Copper riot: causes and results

Causes of the Copper Riot

Since 1654, Russia has been waging a protracted war with Poland and the treasury urgently needed funds to continue hostilities. Russia did not have its own mines for the extraction of gold and silver, precious metals were imported from abroad. Minting coins for the state was too expensive. The Mint minted Russian money, polushka (half money) and kopeck from foreign coins. "Smart heads" suggested to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich how to get funds. In those days, copper cost the state 60 times cheaper than silver. Therefore, it was proposed to make coins not from silver, but from copper. Serving people, artisans received copper money for their work, which at first was equated to silver coins. At first, the population readily accepted the new money.
During the seven years of the existence of copper money, from 1655 to 1662, their minting was carried out in many mints of Moscow, Pskov and Novgorod, which acquired an unprecedented and uncontrollable character.
In the same years, the government increases taxes by 20%, among the people this fee was called the "fifth money". Salaries were paid in copper and taxes were collected in silver coins. The authority of copper money began to decline catastrophically. The copper penny began to depreciate, trade was noticeably upset, no one wanted to take copper money for payment. Archers and servicemen began to grumble, they could not buy anything with their "copper" salary. All goods rose sharply in price, no one paid attention to the royal decree.
The ruling elite, wealthy merchants increased the exploitation of ordinary people, all kinds of exactions began, bribe takers began to flourish, various excesses and impunity of the boyars assumed ever greater proportions. All this was the reason for the ensuing copper rebellion.

Members of the copper riot and their demands

On the night of July 24-25, 1662, leaflets-proclamations were posted on the streets, intersections and squares of Moscow, demanding the abolition of copper money, an end to abuses, and a reduction in taxes.
On July 25, early in the morning, a copper riot broke out in Moscow. The degree of uprising, the intensity of the uprising seized the masses of thousands of residents of the capital. The enraged rebels split into two parts. One half smashed the houses of the "strong" and rich in Moscow. The first object for the angry crowd was the house of Shorin's guest, who collected "fifth money" throughout the state.
Several thousand rebels went to the village of Kolomenskoye, where the country residence of the tsar-priest Alexei Mikhailovich was located. He went out to calm them down. The participants in the rebellion held the tsar by the buttons and asked to alleviate their situation and punish the boyars.
Frightened by the resolute demands of the angry crowd of the rebels, the king was forced to speak with them in a “quiet manner”. The sovereign promised to investigate the guilt of the boyars, consider their complaints, and persuaded them to stop the rebellion. But when the tsar began to be threatened and demanded to extradite the boyars for reprisal, he raised his voice and gave the order to cut down the rebels. According to some sources, the total number of rebels is up to 9-10 thousand, during the suppression of the rebellion, thousands of people were killed, hanged, taken out on ships and sunk in the Moscow River, arrested and exiled to Astrakhan and Siberia along with their families.
The lower classes of the capital took part in the uprising of 1662: pie-makers, artisans, butchers and peasants of neighboring villages. Merchants, guests of the capital did not rebel and received praise from the king.

The results of the copper riot

The suppression of the uprising took on a merciless character, but it did not go unnoticed for the state either.
As a result of the copper rebellion, the mints in Pskov and Novgorod were closed by royal decree, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in the capital. Soon copper money was withdrawn from circulation, although the state shamelessly deceived its people. The servants were again paid salaries in silver.

copper riot- a historical event that took place in Moscow on July 25 (August 4) in 1662, where a rather large uprising of the city's lower classes took place due to copper coins not backed by precious metal.

Reasons for the rebellion

In the Muscovite state in the 17th century, precious metals were imported into the country from abroad, since then there were no own silver and gold mines. Therefore, at the Money Yard, Russian coins were minted from foreign coins, which means that it took more money than to make new coins from their own metal. Then the following coins were issued: a penny, money and a penny, which was half.

However, the protracted war with the Commonwealth over Ukraine required simply enormous expenses. A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin suggested a way out of this situation. He put forward the idea of ​​issuing copper money at the price of silver. But at the same time, taxes from the population were collected in silver, but salaries were issued in copper coins.

Of course, at first the copper coin went at the same cost as the silver one, but this could not last for a long time, and after a short period of time, when the issue of unsecured copper money began to grow, they became much more expensive than copper coins. For example, in Novgorod and Pskov for 6 rubles in silver they gave as much as 170 rubles in copper, which is 28.3 times more. And with the release of the royal decree, the goods still rose sharply in price, which, of course, did not please the people.

