Who became king after Shuya. Time of Troubles. Vasily Shuisky. Ascent to the throne

Tsar Vasily Shuisky

On the southern outskirts of Russia, the coup carried out in Moscow by Vasily Shuisky caused strong discontent. Democratic principles in these places were more developed than in the center of the country. The population on the southern borders consisted of half of the Cossacks. Continuing to believe that False Dmitry was a "people's tsar", the Cossacks, townspeople and the petty nobility saw Shuisky as a protege of the hostile class of boyars. Exiled by Shuisky to Putivl for loyalty to the impostor, Prince Grigory Shakhovskoy began to spread rumors there that False Dmitry I was not killed in Moscow, but miraculously escaped again. Putivl rebelled against Shuisky. The voivode of neighboring Chernigov Telyatevsky also joined the rebellion that had begun. Ferment against Shuisky began in Moscow as well. They were gradually inflated by some boyars who dreamed of seizing the throne from Vasily.

In the south, the rebels gathered an entire army. Ivan Bolotnikov became its head with the consent of Telyatevsky and Shakhovsky. A daring man who has seen a lot, Bolotnikov spent many years in Tatar-Turkish captivity, visited Western Europe and now he assured me that he had seen the escaped Dmitry abroad. With 1300 Cossacks, Bolotnikov defeated Shuisky's 5,000-strong army near Kromy, and the entire southern half of Russia quickly joined the uprising: the cities of Venev, Tula, Kashira, Kaluga, Oryol, Astrakhan. The nobles Lyapunovs raised the entire Ryazan region against Vasily Shuisky.

In the fall of 1606, Bolotnikov's army went to Moscow "to return the throne to Tsarevich Dmitry." The Ryazan detachments of the Lyapunovs also moved to the capital. On December 2, Bolotnikov entered the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, but here the forces of the rebels split. In the army of Bolotnikov, the poor peasants, the robber class and other social dregs came to the fore. These people rampaged terribly, robbed everyone in a row, planting bloody anarchy everywhere. The noble militias of the Lyapunovs, horrified by the deeds of their original allies, decided to break with them and unite with Vasily Shuisky in the name of restoring order. The noble detachments left Bolotnikov and moved to Moscow to Shuisky, although their leaders continued to dislike the boyar tsar. Bolotnikov, driven away from the capital by Shuisky's young nephew, Mikhail Skopin, retreated to Kaluga, where he was besieged by Prince Mstislavsky.

Battle of Bolotnikov's troops with the tsarist army. Painting by E. Lissner

Boyarin, prince. Russian tsar. He was on the throne from May 19 (29), 1606 to July 17 (27), 1610. The only Russian tsar died in captivity in a foreign land.

Pedigree

Belonged to the ancient princely family, which was a Suzdal branch, which, according to most historians, ascended to Andrei Yaroslavich, the Grand Duke of Vladimir and his younger brother. Vasily Shuisky himself considered Alexander Nevsky and his third son, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Gorodetsky, who also occupied the Vladimir grand-ducal table, to be his direct ancestors.

Father - boyar prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky, prominent statesman and the voivode into the reign. Mother - Anna Fedorovna (the exact origin is unknown). The brothers - Andrey, Dmitry, Ivan Pugovka - were boyars, they held responsible administrative and military positions. He was married twice; the choice of the brides of Elena Mikhailovna, Princess Repnina-Obolenskaya and Maria Petrovna, Princess Buinosova-Rostovskaya, most likely, was determined by dynastic considerations. He did not leave offspring, two daughters from their second marriage died in infancy.

