In 1610, difficult times for Russia did not end. Polish troops, who began an open intervention, took Smolensk after 20 months of siege. The Swedes, brought by Skopin-Shuisky, changed their minds and, moving north, captured Novgorod. In order to somehow defuse the situation, the boyars captured V. Shuisky and forced him to become a monk. Soon, in September 1610, he was handed over to the Poles.

The Seven Boyars began in Russia. The rulers secretly signed an agreement with the King of Poland, Sigismund 3rd, in which they pledged to call his son Vladislav to rule, after which they opened the gates of Moscow to the Poles. Russia owes its victory over the enemy to the feat of Minin and Pozharsky, which is still remembered today. Minin and Pozharsky were able to rouse the people to fight, unite them, and only this made it possible to get rid of the invaders.

From Minin’s biography it is known that his family was from the town of Balkhany on the Volga. Father, Mina Ankundinov, was engaged in salt mining, and Kuzma himself was a townsman. In the battles for Moscow, he showed the greatest courage.

Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky was born in 1578. It was he who, on the advice of Minin, who was collecting funds for the militia, was appointed first governor. Stolnik Pozharsky quite successfully fought the gangs of the Tushinsky thief during the reign of Shuisky, did not ask for mercy from the Polish king, and did not commit treason.

The second militia of Minin and Pozharsky set out for Moscow from Yaroslavl on August 6 (new style) 1612 and by August 30 took up positions in the Arbat Gate area. At the same time, the people’s militia of Minin and Pozharsky was separated from the first militia that had previously stood near Moscow, which consisted mostly of former Tushins and Cossacks. The first battle with the troops of the Polish Hetman Jan-Karol took place on September 1. The battle was difficult and bloody. However, the first militia took a wait-and-see attitude; at the end of the day, only five cavalry hundreds came to the aid of Pozharsky, whose sudden attack forced the Poles to retreat.

The decisive battle (hetman's battle) took place on September 3. The onslaught of Hetman Khodkevich’s troops was held back by Pozharsky’s soldiers. Unable to withstand the onslaught, after five hours they were forced to retreat. Having gathered his remaining forces, Kuzma Minin launched a night attack. Most of the soldiers participating in it died, Minin was wounded, but this feat inspired the rest. The enemies were finally driven back. The Poles retreated towards Mozhaisk. This defeat was the only one in Hetman Khodkevich’s career.

After this, the troops of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky continued the siege of the garrison stationed in Moscow. Knowing that the besieged were starving, Pozharsky offered them to surrender in exchange for saving their lives. The besieged refused. But hunger forced them to begin negotiations later. On November 1, 1612, during negotiations, the Cossacks attacked Kitay-Gorod. Having surrendered it almost without a fight, the Poles locked themselves in the Kremlin. The nominal rulers of Rus' (on behalf of the Polish king) were released from the Kremlin. Those, fearing reprisals, immediately left Moscow. Among the boyars he was with his mother and

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky is a man of high faith, honor and duty

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (October 17 (30), 1577 - November 1, 1642) Russian national hero, military and political figure, head of the Second People's Militia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian occupiers.

Pozharsky family

Dmitry Pozharsky is a descendant of Vasily Andreevich, the first of the Pozharsky princes, who came from the Starodub princes of the Suzdal land. The Starodub princes, in turn, are descendants of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod Yuryevich, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow

According to a widespread legend, the center of his small possessions - the village of Radogost - was devastated by a fire, and after restoration it began to be called Pogar, which is where the name of the estate came from.

The coat of arms of the principality and the princes of Starodub, invented in the 18th century

Vsevolod Yurievich Big Nest

Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky

Before Dmitry Mikhailovich, there were no outstanding military and political figures in the Pozharsky family. Only his grandfather, Fyodor Ivanovich Pozharsky, participated as a regimental commander during the conquest of Kazan by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. As a result of the establishment of the oprichnina by Ivan the Terrible, local lands were taken away from many princely families in the central part of Rus'. Many families fell into disgrace and were exiled. A similar fate befell the family of Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Pozharsky, which in the 1560s was exiled to the “nizovsky lands” (nizovsky lands at that time were considered the lands of the Nizhny Novgorod district and the neighboring infidels - the Mordovians, Cheremis, and subsequently the Tatars), where The Pozharskys had an old family estate in the Zharsky volost in the village of Yurino.

Childhood

It is traditionally believed that Dmitry Mikhailovich was born on October 1, 1577. Dmitry's father was Prince Mikhail Fedorovich Pozharsky, who in 1571 married Maria (Euphrosinia) Fedorovna Beklemisheva, who came from an old noble noble family. At birth and baptism, Pozharsky received the “direct name” Kozma in honor of Kosma the unmercenary, whose commemoration falls on October 17 (old style). At the same time, he received the “public” name Demetrius in honor of Demetrius of Thessalonica, whose commemoration falls on October 26 (old style). Maria Feodorovna's dowry included the village of Bersenevo in Klinsky district, where Dmitry was most likely born, since the Suzdal lands of the Pozharsky princes, including the village of Mugreevo (Volosynino), were confiscated by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in favor of the guardsmen. The Pozharskys had a house in Moscow, on Sretenka, the basement of which has survived to this day and is part of the house of Count F.V. Rostopchin, who owned the house at the beginning of the 19th century (today Bolshaya Lubyanka, 14). No one lived in the Moscow Pozharsky house at that time, since Fyodor Ivanovich Pozharsky had no children, except for his son Mikhail. Fyodor Ivanovich died in 1581, and his wife Maria died in 1615. Both were buried in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Dmitry's father, Mikhail Fedorovich, died on August 23, 1587 and was buried in the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal. His mother Maria (Euphrosinia) Beklemisheva died on April 7, 1632 and was also buried in the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery. From historical literature it is known that Mikhail Fedorovich Pozharsky had four children. The eldest was daughter Daria and sons Dmitry, Yuri and Vasily. When her father died, Daria was fifteen years old, Dmitry was less than ten, Vasily was three. Yuri died during his father's lifetime. Subsequently, Daria married Prince Nikita Andreevich Khovansky.

Moscow View from Lubyanka to the Vladimir Gate F.Ya. Alekseev.

Service under Tsar Boris Godunov

After the death of their father, the Pozharsky family moved to Moscow, where the widow Maria Fedorovna began raising children. In 1593, at the age of 15, Pozharsky entered the palace service, as was customary among princely and noble children of that time. At the beginning of the reign of Boris Godunov (1598), Pozharsky had a court rank - "Solicitor with a dress".

