Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky. Brief biography of Vasily Shuisky

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky (born 1552 - death September 12 (22), 1612) - Russian Tsar from 1606 to 1610 (Vasily IV Ioannovich). From the princely family of Shuisky. The last of the Rurik family on the Russian throne.
In his spirit and character, Vasily Shuisky highly personified the properties of the old Russian way of life. He shows a lack of enterprise, a fear of every new step, but at the same time patience and perseverance. His youth passed under Ivan the Terrible. Under his son Fyodor Ivanovich, Shuisky was sent to Uglich in 1591 to conduct an investigation into the strange death of Tsarevich Dimitri. As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that the prince cut himself with a knife during an epileptic fit. But both contemporaries and descendants, not without reason, suspected Shuisky of concealing the real cause of death.
1598 - after the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, Shuisky, both due to the nobility of his family and his proximity to the extinct dynasty, seemed to be a more faithful contender for the royal throne. However, Boris Godunov became king. 1604 - after a pretender appeared within Russian borders, calling himself Tsarevich Dimitri, Shuisky on Red Square, in front of a large crowd of people, repeated several times that this was undoubtedly an impostor, because he himself buried a real prince in Uglich with his own hands.
Reassured by such assurances, Godunov in January 1605 sent Shuisky with an army against “Dmitry”. Shuisky fought with the challenger and defeated him at Dobrynichi. However, after that the war became protracted. Meanwhile, Boris Godunov died. 1605, May - the entire army swore allegiance to the “prince”.
Shuisky, along with other boyars, also recognized Dmitry as tsar. However, he had no doubt that he was dealing with an impostor. On June 20, Dmitry entered Moscow, and already on the 23rd, Shuisky was captured for sedition. They reported that he announced to the merchant Fyodor Konev and some Kostya the doctor that the new tsar was not the son of Ivan the Terrible, and instructed them to secretly disclose this to the people. But the matter quickly came to light, and Dmitry ordered Shuisky to be tried by the Zemsky Sobor.
According to our chronicles, Prince Vasily behaved with firm dignity in these difficult circumstances. Not only did he not renounce his words, but even under torture he continued to repeat that under the guise of Dmitry there was an impostor. He did not name any of his accomplices, and he alone was sentenced to death: his brothers were only deprived of their freedom.
The 25th was set for the execution of the sentence. Shuisky was taken to the scaffold, a fairy tale or an announcement of guilt had already been read to him, he had already said goodbye to the people, declaring that he was dying for the truth, for the faith and the Christian people, when a messenger rode up announcing a pardon. Execution was replaced by exile. But this punishment was not carried out either.
Coup. Murder of False Dmitry
On July 30, when he was crowned king, Dmitry announced forgiveness to all those who had been disgraced. Among others, the Shuiskys returned, who, it seems, did not even have time to get to their place of exile. The boyars and their estates were returned to them. Having established himself in the former power, Prince Vasily Ivanovich immediately resumed his intrigues. But now he acted more carefully and prepared the coup more carefully.
Soon, princes Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn and Ivan Semenovich Kurakin joined the conspiracy. The boyars decided among themselves to kill the tsar first, and then decide which of them would rule. At the same time, they swore that the new tsar should not take revenge on anyone for previous annoyances, but, according to general advice, rule the Russian kingdom.

