What was the cause of the troubled times. Smota (Time of Troubles)

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TROUBLES (TIME OF TROUBLES)- a deep spiritual, economic, social, and foreign policy crisis that befell Russia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It coincided with the dynastic crisis and the struggle of boyar groups for power, which brought the country to the brink of disaster. The main signs of unrest are considered to be anarchy (anarchy), imposture, civil war and intervention. According to some historians, Time of Troubles can be considered the first civil war in the history of Russia.

Contemporaries spoke of the Troubles as a time of “shakyness,” “disorder,” and “confusion of minds,” which caused bloody clashes and conflicts. The term “troubles” was used in everyday speech of the 17th century, in the paperwork of Moscow orders, and was included in the title of the work of Grigory Kotoshikhin ( Time of Troubles). In the 19th and early 20th centuries. got into research about Boris Godunov, Vasily Shuisky. In Soviet science, phenomena and events of the early 17th century. were classified as a period of socio-political crisis, the first peasant war (I.I. Bolotnikov) and the foreign intervention that coincided with it, but the term “turmoil” was not used. In Polish historical science, this time is called “Dimitriada”, since in the center historical events stood False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II, False Dmitry III - Poles or impostors who sympathized with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, posing as the escaped Tsarevich Dmitry.

The preconditions for the Troubles were the consequences of the oprichnina and the Livonian War of 1558–1583: the ruin of the economy, the growth of social tension.

The causes of the Time of Troubles as an era of anarchy, according to the historiography of the 19th and early 20th centuries, are rooted in the suppression of the Rurik dynasty and the intervention of neighboring states (especially united Lithuania and Poland, which is why the period was sometimes called the “Lithuanian or Moscow ruin”) in the affairs of the Muscovite kingdom. The combination of these events led to the appearance of adventurers and impostors on the Russian throne, claims to the throne from Cossacks, runaway peasants and slaves (which manifested itself in Bolotnikov’s peasant war). Church historiography of the 19th–early 20th centuries. considered the Troubles a period of spiritual crisis in society, seeing the reasons in the distortion of moral and ethical values.

The chronological framework of the Time of Troubles is determined, on the one hand, by the death in Uglich in 1591 of Tsarevich Dmitry, the last representative of the Rurik dynasty, on the other hand, by the election of the first king from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, to the kingdom in 1613, and the subsequent years of struggle against the Polish and Swedish invaders (1616–1618 ), the return to Moscow of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Filaret (1619).

First stage

The Time of Troubles began with a dynastic crisis caused by the assassination of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible their eldest son Ivan, the rise to power of his brother Fyodor Ivanovich and the death of their younger half-brother Dmitry (according to many, stabbed to death by the minions of the de facto ruler of the country, Boris Godunov). The throne lost the last heir from the Rurik dynasty.

The death of the childless Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (1598) allowed Boris Godunov (1598–1605) to come to power, who ruled energetically and wisely, but was unable to stop the intrigues of disgruntled boyars. The crop failure of 1601–1602 and the subsequent famine initially caused the first social explosion (1603, the Cotton uprising). External reasons were added to the internal ones: Poland and Lithuania, united in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, rushed to take advantage of Russia’s weakness. The appearance in Poland of the young Galich nobleman Grigory Otrepyev, who declared himself Tsarevich Dmitry to be “miraculously saved”, became a gift to King Sigismund III, who supported the impostor.

At the end of 1604, having converted to Catholicism, False Dmitry I entered Russia with a small army. Many cities in southern Russia, Cossacks, and dissatisfied peasants went over to his side. In April 1605, after the unexpected death of Boris Godunov and the non-recognition of his son Fyodor as tsar, the Moscow boyars also went over to the side of False Dmitry I. In June 1605, the impostor became Tsar Dmitry I for almost a year. However, a boyar conspiracy and an uprising of Muscovites on May 17, 1606, dissatisfied with the direction of his policy, swept him from the throne. Two days later, the tsar “shouted out” the boyar Vasily Shuisky, who gave the cross-kissing record to rule with the Boyar Duma, not to impose disgrace and not to execute without trial.

By the summer of 1606, rumors spread throughout the country about a new miraculous salvation of Tsarevich Dmitry: an uprising broke out in Putivl under the leadership of the fugitive slave Ivan Bolotnikov, peasants, archers, and nobles joined him. The rebels reached Moscow, besieged it, but were defeated. Bolotnikov was captured in the summer of 1607, exiled to Kargopol and killed there.

The new contender for the Russian throne was False Dmitry II (origin unknown), who united around himself the surviving participants in the Bolotnikov uprising, the Cossacks led by Ivan Zarutsky, and Polish troops. Having settled in June 1608 in the village of Tushino near Moscow (hence his nickname “Tushino Thief”), he besieged Moscow.

Second phase

The Time of Troubles is associated with the split of the country in 1609: in Muscovy there were formed two kings, two Boyar Dumas, two patriarchs (Hermogenes in Moscow and Filaret in Tushino), territories recognizing the power of False Dmitry II, and territories remaining loyal to Shuisky. The successes of the Tushins forced Shuisky to conclude an agreement with Sweden, hostile to Poland, in February 1609. Having given the Russian fortress of Korela to the Swedes, he received military assistance, and the Russian-Swedish army liberated a number of cities in the north of the country. This gave the Polish king Sigismund III a reason for intervention: in the fall of 1609, Polish troops besieged Smolensk and reached the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. False Dmitry II fled from Tushino, the Tushino people who left him concluded an agreement with Sigismund at the beginning of 1610 on the election of his son, Prince Vladislav, to the Russian throne.

In July 1610, Shuisky was overthrown by the boyars and forcibly tonsured a monk. Power temporarily passed to the “Seven Boyars,” a government that signed an agreement with Sigismund III in August 1610 on the election of Vladislav as king on the condition that he convert to Orthodoxy. Polish troops entered Moscow.

Third stage

The Time of Troubles is associated with the desire to overcome the conciliatory position of the Seven Boyars, which had no real power and was unable to force Vladislav to fulfill the terms of the agreement and accept Orthodoxy. With the rise of patriotic sentiment since 1611, calls for an end to discord and restoration of unity intensified. The center of attraction of patriotic forces became the Moscow Patriarch Hermogenes, Prince. D.T. Trubetskoy. The formed First Militia included the noble detachments of P. Lyapunov, the Cossacks of I. Zarutsky, and former Tushino residents. IN Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl gathered the army of K. Minin, a new government was formed, the “Council of All the Earth.” The first militia failed to liberate Moscow; in the summer of 1611 the militia disintegrated. At this time, the Poles managed to capture Smolensk after a two-year siege, the Swedes managed to take Novgorod, a new impostor appeared in Pskov - False Dmitry III, who was “proclaimed” by the tsar there on December 4, 1611.

