August 27 in Russian history. Russian tsar Wladislaw. Those were the days, my friend.

1610

(17 August Old Style)

The boyar government of Muscovy signed a treaty with Polish hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, agreeing to recognize Władysław, son of the Polish king Sigismund, as the new Russian tsar. On the same day, the Muscovites pledged allegiance to the new tsar. Unfortunately, nothing good came out of this idea.

One month earlier, after mass demonstrations of the Moscow people, a deputation of boyars came to tsar Vassily Shuysky asking him to abdicate. He pretended to agree and left to his old house, but right after that began plotting against the boyars, trying to get the throne back. The only authority during this interregnum was the boyars' Duma and Moscow swore allegiance to it. There were many candidates to become the new Russian tsar all of them had some support from various groups of the Russian society. Poorer people wavered between young Mikhail Romanov and False Dmitry II (aka "the Thief of Tushino" or "the brigand of Tushino"). The church preferred Vassily Golitsyn. The nobles didn't like the idea of making one of them the tsar, because of the earlier experiences with Boris Godunov and Vassily Shuysky. Nor were they ready to accept the impostor. Numerous rebellions, including that of False Dmitry and the peasants war led by Ivan Bolotnikov, made the boyars to waste no time. After a brief consultation, they made their choice. They sent a deputation to Żółkiewski, asking him to save Moscow from False Dmitry. Żółkiewski arrived and after some diplomatic and military successes he convinced the Muscovites that Władysław could be a good tsar. The treaty was based on an earlier treaty with Sigismund, but the boyars made some amendments. So, they insisted that Władysław had to accept Orthodoxy and (note this!) they crossed out some articles: on freedom to leave the country for studying abroad and on promotion of lesser boyars according to their merits. Actually, that earlier treaty signed on 4 February 1610 near Smolensk was very interesting and remind me to write more about it next February :).

However, because of Sigismund's exorbitant ambitions the Muscovites rebelled and drove the Poles away. Who knows how the history might have turned if Władysław became the tsar of Russia.

1943

A German Me-109 fighter landed on the fields of the sovkhoz "Krasnaya Volna" (The Red Wave) near Kharkiv in Ukraine. Ivan Zelinsky, a foreman in the sovkhoz, disarmed the pilot and sent his people to convoy the pilot to the nearby Soviet command staff. In the meanwhile, another Nazi pilot, making sure the Soviets in the field are not armed, landed close to the first airplane to set his genosse free. He shot at Zelinsky but overshot. Zelinsky knocked the gun from his hand and tied him. Both nazis were handed over to the soldiers, who arrived at the spot. Both airplanes were intact and were sent to an aviation squadron.

1968

Mary Hopkin released a single with the only Russian song that ever topped the British charts: Those Were The Days. The song, named Dorógoy Dlínnoyu (something like The Long and Winding Road :)) was written by B.Fomin and K.Podrevsky and recorded by Alexander Vertinsky in early 1920s.