Having reached an agreement with the noble conspirators, Shuisky began to select others from among the people, and won over to his side the 18,000-strong detachment of Novgorod and Pskov troops stationed near Moscow and assigned to the campaign against the Crimea. At about four in the morning on May 17, 1606, they struck the bell on Ilyinka, at Elijah the Prophet’s, in the Novgorod courtyard, and all the bells in Moscow began to speak at once. Crowds of people poured into Red Square; There, boyars and nobles, numbering up to two hundred, were already sitting on horses, fully armed.
Without waiting for a lot of people to gather, Vasily Shuisky, accompanied by some associates, entered the Kremlin through the Spassky Gate, holding a cross in one hand and a sword in the other. Near the Assumption Cathedral, he got off his horse, venerated the image of the Vladimir Mother of God and said to those around him: “In the name of God, go against the evil heretic.” The crowds moved towards the palace. Dmitry, having learned what was the matter, ran across the gallery to the stone palace, wanted to go down to the ground along the stage, but fell from a height of 15 fathoms into the courtyard and was badly broken.
The Streltsy, who did not take part in the conspiracy, picked it up; at first they did not want to give it up, but then they started negotiations. While passions were heating up, a certain Grigory Valuev jumped up to the wounded False Dmitry and shot him. After the goal of the conspiracy was achieved, Shuisky needed a lot of strength to stop his dispersed supporters. There was a massacre in the city for seven hours straight. According to some sources, 1200 or 1300 Poles were killed, and 400 Russians, according to others - 2135 Poles alone, while others believe - 1500 Poles and 2000 Russians.
Vasily Shuisky - Tsar
On May 19 at 6 a.m. merchants, peddlers, and artisans gathered on Red Square. The boyars, court officials and clergy came out to the people and proposed to elect a new patriarch, who was to stand at the head of the temporary government and send out letters to convene council people from the cities. However, at the proposal of the boyars, the crowd began to shout that the tsar was needed more than the patriarch, and Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky should be the tsar.
No one dared to oppose this proclamation of the crowd, which had just marked its strength by killing Dmitry, and Shuisky was not even elected, but was shouted out as king. 1606, June 1 - he was crowned king without any pomp, like a man entering into a secret marriage or ashamed of his insignificance. The new king was a little old man, 53 years old, very ugly, with dim eyes, well-read, very smart and very stingy. Immediately after this, a new patriarch was enthroned - the former Metropolitan of Kazan Hermogenes, known for his resistance to the non-Orthodox actions of Dmitry.
Time of Troubles
The coup that took place in Moscow gave rise to new unrest. Events in Ukraine took on a particularly violent character. There has never been a shortage of daring and courageous people. Now they even appeared in abundance. The troops gathered near Yelets elected Istomy Pashkov as their leader and swore all of them to stand for the rightful Tsar Dmitry. At the same time, Ivan Bolotnikov appeared from Poland and announced that he had seen Dmitry, who had escaped, abroad and that he had instructed him to lead the uprising.
Bolotnikov’s 1,300 Cossacks came to Kromy and completely defeated the 5,000-strong Tsar’s detachment. From that moment on, his name became widely known, and many military men began to flock to his banner. Bolotnikov's charters caused a rebellion that engulfed the Moscow land like a fire. In Venev, Tula, Kashira, Aleksin, Kaluga, Ruza, Mozhaisk, Orel, Dorogobuzh, Zubtsov, Rzhev, Staritsa, Dmitry was proclaimed.
The Lyapunov nobles raised the entire Ryazan land in the name of Dmitry. Vladimir and the whole world were indignant. In many Volga cities and distant Astrakhan, Dmitry was proclaimed. Of the large cities, only Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod and Pskov remained loyal to the Moscow Tsar. And among the outlying cities, Smolensk showed strong zeal for Shuisky. Its inhabitants did not like the Poles and did not expect anything good from the king they installed.
March to Moscow. Split
1606, autumn - Bolotnikov marched on Moscow. The cities surrendered to him one after another. On December 2, he was already in the village of Kolomenskoye. Fortunately for Shuisky, a split occurred in Bolotnikov’s army. The nobles and boyars' children, dissatisfied with the fact that the slaves and peasants wanted to be equal to them, without seeing Dmitry, who could resolve disputes between them, began to become convinced that Bolotnikov was deceiving them, and began to retreat from him.
The Lyapunov brothers were the first to set an example for this retreat; they arrived in Moscow and bowed to Shuisky, although they did not tolerate him. Bolotnikov was defeated by the young prince Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky and went to Kaluga. But with the onset of summer, his forces began to increase again with the arrival of the Cossacks. A new impostor appeared, calling himself Tsarevich Peter, the unprecedented son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
Bolotnikov went to Tula and united here with Peter. Then Shuisky took decisive measures: strict orders were sent out to serving people from everywhere, monastic and church estates were also supposed to field warriors, and thus up to 100,000 people gathered, whom the tsar decided to lead himself.
Suppression of the uprising
1607, June 5 - on the Vosma River he met a united army of rebels. A stubborn battle went on for the whole day, and Shuisky was able to win. Bolotnikov and Tsarevich Peter retreated to Tula, and Shuisky began a siege. A certain Krovkov suggested that the Tsar flood the city by damming the Upa River. At first, Shuisky and the boyars laughed at such a proposal, but then they gave Krovkov complete freedom.
He ordered each of the military men to bring a bag of earth and began to pond the river: the water surrounded the city, flowed inside it, and cut off all communications between the residents and the surrounding area. Famine came, and Bolotnikov and Peter went to negotiations with the tsar, agreeing to surrender if Vasily promised them pardon. Shuisky promised mercy. 1607, October 10 - Tula surrendered, but the king did not keep his word. Peter was hanged immediately. Bolotnikov was exiled to Kargopol and drowned there. Shuisky returned to Moscow in triumph, although he already knew about the appearance of a new impostor.
The appearance of another False Dmitry. New turmoil
Back in early June, a suspicious young man appeared in Starodub, calling himself a relative of Nagikh and spreading rumors everywhere that Dmitry was alive. When the Starodubians approached him with decisive questions, he declared himself Dmitry. It is unknown who this False Dmitry was, but his idea was at first crowned with complete success. A squad quickly began to gather around the impostor, over which he appointed Pan Makhovetsky as chief.
1607, spring - he moved towards the capital. The same thing that happened before with the first Dmitry and Bolotnikov was repeated - city after city surrendered to the impostor without resistance, and the tsarist troops, who had a huge numerical superiority, suffered only defeats. On June 1, the army approached Moscow and became a camp in Tushino. It seemed that the final triumph of False Dmitry was just around the corner. But then the people’s attitude towards him changed.
When the Tushins besieged the Trinity Monastery, they met fierce resistance under its walls. Other cities followed the example of the famous Sergius Monastery, timidly at first, but then more and more confidently. This was greatly facilitated by the outrages of the Tushins. Countless bands of Cossacks then roamed throughout the Russian land and, in the name of Dmitry, committed such monstrous crimes that the memories of the oprichnina of Grozny paled in comparison.
First of all, the northern cities returned under the rule of Shuisky: Galich, Kostroma, Vologda, Beloozero, Ustyuzhna, Gorodets, Bezhitsky Verkh, Kashin. They were followed by Vladimir and Yaroslavl. Shuisky sensitively sensed the change in public consciousness and in his letters began to address directly the lands with an exhortation to maintain unity and to get everyone together. “And if they don’t get together soon,” he wrote, “but they all begin to live separately and do not stand up for themselves, then they will see the ultimate ruin from thieves, desolation of houses, desecration of wives and children; and they will be traitors to themselves, to our Christian faith, and to their fatherland.”
Soon, external war was added to the internal turmoil. 1609, September - the Polish army under the command of King Sigismund besieged Smolensk. The townspeople stubbornly resisted the enemy. Trying to increase his strength, the king sent a strict order to Tushino for all Polish knighthood to come to his aid. The leaders of the Tushino Poles were undecided for a long time about what to do. They stopped taking the impostor into account; they considered him a swindler and a deceiver.
In December, the impostor secretly left for Kaluga. After this, some of the Tushino residents went after him, others went to Moscow to confess. Shuisky's position was strengthened for a short time. However, on June 24, 1610, his brother Prince Dmitry Shuisky, who was marching with an army to help Smolensk, was completely defeated by Hetman Zholkiewsky at Klushin. False Dmitry again moved towards Moscow, took Serpukhov, Kashira and on July 11 stood near the village of Kolomenskoye.
The turmoil, which had subsided, arose with renewed vigor. Prokopiy Lyapunov raised the entire Ryazan land against Vasily. He wrote to his brother Zakhar in Moscow that Shuisky could no longer be tolerated on the throne, he must be deposed. Zakhar, together with Prince Vasily Golitsyn, began to communicate with the impostor’s commanders and agreed that the Moscow people would bring Shuisky together, and the Tushino people would abandon their thief (although the Tushino people did not fulfill their promise).
Overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky
On July 17, Lyapunov with his comrades and a large crowd burst into the palace and began to say to the tsar: “How long will Christian blood be shed for you? The earth is desolate, nothing good is being done during your reign, take pity on our death, lay down the royal staff, and we will somehow provide for ourselves.” Shuisky replied: “You dared to say this to me when the boyars don’t tell me anything like that,” and pulled out a knife.

