The eastern part of the Smolensk land reached Mozhaisk and, judging by the testimony of contemporaries, in the XV-XVI centuries. was densely forested (and there are almost no mounds here either). The way from Smolensk to Moscow was all through the forest. 130 miles between Vyazma and Mozhaisk, according to A. Meyerberg (1661), a continuous forest stretched, “the desert of which is protected by one village of Tsarevo-Zaimishche”. “The path from Smolensk to Moscow,” Adolf Lisek (1675) echoes him, “is as dangerous from bears as it is boring because of continuous forests. The only road between these cities runs along a strip of cut down forest about 30 feet wide with a log flooring across the swamps.

Dense forests were also in the southeastern limits of Smolensk land. In 1370, chasing away Olgerd, “gnashe mozhaichi and beaten Smolny in the forest on Bologna, and full of otyash”. The village of Belonovtsy on the river. Desnoga, 16.5 versts from Yelnya, indicates to us that this forest began somewhere to the southeast of this city. Most likely, in the upper reaches of the Bolva, where there are few kurgan groups, there was the Bleve point.

There are many forests even now in the southern Smolensk region. In Roslavl as early as the beginning of the 20th century. they occupied 40.5%, and in ancient times there were much more of them. The forest crossed at the headwaters of the river. Bolva in the so-called Bryn forest, which stretched from Kaluga to Bryansk, according to the Book of the Big Drawing. In addition to the border forests of Smolensk, which went deep into the Earth, there were forests that did not go to the borders. Smolensk, according to S. Herberstein, "is surrounded by extensive forests, from which various furs are extracted." A. Lizek also writes about the dense forests between the border of Lithuania and Smolensk: having traveled 8 miles from the border of Lithuania, he had to spend the night among the dense forest, kindling fires from bears. Near Smolensk, his embassy was waiting for an invitation to the city, also in a large forest. Having fallen into a great flood, S. Herberstein was forced to transfer to a boat, controlled by a monk, and sail from Smolensk to Vyazma among the forests, etc.

It is important for us that the spaces that were deserted, according to the reviews of travelers of the 16th-17th centuries, do not have burial mounds. This means that the picture of the population for the pre-Mongolian time according to the mounds is quite objective.

Clusters of settlements in ancient Smolensk region. Let us turn to the study of the territories taken away by man from the forest. In Smolensk land, there are three largest concentrations of settlements of ancient Slavs: in the area between the Sozh - Dnieper - Kaspli rivers, in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina (near the Toropetsky and Zhizhetsky lakes), in the interfluve of the Dnieper - Desna.

About the population of the Western Dvina - Toropy V.V. Sedov noted that these were areas in which earlier (7th-9th centuries) the population buried in long mounds, which gave him the right to speak about the genetic continuity of these places of the population of the 10th-12th centuries. from an earlier one. The abundance of burial mounds in Toropetsky district. already noted by M.I. Semevsky, a large number of them on the river. Veles (former Moninsky parish) was also indicated in the literature. The works of Ya.V. Stankevich found out that the Toropetsk cluster of settlements arose at the beginning of the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. At the same time, clusters of people began to appear near the lake. Zhizhetskoye, to the northeast between the lake. Luchansky and Okhvat, the history of the population of these areas is undoubtedly close to the Toropetsk population. A different picture awaits us to the south: between the Velizh course of the Western Dvina and the Dnieper; here on the river Gobze density is very low; judging by the burial mounds, the ancient villages stretched in narrow strips across the watershed. The western one went through the Kasplya, the middle one - from Smolensk to the north to Verzhavsk, the eastern one - from the mouth of the Vopi also to Verzhavsk (Fig. 2). The volost Verzhavlians the Great, which we read about in the Charter of Rostislav in 1136 as the most solvent, consisting of 9 graveyards, should be seen in small clusters of settlements scattered along the rivers around Verzhavsk; a comparatively larger cluster near the left bank of the Western Dvina was obviously considered to be two churchyards, and the most remote Verzhavsky churchyard to the northeast of Verzhavsk should be seen in the village of Devyataya, where there are both mounds and a settlement of the pre-Mongolian time (Fig. 4) . In the northern part of the Smolensk land there were still clusters of settlements, however, of a smaller size: on the river. Pyryshne at the very edge of the Okovsky forest, where at the village. Okovets has burial mounds and a settlement of the 9th-10th centuries, as well as on the upper Mezha with tributaries.

The central cluster of settlements in the area of ​​Sozha - the Dnieper and Kaspli most of all spread to the left bank of the Dnieper (Fig. 4). E.A. Schmidt divided this population into three chronological groups: at the first stage (VII-VIII centuries) there was little population here, forests abounded, one might think. In the second (IX-X centuries) to the west of modern Smolensk (which did not yet exist) on both sides of the Dnieper, a colossal Krivichi tribal center grew up, which, as I tried to show, was the ancient Smolensk, as it is rightly suggested to be considered similar to Scandinavian wikis - Birke and others. At the third stage (XI-XIII centuries), this city died out, since feudal Smolensk was transferred to a modern place. However, the territory of this cluster on the left bank was intensively populated. Residents cut into the forests, expanding crops. Archaeological monuments of this time, showed E.A. Schmidt, are diverse - they reflected villages, churchyards, feudal estates, etc. The remains of the settlements of the same cluster in its eastern part were studied by V.V. Sedov and were also divided into three groups according to time, however, the late stage also captures the developed Middle Ages. Close to the central group of the cluster of settlements is their cluster in the region of that part of the upper Dnieper, where the path to the portage to the Ugra with the toponyms Volochek (Dnieper side) and Luchin-Gorodok (Ugra bank) departed. The spontaneous enrichment of the population of the portage of the 11th-12th centuries, which traded in transportation along the watershed, was soon (mid-second half of the 12th century) stopped by the feudal center of Dorogobuzh, which, apparently, moved into the zone of the princely domain. To the north of the Dorogobuzh population cluster, we will mention the clusters of ancient inhabitants of the 10th-11th centuries. and later on the river Vyazma, the upper reaches of which were close to the upper reaches of the Vazuza, and other tributaries of the Ugra (Fig. 2; 4). These accumulations also led to the formation at the beginning of the XIII century. the feudal center of Vyazma (first mentioned in 1239).

Rice. 5. Coin treasures and individual finds of coins in the Smolensk region. 1. Hoards. 2. Single finds of coins. 3. Clusters of settlements (according to mounds). 4. Borders of the Smolensk land. 5. Voloki, according to toponyms. 1 - "Gnezdovsky Smolensk", 2 - Ilovka, 3 - Sour, 4 - Slobodka (Przhevalsk), 5 - Saki, 6 - Glazunovo, 7 - Toropets, > 8 - Kurovo, 9 - Paltsevo, 10 - Zhabachev, 11 - Gulce , 12 - Gorki, 13 - Semenov-Gorodok, 14 - Rzhev, 15 - Dunaevo, 16 - Panovo, 17 - Kharlapovo, 18 - Dorogobuzh, 19 - Yartsevo, 20 - Zhigulino, 21 - Mutyshkino, 21 - Borshchevshchina, 23 - Sobolevo , 24 - Zastenok, 25 - Starosele, 26 - Stary Dedin, 27 - Gorki, 28 - Popovka, 29 - Peschanka, 30 - Zimnitsa

We see scattered Smolensk villages (sparse clusters) both to the east and again in the areas of convergence of the right tributaries of the Vazuza and the left Ugra, among them the village of Panovo stands out, where during excavations foreign things, dirhems, etc. were discovered (see section "Trade "), as well as r. Iskona, even to the east, near the border of the Vyatichi and Krivichi, is the volost known from the Charter of Rostislav in 1136 - Iskona, which paid tribute directly to Smolensk and, therefore, is quite independent.

The third large cluster of settlements is located in the southern Smolensk region, inhabited by the Radimichi. A few mounds with cremation (IX-X centuries) show that then only small settlements were scattered here, with several houses each. Obviously, the bulk of the inhabitants of these places, judging by the mounds with inhumation, arose in the 11th-12th centuries. But this process was internal, because there are no foreign materials testifying to migration in the barrows. The Radimichi were intensively populated: the upper reaches of the Stometi, Ostra, middle Sozh, and the upper Besedi. At the southern border of the Smolensk lands, there are fewer burial mounds; forests abounded here, separating the northern Radimichi from the rest, which were the border between the principalities. How to explain the existence of such a border within a large tribe of Radimichi? Based on the funeral rite, G.F. Solovieva outlined 8 small tribes of Radimichi. In the zone of the Smolensk Radimichi, she managed to isolate only one such tribe (the eighth group). The remaining Radimic territory, where signs of small tribes could not be caught, is twice as large as the neighboring small tribes in terms of area and number of monuments. It is possible that two small tribes of Radimichi lived here, separated along with the third (the eighth group of Solovyova) from the rest by forests, which Rostislav Smolensky took advantage of, adding them to his land (1127?, see below). If the assumption about these two small tribes is confirmed and the Radimichi had, therefore, 10 such tribes, then this will confirm the interesting hypothesis about the decimal division of the ancient Russian large tribes put forward by B.A. Rybakov.

