Little-known wars of the Russian state: Russian-Lithuanian war 1507-1508
The Russo-Lithuanian War of 1500 — 1503 ended in the defeat of Lithuania. Under the Blagoveshchensk truce from 25 in March 1503 for a period of six years, the Russian state received a huge territory, which covered the upper reaches of the Oka and Dnieper with 19 foreign cities, including Chernihiv, Gomel, Novgorod-Seversky and Bryansk. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost about a third of its territory. Read more about this war in the article VO - Little-known wars of the Russian state: Russian-Livonian-Lithuanian war 1500 — 1503.
The Lithuanian government wanted to take revenge for the defeat in the war. In addition, Moscow was aware of the inevitability of a new clash with Lithuania and was preparing for it. The Moscow Grand Prince Ivan the Great wanted to subjugate all Russian lands to his power, to return Kiev.
The impulse that broke the delicate balance between Moscow and Lithuania was the deterioration of the geopolitical position of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the summer of 1506, the Russian troops suffered a defeat at Kazan. At the same time, relations with the Crimean Khanate deteriorated. The Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey addresses the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Kazimirovich with a proposal to launch joint military operations against Moscow. The label of the Crimean Khan, sent to Vilna with royal ambassador Yakub Ivashentsev, read: “Eno, in Moscow, at Ivan’s son, with you, as an enemy, want to be him”. In addition, the Kazan Ambassador arrived in Lithuania and informed Alexander Kazimirovich about the defeat of the Russian army under the walls of Kazan. Kazan Khan Mukhkhamed-Amin proposed to wage war with Moscow in alliance with the Crimean Khan and the Polish king. Khan offered to strike simultaneously - in the spring of 1507.
The Polish king Alexander Kazimirovich did not have time himself to take advantage of the favorable situation and the difficult situation of the new Russian sovereign Vasily III Ivanovich (the Grand Duke of Moscow in 1505 — 1533), on August 19 of 1506, he died. The brother of the deceased king and successor Sigismund I Old decided to implement the revenge plans (he reigned in 1506 - 1548). Old received the nickname because Sigismund became a Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania at a very mature age after his two older brothers had changed on the Polish throne. After Alexander's funeral, he was elected Grand Duke of Lithuania - 20 of October 1506, and then at Petrokovsky Seym of 8, December 1506 was proclaimed king of Poland. Crowned in Krakow 24 January 1507 of the year.
Sigismund enlisted the support of the Crimean Khan. Counting on the help of Kazan, he decided not to wait until the end of the Blagoveshchensk truce 1503 of the year, he 2 February 1507 of the year made the Lithuanian Sejm decision to start a war with Russia. The Lithuanian ambassador of Soroka was sent to Kazan with a clear plan of action, which provided for a simultaneous strike on Russia by the Lithuanian, Crimean and Kazan troops. An embassy led by Jan Radziwill and Bogdan Sopierzic was sent to Moscow. On behalf of the Polish king, it demanded the return of previously rejected lands. However, the ultimatum of Lithuania did not frighten the Russian government. During this period, Vasily Ivanovich negotiated with the Kazan Khan Mohammed-Amin, who changed his mind and was ready for peace. As a result, Moscow could transfer the liberated troops from the eastern borders to the western borders. The Lithuanian ultimatum was rejected, the war became inevitable.
War
In a letter from 20 in July 1507, King Sigismund informed the Crimean Khan Mengli-Giray about his campaign trip. Lithuanian troops were focused on three main areas. Detachments of Hetman Olbracht Hastold were assembled in Smolensk. The forces of Hetman Stanislav Glebovich are concentrated in Polotsk, and in Minsk the forces of the great Hetman Stanislav Kishka are concentrated. Lithuanian troops carried out a series of attacks on Russian lands, burned Chernihiv, ravaged the Bryansk land.
In response to these raids that summer, two Russian rats launched a campaign. Fedor Petrovich Krivoi Sitsky fought southern Lithuanian border. And the army of Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Telyatevsky attacked from Dorogobuzh and acted on the Smolensk direction.
