The main directions of Russian foreign policy in the 17th century. Foreign policy of Russia in the 17th century Foreign policy in the 17th century conclusion

The 17th century in the history of Russia represents a period of very difficult trials, from which our country managed to emerge with dignity. Russia's foreign policy in the 17th century largely determined the country's activities.
Today we will consider the main features of this policy, as well as the personalities of those figures who carried out this policy.

Russian foreign policy in the 17th century: the troubled beginning of the century

The beginning of the century was marked for the Moscow state by a series of difficult trials. On the throne at that time was the talented, but not yet established Tsar Boris from the little-known Godunov family. His path to the throne was not easy, and besides, the boyar families of Rus' - direct descendants of the Rurikovichs - would not mind trying on the Monomakh hat themselves.
Russia was greatly weakened by an unsuccessful and long war with Poland and Lithuania, as well as Sweden for its western borders. In addition, at the beginning of the century there were crop failures, which led to mass famine and the flight of people to the cities.
At the same time, in Poland, Western nobles, eager to get Russian lands for themselves, found a Russian youth from an impoverished family and named him the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry, the last son of Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. The impostor secretly swore allegiance to the Pope and the Polish King, gathered a large army and marched on Moscow.
At the same time, Tsar Boris Godunov died in the capital, leaving behind a young son-heir. As a result of the invasion of the impostor's army, Tsarevich Fyodor Godunov and his mother were brutally killed, and the impostor settled in the Kremlin, but neither he himself, nor his army, nor even his wife - Polish Marina from the Mnishek family - sought to follow the centuries-old Russian customs, which led to a revolt of Muscovites and the overthrow of False Dmitry.
From that moment the Time of Troubles began, which ended only in 1613 with the election of a young descendant of the Rurikovichs, Mikhail Romanov, to the Russian throne.
It can be said that during this period, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century was generally defeatist in nature. Our country lost control over all its western regions, Smolensk was captured and brutally plundered, whose defenders held off the pressure of the enemy army for months. Russia lost the richest Novgorod lands. In addition, as a result of the betrayal of the boyars, the Polish prince Vladislav was declared Russian tsar (the prince only renounced his claims to the Russian throne in 1634, before which he constantly threatened Rus' with war, not wanting to recognize the Romanovs as kings).

Russian foreign policy in the 17th century: an attempt at revenge

After our country recovered from the troubled times, representatives of the Russian nobility began to think about the issue of returning the lost lands. Attempts to recapture Smolensk were made several times under Mikhail Romanov, but they ended in defeat. With the accession of young Alexei Mikhailovich to the throne, these issues again appeared on the agenda. As a result, in 1667, a new Russian-Polish war began, the purpose of which was not only the return of lands, but also the annexation of part of the Ukrainian and Belarusian possessions to Russia, the indigenous population of which suffered under the cruel yoke of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - the united Polish-Lithuanian state.
This war, which cost our country the lives of thousands and thousands of its subjects, ended successfully for Russia. The Russians recaptured Smolensk, and were also able to annex Left Bank Ukraine; later they bought the right to eternal possession of Kiev.
However, it was not possible to obtain access to the Baltic Sea to expand ties with Europe. To this end, even under Alexei Mikhailovich, a bloody war with Sweden began, which, however, ended in the defeat of the Russian army.

Russian foreign policy in the 17th century: an attempt to solve the Crimean Tatar problem

Unfriendly peoples surrounded our country not only from the west. From the Crimean side, the local Tatar tribes, being tributaries of the Turkish Sultan, nevertheless constantly raided Russian lands, taking the best people captive and taking property. This led to the fact that the territories near the Crimean peninsula were practically uninhabited, and were called the “Wild Field”. Russian sovereigns, in order to pay off the devastating raids of the Tatars, paid tribute to the Crimean Khan, which humiliated the dignity of our ancestors.
Throughout the century, the Russian tsars tried to resolve the pressing Crimean issue, making attempts to drive the Tatars out of this peninsula. However, these attempts never ended in anything. The victory over Crimea occurred only a century later under Catherine, nicknamed the Great.

