The once huge empire called the Golden Horde broke up into three khanates: Kazan, Astrakhan and Crimea. And, despite the rivalry that exists between them, they still represented a real danger to the Russian state. Moscow troops made several attempts to storm the fortress city of Kazan. But each time she steadfastly repelled all attacks. Such a course of affairs could not suit Ivan IV the Terrible. And now, after numerous campaigns, that significant date has finally come. The capture of Kazan took place on October 2, 1552.
Prerequisites
In the 1540s, the policy of the Russian state towards the East changed. The era of boyar strife in the struggle for the Moscow throne is finally over. The question arose of what to do with the Kazan Khanate, headed by the government of Safa Giray.
I must say that his policy almost itself pushed Moscow to more decisive action. The fact is that Safa Giray sought to conclude an alliance with, and this went against the peace agreements signed between him and the Russian Tsar. Kazan princes from time to time made devastating raids on the border territories of the Muscovite state, while receiving a good income from the slave trade. Because of this, there were endless armed clashes. Constantly ignore the hostile actions of this Volga state, which was subject to the influence of the Crimea, and through it Ottoman Empire, was no longer possible.
Peace enforcement
The Kazan Khanate had to be reined in somehow. The previous policy of Moscow, which consisted in supporting officials loyal to it, as well as in appointing its proteges to the Kazan throne, did not lead to anything. All of them quickly mastered and began to pursue a hostile policy towards the Russian state.
At this time, Metropolitan Macarius had a huge influence on the Moscow government. It was he who initiated most of the campaigns undertaken by Ivan IV the Terrible. Gradually, in circles close to the metropolitan, the idea of a forceful solution to the problem, which was the Kazan Khanate, appeared. By the way, at the very beginning, complete subjugation and conquest of this eastern state was not envisaged. Only during the military campaigns of 1547-1552 did the old plans change somewhat, which led to the subsequent capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible.
First campaigns
I must say that most of the military campaigns relating to this fortress, the king personally led. Therefore, it can be assumed that Ivan Vasilyevich gave great importance these trips. The history of the capture of Kazan will be incomplete if you do not tell at least briefly about all the episodes undertaken by the Moscow tsar on this issue.
The first campaign was made in 1545. It looked like a military demonstration, the purpose of which was to strengthen the influence of the Moscow party, which managed to drive out of the city. The following year, his throne was taken by a Moscow protege, Tsarevich Shah Ali. But he could not stay on the throne for a long time, since Safa-Girey, having enlisted the support of the Nogais, again regained power.
The next campaign was undertaken in 1547. This time, Ivan the Terrible stayed at home, as he was busy with wedding preparations - he was going to marry Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva. Instead, the campaign was led by governors Semyon Mikulinsky and Alexander Gorbaty. They reached the very mouth of the Sviyaga and devastated many enemy lands.
The history of the capture of Kazan could have ended in November 1547. This campaign was led by the king himself. Since the winter was too warm that year, the exit of the main forces was delayed. Artillery batteries reached Vladimir only on 6 December. In Nizhny Novgorod, the main forces arrived at the end of January, after which the army moved down the Volga River. But a few days later the thaw came again. Russian troops began to suffer heavy losses in the form of siege artillery, which fell through and drowned in the river along with people. Ivan the Terrible had to camp on the island of Rabotki.
Losses in equipment and manpower did not contribute to the success of the military operation. Therefore, the tsar decided to turn his troops back, first to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Moscow. But part of the army still went on. These were the Advance Regiment under the command of Prince Mikulinsky and the cavalry of the Kasimov prince Shah-Ali. A battle took place on the Arsk field, in which the army of Safa Giray was defeated, and its remnants took refuge behind the Kazan fortress walls. They did not dare to take the city by storm, since it was simply impossible without siege artillery.
The next winter campaign was scheduled for the end of 1549 - the beginning of 1550. It was facilitated by the news that the main enemy of the Russian state, Safa Giray, had died. Since the Kazan embassy never received a new khan from the Crimea, his two-year-old son, Utyamysh-Girey, was declared the ruler. But while he was small, his mother, Queen Syuyumbike, began to lead the khanate. The Moscow tsar decided to take advantage of this and again go to Kazan. He even secured the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius.
On January 23, Russian troops again entered the Kazan lands. Having reached the fortress, they began to prepare for its assault. However, unfavorable weather conditions prevented this again. As the annals say, the winter was too warm with heavy rains, so it was not possible to conduct a siege according to all the rules. In this regard, the Russian troops again had to retreat.
Organization of the campaign of 1552
They began to prepare for it in early spring. During March and April, provisions, ammunition and siege artillery were gradually transported from Nizhny Novgorod to the Sviyazhsk fortress. By the end of May, from among Muscovites, as well as residents of other Russian cities, an entire army of at least 145 thousand soldiers was assembled. Later, all the detachments were dispersed in three cities.
In Kolomna, there were three regiments - the Advanced, Big and Left Hand, in Kashira - the Right Hand, and in Murom the Ertoulnaya part of the cavalry intelligence was stationed. Some of them advanced towards Tula and repulsed the first of the attacks of the Crimean troops under the command of Devlet Giray, who tried to frustrate Moscow's plans. With such actions, the Crimean Tatars only a short time managed to stop the Russian army.
Performance
The campaign aimed at capturing Kazan began on July 3, 1552. The troops marched, divided into two columns. The path of the Sovereign, Watchdog and the Left Hand Regiment ran through Vladimir and Murom to the Sura River, and then to the mouth of the Alatyr. This army was controlled by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich himself. He gave the rest of the army under the command of Mikhail Vorotynsky. These two columns united only at Boroncheev Settlement beyond Sura. On August 13, the army in full force reached Sviyazhsk. After 3 days, the troops began to cross the Volga. This process was somewhat delayed, but already on August 23, a large army was under the walls of Kazan. The capture of the city began almost immediately.
Enemy readiness
Kazan also made all the necessary preparations for a new war. The city was fortified as much as possible. A double oak wall was built around. Inside it was covered with rubble, and from above - with clay silt. In addition, the fortress had 14 stone loopholes. The approaches to it were covered by riverbeds: from the west - Bulak, from the north - Kazanka. From the side of the Arsk field, where it is very convenient to carry out siege work, a ditch was dug, reaching 15 m in depth and more than 6 m in width. The 11 gates were considered the most poorly protected place, despite the fact that they were with towers. The soldiers who fired from the city walls were covered wooden roof and parapet.
In the city of Kazan itself, in its northwestern side, there was a citadel erected on a hill. Here was the residence of the khan. It was surrounded by a thick stone wall and a deep moat. The defenders of the city were a 40,000-strong garrison, consisting not only of professional soldiers. It included all men capable of holding weapons in their hands. In addition, a 5,000-strong detachment of temporarily mobilized merchants was also included here.
Khan understood perfectly well that sooner or later the Russian tsar would again try to capture Kazan. Therefore, the Tatar military leaders also equipped special squad warriors who were supposed to fight outside the walls of the city, that is, in the rear of the enemy army. To do this, about 15 versts from the Kazanka River, a prison was built in advance, the approaches to which were blocked by swamps and fences. A 20,000-strong cavalry army under the leadership of Prince Apanchi, the Arsk prince Yevush and Shunak-Murza was to be stationed here. According to the developed military strategy they were supposed to unexpectedly attack the Russian army from two flanks and rear.
Looking ahead, it should be noted that all the actions taken to protect the fortress did not materialize. The army of Tsar Ivan the Terrible had too much superiority not only in manpower, but also in the latest methods of warfare. This refers to the underground structures of mine galleries.
First Encounter
We can say that the capture of Kazan (1552) began at that moment, as soon as the Ertoulny regiment crossed the Bulak River. Tatar troops attacked him at a very good time. The Russian regiment was just rising up, overcoming steep slope Arsky field. All the rest of the royal troops were still on the opposite bank and could not join the battle.
Meanwhile, from the open Tsarev and Nogai Gates, a 10,000-strong foot and 5,000-strong cavalry army of the Kazan Khan came out towards the Yertoulny regiment. But the situation was saved. Streltsy and Cossacks hurried to the aid of the Yertoulny regiment. They were on the left flank and managed to open quite a strong fire on the enemy, as a result of which the Tatar cavalry mixed up. Additional reinforcements approaching the Russian troops significantly increased the shelling. The cavalry became even more upset and soon fled, crushing their infantry in the process. Thus ended the first clash with the Tatars, which brought victory to Russian weapons.
