Prince Kurbsky Andrei Mikhailovich, the approximate Ivan the Terrible: biography, characteristics, interesting facts

Prince Andrei Kurbsky is a famous Russian politician, commander, writer and translator, the closest associate of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. In 1564, during the Livonian War, he fled from a possible disgrace to Poland, where he was recruited to serve King Sigismund II Augustus. Subsequently fought against Muscovy.

Family Tree

Prince Rostislav Smolensky was the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh himself and was the ancestor of two eminent families - Smolensk and Vyazemsky. The first of them had several branches, one of which was the genus of the Kurbsky, who had reigned in Yaroslavl since the thirteenth century. According to legend, this name originated from the main village called Kurby. This inheritance went to Yakov Ivanovich. About this man we only know that he died in 1455 in the Arskoye field, fighting bravely with the Kazan. After his death, the inheritance passed into the possession of his brother Semyon, who served with the Grand Duke Vasily.

In turn, he had two sons - Dmitry and Fedor, who were in the service of Prince Ivan III. The last of them was the Nizhny Novgorod governor. His sons were brave warriors, but the children were only from one Michael, who carried the nickname Karamysh. Together with his brother Roman, he died in 1506 in the battles of Kazan. Semyon Fedorovich also fought against Kazan and Lithuanians. He was a boyar at Vasily III and came out with a sharp condemnation of the prince's decision to cut the wife of Solomiya into a nun.

One of the sons of Karamysh, Michael, was often appointed to various command posts during the campaigns. The last in his life was a military campaign of 1545 against Lithuania. After himself, he left two sons - Andrew and Ivan, who later successfully continued family military traditions. Ivan Mikhailovich was seriously wounded in the capture of Kazan , but he did not leave the battlefield and continued to fight. I must say that many injuries severely damaged his health, and a year later he passed away.

It is interesting that, no matter how many historians write about Ivan IV, they will certainly remember about Andrei Mikhailovich - perhaps the most famous representative of his kind and closest associate of the tsar. Until now, researchers are arguing about who, in fact, Prince Kurbsky: a friend or foe of Ivan the Terrible?

Biography

No information about his childhood has been preserved, and no one could accurately determine the birth date of Andrei Mikhailovich, if he himself did not mention it in one of his works. And he was born in the autumn of 1528. It is not surprising that for the first time Prince Kurbsky, whose biography was associated with frequent military campaigns, is mentioned in documents in connection with the next campaign of 1549. In the army of Tsar Ivan IV, he had the rank of a cadet.

He was not even 21 years old when he took part in the campaign against Kazan. Perhaps Kurbsky was immediately able to become famous for his military exploits on the battlefields, because a year later the sovereign made him a voivode and sent to Pronsk to protect the country's southeastern borders. Soon, as a reward, either for military merits, or for the promise to arrive at the first call with his squad of soldiers, Ivan the Terrible granted Andrei Mikhailovich lands near Moscow.

First victories

It is known that the Kazan Tatars, since the reign of Ivan III, quite often made raids on Russian settlements. And this despite the fact that Kazan was formally dependent on the Moscow princes. In 1552 the Russian army was again convened for another battle with the rebellious Kazan. Around the same time, the army of the Crimean Khan appeared in the south of the country. The enemy army approached Tula and besieged it. Tsar Ivan the Terrible decided to stay with the main forces near Kolomna, and to save the besieged city send a 15-thousand army, which was commanded by Shchenyatev and Andrei Kurbsky.

The Russian troops unexpectedly found the Khan by surprise, so he had to retreat. However, there was still a significant detachment of Crimeans from Tula, mercilessly plundering the neighborhood of the city, not suspecting that the main forces of the khan had gone to the steppe. Immediately Andrei Mikhailovich decided to attack the enemy, although he had half as many warriors. According to the surviving documents, this battle lasted an hour and a half, and Prince Kurbsky emerged victorious from it.

The result of this battle was a large loss of enemy troops: of the 30 thousandth detachment, half died during the battle, and the rest either were taken prisoner or drowned during the crossing across the Shivorony. Kurbsky himself fought along with his subordinates, as a result of which he received several injuries. However, a week later he again got on track and even went on a campaign. This time, his path ran through the Ryazan land. Before him was the task of covering the main forces against sudden attacks by the steppe people.

The siege of Kazan

In the autumn of 1552, Russian troops approached Kazan. Shchenyatev and Kurbsky were appointed commanders of the Right Hand regiment. Their detachments are located behind the river Kazanka. This area was unprotected, so the regiment suffered heavy losses as a result of firing, opened on them from the city. In addition, Russian soldiers had to repel the attacks of Cheremis, who often came from the rear.

