Voronin I. A.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a state that existed in the northern part of Eastern Europe in 1230-1569.
The basis of the Grand Duchy was made up of Lithuanian tribes: Samogitians and Lithuanians, who lived along the Neman River and its tributaries. The Lithuanian tribes were forced to create a state by the need to fight the advance of the German crusaders in the Baltic states. The founder of the Principality of Lithuania was Prince Mindovg in 1230. Taking advantage of the difficult situation that had developed in Rus' due to Batu’s invasion, he began to seize Western Russian lands (Grodno, Berestye, Pinsk, etc.). Mindovg’s policy was continued by princes Viten (1293-1315) and Gediminas (1316-1341). By the middle of the 14th century. the power of the Lithuanian princes extended to the lands located between the Western Dvina, Dnieper and Pripyat rivers, i.e. almost the entire territory of present-day Belarus. Under Gediminas, the city of Vilna was built, which became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
There were ancient and close ties between the Lithuanian and Russian principalities. Since the time of Gediminas, most of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted of Russians. Russian princes played a large role in the administration of the Lithuanian state. Lithuanians were not considered foreigners in Rus'. The Russians calmly left for Lithuania, the Lithuanians - for the Russian principalities. In the XIII-XV centuries. the lands of the Principality of Lithuania were part of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and were subordinate to the Metropolitan of Kyiv, whose residence since 1326 was in Moscow. There were also Catholic monasteries on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached its highest strength and power in the second half of the 14th - early 15th centuries. under princes Olgerd (1345-1377), Jagiello (1377-1392) and Vytautas (1392-1430). The territory of the principality at the beginning of the 15th century. reached 900 thousand sq. km. and extended from the Black to the Baltic Seas. In addition to the capital Vilna, important political and shopping centers there were the cities of Grodno, Kyiv, Polotsk, Pinsk, Bryansk, Berestye, etc. Most of them were previously the capitals of Russian principalities, were conquered or voluntarily joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the XIV - early XV centuries, along with Moscow and Tver, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania acted as one of the centers of the possible unification of Russian lands during the years of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
In 1385, at the Krevo Castle near Vilna, at a congress of Polish and Lithuanian representatives, a decision was made on a dynastic union between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the so-called “Krevo Union”) to fight the Teutonic Order. The Polish-Lithuanian union provided for the marriage of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello with the Polish Queen Jadwiga and the proclamation of Jagiello as king of both states under the name Vladislav II Jagiello. According to the agreement, the king had to deal with foreign policy issues and the fight against external enemies. Internal management both states remained separate: each state was entitled to have its own officials, its own army and treasury. Catholicism was declared the state religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Jagiello converted to Catholicism with the name Vladislav. Jagiello's attempt to convert Lithuania to Catholicism caused discontent among the Russian and Lithuanian populations. The dissatisfied people were led by Prince Vitovt, Jogaila's cousin. In 1392, the Polish king was forced to transfer power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into his hands. Until the death of Vytautas in 1430, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania existed as states independent from each other. This did not prevent them from acting together from time to time against a common enemy. This happened during the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410, when the united army of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania completely defeated the army of the Teutonic Order.
The Battle of Grunwald, which took place near the villages of Grunwald and Tannenberg, became decisive battle in the centuries-old struggle of the Polish, Lithuanian and Russian peoples against the aggressive policy of the Teutonic Order.
The Master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, entered into an agreement with the Hungarian King Sigmund and the Czech King Wenceslas. Their combined army numbered 85 thousand people. The total number of combined Polish-Russian-Lithuanian forces reached 100 thousand people. A significant part of the army of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas consisted of Russian soldiers. The Polish king Jagiello and Vytautas managed to attract 30 thousand Tatars and a 4 thousand Czech detachment to their side. The opponents settled down near the Polish village of Grunwald.
The Polish troops of King Jagiello stood on the left flank. They were commanded by the Krakow swordsman Zyndram from Myszkowiec. The Russian-Lithuanian army of Prince Vytautas defended the center of the position and the right flank.
The battle began with an attack by Vytautas' light cavalry against the left wing of the Order's troops. However, the Germans met the attackers with volleys of cannons, scattered them, and then launched a counterattack themselves. Vytautas' horsemen began to retreat. The knights sang the victory anthem and began to pursue them. At the same time, the Germans pushed back the Polish army stationed on the right flank. There was a threat of complete defeat of the Allied army. The Smolensk regiments stationed in the center saved the situation. They withstood the fierce onslaught of the Germans. One of the Smolensk regiments was almost completely destroyed in a brutal battle, but did not retreat a single step. The other two, having suffered heavy losses, held back the onslaught of the knights and gave the Polish army and the Lithuanian cavalry the opportunity to rebuild. “In this battle,” wrote the Polish chronicler Dlugosh, “only the Russian knights of the Smolensk Land, formed by three separate regiments, steadfastly fought the enemy and did not take part in the flight. Thus they earned immortal glory.”
The Poles launched a counteroffensive against the right flank of the Order's army. Vytautas managed to strike at the detachments of knights returning after a successful attack on his position. The situation has changed dramatically. Under enemy pressure, the order's army retreated to Grunwald. After some time, the retreat turned into a stampede. Many knights were killed or drowned in the swamps.
The victory was complete. The winners received big trophies. The Teutonic Order, which lost almost its entire army in the Battle of Grunwald, was forced in 1411 to make peace with Poland and Lithuania. The land of Dobrzyn, recently torn away from it, was returned to Poland. Lithuania received Žemaitė. The Order was forced to pay a large indemnity to the winners.
Vitovt had a great influence on the policies of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I, who was married to his daughter Sophia. With the help of his daughter, Vitovt actually controlled his weak-willed son-in-law, who treated his powerful father-in-law with trepidation. In an effort to strengthen his power, the Lithuanian prince also interfered in the affairs of the Orthodox Church. Trying to free the Russian regions that were part of Lithuania from ecclesiastical dependence on the Moscow metropolitan, Vitovt achieved the establishment of the Kyiv metropolitanate. However, Constantinople did not appoint a special independent metropolitan of Western Rus'.
In the first half. XV century The political influence of the Poles and the Catholic clergy on Lithuanian affairs increases sharply. In 1422, the union of Lithuania and Poland was confirmed in Gorodok. Polish positions were introduced in the Lithuanian lands, Sejms were established, and the Lithuanian nobility, who converted to Catholicism, were given equal rights with the Polish.
