gave a petition to Prince Dm. Pozharsky, in which he complained that the latter reported to Tsar Boris that he, Prince Lykov, with princes Golitsyn and Tatev had hostile plans against the tsar; and.. the mother of Prince Pozharsky reported at the same time to Boris’s wife that Lykov’s mother was moving in with the wife of Prince Bas. Fed. Shuisky and talks evilly to her about the queen and her daughter Ksenia. Lykov stated that for this reason he and his mother were disgraced by Boris (Russian historical collection. II, 265). From this we have the right to conclude that the Skopin-Shuisky family did not enjoy the favor of the Tsar 1).
Boris moved the Shuiskys away from the courtyard several times and brought them closer again; but suspicion against them still remained: persons who visited them even in the days of mercy were subjected to torture and interrogation (Margeret, 286, 292) 2And the eldest of the Shuisky family, Prince Vasily Ivanovich, together with a representative of another noble family. Prince Fed. Iv. Mstislavsky, was deprived of the most ordinary right—marriage. If he survived during the general reorganization of his family name, and even did Noris a service in the case of Tsarevich Dmitry, then, without a doubt, the resourcefulness of his character, distinguished by duplicity, helped him in this. But in a moment of danger, when true friends are recognized, the Mstislavsky princes and both Shuiskys (Vasily and Dmitry) by their inaction brought triumph to the impostor: and the testimony of you. Shuisky in favor of the latter at Lobnoye Mesto also decided the fate of Godunov’s son on the throne.
It is clear that Dmitry the Pretender was supposed to provide patronage to the enemies of Boris 3); but betrayal of you. Shuisky, who spread rumors about Dmitry’s imposture, harmed his family at first: for this he and his brothers paid with temporary exile. But Prince Skopin-Shuisky, soon after the arrival of Dmitry the Pretender
') Prince M.V. Skopin is found, however, lying to Boris in the stolniks. At the reception of the Persian ambassador on September 4th. In 1604, he was appointed to “look and speak at the large table.” (Discharge, book in the Oimbirs. collection, p. 158).
-) In the interests of rapprochement, Boris married Dm. II century Shuisky on his wife’s sister, Ekaterina Grigorievna Skuratova.
• 3) On the contrary, Boris’s relatives and supporters (among 74 families) paid with exile (Soloviev, VIII, 118).
to Moscow, was granted the title of great swordsman, a new court rank, established then on the Polish model, and after that received an order to bring Queen Martha from the Vyksa Hermitage, who, as the mother of Tsarevich Dmitry, was now supposed to testify to the true origin of the Moscow Tsar. Thus began the rise of Skopin. The impostor, without hesitation, could have calculated that this trust in one of the Shuiskys would serve in his favor, and after forgiving the guilty themselves, it would further demonstrate his impartiality.