Research topic: Emelian Ivanovich Pugachev

Emelian Ivanovich Pugachev , c.1742-75, Russian peasant leader, head of the peasant rebellion of 1773-74. A Don Cossack , he exploited a widespread peasant belief that Peter III had not actually been murdered. Claiming (1773) to be Peter III, he soon found himself at the head of an army and of a revolutionary movement. His followers—Cossacks, peasants, runaway serfs, Tatar bands, and serfs from the mines and factories—all belonged to the lower classes, whose rights and liberties had been increasingly curtailed in the past two centuries. Pugachev announced the abolition of s... Read more