The army of Alexander I “in the French style. The Russian army at the beginning of the reign of Alexander I (about the reasons for the defeat at Austerlitz)

1598-1613 - a period in Russian history called the Time of Troubles.

At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Russia was experiencing a political and socio-economic crisis. and, as well as Ivan the Terrible, contributed to the intensification of the crisis and the growth of discontent in society. This was the reason for the beginning of the Time of Troubles in Russia.

First period of Troubles

The first stage of the Troubles is characterized by a struggle for the throne. After his death, his son Fedor came to power, but he turned out to be unable to rule. In fact, the country was ruled by the king's wife's brother - Boris Godunov. Ultimately, his policies caused discontent among the popular masses.

The Troubles began with the appearance in Poland of False Dmitry 1st (in reality - Grigory Otrepiev), allegedly miraculously surviving son of Ivan the Terrible. He won over a significant part of the Russian population to his side. In 1605, False Dmitry 1st was supported by the governors, and then by Moscow. And already in June he became the legitimate king. However, he acted too independently, which caused discontent among the boyars, and he also supported serfdom, which caused protest from the peasants. On May 17, 1606, False Dmitry 1st was killed, V.I. ascended the throne. Shuisky with the condition of limiting power. Thus, the first stage of the Troubles was marked by the rule False Dmitry 1st (1605-1606).

Second period of Troubles

In 1606, the leader of which was I.I. Bolotnikov. The ranks of the militia included people from different layers societies: peasants, serfs, small and medium-sized feudal lords, servicemen, Cossacks and townspeople. They were defeated in the battle of Moscow. As a result, Bolotnikov was executed.

Dissatisfaction with the authorities continued. And soon appears False Dmitry 2nd. In January 1608, his army headed towards Moscow. By June, False Dmitry 2nd entered the village of Tushino near Moscow, where he settled. Two capitals were formed in Russia: boyars, merchants, and officials worked on two fronts, sometimes even receiving salaries from both kings. Shuisky concluded an agreement with Sweden, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began aggressive military operations. False Dmitry II fled to Kaluga.

Shuisky was tonsured a monk and sent to the Chudov Monastery. An interregnum began in Russia - the Seven Boyars (a council of seven boyars). made a deal with the Polish interventionists, and on August 17, 1610, Moscow swore allegiance to the Polish king Vladislav. At the end of 1610, False Dmitry 2nd was killed, but the struggle for the throne did not end there.

So, the second stage of the Troubles was marked by the uprising of I.I. Bolotnikov (1606-1607), the reign of Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610), the appearance of False Dmitry 2nd, as well as the Seven Boyars (1610).

Third period of Troubles

The third stage of the Troubles is characterized by the fight against foreign invaders. After the death of False Dmitry 2nd, the Russians united against the Poles. The war has acquired national character. In August 1612

The Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century was one of the most difficult and tragic periods in Russian history, which had a fateful impact on the fate of our state. The name itself is “Troubles”, “ Time of Troubles"very accurately reflects the atmosphere of that time. The name, by the way, has a folk etymology.