It passed through the principality and was an important source of income for its rulers.

The principality included many cities, including: Bely, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh, Yelnya, Zhizhets, Zubtsov, Izyaslavl (location not established), Krasny, Krichev, Medyn, Mozhaisk, Mstislavl, Orsha, Propoisk, Rzhev, Rostislavl, Rudnya, Toropets.

Story

Early history of the principality (from the 9th century to 1127)

The chronicle that Vladimir Monomakh, having taken the throne of Kyiv in 1113, transferred his son Svyatoslav from Smolensk to Pereyaslavl, shows the Smolensk land under the rule of Monomakh in the period after the Lyubech Congress of 1097.

The heyday of the Smolensk principality under the Rostislavichs (from 1127 to 1274)

The further fate of the Smolensk land

Economy

The territory of the principality was wooded and hilly. The principality was at the crossroads of trade routes. The Upper Dnieper was connected with the Baltic through the Western Dvina River, with Novgorod through the Lovat River, and with the upper Volga.

From the end of the 12th century, the trade of Smolensk with Riga and Visby on Gotland expanded. Wax was the main export, followed by honey and furs. Imports consisted mainly of cloth, later sources also mention stockings, ginger, candied peas, almonds, smoked salmon, sweet wines, salt, spurs.

In the first third of the 13th century, Smolensk merchants continued to participate in international trade. Treaties between Smolensk and Riga and the Goth Coast in 1223/1225 and 1229 have been preserved in the Latvian State Historical Archives.

see also

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Notes

1. Vl. Greeks.// Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - St. Petersburg. -M., 1896-1918.
2. Vernadsky G.V.
3. Rudakov V. E.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
4. Alekseev L.V. Smolensk land in the IX-XIII centuries. - Moscow: Nauka, 1980. - P. 64-93.
5. Ivanov A.S."Moscowitica-Ruthenica" in the Latvian State Historical Archive: the history of the formation of the complex, composition and introduction to scientific circulation. // Ancient Russia. Medieval Questions. - 2004. - No. 3 (17). - S. 54.

Literature

• Makovsky D.P. Smolensk Principality / Smolensk Regional Research Institute. - Smolensk, 1948. - 272 p.

Links

• L. V. Alekseev

Tipping events stories chronicle tribes Kiev rulers before the collapse of the Old Russian states (1132) Significant wars and battles Principal principalities in the XII-XIII centuries Society Crafts and economy culture Literature Architecture

An excerpt characterizing the Smolensk principality

After tea, Sonya saw a timid maid waiting for her at Natasha's door. She let it through, and, eavesdropping at the door, learned that the letter had again been handed over. And suddenly it became clear to Sonya that Natasha had some kind of terrible plan for this evening. Sonya knocked on her door. Natasha didn't let her in.
“She will run away with him! Sonya thought. She is capable of anything. To-day there was something particularly pathetic and resolute in her face. She burst into tears, saying goodbye to her uncle, Sonya recalled. Yes, that's right, she runs with him - but what should I do? thought Sonya, now recalling those signs that clearly proved why Natasha had some kind of terrible intention. "There is no count. What should I do, write to Kuragin, demanding an explanation from him? But who tells him to answer? Write to Pierre, as Prince Andrei asked in case of an accident? ... But maybe, in fact, she had already refused Bolkonsky (she sent a letter to Princess Mary yesterday). There are no uncles!” It seemed terrible to Sonya to tell Marya Dmitrievna, who believed so much in Natasha. But one way or another, Sonya thought, standing in a dark corridor: now or never the time has come to prove that I remember the good deeds of their family and love Nicolas. No, I won’t sleep for at least three nights, but I won’t leave this corridor and won’t let her in by force, and won’t let shame fall on their family, ”she thought.

Anatole recently moved to Dolokhov. The plan for the kidnapping of Rostova had already been thought out and prepared by Dolokhov for several days, and on the day when Sonya, having overheard Natasha at the door, decided to protect her, this plan was to be carried out. Natasha promised to go out to Kuragin on the back porch at ten o'clock in the evening. Kuragin was supposed to put her in a prepared troika and take her 60 miles from Moscow to the village of Kamenka, where a trimmed priest was prepared, who was supposed to marry them. In Kamenka, a set-up was ready, which was supposed to take them to the Varshavskaya road, and there they were supposed to ride abroad on postage.
Anatole had a passport, and a traveler's, and ten thousand money taken from his sister, and ten thousand borrowed through Dolokhov.
Two witnesses—Khvostikov, the former clerk whom Dolokhov and Makarin used to play, a retired hussar, a good-natured and weak man who had boundless love for Kuragin—were sitting in the first room at tea.
In Dolokhov's large office, decorated from wall to ceiling with Persian carpets, bearskins and weapons, Dolokhov sat in a traveling beshmet and boots in front of an open bureau, on which lay bills and wads of money. Anatole, in his unbuttoned uniform, walked from the room where the witnesses were sitting, through the office to the back room, where his French footman and others were packing the last things. Dolokhov counted money and wrote it down.
“Well,” he said, “Khvostikov should be given two thousand.
- Well, let me, - said Anatole.
- Makarka (that's what they called Makarina), this one disinterestedly for you through fire and into water. Well, the scores are over, - said Dolokhov, showing him a note. - So?
“Yes, of course, that’s how it is,” said Anatole, apparently not listening to Dolokhov and with a smile that did not leave his face, looking ahead of himself.
Dolokhov slammed the bureau shut and turned to Anatole with a mocking smile.
- And you know what - drop it all: there is still time! - he said.
- Fool! Anatole said. - Stop talking nonsense. If you only knew... The devil knows what it is!
“Damn right,” said Dolokhov. - I'm talking to you. Is this a joke you're up to?
- Well, again, teasing again? Went to hell! Huh?... – Anatole said with a frown. “The right is not up to your stupid jokes. And he left the room.
Dolokhov smiled contemptuously and condescendingly when Anatole left.
“Wait a minute,” he said after Anatole, “I’m not joking, I’m talking business, come, come here.
Anatole again entered the room and, trying to concentrate his attention, looked at Dolokhov, obviously involuntarily submitting to him.
- You listen to me, I'm telling you the last time. What should I joke with you? Did I cross you? Who arranged everything for you, who found the priest, who took the passport, who got the money? All I.
- Well, thank you. Do you think I'm not grateful to you? Anatole sighed and hugged Dolokhov.
- I helped you, but still I have to tell you the truth: the matter is dangerous and, if you take it apart, stupid. Well, you'll take her away, okay. Will they leave it like that? It turns out that you are married. After all, you will be brought to criminal court ...
– Ah! stupidity, stupidity! - Anatole spoke again, grimacing. “Because I told you. BUT? - And Anatole, with that special predilection (which stupid people have) for the conclusion that they reach with their own mind, repeated the reasoning that he repeated a hundred times to Dolokhov. “After all, I explained to you, I decided: if this marriage is invalid,” he said, bending his finger, “then I do not answer; Well, if it's real, it doesn't matter: no one abroad will know this, right? And don't talk, don't talk, don't talk!
- Right, come on! You only bind yourself...
“Go to hell,” said Anatole, and, holding his hair, went out into another room and immediately returned and sat down with his feet on an armchair close to Dolokhov. “The devil knows what it is!” BUT? Look how it beats! - He took Dolokhov's hand and put it to his heart. - Ah! quel pied, mon cher, quel regard! Une deesse!! [O! What a leg, my friend, what a look! Goddess!!] Huh?
Dolokhov, smiling coldly and shining with his beautiful, insolent eyes, looked at him, apparently wanting to still have some fun with him.
- Well, the money will come out, then what?
- What then? BUT? - Anatole repeated with sincere bewilderment at the thought of the future. - What then? There I don’t know what… Well, what nonsense to say! He looked at his watch. - It's time!
Anatole went into the back room.
– Well, will you soon? Dig in here! he shouted at the servants.
Dolokhov took away the money and, shouting to a man to order food and drink for the road, entered the room where Khvostikov and Makarin were sitting.
Anatole was lying in the study, leaning on his arm, on the sofa, smiling thoughtfully and softly whispering something to himself with his beautiful mouth.
- Go eat something. Well, have a drink! Dolokhov shouted to him from another room.
- I do not want! - Anatole answered, still smiling.
- Go, Balaga has arrived.
Anatole got up and went into the dining room. Balaga was a well-known troika driver who had known Dolokhov and Anatole for six years and served them with his troikas. More than once, when Anatole's regiment was stationed in Tver, he took him away from Tver in the evening, delivered him to Moscow by dawn, and took him away the next day at night. More than once he took Dolokhov away from the chase, more than once he drove them around the city with gypsies and ladies, as Balaga called. More than once, with their work, he crushed the people and cabbies around Moscow, and his gentlemen, as he called them, always rescued him. He drove more than one horse under them. More than once he was beaten by them, more than once they made him drunk with champagne and Madeira, which he loved, and he knew more than one thing behind each of them, which Siberia would have long deserved for an ordinary person. In their carousing, they often called Balaga, forced him to drink and dance with the gypsies, and more than one thousand of their money passed through his hands. In their service, he risked both his life and his skin twenty times a year, and in their work he overworked more horses than they overpaid him. But he loved them, he loved this crazy ride, eighteen miles an hour, he loved to overturn a cab and crush a pedestrian in Moscow, and fly at full speed through Moscow streets. He loved to hear this wild cry of drunken voices behind him: “Let's go! gone!” while it was already impossible to go any faster; he liked to stretch painfully up the neck of the peasant, who, in any case, was neither dead nor alive, shunned him. "Real gentlemen!" he thought.
Anatole and Dolokhov also loved Balaga for his driving skills and for the fact that he loved the same thing as they did. Balaga dressed up with others, took twenty-five rubles for a two-hour ride, and with others he only occasionally went himself, and mostly sent his fellows. But with his masters, as he called them, he always rode himself and never demanded anything for his work. Only when he found out through the valets the time when there was money, he came in the morning sober once every few months and, bowing low, asked to help him out. It was always planted by the gentlemen.
“Release me, father Fyodor Ivanovich or your excellency,” he said. - I completely lost my horses, you can go to the fair, lend what you can.
Both Anatole and Dolokhov, when they were in money, gave him a thousand and two rubles each.
Balaga was fair-haired, with a red face and especially a red, thick neck, a squat, snub-nosed peasant, about twenty-seven, with small shining eyes and a small beard. He was dressed in a thin blue caftan lined with silk, worn over a sheepskin coat.
He crossed himself at the front corner and went up to Dolokhov, holding out his small black hand.
- Fyodor Ivanovich! he said, bowing.
- Good, brother. - Well, here he is.
“Hello, Your Excellency,” he said to Anatole, who was entering, and also held out his hand.
“I’m telling you, Balaga,” Anatole said, putting his hands on his shoulders, “do you love me or not?” BUT? Now serve the service ... On which ones did you come? BUT?
- As the ambassador ordered, on your animals, - said Balaga.
- Well, you hear, Balaga! Slaughter all three, and to arrive at three o'clock. BUT?
- How will you slaughter, what will we ride? Balaga said, winking.
- Well, I'll break your face, don't joke! - Anatole suddenly shouted, rolling his eyes.
“What a joke,” said the coachman, laughing. “Will I be sorry for my masters? What urine will ride horses, then we will go.
- BUT! Anatole said. - Well, sit down.
- Well, sit down! Dolokhov said.
- I'll wait, Fyodor Ivanovich.
“Sit down, lie, drink,” Anatole said and poured him a large glass of Madeira. The coachman's eyes lit up with wine. Refusing for the sake of decency, he drank and dried himself with a red silk handkerchief that lay in his hat.
- Well, when to go then, Your Excellency?
- Yes, here ... (Anatole looked at his watch) now and go. Look, Balaga. BUT? Are you up to speed?
- Yes, how is the departure - will he be happy, otherwise why not be in time? Balaga said. - Delivered to Tver, at seven o'clock they kept up. Do you remember, Your Excellency.
“You know, I once went from Tver to Christmas,” Anatole said with a smile of recollection, turning to Makarin, who looked with tender eyes at Kuragin. - Do you believe, Makarka, that it was breathtaking how we flew. We drove into the convoy, jumped over two carts. BUT?
- There were horses! Balaga continued. “Then I banned the young slaves to kaury,” he turned to Dolokhov, “do you believe it, Fyodor Ivanovich, the animals flew 60 miles away; you can’t hold it, your hands were stiff, it was cold. He threw the reins, hold, they say, Your Excellency, himself, and so he fell into the sleigh. So after all, not only to drive, you can’t keep to the place. At three o'clock they told the devil. Only the left one died.

