Boyar origin
Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky is the leader of the great princely family. His father, Ivan Andreevich Shuisky, died in the battle against the Swedes near Lode Castle during the Livonian War. Ivan Andreevich himself took part in many military campaigns, and at the age of 32 he became the head of the Moscow Court Chamber. By the end of Ivan the Terrible's reign, Shuisky occupied a high position and was one of the most influential boyars. However, at the insistence of Boris Godunov, in 1586, for reasons unclear to historians, the boyar went into exile in Galich.
By 1991, Shuisky returned to the capital. In the same year, he heads the investigation into the death of Tsarevich Dmitry, which occurred under very strange circumstances. Perhaps under pressure from Godunov, or perhaps by conspiracy, Vasily Shuisky makes a conclusion that the cause of death is an accident. Having shown such loyalty, he again takes a place in the boyar Duma.
Already during the reign of Godunov, monk Grigory Otrepiev spread rumors that Tsarevich Dmitry survived, escaped and fled to Poland. The Polish ruler supported False Dmitry I and allocated funds for the army in his favor. Shuisky went from Moscow to meet the false heir. In the battle on January 21, 5 of the seventeenth century, near Dobrynichi, the Russian army under the command of V. Shuisky and F. Mstislavsky defeated the enemy army, putting False Dmitry to flight. The boyar did not pursue the enemy on Polish territory.
In the same year, Boris Godunov suddenly dies. The throne is occupied by his son, Fedor. Claiming the throne, Shuisky attempts state change, which ends in failure and the expulsion of the boyar and his family from Moscow. At the same time, False Dmitry gathers a new army and marches on Russia. The people rebel against Godunov's power, as a result of which Fyodor dies. The period of reign of the impostor begins. He needs the support of the boyars and at the end of 1605 he returns Shuisky to the city.
The reign of False Dmitry was short. Although he enjoyed the support of the common people, the ruler allowed the Poles to come to power and was going to convert to Catholicism, which caused popular unrest. Shuisky took advantage of the turmoil and announced that the existing Tsarevich Dmitry was nevertheless killed in Uglich on the orders of Boris Godunov, which means that an impostor is in power.
As a result of an armed coup carried out by the boyars on May 17, 2006, False Dmitry was killed. The question of a new sovereign arose sharply. On May 19, the boyars, bribed by Shuisky, stage a Zemsky Sobor, at which the boyar’s supporters, gathered on Red Square, “shout out” him against the kingdom. One of the conditions that was put forward to the new ruler by dissatisfied boyars and those who considered their family more worthy was the adoption of a “kissing record” - a promise not to make important government decisions without the consent of the Boyar Duma. On June 1 of the same year, Vasily Shuisky became Russian Tsar.
Reign period
The state of the Russian kingdom in those years was extremely unfavorable:
The population of the western lands after the appearance of False Dmitry did not submit to the authority of Moscow;
The treasury was empty;
A few years before this, a famine had been experienced;
Against the background of general devastation and the strengthening of serfdom, peasant uprisings broke out more and more often.
At the same time, the armies of the southern lands, which came to Moscow along with False Dmitry, did not want to swear allegiance to the new king. They went to Ryazan. The impostor's father-in-law, Yuri Mnishek, began spreading rumors that as a result of the coup, it was not the real Tsarevich Dmitry who died, but his double. Thus, it turned out that the true ruler was alive. This time his role went to Mikhail Molchanov, whom historians call False Dmitry II.
Bolotnikov's uprising
The Poles made another attempt to capture Moscow, this time under the leadership of False Dmitry II. Ivan Bolotnikov, ataman of the Volga Cossacks, joined him. The general army of Poles and disgruntled Cossacks moved towards Moscow. Already in the fall of 1606, the army approached the city. However, weakened by numerous losses and divided in half, Bolotnikov’s army could not withstand the siege of Moscow, after which a retreat followed to Kaluga.
Shuisky's army failed to take Kaluga. However, the assault on the city caused irreparable physical, material and moral damage to the enemy. Bolotnikov's rebels had to retreat to Tula to join reinforcements from False Dmitry II. During this period, another impostor appears - the son of Tsarevich Dmitry, Peter. His role was played by an ordinary slave Ileika Muromets.
After the defeat near Kaluga, Shuisky convened a new army and advanced to Tula. A rebel army was sent to meet them, but it was defeated. The siege of Tula lasted for several months. The fortress was reliably guarded by the rebels, so a decision was made to dam the Upa River and flood the city. The rebels, weakened by hunger and disease, had to surrender. On October 10, 1607, the fortress fell. The instigators of the uprising were captured and executed. Bolotnikov's uprising was suppressed.
Dual power period
At the same time, False Dmitry II gathered a new army and set off for Moscow. Dissatisfied peasants joined the impostor's army; there was no proper resistance to the invaders. Thus, by August 07, False Dmitry II had conquered many cities in central Russia and set up camp in the village of Tushino, not far from Moscow.
