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Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Pre 1900 Military

   Dmitriads — Polish–Muscovite War of 1609–1618
   Map of the war. Important battles marked with crossed swords.

     Date   1605–1618
   Location Russia
    Result  Minor Polish victory, Truce of Deulino
   Combatants
   Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Muscovite Russia
                          Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)
   Bely • Dobrynichi • Trinity Monastery • Smolensk • Tsaryovo Zaimishche
   • Klushino • Mozhaysk • 1st Moscow • 2nd Moscow
   Polish-Russian Wars
   Kiev Expedition – Muscovite-Lithuanian – Livonian – 1605–18 –
   Smolensk – 1654–67 – Bar Confederation – 1792 – Kościuszko Uprising –
   November Uprising – January Uprising – Polish-Soviet – 1939

   The Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) is the name of the series of wars
   (1605–1618) between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia (or
   Muscovy), in the background of the Russian dynastic crisis known as the
   Time of Troubles (1598–1613). The sides and their goals changed several
   times during this conflict: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was not
   formally at war with Muscovy until 1609, and various Muscovite factions
   fought among themselves, allied with the Commonwealth and other
   countries or fighting against them. Sweden also participated in the
   conflict during the course of the Ingrian War (1610–1617), sometimes
   allying itself with Muscovy, and other times fighting against it. The
   goals of the various factions changed as well, from minor border
   adjustment by influencing the choice of Russian tsar to creating a new
   state by forming a union between the Commonwealth and Muscovy.

   The war can be divided into four stages. In the first stage, known to
   Poles as the Dymitriads ( Polish: Dymitriady), certain Commonwealth
   szlachta magnates (high ranking nobility), encouraged by some Muscovite
   boyars — but without the official consent of the Polish king Sigismund
   III Vasa (Polish: Zygmunt III Waza) — attempted to exploit Muscovite
   weakness and intervene in its civil war. They thus supported the tsar
   pretenders False Dmitriy I and later False Dmitriy II (hence the Polish
   name of the war, the Dymitriads) against the crowned tsars, Boris
   Godunov and Vasili Shuiski. The first Dymitriad began in 1605 and ended
   in 1606 with the death of False Dmitri I. The second Dymitriad in 1607
   and lasted until 1609, when Tsar Shuisky made a military alliance with
   Sweden. In response to this alliance, the Polish King Sigismund III
   decided to intervene officially and to declare war upon Muscovy, aiming
   to weaken Sweden's ally and to gain territorial concessions.

   After early Commonwealth victories ( battle of Klushino), which
   culminated in Polish forces entering Moscow in 1610, Sigismund's son,
   Prince Władysław, was briefly elected tsar. However, soon afterwards,
   Sigismund decided to seize the Russian throne for himself. This
   alienated the pro-Polish supporters among the boyars, who could accept
   the moderate Władysław, but not the pro- Catholic and anti- Orthodox
   Sigismund. Subsequently, the pro-Polish Muscovite faction disappeared,
   and the war resumed in 1611, with the Poles losing control of Moscow
   but capturing the important city of Smolensk (see Siege of Smolensk
   (1609–11)). However, due to internal troubles in both the Commonwealth
   and Muscovy, little military action occurred between 1612 and 1617,
   when Sigismund made one final and failed attempt to conquer Muscovy.
   The war finally ended in 1618 with the Treaty of Dywilino, which
   granted the Commonwealth certain territorial concessions, but not
   control over Muscovy. Muscovy thus emerged from the war with its
   independence unscathed.

Names of the war

   The Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618) is often referred to by other
   names, such as the Polish–Russian War of 1605–1618. The war is also
   divided into the First Dymitriad (1605–1606) and Second Dymitriad
   (1607–1609) and the Polish-Muscovite (Russian) War (1609–1618), which
   can subsequently be divided into two wars of 1609–1611 and 1617–1618.
   In Polish historiography, the wars are usually referred to as the
   Dymitriady, and may or may not include the 1617–1618 campaign, which is
   sometimes referred to as Chodkiewicz [Muscovite] campaign. According to
   Russian historiography, the chaotic events of the war fall into the "
   Time of Troubles" (смутное время). The conflict with Poles is commonly
   called the Polish invasion, Polish intervention, or more specifically
   the Polish intervention of the early-17th century.

Prelude to the war

   In the late 16th century and early 17th century, Muscovy was in a state
   of political and economic crisis. After the death of tsar Ivan IV
   Grozny (Ivan the Terrible) in 1584, and the presumed death of his son
   Dmitriy in 1591, several factions competed for the tsar's throne. In
   1598 the throne was seized by Boris Godunov, who had possibly been an
   orchestrator of Dmitriy's assassination. Godunov, however, did not
   manage to crush all opposition to his rule.

   In late 1600 a Polish-Lithuanian diplomatic mission led by Great
   Lithuanian Chancellor Lew Sapieha with Eliasz Pielgrzymowski and
   Stanisław Warszycki arrived in Moscow and proposed an alliance between
   the Commonwealth and Muscovy, which would include a future personal
   union. They proposed that after one monarch's death without heirs, the
   other would become the ruler of both countries. However, Tsar Godunov
   declined the union proposal and settled only on extending the Treaty of
   Jam Zapolski, ending the 16th century Muscovite wars by 22 years (to
   1622).

