Battle near the youth village. The significance of the battle for Russia

The Battle of Molodi (Molodinskaya Battle) is a major battle that took place in 1572 near Moscow, between Russian troops led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky and the army of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Gerey, which included, in addition to the Crimean troops themselves, Turkish and Nogai detachments. ..

Despite their double numerical superiority, the 120,000-strong Crimean army was completely defeated and put to flight. Only about 20 thousand people were saved. In terms of its significance, the Battle of Molodi was comparable to Kulikovo and other key battles in Russian history. It preserved the independence of Russia and became a turning point in the confrontation between the Moscow state and the Crimean Khanate, which abandoned its claims to Kazan and Astrakhan and henceforth lost a significant part of its power...

“In the summer of 1571, they were expecting a raid by the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey. But the oprichniki, who were tasked with holding a barrier on the banks of the Oka, for the most part did not go to work: fighting against the Crimean Khan was more dangerous than plundering Novgorod. One of the captured boyar children gave the khan an unknown route to one of the fords on the Oka. Devlet-Girey managed to bypass the barrier of zemstvo troops and one oprichnina regiment and cross the Oka. Russian troops barely managed to return to Moscow. But Devlet-Girey did not besiege the capital, but set fire to the settlement. The fire spread through the walls. The entire city burned down, and those who took refuge in the Kremlin and in the adjoining fortress of Kitay-Gorod suffocated from the smoke and “fire heat.” Negotiations began, at which Russian diplomats received secret instructions to agree, as a last resort, to abandon Astrakhan. Devlet-Girey also demanded Kazan. In order to finally break the will of Ivan IV, he prepared a raid for the next year. Ivan IV understood the seriousness of the situation. He decided to put at the head of the troops an experienced commander who had often been in disgrace - Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky. Both zemstvos and guardsmen were subordinate to his command; they were united in service and within each regiment. This united army in the battle near the village of Molodi (50 km south of Moscow) completely defeated the army of Devlet-Girey, which was almost twice its size. The Crimean threat was eliminated for many years.” History of Russia from ancient times to 1861. M., 2000, p. 154

The battle, which took place in August 1572 near the village of Molodi, about 50 km from Moscow, between Podolsk and Serpukhov, is sometimes called “Unknown Borodino”. The battle itself and the heroes who participated in it are rarely mentioned in Russian history. Everyone knows the Battle of Kulikovo, as well as the Moscow prince Dmitry, who led the Russian army, and received the nickname Donskoy. Then the hordes of Mamai were defeated, but the next year the Tatars again attacked Moscow and burned it. After the Battle of Molodin, in which the 120,000-strong Crimean-Astrakhan horde was destroyed, Tatar raids on Moscow stopped forever.

In the 16th century Crimean Tatars regularly raided Muscovy. Cities and villages were set on fire, the able-bodied population was driven into captivity. Moreover, the number of captured peasants and townspeople was many times greater than the military losses.

The culmination was in 1571, when the army of Khan Devlet-Girey burned Moscow to the ground. People hid in the Kremlin, the Tatars set it on fire too. The entire Moscow River was littered with corpses, the flow stopped... The next year, 1572, Devlet-Girey, like a true Genghisid, was going to not only repeat the raid, he decided to revive the Golden Horde, and make Moscow its capital. Devlet-Girey declared that he was “going to Moscow for the kingdom.” As one of the heroes of the Battle of Molodin, German oprichnik Heinrich Staden, wrote, “the cities and districts of the Russian land were all already assigned and divided among the Murzas who were under the Crimean Tsar; it was determined which one should hold.”

On the eve of the invasion

The situation in Russia was difficult. The effects of the devastating invasion of 1571, as well as the plague, were still being felt. The summer of 1572 was dry and hot, horses and cattle died. The Russian regiments experienced serious difficulties in supplying food.

Economic difficulties were intertwined with complex internal political events, accompanied by executions, disgraces, and uprisings of the local feudal nobility that began in the Volga region. In such a difficult situation, preparations were underway in the Russian state to repel a new invasion by Devlet-Girey. On April 1, 1572, a new border service system began to operate, taking into account the experience of last year’s struggle with Devlet-Girey.

Thanks to intelligence, the Russian command was promptly informed about the movement of the 120,000-strong army of Devlet-Girey and his further actions. The construction and improvement of military-defensive structures, primarily located over a long distance along the Oka, proceeded quickly.

Having received news of the impending invasion, Ivan the Terrible fled to Novgorod and wrote a letter from there to Devlet-Girey offering peace in exchange for Kazan and Astrakhan. But it did not satisfy the khan.

Battle of Molodi

In the spring of 1571, the Crimean Khan Divlet Giray, at the head of a 120,000-strong horde, attacked Rus'. The traitor Prince Mstislavsky sent his people to show the khan how to bypass the 600-kilometer Zasechnaya line from the west. The Tatars came from where they were not expected, burned all of Moscow to the ground - several hundred thousand people died. In addition to Moscow, the Crimean Khan ravaged the central regions, cut out 36 cities, collected a 100,000-strong army and went to Crimea; from the road he sent the king a knife “so that Ivan would kill himself.” The Crimean invasion was similar to Batu's pogrom; Khan believed that Russia was exhausted and could no longer resist; the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars rebelled; In 1572, the horde went to Rus' to establish a new yoke - the Khan's Murzas divided cities and uluses among themselves. Rus' was truly weakened by the 20-year war, famine, plague and the terrible Tatar invasion; Ivan the Terrible managed to gather only a 20,000-strong army. On July 28, a huge horde crossed the Oka and, throwing back the Russian regiments, rushed to Moscow - however, the Russian army followed, attacking the Tatar rearguards. The Khan was forced to turn back, the masses of Tatars rushed towards the Russian advanced regiment, which fled, luring the enemies to the fortifications where the archers and cannons were located - it was. Volleys of Russian cannons firing at point-blank range stopped the Tatar cavalry, it retreated, leaving piles of corpses on the field, but the khan again drove his warriors forward. For almost a week, with breaks to remove the corpses, the Tatars stormed the “walk-city” near the village of Molodi, not far from the modern city of Podolsk, dismounted horsemen approached the wooden walls, rocked them - “and here they beat many Tatars and cut off countless hands.” On August 2, when the onslaught of the Tatars weakened, the Russian regiments left the “walk-city” and attacked the weakened enemy, the horde turned into a stampede, the Tatars were pursued and cut down to the banks of the Oka - the Crimeans had never suffered such a bloody defeat.
The Battle of Molodi was a great victory autocracy: only absolute power could gather all forces into one fist and repel a terrible enemy - and it is easy to imagine what would have happened if Russia had been ruled not by a tsar, but by princes and boyars - the times of Batu would have been repeated. Having suffered a terrible defeat, the Crimeans did not dare to show themselves on the Oka for 20 years; The uprisings of the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars were suppressed - Russia won the Great War for the Volga region. On the Don and Desna, border fortifications were pushed south 300 kilometers; at the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Yelets and Voronezh were founded - the development of the richest black earth lands of the Wild Field began. The victory over the Tatars was achieved to a large extent thanks to arquebuses and cannons - weapons that were brought from the West through the “window to Europe” cut by the tsar. This window was the port of Narva, and King Sigismund asked the English Queen Elizabeth to stop the arms trade, because “the Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring items that are brought to Narva.”
V.M. Belotserkovets

