False Dmitry 1 years of reign. The boyars side with False Dmitry and Poland

There are many examples in world history when power in a particular country was seized by impostors who posed as real rulers. There were such cases in Rus'. The first of them occurred in 1605, when False Dmitry 1 was on the Moscow throne. The biography of this historical figure contains many contradictory facts. Some historians attribute to him royal origin, but most scientists are inclined to believe that the man who declared himself the miraculously saved youngest son of Ivan IV the Terrible, Dmitry, was an adventurer with cunning and an enviable mind.

Origin and early life of the impostor

Who was False Dmitry 1 really? A short biography of this man does not contain much information about his life before ascending the throne. In official history it is generally accepted that False Dmitry 1 was born around 1581 in Galich (Kostroma volost). At birth, the impostor was named Yuri (Yushka), and his father was a nobleman from the impoverished Lithuanian family of the Nelidovs, Bogdan Otrepiev. Arriving in Moscow in his youth, the young man entered service in one of the orders. After working for some time, Yuri Otrepiev became a monk under the name Grigory. This happened when Yushka went to the monastery not out of great faith, but in order to avoid reprisals, because in his worldly life he stole, drank drunk and did not listen to his father.

A year after being tonsured as a monk, Gregory managed to settle in the Chudov Monastery in Moscow. Being literate and possessing calligraphic handwriting, the young man received a position as a book copyist. It is here that Otrepiev’s idea arises to impersonate the prematurely deceased heir to the Moscow throne, Tsarevich Dmitry. Gregory was approximately the same age as the youngest son of John IV, and even bore a resemblance to him.

Description of Otrepyev’s appearance

The characteristics of False Dmitry 1, left by his contemporaries, indicate that he was below average height, unusually wide, with a short neck and arms of different lengths. This man cannot be called handsome: he was “adorned” by large warts and a large, shoe-like nose. He was gloomy and brooding, but had remarkable physical strength and could easily bend a horseshoe with his bare hands.

Life in Poland

What was the further fate of the man who went down in history as False Dmitry 1? His brief biography shows that in 1602 he was accused of theft and ran away from the monastery. The fraudster stayed in Kyiv for some time, and then moved to Poland and secretly converted to the Catholic faith. There he proclaimed himself the legitimate heir to the Russian throne and enlisted the support of the king. In gratitude for helping him seize the Moscow throne, False Dmitry 1 promised to give the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth part of the Western Russian lands. The impostor also secured the support of the governor Jerzy Mniszek, swearing to him to marry his daughter Marina, donate the cities of Pskov and Novgorod and pay 1 million zlotys.

Attack on Russian cities and seizure of power

False Dmitry 1, together with a three-thousand-strong Polish army, began his campaign against Russian lands in the fall of 1604. Due to the dissatisfaction of the local population with the internal policies of Boris Godunov, who was the de facto ruler of the state under the frail son of Ivan the Terrible, Otrepiev quickly managed to subjugate a number of Russian cities and settle in Putivl. It was here that False Dmitry 1 settled with his government. The short biography of the impostor contains facts confirming that the people supported the new ruler, believing that before him was really the miraculously saved son of John IV, and he would restore order to their lands.

In April 1605, Boris Godunov suddenly died and his son Fedor was proclaimed heir to the throne. However, he did not manage to hold on to power for long: a few weeks later he was overthrown by supporters of False Dmitry. Having officially ascended the throne on June 20, 1605, the impostor ordered the murder of Fedor and his mother, and he made his sister Ksenia his concubine, and then sent her to a monastery.

In order for the people to finally believe that this was the real heir to the throne, a meeting was arranged between the adventurer and Marya Naga, Dmitry’s mother. The woman recognized the man standing in front of her as her son. Later, after Otrepyev’s death, she renounced her words, admitting that she was forced to tell a lie by his supporters.

Characteristics of the internal policy of False Dmitry 1

Once in power, the newly-minted ruler officially banned bribery, ordered the return of people who had suffered under Godunov from exile, reorganized the army and increased the salaries of everyone who was in the service. The impostor made things easier by freeing the south of Russia from taxes and taking away land plots from the monasteries.

The internal policy of False Dmitry 1 was aimed at strengthening Polish influence in all spheres of state life. He started the construction of churches, distributed foreign entertainment among ordinary people and organized the Secret Chancellery, which included Poles. Under the impostor, the Boyar Duma was renamed the Senate, and construction of a wooden palace with secret passages began near the Kremlin. In foreign policy, False Dmitry 1 was preparing for a war with the Turks, in which Sigismund III was interested.

Otrepiev's wedding with Marina Mnishek and his murder

Very soon False Dmitry 1 lost the support of the people. His biography indicates that he had a lot of fun, loved hunting and beautiful women. The dissatisfaction of Orthodox people was caused by the marriage of the ruler with Marina Mnishek, carried out according to the Catholic rite. During the celebration, many Poles came to Moscow, who, having become fairly tipsy, robbed passers-by and broke into the houses of the local population.

On May 17, 1606, in the midst of the wedding celebration, Prince Vasily Shuisky, seeking to seize the throne, raised an uprising in Moscow, as a result of which False Dmitry 1 and his supporters were killed. People, angry at the tyranny of the impostor, mocked his body for a long time, and then burned it and, loading a cannon with ashes, fired from it in the direction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This is how False Dmitry 1 ended his days ingloriously. This brief biography is an instructive story that tells about what happens to impostors.

