Kazan campaigns. Military campaigns of Ivan the Terrible 1552 campaign
Russian-Kazan wars- a series of wars that took place between the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state in 1437-1552.
Has survived to this day very few actual Kazan historical sources, and the history of the Khanate is studied mainly based on foreign, mostly Russian, sources. And since the Russians were interested in the Kazan Khanate in what had to do with Russia, that is, Russian-Kazan relations and wars, the Russian-Kazan wars are the most studied part of Kazan history.
Khanate of Kazan
There is no clear opinion among historians when the Kazan Khanate was formed. Some experts consider the year of formation of the Khanate to be 1438, another part - 1445. There is also an opinion that there was no formation of the Kazan Khanate in those years, but there was only a change of dynasty in an already existing state, originating from Volga Bulgaria. In any case, historians agree that The Kazan Khanate includes the Bulgar and Horde layers, but there is no unity on the issue of their relationship.
The Kazan Khanate traces its origins to the Volga Bulgaria
The Kazan Khanate was a fairly large Muslim power, but the territory inhabited directly by the Kazan Tatars was small, and the main part of the territory of the Khanate was inhabited by other peoples, sometimes rather weakly subordinate to the center. The main occupations of the inhabitants of the Khanate were agriculture and cattle breeding. Some types of crafts were also developed. Fur production played an important role, but at the time described, the Russians established themselves in Vyatka, Perm and the Northern Urals, thus depriving the Khanate of an important source of income. In addition, the Russians were actively involved in fishing on the Volga. In peacetime, large Russian fishing artels reached the territory of the present Saratov region and below. The Volga River has always been a major trade route, and trade played an important role in the Kazan Khanate. Every year, a large fair was held on the Volga island near Kazan, attracting merchants from different countries. But Russian-Kazan conflicts were often accompanied by the beating of Russian merchants(and other Russians who were on the territory of the Khanate) at the fair. Therefore, after the establishment of the Crimean dynasty in Kazan, Vasily III succeeded in moving the fair to Nizhny Novgorod land, where it later developed into the famous Makaryevskaya fair. This also dealt a major blow to the Khanate's economy.
A dynasty of Crimean Tatars established itself in Kazan
The slave trade played a significant role in the Kazan economy. The capture of slaves was ensured by raids on Russian lands. Some slaves remained in the Khanate, some were sold to Asian countries. The liberation of Russian slaves and the cessation of the slave trade was one of the main requirements in all agreements with the Khanate.
The head of the khanate was the khan. He had to be a Muslim and Genghisid. Representatives of the khan's family who converted to Orthodoxy were deprived of the right to the khan's throne. In the last year of the Khanate's existence, the only non-Genghisid became the head, but this was an exception caused by extraordinary circumstances. Most of the khans who occupied the throne grew up outside of Kazan and relied on external forces. In Kazan itself there were groups of feudal lords who had large armed forces and power and had different opinions about the development of their state. Moscow, Nogai, Crimean and other groups fought for power in the Khanate. As a result, during the existence of the khanate, 15 khans of six different dynasties were replaced, and some of them occupied the throne several times. All this made the Kazan Khanate an unstable state entity, creating many problems for its neighbors.
Political aspect of the Russian-Kazan wars
The most important reason for the Russian-Kazan wars was the fact that from the very beginning of its existence, the Kazan Khanate pursued an aggressive policy towards Russia, regularly carrying out devastating raids, including capturing Russians into slavery (in particular, in the mid-16th century there were about 100,000 Russian prisoners). It was with the aim of preventing these raids that the Russians repeatedly launched campaigns against Kazan.
The main reason for the wars is the cessation of Tatar raids for Russian slaves and robberies
The very formation of the Khanate is associated with a major war, which led to the capture of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark by the Kazan people. The exact conditions of his release are unknown, but they were certainly quite difficult. A change in this order of things, obviously, became one of the reasons for subsequent military clashes. Moreover, the wars were caused by competition for fur resources North-Eastern Europe and the struggle for control of the Volga trade route. Of course, the most important reason for the Russian campaigns against Kazan was fight against the slave trade and preventing the predatory raids associated with it.
In 1487, the Russians subjugated the Kazan Khanate by establishing a protectorate.
Initially, the goals of the Russians boiled down to imposing their will on the khans and concluding a peace beneficial to themselves. Subsequently, having become convinced of the fragility of such agreements, the Russians subjugated the Khanate in 1487, establishing a Russian protectorate over it. For several decades, the khans depended on Moscow and coordinated all their most important actions with it, while the Russians interfered quite little in the internal life of the Khanate. But the protectorate turned out to be an insufficiently reliable method of control. Several times power in Kazan fell into the hands of anti-Russian groups, which led to the beating of Russian people within the Khanate and sudden attacks on Russian lands.
In 1521, power in Kazan fell into the hands of the Crimean dynasty, hostile to Russia.
In 1521, power in Kazan ended up in the hands of the Crimean dynasty, hostile to Russia. In response to this, the Russians achieved a transfer important for the Kazan Khanate and Russia Volga fair in Nizhny Novgorod region. In those same years, the Russian government for the first time built a fortress on Mari land - Vasilsursk, which caused a mixed reaction within Russia. There were both supporters of this action and opponents, who feared that the construction of the fortress could cause a permanent Russian-Kazan war. But subsequent wars depended little on the existence of Vasilsursk.
Until the last campaigns of Ivan the Terrible, the Russians tried to continue their line aimed at controlling the Kazan Khanate through khans dependent on the Russian state. But each time this turned out to be ineffective and led after some time to restoration of a dynasty hostile to Russia, allied with the Crimean Khanate. As a result, by agreement with pro-Moscow groups in Kazan, a plan for the abolition of the Khanate was developed in Moscow. According to this plan, a Russian governor was installed in Kazan, subordinate to the Grand Duke. At the same time, the former Khanate retained a significant degree of autonomy in internal affairs. But this plan was not accepted by a significant part of Kazan society, which led to the last Russian campaign against Kazan and a forceful solution to the Kazan problem.
Organizational and strategic aspect
Of all the states formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Kazan Khanate was the closest to the Moscow Principality, which made it easier to organize raids and major campaigns. But it was noticeably inferior to the Moscow state in population, territory and resources. The main territories of Rus' were inaccessible to Kazan troops. The Kazan people repeatedly attacked Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, Galich and other border cities, but Kazan troops reached Moscow only twice - in 1439, during the difficult era of the feudal war for Rus', and in 1521, together with the Crimean troops, during one of the largest raids of the Crimean Tatars on Rus'. Russian troops reached Kazan on almost every major campaign, which left a noticeable imprint on the entire development of the Kazan state.
At the same time, it should be noted that many Russian-Kazan wars were accompanied by major military clashes between Russia and other states, as a result of which Moscow could use only part of its forces in the Kazan direction.
The retaliatory nature of Russian actions was a characteristic feature of the Russian-Kazan wars
Russian campaigns against Kazan were carried out either for the purpose of protection from the devastating raids of the Tatars, or were initiated by the Tatars, who saw in Moscow an opportunity to achieve their interests. This retaliatory nature of Russian actions was a characteristic feature of the Russian-Kazan wars. In most campaigns, the main routes of attack were navigable rivers flowing from Rus' to Kazan. The Volga, Kama and Vyatka made it possible to invade the Kazan Khanate from several directions simultaneously, while being convenient for transporting heavy weapons and supplies. The cavalry usually moved along the coast or marched across the field from Murom directly to Kazan. But such a method of attack required coordination of the actions of troops over a space of hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Her absence could lead to heavy losses or death of Russian troops, which happened repeatedly. Moscow governors well understood the importance of this aspect of combat operations and tried in every possible way to achieve consistency in the movement of units. If in the first Kazan campaigns there was constantly a difference in the approach of troops to the meeting place, then later it was possible to achieve more coordinated actions, to the point that the detachments that began moving hundreds of kilometers from each other converge “at the same hour, as if from a single yard” !
The first campaigns against Kazan are reminiscent of Ushkuinichi freemen, when soldiers can choose their own commander, ignore direct orders and act as they see fit. Subsequently, Russian actions became more and more organized and disciplined. The troops are acting according to a plan developed by the high command. Have a connection with management. Their actions are coordinated by a discharge order. The Russians are using new methods of war. More and more artillery and firearms are used on campaigns. Towards the end of the Russian-Kazan wars, archers took part in campaigns.
