Time of Troubles was a
turbulent period in Russian history. Explore this period where intrigue,
rivalry, pretenders, rebellions and invasions plagued the lands of Russia.
It was a period of
lawlessness in the land of the Tsars. For fifteen years (from 1598 to 1613), a period known as the Time of Troubles, Russia suffered civil war, rebellion and foreign invasions. On the other, the
most powerful position in the land – the Tsar of All Russia - went into crisis
after crisis. Rival factions and pretenders left Russia leaderless and weak. The
country needed a legitimate and strong leader or faced inevitable end of its
existence as a sovereign country.
Prologue to the Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles originated after the bloody reign of Tsar Ivan IV “the Terrible”. His personal
conflict with his son led him to murder his heir. As a result, in his death in
1684, the throne went to his feeble and weak minded son who ruled as Tsar
Feodor. Son of Tsar Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna, he grew up as a pious and
oblivious man, showing no potential in becoming an effective ruler. His
weakness came in a bad time when Russia just recently emerged from the
turbulent reign of the late Tsar. Nevertheless, Feodor found an able and
competent man to rule Russia on his behalf – Boris Godunov. Godunov, a charming
and intelligent man, rose to prominence during the reign of Ivan IV. Ivan
trusted him, to the point the Tsar made him the executor of his last will. He
became the most powerful and influential man in the Kremlin and even more
influential and powerful after he persuaded Tsar Feodor to marry his sister
Irena. When Feodor fell terribly ill, he appointed Irena to become her
co-ruler.
Effectively, Boris,
through his sister, ruled Russia. Under his guidance, he began improve Russia’s
finances by imposing new taxes. He also tackled the issue of shortage of
manpower in farms owned by the landed gentry or boyars - the powerbase of the
Tsarist autocratic rule. During the reign of Ivan IV, peasants moved from one
location to the next on their own personal decision. This led to numerous idle
lands that translated to lower food production. To prevent a famine, Godunov
issued an order forbidding peasants freedom of movement. He also gave the
nobility the right to pursue and capture their former peasants. In foreign
policy, Godunov along with Tsar Feodor waged war against Sweden in 1590 to take
lands in the Gulf of Finland known as Ingria. At the end of the conflict in
1595, Russia regained Ivangorod, which Russia lost in a previous war against
the Swedes. In 1591, Godunov also managed to defeat Crimean Tartar attacks that
threatened Moscow itself. They then pushed them back and set up fortified
defensive positions in the river Don and Volga.
Tsar Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov |
Boris then saw an
opportunity to finally gain complete control over Russia as Tsar. He secured the support of the influential Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
Job. In September of 1598, Job along with other Boyars then convened an
assembly – a Zemsky Sobor - composed
of clerics, nobles, and other sectors of society that had the mandate to elect
the next Tsar. Eventually, the 600-member council filled with his supporters,
Godunov emerged as the newly elected Tsar of Russia.
After being elected,
Godunov stifled opposition, especially from other rival Boyar clans like the Romanovs and the Shuiskys. He
had a prominent Romanov, Feodor, exiled
to a convent and forced him to take his vows as a monk and took the name
Filaret. Filaret’s son, Mikhail, grew up alone for years before being reunited
with his mother Martha, who also was forced to take her vows as a nun.
Boris Godunov’s reign
could have been a successful rule if not because of the prevailing conditions.
He already proved himself as a competent, able, and efficient administrator. He
wanted Russia to develop and in 1602, he sent 18 young Russians to study in
Europe. He also welcomed foreign experts to come to Russia to transfer technology
to the Russians. However, Godunov suffered a humiliation when none of the
Russians sent to Europe return. Many of the foreign experts who came to Russia
under Godunov’s invitation found it difficult to live in the country because of
the xenophobic sentiment of many Russians. His total fall from grace in the
eyes of the Russian people came in 1601.
The great famine of 1601
to 1603 decimated one-third of Russia’s population. Dropping temperatures
caused huge slump in food production. Colder climate and lesser food fueled
hunger, poverty, and discontent. In Moscow, 120,000 perished due to starvation.
Some even took the drastic measure of cannibalism just to survive. Godunov
attempted to lessen the hardships of his people by giving alms and food to
those impoverished in Moscow. He relaxed laws concerning the freedom of
movement of peasants in order for them to look for more fertile and suitable
farmlands.
