1662 the king. Copper riot, Moscow uprising. Reasons for the copper riot
On August 4, 1662, an uprising of the urban lower classes took place in Moscow. The reasons for the revolt were the issuance of depreciating copper coins in comparison with silver, and an increase in taxes that had to be paid only in silver.
In the 17th century, the Moscow state did not have its own gold and silver mines, and precious metals were imported from abroad. At the Monetary Yard, Russian coins were minted from foreign coins: kopecks, money and polushki.
The protracted war with the Commonwealth (1654-1667) required huge expenses. To find money for the continuation of the war, the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, boyar Ordin-Nashchokin, proposed issuing copper money at the price of silver money. Taxes were collected in silver, and salaries were distributed in copper.
At first, small copper coins really were in circulation on a par with silver kopecks, but soon the excessive issue of unsecured copper money led to their depreciation. For 6 rubles in silver they gave 170 rubles in copper. Despite the tsar's decree, all goods rose sharply.
The financial catastrophe that broke out affected primarily the townspeople associated with small and medium trade, and the service people who received a monetary salary.
On the night of August 4, 1662, "thieves' sheets" were pasted in Moscow, which listed the names of the perpetrators of the financial crisis: the Miloslavskys boyars, who headed the orders of the Big Treasury, the head of the Grand Palace order, okolnichy Rtishchev, head of the Armory Chamber okolnichy Khitrovo, clerk Bashmakov, guests Shorin , Zadorin and others.
Early in the morning of that day, an uprising began, in which the townspeople, part of the archers, serfs, and peasants took part. In total, the performance was attended by from 9 to 10 thousand people. The rebels went to the village of Kolomenskoye, where Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was staying, and demanded the extradition of the "traitors."
The tsar and the boyars promised the rebels to reduce taxes and to investigate their petition. Believing the promises, the participants in the uprising headed for Moscow. At the same time, after the pogroms of the courtyards of the "traitors", a new wave of rebels was sent to Kolomenskoye. Two counter streams merged and moved towards the royal residence. They renewed their demands, threatening, if the boyars were not handed over to them for reprisal, to take them to the palace themselves.
But during this time, the tsar managed to collect the archers. On his orders, they attacked the crowd, armed only with sticks and knives. In the course of the battle, about 900 citizens were killed, the next day, about 20 people were hanged.
"THE THIEFS GAVE RETURNED BY GIVING BRIBES TO THE WAREHOUSES"
Heavy taxes fell on the people, the merchants were exhausted by paying the fifth money. Already in 1656, the treasury lacked military men for a salary, and the sovereign, on the advice, as they say, of Fyodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev, ordered to issue copper money, which had a nominal price of silver; in 1657 and 1658, this money really went like silver; but from September 1658 they began to decline in price, it was necessary to add six money to the ruble; from March 1659, they should have added 10 money per ruble; the surplus increased to such an extent that in 1663 12 copper rubles had to be given for one silver ruble. A terrible high cost has come; decrees prohibiting raising prices for essential commodities were not in effect; we saw the situation in the Little Russia of the Moscow military men, who received a salary in copper money, which no one took from them. There was a lot of thieves (counterfeit) copper money [...]. They began to look after the money-makers, the silversmiths, the cauldrons, the tin-makers, and saw that these people, who had previously lived poorly, had set up stone and wooden yards for themselves with copper money, they made clothes for themselves and their wives according to boyar custom, in the ranks all kinds of goods, silver vessels and food supplies began to be bought at a high price, not sparing money. The reason for such a quick enrichment was explained when they began to take out thieves' money and coins. The criminals were executed by death, their hands were cut off and they were nailed to the walls of the monetary yards, houses and estates were taken to the treasury. But cruelty did not help with the irresistible charm of get rich quick; the thieves continued their work, especially since the rich of them paid off from misfortune, giving large bribes to the tsar's father-in-law - Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky and the Duma nobleman Matyushkin, who was followed by the tsar's mother's aunt; in cities, thieves paid off by giving bribes to governors and orderly people.