Dissatisfaction with Shuisky's rule grew. The impostor's army did not allow food convoys into the city. Famine began in the capital. Several attempts were made to overthrow the king, but Shuisokm managed to avoid death.
Diplomatic negotiations on the withdrawal of the impostor's army from the walls of Moscow did not lead to a clear result. Therefore, in 1609, Shuisky had to turn to the Swedish king Charles IX for help to provide additional troops that would be supported by the Russian tsar. In return, Sweden demanded control over the territories of Pskov and Novgorod.
The united Russian-Swedish army, under the command of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who was the Tsar’s nephew, knocked out the Polish invaders from Kalyazin on August 28, 1609, liberating Moscow. The people fully supported and praised Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. Therefore, when he died as a result of poisoning at a feast, according to rumors, the king was blamed for this.
The Polish king Sigismund the Third saw secret intent in the treaty with Sweden, with which Poland was at war at that time. A huge Polish army advanced onto Russian territory. The siege of Smolensk lasted about a year, as a result of which national liberation movements began to arise among the population.
The Tsar's brother, Dmitry Shuisky, was entrusted with leading the Russian army. However, cowardice and lack of military skills played against the young commander. Not far from the village of Klushino, located between Vyazma and Mozhaisk, Shuisky’s army was completely defeated. The defeat at Klushino and the general unstable situation in the state led to the overthrow of the tsar.
Results of the board
On July 17, 1610, as a result of a coup, Vasily Shuisky was overthrown and tonsured a monk. At the same time, the former ruler refused to pronounce the words of his vows on his own. Already in September 1610, Shuisky and his brothers were handed over to the Polish ruler, to whom he was forced to swear allegiance.
The former ruler died in 1612 in Gostyn Castle. His brother Dmitry survived him by only a few days. The third brother, Ivan, was subsequently given the opportunity to return to Russia.
The results of the reign of Vasily IV Ioannovich were destroyed cities and fortresses, complete economic and political devastation, and the loss of significant territories. After the overthrow of the tsar, the Boyar Duma began to rule the country until the election of a new ruler at the Zemsky Sobor. Mikhail Romanov was elected as the new tsar, who saved the state from the interventionists.
They always try to interpret history subjectively, and this also applies to determining the role of rulers, assessing their personality and actions. Many have tried to name the best and worst rulers of Russia more than once; even special votes were held on this topic, naming very different ones. In this post we will name the five worst rulers in the history of Russia, based not on subjective assessments, but solely on the results of their reign.
5. Vasily Shuisky
Vasily Shuisky was Tsar from 1606 to 1610. It was a difficult time for Russia. At the beginning of the 17th century, due to crop failures, a terrible famine broke out, peasant uprisings swept across the country, and then an impostor appeared, posing as the miraculously saved son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry. At first, False Dmitry suffered setbacks, but after the sudden death of Tsar Boris Godunov in 1605, supporters of False Dmitry overthrew Boris's son, 16-year-old Fyodor, and brought him to power.
False Dmitry had many supporters among the people, but a number of miscalculations, such as an attempt to impose foreign orders and ingratiation with the Poles, undermined his popularity. Vasily Shuisky took advantage of this and organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry. As a result of the conspiracy, False Dmitry was killed, and Shuisky’s supporters, with simple shouts in the square, proclaimed him tsar.
Vasily Shuisky tried to collect convincing evidence that False Dmitry was in fact not Tsarevich Dmitry, but an impostor Grishka Otrepyev. Unfortunately, the method of accession to the throne and further miscalculations in domestic politics led to the fact that his power turned out to be fragile. The people believed that he seized power by deception and were unhappy that Shuisky was elected tsar by a small group in Moscow, without convening the Zemsky Sobor. Rumors appeared about the repeated rescue of Tsarevich Dmitry, and the discontent of the peasants grew. Ivan Bolotnikov appeared in the south of Russia, allegedly with an order on behalf of Dmitry, who raised a peasant uprising. The tsarist troops suffered defeat after defeat, the rebels reached Moscow itself. It was possible to defeat Bolotnikov only through a secret conspiracy with some of his supporters.
After the defeat of Bolotnikov, a new threat appeared - False Dmitry the Second, who, with the help of the Poles and Cossacks, gained a foothold in the south of Russia and began to advance towards Moscow. Shuisky behaved indecisively, remaining in Moscow and keeping his army with him. As a result, False Dmitry the Second set up camp in Tushino, not far from Moscow, where many princes, boyars and others went, dissatisfied with Vasily Shuisky. Shuisky turned to the Swedes for support. The army, which was supposed to help Moscow and included Swedish mercenaries, was led by the Tsar’s nephew, Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. At first he was lucky and inflicted several defeats on the troops of False Dmitry, but suddenly died. The king lost his last support. In the end, the boyars dissatisfied with Shuisky deprived him of power in 1610 and entered into an agreement with the Poles, calling the Polish prince Vladislav to the kingdom. Shuisky was given to the Poles and went to Poland, where he died 2 years later, a little before the liberation of Moscow by the militia of Minin and Pozharsky.
