Why Vasily Shuisky became king. Time of Troubles

Boyar, prince. Russian tsar. He was on the throne from May 19 (29), 1606 to July 17 (27), 1610. The only one of the Russian tsars died in captivity in a foreign land.

Pedigree

He belonged to an ancient princely family, which was a Suzdal branch, ascending, according to most historians, to Andrei Yaroslavich, Grand Duke of Vladimir and younger brother. Vasily Shuisky himself considered Alexander Nevsky and his third son, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Gorodetsky, who also occupied the Vladimir Grand Duke's table, to be his direct ancestors.

Father - boyar Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky, a prominent statesman and governor in the reign. Mother - Anna Fedorovna (the exact origin is unknown). The brothers - Andrei, Dmitry, Ivan Pugovka - were boyars, held responsible administrative and military positions. He was married twice, the choice of brides Elena Mikhailovna, Princess Repnina-Obolenskaya and Maria Petrovna, Princess Buynosova-Rostovskaya, most likely, was determined by dynastic considerations. He left no offspring, two daughters from his second marriage died in infancy.

court service

The service of the young prince at court, which began in the 1570s, was successful, despite the wary attitude of the formidable and suspicious tsar towards the nobility. In 1582/83, Prince Vasily was even arrested for a reason that remained unknown, but was soon released on bail to his brothers. However, in 1584 he already had the rank of boyar and conducted important court cases. The career of Vasily Shuisky was promoted by the marriage of his younger brother Dmitry to Ekaterina, the daughter of the Duma nobleman Grigory Lukyanovich Malyuta Skuratov from the Belsky family. Another daughter of this most influential guardsman was married to. Family ties by no means weakened the constant struggle between the two influential boyars and future tsars. Their confrontation, perhaps, remained the most remarkable feature of Vasily Shuisky in the Russian historical consciousness and was fixed by A.S. Pushkin in the beginning of the tragedy "Boris Godunov", which begins with the unflattering words of the prince about Boris shamelessly and criminally striving for royal power. The struggle for influence on the young and incapable of governing Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1584-1598) was lost by the Shuiskys to Godunov outright and Prince Vasily, then governor in Smolensk, fell, like his relatives, into exile. In 1587 he was accused of treason, in secret trips under the guise of hunting abroad. Gradually, Godunov's anger subsided, and in April 1591, Prince Vasily was returned to Moscow. Almost immediately, fateful events for the country and for him took place. On May 15, 1591, he died in Uglich, and Shuisky was appointed head of the commission to investigate the case. Apparently, Godunov believed that the conclusions presented by the nobleman, who had recently been in disgrace, and, moreover, an experienced judicial official, would be accepted as fair and unbiased. Already on May 30, the commission completed its work in Uglich, and on June 2, it reported to the Boyar Duma its conclusions about the accident with the sick royal child and the insidious relatives of Tsarevich Nagikh, who revolted against the royal servants. The official results of the "Uglich case" allowed Shuisky to return to the judicial and administrative elite, for example, to the positions of head of the Ryazan Court Order or governor in Veliky Novgorod, but they were unlikely to return Godunov's full confidence. He even forbade the childless prince to marry a second time, so as not to produce competitors for the throne.

turmoil

Distrust of Shuisky did not disappear even after the victory won over the impostor False Dmitry I at Dobrynich on January 21, 1605 by the tsarist army, where Prince Vasily was the second governor after Prince F.I. Mstislavsky. In his suspicions, Godunov turned out to be right, although he himself no longer found out about this because of the death that occurred on April 13, 1605. Recalled to Moscow to help the heir Fyodor Borisovich, Shuisky not only went over to the side of the impostor in June 1605, but “recognized” him as a true prince. He stated that the conclusions of the investigation of 1591 were a forgery to please Godunov, but in fact he remained alive and now rightfully returned his father's throne. However, as a very informed and authoritative witness, he was dangerous and was sentenced to death, which was canceled at the last moment and commuted to imprisonment. A few months later, Prince Vasily was returned to court and even approached the impostor, whom he avenged even more cruelly than Godunov, spreading information about the death of the real prince among Muscovites and the noble militia, who were going to war with the Crimea, inciting them to rebellion and, together with others representatives of the nobility preparing a conspiracy. The rebellion and the palace conspiracy ended with the murder of the impostor on May 17, 1606.

