A brief description of the time of troubles. Time of Troubles (briefly)

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. Even Tsar Ivan III brutally killed the princes of his family, the Rurikovichs, at his own request, not sparing even those close to him. 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 the fact that the Russian Tsar enlisted support from the Swedes led to a 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 the Russian people were against such a political turn. The country was devastated and practically destroyed, but it finally brought people together. Therefore, the course of the troubled period turned in the other direction:

• 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! The militia of Minin and Pozharsky is the most important moment in 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 time in the history of the Russian state that 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 a very important event. The dynasty continued to exist. And at the same time, a new era began - the reign of the Romanov family. Representatives of the 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 local residents left. 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.

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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.

The Time of Troubles in the history of Russia is a difficult period in the history of the country. It lasted from 1598 to 1613. At the turn of the 16th – 17th centuries, the country suffered a severe socio-economic and political crisis. The Tatar invasion, the Livonian War, and the internal policy of Ivan the Terrible (oprichnina) led to a maximum intensification of negative trends and an increase in discontent among the country's population. These difficult historical circumstances became the causes of the Time of Troubles in Rus'. Historians highlight individual, most significant periods of the Time of Troubles.

The first period, the beginning of the Time of Troubles, was marked by a fierce struggle for the throne of many contenders. Ivan the Terrible's son Fedor, who inherited power, turned out to be a weak ruler. In fact, Boris Godunov, the brother of the Tsar's wife, received power. It was his policies that ultimately led to the discontent of the people.

The Troubles began with the appearance in Poland of Grigory Otrepiev, who declared himself False Dmitry, the miraculously saved son of Ivan the Terrible. Not without the support of the Poles, False Dmitry was recognized by a fairly large part of the country's population. Moreover, in 1605 the impostor was supported by Moscow and the governors of Rus'. In June of the same year, False Dmitry was recognized as king. But his support for serfdom caused violent discontent among the peasants, and his too independent policy led to the obvious displeasure of the boyars. As a result, False Dmitry 1 was killed on May 17, 1606. And V.I. Shuisky ascended the throne. However, his power was limited. Thus ended this stage of unrest, which lasted from 1605 to 1606.

The second period of unrest began with an uprising led by I.I. Bolotnikov. The militia consisted of people from all strata. Not only peasants, but also serving Cossacks, serfs, landowners, and townspeople took part in the uprising. But, in the battle of Moscow, the rebels were defeated, and Bolotnikov was captured and executed.

The indignation of the people only intensified. The appearance of False Dmitry 2 was not long in coming. Already in January 1608, the army he had assembled moved towards Moscow. He settled on the outskirts of the city in Tushino. Thus, two operating capitals were formed in the country. At the same time, almost all officials and boyars worked for both kings, often receiving money from both Shuisky and False Dmitry 2. After Shuisky managed to conclude an agreement on assistance, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began aggression. False Dmitry had to flee to Kaluga.

But Shuisky also failed to retain power for long. He was captured and forced to become a monk. An interregnum began in the country - a period called the Seven Boyars. As a result of the deal between the boyars who came to power and the Polish interventionists, Moscow swore allegiance to the King of Poland, Vladislav, on August 17, 1610. False Dmitry 2 was killed at the end of this year. The struggle for power continued. The second period lasted from 1606 to 1610.

The final, third period of the Troubles is the time of struggle against the invaders. The people of Russia were finally able to unite to fight the invaders - the Poles. During this period, the war acquired a national character. The militia of Minin and Pozharsky reached Moscow only in August 1612. They were able to liberate Moscow and expel the Poles. Here are all the stages of the Time of Troubles.

The end of the Time of Troubles was marked by the emergence of a new dynasty on the Russian throne - the Romanovs. At the Zemsky Sobor on February 21, 1613, Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar.

Years of turmoil have led to terrible results. The consequences of the Troubles were a complete decline in crafts and trade, and the almost complete ruin of the treasury. Also, the results of the Troubles were reflected in the country’s serious lag behind the countries of Europe. It took more than a dozen years to restore.

The Time of Troubles in Russia is a historical period that shook the state structure in its very foundations. It occurred at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th centuries.

Three periods of turmoil

The first period is called dynastic - at this stage, contenders fought for the Moscow throne until Vasily Shuisky ascended to it, although his reign is also included in this historical era. The second period was social, when various social classes fought among themselves, and foreign governments took advantage of this struggle. And the third - national - it continued until Mikhail Romanov ascended the Russian throne, and is closely connected with the struggle against foreign invaders. All these stages significantly influenced the further history of the state.

