How long did the Livonian war last? Livonian War: fall of the order

In the 16th century, Russia needed access to the Baltic Sea. He opened trade routes and eliminated intermediaries: German merchants and Teutonic Knights. But between Russia and Europe stood Livonia. And Russia lost the war with it.

Start of the war

Livonia, also known as Livonia, was located on the territory of modern Estonia and Latvia. Initially, this was the name given to the lands inhabited by the Livs. In the 16th century, Livonia was under the control of the Livonian Order, a military and political organization of German Catholic knights.
In January 1558, Ivan IV began to “cut a window to Europe.” The moment was chosen well. The knighthood and clergy of Livonia were disunited, weakened by the Reformation, and the local population was tired of the Teutons.
The reason for the war was the non-payment to Moscow by the bishopric of the city of Dorpat (aka Yuryev, also known as modern Tartu) of the “Yuryev tribute” from the possessions ceded by the Russian princes.

Russian army

By the middle of the 16th century, Russia was already a powerful power. Reforms, centralization of power, and the creation of special infantry units—the Streltsy Army—played a big role. The army was armed with modern artillery: the use of a carriage made it possible to use guns in field conditions. There were factories for the production of gunpowder, weapons, cannons and cannonballs. New methods of taking fortresses were developed.
Before starting the war, Ivan the Terrible secured the country from raids from the east and south. Kazan and Astrakhan were taken, and a truce was concluded with Lithuania. In 1557, the war with Sweden ended in victory.

First successes

The first campaign of the Russian army of 40 thousand people took place in the winter of 1558. The main goal was to get the Livonians to voluntarily cede Narva. The Russians easily reached the Baltic. The Livonians were forced to send diplomats to Moscow and agreed to transfer Narva to Russia. But soon the Narva Vogt von Schlennenberg ordered the shelling of the Russian fortress of Ivangorod, provoking a new Russian invasion.

20 fortresses were taken, including Narva, Neishloss, Neuhaus, Kiripe and Dorpat. The Russian army came close to Revel and Riga.
January 17, 1559 major battle At Thiersen, the Germans were defeated, after which they again concluded a truce, and again not for long.
By the fall, the Livonian master Gotthard von Ketler had secured the support of Sweden and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and opposed the Russians. Near Dorpat, the Livonians defeated the detachment of the governor Zakhary Ochin-Pleshcheev, then began the siege of Yuryev, but the city survived. They tried to take Lais, but suffered heavy losses and retreated. The Russian counter-offensive took place only in 1560. The troops of Ivan the Terrible occupied the strongest fortress of the knights Fellin and Marienburg.

The war drags on

Russian successes accelerated the collapse of the Teutonic Order. Revel and the cities of Northern Estonia swore allegiance to the Swedish crown. Master Ketler became a vassal of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus. The Lithuanians occupied more than 10 cities of Livonia.

In response to Lithuanian aggression, Moscow governors invaded the territory of Lithuania and Livonia. Tarvast (Taurus) and Verpel (Polchev) were captured. Then the Lithuanians “walked” through the Smolensk and Pskov regions, after which a full-scale fighting along the entire border.
Ivan the Terrible himself led an army of 80 thousand. In January 1563, the Russians moved to Polotsk, besieged and captured it.
The decisive battle with the Lithuanians took place on the Ulla River on January 26, 1564, and thanks to the betrayal of Prince Andrei Kurbsky, it turned out to be a defeat for the Russians. The Lithuanian army went on the offensive. At the same time, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey approached Ryazan.

Formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

In 1569, Lithuania and Poland became a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ivan the Terrible had to make peace with the Poles and deal with relations with Sweden, where his enemy Johan III ascended the throne.
On the lands of Livonia captured by the Russians, Ivan the Terrible created a vassal kingdom under the leadership of the Danish prince Magnus of Holstein.
In 1572, King Sigismund died. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was on the threshold civil war. In 1577, the Russian army invaded the Baltic states, and Russia soon gained control of the coast of the Gulf of Finland, but the victory was short-lived.
The turning point of the war occurred after the accession of Stefan Batory to the Polish throne. He suppressed the unrest in the country and, in alliance with Sweden, opposed Russia. He was supported by the Duke of Mangus, the Saxon Elector Augustus and the Elector of Brandenburg Johann Georg.

From offense to defense

On September 1, 1578, Polotsk fell, then the Smolensk region and the Seversk land were devastated. Two years later, the Poles again invaded Russia and took Velikiye Luki. Pali Narva, Ozerische, Zavolochye. The army of Prince Khilkov was defeated near Toropets. The Swedes occupied the Padis fortress in Western Estonia.

