How did the Livonian war end briefly? Main periods of the Livonian War. From offense to defense

Description of the Livonian War

The Livonian War (1558–1583) was a 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)

Causes: Exit to Baltic Sea. Hostile policy of the Livonian Order.
Occasion: Refusal of the order to pay tribute for Yuriev (Dorpat).
First stage (1558-1561): The capture of Narva, Yuryev, Fellin, the capture of Master Furstenberg, the Livonian Order as military force practically ceased to exist.
Second stage (1562-1577): Entry into the war of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (since 1569) and Sweden. Capture of Polotsk (1563). Defeat on the river Ule 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 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Ivan the Terrible’s refusal from Livonia for the return of lost Russian fortresses).
1583– Plyusskoe truce with Sweden (renunciation of Estland, concession to the Swedes of Narva, Koporye, Ivangorod, Korela).
Causes of defeat: incorrect assessment of the balance of power in the Baltics, weakening of the state as a result domestic policy Ivan IV.

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

Causes

In order to start a war, formal reasons were found, but the real reasons were Russia’s geopolitical need to gain access to the Baltic Sea, as it would be more convenient for direct connections 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 Rus', prevented its external contacts.

Russia had a small section of the Baltic coast, from the Neva basin to Ivangorod. However, it was strategically vulnerable and had no ports or developed infrastructure. Ivan the Terrible hoped to take advantage transport system Livonia. He considered it an ancient Russian fiefdom, which was illegally seized by the crusaders.

The forceful solution to the problem predetermined the defiant behavior of the Livonians themselves, who, even according to historians, acted unreasonably. Mass pogroms served as a reason for aggravation of relations Orthodox churches in Livonia. Even at that time, the truce between Moscow and Livonia (concluded in 1504 as a result of the Russian-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503) had expired. To extend it, the Russians demanded payment of the Yuryev tribute, which the Livonians were obliged to give to Ivan III, but for 50 years they never collected it. Having recognized 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 fighting from the Ivangorod area to the mouth of the Narva River (Narova). 1558, January - the tsarist army approached Yuryev (Dorpt), but was unable to capture it. Then part of the Russian army turned to Riga, and the main forces headed to Narva (Rugodiv), where they united 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 were able to take it the next day.

Soon after the capture of Narva, Russian troops under the command of governors Adashev, Zabolotsky and Zamytsky and Duma clerk Voronin were ordered to capture the Syrensk fortress. On June 2, the shelves were under its walls. Adashev set up barriers on the Riga and Kolyvan roads 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)

Battle of Thiersen

1559, January - Russian troops marched on Riga. Near Tiersen 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 failures never ceased to haunt them.

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

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 (the island of Ezel went to Denmark). The Poles got Livonia and Courland (Kettler became 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 demand, but also invaded the territory of Lithuania, allied with Poland, at the end of 1562. His army numbered 33,407 men. The goal of the campaign was 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 “elected Rada” - the de facto 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, moved there, close to the Adashev brothers who were part of the elected council and fearing for his life. The subsequent oprichnina terror further weakened the Russian army.

1) Ivan the Terrible; 2) Stefan Batory

Formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

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

1570 - fighting intensified in both Lithuania and Livonia. To secure the Baltic lands, Ivan IV decided to create his own fleet. At the beginning of 1570, he issued a “charter” to the Dane Karsten Rode to organize a privateer fleet, which acted on behalf of the Russian Tsar. Rohde was able to arm several ships, and he caused significant damage to Polish maritime trade. In order to have a reliable naval base, the Russian army in the same 1570 tried to capture Revel, thereby starting a war with Sweden. But the city unhinderedly 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 launched a new campaign to Revel. But this time the siege of the city brought nothing. Then Russian troops went to Riga, capturing Dinaburg, Volmar 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 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was able to form a strong army, which also included German and Hungarian mercenaries. Batory entered into an alliance with Sweden, and the united Polish-Swedish army in the fall of 1578 was able to defeat the 18,000-strong Russian army, which lost 6,000 people killed and captured and 17 guns.

By the start of the 1579 campaign, Stefan Batory and Ivan IV had approximately equal main armies of 40,000 men each. After the defeat at Wenden, Grozny was not confident in his abilities and proposed to begin peace negotiations. But Batory rejected this proposal and went on the offensive against Polotsk. In the autumn, Polish troops besieged the city and, after a month-long siege, captured it. The army of governors Shein and Sheremetev, 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 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 the Smolensk and Seversk lands, and then returned to Lithuania.

1580 - Batory launched a large campaign against Rus', he captured and ravaged the cities of Ostrov, Velizh and Velikiye Luki. At the same time, the Swedish army under the command of Pontus Delagardie took the city of Korela and the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus.

