Tushinsky "thief" or False Dmitry II from June 22, 1607 to December 21, 1610 pretended to be the Russian Tsar Dmitry Uglitsky - the son of Ivan IV the Terrible. For three years he controlled a significant amount of the territory of the Russian kingdom.

fictional portrait

The predecessor of False Dmitry II, an impostor of Polish origin, False Dmitry I, took the Russian throne in 1605. A year later, enraged boyars kill Tsar Dmitry and overthrow the usurped regime.

The mutilated body of the dictator is put on display for the residents of Moscow. After the death of the king, the people are divided into two camps: opponents and supporters of False Dmitry the First. The former willingly accept the establishment of new orders of power, providing active support to the boyars. The rest of the population does not believe in the death of the Russian Tsar.

Various rumors are spreading around Moscow about the miraculous rescue of False Dmitry I and the replacement of the body of the murdered. Proponents' arguments:

1. Seeing the torn corpse of the tsar, the unknown boyar exclaimed: “It’s not him!”.
2. Dmitry managed to escape, and the corpse is the body of Peter Borkovsky.
3. The tsar's secretary Buchinsky did not find a memorial sign under the tsar's left chest, which he noticed while in the bath with the impostor.
4. Before the wedding, False Dmitry I cut his hair short, and long hair appeared on the head of the corpse.
5. Letters allegedly written by the murdered tsar were distributed in Moscow.

Additional mysteries were finished off by the mask that hid the face. According to Konrad Bussov, Polish agents, fellow countrymen of Dmitry, took part in spreading the rumors.

Mystical "resurrection"

The nobleman Mikhail Molchanov was one of the first to speak out against the authorities - the legitimate tsar of Rus' from the Rurik family. Molchanov pretended to be the "real" ruler Dmitry the First and settled in the castle of Mniszekov Sambor.

Interested persons began to send letters of letters miraculously surviving the king. Molchanov did not become the face of the "brand" - he was known too well in Moscow. They decided to replace False Dmitry with a Belarusian, a figure and a face similar to the murdered tsar. The new ruler appeared before the people in Vitebsk. And on January 18, 1607, on behalf of False Dmitry 2, the Polish masters drew up a manifesto of appeal to Vasily Shuisky.

Unable to withstand responsibility, the Belarusian "actor" runs away to the small town of Propoisk. A few months later, he is recognized and, under the guise of a "Russian spy", is thrown into a dungeon. Having assessed the prospects, False Dmitry II agrees to cooperate with the Poles.

Origin of False Dmitry II

The Moscow government, headed by the officially crowned Tsar Vasily Shuisky, gave the nickname False Dmitry "thief" or "king". The impostor was fluent in Russian literacy, spoke and wrote in Polish. According to the Brief Jewish Encyclopedia, False Dmitry surrounded himself with Semites and spoke Hebrew.

Origin versions:

1. The son of Matvey Verevkin from the Seversk side.
2. Child of an unknown archer from Starodub.
3. The royal clerk of False Dmitry the First.
4. Boyar offspring.
5. A school teacher from the city of Sokol.
6. Popovich Dmitry is the son of a priest from the Moscow church.
7. Prince Kurbsky's heir.

According to the historian Skrynnikov, False Dmitry is not a baptized Jew.

Troubled times in the Commonwealth

In the Commonwealth, unstable times are coming: calls for a civil war are heard in society. King Sigismund the Third demands that all possible measures be taken to maintain peace with Russia.

In 1607, the Polish government sent False Dmitry II to Russia under the guise of Andrei the Nagoi, a close relative of Tsar Dmitry. False naked crosses the Russian-Polish border in the town of Starodub. At the insistence of his masters, he begins to spread information about the return of the "real Tsar Dmitry".

Starodubovtsy and Putivlyans doubt the veracity of the words of False Nagoy. Under the threat of torture, the Belarusian “actor” opens up to the public and falls upon them with “righteous” abuse, reproaching them for their inability to see the “real tsar”.

Miraculously, False Nagoy turns into False Dmitry II. The accomplices of the impostor in every possible way contribute to the dissemination of information about the return of the Russian Tsar Dmitry.

Controlled Territories

The following cities stood under the banner of the "Tushino thief":

• Starodub;
• Pochel;
• Chernihiv;
• Putivl;
• Sevsk;
• Tula;
• Astrakhan;
• Kaluga;
• Belev;
• Epifan;
• Dedilov;
• Nettle.

And a number of other Seversk and Ryazan lands. The absence of a strong central government led to the loss of Epifani, Dedilov and Krapiv. At this time, the tsarist army of Vasily Shuisky stormed Kozelsk and Tula.

Army formation. Starodub headquarters

In the "homeland" of False Dmitry 2, the militarization of the population began. The following were recruited into the rebel army:

• Polish, Lithuanian and Russian rebels;
• the nobles of their South Rus';
• Tatars and Cossacks;
• remnants of Bolotnikov's army.

The troops of the "Tushinsky Thief" elected Pan Mekhovetsky to the post of hetman. The Polish-Lithuanian masters supplied the army of the "king" with food, weapons and other means. False Dmitry II took advantage of the strategy of False Dmitry I: he returned the previous benefits and awards for the Seversk lands.

