The Copper Riot, also known as the Moscow Uprising of 1662 (Russian: Медный бунт, Московское восстание 1662 года) was a major riot in Moscow, which took place on July 25 of 1662. Riots in Newark, New Jersey Riots occur when crowds of people have gathered and are committing crimes or acts of violence. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (?)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... Events March 18 – Short-timed experiment of the first public buses holding 8 passengers begins in Paris May 3/May 2 - Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England – as part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay and Tangier to England May 9 - Samuel Pepys witnessed a Punch and Judy...

The beginning

The riot was preceeded by a gradual deterioration of the Russian economy due to the wars with Poland and Sweden and sharp rise in taxes. In 1654, the Russian government decided to begin issuing copper money in large quantities, equating them with silver money. This government measure caused the devaluation of copper money, which, in turn, would provoke profiteering on top priority goods and mass production of counterfeit copper money with the involvement of some top officials. By 1662, Russia had already been experiencing an acute financial crisis. A tax is a compulsory charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... Events April 5 - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic brown Atomic mass 63. ... Money Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a unit of account. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency. ... The act of price gouging in an undersupplied market. ... A counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. ... A currency crisis (also known as a financial crisis) occurs when the value of a currency changes quickly, undermining its ability to serve as a medium for exchange or a store of value. ...

A few days before the riot, there had already been rumors about the so called vorovskiye listki (воровские листки, or black lists), which contained the names of those responsible for economic misfortunes. These lists would suddenly appear posted in several neighborhoods of Moscow on the night of July 25. They included the names of the "traitors", such as boyars Miloslavsky, okolnichys Fyodor Rtishchev and Bogdan Khitrovo, diak D.M.Bashmakov, merchants V.G.Shorin, S.Zadorin and others. All these people were accused of causing economic collapse after the introduction of copper money and having secret ties with Poland. A blacklist is a list or register of people who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, or mobility. ... A boyar (also spelt bojar; Romanian: boier) was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Russian and Romanian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th through the 17th century. ... Okolnichiy (Окольничий in Russian) was an old rank and a position at the court of Russian rulers from the Mongol invasion of Russia until the government reform undertaken by Peter the Great. ... Feodor Alekseyevich Rtishchev (1625-1673), an intimate friend of Tsar Alexis who was renowned for his piety and alms-deeds. ... Podyachy or podyachiy (Russian: ; from Greek hypodiakonos, assistant servant) is an office (bureaucratic) occupation in prikazes (local and upper governmental offices) and lesser local offices of Russia in 15th-18th centuries. ...

The riot and its suppression

The Copper Riot began on the early morning of July 25 and continued until afternoon. Up to 10,000 people took part in the civil unrest, mostly Muscovites (posad people, soldiers, reiters, some of the streltsy from the Moscow garrison, kholops, and peasants). After having read their proclamation, the insurgents made their way to Kolomenskoye to meet with tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. They demanded to surrender the "traitors" to the people and take steps towards stabilizing of the economy. The tsar and boyars promised to lower the taxes and conduct an investigation in accordance with the demands of the petition and proclamation, presented by the angry crowd. The insurgents took the tsar’s word for it and rushed back to Moscow, where, in the meanwhile, people were destroying the households of the most hated merchants. After meeting halfway between Moscow and Kolomenskoye, the two groups of insurgents went back to the tsar’s residence to stand their ground. By the time they reached Kolomenskoye, a large military force (6,000 to 10,000 soldiers) had already been assembled to counter the rebels. Alexei Mikhailovich ordered a merciless suppression of the unrest. As a result, up to 1,000 men were killed, hanged, or drowned in the Moscow River. Several thousand people were arrested and later exiled after a brutal investigation. Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (?)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... A posad (посад) was a settlement, often rounded by bulwarks and a moat, by a town or a kremlin, but outside the town/kremlin, or by a monastery in the 10th to 15th centuries. ... A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment (such as a uniform and weapon) to defend that country or its interests. ... Reiters (German: Reiter, or horserider) were a type of cavalry, which appeared in mercenary armies of Western Europe in the 16th century along with the cuirassiers and dragoons instead of heavy cavalry. ... Streltsy (Стрельцы in Russian), a unit of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. ... Garrison House, built 1675, Dover, NH, USA In the military, garrison is the collective term for the body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base. ... Kholops (Холопы in Russian) were feudally dependant people in Russia between the 10th and early 18th centuries. ... In a detail of Brueghels Land of Cockaigne (1567) a soft-boiled egg has little feet to rush to the luxuriating peasant who catches drops of honey on his tongue, while roast pigs roam wild: the 16th century was a good time for European peasants A peasant, from 15th... A proclamation (Lat. ... Kolomenskoye (Russian/Cyrillic: Коломенское) is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow downtown, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь, listen â–¶(?); often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the Bulgarian Empire in 913-1396/1422 and 1908-1946, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov (In Russian Алексей Михаилович Романов) (March 9, 1629 (O.S.) - January 29, 1676 (O.S.)) was a Tsar of Russia during some of the most eventful decades of the mid-17th century. ... Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A petition is a request to an authority, most commonly a government official or public entity. ... Kolomenskoye (Russian/Cyrillic: Коломенское) is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow downtown, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). ... Moskva River (Москва́), also known as the Moscow River, is a small river over 400 miles long, situated in Russia, Eastern Europe. ...

Despite the fact that the Copper Riot lasted for only a day, it would cause perplexity and fear among the top government officials. In 1663, copper coinage was abolished. // Events Prix de Rome scholarship established for students of the arts. ...

See also

• Salt Riot
• Plague Riot