Eastern European Challenges to Royal Authority in 17th-18th Centuries

Many challenges to royal authority rose from peasant, military, and aristocratic uprisings

of varying effectiveness in Eastern Europe. For example, Russia had for major rebellions: the

Bolotnikov Rebellion, Razin's Rebellion, Bulavin's Rebellion and Pugachev's Rebellion. Most

revolutions were crushed immediately. However, a few such as the Pugachev's and Bolotnikov's

Rebellion were able to have a limited resistance to suppression, but still ultimately failed. Russia

was not alone in its problems however; Poland-Lithuania faced similar rebellions including

Zebrzydowski's Rebellion, the Khmelnitsky Uprising, and Lubomirski's Rokosz (rebellion).

Lubomirski's Rokosz even managed to be effective enough to achieve its goal. While Poland-

Lithuania was experiencing the Ottoman Empire faced troubles as well with the Abaza Rebellion

and the Edirne event.

The Bolotnikov Rebellion in Russia occurred from 1606-1607 in a period of time known

as the Time of Troubles. With a backdrop of a recent famine, an imposter called False Dmitry

claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible and the rightful heir to the throne. This caused concern

and disloyalty in the masses. By the time False Dmitry had been assassinated, an uprising in the

southwest had already been sparked and Ivan Bolotnikov had joined the Cossacks in organizing a

rebellion against the tsar. After, joining the Cossacks he was captured by Tatars and sold. After

escaping, Ivan returned to Russian and started to move on the Shuysky, who was also known

as Vassiliy Ivanovich and was the current tsar. Ivan, desiring control of Moscow, created an

army of 180,000 and defeated Shuysky's army in October 1606. In order to stop Ivan's advance

Shuysky bribed one of Ivan's commanders and ordered him to help defend Moscow. Ivan

was defeated and quickly retreated to Serpukhov and Kaluga and eventually took a large town

called Tula in 1607. Shuysky's army of 150,000 advanced on the town and captured Ivan in

October of that year. Later, he would be blinded and thrown in an ice hole. (Bosin, "Bolotnikov's

Rebellion") Ivan's rebellion certainly influenced the Russian government of the time, but in

terms of his goal of becoming tsar it was a failure, despite his accomplishes.

About 50 years after the Bolotnikov Rebellion the second major rebellion in Russia, lead

by Stenka Razin, began. Razin started as a band of brigands robbing and pillaging towns.

Fearing further pillage of Russian towns, Moscow sent the Cossack chieftain to stop him.

Unbeknownst to them the chieftain was Razin's god father and had been promised a share of the

loot. The chieftain returned stating he was over-powered by Razin's forces. After Moscow's

attempt supposedly failed, they offered him a pardon which Razin held until he ran out of loot.

By 1670 Razin's band of brigands had turned into an organized regiment of 7,000. This year

Razin would take Cherkassk, Tsaritsyn, and 2 government strongholds. Razin still incited his

rebellion gaining support from impoverished serfs and different ethnic groups from the Volga

region. Razin's rebellion was finally put to an end when he attacked Simbirsk. Despite an initial

victory over Ivan Miloslavsky, Razin was halted at the local kremlin until Yuri Baryatinsky

came and helped defeat Razin. Razin was badly injured in this battle and was capture, tortured,

interrogated, and finally drawn and quartered. (Volodokhin, "Stenka Razin and the Russian

State") While Razin's accomplishments on the battle field were impressive, his goal of attaining

political power to get rid of corrupt boyars was a failure.

In 1707 the third major rebellion of the 17th

Rebellion. Similar to past rebellions in Russia, Bulavin's rebellion emerged in Cossack areas

near the Don River. On July 6, 1707 the current tsar, Peter the Great, called for a census of

Cossack towns in order to track down serfs who had escaped to the region. The Cossack chief

Kondratiy Bulavin saw this as an infringement on their rights. Bulavin formed an army and

attacked Duke Dolgoyukiy's forces, who had been assigned to lead the endeavor. Bulavin

defeated Dolgoyukiy killing him and all of his soldiers. Later, in February 1708 Bulavin lead his

second uprising with the intent of taking Moscow. Before he could begin his march, he was

betrayed by some of the members of his following, killing him on July 7, 1708 in a shootout.

(Bosin, "Bulavin's Rebellion")Bulavin's rebellion proved ineffective do to its inability to

achieve the leader's goal of removing the current leaders from power that he believed were