In the mid-1540s, a turning point was outlined in the eastern policy of the Russian state. The era of boyar rule in Moscow, which switched the main attention and forces to the struggle for power, is over. This put an end to the doubts of the Moscow government regarding the Kazan Khanate. The Kazan government of Safa-Girey (Kazan Khan in 1524-1531, 1536-1546, July 1546 - March 1549) actually pushed the Moscow state to decisive actions. Safa-Girey stubbornly clung to an alliance with the Crimean Khanate and constantly violated peace agreements with Moscow. The Kazan princes regularly made predatory raids on the bordering Russian lands, receiving significant income from the sale of people into slavery. An endless war continued on the border between the Muscovy and the Kazan Khanate. Strengthened Moscow could no longer ignore the hostility of the Volga state, the influence of the Crimea (and through it the Ottoman Empire) and put up with the raids of the Tatars.
The Kazan Khanate had to be "forced into peace." The question arose - how to do it? The previous policy of supporting the pro-Russian party in Kazan and planting Moscow's henchmen on the throne virtually failed. Usually, as soon as Moscow put “its khan” on the throne of Kazan, he quickly mastered and began to pursue a policy hostile to Russia, focusing on the Crimea or the Nogai Horde. At this time, Metropolitan Macarius exerted a great influence on the policy of the Russian state, who became the initiator of many of Ivan IV's enterprises. Gradually, in his entourage of the Metropolitan, the idea of a forceful solution of the issue began to emerge, as the only means of stopping the Tatar invasions of the eastern regions of the state. At the same time, the initial complete conquest and subordination of Kazan was not envisaged. Kazan was supposed to maintain autonomy in internal affairs. Already in the process of hostilities 1547-1552. these plans have been adjusted.
Kazan campaigns of Ivan IV (1545-1552)
Several Kazan campaigns of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich are known, in most of which he personally took part. This circumstance emphasized the importance attached to these campaigns by the sovereign and his closest entourage. Almost all operations were carried out in winter, when the Crimean Khanate usually did not conduct campaigns against Russia, and it was possible to transfer the main forces from the southern borders to the Volga. In 1545, the first campaign of the Moscow troops against Kazan took place. The operation had the character of a military demonstration with the aim of strengthening the Moscow party, which at the end of 1545 managed to expel Khan Safa-Girey from Kazan. In the spring of 1546, a Moscow protege, the Kasimov prince Shah-Ali, was seated on the Kazan throne. However, soon Safa-Girey, with the support of the Nogai, managed to regain power, Shah Ali fled to Moscow.
In February 1547, troops under the command of the governor Alexander Gorbaty and Semyon Mikulinsky were sent "to the Kazan places". The regiments under their command were sent from Nizhny Novgorod in response to an appeal for help from the Cheremis (Mari) centurion Atachik (Tugai) "with his comrades", who declared their desire to serve the Grand Duke of Moscow. The tsar himself did not participate in the campaign, as he was busy with wedding affairs - he married Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva. The Russian army reached the mouth of the Sviyaga and fought many Kazan places, but then returned to Nizhny Novgorod.
The next operation was led by the king himself. In November 1547, troops led by Dmitry Belsky were transferred from Moscow to Vladimir, and on December 11, the sovereign himself left the capital. Infantry regiments and artillery ("outfit") were concentrated in Vladimir. The troops were supposed to go from Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Kazan. On Meshchera, the second army was being prepared for the campaign under the command of the governor Fyodor Prozorovsky and Shah Ali. It consisted of horse regiments. Due to the unusually warm winter, the release of the main forces was delayed. The artillery was brought to Vladimir, with great efforts due to rains and impassable roads, only on December 6. And the main forces reached Nizhny Novgorod only at the end of January, and only on February 2 did the army go down the Volga, to the Kazan border. Two days later, due to a new warming, the army suffered heavy losses - most of the siege artillery fell into the river, many people drowned, the troops had to stop on the Rabotka Island. The loss of artillery, which drowned in the Volga at the very beginning of the campaign, did not bode well for the planned undertaking. This circumstance forced the tsar to return to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Moscow. However, part of the army, having united on February 18 on the Tsivil river by Shah Ali's cavalry regiments, moved on. In the battle on the Arsk field, the soldiers of the Advanced Regiment of Prince Mikulinsky defeated the army of Safa-Girey and the Tatars fled beyond the city walls. However, the Russian commanders did not dare to go to the assault without siege artillery, and after standing for a week at the walls of Kazan, they retreated to their borders.