Initially, about 1 thousand Polish mercenaries from the Commonwealth were in the army of False Dmitry - a civil war was raging in the country, and supporters of King Sigismund III were little worried about the Tush "thief".

First trip. Siege of Bryansk

The rebel army of 3 thousand people leaves Starodub and goes to the aid of the besieged troops of Bolotnikov in Tula. On September 20, a military formation under the command of Hetman Mekhovetsky near Kozelsk defeated the tsarist army.

The rest of the army of the Tushinsky "thief" occupies hitherto lost cities: Epifan, Dedilov and Krapivna. On October 10, Shuisky's troops end the siege and enter Tula. Vasily forgives the rebels of the troublemaker Bolotnikov, and sends him to besiege Kaluga to atone for guilt.

Before reaching the city, the “Bolotnikovites” rebelled, and 4 thousand people joined the ranks of the army of False Dmitry II. On November 9, Hetman Mekhovetsky again makes an attempt to capture Bryansk.

A 3,000-strong detachment of Cossacks arrives to the rescue under the leadership of another impostor - Tsarevich Fedor, son of Tsar Fedor the First Ioannovich. False Dmitry took the Cossack army into his bosom, and sends his "nephew" to the gallows.

The civil war in the Commonwealth is almost over. King Sigismund III allows 4,000 Polish mercenaries to join the army of False Dmitry II.

On the fifteenth of November, the Tula Thief loses the battle to the tsarist troops near Bryansk. Tsar Shuisky of Moscow sends an army to Bryansk under the command of voivode Litvinov-Mossalsky.

On December 14, 1607, the Bryansk garrison and the tsarist army pushed back the soldiers of Hetman Mekhovetsky from the city. Having lost the battle, False Dmitry loses the transit camp and goes to Oryol for the winter.

Camp in Orel

The Lithuanian prince Roman Rozhinsky, who was actively recruiting soldiers from the Commonwealth, comes to the camp of the "king".

Princes joined False Dmitry:

1. Adam Wisniewiecki.
2. Alexander Lisovsky.
3. Roman Rozhinsky.
4. Ivan Zarutsky.

The subordinate princes manipulated the Tula Thief.

False Dmitry issues a decree "On serfs": he gives land and daughters of hostile boyars to peasants who have sworn allegiance to the new ruler. A coup is taking place in the military camp: Hetman Mechowiecki is deposed by Prince Roman Rizhsky. About four thousand Polish mercenaries leave the camp.

According to the data for 1607, the army of the impostor consisted of 27 thousand fighters:

• 5 thousand mercenaries from the Republic of Poland;
• 3 and 5 thousand Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks, respectively;

The rest consisted of serfs, Tatars, boyar children and nobles.

An attempt to legitimize power. Hike to Moscow

From the Oryol headquarters, the insurgent army advanced to capture Moscow. Pan Alexander Zaraisky defeats the tsarist army in the Battle of Zaraisk. It occupies the cities of Mikhailov and Kolomna.

The new hetman, Prince Roman of Riga, defeats the troops of the brothers of the Moscow Tsar Dmitry and Ivan in a two-day battle near Bolkhov.

The rebel army occupied the following cities:

• Kozelsk;
• Kaluga;
• Zvenigorod;
• Smolensk;

Recently, the hostile Tula swore allegiance to the new ruler, False Dmitry II. Fearing the decree "On serfs", the nobles from the captured cities exported property to the territories controlled by the Moscow tsar.

Critical error

An eyewitness to the events, the writer Konrad Bussow, noted the slowness of the impostor. After the victory in Bolkhovskaya in Moscow, rumors spread about the countless legions of False Dmitry. Demoralized residents of the capital would meet the new king with "bread and salt."

"Tsarek" gave time to Vasily Shuisky, the official tsar of Rus', to strengthen his position in Moscow: to form new squads, set the population in the "right" way, and show the power of the boyars.

Betrayal or a triumvirate of princes

The new army was led by the nephew of the Moscow Tsar, who hoped to defeat False Dmitry on the way to the capital. A triumvirate of princes from the tsarist army: Ivan Katyrev and Troekurov, Yuri Trubetskoy planned to go over to the side of the "king". Voivode Mikhail had to order the arrest of the traitors.

The first attempt to capture Moscow

The troops of the "king" took Borisov and Mozhaisk. The tsarist army, which was waiting on the Tverskaya road, lost the battle to the rebels. In early June, the troops of False Dmitry II appeared on the outskirts of Moscow. The tsarist army lost the battle on Khodynka, but failed to take the capital.

Tushino camp

In 1608, False Dmitry moved his residence to the village of Tushino. Detachments of Hetman Rozhinsky took control of most of the roads leading to Moscow. On June 28, 1608, the tsarist troops "open" the way for food, recapturing Kolomna from the rebels.

At this time, Tushinsky "thief" formally ruled Russia:

• distributed land;
• dealt with complaints;
• met with ambassadors;
• empowered or removed the powers of governors.

Tsar Vasily Shuisky, locked in the capital, concludes an agreement with representatives of the Commonwealth. Vasily asks to recall the Polish mercenaries, to oblige them to refuse marriage with False Dmitry II.

