How Russia lost access to the Baltic Sea
400 years ago, 9 March 1617, was signed by the Stolbovsky Peace. This world put an end to the Russian-Swedish war 1610-1617. and became one of the sad results of the Troubles of the early XVII century. Russia was inferior to Sweden Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye, Oreshek, Korela, that is, it lost all access to the Baltic Sea, moreover, Moscow paid a contribution to the Swedes. The borders established by the World of Stolbovo remained until the beginning of the Northern War 1700-1721.
prehistory
The struggle of the princely-boyar clans in Russia led to confusion. The situation was aggravated by a sharp increase in social injustice, which caused a mass protest of the population and natural disasters that led to famine and epidemics. The clan of the Romanovs, together with the monks of the Wonderful Monastery, found and inspired an impostor who declared himself Prince Dmitry. The false Dmitry was also supported by the Polish magnates and the Vatican, who wanted to dismember the Russian state and profit from its wealth. Polish magnates and gentry gathered a private army for the impostor. The impostor was also supported by some cities in southwestern Russia, nobles and Cossacks who were dissatisfied with the policies of Moscow. However, the impostor had no chance to occupy Moscow, if not a conspiracy in the Russian capital. Tsar Boris Godunov in the spring of 1605 of the year died suddenly (or was poisoned), and his son was killed. In the summer of 1605, False Dmitry triumphantly entered Moscow and became the “legitimate” king. But Gregory Otrepyev ruled for a short time, displeased the Moscow boyars, who staged a coup in Moscow. In May, 1606, the impostor was killed.
Vasily Shuisky was crowned kingdom. However, the new king was not far away, he was hated by nobles and “walking people” who fought for False Dmitry, the Polish gentry, who dreamed of plundering Russian lands, and most of the boyars (Golitsyn, Romanovs, Mstislavsky, etc.) who had their plans for the Russian throne. Immediately, almost all the southern and southwestern cities of Russia revolted. In the autumn, the rebel army of Ivan Bolotnikov moved to Moscow. The rebels acted on behalf of the "miraculously saved" Tsar Dmitry. A full-scale civil war began. After persistent battles, the government forces took Tula, where Bolotnikov's forces kept their defenses. Bolotnikov himself was executed, as was another impostor with him - Tsarevich Peter, allegedly the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
However, at this time a new impostor appeared, False Dmitry II. The exact origin of the new impostor is unknown. Most researchers are inclined to think that it was the Shklov Jew Bogdanko, who had some education and played the role of a “prince”. Shklov's impostor was joined by detachments of Polish gentry adventurers, the Cossacks of Little Russia, the cities of southwest Russia, and the remnants of the Bolotnikovs. In the spring of 1608, the impostor's troops marched on Moscow. In the stubborn battle of Bolkhov, in the area of Orel, the impostor's troops defeated the royal army, led by the mediocre Dmitry Shuisky (the Tsar’s brother). Tsar Vasily sent a new army against the impostor under the command of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and Ivan Romanov. However, the conspiracy was revealed in the army. Some governors were going to go to the impostor. The conspirators were captured, tortured, executed, some were exiled. But Tsar Vasily Shuisky was frightened and withdrew the troops to the capital.
In the summer of 1608, the impostor troops reached Moscow. They decided not to go to the assault and settled in Tushino. In this regard, the impostor was given the nickname "Tushinsky thief." As a result, the Russian state, in fact, was divided into two parts. One part supported the legitimate Tsar Vasily, the other - the False Dmitry. Tushino for some time became the second Russian capital. The Tushinsky thief had his own tsarina - Marina Mnishek, his own government, the Boyar Duma, orders and even Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Romanov). The Patriarch sent letters of rite to Russia demanding to subordinate to "Tsar Dmitry." At this time, Russia was defeated by "thieves", "thieving Cossacks" and Polish troops.
1 May 1617. Ratification of the Swedish king Gustav Adolf to the Stolbovsky Treaty of Eternal Peace between Russia and Sweden
Union with Sweden
In Sweden at the beginning of the century there was a political crisis, Charles IX managed to be crowned only in March 1607 of the year. Therefore, in the beginning the Swedes were not up to Russia. But as soon as the situation stabilized, the Swedes turned to Russia. After analyzing the situation, the Swedes came to the conclusion that the Russian distemper could end in two main scenarios. According to the first, solid power was established in Russia, but the Russians were losing vast territories that were withdrawn by Poland — Smolensk, Pskov, Novgorod, and others. At the same time, Poland already controlled the Baltic states. According to the second scenario, Russia could become the “junior partner” of Poland.
It is clear that both scenarios did not suit the Swedes. Poland at that time was their main competitor in the fight for the Baltic region. Strengthening Poland at the expense of Russia threatened the strategic interests of Sweden. Therefore, the Swedish king Charles IX decided to help Tsar Vasily. At the same time, Sweden could strike its rival Poland, earn and strengthen its position in the north of Russia. Back in February 1607, the governor of Vyborg wrote to the Karelian voivode Prince Mosalsky that the king was ready to help the tsar and the Swedish embassy already at the border and was ready for negotiations. But at this time Shuisky was still hoping to independently deal with the enemies, to make peace with Poland. He ordered Prince Mosalsky to write to Vyborg that “our great sovereign cannot be helped by anyone, can stand against all his enemies without you, and will not ask anyone for help but to God.” During 1607, the Swedes sent four more letters to King Shuisky with a request for help. The Russian Tsar answered all the letters with a polite refusal.
However, in 1608, the situation changed for the worse. Tsar Vasily was blocked in Moscow. One by one, the cities went over to the side of the Tushino thief. I had to recall the proposal of the Swedes. The royal nephew Skopin-Shuisky was sent to Novgorod for negotiations. 23 February 1609 year in Vyborg agreement was concluded. Both sides concluded an anti-Polish alliance. Sweden promised to send hired troops to help. Moscow paid for the services of mercenaries. For Swedish help, Tsar Vasily Shuisky refused the rights to Livonia. In addition, a secret protocol was signed to the agreement - “A record of the return of Sweden to the eternal possession of the Russian city of Karelia with the county”. The transfer was to take place three weeks after the Swedish auxiliary corps, under the command of Delagardi, entered Russia and was on its way to Moscow.