Court service

The service of the young prince at the court, which began in the 1570s, went on successfully, despite the wary attitude of the formidable and suspicious tsar towards the nobility. In 1582/83, Prince Vasily was even arrested for a reason that remained unknown, but was soon released on bail to the brothers. Nevertheless, in 1584 he already had the rank of boyar and was leading important court cases. Vasily Shuisky's career was promoted by his marriage younger brother Dmitry with Catherine, the daughter of the Duma nobleman Grigory Lukyanovich Malyuta Skuratov from the Belsky family. Another daughter of this most influential oprichnik was married to. Family ties did not weaken the constant struggle between the two influential boyars and the future tsars. Their confrontation, perhaps, remained the most remarkable feature of Vasily Shuisky in the Russian historical consciousness and was consolidated by A.S. Pushkin in the beginning of the tragedy "Boris Godunov", which begins with the prince's hard-hitting words about Boris shamelessly and criminally striving for tsarist power. The struggle for influence over the young and incapable of ruling Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1584-1598) was completely lost to Godunov by the Shuisky, and Prince Vasily, being then a voivode in Smolensk, fell, like his relatives, into exile. In 1587 he was accused of treason, of secret trips under the guise of hunting abroad. Gradually, Godunov's anger subsided, and in April 1591, Prince Vasily was returned to Moscow. Almost immediately, fateful events for the country and for himself took place. On May 15, 1591, he died in Uglich, Shuisky was appointed head of the commission to investigate the case. Apparently, Godunov believed that the conclusions presented by the nobleman, who had recently been in disgrace, and also by an experienced judicial official, would be accepted as fair and unbiased. Already on May 30, the commission completed its work in Uglich, and on June 2 it reported to the Boyar Duma its conclusions about the accident with the sick royal child and the insidious relatives of the Tsarevich Nagikh, who revolted against the royal servants. The official results of the "Uglich case" allowed Shuisky to return to the judicial and administrative elite, for example, as head of the Ryazan Court Order or as a voivode in Veliky Novgorod, but they hardly returned Godunov's full confidence. He even forbade the childless prince to marry a second time, so as not to produce competitors for the throne.

Troubles

Mistrust in Shuisky did not disappear even after the victory over the impostor False World I at Dobrynichi on January 21, 1605 by the tsarist army, where Prince Vasily was the second voivode after Prince F.I. Mstislavsky. In his suspicions, Godunov turned out to be right, although he himself did not know about it because of his death, which occurred on April 13, 1605. Recalled to Moscow to help the heir to Fyodor Borisovich, Shuisky not only went over to the side of the impostor in June 1605, but "recognized" him as the true tsarevich. He stated that the conclusions of the 1591 investigation were a forgery to please Godunov, but in fact he survived and now rightfully returned his father's throne. However, as a very informed and authoritative witness, he was dangerous and was sentenced to death, which was abolished at the last moment and commuted to imprisonment. A few months later, Prince Vasily was returned to the court and even approached the impostor, whom he avenged even more cruelly than Godunov, spreading information about the death of the real tsarevich among Muscovites and the noble militia who were gathering for the war with Crimea, inciting them to revolt and together with others representatives of the nobility preparing a conspiracy. The mutiny and the palace conspiracy ended with the murder of the impostor on May 17, 1606.

Governing body

On May 19, 1606, Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky was proclaimed tsar in front of the rebellious people at the Execution Ground on Red Square. On June 1, he was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In his new capacity, Shuisky tried, whenever possible, to forgive his sins, intrigues, perjury, first of all, before the church. This was often done publicly. To completely close the question of the Uglich tragedy, Shuisky for the third time radically changes the version of those events. The prince really died, according to him, in 1591, but not as a result of an accident, but was stabbed to death. His canonization and the acquisition of holy relics, which were solemnly transferred by the procession from Uglich to Moscow to the Archangel Cathedral in the Grand Duke and Tsar's tomb, were to finally assure everyone of the violent and martyrdom of Dmitry Ivanovich. Ceremonies and rituals within the framework of these celebrations were conducted by Filaret, Metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl, who was boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov before his tonsure, and Metropolitan of Kazan, later glorified as a holy martyr. It was Hermogenes, with the support of the new tsar, who became the chief priest of the Russian Church on July 3, 1606, instead of the henchman Ignatius, who was deposed from the patriarchal throne. In addition, Shuisky returned to Moscow the deposed under the impostor former first Russian patriarch to ask for forgiveness for violating the oath of the crucifixion to Tsar Feodor Borisovich Godunov. As a sign of reconciliation with his unfortunate family, Shuisky, although he blamed his former rival for the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry, ordered the reburial of the former Tsar, his son and wife in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery with honors.

