500 years ago there was a city here. "Strange Times" by Martin Luther

A teenage girl of 14-15 years old, who was sacrificed about 500 years ago, spent all the past centuries in the ice at the top of a six-thousander, which contributed to excellent preservation. Next to her were found the frozen bodies of two more young victims: a seven-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.

1. Instead of traditional DNA testing, scientists examined proteins in the tissue and determined that the apparently healthy girl had a bacterial lung infection resembling tuberculosis. For the first time, an infection has been detected in a mummy.

2. A group of researchers from the City University of New York, led by Angelique Corthals, studied samples of the mummy (the so-called Maiden, “Maiden”).

3. A unique mummy was discovered in 1999 on the slope of the Llullaillaco volcano, rising 6739 meters above sea level on the border of Argentina and Chile.

4. Three mummies were found, which, unlike their embalmed Egyptian “colleagues,” were deep frozen. They also began to study the body of a seven-year-old boy, but scientists have not yet decided to examine the remains of a six-year-old girl. It was probably hit by lightning at some point, which may affect the accuracy of the research results.

5. Most likely, three children were sacrificed, as evidenced by the artifacts located next to them: gold, silver, clothes, bowls of food and an extravagant headdress made of white feathers of unknown birds.

6. Historians suggest that children were chosen by the Incas for their beauty (in addition, children were considered purer creatures than adults). The Incas did not sacrifice children very often.

7. In previous studies, it was established that before children were sacrificed, for a year they were fed “elite” foods - maize and dried llama meat, although before that they ate exclusively peasant food, consisting of potatoes and vegetables.

Among the 150 peoples inhabiting today Krasnoyarsk region, Russians, of course, are in first place in terms of numbers. But just 500 years ago there were only a few of them. Runaway peasants, rebel Cossacks, sovereign's people- Many were attracted by the Siberian land.

Most modern residents, with wrinkled foreheads, can name at most three or four names of the conquerors of the richest land in the world: Ermak, Khabarov, Dezhnev and the Laptev brothers. Unfortunately, this is where the knowledge of today's Siberians ends. Krasnoyarsk residents will be able to add Andrei Dubensky to this list. Meanwhile, knowledge of your roots and skillful handling of this knowledge is simply necessary. Including so as not to lose your homeland. AiF-Krasnoyarsk correspondent found out why the descendants of the first settlers of Siberia differ from us anthropologically.

Mokchons, Kerzhaks and Chipmunks

“Currently, several old-time settlements have survived on the territory of the region, which have preserved a way of life close to the pioneer one,” says the archaeologist Yuri Grevtsov.- They were preserved only where harsh life dictates the correctness of those life positions, in which they were formed. The difficulties of survival and the need for support from the team became the determining factors. People accept the principles of pioneers where there is no other way to survive. The same effect is observed among the American Aleuts and the Eskimos of Canada, although there is a gradual replacement of traditional crafts with commercial shows.”

On the territory of the region, several old-time settlements have survived, which have preserved a way of life close to the pioneer one. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family

Old-timer settlements also retained the family names of the peoples inhabiting them: Mokchons, Kerzhaks and Chipmunks. The inhabitants of Kezhma were called Mokchons. The very first Cossacks took wives from the Tungus from a clan whose totem (ancestor) was “mokchon” - a gudgeon. Hence the family nickname for all descendants. It is clear that it was strictly forbidden to eat a totem animal for food, and this custom persisted until recent years XX century. At the same time, this taboo served as a source of endless jokes from neighbors. For a long time, dozens of jokes like “feed Mokchon a minnow” circulated around Kezhma for a long time. “Chipmunks” were the name given to the inhabitants of the borderlands Irkutsk region districts. Also a totem. Well, the name “Kerzhaks” originally belonged to the residents of the Motyginsky region and only in the 19th century it became a collective name for the entire Russian indigenous population of Siberia.

Cossacks vs settlers: who is cooler?

The first mention of the appearance of Russians in Siberia does not have an exact date. Nevertheless, it is known for certain that this penetration had a fairly massive nature and two traditional directions: the northern, associated with the development of river mouths by the Arkhangelsk residents, and the more dangerous southern one, which was used mainly by serfs, due to the active opposition of the nomads. In any case, active development Krasnoyarsk Territory began in the north in the 17th century. But the serving Cossacks sent by the sovereign after Ermak mention in their notes the presence of Russians in Siberia.