Causes and beginning of the Troubles in Russia

The events of this period can be called both random and natural, because it is difficult to remember another such combination of unfavorable circumstances in our history. The death of Ivan the Terrible, the rise to power of Godunov, who “stained” himself with connections with the oprichnina. Dynastic upheavals coincided with a series of lean years, which plunged the country, already weakened by the Livonian War and the oprichnina, into the chaos of food riots, which was also one of the causes of the unrest. Any attempts by Godunov to save the situation are useless; in addition, a halo of the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry forms around him, and no explanations or investigations can justify him in the eyes of society. The low authority of the tsar and the government, the plight of the people, hunger, rumors - all this naturally leads to the emergence of imposture. People driven to extremes willingly join the banners of those who promise to improve their condition. The impostors are used to their advantage by Poland and Sweden, who lay claim to Russian lands and hope with their help to gain power over Russia. False Dmitry I, for example, with the support Polish king managed to turn from an unknown impostor into a king in just a year. True, the excessive orientation of the newly-minted tsar towards Poland and the atrocities of the Poles who came with him aroused mass discontent, which V.I. took advantage of. Shuisky. He raises a rebellion against False Dmitry, which ended in May 1606 with the murder of the impostor and the accession of Shuisky. The change of king did not bring stability. During Shuisky’s reign, the “thieves” movement broke out (a thief is a dashing person who breaks the law). The culmination of the movement was the Bolotnikov uprising, which some researchers consider the first civil war in Russia. The uprising coincides with the appearance of another impostor, who was nicknamed the “Tushinsky thief.” Bolotnikov unites with False Dmitry II, he is also supported by the Poles, even the wife of the first impostor, Marina Mnishek, claims that this is her miraculously saved husband. Begins new round war. Polish troops advance on Moscow, Smolensk is captured. Under these conditions, Shuisky rushes to Sweden for help and concludes the Vyborg Treaty with it, giving up part of the territory of the Kola Peninsula in exchange for help. At first, the united Russian-Swedish army crushes False Dmitry along with the Poles, but in July 1610, Hetman Zholkiewski defeated the Russian-Swedish troops in the Battle of Klushin, some of the mercenaries went over to the side of the Poles, for whom the path to Moscow was opened. A new stage of the Troubles in Russia begins. The defeat finally undermined the authority of the tsar; a conspiracy broke out in Moscow, as a result of which Shuisky was removed, and power passed into the hands of the boyars, who soon swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav; in September 1610, the Poles entered the capital. Some Russian cities did not support the Poles, and the country split into two camps. The period from 1610 to 1613 went down in history as the Seven Boyars - according to the number of boyars who headed the “Russian” party. A powerful popular anti-Polish movement rises in the country and in 1611 civil uprising, which besieged Moscow. Lyapunov led the militia. Disagreements among the leadership led to defeat, but the very next year a second militia was formed under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky. In October, the militia stormed Moscow and the Poles capitulated. In January 1613, a Zemsky Sobor was convened, at which a new king was elected. Largely thanks to Patriarch Filaret, Mikhail Romanov, who was 16 years old at that time, was installed as king. The power of the new tsar was significantly limited by the boyars and the Zemsky Sobor, without whose blessing the tsar could not make the most important decisions. This gave rise to some historians to assert the prerequisites for the emergence of a constitutional monarchy in Russia.

Consequences of the 17th century turmoil in Russia

It is very difficult to assess the significance of the Time of Troubles for the fate of our state. The immediate events of this period led to global economic ruin and impoverishment of the country. A consequence of the turmoil was that Russia lost part of its lands, which had to be returned from big losses: Smolensk, western Ukraine, Kola Peninsula. For an indefinite period, one could forget about access to the sea, and therefore about trade with Western Europe. The greatly weakened Russian state was surrounded by strong enemies in the form of Poland and Sweden, and the Crimean Tatars revived. In general, despite the victory, the fate of the state hung in the balance. On the other hand, the role of the people in expelling the Polish-Swedish interventionists and the formation of a new dynasty united society, and the self-awareness of the Russian people rose to a qualitatively new level.

The Time of Troubles in Russia is one of the key pages of our history. In essence, this was an introduction to the 17th century, which went down in history under the name “Rebellious”. And the Troubles, no matter how much we are told about its short historical period, was not suppressed and it “left” Russia throughout the 17th century. It was actually completed only after the creation of the regime of Peter 1. It was he who finally strangled the process that was rotting the entire 17th century.

The Time of Troubles is an era of social, political, economic, dynastic and spiritual crisis. Accompanied popular uprisings, class and inter-class struggle, impostors, Polish and Swedish intervention and the almost complete ruin of the country.
Historical reference book

Concepts of the Troubles

In Russian historiography there were 2 schemes of the Troubles: Klyuchevsky and Platonov. This is what Klyuchevsky wrote: “In the Troubles, all classes of Russian society consistently appear and they appear in the very order in which they lay in the then composition of Russian society, as they were placed on the social ladder. At the top of this ladder stood the boyars, and they began the unrest. Therefore, the first phase is boyar, then noble and then national.”

By the way, the Troubles of the early 20th century, which led to the fall of the Empire, developed absolutely according to the same pattern. The Time of Troubles also began, the first phase of which was Perestroika. That is, the first phase of all three Russian Troubles is the boyar phase, when the elite begins to share power.

