Livonian War causes, stages, results. Livonian War. Ivan the Terrible against Europe
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The Livonian War (1558-1583) for the right to own the territories and possessions of Livonia (a historical region on the territory of the modern Latvian and Estonian republics) began as a war between Russia and the Livonian knightly order, which later turned into a war between Russia, Sweden and.
The prerequisite for the war was Russian-Livonian negotiations, which ended in 1554 with the signing of a peace treaty for a period of 15 years. According to this treaty, Livonia was obliged to pay an annual tribute to the Russian Tsar for the city of Dorpat (modern Tartu, originally known as Yuryev), since it previously belonged to the Russian princes, the heirs of Ivan IV. Under the pretext of paying the Yuriev tribute later than the deadline, the tsar declared war on Livonia in January 1558.
Causes of the Livonian War
Concerning true reasons declaration of war on Livonia by Ivan IV, two possible versions are expressed. The first version was proposed in the 50s of the 19th century Russian historian Sergei Solovyov, who presented Ivan the Terrible as the predecessor of Peter the Great in his intentions to seize the Baltic port, thereby establishing unimpeded economic (trade) relations with European countries. Until 1991, this version remained the main one in Russian and Soviet historiography, and some Swedish and Danish scientists also agreed with it.
However, since the 60s of the 20th century, the assumption that Ivan IV was motivated solely by economic (trade) interests in the Livonian War has been severely criticized. Critics pointed out that when justifying military actions in Livonia, the tsar never referred to the need for unimpeded trade relations with Europe. Instead, he spoke of heritage rights, calling Livonia his fiefdom. An alternative explanation, proposed by the German historian Norbert Angermann (1972) and supported by the scholar Erik Tiberg (1984) and some Russian scholars in the 1990s, notably Filyushkin (2001), emphasizes the Tsar's desire to expand his spheres of influence and consolidate his power.
Most likely, Ivan IV started the war without any strategic plans. He simply wanted to punish the Livonians and force them to pay tribute and fulfill all the terms of the peace treaty. The initial success encouraged the Tsar that it would be possible to conquer the entire territory of Livonia, but here his interests collided with those of Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, turning a local conflict into a long and grueling war between the greatest powers of the Baltic region.
Main periods of the Livonian War
As hostilities developed, Ivan IV changed allies, and the picture of military operations also changed. Thus, four main periods can be distinguished in the Livonian War.
- From 1558 to 1561 - the period of initial successful Russian operations in Livonia;
- 1560s - a period of confrontation with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and peaceful relations with Sweden;
- From 1570 to 1577 - the last attempts of Ivan IV to conquer Livonia;
- From 1578 to 1582 - attacks by Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, forcing Ivan IV to liberate the Livonian lands he had seized and move on to peace negotiations.
The first victories of the Russian army
In 1558, the Russian army, without encountering serious resistance from the Livonian army, took an important port located on the Narva River on May 11th, and then conquered the city of Dorpat on July 19th. After a long truce, which lasted from March to November 1559, in 1560 the Russian army made another attempt to attack Livonia. On August 2, the main army of the Order was defeated near Ermes (modern Ergeme), and on August 30, the Russian army led by Prince Andrei Kurbsky took Fellin Castle (modern Viljandi Castle).
When the weakened one falls Livonian Order it became obvious that knightly society and Livonian cities began to seek support from the Baltic countries - Principality of Lithuania, Denmark and Sweden. In 1561, the country was divided: the last Landmaster of the Order, Gotthard Ketler, became a subject of Sigismund II Augustus, the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the destroyed Order. At the same time, the northern part of Livonia, including the city of Reval (modern Tallinn), was occupied by Swedish troops. Sigismund II was the main rival of Ivan IV in the Livonian War, therefore, trying to unite with King Eric XIV of Sweden, the Tsar declared war on the Principality of Lithuania in 1562. A huge Russian army, led by the Tsar himself, began the siege of Polotsk, a city on the eastern border of the Principality of Lithuania, and captured it on February 15, 1563. In the next few years, the Lithuanian army was able to take revenge, winning two battles in 1564 and capturing two minor fortresses in 1568, but it failed to achieve decisive successes in the war.
Turning point: victories give way to defeat
By the early 70s of the 16th century, the international situation had changed again: coup d'etat in Sweden (Eric XIV was deposed by his brother John III) put an end to the Russian-Swedish alliance; Poland and Lithuania, which united in 1569 to form the state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, on the contrary, adhered to a peaceful policy due to the illness of King Sigismund II Augustus, who died in 1579, and the periods of interregnum (1572-1573, 1574-1575).
