Treaty of Stolbovo

After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Sweden and Russia met at the now-derelict village of Stolbovo, south of Lake Ladoga, now in Volkhovsky District. The meeting took place on . From the outset, Sweden had gone into the negotiations with very high ambitions and hopes of fulfilling the old dream of making all Russian trade pass through Swedish territory. As a consequence of that ambition, the Swedes originally demanded far-reaching territorial gains into western Russia, including the important northern port of Arkhangelsk. The Kingdom of England was officially credited with brokering the peace through its mediator, John Mericke (c.1559 – 1638/9), but the Dutch efforts were also very important. After the war, the leader of the Dutch delegation, Reinoud van Brederode (1567–1633), was granted the title of baron and given the barony of Wesenberg (Rakvere) in Estonia by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. ==Terms==

In the resulting peace treaty, the Russian tsar and Swedish king agreed to the following terms: • Novgorod and other Swedish territorial gains during the war would be returned to Russia. • Sweden had the right to keep all spoils of war collected before 20 November 1616. • The city of Gdov was to remain in Swedish hands until the peace had been confirmed and the borders fully established. • Sweden recognised Michael Romanov as the rightful Russian tsar and ended further Swedish claims in the Russian throne. • Russia was allowed free trade at normal trade tariffs, which ensured that Sweden would not completely cripple Russia. • Russia was allowed to establish merchant houses in Stockholm, Reval (Tallinn) and Viborg, and Sweden was allowed to establish merchant houses in Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow. ==See also==