How suppressed the uprising Bolotnikov
However, these fears were in vain. Poland itself had to tight. The Poles began a war with Sweden and beat the city of Pernov (Parnu) from her in Livonia. In addition, the Zaporozhye Cossacks, led by Hetman Sagaidachny, carried out a series of successful raids and plundered Cafu and Varna. This angered the Ottomans and they declared war on the Commonwealth. True, the main forces of the Turkish army were connected with the war against Persia and the auxiliary troops were sent against Poland, and the Poles repelled the attack. In Poland itself, part of the magnates who were dissatisfied with the king’s policies raised the bug. The country was seized by civil war. Therefore, the Poles have not yet been to Moscow.
Thus, Moscow overlooked a more serious threat - an internal one. After all, the problems that caused the Troubles were not resolved. And the external threat played, though important, but not the main role. The province was outraged: the Boyar Duma elected the king without the necessary support of all the lands. It turned out that the boyars killed the "good king" and seized power, transferring the throne to the "boyar king". The province raged: the term of investigation of the fugitive was increased to 15 years; servicemen recalled the generous awards of the False Dmitry; residents of the south feared reprisals and terror (as under Godunov) for helping an impostor; Cossacks worried, actively supporting the liar; Shuisky got rid of supporters of the False Dmitry, sending them away from the capital, many were sent to the southern border.
In the summer of 1606, spontaneous uprisings swept the entire south of the country, which was agitated by rumors about the "salvation of the good Tsar Dmitry." The “capital” of the first impostor, Putivl, became the center of the struggle against the new king in the Northern Land. Here, the peasants who revolted the townspeople elected the peasants to be the “great governor” of Ivan Bolotnikov, who had arrived with a detachment. Ivan Bolotnikov, according to the most common version, was a serf of Prince Telyatevsky. As a young man, he fled from his master to the Cossacks in the steppe, here he was captured by the Tatars and sold into slavery by the Turks. For several years he spent in slavery, in galleys as a rower. After an unsuccessful sea battle for the Turks with the Christian ships, he was released and went to Venice, where he lived in a German trade center. From here, having heard the stories about the beginning of the Troubles in the Russian state, Bolotnikov moved through Germany and Poland to Russia. Rumors about the “miraculous rescue” of Tsar Dmitry of Moscow attracted Ivan to Sambir, where the Moscow fugitive Mikhail Molchanov, former associate of False Dmitry I. Molchanov stole some royal regalia, including the golden seal, which at that time replaced the royal signature, was hiding from the wife of Yuri Mnishek Yadvigi seemed to be king. This adventurer presented himself to Bolotnikov as king, who had escaped after the May coup in Moscow. The new impostor talked with Bolotnikov for a long time, and then supplied him with a letter to Prince Grigory Shakhovsky and sent him to Putyvl as his personal emissary and “great governor”.
In essence, the civil war has entered an active phase. In the army of Bolotnikov were the main classes and social groups of the Russian state: peasants and serfs, Seversk, Terek, Volga and Zaporozhye Cossacks, representatives of the nobility. In addition, representatives of the aristocracy supported the uprising, among them Prince Grigory Shakhovsky and Chernigov voivode Andrey Telyatevsky, the former owner of Bolotnikov.
Summer 1606 30-thousand. Army Bolotnikova moved to Moscow. The fortresses of Kromy and Yelets were captured, the rich arsenals of which replenished the reserves of the rebels. Government troops under the leadership of the governor of the princes Vorotynsky and Trubetskoy were defeated at Kromy and Yelets. Many soldiers of the royal troops went over to the rebels. Using the mistakes of the royal governors, the rebels were rapidly moving towards Moscow. More and more detachments of rebel peasants poured into the army of Bolotnikov. Moreover, on the way to Moscow, Bolotnikov was joined by large detachments of service nobles, who opposed the boyar tsar Shuisky. The senior Ryazan voivode Prokopy Lyapunov and the younger, Grigory Sumbulov, led the Ryazan militia, the archer centurion Eastoma Pashkov - a large detachment of service people. Rebelled Tula, Kashira, Kaluga, Mozhaisk, Vyazma, Vladimir and Astrakhan. On the Volga Mordovians and Mari (Cheremis) rebelled, they besieged Nizhny Novgorod.
The rebels on the way to Moscow approached Kolomna. In October, the posad of Kolomna’s 1606 was taken by them, but the Kremlin continued to resist. Leaving a small part of his forces in Kolomna, Bolotnikov headed down the Kolomna road to Moscow. In the village of Troitskoye, Kolomna district, he managed to smash government troops. October 22 Bolotnikov army located in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow. Here he built a fortress (fortress), and began to send letters to Moscow and various cities, calling for the support of the legitimate sovereign Dmitry Ivanovich and arousing the disadvantaged and the poor against the rich. “All of you, boyars serfs, beat your boyars, take your wives and all their wealth, estates and patrimonies! You'll be noble people, and you, who were called shpyny and nameless, kill guests and merchants, share their bellies between themselves! You were the last - now get boyars, neighborhoods, voivodship! Kiss the whole cross to the rightful sovereign, Dmitri Ivanovich! ”Therefore, the path of Bolotnikov’s troops was accompanied by terrible pogroms, people responded with terror to terror, fought as if aliens were circulating (the royal troops acted in a similar way).