Board of Boris Godunov

In fact, this boyar began to rule Russia back in 1584, when the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor, completely incapable of state affairs, ascended the throne. But legally he was elected tsar only in 1598 after the death of Feodor. He was appointed by the Zemsky Sobor.

Rice. 1. Boris Godunov.

Despite the fact that Godunov, who took over the kingdom during a difficult period of social distress and the difficult position of Russia in the international arena, was a good statesman, he did not inherit the throne, which made his rights to the throne questionable.

The new tsar began and consistently continued a course of reforms aimed at improving the country's economy: merchants were exempt from paying taxes for two years, landowners for a year. But this did not make Russia’s internal affairs easier - crop failure and famine of 1601-1603. caused mass mortality and an increase in the price of bread of unprecedented proportions. And the people blamed Godunov for everything. With the appearance in Poland of the “legitimate” heir to the throne, who was allegedly Tsarevich Dmitry, the situation became even more complicated.

First period of turmoil

In fact, the beginning of the Time of Troubles in Russia was marked by the fact that False Dmitry entered Russia with a small detachment, which kept increasing against the backdrop of peasant riots. Quite quickly, the “prince” attracted the common people to his side, and after the death of Boris Godunov (1605) he was recognized by the boyars. Already on June 20, 1605, he entered Moscow and was installed as king, but could not retain the throne. On May 17, 1606, False Dmitry was killed, and Vasily Shuisky sat on the throne. The power of this sovereign was formally limited by the Council, but the situation in the country did not improve.

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Rice. 2. Vasily Shuisky.

Second period of troubles

It is characterized by performances by different social strata, but primarily by peasants led by Ivan Bolotnikov. His army advanced quite successfully across the country, but on June 30, 1606, it was defeated, and soon Bolotnikov himself was executed. The wave of uprisings has subsided slightly, thanks in part to the efforts of Vasily Shuisky to stabilize the situation. But in general, his efforts did not bring results - soon a second Ldezhmitry appeared, who received the nickname “Tushino thief.” He opposed Shuisky in January 1608, and already in July 1609, the boyars who served both Shuisky and False Dmitry swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav and forcibly tonsured their sovereign into monks. On June 20, 1609, the Poles entered Moscow. In December 1610, False Dmitry was killed, and the struggle for the throne continued.

Third period of troubles

The death of False Dmitry was a turning point - the Poles no longer had an actual excuse to be on Russian territory. They become interventionists, to fight whom the first and second militia gather.

The first militia, which went to Moscow in April 1611, did not achieve much success, as it was disunited. But the second, created on the initiative of Kuzma Minin and headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, achieved success. These heroes liberated Moscow - this happened on October 26, 1612, when the Polish garrison capitulated. The actions of the people are the answer to the question of why Russia survived the Time of Troubles.

Rice. 3. Minin and Pozharsky.

It was necessary to look for a new king, whose candidacy would suit all layers of society. This was Mikhail Romanov - on February 21, 1613, he was elected by the Zemsky Sobor. The time of troubles is over.

Chronology of events of the Troubles

The following table gives an idea of ​​the main events that took place during the Troubles. They are arranged chronologically by date.

What have we learned?

From an article on history for grade 10, we learned briefly about the Time of Troubles, looked at the most important thing - what events took place during this period and what historical figures influenced the course of history. We learned that in the 17th century, the Time of Troubles ended with the ascension to the throne of the compromise Tsar Mikhail Romanov.

