The Boyars were afraid of losing their lands and saw no point in taking over. They were unhappy with the increased taxes and duties. The tsar wanted to continue the war in order to gain new lands and wealth. While Russia was winning, these differences were not noticeable. But when the setbacks began, the tsar began to persecute the boyars so that they would obey. He wanted to make them obedient. The feudal lords thought only of their lands and did not want to fight for Livonia. The tsar's advisers, such as Sylvester and Alexei Adashev, said that a war with Poland and Lithuania would be difficult. Under their influence, the tsar decided to take a break from the war in the summer of 1559. This was a mistake, as the enemies had time to prepare.
When Russia successfully fought in the Livonian War, its successes alarmed its neighbors. Therefore, when the new head of the Livonian Order, Gotthard Kettler, turned to other countries for help, Poland and Sweden decided to intervene. In 1561, Kettler transferred part of the lands to Poland, and part to Sweden and Denmark. The Order ceased to exist, and Russia had to fight several strong opponents at once: Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark.
Ivan the Terrible, despite all the difficulties, did not want to accept defeat and decided to continue the war. But the war dragged on for many years. In 1563, Russian troops captured the important city of Polotsk, but were soon defeated and lost the city. In 1564, one of the tsar's closest advisers, Andrei Kurbsky, defected to the enemy. In 1566, Ivan the Terrible decided to discuss the war with the people at the Zemsky Sobor, but the majority supported the continuation of the war.