The period in the history of Russia from 1598 to 1612 is usually called the Time of Troubles. These were hard years, years of natural disasters: famine, crisis of the state and economic system, interventions of foreigners.

The year of the beginning of the “Troubles” is 1598, when the Rurik dynasty ended and there was no legitimate king in Rus'. During the struggle and intrigue, power was taken into his own hands, and he sat on the throne until 1605.

The most turbulent years during the reign of Boris Godunov were 1601-1603. People in need of food began to hunt for robbery and robbery. This course of events led the country into an increasingly systemic crisis.

People in need began to flock together. The number of such detachments ranged from several people to several hundred. It became the apogee of famine. Adding fuel to the fire were rumors that Tsarevich Dmitry, most likely killed by Boris Godunov, was alive.

He declared his royal origin, achieved the support of the Poles, promising the gentry mountains of gold, Russian lands and other benefits. At the height of the war with the impostor, Boris Godunov dies from illness. His son Fyodor and his family are killed by conspirators who believed False Dmitry I.

The impostor did not sit on the Russian throne for long. The people were dissatisfied with his rule, and opposition-minded boyars took advantage of the current situation and killed him. He was anointed to the kingdom.

Vasily Shuisky had to ascend the throne at a difficult time for the country. Before Shuisky had time to get comfortable, a fire broke out and a new impostor appeared. Shuisky concludes a military treaty with Sweden. The treaty turned into another problem for Rus'. The Poles went into open intervention, and the Swedes betrayed Shuisky.

In 1610, Shuisky was removed from the throne as part of a conspiracy. The conspirators will still rule in Moscow for a long time, the time of their reign will be called. Moscow swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav. Soon Polish troops entered the capital. Every day the situation became worse. The Poles traded in robbery and violence, and also propagated the Catholic faith.

It gathered under the leadership of Lyapunov. Due to internal squabbles, Lyapunov was killed, and the campaign of the first militia failed miserably. At that time, Russia had every opportunity to cease to exist on the map of Europe. But, as they say, Time of Troubles gives birth to heroes. There were people on Russian soil who were able to unite the people around themselves, who were able to motivate them to self-sacrifice for the good of the Russian land and the Orthodox faith.

Novgorod residents Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, once and for all, inscribed their names in golden letters in the history of Russia. It was thanks to the activities of these two people and the heroism of the Russian people that our ancestors managed to save the country. On November 1, 1612, they took the city of Kitay in battle, and a little later the Poles signed a capitulation. After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow, a Zemsky Council was held, as a result of which he was anointed as king.

The consequences of the troubled times are very sad. Rus' lost many primordially Russian territories, the economy was in terrible decline, and the country's population decreased. The Time of Troubles was a severe test for Russia and the Russian people. More than one such test will befall the Russian people, but they will survive, thanks to their fortitude and behests to their ancestors. Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword; the Russian Land has stood and will stand on that. Words spoken many centuries ago remain relevant today!

Chronology

• 1605 - 1606 Reign of False Dmitry I.
• 1606 - 1607 Uprising led by I.I. Bolotnikov.
• 1606 - 1610 The reign of Vasily Shuisky.
• 1610 “Seven Boyars”.
• 1612 Liberation of Moscow from invaders.
• 1613 Election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne by the Zemsky Sobor.

Time of Troubles in Russia

The Troubles in Russia at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries became a shock that shook the very foundations of the state system. Three periods can be distinguished in the development of the Troubles. The first period is dynastic. This was the time of struggle for the Moscow throne between various contenders, which lasted up to and including Tsar Vasily Shuisky. The second period is social. It is characterized by the internecine struggle of social classes and the intervention of foreign governments in this struggle. The third period is national. It covers the time of the struggle of the Russian people against foreign invaders until the election of Mikhail Romanov as Tsar.