[…] Moscow has calmed down; but the complaints about the copper money continued: the governors reported that the debtors brought copper money to their house to pay to the lenders, but they wouldn’t take it without the tsar’s decree, asking for silver money. Finally, in 1663, a decree was issued: in Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov the monetary copper business should be set aside, and the old monetary silver business should be set up in Moscow and silver money made there from June 15; and the salary of all ranks to service people should be given in silver money, to the treasury customs duties and all monetary incomes should be taken in silver money, and also in the ranks to trade in all sorts of goods for silver money, and set aside copper. Copper money in all orders, whatever it is, must be rewritten and sealed until June 15, and kept until the decree, but not given at the expense; private people were ordered to drain copper money. But the latter was not fulfilled; the decree on January 20, 1664 says: in Moscow and in different cities, copper money is announced, ruined (rubbed with mercury), and others are silver-plated and half-skinned. The sovereign confirms the order not to keep copper money on pain of severe punishment, ruin and exile to distant cities. […] They say that more than 7000 people were transferred for damage to money and more than 15000 were punished by cutting off their arms, legs, exile, taking away their property to the treasury.
"... THE SUCCESS OF THE CASE HAS BEEN HINDERED BY GREAT ABUSE"
Then in 1656 boyar Rtishchev proposed a project to put into circulation, so to speak, metal banknotes - to mint copper money of the same shape and size as silver money and issue them at the same price as them. It went pretty well until 1659, for 100 silver kopecks. gave 104 copper. Then silver began to disappear from circulation, and things went worse, so that in 1662 300-900 copper coins were given for 100 silver coins, and in 1663 they did not take 1500 copper coins for 100 silver coins. […] Why did Rtishchev's bold project, which could have been of great help to the Moscow government, so soon led him to a crisis?
The trouble was not in the project itself, which was bold but feasible, but in the inability to use it and in enormous abuses. First, the government itself was too generous in issuing copper money, and thus contributed to their depreciation. According to Meyerberg, 20 million rubles were issued in five years - a huge amount for that time. Second, huge abuses prevented the success of the case. The tsar's father-in-law, Miloslavsky, minted copper money without hesitation and, they say, minted up to 100 thousand coins. The persons in charge of minting coins made money for themselves from their copper and even allowed strangers to do it for bribes. The punishments did little to help the cause, because the main culprits and perpetrators (like Miloslavsky) remained intact. Along with these abuses of officials, a secret counterfeiting of coins among the people developed, although the counterfeiters were brutally executed. Meyerberg says that when he was in Moscow, up to 400 people were imprisoned for coin counterfeiting (1661); and according to Kotoshikhin's testimony, more than 7000 people were “executed for that money” in those years. Even more were exiled, but the evil did not stop […]. Attributing the blame for their difficult situation to the unloved boyars and accusing them of treason and friendship with the Poles, in July 1662 the people, who knew about the abuses in minting coins, raised an open revolt in Moscow against the boyars and a crowd went to the tsar in Kolomenskoye to ask for control over the boyars ... "The quietest Tsar" Alexei Mikhailovich managed to calm the crowd with affection, but insignificant random circumstances fanned the unrest again, and then the rioters were pacified by military force.
Platonov S.F. A complete course of lectures on Russian history. SPb., 2000
NUMBER OF RECOVERED
Sources' references to a large number of those killed, hanged and drowned in the Moskva River during the suppression of the "riot" also refuted Bazilevich's allegations. They are not talking about a few dozen, but about hundreds and hundreds of killed insurgents. This was confirmed by the find by the historian V.A. Kuchkin of the most important document - the modern events of July 25, 1662, an eyewitness record: “In the summer of July 7170, on the 25th day of God, with the permission of God, and for our sin in the great and in the preponderance of the reigning city of Moscow, such a great terrible thing happened: in the field near the Kolomenskoe sovereign, the village was flogged wash-vichs of black hundreds and all other ranks of people of hundreds of nine and more (my detente - VB) their own Moscow people, Strelyanov's archers and all sorts of sovereign ranks for the fact that they began to beat the sovereign's forehead against the boyars. Yes, in the month of July, on the 26th day, fifty people were hanged in the same petition of all ranks of people. "" Thus, we can talk about several thousand insurgents who died, were arrested and exiled as a result of the bloody pogrom of the uprising. , a significant part of which has not survived.
