Vivat Polonia!

After the Battle of Klushino, Polish troops entered Moscow. The Boyars of Russia then elected the heir to the Polish throne, Wladyslaw IV, as Tsar. However, his father, Zygmunt, demanded that he himself become Tsar, which led to a popular uprising in Russia against the Poles. What if, instead of getting greedy, Zygmunt negotiates with the Boyars and agrees that his son will remain Catholic but Orthodox will not be threatened in Russia? Is there a Polonowank, or does Poland simply take the historical role of Russia in history? Or does this prompt a war with Sweden that is disastrous for all involved?
 
This is an interesting idea, and something we haven't seen on the board before.

That said, I have no idea; how much more popular would his son be than the father?
 
After the Battle of Klushino, Polish troops entered Moscow. The Boyars of Russia then elected the heir to the Polish throne, Wladyslaw IV, as Tsar. However, his father, Zygmunt, demanded that he himself become Tsar, which led to a popular uprising in Russia against the Poles. What if, instead of getting greedy, Zygmunt negotiates with the Boyars and agrees that his son will remain Catholic but Orthodox will not be threatened in Russia? Is there a Polonowank, or does Poland simply take the historical role of Russia in history? Or does this prompt a war with Sweden that is disastrous for all involved?
Firstly, there was significant armed opposition to the Boyars' government, and popular uprising would be almost inevitable, irrespectively to the Tsar's person (but non-Russian, and especially non-Orthodox Tsar would be especially vulnerable).
Secondly, there was almost total breakdown of authority in Russia, so any Tsar would need to build his regime almost from scratch, and I'm not confident that young and unaccustomed to Russian politics Wladyslaw could be such regime-builder (I remember his defeats in Polish politics at the end of his reign in OTL).
Thirdly, every Russian noble knew, that election of Catholic Polish prince to the throne of Moscow meant future union between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovite Tsardom, and they were strongly against such union (inferiority complex, so to speak, plus religious prejudices). The Boyars needed Orthodox Tsar namely because such Tsar would be ineligible for the Commonwealth's throne (not legally, but politically so).
Promise of toleration for the Orthodoxy in Muscovy would be vastly insufficient - that religion was in the position of total domination in the Tsardom, and only continuation of such situation would be sufficient to maintain Wladyslaw's power in his new realm.
So, if Muscovy received Orthodox Wladyslaw, he would have some chances to retain the throne, but there would be two different states with related monarchs - the Commonwealth under Zygmunt (and later Jan Kazimierz) and Wladyslaw's Muscovy. Relations between these states could be friendly or inimical - it depends on their elites' interests, but, of course, there would be potential for sustainable Slavic alliance against Sweden and Turkey. Such alliances existed in OTL - Holy League in 1686-1700, for example.
 
After the Battle of Klushino, Polish troops entered Moscow. The Boyars of Russia then elected the heir to the Polish throne, Wladyslaw IV, as Tsar. However, his father, Zygmunt, demanded that he himself become Tsar, which led to a popular uprising in Russia against the Poles. What if, instead of getting greedy, Zygmunt negotiates with the Boyars and agrees that his son will remain Catholic but Orthodox will not be threatened in Russia? Is there a Polonowank, or does Poland simply take the historical role of Russia in history? Or does this prompt a war with Sweden that is disastrous for all involved?
That invasion in Russia was a part of wars with Sweden.
 
I believe I posted something about this about a week ago.

At first the boyars' condition was just that Wladyslaw uphold Orthodoxy, so maybe if they didn't change to insisting a conversion then it might end up working.

Another chance of Polish Muscovy is to have Stefan Batory live longer and acheive his own plans of personal union with Muscovy.
 
I believe I posted something about this about a week ago.

At first the boyars' condition was just that Wladyslaw uphold Orthodoxy, so maybe if they didn't change to insisting a conversion then it might end up working.

Another chance of Polish Muscovy is to have Stefan Batory live longer and acheive his own plans of personal union with Muscovy.

Well if Wladyslaw were to become king...then he will probably need to marry one of the Boyar family daughters, earlier than later, so he may just have an heir capable of carrying on the Vasa dynasty in Muscovy. Jan Casimir would probably end up as Polish Lithuanian King earlier, and too could have a male heir to carry the dynasty forward their as well as he too will likely need to marry earlier rather than later.

That makes 3 very different Vasa dynasties... They are going to get to be on a par with the Habsburgs. Now if the third can function as mediator for the other two...

Livonia is going to be very interesting. Now if you could just get a Livonian Vasa dynasty that would make things just complete.
 
Swedish options

Something to consider...

IF Wladyslaw were to become Tsar of Russia...( I am thinking it would have to be conditional on his standing down for election as King of P-L, It would remove the threat of Polonization for the Boyars of course) and Sigismund would need to reign in his own desires for the immediate term.

Consequences, Is a Muscovy/ P-L alliance possible to stand down the depradations of GAII during the 20's. On a different note.. would Gustavus be willing to entertain thoughts of intervention in the thirty years war faced with Sigismund in P-L and Wladyslaw in Moscow. One assumes Jan Casimir would become King in what '32 in P-L. If Wladyslaw were to stand he may face being deposed in Moscow.
For the longterm interests of the Vasa's he probably should decline to stand and fully support his brother J.C., who might instead marry the Hapsburg princess Cecilia Renate. Lets hope they are fruitful and multiply.

as for Wladyslaw, Tatiana Fyodorovna Romanov or alternately Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova, on condition that the children are raised orthodox by the Patriarch Filarat (Fyodor Romanov). Though education at the Jagiellonian University is not ruled out.
 
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