The Tatars organized a retaliatory attack. A large detachment led by Arak attacked the Galician lands. The governor of Kostroma, Zakhary Yakovlev, organized the pursuit, overtook and defeated the enemy weighed down with full and prey on Gusev Pole, on the Ezovka River.
In March, Moscow received news of the death of the irreconcilable enemy of the Russian state, Khan Safa-Girey. According to the official version, the ruler "was killed in a drunken palace." The Kazan embassy was unable to receive a new "tsar" from the Crimea. As a result, the two-year-old son of the deceased khan, Utyamysh-Girey (Utemysh-Girey), was proclaimed khan, on whose behalf his mother, Queen Syuyumbike, began to rule. This news was reported to Moscow by the Cossacks, who intercepted the Kazan ambassadors at the Pole. The Russian government decided to take advantage of the dynastic crisis in the Kazan Khanate and conduct a new military operation. Even in the summer, the advanced forces were sent under the command of Boris Ivanovich and Lev Andreyevich Saltykov. The main forces were occupied by the late autumn of 1549 - they were guarding the southern border.
Winter hike 1549-1550 was prepared very thoroughly. The regiments were assembled in Vladimir, Shuya, Murom, Suzdal, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Rostov and Yuriev. On December 20, artillery was sent from Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod under the command of governors Vasily Yuriev and Fyodor Nagy. The tsar, having received the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius, set out with regiments to Nizhny Novgorod. On January 23, 1550, the Russian army headed down the Volga to the Kazan land. The Russian regiments were near Kazan on February 12, the Tatars did not dare to fight under the walls of the city. Preparations began for the assault on the well-fortified city. However, weather conditions again had a decisive influence on the disruption of the operation. According to the chronicles, the winter was very warm, slush, heavy rains did not allow conducting a correct siege, organizing a strong bombardment of the fortress and securing the rear. As a result, the troops had to be withdrawn.
Preparing for a new campaign. Political situation in the Kazan Khanate and negotiations with Moscow
The Russian command came to the conclusion that the main reason for the unsuccessful campaigns of 1547-1550. hides in the impossibility of establishing a good supply of troops, the absence of a strong rear support base. Russian troops were forced to operate in enemy territory, far from their cities. It was decided to build a fortress at the confluence of the Sviyaga river into the Volga, not far from Kazan. Having turned this fortress into a large base, the Russian army could control the entire right bank of the Volga ("Mountain Side") and the nearest approaches to Kazan. The main material for the walls and towers, as well as living quarters and two churches of the future Russian stronghold was prepared already in the winter of 1550-1551 on the Upper Volga in the Uglitsky district in the fatherland of the princes Ushatykh. The clerk Ivan Vyrodkov oversaw the execution of the work, who was responsible not only for the manufacture of the fortress, but also for its delivery to the mouth of the Sviyaga.
Simultaneously with this complex engineering operation, a number of military measures were carried out, which were supposed to cover the fortification work on Round Mountain. Prince Pyotr Serebryany received an order in the spring of 1551 to lead the regiments and go "exile to the Kazan posad." At the same time, the Vyatka army of Bakhtear Zyuzin and the Volga Cossacks were to take the main transportations along the main transport arteries of the Kazan Khanate: the Volga, Kama and Vyatka. To help the voivode Zyuzin, a detachment of foot Cossacks, led by the atamans Severga and Elka, was sent from Meshchera 2, 5 thousand. They had to "Wild Field" go to the Volga, make ships and fight Kazan places up the river. The actions of the Cossack detachment were successful. Other detachments of service Cossacks operated on the Lower Volga. Izmail complained about their actions to the Moscow sovereign, Nuradin of the Nogai Horde, who reported that the Cossacks “Both banks of the Volga were taken away and our freedom was taken away and our uluses were fighting”.
