Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, Samogitia and other Grand Duchyes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russian lands Principality of Lithuania and Russian 1236 1795

The Principality of Lithuania was initially Lithuanian-Russian in composition with a predominance of Russians and could become a powerful Orthodox state. It is unknown what would have happened to the Principality of Moscow if the Lithuanian princes had not turned to the West, towards Poland.

Zhemgola, Zhmud, Prussians and others

Lithuanian tribes, close to the Slavs, judging by both language studies and analysis of beliefs, lived quite calmly and carelessly on the Baltic coast between the Western Dvina and the Vistula. They were divided into tribes: on the right bank of the Dvina lived the Letgola tribe, on the left - the Zhemgola, on the peninsula between the mouth of the Neman and the Gulf of Riga - the Korsi, between the mouths of the Neman and the Vistula - the Prussians, in the Neman basin - the Zhmud in the upper reaches, and Lithuania itself - on average, plus the most dense of the listed Yotvingians on Narva. Cities in these territories did not exist until the 13th century, when the city of Voruta among the Lithuanians and Tveremet among Zhmudi were first noted in the chronicle, and historians tend to attribute the formation of the beginnings of the state to the 14th century.

German knights

Young and aggressive Europeans, mainly Germans, as well as Swedes and Danes, naturally could not help but begin colonizing the eastern Baltic Sea. So the Swedes took the lands of the Finns, the Danes built Revel in Estland, and the Germans went to the Lithuanians. At first they only traded and preached. The Lithuanians did not refuse to be baptized, but then they plunged into the Dvina and “washed away” the baptism from themselves, sending it back to the Germans by water. The pope then sent the crusaders there, led by Bishop Albert, the first bishop of Livonia, who in 1200 founded Riga, the Order of the Swordsmen, fortunately there were plenty of knights in those days, and conquered and colonized the surrounding lands. Thirty years later, another order, the Teutonic Order, was located nearby, in the possessions of the Polish prince Konrad of Mazovia, which was driven out of Palestine by the Muslims. They were called upon to defend Poland from the Prussians, who constantly robbed the Poles. The knights conquered all Prussian lands in fifty years and a state was founded there in fief subordination from the Emperor of Germany.

The first reliable reign

But the Lithuanians did not submit to the Germans. They began to unite in large groups and build alliances, in particular, with the Polotsk princes. Considering that the Russian western lands were weak at that time, the passionate Lithuanians, who were called into service by one or the other prince, acquired primitive management skills, and began to seize first the Polotsk land, then the lands of Novgorod, Smolensk, and Kiev. The first reliable reign was that of Mindaugas, the son of Romgold, who created a principality of Russians and Lithuanians. However, it was impossible to turn around too much, since in the South there was a strong Galician principality led by Daniel, and on the other side the Livonian Order was not asleep. Mindovg ceded the occupied Russian lands to Daniil's son Roman, but formally retained power over them and consolidated this matter by marrying his daughter to Daniil's son Shvarna. The Livonian Order recognized Mindaugas when he was baptized. As a sign of gratitude, he handed over to the Germans letters of approval for Lithuanian lands, which he did not own.

Founder of the dynasty

After the death of Mindaugas, as one would expect, various civil strife began in the principality, which lasted half a century, until in 1316 the princely throne was occupied by Gedimin, the founder of the Gedimin dynasty. Over the previous years, Daniil and other Russian princes had great influence in Lithuania and transferred a lot there in terms of urban planning, cultural and military. Gediminas was married to a Russian and, in general, pursued a Lithuanian-Russian policy, understanding that this was necessary for the construction of the state. But he subjugated Polotsk, Kyiv, and partly Volyn. He himself sat in Vilna, and two-thirds of his state were Russian lands. The sons of Gediminas Olgerd and Keistut turned out to be friendly guys - one sat in Vilna, and was engaged in north-eastern Russia, and Keistut lived in Troki, and acted against the Germans.

