The Livonian War continued. Livonian War: briefly about the causes, main events and consequences for the state

The Livonian War lasted about 25 years, from 58 to 83. The conflict arose between the Russian Empire, Livonia, Sweden, Denmark and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later became the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The fighting took place in the territories of modern Belarus, Northwestern Russia, Estonia and Latvia.

By the end of the 15th century, the foreign policy actions of Grand Duke Ivan III were aimed at fighting the Tatar Khan, who were besieging the southern and eastern lands, the Principality of Lithuania for the occupied territories and Livonia for access to the Baltic Sea. At the same time, the results achieved in the confrontation with the Tatars led to the fact that in the middle of the 16th century the Russian kingdom restored military and political influence in the occupied territories and forced the Nogai and Siberian khans to bow down.

The issue of the seizure of Crimea remained relevant. At the same time, the opinions of the boyars were divided. And, although many spoke out for the conquest of the south, despite the vast southern expanses in which the steppes felt organically, and there were no Moscow strongholds, some of the boyars, led by the tsar, paid attention to access to the Baltic Sea. Since joint military operations against the Ottoman Empire, together with Poland and Lithuania, were associated with the loss of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, Ivan the Terrible chose the fight against Livonia as the main direction of his foreign policy.

Causes of the conflict

By the middle of the 15th century, Livonia was a weakened confederation of the Livonian Order and bishoprics. The latter remained only a formal power, since the lands of the order accounted for 67% of the entire land of Livonia. Big cities had a certain autonomy and their own power. Thus, the state institution of Livonia was extremely fragmented. Due to military, political and economic weakening, the confederation had to conclude a truce with the Russian kingdom. The peace treaty, concluded for six years and extended in the 09th, 14th, 21st, 31st and 34th years of the sixteenth century, provided for the payment of the “Yuriev tribute”, the timing and amount of which is not mentioned in the sources. However, there is an opinion that the tribute was never paid. Yuriev, later renamed Darpt, was founded by Yaroslav the Wise. Tribute was supposed to be paid for it and the territory adjacent to the city. In addition, the alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, formalized in 1954, included points directed against the power of the Russian Tsar. However, historians consider the debt for the “Yuriev tribute” to be more likely a reason, but not the final cause of the war.

Experts believe that the real reason for the military campaign against Livonia was the impossibility of developing trade relations with Western Europe due to the fact that the main ports of the Baltic Sea were under the control of Livonia.

The trade routes along which goods were delivered at that time were the White Sea (port of Arkhangelsk) and the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. However, these sea routes, where merchant ships actively moved during the warm season, froze for a long time with the onset of cold weather. At the same time, it was impossible to conduct foreign trade activities.

Russian merchants, when conducting business on the ice-free Baltic Sea, had to resort to the services of intermediaries in the person of Germans from Narva and Dorpat, and this led to serious losses, since the import of the most valuable goods - gunpowder, iron, various metals - was led by “Livonians”, who could suspend deliveries. Without so much necessary materials the development of handicrafts in Rus' was impossible.

In addition to the economic justification, the beginning of the Livonian War is associated with an attempt to restore political ties with the West. Since, as a result of a long struggle against the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the redivision of territory, the country acquired an eastern orientation, it was important to defend the title Western state, concluding profitable marriage alliances, etc.

Another reason is called social aspect. The redistribution of the Baltic lands would lead to a strengthening of the power of the nobility and merchant class. The boyars were more inclined to seize the southern lands, due to their distance from the state and political center. There, at least at first, it was possible to use absolute power before the arrival of organized power.

The beginning of hostilities 58-61

The end of 1957 turned out to be the most favorable for the start of military operations against Livonia. The difficult situation in the alignment of European forces played into the hands of the Russian Tsar. Sweden's serious losses in the Russian-Swedish war led to the weakening of its most powerful enemy. The aggravation of relations with Sweden distracted the Danish government. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was not ready for serious international conflicts due to internal disagreements and social problems.

Historians conditionally divide the course of the Twenty-Five Years' War into three main stages:

The first advanced from 58 to 61 and was initially planned as a punitive operation of Ivan the Terrible with the aim of demonstrating military force;

The second ended in ’77, was protracted and nullified all diplomatic agreements reached before ’57;

At the third stage, the military actions of Russian troops were predominantly defensive in nature and led to the conclusion of a peace agreement on conditions that were absolutely unfavorable for Moscow.

Ivan the Terrible did not begin active military clashes until 1958. During this time, attempts were made to reach peace agreements regarding the surrender of Narva under Moscow influence. To which the Order expressed an unequivocal refusal. After which, in January 1558, a forty-thousand-strong army entered Livonian soil, destroying and ravaging cities and territories, and reached the Baltic coast.

During the campaign, Russian leaders several times sent proposals for peace to the Livonian authorities, which were accepted. However, in March 1958, supporters of the military forces of Livonia attempted to terminate the peace agreements by starting shelling of Ivangorod. Thus, a new military offensive of Russian troops in Livonia was provoked. During the offensive, more than twenty settlements and fortresses were destroyed. By the end of the summer of 1958, the forces of the Moscow Tsar ravaged the environs of Riga and Revel.

By March 1959, the Russians had occupied stable positions, which led to the conclusion of peace, which ended in November 1959. Over the past six months, the Livonian forces received support and reinforcements from Sweden and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, attempts to storm Yuryev and Lais ended in failure for the Livonians. By August 1960, Russian troops occupied the strongest fortresses of Fellin and Marienburg.

Second stage of the war

Successes during military operations put Ivan the Terrible in a difficult position. The reason for this was the formation of a coalition represented by the Roman Empire, Sweden and Denmark against Russia and the statement of claims by Poland and Lithuania regarding the cession of Baltic lands. Variable victories and defeats of the Russian army during the year 62 led to the fact that the war began to take on a protracted character.

Failures in attempts to conclude diplomatic agreements, illiterate actions of military leaders and changes in policy within the state led to an aggravation of the social and economic situation.

Third stage

In 75, Stefan Batory became king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and began active military operations against Russia. In addition, the turbulent situation in the northern lands is due to the Swedish attack. Batory's troops were not deployed towards plundered Livonia, but to the Northern and Smolensk lands. After the capture of Polotsk, its siege lasted only three weeks, and the devastation of the Northern lands, Batory put forward demands to leave Livonia and cede the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Courland. At the end of August 1980, the Great Luki Garden began, ending in complete defeat on September 5th. After which the fortresses of Narva, Ozerishche and Zavolochye were taken.

The attempt to capture Pskov at the end of June 1981 for Batory’s troops was unsuccessful, since the Russian military promptly responded to the reinforcement and preparation of the enemy. As a result of a long siege and many attempts to storm the fortress, the Polish-Lithuanian troops were forced to retreat.

The result of the twenty-five-year war was a severe defeat for Russia. Attempts to seize the Baltic states and conduct free trade in the Baltic Sea were unsuccessful, in addition, power over previously assigned territories was lost.

Livonian War(1558-1583) was fought by the Russian Kingdom for territories in the Baltic states and access to the Baltic Sea in order to break the blockade by the Livonian Confederation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden and establish direct communication with European countries.

Background

The Livonian Confederation was interested in controlling the transit of Russian trade and significantly limited the 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 (Dorpat), which previously belonged to Novgorod. Treaties between Moscow and Dorpat in the 16th century traditionally mentioned the “Yuriev tribute,” 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 1557, in the city of Posvol, an agreement was concluded between the Livonian Confederation and the Kingdom of Poland, establishing the vassal dependence of the order on Poland.

In the spring of 1557, Tsar Ivan IV 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.

Progress of the war

By the beginning of the war, the Livonian Confederation was weakened by defeat in the conflict with the Archbishop of Riga and Sigismund II Augustus. In addition, the already heterogeneous Livonian society was even more split as a result of the Reformation. On the other hand, Russia was gaining strength after the victories over the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the annexation of Kabarda.

War with the Livonian Confederation

Russia started the war on January 17, 1558. The invasion of Russian troops in January-February 1558 into the Livonian lands was a reconnaissance raid. 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 fortress, 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 into the fire Orthodox icon Mother of God). 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 Hermann 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 into 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 Tersen, the Germans suffered 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 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 Russian presence 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 advocated continuing the struggle in the south, against the 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.

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 Velikie Luki. At the beginning of February, the Russian army began the siege of Polotsk, and on February 15 the city surrendered.

