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 Kyiv. 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 for 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 captured the Polish seaside, and would drive the Hungarians out of 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.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to take shape during a period of significant changes in the foreign policy situation.

During the formation of the state, the vast territory of Rus' was conquered by the Mongol-Tatars. This fact was favorable, since the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was thus protected from invasion from the eastern side for the next century.

From the second half of the 12th century, the Lithuanians were divided into two. The first included upper Lithuania (aukstaite), the second included lower Lithuania or “Zhmud” (zhemite).

It should be noted that the Lithuanians were at a lower level than the East Slavic peoples. Gradually, Lithuanian princes in some Russian cities are establishing themselves on the tables. After Mindovg (Prince of Lithuania) destroys his opponents, “centralization” occurs. During this period, the core of the new state begins to form. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia continues to develop under the successors of Prince Mindaugas, in particular during the reign of Gediminas. During his reign, the state included the territories of upper Lithuania, as well as the territories of Black Rus' (Ponemania) annexed to them. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania annexed part of the Turovo-Pinsk and Polotsk lands.

The capital of the state for a certain period was located on Russian territory in the city of Novgorodok Litovsky. Then it was moved to Vilna.

The work of forming a new state, which was started by the first Lithuanians (Gedimin and Mindovg), was continued after them by Keistut and Olgerd. Functions were divided between them. Thus, the defense of the country from the knights lay on the shoulders of Keistut, while Olgerd was engaged in the seizure of Russian territories. As a result, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania annexed the Kyiv, Polotsk, Volyn, Chernigov-Seversk territories, as well as Podolia. At the same time, the Old Russian lands had an autonomous status.

At the end of the 14th century, the dynasty of rulers in the Polish state came to an end. Louis' daughter Jadwiga ascended to the Polish throne. After the coronation, a marriage was concluded between Jadwiga and Jagiello (the heir of Olgerd).

After the wedding of Jogaila and Jadwiga in 1385, the Union of Krevo (union of Lithuania and Poland) was signed. In addition, pagan Lithuania was baptized into the Catholic faith. This led to the weakening of the Orthodox faith and the elimination of pagan religion.

It was concluded in 1413. With its signing, the process of polonization of the principality and the spread of Catholicism begins. In addition, with the conclusion of the Gorodel Union, the preconditions began to be created for Poland’s attack on the Russian territories of the Grand Duchy.

The conditions that were created in the state contributed to it. In historical sources it is called the “uprising of Svidrigailo” (son of Olgerd). Lithuania split into two parts. Sigismund (son of Keistut) settled in Lithuania. Svidrigailo began to reign on Russian lands. His rebellion was crushed.

After the death of Sigismund, Casimir ascended the throne. During his reign, the Lithuanian lands were united, and the basis of Uniate politics was restored. However, they remain highly unstable.

Casimir's activities were continued by his successors - Sigismund and Alexander. After them, Sigismund Augustus took over. In the context of the ongoing struggle between the Russian state and Lithuania, the Union of Lublin was concluded in Poland in 1569. It was very important in the historical development of Central and Eastern Europe. After the conclusion of the union, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth appeared - a new power, within which the Grand Duchy managed to maintain a certain independence.

“1st [walker]: And what is this, my brother?
2nd: And this is Lithuanian ruin. Battle - see? How ours fought with Lithuania.
1st: What is this - Lithuania?
2nd: So it is Lithuania.
1st: And they say, my brother, it fell on us from the sky.
2nd: I don’t know how to tell you. From the sky, from the sky."

This quote from Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm,” written in 1859, perfectly characterizes the image of Russia’s western neighbors that has developed in the minds of its inhabitants. Lithuania is both the Baltic people, and the territory of their residence, and, in a broad sense, the state they created and its inhabitants. Despite the centuries-long proximity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Russian lands, and then to Russia, we will not find its detailed image either in the mass consciousness, or in school textbooks, or in scientific works. Moreover, this situation is typical not only for the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, when the silence about the Grand Duchy or the creation of its negative image was due to political circumstances, but also for our days, when previous restrictions have been lifted, the volume of scientific knowledge is constantly increasing due to the development national historiographies and improvement of research techniques, and communication problems are successfully overcome. Russian science and public consciousness are characterized by certain images. Negative - that is, Lithuania as an invader of Russian lands who seeks to “spoil” them by converting to Catholicism, and at the same time a weak and unviable state, torn apart by internal contradictions and doomed to an alliance with Poland until complete dissolution in it. Or a positive image - “another Rus'”, which has chosen the “democratic” path, in contrast to Russia. But in any case, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania appears on the pages of textbooks, journalism, even scientific literature sporadically, from time to time, like a god from the machine of ancient river tragedies. What kind of state was this?

