The Last Great Uprisings in Southern Russia

As time went on Elizabeth I distanced herself from Oleksa Rozumovsky. Her husband was replaced by a “favorite,” Ivan Shuvalov, an intelligent man who like Rozumovsky was also a commoner.

Elizabeth I died in early January. Before her death she an­nounced the successor to the throne was to be her nephew Peter, one of the few Russian rulers who would come to power legally and peacefully, without the schemings of the powerful family cliques or interventions by the Guards Regiments. He was born in Kiel, Germany, in 1728, the son of Peter Is daughter and the Duke of Holstein, a nephew to Charles XII of Sweden. His mother died soon after childbirth, as did his father, and when Peter turned 13 his childless aunt Elizabeth I brought him to St.

Shortly after Peters arrival, his aunt chose his future wife.

The 14-year-old Sophia FredericaAugusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was brought from Germany to Russia in 1744. In the following year, before she was to be married, her name was changed to Catherine, following a conversion to the Greek Orthodox faith. The marriage made Catherine a Grand Duchess, but it was not a happy one. Peter had contracted smallpox a few months before the wedding, and the already plain looking boy was left pock­marked by the disease. Neither, it seems, found each other at­tractive, and in spite of the spectacular wedding thrown by Eliz­abeth I the union was not consummated. Peter would take on mistresses, while Catherine began to have lovers, and nine years later in 1754 she gave birth to her first illegitimate child, a boy named Paul of an unknown father, although common specula­tion had it that he was sired by Catherine’s chamberlain, Sergei Saltykov, her “favorite” at the time.

Peter III became Emperor on 5 January 1762, a few days after Elizabeth Is death, and immediately began to introduce changes. Old Believers were pardoned and released from jail; the salt tax was reduced; the Secret Chancellerywas abolished; those on political charges were not to be imprisoned until in­vestigated by the Senate; and all Church land was confiscated and transferred to the Economic College, with the Church serfs given the land they had worked on for a price of one ruble per year. Also, a manifesto issued in February 1762 established a state bank, and all nobles were freed from compulsory state service and allowed to travel abroad without permission.

The manifesto did not bring Peter III the hoped-for sup­port from the nobility, as he was still considered to be a German at heart who had little regard for the Guards Regiments—to the point that they feared being replaced by his personal Holstein Regiment. The Senate was also pushed into the back­ground and Peter III began to depend on an informal council of advisors headed by one D.

In the meantime the situation between Peter III and his wife was deteriorating. In April 1762 Catherine gave birth to a third illegitimate child and following a banquet to celebrate Peter’s alliance with Frederick II, he ordered Catherine to be arrested and taken to Schlusselburg Castle. The order was re­scinded following a plea from her uncle, Prince George of Hol­stein, who was the newly appointed commander of the Russian ImperialArmy. Leaving for Oranienbaum to drill his personal Holstein Guards in preparation for the Danish campaign, Peter III ordered his wife to leave St. Petersburg for the estate at Pe­terhof where she was to remain until further notice. Catherine, however, had other plans. As she wrote later in her memoirs: “Only ambition sustained me.

It is not known when the plot to remove Peter III was hatched but the principal actors—Count Nikita Panin, Kirilo Rozumovsky, and the Orlov brothers—decided the time was ripe with Peter III away from the capital. Catherine had to be brought back in public view and on 27 June 1762 her lover Greg­ory Orlov left St. Petersburg in a plain carriage for Peterhof while the key role in the palace coup was left to Kirilo Rozu- movsky, who as colonel of the Ismailovsky Guards drew up his men before the barracks, where the Archbishop of Novgorod took their oath of loyalty to Catherine.³⁹ Next Catherine was escorted by Rozumovsky and his men to the nearby barracks of the Semyonovsky Regiment where she was greeted with equal enthusiasm. All proceeded to the Cathedral of Kazan on the Nevsky Prospect, where flanked by the tall Hetman Rozu- movsky and the huge Gregory Orlov she was pronounced as “Gosudarina” (Ruler) with her son Paul as heir. All proceeded to the Winter Palace where they were joined by the Preo­brazhensky Regiment whose colonel-in-chief by tradition was the Empress herself.

Next came the arrest of Peter III, who had returned and had gone to Peterhof to celebrate his name day, but finding no one he took refuge in Kronstadt, which quickly surrendered to Catherine when she appeared at the head of the Preobrazhensky Regiment dressed in the unit’s uniform. Realizing that he had no support, on 30 June “the German Tsar” agreed to abdicate and was arrested and imprisoned. He was strangled by Gregory Orlov’s young brother Alexis and his death announced as being due to natural causes. On 22 September 1762 Catherine was crowned Empress in the Cathedral of Kazan where she placed the newly made crown on her head, tradition holding that she was now directed by the will of God.

