1609-1611: the defense of Smolensk. The events of the Russo-Polish war, the history of Russia

In 1609-1611 the defense of Smolensk became one of the most important events of the Time of Troubles in Russia, when the country was torn apart by internal contradictions and foreign intervention.

Preconditions for siege

The attack of the Polish army on Smolensk was the first episode of the Russo-Polish war in the Time of Troubles. The siege of the city was led by King Sigismund III himself. The monarch attacked Rus after a series of adventures by Polish tycoons.

As early as 1604, an impostor appeared on the territory of the Commonwealth, pretending to be the deceased Tsarevich Dmitry (the son of Ivan the Terrible). This man was Grigory Otrepiev - a runaway monk, who decided to become king, posing as a deceased legitimate heir to the throne. At this time, Boris Godunov ruled in Moscow. He did not belong to the Rurik dynasty. In addition, during the years of his reign, due to a crop failure, massive famine began. Superstitious poor people and goltyba accused the tsar of their misfortunes and only waited for the appearance of Falsdmitry.

Otrepev enlisted the support of Polish nobles, including the Mniszek family. The aristocrats gave him money, and most of the impostor's troops were Cossacks from the border Polish-Russian regions. In 1605, False Dmitry, thanks to a lucky coincidence, managed to seize power in Moscow.

He made the Poles his dependents and gave them key posts in the state. This did not please the former Moscow elite. There was a conspiracy during which False Dmitry was killed, and the Poles were seized and imprisoned. The new king was the former boyar Vasily Shuisky.

The beginning of the Russo-Polish War

All this time, King Sigismund remained neutral. However, the arrest of many Polish nobles led him into anger. At the same time, a new impostor appeared in Russia, which in historiography is known as False Dmitry II. He was joined by Polish aristocrats, who shortly before had survived an unsuccessful uprising against Sigismund.

The army of robbers and adventurers rose up near Moscow and cut off the capital's communication with other cities inside the country, and, therefore, the receipt of products and other resources into it. The famine began in the city. Shuisky agreed to release all Poles from prison. At the same time, the king made an alliance with the Swedish king, promising the northern neighbor several areas for help in the fight against the impostor.

Sigismund was the sworn enemy of the Swedish crown. He took the conclusion of an alliance between neighbors as an official occasion for war. The Polish monarch hoped that he would quickly be able to take Moscow, because by this time Russia had been in a state of chaos for several years. In 1609, Sigismund officially declared war on Shuisky and with his own army moved to the border.

Preparation for the siege

Thus began the siege of Smolensk. This city was on its way from Poland to Moscow and was the main "shield" for the capital. The fortress was approached by a 20 thousand-strong Polish army. At this time in Smolensk was only a small 5-thousand garrison, which was led by the commander Mikhail Shein.

On the eve of the beginning of the campaign, in January 1609, Sigismund held a Diet in Warsaw, at which he proposed a plan to the szlachta, according to which he wanted to put his son Vladislav on the Russian throne. In the spring, systematic incursions of Polish detachments into the border towns of the Russian Empire began. Michael Shein, realizing that soon a real army could approach Smolensk, in advance organized the construction of outposts on the outskirts of the city. The situation of the fortress worsened when in summer all roads to the capital turned out to be occupied by the troops of Falsdmitry. Since his main camp was in the Moscow region of Tushino, he himself was called Tushinsky thief, and his detachments - Tushino.

The siege by the Poles of Smolensk could have ended very quickly, had it not been for Shein's operative actions. He collected all gunners, archers and boyar children who were nearby. In August, the governor actively sent out decrees on the recruitment of soldiers from various patrimonies. Peaceful peasants were taught to handle weapons so that they could also protect their hometown.

He divided his garrison into two parts. Two thousand people were in a siege detachment, which was supposed to fully defend the walls of the fortress. The rest of the army was intended for sorties into the camp of the enemy. The siege garrison was divided into 38 identical detachments, each of which was to defend one tower on the fortress walls. If there was no sortie, the second part of the army joined the besieged and helped in the sectors where the enemy could take the upper hand.

