Vasily Shuisky (short biography)

Vasily Shuisky (lived from 1552 to 1612) was a Russian Tsar who belonged to the ancient Rurik family (Suzdal line). This ruler was crowned king as a result of the conspiracy of False Dmitry the First. Historians also often call Vasily the “boyar prince.”

From the biography of Shuisky that has reached us, it is known that Vasily was married twice. At the same time, there were no children from the first marriage, but from the second two daughters were born, who died in infancy. Due to the fact that Shuisky did not have an heir, the royal throne was to be taken by Dmitry Shuisky, Vasily’s older brother.

From about 1584, Shuisky was a boyar, and also acted as the head of the court chamber and took part in some military campaigns as a governor in 1581, 1583 and 1598. Also during this period, Vasily was exiled (the reasons are not clear).

From 1587 to 1591, Vasily Shuisky was in Galich, after which he was pardoned by Boris Godunov and returned to Moscow with his family.

In 1591, Vasily recognized the cause of the death of Tsarevich Dmitry as an accident, fearing Boris. IN given time he also returns to the Boyar Duma.

Four years after the events described, Shuisky takes part in a military campaign against False Dmitry, and was soon exiled again with his family for attempting a coup. By the end of the year, False Dmitry returned Shuisky and his family to Moscow.

During the events of May 17, 1606 (a major popular uprising), False Dmitry is killed, and Shuisky’s supporters “cry out” him as king. Researchers of Russian history count the beginning of the Time of Troubles from here. Already on the first of June, Shuisky received the blessing to rule as metropolitan.

At the same time, Vasily Shuisky himself gives a cross-kissing record that limits his power. In the summer of this year, the board of Vasily Shuisky recognized Tsarevich Dmitry Boris Godunov as the murderer.

During Shuisky's reign, a new military charter appeared, and the major uprising of Bolotnikov (1607) was suppressed, which marked the second stage of the Time of Troubles in Rus'. An agreement was also concluded with Sweden, according to which the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gave rise to the war. The same alliance turned out to be the beginning of the Swedish and Polish intervention for Russia.

In 1610, Vasily Shuisky was forcibly tonsured a monk, and the so-called period of the Seven Boyars began throughout the Russian land.

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. Born in 1552 - died September 12 (22), 1612. Russian Tsar Vasily IV Ioannovich (1606-1610). The last king of the Rurik family.

Vasily Shuisky was born in 1552.

Father - Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky (1533-1573), Russian statesman and military leader, boyar (from 1566), governor in Smolensk (1569), son of Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Shuisky, killed by hounds.

Mother - Anna Fedorovna, her origin is unknown.

Brothers: Andrey Ivanovich, Dmitry Ivanovich, Alexander Ivanovich, Ivan Ivanovich (Button).

The entire influential Shuisky clan was represented at court.

Since 1584, Vasily Shuisky has been a boyar and the head of the Moscow Court Chamber.

During the campaigns of 1574, 1576, 1577 and 1579 - a bell with a large saydak (squire-bodyguard of the Grand Duke).

In the summer of 1581 - governor of the Great Regiment during the campaign to Serpukhov.

In July 1582 - governor of the Great Regiment on the campaign to Novgorod (under his brother Andrei).

Voivode of the regiment right hand on a campaign to Serpukhov in April 1583.

Voivode of Smolensk in 1585-1587.

For unknown reasons, he was briefly exiled in 1586.

During the persecution of the Shuiskys by the tsar, he was in exile in Galich from 1587. In 1591, Boris Godunov, no longer seeing danger in the Shuiskys, returned them to Moscow. Since then, the Shuiskys have generally behaved loyally.

In 1591, he led the investigation into the case of Tsarevich Dmitry. Being under the strict supervision of Godunov, Shuisky recognized the cause of the prince's death as suicide - an accident. From the same year he was reintroduced to the Boyar Duma. After that he was the governor of Novgorod. In 1598 - the first governor of the right-hand regiment in Mstislavsky's army in the Crimean campaign to Serpukhov.

From January 1605, he was the commander of the right-hand regiment in the campaign against False Dmitry I, and won a victory in the Battle of Dobrynichi. However, not really wanting Godunov to win, he allowed the impostor to gain strength through inaction.

