Battle of Kazan ( 1774 ) The Battle of Kazan ( 1774 ) was a major battle during the Pugachev Rebellion . It took place on 12 – 15 July 1774 in Kazan , Russia , and the surrounding area . The first stage began in the morning of 12 July , when rebels under Yemelyan Pugachev defeated government troops and besieged them in the Kazan Kremlin . During the battle some government forces defected to the rebels ' side . However , in the evening , tsarist forces under Johann Michelson reached Kazan and defeated the rebels in two battles which took place on 13 and 15 July , forcing Pugachev to retreat to Tsaryovokokshaysk and then to cross the Volga . Out of 25 , 000 and 15 , 000 rebels who participated in the first and last stages of the battle respectively , only 500 escaped . Prelude to the battle . Kazan was threatened by Pugachev as early as the autumn of 1773 . Many of the town ' s nobles escaped to Moscow , inspiring fear there . A defensive plan was formulated by the Russian high command and was approved personally by Catherine the Great . Kazan ' s defenders . There were 3 sectors of defense in Kazan . The first , under general Banner , extended from Kazanka and Arsk Field to Qaban lakes . There , government troops were reinforced by gymnasium pupils under headmaster Kanitsa and armed town militiamen . The second was from the Pleteni to Yamskoy quarter under general - mayor Larionov , and the third was from Yamskoy to Kazanka , under colonel Svechin . The area north from the citadel was defended by Admiralty troops under Shchelin . The citadel itself was reinforced and the garrison under Letskoy was ready to fight . Zilantov Monastery and the Admiralty were turned into strongholds , redoubt s were installed at Kazanka ' s bank and Arsk Field , and a system of knife - rests was installed around the city . Nine cannon s were placed behind the knife - rests . The suburban settlements were left to defend themselves without government assistance . There were 1 , 500 regular troops in Kazan , along with policemen , Admiralty troops and firemen the defenders numbered 2 , 000 . On 2 July the governor von Brandt announced a coming siege . Rebels . Ten mullah s sent by Catherine ' s officers to agitate against Pugachev were killed by rebels . The Orthodox bishop Veniamin appealed to Christians to refuse from joining Pugachev army . However , many peasants from the entire region of modern Tatarstan joined the rebellion and marched to Kazan . On 10 and 11 July Pugachev ' s troops encamped to the north - east of Kazan , between Troitskaya Noksa and Tsaritsyno . The army numbered 25 , 000 , mostly Cossacks supported by Tatar and Udmurt peasants and Bashkir cavalry . Only the Cossacks had firearms ; the Bashkirs were armed with bows while the peasants were mostly equipped with clubs and stakes . On 11 July , Pugachev , with an interpreter , approached Kazan borders and demanded that the loyalist forces surrender . The Tatar community was invited to support the rebellion . Von Brandt refused to disarm ; however , the Tatars quarters sent seventy emissaries with presents to Pugachev . They also disclosed weaknesses in the Kazan defense . On 12 July , at four o ' clock in the morning , Pugachev convened a council of war , dividing his army into 4 groups . The first two under Beloborodov and Mineyev should attack Arsk Field , the main group under Pugachev himself attacked Sukonny ( Broadcloth Manufactory ) quarter . The group under Ovchinnikov and Bakhmutov should attack Tatar quarters . The storm started at six o ' clock after Pugachev ' s prayer . Battle . Storm of Kazan . Beloborodov took Neyelova grove , the area of modern - day Gorky Park and approached the citadel by the avenue now known as Karl Marx Street . Pugachev ' s cannons neutralized government artillery and shelled the defenders of the cloth fabric under manufacturer Dryablov . Workers joined the rebel army . The fourth group of rebels reached Mokry quarter and Admiralty . Government troops were forced to retreat and were besieged in the citadel . Nearly half of the defenders , mostly ethnic Tatars , defected to the rebels . The central stone part of Kazan , mostly settled by Russian nobles and merchants , was set on fire . Sukonny and Tatar quarters , however , stayed safe . Pugachev ordered his troops to safeguard the lives of civilians and captives . They were convoyed to the nearby village of Savinovo , where Pugachev invited them to join his troops . Among others , a captive Lutheran priest was appointed colonel in Pugachev ' s army , but nobles and resisters were massacred . Pugachev ' s family . Pugachev ' s family , his wife Sofia Dmitrievna , his 11 - year - old old son Trofim , daughters Khristina and Agrafena and his brother , were imprisoned in Kazan during the rebellion . Sofia Pugacheva should confirm , that Yemelyan isn ' t Peter III , but a Cossack . She could visit markets to spread this information . When Pugachev ' s group marched they occasionally met his family . Trofim called him , but Pugachev said that he is simply a friend of this family . So , he took them to unit transport . Michelson ' s arrival . The Kremlin surrounded , rebel cannons were installed near Spasskaya Tower and started shelling . After noon , Pugachev stopped the storm and retreated to Arsk Field . There he participated in thanksgiving service . Then he had a dinner at Tatar merchant Musa Apanayev ' s house . In the evening governmental troops from Ufa under Johann Michelson reached Kazan . A harsh battle took place at the modern Gogol street , but neither side won . Pugachev retreated to Savinovo and Sukhaya Reka villages . On 13 July he tried to prevent the end of the siege of the citadel , but under the pressure of Michelson and Potyomkin the rebels were defeated and were forced to retreat . On 15 July Pugachyov ' s army of 15 , 000 was defeated in the battle of Arsk Field . Pugachev with 500 men escaped to Tsaryovokokshaysk , to cross the Volga on 18 July and to continue his struggle then . Michelson didn ' t follow him , as government forces had no horses . Before the trial captives were imprisoned in a camp near the suburb of Bishbalta . In autumn two gallows were placed in Kazan , one in Sukonny , another in Tatar quarter . Many captive rebels were executed , including Beloborodov and Mineyev . Aftermath . After Pugachev ' s escape some rebel groups under Bäxtiär Qanqayıv and Usman Timerev continued the resistance , but they were shortly neutralized by governmental troops . The battle of Kazan had a significant role in Tatarstan ' s history . The Tatar participation in the rebellion numbered up to 85 , 000 . Nevertheless the participants of the rebellion were harshly punished . The Tsar ' s government continued its policy of the support of Muslim nobility and clergy , to prevent similar uprisings as a result of religious oppression in the future . Feudal oppression , however , stayed for a long time . This battle took a major place in the Soviet culture . The first Tatar movie Bulat - Batır was devoted to Pugachev rebellion in Tatarstan and the siege of Kazan .