There is no need for this article to return to the glorious pages ancient history Smolensk region of the 9th-12th centuries, heroic episodes associated with the history of the Northern and Patriotic (1812) wars. These questions have already received sufficient coverage in the historical literature. Its purpose is an attempt to give the most realistic coverage of the events of one of the most interesting periods in the history of the Smolensk region - the period that lasted from the 2nd half of the 13th to the first half of the 16th century.
The interest of the readers of the magazine, apparently, was aroused by N. Chugunkov-Krivich's essay "For the land of my desert" ("Smolensk Territory", Nos. 9-12, 1992), published in the heading " Little known pages history. "I'm afraid that after reading it, the Smolensk people hardly began to understand the events that took place in the Smolensk region in early XVI century. In this, I do not see much fault of the author, who apparently used numerous monographic and popular science publications, based on the point of view of Moscow chroniclers and historians of the 16th-17th centuries, which developed on the events that took place on the territory of White Russia in the 14th-16th centuries. What is the real historical outline of these events?
Undoubtedly, the enlightened reader is aware of the fact that at the end of the 9th-10th centuries of our era on the territory of the Smolensk region "an association of tribes is formed, known from chronicles under the name of Krivichi" (1). In ethnic terms, it was a Slavic-Baltic association with a tendency to gradually assimilate Baltic elements in it. All this somewhat distinguished the Krivichi from other eastern and southern tribal unions. "The character of the attire and jewelry has specific features that are not characteristic of other Slavic population groups that lived further south" (2). Chronicles spoke of the large number of Krivichi: "... even to sit on the top of the Volga, and on the top of the Dvina and on the top of the Dnieper" (3).
On the upper reaches of the Volga, their ethnic identity was disrupted by the influx of other tribes, but along the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Dvina, it basically remained the same. The same chronicles first mention two cities of the Krivichi: Smolensk and Polotsk. Later, Vitebsk, Usvyaty, Kopys, Braslav, Orsha, Minsk are added to them. Based on the research of Belarusian and Russian archaeologists, it was possible to find out that two more Slavic tribal unions were ethnically close to the Krivichi - the Dregovichi and the Radimichi, "in whose culture and language both Slavic and Baltic elements were intertwined" (4). It is easy to see that the territory inhabited by the three above-mentioned tribal unions, for the most part, is part of the present Republic of Belarus and almost completely coincides with the ethnic map of the settlement of Belarusians, compiled on the basis of population censuses of the late XIX - early XX centuries (the tsarist government is difficult to suspect of Belarusianism) . In this area in IX-X centuries three specific principalities were formed: Smolensk, Polotsk, Chernigov, and the Polotsk principality pursued an independent policy towards Kiev for a long time, for which it was repeatedly punished by the Kiev rulers. Due to a difficult coincidence, Smolensk and Chernigov residents were forced to take part in these campaigns against Polotsk. Later, in the XII-XIII centuries, this struggle between the Smolensk and Polotsk principalities was not ethnic (it simply cannot be due to the homogeneity of the ethnic group), but a predominantly regional character. But this is the subject of a special study.
When, at the beginning of the 13th century, the Principality of Polotsk becomes the object of an attack by the Crusaders, none other than the Smolensk people were the first to come to its aid. These events were chronicled in the pages of the "Chronicle of Livonia" by Henry of Latvia (5). In 1222, together again, "... the king of Smolensk, the king of Polotsk ... sent ambassadors to Riga to ask for peace. And peace was renewed, in everything the same as that concluded earlier" (6). In 1229 they renew the treaty with Riga; "the same truth wake up Rusina in Rize and Nemchich in Smolensk volosts and in Polotsk and Vibsk" (7). True, at the same time, Polotsk does not abandon attempts to strengthen its influence in the Western Russian region.
And three years before that, in 1226, the chronicle tells that "Lithuania conquered the Novogorodtskaya volost and did a lot of evil to Novgorod, and near Toropets, and near Smolensk, and up to Poltesk" (8). Undoubtedly, this is the same "Lithuania", which in 1216 was supposed to participate in the united campaign of Vladimir Polotsk against the crusaders. As early as the end of the 12th century, the Lithuanians were used by Polotsk to fight against Smolensk (1180) and in the campaign against Novgorod (1198). "Lithuania" also undertook independent raids on Polotsk and other neighbors, but they were all cruelly suppressed (for example, in 1216 and 1226). As for the raids of "Lithuania" on Smolensk and other lands of Western Russia (1200, 1225, 1229, 1234, 1245, etc.), they "could only be in the interests of Polotsk, which inspired them against neighboring lands and which were carried out through Polotsk land" (9). The fact is that the Principality of Polotsk "more and more fell under the political and economic influence of Smolensk" (10), and in 1222 even the capital of the principality, Polotsk, was captured by the Smolensk princes ("... Smolensk took Polotesk on the 17th day of January" ( 11). The desire of Polotsk to weaken this Smolensk pressure, and perhaps even try to subjugate it, coincided with a certain increase in the military activity of "Lithuania". It is quite possible that the Lithuanians played the role of Polotsk mercenaries to some extent. For such purposes, they were used in their internecine wars and Polish princes (12). In general, the attacks of "Lithuania" were not "part of any plan, the Lithuanians did not set their goal and the annexation of Russian lands. Rather, it looked like raids to capture prisoners and plunder villages. "( 13)
In the late 30s - early 40s of the XIII century, its southeastern neighbor, the Novogorodsk (Novogrudok) principality, whose lands were called "Black Russia", sought to establish relations with eastern Lithuania. By this time, the Novogorodsk land was quite well developed both in agriculture and in handicrafts, and carried on a brisk trade. (14) "In a relatively small area of ​​Novogorodsk land, there were many cities: Novogorodok, Slonim, Volkovysk, Goroden, Zditov, Zelva, Svisloch, etc." (15) This land was not subjected to any serious campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars. Archaeological data speak of wide and diverse ties between the Novogorod region and Polotsk and the Turov-Pinsk land, which marked the beginning of the process of economic and political rapprochement of the Belarusian lands in the middle of the 13th century.
To unite these lands into a single state, it was necessary to resolve the issue with the territory of the Upper Ponemanye, which, according to all archaeological and ethno-toponymic data, should be correlated with ancient "Lithuania", though not all, but only the eastern one ("Litvins"), western Lithuania ("zhmudins") for some time retained a certain independence.
Under the influence of the aggression of the crusaders and in connection with the change in socio-economic relations within the Lithuanian tribes at the beginning of the 13th century, there is a certain tendency towards their unification, which, in turn, as already noted, echoed similar trends in Western Russian lands.
Links "Lithuania" with them were not unambiguous. "There were also armed clashes, quite natural for the era of feudal wars, princely civil strife and the gradual overcoming of feudal fragmentation" (16). The rapprochement of Lithuania with the lands of White Russia was undoubtedly dictated by the potential danger posed by the Mongol-Tatars, who at that time were undertaking quite active expeditions to the territory of Galicia-Volyn Russia.

