The Time of Troubles - A Russian Drama Fit for Hollywood

in #history7 years ago (edited)

Lissner.jpgThe Polish Surrender of the Moscow Kremlin - By Ernest Lissner (1874-1941)

Palace and Political Intrigue in Russia's War of Succession

If you're like me, you have been fascinated and engrossed in the tales of succession and palace intrigues from Ancient Rome, Elizabeth and Mary, the War of the Roses, etc. Additionally, many people are familiar with the romanticized Romanov's as the last dynasty of Russia. However, have you ever heard of the Time of Troubles in Russia following the death of Ivan IV (the Terrible) and his heir Dmitry shortly thereafter? Not likely, but it may be one of the most fascinating battles of succession in history.

The story reads like several seasons of the Game of Thrones and it would take quite a few seasons as the struggle to find a new Tsar lasted for nearly 30 years. The characters involved range from the classic to the odd including imposter heirs. Kings, princes, generals, and elites both in and out of Russia compete for control and influence. Conflicts of religion mainly between Orthodoxy and Catholicism play roles as do many exotic cultures such as Cossacks and Warrior Monks. Outside influencers include people and places located far away from Moscow such as the Hapsburgs, Ottomans, and Swedes. Then there are the romantic intrigues of arranged marriages, love interests, and affairs.

I will only try to provide a summary of events, but if you become "hooked" as I did, you can check some of the links that I provide at the bottom to learn more.

Miloradovichdefense.jpgRussian Orthodox monks defended the Trinity monastery against Polish troops during the Time of Troubles - By Sergey Miloradovich (1851 — 1943)

Summary of Events Leading to the Polish-Muscovite War

In 1598, Feodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik Dynasty died. He was replaced by a non-noble named Godunov who was Feodor's acting regent (Feodor was mentally challenged) and his brother-in-law was pronounced as Tsar by the general assembly. Unfortunately, Godunov would encounter extreme difficulties including a famine in 1601-1603 that would kill 2 million people (1/3 the population). The famine was likely caused by a volcanic eruption in South America that affected harvests including sub-zero temperatures in the Summer.

Tushino.jpg
In the Time of Troubles by Sergey Ivanov

The country was in chaos with roving bands of brigands pillaging the countryside and general unrest within the circles of power in Moscow. Many wealthier and powerful individuals on the fringes of Russian territory especially those in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth saw an opportunity to take advantage of the Russian predicament. There hopes were soon answered when a man appeared claiming to be Dmitry, the son of Ivan IV, in Poland.

This Dmitry was able to convince many wealthy and influential Poles and Lithuanians to support him in claiming the Russian throne. Also amongst his supporters were the Papal States that sought to increase their influence in the region of Orthodoxy. He was later known as False Dmitry I, but was successful in leading an army of Poles, expat Russians, German mercenaries and Don Cossacks to Moscow and seizing the throne in 1605 after the death of Godunov. At this point, Poland had still not declared war on Russia and this was a private venture.

Within a year, False Dmitry was killed along with about 2000 Poles by another usurper named Vasily Shuiski and he named himself Tsar. While he did have an army, he didn't enjoy the support of the Russian Boyars (Top Counselors and Russian Elite). This is when False Dmitry II appeared and with the "recognition" of the wife of False Dmitry I, was able to garner support on a massive scale including mercenaries and Poles. This resulted in an intense civil war between Shuiski and Dmitry II.

The Poles were furious at the massacre, but didn't react immediately. However, when Shuiski signed a pact with Sweden, Poland's enemy, Sigismund III of Poland declared war and marched on Moscow. Thus, in 1607, the Polish-Moscovite War had begun and would last until 1618.

bogurodzica.jpg
Image Source

The Polish-Muscovite War - A Brief History

A good portion of False Dmitry II's followers were Poles and when the King of Poland, Sigismund III declared war on Russia and invaded, they quickly abandoned Dmitry II. However, things did not go quickly for the invading Poles who were stopped at Smolensk in an extended siege that took 20 months. Even then there for several setbacks including mutinies, but eventually the son of Sigismund III, Prince Vladislav reached Moscow in 1610. Unfortunately, False Dmitry II was not there to greet him having been assassinated by one of his men that he had ordered to be flogged.

Chorikov_The_Siege_of_Smolensk_by_the_Poles.jpg
The defense of Smolensk from the Poles, by Boris Chorikov

Shuiski, who still maintained the Tsardom and had Swedish support battled Polish forces for more than 2 years. However, he was eventually defeated and many of his supporters abandoned him. He was voted out of the crown and sent to a Monastery, but was later taken to Poland as a trophy of war. Vladislav was allowed to enter Moscow and it was agreed that he would be crowned as Tsar without conflict on the condition that he would not impose Catholicism on the Russian people and give certain concessions to the Russian Boyars.

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Once again, this was short-lived. Both King Sigismund III and Charles IX of Sweden were furious over the appointment of Vladislav as Tsar. Sigismund wanted the throne for himself and wouldn't abide by the religious concessions and Charles of Sweden refused to allow a Pole to rule in Russia and even named their own False Dmitry (a 3rd) as the heir to the Russian throne. A new Russian army was formed and the Poles were run out of Moscow with only the garrison left occupying the Kremlin. Eventually, they were starved into submission and abandoned the Kremlin to the Russians.

