Contour map of the Livonian war gdz. Causes of the Livonian War (briefly)
The war of Russia against the Livonian Order, Sweden, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from 1569 - the Commonwealth) for access to the Baltic Sea.
The formal reason for the war was the non-fulfillment of the agreements of 1554 in relation to Russia by the Livonian Order (payment of the Yuryev tribute for all overdue years, the obligation not to conclude allied agreements with Sigismund II, etc.). The real reasons were the geopolitical need for Russia to gain access to the Baltic Sea, in active participation in the division of the territory of the Livonian Order, the progressive decay of which became apparent.
The conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan temporarily removed tensions in the east and south of Russia, a truce was concluded with Lithuania until 1562, therefore Ivan IV the Terrible in January 1558 he started the war, which became the fate of Ivan: it lasted with short breaks for 25 years and ended 7 months before his death.
1st stage (until 1561) ended with the defeat of the Livonian Order. In January-February, Eastern Livonia and the central regions were subjected to pogroms. Narva was taken in May, Yuryev (Derpt) in July. In the winter of 1558-59. Russian troops reached the outskirts of the city of Riga. In March 1559, a truce was signed for six months and an agreement was being prepared on the vassal dependence of the Order on Russia. However, neighboring states joined the war. The Polish king Sigismund II took the Order under his protectorate. In June 1561, the knighthood of Northern Estonia and the city of Revel swear allegiance to the King of Sweden, Lithuanian troops are stationed near Riga.
According to the Treaty of Vilna (November 1561), the Livonian Order ceased to exist, its territory was transferred to the joint possession of Lithuania and Poland, the last master of the order received the Duchy of Courland. Instead of a weak opponent, the tsar now faced three strong states, however, with conflicting interests.
On the 2nd stage (until 1578) Russian troops fought with varying success. In 1562, Ivan the Terrible concluded a truce with Sweden, set a course for an agreement with the Crimean Khanate, which made it possible to prepare a grand army campaign led by the tsar to Lithuania in the winter of 1562-1563. In February 1563, the city of Polotsk, an important fortress in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, was captured.
Further, the internal political situation escalated, most of the leaders were executed or fell into disgrace" The chosen one is glad", in April 1564, a close friend of the young years of Ivan the Terrible, Andrey Mikhailovich Kurbsky, fled from Yuryev to Lithuania. All this happened against the backdrop of military failures, which the tsar explained as treason. In September 1564, large Lithuanian forces besieged Polotsk, but they could not take "In early 1565, Ivan the Terrible introduced the oprichnina, the planned royal campaign in Livonia was canceled. For several years, military operations proceeded sluggishly. In 1568-69, the Lithuanians managed to take several small fortresses. In March 1569, Poland and Lithuania concluded the Union of Lublin, a new state was formed - the Commonwealth.
A major campaign against Revel and its long siege in late 1570 - early 1571 did not bring success. In 1577, Ivan the Terrible tried to strike a decisive blow. The troops take many small and medium-sized fortresses, capture almost the entire territory north of the Western Dvina (with the exception of Revel and Riga with districts), but the victories turned out to be fragile.
On the 3rd stage (since 1579) Russian troops fought defensive battles [defense and surrender of Polotsk (1579), Velikie Luki (1580), six-month defense of Pskov 1581-82, etc.] against the army of Stefan Batory and the Swedish troops, who captured Narva and a number of Livonian fortresses. It ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky and Plyussky truces, which were unfavorable for Russia.
Yam-Zapolsky world between Russia and the Commonwealth for 10 years. Concluded on January 15, 1582 near Zapolsky Pit, south of Pskov. One of the diplomatic documents that ended the Livonian War of 1558-83. Russians returned busy Polish troops cities, in return she refused Polotsk and Livonia.
Plus Armistice between Russia and Sweden, which ended the Livonian War of 1558-83. Concluded on the Pluss River in August 1583. The Russian cities of Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye, Korela with counties went to Sweden. Russia kept the mouth of the Neva.
