. The Livonian War was merely the issue that determined which would prevail — a contest between centralization and decentralization: Without waiting for the end of the campaigns in the South, Ivan IV, in 1558, launched another war for the possession of Livonia, a war which became his life's object, the source of his profound obsessions and, finally, the tragedy of his reign . The ruin of Livonia in the late 1500's was due to a barter of control for the six countries involved in The Livonian Wars (Lithuania, Russia, … The Livonian War (1558 – 1583), for the possession of Livonia (historic region that became Latvia and Estonia) was first between Russia and the knightly Order of Livonia, and then between Russia and Sweden and the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth. 320 relations. Maps: Andras Bereznay. The Livonian War . By Kara Broughton . The war is also sometimes called the First Northern War, reflecting the involvement of all of the main Baltic powers of the period. The Livonian War (1558–1583) was fought for control of Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia), when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Union (later Commonwealth) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. In 1558 Livonia represented the last remnants of the crusading movement, and was ruled by the Livonian Order of the Knights of the Sword, originally an offshoot of the Teutonic Knights. . Westemanns Atlas zur Weltgeschichte, Berlin, 1953.