Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars

The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars (also known as Russo-Lithuanian Wars, or just either Muscovite Wars or Lithuanian Wars) were a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, allied with the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. After several defeats at the hands of Ivan III and Vasily III, the Lithuanians were increasingly reliant on Polish aid, which eventually became an important factor in the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Before the first series of wars in the 15th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had already gained control of a lot of Rus' territories, from Kiev to Mozhaisk, following its collapse after the Mongol invasions. Over the course of the series of wars, particularly in the 16th century, the Muscovites were able to expand their domain westwards, taking control of some of the lands that were once part of Kievan Rus.

14th century: Lithuanian expansion
Muscovy and Lithuania had been involved in a series of conflicts since the reign of Gediminas, who defeated a coalition of Ruthenian princes in the Battle on the Irpen' River and seized Kiev, the former capital of Kievan Rus'. By the mid-14th century, an expanding Lithuania had absorbed Chernigov and Severia. Algirdas, the successor of Gediminas, forged an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Tver and undertook three expeditions against Moscow, attempting to take advantage of the youth of the Grand Prince of Moscow, Dmitry Ivanovich, who nevertheless succeeded in fending off these encroachments.

The first intrusions of the Lithuanian troops into the Moscow principality occurred in 1363. In 1368 Algirdas carried out the first major expedition against Moscow. Having devastated the Russian borderland, the Lithuanian prince routed the troops of the prince of Starodoub Simeon Dmitrievich Krapiva and prince of Obolensk Konstantin Yuryevich. On November 21, Algirdas put to rout the Moscow sentry troops on the river Trosna. However Algirdas could not seize the Moscow Kremlin. The troops of Algirdas ruined the area around the city and captured a significant portion of the Muscovite population. In 1370 Algirdas made another expedition against Moscow. He ruined the area around of Volok Lamskiy. On December 6 he besieged Moscow and started to devastate the surrounding area. Having received the message that the prince Vladimir Andreevich was coming to help Moscow, Algirdas returned to Lithuania. In 1372 Algirdas attacked the Moscow principality again and reached Lyubutsk. However the Grand Prince of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich routed the sentry troops of Algirdas and Lithuanians concluded with Moscow an armistice. In 1375 Algirdas devastated the Smolensk principality.

Some elements in Muscovy wished to gain control of all territories that once were part of Kievan Rus, many of which were at that time part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including today's territories of Belarus and Ukraine). Further, Moscow wished to expand its access to the Baltic Sea, an increasingly important trade route. Thus the conflict between Lithuania and Muscovy was only just beginning.

15th century: strengthening Moscow
Conflicts resumed during the reign of Dmitry's son Vasily I, who was married to Sophia the only daughter of Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. In 1394, Vytautas devastated the Grand Duchy of Ryazan, leaving many settlements in ashes. In 1402, he quarrelled with his son-in-law over control of the Duchy of Smolensk. After Vytautas captured his capital, Yuri of Smolensk fled to Vasily's court and tried to enlist his assistance in regaining Smolensk. Vasily hesitated until Vytautas advanced on Pskov. Alarmed by Lithuania's continuing expansion, Vasily sent an army to aid the Pskovians against his father-in-law. The Russian and Lithuanian armies met near the Ugra River but neither commander ventured to commit his troops to battle. A peace ensued, whereby Vytautas kept Smolensk.

First or border war (1492–1494)
Ivan III considered himself an heir to the fallen Byzantine Empire and defender of the Orthodox Church. He also proclaimed himself sovereign of all Rus' and claimed patrimonial rights to the former lands of the Kievan Rus'. Such ambitions were backed up by steady increase of Muscovite territory and power. The Mongol Yoke in Russia ended after the Great stand on the Ugra river with Akhmat Khan of the Golden Horde in 1480. Moscow extended its influence to the Principality of Ryazan in 1456, annexed the Novgorod Republic in 1477 and Principality of Tver in 1483. Further expansionist goals of Ivan III clashed with the Lithuanian interests.