As a reward for his role Kirilo Rozumovsky received an annual stipend of5,000 rubles, a membership in the Senate and the position ofAdjutant General of the Russian imperial forces.

The Hetman and the Empress also shared different views concerning Ukraine. Kirilo Rozumovskywanted a self-governing and to a large extent independent Ukraine, with a hetman owing personal allegiance to the Russian monarch.

The Empress had not forgotten that a Romanov, Ivan VI, was still imprisoned in Schlusselburg Castle and had appointed Nikita Panin to be responsible for the young mans incarcera­tion. Following the coronation Catherine II decided to elimi­nate a possible challenge to the throne, and instructions were issued to deny Ivan VI all medical attention. This was followed by unforeseen events that to this day have not been adequately explained. The colonel of the LubnyCossackRegimentAndriy Markovich had lost all his property as a suspected supporter of Hetman Mazepa and now his destitute grandson, Vasil Marko­vich, was seeking ways to restore the family estate. He petitioned the Senate and Catherine II but without success, and when he approached Hetman Rozumovsky he was told that his quest was hopeless, and that he should seek his own fortune.

The 24-year-old Markovich joined the Smolensk infantry regiment, and for some reason was posted to the Schlusselburg Castle where he learned a Closelyguarded secret; the mysterious Prisoner No.l, or “Ivanushka,” was none other than Tsar Ivan VI. Only the governor of the fortress, Captain Vlasev, and his lieutenant Luka Chekin were allowed to have contact with the prisoner; the guards were never changed, and the two officers were not permitted to leave the prison grounds. Markovich began to hatch a plan with another officer called Ushakovwho would arrive at Schlusselburg pretending to bear a message from Catherine II, ordering the release of Prisoner No. 1, and bring him to St. Petersburg. Ushakov, however, disappeared mysteriously following a supposed mission to carry funds to Smolensk and was never heard of again, but shortly afterwards a peasant reported that a drowned body of an officer had washed ashore with Ushakov s hat and dagger found on the banks of the Neva River.

Markovich now decided to free the prisoner himself, and in the night of 4 July he took trusted men and attacked the inner stronghold of the castle where Ivan VI was held. The defenders quickly surrendered when a cannon was brought up before the main gate, but when Markovich made his way to the young Tsar s cell they found him dead on the floor, in a pool of blood. He had been run through by the two officers, who were follow­ing the standing order issued by Elizabeth I and known only to Panin, Catherine II, and a few others—that at the first sign of an attempted rescue Ivan VI was to be killed. Seeing the cause was hopeless Vasil Markovich surrendered claiming sole re­sponsibility for the whole affair.

Although Markovich was a simple lieutenant, he was tried by a special court composed of the presidents of the colleges of war, the navy and foreign affairs, and the Senate, the Holy Synod and certain members of the high nobility. Brought before the court three times, Markovich insisted that he acted alone, while all news that Ivan VI was dead was suppressed on Cather­ine s orders. When a member of the court demanded that Markovich be tortured to reveal the truth Catherine intervened and instructed the court to proceed without torture, which in­dicated to many that the Empress did not wish for the truth to come out. The suspicion was reinforced by the young Cossacks calm composure during interrogation as if he expected to escape severe punishment. On 9 SeptembervasilMarkovichwas con­demned to death, charged with a plot to overthrow Catherine II and replace her by Ivan VI. Unknown to him the death warrant was signed by the Empress, the first in 22 years since capital punishment had been banned by Elizabeth I. Eyewit­nesses were impressed by his calm demeanor as he was led to the scaffold as if he expected a reprieve at any minute, a feeling which was shared by many spectators including the executioner. None came, as Markovich Calmlylayhis head on the chopping block, the executioner slowly raised his axe and in a single blow brought it down on the young mans neck. The two officers who had killed Ivan VI were promoted and each received a reward of 7,000 rubles, a large sum for the day, while the 16 soldiers who were under their command were each rewarded with 100 rubles after swearing an oath not to reveal what they had seen or heard. Catherine II was now secure on the Russian imperial throne, at the cost of having murdered two members of the Ro­manov family.

Kirilo Rozumovsky and the young Markovich had met each other, and this gave Catherine a pretext to remove him as Hetman of Ukraine. The Empress demanded and received Rozumovsky s resignation, which was confirmed by the mani­festo of 10 November 1764, and a week later by an order of the Senate. The Hetman s authority in Ukraine was replaced by the Board of Russia Minor consisting of four Ukrainians, four Rus­sians, and presided over by General Rumiantsev. In the spring of 1776 Kirilo Rozumovsky was allowed to travel abroad into exile where he remained for the next eleven years. He returned to Ukraine in 1794, divided his vast fortune between his six sons and five daughters, and in January 1803 died in his resi­dence in Baturin.

