“Right from the 13th century to 21 century, Russia has witnessed some of the bloodiest battles in Human History. Let’s have a look at the battles Russia has fought from 1263 to 2023”
With the outbreak of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russian troops are involved in yet another conflict. Russia is one country that has taken part in a large number of conflicts. Starting from the old Russian kingdoms opposing nomads’ raids to the modern Soviet Union/ Russian Federation, Russia has been a major battleground in eastern Europe.
Those students who are interested in Geopolitics should check the list of Russian Wars. This will give a boost to their general knowledge. In today’s post, we are going to provide the list of all wars in which Russia has been involved.
List of Wars of Russia from 13th Century to 21st century
As you might know, Russia is ruled by a large number of kings and empires over the year. Different empires have fought their own battles. There are 100s of battles in which the country have been involved. We can divide these wars or battles into the following groups.
- Wars of Grand Duchy of Moscow From 1263 to 1547
- Wars of Tsardom of Russia From 1547 to 1721
- Wars of Russian Empire From 1721 to 1917
- Wars of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic From 1917 to 1922
- Wars of the Soviet Union From 1922 to 1991
- Wars of Russian Federation From 1991 to Present
Now, let’s take a look at these wars in these groups in detail.
List of all Russian Wars
Wars fought by Grand Duchy of Moscow (Ruled Russia from 1263 to 1547)
| List of All Wars of Grand Duchy of Moscow From 1263 to 1547 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| Lithuanian-Muscovite War 1368 to 1372 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Inconclusive |
| Muscovite-Volga Bulgars war – 1376 | Volga Bulgaria | Victory |
| Battle of Pyana river – 1376 | Golden Horde | Defeat |
| Battle of the Vozha River – 1376 | Golden Horde | Victory |
| Battle of Kulikovo – 1376 | Golden Horde | Victory |
| Siege of Moscow – 1382 | Golden Horde | Defeat |
| Ulugh Muhammad’s Campaign – 1438 to 1445 | Khanate of Kazan | Defeat |
| Qasim War – 1467–1469 | Khanate of Kazar | Victory |
| Battle of Shelon – 1471 | Novgorod Republic | Victory |
| Great stand on the Ugra river – 1480 | Golden Horde | Victory |
| Siege of Kazan – 1478 | Khanate of Kazan | Victory |
| First Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1492 to 1494 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Victory |
| Russo-Swedish War – 1495 to 1497 | Sweden | Inconclusive |
| Second Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1500 to 1503 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Victory |
| Russo-Kazan War – 1505 to 1507 | Khanate of Kazan | Inconclusive |
| Third Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1507 to 1508 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania Crimean Khanate | Inconclusive |
| Fourth Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1512 to 1522 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania Crimean Khanate Kingdom of Poland | Victory |
| Fifth Muscovite-Lithuanian War – 1534 to 1537 | Grand Duchy of Lithuania Crimean Khanate Kingdom of Poland | Indecisive |
Wars fought by Tsardom of Russia (Ruled Russia from 1547 to 1721)
| List of All Wars of Tsardom of Russia From 1547 to 1721 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| Siege of Kazan – 1552 | Khanate of Kazan | Victory |
| Tatar Rebellion – 1552 to 1556 | Tatar Rebels | Victory |
| Ivan the Terrible’s Swedish War – 1554 to 1557 | Sweden | Inconclusive |
| Russian conquest of Astrakhan – 1556 | Astrakhan Khanate | Victory |
| Livonian War – 1558 to 1583 | Livonian Confederation, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland-Lithuania | Defeat |
| Astrakhan Expedition – 1568 to 1570 | Turkey Crimean Khanate | Victory |
| Ivan the Terrible’s Crimean War – 1570 to 1572 | Crimean Khanate | Victory |
| Russian conquest of Siberia – 1580 to 1762 | Khanate of Sibir and Native Siberians | Victory |
| Boris Godunov’s Swedish War – 1590 to 1595 | Sweden | Inconclusive |
| Polish invasions of Russia – 1605 to 1618 | Poland-Lithuania | Inconclusive |
| Bolotnikov Rebellion – 1606 to 1607 | Rebels under Ivan Bolotnikov | Victory |
| Ingrian War – 1610 to 1617 | Sweden | Defeat |
| Smolensk War – 1632 to 1634 | Poland-Lithuania | Defeat |
