At the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries, the Baltic tribes were at the stage of decomposition of the tribal system. Individual tribes had not yet united with each other, so there were no state formations. They developed feudal relations.

At the end of the XII century - the German invasion of the Baltic states. The Baltic tribes fiercely resisted, and this accelerated the formation of the state (and this was also facilitated by the weakening of the Russian lands after the Mongol invasion).

Relations with Russia.

First, peaceful, good neighborly relations. In the absence of their own statehood and church institutions, the Russian lands exerted a strong influence on the Baltic states. Relations with Novgorod and Polotsk were especially close.

They joined the struggle for the Baltic states.

Mid 13th century - Establishment of the Principality of Lithuania. There was a temporary alliance against the knights, but as the Russian lands weakened, the Lithuanian princes repeatedly invaded the Polotsk land. But still, the Russians found the support of the local population here.

New stage.

Over time, part of the Russian lands that were part of Kievan Rus was included in the Lithuanian principality (in the 40s)

AS?

XIV century - Heyday

It was precisely the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. 9/10 were Russian lands, this state has reached a significant size.

The Slavs made up the majority of the population in it (Polotsk, Minsk, Kyiv, Smolensk) and determined the development of the principality. Russian was the state language, Orthodoxy was the religion, the laws were taken from Russkaya Pravda, i.e. Russian legal norms were in force. Russian was also the language of official writing. Lithuania and Russia were generally brought together by long-standing ties. Most of the feudal nobility of Lithuania were of Russian origin. Many Lithuanians were Orthodox and married Russian princesses. And many Russian princes in the XIV century. they preferred to recognize dependence on Lithuania (this freed them from submission to the Horde).

Thus, the inclusion in the GDL of a large number of Russian lands, and with a higher level of social relations and culture, led to the Russification of this state. A complete "Russification" could also occur.

There were other trends as well:

14th century was the time of their struggle. The question of the further development of the GDL → complex, contradictory relations was being decided.

Moscow orientation	Western orientation
For a long time, Slavic cities retained rights and privileges, language, writing, culture, and Orthodoxy.	Lithuanian feudal lords tried to suppress the independence of the Russian princes. Gradually, the principalities were liquidated. The Lithuanian principality contributed to the weakening of the Galicia-Volyn land. 30s - Lithuanian princes established dominance over the Smolensk principality.
Smolensk is a buffer that softens complex relationships.	Ser. century - 2nd half of the century - the struggle for influence with Moscow. Smolensk princes were forced to maneuver between them. Moscow uses force. In response, Olgerd helps Tver (Moscow's rival), besieges Moscow three times 1372, but unsuccessfully. 1380 - Jagiello is an ally of Mamai. True, he did not participate in the Battle of Kulikovo.
1387 - turn. Reorientation.
The marriage of Jagiello and the sister of D. Donskoy was being prepared (there was a rapprochement with Moscow). 1392 - strengthening of the Moscow orientation. Jagiello's cousin, Vitovit, became the ruler of Lithuania. The marriage of his daughter with the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily II is concluded. Alliance with Tokhtamysh → influence on Horde affairs. Vitovt himself is Orthodox, married to the Tver princess. The main issue for him was the struggle for independence from Poland, against the union. Relations with Moscow are peaceful, the closest. 1396 - joint actions against the Horde. True, in 1399 - a defeat.	1387 - Prince Jagiello became the Polish king. Pagan in its mass, Lithuania was baptized into Catholicism. Catholics received benefits. 1385 - Polish-Lithuanian union. Lithuania is expanding (Ryazan land was driven between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde. Polotsk land experienced a strong onslaught of Lithuania and the Livonian knights even before the Mongol invasion, already in the 2nd half of the XIII century, before all other Western Russian lands, was under Lithuanian rule) to the western and southern Russian lands: Belarus (Vitebsk, Polotsk), Chernihiv, Podolsk, Novgorod-Seversky. 1395 - the capture of Smolensk (1404 - finally included in Lithuania).
Received the eastern part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, dominated by Russian lands. Accepted the Orthodox faith and continued his father's policy of "gathering" Russian lands
Olgerd's son. Accepted Catholicism. Concluded a union with Poland At the end of the XIV century. the danger for the Moscow principality came from the troops of both the Lithuanian prince Jagiello and the Golden Horde temnik Mamai. Vitovt (nephew of Olgerd)
The proclamation of Catholicism as the state religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the privilege of Catholics caused discontent among the Orthodox part of the principality. The struggle for independence was led by the Orthodox prince Vitovt. 1392 - section ON (Lithuania-Vitovt, Poland - Jagiello) 1404 - Vitovt continued the policy of expanding his possessions at the expense of native Russian lands and annexed Smolensk.
1406 - war against Pskov. As a result: in XV century, the borders of Lithuania came close to the Moscow principality
So, the Polish orientation prevailed. The Slavic population was no longer interested in maintaining ON. Reasons for the crash: 1) the failure of the Lithuanian princes in military clashes with Moscow; 2) reorientation to Poland; 3) Catholicism.