Boris Fedorovich Godunov

At the same time, Pozharsky and his mother repeatedly (until 1602) fell into disgrace with Tsar Boris. But in 1602, their disgrace was lifted. Pozharsky himself was granted the title of steward by the tsar, and his mother became a noblewoman under the tsar’s daughter, Ksenia Borisovna. At the end of the reign of Boris Godunov, Pozharsky’s mother was already the supreme noblewoman under Tsarina Maria Grigorievna, replacing the mother of boyar Boris Mikhailovich Lykov, Maria Lykova, in this post.

Ksenia Borisovna Godunova

At the end of 1602, Dmitry Pozharsky had a parochial dispute with Boris Lykov over the supremacy of their mothers at court. This dispute was not resolved. But in the end, Dmitry Pozharsky’s mother nevertheless became the supreme noblewoman of the Moscow court. Therefore, the opinion of the 19th century historian N.I. Kostomarov about the “seedyness” of the princely family of Pozharsky is incorrect - at least, the branch to which Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky belonged, including on the maternal side.

Nikolai Ge. "Tsar Boris and Queen Martha." Sketch of an unrealized painting. 1874

Pozharsky's mother provided great assistance throughout her life. She herself was a highly educated woman and gave all her children an excellent education, at that time, which was a rare occurrence at that time. So, after the death of his father, Pozharsky, who was less than ten years old, gave the village of Three Dvorishcha to the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in memory of his father, drawing up a deed of gift himself and signing it. Under the influence of his mother, such remarkable traits as a high sense of faith, honor and duty were instilled in Pozharsky and remained until the end of his life. According to reviews of contemporaries and according to historical documents, the character traits inherent in Prince Pozharsky were: the absence of any swagger, arrogance and arrogance; lack of greed and arrogance. He was distinguished by justice and generosity, generosity in donations to specific people and society as a whole; modesty and honesty in attitudes towards people and actions; devotion to Russian sovereigns and their Fatherland; courage and self-sacrifice; piety, exceptional piety, but without fanaticism; love for your neighbors. In necessary cases, he was strong in spirit, decisive and unshakable, irreconcilable with the enemies of the Fatherland and traitors to the Motherland, and was distinguished by a high sense of self-esteem. At the same time, he was a very gentle and attentive person, which attracted people of different ages and social status to him, from serf to boyar, which was very surprising for the era of that time. Therefore, it is no coincidence that when the residents of Nizhny Novgorod began to look for a military leader for the second people’s militia, they unanimously settled on the candidacy of Prince Pozharsky.

After the death of Tsar Boris Godunov and his son Tsar Fedor II, in April 1605, False Dmitry I, a protege of the Polish king Sigismund III, to whom both Moscow and the boyar duma swore allegiance, came to power. Pozharsky continues to be at court.

False Dmitry I

Service under Tsar Vasily Shuisky

In May 1606, the impostor was killed, Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky became king, to whom Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky also swore allegiance.

Vasily IV Shuisky

In the spring of the following year, False Dmitry II appeared, and with him, hordes of Lithuanians and Poles invaded the Russian lands, who, supporting False Dmitry II, engaged in robbery, ruined Russian cities, villages, churches and monasteries. Tsar Shuisky mobilized all the means at his disposal to fight against the new impostor and uninvited guests. Among other close associates, in 1608 he sent Prince Pozharsky to fight against the invaders as a regimental commander.

Dmitry is an impostor. Far Eastern Art Museum.

Nikolai Vasilievich Nevrev

For his zealous service in defending the Fatherland from the Poles, Pozharsky received from Tsar V.I. Shuisky in 1609 a patrimony from his old estate (father and grandfather) in the Suzdal district of the village of Nizhny Landek with twenty villages, repairs and wastelands. The letter of grant stated that he “showed a lot of service and generosity, he endured hunger and poverty in everything and every need of siege for a long time, and he did not encroach on thieves’ charms and troubles, he stood in the firmness of his mind firmly and unshakably without any unsteadiness."

At the end of 1609, the Ryazan governor Prokopiy Lyapunov persuaded Pozharsky to proclaim the boyar Skopin-Shuisky king, but the prince was faithful to his oath to Shuisky and did not succumb to persuasion.

Meeting between Skopin-Shuisky and Tsar Vasily Shuisky in Moscow

Prince Skopin-Shuisky tears up the letter of Lyapunov's ambassadors calling him to the kingdom. 19th century engraving

In February 1609, the tsar appointed Pozharsky governor of the city of Zaraysk, Ryazan district.

After the death of Skopin-Shuisky in April 1610, P. Lyapunov turned to Pozharsky with a proposal to take revenge on Tsar Shuisky for the death of the prince, but Pozharsky again remained faithful to the oath. In July, Shuisky was removed, and power passed to the boyar duma.

Prince Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky at a feast at Prince Vorotynsky

Later, in January 1611, the residents of Zaraysk, following the example of the residents of Kolomna and Kashira, tried to persuade Pozharsky to swear allegiance to the impostor, but the governor decisively refused their proposal, saying that he knew only one king, V.I. Shuisky, and did not swear his oath will change. Pozharsky’s conviction had a great influence on the minds of the townspeople and they remained loyal to Tsar Shuisky. Having learned about this, " Kolomna again turned to Tsar Vasily Ivanovich"

Interregnum

By the beginning of 1609, a significant number of Russian cities recognized “Tsar Dimitri Ivanovich.” Only the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, the cities of Kolomna, Smolensk, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, Nizhny Novgorod and a number of Siberian cities remained faithful to Shuisky. Among them was Zaraysk, where Prince Pozharsky ruled. The Tsar turned to the Swedes for help, and Charles IX sent an army to Russia led by Jacob Delagardie.

Jacob Pontusson Delagardie Count of Lequeu

Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky meets the Swedish governor Delagardi near Novgorod (1609)

The Russian-Swedish army of M.V. Skopin-Shuisky defeated the Tushins near Dmitrov and approached Moscow. At the same time, the Polish king Sigismund III invaded Russia and besieged Smolensk, demanding that the Tushino Poles leave the Pretender and go over to his side. At the beginning of 1610, False Dmitry II was forced to flee from Tushin to Kaluga. Skopin-Shuisky entered Moscow, where he unexpectedly died; The Russian-Swedish army under the command of the Tsar’s brother Dmitry Shuisky came to the aid of Smolensk. However, on June 24, 1610, it was completely defeated by Hetman Zolkiewski in the Battle of Klushin.

Battle of Klushino

Shuisky was overthrown, the Seven Boyars stood at the head of Moscow, Zholkevsky approached Moscow and stood at Khoroshev, the Pretender, for his part, stood at Kolomenskoye. In such a situation, the Seven Boyars, out of fear of the Pretender, kissed the cross of Sigismund’s son, Prince Vladislav, on the terms of his conversion to the Orthodox faith, and then (on the night of September 21) secretly let the Polish garrison into the Kremlin.

Portrait of Sigismund III Vasa, 1610s. Royal Castle in Warsaw, Jakob Troschel

Peter Paul Rubens. Portrait of Władysław Vasa, 1624 Wawel.

