The reign of Catherine II. fills one of the darkest pages of Russian
history. This lustful and ambitious empress waded to the throne
through her husband's blood--bloodshed was necessary to establish her
rule; infamous cruelties characterised her whole reign, and no
princess ever succeeded in making herself more heartily detested by
her subjects than the vicious daughter of Anhalt Zerbst. Plot after
plot was concocted to oust her from her high estate; and impostor
after impostor appeared claiming the imperial purple; but the empress
held her own easily, and suppressed each successive rebellion without
difficulty, until Pugatscheff appeared at the head of the Cossacks,
and threatened to hurl her from her throne, and dismember the empire.
Jemeljan Pugatscheff Was the son of Jemailoff Pugatscheff, a Cossack
of the Don, and was born near Simonskaga. His father was killed on the
field of battle, and left him to the care of an indifferent mother,
who deserted him and sought the embraces of a second husband. An
uncle, pitying the lad's desolation, carried him to Poland, where he
picked up the French, Italian, German, and Polish languages, and
distinguished himself by his aptitude for learning. After a time he
returned to Russia, and took up his abode among the Cossacks of the
Ukraine, who, attracted alike by his bodily vigour and his mental
accomplishments, elected him one of their chiefs. He was not, however,
contented with the comparative quiet of Cossack life, and longed for
some greater excitement than was afforded by an occasional raid
against the neighbouring tribes. Accordingly, taking advantage of the
law promulgated by Peter III.,--that any Russian might leave the
country and enter the service of any power not at war with the
empire,--he entered the army of the King of Prussia. On the conclusion
of peace he obtained a command in the Russian army, and served for a
considerable time. At last his regiment was relieved, and Pugatscheff
was allowed to return home. On his return he found the Cossacks of the
Ukraine gravely dissatisfied with the government and the empire. The
viciousness of the court had been reported to them; they were
oppressed both by the clergy and the judges, and they only wanted a
leader to break out into open revolt. Pugatscheff saw the golden
opportunity, and presented himself. But spies were numerous, the
garrisons were strong, and it was necessary to proceed with caution.
In order the better to conceal his designs, he entered the service of
a Cossack named Koshenikof, and after a short time succeeded in
gaining the adhesion of his master to his cause. The friends and
kinsmen of Koshenikof were one by one, under oath of secrecy, informed
of the plot, and by degrees the rebellious scheme was perfected.
Pugatscheff was elected chief; and as he bore a strong resemblance to
the murdered emperor, it was resolved that he should present himself
to the people as Peter III. Accordingly, rumours were assiduously
circulated that the emperor was still alive; that a soldier had been
killed in his stead; and that although he was in hiding, he would
shortly appear, and would avenge himself upon his enemies. Thousands
listened and believed, and only waited for the first sign of success
to join the movement. But the government was on the alert. Pugatscheff
and his master were suspected and denounced; and while the latter was
arrested, the former with difficulty escaped. In a few days, however,
he succeeded in surrounding himself with 500 adherents, and marched at
their head to the town of Jaizkoi, which he summoned to surrender. The
answer was sent by 5000 Cossacks who had orders to take him prisoner.
Strong in his faith in his fellow-countrymen, Pugatscheff advanced
towards this formidable force, and caused one of his officers to
present them with a manifesto explaining his claims, and his reasons
for taking up arms. The general in command seized the document, but
the men, who had no great love for the empress, insisted that it
should be read. Their request was refused, and 500 of them at once
deserted their standards and joined the ranks of the rebel chief.
Alarmed by this defection, the Russian general withdrew to the
citadel, while Pugatscheff encamped about a league off, hoping that
further desertions would follow, and that the place would fall into
his hands. In this he was disappointed; for his fellow-countrymen,
although disloyal at heart, did not wish to commit themselves to a
desperate undertaking which might involve them in ruin, and were
disposed to wait until some success had attended the insurrection. The
500 who had precipitately chosen the rebellion had induced about a
dozen of their officers to join them; but these men, suddenly
repenting, refused to break their oath of allegiance, and were at
once hanged from the neighbouring trees. Finding further persuasion
fruitless, Pugatscheff wisely refrained from any attempt to reduce the
fortress, and marched his band towards Orenburg. On the way he secured
large accessions to his force, and in a few days found himself at the
head of 1500 men. With this army he attacked the fortified town of
Iletzka, which offered no resistance--the garrison passing over to
him. The commandant consented to share in the enterprise with his
followers, but Pugatscheff wanted no commandants or men of
intelligence who might interfere with his schemes, and gave orders for
his immediate execution. The cannon captured at Iletzka were then
pointed against Casypnaja, which yielded after a brief struggle. Thus
fortress after fortress fell into the hands of the reputed emperor,
who gladly received the common soldiery, but mercilessly slew their
leaders.