The liberation from the yoke of the Horde, the defeat of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, the advance into Siberia decisively changed the position of Russia in Europe, causing an increased interest in it from Germany, Hungary and other powers. Fearing the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire, which subjugated Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Moldavia, Wallachia and kept Crimea in vassalage, they tried to use Russia against it.
In addition, the rich Russian market, its strengthened ties with the countries of the Caucasus and Asia pushed the merchants of England, Italy and other countries to develop trade with Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Novgorod ...
However, there were still many obstacles in the way of Russia's relations with the major European countries. Among them, the main thing is the German Livonian Order. He blocked the Baltic route.
The government of Ivan the Terrible decided to restore its former positions in the Baltic States, which had long gravitated towards Russia economically and promised the Russian nobility and merchants new possessions and foreign trade income.
In 1558, Russian troops entered Estonia - the Livonian War began, which lasted 25 years. With the active sympathy of Estonians and Latvians, Russian troops occupied Narva, Dorpat (Tartu), Marienburg (Aluksne), Fellin (Viljandi). The Livonians were completely defeated, and their master V. Furstenberg was captured (1560). The Livonian Order ceased to exist. But Sweden intervened in the war for his former possessions, which captured Revel (Tallinn), and Denmark, which occupied the island of Ezel (Saare Maa). Lithuania, only recently forced to return Smolensk to Russia (1514), and in 1563 lost Polotsk, from where the way to Vilnius opened before Grozny, united with Poland through the Union of Lublin (1569) into one state - the Commonwealth (Rzecz-pospolita - republic ).
Polish and Lithuanian feudal lords not only took over most Livonia, but also resolutely opposed Russia, fearing to finally lose all captured in the XIV century. Belarusian and Ukrainian lands. The war took on a protracted character.
The opposition of a strong coalition, the devastating invasions of the Crimean hordes that reached Moscow, the betrayal of the boyar governors, combined with the disasters of the oprichnina, undermined the economy of Russia and led to the loss of what was conquered. It was not possible to break through to the Baltic Sea.
After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its eyes to the Baltic and put forward plans for the capture of 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 joining the European states was decided. The Order and the German merchants hindered the growth of Russian trade. Therefore, for Russia, the main goal of the Livonian War was the conquest of access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
The reason for the start of the war was the non-payment of tribute by the Livonian Order, which the Yuryev (or Derpt) 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, Derpt, 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 the Crimea and concentrated all its forces in Livonia. But now, instead of one weak order, he had to deal with several strong claimants to his inheritance. If at first it was possible to reject the war with Sweden and Denmark, then the struggle with the main heir to the Livonian Order, i.e. with the Polish-Lithuanian king, was inevitable.
The second stage of the war (1562-1578) for Russia passed with varying success.
Russia's highest achievement in the Livonian War was the capture of Polotsk in February 1563, followed by military setbacks and fruitless negotiations. The Crimean Khan refused an alliance with Moscow.
In 1566, Lithuanian ambassadors arrived in Moscow with a proposal for a truce and so that Polotsk and part of Livonia remained behind Moscow. Ivan the Terrible demanded all of Livonia. Such demands were rejected, and the Lithuanian king Sigismund August resumed the war with Russia.
In 1568, Sweden terminated the 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 Commonwealth. Russia had to continue the Livonian War without allies in the most unfavorable conditions.
However, both the Commonwealth and Russia equally needed peace, so both countries concluded a three-year truce in 1570.
At this time, Russia was conducting hostilities 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 put the Danish prince Magnus, who was married to the royal niece. He tried to expel the Swedes from Reval (Estonia) at the beginning of 1577, but the siege was unsuccessful. Sweden then made peace with Denmark.
After the death of Sigismund August in 1572, a period of kinglessness began in the Commonwealth. In the struggle of pretenders for the throne, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory won in 1576. He created an anti-Russian alliance and raised 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 in 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 setback in the war with Russia. Meanwhile, hostilities continued in Livonia and Estonia, where the Swedes took the cities of Padis, Wezenberg, and Kexholm in Karelia from the Russians, and on September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, then Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye fell.
