None royal dynasty did not come to the throne as unusually as the House of Romanov. This remark belongs famous writer Ivan Gogol, who, not without reason, believed that the feat of Ivan Susanin inextricably linked the tsar with his subjects. What is known about this significant incident for Russian history?
Volkov Adrian - picture Death of Ivan Susanin
Due to the limited source base, the biography of Ivan Susanin is the subject of historical controversy. The only documentary source about his life is letter of merit Mikhail Fedorovich 1619. It talks about granting Susanin’s son-in-law half of the village with relief from all taxes and duties, while folk hero mentioned quite briefly. The rest of the information about this man’s life is legendary.
It is generally accepted that Ivan Susanin was born in the village of Domnino, 70 miles away from Kostroma. According to one version, he was a serf peasant of the Shestov nobles, according to another, he served as a patrimonial headman. It is known that he had a daughter, Antonida, and a son-in-law, Bogdan Sabinin.
The above-mentioned royal letter states that in the winter of 1613, the newly elected Tsar Mikhail Romanov lived with his mother Martha in the village of Domnino. At that time the Troubles of civil war turned into a struggle against the interventionists from Poland. The nobles decided to capture the newly elected tsar; for this purpose, a small Polish-Lithuanian detachment headed to Domnino.
Along the way, the interventionists met the peasant Susanin, who was ordered to show the way to the village. But he led the detachment to the opposite side, and sent his son-in-law Bogdan to Domnino to warn the tsar and his mother of the impending danger. Susanin led the Poles deep into the forest and then to the Isupov swamp, for which he was tortured and killed. It is assumed that at that time this person was already in old age. The enemy detachment also died in impassable terrain. At this time, Mikhail Romanov took refuge in the Ipatiev Monastery.
After 6 years, the king thanked the relatives of the peasant who saved him by giving them land and exemption from taxes. The death of Ivan Susanin was not forgotten even later. The descendants of the national hero repeatedly received letters of grant and preferential decrees until 1837.
The cult of Ivan Susanin during the Russian Empire
IN Tsarist Russia The image of Ivan Susanin was the subject of a cult. Paintings, sculptures, musical and literary works were dedicated to his feat. It was his name that official propaganda actively used during the period of suppression Polish uprisings and the War of 1812.
In 1838, the central square of the city of Kostroma began to be officially called Susaninskaya. In addition, the hero was depicted among other prominent historical figures on the monument “Millennium of Russia” (1862). Propaganda had its effect; two centuries later, what Susanin did was to some extent repeated by Osip Komissarov, who saved Emperor Alexander II from death. It is interesting that Komissarov was born not far from Susanin’s native village.
However, it is in pre-revolutionary Russia the first criticism was voiced official version feat. Thus, the historian N. Kostomarov believed that the only reliable fact in the entire history of Susanin was his death from one of the robber detachments in Time of Troubles. Critical reviews S. Soloviev was also aware of this story, who believed that the peasant was tortured by the Cossacks.
probable place of death
IN Soviet era the initial attitude towards Susanin was negative. So, in 1918, the monument to Ivan Susanin was thrown off its pedestal. The people's hero began to be called the king's servant, and the feat for which he became famous was called a fairy tale.
Attitudes changed dramatically in the late 1930s. He again entered the list of national heroes. The regional center, near which Susanin once lived, was renamed in his honor. At the same time, a version spread that he was a “patriot of the Russian Land” who fought against foreign invaders, and did not save the king. In the 60s of the last century, a monument to Susanin was even erected in Kostroma.
In post-Soviet Russia, Susanin’s personality is interpreted in two ways. Most historians continue to call him a folk hero, while recognizing that he was prompted to his feat by vassal loyalty rather than patriotism. There are also several versions of how events took place. For example, A. Shirokopad believes that Susanin suffered from a predatory raid of the Zaporozhye Cossacks.
- In some publications, Susanin is given the patronymic name Osipovich. However, there is no mention of this in the sources; in addition, in the 17th century it was not customary to call peasants by their patronymics.