Results of the reign of Vasily Shuisky: the complete collapse of the central government in Russia, the seizure of a significant part of the territory by impostors and foreign invaders, the plunder and devastation of many lands and, finally, the seizure of the capital by Polish occupiers and the threat of complete loss of statehood.
4. Alexander Kerensky
Kerensky was in power for a short time (as minister of the provisional government from March 3, and prime minister from July 7 to October 26, 1917, old style), but his decisions had a huge impact on the fate of Russia.
In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia (in the preparation of which Kerensky also played an important role). The Tsar abdicated the throne and power passed to a provisional government formed by deputies of the 4th State Duma. First, Kerensky received the post of Minister of Justice, then Minister of War, and finally became Prime Minister. From the first days of his stay in the government, Kerensky developed vigorous activity, making many populist decisions. Along with decisions such as ending political persecution and establishing freedom of speech, he effectively destroyed the previous judicial system and police. The death penalty was abolished, criminals were released from prison, and decisions to “democratize” the army paralyzed the ability to maintain discipline in it.
Then Kerensky forced Foreign Minister Miliukov and War Minister Guchkov, who advocated war to the bitter end, to resign, and he himself became Minister of War. Having received this post, he appointed little-known officers, but close to him, to key positions in the army. Also, having traveled along the front, he organized the June offensive, which ended in complete failure. The result of this failure was spontaneous protests in Petrograd with demands for peace with Germany.
In July, Kerensky becomes prime minister. Soon he has a conflict with Kornilov, who held the post of commander-in-chief of the army. Kornilov proposes measures to restore order in the country, establish strict discipline and strengthen power. Kerensky opposes these measures. Kornilov and his supporters in the army draw up a plan for the resignation of the government and the transfer of power to the military; troops loyal to Kornilov begin moving towards Petrograd. In response, Kerensky declares Kornilov a rebel, asks for help from the Soviets and distributes weapons to the workers. Kornilov's speech fails, after which the government loses all support among the troops, and the army itself quickly collapses.
In the fall, Kerensky rapidly lost popularity. If in March he was praised as a “knight of the revolution,” now both left and right shun cooperation with him. The Socialist Revolutionary Party, of which Kerensky was a member, is losing influence in the Soviets, and the Bolsheviks are beginning to play an increasingly important role in them. In October, Kerensky dissolves the Duma, in its place a “pre-parliament” convenes. But it is already becoming quite obvious that the main political parties are not able to agree on anything and create any kind of coalition. The Bolsheviks begin preparations for an armed uprising. Kerensky knows about this and assures that the uprising will be suppressed. However, under the influence of the Bolsheviks, the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison go over to the side of the military revolutionary committee, and even the Cossacks summoned to Petrograd leave, refusing to defend the Provisional Government. On October 25, the Bolsheviks occupy key points in the city, and then, without much effort, the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government meets.
Results of Kerensky's reign: collapse of the public administration system, police and army, significant deterioration of the economic situation, growth of separatist movements in different parts of the country.
3. Nicholas II
Many try to present the last Russian Tsar as a victim, a martyr, and even a saint. But there is no doubt that Nicholas II was one of the worst rulers of Russia. Nicholas's father, Alexander III, despite his penchant for drunkenness, was a strong ruler, under him Russia significantly strengthened its position in the world, and the authority of power grew. Nicholas was the eldest of Alexander’s sons, but his father did not want to see him on the throne at all, considering him incapable of governing the country and hoped to transfer power to his youngest son Mikhail. Unfortunately, at the time of Alexander's death, Mikhail had not yet reached adulthood (he was only 16), and Alexander made Nicholas promise to abdicate the throne and transfer power to Mikhail after reaching adulthood. Nikolai never fulfilled this promise. And the mother of Nicholas II refused to swear allegiance to him at all. “My son is incapable of ruling Russia! He's weak. Both in mind and spirit. Just yesterday, when my father was dying, he climbed onto the roof and threw pine cones at passers-by on the street... And this is the king? No, this is not the king! We will all die with such an emperor. Listen to me: I’m Nika’s mother, and who, if not the mother, knows her son better than anyone else? Do you want to have a rag doll on the throne?”
At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II, the gold ruble was introduced, i.e. the ruble exchange rate was tied to gold. This led to an artificial limitation of the money supply within the country, and to finance the development of industry and for other purposes, Russia began to take out huge loans abroad (by the way, our government is pursuing a similar policy today). Soon the Russian Empire confidently took first place in the world in terms of external debt. The growth rate of industrial production under Nicholas II fell noticeably, while significant industry was controlled by foreign capital (in some industries up to 100%), and many industrial goods were purchased abroad.