After the death of Vytautas in 1430, an internecine struggle for the grand-ducal throne began in Lithuania. In 1440 it was occupied by Casimir, the son of Jagiello, who was also the Polish king. Casimir wanted to unite Lithuania and Poland, but the Lithuanians and Russians strongly opposed this. At a number of sejms (Lublin 1447, Parczew 1451, Sierad 1452, Parczew and Petrakov 1453), an agreement was never reached. Under Kazimir's heir, Sigismund Kazimirovich (1506-1548), the rapprochement of the two states continued. In 1569, the Union of Lublin was concluded, which finally formalized the merger of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The head of the new state was the Polish king Sigismund Augustus (1548-1572). From this moment on, the independent history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania can be considered over.
The first Lithuanian princes
Mindovg (d. 1263)
Mindovg - prince, founder of the Principality of Lithuania, ruler of Lithuania in 1230-1263. Chroniclers called Mindaugas “cunning and treacherous.” The tribes of Lithuania and Samogit were prompted to unite under his rule by the increased need to combat the onslaught of German crusader knights in the Baltic states. In addition, Mindovg and the Lithuanian nobility sought to expand their possessions at the expense of the western lands of Rus'. Taking advantage of the difficult situation in Rus' during the Horde invasion, the Lithuanian princes from the 30s. XIII century began to seize the lands of Western Rus', the cities of Grodno, Berestye, Pinsk, etc. At the same time, Mindovg inflicted two defeats on Horde troops when they tried to penetrate into Lithuania. The Lithuanian prince concluded a peace treaty with the crusaders of the Livonian Order in 1249 and observed it for 11 years. He even transferred some Lithuanian lands to the Livonians. But in 1260 a popular uprising broke out against the rule of the Order. Mindovg supported him and in 1262 defeated the crusaders at Lake Durbe. In 1263, the Lithuanian prince died as a result of a conspiracy of princes hostile to him, who were supported by the crusaders. After the death of Mindaugas, the state he created disintegrated. Strife began between the Lithuanian princes, which lasted for almost 30 years.
Viten (d. 1315)
Vyten (Vitenes) - Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1293 - 1315. Its origin is legendary. There is information that Viten was the son of the Lithuanian prince Lutiver and was born in 1232. There are other versions of his origin. Some medieval chronicles call Viten a boyar who had large land holdings in the Zhmud lands, and one of the legends considers him a sea robber who was engaged in pirate fishing off the southern shores of the Baltic. Viten was married to the daughter of the Zhmud prince Vikind. This marriage allowed him to unite the Lithuanians and Samogitians under his rule.
GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA - a state in the northern part of Eastern Europe in the 13th-16th centuries.
The basis of the Grand Duchy was made up of Lithuanian tribes: Samogitians and Lithuanians, who lived along the river. Neman and its tributaries. The formation of the state was accelerated by the need to combat the advance of the German crusaders in the Baltic states. In the 1240s Lithuanian prince Mindovg, taking advantage of the difficult situation that developed in Rus' after Batu’s invasion, annexed Western Russian lands (Grodno, Berestye, Pinsk, etc.) to Lithuania. The policy of Mindaugas was continued by princes Viten (1293-1315) and Gediminas (1316-1341). K ser. 14th century the power of the Lithuanian princes extended to the lands located between the rivers. Western Dvina, Dnieper and Pripyat. Under Gediminas, the city of Vilna was rebuilt, becoming the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
There were ancient and close ties between the Lithuanian and Russian principalities. Since the time of Gediminas, the majority of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted of Russians. Russian princes played a prominent role in the administration of the Lithuanian state. People from Lithuania were not considered foreigners in Rus'. Russians freely left for Lithuania, Lithuanians - for Russian principalities. In the 13th-15th centuries. the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were part of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and were subordinate to the Metropolitan of Kyiv, whose residence since 1326 was in Moscow. There were also Catholic monasteries on the territory of the principality.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached its highest strength and power in the 2nd half. 14 - beginning 15th centuries under princes Olgerd (1345-1377), Jagiello (1377-1392) and Vytautas (1392-1430). The territory of the principality at the beginning. 15th century reached 900 thousand square meters. km and stretched from the Baltic to the Black Seas. In addition to the capital Vilna, the cities were important political and commercial centers. Grodno, Kyiv, Polotsk, Pinsk, Bryansk, Berestye, etc. At 14 - beginning. In the 15th century, along with Moscow and Tver, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was one of the centers of consolidation of Russian lands.
In 1385, at the Krevo Castle, near Vilna, at a congress of Polish and Lithuanian representatives, a decision was made on a dynastic union between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Krevo Union) to fight the Teutonic Order. The Polish-Lithuanian union provided for the marriage of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello with the Polish Queen Jadwiga. Jagiello converted to Catholicism and became king of both states under the name of Vladislav II Jagiello. According to the agreement, the king had to deal with foreign policy issues and the fight against external enemies. Internal administration remained separate: each state had its own officials, its own army and treasury. Catholicism was declared the state religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which caused discontent among the Russian and Lithuanian populations. The opposition was led by Jagiello's cousin, Prince Vytautas. In 1392, the Polish king was forced to transfer power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into his hands. Until the death of Vytautas in 1430, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania existed as states independent from each other. This did not stop them from taking joint action against a common enemy. During the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410, the united army of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the army of the Teutonic Order.
Prince Vitovt, having married his daughter Sophia to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I, had a great influence on the policy of the Moscow state. Trying to remove the Russian regions that were part of Lithuania from the power of the Moscow Metropolitan, Vitovt achieved the establishment of a separate Kyiv Metropolis. However, Constantinople did not appoint a special metropolitan of Western Rus'.
In the 1st half. 15th century The political influence of the Poles and Catholic clergy on Lithuanian affairs increased sharply. In 1422, the union of Lithuania and Poland was confirmed in Gorodok. Polish positions were introduced in the Lithuanian lands, Sejms were established, and the Lithuanian nobility, who converted to Catholicism, were given equal rights with the Polish.
After the death of Vytautas in 1430, a struggle for the grand-ducal throne began in Lithuania. In 1440 it was occupied by Casimir, the son of Jagiello, who was also the Polish king. Casimir's attempts to unite the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Poland failed. At a number of sejms (Lublin 1447, Parczew 1451, Sierad 1452, Parczew and Petrakov 1453), an agreement on concluding a union was never reached. The rapprochement of the two states continued under Casimir's heir, Sigismund I Casimirovich (1506-1548). In 1569, the Union of Lublin was concluded, which finally formalized the merger of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The head of the new state was the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572). I.V.