Anatole left the room and a few minutes later returned in a fur coat girded with a silver belt and a sable hat, smartly put on the hips and very fitting for his handsome face. After looking in the mirror and in the same position that he took in front of the mirror, standing in front of Dolokhov, he took a glass of wine.
“Well, Fedya, goodbye, thanks for everything, goodbye,” said Anatole. - Well, comrades, friends ... he thought ... - youth ... my, goodbye, - he turned to Makarin and others.
Despite the fact that they all rode with him, Anatole apparently wanted to do something touching and solemn from this appeal to his comrades. He spoke in a slow, loud voice and wiggled his chest with one leg. – Everyone take glasses; and you, Balaga. Well, comrades, friends of my youth, we drank, we lived, we drank. BUT? Now, when shall we meet? I will go abroad. Live, farewell, guys. For health! Hurrah! .. - he said, drank his glass and slammed it on the ground.
“Be healthy,” said Balaga, also drinking his glass and wiping himself with a handkerchief. Makarin hugged Anatole with tears in his eyes. “Oh, prince, how sad it is for me to part with you,” he said.
- Go, go! Anatole shouted.
Balaga was about to leave the room.
“No, stop,” said Anatole. “Shut the door, get in.” Like this. The doors were closed and everyone sat down.
- Well, now march, guys! - said Anatole, getting up.
The footman Joseph gave Anatole a bag and a saber, and everyone went out into the hall.
- Where's the coat? Dolokhov said. - Hey, Ignatka! Go to Matryona Matveevna, ask for a fur coat, a sable coat. I heard how they were being taken away,” Dolokhov said with a wink. - After all, she will jump out neither alive nor dead, in what she sat at home; you hesitate a little, then there are tears, and father, and mother, and now she is cold and back, - and you immediately take it into a fur coat and carry it to the sleigh.
The footman brought a woman's fox coat.
- Fool, I told you sable. Hey, Matryoshka, sable! he shouted so that his voice could be heard far across the rooms.
A beautiful, thin and pale gypsy woman, with shiny, black eyes and black, curly bluish tint hair, in a red shawl, ran out with a sable coat on her hand.
“Well, I’m not sorry, you take it,” she said, apparently shy in front of her master and pitying the coat.
Dolokhov, without answering her, took a fur coat, threw it over Matryosha and wrapped her up.
"That's it," said Dolokhov. “And then like this,” he said, and lifted the collar near her head, leaving it just a little open in front of her face. “Then like this, you see? - and he moved Anatole's head to the hole left by the collar, from which Matryosha's brilliant smile could be seen.
“Well, goodbye, Matryosh,” said Anatole, kissing her. - Oh, my spree is over here! Bow down to Steshka. Well, goodbye! Farewell, Matryosh; you wish me happiness.
“Well, God grant you, prince, great happiness,” said Matrona, with her gypsy accent.
Two troikas were standing at the porch, two young coachmen were holding them. Balaga sat on the front three, and, raising his elbows high, slowly dismantled the reins. Anatole and Dolokhov sat down beside him. Makarin, Khvostikov and the lackey sat in another three.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes

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

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

Arising in the second half of the 10th c. and became in the 11th century. In the second quarter of the 12th c. to its actual collapse. Conditional holders sought, on the one hand, to turn their conditional holdings into unconditional ones and achieve economic and political independence from the center, and on the other hand, by subordinating the local nobility, to establish full control over their possessions. In all regions (with the exception of the Novgorod land, where, in fact, the republican regime was established and the princely power acquired a military-service character), the princes from the house of Rurikovich managed to become sovereign sovereigns with the highest legislative, executive and judicial functions. They relied on the administrative apparatus, whose members constituted a special service class: for their service they received either part of the income from the exploitation of the subject territory (feeding), or land for holding. The main vassals of the prince (boyars), together with the tops of the local clergy, formed under him an advisory and advisory body - the boyar duma. The prince was considered the supreme owner of all lands in the principality: some of them belonged to him on the basis of personal ownership (domain), and he disposed of the rest as the ruler of the territory; they were divided into dominal possessions of the church and conditional holdings of the boyars and their vassals (boyar servants).

The socio-political structure of Russia in the era of fragmentation was based on a complex system of suzerainty and vassalage (the feudal ladder). The feudal hierarchy was headed by the Grand Duke (until the middle of the 12th century he was the ruler of the Kievan table, later the Vladimir-Suzdal and Galician-Volyn princes acquired this status). Below were the rulers of large principalities (Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Turov-Pinsk, Polotsk, Rostov-Suzdal, Vladimir-Volyn, Galicia, Muromo-Ryazan, Smolensk), even lower - the owners of the destinies within each of these principalities. At the lowest level there was an untitled serving nobility (boyars and their vassals).