Lyapunov then went to Red Square, where people were already gathering. After long speeches, the boyars and all sorts of people sentenced: beat the sovereign Vasily Ivanovich with his forehead, so that he, the sovereign, leaves the kingdom so that a lot of blood is shed, and the people say that he, the sovereign, is unhappy and proud, and the Ukrainian cities that retreated to the thief, they don’t want him, the sovereign, for the kingdom. The royal brother-in-law, Prince Vorotynsky, went to the palace and announced to him the verdict of the council: “The whole earth strikes you with its brow; leave your state for the sake of internecine warfare, because they don’t love you and don’t want to serve you.”
Vasily had to agree to this request, announced on behalf of the entire Moscow people. He put down the royal staff and immediately left the Kremlin with his wife to his former boyar house. On July 19, Lyapunov with four comrades and monks from the Chudov Monastery came to Shuisky’s house and announced that in order to calm the people he needed to take haircut. Shuisky flatly refused. Then the tonsure was performed by force. The old man was held by the hands during the ceremony, and Prince Tyufyakin pronounced monastic vows in his place, while Shuisky himself never ceased to repeat that he did not want to be tonsured. His wife was also tonsured, and his brothers were put into custody.
Having overthrown Vasily Shuisky, the boyar duma began negotiations with Hetman Zholkiewski and had to agree to the election of Prince Vladislav as Russian Tsar. At the end of October, the hetman left Moscow, taking with him, at the request of the boyars, Vasily and his family. On October 30, he solemnly entered the royal camp near Smolensk. On the same day, he presented the captive Vasily and his brothers to Sigismund. They say that they demanded that Shuisky bow to the king. The deposed tsar answered: “It is impossible for the sovereign of Moscow and all Rus' to bow to the king: I was taken captive not by your hands, but handed over by Moscow traitors, their slaves.”
1611, October - after the capture of Smolensk, the king was given an honorary entry into Warsaw. The deposed tsar was also taken among the Russian prisoners. When all three Shuiskys were placed in front of the king, Vasily touched the ground with his hand and kissed this hand. Then Shuisky was admitted to the king's hand. This spectacle was great, amazing and producing pity, say contemporaries. Although Yuri Mnishek demanded a trial of Shuisky for the murder of Dmitry, the Sejm treated him with compassion.
Death of Vasily Shuisky
By order of Sigismund, all three brothers were imprisoned in Gostyn Castle near Warsaw. The contents they were given were not meager, as can be seen from the list of things and clothes left after Vasily’s death. He did not live long and died in September 1612. The former king was buried not far from the place of imprisonment. Contemporaries and descendants did not favor Shuisky; there are no numbers of accusations that were brought against him during his life and after his death. Meanwhile, one cannot help but admit that there were many moments in his life when he showed true wisdom, courage and even greatness of soul. His unfortunate fate is worthy not so much of censure as of pity and compassion.

K. Ryzhov

They always try to interpret history subjectively, and this also applies to determining the role of rulers, assessing their personality and actions. Many have tried to name the best and worst rulers of Russia more than once; even special votes were held on this topic, naming very different ones. In this post we will name the five worst rulers in the history of Russia, based not on subjective assessments, but solely on the results of their reign.