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The end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries were marked by turmoil in Russian history. Having started at the top, it quickly went down, captured all layers of Moscow society and brought the state to the brink of destruction. The Troubles lasted for more than a quarter of a century - from the death of Ivan the Terrible until the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom (1584-1613). The duration and intensity of the unrest clearly indicate that it did not come from outside and not by chance, that its roots were hidden deep in the state organism. But at the same time, the Time of Troubles amazes with its obscurity and uncertainty. This is not a political revolution, since it did not begin in the name of a new political ideal and did not lead to it, although the existence of political motives in the turmoil cannot be denied; this is not a social revolution, since, again, the turmoil did not arise from a social movement, although in its further development the aspirations of some sections of society for social change were intertwined with it. “Our turmoil is the fermentation of a sick state organism, striving to get out of those contradictions to which the previous course of history led it and which could not be resolved in a peaceful, ordinary way.” All previous hypotheses about the origin of the turmoil, despite the fact that each of them contains some truth, must be abandoned as not completely solving the problem. There were two main contradictions that caused the Time of Troubles. The first of them was political, which can be defined in the words of Professor Klyuchevsky: “The Moscow sovereign, whom the course of history led to democratic sovereignty, had to act through a very aristocratic administration”; both of these forces, which grew together thanks to the state unification of Rus' and worked together on it, were imbued with mutual distrust and enmity. The second contradiction can be called social: the Moscow government was forced to strain all its forces to better organize the highest defense of the state and “under the pressure of these higher needs, sacrifice the interests of the industrial and agricultural classes, whose labor served as the basis of the national economy, to the interests of service landowners,” as a consequence of which There was a mass exodus of the tax-paying population from the centers to the outskirts, which intensified with the expansion of state territory suitable for agriculture. The first contradiction was the result of the collection of inheritances by Moscow. The annexation of destinies did not have the character of a violent war of extermination. The Moscow government left the inheritance in the management of its former prince and was content with the fact that the latter recognized the power of the Moscow sovereign and became his servant. The power of the Moscow sovereign, as Klyuchevsky put it, became not in the place of appanage princes, but above them; “the new state order was a new layer of relations and institutions, which lay on top of what was in effect before, without destroying it, but only imposing new responsibilities on it, indicating new tasks to it.” The new princely boyars, pushing aside the ancient Moscow boyars, took first place in terms of their pedigree seniority, accepting only a very few of the Moscow boyars into their midst on equal rights with themselves. Thus, a vicious circle of boyar princes formed around the Moscow sovereign, who became the pinnacle of his administration, his main council in governing the country. The authorities previously ruled the state individually and in parts, but now they began to rule the entire earth, occupying positions according to the seniority of their breed. The Moscow government recognized this right for them, even supported it, contributed to its development in the form of localism, and thereby fell into the above-mentioned contradiction. The power of the Moscow sovereigns arose on the basis of patrimonial rights. The Grand Duke of Moscow was the owner of his inheritance; all the inhabitants of his territory were his “slaves.” The entire previous course of history led to the development of this view of territory and population. By recognizing the rights of the boyars, the Grand Duke betrayed his ancient traditions, which in reality he could not replace with others. Ivan the Terrible was the first to understand this contradiction. The Moscow boyars were strong mainly because of their family land holdings. Ivan the Terrible planned to carry out a complete mobilization of boyar land ownership, taking away from the boyars their ancestral appanage nests, giving them other lands in return in order to break their connection with the land and deprive them of their former significance. The boyars were defeated; it was replaced by the lower court layer. Simple boyar families, like the Godunovs and Zakharyins, seized primacy at court. The surviving remnants of the boyars became embittered and prepared for unrest. On the other hand, the 16th century. was an era of external wars that ended with the acquisition of vast spaces in the east, southeast and west. To conquer them and to consolidate new acquisitions, a huge number of military forces were required, which the government recruited from everywhere, in difficult cases not disdaining the services of slaves. The service class in the Moscow state received, in the form of a salary, land on the estate - and land without workers had no value. The land, which was far from the borders of military defense, also did not matter, since a serving person could not serve with it. Therefore, the government was forced to transfer a huge expanse of land in the central and southern parts of the state into service hands. The palace and black peasant volosts lost their independence and came under the control of service people. The previous division into volosts inevitably had to be destroyed with small changes. The process of "possession" of lands is exacerbated by the above-mentioned mobilization of lands, which was the result of persecution against the boyars. Mass evictions ruined the economy of service people, but even more ruined the tax collectors. The mass relocation of the peasantry to the outskirts begins. At the same time, a huge area of ​​Zaoksk black soil is being opened up for resettlement for the peasantry. The government itself, taking care of strengthening the newly acquired borders, supports resettlement to the outskirts. As a result, by the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the eviction took on the character of a general flight, intensified by shortages, epidemics, and Tatar raids. Most of the service lands remain “empty”; a sharp economic crisis ensues. The peasants lost the right of independent land ownership, with the placement of service people on their lands; The townspeople population found themselves forced out of the southern towns and cities occupied by military force: the former trading places took on the character of military-administrative settlements. The townspeople are running. In this economic crisis, there is a struggle for workers. The stronger ones win - the boyars and the church. The suffering elements remain the service class and, even more so, the peasant element, which not only lost the right to free land use, but, with the help of indentured servitude, loans and the newly emerged institution of old-timers (see), begins to lose personal freedom, to approach the serfs. In this struggle, enmity grows between individual classes - between the large owner-boyars and the church, on the one hand, and the service class, on the other. The oppressive population harbors hatred for the classes that oppress them and, irritated by government dispositions, are ready for open rebellion; it runs to the Cossacks, who have long separated their interests from the interests of the state. Only the north, where the land remained in the hands of the black volosts, remains calm during the advancing state “ruin.”

