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Biography of Tsarevich Dmitry. The death of Tsarevich Dmitry. Death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich - epilepsy or attack

The palace where Dmitry lived with his mother Maria Naga

After the death of his father, he remained the only representative of the Moscow line of the house of Rurikovich, except for his older brother, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. However, he was born of no less than the sixth marriage of his father, while the Orthodox Church considers only three consecutive marriages to be legal, and, therefore, could be considered illegitimate and excluded from the number of pretenders to the throne. He was sent by the regency council together with his mother to Uglich, where he was considered the ruling prince and had his own court (the last Russian appanage prince), officially - having received it as an inheritance, but, apparently, the real reason for this was the fear of the authorities that Dmitry, willingly or unwillingly, could become the center around which all those dissatisfied with the rule of Tsar Fyodor will rally.

This version is confirmed by the fact that neither the prince himself nor his relatives received any real rights to the "inheritance" except for receiving part of the income of the district. Real power was concentrated in the hands of "service people" sent from Moscow under the leadership of clerk Mikhail Bityagovsky.

Death

On May 15, 1591, the tsarevich played "at a poke", and he was accompanied by little shy tenants Petrusha Kolobov and Vazhen Tuchkov are the sons of the bed and wet nurse who were with the Tsarina's person, as well as Ivan Krasensky and Grisha Kozlovsky. The prince was cared for by his mother Vasilisa Volokhova, the nurse Arina Tuchkova and the bed-bed Marya Kolobova.

The murder and mourning of Dmitry. Fragment of the icon

The rules of the game, which have not changed until now, are that a line is drawn on the ground through which a knife or a sharp nail is thrown, trying to make it stick into the ground as far as possible. The winner is the one who made the farthest throw. According to the testimony of eyewitnesses of the events given during the investigation, the prince had a "pile" in his hands - a sharpened four-sided nail or a pocket knife. The same was confirmed by the czarina's brother Andrei Nagoy, who, however, transmitted the events from hearsay. There is a slightly different version, written down from the words of a certain Romka Ivanov "with comrades" (who also spoke, in all likelihood, from hearsay): amused myself with a pile in the ring.

Regarding the further, the eyewitnesses are mostly unanimous - Dmitry began an epileptic seizure - in the language of that time - "black sickness", and during the convulsions he accidentally hit himself with a "pile" in the throat.

According to the nurse Arina Tuchkova

The same version with some variations was repeated by other eyewitnesses of the events, as well as by one of the Tsarina's brothers, Grigory Fedorovich Nagoy.

However, the queen and her other brother, Mikhail, stubbornly adhered to the version that Dmitry was stabbed to death by Osip Volokhov (the son of the Tsarevich's mother), Nikita Kachalov and Danila Bityagovsky (the son of clerk Mikhail, sent to oversee the disgraced royal family) - that is, by direct order of Moscow ...

An excited crowd that rose on the alarm bell tore the alleged murderers to pieces. Subsequently, by order of Vasily Shuisky, the tongue was cut off by the order of Vasily Shuisky, and he, together with the Uglich rebels, became the first exiled to Siberia, which had just been annexed to the Russian state. Only at the end of the 19th century, the disgraced bell was returned to Uglich. Currently, it hangs in the Church of Tsarevich Dimitri "On the Blood". The body of the tsarevich was taken to the church for the funeral service, Andrei Alexandrovich Nagoy was next to him. On May 19, four days after the death of the tsarevich, a commission of inquiry arrived from Moscow, consisting of Metropolitan Gelasiy, the head of the Local Order of the Duma clerk Yelizariy Vyluzgin, the okolnichny Andrey Petrovich Lup-Kleshnin and the future Tsar Vasily Shuisky. The conclusions of the commission at that time were unambiguous - the prince died in an accident.

It is usually considered that he was disadvantageous to the ruler of the state Boris Godunov, who seized absolute power in 1587 as a contender for the throne; however, many historians argue that Boris considered him illegitimate for the above reason and did not view him as a serious threat.

Life After Life: Time of Troubles

With the death of Dmitry, the Moscow line of the Rurik dynasty was doomed to extinction; although a daughter was subsequently born to Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, she died in infancy, and he had no sons. On January 7, with the death of Fyodor, the dynasty ended, and Boris became his successor. From this date, the Time of Troubles is usually counted, in which the name of Tsarevich Dmitry became the slogan of various parties, a symbol of the "right", "lawful" tsar; this name was adopted by several impostors, one of whom reigned in Moscow.