Beginning of the siege
Artillery shelling of the fortress began on 27 August. The archers did not allow the defenders of the city to climb the walls, and also successfully repelled the enemy's more frequent sorties. At the first stage, the siege of Kazan was complicated by the actions of the army of Tsarevich Yapanchi. He and his cavalry attacked the Russian troops when a large banner appeared over the fortress. At the same time, they were accompanied by sorties from the fortress garrison.
Such actions carried with them a considerable threat to the Russian rati, so the tsar gathered a military council, at which they decided to equip a 45,000-strong army against Tsarevich Yapanchi. The Russian detachment was led by governors Peter Serebryany and Alexander Gorbaty. On August 30, with their false retreat, they managed to lure the Tatar cavalry to the territory of the Arsk field and encircled it. Most of the enemy troops were destroyed, and about a thousand of the prince's soldiers were captured. They were taken directly to the walls of the city and immediately executed. Those who were lucky enough to escape took refuge in the prison.
On September 6, the governors Serebryany and Humpbacked with their army set off on a campaign to the Kama River, devastating and burning Kazan lands on their way. They stormed the prison, located on the High Mountain. The chronicle says that even the military leaders were forced to dismount from their horses and take part in this bloody battle. As a result, the enemy base, from which raids were made on Russian troops from the rear, was completely destroyed. After that, the tsarist troops went deep into the khanate for another 150 miles, while literally completely exterminating the local population. Having reached Kama, they turned around and moved back to the walls of the fortress. Thus, the lands of the Kazan Khanate were subjected to the same devastation as the Russians, when they were attacked by the Tatar detachments. The result of this campaign was 30 destroyed prisons, about 3 thousand prisoners and a large number of stolen cattle.
End of the siege
After the destruction of the troops of Prince Yapanchi, nothing could prevent the further siege of the fortress. The capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible was now only a matter of time. Russian artillery got closer and closer to the walls of the city, and the fire became more intense. Not far from the Tsar's Gate, a huge 13-meter high was built. It was higher than the fortress walls. 50 squeakers and 10 cannons were installed on it, which fired on the streets of the city, thereby causing significant damage to the defenders of Kazan.
And at the same time, the German Rozmysel, who was in the tsarist service, together with his students, began to dig tunnels near the enemy walls in order to lay mines. The very first charge was laid in the Daurova Tower, where there was a secret water source that fed the city. When it was blown up, they destroyed not only the entire supply of water, but also severely damaged the fortress wall. The next underground explosion destroyed the Ant Gate. With great difficulty, the Kazan garrison managed to repulse the attack of the Russian troops and create a new defensive line.
Underground explosions have shown their effectiveness. The command of the Russian troops decided not to stop shelling and undermining the city walls. It understood that a premature assault could lead to unjustified losses of manpower. By the end of September, numerous digs were made under the walls of Kazan. The explosions in them were supposed to serve as a signal for the capture of the fortress. In those areas where they were going to storm the city, all the ditches were filled with logs and earth. In other places, wooden bridges were thrown over them.
Assault on the fortress
Before moving their army to take Kazan, the Russian command sent Murza Kamay to the city (in tsarist army many Tatar soldiers served) demanding surrender. But it was categorically rejected. On October 2, early in the morning, the Russians began to carefully prepare for the attack. By 6 o'clock the regiments were already in predetermined places. All the rear of the army was covered by cavalry detachments: they were on the Arsk field, and the rest of the regiments were on the Nogai and Galician roads.
Exactly at 7 o'clock there were two explosions. It worked the charges laid in the tunnels between the Nameless Tower and the Atalykov Gates, as well as in the gap between the Arsky and Tsar's Gates. As a result of these actions, the walls of the fortress in the area of the field collapsed and huge openings were formed. Through them, Russian troops quite easily broke into the city. So the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible came to its final stage.
Fierce fighting took place in the narrow streets of the city. It should be noted that the hatred between Russians and Tatars has been accumulating for several decades. Therefore, the townspeople understood that they would not be spared and fought to the last breath. The greatest centers of resistance were the Khan's citadel and the main mosque, located on the Tezitsky ravine.
At first, all attempts by the Russian troops to seize these positions were unsuccessful. Only after fresh reserve detachments were brought into battle was the enemy's resistance broken. The royal army nevertheless captured the mosque, and all those who defended it, together with the seid Kul-Sharif, were killed.
The last battle, which ended the capture of Kazan, took place on the territory of the square in front of the Khan's palace. Here defended the Tatar army in the amount of about 6 thousand people. None of them were left alive, since no prisoners were taken at all. The only survivor was Khan Yadygar-Muhammed. Subsequently, he was baptized and they began to call him Simeon. He was given Zvenigorod as an inheritance. Very few men from among the defenders of the city escaped, and a chase was sent after them, which destroyed almost all of them.
Consequences
The capture of Kazan by the Russian army led to the annexation to Moscow of the vast territories of the Middle Volga region, where many peoples lived: Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Tatars, Udmurts, Mari. In addition, having conquered this fortress, Russian state acquired the most important economic center, which was Kazan. And after the fall of Astrakhan, the Moscow kingdom began to control an important water trade artery - the Volga.
In the year of the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, the Crimean-Ottoman political union, hostile to Moscow, was destroyed in the Middle Volga region. The eastern borders of the state were no longer threatened by constant raids with the withdrawal of the local population into slavery.
The year of the capture of Kazan turned out to be negative in terms of the fact that the Tatars, who professed Islam, were forbidden to settle within the city. I must say that such laws were in force not only in Russia, but in European and Asian countries. This was done in order to avoid uprisings, as well as inter-ethnic and inter-religious clashes. By the end of the XVIII century, the settlements of the Tatars gradually and harmoniously merged with the urban ones.
Memory
In 1555, at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, they began to build a cathedral in honor of the capture of Kazan. Its construction lasted only 5 years, unlike European temples, which were created over the centuries. The current name - St. Basil's Cathedral - he received in 1588 after the addition of a chapel in honor of this saint, since his relics were at the site of the construction of the church.
Initially, the temple was decorated with 25 domes, today there are 10 of them left: one of them is above the bell tower, and the rest are above their thrones. Eight churches are dedicated to the holidays in honor of the capture of Kazan, which fell on every day when the most important battles for this fortress took place. The central church is the Intercession of the Mother of God, which is crowned with a tent with a small cupola.
According to a legend that has survived to this day, after the construction of the cathedral was completed, Ivan the Terrible ordered to deprive the architects of his sight so that they could no longer repeat such beauty. But in fairness it should be noted that in none of the old documents such a fact does not appear.
Another monument to the capture of Kazan was built in the 19th century according to the project of the most talented architect-engraver Nikolai Alferov. This monument was approved by Emperor Alexander I. The initiator of perpetuating the memory of the soldiers who died in the battles for the fortress was the archimandrite of the Zilantov monastery - Ambrose.
The monument stands on the left bank of the Kazanka River, on a small hill, very close to the Admiralteyskaya Sloboda. The chronicle, which has been preserved since those times, says that when Ivan the Terrible took the fortress, he arrived with his army to this place and set up his banner here. And after the capture of Kazan, it was from here that he began his solemn procession to the conquered fortress.
On October 2, 1552, Kazan fell under the onslaught of Russian troops. Anyone who perceives this event as an ordinary victory is deeply mistaken. The capture of Kazan was the mission of Ivan IV, his historical initiation.
God's will
Ivan the Terrible is one of the most epochal rulers of Russia. So much has been said and written about his role in history that would be enough for a dozen other kings of our state. Ivan IV from childhood was aware of his otherness, his special position. This was expressed in pathological behavior, which put even the worldly-wise boyars into a stupor. It is not known how history would have developed if Grozny had not had such a teacher as Sylvester. If we draw cultural and historical parallels, then Ivan the Terrible (given his ambitions and conquests) can be compared with Alexander the Great, and Sylvester, respectively, with Aristotle. By the way, Alexander the Great was a cult character in Russia at that time. The conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible is comparable to the Eastern campaign of the Macedonian. Realizing his God's chosenness (influenced by Sylvester's speeches), Grozny perceived the capture of Kazan as a special mission, as an initiation, as an opportunity to prove to himself his right to the kingdom. And he proved.
