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 begins. 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.

Livonian War(1558–1583), the war of the Muscovite state with the Livonian Order, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (then the Commonwealth) and Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea.

The reason for the war was the desire of the Muscovite state to take possession of convenient harbors on the Baltic Sea and establish direct trade relations with Western Europe. In July 1557, by order of Ivan IV (1533–1584), a harbor was built on the right bank of the border Narova; the tsar also forbade Russian merchants to trade in the Livonian ports of Revel (modern Tallinn) and Narva. The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the non-payment by the Order of the “Yuriev tribute” (a tax that the Derpt (Yuriev) bishopric undertook to pay Moscow under the Russian-Livonian treaty of 1554).

First period of the war (1558–1561). In January 1558 the Moscow regiments crossed the border of Livonia. In the spring and summer of 1558, the northern grouping of Russian troops, which invaded Estonia (modern Northern Estonia), captured Narva, defeated the Livonian knights near Wesenberg (modern Rakvere), captured the fortress and reached Revel, and the southern group, which entered Livonia (modern Southern Estonia and Northern Latvia), took Neuhausen and Dorpat (modern Tartu). At the beginning of 1559, the Russians moved to the south of Livonia, captured Marienhausen and Tirzen, defeated the detachments of the Archbishop of Riga, and penetrated Courland and Semigallia. However, in May 1559, Moscow, on the initiative of A.F. Adashev, the leader of the anti-Crimean party at court, concluded a truce with the Order in order to send forces against the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray (1551–1577). Taking advantage of the respite, the Grand Master of the Order G.Ketler (1559–1561) signed an agreement with the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus (1529–1572) recognizing his protectorate over Livonia. In October 1559 hostilities resumed: the knights defeated the Russians near Derpt, but could not take the fortress.

The disgrace of A.F.Adasheva led to a change in the foreign policy course. Ivan IV made peace with Crimea and concentrated forces against Livonia. In February 1560, Russian troops launched an offensive in Livonia: they captured Marienburg (modern Aluksne), defeated the army of the Order near Ermes and captured Fellin Castle (modern Viljandi), the residence of the Grand Master. But after the unsuccessful siege of Weissenstein (modern Paide), the Russian offensive slowed down. Nevertheless, the entire eastern part of Estonia and Livonia was in their hands.

In the conditions of the military defeats of the Order, Denmark and Sweden intervened in the struggle for Livonia. In 1559, Duke Magnus, brother of the Danish king Fredrik II (1559-1561), acquired the rights (as a bishop) to the island of Ezel (modern Saaremaa) and in April 1560 took possession of it. In June 1561, the Swedes captured Revel and occupied Northern Estonia. On October 25 (November 5), 1561, Grand Master G. Ketler signed the Vilna Treaty with Sigismund II Augustus, according to which the Order’s possessions north of the Western Dvina (Zadvinsky Duchy) became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the territories to the south (Courland and Zemgalia) formed a vassal duchy from Sigismund, whose throne was occupied by G. Ketler. In February 1562 Riga was declared a free city. The Livonian Order ceased to exist.

Second period of the war (1562–1578). To prevent the emergence of a broad anti-Russian coalition, Ivan IV concluded an alliance treaty with Denmark and a twenty-year truce with Sweden. This allowed him to gather forces to strike at Lithuania. In early February 1563, the tsar at the head of an army of thirty thousand besieged Polotsk, which opened the way to the Lithuanian capital Vilna, and on February 15 (24) forced its garrison to capitulate. Russian-Lithuanian negotiations began in Moscow, which, however, did not yield results due to the refusal of the Lithuanians to fulfill the demand of Ivan IV to clear the areas of Livonia occupied by them. In January 1564 hostilities resumed. Russian troops tried to launch an offensive deep into Lithuanian territory (to Minsk), but were defeated twice - on the Ulla River in the Polotsk region (January 1564) and near Orsha (July 1564). At the same time, the campaign of the Lithuanians against Polotsk ended unsuccessfully in the autumn of 1564.

After the Crimean Khan violated the peace treaty with Ivan IV in the autumn of 1564, the Muscovite state had to fight on two fronts; hostilities in Lithuania and Livonia took on a protracted character. In the summer of 1566, the tsar convened a Zemsky Sobor to resolve the issue of continuing the Livonian War; its participants spoke in favor of its continuation and rejected the idea of ​​peace with Lithuania by ceding Smolensk and Polotsk to it. Moscow began rapprochement with Sweden; in 1567 Ivan IV signed an agreement with King Eric XIV (1560–1568) to lift the Swedish blockade of Narva. However, the overthrow of Eric XIV in 1568 and the accession of the pro-Polish minded Johan III (1568–1592) led to the dissolution of the Russian-Swedish alliance. The foreign policy position of the Muscovite state worsened even more as a result of the creation in June 1569 (Unia of Lublin) of a single Polish-Lithuanian state - the Commonwealth - and the start of a large-scale offensive of the Tatars and Turks in southern Russia (a campaign against Astrakhan in the summer of 1569).

Having secured himself from the Commonwealth by concluding a three-year truce with it in 1570, Ivan IV decided to strike at the Swedes, relying on the help of Denmark; to this end, he formed a vassal Livonian kingdom from the Baltic lands he captured, headed by Magnus of Denmark, who married the royal niece. But the Russian-Danish troops could not take Reval, an outpost of the Swedish possessions in the Baltic, and Fredrik II signed a peace treaty with Johan III (1570). Then the king tried to get Revel through diplomacy. However, after the burning of Moscow by the Tatars in May 1571, the Swedish government refused to negotiate; At the end of 1572, Russian troops invaded Swedish Livonia and captured Weissenstein.

In 1572, Sigismund II died, and a period of long “royallessness” (1572–1576) began in the Commonwealth. Part of the gentry even nominated Ivan IV as a candidate for the vacant throne, but the tsar preferred to support the Austrian pretender Maximilian Habsburg; an agreement was concluded with the Habsburgs on the division of the Commonwealth, according to which Moscow was to receive Lithuania, and Austria - Poland. However, these plans did not come true: in the struggle for the throne, Maximilian was defeated by the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory.

The defeat of the Tatars near the village of Molodi (near Serpukhov) in the summer of 1572 and the temporary cessation of their raids on the southern Russian regions made it possible to send forces against the Swedes in the Baltic. As a result of the campaigns of 1575–1576, the Russians captured the ports of Pernov (modern Pärnu) and Gapsal (modern Haapsalu) and established control over the western coast between Revel and Riga. But the next siege of Reval (December 1576 - March 1577) again ended in failure.

