Vasilij IV

Vasilij IV Shuisky was born on September 22, 1552. He was Tsar between 1606 and 1610. He became the Tsar after the assassination of False Dmitriy by rioters who stormed the Kremlin.

The False Dmitriy was so titled because the people suspected him of being from Poland, not Russian, although he claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible. His real name might have been Grigory Otrepyev, but this is uncertain. When he died his ashes were shot from a cannon in the direction of Poland.

Vasilij IV Shuisky is a decedent (20th generation) of Rurik the Viking. He was a leading boyar during the reign of both Feodor I and Boris Godunov.

Tsar Godunov ordered Shuisky to secretly investigate the death of Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. Shuisky found that Ivanovich had killed himself. When the False Dmitriy rose to power, Shuisky supported him. Shuisky went against his findings and proclaimed the False Dmitiriy as the “real” Dmitry. This lead to the False Dmitiriy's assassination which allowed Shuisky to make an attempt at Tsar. He was recognized by his followers however the general public failed to ever officially recognize him as the Tsar of Russia. During his reign, he signed an alliance with Sweden to try to prevent further Polish involvement in Russia. Eventually, after four years of very little power and ruling over Russia, he was ousted out of power by two of his former followers, Princes Vorotynsky and Mstislavsky. He became a monk and was eventually transported to a castle, the castle of Gostynin, which was near Warsaw and died there as a prisoner in 1612.

The Time of Troubles:

The Time of Troubles in Russia lasted from 1598 to 1613. During this time period, many rulers attempted to control Russia after the last true ruler, Feodor Ivanovich, died in 1598. Ivanovich failed to sire children and continue the current dynasty, the Rurik Dynasty, which in turn lead to the Time of Troubles because there was no true leader.

After the death of Feodor, his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov, was elected to be the successor to Ivanovich by the Russian Great National Assembly. Godunov was very close to Ivanovich. He played the role as advisor to Ivanovich during Ivanovich's reign. Godunov would go on to rule for only a short time, from 1598 – 1605. Godunov was a weak ruler and unfortunately had to rule during years of bad harvest and famine, particularly in 1601-1603. His administration distributed food to the poor only in Moscow, leading to those who were not from Moscow to flock to the city, causing more problems.

In 1603, an individual that became known as the False Dmitri, claimed to be the rightful heir of the throne to Russia because he was related to the late Ivan the Terrible. The  False Dmitri in actually came from modern-day Poland, known at the time as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish forces later appeared in Russia, about 4,000 troops. The King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III Vasa, did not approve of the invasion and interference in Russian affairs. However, some Polish officials supported the False Dmitri and gave him money in hopes to reap rewards later.

The False Dmitri reigned for about a year starting with the death of Godunov. In May of 1606, the False Dmitri was killed along with 2,000 other Poles who supported him as the Rurik Prince, Vasilij IV Shuisky, took power. (See notes above.) After Shuisky signed an alliance with Sweden, the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III Vasa, decided that this alliance was a threat and approved of internal interference with the Russian government.

This brought on another False Dmitri, claiming again to be the rightful heir and ruler of Russia as a decedent of Ivan the Terrible. He had the support of the Polish-Lithuanian government officials called “magnates”.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth crossed into Russia in 1609 and laid siege to a strategic Russian city, the city of Smolensk. This siege lasted two years, with the Russians eventually losing. The Swedish assisted the Russians militarily, however, with the Polish-Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Klushino, the Polish eventually made it to the Kremlin and assumed command. It was not the False Dmitri II who assumed the throne, but rather the son of the Polish King, Wladyslaw, was placed in the position of power. The people of Moscow allowed this because they were allowed to keep the Russian Orthodox Church if they cooperated and allowed this transition to occur.

Unfortunately for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, King Sigismund II Vasa decided against this compromise and assumed the throne of Russia for himself. He attempted to force Roman Catholicism upon the Russian people. This backfired greatly because the Russian people despised Catholicism and now the Polish, invoking riots and mini-battles. Tens of thousands of Russians died between 1609 and 1611. In March of 1611, Moscow was set on fire and about 7,000 citizens of Moscow died.

Eventually, two leaders, Kuzma Minin and Prince Pozharsky, lead the Russian people to independence from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In November of 1612, the Kremlin was taken back and the Polish-Lithuanian army retreated.

Michael Romanov was elected in February 1613 by the Russian National Assembly. This lead to the powerful Romanov Dynasty that would reign in Russia from 1613 to 1696.