The Livonian War of 1558-1583 became one of the most important campaigns of the times of Yes and of the entire 16th century, perhaps.

Livonian War: briefly about the prerequisites

After the great Moscow Tsar managed to conquer Kazan and

Astrakhan Khanate, Ivan IV turned his attention to the Baltic lands and access to the Baltic Sea. The capture of these territories for the Muscovite kingdom would mean promising opportunities for trade in the Baltic. At the same time, it was extremely unprofitable for the German merchants and the Livonian Order, who had already settled there, to allow new competitors into the region. The resolution of these contradictions was to be the Livonian War. We should also briefly mention the formal reason for it. They were served by the non-payment of the tribute that the Derpt bishopric was obliged to pay in favor of Moscow in accordance with the 1554 agreement. Formally, such a tribute has existed since the beginning of the 16th century. However, in practice, no one remembered about it for a long time. Only with the aggravation of relations between the parties did he use this fact as a justification for the Russian invasion of the Baltic.

Livonian war: briefly about the ups and downs of the conflict

Russian troops launched an invasion of Livonia in 1558. The first stage of the clash, which lasted until 1561, ended

crushing defeat of the Livonian Order. The armies of the Muscovite tsar marched through eastern and central Livonia with pogroms. Dorpat and Riga were taken. In 1559, the parties concluded a truce for six months, which was to develop into a peace treaty on the terms of the Livonian Order from Russia. But the kings of Poland and Sweden hurried to help the German knights. King Sigismund II, by a diplomatic maneuver, managed to take the order under his own protectorate. And in November 1561, under the terms of the Vilna Treaty, the Livonian Order ceases to exist. Its territories are divided between Lithuania and Poland. Now Ivan the Terrible had to confront three powerful rivals at once: the Principality of Lithuania, the Kingdoms of Poland and Sweden. With the latter, however, the Muscovite tsar managed to quickly make peace for a while. In 1562-63, the second large-scale campaign to the Baltic began. The events of the Livonian War at this stage continued to develop successfully. However, already in the mid-1560s, relations between Ivan the Terrible and the boyars of the Chosen Rada escalated to the limit. The situation worsens even more due to the flight of one of the closest princely associates of Andrei Kurbsky to Lithuania and his defection to the side of the enemy (the reason that prompted the boyar was the growing despotism in the Moscow principality and the infringement of the ancient liberties of the boyars). After this event, Ivan the Terrible finally hardens, seeing around him solid traitors. In parallel with this, defeats at the front also occur, which were explained by the prince's internal enemies. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland united into a single state, which

strengthens their power. In the late 1560s - early 70s, Russian troops suffered a series of defeats and even lost several fortresses. Since 1579, the war has been taking on a more defensive character. However, in 1579 Polotsk was captured by the enemy, in 1580 - Veliky Luk, in 1582 the long siege of Pskov continued. The necessity of signing peace and respite for the state after decades of military campaigns becomes obvious.

Livonian war: briefly about the consequences

The war ended with the signing of the Plyussky and Yam-Zapolsky truces, which were extremely disadvantageous for Moscow. The exit was never received. Instead, the prince received an exhausted and devastated country, which found itself in an extremely difficult situation. The consequences of the Livonian War accelerated the internal crisis that led to the Great Troubles at the beginning of the 16th century.

Introduction 3

1. Causes of the Livonian War 4

2. Stages of war 6

3.Results and consequences of the war 14

Conclusion 15

References 16

Introduction.

The relevance of research. The Livonian War is a significant stage in Russian history. Long and exhausting, it brought many losses to Russia. It is very important and relevant to consider this event, because any military action changed the geopolitical map of our country, had a significant impact on its further socio-economic development. This directly applies to the Livonian War. It will also be interesting to reveal the diversity of points of view on the causes of this collision, the opinions of historians on this matter. After all, pluralism of opinions indicates that there are many contradictions in views. Therefore, the topic has not been sufficiently studied and is relevant for further consideration.

aim of this work is to reveal the essence of the Livonian War. To achieve the goal, it is necessary to consistently solve a number of tasks :

Reveal the causes of the Livonian War

Analyze its stages

Consider the results and consequences of the war

1. Causes of the Livonian War

After the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates to the Russian state, the threat of invasion from the east and southeast was eliminated. Ivan the Terrible faces new tasks - to return the Russian lands that were once captured by the Livonian Order, Lithuania and Sweden.

In general, it is possible to clearly identify the causes of the Livonian War. However, Russian historians interpret them differently.

So, for example, N.M. Karamzin connects the beginning of the war with the hostility of the Livonian Order. Karamzin fully approves Ivan the Terrible's aspirations to reach the Baltic Sea, calling them "intentions that are beneficial for Russia."

N.I. Kostomarov believes that on the eve of the war, Ivan the Terrible had an alternative - either to deal with the Crimea, or to take possession of Livonia. The historian explains the decision of Ivan IV, which was contrary to common sense, to fight on two fronts by "strife" between his advisers.

S.M. Soloviev explains the Livonian War by Russia's need to "assimilate the fruits of European civilization", the carriers of which were not allowed into Russia by the Livonians, who owned the main Baltic ports.

IN. Klyuchevsky practically does not consider the Livonian War at all, since he analyzes the external position of the state only from the point of view of its influence on the development of socio-economic relations within the country.

S.F. Platonov believes that Russia was simply drawn into the Livonian War. The historian believes that Russia could not evade what was happening on its western borders, could not put up with unfavorable terms of trade.

MN Pokrovsky believes that Ivan the Terrible started the war on the recommendations of some "advisers" from a number of troops.

According to R.Yu. Vipper, "The Livonian War was prepared and planned by the leaders of the Chosen Rada for quite a long time."

