After the annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate and the brilliant victory over Kazan, the main question foreign policy The Baltic question becomes the ruler of Rus' Ivan the Terrible. To strengthen political ties and actively develop trade, Russian merchants needed free access to Baltic Sea. However, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania did not allow merchants to enter.
For this reason, in 1558, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible decided to begin military operations in the western direction. At first, the Russian troops were lucky. During this period, Tartu and Narva were taken, and by the summer of 1559, Russian troops managed to reach the Baltic coast, reaching the borders of Lithuania and East Prussia. However, very soon the course of the war, for a number of reasons, entered a different direction.
The described military actions were supported by the Russian nobility, because its representatives were interested in acquiring new Baltic lands. At the same time, the feudal lords opposed, who were more interested not in the shores of the Baltic, but in repelling Crimean Tatars. The boyars insisted that it was necessary to strike at the Crimean Khanate, ensuring the safety of their own fiefdoms. Most historians and researchers note that the king made a huge mistake by agreeing to a truce with Livonia and making a campaign against the Crimean Khanate. As a result of this, the Crimean campaign did not bring any positive results, and time was lost to deal with Livonia.
In 1560, Grozny continued the war in the western direction, and three years later, with his personal participation Russian army deals a powerful blow to Lithuania, capturing Polotsk, which is strategically important for trade. After this, a series of failures followed again. And in 1566, Ivan Vasilyevich convened the Zemsky Sobor to discuss the terms of the peace treaty. At the same time, most of the nobles insisted on capturing the Livonian cities and Ivan decides to continue the war.
In 1579, Stefan Batory (King of Lithuania and Poland) gathered an army of one hundred thousand and recaptured Polotsk.
On January 5, 1582, a ten-year truce was concluded between Poland and Russia in Yam-Zapolsky with the participation of Anthony Possevino, the mediator of the Pope. According to the agreement signed by the ruler, the Russians gave all of Livonia to Poland. In addition, the king had to give up Velizh and Polotsk. At the same time, the Russians received the mouth of the Neva.
Foreign policy objectives:
In the east: the fight against the Kazan, Astrakhan and Crimean khanates, mastery of the Volga trade route;
In the west: access to the Baltic Sea through the lands of the Livonian Order.
Eastern direction of foreign policy.
Liquidation of the Kazan Khanate in 1552 Causes:
1. A coalition of the Kazan, Astrakhan and Crimean khanates, vassals of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, was formed against Russia.
2. Russia sought to take possession of the Volga trade route and the fertile (“sub-paradise”) lands of the Volga region.
3. The desire to free the peoples of the Volga region from Kazan dependence - the Mari, Mordovians, Chuvash.
Initially, Moscow tried to solve the problem diplomatically by placing its protege on the Kazan throne Shigaleya (Shah Ali). However, this ended in failure. Then the conquest of Kazan was proclaimed a crusade against the “infidel infidels.” Under the leadership of the clerk Ivana Vyrodkova a wooden fortress was built near the city of Uglich and floated down the Volga. In 1551, 30 km. from Kazan at the confluence of the Volga river. Sviyag 50 thousand warriors built a fortress Sviyazhsk with 18 towers. It became a Russian stronghold.
In 1552, the 150,000-strong army of Ivan IV with 150 cannons besieged Kazan. The 30,000-strong garrison of Kazan steadfastly resisted for 6 weeks. The Russians built movable assault towers - “tours” near the walls of Kazan ( walk-city). 2 October 1552 G. under the guidance of a foreign master Thoughts Powder charges in the tunnels were exploded and a hole was made in the wall. Bridges were built from the “tours”. Russian regiments led by governors rushed into the breach Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky And Andrey Kurbsky. In the words of the chronicler, “the sovereign’s military men... in the city, they beat Tatars in the streets, husbands and wives in the courtyards, and dragged others out of pits and out of mizgits (mosques) and from chambers, and slashed them without mercy and tore them to their last nakedness.” (This was the usual behavior of troops in the Middle Ages). After a stubborn battle, Kazan fell. Hana Yadigara-Magmeta (Ediger-Mohammed) were taken prisoner and forced to convert to Orthodoxy under the name of “Tsar Simeon Kasaevich.” He took possession of the city of Zvenigorod and participated in Russian wars in the West. The surviving soldiers were executed, the women and children were turned into slaves. The remnants of the surviving population were evicted from the city and taxed yasak(tribute). The Kazan Khanate ceased to exist. Kazan became the Russian administrative center. The Orthodox Church began Christianizing the population. Orthodox churches were built on the site of destroyed mosques. In honor of the victory over Kazan in Moscow in 1555–1560. The Intercession Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral) was erected.
Liquidation of the Astrakhan Khanate in 1556 The Astrakhan Khan fled to Crimea, Astrakhan surrendered. In 1557, Chuvashia and Bashkiria voluntarily became part of Russia. The Great Nogai Horde and Kabarda in the North Caucasus recognized themselves as vassals of Russia.
The significance of the annexation of the Volga region :
1. Russia has secured its borders from attacks from the east.
2. Thousands of Russian slaves were freed from captivity.
3. Russia received the fertile (“sub-paradise”) lands of the Volga region.
4. Russia took possession of the Volga and Kama trade routes, and eastern markets opened up before it.
5. New cities were built - military and trade strongholds: Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Cheboksary, Ufa, etc.
