- an impostor, also known under the name of "Tushinsky thief." Unknown, according to some sources, Jewish origin. Wandering at the beginning of the Time of Troubles across Belarus and the Seversk land, in Starodub he pretended to be one of the Nagikh boyars. Meanwhile, there were rumors among the Starodub residents that Tsarevich Dmitry, who had survived, was in their city. The spreader of these rumors, A. Rukin, pointed to the imaginary Nagoy, calling him Dmitry. He accepted the imposture (1607), and military detachments of seekers of robbery and adventure began to flock to him in Starodub. By 3000 different rabble, rallied around False Dmitry II, Mekhovetsky joined with Ukrainian freemen. The new impostor was also recognized by the ataman of the Don Cossacks Zarutsky. False Dmitry II with his gangs took the cities of Karachev, Bryansk, Kozelsk and Orel, where he was joined by large Polish and Lithuanian-Russian detachments of freemen, as well as Prince Rozhinsky. The forces of Tsar Vasily Shuisky were defeated on May 11, 1608. False Dmitry hastily moved towards Moscow and on June 1, 1608 settled down near the village of Tushino, 12 versts from it. Returning from Russian captivity, the wife of the first impostor, Marina Mnishek, agreed to admit that False Dmitry II really was the surviving False Dmitry I and was taken to the Tushino camp.

Up to 18,000 cavalry and 2,000 Polish infantry were concentrated there, up to 30,000 Cossacks and up to 15,000 Don Cossacks. The main strength of the Tushinsky thief was in the Cossacks, who sought to overthrow the old order and to establish Cossack freemen throughout Russia. False Dmitry II supported these plans. He announced the seizure of boyar estates and the distribution of these lands to everyone who seized them, etc. Gradually, different cities began to obey him: first, border cities with Lithuania (Nevel, Velikiye Luki, Pskov), then those closest to Moscow (Pereyaslavl-Zaleski, Suzdal, Uglich, Rostov), ​​and after - northern and eastern (Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Shuya, Balakhna, Gorokhovets, Murom, Arzamas, Shatsk, Kostroma, Vologda, Kashin and many others). Captured in Rostov, Metropolitan Philaret (boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, tonsured under Boris Godunov, the founder of the future dynasty) was brought to Tushino and declared patriarch there.

S. Ivanov. Camp of False Dmitry II in Tushino

It seemed that False Dmitry II would soon occupy Moscow, from where numerous noble “flights” began to flee to him. However, his position soon changed. The attack of the Tushians to the capital ended in failure. Tsar Vasily Shuisky, who was sitting there, concluded an agreement with the Swedes and received help from them. The siege by the supporter of False Dmitry II, Sapieha, of the Trinity Lavra also ended in failure. Many, especially remote, cities began to be postponed from the case of False Dmitry. The beginning of a campaign against Russia by the Polish king Sigismund III, who declared himself a direct rival of the Thief and arrived near Smolensk in the autumn of 1609, distracted most of the Poles from the Tushino camp. Discord and disagreement began in the camp of False Dmitry II. At the very end of 1609, Vor fled to Kaluga, followed by Marina. The Tushino camp disintegrated.

Arrival of False Dmitry II in Kaluga after fleeing from Tushin. Artist N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky

In the summer of 1607, a new impostor is announced in the Bryansk lands, claiming that he is Tsarevich Dmitry, who miraculously survived. Relying on the Polish gentry, who still believed in the possibility of the accession of the Polish tsar in Rus', together with the opposition ataman Zarutsky, he put forward troops to Moscow. Contemporaries claim that outwardly he looked like the first impostor False Dmitry, but reliable data on his person have not yet been found.

At the same time, False Dmitry II supported the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov, after which he advanced to Tula to unite with the rebels. However, this did not happen. In the spring of 1608, the army of the impostor approached Moscow, defeated the Russian army commanded by Shuisky, and then fortified in the village of Tushino. As a result of this operation, Tushino became a center for people who were dissatisfied with the rule of Vasily Shuisky. Already in the fall, the Tushino people began robberies and robberies, and the siege of Moscow lasted about two years.