R.G. Skrynnikov connects the beginning of the war with the first success of Russia - the victory in the war with the Swedes (1554-1557), under the influence of which plans were put forward to conquer Livonia and establish themselves in the Baltic states. The historian also notes that "the Livonian War turned the Eastern Baltic into an arena of struggle between states seeking dominance in the Baltic Sea."

V.B. Kobrin pays attention to the personality of Adashev and notes his key role in unleashing the Livonian War.

In general, formal pretexts were found for the start of the war. The real reasons were the geopolitical need of Russia to gain access to the Baltic Sea, as the most convenient for direct ties with the centers of European civilizations, as well as the desire to take an active part in the division of the territory of the Livonian Order, the progressive collapse of which was becoming obvious, but which, not wanting to strengthening of Russia, prevented its external contacts. For example, the authorities of Livonia did not allow more than a hundred specialists from Europe, invited by Ivan IV, to pass through their lands. Some of them were imprisoned and executed.

The formal reason for the start of the Livonian War was the question of the "Yuryev tribute" (Yuryev, later called Derpt (Tartu), was founded by Yaroslav the Wise). According to the agreement of 1503, an annual tribute was to be paid for it and the adjacent territory, which, however, was not done. In addition, in 1557 the Order entered into a military alliance with the Lithuanian-Polish king.

2.Stages of the war.

The Livonian war can be conditionally divided into 4 stages. The first one (1558-1561) is directly related to the Russian-Livonian war. The second (1562-1569) included primarily the Russo-Lithuanian war. The third (1570-1576) was distinguished by the resumption of the Russian struggle for Livonia, where they, together with the Danish prince Magnus, fought against the Swedes. The fourth (1577-1583) is associated primarily with the Russian-Polish war. During this period, the Russo-Swedish war continued.

Let's consider each of the stages in more detail.

First stage. In January 1558, Ivan the Terrible moved his troops to Livonia. The beginning of the war brought him victories: Narva and Yuryev were taken. In the summer and autumn of 1558 and at the beginning of 1559, Russian troops passed through all of Livonia (to Revel and Riga) and advanced in Courland to the borders of East Prussia and Lithuania. However, in 1559, under the influence of politicians grouped around A.F. Adashev, who prevented the expansion of the scope of the military conflict, Ivan the Terrible was forced to conclude a truce. In March 1559, it was concluded for a period of six months.

The feudal lords took advantage of the truce to conclude an agreement with the Polish king Sigismund II August in 1559, according to which the order, lands and possessions of the Archbishop of Riga were transferred under the protectorate of the Polish crown. In an atmosphere of sharp political disagreements in the leadership of the Livonian Order, its master V. Furstenberg was removed and G. Ketler, who adhered to a pro-Polish orientation, became the new master. In the same year, Denmark took possession of the island of Esel (Saaremaa).

The hostilities that began in 1560 brought new defeats to the Order: the large fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin were taken, the order army blocking the path to Viljandi was defeated near Ermes, and the Master of the Order Furstenberg himself was taken prisoner. The success of the Russian army was facilitated by the peasant uprisings that broke out in the country against the German feudal lords. The result of the company in 1560 was the actual defeat of the Livonian Order as a state. The German feudal lords of Northern Estonia became subjects of Sweden. According to the Vilna Treaty of 1561, the possessions of the Livonian Order came under the rule of Poland, Denmark and Sweden, and his last master, Ketler, received only Courland, and even then it was dependent on Poland. Thus, instead of a weak Livonia, Russia now had three strong opponents.

Second phase. While Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, Ivan IV led successful operations against Sigismund II Augustus. In 1563, the Russian army took Plock, a fortress that opened the way to the capital of Lithuania, Vilna, and to Riga. But already at the beginning of 1564, the Russians suffered a series of defeats on the Ulla River and near Orsha; in the same year, a boyar and a major military leader, Prince A.M., fled to Lithuania. Kurbsky.

Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and escapes to Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565, the oprichnina was introduced. Ivan IV tried to restore the Livonian Order, but under the protectorate of Russia, and negotiated with Poland. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation that existed at that time. The Zemsky Sobor, convened at that time, supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states up to the capture of Riga: “It is unsuitable for our sovereign to retreat from those cities of Livonia that the king took for protection, and it is more fitting for the sovereign to stand for those cities.” The council's decision also emphasized that giving up Livonia would hurt trade interests.

Third stage. From 1569 the war becomes protracted. This year, at the Seimas in Lublin, Lithuania and Poland were united into a single state - the Commonwealth, with which in 1570 Russia managed to conclude a truce for three years.

Since Lithuania and Poland in 1570 could not quickly concentrate their forces against the Muscovite state, because. were exhausted by the war, then Ivan IV began in May 1570 to negotiate a truce with Poland and Lithuania. At the same time, he creates, by neutralizing Poland, an anti-Swedish coalition, realizing his long-standing idea of ​​​​forming a vassal state from Russia in the Baltic states.

The Danish Duke Magnus accepted the offer of Ivan the Terrible to become his vassal (“goldovnik”) and in the same May 1570, upon arrival in Moscow, was proclaimed “King of Livonia”. The Russian government undertook to provide the new state, which settled on the island of Ezel, with its military assistance and material means so that it could expand its territory at the expense of the Swedish and Lithuanian-Polish possessions in Livonia. The parties intended to seal the allied relations between Russia and the "kingdom" of Magnus by marrying Magnus to the tsar's niece, the daughter of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky - Maria.

