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.
Vasily Alexeyevich Kar
Kar was judged very harshly by his contemporaries for his failures during Pugachev's rebellion. Decades later, Pushkin, in his own history of the revolt would describe the general's leadership during the crisis as, "Feeble, timid, and lacking diligence". For his part, while Kar played the part of an amiable and content country squire, he lived quietly and tried to avoid any mention of his once promising military career to his neighbors.