In the development of the turmoil in the Moscow state, researchers usually distinguish three periods: dynastic, during which there was a struggle for the Moscow throne between various contenders (until May 19, 1606); social - the time of class struggle in the Moscow state, complicated by the intervention of foreign states in Russian affairs (until July 1610); national - the fight against foreign elements and the choice of a national sovereign (until February 21, 1613).

First period of Troubles

The last minutes of False Dmitry's life. Painting by K. Wenig, 1879

Now the old boyar party found itself at the head of the board, which chose V. Shuisky as king. “The boyar-princely reaction in Moscow” (the expression of S. F. Platonov), having mastered the political position, elevated its most noble leader to the kingdom. The election of V. Shuisky to the throne took place without the advice of the whole earth. The Shuisky brothers, V.V. Golitsyn with his brothers, Iv. S. Kurakin and I.M. Vorotynsky, having agreed among themselves, brought Prince Vasily Shuisky to the execution site and from there proclaimed him tsar. It was natural to expect that the people would be against the “shouted out” tsar and that the secondary boyars (Romanovs, Nagiye, Belsky, M.G. Saltykov, etc.), which gradually began to recover from Boris’s disgrace, would also turn out to be against him.

Second period of Troubles

After his election to the throne, he considered it necessary to explain to the people why he was chosen and not someone else. He motivates the reason for his election by his origin from Rurik; in other words, it sets forth the principle that the seniority of the “breed” gives the right to seniority of power. This is the principle of the ancient boyars (see Localism). Restoring the old boyar traditions, Shuisky had to formally confirm the rights of the boyars and, if possible, ensure them. He did this in his crucifixion record, which undoubtedly had the character of limiting royal power. The Tsar admitted that he was not free to execute his slaves, that is, he abandoned the principle that Ivan the Terrible so sharply put forward and then accepted by Godunov. The entry satisfied the boyar princes, and even then not all of them, but it could not satisfy the minor boyars, minor service people and the mass of the population. The turmoil continued. Vasily Shuisky immediately sent followers of False Dmitry - Belsky, Saltykov and others - to different cities; He wanted to get along with the Romanovs, Nagiys and other representatives of the minor boyars, but several dark events occurred that indicate that he did not succeed. V. Shuisky thought about elevating Filaret, who had been elevated to the rank of metropolitan by an impostor, to the patriarchal table, but circumstances showed him that it was impossible to rely on Filaret and the Romanovs. He also failed to unite the oligarchic circle of boyar princes: part of it disintegrated, part of it became hostile to the tsar. Shuisky hurried to be crowned king, without even waiting for the patriarch: he was crowned by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod, without the usual pomp. To dispel rumors that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive, Shuisky came up with the idea of ​​a solemn transfer to Moscow of the relics of the Tsarevich, canonized by the church; He also resorted to official journalism. But everything was against him: anonymous letters were scattered around Moscow that Dmitry was alive and would soon return, and Moscow was worried. On May 25, Shuisky had to calm down the mob, which was raised against him, as they said then, by P.N. Sheremetev.

Tsar Vasily Shuisky

A fire was breaking out on the southern outskirts of the state. As soon as the events of May 17 became known there, the Seversk land rose, and behind it the Trans-Oka, Ukrainian and Ryazan places; The movement moved to Vyatka, Perm, and captured Astrakhan. Unrest also broke out in Novgorod, Pskov and Tver. This movement, which embraced such a huge space, had a different character in different places and pursued different goals, but there is no doubt that it was dangerous for V. Shuisky. In the Seversk land the movement was social in nature and was directed against the boyars. Putivl became the center of the movement here, and the prince became the head of the movement. Grieg. Peter. Shakhovskoy and his “big governor” Bolotnikov. The movement raised by Shakhovsky and Bolotnikov was completely different from the previous one: before they fought for the trampled rights of Dmitry, in which they believed, now - for a new social ideal; Dmitry's name was only a pretext. Bolotnikov called the people to him, giving hope for social change. The original text of his appeals has not survived, but their content is indicated in the charter of Patriarch Hermogenes. Bolotnikov’s appeals, says Hermogenes, instill in the mob “all sorts of evil deeds for murder and robbery”, “they order the boyar slaves to beat their boyars and their wives, and votchinas, and estates they are promised; and they order the thieves and unnamed thieves to beat the guests and all merchants and rob their bellies; and they call their thieves to themselves, and they want to give them boyarships and voivodeships, and deviousness, and clergy.” In the northern zone of Ukrainian and Ryazan cities, a serving nobility arose who did not want to put up with the boyar government of Shuisky. The Ryazan militia was headed by Grigory Sunbulov and the Lyapunov brothers, Prokopiy and Zakhar, and the Tula militia moved under the command of the boyar’s son Istoma Pashkov.