The proclamation of the Livonian kingdom was, according to Ivan IV, to provide Russia with the support of the Livonian feudal lords, i.e. of all German chivalry and nobility in Estonia, Livonia and Courland, and consequently, not only an alliance with Denmark (through Magnus), but, most importantly, an alliance and support for the Habsburg empire. With this new combination in Russian foreign policy, the tsar intended to create a vise on two fronts for an overly aggressive and restless Poland, which had grown to include Lithuania. Like Vasily IV, Ivan the Terrible also expressed the idea of ​​the possibility and necessity of dividing Poland between the German and Russian states. More intimately, the Tsar was preoccupied with the possibility of creating a Polish-Swedish coalition on his western borders, which he tried with all his might to prevent. All this speaks of a correct, strategically deep understanding of the alignment of forces in Europe by the tsar and of his precise vision of the problems of Russian foreign policy in the short and long term. That is why his military tactics were correct: he sought to defeat Sweden alone as soon as possible, before it came to a joint Polish-Swedish aggression against Russia.

Description of the Livonian War

Livonian War (1558-1583) - the war of the Russian kingdom against the Livonian Order, the Polish-Lithuanian state, Sweden and Denmark for hegemony in the Baltic states.

Main events (Livonian War - briefly)

The reasons: Access to the Baltic Sea. The hostile policy of the Livonian Order.

Occasion: Refusal of the order to pay tribute for Yuriev (Derpt).

First stage (1558-1561): The capture of Narva, Yuriev, Fellin, the capture of Master Furstenberg, the Livonian Order as a military force practically ceased to exist.

Second stage (1562-1577): The entry into the war of the Commonwealth (since 1569) and Sweden. Capture of Polotsk (1563). Defeat on the river Ole and near Orsha (1564). Capture of Weissenstein (1575) and Wenden (1577).

Third stage (1577-1583): Campaign of Stefan Batory, Fall of Polotsk, Velikiye Luki. Defense of Pskov (August 18, 1581 - February 4, 1582) Capture of Narva, Ivangorod, Koporye by the Swedes.

1582- Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Commonwealth (the refusal of Ivan the Terrible from Livonia for the return of the lost Russian fortresses).

1583- Plyussky truce with Sweden (renunciation of Estonia, concession to the Swedes of Narva, Koporye, Ivangorod, Korela).

Reasons for the defeat: an incorrect assessment of the balance of power in the Baltic states, the weakening of the state as a result of the internal policy of Ivan IV.

Course of the Livonian War (1558–1583) (full description)

The reasons

In order to start a war, formal reasons were found, but the real reasons were the geopolitical need for Russia to gain access to the Baltic Sea, as more convenient for direct ties with the centers of European civilizations, and the desire to participate in the division of the territory of the Livonian Order, the progressive collapse of which became obvious, but which, not wanting to strengthen Muscovite Russia, prevented its external contacts.

Russia had a small segment of the Baltic coast, from the Neva basin to Ivangorod. However, it was strategically vulnerable, and there were no ports or developed infrastructure. Ivan the Terrible hoped to use the transport system of Livonia. He considered it an ancient Russian patrimony, which was illegally seized by the Crusaders.

The forceful solution of the problem predetermined the defiant behavior of the Livonians themselves, who, even according to their historians, acted imprudently. The mass pogroms of Orthodox churches in Livonia served as a pretext for aggravating relations. Even at that time, the term of the truce between Moscow and Livonia (concluded in 1504 as a result of the Russian-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503) ended. To extend it, the Russians demanded the payment of the Yuryev tribute, which the Livonians were obliged to pay even to Ivan III, but for 50 years they never collected it. Recognizing the need to pay it, they again did not fulfill their obligations.

1558 - the Russian army entered Livonia. Thus began the Livonian War. It lasted 25 years, becoming the longest and one of the most difficult in Russian history.

First stage (1558-1561)

In addition to Livonia, the Russian tsar wanted to conquer the East Slavic lands, which were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 1557, November - he concentrated a 40,000-strong army in Novgorod for a campaign in the Livonian lands.

Capture of Narva and Syrensk (1558)

In December, this army, under the command of the Tatar prince Shig-Aley, Prince Glinsky and other governors, advanced to Pskov. Meanwhile, the auxiliary army of Prince Shestunov began hostilities from the Ivangorod region at the mouth of the Narva (Narova) River. 1558, January - the tsarist army approached Yuryev (Derpt), but could not capture it. Then part of the Russian army turned towards Riga, and the main forces headed for Narva (Rugodiv), where they joined up with Shestunov's army. There was a lull in the fighting. Only the garrisons of Ivangorod and Narva fired at each other. On May 11, the Russians from Ivangorod attacked the Narva fortress and were able to take it the next day.

Soon after the capture of Narva, Russian troops under the command of the governor Adashev, Zabolotsky and Zamytsky and the duma clerk Voronin were ordered to capture the fortress of Syrensk. On June 2, the regiments were under its walls. Adashev set up barriers on the Riga and Kolyvan roads in order to prevent the main forces of the Livonians under the command of the Master of the Order from reaching Syrensk. On June 5, large reinforcements from Novgorod approached Adashev, which the besieged saw. On the same day, artillery shelling of the fortress began. The next day the garrison surrendered.

Capture of Neuhausen and Dorpat (1558)

From Syrensk, Adashev returned to Pskov, where the entire Russian army was concentrated. In mid-June, it took the fortresses of Neuhausen and Dorpat. The entire north of Livonia was under Russian control. The army of the Order in numerical ratio was several times inferior to the Russians and, moreover, was scattered over separate garrisons. It could not oppose anything to the army of the king. Until October 1558, the Russians in Livonia were able to capture 20 castles.

Battle of Tiersen

January 1559 - Russian troops marched on Riga. Near Tirzen they defeated the Livonian army, and near Riga they burned the Livonian fleet. Although it was not possible to capture the Riga fortress, 11 more Livonian castles were taken.