Governing body

On May 19, 1606, Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky was proclaimed tsar in front of the insurgent people at the Execution Ground on Red Square. On June 1, he was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In his new capacity, Shuisky tried, as far as possible, to atone for his sins, intrigues, and perjury, first of all, before the church. Often this was done publicly. In order to finally close the issue of the Uglich tragedy, Shuisky radically changes the version of those events for the third time. The prince really died, according to him, in 1591, but not as a result of an accident, but was stabbed to death. Finally, everyone was assured of the violent and martyrdom of Dmitry Ivanovich by his canonization and the acquisition of holy relics, which were solemnly transferred by a procession from Uglich to Moscow to the Archangel Cathedral to the grand ducal and royal tomb. Ceremonies and rituals within the framework of these celebrations were conducted by Filaret, Metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl, who was a boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov before his tonsure, and Metropolitan of Kazan, later glorified as a holy martyr. It was Hermogenes, with the support of the new tsar, who on July 3, 1606, became the first hierarch of the Russian Church instead of Ignatius, a protege, who had been deposed from the patriarchal throne. In addition, Shuisky returned to Moscow the former first Russian patriarch, deposed under an impostor, in order to ask for forgiveness for violating the cross-kissing oath to Tsar Theodore Borisovich Godunov. As a sign of reconciliation with his unfortunate family, Shuisky, although he placed responsibility for the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry on his former rival, ordered the ashes of the former tsar, his son and wife to be reburied with honors in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

In an effort to weaken accusations of illegitimate coming to power without election, Shuisky gave a "cross-kissing record." In it, he promised not to execute anyone without a court decision made by the tsar with the boyars; not to confiscate property from relatives of convicts, if they were not accomplices in crimes; do not accept false denunciations and punish such scammers; without guilt, do not subject anyone to royal disgrace. This gave grounds to a number of historians to talk about one of the first attempts to legally limit royal power. He also tried to streamline in the interests of the treasury, landowners and service people their legal relations with dependent people and serfs. Among the adopted laws was the Code of March 9, 1607, which recognized the peasants as serfs of those owners for whom they were recorded in the cadastral books of the early 1590s, and set the term for detecting fugitive peasants at 15 years.

Shuisky's attempts to reverse the political and moral-psychological situation in society in his favor were unsuccessful. In 1605-1606, two bloody coups followed one after the other, which were accompanied by the murders of the bearers of supreme power and thus encouraged violent methods to achieve goals, unleashed the hands of supporters of the most radical actions, freed them from previous oaths and oaths, shook the state apparatus and the armed forces of the state. Russia was increasingly drawn into the Time of Troubles - a civil war. Shuisky's opponents again and again used the rumor about another miraculous salvation, under the slogans of returning to power all those who were dissatisfied or simply striving for quick profit gathered. In 1606, the largest anti-government demonstration was the uprising led by Ivan Bolotnikov, during which the rebels laid siege to Moscow. Tsar Vasily had to personally lead loyal troops into battle. After a successful battle on December 2, 1606, he managed to push the rebels away from the capital and force them to leave first to Kaluga, and then to Tula. On May 21, 1607, the tsar again personally went on a campaign, which ended on October 10 with the surrender of Tula, the main stronghold of the rebellion. Shuisky made a promise to save the lives of the leaders of the uprising - Bolotnikov and Ileika Muromets, but, as happened before, did not consider it necessary to restrain him. The massacre of the leaders of one uprising did not lead to the pacification of the country, another impostor stood at the head of a new rebellion . The runaway serfs and peasants, the rebellious Cossacks and service people of southern Russia were joined by military detachments from the Commonwealth. In the battle of Bolkhov on April 30 and May 1, 1608, the army under the command of the tsar's brother, Prince Dmitry Shuisky, was defeated, the troops approached Moscow and camped in the village of Tushino, where they created parallel authorities. Numerous cities, vast territories left the power of Shuisky to the “Tushinsky thief”, a considerable number of boyars and service people fled. Moscow was again under siege. The tsar sent his nephew, the boyar prince, to Novgorod to ask for help from the Swedish king Charles IX in exchange for the cession of the city of Korela with the district to Sweden. In 1609, the violence and robberies of the Polish-Lithuanian and Cossack detachments that served the impostor caused the inhabitants of the Zamoskovye cities and the Russian North to act against him. At the same time, the army of Prince Skopin-Shuisky began a campaign towards Moscow, which in a series of battles defeated the troops of the impostor and entered Moscow on March 12, 1610, lifting the siege from the capital. A significant part of the cities and counties of the country recognized the authority of Tsar Basil. However, Prince Skopin-Shuisky died unexpectedly after a feast on April 23, 1610. There were rumors that he was poisoned by the tsar's sister-in-law Ekaterina Grigoryevna at the instigation of her son-in-law and husband, who feared the claims of the famous commander to the throne, whose heir was officially considered her husband Dmitry Shuisky as the brother of the childless Vasily. This event dealt a severe blow to the prestige of the king and the combat effectiveness of the army at the moment when the Polish-Lithuanian intervention began.

