Minin Kuzma Minich - biography.

organizer of the national liberation struggle of the Russian people against the Polish intervention, one of the leaders of the Zemstvo militia of the year. Date of Birth: between 1562 and 1568 Place of Birth: Balakhna Date of death: May 21, 1616 A place of death: on the road from Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod

Kozma Minin(1562 / 1568-1616), organizer of the national liberation struggle of the Russian people against the Polish intervention, one of the leaders of the 2nd zemstvo militia in 1612, member of the zemstvo government (1612-1613), Nizhny Novgorod townsman, zemstvo elder (since September 1611 ), Duma nobleman (since July 16, 1613).

Biography

Family of Kozma Minin

Many books and articles have been written about the great patriot, the initiator of the creation of the national militia of 1611-1612, Kuzma Minin. But even to the present Burden, there are still many "blank spots" in our information about Minin himself and his descendants. Documentary and literary materials claim that Kuzma Minin's father left Balakhna at the end of the 16th century in connection with the beginning of the decline of the salt industry in Nizhny Novgorod. With him was a young (8-10 years old) son Kuzma. Kuzma's older brothers remained in Balakhna. In Nizhny, Kuzma's father, apparently, was not lucky, he went to the monastery and there he took the tonsure under the name of Misail. When Kuzma grew up, he began to engage in trade. In subsequent years, Kuzma Minin stood out among the townspeople with his mind, gained respect and influence, and began to be elected to important city posts. Having become independent, Kuzma was written with the name of his own father: Kuzma Minin's son. It is appropriate to say that he did not call himself Kuzma. So, on the letter sent to Poland in 1614, among others, there is a signature: Duma nobleman Kuzma Minin. The genealogy of Kuzma Minin was studied by many researchers, including Nizhny Novgorod P. I. Melnikov and A. Ya. Sadovsky. Their work was continued by I. A. Kiryanov, who, on the basis of new sources, established that Kuzma Minin comes from the Balakhnin family of Mina Ankudinov. And what is known about the descendants of Minin? In 1842, the writer and local historian P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky was engaged in clarifying this. On the basis of archival research, he came to the conclusion that there were no direct descendants of Kuzma Minin, because his only son Nefediy also died childless shortly after the death of his father, and the remaining property, as escheated, was transferred to the treasury. Kuzma Minin had brothers Sergey and Bezson and a sister Daria, but exact information about their descendants has not been preserved, although subsequently many tried to prove that they belonged to the Minin family. Different people put their hands on the search for Minin's descendants, even the Nizhny Novgorod police chief Makhotin. Such "historians" falsified the facts, attached families of rich people who were never related to Minin to the Minin family. Minin's absence of children, except for Nefedius, was judged mainly by Kuzma's petition to the tsar and the reciprocal royal order of May 31, 1615, where only one son of Minin was named - Nefed. However, it should be noted that the royal decree applied only to Minin's relatives who lived in the Nizhny Novgorod district (Minin himself lived in Moscow at that time). But in the State Archive of the Gorky Region, a document was found that reports on the descendants of Minin living in the Tula province. This is the petition of M. V. Ivanova, nee Minina, submitted to the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma in July 1916. In her petition, Maria Vasilievna Ivanova reports that her father, a descendant of Kuzma Minin, Vasily Vasilyevich Minin, died 6 years ago. After his death, from the once rich estates in the Chernsky district of the Tula province, there was absolutely nothing left that could serve as at least a memory of the former well-being, Ivanova asked the city duma, in “the memory of Kuzma Minin, an exemplary citizen for all of Russia, to come to the rescue by issuing a cash allowance for maintaining the existence of an impoverished family of descendants of a once glorious family, ”and also to accept her son Igor, who at that time was 6 years old, on a scholarship from the city duma. Attached to the petition is a certificate issued from the Tula noble assembly July 28, 1916. It says that Maria Vasilievna, the daughter of the deceased "lieutenant Vasily Vasilyevich Minin", as can be seen "from the documents available in the case of the nobility of the Minin family, including the coat of arms of this family, included in the highest approved armorial, comes from Kuzma Minin." We sent a letter to the Tula archivists with a request to send documents about the Minin family. After several months of waiting, we found documents of great interest in our hands - a photocopy from the book by V. I. Chernopyatov about the Tula descendants of Minin and a description of the coat of arms of the Minin family (Chernopyatov V. I. The nobility of the Tula province, III-XII, part VI, p. 381). It is known that in 1613, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich granted Minin the title of Duma nobleman, approved his family in noble dignity. The painting of the noble family of the Minins testifies that, in addition to Nefediy, Minin had another son - Leonty. His descendants continued the Minin family on Russian soil. Why Minin did not name Leonty in the petition of 1615 remains unclear. There is no information about Leonty Kuzmich in the painting by V. I. Chernopyatov. His son, Mikhail, the grandson of Kuzma Minin, was a duma nobleman and was granted for "courage and courage" by the villages in the Cheri district. But, it turns out, he is known to Tula. The coat of arms is a shield divided in two. In the upper half there are crossed olive and laurel branches, in the lower half there is a sword thrust into a silver crescent. The shield is surmounted by a nobleman's helmet and crown. The description of the coat of arms says that the founder of the Minin clan, Kozma Minin, showed “a laudable example of zeal for the Fatherland, giving all his property to the salaries of warriors, bowed his fellow citizens to take saving measures and, sacrificing himself, became the reason for delivering the state from death.” As can be seen from the family tree of the painting, the majority of the Tula branch of the Minin clan are military men. They carry military service in the ranks of lieutenants, captains, majors. Some served in the secular line. But neither the military nor the civilian Minins rose to high ranks. The family of Nikolai Vasilyevich Minin is interesting for us (in painting No. 31). He fought in the Balkans Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 and received the soldier's St. George's Cross. His son Alexander Nikolayevich (painted No. 34) served in the Navy for more than half a century. In 1918-1920, he commanded the Okean warship, later renamed Komsomolets. Died in 1947. His daughter Lyudmila Alexandrovna is a surgeon. It is known that in 1956 she lived in Leningrad. Now that something has become known about the bearers of this glorious family, more detailed information about the descendants of the Kuzma Minin family will have to be collected.