Russian foreign policy: in the 17th century, Russians conquer the eastern regions of Eurasia

Russian foreign policy in the 17th century determined the expansion of our country not only to the west, but also to the east. And if it was possible to conquer the western lands with great difficulty, the conquest of Siberia was very successful due to the fact that the Russians pursued a competent policy, conquering the peoples of the eastern region not only with the sword, but also with gold, affection and the ability to resolve controversial issues. It was in the 17th century that Eastern Siberia was annexed to the territory of our country. The Russians also resolved territorial disputes with the Chinese by concluding the Treaty of Nerchinsk with them.
In general, the 17th century was a turning point in Russian history. Our country managed not only to confront the challenges it faced at the beginning of the century, but also to solve some of them. Although in the same century it became clear that Russia lags behind the countries of Western Europe in material and technical progress. It was necessary to catch up in record time, otherwise the country would not have been able to withstand the threats of new, more powerful weapons that were already appearing in European countries. All these foreign policy problems had to be solved by the young Tsar Peter, who ascended the throne at the very end of the century. However, Peter managed to cope with this most difficult task in the future. He turned his country into a powerful empire that could no longer be broken.

XVII century was very difficult for Russia in foreign policy terms. He spent almost all of his time in long wars.

The main directions of Russian foreign policy in the 17th century: 1) providing access to the Baltic and Black Seas; 2) participation in the liberation movement of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples; 3) achieving security of the southern borders from the raids of the Crimean Khan.

Russia was significantly weakened at the beginning of the century by the Polish-Swedish intervention and the socio-political crisis within the country, so it did not have the opportunity to simultaneously solve all three problems. The primary goal of Moscow in the 17th century. was the return of lands that were torn away from Russia by Polish-Swedish troops. Particularly important for Russia was the return of Smolensk, which ensured the security of the country’s western borders. A favorable situation for the fight against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the return of Smolensk developed in the 30s. At this time, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was at war with the Ottoman Empire and Crimea, and the main European powers were drawn into the Thirty Years' War.

In 1632, after the death of Sigismund III, kinglessness began in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Russia took advantage of the situation and started a war with Poland for the liberation of Smolensk. But at this stage it was not possible to return Smolensk. The Russian campaign proceeded extremely slowly, as the government feared an attack by the Crimean Khan on the southern districts. The siege of the city dragged on, which allowed the Poles to prepare a response. The attack of the Crimean Tatars on the Ryazan and Belevsky districts in 1633 demoralized the government troops, which consisted mostly of poorly trained serfs and peasants mobilized into the army.

Ukrainian and Belarusian lands were under the authority of the Polish state. The Cossacks who inhabited these lands were the main force of anti-Polish protests. The Cossacks, dissatisfied with the domination of the Poles, organized their center - the Zaporozhye Sich.

In 1648–1654 There was a liberation movement of the Ukrainian people under the leadership of B. Khmelnitsky. This movement has also developed in Belarus. B. Khmelnitsky pinned great hopes on help from Russia. But only in 1653 The Zemsky Sobor in Moscow decided to include Ukrainian lands into Russia and declare war on Poland.

In 1654 The Ukrainian Rada took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not accept this. From 1654 to 1657 A new stage of the Russian-Polish war was taking place. According to the new peace treaty, Left Bank Ukraine, together with Kiev, went to Russia. Right-bank Ukraine and Belarus came under Polish rule.

Russia also received Smolensk, Chernigov, and Seversk land. IN 1686 An eternal peace was concluded between Russia and Poland, which consolidated Russia's conquests.

The end of the war with Poland allowed Russia to repel the aggressive policy of the Ottoman Empire and its vassal, the Crimean Khanate.