In addition, the Crimean horde struck from the south in July. The Crimean Tatars attacked the Verkhovsk principalities, approached the cities of Belev, Odoyev, Kozelsk, Kaluga, which diverted significant Moscow forces to the south. Vasily Ivanovich immediately moved his regiments to the south. Ivan Ivanovich Kholmsky moved to the attacked Belev, and Konstantin Fedorovich Ushaty - to Kaluga. The forces of the local militia, led by Vasily Odoyevsky, Ivan Vorotynsky, Kozelsky governor Alexander Strigin, participated in the battles with the Crimean detachments. The Russian forces were united in one fist and overtook the leaving enemy on the r. Oka. 9 August 1507, the Crimean army was defeated and fled, the Tatars were persecuted to r. Rybnitsa, right tributary of the Oka. After this defeat, the activity of the Crimean horde was resumed only in 1512 year. This is due not only to the successful actions of the Russian governors, but also to the complication of the Crimean-Nogai relations. As a result, Lithuania was left without allies.
Reflecting the invasion of the Crimean troops, the Russian troops again struck the Lithuanian possessions. Lithuania was left without the support of the allies. Kazan Khan Mohammed-Amin made peace with the sovereign of Moscow. Directed to the Russian borders, the Crimean army, headed by the eldest son of Khan, Mumamad Giray, was turned against the Nogai. Livonia, despite numerous invitations and requests from the Lithuanian side, decided to stay away from this war. The Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey soon sent Sigismund his envoy. He said that he was sending an ambassador to Moscow and invited the Lithuanian ruler to do the same. Lithuania was in a difficult position. On September 14, the Russian army commanded by Vasily Danilovich Kholmsky and Yakov Zakharich began a march on Mstislavl. It was besieged and Krichev. However, the Russian governor again failed to take Mstislavl.
Mutiny Glinsky. The rebellion of the princes of Glinsky sharply aggravated the situation in Lithuania. The most prominent representative of this family was Prince Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky. In 1500 — 1506 he held an important post as a marshal of the court, 6 August 1506, the prince won a major victory over the forces of the Crimean Khan near Kletsk. The growth of its influence disturbed the old Lithuanian aristocracy: the Radziwills, Kezgailov, and especially Jan Zaberezinsky, who became Mikhail Glinsky’s personal enemy. As a confidant of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, Mikhail Glinsky helped to raise his relatives, as well as his supporters, which further strengthened his position in Lithuania. There is an opinion that Prince Mikhail Glinsky decided to take advantage of the moment of change of power, after the death of Alexander, and create under his power a separate Russian state with its capital in Kiev. This state was supposed to include the eastern and southern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Mikhail's enemy, the great marshal of Lithuania, Jan Zaberezinsky, accused Prince Glinsky of treason. He and his comrades sent to the brother of the late King Sigismund news that Prince Michael was seeking great reign. Prince Michael recognized Sigismund as his real master. But after that he fell into disgrace. His demands for the commencement of the trial and investigation against Zaberezinsky did not find support from Sigismund. Glinsky even turned for help to the Czech and Hungarian king and the Crimean Khan. So, Vladislav II sent ambassadors to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and Polish King Sigismund asking him to give Glinsky "complete satisfaction." And the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey sent a message demanding that Mikhail be reinstated as Marshal. Sigismund took a series of measures against Glinsky. At the beginning of 1507, the Kiev province was taken away from Ivan Glinsky.
Michael did not wait for further actions of the Grand Duke and raised a revolt. Taking advantage of the departure of King Sigismund to the Sejm in Krakow, Prince Glinski gathered his relatives and supporters and announced to them his intentions. He was told that his enemy, Jan Zaberezinsky, was in his estate near Grodno. 2 February 1508, the year Mikhail Glinsky with a squad in 700 riders crossed the Neman River and surrounded the estate of Zaberezinsky. A friend of Glinsky, the German Shlyaynits broke into the estate with people - Zaberezinsky was captured and killed. After that, Glinsky made an attempt to take the Kovno castle, where the Great Horde Shikh-Ahmed (Sheikh-Ahmet) was kept, but the attack was repulsed. After the failure in Kovno, the Glinsky detachment moved to Novogrudok, and then went to Vilna. Mikhail Glinsky, having learned that the city was already ready for defense, passed it, returned to his residence of Turov.