Nevertheless, his efforts proved to be futile against overwhelmingly
terrible events unfolding. With hunger and desperation across the land of
Muscovy, brigandage, rebellion, corruption, abuse and criminality rose
tremendously, making the condition not just desperate but also chaotic and
violent. Following the wake of hunger came the inquiry to the cause of the
famine. Ignorance and piety led many peasant to believe that the famine had
been caused by the illegitimacy of their Tsar. Rumors of Boris Godunov’s involvement
to the alleged murder of the younger brother of the late Tsar Feodor, Dmitry,
resurfaced and undermined the ruling Tsar. Revolts and uprisings began to erupt
in different areas of Russia. In 1604, someone emerged that brought the country
further into the abyss of civil war.
The First False Dmitry
First False Dmitry |
The Cossacks of the Don
and the Dnieper River had been one of False Dmitry’s main source of support.
Cossacks had lived happily and freely in the rivers for years, away from the
oppressive hands of the landed gentry and the boyars. But under Boris Godunov’s
rule, they had been placed under tight and strong control of Moscow, which
caused resentment to the Cossacks and led them to support the False Dmitry.
False Dmitry caused a
huge stir but also fanfare among many Russians. Boyars who did not recognized
Boris’ rule joined the False Dmitry. Desperate, impoverished, and abused
peasants also joined. As the False Dmitry and his army marched, they won land
as well as the hearts of many Russian when they entered cities and town not
with the flare for plunder and rape hind but with utmost discipline. In January
1605, Dmitry’s forced met Tsar Boris’ army in Dobrynichi, near Bryansk,
southwest of Moscow. However, Dmitry suffered a defeat and had to retreat to
Putyvl in the south near the River Dnieper. But the retreat proved to be only
temporary when events in Moscow unfolded.
Death of Boris Godunov and Reign of the First False Dmitry
Boris Godunov passed
away in April 23, 1605 (New Style). His reign became known for the start of the
Time of Troubles. His son, Feodor Borisovich Godunov, succeeded him. But
discontent and unpopularity of his father shortened the young Tsar’s reign.
Boyars who hated Boris entered the Kremlin, placed the Tsar under arrest and
later brutally murdered the sixteen year old Tsar. Few days later, False Dmitry
triumphantly marched into Moscow. Upon his arrival, the mother of the true dead
Dmitry, Maria Nagaia, fearing for her life, had no choice but to recognize the
False Dmitry as his supposedly dead son. By July, the False Dmitry became Tsar
with his coronation taking place in the Assumption Cathedral.
The rule of False Dmitry
became known for its tolerance as well as its strong preference towards the
Poles. As reward for the support of the Catholic Church to his campaign, he
allowed Catholicism to grow in Russia. This then threatened the position of the
traditional Russian Orthodox Church, causing frustration from its clerical
ranks. In foreign policy, Dmitry
improved and strengthened his relations with Poland, a traditional enemy of
Russia. To cement his ties with the Poles, in May 1606, False Dmitry married a
daughter of a Polish noble – Marina Mniszech. She became notorious in Russian
history as a witch and the same unpopularity came to his Polish guards. The abusive
and rough nature of her guards became unacceptable.
Many Boyars felt
humiliated and infuriated to the Poles and also to the False Dmitry. A plot
began to be made among the nobility led by the powerful Shuisky clan, with its
most prominent figure Vasily Shuisky. In May 17, the Boyars led by Vasily
Shuisky burst into the Kremlin and ended the life of the False Dmitry. Marina
Mniszech luckily escaped. A rampage against the Poles then followed. Hundreds
of Poles and nobles who supported the False Dmitry perished in the process. On
the other hand, Shuisky had the body of the False Dmitry burned as proof his
death and extinguished any hope of his survival. Then his ashes were placed in
a canister and fired back to Poland.
Tsar Vasily Shuisky
Tsar Vasily Shuisky |
Bibliography:
Freeze, Gregory. Russia:
A History. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Langer, Lawrence. Historical
Dictionary of Medieval Russia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2002.
Moss, Walter. A
History of Russia Volume I: To 1917. London: Anthem Press, 2005.
Stone, David. A
Military History of Russia: From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press Publishing, Company, 2006.
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