in Moscow, deserting from units deployed on the Lithuanian border. They said that they had come to ask for a salary, as their comrades were suffering from a “feed-free”. This request was granted, which was reported to the Tsar in a letter written by Romodanovsky.
Nevertheless, the archers were in no hurry to leave, citing the fact that they were waiting for the roads to dry out. They tried to expel and even arrest them. However, Muscovites did not give "their" offense. Then the archers took refuge in Zamoskvoretskaya Sloboda and sent messengers to Princess Sophia, imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent.
In early April, the Semenovsky regiment, with the assistance of the townspeople, was able to put the rebels to flight and force them to leave the capital.
Offensive on Moscow
Participants of the streltsy rebellion of 1698, who reached their regiments, began to campaign and incite their comrades to go to the capital. They read letters to them, supposedly written by Sophia, and spread rumors that Peter refused to Orthodoxy and even died in a foreign land.
At the end of May, 4 Streltsy regiments were transferred from Velikiye Luki to Toropets. There they were met by the governor Mikhail Romodanovsky, who demanded that the instigators of troubles be given out. Sagittarius refused and decided to go to Moscow.
At the beginning of the summer, Peter was informed of the uprising, and he ordered that the rebels be immediately dealt with. The memory of the young king was fresh from childhood memories of how, before his eyes, the archers had torn apart his mother’s relatives, so he was not going to spare anyone.
About 2200 rebel regiments reached the walls of the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery, located on the banks of the Istra River, 40 km from Moscow. There they were already waiting for government troops.
Battle
The suppression of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698 began with the battle that took place on June 18.
The royal governors, despite their superiority in armament and quantity of manpower, made several attempts to end the matter in peace.
In particular, a few hours before the start of the fight, Patrick Gordon went to the rebels, trying to persuade them not to go to the capital. However, they insisted that they must at least briefly see families with whom they had been separated for several years.
After Gordon realized that the matter could not be resolved peacefully, he fired a salvo of 25 guns. The whole battle lasted about an hour, because after the third volley of guns the rebels surrendered. Thus ended the streltsy rebellion of 1698.
Executions
In addition to Gordon, Peter the Great commanders Aleksey Shein, Ivan Koltsov-Mosalsky and Anikita Repnin took part in suppressing the rebellion.
After the arrest of the rebels, the investigation was conducted by Fedor Romodanovsky. Shein helped him. After some time, Peter the Great joined them, returning from Europe.
All instigators were executed. The king himself chopped off some of the heads.
Now you know who participated in the suppression of the Streltsy rebellion of 1698 and what caused the discontent of the Moscow warriors.