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Troubled time of swamps. Time of Troubles

Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov

Soviet historians glorified I. Bolotnikov as a fighter for the liberation of the peasants from serfdom. Some even called him the main character of the First Peasant War (by which they meant the Time of Troubles). However, in fact, at the beginning of the XVII century. Russia did not yet have a serf system. It was officially formalized only by the Council Code of 1649. Bolotnikov's goal was to return to the throne "Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich" - in fact, a new impostor, since the old one was killed.

Soviet historians found out that Bolotnikov was born around the late 60s or early 70s. 16th century in a small town in the south of the Oka. His father, a boyar son, that is, a minor nobleman, served "on the Shore" - that was the name of the Oka line of defense. Young Ivan also began his service there, who was to become a regular military man.

But the hard routine and low-money service soon got tired of the energetic young man. Therefore, he entered the service of Prince A. A. Telyatevsky and became a combat serf. At the expense of the owner, they bought him beautiful clothes, good weapons and a war horse. But this activity soon bored Bolotnikov. He wanted freedom and feats of arms. At the very beginning of the XVII century. Ivan fled from Telyatevsky to the steppe and became a free Cossack there. At the head of the Cossack gangs, he attacked Turkish ships more than once, robbed them and returned loaded with booty to his native village. But once he was not lucky - he was captured by the Crimean Tatars and was sold into slavery to the Turks at the slave market in Feodosia.

The new owners put him in chains and sent him to the galleys as an oarsman. This hard labor brought many heroes to the grave, but he only tempered Bolotnikov.

Once, off the coast of Italy, the Turkish fleet entered into battle with the ships of the Venetians. A cannonball hit the galley on which Ivan Isaevich was, it crashed, and everyone ended up in the water. Among the few, Ivan Isaevich was able to reach the shore and was picked up by the Italians. He entered the service of a Venetian merchant, but later decided to make his way to his homeland.

After some time, Bolotnikov ended up in Austria-Hungary, where he met the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks who served the emperor. He joined them and became a mercenary in the Austrian army. He fought the Turks more than once and soon mastered the European strategy and tactics of warfare to perfection. Soon, thanks to personal courage and courage, he was able to stand out and was proclaimed ataman at a Cossack gathering. Under his command was a ten thousandth detachment of brave and well-trained Cossacks.

At this time, news came to Austria-Hungary that the Russian Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich was going to start a large-scale war with the Turks and invites everyone to join his army. He promised to pay well for his service. I. I. Bolotnikov decided to join the tsar. But when they arrived in the Commonwealth, they learned that "Tsar Dmitry" had already lost his throne and was living with his mother-in-law in Sambir. In fact, Mikhalka Molchanov was hiding behind the planes.

Bolotnikov met with the "king" and promised to do everything possible to return the throne to him and deal with the usurper Shuisky. The ataman went to Putivl, where a new army was already being assembled, and led it. (Morozova L. E. The history of Russia in persons. The first half of the 17th century. P. 43–44.)

Konrad Bussov, who served with Bolotnikov, described Ivan Isaevich's meeting with the imaginary Dmitry as follows: “After the one who pretended to be Dimitri carefully checked and questioned him (Bolotnikov. - L. M.), who he was, where he came from and what his further intentions were, and from his answers he perfectly understood that Bolotnikov was an experienced warrior, he asked him if he wanted to serve him against his criminal compatriots, these treacherous villains. When he replied that he was ready to give his life for his hereditary sovereign at any time, the imaginary Demetrius told him: “I can’t give you much now, here’s 30 ducats, a saber and a cloak. Be content with little this time. Take this letter to Pugivl to Prince Shakhovsky. He will give you enough money from my treasury and make you governor and commander of several thousand soldiers. You will go further with them instead of me and, if God is merciful to you, you will try your luck against my perjured subjects. Tell me that you saw me and spoke to me here in Poland, that I am the way you see me now with your own eyes, and that you received this letter from my own hands.

