- Streltsy Uprising
The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 ( _ru. Стрелецкое восстание) was an uprising of the
Moscow Streltsy regiment s.Some
Russia n historians believe that the Streltsy uprising was areactionary rebellion against progressive innovations of Peter the Great. Others suggest that it was ariot against the yoke of theserfdom oppression,military service hardships and harassment.The Moscow Streltsy, which had participated in Peter the Great's
Azov campaigns in1695 –1696 , were left in Azov as agarrison . In1697 , however, the four regiments of Streltsy were unexpectedly sent toVelikiye Luki instead of Moscow. On their way there, they were starving and carrying their ordnance by themselves due to absence of horses. In March of1698 , 175 Streltsy left their regiments and fled to Moscow to file acomplaint . They secretly established contact withSophia Alekseyevna , who had been incarcerated at theNovodevichy Monastery , and hoped for her mediation. The runaway Streltsy, despite their resistance, were sent back to their regiments, giving rise to discontent among the rest of them.On
June 6 , Streltsy removed their commanding officers, chose four electives from each regiment (seeStreltsy ), and made their way to Moscow, getting ready to punish theboyars and foreign advisers and blaming them for all adversities. The rebels (approx. 4,000 men) intended to install Sophia or, in case of her refusal, her alleged loverVasili Golitsyn , who had been in exile. Peter I ordered four regiments (2,300 men) and acavalry unit under the command ofAleksey Shein andPatrick Gordon to attack the Streltsy. OnJune 18 , the Streltsy were defeated not far from the New Jerusalem Monastery (Voskresensky Monastery) 40 kmwest of Moscow.As a result of a major investigation, 57 Streltsy were executed and the rest sent into exile. Upon his return from abroad on
August 25 , 1698, Peter I ordered another investigation. Between September of 1698 and February of1699 , 1182 Streltsy were executed, 601 of them were whipped, branded with iron, or sent into exile (mostly, the young ones). The investigation and executions continued up until1707 . The Moscow regiments, which had not participated in the uprising, were later disbanded. Streltsy and their family members were removed from Moscow.Literature
Alexander Moutchnik: Der "Strelitzen-Aufstand" von 1698, in: Volksaufstände in Russland. Von der Zeit der Wirren bis zur "Grünen Revolution" gegen die Sowjetherrschaft, hrsg. von Heinz-Dietrich Löwe. Forschungen zur osteuropäischen Geschichte, Bd. 65, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2006, S. 163–196. ISBN 3-447-05292-9 (The Streltsy Uprising of 1698)
=External* [http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishlibrary/controller/textsearch?text=execution&startid=7197&width=4&height=2&idx=2 Image of execution at British Library ]
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