   Sigismund and the Polish magnates knew full well that the Commonwealth
   was not capable of any serious invasion of Muscovy; the Polish army was
   too small, its treasury always empty, and the war lacked popular
   support. However, as the situation in Muscovy deteriorated, Sigismund
   and many Commonwealth magnates, especially those with estates and
   forces near the Muscovite border, began to look for a way to profit
   from the chaos and weakness of their eastern neighbour. This proved
   easy, as in the meantime many Muscovite boyars, disgruntled by the
   ongoing civil war, tried to entice various neighbors of Muscovy,
   including the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, into intervening. Some of
   them looked to their own profits, trying to organize support for their
   own ascension to the Russian throne (as Boris Godunov had done, and
   Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov would in the near future). Others looked to
   their western neighbour, the Commonwealth, and its attractive Golden
   Freedoms, and together with some Polish visionaries planned for some
   kind of union between those two states. Yet others tried to tie their
   fates with that of Sweden in what became known as the De la Gardie
   Campaign and the Ingrian War.

   The advocates of a Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth (sometimes
   referred to as unia troista) proposed a union involving a common
   foreign policy and military; the right of all citizens to chose the
   place where they would live, to buy landed estates, and to marry each
   other; the removal of barriers for trade and transit; the introduction
   of a single currency; increased religious tolerance in Muscovy
   (especially the right to build churches of non-Orthodox faiths, since
   in Poland Orthodox churches had already been allowed to be built for
   many years); and the sending of boyar children for an education in more
   developed Polish academies (like the Jagiellonian University). However,
   this project never gained much support; many boyars feared that
   Poland-Lithuania would dominate Muscovy and opposed anything that
   threatened Muscovite culture, especially the policies of religious
   tolerance, intermarriage and education in Polish schools.

The First Dymitriad (1605-1606)

   False Dmitriy enters Moscow on June 20, 1605. Painting by Klavdiy
   Lebedev.
   Enlarge
   False Dmitriy enters Moscow on June 20, 1605. Painting by Klavdiy
   Lebedev.

   For most of the 1600s, Sigismund III was occupied with internal
   problems of his own, like the civil war in the Commonwealth (the rokosz
   of Zebrzydowski) and the wars with Sweden and in Moldavia. However,
   when the pretender False Dmitriy I appeared in Poland in 1603, he soon
   found enough support among powerful magnates such as Michał
   Wiśniowiecki, Lew and Jan Piotr Sapieha, who provided him with funds
   for a campaign against Godunov. Commonwealth magnates looked forward to
   material gains from the campaign and control over Dmitriy. In addition,
   both Polish magnates and Muscovite boyars advanced plans for a union
   between the Commonwealth and Russia, similar to the one Lew Sapieha had
   discussed in 1600 (when the idea had been dismissed by Godunov).
   Finally, the Holy See saw in Dmitriy a tool to spread Catholicism
   eastwards, and after promises of a Polish-Muscovite Catholic union
   waging a war on the Ottoman Empire, Jesuits provided him with some
   funds and education. Sigismund, although he declined to support Dmitriy
   officially with the full might of the Commonwealth, was always happy to
   support pro-Catholic initiatives and provided him with the sum of 4,000
   zlotys–enough for a few hundred soldiers. Nonetheless, some of
   Dmitriy's supporters, especially among those involved in the rokosz,
   actively worked to have Dmitriy replace Sigismund. In exchange, in June
   1604 Dmitriy promised the Commonwealth 'half of Smolensk territory'.
   However, many people were skeptical about the future of this endeavor.
   Jan Zamoyski, opposed to most of Sigismund's policies, later referred
   to the entire False Dmitriy I affair as a comedy worth of Plautus or
   Terentius.

   When Boris Godunov heard about the pretender, he claimed that the man
   was just a runaway monk called Grigory Otrepyev (born Yury
   Otrepyev–Grigory was the name given to him at the monastery), although
   on what information he based this claim is unclear. Regardless, his
   support began to wane, especially when he tried to spread
   counter-rumors. Some of the Russian boyars also claimed to accept
   Dmitriy's claim. Such support gave them legitimate reasons not to pay
   taxes to Godunov.

   Dmitriy attracted a number of followers, formed a small army, and,
   supported by approximately 3500 soldiers of the Commonwealth magnates'
   private armies and the mercenaries bought by Dmitriy's own cash, rode
   to Russia in June 1604. Some of Godunov's other enemies, including
   approximately 2,000 southern Cossacks, joined Dimitry's forces on his
   way to Moscow. Dmitriy's forces fought two engagements with reluctant
   Russian soldiers; Dimitry's army won the first at Novhorod-Siversky
   (Nowogród Siewierski, Novgorod-Seversky) soon capturing Chernihiv
   (Czernihów, Chernigov), Putyvl (Putivl), Sevsk, and Kursk, but badly
   lost the second battle at Dobrynichi and nearly disintegrated.
   Dmitriy's cause was only saved by the news of the death of Tsar Boris.