From the middle of the 11th century the process of disintegration of large principalities began, which first of all affected the most developed agricultural regions (Kyiv and Chernihiv regions). In the 12th - first half of the 13th century. this trend has become universal. Particularly intense crushing was in Kiev, Chernigov, Polotsk, Turov-Pinsk and Muromo-Ryazan principalities. To a lesser extent, it affected the Smolensk land, and in the Galicia-Volyn and Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir) principalities, periods of disintegration alternated with periods of temporary unification of appanages under the rule of the "senior" ruler. Only Novgorod land throughout its history continued to maintain political integrity.

In the conditions of feudal fragmentation, all-Russian and regional princely congresses acquired great importance, at which domestic and foreign policy issues were resolved (inter-princely feuds, the fight against external enemies). However, they did not become a permanent, regular political institution and could not slow down the process of dissipation.

By the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Russia was divided into many small principalities and was unable to combine forces to repel external aggression. Devastated by the hordes of Batu, she lost a significant part of her western and southwestern lands, which became in the second half of the 13th-14th centuries. easy prey for Lithuania (Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk, Vladimir-Volyn, Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Smolensk principalities) and Poland (Galician). Only North-Eastern Russia (Vladimir, Muromo-Ryazan and Novgorod lands) managed to maintain its independence. In the 14th - early 16th century. it was "gathered" by the princes of Moscow, who restored the unified Russian state.

Kievan principality.

It was located in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Sluch, Ros and Pripyat (modern Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions of Ukraine and the south of the Gomel region of Belarus). It bordered in the north with Turov-Pinsk, in the east - with Chernigov and Pereyaslav, in the west with the Vladimir-Volyn principality, and in the south it ran into the Polovtsian steppes. The population was made up of Slavic tribes of Polyans and Drevlyans.

Fertile soils and mild climate favored intensive farming; The inhabitants were also engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Here the specialization of crafts took place early; “woodworking”, pottery and leatherworking acquired special importance. The presence of iron deposits in the Drevlyansk land (included in the Kiev region at the turn of the 9th–10th centuries) favored the development of blacksmithing; many types of metals (copper, lead, tin, silver, gold) were brought from neighboring countries. The famous trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed through the Kiev region (from the Baltic Sea to Byzantium); through the Pripyat, it was connected with the Vistula and Neman basins, through the Desna - with the upper reaches of the Oka, through the Seim - with the Don basin and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. An influential trade and handicraft layer formed early in Kyiv and nearby cities.

From the end of the 9th to the end of the 10th c. Kyiv land was the central region of the Old Russian state. Under St. Vladimir, with the allocation of a number of semi-independent destinies, it became the core of the grand ducal domain; at the same time Kyiv turned into the church center of Russia (as the residence of the metropolitan); an episcopal see was also established in nearby Belgorod. After the death of Mstislav the Great in 1132, the actual disintegration of the Old Russian state took place, and the Kievan land was constituted as a separate principality.

Despite the fact that the Kyiv prince ceased to be the supreme owner of all Russian lands, he remained the head of the feudal hierarchy and continued to be considered "senior" among other princes. This made the Kiev principality the object of a fierce struggle between the various branches of the Rurik dynasty. The powerful Kievan boyars and the trade and craft population also took an active part in this struggle, although the role of the people's assembly (veche) by the beginning of the 12th century. decreased significantly.

Until 1139, the Kyiv table was in the hands of the Monomashichs - Mstislav the Great was succeeded by his brothers Yaropolk (1132–1139) and Vyacheslav (1139). In 1139 it was taken from them by the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich. However, the rule of the Chernigov Olgoviches was short-lived: after the death of Vsevolod in 1146, the local boyars, dissatisfied with the transfer of power to his brother Igor, called Izyaslav Mstislavich, a representative of the older branch of the Monomashichs (Mstislavichs), to the Kyiv throne. On August 13, 1146, having defeated the troops of Igor and Svyatoslav Olgovich near the Olga grave, Izyaslav captured the ancient capital; Igor, taken prisoner by him, was killed in 1147. In 1149, the Suzdal branch of the Monomashichs, represented by Yuri Dolgoruky, entered the struggle for Kyiv. After the death of Izyaslav (November 1154) and his co-ruler Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (December 1154), Yuri established himself on the Kiev table and held it until his death in 1157. The strife within the Monomashich house helped the Olgoviches take revenge: in May 1157, Izyaslav Davydovich Chernigovskii seized princely power (1157 –1159). But his unsuccessful attempt to seize Galich cost him the grand-ducal table, which returned to the Mstislavichs - the Smolensk prince Rostislav (1159-1167), and then to his nephew Mstislav Izyaslavich (1167-1169).

From the middle of the 12th century the political significance of the Kiev land is falling. Its disintegration into destinies begins: in the 1150s–1170s, the Belgorod, Vyshgorod, Trepol, Kanev, Torche, Kotelniche and Dorogobuzh principalities stand out. Kyiv ceases to play the role of the only center of the Russian lands; in the northeast and southwest, two new centers of political attraction and influence are emerging, claiming the status of great principalities - Vladimir on the Klyazma and Galich. The princes of Vladimir and Galicia-Volyn no longer seek to occupy the Kyiv table; periodically subjugating Kyiv, they put their proteges there.

In 1169–1174 Vladimir Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky dictated his will to Kiev: in 1169 he expelled Mstislav Izyaslavich from there and gave the reign to his brother Gleb (1169–1171). When, after the death of Gleb (January 1171) and Vladimir Mstislavich (May 1171), who replaced him, the Kyiv table without his consent was taken by his other brother Mikhalko, Andrei forced him to give way to Roman Rostislavich, a representative of the Smolensk branch of the Mstislavichs (Rostislavichs); in 1172 Andrey expelled Roman as well and planted another of his brother Vsevolod the Big Nest in Kyiv; in 1173 he forced Rurik Rostislavich, who had seized the Kievan table, to flee to Belgorod.

After the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, Kyiv fell under the control of the Smolensk Rostislavichs in the person of Roman Rostislavich (1174–1176). But in 1176, having failed in the campaign against the Polovtsy, Roman was forced to give up power, which was used by the Olgovichi. At the call of the townspeople, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich Chernigov (1176-1194, with a break in 1181) took the Kyiv table. However, he did not succeed in ousting the Rostislavichs from the Kievan land; in the early 1180s, he recognized their rights to Porosie and the Drevlyane land; Olgovichi strengthened in the Kiev district. Having reached agreement with the Rostislavichs, Svyatoslav concentrated his efforts on the fight against the Polovtsy, having managed to seriously weaken their onslaught on Russian lands.

After his death in 1194, the Rostislavichi returned to the Kievan table in the person of Rurik Rostislavich, but already at the beginning of the 13th century. Kyiv fell into the sphere of influence of the powerful Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who in 1202 expelled Rurik and installed his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich of Dorogobuzh in his place. In 1203, Rurik, in alliance with the Polovtsy and Chernigov Olgovichi, captured Kyiv and, with the diplomatic support of the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, the ruler of North-Eastern Russia, held the Kievan reign for several months. However, in 1204, during a joint campaign of the South Russian rulers against the Polovtsy, he was arrested by Roman and tonsured a monk, and his son Rostislav was thrown into prison; Ingvar returned to the Kyiv table. But soon, at the request of Vsevolod, Roman released Rostislav and made him a prince of Kiev.

After the death of Roman in October 1205, Rurik left the monastery and at the beginning of 1206 occupied Kyiv. In the same year, Prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny of Chernigov entered the fight against him. Their four-year rivalry ended in 1210 with a compromise agreement: Rurik recognized Kyiv for Vsevolod and received Chernigov as compensation.

After the death of Vsevolod, the Rostislavichs reasserted themselves on the Kievan table: Mstislav Romanovich the Old (1212/1214–1223 with a break in 1219) and his cousin Vladimir Rurikovich (1223–1235). In 1235, Vladimir, having suffered a defeat from the Polovtsy near Torchesky, was taken prisoner by them, and power in Kyiv was seized first by Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, and then Yaroslav, son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. However, in 1236, Vladimir, having redeemed himself from captivity, without much difficulty regained the grand prince's throne and remained on it until his death in 1239.

In 1239–1240, Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigov and Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky were in Kyiv, and on the eve of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, he was under the control of the Galician-Volyn prince Daniil Romanovich, who appointed voivode Dmitr there. In the autumn of 1240, Batu moved to South Russia and in early December took and defeated Kyiv, despite the desperate nine-day resistance of the inhabitants and a small squad of Dmitry; he subjected the principality to terrible devastation, after which it could no longer recover. Returning to the capital in 1241, Mikhail Vsevolodich was summoned to the Horde in 1246 and killed there. From the 1240s, Kyiv became formally dependent on the great princes of Vladimir (Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Yaroslavich). In the second half of the 13th c. a significant part of the population emigrated to the northern Russian regions. In 1299, the metropolitan see was transferred from Kyiv to Vladimir. In the first half of the 14th century the weakened Kiev principality became the object of Lithuanian aggression and in 1362, under Olgerd, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Principality of Polotsk.