Farmers on the left-bank territory of Ukraine and the great Zaporozhian region of “Down Under” were still exempt from serfdom and about one third of Ukrainian peasants were free, with the remaining bound by legal (but not onerous) obliga­tions to the bigger landowners. Both served in the Cossack reg­iments and retained their own arms. Elsewhere in territories under the control of the Polish and Russian states the situation was different. In the Kurpie region of Poland armed resistance against the landlords had been going on since 1700, and during the War of the Polish Succession many peasant-serfs turned against their landlords and it took a substantial Russian and Polish military effort to put them down.⁴¹ In the wooded moun­tain areas of southern Poland and in the Carpathian mountains Robin-Hood style “bandits” continued to raid the nobility s properties, which in traditional style were often rented and managed by members of the Jewish community.

The greatest uprisings against the oppressive Polish and Russian empires, however, continued to break out in Ukraine and southern Russia. Peter I had surrendered the right-bank Ukraine to KingAugustus II of Poland, and once again a dozen or so of the most powerful magnate families quickly gained pos­session of the fertile black earth, forcing most of the minor no­bility to become simple tenants or seek service with the mag­nates. Needless to say, all Cossacks who had owned farms, ranches or more major estates were driven from their homes and possessions. To work the land peasants were attracted by offers of 15-20 year periods free from tax and labor service, but during the War of the Polish Succession many of the free terms had come to an end. Having learned nothing from past experi­ence the great Polish nobles began to reintroduce slave-like conditions, reminiscent of the pre-Khmelnitsky era. History was repeating itself, but with a difference. The Zaporozhian Sich was now located on Tatar territory, most of the right-bank Cossacks had crossed the Dnipro River to the serf-free left-bank Ukraine, and only Cossacks who found service with the private armies of the wealthy nobility or in the town militias remained.

Large parts of right-bank Ukraine and Volin were still cov­ered in forest where runaway serfs could seek refuge, organize armed bands and attack the Polish-held estates. The bands be­came known as the “Haidamaky” from the Turkic word “ha id a” meaning “flight” or “to run.” Then in 1734, taking advantage of the presence ofRussian imperial forces stationed in western Ukraine, a peasant revolt flared up in the southern part of the Kyivprovince which quickly spread to neighboring Podilia and Volin. The peasant forces were led by a Cossack captain known as Verlan who had been the commander-in-chief of Prince Lubomirskis private army but who with his Cossacks decided to join the peasant uprising. To gain IegitimacyVerlan claimed to be following Empress Annes instructions to kill all Catholics and Jews and liberate right-bank Ukraine from serfdom. The old hatreds had returned, and the Polish nobility responded by impaling all peasants and Cossacks who fell into their hands.

With King Augustus installed on the Polish throne by Rus­sian bayonets and Cossack sabers, Empress Anne turned on the “Haidamaks,” Orderingher troops to attack Verlans 1,000 man force which was easily defeated. Verlan and most of his officers escaped to Moldavia, and when the Imperial troops left they quickly returned to western Ukraine to organize a guerrilla war against the Polish nobility. The hit-and-run resistance was often led by able Robin-Hood type leaders—at times women—and became firmly established in the Kyiv, Podilia, and Volin prov­inces usually assisted by the local population. In the same year, in 1734 the Sich was permitted to return to its “usual places” on the Dnipro River, and Zaporozhian Cossacks became avail­able to take part in the “Haidamak” movement. Then in 1750 another revolt broke out in Kyiv province and quickly spread to the Bratslav region before it was drowned in blood by the nobles’ private armies supported by government troops.

King Augustus II died in November 1763 and the Polish throne became vacant once more. Supported by the powerful Czartoryski family Count Stanislaw Poniatowski approached Catherine II for military help, and a 30,00Î-strong Russian im­perial army entered Poland to support him. He was duly elected as King in September 1764. The Count was well known to the Empress, since eight years before he had been one of her lovers, when in the service of the British Ambassador in Russia. To in­crease their influence both Russia and Prussia began to press demands for Greek Orthodox and Prussian nobles to be given rights in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth like those en­joyed by Catholics, such as being able to vote in the Sejm and sit in the Senate. Poland was invaded by Russian and Prussian armies as Orthodox and Protestant confederations sprang up in Slutsk and Torun, respectively. Under pressure the Sejm passed the so-called Fundamental Laws granting full religious freedom, although not all of the laws were enacted in practice.⁴²

The conservative Catholic nobles reacted quickly by form­ing the Confederation of Bar to unseat Poniatowski, and rescind the rights for the Orthodox and Protestant nobility. The per­secution of the Greek Orthodox Church in western Ukraine was stepped up, with the Metropolitan of the Uniate (Greek Catholic) Church demanding vicious measures of torture and capital punishment to force conversions of Greek Orthodox priests. In 1768 a “Haidamak” uprising broke out in the south­ern part OfKyivprovince more intense and bloody than before, but with an anti-feudal character it also assumed a religious and political dimension. The leadership of the Zaporozhian Sich received Imperial orders not to participate in the uprising, which caused a violent reaction from the rank-and-file. In Jan­uary 1769 the “Koshovy Ataman” Kalnishevsky was attacked as he began to read the Imperial instructions, and all “Haida- maky” who had been taken prisoner on Imperial orders were released. Some officers were killed in the fighting and others, including Kalnishevsky were jailed. The “Koshovy Ataman” managed to escape in a monks disguise and had to seek sub­stantial Imperial support to restore his authority.