Mniszek agrees to the demands, and Shuisky orders the princess to be escorted to the border with Poland. The convoy with Maria is intercepted by the rebellious Polish prince Jan Sapieha.

Maria's father Yuri Mnishek refuses to give his daughter to the camp of the "king". Yuri makes two demands:

1. After the victory, give part of the Seversky principality.
2. Pay 30 thousand rubles.

False Dmitry II agrees to the demands, and Vasily brings his daughter to a secret wedding in the village of Tushino. recognizes in the "Tushinsky Thief" the late husband of False Dmitry I.

Hetman Rozhinsky refuses to follow the agreement between the Moscow tsar and the Polish king. Prince Roman Rozhinsky twice lost in battle to Prince Dmitry Pozharsky at the Battle of Kolomino.

False Dmitry recognizes Jan Sapego as the second hetman of the insurgent army. Sapego spreads the power of the "legitimate" ruler in Zamoskovie. Prince Rozhinsky remains in the Tushino camp, in control of the southern and western lands. Metropolitan Filaret Romanov of Rostov is elevated to the patriarchate by False Dmitry.

Division of spheres of influence and "relatives"

In the Russian state is formed:

1. Two Boyar Dumas - one subordinate to False Dmitry II, the other to the legitimate Tsar Mikhail.
2. two patriarchs.
3. two administrations.
4. Various coinage.

Against the backdrop of general unrest, the “relatives” of False Dmitry II are announced - the false princes August and Lavrenty, grandchildren of Ivan IV the Terrible. "Tsarek" cordially met the false princes in Tushino, but after that he ordered to hang "August" and "Lavrenty" on the gallows.

Gradual loss of power

In September 1608, the army of False Dmitry unsuccessfully besieged the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In the village of Tushino, the “king” built mansions worthy of the king. In December 1608, ten Polish gentry took power over the income and expenses of the "Tushino thief", forming a "commission of decemvirs."

Treaty with Sweden

Moscow Tsar Vasily Shuisky concludes the Treaty of Vyborg with Sweden. Instead of the modern territory of the Leningrad region, Vasily gets 15 thousand soldiers under the command of Jacob Delagardi.

The Expeditionary Force and Mikhail Shuisky defeats the rebel formations in the battle under:

• Toropets;
• Tver;
• Torzhkom;
• Kalyazin;
• Dmitrov;
• Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda;

In 1610, the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was liberated.

The indignation of the king of the Commonwealth

The actions of the Swedish expeditionary corps are indignant among the Polish gentry and the king. In September 1609, Sigismund III declares war on the Moscow government.

A split occurs in the Tushino camp: mercenaries, Cossacks and others leave to serve the Polish crown. Prince Rozhinsky openly threatens False Dmitry with physical violence.

Kaluga camp

On December 27, 1609, the "king" escapes from the Tushino camp to a new residence in Kaluga. The impostor intimidates the Russians with the "terrible" Polish king, who is imposing Catholicism by force.

False Dmitry fought against the Moscow Tsar and the Polish King Sigismund III. The movement against Polish expansion acquired a national character. Former opponents of the "king" joined the unified Russian army.

Tushinsky "thief" orders to expropriate and send the property taken away from foreign citizens to Kaluga. In the spring of 1609, rebel troops captured Arzamas and Russa.

The collapse of the Tushino camp

Hetman Rozhinsky is defeated in battles with the tsarist troops and the rebels of False Dmitry II. On the sixth of March, the prince departs for Volokomysk. And two days later he dies of "exhaustion". Rozhinsky's soldiers disperse or join the opponents. Hetman Sapieha returns to the camp of the "king".

Change of power

On February 4, 1610, near Smolensk, the boyars entered into an agreement with the Polish king. As a result of which the son of Sigismund the Third, Vladislav, accepts Orthodoxy and becomes the Russian Tsar. The king's troops capture Starodub, Chernigov, Novgorod, Pochel and Roslavl. In all occupied cities, residents swear allegiance to the new Russian Tsar Vladislav.

In the battle near the village of Klushino, the army of the Polish hetman Zolkiewski enters Vyazma, breaking the royal formations. Popular support for Vasily fell to a minimum, under the windows of Shuisky they shouted: “You are not our king!”

False Dmitry II approached Moscow from the south, and the Poles attacked from the west. Moscow boyars negotiate with the boyars of the "king" about the mutual overthrow of the monarchs. On July 17, 1610, Vasily IV, the last in the Romanov dynasty, was overthrown. However, the boyars of the "king" did not keep their obligations.

Second coup

On August 17, 1610, the boyar “seven” elect Vladislav Zhigimontovich, the son of the Polish king Sigismund, as king. The population does not support the initiative of individual citizens. Anarchy reigns in the large cities of Russia, the rest of the territory is divided between militant groups.

• Kashira;
• Kolomna;
• Suzdal;
• Galich;
• Vladimir.

"Tsarek" is gaining popularity among the poor and the Cossacks.

Death of False Dmitry II

Under the onslaught of the Polish army, the troops of the Tushino "thief" withdrew from Moscow and retreated to Kaluga. The people saw in False Dmitry the only savior of the Russians, who was able to resist the interventionists.

