With the False Dmitry ascending the Russian throne the country plunged into the horrible times of trouble. The False Dmitry presented a striking contrast to all previous Russian rulers. Unlike the Russian Tsars before him, he ignored the royal etiquette, never took a nap after lunch, walked about Moscow, hobnobbed with the Poles and wore European clothes. But he was clever and surprised the boyars by quickly making correct decisions on ruling the state. Strange as it may seem, he quickly grew popular with ordinary Russians. But the boyars were annoyed by the behaviour of the pretender of a low birth, whom they had recognized as their Tsar only to depose the Godunovs. Now that they had reached their goal, they needed the man no more. Besides, they were outraged by the fact that he was friendly with the Poles who behaved as if they were the overlords in Russia. The boyars decided to remove the False Dmitry and choose someone from among their lot. The conspiracy was led by a high-born boyar Vassily Shuisky. The plotters decided that as soon as the alarm bell gave the sign, they would rush into the royal palace, yelling: “The Poles are killing the Tsar!” Then they would surround Dmitry and kill him. The conspirators thought that the time when the Tsar’s bride Marina Mniszek came to Moscow for the wedding would be most appropriate. The Tsar’s bride arrived in Moscow with a detachment of 2,000 armed Poles. Glittering, unheard-of ceremonies and parties began in Moscow at once. Marina was crowned in May 1606 and then wed to Dmitry. The Tsar and Tsarina wouldn’t think of anything but the parties and celebrations, although ominous signs were aplenty. This is the way historians describe the developments of the time.
The ringing of the bells and noise woke up Tsar Dmitry. When he saw he was in great danger, he jumped out of the window, but injured himself. The boyars were quick to gather around the injured Tsar. Prince Shuisky ran up to him, unable to conceal his real feelings: "At last we've got you! Repent, you villain, for this is your last hour." "I am not a villain, I am you Tsar!" said Dmitry firmly. "I am a royal son and your legal Tsar." Someone yelled again: "You, traitor! Kill the thief!" There was a terrible noise. Several men rushed to the Tsar, who was already on the ground, and pierced him with their swords. Dmitry closed his eyes and did not say a word. Minutes later it was all over. The bleeding body was dragged to the front porch and left there to lie on the threshold. Crowds of people looked at the Tsar, whose face had been mutilated beyond recognition. That was the end of the 11-month reign of the False Dmitry, whom the prominent Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov described as the man who wiped out the Godunovs and then disappeared into thin air himself like a ghost, leaving behind a horrible precipice that almost swallowed the entire Muscovy. The precipice was the period of trouble that broke out in the early 17th century.
The new Tsar could not rely on the people, so his authority was steadily on the decrease. Revolts began to erupt against Shuisky in Muscovy, and soon another impostor, this time False Dmitry the Second, otherwise known as The Thief, loomed up on the country’s western borders. Having gathered a large army, a mixed one though, consisting of Polish adventurers and fugitive serfs, False Dmitry the Second approached Moscow and set up a camp in the village of Tushino, to which he owes his nickname, - the Thief of Tushino. His gangs were looting the country, and since Vassily Shuisky was unable to cope with the situation on his own, he asked the King of Sweden for help, who was quick to send an auxiliary force to Russia. But behind the Thief of Tushino was Poland, which was at war with Sweden. The Polish King used the situation to openly invade Russia. The fact that foreigners interfered in Russia’s extremely involved situation gave an additional edge to it. In September 1609 a 12,000 strong Polish force invaded Russia and besieged Smolensk. Muscovites felt ill at ease. Vassily Shuisky was deposed in another revolt, and the country again found itself with no Tsar at the helm, at a time when the people were badly in need of a strong leader. Moscow plunged into a period of interregnum. The seven more distinguished boyars assumed power, but this kind of government could not prove solid and lasting. Fearing more revolts that could result in a social revolution and anarchy, the boyars decided that the Polish King’s 15-year-old son should ascend the throne, provided he converted to Orthodoxy. But the Polish King had different plans for Russia, namely he himself wanted to reign over Russians. Meanwhile the boyars authorized the entry into Moscow of a 3,500 strong Polish detachment on September 21st, 1610. The invaders soon assumed power in Moscow amid absolute chaos and an administrative and military collapse. The assassination of the Thief of Tushino was reported in December, which became a development of cardinal importance for the Times of Trouble. From that moment on the Moscow residents’ only enemies were the Poles. Moscow began to send out missives to other Russian cities urging them to pool efforts against the common enemy. The missives said this, among other things. Patriarch Hermogenes was the first to come out against the Polish invaders and call on the Russian people to clear Russian land of the enemy. The Patriarch’s call met with considerable response. Nizhni Novgorod became the centre of the patriotic movement and the eminent elder Kuzma Minin, its leader. In September Kuzma Minin addressed his fellow citizens with a call to help Moscow and spare no money or effort. The money raised by the people proved enough to set up people’s militia. Prince Pozharsky was appointed its commander. In August 1612 the militia units approached Moscow. The Poles put up stiff resistance. On the eve of the decisive battle, on November 4th, the Russian militiamen said a public prayer to the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan and attacked the Moscow Kremlin, where the Polish garrison had taken up their position. Very soon the ringing of church bells let everyone know that the fortress had been captured and the Poles had been driven out of Moscow.
