Chertok, Nicephorus

Born in Voronezh . Uncle on the father of Stepan Razin . Initially, N. Chertok lived in the village of Usman Sobakina (now the village of New Usman ) and served as a Cossack in the Belgorod regiment . He had a wife and two sons.

In 1667, Voronezh Ataman Nikifor Chertok left the imperial service and fled to the Don with his detachment. In August 1667, Ataman Nikifor Chertenok tried to attack the Tsar’s embassy on the Don in order to “ rob the sovereign’s treasury ” and leave the Don on the Volga in order to unite with Stepan Razin there . Against detachment N. Chertk, military men from Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan were sent. The Cossacks survived two fights: the first did not lead to victory on either side, the second ended in a complete defeat of the Cossacks. Nicephorus the Little Devil was forced to retreat to the Don .

Nikifor Chertok did not participate in the Caspian campaign of Stepan Razin , but in 1670 he marched with the rebel troops from the Don to the Volga, was during the capture of Tsaritsyn , Cherniy Yar, Astrakhan . Chertok was a member of the inner circle of Stepan Razin , and was an esaul in the rebel army. The Razin Cossack N. Sambuleiko, who was captured by the punishers, “in question” in the Little Russian Order named I. Chertk as part of the rebel sergeant.

In the autumn of 1670 , having separated from the main forces of S.T. Razin, the chieftain Nikifor Chertok, at the head of a detachment of Cossacks of 400 people, went to the Tambov region . In November 1670, N. Chertok, bypassing Tambov , went to the town of Kozlov (now Michurinsk ). Here, his detachment grew due to the accession of the surrounding peasants to 3-4 thousand people. Nicephorus Chertok led a peasant uprising in the Tambov region.

On October 17, 1670, in a battle with the tsar’s military men from Kozlov under the command of the governor S.I. Khrushchev near the Chelnava town, the Razinti led by Nikifor Chertk defeated the enemy, capturing two guns. The villages of Bokino and Kuzmina Gat became the temporary base of the rebels. Here, on December 1, 1670, another major battle took place. I.V. Buturlin sent his comrade A. Eropkin against the rebel detachments of N. Cherkt. The Tsar’s governor A. Eropkin, with a detachment of noblemen and Moscow archers, numbering more than a thousand people, suddenly attacked the village of Bokino. Having ousted the Razinets from there, he lit a village and then tried to move toward Tambov . Arriving in time to the rescue N. Chertok utterly defeated the enemy. Many were killed or captured, Eropkin himself received four injuries in the head and shoulder. The voivode I. Buturlin and S. Khrushchev, who came up with fresh forces, forced the rebels to retreat.

Alarmed by the successes of N. Chertk in the Tambov district , the tsarist government hastily moved regiments to the Tambov region under the command of the steward and regimental governor, Prince B. E. Myshetsky . The former Tambov governor Yakov Khitrovo, “ for his old age and illness ”, was recalled to Moscow. B. Myshetsky received from Yakov Khitrovo two regiments: the regiment of Khitrovo himself and the regiment of Prince K.O. Shcherbatov. At the end of December, Prince Boris Efimovich Myshetsky with great strength moved to Shatsk and to Tambov Uyezd , " so that in one place in those places above the thieves they could make an effort to eradicate theft ".

On January 14, the large forces of the tsarist rati under the command of the governor B.E. Myshetsky and I.V. Buturlin again approached the villages of Bokino. Again the attack was repelled with heavy losses for the attackers. From the reply of I. Buturlin to the Rank Order, we can conclude that the rebels, " gaining strength in the courtyards of the great fortresses ... from the courtyards ... of the great sovereign of the military people ... took into account the wound and beat to death in an attack ." Seeing this, the governors Myshetsky and Buturlin " from that village Boykina for infantry with little occupation retreated the same date ... so that those thieves over ... sovereign people would not cause great damage in an attack, and came to Tanbov ." In addition to N. Chertk, among the leaders of the rebels who concentrated in the Kuzmina Gati region, the names of atamans Yeremey Ivanov and Kholki Krivoy are mentioned. The royal governors B.E. Myshetsky and I. Buturlin retreated to Tambov .

This made the authorities act decisively. Significant forces moved to Tambov district. In early February 1671, regiments of the tsarist governor K.O. Shcherbatov and I.V. Buturlin launched an offensive against the rebels. Punishers moved to the Trinity Monastery, a major stronghold of the rebels in the Tambov region . Leaving a bloody trail behind them, the sovereign warriors advanced towards Kuzmina Gati. They ruthlessly dealt with all the captured participants in the uprising, burned down the villages of Totanovo, Kukosovo and Goreloe to the ground because they had " found " individual rebels in those villages . Upon learning of the approach of large military forces, the rebels left Kuzmina Gat and attempted to break away from the persecution.

On February 8, 1671, a new battle broke out near Kuzmina Gatya. Well-trained and armed regular troops completely defeated the rebels, capturing 150 prisoners, 15 banners, all guns. The strongholds of the rebels - the villages of Kuzmina Gat and Bokino - were completely ruined, they were completely burnt out. Ataman Nikifor Chertok himself with faithful companions managed to escape from his pursuers and take refuge in the Don . His family was taken from Voronezh to Moscow, and his property was confiscated. At the end of March 1671, N. Chertka's mother, wife and children were brought to Moscow, and from there sent through Vologda to exile in Kholmogory .

In mid-March 1671, Ataman Nikifor Chertok appeared on the Don , and at the beginning of April he acted at the head of the Cossack detachment on Khopre. His further fate is unknown.

• Stepan Razin and his associates
• Sakharov A. N. Stepan Razin (Chronicle of the 17th century), Baku , Ishig, 1988 , 264 p. ISBN 5-89650-068-8
• Soloviev S. M. “History of Russia from Ancient Times”, Volume 11, Chapter 5