The agitators of the “king” openly called for a restoration against the foreign Tsar Vladislav. Polish citizens were taken prisoner, then robbed and killed. An atmosphere of distrust reigned in the camp of the impostor. Innocent people were executed daily, the boyars acquired "unfriendly tones" in Dmitry's eyes.

On December 11, the Tatar prince Peter Urosovy killed False Dmitry II in retaliation for the death of the Kasimov tsar. The impostor was buried in the Trinity Church, today the place of burial is not known.

April 27, 2018

Molchanov could not play the role of Tsar Dmitry as confidently and openly as Otrepiev did. After all, Otrepiev's appearance was well known to many, and there was not the slightest resemblance between him and Molchanov. Therefore, Molchanov limited himself to sending out letters and meetings only with those who did not know the first impostor. One of these people was Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov, who led an uprising against Tsar Vasily Shuisky.

Bolotnikov managed to reach Moscow, having won a number of victories over the tsarist troops along the way, and settled down in the village of Kolomenskoye. After an unsuccessful siege of the capital, in early December 1606, government troops drove the rebels out of their camp in Kolomenskoye. The army of False Dmitry II, led by Bolotnikov, retreated to Kaluga. In the spring, Bolotnikov's troops, having received reinforcements from False Peter, defeated the tsarist troops near the walls of the city.

In May 1607, Bolotnikov retreated to Tula, where the False Peter settled.

The rebels, retreating under the onslaught of Shuisky's troops, were impatiently waiting for the appearance of their idol - "the good Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich" who had miraculously escaped in Moscow. Unlike ordinary soldiers, the leaders of the movement did not believe in miracles too much. Therefore, at the beginning of 1607, Bolotnikov decided to hasten his fate and sent the Cossack ataman to Poland in search of the king I. S. Zarutsky. The envoy of the rebels contacted the local gentry, who participated in the adventure of the first impostor. As a result, the right person was found. It was a poor teacher from the Belarusian town of Shklov. He attracted the attention of the conspirators by some external resemblance to the first "Tsarevich Dmitry". With threats and promises, they forced the poor fellow to enter into a game, the stakes of which he never even dreamed of.

To help Bolotnikov besieged in Tula, rebel detachments moved from the south-west of the country, led by the “renewed” False Dmitry II. But they did not have time: the tsarist army of Vasily Shuisky successfully laid siege to Tula. Bolotnikov and False Peter were killed.

In May 1607, the new False Dmitry II crossed the border of Russia and settled in the city of Starodub, located about halfway between Chernigov and Bryansk. Polish mercenaries and militias from the cities of Seversk Ukraine began to gather here for him. Detachments of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks also pulled up. The remnants of Bolotnikov's army also joined the rebel detachments and strengthened them. This army gathered the population of the southern and southwestern lands of the country, dissatisfied with the rule of Vasily Shuisky. Russian-Lithuanian and Polish nobles also gathered there. But the gathering of forces was slow. Only on September 10, 1607, False Dmitry II began his campaign against Moscow. He took Bryansk, Karachev, Kozelsk and on October 16 entered Belev. From here it was only a hundred miles to Tula. However, by this time, Bolotnikov in Tula had already surrendered to the tsarist governors.

The news of the fall of Tula brought confusion to the ranks of the supporters of the new impostor False Dmitry II. His army began to rapidly melt. He spent the winter of 1607-1608 in Orel. In the spring, a large detachment of Polish mercenaries, led by R. Ruzhinsky, arrived at his camp. Following him, another Polish magnate, Jan Sapieha, appeared with a mercenary army. The arrivals pushed back the former plebeian entourage of False Dmitry II and took the "king" under their control. From now on, it was the Poles who became the main support of the impostor.

In the summer of 1608, False Dmitry II inflicted several defeats on the tsarist troops and approached Moscow. Not having the strength to storm the city, his large army stopped near Moscow and camped near the village of Tushino.

The months-long siege of Moscow began. False Dmitry II besieged the capital for almost two years: from June 1608 to March 1610, Shuisky's supporters began to call the second False Dmitry "Tushinsky Thief". However, among the people, the story of the newly resurrected "good Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich" at first evoked a sincere response. Not only the southern ones, but also many other Russian cities - Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Pskov - went over to his side.

At this time, a dual power was formed in the country. One power was in Moscow, headed by Tsar Vasily Shuisky. Hermogenes was the patriarch, there was a Boyar Duma and orders. Another power was in Tushino: with its Tsar False Dmitry II, the Boyar Duma and orders. There was also a patriarch. It was Metropolitan Filaret, who was taken prisoner by the Tushino people. Servicemen either joined Shuisky or ran from Moscow to the side of False Dmitry II in Tushino.

Hatred for Vasily Shuisky and a thirst for high ranks brought some prominent representatives of the Moscow nobility to the Tushino camp - Romanovs, Saltykov, Trubetskoy. Yuri Mnishek, released from Yaroslavl exile, also arrived here with his daughter Marina, whom Vasily Shuisky was forced to release from captivity at the insistence of the Polish king. And, as in the case of False Dmitry I, the scene of "recognition" was played out. The widow of the first impostor, Marina Mnishek, did not hesitate to recognize the "Tushinsky Thief" as her husband, "the true Tsar Dmitry."