Kuzma (Cosma) Minin (full name since 1613 - Kuzma (Cosma) Minich Minin, according to the Nikon chronicle - Kozma Minich Minin Sukhoruk, according to many writers - Kozma Minich Zakharyev Sukhoruky; second half of the 16th century - May 21, 1616) - the organizer and one of the leaders of the Zemsky militia of 1611-1612 during the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish and Swedish interventions.

Origin

Little is known about Minin's early years. There is an assumption, based on local tradition (no later than the first half of the 19th century), that Kuzma Minin was the son of a salt maker Mina Ankudinov from Balakhna.

The modern version of the Balakhna origin, which has become practically universally recognized in the USSR, did not originate from documents about this itself, and is based not only on legend, but also on the fact that in Balakhna there were tubs in one pipe that belonged to the Balakhna Minins and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. Then, purely theoretically, families could be friends, Kuzma Minin could be called by the direct Christian name of Dmitry Pozharsky (who was also called Kozma (Cosma), and not Dmitry), Kuzma Minin proposed to lead the militia not just to the namesake, but to a family friend, etc. etc. Moreover, most likely, a significant part of the property of the Minins from Balakhna, who were called the Ankudinovs for a long time, and who changed their nickname after the Troubles, apparently for a reason, received after the execution at the end of 1608 for the adherence to the Tushins of the two main salt producers of Balakhna - township elders Vasily Kukhtin and Alexei Surovtsev - and the confiscation of their property. D. M. Pozharsky, as evidenced by the Register of the city of Balakhna 1674-1676, in 1628 was the owner of 100 buckets of brine in the Luninskaya pipe. In the same pipe, Fyodor Minin Ankudinov owned five hundred buckets. Only after the Time of Troubles, according to A. Melnikov-Pechersky, who referred to the Iskalsky inventory of 1618, the Minins-Ankudinovs occupied the 3rd place in the number of brines (925 buckets) after Spirin (2200 buckets) and the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (1025 buckets) . In the Scribe Book of the Zauzolskaya volost for 1591, Mina Ankudinov listed only the brine in the Kamenka pipe (by the way, in the same pipe his son Fyodor also owned brines in 1628). Moreover, unlike the folk history about the “Tatar origin” of Minin, this version has an author - a prominent and serious historian I. A. Kiryanov, and before that, the origin of Kuzma Minin from Mina Ankudinov was also admitted by A. Ya. Sadovsky.

The version of Minin's Balakhna origin (previously substantiated by the historian I. A. Kiryanov in 1965) is now being questioned; there are suggestions that the Balakhna Minins were only his namesakes. Similar views were held by Melnikov-Pechersky; In our time, the corresponding statements were put forward by a group of Nizhny Novgorod scientists in an article published in 2005-2006. in the collection "Minin's Readings". In their opinion, the "Balakhna" version is not confirmed by a repeated study of documents from the Central Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod Region (commemorative records and a scribe book).

As a result, S. V. Sirotkin states: “... the study of cadastral and other documents on the history of the Minin family in Balakhna allows us to speak quite confidently about the absence of their relationship with Kuzma Minin”. So, Kuzma Minin is not mentioned in any document that has come down to us, neither in connection with the Balakhna “brothers”, nor in connection with the “grandfather Ankundin”. “Neither in the 17th century, nor in the first half of the 18th century. Minin's overalls did not refer to their kinship with the Nizhny Novgorod headman in order to achieve any privileges, although if they were descendants of Kuzma Minin's brothers, they could count on a special attitude towards themselves.- the author also writes. (A special attitude would be necessary, if only because the Balakhna people supported the Tushino people and even undertook an unsuccessful campaign against Nizhny Novgorod, in connection with which, when the Second Militia entered Balakhna, and after the liberation of Moscow, the Balakhnin people were forced to fork out). But according to the scribe books, the Minins just got rich, apparently as a result of the division of the property of the executed supporters of the Tushins, and after the election of Mikhail Romanov, the son of the Tushino patriarch and the nephew of one of the members of the Seven Boyars, as tsar, pardoning the supporters of the Tushinos and the Seven Boyars, returning them and the relatives of the dead property , the hooded Minins could try not to remind themselves once again. At the same time, according to the signature on one of the letters, the name of one of Kuzma Minin's brothers, Sergei, is reliably known. There was no such person among the balakhon Minins. The strongest argument against descent from the Balakhon Minins (which does not exclude kinship with them) is the absence of the name Ankudin in the synodics of Kuzma's son, Nefed. The fact that in the synodic of the nobleman Nefyod Minin the lineage ends with his grandfather, Mina, at the end of his life, the monk Misail, may indeed testify in favor of the fact that Kuzma Minin's father was an orphan who did not remember his parents, a foundling or illegitimate, or Mina's parents ( Misail) were heretics, non-Orthodox, Gentiles, pagans (from the peoples of the Volga region). But this can also be explained by the fact that the commemoration of Mina's parents and their ancestors was already provided by another synodic, paid for by other relatives (for example, Mina's (Misail's) brothers or sisters, etc.).

B. M. Pudalov in his work spoke about the fact that “in the media, without any evidence, a version was voiced about the non-Russian origin of K. Minin (“baptized Tatar”?). It cannot be accepted, as it contradicts the evidence of sources about the deep Orthodox roots of the clan..

For the first time, the Tatar origin of Kuzma Minin was announced in 2002 by the Ogonyok magazine in a sidebar to an article by the historian V. L. Makhnach. The magazine called Kuzma Minin "the baptized Tatar Kirisha Minnibaev." But then, after verification, this material was never published, the material was also lost, we do not even know the author of this version. In 2006, the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gainutdin, supported the version of the anonymous supplier of materials to Ogonyok about Minin's "Tatar origin".

