Ruminating on rebellion, Putin says the state must be strong

On Wednesday (5 October), President Vladimir Putin questioned a Russian teacher about the 18th century rebellion that shook Empress Catherine The Great's Russia. He offered his view on the history lesson: the state must remain strong.

Putin, Russia's supreme leader since 1999, is now facing the greatest challenge to his rule. His forces are losing ground in their seven month war in Ukraine, while Russia faces the West in the most perilous standoff since 1962's Cuban Missile Crisis.

Putin began unexpectedly grilling one of his teachers about the 1773-1775 Pugachev Rebellion in a long, televised videoconference.

"What was this Pugachev Rebellion?" It happened. What's your opinion?" Putin asked the teacher, who was  in shock. He gave many reasons for Catherine's most serious domestic problem over her 34-year reign.

Putin joked that the teacher's response was similar to that of a diplomat of the Russian foreign ministry. He then asked for clarification about the causes and consequences of the rebellion led Cossack Yemelyan Pugchev, who claimed to be Tsar Peter III.

Putin stated that Pugachev, who was buoyed by dynastic intrigues at court, started a major insurgency 1773, before Catherine's forces defeated him more than a year later.

Putin stated that it was an indication of weakness in central authority.

While Putin has tried repeatedly to strengthen Russia's state following the 1990s chaos, critics like Alexei Navalny, a jailed opposition leader, say that Putin has created a weak system of personal rule that is dependent on sycophancy.

He has repeatedly warned against US attempts at revolutionizing the former Soviet Union.

Pugachev was executed on the Red Square in Moscow in January 1775. The revolt did have a lasting impact on Catherine. It was used as the backdrop for Alexander Pushkin's historical novel, The Captain's Daughter.

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