Stanisław Zolkiewski shows the captive tsar and his brothers at the Diet in Warsaw on October 29, 1611. Painting by Jan Matejko.

First People's Militia

Prince Pozharsky, at that time the Zaraysk voivode, did not recognize the decision of the Moscow boyars to call the son of Sigismund III, Prince Vladislav, to the Russian throne. The residents of Nizhny Novgorod also did not recognize the decision of the Seven Boyars. In January 1611, having confirmed themselves with a kiss of the cross (oath) with the Balakhonians (residents of the city of Balakhna), they sent letters of conscription to the cities of Ryazan, Kostroma, Vologda, Galich and others, asking to send warriors to Nizhny Novgorod in order to “stand for... the faith and for The Moscow state is one." The appeals of Nizhny Novgorod residents were successful. Many Volga and Siberian cities responded.

Minin's appeal to the people of Nizhny Novgorod in 1611, Mikhail Peskov

At the same time as the Nizhny Novgorod residents, a militia was gathering in Ryazan under the leadership of the Ryazan governor Prokopiy Lyapunov. The Zaraysk governor, Prince D. M. Pozharsky, joined Lyapunov’s detachment with his military men. The first Nizhny Novgorod militia, under the leadership of the Nizhny Novgorod governor, Prince Repnin, marched on Moscow in February 1611, numbering about 1,200 people. Detachments of warriors from Kazan, Sviyazhsk and Cheboksary joined the Nizhny Novgorod residents. The Nizhny Novgorod militia arrived near Moscow in mid-March. Somewhat earlier, militia detachments from Ryazan and Vladimir approached Moscow. Residents of Moscow, having learned about the arrival of the militia, began to prepare for the extermination of the Poles they hated. On March 19, a general uprising began. The streets were barricaded with sleighs loaded with firewood, and shots were fired at the Poles from roofs, from houses, and from behind fences. The Poles carried out massacres in the streets, but in the end found themselves besieged on all sides. The solution was found by setting the city on fire. Moscow was burned almost to the ground. The militia rushed to the aid of Muscovites. D. M. Pozharsky met the enemies on Sretenka, repelled them and drove them to Kitai-Gorod. The next day, Wednesday, the Poles again attacked Pozharsky, who had set up a stronghold near his compound on Lubyanka (the area of ​​the current Vorovsky monument). Pozharsky fought with the Poles all day, was seriously wounded and taken from Moscow by his comrades to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Later he moved to his family estate in Mugreevo, and then to the family estate of Yurino, Nizhny Novgorod district. There Pozharsky continued his treatment until he headed the second people's militia in October 1611, the organization of which began in Nizhny Novgorod on the initiative of the zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin.

The first militia was initially victorious, capturing the White City. However, the enmity between the nobles led by Prokopiy Lyapunov and the Cossacks (former Tushins) led by Ivan Zarutsky played a fatal role in his fate. After the murder of Lyapunov by the Cossacks, the nobles began to scatter, and the militia actually lost its combat effectiveness and disintegrated, although its remnants under the leadership of Zarutsky and Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy still stood near Moscow.

Second People's Militia

It should be noted here that only the Trinity-Sergius Monastery under the leadership of Archimandrite Dionysius and Nizhny Novgorod under the leadership of the governors Prince Repnin and Alyabyev held on most steadfastly and consistently in this troubled time for Russia. And Patriarch Hermogenes, irreconcilable with his enemies, was still alive, imprisoned by the Poles in the dungeon of the Chudov Monastery, where he subsequently died on February 17, 1612 from hunger and disease.

Vasily Vereshchagin. "Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra"

Pavel Chistyakov - “Patriarch Hermogenes in prison refuses to sign the letter of the Poles”

From July 1611, Archimandrite Dionysius began sending letters to different cities of Russia in order to awaken hatred in the hearts of citizens towards foreign invaders. On August 25, 1611, in Nizhny Novgorod, a letter was also received from Patriarch Hermogenes, where the holy elder called on the people of Nizhny Novgorod to stand for the holy cause, for the Orthodox faith. Voivode Alyabyev sent a copy of the letter to Kazan, and the Kazan people sent it to Perm. And it is no coincidence that Nizhny Novgorod was the first to speak loudly about resistance to foreigners.

Appeal of Kuzma Minin to the people of Nizhny Novgorod, Alexey Danilovich Kivshenko

Zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin called on every Nizhny Novgorod citizen to give up part of his property to equip warriors, and the people, representing all classes, warmly responded to his call. When choosing a military leader for the militia, the Nizhny Novgorod residents settled on the candidacy of Prince D. M. Pozharsky and sent a delegation led by the abbot of the Ascension Pechersky Monastery, Archimandrite Theodosius, to the village of Yurino (according to another version, to the village of Mugreevo, now the Yuzhsky district of the Ivanovo region). Pozharsky arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on October 28, 1611.

Minin on the square of Nizhny Novgorod, near the Church of John the Baptist, calling on people for donations. K. E. Makovsky (1839—1915)

The second people's militia set out from Nizhny Novgorod at the end of February - beginning of March 1612. His path ran along the right bank of the Volga through Balakhna, Timonkino, Sitskoye, Katunki, Puchezh, Yuryevets, Reshma, Kineshma, Plyos, Kostroma, Yaroslavl and Rostov the Great. At the request of the residents of Suzdal, Pozharsky sent his relative, the steward of Prince Roman Petrovich Pozharsky, to the city, who, having defeated the Poles, liberated the city. The militia arrived in Yaroslavl at the end of March - beginning of April 1612 and was forced to stay until the end of July in order to gather more troops and better prepare the militia for the Moscow battle. Before coming to Yaroslavl, Pozharsky received news of the betrayal of the leaders of the Cossack detachment stationed near Moscow, Prince D. T. Trubetskoy and Ataman Zarutsky, who swore allegiance to another Pretender, the fugitive deacon Isidore (in June 1612, Prince Trubetskoy sent Pozharsky a letter in which he refused oath to the new Pretender). In Yaroslavl, Prince Pozharsky almost died at the hands of hired killers sent by Ataman Zarutsky.

Expulsion of Poles from the Kremlin. E. Lissner

On July 28, 1612, the second people's militia set out from Yaroslavl to Moscow and on August 14, 1612 it was already at the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and on August 20 it approached Moscow. On August 21-24, a fierce battle took place between the militia and the Poles and the troops of the Lithuanian hetman Chodkiewicz, who came to the aid of the Poles on the orders of the Polish king Sigismund III. By the evening of August 24, the Poles and Chodkiewicz’s troops were completely defeated, and Chodkiewicz himself with the remnants of his army on the morning of August 25, 1612, left for Poland. But for another two months the struggle between the militia and the Poles who had settled in Moscow continued. Finally, on October 22 (November 1, new style), the Poles were expelled from Kitay-Gorod.