The second scheme of the Time of Troubles in Russia belongs to the historian Platonov, who distinguished three periods in the history of the Troubles: dynastic, noble and socio-religious. But in essence, this is the same as Klyuchevsky’s:

Dynastic. Boyars and nobles fight for power.
Noble. Less rich and influential people are joining in these squabbles.
National-religious. The people are included in the Troubles

The main reasons for the Time of Troubles in Russia can be expressed as follows:

Economic reasons. As a result weather conditions There was a famine of 1601-1603. The population was dying en masse. Trust in the current government has declined.
Dynastic crisis. After the deaths of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich and Fyodor Ivanovich in Moscow, the Rurik dynasty was interrupted.
Social crisis. Almost all segments of the Russian population of the late 16th and early 17th centuries were dissatisfied with their situation.
Political crisis. In Russia there was an active struggle for power between boyar groups.
Poland and Sweden grew stronger and actively showed their claims to Russian lands and the throne.

More detailed reasons for the Troubles are given in the following diagram:

The beginning of the Troubles in Rus'

The Time of Troubles in Russia actually began with the death of Ivan the Terrible. In 1598, Fyodor died and events took place that can be called the “Latent Stage of the Troubles.” The fact is that Fyodor did not leave a will, and formally Irina should have sat on the throne. But at this time she clears the way for her brother Boris Godunov and voluntarily goes to the monastery. As a result, the Boyar Duma splits. The Romanovs attacked Boris, and as a result he stopped going to the Duma.

Ultimately, the Zemsky Sobor elected Godunov to reign, but the Boyar Duma opposed this. There was a split. This is a classic feature of the Time of Troubles in Russia - dual power. Zemsky Sobor against the Boyar Duma. Dual power would arise later after the February coup of 1917. It will be the “Provisional Government” against the “Petrosoviet” or the “Reds” against the “Whites”. The dual power at the end of the 20th century will be as follows - first Gorbachev against Yeltsin. Then Yeltsin is against Supreme Council. That is, Troubles always splits power into 2 opposing camps.

Ultimately, Boris Godunov outplayed Boyar Duma and became king. Read more about how this happened.

Driving elements of the Time of Troubles

You need to understand that the Troubles is a mass phenomenon in which almost all segments of the population took part and social groups. Nevertheless, there were three major classes that played an exceptional role in those events, and which need to be discussed separately. These are the following groups:

Sagittarius.
Cossacks.
"Combat slaves."

Let's take a closer look at each of these groups.

Battle serfs

The problem in Russia after the famine of 1601-1603 was that the growth in numbers service people outpaced growth land fund. The country (it’s even strange to say this about Russia) did not have the resources to provide all the children of the nobility with land. As a result, a layer of “Combat Slaves” began to emerge in Rus'.

These were those nobles who did not have land, but who had weapons (little is said about this, but Ivan Bolotnikov was one of the Battle Slaves), and who went into service as a military service to some boyar or rich nobleman. The percentage of fighting slaves in Rus' at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century was +/-10%. Now think about this... Events of the 90s (collapse of the USSR). Then those who serve in various private and security companies, in the army, and all armed people in the country are exactly that same 10%. That is, it is social dynamite that can explode at any moment.

What were fighting serfs at the beginning of the 16th century? For every 25 thousand nobles in the militia, there were up to 5 thousand fighting slaves.

For example, after the shelling of Ivangorod in 1590, the governors led 350 archers, 400 Cossacks and 2,382 fighting serfs to storm. That is, there were a lot of fighting slaves, and they specific gravity in the army changed its structure for the use of these people. And these people were extremely dissatisfied with their situation.

It was from the combat slaves that the leader of the major uprising the bottom of the times 1602-1603 - Cotton Kasolap. In 1603, he approached Moscow, and a regular army had to be sent to defeat him.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius like military unit, were created in the mid-16th century. The undoubted advantage of its creation was that it was thanks to Streltsy army Kazan was taken. There were 10 thousand archers in Moscow (that is, a fairly large social stratum). In others major cities up to 1 thousand people. The salary of archers ranged from 7 rubles in Moscow to 0.5 rubles in the outskirts. They also received a grain salary.

