Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russian lands. Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia Where was the Principality of Lithuania
In the XIV-XV centuries. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia was the real rival of Moscow Rus' in the struggle for dominance in Eastern Europe. It was strengthened under Prince Gediminas (ruled in 1316-1341). Russian cultural influence prevailed here at that time. Gedemin and his sons were married to Russian princesses, the Russian language dominated the court and official office work. Lithuanian writing did not exist at that time. Until the end of the XIV century. Russian regions within the state did not experience national-religious oppression. Under Olgerd (ruled in 1345-1377), the principality actually became the dominant power in the region. The position of the state was especially strengthened after Olgerd defeated the Tatars in the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362. During his reign, the state included most of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and the Smolensk region. For all the inhabitants of Western Rus', Lithuania became a natural center of resistance to traditional opponents - the Horde and the Crusaders. In addition, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the middle of the XIV century, the Orthodox population prevailed numerically, with whom the pagan Lithuanians got along quite peacefully, and sometimes the unrest that occurred was quickly suppressed (for example, in Smolensk). The lands of the principality under Olgerd stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea steppes, the eastern border ran approximately along the current border of the Smolensk and Moscow regions. There were obvious trends leading towards the formation of a new version of Russian statehood in the southern and western lands of the former Kyiv state.
FORMATION OF THE GRAND PRINCIPALITY OF LITHUANIA AND RUSSIAN
In the first half of the XIV century. a strong state appeared in Europe - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. It owes its appearance to the Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341), who during the years of his reign captured and annexed to Lithuania the Brest, Vitebsk, Volyn, Galician, Lutsk, Minsk, Pinsk, Polotsk, Slutsk and Turov lands. The Smolensk, Pskov, Galicia-Volyn and Kiev principalities became dependent on Lithuania. Many Russian lands, seeking to find protection from the Mongol-Tatars, joined Lithuania. The internal order in the annexed lands did not change, but their princes had to recognize themselves as vassals of Gediminas, pay tribute to him and supply troops when necessary. Gediminas himself began to call himself "the king of Lithuanians and many Russians." Old Russian (close to modern Belarusian) became the official language and office language of the principality. There was no persecution on religious and national grounds in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In 1323 Lithuania got a new capital - Vilnius. According to legend, once Gediminas hunted at the foot of the mountain at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris rivers. Having killed a huge tour, he and his warriors decided to spend the night near an ancient pagan sanctuary. In his dream he dreamed of a wolf clad in iron armor, howling like a hundred wolves. Called to interpret the dream, the high priest Lizdeyka explained that he should build a city in this place - the capital of the state, and that the glory of this city would spread throughout the world. Gediminas heeded the priest's advice. A city was built, which got its name from the Vilnia River. This is where Gediminas moved his residence from Trakai.
From Vilnius in 1323-1324 Gediminas wrote letters to the Pope and the cities of the Hanseatic League. In them, he declared his desire to accept Catholicism, invited artisans, merchants, and farmers to Lithuania. The crusaders understood that the adoption of Catholicism by Lithuania would mean for them the end of their "missionary" mission in the eyes of Western Europe. Therefore, they began to incite local pagans and Orthodox against Gediminas. The prince was forced to abandon his plans - he announced to the papal legates about the alleged mistake of the clerk. However, Christian churches in Vilnius continued to be built.
The crusaders soon resumed hostilities against Lithuania. In 1336 they laid siege to the Samogitian castle of Pilenai. When its defenders realized that they could not resist for a long time, they burned the castle and died in the fire themselves. On November 15, 1337, Ludwig IV of Bavaria presented the Teutonic Order with the Bavarian castle built near Nemunas, which was supposed to become the capital of the conquered state. However, this state still had to be conquered.
After the death of Gediminas, the principality passed to his seven sons. The one who ruled in Vilnius was considered the Grand Duke. The capital went to Jaunutis. His brother Kestutis, who inherited Grodno, the Principality of Trakai and Samogitia, was unhappy that Jaunutis turned out to be a weak ruler and could not come to his aid in the fight against the crusaders. In the winter of 1344-1345, Kestutis occupied Vilnius and shared power with his other brother, Algirdas (Olgerd). Kestutis led the fight against the crusaders. He repulsed 70 campaigns in Lithuania of the Teutonic Order and 30 - Livonian. There was not a single major battle in which he would not take part. Kestutis' military talent was appreciated even by his enemies: each of the crusaders, according to their own sources, would consider it the greatest honor to shake hands with Kestutis.