Batory invaded Russia for the third time in 1581. His goal was Pskov. However, the Russians figured out the Poles' plans. It was not possible to take the city.
In 1581 Russia was in difficult situation. In addition to the Poles, she was threatened by the Swedes and the Crimean Khan. Ivan the Terrible was forced to ask for peace on the enemy’s terms. The negotiations were mediated by Pope Gregory XIII, who hoped to strengthen the Vatican's position in the East. Negotiations took place in Yam Zapolsky and ended with the conclusion of a ten-year truce.

Results

Ivan the Terrible's attempt to open a window to Europe ended in failure.
According to the agreement, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth returned to the Russians Velikie Luki, Zavolochye, Nevel, Kholm, Rzhev Pustya, the Pskov suburbs of Ostrov, Krasny, Voronech, Velyu, Vrev, Vladimerets, Dubkov, Vyshgorod, Vyborets, Izborsk, Opochka, Gdov, Kobylye fortification and Sebezh.
The Moscow state transferred 41 Livonian cities to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Swedes decided to finish off the Russians. In the fall of 1581, they captured Narva and Ivangorod and forced them to sign peace on their own terms. The Livonian War is over. Russia lost part of its own territories and three border fortresses. The Russians retained only the small fortress of Oreshek on the Neva and a corridor along the river a little more than 30 kilometers long. The Baltic remained unattainable.

After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its gaze to the Baltic and put forward plans to capture Livonia. There are two main reasons Livonian War: the right to freely trade in the Baltic, and for opponents the issue of not admitting Russia to the number of European states was resolved. The Order and the German merchants hindered the growth of Russian trade. Therefore for Russia main goal The Livonian War was the conquest of access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.

The reason for the start of the war was the failure of the Livonian Order to pay tribute, which the Yuryev (or Dorpat) bishopric undertook to pay under the peace treaty of 1554.

In 1558, Russian troops invaded Livonia.

At the first stage of the war (1558-1561), several cities and castles were taken, including such significant ones as Narva, Dorpat, Yuryev.

Instead of continuing the successfully launched offensive, the Moscow government granted the Order a truce and at the same time equipped an expedition against the Crimea. Taking advantage of the respite, the Livonian knights gathered military forces and, a month before the end of the truce, defeated the Russian troops.

Russia did not achieve results in the war against the Crimean Khanate and missed favorable opportunities for victory in Livonia. In 1561, Master Ketler signed an agreement under which the Order came under the protectorate of Lithuania and Poland.

Moscow made peace with Crimea and concentrated all its forces in Livonia. But now, instead of one weak order, he had to deal with several strong contenders for his inheritance. If at first it was possible to avoid a war with Sweden and Denmark, then the fight with the main heir of the Livonian Order, i.e. with the Polish-Lithuanian king turned out to be inevitable.

The second stage of the war (1562-1578) for Russia passed with varying degrees of success.

Russia's highest achievement in the Livonian War was the capture of Polotsk in February 1563, after which military failures and fruitless negotiations followed. The Crimean Khan refused an alliance with Moscow.

In 1566, Lithuanian ambassadors came to Moscow with a proposal for a truce and so that Polotsk and part of Livonia would remain with Moscow. Ivan the Terrible demanded all of Livonia. Such demands were rejected, and the Lithuanian king Sigismund Augustus resumed the war with Russia.

In 1568, Sweden dissolved its previously concluded alliance with Russia. England refused to sign the alliance treaty developed by Russian diplomats. In 1569 Poland and Lithuania united in single state- Rzeczpospolita. Russia had to continue the Livonian War without allies under the most unfavorable conditions.

However, both the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia equally needed peace, so both countries concluded a three-year truce in 1570.

At this time, Russia was conducting military operations with the Swedes, resorting to the help of Denmark. Ivan the Terrible decided to create a vassal Livonian kingdom from the conquered lands, on the throne of which it was promised to place the Danish prince Magnus, married to the royal niece. He tried to expel the Swedes from Reval (Estonia) in early 1577, but the siege was unsuccessful. Sweden then made peace with Denmark.

After the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, a period of kinglessness began in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the struggle of contenders for the throne, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory won in 1576. He created an anti-Russian alliance and assembled a significant army.

The third stage of the Livonian War (1679-1583) began with the invasion of Russia by the Polish king Stefan Batory. At the same time, Russia had to fight with Sweden. For the first time during the Livonian War, Russia’s opponents actually joined their military efforts.