In the fall of 1611, on the initiative of K. Minin and D. Pozharsky, who was invited by him, the Second Militia was formed in Nizhny Novgorod. In August 1612 it approached Moscow and liberated it on October 26, 1612. In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov as tsar; his father, Patriarch Filaret, returned to Russia from captivity, with whose name the people pinned hopes for the eradication of robbery and robbery. In 1617, the Peace of Stolbovo was signed with Sweden, which received the Korelu fortress and the coast of the Gulf of Finland. In 1618, the Deulin Truce was concluded with Poland: Russia ceded Smolensk, Chernigov and a number of other cities to it. Only Tsar Peter I was able to compensate and restore Russia’s territorial losses almost a hundred years later.

However, the long and difficult crisis was resolved, although economic consequences The Troubles - the devastation and desolation of a vast territory, especially in the west and southwest, the death of almost a third of the country's population continued to affect another decade and a half.

The consequence of the Time of Troubles was changes in the system of government of the country. The weakening of the boyars, the rise of the nobility who received estates and the possibility of legislatively assigning peasants to them resulted in the gradual evolution of Russia towards absolutism. Reassessment of the ideals of the previous era, which have become obvious Negative consequences boyar participation in governing the country, severe polarization of society led to an increase in ideocratic tendencies. They were expressed, among other things, in the desire to substantiate the inviolability of the Orthodox faith and the inadmissibility of deviations from the values of national religion and ideology (especially in opposition to “Latinism” and the Protestantism of the West). This strengthened anti-Western sentiments, which aggravated the cultural and, ultimately, civilizational isolation of Russia for many centuries.

Natalia Pushkareva

Time of Troubles- designation of the period of Russian history from 1598 to 1613, marked by natural disasters, Polish-Swedish intervention, severe political, economic, government and social crises.

Start

After the death of Ivan the Terrible (1584), his heir Fyodor Ioannovich was incapable of ruling, and his youngest son, Tsarevich Dmitry, was in infancy. With the death of Dmitry (1591) and Fedor (1598), the ruling dynasty came to an end, and secondary ones came onto the scene. boyar families- Yuryevs, Godunovs.

Three years, from 1601 to 1603, were barren, frosts continued even in the summer months, and snow fell in September. According to some assumptions, the cause of this was the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru on February 19, 1600 and the subsequent volcanic winter. A terrible famine broke out, killing up to half a million people. Masses of people flocked to Moscow, where the government distributed money and bread to the needy. However, these measures only increased economic disorganization. The landowners could not feed their slaves and servants and kicked them out of their estates. Left without a means of livelihood, people turned to robbery and robbery, increasing the general chaos. Individual gangs grew to several hundred people. Ataman Khlopko's detachment numbered up to 500 people.

The beginning of the Time of Troubles refers to the intensification of rumors that the legitimate Tsarevich Dmitry was alive, from which it followed that the rule of Boris Godunov was illegal. The impostor False Dmitry, who announced his royal origin to the Polish prince A. A. Vishnevetsky, entered into close relations with the Polish magnate, governor of Sandomierz Jerzy Mniszek and the papal nuncio Rangoni. At the beginning of 1604, the impostor received an audience with the Polish king, and on April 17 he converted to Catholicism. King Sigismund recognized the rights of False Dmitry to the Russian throne and allowed everyone to help the “prince.” For this, False Dmitry promised to transfer Smolensk and the Seversky lands to Poland. For the consent of the governor Mnishek to the marriage of his daughter with False Dmitry, he also promised to transfer Novgorod and Pskov to his bride. Mniszech equipped the impostor with an army consisting of Zaporozhye Cossacks and Polish mercenaries (“adventurers”). In 1604, the impostor’s army crossed the Russian border, many cities (Moravsk, Chernigov, Putivl) surrendered to False Dmitry, the army of the Moscow governor F.I. Mstislavsky was defeated at Novgorod-Seversky. At the height of the war, Boris Godunov died (April 13, 1605); Godunov's army almost immediately betrayed his successor, 16-year-old Fyodor Borisovich, who was overthrown on June 1 and killed along with his mother on June 10.

Accession of False Dmitry I

On June 20, 1605, amid general rejoicing, the impostor solemnly entered Moscow. The Moscow boyars, led by Bogdan Belsky, publicly recognized him as the legal heir. On June 24, Ryazan Archbishop Ignatius, who had confirmed Dmitry’s rights to the kingdom back in Tula, was elevated to patriarchy. Thus, the impostor received official support from the clergy. On July 18, Queen Martha, who recognized the impostor as her son, was brought to the capital, and soon, on July 30, Dmitry’s crowning ceremony took place.

The reign of False Dmitry was marked by an orientation toward Poland and some attempts at reform.

Shuisky Conspiracy

Not all of the Moscow boyars recognized False Dmitry as the legitimate ruler. Immediately upon his arrival in Moscow, Prince Vasily Shuisky, through intermediaries, began to spread rumors about imposture. Voivode Pyotr Basmanov uncovered the plot, and on June 23, 1605, Shuisky was captured and sentenced to death, pardoned only directly at the chopping block.

Shuisky attracted princes V.V. Golitsyn and I.S. Kurakin to his side. Having secured the support of the Novgorod-Pskov detachment stationed near Moscow, which was preparing for a campaign against the Crimea, Shuisky organized a coup.

Hostilities

The coming to power of the representative of the Suzdal branch of the Rurikovich boyar Vasily Shuisky did not bring peace. In the south, the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov (1606-1607) broke out, giving rise to the beginning of the “thieves” movement. Rumors about the miraculous deliverance of Tsarevich Dmitry did not subside. A new impostor appeared, who went down in history as the Tushinsky Thief (1607-1610). By the end of 1608, the power of the Tushinsky Thief extended to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Uglich, Kostroma, Galich, Vologda. Kolomna, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and the Ural and Siberian cities remained loyal to Moscow. As a result of the degradation of the border service, the 100,000-strong Nogai horde ravaged the “Ukrainian” and Seversky lands in 1607-1608.

In 1608, the Crimean Tatars for the first time in for a long time crossed the Oka and devastated the central Russian regions. Polish-Lithuanian troops defeated Shuya and Kineshma, took Tver, the troops of the Lithuanian hetman Jan Sapieha besieged the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and the troops of Pan Lisovsky captured Suzdal. Even cities that voluntarily recognized the power of the impostor were mercilessly plundered by interventionist detachments. The Poles levied taxes on land and trade, and received “feeding” in Russian cities. All this gave rise to a broad national liberation movement by the end of 1608. In December 1608, Kineshma, Kostroma, Galich, Totma, Vologda, Beloozero, and Ustyuzhna Zheleznopolskaya “resisted” from the impostor; Veliky Ustyug, Vyatka, and Perm came out in support of the rebels. In January 1609, Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who commanded Russian warriors from Tikhvin and Onega churchyards, repelled the 4,000-strong Polish detachment of Kernozitsky, advancing on Novgorod. At the beginning of 1609, the militia of the city of Ustyuzhna knocked out the Poles and “Cherkasy” (Cossacks) from the surrounding villages, and in February repelled all attacks of the Polish cavalry and mercenary German infantry. On February 17, Russian militias lost the battle of Suzdal to the Poles. At the end of February, “Vologda and Pomeranian men” liberated Kostroma from the invaders. On March 3, the militia of the northern and northern Russian cities took Romanov, from there they moved to Yaroslavl and took it in early April. Nizhny Novgorod governor Alyabyev took Murom on March 15, and liberated Vladimir on March 27.

