The Withdrawal of Russian Troops from the Territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1706 and Istanbul’s Position during the Great Northern War

Abstract

The article describes the military-political situation during the Great Northern War, in the first half of 1706, and the reaction of the top leadership of the Ottoman Empire to it. At that time, the main forces of the Russian army were blocked by the Swedes in the Grodno area, which could have had critical consequences both for this army and for the Russian state as a whole. The troops of the tsar’s ally, Augustus II the Strong, were defeated. The Russian army was forced to retreat. Ukrainian troops, which were assisting the Russians, also suffered significant defeats. The tsarist government was preparing Kyiv for defense, where the Pechersk Fortress was being built. Information from letters from Patriarch Dositheus II of Jerusalem to the Russian ambassador Pyotr Tolstoy and Metropolitan Chrysanthus of Caesarea regarding the reaction of the top brass of the Ottoman Empire to the news of the Russian retreat from the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is being introduced into scientific circulation: about the joy of the Turks over the return of the Ukrainian lands on the Right Bank by Peter I to the Poles, in particular because they were afraid that the tsar would seize Kamianets-Podilskyi; about the withdrawal of Moscow troops from Polish territories to Smolensk and the Cossacks to the Motherland; about Charles XII’s intention to move with troops to Kamianets-Podilskyi or to Kyiv. The reactions of the Turkish authorities are shown against the backdrop of the active measures of the French ambassador Charles de Ferriol, the leaders of the Crimean Khanate, and the Hungarian representatives of Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi, who tried to direct the Ottoman Empire to war with the Russian state. The erroneous information in the letters of Dositheus II regarding the abandonment of Right-Bank Ukraine by Russian troops is also shown — these territories remained under the control of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. The further development of events depended largely on the decision of the Swedish king. Possible options were considered for the movement of his military forces to Kyiv or Kamianets-Podilskyi. Despite this, families of influential representatives of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth found refuge from the war in the city in Podillia. However, none of the above-mentioned directions of Charles XII’s campaign was implemented.