The dual power continued until 1610. This further split the society, undermined the economy and weakened the country. The Tushinos plundered the lands, ravaged the villages, desecrated the holy places for the Orthodox. Often in the same counties, detachments of punitive Vasily Shuisky committed atrocities. They killed and robbed those who voluntarily or under duress swore an oath to the "Tushinsky Thief".

Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery

The Orthodox Russian-Lithuanian commander Sapega, from the Tushino camp, laid siege to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery - a national shrine. The siege lasted for almost a year and a half. It began in the autumn of 1608. The fortress walls of the monastery were impregnable. In the monastery were the royal troops, headed by the governor. The monks and residents of nearby areas fought courageously along with the military, repulsing the attacks of the attackers. The besieged experienced a great shortage of firewood and drinking water, but did not give up. Scurvy began in the monastery. The forces of the defenders were fading.

Sapieha knew about the difficult situation in the monastery and began a decisive assault. All those who survived in the monastery defended it: they shot, stabbed, threw stones, poured molten pitch on the besiegers, threw down ladders, along which the attackers climbed onto the wall of the monastery. The attacks went on all night until the morning. The Poles had to retreat.

The beginning of the Russian-Polish war

In 1609, troops led by voivode Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky, with the help of Swedish mercenaries, liberated the entire northeastern part of the country and moved towards Moscow. The Treaty of Vyborg between Russia and Sweden gave Rzeczpospolita a pretext to declare war on Russia.

In September 1609, the Polish-Lithuanian troops besieged Smolensk. The city resisted for 20 months. The talented governor Mikhail Borisovich Shein led the defense.

From January 1610, the Russian army under the command of Prince Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky cleared the land from Novgorod to Moscow from the Tushino people. Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Alexander-Drovskaya Sloboda was liberated, the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was lifted. material from the site

The approach of the army of Sigismund III caused confusion in the Tushino camp. Polish mercenaries began to leave False Dmitry II and return to their king. On any given day, the impostor could be arrested or killed by his own henchmen. Saving his life, "Tushinsky Thief" secretly fled from Tushino to Kaluga.

The boyars who served False Dmitry II renounced him and turned to Sigismund with a proposal to elevate his son Vladislav to the Russian throne. The corresponding agreement was concluded near Smolensk in February 1610. However, the implementation of this agreement depended primarily on the further course of hostilities.

In March 1610, Moscow was liberated from the siege. It seemed that the Troubles were coming to an end. But Tsar Vasily Shuisky did nothing. For this, he paid with his throne: in July 1610, the boyars and nobles overthrew Shuisky from the throne.

Already in August 1610, taking advantage of the overthrow of Vasily Shuisky, False Dmitry II made the Second Moscow campaign. He stopped in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow and began the assault on the capital. The boyars were afraid that False Dmitry II would capture the capital.

Back in February of this year, the Boyar Duma concluded an agreement with the Polish king on calling his son, Prince Vladislav, to the Russian throne. She wanted the royal troops to protect her power from False Dmitry II and stop the intervention. And in August 1610, the provisional government of the Russian kingdom - the Seven Boyars - secretly let the Polish-Lithuanian detachments into Moscow, which forced False Dmitry II to interrupt the siege of the capital and return to Kaluga.

However, the boyar government miscalculated: the Polish troops did not want to leave Moscow alone, and the people did not support the fact that a Polish prince was placed on the Russian throne. This caused negative unrest in the capital. Part of the population of the country and Moscow itself, in conditions when Polish-Lithuanian and Russian-Lithuanian detachments were outrageous in the capital, again supported the impostor. More and more people and cities sided with False Dmitry II, hoping that he would drive the Poles out of Moscow.

Questions for this article:

False Dmitry 2 - (when he was born is unknown - death on December 11 (21), 1610) an impostor of unknown origin. He was called the Kaluga or Tushinsky thief. From 1607, he pretended to be his son, Tsarevich Dmitry, who allegedly escaped (False Dmitry I). In 1608-1609, he created the Tushinsky camp near the capital, from where he unsuccessfully tried to capture Moscow. With the beginning of the open Polish intervention, he fled to Kaluga, where he was killed.

The appearance of False Dmitry 2

Having appeared in Starodub in the middle of 1607, False Dmitry 2 was a person who was not at all suitable for the throne. “A rude man, with nasty customs, foul-mouthed in conversation,” was how the Polish captain Samuel Maskevich described him. The origin of this husband is really “dark and modest” - either a school teacher from the Belarusian town of Shklova, or a Russian native, or a popovich, or a baptized Jew, or even an unbaptized Jew (which is completely unbelievable). His appearance, some of the historians explain the desire of the Polish lords to sow confusion in the Muscovite state.

It was said that the impostor, who left the Lithuanian possessions for the Muscovite state, at the instigation of the agent of Mniszek's wife, Mekhovitsky, did not immediately dare to declare himself king. At first, he was called the Moscow boyar Nagim and spread rumors in Starodub that Dmitry managed to escape. When he and his accomplice, clerk Alexei Rukin, were tortured by the Starodubs, the latter said that the Nagim who calls himself Nagim is the real Dmitry. He took on an imperious air, threateningly waved his stick and shouted: "Oh, you all sorts of children, I am the sovereign."

