It was Shuisky who, in obedience to the secret orders of tsar-to-be Boris, went toUglich to inquire into the cause of the death of theTsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich (the youngest son ofIvan the Terrible (r. 1533–1584)), who had perished there in mysterious circumstances in May 1591.[2] Shuisky reported that it was a case ofsuicide, though rumors abounded that the Tsarevich had been assassinated on the orders of the regentBoris Godunov. Some suspected that Dmitry escaped the assassination and that another boy was killed in his place – this story provided impetus for the repeated emergence ofimpostors such asFalse Dmitry I,False Dmitry II, andFalse Dmitry III. On the death ofBoris, who had become tsar, and the accession of Boris's sonFeodor II in 1605, Shuisky went back upon his own words in order to gain favour with the pretender False Dmitriy I, who was attempting to gain the throne by impersonating the dead Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich. Shuisky recognized the pretender as the "real" Dmitry, despite having earlier determined that the boy had committed suicide. Soon afterwards the young Tsar Feodor fell victim to an assassination.[1]
Shuisky then turned against the false Dmitry and brought about his death (in May 1606) by stating that the real Dmitry had indeed been slain and that the reigning tsar Dmitriy (False Dmitriy I) was animpostor.[3] After Dmitriy's death, Shuisky's adherents proclaimed himtsar, on 19 May 1606. He reigned until 19 July 1610, but was never generally recognized. Even inMoscow itself he had little or no authority, and he only avoided deposition by the dominantboyars because they had no one to replace him with.[1]
The popularity of Vasili Shuisky's cousin, PrinceMikhail Skopin-Shuisky, who commanded an army aided by an allied Swedish force led byJacob de la Gardie, allowed Shuisky, for a time, to remain on his unstable throne. In 1610 theSeven Boyars, notably his former adherents PrincesIvan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky [ru] andFedor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, deposed him. He was forcibly made amonk and eventually transported together with his two brothers toWarsaw by the PolishhetmanStanisław Żółkiewski. He died a prisoner in the castle ofGostynin, nearWarsaw, in 1612,[1] followed soon after by his brother Dmitry. TheRomanovs, elected as rulers of Russia in 1613, recognized Vasili posthumously as a legal tsar, and during their negotiations with the Polish authorities constantly demanded the right to rebury his body in Russia. Following theTreaty of Polyanovka in 1635, Vasili's remains were finally returned to Moscow and laid to rest in theArchangel Cathedral.
Vasili Shuisky was married twice. His first wife, Elena Mikhailovna Repnina, died prior his election to tsardom, and he had no children from that marriage. After his coronation, Vasili married PrincessEkaterina Buynosova-Rostovskaya, whose name was changed to Maria, deemed more suitable for a tsarina consort.[citation needed] They had two daughters together, princesses Anna and Anastasia, but both died in infancy during their father's reign, and were buried in theOld Maiden's Convent in Kremlin. As both brothers of Vasili, princes Dmitri Shuisky and Ivan Shuisky the Button, died also childless, the Shuiskys' princely house became extinct after the death of the latter in 1638.
The future Tsar Vasili IV serves as a character inAlexander Pushkin'sblank verse dramaBoris Godunov andModest Mussorgsky'sopera of the same name. In both depictions, the character is an adviser toBoris Godunov and a master of palace intrigue. Despite being fully aware that Tsar Boris ordered the assassination of the child Tsarevich Dmitriy, Vasili Shuisky remains outwardly loyal, only switching his support to the Pretender when the latter appears likely to win. Pushkin later described his intention to write further plays about the Time of Troubles.
About Vasili Shuisky, Pushkin wrote,
I intend to return to Shuisky also. In the historical account he shows a singular mixture of audacity, flexibility, and strength of character. Lackey of Godunov, he is one of the first boyars to go over to Dmitri's side. He is the first one who conspires, and note this, he is the one who risks himself; he is the one who vociferates, who accuses, who after being chief becomes a soldier in the front ranks. He is about to lose his head, Dmitri pardons him when he's already on the scaffold, he exiles him, and with the thoughtless generousity of this amiable adventurer, he recalls him to court, and covers him with gifts and honors. What does Shuisky do—he who has come so close to the hatchet and the block? He has nothing more important to do than conspire anew, to succeed, to have himself elected Tsar, to fall and during his fall to preserve more dignity and strength of spirit than he had ever had in his entire life.[4]
^Hahn, Gordon M. (2021).The Russian dilemma : security, vigilance and relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin. Jefferson. p. 58.ISBN978-1-4766-4434-9.OCLC1289513805.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Hahn, Gordon M. (2021).The Russian dilemma : security, vigilance and relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin. Jefferson. p. 71.ISBN978-1-4766-4434-9.OCLC1289513805.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^The Critical Prose of Alexander Pushkin. Translated by Proffer, Carl R. University of Indiana Press. 1969. p. 97.