The Kazan people, for their part, at the first opportunity make rapid raids on the Russian border areas and quickly leave. But they almost never manage to take well-fortified cities. Therefore, the Russian government is building new fortresses in the directions that are most dangerous for Kazan strikes. When Russian troops advance, Kazan residents always conduct an active defense - they meet the Russians on the distant approaches to the city, try to prevent them from crossing, if possible, beat the Russians in parts. When the Russians approach the city, the Kazan people make regular sorties, position a special cavalry detachment away from the city in a place difficult to reach for the Russians, and use it to attack the besiegers from the rear.
The Kazan fortress posed a big problem for Russian troops
Kazan was truly an impregnable fortress, which, despite many sieges, was captured only twice - in 1487, when the Kazan people themselves opened the gates, and in 1552, using the most effective assault technologies at that time.
The rest of the time, the Kazan fortress posed a big problem for the Russian troops. It was impossible to take it without a long, systematic assault and the use of heavy weapons. But its delivery as well delivery of supplies to Kazan presented a serious problem. And their loss as a result of the actions of the Kazan people or weather factors led to the disruption of the campaign, since new weapons and supplies could not be delivered on time.
In the middle of the 16th century, when the Russian government set a course for the complete subjugation of Kazan, all the mistakes of past campaigns were taken into account. The final stage of the conquest of the Kazan Khanate began with the construction of a Russian support base 26 versts from Kazan. Under the leadership of the Russian military engineer Ivan Grigorievich Vyrodkov, hundreds of kilometers from Kazan in winter, log buildings were made that were to become the basis of the future city. They were dismantled and in the spring transported along the Volga to the confluence of Sviyaga, where they were quickly assembled into a fortress wall. The Tatars did not have time to react during construction, and then it was too late. The appearance of Sviyazhsk caused significant territories to fall away from the Kazan Khanate. In addition, for a long time, Cossack detachments carried out a blockade of river routes in the Kazan Khanate.
In the last campaign, heavy weapons and supplies were rafted along the Volga to Sviyazhsk, where they waited for the main forces to arrive. The main forces, having set out from Murom, marched in two columns to the Russian border, so that the southern group covered the northern one. From the Russian border they reached Sviyazhsk together, where heavy weapons and supplies awaited them. Having crossed the Volga, the troops began the siege of Kazan, which was carried out decisively and systematically. Both old, long-known methods of siege were used: tours, tyn, siege towers, and new ones - artillery and gunpowder mines. During the siege, the troops lost some of their weapons, but thanks to the base in Sviyazhsk, the losses were promptly replenished. Despite the courage and heroism of the defenders of Kazan, they were unable to save the Khanate. On October 2, 1552, part of the fortress wall was blown up, and by evening the city was in Russian hands.
Course of events
Formation of the Kazan Khanate
In 1437, the Horde Khan Ulu-Mukhammed was expelled from the Golden Horde and appeared with an army in the city of Belev, in the upper reaches of the Oka. Wanting to have good relations with the new khan, Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich sent an army against Ulu-Muhammad led by his cousins, the sons of his uncle Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka and Dmitry Yuryevich Krasny (their father gave them the same name). First day brothers defeated the Tatars, and they tried to enter into negotiations with the Russians. Confident of their victory, the princes refused, but the next day, thanks to the betrayal of Ulu-Mukhamed, he defeated the Russian army.
In 1439, the khan suddenly attacked Moscow, did not take the fortress, but heavily plundered the Russian lands. At the end of 1444 he made a new raid on Rus'. Vasily II gathered large troops, but after the defeat of his forward detachments, Ulu-Mukhamed, not daring to engage in battle, retreated, taking up the siege of the Nizhny Novgorod fortress, where the governors Fyodor Dolgolyadov and Yushka Dranitsa were “hunting out”. At the end of spring the Grand Duke began to prepare for a new offensive against the Tatars, but on June 29, the Nizhny Novgorod governors galloped to him with the message: “that they ran out of the city at night, setting it on fire, because they could not stand the hunger any longer: they all overate what was in the grain supply.” Having learned about the fall of the city, the Grand Duke was forced to set out on a campaign without completing preparations; some units did not have time to arrive.
Historians do not have a common opinion regarding the time of formation of the Kazan Khanate
On June 7, 1445, a battle took place near Suzdal, near the walls of the Spaso-Evfimev Monastery. Initially, the Russians were successful and began to pursue the enemy, but in the end they suffered complete defeat. The Grand Duke himself was captured. The Tatars retreated with great booty and Vasily II was released in Kurmysh. The actual conditions of release are unknown. Chroniclers give completely different ransom sizes. It is only known that the conditions were quite difficult, but it is not known to what extent the Grand Duke fulfilled them. The prince returned home accompanied by a large Tatar detachment.
Ulu-Muhammad soon died, possibly from his children. His son Mahmud became the new khan. Another son of Ulu-Muhammad, Kasim, was forced to flee to Rus', where he received possessions on the Oka from the Grand Duke, formed the Kasimov Khanate. Over the course of several years, the Kazan people made several more raids on Rus', ending without much success.
There is no unity among historians on the question of when the Kazan Khanate was formed. Some believe that this happened in 1438, when Ulu-Mukhammed left for Kazan after the battle near Belev, while others believe that in all subsequent years, Ulu-Mukhammed did not have a permanent base and the horde managed to establish itself in Kazan only in 1445, retreating after battle of Suzdal. In addition, there is a point of view that there was only a change of dynasty, and no serious changes occurred in Kazan.
First Kazan
In 1461, an army gathered in Vladimir against the Tatars, but peace was concluded. Soon after the death of Vasily the Dark in 1462, clashes began in the upper reaches of the Kama. But a major war broke out only in 1467.
The khan died in Kazan, and one of the power groups called Tsarevich Kasim, who had the right to the throne, to the throne. Taking advantage of this, Ivan III on September 14, 1467 sent an army to support him in Kazan under the command of the governor Ivan Vasilyevich Striga Obolensky and Prince Daniil Dmitrievich Kholmsky. But it turned out that the majority of Tatars support the new khan Ibrahim, and at the mouth of Sviyaga the army was met by the Kazan people, who did not allow the Russians to cross. An attempt to capture Tatar ships ended in failure, and the army was forced to retreat from Kazan in very difficult conditions.
The first major Russian campaign against Kazan ended in complete failure
In response, the Kazan people attacked Galich, plundered the surrounding area, but were unable to take the city and were forced to retreat. On December 6, the Russians left Galich on a ski trip under the leadership of Prince Semyon Romanovich Yaroslavsky. Having passed through the forests, they unexpectedly attacked the “land of the Cheremis”, terribly plundering it, before reaching Kazan only a day’s journey. Other mutual raids were also carried out.
In the summer of 1468, the “outpost” of Prince Fyodor Semenovich Ryapolovsky defeated a selected Tatar army near Zvenichev Bor, 40 versts from Kazan. Another Russian detachment descended the Vyatka River to the Kama and began operating behind enemy lines. Concerned about this, the Tatars made a campaign against Vyatka and brought it out of the war. Tatar representatives were left in the city, but the terms of peace themselves were quite mild, the main condition being not to support Moscow troops. As a result, a small Russian detachment 300 people under the leadership of governor Ivan Dmitrievich Runo found himself cut off. Despite this, he continued to operate in the Kazan rear. A Tatar detachment was sent against him. When they met, the opponents left their positions and fought on foot on foot. The Russians won. Subsequently, the Russian detachment returned home by a roundabout route.
In 1469, the Russians began to prepare for a new attack on Kazan. The main army, under the leadership of governor Konstantin Aleksandrovich Bezzubtsev, was supposed to descend on ships from Nizhny Novgorod, another detachment was supposed to travel thousands of kilometers along Vyatka and Kama and arrive at Kazan at the same time as the main forces. To implement the plan, it was necessary to coordinate the actions of detachments over a space of thousands of miles. It failed.
The exit of the Nizhny Novgorod detachment was delayed, and then the Grand Duke ordered Voivode Bezzubtsev to send a detachment of volunteers to Kazan. They were supposed to plunder the territory of the Khanate, but not approach Kazan. But almost all the soldiers who were in Nizhny Novgorod at that time turned out to be volunteers. They united into a detachment, chose Ivan Runo as governor and set off on a campaign. Despite the order, they went straight to Kazan. On the third day of the journey, at dawn on May 21, Moscow ships reached the city. The attack was unexpected. The Russians managed to free a large number of prisoners, take loot and burn the settlement, after which they retreated to the Volga islands, awaiting the arrival of the main forces.