In Moscow, they closely followed the developments in Lithuania and hurriedly sent Dmitry Guba Moklokov to the Turov with a proposal for military support. Glinsky, realizing that the plan of universal insurrection of the Orthodox was failed, and their performance would not be supported by other princes, appealed to the sovereign of Moscow, "so that the great prince should bring them to his service." At the same time, the Crimean ambassador of the host-Mirza arrived at Glinsky with a proposal to transfer to the service of the khan Mengli-Girei, for which he promised Kiev with the neighboring territories to the princes. Princes Glinsky rejected this proposal. The transition of Glinsky to the service of the Moscow sovereign, Vasily III, turned the insurrection from the internal affairs of Lithuania into an episode of the Russo-Lithuanian war of 1507 — 1508. Having sent the ambassador to Moscow and not waiting for the arrival of the Moscow ratification, the Glinsky detachment marched on Mazyr. The governor of Mozyr was Yakub Ivashentsev, being a cousin of Mikhail Glinsky, he surrendered the city without a fight. The younger of the brothers, Vasily Glinsky, in late March 1508, besieged Zhytomyr and Ovruch. Prince Mikhail Glinsky himself captured Kletsk in April.
The continuation of the war
Trying to make the most of the current situation, the Moscow troops launched an offensive along the entire front. March 10 march in the direction of Smolensk was made by the army under the command of Yakov Zakharich Koshkin. From Velikie Luki, a Novgorod army headed by Daniel Vasilyevich Schenya and Grigory Davydov spoke to Polotsk. Both rati united under Orsha. The city was apparently re-fortified by the Lithuanians after the war 1500-1503, in 1502, it was easily taken, this time the siege of the fortress dragged on. In May, the troops of Prince Vasily Shemyachich, Ivan Sukhoruk Odoyevsky, Ivan Vorotynsky and Andrey Saburov came to the aid of Mikhail Glinsky, who besieged Minsk and Slutsk. Despite the support of the Moscow troops, Glinsky failed to capture these cities. More successful was the campaign of Glinsky and Shemyachich on Drutsk. The garrison capitulated, and the Drutsk princes swore allegiance to Vasily Ivanovich.
The revolt of Glinsky and the siege of Orsha forced Sigismund I the Old to take decisive steps. He assembled a large army, in which, apart from the Lithuanian forces, hired infantry entered. July 13 Lithuanian army approached the location of the Russian troops. Daniil Schenya (Jacob Koshkin's army stood under Dubrovna and could not support the main forces), having connected with the regiments of Glinsky and Shemyachich, on July 22 led the troops across the Dnieper to Dubrovna. The governors sent troops to destroy the environs of Mstislavl and Krichev. The Lithuanian army, under the leadership of Hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky, who escaped from Russian captivity (he was captured in the battle of 14 on July 1500 of the year), moved to the border and captured the cities of Belaya, Toropets and Dorogobuzh. But the Lithuanians could not strengthen in these cities. Sovereign Vasily ordered D. Schene to return the cities captured by Lithuanians. In early September 1508, the Russian troops drove the Lithuanians out of Toropets and occupied the burned White and Dorogobuzh without a fight.
Peaceful agreement
Despite some success achieved by Lithuanian troops in the Smolensk sector, Sigismund decided to start peace negotiations. There was no help from the Crimean horde, the Glinsky held a number of fortresses, there were no decisive successes on the front and the forces to turn the tide in their favor. 19 September 1508, the Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow. Lithuania needed the world more, so Lithuanian representatives made a number of concessions.
8 October 1508, a peace treaty was signed. According to him, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania recognized all previous conquests of Moscow, accomplished by the state Ivan III. In turn, Moscow agreed that the lands of the Glinsky remained within Lithuania, and they had to move to Moscow Russia with their people and property. At the end of 1508, Prince Mikhail Glinsky moved to Moscow, where he received Maloyaroslavets and Borovsk as his feeding ground, Ivan was granted Medyn to Ivan.
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