The Novogorodsk land becomes the center of consolidation, which was facilitated in the second third of the 13th century by the influx of people from other Belarusian regions. However, this role of Novogorodok as a unifying center was not reflected in historical science for a long time. "Even in the 50-70s of our century, when, thanks to archaeological research, an exceptionally high level of economy and culture of ancient Novogorodok and its region, the so-called Black Russia, was revealed, researchers still denied it an independent meaning and; showed it only as an object of conquest by Lithuania, which, in turn, was identified with modern Lithuania, which completely distorted the history of the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. (17) Even V.T. Pashuto, whose book "The Formation of the Lithuanian State" (M., 1959) contributed to the assertion of the thesis about the Lithuanian conquest of Belarus, was not quite sure of the truth of his positions when he noted that "further advances in our science will probably lead to a revision of the presented here are arguments and conclusions. The sooner this happens, the better." (eighteen)
The initial stage of the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is associated with the name of the Lithuanian prince Mindovg, whose possessions were located on the left bank of the upper Neman, next to the Novgorod lands. According to chronicles, life path Mindovga during the first half of the 13th century is the path of a mercenary prince. In 1219, he undertakes to fight under the leadership of the Galician-Volyn prince with the Poles. (19) He performs the same task in 1237. (20) In 1245, he participates in civil strife on the side of Daniel of Galicia. (21) Unsuccessful participation in the fight against the Teutonic Order in 1246 ended for Mindovg with a major defeat of his lands, which served as the beginning of an inter-princely struggle in the lands of the tribal union headed by Mindovg from 1238. "Expelled from Lithuania, he was forced to flee" with many of his boyars "to neighboring Novogrudok. (22) The Novogorod boyars had long cherished the dream of eliminating political dependence on the Galicia-Volyn principality (with the Principality of Polotsk, of which Novogorod lands were legally part, the boyars was not considered for a long time), reducing the Tatar danger, expanding its influence on neighboring lands. Mindovg came in very handy for solving these problems, in addition, there was a great opportunity to intervene in the internecine struggle of Lithuanian feudal lords in order to neutralize the devastating consequences of their raids on the lands of Black Russia (this confirms the fact that Mindovg came to Novogorodok not as a conqueror, but as a fugitive, beneficial to the local boyars).
Having become a prince of Novgorod and having adopted Orthodoxy (23), Mindovg at the beginning of 1249 expelled her princes Tovtivil, Erdzivil and Vikinta from Lithuania and again became a Lithuanian prince, responding "with hostility ... for divination." Thus, the whole land of Lithuania was "caught". (24)
As you can see, there is no talk of any "expansion of Lithuania" (25) and the conquest of Black Russia mentioned in a number of works on the history of the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Rather, on the contrary, Black Russia unites with Lithuania (under the patronage of Novogorodok), though not for long.
The son of Mindovg Voyshelk not only managed to frustrate the plans of the Galicia-Volyn principality to annex the territory of Black Russia, restore the Novogorod-Lithuanian state, once created with the help of his father, but also annex the neighboring Baltic lands Devoltva and Nalshany. (26)
Soon, the power of the Novogorodsk-Lithuanian state was voluntarily recognized by Polotsk, which by this time had lost its former power, which allowed the crusaders to take away the Upper Dvina from it, and the Turov-Pinsk land, which by that moment was in the orbit of influence of the Galician-Volyn princes. "The annexation of these two Belarusian lands immediately gave not only a military-political, but also an ethnic preponderance of the Slavic element over the Baltic one." (27)
A higher level of development of Slavic culture compared to Lithuanian led to its dominance in the newly formed state - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereinafter GDL), and the language of White Russia became the state language.
Under Prince Viten, around 1315, the Beresteiskaya (Brest) land was included in the GDL, and later the entire south of modern Belarus.
During the reign of the Grand Dukes Gediminas (1316-1341) and Olgerd (1345-1377), the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania expanded significantly at the expense of the lands of Polotsk, Minsk, Vitebsk, Kiev and Volyn principalities. They stopped the practice of passing inheritances into the hands of sons after the death of fathers. The lands were now transferred to the name of the Grand Duke. In a similar way, the Vitebsk lands passed to Olgerd (he was married to the daughter of the Vitebsk prince Maria).
Thus, there is the formation of the Novogorodsk-Vilna (Gediminas moved the capital to Vilna) center for the unification of the lands of Western (White), Southern Russia and Lithuania and the creation united state- The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, designed to resist the Tatar and German aggression. Speaking about the formation of the Russian national state in the XIV century, historians "have in mind only the Muscovite state, losing sight of the fact that the principality of Gediminas became more Russian than Lithuanian. The Grand Lithuanian-Russian principality put forward a program to restore the former integrity of Russia, took the path unification of Russian lands" (28). The Slavic nature of the state is also confirmed by the nature of the marriages of the Grand Dukes (Olgerd was twice married to the Vitebsk and Tver princesses, his brother Lubart - to the Vladimir princess, and the sisters were married to the Tver and Moscow princes) and the Old Belarusian language, which was spoken by the inhabitants of the principality, and indeed the great princes themselves. This language was adopted by Lithuanian and Samogitian boyars (Radziwills, Gashtolds, Giedroits, Monvids, etc.). Undoubtedly, we can talk about the process of Slavization of the Lithuanian ethnic environment in the GDL.
Based on this, it must be emphasized that by the middle of the 14th century, not one was created in Eastern Europe, as a number of historians believed and still believe, but two main centers for the unification of the lands of Russia. "Olgerd became a rival to the Moscow princes, and very soon a dangerous enemy." (29)
The Smolensk principality in the 14th century found itself on the watershed of opposing unifying tendencies. To which side did Smolensk gravitate more? Apparently, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was in a more advantageous position, by which time it had already included the Polotsk-Minsk lands ethnically related to the Smolensk people, united by a common socio-political history of the XI-XIII centuries Chernihiv and Kiev lands, well known to the Smolensk people and for conducting trade affairs (within the above-mentioned territories there were the main trade and transport arteries of the Smolensk region - the Dnieper and the Dvina with their tributaries). Relations with Moscow Rus were less close both in trade, economic and political relations, and "the subsequently famous only road from Smolensk to Vyazma - Mozhaisk (and further to Moscow) arose ... only in the era of the rise of Moscow (XIV century - G. L.)" (30). An important role in its emergence was played by the unifying policy of the Moscow princes, aimed at expanding the territory subject to them at the expense of the lands of White Russia and, in particular, the Smolensk principality as an integral part of them.
During this period, a more numerous pro-Lithuanian and pro-Moscow parties were formed in the Smolensk region. But they did not determine the political face of the principality. A significant advantage over them was the socio-political trend aimed at preserving the independence of the land, which was generally justified in the first half of the 14th century and disastrous for the principality in the changed foreign policy conditions of the second half of the century.