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

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

1581 - a 50,000-strong Polish army led by the king besieged 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 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 secret communication between different sections of the defense. The city had significant supplies 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 in number, stopped in Staritsa, not risking going towards the Polish army marching towards Pskov.

When the sovereign learned about the invasion of Stefan Batory, the army of Prince Ivan Shuisky, appointed “great governor,” was sent to Pskov. 7 other governors were subordinate to him. All residents of Pskov and the garrison were sworn 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 approximately half the size of Batory’s army. By order of Shuisky, the outskirts of Pskov were devastated so that the enemy could not find fodder and food there.

Livonian War 1558-1583. Stefan Batory near Pskov

On August 18, Polish troops approached the city within 2–3 cannon shots. For a week, Batory conducted reconnaissance of 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 cannons 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 drove up to the Pokrovskaya and Svinaya towers on the southern face of the walls and, having placed 20 guns, on the morning of September 6 began to fire at both towers and the 150 m wall between them. By the evening of September 7, the towers were severely damaged, and a 50 m wide gap appeared in the wall. However, the besieged managed to build a new wooden wall against the gap.

On September 8, the Polish army launched an assault. The attackers were able to capture both damaged towers. But with shots from the large Bars cannon, capable of sending cannonballs over a distance of more than 1 km, the Pig Tower occupied by the Poles was destroyed. Then the Russians blew up its ruins by rolling up barrels of gunpowder. The explosion served as a signal for a counterattack, which was led by Shuisky himself. The Poles were unable to hold the Pokrovskaya Tower and retreated.

After the unsuccessful assault, Batory ordered digging to blow up the walls. The Russians were able to destroy two tunnels with the help of mine galleries, but the enemy was never able to complete the rest. On October 24, Polish batteries began shelling Pskov from across the Velikaya River with hot cannonballs to start fires, but the city’s defenders quickly dealt with the fire. After 4 days, a Polish detachment with crowbars and picks 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 was another wall and a ditch, which the Poles could not overcome. The besieged threw stones and pots of gunpowder on their heads, poured boiling water and tar.

On November 2, the Poles undertook final assault Pskov. This time Batory's army attacked the western wall. Before this, for 5 days she was subjected to powerful shelling and was destroyed in several places. However, the Russians met the enemy with heavy fire, and the Poles turned back without reaching the breaches.

By that time, the morale of the besiegers had dropped noticeably. However, 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 through to 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 preparing for the winter. At the same time, he sent detachments of Germans and Hungarians to capture the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery 60 km from Pskov, but a garrison of 300 archers, with the support of monks, successfully repelled two attacks, and the enemy was forced to retreat.

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

Results and consequences

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

1583 - the Truce of Plus was signed with Sweden. Yam, Koporye and Ivangorod passed to the Swedes. Only a small section of the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Neva remained behind Russia. But in 1590, after the expiration of the truce, hostilities between the Russians and Swedes resumed and this time were successful for the Russians. As a result, under the Tyavzin Treaty of “Eternal Peace,” Rus' regained Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korelsky district. But this was only small consolation. In general, Ivan IV's attempt to gain a foothold in the Baltic failed.

At the same time, acute contradictions between Poland and Sweden on the issue of control over Livonia eased the position of the Russian Tsar, excluding a joint Polish-Swedish invasion of Rus'. The resources of Poland alone, as the experience of Batory’s campaign against Pskov showed, were clearly insufficient to capture and retain a significant territory of the Muscovite kingdom. At the same time, the Livonian War showed that Sweden and Poland had a formidable enemy in the east that they had to reckon with.

After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its gaze to the Baltic and put forward plans to capture Livonia. There were two main reasons for the Livonian War: the right to trade freely in the Baltic, and for opponents the issue of preventing Russia from becoming a European state was resolved. The Order and the German merchants hindered the growth of Russian trade. Therefore, for Russia, the main goal of the Livonian War was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.

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

In 1558, Russian troops invaded Livonia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The history of the Livonian War (1558-1583), despite the great attention to this war, remains one of the most important problems in Russian history. This is largely due to the attention to the figure of Ivan the Terrible. Considering the fact that a number of researchers have a sharply negative attitude towards the personality of Sovereign Ivan Vasilyevich, this attitude carries over to his foreign policy. The Livonian War is called an adventure unnecessary to the Russian state, which only undermined the strength of Rus' and became one of the prerequisites for the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century.

