Those good fellows have risen,
Those faithful Rus rose, That the Pozharsky prince with the merchant Minin, Here are two falcons, here are two clear ones, Here are two doves, here are two faithful ones, They got up suddenly, started up, Having helped the host, the last host …
folk song
Promotional video:
441 years ago, on November 1, 1578, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky was born, who later became a national hero of Russia. During the Troubles, he became one of the commanders (together with Kuzma Minin) of the Second Militia, and in 1612 he liberated Moscow from the Polish invaders and restored Russian statehood. The image of Pozharsky has forever entered the historical annals of Russia.
Descended from an old aristocratic family, the senior branch of the Starodub appanage princes-Rurikovich, the rulers of the small Starodub principality. The young prince began his court service around 1593. At the Zemsky Sobor in 1598, which elected Boris Godunov, the 20-year-old prince took part with a low rank as a solicitor with a dress. The solicitors took part in the preparation of various palace ceremonies, served the king with various elements of his vestments. Preserved information that at the turn of 1599 - 1600. Dmitry Pozharsky and his mother Mari Fedorovna fell into disgrace. However, the disfavor was short-lived. In 1602, they were forgiven: Dmitry was promoted to the rank of steward, and his mother became the supreme noblewoman under the princess Xenia. Dmitry enjoyed the young tsar's sympathy. I especially liked Godunov, who loved the learning and literacy of the young steward. Dmitry received his first combat experience on the southern border in battles with the Crimean Tatars.
During the Troubles, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky fought against the Bolotnikov and Tushinites - the detachments of Bolotnikov and "Tsarevich Dmitry" (the impostor). In November-December 1606, Prince Dmitry took part in battles with the Bolotnikovites near the village of Kotly near Moscow. At this time he was the head of the hundred in the army of the young prince M. V. Skopin-Shuisky. His first serious victory over the Tushins (False Dmitry II, also called the Tushino thief, so he had a headquarters in Tushino) won near Kolomna in the fall of 1608 - "and beat them on their heads and took many tongues" (New Chronicler). This victory was the first in a series of other glorious deeds of Prince Pozharsky. At the beginning of 1610 he defeated the Tushino detachment of Salkov. This success returned the Vladimir road, the cities of Kolomna and Serpukhov under the control of Tsar Vasily. After that, Tsar Vasily Shuisky appointed Pozharsky voivode to the city of Zaraysk,which he had to protect from the Tushin people. In May 1610 P. P. Lyapunov sent him a letter in which he proposed to oppose Tsar Vasily, who by this time in the eyes of many had stained himself with alleged complicity in the murder of Prince Skopin-Shuisky. However, Pozharsky refused. In July 1610, a revolt began in Zaraisk. Local residents demanded that the governor swear allegiance to False Dmitry II, but Prince Pozharsky refused: "he locked himself in a stone city with those who stand in truth."but Prince Pozharsky refused: "he locked himself in the stone city with those who stand in truth."but Prince Pozharsky refused: "he locked himself in the stone city with those who stand in truth."
After Tsar Vasily Shuisky was overthrown, and the Moscow boyars concluded an agreement on the invitation to the royal throne of the Polish prince Vladislav and the Polish-Lithuanian troops occupied Moscow, Prince Pozharsky became a member of the First zemstvo militia under the command of the Ryazan governor Prokopy Lyapunov. Pozharsky headed one of the leading detachments of the zemstvo militia, which was being pulled up to Moscow. During the anti-Polish uprising in Moscow, which began on March 16, 1611, Pozharsky did not stand aside and rushed into battle. His soldiers fought on Sretenka. Pozharsky's warriors held out to the last and left the city only when they were expelled from the capital by a powerful fire that incinerated almost the entire city. Moscow was lit by German mercenaries on the orders of Hetman Gonsevsky. On the last day of the fighting on Sretenka, March 20, Dmitry Mikhailovich was seriously wounded in the leg,becoming lame for the rest of his life. From Moscow, the seriously wounded voivode was taken to his patrimony, the village of Mugreevo, Suzdal district.
