Copper Riot- a historical event that took place in Moscow on July 25 (August 4) in 1662, where a fairly large uprising of the urban lower classes took place due to copper coins not backed by precious metal.

Reasons for the start of the riot

In the Moscow state in the 17th century, precious metals were imported into the country from abroad, since then there were no silver and gold mines of its own. Therefore, at the Money Yard, Russian coins were minted from foreign coins, which means it took more Money rather than making new coins from your own metal. Then the following coins were issued: a penny, a denga and a polushka, which was half.

However, the protracted war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth over Ukraine required simply colossal expenses. A way out of this situation was proposed by A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin. 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 paid in copper coins.

Of course, at first the copper coin circulated at the same value as the silver one, but this could not last long, and after a short period of time, when the issue of unsecured copper money began to grow, it 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, goods still rose sharply in price, which, naturally, did not please the people.

This 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.

Progress of the riot

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

Therefore, several thousand people went to a country palace in the village of Kolomenskoye, where Alexey 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 reducing prices for goods and punishment for those responsible. Under such pressure, Alexey Mikhailovich promised to sort everything out and the crowd, taking his word for it, turned back.

However, another crowd was coming towards us from Moscow, which was already more militant than the first. Its number was several thousand. It consisted of butchers, small traders, cake makers, etc. Approaching the palace, they surrounded it again. This time they demanded that the traitors be handed over for execution. By this time, archers and soldiers, who were sent by the boyars to help, had already approached Kolomenskoye. The crowd was initially asked to disperse peacefully, but refused. Then the order was given to use force against her. The archers 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 copper riot all literate Muscovites were required to provide 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 using this method, the instigator could not be found.

Results of the copper riot

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

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"SALT RIOT"

The “salt” riot, which began in Moscow on June 1, 1648, was one of the most powerful actions of Muscovites in defense of their rights.

The “salt” riot involved archers, serfs - in a word, those people who had reasons to be dissatisfied with the government’s policies.

The riot began, it would seem, with little things. Returning from a pilgrimage from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was surrounded by petitioners asking the Tsar to remove the head of the Zemsky Prikaz, L.S., from his post. Pleshcheev, motivating this desire by the injustice of Leonty Stepanovich: by the fact that he took bribes, carried out an unfair trial, but there were no retaliatory actions on the part of the sovereign. Then the complainants decided to turn to the queen, but this also did not yield anything: the guards dispersed the people. Some were arrested.

The next day the king arranged procession but even here complainants appeared demanding the release of the first number of petitioners arrested and still resolving the issue of cases of bribery. The tsar asked his “uncle” and relative, boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, for clarification on this matter. After listening to the explanations, the king promised the petitioners to resolve this issue. Hiding in the palace, the tsar sent four ambassadors for negotiations: Prince Volkonsky, clerk Volosheinov, Prince Temkin-Rostov, and the okolnichy Pushkin.

But this measure did not turn out to be a solution to the issue, since the ambassadors behaved extremely arrogantly, which greatly angered the petitioners. The next unpleasant fact was the release of the archers from subordination. Due to the arrogance of the ambassadors, the archers beat the boyars sent for negotiations.

On the next day of the riot, forced people joined the royal disobedients. They demanded the extradition of the bribe-taking boyars: B. Morozov, L. Pleshcheev, P. Trakhanionov, N. Chistoy.

These officials, relying on the power of I.D., who was especially close to the Tsar. Miloslavsky, oppressed Muscovites. They “performed an unfair trial” and took bribes. Having occupied the main positions in the administrative apparatus, they had complete freedom of action. By making false accusations against ordinary people, they ruined them. On the third day of the “salt” riot, the “rabble” destroyed about seventy households of especially hated nobles. One of the boyars (Nazariy Chisty), the initiator of the introduction of a huge tax on salt, was beaten and chopped into pieces by the “rabble.”

