The siege of the Troitsky monastery (''Троицкая осада'', ''Троицкое сидение'' in Russian, Siege of Saint Trinity) was an abortive attempt of the Polish–Lithuanian irregular army that acted in support of

False Dmitry II False Dmitry II ( rus, Лжедмитрий II, Lzhedmitrii II; died ), historically known as Pseudo-Demetrius II and also called "тушинский вор" ("rebel/criminal of Tushino"), was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne w ...

to capture the Trinity Monastery (the modern Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius) north of

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 ...

. The siege lasted for 16 months, from 23 September 1608 until 12 January 1610.

The siege

In December 1608, the Polish army of some 15,000 men, led by Jan Piotr Sapieha and

Aleksander Lisowski Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, laid siege to the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the Trinity Monastery (), which had been protecting the northern approaches to Moscow. The Russian garrison (estimated at between 2,200 and 2,400 men) consisted of

dvoryane The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire. Up until the February Revolution ...

streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...

, monastic servants,

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s, and

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s, led by the

voyevoda Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the m ...

s Prince Grigory Dolgorukov and Aleksey Golokhvastov. In early October 1608, the attackers began shelling and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

the monastery. Numerous assaults in October and November were repelled by the Russians and resulted in heavy losses for the Polish army. The besieged undertook frequent sallies, one of which (9 November) ended with the explosion of a mine under a monastery tower and the destruction of an enemy

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

on the Red Mountain, with two peasants, Shipov and Sloba, losing their lives during this sally. There had been no significant military activity from late November 1608 until May 1609, but the besieged garrison suffered many casualties due to an outbreak of

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. In May through July 1609, the Russians repelled a number of enemy attacks. On 19 October 1609, and 4 January 1610, auxiliary detachments under the command of David Zherebtsov (900 men) and Grigory Valuyev (500 men) managed to make their way into the fortress. Under the threat of the approaching army of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, the Polish forces raised the siege on 12 January 1610 and retreated to Dmitrov.

Aftermath

This defeat was a major blow for

. After King Sigismund III Vasa arrived at Smolensk in September 1609, the majority of his Polish supporters left him and joined with the armies of the Polish king. At the same time, a strong Russo-Swedish army under Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and Jacob De la Gardie approached Tushino, forcing him to flee his camp disguised as a peasant and go to Kostroma. He was killed by his own men on 11 December 1610.

References

{{Authority control Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra 1608 in Europe 1609 in Europe 1610 in Europe Conflicts in 1608 Conflicts in 1609 Conflicts in 1610 History of Bryansk Oblast 1610 in Russia 1609 in Russia 1608 in Russia

The siege

Aftermath

See also

References