On this day 250 years ago, January 10, 1775 (December 9, 1774 lunar calendar), Pugachev, the leader of the Russian peasant uprising, was executed. Yemelian Pugachev (circa 1742-1775) On January 10, 1775, Pugachev, the leader of the Russian peasant uprising, was executed. Yemelian Pugachev (circa 1742-1775) was born into a poor peasant family and served in the military at the age of 18. In 1773, Pugachev gathered 80 Cossacks to revolt, opening the prelude to a peasant war in Russian history against serfdom oppression. This peasant war was caused by the intensification of class contradictions. At that time, feudal serfdom relations in Russia were about to collapse and capitalist relations were becoming increasingly formed. The aristocratic and autocratic states continued to strengthen the oppression of serf owners, which aroused strong resistance from the people. The main driving force of this peasant war was the peasants, and in addition, the Cossack working class and mining workers also participated in this movement. The Bashkir, Tatar, Kalmyk, and other non-Russian ethnic groups in the left bank of the middle and lower Volga were also righteous. Shortly before the outbreak of this peasant war, in 1771, an uprising of the lower classes of the citizens broke out in Moscow ("Plague Rebellion"). In 1772, the Yayk Cossacks rose up against the Cossack leaders, and in the same year, there were also riots in Cossack villages and towns on the Volga and Don rivers. The government of Catherine II relied on military force to reluctantly control the oppressed people of various ethnic groups in the vast empire. The Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) sharpened domestic social contradictions, and the growing burden aroused the dissatisfaction of the toiling masses. On September 17, 1773, the Don Cossack Pugachev, claiming to be Emperor Peter III, gathered a team of 80 Yayk Cossacks and issued a petition announcing that the benefits and privileges enjoyed by the ancient Cossacks would be granted to the Cossacks, Tatars, and Kalmyks who had served in the Yayk Army. On September 18, the insurgent army approached the fortified town of Yayk (Uralsk) and gave up the attack because there were no artillery, leaving only some troops to besiege it. Pugachev led the rest of the team to march on Orenburg, a strategic military and political point in southeastern Russia. Pugachev's ranks soon grew as peasants, Yayk Cossacks, fugitive soldiers, Tatars, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, and workers in Urals factories volunteered to join the uprising. The uprising army seized a large number of weapons (including artillery, ammunition) and food in the various fortresses (Ilek town, Tatisheva, Sakmara town, etc.) that had been surrendered to Pugachev. On October 5, Pugachev's uprising army (about 2,500 people, 20 artillery pieces) began to besiege Orenburg for six months. To suppress the peasant war and reinforce Orenburg, the government sent a crusade led by Major General Karl (3,500 men, 10 artillery pieces), but was defeated by the insurgent army led by Ovchinnikov and Chika (Zarubin) in the fighting near the village of Yuzeyeva on November 7-9. During November, government troops sent to the uprising area from Siberia and Simbilsk (Ulyanovsk) were also defeated. Pugachev's garrison in Beltskaya Sloboda (6 kilometers from Orenburg) was the center of command of the peasant war. Peasant volunteers from all over Russia gathered here to join the army. By December 1773 Pugachev had about 25,000 men and 86 artillery pieces near Orenburg. The peasant war engulfed most of the provinces of the South Urals, Astrakhan and Kazan, Western Siberia and West Kazakhstan. Jinja Arslanov and Saravat Yulayev led the people of Bashkir to rise. In Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) (Belobordov), Chelyabinsk (Gryaznov), Samara (Kubyshev) (Arapov), Stavropol (Derbetov), Kungul and Krasnofimsk (Kuznetsov, Saravat Yulayev), the town of Yayik (Tolkachev) and many other large centres of uprising led by prominent military chiefs appeared. The main force under Pugachev was the main force of the uprising. Pugachev was born in the army (as a second lieutenant in the Cossack army) and tried to give his troops some kind of regular army structure. The insurgent army consists of regiments (usually 500 men per regiment) under the jurisdiction of companies (about 100 men per company), each