Truce (1559)

The Master of the Order was forced to conclude a truce before the end of 1559. By November of this year, the Livonians were able to recruit landsknechts in Germany and resume the war. But they did not cease to pursue failures.

1560, January - the army of governor Borboshin captured the fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin. The Livonian Order as a military force practically ceased to exist.

1561 - the last master of the Livonian Order, Kettler, recognized himself as a vassal of the king of Poland and divided Livonia between Poland and Sweden (Esel Island went to Denmark). The Poles got Livonia and Courland (Kettler became the Duke of the latter), the Swedes got Estland.

Second stage (1562-1577)

Poland and Sweden began to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Livonia. Ivan the Terrible not only did not comply with this requirement, but at the end of 1562 invaded the territory of Lithuania, allied to Poland. His army numbered 33,407 men. The goal of the campaign is the well-fortified Polotsk. 1563, February 15 - Polotsk, unable to withstand the fire of 200 Russian guns, capitulated. Ivan's army moved to Vilna. The Lithuanians were forced to conclude a truce until 1564. After the resumption of the war, Russian troops occupied almost the entire territory of Belarus.

But the repressions that began against the leaders of the "chosen council" - the actual government until the end of the 50s, had a negative impact on the combat capability of the Russian army. Many of the governors and nobles, fearing reprisals, preferred to flee to Lithuania. In the same 1564, one of the most prominent governors, Prince Andrei Kurbsky, who was close to the Adashev brothers, who were members of the elected Rada, and feared for his life, moved there. The subsequent oprichnina terror further weakened the Russian army.

1) Ivan the Terrible; 2) Stefan Batory

The formation of the Commonwealth

1569 - as a result of the Union of Lublin, Poland and Lithuania formed a single state of the Commonwealth (Republic) under the authority of the King of Poland. Now the Polish army came to the aid of the Lithuanian army.

1570 - the fighting in both Lithuania and Livonia intensified. To secure the Baltic lands, Ivan IV decided to create his own fleet. At the beginning of 1570, he issued a "letter of commendation" for the organization of a privateer (private) fleet, which acted on behalf of the Russian tsar, to the Dane Carsten Rode. Rode was able to arm several ships, and he caused significant damage to the Polish maritime trade. In order to have a reliable naval base, the Russian army in the same 1570 tried to capture Reval, thereby starting a war with Sweden. But the city freely received supplies from the sea, and Grozny was forced to lift the siege after 7 months. The Russian privateer fleet was never able to become a formidable force.

Third stage (1577-1583)

After a 7-year lull, in 1577, the 32,000-strong army of Ivan the Terrible undertook a new campaign to Revel. But this time the siege of the city did not bring anything. Then the Russian troops went to Riga, capturing Dinaburg, Wolmar and several other castles. But these successes were not decisive.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Polish front began to deteriorate. 1575 - an experienced military leader, the Transylvanian prince, was elected king of the Commonwealth. He was able to form a strong army, which also included German and Hungarian mercenaries. Batory concluded an alliance with Sweden, and in the fall of 1578 the combined Polish-Swedish army was able to defeat the 18,000-strong Russian army, which lost 6,000 people killed and captured and 17 guns.

By the beginning of the 1579 campaign, Stefan Batory and Ivan IV had approximately equal main armies of 40,000 men each. Terrible after the defeat at Wenden was not confident in his abilities and offered to start peace negotiations. But Batory rejected this proposal and launched an offensive against Polotsk. In the autumn, Polish troops laid siege to the city and, after a month-long siege, captured it. Rati governor Sheina and Sheremeteva, sent to the rescue of Polotsk, only reached the Sokol fortress. They did not dare to engage in battle with superior enemy forces. Soon the Poles also captured Sokol, defeating the troops of Sheremetev and Shein. The Russian tsar clearly did not have enough strength to successfully fight on two fronts at once - in Livonia and Lithuania. After the capture of Polotsk, the Poles took several cities in Smolensk and Seversk lands, and then returned to Lithuania.

1580 - Batory undertook a big campaign against Russia, he captured and ravaged the cities of Ostrov, Velizh and Velikiye Luki. Then the Swedish army under the command of Pontus Delagardi took the city of Korela and the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus.

1581 - the Swedish army captured Narva, and the next year they occupied Ivangorod, Yam and Koporye. Russian troops were expelled from Livonia. The fighting moved to the territory of Russia.

Siege of Pskov (August 18, 1581 – February 4, 1582)

1581 - 50,000 Polish troops led by the king laid siege to Pskov. It was a very strong fortress. The city, which stood on the right, high bank of the Velikaya River at the confluence of the Pskov River, was surrounded by a stone wall. It stretched for 10 km and had 37 towers and 48 gates. However, from the side of the Velikaya River, from where it was difficult to expect an enemy attack, the wall was wooden. Under the towers there were underground passages that provided covert communication between different sections of the defense. The city had significant stocks of food, weapons and ammunition.

Russian troops were dispersed over many points, from where an enemy invasion was expected. The tsar himself with a significant detachment stopped in Staritsa, not daring to meet the Polish army marching towards Pskov.

When the sovereign learned about the invasion of Stefan Batory, an army of Prince Ivan Shuisky, who was appointed "great governor", was sent to Pskov. 7 other governors were subordinate to him. All the inhabitants of Pskov and the garrison were sworn in that they would not surrender the city, but would fight to the end. The total number of Russian troops defending Pskov reached 25,000 people and was about half the size of Batory's army. By order of Shuisky, the surroundings of Pskov were devastated so that the enemy could not find food and food there.

