The Smolensk war

Russia in the 17th century, weakened by internalsocial crisis and Polish-Swedish intervention, was forced to put up with its territorial losses: Yai, Koporye, Ivangorod, as well as Smolensk, the Chernigov lands withdrew to its neighbors - Sweden and the Commonwealth. In the south the country was tormented by Crimean Tatars ...

At the same time, the country was not able to solve all three of these tasks, and its priority was determined based on the international situation and its resources.

In the thirties of the 17th century after deathSigismund had a very favorable situation to return Smolensk. Zemsky Sobor supported the government's decision, and in 1632 the Smolensk War began, the goal of which was the return of the lands taken from her during the Troubles.

The adoption of such a lightning-fast decision was also facilitated by the fact that the powerful European countries were drawn into the Thirty Years' War and they were not up to the situation in Eastern Europe.

For the forty-thousandth Russian army, before whichthe Smolensk war of 1632 began in rather difficult conditions: the southern districts were constantly plundered by Crimeans, and therefore the government, fearing the arrival of a large army of Crimean feudal lords, detained the withdrawal of troops from Moscow until August.

The trip was very slow, therefore, at Smolensk, the troops were only in December, capturing along the road Serpeysk, Belaya, Roslavl, Nevel, Starodub.

Hurry up to take the city of Smolensk Shein -commander of Russian troops - failed, and the siege lasted eight long months. The fortress was fully reinforced shortly before the Smolensk war began, and therefore the invaders had to retreat two whole times, even after the approach of siege artillery.

And in the Rech Pospolita at this time there were significant changes: Vladislav ascended to the throne instead of his father, who began to vigorously support the garrison of the besieged fortress.

Smolensk war, during which there wasdemoralized by the invasion of Crimean Tatars in Russia in 1633, radically changed its course. Many nobles fled the army to save their families and estates, and the "freemen", consisting of their peasants, serfs and townsmen, acted guerrilla, attacking not only the enemy, but also all nearby manors.

Vladislav came to the city, andcut off the army of Shein from the rear. In the Russian troops, which faced 15 thousand well-trained regular soldiers and 12 thousand Zaporozhye Cossacks, panic began. There was an acute shortage of fodder and food.

At the same time, part of Vladislav’s troops retreated toeast, literally in the course of liberating Dorogobuzh, and then, as punishment, reprisals began over the villages of Velikiy Luk, Mozhaisk, Kozelsk, Kaluga, etc.

March 1, Shein capitulated, and in factSmolensk war ended. The stage of negotiations began, which was completed in June of the same year by the signing of the Polyanovo Treaty, in which the Poles regained all those settlements that the Russians seized at the initial stage of the war, including the unmoved Smolensk. Vladislav, in turn, officially renounced any claims to the Russian throne, which was one of the key conditions for the conclusion of peace.

Smolensk War, briefly characterizedhistorians as unsuccessful, deprived Russia of the opportunity to fight with its southern neighbor in 1937, when the Don Cossacks managed to capture Turkish Azov. Moscow did not dare to help, remembering the sad experience of the last war, and the Cossacks had no choice but to leave the fortress.

The Zemsky Sobor recognized the voivod M. Shein as the culprit of the defeat in the Smolensk war, and he was beheaded off according to the boyar's sentence.