Additions:

• In the 13th century (after the Mongol invasion), the Russian lands became part of the early feudal Lithuanian state.
• This slowed down the development of feudalism. In general, this was of great importance for the fate of the Russian state.
• On the territory of these Russian lands (Chernigov, Galicia-Volynsk, Smolensk), Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities began to take shape.

Mongol invasion on:

• Great Russian (Northeast and Northwest)
• Ukrainian and Belarusian (Lithuania and Poland - Galician land)

In the XIV century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a formidable rival of Moscow in the matter of "gathering" Russian lands. It united under its rule most of the Western Russian lands (Smolensk region, Ukraine, Belarus).

It was really “another Russia”, and they considered their own state to be the real Russia. Lithuania served as a support for the Western Russian lands in the anti-Horde struggle. Grand Duke Olgerd, with the same right as the Moscow princes, claimed to collect all Russian lands under his authority.

In the XIV-XV centuries. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia was the real rival of Moscow Russia in the struggle for dominance in Eastern Europe. It was strengthened under Prince Gediminas (ruled in 1316-1341). Russian cultural influence prevailed here at that time. Gedemin and his sons were married to Russian princesses, the Russian language dominated the court and official office work. Lithuanian writing did not exist at that time. Until the end of the XIV century. Russian regions within the state did not experience national-religious oppression. Under Olgerd (ruled in 1345-1377), the principality actually became the dominant power in the region. The position of the state was especially strengthened after Olgerd defeated the Tatars in the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362. During his reign, the state included most of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and the Smolensk region. For all the inhabitants of Western Russia, Lithuania became a natural center of resistance to traditional opponents - the Horde and the Crusaders. In addition, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the middle of the 14th century, the Orthodox population prevailed numerically, with whom the pagan Lithuanians got along quite peacefully, and sometimes unrest was quickly suppressed (for example, in Smolensk). The lands of the principality under Olgerd stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea steppes, the eastern border ran approximately along the current border of the Smolensk and Moscow regions. There were obvious trends leading towards the formation of a new version of Russian statehood in the southern and western lands of the former Kyiv state.

FORMATION OF THE GRAND PRINCIPALITY OF LITHUANIA AND RUSSIAN

In the first half of the XIV century. a strong state appeared in Europe - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. It owes its appearance to the Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341), who during the years of his reign captured and annexed to Lithuania the Brest, Vitebsk, Volyn, Galician, Lutsk, Minsk, Pinsk, Polotsk, Slutsk and Turov lands. The Smolensk, Pskov, Galicia-Volyn and Kiev principalities became dependent on Lithuania. Many Russian lands, seeking to find protection from the Mongol-Tatars, joined Lithuania. The internal order in the annexed lands did not change, but their princes had to recognize themselves as vassals of Gediminas, pay tribute to him and supply troops when necessary. Gediminas himself began to call himself "the king of Lithuanians and many Russians." Old Russian (close to modern Belarusian) became the official language and office language of the principality. There was no persecution on religious and national grounds in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1323 Lithuania got a new capital - Vilnius. According to legend, once Gediminas hunted at the foot of the mountain at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris rivers. Having killed a huge tour, he and his warriors decided to spend the night near an ancient pagan sanctuary. In his dream he dreamed of a wolf clad in iron armor, howling like a hundred wolves. Called to interpret the dream, the high priest Lizdeyka explained that he should build a city in this place - the capital of the state, and that the glory of this city would spread throughout the world. Gediminas heeded the priest's advice. A city was built, which got its name from the Vilnia River. This is where Gediminas moved his residence from Trakai.