Attempts to annex the Smolensk lands were made both from the Moscow and the Lithuanian-Russian sides. In 1351, the great Moscow prince - Simeon the Proud made such an attempt "to approach Smolensk in strength and greatness, and with him his brothers and all the princes." True, the campaign did not achieve its goal, and Simeon "stood on the Ugra" ... and therefore sent ambassadors to Smolensk, "(31) soon achieving reconciliation with the Smolensk princes.
The actions of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd were more successful. In 1356, he "fought Bryansk and Smolenesk ... and then began to possess Bryansk" (32). In 1359, “Olgerd Gediminovich came to Smo.lensk, and took the city of Mstislavl, and planted his governors in it. planted." (33)
Under 1363, the Tver Chronicle tells of Andrei Olgerdovich's campaign against Khorvach and Ruden (Rudnya) - the cities of Smolensk land.
There is no clear external orientation in the policy of the Smolensk princes of this period. Its former focus on maintaining the independence of the principality leads to a balancing act between the interests of the Lithuanian-Russian and Muscovite principalities. So in 1370, Smolensk prince Svyatoslav Ivanovich participated in Olgerd's campaign against Moscow, organized to assist the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich, whose sister was married to the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The main idea of ​​the campaign was an attempt to weaken Muscovite Rus and give new impetus to the unifying tendencies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. "And taking the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Protva and letting all the people of that land go to Smolensk, ... then Olgerd and Svyatoslav took Vereya." Moscow guard regiment, besieged Moscow, but did not take it, and three days later, having plundered the surroundings, they lifted the siege.
But already in 1375, we see Ivan Vasilievich Smolensky participating in a joint campaign organized by the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich, against Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver, who received a label for a great reign in the Golden Horde. (35) In the same year, the Smolensk people paid for participation in this campaign. "The same summer, the great Lithuanian prince Olgerd Gedimanovich came to Smolensk, saying: why did they go to fight Prince Mikhail of Tver? And so the whole land of Smolensk was taken and captured." (36)
Attempts to conduct an independent policy by the Smolensk princes or: to expand the territory of the principality by returning the lands that once belonged to him, as a rule, ended in failure. In 1386, the Smolensk prince Svyatoslav Ivanovich, having teamed up with the former Polotsk prince Andrei Olgerdovich, who had fled earlier to Moscow, who considered himself undeservedly offended by his father, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd, (appointed him as his successor younger brother Jagiello) and striving to win the crown of the Grand Duchy, attacked Vitebsk and Orsha. They did not achieve a serious result, despite the extremely cruel measures in relation to the local residents ("they did a lot of evil things to a Christian, like a filthy one, ... they locked them in huts and fired, they poured hot pitch on them, others, having lifted the huts, laid them alive under the walls, and then the vags of otimash and people crushed the walls, other men, wives and children were stuck on a stake"). (37) The crusaders also took advantage of this predatory campaign, devastating the northwestern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, "burning down the outskirts of Lukoml, Drissa and many villages, taking several thousand people into captivity." (38)
Having failed here, Svyatoslav with his sons Gleb and Yuri headed for the city of Mstislavl, which had been included in the GDL back in 1359. "On the way, they caught Lithuanian officials, warriors. These people, together with their families, were subjected to cruel executions." The Smolensk army took Mstislavl under siege. "He got it by regular assaults, digging up the walls, also with battering rams ... and the entire Mstislavsky volost was devastated and burned out, and a lot of Christian blood was shed from his sword" (40). But on the eleventh day, four regiments of warriors of the Lithuanian-Russian principality approached the city, "and between them there was great warfare and slashing evil and falling dead on the river on Vekhra. ". (41) In this battle, Prince Svyatoslav Ivanovich and his cousin Ivan Vasilyevich - the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo.
The Lithuanian princes, having taken a ransom from Smolensk, planted in it the son of Svyatoslav, Yuri, to reign, "and all of Russia, Polotsk, Lukom, Vitebsk, Orsha, Smolensk, Mstislav, calmed these troubles and brought them to obedience to the princedom of Lithuania." (42) the agreement signed by Yuri Svyatoslavich in Vilna, the latter pledged to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello: 1) "with him for one life"; 2) never oppose the king; 3) "help me the king of cunning, where he needs it", to act with the army at the first request of the king, and in case of illness, send his brother; 4) with whom the king and the great Lithuanian prince are at enmity, with that the Smolensk principality "do not keep peace." (43) In fact, Yuri took the vassal oath to the Grand Duke Jagiello, therefore, the Smolensk land in 1387 becomes part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Thus, now all of White Russia (from the 12th century this term meant the Smolensk and Polotsk-Minsk lands) became part of Lithuanian Russia.
In 1392, Vitovt Keystutyevich, a cousin of Jagiello, became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He "wanted to establish a powerful state that would be completely independent of Poland (this dependence came in 1385, when, under the influence of the aggression of the Teutonic Order, it became necessary to join forces, and a union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland was concluded in the Krevo castle, and Jagiello became not only Grand Duke of Lithuania, but also the Polish king) and to be crowned the Lithuanian-Russian King himself" (44).
Vitovt was married to the daughter of the Smolensk prince Anna Svyatoslavovna (the second daughter of Svyatoslav, Uliana, also married the Lithuanian prince Tovtivil), therefore, the Smolensk region was connected with the ON not only by vassal, but also by dynastic ties. The daughter of Vitovt and Anna, Sophia, became the wife of the great Moscow prince Vasily I in 1390. It was not just a dynastic marriage. This was the beginning of a temporary political mutually beneficial alliance between Lithuanian and Muscovite Rus. Vitovt received some support from Moscow to fight the Catholicization of the territory subject to him and significantly increased the chances of becoming a completely independent ruler (the Union of Krevo limited the rights of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the field of defense and foreign policy, and also put the Catholic religion in a privileged position). Vasily I untied his hands to further increase the territory of the Moscow principality, in particular at the expense of the Novgorod-Pskov and Ryazan lands.
The position of Vytautas was unenviable, given that throughout the ON during this period there was a struggle between the specific princes, who even used detachments of the crusaders or the Mongol-Tatars to achieve their goals. The prince of Smolensk Yuri also contributed to this "distemper", violating the agreement he signed and again trying to pursue an independent policy, independent of Vilna and Moscow, under the circumstances, relying in achieving his goals on the Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich, on whose daughter he was married. Did not change the position significantly. an attempt by Vytautas in 1393 to replace Yuri with his brother Gleb, who belonged to the party of supporters of the Grand Duke. Moreover, in 1396, an internecine struggle broke out between the Smolensk princes Svyatoslavich, in many respects, apparently inspired by Yuri. Upon learning of the approach of Vitovt's troops to Smolensk, Yuri fled to his father-in-law in Ryazan. Vitovt "having come to Smolensk, took the place and the castle voluntarily given to himself" (45), captivated, sent the Smolensk Svyatoslavichs to Lithuania and installed his governors Yakov Yamontovich and Vasily Boreikovich in the city (46). Moscow all this time remained neutral, proceeding from the interests of the Lithuanian-Moscow political union.

In the same 1396, meetings were held in Smolensk between Vitovt and Vasily I. Even 10 miles from the city, Vasily received an honorary escort of 10 thousand people, and Vitovt himself met him a mile from Smolensk. At the entrance of the princes to the city, a cannon salute was given, which lasted about two hours (47). "The result of the visit was the establishment of the boundaries of the Lithuanian-Russian and Moscow principalities. The territory of the White (Smolensk, Polotsk-Minsk lands), Black (Grodno and Brest lands), Lesser (Ukraine) and Chervona (Galicia-Volyn lands) of Russia were recognized as ON, and also part of the territory Great Russia(Bryansk, Oryol lands).

However, the Smolensk prince Yuri Svyatoslavich did not leave the thought of returning the lands once subordinate to him. By the way, it turned out to be a heavy defeat inflicted on the troops of Vitovt by the Golden Horde khans Temir-Kutluy and Edigei on the Vorskla River in 1399 (in this battle, the heroes of the Kulikovo field Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovichi and Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky fell). In his struggle, Yuri found support from Oleg Ryazan. The defeat at Vorskla caused a belated but rather decisive attempt by the latter "to push the boundaries of his influence and claim, if not the leading role in collecting Russian lands, then, in any case, put Ryazan in the first ranks of princes. In 1401, it is possible with full approval of the Horde lords, he started the rejection of Smolensk from Lithuania "(48).
"In the summer of 6909 (1401) ... Great Prince Oleg Ivanovich Rezansky with his son-in-law Yuri Svyatoslavich Smolensky and with his brother ... the army went to Smolensk, conveniently seeing the time later, then Vitoft Kestutyevich was completely impoverished by people from the Temir-Kutluev massacre in the field is clean, ... and then there was great sorrow and emptiness of people in Lithuania" (49). Previously, supporters of Yuri raised a rebellion in the city against the ruler, Prince Roman Mikhailovich of Bryansk. Roman himself was killed, “they let the zhon and the children go wild,” and “the governors of the Vitoltovs and all the boyars of Smolensk, who did not want Prince Yuri, were quietly beaten” (50). Soon the army of the Ryazan and Smolensk princes approached the city, the rebels opened the gates and again received Prince Yuri.
Vytautas made repeated attempts to return the city (1401, 1402, 1403), but failed. After the death of Oleg Ryazansky in 1402, Vitovt's supporters tried to revolt ("there was sedition in the city of Smolensk then, there were a lot of people" (51), but it did not bring the desired result either. Only relying on the strength of the Polish king Jagiello and while maintaining neutrality on the part Moscow Vitovt managed to return Smolensk in 1404. "Vitovt ... all the wine ... beat up to three thousand, and, anyhow, there were no more riots in Smolensk, he turned from the princedom into the province" (52).
Thus was closed the last page in the history of the Smolensk principality. The influence of one of the major centers of feudal separatism and resistance to the centralizing Belarusian-Lithuanian state was significantly weakened.
The entry of the Smolensk lands into the GDL did not lead to any serious changes in their social and economic life. "A number of lands (Vitebsk, Polotsk, Kyiv and Smolensk) retained autonomy, and their political rights were recorded in the regional privileges issued by the Grand Dukes and repeatedly confirmed (charter zemstvo charters), which guaranteed the privileges of the local boyars and partly the townspeople, the inviolability of a number of local laws, customs , traditional forms of management" (53). In the Smolensk region, old cultural traditions were preserved. There were no language, legal or office barriers either, since the state language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as already mentioned, was the Old Belarusian language (close to Old Russian), and the legislation was based on legal norms recorded in Russkaya Pravda.
Smolensk landowners became an integral part of the class of feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, retaining the privileges of antiquity "with certain restrictions ... financial, military, foreign trade and foreign policy functions in favor of the new Lithuanian supreme overlord" (54). Changes in their composition were insignificant, Smolensk-Polotsk-Minsk surnames professing Orthodoxy prevailed. "Under these conditions, there could be no question of any kind of national and religious oppression" (55).
The economic situation of the Smolensk region in the first half of the 15th century was extremely difficult due to the devastating wars of the late 14th-early 15th century, in which "many many people" and the result of which were "the authorities (volosts - G. L.) near Smolensk are empty" ( 56).
The devastating effect on the economy was also natural disasters. These are the drought and famine of 1383-1384, the terrible plagues of 1387 and 1401, the horrific famine of 1434, during which "in the city of Smolensk, in the settlement and along the streets, people ... ate people; ... brother killed his own brother, and pestilence was strong, about such fear old people cannot remember" (57). All this caused a decrease and outflow of the population, which adversely affected the economy of the region.
In the second half of the 15th century, the situation changed for the better due to the cessation of mass hostilities and the encouragement by the GDL government of the resettlement of the population from other regions to the Smolensk region. So, for example, in 1497, the Bishop of Smolensk received permission from the Grand Duke Alexander to receive immigrants from other places (58). There was a gradual restoration of the economy of depopulated territories and the development and settlement of new lands. Contacts with other regions of Belarus were expanding, "prerequisites were created for the formation of a broad internal market. The Dvina and upper Dnieper regions with Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk constituted one economic region" (59). They maintained close economic ties with Minsk and the Middle Dnieper, which ultimately contributed to the intensification of the process of consolidation of the Belarusian nationality on the territory of these regions. "The main in the ethnogenesis of the Belarusian people were the East Slavic tribes - ... Krivichi, Dregovichi and Radimichi ... Thus, the main territory of the formation of the Belarusian people covered the basin of the rivers of the Western Dvina, Neman, Pripyat and Upper Dnieper" (60).
The Orthodox clergy of the Smolensk region, as well as the whole of Belarus, still performed their moral and ideological functions, their authority was supported and used by the great Lithuanian-Russian princes and the largest feudal lords of the state. The lands of the Orthodox clergy continued to enjoy the right of inviolability. However, already separate events of the beginning of the 15th century lay the foundation for the future religious and political struggle between Orthodoxy and Catholicism on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In 1413, a Sejm was held in Horodla, at which the GDL and Poland signed agreements that expanded the rights and privileges of the Lithuanian-Russian feudal lords in Poland, but not all, but only those who converted to Catholicism, Catholic institutions also received some benefits on the territory of the GDL. The boyars of Lithuania proper and Zhmud, who for the most part adopted the Catholic faith at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries, were placed by the Union of Horodel in more favorable conditions than the Belarusians, who at that time adhered to the traditional Orthodox faith. For this reason, two hostile parties formed in the Lithuanian-Russian state - the Catholic and the Orthodox. The Horodel agreements were actively supported by Poland, which saw in them, firstly, a legal basis for the gradual subjugation of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, secondly, an excellent opportunity to moderate the ambitions of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, who had long hatched, as mentioned above, plans for the transformation of the Lithuanian-Russian states into an independent independent kingdom.