First victories

Starodubtsy and putivltsy rushed to his feet, lamenting: “Guilty, sir, they did not recognize you; have mercy on us. We are glad to serve you and lay down our lives for you.” He was released and surrounded with honors. He was joined by Zarutsky, Mekhovitsky, with a Polish Russian detachment, and several thousand Seversky. With this army, False Dmitry 2 was able to take Karachev, Bryansk and Kozelsk. In Orel, he received reinforcements from Poland, Lithuania and Zaporozhye.

1608, May - the troops of False Dmitry defeated Shuisky near Volkhov. In this battle, the army of the impostor was commanded by the Ukrainian prince Roman Ruzhinsky, who brought under the banner of the new "tsar" thousands of volunteers recruited by him in the Commonwealth. Soon, the impostor approached the capital and settled down in Tushino, 12 versts from Moscow (the angle formed by the Moscow River and its tributary Skhodnya), which is why he received the nickname "Tushino thief."

Tushino camp

Tushino camp

The Tushino period of Russian unrest lasted for almost a year and a half. In the camp of the Tushinsky thief were not only Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian adventurers, but also representatives of the nobility - opponents of Shuisky. Among them, we should mention the Rostov Metropolitan Filaret Nikitich Romanov, who was named patriarch (it seems even against his will). The impostor called the people to his side, giving them the lands of the “traitors” of the boyars and even allowing them to forcefully marry the boyar daughters. The camp soon turned into a fortified city, in which there were 7,000 Polish soldiers, 10,000 Cossacks and several tens of thousands of armed rabble.

The main strength of the "Tushinsky thief" was the Cossacks, who sought to establish Cossack liberty. “Our tsar,” wrote one of the Poles who served him, “everything is done as according to the Gospel, everyone is equal in his service.” But when well-born people appeared in Tushino, disputes about seniority immediately began to arise, envy and rivalry with each other appeared.

1608, August - part of the Poles released at the request of Sigismund fell into the location of the Tushins. Marina Mnishek, who was there, after the persuasion of Rozhinsky and Sapieha, recognized False Dmitry 2 as her husband and was secretly married to him. Sapega and Lisovsky joined the impostor. The Cossacks continued to flock to him, so that he had up to 100,000 troops.

In Moscow and the surrounding cities, the influence of False Dmitry 2 was steadily growing. Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Murom, Kashin and many other cities obeyed him.

Poles and Russian thieves, who were sent around the cities, soon set the Russian people against themselves. At first, the impostor promised tarkhan letters, which freed the Russians from all taxes, but the inhabitants soon saw that they would have to give as much as they wanted to take from them. Tax collectors were expelled from Tushin, and after some time Sapega sent his tax collectors there from under the Trinity.

Poles and Russian thieves gathered in gangs that attacked the villages, robbed them, mocked people. This embittered the Russian people, and they no longer believed that the real Dmitry was in Tushino.

After the failure of Sapieha before the Trinity Lavra, the position of the "king" of the impostor was shaken; outlying cities began to renounce him. Another attempt to capture Moscow was not successful; Skopin was advancing from the north with the Swedes, in Pskov and Tver the Tushians were defeated and fled. Moscow was freed from the siege.

Kaluga camp

Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

The campaign of Sigismund III near Smolensk worsened the position of the "king" even more - the Poles began to pass under the banner of their king. False Dmitry, disguised as a peasant, fled from the camp. In fortified Kaluga, he was received with honors. Marina Mnishek also arrived in Kaluga, under the protection provided by Sapieha, the impostor lived in high esteem. Without the supervision of the Polish pans, I felt freer. Kolomna and Kashira swore allegiance to him again.

And at that time, the army of Sigismund III continued to unsuccessfully besiege Smolensk, and the young commander Skopin-Shuisky was able to lift the siege from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. And suddenly Skopin-Shuisky died, according to rumors, poisoned by the wife of one of the royal brothers, Prince Dmitry. The latter was appointed commander of the army sent to the aid of Smolensk.

Trip to Moscow

Near Klushyn, 150 km from the capital, on June 24, 1610, Shuisky's army was defeated by the Poles under the command of the crown hetman Stanislav Zhulkevsky. The way to Moscow was open. Zhulkevsky approached her from the west, Tushinsky thief - from the south. The impostor took Serpukhov, Borovsk, Pafnutiev Monastery and reached Moscow itself. Marina stayed at the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, and False Dmitry - in the palace village of Kolomenskoye. Again, as in Tushino times, the Kremlin was within easy reach and the royal throne was empty (on July 17, he was “reduced” from the throne, and then forcibly tonsured a monk).

But this time, too, history assigned the Kaluga "king" only an unenviable role. His appearance forced the Moscow boyars to choose the lesser of two evils. On August 17, Zhulkevsky concluded an agreement with them, according to which the son of Sigismund III, Prince Vladislav, was to take the Moscow throne. The capital, and later many other Russian cities, swore allegiance to Tsar Vladislav Zhigmontovich. From now on, the Polish garrison introduced into Moscow became an insurmountable obstacle for False Dmitry.