Jagiello - apostate

Befitting the sound of his name, Prince Jagiello turned out to be the unworthy son of Olgerd; he agreed with the Germans to destroy his uncle Keistut. That Jagiello won, but did not kill his nephew, and in vain, because at the first opportunity Jagiello strangled his uncle, but his son Vytautas was able to hide with the Teutonic knights, however, he later returned and settled on small lands. The Poles began to approach Jagiello with a proposal to marry him to Queen Jadwiga. She was recognized as queen after the death of the Hungarian King Louis, who ruled according to the dynastic principle in Poland. The lords argued and fought for a long time about who Jadwiga should take as a husband, and Jagiello was very suitable: the disputes over Volyn and Galich would stop, Poland would strengthen itself against the Germans who seized the Polish seaside, and would expel the Hungarians from Galich and Lvov. Jagiello, baptized into Orthodoxy, was very happy at the offer, was baptized into Catholicism and baptized Lithuania. In 1386, the marriage was concluded and Jagiello received the name Vladislav. He destroyed pagan temples, etc., helped remove the Hungarians and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Teutonic Order at Grunwald. But, as Russian historian Sergei Platonov notes, the union “introduced the seeds of internal hostility and decay into Lithuania,” since the preconditions were created for the oppression of Orthodox Russians.

Vytautas - collector of lands

The son of the murdered Keistut, Vytautas, as soon as Jagiello left for Poland, with the help of appanage princes, began to rule in Poland (1392), and with such support that he achieved complete personal independence from King Vladislav, the former Jagiello. Under Vytautas, Lithuania expanded from the Baltic to the Black Sea and advanced deeply to the East at the expense of the Smolensk Principality. Vasily I was married to Vytautas's only daughter Sophia, and the left tributary of the Oka Utra was designated as the border between Moscow and Lithuanian lands. Some historians believe that this powerful eastern policy, which could lead to the creation of a huge Lithuanian-Russian state, was promoted by the Orthodox princes of Lithuania, but was sharply opposed by the Poles and the new Polized Lithuanian nobility, which received all the privileges of the gentry and lords. Vytautas even began to apply for a royal title to the Emperor of Germany in order to become independent from Poland, but died (1430) in the midst of this process.

Full union

For more than 100 years, the union was largely formal. This, as in the case of Vytautas, could have the most dire consequences for Poland, so it was decided to always elect one person as both prince and king. Thus, the union conceived in 1386 was implemented only at the beginning of the 16th century. Polish influence in Lithuania began to grow after this. Previously, local princes could rule in their lands without Catholic and Polish dictates, now the Grand Duke subjugated them, the Roman faith became suppressive and oppressive towards the Orthodox. Many converted to Catholicism, others tried to fight, moved to Moscow, which, thanks to this situation, was able to squeeze Lithuania. In the internal politics of the principality, the Polish order was finally established, first of all, the gentry with its enormous rights in relation to the king and peasants. This process naturally ended in 1569 with the Union of Lublin and the formation of another state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In ancient times, Lithuanian tribes occupied the northern lands almost to present-day 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 area was occupied by the Lithuanian tribe or Lithuanians, to the west lived the Zhmud, and even further to the west lived the Prussians. In the east of modern Belarusian lands lived the Yatvags, and the Golyad tribe was located in the Kolomna region.

From these scattered tribes, the Lithuanian prince Mindovg created a single principality. After his murder by conspirators in 1263, the Lithuanian princes fought among themselves for power until the beginning of the 14th century. The winner in these internecine wars was Prince Gediminas (reigned 1316-1341). It was to him that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania owed its successful policy of conquest in the 14th century.

The very first conquest was Black Rus'. This is an area near the city of Grodno - the westernmost part of Rus'. Then Gedimin subjugated Minsk, Polotsk, and Vitebsk. After this, the Lithuanians penetrated into Galicia and Volyn. But Gedimina failed to conquer Galicia. The Poles occupied it, and the Lithuanians settled only in eastern Volyn 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 besieged Kyiv. The people of Kiev were forced to submit to the Grand Duke of Lithuania 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 victors.

After the capture of Kyiv, the Lithuanian army continued its military expansion. As a result of this, Russian cities as far as Kursk and Chernigov were conquered. Thus, 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 their spheres of influence. Keistut settled in Zhmudi and resisted the Germans, and Olgerd pursued a policy of conquest in the Russian lands. It should be noted that Olgerd and his nephew Vytautas formally converted to Orthodoxy. Lithuanian princes married Russian princesses and united the Rurikovichs from the Turovo-Pinsk land around them. That is, they gradually included Russian lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Olgerd managed to subjugate a vast territory up 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 reached the Black Sea. But Lithuania continued to remain 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 deep crisis. She was periodically tormented by both the anti-papist German orders and the Czechs, who captured Krakow and the surrounding lands. The latter were driven out with difficulty by the Polish king Wladyslaw Loketek from the Piast dynasty. In 1370, this dynasty ceased to exist, and the Frenchman Louis of Anjou became the Polish king. He passed the crown on to his daughter Jadwiga. The Polish magnates strongly advised that to marry legally with the Lithuanian prince Jogaila, 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 Krevo. In 1387, the population of Lithuania officially adopted the Catholic faith. However, not everyone greeted this with enthusiasm. Those Lithuanians who associated themselves with the Russians did not want to accept Catholicism.