One of the agreements stated: "Schismatics and other infidels (non-Catholics) may not hold any higher positions in the state of Lithuania" (61). This and other similar articles marked the beginning of a split among the Belarusian feudal lords. Some of them began to convert to the Catholic faith for the sake of those privileges and posts that the Roman faith opened before them. The Catholic feudal lords, thus, became supporters of Poland and everything Polish, while the Orthodox boyars stood on the side of the Belarusian national interests. The religious split marked the beginning of the state split, the weakening of centralization tendencies in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which would result in the annexation of the western and central regions of the Principality in the 16th century to Poland, and the eastern regions (Western Smolensk and Bryansk regions) to Moscow Russia. But all this will happen already under the successors of Vitovt, but for now he is taking another step in terms of preparing for the creation of the Lithuanian-Russian kingdom. In 1415, in Novogrudok, Vitovt convened a council of the Belarusian and South Russian clergy, which laid the foundation for the existence of an independent Orthodox Church of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, independent of the Moscow Metropolis. Its first head (metropolitan) was Gregory Tsymvlak. Kyiv was considered the center of the Lithuanian-Russian metropolis, in fact, the church lords were most often located in Vilna. In Vitovt's letter on this occasion, it was written: "We, hotsyachi, so that your faith does not diminish, nor perish, and your churches would be in order, we did this to the metropolitan, with a selection, to the Kiev metropolis, so that the Russian honor of usa would melt on the Russian land" ( 62).
In 1426 in Liegnitz, and then in 1427 in Gorodnya (Grodno), the Polish Sejms, who were concerned about the aspirations of Vytautas, gathered. The latter, realizing that it was necessary to hurry, enlisting the support of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who was being pressed by the Turks and the Hussites, decided in 1429 to be crowned on the Lithuanian-Russian throne. But neither this nor next year did the crown sent by Sigismund, thanks to the "efforts" of Poland and, in particular, the bishop of Krakow Zbigniew Olesnitsky, never reach Vitovt. Vytautas, already sick, could not bear this failure and died on November 27, 1430.
The death of Vitovt served as an impetus for a new rise in the anti-centralization trend in the Principality, for a new strengthening of the power of the largest feudal lords in the field, for a new war, first between representatives of the grand ducal house Skirgail and Svidrigail, and then between Svidrigail and Zhigimont, which was based on religious and political contradictions.
Representatives of the Orthodox Party, to which belonged members of such well-known princely families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as Sangushki, Sapegi, Olelkovichi, Ostrozhsky, Vishnevetsky and others, fearing that the Catholic party would try to take over, offered Svidrigailo, their supporter, to the Grand Duke's throne. Soon Svidrigailo became the Grand Duke. His orientation towards the continuation of Vitovt's policy aimed at the complete independence of the GDL, the growth of political influence in the state of Orthodox Belarusian and South Russian feudal lords immediately provoked resistance from the Lithuanian-Catholic magnates ( big feudal lords) supported by Poland. Everything went to war. It didn't take long to find an excuse. Having a rather "stubborn and restless" character, Svidrigailo publicly insulted the Polish ambassador in 1431, and then threw him into prison. In response to this, King Jagiello began hostilities. "The war was replete with cruelty, reprisals against civilians and the clergy: Catholics beat Orthodox priests, Orthodox vented their anger on Catholic priests" (63). But the Polish king did not achieve the desired advantage over Svidrigail. And after the defeat near Lutsk, Jagiello preferred to conclude a truce, deciding to deal with Svidrigail with the hands of the Lithuanian-Russian grand ducal house in the person of Zhigimont Keistutovich, Vitovt's brother. To this end, Zhigimont was sent to Starodub, where he then reigned, from Poland with the offer of a grand prince's crown (64). Zhigimont agreed. In 1432, he suddenly attacked Svidrigailo and expelled him from Lithuania, becoming the Grand Duke (Zhigimont I). Svidrigailo fled to Polotsk, former part the territory of the Eastern Belarusian lands still subject to him, where he immediately began to gather forces for a retaliatory strike. In the same year, he "looked great help from his father-in-law, Prince Boris of Tver, also from the Polotsk, Smolyan, Kiyan and Volyn troops, 50,000, pulled to Lithuania." At Oshmyany there was a battle with the army of Zhigimont I, where "the Zhigimont side of Shvidrigailov's army stopped, ... and Shvidrigailo's horse, changing in a small squad, barely flowed to Kyiv" (65).
In 1433-1435, Svidrigailo repeatedly "fought" the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, without encountering serious resistance. In order to narrow the base of the uprising, Jagiello and Zhigimont issued privileges (legislative act - G.L.) of 1432, according to which the personal and property rights of Orthodox feudal lords were expanded. They, like the Catholics, "were guaranteed the inviolable possession of paternal and granted estates and the right to freely dispose of them ..., were given the same benefits ... in terms of the administration of state duties", were given the right to join the Polish-Lithuanian coat of arms brotherhoods. In the privilege, the goal pursued by it was also clearly indicated: "so that in the future there would be no ... separation or any kind of inequality, which could be detrimental to the state" (66). This played an important role in the defeat of Svidrigailo in 1435 near Vilkomir. In 1437 Zhigimont captured Polotsk and Vitebsk. The influence of Svidrigailo and his supporters still remained in the Smolensk region and Ukraine.
The pro-Catholic policy of Zhigimont I and his attempt to get out of the catastrophic consequences of the famine of 1438 in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by increasing the exactions from the local Orthodox population (including the feudal lords) led to the organization of a conspiracy against him by supporters of the Orthodox party - Prince I. Chartoryzhsky and voivode Dovgird and Lelus. "The princesses came to the nobles ... they beat him to rest in Troki" (67). It happened in 1440.
Upon learning of what had happened, Svidrigailo returned to Lithuania from Wallachia, which served him as a refuge. Soon, with the help of Poland, which supported separatism in the GDL, based on its own goals for the subsequent polonization of the Lithuanian-Russian lands, he established his power in Volhynia. The “Russian princes”, his supporters, once captured by Zhigimont, were released from captivity. The son of Zhigimont I Mikhail, the notorious Svidrigailo (apparently relied on the support of some of the Smolensk and Polotsk feudal lords), Olelko Vladimirovich, the prince of Kyiv, the grandson of Olgerd, and the Polish prince Casimir, the son of Jagiello, claimed the grand ducal title. "The Rada of Lithuania ... took Kazimer the prince from the Poles to the great reign of Lithuania and planted him with honor on the solitary city in Vilna and throughout the Russian land" (68).
Casimir had to wage a rather lengthy struggle for his recognition as Grand Duke. " Polish king also did not confirm him in this dignity, and the Poles, dissatisfied with the turn of affairs, showed their readiness to support Casimir's rivals in order to split the Grand Duchy and the easier then to bring it into complete dependence on the Polish crown "(69).
Of particular danger to the minor grand duke (he was only 13 years old at that time) were attempts to seize the grand ducal crown by Mikhail Zhigimontovich, who relied, first, on the support of the princes of Mazovia, and then the princes of Volozhinsky (70), and the uprising of 1440 in Smolensk. Mikhail's activity was neutralized by the actions of the GDL troops under the leadership of the head of the Rada of the Grand Duchy, Jan Gashtold (71), with Smolensk it was more difficult.