Around 1486–1487, territories along the ill-defined Lithuanian–Muscovite border in the upper reaches of the Oka River were under attack by the Muscovy, allied with Meñli I Giray, khan of the Crimean Khanate. The tensions continued to rise. In August 1492, without declaring a war, Ivan III began large military actions: captured and burned Mtsensk, Lyubutsk, Serpeysk and Meshchovsk, raided Mosalsk, attacked territory of the Dukes of Vyazma. Orthodox nobles began switching sides to Moscow as it promised better protection from military raids and an end to religious discrimination by Catholic Lithuanians. Ivan III officially declared war in 1493, but soon the conflict ended. Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellon sent a delegation to Moscow to negotiate a peace treaty. An "eternal" peace treaty was concluded on February 5, 1494. The agreement marked the first Lithuanian territorial losses to Moscow: Principality of Vyazma and a sizable region in the upper reaches of the Oka River. The lost area was estimated to be approximately 87000 km2. A day before the official confirmation of the treaty, Alexander Jagiellon was betrothed to Helena, daughter of Ivan III (the role of the groom was performed by Stanislovas Kęsgaila as Alexander was in Poland).

Second war (1500–1503)
Hostilities were renewed in May 1500, when Ivan III took advantage of a planned Polish and Hungarian campaign against the Ottoman Empire. While preoccupied with the Ottomans, Poland and Hungary would not provide assistance to Lithuania. The pretext was the alleged religious intolerance to Orthodoxs in the Lithuanian court. Helena was forbidden by her father Ivan III to convert to Catholicism and that provided numerous opportunities for Ivan III, as defender of all Orthodox, to interfere in Lithuanian affairs and rally Orthodox believers.

The Muscovites promptly overran Lithuanian fortresses in Bryansk, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh, Toropets, Putyvl. Local nobles, particularly the Vorotynskys, often joined the Muscovite cause. Another attack came from southeast into Kiev Voivodeship, Volhynia, and Podolia. On July 14, 1500, the Lithuanians suffered a great defeat in the Battle of Vedrosha; Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski was captured. The defeat was one of the reasons for the proposed Union of Mielnik between Poland and Lithuania. In November 1501, the Lithuanians were defeated again in the Battle of Mstislavl. The Crimean Tatars destroyed the Golden Horde, a Lithuanian ally, when its capital New Sarai was conquered in 1502.

In June 1501, John I Albert, King of Poland, died leaving his brother Alexander Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania, the strongest candidate for the Polish throne. Alexander became preoccupied with the succession. To counter religious accusations, Alexander attempted to establish a church union between Catholics and Orthodoxs as it was envisioned at the Council of Florence – the Orthodoxs would retain their traditions, but would accept the pope as their spiritual sovereign. Metropolitan of Kiev agreed to such an arrangement, but Helena protested. Polish nobles, including Bishop Erazm Ciołek and Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellończyk, discussed the issue of royal divorce.

In the meantime the war continued, just not as successfully for Muscovy. As Lithuanian forces arrived to the region, the Muscovite forces had to move slower. Additionally, the Livonian Order, led by Wolter von Plettenberg, joined the war as an ally of Lithuania. The Livonian troops won the Battle of the Siritsa River in August 1501, besieged Pskov, and won the Battle of Smolin in September 1502. In 1502, Ivan III organized a campaign to capture Smolensk, but the city withstood the siege as Muscovites chose poor strategy and did not have enough artillery. Peace negotiations began in mid-1502. Alexander asked Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary to act as the mediator and a six-year truce was concluded on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) in 1503. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost approximately 210000 km2 or a third of its territory: Chernihiv, Novhorod-Siverskyi, Starodub, lands around the upper Oka River. Russian historian Matvei Kuzmich Liubavskii counted Lithuanian losses at 70 volosts, 22 towns, and 13 villages. The Lithuanians also acknowledged Ivan's title sovereign of all Rus'.

