What is Ivan Susanin famous for? Ivan Susanin: biography, feat. Brief biography and interesting facts about Ivan Susanin

History of the feat

Susanin's feat. 19th century engraving

Almost nothing is known exactly about the life of Ivan Susanin. Susanin was a serf of the Shestov nobles who lived in the village of Domnino, the center of a fairly large estate (about 70 versts north of Kostroma). According to legend, Susanin was originally from the village of Derevenki, located not far from Domnin. Archpriest A.D. Domninsky, referring to the legends that existed in Domnina, was the first to point out that Susanin was not a simple peasant, but a patrimonial headman. Later, some authors began to call Susanin a clerk (village), managing the Domnino estate of the Shestovs and living in Domnina at the boyar court. Since his wife is not mentioned in any way in documents or legends, and his daughter Antonida was married and had children, we can assume that he was a widower in adulthood.

According to legend (not confirmed by scientific research), in the late winter of 1613, Tsar Mikhail Romanov, already named by the Zemsky Sobor, and his mother, nun Martha, lived in their Kostroma estate, in the village of Domnino. Knowing this, the Polish-Lithuanian detachment tried to find the road to the village in order to capture young Romanov. Not far from Domnin they met the patrimonial elder Ivan Susanin and ordered him to show the way. Susanin agreed, but led them in the opposite direction, to the village of Isupov, and sent his son-in-law Bogdan Sabinin to Domnino with news of the impending danger. For refusing to indicate the right path, Susanin was subjected to severe torture, but did not reveal the Tsar’s place of refuge and was chopped up by the Poles “into small pieces” on the Isupovsky (Chistoy) swamp or in Isupov itself. Mikhail Fedorovich and nun Martha found salvation in the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery.

Proof of the reality of Ivan Susanin’s feat is considered to be the royal charter of November 30, 1619, granting Susanin’s son-in-law Bogdan Sabinin half of the village with “whitewashing” of all taxes and duties “ for your service to us and for your blood and patience...»:

... How we, the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Russia, were in Kostroma last year, and in those years Polish and Lithuanian people came to the Kostroma district, and his father-in-law, Bogdashkov, Ivan Susanin was taken away by the Lithuanian people, and he tortured with great immeasurable torment, but they tortured him, where in those days we, the great sovereign, the Tsar and the Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Russia were, and he, Ivan, knowing about us, the great sovereign, where we were in those times, suffering from those Polish and Lithuanian people suffered immeasurable torture, about us, the great sovereign, he didn’t tell those Polish and Lithuanian people where we were at that time, and the Polish and Lithuanian people tortured him to death...

Subsequent letters of grant and confirmation in 1641, 1691 and 1837, given to Susanin’s descendants, only repeated the words of the 1619 letter. In chronicles, chronicles and other written sources of the 17th century, almost nothing was said about Susanin, but legends about him existed and were passed on from generation to generation.

The official cult of Susanin and his criticism

Times of the Russian Empire

In 1838, Nicholas I signed a decree donating the central square of Kostroma named after Susaninskaya and erecting a monument on it “ as evidence that noble descendants saw in Susanin’s immortal feat - saving the life of the newly elected Tsar by the Russian land through the sacrifice of his life - the salvation of the Orthodox faith and the Russian kingdom from foreign domination and enslavement».

The state-owned Susanin cult could not but give rise to public rejection, often expressed in extreme, nihilistic forms. During the years of Alexander II's reforms, many values ​​of the Nicholas era were re-evaluated, including the glorification of Susanin. The official version of Susanin’s feat, ideologically and historiographically formalized during the reign of Nicholas I, was first criticized and openly ridiculed in the article “Ivan Susanin” by St. Petersburg University professor N.I. Kostomarov, published in February 1862 in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”. Without denying the existence of Susanin's personality, the author argued that the generally accepted version of Susanin's feat is a later invention.

This position was refuted in the studies of S. M. Solovyov and M. N. Pogodin, who, however, were guided primarily by theoretical considerations and guesses. From the late 1870s and especially in the 1880s, with the opening of historical societies and provincial archival commissions, new documents about Susanin’s feat began to be discovered, almost contemporary “Notes” and numerous handwritten “legends” of the 17th and 18th centuries were discovered, in which The admiration of those who wrote for the feat is obvious. The most significant contribution to the development of historiography of the Time of Troubles was made by the works of Kostroma local historians, such as A. D. Domninsky, V. A. Samaryanov, N. N. Selifontov and N. N. Vinogradov.