Jagiello's cousin Vitovt took advantage of this. He led the opposition and led the fight for the grand ducal throne. 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, Vytautas became the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Jogaila appropriated to himself the title of Supreme Prince of Lithuania.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century on the map

Vytautas continued his conquest of Russian lands and in 1395 captured Smolensk. Soon he refused to obey Jogaila and, thanks to an alliance with the Tatars, annexed the large territory of the Wild Field to Lithuania. Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania significantly expanded its borders in the 14th century. However, in 1399, military luck turned away from Vytautas. He lost Smolensk and part of other lands. In 1401, Lithuania was so weakened that it again entered into an alliance with Poland - the Vilna-Radom Union.

After this, Vitovt again acquired serious political weight. In 1406, an official border was established between Muscovite Russia and Lithuania. The Principality of Lithuania waged a successful fight against the Teutonic Order. In 1410, the Battle of Grunwald took place, in which the crusading knights suffered a crushing defeat. In the last years of his reign, Vytautas sought to once again separate Lithuania from Poland and, for this purpose, decided to be crowned. But this idea ended in failure.

Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century became a militarily and politically strong state. It united, significantly expanded its borders and acquired high international authority. The adoption of Catholicism was also an important historical event. This step brought Lithuania closer to Europe, but alienated it from Rus'. This played a major political role in subsequent centuries.

Alexey Starikov

In the XIV-XV centuries. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia was a real rival of Muscovite Rus' in the struggle for dominance in Eastern Europe. It strengthened under Prince Gediminas (ruled 1316-1341). Russian cultural influence prevailed here at this time. Gedemin and his sons were married to Russian princesses, and the Russian language dominated at court and in official business. Lithuanian writing did not exist at that time. Until the end of the 14th century. Russian regions within the state did not experience national-religious oppression. Under Olgerd (reigned 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 what is now Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and the Smolensk region. For all residents 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 14th century, the Orthodox population numerically predominated, with whom the pagan Lithuanians lived quite peacefully, and sometimes unrest was quickly suppressed (for example, in Smolensk). The lands of the principality under Olgerd extended 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 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 DUCHIES OF LITHUANIA AND RUSSIAN

In the first half of the 14th century. A strong state appeared in Europe - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. It owes its origin to Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341), who during the years of his reign captured and annexed the Brest, Vitebsk, Volyn, Galician, Lutsk, Minsk, Pinsk, Polotsk, Slutsk and Turov lands to Lithuania. The Smolensk, Pskov, Galicia-Volyn and Kiev principalities became dependent on Lithuania. Many Russian lands, seeking 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 him tribute and supply troops when necessary. Gediminas himself began to call himself “the king of the Lithuanians and many Russians.” The Old Russian (close to modern Belarusian) language became the official language and language of office work of the principality. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania there was no persecution on religious or national grounds.

In 1323, Lithuania had a new capital - Vilnius. According to legend, one day Gediminas was hunting at the foot of the mountain at the confluence of the Vilni and Neris rivers. Having killed a huge aurochs, he and his warriors decided to spend the night near an ancient pagan sanctuary. In a dream, he dreamed of a wolf dressed in iron armor, who howled like a hundred wolves. The high priest Lizdeika, called to interpret the dream, explained that he should build a city in this place - the capital of the state and that the fame of this city would spread throughout the world. Gediminas listened to the priest's advice. A city was built, which took its name from the Vilna River. Gediminas moved his residence here 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 convert to Catholicism and invited artisans, merchants, and farmers to Lithuania. The Crusaders understood that Lithuania’s adoption of Catholicism would mean the end of their “missionary” mission in the eyes of Western Europe. Therefore, they began to incite local pagans and Orthodox Christians 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 military operations against Lithuania. In 1336 they besieged the Samogitian castle of Pilenai. When its defenders realized that they could not resist for long, they burned the castle and themselves died in the fire. On November 15, 1337, Ludwig IV of Bavaria presented the Teutonic Order with a Bavarian castle built near the Nemunas, which was to become the capital of the conquered state. However, this state had yet to be conquered.