Hundreds OfZaporozhian rank-and-file Cossacks ignored orders and moved out with Maksim Zalizniak to join the “Haidamaks.” Messengers were sent out calling for a general uprising against the Polish nobility and the two Catholic Churches, and major revolts broke out led by Zalizniak s “ata­mans,” and supported by 1,000 Zaporozhian Cossacks. The bulk of the Zaporozhian Army followed the Imperial govern­ment s instructions and refused to support the “Haidamak.”⁴³ The “Koshovy Ataman” had been placed under Hetman Rozu- movsky s authority who in turn could not disregard Empress Elizabeth Is wishes if he was to maintain Ukrainian autonomy.

Zalizniaks call to arms was directed against both the Polish gov­ernment and the nobility of the Confederation of Bar and found wide support as the traditional right-bank Cossack towns of Cherkassy, Korsun, Kaniy and others fell to the insurgents. The fighting quickly spread to Bratslay Podilia, and Volin growing into the movement that became known as the “Kolivchina,” after the home-made pikes or the “Koliji” (“stickers”) carried by the peasants. The objective of the uprising was to restore freedom from serfdom and to drive out the hated Polish nobility and the Jews out of the right-bank Ukraine. TheJews were mainly targeted by virtue of their service to the Polish nobil­ity—what Stone has called the magnate-Jewish symbiosis⁴⁴— but there were also Jews amongst the “Haidamaks,” and it is known that there was at least one Jewish “Haidamak” band.⁴⁵

By the end of June the main “Haidamack” army had reached the strongly fortified town of Uman which was full of Catholic and Jewish refugees who had fled the violence of the uprising. The town garrison was under the command of a Cos­sack captain called Ivan Honta, who was born into a peasant family and rose in rank in the service of the Potocki family, earn­ing land and property. As Zalizniak s force approached Uman, Honta refused to defend the city and with his men went over to Zalizniak. The fortified town of Uman was left virtually de­fenseless and quickly fell into the hands of rebels who began a terrible massacre of Catholic and Jewish men, women, and chil­dren—it is said that Honta killed his own son, who had con­verted to Catholicism.

The Russian Imperial forces which had been sent into Poland and western Ukraine to put down the Confederation of Bar had not interfered with the “Haidamaks” who were offi­cially their allies. But now Zalizniaks and Hontas men began to turn against Catherine s puppet King Poniatowski, and the 30,000-man Imperial army was ordered to move against the in­surgents. Rather than risk heavy casualties the Russian com­mander Krechetnikov resorted to treachery. Pretending to sup­port the anti-Polish insurrection, Krechetnikov invited the “Haidamak” leaders to his camp for a feast. There they were at­tacked and overpowered, but some fought their way out and told of the betrayal. The Russian army was joined by the private forces of the Polish nobility and the rebels stood little chance. Some 6,000-7,000 peasant prisoners were impaled or mas­sacred in cold blood. Zalizniakwith 250 Zaporozhian Cossacks was tried in a show trial near the Moldavian border by Russian authorities and condemned to death, but once he was brought to Kyiv a secret order issued by Catherine II commuted the sen­tence to hard labor in Siberia. Honta and 900 of his captured right-bank Cossacks were handed over to Polish authorities, and following torture all were put to death. Honta himself was brought to Warsaw, tortured, dismembered and his body parts hung throughout Warsaw for public display. The right bank of Ukraine was re-occupied by Polish troops with the usual reli­gious persecution and serfdom as the guerrilla warfare con­tinued, and no landowner felt safe behind his walled fortified estate. Zalizniakwent down as a hero of the people with ballads composed in his honor: ^aKozakMaksym Zalizniak, Kozakfrom Zaporogia, Heyhe rode into Ukraine as a red, red rose.”

The overpowering self-interest of the wealthy Catholic magnates and nobility was bringing about the downfall of the once powerful Polish-Lithuanian empire, as neighboring states began to eye its vast territory. Prussia occupied Royal Prussia (without Gdansk and Torun), Austria took Galicia, and Russian forces moved into northern Belarus. On 30 September 1773 the Polish-Lithuanian Sejm was forced to approve what would become the first partition—some 30 percent of its territory and 35 percent of the population.⁴⁶ Two other partitions would follow, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would disappear from the map of Europe, and western Ukraine would be incor­porated into the Russian empire.

