[4][5] In December 1608, the Polish army of some 15,000 men, led by Jan Piotr Sapieha and Aleksander Lisowski, laid siege to the fortress of the Trinity Monastery (Russian: Троицкий монастырь, romanized: Troitskiy monastyr'), which had been protecting the northern approaches to Moscow.

The Russian garrison (estimated at between 2,200 and 2,400 men) consisted of dvoryane, streltsy, monastic servants, monks, and peasants, led by the voyevodas Prince Grigory Dolgorukov and Aleksey Golokhvastov.

There had been no significant military activity from late November 1608 until May 1609, but the besieged garrison suffered many casualties due to an outbreak of scurvy.

Under the threat of the approaching army of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, the Polish forces raised the siege on 12 January 1610 and retreated to Dmitrov.

At the same time, a strong Russo-Swedish army under Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and Jacob De la Gardie approached Tushino, forcing him to flee his camp disguised as a peasant and go to Kostroma.