MINDOVG (?-1263) - prince, founder of the Principality of Lithuania, ruler of Lithuania from 1230.
Chroniclers called Mindaugas “cunning and treacherous.” The unification of the Livonian and Samogitian tribes was facilitated by the need to combat the onslaught of German crusader knights in the Baltic states. Taking advantage of the difficult situation in Rus' during the Horde invasion, Mindovg from the 30s. 13th century began to unite the lands of Western Rus' under his rule, including the cities. Grodno, Berestye, Pinsk, etc. At the same time, Mindovg inflicted two defeats on Horde troops when they tried to penetrate into Lithuania. In 1249, he concluded a peace treaty with the Livonian Order, transferring some Lithuanian lands to the Livonians. In 1260, an uprising broke out in the Lithuanian lands against the rule of the Order. Mindovg supported him in 1262 near the lake. Durbe defeated the crusaders. Mindovg died as a result of a conspiracy. I.V.
VITEN ( lit. Vytenes) (?-1315) - Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1293-1315.
Semi-legendary information has been preserved about the origin of the prince. According to one version, Viten was the son of the Lithuanian prince Lutiver and was born in 1232. Some medieval chronicles call Viten a boyar who had large land holdings in the Zhmud lands, and one of the legends considers him a sea robber who was engaged in pirate fishing off the southern shores of the Baltic.
Viten was married to the daughter of the Zhmud prince Vikind. This marriage allowed him to unite the Lithuanians and Zhmud (Zhemaitians) under his rule. After a long internecine war that began in Lithuania after the death of Mindaugas, Viten became the Grand Duke. He managed to strengthen the Principality of Lithuania and resumed the fight against the Teutonic Order. Armed clashes with German knights during the reign of Witen occurred constantly. In 1298, the Lithuanian prince invaded the Order's possessions. The Lithuanians returning with a large load were overtaken by a detachment of knights. In the battle, Viten's army lost 800 people and all prisoners. Soon the Lithuanians captured Dinaburg (Dvinsk), and in 1307 - Polotsk. In Polotsk, Lithuanian soldiers killed all the Germans and destroyed the Catholic churches they had built. Hostilities continued throughout the following years. In 1311, the Lithuanians were defeated in a battle with knights at the Rustenberg fortress. In 1314, the Germans tried to take Grodno, but retreated with heavy losses. Soon after the campaign against the German fortress of Christmemel (on the border with Lithuania), Viten died. According to legend, he was killed by his groom Gediminas, who then took over the throne of Viten. According to other sources, Viten died own death and was buried according to Lithuanian custom: in full armor, princely attire and with a pair of hunting falcons. I.V.
This article provides a list and characteristics of the reign of the most famous for their achievements of the Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Middle Ages.
Prince's name: Mindovg
Dates of reign: 1253 - 1263
Policy and activities: fought with the German Livonian Order. Captured by the Russians and Belarusian cities Novogrudok, Polotsk, Grodno. Being a pagan, he converted to Christianity so that the Pope would recognize Lithuania as an independent state. Later he abandoned Christianity as soon as he no longer needed the help of the Pope.
The first king of Lithuania in history. In 1261 he entered into an alliance with Veliky Novgorod for the war with the German knights of the order.
Prince's name: Voyshelk
Dates of reign: 1264-1267
Policy and activities: was also a prince in Russian Novogrudok. He voluntarily renounced the throne and went to an Orthodox monastery, going on wanderings around distant countries as a pilgrim.
Main events of the reign and achievements: In 1254 he made peace between Lithuania and the Galician-Volhynian princes.
Prince's name: Gediminas
Dates of reign: 1316 - 1341
Policy and activities: Founded the princely dynasty of Gediminovich. He was an enemy of the Prince of Moscow and the South Russian princes and an ally of Prince Tver. He had great influence in Novgorod and Pskov.
Main events of the reign and achievements: Inflicted a number of major defeats on the German knights, with whom he fought all his life. He annexed a number of Western Russian, or rather Belarusian, lands. He re-annexed Polotsk and Grodno to Lithuania, as well as Minsk (1326), Pinsk and Turov (1336), Vitebsk (somewhat earlier, in 1320). In 1325 he entered into an alliance with Poland, marrying his daughter to the son of the Polish king. In 1323 he founded the city of Vilnius, making it his capital. In 1324 he captured Kyiv.
Prince's name: Olgerd
Dates of reign: 1345- 1377
Policy and activities: fought with the Tatars (defeated them at the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362), Moscow (war of 1368-72). He did not actively fight the Teutons and did not gather troops against them. but he did not approve of the crusaders and twice personally fought against the crusaders together with the squad of his brother Keistut. Was an ally of Tver.
Apparently, he was a pagan who formally converted to Christianity for the purpose of a diplomatic marriage with a Belarusian princess. Christianity, as stated by a number of historical sources, was disliked.
Main events of the reign and achievements: significantly increased the territory of the Principality of Lithuania. He annexed Kyiv, Chernigov, Bryansk, Volyn, part of the Black Sea coast, and made the Smolensk Principality the patrimony of Lithuania. He failed to capture Moscow lands, since Prince Dmitry Donskoy gave him a worthy rebuff. I had to make peace and marry my daughter into the Moscow princely family.
Prince's name: Jagiello
Dates of reign: 1377-1381 (Grand Duke of Lithuania), 1382-1392, in 1386-34, King of Poland and the new state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth)
Policy and activities: Son of Olgerd. He became the founder of the European dynasty of rulers of the Jagiellons. His Christian mother baptized Jogaila into Orthodoxy under the name Yakov, but he never used his baptized name. He fought against his brother and uncle in the civil war in Lithuania (1381-84). He was an implacable enemy of the Crusaders.
Main events of the reign and achievements: He united Lithuania and Poland, creating a new powerful state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This happened on August 14, 1384 during the signing of the Krevo Union. After this, Jagiello called on all of Lithuania to accept Catholicism to strengthen the new union, he himself accepted the new faith and married the 12-year-old Queen of Poland Jadwiga. Crowned as King Vladislav.
In 1384, he also concluded a peace treaty with Moscow (before that he was hostile to Dmitry Donskoy and almost acted on the side of Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo). In 1409-11 he fought against the crusaders in the Great War. Along with other Lithuanians and Poles, he defeated the Teutonic Order of Crusader Knights in the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410. Thus, he stopped the advance of the crusaders to the east once and for all.