No sooner was the Haidamak movement put down by the overwhelming Russian and Polish forces than a new uprising erupted in the far-off region of the Yaik Cossacks, along the Yaik (Ural) River and the northern shore of the Caspian Sea. By 1600, Cossacks from the Don had moved east to the Volga and beyond to the Yaik River in search of better hunting, fishing, and grazing territory. In 1648, to bolster their defensive line running from Orenburg along the Yaik River to the Caspian Sea, the Cossacks accepted a contingent of Imperial troops on their territory, in return for a few rubles per year for each Cos­sack and for the annual shipments of grain, gunpowder and shot, which they exchanged for fish and sturgeon caviar. Soon government corruption was spreading to the Cossack officers with misappropriation of the Cossacks’ pay and unequal justice administered to the poorer and defenseless members of the community.⁴⁷ The wealthier Cossacks with the larger herds were favored by government officials and were invariably elected by a rigged process, and once elected their fortunes would increase through theft of funds intended for the annual payments to the rank-and-file and the community.

Petitions sent to St. Petersburg were of no avail—were in fact against the law—and Cossacks sent to the capital with the grievances were beaten and arrested, often on Catherine IIs di­rect orders. The final straw came in January 1772 when a peace­ful Cossack protest with women and children was fired upon by General Von Trauenberg’s imperial troops. The Cossacks responded with a saber charge, in which many soldiers were killed including Von Trauenberg, “ataman” Tambovtsev, and his corrupt officers. Catherine’s government responded by send­ing more troops and on 1 May, 2,500 dragoons and 1,000 mer­cenary Kalmyk cavalry commanded by General Freimann faced the Cossacks across the Yaik River. The Cossacks crossed the river, the dragoons dismounted and formed squares and several cavalry charges were unable to break the formation. The Cos­sacks retreated, and taking their families many began to head towards Ottoman territory to seek refuge. Theywere inter­cepted by Russian troops and most surrendered under a prom­ise of being pardoned, which as usual turned out to be a trick. Records show that 2,461 Yaik Cossacks were pardoned but had to pay a “fine” of20,000 rubles, 1,774 were found guilty of Trea­son,” and 54 “atamans” were sentenced to death. Six eventually were pardoned and the rest had capital punishment commuted to flogging, slit noses, or hard labor in Siberia.⁴⁸

The whole Yaik region continued to be in a state of turmoil as rumors were arriving that they were to be converted to regular army hussars. The rumors were not recent since already in 1748 Elizabeth I had thought to create an ImperialYaikArmy consisting of seven regiments to garrison the Orenburg Line against Muslim Kazakh tribesmen. The rank-and-file Cossacks were vehemently opposed to being regimented, “disciplined” by the degrading parade square drilling, the abusive treatment reserved for army privates, and to be herded like sheep for can­non fodder. Many of the Yaik Cossacks were Old Believers whose ancestors had found refuge on the frontier and they par­ticularly objected to what they considered to be the sinful prac­tice of shaving their beards.

The Yaik Cossacks were not the only ones who were on the verge of rebellion. Under Elizabeth Γs and Catherine IIs reigns the peasant-serfs were deprived of all rights, and their owners could dispose of them as they wished without being encumbered by complaints, it being a serious offense for a serf to launch a complaint against a landlord or an owner of serfs! In 1762 during his brief six-month reign Emperor Peter III had passed decrees which gave the serfs hope. Peter III had given the Old Believers freedom of worship while those imprisoned had been released, and the decree of 21 March deprived the Greek Orthodox Church of its lands and transferred Church serfs to easier state service. When Peter III was murdered his reforms were brought to a halt and even reversed, which was greeted with widespread disapproval as rumors began to fly that Peter had been overthrown because he was going to free the serfs and restore Cossack rights.

Peter Ills reforms had captured the popular imagination in Russia and between 1762 and 1773 there were more than half a dozen revolts whose leaders claimed to be Peter III, such as Bogomolevwho led an unsuccessful Cossack revolt in the As­trakhan region. Then the greatest imposter of all, a Don Cossack called Emelian Pugachev, appeared in the summer of 1773, a refugee from the Russian authorities. He was born in 1742 on a farm to a traditional Cossack family, married at the age of 17, and with horse and weapons provided by the family Emelian rode off to fight the Prussians in the Seven Years’ War. He ac­quitted himself well and was appointed as Colonel Denisov’s orderly, and soon had a taste of military “discipline.” The colo­nel’s favorite horse had bolted during heavy action and the young Cossack who had been entrusted with its care was whipped. With the end of the war Pugachev headed home to farm and to work in a river hauling business which he owned with another Don Cossack, but all came to naught when he was called up again in a war against the Ottoman Empire. He ac­quitted himself well once more and was promoted to cornet for bravery during the siege of Bender, but falling ill with body sores he was granted leave for a year. He had still not recovered when the order came to report for duty, and together with his brother-in-law he decided to seek refuge from the heavy hand of the government.