Shuisky could not independently repulse the powerful army of False Dmitry II, and therefore he was forced to turn to Sweden for military support. So in 1609 an agreement is concluded, according to which Sweden receives Karelians from Russia, in exchange for military aid Vasily Shuisky. In early spring, Swedish troops approached the Russian borders, and Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who was the tsar's nephew, was appointed commander-in-chief.

However, the Russian-Swedish agreement also becomes a pretext for intervention in this "strife" of the Polish side. At the same time, Sweden and Poland at that time were already at war with each other. The Poles began an active intervention and by September 1609 besieged the city of Smolensk, heroically defending for twenty months.

At that time, Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, together with the Swedish troops, approached Moscow, setting up the Tushino camp and forcing False Dmitry II to flee to Poland. His associates conclude an agreement with Sigismund (the Polish king) and take his son Vladislav to the throne.

By the spring of 1610, the Tushino camp was completely empty, and Muscovites welcomed the victorious Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, on whom all the people's hopes were directed in the fight against enemies. However, in April 1610 he died under mysterious circumstances.

After another unsuccessful campaign against Moscow, False Dmitry was killed by cutting with a saber.

Video lecture: reign and brief biography of False Dmitry 2

False Dmitry II is the second impostor who pretended to be the son of Ivan IV. He was also an adventurer and impostor who allegedly managed to escape during the 1606 uprising. Molchanov, who participated in the murder of Fyodor Godunov, who fled to the western borders, began to spread the rumor that Tsarevich Dmitry managed to survive.

The question of the origin of the impostor causes much controversy. His appearance was beneficial to certain circles. He first appears in Belarus (in Propoisk), was caught as a spy and called himself Andrei Nagim, said that he was a relative of the murdered Tsar Dmitry and was forced to hide from Shuisky. The detainee asked to be sent to Starodub. Arriving there, he begins to spread rumors that the living Tsar Dmitry is in the city. When searching for Dmitry, they pointed to Nagogo. He initially refused, but the townspeople began to threaten the stranger with torture, the stranger called himself Dmitry.

Tushinsky thief

Supporters of the king began to gather in this small town. In 1607, campaigns were carried out against Bryansk and Tula.

They reached the capital, but the Kremlin failed to capture. The invaders settled in the city near Moscow - Tushino, so the adventurer was nicknamed the Tushino thief.

His army was made up of Poles who left Moscow after the execution of False Dmitry I. It was led by princes Vishnevetsky and Ruzhinsky. They were joined by detachments of Cossacks, led by Zarutsky, and small groups of Bolotnikov, who had survived the rout. About 3,000 warriors gathered.

In Tushino, the impostor formed a government, which included some Russian feudal lords and clerks (Filaret Romanov, princes Trubetskoy and others). The actual leadership was in the hands of the Polish commanders, led by Hetman Ruzhinsky.

False Dmitry II in August 1608 managed to carry out a secret wedding with Marina Mnishek, the Pole "recognized" her husband in him. Part of the Moscow boyars (Tushino flights), dissatisfied with Tsar Vasily Shuisky, supported the impostor.

In April 1609, False Dmitry II appeared before the people. On his head was a hat adorned with precious stones, they shone with sunshine. So there was a saying that a hat on a thief is on fire.

False Dmitry II managed to take advantage of the popular struggle against the power of Shuisky and take control of the territories in the east, north and north-west of Moscow. In order to attract the landlords, the Pretender began distributing land with the peasants.

The territory that fell under the control of the ruler was subjected to monetary and in-kind requisitions for the maintenance of the Polish army. This policy gave rise to the national - liberation struggle.

Since 1609, the lands controlled by False Dmitry have been rapidly shrinking. In the summer, the Poles begin an intervention against Russian state, which led to the collapse of the rate in Tushino. The Poles and some Russian feudal lords go over to the side of Sigismund III. At the end of 1609, the impostor fled to Kaluga.