After the election of the anti-Russian Stefan Batory (1576–1586) as the Polish king, Ivan IV unsuccessfully proposed to the German emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg (1572–1612) to conclude a military-political pact against the Commonwealth (Moscow embassy to Regensburg 1576); negotiations with Elizabeth I (1558–1603) on an Anglo-Russian alliance (1574–1576) also turned out to be fruitless. In the summer of 1577, Moscow last tried to solve the Livonian issue by military means, launching an offensive in Latgale (modern southeast Latvia) and Southern Livonia: Rezhitsa (modern Rezekne), Dinaburg (modern Daugavpils), Kokenhausen (modern Koknese) were taken , Wenden (modern Cesis), Wolmar (modern Valmiera) and many small castles; by the autumn of 1577, all of Livonia up to the Western Dvina was in the hands of the Russians, except for Revel and Riga. However, these successes were temporary. The very next year, the Polish-Lithuanian detachments recaptured Dinaburg and Wenden; Russian troops tried twice to recapture Wenden, but were ultimately defeated by the combined forces of Bathory and the Swedes.

Third period of the war (1579–1583). Stefan Batory managed to overcome the international isolation of the Commonwealth; in 1578 he concluded an anti-Russian alliance with the Crimea and the Ottoman Empire; Magnus of Denmark went over to his side; he was supported by Brandenburg and Saxony. Planning an invasion of Russian lands, the king carried out a military reform and raised a significant army. In early August 1579, Batory laid siege to Polotsk and on August 31 (September 9) took it by storm. In September, the Swedes blockaded Narva, but failed to capture it.

In the spring of 1580, the Tatars resumed raids on Russia, which forced the tsar to transfer part of his military forces to the southern border. In the summer - autumn of 1580, Batory undertook his second campaign against the Russians: he captured Velizh, Usvyat and Velikiye Luki and defeated the army of the governor V.D. Khilkov at Toropets; however, the Lithuanian attack on Smolensk was repulsed. The Swedes invaded Karelia and in November captured the Korela fortress on Lake Ladoga. Military failures prompted Ivan IV to turn to the Commonwealth with a peace proposal, promising to cede all of Livonia to it, with the exception of Narva; but Batory demanded the transfer of Narva and the payment of a huge indemnity. In the summer of 1581, Batory began his third campaign: having occupied Opochka and Ostrov, at the end of August he laid siege to Pskov; a five-month siege of the city, during which thirty-one assaults were repulsed by its defenders, ended in complete failure. However, the concentration of all Russian troops to repel the Polish-Lithuanian invasion allowed the Swedish commander-in-chief P. Delagardie to launch a successful offensive on the southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland: on September 9 (18), 1581, he took Narva; then Ivangorod, Yam and Koporye fell.

Realizing the impossibility of fighting on two fronts, Ivan IV again tried to reach an agreement with Bathory in order to direct all forces against the Swedes; at the same time, the defeat near Pskov and the aggravation of contradictions with Sweden after the capture of Narva by it softened the anti-Russian sentiments at the Polish court. On January 15 (24), 1582, in the village of Kiverova Gora near Zampolsky Yam, through the mediation of the papal representative A. Possevino, a ten-year Russian-Polish truce was signed, according to which the tsar ceded to the Commonwealth all his possessions in Livonia and the Velizh district; for its part, the Commonwealth returned the captured Russian cities of Velikie Luki, Nevel, Sebezh, Opochka, Kholm, Izborsk (Yam-Zampolsky truce).

In February 1582, Russian troops moved against the Swedes and defeated them near the village of Lyalitsa near Yam, but because of the threat of a new invasion of the Crimean Tatars and the pressure of Polish-Lithuanian diplomacy, Moscow had to abandon plans to attack Narva. In the autumn of 1582, P. Delagardie launched an attack on Oreshek and Ladoga, intending to cut off the routes between Novgorod and Lake Ladoga. On September 8 (17), 1582, he laid siege to Oreshek, but in November he was forced to lift the siege. The invasion of the Great Nogai Horde in the Volga region and the anti-Russian uprising of the local peoples forced Ivan IV to enter into peace negotiations with Sweden. In August 1583, a three-year truce was concluded, according to which the Swedes kept Narva, Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye and Korela with counties; The Muscovite state retained only a small section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva. Livonian wars, its consequences and their significance for ... the chronology of the military events of those years. Causes Livonian wars Livonian war became, in a way, "the cause of the whole ...

Livonian war, its political meaning and consequences

Abstract >> History

INTRODUCTION -2- 1. Background Livonian wars-3- 2. Move wars -4- 2.1. War with Livonian confederation -5- 2.2. The truce of 1559 -8- 2.3. War with the Grand Duchy ... This miscalculation was due to a number of reasons. Serious pressure was put on Moscow ...

Livonian war (3)

Abstract >> History

This miscalculation was due to reasons. Serious pressure was put on Moscow ... the capture of Polotsk in Russia's successes in Livonian war there has been a decline. Already in 1564, the Russians ... the environs of Yaroslavl. At the end of Livonian wars Sweden decided to oppose Russia...

Causes and the consequences of the Time of Troubles for Russia

Abstract >> History

Tasks: - identify the prerequisites and causes the occurrence of Troubles; - consider... Zueva M.N., Apalkova V.S. 1. Background and causes the origin of the Time of Troubles The roots of the Time of Troubles... the peasants were deprived of this right. Livonian war and the oprichnina led to economic ...

Livonian War
	The struggle of Russia, Sweden, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the "Livonian heritage"
	Victory of the Commonwealth and Sweden
Territorial changes:	Annexation by the Commonwealth of Velizh and Livonia; Swedish annexation of Ingria and Karelia
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)
	Army Zaporozhye (1568-1582)
	Rzeczpospolita (1569-1582)
Commanders
Ivan IV the Terrible Khan Shah Ali King of Livonia Magnus in 1570-1577	Former King Magnus after 1577 Stefan Batory	Frederick II

Livonian War(1558-1583) was fought by the Russian Kingdom for the territories in the Baltic and access to the Baltic Sea in order to break the blockade from 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 possibilities of Russian merchants. In particular, all trade exchange with Europe could be carried out only through the Livonian ports of Riga, Lindanise (Revel), Narva, and it was possible to transport goods only on the 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 case), receiving the assistance of Hansa, Poland, Sweden and the German imperial authorities in this.

In 1503, Ivan III concluded a truce with the Livonian Confederation for 50 years, according to which it had to annually pay tribute (the so-called "Yuryev tribute") for the city of Yuryev (Derpt), which previously belonged to Novgorod. Treaties between Moscow and Derpt in the 16th century traditionally referred to the "Yuryev tribute", but in fact it had long been forgotten. When the truce expired, during the negotiations in 1554, Ivan IV demanded the return of arrears, the refusal 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 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 set up a port on the banks of the Narva ( “The same year, July, a city was set up from the German Ust-Narova River Rozsen by the sea for the shelter of a sea ship”). 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 the Livonian ports.

The course of the war

By the beginning of the war, the Livonian Confederation was weakened by a defeat in a 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 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. It was attended by 40 thousand people under the command of Khan Shig-Aley (Shah-Ali), governor of Glinsky and Zakharyin-Yuriev. They passed 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 the due tribute from Livonia. The Livonian Landtag decided to collect 60 thousand thalers for settlement with Moscow in order to stop the outbreak of war. However, by May, only half of the amount claimed had been collected. In addition, the Narva garrison fired on the Ivangorod fortress, which violated the ceasefire agreement.

