One of the turning points of Russian history with confidence can be called the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612. It was then decided whether or not to be the 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, and also find out what the military commander did when he liberated Moscow from the Poles to achieve success.
Background
But first, let's find out what events preceded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
The confrontation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which is actually a federation of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with the Russian state began in the time of Ivan the Terrible. Then, in 1558, the famous Livonian War broke out, which was aimed at gaining control of the Baltic lands. In 1583, the war ended with the signing of a peace that turned out to be quite disadvantageous for Russia. But in general, this world of contradictions between the Russian Empire and the Commonwealth did not resolve.
After the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584, his son, Fedor, occupied the Russian throne. He was a rather weak and painful man, under whom the tsarist regime significantly weakened. He died in 1598, leaving no heirs. The brother of Fedor's wife, the boyar Boris Godunov, came to power. This event had rather dire consequences for Russia, as the dynasty of the Rurikovich, who ruled the state for more than seven hundred years, was stopped.
Dissatisfaction with the policies of Boris Godunov grew within the Russian kingdom, which many considered an impostor who illegally seized power and, at the time, was rumored to order the murder of his rightful heir Ivan the Terrible.
This tense situation inside the country was very helpful in facilitating the possibility of foreign intervention.
Impostors
The ruling elite of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth perfectly understood that its main external rival is the Russian Empire. Therefore, the fall of the Rurik dynasty served as a kind of signal to begin preparations for the invasion.
However, the Commonwealth was not ready for an open war, therefore, it used the impostor Grigory Otrepyev for his intrigues, posing as Dmitry - the son of Ivan the Terrible, who died in childhood (according to another version, who was killed by 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 Commonwealth. She invaded the territory of Russia in 1604. Soon, Tsar Boris Godunov died, and his sixteen-year-old son, Fyodor, was unable to organize defense. The Polish army of Grigory Otrepiev in Moscow captured Moscow in 1605, and he proclaimed himself Tsar Dmitry I. However, the very next year he was killed in a coup. At the same time, a significant part of the Poles who arrived with him was killed.
The new Russian Tsar was Vasily Shuisky, who was a representative of the side branch of the Rurikovich. 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 Commonwealth, whose real name is unknown. He went down in history as False Dmitry II. He was supported by tycoons who had previously started an uprising against the Polish king Sigismund III, but lost. The headquarters of the impostor was the town of Tushin, which is why False Dmitry II received the nickname Tushinsky thief. His army defeated Shuisky’s army and besieged 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 this. Then the Russian tsar made an alliance with the Swedes. This alliance involved Swedish assistance against False Dmitry II on the terms of the transfer of several Russian cities to Sweden, as well as the conclusion of an alliance against Poland.
Preconditions for open Polish intervention
The main pretext for the beginning of the Polish intervention was the Russian-Swedish union. This provided the formal pretext of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to declare war on Russia, because one of the alliance’s goals was to confront Poland.
In the Commonwealth itself at that time there was an increase in royal power. This was due to the fact that King Sigismund III suppressed the rebellion of the discontented gentry, which lasted three years, by 1609. Now there is an opportunity to carry out external expansion.
In addition, the Russian-Polish contradictions since the Livonian war have not disappeared, and the hidden Polish intervention in the form of unofficial support for impostors did not give the expected result.
These factors triggered the decision to openly invade the forces of the Commonwealth into the territory of the Russian state with the aim of bringing it under its full control. It was they who launched the chain of events, the links of which were the seizure of the capital of Russia by the Polish-Lithuanian army, and then the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
Capture of Moscow by the Poles
In the fall of 1609, the Polish army, led by the hetman Stanislav Zholkevsky, invaded the territory of Russia and besieged Smolensk. In the summer of 1610, they defeated the Russian-Swedish troops in the decisive battle of Klushino and approached Moscow. On the other hand, Moscow was surrounded by the army of False Dmitry II.