End of reign

Following her husband, Marina Mnishek comes to the city. On December 11, the Tushino thief was killed by the baptized Tatar Pyotr Urusov. He cuts his shoulder with a saber, Urusov's brother cut off the impostor's head. It was revenge for the fact that False Dmitry executed Uraz-Mohammed (Kasimov king).

Shortly after the death of the Self-proclaimed Tsar, a boy was born to Mniszek. They named him Ivan, the people called him "Vorenok". The Polish pani did not long for her husband, her next husband was the Cossack ataman Zarutsky.

Polish troops managed to capture Smolensk, as the country was completely devastated.

Probably many more school years I remember the phrase "Tushinsky thief." The fact that this nickname meant False Dmitry 2, most learned from the lessons of national history.

Biography of the impostor

Until now, neither the real name nor the origin of this mysterious person is known. There are only extremely cautious and practically unfounded assumptions about who False Dmitry 2 was in reality. The biography of the impostor is a "white spot". According to one version, he was the son of a priest. Another source tells us that False Dmitry 2 had Jewish roots that go back to a rundown province, but there is no reliable information. Speaking briefly about such a person as False Dmitry 2, we can say with confidence: the adventurism that is inherent in any Russian person, as well as susceptibility to foreign influence, played a detrimental role in his fate.

An impostor appeared in the summer of 1607 in Starodub. His entire short life was spent in local skirmishes and wars. The strategy of False Dmitry 2 was based on the version that his predecessor survived after the uprising in Moscow. Despite his cunning, he was less fortunate. The reign of False Dmitry 2 did not take place, since he did not manage to get to the capital to be crowned. His main hope was on the troops of Ivan Bolotnikov. The impostor believed that they would help capture Moscow, but Bolotnikov could not provide significant assistance.

Policy

In the piggy bank of victories of False Dmitry 2, there were only local short-term triumphs. It is surprising that he was generally able to place even insignificant forces under his banners. He began his journey up the stairs to the goal with a trip to the Belarusian cities of Propoisk and Starodub. Having shown courage, the impostor introduced himself as Dimitri Ioannovich. In a short period of time, he managed to gain trust a large number people and gather soldiers from the treasury, as well as the rebels of Ivan Bolotnikov, into their entourage. Under the leadership of this dubious subject, the resulting group advanced towards Bryansk, and then to Tula. The first triumphs inspired the army. During the siege of the capital, half of the local nobility went over to False Dmitry 2, who claimed the Russian throne. Having defeated Vasily Shuisky, the impostor was defeated near Khimki on Presnya. Nevertheless, he managed to organize a camp in Tushino near Moscow. Here, a local community began to operate its own routines and orders. False Dmitry 2 controlled the territories north of Moscow, such big cities like Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov. After the capture of the latter, the detachments brought the captive Metropolitan Filaret Romanov to Tushino, where they proclaimed him patriarch. Significant support was provided by popular unrest, reinforced by dissatisfaction with the power of the boyars and Vasily Shuisky.

Strengthening the position

Meanwhile, in pursuit of power and easy money, in July 1608, Marina Mnishek arrived in Tushino, who was the official widow of False Dmitry 1. Under the terms of the armistice agreement with the Poles, she was released into the wild.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the woman recognized her husband in the “Tushinsky thief”, who allegedly escaped by a miracle. Of course given fact once again confirmed the false status of the impostor in the eyes of others. Subsequently, the couple secretly married, and they had a son.

The power of the Polish interventionists

Anarchy was finally established in the country. The Poles divided and ruled in the Tushino court. It was in their hands that control was, they corrected the actions of their puppet: the policy of False Dmitry 2 was completely controlled by the Poles. Taking advantage of this, the Poles willingly robbed and ruined ordinary peasants. Endless robbery raids began to run into armed responses from the townspeople and peasants.

