Near the western end of ul Sovetskaya stands the fortified house of Kondraty Bulavin, the Cossack rebel leader during the Peasant War (1707–09). Bulavin lived and died in this solid stone house with 1m-thick walls, iron doors and an elevated basement to stave off flooding.
'We shall die as one rather than remain silent before the wicked deeds of evil men,' Bulavin declared at the height of his uprising. But his rebellion was unsuccessful – a series of military failures turned his followers against him, and he was found dead in unclear circumstances in 1708.
