Pugachev's Rebellion
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Emelyan Pugachev (1746-1775) led the largest peasant revolt in Russia's history, now known as Pugachev's Rebellion or the Cossack Rebellion.
As the Russian monarchy contributed to the degradation of the serfs, peasant anger ran high. Peter The Great ceded entire villages to favored nobles, while Catherine the Great confirmed the authority of the nobles over the serfs in return for the noble's political cooperation. The unrest intensified as the 18th century wore on, with more than fifty peasant revolts occurring between 1762 and 1769. These culminated in Pugachev's Rebellion, when, between 1773 and 1775, Emelyan Pugachev rallied the peasants and Cossacks and promised the serfs land of their own and freedom from their lords.
Pugachev sent many recruiters into the Volga, with the task of gathering weapons and men for the cause. He also used priests to read his fiery declarations, as well as orchestrate "heroic welcomes" and propaganda campaigns.
In 1773 his army attacked Samara and occupied it. His greatest victory came with the taking of Kazan, by which time his captured territory stretched from the Volga to the Ural mountains. Though fairly well-organized for a revolt at the time, Pugachev's main advantage early on was the lack of seriousness about Pugachev's rebellion. Catherine the Great regarded the troublesome Cossack as a joke and put a small bounty of about 500 rubles on his head. But by 1774, the threat was more seriously addressed. The Russian general Mikhelson lost many men due to a lack of transportation and discipline among his troops, while Pugachev scored several important victories. However, by late 1774 the tide was turning, and the victory at Tsaritsyn left 9000-10,000 rebels dead. By early September, the rebellion was mostly crushed. Emelyan Pugachev was betrayed by his friends when he tried to flee in mid-September 1774, caught and executed in 1775.
Following the rebellion, several changes were made to the Russian government. Provinces became more numerous, certain political powers were broken up and divided among various agencies, and elected officials were introduced.
References
Kagan, Donald, Ozment, Steven, Turner, Frank. The Western Heritage, Eighth Edition. Prentice Hall Publishing, New York, New York. 2002. [Textbook website]
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