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is often seen as an alternative path for the development of Rus'. In many ways, this is so, because these were lands, on the one hand, quite close culturally, inhabited by the Eastern Slavs - even though the historical fates of the Eastern Slavs of the future Russia, Great Russia and the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, whose descendants later became Ukrainians and Belarusians, and even then they diverged quite significantly.

On the other hand, this is a fundamentally different model of social relationships, a different political culture. And this created a certain situation of choice. This is very clearly visible from the events of the era of the Moscow-Lithuanian wars, especially the 16th century, when defectors from the Moscow state, from Russia, were sent precisely to the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or the Polish Crown, which was in a union with it.

Now we still need to figure out where the Grand Duchy of Lithuania came from as a powerful neighbor, a rival of Russia and at the same time a source of various influences.

Contacts between Rus' and Lithuania took place back in the 11th century, when Yaroslav the Wise made campaigns in the Baltic states. By the way, at the same time the city of Yuryev was founded, named after the patron saint of this prince - the later Dorpat, now Tartu in Estonia. Then the matter was limited to the irregular collection of tribute. By this time, the prerequisites for the formation of the Lithuanian state may have already existed. And the proximity to rich, but weakened Russia, divided into many principalities, helped to realize them.

If at first the Lithuanians took part in the civil strife of the Russian princes, then later, in the second half of the 12th - early 13th centuries, they moved on to their own predatory campaigns against Rus'; they can be compared with the famous campaigns of the Vikings or the Russian campaigns against Byzantium. Lithuanians are often called “vikin-gami sushi”.

This contributed to the accumulation of wealth, property stratification, which was followed by social, and the gradual formation of the power of one prince, who would later be called the Grand Duke in Russian sources.

Back in 1219, a group of 21 Lithuanian princes concluded an agreement with the Volyn princes. And after two decades, one of them, Mindovg, began to rule alone. In 1238, the author of “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land” recalled with nostalgia those times when “Lithuania did not emerge from the swamp into the light.” And by the way, here he quite accurately described the area of ​​​​settlement of the Lithuanians: these are really marshy lands.

The scope of the Lithuanian campaigns is clearly evidenced by a passage in the work of the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini, or Giovanni del Piano Carpini, who in the 40s of the 13th century went to the Mongol Khan Guyuk in Karakorum. Here is what he writes about traveling through the lands of Southern Rus': “... we were constantly traveling in mortal danger because of the Lithuanians, who often and secretly, as far as they could, raided the land of Russia and especially in those places through which we traveled. the women were passing by; and since most of the people of Russia were killed by the Tatars or taken captive, they therefore could not offer them strong resistance...” Around the same time, in the first half or mid-13th century, Mindaugas found themselves under the rule of Lithuania Russian lands with cities such as Novgorodok (modern Novogrudok), Slonim and Volko-vysk.

The Baltic peoples and in particular the Lithuanians remained the last pagans of Europe. And already during the reign of Mindaugas, in the first half of the 13th century, this problem became obvious. Mindaugas made a Western choice: in order to fight with his relatives for autocracy in Lithuania and at the same time resist Rus', he was baptized in the Catholic rite in 1251. Two years later he was crowned - thus becoming the first and remains the only king of Lithuania. But in the early 1260s, apparently, he returned to paganism for political reasons and expelled or killed Christians. Thus, Lithuania remained pagan. Paganism left a fairly deep mark on Lithuania, so that the next attempt at Christianization, already more successful, was made only at the end of the 14th century. In 1263, the first Lithuanian king was killed by conspirators.

So, Mindovg died, but the Lithuanian state that arose under him did not disappear, but survived. And moreover, it continued to develop and continued to expand its limits. According to scientists, around the turn of the 13th-14th centuries, a new dynasty was established, which, after one of its representatives who reigned in the first half of the 14th century, Prince Gedimin, received the name Gediminovich. And under the first princes of this dynasty, under the same Gediminas in particular, the lands of modern Belarus - Polotsk, Vitebsk, Mensk (that is, in modern terms, Minsk) became part of the Lithuanian state. Apparently, Kyiv also fell into the orbit of Lithuanian influence to one degree or another, already by 1331. Well, in 1340, the dynasty of Galician-Volyn princes was cut short in the female line, this marked the beginning of many decades of struggle between Lithuania, Poland and Hungary for the Galician-Volyn inheritance.

The acquisitions were continued by the sons of Gediminas; first of all, Olgerd and his brother Keistut acted in Rus'. And these acquisitions were concentrated mainly in the Chernigov-Seversk and Smolensk lands.