Such a financial situation in the country led to the growth and flourishing of counterfeiting, which also did not add joy not only to ordinary people, but also to the government.

The course of the riot

The common people were already on the verge of their patience, and when sheets were found in Lubyanka on which accusations were written against Prince I. D. Miloslavsky and several active members of the Boyar Duma, as well as a fairly wealthy guest Vasily Shorin, who were convicted of secret relations with the . Although this did not have any evidence, but even such a reason was enough for the people to completely lose their temper.

Therefore, several thousand people went to the country palace in the village of Kolomenskoye, where Alexei Mikhailovich was at that time.

This appearance of the people took the king by surprise and he had to go out to the people. From them, he received a petition, which spoke of lowering the prices of goods and punishing the guilty. With such pressure, Alexei Mikhailovich promised to sort everything out, and the crowd, who took his word for it, turned back.

However, another crowd was coming towards them from Moscow, which was already more militant than the first. Its number was several thousand. It consisted of butchers, small merchants, pie-makers, etc. Approaching the palace, they surrounded it again. This time they demanded that the traitors be handed over for reprisal. By this time, archers and soldiers had already approached Kolomenskoye, who were sent by the boyars to help. The crowd was initially asked to disperse peacefully, but they refused. Then the order was given to use force against her. Streltsy and soldiers drove the unarmed crowd into the river. At the same time, many more were killed and hanged. After these events, several thousand people were arrested and exiled.

It is worth noting that after the copper riot, all literate Muscovites had to give samples of their handwriting. This was done in order to compare them with the "thieves' sheets", which served as a signal for such indignation. But this method failed to find the instigator.

Results of the copper riot

The main result of the copper rebellion was the abolition of cheap copper coins. It happened gradually. Copper yards, which were located in Novgorod and Pskov, were closed in 1663. Silver coins began to be minted again. Copper money itself was withdrawn from general circulation and melted down into other copper products that the state needed.

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On August 4 (July 25), 1662, an uprising took place in Moscow, which was called the Copper Riot.

Background and causes of the Copper Riot

The Russian state waged a protracted war with the Commonwealth for the annexation of the territory of modern Ukraine. The war demanded huge expenses for the maintenance of the army, the government did not have enough money, the treasury was empty.

To replenish the treasury, in 1654 he decided to mint new silver coins for one million rubles. A year later, in 1655, he held, after which the minting of copper coins began. In total, 4 million rubles worth of money was minted.

The appearance of a large amount of money led to the fact that they began to depreciate. In 1660, one silver coin was worth 1.5 copper coins, in 1661 its price became 4 copper coins, and by 1663 it had increased to 15 copper coins.

Petty officials, army people, merchants and peasants refused to accept new money for settlement, which led to an increase in the prices of goods. The peasants stopped bringing their products to the market, which caused famine. The situation was aggravated by the fact that money was easily counterfeited.

Copper Riot: Main Events

Copper rebellion prepared in advance. Leaflets were distributed throughout Moscow, in which the boyars and officials were accused of conspiring with the Commonwealth. Moreover, almost the same people caused discontent as under: I. D. Miloslavsky, Vasily Shorin and some members of the Boyar Duma.

On August 4 (July 25), 1662, the Copper Riot began. At 6 o'clock in the morning people gathered on Sretenka, dissatisfied with the officials. Kuzma Nagaev spoke before them, he called on people to unite and rise up against the boyars and officials.

The whole crowd went to the king to the Red Square. Gradually, the number of rebels increased, even some archery regiments joined them. About 4-5 thousand people arrived in the village of Kolomenskoye at 9 am. For the king, their arrival was unexpected. First, the boyars came out to talk with people, but they could not calm the crowd, so after that Alexei Mikhailovich himself came to the meeting. People gave him a petition, demanding to reduce taxes, prices and execute the guilty boyars.

The tsar convinced them that he would sort out what had happened, and the guilty boyars would be expelled from Moscow. As a result, people calmed down, believed the king and went back to the city.

But from Moscow to Alexei Mikhailovich there was another crowd of thousands, which was more determined. At 11 o'clock in the morning the crowds met and went together to the king. Small merchants, peasants, bakers and others (there were about 10 thousand people in total) surrounded the palace of Alexei Mikhailovich and demanded that the traitors be handed over to them for reprisal.

The king was again forced to negotiate, he deliberately dragged them out, because he was waiting for the active army to come to the village. About 10 thousand archers arrived at Kolomenskoye. They opposed the unarmed rebels.