with a captain of 100 or commanded by a lieutenant. Commanders are elected by the soldiers' council. Many regiments, companies are organized according to social origin (peasants, workers, Yayk Cossacks, soldiers, etc.), nationality (Bashkir, Tatar, etc.) or regional characteristics. The main units and regiments are issued with flags bearing the slogans of Pugachev's orders. The insurgents studied military subjects while stationed in Bercskaya Yasloboda: splitting, gunfire, digging tunnels, laying mines, covering, etc. Pugachev and his commanders tried to coordinate the regiments with the detachments, organize reconnaissance, and strive to strengthen discipline. In recognition of those who have achieved war service, medals are awarded, which are reformed from silver rubles and the order of the tsar. To lead the uprising, Pugachev established a military committee in November 1773, which existed until the end of August 1774. The members of the military committee are: Vitoshnov, Sigayev, Tvorogov, Pochtalin, Gorshkov, etc. (the membership has since changed). The military committee is responsible for directing the operations of the various insurgent armies, organizing the manufacture of weapons in the factories of the Urals; replenishing the insurgent army, providing food and weapons; combating looting, etc. In addition to military duties, the military committee also performs administrative judicial functions. Ovchinnikov was one of the talented commanders of this peasant war. The privy department he presided over was Pugachev's staff, and the main force was personally commanded by Pugachev. All combat operations were organized and carried out under the direct leadership of Pugachev. The main force had a sound system, which was based on the establishment of the Cossack army. The fighting core of the rebel army was Cossacks, but most of the Cossack troops were farmers and workers without military training. The rebel army was poorly equipped, mainly cold weapons (sabers, spears, battle axes, short swords, feather spears, chains, sickles, clubs, etc.) and bows and arrows; guns and guns were less. The characteristics of this peasant war were: localized, regionally dispersed, spontaneous, and disorganized, that is, with various weaknesses inherent in the peasant movements of the feudal era. The lack of a unified strategic plan and the poor connection of the independent uprising areas prevented Pugachev and the Military Council from exercising leadership over the various uprising movements, and the independent uprising centers lost unified leadership. Pugachev's siege of Orenburg and the towns of Yayik, rather than marching on the Volga Valley (where the people had been ready to support him), resulted in the strategic base of the peasant war being limited to the southeastern corner of the Russian Empire, giving Catherine II time to mobilize troops. The tsarist government hoped to suppress the uprising with local troops. After failing to do so, in December 1773, the Grand Governor Bibikov sent a crusade (several cavalry and infantry regiments, totaling about 6,500 men and 30 artillery pieces) to suppress Pugachev's rebellion. Without the assistance of Pugachev's main army in the futile siege of Orenburg, some scattered and poorly equipped rebels were defeated near Samara and Kungul. It was not until the fall of Buzulukskaya that Pugachev withdrew some of his troops from near Orenburg in an attempt to stop the Tsarist army from advancing. However, on March 22, 1774, the two armies fought a decisive battle near the Tatisheva fortress. The decisive battle lasted for more than 6 hours. Pugachev's main army was defeated by the government army. About 2,000 people were killed, 4,000 were wounded and captured, and all artillery was lost. On March 24, another group of the insurgent army was routed by Lieutenant Colonel Mikherson's crusade near Ufa, and soon after, Chika (Zarubin) and Helopsha (Sokolov) were captured. Pugachev evacuated from Bercskaya Sloboda and gave up the siege of Orenburg. On April 1, 1774, he fought again with the crusaders near the town of Sakmara, but was defeated (more than 400 killed, more than 2,800 captured), and many close aides (Higayev, Padurov, Vitoshnov, Gorshkov, Pochitarim) were captured. Pugachev led a force of 500 men through the siege and took cover in the Ural Mountains. By mid-April 1774, although all the major centers of the uprising had been destroyed, the