In an effort to weaken the accusations of illegitimate coming to power without election, Shuisky gave a "kissing record". In it, he promised not to execute anyone without judgmentaccepted by the tsar with the boyars; not to confiscate property from relatives of convicts, if they were not accomplices in crimes; not accept false denunciations and punish such denunciators; do not expose anyone to royal disgrace without fault. This gave rise to a number of historians to talk about one of the first attempts to legislatively limit the royal power. He also tried to streamline, in the interests of the treasury, landowners and service people, their legal relations with dependent people and slaves. Among the laws adopted was the Code of March 9, 1607, which recognized the peasants as serfs of those owners for whom they were recorded in the scribes of the early 1590s, and established the period for detecting fugitive peasants at 15 years.

Shuisky's attempts to reverse the political, moral and psychological situation in society in his favor were unsuccessful. In 1605-1606, two bloody coups followed one after the other, which were accompanied by the assassinations of the holders of the supreme power and thus encouraged violent methods of achieving goals, untied the hands of supporters of the most radical actions, freed from previous oaths and oaths, shattered the state apparatus and the armed forces of the state. Russia was more and more drawn into the Troubles - civil war... Shuisky's opponents again and again used the rumor about another miraculous rescue, under the slogan of returning to power all those who were dissatisfied or simply striving for a quick profit gathered. In 1606, the largest anti-government uprising was the uprising led by Ivan Bolotnikov, during which the rebels laid siege to Moscow. Tsar Vasily had to personally lead loyal troops into battle. After a successful battle on December 2, 1606, he managed to push the rebels away from the capital and force them to leave first to Kaluga, and then to Tula. On May 21, 1607, the king again personally set out on a campaign, which ended on October 10 with the surrender of Tula, the main stronghold of the rebellion. Shuisky promised to save the lives of the leaders of the uprising - Bolotnikov and Ileika Muromets, but, as it happened before, he did not consider it necessary to restrain him. The massacre of the leaders of one uprising did not lead to the pacification of the country, another impostor stood at the head of the new rebellion . Military detachments from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth joined the fugitive slaves and peasants, the rebellious Cossacks and servicemen of the south of Russia. In the battle of Bolkhov on April 30 and May 1, 1608, the army under the command of the tsar's brother, Prince Dmitry Shuisky, was defeated, the troops approached Moscow and camped in the village of Tushino, where parallel authorities were created. From the power of Shuisky to the "Tushino thief" numerous cities, vast territories left, a considerable number of boyars and service people fled. Moscow was again under siege. The tsar sent his nephew, the boyar prince, to Novgorod to ask for help from the Swedish king Charles IX in exchange for the concession of the town of Korela to Sweden with the district. In 1609, the violence and plunder of the Polish-Lithuanian and Cossack detachments serving the impostor caused the inhabitants of the Zamoskovye cities and the Russian North to oppose him. At the same time, the army of Prince Skopin-Shuisky began a campaign to Moscow, which defeated the troops of the impostor in a number of battles and entered Moscow on March 12, 1610, lifting the siege from the capital. A significant part of the cities and counties of the country recognized the power of Tsar Vasily. However, Prince Skopin-Shuisky died unexpectedly after a feast on April 23, 1610. There were rumors that he was poisoned by the tsar's sister-in-law, Ekaterina Grigorievna, at the instigation of her son-in-law and spouse, who feared the claims of the famous commander to the throne, whose heir was officially considered her husband Dmitry Shuisky as the brother of childless Vasily. This event dealt a strong blow to the prestige of the tsar and the fighting efficiency of the army at the moment when the Polish-Lithuanian intervention began.