After death in 1584 g. , his son succeeded him Fedor, incapable of governing affairs. “The dynasty was dying out in his person,” noted the English ambassador Fletcher. “What kind of king I am, it’s not difficult to confuse me or deceive me in any matter,” is a sacramental phrase put into the mouth of Fyodor Ioannovich A.K. Tolstoy. The actual ruler of the state was the tsar's brother-in-law, boyar Boris Godunov, who endured a fierce struggle with the largest boyars for influence on state affairs. After death in 1598 g. Fyodor, the Zemsky Sobor elected Godunov as tsar.

Boris Godunov was an energetic and intelligent statesman. In conditions of economic devastation and a difficult international situation, he solemnly promised on the day of his crowning of the kingdom, “that there will not be a poor person in his state, and he is ready to share his last shirt with everyone.” But the elected king did not have the authority and advantage of a hereditary monarch, and this could call into question the legitimacy of his presence on the throne.

Godunov's government reduced taxes, exempted merchants from paying duties for two years, and landowners from paying taxes for a year. The tsar started a large construction project and took care of educating the country. The patriarchate was established, which increased the rank and prestige of the Russian church. He also pursued a successful foreign policy—further advances into Siberia took place, the southern regions of the country were developed, and Russian positions in the Caucasus were strengthened.

At the same time, the internal situation of the country under Boris Godunov remained very difficult. In conditions of unprecedented crop failure and famine in 1601-1603. the economy collapsed, hundreds of thousands of people died of hunger, the price of bread rose 100 times. The government took the path of further enslavement of the peasantry. this caused a protest from the broad masses, who directly linked the deterioration of their situation with the name of Boris Godunov.

The aggravation of the internal political situation led, in turn, to a sharp decline in Godunov’s prestige not only among the masses, but also among the boyars.

The biggest threat to B. Godunov’s power was the appearance in Poland of an impostor who declared himself the son of Ivan the Terrible. The fact is that in 1591, under unclear circumstances, the last of the direct heirs to the throne died in Uglich, allegedly running into a knife in a fit of epilepsy. Tsarevich Dmitry. Godunov’s political opponents accused him of organizing the murder of the prince in order to seize power; popular rumor picked up these accusations. However, historians do not have convincing documents that would prove Godunov’s guilt.

It was under such conditions that he appeared in Rus' False Dmitry. This young man named Grigory Otrepiev introduced himself as Dmitry, using rumors that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive, “miraculously saved” in Uglich. The impostor's agents vigorously disseminated in Russia the version of his miraculous salvation from the hands of assassins sent by Godunov, and proved the legality of his right to the throne. Polish magnates provided some assistance in organizing the adventure. As a result, by the autumn of 1604, a powerful army was formed for a campaign against Moscow.

The beginning of the Troubles

Taking advantage of the current situation in Rus', its disunity and instability, False Dmitry with a small detachment crossed the Dnieper near Chernigov.

He managed to attract to his side a huge mass of the Russian population, who believed that he was the son of Ivan the Terrible. False Dmitry's forces grew rapidly, cities opened their gates to him, peasants and townspeople joined his troops. False Dmitry moved on the wave of the outbreak of the peasant war. After the death of Boris Godunov in 1605 g. The governors also began to go over to the side of False Dmitry, and at the beginning of June Moscow also took his side.

According to V.O. Klyuchevsky, the impostor “was baked in a Polish oven, but hatched among the boyars.” Without the support of the boyars, he had no chance of winning the Russian throne. On June 1, on Red Square, the impostor’s letters were announced, in which he called Godunov a traitor, and promised “honor and promotion” to the boyars, “mercy” to the nobles and clerks, benefits to merchants, “silence” to the people. The critical moment came when people asked boyar Vasily Shuisky whether the prince was buried in Uglich (it was Shuisky who headed the state commission to investigate the death of Tsarevich Dmitry in 1591 and then confirmed his death from epilepsy). Now Shuisky claimed that the prince had escaped. After these words, the crowd broke into the Kremlin and destroyed the houses of the Godunovs and their relatives. On June 20, False Dmitry solemnly entered Moscow.

It turned out to be easier to sit on the throne than to stay on it. To strengthen his position, False Dmitry confirmed the serfdom legislation, which caused discontent among the peasants.