In 1603, False Dmitry I appeared in Poland, posing as the miraculously saved Dmitry; Boris's government, which had previously hushed up the very fact that Tsarevich Dmitry lived in the world, and remembered him as a "prince", was forced to serve him for the funeral services for propaganda purposes, remembering him as a tsarevich. In June 1605, False Dmitry ascended the throne and for a year officially reigned as "Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich"; the dowager queen Maria Nagaya recognized him as her son, but as soon as he was killed on May 18, 1606, she abandoned him and stated that her son had undoubtedly died in Uglich.

False Dmitry I, portrait of the early 17th century

After that, the same Vasily Shuisky, who fifteen years ago investigated the death of Dmitry, and then recognized False Dmitry I as the true son of Ivan the Terrible, became tsar. Now he argued the third version: the prince died, but not because of an accident, but was killed on the orders of Boris Godunov. As a sign of confirmation of the death of the tsarevich, a special commission was sent to Uglich under the leadership of Filaret. Dmitry's grave was opened, and an "extraordinary incense" spread throughout the cathedral. The relics of the prince were found incorrupt (in the tomb lay a fresh corpse of a child with a handful of nuts clutched in his hand). It was rumored that Filaret bought the son of Roman from the archer, who was then killed, and his body was placed in a tomb instead of Dmitry's. A solemn procession with relics moved towards Moscow; On November 3, near the village of Taininskoye, she was met by Tsar Vasily with his retinue, as well as Dmitry's mother, nun Martha. The coffin was opened, but Martha, looking at the body, could not utter a word. Then Tsar Vasily approached the coffin, identified the prince and ordered the coffin to be closed. Martha regained consciousness only in the Cathedral of the Archangel, where she announced that her son was in the coffin. The body was placed in a shrine near the grave of Ivan the Terrible. Immediately, miracles began to happen at the tomb of Dmitry - the healing of the sick, crowds of people began to besiege the Cathedral of the Archangel. By order of the tsar, a letter was drawn up describing the miracles of Dmitry of Uglich and sent to the cities. However, after the patient who was about to die, who was brought to the cathedral, touched the coffin and died, access to the relics was stopped. In the same 1606, Dmitry was canonized.

Icon with scenes of the murder of the prince and the burial

This action did not achieve its goal, since in the same 1606 False Dmitry II (Tushinsky thief) appeared, and in 1608 in Pskov - False Dmitry III (Pskov thief, Sidorka). The name of "Tsarevich Dmitry" (whom he did not identify with any of the real impostors) was used by his "voivode" Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov. According to some reports, in - the year the Cossack leader Ivan Zarutsky, who was the guardian of the widow of the first two False Dmitrys, Marina Mnishek, and her young son Ivan, known as "Voronok", impersonated Dmitry. With the execution of this unfortunate child (), the shadow of Tsarevich Dmitry and his "descendants" ceased to hover over the Russian throne, although later the Polish gentry Faustin Luba passed himself off (in Poland) as the son of Marina Mnishek.

In 1812, after the capture of Moscow by French troops and their allies, Dmitry's grave was again opened and plundered, and the relics were thrown away. After the invaders were driven out, the relics were re-found and installed in their original place in a new shrine.

Disputes about the circumstances of the death of the tsarevich

Uglich Kremlin, Church of Dmitry on Blood 1692

With the end of the Time of Troubles, the government of Mikhail Fedorovich returned to the official version of the government of Vasily Shuisky: Dmitry died in the year at the hands of Godunov's mercenaries. She was also recognized as official by the church. This version was described in the "History of the Russian State" N. M. Karamzin). In 1829, the historian M.P. Pogodin ventured to defend Boris's innocence. The original of the criminal case of the Shuisky commission discovered in the archives became the decisive argument in the dispute. He assured many historians and biographers of Boris (S.F. Platonov, R.G. Skrynnikov) that an accident was the cause of the death of his son Ivan the Terrible. Some criminologists argue that the testimony recorded by Shuisky's commission gives the impression of being dictated, and an epileptic child cannot hurt himself with a knife during a seizure, because at this time his palms are wide open. The version according to which Tsarevich Dmitry survived and disappeared (in this regard, it was assumed, for example, that False Dmitry I was not an impostor, but the real son of Ivan the Terrible), discussed back in the 19th - early 20th centuries, still has supporters.

Veneration

The veneration of the faithful Tsarevich Dimitri as a saint is preserved; since the 18th century, his image has been placed on the coat of arms of Uglich, and from and on the flag of the city.