   The sudden death of Tsar Boris Godunov on April 13, 1605 removed the
   main barrier to Dimitriy's further progress. Russian troops began to
   defect to Dmitriy's side, and on June 1 boyars in Moscow imprisoned the
   newly-crowned tsar, Boris's son Feodor II, and the boy's mother, later
   brutally murdering them. On 20 June the impostor made his triumphal
   entry into Moscow, and on the 21st of July he was crowned tsar by a new
   patriarch of his own choosing, the Greek Cypriot Patriarch Ignatius,
   who as bishop of Ryazan had been the first church leader to recognize
   Dmitriy as tsar. The alliance with Poland was furthered by Dimitriy's
   marriage ( per procura in Cracow) with the daughter of Jerzy Mniszech,
   Marina Mniszech, a Polish noblewoman with whom Dmitriy had fallen in
   love while in Poland. The new tsarina outraged many Russians by
   refusing to convert from Catholicism to Russian Orthodox faith.
   Commonwealth king Sigismund was a prominent guest at this wedding.
   Marina soon left to join her husband in Moscow, where she was crowned a
   tsarina in May.
   Last minutes of False Dmitriy I by Karl Wenig, painted in 1879. False
   Dmitriy tried to flee from the plotters through a window, but broke his
   leg and was shot. After cremation his ashes were shot from a cannon
   towards Poland.
   Enlarge
   Last minutes of False Dmitriy I by Karl Wenig, painted in 1879. False
   Dmitriy tried to flee from the plotters through a window, but broke his
   leg and was shot. After cremation his ashes were shot from a cannon
   towards Poland.

   However, Dmitriy's position was weak. Many boyars felt they could gain
   more influence, even the throne, for themselves, and many were still
   wary of Polish cultural influence. The very Golden Freedoms, declaring
   all nobility equal, that were supported by lesser nobility, threatened
   the most powerful of the boyars. Thus the boyars, headed by Prince
   Vasily Shuisky, began to plot against Dmitriy and his pro-Polish
   faction, accusing him of homosexuality, spreading Roman Catholicism and
   Polish customs, and selling Muscovy to Jesuits and the Pope. They
   gained popular support, especially as Dmitriy was visibly supported by
   few hundred irregular Commonwealth forces, which still garrisoned
   Moscow, and often engaged in various criminal acts, angering the local
   population.

   On the morning of May 17, 1606, about two weeks after the marriage,
   conspirators stormed the Kremlin. Dmitriy tried to flee through a
   window but broke his leg in the fall. One of the plotters shot him dead
   on the spot. At first the body was put on display, but it was later
   cremated; the ashes were shot from a cannon in the direction of Poland.
   Dmitriy's reign had lasted a mere ten months. Vasili Shuisky took his
   place as Tsar. About five hundred of Dmitriy's Commonwealth supporters
   were killed, imprisoned or forced to leave Muscovy.

The Second Dymitriad (1607-1609)

   Tsar Vasili Shuiski was unpopular and weak in Russia and his reign was
   far from stable. He was perceived as anti-Polish; he had led the coup
   against the first False Dmitriy, killing over 500 Polish soldiers in
   Moscow and imprisoning a Polish envoy. The civil war raged on, as in
   1607 the False Dmitriy II appeared, again supported by some Polish
   magnates and 'recognized' by Marina Mniszech as her first husband. This
   brought him the support of the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian
   Commonwealth who had supported False Dmitriy I before. Adam
   Wiśniowiecki, Roman Różyński, Jan Piotr Sapieha decided to support the
   second pretender as well, supplying him with some early funds and about
   7500 soldiers. The pillaging of his army, especially of the infamous
   Lisowczycy mercenaries led by Aleksander Lisowski, contributed to the
   infamous placard in Sergiyev Posad (Zarajsk): "three plagues: typhus,
   Tatars, Poles". In 1608 together with Aleksander Kleczkowski,
   Lisowczycy, leading a few hundred Don Cossacks (kozacy dońscy), ragtag
   szlachta and mercenaries defeated the army of tsar Vasili Shuisky led
   by Zakhary Lyapunov and Ivan Khovansky near Zaraysk and captured
   Mikhailov and Kolomna. Then Lisowczycy advanced towards Moscow, but was
   defeated at Niedźwiedzi Bród, losing most of its plunder. When Jan
   Piotr Sapieha failed to win the siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra,
   Lisowczycy retreated to the vicinity of Rakhmantsevo. Soon, however,
   came successes (pillages) at Kostroma, Soligalich and some other
   cities.

   Dmitriy speedily captured Karachev, Bryansk and other towns. He was
   reinforced by the Poles, and in the spring of 1608 advanced upon
   Moscow, routing the army of Tsar Vasily Shuisky at Bolkhov. Dmitriy's
   promises of the wholesale confiscation of the estates of the boyars
   drew many common people to his side. The village of Tushino, twelve
   versts from the capital, was converted into an armed camp, where
   Dmitriy gathered his army. His forces initially included 7000 Polish
   soldiers, 10,000 Cossacks and 10,000 other soldiers, including former
   members of the failed rokosz of Zebrzydowski but his force grew
   gradually in power, and soon exceeded 100,000 men. He raised another
   illustrious captive, Feodor Romanov, to the rank of patriarch,
   enthroning him as Patriarch Filaret, and won the allegiance of the
   cities of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Kashin and several others.
   However, his fortunes were soon to reverse, as the Commonwealth decided
   to take a more active stance in the Muscovite civil wars.

Polish-Muscovite War (1609-1618)

Polish victories (1609-1610)

   The defence of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra by Orthodox monks led by the
   chronicler Avraamy Palitsyn (September 1609 to January 1611). Painting
   by Sergey Miloradovich.
   Enlarge
   The defence of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra by Orthodox monks led by the
   chronicler Avraamy Palitsyn (September 1609 to January 1611). Painting
   by Sergey Miloradovich.