Three sieges, island city
The capture of Kazan is almost a mythological plot. Kazan was taken on the third attempt. Grozny's two previous campaigns ended in failure, but they made it possible to prepare for the third campaign, which, in the language of the mass media, was doomed to success. Grozny made a strategic decision: to build a fortress near Kazan. The experience of previous unsuccessful campaigns showed the need for a Russian fortification near the besieged city. The Sviyazhsk fortress was built in a record-breaking short time, in 28 days. Such a speed of construction was ensured by the fact that the construction was led by a talented military engineer Ivan Vyrodkov. Later, already during the capture of Kazan, Vyrodkov built a thirteen-meter siege tower in one night hand assembled. Sviyazhsk, the island-city, the same fabulous Buyan island from Pushkin's fairy tale, is another mythological place from the history of the capture of Kazan.
Crossing
The crossing of the Volga, which began on August 15, 1552, continues the series of mythological parallels in the history of the capture of Kazan. The mythological plot of the crossing is important for the overall picture, the Volga was the Rubicon, which had to be safely overcome. Special warships were built for the crossing. Upon learning that the Russians had started a crossing across the river, Khan Ediger made an attempt to restrain the maneuver of our troops, but during a fierce three-hour battle, the Kazan troops, which outnumbered the Russians at times, were driven back and the crossing of the troops could continue unhindered for another week.
Rear cover
Kazan was besieged by a 150,000-strong army. In the city, according to Kamai Murza, there were 30 thousand Kazan soldiers. In addition, on High Grief, in a fortified position, the cavalry of Prince Epanchi settled down. The city was well supplied with various supplies, the walls of the settlement and the Kremlin were repaired, Kazanians prepared in advance for the siege. For 28 years, this was already the fifth siege of the city.
The besiegers suffered the most from the sudden attacks of Yepanchi's cavalry. The Russian troops needed to close the rear, and for this it was necessary to get rid of the constant threat. It was decided to deal with problems as they come up. On September 6, an army of three regiments created specifically for this purpose set out on a campaign. The Arsky prison on High Mountain was built among forests and swamps from log cabins filled with earth. There were notches around the prison. Such a fortified fortress could only be taken by storm. The troops approached the gate in two columns. A shootout ensued. After a two-hour battle, unable to withstand the onslaught, leaving the dead and 200 prisoners, the defenders of the prison fled. The fort was destroyed. After this victory, "troops fighting and burning villages" launched an offensive against the city of Arsk. Within two days, Arsk was looted and destroyed.
Cossacks-Indians and risen from the dead
The siege was carried out in accordance with all the engineering and technical rules of that time. In previous times, Russian troops tried to take the city by storm, but Kazan was well fortified and such tactics proved to be inexpedient. This time it was different. For 5-6 days, Kazan was surrounded by siege structures: a tour line, in front of it was a line of "beyond the mines", trenches with trenches and redoubts. On August 27, the tours set up on the Arsk field were armed with large-caliber siege weapons. It must be assumed that they were installed in other places, but their largest number was precisely against the Nogai, Tsarev and Ar gates. Kazan walls were constantly subjected to massive shelling.
Miners led by Litvin Rozmysl (Erasmus) and the Englishman Butler also played a huge role in the capture of the city. They dug under the walls, laid barrels of gunpowder. Explosions of powder charges destroyed the wells that fed the city with water. As a result, it was the blasting that contributed to the demoralization of the Kazan army, which turned out to be unprepared for such a massive and planned attack.
The Don Cossacks (Don Cossacks) who suddenly approached Kazan provided serious assistance to the tsarist troops. They came at night. Their unexpected appearance frightened both sides. The appearance of the Cossacks was also impressive. They adorned their clothes and heads with bird feathers and looked at least menacing in the glow of the fires.
On October 2, during the final assault, many Russian soldiers, exhausted by a long siege and desperate resistance, were not too willing to attack, pretending to be wounded and killed. When the troops broke into the city, many of the "wounded" and "killed" rushed into battle.
The siege lasted 41 days. The symbolic meaning of the duration of the capture of Kazan refers to the duration of the Christian fast, which is not accidental. The capture of Kazan is not only a political, but a spiritual milestone in the history of the Russian state.
Royal share - God's will
Ivan Vasilyevich could not have personally been present during the capture of Kazan, he was offered to stay in Moscow, but he was firm in his determination. In the first days of the siege, Ivan the Terrible was active, participated in the deployment of regiments, traveled "all days and nights" around the Tatar fortress. By decision of the boyar council, it was decided to bring the tsar's regiment into battle at the time of the decisive assault - October 2. However, things didn't go according to plan. On the day of the assault, when it was time for the royal regiments to enter the fortress, Ivan prayed earnestly in the camp church. The king ignored the request for the regiment to march, not wanting to interrupt the prayer. When the sovereign's regiment finally appeared under the walls of the fortress, banners were already raised on them. Ivan's delay gave food for unfavorable rumors. According to Kurbsky, at a critical moment, the governors ordered to unfold the sovereign's banner at the main gate "and the king himself, wanting and not wanting, taking the reins of the horse, placing it near the banner."
Non-random gift
A quarter of a century after the capture of the Kazan kingdom by Ivan the Terrible, in Kazan there was terrible fire. Most of the city burned down. Kazan Tatars, Mohammedans by faith, began to spread the rumor that the Russian God is merciless to his Christians and sends punishment on them. “The faith of Christ,” noted the chronicler, “became a parable and a reproach.” During the fire, among others, the house of archer Daniil Onuchin burned down and the archer would not have distinguished himself from other victims of the fire, if not for his daughter, Matryona, with whom the miraculous acquisition of the icon became connected. Three times the Mother of God visited the girl in a dream and three times ordered her to get her miraculous image out of the ground, imprinted on the icon. The story of the first two appearances of the Mother of God did not convince the girl's parents to take a shovel and go looking for an image, but after the third dream there was no doubt that the Mother of God chose Matryona not by chance, that the girl had not just a dream, but a sign in it. They set off to dig at the place that the Mother of God indicated in a dream, and indeed, at about a meter depth, they found an icon, in perfect condition, as if just painted. This non-random gift loops the plot of the capture of Kazan by the God-chosen Tsar Ivan IV, who fulfilled his Eastern mission.
The introduction of historical myths into people's heads is never without consequences for their own lives, even when it is separated from the distorted ones. historical events over the centuries. The inaccurate writings of N. M. Karamzin about the reign of Ivan the Terrible led to very sad results, which were reflected in the fine arts (Repin "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581", Vasnetsov "Ivan the Terrible"), cinema (from Eisenstein to Lungin ) and even in anthropology (reconstruction by M. M. Gerasimov). The idea that Grozny is a cruel tyrant with the appearance of an evil old man is preserved in ordinary consciousness without any connection with historical authenticity. The same can be said about the "conquest of Kazan".
The misconceptions about this event have already led to wild inventions that have been adopted by the separatists and Russophobes, who celebrate the “tragedy” invented for themselves every year and rebel against the “Russian presence” on Kazan lands.
It must be said with certainty that an attempt to see any relationship between the Kazan Tatars of five centuries ago and modern Tatars is an anti-historical hoax. The Kazan Tatars of the time of Grozny were a mess of tribes - both autochthonous and newcomers; both settled and nomadic. "Tatars" - this word in Russian covered many tribes, including the inhabitants of the Caucasus, whose tribal uncertainty then forced the Bolsheviks to come up with names for them. Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian, Crimean Tatars of ancient times - this is the designation of a number of ethnogenetic cauldrons in which peoples were just becoming - in bloody skirmishes among themselves and in cruel robberies in the surrounding territories. Kazan was not at all a mono-ethnic entity. It was a conglomerate of tribes, which was still far from the formation of the people and the state. The Volga Tatars as a people were formed only under the rule of the Russian Tsar.
