🇷🇺 November 4 – National Unity Day – a defining moment in Russia's history, which predetermined its course for centuries to come.

On this day, 413 years ago, in 1612, the people’s militia led by Nizhny Novgorod elder Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky expelled the Polish-Lithuanian invaders from the Moscow Kremlin. This day became a symbol of the unity of the people – ready to rise in defense of their Motherland in the face of both foreign threats and internal struggles.

I. BACKGROUND

At the dawn of the 17th century, the Russian state entered one of the gravest crises in its history. Following the death of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1557-1598), the last ruler of the Moscow branch of the Rurik dynasty, the country was left without a legitimate heir. The dynastic line that had ruled Rus’ for seven centuries was severed.

The absence of a lawful monarch sparked a wave of impostors. One after another, men emerged claiming to be the “miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry”, the son of Ivan the Terrible who had died under mysterious circumstances in Uglich in 1591. There were at least four such pretenders – each backed by foreign powers, promising the Polish-Lithuanian elites influence and land in exchange for the Russian throne.

II. THE TIME OF TROUBLES

False Dmitry I (1605-1606), who seized power with the support of Polish King Sigismund III, was quickly overthrown and killed. The throne then passed to Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610), a member of the Suzdal branch of the Rurik dynasty in Moscow, but his rule brought no peace. Soon another pretender, False Dmitry II (1607-1610), appeared and established his camp in Tushino near Moscow. The country found itself divided between two tsars, two governments, and two capitals.

Shuisky’s attempt to enlist Swedish support provoked open Polish intervention. Sigismund III’s troops besieged Smolensk and later entered Moscow. After Shuisky’s overthrow, power passed to the Boyar Duma (the Seven Boyars), who swore allegiance to Sigismund’s son Prince Władysław. A Polish garrison occupied the Kremlin, and Russia stood on the brink of losing its sovereignty altogether.

III. THE PEOPLE’S MILITIA

By early 1611, the lawlessness and violence of the Polish garrisons occupying Moscow and other cities provoked a surge of national outrage and resistance across the land. In Ryazan, the First People’s Militia was formed and attempted to liberate the capital. In the spring of 1611, it marched toward Moscow and even managed to seize part of the city. But internal divisions among its leaders, as well as a shortage of supplies and weapons, led to its failure.

After this setback, inspired by Patriarch Hermogenes’ call to unite in defense of faith and Fatherland, Nizhny Novgorod elder Kuzma Minin took the initiative to form the Second People’s Militia. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky was chosen as the military commander. By the summer of 1612, representatives of all Russian classes and regions had joined their ranks. That autumn, the militia reached Moscow, captured Kitay-Gorod after fierce battles, and forced the Polish garrison in the Kremlin to surrender.

IV. THE RESTORATION OF STATEHOOD

When the invaders were driven out of the capital, it was time to restore a united country. The Poles’ attempts to alter the course of history failed – thanks to the courage of the people and their heroes.

In early 1613, delegates from across Russia – nobles, clergy, townsmen, and Cossacks – gathered in Moscow for a Zemsky Sobor (National Assembly). After long debate, the choice fell upon sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov. His election marked the end of the Time of Troubles and the beginning of a new royal dynasty under which the country regained long-awaited stability.

In Russia, National Unity Day has been celebrated for two decades – since 2005. The holiday, revived in memory of the 1612 feat, has rightfully taken its place in the national calendar as a symbol of unity and patriotism of Russia’s multiethnic people.

📜 Learn more about the holiday's history in our retrospective article

☦️ Russia's National #UnityDay: The holiday of November 4 is rooted in the immortal feat of the Second People’s Militia under the leadership of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who saved the Motherland from mortal danger. Born in Nizhny Novgorod, this movement stirred the very fabric of history – at a moment of national peril it united the people, defended the country, and drove the Polish-Lithuanian invaders from Moscow. Learn more about those events in our detailed historical article.

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, a copy of which accompanied the Russian army throughout its liberation campaign, became a symbol of that victory. The clergy and the soldiers prayed before the image of the Kazan Mother of God, including on the eve of Moscow’s liberation from the foreign occupiers. Contemporaries saw the triumph of the militia as a clear sign of the intercession of the Mother of God.

In Orthodox tradition, the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated twice each year – on July 21, the day of its miraculous appearance, and on November 4, the day when the will of the people and Divine Providence saved the Motherland.

The day of Moscow’s liberation – November 4 – was established by decree of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov as the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. At first it was marked only in Moscow, but beginning in 1649, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov – throughout the entire country.

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The story of the Kazan Icon dates back to 1579. According to tradition, after a great fire destroyed part of Kazan, the Mother of God appeared three times in a dream to a nine-year-old girl named Matrona, showing her the place under the ashes where Her image lay hidden. The miraculous discovery of the icon deeply moved the townspeople and was perceived as a sign of the special protection of the Most Holy Theotokos over the Russian land.

Soon afterward, the Theotokos Monastery was built on the site of the discovery, with the icon enshrined at its centre. From that time, copies of the image began to spread across Russia and beyond, bringing comfort and hope to believers. The Kazan Icon was carried into battle, used to bless new churches, and strengthened the people’s faith during the most difficult trials.

In 2023, on the Feast of the Kazan Icon, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, the very holy image before which Minin and Pozharsky prayed during the decisive battles for Moscow was rediscovered and publicly revealed to the faithful.

💬 According to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, a thorough expert study confirmed the authenticity and antiquity of the icon, dated to the late 16th century:

We know that before this image Prince Pozharsky prayed prior to launching his assault on the Kremlin. We also know that he prayed before it when preparing to attack the Novodevichy Convent, which at that time had been turned into a Polish fortress.

In other words, he prayed before this icon every time he entered a decisive battle with the Polish invaders. And we know that these prayers were heard. The Queen of Heaven spread Her protecting veil, the Russian land was liberated, and in memory of this great event Prince Pozharsky built at his own expense a church on the Red Square dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. <…>

Thanks to careful scholarly examination, it has been established that this is the very image carried by Minin and Pozharsky when they liberated Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin, driving the Poles from our Motherland. In other words, we stand before a historic shrine – one of the most sacred treasures of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Today, the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated on November 4, together with Russia’s National Unity Day, reminding us of the enduring link between spiritual and national heroism, faith and love for the Motherland.

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