In the spring of 1609, the Swedish corps (it mainly consisted of mercenaries - Germans, French, and others) approached Novgorod. The Russian-Swedish army won a number of victories over the Tushins and the Poles. Toropets, Torzhok, Porkhov and Oreshek were cleared of tushintsy. In May, 1609, Skopin-Shuisky, with the Russian-Swedish army, moved from Novgorod to Moscow. In Torzhok, Skopin joined the Moscow militia. Under Tver, Russian-Polish troops defeated Pan-Tushino detachment of Pan Zborowski during a stubborn battle. However, Moscow was not released during this campaign. Swedish mercenaries refused to continue the campaign under the pretext of delaying payment, and the fact that the Russians did not clear Korela. The Russian part of the army stopped at Kalyazin. Tsar Vasily Shuisky, having received money from the Solovki monastery, from the Strogonovs from the Urals and a number of cities, hastened to fulfill the articles of the Vyborg Treaty. He ordered to clean Korela for the Swedes. Meanwhile, the royal troops occupied Pereslavl-Zalessky, Murom and Kasimov.
The entry of Swedish troops into the Russian borders gave the Polish king Sigismund III a reason to start a war with Russia. In September 1609, the troops of Lev Sapieha and the king approached Smolensk. In the meantime, the power in the Tushinsky camp finally passed to the Polish pans headed by hetman Ruzhinsky. Tushino Tsarek actually became a hostage of the Poles. The Polish king suggested to the Tushin Poles to forget the old offenses (many Polish gentry quarreled with the king) and go to serve in his army. Many Poles have obeyed. Tushino camp broke up. The impostor himself fled to Kaluga, where he created a new camp, relying mainly on the Cossacks. Here he began to pursue the "patriotic" line, starting a fight with the Poles.
The remnants of the Tushino "government" finally betrayed Russia. In January 1610, the Tushino patriarch and the boyars sent their ambassadors to the king under the besieged Smolensk. They proposed a plan according to which the Russian throne was to be occupied not by the Polish king, but by his son, young Vladislav. And Filaret and the Tushino Boyar Duma were to become the closest entourage of the new king. Tushyntsy wrote to the king: “We, Filaret Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and archbishops, and bishops and the entire consecrated cathedral, hearing his royal majesty about the holy Orthodox faith and Christian liberation of the feat, we pray to God and beat us with our people. And we, the boyars, okolnichie, etc., beat his royal favor with the brow, and in the glorious Moscow state his royal majesty and his offspring by merciful rulers want to see ... ”.
Thus, the "patriarch" Filaret and the Tushino boyars surrendered Russia and the people to the Poles. Before the campaign against Russia, the Polish king became famous for the fierce massacres of the Orthodox who lived in the Commonwealth. The Poles besieged Smolensk, which they wanted to annex to Poland. Sigismund himself wanted to rule Russia and, in alliance with the Vatican, eradicate the "eastern heresy." But for political reasons, he decided to temporarily accept the transfer of the Russian throne to his son.
Meanwhile, Skopin was bargaining with the Swedes. Despite the resistance of its inhabitants, Korela surrendered to the Swedes. In addition, Tsar Vasily undertook to compensate the Swedes "for your love, friendship, help and losses that you have suffered ...". He promised to give everything that they would ask: "cities, or lands, or counties." The Swedes calmed down and again moved with Skopin-Shuisky. In March 1610, Skopin and Delagardi solemnly entered Moscow. However, on April 23, Prince Skopin died unexpectedly. They suspected that the imperial brother Dmitry Shuisky had acted as his poisoner. Tsar Vasily was old and childless, his brother Dmitry was considered his heir. Lucky commander Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky could become his rival, he had many supporters.
Skopin’s death was a heavy blow for Tsar Vasily, as a successful commander saved his throne, and for all of Russia. In addition, the king made an unforgivable mistake, appointed to command the army, which was supposed to go to help Smolensk, Dmitry Shuisky. In June, the Polish army, under the authority of Hetman Zolkiewski, defeated the Russian-Swedish army near the village of Klushino. Mercenaries went over to the side of the Poles. A smaller part of the mercenaries (Swedes) under the command of Delagardi and Gorn went north to their border. Part of the Russian troops went over to the side of the Polish king, partly fled or returned with Dmitry Shuisky to Moscow "with disgrace."
The disaster near Klushin immediately led to the emergence of a new conspiracy in Moscow, already against Tsar Vasily. The plot was organized by Filaret, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, who marked the tsars, the boyar Ivan Saltykov and the Ryazan nobleman Zakhar Lyapunov. 17 July 1610, Vasily was overthrown from the throne, in fact he was simply kicked out of the royal palace. Patriarch Hermogenes did not support the conspirators, part of the archers also opposed. Then, 19 July Lyapunov and his comrades broke into the house of Shuisky and he was forcibly tonsured a monk, while he himself refused to pronounce monastic vows (he shouted and resisted). Patriarch Hermogenes did not recognize such forced tonsure, but his opinion did not interest the conspirators. In September 1610, Vasily was extradited to the Polish hetman Zolkiewski, who took him and his brothers Dmitry and Ivan to Smolensk in October, and later to Poland. In Warsaw, the king and his brothers were presented as prisoners to King Sigismund and took a solemn oath. The former king died in prison in Poland, his brother Dmitri died there.
