The once huge empire called the Golden Horde broke up into three khanates: Kazan, Astrakhan and Crimea. And, despite the rivalry that exists between them, they still represented a real danger to the Russian state. Moscow troops made several attempts to storm the fortress city of Kazan. But each time she steadfastly repelled all attacks. Such a course of affairs could not suit Ivan IV the Terrible. And now, after numerous campaigns, that significant date has finally come. The capture of Kazan took place on October 2, 1552.
Background
In the 1540s, the policy of the Russian state towards the East changed. The era of boyar strife in the struggle for the Moscow throne is finally over. The question arose of what to do with the Kazan Khanate, headed by the government of Safa Giray.
I must say that his policy almost itself pushedMoscow to more decisive action. The fact is that Safa Giray sought to conclude an alliance with the Crimean Khanate, and this was contrary to the peace agreements signed between him and the Russian Tsar. Kazan princes from time to time made devastating raids on the border territories of the Muscovite state, while receiving a good income from the slave trade. Because of this, there were endless armed clashes. It was already impossible to constantly ignore the hostile actions of this Volga state, which was under the influence of the Crimea, and through it and the Ottoman Empire.
Peace enforcement
Kazan Khanate needed to be reined in somehow. The previous policy of Moscow, which consisted in supporting officials loyal to it, as well as in appointing its proteges to the Kazan throne, did not lead to anything. All of them quickly mastered and began to pursue a hostile policy towards the Russian state.
At this time, Metropolitan Macarius had a huge influence on the Moscow government. It was he who initiated most of the campaigns undertaken by Ivan IV the Terrible. Gradually, in circles close to the metropolitan, the idea of a forceful solution to the problem, which was the Kazan Khanate, appeared. By the way, at the very beginning, complete subjugation and conquest of this eastern state was not envisaged. Only during the military campaigns of 1547-1552 did the old plans change somewhat, which led to the subsequent capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible.
First trips
It must be said that mostmilitary campaigns relating to this fortress, the king personally led. Therefore, it can be assumed that Ivan Vasilyevich attached great importance to these campaigns. The history of the capture of Kazan will be incomplete if you do not tell at least briefly about all the episodes undertaken by the Moscow tsar on this issue.
The first campaign was made in 1545. It looked like a military demonstration, the purpose of which was to strengthen the influence of the Moscow party, which managed to expel Khan Safa Giray from the city. The following year, his throne was taken by a Moscow protege, Tsarevich Shah Ali. But he could not stay on the throne for a long time, since Safa-Girey, having enlisted the support of the Nogais, again regained power.
The next campaign was undertaken in 1547. This time, Ivan the Terrible stayed at home, as he was busy with wedding preparations - he was going to marry Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuryeva. Instead, the campaign was led by governors Semyon Mikulinsky and Alexander Gorbaty. They reached the very mouth of the Sviyaga and devastated many enemy lands.
The story of the capture of Kazan could have ended in November 1547. This campaign was led by the king himself. Since the winter was too warm that year, the exit of the main forces was delayed. Artillery batteries reached Vladimir only on 6 December. In Nizhny Novgorod, the main forces arrived at the end of January, after which the army moved down the Volga River. But a few days later the thaw came again. Russian troops began to suffer heavy losses in the form of siege artillery, which fell through and sank in the riveralong with people. Ivan the Terrible had to camp on Rabotki Island.
Losses in equipment and manpower did not contribute to the success of the military operation. Therefore, the tsar decided to turn his troops back, first to Nizhny Novgorod, and then to Moscow. But part of the army still went on. These were the Advance Regiment under the command of Prince Mikulinsky and the cavalry of the Kasimov prince Shah-Ali. A battle took place on the Arsk field, in which the army of Safa Giray was defeated, and its remnants took refuge behind the Kazan fortress walls. They did not dare to take the city by storm, because without siege artillery it was simply impossible.