In August 1579, Batory's army conquered Polotsk, and a year later Velikiye Luki and other cities. In an attempt to take Pskov, Batory suffered the biggest failure in the war with Russia. Meanwhile, hostilities continued in Livonia and Estonia, where the Swedes took the cities of Padis, Wesenberg, and Kexholm in Karelia from the Russians, and on September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, then Ivangorod, Yam, and Koporye fell.

With the loss of Narva, continuing the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny.

Realizing the impossibility of waging war against two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Batory on a truce in order to concentrate all forces on the reconquest of Narva. But plans to attack Narva remained unfulfilled.

The result of the Livonian War was the conclusion of two treaties that were unfavorable for Russia.

On January 15, 1582, the Yam Zapolsky Treaty on a 10-year truce was signed. Russia ceded all its possessions in Livonia to Poland, and Batory returned to Russia the fortresses and cities he had conquered, but retained Polotsk.

In August 1583, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Plus on a three-year truce. The Swedes retained all the captured Russian cities. Russia has retained a section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland with the mouth of the Neva.

The end of the Livonian War did not give Russia access to the Baltic Sea. This was very important for Russia, but still the main strategic task of the Livonian War for Ivan IV was different. The annexation of Livonia was necessary to stop the centuries-old “onslaught to the east” from the Vatican to enslave Rus'.

The reasons for the defeat in the difficult 25-year Livonian War were the economic weakness of Russia, its internal difficulties, and the backwardness of the Russians in the art of war compared to Western Europeans. Political shortsightedness, Ivan the Terrible's ignorance of his rivals, and his desire for quick results at any cost could not but lead to a major international conflict.

The consequence of the Livonian War was an extremely difficult situation for Russia; the country was ruined.

Livonian War



	The struggle of Russia, Sweden, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the “Livonian legacy”
	Victory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden
Territorial changes:	Annexation of Velizh and Livonia by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; annexation of Ingria and Karelia by Sweden
Opponents
	Livonian Confederation (1558-1561)
Don Army (1570-1583)	Kingdom of Poland (1563-1569)
Livonian Kingdom (1570-1577)	Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1563-1569)
	Sweden (1563-1583)
	Zaporozhian Army (1568-1582)
	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1582)
Commanders
Ivan IV the Terrible Khan Shah-Ali King Magnus of Livonia in 1570-1577	Former king Magnus after 1577 Stefan Batory	Frederick II

Livonian War(1558-1583) was fought by the Russian Kingdom for territories in the Baltic states and access to the Baltic Sea in order to break the blockade by the Livonian Confederation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden and establish direct communication with European countries.

Background

The Livonian Confederation was interested in controlling the transit of Russian trade and significantly limited the opportunities of Russian merchants. In particular, all trade exchanges with Europe could only be carried out through the Livonian ports of Riga, Lindanise (Revel), Narva, and goods could only be transported on ships of the Hanseatic League. At the same time, fearing the military and economic strengthening of Russia, the Livonian Confederation prevented the transport of strategic raw materials and specialists to Russia (see the Schlitte Affair), receiving the assistance of the Hanseatic League, Poland, Sweden and the German imperial authorities.

In 1503, Ivan III concluded a truce with the Livonian Confederation for 50 years, under the terms of which it had to annually pay tribute (the so-called “Yuriev tribute”) for the city of Yuryev (Dorpat), which previously belonged to Novgorod. Treaties between Moscow and Dorpat in the 16th century traditionally mentioned the “Yuriev tribute,” but in fact it was long forgotten. When the truce expired, during negotiations in 1554, Ivan IV demanded the return of arrears, the renunciation of the Livonian Confederation from military alliances with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden, and the continuation of the truce.

The first payment of the debt for Dorpat was supposed to take place in 1557, but the Livonian Confederation did not fulfill its obligation.

In 1557, in the city of Posvol, an agreement was concluded between the Livonian Confederation and the Kingdom of Poland, establishing the vassal dependence of the order on Poland.

In the spring of 1557, Tsar Ivan IV established a port on the banks of Narva ( “The same year, July, a city was built from the German Ust-Narova River Rozsene by the sea as a shelter for sea ships.”). However, Livonia and the Hanseatic League do not allow European merchants to enter the new Russian port, and they are forced to go, as before, to Livonian ports.

Progress of the war

By the beginning of the war, the Livonian Confederation was weakened by defeat in the conflict with the Archbishop of Riga and Sigismund II Augustus. In addition, the already heterogeneous Livonian society was even more split as a result of the Reformation. On the other hand, Russia was gaining strength after the victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the annexation of Kabarda.