Back in September 1609, the King of the Commonwealth, Sigismund III, crossed the Russian border and laid siege to Smolensk, calling on the Polish-Lithuanian gentry, who until that time had served False Dmitry II. In the battle of Klushino on June 24, 1610, the Russian army under the command of Prince Dmitry Shuisky was defeated. The Polish-Lithuanian troops approached Moscow, but so far they were in no hurry to occupy the city, where another coup d'etat took place. On July 17, 1610, a kind of open-air meeting was held in the capital, resembling either an ancient veche or an impromptu cathedral. It was held with the participation of the clergy, the Boyar Duma, the commanders of the noble detachments and military people who were in the city, the inhabitants of the Moscow suburb. It was decided to depose the tsar, who was taken from the royal residence to his old boyar court and taken into custody. On July 19, Vasily Shuisky was forcibly tonsured a monk and imprisoned in the Moscow Miracle Monastery. His wife was also tonsured and sent to Suzdal to the Intercession Monastery. Shuisky's opponents, united against him, could not share power among themselves and decided to give it to foreigners. The new government, formed from representatives of the boyars and nicknamed the "Seven Boyars", in August 1610 concluded an agreement on the election of the Polish prince Vladislav (the future king Vladislav IV Vasa) to the Russian throne. In September 1610, the boyars handed over Vasily Shuisky, along with his brothers Dmitry and Ivan, to the commander of the Polish-Lithuanian army, hetman Stanislav Zholkevsky, to take them out of Moscow and place them in one of the monasteries. He, in violation of a preliminary agreement with the Duma, took the captives with him to King Sigismund III near Smolensk. Vasily Shuisky had to pay for his political and military mistakes with shame, which humiliated the whole of Russia and flattered the pride of its Western neighbors. He, along with his brothers and governor Mikhail Borisovich Shein, leader of the heroic defense of Smolensk in 1609-1611, which stopped only when the defenders stopped receiving any help from the rest of the country, were forced to participate as living trophies in the ceremony of triumphal entry of Zholkievsky on October 29, 1611 to Warsaw. Then, in the royal palace, in the presence of all the Polish nobility during a meeting of the Sejm and in the presence of foreign ambassadors, he was forced to bow to Sigismund III and kiss his hand. Then the Shuiskys were placed under guard in a castle in the town of Gostynin in Mazovia, where Vasily died on September 12 (22), 1612, after him five days later, on September 17 (27), Prince Dmitry died. In 1620, only their brother Ivan was able to return to his homeland. The very death of Vasily Shuisky was also used by the Polish authorities for propaganda purposes. The remains of him and his brother Dmitry were buried in Warsaw in a specially built tomb, called the “Moscow chapel” (“Russian chapel”), with inscriptions reporting on the Polish victories that led to the capture of the Moscow Tsar. The tsar's government took such a funeral as a humiliation for Russia. After the conclusion of a peace treaty between Russia and the Commonwealth (1634), the remains of Vasily Shuisky were transferred to the Russian side and solemnly reburied in 1635 in the grand ducal and royal tomb - the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Vasily IV (Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky) (1552-1612), Russian Tsar (1606-1610).