At the same time, the thesis about the “possible Tatar nationality” of the hero of 1612 was voiced by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II. The patriarch also believed that there were many Tatars in the militia of Minin and Pozharsky, who went to liberate Moscow from the interventionists because Minin was a "Tatar". (Indeed, when I. I. Birkin tried to withdraw the entire army of the Kazan state from Yaroslavl, the Tatars, for the most part, remained, and the Russians left, etc.) But the fact that the Muslims of the Volga region supported the Second Militia is just more evidence against this version, since they would have considered a newly baptized Tatar a renegade.) V.V. Putin supported the mufti and the patriarch, saying that Russia was liberated by the Tatar Minin, and the liberation came from Kazan. Apparently, he was referring to the oath of the Kazan state on January 9, 1611, to the already dead False Dmitry II, and the subsequent letter from Kazan to the Vyatka land, which preceded the creation of both the First and Second Militias, “become, gentlemen, we Orthodox peasants for the true Orthodox faith of Christ, all unanimously so that we Orthodox peasants do not give up the Orthodox peasant faith in the evil and damned Latin faith. But after leaving for the First Militia, along with the troops and the icon of the Kazan Mother of God of the great governor Morozov, the Kazanians, whom the historical cities of Russia called for help, hesitated. Therefore, despite the call of the Russian cities to Kazan, and Patriarch Hermogenes - both to Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan - contrary to the hopes of the Russians and the promise of the Kazanians, the liberation of the Moscow state did not come from Kazan, but thanks to Minin - from Nizhny Novgorod.)

The well-known Kazan scholar-philologist, academician A. Kh. Khalikov, who died before the appearance of the version of the Tatar origin of Kuzma Minin, in his book “500 Russian Surnames of Bulgar-Tatar Origin” unequivocally states that the surname Minin can come from the name of the genus “Min”, which was a leading Kipchak-Horde clan (appeared among the Kipchaks after the Mongol conquest). Professor R. Z. Yanguzin also wrote in detail about the kind of mines as one of the powerful and viable formations of Turkic-Kypchak origin. Noble Horde clans, for example, the Kokand khans, came out of this Min tribe. The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles also says that people from this Horde clan Min in the Muscovite state were called Minins. So, the arguments about the “Turkic origin” of the surname are very convincing.

But Minin, as a simple person, did not have a last name at first. He was named after his father, whose Christian name was the name Mina that arose long before the appearance of the Ming clan. The surname Minin Kuzma received in 1613, when he became a duma nobleman. In addition, Christianity appeared among the Kipchaks earlier than Islam, and according to all sources, Kuzma Minin is from an Orthodox family: most likely, Russians or Kryashens - both of them assimilated many Kipchaks by the 17th century, but theoretically it could be of a different origin, since all the Orthodox of Muscovite Russia, of course, considered themselves, first of all, Russians, and his nickname Minin was from his father Mina, and not from the clan Min.

Thus, there is no reliable and reasoned scientific information about whether Kuzma Minin was actually a Tatar. This, by by and large, a completely new and original version without an author and without evidence, which only in principle has the right to exist. It does not offend the Russian people in the same way as the heroism of the Kryashens, General Karbyshev, Major Gavrilov, Muslim Musa Jalil, etc. - on the contrary, politically it would be very good. But there is so little evidence for this that no one has yet admitted who was the author of this anonymous folk history, supported by Mufti Ravil Gainutdinov, Patriarch Alexy and President V.V. Putin.

It is known for certain that the widow of K. Minin, Tatyana Semyonovna, having outlived her husband and childless son Nefed, died shortly after 1635, taking monastic vows under the name “Taisia” before her death. V. A. Kuchkin in his work “On the family of Kuzma Minin” (ISSSR. - M., 1973. No. 2. S. 209-211) points to the monk Misail, inscribed in the synodics for commemoration of the Minin family, as a possible father folk hero.

Even about the middle name of Kuzma Minin, there were different opinions. In the second half of the 19th century, according to the erroneous opinion popularized by N.I. Kostomarov, which, apparently, only goes back to M.P. Pogodin, who was friends with the playwright A.N. namesakes - also Kuzma, but not Minin. Now the opinion has been established that "Minin" is not a family nickname, but a patronymic. P. I. Melnikov (Andrey Pechersky), who found this bill of sale, never called Minin that name either in his writings or in his correspondence, despite Pogodin’s opinion. The only thing he allowed himself was to call him Kozma instead of Kuzma. From the text of the bill of sale, in fact, it follows that in 1602 in Nizhny Novgorod he lived “above the river. Pochaenoy, on the Nikolskaya side, Kuzma Zakhariev, the son of Sukhoruk, ”who had nothing to do with his namesake Kuzma Minin.

Different versions also exist about Minin's occupation: either he was a "salt industrialist", or a "beef" (cattle trader). Today it is known for certain that he was a townsman from Nizhny Novgorod, elected headman.

What is known for certain today, and is supported by accurate scientific data, and not speculation, is genealogical tree genus Kuzma Minin. Father - Mina, mother - unknown, Mina's sons - Kuzma Minin (wife Tatyana Semyonovna, Taisia ​​in monasticism) and Sergey Minin, Mina also had a daughter Sophia (nun), their sister. On Nefyod, the only son of Kuzma Minin and his wife Tatyana Semyonovna, the tree breaks. Kuzma Minin is a great citizen, "an elected representative of the whole earth" - the first democratically elected legitimate acting head of the Russian state, a citizen of Nizhny Novgorod, a townsman of Nizhny Novgorod, as he is called in the surviving documents of his time.