   In 1609 the rokosz of Zebrzydowski ended when tsar Vasili signed a
   military alliance with Charles IX of Sweden that year (on 28 February
   1609). The Commonwealth king Sigismund III, whose primary goal was to
   regain the Swedish throne, got permission from the Sejm to declare war
   on Muscovy. He viewed it as an excellent opportunity to expand the
   Commonwealth's territory and sphere of influence, with hopes that the
   eventual outcome of the war would Catholicize Orthodox Russia (in this
   he was strongly supported by the Pope) and enable him to defeat Sweden.
   This plan also allowed him to give a purpose to the numerous restless
   former supporters of Zebrzydowski, luring them with promises of wealth
   and fame awaiting members of the campaign beyond the Commonwealth's
   eastern border. A book published that year by Paweł Palczwski, Kolęda
   moskiewska, compared Muscovy to the Indian empires of the New World,
   full of golden cities and easy to conquer. Further, some Muscovite
   boyars assured him of their support by offering the throne to Prince
   Władysław, son of Sigismund III. Previously, Sigismund III had been
   unwilling to commit the majority of Polish forces or his time to the
   internal conflict in Muscovy, but in 1609 those factors made him
   re-evaluate and drastically change his policy.
   Sigismund III at Smolensk by Tommaso Dolabella.
   Enlarge
   Sigismund III at Smolensk by Tommaso Dolabella.

   Although many Polish nobles and soldiers were fighting for the second
   False Dmitriy at the time, Sigismund III and the troops under his
   command did not act in support of Dimitriy's to the throne–Sigismund
   III wanted Russia himself. The entry of King Sigismund III into Muscovy
   caused the majority of False Dmitriy II's Polish supporters to desert
   him and contributed to his defeat. A series of subsequent disasters
   induced False Dmitriy II to flee his camp disguised as a peasant and to
   go to Kostroma together with Marina. Dimitriy also made another
   unsuccessful attack on Moscow, and, supported by the Don Cossacks,
   recovered a hold over all south-eastern Russia. However, he was killed,
   while half drunk, on the 11th of December 1610 by a Qasim Tatar
   princeling Pyotr Urusov, whom Dimitriy had flogged on a previous
   occasion.
   The defence of Smolensk from the Poles by Boris Chorikov
   Enlarge
   The defence of Smolensk from the Poles by Boris Chorikov

   A Commonwealth army under the command of hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski,
   who was generally opposed to this conflict, but could not disobey
   king's orders, crossed the border, and on 29 September 1609 laid siege
   to Smolensk, an important city that Russia had captured from Lithuania
   in 1514. Smolensk was manned by fewer than 1,000 Russian men commanded
   by the voivod Mikhail Shein, while Żółkiewski commanded 12,000 troops.
   However, Smolensk had one major advantage: the previous tsar, Boris
   Godunov, had sponsored the fortification of the city with a massive
   fortress completed in 1602. The Poles found it impenetrable; they
   settled into a long siege, firing artillery into the city, attempting
   to tunnel under the moat, and building earthen ramparts, remnants of
   which can still be seen today. The siege lasted 20 months before the
   Poles succeeded in taking the fortress.

   Not all of the Commonwealth attacks were successful. An early attack,
   led by hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz with 2,000 men, ended in defeat
   when the unpaid Commonwealth army mutinied and compelled their leader
   to retreat through the heart of Russia and back to Smolensk. Not until
   the crown prince, Władysław, arrived with tardy reinforcements did the
   war assume a different character. In the meantime, Lisowczycy took
   Pskov in 1610 and clashed with the Swedes operating in Russia during
   the Ingrian War.

   All the time, several different visions of the campaign and political
   goals clashed in the Polish camp. Some of the former members of the
   rokosz of Zebrzydowski, opponents of Sigismund, actually advanced
   proposals to have Sigismund dethroned and Dmitriy, or even Shuisky,
   elected king. Żółkiewski, who from the beginning opposed the invasion
   of Muscovy, came into conflict with King Sigismund III over the scope,
   methods and goal of the campaign. Żółkiewski represented the
   traditional views of Polish nobility, the szlachta, which did not
   support waging aggressive and dangerous wars against a strong enemy
   like Muscovy. Thus Żółkiewski favoured the plans for peaceful and
   voluntary union, much like that with Lithuania. Żółkiewski offered
   Russian boyars rights and religious freedom, envisioning an association
   resulting in the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite
   Commonwealth. To that end, he felt that Moscow's cooperation should be
   gained via diplomacy, not force. Sigismund III, however, did not want
   to engage in political deals and compromises, especially when these had
   to include concessions to the Orthodox Church. Sigismund was a vocal,
   almost fanatical supporter of the Catholic Church and
   counter-reformation, and believed that he could win everything and take
   Moscow by force, and then establish his own rule along with the rule of
   the Roman Catholic Church.

Poles in Moscow (1610)

   On 31 January 1610 Sigismund received a delegation of boyars opposed to
   Shuisky, who asked Władysław to become the tsar. On 24 February
   Sigismund sent them a letter in which he agreed to do so, but only when
   Moscow was at peace.