Algirdas, the son of a Russian mother, like his father Gediminas, paid more attention to the seizure of Russian lands. During the years of his reign, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania doubled. Algirdas annexed Kyiv, Novgorod-Seversky, Right-bank Ukraine and Podil to Lithuania. The capture of Kyiv led to a clash with the Mongol-Tatars. In 1363 the army of Algirdas defeated them at the Blue Waters, the South Russian lands were liberated from Tatar dependence. Algirdas' father-in-law, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver, asked his son-in-law for support in the fight against Moscow. Three times (1368, 1370 and 1372) Algirdas made a trip to Moscow, but could not take the city, after which peace was eventually concluded with the Moscow prince.
After the death of Algirdas in 1377, civil strife began in the country. The throne of the Grand Duke of Lithuania was received by the son of Algirdas from the second marriage of Jagiello (Yagello). Andrei (Andryus), the son from his first marriage, rebelled and fled to Moscow, asking for support there. He was received in Moscow and sent to conquer the Novgorod-Seversky lands from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Jagiello, in the fight against Andrei, turned to the Order for help, promising to convert to Catholicism. In secret from Kestutis, a peace treaty was concluded between the Order and Jogaila (1380). Having secured a reliable rear for himself, Jagiello went with an army to help Mamai against, hoping to punish Moscow for supporting Andrei and share the lands of the Moscow principality with Oleg Ryazansky (also an ally of Mamai). However, Jagiello arrived at the Kulikovo field late: the Mongol-Tatars had already suffered a crushing defeat. Meanwhile, Kestutis found out about the secret treaty concluded against him. In 1381 he occupied Vilnius, expelled Jogaila from there and sent him to Vitebsk. However, a few months later, in the absence of Kestutis, Jagiello, together with his brother Skirgaila, captured Vilnius, and then Trakai. Kestutis and his son Vytautas were invited to negotiate at Jogaila's headquarters, where they were captured and placed in the Kreva Castle. Kestutis was treacherously killed, and Vytautas managed to escape. Jagiello began to rule alone.
In 1383 the Order, with the help of Vytautas and the Samogitian barons, resumed hostilities against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The allies took Trakai and burned Vilnius. Under these conditions, Jagiello was forced to seek support from Poland. In 1385, a dynastic union was concluded between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish state in Krevo (Krakow) Castle. The following year, Jagiello was baptized, given the name Vladislav, married the Polish queen Jadwiga and became the Polish king - the founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty, which ruled Poland and Lithuania for over 200 years. Implementing the union in practice, Jagiello created the Vilnius bishopric, baptized Lithuania, and equalized the rights of the Lithuanian feudal lords who converted to Catholicism with the Polish ones. Vilnius received the right of self-government (Magdeburg Law).
Vytautas, who fought with Jagiello for some time, returned to Lithuania in 1390, and in 1392 an agreement was concluded between the two rulers: Vytautas received the Principality of Trakai and became the de facto ruler of Lithuania (1392-1430). After campaigns in 1397-1398 to the Black Sea, he brought Tatars and Karaites to Lithuania and settled them in Trakai. Vytautas strengthened the Lithuanian state and expanded its territory. He deprived the power of the specific princes, sending his deputies to manage the lands. In 1395, Smolensk was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and attempts were made to conquer Novgorod and Pskov. The state of Vytautas stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In order to provide himself with a reliable rear in the fight against the crusaders, Vytautas signed an agreement with the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I (who was married to Vytautas' daughter, Sophia). The Ugra River became the border between the great principalities.
