The Seven Boyars () were a group of Russian nobles who deposed

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Vasili Shuisky Vasili IV Ivanovich Shuisky (, 12 September 1612) was Tsar of all Russia from 1606 to 1610, after the murder of False Dmitri I. His rule coincided with the Time of Troubles. He was the only member of House of Shuisky to become tsar and ...

on and later that year, after Russia lost 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–Russian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occu ...

during the Polish–Russian War, acquiesced to the

Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Moscow The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupation of Moscow took place between 1610 and 1612 during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618), Polish intervention in Russia, when the Moscow Kremlin, Kremlin was occupie ...

. The seven were Princes Fedor Mstislavsky (the leader of the group), Ivan

Vorotynsky The Vorotynsky family was a Russian noble family which was involved in the politics of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia. Their lands lay principally in the Upper Oka region and comprised the towns of Peremyshl and Vorotyns ...

, , , , and

Boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s Ivan Romanov and

Fyodor Sheremetev Fyodor Ivanovich Sheremetev (, c. 1570–1650) was a Russian statesman in Tsar Mikhail's times, head of government in 1613–18 and 1642–46. Life Sheremetev descended from the same old Moscow milieu as the Romanovs; he was their relative and s ...

. Due to the Polish advance into Russia, the uprising of Bolotnikov in 1606–07, and other unrest during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

from 1598 to 1613, Shuisky () was never very popular, nor was he able to effectively rule outside of the capital itself. The seven deposed him and he was forcibly tonsured as a monk in the

Chudov Monastery The Chudov Monastery (; more formally known as Alexius’ Archangel Michael Monastery) was founded in the Moscow Kremlin in 1358 by Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow. The monastery was dedicated to the miracle (''chudo'' in Russian) of the Archange ...

of the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

. (

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor (Poland), Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

later carried Shuisky off to Poland, where he died in prison at

Gostynin Gostynin is a town in central Poland with 19,414 inhabitants (2004). It is the capital of Gostynin County in the Masovian Voivodship. History Gostynin has a long and rich history, which dates back to the early Middle Ages. In the 6th century, a ...

near Warsaw in 1612.) On , the seven agreed to accept Władysław, the eldest son of King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

of Poland, as Tsar of Russia. The Poles entered the city on . While some consider the rule of the seven in Moscow to have lasted only from about July 1610 until the arrival of the Poles in October, others regard their rule to have lasted until the Poles were driven from Moscow by the popular movement headed by

Kuzma Minin Kuzma Minin (), full name Kuzma Minich Zakhariev-Sukhoruky (; – May 21, 1616), was a Russian merchant who, together with Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, formed the popular uprising in Nizhny Novgorod against the Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Mosc ...

, and Princes

Dmitry Pozharsky Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky ( rus, Дми́трий Миха́йлович Пожа́рский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ pɐˈʐarskʲɪj; 17 October 1577 – 30 April 1642) was a Tsardom of Russia, Russian prince known for his ...

and

Dmitry Troubetskoy Prince Dmitry Timofeyevich Troubetzkoy (died: 24 May 1625) was a Russian military and political figure during the Time of Troubles, one of the leaders in a rebellion against the Polish occupation and the leader of the Zemsky Sobor's provisional ...

in 1612. Their power to act after October 1610, however, was rather nominal.

References

1610 in Russia Boyars

Boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

Time of Troubles {{russia-hist-stub

See also

References