The history of the Livonian War (1558-1583), despite the great attention to this war, remains one of the most important problems of Russian history. This is largely due to the attention to the figure of Ivan the Terrible. Considering the fact that a number of researchers have a sharply negative attitude towards the personality of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, this attitude is carried over to his foreign policy. The Livonian War is called an adventure unnecessary for the Russian state, which only undermined the forces of Russia and became one of the prerequisites for the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century.
Some researchers quite rightly believe that the most promising direction of the expansion of the Russian state in this period was the southern one. So, even NI Kostomarov noted that "Time has shown all the imprudence of the behavior of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich in relation to the Crimea." Moscow did not take advantage of the moment of extreme weakening of Bakhchisarai, allowing him to recover and not crushing the enemy, after the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan. GV Vernadsky emphasized that the war with the Crimean Tatars was "a truly national task" and, despite the complexity of the conquest of the Crimea, in comparison with the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, it was quite feasible. The implementation of this task was hampered by the Livonian War, a campaign that was initially considered an easy task to defeat the Livonian Order, which had lost its military power. “The real dilemma that Tsar Ivan IV faced,” wrote Georgy Vernadsky, “was not a choice between a war only with Crimea and a campaign against Livonia, but a choice between a war only with Crimea and a war on two fronts with both Crimea and Livonia. Ivan IV chose the latter. The results were appalling. " The historian suggested that the Russian army originally sent to Livonia was intended to fight the Crimean Khanate. That is why, at the head of it were serving Tatar "princes" - Shah-Ali, Kaibula and Tokhtamysh (a Moscow contender for the Crimean throne), the troops were staffed largely from the Kasimov and Kazan Tatars. Only at the last moment was the army turned to the northwest.
It is possible that the Moscow government was confident in the short duration of the campaign against Livonia. Having achieved great foreign policy successes - having conquered Kazan and Astrakhan, the Russian government decided to subjugate the Livonian Order and stand firmly on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The Livonian Order, being an ally of Svidrigailo Olgerdovich, on September 1, 1435, suffered a terrible defeat at the Battle of Vilkomir (Master Kerskorf, the Land Marshal and most of the Livonian knights were killed), after which an agreement was signed to create the Livonian Confederation. On December 4, 1435, the Archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ezel-Vick and Revel, as well as the Livonian Order, its vassals and the cities of Riga, Revel and Dorpat entered the Confederation. This loose state formation was strongly influenced by its neighbors, including the Russian state.
The moment chosen for the outbreak of hostilities against Livonia seemed quite apt. The consistent and old enemies of Russia, who opposed the strengthening of its positions on the shores of the Baltic, could not provide emergency military assistance to the Livonian Confederation. The Swedish kingdom was defeated in the war with the Russian state - the Russian-Swedish war of 1554-1557. This war revealed the undoubted superiority of the Russian army, although it did not lead to great results. King Gustav I, after an unsuccessful attempt to seize the fortress Oreshek, defeat at Kivinebba and siege by Russian troops of Vyborg, hastened to conclude an armistice. On March 25, 1557, the Second Novgorod Truce was signed for a period of forty years, which confirmed the territorial status quo and the tradition of diplomatic relations through the Novgorod governor. Sweden needed a peaceful respite.
The governments of Lithuania and Poland counted on the fact that the Livonian knights themselves would be able to repulse the Russians. In addition, the process of merging Lithuania and Poland into a single state was not yet completed, which weakened them. Intervention in the war between Livonia and Russia, gave all the benefits to Sweden, Poland's rival in the region. Bakhchisarai, frightened by the previous victories of Moscow, was not going to start a large-scale war, took a wait-and-see attitude, limiting himself to the usual small raids.
However, the decisive success of the Russian troops in the war with Livonia caused the rallying of Moscow's enemies. The faltering troops of the Order were replaced by the troops of Sweden and Lithuania, and then Poland. The war reached a new level when a powerful coalition began to oppose the Russian state. At the same time, we must remember that only we have complete information. The Moscow government, starting the war, thought that everything would be completed in a short time, the Livonians, frightened by the power of the Russian army, would go to negotiations. All previous conflicts with Livonia spoke about this. It was believed that there was no reason for a war with a coalition of strong European states. There were dozens of similar local conflicts of border importance in Europe.
Reason for war
The reason for the war with Livonia was the fact that the Livonians did not pay the old "Yuryev tribute" - monetary compensation for the Germans who settled in the Baltic States for the right to settle on lands located along the Western Dvina River and belonging to the Polotsk princes. Later, these payments turned into a very significant tribute for the Russian city of Yuryev (Dorpat) captured by the German knights. Livonia recognized the validity of this compensation in the agreements of 1474, 1509 and 1550.