OLGERD, aka ALGIDRAS
V. B. Antonovich (“Essay on the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”) gives us the following masterful description of Olgerd: “Olgerd, according to his contemporaries, was distinguished mainly by deep political talents, he knew how to use circumstances, correctly outlined the goals of his political aspirations, favorably disposed alliances and chose the right time for the implementation of his political plans. Extremely restrained and prudent, Olgerd was distinguished by his ability to keep his political and military plans in impenetrable secrecy. Russian chronicles, which are generally not disposed towards Olgerd due to his clashes with northeastern Russia, call him “evil”, “godless” and “flattering”; however, they recognize in him the ability to use circumstances, restraint, cunning - in a word, all the qualities necessary to strengthen their power in the state and to expand its limits. In relation to various nationalities, it can be said that all the sympathies and attention of Olgerd focused on the Russian people; Olgerd, according to his views, habits and family ties, belonged to the Russian people and served as its representative in Lithuania. At the very time when Olgerd strengthened Lithuania by annexing the Russian regions, Keistut is its defender against the crusaders and deserves the glory of a national hero. Keistut is a pagan, but even his enemies, the crusaders, recognize in him the qualities of an exemplary Christian knight. The Poles recognized the same qualities in him.
Both princes divided the administration of Lithuania so precisely that the Russian chronicles know only Olgerd, and the German chronicles only Keistut.
LITHUANIANS AT THE MONUMENT TO THE MILLENNIUM OF RUSSIA
The lower tier of figures is a high relief, on which, as a result of a long struggle, 109 finally approved figures depicting prominent figures of the Russian state were placed. Under each of them, on a granite plinth, there is a signature (name), displayed in a Slavic stylized font.
The figures placed on the high relief are divided by the author of the project of the Monument into four departments: Enlighteners, Statesmen; Military people and heroes; Writers and artists...
The Department of State People is located on the eastern side of the Monument and begins immediately after the “Illuminators” with the figure of Yaroslav the Wise, after which come: Vladimir Monomakh, Gedimin, Olgerd, Vitovt, the princes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Zakharenko A.G. The history of the construction of the Monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod. Scientific Notes” of the Faculty of History and Philology of the Novgorod State Pedagogical Institute. Issue. 2. Novgorod. 1957
16. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia in the XIII - XVI centuries. Russian lands as part of the principality.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a feudal state that existed in the 13th-16th centuries. on the territory of part of modern Lithuania and Belarus. The main occupation of the population was agriculture and cattle breeding. Hunting and crafts played an auxiliary role in the economy. The development of handicrafts based on iron production, internal and external trade (with Russia, Poland, etc.) contributed to the growth of cities (Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, etc.). In the 9th-12th centuries. feudal relations developed on the territory of Lithuania, the estates of feudal lords and dependent people were formed. Separate Lithuanian political associations had different levels of social and economic development. The decomposition of primitive communal relations and the emergence of the feudal system led to the formation of a state among the Lithuanians. According to the Galicia-Volyn chronicle, the Russo-Lithuanian treaty of 1219 mentions an alliance of Lithuanian princes headed by the "oldest" princes who owned lands in Aukstaitija. This indicates the existence of a state in Lithuania. The strengthening of the grand ducal power led to the unification of the main Lithuanian lands in V. k. L. under the rule of Mindovg (mid-30s of the 13th century - 1263), who also seized some Belarusian lands (Black Rus'). The formation of the V. k. L. was accelerated by the need to unite to fight the aggression of the German crusaders, which intensified from the beginning of the 13th century. Lithuanian troops won major victories over the knights in the battles of Siauliai (1236) and Durba (1260).
In the 14th century, during the reign of Gediminas (1316-1341), Olgerd (1345-77) and Keistut (1345-82), . the Principality of Lithuania significantly expanded its possessions, adding all Belarusian, part of Ukrainian and Russian lands (Volyn, Vitebsk, Turov-Pinsk, Kiev, Pereyaslav, Podolsk, Chernihiv-Seversky lands, etc.). Their inclusion was facilitated by the fact that Rus' was weakened by the Mongol-Tatar yoke, as well as the fight against the aggression of German, Swedish and Danish invaders. Joining the Great. princes Lithuanian. Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian lands with more developed social relations and culture contributed to the further development of socio-economic relations in Lithuania. In the annexed lands, the Lithuanian grand dukes retained significant autonomy and immunity rights for local magnates. This, as well as differences in the level of socio-economic development and the ethnic heterogeneity of individual parts of the V. k. L., led to the lack of centralization in state administration. At the head of the state was the Grand Duke, with him - a council of representatives of the nobility and the highest clergy. In order to join forces to fight the advance of the German knightly orders and strengthen his power, the Grand Duke Jagiello (1377-92) concluded the Union of Krevo with Poland in 1385. However, the union was fraught with the danger of Lithuania becoming a province of Poland in the future. In Lithuania, where until the end of the 14th century. paganism existed, Catholicism began to spread by force. Jagiello's policy was opposed by a part of the Lithuanian and Russian princes, headed by Vitovt, who in 1392, after an internecine struggle, actually became the Grand Duke in Lithuania. The combined Lithuanian-Russian and Polish troops, with the participation of Czech troops in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, utterly defeated the knights of the Teutonic Order and stopped their aggression.