Russo-Turkish War (1677–1681):

1) August 3, 1677 Ottoman-Crimean troops began the siege of the Chigirin fortress, located in Right Bank Ukraine;

2) in the battle of Buzhin, Russian-Ukrainian troops completely defeated the Crimean-Ottoman army, the siege of the fortress was lifted;

3) in July 1678 The Ottomans again besieged Chigirin. Russian troops desperately resisted. After the siege and capture, the fortress remained in ruins. Russian and Ukrainian troops retreated to the Dnieper;

4) campaign of 1677–1678. greatly weakened the Ottomans. On January 13, 1681, the Treaty of Bakhchisarai was concluded, which established a 20-year truce.

By the middle of the 17th century. The main objectives of Russian foreign policy are: in the west and north-west - the return of lands lost during the Time of Troubles, and in the south - achieving security from the raids of the Crimean khans (vassals of the Ottoman Empire), who took thousands of Russians and Ukrainians captive.

By the 1930s, a favorable international situation was developing (the aggravation of Polish-Turkish relations and the Thirty Years' War in Europe) for the fight against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the return of Smolensk, especially since in the spring of 1632 a period of kinglessness began in Poland. In December of the same year, Smolensk was besieged by Russian troops commanded by boyar M.B. Shein. The siege lasted eight months and ended unsuccessfully. The new Polish king Vladislav IV (an unsuccessful contender for the Russian throne) arrived in time and, in turn, blocked Shein’s army. In June 1634, the Polyanovsky Peace Treaty was concluded.

All the cities captured at the beginning of hostilities were returned to the Poles, and Smolensk remained with them. Vladislav finally abandoned his claims to the Moscow throne. In general, the results of the Smolensk War were considered unsuccessful, and the culprits - Shein and Izmailov - were executed.

New military clashes between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia began in 1654. At first, the war was successful for Russia: Smolensk and 33 other cities in Eastern Belarus (Polotsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, etc.) were taken in the first campaign. At the same time, Poland was invaded the Swedes occupied its large territory. Then in October 1656, Russia concluded a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in May of the same year began a war with Sweden in the Baltic states. Having captured a number of fortresses, the Russians approached Riga, but the siege was unsuccessful. It also went on in the lands of the Neva, where, in particular, the Swedish city of Nyenschanz, which was of great strategic and commercial importance, was taken, built by the Swedes near the mouth of the Neva at the confluence of the Okhta River. Meanwhile, Poland resumed hostilities. Therefore, first a truce was concluded with Sweden. then in 1661 - the Treaty of Kardis (in the town of Kardisa near Tartu), according to which the entire Baltic coast remained with Sweden.

The war with Poland, during which the warring parties had varying success, was long and ended with the signing of the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667 for 13.5 years, according to which Smolensk and all lands east of the Dnieper were returned to Russia, and then the conclusion in 1686. “Eternal Peace”, which assigned Kyiv to Russia forever.

The end of the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth allowed Russia to actively resist the aggressive intentions of the Ottoman Empire and its subject, the Crimean Khan. Back in 1637, the Don Cossacks captured the Turkish fortress of Azov, but, not supported by Moscow troops, were forced to leave it in 1642, B 1677-1681. The Russian-Ottoman-Crimean war was fought. In August 1677 and July 1678 The Ottomans are attempting to take the fortress on the Right Bank of Ukraine - Chigirin. The second time they succeeded, the Russians left Chigirin. In January 1681, the Bakhchisarai Truce was signed for 20 years. The Ottomans recognized Russia's right to Kyiv, and the lands between the Dnieper and Bug were declared neutral.

Having concluded the “Eternal Peace” with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1686), Russia simultaneously accepted obligations in alliance with Poland, Austria and Venice to oppose Crimea and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), which, however, was important for Russia itself, since it provided access to Black Sea. The consequence of this were two Crimean campaigns by V. Golitsyn. During the first (in 1687), the Tatars set fire to the steppe, and in conditions of lack of water, food and fodder, the Russian army was forced to return. The second campaign allowed the 100,000-strong Russian army to reach Perekop, but the troops, exhausted by the heat and continuous skirmishes with the Tatars, did not dare to enter the Crimea. Foreign policy tasks, therefore, remained the same - in the future there was a struggle for access to the seas.