Border voivode

The Oka River then served as the main support line, the harsh Russian border against the Crimean invasions. Every year, up to 65 thousand soldiers came to its shores and carried out guard duty from early spring until late autumn. According to contemporaries, the river “was fortified for more than 50 miles along the bank: two palisades, four feet high, were built one opposite the other, one at a distance of two feet from the other, and this distance between them was filled with earth dug out behind the rear palisade ... The shooters could thus hide behind both palisades and shoot at the Tatars as they swam across the river.”

The choice of commander-in-chief was difficult: there were few people suitable for this responsible position. In the end, the choice fell on the zemstvo governor, Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky, an outstanding military leader, “a strong and courageous man and extremely skilled in regimental arrangements.” Boyarin Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky (c. 1510-1573), like his father, devoted himself to military service from a young age. In 1536, 25-year-old Prince Mikhail distinguished himself in the winter campaign of Ivan the Terrible against the Swedes, and after some time in the Kazan campaigns. During the siege of Kazan in 1552, Vorotynsky at a critical moment managed to repel the attack of the city’s defenders, lead the archers and capture the Arsk Tower, and then, at the head of a large regiment, storm the Kremlin. For which he received the honorary title of sovereign servant and governor.

In 1550-1560 M.I. Vorotynsky supervised the construction of defensive structures on the southern borders of the country. Thanks to his efforts, the approaches to Kolomna, Kaluga, Serpukhov and other cities were strengthened. He established a guard service and repelled attacks from the Tatars.

Selfless and devoted friendship to the sovereign did not save the prince from suspicions of treason. In 1562-1566. he suffered humiliation, disgrace, exile, and prison. In those years, Vorotynsky received an offer from the Polish king Sigismund Augustus to go to serve in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But the prince remained faithful to the sovereign and Russia.

In January-February 1571, service people, boyar children, village residents, and village heads came to Moscow from all border towns. By order of Ivan the Terrible M.I. Vorotynsky was supposed to, having questioned those summoned to the capital, describe from which cities, in which direction and at what distance patrols should be sent, in which places the guards should stand (indicating the territory served by the patrols of each of them), in which places the border heads should be located “for protection from the arrival of military people”, etc. The result of this work was the “Order on village and guard service” left by Vorotynsky. In accordance with it, the border service must do everything possible “to make the outskirts more careful,” so that military people “do not come to the outskirts unknown,” and accustom the guards to constant vigilance.

Another order was issued by M.I. Vorotynsky (February 27, 1571) - on establishing the parking places for stanitsa patrol heads and assigning detachments to them. They can be considered a prototype of domestic military regulations.

Knowing about the upcoming raid of Devlet-Girey, what could the Russian commander oppose to the Tatars? Tsar Ivan, citing the war in Livonia, did not provide him with a sufficiently large army, giving Vorotynsky only the oprichnina regiment; The prince had at his disposal regiments of boyar children, Cossacks, Livonian and German mercenaries. In total, the number of Russian troops was approximately 60 thousand people. 12 tumens marched against him, that is, an army twice as large as the Tatars and Turkish Janissaries, who also carried artillery. The question arose, what tactics to choose in order to not only stop but also defeat the enemy with such small forces? Vorotynsky's leadership talent was manifested not only in the creation of border defenses, but also in the development and implementation of a battle plan. Did another hero of the battle play a crucial role in the latter? Prince Dmitry Khvorostinin.

So, the snow had not yet melted from the banks of the Oka when Vorotynsky began to prepare to meet the enemy. Border posts and abatis were made, Cossack patrols and patrols were constantly running, tracking down the “sakma” (Tatar trace), and forest ambushes were created. Local residents were involved in the defense. But the plan itself was not yet ready. Only general features: drag the enemy into a sticky defensive war, deprive him of maneuverability, confuse him for a while, exhaust his forces, then force him to go to the “walk-city”, where he will give the final battle. Gulyai-Gorod is a mobile fortress, a mobile fortified point, built from separate wooden walls that were placed on carts, with loopholes for firing cannons and rifles. It was erected near the Rozaj River and was decisive in the battle. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, then the Crimean Khan would have beaten us,” recalls Staden, “he would have taken us prisoner and taken everyone bound to the Crimea, and the Russian land would have been his land.”

The most important thing in terms of the upcoming battle is to force Devlet-Girey to go along the Serpukhov road. And any leak of information threatened the failure of the entire battle; in fact, the fate of Russia was being decided. Therefore, the prince kept all the details of the plan in the strictest confidence; even the closest commanders for the time being did not know what their commander was up to.

