On such people, the Russian State has been and will continue to be. In battle, he was among the first, did not take bribes, appeared before the court for libel, entrusted himself into the hands of justice and did not lose.
The biographies of people who lived in difficult times for the state are always amazing. If we are talking about a courageous warrior, then his example can be instructive for posterity.
Childhood
Misha was born in Moscow during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. From an early age, he was seen as a future politician and commander. His father was the famous diplomat the Duma nobleman Eustathius Pushkin. This statesman was a voivode during the Livonian War, and later traveled with the embassy to Poland. The tsar highly appreciated the merits of his subject, who managed to find out a lot of interesting things about the court of Stefan Batory.
The upbringing of the heirs of the boyar clan, and there were five of them in the family, was taken care of by the mother, since his parent was rarely at home. Mikhail grew up a patriot and dreamed of defending the Fatherland on the battlefield. He was given a good education, taught to use weapons and behave in high society. The teenager was proud of his parent, but some of the father's actions did not cause his son to understand. After the death of John Vasilyevich, Eustathius came into the confidence of Fyodor Ioannovich, but only in order to bring the triumph of Boris Godunov closer.
Hard times
Having ascended the throne in 1598, Godunov originally thanked his faithful servant. He was afraid that Pushkin would begin to intrigue against him, so he decided to give the old man an important assignment and send him away from the capital. The grown-up sons of the boyar also aroused fears in the sovereign - the father, for sure, had conversations with them about politics, and they knew perfectly well how he fooled the feeble-minded Fedor and in what way he led Tsar Boris to power. In 1601, Eustathius was assigned to Tobolsk, which even the chroniclers called disgrace. He was ordered to take his children with him.
The boyar's health was shaken. Arriving in the northern city, he lived there for only 2 years and died in 1503. By that time, Misha was already fit for military service. He did not leave Tobolsk in order to incur the monarch's wrath; he defended the borders of Russia in the north, where Russia was disturbed by the raids of restless nomads. In 1508, news came from the capital of the death of Tsar Boris and the accession of an impostor, posing as a miracle of the escaped Tsarevich Dmitry. Our hero lost all desire to leave the border town from such news.
Militia
In 1511, our hero dropped everything and went to Nizhny Novgorod. The reason for this was a letter from Patriarch Hermogenes. The holy husband called on the Russian aristocracy to repulse the Polish invaders. Mikhail Pushkin wanted to make his contribution to the great cause, therefore he joined the militia, which was assembled by the voivode Prikopiy Lyapunov. A detachment of the nobility was led by Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy, who went over to the side of the rebels. When the army approached Moscow, he ordered his people not to get involved in battle, which harmed the coherence of actions.
Mikhail Pushkin spent a whole year in a camp under the walls of his hometown, in which the Poles settled. In 1612 Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky brought the army here. Some of our hero's comrades, sensing that a great battle was coming, fled. He himself happily joined the ranks of the new militia and took part in the battles that convinced the invaders to surrender and leave.
Royal favor
In 1613, Mikhail Pushkin, on behalf of his boyar family, signed a council letter on the election of Mikhail Romanov to the Moscow throne. The young sovereign made a number of important appointments. The militia, who was well acquainted with the Russian north, received the post of governor of Veliky Ustyug. Few succeeded in making such a brilliant career after returning from exile. Our hero arrived at his place of service in 1614 and took up his duties. The monarch knew that this man was doing the job conscientiously, so he was instructed to prepare Tikhvin for a possible attack by the Livonians.
When a threat arose from the Tatars, the emperor ordered Mikhail Pushkin to go to Cheboksary. The voivode arrived in this city in 1620, and did not visit Moscow. His wife lived there with her son Peter. It was not often possible to see relatives, because the boyar asked the tsar to resign and allow him to devote more time to his personal life. In 1621, the ruler allowed the old campaigner to return home.
Justice
In Moscow, Pushkin was already expected. His yard was located on Rozhdestvenskaya Street, was rich and hospitable. By the time his father returned, his son Petya had grown up and had already entered the sovereign's service. From 1636 he was a steward. The well-being of a noble family cut the eyes of envious people. In 1645, the servant of the old voivode Ivashka Ushakov appeared in the Streletsky order and said that his master was spreading bad rumors about the tsar among his family. He himself managed to overhear how Mikhail Efstafievich told his relatives that most of the nobles did not sign the document on the election of Mikhail to the kingdom, that he was an impostor and usurper.
The gray-haired veteran was detained and interrogated. Mikhail Pushkin behaved with dignity. He denied Ushakov's accusations. It was decided to interrogate the slave with partiality. On the rack, Ivashka confessed that his denunciation was the result of prolonged drunkenness, the master never said anything bad to anyone. Pushkin was immediately released.
It is not known whether the old man lived until 1648, when his heir was appointed regimental commander in Mtsensk, or not. It is only known that he served his Fatherland with faith and truth.