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 “all Jews to be baptized, and the disobedient to be drowned 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

Serious consequences had 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. A difficult situation has developed in the north of Russia, where relations with Sweden have again become strained, and in the south (the campaign of the Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the war with Crimea, during which the army of Devlet I Giray burned Moscow in 1571 and devastated the southern Russian lands). However, the onset of a long-term “kinglessness” in the Republic of Both Nations, the creation in Livonia of the vassal “kingdom” of Magnus, which at first had an attractive force in the eyes of the population of Livonia, again made it possible to tip the scales in favor of Russia. In 1572, the army of Devlet-Girey was destroyed and the threat of large raids 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 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 Sage fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov (now Pärnu in Estonia) surrendered to the Russians. After the campaign of 1576, Russia captured the entire coast except 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 (economic ruin looming over the country) negatively influenced the further course of the war for Russia.

Fourth period of the war

Stefan Batory, who, with the active support of the Turks (1576), ascended the throne of the Republic of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, went on the offensive and occupied Wenden (1578), Polotsk (1579), Sokol, Velizh, Usvyat, Velikiye Luki. In the captured fortresses, the Poles and Lithuanians completely destroyed the Russian garrisons. In Velikiye Luki, the Poles exterminated the entire population, about 7 thousand people. Polish and Lithuanian 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 voivode Philon Kmita from Orsha burned 2000 villages in the western Russian lands and captured huge full. Lithuanian magnates Ostrozhsky and Vishnevetsky, with the help of light cavalry units, plundered the Chernihiv region. The cavalry of the nobleman Jan Solomeretsky ravaged the outskirts of Yaroslavl. In February 1581, the Lithuanians burned Staraya Russa.

In 1581, the Polish-Lithuanian army, which included mercenaries from almost all of Europe, besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to 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 Rugodiv (Narva), which was also accompanied by massacres - 7 thousand Russians died; the victors took no prisoners and did not spare civilians. The heroic defense of Pskov in 1581-1582 by the garrison and the population of the city determined a more favorable outcome of the war for Russia: the failure at Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.

Results and consequences

In January 1582, a 10-year truce was concluded in Yam-Zapolny (near Pskov) with the Republic of Both Nations (Rzeczpospolita) (the so-called Peace of Yam-Zapolny). 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, and the northwestern regions were depopulated.

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

Battle of Poltava June 27, 1709 finally resolved the course of the Northern War. At the beginning of the 18th century. Russia entered into a long struggle with Sweden for the Baltic Sea coast. The Baltic Sea coast, captured by Sweden, was a natural border for Russia and was vital for its further economic and political development

Polish magnates, who hoped to return the territory of Livonia that they had lost after the war with Sweden in 1660, took the side of Russia in this struggle.

The war with Sweden, called the Northern War, began in 1700 unfavorably for Russia and its allies. Swedish troops with an unexpected blow defeated Russia's ally Denmark, inflicted a serious defeat on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth troops approaching Riga, and then defeated Russian troops near Narva. Considering Russia defeated and unable to continue the war, Charles XII threw his forces into the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where, in the words of Peter I, he was stuck for a long time. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, despite help from Russia, was unable to cope with its enemy. Its military defeat was greatly facilitated by the intensified struggle between various factions of magnates. One of these groups created a confederation and, taking advantage of the military defeat of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, declared King Augustus II dethroned. In 1706, as a result of new military defeats inflicted by the Swedes on the troops of Augustus II, the latter was forced to abdicate the throne. The throne passed to the Swedish protege Stanislav Leshchinsky.

The Russian state, under the leadership of Peter I, used the respite to quickly reorganize the army, build a navy and build fortifications in the most important operational directions. Already in 1701, Russian troops began local offensive operations. In 1703, Russia captured the mouth of the Neva; in 1704, Russian troops occupied the ancient Novgorod possessions in the Baltic states with the cities of Koporye, Yam, Narva, Ivangorod, Yuryev. Significant forces of Russian troops were sent to help the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Having carried out aggression in Poland, Charles XII decided to use the territory of Belarus as a springboard for a subsequent attack on Russia. He hoped to capture Smolensk, throw all his forces at Moscow and, having captured the capital of the Russian state, subjugate it to Sweden. The 45,000-strong army of Charles XII occupied the western part of Belarus and began preparations for a further offensive.

In January 1708, Swedish troops launched an offensive in the direction of Grodno-Minsk-Borisov. Along the way, the Swedish army requisitioned food and fodder, stole livestock, robbed the population, and ravaged populated areas. “Wherever a Swede passed, famine followed,” wrote contemporaries. Menshikov reported that in the Minsk region the Swedes “are torturing and hanging and burning men (as has never happened before), so that the grain pits can be shown. The oppression of wretched people cannot be adequately described.”

Russian troops covering the roads to Smolensk-Moscow met the enemy near Borisov. An attempt by Swedish troops to cross the Berezina in this area ended in failure. They were forced to bypass Borisov and cross at Cape Berezino.

On July 8, 1708, Swedish troops occupied Mogilev and settled near the city on the Buynitsky field. The residents of Mogilev were immediately entrusted with the impossible task of supplying the troops with food. The city was divided into 15 sections, each of which was supposed to supply the Swedes with 312 pounds of bread and 3 thousand liters of beer daily free of charge.

The burden of the Swedish occupation fell mainly on the shoulders of the urban poor. Bread and other products have become incredibly expensive. Famine began in the city. Those residents of Mogilev who were unable to supply food were obliged to pay the cost in money. In addition, the Swedes levied huge taxes on the population for the maintenance of officers living in the city. Forcing townspeople who had no means to pay money, the Swedes, according to contemporaries, “put them in crypts and cellars, tortured them with hunger and cold water they sat them naked and hung them on beams under the ceilings and tortured them with various other torments, like robbers.” “Satan,” as the residents of Mogilev nicknamed Charles XII, did not limit himself to robbing the population. By his order, all the churches in the city were also robbed. In this way, the Swedes collected more 9 pounds of silver, which was immediately minted into coins.Before their departure from Mogilev, Swedish troops plundered and destroyed most of the buildings.

On August 4-6, the Swedish army crossed the Dnieper. Carrying out his plan, Charles XII moved troops to Chausy, intending to then go to Smolensk.

The feudal lords of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, having fallen under the power of the Swedish invaders, quickly changed their previous positions. Dreaming that after the military defeat of Russia they would also get a share of the spoils, they provided the Swedish army with all possible assistance. The magnates helped Charles XII with money, tried to organize the supply of food to his troops, helping the Swedish invaders plunder Polish and Belarusian lands. The population of the Vitebsk Voivodeship complained to the Russian command that “the Polish military commanders with their servants and horses rode into the villages... they beat and tortured the peasants, slaughtered them, made night attacks, robbed and oppressed them.” Some representatives of the feudal nobility, insidiously posing as supporters of Russia, were engaged in espionage activities in favor of the Swedes.

The attitude towards foreign invaders on the part of the masses of Belarus was different. The peasants hated the enslavers who robbed and devastated populated areas. When the army of Charles XII approached, they went into the forests, taking grain and livestock. They informed the Russian command about the advance of the Swedish troops, exterminated foragers and individual soldiers who moved away from their units in search of food. Not far from Grodno, Belarusian peasants made an attempt on the life of Charles XII. Numerous people fought against the invaders partisan detachments. The Swedish historian Stille was forced to admit that the troops of Charles XII had to deal with peasant partisan detachments at every step.

As they moved east, the position of the Swedish troops worsened. The looting did not make up for the lack of food and fodder. The Swedish army was starving. Russian troops constantly harassed the enemy with surprise attacks on individual units.

A corps under the command of General Levengaupt, consisting of 16 thousand soldiers and 7 thousand carts with ammunition and food, came to the aid of Charles XII from Livonia. The Swedish army could not stop and wait for the auxiliary corps, since it had no food. Therefore, Charles XII moved his troops south to Cherikov, and then suddenly turned north to Mstislavl, where he hoped to unite with Levenhaupt. With this maneuver, Charles XII hoped to go to the rear of the Russian troops, who not only covered the roads to Smolensk and Moscow, but also cut off the road to Levengaupt.

Belarusian peasants informed the Russian command about the sudden maneuver of the Swedes. By order of Peter I, the troops of General Golitsyn attacked the enemy on August 29, 1708 near the village of Dobroye, not far from Mstislavl. The Swedes suffered heavy losses. However, the Russian troops, exhausting the forces of the invaders, but without imposing a general battle on them, retreated. The army of Charles XII, which followed the Russian troops, soon stopped for fear of being surrounded.

Then Charles XII, taking advantage of the betrayal of the Russian state by the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa, with whom he had long been conducting secret negotiations, hastily sent his starving troops to Ukraine. The Swedish king hoped to provide his army with food in Ukraine, spend the winter and, with the help of the traitor hetman, attack Moscow in the spring.

