Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (also spelled Pugachyov; ; ) was an

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

of the

Yaik Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...

and the leader of the

Pugachev's Rebellion Pugachev's Rebellion (; also called the Peasants' War 1773–1775 or Cossack Rebellion) of 1773–1775 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine II seized power in 1762. It ...

, a major popular uprising in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

during the reign of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. The son of a

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...

landowner, Pugachev served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. In 1770 he deserted the Russian military and spent years as a fugitive, gaining popularity among the peasants,

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

against a backdrop of intensified unrest. In 1773, he initiated open revolt against Catherine. Claiming to be Catherine's late husband

Tsar Peter III Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

, Pugachev proclaimed an end to

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

and amassed a large army. His forces quickly overran much of the region between the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, and in 1774 they captured

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

and burned the city to the ground. In August 1774, General

Johann von Michelsohnen Johann von Michelsohnen (also Mikhelson or Michelson; ; – ) was a Baltic German military commander who served in the Imperial Russian Army. He was a prominent general in several wars, but his most noted contribution was his critical role in sup ...

inflicted a crushing defeat on the rebels at

Tsaritsyn Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

. Pugachev was captured soon after by his own Cossacks and turned over to the authorities. He was then sent to Moscow and executed in January 1775.

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

wrote a notable history of the rebellion, ''The History of Pugachev'', and recounted the events of the uprising in his novel ''

The Captain's Daughter ''The Captain's Daughter'' () is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal '' Sovremennik'' and is his only completed novel. The novel is a romanticize ...

'' (1836).

Early life

Pugachev, the son of a small

landowner, was the youngest son of four children. Born in the

stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

Zimoveyskaya (in present-day

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...

), he signed on to military service at the age of 17. One year later, he married a Cossack girl, Sofya Nedyuzheva, with whom he had five children, two of whom died in infancy. Shortly after his marriage, he joined the Russian Second Army in Prussia during the

under the command of Count Zakhar Chernyshov. He returned home in 1762, and for the next seven years divided his time between his home village and several service assignments. During this period, he was recognised for his military skill and achieved the Cossack rank of

khorunzhiy A standard-bearer ( Polish: ''Chorąży'' ; Russian and ; , chorunžis; ) is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A ''chorąży'' was once a knight who bore an ensign, the emblem of an armed troops, a voivodship, a la ...

, which would be roughly equivalent to the post of company commander. It was also during this period, in 1770 at the siege of Bender during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

, that he first displayed a flair for impersonation, boasting to his comrades that his sword was given to him by his "godfather", Peter I.

Life as a fugitive

In 1770, Pugachev requested leave to return home to recover from a severe illness, later seeking permanent discharge. Despite urging from military commanders, Pugachev refused to be treated in a military infirmary or return to the front. Convinced by his brother-in-law, Simon Pavlov, he joined a dissatisfied Cossack group who were fleeing eastward for an independent Cossack community on the

Terek River The Terek () is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus ...

. After they were safely across the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

, he returned home to Zimoveyskaya. The fleeing Cossacks were caught soon after by the authorities, and Pavlov implicated Pugachev in the desertion, causing his arrest. He was held for 48 hours before he managed to escape, beginning his fugitive career. Fleeing for the Cossack community on the Terek River, he arrived in early January 1772. During his six weeks in the area, he joined a protest group and was elected their official representative. On his way to St. Petersburg to make an official complaint, his fugitive status was discovered in

Mozdok Mozdok (; , ''Mæzdæg'') is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District in North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, north of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz. As of the 2010 Census, its p ...

, and he was again arrested. He escaped on 13 February and returned home, only to be arrested once again. Dispatched to

Cherkassk Starocherkasskaya (), formerly Cherkassk (), is a rural locality (a ''stanitsa'') in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, with origins dating from the late 16th century. It is located on the right bank of the Don River approximately u ...

for investigation, he met Lukyan Ivanovich Khudiakov, whom he tricked into releasing him, after which he fled to Vetka, a Polish border settlement, with the help of many raskol'niki. He returned to Russia in the autumn of 1772 by pretending to be an

Old Believer Old Believers or Old Ritualists (Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

wishing to return home. He received a visa to settle in the Malykovka district (present day Vol'sk), where he most likely first heard of the

rebellion.