The power in Moscow passed to a handful of boyars-conspirators (the so-called Seven Boyars). However, it mainly extended only to Moscow. In order to preserve their power, the traitors decided to send the Poles to Moscow. On the night of 20 on 21 September, the Polish army entered into the Russian capital in collusion with the boyar government. Polish prince Vladislav was declared the Russian tsar. Russia embraced complete anarchy. Boyars and Poles controlled only Moscow and communications that linked the Polish garrison with Poland. At the same time, Sigismund did not even think of sending Vladislav to Moscow, firmly stating that he himself would take the Russian throne. Some cities formally kissed the cross to Vladislav, others were subordinate to the Tushino thief, and most of the lands lived by themselves. So, Novgorod first recognized Vladislav, and when the first militia moved to liberate Moscow, it became the center of the anti-Polish uprising. Citizens staged a mob on Ivan Saltykov, who personified in her eyes the type of boyar traitor who sold himself to the Poles. The governor was severely tortured and then impaled.
In December 1610, the False Dmitry II was killed. The threat from him has passed. However, the ataman Zarutsky supported the son of Marina - Ivan Dmitrievich (Vorёnok), and retained considerable influence and strength. Zarutsky detachments supported the first militia.
Swedish aggression. The fall of Novgorod
Meanwhile, the Swedes, who had escaped from Klushino, with reinforcements from Sweden, attempted to seize the northern Russian strongholds Ladoga and Oreshek, but were beaten off by their garrisons. The Swedes initially controlled only Korela, some parts of the Barents and White seas, including the Coke. However, in the 1611 year, taking advantage of the chaos in Russia, the Swedes began to seize the Novgorod border lands - gradually Yam, Ivangorod, Koporye and Gdov were captured. In March 1611, Delagardi's troops reached Novgorod. Delagardi sent to ask the Novgorodians, are they friends or enemies of the Swedes and will they comply with the Vyborg treaty? Novgorodians answered that it was not their business, that everything depended on the future Tsar of Moscow.
Having learned that the Polish garrison was besieged by the first militia of Prokopy Lyapunov and the Poles burned most of Moscow, the Swedish king entered into negotiations with the leaders of the militia. In the diploma of the Swedish king, it was suggested not to choose the representatives of foreign dynasties for the Russian tsars (of course, what the Poles meant), but to choose one of their own. In the meantime, events were taking place in Novgorod that gave the Swedes the hope of easily taking the most important Russian city. According to Swedish data, voivode Buturlin himself, who hated the Poles and had good relations with Delagardi in Moscow, suggested that he should occupy Novgorod. Buturlin fought at Klushin shoulder to shoulder with Delagardi, was wounded, captured, where he suffered torture and humiliation, and - freed after the oath of Moscow to the Polish prince Vladislav - became the sworn enemy of the Poles.
According to the Russian data, there was a disagreement between Buturlin and voivod Ivan Odoyevsky, as well as the townspeople, which prevented them from organizing a reliable defense of Novgorod. The city met the Russian commander with an orgy of anarchy, which he was hardly able to restrain with concessions and promises. The city was on the verge of rebellion, there was plenty of fuel: 20-thousand population of the city has increased several times due to refugees from the surrounding forts and villages. The ravaged poor had nothing to lose, and nothing to do. In neighboring Pskov, a riot had already taken place, and the envoys from it urged Novgorod to revolt, called upon to beat the boyars and the money-merchants. The old master of the city of voivode Ivan Odoyevsky reluctantly ceded his power to Vasily Buturlin, but he was not reconciled to this. There was no unity, among other representatives of the urban elite. Some remained secret supporters of the Poles, Vladislav, others turned their views towards Sweden, hoping to get the king from this country, and others supported representatives of Russian aristocratic families.
The Third Novgorod Chronicle tells about the atmosphere that prevailed in the city: “The governors didn’t have joy, and military people with townspeople weren’t advice, some of the governors drank incessantly, and the governor Vasily Buturlin referred to German people, and the merchants brought all kinds of goods to them” .
Vasily Buturlin himself was convinced that the invitation to the Russian throne of one of the sons of King Charles IX - Gustav Adolf or his younger brother Prince Charles Philip - would save the country from the threat from Catholic Poland, wishing to destroy Orthodoxy, and stop the fight between the boyars for power. The militia leaders shared these views, hoping that the Novgorod forces, united with the forces of Delagardi, would be able to help in liberating Moscow from the Poles. Buturlin offered to pledge one of the frontier fortresses to the Swedes and informed Delagardi confidentially that both Novgorod and Moscow wanted one of the royal sons to be kings, if only they were promised to save Orthodoxy. True, the problem was that King Charles IX, who was distinguished by practicality, did not claim to the whole of Russia. He only wanted to increase his lands and remove Russia from the Baltic Sea. In this case, Sweden could be enriched by the mediation of Russian trade with Europe and deal a serious blow to the expansion of Poland.
Delagardi gave royal demands to Buturlin: Sweden wanted to get for its help not only the fortresses that covered the approaches to the Baltic Sea - Ladoga, Noteburg, Yam, Koporye, Gdov and Ivangorod, but also Coke on the Kola Peninsula, which cut off Russia from maritime trade with England on north. "Give half the land!" The Russians will die better! ”Exclaimed Buturlin, having familiarized himself with the list of Swedish claims. Delagardi himself believed that the king’s excessive appetites might bury an important matter. At his own risk, he promised to convince Charles IX to reduce demands. For the time being, we can restrict ourselves with the transfer of a deposit as payment for military assistance from Ladoga and Noteburg. The king, as the commander assured, will be kind to the Russian requests, having learned that the Russians want to see one of his sons as their king.
The Russians and the Swedes agreed on neutrality, on the supply of supplies to the Swedes at reasonable prices, while a messenger with new instructions arrives from the militia camp near Moscow. 16 June 1611 The leaders of the first militia agreed to the transfer of Ladoga and Nut (Noteburg) in exchange for urgent assistance. The leaders of the militia offered to discuss the possibility of inviting the Swedish prince to the Russian throne with Delagardi when he arrives under the walls of Moscow. But already on June 23, after the first battles with Sapieha, who strengthened the Polish garrison in Moscow, the militia leaders agreed to call on the Swedish prince to the Russian throne.