Back in September 1609, the king of the Commonwealth Sigismund III crossed the Russian border and laid siege to Smolensk, summoning the Polish-Lithuanian gentry, who until that time had served False Dmitry II. In the battle of Klushino on June 24, 1610, the Russian army under the command of Prince Dmitry Shuisky was defeated. The Polish-Lithuanian troops approached Moscow, but so far they were in no hurry to occupy the city, where another coup d'état took place. In the capital on July 17, 1610, a kind of open-air meeting was assembled, reminiscent of either an ancient veche, or an impromptu cathedral. It was held with the participation of the clergy, the Boyar Duma, the commanders of the noble detachments and military people who were in the city, the residents of the Moscow settlement. On it, a decision was made to depose the king, who was taken from the royal residence to his old boyar court and taken into custody. On July 19, Vasily Shuisky was forcibly tonsured into a monk and imprisoned in the Moscow Chudov Monastery. His wife was also tonsured and sent to Suzdal in the Intercession Monastery. Opponents of Shuisky, united against him, could not share power among themselves and decided to give it to foreigners. The new government, formed from representatives of the boyars and nicknamed "Seven Boyars", in August 1610 signed an agreement on the election of the Polish prince Vladislav (future king Vladislav IV Vaza) to the Russian throne. In September 1610, the boyars handed over Vasily Shuisky, along with brothers Dmitry and Ivan, to the commander of the Polish-Lithuanian army, hetman Stanislav Zholkevsky, to take them out of Moscow and place them in one of the monasteries. He, in violation of a preliminary agreement with the Duma, took the prisoners with him to King Sigismund III near Smolensk. For his political and military mistakes, Vasily Shuisky had to pay with shame, which humiliated all of Russia and flattered the pride of its western neighbors. Together with his brothers and the voivode Mikhail Borisovich Shein, the head of the heroic defense of Smolensk in 1609-1611, which ended only when the defenders stopped receiving any help from the rest of the country, he was forced to participate as living trophies in the ceremony of Zholkevsky's triumphal entry on October 29, 1611 to Warsaw. Then, in the royal palace, in the presence of all the Polish nobility, during a meeting of the Diet and in the presence of foreign ambassadors, he was forced to bow to Sigismund III and kiss his hand. Then the Shuisky were placed in custody in the castle in the town of Gostynin in Mazovia, where Vasily died on September 12 (22), 1612, after him five days later on September 17 (27), Prince Dmitry died. Only their brother Ivan was able to return home in 1620. The very death of Vasily Shuisky was also used by the Polish authorities for propaganda purposes. The remains of him and his brother Dmitry were buried in Warsaw in a specially built tomb, called the "Moscow chapel" ("Russian chapel"), with inscriptions announcing the Polish victories that led to the capture of the Moscow tsar. The tsar's government took such a funeral as a humiliation for Russia. After the conclusion of a peace treaty between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1634), the remains of Vasily Shuisky were transferred to the Russian side and solemnly reburied in 1635 in the grand ducal and royal tomb - the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

King and Grand Duke Moscow and All Russia (1606-1610).

Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky was born in 1552 in the family of the boyar Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky (about 1533-1573). He was a descendant of the princes of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod and descended from Andrei Yaroslavich, his younger brother.

In his younger years, V.I. Shuisky served at the court, in 1580 he was the tsar's friend at his last wedding. In 1581-1582 he stood as a voivode with regiments on the Oka, guarding the border from a possible attack by the Crimean Khan.

Boyar (since 1584), Prince V.I.Shuisky took an active part in the struggle of the court parties after his death. He acted as an enemy, the king's brother-in-law, who gradually seized the real levers of government in his own hands. In 1587, the prince fell into disgrace, but was quickly forgiven and returned to the court.