Prince's name: Vytautas (Alexander) the Great
Dates of reign: 1392-1430
Policy and activities: He was an ally of Moscow and the Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh, an opponent of Mamai, and intervened in the affairs of the Golden Horde (participated in the battle of the khans on Vorskla in 1399). He changed religions several times for political gain.
Main events of the reign and achievements: Was an active participant Great War against the crusaders of 1409-1410. Together with the Polish king, Jagiello defeated the knights of the Teutonic Order, the German crusaders in the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410. Thus, he stopped the advance of the crusaders to the east once and for all.
He also extended his power to Podol and Tula lands. Under him, fortresses were founded on the Black Sea - the future cities of Ochakov and Odessa. He ravaged Ryazan in 1397. Under Vytautas, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania flourished.
Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan the Terrible - these creators of the Moscow state are known to us from school. Are the names of Gediminas, Jagiello or Vytautas also familiar to us? At best, we will read in textbooks that they were Lithuanian princes and once upon a time fought with Moscow, and then disappeared somewhere into obscurity... But it was they who founded the Eastern European power, which, with no less justification than Muscovy, called itself Russia.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Chronology of the main events of history (before the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth):
9th-12th centuries- development feudal relations and the formation of estates on the territory of Lithuania, the formation of the state
Beginning XIII century- increased aggression of the German crusaders
1236- Lithuanians defeat the Knights of the Sword at Siauliai
1260- victory of the Lithuanians over the Teutons at Durbe
1263- unification of the main Lithuanian lands under the rule of Mindaugas
XIV century- significant expansion of the territory of the principality due to new lands
1316-1341- reign of Gediminas
1362- Olgerd defeats the Tatars in the Battle of Blue Waters (the left tributary of the Southern Bug) and occupies Podolia and Kyiv
1345-1377- reign of Olgerd
1345-1382- reign of Keistut
1385- Grand Duke Jagiello
(1377-1392)
concludes the Union of Krevo with Poland
1387- adoption of Catholicism by Lithuania
1392- as a result of internecine struggle, Vytautas becomes the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who opposed the policies of Jagiello 1410 - united Lithuanian-Russian and Polish troops completely defeat the knights of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald
1413- Union of Gorodel, according to which the rights of the Polish gentry extended to Lithuanian Catholic nobles
1447- the first Privilege - a set of laws. Together with Sudebnik
1468 it became the first experience of codification of law in the principality
1492- “Privilege Grand Duke Alexander.” First Charter of Noble Liberties
Late 15th century- formation of the general gentry Sejm. Growth of rights and privileges of lords
1529, 1566, 1588 - the publication of three editions of the Lithuanian statute - “charter and praise”, zemstvo and regional “privileges”, which secured the rights of the gentry
1487-1537- wars with Russia that took place intermittently against the backdrop of the strengthening of the Principality of Moscow. Lithuania lost Smolensk, captured by Vytautas in 1404. According to the truce of 1503, Rus' regained 70 volosts and 19 cities, including Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky and other Russian lands
1558-1583- Russia’s war with the Livonian Order, as well as with Sweden, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the Baltic states and access to the Baltic Sea, in which Lithuania suffered failures
1569- signing of the Union of Lublin and the unification of Lithuania into one state with Poland - Rzeczpospolita
A century later, Gediminas and Olgerd already had a power that included Polotsk, Vitebsk, Minsk, Grodno, Brest, Turov, Volyn, Bryansk and Chernigov. In 1358, Olgerd’s ambassadors even declared to the Germans: “All of Rus' should belong to Lithuania.” To reinforce these words and ahead of the Muscovites, the Lithuanian prince opposed the Golden Horde “itself”: in 1362 he defeated the Tatars at Blue Waters and assigned ancient Kyiv to Lithuania for almost 200 years.
“Will Slavic streams merge into the Russian sea?” (Alexander Pushkin)By no coincidence, at the same time, the Moscow princes, the descendants of Ivan Kalita, began to “collect” lands little by little. Thus, by the middle of the 14th century, two centers had emerged that claimed to unite the ancient Russian “heritage”: Moscow and Vilna, founded in 1323. The conflict could not be avoided, especially since the main tactical rivals of Moscow - the princes of Tver - were in alliance with Lithuania, and the Novgorod boyars were also seeking the “arm” of the West.
Then, in 1368-1372, Olgerd, in alliance with Tver, made three campaigns against Moscow, but the forces of the rivals turned out to be approximately equal, and the matter ended in an agreement dividing the “spheres of influence.” Well, since they failed to destroy each other, they had to get closer: some of the children of the pagan Olgerd converted to Orthodoxy. It was here that Dmitry proposed to the still undecided Jagiello a dynastic union, which was not destined to take place. And not only did it not happen according to the prince’s word: it became the other way around. As you know, Dmitry could not resist Tokhtamysh, and in 1382 the Tatars allowed Moscow “to be poured out and plundered.” She again became a Horde tributary. The alliance with his failed father-in-law ceased to attract the Lithuanian sovereign, but rapprochement with Poland gave him not only a chance for a royal crown, but also real help in the fight against his main enemy - the Teutonic Order.
And Jagiello still married - but not to the Moscow princess, but to the Polish queen Jadwiga. He was baptized according to the Catholic rite. Became the Polish king under the Christian name Vladislav. Instead of an alliance with the eastern brothers, the Krevo Union of 1385 happened with the western ones. Since that time, Lithuanian history has been firmly intertwined with Polish: the descendants of Jagiello (Jagiellon) reigned in both powers for three centuries - from the 14th to the 16th. But still, these were two different states, each retaining its own political system, legal system, currency and army. As for Vladislav-Jagiello, he spent most of his reign in his new possessions. His cousin Vitovt ruled the old ones and ruled brightly. In a natural alliance with the Poles, he defeated the Germans at Grunwald (1410), annexed the Smolensk land (1404) and the Russian principalities in the upper reaches of the Oka. The powerful Lithuanian could even place his proteges on the Horde throne. A huge “ransom” was paid to him by Pskov and Novgorod, and the Moscow Prince Vasily I Dmitrievich, as if turning his father’s plans inside out, married Vitovt’s daughter and began to call his father-in-law “father”, that is, in the system of the then feudal ideas, he recognized himself as his vassal. At the peak of greatness and glory, Vytautas lacked only a royal crown, which he declared at the congress of monarchs of Central and Eastern Europe in 1429 in Lutsk in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund I, the Polish king Jagiello, the Tver and Ryazan princes, the Moldavian ruler, embassies of Denmark, Byzantium and the Pope. In the autumn of 1430, Prince Vasily II of Moscow, Metropolitan Photius, the princes of Tver, Ryazan, Odoev and Mazovia, the Moldavian ruler, the Livonian master, and the ambassadors of the Byzantine emperor gathered for the coronation in Vilna. But the Poles refused to let through the embassy, which was bringing Vytautas royal regalia from Rome (the Lithuanian “Chronicle of Bykhovets” even says that the crown was taken from the ambassadors and cut into pieces). As a result, Vytautas was forced to postpone the coronation, and in October of the same year he suddenly fell ill and died. It is possible that the Lithuanian Grand Duke was poisoned, since a few days before his death he felt great and even went hunting. Under Vitovt, the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, and its eastern border passed under Vyazma and Kaluga...