In light of these data, the figures of the knowledgeable and observant Kotoshikhin about the arrest of more than 200 insurgents in Moscow (this is confirmed by the Moscow investigation file), the murder and arrest of more than 7 thousand people in Kolomenskoye can be considered plausible; in the same place, according to him, more than 100 people drowned and “with 150” people were hanged. In addition, on the night of July 25-26, the "furious thieves" were drowned in the Moskva River from "large ships". Reports of 9-10 thousand participants in the uprising are just as likely.
"COPPER Riot" IN THE EYES OF SCOTTISH PATRICK GORDON
The rebels came out of the Serpukhov Gate in a crowd. There were about 4 or 5 thousand of them, without weapons, only a few had clubs and sticks. They claimed compensation [for damages] for copper money, salt, and more. For this purpose, in different parts of the city, sheets were pasted, and one solicitor in front of the Zemsky court read a sheet containing their complaints, the names of some persons whom they believed to be guilty of abuses, and an appeal to everyone to go to the king and seek compensation, as well as bad heads. advisers.
When the mob gathered, some went to rob the house of a guest or headman named Vasily Shorin, but most went to Kolomenskoye, where, while His Majesty was in church, they solicited the boyars and courtiers to appeal to the king. Finally, when the king left the church and mounted his horse, they very rudely and with loud cries insisted that he atone for their grievances. The tsar and some of the boyars reprimanded them for coming in such a disorder and number, and announced that the grievances would be redressed, and therefore a council would be called immediately - they should only have a little patience. Meanwhile, at their first appearance, an order was sent to two streltsy colonels to go with their regiments as soon as possible to Kolomenskoye, and the rest were ordered to suppress those who remained in Moscow.
When I reached the regiment, which the colonel had led away from the gate and built near the monastery, I persuaded him to go ahead. We reached the Kozhukhovsky bridge, where we received orders to stop, guard the bridge and capture the fugitives. By this time, two rifle regiments had appeared and were passed through the rear gate of the palace, They united with the horsemen from the courtiers and, attacking through the large gate, scattered [the rebels] without much risk and labor, some were driven into the river, others were killed and many were taken into captivity. Many were also saved.
Copper riot- This is a significant event in the history of Russia, the uprising of the urban poor and the lower classes, which took place in Moscow during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. The very concept of "copper riot" has become a household name. It is used whenever it is necessary to comment on the depreciation of money and the bankruptcy of the state.
The Copper Riot: Causes and Historical Situation
The Moscow state waged a long war for Ukraine against which a huge amount of monetary resources were spent. There was a shortage of money. Russia did not yet have its own deposits of precious metals, from which money was minted, so they were imported from abroad. used foreign money to make Russians out of them - pennies, polushki and money.
The situation came to the point that the boyar Ordin-Nashchokin proposed a very controversial solution: to mint copper money at the face value of silver. At the same time, taxes were still collected in silver, but the salary was already issued in new copper coins. Beginning in 1654, copper money was officially introduced into circulation instead of silver.
At first, everything went as the government intended: it was accepted at the price of the previous silver money... But soon they began to produce an incredible amount, because there were no problems with copper. Embossed yards in Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod worked at full capacity. The flow of unsecured money supply swept Russia, so very soon the demand for silver began to skyrocket, and copper money fell.
Slow inflation began at first, and then precipitous inflation. The government refused to accept copper money as taxes, so the old ones jumped sharply in price: for one old silver ruble they gave from 15 to 20 new copper ones. Merchants went to the market and carried copper money literally in wagons, while copper depreciated every day. The townspeople panicked: nothing could be bought, and there was nowhere to take silver.
But the government did not want to admit the erroneousness of its actions and out of habit began to look for the guilty on the side. Counterfeiters were blamed as the cause of the collapse in inflation. Demonstration courts began to be set up throughout the country. There was only one verdict for the production of "left" coins then: a cruel execution. According to the Code of Laws, the guilty were poured red-hot metal down their throats.