Part of the Russian troops, covering the roads to Moscow, followed the Swedish army, and the other part, under the command of Peter I, went to approach Levenhaupt.

One resident of Polotsk, sent by the Russian command on reconnaissance, gave detailed information about the forces and progress of this Swedish corps.

Peter I sought to prevent Levengaupt from joining forces with the troops of Charles XII, and near the village of Dolgiy Mokh, Russian troops approached the enemy. Levenhaupt did not accept the fight. Having crossed the Resta River, the Swedes burned all the bridges behind them and retreated to the village of Lesnoy, located near Propoisk. However, they failed to avoid the battle. An unknown Belarusian peasant, who knew the area well, secretly, through swamps and forests, led Russian troops to the enemy position.

On September 28, 1708, the Swedes were suddenly attacked by Russian troops, whose numbers were less than those of the enemy: 12 thousand Russians against 14 thousand Swedes. In the battle near the village of Levengaupt's Forest Corps, he was defeated. Leaving up to 8 thousand dead and wounded on the battlefield, the Swedes fled to Propoisk. The Russian cavalry, thrown in pursuit, overtook the enemy and completed his final defeat. In addition to 800 prisoners, including three generals, Russian troops captured all of the enemy’s artillery and his entire convoy - 7 thousand carts with ammunition and food.

Belarusian partisans exterminated the remnants of Levengaupt's corps scattered in the forests. On October 6, 1708, Peter I wrote to Apraksin: “I bet that as soon as a thousand of them come out to the king, the men beat them severely in the forests.

The battle near the village of Lesnoy was great importance for the success of the further struggle of the Russian state against the Swedish invaders. Peter I called this battle “the mother of the Poltava battle.”

The Battle of Poltava (1709), and then the battles of Gangut (1714) and Grengam (1720) ended in brilliant victories for the Russian troops. Defeated Sweden in 1721 was forced to conclude the Peace of Nystad, according to which Russia received access to the shores of the Baltic Sea. During the Northern War, the sympathy of the people of Belarus for the fraternal Russian people, who expelled the Swedish invaders from the Belarusian lands, grew stronger.

The Northern War (1700-1721) was fought by Russia against Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea coast. Russia’s ally in this war was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which sought to return the territory of Livonia, which it had lost in the Treaty of Oliva in 1660.

The war started poorly for the Allies. In the battle of Narva, the Russian army was defeated. Believing that Russia would not be able to continue the war, the Swedish king Charles XII threw his army into Poland, where, in the words of Peter I, he “got stuck for a long time.”

The Russian government, taking advantage of the respite, was able to quickly create a well-armed regular army, which already in 1702 went on the offensive and won a number of remarkable victories. The situation was worse for the Russian army sent to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the winter of 1705/06, Russian troops were surrounded by the Swedes near Grodno, and only thanks to the skillful leadership of Peter I they managed to escape defeat. However, the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was defeated. Card XII forced the Polish king Augustus II to abdicate the throne and make peace on terms favorable to Sweden. The Swedish protege Stanislav Loschinsky was elected king of Poland. After this, the entire burden of the war fell on the shoulders of Russia alone.

In December 1707, Charles XII, with an army of 45 thousand people, began his campaign through Belarus to Moscow. In January 1708, Swedish troops occupied Grodno, in February - Smorgon, in July - Mogilev. In the occupied territory, the Swedes burned cities and villages, robbed the population, and committed violence. “They torture, hang, burn men... so that they can show the grain pits,” wrote the commander of the Russian army, A. D. Menshikov, in a letter to the Tsar on April 3, 1708. The feudal lords of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth not only did not resist the Swedish occupiers, but many of them joined the Swedish protege Stanislav Leszczynski and together plundered the urban and rural population of Belarus.

The Belarusian people offered stubborn resistance to foreign invaders. Peasants hid or destroyed grain and livestock, went into the forests and created partisan detachments. To delay the advance of the Swedes, peasants destroyed bridges, built rubble and spotted them." The partisans smashed Swedish garrisons and destroyed foraging detachments. Not far from Grodno, unknown peasants shot at Charles XII, who only by chance survived.

The struggle of the popular masses in the eastern part of Belarus acquired a particularly wide scope. Here, as the French ambassador to Sweden reported, the entire population, at the call of the Russian command, came out to fight against the Swedes. Peasants and townspeople provided Russian soldiers with food, weapons, shoes, and carried intelligence service. Risking their lives, they penetrated into the areas where Swedish units and garrisons were located and brought valuable information about the enemy. Reports from local residents enabled the Russian command to quickly take the necessary measures.

Belarusian townspeople actively fought against the Swedish invaders. Residents of Nesvizh back in 1702 turned to the owner of the city, Karl Radzivil, with a request to involve them in the construction of a fortress in Nesvizh. They declared their readiness to defend the fortress and asked to be accepted into the city garrison. When the Swedish army led by Charles 12 approached Nesvizh in 1706, the townspeople put up stubborn resistance; the city was taken only after a long siege.

The population of Mogilev selflessly came out to fight against the invaders. In a short period of time, the townspeople erected new ones, strengthened the old ones and created a military garrison from local residents led by Colonel F. F. Shevnya, and decided, together with Russian soldiers, to defend their city to the end. Peter I highly appreciated the assistance of the residents of Mogilev to the Russian troops, granting them the right to free trade on Russian territory.

The residents of Bykhov fought stubbornly together with Russian soldiers against the Swedish invaders. They made bold forays and inflicted significant losses on the enemy. It is characteristic that not only the townspeople, but also the peasants of the surrounding villages took part in the defense of Vykhov. The resilience of the Bykhovites deprived Charles XII of the opportunity to use the nearest route to Ukraine; and the Russian command retained a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper.

At the beginning of August 1708, Charles XII set out from Mogelev and moved first southeast to Cherikov, and then turned sharply to Mstislavl, hoping to break through to Smolensk here. The Russian command guessed the plans of the Swedes and concentrated significant forces in the Mstislavl area. On August 30, a major battle took place near the village. Kind. The troops of General Golitsyn completely destroyed the Swedish vanguard. In another battle near the village. Raevka Charles XII almost was captured.

Due to the increased resistance of the Russian troops and the intensification of the struggle of the popular masses, the Swedish king was forced to abandon the campaign against Moscow through Smolen. He decided to move to Ukraine, where he hoped to provide his army with food, spend the winter and, with the help of the traitor Hetman Mazepa, begin a new campaign against Moscow. To get ahead of the Russian army, which occupied Mglin and the road to Pochep, Charles XII sent the 4,000-strong front line of General Lagerkron. As soon as Lagerkron separated from the main army, several Belarusian peasants arrived to him. They promised to lead his detachment to Mglin by the shortest route. These unknown Belarusian folk heroes repeated the immortal feat of Ivan Susanin. They wandered through the forests with the Swedish vanguard for several days along difficult forest roads and led it tens of kilometers away from Mglin. This made it possible for Russian troops to occupy Mglin much earlier and gain a foothold in Pochep.

Having set out on a campaign in Ukraine, Charles XII ordered the auxiliary corps of General Levenhaupt, coming from Riga to reinforce the main army, to move there. The Russian command decided to allow the troops of Charles XII further into the interior of the country, and in the meantime defeat Levenhaupt's corps and deprive the Swedish army of reinforcements.

Levenhautzt's corps, fearing a meeting with Russian troops, slowly moved with a convoy of 8 thousand carts along country roads to Propoisk. Soon Russian troops overtook the Swedes near the village. Long Moss. Levenhaupt did not accept the fight. Having crossed the Resta River, the Swedes burned all the bridges and retreated to the village. Forest. The area chosen by Levenhaupt was advantageous for the actions of the Swedish troops, since there were no convenient thresholds for the advance of the advancing Russian troops. A Belarusian peasant, whose name remained unknown, secretly led Russian troops to Lesnaya through “swamps and cruel crossings.”

September 28, 1708 near the village. Levengaupt's forest corps was defeated in a fierce battle. Having lost over 8 thousand killed and wounded, the entire convoy and artillery, Levengaupt fled to Propoisk. The Russian cavalry sent in pursuit completed his final defeat. Belarusian partisans exterminated the remnants of Levengaupt's corps scattered in the forests. Biographer Karl 12 Frinsel noted that those defeated near the village. The forest remnants of the corps fled in small groups of 50-60 people and they had to fight not only with detachments of Russian troops, but also with “embarrassed ordinary people.” Peter 1 wrote to Apraksin on October 6, 1708: “I bet that barely a thousand of them (the Swedes) will come to the king, and the men will beat them severely in the forests.”

