The siege of Pskov, known as the Pskov Defense in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(), took place between August 1581 and February 1582, when the army of the

Polish king Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

laid an unsuccessful

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

and successful blockade of the city of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

during the final stage of the Livonian War of 1558–1583. The first detachments of the Polish–Lithuanian army, which in the previous two years captured

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

(1579) and

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

(1580), appeared at the walls of

on August 18, 1581. This action completely cut off Russian forces from the territory of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. The main invading force (31,000 men, Polish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Bohemian, Wallachian, and German soldiers) laid siege to the city on August 24-26.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Vasili Skopin-Shuisky was nominally in charge of the defense of Pskov, but Prince Ivan Shuisky was the one to actually implement it. The latter had up to 4,000 dvoryane,

streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...

, and

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

s and some 12,000 armed citizens of Pskov and its surroundings at his disposal. After a two-day shelling of Pskov, the Polish army attacked for the first time on September 8. The

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

repelled the assault, which resulted in heavy Polish losses. Attempts to blow up the fortifications with mines and a general attack on November 2 also turned out to be fruitless. In November some Polish forces attacked the Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery, but to no avail. The plan for the siege of Pskov King Stephen Báthory then ordered a passive siege, and the battle became a blockade. On December 1 the king left the siege together with most of the Lithuanian army, volunteers, and German, Hungarian, Romanian, Bohemian and Scottish mercenaries. Command of the remaining forces was given to Jan Zamojski. At the same time, during the siege in 1581, Polish cavalry raids devastated many regions of Russia, reaching

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. The regular cavalry was the best unit of the Polish forces. During the harsh winter of 1581-2 the rest of the besieging army would have mutinied but for the iron will of Chancellor Zamojski. The Chancellor held the blockade, although Russian partisans had been active in the Pskov area, attacking enemy

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

rs and

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s. The Pskovian

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

undertook frequent sallies (approximately 46), mostly in November and December 1581. There were 31 attacks by Polish troops during the five-month siege. The siege dragged on, with neither side able to end it; in the meantime diplomatic negotiations, in which the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

became involved, led to the end of hostilities. Báthory and Ivan IV finally signed the Treaty of Jam Zapolski on January 15; Russia renounced its claims to

and Polotsk and in exchange the Commonwealth returned Russian territories its armies had captured. On February 4, 1582, the last detachments of the Polish-Lithuanian army left the outskirts of Pskov. The siege of Pskov is commemorated on the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I, and the most imp ...

, with the inscription "PSKOW 24 VIII 1581-15 I 1582".

Result

The siege ended in a Russian victory, (According to other sources, only tactical) both sides were exhausted from long battles, Ivan the Terrible realized that he did not have the strength to unblock the city, and the Poles compared it to Paris, believing that they would never take it. But despite this, the Poles achieved a strategic victory. And according to other sources, the Poles won mental and strategic.

References

External links

Summary of Conflict between 1577–1582
{{Authority control

1581 in Europe 1582 in Russia

History of Pskov Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory Battles of the Livonian War

Result

See also

References

Further reading

External links