The development of the Krasnoyarsk region began from the north in the 17th century. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family

On the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory there are preserved archaeological sites, proving the penetration of Russians into these lands in the 16th century. In Taimyr, the winter hut of Khariton Laptev is still preserved, which is recognized as an object of archaeological heritage and is protected by the state. The issue of museumification of the monument and its further research is now being decided. So the Russians began the development of Siberia at least a hundred years before it became the sovereign's will. All scientists unanimously note that the Russians’ path to the east, to Pacific Ocean, cannot be compared with the American Race to the West.

View Siberian villages has not changed for centuries. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family

The Cossacks were opposed by no less independent tribes than the Indians. In Siberia at that time there was also a developed practice of scalping and ritual cannibalism. So here, too, America does not stand out in any way. Now multiply the fear of wild cannibals (where do you think the name “Samoyeds” came from?) by temperature changes from plus 50 to minus 50 degrees. Complete isolation from administrative and government centers and structures. There will be no support until a year later (in best case scenario). Add the daily responsibilities of preparing firewood, catching fish, and killing game. With any attempt to settle down, it is necessary to immediately sow grain, if it sprouts at all and can ripen, and it would be nice to also defend yourself and get a wife. Well, do you want to explore a new land?

Old-timer settlements have preserved a lifestyle close to that of the pioneers. Photo: From the personal archive of the Grevtsov family

Don't want Alaska back?

Science has already proven that humans and a significant part of the animal world (up to mammoths) North America are newcomers. They started from Asia (including from the territory of our region - keto!) and reached America through the isthmus of the Bering Strait. So it turns out that their first population is ours, the indigenous ones. So it is still unknown who lives on foreign land.”

Who owns Siberia?

More than once, the main claim against Russia has slipped through the foreign media - sole ownership of Siberia and its riches. And many countries are trying to find scientific grounds for redistributing the existing situation.

In order to declare wild lands as property, it is necessary to prove the presence of several basic characteristics. On this land there must be signs of authority (a judge or tax collector), coins of a certain state, a common letter and account (from whom it was received) and, finally, to whom the oath of local leaders was taken. And here Russia does not always have an advantage. The Chinese have made their mark in this regard in many areas of Asia. This applies more to the Tien Shan and Sayan steppe corridor. Between Abakan and Sayanogorsk there were, and this has been proven, the palaces of Chinese governors. Peoples of the Baikal region ( late Scythians) paid tribute to China.

The danger of such a historical redistribution of land was recognized even under the USSR. By order of the government, Academician Okladnikov went on an expedition and, with anthropological material in his hands, proved that the Amur and Transbaikalia did not belong to the Chinese. At the same time, we had to debunk the myth about common roots in the origin of the Buryats and the peoples of the Middle Empire.

Moscow through the eyes of an engineer:

Engineering historian Ayrat Bagautdinov talks about how Muscovites lived five centuries ago and whether they scolded their utility workers.

Airat Bagautdinov

Today, Muscovites often criticize the city's housing and communal services: either the water will be turned off in the summer, or prices will once again be raised. Complete draconian laws and the dark Middle Ages. However, it is there, in the Middle Ages, that the history of Moscow housing and communal services goes.

Plumbing

Without water, as you know, you can’t go there or go there. The water pipeline is the first infrastructure facility to appear in Moscow. True, at first he did not provide for all Muscovites, but only for residents of the Kremlin.

In 1485, a large-scale reconstruction of the main Moscow fortress began - it acquired modern look. The first tower to be built is on the Moskvoretsk side, which will later be called Taynitskaya. Why is it called that? As the chronicle writes, “a hiding place was built under it,” that is, a secret well in case of a siege.

The Sviblova (current Vodovzvodnaya) and Sobakina (Corner Arsenal) towers were equipped with the same hiding places. “But a well is not a water supply,” you say. So here it is: in Arsenal Tower underground galleries extended from the well, through which water flowed, meeting the needs of the inhabitants of the fortress - both chronicles and archaeological excavations. Thus, even during the construction of the Kremlin more than 500 years ago, a gravity (that is, flows by itself) water supply system appeared in Moscow.

