In 1682 Moscow archers staged a riot,bringing to power Sofia Alekseevna - the elder sister of juvenile Tsarevich Ivan and Peter. This uprising was marked by numerous murders of boyars and officials.
Prerequisites
The famous Streltsy revolt of 1682 occurred byseveral reasons. Shortly before the new regiments were created, which significantly changed the order in the army. Before the archers were the basis of the troops, its elite units. With the advent of the regiments of the new system, they actually turned into a city guard.
In addition, on the eve of the archery wage uprisingbegan to issue irregularly because of the empty treasury. There was also hazing in this stratum, in which the commanders held the salaries of subordinates and in every way abused their own position. All this created tension. Sooner or later she had to turn into open protest. All that was needed for this was some external cause. And he was found.

Heir problem
April 27, 1682 died the young king FedorAlexeyevich. His death led to dynastic confusion. The deceased had no children. The throne had to go to one of his younger brothers - the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich. Ivan and Peter were still very children. By tradition, the throne was supposed to go to the first one. However, Ivan was a sickly child, and the Kremlin believed that he would die early. In addition, the brothers on the father had different mothers, behind which stood the hostile boyar groups. It was against such a confusing political background that the Streltsy revolt of 1682 took place.
Mother of sixteen Ivan was MariaMiloslavskaya is a representative of a well-born and powerful family. She died before her husband, so uncles and other relatives were behind the baby’s back. Ten-year-old Peter was the son of Natalia Naryshkina. Strelets riot in 1682 was due to the confrontation of two families when choosing a new king.
Tsarevich Peter
According to the law, the heir shoulddetermine the boyar duma. She got ready when already fatally ill Fedor Alekseevich was preparing to say goodbye to life. Boyars chose Peter. This boy was healthier than his brother, which means that his supporters could not be afraid for their future in the event of another brief change of power.
Another key character in this story wasSister Ivana and Peter Sofya Alekseevna. It was she who initiated the rebellion of the archers. Princess was the 25th year, she was an adult with great ambitions. Sophia wanted to pull the blanket of power on herself. She was going to do this, firstly, with the help of the riflemen who were displeased with their position, and secondly, thanks to the support of the Miloslavsky infringed upon the Duma. Also, the princess relied on the influential princes Ivan Khovansky and Vasily Golitsyn. These grandees were not at all pleased with the rise of the Naryshkins.

Moscow unrest
Very soon after the decision of the boyar duma to chooserumors about the upcoming infringements of archers began to spread throughout Moscow. These conversations were supported by a wide network of Miloslavskys. Strelets Revolt of 1682 occurred due to massive propaganda in the armed forces. Cases of disobedience to their own superiors.
Two weeks the situation in the capital was extremelytense and unclear. Finally, on May 15, the approximate Sophia began to act even more decisively. Ivan Miloslavsky and Peter Tolstoy went to the suburban archers and there they began to publicly call the archers to the Kremlin, allegedly because the Naryshkins killed young prince Ivan. A crowd of armed people really went to the sovereign's chambers. There she demanded to extradite the boyars who opposed Sophia and Miloslavsky and those responsible for the death of the child.
Queen Natalya Naryshkina met the dissatisfied.Finding out the cause of the unrest, she led Ivan and Peter to the porch of the palace, clearly showing that everything was fine with the children. The reasons for the Streltsy revolt were rumors that were not confirmed. Thus, an unauthorized rally could already be interpreted as treason.

The beginning of bloodshed
Ситуация в Кремле достигла точки кипения.The crowd has not yet dispersed, when the supporter of the Naryshkins boyar Mikhail Dolgorukov appeared on the same porch. This grandee began to shout at the archers, accusing them of treason and threatening to be punished. At that moment, the excited armed people finally found on whom to sweep away their anger. Dolgorukov was thrown from the porch directly onto the spears of the soldiers standing below. So the first blood was shed.
Now there was nowhere to retreat.Therefore, the events of the Streltsy revolt developed rapidly, and even the imaginary organizers of the riots, who previously spread false rumors, no longer control the situation. The rebels dealt with other closest Naryshkins, including the leader of their party Artamon Matveyev. In the palace, the soldiers slaughtered the brother of Queen Athanasius. The killings continued all day. Archers took the Kremlin control. The entrances and exits of the palaces and chambers were guarded by the rebels. In fact, members of the royal family became hostages.
Repressions against the Naryshkins
The first Strelets riot led to the perfectanarchy in the city. The power was paralyzed. The rioters with particular zeal were looking for another brother of the queen - Ivan Naryshkin. On the day of the beginning of the bloodshed, he hid in the royal chambers, thanks to which he survived. However, a day later, the archers again came to the Kremlin and demanded the extradition of Ivan Kirillovich. Otherwise, they promised to make even more chaos.
Natalna Naryshkina hesitated.Sofya Alekseevna personally pressed her and began to explain that this was the only way to avoid further anarchy. Ivan was extradited. He was tortured and then executed. The father of Ivan and Natalya, an old and sick Kirill Naryshkin, was sent to a monastery.