How did Russian lands fall under the rule of Lithuanian princes? This is a pressing question, since one often has to deal with diametrically opposed points of view, but it is not very clear how this happened. Some insist on the aggressive nature of the annexation, others on the voluntary and bloodless one.

Both seem to be serious simplifications. It’s worth starting with the fact that the sources that have survived to this day simply did not convey to us the details of the entry of many Russian lands into the Lithuanian state; one can only state that this or that part of Rus' at one time or another submitted to the authority of the Lithuanian prince. The military campaigns of the Lithuanians did not stop and acted as a means, if not of direct conquest, then at least of putting pressure on Russian lands. For example, according to later sources, Vitebsk was obtained by Olgerd thanks to his marriage to the daughter of the last local prince around 1320. But in previous decades, Lithuanian troops passed through this region several times.

A very interesting document has been preserved - a complaint from the residents of Riga, the Riga authorities, to the Vitebsk prince of the late 13th century. It mentions an entire military camp of Lithuanians near Vitebsk, from which they went to the capital city of the principality to sell captive slaves. What kind of voluntary accession can we talk about if we see a whole military camp of armed people, whose detachments are operating on the territory of the principality?

There were, of course, direct conquests. Perhaps the most striking example, described in detail in the sources, is Smolensk, which was conquered and annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for more than a century as a result of several campaigns of the late XIV - early XV centuries.

Here we can return to the question that was already touched upon at the beginning of the lecture: what was the alternative of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in relation to Muscovite Rus' as the center of the unification of Russian lands? This is very clearly seen in the example of the social system of those Russian lands that became part of the Grand Duchy.

Local boyars and townspeople (even in conquered Smolensk) and the Orthodox Church retained their influence and their property. It is known that veche meetings were still convened in Polotsk and Smolensk. In many large centers, princely tables were preserved. Even if Gediminovich sat down to reign, in most cases such princes accepted Orthodoxy and became in many ways one of their own, close to the local society.

The Lithuanian princes entered into agreements with some of the annexed lands, which later formed the basis of regional privileges (the oldest of them were Polotsk and Vitebsk). But, on the other hand, already at a fairly early stage in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Western influence manifested itself. Since it was such a large, border, contact zone between the Russian lands on the one hand and Latin Catholic Europe, this could not help but have an effect. And if we also remember that throughout the 14th century, the Lithuanian princes were constantly faced with a choice and repeatedly thought about and negotiated about baptism - according to the Western rite or the Eastern rite, then it becomes clear that these influences, this uniqueness should have made itself felt back in the 14th century.

In the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was in a difficult foreign policy situation, because its history was far from being limited to expansion into Russian lands and relations with neighboring Russian lands and the Horde. A huge problem for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the first decade of its existence was the war with the Teutonic, or German, order, which settled in Prussia and Livonia, that is, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, and was called upon to bring Christianity Western rite to pagans and “infidels,” including “schismatics,” that is, schismatics, apostates—that’s how the Orthodox were called.

For more than a century, the troops of the order almost every year made one or several devastating campaigns against Lithuania in order to undermine its strength. And of course, the fact that a significant part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted of Russian lands played into their hands. The crusading knights could always claim the connivance of the Lithuanian princes with these same schismatics. Moreover, some princes Gediminovich themselves converted to Orthodoxy.

This was a problem. It was necessary to decide, to choose the vector of foreign policy development. And this choice - perhaps they didn’t think about it then - determined the fate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for many years, decades and centuries to come.

Lithuania was destined to be baptized - but by what rite? Western or Eastern? This question has been raised, one might say, since the time of Mindaugas, and in the 14th century attempts at negotiations were made several times. We know most about the negotiations of the Lithuanian princes with Western political forces - with emperors, popes, Polish, Mazovian rulers about baptism into Catholicism. But there was one moment when it seemed that the prospect of Orthodox baptism in Lithuania was quite realistic. This is the end of the 14th century, when after the death of Olgerd there was an internecine struggle in Lithuania and Grand Duke Jagiello tried to conclude an alliance with Dmitry Donskoy. There is a mention of the project of marriage between Jagiello and the daughter of Dmitry Donskoy. But they abandoned it soon enough. Because, on the one hand, the Grand Duke of Lithuania would find himself on the sidelines, and on the other, he received a much more lucrative offer - the hand of the Polish princess Jadwiga, which made him the Polish king.

Here it must be said that this moment, the end of the 14th century, is important in one more respect: very often you can hear that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an alternative to Moscow in the matter of unifying or gathering Russian lands, that the Russian lands could well have united around Vilna. But the question arises: when could this happen? And the failed marriage of Jagiello and the daughter of Dmitry Donskoy seems to be the most successful moment when such a union could occur.