Meanwhile, Bolotnikov defeated the tsarist commanders and moved towards Moscow. On the way, he united with the noble militias, together with them he approached Moscow and stopped in the village of Kolomenskoye. Shuisky's position became extremely dangerous. Almost half of the state rose up against him, rebel forces were besieging Moscow, and he had no troops not only to pacify the rebellion, but even to defend Moscow. In addition, the rebels cut off access to bread, and famine emerged in Moscow. Among the besiegers, however, discord emerged: the nobility, on the one hand, slaves, fugitive peasants, on the other, could live peacefully only until they knew each other’s intentions. As soon as the nobility became acquainted with the goals of Bolotnikov and his army, they immediately recoiled from them. Sunbulov and Lyapunov, although they hated the established order in Moscow, preferred Shuisky and came to him to confess. Other nobles began to follow them. Then the militia from some cities arrived to help, and Shuisky was saved. Bolotnikov fled first to Serpukhov, then to Kaluga, from which he moved to Tula, where he settled down with the Cossack impostor False Peter. This new impostor appeared among the Terek Cossacks and pretended to be the son of Tsar Fedor, who in reality never existed. Its appearance dates back to the time of the first False Dmitry. Shakhovskoy came to Bolotnikov; they decided to lock themselves here and hide from Shuisky. The number of their troops exceeded 30,000 people. In the spring of 1607, Tsar Vasily decided to act energetically against the rebels; but the spring campaign was unsuccessful. Finally, in the summer, with a huge army, he personally went to Tula and besieged it, pacifying the rebel cities along the way and destroying the rebels: thousands of them put “prisoners in the water,” that is, they simply drowned them. A third of the state territory was given over to the troops for plunder and destruction. The siege of Tula dragged on; They managed to take it only when they came up with the idea of ​​setting it up on the river. Up the dam and flood the city. Shakhovsky was exiled to Lake Kubenskoye, Bolotnikov to Kargopol, where he was drowned, and False Peter was hanged. Shuisky triumphed, but not for long. Instead of going to pacify the northern cities, where the rebellion did not stop, he disbanded the troops and returned to Moscow to celebrate the victory. The social background of Bolotnikov’s movement did not escape Shuisky’s attention. This is proven by the fact that with a series of resolutions he decided to strengthen in place and subject to supervision that social stratum that discovered dissatisfaction with its position and sought to change it. By issuing such decrees, Shuisky recognized the existence of unrest, but, trying to defeat it through repression alone, he revealed a lack of understanding of the actual state of affairs.

The battle between Bolotnikov's army and the tsarist army. Painting by E. Lissner

By August 1607, when V. Shuisky was sitting near Tula, the second False Dmitry appeared in Starodub Seversky, whom the people very aptly dubbed the Thief. The Starodub residents believed in him and began to help him. Soon a team of Poles, Cossacks and all sorts of crooks formed around him. This was not the zemstvo squad that gathered around False Dmitry I: it was just a gang of “thieves” who did not believe in the royal origin of the new impostor and followed him in the hope of loot. The thief defeated the royal army and stopped near Moscow in the village of Tushino, where he founded his fortified camp. People flocked to him from everywhere, thirsting for easy money. The arrival of Lisovsky and Jan Sapieha especially strengthened the Thief.