After the death of Godunov, he tried to carry out a coup, but was arrested and exiled along with his brothers. But False Dmitry I needed boyar support, and at the end of 1605 the Shuiskys returned to Moscow.

During an armed popular revolt on May 17 (27), 1606, organized by Vasily Shuisky, False Dmitry I was killed, and on May 19 (29) a group of Vasily Ivanovich’s adherents “called” Shuisky king.

Reign of Vasily Shuisky

Vasily IV Shuisky was crowned on June 1 (11), 1606 Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod. At the same time, he gave a sign of the cross, which limited his power. In early June, the Shuisky government declared Boris Godunov the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry.

Shuisky tried to strengthen the army after the humiliating defeats inflicted tsarist army supporters of False Dmitry. Under him, a new military manual appeared in Russia - the result of processing German models. At the same time, centrifugal tendencies intensified, the most noticeable manifestation of which was the Bolotnikov uprising, which was suppressed only in October 1607.

In August 1607, Bolotnikov was replaced by a new contender for the throne - False Dmitry II. The royal troops were defeated near Bolkhov (May 1, 1608). The Tsar and his government were locked in Moscow; an alternative capital with its own government hierarchy arose under its walls - the Tushino camp.

By the end of 1608, Shuisky did not control many regions of the country. The Vyborg Treaty of early 1609 promised territorial concessions to the Swedish crown in exchange for armed assistance to the tsarist government. Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky took over command of the Russian-Swedish army. Many saw the young and energetic commander as the successor to the elderly and childless sovereign.

Overthrow and capture of Vasily Shuisky

Despite the fact that most of the country was liberated from anti-government forces by March 1610, in September 1609, the Polish-Lithuanian king Sigismund III invaded Russia and besieged Smolensk. Tsar Vasily Shuisky himself was not popular among the people. In addition, anti-Shui sentiments in Moscow were fueled unexpected death young commander Skopin-Shuisky.

The defeat of the troops of Dmitry Shuisky near Klushino from the army of Sigismund on June 24 (July 4), 1610 and the uprising in Moscow led to the fall of Shuisky. July 17 (27), 1610 part of the boyars, metropolitan and provincial nobility Vasily IV Ioannovich was overthrown from the throne and forcibly tonsured a monk, moreover, he refused to pronounce monastic vows himself. In September 1610 he was handed over - not as a monk, but in lay clothes - to the Polish hetman Zolkiewski, who took him and his brothers Dmitry and Ivan in October to Smolensk, and later to Poland. In Warsaw, the Tsar and his brothers were presented as prisoners to King Sigismund and took a solemn oath to him.

Former king died in custody in Gostyninsky Castle, 130 versts from Warsaw, a few days later his brother Dmitry died there. The third brother, Ivan Ivanovich Shuisky, subsequently returned to Russia.

In 1635, at the request of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the remains of Vasily Shuisky were returned by the Poles to Russia. Vasily was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Vasily Shuisky. Time of Troubles

Personal life of Vasily Shuisky:

Was married twice.

First wife - Princess Elena Mikhailovna Repnina(d. 1592), daughter of the famous boyar Prince Mikhail Petrovich Repnin, executed in 1564 by Ivan the Terrible for refusing to wear a funny mask and be a jester (he was stabbed to death right in the church, at the altar).

Why Shuisky married the orphan Repnina is unclear. According to historians, this marriage with the daughter of an executed boyar seems illogical, especially considering that another brother - Prince Dmitry Ivanovich - was married to the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov. The first marriage was childless, which is why it ended in divorce.

Second wife - Princess Maria Petrovna Buinosova-Rostovskaya, nee Ekaterina, monk Elena (d. 1626), daughter of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Buinosov-Rostov.

The second marriage took place after the accession to the throne. The second marriage, which Tsar Vasily Ivanovich was not too keen on, took place only for reasons of dynastic expediency.

Two daughters were born there - Anna and Anastasia.