A few days later the Tatars tried to defeat this detachment, but were repulsed. Voivode Bezzubtsev and his detachment hurried to the aid of Ivan Runo, but the combined army did not have enough strength. They expected the approach of the northern army from the Kama and other forces, but soon they ran out of supplies, and, having no news from other detachments, they began to retreat. During the retreat the Russians received false news that peace had been concluded. On Sunday, July 23, the Russians stopped on Zvenichev Island to celebrate mass, but at that time they were attacked by the Tatars from the river and shore. The Russian army had to fight to leave for Nizhny Novgorod.
The northern army under the leadership of Daniil Vasilyevich Yaroslavsky was delayed on the way and was still on the Kama at that time. She did not receive the expected support of the Vyatchans; moreover, the Tatar representatives in Vyatka reported to Kazan all the information about the composition and movement of the Russian detachment. On the way, the Russians received false news about the conclusion of peace, which dulled their vigilance. The Tatars gathered large forces and, at the confluence of the Kama and the Volga, blocked the path of the Russian flotilla, blocking the Volga with tied ships. The Russians made a breakthrough. About half of the army died in a fierce battle. The chief governor fell. Prince Vasily Ukhtomsky, who took command, led the Russian detachment that had broken through to Nizhny Novgorod. Upon arrival in the city, the fighters were awarded and armed at public expense.
On September 1, the Russian army again approached Kazan. The city was surrounded, the Tatar attacks were repulsed. Soon Russians blocked Kazan residents' access to water. The Tatars started negotiations. A peace beneficial for the Russians was concluded and all Russian slaves were handed over. This war marked a radical change in Russian-Kazan relations. For nine years, reports of hostile actions by Kazan residents disappeared from the chronicles. This was the first major Russian foreign policy success in a long time.
Establishment of a Russian protectorate
In 1478, Kazan received false news that Ivan III had suffered a serious defeat in the war with Novgorod. Trying to take advantage of the moment, the khan sent troops to Vyatka, but upon receiving news of the victory of the Moscow prince, he ordered him to retreat. The Russians sent a naval army to Kazan under the leadership of Prince Khripun Ryapolovsky and governor Vasily Fedorovich Obrazts Simsky, but weather conditions and disorganization prevented the attack. At the same time, the possessions of the Kazan residents were ravaged by the Ustyuzhans and Vyatchans. Peace was soon concluded.
Khan Ibrahim died in 1479 and a struggle for power began in Kazan. With the help of the Nogais, Ilham won. One of his brothers, Muhammad-Amin, fled to Moscow, the other, Abdul-Latif, fled with his mother to Crimea. In 1482, the Russians were preparing for a campaign against Kazan. An army was being prepared in Nizhny Novgorod, artillery was assembled under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti, but the khan sent envoys and peace was concluded.
Internal strife began again in Kazan, in which the Russians actively intervened. In 1484, Moscow troops again marched on Kazan and, with the support of the Moscow party, placed Muhammad-Amin in the khanate. Subsequently, power repeatedly passed from one khan to another, and as a result, in 1486, Muhammad Amin was forced to flee to Rus'.
In 1487, the Principality of Moscow organized a large campaign against Kazan
It was led by the best Moscow governors: princes Daniil Dmitrievich Kholmsky, Joseph Andreevich Dorogobuzhsky, Semyon Ivanovich Khripun Ryapolovsky and Semyon Romanovich Yaroslavsky. On April 11, the army set out on a campaign. Ilham advanced to meet them, but was defeated at the mouth of Sviyaga. On May 18, the siege of Kazan began. The Kazan people repeatedly made forays; Ali-Gaza’s cavalry detachment disturbed the Russians from the rear, but it was soon defeated and the city was tightly surrounded. On July 9, Kazan capitulated. The Russians entered the city and they put their protege Muhammad-Amin in it and viceroy of Dmitry Vasilyevich Shein. Ilham and his family were taken to Russia, where he died.
Ivan III took the title of Prince of Bulgaria in connection with the victory over the Tatars in 1487
In Moscow, the victory was celebrated with festivities and ringing of bells, foreign states were notified of the victory, and Ivan III accepted the title of Prince of Bulgaria. The Kazan Khanate could not conduct activities displeasing to the Grand Duke, Even for marriage, the khan asked permission from Ivan III, but the Russians did not interfere much in the internal life of the Khanate. Not a piece of territory was taken away, and there is no news of permanent tribute.
Protectorate
In 1490, the eastern party called the Siberian khan Mamuku Sheybanid to the throne. Having learned about the conspiracy, Muhammad-Amin called for Russian troops to help. Mamuka retreated, his supporters fled the city. Khan Muhammad-Amin released the Russian troops, but, as it turned out, in vain. Mamuka approached the city and entered it without resistance. Muhammad Amin fled to Rus'. But the new khan soon alienated even his fiercest supporters. He introduced high taxes, robbed citizens, imprisoned princes. As a result, when he went on a campaign against a city that disobeyed him, the Kazan people abandoned him and returned to the city. Kazan was prepared for defense, and Mamuka had to leave the Khanate. He died soon after.
The Siberian Tatar Khan Mamuka Sheybanid turned the Kazan Tatars against himself
The Kazan people turned to Ivan III with a request to send them a new khan, but not Muhammad-Amin, but his brother Abdul-Latif. He was brought up at the court of the Crimean Khan (Crimea was then an ally of Rus'), but in recent years he lived in Rus'. The Grand Duke fulfilled their request.
In 1499, Kazan was again in danger from the Siberian Tatars, and at the request of the khan, a Russian detachment was stationed there. The following year he participated in the defense of Kazan from an attack by the Nogais. Over time Abdul-Latif stopped satisfying Kazan residents, and his opponents secretly turned to Moscow with a request to replace the khan. In 1502, Russian representatives came to Kazan and, with the help of the Kazan people, captured Abdul-Latif and installed the former khan, Muhammad-Amin.
War of 1505-1507
In 1505, in anticipation of the imminent death of Ivan III, the Kazan Khan Muhammad-Amin suddenly began a war with Russia. On June 24, many Russians who were within the Kazan Khanate were killed and captured. The princely ambassadors Mikhail Stepanovich Klyapik-Eropkin and Ivan Bryukho-Vereshchagin were arrested. The property of many Russian merchants who arrived in Kazan for the fair was seized. The Russian government was taken by surprise. On August 30, the Tatar-Nogai army crossed Sura and soon the Nizhny Novgorod suburb burned down. The city was not ready for defense; there were almost no troops in it. The voivode released Lithuanian prisoners taken in the Battle of Vedroshi from prison. One of them managed to kill the Nogai Murza with a successful cannon shot, after which clashes began between the Kazan and Nogai people and the attackers were forced to retreat. During the retreat, the Nogais plundered not only the Russians, but also the Kazan lands.
In April 1506, the new Grand Duke Vasily III sent a large army against Kazan, led by his brother Dmitry Ivanovich Uglichsky and Fyodor Ivanovich Belsky. The main forces moved along the river; a cavalry detachment under the leadership of Prince Alexander Vladimirovich of Rostov walked along the shore. On May 22, the ship's army landed near Kazan and went to the city. The Tatars tied them up in battle and then struck from the rear. The Russians suffered a serious defeat. There were many killed and captured. One of the governors, Dmitry Vasilyevich Shchenya, was captured and executed a month later.
The Russians suffered defeats due to lack of coordination
Having learned of the defeat, Vasily III sent a detachment led by Prince Vasily Danilovich Kholmsky to help and ordered the governors not to engage in battle with the Tatars until all forces arrived. On June 22, the cavalry of Prince Rostov approached the remnants of the ship’s army and on June 25, the Russian leadership, without waiting for the approach of other troops and disobeying the order of the Grand Duke, the beginning of a new attack. The Russians were defeated, lost all their guns and were forced to retreat. They left Kazan in two detachments. The army on ships went up the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod. A cavalry detachment under the leadership of governor Fyodor Mikhailovich Kiselev and the Tatar prince Dzhanai, who participated in the campaign on the side of the Russians, left the field for Murom. Not reaching 40 kilometers from the Russian border, which ran along the Sura, the detachment was overtaken by the Tatars, but fought back and went to their own.
The Russians were preparing for a new big campaign against Kazan in 1507, but Muhammad-Amin sent envoys, and peace was concluded on the old terms. Russian prisoners were released. Thanks to the victory over the Russians, the Khan's internal position strengthened, and he reigned in Kazan until his death in 1518.
Establishment of the Crimean dynasty
In 1518, Khan Muhammad-Amin died without leaving an heir. Several years before his death, the Kazan people asked the Moscow prince to appoint Abdul-Latif, who was in Russia, as heir, but he died before Muhammad-Amin. The Kazan people sent ambassadors to Moscow, and Vasily III gave them the Kasimov prince Shah-Ali as khan. His family was an implacable enemy of the Crimean khans.