In May 1591 V.I.Shuisky was sent to investigate the mysterious death of the tsarevich. The investigation confirmed that the prince cut himself with a knife in a fit of epilepsy. However, both contemporaries and descendants suspected V.I.Shuisky of concealing the true causes of death. Rumors persisted that the Tsarevich was killed by the people of Boris Godunov, and the prince deliberately concealed this in order to avoid persecution by the Tsar. The people believed that V.I.Shuisky was the only one who knew the truth about the coal tragedy.

In 1596, V. I. Shuisky was sent as a voivode with a regiment of the right hand "on the Crimean news" c.

In 1598, after the death of Tsar Fyodor I Ivanovich, the last Rurikovich on the Russian throne, V.I. Shuisky, by the nobility of his family and closeness to the suppressed dynasty, seemed the most loyal contender for the throne. After Boris Godunov was elected to the throne, the prince was constantly under suspicion of disloyalty, repeatedly removed from the court, but invariably returned.

At the beginning of 1605, V.I.Shuisky actively participated in hostilities against. After the death of Boris Godunov, the prince was recalled c.

In June 1605 V. I. Shuisky went over to the side of False Dmitry I. Without waiting for the arrival of the new sovereign to Moscow, the prince and his brothers went to meet him. The impostor took them in, at first spoke to them dryly, but then forgave them.

Soon, the prince headed a conspiracy against False Dmitry I, was sentenced to death, then pardoned and exiled, but at the end of 1605 he was returned to the court again.

In May 1606, relying on the palace and church nobility, the top of the provincial nobility of the western and central districts and the large merchants, V.I.Shuisky again led a conspiracy against False Dmitry I. During the uprising on May 17, 1606, False Dmitry I was killed by conspirators, and 19 In May, a group of VI Shuisky's adherents “shouted out” him as tsar.

V.I.Shuisky gave a kissing record that limited his power. On June 1 (10), 1606, Vasily IV Shuisky was married to the throne in the Moscow Kremlin. Immediately after that, a new patriarch was enthroned - the former Kazan metropolitan, known for his resistance to the non-Orthodox acts of False Dmitry I.

The first public act of Tsar Vasily IV Shuisky was the transfer of the relics of Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich to Moscow. The Rostov metropolitan was sent to Uglich. On June 3, 1606, the relics of Dmitry Ivanovich were brought and exhibited in the Moscow Kremlin. Boris Godunov was officially declared his killer. With this gesture, the tsar tried to emphasize that both False Dmitry I and those who hoped to follow his example are impostors. However, this measure could no longer stop the incipient confusion.

The outbreak of the Troubles turned the short reign of Vasily IV Shuisky into constant wars with II Bolotnikov, the noble militias of the Lyapunov brothers, the boyar son of I. Pashkov. Trying to win over the feudal elite to his side, the tsar issued the Code on March 9, 1607, according to which the period for detecting fugitive peasants was 15 years, and the peasants themselves belonged to those for whom they were recorded in the 1590s. But this measure did not lead to the desired result.

In 1607, a new impostor - - launched an offensive on Moscow. He seized vast territories and settled in the village of Tushino near Moscow (now within the city of Moscow). To fight him, Vasily IV Shuisky decided to rely on the help of the Swedish king Charles IX. In 1609, the tsar renounced claims to the Baltic lands that had previously belonged to the Livonian Order, ceded the city of Korel to Sweden, gave permission for the circulation of Swedish money in the Moscow state, and also assumed obligations to support Swedish troops.

The nephew of Vasily IV Shuisky, a capable military leader, at the head of the Russian-Swedish army, managed to establish government control over the northern regions of the country. Many began to see him as the successor to the aged and childless king. However, the sudden death of M.V.Skopin-Shuisky, in which Vasily IV Shuisky was immediately accused, deprived the tsar of this support.

In September 1609, an open Polish intervention began. The Polish king laid siege. On June 24, 1610, the Russian-Swedish troops of Vasily IV Shuisky were defeated by hetman S. Zholkovsky in the battle near the village near.