After this incident, the tsar was forced to turn to the clergy and the opposition to the Morozov court clique. A new deputation of boyars was sent, headed by Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, a relative of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Residents of the city expressed a desire for Nikita Ivanovich to rule with Alexei Mikhailovich (it must be said that Nikita Ivanovich Romanov enjoyed trust among Muscovites). As a result, there was an agreement on the extradition of Pleshcheev and Trakhanionov, whom the tsar appointed at the very beginning of the rebellion as a governor in one of the provincial towns. The situation was different with Pleshcheev: he was executed on Red Square on the same day and his head was given to the crowd.

After this, a fire broke out in Moscow, as a result of which half of Moscow burned out. They said that the fire was started by Morozov's people in order to distract the people from the riot. Demands for the extradition of Trakhanionov continued; the authorities decided to sacrifice him just to end the rebellion. Streltsy were sent to the city where Trakhanionov himself was in command. On the fourth of June one thousand six hundred and forty-eight, the boyar was also executed. Now the rebels' gaze was riveted by the boyar Morozov. But the tsar decided not to sacrifice such a “valuable” person and Morozov was exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in order to return him as soon as the riot subsided, but the boyar would be so frightened by the riot that he would never take an active part in state affairs.

In an atmosphere of rebellion, the top of the settlement and the lower strata of the nobility sent a petition to the Tsar, in which they demanded the streamlining of legal proceedings and the development of new laws.

As a result of the petition, the authorities made concessions: the archers were given eight rubles each, debtors were freed from beating money, and the thieving judges were replaced. Subsequently, the riot began to subside, but the rebels did not get away with everything: the instigators of the riot among the slaves were executed.

On July 16, the Zemsky Sobor was convened and decided to adopt a number of new laws. In January one thousand six hundred and forty-nine, the Council Code was approved.

This is the result of the “salt” riot: the truth has triumphed, the people’s offenders have been punished, and to top it all, the Council Code has been adopted, which was designed to ease the people’s lot and rid the administrative apparatus of corruption.

Before and after the Salt Riot, uprisings broke out in more than 30 cities of the country: in the same 1648 in Ustyug, Kursk, Voronezh, in 1650 - “bread riots” in Novgorod and Pskov.

"COPPER RIOT"

The Moscow uprising of 1662 (“Copper Riot”) was caused by a financial disaster in the state and severe economic situation working masses of the city and countryside as a result of a sharp increase in tax oppression during the wars between Russia and Poland and Sweden. The massive issue by the government of copper money (since 1654), equated to the value of silver money, and its significant depreciation in relation to silver (in 1662 by 6–8 times) led to a sharp rise in food prices, huge speculation, abuse and mass counterfeiting of copper coins ( in which individual representatives of the central administration were involved).

In many cities (especially Moscow), famine broke out among the bulk of the townspeople (despite good harvests in previous years). The government's decision to impose a new and extremely difficult extraordinary tax collection (pyatina) also caused great dissatisfaction. Active participants in the “copper” riot were representatives of the capital’s urban lower classes and peasants from villages near Moscow.

The uprising broke out in the early morning of July 25, when leaflets appeared in many areas of Moscow in which the most prominent government leaders (I.D. Miloslavsky; I.M. Miloslavsky; I.A. Miloslavsky; B.M. Khitrovo; F.M. Rtishchev ) were declared traitors. Crowds of rebels headed to Red Square, and from there to the village. Kolomenskoye, where Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was located. The rebels (4-5 thousand people, mostly townspeople and soldiers) surrounded the royal residence, handed over their petition to the king, insisting on the extradition of the persons indicated in the leaflets, as well as on a sharp reduction in taxes, food prices, etc.

Taken by surprise, the king, who had about 1,000 armed courtiers and archers, did not risk reprisals, promising the rebels to investigate and punish the perpetrators. The rebels turned to Moscow, where, after the departure of the first group of rebels, a second group formed and the destruction of the courts of large merchants began. On the same day, both groups united and arrived in the village. Kolomenskoye, again surrounded the Tsar's palace and resolutely demanded the extradition of government leaders, threatening to execute them without the Tsar's sanction.