Proposed diagram of the structure of the secret well of the Tainitskaya Tower. Reconstruction by N. Falkovsky

Two centuries later, either this water supply system had become dilapidated, or its volume was not enough - they began to pump water from the Moscow River. In 1621, the architect and mechanic Christopher Galovey came to us from Scotland and installed a water-lifting machine in the Sviblova Tower, after which it became known as the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.

Pressure water supply by Christopher Galovey. Reconstruction by N. Falkovsky

How did this first Moscow artificial water supply system work? Water from the Moscow River flowed through a pipe into a well at the base of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. The water-lifting mechanism was an endless loop with buckets suspended from it, which drew water from the well and lifted it into a tank at the top of the tower. The mechanism was driven, apparently, by a horse-drawn drive, that is, the horses walked in a circle all day long, turning the wheel.

But the first water supply for city residents will appear in Moscow only in early XIX century. But that's a completely different story! We'll talk about it in other issues of our column.

Pavements

Moscow roads were the talk of the town back in the Middle Ages. Foreign travelers in their notes they compete in the expressiveness of describing Moscow dirt.

“In order to get to our horses and go home, we had to wade through mud that was knee-deep,” writes Raphael Barbarini in 1565. A hundred years later, Pavel Aleppo complains: “We could not go from home to the market, because the mud and slush were as deep as a man.” A little later - Baron Korb: “Streets in German settlement have become impassable: they are strewn with carts deeply stuck in the swamp, from which the horses cannot pull them out.”

To be fair, already in the Middle Ages the streets began to be paved: “Most of the streets are paved with round logs placed side by side; They walk along them as if on footbridges,” German Adam Olearius shares his impressions.

Sigismund's plan. Fragment. Wooden pavements on the main streets are clearly visible

Apparently this didn't help much after all. As another foreign tourist, Yakov Reintfels, notes, these pavements “are, however, always covered with mud or a thick layer of dust, and are quite smooth only in winter, when snow and ice level everything.”

Apollinary Vasnetsov. At the Myasnitsky Gate White City in the 17th century. The artist depicted a wooden pavement

Fire safety

Until recently, Moscow was a city predominantly made of wood, and therefore was in constant danger of burning down. The German Adam Olearius coolly notes: “Not a month or even a week goes by without several houses, and at times, if the wind is strong, entire alleys, not being destroyed by fire... Shortly before our arrival, a third of the city burned down and, they say, four years ago it was the same thing again."

Question fire safety- one of the most pressing issues facing the city authorities in those days. Best treatment, as you know, this is prevention. Out of harm's way summer time it was simply forbidden to light stoves, for which purpose special services They went around the huts and sealed them. It was allowed to open the ovens only once a week, on Thursday, to bake bread - apparently for the week ahead.

The ubiquitous stands with hooks and buckets also trace their origins back to the Middle Ages. The “Order on City Decoration” of 1649 prescribes: “All mansions would be ordered, to protect against fire time, to keep measuring cups and large cauldrons with water, and brooms, and brooms.”

IN mid-17th century century, a fire department was established in Moscow. However, this responsibility, even if now centralized, still falls on the shoulders of the townspeople themselves. The “Order” orders people to be recruited for service “from ten households, one person at a time, with spears, and with axes, and with water pipes... day and night, incessantly.”

A fire alarm was also developed - analogue, of course. It is described with delight by a traveler from the Orthodox East, Pavel Aleppsky: “If a fire happens at night or during the day, from that quarter (where the fire is) they let you know about it: they rush to the bell tower and ring the bell on one edge so that the watchmen who are constantly on the Kremlin can hear wall." There was a fire tower on each of the Kremlin walls. The watchmen, seeing the fire or hearing the alarm from one of the districts, rang the bell on their tower to gather the entire district to fight the fire.

How did you fight? Despite the constant mention in the “Nakaz” of tubs and water pipes, most often they extinguished the fire differently. Let us give the floor to the witness of this strange action, our eternal informant Adam Olearius: “They never extinguish it with water, but they immediately break down the houses closest to the fire so that the fire loses its strength and goes out. For this need, every soldier and guard at night must have an ax with him.”

Fire extinguishing. Miniature from Litsevoye chronicle code. It is clearly visible that they are fighting the fire with axes

God forbid you become the culprit of a fire in medieval Moscow. The measure of punishment is the highest: “Whose carelessness causes a fire: and that person will be executed by death from the Sovereign.”