The problem was that they only received full money during hostilities. In addition, the archers received money with a long delay, since those who distributed money, according to Russian tradition, stole. Therefore, the archers who lived in the settlements kept vegetable gardens, were engaged in trade, and some even engaged in banditry. Therefore, they felt a social kinship with the townspeople, because their lifestyle and priorities were identical.

Cossacks during the Time of Troubles

Another band that played exceptionally important role in the Time of Troubles in Russia, and which was also dissatisfied with the authorities - the Cossacks. The total number of Cossacks at the end of the 16th century from the Dnieper to the Yaik River (the modern Ural River) is estimated at 11-14 thousand people. The Cossack organization was as follows: In Russia it was a village, in Ukraine it was a hundred. The free villages were not part of the government troops, but actually served as border guards.

After impoverishment, military slaves fled to the Don, the government demanded that they be taken out, but there was a rule - “There is no extradition from the Don!” Hence the anti-Cossack measures of Godunov, who tried to return the fighting slaves, since the rich nobility put pressure on him. Naturally, this caused discontent among the Cossacks. As a result, Godunov found himself in a situation where whatever he did did not solve the problem, but only aggravated it.

The Cossacks were associated with the southern counties, in which social contradictions were already acute, because those who were offended by the authorities fled to the southern counties. That is, the Cossacks are such a separate layer that has always considered itself superior to the rest.

The beginning of the open stage of the Troubles

Thus, we can say that at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries an explosive situation developed in Russia:

Almost all possible contradictions between and within classes intensified.
Confrontations within the country intensified - “South” against “Center”.

A lot of “social dynamite” had been produced and all that remained was for interested parties to light the fuse. And it was lit simultaneously in Russia and Poland. At the beginning of the 17th century, a situation arose in Russia that contributed to the transition of the Time of Troubles from a latent (hidden) state to an open state.

First stage of the Troubles

A man appeared in Poland who called himself Tsarevich Dmitry, a survivor of Uglich. Of course, he declared his rights to the throne and began to gather an army in Poland to go and take back “his” throne by force. I will not now dwell in detail on this man and the elements of his attempt (and a successful one) to seize power. We have a whole article on our website where all the events of this stage are discussed in detail. You can read it using this link.

I will only say that at this stage Poland did not support False Dmitry. He recruited an army of mercenaries there, but the Polish king Sigismund III distanced himself from this campaign. Moreover, he even warned Godunov that a man was coming “for his soul.”

At this stage:

There was a dynastic struggle for power.
False Dmitry 1 appeared.
The scale of the Time of Troubles was still small. In fact, only the elite were involved in them so far.
Murder of False Dmitry 1.

Second stage of the Troubles

After the overthrow of False Dmitry, Vasily Shuisky became king. By the way, far from last role The future king himself played a role in the murder of the impostor. Most historians agree that it was his plot, which he brilliantly implemented. The accession of Shuisky, as the historian Platonov believed, was the beginning of the entry of the Time of Troubles into the second period (noble), marked not only by a dynastic struggle for power, but also by deep social conflicts. Although Shuisky’s reign began very well, with the suppression of Bolotnikov’s uprising. In general, the Bolotnik uprising is extremely important thing to understand the essence of the Troubles in Russia. Again, we will not consider this issue in detail in this topic, since this topic has already been discussed by us. Here is a link for reference.

It is important to understand that Bolotnikov’s uprising is not a peasant war, as they often try to present it to us, but a struggle for power in the conditions of the Troubles. Bolotnikov was a man of False Dmitry 1, always acted on his behalf and persecuted specific goal- power.

The Time of Troubles in Russia was characterized by the following phenomenon. Free Cossacks, especially on final stage Troubles, claimed to replace the nobility in its functions military protection countries. That is, the Time of Troubles had many dimensions, but a very important dimension was the struggle between the nobility and the Cossacks over who would become the main military class of the country. The Cossacks did not fight for freedom. It is they who will fight for freedom later, under Razin, 50 years after the end of the Time of Troubles. Here they fought to take the place of the nobility. This became possible due to the fact that the Oprichnina, having shaken up the situation in the country, left some voids.