In 1997, the Russian Orthodox Church, together with the Russian Children's Fund, on the initiative of the chairman of the writer's fund, Albert Likhanov, established the Order of the Holy Blessed Tsarevich Demetrius. According to the order, it is awarded to persons who have made a significant contribution to the care and protection of suffering children: disabled people, orphans and homeless children. The order is a cross with rays of pure silver with gilding, in the middle of which there is an image of Tsarevich Dimitri in a medallion with the inscription “For deeds of mercy”. Every year in Uglich on May 28, the Orthodox holiday of Tsarevich Dimitri's Day is held.

Notes (edit)

Literature

Shirokorad A. B. The path to the throne... - M .: Astrel, AST 2004 .-- 445 p .: ill. ISBN 5-17-024340-5
See also "Boris Godunov" by A. Pushkin, Tsarevich Dmitry: murder, accident, salvation
415 years ago, Tsarevich Dmitry died under mysterious circumstances in Uglich.

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The request "Tsarevich Dmitry" is redirected here. Cm. also other meanings. The request "Dmitry Uglitsky" is redirected here. See also Dmitry Ivanovich Zhilka Tsarevich Dimitri Ioannovich. Copy from the "Titular" of the 17th century Tsarevich Dmitry. Painting ... ... Wikipedia

The name Dmitry was borne by three Moscow princes. They all died or perished in childhood: Dmitry Ivanovich (eldest son of Ivan IV) (1552-1553) eldest son of Ivan the Terrible. Dmitry Uglitsky (1582 1591) the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, canonized ... ... Wikipedia

Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich (Uglitsky) was born in 1582 and was the son of Maria Naga and Ivan the Terrible. Dmitry was not a legitimate contender for the royal throne, since his mother was not the legitimate wife of the king.

During the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, Dmitry and his mother, with the council of the board, were exiled to reign in the city of Uglich, but according to one of the versions of historians, Dmitry did not manage the inheritance received - for this, special people were sent led by Mikhail Bityagovsky (clerk) from Moscow.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, only two representatives of the main branch of the Rurikovich remain - the baby Dmitry and the physically weak eldest son Fedor.

According to the official version, on May 15, 1591, the prince played with the courtyard children in a "poke" with a sharpened four-sided nail or a penknife. During this game, the child had an epileptic seizure during which he accidentally hits himself with a "pile" in the throat and dies from loss of blood in the hands of the nurse. But the Tsarevich's mother, as well as her brother Mikhail Nagoy, claimed that Dmitry himself was killed by service people who followed a direct order from Moscow. An uprising immediately breaks out in the city. The so-called "service people" in the person of Danil Bityagovsky, Nikita Kachalov and Osip Volokhov were accused of murdering the prince and were torn apart by a riotous crowd.

Four days later, a commission of inquiry was sent from Moscow, which included clerk Yelizari Vyluzgin, okolnichy Andrei Kleshnin, Prince Vladimir Shuisky and Metropolitan Gelasiy.

The following picture emerged from the investigation of what happened in May in Uglich. Tsarevich Dmitry, who had suffered from epilepsy for a long time two days before the tragic day, went with his mother to church, and after the service he began to play in the yard. On Saturday, May 15, the queen again went with her son to mass, and then let him go to play with the children in the courtyard of the palace.

With the tsarevich there was mother Vasilisa Volokhova, as well as the sons of the bed-bed and the wet-nurse (four of the same age as the tsarevich), the bed-bed Marya Kolobova and the nurse Arina Tuchkova. The children began to play poke. Right during the game, the prince begins a new epileptic seizure.

Many residents of Uglich testified about the tragedy that followed.

After a detailed study of all the facts, the commission comes to the conclusion that the death of the prince came as a result of an accident that followed due to a seizure of epilepsy.

Memorial days: May 15 (old style) - May 28 (new style), June 3 (old style) - June 16 (new style) - Transfer of the relics, October 19 (old style) - November 1 ( new article)

The holy noble Tsarevich Dmitry is the son of Tsar John IV Vasilyevich the Terrible and his seventh wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna Nagoya. He was the last representative of the Moscow line of the House of Rurikovich. According to the custom of that time, the prince was given two names: Uar, named after St. Huara, on his birthday (October 21) and Demetrius (October 26) - on the day of his baptism.

After the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, his eldest son, the Christ-loving Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, ascended the throne. However, the de facto ruler of the Russian state was his brother-in-law, the power-hungry boyar Boris Godunov. The good Theodore Ioannovich was completely immersed in spiritual life, and Boris did whatever he wanted; foreign courts sent gifts to Godunov on a par with the tsar. Meanwhile, Boris knew that everyone in the state, starting with Tsar Theodore, recognized Demetrius as the heir to the throne and his name was commemorated in churches. Boris Godunov began to act against the tsarevich, as against his personal enemy, wanting to get rid of the legitimate heir to the Russian throne.