A rumor spread throughout the country that Tsarevich Dmitry, the rightful heir, had miraculously escaped and was gathering troops to march on Moscow to regain the throne.

The son of a poor Galician nobleman, Grigory Otrepiev sought his fortune in Moscow. Here he first had to become a servant in the courtyard of the Romanov boyars, then - a monk of the Kremlin Chudov Monastery. In 1602, Otrepiev went to Lithuania, where two years later he declared himself Tsarevich Dmitry. According to him, Boris Godunov’s envoys killed in Uglich not the son of Ivan the Terrible, but a boy similar to him, who was kept at court in case of an assassination attempt. The real prince was secretly taken out by his faithful servants and hidden in a safe place. Having grown up, the lion, on the advice of his well-wishers, took monastic vows. After many years of wandering, the matured prince decided to return his throne and punish the traitorous boyars led by Godunov.

Patriarch Job announced that the “miraculously saved prince” was a runaway monk of the Chudov Monastery named Grigory Otrepiev, that he had fled to Lithuania, declared himself Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich and promised the Polish king large Russian territories, increased influence of the Catholic Church in exchange for assistance by military force. He received an army. But the Polish king refused to recognize him as the Russian heir before he established himself on the Moscow throne.

Until the beginning of the 17th century. there were no impostors in Russia. It is believed that the Romanov boyars, through their people, for a long time spread rumors about the “miraculous salvation” of Tsarevich Dmitry. Surrounded by the Romanovs, the adventurer Otrepiev also formed, ready, risking his neck, to play the main role in this grandiose performance. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, the impostor “was only baked in a Polish oven, and fermented in Moscow.”

False Dmitry I crossed the Russian border in 1604. He was joined by small service people from the south and the Cossacks, dissatisfied with Godunov’s government. Citizens, serfs, and peasants also joined the army. Boris Godunov deployed large forces against False Dmitry. The royal commanders defeated him. False Dmitry was planning to flee to Lithuania. But the Cossacks held him back. In 1605, Tsar Boris unexpectedly dies. Power was supposed to pass to his son.

However, dissatisfaction with Godunov was so great that supporters of False Dmitry took the entire royal family into custody. Boris Godunov’s son and his mother were killed, and Godunov’s daughter, Princess Ksenia, was imprisoned in a monastery. The entire court went out to meet the new king.

When False Dmitry I entered Moscow, residents of the capital wanted to make sure that he was the real Dmitry. For this purpose, the mother of the murdered Tsarevich Dmitry was brought to Moscow. The impostor, smart, brave and cunning, played out the scene of “a meeting of a loving son with his mother.” The frightened widow of Ivan the Terrible was so confused that she could not utter a word. And the crowd believed in the authenticity of the “prince.”

False Dmitry was proclaimed Russian Tsar to the jubilant cries of Muscovites.

Domestic policy of False Dmitry I

Very little is known about the internal politics of False Dmitry I. All his decrees and charters were declared invalid and destroyed after the death of the impostor. The first steps of False Dmitry I as a tsar were: the abolition of executions, the fight against bribes, the return of the boyar Filaret Romanov from exile, where he was sent by Godunov.

Apparently, False Dmitry I avoided any bold decisions, but at the same time tried to appear before the people in the image of a “good king.” The impostor was especially loved by the nobles and townspeople of the southwestern regions of the country. They received a number of benefits and privileges from him. Wanting to increase the prestige of his power, Otrepyev took the title of emperor.

Trying to get along with the nobility, the new king retained the entire court hierarchy. He avoided cruel reprisals even with those boyars who clearly opposed him. At the same time, the impostor surrounded himself with a dense ring of guards from Poles and Cossacks. However, within a month, the aristocracy insisted that the tsar disband the army with which he came to Moscow. The Cossacks and Polish mercenaries went home. The Boyar Duma gained full power.

The Poles reminded the impostor that, while in Poland, he swore an oath after ascending the Moscow throne to give the Smolensk land and Seversk Ukraine to the king. However, Dmitry did not even think of fulfilling these promises.

The attitude of the boyars to False Dmitry I

Soon after the crowning of the kingdom of False Dmitry I, there was a cooling towards him, which developed into dissatisfaction with the new king, due to the fact that False Dmitry did not take into account Russian customs and traditions.

At first, the boyars, who were very afraid of the newly-minted tsar, gradually became bolder. They began to openly contradict the monarch, calling him a liar and a deceiver. Lacking the strength to intimidate the nobility, the impostor turned to his longtime patron Yuri Mnishek for help.

The attitude of the people towards False Dmitry I

Tsar False Dmitry I, according to Muscovites, did not behave like an Orthodox Christian: he wore a short Polish dress, did not pray before dinner, did not wash in the bathhouse, and walked the streets of Moscow without an entourage. But Muscovites were especially offended by his wedding to the noble Pole Marina Mnishek.

