Among the luminaries of literature, G. R. Derzhavin and S. Aksakov were educated at the Kazan gymnasium.
In 1768, Empress Catherine II, having visited Kazan, expressed the desire to develop, if possible, a theater business in the city; The Kazan governor was directly ordered to persuade the nobility to do this, since, in the opinion of the empress, “through these represented! the nobility could learn the neat way of handling and the dexterity necessary in the world.” Judging by this, the Kazan public of that time generally demanded the establishment of civilizing principles, and, of course, Catherine’s opinion had a deep basis; but the fact is that a time soon came when there was no time for theatrical spectacles and no time for appealing to the rude masses.
In 1774, a terrible thunderstorm approached the ancient Tatar capital: Pugachev was approaching it. Gangs of formidable rebels are moving forward across the world. grew in a similar manner to coma enbga. It is known that they were joined by all the runaways, all the dissatisfied, all kinds of rabble of people of the lower classes, who very often were not quite clearly aware of what they actually wanted.
A terrible panic seized the people of Kazan; Some left the city, while others, although they didn’t leave, were confused to such an extent that they could not be relied upon. But the Kazan nobility, despite the rudeness of morals stated by the empress, turned out to be up to the heights of their purpose: they brought sick victims to help the government, forming a militia (one recruit per 200 serf souls), outfitting it and generally equipping it at their own expense. Touched by this, Catherine II, expressing her gratitude to the nobility, called herself a “Kazan helper” and took part in donating to the formation of the militia.
Meanwhile, residents tried to bring the city into a state of possible defense, but, unfortunately, things did not go well due to the absence of an experienced, energetic leader. Everyone who was more or less suitable for this was recruited as defenders; They even formed a team from gymnasium students and teachers under the command of the gymnasium director von Kanitz. These young “captive soldiers” were joined by artists and craftsmen from the Germans who lived in Kazan. All this was armed with pikes and carbines and, having taken a position on the Arekom floor near the Kazanka River, where the quartermaster warehouses are now, they set up a slingshot as protection against a sudden attack.
At the moment Pugachev approached with a violent crowd of thousands, so
his troops were called, the commotion in the city surpassed anything described; The 90-year-old governor Kudryavtsev, once an energetic employee of Peter, and now a barely moving old man, of course, could not lead the defense; There was no other leader available, and as a result, the improvised militia often dispersed, and some were captured by the rebels. The core of the regular troops, overwhelmed by their small numbers, decided to take refuge in the fortress.
The miniature squad of high school students held out the longest; Teachers, artists and Germans were located on the flanks of this detachment, and in the middle, high school students lined up in two ranks, with the front armed with carbines and the rear with pikes. The entire detachment, according to contemporaries, acted quite firmly and well and was almost the last to retreat into the fortress; What has been said can be more easily believed that from official sources the losses of Detachment Eight are known to be serious, if we take into account its small number; killed: German language teacher Tik, drawing teacher Kavinets and four Germans; wounded: the director of the gymnasium Yokanits and 6 gymnasium students and, in addition, 6 students were missing.
Bulak in spill.
On July 21, the Pugachevites invaded the city and burned it. A large battery, working under the command of Pugachev himself, from the Gostiny Dvor smashed the Kremlin, the last refuge of the Kazan people. By evening, part of the Kremlin wall was badly damaged, and the defenders were preparing for death in the morning. But at this time, unexpected strong help appeared: Mikhelson’s detachment was approaching the city, which distracted Pugachev. The siege was lifted.
Kazan, liberated in this way, presented a terrible picture: there were piles of burning ruins. Of the 3,867 houses, 2,057 burned down; 25 churches and three monasteries fell victim to the flames; what survived the fire—the unburnt churches and the guest courtyard and the houses that were not burned—were plundered to such an extent that they represented only a small part of the former property.
Many people were killed and wounded; Thousands of families were left without shelter and food.