There, in early October 1611, he met with Kuzma Minin, who offered the prince to lead a new militia. The first militia by this time disintegrated due to the conflict between the nobles and the Cossacks. The Poles planted a "discordant" letter with accusations against the Ryazan governor. The Cossacks called the imperious Ryazan governor into a "circle" and "smashed him with sabers." After the assassination of Lyapunov, the First Zemstvo militia fell apart: the nobles went home, and only Cossack "camps" remained near Moscow. After negotiations, the prince agreed. The second militia was heavily organized. All the militias were divided into "articles" with strictly fixed salaries. So, the first article received 50 rubles a year, the second - 45, the third - 40 and so on. The established order attracted to the Nizhny Novgorod militia a lot of "military people" who roamed Russia at that time. Pozharsky and Minin carried out a strict selection of applicants, focusing on combat experience, the availability of equipment, trying to create a combat-ready and disciplined army.
In late February - early March 1612, the militia withdrew from Nizhny Novgorod and began to move along the Northern Volga region, clearing it of various gangs that filled the counties, displacing the administration of Tsar Vladislav. At the end of March 1612 Pozharsky arrived in Yaroslavl. The militia stayed here until July. During the "Yaroslavl standing", the number of the militia of Prince Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin increased markedly: more than 10 thousand local servicemen (nobles and their warriors) gathered, up to 3 thousand Cossacks, at least a thousand archers and a large number of "tributary people" from peasants liable for military service. However, a considerable part of these forces was scattered across the garrisons of the cities, were sent to the north, from where the Swedes, who had captured Novgorod, threatened.
This time the leaders of the zemstvo movement used to form the Council of the whole earth, the consecrated cathedral. Orders were organized, local government bodies in the controlled territories. The troops were being resupplied, diplomatic negotiations were underway. Prince Pozharsky and the Council of All the Land were looking for an applicant for the Moscow throne. It should be noted that then the idea of “looking for” the monarch abroad became popular so that he would not be associated with internal squabbles and elite clans. But at the same time, the main condition remained: the future tsar must accept Orthodoxy. A popular candidate was the Swedish prince Karl-Philip. The "Yaroslavl government" negotiated with the Swedes, but in reality it was a cover. Pozharsky, the savior of Russia, a talented statesman and military leader, a representative of the ancient family of Rurikovich, was to become the king.
Therefore, Pozharsky and Minin were in no hurry to go to Moscow, preparing the "rear". The Poles in Moscow were besieged by the remnants of the First Militia, starving, no longer posed a military threat. At the end of June 1612, the cellar of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and the leader of the Cossacks, Avraamy Palitsyn, arrived in Yaroslavl, asking the Council of the whole land to speed up the movement towards Moscow. Pozharsky was still in no hurry. In July 1612, Dmitry Mikhailovich was assassinated by one of the leaders of the First Militia - Ataman Zarutsky. The participants in the assassination attempt were detained, they told everything, but Prince Dmitry did not let them be executed, hoping to negotiate with the Cossacks.
When it became known that the Polish king Sigismund III had sent the army of Hetman Chodkevich to the rescue of the besieged Moscow garrison, Prince Pozharsky set out from Yaroslavl on July 27. He sent two advanced detachments of 1100 horsemen to the capital under the command of the governor Mikhail Dmitriev, the Arzamas nobleman Fyodor Levashev and Prince Dmitry Lopata - Pozharsky. The main forces of the militia approached Moscow on August 20. The voivode ordered the militias to build field fortifications among the city ruins on the likely path of the hetman's troops. The blockade of the besieged Polish garrison was also strengthened. Pozharsky resolutely refused to become a single camp with the Cossacks of the Moscow region "camps", which were commanded by Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy, remembering the sad fate of the First Zemstvo militia and its leader. But an agreement was reached with Trubetskoy on joint actions.
Hetman Chodkiewicz brought 12,000 men to Moscow. royal army. A significant part of it was made up of mounted Little Russian Cossacks (Cossacks and "Cherkasy"), a smaller part - the cavalry of the Polish gentry and light Hungarian cavalry. Khodkevich had little infantry, and it all consisted of mercenaries: Germans, Hungarians and others. The besieged garrison numbered 3 thousand people. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky had 6-7 thousand militias. Trubetskoy had up to 2.5 thousand Cossacks in his "camps". Thus, the total number of the zemstvo army did not exceed 8-10 thousand people.