The government of Vasily Shuisky concludes the Vyborg Treaty with Sweden, according to which the Korelsky district was transferred to the Swedish crown in exchange for military assistance. The Russian government also had to pay for the mercenaries who made up the majority of the Swedish army. Fulfilling his obligations, Charles IX provided a 5,000-strong detachment of mercenaries, as well as a 10,000-strong detachment of “all sorts of mixed-tribal rabble” under the command of J. Delagardie. In the spring, Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky gathered a 5,000-strong Russian army in Novgorod. On May 10, Russian-Swedish forces occupied Staraya Rusa, and on May 11 they defeated Polish-Lithuanian detachments approaching the city. On May 15, Russian-Swedish forces under the command of Chulkov and Horn defeated the Polish cavalry under the command of Kernozitsky at Toropets.

By the end of spring, most of the northwestern Russian cities had abandoned the impostor. By the summer, the number of Russian troops reached 20 thousand people. On June 17, in a difficult battle near Torzhok, Russian-Swedish forces forced the Polish-Lithuanian army of Zborovsky to retreat. On July 11-13, Russian-Swedish forces, under the command of Skopin-Shuisky and Delagardie, defeated the Poles near Tver. Swedish troops (with the exception of Christier Somme’s detachment of 1 thousand people) did not take part in Skopin-Shuisky’s further actions. On July 24, Russian troops crossed to the right bank of the Volga and entered the Makaryev Kalyazin Monastery. On August 19, the Poles under the command of Jan Sapieha were defeated by Skopin-Shuisky near Kalyazin. On September 10, the Russians, together with Somme’s detachment, occupied Pereyaslavl, and on October 9, Voivode Golovin occupied Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. On October 16, a Russian detachment broke into the Trinity-Sergius Monastery besieged by the Poles. On October 28, Skopin-Shuisky defeated Hetman Sapega near Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda.

On January 12, 1610, the Poles retreated from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and on February 27 they left Dmitrov under the attacks of Russian troops. On March 12, 1610, Skopin-Shuisky’s regiments entered the capital, and on April 29 he died after a short illness. The Russian army at this time was preparing to come to the aid of Smolensk, which had been besieged by the troops of the Polish king Sigismund III since September 1609. The Poles and Cossacks also captured the cities of the Seversk land; the population of Starodub and Pochep completely died during the enemy assault, Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversky surrendered.

On July 4, 1610, the Battle of Klushin took place, as a result of which the Polish army (Zholkiewski) defeated the Russian-Swedish army under the command of Dmitry Shuisky and Jacob Delagardie; During the battle, German mercenaries who served with the Russians went over to the side of the Poles. The way to Moscow was opened for the Poles.

Seven Boyars

The defeat of Vasily Shuisky’s troops from the Poles near Klushino (June 24/July 4, 1610) finally undermined the shaky authority of the “boyar tsar,” and with the news of this event, a coup occurred in Moscow. As a result of the boyar conspiracy, Vasily Shuisky was removed, Moscow swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav, and on September 20-21, Polish troops entered the capital. However, the robberies and violence committed by Polish-Lithuanian troops in Russian cities, as well as inter-religious contradictions between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, caused rejection of Polish rule - in the northwest and in the east, a number of Russian cities “sat under siege” and refused to swear allegiance to Vladislav.

1610-1613 - the Seven Boyars (Mstislavsky, Trubetskoy, Golitsyn, Obolensky, Romanov, Lykov, Sheremetev).

On March 17, 1611, the Poles, who mistook a dispute at the market for the beginning of an uprising, carried out a massacre in Moscow; 7 thousand Muscovites died in Kitay-Gorod alone.

In 1611, Lyapunov’s 1st Militia approached the walls of Moscow. However, as a result of infighting at the military council of the rebels, Lyapunov was killed, and the militia scattered. In the same year, the Crimean Tatars, without meeting resistance, ravaged the Ryazan region. After a long siege, Smolensk was captured by the Poles, and the Swedes, emerging from the role of “allies,” ravaged the northern Russian cities.

The Second Militia of 1612 was led by the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin, who invited Prince Pozharsky to lead military operations. In February 1612, the militia moved to Yaroslavl to occupy this important point, where many roads crossed. Yaroslavl was busy; The militia stood here for four months, because it was necessary to “build” not only the army, but also the “land.” Pozharsky wanted to gather a “general zemstvo council” to discuss plans to combat the Polish-Lithuanian intervention and “how can we not be stateless in this evil time and choose a sovereign for us with the whole earth.” The candidacy of the Swedish prince Karl Philip was also proposed for discussion, who “wants to be baptized into our Orthodox faith Greek law." However, the zemstvo council did not take place.

On September 22, 1612, one of the bloodiest events of the Time of Troubles took place - the city of Vologda was taken by the Poles and Cherkasy (Cossacks), who destroyed almost its entire population, including the monks of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.

Overthrow of the government of Prince Vladislav

Around August 20 (30), 1612, the militia from Yaroslavl moved to Moscow. In September, the second militia defeated the troops of Hetman Chodkiewicz, who tried to unite with the Polish garrison that controlled the Moscow Kremlin.

On October 22 (November 1), 1612, the militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky took Kitay-Gorod by storm; The garrison of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth retreated to the Kremlin. Prince Pozharsky entered Kitai-Gorod with Kazan icon Mother of God and vowed to build a temple in memory of this victory. On October 26, the command of the Polish garrison signed a capitulation, releasing the Moscow boyars and other nobles from the Kremlin at the same time; the next day the garrison surrendered.

S. M. Solovyov, “History of Russia since ancient times”:

“Back in mid-September, Pozharsky sent a letter to the Kremlin: “Prince Dmitry Pozharsky hits the colonels and all the knights, Germans, Cherkasy and Haiduks who sit in the Kremlin with his forehead. We know that you, being in a city under siege, endure immense hunger and great need, expecting your death from day to day... and you would not destroy your souls in that untruth, there is no need to endure such need and hunger for untruth, send to us without delay, keep your heads and bellies intact, and I will take it for my soul and ask all the military men: which of If they want you to go to their land, we will let them go without any clue, and those who want to serve the Moscow sovereign, we will reward them according to their dignity.” The answer was a proud and rude refusal, despite the fact that the hunger was terrible: fathers ate their children, one haiduk ate his son, another his mother, one comrade ate his servant; The captain, who was appointed to judge the guilty, ran away from the trial, fearing that the accused would eat the judge.

Finally, on October 22, the Cossacks launched an attack and took Kitay-Gorod. The Poles held out in the Kremlin for another month; in order to get rid of extra mouths, they ordered the boyars and all Russian people to send their wives out of the Kremlin. The boyars were very upset and sent Minin to Pozharsky and all the military men with a request to please accept their wives without shame. Pozharsky ordered them to tell them to let their wives out without fear, and he himself went to receive them, received everyone honestly and escorted each one to his friend, ordering everyone to please them. The Cossacks became agitated, and again the usual threats were heard among them: to kill Prince Dmitry, why didn’t he allow the noblewomen to be robbed?

