Moscow uprising of 1648

In the Northern reaches of the kingdom, the ground stayed frozen for most of the year leading to weaker yields when compared to fields on Southern estates.

The riot solidified serfdom in Russia by lifting the repatriation time limit, binding serfs to an estate with more permanence.

In their petition, the people claimed, "...that from him the taxpaying community suffered heavy taxes and they were groundlessly charged with all sorts of robberies and thefts of his, Levontii's, instruction.

While the Tsar remained ever pure in the eyes of the people, popular opinion held that his advisors exercised an evil influence over him.

This conflict of interest led them to side with the plight of the townsmen, stating that they, "...did not want to stand in antagonistic relations with the crowd for the sake of the traitor and tyrant Pleshcheyev.

In their fervor, the crowd did not wait for Pleshcheyev to be executed instead, "...they cuggeled him so black and blue and with axes they cut him asunder like a fish, the pieces they let lie naked here and there".

The rioters split into two groups to target the most hated boyars, diaks, okolnichys, and merchants, killing Nazar Chistoy as he begged for mercy.

[4]: 19  When rumors spread that Morozov's men had started the fires to antagonize the rioters, the boyar head hunt gained greater momentum.

Soon, however, the provincial nobility, big merchants, and top townsmen seized the initiative and came out with a petition demanding the convocation of the zemsky sobor, or Assembly of the Land, to discuss salary distribution, time limits for recovering escaped serfs, and other legalities.

They began distributing money, lands and souls to the dvoryane and made a few concessions to the remaining rebels, including the postponement of collection of arrears on 12 June.

On 22 October, Boris Morozov secretly returned to Moscow under Alexei's order, and resumed his position as the head of the Russian government, relieving Nikita Romanov of the post.