After the death of Gediminas, the principality passed to his seven sons. The Grand Duke was considered the one who ruled in Vilnius. 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 repelled 70 campaigns to Lithuania by the Teutonic Order and 30 by the Livonian Order. There was not a single major battle in which he did not take part. Kestutis’s military talent was appreciated even by his enemies: each of the crusaders, as their own sources report, would consider it the greatest honor to shake Kestutis’s hand.

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 Podol to Lithuania. The capture of Kyiv led to a clash with the Mongol-Tatars. In 1363, the army of Algirdas defeated them at Blue Waters, the southern Russian lands were freed 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 campaign against 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 given to the son of Algirdas from his second marriage, 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 reconquer the Novgorod-Seversky lands from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the fight against Andrei, Jagiello 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 to share with Oleg Ryazansky (also an ally of Mamai) the lands of the Moscow principality. However, Jagiello arrived at the Kulikovo field late: the Mongol-Tatars had already suffered a crushing defeat. Meanwhile, Kestutis learned of a secret agreement 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, Jogaila, together with his brother Skirgaila, captured Vilnius and then Trakai. Kestutis and his son Vytautas were invited to negotiations at Jogaila's headquarters, where they were captured and placed in Krevo 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 military operations against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The allies captured 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, receiving 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 Jogaila for some time, returned to Lithuania in 1390, and in 1392 an agreement was concluded between the two rulers: Vytautas took possession of 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 appanage princes of power, sending his governors 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 power of Vytautas extended 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’s daughter, Sophia). The Ugra River became the borders 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 the testimony of his contemporaries, was distinguished primarily by deep political talents, he knew how to take advantage of circumstances, correctly outlined the goals of his political aspirations, and advantageously positioned alliances and successfully chose the time to implement his political plans. Extremely reserved and prudent, Olgerd was distinguished by his ability to keep his political and military plans in impenetrable secrecy. Russian chronicles, which are generally not favorable to Olgerd due to his clashes with northeastern Russia, call him “evil,” “godless,” and “flattering”; however, they recognize in him the ability to take advantage of circumstances, restraint, cunning - in a word, all the qualities necessary to strengthen one’s power in the state and to expand its borders. In relation to various nationalities, it can be said that all Olgerd’s sympathies and attention were focused on the Russian people; Olgerd, according to his views, habits and family connections, 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 was its defender before the crusaders and deserved the glory of the people's 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 Russian chronicles know only Olgerd, and German ones only know Keistut.

LITHUANIA AT THE RUSSIA MILLENNIUM MONUMENT

The lower tier of figures is a high relief on which, as a result of a long struggle, 109 finally approved figures are placed, depicting outstanding figures of the Russian state. Under each of them, on a granite base, there is a signature (name), written in a Slavic stylized font.

The figures depicted on the high relief are divided by the author of the Monument project into four sections: 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 directly behind the “Enlighteners” with the figure of Yaroslav the Wise, after which come: Vladimir Monomakh, Gediminas, Olgerd, Vytautas, the princes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Zakharenko A.G. 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. Vol. 2. Novgorod. 1957

As already noted, by the 12th century. On the territory of the Baltic tribes living in the Nemunas basin, several political associations arose - “lands”: Samogitia (Zhmud), Deltuva (Dyaltuva), etc. These associations, headed by princes (kunigas), became the basis for the formation of the Lithuanian state. Its territorial core was one of the principalities that emerged in the first half of the 13th century. in military-political terms, Aukštaitija (Auxtote in Western sources), or “Upper Lithuania” comes to the fore. This “land” occupied the right bank of the middle Neman and the basin of its tributary, the Viliya River. The formation of a unified Principality of Lithuania is associated with the activities of Prince Mindaugas (Mindaugas ruled from the 1230s to 1263). By the end of his reign, he subjugated all the Lithuanian principalities-“lands” and, in addition, captured the western part of the Principality of Polotsk from the headwaters of the Vilia to the Black Rus' - the territory along the left tributaries of the Neman with the cities of Novgorodok, Volkovysk and Slonim. It is known that in the early 1250s. Mindaugas accepted Christianity according to the Catholic rite (although most of his subjects continued to remain pagans) and the title of king. Nevertheless, in Russian sources the Lithuanian state was almost always called a “principality” or “grand duchy”, and its heads were called “princes”.