With the loss of Narva, the continuation of the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny.
Realizing the impossibility of waging war with two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Bathory on a truce in order to concentrate all forces on the recapture of Narva. But the plans for an attack on Narva remained unfulfilled.
The result of the Livonian War was the conclusion of two treaties that were unfavorable for Russia.
On January 15, 1582, Yam Zapolsky signed an agreement on a 10-year truce. 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 Plyussky truce for three years. The Swedes retained all the captured Russian cities. Russia 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 something else. The annexation of Livonia was necessary to stop the centuries-old "onslaught to the east" from the Vatican to enslave Russia.
The reasons for the defeat in the difficult 25-year Livonian War were the economic weakness of Russia, its internal difficulties, the backwardness of Russians in military art compared to Western Europeans. Political short-sightedness, Ivan the Terrible's ignorance of 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 exceptionally difficult situation for Russia, the country was ruined.
The best that history gives us is the enthusiasm it arouses.
Goethe
The Livonian War lasted from 1558 to 1583. During the war, Ivan the Terrible sought to gain access and capture the port cities of the Baltic Sea, which was supposed to significantly improve the economic situation of Russia, by improving trade. In this article, we will talk briefly about the Levon War, as well as all its aspects.
Beginning of the Livonian War
The sixteenth century was a period of uninterrupted wars. The Russian state sought to protect itself from its neighbors and return the lands that were previously part of Ancient Russia.
Wars were fought on several fronts:
- The eastern direction was marked by the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, as well as the beginning of the development of Siberia.
- South direction foreign policy represented the eternal struggle with the Crimean Khanate.
- The western direction is the events of the long, difficult and very bloody Livonian War (1558–1583), which will be discussed.
Livonia is a region in the eastern Baltic. On the territory of modern Estonia and Latvia. In those days, there was a state created as a result of crusading conquests. How public education, it was weak due to national contradictions (the Baltics were placed in feudal dependence), religious schism (the Reformation penetrated there), and the struggle for power among the top.
Reasons for the start of the Livonian War
Ivan 4 the Terrible began the Livonian War against the backdrop of the success of his foreign policy in other areas. The Russian prince-tsar sought to push back the borders of the state in order to gain access to shipping areas and ports of the Baltic Sea. And the Livonian Order gave the Russian Tsar ideal reasons for starting the Livonian War:
- Refusal to pay tribute. In 1503, the Livnsky Order and Russia signed a document according to which the former were obliged to pay an annual tribute to the city of Yuryev. In 1557, the Order single-handedly withdrew from this obligation.
- The weakening of the external political influence of the Order against the backdrop of national differences.
Speaking about the reason, it should be emphasized that Livonia separated Russia from the sea, blocked trade. Large merchants and nobles, who wished to appropriate new lands, were interested in the capture of Livonia. But main reason one can single out the ambitions of Ivan IV the Terrible. The victory was supposed to strengthen his influence, so he waged war, regardless of the circumstances and the meager capabilities of the country for the sake of his own greatness.
Course of the war and major events
The Livonian War was fought with long breaks and is historically divided into four stages.
First stage of the war
At the first stage (1558–1561), the fighting was relatively successful for Russia. The Russian army in the first months captured Derpt, Narva and was close to capturing Riga and Revel. The Livonian Order was on the verge of death and asked for a truce. Ivan the Terrible agreed to stop the war for 6 months, but this was a huge mistake. During this time, the Order came under the protectorate of Lithuania and Poland, as a result of which Russia received not 1 weak, but 2 strong opponents.
The most dangerous enemy for Russia was Lithuania, which at that time could in some aspects surpass the Russian kingdom in its potential. Moreover, the peasants of the Baltic were dissatisfied with the newly arrived Russian landowners, the cruelties of the war, exactions and other disasters.