- IN Soviet time The peasant Matvey Kuzmin was no less famous than Susanin. In 1942, he priced own life led a German detachment under machine gun fire Soviet soldiers. The enemy detachment was destroyed, but the German commander managed to kill Kuzmin. After the end of World War II, a book appeared describing the exploits of 58 “followers” of Susanin.
In 2003, remains were discovered in the necropolis of the village of Isupovo that may belong to Susanin. However, professional archaeologists and historians dispute their authenticity.
Ivan Susanin is a simple Russian man who became a hero in the eyes of the entire people after saving Mikhail Romanov from the Poles during their war with the Russians.
Unfortunately, not much is known about Ivan Susanin himself and his life. He was from a simple peasant family, born and lived in a village called Domnino. Today this place is located in Kostroma region Susaninsky district. In some of their notes, historians noted that Ivan was the headman of his village. According to unconfirmed reports, Susanin was a widower and had adult daughter named Antonida.
The heroic deed of a simple peasant Ivan Susanin became known to the people in 1613. At this time, Mikhail Romanov, who had just ascended the royal throne, was with his mother in the city of Kostroma. The Poles, having made their way into the city, tried to find and capture them. But to their misfortune, Ivan Susanin appeared on their way. Having caught the peasant, they began to force and torture the man to tell them the secret of the whereabouts of the newly-crowned king. But Ivan turned out to be a devoted person, and under no pretext did he tell them where Mikhail was hiding.
Later, in 1619, the relatives of Ivan Susanin were given a royal letter, which stated that the king would give them ownership of half the village and exempt them from taxes. Then, after more time, the same letters of dust were written and issued to the descendants of the peasant hero with the same words of gratitude and exemption from taxes.
Historical sources and chronicles of the 17th century could tell little about the heroic deed of Ivan Susanin. People created a small legend and passed it on from mouth to mouth to a new generation. But the visit of Empress Catherine II to Kostroma marked the beginning of a new plausible story about the Russian peasant Ivan Susanin.
Gradually historical feat Ivan Susanin began to be described in school textbooks on history. But the greatest interest in this feat arose during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I. Ivan Susanin was officially proclaimed a hero and began to be dedicated to him a large number of poems, songs, and also wrote an opera.
In order to forever imprint in the memory of future descendants the image of an ordinary peasant, a real hero and fearless man, in 1838, by royal decree, it was ordered to erect a monument to Ivan Susanin on the central square in Kostroma.
But there were also those who denied the feat of Ivan Susanin. Some learned historians agreed that the man became another victim of the robbers operating near Kostroma at that time.
During the October Revolution, the monument was partially destroyed, since Susanin was considered a servant of the tsar. But in 1938 he was again recognized as a hero, but at a higher political level. His name became the new name of the regional center in which he lived - Susanin.
Option 2
Ivan Susanin is considered a Russian hero who saved Mikhail Romanov. This happened during the war between the Russians and the Poles.
There is little information about the biography of Ivan Susanin. He was a peasant, originally from the village of Domnino (currently Susaninsky district, Kostroma region). According to some historical data, he was the headman in the village and belonged to the Shestov court. ABOUT marital status also not specified. It is known that there was a daughter of Antonida. Most likely the peasant was a widower.
Mine heroic act he committed in 1613. During these times, the newly christened Tsar Mikhail Romanov and his mother Martha took refuge in Kostroma. The Poles wanted to find them and capture them. On the way they met Ivan Susanin. They tried to find out where the king was hiding. The patrimonial elder was cruelly tortured, but he was betrayed to the king and did not tell his whereabouts.
Proof heroic feat The peasant is served by a royal charter dated 1619. It indicates the granting of half a village to the peasant’s relatives with exemption from taxes “for service to us and for blood...”.
Later, letters were also issued to the descendants of Ivan Susanin. They all repeated the words of the charter of 1619.
In chronicles and other historical sources of the 17th century, very little was said about the feat of the Russian peasant. Only from generation to generation were legends told. But starting from the visit of Empress Catherine II to Kostroma, it was official start mentions of Ivan Susanin as the savior of the Romanov family.