The growth of large feudal landownership and the consolidation of the ruling class in the 14th - 15th centuries. were accompanied by mass enslavement of the peasants, which caused peasant uprisings (for example, in 1418). The main form of exploitation of the peasants was food rent. Simultaneously with the growth of economic dependence, national oppression in the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands also intensified. Crafts and trade developed in the cities. In the 15-16 centuries. the rights and privileges of the Lithuanian lords are growing. According to the Union of Horodel in 1413, the rights of the Polish gentry were extended to the Lithuanian Catholic nobles. At the end of the 15th century a Rada of pans was formed, which actually put the power of the Grand Duke under its control by the privilege of 1447 and by the privilege of the Grand Duke Alexander in 1492. The formation of a general gentry Sejm (at the end of the 15th century), as well as the publication of the Lithuanian Statutes of 1529 and 1566, consolidated and increased the rights of the Lithuanian nobility.
The transition to cash rent at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. was accompanied by an increase in the exploitation of the peasants and an aggravation of the class struggle: escapes and unrest became more frequent (especially large ones - in 1536-37 in the grand ducal estates). In the middle of the 16th century a reform was carried out on the estates of the Grand Duke, as a result of which the exploitation of the peasants intensified due to the growth of corvee (see Volochnaya Pomera). From the end of the 16th century this system is being introduced in the estates of large landowners-tycoons. Mass enslavement of peasants, development of corvée economy, acquisition by Lithuanian landlords in the second half of the 16th century. the right to duty-free export of grain abroad and the import of goods hindered the development of cities.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Samogitian and Russian (this is the full name of this power) formed in the 1240s. Initially, it included the eastern part of modern Lithuania (Aukstaitija) and the so-called. "Black Rus'" (modern Western Belarus). Mindovg is considered its founder. Ethnically, the population of the principality was Balto-Slavic with a predominance of the Slavic Orthodox element. Lithuanians were the ruling ethnic group. However, they were pagans.
Because of this religious pluralism, the authorities of the young state immediately faced the question of the need religious reform. It is possible that around 1246 the question of the conversion of all Lithuania to Orthodoxy was discussed. In any case, Mindovg's son, Voyshelk, accepted him. However, the Grand Duke made a different choice. In 1252/53 Mindovg received from the Pope royal title in exchange for conversion to Catholicism and the founding of the Catholic bishopric. He hoped that Rome would help Lithuania in repelling the aggression of the German knights. However, his hopes, as well as the plans of Daniil Galitsky in his time, were not destined to come true. New allies helped mainly with prayers and appeals, but not with troops. Meanwhile, the knights were defeated by the pagans from the Zhmud tribe. Therefore, in 1261 Mindovg renounced Christianity and accepted Zhmud as part of his principality.
The end of the life of the first Lithuanian ruler was rather absurd. He missed his dead wife Martha very much. Another prince, Dovmont, had a wife who looked very much like the late princess. Without thinking twice, Mindovg took his wife away from him. The offended Dovmont paid back for his desecrated honor. In 1263, a conspiracy arose led by the princes Dovmont and Troynat. In a fight with the rebels, the presumptuous sovereign died.
Dovmont soon left Lithuania, and Troynat became the Grand Duke. But he was soon killed by the grooms of Mindaugas, avenging the death of their master. After a short strife, during which Pinsk and, possibly, Polotsk and Vitebsk became part of Lithuania, Voyshelk Mindovgovich sat on the throne. He made a second attempt to baptize the Lithuanians, now according to the Orthodox rite, and in 1265 applied for this to Pskov. But there, from 1266, Dovmont, the murderer of his father, became prince. After that, Voyshelk did not want to hear about any contacts with the Russians, who “welcome the criminals”.
A sharp expansion of the territory of Lithuania occurred under the Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341). He annexed the Smolensk, Minsk, Kiev, Brest lands and in 1339 entered into a direct military conflict with the Horde, thereby leading the East European anti-Tatar national liberation movement.