Start of the battle

Summer has come. At the end of July, the hordes of Devlet-Girey crossed the Oka River just above Serpukhov, in the area of Senka Ford. Russian troops occupied positions near Serpukhov, fortifying themselves with the Gulyai-city. Khan bypassed the main Russian fortifications and rushed towards Moscow. Vorotynsky immediately withdrew from the crossings at Serpukhov and rushed after Devlet-Girey. The advanced regiment under the command of Prince Dmitry Khvorostinin overtook the rearguard of the Khan's army near the village of Molodi. The small village of Molodi at that time was surrounded on all sides by forests. And only in the west, where there were gentle hills, did the men cut down the trees and plow up the land. On the elevated bank of the Rozhai River, at the confluence of Molodka, stood the wooden Church of the Resurrection.

The leading regiment overtook the Crimean rearguard, forced it into battle, attacked and defeated it. But he did not stop there, but pursued the remnants of the defeated rearguard right up to the main forces of the Crimean army. The blow was so strong that the two princes leading the rearguard told the khan that it was necessary to stop the offensive.

The blow was so unexpected and strong that Devlet-Girey stopped his army. He realized that there was a Russian army behind him, which must be destroyed in order to ensure unhindered advance to Moscow. Khan turned back, Devlet-Girey risked getting involved in a protracted battle. Accustomed to solving everything with one swift blow, he was forced to change traditional tactics.

Finding himself face to face with the main forces of the enemy, Khvorostinin avoided the battle and, with an imaginary retreat, began to lure Devlet-Girey to the walk-city, behind which Vorotynsky’s large regiment was already located. The Khan's advanced forces came under crushing fire from cannons and arquebuses. The Tatars retreated with heavy losses. The first part of the plan developed by Vorotynsky was brilliantly implemented. The rapid breakthrough of the Crimeans to Moscow failed, and the khan’s troops entered into a protracted battle.

Everything could have been different if Devlet-Girey had immediately thrown all his forces into the Russian positions. But the khan did not know the true power of Vorotynsky’s regiments and was going to test them. He sent Tereberdey-Murza with two tumens to capture the Russian fortification. They all perished under the walls of the Walking City. Minor skirmishes continued for two more days. During this time, the Cossacks managed to sink Turkish artillery. Vorotynsky was seriously alarmed: what if Devlet-Girey abandoned further hostilities and turned back to start all over again next year? But that did not happen.

Victory

On July 31, a stubborn battle took place. Crimean troops began an assault on the main Russian position, located between the Rozhai and Lopasnya rivers. “The matter was great and the slaughter was great,” the chronicler says about the battle. In front of the Walking Town, the Russians scattered peculiar metal hedgehogs, on which the legs of the Tatar horses broke. Therefore, the rapid onslaught, the main component of the Crimean victories, did not take place. The powerful throw slowed down in front of the Russian fortifications, from where cannonballs, buckshot and bullets rained down. The Tatars continued to attack. Repelling numerous attacks, the Russians launched counterattacks. During one of them, the Cossacks captured the Khan’s chief adviser, Divey-Murza, who led the Crimean troops. The fierce battle continued until the evening, and Vorotynsky had to make great efforts not to introduce the ambush regiment into battle, not to detect it. This regiment was waiting in the wings.

On August 1, both troops were preparing for the decisive battle. Devlet-Girey decided to put an end to the Russians with his main forces. In the Russian camp, supplies of water and food were running out. Despite the successful military operations, the situation was very difficult.

The next day a decisive battle took place. The Khan led his army to Gulyai-Gorod. And again he was unable to capture the Russian fortifications on the move. Realizing that infantry was needed to storm the fortress, Devlet-Girey decided to dismount the horsemen and, together with the Janissaries, throw the Tatars on foot to attack.

Once again, an avalanche of Crimeans poured into Russian fortifications.

Prince Khvorostinin led the defenders of the Gulyai-city. Tormented by hunger and thirst, they fought fiercely and fearlessly. They knew what fate awaited them if they were captured. They knew what would happen to their homeland if the Crimeans succeeded in a breakthrough. German mercenaries also fought bravely side by side with the Russians. Heinrich Staden led the artillery of the city.

The khan's troops approached the Russian fortress. The attackers, in rage, even tried to break the wooden shields with their hands. The Russians cut off the tenacious hands of their enemies with swords. The intensity of the battle intensified, and a turning point could occur at any moment. Devlet-Girey was completely absorbed in one goal - to take possession of the Gulyai-city. For this, he brought all his strength into the battle. Meanwhile, Prince Vorotynsky managed to quietly lead his large regiment through a narrow ravine and hit the enemy in the rear. At the same time, Staden fired a volley from all guns, and the defenders of the walk-city, led by Prince Khvorostinin, made a decisive sortie. The warriors of the Crimean Khan could not withstand the blows from both sides and fled. Thus the victory was won!

On the morning of August 3, Devlet-Girey, who had lost his son, grandson and son-in-law in the battle, began a rapid retreat. The Russians were on their heels. The last fierce battle broke out on the banks of the Oka, where the 5,000-strong Crimean rearguard covering the crossing was destroyed.

Prince Vorotynsky managed to impose a protracted battle on Devlet-Girey, depriving him of the benefits of a sudden powerful blow. The troops of the Crimean Khan suffered huge losses (according to some sources, almost 100 thousand people). But the most important thing is the irreparable losses, since the main combat-ready population of Crimea took part in the campaign. The village of Molodi became a cemetery for a significant part of the men of the Crimean Khanate. The whole flower of the Crimean army, its best warriors, lay down here. The Turkish Janissaries were completely exterminated. After such a brutal blow, the Crimean khans no longer thought about raiding the Russian capital. The Crimean-Turkish aggression against the Russian state was stopped.

Laurels for a hero

The history of Russian military affairs was replenished with a victory that was the greatest in the art of maneuver and interaction of military branches. It became one of the most brilliant victories of Russian weapons and promoted Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky to the category of outstanding commanders.

