The territory occupied by Estonia and Latvia today belonged to the Livonian Order in the 16th century. These lands became the main arena of military operations that had severe consequences for medieval Russia. The armed conflict between the Moscow kingdom, the Livonian Order, Sweden and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lasted a total of 25 years. In the end, the Livonian war initiated by Ivan the Terrible was lost. Why did this happen and what consequences did it have for the Russian state? To answer these questions, you must first consider the causes of the Livonian war.
The main task of foreign policy
By the middle of the XVI century, the Moscow kingdom completely took control of the Volga trade route. Having achieved such brilliant success, Ivan the Terrible drew attention to the western frontiers of the state, in particular, to the Baltic Sea. The king’s interest was justified. The country was in dire need of direct trade ties with European countries, for which it was necessary to have its own ports in the Baltic.
However, Russia was separated from the sea by the possessions of the Livonian Order, which actively impeded Russian trade in the west. Thus, the only solution left was to gain access to the Baltic coast during the war. The goal seemed promising, since the Livonian Order at that moment was experiencing acute internal contradictions.
Casus belli
When the foreign policy task was defined, a pretext was required to start military operations. Such an incident Belli was soon found. It turned out that the Livonian Order did not fulfill the agreements signed with the Moscow kingdom in 1554. Firstly, Livonians, contrary to obligations, entered into allied relations with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II, and secondly, they did not pay the so-called Yuryev tribute.
The latter was an annual filing, which, according to the agreement of 1503 concluded between the Yuryev (Derpt) bishopric and Moscow, was to pay the Order for the Russian territories seized by it in the XIII century. However, in 1557, the Livonian authorities refused to pay tribute. Using this pretext, in January 1558, Ivan IV went on a campaign with the Russian army. Thus began the Livonian war.
Victories and miscalculations
The first stage of hostilities for the Russian army was quite successful. Starting the offensive by two armies, the troops of the Moscow Tsar captured about 20 cities and fortresses, among them were:
After these victories, the Livonian Order asked Ivan IV to conclude a truce for a period of 6 months, which was done in 1559. However, it soon became apparent what a serious mistake the king and his government made.
The crushing defeats suffered by the Livonian army at the first stage of the war showed that the Order itself could not confront the Moscow state. Therefore, taking advantage of the truce, he hastened to go under the auspices of Poland and Lithuania. In addition, Sweden and Denmark also received part of the land belonging to the Livonians. Thus, in addition to the Order, the Moscow state was now opposed by 4 European kingdoms. The war began to drag out. In addition, having violated the truce, Devlet Giray, the Crimean Khan, resumed raids on the southern border regions of Russia.
The first stage of the Livonian war ended with the liquidation of the Order (1561). However, the struggle for the Baltic coast for Russia did not end there.
With varied success
In 1563, the Lithuanian city of Polotsk was conquered from the Lithuanians. However, the very next year the army of Grozny suffered a number of significant defeats. Lithuania offered the Tsar a truce (1566) on the terms of the return of Polotsk to the exchange of territories previously captured by the Russians in the Baltic states.
This issue was discussed at the Zemsky Sobor, at which most of the boyars spoke out in favor of continuing the war.
After the new state, the Commonwealth, was formed by the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Polish army entered the war with Russia.
However, at first the Russian army and diplomats still won:
- almost all of Livonia was captured;
- A peace treaty has been concluded with Sweden.
Moreover, the king emphatically rejected all proposals for peace talks.
Third Stage and Truce
After the election of the Polish-Lithuanian king Stefan Batory (1576), the course of the Livonian war changed. Thanks to his leadership gift, three years later, the Moscow state lost almost all of its previous conquests: the Great Luke and Polotsk returned to the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Russian troops were driven out of almost all Livonian lands. Taking advantage of the weakening position of Moscow, Sweden entered the war again. And soon her army managed to capture Narva.
In 1581, the 100,000-strong army of Stephen Batory invaded the borders of Russian lands and besieged Pskov. The siege lasted for 5 months. The defense of the city was led by Prince Ivan Shuisky, who repelled 31 assaults with the inhabitants of Pskov. The unsuccessful siege stopped the advance of the Polish-Lithuanian army deeper into the kingdom of Moscow, however, at that time the Swedes launched an offensive, capturing several Russian cities.
The bathory, realizing that success could not be achieved, decided to begin peace negotiations. As a result, the following year a truce was concluded in Yam-Zapolsk, under the terms of which Ivan IV lost all his conquests in the Baltic states, but kept the borders of his kingdom unchanged.
In 1583, the Russian state entered into a truce with Sweden on the Plyuss River. According to him, the Swedes received not only part of the lands previously belonging to the Livonian Order, but also some bordering Russian territories.
The results of the Livonian war
The military conflict that began successfully for the Moscow kingdom ended in defeat. Causes of failure historians call:
- errors in assessing the political situation in the Baltic states;
- internal weakening of the state caused by oprichnina and terror;
- the need to wage war not only in the west, but also to repel the raids of the Crimean Tatars in the south;
- lag behind European countries militarily.
As a result, Russia lost the Livonian War, and in addition:
- lost conquests in Livonia and Estonia;
- were given to the Swedes Ivangorod, Koporye, Korela, Narva;
- the main strategic task - getting access to the Baltic ports, for which Ivan IV started the campaign, has not been resolved;
- the country was ruined;
- Russia's international situation has worsened.
And yet, despite all the setbacks, the Livonian War for a long time determined the main course of the foreign policy of the Russian state - the struggle for the Baltic Sea has become a priority from that moment on.