From Vilnius in 1323-1324 Gediminas wrote letters to the Pope and the cities of the Hanseatic League. In them, he declared his desire to accept Catholicism, invited artisans, merchants, and farmers to Lithuania. The crusaders understood that the adoption of Catholicism by Lithuania would mean for them the end of their "missionary" mission in the eyes of Western Europe. Therefore, they began to incite local pagans and Orthodox against Gediminas. The prince was forced to abandon his plans - he announced to the papal legates about the alleged mistake of the clerk. However, Christian churches in Vilnius continued to be built.

The crusaders soon resumed hostilities against Lithuania. In 1336 they laid siege to the Samogitian castle of Pilenai. When its defenders realized that they could not resist for a long time, they burned the castle and died in the fire themselves. On November 15, 1337, Ludwig IV of Bavaria presented the Teutonic Order with the Bavarian castle built near Nemunas, which was supposed to become the capital of the conquered state. However, this state still had to be conquered.

After the death of Gediminas, the principality passed to his seven sons. The one who ruled in Vilnius was considered the Grand Duke. The capital went to Jaunutis. His brother Kestutis, who inherited Grodno, the Principality of Trakai and Samogitia, was unhappy that Jaunutis turned out to be a weak ruler and could not come to his aid in the fight against the crusaders. In the winter of 1344-1345, Kestutis occupied Vilnius and shared power with his other brother, Algirdas (Olgerd). Kestutis led the fight against the crusaders. He repulsed 70 campaigns in Lithuania of the Teutonic Order and 30 - Livonian. There was not a single major battle in which he would not take part. Kestutis' military talent was appreciated even by his enemies: each of the crusaders, according to their own sources, would consider it the greatest honor to shake hands with Kestutis.

Algirdas, the son of a Russian mother, like his father Gediminas, paid more attention to the seizure of Russian lands. During the years of his reign, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania doubled. Algirdas annexed Kyiv, Novgorod-Seversky, Right-bank Ukraine and Podil to Lithuania. The capture of Kyiv led to a clash with the Mongol-Tatars. In 1363 the army of Algirdas defeated them at the Blue Waters, the South Russian lands were liberated from Tatar dependence. Algirdas' father-in-law, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver, asked his son-in-law for support in the fight against Moscow. Three times (1368, 1370 and 1372) Algirdas made a trip to Moscow, but could not take the city, after which peace was eventually concluded with the Moscow prince.

After the death of Algirdas in 1377, civil strife began in the country. The throne of the Grand Duke of Lithuania was received by the son of Algirdas from the second marriage of Jagiello (Yagello). Andrei (Andryus), the son from his first marriage, rebelled and fled to Moscow, asking for support there. He was received in Moscow and sent to conquer the Novgorod-Seversky lands from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Jagiello, in the fight against Andrei, turned to the Order for help, promising to convert to Catholicism. In secret from Kestutis, a peace treaty was concluded between the Order and Jogaila (1380). Having secured a reliable rear for himself, Jagiello went with an army to help Mamai against, hoping to punish Moscow for supporting Andrei and share the lands of the Moscow principality with Oleg Ryazansky (also an ally of Mamai). However, Jagiello arrived at the Kulikovo field late: the Mongol-Tatars had already suffered a crushing defeat. Meanwhile, Kestutis found out about the secret treaty concluded against him. In 1381 he occupied Vilnius, expelled Jogaila from there and sent him to Vitebsk. However, a few months later, in the absence of Kestutis, Jagiello, together with his brother Skirgaila, captured Vilnius, and then Trakai. Kestutis and his son Vytautas were invited to negotiate at Jogaila's headquarters, where they were captured and placed in the Kreva Castle. Kestutis was treacherously killed, and Vytautas managed to escape. Jagiello began to rule alone.