   Hetman Żółkiewski, whose only other choice was mutiny, decided to
   follow the king's orders and left Smolensk in 1610, leaving only a
   smaller force necessary to continue the siege. With Cossack
   reinforcements, he marched on Moscow. However, as he feared and
   predicted, as the Polish-Lithuanian forces pressed eastwards, ravaging
   Muscovite lands, and as Sigismund's lack of willingness to compromise
   became more and more apparent, many supporters of the Poles and of the
   second False Dmitriy left the pro-Polish camp and turned to Shuiski's
   anti-Polish faction.
   Polish Hussar formation at the Battle of Klushino
   Enlarge
   Polish Hussar formation at the Battle of Klushino

   Russian forces under Grigory Voluyev were coming to relieve Smolensk
   and fortified the fort at Tsaryovo-Zaimishche (Carowo, Cariewo,
   Tsarovo-Zajmiszcze) to bar the Poles' advance on Moscow. The Siege of
   Tsaryovo began on June 24. However, the Russians were not prepared for
   a long siege and had little food and water inside the fort. Voluyev
   sent word for Dmitriy Shuisky (Tsar Shuiski's brother) to come to their
   aid and lift the siege. Shuiski's troops marched for Tsaryovo, not by
   the direct route, but round-about through Klushino, hoping to come to
   Tsaryovo by the back route. Shuyski received aid from Swedish forces
   under the command of Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie.

   Żółkiewski learned of Shuiski's relief force and divided his forces to
   meet Muscovite forces before they came to Tsaryovo and lifted the
   siege. He left at night so that Voluyev would not notice his absence.
   The combined Muscovite and Swedish forces were defeated in on July 4
   1610 at the battle of Klushino (Kłuszyn), where 5,000 Polish elite
   cavalry, the hussars under hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, defeated the
   numerically superior Russian army of about 35,000-40,000 soldiers. This
   giant and surprising defeat of the Muscovite forces shocked everyone
   and opened a new phase in the current conflict.
   "Shuyski Tsar brought by Zólkiewski to the Sejm in Warsaw before
   Zygmunt III" by Jan Matejko, oil on canvas.
   Enlarge
   "Shuyski Tsar brought by Zólkiewski to the Sejm in Warsaw before
   Zygmunt III" by Jan Matejko, oil on canvas.

   After the news of Klushino spread, support for tsar Shuiski almost
   completely disappeared. Żółkiewski soon convinced the Muscovite forces
   at Tsaryovo, which were much stronger than the ones at Kłuszyn, to
   capitulate and to swear an oath of loyalty to Władysław. Then he
   incorporated them into his forces and moved towards Moscow. In August
   1610 many Muscovite boyars accepted that Sigismund III was victorious
   and that Władysław could become the next tsar if he converted to
   Eastern Orthodoxy. The Russian Duma voted for Tsar Shuiski to be
   removed from the throne. Shuiski's family, including the tsars, were
   captured, and Shuiski was reportedly taken to a monastery, forcibly
   shaved as a monk, and compelled to remain at the monastery under guard.
   He was later sent to Warsaw, as a kind of war trophy, and eventually
   died in Gostyn.

   Shortly after Shuiski was removed, both Żółkiewski and the second False
   Dmitri arrived at Moscow with their separate armies. It was a tense
   moment, filled with the confusion of the conflict. Various pro- and
   anti-Polish, Swedish and domestic boyar factions vied for the temporary
   control of the situation. The Muscovite army and the people themselves
   were unsure if this was an invasion and that they should close and
   defend the city, or if it was a liberating force that they should allow
   in and welcome as allies. After a few skirmishes, the pro-Polish
   faction gained dominance, and the Poles were allowed into Moscow. The
   boyars opened Moscow's gates to the Polish troops and asked Żółkiewski
   to protect them from anarchy. The Moscow Kremlin was then garrisoned by
   Polish troops commanded by Aleksander Gosiewski. On 27 July a treaty
   was signed between the boyars and Żółkiewski promising the Muscovite
   boyars the same vast privileges the Polish szlachta had, in exchange
   for them recognising Władysław, son of Sigismund III, as the new tsar.
   However, Żółkiewski did not know that Sigismund, who remained at
   Smolensk, already had other plans.
   "Shuyski Tsar at the Sejm in Warsaw" by Jan Matejko, oil on canvas.
   Enlarge
   "Shuyski Tsar at the Sejm in Warsaw" by Jan Matejko, oil on canvas.

   In the meantime, Żółkiewski and the second False Dmitriy, formerly
   reluctant allies, began to part ways. The second False Dmitriy had lost
   much of his influence over the Polish court, and Żółkiewski would
   eventually try to drive Dmitriy from the capital. Żółkiewski soon began
   manoeuvring for a tsar of Polish origin, particularly the 15-year old
   Prince Władysław. Previously during the Time of Troubles, the boyars
   had offered the throne to Władysław at least twice, in the hopes of
   having the liberal Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth end the despotic rule
   of their current tsars. Through Żółkiewski's work, the pro-Polish
   factions among the boyars (composed of knyazes Fyodor Mstislavsky,
   Vasily Galitzine, Fyodor Sheremetev, Daniil Mezetsky and diaks Vasily
   Telepnyov and Tomiło Łagowski gained dominance and once again a
   majority of the boyars said that they would support Władysław for the
   throne, if he converted to Orthodoxy and if Poland-Lithuania returned
   the fortresses that they had captured in the war.

   However, Sigismund, supported by some of the more devout szlachta, was
   completely opposed to the conversion of the prince. From that point the
   planned Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite union began to fall apart. Offended
   and angered by Sigismund, the boyars dragged their feet on supporting
   Władysław–they were divided between electing Vasily Galitzine, Michael
   Romanov (also 15 years old), or the second False Dmitriy. Żółkiewski
   acted quickly, making promises without the consent of the still-absent
   king, and the boyars elected Władysław as the new tsar. Żółkiewski had
   the most prominent of the opponents, Fyodor Romanov, Michael's father
   and the patriarch of Moscow, exiled from Russia in order to secure
   Polish support. After the election of Władysław as tsar, the second
   False Dmitriy fled from Tushino, a city near Moscow, to his base at
   Kaluga. However, his position was precarious even there, and he was
   killed on December 20 by one of his own men. Marina Mniszech, though,
   was pregnant with the new "heir" to the Russian throne, Ivan
   Dmitriyevich, and she would still be a factor in Muscovite politics
   until her eventual death in 1614.