The Battle of Lesnaya was of great importance. This was the first major victory of the regular Russian army, created as a result of military reforms at the beginning of the 18th century. The defeat of Levenhaupt's corps worsened the position of the main army of Charles XII. Levenhaupt brought only about 4.5 thousand exhausted and hungry soldiers to the king. Having lost the entire convoy with military supplies near Lesnaya, the Swedes could field only 4 cannons in the Battle of Poltava. The rest of the artillery could not be used due to lack of gunpowder and shells. At Lesnaya the Swedes lost their wonderful confidence, while the Russians, on the contrary, perked up.

But Peter I later called the battle “the mother of the Poltava battle,” since the victory at Lesnaya prepared the defeat of the Swedish army in the Battle of Poltava (1709).

The Northern War ended with a brilliant victory for the Russian state. According to the Peace of Nystad. Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea.

In the struggle against the Swedish invaders, the friendship of the fraternal Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples became even stronger and tempered. At the same time, the Northern War brought new ruin to Belarus. Hundreds of villages and hamlets were plundered. The peasants lost a significant part of their draft animals, and therefore could not cultivate the amount of land that they used before. The size of vacant uncultivated land has increased dramatically. Thus, in the Brest economy in the first quarter of the 18th century. Over 40% of the peasant land was empty, and in Dobrinskaya and Grodno - more than 80%. Brest, Grodno, Minsk, Vitebsk and especially Mogilev, where over 2 thousand houses burned down during the fire of 1708, were devastated. The urban population has declined by 30 to 70%. .Craft and trade were in a state of deep decline.

The events of the Northern War had a pan-European scope. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth entered the anti-Swedish coalition led by Russia, pursuing its own goals. She sought to return Livonia, lost in the Treaty of Oliva in 1660, and to secure Polish territory from the Swedish threat that was constantly hanging over it. The Polish government sought to achieve these goals primarily through Russian hands, and therefore from the very beginning pursued an evasive, inconsistent policy. As was their custom, the magnates and gentry were ready at any moment to switch sides to whichever side would prevail.

And so it happened. After the Swedish king Charles XII defeated an inexperienced Russian army at Narva and then rushed into Poland and defeated the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he forced the Saxon Elector Augustus II to renounce the Polish throne. The Swedish protege Stanislav Leshchinsky was placed on it. Many feudal lords of the Grand Duchy hastened to defect to his side and, together with the Swedes, began to devastate their own territory. But as soon as military luck turned away from the Swedes, S. Leshchinsky was expelled, Augustus II returned and the gentry began to run over to his side. This has happened more than once. The Russian government had to make sure more than once what kind of ally it was, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and how much it could be relied on in any way.

In December 1707, Charles XII launched an offensive through Belarus towards the Russian border. In January 1708, the Swedes occupied Grodno, in February - Smorgon, in July - Mogilev. Russian troops retreated, fighting fierce rearguard battles. They were helped in every possible way by partisan detachments from the local Belarusian population. They attacked individual Swedish detachments, convoys and small garrisons, conducted reconnaissance, and served as guides for the Russian command. The peasants hid food and fodder and refused to supply it even for money. The Swedish army lacked uniforms and ammunition.

In August - September 1708, after a series of defeats on the territory of Eastern Belarus (near the village of Dobroye, near Raevka, etc.), Charles XII assembled a military council in Staritsy, at which it was decided to wait for Levengaupt’s corps. He was moving with a large convoy from the Baltic states to join the main army. Then Charles XII planned to turn to Ukraine, where the traitor Mazepa promised help and warm winter apartments.

Peter I, having covered the Russian border with Sheremetev’s army, sent a flying detachment (“corvolant”) against Levengaupt, which he himself led. With the help of Belarusian guides, on September 28, 1708, he intercepted the Swedish corps near the village of Lesnoye near Propoisk (now Slavgorod). Levengaupt's 16,000-strong corps was completely defeated. The Russians received a convoy of 7 thousand carts with food, equipment and ammunition, so necessary for the Swedish army. Peter I called this victory “the mother of the Poltava battle,” which turned the entire course of the Northern War in favor of Russia. The saying “disappeared like a Swede near Poltava” has forever entered the Russian language.

Meanwhile, the fire of partisan warfare engulfed Ukraine. The Ukrainian people did not follow Mazepa and remained faithful to the oath. The center of hostilities moved to the west.

Speaking about the events of the Northern War on Belarusian territory, it should be remembered that Belarus actually played the role of the operational rear of the Russian army. Here food and fodder, ship timber and other supplies for the fleet created by Peter I were procured, officers, soldiers and sailors were recruited into the Russian army and navy. Representatives of the Belarusian intelligentsia, such as the famous cultural figure, translator and book publisher I. Kopievich, entered the Russian service.

The Belarusian people made a significant contribution to the victory of Russia. But the hard times of war seriously undermined the country’s economy, which had not yet fully recovered from the shocks of the 17th century. Fate continued to test long-suffering Belarus. During the Northern War, the German states began to persistently solicit from Peter I the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, torn apart by internal strife. However, the tsar, solving strategic problems in the north and south of Russia, preferred to have a weak and dependent neighbor in the west, so that over time he could absorb it entirely, without sharing with anyone. This was not meant to be. After the death of the great reformer, his weak heirs, busy squabbling for power, had no time for Poland.

By the middle of the 16th century. For the Russian state, access to the shores of the Baltic Sea became vital. Further economic development of the country and strengthening of its ties with other states was impossible without the possession of ports on the Baltic coast. But the Livonian Order, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden did their best to prevent the Russian state from entering the Baltic.

The Russian Tsar Ivan IV, after long but fruitless negotiations with Livonia on the free transit of Russian goods to the West and Western goods to Moscow, was forced to begin military operations in 1558.

In 1561, Lithuania and Poland intervened in this war, which, trying to prevent the Russian state from reaching the shores of the Baltic Sea, took under their protection the German feudal lords who dominated the Baltic states.

In this regard, in 1562, Russian troops entered the borders of the Lithuanian state and began to liberate the Belarusian lands from the rule of Lithuanian feudal lords. In Belarus, Russian troops were joyfully greeted by the masses. Ivan IV took personal part in the campaign. He set his immediate goal to capture Polotsk, which had great economic and military-strategic importance. On February 15, 1563, Polotsk was liberated and for the next 16 years it was part of the Russian state.

The liberation of Polotsk caused great alarm in Lithuania and Poland, especially since Russian troops crossed the Western Dvina and threatened Vilna. The Livonian War once again showed the weakness of the Lithuanian state.

Russian troops occupied a significant part of the Belarusian ones and began to approach Minsk. The success of the Russian troops was facilitated by the help of the people of Belarus. Even the Jesuit Possevin wrote that the population of Belarus gravitates towards Moscow and “publicly prays for the Muscovites to be granted victory.” The dominance of the Lithuanian feudal lords in Belarus was again under threat.

In order to prevent the transition of the Belarusian feudal lords to the side of the Russian state, King Sigismund II Augustus was forced to extend to the Orthodox feudal lords the rights that until that time had only been enjoyed by Catholic feudal lords. This was a temporary concession.

Polish magnates sought to use the military defeats of the Lithuanian feudal lords in the fight against the Russian state to further strengthen their political influence in the Lithuanian state. Throughout the 60s of the 16th century. The gentry of the Lithuanian state, including the Belarusian ones, achieved new privileges for themselves. The 1529 statute was revised and supplemented. A second Statute was drawn up and adopted at the Sejm in 1566. The Second Statute provided for and consolidated the participation of the gentry in the activities of the Sejm. Representatives (ambassadors) from the gentry constituted the lower house of the Sejm. Having achieved these privileges, the gentry of the Lithuanian state wanted to equalize their rights with the rights of the Polish gentry and supported the Polish magnates.

Polish magnates, who sought to subjugate the Lithuanian state, put forward a plan for a new union of Lithuania and Poland. Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian magnates, fearing the dominance of Polish feudal lords in the Lithuanian state and the complete loss of its political independence, strongly opposed the new union of Lithuania and Poland.

Several attempts to resolve the issue of union at congresses of Polish and Lithuanian representatives did not lead to success. Finally, in 1569, a general Polish-Lithuanian Sejm was convened in Lublin to resolve this issue. Lithuanian magnates agreed to convene a general Sejm in view of the critical situation of the Lithuanian state, which faced the threat of losing Belarusian lands.

At the Lublin Sejm, after fierce disputes, the major feudal lords of the Lithuanian state were forced to agree to the unification of Poland and Lithuania into one state. The union was concluded on July 1, 1569. The united Polish-Lithuanian state began to be called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained some autonomy in military, administrative and judicial terms. Belarus remained part of the Principality of Lithuania, and Ukraine and the so-called Podlasie (Belarusian lands along the Bug) became directly part of Poland.