With the letter and with these news, Bolotnikov immediately went to Putivl, where he was received cordially and benevolently, and all this prompted and inclined the people of Putivl to firmly believe that Demetrius, as Prince Grigory had already informed them earlier, had undoubtedly escaped and was alive. They began to fight the perjurers even more boldly, shed their blood and lost their fortune and property for the sake of him, although he was not at all true, but a new Demetrius substituted by the Poles. (Bussov Konrad. Moscow Chronicle 1584-1613. M., L., 1961. S. 138-140.)

Soon, two rebel centers formed in the west of the Russian state: Kromy and Yelets. Against the rebels in Kromy, Tsar Vasily sent only one regiment under the command of Prince Yu. N. Trubetskoy and boyar Prince B. M. Lykov. Three regiments were sent to Yelets: the Bolshoi - under the command of the boyar Prince I. M. Vorotynsky, the Front - under the command of the okolnichiy M. B. Shein and Storozheva - led by the boyar G. F. Nagim. Soon, regiments under the command of princes V.K. Cherkassky and M.F. Kashin arrived to help them. However, having stood all summer under the rebellious cities, the tsarist governors could not succeed.

In autumn, an army under the command of I. I. Bolotnikov approached the Kroms. Fierce battles began, during which Yu. N. Trubetskoy and B. M. Lykov were defeated and retreated to Moscow.

The Velsky chronicler clearly narrates about the situation near Yelets: “And near Yelets, in the same autumn, the sovereign governors and boyars and all military people, the reserves of table velms became scarce and bought four crackers for nine rubles and more. And from that poverty many reflections began. And having heard that the sovereign governors went from under Krom, and the thief Ivashko Bolotnikov, with many Seversk people and Don Cossacks, gathered, came to Kromy, and all the Seversk and field and Zaretsk cities from Tsar Vasily Ivanovich of all Russia were deposited. And the boyars and governors and all the military people from under Yelets and from under Krom all came to Moscow to Tsar Vasily Ivanovich of all Russia. And from Moscow they went home for great poverty. (Koretsky V.I. New about peasant enslavement and the uprising of I.I. Bolotnikov // VI.)

By autumn, it became clear that not only Putivl, Kromy and Yelets refused to obey V. I. Shuisky, but also Monastyrev, Chernigov, Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky. At this time, a large rebel army of Bolotnikov moved towards Moscow. His successes in the fight against the royal governors led to the fact that other cities began to change Shuisky: Ryazan, Tula, Kashira. Squads were formed in them, which went to Bolotnikov. Some of them were headed by the Venevsky governor Istoma Pashkov, others were headed by the Ryazan governor Prokopy Lyapunov and Grigory Sunbulov. They all believed that "Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich" was alive and that the usurper V. I. Shuisky should be severely punished.

Thus, on the approach to Moscow, the army of I. I. Bolotnikov increased significantly. It was joined by city squads not only from Seversk cities, but also from a number of central ones: Tula, Ryazan, Kashira, Kaluga, etc.

It included petty nobles, Cossacks, runaway combat serfs, city archers and even peasants.

Without much effort, the rebels managed to capture Kolomna and crush a small barrage detachment sent against them by V. I. Shuisky. The way to the capital was open. The tsarist governors tried to give the last battle near the village of Troitskoye on October 25, but he was also lost.

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The uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov is a movement for the rights of peasants in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century, led by Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov.

Background of the uprising

By the end of the 16th century, a new state system was finally formed and consolidated in Russia. economic system- feudalism. The feudal lords (landowners) completely owned the peasants, could sell them and transfer them to each other, which led to a gradual inevitable increase in the oppression of the feudal lords over the peasantry. Of course, the peasants did not like this situation, and they began to resent and gradually start small skirmishes with the feudal lords in defense of their own rights. So, in 1603 there was a rather large uprising of peasants and serfs under the command of Khlopko Kosolap.

In addition, after the death of False Dmitry 1, rumors spread that it was not the real king who was killed, but someone else. These rumors greatly weakened the political influence of Vasily Shuisky, who became king. The accusations that it was not the real tsar who had been killed gave "legitimacy" to any uprisings and skirmishes with the new tsar and the boyars. The situation became more and more difficult.