Meanwhile, the boyars overthrew Vasily Shuisky and imprisoned him in a monastery. They established a regime known as the Seven Boyars. But the boyars who usurped power were unpopular among the people. They really could only control Moscow. Fearing that the more popular False Dmitry II might seize power, the boyars conspired with the Poles.
By agreement, the son of King Sigismund III of Poland, Vladislav became the Russian Tsar, but at the same time converted to Orthodoxy. In the fall 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 began atrocities, which, of course, caused displeasure of the local population. Getman Zholkevsky left Moscow, and left Alexander Gonsevsky to lead the Polish garrison in the city.
At the beginning of 1611, under the leadership of Prince D. Trubetskoy, 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 was the Ryazan nobles and Tushino Cossacks.
The army approached Moscow. At the same time, an uprising took place in the city against the invaders, a prominent role played by Dmitry Pozharsky, the future commander in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
At this time, the militia managed to occupy Kitai Gorod, but disagreements inside it led to the murder of one of the leaders - Prokop Lyapunov. As a result, the militia actually broke up. The goal of the campaign was not achieved, and the liberation of Moscow from the Poles did not take place.
Formation of the Second Militia
The year 1612 has come. The liberation of Moscow from the Poles became the goal of the emerging Second Militia. The initiative for its creation came from the trade and craft estate of Nizhny Novgorod, which suffered great oppression and losses during the Polish occupation. Nizhny Novgorod did not recognize the power of either False Dmitry II, or Vladislav Zhigmontovich - the royal Polish.
One of the leading roles in the creation of the Second People’s Militia was played by Kuzma Minin, who held the post of Zemsky warden. He called on the people to unite in the fight against the invaders. In the future, he became famous as a military leader during 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 flocking to his call to Nizhny Novgorod from other parts of Russia.
Among the arrivals was Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, another man who gained fame as a military leader during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612. He was called upon by the people's militia at the general meeting, asking Prince Pozharsky to lead the people in the fight against the invaders. The prince could not refuse this request and added his people to the army, which had begun to form under the leadership of Minin.
The backbone of the militia consisted of a Nizhny Novgorod garrison of 750 people, but servicemen from Arzamas, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh and other cities came up for the call. One cannot fail to note the high abilities of Minin and Pozharsky in leading the formation of the army and in coordination with other cities of Russia. In fact, they formed a body that plays the role of government.
Later, the Second People’s Militia, when Moscow was liberated from the Poles, when it had already approached the capital, was replenished with some groups from the disintegrated First Militia.
Thus, under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky, a significant force was formed capable of successfully resisting the interventionists. Thus began the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612.
Personality of Dmitry Pozharsky
Now let's dwell in more detail on the personality of a person who became famous as a military leader during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. It was Dmitry Pozharsky who, at the behest of the people, became the main leader of the militia, and he deservedly owns a significant part of his contribution to this glorious victory. Who was he?
Dmitry Pozharsky belonged to the ancient princely family, which was a side branch of the Rurikovich along the Starodub line. He was born in 1578, that is, at the time of the formation of the militia in the fall of 1611, he was about 33 years old. The father was Prince Mikhail Fedorovich Pozharsky, and his mother was Maria Fedorovna Berseneva-Beklemisheva, in whose estate, given as a dowry, Dmitry was born.
In public 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 that opposed the army of False Dmitry II. Then he received the post of Zaraysk governor.
Later, as mentioned above, Pozharsky was engaged in organizing an uprising against the Poles in Moscow during the existence of the First People’s Militia.
Naturally, a man who fought so hard against foreign intervention could not help but respond to the appeal of Kuzma Minin. Not the last role in the fact that Dmitry Pozharsky led the militia was played by the fact that he had an estate near Nizhny Novgorod, that is, the Nizhny Novgorod people, who make up the backbone of the army, considered him his own.
That was the man who led the militia during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
Campaign to Moscow
We figured out who commanded the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, now let's dwell on the vicissitudes of the campaign itself.