The period of the end of the 14th and the first third - the first half of the 15th century became an important, turning point in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This affected both his relationships with his neighbors and his inner life.

By the end of the 14th century, Vytautas, a cousin of Jogaila, became the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was baptized, became the Polish king Vladislav II and retained the title of Supreme Prince of Lithuania. But real power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania still belonged to Vytautas. Under him, many important changes took place - both in the foreign policy relations of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in its internal life.

Vytautas managed to annex Smolensk, and for more than a century it came under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Thanks to Polish help, he managed to defeat the Teutonic Order (the famous Battle of Grunwald in 1410). Thanks to this, it was ultimately possible to secure the lands disputed with the order - Samogitia, Zhemoyt - to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. These are the next attempts at expansion to the east: Vytautas is fighting with Vasily I of Moscow, although Vasily I was his son-in-law and was married to his daughter Sophia; subsequently he made campaigns against Pskov and Novgorod in the 20s of the 15th century. But no less important are the social changes that took place in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. And they led in the direction of increasing Westernization of this state and its society.

Perhaps the most important innovation of Vytautas was that he began to distribute land for service to his subjects. This innovation subsequently played a cruel joke on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, because its inhabitants were no longer interested in distant, costly military campaigns - they were interested in the economic development of their possessions.

In the middle and second half of the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland were ruled by the same person, Casimir Jagiellon, or Casimir IV, the Polish king. He was forced to spend time between the two states, so he could not devote much time to Lithuanian affairs. He was more involved in Western politics, wars in Prussia, in the Czech Republic - and it was precisely this time that became the turning point that subsequently allowed the Moscow Grand Dukes to launch a very active attack on the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But the Grand Dukes of Lithuania were not ready for this at the end of the 15th and first half of the 16th centuries.

The Lithuanian princes began to grant privileges not only to the Lithuanian boyars, but also to the top of the Orthodox part of society. And gradually the entire boyars began to be called lords in the Polish-Czech manner, and subsequently all the nobility received the name gentry. This, of course, was a great innovation in social terms. This is not just a change of name, it is also a different self-awareness than that of the service people of, say, North-Eastern Rus'. After all, the gentry participated in governing the state, albeit nominally at first. And subsequently she actually participated in the elections of the ruler, which fundamentally distinguished the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from Muscovite Rus'. And this was largely the reason why people like Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Kurbsky fled from Russia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. And, of course, not only him, but also many others. Still, there were quite a lot of Moscow emigrants in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania throughout the 16th century.

One cannot fail to note such a moment as the transformation of the Old Russian language, which also experienced more and more Western influences on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the neighboring Kingdom of Poland. It was enriched with words and constructions from Polish, Czech, German, Lithuanian, Latin, even Hungarian, and so a language was gradually formed, which scientists call differently: “Western Russian”, “Old Belarusian”, “Old Ukrainian”, “ Russian" (with one "s"), "Ruthenian". It can be called differently in different scientific traditions, this is acceptable, but the fact is that over time it became the basis of the Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. And the process of their demarcation and the formation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples intensified especially after the Union of Lublin in 1569, when the southern voivodeships of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - that is, the territory of modern Ukraine, which had previously been part of it - passed to the Polish crown.

Of course, the historical destinies of Western Rus' cannot but be influenced by the fact that it was under the rule of rulers of other faiths - first pagans, and then Catholics. At first, the Orthodox Church retained its influence on the Russian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But already in the 14th century, the Lithuanian princes - in fact, like the Galician-Volyn Rurikovichs, and later the Polish king Casimir the Great - tried to create a separate metropolis under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, which would not be in any way connected with the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

After the conclusion of the Polish-Lithuanian union at the end of the 14th century, Catholicism found itself in a privileged position: the Catholic clergy and laity were not endowed with exclusive rights, and Catholic rulers made attempts to convert “schismatics” to Catholicism with the help of preaching, to re-baptize them forcefully or enter into a church union with Rome. But these attempts were not crowned with much success for a long time. The largest such attempt was associated with the conclusion of the Union of Florence. It was concluded, one might say, at the highest level between Constantinople, which was interested in Western assistance against the Ottoman onslaught, and Rome in 1439. At the same time, the Orthodox recognized the supremacy of the Pope and the dogma of the Catholic Church, but retained traditional rituals. In Moscow, this union was rejected, and Metropolitan Isidore was forced to leave the possessions of the Moscow princes (but he managed to maintain church authority over the Orthodox part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland).

