Under Ivan the Terrible, the brother of the wife of Ivan the Terrible's son Fyodor Ivanovich, Boris Godunov, who was a talented intriguer, a specialist in "chess" court cruel games, moved into the revelry of the oprichnina. Gradually, even through secret assassinations, he gained strength and influence, and it seemed that he had set a higher goal for himself.
And Boris Godunov's victories in these games were impressive: he managed to exile the competitive Shuisky brothers; he was not afraid of the sickly son of Ivan the Terrible - Fedor, but sent the healthy Dmitry to the province - to Uglich, where in 1591 the tsarevich was suddenly found with a slit throat.
A crowd of townspeople dealt with the courtiers responsible for guardianship of the prince, but Godunov sent troops to Uglich to crack down on the townspeople. And the commission of inquiry that was created came to the conclusion that the prince had stabbed himself to death through negligence. For any man, this can only cause a bitter smile.
And when Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died on January 7, 1598 and the Rurik dynasty ceased, Godunov had a real chance to become a king, to found his own Godunov dynasty. And with a vengeance he began to scatter people who were undesirable for him away from Moscow: the Miloslavsky boyars, the Shuisky boyars, and then entered into a struggle with the Romanov boyars.
Godunov was able to appoint his man, Job, as a metropolitan, and then did everything to strengthen the power of his supporter - he did everything possible to introduce the patriarchate in Russia, and Job became Patriarch.
Boris also wanted to experiment with the already enslaved peasantry, or rather, to please the boyars - he legalized temporary “reserved summers”, perpetuating enslavement; legalized the owner to seek escaped property - that is, he strengthened slavery; increased the tax burden.
The boyars, observing the efforts of Godunov and his dirty methods, acted in an original way - the boyar and princely families decided to abolish altogether the monarchical form of government in Russia, to replace collective government - to delegate the supreme power to the Boyar Duma, that is, Russia could actually turn into a boyar (parliamentary) republic … And the boyar meeting demanded that the people swear allegiance to the Boyar Duma.
For the people, this was very unexpected and unusual, the veche and princely pre-Christian times, this was already a distant past, and new generations under Christianity were already used to living under monarchs and did not suspect that it could be done differently. This seemingly nice proposal for a form of government was opposed, except for Boris Godunov, who was striving for absolute power, Patriarch Job, who gathered an alternative Council to the Boyar Duma and nominated Godunov to the throne.
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In Russia, a dual power arose and the smell of another civil war. The people had to give the answer. At the same time, the power-hungry self-nominated candidate Godunov, for whom legitimacy - the support of the people - was important, was in a more difficult position. For the people, a political technological struggle began, in which Godunov and Job turned out to be more agile, smarter and cunning.
Most likely, they remembered the recent effective trick of Ivan the Terrible with the departure to the Aleksandrov Sloboda - when the people begged him to return to the throne, and he “agreed” on new conditions. This time the script was slightly modernized - Boris Godunov, who allegedly was no longer interested in the throne, allegedly wanted to retire from the bustle of the world, from court intrigues in the Novodevichy Convent, to go into thought alone.
The next theatrical move was for Patriarch Job - he allegedly liked this beautiful and modest move of Godunov, he, together with the priests, gathered more people and set off with icons and banners to the monastery to beg Godunov to enter the reign of Russia.
However, Godunov supposedly modestly refused this flattering offer - he was not ready, not according to him, they say, the hat of Monomakh, etc. The people liked this feigned modesty. And Job organized an even larger procession to the monastery for persuasion, and from the second time Godunov was “persuaded”, he gave his consent …
And Job in the Dormition Cathedral in the same 1598 hastened to "crown God" as tsar of Russia. However, the smart patriarch Job was not authoritative for everyone - literate boyars, unlike the people, understood the "maneuver" and refused to recognize Job's decision, to recognize Godunov as tsar and swear allegiance to him.
They began to conduct long compromise negotiations, and only two months later some of the boyars agreed to swear allegiance to Godunov, and he was once again proclaimed tsar.
Grateful to Job, Godunov returned significant tax benefits to the Church, which had been taken away by Ivan the Terrible, distributed ranks to the nobles, paid off debts to servicemen, and gave benefits to merchants, including foreign ones. Thus, the German merchant settlement Kukui was formed near Moscow. This is the same famous Kukui, in which Peter I spent his young riotous years. Godunov was an admirer of Western Europe and even gave permission to build a Protestant church in Kukui.