Due to these circumstances, Ivan IV tried to oust the Swedish army from the territory of northern Livonia: the Russian army and the tsar’s subject, the Danish prince Magnus (brother of Frederick II, king of Denmark), carried out a siege of the city of Rewal for 30 weeks (from August 21, 1570 to March 16, 1571), but in vain.
The alliance with the Danish king showed its complete failure, and the raids of the Crimean Tatars, such as, for example, the burning of Moscow by Khan Davlet I Giray on May 24, 1571, forced the king to postpone military operations in Livonia for several years.
In 1577, Ivan IV made his last attempt to conquer Livonia. Russian troops occupied the entire territory of the country with the exception of the cities of Reval and Riga. The following year the war reached its final stage, fatal for Rus' in the Livonian War.
Defeat of Russian troops
In 1578, Russian troops were defeated by the joint efforts of the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden near the Wenden fortress (modern Cesis fortress), after which the royal subject, Prince Magnus, joined the Polish army. In 1579, the Polish king Stefan Batory, a talented general, besieged Polotsk again; the following year he invaded Rus' and ravaged the Pskov region, capturing the fortresses of Velizh and Usvyat and subjecting Velikiye Luki to destructive fire. During the third campaign against Rus' in August 1581, Batory began the siege of Pskov; The garrison under the leadership of the Russian prince Ivan Shuisky repelled 31 attacks.
At the same time, Swedish troops captured Narva. On January 15, 1582, Ivan IV signed the Treaty of Yam-Zapolsky near the town of Zapolsky Yam, which ended the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ivan IV renounced the territories in Livonia, Polotsk and Velizh (Velikiye Luki were returned to the Russian kingdom). In 1583, a peace treaty was signed with Sweden, according to which the Russian cities of Yam, Ivangorod and Koporye were transferred to the Swedes.
Results of the Livonian War
The defeat in the Livonian War was devastating for foreign policy Ivan IV, it weakened the position of Rus' in front of its western and northern neighbors, the war had a detrimental effect on the northwestern regions of the country.
Federal Agency for Education
State educational institution
higher professional education
RUSSIAN STATE HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY
Institute of Economics, Management and Law
FACULTY OF ECONOMICS
Bubble Kristina Radievna
"Livonian War, its political meaning and consequences"
Abstract on the history of Russia
1st year student correspondence form training.
2009-Moscow.
INTRODUCTION -2-
1. Prerequisites for the Livonian War -3-
2. Progress of the war -4-
2.1. War with the Livonian Confederation -5-
2.2. Truce of 1559 -8-
2.3. War with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania -10-
2.4. Third period of the war -11-
2.5. Fourth period of the war -12-
3. Results and consequences of the Livonian War -12-
CONCLUSION -14-
REFERENCES -15-
INTRODUCTION
The history of the Livonian War, despite the knowledge of the goals of the conflict, the nature of the actions of the warring parties, and the results of the military clash, remains among the key problems of Russian history. Evidence of this is the kaleidoscope of opinions of researchers who tried to determine the significance of this war among other major foreign policy actions of the Moscow state in the second half of the 16th century.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the formation of a strong centralized state, Muscovite Rus', was completed on Russian lands, which sought to expand its territory at the expense of lands that belonged to other peoples. To successfully implement its political aspirations and economic goals, this state needed to establish close ties with Western Europe, which could only be achieved after gaining free access to the Baltic Sea.
By the middle of the 16th century. Russia owned a small section of coastline on the Baltic Sea from Ivangorod to the area around the mouth of the Neva, where there were no good harbors. This slowed down the development of the Russian economy. To participate in the profitable maritime trade and intensify political and cultural ties with Western Europe, the country needed to expand access to the Baltic, gaining such convenient ports as Revel (Tallinn) and Riga. The Livonian Order prevented Russian transit trade through the Eastern Baltic, trying to create an economic blockade of Muscovy. But united Russia became much more powerful than the Livonian Order and finally decided to conquer these lands by force of arms.
The main goal of the Livonian War, which was waged by Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible with the Livonian Confederation of States (Livonian Order, Riga Archbishopric, Dorpat, Ezel-Vik and Courland bishoprics) was to gain access to Baltic Sea.
The purpose of this work is to study the political meaning of the Livonian War and its consequences.
Background of the Livonian War
Reforms of the state apparatus, which strengthened the Russian armed forces, and the successful resolution of the Kazan issue allowed the Russian state to begin the struggle for access to the Baltic Sea. The Russian nobility sought to acquire new lands in the Baltic states, and the merchants hoped to gain free access to European markets.
