The uprising of Bolotnikov

By the end of the 16th century , serfdom was forming in Russia. The discontent of the peasants, caused by the intensification of feudal oppression, found expression in the speeches of the monastery peasants at the end of the 16th century, the mass exodus to the southern regions during the famine of 1601-1603 . In 1603, there was a major uprising of slaves and peasants under the command of the Cotton of Kosolap .

After the death of False Dmitry I , rumors spread around Moscow that it was not Dmitry who was killed in the palace, but someone else. These rumors made V. I. Shuisky’s position very precarious. There were many dissatisfied with the boyar king, and they seized on the name of Dmitry. Some - because they sincerely believed in his salvation; others - because only this name could give the fight against Shuisky a “legitimate” character.

The enslavement of the peasants, the introduction of Fedor Ivanovich “ school years ”, political instability, hunger - as a result of this, the uprising had a distinct anti-boyar character.

• Peasants and slaves ( Ivan Bolotnikov )
• Seversky Cossacks ( stellate sturgeon )
• Terek, Volga and Zaporozhye Cossacks ( Ileika Muromets )
• Ryazan ( Prokopiy Lyapunov ), Tula ( Istoma Pashkov ) and Seversk ( Andrei Telatevsky ) nobility
• A hired army of 10 thousand Landsknechts with artillery.

In total, 30 thousand rebels participated in the March to Moscow ^[3] . Thus, the uprising can be considered a civil war , since all sectors of society of that time participated. However, the participation of mercenary troops and the presence of aristocracy commanders and the fact that events occurred shortly after the fall of False Dmitry I implies the possibility of Polish intervention.

The Don Cossack Ivan Bolotnikov was a military servant of Prince Andrey Telatevsky . Returning through Europe from Turkish captivity, he was in Sambir (in the castle of Yuri Mnishek ) introduced to a certain person who called himself "Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich." Apparently, this was the adventurer Mikhail Molchanov , an associate of False Dmitry I, who had fled from Moscow and who now sent “royal letters” to the south of Russia, sealed with a gold imperial seal that he had stolen in Moscow. The letters announcing the imminent return of Tsar Dmitry were perceived by many as completely reliable. An experienced warrior Bolotnikov was appointed "great governor" in Sambir and sent to Putivl to Prince G.P. Shakhovsky , who began to raise the Seversky land against Tsar Vasily Shuisky.

Sympathy for the uprising and Chernihiv governor Andrei Telyatevsky, who had previously served Bolotnikov. Dozens of cities and fortresses in southwestern Russia quickly began to be deposited from Shuisky.

Tsar Shuisky sent troops led by governors Yu. N. Trubetskoy and I. M. Vorotynsky to fight the rebels. In August 1606, the army of Trubetskoy was defeated by the rebels in the battle of Kromy ; in the battle of Yelets , the army of Vorotynsky was defeated. September 23 ( October 3 ) 1606 Bolotnikov won near Kaluga , where the main forces of the Shuisky army were concentrated.

The rebels on their way to Moscow came to Kolomna . In October 1606, Kolomna’s posad was seized by them, but the Kremlin continued to stubbornly resist. Leaving a small portion of his forces in Kolomna, Bolotnikov headed along the Kolomenskaya road to Moscow. In the village of Troitskoye, Kolomenskoye Uyezd, he managed to defeat government troops. Bolotnikov’s army was located in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow.

September 27 ( October 7 ), 1606 , the army of Bolotnikov besieged Moscow . In November, the Cossacks of Ileika Muromets joined the uprising, but Ryazan’s rati Lyapunov on November 5 (15) switched to the side of Shuisky. This was partly due to the stratification of the rebels into Cossacks and nobles , and partly due to the active agitation of the patriarch Germogen against the rebels. The Shuisky government managed to convince the Muscovites that if the city was taken by the Bolotnik people, they would be punished for the murder of False Dmitry I, so the townspeople were determined. November 22 ( December 2 ) weakened rebels were defeated and retreated to Kaluga ( Bolotnikov ) and Tula ( Ileika Muromets ).

On December 10 (20), the tsarist army besieged the rebels in Kaluga ^[4] . At the beginning of 1607, a large detachment of Cossacks came to the aid of the rebels. Other forces of the rebels, belonging to Ileika Muromets and the prominent figures of the uprising connected with him, tried to break through the siege from the outside. Their struggle with government forces went with varying success. In the battle of Venev , Prince Andrei Telyatevsky, who joined the rebels, was able to win, but then the royal governors defeated the " thieves " in the battles on Vyrka and near Silver Ponds . The rebels compensated for these defeats with victories in the battle of Tula and the battle of Dedilov . However, their biggest success at this stage of the uprising was the Battle of Bee in May 1607. It was the result of the second campaign of the rebel forces in Kaluga, undertaken by Ileika Muromets in order to help the besieged Bolotnikov. At the head of the army, marching to Kaluga, was placed Prince Telatevsky. In May 1607, the rebels managed to defeat the royal regiments in the Battle of Bee . After this, Bolotnikov lifted the siege of Kaluga on a sortie against the demoralized tsarist regiments.

However, soon the army of Bolotnikov, marching in conjunction with the troops of Lzhepetr in Tula, suffered a major defeat in the battle of the Eight . This allowed the tsarist forces to take a decisive campaign on Tula.

June 12 ( 22 ), 1607 , the royal troops approached the walls of the rebellious Tula. On June 30 ( July 10 ), the leadership of the siege of Tula was taken personally by Tsar Vasily Shuisky . The situation of the besiegers was complicated by the fact that the Pretender appeared in Starodub , who moved his armies to help the "Tula sitters." October 10 ( 20 ), 1607 The Tula Kremlin was taken by the Shuisky. During the siege, the tsarist troops blocked the river Upu flowing through the city with a dam and caused a flood in the city. The idea of ​​such a siege method was suggested to Shuisky boyar Ivan Kravkov , from whom Bolotnikov requisitioned large food supplies. The rebels tried to blow up the dam, but the same Kravkov warned Shuisky, and the attempt failed.

Bolotnikov was exiled to Kargopol , blinded and drowned. Ileiko Muromets - hanged. Voivode Shakhovskaya - forcibly tonsured a monk. According to legend, Vasily Shuisky promised "not to shed blood" rebels who agreed to surrender. In order to formally keep his promise, he then used the “bloodless” method of execution - through drowning - in the process of executing reprisals against the rebels.

Lack of unity in the ranks of his troops. The uprising was attended by people from different walks of life and they all pursued their own goals; lack of a unified ideology; betrayal of the troops.

The nobility pretty soon switched to the side of Shuisky; underestimation of enemy forces. Bolotnikov often forced events, not giving the army the opportunity to accumulate strength.

Despite the suppression of the uprising, the Time of Troubles in Russia did not end. The surviving “thieves” Bolotnikova joined the rebel army of False Dmitry II coming from Starodub and joined the Tushino camp. Subsequently, these "thieves" took part in the First ( Prokopiy Lyapunov ) and the Second militias ( Grigory Shakhovskaya ).

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• General education portal - Uprising of Bolotnikov
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• The Time of Troubles in Russia. Riot Bolotnikova