In 1554, at the negotiations in Moscow, representatives of the Order - Johann Bokhorst, Otto von Grothusen, and Bishop of Dorpat - Waldemar Wrangel, Diederik Carpet, agreed with the arguments of the Russian side. Russia was represented by Alexey Adashev and Ivan Viskovaty. Livonia pledged to pay tribute to the Russian sovereign with arrears for three years, three marks "from each head." However, the Livonians did not manage to collect such a significant amount - 60 thousand marks (or rather, they were not in a hurry). Other requirements of the Russian government were also unfulfilled - the restoration of Russian quarters ("ends") and Orthodox churches in Riga, Revel and Dorpat, ensuring free trade for Russian "guests" and rejecting allied relations with Sweden and Lithuania. The Livonians directly violated one of the points of the agreement with Moscow, having concluded in September 1554 an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was directed against Russia. Upon learning of this, the Russian government sent a letter declaring war to Master Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg. In 1557, in the city of Posvol, an agreement was concluded between the Livonian Confederation and the Kingdom of Poland, which established the Order's vassal dependence on Poland.
However, full-scale hostilities did not start immediately. Ivan Vasilievich still hoped to achieve his goals through diplomatic means. Negotiations were underway in Moscow until June 1558. Nevertheless, violations by the Livonians of the agreements of 1554 gave the Russian government a reason to increase pressure on the Order. It was decided to conduct a military action in order to intimidate the Livonians, in order to make them more accommodating. The main goal of the first campaign of the Russian army, which took place in the winter of 1558, was the desire to achieve a voluntary refusal by the Livonians from Narva (Rugodiva). For this purpose, the already mobilized cavalry army, ready for war with the Crimean Khanate, was transferred to the borders with the Livonian Confederation.
The beginning of the war. War with the Livonian Confederation
First trip. Winter Campaign of 1558. In January 1558, the Moscow cavalry regiments, led by the Kasimov "king" Shah-Ali and Prince Mikhail Glinsky, invaded Livonia and passed the eastern regions quite easily. During the winter campaign, 40 thousand. The Russian-Tatar army reached the coast of the Baltic Sea, devastating the environs of many Livonian cities and castles. The task of capturing the Livonian fortifications was not set. This raid was a frank demonstration of the power of the Russian state, designed to have a psychological impact on the order authorities. During this campaign, Russian generals twice, at the direction of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, sent letters to the Livonian master to send ambassadors to resume the negotiation process. Moscow did not want to wage a serious war in the northwest; it was enough for it to fulfill the agreements already reached.
The Livonian authorities, frightened by the invasion, hastened the collection of tribute and agreed to temporarily suspend hostilities. Diplomats were sent to Moscow and in the course of difficult negotiations, an agreement was reached on the transfer of Narva to Russia.
Second trip. But the established truce did not last long. Livonian supporters of the war with Russia broke the peace. In March 1558, the Narva Vogt Ernst von Schnellenberg ordered the shelling of the Russian fortress Ivangorod, which provoked a new invasion of Russian troops into Livonia. This time the blow was more powerful and Russian troops captured fortresses and castles. The Russian army was reinforced by the forces of the governor Alexei Basmanov and Danil Adashev, artillery, including heavy artillery, to destroy the fortifications.
In the spring - summer of 1558, Russian regiments captured 20 fortresses, including those who voluntarily surrendered and became citizens of the Russian tsar. In April 1558 Narva was besieged. For quite a long time, hostilities near the city were limited only to artillery firefight. Everything changed on May 11, a strong fire broke out in Narva (possibly caused by the fire of Russian artillery), a significant part of the Livonian garrison was sent to fight the fire, at which time Russian soldiers broke the gates and captured the lower city, many Germans were killed. Livonian guns were aimed at the upper castle, artillery shelling began. The besieged, realizing that their position was hopeless, capitulated on the condition of a free exit from the city. The trophies of the Russian army were 230 large and small cannons and many squeaks. The remaining residents of the city took an oath of allegiance to the Russian sovereign.
Narva became the first large Livonian fortress, which Russian troops took in the Livonian War. Having seized the fortress, Moscow received a convenient seaport, through which direct trade relations with the countries of Western Europe became possible. In addition, work began in Narva on the creation of a Russian fleet - a shipyard was built in which craftsmen from Kholmogory and Vologda worked. In the harbor of Narva, a squadron of 17 ships was subsequently based under the command of a German, Danish citizen Carsten Rode, who was accepted into Russian service. He was a talented captain with a very interesting fate, for more details see the article VO: The First Russian Fleet - Pirates of the Terrible Tsar. Ivan Vasilyevich sent a Novgorod bishop to the city with the task of consecrating Narva and starting the construction of Orthodox churches. Narva remained Russian until 1581 (it was captured by the Swedish army).
A small but strong fortress of Neuhausen held out for several weeks. Several hundred soldiers and peasants, led by the knight von Padenorm, repulsed the onslaught of the army under the command of the governor Peter Shuisky. On June 30, 1558, Russian artillery completed the destruction of the outer fortifications, and the Germans retreated to the upper castle. After that, the people refused to continue the senseless resistance and surrendered. Shuisky, as a sign of their courage, allowed them to leave with honor.
