One of the turning points of the domestichistory can surely be called the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612. It was then decided to be or not to be the Russian state. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this date for future generations. Let's take another look at this important event after many centuries, and also find out what the commander did when liberating Moscow from the Poles for success.
Prehistory
But first, let's find out what events preceded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
Confrontation of the Commonwealth, in factwhich is a federation of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with the Russian state began in the time of Ivan the Terrible. Then, in 1558, the famous Livonian War broke out, with the goal of gaining control over the Baltic lands. In 1583, the war ended with the signing of the peace, which turned out to be rather unfavorable for Russia. But on the whole, this world did not resolve the contradictions between the Russian kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
After the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584, Russianthe throne took his son - Fedor. It was a rather weak and painful person, in which the royal power weakened considerably. He died in 1598, leaving no heirs. The brother of Fyodor’s wife, Boyar Boris Godunov, came to power. This event had rather deplorable consequences for Russia, as the dynasty of Rurikovich, who had ruled the state for more than seven hundred years, was cut short.
Discontent grew within the Russian kingdomthe policy of Boris Godunov, whom many considered to be an impostor, who illegally seized power, and in due time, according to rumors, ordered to kill the legitimate heir of Ivan the Terrible.
This tense situation inside the country contributed to the possibility of foreign intervention.
Impostors
Правящая верхушка Речи Посполитой отлично understood that its main external rival is the Russian kingdom. Therefore, the fall of the Rurik dynasty served as a signal for the start of preparations for the invasion.
However, to open war Rzeczpospolita wasshe is not ready, so for her intrigues she used the impostor Grigory Otrepyev, who pretended to be Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible who died in childhood (according to another version, killed by order of Boris Godunov), for which he received the nickname Lzedmitry.
Army False Dmitry recruited with the support ofPolish and Lithuanian magnates, but not officially supported by the Commonwealth. She invaded the territory of Russia in 1604. Soon, Tsar Boris Godunov died, and his sixteen-year-old son Fedor was unable to organize the defense. The Polish army of Grigory Otrepyev in 1605 seized Moscow, and he himself proclaimed Tsar Dmitry I. However, the very next year he was killed in a coup. At the same time, much of the Poles who arrived with him were killed.
Vasily Shuisky, who was the representative of the lateral branch of Rurikovich, became the new Russian tsar. But a significant part of the population of Russia did not recognize him as the real ruler.
In 1607, on the territory of the Commonwealtha new imposter appeared whose real name is unknown. He went down in history as False Dmitry II. He was supported by the magnates, who had earlier started an uprising against the Polish king Sigismund III, but lost. The town of Tushin became the pretender of the impostor, because of which False Dmitry II was nicknamed Tushinsky thief. His army defeated the army of Shuisky and laid siege to Moscow.
Vasily Shuisky tried to negotiate withSigismund III, so that he withdrew his subjects. But he had no real leverage, and did not want to do that. Then the Russian Tsar concluded an alliance with the Swedes. This alliance assumed Swedish aid against False Dmitry II on the terms of the transfer of a number of Russian cities to Sweden, as well as the conclusion of an alliance against Poland.
Prerequisites for open Polish intervention
The main pretext for the beginning of the Polish interventionbecame the Russian-Swedish alliance. This gave a formal pretext for the Commonwealth to declare war on Russia, because one of the goals of the alliance was the opposition to Poland.
In the most of the Commonwealth at that time occurredstrengthening of royal power. This was due to the fact that by 1609 King Sigismund III had suppressed an uprising of a displeased gentry that lasted three years. Now there is an opportunity for external expansion.
In addition, the Russian-Polish contradictions since the Livonian War have not gone away, and the hidden Polish intervention in the form of unofficial support for impostors did not give the expected result.
These factors prompted decision making.on the open invasion of the troops of the Commonwealth into the territory of the Russian state in order to put it under full control. It was they who launched the chain of events, whose links were the seizure of the capital of Russia by the Polish-Lithuanian army, and then the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
Capture of Moscow by the Poles
Осенью 1609 года польское войско под led by hetman Stanislav Zolkiewski invaded the territory of Russia and besieged Smolensk. In the summer of 1610, they defeated Russian-Swedish troops in the decisive battle of Klushino and approached Moscow. On the other hand, Moscow was besieged by the army of False Dmitry II.
Meanwhile, the boyars overthrew Vasily Shuisky andimprisoned him in a monastery. They set the regime, which is known under the name of Seven Boyars. But the boyars who usurped power were unpopular with the people. They really could only control Moscow. Fearing that the power could seize the more popular False Dmitry II, the boyars went to collusion with the Poles.
