The Pugachev-led uprising of 1773-1775 is the largest peasant uprising in Russian history. Some scholars call it an ordinary popular revolt, others - a real civil war. We can say that the Pugachev uprising looked different at different stages, as evidenced by the issued manifestos and decrees. And this is not surprising, because over time the composition of the participants changed, and hence the goals.
At the initial stage, the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev was aimed at restoring the privileges of the Cossacks. The peasants who participated in it demanded freedom from the landowners for themselves. Already in 1774, the July Manifesto came out, in which the focus is on the peasants, who were supposed to be freed from all taxes and endowed with land. The nobles were proclaimed the main troublemakersempire. It was at this time that the Pugachev uprising acquires a vivid anti-serfdom and anti-state character, but it still lacks any constructive content, which is why many historians call it an ordinary rebellion.
Pugachev declared himself the resurrected Tsar Peter III and called the Cossacks to his service. He managed to assemble an army, which, in terms of its combat effectiveness, could well compete with the government. Starting on September 17 with the speech of the Cossack detachment, the uprising covered a vast territory: the Urals, the Lower and Middle Volga regions and the Orenburg Territory. After a short period of time, the Bashkirs, Tatars, and Kazakhs decided to join the Cossacks. Of course, factory workers and landlord peasants from the provinces in which hostilities took place usually welcomed Pugachev with joy and joined his army. After the capture of factories in the Urals, the army of rebels moved to Kazan, but was defeated by Michelson's troops. It seemed that the Pugachev uprising was over, but in fact everything turned out quite differently. Having replenished his forces on the right bank of the Volga, Pugachev turned south in the hope of rousing the Don Cossacks. But these plans were not destined to come true, and Pugachev's uprising was finally crushed by Michelson's troops. In January 1775, the instigator was executed in Moscow. In his last hours, Pugachev, according to eyewitnesses, behaved courageously and with dignity.
During 1773-1775 there were manypeasant riots. The landowners severely punished the peasants for disobedience, but the unrest did not stop. To suppress them, the government created a special punitive detachment, which was given the authority to judge and punish the peasants at its own discretion. Count Panin, who ordered the hanging of every three hundredth person, was especially distinguished by the cruelty of measures to eradicate riots. It should be noted that even without his orders, blood flowed like a river, and often both the right and the guilty were beaten with whips. It was only with the help of cruelty that the Pugachev uprising was suppressed, and the abolition of serfdom in Russia was postponed for almost another 100 years.