Wedding of False Dmitry and Marina Mnishek

Promising to marry Yuri Mnishek’s daughter Marina, Otrepyev begged the governor to assemble a large detachment of mercenaries and bring them to Moscow. In May 1606, the royal bride, accompanied by Polish soldiers, arrived in Moscow. Many Poles came to the wedding. They insulted the feelings of the Orthodox: they entered the church laughing loudly, talking and without taking off their hats.

This strange wedding of the Orthodox Tsar with a Catholic woman from an impoverished and not very noble Polish family became the last straw that overflowed the patience of the Moscow aristocracy.

Shuisky Conspiracy

The atrocities of the Polish mercenaries brought by Mniszek aroused the indignation of Muscovites. Agents skillfully stirred up passions Shuiskikh. It was this powerful boyar clan that led the conspiracy. The boyars, under the leadership of Vasily Shuisky, organized an uprising in Moscow against False Dmitry.

Early in the morning of May 17, 1606, Muscovites were awakened by the ringing of alarm bells. Supporters of the Shuiskys shouted everywhere that “the Poles are going to the Kremlin to kill the Tsar and the boyars.” Having been alarmed, the Polish mercenaries actually tried to break through to the Kremlin in order to protect the impostor from possible danger. However, on the narrow streets of Moscow, crowds of people did not let the soldiers through. Some of them were killed, others retreated back to their barracks.

To the sound of the alarm bell, Muscovites - supporters of the Shuiskys - under the leadership of the boyars burst into the Kremlin. Sweeping away the resistance of the rare guards, they entered the royal chambers. False Dmitry, saving himself, jumped out the window, but broke his leg. Material from the site

The conspirators soon found Otrepyev. Surrounded by a crowd of enemies, he began to beg for mercy and promised to repent to the people of all his sins at the Place of Execution. But fate had already turned its back on him. One of the rebels shot the defeated king at point-blank range with a gun. Thus ended one of the most famous political adventures in Russian history. Many Poles were killed. Marina Mniszek and her father, a Polish governor, were arrested.

Posthumous desecration

Having dealt with the impostor, the boyars quickly restored order in Moscow. However, they had to convince Muscovites for a long time that Tsar Dmitry, whom they killed, was in fact an impostor and thief Grishka Otrepyev. For greater clarity, the boyars displayed the naked body of the impostor on Red Square for three days for general desecration. A few days later, the former king was buried in a cemetery for homeless tramps. Then, having changed their minds, the boyars ordered to take the corpse out of the grave and burn it. The cannon was loaded with ashes and fired towards Poland.

Most historical figures are interesting because of what they did during their lives and what legacy they left behind for their descendants to remember. However, this man remains a real mystery, despite the fact that about five hundred years have passed since his first appearance on the “world stage”. The identity of this mysterious man who was able to achieve his goal and become the Russian Tsar, convincing everyone that he was Dmitry I the First, the direct offspring of the Grand Duke and Tsar of All Rus' Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. However, he was later recognized as an impostor. He became the first of those three who called themselves princes who survived Godunov’s machinations. Let's take a closer look at what it was, how and when.

Brief biography of False Dmitry I: the Tsar's son or a great dreamer

The history and biography of False Dmitry 1 is so vague and incomprehensible that many historians simply shrug their shoulders. Perhaps it’s worth starting from the very moment when circumstances developed in such a way that a little prince named Dmitry was born, and then died. So, the heir was born presumably in 1582-1583 from his last “semi-official” wife, Maria Feodorovna Nagaya. The thing is that in those days the church allowed up to four marriages, and this one was already the seventh or eighth for the king, according to various sources. However, he was still a Russian monarch and was especially inviolable, and all the heirs recognized by him were officially considered his offspring.

Interesting

After the death of the great Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, the only legitimate contender could come to power. The only surviving eldest child from his first marriage and only beloved wife, Fyodor Ioannovich, who was later nicknamed the Blessed, ascended the throne. At the same time, the regency council decided to send the boy Dmitry, who by that time was already two or three years old, along with his mother and all the servants to the patrimony , given to him by his father - to Uglich, where they immediately went.

Dmitry Ivanovich’s childhood and his personal qualities

The queen-mother, which Maria became after the death of her husband, did not have much choice, so she had to submit so as not to risk her life and the fate of her little son. It should be noted that they were sent to reign with all the servants, dresses, jewelry and other paraphernalia of a real royal court. The new chronicler says that on the night after the death of the Tsar, Boris Godunov accused the Nagi of this, but historically there is no such evidence. At that time, anyone who was in the favor of Tsar Ivan the Terrible during his lifetime was sent away.

The new Tsar Fyodor behaved as befits a royal person, namely, he forbade even churchmen to remember the name of Tsarevich Dmitry because of the alleged illegality of his birth. According to other sources, Boris Godunov egged on and incited the young tsar to do this, and that he himself was not averse to taking the Russian throne. The warden, clerk Mikhail Bityagovsky, also went with the naked Maria and her son. After this, many rumors began to circulate about the Tsarevich himself. Taught by his mother, he allegedly built snowmen in the yard, and then destroyed them with a stick, saying that he was beating Moscow boyars.