The aforementioned Jan Gashtold, being the Smolensk governor, even during the life of Zhigimont, went to Troki for a meeting of the Sejm, leaving the Smolensk governor Andrei Sakovich in his place. Soon the news came about the murder of Zhigimont, and Sakovich, without waiting for the decision of the glad to elect a new grand duke, “then bring Smolnyan to the kiss, well, the princes of Lithuania, and the pans of the whole Lithuanian land, whom to plant on Vilnius on the Grand Duchess and you will not be separated from the Lithuanian land "(72). Bishop Simeon of Smolensk "both princes and boyars, and mestichies and black people" gave the required oath. However, a party intensified its activities in the city, which advocated "originality" and the restoration of the Smolensk reign, relying on the support of large Orthodox Eastern Belarusian feudal lords, who were infringed in their political rights by the Gorodelsky privilege, who tried, like, for example, Mstislavl Prince Yuri Lugvenevich, "to achieve de facto independence from Vilna" (73), i.e., to do what Svidrigailo could not do in his time. The situation was very favorable for their activities. Having launched an agitation among the artisans of Smolensk (the so-called "black people"), who were badly affected by fires and epidemics of the 30s of the 15th century, who with great difficulty coped with the growth of taxes in favor of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who, apparently, also gathered with a variety of all sorts of abuses, they associated the improvement in the position of these urban strata with the restoration of the independent Smolensk principality. Taking advantage of the absence of some of the most influential pro-Lithuanian princes and boyars, who went to Vilna for a meeting of the GDL Rada (and only Catholic magnates could participate in the election of the Grand Duke at that time), "by great days during Passion Week on the Wednesday of the crazy Smolny black people .. Drive Pan Andrei out of the city by force, and kissing was stopped" (74). Putting on armor, armed with bows, scythes and axes, they raised an uprising. Andrei Sakovich turned for advice to the boyars, who were on the side of the Lithuanian-Russian principality. The latter advised him to arm their nobles, and, having taken up arms themselves, gave battle to the rebels at the church of Boris and Gleb. In this battle, victory was on the side of the governor and law-abiding boyars. But, realizing that this success was only temporary, and seeing that the defeat not only did not pacify the rebels, but, on the contrary, even more increased their ranks, "that night Pan Andrei left the city with his wife and the boyars of Smolensk with him," instructing Smolensk Marshal Petryka. The rebels seized Petryka and drowned him in the Dnieper "and planted the voivode ... Prince Andrei Dmitrievich Dorogobuzhsky" (75). But Prince Dorogobuzh did not have sufficient authority among the Orthodox Eastern Belarusian feudal lords, and the rebels, taking advantage of the return of Olgerd's grandson Prince Yuri Lugvenevich of his fatherland - Mstislavl, invited him "to his ospadrem". Having imprisoned the pro-Lithuanian princes and boyars of Smolensk, Yuri handed over their estates to the independent boyars.
Upon learning of what had happened, the newly elected Grand Duke Casimir sent to Smolensk strong army. "Prince Yuria Lykvenevich, before they arrived at Smolensk, being afraid of them, went to Moscow" (76).
The Grand Duke's army approached Smolensk in the fall on Filippov's launches, "and stood under the city for three weeks, burned out the settlements and churches, and took the city" (77). Yuri Lugvenevich soon made peace with Kazimir and again received the Mstislavl inheritance "through the mediation of his friend Jan Gashtold, with whom he had previously baptized children" (78).
Thus, another attempt to restore the independence of the Smolensk principality ended in failure. "In the course of this speech, the local boyars (its majority - G.L.) took the side of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" (79), which largely predetermined the defeat of the rebels.
In the 30-40s of the XV century, in the context of the rise of separatist sentiments of the Orthodox nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, there was an intensification of the foreign policy activity of Muscovite Rus on its western borders, especially since to a certain extent these actions were prompted by the East Belarusian feudal lords themselves, often using the military and political forces of Moscow in their struggle for independence.
The conquest of the East Belarusian lands also met the interests of Moscow itself. From Smolensk through Vitebsk and Polotsk there was a waterway along the Western Dvina, connecting Western Russia with Europe. Vyazma, Smolensk and Orsha were the most important cities on the trade route from Moscow to Poland that arose at the end of the 14th century. In addition, the so-called "Vyazma road" (along the tributaries of the Ugra, Ugra and Seim) went from Vyazma, along which "both Tverites and Muscovites could quite quickly and easily get to Kyiv, and then to the Crimea, Constantinople" (80) . A similar road went through Smolensk and further along the Dnieper. The entire territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in particular - "its eastern part, that is, the Belarusian lands, were cut by a dense network of Russian trade roads" (81).
The Moscow government was not long in coming. In 1442, the great Moscow prince Vasily II "gathered a great army, having called on the Kazan tsar to help him, dragged under Vyazma ... Buryachs and palyachis of the suburban volosts" (82). The army assembled by Kazimir from the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and mercenary Poles, led by the Belarusian magnate Stanislav Kishka, moved towards the Muscovites (Kazimir himself remained in Smolensk). However, Vasily II had already managed to withdraw his army from the territory of the Grand Duchy. Hetman Kishka caught up with him already within the boundaries of Moscow volosts: and, using the tactics of luring a superior enemy, he utterly defeated the Muscovites, driving them "for two miles, whipping, slashing, prickly, imayuchi" (83). And already in August 1449, an agreement was concluded between Casimir and Vasily II, according to which the latter promised "in the fiefdom, brother, with your and my brothers. Young, in all your great reign, neither near Smolensk, nor in all Smolensk places ... do not enter" (84).
The second half of the 15th century was marked for the GDL by changes in the internal and external political situation. Although Casimir was notable for his "fair and reasonable" domestic policy, "soberly assessed the situation in the state and strove not to violate the rights and customs of the majority of his subjects," however, the propaganda of the church union between the Orthodox and Catholics, which began in the late 50s, had an objective the goal of strengthening the state by ending interfaith strife, in fact gave a new impetus to the struggle between the Catholic and Orthodox parties. Added fuel to the fire of this struggle and "the prohibition by Kazimir Yagailovich in 1481 to build and repair Orthodox churches in Vilna and Vitebsk" (85). All this significantly weakened the Grand Duchy from the inside.
External relations were also difficult. The election of Zhigimont, and then Casimir, to the Lithuanian-Russian throne actually destroyed the union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland (one of its mandatory conditions was the presence of one monarch). The negotiations on the renewal of the union revealed a complete divergence of interests on both sides (Poland wanted to include the ON in its composition as one of its constituent parts, the Principality sought to maintain its political independence). Things got to the point that the ON began to threaten Poland with war! The situation was corrected to some extent only by the election of Casimir to the Polish throne (1447).
A strong and dangerous enemy appears on the southern borders of the Principality - the Crimean Khanate. "Podillya, Volyn, Kiev region, Novgorod-Seversky lands were the first to be hit by the Tatars." These raids also had a political background: in 1480, an agreement was concluded between the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III and the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray on joint actions against the Lithuanian-Russian state. The most devastating was the campaign of 1482, as a result of which the Krymchaks captured Kyiv, burned, and plundered the Caves Monastery and the shrine of Ancient Russia - St. Sophia Cathedral, transferring part of the loot to the initiator of the campaign, Ivan III (86).

