were repelled. A battle ensued, in which two Russian traitors were captured, and sent to Kholmogory, where they warned residents of a planned attack. The brigands, numbering some 1200 and commanded by Stanislaw Jasinski, appeared at Kholmogory on December 6, 1613. Again, they failed to capture the town, and decided to head to Arkhangelsk, which they unsuccessfully besieged between December 14–19, 1613. Jasinski and his soldiers then marched towards the Northern Dvina estuary and the White Sea shore. There, they captured Severodvinsk and burned Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, after which they ransacked local villages, reaching as far as Karelia. Death of Lisowski, birth of the Lisowczycy The name of Lisowczycy was carried by the troops ever since Lisowski's passing. Despite his death, they remained a most significant threat: in 1616 they captured Kursk and defeated Russian forces at Bolkhov, in 1617 relieved Smolensk from a Muscovite siege – the invading troops retreated to Bely as soon as they received news that the Lisowczycy, then under the command of Stanisław Czapliński, were in the neighbourhood. When Czapliński died at Kaluga, Lisowczycy elected Walenty Rogowski for the new commander. They accompanied Władysław's forces in 1617, and while he retreated, they are said to have moved inland as far as the Ob River, where they were are shown to have been impressed by a giant golden statue (possibly a Buddha, but also attachable to the Zlota Baba myth). Devils in the Holy Empire From 1619, the Lisowczycy, then stationed near Kaunas (Kowno) were sent by Zygmund III Vasa to aid Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor against the Protestants in the Thirty Years' War. Under the command of Walenty Rogowski, they defeated Transylvanian forces under George I Rákóczi at the Battle of Zavada and/or Battle of Humenné in November of that year. After the victory, they engaged in their traditional pastime (as they were not paid and they were obliged to gain everything by their own), plundering nearby lands, 'killing even children and dogs', as contemporary chroniclers recorded. It was around that time that they gained their new nickname: Riders of the Apocalypse. Then Lisowczycy split: part of them, with Rogowski, decided to return to Poland, pillaging Slovakia on their way. Others, under Jarosz Kleczkowski, remained in the service of the Emperor for the next few years. After the death of Kleczkowski (March 4, 1620) at the Battle of Krems, Stanisław Rusinowski became the new commander