Peasants against the governor. The story of a conflict or a detective case of the 17th century

Introduction . The article examines a major investigative case on the petition of the palace peasants of the Verkhotsensky volost, Tambov district against the first Tambov governor R.F. Boborykina . Materials and methods. The article uses a large document, about 800 pages of the investigative file. Its preservation is explained by the conduct of the investigative case by the Kazan and Siberian orders, which during the period under review were, as a rule, in charge of the same person. In particular, he was the boyar, Prince Boris Mikhailovich Lykov (Kazan - 1635-1640) and Siberian - 1639-1642 orders). The absence of documents from the Order of the Grand Palace, which burned down at the beginning of the 18th century, makes this source unique. The archives have preserved very few documents on the initial period of the construction of Tambov and the development of the Tambov district in the second half of the 17th century. The work used comparative historical, micro historical, cartographic and other methods of scientific research. Results. The dispute between the palace peasants and the governor was a unique event of the 17th century, as a protest of the palace peasants against their former governor, which involved three state orders: Palace, Kazan and Siberian, as well as Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich personally. The duration of this investigative case is also striking, which required significant financial expenses for its implementation, associated with the constant sending of its representatives to Moscow and the dispatch of detectives. Conclusion. The investigative case itself reflects the technology of legal proceedings of the 17th century, the relationship between the central and local authorities and the peasant world, the persistence of the latter to defend their property interests, the faith of the peasants in the tsar as their owner and protector. Such an active position was more typical of service people than peasants.