Zhulkevsky, however, tried to settle the matter amicably. On behalf of the king, he promised the impostor, in case of support for the royal cause, to give the city of Sambir or Grodno. But, the hetman wrote indignantly in his memoirs, “he did not think to be content with that, and even more so his wife, who, being an ambitious woman, rather rudely muttered: “Let His Majesty the King yield to His Majesty the King of Krakow, and the Tsar His Majesty yield Majesty Warsaw.

Then Zhulkevsky decided to simply arrest them, but Marina and the impostor fled to Kaluga on August 27, accompanied by 500 Cossacks of ataman Ivan Martynovich Zarutsky, who first came out on their side.

Death of False Dmitry 2

He died as a result of the revenge of the baptized Tatar Urusov, whom he subjected to corporal punishment. 1610, December 11 - when the impostor, half-drunk, went hunting under the escort of a crowd of Tatars, Urusov cut his shoulder with a saber, and Urusov's younger brother cut off his head. His death caused a terrible uproar in Kaluga; all the remaining Tatars in the city were killed. The son of False Dmitry was proclaimed king by the Kaluga people.

With the defeat of the rebel troops of the latter in 1607, the Time of Troubles entered a new, even more acute phase. The enemies of the Russian lands, during the reign of False Dmitry I, looked at the Moscow kingdom as if from the inside. They were convinced that the Russian land, torn by contradictions, had lost its power and greatness. This inspired the Commonwealth to a new military expansion.

The Polish magnates were by no means distinguished by their rich imagination and sophistication of the mind. They followed the pattern. A rumor was spread that False Dmitry I was not killed at all. He escaped the boyar wrath, fled from Moscow and safely reached the Polish lands.

Indeed, already in 1607, many Poles saw the legitimate Russian Tsar “risen from the dead”. False Dmitry II or Tushinsky thief - this is how it is customary to call this impostor.

Who is he, where did he come from? Here the opinions of researchers differ. Many consider him the priest's son Matvey Veryovkin. The impostor himself at first called himself Andrei Nagim, a relative of the murdered Tsarevich Dmitry.

Apparently, a certain circle of people considered that he should not be a relative, but Dmitry himself - the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. According to the official version, the Tsarevich died in 1591 in Uglich. At the time of his death he was only eight years old. The child, playing, ran into a knife, the same went straight into the throat of the unfortunate.

Such an unusual death at first gave rise to rumors that the boy was killed on the orders of Boris Godunov, and subsequently a strong opinion appeared that Dmitry did not die at all: he managed to escape and bury himself in Polish lands for many years. This legend was successfully used by False Dmitry I, and after his execution, the Tushinsky thief took the initiative.

Already by the spring of 1608, adventurers of various stripes and shades gathered near the newly-appeared pretender to the throne. All this motley audience, of course, could not capture Moscow and elevate the Tushinsky thief to the throne. But, as in the case of False Dmitry I, antipathy towards the new Tsar Vasily Shuisky played a decisive role.

False Dmitry II, at the head of a very small military unit, invades the territory of the Moscow state. Here, without encountering any serious resistance, he quickly marches towards Moscow.

The first battle with the tsarist troops takes place near the ancient Russian city of Kozelsk. Tushinsky thief wins it. He also wins the next battle near the city of Bolkhov. But to capture the capital, more serious military forces are needed.

This is understood by both the impostor himself and his entourage. At the beginning of summer, the rebels approach the capital city of Moscow, but do not dare to storm. All this army is encamped in Tushino. It is from here that the name Tushinsky Thief came from.

The impostor is gradually beginning to be recognized by many Russian cities. His authority is growing, but in order for everyone to believe in the amazing resurrection of the murdered False Dmitry I, it is necessary that the legal wife of the latter recognize her husband in the Tushinsky thief.

It was (1588-1614) - the daughter of the Polish governor Jerzy Mnishek. In May 1606, she was solemnly crowned king. After the fall of False Dmitry I, the newly-made queen of the Russian land was exiled to Yaroslavl for two years.

It is quite possible to meet Maria Mniszek, since her short exile in Yaroslavl has ended, and she, together with her father, Jerzy Mniszek, is heading home under heavy guard.

A large detachment of Kasimov Tatars is galloping after the departing. They take the Mnisheks prisoner and deliver them to Tushino. Here, an agreement is concluded between the Tushinsky thief and Jerzy Mniszek. The impostor undertakes, after accession to the throne, to pay the father of his "lawful wife" a huge amount of money and give him a dozen and a half Russian cities for his undivided use.

The agreement is signed, the paper disappears in the Pole's pocket, and Maria Mnishek "with a cry of joy" throws herself on the neck of her "resurrected" husband. The repetition of this scene takes place in front of many present. Popular rumor spreads the details in many cities and villages.

Following the rumor are the Polish, Tatar and Cossack detachments of the Tushinsky thief. They rob, kill, rape, that is, they behave like ordinary invaders. The surge in popularity ends with its fall. Cities "become on the defensive", armed detachments begin to form to counter the invaders.

The most serious resistance to the Tushino troops was provided by the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Behind its powerful stone walls lay huge church treasures. These were icons decorated with gold, and crosses studded with diamonds, and other valuable utensils that cost a lot of money.