S. Ivanov. Camp of False Dmitry II in Tushino

Shuisky's position was difficult. The South could not help him; he had no strength of his own. There remained hope in the north, which was comparatively calmer and suffered little from the turmoil. On the other hand, the Thief could not take Moscow. Both opponents were weak and could not defeat each other. The people became corrupted and forgot about duty and honor, serving alternately one or the other. In 1608, V. Shuisky sent his nephew Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky (see) for help to the Swedes. The Russians ceded the city of Karel and the province to Sweden, abandoned views of Livonia and pledged an eternal alliance against Poland, for which they received an auxiliary detachment of 6 thousand people. Skopin moved from Novgorod to Moscow, clearing the north-west of the Tushins along the way. Sheremetev came from Astrakhan, suppressing the rebellion along the Volga. In Alexandrovskaya Sloboda they united and went to Moscow. By this time, Tushino ceased to exist. It happened this way: when Sigismund learned about Russia’s alliance with Sweden, he declared war on it and besieged Smolensk. Ambassadors were sent to Tushino to the Polish troops there demanding that they join the king. A split began among the Poles: some obeyed the king's orders, others did not. The Thief’s position had been difficult before: no one treated him on ceremony, they insulted him, almost beat him; now it has become unbearable. The thief decided to leave Tushino and fled to Kaluga. Around the Thief during his stay in Tushino, a court of Moscow people gathered who did not want to serve Shuisky. Among them were representatives of very high strata of the Moscow nobility, but the palace nobility - Metropolitan Filaret (Romanov), Prince. Trubetskoys, Saltykovs, Godunovs, etc.; there were also humble people who sought to curry favor, gain weight and importance in the state - Molchanov, Iv. Gramotin, Fedka Andronov, etc. Sigismund invited them to surrender under the authority of the king. Filaret and the Tushino boyars responded that the election of a tsar was not their job alone, that they could do nothing without the advice of the land. At the same time, they entered into an agreement between themselves and the Poles not to pester V. Shuisky and not to desire a king from “any other Moscow boyars” and began negotiations with Sigismund so that he would send his son Vladislav to the kingdom of Moscow. An embassy was sent from the Russian Tushins, headed by the Saltykovs, Prince. Rubets-Masalsky, Pleshcheevs, Khvorostin, Velyaminov - all great nobles - and several people of low origin. On February 4, 1610, they concluded an agreement with Sigismund, clarifying the aspirations of “rather mediocre nobility and well-established businessmen.” Its main points are as follows: 1) Vladislav is crowned king by the Orthodox patriarch; 2) Orthodoxy must continue to be revered: 3) the property and rights of all ranks remain inviolable; 4) the trial is carried out according to the old times; Vladislav shares legislative power with the boyars and the Zemsky Sobor; 5) execution can be carried out only by court and with the knowledge of the boyars; the property of the relatives of the perpetrator should not be subject to confiscation; 6) taxes are collected in the old way; the appointment of new ones is done with the consent of the boyars; 7) peasant migration is prohibited; 8) Vladislav is obliged not to demote people of high ranks innocently, but to promote those of lower rank according to their merits; travel to other countries for research is permitted; 9) the slaves remain in the same position. Analyzing this treaty, we find: 1) that it is national and strictly conservative, 2) that it protects most of all the interests of the service class, and 3) that it undoubtedly introduces some innovations; Particularly characteristic in this regard are paragraphs 5, 6 and 8. Meanwhile, Skopin-Shuisky triumphantly entered liberated Moscow on March 12, 1610.

Vereshchagin. Defenders of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

Moscow rejoiced, welcoming the 24-year-old hero with great joy. Shuisky also rejoiced, hoping that the days of testing were over. But during these celebrations, Skopin suddenly died. There was a rumor that he had been poisoned. There is news that Lyapunov offered Skopin to “unseat” Vasily Shuisky and take the throne himself, but gives the right to seniority of power. This is the principle of the ancient boyars (see /p Skopin rejected this proposal. After the tsar found out about this, he lost interest in his nephew. In any case, Skopin’s death destroyed Shuisky’s connection with the people. The tsar’s brother Dimitri, completely a mediocre person. He set out to liberate Smolensk, but near the village of Klushina he was shamefully defeated by the Polish hetman Zholkiewski.

Mikhail Vasilievich Skopin-Shuisky. Parsuna (portrait) 17th century

Zholkiewski cleverly took advantage of the victory: he quickly went to Moscow, capturing Russian cities along the way and bringing them to the oath to Vladislav. Vor also hurried to Moscow from Kaluga. When Moscow learned about the outcome of the battle of Klushino, “a great rebellion arose among all the people, fighting against the Tsar.” The approach of Zolkiewski and Vor accelerated the disaster. In the overthrow of Shuisky from the throne, the main role fell to the share of the service class, headed by Zakhar Lyapunov. The palace nobility also took a significant part in this, including Filaret Nikitich. After several unsuccessful attempts, Shuisky’s opponents gathered at the Serpukhov Gate, declared themselves the council of the whole earth and “unseated” the king.