The Kasimov family of Shah Ali was an implacable enemy of the Crimean khans
Shah Ali was a minor, and Russian representatives Fedor Andreevich Karpov and Vasily Yuryevich Bushma-Podzhogin had great influence on state affairs under him. Soon the new government lost popularity, and a conspiracy arose in Kazan. The conspirators called on the brother of the Crimean Khan Sahib-Girey, and when he approached the city in the spring of 1521, an uprising occurred. The Russians who were in the city were killed or captured. Shah Ali fled to Moscow.
In 1521, the Crimean Tatars Sahib-Girey received power in Kazan
In the same 1521, the Crimean and Kazan Tatars carried out one of the most devastating invasions of Rus'. Lithuanian detachments also acted together with them. The enemy reached Moscow and destroyed all the surrounding areas. Vasily III was forced to give the Crimean Khan a letter, where he promised to pay tribute, after which the Tatars turned home. Passing by Ryazan, where the Russian garrison was located, the Crimean Tatars decided to take possession of the city and entered into negotiations with the governor Ivan Vasilyevich Khabar-Simsky, demanding submission, since Vasily III recognized himself as a tributary of the Crimean Khan. The voivode demanded to show him the letter. Since they did not have time to make a copy, the original was delivered to the city, hoping to break into the fortress when the Russians’ attention was diverted. But the Russians were on alert and, having received the letter, opened fire against the enemies near the city. The Tatars were forced to flee.
The next year, 1521, the Russians organized a reliable defense of the southern border, and the Crimean Khan did not dare to attack Rus', but sent troops to Astrakhan, but during the campaign he was killed by the Nogais, who then ruined the entire Crimean Khanate. For some time, Crimea had no time for Rus'. At the same time, a peace treaty was concluded with Lithuania. The only opponent of the Russian state remained the Kazan Khanate.
The Crimean Khan was killed by the Nogais
At this time, Sahib-Girey executed the ambassador Vasily Yuryevich Bushma-Podzhogin, who was in his captivity, and Russian merchants, which caused serious discontent among the Russians.
In September 1523, a new campaign against Kazan began. The ship's army reached Kazan and, having ravaged the shores and surrounding areas, returned back. The cavalry army, having reached Sviyaga, defeated a large Tatar detachment. While these troops distracted the attention of the Tatars, the Russians built the Vasil-Gorod (Vasilsursk) fortress at the mouth of the Sura. The fortress was built on the right, Kazan bank. For the first time, the Russians annexed part of the Kazan land. This caused a mixed reaction; Metropolitan Daniel and the clergy strongly supported the annexation of the Kazan lands, but voices were heard that in the presence of Vasilsursk, peace with Kazan would be impossible.
On October 17, 1523, the Tatars made a large raid on Galich. They didn’t take the city, but they destroyed the surrounding area. But the Kazan Khan, apparently, was more interested in the Crimean throne, so he soon went to Crimea and never returned to Kazan. His nephew Safa-Girey became the new khan.
In 1524, the Russians sent a large army to Kazan led by Shah Ali. The ship's army set out on May 8, the horse army on May 15. In July, the ship's army under the command of Ivan Fedorovich Belsky landed near Kazan and began to await the approach of the cavalry. The Tatars tried to attack them and were repulsed, but constantly harassed the Russians with attacks. A cavalry detachment under the command of Ivan Vasilyevich Khabar-Simsky and Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov defeated the Tatars opposing him, but was delayed on the way. The Russian army stationed near Kazan was running out of supplies. To deliver them, a flotilla under the leadership of Prince Ivan Fedorovich Paletsky left Nizhny Novgorod. She was accompanied along the shore by a detachment of cavalry. Not far from Kozmodemyansk, the Russians were attacked by the Kazanians and reached Kazan only with heavy losses.
The Kazan Khanate was subjected to Nogai raids
On August 15, 1524, all Russian regiments united and began the siege of Kazan, but to no avail. Soon the Russians lifted the siege and left in exchange for the Tatars' promise to send envoys to Moscow for negotiations. After the Russians left, the Khanate was devastated by Nogai raids, so Kazan residents were vitally interested in establishing peace with Moscow. He was imprisoned the same year. Taught by the bitter experience of repeated beatings of merchants, the Russians achieved the transfer of the Kazan Fair to Nizhny Novgorod; The Makaryevskaya Fair subsequently grew out of it.
War of 1530-1531
In 1530, the people of Kazan created “evil spirits and disgrace” to the Russian ambassador Andrei Fedorovich Pilmev. In May 1530, the Russians sent a ship and horse army against Kazan. The ship's army under the leadership of Ivan Fedorovich Belsky and Mikhail Vasilyevich Gorbatov reached Kazan without difficulty. On July 10, they were joined by the horse army of Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky and Vasily Andreevich Sheremetyev. The Tatars were well prepared for the war, detachments of Nogais and Astrakhan came to their aid, a fort was built on the Bulak River, from where they were going to disturb the Russians with surprise attacks.
As a result of the first battles, the Russian detachment of Ivan Fedorovich Ovchina Obolensky completely destroyed the fort on Bulak and killed most of the defenders. The Russians began shelling the city. Khan Safa-Girey fled, the Kazan people were ready to make peace. According to some chronicles, the city remained practically unprotected for some time and the Russians could enter it without resistance, but Voivodes Belsky and Glinsky started a local dispute and time was lost. A storm began, the Kazan soldiers made a sortie, captured a significant amount of weapons and supplies and inflicted serious damage on the Russian troops. Five governors died, including the chief governor of the advanced regiment, Prince Fyodor Vasilyevich Lopata-Obolensky.
The Russians tried to continue the siege, but on July 30 they began to retreat. Ivan Belsky was sentenced to death, but was subsequently pardoned.
The Tatars sent ambassadors to Moscow for negotiations, but Safa-Girey, who returned to Kazan, sabotaged them in every possible way. A conspiracy arose among the Kazan residents against him. Having learned about him, Safa-Girey began repressions and wanted to kill the Russian ambassador, but an uprising occurred and the khan had to flee. The Kazan people turned to Vasily III to give them Jan-Ali, Shah-Ali's younger brother, as their new khans. The new khan obeyed the Grand Duke in everything. Soon he married Syuyumbik.
War with Safa-Girey
Soon after the death of Vasily III (1533), a coup took place in Kazan, Jan-Ali was killed and Safa-Girey, whose uncle Sahib-Girey had by this time become the Crimean Khan, again ascended the throne. Many Russian supporters had to flee Kazan.
A new war has begun. Kazan detachments reached Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod and Gorokhovets. In summer Kazan residents defeated a Russian detachment near Kostroma, killing the Kostroma governor Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Pestroy-Zasekin and the governor Menshik Polev.
In the winter of 1537, the Tatars suddenly attacked Murom, but were unable to take the fortress and retreated to Nizhny Novgorod. The Russian side responded by building new cities, strengthening old ones and installing outposts. In 1538, a campaign against Kazan was planned, but under pressure from the Crimea, the Russian government entered into negotiations with the Kazan Khanate. They lasted until 1539 when Tatars unexpectedly attacked Murom, and raided Galich and Kostroma places. Near Plyos there was a fierce battle between the Russians and the Tatars, four commanders were killed, but the Kazan people were defeated and the entire army was recaptured.
On December 18, 1540, the Tatars again attacked Murom, again they did not take the city and left. The Kasimov Tatars of Shah-Ali managed to recapture part of it from them.
Moscow made peace with Lithuania and began preparing for war with Kazan and Crimea. In 1541, the Crimean Khan with a large army approached the Oka, but seeing many Russian troops, said: “You told me that people went to Kazan for the Grand Duke, that there would be no meeting for me, and I have never seen so many smart people in one place.” After which he retreated, but the Russian campaign against Kazan did not take place.
In 1545, there was a new Russian campaign against Kazan. Three detachments came out from three different points; when they approached the city, they were supposed to be helped by Russian supporters in Kazan. The army under the leadership of Prince Semyon Ivanovich Punkov-Mikulinsky, which came out from Nizhny Novgorod, and the detachment of Prince Vasily Semyonovich Serebryany, which came out from Vyatka, met near Kazan exactly according to plan “ at one hour, as if from one yard" But the coup in Kazan did not take place, and the Russians were forced to retreat. The third detachment, coming from Perm under the leadership of Prince Lvov, was delayed on the way and was destroyed by the Kazan people.