Soon after the conclusion of the Union of Lublin, Sigismund II Augustus sent envoys to Moscow with a proposal for peace. But peace negotiations did not yield positive results. Only a three-year truce was achieved.

In 1573, after the death of Sigismund II Augustus, the Semigrad governor Stefan Batory was elected to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. With the help of the Pope, Batory, having reorganized and strengthened the army, moved from defense to offensive actions.

In 1578, Batory's troops invaded Livonia. The following year he moved his troops to Polotsk. Russian troops and the local population offered heroic resistance to the Polish-Lithuanian troops, but on August 30, 1579, Polotsk fell. When Batory's troops burst into the city, its last defenders took refuge in the St. Sophia Cathedral. They all died in unequal battle. A fire started in the city, during which the extensive and valuable library of the St. Sophia Cathedral, where ancient manuscripts and books, including chronicles, were kept, was destroyed. At the time when Batory captured Polotsk, other detachments of Polish-Lithuanian troops devastated and plundered settlements in the Smolensk and Seversk lands.

After the fall of Polotsk, the war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian state continued for more than two years. In 1581, Polish-Lithuanian troops besieged Pskov. All attempts by the Poles and Batory's mercenary troops to take this city were unsuccessful. The staunch defense of Pskov by Russian troops represents one of many bright pages military history Russian people. Batory's failure at the walls of Pskov forced him to agree to peace negotiations. In January D582, as a result of negotiations between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian state, a truce was concluded for a period of 10 years. Under the terms of the truce, Ivan IV had to renounce Livonia and Polotsk.

Gradually, the gentry rose in political power. Since 1511, the election of deputies to the Val Sejm was established at povet sejmiks, which consisted mainly of the gentry. Now the district gentry, if they were pleasing to the magnates, ended up in the Sejm. In 1547, Sigismund II granted equal rights to the Orthodox gentry and the Catholic gentry. It was his privilege that in 1563 the gentry were given the opportunity to occupy the highest government posts. Now only the feudal estate court could judge the gentry.

Ultimately, in the first half of the 16th century. The gentry had equal rights with the feudal nobility, they were guaranteed personal and property integrity. The process of consolidation of various layers of the feudal class into one gentry, privileged class was completed. In the Statute of 1529, the term “szlachta” was already applied to all feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Nevertheless, the position of feudal lords within the estate remained uneven. The magnates retained a leading political role in the state. They were still subject to special jurisdiction and could not be tried by provincial courts.

In the middle of the 16th century. The Russian state began to fight for the territory of the Livonian Confederation and access to the Baltic Sea. Poland and Lithuania were preparing to support Livonia, who sought to establish themselves that the military actions of the Russians could be joyfully greeted by the Belarusian people; the government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1557 concluded a military alliance with the Livonian Order. This was the reason for the start of the war with the Russian state.

The successful advance of the Russian army in 1559 forced the Livonian Order to come under the protectorate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. When is it near the Baltic states?

Realizing that the Order had collapsed due to the blows of Russian troops, Sigismund II imposed the Treaty of Vilna (1561) on Livonia, according to which most of the territory of Livonia fell under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In response to this, Ivan IV sent troops towards the northeastern borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1562, separate detachments of Russian troops approached Vitebsk, Orsha and Shklov. To carry out a decisive offensive against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the winter of 1562/63, an 8,000-strong army was formed near Mozhaisk, headed by Ivan IV himself.

On February 15, 1563, after a two-week siege, Russian troops captured Polotsk. The path to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was open. The Belarusian people eagerly awaited the arrival of Russian troops. On this occasion, the papal ambassador wrote that the population was “publicly praying for victory to be granted to the Muscovites.” During the hostilities, the Belarusian population directly supported the Russian army. During the capture of Polotsk, many townspeople took part in the assault on the fortress.

The real threat of loss of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands and internal political contradictions forced the Lithuanian feudal lords, even to the detriment of their interests, to return to strengthening the military-political alliance with Poland. In turn, the Polish feudal lords and the Catholic clergy, with the direct support of the Vatican, had long nurtured plans for the final annexation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to their state.

Negotiations on the union began in January 1569 in Lublin at a joint meeting of the diets of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Hoping for a further expansion of their rights and liberties, the small and medium-sized feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania supported the union. The large feudal lords did not agree to incorporation, and on March 1, 1569, negotiations were interrupted. Taking advantage of this, Sigismud II, in separate acts, annexed Podlasie, Volyn, Podolia and Kiev region (without Mozyr povet) to Poland in turn. The magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were forced to resume negotiations and, after fierce disputes, on July 1, 1569, sign the terms of the union.

According to the Union of Lublin, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united into one state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, headed by a king who simultaneously became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Instead of the common Sejms of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, united Sejms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began to be convened. A unified monetary system for the entire state was also introduced. At the same time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained its name and some autonomy. In particular, he was given the right to issue local laws, have his own internal administration and judicial bodies (in 1581 the Main Lithuanian Tribunal was established), his own gentry army headed by a hetman, the right to mint national coins, etc. Official language, as before, remained Belarusian.

Nevertheless, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania found itself in a position dependent on Poland. Ukraine went to Poland. Within the Principality of Lithuania, Polish feudal lords and the Catholic clergy received the right to unlimited acquisition of land. The appointment of feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the highest government posts began to be made by the king, and the appointed persons had to swear allegiance to him.

For the Russian state, the Union of Lublin had a negative impact on the further course of the Livonian War. The Semigrad voivode Stefan Batory (1576-1586), who ascended the throne of the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, using the combined military forces of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, went on the offensive in 1578. Batory's troops stormed Polotsk for 20 days. Despite the heroic efforts of the Russian troops and city residents, Polotsk fell on August 30, 1579. Most of The houses of the city were burned. According to the Yam-Zapolsky truce of 1582, Polotsk went to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Union of Lublin slowed down the economic development of Belarus. For the masses, it meant the establishment of social oppression of the Polish feudal lords and a sharp increase in Catholic aggression.

The ruling circles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth used the Catholic Church to consolidate their economic and political dominance in Belarus. With its help, they intended to unite the feudal lords of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the fight against the growing popular movement, paralyze the desire of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples to strengthen ties and reunite with the Russian people. To achieve these goals, the Polish feudal lords and Catholic clergy undertook the unification of the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The inspirer of the church union was the Vatican, which intended to assert its influence not only in Belarus and Ukraine, but also in the Russian state. The practical preparation of the union was entrusted to the Jesuits, who arrived at the direction of the Vatican in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The project of the union was developed by the Jesuit Eleventh Skarga and outlined in the book “On the Unity of the Church of God” (1577). Large Orthodox feudal lords and the highest hierarchy of the Kyiv Metropolis, headed by Metropolitan Ragoza, trying to preserve their land holdings and achieve new class privileges, supported the union. The majority of the gentry, the wealthy elite of the townspeople and the lower clergy, fearing protests by the masses, were against the unification of churches.

For the final approval of the union, by decree of the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund III Vasa (1587-1632) (October 1, 1596, a church council of the highest Orthodox and Catholic clergy, large secular feudal lords and representatives of the cities was convened in Brest. The council was immediately divided into two councils - opponents and supporters of the union. Orthodox Cathedral spoke out against the union, removed from office and deprived of their spiritual titles the Kyiv Metropolitan Ragoza and the bishops who accepted the union. The Uniate stupor acted in a similar way towards opponents of the union. Sigismund III supported the decision of the supporters of the union.

According to the Union of Brest, the Orthodox Church on the territory of Belarus and Ukraine was brought under the subordination of the Pope and accepted the basic dogmas of the Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church retained rituals and services in the Church Slavonic language, which was done deliberately. Even before the conclusion of the union, the Jesuit Anthony Possevin, Peter Skarga’s co-author in the development of the union, wrote to the Pope: “It seems that it would be more profitable to gradually convert the Russians to the Catholic faith, allowing them to adhere to their rituals and worship, and in the future to convince them to accept the rituals of the Roman Church.” .

The Brest Church Union supplemented the union of 1569 and was the main ideological weapon of the expansionist aspirations of the Polish feudal lords within the borders of Belarus and Ukraine. Its proclamation sanctified Catholic aggression into the East Slavic lands.