The next winter campaign was scheduled for the end of 1549 - the beginning of 1550. It was facilitated by the news that the main enemy of the Russian state, Safa Giray, had died. Since the Kazan embassy never received a new khan from the Crimea, his two-year-old son, Utyamysh-Girey, was declared the ruler. But while he was small, his mother, Queen Syuyumbike, began to lead the khanate. The Muscovite tsar decided to take advantage of this dynastic crisis and again go to Kazan. He even secured the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius.
On January 23, Russian troops re-entered the Kazan lands. Having reached the fortress, they began to prepare for its assault. However, unfavorable weather conditions prevented this again. As the annals say, the winter was too warm with heavy rains, so it was not possible to conduct a siege according to all the rules. In this regard, the Russian troops again had to retreat.
Organization of the trip 1552years
They began to prepare for it in early spring. During March and April, provisions, ammunition and siege artillery were gradually transported from Nizhny Novgorod to the Sviyazhsk fortress. By the end of May, from among Muscovites, as well as residents of other Russian cities, an entire army of at least 145 thousand soldiers was assembled. Later, all units were dispersed in three cities.
In Kolomna there were three regiments - the Advanced, Big and Left Hand, in Kashira - the Right Hand, and in Murom the Ertoulnaya part of the mounted intelligence was stationed. Some of them advanced towards Tula and repulsed the first of the attacks of the Crimean troops under the command of Devlet Giray, who tried to frustrate Moscow's plans. With such actions, the Crimean Tatars managed to delay the Russian army only for a short time.
Performance
The campaign aimed at the capture of Kazan began on July 3, 1552. The troops marched, divided into two columns. The path of the Sovereign, Watchdog and the Left Hand Regiment ran through Vladimir and Murom to the Sura River, and then to the mouth of the Alatyr. This army was controlled by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich himself. He gave the rest of the army under the command of Mikhail Vorotynsky. These two columns united only at Boroncheev Settlement beyond Sura. On August 13, the army in full force reached Sviyazhsk. After 3 days, the troops began to cross the Volga. This process was somewhat delayed, but already on August 23, a large army was under the walls of Kazan. The capture of the city began almost immediately.
Enemy readiness
Kazan also produced all the necessarypreparations for a new war. The city was fortified as much as possible. A double oak wall was built around the Kazan Kremlin. Inside it was covered with rubble, and from above - with clay silt. In addition, the fortress had 14 stone loopholes. The approaches to it were covered by riverbeds: from the west - Bulak, from the north - Kazanka. From the side of the Arsky field, where it is very convenient to carry out siege work, a ditch was dug, reaching 15 m in depth and more than 6 m in width. The 11 gates were considered the most poorly protected place, despite the fact that they were with towers. The soldiers who fired from the city walls were covered by a wooden roof and a parapet.
In the city of Kazan itself, in its northwestern side, there was a citadel erected on a hill. Here was the residence of the khan. It was surrounded by a thick stone wall and a deep moat. The defenders of the city were a 40,000-strong garrison, consisting not only of professional soldiers. It included all men capable of holding weapons in their hands. In addition, a 5,000-strong detachment of temporarily mobilized merchants was also included here.
Khan was well aware that sooner or later the Russian tsar would again try to capture Kazan. Therefore, the Tatar military leaders also equipped a special detachment of soldiers, who were supposed to conduct military operations outside the walls of the city, that is, in the rear of the enemy army. To do this, about 15 versts from the Kazanka River, a prison was built in advance, the approaches to which were blocked by swamps and fences. A 20,000-strong cavalry army under the leadership of Prince Apanchi, Arsk Prince Yevush and Shunak-Murza was to be stationed here. According todeveloped military strategy, they were supposed to unexpectedly attack the Russian army from two flanks and rear.
Looking ahead, it should be noted that all the actions taken to protect the fortress did not materialize. The army of Tsar Ivan the Terrible had too much superiority not only in manpower, but also in the latest methods of warfare. This refers to the underground structures of mine galleries.
First encounter
It can be said that the capture of Kazan (1552) began at that moment, as soon as the Yertoulny regiment crossed the Bulak River. Tatar troops attacked him at a very good time. The Russian regiment was just rising up, overcoming the steep slope of the Arsk field. All the rest of the royal troops were still on the opposite bank and could not join the battle.