Livonian War 1558-1583. Stefan Batory near Pskov

On August 18, Polish troops approached the city at a distance of 2–3 cannon shots. For a week, Batory conducted reconnaissance of the Russian fortifications and only on August 26 gave the order to his troops to approach the city. But the soldiers soon came under fire from Russian guns and retreated to the Cherekha River. There Batory set up a fortified camp.

The Poles began to dig trenches and set up tours to get closer to the walls of the fortress. On the night of September 4-5, they rolled rounds to the Pokrovskaya and Svinaya towers on the southern face of the walls and, placing 20 guns, from the morning of September 6, they began to fire at both towers and 150 m of the wall between them. By the evening of September 7, the towers were badly damaged, and a breach 50 meters wide was formed in the wall. However, the besieged managed to build a new wooden wall against the breach.

On September 8, the Polish army launched an assault. The attackers were able to capture both damaged towers. But with shots from the big gun "Bars", capable of sending cores over a distance of more than 1 km, the Pig Tower occupied by the Poles was destroyed. Then the Russians blew up its ruins, rolling up barrels of gunpowder. The explosion served as a signal for a counterattack, led by Shuisky himself. The Poles could not hold the Pokrovskaya Tower either - and retreated.

After an unsuccessful assault, Batory ordered to conduct tunnels to blow up the walls. The Russians were able to destroy two tunnels with the help of mine galleries, the enemy could not finish the rest. On October 24, Polish batteries began shelling Pskov from across the Velikaya River with red-hot cannonballs to start fires, but the city's defenders quickly coped with the fire. After 4 days, a Polish detachment with crowbars and pickaxes approached the wall from the Velikaya side between the corner tower and the Pokrovsky Gate and destroyed the sole of the wall. It collapsed, but it turned out that behind this wall there is another wall and a ditch that the Poles could not overcome. The besieged threw stones and pots of gunpowder on their heads, poured boiling water and pitch.

On November 2, the Poles launched the last assault on Pskov. This time Batory's army attacked the western wall. Prior to that, for 5 days it was subjected to powerful shelling and in several places it was destroyed. However, the Russians met the enemy with heavy fire, and the Poles turned back, never reaching the breaches.

By that time, the morale of the besiegers had fallen noticeably. However, the besieged experienced considerable difficulties. The main forces of the Russian army in Staritsa, Novgorod and Rzhev were inactive. Only two detachments of archers of 600 people each tried to break into Pskov, but more than half of them died or were captured.

On November 6, Batory removed the guns from the batteries, stopped siege work and began to prepare for the winter. At the same time, he sent detachments of Germans and Hungarians to capture the Pskov-Caves Monastery, 60 km from Pskov, but the garrison of 300 archers, supported by monks, successfully repulsed two attacks, and the enemy was forced to retreat.

Stefan Batory, having made sure that he could not take Pskov, in November handed over command to Hetman Zamoysky, and he himself went to Vilna, taking with him almost all the mercenaries. As a result, the number of Polish troops almost halved - to 26,000 people. The besiegers suffered from cold and disease, the death toll and desertion increased.

Results and consequences

Under these conditions, Bathory agreed to a ten-year truce. It was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky on January 15, 1582. Russia renounced all its conquests in Livonia, and the Poles liberated the Russian cities they had occupied.

1583 - the Treaty of Plyus was signed with Sweden. Yam, Koporye and Ivangorod passed to the Swedes. For Russia there was only a small section of the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Neva. But in 1590, after the expiration of the truce, hostilities between the Russians and the Swedes resumed and this time they were successful for the Russians. As a result, according to the Tyavzinsky Treaty on "eternal peace", Russia regained Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korelsky district. But that was only small consolation. In general, Ivan IV's attempt to gain a foothold in the Baltic failed.

At the same time, sharp contradictions between Poland and Sweden on the issue of control over Livonia facilitated the position of the Russian tsar, excluding a joint Polish-Swedish invasion of Russia. The resources of Poland alone, as the experience of Batory's campaign against Pskov showed, were clearly not enough to capture and hold a significant territory of the Muscovite kingdom. At the same time, the Livonian War showed that Sweden and Poland in the east had a formidable enemy to be reckoned with.

In parallel with the internal breakdown and struggle, from 1558 there was a stubborn struggle near Grozny for the Baltic coast. The Baltic issue was at that time one of the most difficult international problems. Many Baltic states argued for dominance in the Baltic, and Moscow's efforts to stand on the seashore with a firm foot raised Sweden, Poland, and Germany against the "Muscovites". It must be admitted that Grozny chose a good moment to intervene in the struggle. Livonia, on which he directed his blow, represented at that time, according to an apt expression, a country of antagonisms. There was a centuries-old tribal struggle between the Germans and the natives of the region - Latvians, Livs and Estonians. This struggle often took the form of an acute social clash between the newcomer feudal lords and the native serf masses. With the development of the Reformation in Germany, religious ferment also spread to Livonia, preparing for the secularization of the order's possessions. Finally, all other antagonisms were joined by a political one: between the authorities of the Order and the Archbishop of Riga there was a chronic strife for supremacy, and at the same time there was a constant struggle between the cities for independence. Livonia, in the words of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, "was a miniature repetition of the Empire without the unifying power of Caesar." The disintegration of Livonia did not hide from Grozny. Moscow demanded that Livonia recognize its dependence and threatened to conquer it. The question of the so-called Yuryev (Derpt) tribute was raised. From the local obligation of the city of Dorpat to pay a "duty" or tribute to the Grand Duke for something, Moscow made a pretext for establishing its patronage over Livonia, and then for war. In two years (1558-1560) Livonia was defeated by Moscow troops and disintegrated. In order not to surrender to the hated Muscovites, Livonia succumbed in parts to other neighbors: Livonia was annexed to Lithuania, Estonia to Sweden, Fr. Ezel - to Denmark, and Courland was secularized in fief dependence on the Polish king. Lithuania and Sweden demanded from Grozny that he cleared their new possessions. Grozny did not want to, and thus, the Livonian war from 1560 turns into the Lithuanian and Swedish wars.