But, first of all, the tsar did not live up to the expectations of the boyars because he acted too independently. May 17, 1606. The boyars led the people to the Kremlin shouting “The Poles are beating the boyars and the sovereign,” and in the end False Dmitry was killed. Vasily Ivanovich ascended the throne Shuisky. The condition for his accession to the Russian throne was the limitation of power. He vowed “not to do anything without the Council,” and this was the first experience of building a state order on the basis of a formal restrictions on supreme power. But the situation in the country did not normalize.

The second stage of the turmoil

Begins second stage of the turmoil- social, when the nobility, metropolitan and provincial, clerks, clerks, and Cossacks enter the struggle. However, first of all, this period is characterized by a wide wave of peasant uprisings.

In the summer of 1606, the masses had a leader - Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov. The forces gathered under the banner of Bolotnikov were a complex conglomerate, consisting of different layers. There were Cossacks, peasants, serfs, townspeople, many service people, small and medium-sized feudal lords. In July 1606, Bolotnikov's troops set out on a campaign against Moscow. In the battle of Moscow, Bolotnikov's troops were defeated and were forced to retreat to Tula. On July 30, the siege of the city began, and after three months the Bolotnikovites capitulated, and he himself was soon executed. The suppression of this uprising did not mean the end of the peasant war, but it began to decline.

The government of Vasily Shuisky sought to stabilize the situation in the country. But both service people and peasants were still dissatisfied with the government. The reasons for this were different. The nobles felt Shuisky’s inability to stop the peasant war, but the peasants did not accept serfdom. Meanwhile, in Starodub (in the Bryansk region) a new impostor appeared, declaring himself the escaped “Tsar Dmitry”. According to many historians, False Dmitry II was a protege of the Polish king Sigismund III, although many do not support this version. The bulk of the armed forces of False Dmitry II were Polish nobles and Cossacks.

In January 1608 g. he moved towards Moscow.

Having defeated Shuisky's troops in several battles, by the beginning of June False Dmitry II reached the village of Tushino near Moscow, where he settled in camp. Pskov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Astrakhan swore allegiance to the impostor. The Tushins occupied Rostov, Vladimir, Suzdal, and Murom. In fact, two capitals were formed in Russia. Boyars, merchants, and officials swore allegiance either to False Dmitry or to Shuisky, sometimes receiving salaries from both.

In February 1609, the Shuisky government entered into an agreement with Sweden, counting on assistance in the war with the “Tushino thief” and his Polish troops. Under this agreement, Russia gave Sweden the Karelian volost in the North, which was a serious political mistake. This gave Sigismund III a reason to switch to open intervention. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began military operations against Russia with the aim of conquering its territory. Polish troops left Tushino. False Dmitry II, who was there, fled to Kaluga and ultimately ended his voyage ingloriously.

Sigismund sent letters to Smolensk and Moscow, where he claimed that, as a relative of the Russian tsars and at the request of the Russian people, he was going to save the dying Muscovite state and its Orthodox faith.

The Moscow boyars decided to accept help. An agreement was concluded on the recognition of the prince Vladislav Russian Tsar, and until his arrival obey Sigismund. On February 4, 1610, an agreement was concluded that included a plan for the state structure under Vladislav: the inviolability of the Orthodox faith, the restriction of freedom from the arbitrariness of the authorities. The sovereign had to share his power with the Zemsky Sobor and the Boyar Duma.

On August 17, 1610, Moscow swore allegiance to Vladislav. And a month before this, Vasily Shuisky was forcibly tonsured a monk by the nobles and taken to the Chudov Monastery. To govern the country, the Boyar Duma created a commission of seven boyars, called “ seven-boyars" On September 20, the Poles entered Moscow.

Sweden also launched aggressive actions. Swedish troops occupied a large part of northern Russia and were preparing to capture Novgorod. Russia faced a direct threat of losing its independence. The aggressive plans of the aggressors caused general indignation. December 1610 g. False Dmitry II was killed, but the struggle for the Russian throne did not end there.