6. Russia has gradually turned from a defending side into a power actively expanding its space. With the annexation of the Volga and Urals regions, Russia began to turn into Eurasian power, the influence of Asian traditions increased in it.
Fight against the Crimean Khanate . The liquidation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates by Ivan IV led to a sharp deterioration in Russian-Crimean relations. Vassals of Ottoman Turkey, the Crimean Tatars often attacked Russian lands, ravaged villages and cities, and took residents into slavery. They were built to protect against aggression serif strokes– multi-kilometer defensive lines consisting of spotted(barriers made of fallen trees), ramparts, palisades, ditches and observation points – watchmen And villages. The first line of defense went along the river. Oka from Nizhny Novgorod through Serpukhov, Tula to Kozelsk. The second is from the city of Alatyr along the river. Sura via Orel, Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl. The third line was built after the death of Ivan the Terrible through the cities of Kromy, Yelets, Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod.
In 1571, at the head of an army of 40 thousand horsemen, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, having dispersed the oprichnina army, burned Moscow, for which he received the nickname Takht Algan(“who took the throne”) Frightened Ivan IV fled north to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. During the raid on the Moscow state, several hundred thousand Russians died and 50 thousand were captured. Devlet-Girey demanded Kazan and Astrakhan for himself. Ivan IV undertook, following the example of Poland, to pay annual tribute to the Crimea. The payment of “wake” to Crimea continued until the end. XVII century and finally ceased only during the reign of Peter I.
Battle of Molody 1572 The following year, the 120,000-strong Crimean-Turkish army again moved towards Moscow. Near the village Young(south of Moscow, now Chekhov district of the Moscow region) his path was blocked by the 60,000-strong army of the governor Mikhail Vorotynsky. The battle lasted several days, many Crimean military leaders died, including the son and grandson of the khan. The Crimeans retreated. The victory in the Battle of Molodin saved Moscow and stopped the Crimean-Turkish aggression. The Crimean Khanate lost part of its power and was forced to renounce its claims to the Volga region - Kazan and Astrakhan. The victorious hero M. Vorotynsky was soon accused of conspiracy against the tsar and in 1573 died in prison from torture.
Conquest of Siberia. Ermak's campaign 1581 – 1585 Causes:
1. Russia was attracted by the natural resources of Siberia.
2. The Tatars attacked the Siberian possessions of merchants Stroganov.
The Siberian Khanate, a “splinter” of the Golden Horde hostile to Russia, occupied the territories of Western Siberia along the banks of the river. Ob, Irtysh, Tobol. The industrialists, the Stroganov brothers, received a charter from the tsar to own lands along the river. Kama and Chusovoy. They were engaged in salt mining (Sol-Kamskaya), iron smelting, and fur trading. Siberian Khan Ediger in 1555 he recognized vassal dependence on Moscow, but his successor Khan Kuchum(†1598) broke this agreement. A native of Bukhara, an ardent Muslim, Kuchum forcibly introduced Islam to Siberia. The raids of the Siberian Tatars on the Stroganovs' possessions became more frequent.
In 1581, the Stroganovs, using their own funds, equipped an expedition of Cossacks from 600 to 1,000 people, led by an experienced 50-year-old ataman Ermak Timofeevich(Ermolai Alenin). Ermak's detachment moved to plows(boats) and was well armed with arquebuses and cannons. The Tatars were mainly armed with spears and bows. Ermak occupied the capital of the Khanate. Kashlyk-Isker, or Siberia(near the modern city of Tobolsk). Kuchum put up fierce resistance and Ermak found himself in a difficult situation. In 1584, a government detachment arrived to help Ermak. In 1585, Ermak died in an ambush on the river. Irtysh. His campaign marked the beginning of the Russian colonization of Siberia. In 1585 the Russians founded prison(fortress) Tyumen, in 1587 - Tobolsk, which became the Russian center of Siberia. The development of Siberian natural resources began. The local population was subject to tribute. In 1598, the voivode Voeykov defeated Kuchum's army and captured his sons and eight wives. “Kuchum’s children” and wives were sent to Moscow and graciously received by Tsar Boris Godunov. Kuchum fled to the Nogai steppes and was killed there around 1598.
Western direction of Russian foreign policy.
Livonian War (1558–1583). Causes wars:
1. Russia’s desire to enter the Baltic, acquire seaports and trade directly with Europe.
2. Acquisition of new economically developed lands.
Cause of war: The Livonian Order’s delay of 123 Western specialists invited to serve in Russia and the Livonian Order’s failure to pay tribute for the city of Yuriev (Dorpt, or Tartu) over the past 50 years.
In the 1550s, a favorable moment arose for an attack. Livonia weakened, did not have a unified government and consisted of three independent structures - the Livonian Order, the Catholic Church and self-governing cities. The Tsar was a supporter of the war for the Baltic. His advisers from the Chosen Rada, in particular A. Adashev, advocated a war with Crimea and access to the Black Sea. The point of view of Ivan IV prevailed.