The weakness of Vasily IV Shuisky and his inability to rectify the situation led to the fact that on July 17 (27), 1610 he was deposed by the boyars, forcibly tonsured a monk and imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery. Since in the boyar environment there was no candidate for the throne who could suit everyone (at least the majority), a boyar government was formed, which went down in history under the name of "Seven Boyars". Its members agreed to the election of the Polish prince, son of Sigismund III, as the Russian tsar.

In September 1610, V. I. Shuisky (as a layman, not as a monk) was extradited to the Polish Hetman S. Zholkiewski, who in October took him out with his brothers under, and later to Poland. V.I.Shuisky died on September 12 (22), 1612, while imprisoned in the Gostynsky Castle.

In 1635, at the request of the tsar, the remains of V.I.Shuisky were returned to and buried in the tomb of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Vasily IV Ivanovich Shuisky is known in russian history as the king who reigned from 1606 to 1610. The ruler came from the princely family of the Shuisky and was the last descendant of the Rurikids on the Russian throne. In 1552, a son, Vasily, was born into the princely family of Ivan Andreevich and Anna Feodorovna Shuisky. The boy was not the only child, the future ruler grew up with his brothers - Andrey, Dmitry and Ivan. Little is known about the prince's childhood and youth.

At a young age, Vasily IV became interested in politics. Shuisky enters the Moscow Court of Justice, and later achieves a promotion. Vasily Ivanovich was named a boyar. The prince took part in military campaigns, once he was even sent into exile at the request of the Godunov family.

The beginning of the reign

The reign of Vasily Shuisky did not begin easily. It is known that the political career of Vasily IV began at the time when he was on the throne. At this time, the allegedly miraculously escaped Tsarevich Dmitry, the future king, appeared. Shuisky did not like this, so the boyar began to weave intrigues against a possible future ruler. Soon Boris Godunov dies, and the man hated by Vasily IV ascends to the throne.

Basil IV keeps hatred within himself and prepares a plan to overthrow the false king. In the meantime, he helps to rule, supports the initiatives of False Dmitry. Twice the boyar tried to overthrow the ruler. For the first time, the conspiracy was discovered, after which the future king was sentenced to death. But the merciful false sovereign took pity on Vasily and returned him to the service.

The second conspiracy was successful. In 1606, False Dmitry I was killed. The boyars immediately elevated Vasily Shuisky to the throne. In return, the new tsar promised the Boyar Duma the transfer of some of his powers.

Domestic policy

The years of Vasily Shuisky's reign became part of Russian history, which is called the Time of Troubles. There were conspiracies against the government, and the onslaught of European states prevented the establishment of internal relations... Despite this, Vasily IV managed to make a number of changes in the life of the Russian state.

Domestic policy Shuisky began with the introduction of methods to strengthen power. The king signs the crucifixion record. The document significantly limited the possibilities of the prince, but such was the desire of the boyars, who chose Vasily IV as ruler. To improve the mood among the nobles, for the sake of winning their favor, Vasily IV introduces a 10-year search for peasants. But even this did not help keep the boyars on the side of the ruling power after the arrival of False Dmitry I.

Shuisky began to strengthen the army. The ruler paid special attention to discipline within the troops. The basic rules are indicated in the military regulations. Vasily IV took an example from the Germans. The manual prescribed the rules of behavior for soldiers and leaders. Popular discontent gradually gained momentum, despite the government's attempts to pacify its subjects. Unrest constantly arose in various parts of the country. Shuisky saw the only correct solution to the problem in the enslavement of the peasants.

Foreign policy

Vasily Shuisky was of aristocratic origin. Having become king, Vasily IV tried to please the boyars, who wanted to conclude an alliance with the Poles. The primary task in foreign policy for Shuisky it became a rapprochement with the Commonwealth. But diplomatic negotiations with the Polish rulers did not bring the expected result.