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

Governors Aleksey Basmanov and Danila Adashev arrived in Ivangorod. In April 1558, Russian troops laid siege to Narva. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the command of the knight Focht 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 an Orthodox icon of the Virgin into the fire). Taking advantage of the fact that the guards left the city walls, the Russians rushed to the assault. They broke through the gates and took possession of the lower city. Having seized the guns located there, the warriors deployed them and opened fire on the upper castle, preparing the stairs for the attack. However, the defenders of the castle themselves surrendered by the evening, on the terms of a free exit from the city.

The defense of the Neuhausen fortress distinguished itself with particular perseverance. She was defended by several hundred soldiers led by the knight von Padenorm, who for almost a month repelled the onslaught of the governor Peter Shuisky. 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 keep the defense here, but the surviving defenders of the fortress refused to continue senseless resistance. As a sign of respect for their courage, Peter Shuisky allowed them to leave the fortress with honor.

In July, P. Shuisky laid siege to Dorpat. The city was defended by a garrison of 2,000 men under the command of Bishop Hermann Weiland. Having built a shaft at the level of the fortress walls and installing guns on it, on July 11, Russian artillery began shelling the city. The cores pierced the tiles of the roofs of houses, filling up the inhabitants who were hiding there. On July 15, P. Shuisky offered Weiland to surrender. While he thought, the bombardment 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 its former administration for its inhabitants. July 18, 1558 Dorpat capitulated. The troops were stationed in abandoned houses. In one of them, the warriors found 80 thousand thalers in a cache. The Livonian historian bitterly narrates that, because of their greed, the Derptians 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 protect the Livonian Confederation.

In May-October 1558, Russian troops took 20 fortress cities, including those that voluntarily surrendered and became subjects of the Russian Tsar, after which they went to their winter quarters, leaving small garrisons in the cities. The new energetic master Gotthard Ketler took advantage of this. Gathering 10,000 army, he decided to return the 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 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, the Germans managed to take the fortress by storm. The entire garrison was killed. Having lost a fifth of his troops near Ringen (2 thousand people) and spending more than a month on the siege of 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, the prince-voivode Serebryany at the head of the army entered Livonia. The Livonian army under the command of the knight Felkenzam came out to meet him. On January 17, at the Battle of Terzen, the Germans were completely defeated. Felkenzam and 400 knights (not counting ordinary soldiers) died in this battle, the rest were captured or fled. This victory opened wide the gates to Livonia for the Russians. They freely passed through the lands of the Livonian Confederation, captured 11 cities and reached Riga, where they burned the Riga fleet on the Dyunamun raid. Then Courland lay on the path of the Russian army and, having passed it, they reached the Prussian border. In February, the army returned home with huge booty and a large number of 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, which had their own views on the Livonian lands. From March 1559, the Lithuanian ambassadors urged Ivan IV to stop hostilities in Livonia, otherwise threatening to take the side of the Livonian Confederation. Soon, the Swedish and Danish ambassadors addressed with requests to stop the war.

With its invasion of Livonia, Russia also affected the trade interests of a number of European states. Trade on the Baltic Sea then grew from year to year and the question of who would control it was relevant. Reval merchants, having 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 go past our city to the Russians in Narva».

In addition, the presence of Russians in Livonia affected the complex and intricate 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 here, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him ... military experts come, through which he acquires the means to defeat everyone ...».

The truce was also driven by 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 the continuation of the struggle in the south, against the Crimean Khanate. In fact, the main initiator of the truce of 1559 was the roundabout Alexei Adashev. This grouping reflected the mood of those circles of the nobility who, in addition to eliminating the threat from the steppes, wanted to receive a large additional land fund in the steppe zone. During this truce, the Russians struck at 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 near Tirzen near Riga, Russian troops reached Kolyvan. The raids of the Crimean Tatar hordes on the southern borders of Russia, which happened already in January 1558, could not tie down the initiative of the Russian troops in the Baltic.

However, in March 1559, under the influence of Denmark and representatives of the major 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, “should have concluded a truce on the western borders,” as it was preparing for a “decisive clash on the southern border.”

During the armistice (August 31), the Livonian Landsmeister of the Teutonic Order, Gotthard 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 Archbishop of Riga were transferred under “clientella and patronage”, that is, under the protectorate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the same year, 1559, Reval ceded to Sweden, and the Bishop of Ezel ceded the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) to Duke Magnus, 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 Yuryev, its detachments attacked the 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 a letter to his brother from Yaroslavl, where the land was granted to the former Landmaster. He told a relative that he "had no reason to complain about his fate."

Sweden and Lithuania, which 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 the supply of 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, Lithuanian troops raided the Smolensk region and Velizh. In the summer of that year, the situation on the southern borders of the Muscovite state escalated, which moved the timing of the Russian offensive in Livonia to autumn.

The way 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. In early February, the Russian army began the siege of Polotsk, and on February 15 the city surrendered.

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

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

Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to the military failures and unwillingness 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 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 until the capture of Riga.

Third period of the war

The Union of Lublin had serious consequences, uniting the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569 into one state - the Republic of Both Nations. A difficult situation developed in the north of Russia, where relations with Sweden again aggravated, and in the south (the campaign of the Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the war with the Crimea, during which the army of Devlet I Giray burned Moscow in 1571 and devastated the southern Russian lands). However, the offensive in the Republic of Both Nations for a long “kinglessness”, 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 allowed the scales to tip in favor of Russia. In 1572, the army of Devlet Giray 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 Estonia 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 baggage.

In 1575, the fortress of Sage 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 for Riga and Kolyvan.

However, the unfavorable international situation, the distribution of land in the Baltic states to the Russian nobles, which alienated the local peasant population from Russia, serious internal difficulties (the 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), took the throne of the Republic of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, went on the offensive, 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 detachments ravaged the Smolensk region, Seversk land, Ryazan region, south-west of the Novgorod region, plundered Russian lands up to the headwaters of the Volga. The devastation they caused was reminiscent of the worst Tatar raids. The Lithuanian voivode Filon Kmita from Orsha burned 2000 villages in the western Russian lands and captured a huge full. The Lithuanian magnates Ostrozhsky and Vishnevetsky, with the help of light cavalry detachments, plundered the Chernihiv region. The cavalry of the gentry Jan Solomeretsky ravaged the environs 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 go to 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 a massacre - 7 thousand Russians died; the victors did not take prisoners and did not spare the civilian population. 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 near Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.

Results and consequences

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

In May 1583, a 3-year Plyus truce 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. The Russian state was again cut off from the sea. The country was devastated, and the northwestern regions were depopulated.

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

In 1558 he declared war on the Livonian Order. The reason for the start of the war was that the Livonians detained on their territory 123 Western specialists who were heading to Russia. The non-payment of tribute by the Livonians for their capture of Yuryev (Derpt) in 1224 also played an important role. The campaign that began in 1558 and continued until 1583 was called the Livonian War. The Livonian War can be divided into three periods, each of which went with varying success for the Russian army.

First period of the war

In 1558 - 1563, the Russian troops finally completed the defeat of the Livonian Order (1561), took a number of Livonian cities: Narva, Derpt, approached Tallinn and Riga. The last major success of the Russian troops at this time was the capture of Polotsk in 1563. Since 1563, it becomes clear that the Livonian War is becoming protracted for Russia.