The Livonian feudal lords, as well as the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden, pursued a policy of economic blockade of Russia.
The Livonian Confederation was interested in controlling the transit of Russian trade and significantly limited the opportunities of Russian merchants. In particular, all trade exchanges with Europe could only be carried out through the Livonian ports of Riga, Lindanise (Revel), Narva, and goods could only be transported on ships of the Hanseatic League. At the same time, fearing the military and economic strengthening of Russia, the Livonian Confederation prevented the transport of strategic raw materials and specialists to Russia (see the Schlitte Affair), receiving the assistance of the Hanseatic League, Poland, Sweden and the German imperial authorities.
In 1503, Ivan III concluded a truce with the Livonian Confederation for 50 years, under the terms of which it had to annually pay tribute (the so-called “Yuriev tribute”) for the city of Yuryev (Dorpt), which previously belonged to Novgorod. Treaties between Moscow and Dorpat in the 16th century. Traditionally, the “Yuriev tribute” was mentioned, but in fact it was long forgotten. When the truce expired, during negotiations in 1554, Ivan IV demanded the return of arrears, the renunciation of the Livonian Confederation from military alliances with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden, and the continuation of the truce.
The first payment of the debt for Dorpat was supposed to take place in 1557, but the Livonian Confederation did not fulfill its obligation.
In the spring of 1557, Tsar Ivan IV established a port on the banks of Narva ( “The same year, July, a city was built from the German Ust-Narova River Rozsene by the sea as a shelter for sea ships.”). However, Livonia and the Hanseatic League do not allow European merchants to enter the new Russian port, and they are forced to go, as before, to Livonian ports.
The Estonian and Latvian peoples have been connected with the Russian people since the times of the ancient Russian state. This connection was interrupted as a result of the conquest of the Baltic states by the German crusaders and the creation of the Livonian Order there.
While fighting the German feudal lords, the working masses of Estonia and Latvia saw their ally in the Russian people, and the annexation of the Baltic states to Russia as an opportunity for their further economic and cultural development.
By the middle of the 16th century. The Baltic issue began to occupy a prominent place in the international relations of European powers. Along with Russia, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania showed particular interest in access to the Baltic Sea, in whose economies trade with Western European countries was of significant importance. Sweden and Denmark took an active part in the struggle for the Baltic states, striving to strengthen their economic and political positions in this area. During this struggle, Denmark usually acted as an ally of Ivan IV, and Denmark's enemy was Sweden in 1554-1557. waged an inconclusive three-year war with Russia. Finally, England and Spain, which competed with each other, were also interested in Eastern European sales markets. Thanks to friendly diplomatic and trade relations with Russia, England already from the late 50s of the 16th century. greatly displaced the Hanseatic traders of Flemish cloth in the Baltic markets.
Thus, the Livonian War began in difficult international conditions, when its progress was closely monitored or the largest European powers took part in it.
Progress of the war
By the beginning of the war, the Livonian Confederation had been weakened by a series of military defeats and the Reformation. On the other hand, Russia was gaining strength after the victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the annexation of Kabarda.
War with the Livonian Confederation
The invasion of Russian troops in January-February 1558 into the Livonian lands was a reconnaissance raid. 40 thousand people took part in it under the command of Khan Shig-Aley (Shah-Ali), governor Glinsky and Zakharyin-Yuryev. They walked through the eastern part of Estonia and returned back by the beginning of March. The Russian side motivated this campaign solely by the desire to receive due tribute from Livonia. The Livonian Landtag decided to collect 60 thousand thalers for settlements with Moscow in order to end the war that had begun. However, by May only half of the declared amount had been collected. In addition, the Narva garrison fired at the Ivangorod border outpost, thereby violating the armistice agreement.
This time a more powerful army moved to Livonia. The Livonian Confederation at that time could put no more than 10 thousand in the field, not counting the fortress garrisons. Thus, its main military asset was the powerful stone walls of the fortresses, which by this time could no longer effectively withstand the power of heavy siege weapons.
Voivodes Alexey Basmanov and Danila Adashev arrived in Ivangorod. In April 1558, Russian troops besieged Narva. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the command of the knight Vocht Schnellenberg. On May 11, a fire broke out in the city, accompanied by a storm (according to the Nikon Chronicle, the fire occurred due to the fact that drunken Livonians threw an Orthodox icon of the Mother of God into the fire). Taking advantage of the fact that the guards had left the city walls, the Russians rushed to storm. They broke through the gates and took possession of the lower city. Having captured the guns located there, the warriors turned them around and opened fire on the upper castle, preparing the stairs for the attack. However, by the evening the defenders of the castle themselves surrendered, on the condition of free exit from the city.