“What angered you? Excitement in Lithuania? (Alexander Pushkin)
The daredevil Vitovt had no sons - after a protracted strife, Jagiello's son Casimir ascended to power in 1440, taking the thrones of Lithuania and Poland. He and his immediate descendants worked intensively in Central Europe, and not without success: sometimes the crowns of the Czech Republic and Hungary ended up in the hands of the Jagiellons. But they completely stopped looking to the east and lost interest in Olgerd’s ambitious “all-Russian” program. As you know, nature abhors a vacuum - the task was successfully “intercepted” by the Moscow great-grandson of Vitovt - Grand Duke Ivan III: already in 1478 he laid claim to the ancient Russian lands - Polotsk and Vitebsk. The church also helped Ivan - after all, the residence of the all-Russian metropolitan was Moscow, which means that Lithuanian adherents of Orthodoxy were also spiritually governed from there. However, the Lithuanian princes more than once (in 1317, 1357, 1415) tried to install “their” metropolitan for the lands of the Grand Duchy, but in Constantinople they were not interested in dividing the influential and rich metropolis and making concessions to the Catholic king.
And now Moscow felt the strength to launch a decisive offensive. Two wars take place - 1487-1494 and 1500-1503, Lithuania loses almost a third of its territory and recognizes Ivan III as the “Sovereign of All Rus'”. Further - more: Vyazma, Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversky lands (actually, Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversky, as well as Bryansk, Starodub and Gomel) go to Moscow. In 1514 Vasily III returns Smolensk, which for 100 years became the main fortress and “gate” on the western border of Russia (then it was again taken away by Western opponents).
Only by the third war of 1512-1522 did the Lithuanians gather fresh troops from the western regions of their state, and the forces of the opponents turned out to be equal. Moreover, by that time the population of the eastern Lithuanian lands had completely cooled down to the idea of joining Moscow. Still, the gap between public views and the rights of subjects of the Moscow and Lithuanian states was already very deep.
One of the halls of the Vilnius Gediminas Tower
Not Muscovites, but Russians
In cases where Lithuania included highly developed territories, the grand dukes maintained their autonomy, guided by the principle: “We do not destroy the old, we do not introduce new things.” Thus, the loyal rulers from the Rurikovich tree (princes Drutsky, Vorotynsky, Odoevsky) retained their possessions completely for a long time. Such lands received “privilege” certificates. Their residents could, for example, demand a change of governor, and the sovereign would undertake not to take certain actions in relation to them: not to “enter” into the rights of the Orthodox Church, not to resettle local boyars, not to distribute fiefs to people from other places, not to “sue” those accepted by local courts decisions. Until the 16th century, on the Slavic lands of the Grand Duchy, legal norms were in force that went back to the “Russian Truth” - the oldest set of laws given by Yaroslav the Wise.
 Lithuanian knight. Late 14th century |
In the northeastern part of Rus', that is, in that which, in the end, was preserved on the map under this name, the process of “gathering lands” took longer and more difficult, but the degree of unification of the once independent principalities under the heavy hand of the Kremlin rulers was immeasurably higher. In the turbulent 16th century, the “free autocracy” (the term of Ivan the Terrible) strengthened in Moscow, the remnants of Novgorod and Pskov liberties, the own “destinies” of aristocratic families and semi-independent border principalities disappeared. All more or less noble subjects performed lifelong service to the sovereign, and attempts by them to defend their rights were regarded as treason. Lithuania in the XIV-XVI centuries was, rather, a federation of lands and principalities under the rule of the great princes - the descendants of Gediminas. The relationship between power and subjects was also different - this was reflected in the model of the social structure and government order of Poland. “Strangers” to the Polish nobility, the Jagiellons needed its support and were forced to grant new privileges, extending them to Lithuanian subjects. In addition, the descendants of Jagiello were active foreign policy, and for this, too, the knights who went on campaigns had to be paid.
Taking liberties with propination
But it was not only due to the goodwill of the great princes that such a significant rise in the gentry - the Polish and Lithuanian nobility - occurred. It’s also about the “world market”. Entering the phase of industrial revolutions in the 16th century, the Netherlands, England, and northern Germany required more and more raw materials and agricultural products, which were supplied by Eastern Europe and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. And with the influx of American gold and silver into Europe, the “price revolution” made the sale of grain, livestock and flax even more profitable (the purchasing power of Western clients increased sharply). Livonian knights, Polish and Lithuanian gentry began to transform their estates into farms, aimed specifically at the production of export products. The growing income from such trade formed the basis of the power of the “magnates” and the wealthy gentry.
The first were the princes - the Rurikovichs and Gediminovichs, the largest landowners of Lithuanian and Russian origin (Radziwills, Sapiehas, Ostrozhskys, Volovichi), who had the opportunity to take hundreds of their own servants to war and occupied the most prominent posts. In the 15th century, their circle expanded to include “simple” “noble boyars”, who were obliged to bear military service to the prince. The Lithuanian Statute (code of laws) of 1588 consolidated their broad rights accumulated over 150 years. The granted lands were declared the eternal private property of the owners, who could now freely enter the service of more noble lords and go abroad. It was forbidden to arrest them without a court decision (and the gentry themselves elected local zemstvo courts at their “sejmiks” meetings). The owner also had the right of “propination” - only he himself could produce beer and vodka and sell it to the peasants.
Naturally, corvée flourished in the farms, and along with it other serfdom systems. The statute recognized the right of peasants to only one possession - movable property necessary to fulfill duties to the owner. However, a “free man” who settled on the land of a feudal lord and lived in a new place for 10 years could still leave by paying off a significant sum. However, the law adopted by the national Sejm in 1573 gave the lords the right to punish their subjects at their own discretion - up to death penalty. The sovereign now generally lost the right to interfere in the relationship between patrimonial owners and their “living property,” and in Muscovite Rus', on the contrary, the state increasingly limited the judicial rights of landowners.
