Russians move towards the coast
For many years, Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, who headed the Russian Empire, had been eagerly eyeing Inflants, a territory mainly divided between Poland, Lithuania and Sweden. For Moscow, this was the easiest way to obtain access to the Baltic coast and thus attain the status of an important player in maritime politics along with access to new trade routes and markets. However, Ivan’s efforts so far had not yielded sufficient results, and the only gain was the functioning of the so-called Narev navigation (but strongly resisted by the Polish side). Therefore, in 1577, Moscow struck again. Ivan IV the Terrible hoped to deal a decisive blow to the Polish-Lithuanian incumbent Stefan Batory. Circumstances seemed favourable to this goal – Batory had little opportunity to react, as he was embroiled in a war with Danzig, which refused to recognise his election as king. Inflants once again came under fire.
In the defense of Inflants
The Russians were making rapid progress and after only a few months of operations, 27 castles fell into their hands. All that remained for the Poles was the fortress at Riga. Batory, however, decided to be patient. He first tackled military reforms, which he introduced with great confidence and perseverance. Only when he felt that his forces were ready for war did he take the final steps. On the 26th of June 1579, Batory formally declared war on Moscow and moved against his opponent…in an unexpected way.
The element of surprise – a key factor in the war
Polish troops assembled at Svir in what is now Belarus. From there, most of the forces set off, to the surprise of the Russians, deep into their territory. Moscow had rather expected to strike at occupied Inflants. However, the General Sejm already in January 1578 agreed to act on the enemy’s territory. In this way, Batory aimed to cut off the supply to the Russian forces in Inflants, and to ultimately wipe them out. The armed actions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth proceeded in three acts:
1) the Polotsk campaign of 1579, as a result of which the Russians lost Polotsk
2) the Velikoye campaign of 1580, as a result of which Batory captured Velikoye Luki
3) the Pskov campaign of 1581
The last of these did not result in the Republic capturing Pskov, but in view of the Swedish thrust from the north, Moscow was forced to come to the negotiating table for peace talks.
A truce… But not for everyone
On the 15th of January 1582, a truce was signed at Yam-Zapolsky. On its strength, the Commonwealth regained Inflants with Parnava and Dorpat, as well as the land of Polotsk, and abstention from military action was to last for 10 years. However, it should be remembered that for many of those who served in the Polish-Lithuanian army, the battles of 1579-1581 were the beginning of a completely new stage in their lives. Those taken into Russian captivity were often sent to Siberia, which had recently been conquered by Moscow. Their task was to conquer these territories entirely for the benefit of Russia. It can be said therefore, that the beginnings of “Russian” Siberia were also the beginnings of “Polish” Sybir.