The defense of the Neuhausen fortress was particularly tenacious. It was defended by several hundred warriors led by the knight von Padenorm, who repelled the onslaught of the governor Peter Shuisky for almost a month. On June 30, 1558, after the destruction of the fortress walls and towers by Russian artillery, the Germans retreated to the upper castle. Von Padenorm expressed a desire to hold the defense here too, but the surviving defenders of the fortress refused to continue their pointless resistance. As a sign of respect for their courage, Pyotr Shuisky allowed them to leave the fortress with honor.
In July, P. Shuisky besieged Dorpat. The city was defended by a garrison of 2,000 men under the command of Bishop Weyland. Having built a rampart at the level of the fortress walls and installed guns on it, on July 11, Russian artillery began shelling the city. The cannonballs pierced the tiles of the roofs of houses, drowning the residents taking refuge there. On July 15, P. Shuisky invited Weiland to surrender. While he was thinking, the bombing continued. Some towers and loopholes were destroyed. Having lost hope of outside help, the besieged decided to enter into negotiations with the Russians. P. Shuisky promised not to destroy the city to the ground and to preserve the previous administration for its residents. On July 18, 1558 Dorpat capitulated. The troops settled in houses abandoned by residents. In one of them, warriors found 80 thousand thalers in a cache. The Livonian historian bitterly tells that the people of Dorpat, because of their greed, lost more than the Russian Tsar demanded from them. The funds found would be enough not only for the Yuryev tribute, but also for hiring troops to defend the Livonian Confederation.
During May-October 1558, Russian troops took 20 fortified cities, including those that voluntarily surrendered and entered into the citizenship of the Russian Tsar, after which they went to winter quarters within their borders, leaving small garrisons in the cities. The new energetic master Gotthard Ketler took advantage of this. Having collected 10 thousand. army, he decided to return what was lost. At the end of 1558, Ketler approached the Ringen fortress, which was defended by a garrison of several hundred archers under the command of the governor Rusin-Ignatiev. A detachment of governor Repnin (2 thousand people) went to help the besieged, but he was defeated by Ketler. However, the Russian garrison continued to defend the fortress for five weeks, and only when the defenders ran out of gunpowder were the Germans able to storm the fortress. The entire garrison was killed. Having lost a fifth of his army (2 thousand people) near Ringen and having spent more than a month besieging one fortress, Ketler was unable to build on his success. At the end of October 1558, his army retreated to Riga. This small victory turned into a big disaster for the Livonians.
In response to the actions of the Livonian Confederation, two months after the fall of the Ringen fortress, Russian troops carried out a winter raid, which was a punitive operation. In January 1559, Prince-voivode Serebryany at the head of his army entered Livonia. The Livonian army under the command of the knight Felkensam came out to meet him. On January 17, at the Battle of Terzen, the Germans suffered a complete defeat. Felkensam and 400 knights (not counting ordinary warriors) died in this battle, the rest were captured or fled. This victory opened the gates to Livonia wide for the Russians. They passed unhindered through the lands of the Livonian Confederation, captured 11 cities and reached Riga, where they burned the Riga fleet at the Dunamun raid. Then Courland passed along the path of the Russian army and, having passed through it, they reached the Prussian border. In February, the army returned home with huge booty and a large number 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, who had their own plans for the Livonian lands. Since March 1559, Lithuanian ambassadors urgently demanded that Ivan IV stop hostilities in Livonia, threatening, otherwise, to take the side of the Livonian Confederation. Soon the Swedish and Danish ambassadors made requests to end the war.
With its invasion of Livonia, Russia also affected the trade interests of a number of European states. Trade on the Baltic Sea was then growing from year to year and the question of who would control it was relevant. Revel merchants, having lost the most important source of their profits - income from Russian transit, complained to the Swedish king: “ We stand on the walls and watch with tears as merchant ships sail past our city to the Russians in Narva».
In addition, the presence of the Russians in Livonia affected complex and confusing pan-European politics, upsetting the balance of power on the continent. So, for example, the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus wrote to the English Queen Elizabeth I about the importance of the Russians in Livonia: “ The Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring goods that are brought to Narva, because, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him... military specialists arrive, through whom he acquires the means to defeat everyone...».