The Battle of Molodin is one of the brightest pages of the heroic past of our homeland. The Battle of Molodin, which lasted several days, in which Russian troops used original tactics, ended in a major victory over the numerically superior forces of Devlet-Girey. The Battle of Molodin had a strong impact on the foreign economic situation of the Russian state, especially on Russian-Crimean and Russian-Turkish relations. Selim's challenging letter, in which the Sultan demanded Astrakhan, Kazan and the vassal submission of Ivan IV, was left unanswered.

Prince Vorotynsky returned to Moscow, where he was given a magnificent meeting. There was less joy on the faces of Muscovites when Tsar Ivan returned to the city. This greatly offended the sovereign, but he did not show it - the time had not yet come. Evil tongues added fuel to the fire, calling Vorotynsky an upstart, greatly belittling his participation and importance in the battle. Finally, the prince's servant, who robbed him, denounced his master, accusing him of witchcraft. Since almost a year had passed since the great victory, the tsar ordered the commander to be arrested and subjected to severe torture. Having failed to achieve recognition of witchcraft, Ivan IV ordered the disgraced prince to be exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. On the third day of the journey, 63-year-old Mikhail Vorotynsky died. He was buried in the cemetery of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

From that time on, mention of the Battle of Molodin, its significance for Russia, and the very name of Prince Vorotynsky were under a cruel royal ban. Therefore, many of us are much more familiar with Ivan the Terrible’s campaign against Kazan than with the event of 1572 that saved Russia.

But time will put everything in its place.
Heroes will remain heroes...

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This day in history:

Despite the double numerical superiority, the 120,000-strong Crimean army was completely defeated and put to flight. Only about 20 thousand people were saved.

In terms of its significance, the Battle of Molodi was comparable to Kulikovo and other key battles in Russian history. It preserved the independence of Russia and became a turning point in the confrontation between the Moscow state and the Crimean Khanate, which abandoned its claims to Kazan and Astrakhan and henceforth lost a significant part of its power...

The village of Molodi became a cemetery for a significant part of the men of the Crimean Khanate. The whole flower of the Crimean army, its best warriors, lay down here. The Turkish Janissaries were completely exterminated. After such a brutal blow, the Crimean khans no longer thought about raiding the Russian capital. The Crimean-Turkish aggression against the Russian state was stopped.

Devlet-Girey managed to bypass the barrier of zemstvo troops and one oprichnina regiment and cross the Oka. Russian troops barely managed to return to Moscow. But Devlet-Girey did not besiege the capital, but set fire to the settlement. The fire spread through the walls. The entire city burned down, and those who took refuge in the Kremlin and in the adjoining fortress of Kitay-Gorod suffocated from the smoke and “fire heat.” Negotiations began, at which Russian diplomats received secret instructions to agree, as a last resort, to abandon Astrakhan. Devlet-Girey also demanded Kazan. In order to finally break the will of Ivan IV, he prepared a raid for the next year.

Ivan IV understood the seriousness of the situation. He decided to put at the head of the troops an experienced commander who had often been in disgrace - Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky. Both zemstvos and guardsmen were subordinate to his command; they were united in service and within each regiment. This united army in the battle near the village of Molodi (50 km south of Moscow) completely defeated the army of Devlet-Girey, which was almost twice its size. The Crimean threat was eliminated for many years.”

History of Russia from ancient times to 1861. M., 2000, p. 154

Devlet-Girey declared that he was “going to Moscow for the kingdom.” As one of the heroes of the Battle of Molodin, German oprichnik Heinrich Staden, wrote, “the cities and districts of the Russian land were all already assigned and divided among the Murzas who were under the Crimean Tsar; it was determined which one should hold.”

On the eve of the invasion

Battle of Molodi

In the spring of 1571, the Crimean Khan Divlet Giray, at the head of a 120,000-strong horde, attacked Rus'. The traitor Prince Mstislavsky sent his men to show the khan how to bypass the 600-kilometer Zasechnaya line from the west.

The Tatars came from where they were not expected, burned all of Moscow to the ground - several hundred thousand people died.

In addition to Moscow, the Crimean Khan ravaged the central regions, cut out 36 cities, collected a 100,000-strong army and went to Crimea; from the road he sent the king a knife “so that Ivan would kill himself.”

The Crimean invasion was similar to Batu's pogrom; Khan believed that Russia was exhausted and could no longer resist; the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars rebelled; In 1572, the horde went to Rus' to establish a new yoke - the Khan's Murzas divided cities and uluses among themselves.

Rus' was truly weakened by the 20-year war, famine, plague and the terrible Tatar invasion; Ivan the Terrible managed to gather only a 20,000-strong army.

On July 28, a huge horde crossed the Oka and, throwing back the Russian regiments, rushed to Moscow - however, the Russian army followed, attacking the Tatar rearguards. The Khan was forced to turn back, the masses of Tatars rushed towards the Russian advanced regiment, which took flight, luring the enemies to the fortifications where archers and cannons were located - it was a “walk-city”, a mobile fortress made of wooden shields. Volleys of Russian cannons firing at point-blank range stopped the Tatar cavalry, it retreated, leaving piles of corpses on the field, but the khan again drove his warriors forward.

For almost a week, with breaks to remove the corpses, the Tatars stormed the “walk-city” near the village of Molodi, not far from the modern city of Podolsk, dismounted horsemen approached the wooden walls, rocked them - “and here they beat many Tatars and cut off countless hands.”

On August 2, when the onslaught of the Tatars weakened, the Russian regiments left the “walk-city” and attacked the weakened enemy, the horde turned into a stampede, the Tatars were pursued and cut down to the banks of the Oka - the Crimeans had never suffered such a bloody defeat.

The Battle of Molodi was a great victory for the autocracy: only absolute power could gather all forces into one fist and repel a terrible enemy - and it is easy to imagine what would have happened if Russia had been ruled not by a tsar, but by princes and boyars - the times of Batu would have been repeated.

Having suffered a terrible defeat, the Crimeans did not dare to show themselves on the Oka for 20 years; The uprisings of the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars were suppressed - Russia won the Great War for the Volga region. On the Don and Desna, border fortifications were pushed south 300 kilometers; at the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Yelets and Voronezh were founded - the development of the richest black earth lands of the Wild Field began.

