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, 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.” 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.
Stages of war.
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 (as far as Revel and Riga) and advanced in Courland to the borders of East Prussia and Lithuania. However, in 1559, under the influence of political figures 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 passed 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 stage. 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 that existed 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. 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, had serious consequences. 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 the 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 by the Crimean Tatars was eliminated (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) converged 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 Saga fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov 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 negatively affected the further course of the war for Russia.
Fourth stage. In 1575, the period of “kinglessness” (1572-1575) ended in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Stefan Batory was elected king. Stefan Batory, Prince of Semigrad, was supported by the Turkish Sultan Murad III. After the flight of King Henry of Valois from Poland in 1574, the Sultan sent a letter to the Polish lords demanding that the Poles not choose Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II as king, but choose one of the Polish nobles, for example Jan Kostka, or, if the king is from others powers, then Bathory or the Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa. Ivan the Terrible, in a letter to Stefan Batory, more than once hinted that he was a vassal of the Turkish Sultan, which caused a sharp response from Batory: “How dare you remind us so often of the lack of antimony, you, who prevented your blood from being with us, whose venerable mare’s milk, what had sunk into the manes of the Tatar scales was licked...” The election of Stefan Batory as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth meant the resumption of the war with Poland. However, back in 1577, Russian troops occupied almost all of Livonia, except for Riga and Revel, which were besieged in 1576-1577. But this year was the last year of Russian success in the Livonian War.
In 1579, Batory began a war against Russia. In 1579, Sweden also resumed hostilities, and Batory returned Polotsk and took Velikiye Luki, and in 1581 he besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to go to Novgorod the Great and Moscow. The Pskovites swore “to fight for the city of Pskov with Lithuania to the death without any cunning.” They kept their oath, fighting off 31 attacks. After five months of unsuccessful attempts, the Poles were forced to lift the siege of Pskov. Heroic defense of Pskov in 1581 -1582. garrison and population of the city determined a more favorable outcome of the Livonian War for Russia: failure near Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.
Taking advantage of the fact that Batory had actually cut off Livonia from Russia, the Swedish commander Baron Pontus Delagardie launched an operation to destroy isolated Russian garrisons in Livonia. By the end of 1581, the Swedes, having crossed the frozen Gulf of Finland on ice, captured the entire coast of Northern Estonia, Narva, Wesenberg (Rakovor, Rakvere), and then moved to Riga, along the way taking Haapsalu, Pärnu, and then the entire Southern (Russian) ) Estonia - Fellin (Viljandi), Dorpat (Tartu). In total, Swedish troops in a relatively short period captured 9 cities in Livonia and 4 in Novgorod land, nullifying all the many years of conquest of the Russian state in the Baltic states. In Ingria, Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye were taken, and in the Ladoga region - Korela.
Results and consequences of the war.
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.
The defeat of Russian troops in the simultaneously ongoing 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:
- 1. The Russian state lost all its acquisitions in Livonia. It retained only a narrow section of access to the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Finland.
- 2. Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye passed to the Swedes.
- 3. Also, the Kexholm fortress in Karelia, along with a vast county and the coast of Lake Ladoga, went to the Swedes.
- 4. The Russian state found itself cut off from the sea, ruined and devastated. Russia lost a significant part of its territory.
Thus, the Livonian War had very difficult consequences for the Russian state, and defeat in it greatly affected its further development. However, one can agree with N.M. Karamzin, who noted that the Livonian War was “unfortunate, but not inglorious for Russia.”
The Livonian War of 1558-1583 became one of the most important campaigns of the entire 16th century, perhaps.
Livonian War: brief background
After the great Moscow Tsar managed to conquer Kazan and
Astrakhan Khanate, Ivan IV turned his attention to the Baltic lands and access to the Baltic Sea. The capture of these territories for the Muscovite kingdom would mean promising opportunities for trade in the Baltic. At the same time, it was extremely unprofitable for the German merchants and the Livonian Order, who had already settled there, to allow new competitors into the region. The Livonian War was supposed to be the resolution of these contradictions. The formal reason for it should also be briefly mentioned. They were motivated by the non-payment of tribute which the Bishopric of Dorpat was obliged to pay in favor of Moscow according to the treaty of 1554. Formally, such tribute existed since the beginning of the 16th century. However, in practice, no one remembered it for a long time. Only with the aggravation of relations between the parties did he use this fact as a justification for the Russian invasion of the Baltic.
