Time of Troubles: a chronology of events. The birth of the Russian Romanov dynasty What happened in 1613
Time of Troubles - Chronology of events
The chronology of events helps to better imagine how events unfolded in historical period. The Time of Troubles chronology presented in the article will help students to better write an essay or prepare for a report, and teachers to choose key events that should be told in class.
The Time of Troubles is a designation of the period of Russian history from 1598 to 1613. This period is marked natural disasters, Polish-Swedish intervention, the most severe political, economic, state and social crisis.
Chronology of events of troubled times
The prelude to troubled times
1565-1572 - oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible. The beginning of a systemic political and economic crisis in Russia.
1569 - Lublin Union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Formation of the Commonwealth.
1581 - murder by Ivan the Terrible in a fit of anger, the eldest son of Ivan Ivanovich.
1584, March 18 - the death of Ivan the Terrible while playing chess, the accession to the throne of Fedor Ivanovich.
1596. October - Schism in the church. Cathedral in Brest, split into two cathedrals: Uniate and Orthodox. The Kiev Metropolitanate was divided into two - faithful to Orthodoxy and Uniates.
December 15, 1596 - Royal Universal to the Orthodox with support for the decisions of the Uniate Council, with a ban on obeying Orthodox clergy, an order to accept the union (in violation of the law on freedom of religion in Poland). The beginning of an open persecution of Orthodoxy in Lithuania and Poland.
The beginning of troubled times
1598 - the death of Fedor Ivanovich, the termination of the Rurik dynasty, the election of boyar Boris Fedorovich Godunov, brother-in-law of the late tsar, as tsar at the Zemsky Sobor.
January 01, 1598. The death of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, the end of the Rurik dynasty. The rumor that Tsarevich Dimitri is alive is spreading in Moscow for the first time
February 22, 1598. Consent of Boris Godunov to accept the royal crown after much persuasion and threats to excommunicate Patriarch Job from the Church for disobedience to the decision of the Zemsky Sobor.
1600 Bishop Ignatius Grek becomes the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Moscow.
1601 Great famine in Russia.
Two contradictory rumors are spreading: the first is that Tsarevich Dimitri was killed on the orders of Godunov, the second is about his “miraculous salvation”. Both rumors were taken seriously, despite the contradiction, spread and provided anti-Godunov forces with help among the "masses".
Impostor
1602 Hierodeacon Grigory Otrepyev of the Chudov Monastery escapes to Lithuania. the appearance in Lithuania of the first impostor, posing as the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry.
1603 - Ignatius Grek becomes Archbishop of Ryazan.
1604 - False Dmitry I in a letter to Pope Clement VIII promises to spread the Catholic faith in Russia.
April 13, 1605 - Death of Tsar Boris Feodorovich Godunov. Muscovites' oath to Tsarina Maria Grigorievna, Tsar Feodor Borisovich and Princess Xenia Borisovna.
June 3, 1605 - Public murder on the fiftieth day of the reign of the sixteen-year-old Tsar Feodor Borisovich Godunov by princes Vasily Vas. Golitsyn and Vasily Mosalsky, Mikhail Molchanov, Sherefedinov and three archers.
June 20, 1605 - False Dmitry I in Moscow; a few days later he appoints Ignatius the Greek as patriarch.
Tushino camp
May 17, 1606 - Conspiracy led by Prince. Vasily Shuisky, the uprising in Moscow against False Dmitry I, the deposition and death of False Dmitry I.
1606-1610 - the reign of the "boyar tsar" Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky.
June 03, 1606 - Transfer of relics and canonization of St. Right-Believing Tsarevich Dimitry of Uglich.
1606-1607 - an uprising led by the "voivode of Tsar Dmitry" Ivan Bolotnikov.
February 14, 1607 - Arrival in Moscow at the royal command and at the request of Patriarch Hermogenes "byvago" Patriarch Job.
February 16, 1607 - "Letter of Permit" - a conciliar ruling on the innocence of Boris Godunov in the death of Tsarevich Dimitry of Uglich, on the legal rights of the Godunov dynasty and on the guilt of Moscow people in the murder of Tsar Fyodor and Tsarina Maria Godunov.