   However, Władysław faced further opposition from a seemingly unlikely
   party: his father. When Żółkiewski returned to meet Sigismund at
   Smoleńsk in November of that year, Sigismund III changed his mind and
   decided that he could gain the Russian throne for himself. A majority
   of the Russians opposed the move, especially as Sigismund didn't hide
   his intent to Catholicize Muscovy. Żółkiewski found himself in an
   awkward position–he had promised the boyars Prince Władysław to keep
   the Russian throne for Poland, and he knew that they would not accept
   King Sigismund III, who was unpopular throughout Russia. However, he
   also had to explain this to his king, who was convinced, from his
   conquests in the west, of his popularity in Russia. Eventually,
   Żółkiewski, disappointed with Sigismund, returned to Poland. King
   Sigismund III eventually compromised; he decided that he would allow
   his son to take the throne and that he would rule as regent until
   Władysław came of age. Thus, he required that the boyars who submitted
   and swore allegiance to Prince Władysław would also have to swear an
   oath to him. The boyars were more resistant to this request, and
   support for the Poles eroded fast. Władysław was never able to take
   real power, and the war soon resumed. Sigismund and Władysław left the
   city for safer ground as tensions grew, and the small Polish garrison
   at the Kremlin soon became isolated and subject to increased hostility,
   as more and more of the formerly pro-Polish boyars began to change
   factions. The Polish forces outside Moscow under the command of Jan
   Piotr Sapieha clashed with the growing anti-Polish Russian forces of
   the so called First Volunteer Army, led by Prokopy Lyapunov.

   In the meantime, the siege of Smolensk continued, even as Władysław was
   named tsar of Russia and cities and forts throughout the area swore
   allegiance to the Poles. However, Sigismund III required that Smolensk
   not only swear allegiance, but open its gates to the Poles, which the
   Russians refused to do. Żółkiewski fortified Moscow with his army, and
   returned to King Sigismund III, who had remained at Smolensk while
   Żółkiewski negotiated in Moscow. The largest tunneling project at
   Smolensk came in December 1610; however, the Poles only managed to
   destroy more of the outer wall–the inner wall remained intact. The
   siege continued. At one point, the Polish guns breached the outer wall
   and the voivode of Braclaw (Bracław) ordered his soldiers to rush in;
   however, the Russians had predicted where the breach would occur and
   had fortified that part of the wall with additional men. Both troops
   were slaughtered, and the Poles were eventually beaten back.

The war resumes (1611)

   Proclamation of Kuzma Minin. Painting by Konstantin Makovsky.
   Enlarge
   Proclamation of Kuzma Minin. Painting by Konstantin Makovsky.

   A 1611 uprising in Moscow against the Polish garrison marked the end of
   Russian tolerance for the Commonwealth intervention. The citizens of
   Moscow had voluntarily participated in the coup in 1606, killing 500
   Polish soldiers. Now, ruled by the Polish, they once again revolted.
   The Moscow burghers took over the munition store but Polish troops
   defeated the first wave of attackers, and the fighting resulted in a
   large fire that consumed part of Moscow. From July onward the situation
   of the Commonwealth forces became grave, as the uprising turned into a
   siege of the Polish-held Kremlin. Reportedly, the Poles had imprisoned
   the leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Hermogenes. When the
   Russians attacked Moscow, the Poles ordered him, as the man with the
   most authority with the Russians at the time, to sign a statement to
   call off the attack. Hermogenes refused, and was starved to death. The
   Polish Kremlin garrison then found itself besieged.
   Dmitry Pozharsky is asked to lead the volunteer army against the Poles.
   Painting by Vasily Savinsky (1882)
   Enlarge
   Dmitry Pozharsky is asked to lead the volunteer army against the Poles.
   Painting by Vasily Savinsky (1882)

   In the meantime, in late 1611, prince Dmitry Pozharsky was asked to
   lead the public opposition against the Poles, organized by the
   merchants' guild of Nizhny Novgorod, with the respected town butcher
   (literally, a meat-trader) Kuzma Minin overseeing the handling of the
   funds donated by the merchants to form create the Second Volunteer Army
   (Russian: Второе народное ополчение). When part of the Polish army
   mutinied in January 1612 due to unpaid wages. and retreated from
   Muscovy towards the Commonwealth, the forces of the Second Volunteer
   Army strengthened the other anti-Polish Russian forces in Moscow. The
   9,000-strong Polish army under hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz attempted
   to lift the siege and clashed with Muscovite forces, attempting to
   break through to Polish forces in the Kremlin on 1 September. The
   Polish forces used cavalry attacks in the open field, exercising
   tactics that were new to them: escorting a mobile tabor fortress
   through the city. After early Polish successes, the Muscovites' Cossack
   reinforcements had forced Chodkiewicz's forces to retreat from Moscow.