The case of the “murder” of the prince

Then they started talking about the fact that Godunov, together with Fedor, wanted to kill the boy so as not to “betray the temptation.” The English diplomat and poet, who visited Moscow in those turbulent times just before the Troubles, Giles Fletcher wrote that allegedly the nanny of Tsarevich Dmitry, “who tasted some dish before him, as I heard, died suddenly.” In addition, he notes the boy’s incomprehensible tendency towards cruelty, like his father. He writes that the boy loved to kill chickens and geese with a stick and loved to watch how cattle were slaughtered and skinned. How true this is is unknown, but there is no reason not to believe an uninterested foreigner.

On May 15, 1591, a tragedy broke out, causing the death of many innocent people. While playing with other children in the courtyard of the Uglich Kremlin, he suddenly began to have a seizure, apparently epileptic, after which he cut his own throat with a knife in his hand. This is what the sons of the mother, the nanny, and the clerk Bityagovsky himself testified to. He died in the arms of his nurse, after which Maria Nagaya, jumping out into the yard, began beating her with a log and ordered the alarm to sound.

Mikhail Bagratiovsky came out to the gathered crowd of angry people, who didn’t really understand anything, but simply ran to the bell and listened out of the corner of their ears as if the prince had been killed, to calm the people, but was immediately killed. Together with him, they killed his son, the son of his wet nurse and nanny also suffered the same fate, and the brother of the royal widow, Mikhail, who was spurring all this bedlam, who shouted the loudest about unrest, conspiracy and murder, was completely drunk.

After the investigation, it was found out that no one cut the boy with sabers or knives, as people screamed at first. Maria herself apologized to all the victims and stated that she was in a hurry, blaming other people’s children for an outburst of feelings. She was tonsured a nun under the name Martha, and her brothers were sent straight to where the Siberian frosts creaked and the forests were full of animals. It is definitely worth noting that the Uglich alarm bell went with them to Siberia, which “convened” the people for illegal reprisals.

False Dmitry 1: reign of the great usurper

Many historians are inclined to think that the failure or success of any impostor on a historical scale depends on several factors, which will be fundamental. Firstly, this is the readiness of the highest ranks and aristocracy to accept him, secondly, opposition, positioning oneself as a figure radically opposite to the ruler who had previously compromised himself, and thirdly, the faith of the conquered and oppressed in the “good master” or king- deliverer,” a certain messiah. This to some extent explains how False Dmitry 1 became the Russian Tsar, and not an operetta or peddler, but a real, crowned one.

Beginning of the reign of False Dmitry I

As soon as Fyodor Ivanovich, weak in health and in spirit too, ascended the throne, a ferment of minds began in the highest circles. He was clumsy, stupid, and even his own courtiers called him a fool in a low voice, as foreign guests testify. After the death of Dmitry’s direct heir, and subsequently the death of the Tsar himself, it seemed to the boyar Duma that Boris Godunov, who had a direct relationship with the Rurikovichs through the female line, could be the best candidate. It was he who was chosen to the throne in 1584.

It should be understood that at that time the chosen sovereign could not be equal to the direct family heir. Therefore, Boris Godunov was not particularly favored, and they were reluctant to listen. Besides everything, the imprint of the “destroyer of the royal root” and the “autocratic delight of the throne” forever remained on him.

On top of that, three years in a row broke out, which not only were bad harvests, but simply led to complete collapse and a terrible famine broke out in Russia in 1601-1603, except in the southern regions, where everything was more or less under control. Several years before this, Godunov simply did not even leave his chambers, he wrote decrees and sent them wherever needed by messengers, he did not see the light of God, but the peak was his special prayer, which was to be read in every house before meals. It honored the king and his entire family. It is clear that hatred and contempt for him among the people at the end of his reign reached its peak. There are several versions of the historical portrait of False Dmitry I, as well as his true origin.

• Many believe that he was an Italian or Wallachian monk who was called to Poland in order to “destroy or subjugate the Russian kingdom.”
• A German mercenary in the service in Moscow, Konrad Busov, believed that this was the illegitimate son of Stefan Batory.
• Many thought that False Dmitry was the fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery, Grigory Otrepiev.

Despite the large number of versions, there were those who believed that during all the years of the reign of False Dmitry 1 it would have been possible to believe that he was the true son of Ivan the Terrible. The story was told as if a German doctor assigned to supervise him replaced him in time with a similar boy, who was killed, and the heir himself was successfully taken to Poland. Alexey Suvorov and Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin also adhered to a similar version.

On the throne: accession of False Dmitry I

There are many rumors about how False Dmitry the First ended up in Russia. The first evidence of this can be found in the Izveta of Varlaam, if we consider it as a historical document. In 1603, a young man first appeared in the village of Bragino, which is located on the territory of modern Belarus. He hired himself into the service of Prince Adam Vishnevetsky, where he showed himself at his best. One day, saying he was sick, he called his confessor and “confessed” that he was the royal heir, saved from reprisals. It is clear that there was no talk of any secret confession here and the priest first of all ran to his prince to quickly tell him what he had learned about.

Not knowing what to think, and after all, the applicant had the prince’s pectoral cross, Prince Vishnevetsky decided to carry out a check. He paid the best doctors, put the guy on his feet and brought him to Bragin, where the Russian defector Petro Piotrovsky served. Petrushka claimed that he personally played with the Tsarevich as a child. Witnesses say that Dmitry himself recognized the warrior and rushed to him with greetings, and he confirmed his identity. They said that False Dmitry was inflamed with a secret passion for Marina Mnishek, the daughter of the Sandomierz governor, and confessed to her in a letter that he was a scion of the royal family. Be that as it may, in Poland everyone started talking about the saved heir to the Russian throne. Gradually, rumors spread to Godunov himself, who became seriously alarmed.