Livonian War: briefly about the vicissitudes of the conflict
Russian troops launched an invasion of Livonia in 1558. The first stage of the conflict, which lasted until 1561, ended
crushing defeat of the Livonian Order. The armies of the Moscow Tsar carried out pogroms across eastern and central Livonia. Dorpat and Riga were taken. In 1559, the parties concluded a truce for six months, which was supposed to develop into a peace treaty on the terms of the Livonian Order from Russia. But the kings of Poland and Sweden hastened to the aid of the German knights. King Sigismund II, through a diplomatic maneuver, managed to take the order under his own protectorate. And in November 1561, under the terms of the Vilna Treaty, the Livonian Order ceased to exist. Its territories are divided between Lithuania and Poland. Now Ivan the Terrible had to confront three powerful rivals at once: the Principality of Lithuania, the Kingdoms of Poland and Sweden. With the latter, however, the Moscow Tsar managed to quickly make peace for some time. In 1562-63, the second large-scale campaign to the Baltic began. The events of the Livonian War at this stage continued to develop well. However, already in the mid-1560s, relations between Ivan the Terrible and the boyars of the Chosen Rada deteriorated to the limit. The situation worsens further due to the flight of one of the prince's closest associates, Andrei Kurbsky, to Lithuania and his defection to the enemy's side (the reason that prompted the boyar was the growing despotism in the Moscow principality and the infringement of the ancient liberties of the boyars). After this event, Ivan the Terrible becomes completely embittered, seeing all the traitors around him. In parallel with this, defeats occurred at the front, which the prince explained by internal enemies. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland united into a single state, which
strengthens their power. In the late 1560s - early 70s, Russian troops suffered a number of defeats and even lost several fortresses. Since 1579, the war has become more defensive in nature. However, in 1579 the enemy captured Polotsk, in 1580 Velikiy Luk, and in 1582 the long siege of Pskov continued. The need for peace and respite for the state after decades of military campaigns becomes obvious.
Livonian War: briefly about the consequences
The war ended with the signing of the Plyussky and Yam-Zapolsky truces, which were extremely unfavorable for Moscow. The exit was never obtained. Instead, the prince received an exhausted and devastated country that 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 early 16th century.
The best thing history gives us is the enthusiasm it arouses.
Goethe
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. As a state entity, 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.
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:
- 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.
- 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 destruction 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 battles were local in nature and did not have any significant impact 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.). The fighting was accompanied by terrible bloodshed. Since 1579, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has been assisted 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.
After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its gaze to the Baltic and put forward plans to capture Livonia. For Russia, the main goal of the Livonian War was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
The reason for the start of the war was the failure of the Livonian Order to pay tribute, which they were obliged to pay under the peace treaty of 1554. In 1558, Russian troops invaded Livonia.
At the first stage of the war (1558-1561), several cities and castles were taken, including such significant ones as Narva, Dorpat, Yuryev.
Instead of continuing the successfully launched offensive, the Moscow government granted the Order a truce and at the same time equipped an expedition against the Crimea. Taking advantage of the respite, the Livonian knights gathered military forces and, a month before the end of the truce, defeated the Russian troops.
Russia did not achieve results in the war against the Crimean Khanate and missed favorable opportunities for victory in Livonia. Moscow made peace with Crimea and concentrated all its forces in Livonia.
The second stage of the war (1562-1578) for Russia passed with varying degrees of success.
Russia's highest achievement in the Livonian War was the capture of Polotsk in February 1563, after which military failures followed
In 1566, Lithuanian ambassadors came to Moscow with a proposal for a truce and so that Polotsk and part of Livonia would remain with Moscow. Ivan the Terrible demanded all of Livonia. Such demands were rejected, and the Lithuanian king Sigismund Augustus resumed the war with Russia. In 1568, Sweden dissolved its previously concluded alliance with Russia. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, Stefan Batory took the throne.
The third stage of the Livonian War (1679-1583) began with the invasion of the Polish king Stefan Batory into Russia. At the same time, Russia had to fight with Sweden. On September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, and after that the continuation of the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny. Realizing the impossibility of waging war against two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Batory on a truce in order to concentrate all his forces on the reconquest of Narva. But plans to attack Narva remained unfulfilled.
The result of the Livonian War was the conclusion of two treaties that were unfavorable for Russia.
On January 15, 1582, the Yam Zapolsky Treaty on a 10-year truce was signed. Russia ceded all its possessions in Livonia to Poland, and Batory returned to Russia the fortresses and cities he had conquered, but retained Polotsk.
In August 1583, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Plus on a three-year truce. The Swedes retained all the captured Russian cities. Russia has retained a section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland with the mouth of the Neva.
The end of the Livonian War did not give Russia access to the Baltic Sea.