M. I. Scotti. “Minin and Pozharsky” (1850). The red banner with the icon carried by the prince is historically accurate.

Service under Tsar Mikhail Romanov

After numerous discussions at the Zemsky Sobor of 1612-1613, the second person at which, after Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, was Prince Pozharsky (he directed and led the debate), on February 21, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected Russian sovereign. The day before, on February 20, 1613, D. M. Pozharsky proposed that the Council elect a tsar from among the applicants of royal origin, that is, from the relatives of the last Rurikovich - Fyodor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible. Mikhail Fedorovich was a cousin of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich and was of boyar origin.

The calling of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom

The calling of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom. N. Shustov.

Election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the throne

Alexey Danilovich Kivshenko

Nesterov Mikhail. The calling of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom.

The election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne in 1613 Claudius Vasilyevich Lebedev

At this Cathedral Pozharsky "for service and cleansing of Moscow" received the rank of boyar and patrimony with estates in the amount of 2,500 children. On the letter of the Zemsky Sobor on the election of M.F. Romanov to the Russian throne as Tsar, his signature, as a boyar, is tenth on the list. “Localism” at that time still occupied a strong position in the Russian state, despite the enormous services to the Fatherland of D. M. Pozharsky. At his crowning on July 11, 1613, Mikhail Romanov again granted Pozharsky the rank of boyar, confirmed Pozharsky's land dachas by the Zemsky Sobor and awarded him new lands in the Puretsk volost of the Nizhny Novgorod district in the amount of 3,500 people.

During the anointing of the sovereign, the royal crown on a golden platter was held by the king’s uncle Ivan Nikitich Romanov, the scepter by Prince D. T. Trubetskoy, and the orb by Prince Pozharsky. Taking into account that Prince Pozharsky in his “fatherland” was lower than many boyars, it is especially significant that he took such a prominent position at the crowning of Mikhail Fedorovich. This must be seen as an expression of gratitude of the young tsar and his contemporaries to Prince Pozharsky for the fact that during the general “vacillation” he stood firmly and unshakably for the truth and, having overcome the turmoil, led “all the kingdoms of the Russian state” to unity in the struggle for its independence and in choosing a new Russian Tsar.

Moskvitin Philip. Anointing of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the throne

Coronation of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1613

After the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the Russian throne, D. M. Pozharsky plays a leading role at the royal court as a talented military leader and statesman. Despite the victory of the people's militia and the election of the Tsar, the war in Russia still continued. In 1615-1616. Pozharsky, on the instructions of the tsar, was sent at the head of a large army to fight the detachments of the Polish colonel Lisovsky, who besieged the city of Bryansk and took Karachev. After the fight with Lisovsky, the tsar instructs Pozharsky in the spring of 1616 to collect the fifth money from merchants into the treasury, since the wars did not stop and the treasury was depleted. In 1617, the tsar instructed Pozharsky to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the English ambassador John Merik, appointing Pozharsky as governor of Kolomensky. In the same year, the Polish prince Vladislav came to the Moscow state. Residents of Kaluga and its neighboring cities turned to the tsar with a request to send them D. M. Pozharsky to protect them from the Poles. The Tsar fulfilled the request of the Kaluga residents and gave an order to Pozharsky on October 18, 1617 to protect Kaluga and surrounding cities by all available measures. Prince Pozharsky fulfilled the tsar's order with honor. Having successfully defended Kaluga, Pozharsky received an order from the tsar to go to the aid of Mozhaisk, namely to the city of Borovsk, and began to harass the troops of Prince Vladislav with flying detachments, causing them significant damage. However, at the same time, Pozharsky became very ill and, at the behest of the tsar, returned to Moscow.

Minin appeals to Prince Pozharsky for the salvation of the Fatherland, Grigory Ivanovich Ugryumov

Pozharsky, having barely recovered from his illness, took an active part in defending the capital from Vladislav’s troops, for which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich awarded him new fiefs and estates. By the end of his life, Pozharsky had nearly ten thousand acres of land with many villages, hamlets and wastelands and was considered one of the richest nobles of the Moscow state.

Kotarbinsky V. A. “The sick Prince Dmitry Pozharsky receives Moscow ambassadors”

In 1619, the tsar entrusted Pozharsky with the leadership of the Yamsky order. In 1620, Pozharsky was the Novgorod voivode and held this position until 1624. From 1624 to 1628 Pozharsky was the head of the Robust Order. In 1624, during his pilgrimage trip to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, the tsar left Moscow in the care of F.I. Sheremetyev, whose assistant was Pozharsky. At both the tsar’s weddings in 1624 and 1626, Pozharsky was one of the tsar’s friends, and Pozharsky’s wife, Praskovya Varfolomeevna, was the tsar’s matchmaker. When Pozharsky was in Moscow for his service, along with other eminent boyars he was invited to the festive royal and patriarchal tables and, as I. E. Zabelin noted, “he was no less present in these invitations to the big boyars.” In August 1628, Pozharsky was again appointed governor of Novgorod the Great with the title of governor of Suzdal, but already in September 1630, by decree of the tsar, he was summoned to Moscow and appointed head of the Local Prikaz.

In 1632, the truce with Poland ended. Russian troops besieged Smolensk. The Russian troops near Smolensk were commanded by Mikhail Shein and Artemy Izmailov. The Tsar sent Pozharsky and Prince Cherkassky to help Shein, but through no fault of theirs the military training was delayed, and Shein was surrounded and forced to accept the terms of surrender in February 1634. At the beginning of 1635, the Peace of Polyanovsky was concluded with Poland. Pozharsky also took part in negotiations with the Poles.

Surrender of Shein's siege army to King Władysław IV (Triumphal painting c. 1634, unknown Polish artist)

In 1636-1637, Prince Pozharsky was the head of the Moscow Court Order. In 1637 he turned 60 years old, a very advanced age at that time. But the tsar did not let Pozharsky leave him. He needed him as a person he could rely on in any important matter. And in case of war with the Crimean Tatars, the tsar in April 1638 appointed Pozharsky as regimental commander in Pereyaslavl Ryazan. But this war did not take place. When Mikhail Romanov’s son, Ivan, and then another, Vasily, died in 1639, Pozharsky “spent day and night” (that is, he was assigned to honorary duty) at the coffins of the princes. In the spring of 1640, D. M. Pozharsky, together with I. P. Sheremetyev, twice participated in negotiations with the Polish ambassadors, and was written by the governor of Kolomensky. These negotiations are the last services of Prince Pozharsky, recorded in the Rank Book

Pozharsky's grave

In the 19th-20th centuries, there was an opinion among historians that before his death, Prince Pozharsky adopted the schema under the name Cosmas, as was customary among the princely class of that time. However, the research of Academician M.P. Pogodin in the middle of the 19th century, plus the acquisition of the prince’s Spiritual Charter at the beginning of the 21st century, gives reason to conclude that he did not accept the schema before his death.