5. Vasily Shuisky

Vasily Shuisky was Tsar from 1606 to 1610. It was a difficult time for Russia. At the beginning of the 17th century, due to crop failures, a terrible famine broke out, peasant uprisings swept across the country, and then an impostor appeared, posing as the miraculously saved son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry. At first, False Dmitry suffered setbacks, but after the sudden death of Tsar Boris Godunov in 1605, supporters of False Dmitry overthrew Boris's son, 16-year-old Fyodor, and brought him to power.

False Dmitry had many supporters among the people, but a number of miscalculations, such as an attempt to impose foreign orders and ingratiation with the Poles, undermined his popularity. Vasily Shuisky took advantage of this and organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry. As a result of the conspiracy, False Dmitry was killed, and Shuisky’s supporters, with simple shouts in the square, proclaimed him tsar.

Vasily Shuisky tried to collect convincing evidence that False Dmitry was in fact not Tsarevich Dmitry, but an impostor Grishka Otrepyev. Unfortunately, the method of accession to the throne and further miscalculations in domestic politics led to the fact that his power turned out to be fragile. The people believed that he seized power by deception and were unhappy that Shuisky was elected tsar by a small group in Moscow, without convening the Zemsky Sobor. Rumors appeared about the repeated rescue of Tsarevich Dmitry, and the discontent of the peasants grew. Ivan Bolotnikov appeared in the south of Russia, allegedly with an order on behalf of Dmitry, who raised a peasant uprising. The tsarist troops suffered defeat after defeat, the rebels reached Moscow itself. It was possible to defeat Bolotnikov only through a secret conspiracy with some of his supporters.

After the defeat of Bolotnikov, a new threat appeared - False Dmitry the Second, who, with the help of the Poles and Cossacks, gained a foothold in the south of Russia and began to advance towards Moscow. Shuisky behaved indecisively, remaining in Moscow and keeping his army with him. As a result, False Dmitry the Second set up camp in Tushino, not far from Moscow, where many princes, boyars and others went, dissatisfied with Vasily Shuisky. Shuisky turned to the Swedes for support. The army, which was supposed to help Moscow and included Swedish mercenaries, was led by the Tsar’s nephew, Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. At first he was lucky and inflicted several defeats on the troops of False Dmitry, but suddenly died. The king lost his last support. In the end, the boyars dissatisfied with Shuisky deprived him of power in 1610 and entered into an agreement with the Poles, calling the Polish prince Vladislav to the kingdom. Shuisky was given to the Poles and went to Poland, where he died 2 years later, a little before the liberation of Moscow by the militia of Minin and Pozharsky.

Results of the reign of Vasily Shuisky: the complete collapse of the central government in Russia, the seizure of a significant part of the territory by impostors and foreign invaders, the plunder and devastation of many lands and, finally, the seizure of the capital by Polish occupiers and the threat of complete loss of statehood.

4. Alexander Kerensky

Kerensky was in power for a short time (as minister of the provisional government from March 3, and prime minister from July 7 to October 26, 1917, old style), but his decisions had a huge impact on the fate of Russia.

In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia (in the preparation of which Kerensky also played an important role). The Tsar abdicated the throne and power passed to a provisional government formed by deputies of the 4th State Duma. First, Kerensky received the post of Minister of Justice, then Minister of War, and finally became Prime Minister. From the first days of his stay in the government, Kerensky developed vigorous activity, making many populist decisions. Along with decisions such as ending political persecution and establishing freedom of speech, he effectively destroyed the previous judicial system and police. The death penalty was abolished, criminals were released from prison, and decisions to “democratize” the army paralyzed the ability to maintain discipline in it.

Then Kerensky forced Foreign Minister Miliukov and War Minister Guchkov, who advocated war to the bitter end, to resign, and he himself became Minister of War. Having received this post, he appointed little-known officers, but close to him, to key positions in the army. Also, having traveled along the front, he organized the June offensive, which ended in complete failure. The result of this failure was spontaneous protests in Petrograd with demands for peace with Germany.

In July, Kerensky becomes prime minister. Soon he has a conflict with Kornilov, who held the post of commander-in-chief of the army. Kornilov proposes measures to restore order in the country, establish strict discipline and strengthen power. Kerensky opposes these measures. Kornilov and his supporters in the army draw up a plan for the resignation of the government and the transfer of power to the military; troops loyal to Kornilov begin moving towards Petrograd. In response, Kerensky declares Kornilov a rebel, asks for help from the Soviets and distributes weapons to the workers. Kornilov's speech fails, after which the government loses all support among the troops, and the army itself quickly collapses.

In the fall, Kerensky rapidly lost popularity. If in March he was praised as a “knight of the revolution,” now both left and right shun cooperation with him. The Socialist Revolutionary Party, of which Kerensky was a member, is losing influence in the Soviets, and the Bolsheviks are beginning to play an increasingly important role in them. In October, Kerensky dissolves the Duma, in its place a “pre-parliament” convenes. But it is already becoming quite obvious that the main political parties are not able to agree on anything and create any kind of coalition. The Bolsheviks begin preparations for an armed uprising. Kerensky knows about this and assures that the uprising will be suppressed. However, under the influence of the Bolsheviks, the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison go over to the side of the military revolutionary committee, and even the Cossacks summoned to Petrograd leave, refusing to defend the Provisional Government. On October 25, the Bolsheviks occupy key points in the city, and then, without much effort, the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government meets.