The third stage of the turmoil

The death of the impostor immediately changed the situation in the country. The pretext for the presence of Polish troops on Russian territory disappeared: Sigismund explained his actions by the need to “fight the Tushino thief.” The Polish army turned into an occupation army, the Seven Boyars into a government of traitors. The Russian people united to resist the intervention. The war acquired a national character.

The third period of unrest begins. From the northern cities, at the call of the patriarch, detachments of Cossacks led by I. Zarutsky and Prince Dm begin to converge on Moscow. Trubetskoy. This is how the first militia was formed. In April - May 1611, Russian troops stormed the capital, but did not achieve success, as internal contradictions and rivalry among the leaders took their toll. In the autumn of 1611, the desire for liberation from foreign oppression was clearly expressed by one of the leaders of the Nizhny Novgorod settlement Kuzma Minin, who called for the creation of a militia to liberate Moscow. The prince was elected leader of the militia Dmitry Pozharsky.

In August 1612, the militia of Minin and Pozharsky reached Moscow, and on October 26 the Polish garrison capitulated. Moscow was liberated. The Time of Troubles or “Great Devastation,” which lasted about ten years, is over.

Under these conditions, the country needed a government of a kind of social reconciliation, a government that would be able to ensure not only the cooperation of people from different political camps, but also class compromise. The candidacy of a representative of the Romanov family suited different layers and classes of society.

After the liberation of Moscow, letters were scattered throughout the country convening a Zemsky Sobor to elect a new tsar. The council, held in January 1613, was the most representative in the history of medieval Russia, which at the same time reflected the balance of forces that emerged during the war of liberation. A struggle broke out around the future tsar, and they ultimately agreed on the candidacy of 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, a relative of Ivan the Terrible’s first wife. This circumstance created the appearance of a continuation of the previous dynasty of Russian princes. February 21 1613 Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Romanov Tsar of Russia.

From this time, the reign of the Romanov dynasty in Russia began, which lasted a little over three hundred years - until February 1917.

So, concluding this section related to the history of the “time of troubles,” it should be noted: acute internal crises and long wars were largely generated by the incompleteness of the process of state centralization and the lack of necessary conditions for the normal development of the country. At the same time, this was an important stage in the struggle for the establishment of a Russian centralized state.

1598-1613 - a period in Russian history called the Time of Troubles.

At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Russia was experiencing a political and socio-economic crisis. and, as well as Ivan the Terrible, contributed to the intensification of the crisis and the growth of discontent in society. This was the reason for the beginning of the Time of Troubles in Russia.

First period of Troubles

The first stage of the Troubles is characterized by a struggle for the throne. After his death, his son Fedor came to power, but he turned out to be unable to rule. In fact, the country was ruled by the brother of the tsar's wife - Boris Godunov. Ultimately, his policies caused discontent among the popular masses.

The Troubles began with the appearance in Poland of False Dmitry 1st (in reality - Grigory Otrepiev), the supposedly miraculously surviving son of Ivan the Terrible. He won over a significant part of the Russian population to his side. In 1605, False Dmitry I was supported by the governors, and then by Moscow. And already in June he became the legitimate king. However, he acted too independently, which caused discontent among the boyars, and he also supported serfdom, which caused protest from the peasants. On May 17, 1606, False Dmitry 1st was killed, V.I. ascended the throne. Shuisky with the condition of limiting power. Thus, the first stage of the Troubles was marked by the reign of False Dmitry 1st (1605-1606).

Second period of Troubles

In 1606, the leader of which was I.I. Bolotnikov. The ranks of the militia included people from different walks of life: peasants, serfs, small and medium-sized feudal lords, servicemen, Cossacks and townspeople. They were defeated in the battle of Moscow. As a result, Bolotnikov was executed.

Dissatisfaction with the authorities continued. And soon False Dmitry 2nd appears. In January 1608, his army headed towards Moscow. By June, False Dmitry 2nd entered the village of Tushino near Moscow, where he settled. Two capitals were formed in Russia: boyars, merchants, and officials worked on two fronts, sometimes even receiving salaries from both kings. Shuisky concluded an agreement with Sweden, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began aggressive military operations. False Dmitry II fled to Kaluga.