Participation in the militia

M. I. Scotty. Minin and Pozharsky. 1850

It is only known for certain that at the beginning of the 17th century he opened a shop in Nizhny Novgorod and engaged in the meat trade. In 1608-1610. as part of the local city militia (under the leadership of the governor A. Alyabyev and A. Repnin), he participated in battles with supporters of False Dmitry II. The Nizhny Novgorod people then managed to defeat the Tushinos, clear the outskirts of the city from them and gain combat experience. Details about the activities of Minin personally become known only from the autumn of 1611, when a letter from Patriarch Hermogenes was read out in Nizhny Novgorod (but now some suggest that in reality they read the letter from Troitsky monastery). The city council, convened to discuss the letter, was attended by the clergy and senior people in the city. Among the participants was Kuzma Minin, a zemstvo (townsman) headman elected in September, a middle-class man and a butcher by trade. The next day after the meeting, the content of the letter was read out to the townspeople. Undeservedly forgotten now, but in reality, who led the Nizhny Novgorod militia together with Minin and Pozharsky, the patriot Archpriest Savva convinced the people to “stand for the faith”, but the speech of Minin who spoke behind him turned out to be much more specific:

Let us want to help the Muscovite state, so that we do not spare our property, do not spare anything, sell yards, mortgage wives and children, beat with the brow of anyone who would stand up for the true Orthodox faith and be our boss.

S.M. Soloviev. History of Russia since ancient times. Volume 8. Chapter 8. End of the Interregnum

In Nizhny Novgorod, constant gatherings began: they talked about how to rise, where to get people and funds. With such questions, they turned primarily to Minin, and he developed his plans in detail. Every day his influence grew; Nizhny Novgorod was carried away by Minin's proposals and, finally, decided to form a militia on a new basis, convene service people and collect money for their maintenance.

Prince Dmitry Pozharsky was chosen as the leader of the militia, who was then treated for wounds in the Nizhny Novgorod estate and wished that the economic part in the militia was entrusted to Minin.

With the support of Pozharsky's troops, Minin carried out an assessment of the property of the Nizhny Novgorod population and determined the part that should go to the militia. On the advice of Minin, they gave the "third money", that is, a third of the property, or, in some cases, a fifth. Persons who did not want to allocate the required amount were given into slaves, and their property was completely confiscated.

According to the chronicle, he “satisfied the thirsty hearts of the soldiers and covered their nakedness, and in everything they rested, and by these deeds he gathered not a small army.” Nizhny Novgorod was soon joined by other cities, raised by the well-known district charter, in the preparation of which, undoubtedly, Minin participated. Unlike the First Militia, which relied on the exceptionally brave but low-paid Cossack freemen, Minin did not spare money for more disciplined, albeit more expensive, military specialists. Both Nizhny Novgorod and Pozharsky themselves participated in the First Militia, recaptured almost 9/10 of Moscow, and then, due to the lack of siege artillery and specialists in the siege of cities, they could not do anything with the Poles and Little Russian Cossacks who had settled in Kitay-Gorod and the impregnable Kremlin. The first to come were two thousand experienced Belarusian warriors wandering near Nizhny, who participated in the defense of Smolensk, pardoned by King Sigismund after the capture of the city, but flatly refused to go to serve him and his son Vladislav, whom Sigismund, with the help of the Seven Boyars, wanted to approve on the Moscow throne. Minin managed to give even ordinary military specialists a very high salary - from 30 to 50 rubles a year. Many military personnel came to him - not only subjects of the Moscow state or patriots of the united Russian people, but, as we would say now, internationalist soldiers - both from the East and the West, as Simon Azaryin emphasizes - "from the whole Universe" . At the beginning of April 1612, a huge militia was already standing in Yaroslavl, headed by Prince Pozharsky and Minin.

Kuzma joined the "Council of the Whole Earth", created in Yaroslavl in the middle of 1612 and until the convening of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, he performed the functions supreme body state power, which he actually headed, although due to the custom of localism, his signature was only 15th. After all, he attracted the Council of the whole land and brought with him to Yaroslavl many Cossacks, the closest relative of Ivan the Terrible - his wife's nephew - Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Cherkassky, and the most well-born Rurik boyars, and even the signature of Rurikovich Dmitry Pozharsky turned out to be only 10th. The Council turned for military assistance to the King of Sweden and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, promising their sons the throne of Moscow - and received help from Germany and Sweden in large military detachments, and, most importantly, secured their rear from attacks by the Swedes, their puppet Novgorod state and the Holy Roman Empire. empire in conditions when the Commonwealth concluded a truce with them and wanted to attack the Russians together with them. In order to keep some of the serving Poles, Minin did not rule out the election of Vladislav to the kingdom. Only the possibility of participation in the management of the great Russian state of Sigismund III and any other foreigners, except for the tsar who converted to Orthodoxy, was categorically denied. Subsequently, on Zemsky Cathedral, all foreign applicants for the Moscow throne were given a turn from the gate - so as not to offend any of them and not to bring confusion into the relations of Christian states among themselves. In Yaroslavl, Minin no longer accepted ordinary foreign condottieri into the militia. The Cossacks of the princes Cherkassky and Shakhovsky organized their Circle, and Minin was looking for money to fulfill the decisions of both the “masters” and the “comrades”, Kuzma immediately found money for everything useful for the state, and did not refuse the rest to both authorities, but “continued the money search". On April 7, 1612, the Council of the Whole Land called the Muscovite State a great Russian power. But then the militia began to mow down a terrible pestilence. Contrary to the expectations of the Seven Boyars, the militia did not flee, and thanks to competent sanitary measures, the epidemic was stopped. Convinced of the safety of the rear, the militia marched on Moscow.