According to the testimony of the famous archivist of the 19th century A.F. Malinovsky, senator, Manager of the Archives of the College of Foreign Affairs, Dmitry Pozharsky died on April 30 (April 20, old style) 1642 at the 65th year of his life. In the monastery of St. Nicholas of Zaraisky, a note was found about the day of Pozharsky’s death in the following words: “ZRN, April K, the boyar Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky passed away, on Wednesday, the second week after Easter”. In my work "Moscow Review", which Malinovsky completed in 1826, but first published only in 1992, the author writes that many thought that Pozharsky was buried in the Moscow Kazan Cathedral, of which he was the first builder. Modern research has shown that his ashes rest in the family tomb in the Suzdal Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery.

Ensemble of the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, Suzdal

Monastery of Saint Euthymius

The Pozharsky family ended in the male line in 1682 with the death of his grandson Yuri Ivanovich Pozharsky, who died childless. After the suppression of the Pozharsky family, the tomb was abandoned and in 1765-1766 broken down “due to disrepair.” In 1851, the famous Russian archaeologist Count A. S. Uvarov, during excavations, discovered brick crypts and white stone tombs located in three rows at this site, and in 1885 a marble mausoleum was built above them, built with public funds according to the design of A. M. . Gornostaeva. The mausoleum was dismantled during the years of Soviet power in 1933. Archaeological research in the summer of 2008 showed that the tomb remained intact. A slab and a memorial cross were installed above the burial place of D. M. Pozharsky on his birthday, November 1, 2008. In 2009, the marble crypt was restored and opened by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on November 4

Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Nizhny Novgorod

Monument to Pozharsky in Suzdal

Dmitry Pozharsky at the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia” in Veliky Novgorod

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozharsky,_Dmitry_Mikhailovich

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (1578-1642) was a representative of an old but seedy princely family, descended from the seventh son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Ivan Starodubsky.

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (1578-1642) was a representative of an old but seedy princely family, descended from the seventh son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Ivan Starodubsky. His ancestors did not escape repression in the middle of the 16th century: his grandfather, Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Nemoy Pozharsky, was deprived of his estates and exiled to Sviyazhsk. He returned to his native place during the years of the Livonian War, in which he took part not even in the rank of voivode, but as the head of a hundred commander. The Pozharsky family mansion was located 12 versts from the village of Kovrovo (the modern city of Kovrov), in the village of Sergovo. It was here, on November 1, 1578, that baby Dmitry was born into the family of Mikhail Fedorovich Glukhoy Pozharsky and Maria (Evfrosinya) Fedorovna Beklemisheva. However, his childhood and youth years were spent in Moscow, in the Pozharsky city estate located on Sretenka.

Having lost his father at the age of ten, Dmitry Pozharsky found himself dispossessed of part of his estate, but began to serve only after reaching the age of 15. Since 1593, Dmitry regularly took part in noble reviews and after one of them he was awarded the lowest court rank - solicitor with a dress. Solicitor Pozharsky was a participant in the Zemsky Sobor of 1598, which took place after the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, and it was in this capacity that he signed the conciliar decision on the election of Boris Godunov as the new Tsar. Soon after this, Pozharsky was exiled to the southern border, constantly ravaged by the Crimean Tatars, and stayed there for five years. All these years, the prince commanded a detachment of archers, which carried out patrol duty in the most dangerous places. His zealous attitude to service did not go unnoticed; Pozharsky became the royal steward, receiving a small village near Moscow on his estate.

He took part in several battles with the troops of False Dmitry I, including the famous battle near the village of Dobrynichi, where the impostor suffered a heavy defeat. However, after the death of Boris Godunov, the “named Demetrius” managed to take possession of Moscow in 1605. With generous gifts and awards, he tried to win over the Moscow boyars and nobles, primarily those whom he could fear. Pozharsky was granted the modest but noticeable rank of butler.

In the fall of 1608, he was sent with a detachment of soldiers to help the Kolomna governor Ivan Pushkin, who was having difficulty repelling attacks from supporters of False Dmitry II. Near the village of Vysotsky, 30 versts from Kolomna, the prince met the “Tushins” and defeated them. A year later, Pozharsky won another victory, defeating the bandit detachment of the Cossack ataman Salkov. The “fortress” of his service did not go unnoticed - he was appointed governor of the very strategically important city of Zaraysk. The choice turned out to be correct, Pozharsky did not “shaken”, even after learning about the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky in Moscow, did not recognize the Seven Boyars and repelled a number of rebel attempts to seize the city. However, Dmitry Mikhailovich did not intend to sit behind the strong stone walls of the Zaraisk fortress. His troops drove the Tushins out of Kolomna. Commanding detachments of Moscow servicemen, he subsequently “went to different places against thieves.” In 1611, Pozharsky participated in the creation of the First Zemstvo Militia. It was his detachment that came to the aid of Prokopiy Lyapunov when he was besieged in Pronsk by the army of Grigory Sumbulov, who served the Poles. Lyapunov’s small detachment (only 200 people) would have inevitably been destroyed, but the news of the approach of Pozharsky’s army forced Sumbulov to lift the siege and leave from near Pronsk to Zaraysk, which was left almost unguarded. But Dmitry Mikhailovich managed to return to his fortress and defeated Sumbulov in a fierce battle near the walls of the Zaraisk Kremlin. After this, Pozharsky gathered all the Kolomna and Zaraisk servicemen under his hand into a militia and led it to Ryazan to Lyapunov.

In the early spring of 1611, the prince, who had earned Lyapunov’s trust, was sent to Moscow to lead the uprising that was being prepared there. However, the revolt against the Poles began earlier than scheduled on March 19, 1611. The only detachment of the zemstvo army that participated in it were Pozharsky’s people. The interventionists were unable to suppress the uprising by force of arms and set the city on fire. Retreating in front of a wall of fire, Russian soldiers began to leave Moscow. Covering their retreat, Pozharsky’s soldiers remained in the capital, taking the battle in the Sretenka area. Several times the prince managed to put the enemy infantry to flight. On March 20, he was still holding out in the prison built near the Vvedenskaya Church on Lubyanka. Then Colonel Gosevsky threw all his available forces against the last stronghold of the rebels. In the last battle with the enemy, Dmitry Mikhailovich was wounded three times. Having fallen to the ground, he still managed to say: “It would be better for me to die than to see all this.” The warriors did not abandon their commander to death and, covering him with their bodies, took him out of the battle. Like the other wounded, the governor was taken to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Having recovered a little, he left for his Suzdal estate, the village of Mugreevo. There, still suffering from poorly healing wounds, Pozharsky learned about the death of Lyapunov, and there in the fall of 1611 the Nizhny Novgorod ambassadors found him. On the advice of their zemstvo elder, Kuzma Minin, they arrived to ask the prince to lead the militia, which was then gathering in Nizhny Novgorod.