In 1383 the Order, with the help of Vytautas and the Samogitian barons, resumed hostilities against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The allies took Trakai and burned Vilnius. Under these conditions, Jagiello was forced to seek support from Poland. In 1385, a dynastic union was concluded between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish state in Krevo (Krakow) Castle. The following year, Jagiello was baptized, given the name Vladislav, married the Polish queen Jadwiga and became the Polish king - the founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty, which ruled Poland and Lithuania for over 200 years. Implementing the union in practice, Jagiello created the Vilnius bishopric, baptized Lithuania, and equalized the rights of the Lithuanian feudal lords who converted to Catholicism with the Polish ones. Vilnius received the right of self-government (Magdeburg Law).

Vytautas, who fought Jagiello for some time, returned to Lithuania in 1390, and in 1392 an agreement was concluded between the two rulers: Vytautas received the Principality of Trakai and became the de facto ruler of Lithuania (1392-1430). After campaigns in 1397-1398 to the Black Sea, he brought Tatars and Karaites to Lithuania and settled them in Trakai. Vytautas strengthened the Lithuanian state and expanded its territory. He deprived the power of the specific princes, sending his deputies to manage the lands. In 1395, Smolensk was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and attempts were made to conquer Novgorod and Pskov. The state of Vytautas stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In order to provide himself with a reliable rear in the fight against the crusaders, Vytautas signed an agreement with the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I (who was married to Vytautas' daughter, Sophia). The Ugra River became the border between the great principalities.

OLGERD, aka ALGIDRAS

V. B. Antonovich (“Essay on the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”) gives us the following masterful description of Olgerd: “Olgerd, according to his contemporaries, was distinguished mainly by deep political talents, he knew how to use circumstances, correctly outlined the goals of his political aspirations, favorably disposed alliances and chose the right time for the implementation of his political plans. Extremely restrained and prudent, Olgerd was distinguished by his ability to keep his political and military plans in impenetrable secrecy. Russian chronicles, which are generally not disposed towards Olgerd due to his clashes with northeastern Russia, call him “evil”, “godless” and “flattering”; however, they recognize in him the ability to use circumstances, restraint, cunning - in a word, all the qualities necessary to strengthen their power in the state and to expand its limits. In relation to various nationalities, it can be said that all the sympathies and attention of Olgerd focused on the Russian people; Olgerd, according to his views, habits and family ties, belonged to the Russian people and served as its representative in Lithuania. At the very time when Olgerd strengthened Lithuania by annexing the Russian regions, Keistut is its defender against the crusaders and deserves the glory of a national hero. Keistut is a pagan, but even his enemies, the crusaders, recognize in him the qualities of an exemplary Christian knight. The Poles recognized the same qualities in him.

Both princes divided the administration of Lithuania so precisely that the Russian chronicles know only Olgerd, and the German chronicles only Keistut.

LITHUANIANS AT THE MONUMENT TO THE MILLENNIUM OF RUSSIA

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

The figures placed on the high relief are divided by the author of the project of the Monument into four departments: Enlighteners, Statesmen; Military people and heroes; Writers and artists...

The Department of State People is located on the eastern side of the Monument and begins immediately after the “Illuminators” with the figure of Yaroslav the Wise, after which come: Vladimir Monomakh, Gedimin, Olgerd, Vitovt, the princes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Zakharenko A.G. The history of the construction of the Monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod. Scientific Notes” of the Faculty of History and Philology of the Novgorod State Pedagogical Institute. Issue. 2. Novgorod. 1957

GREAT PRINCIPALITY OF LITHUANIA (GDL), a state in Eastern Europe in the 13th-16th centuries. The ethnic core is the land of Lietuva in Aukstaitija.

Formation ON. The union of Lithuanian lands, which included Lietuva, the regions of Upita and Deltuva, Siauliai and part of Samogitia, was first mentioned in 1219. In the 1230s and 1240s, the transformation of this union, headed by Prince Lietuva Mindovg (Mindaugas), into a single state was accelerated by the threat emanating from the Teutonic Order. In the fight against him, the GDL claimed the role of unifier of the Balts' lands south of the Western Dvina. In 1236, at the Battle of Saule, Lithuanians and Samogitians defeated the army of the crusaders. By the middle of the 13th century, Black Russia became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the middle of the 13th century monks of spiritual orders preached in Lithuania. To deter the onset of the order and strengthen his power, Mindovg converted to Catholicism (1251), was crowned (1253) and secured the promise of Pope Alexander IV for the coronation of his son. Under pressure from the Samogitians, who defeated the troops of the Livonian Order at Durben (1260), Mindovg broke with Catholicism. However, since the end of the 13th century, after the assassination of Mindovg and internal strife, which was ended by Troyden (Traidenis; 1269-1281/82), the issue of Lithuania's acceptance of Catholicism was repeatedly raised again. The Lithuanian princes associated his decision with the cessation of the aggression of the Livonian Order.