The truce was also due to disagreements over foreign strategy within the Russian leadership itself. There, in addition to supporters of access to the Baltic Sea, there were those who spoke in favor of continuing the struggle in the south, against Crimean Khanate. In fact, the main initiator of the truce of 1559 was the okolnichy Alexei Adashev. This group reflected the sentiments of those circles of the nobility who, in addition to eliminating the threat from the steppes, wanted to receive a large additional land fund in steppe zone. During this truce, the Russians attacked the Crimean Khanate, which, however, did not have significant consequences. The truce with Livonia had more global consequences.
The region was annexed to Russia and immediately received special benefits. The cities of Dorpat and Narva were given: complete amnesty for residents, free practice of their faith, city self-government, judicial autonomy and duty-free trade with Russia. Narva, destroyed after the assault, began to be restored and even provided loans to local landowners at the expense of the royal treasury. All this seemed so tempting to the rest of the Livonians, who had not yet been conquered by the “hellish Tatars”, that by the fall 20 more cities voluntarily came under the rule of the “bloody despot”.
Truce of 1559
Already in the first year of the war, in addition to Narva, Yuryev (July 18), Neishloss, Neuhaus were occupied, the troops of the Livonian Confederation were defeated at Thiersen near Riga, Russian troops reached Kolyvan. The raids of the Crimean Tatar hordes on the southern borders of Rus', which occurred already in January 1558, could not fetter the initiative of Russian troops in the Baltic states.
However, in March 1559, under the influence of Denmark and representatives of the large boyars, who prevented the expansion of the scope of the military conflict, a truce was concluded with the Livonian Confederation, which lasted until November. Historian R. G. Skrynnikov emphasizes that the Russian government, represented by Adashev and Viskovaty, “had to conclude a truce on the western borders,” as it was preparing for a “decisive clash on the southern border.”
During the truce (August 31), the Livonian Landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Gothard Ketler, concluded an agreement in Vilna with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II, according to which the lands of the order and the possessions of the Riga Archbishop passed under “clientella and protection,” that is, under the protectorate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the same 1559, Revel went to Sweden, and the Bishop of Ezel ceded the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) to Duke Magnus, the brother of the Danish king, for 30 thousand thalers.
Taking advantage of the delay, the Livonian Confederation gathered reinforcements, and a month before the end of the truce in the vicinity of Yuriev, its troops attacked Russian troops. Russian governors lost more than 1000 people killed.
In 1560, the Russians resumed hostilities and won a number of victories: Marienburg (now Aluksne in Latvia) was taken; German forces were defeated at Ermes, after which Fellin (now Viljandi in Estonia) was taken. The Livonian Confederation collapsed.
During the capture of Fellin, the former Livonian landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Wilhelm von Furstenberg, was captured. In 1575, he sent his brother a letter from Yaroslavl, where the former landmaster had been granted land. He told a relative that he “has no reason to complain about his fate.”
Sweden and Lithuania, who acquired the Livonian lands, demanded that Moscow remove troops from their territory. Ivan the Terrible refused and Russia found itself in conflict with the coalition of Lithuania and Sweden.
War with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
On November 26, 1561, the German Emperor Ferdinand I banned supplies to the Russians through the port of Narva. Eric XIV, King of Sweden, blocked the port of Narva and sent Swedish privateers to intercept merchant ships sailing to Narva.
In 1562, there was a raid by Lithuanian troops on the Smolensk and Velizh regions. In the summer of the same year, the situation on the southern borders of the Moscow state worsened, which moved the timing of the Russian offensive in Livonia to the fall.
The path to the Lithuanian capital Vilna was closed by Polotsk. In January 1563, the Russian army, which included “almost all the armed forces of the country,” set out to capture this border fortress from Velikiye Luki. Early February Russian army began the siege of Polotsk, and on February 15 the city surrendered.
Mercy towards the vanquished was typical for the army of Grozny: when Polotsk was recaptured from the Poles in 1563, Ivan released the garrison in peace, giving each Pole a sable fur coat, and preserving the city's legal proceedings according to local laws.
Nevertheless, Ivan the Terrible was cruel towards Jews. As the Pskov Chronicle reports, during the capture of Polotsk, Ivan the Terrible ordered all Jews to be baptized on the spot, and ordered those who refused (300 people) to be drowned in the Dvina. Karamzin mentions that after the capture of Polotsk, John ordered “to baptize all Jews, and to drown the disobedient in Dvina.”
After the capture of Polotsk, there was a decline in Russia's successes in the Livonian War. Already in 1564, the Russians suffered a series of defeats (Battle of Chashniki). A 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 to the king and participated in the Lithuanian raid on Velikiye Luki.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and the reluctance of eminent boyars to fight against Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565 the oprichnina was introduced. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation existing at that time. The Zemsky 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.
