Note 126 — Chapter XVII

Sténka Rázin was by origin a common Cossack. His brother was hanged for a breach of military discipline, and to this event Sténka Rázin’s hatred of the governing classes has been attributed. He formed a robber band, and subsequently headed a formidable rebellion, declaring himself in favour of freedom for the serfs, religious toleration, and the abolition of taxes. Like the Government he opposed, he relied on force, and though he used it largely in defence of the poor against the rich he still held to