At this time in Moscow, after the departure of the second group of rebels in the village. Kolomenskoye authorities, with the help of the Streltsy, moved on the orders of the tsar to active punitive actions, and 3 Streltsy and 2 soldier regiments (up to 8 thousand people) had already been pulled into Kolomenskoye. After the rebels refused to disperse, the beating of mostly unarmed people began. During the massacre and subsequent executions, about 1 thousand people were killed, drowned, hanged and executed, and up to 1.5–2 thousand rebels were exiled (with the families of up to 8 thousand people).

On June 11, 1663, the royal decree was issued to close the courts of the “money copper business” and return to the minting of silver coins. Copper money was bought from the population in short term- within a month. For one silver kopeck they took a ruble in copper money. Trying to benefit from copper kopecks, the population began to cover them with a layer of mercury or silver, passing them off as silver money. This trick was soon noticed, and a royal decree was issued banning the tinning of copper money.

So, the attempt to improve the Russian monetary system ended in complete failure and led to a breakdown in monetary circulation, riots and general impoverishment. Neither the introduction of a system of large and small denominations, nor the attempt to replace expensive raw materials for minting money with cheaper ones were successful.

Russian money turnover returned to the traditional silver coin. And the time of Alexei Mikhailovich was called “rebellious” by his contemporaries.

Reasons for the riot

In the 17th century, the Moscow state did not have its own gold and silver mines, and precious metals were imported from abroad. At the Money Yard, Russian coins were minted from foreign coins: kopecks, money and polushki (half money).

The Case of the Counterfeiters

The financial situation in the country has led to the rise of counterfeiting

Development and course of the rebellion

The common people were outraged by the impunity of the boyars. On July 25 (August 4), 1662, sheets with accusations against Prince I. D. Miloslavsky, several members of the Boyar Duma and a wealthy guest Vasily Shorin were discovered in Lubyanka. They were accused of secret relations with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had no basis. But dissatisfied people needed a reason. It is significant that the object of universal hatred became the same people who were accused of abuses during the Salt Riot, and just like fourteen years ago, the crowd attacked and destroyed the house of Shorin’s guest, who was collecting the “fifth of the money” in the entire state. Several thousand people went to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who was in his country palace in the village of Kolomenskoye. The unexpected appearance of the rebels took the king by surprise, and he was forced to go out to the people. He was given a petition demanding a reduction in prices and taxes, and the punishment of those responsible. Under pressure from circumstances, Alexey Mikhailovich gave his word to investigate the matter, after which the calmed mass of people, believing the promises, turned back.

Another crowd of thousands, much more militant, was moving towards us from Moscow. Small traders, butchers, bakers, cake makers, village people again surrounded the palace of Alexei Mikhailovich and this time they did not ask, but demanded that the traitors be handed over to them for execution, threatening “he will not give them the goods of those boyars, and they will learn to take from him themselves , according to his custom." However, archers and soldiers had already appeared in Kolomenskoye, sent by the boyars to the rescue. After refusing to disperse, the order was given to use force. The unarmed crowd was driven into the river, up to a thousand people were killed, hanged, drowned in the Moscow River, several thousand were arrested and exiled after investigation.

G.K. Kotoshikhin describes the bloody finale of the copper riot as follows:

“And the same day, near that village, 150 people were hanged, and the rest were all given a decree, they were tortured and burned, and upon investigation for guilt, they cut off their arms and legs and the fingers of their hands and feet, and beat others with a whip, and laid them on their faces on right side signs, having lit the iron red, and placed “beeches” on that iron, that is, a rebel, so that he would be recognized forever; and inflicting punishment on them, they sent everyone to distant cities, to Kazan, and to Astarakhan, and to Terki, and to Siberia, for eternal life... and by another thief, days and nights, a decree was made, tying their hands back and putting them in large ships were sunk in the Moscow River."