This war dragged on for a long time. At first, Grozny had great success in Lithuania: in 1563 he took Polotsk, and his troops reached Vilna itself. In 1565–1566 Lithuania was ready for an honorable peace for Grozny and conceded to Moscow all its acquisitions. But the Zemsky Sobor of 1566 spoke in favor of continuing the war with a view to further land acquisitions: they wanted all of Livonia and the Polotsk povet to the city of Polotsk. The war continued sluggishly. With the death of the last Jagiellon (1572), when Moscow and Lithuania were in a truce, even Grozny's candidacy for the throne of Lithuania and Poland, united in the Commonwealth, arose. But this candidacy was not successful: first Heinrich of Valois was elected, and then (1576) the Prince of Semigrad Stefan Batory (in Moscow "Obatur"). With the advent of Batory, the picture of the war changed. Lithuania moved from defense to offensive. Batory took Polotsk from Grozny (1579), then Velikie Luki (1580) and, bringing the war within the Muscovite state, laid siege to Pskov (1581). Grozny was defeated not only because Batory had military talent and a good army, but also because by this time Grozny had run out of means of waging war. As a result of the internal crisis that hit the Muscovite state and society at that time, the country, in a modern expression, "was exhausted into the wasteland and came to desolation." The properties and significance of this crisis will be discussed below; now let us note that the same lack of manpower and means paralyzed Grozny's success against the Swedes in Estonia as well.

Siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory in 1581. Painting by Karl Bryullov, 1843

The failure of Bathory near Pskov, which heroically defended itself, allowed Grozny, through the intermediary of the papal ambassador, the Jesuit Possevin (Antonius Possevinus), to begin peace negotiations. In 1582, a peace was concluded (more precisely, a truce for 10 years) with Batory, to whom Grozny conceded all his conquests in Livonia and Lithuania, and in 1583 Grozny also made peace with Sweden on the fact that he ceded Estland to her and, moreover, his own lands from Narova to Lake Ladoga along the coast of the Gulf of Finland (Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye, Oreshek, Korelu). Thus the struggle, which dragged on for a quarter of a century, ended in complete failure. The reasons for the failure are, of course, in the discrepancy between Moscow's forces and the goal set by Grozny. But this discrepancy was revealed later than Grozny began the struggle: Moscow began to decline only from the 70s of the 16th century. Until then, its forces seemed enormous not only to Moscow patriots, but also to the enemies of Moscow. The performance of Grozny in the struggle for the Baltic coast, the appearance of Russian troops at the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland and hired Moscow marques on the Baltic waters struck Central Europe. In Germany, the "Muscovites" were presented as a terrible enemy; the danger of their invasion was indicated not only in the official communications of the authorities, but also in the vast flying literature of leaflets and pamphlets. Measures were taken to prevent either the Muscovites from going to the sea or the Europeans from entering Moscow, and by separating Moscow from the centers of European culture, to prevent its political strengthening. In this agitation against Moscow and Grozny, many unreliable things were concocted about Moscow's morals and Grozny's despotism, and a serious historian must always keep in mind the danger of repeating political slander, of mistaking it for an objective historical source.

To what is said about the policy of Grozny and the events of his time, it is necessary to add a mention of the very well-known fact of the appearance of English ships at the mouths of the S. Dvina and the beginning of trade relations with England (1553-1554), as well as the conquest of the Siberian kingdom by a detachment of Stroganov Cossacks with Yermak at the head (1582–1584). Both that and another for Grozny was an accident; but the Moscow government managed to take advantage of both. In 1584, at the mouth of the S. Dvina, Arkhangelsk was established as a seaport for fair trade with the British, and the British were given the opportunity to trade in the entire Russian north, which they very quickly and clearly studied. In those same years, the occupation of Western Siberia began already by the forces of the government, and not by the Stroganovs alone, and in Siberia many cities were set up with the "capital" Tobolsk at the head.

(before 1569)
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (since 1569)
Kingdom of Sweden
Danish-Norwegian union Commanders

Ivan the Terrible Magnus Livonian

Gotthard Ketler Sigismund II August † Stefan Batory Eric XIV † Johan III Frederick II

the date
Place	territories of modern Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and North-Western Russia
Outcome	victory of the Commonwealth and Sweden
Changes	annexation of parts of Livonia and Velizh to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; to Sweden - parts of Estonia, Ingria and Karelia

Battles:
Narva (1558) - Derpt - Ringen - Tiersen - Ermes - Fellin - Nevel - Polotsk (1563) - Chashniki (1564) - Ezerishche - Chashniki (1567) - Revel (1570) - Lode - Pärnu - Revel (1577) - Weisenstein - Wenden - Polotsk (1579) - Sokol - Rzhev - Velikiye Luki - Toropets - Nastasino - Zavolochye - Padis - Shklov - Narva (1581) - Radziwill's Raid - Pskov - Lyalitsy - Oreshek Treaties:

Livonian War

The war of Moscow Russia against the Livonian Order, the Polish-Lithuanian state, Sweden and Denmark for hegemony in the Baltic. In addition to Livonia, the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible hoped to conquer the East Slavic lands that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In November 1557, he concentrated a 40,000-strong army in Novgorod to march into the Livonian lands. In December, this army, under the command of the Tatar prince Shig-Aley, Prince Glinsky and other governors, moved to Pskov. The auxiliary army of Prince Shestunov at that time began hostilities from the Ivangorod region at the mouth of the Narva (Narova) River. In January 1558, the tsarist army approached Yuryev (Derpt), but could not take it. Then part of the Russian troops turned towards Riga, and the main forces headed for Narva (Rugodiv), where they joined up with Shestunov's army. There was a lull in the fighting. Only the garrisons of Ivangorod and Narva fired at each other. On May 11, Russians from Ivangorod attacked the Narva fortress and captured it the next day.