It was located in the middle reaches of the Dvina and Polota and in the upper reaches of the Svisloch and Berezina (the territory of the modern Vitebsk, Minsk and Mogilev regions of Belarus and southeastern Lithuania). In the south it bordered on Turov-Pinsk, in the east - on the Smolensk principality, in the north - on the Pskov-Novgorod land, in the west and north-west - on the Finno-Ugric tribes (Livs, Latgales). It was inhabited by the Polochans (the name comes from the Polota River) - a branch of the East Slavic tribe of the Krivichi, partially mixed with the Baltic tribes.

As an independent territorial entity, the Polotsk land existed even before the emergence of the Old Russian state. In the 870s, the Novgorod prince Rurik imposed tribute on the Polotsk people, and then they submitted to the Kiev prince Oleg. Under the Kiev prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich (972–980), the Polotsk land was a principality dependent on him, ruled by the Norman Rogvolod. In 980, Vladimir Svyatoslavich captured her, killed Rogvolod and his two sons, and took his daughter Rogneda as his wife; since that time, the Polotsk land finally became part of the Old Russian state. Having become the prince of Kiev, Vladimir transferred part of it to the joint holding of Rogneda and their eldest son Izyaslav. In 988/989 he made Izyaslav the prince of Polotsk; Izyaslav became the ancestor of the local princely dynasty (Polotsk Izyaslavichi). In 992 the diocese of Polotsk was established.

Although the principality was poor in fertile lands, it had rich hunting and fishing lands and was located at the crossroads of important trade routes along the Dvina, Neman and Berezina; impenetrable forests and water barriers protected it from outside attacks. This attracted numerous settlers here; cities grew rapidly, turning into trade and craft centers (Polotsk, Izyaslavl, Minsk, Drutsk, etc.). Economic prosperity contributed to the concentration of significant resources in the hands of the Izyaslavichs, on which they relied in their struggle to achieve independence from the authorities of Kyiv.

Izyaslav's heir Bryachislav (1001–1044), taking advantage of the princely civil strife in Russia, pursued an independent policy and tried to expand his possessions. In 1021, with his retinue and a detachment of Scandinavian mercenaries, he captured and plundered Veliky Novgorod, but then was defeated by the ruler of the Novgorod land, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise on the Sudoma River; nevertheless, in order to ensure the loyalty of Bryachislav, Yaroslav ceded to him Usvyatskaya and Vitebsk volosts.

The Principality of Polotsk achieved special power under the son of Bryachislav Vseslav (1044–1101), who launched expansion to the north and northwest. Livs and Latgalians became his tributaries. In the 1060s he made several campaigns against Pskov and Novgorod the Great. In 1067 Vseslav ravaged Novgorod, but was unable to keep the Novgorod land. In the same year, Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich struck back at his strengthened vassal: he invaded the Principality of Polotsk, captured Minsk, defeated Vseslav's squad on the river. Nemiga, by cunning, took him prisoner along with his two sons and sent him to prison in Kyiv; the principality became part of the vast possessions of Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav by the rebellious Kievans on September 14, 1068, Vseslav regained Polotsk and even occupied the Kyiv grand prince's table for a short time; in the course of a fierce struggle with Izyaslav and his sons Mstislav, Svyatopolk and Yaropolk in 1069–1072, he managed to retain the Polotsk principality. In 1078, he resumed aggression against neighboring regions: he captured the Smolensk principality and devastated the northern part of Chernigov land. However, already in the winter of 1078-1079, Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich carried out a punitive expedition to the Principality of Polotsk and burned Lukoml, Logozhsk, Drutsk and the suburbs of Polotsk; In 1084 Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Chernigov took Minsk and severely destroyed the Polotsk land. Vseslav's resources were exhausted, and he no longer tried to expand the limits of his possessions.

With the death of Vseslav in 1101, the decline of the Principality of Polotsk begins. It breaks up into divisions; Minsk, Izyaslav and Vitebsk principalities stand out from it. The sons of Vseslav waste their strength in civil strife. After the predatory campaign of Gleb Vseslavich in the Turov-Pinsk land in 1116 and his unsuccessful attempt to seize Novgorod and the Smolensk principality in 1119, the aggression of the Izyaslavichs against neighboring regions practically ceased. The weakening of the principality opens the way for the intervention of Kyiv: in 1119 Vladimir Monomakh easily defeats Gleb Vseslavich, seizes his inheritance, and imprisons himself in prison; in 1127 Mstislav the Great devastated the southwestern regions of the Polotsk land; in 1129, taking advantage of the refusal of the Izyaslavichs to take part in the joint campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsy, he occupies the principality and at the Kiev Congress seeks the condemnation of five Polotsk rulers (Svyatoslav, Davyd and Rostislav Vseslavich, Rogvolod and Ivan Borisovich) and their expulsion to Byzantium. Mstislav transfers the land of Polotsk to his son Izyaslav, and appoints his governors in the cities.

Although in 1132 the Izyaslavichs, in the person of Vasilko Svyatoslavich (1132–1144), managed to return the ancestral principality, they were no longer able to revive its former power. In the middle of the 12th c. a fierce struggle for the Polotsk princely table breaks out between Rogvolod Borisovich (1144-1151, 1159-1162) and Rostislav Glebovich (1151-1159). At the turn of the 1150s-1160s, Rogvolod Borisovich made the last attempt to unite the principality, which, however, collapsed due to the opposition of other Izyaslavichs and the intervention of neighboring princes (Yuri Dolgorukov and others). In the second half of the 7th c. the crushing process deepens; the Drutsk, Gorodensky, Logozhsky and Strizhevsky principalities arise; the most important regions (Polotsk, Vitebsk, Izyaslavl) end up in the hands of the Vasilkoviches (descendants of Vasilko Svyatoslavich); the influence of the Minsk branch of the Izyaslavichs (Glebovichi), on the contrary, is falling. Polotsk land becomes the object of expansion of the Smolensk princes; in 1164 Davyd Rostislavich Smolensky for some time even takes possession of the Vitebsk volost; in the second half of the 1210s, his sons Mstislav and Boris established themselves in Vitebsk and Polotsk.

At the beginning of the 13th c. the aggression of the German knights begins in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina; by 1212 the Sword-bearers conquered the lands of the Livs and southwestern Latgale, tributaries of Polotsk. Since the 1230s, the Polotsk rulers also had to repel the onslaught of the newly formed Lithuanian state; mutual strife prevented them from joining forces, and by 1252 the Lithuanian princes had captured Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Drutsk. In the second half of the 13th c. for the Polotsk lands, a fierce struggle unfolds between Lithuania, the Teutonic Order and the Smolensk princes, the winner of which is the Lithuanians. The Lithuanian prince Viten (1293–1316) takes Polotsk from the German knights in 1307, and his successor Gedemin (1316–1341) subdues the Minsk and Vitebsk principalities. Finally, the Polotsk land became part of the Lithuanian state in 1385.

Chernihiv principality.

It was located east of the Dnieper between the Desna valley and the middle reaches of the Oka (the territory of the modern Kursk, Orel, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, the western part of the Lipetsk and southern parts of the Moscow regions of Russia, the northern part of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine and the eastern part of the Gomel region of Belarus ). In the south it bordered on Pereyaslavsky, in the east - on Muromo-Ryazansky, in the north - on Smolensk, in the west - on Kiev and Turov-Pinsk principalities. It was inhabited by East Slavic tribes of Polyans, Severyans, Radimichi and Vyatichi. It is believed that it received its name either from a certain Prince Cherny, or from the Black Guy (forest).

With a mild climate, fertile soils, numerous rivers rich in fish, and in the north with forests full of game, Chernihiv land was one of the most attractive areas for settlement in Ancient Russia. Through it (along the rivers Desna and Sozh) passed the main trade route from Kyiv to northeastern Russia. Towns with a significant artisan population arose early here. In the 11th-12th centuries. The Chernihiv principality was one of the richest and politically significant regions of Russia.