In the battles for Moscow 22-24.8 (01-03.9). 1612 Kuzma also showed resourcefulness and military prowess. His detachment, which consisted of three hundreds of nobles and a gonfalon, captain Khmelevsky, who had come to serve him from the Commonwealth (in the Second Home Guard there were a lot of people from the Commonwealth, usually from its Western Russian lands, but also opponents of Sigismund of a different origin - for example, those who feared him revenge, participants of the Sandomierz Rokosh), crossed the Moskva River and, like snow on his head, fell on two Lithuanian companies set up by Hetman Khodkevich near the Crimean courtyard. Here the enemy could not withstand the onslaught, losing up to 500 people on the spot. Khodkevich was forced to leave Catherine's camp and retreated to the Donskoy Monastery. This provided a turning point in the course of the battle. So, in August, Khodkevich was defeated with the personal participation of Minin, and in October Moscow was cleared of the Poles. Kuzma Minin, together with Dmitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy and Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, ruled the great Russian power until the Zemsky Sobor was convened, since after the unification of the Soviets of the entire land of the First and Second militias as a result of the capture of Moscow and the final unification of the militias, the Council of the whole land did not meet. (Probably to prevent conflicts). Like all the great princes, tsars and rulers of the Moscow state before Peter I, Kuzma Minin, the “elected of the whole earth,” did not sign anything himself. All letters, for example, on the convocation of the Zemsky Sobor, were signed for him by his comrades Trubetskoy and Pozharsky. The next day after the wedding to the kingdom (July 12, 1613), Mikhail Fedorovich granted Minin the rank of duma nobleman and estate. There were only two Duma noblemen in the Duma - appointed by False Dmitry I, but proclaiming at the Zemsky Sobor all Rurikovichs to be the same foreigners as Prince Vladislav, and therefore making it possible to elect Mikhail Romanov, a relative of the Romanovs Gavrila Pushkin with a salary of 120 rubles and the only one appointed by Mikhail himself - Kuzma Minin with a salary of 200 rubles. Since then, constantly sitting in the Duma and living in the royal palace, Minin enjoyed the tsar's great confidence (in 1615 he, along with his fellow boyars, was instructed to "protect Moscow" during the tsar's trip to the Sergius Monastery) and received the most important "parcels".

Death

He died in 1616, "during the search" in the "Cossack places" (where the population of the former Kazan Khanate carried out the Cossack service to the proclaimed great Russian power) on the occasion of the uprising of the Tatars and Cheremis. Minin Kuzma Minich was buried in the graveyard of the parish church of Pokhvalinskaya.

Tomb of Kuzma Minin in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior in the Kremlin. Erected by L. V. Dalem in 1874

Later, in 1672, his ashes were transferred to the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior by the first Nizhny Novgorod Metropolitan Filaret.

By the 1830s, the cathedral fell into disrepair and was demolished at the direction of the Nizhny Novgorod governor M.P. Buturlin. In 1838, a new cathedral was built, its foundation was shifted by several tens of meters relative to old building, and the ashes of Minin and the specific princes resting nearby were placed in the sub-church.

In 1930, after the destruction of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior, the ashes were transferred for storage to the historical and architectural museum-reserve, and then transferred to the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.

According to the TV program "Searchers", a completely different ashes lie in the grave on the territory of the Kremlin, and the real remains of Minin continue to remain in the ground at the place where the Transfiguration Cathedral stood. Currently in place cathedral Built in 1838, there is a wooden cross.

Since 1804, IP Martos began to work on a sculptural composition in Nizhny Novgorod in honor of Kozma Minin. Upon completion of the sketches in the spring of 1809, a fundraising was announced in the Nizhny Novgorod province. By 1811, 18,000 rubles had been received, but on February 15 of the same year, the Committee of Ministers decided to erect a monument in Moscow. In 1818, a monument was erected to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow, and in 1828, a granite obelisk was erected in Nizhny Novgorod.

Family

Kuzma (Kozma) had an only son - Nefed and sister Sophia (name in monasticism). After the death of Minin, the tsar, by a letter dated July 5, 1616, confirmed the right to own a patrimony in the Nizhny Novgorod district - the village of Bogorodskoye with villages - to the widow of Kuzma Tatyana Semyonovna and his son Nefed. Nefed had a courtyard on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, although he himself lived in Moscow in his service while performing the duties of a solicitor. Information about him is rather scattered. In 1625 he was present at the departure of the Persian ambassador, in 1626 he was "at the sovereign's lantern" at two royal weddings. The last mention in the palace ranks dates back to 1628. He died in 1632. The granted estates returned to the state treasury and were given to Prince Yakov Kudenetovich Cherkassky.

Tatyana Semyonovna Minina continued to live in Nizhny Novgorod. Apparently, at an advanced age, she became a nun, ending her life in one of the Nizhny Novgorod monasteries (most likely, in Voskresensky, located on the territory of the Kremlin).

Performance evaluations

Most historians (especially I. E. Zabelin and M. P. Pogodin) describe the historical portrait of Minin as worthy of respect for his heroic actions, mentioning his feat before the fatherland as a decisive step in defense of the Motherland, in contrast to N. I. Kostomarov, who considered him a man "with a strong will, a strong temper, who used all means to achieve the goal."

(full name - Kuzma Minich [Minin's son] Zakharyev Sukhoruky) - a glorious figure of the Time of Troubles; a citizen of Nizhny Novgorod, a seller of meat and fish, who served in his youth in the militia of Alyabyev and Repnin, a zemstvo headman and head of court affairs for the townspeople; was in Nizhny Novgorod "a favorite person" for honesty and "wise sense." Details about his activities become known only from 1611, when a letter arrived in Nizhny Novgorod from Patriarch Hermogenes or from the Trinity Lavra (it is not known exactly). After reading it, Archpriest Savva urged the people to "stand for the faith", but Minin's passionate words turned out to be much more convincing: would stand up for the true Orthodox faith and be our boss."

