Yemelyan Pugachev's Rebellion

   Yemelyan Pugachev was a cossack from a village along the Volga river. Little is known about Yemelyan Pugachev before his rebellion, but he would become well known to the Russian court and Catherine the Great. Pugachev was in the army in campaigns from the war against Prussia to the conflict against the Turks. His wish to be discharged from the military due to ailments was denied, in turn he deserted. Wandering through the country trying to evade the authorities, he settles among the Yaik cossacks. In 1772 these cossacks revolted and quickly turned to Pugachev for leadership due to his military experience. In a fit a brilliance, Pugachev declares himself to be Tsar Peter III, who the peasants and other Russians living in the countryside were not aware of the former Tsar's death. Claiming to be the rightful Tsar of Russia, he travels throughout Russia looting and taking revenge on the nobles he and his fellow rebels come across. Followers flocked to him due to their deterioating conditions, particularly as serfs, under the reign of Catherine. Most insurrections at this time were on a small scale and posed no threat to the state, however, this rebellion eventually ignited all along the Volga River. Seeing the success of their actions, peasants and the like rose up on their own some even joinging Pugachev, increasing even further Pugachev's military might. Pugachev was a remarkably shrewd military commander, attacking places where he could replenish his ammuntion and even aquire artillery. Catherine now took notice of the rebel leader and his fellow cossacks. Her hand would be forced to take serious measures against him. Eventually Catherine would end a war against the Turks to gather the appropriate forces to crush the rebels. The peak of the Pugachev rebellion came at the city of Kazan where Pugachev's rebels laid seige to the city and attempted to capture the citadel. After the failed seige of Kazan, Pugachev's forces began to splinter. After his forces began to lose their cohesiveness, all was lost. Seeing her opportunity to end the disease once and for all, Catherine issued a reward for Pugachev's capture which his former compatriots were all to eager to accept. Pugachev was eventually captured by his own men and turned over to the authorities who would eventually try and execute him publicly as a warning to all other would-be rebels. Pugachev's rebellion impacted the way nobles felt about their serfs, caused massive acts of vegeance by the nobles against them and did little to improve their lot. Catherine as a result of all of the violence and bloodshed strayed from her professed liberal and enlightened ideology and firther embraced the Tsarist, absolutist system. Serfdom would not be abolished for another century.

Sources

"Prominent Russians: Emelyan Pugachev." Russiapedia. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.