Boris Godunov.

For this, Boris decided to remove the tsarevich from the Moscow royal court. Together with his mother, the dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna and her relatives, Tsarevich Dimitri was sent to his specific town of Uglich.

Ancient Uglich was at that time "great and multinational." According to the Uglich chronicles, he had 150 churches, including three cathedrals, twelve monasteries. All residents were forty thousand. On the right bank of the Volga was the Kremlin, surrounded by a strong wall with towers, where the future tsar was to live. Fate, however, decreed otherwise.

Trying to avoid dangerous bloodshed, Boris Godunov first tried to slander the young heir to the throne, spreading false rumors through his adherents about the alleged illegitimacy of the prince (referring to the fact that the Orthodox Church considers only three consecutive marriages to be legal), and by forbidding him to remember his name during services.

Then he spread a new fiction that Dimitri had inherited the cruel disposition and severity of Ivan the Terrible. Since these actions did not bring what they wanted, the insidious Boris decided to destroy the Tsarevich. An attempt to poison Demetrius with the help of Vasilisa Volokhova, the nurse of Demetrius Ioannovich, was unsuccessful: the deadly potion did not harm him.

Then, having decided on an obvious crime, Boris began to look for the killers. And he found in the person of the clerk Mikhail Bityagovsky, his son Danila and his nephew Nikita Kachalov. They also bribed the mother of the Tsarevich Vasilisa Volokhova and her son Osip.

The assassination of Tsarevich Dmitry. Engraving. Early 1870s

On the morning of May 15, 1591, the mother took the tsarevich for a walk. The nurse, driven by some vague premonition, did not want to let him in. But the mother resolutely took the hand and led the prince out onto the porch. His killers were already waiting there. Osip Volokhov took his hand and asked: “ Do you have a new necklace, sir?"He answered in a low voice:" This is an old necklace". Volokhov stabbed him in the neck, but did not capture his larynx. The nurse, seeing the death of the sovereign, fell on him and began to scream. Danilko Volokhov threw the knife, ran away, and the accomplices, Danilko Bityagovsky and Mikitka Katchalov, beat the nurse to a pulp. The prince was slaughtered like an immaculate lamb and thrown from the porch.

At the sight of this terrible atrocity, the sexton of the cathedral church, locked himself in the bell tower, sounded the alarm, summoning the people. People who fled from all over the city took revenge for the innocent blood of the eight-year-old boy Dimitri, having arbitrarily dealt with the cruel conspirators.

The murder of the tsarevich was reported to Moscow, and the tsar himself wanted to go to Uglich to investigate, but Godunov kept him under various pretexts. Boris Godunov sent his people to Uglich, led by Prince V.I. bumped into a knife.

Sergey Blinkov. Tsarevich Dimitri

Such a result of the investigation led to severe punishment of the Nagy and the Uglich people, as guilty of rebellion and arbitrariness. The queen mother, accused of a lack of supervision over the prince, was exiled to the remote meager monastery of St. Nicholas on Voskh, on the other side of the White Lake, and tonsured into monasticism with the name of Martha. Her brothers were sent to different places in captivity; the inhabitants of Uglich were executed, some were exiled to a settlement in Pelym, and many were cut off their tongues. Subsequently, by order of Vasily Shuisky, the tongue was cut off (like a man) to the bell, which served as an alarm, and he, together with the Uglich rebels, became the first exiled to Siberia, which had just been annexed to the Russian state. Only at the end of the 19th century, the disgraced bell was returned to Uglich. Currently, it hangs in the Church of Tsarevich Dimitri "On the Blood".

A children's cemetery was built around the tomb of the tsarevich and the chapel erected above it.

Tsarevich Dimitri. Ilya Glazunov (1967)

However, fifteen years after the murder of the tsarevich, already being tsar, Shuisky testified before the whole of Russia that "tsarevich Dimitri Ioannovich, through the envy of Boris Godunov, was like a sheep, kindly, slain." The motivation for this was the desire, in the words of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, "to block the lips of lying and blind the eyes of the unbeliever to those who speak, like a living escape (prince) from murderous hands", in view of the appearance of an impostor who declared himself the true Tsarevich Demetrius. A special commission headed by Metropolitan Filaret of Rostov was sent to Uglich. When the coffin of the prince was opened, "an extraordinary incense" spread throughout the cathedral, and then they found that "in his left hand the prince was holding a towel, embroidered with gold, and in the other - nuts", in this form death overtook him. On July 3, 1606, he was canonized. The holy relics were solemnly transferred and laid in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin - the family grand-ducal and royal tomb, "in the chapel of John the Baptist, where his father and his brothers are."