K. Makovsky. Minin's Appeal on Nizhny Novgorod Square

In Nizhny, constant meetings began: they talked about how to rise, where to get people and funds. With such questions, they turned primarily to Minin, and he developed his plans in detail. Every day his influence grew; Nizhny Novgorod was carried away by Minin's proposals and finally decided to form a militia, convene service people and collect money for them. On the advice of Minin, they gave the "third money", that is, the third part of the property; on his own advice, they chose the leader of Prince D. M. Pozharsky, who was then being treated for wounds in an estate near Moscow and wished that the economic part in the militia was entrusted to Minin. and by these deeds gathered no small army." Nizhny Novgorod was soon joined by other cities, raised by the well-known district charter, in the preparation of which, undoubtedly, Minin participated. At the beginning of April 1612, a huge militia was already standing in Yaroslavl, headed by Prince Pozharsky and Minin; in August Khodkevich was defeated, and in October Moscow was cleared of the Poles.

E. Lissner. Knowing Poles from the Kremlin

The next day after the wedding to the kingdom (July 12, 1613), Mikhail Feodorovich granted Minin the title of duma nobleman and estate. Since then, constantly sitting in the Duma and living in the royal palace, Minin enjoyed the tsar's great confidence (in 1615 he was instructed to protect Moscow, along with his neighbor boyars, during the tsar's trip to the Trinity in the Sergius Monastery) and received the most important "parcels" . He died in 1616, "during the search" in the Kazan places on the occasion of the uprising of the Tatars and Cheremis. To his widow and only son, Nefed (solicitor), the king granted new fiefdoms. The ashes of Minin rest in the Nizhny Novgorod Transfiguration Cathedral. In 1815 a monument was erected to him in Nizhny Novgorod, and in 1826 - in Moscow. Most historians (especially I. E. Zabelin and M. P. Pogodin) are defenders of Minin against N. I. Kostomarov, who considers him "a subtle and cunning man, with a strong will, a strong temper, who used all means to achieve his goal and played first, the role of a theatrical prophet" (an allusion to his words about the appearance of St. Sergius, according to the legend of the 18th century), and then "a dictator with harsh and cruel measures." Undoubtedly, Minin was a richly gifted and even exceptional nature: with a great independent mind, he combined the ability to deeply feel, to be imbued with an idea to the point of forgetting himself and at the same time remain a practical person who knows how to start a business, organize it and inspire the crowd with it.

Ivan Martos. Monument to Minin and Pozharsky on Red Square in Moscow

Wed P. I. Melnikov, "Nizhny Novgorod and the people of Nizhny Novgorod in troubled times" ("Moskvityanin", 1850, No. 21); Chichagov, "The Life of Prince Pozharsky, Cellar Palitsyn and K. Minin" (St. Petersburg, 1845); Kostomarov, "Persons of the Time of Troubles" ("Bulletin of Europe", 1871-1872 and in "Russian History in Biographies"); I. E. Zabelin, "Minin and Pozharsky" (M., 1883) and "Actions of the Nizhny Novgorod Scientific Arch. Commission".

V. R-v.

Encyclopedia Brockhaus-Efron

One day, in 1611, a letter came from Patriarch Gergemon from the Trinity Lavra to Nizhny Novgorod, to discuss which all the clergy and senior city officials gathered, among which was the local Zemstvo headman Kuzma Minin. He was a middle-class man and a butcher by trade. Archpriest Savva began to ask the people to stand up for the faith, but Minin's speech sounded most convincing. Then, with the support of the troops of the governor Pozharsky, he assessed all the property of the Nizhny Novgorod population, and on his advice it was decided to give a third (some fifth) of the property to support the militia. All property was confiscated from those who did not want to pay, and they themselves were given into slaves.

Kuzma Minin: biography

Other cities soon joined the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod, which received a letter from Minin. And in 1612, a huge militia gathered in Yaroslavl, headed by Kuzma Minin and Pozharsky. In August, Hetman Khodkevich was defeated, and in October the Poles were expelled from Moscow. July 12, 1613, after the accession to the throne of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, Kuzma Minin received the rank of duma nobleman and patrimony. Since then, he sat in the Duma, enjoying the confidence of the king, lived in the palace. He, along with the boyars, was instructed in 1615 to protect Moscow from enemies when the tsar departed for the Sergius Monastery.

The full name of this hero is Kuzma Minich Zakharyev-Sukhoruky. It is only known that he was born at the end of the 16th century, and died on May 21, 1616. He was the son of Mina Ankudinov, a salt worker who lived in the small Volga town of Balakhna. It is known that Tatyana Semyonovna, the widow of Minin, having buried her husband and son Nefed, to whom the Lord did not send children, took monastic vows in 1635 with the name Taisiya and soon rested. Minin's daughter Sofya was also a nun. The Minin family ends here.

Martos

In 1804, in Nizhny Novgorod, the sculptor I.P. Martos began to work on a compositional monument to Minin. When the sketches were prepared, the collection began Money. In 1811, 12,000 rubles were accumulated, and then the Cabinet of Ministers decided to erect a monument in Moscow.

The monument to Kuzma Minin and Pozharsky was erected in 1818 right on Red Square, and 10 years later a granite obelisk appeared in Nizhny Novgorod.

Minin's death

Kuzma Minin died in 1616 in Kazan during the revolt of the Tatars and Cheremis. His body was buried on the graveyard of the Pokhvalinskaya Church. In 1672, the first Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod, Filaret, ordered Minin's ashes to be transferred to the Transfiguration Church of the Kremlin of Nizhny Novgorod. In 1930, the cathedral was destroyed, the ashes of the national hero Kuzma were transferred for storage to the city historical museum-reserve.

Saint Sergius of Radonezh

Now we all know that the victory over the Poles and Lithuanians is associated with the names of Minin and Pozharsky, but few people imagine that the Reverend Father Sergius of Radonezh became the inspirer of this victory.