The lands united by Mindaugas (with the exception of Samogitia) in the 13th–15th centuries. were called “Lithuania” in the narrow sense of the word. The Western Russian territories included in this region were subject to some Lithuanian colonization, which was predominantly military in nature. The capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 13th century. was Novgorod. As the state grew, this area was subject to a process of political fragmentation: in the 14th–15th centuries. here existed the Vilna, Trotsky (Trakai), Goroden and Novgorod principalities. Samogitia (Zhmuda land), which occupied the right bank of the Neman from the shore to the Western Dvina in its middle reaches, retained a certain administrative isolation from Lithuania in the 14th–15th centuries, although the power of the grand dukes extended to it.

It should be noted that in the “collection” of Russian lands by the Lithuanian princes in the 14th–15th centuries. Military takeovers were far from the only method. Appanage principalities turned out to be their property both as a result of dynastic marriages and as a result of the voluntary recognition of vassal dependence on Lithuania by some Russian princes.

Under the heirs of Mindaugas, the growth of the state territory of the Principality of Lithuania continued. Under Vytenis (1295–1316) in 1307, Polotsk and its surrounding area were recaptured from the Livonian Order. During the reign of Gediminas (Gediminas, 1316–1341), the capital of the state became the city of Vilna (Vilnius from 1323), the Minsk appanage principality, which reached the upper one, and Vitebsk, and in the southwest - the Berestey land (Podlasie) were annexed. At the same time, the spread of Lithuanian influence began in Polesie, where the appanage principalities of the Turovo-Pinsk land were located. Thus, by the middle of the 14th century. The Russian lands as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania exceeded the Lithuanian ones both in area and in population. It is not surprising that Gediminas began to call himself the prince of “Lithuania, Zhmud and Russian,” and subsequently historians and the entire state sometimes began to call him “Lithuanian-Russian” or “Russian-Lithuanian.” This name more adequately reflects the essence of this power, since further, in the second half of the 14th – 15th centuries, it expanded almost exclusively at the expense of the former Russian principalities and lands. Although the ruling dynasty remained Lithuanian, it, like all Lithuanian nobility, experienced significant Russian influence. It is interesting that those annexed in the 14th century. the lands along the upper Dnieper, Berezina, Pripyat and Sozh in Lithuanian-Russian documents were called “Rus” in the narrow sense of the word, and this name was retained for this region throughout the entire period of the existence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1345–1377 Gediminas' sons Algirdas and Kestutis jointly headed the state. As co-rulers, they delimited the foreign policy sphere between themselves: Olgerd tried to establish the influence of Lithuania in the Russian lands, and Keistut, having received Samogitia and Trakai under control, fought with the Livonian Order. If Keistut's activities were mainly defensive in nature, then Olgerd managed to carry out several more territorial annexations. On the left bank of the Dnieper, he captured the northern appanages of the Chernigov-Seversk land with the cities of Bryansk, Trubchevsk, Starodub, Novgorod Seversky, Chernigov, Rylsk and Putivl. The Verkhovsky principalities located in the basin of the upper reaches of the Oka - Novosilskoye, Odoevskoye, Vorotynskoye, Belevskoye, Kozelskoye, etc. - also recognized their dependence on Lithuania. True, these territories were repeatedly transferred from Lithuania to the Moscow principality and back. To the west of the Dnieper, Olgerd managed to annex the entire Kiev region, and after defeating the Horde army in the Battle of Blue Waters around 1363, the state’s possessions in the south reached the middle reaches of the Dniester. The power of the Lithuanian princes began to spread to Volyn, Galician land and Podolia (the region between the upper reaches of the Southern Bug and). However, here the Kingdom of Poland provided serious opposition to Lithuania and the struggle for these lands went on with varying degrees of success.

Olgerd's heir Jogaila (Jogaila, 1377–1392) waged a fierce struggle for the grand-ducal table with Keistut, and then with Vytautas. Having won the victory, he concluded the Union of Krevo (1385), according to which he pledged to accept the Catholic faith with all his relatives and forever annex the Grand Duchy to the Kingdom of Poland. In 1386 he was baptized and, under the name of Władysław II, became king of Poland. However, the incorporation of Lithuania into Poland did not last long. A few years later, Vytautas (1392–1430) became the Grand Duke of Lithuania, under whom Lithuania gained actual independence. Vytautas managed to return the lands seized by the Teutonic Order during the Lithuanian civil strife, to subjugate the Smolensk land, as well as the territory in the upper Dnieper basin and along the Ugra. Taking advantage of the infighting in the Golden Horde, he also captured part of the Northern Black Sea region from the Dnieper to the Dniester. A number of new fortifications were built here.