Tsarevna Anna Vasilievna(1609 - September 26, 1609), died in infancy. She was buried in the Ascension Monastery in the Moscow Kremlin, after its destruction by the Bolsheviks, the remains, along with others, were transferred to the underground chamber of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral, where they are now. The tomb was found during the research of the necropolis of the Ascension Monastery in the Kremlin. Researcher of the necropolis of the Ascension Monastery T.D. Panova cites the inscription on the lid of the sarcophagus: “In the summer of September 7118, on the 26th day in memory of the holy Apostle Ivan the Theologian, the daughter of the Tsar and Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich of All Rus', Tsarevna and Grand Duchess Anna Vasilievna of All Rus', reposed.”

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky came from the Rurikovich family. He was born around 1553, when Ivan IV the Terrible reigned, and lived under Boris Godunov. Vasily Shuisky, whose reign as tsar brought a lot of worries and worries, rose to prominence during the Time of Troubles. But it all ended tragically.

Ascension to the throne

In 1604, when Godunov was still alive, an impostor appeared in the south, calling himself Tsarevich Dmitry (False Dmitry I) who had survived in Uglich. Unexpectedly, Tsar Boris died, and at the Tula headquarters Dmitry received guests, including boyars from Moscow, who invited him to the throne. As a result, feeling the support of the political elite and the people, on June 20, 1605, he solemnly entered the Kremlin.

He first sentenced Shuisky to death penalty, then sent into exile, and then forgave and returned. But False Dmitry's reign was not long - he lasted less than a year.

Intrigues of Shuisky and his supporters

The fickle people, seeing that the new tsar welcomed foreigners and married a Polish woman, at a signal from Shuisky and his accomplices, began to beat Poles throughout the capital, and Vasily Shuisky himself, laying claim to the throne, entered the Kremlin with the people. Dmitry tried to escape through the window, but fell out and died.

In the morning Vasily Shuisky was shouted out to the kingdom. His reign began with an unprecedented act. In the Assumption Cathedral, he swore on the cross that he would exercise power only together with the boyars. Obviously, in order to get a bit of power, he was ready to sacrifice everything. Vasily Shuisky, whose rule became negotiable, gave access to power to the boyar elite.

Reign

Vasily Shuisky began his reign by distributing letters throughout the country. They announced what crimes Dmitry had committed. The free south received them with distrust. Fermentation began in the minds, and the rebels gathered an army. It was led by Ivan Bolotnikov and went to Moscow. He assured everyone that he had met with Dmitry, who had survived. Near Kolomensk, and this is almost at the walls of Moscow, Bolotnikov’s forces split.

The poor - the dregs of society - began to rob everything. The nobles who took part in the campaign wisely went over to the side of the king.

The position of the nobility during the reign of Vasily Shuisky is briefly characterized by one word - “discontent.” It was not for nothing that they joined Bolotnikov’s detachments. Firstly, they did not like the “boyar tsar”. Secondly, they began to defend their rights: the government began to pay daily “feed money” to all the bankrupt nobles and paid salaries to the warriors. Tsar Vasily Shuisky, whose reign was characterized by the expansion of unrest, as it turned out, did not sit firmly on the throne.

New impostor

In 1606, a certain Ileika Muromets appeared on the Don. He began to call himself the son of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and led an army to Moscow. His troops moved to Tula, where Bolotnikov fortified himself. There they came to an end. Shuisky's army dammed the Upa River and flooded the Tula Kremlin. Bolotnikov, who surrendered, and all his accomplices were drowned.

Tushino thief

The period of Vasily Shuisky's reign was very difficult, since he found himself hostage to the turmoil that he himself sowed on his way to power. A new impostor appeared - False Dmitry II, who, having gathered an army of nobles, marauders and all sorts of rabble, moved towards Moscow and set up a camp in Tushino. By the way, thanks to this he received the nickname - Tushinsky thief. The Romanovs, Trubetskoys, and Saltykovs, who were thirsty for power, joined him.

Polish intervention

Shuisky, finding himself locked in Moscow, asked for help from the Swedes. The young, intelligent commander Skopin-Shuisky distinguished himself very much in the fight against Bolotnikov and the new contender for the throne. With a small detachment, including several hundred Swedes, he successfully defeated gangs of marauders.