Over time, the peasant's feat became known. It was mentioned in history books. Even greater interest in Ivan Susanin appeared under Tsar Nicholas I. The feat received an official character. Poems, literary works, several operas were dedicated to the hero, works of art other.
As a memorial to posterity, it was published in 1838 royal decree about the installation of a monument main square Kostroma.
The history also indicated cases of criticism about the reliability of Susanin’s feat. Many scientists commented that the peasant was just one of the next victims at the hands of the Poles. It was also questioned who exactly killed the peasant. It was believed that at that time, Cossacks or even Russian robbers could be robbing near Kostroma.
During times October revolution the monument was destroyed. This was due to the fact that the peasant fell into the category of “servants of the kings.” Later, in 1938, Ivan Susanin was recognized as a hero who gave his life for the Tsar. This decision was made at the highest political level. The district center where Susanin lived was even renamed in honor of the hero.
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The feat of Ivan Susanin - shining example love for the Motherland, Fatherland.
Ivan Susanin as historical figure- an example of a person from the people who personifies Russia.
Despite the fact that the very name of Ivan Susanin has become practically a household name for Russian people in a situation where they are deliberately or unintentionally pointed in the wrong direction, not much is known in more detail about the heroic act of this man.
A few lines from a textbook on the history of Russia of the 17th century give little idea of the feat of a simple Russian peasant who gave his life according to the motto that Russian officers would formulate only two centuries later: “For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland!”
Prehistory of the feat of Ivan Susanin
Climbing Russian throne preceded by the Time of Troubles. The country was on the brink of destruction. The absence of a legitimate king for a long time threatened the loss of statehood. After the death of the eternal enemies of the Russians, the Poles wanted not only to seize nearby lands, but also to seize the Russian throne.
Several self-proclaimed False Dmitrys, who were encouraged and supported in every possible way by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, laid claim to the Russian throne. Capital and several major cities ended up in the hands of the enemy. It's gotten to the point where most of the boyars agreed to imprison Russian throne Polish king. But the Russian people decided to defend their state.
Under the leadership of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, it was collected civil uprising and in the fall of 1612 it happened decisive event, which put an end Polish intervention. On November 4, the Poles were finally expelled from Moscow.
The General Zemsky Sobor elected sixteen-year-old boyar Mikhail Romanov as the new tsar. He was not in Moscow at that time. He fled from the Kremlin captured by the interventionists to his estate near Kostroma. This was the village of Domnino. It was in the forests.
His mother Marfa Ioannovna entrusted her son to the village headman Ivan Susanin and his son-in-law Bogdan Sobinin. She settled in the vicinity of the Makaryev-Unzhensky Monastery.
Life for the Tsar
The Polish king Sigismund, who wanted the Russian throne for his own son, gave the order to find the chosen king before he was anointed to the throne. Capture or kill, as it turns out. The Poles had to watch out for militias and they acted secretly. Knowing approximately where Mikhail Romanov was, they tried to find guides to pass through the swamps and swamps.
They grabbed the peasants they came across and forcibly extorted the place where Mikhail Romanov was hidden. The headman of the village of Domnino, Ivan Susanin, sent his son-in-law to transport the young king to a more reliable place, and he himself volunteered to be a guide for the Poles. For a long time he led them along remote forest paths and led them to the impassable Isupovsky swamp. When it became clear to him that the Poles would not be able to organize a pursuit, he admitted that he had deliberately led them in the wrong direction.
feat of Ivan Susanin photo
Enraged enemies hacked Ivan Susanin to death on the spot and tried to get out on their own. But time was already lost. Envoys from the Zemsky Sobor were the first to meet Mikhail Romanov and Russia received a legally elected Russian Tsar. The time of unrest and lawlessness in Rus' is over.
It is difficult to imagine how the history of our state would have developed without heroic act a simple Russian peasant who did not spare his life to save hundreds of thousands of his compatriots. He saw what anarchy leads to, giving rise to unrest, strife and robbery.
The Romanov family thanked the family of Ivan Susanin with a charter, which his son-in-law Bogdan Sobinin received in 1619. According to this charter, the offspring of the heroic peasant were exempted from duties. In addition, they were given a plot of land.