It should be noted that at the same time, the Orthodox of the Grand Duchy had little interest in the spiritual traditions of Western Christianity and its dogmatic differences from the “Greek faith.” Even several years after the conclusion of the Union of Florence, the Orthodox Kiev prince Alexander (Olelko) Vladimirovich, a man of extraordinary influence and extraordinary connections, asked the Patriarch of Constantinople: on what conditions was the union concluded? Here it is worth recalling that Kyiv remained under the rule of Lithuanian princes in the first third of the 15th century. With all the destruction during the Mongol invasion, with all the Tatar raids at the beginning of this century, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt wrote that Kyiv is the head of the Russian lands. This was largely explained by the fact that in Kyiv, at least nominally, there was a metropolitan see.

But gradually the fates of Lithuanian Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy in the rest of Rus' diverge. Because, despite Lithuanian Rus' being under the rule of the Moscow Metropolitan Jonah for some time, already in the middle of the 15th century it returned under the rule of the Patriarchs of Constantinople. This meant a split in the metropolis. Subsequently, in the life of the Orthodox part of society, the Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Crown, phenomena were observed that led to quite turbulent events at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries. It can be said that the Orthodox Church of these lands was experiencing a real crisis, since secular persons often became bishops, not at all concerned about the interests of the church, and sometimes mired in sins. Secular rulers played a big role in this, who thus rewarded those faithful to them - by granting them episcopal sees. In response, the laity united into brotherhoods, such as Vilna or Lvov, and directly appealed to Constantinople. This, of course, caused the bishops to fear that they would lose their influence.

In 1596, the Union of Brest was concluded between the Orthodox hierarchy of the Polish-Lithuanian state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Roman Curia. It meant the withdrawal of some local Orthodox Christians into direct subordination to the Roman Catholic Church - despite the fact that the main ritual differences from Catholicism were preserved and dogmatic differences were only partially smoothed out. For some time, the Orthodox hierarchy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish Crown ceased to exist altogether. All Orthodox bishops turned out to be Uniates. It was only in 1620 that a separate hierarchy was restored. And a few years later it was recognized by the state authorities.

In the middle - second half of the 17th century, the Kiev Orthodox Metropolis defended the original image of local Orthodoxy, but as a result of the fact that Kyiv was under the rule of Moscow, it became subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. By this time, in Corona and Lithuania, the participation of non-Catholics (called dissidents) in political life was again limited, the possibility of Orthodox Christians obtaining higher positions was reduced to zero, and Orthodoxy was in a very peculiar position, since, on the one hand, it was increasingly was identified with Russia and its religious and political culture, but at the same time, in Russia itself, even the Orthodox immigrants from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as they were called - “Belarusians”, were treated with obvious distrust by the clergy. It was prescribed to carefully find out how they received baptism, and to baptize them again through triple immersion in the font, if they had previously been baptized into Orthodoxy through pouring (that is, like Catholics). This would seem to be an external sign, but what attention was given to it during contacts of fellow believers on opposite sides of the Moscow-Lithuanian border.

The given example with the requirement to rebaptize even already baptized Orthodox Christians from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth very well shows how the relations developed between the Moscow State, or the Russian State, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and subsequently the Polish-Lithuanian State, which can be discussed since 1569 , both at the state level, and at the level of social and cultural contacts.

The eastern lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth served as a contact zone, and in the field of school education, distribution of books and information, it was the Polish-Lithuanian borderland, which is often called by the Polish word “kresy”, which means “outskirts”, which served as a transshipment area a point between Muscovite Russia and Europe. Models of higher education, and above all theological scholarship, were developed jointly by the Orthodox of Moscow and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Cyrillic printing originated in Krakow: it was there in 1491 that the Oktoich, or Osmoglasnik, was published in the printing house of the German printer Schweipolt Fiol. Of course, in no case should we forget about the activities of Francis Skaryna, who began printing liturgical books 500 years ago.

According to the English traveler Giles Fletcher, in Moscow at the end of the 16th century they remembered that the first printing house was brought to Russia from Poland. Even if this is an exaggeration, Moscow printers Ivan Fedorov and Peter Msti-slavets, who published the first dated Moscow book “The Apostle” in 1564, soon found themselves in exile precisely in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of Poland, where they continued their activities. Here it is appropriate to recall, of course, the Ostrog Bible.

The Jesuit colleges served as a model for the first theological schools of the Rusyns and Muscovites. In the 1560s, the Jesuit Order expanded its activities first in Corona and then in Lithuania. The Jesuits, one after another, opened several schools to educate “schismatics,” hoping to gradually convert the Russian population to Catholicism. It should be added here that the educational activities of the Jesuits, of course, were also connected with the Catholic reform, when the Catholic Church tried, through education, to restore the positions lost as a result of the Reformation.