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The state structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was also strikingly different from Moscow. There was no central administration apparatus similar to the Great Russian system of orders - with its numerous clerks and clerks. The zemsky podskarbiy (the head of the state treasury - “skarbom”) in Lithuania kept and spent money, but did not collect taxes. Hetmans (troop commanders) led the gentry's militia when it was assembled, but the Grand Duke's standing army numbered only five thousand mercenary soldiers in the 16th century. The only permanent body was the Grand Ducal Chancellery, which conducted diplomatic correspondence and kept the archive - the “Lithuanian Metrics”.
In the year when the Genoese Christopher Columbus set off on his first voyage to the distant “Indian” shores, in the glorious 1492, the Lithuanian sovereign Alexander Kazimirovich Jagiellon finally and voluntarily embarked on the path “ parliamentary monarchy": now he coordinated his actions with the council of lords, which consisted of three dozen bishops, governors and governors of the regions. In the absence of the prince, the Rada generally completely ruled the country, controlling land grants, expenses and foreign policy.
Lithuanian cities were also very different from Great Russian ones. There were few of them, and they settled reluctantly: for greater “urbanization,” the princes had to invite foreigners - Germans and Jews, who again received special privileges. But this was not enough for foreigners. Feeling the strength of their position, they confidently sought concession after concession from the authorities: in the 14th-15th centuries, Vilno, Kovno, Brest, Polotsk, Lvov, Minsk, Kyiv, Vladimir-Volynsky and other cities received their own self-government - the so-called “Magdeburg law”. Now the townspeople elected “radtsy”-councillors, who were in charge of municipal revenues and expenses, and two mayors - a Catholic and an Orthodox one, who judged the townspeople together with the grand-ducal governor, the “voight”. And when craft workshops appeared in cities in the 15th century, their rights were enshrined in special charters.
The origins of parliamentarism: the Val Diet
But let us return to the origins of the parliamentarism of the Lithuanian state - after all, it was its main distinguishing feature. The circumstances of the emergence of the supreme legislative body of the principality - the Valny Sejm - are interesting. In 1507, he first collected for the Jagiellons an emergency tax for military needs - “serebschizna”, and since then it has been like this: every year or two the need for a subsidy was repeated, which means the gentry had to collect. Gradually, other important issues fell into the competence of the “lords’ council” (that is, the Sejm) - for example, at the Vilna Sejm in 1514 they decided, contrary to the princely opinion, to continue the war with Moscow, and in 1566 the deputies decided: not to change anything without their approval single law.
Unlike the representative bodies of other European countries, only the nobility always sat in the Sejm. Its members, the so-called “ambassadors”, were elected by povets (judicial-administrative districts) by local “sejmiks”, received “zero power” from their voters - the gentry - and defended their orders. In general, almost our Duma - but only a noble one. By the way, it is worth comparing: in Russia at that time there also existed an irregularly meeting advisory body - the Zemsky Sobor. However, it did not have rights even closely comparable to those possessed by the Lithuanian parliament (it had, in fact, only advisory!), and from the 17th century it began to be convened less and less, so that in 1653 it was held in last time. And no one “noticed” this - now no one even wanted to sit in the Council: the Moscow service people who made up it, for the most part, lived off small estates and the “sovereign’s salary”, and they were not interested in thinking about the affairs of the state. It would be more reliable for them to secure the peasants on their lands...
“Do Lithuanians speak Polish?..” (Adam Mickiewicz)
Both the Lithuanian and Moscow political elites, grouped around their “parliaments,” created, as usual, myths about their own past. In the Lithuanian chronicles there is a fantastic story about Prince Palemon, who with five hundred nobles fled from the tyranny of Nero to the shores of the Baltic and conquered the principalities of the Kyiv state (try to compare the chronological layers!). But Rus' did not lag behind: in the writings of Ivan the Terrible, the origin of the Rurikovichs was traced back to the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus. But the Moscow “Tale of the Princes of Vladimir” calls Gedimina a princely groom who married his master’s widow and illegally seized power over Western Russia.
But the differences were not only in mutual accusations of “ignorance.” A new series of Russian-Lithuanian wars at the beginning of the 16th century inspired Lithuanian sources to contrast their own, domestic, orders with the “cruel tyranny” of the Moscow princes. In neighboring Russia, in turn, after the disasters of the Time of Troubles, the Lithuanian (and Polish) people were looked at exclusively as enemies, even “demons”, in comparison with which even the German “Luthor” looks cute.
So, wars again. Lithuania generally had to fight a lot: in the second half of the 15th century, the combat power of the Teutonic Order was finally broken, but a new terrible threat grew on the southern borders of the state - Ottoman Empire and her vassal, Khan of Crimea. And, of course, the many times already mentioned confrontation with Moscow. During the famous Livonian War (1558-1583), Ivan the Terrible initially briefly captured a significant part of Lithuanian possessions, but already in 1564, Hetman Nikolai Radziwill defeated the 30,000-strong army of Peter Shuisky on the Ule River. True, the attempt to go on the offensive against Moscow’s possessions failed: the Kiev governor, Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky, and the Chernobyl headman, Philon Kmita, attacked Chernigov, but their attack was repulsed. The struggle dragged on: there were not enough troops or money.
Lithuania had to reluctantly agree to complete, real and final unification with Poland. In 1569, on June 28, in Lublin, representatives of the gentry of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania proclaimed the creation of a single Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzecz Pospolita - a literal translation of the Latin res publica - “common cause”) with a single Senate and Sejm; The monetary and tax systems were also unified. Vilno, however, retained some autonomy: its rights, treasury, hetmans and the official “Russian” language.
Here, “by the way,” the last Jagiellon, Sigismund II Augustus, died in 1572; so, logically, they decided to choose the common king of the two countries at the same Diet. For centuries, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth turned into a unique, non-hereditary monarchy.