The fact that such a decision was made at the highest political level is evidenced by the resumption in 1939 at the Bolshoi Theater of M. I. Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” dedicated to Susanin. The opera received a new name "Ivan Susanin" and a new libretto. It should be noted that another fact about the importance attached to the Susanin cult: at the end of the summer of 1939, the regional center and the district on the territory of which he lived and died were renamed in honor of Susanin.

In Soviet historical science, two parallel points of view on Susanin’s feat took shape: the first, more “liberal” and going back to the pre-revolutionary tradition, recognized the fact of Susanin’s rescue of Mikhail Romanov; the second, closely connected with ideological attitudes, categorically denied this fact, considering Susanin a patriotic hero whose feat had nothing to do with the salvation of the Tsar. Both of these concepts lasted until the end of the 1980s, when, with the collapse of Soviet power, the liberal point of view finally gained the upper hand.

The Ukrainian media and popular science literature support the view that the prototype of Ivan Susanin could be the Cossack scout Nikita Galagan, who on May 16, 1648, during the Battle of Korsun, on the instructions of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, misinformed the nobles and led their army into a prepared ambush, which made it possible Cossacks to attack the enemy in unfavorable conditions for him.

Perpetuation of memory

Monument of 1851

In 1918, the bust of Mikhail and the sculpture of Susanin were removed from the monument, and at the same time Susaninskaya Square was renamed Revolution Square (the historical name was returned in 1992). The final destruction of the monument occurred in 1934.

Monument 1967

In 1967, a new monument to Susanin was erected in Kostroma, created by sculptor N. A. Lavinsky near Molochnaya Mountain, above the exit to the Volga. The monument is devoid of monarchical and religious symbols. The composition is primitive: the figure of a peasant in long-skirted clothing stands on a massive cylindrical pedestal. The figure and the facing of the pedestal are made of white limestone. On the pedestal there is an inscription: “To Ivan Susanin - patriot of the Russian land.” Since the presentation of the project, the monument has been criticized as disharmonious with the appearance of the center of Kostroma.

Other monuments

Ivan Susanin is depicted on the monument to Mikhail Mikeshin “Millennium of Russia” in Novgorod ().

The bronze figure of the dying Ivan Susanin, over whom the figure of a woman was bending - an allegorical image of Russia, was included by sculptor A. Adamson in the ensemble of the monument in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in Kostroma.

In 1988, on a hill above the Chistye Swamp, on the site of the former village of Anferovo, a memorial sign was erected - a huge boulder with the inscription: “Ivan Susanin 1613.”

Other

On August 27, 1939, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR was issued, which read: “P rename the Molvitinsky district of the Yaroslavl region into the Susaninsky district and its center, the village of Molvitino, into the village of Susanino". Ivan Susanin is depicted on the coat of arms and flag of the district. In the village of Susanino, in the building of the Church of the Resurrection, there is a museum of the exploits of Ivan Susanin.

At different times, Russian and Soviet ships bore the name of Ivan Susanin:

The image of Ivan Susanin was used in the symbolism of the Patriot youth educational forum, held in 2009-2012 in the Kostroma region.

The image of Susanin in art and folklore

Works of musical, visual and verbal art are dedicated to Ivan Susanin and his feat: the opera by M. I. Glinka “A Life for the Tsar” (“Ivan Susanin”), the opera by K. A. Kavos (“Ivan Susanin”), the duma by K. F. Ryleev’s “Ivan Susanin”, N. A. Polevoy’s drama “Kostroma Forests”, M. I. Scotti’s painting “The Feat of Ivan Susanin”, M. V. Nesterov’s painting “Ivan Susanin’s Vision of the Image of Mikhail Fedorovich”, etc.

Where have you taken us? - the old Lyakh cried out.
Where you need it! - Susanin said. -
Kill, torture! - my grave is here!
But know and strive: I saved Mikhail!
You thought you found a traitor in me:
They are not and will not be on Russian soil!
In it, everyone loves the Fatherland from infancy
And he will not destroy his soul by betrayal.

- K. F. Ryleev “Ivan Susanin”

The image of Susanin is reflected in folklore. As usually happens, official glorification is contrasted with irony, absurdity, and the absurdity of the situation, and Susanin himself in the anecdotes turns from a tragic figure into a comic hero, almost a contemporary: either into a cunning peasant who “cleverly deceived the Poles,” or into a simpleton guide who got lost in forests together with “foreign tourists”.