By the 9th c. the northerners, who formerly lived on the left bank of the Dnieper, having subjugated the Radimichi, Vyatichi and part of the glades, extended their power to the upper reaches of the Don. As a result, a semi-state formation arose that paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. At the beginning of the 10th c. it recognized dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg. In the second half of the 10th c. Chernihiv land became part of the grand ducal domain. Under St. Vladimir, the diocese of Chernihiv was established. In 1024, it fell under the rule of Mstislav the Brave, brother of Yaroslav the Wise, and became a principality virtually independent of Kyiv. After his death in 1036, it was again included in the grand ducal domain. According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Chernigov principality, together with the Muromo-Ryazan land, passed to his son Svyatoslav (1054-1073), who became the ancestor of the local princely dynasty of Svyatoslavichs; they, however, managed to establish themselves in Chernigov only towards the end of the 11th century. In 1073, the Svyatoslavichs lost the principality, which ended up in the hands of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and from 1078 - his son Vladimir Monomakh (until 1094). The attempts of the most active of the Svyatoslavichs, Oleg "Gorislavich", to regain control over the principality in 1078 (with the help of his cousin Boris Vyacheslavich) and in 1094-1096 (with the help of the Polovtsy) ended in failure. Nevertheless, by decision of the Lyubech princely congress of 1097, the Chernigov and Muromo-Ryazan lands were recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs; the son of Svyatoslav Davyd (1097-1123) became the prince of Chernigov. After Davyd's death, the throne was occupied by his brother Yaroslav of Ryazan, who in 1127 was expelled by his nephew Vsevolod, the son of Oleg "Gorislavich". Yaroslav retained the Muromo-Ryazan land, which from that time turned into an independent principality. The Chernihiv land was divided among themselves by the sons of Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich (Davydovichi and Olgovichi), who entered into a fierce struggle for allotments and the Chernigov table. In 1127-1139 it was occupied by the Olgovichi, in 1139 they were replaced by the Davydovichi - Vladimir (1139-1151) and his brother Izyaslav (1151-1157), but in 1157 he finally passed to the Olgovichi: Svyatoslav Olgovich (1157-1164) and his nephews Svyatoslav (1164-1177) and Yaroslav (1177-1198) Vsevolodichi. At the same time, the Chernigov princes tried to subjugate Kyiv: Vsevolod Olgovich (1139-1146), Igor Olgovich (1146) and Izyaslav Davydovich (1154 and 1157-1159) owned the Kiev grand prince's table. They also fought with varying success for Novgorod the Great, the Turov-Pinsk principality, and even for distant Galich. In internal strife and in wars with neighbors, the Svyatoslavichs often resorted to the help of the Polovtsy.

In the second half of the 12th century, despite the extinction of the Davydovich family, the process of fragmentation of the Chernigov land intensified. It includes Novgorod-Seversk, Putivl, Kursk, Starodub and Vshchizh principalities; the principality of Chernigov proper was limited to the lower reaches of the Desna, from time to time also including the Vshchizh and Starobud volosts. The dependence of the vassal princes on the Chernigov ruler becomes nominal; some of them (for example, Svyatoslav Vladimirovich Vshchizhsky in the early 1160s) show a desire for complete independence. The fierce feuds of the Olgoviches do not prevent them from actively fighting for Kyiv with the Smolensk Rostislavichs: in 1176–1194 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich rules there, in 1206–1212/1214, intermittently, his son Vsevolod Chermny. They are trying to gain a foothold in Novgorod the Great (1180–1181, 1197); in 1205 they manage to take possession of the Galician land, where, however, in 1211 a catastrophe befell them - the three princes of the Olgovichi (Roman, Svyatoslav and Rostislav Igorevich) were captured and hanged by the verdict of the Galician boyars. In 1210, they even lose the Chernigov table, which for two years passes to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (Rurik Rostislavich).

In the first third of the 13th c. The Chernigov Principality breaks up into many small destinies, only formally subordinate to Chernigov; Kozelskoe, Lopasninskoe, Rylskoe, Snovskoe, then Trubchevskoe, Glukhovo-Novosilskoe, Karachevo and Tarusa principalities stand out. Despite this, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodich of Chernigov (1223-1241) does not stop his active policy towards neighboring regions, trying to establish control over Novgorod the Great (1225, 1228-1230) and Kyiv (1235, 1238); in 1235 he took possession of the Galician principality, and later the Przemysl volost.

The waste of significant human and material resources in civil strife and in wars with neighbors, the fragmentation of forces and the lack of unity among the princes contributed to the success of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In the autumn of 1239, Batu took Chernigov and subjected the principality to such a terrible defeat that it actually ceased to exist. In 1241, the son and heir of Mikhail Vsevolodich, Rostislav, left his fiefdom and went to fight in the Galician land, and then fled to Hungary. Obviously, the last Chernigov prince was his uncle Andrei (mid-1240s - early 1260s). After 1261, the Principality of Chernigov became part of the Principality of Bryansk, founded in 1246 by Roman, another son of Mikhail Vsevolodich; the Bishop of Chernigov also moved to Bryansk. In the middle of the 14th century The Principality of Bryansk and Chernihiv lands were conquered by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd.

Muromo-Ryazan principality.

It occupied the southeastern outskirts of Russia - the basin of the Oka and its tributaries Proni, Osetra and Tsna, the upper reaches of the Don and Voronezh (modern Ryazan, Lipetsk, northeast of Tambov and south of Vladimir regions). It bordered on the west with Chernigov, on the north with the Rostov-Suzdal principality; in the east, its neighbors were the Mordovian tribes, and in the south, the Cumans. The population of the principality was mixed: both Slavs (Krivichi, Vyatichi) and Finno-Ugric peoples (Mordva, Muroma, Meshchera) lived here.

Fertile (chernozem and podzolized) soils prevailed in the south and in the central regions of the principality, which contributed to the development of agriculture. Its northern part was densely covered with forests rich in game and swamps; The locals were mainly engaged in hunting. In the 11th-12th centuries. a number of urban centers arose on the territory of the principality: Murom, Ryazan (from the word "cassock" - a marshy swampy place overgrown with shrubs), Pereyaslavl, Kolomna, Rostislavl, Pronsk, Zaraysk. However, in terms of economic development, it lagged behind most other regions of Russia.

Murom land was annexed to the Old Russian state in the third quarter of the 10th century. under the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. In 988-989 St. Vladimir included it in the Rostov inheritance of his son Yaroslav the Wise. In 1010, Vladimir allocated it as an independent principality to his other son Gleb. After the tragic death of Gleb in 1015, it returned to the Grand Duke's domain, and in 1023-1036 it was part of the Chernigov inheritance of Mstislav the Brave.

According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Murom land, as part of the Chernigov principality, passed in 1054 to his son Svyatoslav, and in 1073 he transferred it to his brother Vsevolod. In 1078, having become the great prince of Kiev, Vsevolod gave Murom to Svyatoslav's sons Roman and Davyd. In 1095 Davyd ceded it to Izyaslav, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, receiving Smolensk in return. In 1096, David's brother Oleg "Gorislavich" expelled Izyaslav, but then he himself was expelled by Izyaslav's elder brother Mstislav the Great. However, by decision of the Lyubech Congress, Murom land, as a vassal possession of Chernigov, was recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs: it was given to Oleg "Gorislavich", and a special Ryazan volost was allocated from it for his brother Yaroslav.

In 1123, Yaroslav, who occupied the Chernigov throne, handed over Murom and Ryazan to his nephew Vsevolod Davydovich. But after being expelled from Chernigov in 1127, Yaroslav returned to the Murom table; from that time, the Muromo-Ryazan land became an independent principality, in which the descendants of Yaroslav (the younger Murom branch of the Svyatoslavichs) established themselves. They had to constantly repel the raids of the Polovtsy and other nomads, which diverted their forces from participating in the all-Russian princely strife, but by no means from internal strife associated with the process of crushing that had begun (already in the 1140s, the Yelets principality stood out on its southwestern outskirts). From the mid-1140s, the Muromo-Ryazan land became an object of expansion from the Rostov-Suzdal rulers - Yuri Dolgoruky and his son Andrei Bogolyubsky. In 1146, Andrei Bogolyubsky intervened in the conflict between Prince Rostislav Yaroslavich and his nephews Davyd and Igor Svyatoslavich and helped them capture Ryazan. Rostislav kept Moore behind him; only a few years later he was able to regain the Ryazan table. In the early 1160s, his great-nephew Yuri Vladimirovich established himself in Murom, who became the founder of a special branch of the Murom princes, and from that time the Murom principality separated from Ryazan. Soon (by 1164) it fell into vassal dependence on the Vadimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky; under the subsequent rulers - Vladimir Yuryevich (1176-1205), Davyd Yuryevich (1205-1228) and Yury Davydovich (1228-1237), the Principality of Murom gradually lost its significance.

The Ryazan princes (Rostislav and his son Gleb), however, actively resisted the Vladimir-Suzdal aggression. Moreover, after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, Gleb tried to establish control over the entire North-Eastern Russia. In alliance with the sons of Pereyaslav prince Rostislav Yuryevich Mstislav and Yaropolk, he began a struggle with the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest for the Vladimir-Suzdal principality; in 1176 he captured and burned Moscow, but in 1177 he was defeated on the Koloksha River, was captured by Vsevolod and died in 1178 in prison.

