Truce of Deulino concluded

After disturbance Russia found itself in the extremely difficult situation. It had no more strength to continue fighting with the invaders having intruded into its territory during the struggle for Moscow throne. Therefore in 1617 the state was obliged to conclude the Treaty of Stolbovo with Sweden under which Novgorod and some other Russian town occupied by the Swedish were returned. However Ivangorod, Noteborg, Yam and Koporie were left in the hands of Sweden and Russia lost the access to the Baltic sea.

 The Treaty of Stolbovo allowed to throw all the forces to repulse another rival – the Polish with whom Russia fought from 1617 to 1618. In the result the attempt of prince Vladislav to occupy the Russian capital and seize the throne promised to him by Moscow Boyars in 1610 failed.

On December 1 (11), 1618 in the village of Deulino, near the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the Russian delegation including the boyars F.I. Sheremetev, D.I. Mezetsky, okolnichy A.V. Ismailov and others and the Polish embassy headed by A. Novodvorsky, L. Sapega and Ya. Gonsevky concluded a truce for the period of 14.5 years. According to the truce Russia was obliged to cede to Poland the lands of Smolensk (except for Vyazma), Chernigov, Novgorod-Sever with 29 towns including such a strategically significant one as Smolensk. The parties also came to agreement about prisoners’ exchange. However the issue regarding Polish claims for the Russian throne remained open. Prince Vladislav referring to the agreement with the Boyars of 1610 and to the fact that some Muscovites acknowledged him as tsar in 1611 continued to claim his rights for the Russian throne. It was therefore clear that both parties would try to change the situation in their favor at the first coming possibility.

In spite of all the difficulties of the Deulino truce conditions, Russia needed it in order to remove the disturbance consequences and to reestablish its forces. The truce results were revised in the result of the wars of 1632-1634 and 1654-1667 against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Lit.: Богуславский В. В. Деулинское перемирие // Славянская энциклопедия. XVII век. М., 2004; Ронин О. Деулинское перемирие // Новое зеркало. 2006. 14 дек. (№ 15).

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

The National Unity Day // On this day. 04 November;

The Peace Treaty of Orekhovets (Treaty of Nöteborg) was signed// On this day. 12 August 1323.