But the King of Poland, Sigismund, declared war on Rus' under the pretext of its alliance with the Swedes. His army stood near Smolensk. The Tushino camp quickly came running to him. The siege was lifted from Moscow. Skopin-Shuisky was greeted everywhere as a hero; moreover, he liberated the Trinity-Sergius Monastery from the siege.

The boyars of Moscow decided to open the city to Sigismund. Skopin-Shuisky returned to fight him, but did not have time to do anything: he was poisoned.

Fall of Shuisky

The Moscow boyars organized a conspiracy against the tsar and forcibly tonsured him as a monk.

Vasily Shuisky, whose reign spanned 1606-1610, was transferred to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Humiliated and broken, he died in prison in 1612.

Events of the reign of Vasily Shuisky

The main events under Tsar Vasily Shuisky can be briefly listed as follows:

• Shuisky's promise on the cross (“kissing record”) is valid only with the consent of the Boyar Duma. That is, the country was ruled by the boyars, not the tsar.
• The uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov.
• Concessions to the nobles. Thus, the search period for fugitive peasants increased to 15 years.
• Continuous struggle with impostors, bands of bandits and other scum.

Shuisky's reign was difficult due to the constant invasion of interventionists.

From the biography

• Vasily Shuisky was the second tsar after Boris Godunov, who was elected at the Zemsky Sobor (loyal people shouted his name). He did not belong to the Rurik dynasty.
• He stood out under Ivan the Terrible. And under Boris Godunov, heading the investigative committee into the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry.
• A two-faced man, he expressed the official version of the accidental death of Tsarevich Dmitry, as Godunov demanded. He officially recognized Grigory Otrepyev as Dmitry, although he himself spread rumors that it was Grigory Otrepyev. He almost paid with his life for this. But he was forgiven by False Dmitry 1.
• The king was not distinguished by his moral qualities. He was cruel, stingy, and encouraged all kinds of informers. He was not loved in the country. He failed to inspire at least some trust on the part of all segments of the country's population.
• Before ascending the throne, he fought with False Dmitry, participated in the battle of Dobrynichi, in which False Dmitry I was forced to retreat.

Historical portrait of Vasily IV Shuisky

Areas of activity

1.Domestic policy

2. Foreign policy

RESULTS OF ACTIVITY

• Vasily Shuisky came to power at a difficult time for Russia - during the Time of Troubles. He was unable to calm the people, restore order in the country, or free Russia from Swedish and Polish intervention. This is the main negative result of his reign.
• Shuisky also failed to strengthen his power and attract supporters from the top of society to his side. That is why his reign turned out to be so short and inglorious.
• His attempts to strengthen the army had only just begun; Shuisky did not have time to complete the matter.
• During the reign of Shuisky, the situation of the peasants worsened, and further enslavement continued.
• There was an unsuccessful foreign policy. The Tsar was unable to stop the intervention, to end the Troubles in the country.

Thus, the reign of Vasily Shuisky is an inglorious page in the history of Russia.

Tsar and Grand Duke Moscow and All Rus' (1606-1610).

Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky was born in 1552 in the family of the boyar Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky (about 1533-1573). He was a descendant of the princes of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod and descended from Andrei Yaroslavich, his younger brother.

In his youth, V.I. Shuisky served at court, and in 1580 he was the tsar’s groomsman at his last wedding. In 1581-1582 he stood as a governor with regiments on the Oka River, guarding the border from a possible attack by the Crimean Khan.

Boyar (since 1584) Prince V.I. Shuisky took an active part in the struggle of the court parties after his death. He acted as an opponent of the king's brother-in-law, who was gradually seizing into his hands the real levers of government. In 1587, the prince fell into disgrace, but was quickly forgiven and returned to court.

In May 1591, V.I. Shuisky was sent to investigate mysterious death Tsarevich The investigation confirmed that the prince cut himself with a knife during an epileptic fit. However, both contemporaries and descendants suspected V.I. Shuisky of concealing true reasons death. Rumors persisted that the prince was killed by the people of Boris Godunov, and the prince deliberately hid this in order to avoid persecution by the king. The people believed that V.I. Shuisky was the only one who knew the truth about the Coal tragedy.

In 1596, V.I. Shuisky was sent as a governor with a regiment of his right hand “according to the Crimean news” to.