Notes

1. In the only historical source about Ivan Susanin, the charter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the patronymic Osipovich is not used. In some works he is called Ivanovich. Peasants at that time did not have a middle name, and besides, the nickname (and not the surname) Susanin (from the female name Susanna) speaks of the possible absence of a father. See A.E. Petrov. The remains of Ivan Susanin: On the question of methods of historical falsification // Historical notes. No. 1 (129). M., 2008
2. Domninsky A. The truth about Susanin (a set of local legends) // Russian archive. 1871. No. 2
3. Zontikov N. A. Ivan Susanin // Ivan Susanin: legends and reality. - Kostroma, 1997. - P. 27. - 352 p. - (1). - ISBN 5-89362-003-8
4. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
5. Thunderclap: skeptic Kostomarov
6. Solovyov S. M. About Kostomarov’s article “Ivan Susanin”
7. Zontikov N. A. In defense of Susanin: Kostroma local historians in polemics with N. I. Kostomarov
8. The hero who was not there.
9. Not Susanin - Galagan. Boris Kirichenko. "Cossack Ukraine"
10. Construction of the monument to Susanin in Kostroma
11. Revolution Square no longer exists // Kostroma Vedomosti, 04/29/1992
12. Renaming Molvitin to Susanino, Molvitinsky district - to Susaninsky
13. Museum of Ivan Susanin's exploits
14. Icebreakers FSLO
15. Steamship "Ivan Susanin"
16. Passenger river motor ship "Ivan Susanin"
17. Youth Educational Forum
18. Patriot of the Russian Land: Reflection of I. Susanin’s feat in literature and art: Recommendatory index of literature / Comp. Soroka L.N. et al. - Kostroma, 1988

Romanov) from the Polish invaders. To date, there is no reliable information about the identity of this person. According to historical chronicles, Susanin served as headman in the village of Domnino, Kostroma district. A detachment of Polish interventionists asked Ivan Osipovich to take them to his village, where Tsar Mikhail Romanov was staying. For this Susanin was entitled to a reward. Instead, the future hero led the Poles into the After some wanderings, the invaders realized that the man decided to destroy them. After prolonged torture of the peasant, they realized that he would not indicate the road leading to the village. The Poles killed Susanin. But the murderers themselves soon died in the forest swamps. Today the name of this noble man is immortalized. And proof of the hero’s existence is the letter given to his son-in-law. And also the human remains found near Kostroma, which, apparently, belonged to Susanin. Well, now we’ll take a closer look at what Ivan Susanin is famous for and study some facts of his biography.

Lifetime of Ivan Susanin

Before moving directly to the feat and personality of Ivan Osipovich Susanin, I would like to acquaint the reader with the period of time in which the great martyr lived. So, this was in the first half of the 17th century. At the beginning of the 1600s, Russia was gripped by unprecedented class, natural and religious disasters. It was during this period that the famous famine of 1601-1603, the seizure of the throne by an impostor, the rise to power of Vasily Shuisky, the Polish invasion of 1609, as well as the militia of 1611 and many other incidents took place.

A large mountain has approached and where, in fact, it lived and left many blank spots. Episodes characterizing that time include: the destruction of Kostroma in 1608-1609 by False Dmitry II, the attack on the Ipatiev Monastery, the defeat of Kineshma by Polish troops and other bloody events.

Whether the events described above, namely anxiety, internecine squabbles and the invasion of enemies, had any relation to Susanin and his relatives or whether they bypassed their family for some time is unknown. But this entire era is the time when Ivan Susanin lived. And the war approached the hero’s house when it seemed to have already ended.

Susanin's personality

Ivan Susanin, whose biography contains very few known facts, is still an interesting person. Little is known to us about the existence of this man. We only know that Ivan had a daughter with a name unusual for our time - Antonida. Her husband was the peasant Bogdan Sabinin. Susanin had two grandchildren - Konstantin and Daniil, but it is not known exactly when they were born.

There is also no information about Ivan Osipovich’s wife. Historians are inclined to believe that at the time the peasant committed the feat, she was no longer alive. And since during the same period Antonida turned 16 years old, when asked how old Ivan Susanin was when he led the Poles into the forest, scientists answer that he was in adulthood. That is, it is about 32-40 years.