Gleb's son and heir Roman (1178-1207) took the vassal oath to Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the 1180s, he made two attempts to dispossess his younger brothers and unite the principality, but the intervention of Vsevolod prevented the implementation of his plans. The progressive fragmentation of the Ryazan land (in 1185–1186 the Principalities of Pronsk and Kolomna separated) led to increased rivalry within the princely house. In 1207, Roman's nephews Gleb and Oleg Vladimirovich accused him of plotting against Vsevolod the Big Nest; Roman was summoned to Vladimir and thrown into prison. Vsevolod tried to take advantage of these strife: in 1209 he captured Ryazan, put his son Yaroslav on the Ryazan table, and appointed Vladimir-Suzdal posadniks to the rest of the cities; however, in the same year, the Ryazanians expelled Yaroslav and his proteges.

In the 1210s, the struggle for allotments intensified even more. In 1217, Gleb and Konstantin Vladimirovich organized in the village of Isady (6 km from Ryazan) the murder of six of their brothers - one brother and five cousins. But Roman's nephew Ingvar Igorevich defeated Gleb and Konstantin, forced them to flee to the Polovtsian steppes and occupied the Ryazan table. During his twenty-year reign (1217-1237), the process of fragmentation became irreversible.

In 1237 the Ryazan and Murom principalities were defeated by the hordes of Batu. Prince Yuri Ingvarevich of Ryazan, Prince Yuri Davydovich of Murom and most of the local princes perished. In the second half of the 13th c. Murom land fell into complete desolation; Murom bishopric at the beginning of the 14th century. was moved to Ryazan; only in the middle of the 14th century. Murom ruler Yuri Yaroslavich revived his principality for a while. The forces of the Ryazan principality, which was subjected to constant Tatar-Mongol raids, were undermined by the internecine struggle between the Ryazan and Pronsk branches of the ruling house. From the beginning of the 14th century it began to experience pressure from the Moscow principality that had arisen on its northwestern borders. In 1301 Moscow Prince Daniil Alexandrovich captured Kolomna and captured Ryazan Prince Konstantin Romanovich. In the second half of the 14th century Oleg Ivanovich (1350–1402) was able to temporarily consolidate the forces of the principality, expand its borders and strengthen the central government; in 1353 he took Lopasnya from Ivan II of Moscow. However, in the 1370s–1380s, during the struggle of Dmitry Donskoy with the Tatars, he failed to play the role of a “third force” and create his own center for the unification of the northeastern Russian lands. .

Turov-Pinsk principality.

It was located in the basin of the Pripyat River (the south of the modern Minsk, the east of the Brest and the west of the Gomel regions of Belarus). It bordered in the north with Polotsk, in the south with Kiev, and in the east with the Chernigov principality, reaching almost to the Dnieper; the border with its western neighbor - the Vladimir-Volyn principality - was not stable: the upper reaches of the Pripyat and the Goryn valley passed either to the Turov or Volyn princes. The Turov land was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of the Dregovichi.

Most of the territory was covered with impenetrable forests and swamps; Hunting and fishing were the main occupations of the inhabitants. Only certain areas were suitable for agriculture; there, first of all, urban centers arose - Turov, Pinsk, Mozyr, Sluchesk, Klechesk, which, however, in terms of economic importance and population could not compete with the leading cities of other regions of Russia. The limited resources of the principality did not allow its owners to participate on an equal footing in the all-Russian civil strife.

In the 970s, the land of the Dregovichi was a semi-independent principality, which was in vassal dependence on Kyiv; its ruler was a certain Tur, from which the name of the region came. In 988-989 St. Vladimir singled out the “drevlyansk land and Pinsk” as an inheritance for his nephew Svyatopolk the Accursed. At the beginning of the 11th century, after the revelation of Svyatopolk's conspiracy against Vladimir, the Principality of Turov was included in the Grand Duchy domain. In the middle of the 11th c. Yaroslav the Wise passed it on to his third son Izyaslav, the ancestor of the local princely dynasty (Turov's Izyaslavichi). When Yaroslav died in 1054 and Izyaslav occupied the grand prince's table, Turovshchina became part of his vast possessions (1054–1068, 1069–1073, 1077–1078). After his death in 1078, the new Kyiv prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich gave the Turov land to his nephew Davyd Igorevich, who held it until 1081. In 1088 it was in the hands of Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who in 1093 sat on the grand prince's table. By decision of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, Turovshchina was assigned to him and his offspring, but soon after his death in 1113, it passed to the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh. Under the division that followed the death of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, the Principality of Turov passed to his son Vyacheslav. From 1132 it became the object of rivalry between Vyacheslav and his nephew Izyaslav, son of Mstislav the Great. In 1142-1143 it was owned for a short time by the Chernihiv Olgovichi (Great Prince of Kyiv Vsevolod Olgovich and his son Svyatoslav). In 1146-1147 Izyaslav Mstislavich finally expelled Vyacheslav from Turov and gave him to his son Yaroslav.

In the middle of the 12th c. the Suzdal branch of the Vsevolodichi intervened in the struggle for the Turov Principality: in 1155, Yuri Dolgoruky, becoming the great Kiev prince, put his son Andrei Bogolyubsky on the Turov table, in 1155 - his other son Boris; however, they failed to hold on to it. In the second half of the 1150s, the principality returned to the Turov Izyaslavichs: by 1158, Yuri Yaroslavich, the grandson of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, managed to unite the entire Turov land under his rule. Under his sons Svyatopolk (until 1190) and Gleb (until 1195), it broke up into several destinies. By the beginning of the 13th century. the principalities of Turov, Pinsk, Slutsk and Dubrovitsky took shape. During the 13th century the crushing process progressed inexorably; Turov lost its role as the center of the principality; Pinsk began to acquire more and more importance. Weak petty rulers could not organize any serious resistance to external aggression. In the second quarter of the 14th c. The Turov-Pinsk land turned out to be an easy prey for the Lithuanian prince Gedemin (1316–1347).

Smolensk principality.

It was located in the Upper Dnieper basin (modern Smolensk, southeast of the Tver regions of Russia and the east of the Mogilev region of Belarus). It bordered Polotsk in the west, Chernigov in the south, Rostov-Suzdal principality in the east, and Pskov-Novgorod in the north earth. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of Krivichi.

The Smolensk principality had an extremely advantageous geographical position. The upper reaches of the Volga, the Dnieper and the Western Dvina converged on its territory, and it lay at the intersection of two major trade routes - from Kyiv to Polotsk and the Baltic states (along the Dnieper, then dragged to the Kasplya River, a tributary of the Western Dvina) and to Novgorod and the Upper Volga region ( through Rzhev and Lake Seliger). Here, cities arose early, which became important trade and craft centers (Vyazma, Orsha).

In 882, Prince Oleg of Kyiv subjugated the Smolensk Krivichi and planted his governors in their land, which became his possession. At the end of the 10th c. St. Vladimir singled her out as an inheritance to his son Stanislav, but after some time she returned to the grand ducal domain. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Smolensk region passed to his son Vyacheslav. In 1057, the great Kyiv prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich handed it over to his brother Igor, and after his death in 1060 he shared it with his other two brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. In 1078, by agreement between Izyaslav and Vsevolod, the Smolensk land was given to Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh; soon Vladimir moved to reign in Chernigov, and the Smolensk region was in the hands of Vsevolod. After his death in 1093, Vladimir Monomakh planted his eldest son Mstislav in Smolensk, and in 1095 his other son Izyaslav. Although in 1095 the Smolensk land was for a short time in the hands of the Olgoviches (Davyd Olgovich), the Lyubech congress of 1097 recognized it as the patrimony of the Monomashichs, and the sons of Vladimir Monomakh, Yaropolk, Svyatoslav, Gleb and Vyacheslav, ruled in it.

After the death of Vladimir in 1125, the new Kyiv prince Mstislav the Great allocated the Smolensk land as an inheritance to his son Rostislav (1125–1159), the ancestor of the local princely dynasty of the Rostislavichs; henceforth it became an independent principality. In 1136, Rostislav achieved the creation of an episcopal see in Smolensk, in 1140 he repelled an attempt by the Chernigov Olgoviches (the great Kiev prince Vsevolod) to seize the principality, and in the 1150s he entered the struggle for Kyiv. In 1154 he had to cede the Kyiv table to the Olgoviches (Izyaslav Davydovich of Chernigov), but in 1159 he established himself on it (he owned it until his death in 1167). He gave the Smolensk table to his son Roman (1159-1180 with interruptions), who was succeeded by his brother Davyd (1180-1197), son Mstislav Stary (1197-1206, 1207-1212/1214), nephews Vladimir Rurikovich (1215-1223 with a break in 1219) and Mstislav Davydovich (1223–1230).