Driven to extremes by hunger, the Poles finally entered into negotiations with the militia, demanding only one thing, that their lives be saved, which was promised. First, the boyars were released - Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky, Ivan Nikitich Romanov with his nephew Mikhail Fedorovich and the latter’s mother Marfa Ivanovna and all other Russian people. When the Cossacks saw that the boyars had gathered on the Stone Bridge, which led from the Kremlin through Neglinnaya, they wanted to rush at them, but were restrained by Pozharsky’s militia and forced to return to the camps, after which the boyars were received with great honor. The next day the Poles also surrendered: Coward and his regiment fell to Trubetskoy’s Cossacks, who robbed and beat many prisoners; Budzilo and his regiment were taken to Pozharsky’s warriors, who did not touch a single Pole. Coward was interrogated, Andronov was tortured, how many royal treasures were lost, how many remained? They also found ancient royal hats, which were given as pawn to the Sapezhin residents who remained in the Kremlin. On November 27, Trubetskoy’s militia converged on the Church of the Kazan Mother of God outside the Intercession Gate, Pozharsky’s militia - on the Church of St. John the Merciful on Arbat and, taking crosses and icons, moved to Kitai-Gorod from two different sides, accompanied by all Moscow residents; The militias converged at the Execution Place, where the Trinity Archimandrite Dionysius began to serve a prayer service, and now from the Frolovsky (Spassky) gates, from the Kremlin, another procession of the cross appeared: the Galasun (Arkhangelsk) Archbishop Arseny was walking with the Kremlin clergy and carried the Vladimirskaya: screams and sobs were heard in a people who had already lost hope of ever seeing this image dear to Muscovites and all Russians. After the prayer service, the army and people moved to the Kremlin, and here joy gave way to sadness when they saw the state in which the embittered infidels left the churches: uncleanness everywhere, images were cut, eyes were turned out, thrones were torn; terrible food is prepared in the vats - human corpses! The mass and prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral ended a great national celebration similar to which our fathers saw exactly two centuries later.”

Election of the Tsar

After the capture of Moscow, by letter of November 15, Pozharsky convened representatives from the cities, 10 people each, to choose a tsar. Sigismund decided to go to Moscow, but he did not have enough strength to take Volok, and he went back. In January 1613, elected officials from all classes, including peasants, gathered. The cathedral (that is, the all-class meeting) was one of the most populous and most complete: there were even representatives of black volosts, which had never happened before. Four candidates were nominated: V.I. Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Trubetskoy and Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Contemporaries accused Pozharsky that he, too, strongly campaigned in his favor, but this can hardly be allowed. In any case, the elections were very stormy. A legend has been preserved that Filaret demanded restrictive conditions for the new tsar and pointed to M.F. Romanov as the most suitable candidate. It was indeed Mikhail Fedorovich who was chosen, and undoubtedly, he was offered those restrictive conditions that Filaret wrote about: “Give full justice to justice according to the old laws of the country; not to judge or condemn anyone by the highest authority; without a council, do not introduce any new laws, do not burden your subjects with new taxes, and do not make the slightest decisions in military and zemstvo affairs.” The election took place on February 7, but the official announcement was postponed until the 21st, in order to find out during this time how the people would accept the new king. With the election of the king, the turmoil ended, since now there was power that everyone recognized and could rely on.

encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron

Consequences of the Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles ended with large territorial losses for Rus'. Smolensk was lost for many decades; Western and significant parts of eastern Karelia are captured by the Swedes. Unable to accept national and religious oppression, almost everything will leave these territories Orthodox population, both Russians and Karelians. Rus' has lost access to the Gulf of Finland. The Swedes left Novgorod only in 1617; only a few hundred inhabitants remained in the completely devastated city.

The Time of Troubles led to deep economic decline. In many districts of the historical center of the state, the size of arable land decreased by 20 times, and the number of peasants by 4 times. In the western districts (Rzhevsky, Mozhaisk, etc.) cultivated land ranged from 0.05 to 4.8%. The lands in the possessions of the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery were “all ruined to the ground and the peasants with their wives and children were flogged, and the rich ones were completely taken away... and about five or six dozen peasants were left behind after the Lithuanian ruin, and they still don’t know how to start a loaf of bread for themselves after the ruin.” In a number of areas, and by the 20-40s of the 17th century, the population was still below the level of the 16th century. And in the middle of the 17th century, “living arable land” in the Zamoskovny region accounted for no more than half of all lands recorded in scribe books.

The Time of Troubles (Time of Troubles) is a deep spiritual, economic, social, and foreign policy crisis that befell Russia at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. The Troubles coincided with a dynastic crisis and the struggle of boyar groups for power.

Causes of the Troubles:

1. A severe systemic crisis of the Moscow state, largely associated with the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Conflicting domestic and foreign policies led to the destruction of many economic structures. weakened key institutions and led to the death of people.

2. Important western lands were lost (Yam, Ivan-gorod, Korela)

3. Sharply escalated social conflicts within the Moscow state, which covered all societies.

4. Intervention of foreign states (Poland, Sweden, England, etc. regarding land issues, territory, etc.)

5. Dynastic crisis:

1584 After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the throne was taken by his son Fedor. The de facto ruler of the state was the brother of his wife Irina, boyar Boris Fedorovich Godunov. In 1591 mysterious circumstances Grozny's youngest son, Dmitry, died in Uglich. In 1598, Fedor dies, the dynasty of Ivan Kalita is suppressed.

Course of events:

1. 1598-1605 The key figure of this period is Boris Godunov. He was an energetic, ambitious, capable statesman. In difficult conditions - economic devastation, a difficult international situation - he continued the policies of Ivan the Terrible, but with less brutal measures. Godunov led a successful foreign policy. Under him, further advancement into Siberia took place, and the southern regions of the country were developed. Russian positions in the Caucasus strengthened. After a long war with Sweden, the Treaty of Tyavzin was concluded in 1595 (near Ivan-Gorod). Russia regained its lost lands on the Baltic coast - Ivan-Gorod, Yam, Koporye, Korelu. An attack by the Crimean Tatars on Moscow was prevented. In 1598, Godunov, with a 40,000-strong noble militia, personally led a campaign against Khan Kazy-Girey, who did not dare to enter Russian lands. Construction of fortifications was carried out in Moscow (White City, Zemlyanoy Gorod), in border cities in the south and west of the country. With his active participation, the patriarchate was established in Moscow in 1598. The Russian Church became equal in rights in relation to other Orthodox churches.

To overcome economic devastation, B. Godunov provided some benefits to the nobility and townspeople, while at the same time taking further steps to strengthen the feudal exploitation of the broad masses of the peasantry. For this, in the late 1580s - early 1590s. The government of B. Godunov conducted a census of peasant households. After the census, the peasants finally lost the right to move from one landowner to another. Scribe books, in which all peasants were recorded, became the legal basis for their serfdom from the feudal lords. A bonded slave was obliged to serve his master throughout his entire life.