troops of Saravat Yurayev, Belobordov, and Ovchinnikov were still active in Bashkir, near Ekaterinburg, and in the Orenburg border area. In April 1774, the second phase of the peasant war began. Pugachev recruited new troops in the Ural industrial and mining areas and Bashkir, and on May 5, 1774, he led his army (5,000 men) to capture the Magnitnaya fortress and join forces with Beloborodov and Ovchinnikov. The rebels advanced up the Yayk River and captured the Troitsk fortress on May 19. But on May 21 the rebels were defeated and Pugachev retreated to the Ural steppe. The government army continued to pursue, hitting the rebels several times, but Pugachev used guerrilla tactics skillfully and finally escaped the pursuit of the enemy and preserved the main force. The rebels were continuously supplemented by farmers, workers, and Bashkirs. In mid-June 1774, Pugachev was forced to withdraw from the industrial and mining areas of the Urals and led his troops to the Volga River in order to realize the original plan of marching into Moscow. On July 12, 1771, the rebels occupied Kazan by storm, but failed to capture the well-fortified inner city defended by the remnants of the defenders. Mikhelsson led his troops to the defense of the inner city in time. The bloody battle through the Alsk wilderness defeated the rebels on July 15. About 2,000 of the rebels were killed and 5,000 were captured. During this battle, Beloborodov, one of the outstanding leaders of the peasant war, and his troops were all captured alive. To escape the pursuit, Pugachev crossed to the right bank of the Volga with a strong army. This is the end of the second phase of the peasant war. Many of the events of the second stage took place mainly in the territory of the Urals and in the western Urals. In the third stage, the uprising was revived. It was widely supported by serfs and people of all ethnic groups in the Volga Valley (Tatar, Chuvash, Mordovan, Mali, Meseryak). Hundreds or thousands of peasant guerrillas were spontaneously established in various places. The uprising swept through most of the counties of the Volga Valley and spread to the border of Moscow Province, directly threatening Moscow, causing a uproar among the lower classes, workshop workers, and servants of the nobility. However, Pugachev made a strategic mistake at this stage: he gave up the direct drive to Moscow and left the areas where the peasant movement was largest and headed south, in order to return to the center of Russia after the Don River was replenished by Cossacks. On the way south, Pugachev's troops received support from the common people wherever they went. On July 20, 1774, Pugachev captured Kurmesh, followed by Lenk Alatri (7.23), Saransk (7.27), Penza (8.2), Petrovsk (8.4), and Saratov (8.6). However, the partial and decentralized nature of the peasant uprising at this stage was particularly evident: the uprising peasants were usually active in their own county, but stopped fighting when they reached the neighboring counties. In August 1774, Catherine II sent a large number of troops to suppress the peasant war - 20 cavalry and infantry regiments, in addition to Cossack troops and noble volunteers. The crusaders forced Pugachev to retreat to Hayar. On August 25, near Solenikovataga (75 kilometers south of Sorizin), the last battle of this peasant war was fought. As soon as the battle broke out, the rebels lost their artillery and were defeated due to the rebellion of a small group of Yayk Cossacks. Pugachev led a small team to the grasslands on the left bank of the Volga River, where they were captured by the traitors and delivered to the government. Pugachev and his comrades were tried in the town of Yayk, Simbilsk and Moscow. On January 10, 1775, Pugachev, Perfilyev, Higayev, Padurov, and Tornov were executed in Moscow's Bolotto Square. Chika (Zarubin) was executed in Ufa in February 1775. Thousands of uprising officers and soldiers were flogged or exiled to Siberia. Although the peasant war led by Pugachev failed, it dealt a heavy blow to the dictatorship of the tsar, shook the state foundation of serfdom, accelerated the collapse of feudal serfdom in Russia, and left a glorious page in Russian history. Pugachev was also recorded in the history books. Recommended reason: In a sense, Pugachev's peasant uprising and China's Taiping Revolution had the same effect, and Pugachev himself and Hong Xiuquan also had the same end.On