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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 50
In the morning, at a little light, they set out on their journey. Dimitri sullenly looked at the passing forests and fields. There was no trace of his yesterday's euphoria. Yes, he escaped, but at the same time he lost his life, and now a monastic cell awaits him in a strange, frightening country.- What are you, my father, are you all silent? How he found that Pole, he has not said a word since.Dimitri's eyes filled with tears.- How do you know that he is a Pole? - he whispered, trying to imitate the Russian pronunciation.- You can see it in clothes. Nothing to kill, really. Haven't you fallen ill?- No, it's just sad.- Well, well, - Mikhail stroked his head, - don't cry. Of course, it’s hard to stay without a mother, and they say you love your uncles too. Nothing, God willing, see you again.Deciding that this was a good opportunity to find out something, Dimitri sobbed and asked:- When?“But who knows,” Mikhail Nikitich sighed, “the Lord alone knows. But you are no longer smal
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 51
On the evening of January 7, 1598, Mikhail Nikitich Romanov came to visit his elder brother Fyodor in the white-stone chambers in Zaryadye, famous throughout Moscow. Jumping out of the sleigh and shivering from the bitter cold, he almost ran towards the door.Inside, the walls and ceiling of the chambers were generously decorated with paintings, narrow windows with a semicircular top were covered with carved bars, benches along the walls were upholstered in red velvet. The host was seated at a long oak table laden with jugs, dishes, jugs, and goblets. Fyodor, seeing his brother, smiled and pointed to a chair upholstered in embossed leather, inviting him to join the meal. But he, gesturing for the servants to leave, immediately blurted out:- The king is dead!Fyodor Nikitich gasped, crossed himself at the red corner, muttering hastily "Peace, Lord," and impatiently asked:Who did you leave as heir?Michael spread his hands.- Nobody. He said - everything is the will of God, and with t
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 52
Having safely passed the frontier outpost, in the summer of 1601 Dimitri ended up in Lithuania. He went deep into the Commonwealth, hoping to join the retinue or army of some noble gentry who might be interested in the history of the prince.But it turned out to be more difficult than he thought. Previously, in Poland, he was considered a nobleman, the uncle of the king, and all doors were open for him. And how to make friends with the lords, if you are a poor, obscure youth? Very soon, Dimitri realized that not only getting close, but even getting to know some nobleman would be a difficult task. Realizing that he could not dream of joining anyone's army, he decided to enter the service of a rich pan.At first, he went to Orsha, hoping to find work with the owner of his former castle. But it turned out that Jan-Stanislav Vapovsky, to whom, while still being Francois, he bequeathed all the lands, he sold them to the crown, and no one now lived in Orsha Castle. Dimitri spent a few more
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 53
In the middle of the huge hall for receptions stood a table filled with dishes and candelabra and many chairs, and at the head of the table Dimitri saw the same chair as in his room. The guests bowed in respect. A tall, stout gentleman of about fifty with slicked-back hair and a long black beard stepped forward, dressed in a dark blue coat and burgundy kuntush. It was the owner of Sambor, the governor of Sandomierz, Jerzy Mniszek. He warmly and respectfully greeted Demetrius and even asked permission to hug him. After talking for a couple of minutes with the prince and princes Vishnevetsky, he made a broad gesture with his hand, pointing to a young man and a girl of about fifteen standing among the guests.- Let me introduce you, Pan Dimitri, my son Nikolai and daughter Marianna, or in Russian - Marina.They approached and bowed. The prince bowed his head, and, raising it, met Marina's eyes and ... It seemed to him that the whole world around him had disappeared, he could not see anyt
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 54
Dimitri formed his own yard. Pan Mniszek put at his disposal a whole wing of the Sambir Castle, and now the prince had his own butler, kravchiy, bed-keeper, steward, chalice, treasurer and even huntsman. Demetrius was given royal honors, and many fugitive Russians, now living in Lithuania and Poland, already called him sovereign.The prince sat in his office and wrote letters to be sent to Russian cities. In them, Demetrius announced that he was the son of Tsar John, announced his imminent arrival and urged to meet him with humility, without resistance, open the gates of the cities and recognize him as his sovereign.Having finished another letter, Dimitri got up and went to the window. Through the multi-colored rhombuses of the stained-glass window, he thoughtfully watched how, under the leadership of one of the knights, Pan Mniszek, fifty soldiers were marching in the courtyard of the castle. Anyone else in his place would have thought about how he could defeat the powerful Russian
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 55
Unlike Demetrius, who attracted more and more supporters with his wise actions, the tsarist governors, and Godunov himself, made mistake after mistake. After the victory at Bryansk, Shuisky, furious that all the surrounding towns and villages supported the "imposter", ordered the local population to be killed indiscriminately. Hundreds of families were slaughtered and hanged, and the inhabitants of the Seversk land, seeing such lawlessness, swore allegiance to Demetrius and swore to fight to the death. Everyone understood that those who surrendered would not be spared cruel reprisals.Meanwhile, Boris, having received detailed reports of the victory, sent Peter Sheremetyev to the army, who expressed royal disfavor to Shuisky and the whole army for not being able to capture Dimitri "by their negligence and non-service." The governors, among whom there were many "wavering", were seriously offended, and although they had not yet openly opposed Godunov, they were already thinking about mo
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 56
Dimitri could not sleep that night. He understood that now nothing could prevent him from sitting on the throne of Moscow. "I'm the tsar! It's impossible to believe! Dear God, I thank you for everything: for immortality, for the fact that of all the Russian people it was Dimitri who got in my way, and, of course, for the fact that I won this fight. Give me a sign, let me know who I am: it can't be that normal for an ordinary person to be so lucky. Are the thoughts that hovered in my head true? Am I really something more than just a person?"Demetrius was bursting with pride. He did it, he did it! With a miserable army of four thousand spears, he was able to defeat the formidable Russian Tsar, who, if desired, could put up a hundred thousand soldiers. And now they are all in his, Demetrius, hands! He will dispose of them, he will overcome the Turks, make an alliance with the European sovereigns and become the strongest, the greatest among them!The only thing that depressed him was the
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 57
Two days later, Prince Rubets-Mosalsky was already in Tula and informed Dimitri that Fyodor and Maria Godunova had been poisoned. Having crossed himself, the tsarevich ordered to get ready and the next day went to Moscow. On the way, he drove into villages and villages, everywhere he was met with bread and salt, joyful cries and assurances of humility. The prince spoke kindly to everyone, promising to be not a judge, but a father.Finally, on June 20, 1605, Demetrius entered the capital through the Serpukhov Gates. Ahead of him marched the Polish guards, an equestrian squad with trumpets and fluttering banners, drummers marched behind them, priests with crosses walked sedately behind them, behind - Cossacks, archers in scarlet caftans and other troops. The procession was closed by a huge number of carriages and wagons, in which the boyars and prominent citizens from all over the Russian kingdom rode. In the midst of all this splendor, on a richly decorated horse, the prince rode in fu