The Livonian war of 1558-1583 became one of the most important campaigns during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. And of the whole 16th century, perhaps.
Livonian war: briefly on the premises
After the great Moscow Tsar managed to conquer Kazan and
The Astrakhan Khanate, Ivan IV turned his attention to the Baltic lands and access to the Baltic Sea. The capture of these territories for the kingdom of Moscow would mean promising opportunities to trade in the Baltic. At the same time, the German merchants and the Livonian Order, which had already settled there, were extremely unprofitable to allow new competitors into the region. The resolution of these contradictions was to be the Livonian war. A brief mention should also be made of the formal occasion to it. They served as a failure to pay tribute to the
Livonian Order, which the Derpt Bishopric was obliged to pay in favor of Moscow under the 1554 agreement. Formally, such a tribute has existed since the beginning of the XVI century. However, in practice, no one remembered it for a long time. Only with the aggravation of relations between the parties did
Ivan the Terrible use this fact as an excuse for the Russian invasion of the Baltic.
Livonian war: briefly about the vicissitudes of the conflict
Russian troops began the invasion of Livonia in 1558. The first phase of the collision, which lasted until 1561, ended
the crushing defeat of the Livonian Order. The armies of the Moscow Tsar with pogroms marched through eastern and central Livonia. Derpt and Riga were taken. In 1559, the parties entered into a truce for half a year, which was supposed to develop into a peace treaty on the basis of the
vassal dependence of the Livonian Order on Russia. But the kings of Poland and Sweden rushed to the aid of the German knights. King Sigismund II by diplomatic maneuver managed to take the order under his own protectorate. And in November 1561, the terms of the Vilnius Treaty, the Livonian Order ceases to exist. Its territories are divided between Lithuania and Poland. Now Ivan the Terrible had to confront immediately three powerful rivals: the Principality of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland and Sweden. With the latter, however, the Moscow Tsar was able to quickly make peace for a while. In 1562-63, the second large-scale campaign to the Baltic begins. The events of the Livonian war at this stage continued to develop safely. However, already in the mid-1560s, relations between Ivan the Terrible and the boyars of the Chosen One were aggravated to the limit. The situation is even worse due to the flight of one of the closest princely associates of Andrei Kurbsky to Lithuania and his transition to the side of the enemy (the reason that prompted the boyar was the growing despotism in the Moscow principality and the infringement of the ancient liberties of the nobility). After this event, Ivan the Terrible finally becomes hardened, seeing around him continuous traitors. In parallel with this, defeats at the front take place, which were explained by the prince as internal enemies. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland united in a single state, which
strengthens their power. In the late 1560s - early 70s, Russian troops suffered a series of defeats and even lost several fortresses. Since 1579, the war for the
Principality of Moscow has assumed a more defensive character. However, in 1579 the enemy captured Polotsk, in 1580 the Great Bow, in 1582 the long siege of Pskov continued. The need for a peace and respite for the state after decades of military campaigns becomes apparent.
Livonian war: briefly on the consequences
The war ended with the signing of the Plyus and Yam-Zapolsky truces, which were extremely unprofitable for Moscow. Access to the Baltic Sea was never obtained. Instead, the prince received an exhausted and devastated country, which found itself in an extremely difficult situation. The consequences of the Livonian war accelerated the internal crisis that led to the Great Troubles of the beginning of the XVI century.