Third period of the war
The Union of Lublin, which in 1569 united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into one state - the Republic of Both Nations, had serious consequences. A difficult situation has developed in the north of Russia, where relations with Sweden have again become strained, and in the south (the campaign of the Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the war with the 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 and 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 period of the war
Stefan Batory, who ascended the Polish throne with the active support of the Turks (1576), went on the offensive and occupied Wenden (1578), Polotsk (1579), Sokol, Velizh, Usvyat, and Velikiye Luki. In the captured fortresses, the Poles and Lithuanians completely destroyed the Russian garrisons. In Velikiye Luki, the Poles exterminated the entire population, about 7 thousand people. Polish and Lithuanian troops ravaged the Smolensk region, the Seversk land, the Ryazan region, the southwest of the Novgorod region, and plundered Russian lands right up to the upper reaches of the Volga. The devastation they caused was reminiscent of the worst Tatar raids. The Lithuanian governor Philon Kmita from Orsha burned 2,000 villages in the western Russian lands and captured a huge town. In February 1581, the Lithuanians burned Staraya Russa.
In 1581, the Polish-Lithuanian army, which included mercenaries from almost all of Europe, besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to march on Novgorod the Great and Moscow. In November 1580, the Swedes took Korela, where 2 thousand Russians were exterminated, and in 1581 they occupied Narva, which was also accompanied by massacres - 7 thousand Russians died; the victors did not take prisoners and did not spare civilians.
The heroic defense of Pskov in 1581-1582 determined a more favorable outcome of the war for Russia: it forced the Polish king to abandon his further plans and conclude a truce with the Russian government in Zapolsky Yam in 1582 for 10 years. Under the terms of this truce, the old state border was preserved. For the Russian state, this meant the loss of Livonia. The following year, 1583, a truce was concluded on the Plussa River with the Swedes, who retained the Russian cities of Koporye, Yam, Ivangorod and the entire coast of the Gulf of Finland, except for a small outlet to the Baltic Sea near the mouth of the Neva.
Results and consequences of the Livonian War
In January 1582, in Yam-Zapolsky (near Pskov) a 10-year truce was concluded with the Republic of Both Nations (the so-called Yam-Zapolsky Peace). Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border lands were returned to it.
In May 1583, the 3-year Truce of Plyus with Sweden was concluded, according to which Koporye, Yam, Ivangorod and the adjacent territory of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland were ceded. The Russian state again found itself cut off from the sea. The country was devastated, the northwestern regions were depopulated. The war was lost on all counts. The result of the war and the repressions of Ivan the Terrible was a population decline (decreased by 25%) and the economic ruin of the country. It should also be noted that the course of the war and its results were influenced by the Crimean raids: only 3 years out of 25 years of the war there were no significant raids.
The Livonian War, which lasted a quarter of a century (1558-1583) and cost huge casualties The Russian state did not solve the historical problem of Russia's access to the Baltic Sea.
As a result of the Livonian War, Livonia was divided between Poland, which received Vidzeme, Latgale, Southern Estonia, the Duchy of Courland, and Sweden, which received Northern Estonia with Tallinn and Russian territory near the Gulf of Finland; Denmark received the island of Saaremaa and certain areas in the former Bishopric of Kurzeme. Thus, the Latvian and Estonian peoples remained politically fragmented under the yoke of the new conquerors.
But the Livonian War was not inconclusive for the Russian state. Its significance was that Russian troops defeated and finally destroyed the Livonian Order, which was a cruel enemy of the Russian, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian peoples. During the Livonian War, the friendship of the Estonian and Latvian peoples with the Russian people strengthened.
CONCLUSION
In 1558, Moscow troops entered Livonia. The Livonian Order was unable to fight and disintegrated. Estland surrendered to Sweden, Livonia to Poland, the order retained only Courland. By 1561, Russian troops finally defeated the Livonian Order. The first period of the war turned out to be very successful for Russia. Russian troops occupied the cities of Narva, Dorpat, Polotsk, and Revel was besieged.
With its invasion of Livonia, Russia also affected the trade interests of a number of European states. Trade on the Baltic Sea was then growing from year to year and the question of who would control it was relevant.
In addition, the presence of the Russians in Livonia affected complex and confusing pan-European politics, upsetting the balance of power on the continent.
Military operations were victorious for Moscow until Stefan Batory, who had undoubted military talent, was elected to the Polish-Lithuanian throne.
