The liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612

One of the turning points of Russian history with confidence is the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612. It was then decided whether or not to be a Russian state. It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this date for future generations. Let's take another look at this important event after many centuries, as well as find out what the military leader did when liberating Moscow from the Poles to achieve success.

Prehistory

But first let's find out what events preceded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.

The confrontation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in fact the federation of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, began with the Russian state even in the time of Ivan the Terrible. Then, in 1558, the famous Livonian War broke out, pursuing its goal of gaining control over the Baltic lands. In 1583, the war ended with the signing of a peace that proved to be rather unprofitable for Russia. But in general, this world of contradictions between the Russian kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not allow.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584, the Russian throne was taken by his son - Fyodor. It was quite a weak and morbid man, under which the tsarist government greatly weakened. He died in 1598, leaving no heirs. The brother of Fyodor's wife came to power - boyar Boris Godunov. This event had rather deplorable consequences for Russia, as the dynasty of the Rurik people, who ruled the state for more than seven hundred years, was suppressed.

Inside the Russian kingdom, discontent was growing with Boris Godunov's policy, which many considered an impostor who unlawfully seized power and at one time rumored to have ordered the death of the legitimate heir of Ivan the Terrible.

This tense situation inside the country was very useful for the possibility of foreign intervention.

Impostors

The ruling elite of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth understood perfectly well that its main external rival was the Russian Empire. Therefore, the fall of the Rurik dynasty served as a signal for the beginning of preparations for the invasion.

However, to the open war, Rzeczpospolita itself was not ready, therefore, for its intrigues, the impostor Grigory Otrepiev, who pretended to be Dmitri, died in the childhood as a son of Ivan the Terrible (according to another version, killed by the order of Boris Godunov), for which he received the nickname - False Dmitry.

The army of False Dmitry was recruited with the support of Polish and Lithuanian magnates, but was not officially supported by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She invaded the territory of Russia in 1604. Soon, Tsar Boris Godunov died, and his sixteen-year-old son Fedor could not organize the defense. The Polish army of Grigory Otrepiev in 1605 captured Moscow, and he himself proclaimed tsar Dmitry I. However, the following year he was killed as a result of the coup. At the same time, a significant part of the Poles who arrived with him were killed.

Vasily Shuisky became the new Russian tsar, who was the representative of the lateral branch of the Rurikovichs. But a significant part of the population of Russia did not recognize him as a real ruler.

In 1607 a new impostor appeared on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose real name is unknown. He went down in history as False Dmitry II. He was supported by the magnates, who earlier started an uprising against the Polish king Sigismund III, but lost. The stub of the impostor became the town of Tushin, because of which False Dmitry II was nicknamed Tushinsky thief. His army defeated Shuisky's army and siege Moscow.

Vasily Shuisky tried to negotiate with Sigismund III, so that he recalled his subjects. But he had no real leverage, and did not want to do it. Then the Russian king made an alliance with the Swedes. This alliance presupposed Swedish assistance against Falsdmitry II on the conditions of the transfer of a number of Russian cities to Sweden, as well as the conclusion of an alliance against Poland.

Prerequisites for open Polish intervention

The main pretext for the beginning of the Polish intervention was the Russian-Swedish Union. This gave a formal excuse for the Commonwealth to declare war on Russia, as one of the goals of the alliance was exactly the confrontation with Poland.

In the Rech Pospolitoy itself at that time there was an increase in royal power. This was due to the fact that King Sigismund III in 1609 suppressed an uprising of the dissatisfied gentry, which lasted three years. Now there is an opportunity to conduct external expansion.

In addition, the Russo-Polish contradictions have not disappeared since the Livonian War, and the hidden Polish intervention in the form of unofficial support for the impostors did not yield the expected result.

These factors served as an impetus to the decision to openly invade the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the territory of the Russian state in order to put it under its complete control. It was they who launched the chain of events, the links of which was the capture of the capital of Russia by the Polish-Lithuanian army, and then the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.

The capture of Moscow by the Poles

In the autumn of 1609 the Polish army led by Hetman Stanislav Zholkevsky invaded the territory of Russia and besieged Smolensk. In the summer of 1610 they defeated Russian-Swedish troops in the decisive battle near Klushino and approached Moscow. On the other hand Moscow was besieged by the army of False Dmitry II.

Meanwhile, the boyars overthrew Vasily Shuisky and imprisoned him in a monastery. They established a regime that is known by the name of the Semiboyarschina. But the boyars who usurped power were unpopular among the people. They could really control only Moscow. Fearing that the more popular False Dmitriy II could seize power, the boyars agreed to collusion with the Poles.