February 20, 1607 - Reading of the petition of the people and the "letter of permission" in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin in the presence of Sts. Patriarchs Job and Hermogenes.
1608 - False Dmitry II's campaign against Moscow: the impostor besieged the capital for 21 months.
The beginning of the Russian-Polish war, the Seven Boyars
1609 - Vasily Shuisky's agreement with Sweden on military assistance, the open intervention of the Polish king Sigismund III in Russian affairs, the siege of Smolensk.
1610 - the murder of False Dmitry II, mysterious death the talented commander Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, the defeat of the Polish-Lithuanian troops near Klushino, the overthrow of Vasily Shuisky from the throne and his full tonsure as a monk.
1610, August - Hetman Zholkevsky's troops entered Moscow, Prince Vladislav was called to the Russian throne.
militias
1611 - the creation of the First Militia by the Ryazan nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov, unsuccessful attempt liberate Moscow, the capture of Novgorod by the Swedes and Smolensk by the Poles.
1611, autumn - the creation of the Second Militia, led by the Nizhny Novgorod township elder Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.
1612, spring - The second militia moved to Yaroslavl, the creation of the "Council of All the Earth".
1612, summer - connection of the Second and the remnants of the First militia near Moscow.
1612, August - Hetman Khodkevich's attempt to break through to the Polish-Lithuanian garrison besieged in the Kremlin was repulsed.
1612, the end of October - the liberation of Moscow from the invaders.
The election of the king
1613 - Zemsky Sobor elects Mikhail Romanov as Tsar (February 21). Mikhail's arrival from Kostroma to Moscow (May 2) and his coronation to the kingdom (May 11).
The defeat of Zarutsky and Marina Mnishek near Voronezh.
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 marked the end of the Time of Troubles and was supposed to bring order to the rule of Russia. Let me remind you that after the death of Ivan 4 (the Terrible), the place on the throne was free, since the tsar left no heirs. That is why the Troubles occurred, when and internal forces and external representatives made endless attempts to seize power.
Reasons for convening the Zemsky Sobor
After the foreign invaders were expelled not only from Moscow, but also from Russia, Minin, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent invitation letters to all the destinies of the country, urging all representatives of the nobility to come to the Cathedral, where a new tsar would be elected.
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 opened in January, and it was attended by:
- Clergy
- Boyars
- nobles
- City Elders
- Peasant representatives
- Cossacks
In total, 700 people took part in the Zemsky Sobor.
The course of the Council and its decisions
The first decision that was approved by the Zemsky Sobor was that the tsar must be Russian. He must not refer to aliens in any way.
Marina Mniszek intended to crown her son Ivan (whom historians often call "Vorenok") for the reign, but after the Council's decision that the tsar should not be a foreigner, she fled to Ryazan.
History reference
The events of those days must be considered from the point of view of the fact that there were a huge number of people who wanted to take a place on the throne. Therefore, groups began to form, which united, promoting their representative. There were several such groups:
- Noble boyars. This included representatives of the boyar family. One part of them believed that Fedor Mstislavsky or Vasily Golitsyn would become the ideal tsar for Russia. Others leaned towards the young Mikhail Romanov. The number of boyars by interests was divided approximately equally.
- Nobles. These were also noble people with great authority. They promoted their "king" - Dmitry Trubetskoy. The difficulty was that Trubetskoy had the rank of "boyar", which he had recently received in the Tushensky yard.
- Cossacks. By tradition, the Cossacks joined the one who had the money. In particular, they actively served the Tushensky court, and after the latter was dispersed, they began to support the tsar, who was related to Tushin.
Mikhail Romanov's father, Filaret, was a patriarch in the Tushensky court and enjoyed great respect there. Largely due to this fact, Mikhail was supported by the Cossacks and the clergy.