War with the Livonian Confederation

Russia started the war on January 17, 1558. The invasion of Russian troops in January-February 1558 into the Livonian lands was a reconnaissance raid. 40 thousand people took part in it under the command of Khan Shig-Aley (Shah-Ali), governor Glinsky and Zakharyin-Yuryev. They walked through the eastern part of Estonia and returned back by the beginning of March. The Russian side motivated this campaign solely by the desire to receive due tribute from Livonia. The Livonian Landtag decided to collect 60 thousand thalers for settlements with Moscow in order to end the war that had begun. However, by May only half of the declared amount had been collected. In addition, the Narva garrison fired at the Ivangorod fortress, thereby violating the armistice agreement.

This time a more powerful army moved to Livonia. The Livonian Confederation at that time could put no more than 10 thousand in the field, not counting the fortress garrisons. Thus, its main military asset was its powerful stone walls fortresses, which by this time could no longer effectively withstand the power of heavy siege weapons.

Voivodes Alexey Basmanov and Danila Adashev arrived in Ivangorod. In April 1558, Russian troops besieged Narva. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the command of the knight Vocht Schnellenberg. On May 11, a fire broke out in the city, accompanied by a storm (according to the Nikon Chronicle, the fire occurred due to the fact that drunken Livonians threw into the fire Orthodox icon Mother of God). Taking advantage of the fact that the guards had left the city walls, the Russians rushed to storm. They broke through the gates and took possession of the lower city. Having captured the guns located there, the warriors turned them around and opened fire on the upper castle, preparing the stairs for the attack. However, by the evening the defenders of the castle themselves surrendered, on the condition of free exit from the city.

The defense of the Neuhausen fortress was particularly tenacious. It was defended by several hundred warriors led by the knight von Padenorm, who repelled the onslaught of the governor Peter Shuisky for almost a month. On June 30, 1558, after the destruction of the fortress walls and towers by Russian artillery, the Germans retreated to the upper castle. Von Padenorm expressed a desire to hold the defense here too, but the surviving defenders of the fortress refused to continue their pointless resistance. As a sign of respect for their courage, Pyotr Shuisky allowed them to leave the fortress with honor.

In July, P. Shuisky besieged Dorpat. The city was defended by a garrison of 2,000 men under the command of Bishop Hermann Weyland. Having built a rampart at the level of the fortress walls and installed guns on it, on July 11, Russian artillery began shelling the city. The cannonballs pierced the tiles of the roofs of houses, drowning the residents taking refuge there. On July 15, P. Shuisky invited Weiland to surrender. While he was thinking, the bombing continued. Some towers and loopholes were destroyed. Having lost hope of outside help, the besieged decided to enter into negotiations with the Russians. P. Shuisky promised not to destroy the city to the ground and to preserve the previous administration for its residents. On July 18, 1558 Dorpat capitulated. The troops settled in houses abandoned by residents. In one of them, warriors found 80 thousand thalers in a cache. The Livonian historian bitterly tells that the people of Dorpat, because of their greed, lost more than the Russian Tsar demanded from them. The funds found would be enough not only for the Yuryev tribute, but also for hiring troops to defend the Livonian Confederation.

During May-October 1558, Russian troops took 20 fortified cities, including those that voluntarily surrendered and entered into the citizenship of the Russian Tsar, after which they went to winter quarters within their borders, leaving small garrisons in the cities. The new energetic master Gotthard Ketler took advantage of this. Having collected 10 thousand. army, he decided to return what was lost. At the end of 1558, Ketler approached the Ringen fortress, which was defended by a garrison of several hundred archers under the command of the governor Rusin-Ignatiev. A detachment of governor Repnin (2 thousand people) went to help the besieged, but he was defeated by Ketler. However, the Russian garrison continued to defend the fortress for five weeks, and only when the defenders ran out of gunpowder were the Germans able to storm the fortress. The entire garrison was killed. Having lost a fifth of his army (2 thousand people) near Ringen and having spent more than a month besieging one fortress, Ketler was unable to build on his success. At the end of October 1558, his army retreated to Riga. This small victory turned into a big disaster for the Livonians.

In response to the actions of the Livonian Confederation, two months after the fall of the Ringen fortress, Russian troops carried out a winter raid, which was a punitive operation. In January 1559, Prince-voivode Serebryany at the head of his army entered Livonia. The Livonian army under the command of the knight Felkensam came out to meet him. On January 17, at the Battle of Terzen, the Germans suffered a complete defeat. Felkensam and 400 knights (not counting ordinary warriors) died in this battle, the rest were captured or fled. This victory opened the gates to Livonia wide for the Russians. They passed unhindered through the lands of the Livonian Confederation, captured 11 cities and reached Riga, where they burned the Riga fleet at the Dunamun raid. Then Courland passed along the path of the Russian army and, having passed through it, they reached the Prussian border. In February the army returned home with huge booty and a large number prisoners.