Results of Kerensky's reign: the collapse of the public administration system, the police and the army, a significant deterioration in the economic situation, the growth of separatist movements in different parts of the country.

3. Nicholas II

Many try to present the last Russian Tsar as a victim, a martyr, and even a saint. But there is no doubt that Nicholas II was one of the worst rulers of Russia. Nicholas's father, Alexander III, despite his penchant for drunkenness, was a strong ruler, under him Russia significantly strengthened its position in the world, and the authority of power grew. Nicholas was the eldest of Alexander’s sons, but his father did not want to see him on the throne at all, considering him incapable of governing the country and hoped to transfer power to his youngest son Mikhail. Unfortunately, at the time of Alexander's death, Mikhail had not yet reached adulthood (he was only 16), and Alexander made Nicholas promise to abdicate the throne and transfer power to Mikhail after reaching adulthood. Nikolai never fulfilled this promise. And the mother of Nicholas II refused to swear allegiance to him at all. “My son is incapable of ruling Russia! He's weak. Both in mind and spirit. Just yesterday, when my father was dying, he climbed onto the roof and threw pine cones at passers-by on the street... And this is the king? No, this is not the king! We will all die with such an emperor. Listen to me: I’m Nika’s mother, and who, if not the mother, knows her son better than anyone else? Do you want to have a rag doll on the throne?”

At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II, the gold ruble was introduced, i.e. the ruble exchange rate was tied to gold. This led to an artificial limitation of the money supply within the country, and to finance the development of industry and for other purposes, Russia began to take out huge loans abroad (by the way, our government is pursuing a similar policy today). Soon the Russian Empire confidently took first place in the world in terms of external debt. The growth rate of industrial production under Nicholas II fell noticeably, while significant industry was controlled by foreign capital (in some industries up to 100%), and many industrial goods were purchased abroad.

The Russian Empire remained an agricultural country, the majority of its population (more than 80%) were peasants, but famine regularly occurred in the country. The peasants' allotments were shrinking, and the land issue was very acute. But the government was in no hurry to solve it, preferring to suppress peasant uprisings by force. In the period 1901-1907, to suppress the “arbitrariness” of peasants, entire punitive operations were carried out; troops were brought in, who were given instructions in case of disobedience to burn peasant houses and fire at them from cannons. Against the background of poverty and misery of the overwhelming majority of the population, speculators and monopolists prospered. The upper classes lived in luxury, and this could not help but irritate the people.

In 1904-1905 Russia suffered a shameful defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. At the beginning of the war, the leadership of Russia and the command of the army were dominated by sabotage sentiments; many mistakes were made in preparation for it and during the war. Prime Minister Witte said on this occasion: “It was not Russia that was defeated by the Japanese, not the Russian army, but our order, or more correctly, our boyish management of the 140 million population in recent years.”

The defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, along with the plight of workers and peasants, prompted mass protests and strikes. On January 9, 1905, “Bloody Sunday” occurred - the police in St. Petersburg shot a peaceful demonstration of workers who had gathered to present a petition to the Tsar. This event served as the impetus for the beginning of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. (in December 1905, real battles broke out between workers and the army in Moscow), which was suppressed by the authorities, but its main result was a sharp drop in the people’s trust in the authorities and the tsar personally.

After the start of the revolution, in order to calm the people, the first parliament in Russia, the State Duma, was created. But even despite the fact that elections to it were carried out according to special rules, for example, representatives of the upper classes elected much more deputies from the same number of people than representatives of the lower classes, it soon turned out that the Duma and the elected deputies did not suit the tsar at all. The Duma was repeatedly dissolved, and the tsar arbitrarily adopted certain decrees. The actions of the tsar outraged even the deputies of the noble Cadets party.

But all the weakness of the regime and the worthlessness of Nicholas II manifested itself during the First World War. The beginning of the war in 1914 was accompanied by a patriotic upsurge and the growth of the Tsar’s popularity, but soon the mood began to change, both the mood among the people and the mood at the top, including the Tsar’s inner circle. Economic difficulties quickly arose in the country, and inflation began to rise. Weak industry could not bear the load created by the war - there was a catastrophic shortage of weapons and ammunition at the front. The workload on workers increased, and women and teenagers were recruited to work at enterprises. There was not enough fuel, and difficulties arose with transportation. Mass mobilization led to a decline in agriculture. In 1916, problems arose with the purchase of bread, the government had to introduce surplus appropriation - the population was forced to sell bread at a fixed price. The number of strikes and peasant uprisings grew, and revolutionary agitation expanded. Unrest began in national regions. But the king did nothing to correct the situation, but on the contrary, only aggravated it. In 1915, Nicholas decided to become Supreme Commander himself and spent time at Headquarters, while in St. Petersburg key decisions were largely in the hands of the Tsarina and her favorite Grigory Rasputin. Rasputin arbitrarily made certain decisions, appointed and removed ministers, and even tried to interfere in the planning of military operations. By 1917, widespread opposition to the Tsar had formed. No one supported him anymore; even the great princes were planning conspiracies to remove Nicholas II from the throne and appoint someone else as tsar.