Karamzin
Romanov did not have many rights to the throne. The more serious claim to him was that his father was on friendly terms with both False Dmitrys. The first False Dmitry made Filaret a metropolitan and his protege, and the second False Dmitry appointed him patriarch and his protege. That is, Mikhail's father was on very friendly terms with foreigners, whom they had just got rid of by the decision of the Council of 1613, they decided not to call for power anymore.
results
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 ended on February 21 - Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar. Now it is difficult to reliably speak about all the intricacies of the events of those days, since not so many documents have survived. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that the Cathedral was surrounded by complex intrigues. This is not surprising - the stakes were too high. The fate of the country and entire ruling dynasties was being decided.
The result of the Council was that Mikhail Romanov was elected to the kingdom, who at that time was only 16 years old. The unequivocal answer "Why exactly him?" no one will. Historians say that it was the most convenient figure for all dynasties. Allegedly, young Mikhail was an extremely suggestible person and he could be "managed as the majority needs." In fact, all the fullness of power (especially in the first years of the reign of Romanov) was not with the tsar himself, but with his father, Patriarch Filaret. It was he who actually ruled Russia on behalf of his son.
Feature and controversy
The main feature of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was its mass character. Representatives of all classes and estates, with the exception of serfs and rootless peasants, took part in deciding the future of the country. Actually we are talking about the all-estate Council, which had no analogues in the history of Russia.
The second feature is the importance of the solution and its complexity. There is no definite answer why Romanov was chosen. After all, it was not the most obvious candidate. The entire Council was marked by a large number of intrigues, bribery attempts and other manipulations of people.
Summarizing, we can say that the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was of great importance for the history of Russia. He concentrated power in the hands of the Russian tsar, laid the foundation for a new dynasty (the Romanovs) and delivered the country from persistent problems and claims to the throne from the Germans, Poles, Swedes and others.
(Trouble) is a term denoting the events of the late 16th-early 17th centuries in Russia. The era of the crisis of statehood, interpreted by a number of historians as Civil War. Accompanied by popular uprisings and rebellions, the rule of impostors, Polish and Swedish interventions, destruction state power and ruin of the country.
The turmoil is closely connected with the dynastic crisis and the struggle of boyar groups for power. The term was introduced by Russian writers of the 17th century.
The prerequisites for the Troubles were the consequences of the oprichnina and Livonian War 1558-1583: the ruin of the economy, the growth of social tension.
Regarding the time of the beginning and end of the Troubles, historians do not have a single opinion. Most often, the Time of Troubles is understood as the period of Russian history from 1598-1613, from the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the last representative of the Rurik dynasty on the Moscow throne, to the accession of Mikhail Romanov, the first representative of the new dynasty. Some sources indicate that the Time of Troubles lasted until 1619, when Patriarch Filaret, the father of the ruler, returned to Russia from Polish captivity.
The first stage of the Time of Troubles began with a dynastic crisis. The death of the childless tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598 allowed Boris Godunov to come to power, who won the difficult struggle for the throne between representatives of the highest nobility. He was the first Russian tsar to receive the throne not by inheritance, but by election at the Zemsky Sobor.
The accession of Godunov, who did not belong to the royal family, intensified the strife among the various factions of the boyars, who did not recognize his authority. In an effort to maintain power, Godunov did everything to remove potential opponents. The persecution of representatives of the most noble families only aggravated the latent enmity towards the king in court circles. The reign of Godunov caused discontent among the broad masses of the people.
The situation in the country worsened due to the famine of 1601-1603, caused by prolonged crop failures. In 1603, an uprising that broke out led by Cotton was put down.
Rumors began to spread among the people that misfortunes were sent down to Russia by the will of God as punishment for the sins of the unrighteous Tsar Boris. The fragility of Boris Godunov's position was exacerbated by rumors that Ivan the Terrible's son, Tsarevich Dmitry, who mysteriously died in Uglich, is still alive. Under these conditions, Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, "miraculously saved", appeared in the Commonwealth. The Polish king Sigismund III Vasa supported him in his claims to the Russian throne. At the end of 1604, having converted to Catholicism, False Dmitry I with a small detachment entered the territory of Russia.
