What is Semiboyarschina? Semiboyarschyna in Troubled Time

In the history of Russia, the period 1610-1612. Entered as Semiboyarschina - the years of rule of seven representatives of the Boyar Duma, which created a transitional government, whose goal was to prepare for the election of a new king in place of the deposed Vasily Shuisky. However, the peculiarities of the Time of Troubles, against which events developed, required immediate solutions from them.

A country in a state of severe crisis

The political and economic situation in Russia by the beginning of 1610 was very difficult. Extremely unfavorable for it was the war with the Commonwealth, in addition, close to Moscow came the army of another impostor, pretending to be the heir to the throne - False Dmitry II. In history he entered under the nickname Tushinsky thief - at the location of his camp in the village of Tushino outside Moscow.

The situation was aggravated by the consequences of the uprising led by Ivan Bolotnikov shortly before that, as well as by the attack of the Nagai and Crimean Tatars. All this led to extreme impoverishment of the people and inevitable social stress in such cases. The next defeat of the tsarist troops in the battle with the Poles was the impetus for the popular unrest and the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky.

Education of the Semiboyar region

Ahead was the election of a new autocrat, and for the preparation of this most important act in the life of the state, as well as for governing the country during the transitional period, a provisional government was formed, which included the seven most arrogant and influential members of the Boyar Duma. Among them were the princes FI Mstislavsky, IM Vorotynsky, AV Trubetskoy, AV Golitsyn, as well as the boyars BM Lykov-Obolensky, IN Romanov and FI Sheremetev .

Thus, on the wave of Polish intervention and internal problems, Semiboyarschina was formed. The years of government of this authority, headed by Prince Fyodor Mikhailovich Mstislavsky, culminated in the accession to the throne of the first tsar from the House of Romanovs - Mikhail Fedorovich, and the end of the Time of Troubles. But this was preceded by a difficult and long period.

Limited power boyars

To understand what the Semiboyar region is and how wide its powers were, it is necessary to take into account the situation that had developed around Moscow at that time. From documentary sources it is known that to the west of it in the immediate vicinity of city outposts were the Poles led by Hetman Zhelkovsky, and in the southeast, in Kolomenskoye, the army of False Dmitri, reinforced by the Lithuanian detachment Sapieha joined him. Thus, for all time of Semiboyar, her power did not extend beyond the limits of the capital.

Forced collusion with the Poles

The question of what Semiboyarschina is in the history of Russia, as a rule, has never provoked any discussion. Usually the members of this government body were assigned the role of national traitors, and that's the point here. For them personally, the main threat was not the Poles, with whom it was possible to agree, if desired, but the detachments of the impostor who had many supporters among the Moscow common people. In the event of the victory of the Tushinsky thief, the boyars would not exactly bear their heads.

This prompted them to negotiate with Hetman Zhelkovsky and sign a treaty according to which the Russian king was to become Vladislav Vaz, the son of the Polish King Sigismund III. Supporting the impostor Lithuanians led by Sapieha also agreed to swear allegiance to the Polish prince, thus, Falsdmitry II was deprived of a real opportunity to seize power in Moscow.

Hostages of own decisions

However, in order to have greater guarantees of personal security, the boyars secretly opened the Kremlin gates on the night of September 21, 1610, and let the interventionists into the capital. From that moment on, the whole essence of the Semiboyar region was reduced to the role of the puppets in the hands of the Polish king, who pursued a political line that suited him through his protege, the commandant of Moscow, Alexander Gonsevsky. Boyars were deprived of real power and became, in essence, hostages. It is in this miserable role that the answer to the question: "What is Semiboyarschina?"

Although the treaty infringed the national interests of the Russian people and was offensive to him, it did not deal with Russia's accession to the Commonwealth, but stipulated the preservation of Orthodoxy throughout its territory. The very same Prince Vladislav, was, according to the contract, obliged to move from the Catholic faith to Orthodoxy.

The arbitrariness that caused the nationwide outrage

After all the real power passed from the hands of the transitional government to the Polish governor, he, having received the rank of boyar, became uncontrolled in the country. At his own will, Vladislav selected lands and estates from those Russians who remained true to their patriotic duty, and gave them away to the Poles who were his closest associates. This caused a wave of outrage in the country. It is believed that during this period, their attitude towards the Poles changed and Semiboyarschina.

In the Time of Troubles, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, patriarch Hermogenes, enjoyed special authority among the people . A true patriot of his Fatherland, he, with the support of the boyars, sent out letters throughout Russia calling for the creation of a militia and armed struggle against the invaders. Despite the fact that, on the orders of the Polish governor, he was imprisoned in the cave of Chudov Monastery, where he soon died of hunger, his messages became the impetus, as a result of which Minin and Pozharsky's regiments appeared under the walls of Moscow.

End of the Semiboyar period

The election in 1613 of the election of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne was the end of a period that entered the history of Russia as the Semiboyarschina. The years of rule of seven representatives of the highest Moscow nobility are rightly considered to be one of the most difficult for the entire period of the Time of Troubles. Upon their completion, the country entered a new historical epoch.

Speaking about the origin of the term itself, we should mention the relatively late emergence of the word "Semiboyarschina". In the Time of Troubles and for the next two centuries, members of this government structure were called "seven-boyars". The expression currently used is first encountered only in 1813 in the novel by A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

In Russian history, and earlier there were periods when, in the absence of the tsar, power was concentrated in the hands of boyar commissions. This happened mainly when the Emperor went to war or a prolonged pilgrimage. It was then that it became a tradition to create these temporary government bodies of seven people. This is described in detail in his writings by the 17th century Russian historian, the official of the Ambassador's Order GK Kotoshikhin.

Attempts to rethink the events of the past

It should be noted that in recent years the question of what is Semiboyarschina and what its role in Russian history has received a slightly different coverage. If during the Soviet period the actions of this temporary authority were unequivocally regarded as a betrayal, then in the post-perestroika period there were publications in which conspiracy with the Poles was seen as the only reasonable diplomatic move aimed at saving the country from the bloody chaos inevitable in the event of the victory of False Dmitry II.

Today, being out of ideological stereotypes, researchers have the opportunity to give a more objective assessment of the historical realities of the past centuries, among which Semiboyshchina occupies an important place. The years separating us from that era did not blot out the negative aspects of its activities from the people's memory, but they also allowed them to give a deeper understanding.