   Russian reinforcements under prince Pozharsky eventually starved the
   Commonwealth garrison (there were reports of cannibalism) and forced
   its surrender on the 1 November (though some sources give 6 November or
   7 November) after the 19 month siege. A historian (Parker) writes
   vividly of the Polish soldiers: "First they ate grass and offal, then
   they ate each other, and the survivors finally surrendered. The Moscow
   Kremlin fell on 6 November 1612." On November 7, the Polish soldiers
   withdrew from Moscow. Although the Commonwealth negotiated a safe
   passage, the Russian forces massacred half of the former Kremlin
   garrison forces as they left the fortress. Thus, the Russian army
   recaptured Moscow.
   The Poles surrender the Moscow Kremlin to Prince Pozharsky in 1612.
   Painting by Ernest Lissner.
   Enlarge
   The Poles surrender the Moscow Kremlin to Prince Pozharsky in 1612.
   Painting by Ernest Lissner.

   On June 2, 1611 Smolensk had finally fallen to the Poles. After
   enduring 20 months of siege, two harsh winters and dwindling food
   supplies, the Russians in Smolensk finally reached their limit as the
   Polish-Lithuanian troops broke through the city gates. The Polish army,
   advised by the runaway traitor Andrei Dedishin, discovered a weakness
   in the fortress defenses and on 13 June 1611 Cavalier of Malta
   Bartłomiej Nowodworski inserted a mine into sewer canal. The explosion
   created a large breach in the fortress walls. Jakub Potocki was the
   first on the walls. The fortress fell on the same day. The remaining
   Russian soldiers took refuge in a cathedral and blew themselves up with
   stores of gunpowder to avoid death at the hands of the invaders.
   Although it was a blow to lose Smolensk, the defeat freed up Russian
   troops to fight the Commonwealth in Moscow, and the Russian commander
   at Smolensk, Mikhail Borisovich Shein, was considered a hero for
   holding out as long as he had. He was captured at Smolensk and remained
   a prisoner of Poland-Lithuania for the next 9 years.

A new respite (1612-1617)

   Mikhail Romanov, having been saved from the Polish brigands by Ivan
   Susanin, learned about his election to the Russian throne in the
   Ipatiev Monastery. Source: 17th century illustrated manuscript.
   Enlarge
   Mikhail Romanov, having been saved from the Polish brigands by Ivan
   Susanin, learned about his election to the Russian throne in the
   Ipatiev Monastery. Source: 17th century illustrated manuscript.

   After the fall of Smolensk, the Polish-Muscovite border remained
   relatively quiet for the next few years. However, no official treaty
   was yet signed. Sigismund, criticized by the Sejm (the Polish
   parliament made up of the szlachta, who were always reluctant to levy
   taxes upon themselves to pay for any military force) for his failure to
   keep Moscow, received little funding for the army. This led to a mutiny
   of the Polish regular army ( wojsko kwarciane), or rather to the
   specific semi-legal form of mutiny practiced in the Commonwealth: a
   konfederacja (confederatio). The resulting konfederacja rohaczewska was
   considered the largest and most vicious of the soldiers' konfederacja's
   in the history of the Commonwealth, and it pillaged Commonwealth
   territories from 1612 until the most rebellious of the konfederate's
   were defeated on 17 May 1614 at the Battle of Rohatyn, whereupon the
   rest received their wages. The leader of the konfederacja, Jan
   Karwacki, was captured and sent in chains by the future hetman
   Stanisław Koniecpolski to his mentor, hetman Żółkiewski, and later
   executed in Lwów. The Ottoman Empire further criticized Sigismund
   because the Cossacks in the Ukraine once again had begun to make
   unsanctioned raids into Turkish territory. Thus, Poland-Lithuania got
   no support from the Ottoman Empire in its war.

   In the meantime, the Russian Time of Troubles was far from over, and
   Muscovy had no strength to take advantage of the Commonwealth's
   weakness. On February 21, 1613 the Zemsky Sobor ("assembly of the
   land") named Michael Romanov, now the 17-year old son of Fyodor
   Romanov, the new tsar. Fyodor, now installed as Patriarch Filaret, was
   a popular boyar and patriarch of Moscow, one of several boyars who vied
   to gain control of the Muscovite throne during the Time of Troubles.
   The Romanovs were a powerful boyar family; Michael's great-aunt (the
   sister of his grandfather) was Anastasia Romanovna, the wife of Ivan
   the Terrible. However, the new tsar had many opponents. Marina Mniszech
   tried until her death in 1614 to install her child as Tsar of Russia;
   various boyar factions still vied for power, trying to unseat the young
   Tsar Michael; and Sweden intervened in force, trying to gain the throne
   for Duke Carl Philip, even succeeding for a few months. However, Philip
   received even less support then Władysław, and the Swedes were soon
   forced to retreat from Russia.
   Relief of Smolensk by Polish forces, by Juliusz Kossak.
   Enlarge
   Relief of Smolensk by Polish forces, by Juliusz Kossak.