For a new Tsar to become a generally supported monarch, the Assembly sent out messengers to all towns and villages to canvass their attitude towards Mikhail Romanov. The messengers were back in two weeks’ time to report to the Assembly that the people approved of the choice. And so on February 21st, 1613 the Assembly of the Land elected the 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov as Russia’s Tsar. But why did the choice fall on the Romanov family? After all, there were quite a few other rich and distinguished boyar clans. The point is that the Romanovs commanded popular respect and, importantly, were related to the Royal Family.
On July 1st, 1613 Mikhail Romanov was crowned Russia’s Tsar, thereby founding a new dynasty that reigned for 300 years in this country. In 1613 the people of Russia got a new Tsar and swore allegiance to him. This put paid to the Times of Trouble in Russia, which braced itself
and restored the Russian State.
Illustrations: N.Orlova. “History of Russia. Tsars and Emperors”, Bely Gorod, Moscow, 2001 L.Borzova “Illustrated Russian History”, Rosmen, Moscow, 2004
20/01/2005
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On the night
of May 16 bells began to ring in various parts of the city. Alarmed people
took to the streets. Somebody shouted: "The Kremlin is on fire! The Poles
want to kill the boyars and the Tsar!" In the meantime, Shuisky with a
group of other conspirators, holding a cross in one hand and
sword in the other, arrived at the Cathedral of the Assumption,
dismounted, kissed the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir and
told those present: "In God's name, rise in revolt against the cruel heretic."
Once the
False Dmitry was killed, the events took the following turn. Two days after
the assassination the top boyars elected prince Vassily Shuisky as their
Tsar. Thus an impostor was succeeded by a conspirator, a 54-year-old boyar
who was a sly and shrewd politician. Shuisky sent out missives throughout
the country to expose the False Dmitry as the man who used the devil’s
powers to ascend the throne and who enchanted the Russian people. But nobody
believed what Shuisky said, since the prince first recognized the impostor
as a lawful heir to the throne and Tsar, and then killed him and called
him a liar.
Once
the invaders were defeated, Russians had to elect their Tsar, since there
was nobody on the throne in Moscow. The Assembly of the Land was called,
with those representing all estates having come to the capital city. Yet
it was no easy matter to elect a new Tsar because of a lot of disagreement
on the candidates. When passions were running high, some nobleman handed
in a written statement to the Assembly to insist that the young boyar Mikhail
Romanov should be elected as Tsar of Muscovy and All Russia. The Assembly
members, annoyed by the fact that some nobleman had handed in the statement
in question, shouted: “Who has brought that letter? Where is he from?”
Then an ataman, or Cossack chieftain, from the Don, came to the election
table amid all the shouting and handed in another statement, “What kind
of statement is this? Whom are you asking for, ataman?” came the question.
“For the lawful Tsar Mikhail Romanov”, answered the Cossack chieftain.
While the
Assembly was engaged in electing the new Tsar in Moscow, Mikhail Romanov
and his mother, nun Martha, kept a low profile, staying away at their patrimony
in Kostroma. The Assembly sent an embassy of clergymen and boyars to Kostroma
to secure Mikhail Romanov’s agreement to ascend the throne. But the Romanovs
declined the proposal. Mikhail’s mother refused to give her blessing to
him, since even a grown man would find it impossible to carry the burden
that Mikhail would have to shoulder if he accepted the proposal to rule
the country, which was ravaged by the developments of the previous decade.
To shake the 
Romanovs’
uncompromising stand on the issue, the ambassadors brought pressure to
bear on them by telling them the following: “Do you want our enemies to
triumph by trampling underfoot the Orthodox Faith, by taking prisoner and
driving away Orthodox Christians? If so, then on Doomsday God will call
you to account for the desecration of faith, the defilement of churches,
the death of the host of people with no sovereign to lead them, the internecine
strife and the spilling of innocent blood…”