The search in connection with the copper riot had no precedents. All literate Muscovites were forced to give samples of their handwriting in order to compare them with the “thieves' sheets”, which served as a signal for indignation. However, the instigators were never found.

results

The Copper Riot was an uprising of the urban lower classes. It was attended by artisans, butchers, pastry makers, and peasants from suburban villages. Of the guests and merchants, “not a single person accosted those thieves; they even helped those thieves, and they received praise from the king.” Despite the merciless suppression of the rebellion, it did not pass without a trace. In 1663, according to the Tsar's decree of the copper industry, the yards in Novgorod and Pskov were closed, and the minting of silver coins was resumed in Moscow. The salaries of service people of all ranks again began to be paid in silver money. Copper money was withdrawn from circulation, private individuals were ordered to melt it down into cauldrons or bring it to the treasury, where for each ruble handed over they paid 10, and later even less - 2 silver money. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, “The Treasury acted like a real bankrupt, paying creditors 5 kopecks or even 1 kopeck per ruble.”

see also

Notes

Literature

• Buganov V.I. Copper riot. Moscow “rebels” of 1662 // Prometheus. - M.: Young Guard, 1968. - T. 5. - (historical and biographical almanac of the “Life of Remarkable People” series).
• Uprising of 1662 in Moscow: collection. doc. M., 1964.
• Moscow uprisings of 1648, 1662 // Soviet military encyclopedia / ed. N.V. Ogarkova. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1978. - T. 5. - 686 p. - (in 8 t). - 105,000 copies.

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See what “Copper riot” is in other dictionaries:

- (Moscow uprising of 1662), an anti-government uprising of Muscovites on July 25, 1662, caused by the disruption of economic life during the wars of Russia with Poland and Sweden, an increase in taxes, and the release of depreciated copper money. Since 1654... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

The uprising of the urban lower classes that took place in Moscow in 1662 against the issue of copper kopecks, which had been minted since 1655 to replace silver coins. The release of copper money led to its depreciation in comparison with silver. A year after the riot... ... Financial Dictionary

The accepted name in literature for the uprising of the lower and middle strata of Moscow residents, archers, soldiers (July 25, 1662). Caused by an increase in taxes during the Russian-Polish War of 1654 67 and the release of depreciated copper money. Some of the rebels went to the village of Kolome... Modern encyclopedia

The uprising of the urban lower classes that took place in Moscow in 1662 against the release of copper kopecks, which, since 1655, had been minted at Russian money courts to replace silver ones. The release of copper money led to its depreciation in comparison with silver. Through… … Economic dictionary

COPPER RIOT, the name adopted in historical literature for the speech in Moscow on July 25, 1662 by representatives of the lower and middle strata of townspeople, archers, and soldiers. Caused by an increase in taxes during the Russian-Polish War of 1654 67 and the release of depreciated... ... Russian history

"Copper Riot"- “COPPER RIOT”, the accepted name in literature for the uprising of the lower and middle strata of Moscow residents, archers, soldiers (7/25/1662). Caused by an increase in taxes during the Russian-Polish War of 1654 67 and the release of depreciated copper money. Some of the rebels went... Illustrated encyclopedic Dictionary

- (“Copper Riot”) the name of the Moscow uprising of 1662 (See Moscow uprising of 1662), adopted in Russian noble and bourgeois historiography ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), nicknamed the Quietest, was characterized by wars and popular unrest. By nature, the sovereign was a gentle, pious and kind man.

But his immediate circle left much to be desired. The most authoritative person for the tsar was the boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov (1590-1661). The second most important was Ivan Danilovich Miloslavsky (1595-1668) - the father of Maria Miloslavskaya, the wife of Alexei Mikhailovich. It was these people who provoked the copper riot in 1662. And the reason for it was the monetary reform that began in 1654.

Currency reform

The initiator of the monetary reform is considered to be the okolnichy Fyodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev (1626-1673). He was familiar with the European monetary system, considered it progressive, and proposed introducing larger monetary denominations in the country. Along with this, he expressed the idea of ​​starting to mint copper money, which had long been practiced in European countries.

The monetary system that existed at that time was formed in 1535. The largest monetary unit was the silver penny. Behind it was money, the face value of which was half a penny. The smallest coin in this row was the half coin. It was equal to half a money and a quarter of a kopeck.

Such a monetary unit as the ruble existed only in the calculation of large sums of money. But there were no coins with such denomination. Nowadays, there is no bill of a million rubles. So it was at that time. They said it was a hundred rubles, but they paid in kopecks. The first minted ruble appeared in 1654 with the beginning of the reform.