The message of the leaders of the militia Dmitry Trubetskoy, Ivan Zarutsky and Procopius Lyapunov said the following: “Everything written by the chalice and voivode Vasily Buturlin, as well as the letters of the Most Serene King and Jacob Pontus, translated into our language, we ordered to read publicly and publicly; then, after weighing all the circumstances, not hastily and not somehow, but carefully, with discussion for several days, it was decided: with the will of the Most High, it was accomplished that all estates of the Muscovite state recognized the eldest son of King Charles IX, a young man with exceptional tenderness, prudence and an authority worthy of being elected by the Grand Duke and sovereign of Muscovite people. This unanimous decision of ours, we, the grandees of the citizens of the local principality, approved, indicating their names. ” The militia, as reported in the letter, appointed an embassy to Sweden. The embassy was instructed to conclude an agreement with Delagardi on the pledge, but the militia leaders urged the commander to persuade the king to abandon the territorial claims - this could cause outrage of the people and prevent the prince from ascending the throne.
However, the leaders of the militia were not a decree for Novgorod. Noteburg-Oreshek was part of the Novgorod land, and the inhabitants of Novgorod (mostly ordinary people) were not going to give their territory to the Swedes by order of the Zemsky government. Delegations came to Delagardi camp from Novgorod, who urged the Swedes to go to Moscow without giving them anything in return. In the meantime, the Swedish army gradually lost its fighting efficiency: the money for payment to the mercenaries was delayed, they expressed dissatisfaction; foragers who went to distant raids in the villages in search of food, increasingly did not return to the camp, some were killed, others deserted. The Novgorod land was already ravaged by distemper, and the Swedes, despite the summer, began a famine, which was accompanied by mass diseases. As a result, Delagardi and his officers decided that they were being deceived: the Novgorodians wanted to decompose the army, reaching the fall until the cold and illness would defeat the Swedes without a single shot. At the military council decided to take Novgorod by storm.
While negotiations with the Swedes, and the merchants supplied them with goods, the defense of Novgorod was in ruins. Even when the Swedes crossed the Volkhov and reached the city itself, negotiations continued and no emergency measures were taken to strengthen the Novgorod fortress. 8 July, the Swedes went on the attack. The attack failed. Novgorod emboldened by success, even more proud. A procession of citizens and monks led by Metropolitan Isidore, holding the icon of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary in their hands, walked around the city walls with a religious procession. In the churches, prayers were held all day until late at night. All subsequent days drunk climbed the walls and cursed the Swedes, inviting them to the dishes of lead and gunpowder.
However, the Swedes have already decided to take the city. “God will punish Great Novgorod for treachery, and soon there will be nothing great in it! Necessity pushes to the assault, before the eyes - prey, glory and death. Mining goes to the brave, death overtakes a coward, ”said Delagardi to the regimental commanders and companies gathered in his tent on the eve of the battle. The Swedes were captured by a certain serf Ivan Shval. He knew that the city was poorly guarded and showed weak spots. On the night of July 16, he led the Swedes through the Chudintsy Gate. And the Prussia gates were blown up by the Swedes. In addition, on the eve of the assault, Russian accomplices handed Delagardi a drawing of the city, made in the 1584 year, the most detailed one that existed at that time. Therefore, the Swedish commanders were not confused in the interweaving of city streets. The Swedes began to seize the city without meeting any organized resistance. The defenders of the city were taken by surprise, unable to organize a serious defense. In a number of places in Novgorod, centers of resistance arose, the Novgorodians fought bravely, but had no chance of success and died in an unequal battle.
The German Matvey Schaum, who was a priest in the army of Delagardi, tells about the development of events after the entry of Swedish troops into Novgorod: “Although the Russians had fired from the towers for a long time, the cavalry was constantly more and more entered, filling the streets and gates of the castle, so not one of the Cossacks or archers could not seem. Meanwhile, the Germans shot down the Russians from the shaft and from one tooth to another, from one place to another ... ” Buturlin, having decided that the case was lost and angry with the obstinacy of Novgorod, led his troops across the bridge, not yet captured by the enemy, to the other side of the Volkhov. Along the way, his archers and Cossacks robbed the Trade part of the city under the pretext that the enemy should not get good: “Take it, guys, all yours! Do not leave this prey to the enemy! ”
The Novgorod metropolitan Isidore and Prince Odoyevsky, who had taken refuge in the Novgorod Kremlin, seeing that resistance was meaningless, decided to agree with Delagardi. His first condition was the oath of Novgorod to the Swedish prince. Delagardi himself promised not to ravage the city. After that, the Swedes occupied the Kremlin. 25 July 1611 between Novgorod and the Swedish king signed an agreement according to which the Swedish king was declared the patron saint of Russia, and one of his sons (Prince Charles Philip) became the Moscow Tsar and the Novgorod Grand Prince. Thus, a large part of the Novgorod land became a formally independent Novgorod state, under the Swedish protectorate, although in fact it was the Swedish military occupation. It was headed by Ivan Nikitich Bolshoi Odoyevsky from the Russian side, from the Swedish side by Jacob Delagardi. Decrees were issued on their behalf and land was distributed to the servicemen who accepted the new Novgorod power to the service people.
On the whole, the agreement more likely corresponded to the interests of the rich elite of Novgorod, who received the protection of the Swedish army from the Poles and numerous gangs that flooded Russia and Delagardi himself, who saw in the new turn of the rush of Russian events grandiose prospects for himself. It was clear that he would become the main person in Russia with the young Swedish prince, who ascended the Russian throne. The ruins of burned houses were still smoking, black crows flocked over the golden domes, flying to feast on uncleared corpses, and recent enemies were fraternizing to the accompaniment of a solemn bell ringing. Delagardi, his colonels and captainers sat at long tables in the choir of the Novgorod governor Ivan Odoyevsky, together with the Novgorod boyars and the richest merchants, raising cups in honor of a successful agreement.
