Boris Chorikov. Polish Soldiers Surrender to Prince Pozharsky. 1836

Polish Soldiers Surrender to Prince Pozharsky

Boris Chorikov

1836

Vasili Nesterenko. The Oath of Prince Pozharsky. 2008

The Oath of Prince Pozharsky

Vasili Nesterenko

2008

Here is a detail fragment of the above in better resolution:

Konstantin Makovsky. The Call to Arms of Kuzma Minin in Novogorod in 1611. 1879

The Call to Arms of Kuzma Minin in Novgorod in 1611

Konstantin Makovsky

1879

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This illustrates one of the most pivotal episodes in Russian history. The Poles invaded Russia during the Smuta (Time of Troubles) after the death of Tsar Boris Gudunov. They attempted to place a Catholic Pole on the Russian throne and wanted to ram the Unia down the throats of the Russian people, to make them submit to the Pope of Rome. Quite obviously, this led to a Russian national awakening. The opolchenie (militia) came to arms under the leadership of the boyar Dmitri Pozharsky and the butcher Kuzma Minin. The Poles, after hard fighting and a long siege, were defeated, and Russia and Orthodoxy were preserved from destruction. Any time you hear a Pole downing Russia, remember, they started the fight, we finished it. They attempted to force their religion upon us, and we not only rejected them, we threw them out. There’s a reason for their hatred… they attempted to murder us as a people and we foiled them. Sic semper tyrannis!

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