Second phase of the war
The second stage of the war (1562–1570) began with the fact that the new owners of the Livonian lands demanded that Ivan the Terrible withdraw his troops and abandon Livonia. In fact, it was proposed that the Livonian War should end, and Russia would be left with nothing as a result. After the tsar refused to do this, the war for Russia finally turned into an adventure. The war with Lithuania lasted 2 years and was unsuccessful for the Russian Tsardom. The conflict could only be continued under the conditions of the oprichnina, especially since the boyars were against the continuation of hostilities. Earlier, for dissatisfaction with the Livonian War, in 1560 the tsar dispersed the Chosen Rada.
It was at this stage of the war that Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Commonwealth. It was a strong power that everyone, without exception, had to reckon with.
Third stage of the war
The third stage (1570–1577) is the battles of local significance between Russia and Sweden for the territory of modern Estonia. They ended without any meaningful results for both sides. All battles were local in nature and did not have any significant impact on the course of the war.
Fourth stage of the war
At the fourth stage of the Livonian War (1577–1583), Ivan IV again captures the entire Baltic, but soon the luck turned away from the king and the Russian troops were defeated. The new king of united Poland and Lithuania (the Commonwealth), Stefan Batory, drove Ivan the Terrible out of the Baltic region, and even managed to capture a number of cities already on the territory of the Russian kingdom (Polotsk, Velikiye Luki, etc.). fighting accompanied by terrible bloodshed. Since 1579, assistance to the Commonwealth was provided by Sweden, which acted very successfully, capturing Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye.
The defense of Pskov saved Russia from complete defeat (since August 1581). For 5 months of the siege, the garrison and the inhabitants of the city repelled 31 assault attempts, weakening the army of Batory.
The end of the war and its results
The Yam-Zapolsky truce between the Russian Empire and the Commonwealth of 1582 put an end to a long and unnecessary war. Russia abandoned Livonia. The coast of the Gulf of Finland was lost. It was captured by Sweden, with which the Peace of Plus was signed in 1583.
Thus, the following causes of damage can be distinguished Russian state, which sum up the results of the Liovna war:
- adventurism and ambitions of the tsar - Russia could not wage war simultaneously with three strong states;
- the pernicious influence of the oprichnina, economic ruin, Tatar attacks.
- A deep economic crisis within the country, which broke out at the 3rd and 4th stages of hostilities.
Despite the negative outcome, it was the Livonian War that determined the direction of Russia's foreign policy for many years to come - to gain access to the Baltic Sea.
In parallel with the internal breakdown and struggle, from 1558 there was a stubborn struggle near Grozny for the Baltic coast. The Baltic issue was at that time one of the most difficult international problems. Many argued for dominance in the Baltic Baltic states, and Moscow's effort to stand on the seashore with a firm foot raised against the "Muscovites" and Sweden, and Poland, and Germany. It must be admitted that Grozny chose a good moment to intervene in the struggle. Livonia, on which he directed his blow, represented at that time, according to an apt expression, a country of antagonisms. There was a centuries-old tribal struggle between the Germans and the natives of the region - Latvians, Livs and Estonians. This struggle often took the form of an acute social clash between the newcomer feudal lords and the native serf masses. With the development of the Reformation in Germany, religious ferment also spread to Livonia, preparing for the secularization of the order's possessions. Finally, all other antagonisms were joined by a political one: between the authorities of the Order and the Archbishop of Riga there was a chronic strife for supremacy, and at the same time there was a constant struggle between the cities for independence. Livonia, in the words of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, "was a miniature repetition of the Empire without the unifying power of Caesar." The disintegration of Livonia did not hide from Grozny. Moscow demanded that Livonia recognize its dependence and threatened to conquer it. The question of the so-called Yuryev (Derpt) tribute was raised. From the local obligation of the city of Dorpat to pay a "duty" or tribute to the Grand Duke for something, Moscow made a pretext for establishing its patronage over Livonia, and then for war. In two years (1558-1560) Livonia was defeated by Moscow troops and disintegrated. In order not to surrender to the hated Muscovites, Livonia succumbed in parts to other neighbors: Livonia was annexed to Lithuania, Estonia to Sweden, Fr. Ezel - to Denmark, and Courland was secularized in fief dependence on the Polish king. Lithuania and Sweden demanded from Grozny that he cleared their new possessions. Grozny did not want to, and thus, the Livonian war from 1560 turns into the Lithuanian and Swedish wars.