this day 250 years ago, January 10, 1775 (December 9, 1774 lunar calendar), Pugachev, the leader of the Russian peasant uprising, was executed. Yemelian Pugachev (circa 1742-1775) On January 10, 1775, Pugachev, the leader of the Russian peasant uprising, was executed. Yemelian Pugachev (circa 1742-1775) was born into a poor peasant family and served in the military at the age of 18. In 1773, Pugachev gathered 80 Cossacks to revolt, opening the prelude to a peasant war in Russian history against serfdom oppression. This peasant war was caused by the intensification of class contradictions. At that time, feudal serfdom relations in Russia were about to collapse and capitalist relations were becoming increasingly formed. The aristocratic and autocratic states continued to strengthen the oppression of serf owners, which aroused strong resistance from the people. The main driving force of this peasant war was the peasants, and in addition, the Cossack working class and mining workers also participated in this movement. The Bashkir, Tatar, Kalmyk, and other non-Russian ethnic groups in the left bank of the middle and lower Volga were also righteous. Shortly before the outbreak of this peasant war, in 1771, an uprising of the lower classes of the citizens broke out in Moscow ("Plague Rebellion"). In 1772, the Yayk Cossacks rose up against the Cossack leaders, and in the same year, there were also riots in Cossack villages and towns on the Volga and Don rivers. The government of Catherine II relied on military force to reluctantly control the oppressed people of various ethnic groups in the vast empire. The Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) sharpened domestic social contradictions, and the growing burden aroused the dissatisfaction of the toiling masses. On September 17, 1773, the Don Cossack Pugachev, claiming to be Emperor Peter III, gathered a team of 80 Yayk Cossacks and issued a petition announcing that the benefits and privileges enjoyed by the ancient Cossacks would be granted to the Cossacks, Tatars, and Kalmyks who had served in the Yayk Army. On September 18, the insurgent army approached the fortified town of Yayk (Uralsk) and gave up the attack because there were no artillery, leaving only some troops to besiege it. Pugachev led the rest of the team to march on Orenburg, a strategic military and political point in southeastern Russia. Pugachev's ranks soon grew as peasants, Yayk Cossacks, fugitive soldiers, Tatars, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, and workers in Urals factories volunteered to join the uprising. The uprising army seized a large number of weapons (including artillery, ammunition) and food in the various fortresses (Ilek town, Tatisheva, Sakmara town, etc.) that had been surrendered to Pugachev. On October 5, Pugachev's uprising army (about 2,500 people, 20 artillery pieces) began to besiege Orenburg for six months. To suppress the peasant war and reinforce Orenburg, the government sent a crusade led by Major General Karl (3,500 men, 10 artillery pieces), but was defeated by the insurgent army led by Ovchinnikov and Chika (Zarubin) in the fighting near the village of Yuzeyeva on November 7-9. During November, government troops sent to the uprising area from Siberia and Simbilsk (Ulyanovsk) were also defeated. Pugachev's garrison in Beltskaya Sloboda (6 kilometers from Orenburg) was the center of command of the peasant war. Peasant volunteers from all over Russia gathered here to join the army. By December 1773 Pugachev had about 25,000 men and 86 artillery pieces near Orenburg. The peasant war engulfed most of the provinces of the South Urals, Astrakhan and Kazan, Western Siberia and West Kazakhstan. Jinja Arslanov and Saravat Yulayev led the people of Bashkir to rise. In Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) (Belobordov), Chelyabinsk (Gryaznov), Samara (Kubyshev) (Arapov), Stavropol (Derbetov), Kungul and Krasnofimsk (Kuznetsov, Saravat Yulayev), the town of Yayik (Tolkachev) and many other large centres of uprising led by prominent military chiefs appeared. The main force under Pugachev was the main force of the uprising. Pugachev was born in the army (as a second lieutenant in the Cossack army) and tried to give his troops some kind of regular army structure. The insurgent army consists of regiments (usually 500 men per regiment) under the jurisdiction of companies (about 100 men per company), each