The GDL developed as a poly-ethnic and poly-confessional state, which contributed to the establishment of the power of duumvirs (usually brothers) - the Grand Duke (residence - Vilna, now Vilnius) and his co-ruler (residence - Troki, now Trakai), between whom political power was distributed in various parts of the ON: Boudikid (Butigeidis) (1280s - circa 1290) and Pukuver Budivid (Pukuveras Butvydas) (1280s - circa 1295); Viten (Vityanis) (about 1295-1316) and Gediminas (Gediminas).

From the 2nd half of the 13th century, the cities of Vilna, Troki, Kovno (now Kaunas), Grodno, Novogrudok and others developed, the economic growth of which was facilitated by the policy of the great princes aimed at encouraging trade, establishing international trade relations, attracting European merchants to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and artisans.

In 1307, the Principality of Polotsk was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

heyday ON. During the period of the sole reign of the ancestor of the Gediminovich dynasty, Gediminas (1316-1341) and the reign of his sons Olgerd (Algirdas) (1345-77) and Keistut (Kyastutis) (1345-77, 1381-82), a significant strengthening of the GDL took place. During the offensive on Russian lands in the 1310-1320s, the GDL included the Drutsk, Vitebsk, Minsk, Pinsk, Turov and Slutsk principalities, about 1360 - the Principality of Bryansk, about 1362 - the Principality of Kiev, in the 1360s - Chernigov principality, in the 1340-70s - Volhynia. The annexed principalities entered into a series of agreements with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; the borders of the principalities, the structure of government, the immunity rights of local feudal lords were preserved, in small principalities - local dynasties. The vassal duties of the nobility were the payment of tribute and participation in hostilities. Some representatives of the nobility (Khodkevich, Ostrozhsky, etc.) became part of the top of the largest landowners of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, played an important role in political life. By the middle of the 14th century, the active offensive of the crusaders on the borders of Lithuania was stopped; a period of long positional wars began with periodic invasions of the Order into Samogitia and Lithuanians into Prussia and Zemgalia. At the same time, Samogitia, while maintaining broad autonomy, gradually integrated into the GDL. The rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were rivals of the Moscow princes in the unification of the Russian lands: they supported the Tver principality in the fight against the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and during the campaigns of Olgerd, Lithuanian troops tried to capture Moscow three times.

The struggle for power after the death of Olgerd between his brother Keistut and his son Jagiello, supported by the Teutonic Order, ended in 1382 with the victory of the latter. The renewal of the war with the order in 1383 forced Jagiello to turn to Poland. As a result of the Union of Krevo in 1385, Jagiello became both the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1386. The privileges of Jagiello (1387, 1389) determined the status of Catholicism as the state religion and secured the immune rights of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania repeatedly tried to establish a special metropolis in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, since Orthodoxy, although it did not have the status of a state church, was preserved in Russian lands and cities (some princes were also Orthodox, for example, Gediminovichi, who ruled in Russian principalities). At the same time, measures were taken to prevent the spread of Orthodoxy in ethnically Lithuanian lands. In 1388, the war against Jagiello was started by his cousin, the son of Keistut - Vitautas (Vytautas), supported by the Samogitians and the Teutonic Order. The conflict ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ostrovsky (1392), according to which Vitovt became the ruler of the GDL; the status of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the new state-political formation was also specified. In 1393 Vitovt concluded a peace treaty with Novgorod. Since 1395, Vytautas has been officially referred to as the Grand Duke in documents. According to the Salinsky Treaty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Teutonic Order (1398), Novgorod was recognized as a zone of interests of Lithuania, Pskov - of the Livonian Order; Samogitia was transferred to the Teutonic Order. According to the Union of Vilna-Radom in 1401, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained an independent state in alliance with Poland. In 1404, Vitovt managed to annex the Smolensk principality to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The union with Poland contributed to victories in the fight against the Teutonic Order (the Battle of Grunwald in 1410; the return of Samogitia in 1409-10s, finally in 142). According to the Union of Horodel in 1413, the rights of the Polish gentry were extended to the Catholic feudal lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The privileges of 1432 and 1434 equalized the Orthodox and Catholic nobility in certain economic and political rights. "Russian" (Old Belarusian) was in the 15-16 centuries the language of the office of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 1430s, the GDL expanded to the upper reaches of the Oka River and the Black Sea, conquered part of the southern Russian lands from the Golden Horde and included the territories of modern Lithuania, Belarus, as well as parts of modern Ukraine and Russia. In the 14th-15th centuries, a large feudal landownership was formed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many cities received the Magdeburg Law and became centers of multinational culture.