With the adoption of the union, Orthodox churches began to forcibly turn into Uniate churches, new Uniate churches, churches and monasteries of the Jesuits, Bernardines, Dominicans, Carmelites, Franciscans and other Catholic orders were built. Already by the middle of the 17th century. they covered the territory of Belarus with a dense network. Along with the Orthodox, the Catholic and Uniate churches became the largest land fiefs, owning hundreds and then thousands of villages with serfs. The feudal property of the Catholic Church of Belarus consisted of the possessions of the Vilna bishopric, monasteries and parish priests.

Defending their class interests, following the large Belarusian feudal lords (the Glebovichs, Zaslavskys, Potseys, Rutskys, Sangushkis, Sapiehas, Slutskys, Tyshkeviches, etc.), the majority of the gentry defected to the Catholic camp soon after the union. And only the masses resolutely opposed forced Catholicization, against Polish-Catholic aggression.

Literature

war church union expansionist

1. V.V. Chepko, A.P. Ignatenko “History of the BSSR” part 1 Minsk publishing house BSU named after. V.I.Lenin 1981

2. Ya.I. Treshchenok "History of Belarus" part 1 to Soviet period Mogilev Moscow State University A.A.Kuleshova 2003

3. V.N. Pertsev, K.I. Shabun, L.S. Abetsedarsky “History of the Belarusian SSR” Academy of Sciences of the Belarusian SSR Minsk 1954

4. P.I.Brygadzin, I.I.Koukel, I.P.Kren, L.V.Loika, U.A.Nyadzelka “History of Belarus”, part one from the ancient times and the end of the 18th century. Lecture course RIVSH BDU Minsk 2000

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

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

ü The Russian state lost all its acquisitions in Livonia. Behind it remained only a narrow section of access to the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Finland from the Strelka River to the Sestra River (31.5 km).

ü The cities of Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye passed to the Swedes along with Narva (Rugodiv).

ü In Karelia, the Kexholm (Korela) fortress went to the Swedes, along with a vast county and the coast of Lake Ladoga.

The Russian state again found itself cut off from the sea. The country was devastated, the central and northwestern regions were depopulated. Russia lost a significant part of its territory.

Chapter 3. Domestic historians about the Livonian War

Domestic historiography reflects the problems of society during critical periods in the development of our country, which is accompanied by the formation of a new, modern society, then the views of historians on certain historical events change according to the times. The views of modern historians on the Livonian War are practically unanimous and do not cause much disagreement. The views of Tatishchev, Karamzin, and Pogodin about the Livonian War, which were dominant in the 19th century, are now perceived as archaic. In the works of N.I. Kostomarova, S.M. Solovyova, V.O. Klyuchevsky reveals a new vision of the problem.

Livonian War (1558-1583). Causes. Move. Results

At the beginning of the twentieth century, another change in the social system occurred. During this transitional period, outstanding historians came to Russian historical science - representatives of different historical schools: statesman S.F. Platonov, creator of the “proletarian-internationalist” school M.N. Pokrovsky, a very original philosopher R.Yu. Whipper, who explained the events of the Livonian War from their points of view. During the Soviet period, historical schools successively replaced each other: the “Pokrovsky school” in the mid-1930s. The 20th century was replaced by the “patriotic school”, which was replaced by the “new Soviet historical school” (from the late 1950s of the 20th century), among whose adherents we can mention A.A. Zimina, V.B. Kobrina, R.G. Skrynnikova.

N.M. Karamzin (1766-1826) assessed the Livonian War as a whole as “unfortunate, but not inglorious for Russia.” The historian places responsibility for the defeat in the war on the tsar, whom he accuses of “cowardice” and “confusion of spirit.”

According to N.I. Kostomarov (1817-1885) in 1558, before the start of the Livonian War, Ivan IV was faced with an alternative - either “deal with the Crimea” or “take possession of Livonia”. The historian explains Ivan IV’s counterintuitive decision to fight on two fronts by “discord” between his advisers. In his writings, Kostomarov writes that the Livonian War drained the strength and labor of the Russian people. The historian explains the failure of the Russian troops in the confrontation with the Swedes and Poles by the complete demoralization of the Russian armed forces as a result of oprichnina actions. According to Kostomarov, as a result of the peace with Poland and the truce with Sweden, “the western borders of the state shrank, the fruits of long-term efforts were lost.”

The Livonian War, which began in 1559, S.M. Soloviev (1820-1879) explains by Russia’s need to “assimilate the fruits of European civilization,” the bearers of which were allegedly not allowed into Rus' by the Livonians, who owned the main Baltic ports. The loss of seemingly conquered Livonia by Ivan IV was the result of simultaneous actions against the Russian troops of the Poles and Swedes, as well as the result of the superiority of the regular (mercenary) army and European military art over the Russian noble militia.

According to S.F. Platonov (1860-1933), Russia was drawn into the Livonian War. The historian believes that Russia could not evade what was “happening on its western borders,” which “exploited it and oppressed it (with unfavorable terms of trade).” The defeat of the troops of Ivan IV at the last stage of the Livonian War is explained by the fact that then there were “signs of a clear depletion of means for the fight.” The historian also notes, mentioning the economic crisis that befell the Russian state, that Stefan Batory “beat an already lying enemy, not defeated by him, but who had lost his strength before fighting him.”

M.N. Pokrovsky (1868-1932) claims that the Livonian War was allegedly started by Ivan IV on the recommendation of some advisers - without any doubt, from the ranks of the “military”. The historian notes both the “very opportune moment” for the invasion and the absence of “almost any formal reason” for it. Pokrovsky explains the intervention of the Swedes and Poles in the war by the fact that they could not allow “the entire south-eastern coast of the Baltic” with trading ports to come under Russian rule. Pokrovsky considers the main defeats of the Livonian War to be the unsuccessful sieges of Revel and the loss of Narva and Ivangorod. He also notes big influence on the outcome of the Crimean invasion of 1571.

According to R.Yu. Vipper (1859-1954), the Livonian War was prepared long before 1558 by the leaders of the Elected Rada and could have been won if Russia had acted earlier. The historian considers the battles for the Eastern Baltic to be the largest of all wars fought by Russia, as well as “ the most important event pan-European history". Whipper explains Russia's defeat by the fact that by the end of the war, "Russia's military structure" was in disintegration, and "Grozny's ingenuity, flexibility and adaptability ended."

A.A. Zimin (1920-1980) connects the decision of the Moscow government “to raise the issue of annexing the Baltic states” with “the strengthening of the Russian state in the 16th century.” Among the motives that prompted this decision, he highlights the need to acquire Russia's access to the Baltic Sea to expand cultural and economic ties with Europe. Thus, the Russian merchants were interested in the war; the nobility hoped to acquire new lands. Zimin considers the involvement of “a number of major Western powers” ​​in the Livonian War as the result of “the short-sighted policy of the Chosen Rada.” The historian connects Russia’s defeat in the war with this, as well as with the ruin of the country, with the demoralization of service people, and with the death of skilled military leaders during the oprichnina years.

The beginning of the “War for Livonia” R.G. Skrynnikov associates it with Russia’s “first success” - the victory in the war with the Swedes (1554-1557), under the influence of which “plans for the conquest of Livonia and establishment in the Baltic states” were put forward. The historian points to Russia’s “special goals” in the war, the main one of which was to create conditions for Russian trade. After all, the Livonian Order and German merchants prevented commercial activities Muscovites, and Ivan IV’s attempts to organize his own “shelter” at the mouth of the Narova failed. The defeat of the Russian troops at the last stage of the Livonian War, according to Skrynnikov, was the result of the entry into the war of the Polish armed forces led by Stefan Batory. The historian notes that in the army of Ivan IV at that time there were not 300 thousand people, as previously stated, but only 35 thousand. In addition, the twenty-year war and the ruin of the country contributed to the weakening of the noble militia. Skrynnikov explains the conclusion of peace by Ivan IV with the renunciation of Livonian possessions in favor of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the fact that Ivan IV wanted to focus on the war with the Swedes.

According to V.B. Kobrin (1930-1990) The Livonian War became unpromising for Russia when, some time after the start of the conflict, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland became opponents of Moscow. The historian notes the key role of Adashev, who was one of the leaders of Russian foreign policy, in unleashing the Livonian War. Kobrin considers the conditions of the Russian-Polish truce concluded in 1582 not humiliating, but rather difficult for Russia. He notes in this regard that the goal of the war was not achieved - “the reunification of the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the annexation of the Baltic states.” The historian considers the conditions of the truce with Sweden even more difficult, since a significant part of the coast of the Gulf of Finland, which was part of the Novgorod land, was “lost.”

Conclusion

Thus:

1. The purpose of the Livonian War was to give Russia access to the Baltic Sea in order to break the blockade from Livonia, the Polish-Lithuanian state and Sweden and establish direct communication with European countries.