In 1597, a decree was issued to search for fugitive peasants. This law introduced “prescribed summers” - a five-year period for the search and return of fugitive peasants, along with their wives and children, to their masters, whom they were listed in the scribe books.

In February 1597, a decree on indentured servants was issued, according to which anyone who served as a free agent for more than six months became an indentured servant and could be freed only after the death of the master. These measures could not but aggravate class contradictions in the country. The masses were dissatisfied with the policies of the Godunov government.

In 1601-1603 There was a crop failure in the country, famine and food riots began. Every day in Russia hundreds of people died in the city and in the countryside. As a result of two lean years, bread prices rose 100 times. According to contemporaries, almost a third of the population died in Russia during these years.

Boris Godunov, in search of a way out of the current situation, allowed the distribution of bread from state bins, allowed slaves to leave their masters and look for opportunities to feed themselves. But all these measures were unsuccessful. Rumors spread among the population that punishment had been extended to people for violating the order of succession to the throne, for the sins of Godunov, who had seized power. Mass uprisings began. The peasants united together with the urban poor into armed detachments and attacked the boyars and landowners' farms.

In 1603, an uprising of serfs and peasants broke out in the center of the country, led by Cotton Kosolap. He managed to gather significant forces and moved with them to Moscow. The uprising was brutally suppressed, and Khlopko was executed in Moscow. Thus began the first peasant war. In the peasant war early XVII V. three large periods can be distinguished: the first (1603 - 1605), the most important event of which was the Cotton uprising; second (1606 - 1607) - peasant revolt under the leadership of I. Bolotnikov; third (1608-1615) - the decline of the peasant war, accompanied by a number of powerful uprisings of peasants, townspeople, and Cossacks

During this period, False Dmitry I appeared in Poland, received the support of the Polish gentry and entered the territory of the Russian state in 1604. He was supported by many Russian boyars, as well as the masses, who hoped to ease their situation after the “legitimate tsar” came to power. After the unexpected death of B. Godunov (April 13, 1605), False Dmitry, at the head of the army that had come over to his side, solemnly entered Moscow on June 20, 1605 and was proclaimed tsar.

Once in Moscow, False Dmitry was in no hurry to fulfill the obligations given to the Polish magnates, since this could hasten his overthrow. Having ascended the throne, he confirmed those adopted before him legislative acts enslaved the peasants. By making a concession to the nobles, he displeased the boyar nobility. Faith in the “good king” also disappeared among the masses. Discontent intensified in May 1606, when two thousand Poles arrived in Moscow for the wedding of the impostor with the daughter of the Polish governor Marina Mniszech. In the Russian capital, they behaved as if they were in a conquered city: they drank, rioted, raped, and robbed.

On May 17, 1606, the boyars, led by Prince Vasily Shuisky, hatched a conspiracy, raising the population of the capital to revolt. False Dmitry I was killed.

2. 1606-1610 This stage is associated with the reign of Vasily Shuisky, the first “boyar tsar”. He ascended the throne immediately after the death of False Dmitry I by decision of Red Square, giving the cross-kissing record good attitude to the boyars. On the throne, Vasily Shuisky faced many problems (Bolotnikov's uprising, False Dmitry II, Polish troops, famine).

Meanwhile, seeing that the idea with impostors had failed, and using the conclusion of an alliance between Russia and Sweden as a pretext, Poland, which was at war with Sweden, declared war on Russia. In September 1609, King Sigismund III besieged Smolensk, then, having defeated the Russian troops, moved to Moscow. Instead of helping, Swedish troops captured Novgorod lands. This is how the Swedish intervention began in northwestern Russia.

Under these conditions, a revolution took place in Moscow. Power passed into the hands of a government of seven boyars (“Seven Boyars”). When the Polish troops of Hetman Zholkiewski approached Moscow in August 1610, the boyar rulers, fearing a popular uprising in the capital itself, in an effort to preserve their power and privileges, committed treason to their homeland. They invited 15-year-old Vladislav, the son of the Polish king, to the Russian throne. A month later, the boyars secretly allowed Polish troops into Moscow at night. This was a direct betrayal of national interests. The threat of foreign enslavement loomed over Russia.

3. 1611-1613 Patriarch Hermogenes in 1611 initiated the creation of a zemstvo militia near Ryazan. In March it besieged Moscow, but failed due to internal divisions. The second militia was created in the fall, in Novgorod. It was headed by K. Minin and D. Pozharsky. Letters were sent to cities calling for support for the militia, whose task was to liberate Moscow from the invaders and create a new government. The militia called themselves free people, headed by the zemstvo council and temporary orders. On October 26, 1612, the militia managed to take the Moscow Kremlin. By decision of the boyar duma, it was dissolved.

Results of the Troubles:

1. The total number of deaths is equal to one third of the country's population.

2. Economic catastrophe, the financial system and transport communications were destroyed, vast territories were taken out of agricultural use.

3. Territorial losses (Chernigov land, Smolensk land, Novgorod-Seversk land, Baltic territories).

4. Weakening the position of domestic merchants and entrepreneurs and strengthening foreign merchants.

5. The emergence of a new royal dynasty On February 7, 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov. He had to solve three main problems - restoring the unity of the territories, restoring the state mechanism and the economy.

As a result of peace negotiations in Stolbov in 1617, Sweden returned the Novgorod land to Russia, but retained the Izhora land with the banks of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland. Russia has lost its only access to the Baltic Sea.

In 1617 - 1618 Poland's next attempt to seize Moscow and elevate Prince Vladislav to the Russian throne failed. In 1618, in the village of Deulino, a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was signed for 14.5 years. Vladislav did not renounce his claims to the Russian throne, citing the treaty of 1610. The Smolensk and Seversky lands remained behind the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Despite the difficult conditions of peace with Sweden and the truce with Poland, a long-awaited respite came for Russia. The Russian people defended the independence of their Motherland.

Literature

1. History of Russia: textbook / A. S. Orlov [etc.]. - M.: Prospekt, 2009. - P. 85 - 117.

2. Pavlenko, N.I. History of Russia from ancient times to 1861: textbook. for universities / N. I. Pavlenko. - M.: Higher. school, 2004. - P. 170 -239.

The year 1598 for Rus' was marked by the beginning of the Time of Troubles. The prerequisite for this was the end of the Rurik dynasty. The last representative of this family, Fyodor Ioannovich, died. A few years earlier, in 1591, the youngest son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Dmitry, died in the city of Uglich. He was a child and left no heirs to the throne. A brief summary of the events of the time period known as the Time of Troubles is presented in the article.

1598 - death of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and the reign of Boris Godunov;
1605 - death of Boris Godunov and accession of False Dmitry I;
1606 - boyar Vasily Shuisky becomes king;
1607 - False Dmitry II begins to rule in Tushino. The period of dual power;
1610 - the overthrow of Shuisky and the establishment of the power of the “Seven Boyars”;
1611 - the first people's militia gathers under the leadership of Prokopiy Lyapunov;
1612 - the militia of Minin and Pozharsky gathers, which liberates the country from the power of the Poles and Swedes;
1613 - the beginning of the Romanov dynasty.

