(^70) Muscovite Roots, 1462-1689
particular sought to embarrass and discredit the Old Believer delegation, and
the meeting broke up in confusion. Those stre/'tsy who did not support the
dissidents, among them men in the Stremyannoy regiment (the ruler's body-
guard), were again plied with alcohol, given money, and promis~ preferment.
In this way the corps was effectively neutralized, allowing the a.uthorities to
arrest and punish the sectarian leaders (11 July).
After this move it was only a question of time before the musketeers in turn
were suppressed. In government circles Khovansky, the strel'tsy commander,
was rapidly becoming ostracized. On 13 July the court left Moscow for the
first of two visits to summer retreats in the environs of the dty. Since this was
normal practice, the strel'tsy could not and did not try to prevent it. They
remained in the capital and with Khovansky's tacit consent continued to press
their claims. But opinion was now turning against them: townsmen and peasants
begrudged paying extra taxes to meet their demands, which seemed to be
motivated primarily by self-interest. Meanwhile Sofia acted with tactical
skill. On 29 August she called the Stremyanniy regiment to attend on the court
at the suburban palace of Kolomenskoye. Then, early in Sept~mbcr, having
moved on to the fortified monastery of Zvenigorod, she summoned the gentry
militia and other forces under noble command to assemble in order to
'cleanse' the capital of the 'treacherous' musketeers. The latter were told to
prepare for military duty in the south. Khovansky disobeyed the command, so
giving Sofia the pretext she needed. He was summoned to her. headquarters,
arrested, and at once executed without trial in the presence of the court (17
September). His son and, it appears, as many as 37 of the musketeers' elected
delegates were put to death with him.^64
After this coup de main the government could proceed against the men
themselves. Moscow was ringed with loyal troops, including some 5,500
metropolitan nobles, who were lavishly rewarded for their pains with grants of
land (their men had to be content with the by now traditional dispensation of
vodka). Early in October the patriarch helped to mediate a settlement whereby
the rebels were pardoned on condition that they obeyed orders in future and
informed on any of their comrades who acted disloyally.^6 ' The musketeers
apologized for the violence they had done and asked for the commemorative
column to be demolished, a symbolic gesture which the authorities hastened to
carry out. The blame for the troubles was conveniently laid upon Khovansky
and other scapegoats, and in November the court returned to Moscow. There
was a mild disturbance in P. Bokhin's regiment the following month, but it
was easily contained, half a dozen ringleaders being put to death.
Although some foreign accounts refer to hundreds of executions, there was
no bloodbath-nor even a general investigation into the revolt. The repressive
(^64) Medvedev, Sozertsaniye, pp. 106-11; Buganov, Mosk. vosstaniya, pp. 261-79; Vosstaniye
1682 g., pp. 79-82.
6~ Medvedev, Sozertsaniye, pp. 124-51; Buganov, Mosk. vosstaniya, pp. 301-12; Vosstaniye
1682 g., pp. 168-70, 175-9, 186-8.
wang
(Wang)
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