But the most important thing is human memory, which to this day preserves the name of Ivan Susanin - the savior of the life of the Russian Tsar and, in his person, Russian statehood. An interesting fact: Mikhail Glinka’s opera, telling about the feat of Ivan Susanin, was originally called “A Life for the Tsar,” but after the overthrow of tsarism and the establishment of people’s power, the opera received a second name “Ivan Susanin.”
Romanov) from the Polish invaders. Doesn't exist today reliable information about the identity of this According to historical chronicles, Susanin served as headman in the village of Domnino, Kostroma district. A detachment of Polish interventionists asked Ivan Osipovich to take them to his village, where Tsar Mikhail Romanov was staying. For this Susanin was entitled to a reward. Instead, the future hero led the Poles into the After some wanderings, the invaders realized that the man decided to destroy them. After prolonged torture of the peasant, they realized that he would not indicate the road leading to the village. The Poles killed Susanin. But the murderers themselves soon died in the forest swamps. Today the name of this noble man immortalized. And proof of the hero’s existence is the letter given to his son-in-law. And also the human remains found near Kostroma, which, apparently, belonged to Susanin. Well, now we’ll take a closer look at what Ivan Susanin is famous for and study some facts of his biography.
Lifetime of Ivan Susanin
Before moving directly to the feat and personality of Ivan Osipovich Susanin, I would like to acquaint the reader with the period of time in which the great martyr lived. So that was the first half XVII century. At the beginning of the 1600s, Russia was gripped by unprecedented class, natural and religious disasters. It was during this period that the famous famine of 1601-1603 took place, the seizure of the throne by an impostor, the rise to power of Vasily Shuisky, Polish invasion 1609, as well as the militia of 1611 and many other incidents.
A large mountain has approached and where, in fact, it lived and left many blank spots. Episodes characterizing that time include: the destruction of Kostroma in 1608-1609 by False Dmitry II, the attack on the Ipatiev Monastery, the defeat Polish troops Kineshma and other bloody events.
Whether the events described above, namely anxiety, internecine squabbles and the invasion of enemies, had any relation to Susanin and his relatives or whether they bypassed their family for some time is unknown. But this entire era is the time when Ivan Susanin lived. And the war approached the hero’s house when it seemed to have already ended.
Susanin's personality
Ivan Susanin, whose biography contains very little known facts, the personality is still interesting. Little is known to us about the existence of this man. We only know that Ivan had a daughter with a name unusual for our time - Antonida. Her husband was the peasant Bogdan Sabinin. Susanin had two grandchildren - Konstantin and Daniil, but it is not known exactly when they were born.
There is also no information about Ivan Osipovich’s wife. Historians are inclined to believe that at the time the peasant committed the feat, she was no longer alive. And since during the same period Antonida turned 16 years old, scientists, when asked how old Ivan Susanin was when he led the Poles into the forest, answer that he was in mature age. That is, it is about 32-40 years.
When everything happened
Today, many people know why Ivan Susanin is famous and what feat he accomplished. But there are several versions regarding what year and time everything happened. Opinion one: the event took place in the late autumn of 1612. The following information is provided as evidence in favor of this date. In some legends we're talking about that Ivan hid the king in a hole in a barn that had recently been burned. The story also says that the hero also covered the pit with charred boards. But this theory was denied by most researchers. If this is true, and the ancient legends do not lie, then it really was in the fall, since the barns were heated and burned at this time of year.
Or maybe it was the last winter month of 1613?
Conscious ordinary people, thanks to numerous artistic canvases, literary works and Glinka’s opera M.I., the image of Ivan Susanin, who led the Poles through snowdrifts through the forest, was firmly entrenched. And this generally accepted version. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the feat was accomplished somewhere in the second part of February or the first half of March. At this time, the Poles were sent, who were to kill Tsar Michael in order to destroy the stabilization of Russia and conduct a further struggle for the right to become the head of the Russian throne.
But one way or another, no one will ever know the truth about exact date accomplishing a feat. After all, an incredibly large number of important details remain a mystery. And those that were saved were most likely interpreted incorrectly. We know what Ivan Susanin is famous for. And let everything else remain a myth.
