In 1861, Alexander II signed a manifesto abolishing serfdom, but many peasants interpreted it differently. They believed they were not obligated to buy land, and the document read to them was a forgery. One of the first to rebel was the Penza province. Leonty Egortsev, a 65-year-old peasant from the village of Vysokoye, proclaimed himself Prince Konstantin Pavlovich and called on others to 'gain freedom.' About a thousand peasants from neighboring villages, under his leadership, destroyed the landlord's estate, beat the elder and clerks, and divided the livestock among themselves.

The rebels with the red flag rode to neighboring villages, calling for the killing of landowners. 'They beat the elders and hundredmen, threatening to do the same to managers, civil, and military officials. They took the landlord's bread and tools,' reported Major General Drenyakin to the tsar. As a result, regular army units were sent to suppress the uprising.

Interestingly, during Soviet times, it was claimed that this was the first instance in Russian history where rebels raised a red flag, symbolizing struggle and blood. However, during interrogation, one of the participants in the rebellion explained that the 'revolutionary' banner was simply a red women's scarf tied to a tall pole, so it could be seen from afar and encourage people to join in the riots. Similar uprisings occurred in the Kazan province, and in both cases, they were brutally suppressed.

Later, the red flag indeed became a symbol of struggle and resistance. Fifteen years after these events, worker Yakov Potapov displayed it at Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg in protest against the government's actions. Since 1898, the red banner became the official flag of the Bolshevik party. Subsequently, the red flag transformed into the state flag first of the RSFSR and then of the USSR.