Godunov very skillfully, talentedly and evenly led the country, but he failed. Lust for power and a thirst for revenge failed. Godunov discovered the growing popularity among the people of the rich boyar family of the Romanovs, who had previously fought for the reign of the Boyar Duma and wanted to play it safe - Fyodor Nikitich Romanov was tonsured a monk and, under the name of Filaret, he was exiled to a monastery, and his two young children were sent to prison as hostages.
The beginning of the Time of Troubles
And then, as you can see, God decided to actively intervene and make his own adjustments - in Russia in 1601 endless rains were pouring throughout the summer, and in August (!) Frost struck - the entire crop perished, and a terrible famine set in in Russia, and as a consequence - anarchy and daring people trying to survive by any means. In search of food, crowds of the hungry reached Moscow and plundered the state granaries. All of Godunov's measures had no effect. On the contrary, the situation was aggravated, no one paid taxes, money depreciated, detachments of peasants and slaves led by local nominees began to plunder estates and estates of wealthy estates.
This was not only 1601, but also 1602 and 1603. Neighbors - Poles and Lithuanians all this time watched the riots and chaos in Russia, their sharp weakening, perhaps, rejoiced, because recently they fought in an exhausting war with the attacker for 25 years in a row on them by Ivan the Terrible, and thought - how to take advantage of this sharp weakening of Russia?
And in this situation, the villainous fate smiled at them - "they found each other": Poland was very strong at that time and a fairly literate former Russian nobleman, as a result of an Orthodox monk who even served in Moscow at the court of the Patriarch as a copyist of books - Grigory Otrepiev, who turned into the miraculously survived son of Ivan the Terrible - Dmitry, the legal heir to the Russian throne. This is how the tragic, tricky story with False Dmitry and the Time of Troubles began.
It should be noted that the insidious scenario was thought out talentedly: False Dmitry did not go with the Polish-Lithuanian army to Moscow to demand the "legal" throne, but arrived with a convincing "legend" to free people in the Zaporozhye Sich, to the Cossacks.
The Cossacks listened, believed, were indignant to the depths of their souls at the injustice and began to prepare a campaign against Moscow. While they were preparing, the rumor about the escaped Dmitry Ivanovich began to spread widely, and free people from the Don and other places began to draw into the Zaporozhye army.
When there were several thousand, the "people's" army crossed the Dnieper in October 1604 (after the harvest) and advanced to Moscow. Along the way, towns and villages surrendered surprisingly without a fight, and the "people's" army of False Dmitry grew like a snowball, even from the tsarist army they began to defect to the people's army. Boris Godunov, suppressed by the disasters of recent years and, expecting even worse, watching the advance of the people's army to Moscow, was greatly impressed, worried, sick and died on April 13, 1605. It turned out that his lofty dream, which he still managed to achieve with such labors, did not bring him anything good, on the contrary, it brought only torment, misfortune and ruined him. Life has written a historical parable.
At Kromy, the tsarist troops went over to False Dmitry. The road to Moscow was open, Moscow itself remained, in which some of the boyars began to swear allegiance to Godunov's son, Fyodor Borisovich. False Dmitry, having approached Serpukhov with an army, demanded to clear the city of the Godunovs and their patrons before his arrival in Moscow.
On June 1, 1605, the ancestor of A. S. Pushkin Gavrila Pushkin on the Execution Ground read the letter of False Dmitry. After that, the people burst into the Kremlin, the guards fled. The entire Godunov family, except for Xenia's sister, was killed by the archers, the Godunov dynasty ceased to exist. And Patriarch Job was dragged into the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral, tore off all the church clothes and signs from him, thrown into a cart and sent to the monastery. Moscow was "cleared", False Dmitry could enter.
At this time, a very strange incident occurred - in front of Moscow, the mother of the real Dmitry met him and recognized False Dmitry as her son. She probably wanted takeoff, honor and deliberately went to lie. Together they went out to the crowd of people who roared with delight. Modern political strategists would have hanged themselves with envy from such a high-quality production.
And when False Dmitry drove up to the Kremlin and took off his hat at the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed and crossed himself, a huge crowd of people fell to their knees and sobbed. It was a wonderful performance.
The first weeks of False Dmitry's reign were very successful: no blood was shed, no enemies were pursued. He allowed merchants to freely cross the borders of Russia, effectively participated in the work of the Boyar Duma, sensibly taught the archers military skills.