After the Time of Troubles, Russia had to abandon an active foreign policy for a long time. However, as the economy was restored and the situation within the country stabilized, the tsarist government began to solve pressing foreign policy problems. The first priority was the return of Smolensk, the most important fortress on the western border, captured by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Time of Troubles. In 1632 - 1634 Russia is dealing with it so-called. Smolensk war. The Russian army, however, turned out to be weak and poorly organized. The siege of Smolensk did not produce results. The Treaty of Polyanovo in 1634 left Smolensk and all the western territories of Russia captured during the Time of Troubles for the Poles.

At the end of the 1640s. A third force intervened in the confrontation between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: a powerful uprising broke out in Ukraine and Belarus. It was caused by the difficult situation in which the local population found itself. If Ukrainian and Belarusian feudal lords in the 16th - 17th centuries. While the majority accepted the Catholic faith and became Polish, the peasants and townspeople continued to remain faithful to Orthodoxy, their native language, and national customs. In addition to social inequality, they also had to suffer from religious and national oppression, which was extremely strong in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Many tried to flee to the eastern outskirts of the state, to the Dnieper Cossacks. These Cossacks, who retained self-government, carried out border service, protecting the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from attacks by the Crimean Tatars. However, the Polish government strictly controlled the number of Cossacks, including them in special lists - registers. It considered everyone not included in the register as runaways, trying to return them to their owners. Conflicts constantly broke out between the government and the Cossacks. In 1648 they developed into an uprising led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

The uprising began with the victories of the Cossacks over the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1648 at the Yellow Waters and at Korsun. After this, the Cossack uprising, supported by the masses, grew into a war of liberation. In 1649, near Zborov, Khmelnytsky’s army defeated the Poles. After this, the Zboriv Treaty was concluded, which significantly expanded the lists of registered Cossacks (from 8 thousand to 40 thousand). The agreement was of a compromise nature and could not reconcile the warring parties. In the same year, the liberation war also engulfed Belarus in addition to Ukraine. In 1651, in the battle of Verestechko, the Ukrainian army was defeated due to the betrayal of the Crimean Khan, an ally of Khmelnytsky. The new Belotserkovsky Treaty, which limited the number of registered Cossacks to 20 thousand, satisfied the rebels even less. Khmelnitsky, who well understood the impossibility of coping with the Poles on his own, repeatedly turned to Russia for support. However, the tsarist government considered the country not ready for war and was slow to take decisive action. Only after, first in 1653, the Zemsky Sobor in Moscow, and then in 1654, the Ukrainian Rada (People's Assembly) in Pereyaslavl spoke out in favor of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia, did another Russian-Polish war begin.

The first actions of the Russian troops were successful: in 1654 they returned Smolensk and captured a significant part of Belarus. However, without bringing this war to an end, in 1656 Russia started a new one with Sweden, trying to break through to the Baltic Sea. The protracted battle on two fronts went on with varying degrees of success. In the end, Russia achieved much less than it expected. According to the Treaty of Kardis with Sweden (1661), Russia returned all the Baltic territories it had captured during the war. It was not possible to achieve complete success in the war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: according to the Truce of Andrusovo, Russia returned Smolensk, and received Left Bank Ukraine - all the lands east of the Dnieper - and Kyiv on the western Dnieper bank. Right-Bank Ukraine remained under the authority of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

After these wars, Russia’s relations with the Ottoman Empire, which by that time had captured the Northern Black Sea region and was trying to extend its power to the whole of Ukraine, sharply worsened. In 1677, the united Ottoman-Crimean army besieged Chigirin, a Russian fortress in Ukraine. In 1678 it was captured, but the siege of Chigirin weakened the Ottomans and they no longer had enough strength for other military actions. In 1681, an agreement was signed in Bakhchisarai, according to which the Ottomans recognized Russia’s right to its Ukrainian territories. In 1686, Russia concluded an “eternal peace” with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - recent enemies became allies in the fight against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

In the history of our country, the 17th century is a very significant milestone, since at that time many events took place that influenced the entire subsequent development of the state. Foreign policy was especially important since at that time it was very difficult to fight off numerous enemies, while at the same time maintaining strength for domestic work.