Shuisky was tonsured a monk and sent to the Chudov Monastery. An interregnum began in Russia - the Seven Boyars (a council of seven boyars). made a deal with the Polish interventionists, and on August 17, 1610, Moscow swore allegiance to the Polish king Vladislav. At the end of 1610, False Dmitry 2nd was killed, but the struggle for the throne did not end there.

So, the second stage of the Troubles was marked by the uprising of I.I. Bolotnikov (1606-1607), the reign of Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610), the appearance of False Dmitry 2nd, as well as the Seven Boyars (1610).

Third period of Troubles

The third stage of the Troubles is characterized by the fight against foreign invaders. After the death of False Dmitry 2nd, the Russians united against the Poles. The war acquired a national character. In August 1612

One of the most difficult periods in the history of the state is the Time of Troubles. It lasted from 1598 to 1613. It was at the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. there is a severe economic and political crisis. Oprichnina, the Tatar invasion, the Livonian War - all this led to the maximum increase in negative phenomena and increased public indignation.

Reasons for the start of the Time of Troubles

Ivan the Terrible had three sons. He killed his eldest son in a fit of rage; the youngest was only two years old, and the middle one, Fyodor, was 27. Thus, after the death of the tsar, it was Fyodor who had to take power into his own hands. But the heir is a soft personality and was not at all suitable for the role of ruler. During his lifetime, Ivan IV created a regency council under Fedor, which included Boris Godunov, Shuisky and other boyars.

Ivan the Terrible died in 1584. Fedor became the official ruler, but in fact it was Godunov. A few years later, in 1591, Dmitry (the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible) dies. A number of versions of the boy's death have been put forward. The main version is that the boy accidentally ran into a knife while playing. Some claimed that they knew who killed the prince. Another version is that he was killed by Godunov’s henchmen. A few years later, Fedor dies (1598), leaving no children behind.

Thus, historians identify the following main reasons and factors for the beginning of the Time of Troubles:

1. Interruption of the Rurik dynasty.
2. The desire of the boyars to increase their role and power in the state, to limit the power of the tsar. The boyars' claims grew into an open struggle with the top government. Their intrigues had a negative impact on the position of royal power in the state.
3. The economic situation was critical. The king’s campaigns of conquest required the activation of all forces, including production ones. In 1601–1603 there was a period of famine, which resulted in the impoverishment of large and small farms.
4. Serious social conflict. The current system rejected not only numerous fugitive peasants, serfs, townspeople, city Cossacks, but also some parts of the service people.
5. Domestic policy of Ivan the Terrible. The consequences and results of the oprichnina increased distrust and undermined respect for law and authority.

Events of Troubles

The Time of Troubles was a huge shock for the state., which affected the foundations of power and government. Historians identify three periods of unrest:

1. Dynastic. The period when there was a struggle for the Moscow throne, and it lasted until the reign of Vasily Shuisky.
2. Social. The time of civil strife between the popular classes and the invasion of foreign troops.
3. National. The period of struggle and expulsion of the interventionists. It lasted until the election of a new king.

The first stage of the turmoil

Taking advantage of the instability and discord in Rus', False Dmitry crossed the Dnieper with a small army. He managed to convince the Russian people that he was Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible.

A huge mass of the population followed him. Cities opened their gates, townspeople and peasants joined his troops. In 1605, after the death of Godunov, the governors took his side, and after a while the whole of Moscow.

False Dmitry needed the support of the boyars. So, on June 1 on Red Square, he declared Boris Godunov a traitor, and also promised privileges to the boyars, clerks and nobles, unimaginable benefits to merchants, and peace and quiet to the peasants. An alarming moment came when the peasants asked Shuisky whether Tsarevich Dmitry was buried in Uglich (it was Shuisky who headed the commission to investigate the death of the prince and confirmed his death). But the boyar already claimed that Dmitry was alive. After these stories, an angry crowd broke into the houses of Boris Godunov and his relatives, destroying everything. So, on June 20, False Dmitry entered Moscow with honors.

