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What do we really celebrate on November 4? A Ural historian tells a fascinating detective story from the past
On November 4, we celebrate National Unity Day, commemorating events that took place in Russia in the early 17th century. Yekaterinburg historian Andrei Ermoolenko believes that the history of the holiday is very complex, and, in his opinion, the establishment of the holiday on November 4, 2005 was based on incorrect calculations. Here is his explanation:
Let's start from afar. We can't do without details here. Not everyone remembers this episode of Russian history from the school curriculum, but it is of fundamental importance for the Russian nation. Moreover, the story twists the detective plot so successfully that it captivates more than any other novel or film!
The second son of the powerful Tsar Feodor was weak-willed, and after his death in 1598, Feodor's son-in-law (brother of his wife Irina) Boris Godunov, a man completely removed from the Russian throne, came to power. And global climate change (caused by a massive release of volcanic ash after the eruption of the supervolcano Huaynaputina in Peru in 1600) led to three years of summer frosts, poor harvests and cattle deaths in Rus'. , famine and pestilence.
The rituals of medieval Russians were thoroughly religious and even superstitious. The cause-and-effect relationship between the accession of Boris Godunov (one cannot help but recall: "Boriska?! Boriska to the throne??") and the climatic collapse of the inhabitants of Rus' at the beginning of the 17th century is clear - "not a real tsar!" This is very important, because the Tsar in the hearts of Russians is the incarnation of God on earth. Father, protector, defender, etc. of the people.
Let's go back to the 16th century for a moment. Let me remind you that Ivan IV Vasilyevich had three sons. The eldest, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich, died in 1581 (according to the popular version, at the hands of his father). We have already mentioned the middle one, Fyodor, but there was also the youngest Tsarevich Dmitry.
But there are nuances. Dmitry was the son from the sixth (!!!) marriage of Ivan Vasilyevich and according to the canons of the Orthodox Church was considered illegitimate, since the church refused to recognize more than three marriages and did not marry him in the future. Trade union. Therefore, the boy was quietly sent to the city of Uglich together with his mother Marfa-Naga after the death of Ivan Vasilyevich in 1584.
The death of Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich had an unexpected impact on the history of the Urals. After the boy's murder, public unrest began in the city, which grew into large-scale riots. After the suppression of the uprising, hundreds of instigators were exiled "beyond the stone" and became the first residents of the newly built Felim fortress (1592). It is interesting that during their journey to exile on foot, the Uglich residents held the bell of the Spassky Cathedral in their hands, which united the Uglich residents for the uprising.
Thus, against the backdrop of crop failures, famine and popular discontent in 1603, a young man appeared in Poland who called himself Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, who had miraculously escaped from Uglich following the Godunovs 12 years earlier. An assassination attempt. Having equipped a small detachment with Polish money, False Dmitry (under this name he remained in Russian history) went to Moscow, where he gradually won supporters. The Russian people were glad to find their "natural tsar"!
It is noteworthy that Moscow was handed over to False Dmitry without a fight in 1605, and a month earlier Boris Godunov died. False Dmitry ascended the throne and for a year was the legitimate "tsar and grand prince of all Rus'."
Shooting ashes at Poland did not help much. In 1607, another impostor appeared, claiming to have been saved from an assassination attempt in Moscow the year before. Once again, with the support of Poland, the impostor (now False Dmitry II) moved to Moscow. In the future, we will say that later there will be False Dmitry III and False Dmitry IV, but neither of them will be able to repeat the success of the first impostor. They will not take Moscow and will not be able to marry the Tsardom.
This date, October 22, 1612, became the basis for a new holiday established in 2005: National Unity Day, which we celebrate on November 4. At the same time, legislators, apparently the creators of this holiday, made a mistake 20 years ago, recalculating the dates according to the Julian calendar (outdated) to the modern Gregorian calendar, adding 13 days out of habit.
The error is that to convert the date of October 22, 1612 from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, you only need to add 10 days, not 13 days (which is relevant for 20th century date conversions). That is, the difference between the Julian calendar and the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar arose in the 16th century, since the 100th, 200th, and 300th years of each quadrant were not leap years.
November 4 was chosen as the Day of National Unity, since according to the Orthodox calendar, this day is the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, on which Minin and Pozharsky's militia moved from Yaroslavl to Moscow. July 1612