The uprisings organized by I. Bolotnikov only hindered the establishment of peace with the Poles, since False Dmitry, together with disgruntled citizens, captured the citizens of the Commonwealth. Poland and Moscow were on the brink of hostilities. The Poles strongly advised the Russian authorities to return the captured foreigners.

But the power in the person of Vasily Shuisky preferred to choose a different path - rapprochement with the Swedes. The Swedish ruler Charles IX put pressure on the Russian tsar. The European sent letters in which he informed about the imminent attack on the Rzeczpospolita, called on Muscovites to join. In the second letter, the Swede announced plans to overthrow Shuisky. Poles were the organizers of the riots.

Events unfolded for Vasily IV in an unfavorable way. On the one hand, a possible “ crusade"On the country of Charles IX, on the other - strange relations with the Poles. Shuisky tried to avoid direct answers to the questions posed by the Swedish side. He got off with general phrases like "there will be no violation of the peace, but he cannot confirm peace with Sweden either."

Foreign rulers continued to put pressure on the Russian tsar. Some wanted land and the ability to trade in Russia, others wanted to return Mnishek and the detained Poles. As a result, Shuisky reached peace with the Commonwealth. But the king understood that the concluded agreement could be violated at any time.

The doubts of the Russian ruler were confirmed later, when people opposed to the alliance with Moscow came to power among the Poles. Historians believe that the Poles contributed to the incitement of internecine wars within the country, the emergence of False Dmitry II. Poland put pressure on the Cossacks, whom it saw as the destroyers of the government foundations in Russia.

The rule of Vasily Shuisky turned out to be restless. Mnishek and False Dmitry II opposed the current government. The Poles, meanwhile, occupied Tushino and opposed Moscow. The Russian tsar did not have the opportunity to confront the impending threat alone, so Vasily IV is drawing closer to the Swedes. The Swedish king still wants to expand his influence in the Russian lands. In exchange for cooperation with Sweden, Kola, Ivangorod and Korela should leave. History has preserved the letters sent by Charles IX to the commissioners:

“This is such a convenient opportunity to take advantage of Russia's troubles for the territorial enrichment of the Swedish crown that it is impossible to miss it; it would mean making a political oversight, from which one cannot justify oneself either before God or before people. "

The intervention in such conditions became more and more real. In addition to fighting the Swedes, Vasily Shuisky had to resist the Tushins. The king felt the need for additional military personnel, but help could only be obtained from the Horde. The Tatars freed Oskol and Lieven for Vasily IV.

New money transfers to the Horde did the job: the Tatars attacked False Dmitry II in Borovsk district. Despite regular replenishment of the Horde treasury at the expense of the Moscow one, Vasily Shuisky did not receive a positive result from cooperation with the Horde. The Horde decided that there was too little money from Moscow, and began to rob the common people.

The prince tried in every possible way to defend the capital and russian state... Shuisky's reign did not bring visible changes in foreign policy. The Swedes tried to get the Russian lands, the Horde robbed the people, the Poles, together with False Dmitry II, organized conspiracies against Vasily IV.

Overthrow

In 1609, relations with the Poles deteriorated completely. This was evidenced by the fact that the Polish-Lithuanian king Sigismund III laid siege to Smolensk. On his own, the Moscow Tsar was able to liberate most of the Russian lands from the invaders. Despite this, Vasily Shuisky was not popular among the people, his contemporaries considered him an illegal ruler.

The desire to overthrow the tsar grew. The death of the commander Skopin-Shuisky added confidence to the townspeople. An uprising arose, which allowed the ruler to be removed from the throne. Basil IV was forced to take monastic vows and was tonsured a monk.

Personal life

In the biography of Vasily Shuisky, two marriages are described. The first union gave no heirs. The king did not want to marry again, therefore, after the death of his wife, the ruler went bachelor for a long time. The second wife of the tsar was the daughter of Prince Peter Ivanovich Buinosov-Rostovsky Maria.