Emelian Pugachev was now a refugee. Arrested several times, he managed to escape, finally finding employment with an Old Believer in Polish-held territory where he learned that the Russian government was accepting previous heretics as set­tlers in the unpopulated eastern territories. In August 1772 the 30-year-old Pugachev was issued with papers identifying him as an Old Believer and granting him permission to settle in the Orenburg region, north of the Caspian Sea and near the lands of the Yaik CossackArmy His persecution, however, continued. By December he had arrived in a village called Malinovka, and as a suspicious stranger he was arrested, tortured, and sent down the Volga River to Kazan where he was thrown in jail. He was helped once again by the Old Believers, who staged his escape and advised him to head to the land of the Yaik Cossacks.

Outrage at Catherine IIs authoritarian policies was also reaching the breaking point on the Don. Besides the petty re­strictions on hunting and fishing the Cossacks were being forced to relocate to outlying areas around Azov and Taganrog, and rumors flew again that Cossack regiments would be con­verted to regular army units. There was also a growing poverty as Cossacks were increasingly unable to purchase horses and weapons which threatened their Cossack status. When in 1774 the Russian General Cherepovwas sent to convince the assem­bled Cossacks to cooperate he was beaten and almost drowned, and was only saved by the efforts of Ataman Yefremov. Then, with the cooperation of some Don Cossack officers and the better off Cossacks, a detachment of dragoons staged a surprise raid and arrested Ataman Yefremov, who was spirited away to Rostov and then further north before the Cossacks could come to his rescue. Without a commanding officer the Cossacks dis­persed to their homes, Ataman Yefremov s property was con­fiscated, and he was sent into exile. There would be no revolt on the Don.

Having escaped from Kazan Pugachev headed towards the Cossack town of Yaitsk and hide on a farm owned by the Cossack Tolkachev. On his way north he had passed through the Volga region and heard of Bogomolevs revolt and his im­personation of Tsar Peter III. Most of the Russian Imperial land forces were tied up with the Turkish War, and it was a good time to rise against the oppressive system. As word got out that a revolt was being planned, Yaik Cossacks began to trickle in to Tolkachevs farm and by 17 September 1773 Pugachevwas ready to proclaim himself as Emperor Peter III.

From the EmperorAutocrat, our great lord Peter Fedorovich of all the Russias... (and so forth). This is my decree issued to the Yaik (Cossack) ArmyJust as your fathers and grandfathers served the former Tsars to the last drop of their blood, so you too my friends will serve your fatherland and me, the great Lord Em­peror, Peter Fedorovich. Your Cossack glory will not die if you serve your fatherland to the very end, and so it will be with your children. I, the Great Tsar, will reward you—Cossacks and Kalmyks and Tatars. I, the Lord Peter Fedorovich, do forgive those who have sinned against me... and I grant you the rivers from the (Ural) mountains to the (Caspian) Sea, and the land and pastures, and payment of money and lead and powder and of food.⁴⁹

Pugachevnowhad some 200 Cossacks and more were on the way. Informed of the disturbance the government com­mander of Yaitsk sent a detachment of500 Cossacks in imperial service to quell the revolt but approached by Pugachev s men they quickly joined the rebels. Unable to capture Yaitsk with their still small numbers, Pugachev s men led by the elected AtamanAndrei Ovchinnikovbegan to Occupythe frontier out­posts. By now more Cossacks sent to arrest “Peter ∏Γ were joining the rebel force and officers denounced by their men for corruption and theft of public funds were hanged. Fresh Cos­sack, Kalmyk, and Tatar reinforcements also continued to arrive as word of the revolt spread, and government outposts began to fall. Ozema capitulated when the wooden stockade was set on fire with its garrison of600 men joining “Tsar Peter ”; Samara fell next, and the great stronghold of Orenburg defended by 3,000 men and 70 guns under General Reinsdorf was sur­rounded and laid under siege. Pugachevpitched his main camp a few miles from the fortress with a force grown to 10,000 men, as the entire region from the Tobol River in the east to Tsaritsyn on the Volga erupted in a great uprising, with thousands of peas­ants and serfs flocking to Tsar Peter s banner. Pugachevwas also joined by the enserfed workers from the metallurgical factories and mines of the Ural Mountains and by October 1773 his army had swollen to 30,000 men and women.⁵⁰ The revolt had be­come a revolutionary uprising.

