Ataman Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich: Biography

Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich was a Cossack ataman. He went down in history as the leader of the Don uprising in the early 18th century. This event should be regarded as one of the speeches of the Cossacks against the policy of the authorities to centralize the state and the violation of their traditional order.

Prerequisites for a riot

Bulavin Kondraty Afanasievich was born in 1660 in the family of the stanitsa ataman in the village of Trakhizbenka. He had military skills, as he participated in the campaign against the Tatars, as well as in the Azov campaign. The immediate precondition for the uprising was the ban of the center on the production of its own salt by the Cossacks. And also the requirement to give them runaway peasants. The first measure was aimed at getting them to buy salt from the state. For this they were forbidden to have their own saltworks. This caused discontent and indignation. Since the inhabitants of the villages traditionally produced their own salt.

As for the second order, this order affected the very foundations of the so-called "Cossack freemen". Its essence boiled down to the fact that anyone who has found refuge with the Cossacks is inviolable. However, it should be noted that these decrees were carried out in accordance with the policy of centralization during the reign of Peter I. The tsar sought to subordinate the authorities of the center to the outlying areas and put self-government under control.

First step

After the above orders were issued, Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich assembled a small detachment of Cossacks. And in 1707 he attacked the raisin regiment, which occupied the Cossack saltworks. Sudden attack was successful. After that, the rebels attacked Yu. Dolgoruky. His detachment was completely destroyed, and the prince himself was killed. These events marked the beginning of one of the largest popular speeches of the century. The borders of the riot expanded due to the areas of the lower Don, which caused serious concern for the government.

Peter I had all the more reason to worry about this news, because during these years our country was engaged in a tense war with Sweden. The uprising in the country threatened serious complications. On the place of rebellion was sent to the 20 thousandth detachment under the command of V. Dolgoruky, who was the brother of the murdered prince. Then Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich, along with his supporters, retreated to the Ukrainian lands. The coming winter led to a brief lull.

Second phase

In the spring of 1708, the uprising broke out with renewed vigor. Ataman made a bet on Zaporozhye Cossacks, Kalmyks. The ranks of his detachments were gradually replenished by impoverished peasants. The revolt took a wide enough scope largely due to the fact that this year was one of the most difficult in the war. And the soldiers' needs demanded new expenditures, recruitment kits, which led to a mass depletion of the peasants. Thus, in the spring of the new year the insurrection received an additional impetus. Therefore, it spread to neighboring counties and regions.

Bulavin Kondraty Afanasievich, whose biography went down in history solely because of the uprising, organized and led by him an uprising, sought to create a stronghold that would become the main outpost of the rebels. For this purpose, he chose the city of Cherkassk. Here he encountered stubborn resistance, skilfully organized by the ataman L. Maksimov. The latter had a stubborn resistance to the rebels. However, he was betrayed, captured by local residents and sergeants who gave it to the rebels. He ordered to execute him along with his supporters.

The success of the uprising

One of the most famous leaders of the popular uprisings was Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich. The biography of this ataman is interesting. It shows that the population of the Cossack villages became a hotbed of rebellious moods. Soon the uprising swept a considerable territory, spreading to a number of southern counties. In addition, the ataman hoped to create something like a Cossack coalition, intending to attract the broad strata of the local population.

He managed for a time to win the confidence of his supporters, who after the capture of the city proclaimed him their military leader. For a short time Bulavin Kondraty Afanasievich became the original symbol of discontent on the Don lands. The uprising he raised took a wide swing. However, it should be noted that he himself at first tried to give this rebellion some visibility of the fact that the people are dissatisfied with the abuses of local authorities. And that's why he raised a riot. Approximately in this spirit, he wrote to the authorities, saying that the appearance of the Cossacks was largely spontaneous.

Tactics

Bulavin Kondraty Afanasievich, whose photo is presented in this article, has developed his own tactics of fighting. It consisted in the swiftness and suddenness of the attack. The organization was based on the organization of Cossack troops. The backbone of the detachments was dragoons, Cossacks, soldiers who had fled the army. Peasants taught the simplest skills of warfare. The insurgents were able to lead sieges, take fortresses, in battle they covered themselves with wagons. At the initial stages, this tactic had some success and allowed them to achieve a series of victories over government forces.

The third stage

Bulavin Kondraty Afanasyevich, briefly about the life of which is told in this publication, expected to expand the area of popular revolt. And this he partly succeeded with the help of his supporters, who were actively engaged in attracting peasants to their side. Ataman himself also wrote the so-called "adorable" letters, by which he enticed peasants and Cossacks into his detachments. It is interesting to note that in them he referred to the abuses of local authorities, and also called to stand up for the true king. These slogans were quite in the spirit of popular uprisings. Approximately the same thing later Pugachev wrote in his messages to the common people.

Kondraty Afanasievich Bulavin had several of the most active supporters who managed to pick up other areas. His companion I. Nekrasov on the Volga lit up a new hotbed of insurrection. But the rioters attached particular importance to the capture of Azov. However, there was a lack of sufficient military experience. The rebels, not having artillerymen in their ranks, failed to take this fortress. Moreover, they were bombarded by ground and naval artillery. The only thing they have achieved is taking the outpost of the outpost.

The End of the Uprising

Ataman Kondraty Bulavin was attacked by his own supporters in the summer of 1708. They decided to extradite him to the authorities. However, during the ensuing skirmish, he died. There is a point of view that the ataman, unable to leave, committed suicide. However, the fact that even after his death the uprising did not stop is indicative. On the contrary, the aforesaid Nekrasov tried to unite under his leadership the dispersed detachments of his leader. On the Don lands the revolt was headed by N. Goliy. Several more atamans acted on the Volga. However, due to the fact that they did not unite, the riot ceased. The remaining detachments left for the Kuban areas.

Evaluation

In Soviet historical science the opinion that the uprising led by K. Bulavin was an anti-feudal action of the popular masses against the ruling class was firmly established. This treatment of events is connected with the Marxist ideology, according to which armed speeches of this kind were a manifestation of contradictions and antagonism between the classes of exploiters and exploited. However, in modern historiography, it is commonly believed that this revolt was a local regional speech by the Cossacks who were dissatisfied with the government's attempts to violate their traditional order. For example, the famous historian N. Pavlenko believes.

Indeed, it is difficult to say that this riot was a popular and mass action. Since the scope of the uprising was still not so wide compared, for example, with the Pugachev speech. Nevertheless, the riot went down in history, and one of the most famous leaders is Bulavin Kondraty Afanasievich. Interesting facts about him are not so numerous. In addition to the above, you can also mention that he was put a monument in the city of Bakhmut.