with a captain of 100 or commanded by a lieutenant. Commanders are elected by the soldiers' council. Many regiments, companies are organized according to social origin (peasants, workers, Yayk Cossacks, soldiers, etc.), nationality (Bashkir, Tatar, etc.) or regional characteristics. The main units and regiments are issued with flags bearing the slogans of Pugachev's orders. The insurgents studied military subjects while stationed in Bercskaya Yasloboda: splitting, gunfire, digging tunnels, laying mines, covering, etc. Pugachev and his commanders tried to coordinate the regiments with the detachments, organize reconnaissance, and strive to strengthen discipline. In recognition of those who have achieved war service, medals are awarded, which are reformed from silver rubles and the order of the tsar. To lead the uprising, Pugachev established a military committee in November 1773, which existed until the end of August 1774. The members of the military committee are: Vitoshnov, Sigayev, Tvorogov, Pochtalin, Gorshkov, etc. (the membership has since changed). The military committee is responsible for directing the operations of the various insurgent armies, organizing the manufacture of weapons in the factories of the Urals; replenishing the insurgent army, providing food and weapons; combating looting, etc. In addition to military duties, the military committee also performs administrative judicial functions. Ovchinnikov was one of the talented commanders of this peasant war. The privy department he presided over was Pugachev's staff, and the main force was personally commanded by Pugachev. All combat operations were organized and carried out under the direct leadership of Pugachev. The main force had a sound system, which was based on the establishment of the Cossack army. The fighting core of the rebel army was Cossacks, but most of the Cossack troops were farmers and workers without military training. The rebel army was poorly equipped, mainly cold weapons (sabers, spears, battle axes, short swords, feather spears, chains, sickles, clubs, etc.) and bows and arrows; guns and guns were less. The characteristics of this peasant war were: localized, regionally dispersed, spontaneous, and disorganized, that is, with various weaknesses inherent in the peasant movements of the feudal era. The lack of a unified strategic plan and the poor connection of the independent uprising areas prevented Pugachev and the Military Council from exercising leadership over the various uprising movements, and the independent uprising centers lost unified leadership. Pugachev's siege of Orenburg and the towns of Yayik, rather than marching on the Volga Valley (where the people had been ready to support him), resulted in the strategic base of the peasant war being limited to the southeastern corner of the Russian Empire, giving Catherine II time to mobilize troops. The tsarist government hoped to suppress the uprising with local troops. After failing to do so, in December 1773, the Grand Governor Bibikov sent a crusade (several cavalry and infantry regiments, totaling about 6,500 men and 30 artillery pieces) to suppress Pugachev's rebellion. Without the assistance of Pugachev's main army in the futile siege of Orenburg, some scattered and poorly equipped rebels were defeated near Samara and Kungul. It was not until the fall of Buzulukskaya that Pugachev withdrew some of his troops from near Orenburg in an attempt to stop the Tsarist army from advancing. However, on March 22, 1774, the two armies fought a decisive battle near the Tatisheva fortress. The decisive battle lasted for more than 6 hours. Pugachev's main army was defeated by the government army. About 2,000 people were killed, 4,000 were wounded and captured, and all artillery was lost. On March 24, another group of the insurgent army was routed by Lieutenant Colonel Mikherson's crusade near Ufa, and soon after, Chika (Zarubin) and Helopsha (Sokolov) were captured. Pugachev evacuated from Bercskaya Sloboda and gave up the siege of Orenburg. On April 1, 1774, he fought again with the crusaders near the town of Sakmara, but was defeated (more than 400 killed, more than 2,800 captured), and many close aides (Higayev, Padurov, Vitoshnov, Gorshkov, Pochitarim) were captured. Pugachev led a force of 500 men through the siege and took cover in the Ural Mountains. By mid-April 1774, although all the major centers of the uprising had been destroyed, the