That's how the defense of Smolensk proceeded from the Poles. The situation inside the camp was marked by severe discipline. The voevode managed to mobilize all the city's resources. Civilians also helped the garrison. They participated in regular patrols around the walls. The service was carried out by shifts, which allowed for a round-the-clock monitoring of security at city boundaries.

Also sharply raised the issue of land. It was part of the city outside the fortress walls. The total number of yards here reached 6 thousand. All of them were burned so that the Poles could not settle there. The population of the village landed inside the fortress walls, which caused conflicts in the city because of housing. In the end, Shein issued a decree according to which the owners of real estate should be free to admit the homeless. Monetary rent was banned. This allowed the conflicts to subside. While the Russian kingdom suffered from raids of various enemies, Smolensk was actively preparing for the defense.

The appearance of Poles at the walls of Smolensk

The first organized Polish detachments approached Smolensk on September 16, 1609. They were led by the military commander Lev Sapieha. Three days later, the troops of King Sigismund III were at the walls. Initially, there were 12,000 people in the enemy's army, but in time this figure reached 22,000. Despite the impressive size, the enemy army had certain shortcomings. It was designed mainly for field battles, so the necessary infantry and artillery were practically absent for the siege. Most modern historians agree that Sigismund did not intend to besiege the city for long, but hoped to get the keys from him immediately upon arrival at the gate. But his hopes were not to come true.

The beginning of the siege of Smolensk was marked by the fact that the Polish interventionists occupied an area of about twenty square kilometers around the city. A few peasants, who by that time still lived on the outskirts of Smolensk, were deprived of all food supplies-they were simply seized to feed the army of the king. In addition, the villagers had to supply products in the future. This led to the fact that most of the local population simply fled to the forest, just not to cooperate with the enemy. When the Polish troops finally took their positions, the Smolensk voivode went to the parliamentarian with a demand to surrender the city. Information about the content of the answer varies. According to one version, besieged residents did not respond at all, on the other - they promised to water the Poles with water from the Dnieper next time (that is, drown).

The First Assault

The defense of Smolensk lasted almost three years (1609-1611). It is noteworthy that the Poles did not even make a siege plan and at first did not bring the necessary artillery. This carelessness was associated with Sigismund's vain aspirations for the rapid surrender of the city. When his place was taken by the commander and hetman Stanislav Zholkevsky, he honestly informed the king that the army did not have enough resources to conduct a successful short-term assault. Therefore, he proposed to leave Smolensk in blockade, and the main forces to move to Moscow. Sigismund, however, did not agree with such a plan and ordered to prepare for the assault.

Polish sappers tried to undermine several gates, but they did not succeed, and all thanks to the fact that defenders of the city in time installed log buildings filled with stones and earth. These attempts were made during the day, while the garrison closely followed the actions of the enemy. The next venture took place at night. The Poles nevertheless succeeded in undermining the Avramievsky Gate, but this did not bring any practical benefit. The troops did not manage to pass through the breach because of the bad organization of the storm and the untimely signal given on the beginning of the attack, which was noticed by the garrison. Resistance of Smolensk was unexpected for the attackers. The troops opened a tight fire, which mowed the ranks of the Poles and Lithuanians. The reason for the large losses was also in the dense construction of the storming detachments. Russian shooters hit the enemy almost every time. The fire superiority of the defenders of the fortress allowed them to fire even the royal camp, which was a considerable distance from the place of direct battle for the gate.

After failures on the eastern flank of the Poles decided to move to the offensive on the northern and western sections of the fortress wall. The most bloody battles unfolded near the Pyatnitsky and Dnieper gates, where hundreds of soldiers were killed on both sides. At this critical moment, Mikhail Shein brilliantly applied the tactics of effective and mobile deployment of the reserve, which appeared where the battle began to turn in favor of the enemy.