After the capture of Neuhausen, Shuisky laid siege to Dorpat. It was defended by 2 thousand garrison of German mercenaries ("overseas Germans") and local residents under the leadership of Bishop Hermann Weyland. For shelling the city, Russian troops erected a high rampart, raising it to the level of the walls, which made it possible to shell the entire Dorpat. For several days there was a heavy bombardment of the city, several fortifications and many houses were destroyed. On July 15, the tsarist voivode Shuisky offered Weyland to surrender. While he was thinking, the bombardment continued. During the siege of Dorpat, Russian artillerymen for the first time used incendiary shells - "fiery coolies". Having lost all hope of outside help, the townspeople decided to start negotiations with the Russians. Pyotr Shuisky promised not to destroy Dorpat to the ground and to preserve the former management of the townspeople. On July 18, 1558, the city capitulated.
In Dorpat, in one of the hiding places, Russian warriors found 80 thousand thalers, which exceeded the entire debt of Livonia to Russia. As a result, the inhabitants of Dorpat, due to the greed of some townspeople, lost more than the Russian sovereign demanded of them. The money found would be enough not only for the Yuryev tribute, but also for the hiring of troops to protect Livonia. In addition, 552 large and small guns were captured by the winners.
The capture of Narva by Ivan the Terrible. B. A. Chorikov, 1836.
An attempt at a Livonian counteroffensive. During the summer campaign of 1558, the Russian advance detachments reached Reval and Riga, devastating their surroundings. After such a successful campaign, Russian troops left Livonia, leaving small garrisons in the captured cities and castles. The new energetic Livonian deputy master, the former commander of Fellina Gotthard (Gotthard) Kettler, decided to take advantage of this. The deputy master collected 19 thousand. army: 2 thousand cavalry, 7 thousand bollards, 10 thousand militias.
Kettler wanted to recapture the lost eastern lands, primarily in the Dorpat bishopric. Livonian troops approached the Ringen fortress (Ryngola), which was defended by a garrison of only 40 "sons of the boyars" and 50 archers under the leadership of the governor Rusin-Ignatiev. Russian soldiers put up heroic resistance, repelling the onslaught of the enemy army for 5 weeks (according to other sources - 6 weeks). They repulsed two general assaults.
Ringen's garrison tried to rescue the 2-thous. detachment under the command of the governor Mikhail Repnin. The Russian soldiers were able to defeat the Livonian forward outpost, 230 people were taken prisoner along with their commander Johannes Kettler (the commander's brother). However, then Repnin's detachment was attacked by the main forces of the Livonian army and defeated. This failure did not shake the courage of the defenders of the fortress, they continued to defend themselves.
The Germans were able to capture Ryngola only during the third assault, which lasted three days, after the defenders ran out of gunpowder. Those soldiers who did not fall in a fierce battle were finished off by the Livonians. Ketrel lost a fifth of the army at Ringen - about 2 thousand people and spent a month and a half on the siege. After that, the offensive impulse of the Livonian army died out. The Livonians at the end of October 1558 were only able to organize a raid on the borderlands of Pskov. Livonian troops ravaged the Svyatonikolsky monastery near Sebezh and the township of Krasnoye. Then the Livonian army retreated to Riga and Wenden.
Winter Campaign 1558-1559 The Livonian offensive and the devastation of the Pskov places aroused great anger in the Russian sovereign. Measures were taken to retaliate. Two months later, the troops under the command of Semyon Mikulinsky and Peter Morozov entered Livonia. They devastated southern Livonia for a month.
On January 17, 1559, a decisive battle took place at the city of Tierzen. A large Livonian detachment under the command of Friedrich Felkerzam (Felkenzam) clashed with the Forward Regiment, led by the voivode Vasily Serebryany. In a stubborn battle, the Livonians were defeated. Felkerzam and 400 of his soldiers were killed, the rest were captured or fled. This victory placed vast territories into the hands of the Russian army. Russian troops unhindered raided the lands of the Livonian Confederation, passing "on both sides of the Dvina", capturing 11 cities and castles. The Russians reached Riga and stood there for three days. Then they reached the border with Prussia, and only in February, with large booty and significant numbers, did they return to the Russian borders. In addition, the Riga fleet was burned at the Dunamun roadstead.
Truce of 1559
After such a successful campaign, the Russian government granted the Livonian Confederation a truce (the third in a row) from March to November 1559. Moscow was confident that the position in the newly conquered cities was strong and, with the mediation of the Danes, agreed to an armistice. In addition, strong diplomatic pressure was exerted on Moscow, worried about Russian successes, by Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark. Thus, the Lithuanian ambassadors urged Tsar Ivan IV to end the war in Livonia, threatening, otherwise, to side with the Livonian Confederation. Soon, Swedish and Danish envoys conveyed a request to end the war. Russian successes upset the balance of power in Europe, in the Baltic, and affected the political and economic interests of a number of powers. The Polish king Sigismund II August even complained about the Russians to the English Queen Elizabeth I: “The Muscovite sovereign daily increases his power by purchasing goods that are brought to Narva, because here, among other things, weapons are brought here, which are still unknown to him … military specialists come, through which, he acquires the means to conquer everyone … . There were supporters of an armistice in Moscow. Okolnichy Alexei Adashev expressed the interests of the party, which insisted on continuing the struggle in the south, against the Crimea.