In the 15th century the growth rate of the state territory of the Principality of Lithuania decreased significantly, and its borders stabilized. The state achieved its greatest expansion under Casimir IV, who combined the thrones of the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1440–1492) and the King of Poland (from 1447). During this period, it covered the lands to and from the upper Oka. In the Baltic, Lithuania owned a small stretch of coastline with the town of Palanga. From it, the northern border went to the middle reaches of the Western Dvina and the upper reaches of the Velikaya, then, skirting Velikiye Luki from the south, crossed Lovat and went to the southeast. In the east, the possessions of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow were separated by the Ugra and Oka from Kaluga to Lyubutsk, beyond which the border turned south to the source of the Sosna, and then passed along Oskol and Samara to the Dnieper. In the south, the borders were the Dnieper and the Black Sea coast, and in the southwest - the Dniester and the foothills of the Carpathians. From the middle reaches of the Western Bug the border went to the Neman, west of Kovno, and to the Baltic.

At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. Lithuania's territory in the east was significantly reduced. The losses were associated with the Russian-Lithuanian wars, in which success accompanied the Moscow Grand Dukes. According to the treaties of 1494, 1503 and 1522. the upper reaches of the Lovat (from the city of Nevel) and the Western Dvina (Toropets), the Smolensk, Vyazemsky and Belsky destinies, the Verkhovsky principalities, Bryansk, Trubchevsk, Chernigov and Novgorod Seversky, as well as the steppe territory from Putivl and Rylsk to the Oskol River, went to Moscow.

The rapprochement between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, which began under Jogaila, finally ended in 1569, when, as a result of the Union of Lublin, the territory of the principality was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland, and a new state arose - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Geographically, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted of several regions in which the population concentration was quite high. The fact is that the population of the principality was grouped in peculiar “oases”, separated from each other by uninhabited or sparsely populated spaces. Such spaces were areas of dense forests or vast swamps, of which there were quite a lot in the part occupied by Lithuania. These forests separated the Lithuanian land (in the narrow sense) from Prussia, the Berestey land (Podlasie) and the Turov-Pinsk principalities. A wooded and swampy forest stretched in the north of the Zhmud land, delimiting it and the possessions of the Livonian Order; forest space separated the Volyn land from Berestey and from the Turov-Pinsk appanage principalities; forests stretched in a strip in the Berezina and Disna basin, isolating Polotsk and Vitebsk lands from Lithuania, which in turn were separated from Smolensk land by a similar forest barrier. These forests, lying between the populated parts of the state, isolating them, favored the preservation of their social, everyday and political individuality.

Opinion
“The Lithuanian land itself, whose forces created the state under these historical circumstances, naturally occupied the politically dominant and
privileged position. In addition to the ancestral territory of the Lithuanian tribe, this region also included Russian lands, occupied already in the 13th century. and more or less
colonized by it. More closely than other regions, Russian territories joined their own Lithuanian land, which Lithuania received by right of conquest from neighboring Russian lands, or at the time of annexation to Lithuania they were politically broken and therefore were too weak to occupy a separate and independent position in the Lithuanian-Russian federations, which were: the so-called Russia (in a special, private sense), Podlasie or the land of Berestey, the principalities of Turovo-Pinsk in Polesie. Together with these lands, Lithuania itself was divided at the time under study into two voivodeships, Vilna and Trotsky, which was reflected in the military-political dualism that established in Lithuania in the 14th century, from the time of Olgerd and Keistut. The remaining regions, i.e. the lands of Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk, Zhmud, Kiev and Volyn, the Chernigov-Seversky principalities and Podolia, which joined the Grand Duchy by agreement and treaty, while maintaining local independence and identity, continued to maintain their special position from Lithuania as part of the Grand Duchy and at the time under study. This preservation of local political antiquity, in addition to the geographical position of the named regions, which favored their independence, was due to the lack of original creative aspirations in the matter of state building by the Lithuanian government, which in turn was determined by the comparative political weakness and underdevelopment of the dominant tribe.”