Development of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 2nd half of the 15th - mid-16th centuries. As a result of the Russian-Lithuanian wars, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost the Verkhovsky principalities, Smolensk, Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky. From the end of the 15th century, the struggle between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crimean Khanate unfolded. Intervening in the war between the Archbishopric of Riga and the Livonian Order, the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania sought to subjugate Livonia to their influence. According to the Posvolsky agreements of 1557, an alliance of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Livonia was created to oppose the Russian state. After the start of the Livonian War of 1558-83, the Vilnius Treaty of 1559 established the suzerainty of the GDL over the Livonian Order. After the 2nd Vilna truce (November 28, 1561), the order's possessions in Livonia underwent secularization and came under the joint possession of the GDL and Poland.

From the end of the 15th century, the Diets (local and national) of the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania gathered; the privileges of 1447 and 1492 actually put the power of the Grand Duke under the control of the Council of Pans - the council of the nobility and the highest clergy. The rights of the feudal class of the GDL are enshrined in the Lithuanian Statutes (1529, 1566). In the era of the Reformation (mid-16th century), Protestantism (Calvinism in the form of reformism) became widespread among the highest nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Radziwills and others). Some magnates of Russian origin (Sapieha, Orshansky, Khodkevichi, etc.) converted to Catholicism in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the transition to cash rent was accompanied by an increase in the exploitation of the peasants and an intensification of the struggle between the peasants and the feudal lords. In the middle of the 16th century, with the development of a commodity economy, corvée rent prevailed. From the 1st half of the 16th century book printing in Russian and Lithuanian developed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

ON as part of the Commonwealth. Under the terms of the Union of Lublin in 1569, a new state was created - the Commonwealth, headed by the Polish king, who was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was elected for life by the gentry of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A common Sejm was created, but the GDL and Poland retained their own administration, army, finances, judicial system, and legislation. The gentry received equal rights to own land in any part of the federation. Podlyashskoe and Kiev provinces, Volyn, Podolia went under the authority of the king.

The withering away of Lithuanian statehood gradually proceeded. In the 1560s, local gentry self-government was organized according to the Polish model. In 1579 a university was opened in Vilnius. In 1588, a new Lithuanian statute was issued, which secured the victory of serfdom. In the 17-18 centuries, the Polonization of the nobility of the GDL took place. By the end of the 17th century, most of the gentry spoke Polish, and since 1697 Polish has been the official language of the office of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The GDL was completely abolished in accordance with the May 3rd, 1791 constitution. As a result of the divisions of the Commonwealth, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was ceded to the Russian Empire.

Lit .: Lyubavsky M.K. Essay on the history of the Lithuanian-Russian state up to the Union of Lublin inclusive. M., 1910; Pashuto V. T. Formation of the Lithuanian state. M., 1959; Dvornichenko A. Yu. Russian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: (Before the beginning of the 16th century): Essays on the history of the community, estates, statehood. SPb., 1993; Kiaupenè J. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in East Central Europe or once again about the Lithuanian-Polish Union // Lithuanian Historical Studies. 1997. No. 2; Yanin V. L. Novgorod and Lithuania. Border situations of the XIII-XV centuries. M., 1998; Dubonis A. Lietuvos didziojo kunigaiksöio leiciai. Is Lietuvos ankstyviyij valstybiniij struktürq praeities. Vilnius, 1998; Blaszczyk G. Litwa na przelomie sredniowiecza i nowozytnosci: 1492-1596. Poznan, 2002; Petrauskas R. The Lithuanian nobility in the latefourteenth and early fifteenth centuries: composition and structure // Lithuanian Historical Studies. 2002. No. 7; Gudavichyus E. History of Lithuania: from ancient times to 1569. M., 2005.