When everything happened

Today, many people know why Ivan Susanin is famous and what feat he accomplished. But there are several versions regarding what year and time everything happened. Opinion one: the event took place in the late autumn of 1612. The following information is provided as evidence in favor of this date. Some legends say that Ivan hid the king in a hole in a barn that had recently been burned. The story also says that the hero also covered the pit with charred boards. But this theory was denied by most researchers. If this is true, and the ancient legends do not lie, then it really was in the fall, since the barns were heated and burned at this time of year.

Or maybe it was the last winter month of 1613?

In the minds of ordinary people, thanks to numerous artistic canvases, literary works and the opera of Glinka M.I., the image of Ivan Susanin, who led the Poles through snowdrifts through the forest, was firmly entrenched. And this is the generally accepted version. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the feat was accomplished somewhere in the second part of February or the first half of March. At this time, the Poles were sent, who were to kill Tsar Michael in order to destroy the stabilization of Russia and conduct a further struggle for the right to become the head of the Russian throne.

But one way or another, no one will ever know the truth regarding the exact date of the feat. After all, an incredibly large number of important details remain a mystery. And those that were saved were most likely interpreted incorrectly. We know what Ivan Susanin is famous for. And let everything else remain a myth.

Death of Susanin in Derevnishche

Several historical chronicles, which tell how Ivan Susanin hid Romanov in a pit in the village of Derevnische, also say that in the same village the Poles tortured Ivan Osipovich and then took his life. But this theory is not supported by any documents. This version was not supported by almost anyone who researched the life of the famous hero.

The most common version of death

The following theory regarding the hero's death is the most famous and most supported by historians. According to it, Ivan Susanin, whose feat is described above, died in the Isupov swamp. And the image of a red pine tree that grew on the hero’s blood is considered incredibly poetic. The second name of the swamp sounds like “Clean”, because it is washed with the suffering blood of Ivan Osipovich. But all this is just folklore speculation. But be that as it may, it is the swamp that is the main scene of action for the entire Susanin feat. The peasant led the Poles through the quagmire, luring them into the very depths of the forest, away from the village they needed.

But along with this, many questions arise. If Ivan Susanin (the story of the feat is described above) really died in the swamp, then did all the Poles die after his death? Or only some of them have sunk into oblivion? In this case, who said that the peasant was no longer alive? There is no mention of the death of the Poles in any documents that historians have been able to find. But there is an opinion that the real (and not folklore) hero Ivan died not in the swamp, but in some other place.

Death in the village of Isupovo

The third version regarding the death of Ivan says that he died not in the swamp, but in the village of Isupovo. This is evidenced by a document in which Susanin’s great-grandson (I. L. Sobinin) asks Empress Anna Ioannovna to confirm the benefits granted to the descendants of Ivan Susanin. According to this petition, it was in the indicated village that Ivan Osipovich died. If you believe this legend, then the residents of Isupovo also saw the death of their fellow countryman. Then it turns out that they brought bad news to the village of Domnino, and perhaps they delivered the body of the deceased there.

This version is the only theory that has documentary evidence. It is also considered the most real. In addition, the great-grandson, who was not so distant in time from his great-grandfather, could not help but know what Ivan Susanin was famous for and where he died. Many historians also share this hypothesis.

Where is Ivan Osipovich Susanin buried?

A natural question would be where is the grave of the Russian hero. If you believe the legend that he died in the village of Isupovo, and not in the swamp of the same name, then burial must be mandatory. It is assumed that the body of the deceased was buried in the cemetery near the Church of the Resurrection, which was a parish church for residents of the villages of Derevnische and Domnino. But there is no significant and multiple evidence of this fact.

It is impossible not to mention the fact that a little later after the burial, Ivan’s body was reburied in the Ipatiev Monastery. This is also a version that does not have solid evidence. And it was rejected by almost all researchers of Susanin’s feat.

Today, August 10, people named Ivan celebrate their name day. This name has become a household name when designating a Russian person, and the famous Ivans played a significant role in the history of the country - Grozny, Susanin, the pioneer printer Fedorov and many others.

The editors of the site congratulate all Ivanovs and present an issue that contains the seven most famous people with this wonderful name. Why are they the most famous? We compiled this rating based on an analysis of search queries of Russian users over the past few years.

(Total 7 photos)

1. Ivan Urgant

Our rating is headed by the famous showman Ivan Urgant, a man of numerous talents and merits. It deservedly takes first place, because real Urgantomania has been going on in Russia for many years. And such a mania is quite understandable, because Ivan is the most sought-after TV presenter, a hereditary actor, a multi-instrumentalist musician, a restaurateur and even a photographer (albeit an amateur). Among other things, Hurricane is known for his sharp tongue - in terms of the number of witticisms per second of airtime, he is the absolute champion.

