Habsburg empire and Muscovite state: the establishment of diplomatic relations between grand princes of Moscow and German emperors

The paper is devoted to conditions of preparation and to the meaning of two diplomatic treaties between Maximilian I, ruler of Holy Roman empire, and Muscovite grand princes Ivan III and Vasily III in the end of 15th - early 16th century. Sources for our study include both Russian and German published documents, as well as some materials from the Austrian state archive in Wien - Haus, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (HHStA). Our purpose is to analyze Emperor Frederick III’s and his son Maximilian’s intentions - the first rulers from the Habsburg family who had established diplomatic relations with Muscovite state. The reasons, which led to this move, are found out, and Ivan and Vasily’s motivation to accept Habsburgs’ friendly offers is estimated. The first visit of Nicholas Poppel, ambassador of Emperor Frederick III, to Moscow in 1488 was almost immediately followed by the second visit of Jorg von Thurn in 1490. Von Thurn arrived on behalf of Emperor’s son Maximilian, Roman King and Austrian Archduke, to sign the first Russian-Habsburg treaty with grand prince Ivan III. Maximilian had intention to use his new eastern ally against the Jagellon family members, because they tried to prevent him from claiming the throne of Hungarian kingdom. But the war against France for the Duchy of Bretagne and lack of funds forced him to give up this idea in 1491. In 1513, Maximilian I, already the Emperor, sent to Moscow his counsellor Georg Schintzenbaumer von Sonneg, who persuaded grand prince Vasily III to sign the second Russian-Habsburg treaty. The most important is that conditions of the treaty were not previously approved by Maximilian and gave profit only for Russian side. Vasily hoped to get real military assistance from Maximilian to continue the war with Polish King and Lithuanian grand prince Sigismund I. In 1514, Smolensk was took back. But the Emperor changed some articles of this treaty and asked his Muscovite partner to start peace talks with Sigismund instead of taking further military actions. However, both treaties show that Muscovite state became an important actor of the European international politics. From this time, the great powers of Western Europe started to seek constant ties with the rulers of Moscow.