The uprising of the peasants led by Ivan Bolotnikov took place in 1606-1607 and became one of the main stages in the struggle of the peasantry against the boyars and serfdom.

Causes of the uprising

The oppression of the feudal lords, the strengthening of serfdom;
Political instability in the country;
Growing hunger;
Dissatisfaction with the activities of the boyars and the sovereign.

The composition of the participants in the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov

Peasants;
Serfs;
Cossacks from Tver, Zaporozhye and from the Volga;
Part of the nobility;
Mercenary troops.

Brief biography of Ivan Bolotnikov

The identity of the leader of the uprising, Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov, is shrouded in secrets. To date, there is no single theory about the early years of Bolotnikov's life, however, historians are of the opinion that Bolotnikov was a serf of Prince Telyatevsky. As a young man, he fled from his master, was captured, after which he was sold to the Turks. During the battle, he was released and fled to Germany, from where he heard about the events taking place in Russia. Bolotnikov decided to take an active part in them and returned to his homeland.

The beginning of the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov

The uprising originated in the South-West of the country, where the participants of the previous major uprising under the leadership of Khlopok, as well as opponents of Boris Godunov's reforms and serfdom, lived. Gradually, Tatars, Chuvashs, Maris and Mordovians began to join the rebellious Russian peasantry.

The uprising began in 1606 when Bolotnikov returned to Russia and led the disgruntled peasants. Having gathered an army, they began a military campaign against Moscow in order to remove the current sovereign from the throne and achieve the abolition of serfdom. The first clash with the sovereign's army took place in August near Kromy. The rebels were victorious and moved towards Orel.

On September 23, 1606, a battle took place near Kaluga, which Bolotnikov won. This made it possible for the rebels to freely move on to the capital. On the way to the capital, Bolotnikov and his associates managed to capture more than 70 cities.

In October 1606, the troops approached Moscow. Bolotnikov decided to raise an uprising in the city itself, for which he sent agitators. However, it was not possible to capture Moscow, Prince Shuisky gathered his army and defeated the rebels in November 1606. At the same time, a series of betrayals took place in the camp of Bolotnikov, which greatly weakened the army.

After the defeat, new centers of revolt broke out in Kaluga and Tula and the Volga region. Shuisky sent his troops to Kaluga, where Bolotnikov fled his troops and began the siege of the city, which lasted until May 1607, but ended in nothing.

On May 21, 1607, Shuisky again organizes a performance against Bolotnikov, which ends with the victory of government troops and the almost complete defeat of Bolotnikov.

The rebels take refuge in Tula, which is immediately besieged by Shuisky's army. The siege lasted 4 months, after which Shuisky offered the rebels a peace treaty. The exhausted troops of Bolotnikov agree, but Shuisky does not fulfill his promises and takes all the leaders of the uprising prisoner.

Reasons for the defeat of Bolotnikov

Lack of unity in the ranks of his troops. The uprising involved people from different walks of life and they all pursued their own goals;
Lack of a single ideology;
The betrayal of a part of the army. The nobility pretty soon went over to the side of Shuisky;
Underestimation of the strength of the enemy. Bolotnikov often forced events, not giving the army the opportunity to accumulate strength.

The results of Ivan Bolotnikov's speech

Despite the defeat, the rebels managed to ensure that the government finally began to take into account the needs of the lower strata of the population and paid attention to the needs of the peasants. The uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov was the first peasant uprising in the history of Russia.