The first resistance of the people's militia against False Dmitry, gathered according to the letters and letters of Archimandrite Dionysius, was defeated. However, he again continued to seek help. Together with the cellar of the Trinity monastery Avraamiy Palitsyn, they called on the entire Russian Orthodox people to fight the invaders. The situation remained dangerous and extremely difficult.

historical truth

In the life of the holy archpriest Sergius of Radonezh, it is written that during this Time of Troubles in Nizhny Novgorod there lived a virtuous man Kuzma Minin. He was very sick for his Fatherland and therefore fervently prayed to God. He even had a secluded home cell where he went to pray at night. And then one day, when he fell asleep in this room of his, suddenly the miracle worker Sergius appeared to him in a dream and told him to start collecting the treasury and hiring military troops to liberate Moscow.

Waking up early in the morning, Kuzma remembered the dream and could not understand why he had a dream, because he is not a prince and not a governor, but a simple peaceful person who is weak and thinks about such serious matters that St. Sergius told him about. And then he reassured himself that it would be crazy pride for him to take this embarrassing dream seriously.

Second dream

But after some time, the Monk Sergius again appeared to him in a dream, who reproachfully told him to fulfill his order. The saint conveyed to him the will of God, by which the Almighty wants to have mercy on all Russian Orthodox people from tearing wars and lead them to peace and silence. However, this requires a treasury and military people in order to liberate the Muscovite state from enemies. Saint Sergius immediately warned him that older people would not take up such a task, but the younger ones would start it and lead to a good conclusion.

The next morning Kuzma woke up in awe and horror. He stood up, twisted with intense pain from the squeezed insides and the thought of the great responsibility entrusted to him. Now Minin finally realized that this was not a simple dream and not a dream, but his real duty. And then he began to pray to St. Sergius that he would heal him, and swore to fulfill all his commands.

Start

How can he take on such a thing? common man? Where did you have to start? First, according to God's providence, Minin was elected to the zemstvo elders, his contemporary, Trinity monk Simon Azaryin wrote about this. And he ceased to be an ordinary citizen, but became a trustee in the affairs of Nizhny Novgorod. Everywhere he went, he addressed the people of Nizhny Novgorod, speaking to them with passionate patriotic speeches with tears in his eyes. Indeed, it was mostly young people who listened to him, although he himself was no longer young. Older people were already holding on to their peace and acquired property more. Minin himself could have done the same, if not for Elder Sergius, who awakened in him a living conscience. The young began to convince their fathers that, they say, what is the use of their acquired wealth if the enemy soon takes their city? They were ready to lay down their hot heads for the liberation of Orthodoxy.

General treasury and new militia

As a result, the whole city signed the verdict and decided to obey Kuzma. Minin himself, leaving a little for himself, gave the rest of the property to the common cauldron for arming the soldiers. He was followed by rich merchants and merchants who began to bring money. This general impulse infected other residents of the cities.

At this time, refugees appeared near Arzamas - archers with their families from the city of Smolensk, also taken by the Poles. There were about 2000 of them, this gave rise to the creation of the militia, dating from January 6, 1612. It was then that Minin proved himself to be an excellent organizer. Realizing that he still did not have enough funds, on behalf of the army he turned to very wealthy people with a request to borrow money until the day Moscow was cleared of enemies. So, for example, he was supported by the salt workers Nikita and Maxim Stroganov, who gave 4116 rubles, Grigory Nikitnikov, who contributed the amount of 500 rubles, and others.

With this money, copper, iron, tin and charcoal began to be purchased. In all the forges, of which there were eleven, gunsmiths forged spears and sabers day and night, and cannons were cast and squeaked in the foundry pits.

Kuzma Minin. Prince Pozharsky

Simon Azaryin wrote further that the more the treasury multiplied, the more the military army increased, as if they were being collected from all over the Universe. Soon an experienced prince appeared - voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, who was already at the head of the first unsuccessful militia, which collapsed due to lack of funds and internal strife. Finally, Russian troops moved to Moscow through Sergiev Posad. Soon, a powerful and well-equipped army approached the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where a prayer service was served, and then Kuzma Minin told Archimandrite Dionysius about a dream vision of Elder Sergius of Radonezh, who called him to a great common cause.

The old archimandrite wept and thanked Holy Trinity, Mother of God and patron saint of Russia St. Sergius for their patronage and intercession. Until the case was completed, no one told anyone about it.

Blessing

The army went from the monastery to Moscow, Father Dionysius blessed all the warriors with a cross and sprinkled them with holy water. At this time, a gale-force wind blew in the face of the soldiers, and they could hardly sit on their horses. Many thought that this was a bad omen, and even feared the future. However, in the end, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky rode up on horseback for the blessing. And when the archimandrite signed the backs of the departing leaders with a cross, suddenly the monstrous hurricane changed and began to blow into the backs of the warriors, as if from the Trinity Monastery and from the very tomb of the miracle worker Sergius. The army immediately cheered up and felt the hope and expectation of God's mercy.

Victory

The militia of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky and their campaign against Moscow were very successful, but not decisive. The Russians drove the Poles out of the city, God heard the prayers of St. Sergius. But immediately quarrels and disagreements began among the warriors. Then Archimandrite Dionysius and cellarer Avraamy from the Lavra themselves went to Moscow to reconcile the army. The Cossacks, who complained that they were not paid money, they promised to give the entire monastery treasury. Kelar Abraham wrote later that when the Trinity brought expensive things and treasury from the monastery monastery to the Cossack camp, they were ashamed and, embarrassed by each other, returned all the jewelry to the monastery treasury in complete safety, because they knew that this good had been collected for many years and was given as a gift to God.

So on October 22, 1612, the capital, captured and devastated by the Poles, was recaptured by the Russians, Kitai-Gorod was taken, and a few days later the Polish garrison, unable to withstand the siege, left the Kremlin itself. Holy Russia survived and did not perish at the hands of the Gentiles. This is how, with the help of the patronage of the holy miracle worker Sergius and the people's militia, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky defended Russia and Orthodoxy.