The militia of Bolotnikov continued to grow, separate detachments stood out from it, mainly from slaves, who with their raids and robberies kept the capital in a state of siege. In November, the Cossacks Elika Muromets joined Bolotnikov. He was another impostor, posing as Tsarevich Peter Fedorovich, in reality the never-existing son of Tsar Fedor I Ivanovich. Muscovites were ready to submit to Bolotnikov, asking only to show them to Tsarevich Dmitry, and even began negotiations with him. Delighted Bolotnikov sent messengers to Putivl. Like, let the "king" come soon, victory is near. But Dmitry did not appear. Many began to express doubts about the existence of Dmitry and went over to the side of Shuisky.
Meanwhile, Shuisky was not sitting on the spot and was actively preparing for a counterattack. The outskirts and suburbs of Moscow were fortified. Troops of the governor of Skopin-Shuisky, Golitsyn and Tatev were stationed at the Serpukhov gates, from where they watched the enemy camp. Between Moscow and the surrounding cities was established message, the troops guarded the road. In November, reinforcements came from Tver and Smolensk, which in large part were made up of noblemen and the townspeople. At the same time, Shuisky actively bargained with the noble part of the rebellious camp. Lyapunovs and Pashkov hated Shuisky, but they were afraid of the “mob” rebellion.
The army of Bolotnikov grew to 100 thousand people (his troops acted on a vast territory), but his fighting qualities fell. Among the rebels there were many slaves, vagrants, peasants who had no military experience, were poorly armed and organized. Cossacks and nobles - two military core troops, they were despised. However, they confronted each other. As a result, there was a split in the very army of Bolotnikov: one camp was made up of noblemen and boyar children, the other - slaves, Cossacks and other people. The latter in the leaders were Ivan Bolotnikov, in the first - Istoma Pashkov and the Lyapunov brothers. Differences arose between the leaders, as a result, first the Lyapunovs and then the Ishtom Pashkovs went over to the side of Shuisky. Shuisky, meanwhile, thoroughly strengthened Moscow, formed a new army from the militia of other cities. In addition, Shuisky lured away many noblemen from the Bolotnikov camp, promising them rewards and orders.
Seeing that the situation is deteriorating and the forces of Shuisky are growing, Bolotnikov decided to attack. 26 November, he tried to take the Simonov monastery, but was defeated by the royal troops under the command of a young and talented commander, the thoroughbred of Tsar Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. At the decisive moment of the battle, the Pashkov noble squad left the camp of the rebels, this decided the outcome of the battle in favor of the tsarist army. The troops Bolotnikov entrenched in the Kolomna camp. Skopin-Shuisky besieged Bolotnikov, began shelling. Tsar Vasily tried to negotiate with Bolotnikov himself, promised a high rank, but the leader of the rebels refused to go to the world. After a three-day artillery bombardment, Bolotnikov’s motley army broke down and ran. Part of the Cossacks entrenched near the village of Zaborje, where on December 2 the rebels were again defeated. The Cossacks Ataman Bezzubtsev went over to Skopin-Shuisky. Their king Basil forgiven. The rest of the prisoners taken in battle or during the flight were hanged or stunned with clubs, drowned. Bolotnikov fled to Serpukhov, and then Kaluga, Elika Muromets retired to Tula.
Thus, the rebels were not able to take the capital. In the decisive battle, the Bolotnikovs were defeated by the royal voivods, aided by the betrayal of the noble units that had gone over to the side of Tsar Vasily Shuisky.
In Kaluga, Bolotnikov gathered about 10 thousand people. Tsarist troops laid siege to him. However, the chief commander was the talentless brother of Tsar Ivan Shuisky. As a result, the siege of Kaluga dragged on from December 1606 to May 1607. The rebels defended themselves skillfully and desperately, repelled attacks, made daring forays, causing great damage to the royal troops. The royal governors decided to burn down the wooden fortress and, mobilizing the surrounding peasants, began to transport firewood, which they laid over the walls. However, the rebels unraveled this plan and blew up the “sweeping”, killing and crippling a large number of royal warriors. At this time, other rebels tried to unlock Kaluga, but were defeated. Thus, the Mezetsky detachment, sent from Putivl Shakhovsky to the rescue of Bolotnikov, was defeated by the army of Ivan Romanov on the r. Vyrke
Later, troops from Telyatevsky and Lzhepetra tried to break through to Bolotnikov. 1 May 1607 The Don and Ukrainian Cossacks defeated the Tsar's troops on the Pchelné River. Taking advantage of the confusion among the siege troops, Bolotnikov made a sortie and defeated the royal governors, who retreated, leaving behind artillery and a wagon train. Part of the royal troops went over to the rebels. Only the regiment of Skopin-Shuisky departed in perfect order. After that, Bolotnikov moved to Tula, where there was a more powerful stone fortress, and joined up with other insurgent detachments.