In 1605, Boris Godunov died suddenly, his son Fyodor was killed, and False Dmitry I took the throne. However, his policy was not to the liking of the boyar elite. The uprising of Muscovites in May 1606 overthrew False Dmitry I from the throne. Soon the boyar Vasily Shuisky came to the throne.
In the summer of 1606, rumors spread about a miraculous new rescue of Tsarevich Dmitry. In the wake of these rumors, the runaway serf Ivan Bolotnikov raised an uprising in Putivl. The rebel army reached Moscow, but was defeated. Bolotnikov was captured and killed in the summer of 1607.
The new impostor False Dmitry II united around him the surviving participants in the Bolotnikov uprising, detachments of Cossacks and Polish-Lithuanian detachments. In June 1608, he settled in the village of Tushino near Moscow - hence his nickname "Tushinsky Thief".
The second stage of the Time of Troubles is associated with the split of the country in 1609: two tsars, two Boyar Dumas, two patriarchs (Germogenes in Moscow and Filaret in Tushino), territories recognizing the authority of False Dmitry II, and territories remaining loyal to Shuisky were formed in Muscovy.
Tushintsy focused on supporting the Commonwealth. Their success forced Shuisky in February 1609 to conclude an agreement with Sweden, hostile to Poland. Having given the Russian fortress of Korela to the Swedes, he received military aid, and the Russian-Swedish army liberated a number of cities in the north of the country. The entry of the Swedish troops into the territory of Russia gave Sigismund III a pretext for intervention: in the fall of 1609, the Polish-Lithuanian troops besieged Smolensk and occupied a number of Russian cities. After the flight of False Dmitry II under the onslaught of the troops of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, at the beginning of 1610, part of the Tushino people concluded an agreement with Sigismund III on the election of his son Vladislav to the Russian throne.
In July 1610, Vasily Shuisky was deposed from the throne by the boyars and forcibly tonsured a monk. Power passed to the government of the Seven Boyars, which in August 1610 signed an agreement with Sigismund III on the election of Vladislav as king, on the condition that he accept Orthodoxy. After that, the Polish-Lithuanian troops entered Moscow.
The third stage of the Troubles is associated with the desire to overcome the conciliatory position of the Seven Boyars, which had no real power and failed to force Vladislav to fulfill the terms of the contract.
Since 1611, patriotic sentiments have been growing in Russia. The First Militia, formed against the Poles, united the detachments of the former Tushinites led by Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy, the noble detachments of Prokopy Lyapunov, and the Cossacks of Ivan Zarutsky. The leaders of the militia created a provisional government - the "Council of All the Earth". However, they failed to drive the Poles out of Moscow, and in the summer of 1611 the First Home Guard broke up.
At this time, the Poles managed to capture Smolensk after a two-year siege, the Swedes occupied Novgorod, and a new impostor, False Dmitry III, appeared in Pskov, who in December 1611 was "declared" there as king.
In the autumn of 1611, at the initiative of Kuzma Minin, the formation of the Second Militia began in Nizhny Novgorod, headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In August 1612, it approached Moscow and liberated it in the autumn.
In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Romanov as Tsar. For several more years, the unsuccessful attempts of the Commonwealth to establish, to one degree or another, their control over the Russian lands continued. In 1617, the Treaty of Stolbovsky was signed with Sweden, which received the fortress of Korela and the coast of the Gulf of Finland. In 1618, the Deulino truce was concluded with the Commonwealth: Russia ceded the Smolensk and Chernihiv lands to it.
In 1619, Patriarch Filaret, the father of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, returned to Russia from Polish captivity, with whose name the people linked their hopes for the eradication of robbery and robbery.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Similar institutions arose in Western Europe, and in the Muscovite state. However, the causes and consequences of their activities were radically different. If in the first case class meetings served as an arena for solving political issues, a battlefield for power, then in Russia such meetings were mainly used for administrative tasks. In fact, the sovereign got acquainted with the needs of the common people through such events.
In addition, such meetings arose immediately after the unification of states, both in Europe and in Muscovy, therefore, this body coped with the formation of a holistic picture of the state of affairs in the country in the best possible way.