Sortie of the defenders of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery

The monks of the monastery and the militias stood up to protect the Orthodox relics. They courageously repulsed the furious attacks of the invaders, who were thirsty for material wealth, for eight long months. The superior forces of the enemy could not break the strength of the spirit of the true sons of the Russian land. “Having broken off the teeth on the monastery walls”, the enemy was forced to retreat in disgrace.

And during this time, in the northern regions of the country, the tsar's nephew Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky managed to gather strong armed detachments. He led them against the Tushins and utterly defeated the latter.

The marauding army fled in disgrace, leaving the newly-made autocrat to the mercy of fate. The Tushinsky thief was left with a small handful of Cossacks and Kasimov Tatars. Shelter was given to them by Kaluga. Here False Dmitry II found his last days.

He quarreled with the Tatar Khan Uraz-Mohammed. The conflict went so far that the Tushinsky thief ordered the Tatar to be killed. The order was carried out exactly, which once again amused the pride of the pretender to the throne.

But the impostor was not the right person so that those around him could meekly endure his arbitrariness. In December 1610, False Dmitry II was stabbed to death by the Tatar prince Urusov, a friend of the murdered khan.

With the death of the Tushinsky thief, another stage of the Time of Troubles ended. It should be noted right away that the person posing as Tsarevich Dmitry was a rather muddy and dark person. He appeared from nowhere and went nowhere, leaving the most unpleasant memories of himself.

Nowadays, the phrase "Tushinsky thief" has become a household word. So they call people who occupy a high position and are devoid of any principles. For the sake of personal momentary benefit, they sacrifice both the interests of the majority of citizens and the interests of the state. As a rule, these are puppets who fulfill someone else's will, and their actions are always directed to the detriment of society.

In 1606-1610, Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky was on the Russian throne. The Shuiskys were a noble Russian family and descended from Alexander Nevsky. Tsar Vasily came to power after a boyar conspiracy, during which an impostor of False Dmitry, posing as the son of Ivan the Terrible, was killed. To get rid of rumors, Vasily ordered the solemn transfer of the relics of the real Dmitry from Uglich to Moscow. The church canonized this prince among the saints. But even these measures did not help. Rumors arose again among the people that the priest's son was then killed, and the real Dmitry is alive and well and hiding somewhere in order to gain strength and take revenge on Tsar Vasily.

The power of Vasily Shuisky was very shaky. He was elected to the throne by a few people and was essentially a boyar tsar. The stingy, cunning and treacherous old man did not enjoy any popularity among the people. In addition, the country was restless, gangs of troublemakers and robbers roamed the roads. The people were waiting for a new "deliverer".

In the summer of 1606, an uprising broke out in southern Russia under the leadership of the former serf Ivan Bolotnikov. It blazed for a whole year and covered a vast territory. With great difficulty, the tsarist troops managed to suppress the unrest. Bolotnikov was executed. Before Tsar Vasily had time to recover from the Bolotnikov turmoil, a new blow awaited him: finally, the new “Tsar Dmitry” appeared. Speaking from Starodub-Seversky, an impostor unknown to anyone in July 1607 undertook a campaign against Bryansk and Tula. In May next year, the detachments False Dmitry II defeated the troops of Vasily Shuisky near Volkhov and came close to Moscow. The impostor camped in the village of Tushino near Moscow, for which he received the nickname "Tushinsky Thief". At that time, the word "thief" meant nothing more than a state criminal. A dual power developed in the country: Tsar Vasily was unable to cope with the Tushins, and False Dmitry could not take Moscow. Military clashes did not give results to either side.

In Tushino, False Dmitry II formed his own government, which consisted of some Russian feudal lords and clerks. Even some boyars, dissatisfied with Shuisky, entered his service. Many Poles also arrived, including Marina Mnishek, the widow of the murdered False Dmitry I. She “recognized” the new impostor as her husband, but secretly married him according to the Catholic rite.

False Dmitry II did not have the abilities of his predecessor and soon turned out to be a toy in the hands of Polish mercenaries. In fact, the head of the Tushino camp was the Polish hetman Rozhinsky. By the autumn of 1608, the Tushinos had established control over a rather vast territory. Meanwhile, the Polish king Sigismund III himself began hostilities against Russia. He did not want to help the frivolous and rampant False Dmitry II, and he hoped to put his son Vladislav on the Russian throne. In September 1609, Polish troops besieged Smolensk. The impostor did not need the interventionists at all. By order of the king, the Polish troops left Tushino. Many Russian feudal lords who served False Dmitry also went to Sigismund III.

In December 1609, the impostor fled from Tushin to Kaluga. But six months later, when the Poles defeated the troops of Vasily Shuisky near Klushino, False Dmitry II again approached Moscow. An important event took place there: on July 17, 1610, Tsar Vasily was deposed from the throne. Power passed to the boyar government - "Seven Boyars". It concluded an agreement with Sigismund III, recognized his son Vladislav as the Russian Tsar, and in September treacherously let the Polish army into Moscow. False Dmitry II again fled to Kaluga, where on December 11, 1610 he was killed by one of his close associates.