Cancer of Tsarevich Dimitri of Uglich in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin

Immediately after the death of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, rumors appeared that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive. During the reign of Boris Godunov, these rumors intensified, and by the end of his reign in 1604, everyone started talking about the supposedly living prince. It was reported to each other that the wrong child was allegedly killed in Uglich, and the real Tsarevich Dmitry is now coming as an army from Lithuania to take the royal throne due to him by right. Began Time of Troubles... The name of Tsarevich Dmitry, which became the symbol of the "right", "legitimate" tsar, was adopted by several impostors, one of whom reigned in Moscow.

In 1603, False Dmitry I appeared in Poland (a poor and ignoble Galician nobleman Yuri Bogdanovich Otrepiev, who took monastic vows in one of the Russian monasteries and took the name Gregory in monasticism), posing as the miraculously saved Dmitry. In June 1605, False Dmitry ascended the throne and for a year officially reigned as "Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich"; unprepossessing appearance, he was by no means a stupid person, had a lively mind, knew how to speak well, and in the Boyar Duma easily resolved the most difficult questions; the dowager queen Maria Nagaya recognized him as her son, but as soon as he was killed on May 17 (27), 1606, she abandoned him and stated that her son had undoubtedly died in Uglich.

In 1606 False Dmitry II (Tushinsky thief) appeared, and in 1608 in Pskov - False Dmitry III (Pskov thief, Sidorka).

With the end of the Time of Troubles, the government of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov returned to the official version of the government of Vasily Shuisky: Dmitry died in 1591 at the hands of Godunov's mercenaries. She was also recognized as official by the Russian Orthodox Church. This version was described in the "History of the Russian State" N. M. Karamzin. A.S. also adhered to it at one time. Pushkin. In his drama Boris Godunov, he made Tsar Boris suffer from remorse for his crime. And for 13 years in a row, the tsar has been dreaming of a child killed by his order, and the holy fool throws terrible words in his face: “...

Tsarevich Dmitry. Painting by M.V. Nesterov, 1899

Saint Demetrius of Rostov compiled a life and a description of miraculous healings through the prayers of Saint Tsarevich Demetrius, from which it can be seen that sick eyes were healed especially often.

During Patriotic War In 1812, the holy relics of the blessed Tsarevich Dimitri were saved from desecration by the priest of the Moscow Ascension Convent, John Veniaminov, who carried them out under his clothes from the Archangel Cathedral and hid them in the altar, in the choirs of the second tier of the Cathedral Church in the Ascension Monastery. After the expulsion of the French, the holy relics were solemnly transferred to their original place - to the Cathedral of the Archangel.

Holy relics of Tsarevich Demetrius in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin

Since the 18th century, the image of Tsarevich Dimitry has been placed on the coat of arms of Uglich, and since 1999, on the flag of the city. Also was built "Church of Demetrius on the Blood", erected on the site of his murder.

Church of Tsarevich Demetrius on the Blood. Uglich

In 1997, the Order of the Holy Blessed Tsarevich Demetrius was established. It is awarded to persons who have made a significant contribution to the care and protection of suffering children: disabled people, orphans and street children. The order is a cross with rays of pure silver with gilding, in the middle of which there is an image of Tsarevich Dimitri in the medallion with the inscription “For deeds of mercy”. Every year in Uglich on May 28, the Orthodox holiday of Tsarevich Dimitri's Day is held.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Tsarevich Dimitri's Day acquired in 2011 the status of an All-Russian Orthodox children's holiday.

Troparion, voice 4:
You have stained the royal diaadim with your blood, God-wise martyr, for the scepter we received the cross in your hand, the victorious person appeared and you brought an immaculate sacrifice to the Lord: as if the lamb was not malignant, you were slain from the servant. And now, rejoicing, stand before the Holy Trinity, praying for the power of your relatives, your God-pleasing being, and be saved as a Russian son.

Kontakion, voice 8:
Today, in your glorious memory of the faithful, joy is lifted up, as if a brave dreamy (grapevine), you have grown cold, and you have brought red fruit to Christ; the same, and after your murder, your body is incorruptible, martyrdom stained with blood. Noble Saint Demetrius, observe your fatherland and your city is unharmed, for that is your affirmation.

Holy noble Tsarevich Dimitry of Uglich (+ 1591)

Tsarevich Dmitry. Painting by M.V. Nesterov, 1899

The holy noble Tsarevich Dimitri is the son of Tsar John IV Vasilyevich the Terrible and his seventh wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna Naga. He was the last representative of the Moscow line of the House of Rurikovich. According to the custom of that time, the prince was given two names: Uar, named after St. Huara, on his birthday (October 21) and Demetrius (October 26) - on the day of his baptism.