It turned out to be much easier to sit on the throne than to stay on it. To assert his power, the impostor consolidated serfdom, which led to discontent among the peasants.

False Dmitry also did not live up to the expectations of the boyars. In May 1606, the Kremlin gates were opened to the peasants, False Dmitry was killed. The throne was taken by Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. The main condition for his reign was the limitation of power. He swore that he would not make any decisions on his own. Formally, there was a restriction of state power. But the situation in the state has not improved.

The second stage of the turmoil

This period is characterized not only by the struggle for power of the upper classes, but also by free and large-scale peasant uprisings.

So, in the summer of 1606, the peasant masses had a leader - Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov. Peasants, Cossacks, serfs, townspeople, large and small feudal lords, and servicemen gathered under one banner. In 1606, Bolotnikov’s army advanced to Moscow. The battle for Moscow was lost, and they had to retreat to Tula. Already there, a three-month siege of the city began. The result of the unfinished campaign against Moscow was the capitulation and execution of Bolotnikov. From this time on, peasant uprisings began to decline.

Shuisky's government sought to normalize the situation in the country, but peasants and servicemen were still dissatisfied. The nobles doubted the ability of the authorities to stop peasant uprisings, and the peasants did not want to accept serfdom. At this moment of misunderstanding, another impostor appeared on the Bryansk lands, who called himself False Dmitry II. Many historians claim that he was sent to rule by the Polish king Sigismund III. Most of his troops were Polish Cossacks and nobles. In the winter of 1608, False Dmitry II moved with an armed army to Moscow.

By June, the impostor reached the village of Tushino, where he camped. Such large cities as Vladimir, Rostov, Murom, Suzdal, Yaroslavl swore allegiance to him. In fact, two capitals appeared. The boyars swore allegiance either to Shuisky or to the impostor and managed to receive salaries from both sides.

To expel False Dmitry II, the Shuisky government concluded an agreement with Sweden. According to this agreement, Russia gave the Karelian volost to Sweden. Taking advantage of this mistake, Sigismund III switched to open intervention. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth went to war against Russia. Polish units abandoned the impostor. False Dmitry II was forced to flee to Kaluga, where he ingloriously ended his “reign.”

Letters from Sigismund II were delivered to Moscow and Smolensk, in which he stated that, as a relative of the Russian rulers and at the request of the Russian people, he was going to save the dying state and the Orthodox faith.

Frightened, the Moscow boyars recognized Prince Vladislav as the Russian Tsar. In 1610, a treaty was concluded in which the basic plan for the state structure of Russia was stipulated:

• the inviolability of the Orthodox faith;
• restriction of freedom;
• division of power of the sovereign with the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor.

The oath of Moscow to Vladislav took place on August 17, 1610. A month before these events, Shuisky was forcibly tonsured a monk and exiled to the Chudov Monastery. To manage the boyars, a commission of seven boyars was assembled - seven-boyars. And already on September 20, the Poles entered Moscow without hindrance.

At this time, Sweden openly demonstrates military aggression. Swedish troops occupied most of Russia and were already ready to attack Novgorod. Russia was on the verge of the final loss of independence. The aggressive plans of the enemies caused great indignation among the people.

The third stage of the turmoil

The death of False Dmitry II greatly influenced the situation. The pretext (the fight against the impostor) for Sigismund to rule Russia disappeared. Thus, the Polish troops turned into occupation troops. Russian people unite to resist, the war began to acquire national proportions.

The third stage of the turmoil begins. At the call of the patriarch, detachments come from the northern regions to Moscow. Cossack troops led by Zarutsky and Grand Duke Trubetskoy. This is how the first militia was created. In the spring of 1611, Russian troops launched an assault on Moscow, which was unsuccessful.

In the fall of 1611, in Novgorod, Kuzma Minin addressed the people with a call to fight against foreign invaders. A militia was created, whose leader was Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.

In August 1612, the army of Pozharsky and Minin reached Moscow, and on October 26 the Polish garrison surrendered. Moscow was completely liberated. The Time of Troubles, which lasted almost 10 years, is over.

