The Swedish intervention. Vasily Ivanovich decided to ask Sweden for the military assistance (the King of Poland laid claims for the Swedish throne). A 24-year-old prince M.V. Skopin-Shuysky, the Tsar's nepnep, was sent to the North to gather an army. He signed a treaty with Sweden on February 28, 1609 in Vyborg. According to the treaty, Korely Uyezd passed to Sweden in return for 15-thousand strong army. But in fact Sweden provided only 7 thousands of mercenaries led by Ya.P. Delagardi.
This army was reinforced by irregulars on its way through Novgorod and Tver. M.V. Skopin-Shuysky crushed the Tushino party and raised the siege of the Troitse-Sergiyev Monastery. On March 12, 1610 the victorious commander entered Moscow. This served as a signal to the collapse of the Tushino camp. The impostor fled to Kaluga. The biggest part of the Polish army returned to King Sigizmund III. In April 1610 in Moscow during a celebration of the victory Skopin-Shuysky suddenly died. He was supposed to be poisoned by the Tsar's relatives.
In Autumn of 1609 Rech Pospolitaya started an open invasion of Russia. In September, 1609 Sigizmund III in the head of a huge army besieged Smolensk. The city garrison under command of Voevode M.B. Shein showed heroic resistance during 20 months.
'Semiboyarshina'.
The attempt made by the Tsar Vasily Shuysky to rescue the besieged Smolensk ended in failure. In June, 1610 the army of D. Shuysky, an untalented brother of the Tsar, sent to Smolensk was beaten by Polish hetman S. Zholkevsky at Klushino Village. Lzhedmitry II again came up to Moscow. This determined Shuysky's lot - the nobility revolted against him. In July 17, 1610 the Tsar was dethroned and cloistered. The power passed to the government formed of 7 boyards ("Semiboyarshina"). The government was headed by F.I. Mstislavsky. The desperate situation forced boyards to conclude a treaty with Sigizmund III. Under this treaty Vladislav, a son of the Polish King, was to become a new Russian ruler. The boyards sent official representatives to Smolensk for negotiations about Vladislav's conversion into Orthodoxy.
On the night of September 21, 1610 boyards committed the national treason - they opened the gate for Hetman Zholkevsky's army. Shortly after Hetman Zholkevsky set A. Gonsevsky in charge for the Polish garrison and left the capital. He took Shuysky as a prisoner to Poland.
In the meantime the Swedish armies started invasion of the Russian North. Later they deceitfully seized Novgorod.
Fled Lzhedmitry II settled in Kaluga again. Here, on December 11, he met his death. The impostor was killed during a hunt by a tatar prince from his bodyguard. |
History 