1613, for example, played a revolutionary role in the history of Russia. It was then that Mikhail Romanov was placed on the throne, whose family ruled the country for the next three hundred years. And it was his descendants who brought the state from the backward Middle Ages to the forefront at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Zemsky Sobors in Russia
Only such conditions, which were created by the estate-representative monarchy, allowed the emergence and development of such an institution as the Zemsky Sobor. 1549 was an outstanding year in this respect. Ivan the Terrible gathers people to eliminate corruption on the ground. The event was called the "Cathedral of Reconciliation".
The very same word at that time had the meaning of "nationwide", which determined the basis of the activities of this body.
The role of the zemstvo sobors was to discuss political, economic and administrative issues. In fact, it was the tsar's connection with the common people, passing through the filter of the needs of the boyars and the clergy.
Although democracy did not work out, the needs of the lower classes were still taken into account more than in Europe, permeated through and through with absolutism.
All free people took part in such events, that is, only serfs were not allowed. Everyone had the right to vote, but the actual and final decision was made only by the sovereign.
Since the first Zemsky Sobor was convened at the will of the tsar, and the effectiveness of its activities was quite high, this practice became stronger.
However, the functions of this institution of power changed periodically depending on the situation in the country. Let's look into this issue in more detail.
The evolution of the role of the cathedral from Ivan the Terrible to Mikhail Romanov
If you remember something from the textbook "History, Grade 7", without a doubt, the period of the 16th - 17th centuries was one of the most intriguing, starting from the child-killing king and ending with the time of troubles, when the interests of various noble families clashed and arose from scratch folk heroes like Ivan Susanin.
Let's see what exactly happened at that time.
The first Zemsky Sobor was convened by Ivan the Terrible in 1549. It has not yet been a full-fledged secular council. It hosted Active participation clergy. At this time, the ministers of the church are completely subordinate to the king and serve more as a conductor of his will to the people.
The next period includes the dark time of the Troubles. It continues until the overthrow of Vasily Shuisky from the throne in 1610. It was during these years that the significance of Zemsky Sobors changed dramatically. Now they serve the idea promoted by the new pretender to the throne. Basically, the decisions of such meetings at that time ran counter to the strengthening of statehood.
The next stage became the "golden age" for this institution of power. The activities of Zemsky Sobors combined legislative and executive functions. In fact, this was the period of the temporary rule of the "parliament of tsarist Russia."
After the appearance of a permanent ruler, the period of restoration of the state after the devastation begins. It was at this time that qualified advice was needed for a young and inexperienced king. Therefore, cathedrals play the role of an advisory body. Their members help the ruler sort out financial and administrative issues.
In nine years, starting from 1613, the boyars manage to streamline the collection of five-point money, prevent the re-invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian troops, and also restore the economy after the Time of Troubles.
Since 1622, not a single council has been held for ten years. The situation in the country was stable, so there was no particular need for it.
Zemsky Sobors in the 17th century increasingly took on the role of a regulatory body in the internal sphere, but more often foreign policy. The accession of Ukraine, Azov, Russian-Polish-Crimean relations and many issues are resolved precisely through this tool.
From the second half of the seventeenth century, the significance of such events noticeably decreases, and by the end of the century it ceases altogether. The most notable were two cathedrals - in 1653 and 1684.
At the first, the Zaporizhzhya army was accepted into the Moscow state, and in 1684 the last gathering took place. It decided the fate of the Commonwealth.
This is where the history of Zemsky Sobors ends. Peter the Great especially contributed to this with his policy of establishing absolutism in the state.
But let's take a closer look at the events of one of the most important cathedrals in the history of Russia.
Prehistory of the Cathedral of 1613
After death, the Time of Troubles began in Russia. He was the last of the descendants of Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. His brothers had died earlier. The eldest, John, as scientists believe, fell at the hands of his father, and the youngest, Dmitry, disappeared in Uglich. He is considered dead, but there are no reliable facts of his death.