Prince Pozharsky, who was elected military leader of the militia, also headed the “Council of the Whole Russian Land” - a temporary body of supreme power throughout the territory liberated from the invaders. Zemsky Voivode Pozharsky played an extremely important role in the liberation of Moscow and the restoration of the destroyed state organization.

After the liberation of Moscow, the prince acquired enormous authority, so at the Zemsky Sobor of 1613, which elected a new tsar to the throne, he led meetings, asking the opinions of the participants. The new Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich highly appreciated the merits of Pozharsky and on July 11, 1613, after the crowning in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, he granted Dmitry Mikhailovich the rank of boyar.

Until his death, Prince Pozharsky served faithfully to his Fatherland: he commanded the troops that fought against the detachments of Colonel Lisovsky who were ravaging the Russian lands, in 1615 he defeated him near Orel and drove him to Karachev. The valiant warrior sought new meetings with the enemy, but a serious illness confined him to bed for a long time. The governor was back in action in the terrible year of 1617, when the Polish army under the command of Prince Vladislav and Hetman Khodkiewicz marched towards Moscow with the aim of seizing the Moscow throne by force. Pozharsky led the fortification of Mozhaisk and Kaluga, which the enemy could not capture and was forced to winter in Vyazma. For his faithful service, the prince received as a reward a silver gilded cup weighing three hryvnias, 36 gold pieces, a fur coat - Turkish satin on sables, silver-gilded buttons.

The following year, 1618, the Poles received reinforcements and continued their march to Moscow. Pozharsky, according to a contemporary, “fought in battles and attacks, not sparing his head.” During the decisive assault on October 1, 1618, the prince took charge of the battle in the most dangerous place, at the Arbat Gate of the White City, and repelled a night attack by the enemy, who blew up the gates of the Zemlyanoy City. However, Pozharsky’s soldiers acted so successfully that they forced Hetman Sagaidachny, who attacked Moscow in this place, to withdraw the remnants of his Cossacks from the Moscow streets littered with their bodies.

In subsequent years, the prince was also in the public eye - he led the Yamsky, Robbery, Local and Judicial orders, and was a governor in Novgorod the Great. During the unsuccessful Smolensk War of 1632-1634, Pozharsky, together with Prince D. Cherkassky, formed a cover army that gathered in Mozhaisk, but this army was disbanded without taking part in military operations.

During the years of the Azov “siege” of the Don Cossacks of 1637-1638, he strengthened Moscow in case of a possible war with Turkey, supervising the work on the construction of an earthen rampart erected around the capital.

In 1637, at his own expense, Dmitry Mikhailovich built the Kazan Cathedral near the shopping arcades on Red Square and transferred there from his home church the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, sent to him from Kazan and accompanying him during the liberation of Moscow.

Thanks to the generosity of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, he became one of the richest landowners in Russia. Pozharsky's last service was his participation in the spring of 1640 in negotiations with Polish ambassadors who arrived in Moscow. On April 20, 1642, Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky died, having adopted the schema and taken the name Kozma before his death. According to legend, Mikhail Fedorovich, honoring his merits, “saw off the coffin of this unforgettable boyar and honored him with his tears.” Pozharsky's remains were buried in the family tomb in the Spaso-Evfimievsky Monastery in Suzdal.

The situation of the Moscow state at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries was very difficult. Crises followed one after another, becoming preconditions for foreign Catholic intervention and imposture. Representatives of the Second People's Zemstvo Militia were able to defend national freedom and the Orthodox faith. The history of this feat will forever remain in the memory of the Russian people.

In contact with

First of all, the state was experiencing the strongest dynastic and as a consequence, political crisis, the reasons for which were:

• end of the dynasty Moscow princes: Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, son, died without leaving a male heir, and the question of who would rule after him remained open for a long time;
• power struggle between court groups, which ended with the accession of the first elected Tsar Boris Godunov to the Moscow throne.

Against the backdrop of political instability, a severe socio-economic crisis developed, the manifestations of which were:

• the so-called “rukh” of the 70-80s of the 16th century, which was a consequence of the oprichnina and defeats in Livonian War;
• strengthening of serfdom and, as a result, the flight of the population from the central regions to the outskirts of the state;
• severe famine of 1601-1603, which undermined the already weak authority of Tsar Boris Godunov;
• Cotton's rebellion.

All this became the basis of those events that entered the history of the Russian State under the name of the Time of Troubles.

Period from 1605 to 1611

Let's talk briefly about Time of Troubles, when attempts were made more than once to establish statehood within a country torn apart from within by class contradictions, and from without by neighbors seeking to conquer new territories.

1605-1606

After death Tsar Godunov came to power supported by the Poles and the Vatican, False Dmitry I(presumably his real name is Grigory Otrepyev), a man who pretended to be Tsarevich Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. False Dmitry became a real alternative to boyar rule, but very soon Muscovites realized that a real threat to state independence had arisen. In 1606, an uprising broke out in Moscow, which resulted in the overthrow of False Dmitry and the enthronement of Vasily Shuisky, whose real power was limited by the Kissing Record, which strengthened the position of the Boyar Duma.

1606-1610

Tsar Vasily Shuisky I had to go through a number of serious incidents:

• the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov (1606-1607), an ally of False Dmitry I;
• the arrival of False Dmitry II, a new impostor, nicknamed the “Tushino thief” near Moscow;
• face open Polish intervention initiated by the Polish king Sigismund.

Shuisky decides internal problems by attracting foreign troops. In 1609, he concluded a military alliance with Sweden, which freely brought its troops into the territory of the Russian state. In 1610, Tsar Vasily was poisoned by Moscow boyars, who sought to strengthen their own power, taking advantage of the difficult internal political situation.

1610-1611

After the death of Vasily Shuisky, a group of boyars came to power, the period began Seven Boyars. Moscow boyars decided that the end of the Time of Troubles was possible after the election of a strong ruler and they agreed on the candidacy of the Polish prince Vladislav, after which they did everything possible to invite him to the Moscow throne. At the same time, an open Swedish intervention began, the Poles sent their troops to Moscow.

In 1611, after Swedish capture of Novgorod, and the Poles - Smolensk, the first militia was formed, whose leaders set themselves the task of liberating Moscow from the Poles, but due to disagreements between the leaders, the goal was never achieved.

Near Nizhny Novgorod began to form second Zemstvo militia, the inspirers and leaders of which were the Nizhny Novgorod elder Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky - the real Saviors of the Fatherland. Their main goal was to protect Moscow from invaders. Who were those with whom Minin and Prince Pozharsky fought?