Third period of troubles

Moscow found itself without a government, and yet it needed it now more than ever: it was pressed by enemies on both sides. Everyone was aware of this, but did not know who to focus on. Lyapunov and the Ryazan servicemen wanted to install Prince Tsar. V. Golitsyna; Filaret, Saltykovs and other Tushins had other intentions; The highest nobility, headed by F.I. Mstislavsky and I.S. Kurakin, decided to wait. The board was transferred to the hands of the boyar duma, which consisted of 7 members. The “seven-numbered boyars” failed to take power into their own hands. They made an attempt to assemble a Zemsky Sobor, but it failed. Fear of the Thief, on whose side the mob was taking their side, forced them to let Zolkiewski into Moscow, but he entered only when Moscow agreed to the election of Vladislav. On August 27, Moscow swore allegiance to Vladislav. If the election of Vladislav was not carried out in the usual way, at a real Zemsky Sobor, then nevertheless the boyars did not decide to take this step alone, but gathered representatives from different layers of the state and formed something like a Zemsky Sobor, which was recognized as the council of the whole earth. After long negotiations, both parties accepted the previous agreement, with some changes: 1) Vladislav had to convert to Orthodoxy; 2) the clause on freedom to travel abroad for science was crossed out and 3) the article on the promotion of lesser people was destroyed. These changes show the influence of the clergy and boyars. The agreement on the election of Vladislav was sent to Sigismund with a great embassy consisting of almost 1000 people: this included representatives of almost all classes. It is very likely that the embassy included most of the members of the “council of the whole earth” that elected Vladislav. The embassy was headed by Metropolitan Filaret and Prince V.P. Golitsyn. The embassy was not successful: Sigismund himself wanted to sit on the Moscow throne. When Zolkiewski realized that Sigismund's intention was unshakable, he left Moscow, realizing that the Russians would not come to terms with this. Sigismund hesitated, tried to intimidate the ambassadors, but they did not deviate from the agreement. Then he resorted to bribing some members, which he succeeded in: they left from near Smolensk to prepare the ground for the election of Sigismund, but those who remained were unshakable.

Hetman Stanislav Zholkiewski

At the same time, in Moscow, the “seven-numbered boyars” lost all meaning; power passed into the hands of the Poles and the newly formed government circle, which betrayed the Russian cause and betrayed Sigismund. This circle consisted of Iv. Mich. Saltykova, book. Yu. D. Khvorostinina, N. D. Velyaminova, M. A. Molchanova, Gramotina, Fedka Andronova and many others. etc. Thus, the first attempt of the Moscow people to restore power ended in complete failure: instead of an equal union with Poland, Rus' risked falling into complete subordination from it. The failed attempt put an end to the political significance of the boyars and the boyar duma forever. As soon as the Russians realized that they had made a mistake in choosing Vladislav, as soon as they saw that Sigismund was not lifting the siege of Smolensk and was deceiving them, national and religious feelings began to awaken. At the end of October 1610, ambassadors from near Smolensk sent a letter about the threatening turn of affairs; in Moscow itself, patriots revealed the truth to the people in anonymous letters. All eyes turned to Patriarch Hermogenes: he understood his task, but could not immediately take up its implementation. After the storming of Smolensk on November 21, the first serious clash between Hermogenes and Saltykov took place, who tried to persuade the patriarch to side with Sigismund; but Hermogenes still did not dare to call on the people to openly fight the Poles. The death of Vor and the disintegration of the embassy forced him to “command the blood to be bold” - and in the second half of December he began sending letters to the cities. This was discovered, and Hermogenes paid with imprisonment.