M. I. Scotty. Minin and Pozharsky. 1850

The Time of Troubles was one of the most difficult historical periods for our country. Constant changes in power, the march of impostors across Russia and the occupation by Polish and Swedish interventionists almost destroyed statehood. However, despite the fact that this time is estimated by historians as dark and difficult, it was it that showed all the wisdom and strength of the Russian people. It was this period that inscribed the names of its heroes and devoted sons in the annals of Russia with the golden letters of the people's memory.

The school curriculum includes the mandatory study of the biographies of emperors, noble nobles and politicians, even criminals are given attention, while real heroes are only mentioned in passing. It is not surprising that the younger generation simply does not know most of the glorious names that grateful descendants should be proud of.

Minin Kuzma Zakharyevich practically left no historical traces about himself until 1611. It is only known that he was a butcher or had his own butcher's shop. There is evidence that he bore the nickname Sukhoruk and, apparently, did not differ much from the townspeople. From what year Kuzma Zakharyevich lived in Nizhny Novgorod is unknown, however, according to historians of that time, he lived in an average income and was respected among the inhabitants. If we take into account the pace of life at the end of the sixteenth century, as well as the mores of independent Novgorodians, then in order to earn their respect and trust, it was necessary for Minin to stay in the city for 10 years, or even more. It is also possible to speak about the age of this glorious Russian only presumably. Most historians are inclined to believe that he was mature, but not quite an old man. Judging by medium duration life during this period, we can say that at the time of the speech to the townspeople with a call to collect the militia, Kuzma Zakharyevich was 35 or 45 years old. Historical documents testify that the folk hero had a small family. His wife Tatyana Semyonovna, having outlived her husband, ended her life as a nun in one of Novgorod's cells. Researchers are inclined to believe that it was the Resurrection Monastery. The only son of Nefed Kuzmich was a famous Moscow lawyer and until his death owned the village of Belogorodskoye granted to his father and nearby villages and lands in the Nizhny Novgorod district. Already after his death in 1632, the possessions again returned to state ownership. According to the official version, Kuzma Minin came from a large family of the Ankudinov saltworker, but this point of view is last years subjected to harsh and justified criticism. Recently, books and archival documents were analyzed, and as a result, historians came to the conclusion that Minin had no relationship with this person. The hypothesis is controversial, so it should not be taken as the only true one. However, one should not evaluate the former point of view as an indisputable truth. Both theories have their serious gaps and cannot claim full reliability.

K.E. Makovsky. Minin's appeal. 1896

The beginning of vigorous activity is associated with the reading of the letter of Hermogenes at the city council. According to contemporaries, Minin himself told that the canonized Sergius appeared to him more than once with a demand to start convening a militia to protect the state. It is not known how reliable the legend is, most likely, this is just another folk tale, invented in order to further exalt the glorious Novgorod city dweller. In the fall of 1611, Minin was elected headman and began to collect the militia.

Minin received recognition from Novgorodians thanks to his speech at the gathering about the need for a militia and its financing. Kuzma Zakharyevich knew how to speak. The eloquent and fiery appeal of the headman was heard, and the personal example of donation also helped. His words kindled the hearts of the townspeople and forced them to give a third of their personal property to the collection and maintenance of the national army. By the way, it is still impossible to say that the financing was completely voluntary, since attempts to evade the transfer of the contribution were subject to a strict sanction in the form of selling the culprit into slaves with the confiscation of all his property.

Novgorod quickly became the center of a concentration of militias, and Minin proposed that Dmitry Pozharsky be elected as military commander. The prince was being treated near the city and expressed a desire to become the head of the army and use his military talent for the good of the Fatherland. Kuzma Zakharyevich was appointed as the head of the treasury of the militia, as a person who had earned the great trust of the people. The position was very difficult, because in the conditions of general ruin, Minin had to not only take care of feeding the soldiers, but also dress them in the harsh Russian autumn and winter. The merit of Kuzma Minin, first of all, is that the provision of the rebel army was established at the very high level, which was facilitated by the business acumen, diligence, responsibility and crystal honesty of the Novgorod headman. Largely thanks to the work of Kuzma Zakharyevich, the second militia escaped the fate of Lyapunov's people's army.

An amazing man, whose origin is still not known for certain, possessed not only the gift of eloquence and management. Not far from Moscow, in a battle with Khodkevich, a detachment led by him delivered a decisive blow to the enemy, thereby deciding the outcome of the battle in favor of the militias. Courage, honesty, diligence, responsibility, accuracy and many more positive and unique qualities were combined in this mysterious personality. Minin became a national hero who, together with other no less valiant sons of the Russian state, defended its independence and freedom.

The merits of Kuzma Zakharyevich were marked by the young Tsar Mikhail Romanov with a title of nobility and service in the Boyar Duma. Already in 1614, in view of his proven honesty and diligence, Minin was charged with collecting duties from foreigners, merchants and other merchants to the treasury, which, in a devastated country, was a very honorable and responsible matter. In 1615, the sovereign reaffirmed his respect and benevolence for the folk hero, including him in the collegium that managed capital and state affairs during Mikhail Romanov's pilgrimage to holy places. Minin rightfully enjoyed the endless trust of the tsar and his entourage, and even greater love among the common people. In the same year, Kuzma Zakharyevich had to participate with Romodanovsky in an investigation into the uprising of foreigners.

Tomb of Kuzma Minin in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior in the Kremlin. Erected by L. V. Dalem in 1874

The death of the national hero, about whom legends and tales began to take shape during his lifetime, in May 1616. became a real grief for the common people. After the death of Minin, the government treated his family with special reverence and provided the widow and son with all kinds of support.

There are very few historical estimates of this person. For the most part, we explore only the second half of the life of this mysterious man who came from nowhere to save a distressed country. Of course, the expulsion of the interventionists was not only the work of Kuzma Zakharyevich, but his contribution to this national feat is invaluable. It is unacceptable to consign to oblivion such glorious names as Minin, just as it is not worthy to challenge his positive role in our state. This is one of the most brilliant examples of a worthy citizen of his country.