After the winter raid of 1559, Ivan IV granted the Livonian Confederation a truce (the third in a row) from March to November, without consolidating his success. This miscalculation was due to a number of reasons. Moscow was under serious pressure from Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, who had their own plans for the Livonian lands. Since March 1559, Lithuanian ambassadors urgently demanded that Ivan IV stop hostilities in Livonia, threatening, otherwise, to take the side of the Livonian Confederation. Soon the Swedish and Danish ambassadors made requests to end the war.

With its invasion of Livonia, Russia also affected the trade interests of a number of European states. Trade on the Baltic Sea was then growing from year to year and the question of who would control it was relevant. Revel merchants, who lost the most important item of their profits - income from Russian transit, complained to the Swedish king: “ We stand on the walls and watch with tears as merchant ships sail past our city to the Russians in Narva».

In addition, the Russian presence in Livonia affected complex and confusing pan-European politics, upsetting the balance of power on the continent. So, for example, the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus wrote to the English Queen Elizabeth I about the importance of the Russians in Livonia: “ The Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring goods that are brought to Narva, because, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him... military specialists arrive, through whom he acquires the means to defeat everyone...».

The truce was also due to disagreements over foreign strategy within the Russian leadership itself. There, in addition to supporters of access to the Baltic Sea, there were those who advocated continuing the struggle in the south, against the Crimean Khanate. In fact, the main initiator of the truce of 1559 was the okolnichy Alexei Adashev. This group reflected the sentiments of those circles of the nobility who, in addition to eliminating the threat from the steppes, wanted to receive large additional land fund in the steppe zone. During this truce, the Russians attacked the Crimean Khanate, which, however, did not have significant consequences. More global consequences had a truce with Livonia.

Truce of 1559

Already in the first year of the war, in addition to Narva, Yuryev (July 18), Neishloss, Neuhaus were occupied, the troops of the Livonian Confederation were defeated at Thiersen near Riga, Russian troops reached Kolyvan. The raids of the Crimean Tatar hordes on the southern borders of Rus', which occurred already in January 1558, could not fetter the initiative of Russian troops in the Baltic states.

However, in March 1559, under the influence of Denmark and representatives of the large boyars, who prevented the expansion of the scope of the military conflict, a truce was concluded with the Livonian Confederation, which lasted until November. Historian R. G. Skrynnikov emphasizes that the Russian government, represented by Adashev and Viskovaty, “had to conclude a truce on the western borders,” as it was preparing for a “decisive clash on the southern border.”

During the truce (August 31), the Livonian Landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Gothard Ketler, concluded an agreement in Vilna with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II, according to which the lands of the order and the possessions of the Riga Archbishop passed under “clientella and protection,” that is, under the protectorate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the same 1559, Revel went to Sweden, and the Bishop of Ezel ceded the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) to Duke Magnus, the brother of the Danish king, for 30 thousand thalers.

Taking advantage of the delay, the Livonian Confederation gathered reinforcements, and a month before the end of the truce in the vicinity of Yuriev, its troops attacked Russian troops. Russian governors lost more than 1000 people killed.

In 1560, the Russians resumed hostilities and won a number of victories: Marienburg (now Aluksne in Latvia) was taken; German forces were defeated at Ermes, after which Fellin (now Viljandi in Estonia) was taken. The Livonian Confederation collapsed.

During the capture of Fellin, the former Livonian landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Wilhelm von Furstenberg, was captured. In 1575, he sent his brother a letter from Yaroslavl, where the former landmaster had been granted land. He told a relative that he “has no reason to complain about his fate.”

Sweden and Lithuania, who acquired the Livonian lands, demanded that Moscow remove troops from their territory. Ivan the Terrible refused and Russia found itself in conflict with the coalition of Lithuania and Sweden.

War with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

On November 26, 1561, the German Emperor Ferdinand I banned supplies to the Russians through the port of Narva. Eric XIV, King of Sweden, blocked the port of Narva and sent Swedish privateers to intercept merchant ships sailing to Narva.

In 1562, there was a raid by Lithuanian troops on the Smolensk and Velizh regions. In the summer of the same year, the situation on the southern borders of the Moscow state worsened, which moved the timing of the Russian offensive in Livonia to the fall.