In the period from September 1608 to January 1610, detachments of Poland and Lithuania kept the Trinity-Sergius Monastery under siege. Despite the difficult situation, the defenders of the monastery managed to repel all enemy attacks and defend the shrine.

Polish invaders in 1609 made an attempt to capture Smolensk, but it was unsuccessful. It also failed to put its prince, Vladislav, on the Russian throne.

inglorious end

Thanks to the efforts of a remarkable military leader and an excellent strategist - Skopin-Shuisky M.V. plans of False Dmitry 2 were upset. In 1609, the Tushino camp finally disintegrated. The assembled rabble did not want to obey anyone, everyone just wanted easy money. False Dmitry 2 did not find another way out, how to flee to Kaluga. But even there he did not find salvation: death found the impostor in Kaluga region, where he was shot dead by his own serviceman - Urusov P.

Meanwhile, the fate of Ivan Bolotnikov, who supported False Dmitry 2, was no less sad. He was first blinded and then killed by a blow to the head with a club. The lifeless body of Bolotnikov was thrown into the hole.

Chronology

Thus, if we analyze the path that False Dmitry 2 went through, briefly, we can distinguish several main stages:

1607 - the appearance of an impostor who introduced himself as the surviving False Dmitry 1;

1608 - the formation of its own army from the remnants of troops of various stripes;

May 11, 1608 - the defeat of government troops under the leadership of Shuisky, the formation of the Tushino camp, the seizure of new lands;

1609 - the appearance in the camp of discord, the weakening of the position of False Dmitry 2;

1610 - the dissolution of the Tushino camp, the flight of False Dmitry 2 to Kaluga;

The location of the remains of False Dmitry 2 is not known, but there is an opinion that they are located in one of the Kaluga churches.

False Dmitry II, Also Tushinsky or Kaluga thief(date and place of birth unknown - died on December 11 (21) of the year, Kaluga) - an impostor posing as the son of Ivan IV the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry and, accordingly, Tsar False Dmitry I, who allegedly survived by a miracle on May 17 (27) of the year. The real name and origin has not been established, although there are many versions. Before the announcement of his royal name in the Russian city of Starodub, a short time the impostor pretended to be Andrei Nagogoi, a relative of Tsar Dmitry who never existed. At the height of his influence, the impostor controlled a large part of the Russian kingdom, although he failed to take Moscow, which remained under the control of the administration of the official Tsar Vasily IV Shuisky. In Russian historiography (unlike False Dmitry I), False Dmitry II is usually not considered a tsar, since he did not control the Kremlin, although a significant part of Russia swore allegiance to him.

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    Subtitles

Hopes and Rumors

Rumors about a “miraculous rescue” and the imminent return of the tsar began to circulate immediately after the death of False Dmitry I. The reason for this was the fact that the body of the impostor was brutally mutilated, and soon after being put to shame, it was covered with dirt and sewage. Muscovites, in fact, were divided into two camps - those who rejoiced at the fall of the impostor, recalled, among other things, his marriage to a "nasty Pole", and behavior that did not correspond much to the status of the Russian Tsar. In the depths of this group, rumors were born that a cross was found in the boot of the murdered man, on which the “defrocked” blasphemously stepped at every step, that animals and birds abhor the body, the earth does not accept it and rejects the fire. Such views were in the interests of the boyar elite, who overthrew the impostor, and therefore, among other things, to please the adherents of ancient splendor, the corpse of False Dmitry was taken to the village of Kotly and burned there; the ashes of the former king, mixed with gunpowder, were shot towards Poland, from where he came. On the same day, "hell" was burned to the ground - a funny fortress built by an impostor.

