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TheRusso-Crimean Wars were fought between the forces of theTsardom of Russia and theCrimean Khanate during the 16th century over the region around theVolga River.
In the 16th century, theWild Steppes in Russia were exposed to the Khanate. During the wars, the Crimean Khanate (supported by the Ottoman army) invaded central Russia, devastatedRyazan, andburned Moscow. However, the next year they were defeated in theBattle of Molodi. Despite the defeat, the raids continued. As a result, the Crimean Khanate was invaded several times, and conquered in the late 18th century. The Tatars eventually lost their influence in the regions.
The raids began shortly after the establishment of the Russian buffer state,Qasim Khanate, and the domination of Russia in theRusso-Kazan Wars of the late 15th century.
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The Crimean invasions of Russia began in 1507, after the death of Moscow's grand dukeIvan III, with theCrimean Khanate attacking the Russian towns of Belev andKozelsk.
Over the course of the 16th century, the outer border of theWild Steppes was near the city ofRyazan, outside theOka River. The main path for the invading forces to Moscow was theMuravsky Trail, running from the CrimeanIsthmus of Perekop, between the basins of theDnieper andSeversky Donets rivers, and finally up toTula. The Tatars would turn back only after extensive looting and kidnapping, the Tartars usually managed to penetrate 100–200 kilometers into Russian territory. Captives were subsequently sent to the Crimean city ofCaffa to be sold into theCrimean slave trade. As a result, the Russian population in the border regions suffered heavily.
Each spring, Russia mobilized up to several thousand soldiers for border service. The defensive lines consisted of a circuit of fortresses and cities.
To protect from invasions by theNogai Horde in the region between the Volga and Ural rivers, the Volga cities ofSamara (1586),Tsaritsyn (1589), andSaratov (1590) were founded.
The most damaging invasions occurred in 1517, 1521 (supported by theKhanate of Kazan), 1537 (supported by the Khanate of Kazan, theLithuanians, and theOttoman Empire), 1552, 1555, 1570–72 (supported by Sweden and the Ottoman Empire), 1589, 1593, 1640, 1666–67 (supported byPoland–Lithuania), 1671, and 1688.
In May 1571, the 60,000-strong Crimean[1] and Ottoman army (40,000 Tatars, 13,000 irregular Turks, and 7,000 janissaries) led by the khan ofCrimeaDevlet I Giray, and Big and SmallNogai hordes and troops ofCircassians, bypassed theSerpukhovdefensive fortifications on theOka River, crossed theUgra River, and rounded the flank of the 6,000-man Russian army. The sentry troops of Russians were crushed by the Crimeans. Not having forces to stop the invasion, the Russian army retreated to Moscow. The rural Russian population also fled to the capital.
The Crimean army devastated unprotected towns and villages around Moscow, and then set fire to suburbs of the capital.[2] Due to a strong wind, the fire quickly expanded. The townspeople, chased by a fire and refugees, rushed to the northern gate of the capital. At the gate and in the narrow streets, there was a crush, people "went in three lines went on heads one of another, and top pressed those who were under them". The army, having mixed up with refugees, lost order, and general princeBelsky died in a fire.
Within three hours, Moscow burnt completely. In one more day, the Crimean army, sated with its pillage, left on the Ryazan road to the steppes. Contemporaries counted up to 80,000 victims of the invasion in 1571,[3] with 150,000 Russian taken as captives.[3] Papal ambassadorPossevin testified of the devastation: he counted in 1580 no more than 30,000 inhabitants of Moscow, although in 1520 the Moscow population was about 100,000.[4]
After the burning of Moscow,Devlet Giray Khan, supported by theOttoman Empire, invaded Russia again in 1572. On 26 July 1572 the huge horde of the khan, equipped with cannons and reinforced byjanissaries, crossed theOka River nearSerpukhov, decimated the Russian vanguard of 200 men, and advanced towards Moscow in order to pillage it once again.[5] Little did they know, however, that the Russians had prepared for the second invasion, setting up innovative fortifications just beyond the Oka river. The Cirmean Tatars were this time repelled.[1][6] After the battle, only 20,000 Tatar horsemen returned to the Crimea, while the khan left his tent and banner on the battlefield and barely managed to escape alive.[5]
Despite the defeat of the Crimean Tatars at Molodi, the raids against Russia continued until theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774. The Russian expansion turned to theBlack Sea region and the Crimean Khanate was invaded several times in the 18th century and finallyannexed in 1783.
This list does not include raids into Poland-Lithuania (75 raids during 1474–1569[7]: 17 )