Participation in the Second Militia of Kozma Minin

Kuzma (Kozma) Minin- ideologist of the Second (Nizhny Novgorod) militia. Inspired by the messages of the Moscow Patriarch Hermogenes, whom the Poles imprisoned and starved to death, the merchant called on the people to arm themselves and protect the Moscow lands from the invasion of foreign Catholic invaders.

Origin and relatives

First mentions of Minina meet only in connection with the creation of the people's regiment. There is a version that he comes from the Balakhna (the city of Balakhna is a small town near Nizhny Novgorod) ancient merchant family of salt workers. There is also a documented unconfirmed version that Kuzma’s nationality was Tatar, originally from Kazan.

What is known for sure about this person:

• his father’s name was Min (Misail; his name may have given rise to the surname Minin), who at the end of his life may have taken monastic vows;
• his brother Sergei, indeed, was engaged in salt making in Balakhna;
• Sister Sophia took monastic vows;
• his wife Taisiya survived her husband by several years and at the end of her life also took monastic vows;
• the only son named Nefed served all his life as a steward in Moscow and died childless.

In 1610 Kuzma worked as a butcher and lived in Nizhny Novgorod. He was elected to the post of zemstvo (posad) headman. Most likely, this election was due to his participation in the First Militia, when he fought as part of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment against the Tushins. In 1611, the new headman made a fiery speech at a general meeting of townspeople, which ultimately prompted the people to organize the Second Militia. Nizhny Novgorod townspeople began to collect funds for the maintenance of service people. He advised the people of Nizhny Novgorod to invite Prince Dmitry Pozharsky to become their military leader. Powers of militia leaders divided as follows:

• Pozharsky was involved in military planning;
• Minin was in charge of the economic department.

Attention! The “third money” was introduced, that is, all Nizhny Novgorod residents had to give a third of their fortune to the needs of the militia. The funds were spent wisely. The best military specialists of that time were hired for the service. Minin personally managed provisions and fodder, provided the militia with everything necessary, including weapons and even artillery.

By April 1612, a "Council of the Whole Earth"- a temporary state body that was supposed to ensure civil order in the liberated lands. A large army gathered near Nizhny Novgorod, ready, under the leadership of Pozharsky, to liberate Moscow.

In the battles for Moscow in August-September 1613, the merchant also took an active part, leading two noble companies that repelled the Lithuanian troops of Hetman Khodkevich and were the first to break through to the Donskoy Monastery.

Life after victory

After release Moscow Kozma Minin, together with princes Pozharsky and Trubetskoy, actually ruled the state, took part in the discussion of candidates possible rulers of the state, but he himself flatly refused to become one of the candidates.

Attention! Kuzma Minin was not against considering the candidacy of the Polish Tsarevich Vladislav, but argued that he could be invited to the Moscow throne only if he agreed to convert to Orthodoxy.

After being elected to the throne Mikhail Romanov, Minin received the highest service rank of Duma nobleman with a salary of 200 rubles and an estate near Balakhna. He was highly respected among representatives Boyar Duma, was an adviser to the young tsar and his parents, Xenia and Filaret, who eventually became the new Moscow patriarch. He died in 1616 and was buried in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. Now the burial is located in St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral.

Leader of the second militia

Dmitry Pozharsky was an outstanding military strategist and a political figure of the 16th-17th centuries, rallied people and created a strong army that managed to liberate Moscow from Polish-Lithuanian troops.

Origin

The Pozharskys are direct descendants Suzdal princes Starodubsky, who trace their ancestry back to . Born November 1, 1578. The family had several sons and a daughter named Daria, who later married the notorious Nikita Khovansky.

Interesting! Few people know what the name of the future hero was in the family. At baptism he was named in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, and before this event he bore the name Kuzma. After the church ceremony, the parents continued to call their son by his former name as usual. This fact may be useful to participants in school Olympiads.

My service at court Dmitry Mikhailovich began with 15 years in 1593. He was given full support by his mother, who held a high position supreme noblewoman under the queen Maria Grigorievna Godunova and gave it to her son magnificent for that time education, instilled a sense of duty, responsibility for one’s actions, piety and piety.

After the death of Godunov, the prince swore allegiance to False Dmitry I and Vasily Shuisky. At this time (1606-1609) he served under the command of commander M. Skopin-Shuisky, distinguished himself in battles with the Poles and Bolotnikovites.

In 1610 he refused to take part in calling to the Moscow throne Tsarevich Vladislav and retired to Zaraysk, where he served as a governor. In 1611 he joined Procopius Lyapunov, the leader of the First Militia. Together with his service people I tried “recapture” Moscow from the Poles and even received a serious wound in one of the many battles. For treatment he went to the family estate Yuryevo, Nizhny Novgorod district, where they arrived representatives of the Second Militia to invite Dmitry Mikhailovich to lead a military campaign against Moscow.

Attention! The uprising of Minin and Pozharsky against intervention is a vivid example of the national liberation struggle that shapes and cements the nation.

The prince accepted the offer of the Nizhny Novgorod residents, realizing that of the entire Moscow state, only Trinity - Sergeev Lavra under the leadership of Abbot Dionysius and Nizhny Novgorod. The new leader arrived in the city in October 1611, and in March 1612 militia of Minin and Pozharsky set out towards Yaroslavl. On the way, militia troops liberated Suzdal.

In Yaroslavl, the governor almost died at the hands of the conspirators; the Cossack ataman Ivan Zarutsky sent hired killers. The conspiracy was discovered, the participants were forgiven and exiled to camps near Moscow. In July a militia army marched on Moscow, by August they reached the Trinity-Sergeyeva Lavra, and at the end of August - beginning of September - stood near Moscow. The fighting for the city continued until October 22, when Kitay-Gorod, besieged by the militia, fell.

The feat of Minin and Pozharsky is that they managed to rally the people to fight not only for the Orthodox faith, but also for statehood. That is why on November 4 we celebrate a holiday called “National Unity Day”.

Service to Tsar Mikhail Romanov

Together with the Mstislavsky boyars, Prince Trubetskoy and Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Mikhailovich led the country until the convocation Zemsky Sobor in 1613. He came up with the idea to invite relatives of the last Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich on his mother’s side to the Moscow throne Anastasia Romanova. He became a close friend of the new Moscow ruler. He took part in the crowning ceremony, was a groomsman at both weddings of Mikhail Romanov, and supported the tsar during the death of his two sons.

After the crowning of Mikhail Romanov, Dmitry Pozharsky was granted rank of boyar, the prince continued to play a prominent political role at court:

1. As a governor, he liberated the cities of Bryansk and Karachev from the Poles, defended Kaluga, Mozhaisk and Borovsk from the troops of the Polish prince Vladislav.
2. Conducted diplomatic negotiations with English ambassadors, was the Tsar's envoy, and concluded the Polyanovsky Peace Treaty.
3. As a government official, he supervised various orders.
4. He was a governor and governor in different cities.

