orig. Stepan Timofeyevich Razin
born с 1630, Zimoveyskaya-na-Donu, Russia
died June 16, 1671, Moscow
Russian Cossack rebel.
Born in the prosperous Don Cossack area, he supported the runaway serfs from Poland and Russia who escaped into the region to find land. In 1667 he led a band of newcomers to establish an outpost on the upper Don River. They raided Russian and Persian settlements on the Caspian Sea (1667–70), acquiring great fame and wealth. He then led his Cossack anarchists on a campaign into the Volga River region, where he was joined by disaffected peasants. After seizing Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd), Astrakhan, and Saratov, his force of 20,000 undisciplined rebels was defeated by the Russian army at Simbirsk. Razin was captured, tortured, and executed. He became a popular Russian folk hero and was immortalized in songs and legends.