However, despite all these draconian measures and the developed fire-fighting infrastructure, fires occurred frequently. Therefore, Muscovites have developed mechanisms in case of disaster. On modern Trubnaya Square there was a sort of first Moscow “IKEA” - a market of ready-made houses: “Here you can buy a house and get it ready to be built for installation in another part of the city in two days: the beams are already fitted to each other, and all that remains is to fold them and caulk them the cracks are covered with moss.”

Apollinary Vasnetsov. Bast trading on Truba in the 17th century

Law enforcement

The Moscow police can also trace their history back to the distant past. Back in early XVI century, city authorities have been thinking about public safety. Used at first preventive measures- all streets in Moscow have been locked with bars at night since 1504, and guards stand at the bars. Well, the current side streets of Varvarka are completely closed for all nights and weekends!

Grates on Moscow streets. Miniature from the Facial Chronicle vault

However, the strictness of laws in our country has always been compensated by the non-compulsory nature of their implementation. The guardsman of Ivan the Terrible, the German Heinrich Staden, cites in his notes interesting fact- outside of school hours it was possible to pass through the bars... “except perhaps by acquaintance with the watchman.”

Punishments for violations of such “public order” were very severe. As one of the first foreign tourists in Moscow, Sigismund Herberstein, notes: “If anyone is caught after this time, then he is either beaten and robbed, or thrown into prison, unless he is a famous and eminent person: such people are usually escorted to their place by guards.” home." The thing is clear - the law is not written for the elites!

Today the rules traffic They tell us to always drive with our headlights on. It turns out that this tradition also goes back to ancient times. Polish expat Maskiewicz, who served in the intervention forces in Moscow in Time of Troubles, recalls in his memoirs: “At night, or after sunset, the servant standing in front holds a large lantern with a burning candle, not so much to illuminate the road, but for personal safety: there, everyone riding or walking at night without fire is considered either a thief or a spy."

In the middle of the 17th century, along with the fire department, a patrol service was established. Its goals and objectives are succinctly described by the already mentioned “Order on the City Deanery”: “Walk through the streets and alleys day and night and take care of it so that in the streets and alleys there is no theft in battles and robbery and taverns and tobacco and other things.”<…>there wasn’t.”

Airat Bagautdinov specially for RBC Real Estate

Anton von Werner. Luther in Worms: “On this I stand...” The painting depicts one of highlights Luther's life, when at the Worms Reichstag he refused the demand to submit to the Catholic Church: “I stand on this, and I cannot do otherwise. May God help me.”

This man studied to be a lawyer, but became famous for something else: in October 1917, he started a successful revolution, one of the consequences of which was war in a good half of Europe. He called for the destruction of churches (“All monasteries, all cathedrals, all obscenities of the same kind, called temples, must necessarily be subjected to destruction and devastation") and left behind fifty solid volumes essays. His last name starts with “L” and consists of 5 letters. No, this is not Lenin. This is Martin Luther (1483–1546).
500 years ago, on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses, which criticized the Catholic Church, to the doors of the Castle Church. He mainly condemned the practice of trading indulgences (absolution of sins) for money. The Dominican monk Johann Tetzel, who was engaged in the sale of papal indulgences, having read his theses, declared: “I will ensure that in three weeks this heretic ascends to the stake and proceeds to heaven in an urn.” But the monk was wrong - hundreds and thousands of heretics had previously paid with their lives for much less, but Luther was an exception. Unlike them, he did not go to the stake either 10 or 20 years later. Instead, the event described became the beginning of a European religious revolution - the Reformation.
Starting small, Luther eventually came to a complete rejection of the papacy, formulating his conclusions without ceremony: “Chapter Christendom- this is the front and back hole through which the devil dumped a bunch of rubbish into this world..."