Regional and administrative divisions of the State of Lithuania

The administrative-territorial structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has evolved throughout its history. In the XIII–XIV centuries. The appanage system prevailed: the vassals of the Grand Duke were at the same time his representatives in the territories under their control. Sometimes Lithuanian princes used their sons or other representatives of the Lithuanian aristocracy as governors. At the same time, in many Russian appanage principalities that were part of the Lithuanian state, Russian princely dynasties remained, ruling their “fatherland”, but recognizing vassal dependence on the Gediminids. In the 15th century The appanage system is replaced by direct grand-ducal administration. Governors were appointed to the centers of the former appanage principalities (as they became closer to Poland, they began to be called the terms “voivodes” and “elders” borrowed from there). The largest former principalities had governors: Vilna, Trotsky, Kiev, Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk. The districts, which were governed by governors, elders and other representatives of the princely administration, were initially called by the ancient Russian term “volost”, and then the word “povet” was borrowed from Poland. By the turn of the XV–XVI centuries. A fairly clear system of administrative-territorial division has developed.

The Vilna Voivodeship included, in addition to the volosts of the former Vilna Principality, the volosts of the Novgorod Principality and the appanages of Slutsk, Kletsk and Mstislavsky. The largest cities in this territory were Vilna - the capital of the state since 1323, Novgorodok, Slutsk, Minsk, Kletsk, Mogilev, Mstislavl. The Trotsky Voivodeship occupied the middle Neman basin and the Berestey land. Its largest cities are Troki (Trakai), Koven (Kovno), Gorodno (Grodno), Belsk, Dorogichin, Berestye, Pinsk, Turov. Samogitia (Zhmud land) was headed by an elder; there were no large cities here.

The Volyn land consisted of several povets, in which judicial and administrative power belonged to local feudal lords. The largest cities are Vladimir, Lutsk, Kremenets, Ostrog. The administrative district of the Kyiv voivode was determined by the composition of the volosts and estates that belonged to the Kyiv princes in the 14th–15th centuries. This included the basin of the lower Pripyat with its tributaries, the Teterev basin and the strip of the right bank of the Dnieper to the Tyasmin River, and to the east of the Dnieper - the coast from the mouth of the Sozh to Samara, almost all of Posemye (until 1503), Posule and the basins of Psel, Vorskla and the upper Donets to Oskol. At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. The eastern volosts of the voivodeship were lost. The main area of ​​concentration of cities here was the right bank of the Dnieper, where Kiev, Chernobyl, Vruchy (Ovruch), Zhitomir, Cherkasy, Vyshgorod, Kanev, Mozyr, etc. were located. On the left bank there were mainly old Russian centers - Chernigov, Novgorod Seversky, Starodub, Rylsk and Putivl. To the south of Putivl and Rylsk there were almost uninhabited steppes.

The Smolensk voivodeship included the volosts that belonged to the last Smolensk princes (many of these volosts came into the possession of the service princes and lords), as well as the eastern judicial administrative districts, which became part of the Lithuanian-Russian state later than the Smolensk povet. The territory of the voivodeship covered the space from the headwaters of the Lovat in the north to the source of the Oka in the south, and in the east it reached the Ugra. The largest cities in this region are Smolensk, Toropets, Vyazma, Vorotynsk, Odoev, Mosalsk, Bryansk, Lyubutsk, Mtsensk. In 1503, the Toropetsk, Bryansk, Mtsensk, Lyubutsky districts, the Belskoye, Vyazemskoye and Verkhovsky principalities went to Moscow, and in 1514 formally (in 1522 legally) - Smolensk and the surrounding area.

The Vitebsk voivodeship consisted of volosts and estates that belonged to the Vitebsk and Drutsk princes in the 14th century, and covered the upper reaches of the Western Dvina and Dnieper with the cities of Vitebsk, Orsha and several towns. In a similar way, the Polotsk Voivodeship arose from the appanages of the Polotsk and Lukom princes, located in the middle reaches of the Dvina. Perhaps only Polotsk can be called a city here in the full sense of the word; the rest of the settlements were small, but there were a large number of them.

Braslav, Venitsky and Zvenigorod districts of Lithuanian Podolia (Podolia) occupied the territory from the Dniester to the lower Dnieper. They were inhabited only by the basin of the upper Bug, where the cities and towns of Venitsa (Vinnitsa), Braslavl, Zvenigorodka and others were located.