Death of Susanin in Derevnishche
In several historical chronicles, which tell how Ivan Susanin hid Romanov in a pit in the village of Derevnische, they also talk about how in the same village the Poles tortured Ivan Osipovich and then took his life. But this theory is not supported by any documents. This version was not supported by almost anyone who researched the life of the famous hero.
The most common version of death
The following theory regarding the hero's death is the most famous and most supported by historians. According to it, Ivan Susanin, whose feat is described above, died in the Isupov swamp. And the image of a red pine tree that grew on the hero’s blood is considered incredibly poetic. The second name of the swamp sounds like “Clean”, for it is washed with the suffering blood of Ivan Osipovich. But all this is just folklore speculation. But be that as it may, it is the swamp that is the main scene of action for the entire Susanin feat. The peasant led the Poles through the quagmire, luring them into the very depths of the forest, away from the village they needed.
But along with this, many questions arise. If Ivan Susanin (the story of the feat is described above) really died in the swamp, then did all the Poles die after his death? Or only some of them have sunk into oblivion? In this case, who said that the peasant was no longer alive? There is no mention of the death of the Poles in any documents that historians have been able to find. But there is an opinion that the real (and not folklore) hero Ivan died not in the swamp, but in some other place.
Death in the village of Isupovo
The third version regarding the death of Ivan says that he died not in the swamp, but in the village of Isupovo. This is evidenced by a document in which Susanin’s great-grandson (I. L. Sobinin) asks Empress Anna Ioannovna to confirm the benefits granted to the descendants of Ivan Susanin. According to this petition, it was in the indicated village that Ivan Osipovich died. If you believe this legend, then the residents of Isupovo also saw the death of their fellow countryman. Then it turns out that they brought bad news to the village of Domnino, and perhaps they delivered the body of the deceased there.
This version is the only theory that has documentary evidence. It is also considered the most real. In addition, the great-grandson, who was not so distant in time from his great-grandfather, could not help but know what Ivan Susanin was famous for and where he died. Many historians also share this hypothesis.
Where is Ivan Osipovich Susanin buried?
A natural question would be where is the grave of the Russian hero. If you believe the legend that he died in the village of Isupovo, and not in the swamp of the same name, then burial must be mandatory. It is assumed that the body of the deceased was buried in the cemetery near the Church of the Resurrection, which was a parish church for residents of the villages of Derevnische and Domnino. But there is no significant and multiple evidence of this fact.
It is impossible not to mention the fact that a little later after the burial, Ivan’s body was reburied in the Ipatiev Monastery. This is also a version that does not have solid evidence. And it was rejected by almost all researchers of Susanin’s feat.
The feat of Ivan Susanin has long become a symbol of self-sacrifice in the name of a high goal. At the same time, as often happens, the heroic legend almost completely replaced historical truth. Although people began to seriously doubt the veracity of the story about how a peasant saved the Tsar by leading a Polish detachment into the forest back in the 19th century.
Canonical history
Ivan Susanina, whom every schoolchild knows, looks like this. Somewhere in December 1613, not far from Kostroma, a Polish-Lithuanian detachment appeared, looking for a way to the village of Domnino. This village was the patrimony of the boyar family of the Shestovs, to which the mother of Mikhail Romanov belonged. Tom was only 16 years old, but six months ago he was elected Zemsky Sobor and crowned as sovereign, king and Grand Duke all Rus'. The Poles were hunting for him.
Certificate of Complaint
Quite recently it was practically in their hands, but now the Troubles were clearly coming to an end. The Polish garrison was expelled from Moscow, and the defeated and disunited country finally had a legitimate king. Capturing the newly-christened tsar and forcing him to abdicate the throne (preferably in favor of a candidate from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) was a real chance for the interventionists to take revenge. It was just a matter of getting to the Kostroma estate, where Mikhail Fedorovich and his mother, nun Marfa, were located.