But there were more than enough adherents of the deposed tsar in Moscow, and among them stories immediately began to circulate that he managed to escape from the "dashing boyars." A certain nobleman, looking at the body, shouted that it was not Dmitry in front of him, and, whipping his horse, immediately rushed away. They recalled that the mask did not allow to see the face, and the hair and nails of the corpse turned out to be too long, despite the fact that the king cut his hair short shortly before the wedding. They assured that instead of the king his double was killed, later even the name was called - Peter Borkovsky. Konrad Bussow believed that these rumors were partly spread by the Poles, in particular, the former tsar's secretary Buchinsky openly stated that there was no noticeable sign on the body under the left breast, which he supposedly saw well when he washed with the tsar in the bath.

A week after the death of the “defrocked” in Moscow, “anonymous letters” appeared at night, allegedly written by the surviving tsar. A lot of leaflets were even nailed to the gates of the boyar houses, in them "Tsar Dmitry" announced that he " escaped murder and God himself saved him from traitors».

Circumstances of appearance

“The Jews were part of the retinue of the impostor and suffered during his deposition. According to some reports ... False Dmitry II was a cross from the Jews and served in the retinue of False Dmitry I "

Starodub camp

However, on initial period the number of Polish mercenaries in the army of False Dmitry II was not numerous and barely exceeded 1 thousand people. The Commonwealth was on the eve of a decisive battle between the supporters of Sigismund III and the rebellious gentry, and at that moment the Poles had no time for an impostor. Trying to attract as many service people as possible to his side, False Dmitry II confirmed all the previous awards and benefits of False Dmitry I to the Seversk destinies.

Tula campaign, siege of Bryansk

In 1607-1608, False Dmitry II issued a decree on serfs, giving them the lands of "traitors" boyars and even allowing them to forcefully marry boyar daughters. Thus, many serfs, having sworn allegiance to the impostor, received not only freedom, but also became nobles, while their masters in Moscow had to starve. Due to non-payment of salaries to Polish mercenaries, a coup took place in the military leadership of the rebel army, which was led by the Lithuanian prince Roman Rozhinsky. Hetman Mekhovetsky was removed and expelled from the camp, about 4 thousand Polish mercenaries left with him. Prince Roman Rozhinsky was proclaimed the new hetman of the impostor.

The number of the army of False Dmitry II in the Oryol camp was about 27 thousand people, of which there were about 5.6 thousand Polish mercenaries, 3 thousand Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, 5 thousand Don Cossacks, the rest were apparently archers, nobles, boyar children, fighting serfs and Tatars.

First Moscow campaign

In the spring, the rebel army moved from Orel to Moscow. In the Battle of Zaraisk, the detachment of Pan Alexander Lisovsky defeated tsarist army. After that, Lisovsky's army occupied Mikhailov and Kolomna. In a two-day battle near Bolkhov on April 30 (May 10) - May 1 (11), Hetman Rozhinsky defeated Shuisky's army (led by the tsar's brothers, Dmitry and Ivan). The warriors who fled from the battlefield spread terrible rumors that "Tsar Dmitry" had an innumerable army. There were rumors in Moscow that Shuisky allegedly intended to surrender the capital because of numerous failures. The cities of Kozelsk, Kaluga and Zvenigorod solemnly opened their gates to False Dmitry II. Tula also swore allegiance to the impostor, who until recently kissed the cross to Tsar Vasily. Local nobles, fearing the decree on the lackeys of False Dmitry II, left the cities with their families and went to Moscow or Smolensk.

An eyewitness and writer of the Time of Troubles, Konrad Bussov, noted that if False Dmitry II, after the Bolkhov battle, had not hesitated to approach the capital, then the terrified Muscovites would have surrendered to him without a fight. However, the impostor hesitated, and this gave Vasily Shuisky a chance to strengthen his position in Moscow, as well as to prepare a new army, which was led by his nephew Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. Prince Skopin hoped to defeat False Dmitry II on the nearest approaches to Moscow, but treason was discovered in his army - princes Ivan Katyrev, Yuri Trubetskoy and Ivan Troyekurov plotted in favor of the impostor. Mikhail was forced to return to the capital and arrest the conspirators there.