The first stage of the Livonian War (1558–1561) Russian troops took Narva, Dorpat, Marienburg, and advanced on Revel (Tallinn, or Kolyvan). In 1560 the Order was defeated. Residence of the Master of the Order - castle Fellin was taken, and the Master Landmaster himself Wilhelm von Furstenberg was captured and exiled to the town of Lyubim near Yaroslavl, where he lived the rest of his life. The Order ceased to exist. Now Russia was faced with three powers - Poland, Denmark and Sweden, who claimed rights to the Livonian lands. The war dragged on.
Second stage of the Livonian War (1561–1578) . Treason of Andrei Kurbsky. In 1563, the tsar personally led a 60,000-strong army to the city of Polotsk and took it. Ivan concluded a truce, began negotiations with the Poles about marrying the sister of Sigismund Augustus - Ekaterina. Negotiations failed and the war resumed. In 1564 the Russians were defeated by the Lithuanians near Polotsk, Orsha and on the river. Ole. Ivan IV suspected everyone of treason and launched a reign of terror.
Voivode Prince Andrey Kurbsky had secret correspondence with the Polish-Lithuanian king and had long been plotting his escape. In 1564, he fled to Lithuania, where he lived until his death in 1583. Kurbsky, in letters to Ivan the Terrible, accused the “fierce autocrat” of tyranny, blood drinking and senseless executions: “Why, Tsar, the governor, given to you by God to fight your enemies , handed over to various executions?”; “You have closed the Russian kingdom, as if in a stronghold of hell”; committed “the devastation of the earth with your kromeshniks” (“kromeshniks” - guardsmen). Kurbsky advocated a limited monarchy; his political ideal was the activity of the Elected Rada. In his opinion, it is necessary to attract “wise advisers” and “people of all people” to govern the state. In response letters filled with profanity addressed to Kurbsky, Ivan IV proclaimed: “Russian autocrats themselves initially own their kingdoms, and not the boyars and nobles. But I am free to pay my slaves, and I am also free to execute them...” The tsar believed that he was God's chosen one, his autocratic power should not be limited by any laws. The highest court is the monarch himself, and all subjects are slaves, whose lives the sovereign could dispose of autocratically.
IN 1569 in Lublin, Poland and Lithuania concluded LYuBlinsky union and united into a state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth(Polish Rzeczpospolita – republic) – gentry(noble) republic, where the king was chosen by the nobility - gentry. In 1576, a protege of Turkey, a talented commander, a 43-year-old Transylvanian governor, was elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sté Fan Bató riy (1533–1586).
In 1570, Ivan IV created a vassal puppet “Livonian Kingdom”. The king made a Danish prince his king Magnus, marrying him to his 13-year-old niece Maria, daughter of the executed Vladimir Staritsky. The last major success of Russian troops was the capture of the Polish part of Livonia in 1577.
Ivan IV and Elizabeth I Tudor. Ivan the Terrible sought rapprochement with England and hoped for supplies of English weapons. The king proposed marriage to Queen Elizabeth I of England and even planned to emigrate to England. Elizabeth informed the next applicant that she had decided to remain a virgin, because she was betrothed to her nation. Ivan IV was furious, canceled the benefits for English merchants and expelled them from Russia. In a letter to Elizabeth in 1570, the Tsar openly insulted the Queen, calling her a “vulgar girl” (i.e., an ordinary commoner). Ivan IV wrote: “And we hoped that you are the empress of your state and own it yourself... It’s just that people rule past you, and not only people, but also trading men... And you remain in your maiden rank, as there is a vulgar girl "
Third stage of the Livonian War (1579–1583) Stefan Bathory, in alliance with the Swedes, recaptured Polotsk in 1579, and in 1581–1582. besieged Pskov. Defenders of Pskov led by the prince Ivan Shuisky During the 5 months of the siege, 31 assaults were repelled. Thanks to Pskov's feat, the Poles were stopped. In 1582, in Zapolsky Yam, Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed Yam-Zapolsky truce while maintaining the old boundaries. In 1583 Plyussky truce with Sweden, Russia lost the fortresses of Yam, Koporye, Ivangorod, Korelu (Kexholm, now Priozersk, Leningrad region), retaining part of the Baltic coast with the mouth of the Neva.
Reasons for Russia's defeat in the Livonian War .
1. Incorrect assessment by Ivan IV of the balance of power in the Baltic states.
2. Diversion of troops to repel Crimean raids.
3. The backwardness of the Russian economy, which is not capable of many years of war.
4. The weakening of Russia due to the oprichnina terror of Ivan IV.
Oprichnina1565–1572
Oprichnina – a special order of government, a system of repressive measures aimed at weakening the boyars, opposition to Ivan IV.
Reasons for the oprichnina. 1. Ivan IV sought to subjugate the boyars and strengthen autocratic power.
3. Features of the king’s character and psyche. Ivan IV, a maniacally suspicious man, suspected everyone of treason.
4. Death in 1560 of the Tsar’s beloved wife, Anastasia. Ivan IV suspected Adashev and Sylvester of having “killed” the queen. (Tests of her remains in 2000 showed the presence of mercury.)
5. Betrayal and flight to Lithuania by Andrei Kurbsky.
6. Disagreements on foreign policy issues. Ivan IV advocated war with Livonia, and Elected Rada- for the fight against Crimea.