The battle near Moscow lasted for two days - August 22 and 24. On the first day, the parties began a clash with a battle of cavalry detachments on Devichye Pole near the Novodevichy Convent. Then the hetman's army was able to advance into the city ruins, but by evening his fighting spirit dried up, and it retreated. An attempt by the besieged Poles to make a sortie from the Kremlin was also reflected. The Cossacks of Prince Trubetskoy participated in the battle with only four detachments. A day later, having restored and regrouped forces, the Poles attacked again. This time Hetman Chodkiewicz changed the direction of the strike. He decided to break through to the Kremlin through Zamoskvorechye. The battle resumed with a clash of cavalry. Towards evening, the royal army managed to knock the militia off the rampart of the Zemlyanoy Gorod and bring a wagon train of 400 carts with food for the besieged garrison into the reconquered part of Zamoskvorechye. The hetman could not achieve greater success.
The fate of the Battle of Moscow was decided by the heroic act of Kuzma Minin. Having received from the prince - voivode Pozharsky, three hundred horse noblemen and a detachment of the Lithuanian defector captain Khmelevsky in command, he imperceptibly crossed the Moscow River at dusk and suddenly attacked a Polish outpost from two companies - horse and foot - at the Crimean yard. Those, not accepting the battle, turned to flight, dragging away everyone who found themselves along the way. This blow by Kuzma Minin's detachment served as a signal for a general attack by the militias - Nizhny Novgorod and Cossacks. The hetman's army began to retreat to the Vorobyovy Gory. Khodkevich's army was driven out of Moscow with heavy losses. At dawn on August 25, the royal commander "fled with great disgrace" from Vorobyovy Gory through Mozhaisk to the Polish borders.
The siege of the Polish garrison continued. Unable to continue the defense, on October 27 (November 4), 1612, the Poles agreed to surrender and laid down their arms.
Moscow was liberated from the Poles. In subsequent years, Prince Dmitry gradually removed himself from real government of the country, ceased to be a prominent figure and occupied secondary positions. At various times he was in charge of Yamskiy, Razboyny, Prikaznye Delo, Moscow Court Orders. He performed diplomatic tasks, was a voivode in Nizhny Novgorod and Pereyaslavl-Ryazan. On April 20, 1642, the hero of Russia, Prince D. M. Pozharsky, died.
Gradually, the memory of him was erased. Mikhail Romanov and his father Filaret (Fyodor Romanov is the father of the first tsar from the Romanov family, actually ruled for him, one of those who unleashed the Troubles in Russia) did everything so that the feat of Minin and Pozharsky was forgotten and lost among the Romanov fairy tales, like “miraculous election "of Tsar Michael. The first who remembered the exploit of Minin and Pozharsky was Tsar Peter the First. Later, they began to remember about national heroes during the years of military failures. Thus, the events of the early 19th century and the Patriotic War of 1812 stirred up patriotic sentiments. It was against this background that the cult of Minin and Pozharsky began to form. There are poems dedicated to the feat of Pozharsky and Minin, in 1818 a monument was erected to them on Red Square with a short inscription on the pedestal: "Grateful Russia to Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky."Since that time, Minin and Pozharsky have become one of the most popular historical figures in Russia. They began to symbolize a sacrificial feat in the name of the Fatherland.
On November 7, 1941, Stalin, receiving the parade on Red Square, admonished the regiments leaving for the front: "May the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov inspire you in this war!"
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow. Designed by architect Ivan Martos in 1818.
Why the Savior of the Fatherland did not become the Russian Tsar
The propaganda of the Romanovs painted the image of a brave, honest campaigner who could not even think of a royal crown and handed over the throne to the "angelic" youth. But the reality was different. Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich and Minin were preparing the Zemsky Sobor in Yaroslavl, which was to elect the glorious voivode as tsar, and Metropolitan Kirill, who supported him, as the patriarch. The Troubles would be over quickly. The entire history of the Russian state could have taken a different path.