The Kazan Khanate by that time was already dependent on Moscow. Ivan IV went to Kazan not as a usurper, but as an avenger for the violated rights of legitimate rulers who were loyal to Moscow and listened to Russian governors. The sovereignty of Kazan is the same fiction as the identity of modern Tatars with the population of the then Kazan. The Kazan authorities of those times - continuous rebellions, murders, civil strife, the struggle of pro-Turkish and pro-Russian groups. The main industry of the then Kazan was the slave trade. This explains the continuous raids on Russian lands and Russian retaliatory campaigns.
The decision of Ivan IV on the Kazan campaign was predetermined by the continuation of the policy of his predecessors, who sought to break the formed eastbound a barrier limiting the spatial growth of the Russian state. The disintegrated Golden Horde was a source of instability, a dangerous neighbor. By subjugating Kazan and Astrakhan, Tsar Ivan made a major geopolitical breakthrough, the fruits of which we still enjoy. Resources of Siberia and Far East opened up for development by the Russians, since the 19th century they have become a factor of the Russian great power, and now they support the state body, worn out and torn by theft. Perhaps these resources will be enough for us to survive the instability, gather strength and revive Russia.
Kazan fought not an evil old man, as it might seem to some, but a young tsar - the first anointed in Russia, who realized her connection with the heavenly world, with the mission of preserving the Christian faith - the legacy of Rome the First and Byzantium. The coronation as tsar took place in 1547, when Ivan IV was only sixteen years old (in the same year, the tsar's governor's campaign against Kazan was undertaken, which turned out to be unsuccessful). And by this act, Russia accepted the imperial heritage of one and a half millennia, becoming the oldest “project” of statehood and a receptacle for a huge cultural potential that turned out to be unnecessary for Europe after the destruction of Constantinople by the crusaders already in 1204. In 1453, the Turks captured the already dilapidated and depopulated city.
The decision to lead the campaign against Kazan was made by the tsar in July 1549. In terms of age, he is almost a child, in spirit and prudence - a statesman who, by this decision, predetermined the future not only of Russia, but also of the world.
The trip turned out to be unsuccessful. mild winter turned into mud and rain. Starving and exhausted by the slush, the troops could not take Kazan by storm and were forced to retreat. In August 1552, the next campaign was being prepared more thoroughly, the blow had to be struck for sure. A huge army for those times was assembled - 150 thousand soldiers, which was supplied with arquebuses and heavy guns. This time we went on a trip in the summer.
One of the organizers of the future victory was the governor Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky, an outstanding commander, organizer and participant of campaigns against Kazan, and later victorious campaigns against the Crimean Khanate. His Big Regiment was the main striking force during the storming of Kazan. Vorotynsky is also the compiler of the first Charter on the village and guard service, the founder of the Voronezh fortress. For his exploits, the governor was awarded the image on the monument "Millennium of Russia", opened in Novgorod the Great in 1862.
The legitimate Kazan tsar Shah-Ali, who ruled from 1519 to 1521 in agreement with Russia and was overthrown by his brother Sagin-Giray, was present in the Russian army with his numerous regiments, and then was in the Russian military and public service. Shah Ali is an outstanding personality who played a decisive role in the annexation of the Kazan kingdom to Muscovite Russia. It was to him that the tsar entrusted the construction of the Sviyazhsk fortress, which demonstrated the power of the Russian state and its determination to firmly establish itself in the Volga region. The result of the construction of the fortress was the transition to Russian citizenship of the mountain Cheremis and the readiness of Kazan to accept the Moscow protege as their ruler. In August 1550
Shah Ali was placed on the Kazan throne and freed up to 60,000 Russian prisoners. His further consolidation in power was interrupted by an unheard of atrocity, which was condemned even by the not very scrupulous Ivan the Terrible. Shah Ali invited alleged conspirators from the local nobility to a feast and there he took their lives (about 70 people). Subsequently, Shah Ali commanded the Russian armies in the wars with Livonia and Poland, the Kasimov kingdom remained his fiefdom.
In January 1552, an embassy came to Moscow with a petition to remove Shah-Ali and appoint one of the Russian boyars as governor in Kazan. Only a historical accident and a pro-Turkish "party" prevented the issue from being resolved without bloodshed. In March 1552, a coup was made in Kazan. The reason for it was the calling of the Russian governor. Supporters of the pro-Turkish "party" on the day of the governor's arrival spread a rumor that the Russians intended to massacre. Before the Russian detachment, the gates were closed, the negotiations did not lead to anything. The coup was led by Prince Chapkun Otuchev, who went over to the side of the rebels. In Kazan, Russian archers and other servicemen were killed - about 180 people, the property of Russian governors was plundered. The Astrakhan prince Yadygar-Mukhammed, the grandson of the Sarai Khan Seid-Ahmed and the son of the Astrakhan Khan Kasim, who was killed during a raid on Astrakhan by the Circassians in 1532, was invited to the throne (The prince lived in Russia for 8 years and even participated in the Russian campaign against Kazan in 1550 , but in the same year he left the Russian service and left for the Nogai Principality.) The rebels immediately went on the offensive, interrupting the food supply to Sviyazhsk. The Cossack detachments accompanying the cargo were destroyed, the prisoners were taken to Kazan and executed.
The basis of the troops of Ivan the Terrible was, of course, the Russian regiments (about 50 thousand), but they were superior in number to the Tatar ones - the Kasimov Tatars (Shah-Ali) - 30 thousand, the Astrakhan Tatars - more than 20 thousand, the Tatars of Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan - 10 thousand. Chuvashs, Mordvins, Cheremis and Votyaks (Mari and Udmurts), etc. were also represented in the army. He was obliged to the Kabardian (Circassian) dynasty for the presence of Astrakhan Tatars in the army of Ivan the Terrible. In addition, during the siege, a large detachment joined the royal army Don Cossacks under the leadership of Ataman Susar Fedorov. Such a composition of the army was provided by the wise policy of the Russian Tsar, who refrained from punitive measures against participants in anti-Moscow rebellions.
Even food along the route of the army was bought from the Chuvash, Mari, Tatars, and not taken away. Mercy to the former rebels allowed Ivan the Terrible to know the state of affairs in Kazan and the organization of defense. In particular, on the way to the city, he already knew about a large ambush group led by Prince Yapancha, hidden in a forest near Kazan - about 25 thousand soldiers. A feigned retreat of the Russians was organized, who lured the Yapanchi army into the open, and there the ambush regiments of the governor Alexander Gorbaty entered into action, who surrounded and completely destroyed this part of the Kazan army. The fortification in the Arsk forest was surrounded and taken, and Kazan lost external support.
The Kazan army (including the detachment in the Arsky Forest) consisted of more than half of the Kazan Tatars - 30-35 thousand. A significant part of it was Astrakhan Tatars - 10 thousand, as well as Russian mercenaries - 10 - 15 thousand. An insignificant part of the troops were Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The small number of this army in comparison with the Russian one shows that the mobilization against Moscow failed: more than half a million people of the Kazan Khanate were loyal to the Russian Tsar. And only the “people of the field” (left-bank residents) were ready to continue the war. The entry of the overwhelming majority of the Tatars and other tribes of the Kazan Khanate into Moscow Rus was voluntary.
Kazan at that time was powerfully fortified - in front of the multi-tower wooden wall A ditch was dug 15 meters deep. An oak fortress was built inside the wall. Swampy rivers prevented the attackers: only the eastern wall was open for assault - from the side of the Arsky field. Bad weather significantly complicated the siege: storms and downpours drowned ships with supplies for the Russian troops.
By the end of August, Kazan was surrounded, and the production of assault structures began: mobile towers, fortifications against Kazan attacks. For 10 days preparatory work were completed, the shelling of the fortress with wall-mounted cannons and mortars began. From a 15-meter mobile tower they fired at the city "like from heaven."
The capture of Kazan was one of the grandiose events of that time. Days of siege of the city, uninterrupted skirmishes outside its walls merged into one big battle. With the help of mines, the besiegers blew up the source drinking water, and the city began to suffer from thirst and disease from water from hastily dug wells. Before a decisive assault, the Kazanians were presented with an ultimatum, which was rejected. On October 14, explosions were organized through the mines, which punched two huge holes in the Kazan walls. With approximately three times the numerical superiority of the attackers, the battle went on with mixed success. At some point, the Kazanians, led by Imam Kul-Sharif, began to push back the Russians, and Ivan the Terrible brought into the battle a reserve - half of his royal regiment numbering 10 thousand. An attempt to break through the remnants of the Kazan army from the already captured city was also stopped. The last Kazan Khan Yadygar-Muhammed was captured. The tribes subordinate to him immediately sent ambassadors to Tsar Ivan Vasilievich and recognized his power over themselves. The heritage of the Genghisides was attached to the Byzantine heritage.