7. Different ideas about ways to centralize the state. The elected council proposed a path of gradual transformation, Ivan IV sought to speed up the processes of centralization and immediately achieve unlimited power. This led the king to terror.
The Fall of the Chosen One. Ivan IV suspected members of the Chosen Rada of treason in connection with the events of 1533, when, during his illness, the tsar, thinking that he was dying, appointed his newborn son as heir Dmitry. Many boyars (except Vorotynsky and Viskovaty) did not want to swear allegiance to the “diaper-wearing” baby. Adashev and Sylvester intended to place his cousin on the throne after the death of the king. Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky. Ivan IV considered their actions treason. The king recovered, but the little heir drowned in the river. Sheksna during a pilgrimage to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The nanny, leaving the boat, dropped him into the water. The next son, Ivan, became the heir. The king accused the boyars: “like Herod, they wanted to destroy the infant, to deprive him of this light by death.”
Adashev was accused of treason, exiled to Livonia and died in prison in 1561 (possibly committed suicide). Macarius died in 1563, Sylvester asked the king to let him retire to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, where he died in 1566 as a simple monk under the name Spiridon. Kurbsky fled to Lithuania in 1564, Viskovaty was executed in 1670, Vorotynsky died from torture in 1573.
The beginning of the oprichnina. At the end of 1564, after another quarrel with the boyars, Ivan IV took the treasury and left for his residence - Alexandrovskaya(to Alexandrov) settlement(now the city of Alexandrov, Vladimir region). In January 1565, Ivan IV sent two letters to Moscow. In the first - addressed to the boyars - he, not wanting to “tolerate their treacherous deeds,” announced his decision to leave the throne. The second letter informed ordinary townspeople that the tsar “has no anger at them and no disgrace ....” Ivan, trying to push ordinary people with the boyars, achieved his goal. Ordinary people demanded that the boyars persuade the tsar to return to the throne, threatening that otherwise the “state villains and traitors” would themselves be “consumed.” A delegation of boyars and clergy headed to Alexandrov Sloboda. This is what the king needed. After much persuasion, Ivan IV agreed to return to the throne under two conditions:
1. The Tsar received unlimited power, the right to execute anyone without consulting the Boyar Duma (although he had such a right before).
2. The country was divided into Oprichnina(personal inheritance of the king) and Zemshchina.
The Zemshchina was governed by the Boyar Duma and the government headed by Ivan Viskovaty. A huge tax of 100 thousand rubles was imposed on Zemshchina to establish an oprichnina army.
Oprichnina (from the word " besides"-"except", this was the name of the special specific land ownership) became a powerful military punitive machine in the hands of the tsar. The oprichnina was headed Malyuta Skuratov(Grigory Skuratov-Belsky) († 1573) and Vasily Gryaznoy(Filthy). An “oprichnina court” and a 5,000-strong oprichnina army were created, organized like a monastic brotherhood. The tsar himself was considered the “abbot”. The guardsmen wore black monastic robes and attached a dog's head and a broom to the saddle as a sign of their readiness to gnaw out and sweep away treason. The Tsar, like the guardsmen, wore monastic robes and black cockle(pointed hood). Ivan considered the guardsmen to be a righteous force carrying out the will of the Tsar and God.
Oprichnina terror. Returning to Moscow, Ivan IV unleashed the oprichnina terror. He executed two Shuiskys, Khovrins and other boyars “for relations with Kurbsky.” The Tsar evicted the boyars from Oprichnina to Zemshchina. More than 100 boyar families were evicted to Kazan with confiscation of land. In 1569, Ivan the Terrible forced his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky take poison with his wife and daughter. Metropolitan who spoke out against the oprichnina Philip (Kolychev, 1507–1569) was exiled to Tver Otroch Monastery. From the monastery, Philip sent accusatory letters to the tsar (“Filka’s letters,” as Ivan the Terrible contemptuously called them). Philip was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov in the monastery. In 1566, at the Zemsky Sobor, the boyar I. Fedorov and his supporters accused the king of madness. They were killed. All famous Russian commanders were executed, including heroes of the capture of Kazan - Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky And Ivan Vyrodkov.
Winter 1569–1570 Ivan the Terrible made a campaign against Novgorod, accusing the Novgorodians of treason and intention to retreat to Lithuania. Along the way, the guardsmen destroyed the cities of Klin, Tver, and Torzhok. The repressions in Novgorod lasted 40 days. People were drowned in Volkhov, several hundred a day. Entire families were destroyed “at the root” - the head of the family, his wife and children were tied together with ropes and drowned in an ice hole. Of the 30 thousand Novgorodians, from 3 to 10 thousand died (according to other sources - from 10 to 15 thousand). Thousands of carts with looted property accompanied the king. Reprisals befell Narva, Ivan-Gorod, and Pskov.
In 1670, in Moscow, Ivan the Terrible carried out a brutal execution of 300 people, including a member of the Chosen Rada Ivan Viskovaty. The Tsar, Malyuta Skuratov and other guardsmen stabbed people with pikes and flogged their heads. The guardsmen developed a taste for violence, sought out enemies, denounced innocent people in order to take possession of their property. They began to denounce each other, fight for an honorable place near the king, for lands and privileges. By order of the tsar, a prominent guardsman was stabbed to death by his son Alexey Basmanov, princes killed A. Vyazemsky, M. Cherkassky and others. In 1573, Malyuta Skuratov died in battle in Livonia.