Some researchers quite rightly believe that the most promising direction The expansion of the Russian state during this period was southern. Thus, N.I. Kostomarov noted that “Time has shown all the unreasonable behavior of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich in relation to Crimea.” Moscow did not take advantage of the moment of extreme weakening of Bakhchisarai, allowing it to recover and without crushing the enemy after the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan. G.V. Vernadsky emphasized that the war with the Crimean Tatars was a “truly national task” and, despite the difficulty of conquering Crimea, in comparison with the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, it was quite feasible. The implementation of this task was hindered by the Livonian War, a campaign that at the beginning was considered an easy task, with the goal of defeating the Livonian Order, which had lost its military power. “The real dilemma that Tsar Ivan IV faced,” wrote Georgy Vernadsky, “was not the choice between a war only with Crimea and a campaign against Livonia, but the choice between a war only with Crimea and a war on two fronts with both Crimea and Livonia. Ivan IV chose the latter. The results were horrifying." The historian suggested that the Russian army initially sent to Livonia was intended to fight the Crimean Khanate. That is why it was headed by serving Tatar “princes” - Shah-Ali, Kaibula and Tokhtamysh (Moscow pretender to the Crimean throne), the troops were staffed largely from Kasimov and Kazan Tatars. Only at the last moment did the army turn to the northwest.

It is quite possible that the Moscow government was confident that the campaign against Livonia would be short-lived. Having achieved great foreign policy successes - having conquered Kazan and Astrakhan, the Russian government decided to subjugate the Livonian Order and firmly stand on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The Livonian Order, being an ally of Svidrigailo Olgerdovich, suffered a terrible defeat on September 1, 1435 in the Battle of Vilkomir (Master Kerskorf, the Land Marshal and most of the Livonian knights died), after which an agreement was signed on the creation of the Livonian Confederation. On December 4, 1435, the Confederation included the Archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ezelvik and Revel, as well as the Livonian Order, its vassals and the cities of Riga, Revel and Dorpat. It's loose public education found itself under the strong influence of its neighbors, including the Russian state.

The moment chosen to begin military action against Livonia seemed quite fortunate. Consistent and old enemies of Rus', who opposed strengthening its positions on the shores of the Baltic, could not provide emergency military assistance to the Livonian Confederation. The Swedish kingdom was defeated in the war with the Russian state - the Russian-Swedish war of 1554-1557. This war revealed the undoubted superiority of the Russian army, although it did not lead to great results. King Gustav I, after unsuccessful attempt the capture of the Oreshek fortress, the defeat at Kivinebba and the siege of Vyborg by Russian troops, he hastened to conclude a truce. On March 25, 1557, the Second Truce of Novgorod was signed for a period of forty years, confirming the territorial status quo and the tradition of diplomatic relations through the Novgorod governor. Sweden needed a peaceful respite.

The governments of Lithuania and Poland hoped that the Livonian knights themselves would be able to repel the Russians. In addition, the process of merging Lithuania and Poland into a single state had not yet been completed, which weakened them. Intervention in the war between Livonia and Russia gave all the benefits to Sweden, Poland's rival in the region. Bakhchisarai, frightened by the previous victories of Moscow, was not going to start a large-scale war and took a wait-and-see attitude, limiting itself to the usual small raids.

However, the decisive success of Russian troops in the war with Livonia caused the unity of the enemies of Moscow. The trembling troops of the Order were replaced by troops of Sweden and Lithuania, and then Poland. The war reached a level where a powerful coalition began to confront the Russian state. At the same time, we must remember that complete information only we have. The Moscow government, starting the war, thought that everything would end in short term, the Livonians, frightened by the power of the Russian army, will negotiate. All previous conflicts with Livonia spoke about this. It was believed that there was no reason for war with a coalition of strong European states. Similar local conflicts, borderline significance, went to Europe in dozens.

Reason for war

The reason for the war with Livonia was the fact that the Livonians did not pay the ancient “Yuriev tribute” - monetary compensation for the Germans who settled in the Baltic states for the right to settle on lands located along the Western Dvina River and belonged to the Polotsk princes. Later, these payments turned into a very significant tribute for the Russian city of Yuryev (Dorpat) captured by German knights. Livonia recognized the fairness of this compensation in agreements of 1474, 1509 and 1550.

In 1554, at negotiations in Moscow, representatives of the Order - Johann Bockhorst, Otto von Grothusen, and the Bishop of Dorpat - Waldemar Wrangel, Diederik Cover, agreed with the arguments of the Russian side. Russia was represented by Alexey Adashev and Ivan Viskovaty. Livonia undertook to pay the Russian sovereign tribute with arrears for three years, three marks “from each head.” However, the Livonians did not have time to collect such a significant amount - 60 thousand marks (or rather, they were not in a particular hurry). Other demands of the Russian government turned out to be unfulfilled - the restoration of Russian quarters (“ends”) and Orthodox churches in them in Riga, Reval and Dorpat, ensuring trade for Russian “guests” and abandoning allied relations with Sweden and Lithuania. The Livonians directly violated one of the points of the agreement with Moscow by concluding an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in September 1554, which was directed against Rus'. Having learned about this, the Russian government sent a letter to Master Johann Wilhelm von Furstenberg declaring war. In 1557, in the city of Posvol, an agreement was concluded between the Livonian Confederation and the Polish Kingdom, which established the vassal dependence of the Order on Poland.