Then Bolotnikov began the 2 th campaign against Moscow. However, Tsar Vasily did not sit with folded arms. The mobilization of “dutch” people was announced (“datochnykh” - warriors, called upon from the townspeople and peasant communities) throughout the country, and personally led a large army, which was formed in Serpukhov. The centers of the uprising gradually crushed. The rioters rejected from Nizhny Novgorod. A. Golitsyn near Kashira broke Telyatevsky. The appearance instead of the expected "good tsar" Dmitry of some unknown Peter, who unleashed terror against his opponents, was chilled by many, the rebellious cities calmed down, brought guilt. In May, the royal army moved towards the rebels. The tsar himself took part in the campaign, and Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, Peter Urusov, Ivan Shuisky, Mikhail Turenin, Andrei Golitsyn, Prokopy Lyapunov and Fyodor Bulgakov commanded separate regiments.
The Bolotnikovtsy attempted to bypass the main forces of the tsarist army and go to Moscow, but bypassing Kashira, the rebels met the flank of the tsarist troops by the river Vosma. 5-7 June, 1607 was a battle. Bolotniki had the advantage in strength - 30-38 thous. Warriors. However, the Tula voivode betrayed Bolotnikov with the 4-thousand. detachment went over to the side of the royal troops. And the Ryazan Lyapunov detachments entered the rear of the Bolotnikov army. This caused a panic in Bolotnikov and they retreated. Part of Bolotnikov's troops was cut off and captured, prisoners executed. After the Battle of Vosem, the army of Bolotnikov was driven back to Tula.
Tsar Vasily Shuisky sent several regiments for Bolotnikov led by Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. On the outskirts of Tula, Bolotnikov decided to give battle on the Voronya River, the rebels closed with promises and for a long time fought off the onslaught of the royal cavalry. Both sides suffered serious losses. However, the archers made a bypass maneuver, the Bolotniki men fluttered and ran, many were killed during the chase. Bolotnikov lost half of the troops in these battles - about 20 thousand people. With the rest he locked himself in Tula. Thus, Bolotnikov suffered a decisive defeat and lost a strategic initiative.
June 30 to Tula approached and Tsar Vasily himself with the main army. Contemporaries reported that the royal army numbered 100-150 thousand people. Bolotnikov and “Tsarevich Peter” have no more than 20 thousand people left. Siege weapons began to fire on the city from both banks. However, Tula had powerful fortifications, and Bolotnikov was left with the most capable core of the rebels. Therefore, the besieged lasted until October 1607. At the early stage of the siege, the defenders of the city made forays and bravely defended. All attempts by the royal governors to take the city by storm were unsuccessful.
Then the tsarist troops, according to the idea of the Murom son of boyar Ivan Krovkov, decided to block the Upa River below the city with a dam so that Tula would be flooded. On the right, marshy shore, a half-verm-sized dam was built, which during the autumn floods should not allow the river to spill over the lowland, but cause a sharp rise in the water level. Indeed, the autumn flood has completely cut off the city from the outside world, turning it into a marshy island in the middle of a plain completely flooded with water. Many ammunition, as well as grain and salt stocks stored in cellars, were damaged. Soon a terrible famine and epidemic began in Tula, which exacerbated the internal contradictions among the rebels. The rebels tried to blow up the dam, but the same Kravkov warned Shuisky, and the attempt failed.
During the siege, Bolotnikov sent messengers to Mikhail Molchanov and Grigory Shakhovsky more than once, but without success. And Tsar Vasily faced a new threat. A new imposter appeared - Lzhedmitry II, who had already managed to seize Severshchina, Bryansk and Verkhovskaya Land. Bolotnikov was proposed to negotiate the conditions for the surrender of the city. Shuisky promised to preserve the freedom of the leaders and participants of the uprising. The agreement reached was sealed with a solemn oath, and on October 10 1607, Tula opened its gates to the royal army.
Tsar Vasily deceived the leaders of the uprising. Shuisky hastened to announce that forgiveness applies only to ordinary "Tula sideltsev", and not to the leaders of the uprising. Tulyakov was truly pardoned, the rebellious nobles got off with links. Shakhovsky was tonsured as a monk. "Tsarevich Peter" was hanged. Bolotnikov was sent to Kargopol and secretly drowned. Many ordinary insurgents were sent to cities, and those who found themselves in Moscow, without noise and dust, were strangled.
Thus, the Moscow government extinguished the peasant war, mobilizing practically all the reserves and responding with terror on terror. However, Shuisky, having dismissed most of the army and thinking that the unrest was coming to an end, miscalculated. Everything was just beginning. A second False Dmitriy appeared, to whom the remnants of the Bolotnikovs joined. Poland has become active again.
To be continued ...
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