There was no love between husband and wife, since marriage was required to continue the dynasty. Tsar Boris insisted on the union, who did not want to transfer the throne to strangers. The marriage brought the ruler two daughters who died at a young age. The Belsk Chronicler says:

“Tsar Vasily Ivanovich of All Russia had only two daughters, and those died in infancy; this is how Nastasya and Anna are called. "

Death

After the overthrow, Shuisky ended up in the hands of the Polish hetman. The ex-tsar, together with his brothers, are brought to Smolensk, then transported to the Commonwealth and presented to King Sigismund. The princes had no other choice but to take the oath to the Polish ruler.

During his imprisonment in the Gostyninsky castle, the ex-sovereign dies. A few days later, they announced the death of their brother Dmitry. Only Ivan Shuisky managed to return to his native land. Decades later, the remains of Vasily are transported at the request of Mikhail Fedorovich to the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Vasily IV (Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky) (1552-1612), Russian tsar (1606-1610).

Prince Vasily Ivanovich belonged to an ancient family, equal in nobility to the Moscow house of Rurikovich. The Shuiskys possessed enormous land wealth and colossal influence.

In the 80s. XVI century they started a fight with the brother-in-law and favorite of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Boris Godunov, which ended in failure. The Shuisky fell into disgrace. In 1586, Prince Vasily Ivanovich was recalled from Smolensk, where he was governor, and sent into exile.

In 1591 Godunov needed the help of the disgraced aristocrats. Under mysterious circumstances, the brother of Fyodor Ivanovich, Tsarevich Dmitry, died in the city of Uglich. Prince Vasily Ivanovich stood at the head of the commission of inquiry. He came to an unambiguous conclusion - an accident.

When, ten years later, False Dmitry I invaded the Moscow state, Shuisky exclaimed: "Dmitry escaped the machinations of Boris Godunov, and instead of him the son of a priest was killed and buried in a princely manner."

In 1605, the impostor was crowned king. Big influence found the Poles, "pushed" him to the throne. The position of the Russian aristocracy became precarious. Shuisky organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry, but the plans of the conspirators were disrupted by arrests. Shuisky himself climbed the chopping block. However, at the last moment, False Dmitry pardoned him. This frivolous decision cost the impostor his power and life. At the end of May 1606, Shuisky struck. The conspirators aroused popular discontent and broke into the royal chambers. A widespread beating of Polish soldiers began, False Dmitry and his entourage fell.

Shuisky's finest hour has come. He was elected to the kingdom and was soon crowned. Such haste damaged the business: the Zemsky Sobor was not convened, which could have given Shuisky's power more legitimacy. Soon several new “royal offspring” appeared in the country at once; one of them, False Dmitry II, received the support of the Polish gentry. The uprising of I. Bolotnikov (1606-1607) was growing in the southern lands.

Under these conditions, Vasily Ivanovich decided to take a risky step: the relics of the "innocent" Tsarevich Dmitry, who was canonized as a martyr, were found in Uglich. This should have convinced everyone: the prince is dead, and the new impostors are just troublemakers.

The Bolotnikov uprising was successfully suppressed. The fight against the troops of False Dmitry II dragged on. In 1609, the Polish King Sigismund III openly invaded Russian territory and laid siege to Smolensk. Shuisky turned to the Swedish king for help. The combined Swedish-Russian forces, led by the talented military leader M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, inflicted a number of defeats on the enemy.

In the spring of 1610, the situation began to improve; Shuisky's energetic policy seemed to be bearing fruit. However, at that moment Skopin-Shuisky suddenly died. Russian troops on June 24 suffered a crushing defeat from the Poles near the village of Klushina (between Vyazma and Mozhaisk).

In July 1610, representatives of other aristocratic families mutinied the army and overthrew Shuisky. The king was forcibly tonsured a monk. The aristocratic government handed him over to the Poles. Vasily Ivanovich died in captivity.