The path to the Lithuanian capital Vilna was closed by Polotsk. In January 1563, the Russian army, which included “almost all the armed forces of the country,” set out to capture this border fortress from Velikie Luki. Early February Russian army began the siege of Polotsk, and on February 15 the city surrendered.

As the Pskov Chronicle reports, during the capture of Polotsk, Ivan the Terrible ordered all Jews to be baptized on the spot, and ordered those who refused (300 people) to be drowned in the Dvina. Karamzin mentions that after the capture of Polotsk, John ordered “all Jews to be baptized, and the disobedient to be drowned in Dvina.”

After the capture of Polotsk, there was a decline in Russia's successes in the Livonian War. Already in 1564, the Russians suffered a series of defeats (Battle of Chashniki). The boyar went over to the side of Lithuania and major military leader, who actually commanded the Russian troops in the West, Prince A.M. Kurbsky, he betrayed the king’s agents in the Baltic states to the king and participated in the Lithuanian raid on Velikiye Luki.

Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and the reluctance of eminent boyars to fight against Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565 the oprichnina was introduced. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation existing at that time. Convened at this time Zemsky Sobor supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states until the capture of Riga.

Third period of the war

The Union of Lublin, which in 1569 united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into one state - the Republic of Both Nations, had serious consequences. A difficult situation has developed in the north of Russia, where relations with Sweden have again become strained, and in the south (the campaign of the Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the war with Crimea, during which the army of Devlet I Giray burned Moscow in 1571 and devastated the southern Russian lands). However, the onset of a long-term “kinglessness” in the Republic of Both Nations, the creation in Livonia of the vassal “kingdom” of Magnus, which at first had an attractive force in the eyes of the population of Livonia, again made it possible to tip the scales in favor of Russia. In 1572, the army of Devlet-Girey was destroyed and the threat of large raids by the Crimean Tatars was eliminated (Battle of Molodi). In 1573, the Russians stormed the Weissenstein (Paide) fortress. In the spring, Moscow troops under the command of Prince Mstislavsky (16,000) met near Lode Castle in western Estland with a Swedish army of two thousand. Despite the overwhelming numerical advantage, the Russian troops suffered a crushing defeat. They had to leave all their guns, banners and convoys.

In 1575, the Sage fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov (now Pärnu in Estonia) surrendered to the Russians. After the campaign of 1576, Russia captured the entire coast except Riga and Kolyvan.

However, unfavorable international situation, the distribution of land in the Baltic states to Russian nobles, which alienated the local peasant population from Russia, serious internal difficulties (economic ruin looming over the country) negatively affected the further course of the war for Russia.

Fourth period of the war

Stefan Batory, who, with the active support of the Turks (1576), ascended the throne of the Republic of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, went on the offensive and occupied Wenden (1578), Polotsk (1579), Sokol, Velizh, Usvyat, Velikiye Luki. In the captured fortresses, the Poles and Lithuanians completely destroyed the Russian garrisons. In Velikiye Luki, the Poles exterminated the entire population, about 7 thousand people. Polish and Lithuanian troops ravaged the Smolensk region, the Seversk land, the Ryazan region, the southwest of the Novgorod region, and plundered Russian lands right up to the upper reaches of the Volga. The devastation they caused was reminiscent of the worst Tatar raids. The Lithuanian governor Philon Kmita from Orsha burned 2,000 villages in the western Russian lands and captured a huge town. Lithuanian magnates Ostrozhsky and Vishnevetsky, with the help of light cavalry units, plundered the Chernihiv region. The cavalry of the nobleman Jan Solomeretsky ravaged the outskirts of Yaroslavl. In February 1581, the Lithuanians burned Staraya Russa.

In 1581, the Polish-Lithuanian army, which included mercenaries from almost all of Europe, besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to march on Novgorod the Great and Moscow. In November 1580, the Swedes took Korela, where 2 thousand Russians were exterminated, and in 1581 they occupied Rugodiv (Narva), which was also accompanied by massacres - 7 thousand Russians died; the victors did not take prisoners and did not spare civilians. The heroic defense of Pskov in 1581-1582 by the garrison and the population of the city determined a more favorable outcome of the war for Russia: the failure at Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.

Results and consequences

In January 1582, a 10-year truce was concluded in Yam-Zapolny (near Pskov) with the Republic of Both Nations (Rzeczpospolita) (the so-called Peace of Yam-Zapolny). Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border lands were returned to it.

In May 1583, the 3-year Truce of Plyus with Sweden was concluded, according to which Koporye, Yam, Ivangorod and the adjacent territory of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland were ceded. Russian state again found itself cut off from the sea. The country was devastated, and the northwestern regions were depopulated.

