As the ancestors of the Cossacks, Russian ushkuynik pirates, terrified Northern Europe and the Golden Horde

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Although it is customary not to advertise such a phenomenon as piracy in Russian history, the most ancient Russian pirates, ushkuiniks, left a memory of themselves. They appear in ancient chronicles, and the scale of their "military craft" is striking. These militant detachments were so hardy and professional that they can be jokingly called "Old Russian special forces." Ushkuiniks are often compared with Vikings and Varangians, and even they themselves sincerely considered themselves their descendants.

Professional robbers

Ushkuyniks are not ordinary robbers, armed with anything and chaotically attacking everyone. These were professional military detachments, supported by Novgorod and equally well prepared for both foot and horse combat. They were incredibly tough because they were well trained to survive in extreme conditions. Gathering for battle, the ushkuyniks put on chain mail made of steel rings (shells), into which steel plates were sometimes woven. As weapons they had sabers, swords, spears, and for shooting - bows and crossbows with powerful steel arrows.

Ancient Russian pirates chose their target wisely and attacked in a cunning manner, and their raids were equally successful in the daytime and at night.

Great rowers

In addition to the skills of fighting and riding, all the ushkuiniks were fluent in rowing, because one of their main advantages was the ability to quickly get away from the boat chase. These vessels were called lugs (they gave the name to the ancient Russian pirates) and were long narrow vessels with one mast in the center and one sail. On the bow of such a ship, as a rule, a bear's head flaunted, because from the northern dialect the word "ear" is translated as "bear". Such a vessel usually accommodated 20 to 30 rowers.

The ears were usually built of pine and were so light that the soldiers carried them in their arms, raised high above their heads. This was also their advantage: in case of pursuit by the enemy, they could cover several kilometers with such a boat. Having reached the bank of the nearest river, the ushkuiniks quickly put the ship on the water, boarded it and escaped the pursuit.

Although in the ancient Russian chronicles they were called "river robbers", they walked perfectly on their ears and on the sea. Moreover, river and abalone were different in their design. The pirates were especially ferocious on the Volga and in the Caspian region.

The Scandinavians were afraid of them

In 1318, the ears sailed to the Finnish capital Abo (modern Turku) and robbed it, taking away the Vatican's church tax for several years. Then they attacked the cities of Norway, and the local government even asked the papal see for help to organize a crusade against the robbers. Perhaps fearing a similar raid on its territories, Sweden in 1323 concluded the Peace of Noteberg with Veliky Novgorod (which had influence on the pirates), which in fact was the first official treaty that established the borders between Novgorod and Swedish lands.

They plundered the Golden Horde

In 1360, the pirates decided to "swing" and the Golden Horde, reasonably suggesting that the Tatars have something to profit from, which means they need to impose a tribute. They went on boats along the Volga to the very mouth of the Kama, after which they captured the rich Tatar city of Zhukotin and plundered it.

When the pirates, after successful robberies, were in Kostroma, the Suzdal princes, by order of Khan Khyzr, in cooperation with the local residents, secretly entered the city, seized the ushkuyniks along with all their riches and took them to the khan. The "betrayal" of the princes angered the pirates even more and very soon they resumed their raids, this time targeting the Russian cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, and, of course, Kostroma.

I must say that such a "servile" attitude of the Russian princes to the Horde in those days aroused indignation even among ordinary residents. In many chronicles, this act is regarded as a desire to curry favor with the khan, and the authors call the representatives of the Golden Horde "filthy". In addition, a version is being put forward that the seizure of the ushkuyniks took place with the tacit consent of Novgorod, which also caused outrage.

It is known from ancient chronicles that in 1375 the ushkuiniks, led by a certain leader named Prokop, defeated the Kostroma army - and this despite the fact that there were about fifteen hundred pirates, and their opponents were several times greater. Having captured Kostroma, they went to Astrakhan, robbing the surrounding residents along the way. Despite the fact that in Astrakhan they met with resistance from the troops of the Horde Khan Salchei and were defeated, after 10 years the pirates resumed their robberies. In other words, the ushkuiniks either calmed down or "resurrected" again.

Meanwhile, the ushkuyniks continued to attack the Tatars until the end of the XIV century. Warlike pirates even managed to capture the capital of the Great Khan - Saray.

Some historians consider Russian pirates to be noble robbers who helped Novgorod in the fight against the Tatars. But the facts show that the ushkuyniks attacked everyone from whom they could have something to fuck, regardless of their nationality, and were ordinary robbers.

Scouts

In the detachments of the ushkuyniks, reconnaissance was well established. Historians suggest that among the "spies" of these pirates were the Turks and the Finno-Ugric, and later - the Cossacks.

That is why the campaigns of the ushkuyniks to the cities of the Golden Horde, as a rule, were successful. The impression was that the robbers were well guided in the terrain, knowing in advance where what was located.

Ancestors of Afanasy Nikitin?

There is a version that the famous traveler Afanasy Nikitin was a descendant of the Novgorod ushkuyns. If this is the case, then the ability to survive in extreme conditions, endurance and the ability to perfectly navigate sea voyages may have been passed on to him from the pirate ancestors.

In the manuscripts of the Rogozhsky chronicler, dated 1440, there are mentions of the events of 1360, when the city of Zhukotin was taken, and of the leader of the Ushkuynians, Anfal (Athanasia) Nikitin. You can also read about him in the Novgorod chronicles, where it is indicated that the ushkuynik with his army "took the city of Zhukotin and beat many desermen". The fearless pirate and the complete namesake of the famous traveler was a legendary man, and some associate the appearance of several villages with the name of Anfalovka in those parts that he visited (for example, near the Yug River, on the left bank of the Kama, near Vyatka, etc.) with him.

It is interesting that the author of the travel notes "Voyage across the Three Seas" himself was attacked by pirates. In 1468, a merchant as part of a merchant caravan moved on ships with goods along the Volga and became a victim of Tatar robbers. The merchants lost two ships, pirates robbed them to the skin. And the only surviving ship was subsequently captured by Dagestan robbers on the way to Derbent.

Nikitin went bankrupt, and it is believed that it was these misadventures that prompted him to the famous trip to India, which promised considerable profit.

And in continuation of the topic - an article about what other pirates raged in the Russian seas,