The problem was that almost anyone who knew at least a little bit of metal could make coins from copper. "Kotelniki and pewter" at that time got rich en masse, were able to build stone houses for themselves, bought expensive goods... After all, everyone had their own small mint. There were more than half a million fake copper coins in Moscow alone.
Copper Riot Events
On the morning of June 25, 1662, according to the old style, an incriminating letter was pasted at the pillar on the Lubyanka in Moscow, where Rtishchev, Miloslavsky and their guest Vasily Shorin were called traitors. In fact, they were charged with a connection with the Commonwealth, with which there was still a war. This accusation was absolutely groundless, but the people already needed any reason to start unrest.
A crowd of several thousand people, having read this message, went to the village of Kolomenskoye - the Tsar's summer residence. The guards were crushed, and the people freely broke into the royal court. Alexei Mikhailovich ordered Rtischev and Miloslavsky to hide in the Tsarina's chambers, and he himself went out to the people. And then a scene occurred that violated all the foundations and canons of society. Commoners surrounded Alexei Mikhailovich, and literally holding on to the buttons of the tsar's dress, asked: "Where is the truth?" The conversation was quite peaceful, and the emperor promised to restore order to the people. One of the rebels even "beat hands with the king." After that, the crowd calmed down and began to disperse. The incident seemed to be over. But this day was destined to end differently.
Another crowd at that moment smashed Shorin's house, and forced his young son to write a confession that his father allegedly sold himself to the Poles and specially arranged a venture with copper money to help the hated enemy. With this "confession" in hand, the rebels rushed to Kolomenskoye, dragging back those who had already returned from there. At this time, the tsar was already going to go to Moscow to investigate the case. However, new threats from the rioters pissed him off. Archers and soldiers had arrived from Moscow by that time. And Alexei Mikhailovich gave the order to Artamon Matveyev to cut the rioters.
The real massacre began. The crowd was unarmed. People were crushed, drowned in the river, stabbed and chopped. More than a thousand people died that day. Over the next days, they strenuously searched for participants in the campaign to Kolomenskoye, arrested, hanged, cut off their arms and legs, branded them, and sent them from Moscow to an eternal settlement. Many of those arrested were forced to write dictation in order to compare the handwriting with that ill-fated leaflet. However, the true instigators were never found.
The Copper Riot of 1662 was a performance of the real urban lower classes - artisans, peasants, butchers, and the local poor. No one from merchants and people of a higher class took part in it. Moreover, they also contributed to the subsequent arrests of the rioters.
As a result of the riot, about three thousand people suffered, and most of them were just a curious crowd.
Copper riot: aftermath
The king kept his promise and dealt with the problem of copper money. In 1663, minted factories in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and copper money was completely withdrawn from circulation. The minting of silver money was resumed. And from copper coins it was ordered to smelt boilers or hand them over to the treasury. Copper cash was exchanged for new silver coins at the previous inflation rate of twenty to one, that is, the state officially recognized that the old copper rubles were not backed by anything. The salary was soon again paid in silver.
In 1662, a copper riot broke out in Russia. The reasons for the revolt must be sought in the severe impoverishment of the population as a result of the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667. The Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, fulfilling the conditions of the Stolbovsky Peace of 1617, was forced to send bread and money to the Swedes through Pskov and Novgorod. Population outrage
sending grain abroad was suppressed. The treasury was empty, and the tsarist government was forced to start minting copper money in order to pay the troops. The currency reform directly provoked the copper riot. The reasons for the riot can also be seen in the plague epidemic of 1654-1655. The disease has undermined not only an already frustrated economy, but also reduced human resources. Cities were deserted, trade weakened, hostilities had to end, and the plague was the indirect cause of the copper riot of 1662. As a result of the weakening of trade, the influx of foreign silver dried up, foreign merchants could not get to Russia further than Arkhangelsk. Chasing copper coin petty dignity, replacing petty silver coin, against the backdrop of general disasters caused a sharp jump in inflation. If at the beginning of the monetary reform 100, 130, 150 copper kopecks were given for one hundred silver kopecks, then later the rise in inflation caused the small copper coin to fall to 1000 and 1500 per one hundred silver kopecks. There were rumors among the population that some boyars minted copper money themselves. The government issued copper money in an unreasonable amount, which spurred the copper revolt of 1662.