Swedish military and statesman Jacob Delagardi
To be continued ...
prehistory
The struggle of the princely-boyar clans in Russia led to confusion. The situation was aggravated by a sharp increase in social injustice, which caused a mass protest of the population and natural disasters that led to famine and epidemics. The clan of the Romanovs, together with the monks of the Wonderful Monastery, found and inspired an impostor who declared himself Prince Dmitry. The false Dmitry was also supported by the Polish magnates and the Vatican, who wanted to dismember the Russian state and profit from its wealth. Polish magnates and gentry gathered a private army for the impostor. The impostor was also supported by some cities in southwestern Russia, nobles and Cossacks who were dissatisfied with the policies of Moscow. However, the impostor had no chance to occupy Moscow, if not a conspiracy in the Russian capital. Tsar Boris Godunov in the spring of 1605 of the year died suddenly (or was poisoned), and his son was killed. In the summer of 1605, False Dmitry triumphantly entered Moscow and became the “legitimate” king. But Gregory Otrepyev ruled for a short time, displeased the Moscow boyars, who staged a coup in Moscow. In May, 1606, the impostor was killed.
Vasily Shuisky was crowned kingdom. However, the new king was not far away, he was hated by nobles and “walking people” who fought for False Dmitry, the Polish gentry, who dreamed of plundering Russian lands, and most of the boyars (Golitsyn, Romanovs, Mstislavsky, etc.) who had their plans for the Russian throne. Immediately, almost all the southern and southwestern cities of Russia revolted. In the autumn, the rebel army of Ivan Bolotnikov moved to Moscow. The rebels acted on behalf of the "miraculously saved" Tsar Dmitry. A full-scale civil war began. After persistent battles, the government forces took Tula, where Bolotnikov's forces kept their defenses. Bolotnikov himself was executed, as was another impostor with him - Tsarevich Peter, allegedly the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
However, at this time a new impostor appeared, False Dmitry II. The exact origin of the new impostor is unknown. Most researchers are inclined to think that it was the Shklov Jew Bogdanko, who had some education and played the role of a “prince”. Shklov's impostor was joined by detachments of Polish gentry adventurers, the Cossacks of Little Russia, the cities of southwest Russia, and the remnants of the Bolotnikovs. In the spring of 1608, the impostor's troops marched on Moscow. In the stubborn battle of Bolkhov, in the area of Orel, the impostor's troops defeated the royal army, led by the mediocre Dmitry Shuisky (the Tsar’s brother). Tsar Vasily sent a new army against the impostor under the command of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and Ivan Romanov. However, the conspiracy was revealed in the army. Some governors were going to go to the impostor. The conspirators were captured, tortured, executed, some were exiled. But Tsar Vasily Shuisky was frightened and withdrew the troops to the capital.
In the summer of 1608, the impostor troops reached Moscow. They decided not to go to the assault and settled in Tushino. In this regard, the impostor was given the nickname "Tushinsky thief." As a result, the Russian state, in fact, was divided into two parts. One part supported the legitimate Tsar Vasily, the other - the False Dmitry. Tushino for some time became the second Russian capital. The Tushinsky thief had his own tsarina - Marina Mnishek, his own government, the Boyar Duma, orders and even Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Romanov). The Patriarch sent letters of rite to Russia demanding to subordinate to "Tsar Dmitry." At this time, Russia was defeated by "thieves", "thieving Cossacks" and Polish troops.
1 May 1617. Ratification of the Swedish king Gustav Adolf to the Stolbovsky Treaty of Eternal Peace between Russia and Sweden
Union with Sweden
In Sweden at the beginning of the century there was a political crisis, Charles IX managed to be crowned only in March 1607 of the year. Therefore, in the beginning the Swedes were not up to Russia. But as soon as the situation stabilized, the Swedes turned to Russia. After analyzing the situation, the Swedes came to the conclusion that the Russian distemper could end in two main scenarios. According to the first, solid power was established in Russia, but the Russians were losing vast territories that were withdrawn by Poland — Smolensk, Pskov, Novgorod, and others. At the same time, Poland already controlled the Baltic states. According to the second scenario, Russia could become the “junior partner” of Poland.
It is clear that both scenarios did not suit the Swedes. Poland at that time was their main competitor in the fight for the Baltic region. Strengthening Poland at the expense of Russia threatened the strategic interests of Sweden. Therefore, the Swedish king Charles IX decided to help Tsar Vasily. At the same time, Sweden could strike its rival Poland, earn and strengthen its position in the north of Russia. Back in February 1607, the governor of Vyborg wrote to the Karelian voivode Prince Mosalsky that the king was ready to help the tsar and the Swedish embassy already at the border and was ready for negotiations. But at this time Shuisky was still hoping to independently deal with the enemies, to make peace with Poland. He ordered Prince Mosalsky to write to Vyborg that “our great sovereign cannot be helped by anyone, can stand against all his enemies without you, and will not ask anyone for help but to God.” During 1607, the Swedes sent four more letters to King Shuisky with a request for help. The Russian Tsar answered all the letters with a polite refusal.
However, in 1608, the situation changed for the worse. Tsar Vasily was blocked in Moscow. One by one, the cities went over to the side of the Tushino thief. I had to recall the proposal of the Swedes. The royal nephew Skopin-Shuisky was sent to Novgorod for negotiations. 23 February 1609 year in Vyborg agreement was concluded. Both sides concluded an anti-Polish alliance. Sweden promised to send hired troops to help. Moscow paid for the services of mercenaries. For Swedish help, Tsar Vasily Shuisky refused the rights to Livonia. In addition, a secret protocol was signed to the agreement - “A record of the return of Sweden to the eternal possession of the Russian city of Karelia with the county”. The transfer was to take place three weeks after the Swedish auxiliary corps, under the command of Delagardi, entered Russia and was on its way to Moscow.