In 1598, after the death of Tsar Fyodor I Ivanovich - the last Rurikovich on the Russian throne - V.I. Shuisky, due to the nobility of his family and proximity to the extinct dynasty, seemed the most faithful contender for the throne. After the election of Boris Godunov to the kingdom, the prince was constantly under suspicion of disloyalty, repeatedly removed himself from the court, but invariably returned.

At the beginning of 1605, V.I. Shuisky actively participated in military operations against. After the death of Boris Godunov, the prince was recalled to.

In June 1605, V.I. Shuisky went over to the side of False Dmitry I. Without waiting for the new sovereign to arrive in Moscow, the prince and his brothers went to meet him. The impostor accepted them in, at first he spoke to them dryly, but then forgave them.

Soon the prince led a conspiracy against False Dmitry I, was sentenced to death, then pardoned and exiled, but at the end of 1605 he was returned to court.

In May 1606, relying on the palace and church nobility, the top of the provincial nobility of the western and central districts and large merchants, V.I. Shuisky again led a conspiracy against False Dmitry I. During the uprising on May 17, 1606, False Dmitry I was killed by the conspirators, and 19 May, a group of supporters of V.I. Shuisky “shouted out” him as king.

V.I. Shuisky gave a sign of the cross, which limited his power. On June 1 (10), 1606, Vasily IV Shuisky was crowned king in the Moscow Kremlin. Immediately after this, a new patriarch was enthroned - the former Metropolitan of Kazan, known for his resistance to the non-Orthodox actions of False Dmitry I.

The first public act of Tsar Vasily IV Shuisky was the transfer of the relics of Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich to Moscow. The Rostov Metropolitan was sent to Uglich. On June 3, 1606, the relics of Dmitry Ivanovich were brought and exhibited in the Moscow Kremlin. Boris Godunov was officially declared his killer. With this gesture, the tsar sought to emphasize that both False Dmitry I and those who hoped to follow his example were impostors. However, this measure could no longer stop the beginning of the turmoil.

The outbreak of the Troubles turned the short reign of Vasily IV Shuisky into constant wars with I.I. Bolotnikov, the noble militias of the Lyapunov brothers, and the boyar son I. Pashkov. Trying to win over the feudal elite, the tsar issued a Code on March 9, 1607, according to which the period for searching fugitive peasants was 15 years, and the peasants themselves belonged to those for whom they were registered in the 1590s. But this measure did not lead to desired result.

In 1607, a new impostor - - began an attack on Moscow. He captured vast territories and settled in the village of Tushino near Moscow (now within the city of Moscow). To fight him, Vasily IV Shuisky decided to rely on the help of the Swedish king Charles IX. In 1609, the tsar renounced claims to the Baltic lands that previously belonged to the Livonian Order, ceded the city of Korelu to Sweden, gave permission for the circulation of Swedish money in the Moscow state, and also assumed obligations to support Swedish troops.

The nephew of Vasily IV Shuisky, a capable commander, at the head of the Russian-Swedish army managed to establish government control over the northern regions of the country. Many began to see in him the successor of the elderly and childless king. However, the sudden death of M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, for which Vasily IV Shuisky was immediately blamed, deprived the tsar of this support.

In September 1609, open Polish intervention began. The Polish king laid siege. On June 24, 1610, the Russian-Swedish troops of Vasily IV Shuisky were defeated by Hetman S. Zholkovsky in the battle near the village under.

The weakness of Vasily IV Shuisky and his inability to rectify the situation led to the fact that on July 17 (27), 1610, he was deposed by the boyars, forcibly tonsured as a monk and imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery. Since among the boyars there was no candidate for the throne who could satisfy everyone (at least the majority), a boyar government was formed, which went down in history under the name “Seven Boyars”. Its members agreed to the election of the Polish prince, son of Sigismund III, as Russian Tsar.

In September 1610, V.I. Shuisky (as a layman, and not as a monk) was extradited to the Polish Hetman S. Zholkiewsky, who in October took him along with his brothers under, and later to Poland. V.I. Shuisky died on September 12 (22), 1612, while imprisoned in Gostynsky Castle.

In 1635, at the request of the Tsar, the remains of V.I. Shuisky were returned to and buried in the tomb of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.