The Russian Empire remained an agricultural country, the majority of its population (more than 80%) were peasants, but famine regularly occurred in the country. The peasants' allotments were shrinking, and the land issue was very acute. But the government was in no hurry to solve it, preferring to suppress peasant uprisings by force. In the period 1901-1907, to suppress the “arbitrariness” of peasants, entire punitive operations were carried out; troops were brought in, who were given instructions in case of disobedience to burn peasant houses and fire at them from cannons. Against the background of poverty and misery of the overwhelming majority of the population, speculators and monopolists prospered. The upper classes lived in luxury, and this could not help but irritate the people.
In 1904-1905 Russia suffered a shameful defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. At the beginning of the war, the leadership of Russia and the command of the army were dominated by sabotage sentiments; many mistakes were made in preparation for it and during the war. Prime Minister Witte said on this occasion: “It was not Russia that was defeated by the Japanese, not the Russian army, but our order, or more correctly, our boyish management of the 140 million population in recent years.”
The defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, along with the plight of workers and peasants, prompted mass protests and strikes. On January 9, 1905, “Bloody Sunday” occurred - the police in St. Petersburg shot a peaceful demonstration of workers who had gathered to present a petition to the Tsar. This event served as the impetus for the beginning of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. (in December 1905, real battles broke out between workers and the army in Moscow), which was suppressed by the authorities, but its main result was a sharp drop in the people’s trust in the authorities and the tsar personally.
After the start of the revolution, in order to calm the people, the first parliament in Russia, the State Duma, was created. But even despite the fact that elections to it were carried out according to special rules, for example, representatives of the upper classes elected much more deputies from the same number of people than representatives of the lower classes, it soon turned out that the Duma and the elected deputies did not suit the tsar at all. The Duma was repeatedly dissolved, and the tsar arbitrarily adopted certain decrees. The actions of the tsar outraged even the deputies of the noble Cadets party.
But all the weakness of the regime and the worthlessness of Nicholas II manifested itself during the First World War. The beginning of the war in 1914 was accompanied by a patriotic upsurge and the growth of the Tsar’s popularity, but soon the mood began to change, both the mood among the people and the mood at the top, including the Tsar’s inner circle. Economic difficulties quickly arose in the country, and inflation began to spread. Weak industry could not bear the load created by the war - there was a catastrophic shortage of weapons and ammunition at the front. The workload on workers increased, and women and teenagers were recruited to work at enterprises. There was not enough fuel, and difficulties arose with transportation. Mass mobilization led to a decline in agriculture. In 1916, problems arose with the purchase of bread, the government had to introduce surplus appropriation - the population was forced to sell bread at a fixed price. The number of strikes and peasant uprisings grew, and revolutionary agitation expanded. Unrest began in national regions. But the king did nothing to correct the situation, but on the contrary, only aggravated it. In 1915, Nicholas decided to become Supreme Commander himself and spent time at Headquarters, while in St. Petersburg key decisions were largely in the hands of the Tsarina and her favorite Grigory Rasputin. Rasputin arbitrarily made certain decisions, appointed and removed ministers, and even tried to interfere in the planning of military operations. By 1917, widespread opposition to the Tsar had formed. Nobody supported him anymore; even the great princes were planning conspiracies to remove Nicholas II from the throne and appoint someone else as tsar.
At the end of February 1917, mass strikes began in Petrograd, accompanied by rallies and demonstrations. One of their reasons was the shortage of bread in the city. Despite attempts to suppress the protests, they escalated, and soldiers from the Petrograd garrison eventually joined the uprising. Deputies of the State Duma announced the creation of a Provisional Government, which would take into its own hands the powers to govern the country. Soon, under pressure from General Headquarters, Nicholas II abdicated the throne and recognized the Provisional Government. A few days later he was arrested, and in the summer of 1918 he was shot by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.
Results of the reign of Nicholas II: accumulation of social and political contradictions, complete loss of people's trust in power, paralysis of power itself, leading the country to anarchy, collapse and collapse.
2. Boris Yeltsin
One of the most hated rulers by the people, Boris Yeltsin was president of Russia from 1991 to 2000. This man's mental abilities were clearly demonstrated in his youth, when a grenade stolen from a warehouse, which he was smashing with a hammer, exploded and tore off two fingers on his hand.
Nevertheless, Yeltsin managed to climb the party ladder to the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. In 1990 he was elected people's deputy of the RSFSR, and then chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. While still in this position, he actively began to engage in the collapse of the USSR, doing everything to seize the levers of control and create dual power (under him, on June 12, 1990, a shameful declaration on the state sovereignty of the RSFSR was adopted). In the summer of 1991, Yeltsin won the first presidential elections of the RSFSR under the slogans of “the fight against the nomenklatura and against privileges,” giving out many impossible populist promises. After this, his activities for the collapse of the USSR flared up with redoubled force. After the failure of the “putsch” of the State Emergency Committee in August 1991, in which Yeltsin played a decisive role, he felt like the master of the country and, conspiring with the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus Kravchuk and Shushkevich, brought about the final collapse of the USSR.