In the spring of 1609, the Swedish corps (it mainly consisted of mercenaries - Germans, French, and others) approached Novgorod. The Russian-Swedish army won a number of victories over the Tushins and the Poles. Toropets, Torzhok, Porkhov and Oreshek were cleared of tushintsy. In May, 1609, Skopin-Shuisky, with the Russian-Swedish army, moved from Novgorod to Moscow. In Torzhok, Skopin joined the Moscow militia. Under Tver, Russian-Polish troops defeated Pan-Tushino detachment of Pan Zborowski during a stubborn battle. However, Moscow was not released during this campaign. Swedish mercenaries refused to continue the campaign under the pretext of delaying payment, and the fact that the Russians did not clear Korela. The Russian part of the army stopped at Kalyazin. Tsar Vasily Shuisky, having received money from the Solovki monastery, from the Strogonovs from the Urals and a number of cities, hastened to fulfill the articles of the Vyborg Treaty. He ordered to clean Korela for the Swedes. Meanwhile, the royal troops occupied Pereslavl-Zalessky, Murom and Kasimov.
The entry of Swedish troops into the Russian borders gave the Polish king Sigismund III a reason to start a war with Russia. In September 1609, the troops of Lev Sapieha and the king approached Smolensk. In the meantime, the power in the Tushinsky camp finally passed to the Polish pans headed by hetman Ruzhinsky. Tushino Tsarek actually became a hostage of the Poles. The Polish king suggested to the Tushin Poles to forget the old offenses (many Polish gentry quarreled with the king) and go to serve in his army. Many Poles have obeyed. Tushino camp broke up. The impostor himself fled to Kaluga, where he created a new camp, relying mainly on the Cossacks. Here he began to pursue the "patriotic" line, starting a fight with the Poles.
The remnants of the Tushino "government" finally betrayed Russia. In January 1610, the Tushino patriarch and the boyars sent their ambassadors to the king under the besieged Smolensk. They proposed a plan according to which the Russian throne was to be occupied not by the Polish king, but by his son, young Vladislav. And Filaret and the Tushino Boyar Duma were to become the closest entourage of the new king. Tushyntsy wrote to the king: “We, Filaret Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and archbishops, and bishops and the entire consecrated cathedral, hearing his royal majesty about the holy Orthodox faith and Christian liberation of the feat, we pray to God and beat us with our people. And we, the boyars, okolnichie, etc., beat his royal favor with the brow, and in the glorious Moscow state his royal majesty and his offspring by merciful rulers want to see ... ”.
Thus, the "patriarch" Filaret and the Tushino boyars surrendered Russia and the people to the Poles. Before the campaign against Russia, the Polish king became famous for the fierce massacres of the Orthodox who lived in the Commonwealth. The Poles besieged Smolensk, which they wanted to annex to Poland. Sigismund himself wanted to rule Russia and, in alliance with the Vatican, eradicate the "eastern heresy." But for political reasons, he decided to temporarily accept the transfer of the Russian throne to his son.
Meanwhile, Skopin was bargaining with the Swedes. Despite the resistance of its inhabitants, Korela surrendered to the Swedes. In addition, Tsar Vasily undertook to compensate the Swedes "for your love, friendship, help and losses that you have suffered ...". He promised to give everything that they would ask: "cities, or lands, or counties." The Swedes calmed down and again moved with Skopin-Shuisky. In March 1610, Skopin and Delagardi solemnly entered Moscow. However, on April 23, Prince Skopin died unexpectedly. They suspected that the imperial brother Dmitry Shuisky had acted as his poisoner. Tsar Vasily was old and childless, his brother Dmitry was considered his heir. Lucky commander Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky could become his rival, he had many supporters.
Skopin’s death was a heavy blow for Tsar Vasily, as a successful commander saved his throne, and for all of Russia. In addition, the king made an unforgivable mistake, appointed to command the army, which was supposed to go to help Smolensk, Dmitry Shuisky. In June, the Polish army, under the authority of Hetman Zolkiewski, defeated the Russian-Swedish army near the village of Klushino. Mercenaries went over to the side of the Poles. A smaller part of the mercenaries (Swedes) under the command of Delagardi and Gorn went north to their border. Part of the Russian troops went over to the side of the Polish king, partly fled or returned with Dmitry Shuisky to Moscow "with disgrace."
The disaster near Klushin immediately led to the emergence of a new conspiracy in Moscow, already against Tsar Vasily. The plot was organized by Filaret, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, who marked the tsars, the boyar Ivan Saltykov and the Ryazan nobleman Zakhar Lyapunov. 17 July 1610, Vasily was overthrown from the throne, in fact he was simply kicked out of the royal palace. Patriarch Hermogenes did not support the conspirators, part of the archers also opposed. Then, 19 July Lyapunov and his comrades broke into the house of Shuisky and he was forcibly tonsured a monk, while he himself refused to pronounce monastic vows (he shouted and resisted). Patriarch Hermogenes did not recognize such forced tonsure, but his opinion did not interest the conspirators. In September 1610, Vasily was extradited to the Polish hetman Zolkiewski, who took him and his brothers Dmitry and Ivan to Smolensk in October, and later to Poland. In Warsaw, the king and his brothers were presented as prisoners to King Sigismund and took a solemn oath. The former king died in prison in Poland, his brother Dmitri died there.