By agreement, the son of King Sigismund III of Poland, Vladislav became a Russian tsar, but at the same time he converted to Orthodoxy. In the autumn of 1610 the Polish army entered Moscow.

First Militia

Thus, the capital of Russia was captured by the Poles. From the first days of their stay, they started outrages, which, naturally, caused displeasure of the local population. Hetman Zolkiewski left Moscow, and Alexander Gonsevsky left the leadership of the Polish garrison in the city.

In the beginning of 1611, under the leadership of Prince D. Trubetskoi, I. Zarutsky and P. Lyapunov, the so-called First Militia was formed. His goal was to begin the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The main force of this army were Ryazan noblemen and Tushino Cossacks.

The army approached Moscow. At the same time, an uprising took place in the city against the occupiers, a prominent role in which was played by Dmitry Pozharsky, the future military leader in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.

At this time, the militia managed to occupy the city of China, but the differences within it led to the murder of one of the leaders, Procopius Lyapunov. As a result, the militia actually disintegrated. The goal of the campaign was not achieved, and the liberation of Moscow from the Poles never took place.

Formation of the Second Home Guard

The year 1612 arrived. The liberation of Moscow from the Poles became the goal of the formed Second Militia. The initiative of its creation proceeded from the trade and craft class of Nizhny Novgorod, which suffered great oppression and losses during the Polish occupation. Nizhegorodtsy did not recognize the power of either False Dmitri II, or Vladislav Zhigmontovich - the prince of Poland.

One of the leading roles in the creation of the Second People's Militia was played by Kuzma Minin, who occupied the post of zemstvo elder. He called on the people to unite in the struggle against the occupiers. In the future, he became famous as a military leader in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles and as a national hero. And then Kuzma Minin was a simple artisan who managed to unite the masses of the people who flocked to his call to Nizhny Novgorod from other parts of Russia.

Among the arrivals was Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, another person who gained fame as a military leader in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles of 1612. He was called by the people's militia at a general gathering, asking Prince Pozharsky to lead the people in the struggle against the interventionists. The prince could not refuse this request and attached his people to the militia, which began to be formed under the leadership of Minin.

The backbone of the militia consisted of a Nizhny Novgorod garrison consisting of 750 people, but servicemen from Arzamas, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh and other cities approached the appeal. It is impossible not to note the high ability of Minin and Pozharsky in leadership of the formation of the army and in coordination with other cities of Russia. In fact, they have formed a body that acts as a government.

Later, the Second People's Militia, when Moscow was liberated from the Poles, when it approached the capital, was replenished with some groups from the disbanded First Militia.

Thus, under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky, a considerable force was formed capable of successfully opposing the interventionists. Thus began the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612.

The personality of Dmitry Pozharsky

Now let us dwell in more detail on the personality of a man who became famous as a military leader in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. It was Dmitry Pozharsky who became the chief leader of the militia at the behest of the people, and he deservedly owns a significant part of the contribution to this glorious victory. Who was he?

Dmitry Pozharsky belonged to an ancient princely family, which was a side branch of the Rurikovichs along the Starodub line. Was born in 1578, that is, at the time of the formation of the militia in the autumn of 1611, he was about 33 years old. His father was Prince Mikhail Fedorovich Pozharsky, and his mother - Maria Fedorovna Berseneva-Beklemisheva, in whose estate, given in dowry, Dmitry was born.

In the civil service, Dmitry Pozharsky entered the reign of Boris Godunov. The future commander, who commanded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, under Tsar Vasily Shuisky led one of the detachments, which opposed the army of False Dmitry II. Then he received the post of Zaraisk governor.

Later, as mentioned above, Pozharskii was engaged in organizing an uprising against the Poles in Moscow during the existence of the First People's Militia.

Naturally, a man who was so stubbornly struggling against foreign intervention could not fail to respond to the appeal of Kuzma Minin. Not the least role in the fact that it was Dmitry Pozharsky who led the militia, played that he had an estate near Nizhny Novgorod, that is, Nizhny Novgorod, which formed the backbone of the army, considered it their own.

This was the man who led the militia in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.

Trip to Moscow

We figured out who commanded when liberating Moscow from the Poles, now let's dwell on the vicissitudes of the campaign itself.

The militia moved in the end of February 1612 from Nizhny Novgorod up the Volga towards Moscow. As people moved forward, new people joined in. Most of the settlements met militiamen with joy, and where local authorities tried to repair opposition, as it was in Kostroma, they were displaced and replaced by people loyal to the Russian army.