It is incorrect to believe that the oprichnina terror was directed only against the boyars. Many ordinary people died. There was no fundamental difference in the level of nobility between Oprichnina and Zemshchina. Many prominent boyars served in Oprichnina. According to A. Yurganova, the deeply religious and fanatical Ivan the Terrible was convinced of the divine origin of his power. Ivan IV built the Oprichnina Palace in Moscow with a bizarre architecture modeled on the biblical City of God, New Jerusalem. Believing that he is the executor of God's will the day before Last Judgment, the king believed that God’s righteous punishment of sinners by painful death leads to the salvation of their souls; hellish torment has a “healing character.” The oprichnina executions were a kind of purgatory for the tsar before the Last Judgment.
One cannot think that the events that took place in Russia were something special. Everywhere in Europe in the 16th century. the centralization of states was accompanied by brutal executions. In Spain, for example, the Catholic Inquisition was raging and King Philip II watched with pleasure as people burned at the stake. King Charles IX of France personally participated in the massacre of Protestants on St. Bartholomew's Night in 1572. The Swedish king Eric XIV shed no less blood than Ivan the Terrible. Queen Elizabeth of England executed the legitimate heir to the throne, Mary Stuart, and her supporters. It is curious that during the correspondence, Queen Elizabeth and Ivan IV promised to provide each other with political asylum if they had to flee their country.
The domestic and foreign policies of Ivan the Terrible completed the unification of the state under the rule of the tsar, which had previously been nominal. Popular uprisings during the regency of the Tsar's mother, Elena Glinskaya, showed the need to strengthen statehood and centralize power. It was along this path that Ivan the Fourth took.
Domestic policy of Ivan the Terrible
In 1547, having become an adult, the future Ivan the Terrible was crowned king. And immediately after that he began to pursue an active reform policy. The easiest way to demonstrate its essence is a table that notes the main dates and events that influenced the structure of the state under this king.
The result of these reforms was the strengthening of royal power, a change in relations between state and local authorities, strengthening military power. The state became centralized.
Foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible
To understand what was the goal of Ivan 4’s foreign policy, it is important to know that at that time Russian state there were three main tasks. This is a struggle with the Astrakhan and Kazan principalities, which threatened him from the southeast and east, as well as the Crimean Khan, who constantly threatened his southern borders. It was also important for the country to access the Baltic Sea. The king focused on these main directions.
The diplomatic and military attempts he made to subjugate the Kazan Khanate failed. And so in 1552, Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan with a 150,000-strong army. As a result, this first-class military fortress was taken by storm, and Astrakhan followed four years later. Chuvashia and a significant part of Bashkiria became part of Russia voluntarily another year later - in 1557.
Thus, the eastern direction was completely taken under the hand of the king.
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This opened the way to Siberia, which was given to the Stroganov merchants. It was they who used the detachment of free Cossacks Ermak Timofeevich to defeat the local khan, which happened in 1581.
Rice. 1. Ermak Timofeevich.
The map of Russia after the conquest of Siberia clearly shows how much the borders of the state expanded.
Rice. 2. Map of Russia after the conquest of Siberia.
The southern direction also required attention - to protect against the attacks of the Crimean Khan, two defensive lines were erected - Tula and Belgorod.
The western direction was the most grueling - the Livonian War for the Baltic coast lasted a quarter of a century. Despite several successes, such as the capture of Narva and Polotsk, in general it had a negative impact on the political and economic situation in Russia, and also became one of the reasons for the announcement of the oprichnina.
Oprichnina
Having decided to strengthen his personal power, Ivan the Terrible introduced the oprichnina. He used the people's faith, left the capital and waited to be called back to the throne. And when this happened, he demanded that he be given unlimited power and that a guardsman be established. Russia was divided into the oprichnina and zemshchina, that is, the most important lands where oprichniki nobles and their troops settled, and the lands that supported these nobles and soldiers.
The oprichniki were loyal only to the tsar, and as a sign of this devotion they wore dog heads on their saddles. They became the hands with which the tsar executed, tortured and exiled the boyars he disliked. Brutal purges awaited such Russian cities as Novgorod and Moscow. However, brute force did not help: despite the weakening of the boyar class, political contradictions within the country only intensified.
Rice. 3. Oprichnik.
In addition, the oprichnina army was effective only in fighting people disliked by the tsar: when the Tatars raided Moscow in 1571, they failed to cope with the task of defending the capital. As a result, already in 1572 the oprichnina was abolished.
Consequences of the reign of Ivan the Terrible
Despite the fact that both external and internal politics Ivan the Fourth was not always balanced and effective; it is not for nothing that the textbook for the 7th grade puts him on a par with such great Russian tsars as Ivan Kalita and Dmitry Donskoy. The results of his reign were still largely positive: centralized power was established in the state, and its borders expanded. At the same time, it was Ivan the Terrible in last years reign created the ground for a period of unrest.
The main objectives of Russian foreign policy in the 16th century were: in the west - the struggle for access to the Baltic Sea, in the southeast and east - the fight against the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the beginning of the development of Siberia, in the south - the defense of the country from the raids of the Crimean Khan.