The victory over the Tatars was achieved to a large extent thanks to arquebuses and cannons - weapons that were brought from the West through the “window to Europe” (?) cut by the tsar. This window was the port of Narva, and King Sigismund asked the English Queen Elizabeth to stop the arms trade, because “the Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring items that are brought to Narva.”(?)

V.M. Belotserkovets

Border voivode

Boyarin Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky (c. 1510-1573), like his father, devoted himself to military service from a young age. In 1536, 25-year-old Prince Mikhail distinguished himself in the winter campaign of Ivan the Terrible against the Swedes, and after some time in the Kazan campaigns. During the siege of Kazan in 1552, Vorotynsky at a critical moment managed to repel the attack of the city’s defenders, lead the archers and capture the Arsk Tower, and then, at the head of a large regiment, storm the Kremlin. For which he received the honorary title of sovereign servant and governor.

The result of this work was the “Order on village and guard service” left by Vorotynsky. In accordance with it, the border service must do everything possible “to make the outskirts more careful,” so that military people “do not come to the outskirts unknown,” and accustom the guards to constant vigilance.

12 tumens marched against him, that is, an army twice as large as the Tatars and Turkish Janissaries, who also carried artillery.

The question arose, what tactics to choose in order to not only stop but also defeat the enemy with such small forces? Vorotynsky's leadership talent was manifested not only in the creation of border defenses, but also in the development and implementation of a battle plan. Did another hero of the battle play a crucial role in the latter? Prince Dmitry Khvorostinin.

Gulyai-Gorod is a mobile fortress, a mobile fortified point, built from separate wooden walls that were placed on carts, with loopholes for firing cannons and rifles. It was erected near the Rozaj River and was decisive in the battle. “If the Russians did not have a walk-city, then the Crimean Khan would have beaten us,” recalls Staden, “he would have taken us prisoner and taken everyone bound to the Crimea, and the Russian land would have been his land.”

Start of the battle

Khan bypassed the main Russian fortifications and rushed towards Moscow. Vorotynsky immediately withdrew from the crossings at Serpukhov and rushed after Devlet-Girey. The advanced regiment under the command of Prince Dmitry Khvorostinin overtook the rearguard of the Khan's army near the village of Molodi. The small village of Molodi at that time was surrounded on all sides by forests. And only in the west, where there were gentle hills, did the men cut down the trees and plow up the land. On the elevated bank of the Rozhai River, at the confluence of Molodka, stood the wooden Church of the Resurrection.

Victory

Once again, an avalanche of Crimeans poured into Russian fortifications.

How the commanders of Ivan the Terrible managed to stop and destroy the Krymchaks horde, which was six times stronger than the Russian army
In the history of the Fatherland, the first Russian autocrat Ivan IV the Terrible remained primarily as the conqueror of Kazan and Astrakhan, the ideologist of the oprichnina, the limiter of the boyar freemen and the cruel ruler. In reality, the years of the reign of the first Russian Tsar were not only gloomy, but also creative: it was under him that Russia doubled - doubled! - expanded its territory, acquired many important lands and forced Europe to reckon with Russian interests and Russian politics.

The battle, which, alas, began to be talked about seriously only at the very end of the twentieth century, played a huge role in this. But in the history of Russia during the time of Ivan the Terrible, it was the same as the Battle of Kulikovo two centuries earlier. At stake then was the question of whether Rus' would survive as an independent state or, having trampled upon the Kulikovo victory, would again return to a yoke similar to the Horde.

Russian soldiers gave their answer to this challenge of time at the turn of the summer of 1572. For five days - from July 29 to August 2 - fifty miles from Moscow, the capital of the Russian Empire, they ground up the far superior troops of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray I, supported by the Ottoman Turks - and ground them down. This battle entered the history of Russia under the name of the Battle of Molodi: that was the name of the village in the vicinity of which the main events of those days took place.

To be Russia - or not to be?

The Russian ruler apparently became aware of the impending campaign of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray against Moscow at the beginning of 1572.

Since the end of the 15th century, the warriors of the Crimean Khanate, which broke away from the disintegrating Golden Horde in 1427, constantly undertook predatory campaigns against Rus'. And Khan Devlet Giray, who came to power in 1551, did not just plunder Russian lands - he consistently sought to weaken the emerging Russian state, well understanding the danger it posed to Crimea. This was evidenced by the Astrakhan and Kazan campaigns of Ivan the Terrible, as well as numerous attempts by Russian armies to inflict a preventive blow on the Crimeans. And therefore, Devlet Giray over and over again made forays into Rus', in order, on the one hand, not to allow it to concentrate its forces and respond to him in kind, and on the other, to plunder to its heart’s content and seize captives for sale in Istanbul.

And in the early 70s of the 16th century, the Crimean Khan had a completely unique chance to turn Russia into his vassal. Russian troops were bogged down in the unfortunate Livonian War, the forces defending the center of Russia were small, and the country itself was weakened by internal problems, food shortages and plague - there was no need to count on serious resistance. And this was fully confirmed by the campaign of the Crimeans in May-June 1571. Devlet Giray's army of forty thousand easily reached Moscow, ravaged and burned the suburbs and towns: only the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, hidden behind stone walls, remained untouched. Along the way, the Krymchaks ravaged another 36 Russian cities; About 80 thousand people became victims of that attack, another 60 thousand were captured, and the population of Moscow decreased threefold - from 100 to 30 thousand inhabitants.

How could one not repeat this success, finally taking weakened Rus' under one’s hand! In addition, the Khan's claims were also supported by the Ottoman Empire, which was interested in the disappearance of a new geopolitical enemy - the Russian Empire. So the Russian troops had to prepare as quickly as possible to repel aggression. But it was not easy to do this: the entire available strength of the Russian army near Moscow at that time numbered only 20,034 people - yes, the number was established according to documents of that era accurate to one soldier! In addition to them, there were about 5 thousand Don Cossacks under the command of Colonel Mikhail Cherkashenin and a certain number of militias. Devlet Giray, in turn, led an army six times larger to Rus': 80 thousand Crimeans and Nogais, 33 thousand Turks and 7 thousand Turkish Janissaries.