At first, Boris tried with all his might to get the “impostor” into his own hands in order to inflict “trial and reprisal” on him. However, the Polish prince refused him and brought False Dmitry to the court of the Polish king Sigismund in Krakow. At the same time, the Pole recognized him as the true heir of Ivan IV, and besides everything, he also established his maintenance at forty thousand zlotys a year. Next, he wooed Marina Mnishek, received official consent and even drew up a kind of marriage contract, according to which he undertook to give Pskov and Novgorod to the bride as a wife, gathered an army and set off on a campaign against Rus'.

On a cold winter day, December 18, 1604, Russian soldiers and the army of the “self-proclaimed tsar” met for the first time. Moreover, despite the clear advantage of Prince Mstislavsky, the advantage was more than threefold, False Dmitry managed to win. But on the second of January, when the treasury they had taken with them was completely exhausted, the knights simply turned around and went home, leaving the leader with a group of enthusiasts who considered him the real heir to the throne. The Polish Jesuits helped, taking his side and detaining about one and a half thousand men-at-arms in service. He was lucky, Putivl, and following his example, other cities, Sevsk, Kromy, Kursk, Rylsk and others surrendered without a fight, recognizing his right as crown prince. However, already on January 21, 1605, he lost almost his entire army near the village of Dobrynichi. Then the Zaporozhye Cossacks also stood under his banner, which turned out to be a serious help.

Reign of False Dmitry 1 in Moscow

The main luck of False Dmitry 1 was that Boris Godunov died in April, which is why the feuds at court flared up with renewed vigor, and power was weakened to the limit. Everything was aggravated by the fact that Boris’s wife, to put it mildly, was not at all popular among the people, but on the contrary, some even considered her a “stupid” for trying to burn out Maria Nagaya’s eyes with a candle. Only on the first of June 1605, at the place of execution in Moscow, a letter from the impostor was read out to the nobility, boyars and common people, which was perceived as a signal for robberies and persecutions of all who supported Boriska’s power.

On June 20, 1605, False Dmitry, with pomp and greetings, solemnly entered the Kremlin. Crowds of people gathered around to celebrate the “return” of the father-tsar, bells rang, stewards shouted. Immediately the newly-crowned king went to the cathedral to pray and sob at his father’s grave. However, it was noticed that the Poles did not lag behind him a single step, and at the same time he kissed the image “not according to Russian customs.” This was attributed to the fact that he had not been to Russia since childhood and might have forgotten what was what. He was offered to immediately marry into the kingdom, but he decided to first meet with his “mother,” who had been summoned from exile. The meeting took place on July 18 in front of a huge crowd of people, and they say that Mary (nun Martha) immediately recognized her “son.”

On July 30, 1605, the quickly appointed Patriarch Ignatius performed the crowning ceremony. First of all, he canceled the persecution and exile of all the princes, boyars and others disgraced under Boris Godunov, after which they began to slowly gather in Moscow. A special feature of his administration was the suppression of bribery and bribery, and those who were caught were led around the city with everything they used to give a bribe hung around their necks. Therefore, many reforms were carried out in the collection of taxes and their distribution.

Personal life: children and marriages, the murder of False Dmitry 1 and memory among the people

It is interesting that, according to surviving records, Dmitry did not particularly tolerate monks, considering them parasites and deceivers. He was going to take away the property of churches and monasteries in order to use these funds for the “real defense of Russian Orthodoxy.” At the same time, he gave everyone freedom of religion, since he believed that all Christians believe in one God, therefore it was stupid to quarrel over this issue, which was not entirely clear to his Russian contemporaries. However, upon the arrival of Marina Mniszech, his fiancée, he insisted that she perform Orthodox rites, at least “outwardly.”

Marriages: wives and children

On April 24, 1606, Marina, the bride of the new tsar, appeared in Moscow along with Yuri Mnishek. She set up camp near the city, and a procession with gifts advanced towards her. Moreover, a silver carriage drawn by twelve pairs of horses was provided for entry. At first the wedding was scheduled for May 4, 1606, but then it was postponed because it was necessary to come up with a fake ritual for Marina’s conversion to Orthodoxy. Despite the prohibition of the Pope, she was still anointed according to the Greek rite, which replaced her acceptance of someone else's faith. The wedding took place on May 8, 1606.

On the ninth of May, contrary to the Orthodox holiday of St. Nicholas Day, a feast was scheduled, which already caused a murmur, to which the newly minted groom did not pay attention, and absolutely in vain. The feast with Polish dishes continued, and on the third or fourth day, drunken Poles began to break into the houses of Muscovites, rob, burn and rape. A week later, an uprising broke out about the children of the disgraced False Dmitry, whose story can be considered a strange and incomprehensible adventure with a fatal outcome. He left no offspring, and his wife herself subsequently suffered hardships, showing strength and strength of character, but our story is not about her.