| Alexis I’s Persian War – 1651 to 1653 | Persia | Defeat |
| Sino–Russian border conflicts – 1652 to 1689 | China, Korea | Defeat |
| First Northern War – 1654 to 1667 | Poland-Lithuania, Crimean Khanate | Victory |
| Second Northern War – 1656 to 1658 | Sweden | Inconclusive |
| First Bashkir Rebellion – 1662 to 1664 | Bashkir Rebels | Inconclusive, Political Defeat |
| Razin’s Rebellion – 1670 to 1671 | Cossacks under Stepan Razin | Victory |
| Feodor III’s Turkish War – 1676 to 1681 | Turkey, Crimean Khanate | Inconclusive |
| Great Turkish War – 1683 to 1700 | Turkey, Crimean Khanate | Victory |
| Great Northern War – 1700 to 1721 | Sweden, Hostein-Gottorp, Poland-Lithuania, Turkey, Cossack Hetmanate, Great Britain | Victory |
| Third Bashkir Rebellion – 1704 to 1711 | Bashkir Rebels | Victory |
| Bulavin Rebellion – 1707 to 1708 | Don Cossack Rebels | Victory |
| Peter the Great’s Khivan War – 1717 | Khanate of Khiva | Defeat |
| Kazakh-Russian conflicts – 1717 to 1847 | Kazakhstan Kyrgyz tribes, Khanate of Khiva | Victory |
Wars fought by Russian Empire (Ruled Russia from 1721 to 1917)
| List of All Wars of Russian Empire From 1721 to 1917 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| Persian Expedition of Peter the Great – 1722 to 1723 | Persia | Victory |
| War of the Polish Succession Rhineland – 1733 to 1738 | Poland | Indecisive |
| Russo-Austro-Turkish War – 1735 to 1739 | Turkey, Crimea | Victory |
| Fourth Bashkir Rebellion – 1735 to 1740 | Bashkir Rebels | Victory |
| War of the Austrian Succession – 1740 to 1748 | Prussia, Spain, France, Sweden, Bavaria, Saxony, Genoa | Inconclusive |
| Seven Years’ War – 1756 to 1763 | Prussia, Britain, Hanover, Portugal, Hesse-Kassel | White Peace |
| Koliivshchyna Rebellion – 1768 to 1769 | Haidamaky | Victory |
| War of the Bar Confederation – 1768 to 1772 | France | Victory |
| Catherine the Great’s First Turkish War 1768 to 1774 | Turkey, Crimea | Victory |
| Pugachev’s Rebellion – 1773 to 1775 | Rebels under Yemelyan Pugachev | Victory |
| Catherine the Great’s Second Turkish War – 1787 to 1792 | Turkey | Victory |
| Catherine the Great’s Swedish War – 1788 to 1790 | Sweden | Inconclusive |
| Catherine the Great’s Polish War – 1792 | Poland-Lithuania | Victory |
| Kościuszko Uprising – 1794 | Poland-Lithuania | Victory |
| Persian Expedition of Catherine the Great – 1796 | Persia | Withdrawal |
| War of the Second Coalition – 1799 to 1802 | France, Spain, Denmark-Norway, Polish Legions | Withdrawal |
| War of the Third Coalition – 1803 to 1806 | France | Defeat |
| Alexander I’s Persian War – 1804 to 1813 | Persia | Victory |
| War of the Fourth Coalition – 1806 to 1807 | France, Italy, Spain, Bavaria, Naples | Defeat |
| Alexander I’s Turkish War – 1806 to 1812 | Turkey | Victory |
| Anglo-Russian War – 1807 to 1812 | United Kingdom | Inconclusive |
| Finnish War – 1808 to 1809 | Sweden | Victory |
| War of the Fifth Coalition – 1809 | Austria, UK, Sicily, Sardinia | Victory |
| French invasion of Russia – 1812 | France | Victory |
| War of the Sixth Coalition – 1813 to 1814 | France | Victory |
| War of the Seventh Coalition – 1815 | France, Naples | Victory |
| Caucasian War – 1817 to 1864 | Caucasian Imamate, Circassia, Kazi-Kumukh Dagestan, Avaria, Svaneti | Victory |
| Decembrist revolt – 1825 | Decembrist rebels | Victory |
| Nicholas I’s Persian War – 1826 to 1828 | Persia | Victory |
| Battle of Navarino – 1827 | Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia | Victory |
| Nicholas I’s Turkish War – 1828 to 1829 | Turkey | Victory |
| November uprising – 1830 to 1831 | Poland | Victory |
| Second Turko-Egyptian War – 1839 to 1841 | Egypt, France, Spain | Victory |
| Russian conquest of Central Asia – 1839–1895 | Kazakhstan Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand Turkmen, Krygyz tribes, Afghanistan | Victory |
| Gurian Rebellion – 1841 | Gurian rebels | Victory |
| Shoorcha rebellion – 1842 | Tatar, Mari, and Chuvash | Victory |
| Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – 1848 to 1849 | Hungary | Victory |
| Crimean War – 1853 to 1856 | France, Turkey, Britain, Sardinia | Defeat |
| Mahtra Rebellion – 1858 | Estonian Peasants | Victory |
| Bezdna Revolt – 1861 | Peasants | Victory |
| January uprising – 1863 to 1864 | Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian insurgents | Victory |