Tushins and their role in the Time of Troubles

Dual power remained in Russia for a long time. On the one hand there was the legitimate Tsar Vasily Shuisky in Moscow, and on the other hand there was False Dmitry 2 with the Tushino camp. In fact, this camp became a hotbed of banditry and all kinds of wickedness that plundered the country. It is no coincidence that people later called this man “Tushino thief.” But such a situation was possible only as long as the forces were equal. As soon as Shuisky received Swedish troops for help, and the Polish king Sigismund 3 began a campaign against Smolensk, the Tushino camp automatically disintegrated. The intervention of the Polish king and the collapse of the Tushino camp began important stage the development of all the events of the Time of Troubles.

At this stage what happened:

Victory royal troops over Bolotnikov.
The appearance of False Dmitry 2.
Troubles are becoming widespread. All larger number people become involved in events.
Formation of the Tushino camp as an alternative to the current government.
Lack of intervention elements.

The third stage of the Time of Troubles in Russia

Death Tushino thief and the beginning of the management of the Poles in Moscow became the beginning of the 3rd phase of the Time of Troubles in Russia - national-religious or general social. The situation has been simplified as much as possible. If before 1610 the situation was very difficult, because some Russian forces called foreigners to their side, other Russians called other foreigners, i.e. such a mixed situation. Now the situation has become very simple: the Poles are Catholics, but the Russians are Orthodox. That is, the struggle became national-religious. AND impact force this national struggle became Zemstvo militias.

The final heroes of these events were Minin and Pozharsky, who drove the Poles out of the country. But again, we should not idealize the images of these people, since we know little reliably about them. It is only known that Pozharsky was a descendant of Vsevolod Big Nest, and his campaign against Moscow was the family coat of arms, which directly indicates his attempt to seize power. But that is another story. You can read in this article about the events of those years.

At this stage:

The Polish and Swedish intervention in Russia.
Murder of False Dmitry 2.
The beginning of the Zemstvo militias.
Capture of Moscow by Minin and Pozharsky. Liberation of the city from Polish invaders.
Convening of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613 and the accession of the new ruling dynasty- The Romanovs.

The end of the Time of Troubles

Formally, the Time of Troubles in Russia ended in 1613-1614, with the beginning of the reign of Mikhail Romanov. But in fact, at that moment, only the following was done - the Poles were thrown out of Moscow and... And that’s all! Finally decide Polish question succeeded only in 1618. After all, Sigismund and Vladislav actively laid claim to Russian throne, realizing that local authorities there are extremely weak. But in the end, the Deulin Truce was signed, according to which Russia recognized all the gains of Poland during the Time of Troubles, and peace was established between the countries for 14.5 years.

But there was also Sweden, which Shuisky called upon. Few people talk about it, but Sweden owned almost all northern lands, including Novgorod. In 1617, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Stolbovo, according to which the Swedes returned Novgorod, but retained the entire Baltic coast.

Consequences of the Time of Troubles for Russia

Time of Troubles is always a difficult phase, which hits the country very hard, and from which it then takes a very long time to get out. it was the same in Russia. The Troubles formally ended with the accession of the Romanovs, but in fact this was not the case. More long years Russian tsars actively fought against passive, but still elements of the Troubles, in the country.

If we talk about the consequences of the Time of Troubles in Russia, we can highlight the following main consequences:

Russia retained its independence and the right to be a state.
Creation of a new ruling dynasty of the Romanovs.
Terrible economic ruin and exhaustion of the country. Simple people fled en masse to the outskirts.
The decline of the authority of the church. People could not understand how the church could allow such passivity in the fight against the interventionists.
There was a complete enslavement of the peasants, which had not happened before.
Russia lost part of its territory (Smolensk, the Baltic (access to which Peter 1 would later so persistently seek) and Northern regions countries).
The country's military potential was virtually destroyed.

These are the main consequences that were extremely important for the country. but most importantly, Russia retained its statehood and continued to develop. Attempts by Poland and Sweden to seize power in Russia ended in nothing.