Residence and death of the impostor

Like all kings, the entire time spent on the Moscow throne, False Dmitry was the first to be in the Kremlin, where the chambers were decorated for him. He was not particularly afraid of anything, because he thought that the people accepted him as the true king and the legitimate heir of Ivan the Terrible. However, the actions of his Polish henchmen caused a huge resonance among the people and among the nobility; people did not want to put up with this kind of “gentry.”

Already by May 14 of the same year, that is, five days after the royal wedding, Vasily Shuisky gathered faithful people and together they marked the houses where the Poles lived in order to deal with them at night. The next day, the king himself was informed about this, but he simply shrugged it off, considering all this frivolous, because the people themselves chose him, the “good ruler.”

That same evening, the guard by German soldiers was reduced from a hundred to thirty people by Shuisky, allegedly on behalf of the Tsar. On the same day, a crowd of rebels killed him, and his body was given to desecration. No one knows whether he was actually the son of Ivan the Terrible or whether he himself was misled, whether he was a swindler or a victim of circumstances. The death of False Dmitry 1 became a turning point in Russian history. Interestingly, a couple of days later, at the end of May, terrible frosts struck, destroying crops, grass, and many trees.

Perpetuation of memory

In the memory of the people, this man remained in the ballads about Grishka the monk, a runaway monk who wanted to become king by deception, for which he paid. He is presented in them as an evil wizard who is trying to carry out his machinations with the help of evil spirits. In the play by the famous Lope de Vega “The Grand Duke of Moscow, or the Persecuted Emperor,” he is depicted as a real prince who was persecuted and given a cruel death for nothing. Alexander Pushkin, in his essay “Boris Godunov,” argued that False Dmitry was a successful adventurer who managed a lot, but was unable to complete the job.

The famous composer Modest Mussorgsky wrote an opera based on Pushkin's work. There is Antonin Dvořák’s opera “Dimitri”, which is entirely dedicated to this strange and still incomprehensible character. Of course, he didn’t earn any monuments, but the Russian people are unlikely to forget about him.

Years of reign: June 1, 1605 – May 17, 1606

From the biography

• The Time of Troubles is a period in the history of Rus', during which the country experienced a crisis in all spheres of society. And this was due to the fact that a dynastic crisis began. This happened after the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584.
• Ivan the Terrible killed his first son in a fit of anger in 1581. The second son, Fyodor Ioannovich, ruled for a short time (from 1584 to 1598), and even then he was not very intelligent, and politics on his behalf was carried out by Boris Godunov, the brother of Fyodor’s wife, Irina. And the third son, Dmitry, died under mysterious circumstances in Uglich, where he lived with his mother, Maria Naga. It was this situation that False Dmitry 1 took advantage of, declaring himself the miraculously saved son of Ivan the Terrible, Dmitry.
• From 1601 he lived in the Chudov Monastery. In 1602 - fled to Poland, converted to Catholicism and found supporters, setting the goal of returning to Russia, becoming its tsar.

• In 1604, Dmitry gathered an army, enlisting the support of Tsar Sigismund Z. and the help of governor Yuri Mnishek, promising to marry his daughter Marina; in the fall of 1604, with an army of three thousand, he entered Russian territory.
• False Dmitry 1 devoted most of his time to amusements, fun, hunting, and was practically not involved in political affairs. Thus, he managed to alienate almost all segments of the population of Rus'.
• He was overthrown on May 17, 1606; the rebels were led by the boyar Vasily Shuisky. The corpse was burned, and the ashes were shot from a cannon towards Poland, where it came from.
• There is still no consensus on who False Dmitry 1 was. So Karamzin supported the point of view that it was the monk of the Chudov Monastery Grigory Otrepiev. This opinion formed the basis for the portrayal of the impostor in A.S. Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov.” Kostomarov believed that he was a Polish protege. A. Tolsto adhered to this point of view when he created his work - the play “Tsar Boris”.
• Outwardly, False Dmitry was ugly, short in stature, but had great physical strength - he could easily bend a horseshoe. Contemporaries claim that he really looked like Tsarevich Dmitry.

False Dmitry, despite his mostly negative policies, left behind at least some positive memory. Here are some interesting facts from his reign.

• False Dmitry fought against bribery. The bribe-taker was subjected to both physical and mental torture. He was taken around the city with the clothes in which he took bribes hung around his neck. For example, a bag with money, even fish beads. And at this time the convoy also beat him with sticks. It's painful and embarrassing. But the nobles and boyars were not subjected to such torture; they paid a fine.
• It was under False Dmitry that the game of chess was allowed. Before this, the church opposed it, equating the game with gambling and even drunkenness.
• It is also interesting that it was False Dmitry who first began to use cutlery during receptions in the Chamber of Facets. Such cutlery was served to guests during his wedding to Marina Mnishek.

Yes, this ruler left at least some good memory of himself.

Reasons for the overthrow of False Dmitry 1

• Loss of support from almost all segments of the population
• Failure to fulfill promises to both the Poles and various segments of the population in Russia
• Disdainful attitude towards Russian customs and etiquette, behaved “inappropriately for a Russian Tsar.”
• The people's rejection of the fact that a Catholic is in power (False Dmitry converted to Catholicism in Poland).