The militia moved at the end of February 1612 from Nizhny Novgorod up the Volga towards Moscow. As he progressed, new people joined him. Most of the settlements greeted the militias with joy, and where local authorities tried to mend opposition, as was the case in Kostroma, they were deposed and replaced by people loyal to the Russian army.
In April 1612, the militia entered Yaroslavl, which stayed almost until August 1612. Thus, Yaroslavl became a temporary capital. This period of development of the liberation movement took the name "Standing in Yaroslavl."
Upon learning that the army of Hetman Khodkevich was approaching Moscow to ensure its defense, Pozharsky promptly sent several detachments from Yaroslavl at the end of July, which approached the capital directly, and in mid-August all militia forces were concentrated near Moscow.
Forces of the parties
It became clear to everyone that a decisive battle was coming. What was the number of troops of the warring parties and their deployment?
The total number of troops that obeyed Dmitry Pozharsky, according to sources, did not exceed eight thousand people. The backbone of this army was Cossack units numbering 4,000 people and one thousand archers. In addition to Pozharsky and Minin, the commanders of the militia were Dmitry Pozharsky-Lopata (a relative of the chief governor) and Ivan Khovansky-Bolshoi. 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, like Pozharsky-Shovels.
Dmitry Trubetskoy, one of the leaders of the First Militia, brought with him another 2,500 Cossacks. Although he agreed to help the common cause, he at the same time retained the right not to comply with Pozharsky’s orders. Thus, the total number of the Russian army was 9500-10 000 people.
The number of Polish troops of the hetman Khodkevich, approaching Moscow from the western side, totaled 12,000 people. The main force in it was the Zaporozhye 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 significant 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, Nevyarovsky, Graevsky and Koretsky should be noted.
In addition to the 12,000 soldiers whom Khodkevich brought with him, there were another three thousandth Polish garrison in the Moscow Kremlin. He was led by Nikolai Strus and Joseph Budilo. These were also experienced warriors, but without special military talents.
Thus, the total number of the Polish army reached 15,000 people.
The Russian militia was located near the walls of the White City, located between the Polish garrison, which was seated in the Kremlin, and Khodkevich’s troops, as between a hammer and an anvil. Their number was less than that of the Poles, and the commanders did not have such much military experience. It seemed that the fate of the militia was a foregone conclusion.
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 forever entered the history of Russia.
The first to attack the troops of the Hetman Khodkevich, crossing the Moscow River, they went to the gates of the Novodevichy Convent, where the militia units concentrated. An equestrian battle ensued. The Polish garrison attempted sorties from its fortifications, while Prince Trubetskoy waited and was in no hurry to help Pozharsky. It must be said that the military commander commanded rather wisely during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, which did not allow the enemy to crush the positions of the militia at the initial stage. Khodkevich had to retreat.
After this, Pozharsky changed the deployment 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 a smaller militia. But it did not work out as he expected. The Russian troops stood firm, and besides, Trubetskoy’s detachments finally entered the battle.
Exhausted opponents decided to take a break. By evening, the militia launched a counterattack. They crushed the enemy’s position 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 a turning point in the entire Russo-Polish war. True, hostilities continued for quite some time.
In the spring of 1613, the representative of the new Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, was imprisoned in the kingdom. This served as a significant strengthening of Russian statehood.
At the end of 1618, finally, the Deulinsk truce was concluded between the Russians and the Poles. Following the results of this truce, Russia was forced to surrender significant territories to the Commonwealth, but retained the main thing - its statehood. In the future, this helped her win back the lost lands and even participate in the division of the Commonwealth itself.
The significance of the liberation of Moscow
It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the liberation of the Russian capital for Russian history. This event made it possible to preserve Russian statehood in a difficult struggle with the interventionists. Therefore, the battle of Moscow is inscribed in all textbooks on Russian history and is one of the most significant dates.
We remember the leaders of the Second Militia - Prince Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who have long had the status of national heroes. Holidays are dedicated to them, monuments are erected, and memory is honored.