And yet, the events on the eastern borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania caused the greatest alarm, where the confrontation with Moscow was growing more and more. By joining the Ryazan, Tver, Pskov and Novgorod lands, the young Moscow power came close to the eastern borders of the Principality. Feeling his strength, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III (1462-1505) "declared that both Kyiv and Smolensk also belong to him by his" fatherland "(87), although in reality the dynastic and genealogical canons of succession to the throne say the opposite. For example, Smolensk the princely line of the Rostislavichs comes "from the senior line of Vladimir Monomakh, and the Moscow princes - from the younger" (88), therefore, the Smolensk lands could not be the "patrimony" of the Moscow princes. III finally asserted his rights to the lands of White and Little Russia. But the mentioned lands were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Casimir was considered not only the Grand Duke of Lithuania, but also Russian. Therefore, "proclaiming himself the Grand Duke of" All Russia ", Ivan III, as it were, declared his claims for supreme dominance over all Russian lands, including those that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The inevitability of a collision with Lithuania was obvious" (89).
A long-term war began, turning most of the Belarusian lands into a semi-desert. "Peaceful peasants, robbed and burned, left their homes and fled to the southern steppes. The fields were overgrown with forest, culture was dying out." During the period of the Muscovite-Lithuanian wars, White Russia "came to the same devastation as eastern and southern Russia during the period of Tatar rule" (90).
The 1480s are characterized mainly by small and short-term mutual attacks. "On a broad front from Velikiye Luki to Kaluga, year after year, the border war, villages burned, people were taken captive "(91). During this period, the Vyazma lands mainly suffered. So, only in 1487-1488, the possessions of the Vyazma princes were repeatedly attacked by the prince of Uglitsky Andrei Vasilyevich and the prince of Tver Ivan Ivanovich, brother and son of Ivan III (92).
Between Vilna and Moscow there was a lively exchange of embassies, letters were sent with mutual complaints, reproaches, claims and threats. And in 1490, Ivan III directly declared to the GDL ambassador Stanislav Petrashkovich: "Great falsehoods are being made for us from the king: our cities and volosts and our lands are kept by the king" (93).
The Moscow ruler closely followed the events in the Principality, preparing for decisive action. And the war broke out immediately, as soon as Ivan III found out about the death of the king and Grand Duke Casimir (June 1492). The departure from the scene of an experienced political figure and the break in the union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Poland, which developed as a result of the election of Alexander Kazimirovich to the Lithuanian "throne, and his brother Jan to the Polish throne, created favorable conditions for the outbreak of hostilities.
In August 1492, Moscow undertook the first major campaign against the eastern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the southwest, Meshchersk, Lyubchesk, Mezetsk, Serpeisk were captured. In the western (Vyazma) direction, the main forces operated under the leadership of Prince D. V. Schenya. At the beginning of 1493, Vyazma was captured, and Prince Mikhail Vyazemsky was taken prisoner, where he died (94). The successes of the Moscow troops were so great that "Alexander expected their further advance into the depths of the Principality of Lithuania and ordered Yuri Glebovich (the Smolensk governor - G. L.) to prepare Smolensk for defense" (95). However, the Grand Duke of Lithuania was not ready for a big war, and his brother Jan, King of Poland, actually refused to help Alexander. Alexander Kazimirovich began peace negotiations. In this he was supported by the noble Moscow boyars, princes S. I. Ryapolovsky and V. I. Patrikeev, who belonged to the party that advocated peaceful relations with the ON.
On February 5, 1494, peace was concluded. Vyazemsky lands remained with Moscow. The eastern border of the GDL has changed significantly. Two bridgeheads were created for the further offensive of the troops of Ivan III: one was aimed at Smolensk, and the other was wedged into the thickness of the Seversk lands. This peace could not be durable because of its compromise nature.
The end of the 1590s in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was marked by signs of the growing influence of the Catholic Party. It was associated with the activities of Bishop Joseph of Smolensk, a supporter of the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the submission of the latter to the Pope. In 1498 Joseph became the Metropolitan of Kiev.
The strengthening of the influence of the supporters of the union provoked a response from the most resolute supporters of the leading role of Orthodoxy in the Lithuanian-Russian state. This was expressed in the transition of some of the princes to the service of Ivan III (for example, Prince S.I. Velsky, together with the "fatherland" at the end of 1499), as well as attempts to take over by force the supporters of the union. Particularly dangerous for the Principality was "a great jam between Latin and between ... Christianity ... on the Orthodox faith" in May 1499 in Smolensk (96). Such performances significantly weakened the defense capability of the eastern borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which Ivan III did not fail to take advantage of.
In the spring of 1500, he successfully negotiated with the Starodub and Novgorod-Seversky princes and concluded an agreement on their transfer to his service. In April, war was declared on the Grand Duchy, and already in May of the same year, Moscow troops led by Yakov Zakharyich took Bryansk (97). Grand Duke Alexander tried to write to his father-in-law (he was married to the daughter of Ivan III, Elena), that "the Belarusian-Lithuanian state was not guilty of anything before Moscow, asked not to shed more Christian blood, noting that the responsibility for everything rests with Ivan III - the violator of the oath" (98). However, this had no effect on the Moscow prince. The struggle unfolded along the entire length of the eastern border of the GDL. But the main forces of Ivan III were still concentrated in the Smolensk direction, headed by the governor Yuri Zakharyich. Soon they took Dorogobuzh (99), thus reaching the approaches to Smolensk, to which there were two transitions. Smolensk was a key fortress on the way to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Vilna. From the north, Smolensk was threatened by troops led by A.F. Chelyadnin, who stood at Velikiye Luki.
In this situation, Alexander Kazimirovich decided to concentrate his main forces in the Smolensk region and defeat the regiments of Yuri Zakharyich. The organization of the rebuff to the Muscovites was entrusted to the great hetman Konstantin Ostrozhsky, who, having gathered about 3.5 thousand soldiers on mobilization, moved through Minsk to Smolensk. After passing about 400 kilometers, at the end of June he entered Smolensk. Having learned that the Muscovite army was standing near the river Vedrosha (Dorogobuzh volost) "with a very small number of people", the hetman "took with him the governor of the Smolensk Kishka and all the Smolensk knighthood" and moved to Yelna (100). Here he caught the "language", which reported that the army of Yuri Zakharyich was replenished with soldiers who arrived from Starodub and Tver, and the general command passed to the voivode Daniil Schene. Thus, the number of Moscow rati was about 40 thousand people. Almost 10-fold superiority in forces!
After conferring, the hetman decided: "There will be few or many Muscovites, but only by taking God to help fight them, and not having fought - do not return back" (101).
Using the factor of surprise, the Lithuanian-Russian regiments turned off the road and went through the forest and swamps. On July 14, 1500, they reached the Mitkovo Field near the Vedrosha River, where the battle took place. At first, the battle was successful for K. Ostrozhsky. His troops defeated the advance detachment of the Muscovites and reached the Trosna River, where the opponents “stayed for many” days on opposite sides of it. (as the residents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were called in Muscovy) into the depths of the location directly under the blow of an ambush regiment. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the Lithuanian-Russian army hastily retreated. At the Polma River, the Muscovites "hit them utterly" and captured the hetman and a number of noble princes and boyars (in total about 500 people) (102).Some of the best warriors of the Principality died in the battle.This was the first significant victory in battle for the troops of Moscow over the troops of the Grand Duchy.

