OREANDA-NEWS   November 4 marks Unity Day in Russia, which is a fairly new holiday. It was established in order to replace the old October Revolution Day, which was celebrated in the USSR for over 70 years. Many generations grew up loving this holiday, after communism collapsed, it was no longer possible to keep it as a public holiday.

Its replacement goes back to an event that proved to have as much significance for the country’s history. In November 1612, Russia was reborn as a state.

End of a dynasty

The early 17th century is known in the history of Russia as ‘the Time of Troubles’, or ‘Smuta’.  After the death of Tsar Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, in 1584, the country found itself sinking slowly into a deep political crisis. The new leader, his son Fyodor I, took little interest in politics, and his court became a place ridden with scheming and plotting by the rival clans of top officials.

Fyodor I ruled for a total of 14 years, and this was a relatively peaceful time, right up to his death in 1598, which created a succession problem since he left no heirs to the throne. Boris Godunov, once Ivan the Terrible’s confidante and brother to Fyodor’s beloved wife, had managed to consolidate a great deal of power in his hands and had been ruling the tsardom as de facto regent for at least 15 years until then. The only legal contender to the throne would have been Fyodor’s brother Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible and his last wife. Dmitry, however, died as a child under mysterious circumstances. Godunov was believed by many to have been involved in his death, since Dmitry was the last heir of the Rurik dynasty.

Godunov was indeed a man believed by many to be capable of removing those who stood in his way. Some of his opponents were reported to have died in accidents while hunting, or of a sudden disease. In the absence of hard facts, all of these things remain conspiracy theories; nevertheless, it has become part of Russian lore, and many historical and cultural references that are part of the nation’s legacy have Boris Godunov somehow connected to the death of Tsarevich Dmitry.

Thus, Tsar Fyodor’s death marked the end of the Rurik dynasty, which had ruled Russia since it became a state in the 9th century. Godunov, while a powerful contender, was not popular since he was not of noble origin. Moscow’s nobility looked down on him, yet did nothing to stop Godunov from manipulating the Zemsky Sobor (national assembly) into electing him tsar in 1598

And the truth was that Godunov had all the makings of a great tsar. He was ambitious, had a lot of energy, and envisioned many reforms for Russia. He could have become a ‘reformer’ tsar, the kind of a ruler that Peter the Great was almost a century later; but timing, as usual, was everything.

In 1600, an event that neither Godunov nor anyone else in Russia had any way of knowing about occurred far away from the country, and it had long-lasting detrimental consequences. A massive eruption in Peru created a volcanic winter and led to worldwide famine. In France, the wine harvest was late, but Russia, a much colder country, suffered much more. The poor crops yields of 1601 and 1602 led to famine, which only intensified in 1603 because, even though the weather was back to normal, the fields were empty and there were not enough people to work them.

Boris Godunov did his best to help the starving nation and the dying economy by first selling grain from state granaries at half price, and later by giving away grain and money to the poor until the treasury was depleted, but none of this would be enough. Many peasants were forced to flee to large cities, such as Moscow, or south, risking their lives as the roads were swarming with robbers and even cannibals.

The victory of the militia during the Time of Troubles was a unique moment in Russian history. Russia is traditionally perceived primarily as a country where the central authorities reign supreme, penetrating everything everywhere – Russia is the tsar, Russia is Moscow. But in 1612, one of the main battles in Russian history was not won by the state – the state lay in ruins, and the central government had fallen into complete insignificance at the hands of foreign interventionists.

Moscow had been devastated, left as a hodgepodge of ruins where soldiers and bandits plundered everything still worth plundering. The revival of Russia took place not thanks to the state, but to its society, and – as if this story had been written by a novelist – the team of saviors seemed to have been specially selected from people with completely different backgrounds and personalities – a military professional, a provincial merchant, and a priest. The victory in the streets of Moscow and the election of the first tsar of the Romanov Dynasty meant not just a turn of military fortune and the replacement of one monarch by another.

Amidst this fire and smoke, the Russian nation walked onto the stage of history.