This war dragged on for a long time. At first, Grozny had great success in Lithuania: in 1563 he took Polotsk, and his troops reached Vilna itself. In 1565–1566 Lithuania was ready for an honorable peace for Grozny and conceded to Moscow all its acquisitions. But the Zemsky Sobor of 1566 spoke in favor of continuing the war with a view to further land acquisitions: they wanted all of Livonia and the Polotsk povet to the city of Polotsk. The war continued sluggishly. With the death of the last Jagiellon (1572), when Moscow and Lithuania were in a truce, even Grozny's candidacy for the throne of Lithuania and Poland, united in the Commonwealth, arose. But this candidacy was not successful: Heinrich of Valois was first elected, and then (1576) the Prince of Semigrad Stefan Batory (in Moscow "Obatur"). With the advent of Batory, the picture of the war changed. Lithuania moved from defense to offensive. Batory took Polotsk from Grozny (1579), then Velikie Luki (1580) and, bringing the war within the Muscovite state, laid siege to Pskov (1581). Grozny was defeated not only because Batory had military talent and a good army, but also because by this time Grozny had run out of means of waging war. As a result of the internal crisis that hit the Muscovite state and society at that time, the country, in a modern expression, "was exhausted into the wasteland and came to desolation." The properties and significance of this crisis will be discussed below; now let us note that the same lack of manpower and means paralyzed Grozny's success against the Swedes in Estonia as well.
Siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory in 1581. Painting by Karl Bryullov, 1843
The failure of Batory near Pskov, which heroically defended itself, allowed Grozny, through the intermediary of the papal ambassador, the Jesuit Possevin (Antonius Possevinus), to begin peace negotiations. In 1582, a peace was concluded (more precisely, a truce for 10 years) with Batory, to whom Grozny conceded all his conquests in Livonia and Lithuania, and in 1583 Grozny also made peace with Sweden on the fact that he ceded Estland to her and, moreover, his own lands from Narova to Lake Ladoga along the coast of the Gulf of Finland (Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye, Oreshek, Korelu). Thus the struggle, which dragged on for a quarter of a century, ended in complete failure. The reasons for the failure are, of course, in the discrepancy between Moscow's forces and the goal set by Grozny. But this discrepancy was revealed later than Grozny began the struggle: Moscow began to decline only from the 70s of the 16th century. Until then, its forces seemed enormous not only to Moscow patriots, but also to the enemies of Moscow. The performance of Grozny in the struggle for the Baltic coast, the appearance of Russian troops at the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland and hired Moscow marques on the Baltic waters struck Central Europe. In Germany, the "Muscovites" were presented as a terrible enemy; the danger of their invasion was signed not only in the official relations of the authorities, but also in the vast flying literature of leaflets and brochures. Measures were taken to prevent either Muscovites from going to the sea or Europeans from Moscow, and by separating Moscow from the centers European culture, to prevent its political strengthening. In this agitation against Moscow and Grozny, many unreliable things were concocted about Moscow's morals and Grozny's despotism, and a serious historian must always keep in mind the danger of repeating political slander, of mistaking it for an objective historical source.
To what has been said about Grozny's policy and the events of his time, it is necessary to add a mention of a very known fact the appearance of English ships at the mouths of the S. Dvina and the beginning of trade relations with England (1553–1554), as well as the conquest of the Siberian kingdom by a detachment of Stroganov Cossacks headed by Yermak (1582–1584). Both that and another for Grozny was an accident; but the Moscow government managed to take advantage of both. In 1584, at the mouth of the S. Dvina, Arkhangelsk was established as a seaport for fair trade with the British, and the British were given the opportunity to trade in the entire Russian north, which they very quickly and clearly studied. In those same years, the occupation of Western Siberia began already by the forces of the government, and not by the Stroganovs alone, and in Siberia many cities were set up with the "capital" Tobolsk at the head.
