The Bashkir rebellion was one of the first major insurrection of the

Bashkirs The Bashkirs ( , ) or Bashkorts (, ; , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Russia. They are concentrated in Bashkortostan, a Republics of Russia, republic of the Russian Federation and in the broader historical region of B ...

in the second half of the 17th century.

Causes of rebellion

Since the mid-16th century, the Bashkirs were vassals of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. The main reason for the rebellion was the fear of losing patrimonial rights to lands received under the terms of accession to Russia as a result of the

Russian expansion The borders of Russia changed through military conquests and by ideological and political unions from the 16th century. Tsarist Russia The formal end to Tatar rule over Russia was the defeat of the Tatars at the Great Stand on the Ugra Riv ...

. The Bashkirs were also unhappy with the arbitrariness of the Ufa governor and complained about increasing taxes and abuse by officials during collections.

Place of the uprising

Distribution of the uprising in the territory of the middle reaches of the river

Iset Iset or Aset is an Ancient Egyptian name, meaning "(She) of the throne". It was the name of the goddess better known by her Greek name Isis. For its etymology see Isis – Etymology. Its notable bearers were: * Iset, mother of Thutmose III * ...

Miass Miass (, ) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Chelyabinsk, on the eastern slope of the Southern Ural Mountains, on the bank of the river Miass. Population: Name The name Miass is taken from the Bashkirs (), the indige ...

in the east to the middle reaches of the Kama River in the west, from the river Yaik (now the Urals) in the south to the river Chusovoi in the north.

Fighting

The uprising began in the summer of 1662 in the Urals. Bashkirs led by Sarah Mergena, Uraslanbek Bakkin and other leaders attacked Kataysky jail, Dalmatia Nev'yansky, monasteries Aramilsky, Irbitskoi, Belosludskuyu, Murzinskoe and other Settlements and managed to capture some of them. To fight the rebels, the royal government sent a large military force. Near the lake Irtyash they held a major battle. Another area of struggle was North

Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a republic of Russia between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to the north, Sverdlovsk Oblast ...

, where the rebels took the town of

Kungur Kungur () is a town in the southeast of Perm Krai, Russia, located in the Ural Mountains at the confluence of the rivers Iren and Shakva with the Sylva ( Kama's basin). Population: 62,173 ( 2023 Estimate). History Kungur was founded ...

, Stepanovski jail, Vozdvizhenski and destroyed Russian villages, monasteries and towns along the river Sylva. The Uprising spread as the Nogai and Kazan

Darugha ''Darugha'' (, , from Mongolian language, Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for the province, particularly in Kazan Kha ...

road. The rebels, led by Gaura Akbulatov and Ulekeya Krivoy besieged the city of Ufa,

Menzelinsk Menzelinsk (; ) is a town and the administrative center of Menzelinsky District in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the Menzelya River near its confluence with the Kama, from the republic's capital of Kazan. Population: 15,800 ...

and other strongholds, villages and countryside. Against the Nogai and Kazan, the Bashkir government sent a large force led by Kazan warlord Prince Fyodor Volkonsky . Arriving in the city of Ufa, he sent death squads against the insurgents, and at the same time appealed to the Bashkirs to cease fighting. In autumn 1662 the majority of the Bashkirs agreed to the talks, which ended without result.article in'' Bashkortostan: a brief encyclopedia''
In the spring of 1663, the renewed uprising spread throughout the territory of

Badzhgard Badzhgard or Bashkurd, historically Bashkiria () is a historical and geographical region in the Urals, the traditional border between Northern Asia and Eastern Europe in modern Russia, inhabited by the Bashkirs. Today, the territory is administ ...

. After deciding to continue the fight, the rebels tried to find allies. The Bashkir Siberian

strengthen old ties with non-Russian peoples of the Trans-Urals. In addition, they established contact with the prince Kuciuk, great-grandson of

Kuchum Kuchum Khan ( Turki and , Siberian Tatar: ''Köçöm; Көцөм'', Russian: ''Кучум''; died c. 1601) was the last Khan of Siberia who ruled from 1563 to 1598. Kuchum Khan's attempt to spread Islam and his cross-border raids met with vig ...

as well. At the time of the uprising, descendants of the last Siberian Khan Kuchum lived in south-east. Having lost the