Prince Vasily Ivanovich belonged to an ancient family, in nobility equal to the Moscow house of Rurikovich. The Shuiskys had enormous land wealth and colossal influence.

In the 80s. 16th century they started a fight with the brother-in-law and favorite of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Boris Godunov, which ended in failure. The Shuiskys fell into disgrace. In 1586, Prince Vasily Ivanovich was recalled from Smolensk, where he was governor, and sent into exile.

In 1591, Godunov needed the help of disgraced aristocrats. Under mysterious circumstances, the brother of Fyodor Ivanovich, Tsarevich Dmitry, died in the city of Uglich. Prince Vasily Ivanovich stood at the head of the commission of inquiry. He came to the unequivocal conclusion - an accident.

When, ten years later, False Dmitry I invaded the Moscow state, Shuisky proclaimed: "Dmitry escaped the machinations of Boris Godunov, and instead of him the son of a priest was killed and buried princely."

In 1605 the impostor was married to the kingdom. The Poles gained great influence, "pushing" him to the throne. The position of the Russian aristocracy became precarious. Shuisky organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry, but the plans of the conspirators were violated by arrests. Shuisky himself went up to the chopping block. However, at the last moment, False Dmitry pardoned him. This frivolous decision cost the impostor power and life. At the end of May 1606, Shuisky struck. The conspirators aroused popular discontent and broke into the royal chambers. The widespread beating of Polish soldiers began, False Dmitry and his entourage fell.

Shuisky's finest hour has come. He was elected king and soon married. Such haste damaged the cause: the Zemsky Sobor was not convened, which could give Shuisky's power more legitimacy. Soon, several new "royal offspring" appeared in the country at once; one of them, False Dmitry II, received the support of the Polish gentry. In the southern lands, the uprising of I. Bolotnikov (1606-1607) was growing.

Under these conditions, Vasily Ivanovich decided to take a risky step: in Uglich, the relics of the "innocently murdered" Tsarevich Dmitry were found, who was canonized as a martyr. This was to convince everyone and everyone: the prince is dead, and the new impostors are just troublemakers.

Bolotnikov's uprising was successfully suppressed. The fight against the detachments of False Dmitry II dragged on. In 1609, the Polish king Sigismund III openly invaded Russian territory and laid siege to Smolensk. Shuisky turned to the Swedish king for help. The combined Swedish-Russian forces, led by the talented commander M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, inflicted a number of defeats on the enemy.

In the spring of 1610, the situation began to improve, Shuisky's energetic policy seemed to bear fruit. However, at that moment Skopin-Shuisky died unexpectedly. On June 24, Russian troops suffered a crushing defeat from the Poles near the village of Klushina (between Vyazma and Mozhaisk).

In July 1610, representatives of other aristocratic families rebelled and overthrew Shuisky. The king was forcibly tonsured a monk. The aristocratic government handed him over to the Poles. Vasily Ivanovich died in captivity.

Tsar Vasily Shuisky, whose reign fell on the most difficult pages of Russian history, was from a famous boyar family descended from the Rurikovichs. This dynasty ended with the death of Shuisky, who became the elected king during the war with the Poles, which caused his rapid fall.

Boyar origin

The father of Vasily, who was born in 1552, was Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky. He died during the Livonian War (in a battle against the Swedes) near Lode Castle. Vasily also participated in Grozny's numerous military campaigns in the Baltic states, which won him favor. He was a royal witness at the wedding of Ivan IV with one of his last wives.

In the last years of Grozny's life, Shuisky became one of the country's most influential boyars. He was a member of the Duma and retained his high position under Ivan's son Fyodor. In the same years, he mastered the art of political intrigue, as several boyar clans began fighting in Moscow for influence over the new sovereign.