   While both countries were shaken by internal strife, many smaller
   factions thrived. Polish Lisowczycy mercenaries, who were essential in
   the defense of Smoleńsk in 1612, when most of regulars (wojsko
   kwarciane) mutinied and joined the konfederacja rohatynska, were
   content to guard the Polish-Muscovite border against Muscovite
   incursions for the next three years. However, in 1615 Aleksander Józef
   Lisowski gathered many outlaws and invaded Muscovy with 6 chorągiew of
   cavalry. He besieged Bryansk and defeated the relief force of few
   thousand soldiers under Prince Yuri Shakhovskoy near Karachev. Then
   Lisowski defeated the front guard of a force several times larger then
   his own, under the command of knyaz Dmitry Pozharsky, who decided to
   defend instead of attack and fortified his forces in a camp. Lisowczycy
   broke contact with his forces, burned Belyov and Likhvin, took
   Peremyshl, turned north, defeated the Muscovite army at Rzhev,
   proceeded north towards Kashin, burned Torzhok, and, heavy with loot
   returned to Poland without any further opposition from Muscovite
   forces. Lisowski and his forces remained at the Polish-Muscovite border
   until autumn 1616, at which point Lisowski suddenly fell ill and died
   on 11 October. The formation was then known as Lisowczycy. Despite the
   death of Lisowski, his forces remained a significant threat: in 1616
   they captured Kursk and defeated Russian forces at Bolkhov.

The final stage (1617-1618)

   Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, sketch by Juliusz Kossak.
   Enlarge
   Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, sketch by Juliusz Kossak.

   Eventually the Commonwealth Sejm voted to raise the funds necessary to
   resume large scale military operations. Sigismund's and Władysław's
   final attempt to gain the throne was a new campaign launched on 6 April
   1617. Władysław was the nominal commander, but it was hetman
   Chodkiewicz who had actual control over the army. In October, the towns
   of Dorogobuzh (Drohobuż, Drohobycz) and Vyazma (Wiaźma) surrendered
   quickly, recognizing Władysław as the tsar. However, the Commonwealth
   forces suffered defeats between Vyazma and Mozhaisk, and Chodkiewicz's
   plans for a counterattack and an advance to Moscow failed. Władysław
   did not have enough forces to advance to Moscow again, especially
   because the Russian support for the Poles was all but gone by that
   time. In response to Władysław's invasion, the burghers of Smolensk
   revolted against Polish rule, and the Polish troops had to fight their
   way back as they retreated from the city. However, in 1617 Polish
   forces, besieged in Smoleńsk by Russian forces, were relieved by
   Lisowczycy, when Muscovite forces retreated to Biała soon after
   receiving news that Lisowczycy, then commanded by Stanisław Czapiński,
   had appeared in the area. Those were the last spasms of the war.
   Negotiations began and a peace treaty was signed in 1618.

Aftermath

   Borders after Treaty of Dywilino of 1618. Territories gained by Poland
   marked with light pink.
   Enlarge
   Borders after Treaty of Dywilino of 1618. Territories gained by Poland
   marked with light pink.

   In the end, Sigismund did not succeed in becoming tsar or in securing
   the throne for Władysław, but he was able to expand the Commonwealth's
   territory. On 11 December 1618 the Truce of Deulino (also known as
   Treaty of Dywilino), which concluded the Dymitriad's war, gave the
   Commonwealth control over some of the conquered territories, including
   the territories of Chernihiv (Czernihów) and Severia (Siewiersk) and
   the city of Smolensk, and proclaimed a 15-year truce. Władysław refused
   to relinquish his claim to the Russian throne, even though Sigismund
   had already done so. While the Commonwealth gained some territories, in
   terms of money and lives it was a very costly victory.

   In 1632 the Truce of Deulino expired, and hostilities immediately
   resumed in the course of a conflict known as the Smolensk War. This
   time the war was started by the Russians, who tried to exploit the
   Commonwealth's suspected weakness after Sigismund III's death. However,
   they failed to regain Smolensk, and accepted the Treaty of Polanowo in
   1634. The Russians had to pay 20,000 rubles to the Poles, but Władysław
   relinquished his claim to the Muscovite throne and recognized Michael
   as the legitimate tsar of Russia, returning the Russian royal insignia
   as well.

Modern legacy

   The story of Dymitriads and False Dimitris proved useful to the future
   generations of rulers and politicians in Poland and Russia, and a
   distorted version of the real events gained much fame in Russia, as
   well as in Poland. In Poland the Dmitriads campaign is remembered as
   the height of the Polish Golden Age, the time Poles captured Moscow,
   something that even four million troops from Adolf Hitler's Nazi
   Germany and other Axis Powers could not manage. The Dmitriads were also
   useful for the Polish nationalistic propaganda of the authoritarian
   regime of Józef Piłsudski. In Russia it was useful to the new dynasty
   of tsars, the Romanovs, who understood that history is a powerful
   political tool, written by the victors. They tried to erase all
   references and theories to their role in creating the False Dmitris,
   self-interested cooperation with Polish and Swedish interventions, or
   their opposition to the liberal unia troista; instead they supported a
   portrayal of Dmitriads as the heroic defense of Russian nation against
   the barbaric invasion of Polish-Jesuit alliance, who attempted to
   destroy the Russian Orthodox culture. This was the history line shown
   by the famous Russian historian, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin,
   beautifully described by Aleksandr Pushkin in his "Boris Godunov" and
   by Modest Mussorgsky in his opera "Boris Godunov". The communist regime
   of Soviet Union also found this war a useful propaganda tool,
   especially during the times of the Polish-Soviet War. In post-Soviet
   Russia the only autumn holiday, the National Unity Day, first
   celebrated on November 4, 2005, commemorates the popular uprising which
   ejected the alien occupying force from Moscow in November of 1612, and
   more generally the end of the Time of Troubles and foreign intervention
   in Russia. Its name alludes to the idea that all the classes of the
   Russian society willingly united to preserve the Russian statehood when
   its demise seemed inevitable, even though there was neither Tsar nor
   Patriarch to guide them.

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