The defeat at Vedrosha significantly worsened the already difficult situation of Alexander, whose lands all this time were subjected to fierce raids by the Crimean hordes - allies of Ivan III (only in: 1500 two such campaigns were made). Meanwhile, the Moscow sovereign was hatching plans for a winter campaign against Smolensk in 1500-1501 .. Only a harsh winter did not allow Ivan III to carry out his plan ("there was a lot of snow and horse stern ... not enough" (103)).
But Smolensk became the main target of hostilities in the spring of 1501. The city was defended "partly by the courage of the inhabitants, partly by cunning." Countless assaults in some places destroyed the wooden walls of the Smolensk fortress. Then the governor Yuri Glebovich began negotiations with the Muscovites, Fr. surrender of the city and asked for a night of reflection. “The Moscow governors granted his request on the condition that the sound of an ax was not heard in the city all night. The Smolyans kept their word, but even without an ax, they straightened the walls overnight with just saws” (104). Realizing that the city could not be taken, the Muscovites lifted the siege and went to Mstislavl, where they were also repulsed by the Lithuanian-Russian regiments under the command of I. Solomeretsky.
In the autumn of 1501, the troops of Ivan III again unsuccessfully tried to take Mstislavl, however, causing great damage to the Litvins (about 7 thousand killed) and "the land was empty" (105).
July 14, 1502 Ivan III again sends troops led by his son Dmitry Zhilka to Smolensk. The siege of it and now did not give any result, "because it is strong." In addition, many "children of the boyars", having arbitrarily left the regiments, were engaged in robbery in the surrounding volosts (106). The campaign ended with the ruin of the Vitebsk and Polotsk lands and the capture of Orsha. "Alexander sent to Smolensk the headman of Samogitian Stanislav Yanovsky" with all the power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania "and foreign mercenaries" (107). Taking Orsha in October and "crossing the Dnieper", it ended up two crossings from Smolensk. Upon learning of this, Dmitry lifted the siege.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania signed a new union with Poland on difficult terms (“John III ... drove Lithuania and Belarus into the hands of Poland” (108)), entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Order and the Great Horde, forcing Moscow to negotiate. At the end of March 1503, a truce was concluded for a period of 6 years. The territory of the central Smolensk region with the city of Dorogobuzh went to Moscow.
But already in 1506, the regiments of the new Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III (1505-1533) broke into the territory of the GDL in two columns (one from the Velikiye Luki region, the other from Dorogobuzh) and began to devastate the eastern lands up to the Berezina. The new Lithuanian Grand Duke Zhigimont II Stary (1506-1544) "ordered Stanislav Glebovich to firmly defend Polotsk, Albrecht Gashtold to Smolensk, and the great hetman Stanislav Kishka to move to Minsk" (109). However, soon (May 1507) Moscow troops left the Principality.
In the autumn of the same year, the Muscovites, under the leadership of Y. Zakharin and V. Kholmsky, attacked Mstislavl, Mogilev and Orsha, but, having met a decisive rebuff, turned back. Unexpectedly, in the Belarusian-Lithuanian lands, Moscow had an ally - the noble nobleman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Mikhail Glinsky. Under the Grand Duke Alexander, he enjoyed his special confidence and held important government posts. After the death of Alexander, an old enemy of M. Glinsky, the Troksky governor Jan Zaberezinsky, accused him before Zhigimont II of trying to take the throne of the Grand Duke. The offended Glinsky asked Zhigimont to investigate this and punish the liar, but the trial was still being postponed. Then M. Glinsky decided to punish Ya. Zaberezinsky on his own. Having gathered an army of 700 horsemen, the prince began hunting for the governor and, having found the latter on February 2, 1508, in the Grodno castle, beheaded him (110). Indignant, Zhigimont decided to punish Glinsky for arbitrariness, but the prince began to send sheets around the Grand Duchy with an invitation to all dissatisfied members of the nobility to join him. Taking advantage of this, Moscow offered M. Glinsky to go over to her side, promising a significant increase in his possessions. Mikhail accepted the offer, which provoked a new war between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Muscovy. Mozyr was captured by joint efforts, Smolensk was besieged, and then Minsk, Slutsk and Polotsk. But the approaching 30,000-strong army led by the great hetman K. Ostrozhsky (who had escaped from captivity back in 1507) forced the soldiers of Vasily III and M. Glinsky to retreat first "to Orsha, and from Orsha to Smolensk", and then completely leave the borders ON (111). On October 8, 1508, an "eternal peace" was concluded between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Moscow. According to this agreement, the Principality recognized the Vyazma and Dorogobuzh lands for Moscow, and Vasily III took upon himself the obligation "not to intervene" in the "city of Mstislavl with volosts, in the city of Krichov with volosts, in the city of Smolensk and in volosts, in Roslavl, ... in Elna, ... in Porechye, ... in Verzhavsk, ... Shchuchya "(112).
But this world, too, was fragile. In January 1512, Vasily III again undertook a campaign against the lands of the Principality. Only Smolensk has become the main goal now. But this time, "having done a lot of grief and losses to the city of Smolensk," Vasily was forced to return to Moscow with nothing.
In the summer of 1512, the correspondence of the Moscow Grand Duke with the Teutonic Order was intercepted, from which it became known that Moscow was preparing a new war with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Order became a good ally for these purposes). Already on July 14, the second campaign against Smolensk began. By autumn, the Moscow regiments under the command of I. Repnin-Obolensky and I. Chelyadnin laid siege to Smolensk. "The governor and governor of Smolensk pan Yury Glebovich, and the princes and boyars of Smolensk ... against the Grand Duke, the governor went out of town for the ramparts to fight" (113). But military fate did not smile at the Smolensk people in this battle, they had to lock themselves in the city and endure a six-week siege. "The artillery shelling of the city did not produce results. Soon an attempt was made to take it by storm. The Russian (Moscow Rus - G. L.) army suffered heavy losses (about 2 thousand soldiers - G. L.), but the city ... was not taken "(114). Soon the Moscow sovereign withdrew the troops.
In the summer of 1513, a new offensive campaign began with the assistance of "detachments of infantry, guns" and several Italians "experienced in the siege of fortresses" sent by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I and a detachment of reiters hired by M. Glinsky in Silesia and the Czech Republic .. The Smolensk governor defeated the army I. Repnin, but the city again fell under siege at the same time about 80 thousand people. In September, Vasily III himself arrived near Smolensk and "in the hail of cannons and squeakers he commanded to beat for many days ... and many places near the city ... smashed, and inflicted great sorrows on the people of Smolensk." But the Smolensk people bravely fought back and steadfastly endured all the hardships of the siege. "The city had the hardness of the rapids of the mountains and. High hills closed and fortified with walls" (115). And again, in November, Vasily was forced to lift an inconclusive siege, recalling the troops of M. Glinsky from near Vitebsk and Polotsk, "which captured full darkness, but did not take a single city" (116).
In February 1514, a decision was made in Moscow on a new, third campaign against Smolensk. Against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, a new coalition of seven states was created: Moscow, the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Brandenburg, Teutonic Order, Saxony and Wallachia. Then they agreed on the division of future occupied territories: Vasily III receives Belarusian and Ukrainian lands, and Maximilian - Polish.
An army of eighty thousand approached Smolensk in July 1514 and began shelling the city with 300 cannons. "From the cannon and squealing knock and human screaming and screaming, ... the earth oscillates and does not see each other, and all the hail in flames and smoking smoke seems to rise up to him" (117). And on July 31, wanting to save the city and the lives of its defenders, the Smolensk people decided to capitulate on favorable terms. Mstislavl, Krichev and Dubrovno soon fell.
The main forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were just approaching Orsha. The commander of the army, the great hetman K. Ostrozhsky, decided to give a general battle to the Moscow forces. The further fate of the Principality depended on its outcome. On the banks of the Krapivna River, on September 8, 1514, this battle took place, in; which the Moscow regiments were defeated.
The war for Smolensk continued for another 8 years, but it was not possible to return the city to the Grand Duchy. In 1522, an agreement was signed in Moscow on a 5-year truce, according to which Vasily III retained the Smolensk lands.