The main mistake of the tsarist government was the order to make any payment to the treasury in silver. Having thus abandoned the monetary policy being pursued, the government only intensified the popular unrest.
The course of the riot
The riot began with the fact that on the morning of July 25 in the center of Moscow anonymous letters appeared in which it was said about the betrayal of the boyars. The names of the Miloslavskys (who were in charge of the orders of the big treasury), the okolnich F. Rtishchev, who was in charge of the Order of the Grand Palace, the okolnich B. Khitrov, who headed the Armory. A crowd of starving and impoverished townspeople went to the tsar in Kolomenskoye and asked to hand over to them the boyars who were responsible for the national disasters. The king promised and the crowd left. The government brought up the rifle regiments to Kolomenskoye. People could no longer see the king. The fact that the tsar was closed and did not hear popular complaints prompted the inhabitants of Moscow to transfer the expression of indignation at the policy of Alexei Mikhailovich to the streets of the city.
The courtyards of the boyars Zadorin and Shorin were destroyed. A crowd of townspeople, armed only with sticks and knives, moved to Kolomenskoye, where they were attacked by the archers. They not only killed people, but also dumped them into the Moskva River. About 900 people died. The next day, about 20 more instigators of the riot were hanged in Moscow. Several dozen people were deported from Moscow to remote settlements.
Results of the riot
The copper revolt of 1612 ended with the fact that in Russia, drained of blood in all respects, by the Tsar's Decree of April 15, 1663, silver money was returned into circulation, for which the silver reserve of the treasury was used. Copper money was not only withdrawn from circulation, but also banned.
The copper riot took place in Moscow on July 25, 1662. The reason was the following. Russia waged a protracted war with the Commonwealth for the annexation of Ukraine. Any war requires huge funds to maintain the army. The state was sorely lacking money, then it was decided to introduce copper money into circulation.
It happened in 1655. From a pound of copper, worth 12 kopecks, coins were minted for 10 rubles. A lot of copper money was immediately thrown into use, which led to the distrust of the population in them, inflation. It should be noted that taxes to the state treasury were collected in silver money, and paid in copper. Copper money was also easy to counterfeit.
By 1662, the market price of copper money had fallen by as much as 15 times, and the value of goods had increased dramatically. The situation was getting worse every day. The peasants did not take their food to the cities because they did not want to receive worthless copper for them. Poverty and hunger began to flourish in the cities.
The copper revolt was prepared in advance, proclamations appeared throughout Moscow, in which many boyars and merchants were accused of collusion with the Commonwealth, the ruin of the country and betrayal. Also in the proclamation there were demands to reduce taxes on salt, to abolish copper money. It is significant that almost the same people caused the people's discontent as during the salt revolt.
The crowd split into two. One, in the amount of 5 thousand people, moved to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye, the second smashed the courtyards of the hated nobles. The rebels caught Alexei Mikhailovich at a prayer service. The boyars went to talk to the people, but they could not calm the crowd. Alexei Mikhailovich himself had to go. People beat their foreheads in front of the king, demanded to change the situation. Realizing that the crowd could not be pacified, Alexei Mikhailovich spoke "in a quiet custom", persuading the rioters to be patient. People grabbed the king by the dress and said "What to believe?" The Tsar even had to shake hands with one of the rioters. Only after that did the people begin to disperse.
The people left Kolomenskoye, but on the way they met the second part of the crowd, which was going to where the first one left. The united, dissatisfied, 10 thousandth crowd of people turned back to Kolomenskoye. The rebels behaved even more boldly and decisively, demanding the boyars to kill. Meanwhile, the loyal regiments of Alexei Mikhailovich arrived in time to Kolomenskoye and dispersed the crowd. About 7 thousand people were subjected to repressions. Someone was beaten, someone was sent into exile, and someone was burned with a stigma with the letter "B" - a rebel.
Only people from the lower strata of society participated in the copper riot - butchers, artisans, peasants. The copper revolt resulted in the gradual abolition of the copper coin. In 1663, the copper courtyards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the printing of silver money was resumed. Copper money was completely withdrawn from circulation and melted into other useful items.