By agreement, the son of King of Poland Sigismund III, Vladislav, became the Russian tsar, but at the same time he converted to Orthodoxy. In the autumn of 1610 the Polish army entered Moscow.
First militia
Thus, the Poles seized the capital of Russia.From the first days of their stay, they began outrages, which naturally caused displeasure of the local population. Getman Zolkiewski departed from Moscow, and left Alexander Gonsevsky to head the Polish garrison in the city.
In early 1611, under the leadership of Prince D.Trubetskoy, I. Zarutsky and P. Lyapunov the so-called First Militia was formed. His goal was to begin the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The main force of this army was the Ryazan nobles and Tush Cossacks.
The army approached Moscow. At the same time, an uprising against the invaders took place in the city, in which Dmitry Pozharsky, the future military leader playing a prominent role in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, played a prominent role.
At this time, the militia managed to occupy China Town,but the differences within him led to the murder of one of the leaders - Prokopy Lyapunov. As a result, the militia actually collapsed. The goal of the campaign was not achieved, and the liberation of Moscow from the Poles did not take place.
Formation of the Second Militia
The year 1612 has come.The liberation of Moscow from the Poles became the goal of the forming of the Second Militia. The initiative to create it came from the trade and craft class of Nizhny Novgorod, which suffered great oppression and losses during the Polish occupation. Nizhny Novgorod did not recognize the power of neither False Dmitry II, nor Vladislav Zhigmontovich - the prince of Poland.
One of the leading roles in the creation of the Secondnational militia played Kuzma Minin, who held the post of territorial warden. He called on the people to unite in the fight against the occupiers. In the future, he became famous as a military leader during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles and as a national hero. And then Kuzma Minin was a simple artisan, who managed to unite the masses of the people who flocked to his call in Nizhny Novgorod from other parts of Russia.
Among the arrivals was Prince Dmitry Pozharsky,one more person who gained fame as a military leader during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles of 1612. He was called upon by the people's militia at the general assembly, asking Prince Pozharsky to lead the people in the struggle against the interventionists. The prince could not refuse this request and joined the army, which began to form under the leadership of Minin, also his people.
The backbone of the militia consisted of Nizhny Novgorodgarrison of 750 people, but servicemen from Arzamas, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh and other cities approached the call. It should be noted the high abilities of Minin and Pozharsky in the leadership of the formation of the army and in coordination with other cities of Russia. In fact, they formed a body that performs the role of government.
Later, the Second People’s Militia during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, when it had already approached the capital, was supplemented by some groups from the dispersed First Militia.
Thus, under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky, a significant force was formed, capable of successfully resisting the interventionists. Thus began the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612.
Dmitry Pozharsky's personality
Now let's dwell in more detail onthe identity of a man who became famous as a military leader during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. It was Dmitry Pozharsky who, at the behest of the people, became the chief leader of the militia, and he deservedly holds a significant part of his contribution to this glorious victory. Who was he?
Dmitry Pozharsky belonged to the ancientprincely family, which was the lateral branch of Rurik on Starodubskaya line. He was born in 1578, that is, at the time of the formation of the militia in the autumn of 1611, he was about 33 years old. The father was Prince Mikhail Fedorovich Pozharsky, and the mother was Maria Fedorovna Berseneva-Beklemisheva, in whose estate, given to the dowry, Dmitry was born.
For civil service Dmitry Pozharskyentered the reign of Boris Godunov. The future commander, who commanded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles during the reign of Vasily Shuisky, led one of the detachments that opposed the army of False Dmitry II. Then he received the post of Zaraysk governor.
Later, as mentioned above, Pozharsky was involved in organizing an uprising against the Poles in Moscow during the existence of the First Militia.
Naturally, a man who fought so hardagainst foreign intervention, could not help but respond to the call of Kuzma Minin. Not the last role in the fact that it was Dmitry Pozharsky who led the militia, played by the fact that he had an estate near Nizhny Novgorod, that is, Nizhny Novgorod, who form the backbone of the troops, considered him their own.
That was the person who led the militia during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
Hike to Moscow
We figured out who commanded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, now let's dwell on the vicissitudes of the campaign itself.
The militia moved at the end of February 1612 fromNizhny Novgorod up the Volga towards Moscow. As you move to it, new people joined. Most of the settlements met the militia with joy, and where the local authorities tried to repair the opposition, as was the case in Kostroma, they were biased and replaced with people loyal to the Russian army.