Second period of the Livonian War

The second period of the Livonian War begins in 1563 and ends in 1578. The war with Livonia turned for Russia into a war against Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Russian economy was weakened due to devastation. A prominent Russian military leader, a former member betrays and goes over to the side of opponents. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Commonwealth.

Third period of the war

The third period of the war takes place in 1579-1583. During these years, Russian troops were fighting defensive battles, where the Russians lost several of their cities, such as: Polotsk (1579), Velikie Luki (1581). The third period of the Livonian War was marked by the heroic defense of Pskov. Headed the defense of Pskov Governor Shuisky. The city held out for five months, and beat off about 30 assaults. This event allowed Russia to sign a truce.

Results of the Livonian War

The results of the Livonian War were disappointing for the Russian state. As a result of the Livonian War, Russia lost the Baltic lands, which were captured by Poland and Sweden. The Livonian War greatly depleted Russia. And the main task of this war - obtaining access to the Baltic Sea, was never completed.

Livonian war: causes, course, results:

INTRODUCTION

1. CAUSES OF THE LIVONS WAR

2.1 First stage

2.2. Second phase

2.3 Third stage

2.4 Outcomes of the war

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

Relevance of the topic. The history of the Livonian War, despite the knowledge of the goals of the conflict, the nature of the actions of the warring parties, the results of the clash, remains among the key problems of Russian history. Evidence of this is the diversity of opinions of researchers who tried to determine the significance of this war among other foreign policy actions of Russia in the second half of the 16th century. It is possible with good reason to find problems similar to those of the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the foreign policy of modern Russia. Having thrown off the Horde yoke, the young state needed an urgent reorientation to the West, the restoration of interrupted contacts. The Soviet Union was also in long-term isolation from most of the Western world for many reasons, so the first task of the new, democratic government was to actively search for partners and raise the country's international prestige. It is the search for the right ways to establish contacts that determines the relevance of the topic under study in social reality.

Object of study. Russia's foreign policy in the 16th century.

Subject of study. Livonian war causes, course, results.

Objective. To characterize the influence of the Livonian War of 1558 - 1583. on the international position of Russia; as well as on the domestic politics and economy of the country.

Tasks:

1. Determine the causes of the Livonian War of 1558 - 1583.

2. Identify the main stages in the course of hostilities with a description of each of them. Pay attention to the causes of changes in the nature of war.

3. Summing up the results of the Livonian War, based on the terms of the peace treaty.

Timeline: started in 1558 and ended 1583.

Geographic scope: the territory of the Baltic States, the western and northwestern regions of Russia.

1. CAUSES OF THE LIVONS WAR

The main directions of the foreign policy of the Russian centralized state emerged in the second half of the 15th century, under Grand Duke Ivan III. They boiled down, firstly, to the struggle on the eastern and southern borders with the Tatar khanates that arose on the ruins of the Golden Horde; secondly, to the fight against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the union of Poland connected with it for the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands captured by Lithuanian and partly Polish feudal lords; thirdly, to the fight on the northwestern borders against the aggression of the Swedish feudal lords and the Livonian Order, who sought to isolate the Russian state from the natural and convenient outlet it needed to the Baltic Sea. Korolyuk, V.D. The Livonian War: From the History of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Centralized State in the Second Half of the 16th Century. - M., 1954. - S. 33.

For centuries, the struggle on the southern and eastern outskirts was a habitual and constant matter. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Tatar khans continued to raid the southern borders of Russia. And only in the first half of the 16th century did the long war between the Great Horde and the Crimea absorb the forces of the Tatar world. A protege of Moscow established itself in Kazan. The union between Russia and Crimea lasted for several decades, until the Crimeans destroyed the remnants of the Great Horde. Skrynnikov, R.G. Russian history. IX - XVII centuries - M., 1997. - S. 227. The Ottoman Turks, having subjugated the Crimean Khanate, became a new military force that the Russian state faced in this region. After the attack of the Crimean Khan on Moscow in 1521, the citizens of Kazan broke off vassal relations with Russia. The struggle for Kazan began. Only the third campaign of Ivan IV was successful: Kazan and Astrakhan were taken. Skrynnikov R.G. Decree. op. - S. 275-277. Thus, by the mid-50s of the 16th century, a zone of its political influence had developed to the east and south of the Russian state. A force grew in her face that could resist the Crimea and the Ottoman Sultan. The Nogai Horde actually submitted to Moscow, and its influence in the North Caucasus also increased. Following the Nogai Murzas, the Siberian Khan Ediger recognized the power of the king. The Crimean Khan was the most active force holding back Russia's advance to the south and east. Zimin, A.A., Khoroshkevich A.L. Russia in the time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 87-88.

The foreign policy question that has arisen seems natural: should we continue the onslaught on the Tatar world, should we finish the struggle, the roots of which go back to the distant past? Is the attempt to conquer the Crimea timely? Two different programs clashed in Russian foreign policy. The formation of these programs was determined by international circumstances and the alignment of political forces within the country. The elected council considered a decisive fight against Crimea timely and necessary. But she did not take into account the difficulties of implementing this plan. The vast expanses of the "wild field" separated the then Russia from the Crimea. Moscow did not yet have strongholds on this path. The situation spoke more in favor of defense than offensive. In addition to the difficulties of a military nature, there were also great political difficulties. Entering into conflict with the Crimea and Turkey, Russia could count on an alliance with Persia and the German Empire. The latter was under the constant threat of Turkish invasion and lost a significant part of Hungary. But at the moment, the position of Poland and Lithuania, which saw in the Ottoman Empire a serious counterbalance to Russia, was much more important. The joint struggle of Russia, Poland and Lithuania against Turkish aggression was accompanied by serious territorial concessions in favor of the latter. Russia could not abandon one of the main directions in foreign policy: reunification with Ukrainian and Belarusian lands. More realistic was the program of struggle for the Baltic states. Ivan the Terrible disagreed with his council, deciding to go to war against the Livonian Order, to try to advance to the Baltic Sea. In principle, both programs suffered from the same defect - impracticability at the moment, but at the same time, both were equally urgent and timely. Shmurlo, E.F. History of Russia (IX - XX centuries). - M., 1997. - S. 82-85. Nevertheless, before the start of hostilities in the western direction, Ivan IV stabilized the situation on the lands of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, suppressing the rebellion of the Kazan murzas in 1558 and thereby forcing the Astrakhan to submit. Zimin, A.A., Khoroshkevich A.L. Russia in the time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 92-93.

Even during the existence of the Novgorod Republic, Sweden began to penetrate the region from the west. The first serious skirmish dates back to the 12th century. At the same time, the German knights begin to implement their political doctrine - the "March to the East", a crusade against the Slavic and Baltic peoples in order to convert them to Catholicism. In 1201, Riga was founded as a stronghold. In 1202, the Order of the Sword-bearers was founded specifically for operations in the Baltic states, which conquered Yuryev in 1224. Having suffered a series of defeats from the Russian forces and the Baltic tribes, the sword-bearers and the Teutons formed the Livonian Order. The intensified advance of the knights was stopped during 1240 - 1242. In general, the peace with the order in 1242 did not save from hostilities with the crusaders and the Swedes in the future. The knights, relying on the help of the Roman Catholic Church, at the end of the 13th century captured a significant part of the Baltic lands.