However, fate decreed otherwise. In July 1612, the army of Hetman Chodkevich moved to Moscow. A fatal "fork" arose before Pozharsky and Minin: to go to Moscow, which meant the collapse of the plan to save the state, which was already being implemented. Near Moscow will have to cooperate with the remnants of the First Militia, share with him the fruits of the militia. That is, to recognize the legitimacy of its leaders, to forgive the "thieves' Cossacks." At the same time, the positions of the traitor boyars are strong in Moscow, who still had great power and strength (wealth, land and people), that is, the ability to influence the election of the tsar. But, on the other hand, standing in Yaroslavl and waiting for Chodkevich to unblock Moscow was also dangerous. This compromised the Second Militia, which was gathering to liberate Moscow, and especially its leaders. Having learned about Chodkiewicz's campaign,many Cossack chieftains from the Moscow region "camps" -camps begged Pozharsky for help. The clergy also made similar requests. Of the two evils, it seemed, the lesser was chosen. We went to Moscow.
In the course of the surrender of the Poles, who had settled in the Kremlin, Pozharsky made a fatal mistake. He recognized the boyars as "captives of the Poles." After negotiations, the zemstvo leaders and the boyar government concluded an agreement and sealed it with an oath. The boyars received guarantees that they would preserve their ancestral hereditary lands. In response, the Boyar Duma, which had the significance of the supreme body of the monarchy, agreed to annul the oath to the Polish prince Vladislav and break off relations with the Polish king. That is, the zemstvo governors, by default, admitted the lie that "Lithuania" kept the boyars in captivity during the siege of Moscow. In fact, Pozharsky and Minin could not have done this. The Boyar Duma lost its role already under Ivan the Terrible. And during the Troubles, the Boyar Duma completely compromised itself. And the exile of the Duma was very weak. By 1612, there were almost no boyars left in Russia,to whom this rank was assigned by Ivan the Terrible. Someone was given the boyar rank by Boris Godunov, others - by impostors and Vasily Shuisky, that is, tsars who are very far from sacredness. The Boyar Duma itself recognized them as illegal tsars, that is, boyar ranks were obtained illegally. Now the family of Ivan Kalita was cut short, and from the point of view of formal law, Prince Rurikovich was supposed to become the ruler of Russia, and not a descendant of the "artless" boyars - slaves of the Moscow princes.and not a descendant of the "artless" boyars - slaves of the Moscow princes.and not a descendant of the "artless" boyars - slaves of the Moscow princes.
In addition, the formal right Pozharsky could support the right forces - the boyars who were sitting in Moscow at that time did not have squads, only Dmitry Mikhailovich and the leader of the First Militia, Trubetskoy, had "big battalions". Thus, right and strength were on the side of Prince Pozharsky at this turning point. He could calmly recognize the boyars as traitors ("enemies of the people"), which was true, bring them to justice, and give their lands and property to their people and Cossacks, strengthening their positions in the service class. It is also worth remembering that Pozharsky at this time was the idol of the nobles, zemstvo warriors and Cossacks - that is, the people. And everyone who felt sorry for the boyars and began to oppose Pozharsky, the Cossacks would quickly cut off their heads. It is clear who would have been elected tsar at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. The Rurik dynasty would be restored on the Russian table.
However, Pozharsky acted nobly. Himself, with his own hands, expelled them from the camp of traitors and invaders (although it was the boyars who staged the Troubles in Russia), returned the estates, preserved wealth. And a few months later, having returned the estates, the boyars were able to restore their personal detachments, regain power and put “their” king on the throne. So there was a third force, besides the First and Second militias, which could fight for the throne. Moreover, the force is experienced in intrigue, vile.
Prince Pozharsky spent the winter of 1612-1613 in Moscow. After the liberation of the capital from the Poles, his influence gradually declined. Dmitry Mikhailovich actively participated in the struggle for the throne. But in Russia it was not accepted to propose oneself as a candidate for the throne. In particular, neither Godunov nor Mikhail have ever offered themselves to the throne, but, on the contrary, categorically refused it. Pozharsky followed tradition. But, unfortunately, he made two fatal mistakes. The first was mentioned above - did not exhaust the traitor boyars. Although he had the right and the power to do so. He could expose them to disgrace, confiscate estates and wealth, and liquidate them as political opponents. He could even destroy physically. The second mistake is the dissolution of the noble detachments of the Second Militia. As a result, the thieves' Cossacks, who, apparently, were bribed by interested persons, also lost the power argument,were able to use the threat of force, and in some cases and brute force to drag Mikhail Romanov to the throne. That is, a candidate who was completely satisfied with the boyar clans guilty of the Troubles. They retained power, wealth and land.
