<P> To Siberia: There was a slow and steady expansion into the Perm - Kama lands to the northeast, which seems poorly documented . In 1582 the Urals were crossed and the conquest of Siberia began . See Siberian River Routes, History of Siberia . </P> <P> The Livonian War and Time of Troubles: Instead of consolidating his gains in the southeast, Ivan the Terrible turned west (Livonian War 1558--1583). After some initial successes the war degenerated into a free - for - all among all the Baltic powers . At war's end Russia returned, exhausted, to its original frontiers . The strain of this war, Ivan's erratic behavior and other factors led to the Time of Troubles (1598--1613). This confusion led to a fair number of people to flee south of the Oka, but, as usual, we have no numbers . </P> <P> Crimea: In 1556 Moscow, in alliance with Dmytro Vyshnevetsky of the Zaporozhian Cossacks attempted several raids on the Black Sea coast . This policy was abandoned after the start of the Livonian war . In 1571, while troops were away in Livonia, Crimea broke through the Oka Line and burned Moscow (Russo - Crimean War (1571)). This led to a strengthening of southern defenses which blocked the next raid (Battle of Molodi). </P> <P> South of the Abatis Line: With the end of the Livonian War in 1583 attention could be turned to the east and south . New forts were built along and east of Volga (Samara, Saratov and Tsaritsyn and Ufa). The conquest of Siberia began in 1582 . To the south, forts were built along the main Tatar raiding trail at Elets (1592: 350s, 50e)), Voronezh (1586: 450s, 100e), Belgorod (1593: 575s, 75w) and Stary Oskol (1593: 490s). These were used as refuges for peasants and livestock during Tatar raids . Sorties from these forts could sometimes deal with smaller war parties and rescue captives . In the far south, Tsarev Borisov (750s) was founded in 1599 and abandoned after 1618 . </P>

Based on our lectures who lived on the russian steppe