However, full-scale hostilities did not begin immediately. Ivan Vasilyevich still hoped to achieve his goals through diplomatic means. Negotiations continued in Moscow until June 1558. However, violations by the Livonians of the agreements of 1554 gave the Russian government a reason to increase pressure on the Order. It was decided to carry out a military action in order to intimidate the Livonians in order to make them more accommodating. The main goal of the first campaign of the Russian army, which took place in the winter of 1558, was the desire to achieve the voluntary abandonment of Narva (Rugodiva) by the Livonians. For this purpose, an already mobilized cavalry army, ready for war with the Crimean Khanate, was transferred to the borders with the Livonian Confederation.

The beginning of the war. War with the Livonian Confederation

First trip. Winter campaign of 1558. In January 1558, Moscow cavalry regiments led by Kasimov’s “Tsar” Shah-Ali and Prince Mikhail Glinsky invaded Livonia and passed through the eastern regions quite easily. During the winter campaign, 40 thousand. The Russian-Tatar army reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, ravaging the surroundings of many Livonian cities and castles. The task of capturing the Livonian fortifications was not set. This raid was a frank demonstration of the power of the Russian state, designed to have a psychological impact on the order authorities. During this campaign, Russian commanders twice, at the direction of Emperor Ivan Vasilyevich, sent letters to the Livonian master to send ambassadors to resume the negotiation process. Moscow did not want to wage a serious war in the north-west; it was enough for it to fulfill the agreements already reached.

The Livonian authorities, frightened by the invasion, accelerated the collection of tribute and agreed on a temporary suspension of hostilities. Diplomats were sent to Moscow and, during difficult negotiations, an agreement was reached on the transfer of Narva to Russia.

Second trip. But the established truce did not last long. Livonian supporters of war with Russia violated the peace. In March 1558, Narva Vogt Ernst von Schnellenberg ordered the shelling of the Russian fortress of Ivangorod, this provoked a new invasion of Russian troops into Livonia. This time the blow was more powerful and Russian troops captured fortresses and castles. The Russian army was reinforced by the forces of governors Alexei Basmanov and Danil Adashev, artillery, including heavy artillery, to destroy fortifications.

During the spring and summer of 1558, Russian regiments captured 20 fortresses, including those that voluntarily capitulated and became the subjects of the Russian Tsar. In April 1558, Narva was besieged. For quite a long time, fighting near the city was limited only to artillery fire. Everything changed on May 11, a strong fire broke out in Narva (possibly caused by Russian artillery fire), a significant part of the Livonian garrison was sent to fight the fire, at this time Russian soldiers broke the gates and captured the lower city, many Germans were killed. Livonian guns were aimed at the upper castle, and artillery shelling began. The besieged, realizing that their situation was hopeless, capitulated on the condition of leaving the city. The trophies of the Russian army were 230 large and small cannons and many arquebuses. The remaining residents of the city took an oath of allegiance to the Russian sovereign.

Narva became the first major Livonian fortress that Russian troops took in the Livonian War. Having captured the fortress, Moscow received a convenient seaport, through which direct connections became possible. trade relations with countries Western Europe. In addition, work began in Narva to create a Russian fleet - a shipyard was built in which craftsmen from Kholmogory and Vologda worked. A squadron of 17 ships was subsequently based in the harbor of Narva under the command of a German, Danish subject Carsten Rode, who was accepted into Russian service. He was a talented captain with a very interesting fate, more details in the VO article: The First Russian Fleet - the pirates of the Terrible Tsar. Ivan Vasilyevich sent the Novgorod bishop to the city with the task of consecrating Narva and starting construction Orthodox churches. Narva remained Russian until 1581 (it was captured by the Swedish army).

The small but strong fortress of Neuhausen held the defense for several weeks. Several hundred warriors and peasants, led by the knight von Padenorm, repelled the onslaught of the army under the command of governor Peter Shuisky. On June 30, 1558, Russian artillery completed the destruction of the outer fortifications, and the Germans retreated to the upper castle. After this, people refused to continue their senseless resistance and capitulated. Shuisky, as a sign of their courage, allowed them to leave with honor.