Family

Pozharsky was married twice. In his first marriage, he had 3 sons and 3 daughters. The second marriage with Princess Golitsyna was childless. In the male line, the family was interrupted in 1682, but the prince’s descendants in the female line are still alive today. He died in 1642 and was buried in the family tomb. This is a reliable fact, although the tomb has not survived to this day.

Attention! Descendant of Pozharsky, Prince P.A. Volkonsky (by the way, a relative of the famous Decembrist), lives in Estonia and is a famous director.

Liberators. Minin and Pozharsky

Russian history. Lecture 27. Minin and Pozharsky

Conclusion

Minin and Pozharsky are significant historical figures. Thanks to their courage, bravery, love for and freedom-loving spirit, the Russian state retained its independence and faith. They managed to unite the people, inspire representatives of all nationalities inhabiting the Moscow state at that time. Contemporaries admired their feat. Descendants, many years after the great events, keep the memory of what the leaders and participants of the militia did. Nizhny Novgorod residents erected a monument to the liberators on People's Unity Square near the Kremlin walls, and a small copy of it is located in Moscow on Red Square.

In 1578 D.M. was born. Pozharsky, statesman and military leader, boyar. He began court service in 1593. From 1602 he became a steward. He received his baptism of fire in 1605 at the battle of Dobrynichi. In 1608, he led an army defending grain carts in the area of ​​Kolomna, and defeated the detachment of False Dmitry II. From 1610 he was a governor in Zaraysk. He took direct part in organizing the First (1610) and Second (1611) militias. At the same time he received a title that emphasized his national power: “By the election of the entire land of the Moscow state of all ranks in the military and in zemstvo affairs, the steward and governor of Prince Pozharsky.” In 1612, at the head of the militia, he liberated Moscow from the Poles. In 1613-1618. led military operations against the Polish interventionists and the Cossack detachments of Hetman Sagaidachny who supported them. In a battle near Orel (09.09.1615) he defeated the significantly superior enemy forces of Pan Lisovsky. In 1628-1630 voivode in Novgorod. He died on April 20, 1642, and was buried in the family tomb in the Spaso-Efimev Monastery in Suzdal.

He went down in Russian history as a participant in the first militia and uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian invaders in Moscow in 1611, during the Time of Troubles. And from the end of October 1611, Dmitry Pozharsky was one of the leaders of the second militia. He, together with the Nizhny Novgorod merchant Minin, developed and implemented in 1612 a plan for the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders. With the liberation of Moscow, from the end of 1612 to 1613, he, together with Prince D.T. Trubetskoy headed the provisional government. After the election of Mikhail Romanov to the Russian throne, Pozharsky continued his political career, leading the orders: the Galician unit - in 1617, the Yamsky unit - in 1619-1624, the Robbers - in 1624-1628, the order affairs - in 1631-1632. , Moscow court order - in 1634-1638 and in 1639-1640. In 1628-1630 Dmitry Pozharsky served as a governor in Novgorod.

The brightest moments of Dmitry Pozharsky’s life are associated with the defense of Russia during the Time of Troubles at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. The failure of the first zemstvo militia upset, but did not discourage the zemstvo people. In provincial cities, a movement soon began again to organize a new militia and a campaign against Moscow. This time, the starting point and center of the movement was Nizhny Novgorod, led by its famous zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin. The city council, made up of representatives from all segments of the population, led the collection of funds and the call for military men. The “steward and governor” Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, a capable military leader and a man with an untarnished reputation, was invited to become the head of the zemstvo militia; The economic and financial part was taken over by the “elected person of the whole earth” Kuzma Minin.

Having learned about the movement of the Nizhny Novgorod militia, Mikhail Saltykov and his minions demanded from Patriarch Hermogenes that he write a letter prohibiting Nizhny Novgorod residents from going to Moscow. More than half of what was then Russia united around the militia; Local councils from representatives of all segments of the population worked in the cities, and governors were appointed from Yaroslavl to the cities. In Yaroslavl itself, a Zemsky Sobor, or council of the whole earth, was formed, from representatives from the localities and from service people who made up the militia; this council was the temporary supreme power in the country.

Remembering the fate of Lyapunov and his militia, Pozharsky was in no hurry to act until he had gathered enough strength. At the end of July, the militia moved from Yaroslavl to Moscow. Hearing about his movement, Ataman Zarutsky, taking with him several thousand “thieves’” Cossacks, left from near Moscow to Kaluga, and Trubetskoy remained with the majority of the Cossack army, awaiting the arrival of Pozharsky. In August, Pozharsky’s militia approached Moscow, where a few days later they repulsed the army of the Polish hetman Khodkiewicz, who was rushing to the aid of the Polish garrison.

On October 22, the Cossacks launched an attack and took Kitay-Gorod. Soon the Poles sitting in the Kremlin surrendered, exhausted by hunger, and both militias solemnly entered liberated Moscow with the ringing of bells and the rejoicing of the people.

The provisional government of Trubetskoy and Pozharsky convened to Moscow elected people from all cities and from every rank “for the zemstvo council and for state election.” The Zemsky Sobor, which met in January and February 1613, was the most complete of the Moscow Zemsky Sobors in composition: all segments of the population were represented (with the exception of serfs and landowner peasants). Relatively easily, they agreed that “the Lithuanian and Swedish king and their children and some other foreign-language states of the non-Christian faith of the Greek law should not be elected to the Vladimir and Moscow state, and Marinka and her son should not be wanted for the state.” They decided to elect one of their own, but then disagreements, disputes, intrigues and unrest began, because among the “noble” Moscow boyars, who had previously been allies of either the Poles, or the Tushino thief, there was no worthy and popular candidate. After long and fruitless debates, on February 7, 1613, the elected people agreed on the candidacy of 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov, the son of Metropolitan Philaret, who was languishing in Polish captivity; but since they did not know how the whole Earth would react to this candidacy, it was decided to arrange something like a plebiscite - “they secretly sent faithful and God-fearing people in all sorts of people with their thoughts about the state election to find out who they want as the sovereign tsar for the Moscow state in everyone. And in all cities and districts, all people have the same thought: why should Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov be the Sovereign Tsar in the Moscow State...” Upon the return of the messengers, the Zemsky Sobor on February 21, 1613 unanimously elected and solemnly proclaimed Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov tsar. The election letter said that he was desired for the kingdom by “all Orthodox Christians of the entire Moscow state.” At the same time, his family ties with the former royal Rurik dynasty were indicated: the new tsar is the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich’s cousin (son of Ivan the Terrible), Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Yuryev, and Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich’s nephew.