Reconstruction of the military-political activities of Prince V. V. Golitsyn during the Time of Troubles based on materials from the registry offices and chronicles

The subject of the study is the various interpretations of the biography of one of the most prominent figures of the Time of Troubles, Prince V. V. Golitsyn, in the chronicles. The primary focus of the work will be on the records from the Time of Troubles, while the chronicle materials will have a secondary character. The disruption of traditional ties in the areas of politics, culture, and tradition led to different interpretations of events in familiar sources. Thus, the records, which usually differ in their detachment from political turmoil and provide a balanced assessment of military events, show an unusual interest in the vicissitudes of palace struggles. This is most vividly demonstrated in the description of the military activities of Prince V. V. Golitsyn, one of the most well-known political figures of the Time of Troubles and candidates for the Russian throne. The work focuses specifically on Prince Golitsyn's military activities during the Time of Troubles; political and diplomatic issues are examined indirectly. The main goal of the work is to analyze and compare the data from the Records and chronicles about Prince V. V. Golitsyn as a military leader and organizer. The methodological foundation of the study is a comparative-historical approach, which allows for the identification of the differences in the interpretation of various sources. The main methods employed are the methods of historicism and objectivism, with a significant role attributed to comparative analysis due to the specifics of the work. The novelty of the research lies in the use of Records and Chronicler sources to reconstruct the specific military biography of Prince V. V. Golitsyn. The main conclusions of the study indicate that the military and organizational activities of Prince V. V. Golitsyn have different, yet vividly colored connotations not only in the chronicles but also in documentary materials, primarily consisting of the Records. In several cases, it was possible to trace the correlation between the positive or negative assessment of the prince's activities and the relationships within aristocratic groupings and service corporations. The analysis includes not only the reports of key chronicles and the main Records editions but also the information from chroniclers particularly close to the Golitsyn family, such as Piskarevsky and the New Chronicler. The materials of the study can be used for further research on the sources of the Time of Troubles and in prosopographic works.