16th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1505 | 27 October | Ivan died. He was succeeded as Grand Duke of Muscovy by his son, Vasili III. |
| 1507 | Russo-Crimean Wars: The Crimean Khanate raided the Muscovite towns of Belyov and Kozelsk. | |
| 1510 | With the approval of most of the local nobility, Vasili arrived in the Pskov Republic and declared it dissolved. | |
| 1517 | The last Grand Prince of the Ryazan Principality was captured and imprisoned in Moscow. | |
| 1533 | 3 December | Vasili died; his son Ivan IV, The Terrible, succeeded him. His wife Elena Glinskaya became regent. |
| 1538 | 4 April | Glinskaya died. She was succeeded as regent by Prince Vasily Nemoy. |
| 1547 | 16 January | An elaborate ceremony crowned Ivan the first tsar of Muscovy. |
| 1552 | 22 August | Siege of Kazan (1552): Muscovite armed forces arrived at Kazan. |
| 2 October | Siege of Kazan (1552): The Muscovite army breached the walls of Kazan. | |
| 13 October | Siege of Kazan (1552): The civilian population of Kazan was massacred, the city occupied. | |
| 1553-1554 | First book printed in Russia, the Narrow-typed Gospel Book. | |
| 1556 | Muscovy conquered and annexed the Astrakhan Khanate. | |
| 1558 | Livonian War: Ivan demanded a back-breaking tribute from the Bishopric of Dorpat. The Bishop sent diplomats to Muscovy to renegotiate the amount; Ivan expelled them and invaded and occupied the Bishopric. | |
| 1560 | 2 August | Battle of Ergeme: Ivan's army crushed the forces of the Livonian Order. |
| 1561 | 28 November | The Livonian Order agreed to the Union of Wilno, under which the Livonian Confederation was partitioned between Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark. Lithuania and Sweden sent troops to liberate their new territories from Russian possession. |
| 1565 | February | Ivan established the Oprichnina, a Muscovite territory ruled directly by the tsar. |
| 1569 | 1 July | The Union of Lublin was signed. Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; Poland began aiding Lithuania in its war against Muscovy. |
| 1572 | The Oprichnina was abolished. | |
| 1581 | 16 November | Ivan killed his oldest son. |
| 1582 | 15 January | Livonian War: The Peace of Jam Zapolski ended Polish–Lithuanian participation in the war. Muscovy gave up its claims to Livonia and the city of Polatsk. |
| 23 October | Battle of Chuvash Cape: Muscovite soldiers dispersed the armed forces of the Siberia Khanate from its capital, Qashliq. | |
| 1583 | Livonian War: The war was ended with the Treaty of Plussa. Narva and the Gulf of Finland coast went to Sweden. | |
| 1584 | 18 March | Ivan died of mercury poisoning. The throne fell to his mentally retarded son Feodor I; his son-in-law Boris Godunov took de facto charge of government. |
| 1590 | 18 January | Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595): The Treaty of Plussa expired. Muscovite troops laid siege to Narva. |
| 25 February | Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595): A Swedish governor on the disputed territory surrendered to the Muscovites. | |
| 1591 | 15 May | Dimitriy Ivanovich, Ivan the Terrible's third and youngest son, died in exile from a stab wound to the throat. |
| 1595 | 18 May | Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595): The Treaty of Tyavzino was signed. Ingria went to Muscovy. |
| 1598 | 7 January | Feodor died with no children. |
| 21 February | A zemsky sobor elected Godunov the first non-Rurikid tsar of Muscovy. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Russian History
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