After the capture of Neuhausen, Shuisky besieged Dorpat. It was defended by a 2 thousand garrison of German mercenaries (“overseas Germans”) and local residents under the command of Bishop Hermann Weyland. To shell the city, Russian troops built a high rampart, raising it to the level of the walls, which made it possible to shell the entire Dorpat. The city was heavily bombarded for several days, several fortifications and many houses were destroyed. On July 15, the Tsarist governor Shuisky invited Weyland to capitulate. While he was thinking, the bombing continued. During the siege of Dorpat, Russian artillerymen used incendiary shells for the first time - “fire coolies”. Having lost all hope of outside help, the townspeople decided to start negotiations with the Russians. Pyotr Shuisky promised not to destroy Dorpat to the ground and to preserve the previous government for the townspeople. On July 18, 1558, the city capitulated.

In Dorpat, in one of the hiding places, Russian warriors discovered 80 thousand thalers, which exceeded the entire debt of Livonia to Russia. As a result, the residents of Dorpat, due to the greed of some townspeople, lost more than the Russian sovereign demanded from them. The money found would be enough not only for the Yuryev tribute, but also for hiring troops to defend Livonia. In addition, the winners captured 552 large and small cannons.

Capture of Narva by Ivan the Terrible. B. A. Chorikov, 1836.

Attempted Livonian counteroffensive. During the summer campaign of 1558, Russian advance detachments reached Revel and Riga, ravaging their surroundings. After such a successful campaign, Russian troops left Livonia, leaving small garrisons in the captured cities and castles. The energetic Livonian deputy master, former commander Fellina Gotthard (Gottard) Ketler, decided to take advantage of this. The deputy master collected 19 thousand. army: 2 thousand cavalry, 7 thousand bollards, 10 thousand militia.

Ketler wanted to recapture the lost eastern lands, primarily in the Bishopric of Dorpat. Livonian troops approached the fortress of Ringen (Ryngola), which was defended by a garrison of only 40 “sons of the boyars” and 50 archers under the leadership of governor Rusin-Ignatiev. Russian soldiers put up heroic resistance, repelling the onslaught of the enemy army for 5 weeks (according to other sources - 6 weeks). They repelled two general assaults.

The garrison of Ringen tried to rescue the 2 thousand sent to help. detachment under the command of governor Mikhail Repnin. Russian soldiers were able to defeat the forward outpost of the Livonians; 230 people were captured along with their commander Johann Ketler (the commander's brother). However, then Repnin’s detachment was attacked by the main forces of the Livonian army and defeated. This failure did not shake the courage of the defenders of the fortress; they continued to defend themselves.

The Germans were able to capture Ryngola only during the third assault, which lasted three days, after the defenders ran out of gunpowder. Those soldiers who did not fall in the fierce battle were finished off by the Livonians. Ketrel lost a fifth of the army near Ringen - about 2 thousand people and spent a month and a half on the siege. After this, the offensive impulse of the Livonian army died down. The Livonians at the end of October 1558 were only able to organize a raid on the border areas of Pskov. Livonian troops ravaged the Svyatonikolsky monastery near Sebezh and the settlements of the town of Krasny. Then the Livonian army retreated to Riga and Wenden.

Winter campaign 1558-1559 The Livonian offensive and the devastation of the Pskov places caused great anger among the Russian sovereign. Measures were taken to retaliate. Within two months, troops under the command of Semyon Mikulinsky and Pyotr Morozov entered Livonia. They devastated southern Livonia for a month.

On January 17, 1559, the decisive battle took place near the city of Tiersen. A large Livonian detachment under the command of Friedrich Felkersam (Felkenzam) clashed with the Advanced Regiment led by Voivode Vasily Serebryany. In a stubborn battle, the Livonians were defeated. Felkersam and 400 of his warriors died, the rest were captured or fled. This victory gave vast territories into the hands of the Russian army. Russian troops unhindered raided the lands of the Livonian Confederation, passing “on both sides of the Dvina”, capturing 11 cities and castles. The Russians reached Riga and stayed here for three days. Then they went to the border with Prussia and only in February with great booty and significant cargo they returned to Russian borders. In addition, the Riga fleet was burned at the Dunamun roadstead.

Truce of 1559

After such a successful campaign, the Russian government granted the Livonian Confederation a truce (the third in a row) from March to November 1559. Moscow was confident that the situation in the newly conquered cities was strong and, through the mediation of the Danes, agreed to a truce. In addition, Moscow was under strong diplomatic pressure from Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, concerned about Russian successes. Thus, the Lithuanian ambassadors urgently demanded that Tsar Ivan IV stop the war in Livonia, threatening, otherwise, to take the side of the Livonian Confederation. Soon, Swedish and Danish envoys sent a request to end the war. Russian successes upset the balance of power in Europe and the Baltic, affecting the political and economic interests of a number of powers. The Polish king Sigismund II Augustus even complained about the Russians Queen of England Elizabeth I: “The Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring goods that are brought to Narva, because, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him... military specialists arrive, through whom he acquires the means to defeat everyone...”. There were supporters of the truce in Moscow as well. Okolnichy Alexey Adashev expressed the interests of the party, which insisted on continuing the struggle in the south, against Crimea.