Archery salary payment
The massacres in Moscow continued for three more days.One of the last significant victims of terror was von Ganden - a foreign doctor, prescribed for Fyodor Alekseevich. The archers accused him of poisoning the king and killed him. The execution took place even despite the persuasion of the widow of the deceased not to touch the doctor. Queen Marfa testified that the foreigner personally tried all the medicines that were prescribed to Fyodor. This example shows how ruthless and blind was the Streltsy revolt. Sophia at the same time did everything to establish herself in power.
However, before the rebels and the governmentbegan to discuss the political future of the country, the rebels on May 19 came to the minor king with an ultimatum. Strelets Troops demanded the payment of the entire delayed salary. According to their calculations, the treasury was supposed to pay 240 thousand rubles. In those days it was a huge amount. The government simply did not have that kind of money. Then Sophia took the initiative in her own hands, who, formally not having any authority, ordered the provinces to increase taxes and fees and begin to melt down Kremlin values.
Two princes
Soon new circumstances came to light,which led Strelets riot. Briefly assessing the situation, Sophia decided through archers to demand for themselves the actual power. It looked like this. On May 23, the rebels filed a petition to Peter, in which they insisted that his brother Ivan become the second king. A week later, this combination was continued. The archers also suggested that Sofia Alekseevna be made regent because of the minority of co-rulers.
Boyar Duma and Metropolitan agreed to thesechange. They had no choice, as the residents of the Kremlin continued to remain hostage to the soldiers. The wedding ceremony of Ivan V and Peter I took place on June 25 in the Assumption Cathedral. She summed up the results of the Streltsy revolt - the power in the country was changed. Instead of the sole Tsarevich Peter, Russia received two co-rulers, children. The actual power was in the hands of their older sister, Sofia Alekseevny.

Khovanshchina
Events after Streltsy revolt of 1682 stillsome time agitated Moscow. When Sophia came to power, she appointed Ivan Khovansky as the head of this military unit. The queen counted on his help in appeasing the archers. The Queen feared for her fate. She did not want to become a victim of another riot.
However, the figure of Khovansky was not the mosta good choice for this important position. The prince not only conceded to the archers in their demands, but also began to put pressure on Sofia. In addition, the military did not leave the Kremlin, citing their actions by the need to protect the royal residence. This short period in the people remembered as "Khovanshchina".
Old Believers
Meanwhile, in the confrontation of the archers andThe central government has a new factor. They became the Old Believers. This religious movement broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. The conflict was caused by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, affecting the essence of important Christian rites. The church recognized the schismatics as heretics and drove them to the outskirts of the country to Siberia.
Now that a riot has taken place in Moscow,Old Believers again stretched to the capital. They enlisted the support of Khovansky. In the Kremlin, he began to defend the idea of the need for a theological dispute between supporters of the Old Believers and the official church. Such a public dispute really took place. However, this event ended with the next riots. Now commoners have become a source of unrest.
It was at this point that another conflict occurred.between Sofia and Khovansky. The Queen insisted that it is necessary to rein in the Old Believers. In the end, some of their leaders were killed, although Khovansky guaranteed them immunity. Fearing repression by the authorities, the archers agreed to recognize the dissenters as instigators of the next riot.

Moving yard
After the story with the Old Believers, the relationship betweenSophia Alekseevna and Ivan Khovansky finally spoiled. At the same time, the government continued to remain in a dependent position on the archers. Then the regent gathered the whole yard and literally ran away from the city with him. It happened on August 19th.
That day on the outskirts of Moscow was plannedprocession. Sophia used this excuse to move away from the archers to the provinces. She also took the princes with her. The ruler could convene the noble militia, which would be a new army, able to protect the government from non-permanent archers. The courtyard secretly moved to the well-fortified Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius.

Sagittarius lay down their arms
Could in connection with this maneuver of power occurnew rifle rifle? The causes and results of the first bloodshed were well remembered by Sofia, who decided to finally get rid of this threat. She believed that such an opportunity really existed, and wanted to stop it in advance.
Khovansky, having learned about the actual flight of the regent withTsarevich, decided to go straight to Sofya to settle the conflict with the help of negotiations. On the way, he stopped in Pushkin, where he was captured by the loyal authorities of the stolnik. On the same night, September 17, he was executed on charges of organizing a coup d'état. Khovanshchina over.
Second bloodshed did not happen.Having learned about the inglorious death of their leader, the archers were demoralized. They surrendered to the authorities and cleared the Kremlin. Duma clerk Fyodor Shaklovity was appointed to the position of the commander of the Streltsy army. He began to recreate in these parts of discipline and order. After 16 years, the archers again rebelled, already during the reign of Peter I, after which they were finally repressed, and their army disbanded.