At the end of February 1917, mass strikes began in Petrograd, accompanied by rallies and demonstrations. One of their reasons was the shortage of bread in the city. Despite attempts to suppress the protests, they escalated, and soldiers from the Petrograd garrison eventually joined the uprising. Deputies of the State Duma announced the creation of a Provisional Government, which would take into its own hands the powers to govern the country. Soon, under pressure from General Headquarters, Nicholas II abdicated the throne and recognized the Provisional Government. A few days later he was arrested, and in the summer of 1918 he was shot by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.

Results of the reign of Nicholas II: accumulation of social and political contradictions, complete loss of people's trust in power, paralysis of power itself, leading the country to anarchy, collapse and collapse.

2. Boris Yeltsin

One of the most hated rulers by the people, Boris Yeltsin was president of Russia from 1991 to 2000. This man's mental abilities were clearly demonstrated in his youth, when a grenade stolen from a warehouse, which he was smashing with a hammer, exploded and tore off two fingers on his hand.

Nevertheless, Yeltsin managed to climb the party ladder to the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. In 1990 he was elected people's deputy of the RSFSR, and then chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. While still in this position, he actively began to engage in the collapse of the USSR, doing everything to seize the levers of control and create dual power (under him, on June 12, 1990, a shameful declaration on the state sovereignty of the RSFSR was adopted). In the summer of 1991, Yeltsin won the first presidential elections of the RSFSR under the slogans of “the fight against the nomenklatura and against privileges,” giving out many impossible populist promises. After this, his activities for the collapse of the USSR flared up with redoubled force. After the failure of the “putsch” of the State Emergency Committee in August 1991, in which Yeltsin played a decisive role, he felt like the master of the country and, conspiring with the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus Kravchuk and Shushkevich, brought about the final collapse of the USSR.

Participation in the collapse of the country with the loss of primordially Russian lands, the compression of the territory to the borders of the 16th century and the violation of the will of the people, who in a referendum held in the same year definitely spoke in favor of preserving the USSR, is more than enough to be included in the list of the worst rulers. But Yeltsin did not stop there. He created a government of liberal fanatics who hated Russia (for example, Prime Minister Gaidar called Russia “Upper Volta with missiles”) and entrusted it with carrying out liberal “reforms.” “Reforms” resulted in the destruction of everything that could be destroyed - industry, science, education, army, etc. And “reforms” were carried out under the command of American advisers, hundreds of whom came to Moscow in order to harm our country as effectively as possible with their advice .

As a result of Yeltsin’s “transformations,” the most important achievements of the Soviet period were destroyed. Most of the manufacturing industry was destroyed, most scientific research and technological development was stopped, the army, education and the social sphere were degraded. The standard of living of the population fell catastrophically, the country experienced hyperinflation - prices rose by 20-30% every month. Even meager wages were not paid for months; instead of money, enterprises often gave wages in goods that they themselves had to sell on the market. At the beginning of his reign, Yeltsin’s destructive potential was slightly restrained by the Supreme Council, but in 1993 Yeltsin solved this problem by shooting the parliament (of which he himself was chairman 2 years ago) from tanks. The country began to be ruled by a circle of close oligarchs, who saw their goal only as plundering the country as much as possible and getting rich at the same time.

During Yeltsin's reign in Russia, the birth rate fell sharply, and the population began to die out at an accelerated pace. The spread of social vices, alcoholism and drug addiction has increased sharply. The criminal situation has deteriorated catastrophically; in most regions of Russia, control over all profitable enterprises and businesses has been seized by organized crime. Organized criminal groups staged bloody showdowns among themselves right on the city streets.

Russia's foreign policy became completely spineless; the leadership followed the US line in everything. Completely enslaving and unprofitable agreements were concluded with other countries (for example, Russia sold 500 tons of weapons-grade uranium to the United States for next to nothing). At the same time, external debts accumulated, the country lived in anticipation of the next tranche from the IMF in order to finance the most urgent needs. In the first years, the people were fed with promises that after the difficulties of the transition period, market reforms would work and everything would get better, although this was a blatant and outright lie. In 1998, the government-organized GKO pyramid collapsed and the country went into default. In 1998, Russia's GDP collapsed to a paltry $150 billion—less than Belgium's. People's support for Yeltsin fell to zero, the Duma was forced to approve the government proposed by Yeltsin and even attempted impeachment. Yeltsin had to compromise and temporarily allow the creation of a government from the opposition.

The war in Chechnya was an absolutely shameful chapter of Yeltsin’s rule. First, Yeltsin allowed the completely frostbitten bandit regime of Dudayev to come to power in Chechnya, who immediately declared that he did not obey Moscow and organized the genocide of the entire non-Chechen population. In 1994, Yeltsin undertook a mediocre operation to “restore constitutional order” in Chechnya, which turned into a war with the Dudayevites, and in 1996 he stopped it, actually accepting the demands of the terrorists and giving full control over Chechnya into their hands. In 1999, terrorists, tired of ruling only Chechnya, tried to seize Dagestan, starting a new war in the North Caucasus.

On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin resigned early and, in his televised address, asking the people for forgiveness, he began to cry.

Results of Yeltsin's reign: Russia denounced the union treaty, turning into one of the fragments of the former great Russia, in economic and geopolitical terms it turned from a superpower into a dependent third world country, an openly bandit anti-people regime of traitors was in power, thinking only about their own enrichment and controlled by the enemies of our country.