The clash occurred due to the transition of Smolensk under the rule of Lithuania. In response, Khan Uzbek sent a punitive detachment of Tavkubey-Murza to Smolensk, which included the regiments of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita. Thus, this event marked the beginning of an open confrontation between Moscow and Lithuania for disputed territories in Eastern Europe. With the help of the Lithuanian squads, the blow was repelled, and from that moment Smolensk no longer paid tribute to the Horde.
Gediminas in 1324 made another attempt to catholicize the country, but the Orthodox population opposed it, and the project was rejected. But territorial growth is going on at a rapid pace: around 1325 Brest was annexed. An intensive attack on Volhynia began. In the 1320-30s. Lithuanian detachments subjugated part of the Kyiv lands.
Before his death, Gediminas divided his possessions among his seven sons. It seemed that Lithuania was on the verge of feudal fragmentation. But the country did not fall apart. After a short strife, during which the new Grand Duke Yavnut was killed by his brothers, he ascended the throne in 1345. Olgerd ascended, and Keistut became his co-ruler. Together they ruled the Lithuanian state for many years.
Olgerd and Keistut became the rulers of Lithuania at a difficult time. In 1345-48. it was continuously attacked by German knights. In 1348 on the river. Strave, the Russian-Lithuanian army was defeated, their brother Narimunt died. Poland advanced from the west: in 1349 its troops occupied Galicia and Brest. In 1350 Moscow captured Smolensk.
Olgerd managed to stabilize the situation with quick and decisive actions. In 1352, he simply officially renounced the territories occupied by the Poles, thereby subduing the appetites of his western neighbor for a while. The Lithuanians stopped the chivalrous onslaught with stubborn resistance. An anti-Moscow alliance was concluded with the Principality of Tver, a longtime enemy of the Kalitichis. Thus, in the east, Lithuania found a powerful ally.
In 1358 Olgerd and Keistut proclaimed unification program under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Samogitian and Russian all Baltic and East Slavic lands. During the years of their rule, there was a rapid territorial growth of Lithuania. In the 1350s, she captured cities in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Berezina and Sozh. By 1362, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Pereyaslavl, Bryansk, Seversky lands were finally subordinated (the process of their annexation had been going on since the 1330s).
At the same time, the Lithuanians emerged victorious from conflicts with other contenders for dominance in Eastern Europe. In 1362 V Battle of Blue Waters Olgerd's regiments inflicted a crushing defeat on the Horde (this battle is considered analogous in scale to the Battle of Kulikovo). In 1368, 1370 and 1372 with the support of the allied Tver, the Grand Duke of Lithuania attacks Moscow three times. But she persevered. Only as a sign that “he was here,” Olgerd rode up and broke his spear against the Kremlin wall.
The growing influence of Lithuania among European states is evidenced by the fact that Western countries are beginning to seek an alliance with it. Polish King Casimir IV, Pope Clement VII and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV vying to offer to convert to Catholicism. Proud Olgerd replied that he agreed, but on one condition. Let the Teutonic Order leave the Baltic and settle in the steppes between Lithuania and the Horde, becoming a human shield against invasions from the East. Naturally, this was obviously an impossible requirement.
Olgerd tried to challenge Moscow's ecclesiastical leadership in the Orthodox world. Officially, the head of the Russian church was still called the Metropolitan of Kyiv, but his residence moved first to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, and after 1326 to Moscow. Since the vast majority of the lands of the former Kievan Rus professed Orthodoxy, it turned out that politically they were subordinate to Lithuania, and religiously to Moscow.
Olgerd saw here a threat to the unity of his state. In 1352, the Byzantine patriarch was asked to approve the Lithuanian candidate for the Kiev metropolitan table - Theodoret. Constantinople did not recognize Theodoret. But Olgerd obtained the approval of his project from the Bulgarian Patriarch. Seeing that the situation was fraught with a split in Orthodox Christianity, Byzantium backed down. A compromise solution was adopted: Alexy was appointed Metropolitan of Kyiv, while he was sitting in Moscow. But in Novogrudok a special Lithuanian metropolia was established, to which the Polotsk, Turov and Galicia-Volyn lands were subordinate.