Soon after the capture of Narva, Russian troops under the command of the voivode Adashev, Zabolotsky and Zamytsky and the duma clerk Voronin were ordered to capture the fortress of Syrensk. On June 2, the regiments were under its walls. Adashev set up barriers on the Riga and Kolyvan roads in order to prevent the main forces of the Livonians under the command of the Master of the Order from reaching Syrensk. On June 5, large reinforcements from Novgorod approached Adashev, which the besieged saw. On the same day, artillery shelling of the fortress began. The next day the garrison surrendered.

From Syrensk, Adashev returned to Pskov, where the entire Russian army was concentrated. In mid-June, it took the fortresses of Neuhausen and Dorpat. The entire north of Livonia was under Russian control. The army of the Order was inferior in number to the Russians by several times and, moreover, was scattered over separate garrisons. It could not oppose anything to the army of the Tsar. Until October 1558, Russian rati in Livonia captured 20 castles.

In January 1559, Russian troops wenttrip to Riga . Near Tirzen they defeated the Livonian army, and near Riga they burned the Livonian fleet. Although it was not possible to capture the Riga fortress, 11 more Livonian castles were taken. The Master of the Order was forced to conclude a truce before the end of 1559. By November of this year, the Livonians managed to recruit landsknechts in Germany and resume the war. However, failures continued to haunt them. In January 1560, the army of governor Borboshin took the fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin. The Livonian Order as a military force practically ceased to exist. In 1561, the last master of the Livonian Order, Kettler, recognized himself as a vassal of the Polish king and divided Livonia between Poland and Sweden (Ezel Island went to Denmark). The Poles got Livonia and Courland (Kettler became the Duke of the latter), the Swedes got Estland.

Poland and Sweden demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Livonia.Ivan the Terrible not only did not fulfill this requirement, but also invaded the territory of Lithuania, allied to Poland, at the end of 1562. His army numbered 33407 people. The purpose of the campaign was the well-fortified Polotsk. On February 15, 1563, the city, unable to withstand the fire of 200 Russian guns, capitulated. Ivan's army moved to Vilna. The Lithuanians were forced to conclude a truce until 1564. When the war resumed, Russian troops occupied almost the entire territory of Belarus. However, the repressions that began against the leaders of the "chosen council" - the actual government until the end of the 50s, had a negative impact on the combat capability of the Russian army. Many governors and nobles, fearing reprisals, preferred to flee to Lithuania. In the same 1564, one of the most prominent voivodes, PrinceAndrey Kurbsky , close to the Adashev brothers, who were members of the elected council, and feared for his life. The subsequent oprichnina terror further weakened the Russian army.

In 1569, as a result of the Union of Lublin, Poland and Lithuania formed a single state, the Commonwealth (Republic), under the leadership of the Polish king. Now Polish troops came to the aid of the Lithuanian army. In 1570, hostilities both in Lithuania and Livonia intensified. To secure the Baltic lands, Ivan the Terrible decided to createown fleet . At the beginning of 1570, he issued a "letter of commendation" for the organization of a privateer (private) fleet, acting on behalf of the Russian Tsar, to the Dane Carsten Rode. Roda managed to arm several ships, and he caused significant damage to the Polish maritime trade. In order to have a reliable naval base, in the same 1570, Russian troops tried to capture Reval, thereby starting a war with Sweden. However, the city freely received supplies from the sea, and Ivan had to lift the siege after seven months. The Russian privateer fleet never became a formidable force.

After a seven-year lull, in 1577, the 32,000-strong army of Tsar Ivan undertook a newtrip to Revel . However, this time the siege of the city was not successful. Then the Russian troops went to Riga, capturing Dinaburg, Wolmar and several other castles. However, these successes were not decisive.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Polish front worsened. In 1575, an experienced military leader, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory, was elected king of the Commonwealth. He managed to form a strong army, which also included German and Hungarian mercenaries. Batory concluded an alliance with Sweden, and in the fall of 1578 the combined Polish-Swedish army defeated the 18,000-strong Russian army, which lost 6,000 people killed and captured and 17 guns.

By the beginning of the 1579 campaign, Stefan Batory and Ivan the Terrible had main armies of about 40,000 men, approximately equal in number. The Russian tsar, after the defeat at Wenden, was not confident in his abilities and offered to start peace negotiations. However, Batory rejected this proposal and launched an offensive against Polotsk. In autumn, the Polish army laid siege to the city and after a month-long siege captured it. Rati governor Sheina and Sheremeteva, sent to the rescue of Polotsk, only reached the Sokol fortress. They did not dare to engage in battle with superior enemy forces. Soon the Poles also captured Sokol, defeating the troops of Sheremetev and Shein. Ivan the Terrible clearly did not have enough strength to successfully fight on two fronts at once - in Livonia and Lithuania. After the capture of Polotsk, the Poles took several cities in Smolensk and Seversk lands, and then returned to Lithuania.

In 1580, Batory undertook a large campaign against Russia, capturing and ruining the cities of Ostrov, Velizh and Velikiye Luki. At the same time, the Swedish army under the command of Pontus Delagardi captured the city of Korela and the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus. In 1581, Swedish troops captured Narva, and the following year they occupied Ivangorod, Yam and Koporye. Russian troops were expelled from Livonia. The fighting was transferred to the territory of Russia.