Res publica in Moscow
As part of the gentry “republic” (XVI-XVIII centuries), Lithuania at first had nothing to complain about. On the contrary, it experienced the highest economic and cultural growth and again became great power in Eastern Europe. In times of troubles for Russia, the Polish-Lithuanian army of Sigismund III besieged Smolensk, and in July 1610 defeated the army of Vasily Shuisky, after which this unfortunate king was overthrown from the throne and tonsured a monk. The boyars found no other way out but to conclude an agreement with Sigismund in August and invite his son, Prince Vladislav, to the Moscow throne. According to the agreement, Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth concluded an eternal peace and alliance, and the prince pledged not to erect Catholic churches, “not to change the previous customs and ranks” (including serfdom, of course), and foreigners “in the governors and among the officials not to be". He did not have the right to execute, deprive of “honor” and take away property without the advice of the boyars “and all Duma people.” All new laws were to be adopted “by the Duma of the boyars and all the lands.” On behalf of the new Tsar “Vladislav Zhigimontovich”, Polish and Lithuanian companies occupied Moscow. As we know, this whole story ended with nothing for the Polish-Lithuanian contender. The whirlwind of the ongoing Russian unrest swept away his claims to the throne of Eastern Rus', and soon the successful Romanovs, with their triumph, completely marked a further and very tough opposition to the political influence of the West (while gradually succumbing more and more to its cultural influence).
What if Vladislav’s affair had “burnt out”?.. Well, some historians believe that the agreement between the two Slavic powers already at the beginning of the 17th century could have become the beginning of the pacification of Rus'. In any case, it meant a step towards the rule of law, offering an effective alternative to autocracy. However, even if the invitation of a foreign prince to the Moscow throne could actually take place, to what extent did the principles outlined in the agreement correspond to the ideas of the Russian people about a fair social order? Moscow nobles and men seemed to prefer a formidable sovereign, standing above all “ranks” - a guarantee against the arbitrariness of “strong people”. In addition, the stubborn Catholic Sigismund categorically refused to let the prince go to Moscow, much less allow his conversion to Orthodoxy.
The short-lived heyday of Speech
Having lost Moscow, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, however, seized very substantial “compensation”, again regaining the Chernigov-Seversky lands (they were recaptured in the so-called Smolensk War of 1632-1634 already from Tsar Mikhail Romanov).
As for the rest, the country has now undoubtedly become the main breadbasket of Europe. The grain was floated down the Vistula to Gdansk, and from there along the Baltic Sea through the Oresund to France, Holland, and England. Huge herds of cattle from what is now Belarus and Ukraine - to Germany and Italy. The army did not lag behind the economy: the best heavy cavalry in Europe at that time, the famous “winged” hussars, shone on the battlefields.But the flowering was short-lived. The reduction of export duties on grain, so beneficial to landowners, simultaneously opened up access to foreign goods to the detriment of their own producers. The policy of inviting immigrants to the cities - Germans, Jews, Poles, Armenians, who now made up the majority of residents of Ukrainian and Belarusian cities, especially large ones (for example, Lviv), which was partly destructive for the overall national perspective, continued. The offensive of the Catholic Church led to the displacement of Orthodox burghers from city institutions and courts; cities became “foreign” territory for peasants. As a result, the two main components of the state were disastrously demarcated and alienated from each other.
On the other hand, although the “republican” system certainly opened up wide opportunities for political and economic growth, although broad self-government protected the rights of the gentry from both the king and the peasants, although it could already be said that a kind of rule of law state was created in Poland , in all this there was already a destructive beginning hidden. First of all, the nobles themselves undermined the foundations of their own prosperity. These were the only “full-fledged citizens” of their fatherland, these proud people considered themselves alone as a “political people.” As has already been said, they despised and humiliated peasants and townspeople. But with such an attitude, the latter could hardly be eager to defend the master’s “liberties” - neither in internal troubles, nor from external enemies.
The Union of Brest-Litovsk is not an alliance, but a schism
After the Union of Lublin, the Polish gentry poured into the rich and sparsely populated lands of Ukraine in a powerful stream. There, the latifundia grew like mushrooms - Zamoyski, Zolkiewski, Kalinovski, Koniecpolski, Potocki, Wisniewiecki. With their appearance, former religious tolerance became a thing of the past: the Catholic clergy followed the magnates, and in 1596 the famous Union of Brest was born - a union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The basis of the union was the recognition by the Orthodox of Catholic dogmas and the supreme power of the pope, while the Orthodox Church preserved rituals and services in Slavic languages.
The Union, as one would expect, did not resolve religious contradictions: clashes between those who remained faithful to Orthodoxy and the Uniates were fierce (for example, during the Vitebsk revolt of 1623, the Uniate bishop Josaphat Kuntsevich was killed). The authorities were closing orthodox churches, and priests who refused to join the union were expelled from their parishes. Such national-religious oppression ultimately led to the uprising of Bohdan Khmelnitsky and the actual fall of Ukraine from Rech. But on the other hand, the privileges of the gentry, the brilliance of their education and culture attracted Orthodox nobles: in the 16th-17th centuries, the Ukrainian and Belarusian nobility often renounced the faith of their fathers and converted to Catholicism, along with the new faith, adopting a new language and culture. In the 17th century, from use in official letter The Russian language and Cyrillic alphabet came out, and at the beginning of the New Age, when the formation of national states was underway in Europe, the Ukrainian and Belarusian national elites became Polonized.
Freedom or bondage?
...And the inevitable happened: in the 17th century, the “golden liberty” of the gentry turned into paralysis state power. The famous principle of liberum veto - the requirement of unanimity when passing laws in the Sejm - led to the fact that literally none of the “constitutions” (decisions) of the congress could come into force. Anyone bribed by some foreign diplomat or simply a tipsy “ambassador” could disrupt the meeting. For example, in 1652, a certain Vladislav Sitsinsky demanded that the Sejm be closed, and it resignedly dispersed! Later, 53 meetings of the supreme assembly (about 40%!) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ended ingloriously in a similar manner.
But in fact, in economics and big politics, the total equality of the “brother lords” simply led to the omnipotence of those who had money and influence - the “royalty” tycoons who bought themselves the highest government positions, but were not controlled by the king. The possessions of such families as the already mentioned Lithuanian Radziwills, with dozens of cities and hundreds of villages, were comparable in size to modern European states such as Belgium. The “krolevats” maintained private armies that were superior in number and equipment to the crown troops. And at the other pole there was a mass of that same proud, but poor nobility - “A nobleman on a fence (a tiny piece of land - Ed.) is equal to a governor!” - which, with its arrogance, had long instilled in itself the hatred of the lower classes, and was simply forced to endure anything from its “patrons.” The only privilege of such a nobleman could remain only the ridiculous demand that his owner-magnate flog him only on a Persian carpet. This requirement - either as a sign of respect for ancient freedoms, or as a mockery of them - was observed.