After the death of Olgerd in 1377, his son, Prince Jagiello 1, took the throne - the man who was destined radically change the path of development of the Lithuanian statehood. He had an extremely inconsistent policy. First, Jagiello abandoned the traditional anti-Horde orientation for Lithuania. He made an alliance with Mamai and even promised to take part in a punitive campaign against Rus' and to stab Dmitry Donskoy in the back on the Kulikovo field. But the Lithuanian squads did not reach the place of the battle. The triumph of Moscow on the Kulikovo field forced Jagiello to seek the friendship of Prince Dmitry, and a project arose to baptize Jagiello into Orthodoxy and marry him to one of the daughters of the Moscow ruler. But in 1382 Moscow was burned down by Tokhtamysh, and Jagiello again became disappointed in his plans.
In 1385, Lithuania abruptly changes its orientation towards Poland. In the town Krevo signs union - union of the Lithuanian and Polish crowns. Now the two countries had one sovereign, who bore the title of "King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania." Jagiello was baptized according to the Catholic rite, took the name of Vladislav and became the founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty. He married the Polish queen Jadwiga and from 1387 began an intensive catholicization of his principality.
Thus, the rapprochement of Orthodox Lithuania with the Catholic West took place. She is involved in the orbit of the political life of Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, the Vatican, France. Its political and social system is becoming more and more similar to the Polish one. This radically changed the direction of development of this state and its place on the Eastern European map.
The formation of Lithuanian statehood in its new status was not easy. In 1390-92. rebellion raises Prince Vitovt. He sought to split off Lithuania from Poland and, in alliance with the Teutonic Order, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on the troops of Jagiello. Finally, in 1392, an agreement was reached between Jagiello-Vladislav and Vitovt. The Polish king retained nominal power over the entire Polish-Lithuanian federation, and Vytautas became the Lithuanian prince proper. The beginning of his reign was successful: in 1395 he returned Smolensk, in 1397 he defeated the Horde, and for the first time on its territory - in the Volga region!
However, in 1399 on R. Vorskla The Tatar army of Timur-Kutluk destroyed the army of Vitovt. After that, he was forced to somewhat humble his ambitions and in 1401 confirm the union with Poland. Gradually, the prince began to regain his position, shaken after the "battle at Vorskla": in 1401 he suppressed the anti-Lithuanian rebellion in Smolensk, led by Yuri Svyatoslavich, and in 1410 under Grunwald inflicted a crushing defeat on the Teutonic Order. The flower of German chivalry perished in the battle.
In 1426, Vitovt paid tribute to Pskov. In 1427, he undertook a grandiose demonstration campaign along the eastern border of Lithuania. The princes of Pereyaslavl of Ryazan, Pronsk, Vorotynsk, Odoev greeted him magnificently and presented him with large gifts. In 1428, Vitovt laid siege to Novgorod and took from him a huge ransom of 11 thousand rubles.
The rise of Vytautas against the backdrop of a rather faceless Jagiello drew the attention of European monarchs to the Lithuanian ruler. In 1430, the Holy Roman Empire, making plans to create an anti-Polish alliance of Lithuania, Hungary, the German principalities and the Teutonic Order, offered Vytautas the royal crown. The prince initially refused. But then he learned that the Polish gentry was actively protesting against this proposal, arguing that Lithuania should depend on Poland, and not vice versa. Then, in spite of the "proud Poles", Vitovt decided on the coronation. But he was not destined to wear the royal crown: on October 27, 1430, he died, sincerely mourned by the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In ancient times, Lithuanian tribes occupied the northern lands almost to the present Tambov. But then they merged with the Finno-Ugric and Slavic populations. Lithuanian tribes survived only in the Baltic states and Belarus. The central part of this range was occupied by the Lithuanian tribe or Lithuanians, Zhmud lived to the west, Prussians lived even further to the west. In the east of modern Belarusian lands, the Yatvags lived, and the golyad tribe was located in the Kolomna region.
From these disparate tribes, the Lithuanian prince Mindovg created a single principality. After his assassination by conspirators in 1263, the Lithuanian princes fought for power until the beginning of the 14th century. The winner in these internecine wars was Prince Gediminas (ruled 1316-1341). It was to him that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century owed its successful policy of conquest.