Meanwhile, 10,000 foot and 5,000 cavalry troops of the Kazan Khan came out of the open Tsarev and Nogai gates towards the Yertoulny regiment. But the situation was saved. Streltsy and Cossacks hurried to the aid of the Yertoulny regiment. They were on the left flank and managed to open quite a strong fire on the enemy, as a result of which the Tatar cavalry mixed up. Additional reinforcements approaching the Russian troops significantly increased the shelling. The cavalry became even more upset and soon fled, crushing their infantry in the process. Thus ended the first clash with the Tatars, which brought victory to Russian weapons.
Start of the siege
The artillery bombardment of the fortress began on August 27th. Streltsy did not allow the defenders of the city to climb the walls, and also successfully repelledincreased attacks by the enemy. At the first stage, the siege of Kazan was complicated by the actions of the army of Tsarevich Yapanchi. He and his cavalry attacked the Russian troops when a large banner appeared over the fortress. At the same time, they were accompanied by sorties from the fortress garrison.
Such actions carried with them a considerable threat to the Russian rati, so the tsar gathered a military council, at which they decided to equip a 45,000-strong army against Tsarevich Yapanchi. The Russian detachment was led by governors Peter Serebryany and Alexander Gorbaty. On August 30, with their false retreat, they managed to lure the Tatar cavalry to the territory of the Arsk field and encircled it. Most of the enemy troops were destroyed, and about a thousand of the prince's soldiers were captured. They were taken directly to the walls of the city and immediately executed. Those who were lucky enough to escape took refuge in the prison.
September 6 governors Serebryany and Humpbacked with their army went on a campaign to the Kama River, devastating and burning Kazan lands on their way. They stormed the prison, located on the High Mountain. The chronicle says that even the military leaders were forced to dismount from their horses and take part in this bloody battle. As a result, the enemy base, from which raids were made on Russian troops from the rear, was completely destroyed. After that, the tsarist troops went deep into the khanate for another 150 miles, while literally completely exterminating the local population. Having reached Kama, they turned around and moved back to the walls of the fortress. Thus, the lands of the Kazan Khanate were subjected to a similardevastation, like the Russians, when they were attacked by Tatar detachments. The result of this campaign was 30 destroyed prisons, about 3 thousand prisoners and a large number of stolen cattle.
The end of the siege
After the destruction of the troops of Prince Yapanchi, nothing could prevent the further siege of the fortress. The capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible was now only a matter of time. Russian artillery got closer and closer to the walls of the city, and the fire became more intense. Not far from the Tsar's Gates, a huge siege tower 13 meters high was built. It was higher than the fortress walls. 50 squeakers and 10 cannons were installed on it, which fired at the streets of the city, thereby causing significant damage to the defenders of Kazan.
At the same time, the German Rozmysel, who was in the tsarist service, together with his students, began to dig tunnels near the enemy walls in order to lay mines. The very first charge was laid in the Daurova Tower, where there was a secret water source that fed the city. When it was blown up, they destroyed not only the entire supply of water, but also severely damaged the fortress wall. The next underground explosion destroyed the Ant Gate. With great difficulty, the Kazan garrison managed to repulse the attack of the Russian troops and create a new defensive line.
Underground explosions have shown their effectiveness. The command of the Russian troops decided not to stop shelling and undermining the city walls. It understood that a premature assault could lead to unjustified losses of manpower. By the end of September they didnumerous digs under the walls of Kazan. The explosions in them were supposed to serve as a signal for the capture of the fortress. In those areas where they were going to storm the city, all the ditches were filled with logs and earth. In other places, wooden bridges were thrown over them.
Fortress assault
Before moving his army to capture Kazan, the Russian command sent Murza Kamay to the city (many Tatar soldiers served in the tsarist army) demanding surrender. But it was categorically rejected. On October 2, early in the morning, the Russians began to carefully prepare for the attack. By 6 o'clock the regiments were already in predetermined places. All the rear of the army was covered by cavalry detachments: Kasimov's Tatars were on the Arsk field, and the rest of the regiments were on the Nogai and Galician roads.