Tsar John IV is presented with trophies taken from Devlet Girey by Prince Vorotynsky, 1572. Photo: wikipedia.org

It was probably ridiculous to count on long-term resistance with such a balance of forces - and no one counted on it. The question was: how to defeat an army six times larger than the Russians in order to forever avert the threat of new enslavement from Rus'? Ivan the Terrible entrusted the search for an answer to the zemstvo voivode, Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky, to help whom the oprichnina voivode, the young prince Dmitry Khvorostinin, was sent.

Voivodes against the Khan

In this pair of outstanding Russian military leaders of the 16th century, Prince Vorotynsky played the main role - as the older and more experienced one. By that time, he had 30 years of military service in Rus': both in the Coastal Service on the Oka borders and on long campaigns. Voivode Mikhail Vorotynsky was one of the main heroes of the Kazan campaigns, leading entire regiments in them. And he became especially famous during the capture of Kazan in 1552: it was the regiment under the command of Vorotynsky who first managed to repel the daring counterattack of the city’s defenders, and four days later, at the head of his soldiers, captured the wall adjacent to the Arsk Gate and held it for two days.

Dmitry Khvorostinin was fifteen years younger than Vorotynsky and became famous a little later. He accomplished his first major military feat during the siege of Polotsk during the Livonian War, freeing the townspeople who had been driven into the castle by the enemy as a human shield, and was one of the first to enter the borders of the Upper Castle. Soon after this, the young military leader, highly regarded by the tsar, became one of the oprichnina governors. It was Khvorostinin’s regiment, the only one of all the oprichnina regiments, that in May-June 1571 gave battle to the hordes of Devlet Girey who attacked Moscow, while his other colleagues fled, leaving the capital to the mercy of fate.

These two commanders became the main opponents of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray - a man who spent almost twenty years of his life fighting the Russian kingdom.

Forerunners of Generalissimo Suvorov

We are accustomed to the fact that the military leader’s maxim “Win not with numbers, but with skill” was not only formulated, but also applied for the first time by Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov. Meanwhile, long before the brilliant Russian commander, this principle was often and successfully used by his predecessors. Including governors Vorotynsky and Khvorostinin. Their only chance of victory was to turn the strength of the Krymchak army - its size - into its main weakness. And they successfully achieved this.

When the vanguard of Devlet Giray’s detachment was already approaching the Pakhra River, in the area of present-day Podolsk, having crossed the Oka and scattered the few Russian barriers (in full accordance with the strategic plan of the governor!), the rearguard had just passed the small village of Molodi. It was here that Khvorostinin’s guardsmen attacked him. Their task was simple, but very important: to ensure that the khan, frightened by an attack from the rear, began to turn his army away from Moscow and transfer it to the battlefield, chosen and equipped by the Russians at their discretion. And the suicidal attack of the guardsmen was successful. The Krymchaks actually turned around, suspecting that the too easy crossing of the Oka was just a diversionary maneuver, and the main Russian forces were waiting behind. And so it was, with one small exception: these forces were waiting for the Krymchaks not in an open field, but in Gulyai-Gorod - a movable wooden fortification, a kind of fortress on wheels, armed to the teeth with cannons and arquebuses.

It was against the walls of this Gulyai-city that the first, most fierce attack of the Krymchak cavalry, the main force of the attackers, crashed. Succumbing to the “panic” retreat of Khvorostinin’s guardsmen, Devlet Girey’s warriors galloped right under the squeaks and spears of Vorotynsky’s warriors. The nomads were unable to take Gulyai-Gorod in a rush and began to waste their strength in more and more fruitless attacks.

Gulyai-city (Wagenburg) from a 15th-century engraving. Map: wikipedia.org

However, the attackers’ calculation that sooner or later the small and obviously hastily assembled Gulyai-Gorod would surrender due to hunger was almost correct. The Russian convoys were left far behind: Vorotynsky could not risk the speed of movement of the army in order to prevent Devlet Giray from breaking through to unprotected Moscow. But when in the Krymchak camp they found out that the Russians began to slaughter and eat their horses, this played an unexpected role in the events for the governor. Delighted that the enemy began to starve and was depriving himself of maneuverable forces, the Krymchak military leaders decided to take a crazy step: they dismounted their cavalry and threw them into a foot attack on the walls of Gulyai-Gorod, without any fear of the Russian cavalry. And this predetermined the outcome of the battle.

The dismounted nomads managed, having cut out the few surviving archers from among the three thousand strong field barrier, to come close to the walls of Gulyai-Gorod and literally cling to them with their hands, chopping and shaking the Russian defense. At the same time, Vorotynsky with his large regiment managed to bypass the attackers in a wide arc, hiding in ravines, and at the most crucial moment strike them from the rear. At the same time, from behind the walls of Gulyai-Gorod, the “detachment” began rapid fire - Russian artillery, which by that time the warriors had already mastered very well. This came as a complete surprise to the lightly armed Krymchaks: until now the artillerymen had been silent, obeying Vorotynsky’s tactical plan.

The result of the five-day battle was terrible. The Crimean army, according to some sources, lost a total of about 110 thousand people. Including all the Ottoman cavalry and all seven thousand selected Janissaries died. The losses of the Crimeans and Nogais themselves were so heavy that only a decade and a half later the Crimean Khanate was able to restore the previous size of the male population. After all, according to tradition, almost all young men and men went on a campaign against Rus', which promised to be so victorious - and no more than 10 thousand people returned back...

A victory to remember

The victory at Molodi actually put an end to the protracted Russian-Crimean wars. In addition, the defeat of the Krymchak army, which also had such a significant numerical superiority, demonstrated the advantage of the Russian army, armed with modern weapons and moving to unity of command, over the steppe inhabitants. Finally, the outcome of the battle forever destroyed the hope of liberation from dependence on Moscow for both the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates (which considered the Crimeans as their main allies and the last chance to change the situation), and prompted the Siberian Khanate to confirm its vassal dependence to the Russian throne.