Historical portrait of False Dmitry I

Activities

1.Domestic policy

2. Foreign policy

RESULTS OF ACTIVITY

• He was unable to strengthen his power, aroused the hatred of almost all segments of the population, and lost the support of the Poles because he did not fulfill his promises.
• He brought the country to economic ruin, disorder, hunger, and a deterioration in the situation of the majority of the population.
• He led an unsuccessful foreign policy that did not express the interests of Russia.

Chronology of the life and activities of False Dmitry I

During these years, Godunov’s government faced another unexpected danger: a man appeared on the southern borders of the country, declaring himself Tsarevich Dmitry, who had escaped from the murderers, and declaring his rights to the Russian throne.

Most scholars agree that he was an impoverished Galician nobleman, a servant in the house of one of the Romanov boyars, Grigory Otrepiev. After the fall of this family, he became a monk, wandered around monasteries, and served at the court of the Patriarch as a copyist of books. Already at this time, Otrepiev began to instill in those around him the idea of ​​his unusual origin and great destiny. In 1602, Otrepiev fled to Lithuania, then appeared in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, then stayed on the estate of the richest Polish nobleman, Prince Adam Vishnevetsky, where he declared himself Tsarevich Dmitry. 20-year-old Grigory Otrepyev was a well-educated, gifted man, distinguished by adventurous inclinations and incredible ambition.

One of the Russian historians noted that False Dmitry was baked in Poland, but was kneaded from Moscow dough. Indeed, in the Romanov mansions, among the Moscow clerks, the idea arose to oppose the impostor to Godunov and overthrow the hated tsar. The unrest that began in 1601 during the famine intensified with the appearance of an impostor. Many people needed him: he was supported in Russia, he was helped by Polish magnates and the Polish king. Soon the impostor found himself at the court of the Sandomierz governor Yuri Mnishek.

He fell in love with the 16-year-old daughter of the governor, Marina, and became engaged to her. Marina had enormous ambition. False Dmitry converted to Catholicism, but secretly, so that Russian Orthodox people would not turn away from him.

An army of the impostor began to form in the Zaporozhye Sich. Ambassadors from the Don came to the impostor there.

The appeals of False Dmitry found a response among the Cossacks, runaway slaves and peasants. Rumors spread that Dmitry Ivanovich was the very fair and kind king that the people dreamed of. The “Tsarevich” did not skimp on promises: he undertook to transfer the Chernigov-Seversky lands and treasures of the royal treasury to the Polish king; The Mnisheks were promised Novgorod and Pskov; Polish magnates vowed to reimburse the costs of maintaining his mercenaries.

In October 1604, the army of False Dmitry crossed the Dnieper. About 2 thousand mercenaries and Zaporozhye Cossacks went with him. His army soon reached 15 thousand people. The cities surrendered to the impostor without a fight. Cossacks, townspeople and archers brought the associated governors to him. Despite two major defeats from the tsarist troops, False Dmitry quickly restored the army and moved forward. Soon, almost all cities in the south and southwest of the country recognized the power of the impostor.

Fermentation began in the royal army, and the number of defectors increased. Godunov received disappointing news from all sides, his health deteriorated. On April 13, 1605 he died. Rumors arose that the king had committed suicide. Moscow began to swear allegiance to his son Fyodor Borisovich. And near Kromy, the royal commanders and their troops went over to the side of False Dmitry. The road to Moscow was open for the impostor.

Uprising in Moscow

However, the impostor hesitated. The government troops who came over to his side were unreliable, and rumors spread among them that the prince was not genuine. False Dmitry feared clashes with troops loyal to the old government. After all, his successes were associated not with military victories, but with the uprising of the people and the voluntary surrender of cities.

The impostor sent out charming letters in which he denounced the Godunovs, promised the boyars their former honor, the nobles - favors and rest from service, the merchants - relief from taxes, and the people - prosperity. He sent his messengers to Moscow. June 1, 1605 ancestor A.S. Pushkin Gavrila Pushkin read out the letter of False Dmitry at Lobnoye Mesto near the Kremlin. The people rushed to the Kremlin. The palace guards fled, Moscow found itself in the hands of the rebels, who were skillfully led by the impostor’s people. The Godunovs fled from the Kremlin.

The crowd captured the empty palace and destroyed it, and then began to destroy and plunder the temples of rich people, primarily the houses of the Godunov family and the boyars and clerks close to them. All the wine cellars were captured, people broke barrels and scooped up wine, some with a hat, some with a shoe, some with the palm of their hand. As a contemporary wrote, many people drank from the wine and died.

False Dmitry, approaching Serpukhov, demanded reprisals against the Godunovs and their patron Patriarch Job. The rebels dragged the Patriarch to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, tore off his patriarchal robes and insignia and threw Job into a cart, which took him to one of the distant monasteries. The archers delivered Fyodor Godunov with his mother and sister to their Moscow courtyard. By order of the impostor's envoys, princes Golitsyn and Mosalsky, the archers killed the queen and Fyodor, his sister Ksenia was later tonsured a nun and sent to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. The Godunov dynasty ceased to exist.

On June 20, 1605, to the sound of bells, False Dmitry solemnly entered Moscow. Crowds of people enthusiastically greeted the people's king. On the same day, Vasily Shuisky stated that in 1591 it was not the prince who was killed, but another boy.