Insurrection 1773–1774

The idea of impersonating the late Emperor Peter III occurred to Pugachev early on, even before he reached the Yaik Cossacks. It is of no surprise, given another recent peasant impersonator, Fedot Bogmolov, and Russia's history of impersonators. Pugachev, posing as a wealthy merchant, reportedly tested the feelings of the Cossacks at the

Yaitsk Oral (, ), also known as Uralsk (, ), is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan rivers close to the Russian border. As it is located on the western bank of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in ...

by suggesting that he led a mass exodus into Turkey. When the majority seemed to agree with his plan, he deemed it the right time to begin his rebellion. Though he was arrested shortly after once again, and this time held for five months at

, he escaped once more and returned to the Yaitsk to start his revolt. By promising to return several privileges to the Cossacks and to restore the Old Belief, he was able to gain the support he needed to promote his identity as Peter III. The story of Pugachev's strong resemblance to the Tsar Peter III, who in 1762 was overthrown and murdered by his wife's supporters, the future empress Catherine II, comes from a later legend. Pugachev told the story that he and his principal adherents had escaped from the clutches of Catherine. Having amassed an army through propaganda, recruitment and promise of reform, Pugachev and his generals were able to overrun much of the region stretching between the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and the

. Pugachev's greatest victory of the insurgency was the taking of

. As well as amassing large numbers of Cossacks and peasants, Pugachev also acquired artillery and arms and was able to supply his force better than the Russian army would have predicted. In response, General Peter Panin set out against the rebels with a large army, but difficulty of transport, lack of discipline, and the gross insubordination of his ill-paid soldiers paralysed all his efforts for months, while Pugachev's innumerable and ubiquitous bands gained victories in nearly every engagement. Not until August 1774 did General Michelsohn inflict a crushing defeat upon the rebels near

, when they lost; ten thousand were killed or taken prisoner. Panin's savage reprisals, after the capture of

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

, completed their discomfiture. On 14 September 1774, Pugachev's own Cossacks delivered him to Yaitsk.

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

had him placed in a metal cage and sent first to

Simbirsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO City of Literature since 2015. The city wa ...

and then to Moscow for a public execution, which took place on . In

Bolotnaya Square Bolotnaya Square (, ''Bolotnaya ploshchad'') is a square in the center of Moscow, in Yakimanka District, south of the Moscow Kremlin, between the Moskva River (north) and the Vodootvodny Canal (south). The square is bounded by Bolotnaya Embankm ...

in the centre of Moscow, he was decapitated and then drawn and quartered in public.

Legacy

The Pugachev rebellion had a long-lasting effect on Russia for years to come. While Catherine II tried to reform the provincial administration, the horrors of the revolt caused her to drop other reforms, particularly attempts to emancipate the peasant serfs of Russia. The Russian writer

Alexander Radishchev Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev (; – ) was a Russian author and social critic who was arrested and exiled under Catherine the Great. He brought the tradition of radicalism in Russian literature to prominence with his 1790 work '' Journey fr ...

, in his '' Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow'', attacked the Russian government, in particular the institution of

. In the book, he refers to Pugachev and the rebellion as a warning. The term "Pugachevs of the University" was frequently used to describe the generation of the Russian

Nihilist movement The Russian nihilist movementOccasionally, ''nihilism'' will be capitalized when referring to the Russian movement though this is not ubiquitous nor does it correspond with Russian usage. was a philosophical, cultural, and revolutionary move ...

. The village (''

'') in which Pugachev was born, whose original name "Zimoveyskaya" was changed after his defeat to Potemkinskaya, was renamed Pugachevskaya in his honor in 1917, following the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. The central square in the Kazakh town of

Uralsk Uralsk () is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''selo'' in Iriklinsky Settle ...

is named Pugachev Square. Yemelyan Pugachev's House Museum in

, was established in 1991. Authors such as

Boris Akunin Grigori Chkhartishvili (; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვილი), better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (, born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian and Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a write ...

have referred to Pugachevshchina as a tendency in the

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

toward rebellious discontent. A fictionalised account of the rebellion is presented in

's 1836 novella ''

''. This was in part the basis of the 1958 film '' Tempest'', which starred

Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio, and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. ...

as Pugachev. The 1928 silent film '' Bulat-Batyr'' (directed by Yuri Tarich) is devoted to the Pugachev rebellion. In the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series ''

The Great This is a list of people known as the Great, or the equivalent, in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as Persian ''e Bozorg'' and Hindustani ''e Azam''. In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have be ...

'', Pugachev (played by

Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (; born Wokingham, 7 December 1989) is an English actor. He has received several accolades, including a nomination for a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe nominations, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. ...

) is portrayed as a

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''eenden kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to ...

of Peter III (also played by Hoult) who often steals things from the palace. He is stabbed seemingly to death by

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

at the end of the second season, but is then revealed to be alive, setting the stage for his rebellion in the third season.

References

Sources

* * * * *

In other languages

* * * * * * *

External links

Pushkin on Pugachev: ''God save us from the Russian riot, absurd and cruel''

Encyclopædia Britannica on Pugachev
*
Pugachev's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugachev, Yemelyan 1740s births 1775 deaths 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire 18th-century rebels People from Kotelnikovsky District Don Cossacks Politicians from the Russian Empire Peasant revolts Cossack rebels Impostor pretenders Pretenders to the Russian throne People executed by the Russian Empire by decapitation Executed Russian people 18th-century executions by Russia History of Ural Peter III of Russia Russian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Pugachev's Rebellion Cossacks from the Russian Empire Year of birth uncertain