troops of Saravat Yurayev, Belobordov, and Ovchinnikov were still active in Bashkir, near Ekaterinburg, and in the Orenburg border area. In April 1774, the second phase of the peasant war began. Pugachev recruited new troops in the Ural industrial and mining areas and Bashkir, and on May 5, 1774, he led his army (5,000 men) to capture the Magnitnaya fortress and join forces with Beloborodov and Ovchinnikov. The rebels advanced up the Yayk River and captured the Troitsk fortress on May 19. But on May 21 the rebels were defeated and Pugachev retreated to the Ural steppe. The government army continued to pursue, hitting the rebels several times, but Pugachev used guerrilla tactics skillfully and finally escaped the pursuit of the enemy and preserved the main force. The rebels were continuously supplemented by farmers, workers, and Bashkirs. In mid-June 1774, Pugachev was forced to withdraw from the industrial and mining areas of the Urals and led his troops to the Volga River in order to realize the original plan of marching into Moscow. On July 12, 1771, the rebels occupied Kazan by storm, but failed to capture the well-fortified inner city defended by the remnants of the defenders. Mikhelsson led his troops to the defense of the inner city in time. The bloody battle through the Alsk wilderness defeated the rebels on July 15. About 2,000 of the rebels were killed and 5,000 were captured. During this battle, Beloborodov, one of the outstanding leaders of the peasant war, and his troops were all captured alive. To escape the pursuit, Pugachev crossed to the right bank of the Volga with a strong army. This is the end of the second phase of the peasant war. Many of the events of the second stage took place mainly in the territory of the Urals and in the western Urals. In the third stage, the uprising was revived. It was widely supported by serfs and people of all ethnic groups in the Volga Valley (Tatar, Chuvash, Mordovan, Mali, Meseryak). Hundreds or thousands of peasant guerrillas were spontaneously established in various places. The uprising swept through most of the counties of the Volga Valley and spread to the border of Moscow Province, directly threatening Moscow, causing a uproar among the lower classes, workshop workers, and servants of the nobility. However, Pugachev made a strategic mistake at this stage: he gave up the direct drive to Moscow and left the areas where the peasant movement was largest and headed south, in order to return to the center of Russia after the Don River was replenished by Cossacks. On the way south, Pugachev's troops received support from the common people wherever they went. On July 20, 1774, Pugachev captured Kurmesh, followed by Lenk Alatri (7.23), Saransk (7.27), Penza (8.2), Petrovsk (8.4), and Saratov (8.6). However, the partial and decentralized nature of the peasant uprising at this stage was particularly evident: the uprising peasants were usually active in their own county, but stopped fighting when they reached the neighboring counties. In August 1774, Catherine II sent a large number of troops to suppress the peasant war - 20 cavalry and infantry regiments, in addition to Cossack troops and noble volunteers. The crusaders forced Pugachev to retreat to Hayar. On August 25, near Solenikovataga (75 kilometers south of Sorizin), the last battle of this peasant war was fought. As soon as the battle broke out, the rebels lost their artillery and were defeated due to the rebellion of a small group of Yayk Cossacks. Pugachev led a small team to the grasslands on the left bank of the Volga River, where they were captured by the traitors and delivered to the government. Pugachev and his comrades were tried in the town of Yayk, Simbilsk and Moscow. On January 10, 1775, Pugachev, Perfilyev, Higayev, Padurov, and Tornov were executed in Moscow's Bolotto Square. Chika (Zarubin) was executed in Ufa in February 1775. Thousands of uprising officers and soldiers were flogged or exiled to Siberia. Although the peasant war led by Pugachev failed, it dealt a heavy blow to the dictatorship of the tsar, shook the state foundation of serfdom, accelerated the collapse of feudal serfdom in Russia, and left a glorious page in Russian history. Pugachev was also recorded in the history books. Recommended reason: In a sense, Pugachev's peasant uprising and China's Taiping Revolution had the same effect, and Pugachev himself and Hong Xiuquan also had the same end.