The difficulty of interpreting the Troubles

The Time of Troubles was very inconvenient for Soviet historians. Pre-revolutionary historiography did not create a strict concept of the Troubles. There are schemes by Klyuchevsky and Platonov (we will talk about them later) - they empirically reflect reality very well, but they do not provide the concept of the Troubles. Because in order to develop the concept of the Time of Troubles in Russia, you must first develop the concept of Russian history and the concept of autocracy. But this was not the case. Soviet historians were doing very poorly with the concept of the Time of Troubles. Actually, Soviet historians did not study any Troubles. Example of Professor Andrey Fursov:

when I took Russian history, or rather the history of the USSR, the questions “Time of Troubles” were not on the tickets. There were two absolutely on the tickets different questions: “Uprising under the leadership of Ivan Bolotnikov” and “ Foreign intervention at the beginning of the 17th century."
Andrey Fursov, historian

That is, the Troubles were dispelled as if it had never happened. And it’s clear why. The fact is that in the Time of Troubles, literally everything came into conflict for Soviet historians. From a class point of view, the Soviet historian had to side with Ivan Bolotnikov because he fought against the exploiters. But the fact is that Ivan Bolotnikov was a man of False Dmitry 1 (we will talk about this below), and False Dmitry was connected with the Poles and Swedes. And it turns out that Bolotnikov’s uprising is an element of False Dmitry’s activities to betray the country. That is, this is what hits state system Russia. From a patriotic point of view Soviet historian There was no way to be on Bolotnikov’s side. So we decided to make it very simple. The Time of Troubles was integrally dissected: Bolotnikov’s uprising is one thing, and intervention is another. False Dmitry is generally the third. But it was a complete fake. Everything was much more complicated. And all this was very closely connected, and there would be no Bolotnikov without False Dmitry and the Time of Troubles.

What actually was the Time of Troubles in the history of Russia

There was definitely trouble revolutionary event. How is a revolution fundamentally different from an uprising? Who knows, by the way, when the term “revolution” appeared as a political term? Hint - is there any connection between the word "revolution" and "revolver"? Besides the fact that revolvers are used in revolutions... Is there any connection between the names “revolution” and “revolver”? The point is that the drum “spins”. The revolution first appeared in 1688 during the so-called “Glorious Revolution” in England, when everything seemed to return to normal. That is, initially a revolution was called a 360-degree turn. We made a turn and returned to our places with some changes. But since the time french revolution 1789-1799 revolutions began to be called a turn not by 360 degrees, but by 180. That is, they turned, but did not return to the previous point.

Any popular movements can be divided into 3 categories:

palace coups. This is a showdown between the elite.
uprisings and riots. The population takes an active part.
revolution. When revolutions occur, what happens is that part of the elite enters into an alliance with part of the population, and throws it against another part of the elite. So, at some point, the very top begins to express the interests of society, and not just their own. Therefore, for a short moment of revolution, unity occurs. Then, in most cases, the elite deceives society.

And in the Time of Troubles of the early 17th century, some revolutionary features are certainly visible, especially since after the Time of Troubles the autocratic serfdom system, which had not existed in Rus' before, finally rose to its feet.

The beginning of the 17th century was marked for Russia by a series of difficult trials.

How the Troubles Began

After Tsar Ivan the Terrible died in 1584, the throne was inherited by his son Fyodor Ivanovich, who was very weak and sickly. Due to his state of health, he did not rule for long - from 1584 to 1598. Fyodor Ivanovich died early, leaving no heirs. Younger son Ivan the Terrible was allegedly stabbed to death by Boris Godunov's henchmen. There were many people who wanted to take the reins of power into their own hands. As a result, a struggle for power developed within the country. Similar situation served as an impetus for the development of such a phenomenon as the Troubles. Reasons and beginning of this period in different time interpreted differently. Despite this, it is possible to identify the main events and aspects that influenced the development of these events.

Main reasons

Of course, first of all, this is the interruption of the Rurik dynasty. From now on central government, which has passed into the hands of third parties, loses its authority in the eyes of the people. The constant increase in taxes also served as a catalyst for discontent among townspeople and peasants. For such a protracted phenomenon as the Troubles, the reasons have been accumulating for more than one year. This also includes the consequences of the oprichnina, the economic devastation after Livonian War. The last straw was the sharp deterioration in living conditions associated with the drought of 1601-1603. Troubles became for external forces the most opportune moment for the liquidation of Russian state independence.