On September 2, the assault of Kazan began, during which Prince Kurbsky with his warriors was to stand on the Elbugin gates, so that the besieged could not escape from the city. Numerous attempts by enemy troops to break through the protected area were mostly reflected. Only a small part of the enemy soldiers managed to escape from the fortress. Andrei Mikhailovich with his warriors rushed into the pursuit. He bravely fought, and only a serious wound made him finally leave the battlefield.

The Czar's Counselor

Two years later Kurbsky again went to the Kazan lands, this time to pacify the rebels. I must say that the campaign proved to be very difficult, since the troops had to make their way along the terrain and fight in the wooded area, however, the prince coped with the task set, after which he returned to the capital with a victory. It was for this military feat that Ivan the Terrible produced him in the boyar.

At this time, Prince Kurbsky is among the closest people to King Ivan IV. Gradually, he approached Adashev and Sylvester, representatives of the party of reformers, and also became one of the sovereign advisers, entering the Chosen Rada. In 1556, he took part in a new military campaign against the Cheremis and again returned from the campaign as the winner. At first he was appointed commander of the regiment of the Left Hand, who was stationed in Kaluga, and a little later took command of the Right Hand regiment, who was in Kashira.

The war with Livonia

This circumstance made Andrei Mikhailovich again return to the fighting system. At first he was appointed to command Storozhev, and a little later, and the Advanced Regiment, with whom he took part in the capture of St. George and Neuhaus. In the spring of 1559, he returned to Moscow, where they soon decide to send him to serve on the southern border of the state.

The victorious war with Livonia did not last long. When the failures began to pour in one after another, the king summoned Kurbsky to his place and set him up as commander over the whole army fighting in Livonia. I must say that the new commander immediately began to act decisively. Not waiting for the main forces, he was the first to attack the enemy detachment, which was not far from Weisenstein, and won a convincing victory.

Without thinking twice, Prince Kurbsky makes a new decision - to fight with the enemy troops, which personally led the master of the famous Livonian Order. Russian detachments bypassed the enemy from the rear and, despite the night time, attacked him. Soon the exchange of fire with Livonians turned into a melee. And here the victory was over Kurbsky. After a ten-day respite, the Russian troops moved on.

Having reached Fellin, the prince ordered to burn his suburbs, and then begin the siege of the city. In this battle, the land-marshal of the Order F. Shall von Belle was captured, hurrying to the aid of the besieged. He was immediately sent to Moscow with a cover letter from Kurbsky. In it, Andrei Mikhailovich asked not to kill the Landmarshal, since he considered him to be a clever, courageous and courageous man. This message says that the Russian prince was a noble warrior who not only knew how to fight well, but also respected worthy opponents with great respect. However, despite this, Ivan the Terrible still executed Livon. Yes it is not surprising, because around this time the government of Adashev and Sylvester was eliminated, and the advisers themselves, their associates and friends were executed.

Defeat

Andrei Mikhailovich took the castle Fellin for three weeks, after which he went to Vitebsk, and then to Nevel. Here, luck turned away from him, and he was defeated. However, the royal correspondence with Prince Kurbsky testifies that Ivan IV was not going to accuse him of treason. The king was not angry with him and for his unsuccessful attempt to capture the city of Helmet. The point is that if this event were given great importance, then this would be said in one of the letters.

Nevertheless, it was then that the prince first thought about what would happen to him, when the tsar finds out about his failures. Well aware of the cool temper of the ruler, he understood perfectly well: if he defeats the enemies, he does not threaten anything, but in case of defeat he can quickly fall into disfavor and find himself on the block. Although, in truth, except for compassionate disgraced, he had nothing to blame.

Judging by the fact that after the defeat under Nevel, Ivan IV appointed Andrei Mikhailovich voivode to Yuryev, the tsar did not intend to punish him. However, Prince Kurbsky fled to Poland from royal wrath, because he felt that sooner or later the prince's rage would fall on his head. King Sigismund II August highly valued the feats of the prince, so he called him somehow to his service, promising him a good reception and luxurious life.

Escape

Kurbsky increasingly began to reflect on the proposal of the Polish king, until at the end of April 1564 he decided not to flee secretly to Wolmar. Together with him went his followers and even servants. Sigismund II accepted them well, and awarded the prince himself estates with the right of hereditary property.

Learning that Prince Kurbsky fled from the king's wrath, Ivan the Terrible brought all his fury to the rest of the relatives of Andrei Mikhailovich. All of them suffered a difficult fate. In justification of his cruelty, he accused Kurbsky of treason, violation of the kissing of the cross, as well as the abduction of his wife Anastasia and the desire to reign in Yaroslavl itself. Ivan IV was able to prove only the first two facts, the rest he obviously invented in order to justify his actions in the eyes of Lithuanian and Polish nobles.