Meanwhile, the impostor's army captured Borisov and Mozhaisk. The tsar's voivodes, guarding False Dmitry II on the Tverskaya road, lost the battle to him, and in early June the impostor appeared near Moscow. On June 25 (July 5), a skirmish between the detachments of False Dmitry and the royal armies took place on Khodynka, the rebels won the battle, but they failed to take Moscow.

Tushino camp

In the summer of 1608, Tushino became the residence of False Dmitry. Hetman Rozhinsky and his captains hoped to starve the capital out. Their detachments tried to block all roads to Moscow and completely isolate the capital. But still, they failed to intercept all the roads, and on June 28 (July 8), in a fierce battle with Pan Lisovsky, government troops were able to recapture Kolomna.

False Dmitry II actually ruled Russia - he distributed land to the nobles, considered complaints, met foreign ambassadors. The official tsar, Vasily Shuisky, was locked up in Moscow and lost control of the country. To fight the Tushino “king”, Shuisky concluded an agreement with the ambassadors of King Sigismund III, according to which Poland was to recall all the Poles supporting False Dmitry, and oblige Marina Mnishek not to recognize False Dmitry II as her husband, and not to call herself the Russian sovereign. The Mniszeks gave their word that they would immediately leave the borders of Russia and promised to take all measures to stop civil war. Vasily IV equipped a detachment to escort them to the border. However, Hetman Rozhinsky and others refused to leave the work they had begun, moreover, the army of False Dmitry continued to be replenished with Poles, and in the fall Jan Sapega came with his people, who rebelled against Sigismund III due to non-payment of salaries. In addition, the Tushinos tried twice to besiege Kolomna in order to completely block Moscow, but the tsarist detachment under the command of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky inflicted a severe defeat on the impostor's detachments.

Having learned that the Mnisheks were released from Yaroslavl to Poland in pursuance of the agreement, False Dmitry decided to recapture them from the accompanying tsarist army. This was done, but Marina did not want to join the camp of False Dmitry for a long time, remaining with Sapieha, and Yuri Mnishek agreed to recognize him as his son-in-law, only after receiving a record that the impostor, having received power, would give Yuri 30 thousand rubles. and Seversky Principality with 14 cities. Finally, the Mnisheks recognized the Tushino "thief". On September 1 (11), Hetman Sapieha brought them to Tushino, where Marina Mnishek "recognized" her late husband False Dmitry I in the new impostor and secretly married him. For them, a palace staff was created, modeled on Moscow. Jan Sapieha was recognized as the second hetman of False Dmitry II along with Rozhinsky. A division of spheres of influence was made between them. Hetman Rozhinsky remained in the Tushino camp and controlled the southern and western lands, while Hetman Sapieha, together with Pan Lisovsky, became a camp near the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and began to spread the power of "Tsar Dmitry" in Zamoskovie, Pomorye and Novgorod land.

Thus, a vast territory was under the rule of the Tushino king. In the north-west, Pskov and its suburbs, Velikie Luki, Ivangorod, Koporye, Gdov, Oreshek swore allegiance to the impostor. Severshchina and the south with Astrakhan still remained under the rule of False Dmitry II. In the east, the authority of the Tushino "thief" was recognized by Murom, Kasimov, Temnikov, Arzamas, Alatyr, Sviyazhsk, as well as many northeastern cities. In the central part, the impostor was supported by Suzdal, Uglich, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vladimir and many others. Of the major centers, only Smolensk, Veliky Novgorod, Pereslavl-Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan remained loyal to Vasily Shuisky. In Kostroma, the Polish detachments, which forced them to swear allegiance to False Dmitry, first destroyed the Epiphany-Anastasiin Monastery, and then occupied the Ipatiev Monastery that supported them, however, they were captured as a result of a successful assault on this monastery (it required undermining the walls, which was carried out by two suicide bombers). Metropolitan Filaret  (Romanov) was brought from Rostov to the impostor, whom False Dmitry II elevated to patriarch.

