Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Shuisky was a Russian
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...
from the
Shuisky family, a younger brother to
Vasily IV of Russia.
As a playmate of young
Tsarevich
Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a Slavic title given to tsars' sons. Under the 1797 Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''Tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger brothers were called '' Veli ...
Feodor Ivanovich, Dmitry was said to accompany him day and night in his devout wanderings from
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
to monastery. In 1584, his slandering of Prince Ivan
Belsky led to riots in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. Two years later, he was attested as a governor of
Kargopol. On Fyodor's accession to the throne, he quarrelled with another boyar,
Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
, and was expelled to his family patrimony in
Shuya. Later he made peace with Godunov and married his sister-in-law.
Shuisky is best remembered as a singularly incapable general. He was routed by
False Dmitry I in 1606 and shared disgrace and imprisonment with his brother Vasily. When the latter was elected
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
, he put Dmitry in charge of the army which would lose its every battle against the Polish invaders and their allies. At last he was relieved of his duties and replaced with a young cousin,
Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky
Prince Mikhail Vasiliyevich Skopin-Shuisky (russian: Михаил Васильевич Скопин-Шуйский) (8 November OS (18 November NS) 1586 – 23 April OS (3 May NS) 1610) was a Russian statesman and military figure during the Ti ...
, whom many regarded as the future tsar.
The rumour had it that Dmitry grew jealous of his much more successful colleague and poisoned Mikhail in his own house. This was cited as one of the reasons for Shuisky being snubbed by his soldiers and populace. In the
Battle of Klushino
The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occ ...
he suffered an ignominious defeat: he was asleep when the battle started and escaped to Moscow barefoot. The Poles captured him and took with them to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, where he died in 1613.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuisky, Dmitry
Dmitry
Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτρι ...
Tsardom of Russia people
1613 deaths
Russian people of the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)
Year of birth unknown
Boyars