Capture of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates.
Tatar khans carried out predatory raids on Russian lands. In the territories of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, there were thousands of Russian people captured during raids. The local population - Chuvash, Mari, Udmurts, Mordovians, Tatars - was brutally exploited. The Volga route ran through the territories of the khanates, but the Volga could not be used by Russian people along its entire length.
Moscow had two ways to solve the Kazan problem: either by diplomatic means to achieve vassalage from the Kazan Khan, or by military means to eliminate the source of aggression in the Kazan Khanate and place its protege on the Kazan throne. The first path was not successful. And Grozny began to carefully prepare for the campaign.
In August 1552, a 100,000-strong Russian army gathered at its new fortress. The Kazan Khan was asked to surrender, which was refused. Then Russian troops crossed the Volga and approached Kazan. At the head of the army were Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich himself, princes A. M. Kurbsky, M. I. Vorotynsky and other governors. There were 30 thousand troops in the city. In addition, a detachment of thousands of Tatar horsemen was hiding in the forest. Russian artillery fired at the city. The siege of the city lasted for a month and a half.
Russian attempts to take Kazan by storm were repulsed. The Tatars defended themselves effectively: they fired from cannons, rained down arrows on the Russian archers, flew stones and logs, and poured boiling water and tar on them. Tatar horsemen from the forest attacked Russian troops from the rear. At the same time, detachments of Tatars jumped out of the gates of Kazan and also rushed towards the Russians. The Russians fought off the Tatar attacks, but were unable to break into the fortress.
Russian masters dug two underground passages under the city walls and rolled 48 barrels of gunpowder there. Candles were lit on the barrels. At the same time, a candle was lit near the tent of Ivan IV. The candle near the tent burned out, but there was no explosion. The king flew into a rage and ordered the heads of the mine masters to be cut off. But at this time the earth shook from a terrible explosion. In two places the fortress wall flew into the air. Russian troops rushed into the gaps that formed and broke into the city. The Tatars continued to resist. The battle raged on the streets of Kazan for more than 4 hours. Tatar horsemen from the forest tried to help the defenders of the fortress, but were destroyed. The Kazan Khanate admitted itself defeated. The peoples of the Middle Volga region became part of the Russian state.
In 1556, Ivan the Terrible conquered the Astrakhan Khanate. From this period, the entire Volga region was Russian territory. The free Volga trade route significantly improved the terms of trade with the East. In addition to this, the nobles received new estates in the fertile lands of the Volga region. TO mid-16th century century, Bashkiria, Chuvashia, and Kabarda became part of Russia, which led to the formation of a large, multinational state.
Livonian War.
To develop economic and cultural ties with Western Europe Russia needed free access to the Baltic Sea. But the Baltic states were in the hands of German feudal lords, who founded the Livonian Order of Knights there, which hindered Russia’s trade with Western countries.
Many Baltic lands (the banks of the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland) have long belonged to Novgorod, but they were captured by the Livonian Order and Sweden.
In 1501, Master of the Order Plettenberg tried to capture Pskov, but was twice defeated by Russian troops and was forced to conclude a 50-year truce with Moscow in 1503. Under this agreement, the Order undertook to pay tribute to Moscow from the Yuryev (Dorpt) region. However, by this time, the Order not only ceased to fulfill the terms of the signed agreement, but also began to pursue a hostile policy towards Russia.
In 1554, Livonian ambassadors came to Moscow with a request to extend the peace, to which the tsar demanded that they pay the “Yuriev tribute.” Formally, the ambassadors agreed, but Livonia was not going to fulfill this condition. In 1557, the new Livonian master Wilhelm von Furstenberg concluded a secret treaty with Lithuania and Poland against Russia. Thus, Ivan the Terrible had enough formal grounds to declare war on the Livonian Order. Which is what was done.
On the 20th of January 1558, Russian troops crossed the Livonian border in the Pskov region. Russian troops took Narva, Tartu, and approached Tallinn and Riga. Latvians and Estonians acted on the side of the Russians. The Livonian Order was falling apart under the blows of Russian weapons.
Grozny joyfully greeted the news of the victory. From the Kremlin walls, by order of the Tsar, a great cannon fire was opened in honor of the victors. The Tsar ordered the taverns to be opened - Moscow walked until late at night, rejoicing at the victories of Russian weapons. In the Kremlin Palace, in the Great Chamber, the Tsar arranged a feast. In the midst of the fun he drank the cup himself sea water and forced Sylvester and Alexey Adashev to drink a cup of sea water each. But the fun and joy of the Russians was short-lived. Soon the tide of the war changed.
In 1563, with the personal participation of Ivan Vasilyevich, Russian troops attacked Lithuania - the important trade city of Polotsk was taken. But then there were failures and disappointments. In January 1564, near Polotsk, the Russian army was defeated by the troops of the Lithuanian hetman Radziwill the Red. In April, one of the tsar’s closest advisers and military leaders, a member of the Elected Rada and the hero of the battle for Kazan, Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky, defected to Lithuania on pre-agreed terms. In addition to this, in the summer the Russians were defeated at Orsha. The war became protracted and exhausting.