After the Russians left, Safa-Girey intensified repressions against the dissatisfied, but despite this, a coup took place in Kazan in January 1546. Safa-Girey fled. He returned with the Astrakhan detachment, but was repulsed. The Russian protege Shah Ali again became Khan, but the Kazan residents refused to allow the Russian garrison into the city. Shah-Ali lasted only a month and fled at the approach of Safa-Girey with renewed vigor. Safa-Girey, entering the city, started mass terror. Representatives of the Crimeans came to power. The Russian party in Kazan was defeated, many of its supporters were killed.
In February 1547, the Russian army marched into the Kazan lands at the request of the mountain Mari.
Kazan campaigns of Ivan the Terrible
In the fall of 1547, Ivan Vasilyevich was crowned Tsar of Russia. In December 1547 he set out on a campaign from Vladimir, and in February he left Nizhny Novgorod. Another detachment set out from Meshchera. Due to the abnormally warm winter most of the artillery fell through the ice. Realizing that Kazan would be impossible to take, Ivan the Terrible returned from Rabotok Island to Moscow, sending an army to Kazan. Russian troops united on February 18 and defeated the army of Safa-Girey near Kazan, plundered the surrounding area for 7 days, but due to the lack of heavy weapons they were forced to return. The Tatars responded with a raid on the Kostroma lands, but were defeated.
Safa-Girey died from accidentally hitting his head on a washbasin
At the beginning of 1549, Safa-Girey unsuccessfully hit his head on a washbasin and died. The Kazan throne again became vacant. His two-year-old son Utamysh-Girey was made Khan, in whose name his mother Syuyumbike ruled. During 1549, the Russians could not organize a campaign against Kazan due to the Crimean danger.
The new campaign was thoroughly prepared. On December 20, 1549, an army under the command of governor Vasily Mikhailovich Yuryev and Fyodor Mikhailovich Nagoy left Vladimir. Metropolitan Macarius accompanied the army on the campaign. On January 23, 1550, troops set out from Nizhny Novgorod, and on February 12 they approached Kazan. For 11 days, the Russian army besieged Kazan, but suddenly a strong thaw with rain began, the area was flooded, and many supplies and weapons were lost. It was impossible to bring in new ones, and the Russians retreated to Nizhny Novgorod.
One of the reasons for the failures was the isolation of the Russians from their bases
One of the reasons for the Russian failures was the isolation of the Russians from their bases and the lack of a stronghold near Kazan. Therefore, it was decided to build fortress 26 versts from Kazan at the confluence of the Sviyaga and the Volga. Under the leadership of the clerk of the discharge order, Ivan Grigorievich Vyrodkov, in the winter of 1550/51, on the upper Volga in the Uglich district in the estate of Prince Ushaty, the construction of log houses and other structures that were to form the basis of the future fortress began.
In the spring of 1551, the cavalry detachment of Peter Semyonovich Serebryany suddenly attacked Kazan and plundered the surrounding area. Many Cossack detachments scattered throughout the Kazan Khanate, cutting rivers and other lines of communication. Under the cover of these actions On May 24, a Russian river caravan with a dismantled fortress approached the mouth of Sviyaga. It was assembled from ready-made parts in four weeks. There weren’t enough blanks and 7% of the wall had to be completed on site.
The founding of Sviyazhsk had a huge impact on the surrounding peoples; almost the entire mountainous side of the Volga came under Russian citizenship. The situation in Kazan became increasingly difficult, the blockade of waterways made it difficult to deliver supplies and caused discontent in the city. Representatives of the Crimean Khanate number 300 people tried to escape to Crimea, but due to blocked roads they had to take roundabout routes. They were intercepted by the Russians while crossing Vyatka and almost all died in the battle. The survivors were executed in Moscow.
After the Crimeans fled, the Kazan people entered into negotiations with the Russians, handed over the young khan and his relatives, recognized Shah Ali as khan and handed over Russian prisoners. Together with the new khan, a small detachment of Russians entered Kazan. The main forces of the Moscow army returned home. The Moscow government did not intend to return to the Kazan people who had sworn allegiance to Moscow mountain side of the Volga, and this caused discontent among many Tatars. Shah Ali began reprisals against his opponents, but this did not improve the situation. There was a fear that he would not remain on the throne. At this time, among the Moscow leadership and part of the Kazan elite, the idea arose of removing the khan and placing the khanate under the authority of the Moscow governor. The project assumed a large share of the khanate's autonomy in internal affairs.
Fearing reprisals from the Kazan people, the khan secretly transported some of the weapons to Sviyazhsk and on March 6, during a fishing trip, he left for Sviyazhsk and stayed there. News of the new order of things was sent to Kazan, and many Kazan residents took the oath. The future governor sent a convoy to the city and headed to Kazan to station a garrison there. But when approaching the city Three Tatars broke away from the detachment, who had previously been in the Khan’s retinue. They were the first to rush into the city, closed the gates and called on the people to resist.
When the Russian detachment approached, the enemies of the Russians had already taken power. The event was so unexpected that many Russians who were in the city were captured. The approaching troops stood near the city all day, negotiating, but were forced to retreat. At the same time, not a single shot was fired and the landing was not touched. The parties hoped to resolve the matter peacefully.
Became the new Khan of Kazan Astrakhan Tsarevich Ediger. Soon, fighting began, and the Russians captured during the coup were executed. The Russian government began to prepare for a new big campaign against Kazan. Russian troops again blocked all roads in the Kazan Khanate.
Capture of Kazan
Large forces were preparing for the campaign. The king himself was supposed to take part in it. The Crimean allies of the Kazan people attacked the Russian borders, but delayed the campaign only for 4 days. On July 3, the Russian army set out on a campaign. Heavy weapons and supplies were sent by ship to Sviyazhsk, while the main forces marched overland in two columns. The northern column, under the leadership of the tsar, included the Guard Regiment, the Sovereign Regiment and the Left Hand Regiment, and the southern column included the Great Regiment, the Advance Regiment and the Right Hand Regiment. The northern column went from Vladimir through Murom to Alatyr, the southern column from Ryazan through Meshchera. They met beyond Sura at the Boroncheev settlement. On August 13, the united Russian army reached Sviyazhsk.
The Kazan people were well prepared for the assault, and the fortress was greatly strengthened. A fort was built 15 versts from Kazan, where a large cavalry detachment was stationed to attack the Russians from the rear. Approaches to the fort covered swamps and fences. At the very beginning of the siege on August 24, a strong storm occurred and many supplies and weapons were lost. In previous campaigns this would have led to the failure of the operation. But this time the Russians had a base in Sviyazhsk, from which new supplies were brought in.
The Kazanians, as usual, actively defended themselves. They struck the first blow immediately as the Russians approached the city, but were repelled by the fire of the archers. Soon Kazan was surrounded by trenches, tours and tyn. Siege towers were built. Epanchi's detachment, which was in the prison, greatly alarmed the Russians. During one of the attacks, voivode Tretyak Ivanovich Loshakov was killed. After this, the Russian command developed an operation to destroy the enemy detachment. The detachments of Princes Gorbaty and Serebryany lured the enemy with a feigned retreat and defeated them. The fort was destroyed.
After this, the Russians shelled the city without much hindrance and engaged in siege work. On October 1, when everything was ready for the assault, he was sent to Kazan parliamentarian with an offer to surrender. Kazan residents refused. On the morning of October 2, two powerful explosions destroyed the walls. Columns of attackers burst into the city. The Tatars defended themselves desperately. Advancing into the city, some of the Russians rushed loot. Noticing this, the Tatars went on the offensive. In some places, panic began to arise among the attackers. Seeing this, the Russian command brought new troops into battle, ordering the looters and alarmists to be killed on the spot. Discipline was restored and the assault continued. A hot battle took place at mosques , where all its defenders, led by Sayyid, died Kul Sharif.
The last battle took place at the khan's court, where Khan Ediger and his relatives were captured. The whole city was littered with corpses. A small part of the city’s defenders managed to break through the Russian ranks, cross the Kazanka and escape persecution. It was all over.
On October 12, 1552, the Russian army marched back to Moscow. Prince A. B. Gorbaty-Shuisky remained the governor of Kazan. Outside Kazan, resistance continued for several more years, but this could no longer change anything.
Meaning
The conquest of the Kazan Khanate had a great influence on the history of Russia. In the coming years, Astrakhan was annexed to Russia. The Volga trade route fell into the hands of the Russians. The slave trade ended, new cities and villages appeared on the Volga. Soon Russian colonization poured into the Urals, Siberia and the Wild Field. The lands that had recently been borderlands became deep in the rear and could develop without military clashes.