In April 1612 the militia entered Yaroslavl, where it stayed almost until August 1612. Thus, Yaroslavl became a temporary capital. This period of development of the liberation movement took the name "Stoyanie in Yaroslavl."

Having learned that the army of Hetman Khodkevich was approaching Moscow to ensure its defense, Pozharsky in the end of July promptly sent several detachments from Yaroslavl, who came directly to the capital, and in mid-August all the militia forces were concentrated in Moscow.

The forces of the parties

It became clear to everyone that a decisive battle was to be fought. What was the number of troops in the opposing sides and their arrangement?

The total number of troops that submitted to Dmitry Pozharsky, according to sources, did not exceed eight thousand people. The backbone of this army was Cossack detachments numbering 4,000 people and one thousand archers. In addition to Pozharsky and Minin, the militia commanders were Dmitry Pozharsky-Lopata (a relative of the main voivode) and Ivan Khovansky-Bolshoy. Only the last of them at one time commanded significant military formations. The rest either, like Dmitry Pozharsky, had to command relatively small detachments, or the leadership experience was completely absent, as in Pozharsky-Lopata.

Dmitry Trubetskoi, one of the leaders of the First Militia, brought with him another 2,500 Cossacks. Although he agreed to help the common cause, but at the same time he reserved the right not to follow Pozharsky's orders. Thus, the total number of Russian troops was 9,500-10,000.

The number of Polish troops Hetman Khodkevich, coming to Moscow from the west, numbered 12,000 people. The main force in it were the Zaporozhian Cossacks numbering 8,000 soldiers under the command of Alexander Zborovsky. The most combat-ready part of the army was the personal detachment of the hetman, numbering 2000 people.

The commanders of the Polish army - Khodkevich and Zborovsky - had considerable military experience. In particular, Khodkevich distinguished himself in suppressing the recent uprising of the gentry, as well as in the war with Sweden. Among other commanders should be noted Nevyarovsky, Graevsky and Koretsky.

In addition to the 12,000 soldiers who Khodkevich brought with him, there was another 3,000-strong Polish garrison in the Moscow Kremlin. They were led by Nikolai Strus and Joseph Budilo. These were also experienced warriors, but without special generalship talents.

Thus, the total number of Polish troops reached 15,000 people.

The Russian militia was located at the walls of the White City, being between the Polish garrison stationed in the Kremlin, and the troops of Khodkevich, as between a hammer and an anvil. Their number was smaller than that of the Poles, and the commanders did not have such a great military experience. It seemed that the fate of the militia was sealed.

Battle for Moscow

So, in August 1612 the battle began, the result of which was the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The year of this battle has forever entered the history of Russia.

The first to attack the troops of Hetman Khodkevich, crossing the river Moscow, they went to the gate of the Novodevichy monastery, where the militia units were concentrated. The horse-fighting began. The Polish garrison attempted to sally out of its fortification, while Prince Trubetskoi waited and did not hasten to help Pozharsky. It must be said that the military commander commanded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles rather wisely, which did not allow the enemy to crush the militia positions at the initial stage. Khodkevich had to retreat.

After that, Pozharsky changed the dislocation of troops, moving to Zamoskvorechye. The decisive battle took place on August 24. Hetman Khodkevich again threw his troops into the attack, hoping to crush the smaller militia. But it did not work out as he had expected. The Russian troops stood firmly, moreover, Trubetskoi's detachments finally joined the battle.

The exhausted opponents decided to take a breather. By evening, the militia had gone into a counter-offensive. They crushed the position of the enemy and forced him to retreat to the city of Mozhaisk. Seeing this, the Polish garrison was forced to surrender to the militia. Thus ended the liberation of Moscow from foreign invaders.

Effects

The liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 was the turning point of the whole Russo-Polish war. True, the military actions lasted quite a long time.

In the spring of 1613 a representative of the new Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fyodorovich, was imprisoned. This served as a significant strengthening of Russian statehood.

At the end of 1618, at last, the Deulino armistice between the Russians and the Poles was concluded. As a result of this truce, Russia was forced to give up the territory of the Commonwealth considerable territory, but retained the main thing - its statehood. In the future, it helped to win her lost lands and even participate in the division of the Commonwealth itself.

The Importance of Moscow's Liberation

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the liberation of the Russian capital for Russian history. This event allowed to preserve the Russian statehood in a difficult struggle with the interventionists. Therefore, the battle near Moscow is inscribed in all textbooks on Russian history and is one of the most significant dates.

We also remember the leaders of the Second Home Guard - Prince Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who have long had the status of national heroes. They are celebrating holidays, putting monuments, honoring memory.