He received his acting education at the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, but after receiving his diploma he did not pursue a theatrical career, but went to work first on radio and then on television in St. Petersburg. After moving to Moscow, Ivan’s career quickly took off: first he worked at Russian Radio, and then at Hit-FM, later in 2001 he appeared on Moscow television, on the MTV channel, and since 2005 on the First . During his 14 years of work in television, he was the presenter of dozens of television programs. Now he is a TV presenter in the programs “Smak” and “Evening Urgant”. He played in several dozen films. He makes music under the pseudonym Grisha Urgant.

2. Ivan Okhlobystin

Ivan Okhlobystin, aka Ivan Alien and Leopold Luxurious, aka Father John, aka Doctor Bykov, aka a father of many children, as well as an actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, journalist and writer.

Ivan Ivanovich was born in 1966 into an unusual family - his father was a 60-year-old military doctor, his mother was a 20-year-old economics student. After graduating from school, he entered VGIK, which he graduated in 1992, having by that time dropped out of school, served in the army, re-entered the institute and starred in his first film - “The Leg”, 1991. Until 2001, he acted in films a lot (“Down House”, “DMB”, “8 1/2 $”, “Mom, Don’t Cry” and many others), wrote scripts, but after he was ordained a priest, he stopped acting. During his service as a priest, which lasted six years, he continued to write scripts, published a book, and hosted a radio program. However, in 2007, he returned to cinema, which Okhlobystin himself explained by the fact that his family did not have enough money. At the same time, Ivan is the father of six children, and in two years he and his wife will celebrate their twentieth marriage anniversary.

Total all-Russian fame came to Okhlobystin in 2010, after he began playing the colorful Doctor Bykov in the television series “Interns.”

Playing in a movie a man who occupies the rank of priest caused a lot of controversy, especially after Okhlobystin played the controversial role of a jester in the film “Tsar”. In 2010, at the request of Okhlobystin himself, Patriarch Kirill temporarily removed him from service due to “internal contradictions.” At the same time, the Patriarch noted that if priest John Okhlobystin makes a “final and unambiguous choice in favor of pastoral ministry,” then his temporary ban on ministry may be lifted.

Ivan was also noticed in politics - in 2011 he was going to run for president, although he is a convinced monarchist.

3. Ivan Dorn

24-year-old Ivan Dorn is a singer, DJ and TV presenter, a former member of the group “Pair of Normals”, who continues his solo career.

Born in Chelyabinsk. In 1990 he moved to Slavutich due to his father’s work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Later, Ivan’s parents divorced, and he changed his father’s surname ‘Eremin’ to his mother’s surname ‘Dorn’. From early childhood, Ivan showed a penchant for music and singing - at the age of 6 the boy was already singing at the ‘Golden Autumn of Slavutich’ festival.”

In 2006, Dorn became a student at the Faculty of Cinematography at the Kyiv University of Theatre, Film and Television named after Karpenko-Kary. Soon he began working as a presenter on the Ukrainian channel M1. In 2007, together with Anya Dobrydneva, he created the duet ‘Pair of Normal’. In 2008, the group’s debut album ‘I’ll come up with a happy ending’ was released. The group’s song turned out to be a hit on the radio - ‘Pair of Normal’ made it into the top ten songs of Russian radio.

Since 2010, Ivan Dorn began a solo career, releasing his own songs, including “Stytsamen”, “Curlers”, “Northern Lights”, “Especially” and others. In May 2012, the official presentation of Co’N’Dorn’s first solo album took place. He was nominated in the category “Breakthrough of the Year” at the MuzTV-2012 awards, and was also nominated in three categories at the “Steppenwolf” awards in 2012.

In the spring of 2012, Dorn received several positive reviews in the Russian press. They wrote about him as “the new undisputed star of the local pop music” and called him “the best performer of Russian-language mass pop music in the world.” In April 2013, Dorn's song "Stytsaman" was included in the list of "One Hundred Songs That Changed Our Lives" compiled by observers of the Moscow website of TimeOut magazine.

4. Ivan Alekseev

Ivan Alekseev, better known by his stage name Noize MC, is a Russian musician, rapper, composer and actor. He gained fame thanks to numerous Lo-Fi compositions posted by the musician on the Internet over the years of his creative activity. Noize MC's music combines the features of several styles. The artist himself described his work as “modern urban music at the intersection of hip-hop, punk, reggae and breakbeat.”