Bolotnikov, Ivan Isaevich, - the figure of the Time of Troubles, the time of Shuisky. Bolotnikov was a serf of Prince Telyatevsky, as a child he was captured by the Tatars, sold to the Turks, worked on Turkish galleys, and after his release he ended up in Venice. Returning to his homeland through Poland, he appeared in Sambir to Molchanov, who pretended to be the escaped Tsar Demetrius. Molchanov sent Bolotnikov with a letter to the governor of Putivl, Prince Shakhovsky. The latter entrusted him with a detachment of 12,000 men. With them, Bolotnikov went to the Komarnitskaya volost and everywhere spread the rumor that he himself saw Dimitri, who appointed him chief governor. Vasily Shuisky sent a detachment against Bolotnikov under the command of Prince Yuri Trubetskoy, but the latter, having met Bolotnikov near Kromy, retreated. This served as a signal for the uprising of many cities that sent auxiliary detachments to Bolotnikov; serfs and peasants, having heard the call of Bolotnikov, almost everywhere rose against their masters and joined his detachment. The Mordovians were also indignant, hoping to free themselves from Moscow power. In addition, the militia of Istoma Pashkov joined Bolotnikov, and the Lyapunovs - Zakhar and Procopius - and a detachment of freemen who came from Lithuania stuck to him. Bolotnikov headed towards the capital. The cities that stood in the way all recognized the authority of the chief governor Demetrius; only in Kolomna did they dare to resist, and this led to the complete plunder of the city. 50 miles from Moscow, near the village of Troitskoye, Bolotnikov was met by the Moscow army under the command of Mstislavsky, who, without entering the battle, barely escaped Bolotnikov's persecution. On October 22, 1606, Bolotnikov stopped in the village of Kolomenskoye, seven miles from Moscow. Here he built a prison and began to send letters around Moscow and various cities, inciting the people against the rich and noble and urging everyone to kiss the cross of the legitimate sovereign Dimitri Ivanovich. Bolotnikov's militia increased here even more; separate gangs stood out from it, mostly serfs, who, with their raids and robberies, kept the capital in a state of siege. But then a split occurred in Bolotnikov's army: on one side stood the nobles and boyar children, on the other, serfs, Cossacks and, in general, small nameless people. The latter were headed by Bolotnikov, and the chiefs of the former were Istoma Pashkov and the Lyapunov brothers. Disagreements arose between the leaders, and their result was the transition to the side of Shuisky, first the Lyapunovs, and then Istoma Pashkov. Shuisky, meanwhile, actively set about strengthening Moscow, from the very appearance of Bolotnikov, now began to receive reinforcements from cities that had gone over to his side, who sent militias of nobles and boyar children to him. A series of successful attacks on Bolotnikov's prison forces the latter to flee from Moscow. Bolotnikov settled in Kaluga; fortified it, gathered up to 10,000 fugitives and prepared for defense. The detachments sent here by Shuisky (the largest under the command of Mstislavsky) surrounded the city from all sides, carried out frequent attacks, defeated the militia that came to the aid of Bolotnikov under the command of Prince Masalsky, but Bolotnikov's energy remained unshakable; only one thing confused him: the named Demetrius did not appear. Then a new impostor appeared among the Terek and Volga Cossacks, who assumed the name of Tsarevich Peter, supposedly the son of Fyodor Ioannovich, replaced by his daughter, who soon died; he was already approaching Putivl, and it was then that Prince Shakhovskoy decided to use them to support the uprising. He sent him to Tula, and then moved himself. To the rescue of Bolotnikov, he sent a detachment under the command of Prince Telyatevsky. The latter defeated the royal governor, the princes of Tatev and Cherkassky, near Kaluga, on Pchelka (May 2). Then Bolotnikov made a sortie from Kaluga and headed for Tula, where Shakhovskoy and Peter were already there. On June 30, Tsar Vasily Shuisky approached Tula with a large army (about 100 thousand people). The siege of Tula began, lasting a little more than three months. At the suggestion of the Murom boyar son Kravkov, Tula was flooded by the Upa dam, where famine set in. Negotiations for surrender began. The tsar promised mercy to Bolotnikov and Shakhovsky, and on October 10, 1607, the boyar Kolychev occupied Tula. Bolotnikov appeared before Shuisky, took off his saber, laid it before the tsar, hit him with his forehead to the ground and uttered an oath promise to serve the tsar faithfully to the grave, if he, according to his kiss, did not order him to be killed. Bolotnikov and other leaders of the rebellion, after interrogation, were sent to prison in Kargopol. Here, first, Bolotnikov's eyes were gouged out, and then drowned.