The beginning of the Troubles and its causes

In 1598, Boris Godunov became Tsar of Russia. This man had a significant influence on political life in the country during the life of Ivan the Terrible. He was very close to the king. His daughter Irina was married to Ivan the Terrible's son, Fyodor.

There is an assumption that Godunov and his allies were involved in the death of Ivan IV. This was described in the memoirs of the English diplomat Jerome Horsey. Godunov, along with his ally Bogdan Belsky, was next to Ivan the Terrible in the last minutes of the Tsar’s life. And it was they who told their subjects the sad news. Later, people began to say that the sovereign was strangled.

Important! Much was done by the rulers themselves in order to lead the country to a crisis of power. The princes of his family, the Rurikovichs, were brutally killed by Tsar Ivan III at will, not sparing even those close to them. This line of behavior was continued by his children and grandchildren.

In fact, by 1598, representatives of the aristocracy had become serfs and had no authority. Even the people did not recognize them. And this despite the fact that the princes were rich and high-ranking people.

The weakening of power, according to many historians, is the main cause of the Troubles. Godunov took advantage of this situation.

Since the heir Fyodor Ioannovich was weak-minded and could not independently rule the state, a regency council was assigned to him.

Boris Godunov was also a member of this body. As mentioned earlier, Fedor did not live long, and the reign soon passed to Boris himself.

These events led to Troubles in the country. The people refused to recognize the new ruler. The situation was aggravated by the beginning of the famine. The years 1601–1603 were lean. Oprichnina had a negative impact on life in Russia - the country was ruined. Hundreds of thousands of people died because they had nothing to eat.

Another reason was the long Livonian War and defeat in it. All this could lead to the rapid collapse of the once powerful state. Society said that everything that happened was a punishment from
higher powers for the sins of the new king.

Boris began to be accused of both the murder of Grozny and involvement in the death of his heirs. And Godunov could not correct this situation and calm the popular unrest.

During the Time of Troubles, individuals appeared who proclaimed themselves in the name of the late Tsarevich Dmitry.

In 1605, False Dmitry I tried to seize power in the country with the support of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Poles wanted the Smolensk and Seversk lands to return to them.

They were previously annexed to the Russian state by Ivan the Terrible. That is why the Polish invaders decided to take advantage of the difficult time for the Russian people. This is how the news appeared that Tsarevich Dmitry miraculously escaped death and now wants to regain his throne. In fact, the monk Grigory Otrepiev impersonated the prince.

Capture of Russian territory by Swedes and Poles

In 1605, Godunov died. The throne passed to his son, Fyodor Borisovich. At that moment he was only sixteen, and he could not maintain power without support. Came to the capital with his entourage False Dmitry I was proclaimed king.

At the same time, he decided to give the western lands of the state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and married a girl of Catholic origin, Marina Mniszech.

But the reign of “Dmitry Ioannovich” did not last long. Boyar Vasily Shuisky gathered a conspiracy against the impostor, and he was killed in 1606.

The next king who ruled during the difficult Time of Troubles was Shuisky himself. Popular unrest did not subside, and the new ruler was unable to calm them. In 1606–1607, a bloody uprising broke out, led by Ivan Bolotnikov.

At the same time, False Dmitry II appears, in whom Marina Mnishek recognized her husband. The impostor was also supported by Polish-Lithuanian soldiers. Due to the fact that False Dmitry, together with his associates, stopped near the village of Tushino, he was nicknamed the “Tushino thief.”

Vasily Shuisky's main problem was that he did not have the support of the people. The Poles easily established power over a large Russian territory - east, north and west of Moscow. The time has come for dual power.

When the Poles went on the offensive, they captured many Russian cities - Yaroslavl, Vologda, Rostov the Great. For 16 months the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was under siege. Vasily Shuisky tried to cope with the invaders with the help of Sweden. A little later, the people’s militia also came to Shuisky’s aid. As a result, in the summer of 1609 the Poles were defeated. False Dmitry II fled to Kaluga, where he was killed.

At that time the Poles were at war with Sweden. And what Russian Tsar gained support from the Swedes, led to war between the Russian state and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish troops again approached Moscow.

They were led by Hetman Zolkiewski. The foreigners won the battle, and the people were completely disillusioned with Shuisky. In 1610, the king was overthrown and they began to decide who would come to power. The reign of the “Seven Boyars” began, and popular unrest did not subside.

Uniting the people

The Moscow boyars invited the heir of the Polish king Sigismund III, Vladislav, to replace the sovereign. The capital was actually given to the Poles. At that moment, it seemed that the Russian state had ceased to exist.

But Russian people was against such a political turn. The country was devastated and practically destroyed, but it finally brought people together. Therefore the move troubled period turned the other way:

In Ryazan in 1611, a people's militia was formed under the leadership of the nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov. In March, troops reached the capital and began its siege. However, this attempt to liberate the country failed.
Despite the defeat, the people decide to get rid of the invaders at any cost. A new militia is formed in Nizhny Novgorod by Kuzma Minin. The leader is Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. Under his leadership, detachments from different Russian cities rallied. In March 1612, the troops moved towards Yaroslavl. Along the way, there were more and more people in the ranks of the militia.

Important! Minin and Pozharsky's militia - the most important moment history, when the further development of the state was determined by the people themselves.

All that he had, the common people donated for military service. The Russians fearlessly and of their own free will marched towards the capital to liberate it. There was no king over them, there was no power. But all classes at that moment united for a common goal.

The militia included representatives of all nationalities, villages, and cities. A new government was created in Yaroslavl - the “Council of All the Earth”. It included people from the townspeople, nobles, the Duma and the clergy.

In August 1612, the formidable liberation movement reached the capital, and on November 4 the Poles capitulated. Moscow was liberated by the forces of the people. The Troubles are over, but it is important not to forget the lessons and main dates of the Time of Troubles.

Letters were sent to all corners of the state stating that a Zemsky Sobor would be held. The people had to choose the king themselves. The cathedral opened in 1613.

This was the first in history Russian state a case when representatives of each class participated in the elections. A 16-year-old representative of the Romanov family, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected Tsar. He was the son of the influential Patriarch Filaret and was a relative of Ivan the Terrible.

The end of the Time of Troubles is very an important event. The dynasty continued to exist. And at the same time it began new era- the reign of the Romanov family. Representatives royal family ruled for more than three centuries, until February 1917.

What is Troubles in Rus'? In short, this is a crisis of power that led to ruin and could destroy the country. For fourteen years the country fell into decay.

In many counties, the size of agricultural land has decreased by twenty times. There were four times fewer peasants - a huge number of people simply died of hunger.

Russia lost Smolensk and could not regain this city for decades. Karelia was captured from the west and partly from the east by Sweden. Because of this, almost all Orthodox Christians - both Karelians and Russians - left the country.