The power in Moscow passed to a handful of boyars-conspirators (the so-called Seven Boyars). However, it mainly extended only to Moscow. In order to preserve their power, the traitors decided to send the Poles to Moscow. On the night of 20 on 21 September, the Polish army entered into the Russian capital in collusion with the boyar government. Polish prince Vladislav was declared the Russian tsar. Russia embraced complete anarchy. Boyars and Poles controlled only Moscow and communications that linked the Polish garrison with Poland. At the same time, Sigismund did not even think of sending Vladislav to Moscow, firmly stating that he himself would take the Russian throne. Some cities formally kissed the cross to Vladislav, others were subordinate to the Tushino thief, and most of the lands lived by themselves. So, Novgorod first recognized Vladislav, and when the first militia moved to liberate Moscow, it became the center of the anti-Polish uprising. Citizens staged a mob on Ivan Saltykov, who personified in her eyes the type of boyar traitor who sold himself to the Poles. The governor was severely tortured and then impaled.
In December 1610, the False Dmitry II was killed. The threat from him has passed. However, the ataman Zarutsky supported the son of Marina - Ivan Dmitrievich (Vorёnok), and retained considerable influence and strength. Zarutsky detachments supported the first militia.
Swedish aggression. The fall of Novgorod
Meanwhile, the Swedes, who had escaped from Klushino, with reinforcements from Sweden, attempted to seize the northern Russian strongholds Ladoga and Oreshek, but were beaten off by their garrisons. The Swedes initially controlled only Korela, some parts of the Barents and White seas, including the Coke. However, in the 1611 year, taking advantage of the chaos in Russia, the Swedes began to seize the Novgorod border lands - gradually Yam, Ivangorod, Koporye and Gdov were captured. In March 1611, Delagardi's troops reached Novgorod. Delagardi sent to ask the Novgorodians, are they friends or enemies of the Swedes and will they comply with the Vyborg treaty? Novgorodians answered that it was not their business, that everything depended on the future Tsar of Moscow.
Having learned that the Polish garrison was besieged by the first militia of Prokopy Lyapunov and the Poles burned most of Moscow, the Swedish king entered into negotiations with the leaders of the militia. In the diploma of the Swedish king, it was suggested not to choose the representatives of foreign dynasties for the Russian tsars (of course, what the Poles meant), but to choose one of their own. In the meantime, events were taking place in Novgorod that gave the Swedes the hope of easily taking the most important Russian city. According to Swedish data, voivode Buturlin himself, who hated the Poles and had good relations with Delagardi in Moscow, suggested that he should occupy Novgorod. Buturlin fought at Klushin shoulder to shoulder with Delagardi, was wounded, captured, where he suffered torture and humiliation, and - freed after the oath of Moscow to the Polish prince Vladislav - became the sworn enemy of the Poles.
According to the Russian data, there was a disagreement between Buturlin and voivod Ivan Odoyevsky, as well as the townspeople, which prevented them from organizing a reliable defense of Novgorod. The city met the Russian commander with an orgy of anarchy, which he was hardly able to restrain with concessions and promises. The city was on the verge of rebellion, there was plenty of fuel: 20-thousand population of the city has increased several times due to refugees from the surrounding forts and villages. The ravaged poor had nothing to lose, and nothing to do. In neighboring Pskov, a riot had already taken place, and the envoys from it urged Novgorod to revolt, called upon to beat the boyars and the money-merchants. The old master of the city of voivode Ivan Odoyevsky reluctantly ceded his power to Vasily Buturlin, but he was not reconciled to this. There was no unity, among other representatives of the urban elite. Some remained secret supporters of the Poles, Vladislav, others turned their views towards Sweden, hoping to get the king from this country, and others supported representatives of Russian aristocratic families.
The Third Novgorod Chronicle tells about the atmosphere that prevailed in the city: “The governors didn’t have joy, and military people with townspeople weren’t advice, some of the governors drank incessantly, and the governor Vasily Buturlin referred to German people, and the merchants brought all kinds of goods to them” .
Vasily Buturlin himself was convinced that the invitation to the Russian throne of one of the sons of King Charles IX - Gustav Adolf or his younger brother Prince Charles Philip - would save the country from the threat from Catholic Poland, wishing to destroy Orthodoxy, and stop the fight between the boyars for power. The militia leaders shared these views, hoping that the Novgorod forces, united with the forces of Delagardi, would be able to help in liberating Moscow from the Poles. Buturlin offered to pledge one of the frontier fortresses to the Swedes and informed Delagardi confidentially that both Novgorod and Moscow wanted one of the royal sons to be kings, if only they were promised to save Orthodoxy. True, the problem was that King Charles IX, who was distinguished by practicality, did not claim to the whole of Russia. He only wanted to increase his lands and remove Russia from the Baltic Sea. In this case, Sweden could be enriched by the mediation of Russian trade with Europe and deal a serious blow to the expansion of Poland.
Delagardi gave royal demands to Buturlin: Sweden wanted to get for its help not only the fortresses that covered the approaches to the Baltic Sea - Ladoga, Noteburg, Yam, Koporye, Gdov and Ivangorod, but also Coke on the Kola Peninsula, which cut off Russia from maritime trade with England on north. "Give half the land!" The Russians will die better! ”Exclaimed Buturlin, having familiarized himself with the list of Swedish claims. Delagardi himself believed that the king’s excessive appetites might bury an important matter. At his own risk, he promised to convince Charles IX to reduce demands. For the time being, we can restrict ourselves with the transfer of a deposit as payment for military assistance from Ladoga and Noteburg. The king, as the commander assured, will be kind to the Russian requests, having learned that the Russians want to see one of his sons as their king.
The Russians and the Swedes agreed on neutrality, on the supply of supplies to the Swedes at reasonable prices, while a messenger with new instructions arrives from the militia camp near Moscow. 16 June 1611 The leaders of the first militia agreed to the transfer of Ladoga and Nut (Noteburg) in exchange for urgent assistance. The leaders of the militia offered to discuss the possibility of inviting the Swedish prince to the Russian throne with Delagardi when he arrives under the walls of Moscow. But already on June 23, after the first battles with Sapieha, who strengthened the Polish garrison in Moscow, the militia leaders agreed to call on the Swedish prince to the Russian throne.