If by the summer of 1606 Vasily Shuisky managed to consolidate power in Moscow, then on the outskirts the people continued to seethe. The political conflict associated with the struggle for the throne grew into a social one. Having lost all hope of improving their lives, the people again opposed the authorities. This time the performance took on the character of a Peasant War. He was the leader of the peasant uprising (1606-1607).

Fate Ivan Bolotnikov was very dramatic. At first he was a military servant of Prince Telyatevsky, from whom he fled to the Don Cossacks, where he was captured by the Crimean Tatars and then sold into slavery by a rower on a Turkish galley. When the German ships defeated the Turkish fleet, he ended up in Venice and from there, through Germany and Poland, he gets to Putivl. But he gets here not just as a former serf, but as governor of Tsar Dmitry! In Sambor I met Mikhail Molchanov, who looked like False Dmitry I, who allegedly escaped from Moscow by a miracle. From him Ivan Bolotnikov received a letter with the state seal, from which it followed that he was appointed governor of the king. The seal was stolen from Moscow by Molchanov. Together with the diploma he receives a fur coat, 60 ducats and a saber. With this parting word, he arrived in the Komaritskaya volost, which became his support. Here, in the area of the city of Kromy, there were many Cossacks who once supported False Dmitry I because he freed this region from taxes for 10 years.

From there, with his detachment in the summer of 1606, he moved to Moscow. Along the way, peasants, townspeople, and even nobles and Cossacks, led by P. Lyapunov, G. Sumbulov and I. Pashkov, joined him. Associated with False Dmitry I, the governors of Putivl (Prince Shakhovsky) and Chernigov (Prince A. Telyatevsky) obeyed the “royal governor”. small squad Ivan but Bolotnikov but turned into a huge army, which defeated the government troops near Yelets, captured Kaluga, Serpukhov, Tula.

In October 1606, the siege of Moscow began, which lasted two months. For this moment Ivan but Bolotnikov and supported 70 cities. At the most decisive moment, the noble detachments went over to the side of the government troops of Vasily Shuisky, and the army of Ivan Bolotnikov was defeated. entrenched in Kaluga, which was besieged by the troops of Vasily Shuisky. Here, from the Terek along the Volga, detachments of “Tsarevich Peter” came to his aid - the serf Ilya Gorchakov or Ileyka Muromets. This helped Bolotnikov break out of the siege and retreat to Tula. For three months the siege of Tula was led by Vasily Shuisky himself. The Upa River was blocked by a dam, and the city was flooded. Vasily Shuisky promised the rebels to save their lives, and they opened the gates of Tula.

But Vasily Shuisky brutally cracked down on the rebels. I.I. Bolotnikov was blinded and then drowned in an ice hole in the city of Kargopol. Ileyka Muromets, an associate of Bolotnikov, was executed in Moscow.

Together with the Russians in the uprising Ivan Bolotnikov the peoples of the Volga region, which became part of Russia, took part.

The demands of the rebels are told by “charming letters” (sheets) that were distributed from the camp Ivan Bolotnikov. These are proclamations that called on the population to go over to the side of the rebels and “beat their boyars and their wives; seize their estates and estates. Also, the sheets promised the rebels boyar noble titles and other ranks.

The demands of the rebels were categorical, but, nevertheless, they were of a tsarist character. Naive monarchism, faith in a "good" king were the hallmarks of the ideal state system that the rebels saw. Such participants in the uprising as the Cossacks and the peasantry were for a return to the old, communal order.

Experts assess the popular uprisings at the beginning of the 17th century in different ways: some believe that they delayed the legal registration of serfdom for 50 years, while others believe that, on the contrary, they only accelerated it. Legally, serfdom was formalized by the Sudebnik of 1649.

The future leader of the rebellion (which historians also call the peasant war) Ivan Bolotnikov had a life full of adventures behind him. At first he was a combat servant of the boyar and the prince A. A. Telyatevsky. In this service, he received a variety of knowledge in military affairs. However, the servile share weighed heavily on his freedom-loving nature. Bolotnikov fled to the southern steppes and soon became chieftain of the Volga Cossacks. In one of the campaigns, he was taken prisoner by the Crimean Tatars. They sold him into slavery to the Ottomans. So the free chieftain turned out to be a slave rower on a Turkish battle galley.