In April 1612, the militia enteredYaroslavl, in which she stayed almost until August 1612. Thus, Yaroslavl became a temporary capital. This period of development of the liberation movement adopted the name “Standing in Yaroslavl”.
Having learned that the army of the hetman is approaching MoscowKhodkevich, in order to ensure her defense, Pozharsky at the end of July quickly sent several detachments from Yaroslavl, which advanced directly to the capital, and in the middle of August all the militia forces were concentrated in Moscow.
The forces of the parties
It became clear to all that the decisive battle was coming. What was the troop strength of the opposing sides and their deployment?
The total number of troops that submittedDmitry Pozharsky, according to sources, did not exceed eight thousand people. The backbone of this force was the Cossack detachments of 4,000 men and one thousand archers. In addition to Pozharsky and Minin, the militia commanders were Dmitry Pozharsky-Lopata (a relative of the chief commander) and Ivan Khovansky-Bolshoi. Only the last of them at one time commanded significant military units. The rest either, like Dmitry Pozharsky, had to be commanded by relatively small units, or there was no leadership experience at all, like Pozharsky-Lopaty.
Dmitry Trubetskoy, one of the leaders of the Firstthe militia brought with him another 2500 Cossacks. Although he agreed to help the common cause, he also reserved the right not to execute Pozharsky’s orders. Thus, the total number of the Russian army was 9,500-10,000 people.
The number of the Polish troops of Hetman Hodkiewicz,approached Moscow from the west, totaled 12,000 people. The main force in it was the Zaporozhye Cossacks numbering 8,000 soldiers under the command of Alexander Zborovsky. The most effective part of the troops was the hetman’s personal detachment of 2,000 men.
The commanders of the Polish troops - Chodkiewicz andZborovsky - had significant military experience. In particular, Chodkiewicz distinguished himself in the suppression of the recent uprising of the gentry, as well as in the war with Sweden. Among other commanders, it should be noted Nevyarovsky, Graevsky and Koretsky.
In addition to the 12,000 soldiers he brought with himKhodkevich, in the Moscow Kremlin was still three thousandth Polish garrison. They were led by Nikolai Strus and Joseph Budilo. These were also experienced warriors, but without any special leadership talents.
Thus, the total number of Polish armies reached 15,000 people.
Russian militia was located at the walls of the Whitethe city, between the Polish garrison, entrenched in the Kremlin, and the troops of Chodkiewicz, as between a hammer and an anvil. Their number was smaller than that of the Poles, and the commanders did not have such a great military experience. It seemed the fate of the militia is predetermined.
Battle for Moscow
So, in August 1612, the battle began, the outcome of which was the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The year of this battle forever entered the history of Russia.
The first to attack the hetman's troopsKhodkevich, having crossed the Moscow River, they reached the gates of the Novodevichy Convent, where the militia groups were concentrated. An equestrian battle ensued. The Polish garrison attempted attacks from its fortifications, while Prince Trubetskoy waited and did not hurry to help Pozharsky. It must be said that the military commander, when liberating Moscow from the Poles, commanded quite wisely, which at the initial stage did not allow the enemy to crush the militia positions. Chodkiewicz had to retreat.
After that, Pozharsky changed the deployment of troopsmoved to Zamoskvorechye. The decisive battle took place on August 24th. Getman Khodkevich again threw his troops into the attack, hoping to crush the smaller militia. But it did not work out the way he expected. Russian troops stood firmly, moreover, Trubetskoy's troops finally entered the battle.
Exhausted opponents decided to take a break.By evening, the militia went to the counter. They crushed the position of the enemy and forced him to retreat to the city of Mozhaisk. Seeing this, the Polish garrison was forced to surrender to the militia. Thus ended the liberation of Moscow from foreign invaders.
Effects
The liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 was the turning point of the entire Russian-Polish war. True, hostilities lasted for quite some time.
In the spring of 1613, the representative of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, was put in the kingdom. This served to significantly strengthen the Russian statehood.
At the end of 1618, it was finally concludedDeulinsky truce between the Russians and the Poles. As a result of this truce, Russia was forced to give considerable territory to the Commonwealth, but retained the main thing - its statehood. In the future, it helped to recapture her lost lands and even participate in the division of the Commonwealth itself.
The significance of the liberation of Moscow
Трудно переоценить значение освобождения русской capital for domestic history. This event allowed to preserve Russian statehood in a difficult struggle with the interventionists. Therefore, the battle of Moscow is inscribed in all textbooks on Russian history and is one of the most significant dates.
We also remember the leaders of the Second Militia - Prince Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who have long had the status of national heroes. Holidays are dedicated to them, monuments are set, memory is honored.