To be continued…

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

Ivan groznyj
Magnus of Livonia

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

date
Place	territories of modern Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Northwestern Russia
Bottom line	victory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden
Changes	annexation of parts of Livonia and Velizh to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; to Sweden - parts of Estland, Ingria and Karelia

Battles:
Narva (1558) - Dorpat - Ringen - Tiersen - Ermes - Fellin - Nevel - Polotsk (1563) - Chashniki (1564) - Ezerische - Chashniki (1567) - Revel (1570) - Lode - Parnu - Revel (1577) - Weisenstein - Venden - Polotsk (1579) - Sokol - Rzhev - Velikie Luki - Toropets - Nastasino - Zavolochye - Padis - Shklov - Narva (1581) - Radziwill's raid - Pskov - Lyalitsy - Oreshek Treaties:

Livonian War

The war of Muscovite Rus' against the Livonian Order, the Polish-Lithuanian state, Sweden and Denmark for hegemony in the Baltic states. 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 for a campaign in the Livonian lands. In December, this army, under the command of the Tatar prince Shig-Aley, Prince Glinsky and other governors, moved towards Pskov. The auxiliary army of Prince Shestunov at this time began military operations from the Ivangorod region to the mouth of the Narva (Narova) River. In January 1558, the tsarist army approached Yuryev (Dorpt), but was unable to take it. Then part of the Russian troops turned to Riga, and the main forces headed to Narva (Rugodiv), where they united 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.

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 came under Russian control. The Order's army was several times inferior in number to the Russians and, moreover, was scattered among separate garrisons. It could not oppose anything to the army of the Tsar. Until October 1558, Russian troops in Livonia captured 20 castles.

In January 1559, Russian troops wentmarch to Riga . Near Tiersen 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, they continued to be haunted by failures. In January 1560, the army of governor Borboshin took the fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin. The Livonian Order practically ceased to exist as a military force. 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 (the island of Ezel went to Denmark). The Poles got Livonia and Courland (Kettler became Duke of the latter), the Swedes got Estland.

Poland and Sweden demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Livonia.Ivan groznyj not only did he not fulfill this requirement, but also invaded the territory of Lithuania, allied with Poland, at the end of 1562. His army numbered 33,407 people. The goal 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 “elected Rada” - the de facto government until the end of the 50s - had a negative impact on the combat effectiveness of the Russian army. Many governors and nobles, fearing reprisals, preferred to flee to Lithuania. In the same 1564, one of the most prominent governors, PrinceAndrey Kurbsky , close to the Adashev brothers who were part 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 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Republic), under the leadership of the Polish king. Now Polish troops came to the aid of the Lithuanian army. In 1570, fighting intensified in both Lithuania and Livonia. To secure the Baltic lands, Ivan the Terrible decided to createown fleet . At the beginning of 1570, he issued a “charter” to the Dane Karsten Rode to organize a privateer fleet, operating on behalf of the Russian Tsar. Roda managed to arm several ships and caused significant damage to Polish maritime trade. In order to have a reliable naval base, Russian troops in the same 1570 tried to capture Revel, thereby starting a war with Sweden. However, the city unhinderedly 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, Tsar Ivan’s 32,000-strong army launched a newtrip to Revel . However, this time the siege of the city was not successful. Then Russian troops went to Riga, capturing Dinaburg, Volmar and several other castles. However, these successes were not decisive.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Polish front became more complicated. In 1575, an experienced military leader, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory, was elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He managed to form a strong army, which also included German and Hungarian mercenaries. Batory entered into an alliance with Sweden, and the united Polish-Swedish army in the fall of 1578 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 approximately equal size, 40 thousand people each. After the defeat at Wenden, the Russian Tsar was not confident in his abilities and proposed to begin peace negotiations. However, Batory rejected this proposal and went on the offensive against Polotsk. In the autumn, the Polish army besieged the city and, after a month-long siege, took possession of it. The army of governors Shein and Sheremetev, 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 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 the Smolensk and Seversk lands, and then returned to Lithuania.

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

In September 1581, a 50,000-strong Polish army led by the king besieged 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 secret communication between different sections of the defense. 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 artillery of that time. Inside Big walls there was a Middle City, also surrounded by walls, in the Middle City there was a fortified Dovmontov city, and in the Dovmontov city there was a stone Kremlin. Above the level of the Velikaya River, the walls of the Dovmont city rose 10 m, and the Kremlin - 17 m, which made these fortifications practically impregnable. The city had significant reserves 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 significant detachment gradually, stopped in Staritsa, not risking going towards the Polish army marching towards Pskov.