Thus, from 1598, complete confusion begins. Irina, the wife of Fyodor Ioannovich, and Boris Godunov successively ruled in the country. Then the son of Boris, Theodore, False Dmitry the First and Vasily Shuisky visited the throne.
This is a period of economic decline, anarchy and the invasion of neighboring armies. In the north, for example, the Swedes ruled. The Kremlin, with the support of part of the population of Moscow, entered Polish troops under the leadership of Vladislav, son of Sigismund III, the Polish king and the Lithuanian prince.
It turns out that the 17th century in the history of Russia played an ambiguous role. The events that unfolded in the country forced the people to come to a common desire to get rid of the devastation. There were two attempts to expel impostors from the Kremlin. The first - under the leadership of Lyapunov, Zarutsky and Trubetskoy, and the second was headed by Minin and Pozharsky.
It turns out that the convening of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613 was simply inevitable. If not for such a turn of events, who knows how history would have developed and what the situation in the state would be like today.
Thus, in Pozharsky and Minin, at the head of the people's militia, the Polish-Lithuanian troops were expelled from the capital. All the prerequisites for restoring order in the country were created.
Convocation
As we know, Zemsky Sobors in the 17th century were an element of state administration (as opposed to spiritual ones). The secular authorities needed advice, which in many respects repeated the functions of the Slavic veche, when all the free men of the clan met and resolved pressing issues.
Prior to this, the first Zemsky Sobor of 1549 was still joint. It was attended by representatives of the church and secular authorities. Later, only the metropolitan spoke from the clergy.
This happened in October 1612, when, after the expulsion of the Polish-Lithuanian troops that occupied the heart of the capital, the Kremlin, they began to put the country in order. The army of the Commonwealth, which occupied Moscow, was liquidated quite simply due to the fact that Hetman Khotkevich stopped supporting it. In Poland, they have already realized that in the current situation they cannot win.
Thus, after cleaning up all the external occupying forces, it was necessary to establish a normal strong government. For this, messengers were sent to all regions and volosts with a proposal to join the chosen people in the general council in Moscow.
However, due to the fact that the state was still devastated and not very calm, the townspeople were able to gather only a month later. Thus, the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 was convened on January 6th.
The only place that could accommodate all the people who arrived was the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. According to various sources, their total number ranged from seven hundred to one and a half thousand people.
Candidates
The result of such chaos in the country was a large number of people who wanted to sit on the throne. In addition to the primordially Russian princely families, the rulers of other countries joined the election race. Among the latter, for example, were the Swedish prince Karl and the prince of the Commonwealth Vladislav. The latter was not in the least embarrassed by the fact that he was kicked out of the Kremlin only a month ago.
The Russian nobility, although they presented their candidatures for the Zemsky Sobor of 1613, did not have much weight in the eyes of the public. Let's see which of the representatives of the princely families aspired to power.
The Shuiskys, as well-known descendants, were undoubtedly quite sure of victory. However, the danger that they, and the Godunovs who found themselves in a similar situation, would begin to take revenge on past offenders who overthrew their ancestors was very high. Therefore, the chances of their victory turned out to be scanty, since many of the voters were related to those who could suffer from the new rulers.
Kurakins, Mstislavsky and other princes, who once collaborated with the Kingdom of Poland and the Principality of Lithuania, although they made an attempt to join power, failed. The people did not forgive them for their betrayal.
The Golitsyns could well have ruled the Moscow kingdom if their most powerful representative had not languished in captivity in Poland.
The Vorotynskys did not have a bad past, but for secret reasons their candidate, Ivan Mikhailovich, filed for self-withdrawal. The version of his participation in the "Seven Boyars" is considered the most plausible.
And, finally, the applicants most suitable for this vacancy are Pozharsky and Trubetskoy. In principle, they could have won, since they especially distinguished themselves during the Time of Troubles, knocked out the Polish-Lithuanian troops from the capital. However, they were let down, in the eyes of the local nobility, by a not very outstanding pedigree. In addition, the composition of the Zemsky Sobor was not unreasonably afraid of the subsequent “purge” of the participants in the Seven Boyars, with which they could most likely start political career these candidates.
