Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion (Peasants' War 1773-75, Cossack Rebellion) of 1773-75 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine II seized power in 1762. It began as an organized insurrection of Yaik Cossacks headed by Yemelyan Pugachev, a disaffected ex-lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Army, against a background of profound peasant unrest and war with the Ottoman Empire. After initial success, Pugachev assumed leadership of an alternative government in the name of the assassinated Tsar Peter III and proclaimed an end to serfdom. This organized leadership presented a challenge to the imperial administration of Catherine II.
Alexei Turchaninov
During Pugachev's Rebellion (1773—1775) he organized the defences and led the people himself. Turchaninov managed to repel all the attacks by the rebel forces, preventing them from advancing further to Yekaterinburg. Mostly due to these acts of bravery Catherine the Great granted him nobility in 1783. His new coat of arms included "a silver heron holding a stone". The image of a heron was used as a brand of the metallurgical plants in the Sysert Mining District till the 20th century.