Livonian War

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Polish-Swedish Wars
Livonian War – War of 1600–11 – War of 1620–22 – War of 1625–29 – The Deluge – Northern Wars – Great Northern War

Russo-Swedish Wars
Middle Ages
1495–1497
1554–1557
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The Livonian War of 1558–1582 was a lengthy military conflict between Muscovite Russia and the coalition of Denmark, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kingdom of Poland (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), and Sweden for control of Greater Livonia (the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia).

By the late 1550s, the Livonian Confederation had been weakened by the Reformation, while its Eastern neighbour Russia had grown stronger after defeating the Muslim khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. The conflict between Russia and the Western powers was exacerbated by Russia's isolation from sea trade. Neither could the tsar hire qualified labour in Europe.

In 1547 Hans Schlitte, the agent of tsar Ivan IV, employed handicraftsmen in Germany for work in Russia. However all these handicraftsmen were arrested in Lübeck at the request of Livonia.<ref>Karamzin N.M. "The History of Russia", volume VIII (Documents from the Archive of Koenigsberg)</ref> The German Hanseatic League ignored the new port built by tsar Ivan on the river Narva in 1550 and delivered the goods still in the Baltic ports owned by Livonia.<ref>"The Full Collection of Russian Annals", vol. 13, SPb, 1904</ref>

The Russian tsar Ivan IV demanded that Livonian Confederation pay huge taxes (40,000 talers) for the Bishopric of Dorpat (earlier owned by Russian Novgorod Republic). The dispute ended with a Russian invasion in 1558. Russian troops occupied Dorpat and Narva, laying siege to Reval. The goal of the Russian tsar was to gain vital access to the Baltic Sea.

That went against the interests of other countries. In the wake of the disastrous Battle of Ergeme, the weakened Order of Livonia was dissolved (Wilno Pact, 1560), while its lands were assigned to Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Livland), Sweden (Estland), and Denmark (Ösel). The last Master of the Order of Livonia, Gotthard Kettler, became the first ruler of the Lithuanian (later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) vassal state Duchy of Courland.

Erik XIV of Sweden and Frederick II of Denmark sent troops to protect their newly-acquired territories. In 1561, the city council of Reval in Estonia surrendered to Sweden. Reval became the outpost for further Swedish conquests in the East Baltics. By 1562, Russia found itself in wars with the kingdoms of Poland and Sweden. The tsar's armies were initially successful, taking Polotsk (1563) and Pernau (1575) and overrunning much of Lithuania up to Vilnius.

Polish-Russian Wars
Kiev Expedition – Muscovite-Lithuanian – Livonian – 1605–18 – Smolensk – 1654–67 – Bar Confederation – 1792 – Kościuszko Uprising – November Uprising – January Uprising – Polish-Soviet – 1939

Having rejected peace proposals from its enemies, the tsar found himself in a difficult position by 1579, when the Crimean Tatars devastated Russian territories and burnt down Moscow (see Russo-Crimean Wars), the drought and epidemics have fatally affected the economy, Oprichnina had thoroughly disrupted the government, while Lithuania had united with Poland (1569) and acquired an energetic leader, Stefan Batory, supported by Ottoman Empire (1576). Not only did Batory reconquer Polotsk, but he also seized Russian fortresses Sokol, Velizh, Usvzat, Velikie Luki, and laid siege to Pskov (1581–82). Polish-Lithuanian cavalry devastated the regions of Smolensk, Chernigov, Ryazan, southwest of the Novgorodian territory<ref>Rheinhold Heidenstein. The Notes about the Moscow war. (1578–1582), SPb, 1889 </ref>. In 1581, a mercenary army of Sweden under Pontus de la Gardie captured the strategic city of Narva.

Finally, in 1582, the peace Treaty of Jam Zapolski was signed between Russia and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with Russia renouncing its claims to Livonia. The following year, the tsar also made peace with Sweden. Under the Treaty of Plussa, Russia lost Narva and the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, being its only access to the Baltic Sea. The situation was reversed 12 years later, according to the Treaty of Tyavzino which concluded a new war between Sweden and Russia.