Polish and Swedish sources say directly that Mikhail Romanov was put on the throne by the Cossacks. In the minutes of the interrogation of the steward I. Chepchugov and the nobles N. Pushkin and F. Durov, who were captured by the Swedes in 1614, it is said: “The Cossacks and the rabble did not leave the Kremlin until the Duma and the zemstvo officials swore allegiance to Mikhail Romanov on the same day … The nobles who were captured by the Poles also told. Polish Chancellor Lev Sapega directly told the captive Filaret Romanov: "Only the Cossacks put your son in the Moscow state." In April 1613, a Swedish scout reported from Moscow that the Cossacks had elected Mikhail Romanov against the will of the boyars, forcing Pozharsky and Trubetskoy to agree after the siege of their households. The French captain Margeret, who had served in Russia since Godunov's time, in 1613 in a letter to the English king Jacob noted,that the Cossacks chose "this child" to manipulate him.
In fact, there was no competent Zemsky Sobor in Moscow to elect the tsar. Mikhail Romanov himself was a narrow-minded young man who did not have any notable military and state talents. By the "right of blood", he was inferior to all his competitors. His father was a prisoner of the Poles, that is, Poland had the opportunity to put pressure on the Russian Tsar. The election of Mikhail as Tsar for a long time deprived Russia of its spiritual leader - the patriarch, since Mikhail and his mother wanted only Filaret as patriarch. Finally, the "meek" (weak-minded) Mikhail was so empty that his mother, the nun Martha and his relatives, the Saltykovs, actually ruled for the tsar.
As a result, instead of a brilliant commander, a capable politician and diplomat, the savior of Russia, a representative of the sacred dynasty of Rurikovich prince Dmitry Pozharsky, an insignificance was erected on the throne, and all the boyars, "enemies of the people" who staged the bloody Troubles could breathe a sigh of peace. Everyone rallied against Pozharsky - part of the clergy, both the Moscow boyars, who were sitting in the Kremlin with the Poles, and the short-sighted Trubetskoy (he himself dreamed of the throne), and the thieves' Cossacks.
Pozharsky, having dismissed the noble regiments, deprived himself of the last opportunity to occupy the Moscow table. Some of the nobles went west to fight the Poles, and most of them dispersed to the estates due to the lack of bread in Moscow. But in Moscow and the Moscow region there were thousands of thieves' Cossacks. In Moscow, beyond the Yauza, a whole Cossack town arose - the Cossack Sloboda. There were also several Cossack camps near Moscow. At the same time, the Cossacks are not Don, not Zaporozhye, but local - Moscow, Kostroma, Bryansk, etc. These were former serfs, peasants, townspeople. Over the long years of the Troubles, they got used to "free life" and did not want to return to their former occupations. They lost the habit of working and lived by robbery and handouts of self-appointed "kings". Pozharsky and the noble army, they fiercely hated. The coming to power of Pozharsky or a Swedish (Polish) prince was a disaster for them. Don Cossacks could receive a salary, gifts and go to their villages with songs. Where should the local thieves' Cossacks go? Yes, and they broke a lot of firewood, there was no city and village where the Cossack bands would not rob, rape, torture and kill. They did not want to return to a peaceful life and be responsible for their affairs.
Thus, the forces behind the Romanovs and the thieves' Cossacks quickly found a common language. They needed a weak tsar, a strong power under which they would have to give an answer, they did not want. In the end, it turned out that the best option - with a glorious, brave commander, liberator of Moscow, in addition to direct Rurikovich, did not pass. The Tushino Cossacks, the Tushino boyars, the Tushino patriarch and his relatives dragged their tsar - an incapacitated young man, from a clan that, since 1600, had participated in all intrigues and supported all impostors.
Author: Samsonov Alexander