Until 1617, the Swedes were also in Novgorod. The city was absolutely devastated. There are only a few hundred indigenous people left local residents. In addition, access to the Gulf of Finland was lost. The state was greatly weakened. Such were the disappointing consequences of the Time of Troubles.

Useful video

Conclusion

The country's emergence from the Time of Troubles has been widely celebrated in Russia since 2004. November 4th is National Unity Day. This is the memory of those events when the country experienced the Time of Troubles, but the people, united, did not allow their Fatherland to be destroyed.

Was a baby. With the death of Dmitry (1591) and Fedor (1598), the ruling dynasty came to an end, and boyar families came onto the scene - the Zakharyins - (Romanovs), Godunovs. In 1598, Boris Godunov was elevated to the throne.

False Dmitry I

The beginning of the Time of Troubles refers to the intensification of rumors that the legitimate Tsarevich Dmitry was alive, from which it followed that the reign of Boris Godunov was illegal and not pleasing to God. The impostor False Dmitry, who announced his royal origin to the Lithuanian prince Adam Vishnevetsky, entered into close relations with the Polish magnate, governor of Sandomierz Jerzy Mniszek and the papal nuncio Rangoni. At the beginning of 1604, the impostor received an audience with the Polish king and soon converted to Catholicism. King Sigismund recognized the rights of False Dmitry to the Russian throne and allowed everyone to help the “prince.” For this, False Dmitry promised to transfer Smolensk and the Seversky lands to Poland. For the consent of the governor Mnishek to the marriage of his daughter with False Dmitry, he also promised to transfer Novgorod and Pskov to his bride. Mniszech equipped the impostor with an army consisting of Zaporozhye Cossacks and Polish mercenaries (“adventurers”). In 1604, the impostor’s army crossed the Russian border, many cities (Moravsk, Chernigov, Putivl) surrendered to False Dmitry, the army of the Moscow governor Fyodor Mstislavsky was defeated in the battle of Novgorod-Seversky. However, another army sent by Godunov against the impostor won a convincing victory in the battle of Dobrynichi on January 21, 1605. The most noble boyar, Vasily Shuisky, commanded the Moscow army. The Tsar summoned Shuisky to generously reward him. A new governor was placed at the head of the army - Pyotr Basmanov. This was Godunov’s mistake, since it soon turned out that the impostor was alive, and Basmanov was an unreliable servant. At the height of the war, Boris Godunov died (April 13, 1605); Godunov's army, besieging Kromy, almost immediately betrayed his successor, 16-year-old Fyodor Borisovich, who was overthrown on June 1 and killed along with his mother on June 10.

On June 20, 1605, amid general rejoicing, the impostor solemnly entered Moscow. The Moscow boyars, led by Bogdan Belsky, publicly recognized him as the legal heir and Prince of Moscow. On June 24, Ryazan Archbishop Ignatius, who confirmed Dmitry’s rights to the kingdom back in Tula, was elevated to patriarch. The legitimate Patriarch Job was removed from the patriarchal see and imprisoned in a monastery. On July 18, Queen Martha, who recognized the impostor as her son, was brought to the capital, and soon, on July 30, False Dmitry I was crowned king.

The reign of False Dmitry was marked by an orientation toward Poland and some attempts at reform. Not all of the Moscow boyars recognized False Dmitry as the legitimate ruler. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Moscow, Prince Vasily Shuisky, through intermediaries, began to spread rumors about imposture. Voivode Pyotr Basmanov uncovered the plot, and on June 23, 1605, Shuisky was captured and sentenced to death, pardoned only directly at the chopping block.

On the night of May 16-17, 1606, the boyar opposition, taking advantage of the embitterment of Muscovites against the Polish adventurers who came to Moscow for the wedding of False Dmitry, raised an uprising, during which the impostor was brutally killed. The coming to power of the representative of the Suzdal branch of the Rurikovich boyar Vasily Shuisky did not bring peace. In the south, the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov (1606-1607) broke out, giving rise to the beginning of the “thieves” movement.

The uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov

No sooner had the impostor’s corpse been removed from Red Square than rumors spread throughout Moscow that it was not Dmitry who was killed in the palace, but someone else. These rumors immediately made Vasily Shuisky’s position very precarious. There were many dissatisfied with the boyar tsar, and they seized on the name of Dmitry. Some - because they sincerely believed in his salvation; others - because only this name could give the fight against Shuisky a “legitimate” character. Soon the movement was led by Ivan Bolotnikov. In his youth he was a military servant of Prince Telyatevsky. During the campaign he was captured by the Crimean Tatars. Then he was sold into slavery in Turkey. During sea battle Bolotnikov managed to free himself. He fled to Venice. On his way from Italy to his homeland, Bolotnikov visited the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Here, from the hands of his colleague False Dmitry I, he received a letter appointing him chief commander in the “royal” army. Believing in the “true tsar,” Bolotnikov moved from Putivl to Moscow. In the fall of 1606, having defeated several royal detachments, the rebels approached Moscow and settled in the village of Kolomenskoye. Crowds of people flocked to Bolotnikov’s camp, dissatisfied with Tsar Vasily Shuisky. The siege of Moscow lasted five weeks. Unsuccessful attempts to take the city ended with several noble detachments, including a large detachment of Prokopiy Lyapunov, going over to the side of Vasily Shuisky. Muscovites and persistent supporters of Bolotnikov about the “second miraculous salvation of Dmitry” were alienated. In the decisive battle of Kolomenskoye in December 1606, Bolotnikov’s weakened troops were defeated and retreated to Kaluga and Tula. In Kaluga, Bolotnikov quickly put the city fortifications in order. The approaching army led by the governor Vasily Shuisky not only failed to take the city, but also suffered a severe defeat. Tula became another center. A detachment from the Volga region, led by another impostor - “Tsarevich Peter,” allegedly the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, arrived to help Bolotnikov. Vasily Shuisky managed to gather a large army. He was able to do this thanks to serious concessions to the nobility. In the battle of Kashira in May 1607, Bolotnikov’s troops were defeated. Their remnants took refuge behind the fortress walls of Tula. The siege of the city lasted about four months. Having made sure that Tula could not be taken with weapons, Vasily Shuisky ordered the construction of a dam on the Upa River. The rising waters flooded part of the city. Famine began in Tula. On October 10, 1607, Ivan Bolotnikov laid down his arms, believing the tsar’s promise to save his life. But Vasily Shuisky brutally dealt with the leaders of the movement. Bolotnikov was exiled to a monastery, where he was soon blinded and drowned. "Tsarevich Peter" was hanged. However, most of the rebels were released.

False Dmitry II

Rumors about the miraculous salvation of Tsarevich Dmitry did not subside. In the summer of 1607, a new impostor appeared in Starodub, who went down in history as False Dmitry II or the “Tushino Thief” (after the name of the village of Tushino, where the impostor camped when he approached Moscow) (1607-1610). By the end of 1608, the power of False Dmitry II extended to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Uglich, Kostroma, Galich, Vologda. Of the large centers, Kolomna, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, Smolensk, Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan remained loyal to Moscow. As a result of the degradation of the border service, the 100,000-strong Nogai Horde ravaged the “Ukraines” and the Seversky lands in 1607-1608.