It is not surprising that historians call the Battle of Molodi “the second Battle of Kulikovo.” And it is just as natural that now, when there is no need to adhere to previous ideologies about the clearly negative impact of the reign of Ivan the Terrible on the history of Russia, we can admit that the events of the summer of 1572 forever changed the history of our country. And we all need to remember this.

July 31 - August 2, 1572 marked the 444th anniversary of the Battle of Molodi or, as it is otherwise called, the Battle of Molodi. The forgotten (or rather purposefully hushed up?) battle of the forgotten war, however, played a special and very significant role in the life of our country.

Its significance is comparable to the significance of the Battle of Poltava and the Battle of Borodino, and its successes surpass both of these battles, however, it is not customary to talk about it. There are still many questions remaining in the history of Russia to which we do not find answers in the official historical myth of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In particular, the period of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, during which the Battle of Molodino took place, remains one of the most controversial and shrouded in fog of all kinds of myths and fables, including those constantly generated by the so-called biblical “science”. We will try to open one of the pages of this time.

Presented to your attention is a map of Russia, engraved by Franz Hogenberg from the original by Anthony Jenkinson, an employee of the English Moscow Company. The original was performed in 1562. Jenkinson traveled to Bukhara in 1557 - 1559, and after that to Russia twice more. During one of these travels he reached Persia.

The vignettes are based on editions of Marco Polo's travels. They depict ethnic and mythical scenes, local residents in national clothes, and animals.

This map is so interesting that we provide a detailed description of it.

Text on the cartouche:

RUSSIAE, MOSCOVIAE ET TARTARIAE DESCRIPTIO Auctore Antonio

Ienkensono Anglo, Anno 1562 & dedicata illustriss. D. Henrico Sijdneo Walliei presidi. Cum priuilegio.

Description of Russia, Muscovy and Tartary by Anthony Jenkinson the Englishman, published in London in 1562 and dedicated to the most illustrious Henry Sidney Lord President of Wales. By privilege.

On the vignette in the upper left corner:

Ioannes Basilius Magnus Imperator Russie Dux Moscovie is depicted, i.e. Ivan Vasilievich (Basileus?) Great Emperor of Russia Prince of Muscovy.

Left edge, middle:

Hic pars Litu/anie Imperatori/Russie subdita est.

This part of Lithuania is under the rule of the Russian Emperor (http://iskatel.info/kartyi-orteliya.-perevod.html).

On this lifetime map of Ivan the Terrible, we see that the Moscow state borders on Tartaria, as we assumed earlier in the first part of the article. The question remains open whether Ivan the Terrible fought with Tartary itself, or with units that had already broken away from it (Circassian, Small (Crimean), Desert Tartary, which became other states), possibly pursuing an independent policy, and not in the interests of the population, but which we will talk about in more detail using the example of Crimean Tartaria.

In general, it should be noted that the map is not very accurate. And also to note the generally irrelevant fact that the Caspian Sea was much larger in those days, and the current Aral Sea is most likely just the eastern part of the Caspian.

FOREIGN POLICY OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE IN THE SOUTH

As we see on this Mercator map, dating back to 1630, Crimean Tartary included not only Crimea itself, but also the Black Sea region, what is now called Novorossiya. On the Mercator map itself, in addition to Crimean Tartaria, the words appear - Taurica Chersonesos and Khazaria, that is, there were grounds for calling Crimea Khazaria even in the 17th century.

Most likely, after Prince Svyatoslav cleansed the Khazar Kaganate, he did not disappear completely and continued his activities in the form of fragments, since Rus' could not control at that time all the territories remaining after him, in particular, Crimea. And most importantly, this is based not on genetic or linguistic characteristics of the Khazars, but on cultural ones.

After the final defeat of the Khazars in Crimea, however, there are still Karaites (possible heirs of the Khazars), trading posts of Genoa and Venice, and Byzantium and the Polovtsians are also present. Almost everyone is involved in the slave trade, as evidenced, for example, by the Arab historian Ibn Al-Athir (1160 - 1233), who wrote about Sudak (Sugdea):

“This is the city of the Kipchaks, from which they receive their goods, and ships with clothes dock at it, the latter are sold, and with them girls and slaves, Burtas furs, beavers and other items found in their land are bought (http://www. sudak.pro/history-sudak2/).

It was this force that Tsar Ivan the Terrible faced.

BATTLE OF MOLDIN

In the 16th century, almost all the time Russia had to fight with foreign invaders, and, above all, the West. Russia was constantly at war with Livonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden. The Crimean Khan, taking advantage of the fact that Russian troops were in the West and the aggravated situation in internal politics, carried out raids on the southern borders of Muscovy.

After the burning of Moscow in 1571, Ivan was ready to give Astrakhan to the khan, but he also demanded Kazan, and was practically confident that he could conquer Rus'. Therefore, he prepared for a new campaign, which began in 1572. Khan managed to gather about 80 thousand people (according to other estimates 120 thousand); Turkey sent a Janissary corps of 7 thousand people to help him.

Devlet Giray demanded the return of Kazan and Astrakhan, inviting Ivan the Terrible, together with the Turkish Sultan, to go over to them “under control and in care,” and also declared that he was “going to Moscow to reign.” Simultaneously with the beginning of the invasion, an uprising of the Cheremis, Ostyaks and Bashkirs, organized by the Crimean Tatars, took place as a diversionary maneuver to weaken the Moscow troops. The uprising was suppressed by the Stroganov detachments.

On July 29, Summer 7080 (1572), a five-day battle began near Molody, 60 kilometers from Moscow, between Podolsk and Serpukhov, which became known as the Battle of Molody.

Russian troops - under the command of the governors of princes Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky, Alexei Petrovich Khovansky and Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin totaled:

20,034 people and the Cossacks of Mikhail Cherkashenin with the Big Regiment.

Following the beaten path, the Tatars, encountering virtually no resistance, reached the Oka. At the border outpost of Kolomna and Serpukhov they were met by a 20,000-strong detachment under the command of Prince M. Vorotynsky. Devlet-Girey’s army did not enter the battle. Khan sent about 2 thousand troops to Serpukhov, and the main forces moved up the river. The advance detachment under the command of Murza Tereberdey reached Senka Ford and calmly crossed the river, simultaneously partially dispersing and partially sending two hundred defenders of the cordon to their forefathers. The remaining forces crossed near the village of Drakino. Prince Odoevsky's regiment, numbering about 1,200 people, was also unable to provide tangible resistance - the Russians were defeated, and Devlet-Girey calmly proceeded straight to Moscow.

Vorotynsky made a desperate decision, fraught with considerable risk: according to the tsar’s order, the governor had to block the Khan’s Muravsky Way and hurry to the Zhizdra River, where he was to reunite with the main Russian army.

The prince thought differently and set off in pursuit of the Tatars. They traveled carelessly, stretched out significantly and lost their vigilance, until the fateful date arrived - July 30 (according to other sources, 29th) (1572). The Battle of Molodi became an irreversible reality when the decisive governor Dmitry Khvorostinin with a detachment of 2 thousand (according to other sources, 5 thousand) people overtook the Tatars and dealt an unexpected blow to the rearguard of the Khan’s army.

The enemies wavered: the attack turned out to be an unpleasant (and - even worse - sudden) surprise for them. When the brave governor Khvorostinin crashed into the main part of the enemy troops, they were not at a loss and fought back, putting the Russians to flight. Not knowing, however, that it was also carefully thought out: Dmitry Ivanovich led the enemies straight to Vorotynsky’s carefully prepared troops. This is where the battle began near the village of Molodi in 1572, which had the most serious consequences for the country.

One can imagine how surprised the Tatars were when they discovered in front of them the so-called Walk-Gorod - a fortified structure created according to all the rules of that time: thick shields mounted on carts reliably protected the soldiers positioned behind them. Inside the “walk-city” there were cannons (Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible was a big fan of firearms and supplied his army according to the latest requirements of military science), archers armed with arquebuses, archers, etc.

The enemy was immediately treated to everything that was in store for his arrival: a terrible bloody battle ensued. More and more Tatar forces approached - and fell straight into the meat grinder organized by the Russians (in fairness, it should be noted that they were not the only ones: mercenaries, common in those days, also fought along with the locals, in particular the Germans, judging by the historical chronicles, porridge didn't spoil it at all).

Devlet-Girey did not want to risk leaving such a large and organized enemy force in his rear. Again and again he threw his best forces into strengthening, but the result was not even zero - it was negative. The year 1572 did not turn into a triumph: the Battle of Molodi continued for the fourth day, when the Tartar commander ordered his army to dismount and, together with the Ottoman Janissaries, attack the Russians. The furious onslaught yielded nothing. Vorotynsky’s squads, despite hunger and thirst (when the prince set off in pursuit of the Tartars, food was the last thing they thought about), they fought to the death. The enemy suffered huge losses, blood flowed like a river. When thick twilight came, Devlet-Girey decided to wait until morning and, by the light of the sun, “put the squeeze on” the enemy, but the resourceful and cunning Vorotynsky decided that the action called “The Battle of Molodi, 1572” should have a quick and unhappy ending for the Tatars. Under the cover of darkness, the prince led part of the army to the rear of the enemy - there was a convenient ravine nearby - and struck!

Cannons thundered from the front, and after the cannonballs the same Khvorostinin rushed at the enemy, sowing death and horror among the Tartars. The year 1572 was marked by a terrible battle: the Battle of Molodi can be considered large by modern standards, and even more so by the Middle Ages. The battle turned into a beating. According to various sources, the Khan's army numbered from 80 to 125 thousand people. The Russians were outnumbered three or four times, but they managed to destroy about three-quarters of the enemies: the Battle of Molodi in 1572 caused the death of the vast majority of the male population of the Crimean Peninsula, because, according to Tatar laws, all men had to support the khan in his aggressive endeavors. Irreparable harm, invaluable benefit. According to many historians, the Khanate was never able to recover from the crushing defeat. The Ottoman Empire also received a noticeable slap on the nose when it supported Devlet-Girey. The lost battle of Molodi (1572) cost the khan himself the lives of his son, grandson and son-in-law. And also military honor, because he had to naturally to scurry out from near Moscow, without making out the road, which is what the chronicles write about:

Not by paths, not by roads.

The Russians who rushed after continued to kill the Tatars, fed up with years of raids, and their heads were spinning with blood and hatred. It is difficult to overestimate the significance that the Battle of Molodyah had: the consequences for the subsequent development of Russia were the most favorable (http://fb.ru/article/198278/god-bitva-pri-molodyah-kratko).

CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE

After the failed campaign against Rus', the Crimean Khanate lost almost its entire combat-ready male population. The Battle of Molodin was the last major battle between Rus' and the Steppe, as well as a turning point in the confrontation between the Moscow state and the Crimean Khanate. The Khanate’s ability to carry out campaigns against Rus' was undermined for a long time, and the Ottoman Empire abandoned plans for the Volga region.

Muscovite Rus' managed to defend its territorial integrity, preserve its population and retain important trade routes in its hands in the critical situation of a war on two fronts. The fortifications were moved to the south several hundred kilometers, Voronezh appeared, and the development of black earth lands began.

The main thing was that Ivan the Terrible managed unite the fragments of Tartary into Muscovite Rus' and secure the state from the East and South, now focusing on repelling Western aggression. In addition, it was clearly revealed to many that the aggression of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire on Rus' had nothing to do with real Islam, just like the removal of people to the full. And Ivan the Terrible, being a supporter of Arianism (that is, real Christianity), won a convincing victory, in which Russian troops numbering 20 thousand people won a decisive victory over the forces of Crimea and Turkey four, if not six times superior to them.

Nevertheless, we know nothing about this, since the Romanovs did not need the last of the Rurikovichs, who actually created the country in which we live. A battle which he won was more significant than Poltava and Borodino. And in this his fate is similar to the fate of Stalin.