Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (; 17 October 1577 – 30 April 1642) was a Russian prince known for his military leadership during the Polish–Muscovite War from 1611 to 1612. Pozharsky formed the Second Volunteer Army with Kuzma Minin in Nizhny Novgorod against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's occupation of Russia during the Time of Troubles, resulting in Polish withdrawal after Russian victory at the Battle of Moscow in 1612. Pozharsky received the unprecedented title of Saviour of the Fatherland from Mikhail I of Russia, becoming a folk hero in Russian culture and honored in the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow's Red Square. Early career Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky is considered to have been born on 1 November 1578 in Klin County, in the north of Moscow Governorate of the Tsardom of Russia. Pozharsky was descended from a dynasty of minor sovereign princes which ruled the town of Starodub-on-the-Klyazma, near Suzdal northeast of Moscow. At one point in the 15th century the family estate burned to the ground, and in consequence assumed the name of Pozharsky, derived from the Russian word pozhar meaning conflagration. Pozharsky's mother, Maria Feodorovna Pozharskaya, came from the Beklemishev family. Pozharsky's early career was not documented until the beginning of the Time of Troubles following the death of Tsar Feodor I in 1598, when he took part in the Zemsky Sobor which elected Boris Godunov as the Tsar of Russia. Pozharsky's closeness to the throne during Godunov's rule made him an influential figure among Russia's nobility. Pozharsky was attested as a stolnik four years later and supported the Tsardom in the Polish-Muscovite War following its outbreak in 1605. Pozharsky was present at the defense of Kolomna in 1608 and helped Vasily IV during the siege of Moscow in 1609. Later that year, Pozharsky routed the rebellious Cossacks of Ivan Bolotnikov at the Pekhorka River. In 1610, Pozharsky was in command at the defense of Zaraysk against the forces of False Dmitry II. Struggle for independence By this time, Russian popular indignation against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's occupation had gained momentum due to the abuses and criminal behavior of the Polish army, and the loss of support among the pro-Polish faction of Russia's boyar class due to the actions of King Sigismund III. After Prokopy Lyapunov rallied the First Volunteer Army in Ryazan, Pozharsky promptly joined the cause and took a prominent part in the uprising in Moscow. Pozharsky was wounded