Sweden, having its own interests in the Baltics, was able to intervene in Livonian affairs. The Russian-Swedish war lasted from 1554 to 1557. The attempts of Gustav I Vasa to involve Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and the Livonian Order in the war against Russia did not produce results, although initially it was the Order that pushed the Swedish king to fight the Russian state. Sweden lost the war. After the defeat, the Swedish king was forced to pursue an extremely cautious policy towards his eastern neighbor. True, the sons of Gustav Vasa did not share the waiting position of their father. Crown Prince Eric hoped to establish complete Swedish dominance in Northern Europe. It was obvious that after the death of Gustav, Sweden would again take an active part in Livonian affairs. To some extent, Sweden's hands were tied by the aggravation of Swedish-Danish relations. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree op. - S. 25-26.

The territorial dispute with Lithuania had a long history. Before the death of Prince Gediminas (1316 - 1341), Russian regions accounted for more than two thirds of the entire territory of the Lithuanian state. Over the next hundred years, under Olgerd and Vitovt, the Chernigov-Seversk region (the cities of Chernigov, Novgorod - Seversk, Bryansk), the Kyiv region, Podolia (the northern part of the lands between the Bug and the Dniester), Volyn, Smolensk region were conquered. Shmurlo, E.F. Decree. op. - S. 108-109.

Under Basil III, Russia claimed the throne of the Principality of Lithuania after the death in 1506 of Alexander, whose widow was the sister of the Russian sovereign. Zimin, A.A. Russia on the threshold of a new era. M., 1972. - P.79. In Lithuania, a struggle began between the Lithuanian-Russian and Lithuanian Catholic groups. After the victory of the latter, Alexander's brother Sigismund ascended the Lithuanian throne. The latter saw Vasily as a personal enemy who claimed the Lithuanian throne. This aggravated the already strained Russo-Lithuanian relations. In such an environment, the Lithuanian Seimas in February 1507 decided to start a war with the eastern neighbor. The Lithuanian ambassadors, in an ultimatum form, raised the question of the return of the lands that had passed to Russia during the last wars with Lithuania. It was not possible to achieve positive results in the process of negotiations, and in March 1507 hostilities began. In 1508, in the Principality of Lithuania itself, an uprising of Prince Mikhail Glinsky, another pretender to the throne of Lithuania, begins. The rebellion received active support in Moscow: Glinsky was accepted into Russian citizenship, in addition, he was given an army under the command of Vasily Shemyachich. Glinsky conducted military operations with varying success. One of the reasons for the failure was the fear of the popular movement of Ukrainians and Belarusians who wanted to reunite with Russia. Not having sufficient funds to successfully continue the war, Sigismund decided to start peace negotiations. On October 8, 1508, "Perpetual Peace" was signed. According to it, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the first time officially recognized the transition to Russia of the Seversk cities annexed to the Russian state during the wars of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. Zimin, A.A. Russia on the threshold of a new era. M., 1972. - S. 82-93. But, despite some success, the government of Vasily III did not consider the war of 1508 to be a solution to the issue of Western Russian lands and considered "eternal peace" as a respite, preparing to continue the struggle. The ruling circles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were not inclined to come to terms with the loss of the Seversk lands either.

But under the specific conditions of the middle of the 16th century, a direct clash with Poland and Lithuania was not envisaged. The Russian state could not count on the help of reliable and strong allies. Moreover, the war with Poland and Lithuania would have to be waged in difficult conditions of hostile actions both from the Crimea and Turkey, and from Sweden and even the Livonian Order. Therefore, this variant of foreign policy was not considered by the Russian government at the moment. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree. op. - S. 20.

One of the important factors that determined the choice of the king in favor of the struggle for the Baltic states was the low military potential of the Livonian Order. The main military force in the country was the knightly Order of the Sword. Over 50 castles scattered throughout the country were in the hands of the order authorities. Half of the city of Riga was subordinated to the supreme authority of the master. The archbishop of Riga (another part of Riga was subordinate to him), and the bishops of Derpt, Revel, Ezel and Courland were completely independent. Korolyuk V.D. Decree op. S. 22. The knights of the order owned estates on a fief basis. Large cities, such as Riga, Revel, Derpt, Narva, and others, were in fact an independent political force, although they were under the supreme authority of the master or bishops. There were constant clashes between the Order and the spiritual princes. The Reformation spread rapidly in the cities, while chivalry remained largely Catholic. The only organ of the central legislative power was the Landtags, convened by the masters in the city of Wolmar. The meetings were attended by representatives of four estates: the Order, the clergy, chivalry and cities. The resolutions of the Landtags usually had no real significance in the absence of a single executive power. Close ties have existed for a long time between the local Baltic population and the Russian lands. Ruthlessly suppressed economically, politically and culturally, the Estonian and Latvian population was ready to support the military actions of the Russian army in the hope of liberation from national oppression.

The Russian state itself by the end of the 50s. XVI century was a powerful military power in Europe. As a result of the reforms, Russia has become much stronger and has achieved a much higher degree of political centralization than ever before. Permanent infantry units were created - the archery army. The Russian artillery also achieved great success. Russia had not only large enterprises for the manufacture of cannons, cannonballs and gunpowder, but also well-trained numerous personnel. In addition, the introduction of an important technical improvement - the gun carriage - made it possible to use artillery in the field. Russian military engineers have developed a new effective system of engineering support for the attack of fortresses.

Russia in the 16th century became the largest trading power at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, whose craft was still suffocated by the lack of non-ferrous and precious metals. The only channel for the receipt of metals is trade with the West through the overhead mediation of Livonian cities. Zimin, A.A., Khoroshkevich. Russia in the time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 89. The Livonian cities - Dorpat, Riga, Revel and Narva - were part of the Hansa, a trade association of German cities. The main source of their income was intermediary trade with Russia. For this reason, the attempts of the English and Dutch merchants to establish direct trade relations with the Russian state were stubbornly suppressed by Livonia. At the end of the 15th century, Russia tried to influence the trade policy of the Hanseatic League. In 1492, Russian Ivangorod was founded opposite Narva. A little later, the Hanseatic court in Novgorod was closed. The economic growth of Ivangorod could not but frighten the trading elite of the Livonian cities, which were losing huge profits. Livonia, in response, was ready to organize an economic blockade, which was also supported by Sweden, Lithuania and Poland. In order to eliminate the organized economic blockade of Russia, a clause on freedom of communication with European countries through Swedish possessions was included in the 1557 peace treaty with Sweden. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree op. - S. 30-32. Another channel of Russian-European trade passed through the cities of the Gulf of Finland, in particular, Vyborg. The further growth of this trade was hindered by the contradictions between Sweden and Russia in border issues.