The cause of state building, which Ivan IV began to serve from a young age, he considered charitable, and this continued the majestic history laid down by Rome the First and Rome the Second. The assault on Kazan was not just military operation. It was an act of union in Christ. Before the assault, the Russian soldiers confessed and took communion, the tsar, on the eve of the assault, had a long conversation with his confessor. During the assault, a prayer service went on continuously. After the capture of Kazan, the Cathedral of the Intercession was laid Holy Mother of God on the site of the wooden church of the Holy Trinity at the Spassky Gates of the Moscow Kremlin.
The capture of Kazan broke the chain of enmity that gripped Russia. Thus, she was to open the way to empire building - to the most prominent role in world history. Ivan Ilyin wrote in this regard: “In the deep mainland, in a harsh climate, detained by the yoke, distant from the West, besieged from all sides - by the Swedes, Livonians, Lithuanians, Poles, Hungarians, Turks, Crimean Tatars, Sarai (Golden Horde) and Kazan - Russia for centuries suffocated in the struggle for national freedom and faith and fought for its rivers and free seas. This was her so-called “imperialism”, about which her open and secret enemies love to talk.
Andrey Nikolaevich SAVELYEV
The wars of Moscow Grand Duke Vasily III and his son Ivan IV the Terrible, the first Russian Tsar, with the aim of annexing the Kazan Khanate - the largest Tatar state, formed on the site of the Golden Horde.
Kazan Tatars, aware of the inequality of forces, did not intend to restore dominance over Russia, however, they considered the territory of Moscow and other Russian principalities as an object for raids in order to seize booty and, first of all, “human goods” - prisoners, and also periodically demanded payment of tribute. In 1521, when the main forces of the Russians were turned to fight against Lithuania, the Kazanians, together with the Crimean Tatars, reached Moscow, devastating many Russian lands. This was the last major campaign of the Kazan Khanate against the Moscow principality.
In 1523, after the conclusion of a truce with Lithuania, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III sent a large army on a campaign against Kazan. As a result, the Vasilsursk fortress was founded on the Volga, 200 km from Kazan, which became an intermediate base for Moscow troops in subsequent campaigns.
The conquest of Kazan was continued by the son of Vasily III, Ivan IV the Terrible, who ascended the throne in 1533. He organized three campaigns against the Kazan Khanate. The first campaign took place in 1547, but the troops did not reach Kazan, due to supply difficulties, returning halfway. In the same year, Ivan assumed the royal title, which emphasized the claims of Russia to all territories previously occupied by the Golden Horde.
More successful was the second campaign, undertaken in 1549. In February 1550, Russian troops besieged Kazan and began to bombard it with cannons. However, the assault on the fortress ended in failure. In connection with the spring thaw, the king decided to lift the siege, as it became difficult for the besiegers to bring food and ammunition to the camp. The only success of this campaign was the laying of the fortress of Sviyazhsk, 25 km from Kazan. Sviyazhsk became a stronghold in the third campaign, which ended with the capture of Kazan.
Preparations for this campaign began in the spring of 1552. The so-called "ship's army" was sent along the Oka and the Volga with a supply of food and artillery ("outfit") for the entire army. Three regiments were concentrated in Sviyazhsk, and the crossings across the Volga between Vasilsursk and the mouth of the Kama were occupied by strong detachments. Part of the Russian troops in Murom, Kashira and Kolomna, if necessary, had to repel the Crimean Tatars if they tried to come to the aid of Kazan.
The number of the rati that went on the Kazan campaign was subsequently determined by one of the Russian governors, Prince Andrei Kurbsky, at 90 thousand people, of which at least 30 thousand were cavalry. The Russians had 150 heavy siege weapons and a large number of light cannons.
Almost all the military forces of Russia were thrown near Kazan. On June 16, 1552, the main forces, led by the Grand Duke, set out from Moscow. Already on the way to Kolomna, it became known that significant forces of the Crimean Tatars were moving towards Tula. On June 23, the Tula governor Temkin reported that the city was besieged by a large Crimean army, reinforced by Turkish artillery and Janissaries. The next day, the Tatars launched an assault on Tula, which was repulsed. Having learned about the approach of significant Russian forces to the city - the regiment right hand and the advanced regiment, urgently dispatched by the Grand Duke to help Tula, the Crimean Khan did not dare to attack again and began to retreat. The Russian regiments overtook the Crimean army on the Shivoron River and inflicted a heavy defeat on it. By mistake Crimean Khan was that he hurried with the campaign, not waiting until Ivan IV with the army had moved far enough from Moscow, then he would have lost the opportunity to repel the Crimean threat in time.
After the defeat of the Crimean Tatars, the campaign against Kazan continued. On July 1, all Moscow regiments, except for the sentry, gathered in Kolomna. From here, the council of war decided to move in two columns. The right column, consisting of a large and advanced regiments and a right-hand regiment, went through Ryazan and Meshchera, the left, which included ertaul (light-horse reconnaissance), guard and royal regiments and a left-hand regiment, went through Vladimir and Murom.
On August 4, both columns joined at the Boroncheev settlement on the Sura River. On the morning of August 13, the Moscow army arrived in Sviyazhsk, where the garrison of the fortress, the militia of Cheremis, Chuvash and Mordovians, the Tatar detachment of Shig-Aley (Shih-Ali), a Russian ally, and also the ship’s army with artillery and food supplies that arrived along the river were waiting for her. On August 17, Moscow troops began crossing the Volga, which lasted three days. This fact alone testifies to the large size of the army of Ivan the Terrible.
On August 19, the siege of Kazan began. The king offered the Tatar Khan Yedi-gei to surrender, but was refused. The city was surrounded by a wooden wall about 5 km long with 15 towers. It was covered with a moat 6.5 meters wide and 15 meters deep. Inside the city there was a citadel - the Kazan Kremlin, surrounded by an oak wall with 8 towers. To the east of Kazan, in the Arsky forest, the Tatars built a fortification, from where they threatened the rear of the Moscow troops. The Kazan garrison numbered about 30 thousand people. In addition, in the Arsk fortification there was a detachment of Prince Epanchi of several thousand horsemen. He waged a guerrilla war.
On August 21, the Russians began to build siege fortifications - log palisades and tours - baskets of twigs filled with earth. On August 23, the troops began to advance to the walls of Kazan. Ertaul, consisting of 7 thousand horsemen, was suddenly attacked by a strong Tatar detachment and was cut in two. Archers hurried to help the noble cavalry, dispersing the Tatars with fire from squeakers. By the end of the 23rd, Kazan was completely surrounded. However, in the evening next day a strong storm destroyed part of the ships with supplies, which complicated the position of the besiegers. But Ivan the Terrible was adamant in his desire to take Kazan at any cost.
The Russians built a dam and diverted the Kazanka River from the city in order to deprive the defenders of the fortress of water. However, the Tatars began to take water from a spring on the bank of the river, to which they went through the dungeon. The besiegers built two circumvalence lines around Kazan. The garrison made sorties, interfering with the siege work, but was not able to disrupt them, destroying only small sections of the fortifications.
On August 27, the Russians began to deploy artillery against Kazan. On August 30, 150 siege guns opened fire on the fortress, suppressing a significant part of the Tatar artillery. On the Arsky field, the Russians built a wooden tower 13 m high. They put 10 guns and 50 hooks on it (light cannons with a hook (hook) to counteract recoil) and, having rolled the tower to the fortress wall between the Arsky and Tsar’s gates, they began to shell the city from the side of the Arsky fields.
On August 31, the besiegers began four digs under the Kazan walls. One of these tunnels was brought under the underground passage through which the Kazan people went for water. The passage was blown up, and after that an acute shortage of water began to be felt in the city. Only city wells remained its source. Due to poor sanitary conditions, epidemics spread in Kazan.