The following periods of the war were unsuccessful for Russia. Since 1579, it switched to defensive actions. Batory, having become king, immediately launched a decisive offensive against Ivan the Terrible. Under the onslaught of united troops, the Russians abandoned Polotsk and the strategically important fortress of Velikiye Luki. In 1581, Batory besieged Pskov, intending to march on Novgorod and Moscow after capturing the city. Before Russia arose real threat loss of significant territories. The heroic defense of Pskov (1581-1582), in which the entire population of the city participated, predetermined the outcome of the war that was relatively favorable for Russia.
The results of the Livonian War, which lasted twenty-five years, were very difficult for Russia. Russia suffered territorial losses, hostilities devastated the country, the treasury was emptied, and the central and northwestern districts were depopulated. The main goal of the Livonian War - access to the Baltic Sea coast - was not achieved.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Volkov V.A. Wars and troops of the Moscow state. - M. - 2004.
Danilevsky I.N., Andreev I.L., Kirillov V.V. Russian history. From ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. – M. - 2007.
Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. Volume 8. Volume 9.
Korolyuk V.D. Livonian War. - M. - 1954.
Platonov S. F. Full course lectures on Russian history
Solovyov S. M. History of Russia since ancient times, volume 6. - M., 2001
Skrynnikov R. G. Ivan the Terrible. - M. - 2006.
Shirokorad A. B. Northern Wars Russia. - M. - 2001.
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 in single state- Rzeczpospolita. Russia had to continue the Livonian War without allies under the most unfavorable conditions.
However, both the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia equally needed peace, so both countries concluded a three-year truce in 1570.
At this time, Russia was conducting military operations with the Swedes, resorting to the help of Denmark. Ivan the Terrible decided to create a vassal Livonian kingdom from the conquered lands, on the throne of which it was promised to place the Danish prince Magnus, married to the royal niece. He tried to expel the Swedes from Reval (Estonia) in early 1577, but the siege was unsuccessful. Sweden then made peace with Denmark.
After the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, a period of kinglessness began in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the struggle of contenders for the throne, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory won in 1576. He created an anti-Russian alliance and assembled a significant army.
The third stage of the Livonian War (1679-1583) began with the invasion of Russia by the Polish king Stefan Batory. At the same time, Russia had to fight with Sweden. For the first time during the Livonian War, Russia’s opponents actually joined their military efforts.
In August 1579, Batory's army conquered Polotsk, and a year later Velikiye Luki and other cities. In an attempt to take Pskov, Batory suffered the biggest failure in the war with Russia. Meanwhile, hostilities continued in Livonia and Estonia, where the Swedes took the cities of Padis, Wesenberg, and Kexholm in Karelia from the Russians, and on September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, then Ivangorod, Yam, and Koporye fell.
With the loss of Narva, continuing the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny.
Realizing the impossibility of waging war against two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Batory on a truce in order to concentrate all his 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, ignorance of Ivan the Terrible regarding his rivals, 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 largest of the wars waged by the Russians in the 16th century, but at the same time it had an important political event for a number of European states, and for European history as a whole. Since the 13th century, Livonia, as a confederation, was part of German Empire. By the beginning of the 16th century it was huge medieval state was at the stage of disintegration. It represented an outdated, loosely cohesive political body, based on and still dominated by a remnant of inter-tribal alliances.
Germany did not have its own national identity at the time of the development of the money economy. The once powerful and bloodthirsty Livonian Order completely lost its belligerence and could not resist the new young state, which considered the unity of the nation the priority of its policy and energetically, regardless of means, pursued national policy.
Geopolitics of Northern European states in the 16th century
Without exception, all the powers surrounding Livonia would not refuse, under favorable circumstances, to annex the south-eastern coast of the Baltic. The Principality of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were interested in having access to the sea in order to carry out direct trade relations with Western countries, and not pay a huge duty for the use of foreign sea areas. Sweden and Denmark did not need to acquire maritime trade routes in the Baltic Sea; they were quite satisfied with receiving transit duties from merchants, which were very significant.
Trade routes passed not only through the sea, but also overland. Both states played the role of gatekeepers, and there was cruelty between them. competitive fight in this plan. It is clear that further fate Livonia was not indifferent to the decrepit Germany, disintegrating into small principalities. And the attitude towards the claims of the young Moscow Tsar was far from clear. Far-sighted political men from the overthrown Hanseatic League dreamed of using the growing power of Moscow to restore its former trading power in the east.
Livonia also became a battlefield for states located very far from the Baltic coast. England and Spain continued their dispute in western waters.