Where nomads roamed for thousands of years, the farmer established himself
The importance of the changes that took place was already understood by contemporaries. Just a few decades ago, the Tatars took tribute from Rus', and before their eyes, the Tatar kingdom fell under the complete power of Russia. The clergy compared Ivan the Terrible with Dmitry Donskoy. In honor of the greatest victory, the Intercession Cathedral was built near the walls of the Kremlin, which became the greatest monument of Russian architecture and one of the symbols of the Russian capital.
But the ruler of our army is God, not man: as God wills, so it will be.
Ivan groznyj
In the 1550s, he began a series of military campaigns in the East. The reason for these campaigns is banal - the Golden Horde had lost its former power, and the opportunity arose to annex new lands to Russia, in particular Kazan. The annexation of the Kazan Khanate to Russia took place in 1552, during a successful campaign led by Ivan the Terrible. This success was achieved by the Russian army only after a long siege of the capital of the Kazan Khanate, as well as many promises made by the tsar to the local population. As a result, Kazan was annexed to Russia, which it has been a part of for more than 500 years.
Khanate of Kazan before joining Russia
In the 15th century, the Golden Horde, the great Mongol state, splits into many khanates (a period of fragmentation began for the Mongols; this period was passed by Russia 2.5 centuries ago).
In 1447, the Kazan Khanate was formed. Kazan and Alat became the central cities of the Khanate. The bulk of the population were Tatars, besides them there were also Nogais, Bashkirs, Mordovians and Chuvashs. As is known, representatives of the last three ethnic groups were already part of the then Russia, which could significantly simplify the process of annexing the Kazan Khanate in the future. The total population did not exceed 450 thousand people. Despite the large number of non-Tatar peoples, the state religion of the Kazan Khanate was Islam.
Map of the Kazan campaigns of Ivan the Terrible
Reasons for the annexation of Kazan to Russia
- The Kazan Khanate was located in the Volga region, where it occupied a very advantageous geographical position. Several trade routes connecting Eastern Europe and the Caspian Sea region passed through the state. This fact was one of the main factors why the rulers of Moscow were interested in annexing these lands.
- The aggressive policy of the Khanate towards Moscow also forced Russia to think about forcefully pacifying the region. Thus, Tatar troops from Kazan carried out repeated attacks on cities and villages in Russia during the 15th-16th centuries. They plundered Kostroma, Vladimir and even Vologda.
In general, relations between Moscow and the Kazan kingdom in the 15th-16th centuries were characterized by a large number of wars. At the time of Kazan’s entry into Russia, that is, in fact, over a hundred years from 1450 to 1550, historians count eight wars, as well as many Tatar predatory campaigns on the lands of Moscow. In 1532, Jan-Ali, actually a Moscow protege, became the Khan of Kazan, after which relations between the states began to improve.
However, in 1535 he was killed, and Safa-Girey, who came from Crimea, became khan, a man who was already khan and often went to the territory of the Moscow kingdom on military campaigns. This fact could not suit Tsar Vasily 3, who declared war on Kazan in 1535. Despite frequent breaks in the war, it actually continued until the annexation of the Kazan Khanate by Russia in 1552.
Annexation of Kazan
In 1547, Ivan the Terrible became the new ruler of Moscow. In the same year, he begins the Kazan campaigns, the goal of which was victory over the Khanate. There were three trips in total:
- First campaign (1547-1548). The main battles took place in February-March 1548 near Kazan, but due to weather conditions and the unpreparedness of the Moscow army, Ivan the Terrible decided to retreat.
- Second campaign (1549-1550). Less than a year had passed since Ivan 4 ordered preparations for the second campaign. The main reason is the death of Khan Safa-Girey. This campaign also ended in failure, but the Sviyazhsk fortress was built on the border, which was to become a springboard for the next campaign.
- Third campaign (1552). It was crowned with success and the Kazan Khanate fell.
How did the accession take place?
After several failures, Ivan the Terrible drew conclusions and did not rush into reorganizing the army. The merchants of Moscow massively allocated money to the tsar, since the seizure of the Volga territory would increase their income. As a result, at the beginning of 1552, the tsar gathered an army of 150 thousand people, which was supposed to set out on a campaign against Kazan in six months.
The Crimean Tatars, allies of Kazan, decided to help and attack Moscow from the southwest, forcing them to abandon the campaign against Kazan. However, the troops of Ivan the Terrible not only completely defeated the Tatar army of Khan Divlet-Girey, but also decided to continue their success and immediately go on a campaign against Kazan without stopping or interrupting.
The Tatars were not ready for such a turn. In August 1552, the siege of Kazan began. Moscow's troops captured the enemy capital in several tight rings. The siege lasted more than two months, but Kazan did not surrender. Then boyar Ivan Vyrodkov was entrusted with leading a detachment of sappers who mined part of the wall of the Kazan fortress. As a result of the explosion, the wall collapsed, and Moscow troops were able to penetrate the city. On October 2, the troops of Ivan the Terrible completely captured the capital of the Kazan Khanate. A week later, most of the army returned to Moscow, and a garrison led by Prince Gorbaty-Shuisky remained in Kazan. In fact, this completed the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to Russia.
Results of the war with the Kazan Khanate
After the capture of Kazan, representatives of the Moscow Tsar spread the news among the population of the Khanate that Kazan was part of Russia, but at the same time the population was guaranteed the right to preserve their religion. After the end of the Kazan campaigns, Russia included the territory of the Middle Volga region. This created favorable conditions for further campaigns in the Urals and Siberia, as well as for the seizure of the Astrakhan Khanate in order to establish complete control over the Volga. Also, the annexation of Kazan had a beneficial effect on the development of trade relations between Russia and the peoples of the Caucasus and the countries of the East.
It is noteworthy that Russia never usurped the conquered people. Almost all the wealth was left to them, religion did not change, and there was no ethnic cleansing. That is, there was no everything without which aggressive campaigns, for example, of England (remember India), were unthinkable.
The period of the reign of Ivan IV is known in history as a time of expansion of state borders and an increase in the territory of the Russian state. An aggressive foreign policy led to numerous wars with its neighbors - the Astrakhan and Kazan khanates, Livonia and Sweden. Not all campaigns were successful, but the increased combat capability of the Russian army thanks to the reforms helped the new kingdom to establish itself in the political arena.
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates became Rus''s closest neighbors. Its favorable location - on the Volga trade route - created a constant threat to Rus''s foreign trade. Endless border skirmishes and the destruction of border settlements forced Ivan IV to decide to conquer the Kazan Khanate.
The first Kazan campaign took place in the winter of 1547. However, the tsarist army did not even reach Kazan - due to a thaw, while crossing the Volga in the vicinity of Nizhny Novgorod, part of the army and almost all the cannons drowned. The hike had to be completed.
The second Kazan campaign turned out to be more successful. Despite the fact that Kazan still remained in the hands of the Tatars, part of the territories of the Khanate was still subjugated. The second campaign turned out to be longer than the first - it took place from the autumn of 1549 to the spring of 1550. As a result, not far from Kazan, on the orders of the tsar, the Sviyazhsk fortress was erected. It became a stronghold for the subsequent, victorious campaign.
The first two attempts to solve problems with raiding neighbors by military means showed the weakness and insolvency of the Russian army. It was these campaigns that became the impetus for understanding the need for military reforms.
The third Kazan campaign began in the summer of 1552. The 150,000-strong tsarist army approached Kazan well-prepared and armed. With 150 large cannons and a good engineering team, the army was ready for the siege of Kazan.
Several tunnels were made under the high walls of the Kazan Kremlin, into which sappers placed barrels filled with gunpowder. The explosions made holes in the walls - and as a result of a long and difficult assault, Kazan was taken, and Khan Ediget-Magmet was captured.
In honor of the capture of Kazan, construction of the Intercession Cathedral began in Moscow, now better known as St. Basil's Cathedral. The icon painted in honor of this event, “Blessed is the army of the heavenly king,” has also survived to this day, and is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
However, the capture of Kazan did not mean the complete destruction and ruin of the Kazan Khanate. A far-sighted politician, Ivan the Terrible tried to preserve the governing structure of the occupied lands. Prince Gorbaty-Shuisky was appointed governor of Kazan, and Vasily Serebryany was appointed his assistant. The tsar invited all the Tatar nobility to his service, promising to maintain their previous statuses. This decision not only made it possible not to leave a large army in Kazan to strengthen power, but also helped the new lands to organically join the Russian state.
This policy had another important consequence - after the Kazan campaign, the Siberian Khan Ediger voluntarily asked to be “under the arm” of the king, agreeing to become a tributary of Rus'.
Astrakhan campaigns
After the successful capture of Kazan, Ivan the Terrible decided to eliminate the second threat - from the Astrakhan Khanate. The Khanate controlled the lower part of the Volga, posing a threat to both foreign trade and the border lands of Rus'.