The small-caliber weapons held by the besiegers in the early days did not cause any noticeable damage to the wide walls of the Smolensk fortress. This encouraged the defenders, who saw the uselessness of the enemy's efforts.

The transition to a long siege

The first unsuccessful assault ended on September 27, 1609. The troubled time did not prevent the defenders of the fortress from rallying together and successfully repelling the enemy's blows. In early October, another 10,000 people from among the Zaporozhye Cossacks joined the besieging army. A new stage of the siege began. Now Polish engineers and sappers tried to destroy the enemy walls, resorting to cunning. It is interesting that the king hired even Western foreign specialists (including Germans) who successfully waged a mine war during European conflicts. Practice has shown that most of their efforts at Smolensk were in vain.

At the same time, Sigismund did not use the army in preparation for the assault. But the defenders of Smolensk did not sit idle. The garrison fell asleep almost all the gates, reducing to a minimum the number of places where one could penetrate the city. Scouts in a timely manner uncovered the next mine installations near the walls and prevented the Poles from harming the fortifications. Over time, the garrison identified all the vulnerable points through which the enemy could get inside. Regular guards were organized there.

In this regime, the siege lasted several months. Periodically Smolensk organized raids, during which destroyed the enemy's infrastructure, and also extracted water. With the onset of winter, such flying units were also sent for firewood. Meanwhile, commander Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky finally unlocked Moscow. After that active guerrilla actions began in the rear of the Polish army. This dispersed the forces of Sigismund and gave a respite to the besieged.

However, unfortunately for Smolensk, the winter of 1609-1610 gg. Was especially harsh. Frosts weakened the garrison and left it almost without supplies. The famine began in the city. When the Tushino camp near Moscow fell, many Poles who were in the suburbs, went under the command of Zholkiewski and increased the pressure on the besieged Smolensk. In the spring, the city learned of the sudden death of Skopin-Shuisky, who for all personified the hope of victory over the invaders. The young military leader died in Moscow after being insidiously poisoned by boyars.

Despite this misfortune, the tsarist army nevertheless advanced from the capital to drive the interventionists away from the walls of the besieged city. This army was defeated in the Battle of Klushin on June 24, 1610. The winner was all the same Stanislav Zholkevsky, who deliberately left the camp near Smolensk to give a general battle to the Russian-Swedish army. But even this news did not deprive the besieged desire to fight with the invaders until the end.

That same summer, the Poles finally brought full-fledged artillery, which posed a serious threat to the city walls. The siege of Smolensk continued. On June 18, near the Faceted Tower, guns managed to penetrate a considerable gap. Sigismund ordered the start of another assault. There were three attacks, but all of them, to the surprise of the king, ended in failure. Smolensk literally threw the Poles out of the breach. Voevod Shein in the leadership of the defense helped Peter Gorchakov.

The final isolation of Smolensk

Meanwhile, Moscow came to news that Tsar Vasily Shuisky was overthrown during the boyar coup. The new rulers of the Kremlin turned out to be supporters of the Polish king. In historiography, this short-lived regime is known as the Semiboyarschina. In Smolensk came the order to surrender the city of Sigismundu. However, Mikhail Shein refused to obey. Residents of the fortress unanimously supported his decision. Troubles and political changes in Moscow did not affect the mood of the besieged. After almost two years of hardship, people are used to a variety of hardships and hated the Poles.

Sigismund, learning about the disobedience of Shein, gave the Smolensk period of three days to surrender the city. Otherwise, he promised to execute everyone. In the meantime, the Smolensk region undermined the positions of the Poles and undermined their artillery. As a result, Sigismund had to request new guns in his homeland, which were delivered to the battle front for another two months. During this time, the besieged residents managed to catch their breath. Some Smolensk boyars doubted the need for defense because of the fall of Moscow. Shein suppressed these treacherous moods. In addition, in the autumn it became known about the organization of the First People's Militia, which only strengthened the hope of city defenders to their own salvation.