Trade on the White Sea, although of great importance, could not solve the problems of Russian-Northern European contacts for many reasons: navigation on the White Sea is impossible for most of the year; the way there was difficult and distant; contacts were unilateral in nature with the complete monopoly of the British, etc. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich, A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 90-91. The development of the Russian economy, which needed constant and unhindered trade relations with the countries of Europe, set the task of gaining access to the Baltic.

The roots of the war for Livonia should be sought not only in the described economic situation of the Muscovite state, they also lay in the distant past. Even under the first princes, Russia was in close contact with many foreign states. Russian merchants traded in the markets of Constantinople, marriage unions connected the princely family with European dynasties. In addition to overseas merchants, ambassadors of other states and missionaries often came to Kyiv. Shmurlo, E. F. Decree. op. - P. 90. One of the consequences of the Tatar-Mongol yoke for Russia was the forcible reorientation of foreign policy towards the East. The war for Livonia was the first serious attempt to bring Russian life back on track, to restore the interrupted connection with the West.

International life posed the same dilemma for every European state: to secure for itself an independent position in the sphere of international relations, or to serve as a mere object of interests of other powers. In many respects, the future of the Muscovite state depended on the outcome of the struggle for the Baltic states: whether it would enter the family of European peoples, having the opportunity to independently communicate with the states of Western Europe.

In addition to trade and international prestige, the territorial claims of the Russian Tsar played an important role among the causes of the war. In the first message of Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV reasonably states: "... The city of Vladimir, located in our patrimony, the Livonian land ...". Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible with Andrei Kurbsky / Comp. Ya. S. Lurie, Yu. D. Rykov. - M., 1993. - S. 156. Many Baltic lands have long belonged to the Novgorod land, as well as the banks of the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland, subsequently captured by the Livonian Order.

The social factor should not be discounted either. The program of the struggle for the Baltic states met the interests of the nobility and the townspeople. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree. op. - P. 29. The nobility counted on land distribution in the Baltic states, as opposed to the boyar nobility, which was more satisfied with the option of annexing the southern lands. Due to the remoteness of the "wild field", the impossibility of establishing a strong central authority there, at least at first, the landowners - the boyars had the opportunity to take the position of almost independent sovereigns in the southern regions. Ivan the Terrible sought to weaken the influence of the titled Russian boyars, and, naturally, he took into account, first of all, the interests of the nobility and merchant classes.

With the complex alignment of forces in Europe, it was extremely important to choose a favorable moment for the start of hostilities against Livonia. It came to Russia in late 1557 - early 1558. The defeat of Sweden in the Russian-Swedish war temporarily neutralized this rather strong enemy, which had the status of a maritime power. Denmark at this point was distracted by the aggravation of its relations with Sweden. Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were not connected by serious complications of the international order, but were not ready for a military clash with Russia due to unresolved internal issues: social conflicts within each state and disagreements over the union. Proof of this is the fact that in 1556 the expired truce between Lithuania and the Russian state was extended for six years. There. - P. 27. And finally, as a result of military operations against the Crimean Tatars, it was possible for some time not to be afraid of the southern borders. The raids resumed only in 1564 during a period of complications on the Lithuanian front.

During this period, relations with Livonia were rather strained. In 1554, Alexey Adashev and the clerk Viskovaty announced to the Livonian embassy that they did not want to extend the truce due to:

Non-payment by the Bishop of Dorpat of tribute from the possessions ceded to him by the Russian princes;

The oppression of Russian merchants in Livonia and the ruin of Russian settlements in the Baltic.

The establishment of peaceful relations between Russia and Sweden contributed to the temporary settlement of Russian-Livonian relations. After Russia lifted the ban on the export of wax and lard, Livonia was presented with the terms of a new truce:

Unimpeded transportation of weapons to Russia;

Guaranteed payment of tribute by the Bishop of Derpt;

Restoration of all Russian churches in Livonian cities;

Refusal to enter into an alliance with Sweden, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania;

Providing conditions for free trade.

Livonia was not going to fulfill its obligations under a truce concluded for fifteen years. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 92 - 93.

Thus, the choice was made in favor of resolving the Baltic issue. This was facilitated by a number of reasons: economic, territorial, social and ideological. Russia, being in a favorable international situation, had a high military potential and was ready for a military conflict with Livonia for the possession of the Baltic states.

2. PROGRESS AND RESULTS OF THE LIVONS WAR

2.1 First phase of the war

The course of the Livonian War can be divided into three stages, each of which differs somewhat in the composition of the participants, the duration and nature of the actions. The reason for the start of hostilities in the Baltic States was the fact that the Bishop of Dorpat did not pay the "Yurievsky tribute" from the possessions ceded to him by the Russian princes. Korolyuk, V. D. Decree. op. - P. 34. In addition to the oppression of the Russian people in the Baltic states, the Livonian authorities violated another clause of the agreement with Russia - in September 1554 they entered into an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, directed against Moscow. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich, A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. -S. 93. The Russian government sent Master Furstenberg a letter declaring war. However, hostilities did not begin then - Ivan IV hoped to achieve his goals through diplomacy until June 1558.

The main goal of the first campaign of the Russian army in Livonia, which took place in the winter of 1558, was the desire to achieve a voluntary concession of Narva from the Order. Hostilities began in January 1558. Moscow cavalry rati led by the Kasimov "king" Shah - Ali and Prince. M.V. Glinsky entered the land of the Order. During the winter campaign, Russian and Tatar detachments, numbering 40 thousand soldiers, reached the Baltic coast, devastating the environs of many Livonian cities and castles. During this campaign, Russian military leaders twice, on the direct instructions of the tsar, sent letters to the master about the resumption of peace negotiations. The Livonian authorities made concessions: they began collecting tribute, agreed with the Russian side on a temporary cessation of hostilities, and sent their representatives to Moscow, who, during the most difficult negotiations, were forced to agree to the transfer of Narva to Russia.

But the established truce was soon violated by supporters of the military party of the Order. March 1558. Narva Vogt E. von Schlennenberg ordered the shelling of the Russian fortress Ivangorod, provoking a new invasion of Moscow troops into Livonia.

During the second trip to the Baltic in May-July 1558. Russians captured more than 20 fortresses, including the most important ones - Narva, Neishloss, Neuhaus, Kiripe and Derpt. During the summer campaign in 1558. the troops of the Moscow tsar came close to Revel and Riga, devastating their surroundings. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree. op. - S. 38.

The decisive battle of the winter campaign of 1558/1559. happened near the city of Tiersen, where on January 17, 1559. met a large Livonian detachment of the Riga house prefect F. Felkerzam and the Russian Advanced Regiment, led by the voivode Prince. V.S. Silver. In a stubborn battle, the Germans were defeated.

March 1559. the Russian government, considering its position sufficiently strong, through the mediation of the Danes, agreed to conclude a six-month truce with master V. Furstenberg - from May to November 1559.