Life in exile

Entering the service of King Sigismund II, Kurbsky almost immediately began to occupy high military posts. Less than six months later, he already fought against Muscovy. With Lithuanian troops, he participated in the campaign against Velikie Luki and defended Volhynia from the Tatars. In 1576, Andrei Mikhailovich commanded a large detachment, which was part of the troops of Grand Duke Stefan Batory, who fought with the Russian army near Polotsk.

In Poland, Kurbsky lived most of the time in Miljanovici, near Kovel. He entrusted his trustees to administer their lands. In his spare time from military campaigns, he was engaged in scientific research, giving preference to works on mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and theology, as well as studying Greek and Latin languages.

Known is the fact that the fugitive Prince Kurbsky and Ivan the Terrible corresponded. The first letter was sent to the tsar in 1564. Was delivered to Moscow by the faithful servant of Andrei Mikhailovich Vasily Shibanov, who was subsequently tortured and executed. In his letters the prince expressed his deep indignation with those unjust persecutions, as well as numerous executions of innocent people who served the sovereign as faith and truth. In turn, Ivan defended the absolute right at his own discretion to pardon or execute any of his subjects.

Correspondence between the two opponents lasted for 15 years and ended in 1579. The letters themselves, the well-known pamphlet entitled The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow, and the rest of Kurbsky's works are written in literary language. In addition, they contain very valuable information about the era of the reign of one of the most cruel rulers in the history of Russia.

Already living in Poland, the prince married a second time. In 1571, he married a wealthy widow Kozinskaya. However, this marriage did not last long and ended in divorce. The third time Kurbsky married already a poor woman named Semashko. From this union the prince had a son and a daughter.

Shortly before his death, the prince took part in another campaign against Moscow under the leadership of Stefan Batory. But this time he did not have to fight - almost reaching the border with Russia, he fell seriously ill and had to turn back. Andrei Mikhailovich died in 1583. He was buried in the monastery, located near Kovel.

All his life he was an ardent supporter of Orthodoxy. Proud, stern and irreconcilable nature of Kurbsky greatly contributed to the fact that he had many enemies among the Lithuanian and Polish nobility. He constantly quarreled with his neighbors and often seized their lands, and covered the royal envoys with Russian abuse.

Soon after the death of Andrei Kurbsky, his trusted prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky also died. From that moment on, the Polish government gradually began to take away possessions from his widow and son, until finally Kovel was taken. The hearings on this matter lasted for several years. As a result, his son Dmitry managed to recover some of the lost land, after which he accepted Catholicism.

Characteristics of Prince Kurbsky

Opinions about him as a politician and a person are often diametrically opposed. Some consider him an inveterate conservative with an extremely narrow and limited outlook, which in all things supported the boyars and opposed the tsarist autocracy. In addition, his flight to Poland is regarded as some kind of calculating, connected with the great everyday benefits, which King Sigismund August promised him. Andrei Kurbsky is suspected even of the insincerity of his judgments, set forth by him in numerous works, which were entirely aimed at maintaining Orthodoxy.

Many historians tend to think that the prince nevertheless was a man extremely intelligent and educated, as well as sincere and honest, always acting on the side of good and justice. For such traits of character he was called "the first Russian dissident". Since the reasons for the disagreement between him and Ivan the Terrible, as well as the legends of Prince Kurbsky, are not fully understood, the controversy over the personality of this well-known political figure of that time will continue for a long time.

His opinion on this issue was expressed also by the well-known Polish heraldry and historian Simon Okolsky, who lived in the XVII century. His characterization of Prince Kurbsky boiled down to this: it was a truly great man, and not only because he was related to the royal house and occupied the highest military and public positions, but also because of valor, as he scored several significant victories . In addition, the historian wrote about the prince as a truly happy man. Judge for yourself: the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus, with unusual honors, received him, an exile and a runaway boyar.

Until now, the reasons for the flight and treachery of Prince Kurbsky from the researchers are of great interest, since the identity of this man is ambiguous and multifaceted. A superfluous proof that Andrei Mikhailovich possessed a remarkable mind can also be the fact that, being already middle-aged, he managed to learn the Latin language, which he had not known until now.

In the first volume of a book called Orbis Poloni, which was published in 1641 in Krakow, the same Simon Okolsky placed the coat of arms of the princes of Kurbsky (in the Polish version - Krupsky) and gave him an explanation. He believed that this heraldic sign was Russian in origin. It is worth noting that in the Middle Ages the image of a lion could often be found on the arms of the nobility in different states. In the ancient Russian heraldry this animal was considered a symbol of nobility, courage, moral and military valor. Therefore it is not surprising that it was the lion that was depicted on the prince's coat of arms of the Kurbsky.