The army of Prince Serebryany set out on a campaign on May 16, 1551, and already on the 18th was at the walls of Kazan. The attack of the Russian soldiers was unexpected for the Kazan Tatars. The warriors of the Serebryany commander broke into the township and, taking advantage of the surprise of the strike, inflicted great damage on the enemy. Then the citizens of Kazan were able to seize the initiative and push the Russian soldiers back to their courts. The Silvermen retreated and camped on the Sviyaga River, awaiting the arrival of the army under the command of Shah Ali and the delivery of the main structures of the fortress. The huge river caravan, which was organized to deliver the materials of the fortress, departed in April and arrived at the site at the end of May.
In April, an army was sent from Ryazan to "Pole" under the command of the governor Mikhail Voronoi and Grigory Filippov-Naumov. Rat had to interrupt communications between Kazan and the Crimean Khanate. The activity of the Russian troops stunned the Kazan government and diverted attention from the construction of the Sviyazhsk fortress, which had begun on May 24. The fortress was erected in four weeks, despite the mistake of the designers, who made a mistake in the length of the walls by almost half. Russian soldiers corrected this deficiency. The fortress was called Ivangorod Sviyazhsky.
The erection of a strong fortress in the center of the possessions of the Kazan Khanate demonstrated the strength of Moscow and contributed to the transition to the side of the Russians of a number of Volga peoples - the Chuvashes and the mountain Mari. The complete blockade of waterways by Russian troops complicated the internal political situation in the Kazan Khanate. In Kazan, dissatisfaction with the government, made up of Crimean princes headed by the lancer Koschak, the chief adviser of the princess Syuyumbike, was brewing. The Crimeans, seeing that the case smelled fried, decided to run away. They collected their property, robbed, and possibly fled the city. However, the Crimean detachment, which numbered about 300 people, did not manage to escape. There were strong Russian outposts on all the transports. In search of a safe path, the Crimeans deviated significantly from the original path and went to the Vyatka River. Here, the Vyatka detachment of Bakhtear Zyuzin and the Cossacks of the atamans Pavlov and Severga stood in ambush. During the crossing, the Tatar detachment was attacked and destroyed. Koschak and forty prisoners were taken to Moscow, where "the sovereign ordered death to be executed for their cruelty."
The new Kazan government was headed by the oglan Khudai-Kul and the prince Nur-Ali Shirin. They were forced to negotiate with Moscow and agree to accept Shah-Ali (“Tsar Shigalei”), who was pleasing to Moscow, as the khan. In August 1551, Kazan ambassadors agreed to extradite to Moscow Utyamysh-Girey Khan and his mother, Queen Syuyumbike. Utyamysh was baptized in the Chudov Monastery, he received the name Alexander and was left to be raised at the Moscow court (he died at the age of twenty). After some time Syuyumbike was married to the Kasimov ruler Shah Ali. In addition, the Kazan embassy recognized the annexation of the "Mountain" (western) side of the Volga to the Russian state and agreed to prohibit the slavery of Christians. On August 14, 1551, a kurultai took place on a field at the mouth of the Kazanka River, where the Tatar nobility and Muslim clergy approved the agreement concluded with Moscow. On August 16, the new khan solemnly entered Kazan. Representatives of Moscow came with him: boyar Ivan Khabarov and clerk Ivan Vyrodkov. The next day, the Kazan authorities handed them 2,700 Russian prisoners.
However, the reign of the new Tatar king was short-lived. The new khan could protect himself and his few supporters only by introducing a significant Russian garrison into the city. However, despite his precarious position, Shah Ali agreed to bring only 300 Kasimov Tatars and 200 archers into Kazan. Shah Ali's government was extremely unpopular. The extradition of Russian prisoners, Moscow's refusal to fulfill the request of the khan to return the inhabitants of the Mountain Side under the authority of Kazan caused even greater irritation of the Tatar nobility. The khan tried to suppress the opposition by force, but the repressions only exacerbated the situation (the khan did not have the strength to fear him).