Case of False Dmitry

In 1591, Vasily Shuisky, whose reign was still just ahead, investigated the mysterious death of Dmitry Ioannovich. The little prince lived in Uglich and was supposed to become the heir to his childless elder brother Fyodor. However, he died under strange circumstances. Boris Godunov appointed Shuisky head of a special commission. Vasily came to the conclusion that Dmitry died due to an accident. Until now, researchers are arguing about whether Boris Godunov was to blame for what happened. In this case, he could force Shuisky to falsify the case.

When Boris himself became tsar, rumors arose on the western borders of Russia about the rescue of Tsarevich Dmitry. This legend was invented by the fugitive monk Grigory Otrepiev. The impostor was supported by who gave him money for his own army. False Dmitry invaded the country, and Shuisky was sent as governor of one of the regiments to meet him.

Together with Fyodor Mstislavsky, he led a 20,000-strong army at the Battle of Dobrynich on January 21, 1605. In this battle, False Dmitry was defeated and fled back to Poland. However, Shuisky did not pursue him. Perhaps he did it on purpose, not wanting Godunov (his rival) to get out of trouble so easily. Very soon, in the same year, Boris suddenly died.

Power passed to his young son Fedor. Shuisky led a secret conspiracy against the young tsar, but this became known, and Vasily was expelled from Moscow along with his brothers. Meanwhile, False Dmitry came to his senses after the defeat at Dobrynich and came to Moscow with a new army. The people were dissatisfied with the Godunovs, and Fedor was betrayed and killed. The reign of the impostor began.

At the head of the uprising against False Dmitry

False Dmitry needed devoted boyars. Since the supporters of the Godunovs fell into disgrace, the new tsar at the end of 1605 returned their rivals, including the Shuiskys, from exile. Vasily did not waste time in vain. He stood at the head of a popular revolt against the impostor.

When he appeared in Moscow, False Dmitry enjoyed insane popularity among ordinary residents of the capital. However, he made many fatal mistakes. The main thing was that he surrounded himself with faithful Poles and even wanted to convert to Catholicism. In addition, his enemies continued to spread rumors around Moscow that the real Tsarevich Dmitry had died many years ago in Uglich.

The uprising took place on May 17, 1606. False Dmitry was killed. He tried to escape from the palace, jumped out the window, broke his leg and was hacked to death in such a helpless state.

The question arose about a successor. Since the family of Rurikovich died out, and the last Godunov was killed, the boyars began to choose a new sovereign from other influential families. Shuisky was popular, he had many supporters. In addition, his distant ancestor was the Vladimir prince from the Rurik family. Finally, on May 19, it was Vasily Shuisky who was chosen as tsar. The reign of the sovereign began when his coronation took place.

Bolotnikov's uprising

However, the triumph of the former boyar was short-lived. During the reign of Vasily Shuisky, there were wars with numerous internal and external enemies. When False Dmitry appeared in the western regions of the Russian kingdom, the local population ceased to obey the central government. A few years earlier, the country had experienced a terrible famine. Against this background, peasant riots broke out. The most famous of them is the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov.

Another important reason for such a speech was the formation and consolidation of serfdom in Russia at the end of the 16th century. Back in the days of Boris Godunov, disgruntled peasants took up arms under the command of Ataman Khlopok. In addition, in 1606, the peasants from the provinces were affected by the news about the events in Moscow. Many did not believe that Tsar Dmitry was killed. The dissatisfied believed that this time the legitimate ruler was saved. Thus, the rebels wanted to overthrow the elected boyar tsar.

The center of the rebels ended up in the border area of ​​Putivl. Vasily Shuisky, whose reign had just begun, at first did not pay attention to the discontent of the peasants. And when they moved straight to Moscow, there were already about 30 thousand people under their banners. The rebels defeated the royal squads. In the autumn of 1606, peasants led by Bolotnikov laid siege to Kolomna. It was not possible to take it, and together with this the army went to Moscow.

victory over the peasants

The siege of the capital lasted two months. This was the critical moment of the uprising. Part of Bolotnikov's army consisted of detachments assembled by the boyars. They went over to the side of the king, which weakened the besiegers. Bolotnikov retreated to Kaluga, where he was blocked for several months.