When the tsar learned about the invasion of Stefan Batory, the army of Prince Ivan Shuisky, appointed “great governor,” was sent to Pskov. Seven other governors were subordinate to him. All residents of Pskov and the garrison were sworn 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 approximately half the size of Batory’s army. By order of Shuisky, the outskirts of Pskov were devastated so that the enemy could not find fodder and food there.

On August 18, the Polish army approached the city within 2-3 cannon shots. For a week, Batory conducted reconnaissance of Russian fortifications and only on August 26 ordered his army to approach the city. However, the soldiers soon came under fire from Russian cannons 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 drove up to the Pokrovskaya and Svinaya towers on the southern face of the walls and, having placed 20 guns, on the morning of September 6 began to fire at both towers and the 150 m wall between them. By the evening of September 7, the towers were severely damaged, and a 50 m wide gap appeared in the wall. But the besieged managed to build a new wooden wall against the gap.

On September 8, Polish troops launched an assault. The attackers managed to capture both damaged towers. However, with shots from the large Bars cannon, 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 by rolling up barrels of gunpowder. The explosion served as a signal for a counterattack, which was led by Shuisky himself. The enemy was unable to 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, but the rest of the Poles were never able to complete it. On October 24, Polish batteries began to fire hot cannonballs at Pskov from across the Velikaya River to start fires, but the city’s defenders quickly put out the fire. Four days later, a Polish detachment with crowbars and picks 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 was another wall and a ditch, which the Poles could not overcome. The besieged threw stones and pots of gunpowder on their heads, poured boiling water and tar.

On November 2, Batory's army launched the final assault on Pskov. This time the Poles attacked the western wall. Before this, it was subjected to heavy shelling for five days and was destroyed in several places. However, the defenders of Pskov met the enemy with heavy fire, and the Poles turned back without reaching the breaches.

By that time, the morale of the besiegers had dropped 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 through to 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-Pechersky Monastery 60 km from Pskov, but a garrison of 300 archers, with the support of monks, successfully repelled two attacks, and the enemy was forced to retreat.

Stefan Batory, convinced that he could not take Pskov, in November handed over command to Hetman Zamoyski, and he himself departed 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, and the death toll and desertion increased. Under these conditions, Batory agreed to a ten-year truce. It was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky on January 15, 1582. Rus' abandoned all its conquests in Livonia, and the Poles liberated the Russian cities they had occupied.

In 1583 it was signedPlyus truce with Sweden. Yam, Koporye and Ivangorod passed to the Swedes. Only a small section of the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Neva remained behind Russia. However, in 1590, after the expiration of the truce, hostilities between the Russians and Swedes resumed and this time were successful for Moscow. As a result, according to the Tyavzin Treaty of “Eternal Peace,” Rus' regained Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod and Korelsky district. But this was only small consolation. In general, Ivan the Terrible’s attempt to gain a foothold in the Baltic failed.

At the same time, acute contradictions between Poland and Sweden on the issue of control over Livonia eased the position of the Russian Tsar, excluding a joint Polish-Swedish invasion of Rus'. The resources of Poland alone, as the experience of Batory’s campaign against Pskov showed, were clearly insufficient to capture and retain a significant territory of the Muscovite kingdom. SimultaneouslyLivonian War showed that Sweden and Poland had a formidable enemy in the east, with whom they had to seriously reckon.

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 is faced with new tasks - to return the Russian lands once captured by the Livonian Order, Lithuania and Sweden.

In general, formal reasons were found for the start of the war. The real reasons were Russia’s geopolitical need to gain access to the Baltic Sea, as the most convenient for direct connections 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, unwilling strengthening Russia, hindered its external contacts. For example, the Livonian authorities 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 “Yuriev tribute.” According to the treaty of 1503, an annual tribute had to be paid for it and the surrounding territory, which, however, was not done. In addition, the Order concluded a military alliance with the Lithuanian-Polish king in 1557.

Stages of war.

First stage. In January 1558, Ivan the Terrible moved his troops to Livonia. The beginning of the war brought him victories: Narva and Yuriev were taken. In the summer and autumn of 1558 and at the beginning of 1559, Russian troops marched throughout Livonia (as far as Revel and Riga) and advanced in Courland to the borders of East Prussia and Lithuania. However, in 1559, under the influence of political figures 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 Augustus in 1559, according to which the order, lands and possessions of the Riga archbishop passed under the protectorate Polish crown. In an atmosphere of acute political disagreements in the leadership of the Livonian Order, its master W. Fürstenberg 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 Ösel (Saaremaa).