In connection with the situation in the Kazan Khanate in Moscow, where they closely followed the development of events, they began to lean towards a radical solution: the removal of Shah-Ali from Kazan and his replacement by the Russian governor. This idea was promoted by part of the Kazan nobility. The unexpected actions of the khan, who learned about the decision of the Moscow government, changed the situation for the worse. He decided to leave the throne without waiting for an official decision and left Kazan. On March 6, 1552, the Kazan Khan, under the pretext of a fishing trip, left the city and went to the Sviyazhsk fortress. He took several dozen princes and murzas with him as hostages. Soon after this, Russian commanders were sent to Kazan, but they failed to enter the city. On March 9, under the leadership of the princes of Islam, Kebek and Murza Alikey Narykov, an uprising began in the city. Power in Kazan was seized by supporters of the continuation of the war with the Russian state, led by Prince Chapkun Otuchev. Many Russians who were in the city were taken by surprise and taken prisoner. The approaching Russian detachment could no longer change the situation, the Russian governors entered into negotiations and then were forced to retreat. At the same time, no hostilities were conducted, the posad was not burned, the Russian governors still hoped to resolve the matter peacefully.
The new Kazan government invited the Astrakhan prince Yadygar-Mukhammed (Ediger) to the throne, who was accompanied by a detachment of Nogais. Kazan Tatars resumed hostilities, trying to return the Mountainous side under their authority. Moscow decided to start preparations for a new campaign and resumed the blockade of the river routes of Kazan.
Kazan campaign in June-October 1552. The capture of Kazan
Preparations for the campaign began in early spring. In late March - early April, siege artillery, ammunition and provisions were transported to the Sviyazhsk fortress from Nizhny Novgorod. In April - May 1552, an army of up to 150 thousand people with 150 guns was formed in Moscow and other Russian cities. By May, the regiments were concentrated in Murom - the Ertoul regiment (cavalry reconnaissance regiment), in Kolomna - the Big Regiment, the Left Hand and the Front Regiment, Kashira - the Right Hand regiment. Part of the troops gathered in Kashira, Kolomna and other cities moved to Tula, and repelled the attack of the Crimean troops of Devlet-Girey, who tried to thwart Moscow's plans. The Crimean Tatars managed to postpone the advance of the Russian army for only four days.
On July 3, 1552, the campaign began. The troops marched in two columns. Through Vladimir, Murom to the Sura River, to the mouth of the Alatyr River went the Guard Regiment, the Left Hand regiment and the Tsar's regiment, led by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich. The Big Regiment, the Right Hand Regiment and the Advanced Regiment under the command of Mikhail Vorotynsky moved through Ryazan and Meschera to Alatyr. At Boroncheev Gorodishche across the river. Sura columns united. On August 13, the army reached Sviyazhsk, and on the 16th began the crossing of the Volga, which lasted three days. On August 23, a huge army approached the walls of Kazan.
The enemy managed to prepare well for a new war and fortified the city. The Kazan Kremlin had a double oak wall filled with rubble and clayey silt and 14 stone “strelnitsa” towers. The approaches to the fortress were covered by the river bed. Kazanka - from the north and the river. Bulaka - from the west. On the other sides, especially from the Arsk field, convenient for carrying out siege work, there was a moat, which reached 6-7 meters in width and up to 15 meters in depth. The most vulnerable places were the gates - there were 11 of them, although they were defended by towers. On the city walls, the soldiers were protected by a parapet and a wooden roof. In the city itself there was a citadel, which was located in the northwestern part of the city, on a hill. The "royal chambers" were protected from the rest of the city by deep ravines and a stone wall. The city was defended by 40 thousand people. a garrison, which included not only all the available soldiers, but also the entire male population of Kazan, including 5 thousand. contingent of mobilized eastern merchants. In addition, the Tatar command prepared an operational base for conducting hostilities outside the city walls, in the rear of the besieging enemy army. 15 versts from the river. Kazanka, a prison was built, the approaches to which were reliably covered by notches and swamps. He was supposed to become a support for 20 thousand people. horse army of Tsarevich Yapanchi, Shunak-Murza and Arsky (Udmurt) Prince Evush. This army was to carry out surprise attacks on the flanks and rear of the Russian army.