In the work of Ivan Alekseev, a social theme is clearly visible; many of his songs, such as: “Mercedes S666”, “Smoke bamboo”, “Moscow is not rubber”, “Our movement”, “Heroin fest”, “10 days” - are a reaction author on significant social problems.

Noize MC played one of the main roles in the film “Practice”, which premiered in May 2008. In 2010, Ivan had a son, Vasily, and in 2012 another son, Mikhail.

5. Ivan Vyrypaev

Ivan Vyrypaev is a Russian playwright, actor, director, artistic director of the Praktika theater. Known for such films as “Euphoria”, “Oxygen”, “Delhi Dance”.

In 1995 he graduated from the acting department of the Irkutsk Theater School. As an actor he worked at the Magadan Drama Theater and the Drama and Comedy Theater in Kamchatka. In 1998 he founded the theater-studio “Space of Play” in Irkutsk. He taught acting at the Irkutsk Theater School. Since 2001, he has been involved in the work of the new play center “Teatr.doc”, and since 2005 - the Praktika theater. Author of numerous film scripts (“Another District”, “Bunker”, “Antonina Looked Back”, “Bucharest 68”, co-authored “Boomer-2”), plays (“July”, “Genesis No. 2”, “Oxygen”, “ Valentine's Day", "The City Where I Am", "Dreams"), the books "13 Texts Written in Autumn". In 2006, he directed the film “Euphoria” based on his own script. Ivan Vyrypaev was awarded the national theater award “Golden Mask”, the Presidential Council award “For Contribution to Russian Literature”, the “Triumph” award, and several awards from international theater festivals.

6. Ivan Yankovsky

23-year-old Ivan Yankovsky is the successor of the famous Russian film dynasty. His grandfather, Oleg Yankovsky, is an outstanding film and theater actor, beloved by millions of viewers. Father, Philip Yankovsky, is known as a film director, and mother, Oksana Fandera, is a popular film actress. In a word, Ivan’s fate was sealed...

After graduating from school, Ivan Yankovsky was going to enter the directing department of the Moscow International Film School. However, he is not going to limit himself to directing in the future, since the acting path is also very interesting to him. Ivan has already demonstrated his extraordinary acting skills in the films “Come See Me” and “Indigo”.

7. Ivan Zhidkov

Theater and film actor Ivan Zhidkov was born in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). In 2004 he graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School (course of E. B. Kamenkovich). From 2004 to 2007, he was an actor at the Studio Theater directed by Oleg Tabakov, where he made his debut as Peter in Maxim Gorky’s play “The Last Ones,” and the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, where his debut was the role of Dmitry in the play “Yu.” "Based on the play by Olga Mukhina. He starred in a number of films, including Black Lightning, in which the actor played the main role. Married to actress Tatyana Arntgolts.

Ivan Susanin is a folk hero, a symbol of “peasant” devotion to the Tsar. Over four centuries, his name and the legend of the miraculous salvation of the first sovereign from the Romanov family became part of folklore.

How did you know?

The story of the feat of Ivan Susanin until the beginning of the 19th century was passed on by his descendants from mouth to mouth. The general public learned about it only in 1812, thanks to the publication of a story by the writer Sergei Nikolaevich Glinka in the magazine “Russian Messenger”.

Later, it was on this publication that the play “Ivan Susanin” and the famous opera “Life for the Tsar” by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka were based. Glinka told the story about Ivan Susanin like this.

In 1613, after the Poles were expelled from Moscow, their bands marauded in the interior regions of Russia. In February of the same year, the Zemsky Sobor in Moscow proclaimed Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov tsar, and in absentia at that.

But Mikhail Fedorovich himself was at that time on his estate in the Kostroma region, and one of the Polish gangs decided to destroy him. But the Poles did not know where to look for him.

Arriving in the village of Domnino, they met the peasant Ivan Susanin and decided to find out from him where the newly elected tsar was staying. But Susanin, realizing that the Poles wanted to destroy the young sovereign, not only did not tell the truth, but also led them in the opposite direction. On the way, he went into his hut and quietly sent his little son to the king to warn him of the danger. Having led the Poles into an impenetrable thicket, Ivan Susanin said:

“Villains! Here is my head; do with me what you want; whoever you are looking for, you will not get!”

After this, the Poles hacked the hero to death with sabers, but they themselves could not get out of the thicket and the king was saved.