The message of the leaders of the militia Dmitry Trubetskoy, Ivan Zarutsky and Procopius Lyapunov said the following: “Everything written by the chalice and voivode Vasily Buturlin, as well as the letters of the Most Serene King and Jacob Pontus, translated into our language, we ordered to read publicly and publicly; then, after weighing all the circumstances, not hastily and not somehow, but carefully, with discussion for several days, it was decided: with the will of the Most High, it was accomplished that all estates of the Muscovite state recognized the eldest son of King Charles IX, a young man with exceptional tenderness, prudence and an authority worthy of being elected by the Grand Duke and sovereign of Muscovite people. This unanimous decision of ours, we, the grandees of the citizens of the local principality, approved, indicating their names. ” The militia, as reported in the letter, appointed an embassy to Sweden. The embassy was instructed to conclude an agreement with Delagardi on the pledge, but the militia leaders urged the commander to persuade the king to abandon the territorial claims - this could cause outrage of the people and prevent the prince from ascending the throne.
However, the leaders of the militia were not a decree for Novgorod. Noteburg-Oreshek was part of the Novgorod land, and the inhabitants of Novgorod (mostly ordinary people) were not going to give their territory to the Swedes by order of the Zemsky government. Delegations came to Delagardi camp from Novgorod, who urged the Swedes to go to Moscow without giving them anything in return. In the meantime, the Swedish army gradually lost its fighting efficiency: the money for payment to the mercenaries was delayed, they expressed dissatisfaction; foragers who went to distant raids in the villages in search of food, increasingly did not return to the camp, some were killed, others deserted. The Novgorod land was already ravaged by distemper, and the Swedes, despite the summer, began a famine, which was accompanied by mass diseases. As a result, Delagardi and his officers decided that they were being deceived: the Novgorodians wanted to decompose the army, reaching the fall until the cold and illness would defeat the Swedes without a single shot. At the military council decided to take Novgorod by storm.
While negotiations with the Swedes, and the merchants supplied them with goods, the defense of Novgorod was in ruins. Even when the Swedes crossed the Volkhov and reached the city itself, negotiations continued and no emergency measures were taken to strengthen the Novgorod fortress. 8 July, the Swedes went on the attack. The attack failed. Novgorod emboldened by success, even more proud. A procession of citizens and monks led by Metropolitan Isidore, holding the icon of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary in their hands, walked around the city walls with a religious procession. In the churches, prayers were held all day until late at night. All subsequent days drunk climbed the walls and cursed the Swedes, inviting them to the dishes of lead and gunpowder.
However, the Swedes have already decided to take the city. “God will punish Great Novgorod for treachery, and soon there will be nothing great in it! Necessity pushes to the assault, before the eyes - prey, glory and death. Mining goes to the brave, death overtakes a coward, ”said Delagardi to the regimental commanders and companies gathered in his tent on the eve of the battle. The Swedes were captured by a certain serf Ivan Shval. He knew that the city was poorly guarded and showed weak spots. On the night of July 16, he led the Swedes through the Chudintsy Gate. And the Prussia gates were blown up by the Swedes. In addition, on the eve of the assault, Russian accomplices handed Delagardi a drawing of the city, made in the 1584 year, the most detailed one that existed at that time. Therefore, the Swedish commanders were not confused in the interweaving of city streets. The Swedes began to seize the city without meeting any organized resistance. The defenders of the city were taken by surprise, unable to organize a serious defense. In a number of places in Novgorod, centers of resistance arose, the Novgorodians fought bravely, but had no chance of success and died in an unequal battle.
The German Matvey Schaum, who was a priest in the army of Delagardi, tells about the development of events after the entry of Swedish troops into Novgorod: “Although the Russians had fired from the towers for a long time, the cavalry was constantly more and more entered, filling the streets and gates of the castle, so not one of the Cossacks or archers could not seem. Meanwhile, the Germans shot down the Russians from the shaft and from one tooth to another, from one place to another ... ” Buturlin, having decided that the case was lost and angry with the obstinacy of Novgorod, led his troops across the bridge, not yet captured by the enemy, to the other side of the Volkhov. Along the way, his archers and Cossacks robbed the Trade part of the city under the pretext that the enemy should not get good: “Take it, guys, all yours! Do not leave this prey to the enemy! ”
The Novgorod metropolitan Isidore and Prince Odoyevsky, who had taken refuge in the Novgorod Kremlin, seeing that resistance was meaningless, decided to agree with Delagardi. His first condition was the oath of Novgorod to the Swedish prince. Delagardi himself promised not to ravage the city. After that, the Swedes occupied the Kremlin. 25 July 1611 between Novgorod and the Swedish king signed an agreement according to which the Swedish king was declared the patron saint of Russia, and one of his sons (Prince Charles Philip) became the Moscow Tsar and the Novgorod Grand Prince. Thus, a large part of the Novgorod land became a formally independent Novgorod state, under the Swedish protectorate, although in fact it was the Swedish military occupation. It was headed by Ivan Nikitich Bolshoi Odoyevsky from the Russian side, from the Swedish side by Jacob Delagardi. Decrees were issued on their behalf and land was distributed to the servicemen who accepted the new Novgorod power to the service people.
On the whole, the agreement more likely corresponded to the interests of the rich elite of Novgorod, who received the protection of the Swedish army from the Poles and numerous gangs that flooded Russia and Delagardi himself, who saw in the new turn of the rush of Russian events grandiose prospects for himself. It was clear that he would become the main person in Russia with the young Swedish prince, who ascended the Russian throne. The ruins of burned houses were still smoking, black crows flocked over the golden domes, flying to feast on uncleared corpses, and recent enemies were fraternizing to the accompaniment of a solemn bell ringing. Delagardi, his colonels and captainers sat at long tables in the choir of the Novgorod governor Ivan Odoyevsky, together with the Novgorod boyars and the richest merchants, raising cups in honor of a successful agreement.
Swedish military and statesman Jacob Delagardi
To be continued ...
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