In these difficult conditions, the state needed a government that would reconcile people from different political sides, but could also find a class compromise. In this regard, Romanov’s candidacy suited everyone.

After the grandiose liberation of the capital, letters of convocation of the Zemsky Sobor were scattered throughout the country. The council took place in January 1613 and was the most representative in the entire medieval history of Russia. Of course, a struggle broke out for the future tsar, but as a result they agreed on the candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (a relative of the first wife of Ivan IV). Mikhail Romanov was elected Tsar on February 21, 1613.

From this time begins the history of the Romanov dynasty, who was on the throne for more than 300 years (until February 1917).

Consequences of the Time of Troubles

Unfortunately, the Time of Troubles ended badly for Russia. Territorial losses were suffered:

• loss of Smolensk for a long period;
• loss of access to the Gulf of Finland;
• eastern and western Karelia are captured by the Swedes.

The Orthodox population did not accept the oppression of the Swedes and left their territories. Only in 1617, the Swedes left Novgorod. The city was completely devastated; several hundred citizens remained in it.

Time of Troubles led to economic and economic decline. The size of arable land fell 20 times, the number of peasants decreased 4 times. Cultivation of the land was reduced, the monastery courtyards were devastated by the interventionists.

The number of deaths during the war is approximately equal to one third of the country's population. In a number of regions of the country, the population fell below the level of the 16th century.

In 1617–1618, Poland once again wanted to capture Moscow and enthrone Prince Vladislav. But the attempt failed. As a result, a truce with Russia was signed for 14 years, which marked the refusal of Vladislav’s claims to the Russian throne. The Northern and Smolensk lands remained for Poland. Despite the difficult conditions of peace with Poland and Sweden, the end of the war and the desired respite came for the Russian state. The Russian people unitedly defended the independence of Russia.

January 19, 2018 | Category:

All the rulers of the Time of Troubles reigned for a fairly short time, which did not prevent them from becoming firmly entrenched in the people's memory. Their personalities are shrouded in contradictory facts, hypotheses and guesses, which attracts both professional researchers and ordinary history buffs. Let us consider in chronological order the monarchs who occupied the throne during the Time of Troubles.

Sergey Ivanov. Time of Troubles (painting, 1908)

Origin. Born into a noble family that had long served at the Moscow court. The founder of the Godunov dynasty is considered to be Murza Chet, originally from the Golden Horde. In general, the genealogical table of the named family is very interesting. Thus, marriage with the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov helped strengthen his position at court. As a result, by the age of 30 he was an influential boyar.

Rise to power. A brilliant career under Fyodor Ivanovich helped Godunov come to power. B was the actual master of the country. Moreover, his sister Irina was the king’s wife. Since the Rurik dynasty came to an end after the death of Fyodor Ivanovich, the Zemsky Sobor elected the brother-in-law of the late Tsar Boris Godunov to the throne.

Governing body. In short, having become the sole ruler, Godunov continued the policies of Ivan the Terrible, although he used less cruel methods. During his reign, the court finally acquired an bureaucratic character. Godunov managed to extend the truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and as a result of the war with Sweden, to return part of the territories lost during the Livonian War.

Under this tsar, the construction of Samara, Ufa, Saratov was underway, and the development of Siberia continued. The king was also involved in the improvement of the capital. Godunov sought to develop economic, cultural and trade relations with Western Europe.

Godunov's reign began successfully, but the harvest failed in 1601-1602. and the subsequent famine greatly undermined the authority of the reigning king. The country was gripped by unrest, and most importantly, a rumor appeared about the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible.

Dissatisfaction with Shuisky's foreign and domestic policies culminated in his removal from the throne as a result of a boyar conspiracy. This conspiracy subsequently led to the organization of such a governing body as. The last Rurikovich was forcibly tonsured a monk and handed over to the Poles. Two years later, Vasily Shuisky died in prison.

With the death of Vasily Shuisky, a period of one year began in Russia. Before the reign of the Romanovs, there was no generally recognized monarch in the country.