Participation in the collapse of the country with the loss of primordially Russian lands, the compression of the territory to the borders of the 16th century and the violation of the will of the people, who in a referendum held in the same year definitely spoke in favor of preserving the USSR, is more than enough to be included in the list of the worst rulers. But Yeltsin did not stop there. He created a government of liberal fanatics who hated Russia (for example, Prime Minister Gaidar called Russia “Upper Volta with missiles”) and entrusted it with carrying out liberal “reforms.” “Reforms” resulted in the destruction of everything that could be destroyed - industry, science, education, army, etc. And “reforms” were carried out under the command of American advisers, hundreds of whom came to Moscow in order to harm our country as effectively as possible with their advice .
As a result of Yeltsin’s “transformations,” the most important achievements of the Soviet period were destroyed. Most of the manufacturing industry was destroyed, most scientific research and technological development was stopped, the army, education and the social sphere were degraded. The standard of living of the population fell catastrophically, the country experienced hyperinflation - prices rose by 20-30% every month. Even meager wages were not paid for months; instead of money, enterprises often gave wages in goods that they themselves had to sell on the market. At the beginning of his reign, Yeltsin’s destructive potential was slightly restrained by the Supreme Council, but in 1993 Yeltsin solved this problem by shooting the parliament (of which he himself was chairman 2 years ago) from tanks. The country began to be ruled by a circle of close oligarchs, who saw their goal only as plundering the country as much as possible and getting rich at the same time.
During Yeltsin's reign in Russia, the birth rate fell sharply, and the population began to die out at an accelerated pace. The spread of social vices, alcoholism and drug addiction has increased sharply. The criminal situation has deteriorated catastrophically; in most regions of Russia, control over all profitable enterprises and businesses has been seized by organized crime. Organized criminal groups staged bloody showdowns among themselves right on the city streets.
Russia's foreign policy became completely spineless; the leadership followed the US line in everything. Completely enslaving and unprofitable agreements were concluded with other countries (for example, Russia sold 500 tons of weapons-grade uranium to the United States for next to nothing). At the same time, external debts accumulated, the country lived in anticipation of the next tranche from the IMF in order to finance the most urgent needs. In the first years, the people were fed with promises that after the difficulties of the transition period, market reforms would work and everything would get better, although this was a blatant and outright lie. In 1998, the government-organized GKO pyramid collapsed and the country went into default. In 1998, Russia's GDP collapsed to a paltry $150 billion—less than Belgium's. People's support for Yeltsin fell to zero, the Duma was forced to approve the government proposed by Yeltsin and even attempted impeachment. Yeltsin had to compromise and temporarily allow the creation of a government from the opposition.
The war in Chechnya was an absolutely shameful chapter of Yeltsin’s rule. First, Yeltsin allowed the completely frostbitten bandit regime of Dudayev to come to power in Chechnya, who immediately declared that he did not obey Moscow and organized the genocide of the entire non-Chechen population. In 1994, Yeltsin undertook a mediocre operation to “restore constitutional order” in Chechnya, which turned into a war with the Dudayevites, and in 1996 he stopped it, actually accepting the demands of the terrorists and giving full control over Chechnya into their hands. In 1999, terrorists, tired of ruling only Chechnya, tried to seize Dagestan, starting a new war in the North Caucasus.
On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin resigned early and, in his televised address, asking the people for forgiveness, he began to cry.
Results of Yeltsin's reign: Russia denounced the union treaty, turning into one of the fragments of the former great Russia, in economic and geopolitical terms it turned from a superpower into a dependent third world country, an openly bandit anti-people regime of traitors was in power, thinking only about their own enrichment and controlled by the enemies of our country.
1 - Mikhail Gorbachev
This man, who was Secretary General and then President of the USSR from 1985 to 1991, undoubtedly ranks first in the ranking of the worst rulers not only in Russian but also in world history. By the beginning of his reign, the USSR, of course, had accumulated certain problems that required solutions. Nevertheless, the country was one of two “superpowers”, had enormous influence, economic and scientific potential and controlled almost half the world. It never occurred to anyone that in 6 years the USSR would collapse and cease to exist. But Gorbachev did everything to make sure this happened.
Gorbachev began his reign with beautiful and seemingly correct slogans. He stated that in foreign policy a relaxation of international tension and a cessation of the arms race is necessary, and in domestic policy - openness and acceleration (i.e., increasing the pace of economic development). And in 1987, “perestroika” was proclaimed, that is, a large-scale reform of the economic and political sphere (again, under good slogans).
In practice, all this resulted in the deliberate collapse of the country in accordance with the plan developed by the United States, the main and irreconcilable enemy of the USSR. First, the erosion of communist ideology began. At first, certain periods in the history of the USSR were criticized, for example, the era of Stalin’s rule, and certain aspects of the Soviet system. Under the pretext that more democracy and freedom of speech were needed, control over the media was weakened and the established party vertical was destroyed. They talked about the need to fight bureaucrats, the “command-administrative system.”