| Polish Rebellion in Siberia – 1866 | Polish political exiles | Victory |
| Alexander II’s Turkish War – 1877 to 1878 | Turkey | Victory |
| Boxer Rebellion – 1899 to 1901 | Ottoman Empire | Victory |
| Russo-Japanese War – 1904 to 1905 | Yìhéquán, China | Victory |
| Russian Revolution of 1905 | Japan | Defeat |
| Persian Constitutional Revolution – 1905 to 1911 | Revolutionaries | Victory |
| World War I – 1914 to 1918 | Iranian constitutionalists | Victory |
| Central Asian Revolt – 1916 to 1934 | Central Powers | Defeat |
Wars fought by Russian SFSR (Ruled Russia from 1917 to 1922)
| List of All Wars of Russian SFSR 1917 to 1922 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| Russian Civil War – 1917 to 1922 | White Movement, Mountain Republic, Makhnovshchina, Left SR, Green Armies | Victory |
| Ukrainian War of Independence – 1917 to 1921 | Ukrainian People’s Republic, West Ukrainian People’s Republic, German Empire, Poland | Victory |
| Kazakhstan Campaign – 1917 to 1920 | Alash Autonomy, White Movement | Victory |
| Finnish Civil War – 1918 | White Guard, Germany | Defeat |
| Latvian War of Independence – 1918 to 1920 | Latvian Army, Estonia, Lieven, Poland, Lithuania | Defeat |
| Estonian War of Independence 1918 to 1920 | Estonia, Latvia, UK | Defeat |
| Lithuanian-Soviet War 1918 to 1919 | Republic of Lithuania, Saxon Volunteers | Defeat |
| Invasion of Azerbaijan 1920 | Azerbaijan | Victory |
| Red Army Invasion of Armenia 1920 | Armenia | Victory |
| Invasion of Georgia 1921 | Georgia | Victory |
| Soviet Intervention in Mongolia 1921 | Mongolia | Victory |
Wars fought by Soviet Union (Ruled Russia from 1922 to 1991)
| List of All Wars of Soviet Union 1922 to 1991 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| August Uprising – 1924 | Damkom | Victory |
| Tatarbunary Uprising – 1924 | Kingdom of Romania | Defeat |
| Urtatagai conflict – 1925 to 1926 | Emirate of Afghanistan | Peace Treaty |
| Sino-Soviet conflict – 1929 | China | Victory |
| Red Army intervention in Afghanistan – 1929 | Basmachi Saqqawists | Inconclusive |
| Red Army intervention in Afghanistan – 1930 | Basmachi | Victory |
| Soviet–Japanese border conflicts – 1932 to 1941 | Japan, Manchukuo | Victory |
| Spanish Civil War – 1936 to 1939 | Spanish Nationalists, Germany, Italy | Defeat |
| Islamic Rebellion in Xinjiang – 1937 | China | Victory |
| Invasion of Poland – 1939 | Poland | Victory |
| World War II – 1939 to 1945 | Axis Powers | Victory |
| Guerrilla war in the Baltic states – 1944 to 1956 | Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania | Victory |
| Guerrilla war in Ukraine – 1944 to 1953 | Ukrainian Insurgent Army | Victory |
| Korean War – 1950 to 1953 | United Nations, South Korea, US, UK, Australia, and other countries | Ceasefire |
| Vietnam War – 1955 to 1975 | South Vietnam, US, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand | Victory |
| Hungarian Revolution – 1956 | Revolutionaries | Victory |
| East German Uprising – 1953 | East German Demonstrators | Victory |
| Invasion of Czechoslovakia – 1968 | Czechoslovakia | Victory |
| Soviet–Afghan War – 1979 to 1989 | Afghan Mujahideen | Defeat |
Wars fought by Russian Federation (Ruled Russia from 1991 to present)
| List of All Wars of Russian Federation 1922 to 1991 | ||
| Wars and Dates | Opponents | Result |
| Georgian Civil war 1991 to 1993 | Zviadists | Victory |
| War in Abkhazia 1991 to 1993 | Georgia | Victory |
| Transnistria war 1992 | Moldova | Victory |
| Tajikistani Civil War 1992 to 1997 | United Tajik Opposition | Victory |
| First Chechen War 1994 to 1996 | Ichkeria, Mujahideen | Defeat |
| War of Dagestan 1999 | IIPB | Victory |
| Second Chechan war 1999 to 2009 | Ichkeria, Mujahideen, Caucasian Front | Victory |
| Russo-Georgian War 2008 | Georgia | Victory |
| Insurgency in North Caucasus | Caucasus Emirates | Victory |
| Russo Ukrainian War | Ukraine | Ongoing |
| Russian Military Intervention in the Syrian | Syrian Opposition | Ongoing |
| Central African Republic Civil War | Coalition of Patriots for change | Ongoing |
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War is not a solution to any problem. After every war, opponents have to sit at the conference table for meeting to find peaceful solutions. What do you think about Russian wars do let us know in the comment section? Your feedback and suggestions are also welcome.