The first Astrakhan campaign took place in 1554. The detachment of the Astrakhan Khan that came out to meet the Russian army was completely defeated, as a result, the capital of the Khanate was taken without a fight. But at that time, Tsar Ivan IV considered it inappropriate to annex the lands of the Khanate. With the active support of Rus', Dervish Ali became the new khan, promising to remain faithful to Ivan the Terrible.
However, the new khan did not keep his promises and a year later openly went over to the side of the Crimean khan, who supported the Ottoman Empire, the eternal enemy of Rus'. Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1556 decided on a second campaign.
The Russian army, reinforced by the Don Cossacks, again completely defeated the army of the Astrakhan Khan. Astrakhan was again surrendered without a fight - the city had no defenders left. This campaign subjugated the Khanate of Rus', adding new lands to the territory of the kingdom.
Results of the first campaigns
As a result of the first victorious campaigns - Kazan and Astrakhan - the territory of the Russian kingdom expanded significantly, and the influence of Ivan the Terrible extended all the way to the Caucasus Mountains. In 1559, the Cherkasy and Pyatigorsk princes asked Ivan IV to protect their principalities from the encroachments of the Crimean Khan; Thus, the king’s zone of influence extended to part of the Caucasus.
In addition to the foreign policy consequences, the success of the first campaigns had a great influence on domestic politics. The authority of Ivan IV grew enormously, strengthening the power of the young tsar. In addition, Orthodoxy began to quickly spread in the captured and annexed lands - the tsar paid great attention to issues of faith.
In the 2nd half of the 15th century. The decisive stage of the struggle for the final liberation of Rus' from Horde dependence had begun. In 1472, Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Horde. Khan Akhmat decided to “teach a lesson” to Rus' and restore the complete dominance of the Horde over the Russian lands. In the summer of the same year, he led an army to Moscow, choosing the path through Aleksin - from the “Lithuanian border”. The inhabitants of Aleksin bravely met the enemy. On July 30, the Horde built a sign (stack) of logs near the walls of the city and lit it. The townspeople showed true heroism, defended Aleksin, “not giving in to the hands of a foreigner, but burning everything with their wives and children in the city.” On July 31, the city fell, and the day before the Russian messenger, having galloped 150 km on replacement horses, was in Moscow. Russian detachments from Vereya and Serpukhov urgently advanced to the fords of the Oka, where the Horde were already approaching. The main forces of the enemy observed in amazement on the left bank “many regiments of the Grand Duke... the armor on them was pure, like shining silver and the weapons were excellent.” This stunned Akhmat’s warriors and forced the latter to abandon further attempts to “ferment” Oka and retreat.
In 1480, Khan Akhmat, having secured the support of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IV, moved an army of 100-150 thousand people to Rus'. Ivan III knew about these negotiations of the khan and prudently divided the Russian army into parts. He concentrated the greatest number at the Lithuanian borders, forestalling the opportunity for the Horde and Lithuanians to unite and covering Moscow from the Lithuanian side. Casimir IV was unable to come to the aid of Akhmat, since Moscow's ally, Khan of the Crimean Horde Mengli-Girey, invaded Podolia.
The Russian command promptly detected the movement of Akhmat's troops. The Russian forces (about 100 thousand people) concentrated on the left bank of the Ugra, built abatis nearby, and placed heavy squeaks and mattresses behind the fortifications. Squeakers with light hand grips and archers were moved to the forefront. At a distance from the coast, the Russian cavalry was located, which, maneuvering along the bank of the Ugra, could provide assistance in threatened areas.
On October 8, 1480, Akhmat’s troops tried to break through the Russian defensive line, but were met by friendly fire from the field squad’s arquebuses and handguns. A contemporary noted that the squealing fire inflicted significant losses on the enemy, and the damp strings of the Tatar bows reduced their range and did not harm the Russians. For four days the Russian troops fought off the onslaught of the Horde. The use of firearms in the field and in battle determined the superiority of the Russian army. Ultimately, the Horde did not dare to take more decisive actions and began to retreat. In the period from November 8 to 11, the enemy left the banks of the Ugra. Russian patrols pursued his retreating army to the borders of the Moscow principality. The “Standing on the Ugra” ended the 240-year Horde yoke.
The acquisition of independence by Russia was of great political importance. In 1485, the Tver Principality finally became part of the Russian state. Ivan III with full right began to call himself “Sovereign of All Rus'” (on the grand ducal seals - Russia). The Lithuanian rulers were the first to officially recognize this. In 1494, the Verkhovsky principalities (Vorotynskoye, Odoevskoye, Belevskoye, etc.) moved away from Lithuania “to Rus',” and Ryazan and Pskov were practically ruled by Moscow. At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. The international position of the Russian state has changed. The borders of Rus' were in direct contact with Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. The Moscow state entered the arena of world politics.
Much attention Ivan III devoted to ensuring the security of the northwestern and western borders of the Moscow state. The fortresses of Yam and Koporye were built. The task of returning Russian lands captured by the Livonian Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was being solved. The first blow was dealt to Livonia, which was forced to sign a truce in 1482. In 1492, opposite the city of Narva, on the right bank of the river, a new Russian fortress was founded - Ivangorod (in honor of Ivan III), which acquired the status of a new commercial port on the shores of the Baltic.
Success in the war with Livonia contributed to the beginning of an armed struggle with Lithuania for the return of the Russian Chernigov and Smolensk lands. Military actions in 1500-1503. turned out well for Moscow. Russian regiments between the Oka and Dnieper rivers occupied the cities of Mtsensk, Mosalsk, Bryansk, Putivl and a number of others, and after capturing Dorogobuzh they began to threaten Smolensk. This forced the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander to move a strong army (40 thousand people) under the command of the Grand Hetman Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky against the Moscow regiments. Ivan III sent an army to Dorogobuzh under the command of Prince Daniil Shchenya. The battle took place on July 14, 1500 on the Vedrosha River. The united Russian army (about 40 thousand people) encamped along the Moscow road on the Mitkovo field, 5 km west of Dorogo-buzh, on the eastern bank of the Vedrosha, where the Big Regiment took up positions. His right flank covered the Dnieper, and his left flank abutted against a dense forest. The guard regiment was sent into an ambush and took refuge in the forest. Shchenya's plan is to deliberately retreat the Advanced Regiment that crossed the river, lure the lot army to the Mitkovo Field, force a battle on it, and then encircle and destroy the enemy with a blow from the Siege Regiment.
On July 14, the Lithuanian army met on the Moscow road with the Advanced Regiment of Russian troops and attacked it on the move. The Russian Fridays, having started a battle, retreated across the river. The enemy got carried away with the pursuit and, having crossed the river, collided with the main forces of the Puss. A large regiment started a battle and withstood almost six hours of battle. When the Lithuanians exhausted all reserves, at the command of Shchenya, the Ambush Regiment entered the battle. His blow to the enemy's flank and rear was devastating. At the same time, Russian soldiers destroyed the bridge across the river. The Lithuanian army, having lost 8 thousand people killed, surrendered. For the first time in the history of Russian-Lithuanian military clashes, Lithuania completely lost a large army. Almost all the Lithuanian governors, led by Ostrogsky himself, were captured. The victory at Vedrosh was of great military and political significance. The peace concluded in 1503 assigned to Moscow the cities of Chernigov, Starodub, Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl, Rylsk and 14 others.
Grand Duke Vasily III(reigned 1505-1533) continued his father’s policies during the hostilities of 1507-1508, 1512-1522. his troops managed to inflict a number of defeats on the Lithuanians. Basil III set the goal of returning Smolensk, captured in 1404 by Lithuania. In July 1514, he approached Smolensk with an army of 80 thousand warriors, pulled 300 guns of various calibers under the walls of the fortress. On July 29, a powerful artillery bombardment began. He made a terrifying impression on the defenders of the fortress. On the third day the cannonade stopped. The Lithuanian governor Yuri Sologub decided to capitulate. So skillfully organized artillery fire “opened” the gates of Smolensk. Almost all Russian lands were reunited with the Moscow state. The border between Rus' and Lithuania was established. The Russian state returned to the banks of the Dnieper, and its border was 50-80 km from Kyiv.