Lost in the forest, the Poles came across a local peasant, Ivan Susanin, and ordered him to show the way. Having agreed for the sake of appearance, Susanin led the detachment in the other direction. While he was leading the Poles deeper into the forest, his son-in-law Bogdan Sabinin hurried to Domnino and warned the tsar about the danger. When Susanin’s deception was revealed, the Poles tortured him to death, but they themselves also disappeared in the forest (although, according to another version, he brought them to the neighboring village of Isupovo, where the brutal reprisal took place). Mikhail Fedorovich and Martha, meanwhile, managed to take refuge behind the walls of the Ipatiev Monastery.
Of all the heroes of this story (except for the king and his relatives, of course), scientists have proven the reality of only one person. This is the same son-in-law of Susanin - Bogdan Sabinin. His name appears in the letter of grant, which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich signed on November 30, 1619, “... in those years, Polish and Lithuanian people came to Kostroma district, and his father-in-law, Bogdashkov, Ivan Susanin was taken away by the Lithuanian people, and he was tortured with great unmeasured torment, but they tortured him, where were we at that time, great sovereign, the Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of all Rus' were, and he, Ivan, knowing about us, the great sovereign, where we were at that time, suffering from those Polish and Lithuanian people unmeasurable torture, about us, the great sovereign, those Polish and Lithuanian He didn’t tell the people where we were at that time, and the Polish and Lithuanian people tortured him to death,” this is how the story of the feat is floridly stated in the letter.
In gratitude for his service, half of the village was transferred to Bogdan Sabinin with exemption from all taxes and taxes. Sabinin’s descendants retained these privileges for centuries - “whitewashing” from all duties was confirmed by royal letters until 1837.
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By the grace of God, we, the Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich of All Russia, the autocrat, granted the village of Domnina to the Kostroma district of the peasant Bogdashka Sobinin for his service to us, for the blood and patience of his father-in-law Ivan Susanin, just as we, the Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich of All Russia, last year in 121 we were in Kostroma, and at that time Polish and Lithuanian people came to the Kostroma district, and his father-in-law, Bogdashkov, Ivan Susanin, at that time the Lithuanian people seized and tortured for us the great sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich all Russia, where we were at that time. And he, Ivan, knowing the great sovereign about me, did not say anything, and the Polish and Lithuanian people tortured him to death. And we, the Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich of all Russia, granted Bogdashka for his father-in-law Ivan Susanin’s service to us and for blood in the Kostroma district |
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of our palace village of Domnina, half of the village of Derevnisch, on which he, Bogdashka, lived, one and a half quarters of land ordered him to be whitewashed and he would live in that village without any data. And last year, in the year 138, by our decree, the village of Domnino with its villages and their village was given to the monastery of the Savior on Novaya by our mother, the great empress monk Marfa Ivanovna. And Spaska the archimarite and his half of the village of Derevnische have denigrated and are using all kinds of income for the monastery. And we, the Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich of all Russia, instead of that village of Villages of that Bogdashka Sobinin, granted his wife his widow Ontonida with her children with Danilko and with Kostya for patience and for the blood of her father Ivan Susanin in the Kostroma district of the village of Krasny village of Podolsk, Korobovo wasteland to the patrimony and to their clan, motionless, they ordered to whitewash on it, on Ontonidka, and on her children and on our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, no taxes, feed and carts and all kinds of supplies, and for city crafts and for bridging and in other what taxes are there? |
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the puchtoshi did not order imati. And according to the scribal books of Yakov Kondyrev and the clerk Ivan Chentsov, in the year 140, in the Kostroma district of the village of Krasny village of Podolsky, the Korobovo wasteland was written, and in it there were three quarters of arable, thin land, and fifteen quarters of fallow land and forest. And in total, the arable land was plowed and overgrown with fallow trees and forests, about 100 meters in the field, and in two of the same, there were seventy kopecks of hay in the field and between the fields. And then our village of Krasnoe will be given back, and that wasteland will not be given to anyone either as an estate or as a patrimony and will not be taken away from them. And to own it according to this royal grant of ours to her, Ontonidka, and to her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and to their descendants is immovable. Our royal charter was given in the reigning city of Moscow in the summer of January 7141 on the 30th day. On the back of that letter of grant he writes: Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhailo Fedorovich of All Russia, autocrat...” |
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Confirmation of Tsars Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich September 1691 |
Savior of the House of Romanov
Before late XVIII centuries, the memory of Ivan Susanin was preserved only in Kostroma province, among his fellow countrymen. Perhaps, over time, this story would have completely passed into the status of a family legend of the Sabinin family. But in 1767, Catherine the Great suddenly drew attention to her.
