October 29 in Russian history

Once again, contributed by Mosquito:

1611

It wasnt good day in Russian history. Tsar Vasili IV was giving homage and paying tribute to king Sigismundus III of Poland. In the presence of Polish-Lithuanian parliament the tsar of Russia and his brothers felt on knees and gave russian crown to Polish king.

Vasili IV was taken prisoner by Polish commander Jan Zolkiewski and was sent to Warsaw. Imprisoned in Poland died one year later. Sigismundus loved collecting important prisoners in his dungeons. Not much earlier he had archduke Maximillian von Habsburg of Austria.

Once during dinner Turkish emissary said that is really great king who has such prisoners. First Habsburg and next - tsar of Russia. He also asked the king to bring the Tsar. Soon Vasili IV had to join the dinner and eat together with Polish king and Ottoman diplomat. The Turk was watching the Tsar and finally said : lets raise the cups and drink for the glory of such great king. Vasili answered: "dont be astonished, after Sigismundus will sit on the throne of Russia, soon your sultan will join me in my prison". However Sigismundus III did much to achieve it, he has never become the tsar, Poland soon engaged for 50 years long wars against Sweden. Sigismundus lost swedish throne and in the end of his reign he not only didnt have Sweden but even didnt have Russia, which in 1611 he belived that he conquered.

After the death of Vasili, king of Poland build in Warsaw great mausoleum of the tsar. All the Russian emissaries to king, first had to go to mausoleum and watch it before were allowed to see the king. In this way Sigismundus was demonstrating his might and glory. In 1634 tsar Mikhail Romanov sent to Warsaw prince Lvov and prince Projestiew with the task to buy the corpse of Vasili for 10.000 rubles in gold. Polish senate was going to reject but finally King of Poland Wladislav IV answered that the dead corpse is not somthing that can be traded for monay and let Russians to take the body of tsar back to Russia. But the building of mausoleum was still there and was angering all the Russian tsars. In 1647 Russian tsar demanded from king Vladislav IV to destroy mausoleum as it was in his opinion an insult to all Russians and especially to tsar but the king refused and gave Russians only the table with inscriptions which were describing who was burried there and how he was defeated by Polish armies. In 1678 Russians demanded from Poland 2 pictures that were in Royal castle which were showing Tsar Vasili on the knees before Polish king. Finally in the 18th century the pictures were given as the gesture of friendship by king Augustus II of Poland and Saxony to tsar Peter the Great. Today mausoleum no longer exists and is as forgotten as tsar Vasili IV.