And so the Jesuits, one after another, opened several schools for teaching schisms, that is, Orthodox Christians, hoping to gradually convert them to Catholicism. But their activity coincided with the flowering of the theological creativity of the Orthodox themselves, who enthusiastically accepted the educational concept of the Catholics and managed to create their own schools. Among them are the Ostrog Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and the Mogila Academy, on the model of which the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy arose in Moscow at the end of the 17th century.

The Ostroh printing house in 1580-1581 published the first complete printed Bible, the Ostroh Bible, which until the time of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and later the Bible Society was adopted as the basis in Russia. Focused on Latin and Greek examples, the “Grammar” of Lavrenty Zizaniy, and later Melety Smotritsky, served as the prototype and source of the “Grammar”, printed in Moscow in 1648, from which Mikhailo Lomonosov studied.

Intellectual exchange brought new ideas to Moscow. Even in the first half of the 16th century, Sebastian Munster’s “Cosmography” became famous in Moscow. In the royal archives of Ivan the Terrible, Marcin Bielski’s “Chronicle of the Whole World” was kept, which described in detail the discovery of America. In the middle of the 17th century, Jan Blau’s “Great Atlas, or Cosmography” was delivered to Russia. Where, in addition to geographical knowledge, the foundations of the heliocentric teachings of Nicolaus Copernicus were outlined.

Moscow practically did not have its own secular press either in the 16th or 17th centuries - almost all books published by Moscow printing houses were of a church-teaching nature, and books borrowed from the Russian lands of the Polish-Lithuanian state aroused suspicion and were repeatedly destroyed due to censorship. considerations.

Of course, cultural life was influenced by the political life of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Crown, which united into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and their relationship with the Moscow state. But these relations remained far from simple, and, despite certain attempts at rapprochement, it can still be said that the states not only competed, but most of the time were openly hostile.

At that time, Lithuanian-Moscow relations had already worsened under Ivan III at the end of the 15th century. Ivan III had a fairly good idea of ​​the situation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its weaknesses, and already in 1478 (the year of the final annexation of Novgorod to the Moscow state) Ivan III publicly declared his claims to Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk , that is, the cities of Lithuanian Rus.

Subsequently, he took advantage of the fact that the eastern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were relatively weakly integrated into its composition; here the power of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania was weakest and relied on agreements with local princes. A whole series of Moscow-Lithuanian wars begins, which took place at the end of the 15th and first half of the 16th centuries.

Under these conditions, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was forced to increasingly seek help from Poland. For the time being, they were united only by the personality of the monarch - the same person occupied the throne of both Lithuania and Poland. But gradually the question of not just a personal or dynastic union, but a real union, which also implies the unification of state institutions, came onto the agenda. After long difficult negotiations, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania concluded such a real union in Lublin - the Lublin Union of 1569. This is how the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth arose. This word comes from the Polish version of the word "republic", that is, "common cause", res publica.

For this, the Grand Duchy paid a high price, since the Podlaskie, Kiev and Volyn voivodeships - huge territories - became part of the Polish Crown. Some government bodies were also liquidated. But at the same time, it should be noted that the Grand Duchy was far from losing its statehood and, of course, could not suddenly lose the features of its social system.

Soon the Jagiellon dynasty, descendants of Vladislav Jagiello, came to an end. Its last representative, the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Augustus, died in 1572. The question arose about who would be the new ruler. A series of kinglessness followed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (that is, periods when certain candidates for the throne were considered), while part of the Lithuanian gentry supported the candidacies of Ivan the Terrible and his son Feodor, hoping that this would normalize relations with Russia. It must be said that such projects have been put forward before. For example, back in the early 16th century, Vasily III, the same one who annexed Smolensk, having just ascended the throne, proposed his candidacy after the death of the next Polish-Lithuanian ruler, Alexander Jagiellon. But neither then nor in the second half of the 16th century were these projects implemented. The historical paths of Russia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - now the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - diverged more and more. Of course, this had a special impact in the political sphere. Ultimately, the candidacy of the Transylvanian prince Stefan Batory, or Istvan Batory, won, who managed to turn the tide of the war with Russia, the Livonian War, in his favor - so that it almost ended in disaster for the Russian Tsar , since he managed to recapture Polotsk from Ivan the Terrible and organize a campaign against Pskov.

After this, relatively peaceful mutual relations were established for some time, since the Lithuanian nobility saw priority in the fight with Sweden for Livonia, and these relations worsened only at the beginning of the 17th century, during the Time of Troubles. Especially after the adventure of the first Dmitry the Pretender, which was supported by the magnates of the Kingdom of Poland - Adam and Konstantin Vishnevetsky and Jerzy, or Yuri, Mniszek.