Third war (1507–1508)
In 1506, Alexander died. Vasili III, who succeeded his father Ivan III in 1505, advanced his bid for the Polish throne, but Polish nobles chose Sigismund I the Old, who was crowned both as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1507, Sigismund I sent envoys to Moscow requesting Moscow to return the territories acquired by the 1503 truce. At the same time, Khan Meñli I Giray broke off his alliance with Moscow due to its campaign against Kazan. Sigismund I received an iarlyk for the Muscovite territories of Novgorod, Pskov, Ryazan.

The war was intertwined with a rebellion by Michael Glinski, Court Marshal of Lithuania, a favorite of Alexander Jagiellon and a man of opportunity. In 1506, Alexander was succeeded by Sigismund I the Old, who did not show the same favors to Glinski. Jan Jurjewicz Zabrzeziński, Voivode of Trakai and Glinki's old political opponent, accused Glinski of treason – he alleged that Glinski poisoned Grand Duke Alexander and had ambitions of becoming king himself. Glinski then organized a rebellion, murdered Zabrzeziński (February 1508), and declared himself defender of the Orthodox faith (even though he was a Catholic of Mongol descent). His followers unsuccessfully attacked the Kaunas Castle in an attempt to liberate prisoner Ahmad, Khan of the Great Horde. Glinski then established himself in Turaŭ and contacted Vasili III. Glinski started retreating towards Moscow and attempted to capture Minsk, Slutsk, Mstsislaw, Krychaw. He only managed to take Mazyr when his relative opened the gates. Near Orsha, he joined with Muscovite forces, but was defeated by Konstanty Ostrogski, Grand Hetman of Lithuania. This series of defeats demonstrated the rebellion, despite its claims to protect the rights of the Orthodox, was not supported by the general population and did not spread. The war eventually ended with the inconclusive 'eternal peace treaty' on October 8, 1508, which maintained the territorial accords of the 1503 truce.

Fourth war (1512–1522)


Despite the peace treaty, the relationship between two countries remained tense. Sigismund I demanded that Moscow would turn in Michael Glinski for trial, while Vasili III demanded better treatment of his widowed sister Helena. Vasili also discovered that Sigismund was paying Khan Meñli I Giray to attack the Grand Duchy of Moscow. At the same time, Albert of Prussia became the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and was unwilling to acknowledge Poland's suzerainty as required by the Second Peace of Thorn (1466). The tension eventually resulted in the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–21) and allied Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor with Vasili III.

In December 1512, the Muscovy invaded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a goal to capture Smolensk, a major trading center. Their first six- and four-week sieges in 1513 failed, but the city fell in June 1514. Prince Vasily Nemoy Shuysky was left as viceregent in Smolensk. This angered Glinski, who threatened to rejoin Sigismund I, but was imprisoned by the Russians.

Thereupon, Russia suffered a series of defeats in the field; first, in 1512, Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Konstanty Ostrogski, ravaged Severia and defeated a 6,000-strong Russian force, and, in 1514, after taking Smolensk again, the Russians suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Orsha (on 8 September).

Despite their victory the Polish–Lithuanian army was unable to move quickly enough to recapture Smolensk, although in the previous year (1513) the Polish–Lithuanian army had driven the Russians from Vitebsk and Polotsk. In March 1515, Russia formed an alliance with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, but again failed to take Vitebsk, while Polish forces took Velikiye Luki and Toropets in 1516. In 1517 the Lithuanian–Polish expedition to Pskov ended in defeat at the siege of Opochka, but in 1518 Russian forces were beaten during the siege of Polotsk, when according to the legend the Lithuanian forces were inspired by the sight of their patron saint, Saint Casimir.

In 1512 and 1517, the Crimean Tatars, the allies of Lithuania, devastated the Russian territories. In 1521, the Crimean khan Magmet-Ghirai carried out the ruinous attack on the Moscow principality. The Lithuanian troops led by Dashkovich participated in it and tried to take Ryazan.

In 1519, the Russian army ravaged the lands around Kreva, the Crimean Tartars attacked Lviv and Lublin, but no side could gain advantage. The war lasted until 1520; in 1522 a peace was signed, under the terms of which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was forced to cede to Russia about a quarter of its Ruthenian possessions, including Smolensk. The Dnieper River was established as the new border between the countries.