Luther nails his 95 Theses to the church door

Another important point in the life of Luther - he throws an inkwell at the devil who appeared to him

A popular caricature of the Pope among Protestants, depicting him as Satan

Of course, the Reformation was from beginning to end social movement. To understand this, let us take, for example, this typical Lutheran quotation: “The monstrous, outrageous arrogance has reached such limits that the pope is no longer content to ride on horseback or in a carriage, but, although he is quite strong and healthy, makes people carry himself like an idol, with unheard-of splendor. My dear, how can such Luciferian swagger be compared with the lifestyle of Christ, Who walked on foot along with all his apostles?” Doesn't it sound topical? Indeed, in our days, although the princes of the church (yet) are not carried in their arms, they constantly respond to reproaches for the overly luxurious means of transportation that they use...
And when the wave class struggle, raised by the Reformation, crossed the limit that Luther had assigned to it, he attacked the peasants who rebelled against oppression with the same fury: “Let everyone who can, cut down, kill and stab them, openly or secretly, because no one can be more disgusting , corrupting or more devilish than the one who raises uprisings. It’s like killing a mad dog: if you don’t kill it, you yourself will be killed, and the whole country along with you. I don’t think there’s even one devil left now. in the underworld, they have all taken possession of the peasants. Their madness goes beyond all limits." The head of the uprising, Thomas Munster, called Luther a “Lugner” (that is, a “liar”) for this.

Lucas Cranach. "Luther Preaches"

Lucas Cranach. "The Papal Donkey in Rome." Caricature

It is interesting to note that Luther’s activity, despite all its contradictions, made an impression on the revolutionaries of the twentieth century - the Bolsheviks, and was highly, although ambiguously, assessed by them. Thus, Leon Trotsky put the names of Luther and Lenin side by side: “Our history has not produced in the past either Luther, Thomas Munster, Mirabeau, Danton, or Robespierre. That is why the Russian proletariat has its Lenin. What is lost in tradition is won in the scope of the revolution." Joseph Stalin said in November 1920: “To paraphrase famous words Luther, Russia could say: “Here I stand, on the border between the old, capitalist, and the new, socialist world, here, on this border, I unite the efforts of the proletarians of the West with the efforts of the peasantry of the East in order to defeat old world. May the god of history help me."

At the beginning of the 16th century, Muscovite Rus' was at enmity with almost all its neighbors. Crimean Tatars, Rzeczpospolita (which included the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the current lands of Belarus and Ukraine), Livonia, Sweden. Russian squads did not get out of campaigns and battles - not always successful. One of major defeats there was a battle at Orsha. After him before the King of Poland Sigismund the Old the road deep into Muscovy opened.

The king went so far as to mortgage several of his cities and use the proceeds to hire detachments of heavy infantry and military specialists: gunners and fortifiers in Hungary, the German lands and Bohemia. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (gentry militia) was convened, giving the king perhaps the best cavalrymen in Europe. Those nobles who could not march under the royal banners “on horse and in arms” had to pay a special tax for military needs.

The blow was supposed to be delivered to Pskov and the lands of the Pskov principality. The production had to cover all expenses, and new victory would force the Moscow Grand Duke VasilyIII make serious land concessions when concluding peace. In particular, to return Smolensk, which was recently taken from the Polish crown.

On the path of the army stood the small border Russian fortress of Opochka. Having learned about it, Sigismund contemptuously called the Muscovite fortification a pork trough. He was probably depressed by the thought that the regiments, led by the three main military leaders who distinguished themselves at the Battle of Orsha, would have to linger at such an insignificant obstacle. But there was still hope that Opochka would surrender without a fight. What can a tree-earth fortification oppose to the triumvirate of the famous leaders of Polish, Lithuanian, Czech, Serbian, Hungarian, Tatar and many other armies - the prince Konstantin Ostrogsky, his associates and assistants Yuri Radziwill And Janusz Swierczowski?

Triumvirate at the Pork Trough

On September 20, 1517, the army of Prince Ostrozhsky approached the “heroic outpost”. Never before have the walls of Opochka seen so many uninvited guests. While the garrison of the border fortress, numbering about a hundred soldiers, looked at the strangers, the enemy leaders assessed the “pork trough” and came to disappointing results. Opochka was indeed small - elongated into an ellipse, only 750 meters along the perimeter of the walls. A shaft made of limestone quarried right there and covered with earth, three blind towers, a pair of driveway gates. On one side is the water of the Velikaya River, on the other there is a deep ditch connected to it. There is only one leading to the resulting island. suspension bridge. The fortress is made of wood, but between two rows of logs it is covered with tightly compacted earth, so you can’t break it with a cannonball. Moreover, the battery cannot be placed closer than one hundred and twenty meters from the fortress, and at such a distance the core is already exhausted. And the fortress itself stands on an embankment hill 20-25 meters high. The barrel of a cannon cannot be lifted like that, and battering rams cannot fail.