In 1610, crown hetman Stanislav Zolkiewski even concluded an agreement with the boyars, according to which Vladislav Vaza (the future Vladislav IV), the son of the then reigning Sigismund Vasa, was proclaimed Tsar of Moscow. Interestingly, for some time coins were even minted with the name of “Russian Tsar Vladislav Zhigimontovich.” But this project was never actually implemented; Sigismund Vasa decided that Smolensk was more important and that it should be limited to this. And as a result, the Polish-Lithuanian garrison, settled in the Moscow Kremlin, became hostage to this situation. He found himself besieged, in a very difficult situation: there was simply not enough food. Very vivid and terrible evidence of this has been preserved. Ultimately, in November 1612, this garrison surrendered the Kremlin to the Second Militia; and soon Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov became king. And after some time, Vladislav IV renounced his claims to the Moscow throne.

One might say that the pendulum swung in the opposite direction in the middle of the 17th century, when the Zaporozhye Cossacks recognized the power of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The war between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began, and a very significant part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, including its capital Vilna, came under the rule of the Russian Tsar for several years. The wars with Russia and Sweden in the mid-17th century and the accompanying plague epidemic brought ruin and huge human losses to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the end of the next century greatly facilitated the establishment of Russian domination in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Over the course of several centuries that have passed since the beginning of the rise of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on the one hand, and the Moscow Principality, and subsequently the Russian state, on the other hand, they remained fairly close neighbors, maintained various contacts - and at the level states, dynasties, and at the societal level. But with all this, Western influence in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: the baptism of Lithuania according to the Latin rite, union with Poland, the reception of Western social orders - all this increasingly alienated the two parts of Rus' from each other. Of course, this was also facilitated by the formation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples on lands subordinate to the power of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and the Kings of Poland.

That is, mutual distrust and mutual interest, population migrations in both directions and cultural borrowings with noticeable differences in the social, political, economic system, hopes for the help of the last Orthodox ruler and loyalty to their own rulers of other faiths - all these features must be kept in mind when we talk about another Rus'.

History of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the first settlements to the final annexation to the Russian Empire

