Andrei Kurbsky

Knyaz Andrey Mikhailovich Kurbsky (Russian: Андрей Михайлович Курбский; 1528–1583) was an intimate friend and then a leading political opponent of the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible. His correspondence with the tsar is a unique source for the history of 16th-century Russia. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th century Prince Andrew Kurbsky dynasty Rurikovich was written in Polish in documents under the surname KrupskiCoat of arms Levart (Lew II).

Kurbsky belonged to a family of Rurikid princes, which got its name from the town of Kurba near Yaroslavl. At an early age, he gained renown for the courage displayed in the annual campaigns against Kazan. During the decisive siege of Kazan he commanded the right flank of the Russian army and was wounded. Two years later, he defeated the Udmurt rebels and became a boyar. At that time, Kurbsky became one of the closest associates and advisors to the Tsar.

During the Livonian War, Kurbsky led the Russian troops against the fortress of Dorpat (today Tartu, Estonia), and was victorious. After Ivan failed to renew his commission, Kurbsky defected to Lithuania on April 30, 1564, citing impending repressions as his reason. Later the same year he led a Polish-Lithuanian army against Russia and devastated the region of Velikie Luki. As a reward, Sigismund II August, king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, gave him the town of Kovel in Volhynia (Ukraine), where he lived peacefully, defending his Orthodox subjects from Polish encroachments. Kurbsky thus became the first Russian political emigre.

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