The government of Vasily Shuisky concludes the Vyborg Treaty with Sweden, according to which Korelsky district was transferred to the Swedish crown in exchange for military assistance. The Russian government also had to pay for the mercenaries who made up the majority of the Swedish army. Fulfilling his obligations, Charles IX provided a 5,000-strong detachment of mercenaries, as well as a 10,000-strong detachment of “all sorts of mixed-tribal rabble” under the command of J. Delagardi. In the spring, Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky gathered a 5,000-strong Russian army in Novgorod. On May 10, Russian-Swedish forces occupied Staraya Russa, and on May 11 they defeated Polish-Lithuanian detachments approaching the city. On May 15, Russian-Swedish forces under Chulkov and Horn defeated the Polish cavalry under Kernozitsky at Toropets.

By the end of spring, most of the northwestern Russian cities had abandoned the impostor. By the summer, the number of Russian troops reached 20 thousand people. On June 17, in a difficult battle near Torzhok, Russian-Swedish forces forced the Polish-Lithuanian army of Zborovsky to retreat. On July 11-13, Russian-Swedish forces, under the command of Skopin-Shuisky and Delagardie, defeated the Poles near Tver. Swedish troops (with the exception of Christier Somme’s detachment of 1 thousand people) did not take part in Skopin-Shuisky’s further actions. On July 24, Russian troops crossed to the right bank of the Volga and entered the Makaryevsky Monastery, located in the city of Kalyazin. In the Battle of Kalyazin on August 19, the Poles under the command of Jan Sapieha were defeated by Skopin-Shuisky. On September 10, the Russians, together with Somme’s detachment, occupied Pereyaslavl, and on October 9, Voivode Golovin occupied Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. On October 16, a Russian detachment broke into the Trinity-Sergius Monastery besieged by the Poles. On October 28, Skopin-Shuisky defeated Hetman Sapega in the battle on the Karinsky Field near Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda.

At the same time, using the Russian-Swedish treaty, the Polish king Sigismund III declared war on Russia and besieged Smolensk. Most of the Tushins left False Dmitry II and went to serve the king. Under these conditions, the impostor decided to escape and fled from Tushino to Kaluga, where he again strengthened himself and by the spring of 1610 he recaptured several cities from Shuisky.

Beginning of the Russian-Polish War

However, the population of many cities and villages did not recognize the Catholic prince as king and swore allegiance to False Dmitry II, including those who had previously stubbornly fought him: Kolomna, Kashira, Suzdal, Galich and Vladimir.

The real threat from the impostor forced the Seven Boyars to allow Polish-Lithuanian troops into the capital on the night of September 20-21 to repel the “thief.” But the impostor, warned by well-wishers, left the Kolomna camp and returned to Kaluga.

The robberies and violence committed by Polish-Lithuanian troops in Russian cities, as well as inter-religious contradictions between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, caused rejection of Polish rule - in the north-west and in the east a number of Russian cities “came under siege” and refused to recognize Vladislav as the Russian Tsar, swearing oath to loyalty to False Dmitry II. In September 1610, the impostor's troops liberated Kozelsk, Meshchovsk, Pochep and Starodub from Polish rule. At the beginning of December, False Dmitry II defeated the troops of Hetman Sapieha. But on December 11, as a result of a quarrel, the impostor was killed by Tatar guards.

A national liberation movement began in the country, which contributed to the formation of the First and Second Militia.

Militia

The first militia was headed by the Ryazan nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov, who was joined by supporters of False Dmitry II: princes Dmitry Trubetskoy, Grigory Shakhovskoy, Masalsky, Cherkassky and others. The Cossack freemen, led by Ataman Ivan Zarutsky, also went over to the side of the militia.

The elections were very stormy. A legend has been preserved that Patriarch Filaret demanded restrictive conditions for the new king and pointed to his son as the most suitable candidate. It was indeed Mikhail Fedorovich who was chosen, and undoubtedly, he was offered those restrictive conditions that Filaret wrote about: “Give full justice to justice according to the old laws of the country; not to judge or condemn anyone by the highest authority; without a council, do not introduce any new laws, do not burden your subjects with new taxes, and do not make the slightest decisions in military and zemstvo affairs.”

The election took place on February 7, but the official announcement was postponed until the 21st, in order to find out during this time how the people would accept the new king. With the election of the king, the turmoil ended, since now there was power that everyone recognized and could rely on.

The Last Outbreaks of the Troubles

After the election of the Tsar, Rus' did not become calmer. On May 25, 1613, an uprising begins against the Swedish garrison in Tikhvin. The rebellious townspeople recaptured the fortifications of the Tikhvin Monastery from the Swedes and maintained a siege there until mid-September, forcing Delagardie's troops to retreat. With the successful Tikhvin uprising, the struggle for the liberation of North-Western Rus' and Veliky Novgorod from the Swedes begins.

In 1615, a large detachment of Pan Lisovsky invaded the very heart of Russia, which in the Orel region almost defeated Prince Pozharsky himself, the hero of the 2nd militia, taking advantage of the fact that part of his forces had not yet approached the city. Then the Lisovchiki (2 thousand people) made a deep raid, describing a giant loop around Moscow (via Torzhok, Uglich, Kostroma, Murom) and returning to Poland. The last unsuccessful blow to Moscow in 1618 was delivered by the Poles together with the Cossacks of Hetman Sagaidachny (20 thousand people).

The war with Sweden ended with the signing of the Stolbovo Peace Treaty in 1617, under the terms of which Russia lost access to the Baltic Sea, but the cities of Novgorod, Porkhov, Staraya Russa, Ladoga and Gdov were returned to it.

Consequences of the Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles led to deep economic decline. In many districts of the historical center of the state, the size of arable land decreased by 20 times, and the number of peasants by 4 times. In the western districts (Rzhevsky, Mozhaisk, etc.) cultivated land ranged from 0.05 to 4.8%. The lands in the possessions of the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery were “all completely ruined and the peasant women with their wives and children were flogged, and the rich ones were completely driven out... and about five or six dozen peasant women were left behind after the Lithuanian ruin, and they still don’t know how to start a loaf of bread for themselves after the ruin.” In a number of areas, even by the 20-40s of the 17th century, the population was still below the level of the 16th century. And in the middle of the 17th century, “living arable land” in the Zamoskovny region accounted for no more than half of all lands recorded in scribe books.

Periodization

The views of historians on the years of the beginning and end of the Troubles are different.

Start. The date of the beginning of the Troubles is determined in different ways:

1584 - year of death of Ivan the Terrible;
1591 - death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich;
1598 - death of Fyodor Ioannovich or the beginning of the reign of Boris Godunov;
1604 - speech of the impostor.

Ending. The end dates of the Troubles also vary. Some historians believe that the Time of Troubles ended in 1613 with the Zemsky Sobor and the election of Mikhail Romanov. Others believe that the Troubles ended with the Deulin truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1618.

There are different views on the periodization of the Time of Troubles. Various periodizations follow from the principle underlying them.

By rulers: