Swedish project
As soon as the spring thaw ended, the Swedes continued their offensive and on June 2, 1611 reached the city on the Volkhov. The Swedish army numbered over 4 thousand soldiers and stood at the Khutynsky monastery.
Four days later, voivode Vasily Buturlin and representatives of the Novgorod land appeared in the tent of the Swedish commander De la Gardie. Buturlin, on behalf of the whole land, asked De la Gardie's old comrade-in-arms to go without delay to Moscow and oppose the Poles. The Novgorod ambassadors supported this request, promised to pay part of the money and hand over one border fortress. Buturlin asked the Swedish commander what lands his king wanted to receive. The Swedes immediately put forward unacceptable conditions: in addition to Korel, they demanded the concessions of Ladoga, Oreshk, Ivangorod, Yam, Koporya and Gdov, as well as Kolu on the Kola Peninsula.
The Novgorodians answered:
"It is better to die in the native land than to sacrifice all the border castles."
Thus, Russia would have lost access to the Baltic Sea, and access to the sea in the north, where trade with the British took place.
“Give half of the land! Russians would rather die!"
- said Buturlin. The Swedish commander himself understood that the demands of King Charles were excessive and could lead to the failure of the entire mission. He promised to convince the king to lower his demands.
Meanwhile, Buturlin played his game. Left alone with De la Gardie, he restored a relationship of trust with him and arrogated to himself the right to speak on behalf of the whole of Novgorod. The voivode told the Swede that the people of Novgorod wanted to summon the Swedish prince to the throne of Moscow. In his opinion, Muscovites will support this idea if the Swedes do not encroach on the Russian faith. De la Gardie took this idea positively, began to show Buturlin signs of friendship, to regale at feasts. Swedish envoys left for Moscow. On June 16, the head of the First Militia, Lyapunov, sent new instructions to Buturlin: he ordered to bring negotiations with the Swedes to the end, in extreme cases to concede Oreshek and Ladoga. Negotiations on the election of a Swedish prince to the Russian sovereign were proposed to be conducted when the Swedish army would be in Moscow.
The question of the Swedish candidate for the Russian throne was handed over to the Zemsky Sobor. By this time, the situation near Moscow had worsened. The militia fought with the troops of Jan Sapieha in the western outskirts of the capital. The members of the cathedral feared that the Poles would transfer troops to Moscow, which were freed after the fall of Smolensk (“Nobody wanted to surrender.” Defense of Smolensk). The clerks presented to the Zemsky Council the translation of the letters of King Charles IX and De la Gardie, as well as the formal replies of Buturlin. The proposals of the Swedish side made a certain impression.
However, many patriots protested against the Swedish project. They noted that the affairs of the Swedes were at odds with their words, and spoke out against any negotiations regarding the Swedish prince. Lyapunov still hoped for Swedish military assistance, so he spoke in favor of continuing the negotiations. The council decided to send an embassy to Sweden to negotiate the election of the Swedish prince.
While the Swedes promised the Novgorodians a speedy alliance between Russia and Sweden, and Lyapunov - military assistance, De la Gardie was pulling up troops to Novgorod. The Swedes were stationed at the very city walls. New units were arriving all the time. Swedish foragers ravaged the Novgorod region. Fleeing from robbery and violence, villagers fled en masse to the city. The population of Novgorod was about 20 thousand people, now it has increased several times.
Lack of unity and self-confidence of Novgorodians
Buturlin informed Delagardie about the decision of the Zemsky Sobor. He asked me to notify when the Swedes set out for Moscow. And he soon became convinced that he was being deceived. The Russian voivode demanded that the Swedish troops withdraw from Novgorod. The Swedes refused to leave. Then Buturlin began to prepare for the defense of the city. His archers burned a wooden settlement.
However, Buturlin was clearly late. The Novgorodians did not trust him, they considered him a traitor. Moreover, there was no unity among the Novgorodians themselves. A large city, capable of deploying a large militia, was split. There was no unity among the representatives of the nobility. Some were secret adherents of the prince Vladislav, others wanted to put a representative of the Russian aristocratic family on the Moscow table, and still others turned their eyes to Sweden. Novgorod merchants traded in the Swedish camp almost until the very beginning of hostilities. When the archers burned down the trade and craft posad, this caused a murmur among the wealthy part of the city's residents.
Novgorod was overflowing with people deprived of their homes, property, angry and destitute people. Crowds of people gathered in the square with nothing to do and nothing to lose. Many drank the last remnants of their property and lived in a drunken stupor. The city was on the verge of anarchy, which the authorities could hardly restrain with concessions and promises. Secret envoys from Pskov, where representatives of the common people seized power, called on to follow their example, to kill the boyars and merchants. In addition, at this time in the north-west of Russia, False Dmitry III appeared (Sidorka, Ivangorod, Pskov thief, etc.), whose authority was recognized by Ivangorod, Yam and Koporye. The Ivangorod thief either fought or negotiated with the Swedes, who tried to seize Ivangorod. Sidorka also negotiated with the people of Pskov to recognize him as sovereign. Streltsy, thieves' Cossacks and representatives of the urban lower classes flocked under his banners.
The main Novgorod governor, Ivan Odoevsky, convened a council with the participation of the nobility and clergy. It was not possible to make a single decision. Some demanded energetic, decisive measures to repel the enemy. Others believed that it was necessary to adhere to the decision of the Zemsky Council and seek an agreement with the Swedes. Odoevsky and the clergy leaned towards the moderate party.
Thus, there was no unity among the leaders of the city, the nobility and the common people. If Novgorod were united, then its human and material resources would be quite enough to repel the attack of a relatively small Swedish army.
The garrison of Novgorod was small - about 2 thousand Cossacks, nobles, archers and service Tatars. There was a lot of artillery. The walls and towers of the outer city were dilapidated and needed renovation. But the walls and ramparts could have been strengthened if the people had been attracted to the defense. That is, unlike Smolensk, Novgorod was not ready to stand up to the last man, although the defensive potential was good. And the Swedes did not have a large army and artillery to completely blockade the big city and conduct a correct siege. Their only hope of success was a swift, unexpected attack.
The Novgorod Chronicle noted:
"There was no joy in the voivods, and warriors with the townspeople could not get advice, some voivods drank incessantly, and the voivode Vasily Buturlin exiled with the German people, and the merchants brought all kinds of goods to them."
Novgorodians were confident in their abilities:
"Saint Sophia will protect us with her iron hand from the Germans."
Storm
On July 8, 1611, the Swedes conducted reconnaissance in force. The attack failed. This success strengthened the self-esteem of Novgorodians, they considered the city impregnable. The city was celebrating a "victory". The clergy, led by Metropolitan Isidore, who held the icon "The Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos," walked around the walls in a procession. The townspeople had a feast. All the following days, drunk people climbed the walls and scolded the Swedes, invited them to visit, promised dishes made of lead and gunpowder.
On July 12, the defenders of the city made a sortie with small forces. The Swedes took over. Many Novgorodians were killed, others fled to the fortress. In mid-July, De la Gardie completed preparations for the assault. He promised the mercenary soldiers rich booty in Novgorod.
The day before the attack, the Swedes undertook a false maneuver. Before the eyes of the townspeople, the Swedish cavalry followed to the banks of the Volkhov and to the southeastern part of the city. Soldiers drove boats from all over Volkhov there. The Swedes pointedly showed that the main blow would be delivered on the water, with access to the Trade Side. The Russians pulled the main forces to the coastal strip of the Torgovaya and Sofia sides, including Buturlin's detachment. It seemed that the Swedes would primarily attack the Trade side, where there are fewer fortifications and richer loot (hundreds of shops and barns).
At dawn on July 16, the Swedes launched a demonstrative attack from the eastern side with a small force. Attracted by the shots and the noise, the Novgorodians rushed to the towers and walls of the side, where they awaited a decisive attack by the enemy. Taking advantage of the fact that the Novgorodians were distracted by the defense of the eastern side, the main forces of De la Gardie went to attack the western part, the Okolny city (Ostrog, Big Earthen City), the ramparts and walls of which defended the Sofia and Trade sides.
The main blow was delivered at the Chudintsev and Prussian gates. Early in the morning, the mercenaries got to the gate and tried to knock them out with a battering ram. The Scots and the British planted several explosive devices (firecrackers) at the Chudintsev gate. The Swedes tried to climb the shaft. The Novgorodians repulsed their attack and drove the enemy away from the gate with shots.
Sources say the Swedes were helped by traitors. One of them led the Swedes to an unguarded section of the wall. The Swedes made their way into the city and opened the Chudintsev Gate, where a strong Swedish cavalry rushed. The Russians sat down in the towers and continued to fight back. But the Swedish troops have already broken through into the depths of the city.
The mercenaries robbed houses and cut people. Chaos began, fire. People rushed to run and filled the streets. The Sofia side became a massacre for several hours. Hired Western soldiers slaughtered hundreds of townspeople. Many people died in churches, where they were looking for salvation. The mercenaries quickly realized they could profit from the Russians' predilection for "wooden gods." They cut their way to the altars with church gold and silver. In houses and estates, icons were torn off and a ransom was demanded for them.
Separate groups of warriors and townspeople in different places continued to resist, but the general defense collapsed. The archers of Vasily Gayutin, Vasily Orlov, the Cossacks of Ataman Timofei Sharov preferred death to captivity. The clerk of Golenishcha, a messenger of the Zemsky militia, fought to death. Protopop Amos with the townspeople sat in the courtyard and refused to surrender. The Swedes burned down the house with its defenders.
Buturlin's headquarters was located on the square near the Volkhovsky bridge. Here the Swedes met the strongest resistance. The archers and warriors fought hard. When the Swedes began to surround Buturlin's detachment, he made his way and went to the Trade Side. Then Buturlin left the city, went to Yaroslavl, then to Moscow. On the way, Buturlin's warriors also robbed the trading part of Novgorod. They say that the good does not go to the enemy.
Surrender
The Swedes captured the Roundabout city on the Sofia side. However, it was still far from complete victory.
Odoevsky's troops were stationed in the Kremlin (Detinets), a powerful fortress in the center of the city. Detinets was stone and had more serious fortifications than the Roundabout city. It was surrounded by a deep moat and had drawbridges. Numerous artillery was stationed on the high towers and walls. There was a large musket arsenal. The Kremlin dominated the entire city. His assault without siege artillery and a large army was suicide.
However, the Novgorodians were not ready for the siege, they did not prepare any combat reserves. They saw that the Swedes besieged Korela for six months, they could not immediately take Oreshek. De la Gardie near Novgorod had neither a sufficient number of soldiers nor strong artillery. Therefore, the Russian commanders were sure that the Swedes would not take Novgorod. Underestimation of the enemy and their own forces gave way to confusion when the Swedes quite easily captured the Okolny Gorod. And the Detinet was not ready for a siege: no gunpowder, no lead, no provisions. The guns were silent, there was no ammunition, many fleeing townspeople were crammed into the Kremlin, there was nothing to feed them.
Prince Odoevsky convened a council of war, which decided to end the resistance and to call the Swedish prince to the throne of Novgorod. On July 17, 1611, the Swedish guards entered the Novgorod Kremlin. Odoevsky signed a treaty on behalf of the "Novgorod state" - the Swedish king Karl was recognized as the "patron saint of Russia", the prince Karl Philip - the heir to the Russian throne. Before the arrival of the prince, the Swedish generals received supreme power in the Novgorod land.
For his part, De la Gardie promised not to ruin Novgorod, not to annex the Russian counties to Sweden, except Korela, not to oppress the Russian faith and not to violate the basic rights of Novgorodians. De la Gardie himself tried in vain not to offend the Novgorod elite. In this situation, he saw a brilliant personal perspective. He could become the main adviser to the Swedish prince, the future Russian tsar, the de facto ruler of vast Russia.
The Novgorod authorities, represented by Prince Odoevsky and Metropolitan Isidor, continued negotiations with the zemstvo militia. After the death of Lyapunov it was headed by Pozharsky. Prince Pozharsky, in order to protect himself from the Swedes, continued active negotiations.
But after the Second Militia liberated Moscow, the candidacy of the Swedish prince was rejected. Novgorod returned to Russia after the signing of the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617.