Notes

1. Schmidt E. A. Toponymy of the Smolensk Dnieper region and archeological data. - In the collection: Models of culture. Smolensk. 1992, p. 149.
2. Schmidt E. A. Decree. op. S. 150.
3. The Tale of Bygone Years. Ch. I. M.-L. 1950. S. 13.
4. Forgotten glory. Short review military history of Belarus. - Soviet Belarus. No. 118. June 30, 1992
5. Henry of Latvia. Chronicle of Livonia. M. 1938. S. 167.
6. Henry of Latvia. Decree. op. S. 210.
7. Monuments of Russian law. Issue. 2. M. 1953. S. 69.
8. complete collection Russian chronicles (hereinafter PSRL). T. 30. M. 1965. S. 86.
9. Ermalovich M. Starazhytnaya Belarus. Mn. 1990. S. 299.
10. Fennel D. The crisis of medieval Russia. 1200-1304. M. 1989. S. 77.
11. Novgorod I chronicle. M. 1950. S. 263.
12. "Great Chronicle"About Poland, Russia and their neighbors of the XI-XIII centuries. Zh 1987. S. 149.
13. Fennel D. Decree. op. S. 141.
14. Gurevich F. Antiquities of the Belarusian Ponemanya. M. - L. 1962. S. 79-81.
15. Ermalovich M. Decree. op. S. 308.
16. Grekov I., Shakhmagonov F. The world of history. Russian lands in the XIII-XV centuries". M. 1988. S. 123.
17. Ermalov1ch M. Decree. op. S. 312.
18. Pashuto V. T. Formation of the Lithuanian state. M. 1959. S. 8.
19. PSRL. T. 2. M. 1843. S. 735.
20. Ibid. S. 776.
21. Ibid. S. 801.
22. Ermalov1ch M. Decree. op. S. 317.
23. PSRL. T. 2. S. 341.
24. Ibid. S. 815.
25. Fennel D. Decree. op. S. 141.
26. Forgotten glory. Brief review of the military history of Belarus. - Soviet Belarus. No. 118. June 30, 1992
27. Ermalov1ch M. Decree. op. S. 331.
28. Grekov I., Shakhmagonov F. Decree. op. S. 128.
29. Ibid. S. 129.
30. Alekseev L. V. Smolensk land in the IX-XIII centuries. M. 1980. S. 72.
31. Andreev N. V., Makovsky D. P. Smolensk region in monuments and sources. Part 1. Smolensk. 1949. S. 174.
32. Ibid. S. 175.
33. Kondrashenkov A. A. The history of the Smolensk land from ancient times to the middle of the XVII century. Smolensk. 1982. S. 25.
34. Andreev N. V., Makovsky D. P. Decree. op. S.-175.
35. PSRL. T. II. M. 1965. S. 22-23.
36. Ibid. S. 24.
37. PSRL. T. 32. M. 1975. S. 66.
38. Lastouski V. Yu. Short history of Belarus Mn. 1992, p. 20.
39. Makovsky D.P. Smolensk Principality. Smolensk. 1948. S. 186.
40. PSRL. T. 32. S. 66.
41. Kondrashenkov A. A. Decree. op. S. 27.
42. PSRL. T. 32. S. 66.
43. Makovsky D.P. Decree. op. S. 187.
44. Lastousyu V. Yu. Decree. op. S. 25.
45. PSRL. T. 32. S. 73.
46. ​​PSRL. T. 11. S. 162.
47. PSRL. T. 32. S. 75.
48. Grekov I., Shakhmagonov F. Decree. op. S. 225.
49. PSRL. T.I.S. 184.
50. PSRL. T. 32. S. 77.
51. Andreev N. V., Makovsky D. P. Decree. op. S. 178.
52. PSRL. T. 32. S. 77.
53. History of the peasantry of the western region of the RSFSR. period of feudalism. Voronezh. 1991, p. 52.
54. Novoseltsev A. P., Pashuto V. T., Cherepnin L. V. Ways of development of feudalism. M. 1972. S. 298.
55. History of the peasantry of the western region of the RSFSR. S. 189.
56. PSRL. T. 17. St. Petersburg. 1907. P. 69. T. I. S. 189.
57. PSRL. T. 31. M. 1968. S. 103.
58. Acts related to history Western Russia collected and published by the Archeographic Commission). T. 1. St. Petersburg. 1846. S. 143.
59. Picheta V. I. Belarus and Lithuania in the XV-XVI centuries. M. 1961) S. 621.
60. Ibid. S. 647.
61. Lastouski V. Yu. Decree. op. S. 31.
62. Ibid. S. 27.
63. Grekov I., Shakhmagonov F. Decree. op. S. 258.
64. PSRL. T. 32. S. 82.
65. Ibid. S. 83.
66. Lyubavsky M. K. Essay on the history of the Lithuanian-Russian state up to the Union of Lublin inclusive. M. 1915. S. 69.
67. PSRL. T. 32. S. 85.
68. PSRL. T. 17. S. 69.
69. Ilovaisky D. History of Russia. M. 1896. T. 2. S. 275.
70. PSRL. T. 32. S. 85.
71. Ilovaisky D. Decree. op. T. 2. S. 275.
72. PSRL. T. 17. S. 68.
73. History of the peasantry of the Western region of the RSFSR. P.84.
74. PSRL. T. 17. S. 68.
75. Ibid. S. 69.
76. PSRL. T. 31. S. 104.
77. Ibid. S. 104.
78. Ilovaisky D. Decree. op. T. 2. S. 278.
79. History of the peasantry of the Western region of the RSFSR. S. 85.
80. Cherepnin L. V. Formation of the Russian centralized state. M. 1960.
81. History of the peasantry of the Western region of the RSFSR. S. 85.
82. PSRL. T. 32. S. 85.
83. Ibid. S. 86.
84. Monuments of Russian law. Issue. 3. M. 1955. S. 273.
85. Saganovich G.M. Mn. 1992, p. 12.
86. PSRL. T. 26. M.-L. 1962. S. 274-275.
87. Grekov I., Shakhmagonov F. Decree. op. S. 324.
88. Makovsky D.P. Decree. op. S. 193.
89. Zimin A. A. Russia at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. M. 1982. S. 64
90. Lastouski V. Yu. Decree. op. S. 36.
91. Alekseev Yu. G. Sovereign of all Russia. Novosibirsk. 1991, p. 179.
92. Zimin A. A. Decree. op. S. 95.
93. Monuments of diplomatic relations between the Muscovite state and the Polish-Lithuanian state. SPb. 1882. T. 1. S. 50.
94. PSRL. T. 8. St. Petersburg. 1859. S. 225-226.
95. Zimin A. A. Decree. op. S. 100.
96. Collection of the Russian Historical Society. T. 35. St. Petersburg. 1892. S. 273
97. PSRL. T. 28. M. 1963. S. 333-334. T. 32. S. 166.
98. Forgotten glory. Brief review of the military history of Belarus. - Soviet Belarus. 1992. July 2. No. 120.
99. PSRL. T. 12. M. 1965. S. 252.
100. PSRL. T. 32. S. 99-100.
101. Ibid. S. 176.
102. PSRL. T. 26. S. 293-294.
103. PSRL. T. 8. S. 240.
104. Lastouski V. Yu. Decree. op. S. 38.
105. PSRL. T. 8. S. 240-241.
106. PSRL. T. 24. M. 1921. S. 215.
107. Zimin A. A. Decree. op. S. 192.
108. Lastouski V. Yu. Decree. op. S. 39.
109. Saganovich G. M. Decree. op. pp. 28-29.
110. Herberstein S. Notes on Muscovy. M. 1988. S. 189.
111. PSRL. T. 13. M. 1965. S. 9.
112. Acts relating to the history of Western Russia. T. 2. 1506-1544.-St. Petersburg. 1848. S. 54.
113. Josap Chronicle. M. 1957. S. 161.
114. Kondrashenkov A. A. Smolensk region in the 16th - first half of the 17th centuries. Smolensk. 1978. S. 18.
115. Josap Chronicle. S. 194.
116. Saganov1ch G. M. Decree. op. S. 38.
117. Iosaph Chronicle. S. 164.

Gennady LASTOVSKII
"Kray Smolensky" No. 7-8, 1993

SMOLENSK PRINCIPALITY , an ancient Russian principality, located along the upper reaches of the Dnieper. The capital is Smolensk. Formed on waterway"From the Varangians to the Greeks". Separated from the Old Russian state in the 30s. 12th c. In the 2nd half of the 14th century. fought against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to which it was annexed in 1404.

A source: Encyclopedia "Fatherland"

A source: Encyclopedia "Russian Civilization"

• - Smolensk Lakeland nat. park in S. Smolensk region. Created in 1992 on the square. 146.16 thousand hectares for the protection of typical landscapes in the area of ​​the last glaciation with an abundance of lakes...

  Geographic Encyclopedia

• - , in the southern part of the island of the Decembrists, on the right bank of the river. Smolenka. An area of ​​7.3 hectares. Founded in 1747, the oldest non-Orthodox cemetery in Leningrad...
• - an area in the central part of Vasilyevsky Island, west of the 18th line ...

  St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

• -, in the northwestern part of Vasilyevsky Island, on the left bank of the river. Smolenka...

  St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

• - s., Irkutsk district - they believe that the name expresses the occupation of the population of this village - tar smoking. Smolyaga lived here - people who cook resin, and the area was called Smolyaga, and then Smolenshchina ...

  place names Eastern Siberia

• - "" 1609-1611, the heroic defense of Smolensk by a 5,000-strong Russian garrison and residents of the city under the command of M. B. Shein from the troops of the Commonwealth in September 1609 - June 1611 ...

  Russian encyclopedia

• - August 4-6, during Patriotic War 1812, Russian troops, defending near Smolensk against the superior main forces of the army of Napoleon I, withstood the blow of the enemy and in an organized manner withdrew beyond the Dnieper, frustrating the plan ...

  Russian encyclopedia

• - July 10 - September 10, during the Great Patriotic War ...

  Russian encyclopedia

• - from. Tomsk lips. Biysk district, at the confluence of the rch. Transverse to Peschanaya. Inhabitants 5030. The population of S. increases annually due to the influx of immigrants from Russia ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - an ancient Russian principality that occupied the territory along the upper reaches of the Dnieper. S. to. became independent in the 30s. 12th c. under the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Rostislav Mstislavich ...
• - 1812, defensive fighting Rus. troops on August 4-6 against the Napoleonic troops during the Patriotic War of 1812 ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - defensive fighting Rus. troops on August 4-6 against the Napoleonic troops during the Patriotic War of 1812...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Old Russian, along the upper reaches of the Dnieper, from the 30s. 12th c. In the 2nd half of the 14th century. fought with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to which it was annexed in 1404 ...

  Modern Encyclopedia

• - Old Russian, along the upper reaches of the Dnieper, from the 30s. 12th c. In the 2nd floor. 14th c. fought with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to which it was annexed in 1404 ...
• - 1812 - 4-6.8, during the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian troops, defending near Smolensk against the superior main forces of the army of Napoleon I, withstood the blow of the enemy and in an organized manner withdrew beyond the Dnieper ...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - 1941 - 10.7-10.9, during the Great Patriotic War...

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"SMOLENSK PRINCIPALITY" in books

Smolensk direction