What determined the political mood?

In general, the needs of a cultural, economic and military nature determined the entire subsequent development of our country in those centuries. Accordingly, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century was completely dependent on the tasks that faced statesmen in those difficult times.

Main goals

Firstly, it was urgent to return all the lands that were lost as a result of the Troubles. Secondly, the country’s rulers were faced with the task of annexing back all those territories that were once part of Kievan Rus. Of course, they were largely guided not only by the ideas of reuniting once divided peoples, but also by the desire to increase the share of arable land and the number of taxpayers. Simply put, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century was aimed at restoring the country's integrity.

The Troubles had an extremely difficult impact on the country: the treasury was empty, many peasants became so impoverished that it was simply impossible to collect taxes from them. Obtaining new lands that were not plundered by the Poles would not only restore Russia's political prestige, but also replenish its treasury. In general, this was the main foreign policy of Russia in the 17th century. The table (the 10th grade of the school should know it perfectly), given later in the article, reflects its most global goals.

Access to the sea

For their implementation, it was extremely important to have access to the Black and Baltic Seas. Firstly, the presence of these routes would make it possible to easily strengthen economic ties with Europe, establishing supplies of not only rare goods, but also technologies, literature and other things that could help eliminate the country’s lag in the industrial sphere.

Finally, it was time to decide something with the Crimean Khan: it was undignified for a large country at that time to suffer from the raids of some “petty” allies of the Turkish Sultan. However, we should not forget about the old army saying about papers and ravines... There were a lot of difficulties along the way.

Advancement to the East

We should also not forget that Russia’s foreign policy in the 17th century largely pursued the goals of expanding the country to the East with the aim of further development and exploitation of those lands.

In particular, a huge amount of sable furs were required for export, which were in incredible demand around the world. The only problem was that in the European part of the country these valuable animals were exterminated a long time ago. Finally, there was an urgent need to reach the Pacific Ocean and establish a natural border along it. And further. There were enough “violent heads” in the country that it was a pity to chop them down. It was decided to send the most active but restless people to Siberia.

This solved two problems at once: the center of the state got rid of “undesirable elements”, and the border was under reliable protection. This is what Russian foreign policy was like in the 17th century. The table will show you the main tasks that had to be solved then.

Russian foreign policy in the 17th century was complex. The table clearly demonstrates that not a single decade has gone by without wars, but success has not always accompanied our state.

What prevented you from solving the most important problems?

The main one was not even the activities of the “eternal friends” in the person of Great Britain and France, but their own technological backwardness. During the next Thirty Years' War, Europe managed to completely rethink the theory of weapons and the organization of troops on the battlefield, as well as the tactics of their use. Thus, the main striking force again became the infantry, which had been in leading roles since the end of the Roman Empire. The means of strengthening it was the intensively developing regimental artillery at that time.

Backwardness in military affairs

And this is where Russian foreign policy stalled in the 17th century. The table (7th grade should know its main provisions) is not able to show this, but the army was extremely weak. The fact is that in our country the backbone of the armed forces has so far been the noble cavalry. She could fight the remnants of the once powerful Horde with success, but if she met the army of the same France, she would certainly have suffered serious losses.

Thus, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century (to summarize) was aimed mainly at creating a normal military, trade, administrative and diplomatic apparatus.

About weapons problems

The huge country was heavily dependent on arms imports. It was planned to eliminate the backwardness in tactics and weapons by intensively importing weapons from European manufactories, as well as by recruiting officers. All this resulted not only in dependence on the leading powers of that period, but also cost the country quite a lot.

