On May 15 (25), 1591, in Uglich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, 8-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich, dies during a game with peers. With his death, the Rurik dynasty is stopped. In Russia, there comes a period that historians will call the Time of Troubles.
Time of Troubles
Bloody feuds, lack of central authority, lawlessness ... As a result, power will be in the hands of foreign interventionists - the Polish magnates who will come to Russia with their troops and with their liar. How did it happen that a Western protege appeared on the Russian throne, and the once mighty power plunged into a state of continuous civil war for 15 years, torn apart by Polish troops from the west and Swedish troops from the north? Centuries later, we can say that this was the result of a multi-way complex game played by the West against Russia.
Heirs to the throne
The youngest son of Ivan the Terrible was born from the last marriage of the king. The autocrat had 8 children, but after his death in 1584, only two remained - Fedor and Dmitry. Dmitry was born on October 19 [29], 1582 in Moscow. Fedor was considered moronic, but this did not stop him from ascending the throne. He had no children, so after his elder brother the throne would have passed to Dmitry Ioannovich. Despite the fact that he was seriously ill from birth. He had epilepsy or, as they used to say, "epileptic infirmity."
Western interests
The version that the West could have been involved in the death of the prince sounds unexpected. But this is only at first glance. Let's look at those distant events through the prism of time. As you know, a few years after the death of the prince, the Time of Troubles began. A country without an heir to the throne was under attack. The struggle for the throne, a deep economic crisis, seven-boyars. Noble families are pulling the country apart. Swedish intervention, the appearance of False Dmitry and, as a result, the capture of Moscow by the Poles. It seems that someone deliberately rocked the country from the inside. Rich and great Russia had to be captured, subjugated and plundered for the sake of the strategic interests of the West and the pocket of its own elite.
How to conquer Russia?
After the death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia still remained a powerful state, capable of responding to all the attacks of its neighbors. And she herself was bearing serious geopolitical plans. Therefore, they were afraid to fight openly with Moscow. From this point of view, the most logical first step for shattering Russia from within would be the liquidation of Tsarevich Dmitry Ioannovich. Indeed, at that time in Russia strictly observed the hereditary transfer of the throne. The absence of an heir could result in popular unrest, rebellion and the collapse of the country. But if the West is somehow involved in the death of the prince, you must first prove that the prince Dmitry Ioannovich was really killed, because the official version insists on an accident. But was it really so?
Version number 1 - accident
Immediately after the death of Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible, an urgently created government commission took up the investigation of his death. The commission was to immediately cordon off the scene, make a detailed description of it. But this is not the case. As well as there is no where the prince’s body was located after his death, in what position it lay, what the wound looked like, what clothes the boy was in. Neither the exact time of the incident nor the characteristic traces were recorded. The commission was to collect all this important information in the very first hours after arriving in Uglich, but it did nothing.
Of all the investigative actions, only interrogations of witnesses, and even that with gross violations. Right on the street, in front of everyone. Therefore, witnesses say the same words in a carbon copy. Here is the conclusion the commission came to: "The Tsarevich slaughtered himself, playing with a knife in Tychka, in a fit of epileptic disease." That is, the commission confirms the version of the accident.
But just 15 years later, Vasily Shuisky, ascending the Russian throne, will declare completely different - Tsarevich Dmitry Ioannovich was treacherously killed, and the conclusions of the commission of inquiry were fabricated under pressure from above. And even call the main culprit of the tragedy - Boris Godunov. This version was followed not only by Shuisky. Rumors that it was he who removed the future heir to take the throne himself, were very popular among the people. No wonder Dmitry in Russian history and literature has remained the victim of Boris Godunov, the “bloody boy”, as Pushkin will later write. It just turns out that Boris Godunov himself and his reputation suffered the most as a result of this death. He could not become a truly legitimate king, create a dynasty and earn the love of the people.
Version number 2 - murder
So, everything suggests that, most likely, the death of the prince is not accidental - he was killed. This version is confirmed by the great Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin. But who benefited from his death? Did the official regent of Ivan the Terrible Boris Godunov or was it all the same machinations of Western neighbors who decided to decapitate the country, depriving it of the heir to the throne? And here new witnesses come onto the scene. This is the mother of the prince and her relatives. A more detailed description of the circumstances of the death of the prince gives the historian Nikolai Karamzin.
Canonization of Tsarevich Dmitry
The historical fact also speaks in favor of this version - 15 years in 1606 after the death of Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible, they were canonized. But can the Orthodox Church recognize a suicide as a saint? In addition, the specific names of his murderers will be indicated in the description of the life of St. Dmitry. In the Russian church, this day is performed a prayer service for all those in need. In Uglich, it is considered a children's day. In procession of St. Dmitry, a procession is held. Graduates of Orthodox educational institutions and everyone are taking part in it.
Unresolved issue
Obviously, the prince nevertheless died in 1591, at 6 in the morning Dmitry Ioannovich was inhumanly killed. But who was the customer and performer of this murder? Godunov, as it turned out, was not too profitable, and there is no direct evidence of Western involvement.
But there is a fact that is not in doubt. Already then, in the 16th century, the first hybrid war in history was waged against Russia. If the West was not directly related to the death of the prince, it is obvious that he did not fail to take advantage of the most difficult situation in order to finally realize his long-standing plans against our country. And they almost succeeded then.