On the morning of May 15, 1591, the mother took the tsarevich for a walk. The nurse, driven by some vague premonition, did not want to let him in. But the mother resolutely took the hand and led the prince out onto the porch. His killers were already waiting there. Osip Volokhov took his hand and asked: "This is your new necklace, sir?" He answered in a low voice: "This is an old necklace." Volokhov stabbed him in the neck, but did not capture his larynx. The nurse, seeing the death of the sovereign, fell on him and began to scream. Danilko Volokhov threw the knife, ran away, and the accomplices, Danilko Bityagovsky and Mikitka Katchalov, beat the nurse to a pulp. The prince was slaughtered like an immaculate lamb and thrown from the porch.

A children's cemetery was built around the tomb of the tsarevich and the chapel erected above it.

However, fifteen years after the murder of the tsarevich, already being tsar, Shuisky testified before the whole of Russia that "tsarevich Dimitri Ioannovich, through the envy of Boris Godunov, was like a sheep, kindly, slain." The motivation for this was the desire, in the words of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, "to block the lips of lying and blind the eyes of the unbeliever to those who speak, like a living escape (prince) from murderous hands", in view of the appearance of an impostor who declared himself the true Tsarevich Demetrius. A special commission headed by Metropolitan Filaret of Rostov was sent to Uglich. When the coffin of the prince was opened, "an extraordinary incense" spread throughout the cathedral, and then they found that "in his left hand the prince was holding a towel, embroidered with gold, and in the other - nuts", in this form death overtook him. 3 July 1606 g ... he was canonized. The holy relics were solemnly transferred and laid in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin - the family grand-ducal and royal tomb, "in the chapel of John the Baptist, where his father and his brothers are."

Cancer of Tsarevich Dimitri of Uglich in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin

Immediately after the death of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, rumors appeared that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive. During the reign of Boris Godunov, these rumors intensified, and by the end of his reign in 1604, everyone started talking about the supposedly living prince. It was reported to each other that the wrong child was allegedly killed in Uglich, and the real Tsarevich Dmitry is now coming as an army from Lithuania to take the royal throne due to him by right. The Time of Troubles has begun. The name of Tsarevich Dmitry, which became the symbol of the "right", "legitimate" tsar, was adopted by several impostors, one of whom reigned in Moscow.

In 1606 False Dmitry II (Tushinsky thief) appeared, and in 1608 in Pskov - False Dmitry III (Pskov thief, Sidorka).

During the Patriotic War of 1812, the holy relics of the blessed Tsarevich Dimitri were saved from desecration by the priest of the Moscow Ascension Convent, John Veniaminov, who carried them under his clothes from the Cathedral of the Archangel and hid them in the altar, in the choirs of the second tier of the Cathedral Church in the Ascension Monastery. After the expulsion of the French, the holy relics were solemnly transferred to their original place - to the Cathedral of the Archangel.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Tsarevich Dimitri's Day acquired in 2011 the status of an All-Russian Orthodox children's holiday.

The prince did not even live to see his 9th birthday. However, his short life and mysterious death influenced the fate of the Russian state in the most serious way. The Great Troubles, which cast doubt on the very possibility of the existence of Russia as a single, independent state, from beginning to end is associated with the name of Tsarevich Dmitry.

Illegitimate

Strictly speaking, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible bore the title of "tsarevich" only conditionally, and had no rights to the throne.

His mother, Maria Nagaya, was, according to various versions of historians, either the sixth or seventh wife of the king. The church did not recognize this marriage as legal, which means that a child born on October 19, 1582 could not be the legal heir to the throne.

Dmitry Ivanovich was the full namesake of his older brother - the first-born Ivan the Terrible. The first Dmitry Ivanovich passed away without living even a year. The circumstances of his death are not exactly known - during his father's pilgrimage trip, the baby either died of an illness or drowned in an accident.

The second Dmitry Ivanovich survived his father - when Ivan the Terrible died, his youngest son was about one and a half years old.

Ascended the throne Fedor Ivanovich ordered to send his stepmother and brother to Uglich, proclaiming him an appanage prince.

The big ambitions of the Naga clan

Tsarevich Dmitry became the last appanage prince in Russia, while his rights were seriously limited. Uglich was managed by clerk Mikhail Bityagovsky appointed by the king.

The relationship between Fyodor Ivanovich's entourage and the Nagi was, to put it mildly, strained.

By sending the dowager queen and the prince to Uglich, they were given to understand that they would not tolerate any claims to the throne on their part. The truth was on the side of the opponents of the Nagy, since, as already mentioned, Dmitry was considered illegitimate.