During her visit to Kostroma, she was very pleased with the speech of the local bishop Damaskin, who in his welcoming speech called Ivan Susanin the savior of the founder of the Romanov dynasty. After this, the name of Ivan Susanin took its place in official ideology. The Kostroma peasant became almost the closest associate of Mikhail Fedorovich, who gave his life to young king raised the country from ruins.
The main creator of the canonical plot was the historian Sergei Glinka, who in 1812 wrote a detailed article “The Peasant Ivan Susanin, the Winner of Revenge and the Deliverer of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov.” Almost all the details of Susanin’s feat, which we are accustomed to consider true, have their roots in this article. Which, alas, was written almost during complete absence historical sources. It was more literature than historical research. However, it was so appropriate that it entered both official historiography and public ideas about the Troubles.
The veneration of Susanin reached its apogee under Nicholas I. Poems, drawings, dramas, and operas were created (the most famous of which is “A Life for the Tsar” by Mikhail Glinka). And the emperor himself signed a decree in 1835: central square Kostroma was henceforth called Susaninskaya and a monument was ordered to be erected on it “as evidence of what noble descendants saw in immortal feat Susanin - saving the life of the Tsar newly elected by the Russian land through the sacrifice of his life - salvation Orthodox faith and the Russian kingdom from foreign domination and enslavement." The monument was inaugurated on March 14, 1851 (old style).
Inconvenient version
However, the more the cult of Susanin strengthened, the more questions arose about the personality of the hero himself. Since no sources have survived about his life, the details of his biography were constantly changing. It was not even clear in which village he lived - in Domnino or in the nearby Derevenki. If at first Susanin was called a “simple peasant,” then he gradually “grew up” to the position of patrimonial headman. And later authors even “promoted” Susanin to the manager of the Domninsky estate of the Shestovs.
There are ambiguities even with the name of the national hero. At some stage, he suddenly acquired the middle name Osipovich, which does not appear in any document of the 17th century. Then it disappeared again, just as mysteriously as it had appeared. The only fact that was never in doubt and was documented was that Susanin had a daughter, Antonida, who married Bogdan Sabinin.
In the second half of the 19th century, scientists took the heroic myth seriously. The great Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov, without embarrassment, called the entire story about Ivan Susanin an “anecdote” that “became a more or less generally accepted fact.” Recognizing as real the very fact of the existence of the Kostroma peasant who died in 1613, Kostomarov questioned the main thing - the story of the salvation of the Tsar. “Susanin’s suffering is an incident that in itself was very common at that time. Then the Cossacks wandered through the villages and burned and tortured peasants. It could be that the robbers who attacked Susanin were the same kind of thieves, and the event, so loudly glorified later, was one of many that year. After a while, Susanin’s son-in-law took advantage of it and begged for a whitewash,” the scientist wrote.
For this position, Kostomarov was seriously attacked by numerous patriots who considered his position an insult historical memory. In his Autobiography, the historian answered his opponents: “Meanwhile true love The historian's attitude towards his fatherland can only manifest itself in strict respect for the truth. There is no dishonor to the Fatherland if a person who was previously mistakenly recognized as highly valorous is under critical reception analysis will appear completely different from the form in which we are accustomed to seeing it.”
Unanswered Questions
However, Kostomarov’s point of view aroused criticism from his colleagues. Russian classic historical science Sergei Solovyov believed that the grant of 1619 confirmed the reality of Susanin’s feat. “If Susanin himself had been exhausted, but remained alive, then, of course, he would have been awarded,” he wrote, “but he himself was not alive, there was no wife, there were no sons, there was only one daughter, a cut off piece according to the then ( Yes, and according to current) concepts. However, she was also awarded!”