Having received in 1559. an urgently needed respite, the order authorities, headed by G. Ketler, who became on September 17, 1559. new master, enlisted the support of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden. Ketler in October 1559 broke the truce with Moscow. The new master managed to defeat the detachment of the governor Z.I. near Dorpat with an unexpected attack. Ochina-Pleshcheeva. Nevertheless, the head of the Yuryevsky (Derpt) garrison, voivode Katyrev-Rostovsky, managed to take measures to defend the city. For ten days, the Livonians unsuccessfully stormed Yuryev and, not venturing into a winter siege, were forced to retreat. The siege of Lais in November 1559 turned out to be just as unsuccessful. Ketler, having lost 400 soldiers in the battles for the fortress, retreated to Wenden.

The result of a new big offensive of the Russian troops was the capture of one of the strongest fortresses of Livonia - Fellin - on August 30, 1560. A few months before this, Russian troops led by governors Prince I.F. Mstislavsky and Prince P.I. Shuisky occupied Marienburg.

Thus, the first stage of the Livonian War lasted from 1558 to 1561. It was conceived as a punitive demonstration campaign with the clear military superiority of the Russian army. Livonia stubbornly resisted, counting on the help of Sweden, Lithuania and Poland. Hostile relations between these states allowed Russia for the time being to conduct successful military operations in the Baltics.

2.2 Second phase of the war

Despite the defeat of the Order, the government of Ivan the Terrible faced a difficult choice: either to cede the Baltic states in response to the ultimatum statement of Poland and Lithuania (1560), or to prepare for war against the anti-Russian coalition (Sweden, Denmark, the Polish-Lithuanian state and the Holy Roman Empire) . Ivan the Terrible made an attempt to avoid conflict by dynastic marriage with a relative of the Polish king. The matchmaking proved unsuccessful, as Sigismund demanded territorial concessions as a marriage condition. Kostomarov, N. I. Russian history in the biographies of its most important figures. SPb., 2007. - S. 361.

The successes of the Russian weapons accelerated the disintegration of the Cavalier Teutonic Order in Livonia. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree. op. - P. 44. In June 1561, the cities of Northern Estonia, including Revel, swore allegiance to the Swedish king Eric XIV. The Livonian state ceased to exist, transferring its cities, castles and lands under the joint rule of Lithuania and Poland. Master Ketler became a vassal of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II August. In December, Lithuanian troops were sent to Livonia, occupying more than ten cities. The Muscovite side initially managed to reach an agreement with the Kingdom of Sweden (August 20, 1561 in Novgorod, a truce was concluded with representatives of the Swedish king Eric XIV for 20 years).

In March 1562, immediately after the end of the truce with Lithuania, the Moscow governors devastated the environs of the Lithuanian Orsha, Mogilev and Vitebsk. In Livonia, the troops of I.F. Mstislavsky and P.I. Shuisky captured the cities of Tarvast (Taurus) and Verpel (Polchev).

In the spring of 1562 Lithuanian troops carried out retaliatory raids on Smolensk places and Pskov volosts, after which the fighting unfolded along the entire line of the Russian-Lithuanian border. Summer - autumn 1562. Lithuanian troops continued to attack border fortresses in Russia (Nevel) and on the territory of Livonia (Tarvast).

December 1562. Ivan IV himself set out on a campaign against Lithuania with an 80,000-strong army. Russian regiments in January 1563 moved to Polotsk, which had a favorable strategic position at the junction of Russian, Lithuanian and Livonian borders. The siege of Polotsk began on January 31, 1563. Thanks to the actions of Russian artillery, the well-fortified city was taken on February 15. There. - P. 55. An attempt to conclude peace with Lithuania (with the condition of consolidating the successes achieved) failed.

Soon after the victory near Polotsk, the Russian rati began to suffer defeats. The Lithuanians, alarmed by the loss of the city, sent all available forces to the Moscow border under the command of Hetman Nikolai Radziwill.

Battle on the river Ulle January 26, 1564 turned into a heavy defeat for the Russian army due to the betrayal of Prince. A.M. Kurbsky, an agent of Lithuanian intelligence, who transmitted information about the movement of Russian regiments.

1564 brought not only the flight of Kurbsky to Lithuania, but also another defeat from the Lithuanians - near Orsha. The war took on a protracted character. In the autumn of 1564 The government of Ivan the Terrible, not having the strength to fight several states at once, concluded a seven-year peace with Sweden at the cost of recognizing Swedish authority over Reval, Pernov (Pärnu) and other cities of Northern Estonia.

In the autumn of 1564 the Lithuanian army, in which Kurbsky was also located, launched a successful counteroffensive. In agreement with Sigismund II, the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray also approached Ryazan, whose raid led the king into a panic.

In 1568, the enemy of Ivan IV, Johan III, sat on the Swedish throne. In addition, the rude actions of Russian diplomats contributed to the further deterioration of relations with Sweden. In 1569 Lithuania and Poland, according to the Union of Lublin, merged into a single state - the Commonwealth. Korolyuk, V.D. Decree. op. - S. 69. In 1570, the Russian tsar accepted the peace conditions of the Polish king in order to be able to oust the Swedes from the Baltic states by force of arms. On the lands of Livonia occupied by Moscow, a vassal kingdom was created, the ruler of which was the Danish prince Magnus of Holstein. The siege of the Swedish Revel by the Russian-Livonian troops for almost 30 weeks ended in complete failure. Kostomarov, N. I. Historical monographs and research: in 2 books. - M., 1989. - S. 87. In 1572, a struggle began in Europe for the Polish throne, which had become empty after the death of Sigismund. The Commonwealth was on the verge of civil war and foreign invasion. Russia hastened to turn the tide of the war in its favor. In 1577, the victorious campaign of the Russian army to the Baltic took place, as a result of which Russia controlled the entire coast of the Gulf of Finland, excluding Riga and Revel.

In the second stage, the war took on a protracted character. The struggle was fought on several fronts with varying success. The situation was complicated by unsuccessful diplomatic actions and mediocrity of the military command. Failures in foreign policy led to a sharp change in domestic policy. Years of war led to an economic crisis. The military successes achieved by 1577 subsequently failed to be consolidated.

2.3 Third phase of the war

A decisive turning point in the course of hostilities is associated with the appearance at the head of the Polish-Lithuanian state of an experienced military leader Stefan Batory, whose candidacy for the Polish throne was nominated and supported by Turkey and the Crimea. He deliberately did not interfere with the offensive of the Russian troops, delaying peace negotiations with Moscow. His first concern was the solution of internal problems: the suppression of the rebellious gentry and the restoration of the combat capability of the army.

In 1578 the counteroffensive of the Polish and Swedish troops began. The stubborn struggle for the castle of Verdun ended on October 21, 1578. heavy defeat of the Russian infantry. Russia lost one city after another. Duke Magnus went over to the side of Bathory. The difficult situation forced the Russian tsar to seek peace with Batory in order to gather strength and inflict in the summer of 1579. decisive blow to the Swedes.

But Batory did not want peace on Russian terms and was preparing to continue the war with Russia. In this he was fully supported by the allies: the Swedish king Johan III, the Elector of Saxony August and the Elector of Brandenburg Johann-Georg. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich, A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 125.

Batory determined the direction of the main attack not on devastated Livonia, where there were still many Russian troops, but on the territory of Russia in the Polotsk region - a key point on the Dvina. There. - S. 140.