The very first conquest was Black Rus'. This is an area near the city of Grodno - the westernmost part of Rus'. Then Gediminas subjugated Minsk, Polotsk, Vitebsk. After that, the Lithuanians penetrated into Galicia and Volhynia. But Gediminas failed to conquer Galicia. It was occupied by the Poles, and the Lithuanians settled only in eastern Volhynia and began to prepare for a campaign against Kyiv.
Black Rus' on the map
At the time described, Kyiv had already lost its greatness, but Stanislav, who reigned in the city, decided to defend himself and the townspeople to the end. In 1321, he entered into battle with the army of Gediminas, but was defeated. And the victorious Lithuanians laid siege to Kyiv. The people of Kiev were forced to submit to the great Lithuanian prince on the basis of vassalage. That is, all property was left to the people of Kiev, but the Kiev prince fell into complete submission to the winners.
After the capture of Kyiv, the Lithuanian army continued its military expansion. As a result, Russian cities up to Kursk and Chernigov were conquered. So, under Gediminas and his son Olgerd, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania arose in the 14th century. It continued its policy of conquest after the death of Gediminas, when his sons Olgerd and Keistut entered the political arena.
The brothers divided spheres of influence. Keistut settled in Zhmudi and resisted the Germans, while Olgerd pursued an aggressive policy in the Russian lands. It should be noted that Olgerd and his nephew Vitovt formally accepted Orthodoxy. Lithuanian princes married Russian princesses and united around themselves the Rurikovichs from the Turov-Pinsk land. That is, they gradually included the Russian lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Olgerd managed to subjugate a vast territory to the Black Sea and the Don. In 1363, the Lithuanians defeated the Tatars at the Blue Waters (Sinyukha River) and captured the western part of the steppe between the Dnieper and the mouth of the Danube. Thus, they went to the Black Sea. But Lithuania continued to be sandwiched between Orthodox Russia and Catholic Europe. The Lithuanians waged active wars with the Teutonic and Livonian Orders, and therefore Poland could become their ally.
Poland at that time was in a state of deepest crisis. She was periodically tormented by both anti-papist German orders and the Czechs who captured Krakow and the lands adjacent to it. The latter were hardly driven out by the Polish king Vladislav Loketek from the Piast dynasty. In 1370, this dynasty ceased to exist, and the Frenchman Louis of Anjou became the king of Poland. He gave the crown to his daughter Jadwiga. The Polish magnates strongly advised that she should be legally married to the Lithuanian prince Jagaila, the son of Olgerd. Thus, the Poles wanted to unite Poland with Lithuania and stop German expansion.
In 1385, Jagiello married Jadwiga and became the full ruler of Lithuania and Poland in accordance with the Union of Kreva. In 1387, the population of Lithuania officially adopted the Catholic faith. However, not everyone greeted it with enthusiasm. Those Lithuanians who linked themselves with the Russians did not want to accept Catholicism.
This was taken advantage of by the cousin of Jagiello Vitovt. He led the opposition and led the struggle for the throne of the Grand Duke. This man was looking for allies among the Lithuanians, and among the Poles, and among the Russians, and among the crusaders. The opposition was so strong that in 1392 Jagiello concluded the Ostrov agreement with Vytautas. According to him, Vitovt became the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Jagiello appropriated the title of the Supreme Duke of Lithuania.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIV century on the map
Vitovt continued to conquer Russian lands and in 1395 captured Smolensk. Soon he refused to submit to Jagiello and, thanks to an alliance with the Tatars, annexed a large territory of the Wild Field to Lithuania. So the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIV century significantly expanded its borders. However, in 1399 military happiness turned away from Vitovt. He lost Smolensk and part of other lands. In 1401, Lithuania was so weakened that it again entered into an alliance with Poland - the Union of Vilna-Radom.
After that, Vitovt again gained serious political weight. In 1406, an official border was established between Moscow Rus and Lithuania. The Principality of Lithuania waged a successful struggle against the Teutonic Order. In 1410, the Battle of Grunwald took place, in which the crusader knights suffered a crushing defeat. In the last years of his reign, Vytautas sought to separate Lithuania from Poland again, and for this purpose he decided to be crowned. But this idea ended in failure.
Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIV century became a strong state militarily and politically. It united, noticeably expanded its borders and acquired high international prestige. An important historical event was the adoption of Catholicism. This step brought Lithuania closer to Europe, but moved it away from Rus'. It played a big political role in later centuries.
Alexey Starikov