On August 30, half of the entire Russian army was moved against the Yepanchi detachment. A small Russian force entered the Arsk forest, was attacked by the Tatars and, by their retreat, brought the enemy under attack by the main part of the army. After this battle, the Yepanchi detachment with heavy losses retreated to their fortification. However, it was not destroyed, and the Moscow governors decided to storm the Arsk fortress. On September 8, she was taken by a detachment under the command of Prince Humpback-Shuisky. Epancha fled with the remnants of his army and could no longer disturb the besieging army with his raids.
On October 2, the troops of Ivan the Terrible launched an assault on Kazan. Two days before that, a tunnel had been blown up at the Arsky Gate, which destroyed the buildings in front of the gate. protective structures. After that, the Russians brought the tours closer to the very gates. Streltsy, boyar people and Cossacks managed to capture the Arskaya tower. In addition, artillery made a number of breaches in the walls of the fortress. Against the breaches, the Tatars hastily erected wooden log cabins and covered them with earth. Ivan turned to the Tatars with a proposal to capitulate, but they replied: "We will all die or sit out." Then the army went on the attack.
The main blow was delivered on the eastern and southwestern faces of the fortress, where there were the most breaches. On the remaining directions of attack, the Tatar forces were to be pinned down. Russian troops were divided into six assault columns. Each of the columns, in turn, was deployed in three lines. In the first line were Cossacks and boyar people. The second line was the main body of the archers, and the third line served as a reserve. The tsarist regiment was the general reserve.
At 3 o'clock in the morning on October 2, tunnels under the Arsk and Nogai gates were blown up. After that, fire from all guns was opened on the fortress. Under his cover, the troops went on the assault. The Tatars fired at the enemy with cannons and squeakers, poured boiling tar on the attackers, and dropped logs on them. However, from the side of the Arsky field, where a part of the fortress wall was destroyed as a result of the explosion of the digging, the Russians managed to break into the city. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued in the streets. The Tatars launched a desperate counterattack and pushed the enemy back to the walls. At this moment, Ivan brought into battle half of the tsar's regiment, which threw the Tatars back to the khan's palace. Almost all the defenders of the city were killed or captured. Only a detachment of 6 thousand people crossed the Kazanka and went into the forest. At the same time, a significant part of those who broke through was destroyed by the Russian troops who provided the assault.
As a result of the capture of Kazan and the defeat of the Kazan Khanate, Moscow established control over the vast region of the Volga region. The sad example of Kazan prompted the Astrakhan Khanate in 1556 to surrender without a fight to the mercy of Tsar Ivan. In 1580, the Volga region served as a springboard for the campaign in Siberia of the Cossack detachments of Ataman Yermak.
Golden Horde, having overcome the "great confusion", managed to maintain its unity and power. But the blow inflicted by the soldiers of Tamerlane, led by the Arabian Fate, turned out to be fatal. Continuous internecine wars began, which led the horde to disintegration into separate khanates and hordes that were at war with each other. stood out Crimean Khanate(beginning of the 15th century - 1783). The Nogai Horde separated (the beginning of the 15th century - the middle of the 18th century). The Siberian Khanate broke away (1421–1598). The Great (Golden) Horde (1434–1502) separated itself. The fragments of the Golden Horde continued its policy of raids on Russian lands with the aim of plundering and capturing slaves.
In 1437, the founder of the Great Horde, Khan Ulug-Mukhammed, was overthrown by his more successful rival Kyuchuk-Mukhammed and fled first to the Crimea, and then, together with his few supporters, to the Russian city of Belev. Being the Great Horde Khan Ulug-Mukhammed, in a dispute for power in the Moscow principality between Vasily II Vasilyevich and his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich Galitsky, he gave a label to Vasily II and hoped to receive help from the Grand Duke in a difficult moment for himself. Supporting the new power in the horde, Vasily II "sent regiments against him under the command of Dmitry Shemyaka. Having advanced to Belev, Shemyaka, despite the desire of Ulug-Mohammed to enlist the support of the Russian princes" with all their will, "inflicted a serious defeat on the Tatars" (12, p. .180). Ulug-Muhammed was forced to leave the city and go to the lands of the Golden Horde to the mouth of the Kama River.
In 1399, in response to the ruin and robbery of Russian lands, the son of Dmitry Donskoy Vasily I Dmitrievich sent his brother Yuri Dmitrievich Galitsky with a strong army to the lands of the former Volga Bulgaria. The Russian army took Bulgar, Kazan, Zhukotin, Kermenchuk, destroying and setting them on fire. It was to the deserted and deserted ruins of Kazan that Ulug-Mukhammed approached in 1438. Here, near the ruins old fortress he built a new one, which became the center of the new khanate - Kazan.
Having become Khan again, Ulug-Muhammed decided to restore his power over Moscow, which had been lost after the exile, and force her to pay tribute to him, and not to Kyuchuk-Muhammed. In the spring of 1439, the khan captured Nizhny Novgorod, approached Moscow, but could not take the Kremlin. Having robbed the surroundings, he returned to Kazan with booty.
Muscovy was in turmoil caused by the end of the cycle of the Balkan Destiny. In the country there was an internecine war for the grand prince's table. On July 7, 1445, during the second raid, the Kazan army, led by the sons of Ulug-Mukhammed Makhmutek and Yakub, in a battle on the field near the walls of the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery near Suzdal defeated a small Russian army and captured Vasily II, wounded in battle. After paying a huge ransom, the Grand Duke received his freedom, and together with Yakub and Kasim, the sons of Ulug-Muhammed, returned to Moscow. Kazan tax collectors were assigned to Russian cities.
Shortly after returning to Kazan, Ulug-Mukhammed was killed by his eldest son Mahmutek (1446-1466). Mahmutek "killed his father and seized power in Kazan" (12, p. 183). Under him, the Kazan Khanate significantly expanded its borders, conquering the Cheremis (Mari), Udmurts, Mordovians, Bashkirs, and others. Raids on Russian lands did not stop. If earlier the Moscow princes used only their regiments and allies to repel Tatar raids, then for defense they began to use detachments of Tatars who had gone over to the service of Russia. For example, Mahmutek's brother Kasim, having arrived in Moscow to control the payment of tribute, soon entered the service of Vasily II. In 1449, Qasim defeated the army of the Greater Horde Khan Seyyid-Ahmad (Khan in 1440 - early 1460s). He always supported Vasily II in his struggle with Dmitry Shemyaka.
Having overcome the crisis caused by the end of the cycle of the Balkan Fate, the Moscow principality began to strengthen, and the fragments of the Golden Horde began to weaken. Moscow began to pursue the same policy towards them that they had previously pursued towards it. Altai Fate has put on Russia. Russia is the successor of the power of Genghis Khan.
After the death of Mahmutek and his eldest son Khalil (1466–1467), the second son of Mahmutek Ibrahim (1467–1479) began to rule the Kazan Khanate. With the support of some Kazanians, Khan Kasim (ruling in 1445–1469 in the Meshchersky town allocated to him by Vasily II as an inheritance, for which, after the death of Kasim, the name Kasimov was established), Ibragim's uncle and stepfather (his mother, after the death of her husband Makhmutek, married a second time for Kasim), began to claim power in Kazan. Moscow Prince Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462–1505) supported his vassal. The death of Kasim did not prevent the Grand Duke from continuing the war and in 1469 besieging Kazan. Ibrahim made peace on Moscow's terms.
The main eastern enemy of the Moscow principality was the Great Horde. Growing in power, Moscow was getting out of its influence. In an effort to stop this process and re-subjugate Moscow, the Greater Horde Khan Akhmat (1465–1481), incited by the main western enemy of Russia, Prince of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon (Prince of Lithuania in 1440–1492. King of Poland in 1447–1492), went to war in 1472 against the Moscow principality. The town of Aleksin was burned along with the inhabitants. A large Moscow army stood in the way of the horde. Attempts by the Tatars to cross the Oka were repulsed, and the Khan led the horde away. He received no help from Lithuania.