1 - Mikhail Gorbachev

This man, who was Secretary General and then President of the USSR from 1985 to 1991, undoubtedly ranks first in the ranking of the worst rulers not only in Russian but also in world history. By the beginning of his reign, the USSR, of course, had accumulated certain problems that required solutions. Nevertheless, the country was one of two “superpowers”, had enormous influence, economic and scientific potential and controlled almost half the world. It never occurred to anyone that in 6 years the USSR would collapse and cease to exist. But Gorbachev did everything to make sure this happened.

Gorbachev began his reign with beautiful and seemingly correct slogans. He stated that in foreign policy a relaxation of international tension and a cessation of the arms race is necessary, and in domestic policy - openness and acceleration (i.e., increasing the pace of economic development). And in 1987, “perestroika” was proclaimed, that is, a large-scale reform of the economic and political sphere (again, under good slogans).

In practice, all this resulted in the deliberate collapse of the country in accordance with the plan developed by the United States, the main and irreconcilable enemy of the USSR. First, the erosion of communist ideology began. At first, certain periods in the history of the USSR were criticized, for example, the era of Stalin’s rule, and certain aspects of the Soviet system. Under the pretext that more democracy and freedom of speech were needed, control over the media was weakened and the established party vertical was destroyed. They talked about the need to fight bureaucrats, the “command-administrative system.”

Since 1987, the leadership recognized the failure of the “acceleration” policy and the main stage of the collapse of the country began. The CPSU ceased to control the electoral process, and anti-Soviet and nationalists became deputies in many republics. A course towards “market” reforms in the economy was openly proclaimed, private enterprises were allowed, and large enterprises were given more economic freedom.

Since 1989, the disastrous consequences of “perestroika” have become obvious to everyone. Interethnic clashes begin in the Caucasus and Central Asia, some republics declare their desire to secede from the USSR. The economic situation is worsening, and stores are artificially creating shortages of necessary goods. Cards for sugar, soap and some other goods are being introduced. Gorbachev, fearing that the party would remove him from the post of General Secretary, convened a Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, which introduced a new position - the President of the USSR and in the spring of 1990 elected Gorbachev as President. In addition, in 1989 Gorbachev secretly concluded a treacherous agreement with the United States, which, in fact, provided for the liquidation of the socialist camp and the surrender of all positions in Europe. With the participation of the KGB, regimes are being changed in Eastern European countries, and communists are being removed from power there.

In 1990-91, the threat of the collapse of the USSR became obvious. However, the people do not want this; in 1991, on the initiative of people's deputies, a referendum was held on the preservation of the USSR. The majority are in favor of conservation. Against the backdrop of the “parade of sovereignties,” when republican structures are trying to completely take power into their own hands, Gorbachev is preparing a new draft union treaty, which will actually transform the USSR into something similar to the CIS created later. On the eve of its planned signing in August 1991, part of the Soviet elite is trying to disrupt it, restore central control and restore order in the country. Gorbachev is cut off from communication at his dacha in Crimea, and a state of emergency is announced in the country. However, poor preparation of the organizers, their indecisiveness and hesitation spoil everything. The “putsch” of the State Emergency Committee fails, and now nothing is stopping the collapse of the country. In December 1991, after Yeltsin, Shushkevich and Kravchuk decide to dissolve the USSR, Gorbachev obediently submits and resigns.

Results of Gorbachev's reign: The USSR, a former superpower, is defeated in the Cold War, voluntarily capitulates to the United States and falls apart. History has never known such a spectacular collapse out of the blue.

Soon after Shuisky's accession, rumors appeared about the miraculous salvation (for the umpteenth time) of Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible. His “envoy,” Ivan Bolotnikov, even appeared in the southern regions of Russia and led a popular uprising in the fall of 1606. The rebels launched a campaign against Moscow, but in December they were defeated by government troops near the village of Kotly near Moscow, and in the fall of 1607 they were completely defeated. When in the spring of 1608 the troops of False Dmitry II besieged the capital, Shuisky, trying to resist the “Tushino thief,” concluded an agreement with Sweden in February 1608. According to it, the Swedes pledged to act on the side of the Russian Tsar, for which they were given part of the Russian territories. In the spring of 1609, a Swedish corps of fifteen thousand crossed the northern border of the Russian state. From the west, taking advantage of the difficult situation in Russia, Polish troops invaded its borders, and in July 1610 they approached Moscow. The Poles, under the command of Hetman Zolkiewski, captured the Russian capital and plundered it. Shuisky, overthrown by the boyars on July 17 and forcibly tonsured a monk, was sent to Poland with his entire family as a prisoner. The result of his reign, marked by the complete ruin of the state treasury and the final decline in the living standards of the population, was sad.

In 1606, the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov broke out. In October, his army besieged Moscow, and two months later the rebels were driven back to Kaluga and surrounded. Bolotnikov managed to escape from the ring and retreat to Tula. The siege of Tula was led by Shuisky himself. He ordered to block the Upa River with a dam and flood the city. The rebels opened the city gates and were completely exterminated.