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a medieval feudal state in Eastern Europe. During the years of its prosperity, the state extended from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The principality for its time was one of the most developed in Europe.
From the first tribes to Mindaugas
The first people settled this Baltic region between 10,000 and 9,000 BC. Their main occupation was cattle breeding, farming and hunting. In the 9th-12th centuries AD, the decomposition of the primitive communal system began. The first mentions of Lithuania in German sources date back to the beginning of the 11th century. In Rus', the principality became known from the middle of the same century. Starting from this period, Lithuania organized raids on the border Russian principalities. Proof of the existence of early feudal relations can be seen in the agreement between the Galicia-Volyn principality and the nearby lands of local princes. After this, Prince Mindovg appears on the historical arena of Lithuania...
Board of Mindovg
Most of Mindaugas's reign was filled with struggles with the Teutonic Order and Papal power. In 1236, the Battle of the Saule River took place during which the Teutons were overthrown and fled; this victory allowed him to concentrate on unifying the Lithuanian lands and further expansion into Rus'. Around 1240, he was officially elected Prince of Lithuania and took the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania. At the same time, he annexed Western Belarus. The conclusion of peace with the Pope in 1251 allowed the newly created prince to strengthen the position of his state. Soon after this, peace was concluded with Daniil of Galicia, but soon his principality was captured by the Horde khans, and he was forced to attack his son-in-law. This was the reason for Mindaugas to begin the conquest of the southwestern principalities of Rus'.
In 1260, the Battle of Lake Durbe took place; it was caused by disagreements between the Germans and Lithuanians over the northwestern principalities; in addition, the crusaders still considered the Lithuanians to be pagans and could not come to terms with their position under the Catholic Church. The battle was won by the Prussians and Lithuanians. The Order suffered heavy losses and was forced to capitulate indefinitely. The victory allowed Mindaugus to break the peace with the Pope and begin military operations against Polish Catholics.
In 1263, Mindaugas was killed by conspirators; there are many opinions about the reasons for the murder.
Period of civil strife and short-term reigns
After the death of the Great Mindvog, a conflict for the throne began. First, Troinat overthrew Tovtivil, after Troinat himself, Mindvog’s son Voishelk overthrew. Before his death, he handed over the throne to Andrei Shvarn, who soon died. After him there was Troyden, he pursued the same policy as Mindvog. He was killed by Dovmont. The penultimate decade of the 13th century is poorly covered in the sources; it is only known that certain Butigade and Budivid ruled.
Viten and Gediminas
In 1292, Viten reigned in the principality. He also pursued a policy of aggression against the Teutons. His name is associated with the liberation of Polotsk and its subsequent annexation to the Principality of Lithuania. After him, Gediminas ruled for 23 years; his relationship with Viten is questioned by a large number of historians. His entire reign passed under the banner of annexing Russian lands to his principality. The liberal policy of the Lithuanians largely helped them in seizing land; they did not impose their customs and put up with foreign religions. He pursued a policy against the strengthening of Moscow, for this he made peace with Catholics, Teutons, supported Tver and Novgorod and began to introduce Catholicism. In 1323, Grand Duke Gediminas annexed Volhynia, and took the city of Kyiv as his vassal. In 1331, the Battle of Plovtsy took place against the crusaders, who still did not recognize the “Lithuanian pagans,” in which the Principality of Lithuania won. The battle of Velyuon was fatal for Gediminas. In it he lost his life. His reign strengthened
grand-ducal power and strengthened the position of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Europe.
The dualistic rule of Olgerd and Keistut
After the death of Gediminas, the principality was on the verge of collapse, since there was no definite order of succession to the throne. Olgerd and Keistut were the most influential of the seven sons of Gediminas; back in 1341 and 1342, they together defeated the crusaders and the Horde, and in 1345 they removed Eunutius from the grand princely throne. The two brothers divided the country into spheres of influence, Olgerd got Rus' and the Horde, and Keistut got the fight against the Teutons. In 1346 Olgerd plundered the nearby Novgorod lands. In 1349, he participated in the Smolensk-Moscow conflict on the side of Smolensk, but the Moscow prince was able to enlist the support of the Khan of the Horde and threaten Smolensk with plunder, he in turn was forced to retreat, and soon Olgerd himself seized Rzhev from his former ally. After the death of the Prince of Moscow, the Principality of Lithuania continued to seize Russian lands. Beginning in 1362, the lands of the principality expanded to the south, due to the weakening of the Horde; huge steppe territories to the Caspian Sea were annexed to Lithuania. In addition, Grand Duke Olgerd occupied Kyiv without a fight and opened the road to Moscow, and in 1370 and 72 he even made campaigns against it, but both times peace treaties were signed. At the end of his life, Olgerd did not interfere in the politics of other countries and took a position of neutrality. During the entire period of dual control, his brother did not participate in any major conflicts, but during the reign of Jagiello he took an important step, which ended in failure..
Jogaila, Vytautas and Poland
In 1377 Olgerd dies. His successor is his son Jagiello, who, like other Grand Dukes, continued his anti-Moscow policy. At the beginning of his reign, he pursued a policy of rapprochement with the Teutonic Order; Keistut did not like his actions, who overthrew him in 1381, but a year later a reverse shift occurred. Keistut was tortured to death in prison, and his son Vitovt managed to escape. He asked for help from the Livonian Order, because of this, civil strife began, and in 1384 the brothers made peace and jointly attacked the Livonians, this offensive ended successfully, the Kovno fortress was taken. In 1385, the Union of Krevo was signed, according to which Poland and Lithuania united under the rule of the Grand Duke of Lithuania; such rapprochement was caused by the fragmentation of Poland and the need to save it. The forceful spread of Catholicism in Lithuania began, this did not suit Vytautas and the Orthodox population. Civil war began again in the new state. However, it did not last long, for Jagiello was aware of the precariousness of his throne. According to the agreement of 1401, Vytautas was recognized as the Grand Duke of Lithuania for life without transferring the throne to anyone. The war was still going on on two fronts: on one the Teutons, and on the other the Russians. In 1406 there was a stand on the Ugra River, after which an “eternal peace” was concluded between Russia and Lithuania. And in 1410, the Battle of Grunwald took place, during which Polish-Lithuanian troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Teutonic Order. During this period, Lithuania reached the peak of its power.
Lithuania after Vytautas
Vytautas died in 1430. After this, a series of small political conflicts began. At first, Svidrigail was chosen as prince, but the alliance of Jagiello and Sigismund overthrew him, and Sigismund became the Lithuanian ruler, his reign lasted until 1440, he was killed by the conspirators. After him, Casimir became prince, who in 1449 signed an agreement with Vasily II on the division of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. Since 1480, the Russian-Lithuanian wars began, during which Lithuania lost 40% of its territories. In 1492 Casimir dies. The following rulers pursued a policy of unification with Poland, Prince Sigismund expanded the rights of the Polish gentry to Lithuanian lands.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In 1569, the Union of Lublin was signed, according to which Poland and Lithuania became a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the ruler of the country was elected by the general diet consisting of both the Polish and Lithuanian elites. The common Polish-Lithuanian state declined in the early 18th century. From that moment on, it became a protectorate of the Russian Empire, and during the last partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ceased to exist.