Alarmed by the invasion of the Polish army into the Moscow state, Ivan the Terrible tried to strengthen the Polotsk garrison and its combat capabilities. However, these actions are clearly too late. The siege of Polotsk by the Poles lasted three weeks. The defenders of the city offered fierce resistance, but, suffering huge losses and having lost faith in the help of the Russian troops, they surrendered on September 1 to Batory.

After the capture of Polotsk, the Lithuanian army invaded the Smolensk and Seversk lands. After this success, Batory returned to the capital of Lithuania - Vilna, from where he sent a message to Ivan the Terrible with a message about the victories and demanding the cession of Livonia and recognition of the rights of the Commonwealth to Courland.

Preparing to resume hostilities next year, Stefan Batory again intended to attack not in Livonia, but in a northeasterly direction. This time he was going to capture the fortress of Velikiye Luki, which covered the Novgorod lands from the south. And again, Batory's plans turned out to be unsolved by the Moscow command. Russian regiments were stretched along the entire front line from the Livonian city of Kokenhausen to Smolensk. This mistake had the most negative consequences.

At the end of August 1580. the army of the Polish king (48-50 thousand people, of which 21 thousand were infantry) crossed the Russian border. The royal army, which set out on a campaign, had first-class artillery, which included 30 siege guns.

The siege of Velikiye Luki began on August 26, 1580. Alarmed by the success of the enemy, Ivan the Terrible offered him peace, agreeing to very significant territorial concessions, primarily the transfer of 24 cities in Livonia to the Commonwealth. The tsar also expressed his readiness to renounce claims to Polotsk and Polotsk land. However, Batory considered Moscow's proposals insufficient, demanding all of Livonia. Apparently, even then, in his entourage, plans were being developed to conquer the Seversk land, Smolensk, Veliky Novgorod and Pskov. The interrupted siege of the city continued, and on September 5, the defenders of the dilapidated fortress agreed to surrender.

Shortly after this victory, the Poles took the fortresses of Narva (September 29), Ozerische (October 12) and Zavolochye (October 23).

In the battle near Toropets, the army of Prince. V.D. Khilkov, and this deprived the protection of the southern borders of the Novgorod land.

The Polish-Lithuanian detachments continued military operations in this area even in winter. The Swedes, having taken with great difficulty the fortress of Padis, put an end to the Russian presence in Western Estonia.

The main target of Batory's third strike was Pskov. June 20, 1581 The Polish army set out on a campaign. This time, the king failed to hide his preparation and the direction of the main attack. The Russian governors succeeded, ahead of the enemy, in delivering a warning strike in the area of ​​Dubrovna, Orsha, Shklov and Mogilev. This attack not only slowed down the progress of the Polish army, but also weakened its strength. Thanks to the temporary stop of the Polish offensive, the Russian command managed to transfer additional military contingents from the Livonian castles to Pskov and strengthen the fortifications. Polish-Lithuanian troops in the autumn and winter of 1581. stormed the city 31 times. All attacks were beaten off. Bathory abandoned the winter siege and on December 1, 1581. left camp. The time has come for negotiations. The Russian tsar understood that the war was lost, while for the Poles, further presence on the territory of Russia was fraught with heavy losses.

The third stage is more defensive actions of Russia. Many factors played a role in this: the military talent of Stefan Batory, the inept actions of Russian diplomats and generals, a significant drop in Russia's military potential. For 5 years, Ivan the Terrible has repeatedly offered peace to opponents on conditions unfavorable for Russia.

2.4 Summary

Russia needed peace. In the Baltic States, the Swedes went on the offensive, the Crimeans resumed raids on the southern borders. Pope Gregory XIII, who dreamed of expanding the influence of the papal curia in Eastern Europe, acted as an intermediary in the peace negotiations. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich, A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 143. Negotiations began in mid-December 1581 in the small village of Yama Zapolsky. The congresses of ambassadors ended on January 5, 1582, with the conclusion of a ten-year truce. The Polish commissars agreed to cede to the Muscovite state Velikie Luki, Zavolochye, Nevel, Kholm, Rzhev Pustaya and the Pskov suburbs of Ostrov, Krasny, Voronech, and Velya, previously captured by their army. It was specifically stipulated that the Russian fortresses besieged at that time by the troops of the Polish king were subject to return if they were captured by the enemy: Vrev, Vladimirets, Dubkov, Vyshgorod, Vyborets, Izborsk, Opochka, Gdov, Kobyle settlement and Sebezh. The foresight of the Russian ambassadors turned out to be useful: according to this clause, the Poles returned the captured city of Sebezh. For its part, the Muscovite state agreed to the transfer of the Commonwealth of all the cities and castles in Livonia occupied by Russian troops, of which there were 41. Yam - the Zapolsky truce did not apply to Sweden. Korolyuk V.D. Decree. op. - S. 106.

So, Stefan Batory secured most of the Baltic states for his kingdom. He also managed to achieve recognition of his rights to the Polotsk land, to the cities of Velizh, Usvyat, Ozerishche, Sokol. In June 1582, the terms of the Yam-Zapolsky truce were confirmed at the negotiations in Moscow, which were conducted by the Polish ambassadors Janusz Zbarazhsky, Nikolai Tavlosh and clerk Mikhail Garaburda. The parties agreed to consider the day of St. Peter and Paul (29 June) 1592

On February 4, 1582, a month after the conclusion of the Yam-Zapolsky truce, the last Polish detachments left Pskov.

However, the Yam-Zapolsky and "Peter and Paul" peace agreements of 1582 did not end the Livonian War. The Swedish army under the command of Field Marshal P. Delagardie dealt the final blow to Russian plans to preserve part of the cities conquered in the Baltic states. In September 1581, his troops captured Narva and Ivangorod, the defense of which was led by the governor A. Belsky, who surrendered the fortress to the enemy.

Having entrenched themselves in Ivangorod, the Swedes soon went on the offensive again and soon occupied the border Yam (September 28, 1581) and Koporye (October 14) with their counties. On August 10, 1583, Russia concluded a truce with Sweden in Plus, according to which the Russian cities and Northern Estonia occupied by them remained behind the Swedes. Zimin, A. A., Khoroshkevich, A. L. Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible. - M., 1982. - S. 144.

The Livonian War, which lasted almost 25 years, ended. Russia suffered a heavy defeat, losing not only all its conquests in the Baltic states, but also part of its own territories with three major border fortress cities. On the coast of the Gulf of Finland, only a small fortress Oreshek on the river remained behind the Moscow state. Neva and a narrow corridor along this waterway from the river. Arrows to the river. Sisters, with a total length of 31.5 km.

Three stages in the course of hostilities are of a different nature: the first is a local war with a clear advantage for the Russians; at the second stage, the war took on a protracted character, an anti-Russian coalition was formed, battles were taking place on the border of the Russian state; the third stage is characterized mainly by the defensive actions of Russia on its territory, Russian soldiers demonstrate unprecedented heroism in the defense of cities. The main goal of the war - the solution of the Baltic issue - was not achieved.