Answering this question, it is necessary to clarify the historical and geographical terms. Actually, from what period does the history of Russia begin. In 1280, the son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniel became the Prince of Moscow. His descendants significantly expanded the borders of the principality, and the state of Muscovy appears in European documents. Agree, this is not Russia.
In 1325, the residence of the Metropolitan was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow. The next step in strengthening the state was made by Ivan III. He began to call himself "Tsar of All Russia", adopted the state emblem. It was not Russia yet. The military confrontations between Russia and European states began in the reign of Ivan IV, later nicknamed the "Terrible."
Let us also include in our review the Soviet period, when Russia and other now independent countries were proudly called the USSR.
Which European countries did Russia fight with:
1
Poland
After numerous wars of the times of Russia, the first serious clash with Poland occurred during the Livonian War of 1557-1582. In 1569, the Polish lands merged with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Common State Commonwealth. It was the confrontation with Speech 1577-1582 that became the final stage of the war.
In addition to Poland, Russia in this war fought with Lithuania, Livonia, the Swedish and Danish kingdoms.
The confrontation between Russia and Poland continued intermittently until the partition of Poland under Catherine II. In the twentieth century, the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921 and the annexation of the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus during the military campaign of September 1939 took place. In total, until 1939, historians counted 10 wars.
2
Sweden
Zederstrom, Gustav Olaf [Public domain]
From the middle of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, Russia and Sweden fought 10 times.
A radical turning point in the Russian-Swedish military confrontation occurred under Peter I. The victory in the Northern War strengthened the position of the Russian Empire in the north, and Sweden lost its international authority.
By the way, on our site thebiggest.ru there is informative material about the TOP-12 largest empires in history.
3
Turkey
Otto Grashof (1812–1876) [Public domain]
For 241 years, Russia and Turkey fought 12 times. It turns out that on average 19 years passed between the Russian-Turkish wars.
4
Germany
Viktor Mazurovsky (* 1859; † nach 1923) [Public domain]
Our ancestors fought with this European power 3 times. Twice the troops converged in world wars.
5
France
Vernet-Battle_of_Hanau.jpg: Horace Vernetderivative work: Alexandru.demian [Public domain]
The bloody history of the wars with France began during the Napoleonic Wars. The first war of 1805-1807. Then the Russian-French troops converged in the battles of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Crimean War.
6
England
Abraham Storck: The ‘Royal Prince’’ and other Vessels at the Four Days Battle, 1–4 June 1666 [Public domain]
Naval battles during the military campaigns in Europe 1805-1807. England became an ally of France in the Crimean War.
7
Finland
Finnish troops participated in the Intervention against Soviet Russia. In 1939, the USSR declared war on Finland, which ended in 1940. In 1941, individual Finnish units attacked the USSR.
8
World War I
In World War I, the main opponents of Russia were Germany and Austria-Hungary. In addition, Turkey and Bulgaria fought against Russia.
9
The intervention of 1918-1922
American soldiers in Vladivostok (1918)
In total, 14 states of the world took part in the intervention against Soviet Russia. We note among them the European powers. The troops of the British Empire, France, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland invaded the borders of Russia and the republics.
10
The Second World War
Photo: Combat. Photographer: Max Alpert
In addition to Germany, its allies attacked the USSR: Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, Croatia.
Separate divisions of almost all European countries fought in the Wehrmacht. This is a topic for a separate article on thebiggest.ru, we will name only the main countries.
- Spain. The 250th volunteer division took part in the battles. In the USSR it was called the “Blue Division”. The Spanish squadron Salvador fought in air battles.
- Albania. 1st Albanian Division. In military sources, it was called the 21st SS Mountain Division Skanderberg.
- Norway. Norwegian ski ranger battalion subordinate to the SS command, Norwegian SS legion, 11th SS volunteer tank-grenadier division “Nordland”.
Summary
Summing up, it turns out that in Europe Russia did not fight only with Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The countries formed after the Second World War, and also formed on the eve of the revolutions of 1989-1991, did not fight against Russia.
We hope that our online magazine thebiggest.ru revealed the topic of what countries of Europe Russia fought with. We hope that this list will always remain the same.
Article author: Valery Skiba