After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its gaze to the Baltic and put forward plans to capture Livonia. There were two main reasons for the Livonian War: the right to trade freely in the Baltic, and for opponents the issue of preventing Russia from becoming a European state was resolved. The Order and the German merchants hindered the growth of Russian trade. Therefore, for Russia, the main goal of the Livonian War was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
The reason for the start of the war was the failure of the Livonian Order to pay tribute, which the Yuryev (or Dorpat) bishopric undertook to pay under the peace treaty of 1554.
In 1558, Russian troops invaded Livonia.
At the first stage of the war (1558-1561), several cities and castles were taken, including such significant ones as Narva, Dorpat, Yuryev.
Instead of continuing the successfully launched offensive, the Moscow government granted the Order a truce and at the same time equipped an expedition against the Crimea. Taking advantage of the respite, the Livonian knights gathered military forces and, a month before the end of the truce, defeated the Russian troops.
Russia did not achieve results in the war against the Crimean Khanate and missed favorable opportunities for victory in Livonia. In 1561, Master Ketler signed an agreement under which the Order came under the protectorate of Lithuania and Poland.
Moscow made peace with Crimea and concentrated all its forces in Livonia. But now, instead of one weak order, he had to deal with several strong contenders for his inheritance. If at first it was possible to avoid a war with Sweden and Denmark, then the fight with the main heir of the Livonian Order, i.e. with the Polish-Lithuanian king turned out to be inevitable.
The second stage of the war (1562-1578) for Russia passed with varying degrees of success.
Russia's highest achievement in the Livonian War was the capture of Polotsk in February 1563, after which military failures and fruitless negotiations followed. The Crimean Khan refused an alliance with Moscow.
In 1566, Lithuanian ambassadors came to Moscow with a proposal for a truce and so that Polotsk and part of Livonia would remain with Moscow. Ivan the Terrible demanded all of Livonia. Such demands were rejected, and the Lithuanian king Sigismund Augustus resumed the war with Russia.
In 1568, Sweden dissolved its previously concluded alliance with Russia. England refused to sign the alliance treaty developed by Russian diplomats. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Russia had to continue the Livonian War without allies under the most unfavorable conditions.
However, both the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia equally needed peace, so both countries concluded a three-year truce in 1570.
At this time, Russia was conducting military operations with the Swedes, resorting to the help of Denmark. Ivan the Terrible decided to create a vassal Livonian kingdom from the conquered lands, on the throne of which it was promised to place the Danish prince Magnus, married to the royal niece. He tried to expel the Swedes from Reval (Estonia) in early 1577, but the siege was unsuccessful. Sweden then made peace with Denmark.
After the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, a period of kinglessness began in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the struggle of contenders for the throne, the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory won in 1576. He created an anti-Russian alliance and assembled a significant army.
The third stage of the Livonian War (1679-1583) began with the invasion of the Polish king Stefan Batory into Russia. At the same time, Russia had to fight with Sweden. For the first time during the Livonian War, Russia’s opponents actually joined their military efforts.
In August 1579, Batory's army conquered Polotsk, and a year later Velikiye Luki and other cities. In an attempt to take Pskov, Batory suffered the biggest failure in the war with Russia. Meanwhile, hostilities continued in Livonia and Estonia, where the Swedes took the cities of Padis, Wesenberg, and Kexholm in Karelia from the Russians, and on September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, then Ivangorod, Yam, and Koporye fell.
With the loss of Narva, continuing the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny.
Realizing the impossibility of waging war against two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Batory on a truce in order to concentrate all his forces on the reconquest of Narva. But plans to attack Narva remained unfulfilled.
The result of the Livonian War was the conclusion of two treaties that were unfavorable for Russia.
On January 15, 1582, the Yam Zapolsky Treaty on a 10-year truce was signed. Russia ceded all its possessions in Livonia to Poland, and Batory returned to Russia the fortresses and cities he had conquered, but retained Polotsk.
In August 1583, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Plus on a three-year truce. The Swedes retained all the captured Russian cities. Russia has retained a section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland with the mouth of the Neva.
The end of the Livonian War did not give Russia access to the Baltic Sea. This was very important for Russia, but still the main strategic task of the Livonian War for Ivan IV was different. The annexation of Livonia was necessary to stop the centuries-old “onslaught to the east” from the Vatican to enslave Rus'.
The reasons for the defeat in the difficult 25-year Livonian War were the economic weakness of Russia, its internal difficulties, and the backwardness of the Russians in the art of war compared to Western Europeans. Political shortsightedness, Ivan the Terrible's ignorance of his rivals, and his desire for quick results at any cost could not but lead to a major international conflict.
The consequence of the Livonian War was an extremely difficult situation for Russia; the country was ruined.
