Dmitry Pozharsky

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For the ship, see Soviet cruiser Dmitry Pozharsky.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mikhaylovich and the family name is Pozharsky.
Dmitry Pozharsky
Polish-Muscovite War

Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (Russian: Дми́трий Миха́йлович Пожа́рский, IPA:

Mikhail I of Russia, becoming a folk hero in Russian culture and honored in the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow's Red Square.[2]

Early career

Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky is considered to have been born on 1 November 1578 in Klin County, in the north of

Maria Feodorovna Pozharskaya, came from the Beklemishev
family.

Pozharsky's early career was not documented until the beginning of the

Pekhorka River. In 1610, Pozharsky was in command at the defense of Zaraysk against the forces of False Dmitry II
.

Struggle for independence

Pozharsky and the delegation from Moscow.
Painting by Wilhelm Kotarbiński (1882).

By this time, Russian popular indignation against the

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius
for convalescence.

In autumn 1611, when Pozharsky was recuperating at his Puretsky patrimony near Suzdal, he was approached by a delegation who offered him command of the Second Volunteer Army then gathered in Nizhny Novgorod to oust the Polish occupiers. Pozharsky agreed on condition that he would be assisted by Kuzma Minin, a representative of the merchants of Nizhny Novgorod that was instrumental in the army's founding. Although the volunteer corps aimed at clearing the Polish invaders out of Moscow, Pozharsky and his contingent marched towards Yaroslavl first. There they resided for half a year, vacillating until the opportunity for rapid action was gone. A man of devout disposition, Pozharsky fervently prayed before Our Lady of Kazan, one of the holiest Russian icons, prior to advancing towards Moscow. Yet even then he proceeded so slowly and timorously, performing religious ceremonies in Rostov and paying homage to ancestral graves in Suzdal, that it took him several months to reach the Trinity, whose authorities ineffectually sought to accelerate the progress of his forces.

Battle of Moscow

See also: Time of Troubles § Struggle for independence
Polish soldiers surrender to prince Pozharsky. Graphic by Boris Chorikov

Finally, on 18 August 1612, the Volunteer Army encamped within five

Arbat Gate of the city and two days later he engaged with Chodkiewicz's contingent in a four-day battle. The outcome was in no small part due to decisive actions of Pozharsky's ally, Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy
, who captured the provisions intended for the Poles quartered in the Kremlin. As a result, a famine broke out among the Poles and they had to surrender to Pozharsky and Trubetskoy in October, after being guaranteed safe passage and humane treatment. Nonetheless, most of the Poles were slaughtered upon exiting the Kremlin and few survived captivity.

The soldiers of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin observed the obligations but Dmitry Troubetskoy's Cossacks attacked the prisoners and robbed them, killing many in the process.[3]

After the war

Pozharsky and Trubetskoy presided over the Muscovite government for half a year, until a new tsar was elected by the

Novgorod in 1628–30 and fortified Moscow against an expected attack of the Crimean Tatars in 1637. Pozharsky's last taste of battle came during the ill-fated Smolensk campaign
, when he was relegated to secondary roles.

As soon as peace had been restored, Pozharsky was given some enviable posts in the Muscovite administration. Among other positions, he managed the

Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, adjoining Red Square
from north-east, a direction whence Pozharsky's army arrived to salvage the Muscovites in 1612.

Legacy

Pozharsky family coat of arms, as one of the Starodubsky princes stock, recreated in the 18th century

Pozharsky's family became extinct in 1672, upon the death of his granddaughter, who was married to Prince

Euro 2012 group game between Russia and Poland, Russian fans unfurled a huge banner that read 'This is Russia' with Pozharsky's image.[4]

Dmitry Pozharsky is a strong unifying figure for those professional historians who oppose Romanovs' version of Russian history for being extremely one-sided.[5] Professor Andrei Fursov was also outspoken about the illegitimacy of Mikhail's election: "Because they gathered some random people who screamed 'Mikhail'... The screamers supported him but there was no choice, there were armed Cossacks nearby! Here it is, a new tsar. Boyars could console themselves, firstly, by the fact they had remained intact; secondly, by the fact "Misha Romanov is young, he has not reached his full mind yet and will be obedient to us"; thirdly, the fact Pozharsky did not become tsar... That is why they did not like him [Pozharsky]. He was a Hero, and they, mostly, were traitors. Indeed, in 1610, the Moscow boyars were guided by selfish class interest, swore allegiance to Vladislav, and they were ready to “lie down” under his father Sigismund. It isn't surprising the traitorous boyars had been sitting with Poles as their allies in Kremlin. When Kremlin was taken, Pozharsky has made a huge mistake. Instead of bringing the traitors to justice, he has declared them [liberated] prisoners of Poles."[6]

Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin.
  1. ^ "Moscow of the future from dreamers a century ago". rbth.com. Ksenia Isaeva. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky". statues.vanderkrogt.net. Archived from the original on 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  3. ^ "Смута и Судьба" [Trouble and Fate]. gubernia.media (in Russian). Pskov Gubernia. December 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Russia Reported To UEFA Over Colossal 'This Is Russia' Banner Unfurled Against Poland In Warsaw » Who Ate all the Pies". Whoateallthepies.tv. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  5. ISBN 9785040514069
    .
  6. ^ "Андрей Фурсов: "Новый опричник – это молодой человек с кейсом и планшетом"" [Andrey Fursov: "A new guardsman is a young man with a case and a tablet"]. business-gazeta.ru (in Russian). BUSINESS Online. November 4, 2015. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2020. Romanovs began their reign with the murder of a child. And, as an evil irony of history, their reign also was ended with infanticide

Sources

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