During one of the naval battles, the galley, on which Bolotnikov was located, was captured by the Venetians. He managed to escape. Having received freedom, the ataman visited Venice, and from there through Germany he reached Poland. Here he heard that Tsar Dmitry, who had fled from Moscow, lives in Sambor, and decided to meet him. From Germany he made his way to Russia. The Sambir impostor received him in the castle of Yuri Mnishek. These two people have found each other. Ivan Bolotnikov was a courageous man, experienced in military affairs. The fruits of the union of False Dmitry II and Ivan Bolotnikov were new disasters for Russia.

The reason for the Bolotnikov uprising was the desire of the impostor Mikhail Molchanov, who pretended to be the saved Tsar False Dmitry I, to overthrow Tsar Vasily Shuisky.

Thus, in the south of the Russian kingdom, the Cossacks became the main force of the opponents of Tsar Vasily Shuisky. They refused to swear allegiance to the boyar tsar. They were supported by those who believed the impostor False Dmitry II. Among those who went over to his side were townspeople and service people, archers, serfs and peasants. Detachments of disaffected grew, excitement spread.

Ivan Bolotnikov agreed to lead the army on behalf of the allegedly saved Dmitry, whom no one had yet seen at that time. The impostor Mikhail Molchanov appointed ataman Ivan Bolotnikov as his great governor and sent him to Putivl with a corresponding letter. The local voivode prince G. P. Shakhovskoy was an old friend of Molchanov. He hated the Shuiskys and convinced the townspeople that Dmitry was hiding in Poland.

Soon Putivl became the center of an uprising against the power of Vasily Shuisky. The rebels lacked only energetic and courageous leaders. It was at this moment that Ivan Bolotnikov, his great voivode, arrived in Putivl with broad powers from "Tsar Dmitry". He was immediately recognized as the commander-in-chief of all the forces of the rebels. Simultaneously with Bolotnikov, another leader of the rebels came forward - a young nobleman Istoma Pashkov, the son of a small landowner from the town of Epifani.

Thus, in 1606, a large army gathered in Putivl, which, under the leadership of Ivan Bolotnikov, moved to Moscow.

As it moved towards Moscow, Bolotnikov's army grew in numbers, becoming more and more heterogeneous. The detachments of nobles were led by Prokopy Lyapunov and Istoma Pashkov. The governors were Prince Shakhovskoy and Prince Telyatevsky (for whom Bolotnikov had previously served). The interests of different groups of dissatisfied did not coincide too much. This was the weakness of the army.

Kromy and Yelets

The government of Vasily Shuisky sent a large army to suppress the rebellion in the southern regions of the country. In the summer of 1606, the tsarist governors besieged two strongholds of the rebels - Kromy and Yelets. The rebels staunchly resisted, and the siege dragged on until autumn. Meanwhile, the nobles were accustomed to not serving only in the summer. With the onset of autumn, they usually dispersed to their estates until the next spring. In addition, famine began in the royal army. As a result, the governors of Shuisky were forced to lift the siege and withdraw their heavily depleted regiments back to Moscow. The whole South was in the grip of the rebels. Following the retreating Moscow troops, they moved north to Moscow.

Advance towards Moscow

Supporters of False Dmitry II divided into two independent troops. One of them was commanded by Ivan Bolotnikov, the other by Istoma Pashkov. Bolotnikov went from Putivl to Moscow through Kromy, Oryol, Volkhov, Kaluga and Serpukhov. Pashkov made his way much further to the east. Starting the campaign from Yelts, he passed east of Tula and went to the Oka near Kashira. From Kashira, Pashkov again turned east and captured Kolomna. On the way, detachments of Tula and Ryazan nobles, led by G. F. Sumbulov And P. P. Lyapunov. On the way from Kolomna to Moscow, the rebels near the village of Troitskoye defeated the tsarist army sent against them.