The military operations 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 Fürstenberg himself was captured. The successes of the Russian army were facilitated by the peasant uprisings that broke out in the country against the German feudal lords. The result of the campaign of 1560 was the virtual defeat of the Livonian Order as a state. The German feudal lords of Northern Estonia became Swedish citizens. According to the Treaty of Vilna of 1561, the possessions of the Livonian Order came under the authority of Poland, Denmark and Sweden, and its last master, Ketler, received only Courland, and even then it was dependent on Poland. Thus, instead of weak Livonia, Russia now had three strong opponents.

Second phase. While Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, Ivan IV led successful actions against Sigismund II Augustus. In 1563, the Russian army took Plock, a fortress that opened the way to the capital of Lithuania, Vilna, and 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 existing at that time. The Zemstvo Sobor, convened at this time, supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states until the capture of Riga: “It is unsuitable for our sovereign to give up those cities of Livonia, which the king took for protection, but it is better for the sovereign to stand for those cities.” The council's decision also emphasized that abandoning Livonia would harm trade interests.

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

In 1575, the Saga fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov to the Russians. After the campaign of 1576, Russia captured the entire coast except Riga and Kolyvan.

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

Fourth stage. In 1575, the period of “kinglessness” (1572-1575) ended in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Stefan Batory was elected king. Stefan Batory, Prince of Semigrad, was supported by the Turkish Sultan Murad III. After the flight of King Henry of Valois from Poland in 1574, the Sultan sent a letter to the Polish lords demanding that the Poles not choose Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II as king, but choose one of the Polish nobles, for example Jan Kostka, or, if the king is from others powers, then Bathory or the Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa. Ivan the Terrible, in a letter to Stefan Batory, more than once hinted that he was a vassal of the Turkish Sultan, which caused a sharp response from Batory: “How dare you remind us so often of the lack of antimony, you, who prevented your blood from being with us, whose venerable mare’s milk, what had sunk into the manes of the Tatar scales was licked...” The election of Stefan Batory as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth meant the resumption of the war with Poland. However, back in 1577, Russian troops occupied almost all of Livonia, except for Riga and Revel, which were besieged in 1576-1577. But this year was last year Russia's successes in the Livonian War.

In 1579, Batory began a war against Russia. In 1579, Sweden also resumed hostilities, and Batory returned Polotsk and took Velikiye Luki, and in 1581 he besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to go to Novgorod the Great and Moscow. The Pskovites swore “to fight for the city of Pskov with Lithuania to the death without any cunning.” They kept their oath, fighting off 31 attacks. After five months of unsuccessful attempts, the Poles were forced to lift the siege of Pskov. Heroic defense of Pskov in 1581 -1582. garrison and population of the city determined a more favorable outcome of the Livonian War for Russia: the failure near Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.

Taking advantage of the fact that Batory had actually cut off Livonia from Russia, the Swedish commander Baron Pontus Delagardie launched an operation to destroy isolated Russian garrisons in Livonia. By the end of 1581, the Swedes, having crossed the frozen Gulf of Finland on ice, captured the entire coast of Northern Estonia, Narva, Wesenberg (Rakovor, Rakvere), and then moved to Riga, along the way taking Haapsalu, Pärnu, and then the entire Southern (Russian) ) Estonia - Fellin (Viljandi), Dorpat (Tartu). In total, Swedish troops captured 9 cities in Livonia and 4 in Novgorod land, nullifying all the many years of conquest of the Russian state in the Baltic states. In Ingermanland Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye were taken, and in the Ladoga region - Korela.

Results and consequences of the war.

In January 1582, a ten-year truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky (near Pskov). Under this agreement, Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border Russian lands seized by the Polish king during hostilities were returned to her.

The defeat of the Russian troops in the simultaneous war with Poland, where the tsar was faced with the need to decide even to cede Pskov if the city was taken by storm, forced Ivan IV and his diplomats to negotiate with Sweden on the conclusion of the Treaty of Plus, humiliating for the Russian state. . Negotiations at Plus took place from May to August 1583. Under this agreement:

1. Russian state lost all its acquisitions in Livonia. It retained only a narrow section of access to the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Finland.
2. Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye passed to the Swedes.
3. Also, the Kexholm fortress in Karelia, along with a vast county and the coast of Lake Ladoga, went to the Swedes.
4. Russian state It turned out to be cut off from the sea, ruined and devastated. Russia lost a significant part of its territory.

Thus, the Livonian War had very difficult consequences for the Russian state, and defeat in it greatly affected its further development. However, one can agree with N.M. Karamzin, who noted that the Livonian War was “unfortunate, but not inglorious for Russia.”