Mikhail Borisovich Shein (, ) (late 1570s–1634) was a leading Russian general during the reign of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. Despite his tactical skills and successful military career, he ended up losing his army in a failed attempt to besiege Smolensk and being executed for this defeat. The first Russian

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...

, Aleksey Shein, was his great grandson. He left behind diaries, one of which is kept at the

National Archives of Sweden The National Archives of Sweden (, RA) is the official archive of the Swedish government and is responsible for the management of records from Sweden's public authorities. Although the archives functions primarily as the government archive, it al ...

, providing historical detail on the siege of Smolensk until his surrender in 1634.

Revolts and awards

In the years 1602–1603 he put down peasant revolts, and in 1606–1607, revolt of

Ivan Bolotnikov Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov (; 1565–1608) headed a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov Rebellion (''Восстание Ивана Болотникова''). The uprising formed part of the Time of Troubles in Russia ...

. For that, in 1605 he was promoted to

okolnichy Okolnichy (, ) was an old Russian court official position. According to the ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'', directives on the position of ''okolnichy'' date back to the 14th century. Judging by the Muscovite records from the 16th a ...

, and around late 1606 / early 1607 - to a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

. In 1607 he also became the

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

First siege of Smolensk

Shein's prominence dates from 1607, when he was made a

and sent to govern the key western stronghold of

. It was he who commanded the Russian contingent for 20 months of its siege by the Poles. On midnight June 3, 1611, the Poles, led by a traitor, stormed the fortress. Shein put up a fierce resistance, but finally capitulated to Polish General Potocki. He was tortured in order to discover where the people of Smolensk concealed their fabulous treasures. For the following 9 years he was imprisoned in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

together with his family. Shein was allowed to return to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1619, accompanying another illustrious captive, Patriarch Philaret. Subsequently, he became one of the latter's most trusted advisers. During the 1620s, Shein led the

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

Prikaz A prikaz (; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive bureaucracy , office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia from the 15th ...

and took part in various secret negotiations. The fame of his former exploits at Smolensk made his standing second to none.

Later siege of Smolensk

The new hostilities against Poland broke out in 1632, and Shein at once led the Russian army to wrestle

from the Polish control. The new siege lasted for 10 months, and the victory seemed not a long way off, when king Wladyslaw IV with a small force fought off the Russians from the walls of Smolensk and captured their provisions in Dorogobuzh. Shein's foreign subordinates feuded with each other, their troops being decimated by epidemics, while a large portion of Russian soldiers deserted to their home villages. The position of Shein became very perilous, as the long-awaited reinforcement dallied in

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

. On February 15, 1634, he was constrained to surrender his army to the enemy, amid consternation from the tsar and boyars, who were astonished that the much-anticipated war was being lost.

Execution

Back in

, Shein was accused of incompetence and

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

and tried by the

Boyar Duma A duma () is a History of Russia, Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

. He was found guilty and executed on April 28, 1634. His estates were confiscated and his family exiled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shein, Mikhail Year of birth missing 1634 deaths 17th-century Russian military personnel Russian nobility Generals of the Tsardom of Russia People executed for treason against Russia Executed Russian people Russian people of the Smolensk War 17th-century executions by Russia