Cossack-peasant movement against serfdom led by the famous Cossack chieftain is the most powerful and large-scale in the XVII century in the history of Russia. The uprising of Stepan Razin began on the Don and spread to the Caspian and Volga lands, covering large territories and affecting many peoples.
A sharp change in the social situation in the Cossack regions on the Don was the reason for the uprising of Stepan Razin. Year after year, the situation of peasants worsened. Runaway peasants flocked to the Don and Volga lands, seeking to get rid of enslavement. But here, their situation remained difficult, since the indigenous Cossacks reluctantly accepted them on their lands. This forced the “cunning” Cossacks to unite and engage in robbery and robbery.
The uprising of Stepan Razin began as a predatory raid of the Cossacks on the Volga lands. In 1667, Razin captured the Yaitsky town on the Volga, where many Cossacks joined it. In 1668, the Razinites ravaged the Caspian coast, after which they entered into a confrontation with Iran. Cossacks captured the city of Ferakhabad, won a major victory over the Iranian fleet and in 1669 returned to the Don. Razin's successes sharply increased his authority among the inhabitants of the Don and Volga regions, which allowed him to make up for losses and recruit a new army.
The peasant uprising of Stepan Razin itself began in 1670. In the spring he moved to the Volga. His campaign was accompanied by spontaneous rebellions and riots of serfs, seeking to free themselves from enslavement. In May, Tsaritsyn was captured. Astrakhan, Saratov and Samara opened the gates to the Cossacks, where many archers and townspeople came under its command.
In autumn, the army of Stepan Razin besieged the fortified city of Simbirsk. At this time, many local peoples joined the uprising: Tatars, Chuvashs, Mordovians. However, the siege was delayed, which allowed the royal governors to assemble large troops. The tsarist government hastily mobilized all forces to suppress the uprising and sent a 60,000th army to Simbirsk. On October 3, 1670, a decisive battle took place between Cossacks and tsarist forces near Simbirsk, in which the rebels were defeated.
The wounded Stepan Razin, the Cossacks loyal to him were taken to the Don, where he was going to recruit a new army, but the dominant Cossacks captured him and issued him to the tsarist military leaders. On June 6, 1671, Stepan Razin was quartered in Moscow. However, with his death, the uprisings did not stop, many Cossack chieftains continued the struggle for another six months. Only in November 1671 the tsarist forces managed to take the last stronghold of the Razintsy - Astrakhan.
Rise under the leadership of Stepan Razin 1670-1671 unlike his previous campaigns, it was already acutely social in nature, and many historians call it “peasant war,” since the population of the Don and Volga regions opposed tsarist rule and serfdom, fighting against the dominance of power and the disempowerment of the peasantry.
Thus, the uprising of Stepan Razin began with the Cossack robberies and gradually turned into a full-scale peasant movement, the purpose of which was to weaken taxes and duties and improve the life of the peasantry.