In March 1613, a sixteen-year-old youth, Mikhail Romanov, agreed to rule the Russian kingdom and was named sovereign. Thus, the country, torn apart at that time by wars and strife, fell under the rule of a man devoid of statesmanship and any military talents.
Unfortunately, much of the documentary evidence of Michael's election to the throne has been thoroughly edited or destroyed. However, it is possible to trace the real course of events on the surviving testimonies, for example, "The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613".
In October 1612, the Cossack detachments of Prince Trubetskoy and the militia led by Dmitry Pozharsky stormed Kitay-Gorod. The fate of the Polish garrison was predetermined. First, the Kremlin was left by the Russian boyars, who had previously sworn allegiance to the Polish prince (Pozharsky promised them immunity). Among them was a young Mikhail with his mother, who went to his fiefdom near Kostroma. Then he laid down his arms and left the Kremlin with the Polish garrison.
It is not clear what guided Trubetskoy and Pozharsky when they abandoned the pursuit of traitors, but it was precisely this circumstance that created the preconditions for the further development of events. Power during this period belonged to a triumverat consisting of Minin, Pozharsky and Trubetskoy. However, the formal head of state was Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who was predicted to become the new tsars. But this was prevented by an unforgivable mistake on his part - the dissolution of the militia. The main military force then became the detachments of Dmitry Trubetskoy, held in Moscow by the opportunity to profuse profoundly.
The main task was to elect a new king. At a meeting of the Moscow estates, it was decided to convene deputies from all estates to the Zemsky Sobor, with the exception of the monastic and boyar peasants. In the work of the Cathedral, which was attended by about 800 people, many boyars who had sworn allegiance earlier to Vladislav took part. They exerted pressure, under which the candidacies of Trubetskoy and Pozharsky were blocked. One of the two groups formed at the Council nominated the candidacy of a foreigner - the Swedish prince Karl Philip, the other advocated the election of the sovereign from among the Russian candidates. Pozharsky also supported the first candidacy.
As a result, the Council decided to choose a ruler from among Russian candidates: boyars, princes, Tatar princes. It took a long time to achieve unity. Then they nominated Mikhail Romanov, who was actively supported by the Cossacks.
Pozharsky's adherents suggested discussing candidates with Muscovites and residents of nearby regions, making a two-week break in the work of the Cathedral. This was a strategic mistake, since the boyar group with the Cossacks had much more opportunities to organize agitation. The main campaign was launched for Mikhail Romanov. The boyars believed that they could keep him under their influence, since he is very young and inexperienced, and most importantly, he is free from the oath to Vladislav. The main argument of the boyars is the dying desire of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich to transfer the rule to his relative, Patriarch Filaret (Fyodor Romanov). The Patriarch was now languishing in Polish captivity, and therefore it is necessary to give the throne to his only heir - Mikhail Romanov.
In the morning, on election day, Cossacks and commoners held a rally demanding the election of Mikhail. Perhaps the rally was skillfully organized and subsequently became the main argument for the assertion that Romanov's candidacy was popularly nominated. After the election of Mikhail Romanov as tsar, letters were sent to all ends of the Russian land.