Many of the new recruits were poorly equipped with only bayonets, pitchforks, axes, homemade pikes, and at times with only cudgels. Nevertheless, by the end of 1773 the provinces of Orenburg, Perm, and parts of Simbirsk were in Pugachev s hands including 92 steel mills in the Ural Mountains. The rev­olution was also spreading to areas in Kama-Vyatka, Pensa, Voronezh, and to up the fringes of Don Cossack country but the Don Cossack Army itself refused to move, although hun­dreds of the poorer and younger Cossacks were joining Pu­gachev. The poor of Moscow and St. Petersburgwere also wait­ing for his arrival—“I know full well that the poor people everywhere will welcome me with joy/’ Pugachev exclaimed to one of his lieutenants.⁵¹ The slogan “land and freedom” was everywhere as Pugachev’s men spread out to the villages to ag­itate for support, and warn the serfs not to work for their land­lords. Everywhere Pugachevwent he announced the extermi­nation of government officials and landlords, declared freedom from serf slavery, taxation, and the abolition of the compulsory 20-year military service; and everywhere elections were held for administrative positions.

The Russo-Turkish war was still in full swing and it wasn’t until a year later that General Alexander Bibikov arrived in Kazan to take command of operations and prevent the uprising from spreading to the more populous western territories. Local militias of the nobility were organized to reinforce his troops and by February 1774 Bibikov had retaken Kurgan and Yeka­terinburg while General Mansurov’s army advanced to Samara, and joining General Golitsin marched to relieve Orenburg. Many of the imperial troops were seasoned veterans of the Polish and Turkish wars and were facing poorly armed peasants, Bashkir, Kirghiz, and Tatar mounted archers, with only a hard core of well-armed Cossacks and regular troops that had joined the uprising.

As Golitsin approached with his men, Pugachev decided to take him by surprise and mount a night attack on the enemy camp. Although outnumbered the Imperial Army possessed heavy firepower, particularly artillery, while most of Pugachev s cannons were facing the besieged walls of Orenburg. Suffering heavy casualties the rebels withdrew, dug in and waited for the Russian troops. They were soon attacked and besieged by Golitsin’s army, but resistance was hopeless against the massed artillery and on 22 March the imperial troops broke through the rebels’ defenses. Pursued by Golitsin’s cavalry, Pugachev’s forces were virtually destroyed with some 2,000 dead and 4,000 wounded or taken prisoner. Many others fled and Pugachev himself escaped with most of his lieutenants and 60 Cossacks to Berda where they waited for stragglers to arrive from the bat­tlefield. On 26 March the siege of Orenburg was broken by Golitsin’s men, Pugachev at the head of 2,000 well-armed Cavalrywas defeated outside of Sakmara, and Yaitskwas relieved by General Mansurov’s force. Although Pugachev managed to elude the pursuing enemy, all seemed lost.

But even with Pugachev on the run the revolution was not yet over. It was widely believed that he was Peter III come to bring a better world, and the uprising flared up again. With the coming of spring in May a new rebel force of 10,000 men and 30 guns attacked and captured Troitsk, although the stronghold was retaken by Generak Dekalongs men two days later in bloody fighting. Pugachevwas wounded but managed to escape with 500 of his Cossacks, to harass the enemy with hit and run tactics. He was soon reinforced by 3,000 Bashkir horsemen, the Osa fortress fell into his hands as the 1,000 man garrison went over to his side, and soon Pugachevwas again at the head of some 20,000 men and women. A strong imperial cavalry force under General Tolstoi was destroyed, the General was killed and the great city of Kazan lay open. On the third day following the great victory the rebel commander Beloborodov led his peasant force into the city’s suburbs, other divisions closed in, and what was left of the defending force locked itself in the inner stronghold leaving the wealthy city to the fate of fire and sword.

Great clouds of smoke billowed into the sky as news of the fall of Kazan spread and Pugachev’s force continued to grow with new recruits arriving daily. General Mikkelson arrived with a large force to relieve Kazan, and unable to dislodge the Russian army from its position, “Tsar Peter” decided to march on Mos­cow, assume the throne as Tsar and begin a reign of peace and justice. On 31 July 1774, a manifesto was published outlining Pugachev’s political, economic, and social program.