Maria Nagaya, having met False Dmitry near Moscow, recognized him as her son. Together they walked out to a crowd roaring with delight. Before entering the Kremlin, False Dmitry stopped his horse near St. Basil's Cathedral, took off his hat, crossed himself, looked at the Kremlin, at the crowds of people and began to cry. The people fell to their knees, sobbing. On the very first day of his reign, like Godunov earlier, he vowed not to shed the blood of his subjects.

Personality of False Dmitry

The appearance of False Dmitry did not fit with the usual ideas about the Russian autocrat. He was a man of completely European customs. For the first time in the history of the country, he allowed merchants to travel abroad freely and proclaimed freedom of religion. About Catholics and Orthodox he said: They are all Christians.

False Dmitry actively participated in the work of the Boyar Duma, amazed with his ability to quickly resolve complex issues, and personally accepted petitions twice a week. False Dmitry showed himself to be a supporter of educating the people; he persuaded the boyars to send their children to study abroad. He behaved freely at dinner, knew how to carry on a conversation, loved music, did not pray before meals, and did not go to bed during the day, as was the Russian tradition.

The new tsar taught military men to take fortresses by storm, he himself took part in maneuvers, and fired cannons accurately.

At the beginning of the 17th century. Russia was not ready for such a break in customs. The clergy and common people greeted such innovations with disbelief and surprise. These feelings especially intensified when the Tsar’s bride, Marina Mniszech, appeared in Moscow, accompanied by 2 thousand Polish nobles. The Russian people were amazed that their tsar was marrying a Catholic. Marina refused to take communion from the hands of an Orthodox priest or wear a Russian dress. The lords and guards accompanying her behaved defiantly.

Reign of False Dmitry

False Dmitry tried to do the impossible - to ensure the interests of the boyars, nobles, townspeople, serfs, Cossacks, serfs, Catholics and Orthodox Christians. First of all, he regulated relations with the Boyar Duma: he confirmed its powers, promised the boyars to preserve their estates; returned to Moscow many disgraced boyars and clerks, primarily the surviving Romanovs. Philaret (Fedor Romanov) was awarded the rank of metropolitan. Little Mikhail Romanov and his mother returned to Moscow.

False Dmitry tried to free himself from the Polish and Cossack detachments that discredited him. He paid the Poles for their service and offered to return to their homeland, but they remained in Moscow. Soon the Moscow population opposed their violence. False Dmitry ordered the arrest of the Poles - the instigators of the riots, but then secretly released them. He also sent the Cossacks home; all slaves, peasants and townspeople were dismissed from the army. This is how the impostor’s people’s army ended its existence.

Like previous rulers, False Dmitry sought to rely on the nobles. He distributed huge sums of money to them and gave them lands inhabited by peasants. The choice of policy towards serfs and peasants was difficult for the new tsar: to alleviate their lot meant to alienate the upper ranks of society, and to leave everything as it was was to alienate the masses who brought him to power. False Dmitry compromised: he released the slaves who fell into bondage during the famine years; exempted from taxes residents of the southwestern regions who provided him with the greatest support; left free the peasants who fled from their masters during the famine years. At the same time, he increased the terms of school years, keeping serfdom unshakable. The impostor continued the popular fight against bribery under Godunov, prohibiting taking bribes on pain of death. By allowing representatives of peasant communities to deliver collected taxes to the treasury themselves, he dealt a blow to the habit of commanding people to pocket part of the tax funds for themselves.

The Orthodox clergy were suspicious of the new tsar's connections with the Catholic Poles. The clergy watched with indignation how the Poles were constantly near the tsar, how impudently they behaved in Orthodox churches. But in relations with Poland, from the very first days of his reign, False Dmitry showed himself to be a supporter of Russian interests and Orthodoxy. He refused to provide the promised lands to the Polish king, cut pay to Polish mercenaries and magnates, and more than once spoke out for the return to Russia of the western lands seized by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He refused to allow Catholics to build churches in Russia. At the same time, fearing boyar conspiracies, False Dmitry kept foreign bodyguards around him; his close advisers were Poles. This irritated the Russian population.

The end of False Dmitry

By order of False Dmitry, noble detachments were drawn to Moscow - a campaign against the Crimean Khanate was imminent. The Novgorodians and Pskovites were led by princes Shuisky and Golitsyn, who organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry.

On the morning of May 17, 1606, the alarm sounded alarmingly in Moscow. The townspeople rushed to destroy the courtyards where the Poles were located. A detachment of 200 armed nobles led by conspiratorial boyars entered the Kremlin, and the conspirators broke into the king’s chambers. False Dmitry came out to them with a sword in his hands, but after a short fight he retreated to the bedroom. Jumping out of the window, he sprained his leg and broke his chest. The conspirators searched in vain for him. The unsuspecting archers carried the king into the palace. The conspirators immediately hacked him to death with swords. For three days the body of False Dmitry lay on Red Square for public viewing. Then the corpse was burned, the ashes were loaded into a cannon and fired in the direction from which the impostor came. Marina Mnishek and her father were arrested and deported to Yaroslavl.

Immediately, guards were posted near the houses of Polish nobles, ambassadors, and merchants. The boyars did not want to aggravate relations with Poland.