Siberian Khanate The Khanate of Sibir (; ) was a Tatar state in western Siberia. It was founded at the end of the 15th century, following the break-up of the Golden Horde.Сибирское ханство // Большая советская энцикло ...

to Russia in 1598, the

House of Siberia The House of Sibirsky (Russian: Сибирский, Сибирские) was the foremost of many Genghisid ( Scheibanid) families formerly living in Russia. It traced its descent from Kuchum, the last of the Siberian khans. History Kuchum's son ...

was looking for an opportunity to organize anti-Russian actions. Consequently, the uprising in Bashkiria from their point of view, was very welcome. On the move in 1662, they did not participate. But, since the winter of this year, one of them—the Siberian prince Kucuk—is among the Bashkirs Siberian Darugha. Kucuk appeared in the camp of the rebels after the death of their top leader Sarah Mergen in early 1663. We know that the princes of Siberia, including Kucuk, did not represent a major force in the military sense. The rebels were trying, apparently, to use the Prince as a figure around which they could unite the mass of non-Russian Trans-Urals. It is no accident they were negotiating in parallel with the Kalmyks to get more help. Trans-Ural rebels operating in the river basins

Neiva Neiva () is the capital and most populated city of the Department of Huila, south central Colombia. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River with a municipal population of 388,299. It is one of the most important cities in southern Co ...

Irbit Irbit (Stress is given per the ''Dictionary of modern geographical names'', entry o().) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located from Yekaterinburg by train or by car, on the right bank of the Nitsa. Population: It was previously kno ...

attacked forts, settlements, monasteries, established on Bashkir lands. The rebel Nogai and Kazan horsemen are still operating in the central and western region, near Ufa and the Trans-Kama fortresses. The residents of these roads were also looking for allies. They have established relationships with the Kalmyk taishas Daichin s and Ayuka. Bashkirs supported Mansi (Voguls), and Kungurskye Siberian Tatars, Mari, Kalmyks. The tsarist government once again offered the Bashkirs to negotiate. Rebels Nogai resumed talks with the commander of Ufa in autumn 1663. Their ambassadors Dinmukhamet Yulaev and Aktai Dosmuhametov in early 1664 went to Moscow and in February returned to grant charters, in which the king has granted the Nogai Bashkirs. The Bashkir Kazan Darugha began negotiations with the commander of Ufa in the summer of 1664. In autumn 1664 the Siberia Bashkirs also resumed talks with the tsarist authorities. Their ambassadors visited

Tobolsk Tobolsk (, ) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1587, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and was the historic capita ...

and entered into an agreement with the governor.

Results of the insurrection

The tsarist government, unable to defeat the rebels, was forced to meet their basic requirements. Ufa governor's

Stolnik Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". S ...

Andrei Volkonsky was prematurely removed from office, and replaced, at the request of the Bashkirs, by F.I. Somov. More significant was a concession to the government on the land issue: the patrimonial right to land of the Bashkirs was officially confirmed. The new governor was ordered to consider petitions by Bashkirs against land grab by Russian migrants and to meet their demands. The government also promised to end the abuses by tribute collectors as well.

References

Sources

Bashkir Rebellion 1662–1664 Biennium
''Bashkir Encyclopedia'' * Ustiugov NV, Bashkir rebellion 1662–1664 gg., To Sat: Historical Records, Vol 24, Moscow, 1947; * Akmanov, I.G. ''Башкирские восстания XVII — начала XVIII вв.'' 'Bashkir Rebellion 17th — Beginning of the 18th Century'' - Ufa Kitap, 1998. * Akmanov, I.G. ''Башкирия в составе Российского государства в XVII — первой половине XVIII в.'' 'Bashkortostan within the Russian state in the 17th — the first half of the 18th century'' - Sverdlovsk: in the Urals. University Press, 1991.

External links

''Bashkortostan: A Brief Encyclopedia''

* ttp://enc.permculture.ru/showObject.do?object=1803749470/ Bashkir Rebellion
Leaders of the Rebellion of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Bashkirs of Kazan Railway
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bashkir rebellion (1662-64) 1662 in Russia 1663 in Russia 1664 in Russia Conflicts in 1662 Conflicts in 1663 Conflicts in 1664 17th-century rebellions Rebellions in Russia Rebellions against the Russian Empire History of Bashkortostan