Since 1987, the leadership recognized the failure of the “acceleration” policy and the main stage of the collapse of the country began. The CPSU ceased to control the electoral process, and anti-Soviet and nationalists became deputies in many republics. A course towards “market” reforms in the economy was openly proclaimed, private enterprises were allowed, and large enterprises were given more economic freedom.
Since 1989, the disastrous consequences of “perestroika” have become obvious to everyone. Interethnic clashes begin in the Caucasus and Central Asia, some republics declare their desire to secede from the USSR. The economic situation is worsening, and stores are artificially creating shortages of necessary goods. Cards for sugar, soap and some other goods are being introduced. Gorbachev, fearing that the party would remove him from the post of General Secretary, convened a Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which introduced a new position - the President of the USSR and in the spring of 1990 elected Gorbachev as President. In addition, in 1989 Gorbachev secretly concluded a treacherous agreement with the United States, which, in fact, provided for the liquidation of the socialist camp and the surrender of all positions in Europe. With the participation of the KGB, regimes are being changed in Eastern European countries, and communists are being removed from power there.
In 1990-91, the threat of the collapse of the USSR became obvious. However, the people do not want this; in 1991, on the initiative of people's deputies, a referendum was held on the preservation of the USSR. The majority are in favor of conservation. Against the backdrop of the “parade of sovereignties,” when republican structures are trying to completely take power into their own hands, Gorbachev is preparing a new draft union treaty, which will actually transform the USSR into something similar to the CIS created later. On the eve of its planned signing in August 1991, part of the Soviet elite is trying to disrupt it, restore central control and restore order in the country. Gorbachev is cut off from communication at his dacha in Crimea, and a state of emergency is announced in the country. However, poor preparation of the organizers, their indecisiveness and hesitation spoil everything. The “putsch” of the State Emergency Committee fails, and now nothing is stopping the collapse of the country. In December 1991, after Yeltsin, Shushkevich and Kravchuk decide to dissolve the USSR, Gorbachev obediently submits and resigns.
Results of Gorbachev's reign: The USSR, a former superpower, is defeated in the Cold War, voluntarily capitulates to the United States and falls apart. History has never known such a spectacular collapse out of the blue.
The Troubles in Russia were gaining strength. A new king was imposed on the country - Vasily Shuisky, who passionately dreamed of the throne ever since the end of the Rurik dynasty. His unattractive appearance is visible especially in the story of Tsarevich Dmitry: in 1591, he certified that the prince stabbed himself to death; during the capture of Moscow by an impostor, he stated that Dmitry escaped; now he claimed that the boy was killed at the instigation of Godunov.
Three days after the murder of the impostor, the Moscow people gathered on Red Square to decide the fate of governing the country. Some advocated for the transfer of power to the Patriarch, others - to the Boyar Duma, but Shuisky’s people also actively worked in the crowd. It was they who shouted his name as the future king. And immediately Shuisky’s supporters took up this cry. Thus the fate of the royal crown was decided.
In 1606, Vasily Shuisky, like Godunov, became an elected Russian Tsar. Shuisky identified the Kazan Metropolitan Hermogenes, a passionate zealot of Orthodoxy, a hater of the impostor and Catholics, as the Patriarch of Rus'.
The Moscow boyars dreamed of a transition to a system of electing the supreme power by the aristocracy. This was confirmed by Vasily Shuisky’s kissing cross entry: I kiss the cross on the fact that I should not do anything bad to anyone without permission.
Thus, a powerful and contradictory movement of all layers of society determined Russia’s attempt to transition from autocracy and despotism to boyar collective rule.
Civil War
The rise to power of the boyar tsar further intensified the Troubles. False Dmitry's comrades did not want to give up what they had conquered. There was a rumor that the king had escaped and was taking refuge in a safe place.
The center of anti-boyar sentiments was the city of Putivl, where the governor was a friend of False Dmitry, Prince Shakhovskoy. Ryazan, Yelets and other cities came out in support of Putivl. And in Poland, the nobleman Molchanov appeared, one of the murderers of Fyodor Godunov and a close friend of the impostor, who began to pose as the escaped “Tsar Dmitry.”
In the summer of 1606, a powerful uprising swept all of Southern and Southwestern Russia. Essentially, a civil war began, in which the lower and middle strata of society (posad people and the nobility) opposed the upper classes. Putivl opposed Moscow.
Many counties in Russia have their own government bodies. The state government system began to fall apart. The Mari, Mordovians, Chuvash, and Tatars joined the rebel Russians, who did not accept pressure from the Orthodox clergy, the seizure of their ancestral lands by Russian patrimonial landowners, landowners and monasteries.
The rebels' march on Moscow. Ivan Bolotnikov.
By the autumn of 1606, a rebel army had formed near the city of Yelets. It was led by the nobles Istoma Pashkov, Prokopiy Lyapunov and Grigory Sunbulov.