Fall of the fortress

Not the second siege winter was experienced by many. Over the years - 1609-1611 - the defense of Smolensk finally weakened the inhabitants of the city. Knowing this, the Poles on June 3 launched a new assault. They managed to break through the gaps in the walls. Defenders of Smolensk retreated deep into the city and fought with the invaders on the streets. The invaders made a merciless massacre. Among them were unprincipled mercenaries, who craved for blood. A large group of local residents, including women and children, took refuge in the Monomach's Cathedral. Temples often became the last shelter in the besieged cities of those times. Under the church was a powder depot. It was blown up by the hiding inhabitants. The blast wave destroyed the temple, at the same time burying many of the interventionists.

The fate of Michael Shein and other captives

Thus ended the siege of the Poles of Smolensk. Brave governor Michael Shein, who for two years fought back from the royal army, locked himself in one of the towers and fought with the Poles until the last. The people close to him begged him to surrender, and not commit suicide. Finally he listened to his family and laid down his arms. The governor was led to Sigismund. The king was furious with a two-year siege, which not only depleted the army, but also caused serious reputational damage to the monarch. Many gentry died - the color of the nation and the throne of the throne. It was Michael Shein who caused this shame. Therefore, the king reacted with cruelty to the prisoner. He ordered the governor to be tortured so that he handed over all his supporters. To top it all, the exhausted Shein was taken to Poland, where he was subjected to public humiliation, characteristic of that era: they led the ranks through the cities, drove in an open carriage, etc.

Smolensk voevoda, like many other significant opponents of Polish power in Russia, was in prolonged captivity. He had to go through another test. Former Tsar Vasily Shuisky, on whose side the Smolenskians appeared, was captured by the Poles after their appearance in Moscow. The overthrown monarch was also sent to bow to Sigismund. She was also present at a humiliating meeting with the king.

When the Polish intervention in Russia ended in failure, and Mikhail Romanov came to power in Moscow, he first wanted to rescue all the prisoners, including the Smolensk voevoda. It happened only in 1619, when the war between the two countries finally ended. Michael Shein returned to his homeland as a national hero. With him was another important Polish prisoner - Fyodor Romanov. It was the father of King Michael, who later became Patriarch of Moscow.

Meaning of Defense

Despite the fact that the years 1609-1611 (the defense of Smolensk ended in the fall of the city) turned out to be sad for the history of Rus, the victory of the Polish army can be called a Pyrrhic one. More than two years of heroic resistance to the inhabitants of the isolated city served as an inspiring example for other Russian people who, it would seem, were away from the war. Smolensk events rallied isolated forces in the rear. So there was the First, and then the Second national militia. It was these troops that ultimately liberated Moscow from the interventionists and created prerequisites for the Romanovs to enter the throne.

The arrival of the army of Sigismund to Smolensk and the two-year delay under its walls had economic consequences for Poland. The king had to send most of the resources to the camp broken by the besieged city, while he lost the strategic initiative in Moscow and other important regions. When Smolensk finally fell, the Polish army was already drained and later could not stay in the Russian capital for a long time. In total, the siege of the king lost about thirty thousand well-trained soldiers. Sigismund did not even imagine how many of his soldiers would be buried by the Smolensk fortress. The history of this siege is still regarded as the key and turning point of the Time of Troubles. After the capture of Smolensk, the king returned to his homeland.

The Russo-Polish War of 1609-1618. Ended with the fact that the city still moved to Rzeczpospolita. However, Smolensk was not long under foreign domination. In 1654, already with the son of Mikhail Romanov Aleksey, he was returned to the Russian kingdom. In that war, the left-bank Ukraine (together with Kiev) was also annexed to Moscow's possessions, which symbolized the historical reunification of the lands of the Eastern Slavs.

Smolensk defense has become one of the longest in the history of our country. Still never the Russian kingdom defended its city with such tenacity. After the return of Smolensk under Aleksei Romanov, he was never a part of Poland.

In modern Russia, the Day of National Unity, which is celebrated annually on November 4, is established. This is the date of the capture of the Moscow Kremlin by the militia of Minin and Pozharsky.