The official Russian historiography has a canonical list of the main battles. We remember the battle on the Kulikovo field and the Battle of Borodino, the battle on Kalka and the capture of Kazan. But some truly fateful battles for Russia were almost forgotten.
Battle of Dorostol (971)
In 968-971, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, as an ally of Byzantium, made a series of campaigns against the Balkans, against Bulgaria. Soon enough, Svyatoslav's appetite woke up and he decided not to give the conquered lands to the Byzantines, but to settle on the Danube himself: “I don’t like to sit in Kiev, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - because there is the middle of my land, all the benefits flow there”.
In those days, Russia was not yet a state in the modern sense - with clear boundaries and well-established institutions of power. Like the Vikings who left Scandinavia and founded states in Normandy, England, Sicily, Svyatoslav tried to establish his state in the Balkans, in close proximity to the rich southern countries.
In 970-971, the war was already between the former allies - the Rus and the Byzantines. If Svyatoslav managed to defeat the Byzantines, then the "center of gravity" of the Old Russian state, in accordance with the plans of the warlike prince, would have moved to the Danube. In this case, the history and appearance of our country would be radically different. But the Byzantines won, and Svyatoslav was killed by the Pechenegs on the way back.
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Battle of Molodi (1572)
While the main forces of the Russian army fought in Livonia, the Crimean Tatars decided to take advantage of the situation and attack the seemingly defenseless Russian kingdom. The southern borders of Russia were protected by only a few border guards, German mercenaries and the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks - only 25,000 soldiers. The invading army of the Crimean Tatars (with a significant detachment of Turkish janissaries) reached the number of 120 thousand people.
Considering last year's successful raid on Moscow, the Crimean Khan was so confident in his victory that he declared that he was "going to Moscow to reign" and divided the Russian lands among his courtiers in advance. Thus, in the event of the victory of the Krymchaks, Russia would face a new enslavement, as during the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
As a result of skillful maneuvers and stubborn battles, the Russian army put to flight and almost completely destroyed the superior enemy. The Russian kingdom, ravaged by previous Crimean raids and natural disasters, fighting on two fronts, retained its independence. The Crimean Khanate lost a significant part of the combat-ready male population, since, according to custom, almost all combat-ready men were obliged to participate in the campaigns of the khan. Large-scale campaigns to Russia stopped for a while.
Defense of Pskov (1581-1582)
Having destroyed the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, which blocked Russia's path to the Caspian Sea and Siberia, Ivan the Terrible decided to defeat the Livonian Order and gain a foothold on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
At the first stage of the Livonian War (1558-1583), Russian troops achieved significant success. In 1561, the Livonian Order ceased to exist. The successes of Russia alarmed its neighbors - Lithuania and Poland opposed it, united in the Rzeczpospolita, and then Sweden. Russia began to suffer defeat. A talented commander, the Polish king Stefan Batory brought to naught all the conquests of Ivan the Terrible in Livonia.
In 1581, Batory laid siege to Pskov, intending, if successful, to go to Novgorod and Moscow, but a desperate 5-month defense of Pskov saved Russia from serious disasters. Batory, having failed, went not to Moscow, but to peace negotiations. Russia abandoned all its conquests in Livonia in favor of the Rzecz Pospolita, but the Rzecz Pospolita also returned the Russian lands captured during the war to the tsar. If Pskov had not survived, the Livonian War could have ended much more catastrophically for Russia.
Battle of Rochensalm (1790)
The second Rochensalm battle, unfortunate for Russia, took place during the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-1790. Taking advantage of the fact that the main Russian forces were at war with Turkey, Sweden began the war, counting on a quick and easy victory.
But something went wrong. The battles took place mainly at sea, and the Russian fleet defeated the Swedes. In the second year of the war, a world advantageous for Russia loomed on the horizon, with annexations and indemnities … And then the second naval battle at Rochensalm took place.
It was the largest battle in the history of the Baltic Sea, and one of the largest in naval history: up to 500 ships were involved on both sides. The Swedish fleet, skillfully maneuvering, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Russian, which lost 64 ships - almost half of the entire Baltic fleet. Swedish losses amounted to 6 ships.
The catastrophic defeat forced Russia to end the almost already won war and agree to peace on the terms of the status quo. So all the victories were crossed out by one defeat.
Taking of Kars (1855)
The Crimean War, which promised Russia another easy victory over Turkey, with the entry of France and Great Britain into it took a different turn - the enemy began to press Russia on all main fronts: on the Danube, in the Crimea, in the Baltic. Against this background, only the Caucasian front stood out for the better.
In 1855, to ease the pressure on Sevastopol, the Transcaucasian Russian army laid siege to the powerful fortress of Kars. Even after Sevastopol was taken, Russian troops continued the siege of Kars. Subsequent events confirmed the correctness of this decision. After a six-month siege, the fortress surrendered. In addition to the importance of this victory in itself, especially after the tragic end of the Sevastopol defense, it made it possible to soften the terms of the peace treaty - it was in exchange for Kars that Sevastopol was returned to Russia.