In any case, the master's liberty has turned into a parody of itself. Everyone seemed to be convinced that the basis of democracy and freedom was the complete impotence of the state. Nobody wanted the king to become stronger. In the middle of the 17th century, his army numbered no more than 20 thousand soldiers, and the fleet created by Vladislav IV had to be sold due to lack of funds in the treasury. The united Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland were unable to “digest” the vast lands that merged into a common political space. Most neighboring states have long turned into centralized monarchies, and the gentry republic with its anarchic freemen without an effective central government, financial system and regular army turned out to be uncompetitive. All this, like a slow-acting poison, poisoned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
 Hussar. 17th century |
In 1654, the last great war between Russia and Lithuania-Poland began. At first, the Russian regiments and Cossacks of Bogdan Khmelnitsky seized the initiative, conquering almost all of Belarus, and on July 31, 1655, Vilna solemnly entered the capital of Lithuania Russian army led by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The Patriarch blessed the sovereign to be called the “Grand Duke of Lithuania,” but the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth managed to gather forces and go on the offensive. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, after the death of Khmelnytsky, a struggle between supporters and opponents of Moscow broke out, a civil war raged - “Ruin”, when two or three hetmans with different political views acted simultaneously. In 1660, the Russian armies were defeated at Polonka and Chudnov: the best forces of the Moscow cavalry were killed, and the commander-in-chief V.V. Sheremetev was completely captured. The Muscovites had to leave the newly triumphantly conquered Belarus. The local gentry and townspeople did not want to remain subjects of the Moscow Tsar - the gap between the Kremlin and Lithuanian orders had already run too deep.
The difficult confrontation ended with the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, according to which Left Bank Ukraine went to Moscow, while the right bank of the Dnieper (with the exception of Kyiv) remained with Poland until the end of the 18th century.
Thus, the protracted conflict ended in a “draw”: during the 16th-17th centuries, the two neighboring powers fought for a total of more than 60 years. In 1686, mutual exhaustion and the Turkish threat forced them to sign " Eternal Peace" And a little earlier, in 1668, after the abdication of King Jan Casimir, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was even considered as a real contender for the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In Russia at this time, Polish clothing came into fashion at court, translations were made from Polish, the Belarusian poet Simeon of Polotsk became the heir’s teacher...
Last August
In the 18th century, Poland-Lithuania still stretched from the Baltic to the Carpathians and from the Dnieper to the interfluve of the Vistula and Oder, with a population of about 12 million. But the weakened gentry “republic” no longer played any important role in international politics. It became a “traveling inn” - a supply base and theater of military operations for the new great powers - in the Northern War of 1700-1721 - Russia and Sweden, in the War of the "Polish Succession" of 1733-1734 - between Russia and France, and then in The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) - between Russia and Prussia. This was also facilitated by the magnate groups themselves, who focused on foreign candidates during the election of the king.
However, the Polish elite's rejection of everything connected with Moscow grew. “Muscovites” aroused hatred greater than even the “Swabians”; they were perceived as “boors and cattle.” And according to Pushkin, Belarusians and Litvinians suffered from this “unequal dispute” of the Slavs. Choosing between Warsaw and Moscow, natives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in any case chose a foreign land and lost their homeland.
The result is well known: the Polish-Lithuanian state could not withstand the onslaught of the “three black eagles” - Prussia, Austria and Russia, and became a victim of three partitions - 1772, 1793 and 1795. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth disappeared from political map Europe right up to 1918. After abdicating the throne, the last king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Stanislav August Poniatowski, remained to live in Grodno virtually under house arrest. A year later, Empress Catherine II, whose favorite he had once been, died. Paul I invited the ex-king to St. Petersburg.
Stanislav was settled in the Marble Palace; the future Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Prince Adam Czartoryski, saw him more than once in the mornings in the winter of 1797/98, when he, unkempt, in a dressing gown, wrote his memoirs. Here the last Grand Duke of Lithuania died on February 12, 1798. Paul gave him a magnificent funeral, placing the coffin with his embalmed body in the Church of St. Catherine. There, the emperor personally said goodbye to the deceased and placed a copy of the crown of the Polish kings on his head.
However, the dethroned monarch was unlucky even after his death. The coffin stood in the basement of the church for almost a century and a half, until they decided to demolish the building. Then the Soviet government invited Poland to “take back its king.” In July 1938, the coffin with the remains of Stanislav Poniatowski was secretly transported from Leningrad to Poland. There was no place for the exile in Krakow, where the heroes lay Polish history, nor in Warsaw. He was placed in the Church of the Holy Trinity in the Belarusian village of Volchin - where the last Polish king was born. After the war, the remains disappeared from the crypt, and their fate has haunted researchers for more than half a century.
The Moscow “autocracy”, which gave birth to powerful bureaucratic structures and a huge army, turned out to be stronger than the anarchic gentry freemen. However, the cumbersome Russian state with its enslaved classes was not able to keep up with the European pace of economic and social development. Painful reforms were required, which Russia was never able to complete at the beginning of the 20th century. And the new little Lithuania will now have to speak for itself in the 21st century.
Igor Kurukin, Doctor of Historical Sciences
Some modern historians, disputing the Imperial conclusions Geographical Society(although without access to his archives - no one worked with the Polotsk Chronicle after Tatishchev), they consider Gedimina a descendant of the Zhmudins, who “they had been sitting on the princely thrones of the appanages of the Principality of Polotsk for a long time - it was weakened and princes from strong Lietuva (Zhmudi) were invited/appointed there, so the annexation of the Polotsk lands took place voluntarily and peacefully”
A question immediately arises that cannot be answered.
How probable is an invitation (peaceful - there was no conquest) to the princely throne in the Christian center of the leaders of the pagan aborigines
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“The Samogits wear poor clothes and, in the vast majority of cases, are ashen in color. They spend their lives in low and, moreover, very long huts; in the middle they maintain a fire, near which the father of the family sits and sees the cattle and all his household utensils. For they have the custom of keeping cattle, without any partition, under the same roof under which they themselves live. there are a lot of logs with which to dig the ground"
S. Herberstein, “Notes on Muscovy”, 16th century, about contemporary Zhmudins. (It was even sadder in the 13th century)]
And what guided the residents, preferring them to people from neighboring (Volyn, Kyiv, Smolensk, Novgorod, Mazovia) principalities, which
- represent a powerful state entity
- closer in culture
- closer in language
- dynastically related
- live in cities, know writing and similar laws
And this despite the fact that at that time in Polotsk there was "freedom Polotsk or Venice"- undesirable rulers were quite often simply expelled.