Son-in-law

The story of Ivan Susanin, 200 years later, has acquired new details of a literary nature. Naturally, Glinka himself invented the dying words of Ivan Susanin. He also added many details to the story about Susanin “for the sake of words.” But what exactly were these details? What do we really know about Ivan Susanin?

Something can be assumed. For example, that Susanin was a widower and had a daughter who succeeded him.

In the royal charter given on November 30, 1619 (the unique and earliest source about the existence of the Kostroma peasant), Ivan Susanin’s son-in-law Bogdan Sabinin is given half of the village with “whitewashing” of all taxes and duties “for service to us and for blood, and for patience... "

It is indisputable that such a document could only be a recognition of the great merits of the family to the king.

Susanin's relatives

Some assumptions that Susanin’s mother’s name was Susanna, and that he himself was a village headman are rather speculation. But Susanin’s patronymic, Osipovich, was invented by historians already in the 19th century and is not confirmed by any documents.

However, the very fact that the tsar condescended to be a simple peasant and twice more from Moscow confirmed the privileges that exempted him from taxes, in 1633 and 1691, deserves attention.

In Glinka's story, in comparison with the text of the letter, there are two main fictional plots. The first is the son of Susanin. As we know, his daughter Antonida succeeded him (including royal privileges), which was possible only in the absence of male offspring. But the son could have died earlier? As research shows (Velizhev, Lavrinovich), this is not so.

Back in 1731, Susanin’s descendants made an attempt to introduce another relative into the story of the Tsar’s salvation—Antonida’s future husband. He was allegedly sent by Susanin to warn the king about the danger.

However, they did not believe this invention and the petition (which was intended to obtain broader benefits) was not approved. Thus, both Susanin’s son and son-in-law did not exist and were added to the legend of the king’s rescue later. The same can be said about the fact that Susanin led the Poles into the thickets (or swamps). In documents of the 17th century, it is only known that Susanin did not reveal the location of the king, and the romantic episode with remote places was added later.

Ivan Susanin and DNA

In the early 2000s, several reports appeared in the press about the discovery of the grave of Ivan Susanin. Archaeologists based their hypothesis on the fact that on several skeletons found in the results of excavations near the village of Domnino, traces of blows with edged weapons, possibly sabers, were found.

However, they proceeded from the hypothesis that Susanin was buried, which also still needed to be proven.

Forensic doctors who studied the found remains, although they noted many similarities in the anthropometric structure of the found skeletons and the descendants of Susanin in 8 - 15 generations, avoided unambiguous identification of the most likely skeleton.

The fate was to be decided by DNA analysis of the bones, but the research carried out did not give any reliable positive results.

Ivan Susanin of the 20th century

Nevertheless, one can hardly now doubt that Ivan Susanin’s feat was made up. Documented examples of such actions are well known in Russian history.

The most famous feat of the peasant Matvey Kuzmin in the winter of 1942. In the area of ​​his village in the Pskov region, a battalion of the German 1st Mountain Division wanted to bypass the positions of Soviet troops. The Germans chose 83-year-old Matvey Kuzmin as their guide. However, he, having volunteered to lead the detachment, quietly sent his 11-year-old grandson Sergei (this was no longer an invention of later storytellers) to the location of the Soviet troops and conveyed through him the time and place of the ambush.

At the agreed time, Matvey Kuzmin led the Germans to the positions of the Soviet machine gunners. This story was conveyed by the Soviet Information Bureau, and Matvey Kuzmin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

At the same time, Matvey Kuzmin himself hardly knew about Ivan Susanin - the Pskov hunter was probably illiterate. Well, if he knew, then that’s also not surprising. In Russia, as well as later in the USSR, the feat of Ivan Susanin was widely used in mass propaganda. Glinka’s opera “Life for the Tsar” changed its name to “Ivan Susanin”; writers, artists, and poets throughout the 19th and 20th centuries turned to the patriotic image of the Kostroma peasant. We know very little about the real Ivan Susanin, but more than about any other peasant of that time. His existence is documented, he even accomplished a feat with his silence and did not betray the young Mikhail Romanov, who was hunted by the Poles.

Why is Ivan Susanin famous? It was this simple man who was destined to become a Russian national hero. First of all, he is known for saving Mikhail Romanov himself by leading a detachment of Polish-Lithuanian invaders in the opposite direction. Susanin became one of the most significant. His image was actively used in theatrical productions, literature, and fine arts. It was this man who, at the cost of his life, was able to take history in a different direction.