There were two kings, two Boyar Dumas, as well as two patriarchs and two administrations in the state, in addition, the government of False Dmitry II minted its own coin, which differed from the Moscow one in increased weight. The catastrophe was not only political, but also moral: the words “flights”, “shifters” appeared, denoting those who easily and without remorse moved from one camp to another and back. New impostors also came here - the false princes August and Lavrenty, who voluntarily came to join the troops of False Dmitry II, and even at first they were hospitably received in Tushino. But soon the "king" ordered to hang these "relatives" for the reprisals against the boyars. At this time, one after another, new Cossack "princes" appeared, posing as the grandchildren of Ivan the Terrible, who robbed the south of Russia. In his manifestos, False Dmitry II was extremely dumbfounded by so many "relatives" and ordered them all to be executed. Thus, the Tushino "thief" executed seven more "nephews". Trying to attach free Cossacks to the royal service, the government of False Dmitry II created a Cossack order, which was headed by ataman and "Tushino boyar" Ivan Zarutsky. Ataman completely subordinated the Cossack freemen to "Tsar Dmitry" and Hetman Rozhinsky.

In September 1608, the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery began. Moscow, however, did not give up, and in Tushino it was necessary to build whole city with the "royal" tower. At the same time, the impostor was losing real power more and more, in December 1608, a "commission of decemvirs", consisting of 10 Polish gentry, stood at the head of the camp. They established strict control over the income and expenses of the Tushino "thief", and also sharply limited the rights of the "thieves'" Duma, orders and district Tushino governors. On the territory subject to False Dmitry II, requisitioning in kind and money was carried out in favor of his troops, the distribution of land and serfs to his adherents, which contributed to the fall of the prestige of the impostor.

In Severshchina, the position of the impostor became much more difficult. In the decaying Tushino camp on February 4 (14), near Smolensk, the Tushino Patriarch Filaret and the boyars concluded an agreement with Sigismund III, according to which the son of the king, Vladislav Zhigimontovich, was to become the Russian Tsar; an obligatory condition was the adoption by the prince of Orthodoxy. Acting on behalf of Vladislav, Sigismund III generously granted the Tushians lands that did not belong to him. In April 1610, Polish detachments captured Starodub, Pochep, Chernihiv and Novgorod-Seversky, swearing the population of these cities to Vladislav. In early May, the inhabitants of Roslavl swore allegiance to the prince.

Meanwhile, the situation in Tushin itself was becoming critical. In the south, in Kaluga, troops loyal to False Dmitry II concentrated; in the north, near Dmitrov, Skopin-Shuisky and the Swedes were pressing, hardly restrained by the Tushins. In such circumstances, hetman Rozhinsky decided to retreat to Volokolamsk. On March 6 (16)  the army set fire to the Tushino camp and set out on a campaign. The siege of Moscow finally ended. Two days later, the hetman's army was in Voloka, where Rozhinsky died from "exhaustion." His detachment, left without a leader, finally dispersed. The troops of Hetman Sapieha, having visited the king near Smolensk and having achieved nothing from him, returned to the service of the impostor.

Second Moscow campaign

In the summer, a strong Polish-Lithuanian detachment of the crown hetman Zholkiewski moved towards Moscow, and the tsarist army under the command of Dmitry Shuisky, who came forward to meet them, was defeated in the battle near the village of Klushino. The military situation in Russia worsened from day to day. The power of Vasily IV became illusory. The inhabitants of the capital, gathered in large crowds under the windows of the palace, shouted to Shuisky: “You are not our sovereign!” The frightened king did not dare to appear in public.

Zolkievsky's army entered Vyazma and approached the Russian capital from the west. False Dmitry II hastened to Moscow from the south. His troops captured Serpukhov, Borovsk, Pafnutiev Monastery and reached Moscow itself. Supporters of the impostor offered the capital's population to depose Tsar Vasily Shuisky and promised to do the same with their "king". After that, they declared, everyone will be able to jointly, with all the earth, choose a new sovereign and thereby put an end to the fratricidal war.