Background
Stepan Timofeevich Razin was born in 1630 in Pugachëvskaya, Volgograd, Russian Federation. Razin's parents were from the village of Usman Sobakina, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) outside of Voronezh.
1906
Stepan Razin Sailing in the Caspian Sea by Vasily Surikov
1918
Stepan Razin on the Volga by Boris Kustodiev
Stepan Razin in a contemporary English engraving
Zaporozhian Cossacks write to the Sultan of Turkey by Ilya Repin (1844–1930)
Stepan Timofeevich Razin was born in 1630 in Pugachëvskaya, Volgograd, Russian Federation. Razin's parents were from the village of Usman Sobakina, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) outside of Voronezh.
Stepan Timofeevich Razin was first noted by history in 1661, as part of a diplomatic mission from the Don Cossacks to the Kalmyks. That same year Razin went on a long-distance pilgrimage to the great Solovetsky Monastery on the White Sea for the benefit of his soul. After that, all trace of him was lost for six years, when Stepan Timofeevich reappeared as the leader of a robber community established at Panshinskoye, among the marshes between the rivers Tishina and Ilovlya, from whence he levied tribute from all vessels passing up and down the Volga.
A long war with Poland in 1654-1667 and Sweden in 1656-1658 put heavy demands upon the people of Russia. Taxes increased, as did conscription. Many peasants, hoping to escape these burdens, fled south and joined bands of Razin's marauding Cossacks. They were also joined by many others who were disaffected with the Russian government, including people of the lower classes, as well as representatives of non-Russian ethnic groups such as Kalmyks, that were being oppressed at the time.
Razin's first considerable exploit was to destroy the great naval convoy consisting of the treasury barges and the barges of the Patriarch and the wealthy merchants of Moscow. Stepan Timofeevich then sailed down the Volga with a fleet of 35 vessels, capturing the more important forts on his way and devastating the country. At the beginning of 1668, he defeated the voivode Yakov Bezobrazov, sent against him from Astrakhan, and in the spring embarked on a predatory expedition into Daghestan and Persia, which lasted for eighteen months.
Razin wanted to protect the independence of the Cossacks and to protest an increasingly centralized government. The Cossacks supported the tsar and autocracy, but they wanted a tsar that responded to the needs of the people and not just those of the upper class. By destroying and pillaging villages, Razin intended to take power from the government officials and give more autonomy to the peasants. However, Razin's movement failed and the rebellion led to increased government control. The Cossacks lost some of their autonomy, and the tsar bonded more closely with the upper class because both feared more rebellion.
Razin had relatives in the Voronezh district, in particular, in the village of Usman Sobakin his father-uncle N. Chertok lived with his mother Anna (grandmother of Razin) and his wife.