The situation was also interesting because there were no silver mines in Russia. Their own money was made from purchased foreign coins. For this purpose, silver Joachimsthalers were purchased in the Czech Republic. Subsequently, they began to be called thalers, and in Russia they received the name efimki. The purchased raw materials were not processed in any way. They simply put countermarks on the thaler, and it changed its nationality.

In 1655, the mass minting of copper kopecks began instead of silver. At the same time, it was officially announced that their purchasing power is the same. That is, copper was equated to silver by a strong-willed decision. There were copper mines in Russia, so this idea seemed very profitable financially. Although from a legislative point of view it was an obvious scam, and carried out by the state.

But here you need to understand the logic of the courtiers. In 1654, war with Poland began. Huge sums of money were needed to run it. To achieve this, a war tax could be introduced. But more recently, the capital was shaken by the salt riot (1648), which was a consequence of tax reform. Therefore, the authorities were careful not to raise taxes, but took a different route. A combination was invented that at first apparently seemed ingenious. But time has shown that it was impossible to come up with anything more stupid.

The transition to copper money promised huge profits. A pound of copper on the market cost 12 kopecks. From this pound it was possible to mint coins worth 10 rubles. Smart people They figured it out, did the math, and almost choked with excitement. The total income from such a monetary reform was estimated at 4.175 million rubles. At that time the amount was astronomical.

Causes of the Copper Riot

Copper money began to be minted, but the matter was aggravated by the fact that it was forbidden to exchange it for silver or gold. Taxes were also collected in silver money. The state did not take copper, it only sold it to the domestic market. But for the first 4 years everything developed relatively calmly. The population perceived the innovation as a temporary measure in case of war.

However, hostilities dragged on. More and more money was needed. In 1659, the government decided to forcibly confiscate all silver from the population by exchanging it for copper. And by this time a lot of copper coins had accumulated in people’s hands. In this regard, the state was generous. It minted unbacked copper money in Moscow, Pskov and Novgorod. Their purchasing power began to plummet. Accordingly, prices began to rise. “White” and “red” price tags appeared on the markets. The first indicated the price in silver money, and the second in copper.

The peasants began to categorically refuse to sell grain for copper. Essential goods began to rise in price sharply. Bread prices have increased several times. The same thing happened with other foods. For one silver penny they began to give 30 copper ones. It was already clear to the naked eye that a financial catastrophe was looming.

Against the backdrop of all these flaws, counterfeiters flourished. Everyone who is not too lazy began to mint counterfeit money. This was a simple matter, since the coins did not have several degrees of protection and “watermarks”. The fakes were made using a fake stamp. Any master mediocre could make this. Naturally, it was not precious metal that was cast. For these purposes, tin and lead were used. All segments of the population were involved in this matter. And almost every person possessed basic skills of blacksmithing and foundry.

The government tried to rectify the situation as best it could. Since 1660, attempts have been made to find large deposits of silver in Russia. However, it was impossible to do this in a short period of time. The next step was the introduction of a temporary monopoly on the trade of hemp, sable fur, beef lard, and potash. These goods constituted the main share of exports in the 17th century. Manufacturers had to sell them to the treasury for copper, which then resold them to foreign merchants for silver.

But the main bet was placed on counterfeiters. It was they who decided to blame all the flaws of the failed financial reform. Criminals began to be caught in huge numbers. In Moscow alone, 40 underground mints were discovered. But one nuance was not taken into account here. It was not just ordinary people who were involved in unsavory activities. The boyars also minted counterfeit money. And they did it on such a scale that ordinary citizens could not even dream of. The Tsar's father-in-law, Ivan Danilovich Miloslavsky, also came under suspicion. The investigative authorities decided to hide his name, but the people learned about the unsightly activities of the courtier.

In July 1662, a rumor spread throughout Moscow that Miloslavsky and several members of the Boyar Duma were minting counterfeit money. But they did this not only for personal gain. The boyars were in a secret conspiracy with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. All this talk and unrest resulted in a copper riot. On July 25, 1662, a huge crowd of people gathered and headed to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. At that time he was in his palace in the village of Kolomenskoye.

