Table of contents:
- Plague and popular revolt
- Approximate guardsman and close Orlov
- Closeness to the court and European glory
- Why "Arkharovets" is bad
Video: Why in Russia the bandits were named after the favorite of Catherine the Great: the best detective in Moscow and the "Arkharovtsy"
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
On the eve of the revolution in the Russian Empire, one could often hear the word "Arkharovtsy". And if today this colloquial nickname is associated with hooligans and bandits, then earlier the word was of a completely different nature. Moreover, the origin of the word form is associated with the surname of a respected person: a friend of Count Orlov, a thunderstorm of criminals and a knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. What is the connection between the "Arkharovtsy" and the best detective in Moscow - in our material.
Plague and popular revolt
In 1770, a plague epidemic engulfed Moscow. The disease was very fierce, claiming 60 thousand lives of townspeople in a year. Today historians believe that infected soldiers who returned from the Russian-Turkish war were to blame. Having established the source of the infection, a senior Moscow physician made a fuss and demanded that the authorities stop the focus of the spread of the deadly disease. However, then the mayors considered it a banal alarmist. And in vain.
Soon the epidemic flared up, and Muscovites rushed to all ends. Moreover, representatives of the nobility were the first to leave the city. Indeed, according to the laws of that time, if a plague came to a settlement, it was immediately surrounded by duty posts. Before the soldiers and doctors, the task was set not to let the sick out of the city limits. Only here the aristocracy neglected this rule. Mayor Saltykov and other senior officials ordered the isolation of Moscow only after they left with their families to their country estates. By that time, the disease was already raging, and merchants refused to bring food into the city, fearing that they would become infected. Famine began in the city, followed by a popular revolt.
Looting and looting have spread. In September 1771, an angry mob destroyed two monasteries (Donskoy and Chudov), blaming the monks for what was happening, allegedly hiding the saving miraculous icons. Commander-in-chief Eropkin, who remained in Moscow, tried to deal with the rebels. But the soldiers from his garrison were outnumbered by the rebels, and then additional forces went to help.
Approximate guardsman and close Orlov
In the 18th century, a certain Nikolai Petrovich Arkharov was active in Russia. The son of a brigadier general, landowner Pyotr Ivanovich Arkharov, using his father's military rank, willingly joined the Life Guard. Nikolai began his service career at the age of 14 as a private in the Preobrazhensky regiment. Arkharov Jr. moved up the career ladder rather quickly, and in 1771 he already became a lieutenant captain (later the title was renamed to staff captain). This was a decent milestone for a 29-year-old man, especially given the increased status of guards ranks compared to regular army ranks.
Success came to Arkharov along with the "plague riot" of 1771. Catherine's favorite Grigory Orlov was charged with pacifying the rebels in the capital. For this, 4 guards regiments were allocated and subordinated to him. Orlov acted on a large scale, creating quarantine hospitals, disinfecting, dictatorially cracking down on the instigators of the riots. Soon the riot came to naught, and Moscow plunged into quarantine. One of the brightest characters in those Moscow events was Nikolai Arkharov, being the commander of one of the guards groups. He showed himself to be a responsible officer, and soon Orlov petitioned the Empress to appoint his subordinate Chief of Police of Moscow. In other words, Arkharov became the city's chief police officer.
Closeness to the court and European glory
Nikolai Petrovich did not disappoint either his patron or the empress. About Arkharov's talent to unravel the most dead-end cases, his colleagues made legends. Catherine herself even turned to the Chief of Police for help. Arkharov headed the investigation into the Emelyan Pugachev case. The investigation was carried out at the highest level, all the culprits were identified, found and punished. Oleg Rassokhin in his book "Moscow on foot" tells about a case when a most valuable icon was stolen from the Winter Palace, and Arkharov found it in a matter of days.
The name of the policeman put the criminals into a stupor. Arkharov's contemporaries argued that Nikolai Petrovich identified the criminal as soon as he looked at him. Information about the unique intuitive inclinations of a Moscow policeman reached all the way to Europe. The Parisian Chief of Police Sartin wrote enthusiastic letters to Arkharov, marveling at the results of the work and the abilities of his Russian colleague. Catherine II, observing the popularity of Arkharov's personality among Europeans, did not stint on the award. And soon Nikolai Arkharov was made a lieutenant general, offering in parallel the authoritative chair of the governor of Moscow.
Why "Arkharovets" is bad
Despite the mass of crimes solved under the leadership of Arkharov, Muscovites disliked him. Feeling the strength and power in their boss, the subordinates of Nikolai Petrovich behaved like the masters of Moscow. Moreover, they often resorted to open aggression. If, for example, they arrived at the address with some kind of demand, and the owners did not come to them for a long time, the Arkharovsk guards allowed themselves to break the gates. And the subsequent interrogations were already carried out with special bias and bias. It got to the point that the arrival of the "Arkharovtsy" began to be associated among the townspeople with a bandit raid. And Arkharov, knowing about the methods of work of his charges, did not consider it necessary to make comments to them. That is why, according to the Russian historian Pyotr Sytin, the inhabitants of Moscow began to treat the “Arkharovtsy” with contempt.
In the XX century, the concept of "Arkharovtsy" was rethought. Over time, the events were forgotten, but the negative connotation remained behind the word. Later, “Arkharovtsy” began to be called not representatives of the law and order, but, on the contrary, violators of the law: robbers, violent vagrants, hooligans and risky people capable of all kinds of crimes. Sometimes, in a playful manner, they also addressed mischievous children.
Kuprin in his work "From the Street" wrote: "And this institution was like a menagerie: Arkharovtsy, brawlers, bummers.."
Orlov made a stunning career not only because he was in a relationship with the empress. He primarily a talented commander who tamed the formidable Ottoman Empire.
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