In May 1556 Once again Ambassadors arrived in Moscow to negotiate peace. The peace terms turned out to be unacceptable for both sides and it was necessary to limit ourselves to only a temporary truce.
In 1572, the Polish king Sigismund 2nd Augustus died, leaving no heir to the throne. In May 1576, a new prince, Stefan Batory, was elected and crowned. With his arrival, Russian defensive actions begin. Polotsk fell in 1579, and Velikiye Luki in 1581. Batory, inspired by the victories, moved towards Moscow. But the ancient Russian city of Pskov stood in his way.
Stefan Batory promised to take the fortress in one day. To intimidate the defenders of the fortress, the king organized a parade of troops. From the walls of the city, Pskov residents could watch enemy regiments marching in a long stream with weapons and banners glistening in the sun.
For several days, the enemies hit the city walls with heavy cannons and dug ditches - trenches. The defenders of Pskov (the defense was headed by governor I.P. Shuisky) fired back and staged forays. However, the fortress walls could not withstand the hail of cannonballs. Breaks began to form in them. Polish troops rushed into the city, but their path was blocked by new wooden walls erected by the defenders of the fortress. The Poles occupied two stone towers. Thousands of invaders died under their rubble. The defense of Pskov lasted five months. The courage of the city's defenders prompted Stefan Batory to abandon further siege. Plans for a campaign against Moscow were thwarted. Russia was saved from complete defeat.
The Livonian War ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky (with Poland) and Plyussky (with Sweden) truces, which were unfavorable for Russia. The Russians had to abandon the conquered lands and cities. The Baltic lands were captured by Poland and Sweden. The war drained Russia's strength. The main task - gaining access to the Baltic Sea - was failed.
Development of Siberia.
Beyond the Ural Mountains, on the banks of the Irtysh and Tobol, there was a large Siberian Khanate. The Siberian Khan Ediger recognized vassal dependence on Moscow back in 1556, but Khan Kuchum, who replaced him, refused to recognize the power of Moscow (oppressed local residents, killed the Russian ambassador).
The Stroganov merchants, who had a letter from the tsar granting lands east of the Urals, with the permission of Moscow, hired a large detachment of Cossacks to fight Khan Kuchum. The leader of this detachment was the Cossack ataman Ermak. The Stroganovs suggested that Ermak make a campaign beyond the Urals and conquer the kingdom of Khan Kuchum. Ermak agreed. The Stroganovs gave his detachment, numbering 840 people, sabers, arquebuses, three cannons, helmets, chain mail, a large amount of gunpowder, lead and food.
In September 1581, Ermak's great campaign began. Khan Kuchum sent detachment after detachment to meet the Cossacks, trying to prevent their advance into the center of the Siberian Khanate. From the shores, the Tatars showered the Cossacks sailing on rowing boats with a rain of arrows. The Cossacks responded with fire from their arquebuses. Firearms horrified the Tatars.
In October 1582, Ermak's detachment approached the capital of the Siberian Khanate - Kashlyk. Not far from the town, Kuchum erected fortifications made of wood and stone and concentrated more than ten thousand troops there. Ermak landed on the shore and led a detachment to storm the fortifications. Under a hail of arrows, the fearless Cossacks went on the attack. But they failed to take the fortifications. Ermak ordered to retreat. The Tatars rushed after the retreating Cossacks and left the fortifications. Having lured the enemy into an open field, Ermak unexpectedly turned and threw the squad into battle again. Hand-to-hand combat continued for several hours. The Tatars could not stand it and retreated. Khan went to the steppe. The Cossacks occupied the capital of the Siberian Khanate, Kashlyk. The surrounding population recognized Ermak's power, bringing him tribute. But the local princes did not completely break relations with Kuchum. Clashes with the population often occurred. Ermak's army thinned out.
In August 1585, Ermak, who spent the night in one of the forts on the Irtysh, was surrounded. The Cossacks did not post a guard. A captured Tatar escaped from them and brought the enemy. The Tatars attacked the sleeping people, and a massacre began. Ermak tried to swim to the opposite bank of the Irtysh, but the heavy chain mail - a gift from the king - dragged him to the bottom.
Kuchum was finally defeated in 1598, and Western Siberia was annexed to the Russian state (Tobolsk became its capital). All-Russian laws were adopted in the annexed territories. The development of Siberia by Russian industrialists, peasants and artisans began.
Russian history [ Tutorial] Team of authors
3.3. Foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible
Annexation of Kazan, Astrakhan and Western Siberia
The most important directions of foreign policy in the first decades of the reign of Ivan IV were the southeastern and eastern ones, where Russia had to fight against the fragments of the Golden Horde - the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates.
« Fight Kazan“It was necessary in order to protect Russian lands from regular Tatar raids. In addition, the Volga lands were extremely attractive to Russian service people who wanted to receive them as estates. The outstanding publicist of the era of Ivan the Terrible, Ivan Semenovich Peresvetov, in his petitions to the Tsar, called this territory “sub-Heaven land.” And finally, the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan would put the most important trade artery - the Volga River - under control.
In 1547–1548 and 1549–1550. The troops of Ivan IV made two campaigns against Kazan. Both of them ended in failure. The third campaign, which began in 1551, was much better prepared. Upstream of Kazan along the Volga, engineer-secretary Ivan Vyrodkov built the floating fortress Sviyazhsk. It was lowered down the Volga to the walls of Kazan and used as a stronghold for military operations.