Conservative historian Mikhail Pogodin, who was Kostomarov’s eternal opponent, burst out with a huge article “For Susanin!”, in which he called for thinking logically: “Recognizing the existence and authenticity of the letter, Mr. Kostomarov does not believe in its content: there is a letter, but there was no event: Susanin did not saved Mikhail!
A serious controversy broke out between Nikolai Kostomarov and Kostroma local historian Nikolai Vinogradov. Having studied in detail a mass of documents from the time of the Troubles, Kostomarov insisted that there simply could not have been any Polish-Lithuanian detachments near Kostroma in the winter of 1613. However, Vinogradov found other facts that refute these conclusions. He also confirmed that information about the planned election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom was quite widely known already in February 1613. So, if desired, there was more than enough time to equip and send a detachment on a special mission.
And yet some questions remain unanswered. The removal (or, more likely, the capture) of the Russian Tsar is a matter of extreme importance. They couldn’t entrust it to just anyone. This means that this same detachment should have been led by a fairly well-known nobleman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. And high-born enough to use force against the monarch (even if not recognized by the Poles). If you can believe in the presence of any gang near Kostroma (no matter, Polish or Cossack), then the presence of a detachment led by a representative of the Polish elite already requires at least some confirmation. But he's not there.
Another question formulated by Kostomarov, to which no one could give an intelligible answer, was why the award found the “hero” (that is, Bogdan Sabinin) only six years after the event itself? For such things as saving the life of the king, they were usually rewarded immediately, on the spot. It is more likely that Sabinin waited several years so that the events would be somewhat erased from the memory of eyewitnesses and it would be more difficult to verify his story about the heroic test that saved the Tsar. And the calculation turned out to be correct - the generous tsar liked the story, but Susanin’s fellow villagers no longer really remembered who and why exactly killed their neighbor in a hard time.
New time - new songs
In Soviet times, a funny metamorphosis occurred with Ivan Susanin. For quite a short time he managed to be in the category of enemies new government, and then again took his usual place in the pantheon of heroes. The fact is that immediately after the 1917 revolution, it was ordered to destroy monuments to “the kings and their servants.” Since on the Kostroma monument Susanin was depicted next to Mikhail Fedorovich, the monument was demolished, and the peasant himself was recorded as a “servant of the autocracy.”
However, in the late 1930s, when the active search heroic examples from the past, Ivan Susanin quite confidently stood on the same line with Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Nevsky and other great patriots. In Soviet historiography, the emphasis, of course, was not on saving the Tsar, but on the fact that a simple peasant refused to cooperate with the enemies of his homeland, preferring to sacrifice his life. Such examples Soviet propaganda were needed.
In 1939 in Bolshoi Theater"A Life for the Tsar" was staged again. Now, however, it was simply called “Ivan Susanin,” and the libretto was radically rewritten taking into account the new ideology. In this version, the Poles demanded that they be taken not to the Shestov estate, but to secret place gathering of Minin's militia (the plot was thus built on an anachronism). In the finale, a detachment of militias under the command of Minin and Sabinin defeats the Poles, but they fail to save Susanin.
In August 1939, the regional center of Molvitino was officially renamed Susanino, and the entire district became Susaninsky. At that time they belonged to Yaroslavl region and only in 1944 they returned to Kostroma again. But the square in Kostroma again became Susaninskaya only in 1992. Since 1918, it bore the name Revolution Square.
Predecessors and successors
Other representatives of the people who provided important services to the Romanov family are often compared with Ivan Susanin. For example, the priest Ermolai Gerasimov was the liaison between the nun Martha and Filaret Romanov, after they were forcibly tonsured and exiled by Boris Godunov. In 1614, Ermolai and his descendants received an extensive estate, tax exemption and other grants. It must be said that in general he was given much more generous gifts than Susanin’s relatives.
In 1866, Osip Komissarov, a native of the village of Molvitino, saved the life of Emperor Alexander II. While in St. Petersburg, he accidentally found himself in a crowd near Summer Garden, watching the emperor get into the carriage. Komissarov saw terrorist Dmitry Karakozov pointing a pistol and pushed him, knocking down the aim. For this he was showered with favors, received hereditary nobility and the Order of St. Vladimir, IV degree.
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