However, these measures did not save Kazan. The Russian army had a great superiority in forces and applied the latest methods of warfare, not familiar to the Tatars (the construction of underground mine galleries).
The battle for the city began as soon as Russian troops approached Kazan. Tatar soldiers attacked the Ertoul regiment. The moment for the strike was very well chosen. The Russians had just crossed the Bulak River and were climbing the steep slope of the Arsk field. Other Russian troops were on the other side of the river and could not immediately take part in the battle. The Tatars who left the fortress from the Nogai and Tsarev gates hit the Russian regiment. The Kazan army numbered 10 thousand foot soldiers and 5 thousand mounted warriors. The situation was saved by the Cossacks and Streltsy who strengthened the Ertoul regiment. They were on the left flank and opened heavy fire on the enemy, the Kazan cavalry mixed. At this time, reinforcements approached and strengthened the firepower of the Ertoul regiment. The Tatar cavalry was finally upset and fled, crushing their infantry lines. The first clash ended with the victory of Russian weapons.
Siege. The city was surrounded by long trenches, trenches and rounds, and a palisade was built in a number of places. On August 27, artillery shelling of Kazan began. The artillery fire was supported by the archers, repelling the forays of the enemy and preventing the enemies from being on the walls. Among the "outfit" there were "great" cannons named: "Ring", "Nightingale", "Flying Serpent", Ushataya "and others.
Initially, the siege was complicated by the actions of the Yapanchi troops, who made their attacks on a sign from the fortress - they raised a large banner on one of the towers. The first raid was made on August 28, the next day the attack was repeated and was accompanied by a sortie of the Kazan garrison. The actions of the Yapanchi troops were too serious a threat to ignore. A council of war was assembled and it was decided to send 45 thousand troops against the Yapanchi troops under the command of the governor Alexander Gorbaty and Peter Silver. On August 30, the Russian commanders lured the Tatar cavalry to the Arsk field with a feigned retreat and surrounded the enemy. Most of the enemy troops were destroyed, the field was simply littered with enemy corpses. Only part of the enemy army was able to break through the encirclement and take refuge in their prison. The enemies were pursued as far as the Kinderi River. From 140 to 1 thousand Yapanchi soldiers were taken prisoner, they were executed in front of the city walls.
On September 6, the host of Gorbaty and Serebryany set out on a campaign to Kama, receiving the task of burning and ruining the Kazan lands. The Russian army took the prison on Vysokaya Gora by storm, most of the defenders were killed. According to the chronicle, in this battle all the Russian commanders dismounted and took part in the battle. As a result, the main base of the enemy, which was attacking the Russian rear, was destroyed. Then the Russian troops passed more than 150 miles, destroying local villages and reaching the Kama River, they turned and returned to Kazan with victory. The Kazan Khanate suffered the fate of the Russian lands when they were devastated by the Tatar troops. A strong blow was inflicted on the enemy, protecting the Russian army from a possible strike from the rear. For ten days of the campaign, Russian soldiers destroyed 30 forts, captured 2-5 thousand prisoners and many heads of cattle.
After the defeat of the Yapanchi troops, no one could interfere with the siege work. Russian batteries were getting closer and closer to the walls of the city, their fire became more and more destructive. Opposite the Tsarev's Gate, a large 13-meter siege tower was prepared, which was higher than the enemy walls. 10 large and 50 small cannons (squeaks) were installed on it, which from the height of this structure could fire on the streets of Kazan, causing great damage to the defenders. In addition, on 31 August, Rozmysl, who was in the state service, and his Russian students, trained in siege warfare, began to dig under the walls to lay mines. The first charge was laid under the Kazan secret water source in the Daurovaya tower of the fortress. On September 4, 11 barrels of gunpowder were laid in the underground gallery. The explosion not only destroyed the secret passage to the water, but also severely damaged the city fortifications. Then an underground explosion destroyed the Nur-Ali gate ("Muravlyovy gates"). The Tatar garrison with difficulty was able to repulse the Russian attack that had begun and build a new line of defense.