The Nagi clan, starting with the queen, was extremely wounded by this state of affairs, hoping to take high government posts.

But they still had hope. Fyodor Ivanovich was not in good health and could not give birth to an heir. And this meant that Dmitry, for all his illegitimacy, remains the only direct heir to the throne.

"He takes pleasure in seeing his throat cut as blood flows from him."

Information about Dmitry himself is contradictory. For reasons that will be discussed below, Russian historians drew the image of such an angel endowed exclusively with virtues.

Foreigners wrote somewhat differently. Englishman Giles Fletcher, who wrote a book about his trip to Russia, reported: “The Tsar's younger brother, a child of six or seven years old (as it was said before), is kept in a remote place from Moscow, under the supervision of his mother and relatives from the Nagikh house, but (as you hear) life it is in danger from the assassination attempts of those who extend their views to the possession of the throne in the event of the king's childless death. The nurse, who had tasted some food before him (as I heard), died suddenly. The Russians confirm that he is definitely the son of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, by the fact that in his young years all the qualities of his father begin to be revealed in him. He (it is said) finds pleasure in watching sheep and livestock in general being slaughtered, seeing his throat cut when blood flows from it (while children are usually afraid of this), and beating geese and chickens with a stick until they will not die. "

In addition to the cruelty of Dmitry, which he reminded his contemporaries of his father and older brother Ivan, the topic of a possible attempt on the Tsarevich's life also comes up here. This is extremely important in connection with the events that happened afterwards.

Fatal May 15

On May 15, 1591, Tsarevich Dmitry was found dead in the courtyard of the palace. The boy was fatally wounded in the neck.

The mother of the deceased, Maria Nagaya, as well as her relatives, announced that the tsarevich had been stabbed to death by the people of clerk Mikhail Bityagovsky on orders from Moscow. The alarm bell sounded over Uglich. An angry mob tore the alleged killers - Osipa Volokhova, Nikita Kachalova and Danil Bityagovsky, the son of a clerk. Following this, they dealt with Mikhail Bityagovsky himself, who was trying to calm the crowd.

From the point of view of the tsarist authorities, there was a riot in Uglich. Brother-in-law of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Boris Godunov, who was at that time the de facto head of government, immediately sent an investigation commission to Uglich. Boyar was appointed head of the commission Vasily Shuisky.

The investigation into the death of Tsarevich Dmitry is unique in that the investigation materials have survived to this day. About 150 people were interrogated - almost everyone who was involved in the events of May 15.

The investigation established

As a result of the investigation, the following was established. The prince had long suffered from attacks of "black sickness" - epilepsy. The last seizure occurred on May 12, that is, three days before death. Then Dmitry felt better, and on May 15, after attending Mass, his mother allowed him to take a walk in the courtyard.

There was a mother with the prince Vasilisa Volokhova, nurse Arina Tuchkova, bedclothes Marya Kolobova and four peers of Dmitry, sons of a wet nurse and a bedwife Petrusha Kolobov, Ivan Krasensky and Grisha Kozlovsky... The boys played "butts" - this ancient Russian game most of all resembles the so-called "knives", which are still played. IN general outline, the essence of the game is to throw a pointed metal object (knife or rod) into the ground in a certain way.

Dmitry had either a knife or a pile (a sharpened four-sided nail) in his hand. At this moment, the prince overtook a new attack of epilepsy. During the attack, the boy involuntarily stuck the tip into his throat, which became the cause of death.

The final conclusion of the commission of inquiry is that Tsarevich Dmitry died in an accident. Consecrated Cathedral led by Patriarch Job approved the results of the investigation.

Weapons against Godunov

As punishment for the revolt, Maria Nagaya was tonsured a nun under the name of Martha, her brothers were sent into exile, the most active participants in the revolt from among the townspeople were executed, or exiled to Siberia.

But that was only the beginning of the story. In 1598, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich died without leaving an heir. The Rurik dynasty was cut short. The Zemsky Sobor elects a new Tsar - Boris Godunov.

For the opponents of the new monarch, the "Uglich affair" becomes an excellent tool for generating distrust among the people in Godunov. Vasily Shuisky becomes one of the main attackers. The former head of the investigation into the death of Tsarevich Dmitry himself dreams of taking the throne, so he intrigues against Godunov with all his might.

And then there appears on the stage False Dmitry I, supposedly miraculously escaped from the murderers of the prince. Many believe him, and as a result, in 1605, after the death of Boris Godunov and the massacre of his son Fedor, the impostor takes the throne. Vasily Shuisky once again changes his testimony, and recognizes False Dmitry as the legitimate prince.