Another army was formed in Putivl. This army was led by the experienced warrior Ivan Bolotnikov. Once he was a military servant of Prince Telyatevsky, then he fled south to the Cossacks, fought with the Crimean Tatars, was captured, from where he was sold to Turkey. For some time, Bolotnikov was a forced rower on galleys. During a naval battle he was freed by the Italians, and he ended up in Europe. He lived in Venice and headed home through Germany and Poland. In Poland, he learned about events in Russia and sided with the “true Tsar Dmitry,” although by that time the impostor was already dead. Molchanov, posing as the tsar who had escaped, gave him a letter to Putivl, and Prince Shakhovskoy appointed Bolotnikov as commander of the rebel detachment. Bolotnikov called himself the governor of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich.
Bolotnikov's army moved towards Moscow, winning a number of brilliant victories over the tsarist troops along the way.
In October 1606, Bolotnikov united with noble detachments from near Yelets. The united army settled in the village of Kolomenskoye. There was no agreement between the people's leader Ivan Bolotnikov and the leaders of the noble detachments. The boyars and princes sought to regain the estates and privileges received from the impostor. The nobles craved new estates and increased salaries. Peasants and serfs dreamed of freedom. The townspeople expected relief from duties and taxes.
During the journey to Moscow, the Cossack-peasant-servant army destroyed the boyars and nobles loyal to Shuisky, seized their property, and freed people from serfdom and servile bondage. The noble leaders, as a rule, pardoned the captured royal governors and warily watched the reprisals that Bolotnikov’s people inflicted on the feudal lords. Pashkov and Lyapunov did not want to obey the “servant” Bolotnikov and kept their units apart.
The common people of the capital were ready to support Bolotnikov, and the rich townspeople, fearing reprisals, demanded to show them the “tsar”. He was not in the rebel camp, which weakened their position.
The outcome of the case was decided by the betrayal of the nobles, who entered into secret negotiations with Shuisky. During the battle for Moscow, Ryazan nobles led by Lyapunov and Pashkov’s troops went over to Shuisky’s side. The tsarist troops pushed back the rebels. Bolotnikov was under siege for three days, then retreated to Kaluga. Part of his army fled to Tula.
Defeat of the popular uprising
New forces approached the rebels from all sides. In Tula, with a detachment of several thousand Cossacks, serfs and peasants, another impostor appeared, calling himself the son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Peter.
False Peter joined forces with Bolotnikov, and together they won a number of victories near Tula and Kaluga. In May 1607, the rebel army inflicted another defeat on Shuisky's army near Tula. The rebels were commanded by Prince Telyatevsky, an associate of False Dmitry and Bolotnikov’s former master. The prince did not want to join forces with his former servant. The winners returned separately to Tula. There the rebels were surrounded by Shuisky’s huge army. The king himself led the siege. He issued a number of decrees. He granted freedom to the slaves who left the rebel camp, and also forbade turning free people into slaves without their consent. The period for searching for fugitive peasants was extended from 5 to 15 years, which was to the benefit of the nobles.
The rebels defended the stone Kremlin of Tula for four months. The royal governors blocked the Upa River with a dam, its waters flooded the city's food supplies and gunpowder. Famine began in Tula. The rebels began to grumble, their leaders went to negotiate with Shuisky. For the surrender of the city, the tsar promised life to the leaders and freedom to the ordinary soldiers. The city gates opened. Bolotnikov, as befitted a governor, laid his saber at the king’s feet.
Bolotnikov and False Peter were captured. The impostor was hanged, and Bolotnikov was exiled to the north. Six months later he was blinded and then drowned in an ice hole. Thus, Shuisky broke his promise.
The rebels' struggle with the government continued. And yet, after the defeat of Bolotnikov, it became obvious that at this stage in Russian history, the nobility, together with the nobility, won. The boyar government remained in power, which during the Time of Troubles freed itself from autocratic despotism, but at the same time suppressed the uprising of the lower classes.
This victory came at a high price for Russia. The country was falling apart, and neighbors began to interfere in its affairs. The nobility, which supported Shuisky in the fight against Bolotnikov, dreamed of crushing the power of the princely-boyar aristocracy.
Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky (1552-1612) - Russian Tsar, belonging to (along the Suzdal line). He was crowned king as a result of a conspiracy against False Dmitry 1st. Vasily Shuisky is also called the “boyar prince”.
Family
From the biography of Vasily Shuisky it is known that he was married twice. He had no children from his first marriage. From his second marriage two daughters were born (both died in infancy). Since the tsar did not have an heir, the next contender for the throne was supposed to be his brother, Dmitry Shuisky.
Before accession
Since 1584, Vasily Shuisky was a boyar and the head of the Moscow Court Chamber, and took part as a governor in campaigns against the city of Serpukhov (1581, 1583, 1598). In 1586, Vasily Shuisky was sent into exile for a short time due to unknown circumstances.