In the middle of the 13th century, the territory of the future state was divided into small Slavic-Baltic principalities, in which one part of the population had already adopted the new Orthodox faith, the other part remained faithful to the pagan gods. They fought against each other, and began to be subjected to constant raids from the north, where the Teutonic and Livonian orders, who came from Germany, were based, and from the south, the Tatar-Mongols began to disturb, who later settled on the Crimean peninsula. This was one of the main impetuses for unification into one state.

The first core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was created by the Lithuanian Prince Mindovg. Having collected the Lithuanian lands with the cities of Novgorodok, Slonim, Volkovysk and Grodno into a single principality, Mindovg officially began the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The initiated process of the unification of the Lithuanian lands was complex and could turn into a complete collapse. In order to take sole power in the principality, Mindovg seized the lands of his nephews Tavtivil and Erdivil, driving them out of his new possessions. The joy of capturing their possessions was not long, Tavtivil and Erdivil turned to the Galician-Valyn princes for help, who did not refuse them, and began to prepare for a military campaign against Lithuania.

The Five Years' War began in 1249 with a military campaign against the Lithuanian land. The newly formed principality faced a serious danger, not only from the side of the Galicia-Volyn lands, but also from the side of Zhemoitia, where, at the request of the same Galicia-Volyn Princes Romanovich, Prince Vikint raised the floor of Zhemoitia against Mindovg. The Livonian Order did not stand aside, which also wanted to gain new territories and the glory of a fighter against the pagans, it also declared war on Lithuania.

Thus, Mindovg had to wage a war on three sides, which was incredibly difficult, and there was very little chance of resisting. However, diplomacy came to help Mindovg. The prince is a pagan, he came up with, albeit not very, on the one hand, a beautiful, but effective method, he agreed to convert to the Catholic faith. And although he later changed Catholicism to paganism again, this helped to remove the threat from the Livonian Order. The invented trick of Mindovg will be used more than once by his successors, and more than once, the Lithuanian princes will change their and state religion for political purposes, what can you do, times and circumstances forced them to resort to such methods.

After Mindovg was baptized into the Catholic faith, the Livonian Order went over to his side, it became easier to fight, and as a result, Lithuania managed to defend its right to exist in its first war with the Galicia-Volyn neighbors in the south.

This war marked the beginning of diplomatic relations between Mindaugas and the principality as a whole with Europe, and in particular with the popes, with whom an active correspondence was conducted. As a result, the Pope was not against the imposition of kingship on Mindaugas, this significant event took place in 1253.

Prince Mindovg, not only was able to collect and keep in his power, the young principality of Lithuania, but also laid the foundation for diplomatic relations of the future state. Having withstood its first war, the Principality of Lithuania continued to develop and grow, and Mindovg’s work in expanding and strengthening the principality was continued by his heirs.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a feudal state that existed in the 13th-16th centuries. on the territory of part of modern Lithuania and Belarus. The main occupation of the population was agriculture and cattle breeding. Hunting and crafts played an auxiliary role in the economy. The development of handicrafts based on iron production, internal and external trade (with Russia, Poland, etc.) contributed to the growth of cities (Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, etc.). In the 9th-12th centuries. feudal relations developed on the territory of Lithuania, the estates of feudal lords and dependent people were formed. Separate Lithuanian political associations had different levels of social and economic development. The decomposition of primitive communal relations and the emergence of the feudal system led to the formation of a state among the Lithuanians. According to the Galicia-Volyn chronicle, the Russo-Lithuanian treaty of 1219 mentions an alliance of Lithuanian princes headed by the "oldest" princes who owned lands in Aukstaitija. This indicates the existence of a state in Lithuania. The strengthening of the grand ducal power led to the unification of the main Lithuanian lands in V. k. L. under the rule of Mindovg (mid-30s of the 13th century - 1263), who also seized some Belarusian lands (Black Russia). The formation of the V. k. L. was accelerated by the need to unite to fight the aggression of the German crusaders, which intensified from the beginning of the 13th century. Lithuanian troops won major victories over the knights in the battles of Siauliai (1236) and Durba (1260).