All the men who lived in the settlement on the river bank, taking simple weapons, joined the garrison and prepared to fight to the end. Voivode Vasily Saltykov, who commanded the defense of the fortress, did not even want to think about surrender. Prince Ostrozhsky, having besieged the fortress, was still waiting for people to come from there to surrender. He stood there for two weeks and two more days - and finally gave the order to launch an assault.

Unexpected rebuff

The beginning of the assault instilled optimism in the attackers - the cannons and arquebuses fired from the fortress infrequently and did not cause any significant losses. Having safely crossed to the island, the mercenaries, or, as they were then called, the fellows of Pan Janusz Swierczowski, climbed up the slope. And it turned out that they were rejoicing too early. Stones and specially prepared knotty logs – “rollers” – were thrown onto their heads. And heavy oak logs - “elephants” - fell on the scholarship holders, hiding at the foot of the hill. They were hung over the wall on long slings, and then the ropes holding them were cut. Not too fancy, but very effective.

An attempt to attack the fortress gates across the bridge also ended in failure - in literally this word. The defenders of the fortress cut the ropes connecting the bridges ahead of time, and they fell apart under the attackers. Then it turned out that sharpened stakes were densely spaced in the water under the bridge. The fate of the enemies who collapsed on them was deplorable. Total losses royal troops were estimated at 60 killed and 1,400 wounded out of ten thousand personnel.

The wounded were everywhere bigger problem for the army than the dead. The priest and gravediggers were enough for the dead, but the wounded had to be taken out of the battle, risking their heads. In addition, the beaten and maimed soldiers not only required constant care - with their groans and screams they demoralized the already not very resilient Polish-Lithuanian army. The commander of the fellows, Janusz Świerczowski, was even accused of giving orders while drunk. Despondency spread among the besiegers.

God help you!

After this assault, there were certain problems in the fortress. The defenders of Opochka had run out of stones, and the city could remain practically defenseless against numerical strength. superior enemy. And then, as the legend says, one woman in the fortress dreamed Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who told her that behind the altar of the local church St. Nicholas the Wonderworker available secret passage into a large cellar, full of stones. The news was told to the governor Saltykov. IN specified location he had indeed discovered a “gift from the holy men.” The fortress was again ready for defense.

The brave defense of Opochka was only part of the Russian plan. The fact is that the timing of the attack by the troops of King Sigismund the Old was not chosen by chance. The main forces of the Muscovites were thrown against Crimean Khan. To protect the exposed flank, a small army remained under the command of the experienced commander of the prince Alexander Rostovsky. However, guess what will go the way enemy, it was difficult. Intelligence reported that the king was considering the option of attacking Velikiye Luki. But standing there meant leaving other directions without cover.

As soon as it became clear that the invading army was bogged down under the walls of Opochka, detachments of light commanders - commanders of individual mobile detachments - the prince were sent to help the border fortress Fyodor Lopata-Obolensky And Ivan Lyatsky. Without getting involved in battle with the main forces of the enemy, they began to actively gut the rear of the Polish-Lithuanian army, depriving it of convoys, intercepting messengers, destroying reinforcements, suddenly attacking and quickly disappearing. During one of the forays besieged garrison Light commanders attacked the army from three sides. Many were killed, many were taken prisoner.

Meanwhile, Prince Ostrozhsky, already quite exhausted by the unsuccessful siege, was informed that the army of the prince’s governor was moving towards the Lithuanian lands Vasily Shuisky. There was no point or possibility to hang around further under the impregnable Opochka. It was necessary to take care of our own lands. Throwing at the walls of an unconquered fortress most of convoy and all the siege weapons, Ostrozhsky rushed headlong back to Lithuania.

Sigismund's "victory"

The failure of the operation, which cost the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth more than five thousand soldiers, did not prevent the king from declaring a certain victory and huge losses Muscovites - as many as twenty thousand people! How the king counted so many killed Russian soldiers is a mystery. He never redeemed the mortgaged cities, and he could not dictate his will to the Grand Duke Vasily III I couldn't do it anymore. And when he remembered Opochka, he invariably muttered through clenched teeth: “The Demon’s Village!”