In times of troubles and great upheavals, the Russian people nominated heroes from among their midst, whose actions often influenced not only the course of history, but also the subsequent culture. One of these heroes is the Kostroma peasant Ivan Susanin, whose feat is immortalized in Russian history and culture.
Despite the textbook gloss applied by many generations of researchers to the image of Ivan Susanin, much in the history associated with him remains a mystery. There are several conflicting versions of the events that took place in the Kostroma forests. It is believed that the village head Susanin saved Tsar Mikhail from the Polish invaders, who was elected by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. The Poles attempted to capture the young sovereign, who was hiding in Domnino.
Legend has it that Ivan Susanin, having learned about the approach of the enemy, reliably hid Mikhail Romanov, and he himself volunteered to show the Polish detachment the way to the alleged location of the king. After a long and tiring journey, the enemies saw through the cunning plan of the guide, who deliberately sent the detachment into an impassable swamp. It is believed that after "immeasurable" torture, the Poles hacked to death Susanin, but they themselves could not get out of the dead and swampy terrain. Tsar Michael, meanwhile, safely hid from the enemy in the Ipatiev Monastery. This is the most common version related to the personality of Susanin and his deed.
For several years, no one remembered the feat of Ivan Susanin. Only after a written appeal from the hero's relatives to the tsar describing his services to the autocrat did the tsar grant the descendants of Susanin exemption from the tax burden. The next generations of Susanin's descendants were repeatedly issued with appropriate letters to confirm their privileges.
The official version of events was repeatedly questioned by historians back in the 19th century. Even then, researchers rightly noted obvious contradictions in the description of events and the lack of reliable data on the direction of the Polish detachment to the Kostroma forests. However, after the installation of the monument to Susanin in the hero's homeland from the highest command of the Russian Tsar, the number of doubters decreased - it became unsafe to refute the official version.
Today's historians are increasingly inclined to believe that in fact Ivan Susanin did not die at the hands of the Poles, but became a victim of one of the many gangs of thieves who plundered on forest roads. Relatives of the headman decided to use this fact to their advantage, distorting events in the hope of the mercy of the mother of Tsar Mikhail, who personally knew Ivan Susanin. However, after so many years, it is almost impossible to confirm the authenticity of the official version or refute it. Whether Susanin accepted a martyr's death for the young tsar or became a victim of an ordinary robbery - this question remains open.