His call, however, was heard. Prokopiy Lyapunov was the first to rise from the Ryazan land. He began to gather an army against the Poles and in January 1611 moved towards Moscow. Zemstvo squads came to Lyapunov from all sides; even the Tushino Cossacks went to the rescue of Moscow, under the command of Prince. D. T. Trubetskoy and Zarutsky. The Poles, after the battle with the residents of Moscow and the approaching zemstvo squads, locked themselves in the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod. The position of the Polish detachment (about 3,000 people) was dangerous, especially since it had few supplies. Sigismund could not help him; he himself was unable to put an end to Smolensk. The Zemstvo and Cossack militias united and besieged the Kremlin, but dissension immediately began between them. However, the army declared itself the council of the earth and began to rule the state, since there was no other government. Due to the increased discord between the zemstvos and the Cossacks, it was decided in June 1611 to draw up a general resolution. The sentence of the representatives of the Cossacks and service people, who formed the main core of the zemstvo army, was very extensive: it had to organize not only the army, but also the state. The highest power should belong to the entire army, which calls itself “the whole earth”; voivodes are only the executive bodies of this council, which reserves the right to remove them if they conduct business poorly. The court belongs to the voivodes, but they can execute only with the approval of the “council of the whole earth”, otherwise they face death. Then local affairs were settled very precisely and in detail. All awards from Vor and Sigismund are declared insignificant. “Old” Cossacks can receive estates and thus join the ranks of service people. Next are the decrees on the return of fugitive slaves, who called themselves Cossacks (new Cossacks), to their former masters; The self-will of the Cossacks was largely embarrassed. Finally, an administrative department was established on the Moscow model. From this verdict it is clear that the army gathered near Moscow considered itself a representative of the entire land and that the main role in the council belonged to the zemstvo service people, and not to the Cossacks. This sentence is also characteristic in that it testifies to the importance that the service class gradually acquired. But the predominance of service people did not last long; the Cossacks could not be in solidarity with them. The matter ended with the murder of Lyapunov and the flight of the zemshchina. The Russians' hopes for the militia were not justified: Moscow remained in the hands of the Poles, Smolensk by this time was taken by Sigismund, Novgorod by the Swedes; Cossacks settled around Moscow, robbed the people, committed outrages and prepared a new unrest, proclaiming the son of Marina, who lived in connection with Zarutsky, Russian Tsar.

The state was apparently dying; but a popular movement arose throughout the north and northeast of Rus'. This time it separated from the Cossacks and began to act independently. Hermogenes, with his letters, poured inspiration into the hearts of the Russians. Nizhny became the center of the movement. Kuzma Minin was placed at the head of the economic organization, and power over the army was handed over to Prince Pozharsky.

K. Makovsky. Minin's appeal on Nizhny Novgorod Square

Can be described as decline. This era went down in history as the years of natural disasters, crisis - economic and state, - intervention of foreigners. This stagnation lasted from 1598 to 1612.

Time of Troubles in Russia: briefly about the main thing

The beginning of the Troubles was marked by the suppression of the lawful heirs of Ivan the Terrible; there was no longer a legitimate tsar in Russia. By the way, the death of the last heir to the throne was very mysterious. It is still shrouded in mystery. A struggle for power began in the country, accompanied by intrigue. Until 1605, Boris Godunov sat on the throne, during whose reign there was famine. Lack of food forces the people to engage in robbery and robbery. The discontent of the masses, who lived in the hope that Tsarevich Dmitry, killed by Godunov, was alive and would soon restore order, ended.

So, briefly stated. What happened next? As one would expect, False Dmitry I appeared and gained support from the Poles. During the war with the impostor, Tsar Boris Godunov and his son Fedor die. However, the unworthy did not have the throne for long: the people overthrew False Dmitry I and elected Vasily Shuisky as king.

But the reign of the new king was also in the spirit of troubled times. Briefly, this period can be described as follows: during the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov, the king entered into an agreement with Sweden to fight against it. However, such an alliance did more harm than good. The king was removed from the throne, and the boyars began to rule the country. As a result of the Seven Boyars, the Poles entered the capital and began to instill the Catholic faith, while plundering everything around. Which further aggravated the already difficult situation of ordinary people.

However, despite all the hardships and hardships of the time of troubles (briefly characterized as the most terrible era for our country), Mother Rus' found the strength to give birth to heroes. They prevented Russia from disappearing on the world map. We are talking about Lyapunov’s militia: Novgorodians Dmitry Pozharsky gathered the people and drove out foreign invaders from their native land. After this, the Zemsky Sobor took place, during which Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the throne. This event ended the most difficult period in the history of Russia. The throne was taken by a new ruling dynasty, which was overthrown by the communists only at the beginning of the twentieth century. The House of Romanov brought the country out of darkness and strengthened its position on the world stage.

Consequences of troubled times. Briefly

The results of the Troubles for Russia are very disastrous. As a result of the chaos, the country lost a significant part of its territory and suffered significant losses in population. There was a terrible decline in the economy, the people became weak and lost hope. However, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So the Russian people managed to find the strength to once again restore their rights and declare themselves to the whole world. Having survived the most difficult times, Rus' was reborn. Crafts and culture began to develop, the people returned to agriculture and cattle breeding, stopping highway robberies.