and Lithuania into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Duchy of Livonia, tied to Lithuania in real union since the Union of Grodno in 1566, came under Polish–Lithuanian joint sovereignty. In June 1570 a three-year truce was signed with Russia. Sigismund II, the Commonwealth's first King, died in 1572 leaving the Polish throne with no clear successor for the first time since 1382 and thus began the first free election in Polish history. Some Lithuanian nobles, in an effort to retain Lithuanian autonomy, proposed a Russian candidate. Ivan, however, demanded the return of Kiev, an Orthodox coronation, and a hereditary monarchy in parallel to Russia's, with his son, Feodor, as King. The electorate rejected these demands and instead chose Henry of Valois (Henryk Walezy), brother of King Charles IX of France. Russian war with Sweden In 1564, Sweden and Russia agreed the Treaty of Dorpat, whereby Russia recognised Sweden's right to Reval (Tallinn) and other castles, and Sweden accepted Russia's patrimony over the rest of Livonia. A seven-year truce was signed between Russia and Sweden in 1565. Eric XIV of Sweden was overthrown in 1568 after he killed several nobles in the Sture Murders (Sturemorden) of 1567, and was replaced by his half-brother John III. Both Russia and Sweden had other problems and were keen to avoid an expensive escalation of the war in Livonia. Ivan IV had requested the delivery of John's wife, the Polish-Lithuanian princess Catherine Jagellonica, to Russia, since he had competed with John to marry into the Lithuanian-Polish royal family. In July 1569 John sent a party to Russia, led by Paul Juusten, Bishop of Åbo, which arrived in Novgorod in September, following the arrival in Moscow of the ambassadors sent to Sweden in 1567 by Ivan to retrieve Catherine. Ivan refused to meet with the party himself, forcing them to negotiate instead with the Governor of Novgorod. The Tsar requested that Swedish envoys should greet the governor as 'the brother of their king', but Juusten refused to do so. The Governor then ordered an attack on the Swedish party, that their clothes and money be taken, and that they be deprived of food and drink and be paraded naked through the streets. Although the Swedes were also to be moved to Moscow, fortunately for them this occurred at the same time Ivan and his oprichniki were on their way to an assault on Novgorod. On his return