Time of Troubles

HistoryCentral · Primary Source & History

The Russian time of troubles began with the appearance of a false Dimitri- a pretender to the Russian thrown. He gained support from the Poles and the Cossacks. For a period of nine years, virtual anarchy reigned in Russia, as the various parties fought over rule. It was a period when roving bands would rape and pillage all that lay before them. For three years, between 1610 and 1602, a Polish garrison occupied Moscow.

It was not until the Poles were thrown out and a new Russian dynasty- the Romanovs- could be established that this period came to an end.