A battle began, as a result of which about 1 thousand rebels were killed, about 2 thousand were arrested and wounded.

The rebels were severely punished: some of them were beaten, others were sent into exile, they burned a brand with the letter "B" (this meant the word "rebel") - in total, about 7 thousand people were repressed.

By order of the tsar, they actively searched for the instigators, for this, every literate Muscovite was obliged to give a sample of his handwriting. But those who wrote the leaflets were never found.

Copper riot: results

Despite the fact that Alexei Mikhailovich punished all the rebels, in the middle of 1663 he abolished copper money and closed the mints in Novgorod and Pskov. The minting of silver coins was resumed, and the copper coins were melted down.

The copper riot of 1662 occurred almost after the salt riot, but unlike its predecessor, it was more massive and bloody.

The copper riot is an uprising of the poor against the policy of Alexei Mikhailovich on July 25, 1662. The people were dissatisfied with the increase in taxes during the war with Poland and the replacement of silver coins with copper ones, since they were rather depreciated, unlike silver money.

Causes

The main cause of the copper rebellion was the minting of copper coins. This decision was made because the Russian treasury was depleted from the war with Poland in 1653-1667 and the war with Sweden in 1656-1658. In order to somehow improve the financial situation in the country, the authorities decided to mint new coins: 1 million silver and 3 million copper.

But, despite the promises of the authorities about the equal value of money, after some time, 17 copper rubles cost as much as 6 silver ones, which, of course, was not good for the lower strata, who received a salary in copper coins. Also, cases of counterfeiting were noticed more than once, and not from ordinary people, but from tsarist officials. This could not but aggravate the situation in the country.

Rise of the people

On July 25, 1662, at 6 am, people gathered on Sretenka, dissatisfied with the new money. Kuzma Nagaev actively urged citizens to take part in a new rebellion. On the same day, sheets were found in Lubyanka, on which accusations of secret relations with the Commonwealth were written. Charges were brought against Prince I.D. Miloslavsky, Vasily Shorin, members of the Boyar Duma and had no justification.

Several participants in the riot went to the country palace of Alexei Mikhailovich in the village of Kolomenskoye. Under pressure from people demanding lower prices and taxes, the king promised to look into the situation, and the rebels left. But this did not end there, thousands of rebels went back to the royal palace, demanding that the traitors be handed over for reprisal.

However, by this time archers and soldiers had already arrived in Kolomenskoye, who were forced to use force against the rioters because of their refusal to disperse peacefully. The result was thousands of people killed and arrested participating in the riot. Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to collect samples of the handwriting of all Muscovites who can write in order to find the instigators of the riot, but this was to no avail.

The results of the copper riot

The rebels nevertheless achieved their goal, and gradually the minting of copper coins was canceled. Already in 1663, the minting of silver coins was resumed, and the copper yards that existed in Novgorod and Pskov were closed. All copper money was melted down into other copper items.

The Lessons of the Copper Riot

The uprising, which ended about 350 years ago, is still relevant in the modern world. A few rules that can be used in Russia of the XXI century and which came to us straight from 1662.

• Think and then do;
• Be more active;
• Selective fight against bureaucracy;
• Strength pacifies power;
• The senselessness of rebellion.

All this can be found in the modern world, where the fight against bureaucracy is selective, in order to achieve something you need to try, and unorganized uprisings will still not be useful. In conclusion, we note that since the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, little has changed in the world and, the events of the past, find their response in the present.

History of the Copper Riot

Copper riot - a riot that took place in Moscow on July 25 (August 4), 1662, an uprising of the city's lower classes against tax increases during the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667. and the release from 1654 of depreciated, in comparison with silver, copper coins.

Copper Riot - Briefly (article review)

After a long and bloody war with Poland in 1654, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich introduced copper money. Preparations for a new war with Sweden required a lot of money, and the minting of a copper coin seemed like a way out. And although copper was 60 times cheaper than silver, copper pennies were equated to silver ones. At first, the population readily accepted the new money. However, after their production took on an unprecedented, uncontrollable character, confidence in copper money dropped dramatically.

The depreciated copper kopeks played a fatal role in the economy of the state. To a large extent, trade was upset, since no one wanted to take copper as payment, service people and archers grumbled, since nothing could be bought with a new salary. Thus, the conditions for the subsequent copper rebellion arose.