A mass of thousands of people gathered near the palace, and the king was forced to go out to his subjects. But those who came behaved with restraint and correctness. They only asked to resolve the issue of high prices and to stop taking silver coins as a tax. The people also demanded that the boyars who were involved in the production of counterfeit money be punished. Alexey Mikhailovich promised to sort out all these issues. The excited people gradually calmed down and moved back to Moscow.

But while the sovereign was communicating with some residents, another mass of people formed in Moscow. These were mainly merchants and peasants. Copper money hit their well-being very seriously. The merchants laid all the blame on the counterfeiting boyars.

These people also moved towards Kolomenskoye. But they were much more determined. They surrounded the palace and demanded that the boyars who minted the “stolen” money be handed over to them immediately. However, by this time troops had been brought to the palace. They were given orders to disperse the crowd. The people were unarmed and could not resist the equipped soldiers. The crowd was pushed back to the river, and many merchants and peasants were killed, and some people drowned. Several thousand people were arrested. They were subsequently put on trial. By his decision, the instigators were exiled to uninhabited Siberian lands.

Consequences of the Copper Riot

The authorities won, the copper rebellion choked in its own blood. But he forced the authorities to reconsider the financial policy that was leading the country to destruction. Copper money began to be gradually withdrawn from circulation, and on July 15, 1663, that is, a year after the popular unrest, a decree was issued banning the minting of copper coins. The country returned to the old and proven monetary system.

The first decree was followed by a second. According to it, it was forbidden to keep copper money. It was ordered to exchange copper for silver within 2 weeks at the rate of 100 copper kopecks for 1 silver. An official government statement was also issued. It said that counterfeiters were to blame. It was they who spoiled a brilliant economic idea with “thieves’ money.” At this point, the authorities considered the issue closed, and life gradually returned to normal.

Copper riot: causes and results

Causes of the Copper Riot

Since 1654, Russia had been waging a protracted war with Poland and the treasury urgently needed funds to continue hostilities. Russia did not have its own gold and silver mines; precious metals were imported from abroad. Minting coins was too expensive for the state. The mint minted Russian denga, polushka (half money) and kopek from foreign coins. “Smart heads” suggested to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich how to get funds. In those days, copper cost the state 60 times less than silver. Therefore, it was proposed to make coins not from silver, but from copper. Service people and craftsmen received copper money for their work, which was initially equated to silver coins. At first, the population eagerly accepted the new money.
During the seven years of existence of copper money, from 1655 to 1662, their minting was carried out in many mints in Moscow, Pskov and Novgorod, which acquired an unprecedented and uncontrollable character.
During these same years, the government increased taxes by 20%; this fee was popularly 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. The archers and service people began to grumble; they could not buy anything with their “copper” salaries. All goods rose sharply in price, no one paid attention to the royal decree.
The ruling elite, rich merchants increased the exploitation of ordinary people, all kinds of extortions began, bribe takers began to flourish, various atrocities and impunity of the boyars were accepted by all large sizes. All this was the reason for the ensuing copper riot.

Copper riot participants and their demands

On the night of July 24-25, 1662, leaflets and proclamations were posted on the streets, intersections and squares of Moscow, which demanded 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 upsurge and the intensity of the uprising engulfed thousands of people in the capital. The enraged rebels split into two parts. One half smashed the houses of the “strong” and rich in Moscow. The first target for the angry crowd was the house of Shorin’s guest, who was collecting “fifth money” throughout the state.
Several thousand rebels headed to the village of Kolomenskoye, where the country residence of Tsar-Father Alexei Mikhailovich was located. He came out to calm them down. The riot participants held the Tsar by the buttons and asked him to ease their situation and punish the boyars.
Frightened by the decisive demands of the angry crowd of rebels, the king was forced to speak “quietly” with them. 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 hand over the boyars for reprisals, 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: pastry makers, artisans, butchers and peasants from neighboring villages. Merchants and guests of the capital did not rebel and received praise from the king.

Results of the copper riot

The suppression of the uprising took on a merciless character, but it did not pass without a trace for the state.
As a result of the copper riot, 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 at the same time the state shamelessly deceived its people. Salaries for serving people began to be paid in silver again.