In 1591, Shuisky, fearing Godunov, recognized the cause of death as suicide. At the same time he was returned to.
In 1905, Vasily Shuisky took part in the campaign against, but not particularly actively, because he did not want Godunov to win. Due to an attempt to carry out a coup, Vasily Shuisky was expelled along with his family, but already at the end of 1605 he was returned back by False Dmitry.
During (May 17, 1606) False Dmitry I died, supporters of Vasily Shuisky named him tsar. This was the beginning. On June 1, Shuisky receives the metropolitan's blessing for his reign.
Vasily Shuisky gave a record of the cross, which limited his power. In the summer of the same year, Shuisky’s board recognized Godunov as the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry.
Governing body
The main events of the domestic and foreign policy of the reign of Vasily Shuisky:
- a new military regulations appeared;
- suppressed in October 1607, which became the second stage of the Time of Troubles;
- An agreement was concluded with Sweden, on the basis of which the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth launched military operations. False Dmitry 1st fled.
The alliance with Sweden turned out to be the beginning for Russia
Vasily IV Ioannovich Shuisky
Years of life: 1552–1612
Years of reign: 1606-1610 (7th Tsar of Russia)
From the Shuisky dynasty , branches of the Grand Dukes of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod, descendants of the prince. Prince, boyar and governor.
Son of Prince Ivan Andreevich Shuisky.
He spent his youth near Grozny: in 1580 he was the tsar's groomsman at his last wedding, and in 1581 - 1582. stood as a governor with regiments on the Oka, guarding the border.
Brief biography of Vasily Shuisky
Since 1584, he headed the Court of Justice, being a boyar.
He is also known to historians as a great commander. Voivode of the Great Regiment on the campaign to Serpukhov in the summer of 1581, on the campaign to Novgorod in July 1582, on the campaign to Serpukhov in April 1583. Voivode of Smolensk in 1585-1587.
For unknown reasons Vasily Shuisky in 1586 he was in exile. During the persecution of the Shuiskys by Godunov in 1587, he was exiled to Galich. And in 1591, Godunov, deciding that they would not harm him, returned them to the capital.
In 1591, Shuisky led the investigation into the case of Tsarevich Dmitry. Under pressure from Godunov, he recognized the cause of the Tsarevich’s death as an accident, suicide. From the same year, Vasily again entered the Boyar Duma and soon became the Novgorod governor. In 1598, he was the first commander of the regiment in Mstislavsky’s army in the Crimean campaign to Serpukhov.
From January 1605, he was appointed commander of the regiment of the right hand in the campaign against False Dmitry. However, not really wanting Godunov to win, he went over to the side of the impostor.
After he took the throne, Vasily Ivanovich announced that the conclusions of his commission regarding the death of Tsarevich Dmitry were incorrect, and the new tsar was the true son of Ivan the Terrible. But in June 1605, Vasily tried to carry out a coup against the impostor, was captured and condemned to death by False Dmitry I, but was soon pardoned and sent into exile with his brothers.
Needing boyar support, False Dmitry at the end of 1605 returned the Shuiskys to Moscow.
In 1606, Vasily organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry I, which ended with the Moscow popular uprising on May 17, 1606 and the death of the impostor.
Board of Vasily Shuisky
On May 19, 1606, a group of adherents “called out” Vasily Shuisky as king. He was crowned on June 1 by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod.
At the very beginning of his reign, confrontations between the capital's nobility and the boyars intensified (an uprising led by Bolotnikov). In 1607, with the support of large cities, he managed to stop the uprising, but in the summer of that year, Polish intervention in the Russian state began.
Bolotnikov's uprising The defeat of the troops of Dmitry Shuisky near Klushino on June 24, 1610 from the army of Sigismund III and the uprising in Moscow led to the fall Tsar Vasily Shuisky. On July 17 (27), 1610, part of the boyars Vasily IV Ioannovich Shuisky was overthrown from the throne and forcibly tonsured a monk.
In September 1610, he was handed over to the Polish hetman Zolkiewski, who took him and his brothers Dmitry and Ivan as prisoners to Poland to King Sigismund.
Vasily Ivanovich died in custody in Gostyninsky Castle in 
Poland. In 1635, his remains were reburied in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.
He was married twice:
on Princess Elena Mikhailovna Repnina, daughter of the boyar Prince Mikhail Petrovich Repnin;
since 1608
on Princess Maria Petrovna Buinosova-Rostovskaya, daughter of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Buinosov-Rostovsky, tonsured a nun in 1610;
- Princess Anna Vasilievna (1609 - died in infancy)
- Princess Anastasia Vasilievna (1610 - died in infancy)
Contemporaries and descendants accused Shuisky of many sins and offenses. He was stingy, stubborn, and resorted to magic. But meanwhile, one cannot help but admit that in the life of Vasily Ivanovich there were many moments when he showed true wisdom, courage and greatness of soul.
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