Smolensk campaign and battle of Shepelevichs 1654

The last big war between the Moscow state and the Commonwealth (1654-1667), which became the most stubborn and difficult in the history of their conflicts in the XVI-XVII centuries, began with the sovereign of the campaign to Smolensk. The main goal of combat operations at the initial stage of the war was the return of this strategically important city, lost by Russia during the Time of Troubles.
The capture of Smolensk was facilitated by the decisive victory of the Russian army in the battle of Shepelevichi on August 14 (24), 1654 over the Lithuanian army of the hetman Y. Radziwill. The “sovereign campaign” ended with the triumphal success of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his reformed army. The return of Smolensk made it possible not only to expand the possessions of the power, but to radically resolve the issue of strengthening the security of the entire western border of Russia.
The new book of I.B. Babulin is the most detailed and detailed description and analysis of not only the battle of Shepelevichi, but also the entire victorious campaign of 1654 for Russia. The author studied and took into account the achievements of both domestic and foreign historiography, primarily Polish, which to a large extent contributed to the success of the study and a more objective view of the events of this war. In this work, the author attracted the most representative circle of sources, many of which are not published, and some have not yet been introduced into scientific circulation