Saint versus impostor

But already in 1606, Vasily Shuisky became the head of a new conspiracy, as a result of which False Dmitry would be killed, and the ambitious boyar finally sits on the throne.

However, Shuisky also faces the problem of the "miraculously saved" tsarevich, now in the form False Dmitry II.

The Tsar understands that the story of the Tsarevich must be ended, and in such a way that the masses of the people believe that he is dead.

The prince was buried in Uglich, where few could see his grave. Vasily Shuisky decides to reburial him in Moscow, and not just as a deceased member of the royal family, but as a holy martyr.

It was an elegant solution - given the revered relics of the saint, the myth of "miraculous salvation" will be much more difficult to use.

By order of the tsar, a special commission was sent to Uglich under the leadership of Metropolitan Filaret- father Mikhail Romanov, the future founder of the new royal dynasty.

When the grave was opened, the relics of the prince were found incorrupt and emitting incense. In his hand, the dead prince squeezed a handful of nuts - according to the version of the murder, the criminals caught the child when he played with nuts.

The relics were solemnly reburied in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin. Those who came to the tomb of the prince began to declare miraculous healings, and in the same year he was canonized.

What you don't want to believe

Here historians walk around the edge, for the faithful Tsarevich Dimitri Uglitsky, Uglich and Moscow and All Russia miracle worker, and today is a revered Russian saint. Nevertheless, for the sake of historical truth, it is necessary to mention what contemporaries thought about the canonization of the tsarevich.

The political meaning of what was happening was clear and lay on the surface - Vasily Shuisky was trying his best to alienate his supporters from False Dmitry II. Very bad assumptions have come down to our time as to how exactly the remains of Dmitry turned out to be incorrupt. It was alleged that Metropolitan Filaret bought a son from one of the archers, who was close in age to the age of Dmitry's death, and ordered him to be killed. The body of this child was presented as imperishable relics. I don't want to believe in this terrible version, but the times were very harsh. A little later, during the accession of Mikhail Romanov, the 3-year-old son of "the miraculously escaped Tsarevich Dmitry" was publicly hanged, so few people stopped before killing children in that era.

Boris sentenced

So, the final version of Vasily Shuisky said that Tsarevich Dmitry was killed by supporters of Boris Godunov on his personal orders. The tsar had no reason to rehabilitate Godunov - firstly, he was his political opponent, and secondly, only a murder victim could be canonized, but not an epileptic patient who died as a result of a seizure.

The canonization of Tsarevich Dmitry Shuisky himself did not save: he was overthrown and ended his days in a Polish prison.

However, the version that the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible was killed by the henchmen of Boris Godunov was preserved during the Romanov dynasty. Firstly, the Romanovs were also at enmity with Godunov, and secondly, the version about the guilt of Tsar Boris made him an “illegitimate” monarch, the instigator of the Troubles, which was completed by the accession of the “legitimate Romanovs”.

For more than two centuries, Godunov was unconditionally considered the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry. His talent finally "condemned" him Alexandra Pushkin in the tragedy "Boris Godunov".

Was there a murder?

However, in the 1820s, materials from the "Uglich case" discovered in the archive became available. Russian historian Mikhail Pogodin questioned the version of the murder of the prince. The materials of the investigation quite logically substantiated the fact that an accident had occurred.

It is also noteworthy that the investigators were sent to Uglich by Boris Godunov himself, demanding a thorough investigation. It turns out that Godunov was absolutely sure that no evidence against him would be found. Meanwhile, he could not know exactly how the events in Uglich developed and what exactly the witnesses saw. It turns out that Godunov was interested in an objective investigation, knowing that it would confirm his innocence.

Moreover, in 1591, Tsarevich Dmitry was not at all the only obstacle for Godunov on his way to the throne. Then there was still a not unfounded hope that Fedor would have an heir. In May 1592 Queen Irina gave birth to a girl, and no one could guarantee that this was the last child of the royal couple.

We must not forget that Tsarevich Dmitry was illegitimate from the point of view of the church. With such a competitor, Godunov could compete for the throne without hired assassins.

For lack of evidence

The supporters of the murder theory have another serious argument - modern doctors believe that a child with an epileptic attack would drop a knife and would never be able to inflict a mortal wound on himself. But there is an answer to this too - the wound could have arisen as a result of improper assistance by frightened boys or nannies, who provoked the fatal movement.

The massacre perpetrated against the murder suspects deprived the investigation of their testimony, which could become the most important in this case.

As a result, both versions of the death of Tsarevich Dmitry cannot be completely rejected.