In 1480, the Greater Horde Khan Akhmat, instigated by the Prince of Lithuania and the King of Poland, Casimir IV, went to war against the Moscow principality. Numerous Moscow army, reinforced by regiments of allies, stood in the way of the horde. Attempts by the Tatars to cross the Oka were repulsed, and the Khan led the horde away. He received no help from Lithuania. Death found the Khan of the loser in the steppe. In January 1481, Akhmat was stabbed to death. The large horde broke up into uluses.
On the basis of hatred for the Great Horde, the Moscow principality found an ally in the Crimean Horde. After the death of the founder of the dynasty, Hadji Giray I (Khan in 1433–1434, 1443–1456, 1456–1466), a struggle for the paternal inheritance began in Crimea between the sons of Nur–Daulat–Girey (Khan of Crimea in 1466 and 1474–1475). , Khan Kasimov in 1485–1498) and Mengli Giray (Khan of the Crimea in 1466–1474, 1475–1476, 1478–1514). Then Khan Akhmat got involved in the struggle for the Crimea. In 1476, Mengli Giray was expelled, and the son of Akhmad Janibek (1476–1478) became the head of the Crimean horde. Thanks to the Ottoman scimitars, Mengli Giray regained power, recognizing himself in 1478 as a vassal of the Turkish sultan. Nur-Daulat-Girey moved to Moscow and in 1485 was appointed Khan of Kasimov, where he, and after his death, his sons, ruled until 1512. Mengli-Girey in 1473 concluded an agreement with Ivan III against the Great Horde. It was the Crimean Khanate that finished off the Great Horde in 1502. The enemy has disappeared, and so has the alliance between Crimea and Moscow. In 1507, the sons of Mengli Giray made their first raid on Russia. Belyov and Kozelsk were captured and plundered (The Crimean Tatars made their last raid on Russia in January 1769. For two and a half centuries, the Crimean Tatars killed and took away more than five million Russian people, burned, destroyed or brought to their lair the great wealth of the Russian people ).
Kazan, after the conclusion of peace, did not disturb the Russian lands for several years. The rumor that the Moscow army was defeated near Novgorod, the feat of Khan Ibrahim to break the peace. In 1478, the Kazanians invaded the Vyatka region, burned the villages and took a large crowd. In the spring of 1479, Ivan III struck back, and Ibrahim sued for peace. Soon the Khan died, and the Kazan Khanate was seized by turmoil because of the Khan's inheritance. The sons of Ibrahim, half-brothers Ali and Mohammed-Amin, in the struggle for power began to look for allies not only in their own state, but also in neighboring countries. Ali sought support in the Nogai Horde and the Crimean Khanate, Muhammad-Amin in the Moscow principality. Each contender inside the country had its supporters, hoping to snatch a fatter piece if their protege came to power. One of the apostles said that "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways" ( James 1:8), what can be said about a bifurcated country, where those who seize power physically destroy their opponents with the active interference of neighboring states in internal affairs. The khanate went to Ali (1479-1485, 1486-1487). Mohammed-Amin left for Moscow, where he received Kashira as an inheritance. The usual policy is to have a pretender to the throne of a neighboring enemy state. In 1485, Ivan III won Kazan for Mohammed-Amin (1485-1486, 1487-1496, 1502-1518). The period of relative dependence of the Kazan Khanate on Moscow began.
Planted by the king in 1502 for the third time and faithfully serving before that, Muhammad-Amin rebelled in 1505. Russian blood was shed in Kazan. The Russians who were in the city were killed, their property was looted. Kazan attacked the Moscow principality. Moscow, after two unsuccessful attempts to pacify the Kazan Khanate, was forced to recognize the independence of Kazan.
The closer the end of the cycle approached, the more the Kazan Khanate was subjected to the influence of its neighbors. Kazan was the key to Jochi's legacy. It became the arena of struggle between Crimea and Moscow. After the death of Mohammed-Amin in 1518, the Crimean Khan Mohammed-Girey (1514-1523) wanted to place his half-brother by father and at the same time his half-brother by mother, Sahib-Girey, on the Kazan throne, to get the Kasimov Khanate and conquer Astrakhan. Fearing the strengthening of the Crimea, Vasily III Ivanovich appointed Khan of Kazan in 1519–1521, 1546, 1551–1552, the grandson of the Greater Horde Khan Akhmat, Khan of Kasimov Shah-Ali (Khan of Kasimov in 1516–1519, 1535–1567), and Kasimov gave him to his brother Jan-Ali ( Khan of Kasimov in 1519–1535 Khan of Kazan in 1532–1535). Kazanians took an oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar. Crimea did not accept the loss of influence and in 1521 organized a coup. The inhabitants of the khanate disliked Shah Ali, so the appearance of Sahib Giray under the walls of Kazan with a detachment of 300 people was quite enough to seize power. Up to five thousand Kasimov Tatars and a thousand Russian soldiers were killed. Shah Ali fled. The united army of the two khanates invaded Russia and subjected the southern lands of the country to a terrible defeat, laid siege to Moscow. Vasily III Ivanovich (1505–1533) was forced to recognize the supreme power of the Crimean Khan over himself and agree to pay tribute. The slave markets of Astrakhan and Kafa were filled with Russian slaves. The Crimean Tatars used the elderly and the infirm as teaching aids for teaching their children how to kill - how to strike with a saber, how to cut the throat, how to open the abdominal cavity, etc., etc. But Mohammed Giray did not rejoice for long. The Nogai slaughtered this warrior, invaded the Crimea, where, as Karamzin writes, "swam in the blood of wives and babies."
In 1524, Sahib-Girey left Kazan, leaving his thirteen-year-old nephew Safa-Girey (1524-1532, 1535-1546, 1546-1549) in power. In 1532 Sahib Giray became the Khan of the Crimea. In 1551, the Turkish sultan appointed his nephew Daulat Giray (1551–1577) as khan. Having lost power, Sahib Giray soon lost his life and the lives of his children. He and his entire family were strangled by one of his relatives in 1551.
The coup of 1521 was an attempt by the fragments of the Golden Horde to unite and resist the increasing influence of Moscow, which began to conquer its conquerors. The attempt was unsuccessful. Russia was able to reverse the situation and wrest the banner of the Altai Destiny from the hands of its enemies, although the negative end of the cycle had an impact not only on the Tatar khanates. Moscow had to experience it for itself.
Safa-Girey was twice expelled from the throne by Kazan and twice returned to power with the help of the Nogai Horde. Each coup was accompanied by a massacre of opponents. In 1536, Syuyumbike, the daughter of the Nogai prince Yusuf, the widow of Dzhan-Ali, who found death in Kazan, was remarried to Safa-Giray as her fifth wife.
Safa-Girey, a Crimean Tatar who believes in Allah, like the Kazan Tatars, being a native of another country, saying modern language- an immigrant, robbed the people who sheltered him, sending the loot to the Crimea. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:21). Immigrants do not care about the country that gave them shelter. Karamzin gives numerous examples of the "gratitude" of immigrants. For example, Svidrigailo Olgerdovich (Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1430–1432), who was in the service of Vasily I Dmitrievich (Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1430–1432), during the attack in 1408 of the ruler of the Golden Horde Edigey, having a strong army, did not resist the enemy, but robbed Russian villages and suburbs went to Lithuania (25, vol. 5, ch. 2).
In 1549, Safa-Girey was killed drunk in the palace, his three-year-old son Utyamish-Girey (1549-1551) was proclaimed khan, and the widow of Khansha Syuyumbike was proclaimed regent. In fact, the power belonged to the khansha's lover oglan Kuchak.
In 1533, Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich died of illness, his three-year-old son Ivan was proclaimed Grand Duke, and the widow Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya was proclaimed regent. In fact, the power belonged to the lover of the Grand Duchess Ivan Fedorovich Ovchin-Telepnev-Obolensky. After her death in April 1538, a council of trustees ruled the country.
Ivan IV first declared himself as a sovereign in December 1543, having called the boyars, he ordered that Andrey Mikhailovich Shuisky be handed over to the psars for execution [Descendants of Andrei Yaroslavich (Kn. .), brother of Alexander Nevsky, the princes Shuisky - Vasily and Ivan Vasilyevich, Ivan Mikhailovich (rulers of Russia in 1538-1539, 1542-1543), faithfully served the country, except for Andrei Mikhailovich Shuisky, known for his money-grubbing and lust for power, his grandson, Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, will become the Tsar of Russia in 1606-1610].