In September 1581, a 50,000-strong Polish army led by the king laid siege to Pskov. It was a very strong fortress. The city, which stood on the right, high bank of the Velikaya River at the confluence of the Pskov River, was surrounded by a stone wall. It stretched for 10 km and had 37 towers and 48 gates. True, from the side of the Velikaya River, from where it was difficult to expect an enemy attack, the wall was wooden. Under the towers there were underground passages that provided covert communication between various defense sectors. The upper tiers of the towers were also connected by passages. The height of the walls was 6.5 m, and the thickness was from 4 to 6 m, which made them invulnerable to the then artillery. Inside the Great Walls there was the Middle City, also surrounded by walls, in the Middle City - the fortified Dovmont city, and in the Dovmont city - the stone Kremlin. Above the level of the Velikaya River, the walls of the city of Dovmont rose 10 m, and the Kremlin - 17 m, which made these fortifications almost impregnable. The city had significant stocks of food, weapons and ammunition.

The Russian army was dispersed over many points, from where an enemy invasion was expected. The tsar himself, with a considerable gradual detachment, stopped in Staritsa, not daring to meet the Polish army marching towards Pskov.

When the tsar learned about the invasion of Stefan Batory, the army of Prince Ivan Shuisky, who was appointed "great commander", was sent to Pskov. Seven other governors were subordinate to him. All the inhabitants of Pskov and the garrison were sworn in that they would not surrender the city, but would fight to the last drop of blood. The total number of Russian troops defending Pskov reached 25 thousand people and was about half the size of Batory's army. By order of Shuisky, the surroundings of Pskov were devastated so that the enemy could not find food and food there.

On August 18, the Polish army approached the city at a distance of 2-3 cannon shots. During the week, Batory conducted reconnaissance of the Russian fortifications and only on August 26 ordered his army to approach the city. However, the soldiers soon came under fire from Russian guns and retreated to the Cherekha River. Here Batory set up a fortified camp.
The Poles began to dig trenches and set up tours to get closer to the walls of the fortress. On the night of September 4-5, they rolled rounds to the Pokrovskaya and Svinaya towers on the southern face of the walls and, placing 20 guns, on the morning of September 6, they began to fire at both towers and 150 m of the wall between them. By the evening of September 7, the towers were badly damaged, and a breach 50 meters wide was formed in the wall. But the besieged managed to build a new wooden wall against the breach.

On September 8, Polish troops launched an assault. The attackers managed to capture both damaged towers. However, shots from a large cannon "Bars", capable of sending cannonballs over a distance of more than one kilometer, the Pig Tower occupied by the Poles was destroyed. Then the Russians blew up its ruins, rolling up barrels of gunpowder. The explosion served as a signal for a counterattack, led by Shuisky himself. The enemy could not hold the Pokrovskaya Tower - and retreated.

After the failure of the assault, Batory ordered digging to blow up the walls. The Russians managed to destroy two tunnels with the help of mine galleries, the rest of the Poles could not be completed. On October 24, Polish batteries began to fire at Pskov from across the Velikaya River with red-hot cannonballs to start fires, but the city's defenders quickly put out the fire. Four days later, a Polish detachment with crowbars and pickaxes approached the wall from the Velikaya side between the corner tower and the Pokrovsky Gate and destroyed the base of the wall. It collapsed, but it turned out that behind this wall there is another wall and a ditch that the Poles could not overcome. The besieged threw stones and pots of gunpowder on their heads, poured boiling water and pitch.

On November 2, Batory's army launched the last assault on Pskov. This time the Poles attacked the western wall. Prior to that, for five days it was subjected to heavy shelling and was destroyed in several places. However, the defenders of Pskov met the enemy with heavy fire, and the Poles turned back, never reaching the breaches.

By that time, the morale of the besiegers had fallen noticeably. But the besieged also experienced considerable difficulties. The main forces of the Russian army in Staritsa, Novgorod and Rzhev were inactive. Only two detachments of archers of 600 people each tried to break into Pskov, but more than half of them died or were captured.

On November 6, Batory removed the guns from the batteries, stopped siege work and began to prepare for the winter. At the same time, he sent detachments of Germans and Hungarians to capture the Pskov-Caves Monastery, 60 km from Pskov, but the garrison of 300 archers, supported by monks, successfully repulsed two attacks, and the enemy was forced to retreat.

Stefan Batory, having made sure that he could not take Pskov, in November handed over command to Hetman Zamoysky, and he left for Vilna, taking with him almost all the mercenaries. As a result, the number of Polish troops decreased by almost half - to 26 thousand people. The besiegers suffered from cold and disease, the death toll and desertion increased. Under these conditions, Bathory agreed to a ten-year truce. It was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky on January 15, 1582. Russia renounced all its conquests in Livonia, and the Poles liberated the Russian cities they had occupied.

In 1583 it was signedPlus Armistice with Sweden. Yam, Koporye and Ivangorod passed to the Swedes. For Russia there was only a small section of the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Neva. However, in 1590, after the expiration of the truce, hostilities between the Russians and the Swedes resumed and this time were successful for Moscow. As a result, according to the Tyavzinsky treaty on "eternal peace", Russia regained Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korelsky district. But that was only small consolation. In general, Ivan the Terrible's attempt to gain a foothold in the Baltic failed.

At the same time, sharp contradictions between Poland and Sweden on the issue of control over Livonia facilitated the position of the Russian tsar, excluding a joint Polish-Swedish invasion of Russia. The resources of Poland alone, as the experience of Batory's campaign against Pskov showed, were clearly not enough to capture and hold a significant territory of the Muscovite kingdom. SimultaneouslyLivonian War showed that Sweden and Poland in the east had a formidable enemy that had to be seriously reckoned with.