Results of the Livonian War
Therefore, after the Russian troops defeated the Livonians, and the diplomatic negotiations of the northern states did not lead to the desired results, they all rallied as a united front against the troops. The war lasted for almost 30 years and its results for the Moscow state were not at all comforting. The main task of accessing the Baltic Sea was not solved. Instead of two neighbors eternally hostile to Russia - the Principality of Lithuania and Poland, a new strong state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took shape.
As a result of a ten-year truce, which was formalized on January 5, 1582 in the village of Yame Zapolski, this new state secured most of the Baltic states. The trophies of war included 41 cities and fortresses occupied by Russian troops. Economy Russian state was drained of blood and its political prestige undermined.
Interesting facts about the results of the Livonian War
- The Livonians were amazed by the generosity of the Russian troops, who removed church property from Orthodox churches, but they left weapons in the fortresses - guns, a large number of gunpowder and cannonballs.
- As a result of the defeat, the Russians, who had lived in Livonia for centuries, had to leave the Baltic states and return to Novgorod, Pskov and other cities, although most of the cities abandoned had Russian names.
Since 1503, there was a 50-year truce with the Livonian Order with the payment of the Yuriev tribute.
In 1554 it was extended for another 15 years.
In the Baltics, the interests of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Russia collided.
Reasons for the start of the Livonian War
1) weakening of the order;
2) suitable for local distribution of land;
3) possibilities for expansion foreign trade(it is not so much the merchants who are interested in this as the tsar, since sales are needed from the palace volosts);
4) hope to weaken the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Russian diplomatic miscalculation
They defeated Sweden in 1554-57, and considered that it was weakened.
They decided that a union between Sweden and Denmark was impossible.
They decided that Lithuania would be neutral, since in 1556 the truce was extended for six years.
In 1558, accusing Livonia of non-payment of the Yuryev tribute, Moscow was the first to start a war.
Stage 1. 1558 - 1560 - commanded by M.V. Glinsky and Shah-Ali Kazansky. Almost all of Livonia is occupied. The Master of the Order is in captivity. Hasty distribution of estates → discontent of the population.
The Polish king Sigismund II Augustus agreed with the new Livonian master on the vassal dependence of the order on Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He left the territory of Courland for himself. Part of the Livonian territories went to Denmark (Esel Island) and Sweden (northern Estonia). → new opponents do not intend to give up their possessions to Moscow.
And so - there is no Livonian Order, and the war has become much more dangerous, since the opponents are strong.
Stage 2. 1561 - 1577 - Ivan 4 himself commanded.
The Russians suffer defeats on the territory of Belarus (Polotsk, Orsha).
Kurbsky's betrayal.
Repeated negotiations for a truce have failed.
Actions on the Baltic coast are unsuccessful.
1570 - Russia achieved the proclamation of the Livonian Kingdom. The Danish Duke Magnus became its king.
This year began a five-year period of kinglessness in Poland. Ivan 4 lays claim to the Polish throne.
But in 1575 Stefan Batory became king of Poland.
In 1577, the Russians retook many Livonian fortresses and pushed back the troops of Stefan Batory.
Stage 3. 1578 – 1583
Russian transition to defensive tactics. For changing Lithuanian troops stronger Polish ones arrived. Magnus defected to Poland.
Since 1579, hostilities moved to Russian lands
1579 - Batory's first campaign.
1580 – Batory’s second campaign
1583 - Batory's third campaign.
The Russians lost Polotsk, Sokol, Velikiye Luki, Toropets.
Pskov is under siege. Ivan Petrovich Shuisky was able to hold the fortress.
The Swedes began to advance.
1581 - The Swedes took Narva.
Negotiation.
1582 – Yam-Zapolsky truce with Poland for 10 years. Russia abandoned Livonia, Polotsk, Velizh.
1583 – Truce of Plyus with Sweden. Russia abandoned Yam, Koporye, Ivan Gorod and conquered the territory of Finland.
The outcome of the war is the complete defeat of Moscow.
Until 1584 - hope for an alliance with England to continue the war.
Causes of defeat :
1) lack of internal resources;
2) diplomatic isolation;
3) internal political instability → inconsistency of command.
Consequences of defeat
Deepening economic and political crisis.
Relationship with Western Europe after the Livonian War.
1586 - S. Batory died and Fyodor Ioanovich laid claim to the Polish throne. Lost to Prince Sigismund of Sweden.
1590 – 1595 – war with Sweden. Tsar Fedor and the queen were in Novgorod. The command was F. Mstislavsky and D. Khvorostinin. Yam is taken. Narva is besieged.
1595 – Treaty of Tyavzin. Yam, Ivan Gorod, Koporye, Korela were returned.