The effectiveness of the underground war was evident. The Russian command decided to continue destroying the enemy fortifications and shelling the city, refraining from a premature assault, which could lead to heavy losses. At the end of September, new tunnels were prepared, the explosions in which were supposed to be a signal for a general assault on Kazan. The tours were brought up to almost all the gates of the fortress, between the fortress wall and them there was only a moat. In those areas where they were going to conduct assault actions, the ditches were covered with earth and forest. Many bridges were also erected across the moat.
Storm. On the eve of the decisive assault, the Russian command sent Murza Kamai to the city (there was a significant Tatar contingent in the Russian army) with a proposal of surrender. It was resolutely rejected: “Don't hit us with your forehead! On the walls and on the towers of Russia, we will put up another wall, but we will all die or serve our time. In the early morning of October 2, preparations began for the attack. At about 6 o'clock in the morning, the shelves were placed at predetermined locations. The rear was protected by large horse forces: the Kasimov Tatars were sent to the Arsk field, other regiments stood up on the Galician and Nogai roads, against the Cheremis (Mari) and Nogai, small forces that operated in the vicinity of Kazan. At 7 o'clock explosions thundered in two tunnels, 48 barrels of gunpowder were laid in them. The sections of the wall between the Atalyk Gate and the Nameless Tower, and between the Tsarev and Arsk Gates were blown up.
The fortress walls from the side of the Arsk field were almost completely destroyed, Russian soldiers burst into the breaches. In the first line of attackers were 45 thousand archers, Cossacks and "boyar children". The assailants easily penetrated the city, but fierce battles unfolded on the narrow streets of Kazan. Hatred accumulated for decades, and the townspeople knew that they would not be spared, so they fought to the last. The strongest centers of resistance were the main mosque of the city on the Tezitsky ravine and the "royal chambers". At first, all attempts to break into the inner citadel, separated from the city by a ravine, failed. The Russian command had to bring fresh reserves into battle, which finally broke the enemy's resistance. Russian soldiers fought their way through the mosque, all its defenders, led by the supreme seid Kol-Sharif (Kul-Sharif), fell in battle. The last battle took place on the square in front of the khan's palace, where 6 thousand Tatar soldiers held the defense. Khan Yadygar-Muhammad was taken prisoner (he was baptized with the name Simeon and received Zvenigorod as his inheritance). All other Tatar soldiers fell in battle, they did not take prisoners. Only a few men escaped, those who were able to escape from the walls crossed Kazanka under fire and made their way into the woods. In addition, a strong pursuit was sent, which captured and destroyed a significant part of the last defenders of the city.
After the suppression of resistance, Tsar Ivan the Terrible entered the city. He examined Kazan, ordered to extinguish the fires. For himself, he "took" the captive Kazan "tsar", banners, cannons and the stocks of gunpowder available in the city, the rest of the property was given to ordinary warriors. At the Tsar's gate, with the permission of the tsar, Mikhail Vorotynsky erected an Orthodox cross. The rest of the city's population was resettled outside its walls, to the shores of Lake Kaban.
On October 12, the tsar will leave Kazan, Prince Gorbaty was appointed its governor, and the governors Vasily Serebryany, Alexei Pleshcheev, Foma Golovin, Ivan Chebotov and clerk Ivan Bessonov remained under his command.
Effects
- The Russian state included huge territories of the Middle Volga region and a number of peoples (Tatars, Mari, Chuvash, Udmurts, Bashkirs). Russia received an important economic center - Kazan, control over the trade artery - the Volga (its establishment was completed after the fall of Astrakhan).
- In the Middle Volga region, the hostile Ottoman-Crimean factor was finally destroyed. The threat of constant invasion and withdrawal of the population into slavery has been removed from the eastern borders.
- The way was opened for the Russians to further advance to the south and east: to the lower reaches of the Volga (Astrakhan), beyond the Urals.
