The small fortress of Belaya which had fallen into the hands of the Commonwealth during the Time of Troubles was recaptured by the Russian army during its offensive in 1632.

After Shein's situation worsened and he signed the capitulation treaty, King Władysław IV (who still claimed to be the legitimate Russian Tsar) intended to improve on his success and moved his army towards Moscow.

[1] The defenders of Belaya decided to fight till the bitter end and filled up the fortress gate with earth.

[2][1][3] After this events, 3 officers who were responsible for the lack of effective protection of the camp were sentenced to death, the punishment raised discipline in the army and the next four attacks of the Russian garrison on 8–12 April were successfully repulsed.

[3] On 20 April, Polish cavalry under command of Kleczkowski invaded and looted Toropets region, captured prisoners and supplies.

[4] After several days of shelling, the Commonwealth soldiers tried to blow up the fortifications of Belaya with the help of a subsurface mine but the engineers' calculations weren't precise enough.