By this time the news had spread abroad throughout Southern Russia
that Peter III. was not dead, but was in arms for the recovery of his
throne and for the redress of the grievances under which his people
were suffering. Crowds of Cossacks heard the intelligence with joy,
and hastened to cast in their lot with the army of Pugatscheff.
Talischova, a powerful fortress, defended by 1000 regular troops, fell
before his assault; and the false Peter soon found himself possessed
of numerous strongholds, a formidable train of artillery, and a
fighting force of 5000 men. Considering himself strong enough to
attempt the reduction of Orenburg, the capital of the southern
provinces, he marched against it. Here, however, he encountered a
stubborn resistance, and attack after attack was repulsed with heavy
loss. These repeated failures did not discourage the pretender or his
adherents. The Cossacks continued to flock to his banners, and when
General Carr, who had been despatched from Moscow to suppress the
revolt, arrived in the neighbourhood of Orenburg, he found the rebel
chief at the head of 16,000 soldiers. An advanced guard, which was
sent to harass his movements, fell into the hands of Pugatscheff, who
nearly exterminated it, and straightway hanged the officers who were
made captive, according to his usual custom. Emboldened by his
success, he attacked the main body, and ignominiously defeated it in
the open field; and Carr, panic-struck, fled to the capital, leaving
General Freyman, if possible, to oppose the advance of the
revolutionists. The result of this decisive victory was soon apparent.
Province after province declared in favour of the pretender, chief
after chief placed his sword at his service, and Pugatscheff began to
play the emperor in earnest. He conferred titles upon his most
distinguished officers, granted sealed commissions, and constructed
foundries and powder manufactories in various places.
Catherine, by this time thoroughly alarmed, despatched another army to
the Ukraine under General Bibikoff, an experienced and resolute
officer. He arrived at Casan in February 1774, and issued a manifesto,
exposing Pugatscheff's imposture, and calling upon the rebels to lay
down their arms. Pugatscheff replied by another manifesto, declaring
himself the Czar, Peter III., and threatening vengeance against all
who resisted his just claims. He also caused coin to be impressed with
his effigy, and the inscription "_Redivivus et Ultor_." In the
meantime he continued to lay siege to Orenburg and Ufa. But Bibikoff
was not a man to remain inactive, and lost no time in attacking him.
Again and again he was defeated, the siege of the two strongholds was
raised, and on more than one occasion his army was dispersed, and he
was left at the head of only a few hundred followers. But, if the
Cossack hordes could be easily dissipated, they could rally with equal
ease; and on several occasions, when the rebellion seemed to be
completely crushed, it suddenly burst out afresh, and Pugatscheff, who
was supposed to be hiding like a hunted criminal, appeared at the head
of a larger force than ever. Thus at one time scarcely 100 men
followed him to a retreat in the Ural Mountains: in a few days he was
at the head of 20,000 men, and took Casan by storm, with the exception
of the citadel, which resisted his most determined attacks. Here he
perpetrated the greatest atrocities, until the imperial troops arrived
and wrested the town from his grasp, seizing his artillery and his
ammunition. For a time his position appeared desperate, and he fled
across the Volga, but only to re-appear again at the head of an
enormous force, and, as a conqueror, fortress after fortress yielding
at his summons. At length a Russian army under Colonel Michelsohn
overtook him and gave him battle. Pugatscheff held a strong position,
had 24 pieces of artillery and 20,000 men, but his raw levies were no
match for the regular troops. His position was turned, and a panic
seized his followers, who deserted their guns and their baggage, and
fled precipitately, leaving 2000 dead and 6000 prisoners behind them.
Pugatscheff himself made for the Volga, closely pursued by the Russian
cavalry, who cut down the half of his escort before they could embark.
With sixty men he succeeded in escaping into the desert, and at last
it was evident that his game was played out. The only three outlets
were soon closed by separate detachments of the imperial troops, and
the fugitives were thus confined in an arid waste without shelter,
without provisions, and without water. The situation was so hopeless
that each man only thought of saving himself, and Pugatscheff's
companions were not slow to perceive that their sole chance of life
lay in sacrificing their leader. Accordingly, they fell upon him while
he was ravenously devouring a piece of horseflesh--the only food which
he could command--and, having bound him, handed him over to his
enemies. As Moscow had shown some sympathy for him, he was carried in
chains to that city, and was there condemned to death. Several of his
principal adherents likewise suffered punishment at the same time.
On the 23d of January 1775, Pugatscheff and his followers were led to
the place of execution, where a large scaffold had been erected. Some
had their tongues cut out, the noses of others were cut off, eighteen
were knouted and sent to Siberia, and the chief was decapitated--his
body being afterwards cut in pieces and exposed in different parts of
the town. He met his fate with the utmost fortitude.