It should also be noted that the course of the war and its results were influenced by the Crimean raids: only for 3 years out of 25 years of the war there were no significant raids.

The best thing history gives us is the enthusiasm it arouses.
Goethe

The Livonian War lasted from 1558 to 1583. During the war, Ivan the Terrible sought to gain access to and capture the port cities of the Baltic Sea, which was supposed to significantly improve the economic situation of Rus' by improving trade. In this article we will talk briefly about the Levon War, as well as all its aspects.

Beginning of the Livonian War

The sixteenth century was a period of continuous wars. The Russian state sought to protect itself from its neighbors and return lands that had previously been part of Ancient Rus'.

Wars were fought on several fronts:

The eastern direction was marked by the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, as well as the beginning of the development of Siberia.
South direction foreign policy represented the eternal struggle with the Crimean Khanate.
The western direction is the events of the long, difficult and very bloody Livonian War (1558–1583), which will be discussed.

Livonia is a region in the eastern Baltic. On the territory of modern Estonia and Latvia. In those days, there was a state created as a result of the crusader conquests. How public education, it was weak due to national contradictions (the Baltic people were placed in feudal dependence), religious split (the Reformation penetrated there), and the struggle for power among the elite.

Reasons for the start of the Livonian War

Ivan IV the Terrible began the Livonian War against the backdrop of the success of his foreign policy in other areas. The Russian prince-tsar sought to push the borders of the state back in order to gain access to shipping areas and ports of the Baltic Sea. AND Livonian Order gave the Russian Tsar ideal reasons for starting the Livonian War:

Refusal to pay tribute. In 1503, the Livn Order and Rus' signed a document according to which the former agreed to pay an annual tribute to the city of Yuryev. In 1557, the Order unilaterally withdrew from this obligation.
The weakening of the foreign political influence of the Order against the backdrop of national disagreements.

Speaking about the reason, we should focus on the fact that Livonia separated Rus' from the sea and blocked trade. Large merchants and nobles who wanted to appropriate new lands were interested in capturing Livonia. But main reason One can highlight the ambitions of Ivan IV the Terrible. Victory was supposed to strengthen his influence, so he waged the war, regardless of the circumstances and the meager capabilities of the country for the sake of his own greatness.

Progress of the war and main events

The Livonian War was fought with long interruptions and is historically divided into four stages.

First stage of the war

At the first stage (1558–1561), the fighting was relatively successful for Russia. In the first months, the Russian army captured Dorpat, Narva and was close to capturing Riga and Revel. The Livonian Order was on the verge of destruction and asked for a truce. Ivan the Terrible agreed to stop the war for 6 months, but this was a huge mistake. During this time, the Order came under the protectorate of Lithuania and Poland, as a result of which Russia received not one weak, but two strong opponents.

The most dangerous enemy for Russia was Lithuania, which at that time could in some aspects surpass the Russian kingdom in its potential. Moreover, the Baltic peasants were dissatisfied with the newly arrived Russian landowners, the cruelties of war, extortions and other disasters.

Second stage of the war

The second stage of the war (1562–1570) began with the fact that the new owners of the Livonian lands demanded that Ivan the Terrible withdraw his troops and abandon Livonia. In fact, it was proposed that the Livonian War should end, and Russia would be left with nothing as a result. After the tsar’s refusal to do this, the war for Russia finally turned into an adventure. The war with Lithuania lasted 2 years and was unsuccessful for the Russian Kingdom. The conflict could only be continued in conditions of the oprichnina, especially since the boyars were against the continuation of hostilities. Earlier, for dissatisfaction with the Livonian War, in 1560 the tsar dispersed the “Elected Rada”.

It was at this stage of the war that Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a strong power that everyone, without exception, had to reckon with.

Third stage of the war

The third stage (1570–1577) is the battles local significance Russia and Sweden for the territory of modern Estonia. They ended without any significant results for both sides. All battles were local in nature and did not have any significant impact on the course of the war.

The fourth stage of the war

At the fourth stage of the Livonian War (1577–1583), Ivan IV again captured the entire Baltic region, but soon the tsar’s luck ran out and the Russian troops were defeated. The new king of the united Poland and Lithuania (Rzeczpospolita), Stefan Batory, expelled Ivan the Terrible from the Baltic region, and even managed to capture a number of cities already on the territory of the Russian kingdom (Polotsk, Velikiye Luki, etc.). The fighting was accompanied by terrible bloodshed. Since 1579, assistance to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has been provided by Sweden, which acted very successfully, capturing Ivangorod, Yam, and Koporye.