Fifth or Starodub war (1534–1537)
Upon Vasily's death, his son and heir, Ivan IV, was only three years old. His mother, Elena Glinskaya, acted as the regent and engaged in power struggles with other relatives and boyars. The Polish–Lithuanian monarch decided to take advantage of the situation and demanded the return of territories conquered by Vasily III. Grand Hetman Jerzy Radziwiłł launched an offensive with a 20,000-strong army to regain what Lithuania had lost in the past decades. The Lithuanian assault on Severia failed when, during the winter of 1534–35, three Muscovite armies under the command of Prince Ovchina-Telepnev-Obolensky and Prince Vasily Shuisky invaded Lithuania, advancing as far as Vilnius and Navahrudak and building the fortress of Ivangorod on the Sebezh River.

The following year the Lithuanians were aided by the Crimean Tatars, who ravaged the region of Ryazan, and the Poles, commanded by the Great Crown Hetman Jan Tarnowski, whose 7,000 strong force defeated the Muscovites at Starodub and overran Severia with Homel. In response, the Muscovites routed the 40,000-strong Lithuanian army at Sebezh, built the fortress of Velizh and devastated the suburbs of Vitebsk. The resulting 5-year ceasefire (1537) granted Homel to Lithuania, while Muscovy kept Sebezh and Velizh. The truce was corroborated five years later, but negotiations for a more permanent treaty failed.

Livonian War


In 1547, The Grand Duchy of Moscow officially became known as the Tsardom of Russia, with Ivan IV being crowned as Tsar and "Ruler of all Rus'". Gathering the ethnically Russian lands of the former Kievan Rus' becomes an official policy of the Russian state.

The next war may be seen as part of the Northern Seven Years' War or the larger Livonian War, as it involved most of the powers around the Baltic Sea. During the reign of Sigismund II Augustus in Poland and Lithuania, Tsar Ivan IV invaded Livonia; first in 1568 when the Livonian Knights sought alliance with Poland and Lithuania: the Poles and Lithuanians were able to defend only southern Livonia.

At first Lithuania and Poland were allied with Denmark and fought against the Tsardom of Russia allied with Sweden; after several years the coalitions changed and Poland–Lithuania allied themselves with Sweden against Russia and Denmark. Eventually the 1570 ceasefire divided Livonia between the participants, with Lithuania controlling Riga and Russians expanding access to the Baltic Sea by taking hold of Narva.

The Lithuanians felt increasingly pressured by the Tsar; further, Lithuanian lesser nobility pressured the Grand Duke and magnates for gaining the same rights as Polish nobility (szlachta), i.e. the Golden Freedoms. Eventually, in 1569 after Sigismund II Augustus transferred significant territories of Grand Duchy to Poland, and after months of hard negotiations Lithuanians partially accepted Polish demands and entered in alliance with the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the next phase of the conflict, in 1577 Ivan IV took advantage of the Commonwealth internal strife (called the war against Danzig in Polish historiography), and during the reign of Stefan Batory in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth invaded Livonia, quickly taking almost the entire territory, with the exception of Riga and Reval (now Tallinn). That war would last from 1577 to 1582.

Stefan Batory replied with a series of three offensives against Russia, trying to cut off Livonia from the main Russian territories. During his first offensive in 1579 with 22,000 men he retook Polatsk, Polish–Lithuanian troops also devastated Smolensk region and Severia up to Starodoub. During the second, in 1580, with 29,000-strong army Stefan Batory took Velizh, Usvyat, Velikiye Luki. In 1581 the Lithuanians burnt down Staraya Russa, with a 100,000-strong army Stefan Batory started the Siege of Pskov but failed to take the fortress. The prolonged and inconclusive siege led to negotiations, which with the aid of papal legate Antonio Possevino ended in the peace of Jam Zapolski in which the Tsar renounced his claims to Livonia and Polotsk but conceded no core Russian territories. The peace lasted for a quarter of a century, until the Commonwealth forces invaded Russia in 1605.