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TheCopper Coin Riot, also known as theMoscow Uprising of 1662 (Russian:Медный бунт, Московское восстание 1662 года) was a majorriot inMoscow, which took place on 4 August [O.S. 25 July] 1662.[1]
The riot was preceded by a gradual deterioration of Moscow'seconomy because of theLivonian War withPoland andSweden and a sharp rise intaxes. In 1654, the Russian government decided to begin issuingcoppermoney in large quantities and equated them withsilver money. The measure caused thedevaluation of copper money, which led to priceinflation of staple goods and the mass production ofcounterfeit copper money with the involvement of some top officials. By 1662, Russia had already been experiencing an acutefinancial crisis.
A few days before the riot, there had already been rumours on the so-calledvorovskiye listki (воровские листки, orblack lists), which contained the names of those responsible for economic misfortunes. The lists suddenly appeared posted in several areas of Moscow during the night of 25 July. They included the names of the "traitors", such asboyarMiloslavsky,okolnichysFyodor Rtishchev andBogdan Khitrovo,diak D.M. Bashmakov, merchants V.G. Shorin, S. Zadorin and others. Those people were accused of causing economic collapse following the introduction of copper money and of having secret ties with Poland.
The riot began early on the morning of 25 July and continued until the afternoon. Up to 10,000 people took part in the civil unrest, mostly Muscovites (posads,soldiers,reiters, some of thestreltsy from the Moscowgarrison,kholops andpeasants). After they read out theirproclamation, the insurgents made their way toKolomenskoye to meet withTsarAlexis I of Russia. They demanded the surrender of "traitors" to the people and the taking of steps to stabilise the economy. The Tsar and the boyars promised to lower the taxes and conduct an investigation in accordance with the demands of thepetition and the proclamation presented by the angry crowd. The insurgents believed the Tsar's promises, and rushed back to Moscow, where rioters, meanwhile, had been destroying the residences of the most hated merchants. After meeting halfway between Moscow andKolomenskoye, both groups of insurgents went back to the tsar’s residence to stand their ground. When they reached Kolomenskoye, a large military force of 6,000 to 10,000 soldiers had already been assembled to counter the rebels.
The Tsar ordered a merciless suppression of the unrest. As a result, up to 1,000 men were killed, hanged or drowned in theMoscow River. Several thousand people were arrested and later exiled after a brutal investigation.[citation needed]
The Copper Riot had lasted for only a day but caused perplexity and fear for top government officials. In 1663, copper coinage was abolished.[2]