In January 1547, Ivan IV was married to the kingdom, in February he married Anastasia Romanova. Orphanhood laid the foundation for the unbalanced nature of the king. The inner circle brought up cruelty, lust for power, deceit and cunning in the young king. They indulged the vices and whims of the young king they had nurtured, ridiculing his pity and compassion. The king's childhood fears for his life, his tears, pain and torment of the people he loves, will later turn into anger and hatred for all those in whom he will see an obstacle in fulfilling his deeds and desires, seeing around him only traitors and traitors encroaching on him. power. But the marriage, the fire of Moscow in the summer of the same year and the rebellion caused by the fire, the appearance of new people in his entourage influenced the tsar. Ivan turned to state affairs. In the first years of his reign, the East became the main direction of his foreign policy. In 1548 and 1550 Ivan IV made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Kazan. The construction of the Sviyazhsk fortress at the mouth of the Sviyaga River blocked the capital of the Kazan Khanate. The Crimeans secretly fled the city, later some of them, together with Kuchak, were captured and executed in Moscow. Chuvashs, Mordovians, Cheremis voluntarily came under the authority of the king. Kazan concluded a truce, extradited Khansha Syuyumbike on August 11, 1551, and freed 60,000 Russian slaves. There were negotiations on the union of Kazan and Moscow under the leadership of the Moscow Tsar. “After all, by March 9, 1552, when in Sviyazhsk the “best people” of the capital of the Kazan Khanate signed an agreement prepared by the local government and representatives of the Moscow Tsar headed by A. Adashev, the inhabitants of the Khanate received much greater sovereignty than the one that the Republic of Tatarstan disposes in 1993. Why do we not remember the Kazan princes Islam, Kibyak and Murza Alikey Narykov, at the call of whom, in violation of the agreements reached in Sviyazhsk, the population of Kazan was agitated and thrown under the axes of the many times superior troops of Ivan IV? (51, p. 31). On March 9, 1552, the citizens of Kazan rebelled and proclaimed Yediger, Prince of Astrakhan, Khan (1552). By the way, this Nogai in 1542-1550. faithfully served Ivan the Terrible and in 1550 participated in the campaign of the Russian-Tatar regiments against Kazan.
To distract Ivan IV from Kazan, believing that the entire Russian army was concentrated there, Daulat Giray attacked Russia in June and tried to take defenseless Tula, but was defeated and fled to the steppe. Russian detachments pursued the Crimeans, took the convoy and freed many Russians. In early July, the Russian and Tatar regiments moved to pacify the rebellious Kazan. On July 20, the Tsar's army laid siege to the city. The Russian Tsar Ivan IV had the full right to conquer Kazan and other khanates and hordes due to his origin. Ivan the Terrible was a Tatar. His mother was Glinskaya, and the Glinskys descended from Mamai, an opponent of Dmitry Donskoy. No wonder "the Nogai princes directly addressed him as a descendant of Genghis Khan (albeit on the female line):" the great Genghis kings are the direct family of the happy sovereign ... "(21, p. 13). On October 2, Kazan fell. Most of the population was destroyed. The fate of the survivors was different. former rulers Kazan Khanate. The last Kazan Khan Yediger voluntarily, without coercion, converted to Orthodoxy and was baptized together with Utyamish-Girey. The first took the name Simeon, the second - Alexander. Simeon received extensive possessions in Zvenigorod near Moscow, lived like a king, surrounded by numerous servants. Alexander lived in the royal chambers of the Terrible Tsar, Ivan treated him like his son. After his death in 1566, he was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin - the tomb of the great princes and kings of the Moscow kingdom. Nothing has changed in Syuyumbike’s position, she simply changed Kazan’s chambers to Kasimov’s, becoming the wife of Shah Ali (Syuyumbike did not take part in the defense of Kazan, she did not signal from the tower and did not break on the ground. The myth of Syuyumbike was born in the 19th century. The myth-makers stole it from real history other countries and peoples). Shah Ali continued to serve his compatriot Ivan the Terrible. In 1558, he led the Russian army during a campaign against Livonian Order(The events in Kazan in the middle of the 16th century and the events in Chechnya at the end of the 20th century are the same - a separatist riot).
The Siberian Khan in 1555 recognized the power of the Moscow Tsar and expressed his readiness to pay yasak. The Astrakhan Khanate (1459–1556), ruled by the descendants of Kuchuk-Mukhammed, was annexed to Russia in 1556. The Nogai Horde in the middle of the 16th century. split into three hordes. The Crimean Khanate for the first time experienced the invasion of the Russian wax on its territory. In 1558, Danilo Adashev, having put eight thousand soldiers on boats and made a sea crossing, landed in the western part of the Crimean peninsula. For two weeks, the Russian soldiers "walked" without meeting resistance from the Crimeans who fled in fear and returned home with the Christians freed from slavery.
The year 1552 marked the beginning of the process of unification of all the lands of the Altai Destiny under the leadership of Russia, which successfully coped with the task. By 1922, all the lands of this Destiny became subject to Moscow.
In 1553 Ivan the Terrible fell mortally ill, took monastic order and died, Genghis Khan ascended the throne of the country. But as long as there were forces to restrain the manifestations of his cruelty, the country prospered. The death of Anastasia shocked the king and awakened the terrible beast dozing in him.
Periods 1552–1621, 1922–1991, 2292–2361 - these are the periods under the rule of the Altai and Roman Fates, if the first elevates a new Genghis Khan to the throne of Russia, then the second awakens in him all the base instincts and encourages him to start a war against his own people. Tyranny in Russia has not Asian roots, but European ones, and the origins of tyranny are in Rome during the times of Caligula and Nero. These are the forerunners of Ivan the Terrible, this is where the horror and villainy come from. The power of someone else's Destiny is always a time of sorrows and troubles.
Emperor of the Roman Empire Mark Ulpius Trajan (98-117), handing the prefect of the praetorian a sign of his power - a dagger, said: "I give you this weapon to protect me, if I act correctly, if not, then against me." Only a few boyars had the courage to show their dissatisfaction with the executions and murders of the innocent, the cruelty and indecency of Genghis Khan. They were executed. Others kept silence and committed sin with their silence, because executions and murders were carried out with their tacit consent. Some, seeing their death and not knowing any guilt behind themselves, saving their lives, fled abroad, which is natural, but their entry into the service of the enemies of Russia was a betrayal. Standing up against a tyrant is a virtue, against a country is a crime. I read somewhere that Kurbsky is the first liberal in Russia. No he thief(state criminal). And then it turns out that Genghis Khan was right when he executed his boyars. And Stalin was right in destroying the Leninist guard, otherwise these "Guards of the V.O.R." in 1941 they could again put forward the slogan of 1918 "No peace, no war."
If Ivan the Terrible revived the empire of Genghis Khan, then Lenin and Stalin revived the Khazar Khaganate. The reign of Joseph the Terrible and the general secretary of Ivan the Terrible have much in common. Both came to power at the same time. At the same time, they created their own empires. Both dealt a terrible blow to the Orthodox Church. Both divided the country into two parts - the Gulag zemshchina and the oprichnina-NKVD. Both were in power for the same period, Ivan from 1547 to 1584, Joseph from 1917 to 1953. Both died from the poison. Ivan destroyed the boyars, Joseph destroyed the communist nobility, and both demanded participation in power, sought to limit the power of the ruler. About both remained good memory in the people. If Ivan finished Livonian War before 1577, there would have been no defeat, and the Troubles would not have been so destructive. After them the country was ruled by fools. If after Ivan a quiet fool ruled, then after Stalin - a violent one. Why Khrushchev went to expose the cult of Stalin? In my opinion the answer is simple. First, a scapegoat had to be found. Secondly, envy of Stalin. But no matter how much the dwarf stretches, it will always be lower than the lying giant. By and large, this Thaw-bearer did not give a damn about the people and the state. Personal self-interest is the basis of his actions (Another interesting coincidence. During the Time of Troubles, the nobleman Khrushchev, sent to the Don Cossacks with an order to tell who the imaginary prince was, was the first government official to recognize the impostor).
The Tsar Cannon must fire. It is necessary to get rid of those who have done Evil and their seed.
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