By God’s grace We, Peter III, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias... with royal and fatherly charity, grant by this Our per­sonal “ukaz” (instruction) to all who were previously peasants, and subjects of the “pomeshchiks” (landlords), to be true and loyal servants of our throne, and We reward them with the an­cient cross and prayer, with bearded heads, with liberty and free­dom and be forever Cossacks, demanding neither recruit enlist­ment, poll tax, or other money dues, and We award them the ownership of the land, of forests, hay meadows, and fishing grounds, with salt lakes, without purchase and without dues in money or in kind, and We free peasants and all the people from the taxes and burdens which were previously imposed by the wicked nobles, and mercenary urban judges. (The land­lords had) violated and abused the ancient tradition of Chris­tian law, and having with harmful intent introduced an alien law taken from German traditions, and the impious practice of shaving and other blasphemies contrary to the Christian faith.⁵²

The men’s pay was increased threefold and the price of salt was set at the Iowprice of two kopeks per stone, and was made free for the poor. All property-owning gentry were to be hanged, after which all would enjoy “peace, tranquility, and a quiet life.” As Pugachev advanced south towards the Volga the serfs and peasants of the landed estates joined in a great uprising. Saransk fell, several hundred landlords and their entire families were hanged, and Pensa and Saratovwere captured with the aid of the garrisons. Pugachev’s main force, the peasants, were un­coordinated and poorly armed, and to recruit more trained fighting men he began to advance towards the Don and the Za- porozhian steppe. There he was joined by hundreds of Don and Volga Cossacks, and a mounted detachment of Zaporozhians, who had taken part in the “Haidamak” uprising. The main Don, Zaporozhian, and Ukrainian CossackArmies, however, refused to lend their support, perhaps convinced that the rebels would not be able to defeat the main ImperialArmy. Thus an oppor­tunity was missed in the struggle for liberty, and it was due to the lack of unity between Pugachev and the other Cossack armies that Tsarist totalitarianism triumphed once more.

The situation was rapidly changing in the empire s favor. The war with the Porte came to an end in the summer of 1774 with the signing of a treaty at Kutchuk-Kainarji, and battle hardy troops became available for domestic duty. General Bibikov had died and overall command went to Count Peter Panin, Catherine s most able general. To ensure the loyalty of the Don Cossacks, imperial troops were stationed on their territory, and more began to arrive on the Volga. As Pugachev retreated he was attacked by Mikhelsons army and in a bloody battle his men were routed and suffered heavy losses in manpower and supplies.

With a large number of troops in pursuit and realizing that victory was no longer possible, the surviving Cossacks began to disperse and head home to the Yaik, to seek safety for them­selves and their families. The Bashkir, Kirghiz, and Tatar tribes­men melted away into the vast wilderness of eastern Russia and Kazakhstan where for the time being they would be safe from domination and forcible conversions to Greek Orthodox Chris­tianity. On 14 September Pugachev and his Cossack company reached the Old Believer settlement of Uzen, where his men deserted and also headed home to join their families. To make the best of a bad situation, Pugachev s lieutenants Trofim, Ivo- rogov, and Chumakov decided to arrest the Prender and throw themselves on the mercy of the imperial government. As a failed leader Yemelian Pugachev owed his followers this much. On the next day he was brought bound to Yaitsk and handed over to Colonel Simonov. Locked in a cage like an animal he was taken to Simbirsk for questioning and several days later with his close associates he was brought to Moscow. Catherine II could not believe that such a long extensive uprising under the leadership of illiterate Cossacks could have occurred without foreign involvement, and Pugachev and his comrades were questioned for days and nights, but no foreign alliance came to light. As observed by a well-known historian: “Alienated from her people, sheltered always from the seamy sides of Russian life, Catherine simply could not credit that the revolution had been born of grinding poverty, and by the evil cruelties inflicted on the great mass of the Empire s inhabitants by the Russian gentry, with her connivance.”⁵³

Pugachev s trial began 30 December 1774, and by the day s end he was sentenced to a cruel death to have his arms and legs chopped off and then to be quartered and decapitated, with his body parts exhibited in public as a warning to others. The sen­tence which was handed down by a court of 29 judges was not unanimous as four members of the Holy Synod asked for “Chris­tian mercy” and did not sign the warrant for the execution. This hardly mattered and on IOJanuary 1775 Pugachev and his loyal lieutenants were led to the scaffold erected on the Beautiful (Red) Square, where as a sign of mercy Pugachev was beheaded first before being dismembered. His comrades suffered a similar fate, and although Pugachev^,s wife Sofia was found innocent she was imprisoned with her two daughters, who even after their mother^,s death were held captive for 52 more years!

The Pugachev legacy, and even his name, had to be re­moved without leaving a trace of the revolution. A manifesto was issued in January 1775, which banned the name “Yaik,” and the Yaik Cossacks became the Ural Army, the Yaik River the Ural, and Yaitsk was renamed as Uralsk. Pugachev s village on the Don where he was born was razed to the ground and rebuilt on the opposite bank with the given name of Potemkinskaya, after Catherine s current lover. By a second edict of March 1775, Pugachev s church records and all that bore his name were de­stroyed. Pugachevbecame a non-person, but his memory was kept alive by the people with fondness and respect, as borne out by the symbol-laden Cossack ballad:

There is a cliff on the Volga, Overgrown with moss From the top to the very bottom. Only the eagle weaves there his nest, Tearing his prey apart. Only one dared to climb it... Remember the eventful life of the Ataman!”