The results of the Livonian war of 1558 1583 briefly. Livonian War (1558

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 to gain access to 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, 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. It was very important for Russia, but still the main strategic objective 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 Rus'.

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.

For him, the war has become a truly part of the reign and, one might even say, a matter of life.

It cannot be said that Livonia was strong state. The formation of the Livonian state is attributed to the XIII century, by the XIV century it was considered weak and fragmented. The Order of the Knights of the Sword headed the state, although he did not have absolute power.

The order throughout its existence prevented Russia from establishing diplomatic relations with other European countries.

Reasons for the start of the Livonian War

The reason for the start of the Livonian War was the non-payment of the Yuryev tribute, which, by the way, happened throughout the entire period, after the conclusion of the treaty in 1503.

In 1557, the Livonian Order entered into a military agreement with the Polish king. In January of the following year, Ivan the Terrible advanced his troops to Livonian territory. During 1558 and by the beginning of 1559, the Russian army had already passed all of Livonia and was at the borders East Prussia. Yuriev and Narva were also captured.

The Livonian Order needed to make peace in order to avoid complete defeat. In 1559, a truce was concluded, but it lasted only six months. Hostilities continued again, and the end of this company was the complete destruction of the Livonian Order. The main fortresses of the Order were captured: Fellin and Marienburg, and the master himself was captured.

However, after the defeat of the order, its lands began to belong to Poland, Sweden and Denmark, which, accordingly, dramatically complicated the situation on the war map for Russia.

Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, and therefore for Russia this meant a war in one direction - with the king of Poland, Sigismund II. At first, success in military operations accompanied the Russian army: in 1563, Ivan IV took Polotsk. But the victories stopped there, and the Russian troops began to suffer defeats.

Ivan IV saw the solution to this problem in the restoration of the Livonian Order under the auspices of Russia. It was also decided to conclude peace with Poland. However, this decision was not supported by the Zemsky Sobor, and the tsar had to continue the war.

The war dragged on, and in 1569 a new state was created called the Commonwealth, which included Lithuania and Poland. With the Commonwealth still managed to make peace for 3 years. At the same time, Ivan IV creates a state on the territory of the Livonian Order and puts Magnus, the brother of the Danish king, at the head.

In the speech of the Commonwealth at this time, a new king was elected - Stefan Batory. After that, the war continued. Sweden entered the war, and Batory laid siege to Russian fortresses. He took Velikiye Luki and Polotsk, and in August 1581 approached Pskov. The inhabitants of Pskov swore an oath that they would fight for Pskov until their death. After the 31st unsuccessful assault, the siege was lifted. And although Bathory failed to capture Pskov, the Swedes at that time occupied Narva.

Results of the Livonian War

In 1582, peace was concluded with the Commonwealth for 10 years. According to the agreement, Russia lost Livonia along with the Belarusian lands, although it received some border territories. A peace agreement was concluded with Sweden for a period of three years (Plus Armistice). According to him, Russia lost Koporye, Ivangorod, Yam and adjacent territories. The main and saddest fact was that Russia remained cut off from the sea.

Introduction 3

1. Causes of the Livonian War 4

2. Stages of war 6

3.Results and consequences of the war 14

Conclusion 15

References 16

Introduction.

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

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

Reveal the causes of the Livonian War

Analyze its stages

Consider the results and consequences of the war

1. Causes of the Livonian War

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.Stages of the war.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Description of the Livonian War

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

Main events (Livonian War - briefly)

Causes: Access to the Baltic Sea. The hostile policy of the Livonian Order.
Occasion: Refusal of the order to pay tribute for Yuriev (Derpt).
First stage (1558-1561): The capture of Narva, Yuryev, Fellin, the capture of Master Furstenberg, the Livonian Order as military force practically ceased to exist.
Second stage (1562-1577): The entry into the war of the Commonwealth (since 1569) and Sweden. Capture of Polotsk (1563). Defeat on the river Ole and near Orsha (1564). Capture of Weissenstein (1575) and Wenden (1577).
Third stage (1577-1583): Campaign of Stefan Batory, Fall of Polotsk, Velikiye Luki. Defense of Pskov (August 18, 1581 - February 4, 1582) Capture of Narva, Ivangorod, Koporye by the Swedes.
1582- Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Commonwealth (the refusal of Ivan the Terrible from Livonia for the return of the lost Russian fortresses).
1583- Plyussky truce with Sweden (renunciation of Estonia, concession to the Swedes of Narva, Koporye, Ivangorod, Korela).
Reasons for the defeat: an incorrect assessment of the balance of power in the Baltic States, the weakening of the state as a result domestic policy Ivan IV.

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

Causes

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

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

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

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

First stage (1558-1561)

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

Capture of Narva and Syrensk (1558)

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

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

Capture of Neuhausen and Dorpat (1558)

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

Battle of Tiersen

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

Truce (1559)

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

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

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

Second stage (1562-1577)

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

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

1) Ivan the Terrible; 2) Stefan Batory

The formation of the Commonwealth

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

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

Third stage (1577-1583)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Livonian War 1558-1583. Stefan Batory near Pskov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results and consequences

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

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

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

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

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

Stages of the war.

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

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

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

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

However, the unfavorable international situation, the distribution of land in the Baltic states to 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 "royallessness" (1572-1575) ended in the Commonwealth. Stefan Batory was elected king. Stefan Batory, Prince of Semigradsky, 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 should not choose the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian II as king, but choose one of the Polish nobles, for example, Jan Kostka, or, if a king from others powers, then Bathory or the Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa. Ivan the Terrible, in a message to Stefan Batory, hinted more than once that he was a vassal Turkish Sultan, which provoked a sharp answer from Batory: “how dare you remind us so often of bezsurmyannost, you, who prevented your blood from us, whose prodkov mare’s milk, which sunk into the manes of the Tatar scales licked ...”. The election of Stefan Batory as king of the Commonwealth meant the resumption of the war with Poland. However, back in 1577, Russian troops occupied almost all of Livonia, except for Riga and Reval, which was besieged in 1576-1577. But this year was last year Russia's successes in the Livonian War.

From 1579 Batory began a war against Russia. In 1579, Sweden also resumed hostilities, and Batory returned Polotsk and took Velikiye Luki, and in 1581 laid siege to Pskov, intending, if successful, to go to Novgorod the Great and Moscow. The Pskovites swore "for Pskov city to fight with Lithuania to death without any tricks." They kept their oath, repelling 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. the garrison and the 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 actually cut off Livonia from Russia, the Swedish commander Baron Pontus Delagardi undertook an operation to destroy isolated Russian garrisons in Livonia. By the end of 1581, the Swedes, having crossed the frozen The Gulf of Finland, captured the entire coast of Northern Estonia, Narva, Wesenberg (Rakovor, Rakvere), and then moved to Riga, taking Haapsa-lu, Pärnu along the way, and then all of Southern (Russian) Estonia - Fellin (Viljandi), Derpt (Tartu) . In total, Swedish troops captured 9 cities in Livonia and 4 in Novgorod land in a relatively short period, nullifying all the long-term gains of the Russian state in the Baltic states. In Ingermanland, Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye were taken, and in Ladoga - Korela.

Results and consequences of the war.

In January 1582, a ten-year truce with the Commonwealth was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky (not far from Pskov). Under this agreement, Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border Russian lands, captured during the hostilities by the Polish king, were returned to it.

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

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

Thus, the Livonian War had very serious consequences for the Russian state, and the 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.”