Thus, it turns out that it was necessary to find a previously unknown, but at the same time quite a noble descendant of a princely family, capable of leading the country.
official motives
Many scientists have been interested in this topic. Is it a joke - to determine the real course of events during the formation of the foundations of modern Russian statehood!
As the history of Zemsky Sobors shows, together people managed to make the most correct decisions.
Judging by the records of the protocol, the first decision of the people was to exclude all foreign applicants from the list of candidates. Neither Vladislav nor the Swedish prince Charles could now participate in the "race".
The next step was the selection of a candidate from the local representatives of the nobility. The main problem was that most of them had compromised themselves during the past ten years.
Seven boyars, participation in uprisings, support for Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian troops - all these factors played against all candidates to a large extent.
Judging by the documents, in the end there was only one left, which we did not mention above. This man was a descendant of the family of Ivan the Terrible. He was the nephew of the last legitimate tsar Theodore Ioannovich.
Thus, the election of Mikhail Romanov was the most correct decision in the eyes of the majority of voters. The only difficulty was the lack of nobility. His family descended from the boyar from the Prussian princes Andrei Kobyla.
First version of events
The 17th century in the history of Russia was of particular importance. It is from this period that we know such names as Minin and Pozharsky, Trubetskoy, Godunov, Shuisky, False Dmitry, Susanin and others.
It was at this time that by the will of fate, or perhaps by God's finger, the ground for the future empire was formed. If not for the Cossacks, which we will talk about a little later, the course of history would most likely be completely different.
So, what was the advantage of Mikhail Romanov?
According to the official version presented by many respected historians such as Cherepnin, Degtyarev and others, there were several factors.
Firstly, this applicant was quite young and inexperienced. His inexperience in state affairs would have allowed the boyars to become "gray cardinals" and in the role of advisers to be actual kings.
The second factor was the involvement of his father in the events associated with False Dmitry II. That is, all defectors from Tushino could not be afraid of revenge or punishment from the new king.
Of all the applicants, only this clan was the least associated with the Commonwealth during the "Seven Boyars", so the patriotic feelings of the people were completely satisfied. Still: a boyar from the family of Ivan Kalita, who has among his relatives a clergyman of high rank, an opponent of the oprichnina and, moreover, young and "common", as Sheremetyev described him. These are the factors, according to the official version of events, that influenced the accession of Mikhail Romanov.
The second version of the cathedral
Opponents consider the following factor to be the main motive for the election of the said candidate. Sheremetyev quite strongly strove for power, but could not achieve it directly due to the ignorance of the family. In view of this, as history teaches us (Grade 7), he developed an unusually active work to popularize Mikhail Romanov. Everything was beneficial for him, because his chosen one was a simple, inexperienced young man from the outback. He did not understand anything public administration, neither in metropolitan life, nor in intrigues.
And to whom will he be grateful for such generosity and to whom he will listen first of all when accepting important decisions? Of course, those who helped him take the throne.
Thanks to the activity of this boyar, most of those who gathered at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613 were prepared to make the “right” decision. But something went wrong. And the first results of the voting are declared invalid "due to the absence of many voters."
The boyars, who opposed such a candidacy, made an attempt to get rid of Romanov. A detachment of Polish-Lithuanian soldiers was sent to eliminate the objectionable applicant. But the future tsar was saved by the previously unknown peasant Ivan Susanin. He led the punishers into the swamp, where they disappeared safely (along with the folk hero).
Shuisky, on the other hand, develops a slightly different front of activity. He begins to contact the atamans of the Cossacks. It is believed that this force played leading role in the reign of Mikhail Romanov.
Of course, one should not belittle the role of Zemsky Sobors, but without the active and urgent actions of these detachments, the future tsar would actually have no chance. It was they who actually put him on the throne by force. We will talk about this a little lower.
The last attempt of the boyars to avoid the victory of Romanov was his coming out to the people, so to speak, "to the bride." However, judging by the documents, Shuisky was afraid of failure, due to the fact that Mikhail was a simple and illiterate person. He could discredit himself if he began to speak to the voters. That is why tough and urgent action was needed.