There is still no accurate information about Susanin’s life and everyday life. He was born in the village of Derevnischi (Derevenki is also mentioned, since historians have not yet been able to give a reliable answer to this question). At the time of the main events he was about 30-35 years old, however, there is still debate about this, since some historians claim that he was in old age, since in the legend there is a mention of a son-in-law who was sent to Michael to warn.

The legend itself says that in the winter of 1612 most of the territories of the Moscow Principality were captured by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ivan Susanin was hired as a guide to the village of Domnino. The Poles knew that it was there that young Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was hiding, and they decided to send a detachment there. Susanin agreed, but led the invaders in a completely different direction, namely, to the village of Isupovo. At the same time, he managed to send his son-in-law to Domnino to warn the king about the threat.

Naturally, the deception was soon discovered, and Susanin was tortured, but he never gave up the real location of the king, and in the end he was executed, cutting his body into pieces and throwing him in the forest near the village.

The main historical confirmation of the feat was the royal charter of 1619, according to which his son-in-law, Bogdan Sobinin, was given half of the village, while it was “whitewashed” from all taxes, which at that time was a truly huge reward. This certificate is confirmed by the following documents:

• • in 1633 and 1644, the widow of Sabina Antonida and her children were awarded letters of grant;
  • in 1691, Susanin’s descendants received a letter of confirmation, which fully proves the very fact of the feat, since it contains the words of the letter of 1619;
  • preferential decrees were also issued in 1723, 1724 and 1731, respectively, and they also quoted the very first charter, which makes them historically valuable;
  • letters of confirmation from 1741 and 1767 related to the descendants of Susanin, who lived in the village of Korobovaya.

However, the last letter of confirmation, addressed to the “Korobov Belopashtsy”, no longer contained the words of the document of 1619. It is interesting that the annals and chronicles of the 17th century had practically no useful information about Susanin. However, his memory lived on in legends that were passed down from generation to generation, thus bringing to modern science the image of a simple man who became a folk hero.

Cult of Susanin

It all started with the visit of Catherine II to the city of Kostroma in 1767. Then the tradition began to mention Ivan Susanin as the person thanks to whom Mikhail remained alive. From approximately this perspective, his feat was shown in the speech of the Kostroma bishop of Damascus, with which he addressed Catherine. The article by S.N. also played a significant role. Glinka, published in 1812, it showed Susanin’s act as the ideal of sacrifice for a higher goal, further increasing the significance of this man from the point of view of history. A little later, Susanin became a permanent character in historical textbooks.

Susanin gained the greatest popularity when Nicholas I ascended the throne. The glorification of his feat became the official policy of the state, thanks to which many different stories, paintings, operas and poems were published, many of these works are still considered classics. This made a significant contribution to the development of the culture of the Russian Empire. The cult began to be promoted especially strongly when the Polish uprising began in 1830-1831. The Fatherland urgently needed the image of a simple peasant who gave his life for the state in order to resist the ideology of the rebels.

After 1917 and the subsequent October Revolution, the peasant was counted among the “servants of the Tsar.” According to Lenin's propaganda plan, it was planned to dismantle all monuments that "were erected in honor of the kings, as well as their servants." Because of this, in 1918 the monument to the peasant hero in Kostroma was dismantled.

The persecution was quite pronounced in the 1920-1930s, at which time it was persistently proven to the population that the feat of this peasant was nothing more than a myth. However, at the end of the 1930s, a kind of “rehabilitation” of Susanin took place, and along with him many other historical figures were again acquitted, such as Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and even. Moreover, since 1938, the image of Susanin again began to be glorified as a hero who selflessly gave his life for his homeland.

However, controversy arose here too. During the existence of the USSR, two points of view were created on the events that occurred near Isupovo. The first of them, “liberal,” as it is commonly called, recognized that Susanin was the one who saved the Tsar, according to the pre-revolutionary tradition. The second, largely due to the pressure of ideology, denied this historical fact, believing that Susanin was a patriotic hero, all his actions had nothing to do with the current government and the salvation of Mikhail. One way or another, after the collapse of the USSR, only the “liberal” point of view remained, which is the official one.

Conclusion

With this, the question of what Ivan Susanin is famous for can be considered exhausted. This man left a rich legacy for posterity. Its history has been used for various purposes, and although it is no longer possible to restore it in all details, most of those events have already been studied in some detail by scientists. The rest is only a matter of time before the remains of the missing peasant finally find peace.