Upon his accession to the throne, Vasily Shuisky gave an obligation, formalized in the form of a kissing cross, to preserve the privileges of the boyars and not to judge the boyars without the participation of the Boyar Duma. At the same time, Shuisky removed Patriarch Ignatius, appointed by False Dmitry I, without a church court. Ignatius was imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery, and Russia was left without a patriarch.

While Shuisky was besieging Bolotnikov in Tula, a new impostor appeared in the Bryansk region, the Polish protege of False Dmitry II, who in the summer of 1608 approached Moscow with an army and set up his camp in Tushino. For this he received the nickname Tushinsky thief. The impostor led the siege of Moscow for 21 months.

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky (1552-1612) - Russian Tsar, belonging to (along the Suzdal line). He was crowned king as a result of a conspiracy against False Dmitry 1st. Vasily Shuisky is also called the “boyar prince”.

Family

From the biography of Vasily Shuisky it is known that he was married twice. He had no children from his first marriage. From his second marriage two daughters were born (both died in infancy). Since the tsar did not have an heir, the next contender for the throne was supposed to be his brother, Dmitry Shuisky.

Before accession

Since 1584, Vasily Shuisky was a boyar and the head of the Moscow Court Chamber, and took part as a governor in campaigns against the city of Serpukhov (1581, 1583, 1598). In 1586, Vasily Shuisky was sent into exile for a short time due to unknown circumstances.

In 1591, Shuisky, fearing Godunov, recognized the cause of death as suicide. At the same time he was returned to.

In 1905, Vasily Shuisky took part in the campaign against, but not particularly actively, because he did not want Godunov to win. Due to an attempt to carry out a coup, Vasily Shuisky was expelled along with his family, but already at the end of 1605 he was returned back by False Dmitry.

During (May 17, 1606) False Dmitry I died, supporters of Vasily Shuisky named him tsar. This was the beginning. On June 1, Shuisky receives the metropolitan's blessing to rule.

Vasily Shuisky gave a record of the cross, which limited his power. In the summer of the same year, Shuisky’s board recognized Godunov as the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry.

Governing body

The main events of the domestic and foreign policy of the reign of Vasily Shuisky:

• a new military regulations appeared;
• suppressed in October 1607, which became the second stage of the Time of Troubles;
• An agreement was concluded with Sweden, on the basis of which the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth launched military operations. False Dmitry 1st fled.

The alliance with Sweden turned out to be the beginning for Russia

Vasily IV (Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky) (1552-1612), Russian Tsar (1606-1610).

Prince Vasily Ivanovich belonged to an ancient family, equal in nobility to the Moscow house of Rurikovich. The Shuiskys had enormous land wealth and colossal influence.

In the 80s XVI century they started a fight with the brother-in-law and favorite of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Boris Godunov, which ended in failure. The Shuiskys fell into disgrace. In 1586, Prince Vasily Ivanovich was recalled from Smolensk, where he was governor, and sent into exile.

In 1591, Godunov needed the help of disgraced aristocrats. Under mysterious circumstances, Fyodor Ivanovich’s brother, Tsarevich Dmitry, died in the city of Uglich. The investigative commission was headed by Prince Vasily Ivanovich. He came to a clear conclusion - an accident.

When, ten years later, False Dmitry I invaded the Moscow state, Shuisky exclaimed: “Dmitry escaped the machinations of Boris Godunov, and instead of him the son of a priest was killed and buried in a princely manner.”

In 1605, the impostor was crowned king. The Poles gained great influence, “pushing” him to the throne. The position of the Russian aristocracy became precarious. Shuisky organized a conspiracy against False Dmitry, but the plans of the conspirators were disrupted by arrests. Shuisky himself went to the chopping block. However, at the last moment, False Dmitry pardoned him. This frivolous decision cost the impostor his power and his life. At the end of May 1606, Shuisky struck. The conspirators aroused popular discontent and broke into the royal chambers. The widespread beating of Polish soldiers began, False Dmitry and his entourage fell.

Shuisky's finest hour has come. He was elected to the throne and soon crowned. Such haste harmed the matter: the Zemsky Sobor was not convened, which could have given Shuisky’s power more legitimacy. Soon several new “royal offspring” appeared in the country; one of them, False Dmitry II, received the support of the Polish gentry. The uprising of I. Bolotnikov (1606-1607) grew in the southern lands.

Under these conditions, Vasily Ivanovich decided to take a risky step: the relics of the “innocently murdered” Tsarevich Dmitry, who was canonized as a martyr, were found in Uglich. This should have convinced everyone: the prince was dead, and the new impostors were just troublemakers.

Bolotnikov's uprising was successfully suppressed. The fight against the troops of False Dmitry II dragged on. In 1609, the Polish king Sigismund III openly invaded Russian territory and besieged Smolensk. Shuisky turned to the Swedish king for help. The combined Swedish-Russian forces, led by the talented military leader M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, inflicted a number of defeats on the enemy.

In the spring of 1610, the situation began to improve; Shuisky’s energetic policy seemed to bear fruit. However, at this moment Skopin-Shuisky unexpectedly died. On June 24, Russian troops suffered a crushing defeat from the Poles near the village of Klushina (between Vyazma and Mozhaisk).

In July 1610, representatives of other aristocratic families rebelled and overthrew Shuisky. The king was forcibly tonsured a monk. The aristocratic government handed him over to the Poles. Vasily Ivanovich died in captivity.