Ivan IV Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Terrible (1530-1584) was born on August 25, 1530 (at 7 o'clock in the morning) in the family of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III and his second wife Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya. Orphaned early (the boy was left without a father for 3 years, and lost his mother at the age of 8), he was brought up in an atmosphere of brutal boyar strife and the struggle for power. Having matured, in the seventeenth year of his life, Ivan Vasilyevich announced to Metropolitan Macarius that he wanted to get married and take the title of tsar, which until then only Tatar rulers were called in Rus'. On January 16, 1547, the solemn crowning of Grand Duke Ivan IV took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Signs of royal dignity were placed on him: the cross of the Life-Giving Tree, barmas and the cap of Monomakh. After receiving the Holy Mysteries, Ivan Vasilyevich was anointed with myrrh. The Tsar's title made it possible to significantly strengthen Moscow's position in diplomatic negotiations with Western Europe, but at the same time it meant the inevitable start of hostilities with the Tatar khanates hostile to Rus'.
Ivan IV's first campaign against Kazan took place at the end of 1547. With the Moscow army, in December, which marched to Vladimir, where it was joined by regiments that came from other Russian lands, the sovereign himself was present. Due to an unprecedentedly warm winter, the army only reached Nizhny Novgorod at the end of January and moved to the borders of the Kazan Khanate. Part of the “battering squad” (siege artillery) sank in the Volga while crossing this river. Without waiting for the end of the campaign, Ivan IV returned to Moscow. Chief Voivode Prince D.F. Belsky was able to reach Kazan and in the battle on the Arsk field defeated the troops of Khan Safa-Girey. However, having lost many people during the siege that began, he left from near the city to the Russian border.
The campaign of 1549-1550 was also unsuccessful. According to the chronicler, after the arrival of the Russian army to Kazan, there came “aerial disorder, strong winds and great rains, and unmeasurable sputum; it was not powerful to shoot from cannons and arquebuses, and it was not possible to approach the city because of the sputum.” After standing near Kazan for 11 days, the Russian army returned to its state.
The main reason for the failure of these campaigns was the inability to establish proper supplies for the troops. In order to correct this state of affairs, the Russian fortress Sviyazhsk was built in 1551 at the mouth of the Sviyaga River (20 versts from Kazan), which became a Russian outpost in the Kazan Khanate. The creation of a strong fortress in the very heart of the Tatar state demonstrated the strength of Moscow and contributed to the beginning of a number of Volga peoples (Chuvash and Cheremis) falling away from Kazan. The authorities of the Khanate were forced to negotiate and recognized the Russian protege Shah Ali as the new khan. His reign did not last long. Having agreed to fulfill a number of demands of the Moscow Tsar and, first of all, to hand over 60 thousand Russian prisoners, Shah Ali antagonized the Kazan people and on March 6, 1552 was forced to flee to Russia. The Astrakhan prince Yadiger became the new khan, whose troops carried out attacks on the border Russian lands. Having received a message about the hostile actions of the new khan, Moscow began to prepare a new campaign against Kazan.
At the end of March - April 1552, siege artillery, ammunition and food were sent to Sviyazhsk from Nizhny Novgorod. In May, a large army (150 thousand people) was assembled in Moscow to be sent to Kazan. However, it set out on a campaign only after part of the assembled troops, advancing to Tula, repelled the attack of the Crimean Tatars of Khan Devlet-Girey.
On June 3, 1552, the last campaign against Kazan began. Walking an average of 25 km a day, the Russian army approached the capital of the Kazan Khanate on August 13. During the siege of the fortress, it was bombed, gunpowder bombs were placed under the walls, and a movable 13-meter siege tower was built, on which 50 guns were installed. Victory began to lean towards Moscow and then Ivan IV invited the Kazan people to surrender. According to some reports, he himself participated in the negotiations, dressed in the clothes and armor of a simple warrior. However, the Tatars refused these proposals, answering: “We don’t hit with our heads! There is Rus' on the walls and on the tower, we will put up another wall, but we will all die or sit out.” The Moscow army had to take the city by storm. As a result of a bloody assault on October 2, 1552, Kazan was taken
After the suppression of the last centers of resistance, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich entered Kazan through the Nur-Ali gate (Russian name “Muravlevy Gate”). He inspected the Khan's palace and Kazan mosques, ordered to extinguish the fires raging in the city and “took upon himself” the captive Ediger-Muhammad, the captured banners, cannons and the gunpowder reserves remaining in the city, “and did not order anything else.” All the rest of the khan's property, as well as the surviving property of the Kazan people, went to ordinary Russian warriors. Great were the gifts that Ivan Vasilyevich awarded his governors and distinguished soldiers. They were granted sable fur coats, velvet fabrics, cups, horses, armor - worth 48 thousand rubles, "an abundance of estates, estates and feeding grounds." By the will of the Tsar, Voivode Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky erected an Orthodox cross on the Royal Gate. On October 12, 1552, Ivan IV left the conquered city, leaving Prince A.B. as governor. Gorbaty, under whose command were the governors V.S. Serebryany, A.D. Pleshcheev, F.P. Golovin, I.Ya. Chebotov and clerk I. Bessonov
In 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate also submitted to Ivan IV. At the same time, the Great Nogai Horde recognized vassal dependence on Russia (it roamed between the middle reaches of the Volga and Yaik). In 1552-1557. Most of Bashkiria was included in the Russian state.
Only the Crimean “kingdom” remained unconquered, and his closest advisers, the leaders of the Elected Rada A.F., urged the tsar to start a war with it. Adashev and priest Sylvester. However, Ivan Vasilyevich did not heed their arguments, deciding to conquer the Baltic lands that then belonged to the Livonian Order. At first, the war with the German knights, which began in 1558, was successful. Russian governors managed to capture 20 cities of Eastern Livonia with relative ease; in 1563, the Moscow army, under the personal command of the Tsar, recaptured the large fortress city of Polotsk from Lithuania. Polotsk was taken after a three-week siege at dawn, “as the hours of night fell” on February 15, 1563. Its fortifications were almost completely destroyed by Russian artillery. Without waiting for the inevitable assault, the Polotsk governor Stanislav Dovoina surrendered the fortress to the Russian command.
It seemed that new victories of Russian weapons were not far off, but in 1564, events occurred that had the most severe consequences on the course of military operations. In January of this year, on the Ula River, the army of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Shuisky perished, who walked to the border “not according to the sovereign’s order, by mistake, not carefully” and was overtaken by surprise by the Lithuanians. At the end of April, a prominent military leader, the Tsar’s governor in Livonia, Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky, who knew about all the plans of the Russian command, fled abroad.
There is no doubt that, among other purely internal reasons, this betrayal aroused the wrath of the tsar, who established the oprichnina in 1565. However, the army recruited from the guardsmen could not protect Rus' from the devastating raid of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey (1571). Only in 1572 were the Tatars defeated by an army composed of zemstvo and oprichnina troops. After this, in October 1572, Ivan IV abolished the oprichnina. But during the seven oprichnina years, the tsar mercilessly dealt with those he disliked, including Metropolitan Philip (Kolychev), who condemned the oprichnina terror. Among those executed were many honored military leaders and mid-level commanders (heads of the noble and streltsy hundreds).
Meanwhile, the war in the Baltic states (Livonian War) continued with varying degrees of success. One of the most successful Russian campaigns was the campaign of 1577, led by the tsar himself. The 30,000-strong Russian army and the allied troops of the Danish prince Magnus occupied the cities of Marienhausen (Vlech), Lucin (Luzha), Rezekne (Rezhitsa), Laudon (Levdun fortification), Dinaburg (Nevgin), Kreutzburg (Kruciborch), Sesswegen (Chistvin), Schwaneburg (Golbin), Berzon (Borzun), Wenden (Kes) and Kokenhausen (Kukonos), Wolmar (Vladimirets Livonsky), Trikaten (Trikata) and several other small castles and individual fortifications
But after heavy blows inflicted on the Russian border by the Polish king Stefan Batory (who captured the cities of Polotsk, Sokol, Velikiye Luki, Ostrov and besieged Pskov), Russia had to abandon not only all its conquests in Livonia, but also 3 Russian cities captured by the Swedes - Ivan-city, Yam-city and Koporye. The last years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible were marked by the defeat of the troops of Khan Kuchum and the annexation of vast territories of the Trans-Ural Siberian Khanate to Russia.
During this time, important military transformations were carried out: in 1550, a rifle army was organized, and in 1556, the service of the noble cavalry militia was streamlined, border security was reorganized, artillery was strengthened, and demonstration rifle and artillery firing was carried out. The tsar tried to limit localism, which interfered with the command and control of troops, by ordering military leaders to be “without places” during hostilities.
The actions of the first Russian Tsar were highly appreciated by Peter the Great, who spoke about Ivan the Terrible: “This sovereign is my predecessor and model; I have always imagined him as a model of my rule in civil and military affairs, but I have not yet gone as far in that as he did. Only fools who do not know the circumstances of his time, the properties of his people and his great merits call him a tormentor."