Thus, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century (the main directions of which we have described) was based on paradoxes: on the one hand, no one doubted the need for war with the Europeans. On the other hand, it was from them that expensive weapons and ammunition were purchased, which increased the military and economic power of the powers of the Old World, but greatly weakened Russia, already drained of blood by the Time of Troubles.

So, on the eve of the Russian-Polish War mentioned in the table, a lot of gold had to be spent. At least 40 thousand muskets and 20 thousand pounds of selected gunpowder were purchased from Holland and Sweden. This amount was at least 2/3 of the total number of infantry weapons. At the same time, tension continues to grow on the part of Sweden, which not only blocks access to the Baltic, but also continues to lay claim to a considerable part of Russian lands.

Attitude to the country in the international arena

The fact that in the West Russia was perceived only as an extremely backward, “barbarian” country, whose territory was subject to mandatory expansion, and whose population was planned to be partially assimilated, had a very bad effect. Otherwise, everyone was destined for the sad fate of the Indians of North America.

Thus, a strong Russian foreign policy in the 17th century was more important than ever. Its main tasks were aimed at “cutting through a window,” which Peter subsequently did. Economic and military backwardness was largely due to banal territorial isolation, since a powerful Turkish-Polish-Swedish barrier stood in the way of establishing normal relations.

Let’s not forget about the constant machinations of English merchants, who were not at all happy about getting a powerful competitor in trade matters. All these contradictions could be resolved only by creating a powerful army and breaking through the trade and economic blockade.

Here is the main foreign policy of Russia in the 17th century. In short, the most important tasks lay in the West, from where the military threat was increasingly felt.

Wars in the Western direction

All this led to the fact that in 1632, immediately after his death, a war began to revise the Deulin agreements. Our country was the instigator. Unfortunately, the forces were clearly unequal. In general, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century (a brief summary of which we have already discussed) largely failed due to the extreme imperfection of the administrative, military and

Let us give the most obvious and annoying example of this. Due to extremely poor diplomacy, Polish King Władysław managed to establish contact with the Crimean Tatars. The slow Russian army, which was led by M. Shein, consisted of service people. When they learned that the Tatars had begun regular forays into the interior of the country, they simply left the army, going to defend their own estates. All this ended with the signing of the Polyanovsky Peace Treaty.

It was necessary to return to Poland all the lands conquered at the beginning of the war, but King Vladislav completely renounces any claims to Russian lands and the throne. The governors M. Shein and A. Izmailov were declared guilty of the defeat, and their heads were subsequently cut off. Thus, Russian foreign policy in the 17th century did not develop in a particularly favorable manner for us.

Territory of present-day Ukraine

At the same time, it broke out in what is now Ukraine. In 1648, another uprising broke out in those parts, which was caused by unbearable conditions for the Orthodox population who lived on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The culprits were the Zaporozhye Cossacks. In general, they led quite a good life: protecting the borders of Poland from the raids of the same Crimean Tatars, they received a decent reward (not counting military booty). But the Poles were very unhappy with the fact that the Cossacks accepted any runaway slave into their ranks and never gave him back. A methodical “tightening of the screws” began, cutting down the Cossack freemen. The uprising that immediately broke out was led by Bogdan Khmelnytsky.

Successes and failures of the rebels

Already in December 1648, his troops occupied Kyiv. In August of the following year, settlement agreements were signed. They provided for an increase in the number of “official” Cossacks, to whom the authorities had no complaints, but that was where the list of achievements ended.

Khmelnitsky understood that without outside help he would not be able to correct the injustice. The only candidate for allied relations was Russia, but its authorities were no longer too eager to fight, since time was needed to completely reform the army. Meanwhile, the Poles did not tolerate a shameful peace; Already in 1653, the rebels were under threat of complete extermination.

Russia could not allow this. In December 1653, an agreement was concluded on the reunification of Ukrainian lands with Russia. Of course, immediately after this the country was drawn into a new war, but its results were much better than the previous ones.

This is what characterized Russian foreign policy in the 17th century. You will find the main directions, tasks, and results in this article.