Why did the Cossacks intervene?
Most likely, thanks to the active actions of Shuisky and the impending failure of his company, as well as due to the attempt of the boyars to “dishonorably deceive” the Cossacks, the following events occurred.
The significance of Zemstvo sobors is, of course, great, but aggressive and brute force often turns out to be more effective. In fact, at the end of February 1613, there was a semblance of an assault on the Winter Palace.
The Cossacks broke into the Metropolitan's house and demanded to convene the people for discussion. They unanimously wished to see Romanov as their tsar, "a man from a good root, who is a good branch and honor of the family."
The frightened clergyman summoned the boyars, and under pressure a unanimous decision was made on the accession of this candidate.
Cathedral oath
This is actually a protocol that was drawn up by Zemsky Sobors in Russia. The delegation delivered a copy of such a document to the future tsar and his mother on March 2 in Kolomna. Since Mikhail was only seventeen years old at that time, it is not surprising that he was frightened and immediately flatly refused to ascend the throne.
However, some researchers of this period argue that this move was later corrected, since conciliar oath actually completely repeats the document read to Boris Godunov. "To confirm the people in the thought of the modesty and piety of their king."
Be that as it may, Michael was persuaded. And on May 2, 1613, he arrives in the capital, where he is crowned on July 11 of the same year.
Thus, we got acquainted with such a unique and hitherto only partially studied phenomenon in the history of the Russian state as Zemsky Sobors. The main point that defines this phenomenon today is its fundamental difference from the veche. No matter how similar they may be, there are several fundamental features. Firstly, the veche was local, and the cathedral was state. Secondly, the former had full power, while the latter was still more of an advisory body.
On July 21, 1613, the wedding of Mikhail Romanov took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. This event was a turning point in the history of the country - it marked the founding of a new ruling dynasty of the Romanovs and put an end to the Great Troubles.
After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow in August 1612, it became possible to elect a new tsar in a calmer atmosphere. Among the contenders were the Polish prince Vladislav, the Swedish prince Carl-Philip and others. However, the Zemsky Sobor, convened at the beginning of 1613, elected 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom.
He was closest in kinship to the former Russian tsars: the great-nephew of Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina, the first wife of Ivan the Terrible. The ambassadors of the Zemsky Sobor found him with his mother in Kostroma, in the Ipatiev Monastery. Mikhail's mother, Nun Martha, was in despair, she tearfully begged her son not to accept such a heavy burden. Michael himself hesitated for a long time. Only after an appeal to the mother and Michael of Ryazan Archbishop Feodorita Martha gave her consent to the elevation of her son to the throne. A few days later, Mikhail left for Moscow.
It is worth saying that Martha's experiences were not in vain. Upon learning of the election of her son as king, the Poles tried to prevent him from taking the throne. A small Polish detachment went to the Ipatiev Monastery in order to kill Mikhail. The crime was prevented by the feat of Ivan Susanin, the peasant headman. Having given "consent" to show the way, he sent his son-in-law to warn Martha and her son, and led the enemies into the dense forest. After torture, the Poles executed Susanin, but they themselves died, bogged down in the swamps.
The Russian throne at that moment was a heavy burden, so it is not surprising that Mikhail did not immediately agree to occupy it. The new king was still very young, and his state lay in ruins after unrest and endless foreign interventions. His father, the future Russian Patriarch Filaret, who himself was aiming for the king, was at that time in Polish captivity. But in the end, the young man nevertheless went to Moscow and on July 21, 1613, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was married to the kingdom. This helped his father too - Filaret was soon released from captivity, returned to Moscow and became patriarch.
From that moment on, there were actually two sovereigns in Russia: Mikhail - the son, Filaret - the father. State affairs were decided by both, the relationship between them, according to the chronicles, was friendly, although the patriarch had a large share in the government. With the arrival of Filaret, the troubled and powerless time ended. The era of the reign of the Romanov dynasty began, which lasted more than three centuries.