In the spring of 1607 he retreated to Tula. In June, the tsarist troops besieged the city. Vasily Shuisky himself led the army. The last stronghold of the rebels was the Tula Kremlin, which was captured on October 10. Bolotnikov was exiled to the North, where he was blinded and drowned in an ice hole.

The emergence of a new impostor

Even during the Tula siege, the tsar was informed that a new impostor had appeared in Starodub. In historiography, he is known as False Dmitry II. The reign of Vasily Shuisky did not know a single peaceful day.

The impostor managed to capture many cities in central Russia. Due to the fact that the tsarist troops lost control over most of the country, for the first time in many years they invaded the Oka.

foreign intervention

Shuisky's other enemies did not sit idly by either. The main enemy was the Polish king Sigismund. He laid siege to Smolensk. Lithuanian troops stood under the walls of the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra for more than a year. The intervention of foreigners became the cause of the emergence of a national liberation movement. Spontaneous detachments were formed in the province. They acted in isolation from the royal troops.

The reign of Tsar Vasily Shuisky was turbulent. He tried to enlist support abroad. The sovereign sent an embassy to the Swedish king Charles, who agreed to give him an army and mercenaries in exchange for small territorial concessions. The agreement with him was signed in Vyborg.

The combined Russian-Swedish army under the leadership of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and Jacob Delagardie drove the Poles out of several northern cities. However, this alliance was short-lived. The reign of Vasily Shuisky was unhappy. The Swedes, under the pretext that the Russians do not comply with the terms of the agreement, occupied Novgorod.

Meanwhile, the popularity of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky was growing in the army. He went to Moscow to liberate the central Russian cities from the Poles and Lithuanians. There were several battles that the invaders lost (near Torzhok and Toropets).

Skopin-Shuisky's victories

The Poles and Lithuanians supported False Dmitry II, with whom they allied. The reign of Vasily Shuisky, in short, continued only in the capital. The combined troops of the interventionists and the impostor were defeated near Kalyazin on August 28, 1609. The Russian army in the battle was led by Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, the tsar's nephew. He managed to unblock the besieged Moscow.

The hero-liberator was received in the capital with all honors. Michael was invited to a feast, where he felt sick after taking a sip from a goblet. Two weeks later, the national hero died. Rumors spread among the people that Vasily Shuisky was behind the poisoning. These conversations did not add popularity to the king.

Meanwhile, the Polish king Sigismund himself invaded Russia. He defeated the tsar's brother near Klushin, after which an uprising began in Moscow. The boyars overthrew Vasily and forced him to go to the monastery. The new rulers of the capital swore allegiance to the son of the Polish king Vladislav. The reign of Vasily Shuisky ended in an inglorious coup.

Death and results of the reign

When the interventionists entered Moscow, Shuisky was handed over to the invaders. The former tsar was transported to Poland, where he was imprisoned in Gostynin's castle. This happened on September 12, when the liberation war against the interventionists was in full swing in Russia. Soon the whole country was cleared of foreign invaders, and Mikhail Romanov became king.

The results of the reign of Vasily Shuisky are disappointing. Under him, the country finally plunged into chaos and was divided between the interventionists.

Vasily was born in 1552 in the family of Ivan Andreevich and Anna Feodorovna Shuisky. He was brought up with his brothers Andrei, Dmitry and Ivan. There is no special information about the childhood of the future ruler.

At a young age, Vasily Ivanovich became interested in politics. He joined the Moscow Judicial Chamber and achieved a promotion. Became a boyar. The prince constantly took part in military campaigns.

After his death, Vasily first spoke with other boyars against Bogdan Volsky, and then became an opponent of Boris Godunov.

In 1591, Vasily Shuisky investigated the causes of the sudden death of Tsarevich Dmitry. The investigation confirmed that he died as a result of an accident, which, according to contemporaries, played into the hands of Boris Godunov.

In 1598, after the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, Shuisky was one of the contenders for the Russian throne. His nobility and proximity to the vanished dynasty allowed him to hope so. But Boris Godunov became tsar, who tormented the prince with his suspicion and distrust. To survive, Vasily Shuisky had to have extraordinary endurance and caution, and he had these qualities in abundance.