1662, July 25 (August 4) - alarm sounded near the walls of the ancient Kremlin. As the merchants closed their shops, the people hurried to the crossroads at the Spassky Gate, where they were already reading accusatory letters. Thus began the copper riot. Later, an angry crowd will pour into Kolomenskoye, where the royal residence of Alexei Mikhailovich was located, and demand the abolition of copper money.

Sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich brutally and mercilessly suppressed the copper rebellion. As a result, copper money will be abolished.

And now in more detail ...

Description of the Copper Riot

Causes of the Copper Riot

The protracted war devastated the treasury. To replenish the treasury, the government resorted to the usual means - increased fiscal oppression. Taxes have risen sharply. In addition to ordinary taxes, they began to levy extraordinary ones, which reminded the townspeople of the memorable - "five money".

But there was also such a way to replenish the treasury as re-minting (spoiling) of a silver coin with a decrease in its weight. However, Moscow businessmen went even further and, in addition to the damaged silver coin, began to issue a copper coin. At the same time, with a difference in the market price for silver and copper (almost 60 times), they had the same nominal value. This was supposed to give - and gave - a fabulous profit: from one pound (400 gr.) of copper worth 12 kopecks. from the Mint received copper money in the amount of 10 rubles. According to some sources, only in the first year of this kind of monetary fraud brought a profit of 5 million rubles. In total, for 10 years - from 1654 to 1663. - copper money was put into circulation for the amount that Meyerberg, perhaps exaggerating, determined at 20 million rubles.

At first, the copper penny was on a par with the silver one and was well received. But the authorities themselves intervened in the sphere of settlements and began to buy silver money from the population for copper money. At the same time, taxes and duties were paid only in silver coins. Because of such a “far-sighted policy”, the already fragile trust in copper money quickly collapsed. The monetary system is in disarray. They stopped taking copper, and copper money began to rapidly depreciate. Two prices appeared on the market: for silver and copper coins. The gap between them increased weather-wise and by the time of cancellation was 1 to 15 and even 1 to 20. As a result, prices increased.

The counterfeiters, who did not miss the opportunity to quickly get rich, did not stand aside. There were persistent rumors that even the sovereign's father-in-law, the boyar I. D. Miloslavsky, did not disdain a profitable trade.

Before the riot

Soon the situation became simply unbearable. Commercial and industrial activity was in decline. In particular, it was hard for the townspeople and service people. “Great poverty and great death are caused by the price of bread and in all grubs the price is great,” moaned the petitioners. The price of chicken in the capital has reached two rubles - an incredible amount for the old, "domednye" times. The high cost, the growing difference between copper and silver kopecks inevitably brought a social explosion closer, which, for all its spontaneity, was felt by contemporaries as an inevitable disaster. “They expect to be confused in Moscow,” said one deacon on the eve of the July events.

The news about the next collection of "fifth money" added passions even more. The population of Moscow heatedly discussed the terms of the collection, when "thieves' letters" began to appear on Sretenka, Lubyanka and other places. Unfortunately, their text has not been preserved. It is known that they accused many duma and orderly people of "treason", which, in accordance with existing ideas, was interpreted quite broadly: both as abuses, and as "negligence to the sovereign", and as relations with the king of Poland. 1662, July 25, the "Copper Riot" broke out.

The course of the riot

The main events took place outside of Moscow, in the village of Kolomenskoye. A crowd of 4-5 thousand people went here early in the morning, consisting of townspeople and instrumental service people - archers and soldiers of the Elected Regiment of Agey Shepelev. Their appearance in the royal village was an absolute surprise. The archers who were on guard tried to stop the crowd, but it simply crushed them and broke into the palace village.

The sovereign with his whole family listened to the mass on the occasion of the birthday of Alexei Mikhailovich's sister, Princess Anna Mikhailovna. The confused tsar sent the boyars to negotiate with the people. The crowd rejected them. The emperor himself had to leave. There were cries of indignation: those who came began to demand the extradition of boyars-traitors "to be killed", as well as tax cuts. Among those whose blood the crowd craved was the butler, devious F.M. Rtishchev, a person in his spiritual disposition and religious mood is very close to the tsar. Alexei Mikhailovich ordered him, along with the rest, to hide in the women's quarter of the palace - in the chambers of the queen. Having locked themselves up, the entire royal family and close people "sat in the mansions in great fear and fear." Rtishchev, who knew very well how the conversation with the "gilevschiki" could end, confessed and took communion.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov

In the official language of that era, any appeal to the sovereign is a petition. What happened on the morning of July 25 in Kolomenskoye was also attributed to this “genre” with the expressive addition of the office work of the time: “They beat me with a forehead with great ignorance.” The tsar himself had already encountered this kind of "ignorance" 14 years ago, when angry mobs of Muscovites broke into the Kremlin in the hope of cracking down on B.I. Morozov. Then the sovereign, at the cost of humiliation, managed to beg for the life of his educator. The old experience came in handy even now - Romanov knew that the blind fury of the crowd could be countered with either strength or humility. The Moscow townsman Luchka Zhidkoy presented the sovereign with a petition. The Nizhny Novgorod resident Martyan Zhedrinsky, who was standing nearby, insisted that the tsar immediately, without delay, "before the world" subtract it and ordered the traitors to be brought.

The crowd "with a cry and much debauchery" supported their petitioners. According to the testimony of the all-knowing G. Kotoshikhin, the tsar in response began to persuade the people with a “quiet custom”, promising to “make searches and a decree”. The royal promise was not immediately believed. Someone from the crowd even twisted the buttons on the royal dress and insolently asked: “What is there to believe?” In the end, the sovereign was able to persuade the crowd and - a living detail - with someone, as a sign of consent, shook hands - "gave them a hand on his word." From the side, the picture, of course, looked impressive: Alexei Mikhailovich, frightened, although not losing his dignity, as in June 1648, and an unknown impudent posadsky, shaking hands to seal their agreement on the search for traitors.

At the same time, the nobles were driven to the streltsy and soldier settlements with an order to urgently lead service people to protect the tsar. Y. Romodanovsky went for foreigners to the German settlement. Measures in the eyes of Romanov were necessary: ​​the unrest could take the authorities by surprise. Around noon, the rebels broke into Kolomenskoye again: among them were those who had been negotiating with the sovereign in the morning, and now turned back, meeting halfway with a new, excited crowd coming from the capital.

While still in the capital, she captured the son of one of the "traitors", a guest of Vasily Shorin, who was involved in government financial transactions. The frightened young man to death was ready to confirm anything: he announced the flight of his father to the king of Poland with some boyar sheets (in reality, Vasily Shorin was hiding in the courtyard of Prince Cherkassky in the Kremlin). No one doubted the evidence. Passions boiled up with renewed vigor. This time, about 9,000 people appeared before Alexei Mikhailovich, more determined than ever. At the negotiations, the tsar began to be threatened: if you don’t give the boyars good, we will take them ourselves according to our custom. At the same time, they encouraged each other with shouts: “Now it’s time, don’t be shy!”

Suppression of the rebellion

However, the time of the rebels is already over. While negotiations were going on, the archery regiments of Artamon Matveev and Semyon Poltev entered Kolomenskoye through the back gate. The king did not in vain welcome and feed the archers. They did not support, as happened in 1648, the performance of the townsman. Therefore, events unfolded according to a different scenario. As soon as the sovereign was informed about the arrival of the troops, he immediately changed and ordered "to flog and cut without mercy." It is known that in moments of anger, Alexei Mikhailovich did not restrain himself. One of the sources puts even harsher words into Romanov's mouth: "Spare me from these dogs!" Having received the royal blessing, the archers with enviable agility - it is easy to deal with an unarmed crowd - rushed to save the sovereign "from the dogs."

The massacre was bloody. At first they chopped and drowned, later they seized, tortured, tore out tongues, cut off hands and feet, several thousand were arrested and exiled after the investigation. During the days of the Copper Riot and in the search, according to some sources, about 1,000 people died. For many, for the eternal memory of the rebellion, fiery “beeches” were placed on the left cheek - “b” - a rebel. But the tension didn't go away. Foreigners and a year later wrote about the widespread grumbling of the inhabitants.

Results of the Copper Riot

1663 - copper money was abolished by the tsar. The decree was expressive in its frankness: "so that nothing else is done between people about money," the money was ordered to be set aside.

As a result of the copper rebellion, by royal decree (1663), the mints in Pskov and Novgorod were closed, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in Moscow. Soon copper money was withdrawn from circulation.

The main leitmotif of the "Copper Riot" is boyar treason. In the eyes of the people, this alone made their performance fair. But in reality, "traitors" and copper money focused dissatisfaction with the entire course of life, squeezed by direct and extraordinary taxes, arbitrariness and high cost. The symptom is rather disturbing - general weariness from the war. Many in government circles would like to stop it. But to stop with dignity, with a profit.