Russia was saved from complete defeat by the defense of Pskov (from August 1581). During the 5 months of the siege, the garrison and residents of the city repulsed 31 assault attempts, weakening Batory’s army.

The end of the war and its results

The Yam-Zapolsky truce between the Russian kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1582 put an end to a long and unnecessary war. Russia abandoned Livonia. The coast of the Gulf of Finland was lost. It was captured by Sweden, with which the Treaty of Plus was signed in 1583.

Thus, the following causes of damage can be identified: Russian state, which sums up the results of the Liovno War:

adventurism and ambitions of the tsar - Russia could not wage a war simultaneously with three strong states;
the harmful influence of the oprichnina, economic ruin, Tatar attacks.
A deep economic crisis within the country, which erupted during the 3rd and 4th stages of hostilities.

Despite the negative outcome, it was the Livonian War that determined the direction of Russian foreign policy in long years forward - to get access to the Baltic Sea.

Ivan the Terrible, no matter how terrible he was, was still an outstanding ruler. In particular, he waged successful wars - for example, with Kazan and Astrakhan. But he also had an unsuccessful campaign. It cannot be said that the Livonian War ended in a real defeat for the Muscovite kingdom, but many years of battles, expenses and losses ended in the actual restoration of the original position.

Window to Europe

Peter the Great was not the first to understand well the importance of the Baltic Sea for Russian, and not only Russian, trade. There is no clear indication in written sources that, when starting the war, his goal was precisely to provide his country with access to the Baltic. But the first king was an educated man, he was interested in foreign experience, ordered specialists from abroad and even wooed the Queen of England. Consequently, his actions had so much in common with Peter’s policies (Peter, by the way, was very formidable), that one can reasonably assume that the war that began in 1558 had a “naval” purpose. The king did not need a layer between his state and foreign merchants and craftsmen.

In addition, the support of a number of states for the weak and unauthoritative Livonian Confederation proves the same point: they fought not for Livonia, but against the strengthening of Russia’s trade position.

We conclude: the reasons for the Livonian War boil down to the struggle for the possibilities of Baltic trade and dominance in this matter.

With varied success

It is quite difficult to name the sides of the war. Russia had no allies in it, and its opponents were the Livonian Confederation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland (after the Union of Lublin in 15696), Sweden, and Denmark. On different stages Russia fought with different opponents in different numbers.

The first stage of the war (1558-1561) against the weak Livonian Confederation was successful for the Moscow army. The Russians took Narva, Neuhausen, Dorpat and many other fortresses and marched through Courland. But the Livonians, taking advantage of the proposed truce, recognized themselves as vassals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1561, and this large state entered the war.

The course of the war with Lithuania (until 1570) showed its “maritime” essence - Germany and Sweden declared a blockade of Narva, preventing the Russians from gaining a foothold in the Baltic trade. Lithuania fought not only for the Baltic, but also for the lands on its border with Russia, where Polotsk was captured by the Russians in 1564. But further success was on the side of Lithuania, and there were two reasons for this: greed and treason. Many boyars preferred to fight with the Crimea, hoping to profit from the southern black soil. There were many direct traitors, the most famous of whom was Andrei Kurbsky.

At the third stage, Russia fought on two sides: with Sweden (1570-1583) and Denmark (1575-1578) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1577-1582). For this period, the fact that military operations were most often carried out on previously devastated lands, where the population had a negative attitude towards the Russians due to the duration of the war, was important. Russia itself was also weakened, both by prolonged hostilities and by the oprichnina. Polish-Lithuanian detachments successfully reached quite far into the Russian rear (as far as Yaroslavl). As a result, Lithuania received Polotsk back, and the Swedes captured not only Narva, but also Ivangorod and Koporye.

During this period, funny episodes also occurred. So, the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stefan Batory did not find anything better than to send Ivan... a challenge to a personal duel! The Tsar ignored this stupidity, worthy of a petty quarrelsome nobleman, and did the right thing.

Modest results

The war ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1582, and in 1583 - the Plyussky truce with Sweden. Russia's territorial losses were insignificant: Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye, a small part of the western lands. Basically, Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth divided the former Livonia (the current Baltic states and Finland).

For Rus', the main result of the Livonian War was something else. It turned out that for 20 years, with interruptions, Russia fought in vain. Its northwestern regions are depopulated and resources are depleted. Crimean raids on its territory became more devastating. Failures in the Livonian War actually turned Ivan 4 into the Terrible - numerous real betrayals became one of the reasons that, however, the right punished more than the guilty. Military ruin was the first step towards the future Time of Troubles.