But it was not possible to hide the “awl” for a long time. At first, False Dmitry modestly pointed out that Catholics and Orthodox are Christians. These Uniate views of False Dmitry were an innovation for those around them. But the main damage was inflicted on him by the Polish detachments that were part of the Cossack army. They knew the truth and did not play their role qualitatively - they behaved in Moscow very confidently and arrogantly. Dissatisfied Muscovites began to grumble. False Dmitry reacted quickly - he invited the Poles to return home, but they refused.
False Dmitry had no choice but to arrest them, and after that he secretly released his accomplices, and they went to Poland, "indulging" along the way. It is clear that this was difficult to keep secret. And there was a "bust" when Marina Mnishek came to Moscow from Poland, accompanied by 2000 gentry, and the people suddenly learned that this Polish Catholic is the bride of False Dmitry.
The conclusions turned into events - on May 17, 1606, the princes Shuisky and Golitsyn, at the head of the Novgorodians and Pskovians, carried out a conspiracy - False Dmitry was killed, Marina Mnishek was sent into exile in Yaroslavl, and the Poles were allowed to leave for Poland. But the history of the turmoil does not end there, after another False Dmitry appeared, in addition to the Poles, the Swedes also intervened in Russian affairs, various popular revolts began, Russian statehood hung in the balance - the entire tragic period was described many times and ended only thanks to the meat merchant K. Z.. Minin-Sukhoruk and Prince D. M. Pozharsky. After the salvation of Russia, about 10 applicants fought for the royal throne.
But suddenly a compromise nominee won the victory - 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov, the son of Filaret, once persecuted by Godunov. The immaturity of the chosen king encouraged many boyars to take part in governing the country. And on February 21, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the kingdom. This is how the Romanov dynasty began.
But the fate of Russia once again smiled slyly - the boyars did not begin to rule Russia, as expected, but the father of Mikhail Romanov, Patriarch Filaret, who returned from Polish captivity, began to rule, who in a time of troubles offered the Polish prince Vladislav to the Russian throne.
Filaret cleverly usurped power. The Boyar Duma met rarely and became "tame", and the Zemsky Cathedrals disappeared altogether.
Attention should be paid to the great role of the people in this period of history, especially of free people - the Cossacks. Veche has not been collected for a long time, but the opinion and participation of the people in the fate of the country was expressed loudly and in an original way, sometimes tragically, and sometimes salutary, despite the fact that it was often manipulated by various leaders and even foreigners. It should be noted that during the reign of Mikhail Romanov and Filaret, many Cossacks became service people, in fact, minor nobles, and the peasants, emancipated in times of troubles, were again enslaved.
After the signing of peace treaties: with Sweden in February 1617 and in December 1618 with Poland, peacetime came in Russia, and the country began to quickly recover and quickly grow rich. On the initiative of the tsar, they began to build many industrial enterprises, including military ones, and the Russian army quickly re-equipped, while for the first time it began to use foreign mercenaries - mounted regiments of dragoons and reitars. For 15 years, Russia has strengthened and gained strength to such an extent that Mikhail Romanov decided to go to war with Poland in order to return back the lost Smolensk.
In pursuit of this goal, he was even able to create a military alliance with Sweden against Poland. In addition, the time was right - in the spring of 1632, the warlike Polish king Sigismund III died. And in the summer of 1632, Sweden moved its troops to Poland from the north, and a huge 100-thousand-strong Russian army led by the famous voivode M. B. Shein advanced from the east.
However, the plan failed, and the result was unexpectedly opposite, even discouraging. The new Polish king Vladislav (ruled 1632-1648), with the skillful actions of his army, inflicted a number of defeats on the Swedes and the Russian army, and completely surrounded it near Smolensk. After which the governor Shane surrendered his army, banners and weapons to the Polish king. Numerous mercenaries naturally went over to the Polish king to serve.
The Polish king Vladislav, in turn, made a strange noble gesture - he released the Russian prisoners, along with weapons and cannons, to Moscow. And then he moved to take Moscow against the same weapon. After Vladislav was wounded in battle, both sides signed the Peace of Polyanovsk in 1634, Smolensk remained a Polish city.
It should be noted that during the peace period in the south of Russia free people on the Dnieper and Don, the Cossacks, also grew stronger. They, "shalya", acting independently, attacked powerful Turkey and seized in 1637 a large booty - the fortress city of Azov, and decided to present it to the king. However, Mikhail Romanov refused this gift in order not to get involved in a war with Turkey. For five years the Cossacks held the Azov under their rule, then, having blown up the fortress walls, they left, giving the city to the Turks.
R. Klyuchnik