2. The immediate reason for the start of the Livonian War was the issue of the “Yuriev tribute.”

3. The beginning of the war (1558) brought victories to Ivan the Terrible: Narva and Yuryev were taken. The military operations that began in 1560 brought new defeats to the Order: the large fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin were taken, the order army blocking the path to Viljandi was defeated near Ermes, and the Master of the Order Fürstenberg himself was captured. The successes of the Russian army were facilitated by the peasant uprisings that broke out in the country against the German feudal lords. The result of the campaign of 1560 was the virtual defeat of the Livonian Order as a state.

4. From 1561, the Livonian War entered its second period, when Russia was forced to wage war with the Polish-Lithuanian state and Sweden.

5. Since Lithuania and Poland in 1570 could not quickly concentrate forces against the Moscow state, because were exhausted by the war, Ivan IV began in May 1570 to negotiate a truce with Poland and Lithuania and at the same time create, having neutralized 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 in May 1570 was proclaimed “King of Livonia” upon his arrival in Moscow.

6. The Russian government pledged to provide the new state, settled on the island of Ezel, with its military assistance and material means so that it could expand its territory at the expense of the Swedish and Lithuanian-Polish possessions in Livonia.

7. The proclamation of the Livonian Kingdom was supposed, according to the calculations of Ivan IV, to provide Russia with the support of the Livonian feudal lords, i.e. all German knighthood and nobility in Estland, Livonia and Courland, and therefore not only an alliance with Denmark (through Magnus), but also, most importantly, alliance and support for the Habsburg Empire. With this new combination in Russian foreign policy, the Tsar intended to create a vice on two fronts for an overly aggressive and restless Poland, which had grown due to the inclusion of Lithuania. While Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, Ivan IV led successful actions against Sigismund II Augustus. In 1563, the Russian army took Plock, a fortress that opened the way to the capital of Lithuania, Vilna, and Riga. But already at the beginning of 1564, the Russians suffered a series of defeats on the Ulla River and near Orsha.

8. By 1577, in fact, all of Livonia north of the Western Dvina (Vidzeme) was in the hands of the Russians, except for Riga, which, as a Hanseatic city, Ivan IV decided to spare. However, military successes did not lead to a victorious end to the Livonian War. The fact is that Russia by this time had lost the diplomatic support that it had at the beginning of the Swedish stage of the Livonian War. Firstly, Emperor Maximilian II died in October 1576, and hopes for the capture of Poland and its division did not materialize. Secondly, a new king came to power in Poland - Stefan Batory, former prince Semigradsky, one of the best commanders of his time, who was a supporter of an active Polish-Swedish alliance against Russia. Thirdly, Denmark disappeared completely as an ally and, finally, in 1578-1579. Stefan Batory managed to persuade Duke Magnus to betray the king.

9. In 1579, Batory captured Polotsk and Velikiye Luki, in 1581 he besieged Pskov, and by the end of 1581 the Swedes captured the entire coast of Northern Estonia, Narva, Wesenberg (Rakovor, Rakvere), Haapsalu, Pärnu and the entire Southern (Russian) ) Estonia - Fellin (Viljandi), Dorpat (Tartu). In Ingria, Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye were taken, and in the Ladoga region - Korela.

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

11. The Treaty of Plus was concluded with Sweden. Under this agreement, the Russian state was deprived of all its acquisitions in Livonia. The cities of Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye passed to the Swedes along with Narva (Rugodiv). In Karelia, the Kexholm (Korela) fortress went to the Swedes, along with a vast district and the coast of Lake Ladoga.

12. As a result, the Russian state found itself cut off from the sea. The country was devastated, the central and northwestern regions were depopulated. Russia lost a significant part of its territory.

List of used literature

1. Zimin A.A. History of the USSR from ancient times to the present day. – M., 1966.

2. Karamzin N.M. History of Russian Goverment. - Kaluga, 1993.

3. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history course. - M. 1987.

4. Kobrin V.B. Ivan groznyj. - M., 1989.

5. Platonov S.F. Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584). Whipper R.Yu. Ivan the Terrible / Comp. D.M. Kholodikhin. - M., 1998.

6. Skrynnikov R.G. Ivan groznyj. – M., 1980.

7. Soloviev S.M. Essays. History of Russia from ancient times. - M., 1989.

Read in the same book: Introduction | Chapter 1. Creation of Livonia | Military actions of 1561 - 1577 |mybiblioteka.su - 2015-2018. (0.095 sec.)

The best thing history gives us is the enthusiasm it arouses.

The Livonian War lasted from 1558 to 1583. During the war, Ivan the Terrible sought to gain access to and capture the port cities of the Baltic Sea, which was supposed to significantly improve the economic situation of Rus' 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 continuous wars. The Russian state sought to protect itself from its neighbors and return lands that had previously been part of Ancient Rus'.

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.
• The southern direction of 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 the crusader conquests. How public education, it was weak due to national contradictions (the Baltic people were placed in feudal dependence), religious split (the Reformation penetrated there), and the struggle for power among the elite.

Map of the Livonian War

Reasons for the start of the Livonian War

Ivan IV 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 the borders of the state back 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:

1. Refusal to pay tribute. In 1503, the Livn Order and Rus' signed a document according to which the former agreed to pay an annual tribute to the city of Yuryev. In 1557, the Order unilaterally withdrew from this obligation.
2. The weakening of the foreign political influence of the Order against the backdrop of national disagreements.

Speaking about the reason, we should focus on the fact that Livonia separated Rus' from the sea and blocked trade. Large merchants and nobles who wanted to appropriate new lands were interested in capturing Livonia. But the main reason can be identified as the ambitions of Ivan IV the Terrible. Victory was supposed to strengthen his influence, so he waged the war, regardless of the circumstances and the meager capabilities of the country for the sake of his own greatness.

Progress of the war and main events

The Livonian War was fought with long interruptions 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. In the first months, the Russian army captured Dorpat, 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 one weak, but two 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 Baltic peasants were dissatisfied with the newly arrived Russian landowners, the cruelties of war, extortions and other disasters.

Second stage 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’s refusal 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 Kingdom. The conflict could only be continued in 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 “Elected Rada”.

It was at this stage of the war that Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a strong power that everyone, without exception, had to reckon with.

Third stage of the war

The third stage (1570–1577) involved local battles between Russia and Sweden for the territory of modern Estonia. They ended without any significant results for both sides. All fights were worn local character and had no significant influence on the course of the war.

The fourth stage of the war

At the fourth stage of the Livonian War (1577–1583), Ivan IV again captured the entire Baltic region, but soon the tsar’s luck ran out and the Russian troops were defeated. The new king of the united Poland and Lithuania (Rzeczpospolita), Stefan Batory, expelled Ivan the Terrible from the Baltic region, and even managed to capture a number of cities already on the territory of the Russian kingdom (Polotsk, Velikiye Luki, etc.).

Livonian War 1558-1583

The fighting was accompanied by terrible bloodshed. Since 1579, assistance to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has been provided by Sweden, which acted very successfully, capturing Ivangorod, Yam, and Koporye.

Russia was saved from complete defeat by the defense of Pskov (from August 1581). During the 5 months of the siege, the garrison and residents of the city repulsed 31 assault attempts, weakening Batory’s army.

The end of the war and its results

The Yam-Zapolsky truce between the Russian kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 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 Treaty of Plus was signed in 1583.

Thus, we can highlight the following reasons for the defeat of the Russian state, which sums up the results of the Liovno War:

• adventurism and ambitions of the tsar - Russia could not wage a war simultaneously with three strong states;
• the harmful influence of the oprichnina, economic ruin, Tatar attacks.
• A deep economic crisis within the country, which erupted during the 3rd and 4th stages of hostilities.

Despite the negative outcome, it was the Livonian War that determined the direction of Russian foreign policy for many years to come - to gain access to the Baltic Sea.

Siege of Pskov by King Stefan Batory in 1581, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov

• Date: January 15, 1582.
• Place: village of Kiverova Gora, 15 versts from Zapolsky Yam.
• Type: peace treaty.
• Military conflict: Livonian War.
• Participants, countries: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Russian Kingdom.
• Participants, country representatives: J. Zbarazhsky, A. Radziwill, M. Garaburda and H. Varshevitsky - D. P. Eletsky, R.

  Livonian War

  V. Olferev, N. N. Vereshchagin and Z. Sviyazev.

• Negotiating mediator: Antonio Possevino.

The Yam-Zapolsky Peace Treaty was concluded on January 15, 1582 between the Russian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This agreement was concluded for 10 years and became one of the main acts that ended the Livonian War.