At the end of October 1606, both troops of False Dmitry II united on the southern outskirts of Moscow. Their headquarters was the village of Kolomenskoye, the favorite suburban residence of the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars.

Siege of Moscow (1606)

The capture of Moscow was the main goal of the troops of False Dmitry II. If successful, they, of course, would have perpetrated an unprecedented pogrom in the capital. The absence of any legal authority predetermined the future: the country would have plunged into bloody chaos for a long time. Realizing all this, Muscovites rallied around Vasily Shuisky. The head of the church, the patriarch, acted as a furious accuser of the rebels Hermogenes(1606-1612). Detachments from cities located to the west and north of Moscow came to the aid of Shuisky.

The total number of rebel troops was about 20 thousand people. This was not enough to take Moscow by storm - a powerful fortress with several belts of defensive structures. There was a moment of shaky balance of power. The rebels sent their people to Moscow with letters in which they called on the city mob to rise against the boyars. Shuisky's supporters demanded that Tsar Dmitry be presented, on whose behalf Bolotnikov and Pashkov spoke. The covert means of political struggle - intrigues and bribery - also went into action.

For five weeks, the rebels besieged Moscow, but they could not take it. The long siege weakened Bolotnikov's army: many nobles were convinced that their interests were incompatible with what peasants, serfs and Cossacks expected from victory. This led to the fact that in mid-November 1606 the Ryazan noble detachments under the leadership of P. Lyapunov went over to the side of Shuisky. I. Pashkov soon followed their example. It is believed that the reason for his betrayal was the enmity with Bolotnikov because of the primacy in the camp of the rebels.

The battle at the end of 1606 near the village of Kolomenskoye was lost by the rebels, although they fought bravely.

Anticipating an imminent defeat, Bolotnikov sent messengers to Putivl to Shakhovsky, begging him to expedite the return of "Tsar Dmitry" to Russia. However, False Dmitry II Mikhail Molchanov, who outwardly did not look like False Dmitry I (for whom he pretended to be), did not dare to start a too risky game. Instead of him, a new adventurer came to Putivl from the Don with a large detachment of Cossacks - a Tsarevich Peter. It was Ileyka Korovin, a bankrupt townsman from the city of Murom (aka Ileyka Muromets, Ilya Gorchakov). A few years before, he fled to the Terek Cossacks and was elected their chieftain. Ileika Muromets went down in history as False Peter.

In 1605, Ileyka declared himself Peter, allegedly the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. Having called himself this name, he sent a letter to False Dmitry I, who was then sitting on the royal throne, demanding that he be given money and salaries for the Cossacks as a "relative". The amusing correspondence between the two impostors soon ended. However, Ileyka liked to play the role of the prince. Now he decided to try his luck again on the side of "Tsar Dmitry".

From Putivl, Ileika set out with his Cossacks towards Moscow, stopping in Tula.

The still rather strong army of Bolotnikov retreated to Kaluga, which was quickly strengthened. The tsarist troops tried to take Kaluga by storm, but were driven back and went over to the siege. material from the site

Having settled in Tula, False Peter sent detachments to help Bolotnikov, who was besieged in Kaluga. On May 3, 1607, Prince A. Telyatevsky, governor of False Peter, defeated the royal army near Kaluga. This defeat completely demoralized Shuisky's regiments, which had been unsuccessfully besieging Kaluga for five months already. At the first outburst of the besieged, the Moscow governors left their camp and retreated to the capital. However, Bolotnikov's forces were also exhausted by a long siege.

Soon Bolotnikov left Kaluga and withdrew his troops to rest and replenish in Tula. There, False Peter was already waiting for him.

At the call of Patriarch Hermogenes, the nobles of the whole country flocked to Shuisky's army. Those who fell under the banner of the tsar were promised to “seek out” their peasants and serfs who had fled over the past 15 years, they were given land and awards. Those who evaded military service to the tsar, according to the patriarch, were in for terrible punishments and the curse of the church.

At the head of the 100,000th army, the young talented governor Mikhail