In the 14th century, during the reign of Gediminas (1316-1341), Olgerd (1345-77) and Keistut (1345-82), . the Principality of Lithuania significantly expanded its possessions, adding all Belarusian, part of Ukrainian and Russian lands (Volyn, Vitebsk, Turov-Pinsk, Kyiv, Pereyaslav, Podolsk, Chernihiv-Seversky lands, etc.). Their inclusion was facilitated by the fact that Russia was weakened by the Mongol-Tatar yoke, as well as the fight against the aggression of German, Swedish and Danish invaders. Joining the Great. princes Lithuanian. Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian lands with more developed social relations and culture contributed to the further development of socio-economic relations in Lithuania. In the annexed lands, the Lithuanian grand dukes retained significant autonomy and immunity rights for local magnates. This, as well as differences in the level of socio-economic development and the ethnic heterogeneity of individual parts of V. k. L., led to the lack of centralization in state administration. At the head of the state was the Grand Duke, with him - a council of representatives of the nobility and the highest clergy. In order to join forces to fight the advance of the German knightly orders and strengthen his power, Grand Duke Jagiello (1377-92) concluded the Union of Krevo with Poland in 1385. However, the union was fraught with the danger of Lithuania becoming a province of Poland in the future. In Lithuania, where until the end of the 14th century. paganism existed, Catholicism began to spread by force. Jagiello's policy was opposed by a part of the Lithuanian and Russian princes, headed by Vitovt, who in 1392, after an internecine struggle, actually became the Grand Duke in Lithuania. The combined Lithuanian-Russian and Polish troops, with the participation of Czech troops in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, utterly defeated the knights of the Teutonic Order and stopped their aggression.

The growth of large feudal landownership and the consolidation of the ruling class in the 14th - 15th centuries. were accompanied by mass enslavement of the peasants, which caused peasant uprisings (for example, in 1418). The main form of exploitation of the peasants was food rent. Simultaneously with the growth of economic dependence, national oppression in the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands also intensified. Crafts and trade developed in the cities. In the 15-16 centuries. the rights and privileges of the Lithuanian lords are growing. According to the Union of Horodel in 1413, the rights of the Polish gentry were extended to the Lithuanian Catholic nobles. At the end of the 15th century a Rada of pans was formed, which actually put the power of the Grand Duke under its control by the privilege of 1447 and by the privilege of the Grand Duke Alexander in 1492. The formation of a general gentry Sejm (at the end of the 15th century), as well as the publication of the Lithuanian Statutes of 1529 and 1566, consolidated and increased the rights of the Lithuanian nobility.

The transition to cash rent at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. was accompanied by an increase in the exploitation of the peasants and an aggravation of the class struggle: escapes and unrest became more frequent (especially large ones - in 1536-37 in the grand ducal estates). In the middle of the 16th century a reform was carried out on the estates of the Grand Duke, as a result of which the exploitation of the peasants intensified due to the growth of corvee (see Volochnaya Pomera). From the end of the 16th century this system is being introduced in the estates of large landowners-tycoons. Mass enslavement of peasants, development of corvée economy, acquisition by Lithuanian landlords in the second half of the 16th century. the right to duty-free export of grain abroad and the import of goods hindered the development of cities.

The Lithuanian princes, from the moment of the formation of V. k. L., sought to seize Russian lands. However, the strengthening in the 14th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow and the unification of the Russian lands around it led to the fact that from the 2nd half of the 15th century. as a result of wars with Russia (1500-03, 1507-08, 1512-22, 1534-37) B. k. L. lost Smolensk (captured by Grand Duke Vitovt in 1404), Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky and other Russians earth. The growth of anti-feudal uprisings in the lands of V. k. L., the aggravation of intra-class contradictions, the desire for expansion into V., as well as the failures in the Livonian War of 1558-83 against Russia led to the unification of V. k. L. with Poland according to the Union of Lublin in 1569. one state - the Commonwealth.