Exactly at 7 o'clock two explosions thundered. It worked the charges laid in the tunnels between the Nameless Tower and the Atalykov Gates, as well as in the gap between the Arsky and Tsar Gates. As a result of these actions, the walls of the fortress in the area of the field collapsed and huge openings were formed. Through them, Russian troops quite easily broke into the city. So the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible came to its final stage.
Fierce battles took place in the narrow streets of the city. It should be noted that hatred between Russians and Tatars has been accumulating for several decades. Therefore, the townspeople understood that they would not be spared and fought to the last breath. The greatest centers of resistance were the Khan's citadel and the main mosque, located on Tezitskyravine.
At first, all attempts by the Russian troops to capture these positions were unsuccessful. Only after fresh reserve detachments were brought into battle was the enemy's resistance broken. The royal army nevertheless captured the mosque, and all those who defended it, along with Seyid Kul-Sharif, were killed.
The last battle, which ended the capture of Kazan, took place on the territory of the square in front of the Khan's palace. Here defended the Tatar army in the amount of about 6 thousand people. None of them were left alive, since no prisoners were taken at all. The only survivor was Khan Yadygar-Muhammed. Subsequently, he was baptized and they began to call him Simeon. He was given Zvenigorod as an inheritance. Very few men from among the defenders of the city escaped, and a chase was sent after them, which destroyed almost all of them.
Consequences
The capture of Kazan by the Russian army led to the annexation to Moscow of the vast territories of the Middle Volga region, where many peoples lived: Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Tatars, Udmurts, Mari. In addition, having conquered this fortress, the Russian state acquired the most important economic center, which was Kazan. And after the fall of Astrakhan, the Moscow kingdom began to control the important water trade artery - the Volga.
In the year Ivan the Terrible took Kazan, the Crimean-Ottoman political union hostile to Moscow was destroyed in the Middle Volga region. The eastern borders of the state were no longer threatened by constant raids with the withdrawal of the local population into slavery.
The year of the capture of Kazanturned out to be negative in terms of the fact that the Tatars, who professed Islam, were forbidden to settle within the city. I must say that such laws were in force not only in Russia, but in European and Asian countries. This was done in order to avoid uprisings, as well as interethnic and interreligious clashes. By the end of the 18th century, the Tatar settlements gradually and harmoniously merged with the urban ones.
Memory
In 1555, at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, they began to build a cathedral in honor of the capture of Kazan. Its construction lasted only 5 years, unlike European temples, which were created over the centuries. The current name - St. Basil's Cathedral - he received in 1588 after the addition of a chapel in honor of this saint, since his relics were located at the site of the construction of the church.
Initially, the temple was decorated with 25 domes, today there are 10 of them left: one of them is above the bell tower, and the rest are above their thrones. Eight churches are dedicated to the holidays in honor of the capture of Kazan, which fell on every day when the most important battles for this fortress took place. The central church is the Intercession of the Mother of God, which is crowned with a tent with a small cupola.
According to the legend that has survived to this day, after the construction of the cathedral was completed, Ivan the Terrible ordered to deprive the architects of his sight so that they could no longer repeat such beauty. But in fairness, it should be noted that this fact does not appear in any of the old documents.
Another monument to the capture of Kazan was built in the XIXcentury, designed by the most talented architect-engraver Nikolai Alferov. This monument was approved by Emperor Alexander I. The initiator of perpetuating the memory of the soldiers who died in the battles for the fortress was the archimandrite of the Zilantov monastery - Ambrose.
The monument stands on the left bank of the Kazanka River, on a small hill, very close to the Admir alteyskaya Sloboda. The chronicle, which has been preserved since those times, says that when Ivan the Terrible took the fortress, he arrived with his army to this place and set up his banner here. And after the capture of Kazan, it was from here that he began his solemn procession to the conquered fortress.