Background from the point of view of historians

It was not only the weakening of the monarchy that contributed to the emergence of such a phenomenon as the Troubles. Its reasons are related to the intertwining of aspirations and actions of various political forces and social masses, which were complicated by the intervention of external forces. Due to the fact that many unfavorable factors emerged simultaneously, the country plunged into a deep crisis.

For the occurrence of such a phenomenon as the Troubles, the reasons can be identified as follows:

1. The economic crisis that occurs during end XVI century. It was caused by the loss of peasants to the cities, the increase in tax and feudal oppression. The situation was aggravated by the famine of 1601-1603, which killed about half a million people.

2. Dynasty crisis. After the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the struggle between various boyar clans for the right to stand in power intensified. During this period, Boris Godunov (from 1598 to 1605), Fyodor Godunov (April 1605 - June 1605), False Dmitry I (from June 1605 to May 1606), Vasily visited the state throne Shuisky (from 1606 to 1610), False Dmitry II (from 1607 to 1610) and the Seven Boyars (from 1610 to 1611).

3. Spiritual crisis. The desire of the Catholic religion to impose its will ended in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Internal turmoil marked the beginning of peasant wars and urban revolts.

Godunov's board

The difficult struggle for power between representatives of the highest nobility ended with the victory of Boris Godunov, the Tsar's brother-in-law. This was the first time in Russian history when the throne was acquired not by inheritance, but as a result of victory in elections in the Zemsky Sobor. In general, during the seven years of his reign, Godunov managed to resolve disputes and disagreements with Poland and Sweden, and also established cultural and economic relations with the countries of Western Europe.

His domestic politics also brought results in the form of Russia's advance into Siberia. However, the situation in the country soon worsened. This was caused by crop failures in the period from 1601 to 1603.

Godunov took all possible measures to alleviate such a difficult situation. He organized public Works, gave permission to slaves to leave their masters, organized the distribution of bread to the starving. Despite this, as a result of the repeal of the law on the temporary restoration of St. George's Day in 1603, a slave uprising broke out, which marked the beginning of the peasant war.

Aggravation of the internal situation

The most dangerous stage Peasant War There was an uprising led by Ivan Bolotnikov. The war spread to the southwest and south of Russia. The rebels defeated the troops of the new tsar - Vasily Shuisky - moving on to the siege of Moscow in October-December 1606. They were stopped by internal disagreements, as a result of which the rebels were forced to retreat to Kaluga.

The right moment for an attack on Moscow Polish princes became the Troubles of the early 17th century. The reasons for the attempted intervention lay in the impressive support provided to the princes False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II, who were subordinate to foreign accomplices in everything. The ruling circles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Catholic Church attempted to dismember Russia and eliminate its state independence.

The next stage in the split of the country was the formation of territories that recognized the power of False Dmitry II, and those that remained loyal to Vasily Shuisky.

According to some historians, the main reasons for such a phenomenon as the Troubles lay in lack of rights, imposture, internal division of the country and intervention. This time became the first civil war in Russian history. Before the Troubles appeared in Russia, its causes took many years to form. The preconditions were related to the oprichnina and the consequences of the Livonian War. The country's economy by that time was already ruined, and tension was growing in social strata.

Final stage

Beginning in 1611, there was a rise in patriotic sentiment, accompanied by calls for an end to strife and strengthened unity. A people's militia was organized. However, only on the second attempt, under the leadership of K. Minin and K. Pozharsky, in the fall of 1611, Moscow was liberated. 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov was elected the new tsar.

The Troubles brought enormous territorial losses in the 17th century. The reasons for it were mainly the weakening of the authority of the centralized government in the eyes of the people and the formation of an opposition. Despite this, having gone through years of losses and hardships, internal fragmentation and civil strife under the leadership of False Dmitry impostors and adventurers, the nobles, townspeople and peasants came to the conclusion that strength can only be in unity. The consequences of the Troubles influenced the country even for a long time. Only a century later they were finally eliminated.