The army of Ivan the Terrible numbered about 150 thousand people. It was headed by the tsar himself, princes A. Kurbsky and M. Vorotynsky. Clerk Ivan Vyrodkov erected siege equipment and led mine tunnels under the city walls. As a result of the assault on October 2, 1552, Kazan was taken.
The Turkish-Tatar coalition was alarmed by the fall of Kazan. Acting on the instructions of the Turkish Sultan, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey struck Russia from the south. Moscow foresaw this course of events and stationed its regiments in the area of Kashira and Kolomna. The Crimean Khan had to turn back.
In 1556, Russia was annexed Khanate of Astrakhan, and in 1557, Murza Ismail swore allegiance to the tsar - the head of the Great Nogai Horde, who wandered between the lower reaches of the Volga and Yaik (Ural), recognized herself as a vassal of the Moscow tsar and Bashkiria. As a result, the entire Volga fell into Russian hands, which was undoubtedly a major military and political success.
The annexation of Kazan and Astrakhan opened up the opportunity for advancement to Siberia.
In the 16th century Siberia was a huge territory with a low population density. Indigenous people barely numbered 200 thousand people. For the most part, the Siberian tribes were at the stage of a patriarchal clan system; only the Siberian Tatars began to form feudal relations.
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Siberian Khanate, inhabited by Turkic-speaking peoples, arose on the territory of Western Siberia. It was divided into small uluses, headed by beks and murzas. The main population was called “black ulus people”. They annually paid tribute to the Murza or Bek, Yasak Khan, and were obliged to serve in the army of the ulus Bek. Their official religion was Islam. In 1563, relying on the help of Uzbek and Nogai feudal lords, Khan Kuchum seized power in the Siberian Khanate. Although since the mid-50s. Siberia entered into vassal dependence on Moscow and paid tribute to it in furs from the mid-70s. Siberian khans began to attack Russian lands. Relations between Russia and the Siberian Khanate deteriorated noticeably.
In 1574, the rich merchants Stroganov were granted a royal charter giving them the right to build fortresses on the Irtysh and own lands along the Tobol to ensure a trade route to Bukhara and further to India. But overall this plan was not implemented. At their own expense, the Stroganovs equipped the campaign of the Cossack squad of Ataman Ermak Timofeevich to Siberia. In 1581 Ermak went to the Irtysh, and in 1582 he expelled Khan Kuchum and took his capital Kashlyk. The Khan's vassals went over to Ermak's side. A few years later, the Siberian Khanate ceased to exist. Despite the death of Ermak in 1585, Western Siberia was annexed to Russia. In 1586 the Russian fortress of Tyumen was erected, in 1587 Tobolsk was founded, which became the Russian center of Siberia. Gradually, the population of the region began to swell with the help of fugitive Russian peasants who settled in remote Siberian regions.
Livonian War
Another important area of foreign policy was the Baltic states. Its accession was necessary for a number of reasons. Russian state urgently needed free access to the Baltic Sea. The annexation of the Baltic coast would contribute to the establishment of closer and more diverse ties between Russia and Western Europe. And finally, a significant factor was the acquisition of new lands for distribution to the nobles.
The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was a minor conflict: the Livonian Order detained 123 Western specialists invited to Russian service. In 1558, Russian troops moved to Livonia. At the first stage, military operations were going well for Russia. Narva, Yuryev (Dorpat), and many other Baltic cities were taken. Moscow regiments reached the borders of East Prussia and Lithuania. The Livonian Order virtually ceased to exist.
But in 1559 Poland, Sweden and Denmark entered the war. Russia found itself face to face with a coalition of strong European countries. The Russian offensive continued for some time, but in 1564, near Polotsk, the army of Ivan IV was defeated by the Lithuanian hetman Radziwill. The difficult situation was aggravated by the betrayal of the commander of the Russian troops in Livonia, Prince Andrei Kurbsky, who fled to Lithuania. In the summer of 1564, the Russians were defeated near Orsha. The position of the Russian army became even more complicated after the conclusion of the Union of Lublin in 1569, according to which Lithuania and Poland united into a single powerful state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Taking advantage of the fact that Russia was tied up in military actions in the west, in 1571 the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey invaded Russian lands and burned Moscow. The next year he repeated the raid, but was defeated at Serpukhov on the Molod River. However, weakened by military failures, Russia was unable to retain the Baltic states. At the end of the 70s. Polish king Stefan Batory took Polotsk, in 1580 the cities of Velizh and Usvyat, besieged Velikiye Luki. In 1581, the Poles began the siege of Pskov. Only thanks to the heroic resistance of the city’s defenders was it possible to defend this important fortress in the west of the country. The situation was aggravated by the Swedish invasion of Novgorod lands. In 1582, Russia managed to conclude the Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Under this agreement, she lost almost all her conquests in the Baltic states, lost Velizh on the border with Smolensk land, but retained the mouth of the Neva. In 1583, a truce was signed with Sweden. Narva and the entire Baltic coast with the cities of Ivan-Gorod, Yam, Koporye remained with Sweden.
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