In 1604, the impostor False Dmitry appeared within the Russian borders. Vasily Ivanovich on Red Square, with a large crowd of people, several times stated that this was undoubtedly an impostor, and he personally buried the real Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich. Reassured by this statement, Boris Godunov sent Shuisky with troops against False Dmitry. The defeat of the impostor troops dragged on. In April, Boris Godunov died, and his son Fyodor became Tsar.

This reign was short lived. A few months later, the army swore allegiance to False Dmitry. Unrest in the capital reached its maximum. According to one version, Vasily Shuisky this time distorted the truth and said that the impostor was a true prince. This was enough to decide the fate of the Godunovs. On May 10, the young tsar and his mother were strangled by the people of False Dmitry.

Vasily Shuisky met the impostor in Tula, and as a result was forgiven. Actions continued on June 20, when Dmitry entered Moscow. Shuisky was arrested three days later. He was reminded of all past sins, and Dmitry ordered the Zemsky Sobor to judge him. Shuisky behaved very courageously and did not retract his testimony. The result of the trial was predictable - Shuisky was sentenced to death. True, a few days later she was replaced by exile, and all the property of the Shuiskys went to the treasury.

On July 30, the wedding to the kingdom of Dmitry took place. On this occasion, an amnesty was declared. Dmitry forgave all the disgraced, including Shuisky. The boyars and all estates were returned to him.

Having been restored to his former power, Prince Vasily Ivanovich resumed his conspiratorial activities.

On the night of May 16-17, 1606, a detachment of conspirators entered Moscow, occupied all the gates and completely isolated the Kremlin. False Dmitry I was killed.

On May 19, on Red Square, with a huge crowd of people, it was proposed to elect Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky to the kingdom.

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky - Russian Tsar

Vasily Shuisky was married to the kingdom on June 1, 1606. The wedding was modest. Immediately after this, a new patriarch was installed. They became the former Kazan Metropolitan Hermogenes, a consistent opponent of False Dmitry.

Upon accession to the throne, Shuisky gave a "cross-kissing note" not to resolve any important issues without the Sovereign (Boyar) Duma.

Trying to remove questions that might arise in the future about the death of Tsarevich Dmitry, Vasily Ivanovich ordered that his body be brought from Uglich, and on June 3, Dmitry's relics were exhibited in the Archangel Cathedral. However, these actions could not stop the new emerging unrest.

Vasily Shuisky tried to acquire reliable supporters, and he granted all the boyars - participants in the coup of 1606 new lands with serfs, gave certain benefits. But in parallel, he continued to introduce tougher measures in the economic sphere. First of all, corvée and dues grew, which created additional discontent. A large number of runaway peasants and serfs appeared.

The emerging social tension led to the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov (1606-1607). The government had to take urgent measures to unite the nobility and the boyars in the fight against the rebels. At the first stage, the authorities managed to cope with them. Those who remained from Bolotnikov's army went over to the side of the impostor.

In 1607, a new impostor - False Dmitry II - launched an attack on Moscow. Initially, his actions were successful - many Russian cities were captured. He did not dare to storm Moscow and settled in the near Moscow region, in the village of Tushino.

Vasily did not have enough of his own forces to fight the impostor, and he was forced to invite Swedish troops to Russia. To do this, he had to accept all the conditions of the Swedes, which caused great discontent in society. Sweden's actions aroused the displeasure of Poland and led to open intervention on her part. The Poles moved inland and laid siege to Smolensk. And on June 24, 1610, the combined Russian-Swedish army was defeated by the Poles near the village of Klushino, near Vyazma. The road to Moscow was open.

Vasily Shuisky was left without support. The Moscow boyars put forward an ultimatum to him, in which they demanded to lay down the royal power. On July 19, he was forcibly tonsured a monk and imprisoned in the Miracle Monastery. The Moscow boyars went further, and in September 1610 they surrendered the former tsar and his family to the Poles. The Polish hetman Zholkiewski took him to Poland, where he was placed in the Gostyn castle. Shuisky died there in 1612.