Appeal_of_Minin.jpgMinin appeals to the people of Nizhny Novgorod to raise a volunteer army against Polish forces, by Konstantin Makovsky

Conclusion

In 1613, Mikhail Romanov would be named Tsar of Russia at only 16 years of age. He would subsequently order the execution of the son of False Dmitry II who was then only 3 years old and also have Dmitry's wife strangled. The wars would continue for several more years until territorial concessions were given and treaties were signed between Russia and both Poland (1618) and Sweden (1617). Russia conceded a large area, but nearly all of these territories would be regained by Russia over the next 2 centuries.

In the end, the Romanov Dynasty was formed and would last until 1917, Russia had maintained its sovereignty, and it's neighbors had been weakened enough to remove any immediate threat of further invasion. Peter I would go on to extend Russian territory in the Baltics and Eastern Europe and create a Russian Navy to rival the Swedes and other European powers.

The Golden Age of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would soon come to an end even with the eventual victory at Smolensk and territorial gains in the region, the Polish king had alienated the Russians, the Swedes, the Hapsburgs, and the Ottomans.

Orthodoxy would continue to be the dominate religion in Eastern Europe and even see expansion much to the chagrin of the Papal States and Catholics in Northern Europe.

For us, we are treated to a vivid tale filled with plots and sub plots where one is never sure who our heroes really are or should be. With so many twists and turns there are a plethora of "what if's" that may have shaped Russia in an infinitely different way.

For More Detailed Information:
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_polish_muscovite_1609-19.html
http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h20russ2.htm
https://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/351/351-10.htm
https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/Ivan-IV-the-Terrible#ref421721

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You got a 25.00% Upvote and Resteem from @ebargains, as well as upvotes from our curation trail followers!

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Important Note - This Post will be Promoted Using Vote Buying Services within 24 hours of posting. Anyone supporting this post in advance will benefit in curation.

I always miss out on your posts before the services. And it doesn't matter. I can say I have followed you continuously because of posts just like this. The knowledge I gain from you is worth more than some small fraction of a Steem for curation.

I appreciate this indepth look at the fighting and intrigue involving Russia and their neighbors. Other than Napolean, the Bolsheviks and the two wars, coupled with the anti soviet propaganda I know little about their history.

That should cover curation for you.

Thanks for reading. I think I will be looking at Napoleon soon and discussing it here in a post. There are some interesting facts behind the Russian occupation of France after that war. Going to dinner and drinks. Talk to you soon.

That should cover curation for you.

You are kind. Elsewhere I would be paying as in having to purchase a book. I know you are giving them in snippets, but by the time you are done it could be a book.

I think I will be looking at Napoleon soon and discussing it here in a post.

I look forward to it. Much to the dismay of others I have spoken with who also enjoy history, I have always been intrigued by him. He had so many sides to his personality. Yet the one thing that caught my attention was the loyalty he was able to inspire from others. I will also say it was genius the way Russia destroyed their own towns and food supplies that could not be moved to let his armies battle nature. It surprised me that the Germans did not learn from that. Such is the price of arrogance.

this is one fantastic post...congrats..and thanks for your valued support and commentary.

Мне очень нравится ваше отношение к истории России. Вы все правильно написали. Мы также изучали эти аспекты в школе. Благодарю вас за пропаганду русской истории.

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Спасибо, что всегда приходите и читаете мои сообщения. Вы очень любезны с вашими словами. Жаль, что нас не преподают в американских школах такие интересные истории о русской истории. Существует так много. Я люблю их.

I can't love these history posts enough! I'm woefully ignorant of so many of these details, though reading this post brings back some dim memories of my Russian history classes in college. I do remember the various false Dmitrys!! So much intrigue! Thank you for such an enjoyable read. If more history teachers taught like this, maybe more kids would like history better :)

Congratulation on this post @energyaddict22. There has been a lot of research behind this. I love it. I'm a history fan and I really didn't know about this chapter.

Thanks for the compliment and for stopping by. I always appreciate it. Happy to share something new with you.

Awesome post. Very informative. When I have more time that's the kind of posts I want to write. Good job.

Thanks for commenting. Glad you enjoyed it.

You are welcome. Looking forward to your future posts

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The title itself shows the strong and deep story inside the post and good to know the Historical facts because history always hold something which has to be taken by the future generations, and these takings should be categorised into two aspects as, the takings of doings and the leaving behind the don'ts. Thanks for sharing and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂

I'm not quite sure I understand this comment today @chireerocks. Maybe you can explain it better to me.

Thanks for your genuine response and it's really appreciable. I wanted to say that, in every Historical events or times, we can see that some people showcased cruelty and some became great heroes by stood for the common people. So, i wanted to say from history, everyone have to learn good things and have to leave the bad aspects, so that our future generations can build more beautiful environment. This is my opinion and i think historical aspects always an great teacher. Wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂

Thanks again. All the best to you as well.

Welcome and thank you so much. 🙂