Fire of Moscow (1571)

The Fire of Moscow occurred on 24 May 1571, when the Crimean army (c. 40,000 horsemen) led by the khan of Crimea Devlet I Giray, bypassed the Serpukhov defensive fortifications on the Oka River, crossed the Ugra River into the Moscow suburbs, and rounded the flank of the 36,000–40,000 men of the Russian army.
The sentry troops of Russians were crushed by the Crimean forces. Not having forces to stop the invasion, the Russian army retreated to Moscow. The rural Russian population also fled to the capital. After defeating the Russian army, the Crimean forces besieged the town of Moscow, because in 1556 and 1558, Muscovy, violating the oath given to the Giray dynasty, attacked the lands of the Crimean Khanate — Muscovite troops invaded Crimea and burned villages and towns in Western and Eastern Crimea, with many Crimean Tatars captured or killed. In 1561, Muscovites "received a letter from the Patriarch of Constantinople" (which turned out to be false), asserting the rights of Ivan the Terrible to claim himself the Tsar. By 1563, relations between the Muscovy and the Crimean Khanate finally deteriorated.
By 23 May 1571, Tatar troops approached Moscow, setting up a camp near Kolomenskoye. At the same time, Russian voivodes entered the city. The army of Ivan Belsky stood on Bolshaya Street, and the regiment of Ivan Mstislavsky and Ivan Sheremetev on Yakimanka. The advanced regiment of Mikhail Vorotynsky and Pyotr Tatev stood on the Tagansky meadow, while the army of Vasily Tiomkin-Rostovsky was behind Neglinnaya. According to chroniclers, "Prince Ivan Dmitrievich Belskoy went against the Crimean people across the Moskva River to the meadow behind the Swamp and did business with them." During the battle, the Crimeans pushed back the Russians, Prince Belsky was wounded, and a fire rapidly spread through the city.
The Crimean Tatar forces set the suburbs on fire on 24 May and a sudden wind blew the flames into Moscow and the city went up in a conflagration. According to Heinrich von Staden, a German in the service of Ivan the Terrible (he claimed to be a member of the Oprichnina)," the city, the palace, the Oprichnina palace, and the suburbs burned down completely in six hours. It was a great disaster because no one could escape." People fled into stone churches to escape the flames, but the stone churches collapsed (either from the intensity of the fire or the pressure of the crowds.) People also jumped into the Moscow River to escape, where many drowned. The powder magazine of the Kremlin exploded and those hiding in the cellar there asphyxiated. The tsar ordered the dead found on the streets to be thrown into the river, which overflowed its banks and flooded parts of the town. Jerome Horsey wrote that it took more than a year to clear away all the bodies.
The march on Moscow, which was carried out by the Tatars, is considered to be the final major devastation inflicted upon the city. Scholars argue that the fire in 1571 was even more widespread than the great fire of Moscow in 1547. The aftermath of the raid was so catastrophic that it was said that there were no remaining poles in the city to tie a horse to. Determining the exact number of casualties and captives during the Devlet Giray campaign is challenging. Different sources provide varying estimates, ranging from 60 to 150 thousand individuals enslaved and from 10 to 120 thousand people killed in the attack on Moscow. The Crimean ambassador in Warsaw claimed that 60 thousand individuals lost their lives during the campaign, while an equal number were captured. On the other hand, Giles Fletcher believed that the death toll reached a staggering 800 thousand people. Although this figure is clearly exaggerated, it cannot be denied that Russia suffered immense losses. The extensive destruction of Moscow is further confirmed by the papal legate Antonio Possevino who reported a population of no more than 30 thousand individuals in 1580. This is in stark contrast to the 41,500 houses and at least 100 thousand inhabitants that Moscow had in 1520.
The battle of Moscow had a significant impact on the Russian military, leading to substantial losses. However, despite these setbacks, the Russian troops did not face defeat. The unfolding events during the battle caused great distress within the army, with their wagons being nearly completely destroyed by fire on the streets of Moscow. Additionally, numerous horses were lost, and the field artillery suffered damage. Despite these challenges, the number of troops recruited from local cavalry, which relied on the support of serving cities, did not experience a significant decrease, as evident from the campaign of 1572.
The fire had a significant influence on both the domestic and foreign policy decisions made by Ivan the Terrible. The inability of the Oprichniks to protect the capital highlighted the urgent necessity of disbanding the Oprichnina. Furthermore, the Oprichny Palace, which had been reduced to ashes, was not reconstructed, and a number of influential oprichniks paid the ultimate price through execution. Following the devastating incidents, the authorities in Moscow contemplated the construction of a formidable stone barrier encompassing Bely Gorod, strategically designed to render it impervious to the relentless onslaught of the Tatar cavalry. In this regard, during the early 1590s, the government of Boris Godunov, who was the brother-in-law of the Tsar, took the initiative to construct a structure known as the Belgorod Wall.
The campaign launched against Moscow had a significant impact on the foreign policy dynamics of the Russian state, resulting in a notable transformation in its international relations. Ivan the Terrible faced a multitude of challenges in addition to his difficult relationships with the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. He was also forced to make compromises and concessions when engaging in negotiations with various other states. In the year 1571, he consented to the extension of trade privileges specifically for merchants from England.