Yam-Zapolsky Peace Treaty: conditions, results and significance

Under the terms of the Yam-Zapolsky Peace Treaty, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth returned all conquered Russian cities and territories, namely the Pskov and Novgorod lands. The exception was the region of Velizh, where the border that existed until 1514 (until the annexation of Smolensk to the Russian kingdom) was restored.

The Russian kingdom gave up all its territories in the Baltic states (territory belonging to the Livonian Order). Stefan Batory also demanded a large monetary compensation, however, Ivan IV refused him. The agreement, at the insistence of the ambassadors of the Russian Empire, did not mention the Livonian cities that were captured by Sweden. And although the ambassadors of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth made a special statement stipulating territorial claims in relation to Sweden, this question remains open.

In 1582, the treaty was ratified in Moscow. Ivan IV the Terrible intended to use this treaty to build up forces and resume active hostilities with Sweden, which was not implemented in practice. Despite the fact that the Russian Empire did not acquire new territories and did not resolve contradictions with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the threat in the form of the Livonian Order no longer existed.

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. The Livonian War is a significant stage in Russian history. Long and grueling, it brought Russia many losses. It is very important and relevant to consider this event, because any military actions changed the geopolitical map of our country and 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 variety of points of view on the causes of this collision, the opinions of historians on this matter.

Article: Livonian War, its political meaning and consequences

After all, pluralism of opinions indicates that there are many contradictions in views. Consequently, the topic has not been sufficiently studied and is relevant for further consideration.

Purpose 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 :

- identify 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 is faced with 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.

For example, N.M. Karamzin connects the beginning of the war with the ill will of the Livonian Order. Karamzin fully approves of Ivan the Terrible’s aspirations to reach the Baltic Sea, calling them “beneficent intentions for Russia.”

N.I. Kostomarov believes that on the eve of the war, Ivan the Terrible was faced with an alternative - either to deal with Crimea or to take possession of Livonia. The historian explains Ivan IV’s counterintuitive decision to fight on two fronts by “discord” between his advisers.

S.M. Soloviev explains the Livonian War by Russia’s need to “assimilate the fruits of European civilization,” the bearers 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 the external position of the state only from the point of view 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 come to terms with unfavorable terms of trade.

M.N. Pokrovsky believes that Ivan the Terrible started the war on the recommendations of certain “advisers” from among the army.

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

R.G. Skrynnikov connects the start of the war with Russia’s first success - the victory in the war with the Swedes (1554-1557), under the influence of which plans were put forward to conquer Livonia and establish itself 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 his key role in the outbreak of the Livonian War.

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

The formal reason for the start of the Livonian War was the question of the “Yuriev tribute” (Yuriev, later called Dorpat (Tartu), was founded by Yaroslav the Wise). According to the treaty of 1503, an annual tribute had to be paid for it and the surrounding territory, which, however, was not done. In addition, the Order concluded a military alliance with the Lithuanian-Polish king in 1557.

2. Stages of the war.

The Livonian War can be roughly divided into 4 stages. The first (1558-1561) is directly related to the Russian-Livonian war. The second (1562-1569) involved primarily the Russian-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 Russian-Swedish war continued.

Let's look at 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 Yuriev were taken. In the summer and autumn of 1558 and at the beginning of 1559, Russian troops marched throughout Livonia (to Revel and Riga) and advanced in Courland to the borders East Prussia and Lithuania. However, in 1559, under the influence 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 came under the protectorate of the Polish crown. In an atmosphere of acute political disagreements in the leadership of the Livonian Order, its master W. Fürstenberg was removed and G. Ketler, who adhered to a pro-Polish orientation, became the new master. In the same year, Denmark took possession of the island of Ösel (Saaremaa).

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

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

Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and escapes to Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565, the oprichnina was introduced. Ivan IV tried to restore the Livonian Order, but under the protectorate of Russia, and negotiated with Poland. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation existing at that time. The Zemstvo Sobor, convened at this time, supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states until the capture of Riga: “It is unsuitable for our sovereign to give up those cities of Livonia, which the king took for protection, but it is better for the sovereign to stand for those cities.” The council's decision also emphasized that abandoning Livonia would harm trade interests.

Third stage. Since 1569 the war becomes protracted. This year, at the Sejm in Lublin, the unification of Lithuania and Poland into a single state took place - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with which in 1570 Russia managed to conclude a truce for three years.

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

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

The proclamation of the Livonian Kingdom was supposed, according to the calculations of Ivan IV, to provide Russia with the support of the Livonian feudal lords, i.e. all German knighthood and nobility in Estland, Livonia and Courland, and therefore not only an alliance with Denmark (through Magnus), but also, most importantly, alliance and support for the Habsburg Empire. With this new combination in Russian foreign policy, the Tsar intended to create a vice on two fronts for an overly aggressive and restless Poland, which had grown due to the inclusion of 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. On a more immediate level, the tsar was concerned about 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 the tsar’s correct, strategically deep understanding of the balance of power in Europe and his accurate vision of the problems of Russian foreign policy in the near and long term. That is why his military tactics were correct: he sought to defeat Sweden alone as quickly as possible, until it came to a united Polish-Swedish aggression against Russia.

Ivan the Terrible, no matter how terrible he was, was still an outstanding ruler. In particular, he waged successful wars - for example, with Kazan and Astrakhan. But he also had an unsuccessful campaign. It cannot be said that the Livonian War ended in a real defeat for the Muscovite kingdom, but many years of battles, expenses and losses ended in the actual restoration of the original position.

Window to Europe

Peter the Great was not the first to understand well the importance of the Baltic Sea for Russian, and not only Russian, trade. There is no clear indication in written sources that, when starting the war, his goal was precisely to provide his country with access to the Baltic. But the first king was an educated man, he was interested in foreign experience, ordered specialists from abroad and even wooed the Queen of England. Consequently, his actions had so much in common with Peter’s policies (Peter, by the way, was very formidable), that one can reasonably assume that the war that began in 1558 had a “naval” purpose. The king did not need a layer between his state and foreign merchants and craftsmen.

In addition, the support of a number of states for the weak and unauthoritative Livonian Confederation proves the same point: they fought not for Livonia, but against the strengthening of Russia’s trade position.

We conclude: the reasons for the Livonian War boil down to the struggle for the possibilities of Baltic trade and dominance in this matter.

With varied success

It is quite difficult to name the sides of the war. Russia had no allies in it, and its opponents were the Livonian Confederation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland (after the Union of Lublin in 15696), Sweden, and Denmark. At different stages, Russia fought with different opponents in different numbers.

The first stage of the war (1558-1561) against the weak Livonian Confederation was successful for the Moscow army. The Russians took Narva, Neuhausen, Dorpat and many other fortresses and marched through Courland. But the Livonians, taking advantage of the proposed truce, recognized themselves as vassals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1561, and this large state entered the war.

The course of the war with Lithuania (until 1570) showed its “maritime” essence - Germany and Sweden declared a blockade of Narva, preventing the Russians from gaining a foothold in the Baltic trade. Lithuania fought not only for the Baltic, but also for the lands on its border with Russia, where Polotsk was captured by the Russians in 1564. But further success was on the side of Lithuania, and there were two reasons for this: greed and treason. Many boyars preferred to fight with the Crimea, hoping to profit from the southern black soil. There were many direct traitors, the most famous of whom was Andrei Kurbsky.

At the third stage, Russia fought on two sides: with Sweden (1570-1583) and Denmark (1575-1578) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1577-1582). For this period, the fact that military operations were most often carried out on previously devastated lands, where the population had a negative attitude towards the Russians due to the duration of the war, was important. Russia itself was also weakened, both by prolonged hostilities and by the oprichnina. Polish-Lithuanian detachments successfully reached quite far into the Russian rear (as far as Yaroslavl). As a result, Lithuania received Polotsk back, and the Swedes captured not only Narva, but also Ivangorod and Koporye.

During this period, funny episodes also occurred. So, the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stefan Batory did not find anything better than to send Ivan... a challenge to a personal duel! The Tsar ignored this stupidity, worthy of a petty quarrelsome nobleman, and did the right thing.

Modest results

The war ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1582, and in 1583 - the Plyussky truce with Sweden. Russia's territorial losses were insignificant: Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye, a small part of the western lands. Basically, Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth divided the former Livonia (the current Baltic states and Finland).

For Rus', the main result of the Livonian War was something else. It turned out that for 20 years, with interruptions, Russia fought in vain. Its northwestern regions are depopulated and resources are depleted. Crimean raids on its territory became more devastating. Failures in the Livonian War actually turned Ivan 4 into the Terrible - numerous real betrayals became one of the reasons that, however, the right punished more than the guilty. Military ruin was the first step towards the future Time of Troubles.