Stepan (Sten'ka) Timofeyevich Razin was born into a Cossack family, in Zimoveyskaya Village (now Village Pugachyovskaya of the Volgograd Region), where Yemelyan Pugachyov was born later. The biography of Stepan Razin is authentically known only starting from the 1660s. By that time he became a Cossack ataman and gained rich military experience. After carrying out negotiations with the Kalmyks he conducted military operations against the Crimean Khan and Ottoman Empire in 1662-1663. After a conflict with Dolgorukov, Razin undertook a campaign to the lower Volga region, thus blocking the trading route in that area.

Razin developed the plan of overthrowing the feudal-serfdom oppression in Russia. His next campaign to Volga showed not just mere disobedience, but was a well-organized revolt. His local leaders supervised over the risen peasants across entire Volga region. Despite a few victories that Stepan Razin had in Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, and Astrakhan, his campaign to Simbirsk failed. Razin was wounded and then headed to the small town of Kagalnitsky on River Don. This is where he was captivated by rich Cossack foremen in 1671 and later given up to the imperial government. Stepan Razin was executed through quartering on June, 6th, 1671.