In the second half of the 12th - early 13th century. Rostislavichi actively tried to bring under their control the most prestigious and richest regions of Russia. The sons of Rostislav (Roman, Davyd, Rurik and Mstislav the Brave) waged a fierce struggle for the Kiev land with the older branch of the Monomashichs (Izyaslavichs), with the Olgoviches and with the Suzdal Yuryevichs (especially with Andrei Bogolyubsky in the late 1160s - early 1170s); they were able to gain a foothold in the most important regions of the Kiev region - in Posemye, Ovruch, Vyshgorod, Torcheskaya, Trepolsky and Belgorod volosts. In the period from 1171 to 1210, Roman and Rurik sat down at the Grand Duke's table eight times. In the north, Novgorod land became the object of expansion of the Rostislavichs: Davyd (1154–1155), Svyatoslav (1158–1167) and Mstislav Rostislavich (1179–1180), Mstislav Davydovich (1184–1187) and Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny (1210–1215 and 1216–1218); in the late 1170s and in the 1210s, the Rostislavichs held Pskov; sometimes they even managed to create appanages independent of Novgorod (in the late 1160s and early 1170s in Torzhok and Velikiye Luki). In 1164-1166 the Rostislavichs owned Vitebsk (Davyd Rostislavich), in 1206 - Pereyaslavl Russian (Rurik Rostislavich and his son Vladimir), and in 1210-1212 - even Chernigov (Rurik Rostislavich). Their success was facilitated by both the strategically advantageous position of the Smolensk region and the relatively slow (compared to neighboring principalities) process of its fragmentation, although some destinies (Toropetsky, Vasilevsky-Krasnensky) were periodically separated from it.

In the 1210s–1220s, the political and economic importance of the Smolensk Principality increased even more. The merchants of Smolensk became important partners of the Hansa, as their trade agreement of 1229 (Smolenskaya Torgovaya Pravda) shows. Continuing the struggle for Novgorod (in 1218–1221 the sons of Mstislav the Old Svyatoslav and Vsevolod reigned in Novgorod) and Kiev lands (in 1213–1223, with a break in 1219, Mstislav the Old sat in Kyiv, and in 1119, 1123–1235 and 1236–1238 – Vladimir Rurikovich), Rostislavichi also intensified their onslaught to the west and southwest. In 1219 Mstislav the Old captured Galich, which then passed to his cousin Mstislav Udatny (until 1227). In the second half of the 1210s, the sons of Davyd Rostislavich, Boris and Davyd, subjugated Polotsk and Vitebsk; the sons of Boris Vasilko and Vyachko vigorously fought the Teutonic Order and the Lithuanians for the Dvina.

However, from the end of the 1220s, the weakening of the Smolensk principality began. The process of its fragmentation into destinies intensified, the rivalry of the Rostislavichs for the Smolensk table intensified; in 1232, the son of Mstislav the Old, Svyatoslav, took Smolensk by storm and subjected it to a terrible defeat. The influence of the local boyars increased, which began to interfere in princely strife; in 1239 the boyars put Vsevolod, the brother of Svyatoslav, who pleased them, on the Smolensk table. The decline of the principality predetermined failures in foreign policy. Already by the mid-1220s, the Rostislavichs had lost the Podvinye; in 1227 Mstislav Udatnoy ceded the Galician land to the Hungarian prince Andrei. Although in 1238 and 1242 the Rostislavichs managed to repulse the attack of the Tatar-Mongol detachments on Smolensk, they could not repulse the Lithuanians, who in the late 1240s captured Vitebsk, Polotsk and even Smolensk itself. Alexander Nevsky drove them out of the Smolensk region, but the Polotsk and Vitebsk lands were completely lost.

In the second half of the 13th c. the line of Davyd Rostislavich was established on the Smolensk table: it was successively occupied by the sons of his grandson Rostislav Gleb, Mikhail and Theodore. Under them, the collapse of the Smolensk land became irreversible; Vyazemskoye and a number of other destinies emerged from it. The princes of Smolensk had to recognize vassal dependence on the great prince of Vladimir and the Tatar khan (1274). In the 14th century under Alexander Glebovich (1297–1313), his son Ivan (1313–1358) and grandson Svyatoslav (1358–1386), the principality completely lost its former political and economic power; Smolensk rulers unsuccessfully tried to stop the Lithuanian expansion in the west. After the defeat and death of Svyatoslav Ivanovich in 1386 in a battle with the Lithuanians on the Vekhra River near Mstislavl, Smolensk land became dependent on the Lithuanian prince Vitovt, who began to appoint and dismiss Smolensk princes at his own discretion, and in 1395 established his direct rule. In 1401, the Smolensk people rebelled and, with the help of the Ryazan prince Oleg, expelled the Lithuanians; Smolensk table was occupied by the son of Svyatoslav Yuri. However, in 1404 Vitovt took the city, liquidated the principality of Smolensk and included its lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Pereyaslav principality.

It was located in the forest-steppe part of the Dnieper left bank and occupied the interfluve of the Desna, Seim, Vorskla and Northern Donets (modern Poltava, east of Kiev, south of Chernihiv and Sumy, west of Kharkov regions of Ukraine). It bordered on the west with Kiev, in the north with the Chernigov principality; in the east and south, its neighbors were nomadic tribes (Pechenegs, Torks, Polovtsy). The southeastern border was not stable - it either moved forward into the steppe, or retreated back; the constant threat of attacks made it necessary to create a line of border fortifications and settle along the borders of those nomads who were moving to a settled life and recognized the power of the Pereyaslav rulers. The population of the principality was mixed: both the Slavs (Polyans, northerners) and the descendants of the Alans and Sarmatians lived here.

The mild temperate continental climate and podzolized chernozem soils created favorable conditions for intensive agriculture and cattle breeding. However, the neighborhood with warlike nomadic tribes, which periodically devastated the principality, had a negative impact on its economic development.

By the end of the 9th c. on this territory a semi-state formation arose with a center in the city of Pereyaslavl. At the beginning of the 10th c. it fell into vassal dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg. According to a number of scientists, the old city of Pereyaslavl was burned by nomads, and in 992 Vladimir the Holy, during a campaign against the Pechenegs, founded a new Pereyaslavl (Pereyaslavl Russian) at the place where the Russian daring Jan Usmoshvets defeated the Pecheneg hero in a duel. Under him and in the first years of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, Pereyaslavshchina was part of the grand ducal domain, and in 1024-1036 it became part of the vast possessions of Yaroslav's brother Mstislav the Brave on the left bank of the Dnieper. After the death of Mstislav in 1036, the Kyiv prince again took possession of it. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, Pereyaslav land passed to his son Vsevolod; from that time on, it separated from the Kiev principality and became an independent principality. In 1073, Vsevolod handed it over to his brother, the great Kievan prince Svyatoslav, who, possibly, planted his son Gleb in Pereyaslavl. In 1077, after the death of Svyatoslav, Pereyaslavshchina again fell into the hands of Vsevolod; an attempt by Roman, the son of Svyatoslav, to capture it in 1079 with the help of the Polovtsians ended in failure: Vsevolod entered into a secret agreement with the Polovtsian Khan, and he ordered Roman to be killed. After some time, Vsevolod transferred the principality to his son Rostislav, after whose death in 1093 his brother Vladimir Monomakh began to reign there (with the consent of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich). By decision of the Lyubech congress of 1097, the Pereyaslav land was assigned to the Monomashichi. Since that time, she remained their fiefdom; as a rule, the great princes of Kiev from the Monomashich family allocated it to their sons or younger brothers; for some of them, the Pereyaslav reign became a stepping stone to the Kiev table (Vladimir Monomakh himself in 1113, Yaropolk Vladimirovich in 1132, Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1146, Gleb Yurievich in 1169). True, the Chernigov Olgovichi tried several times to put it under their control; but they managed to capture only the Bryansk Estate in the northern part of the principality.

Vladimir Monomakh, having made a number of successful campaigns against the Polovtsy, secured the southeastern border of Pereyaslavshchina for a while. In 1113 he transferred the principality to his son Svyatoslav, after his death in 1114 - to another son Yaropolk, and in 1118 - to another son Gleb. According to the will of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, Pereyaslav land again went to Yaropolk. When Yaropolk left to reign in Kyiv in 1132, the Pereyaslav table became a bone of contention within the Monomashichs' house - between the Rostov prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky and his nephews Vsevolod and Izyaslav Mstislavich. Yuri Dolgoruky captured Pereyaslavl, but reigned there for only eight days: he was expelled by the Grand Duke Yaropolk, who gave the Pereyaslav table to Izyaslav Mstislavich, and in the next, 1133, to his brother Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. In 1135, after Vyacheslav left to reign in Turov, Pereyaslavl was again captured by Yuri Dolgoruky, who installed his brother Andrei the Good there. In the same year, the Olgovichi, in alliance with the Polovtsians, invaded the principality, but the Monomashichs joined forces and helped Andrei repel the attack. After the death of Andrei in 1142, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich returned to Pereyaslavl, who, however, soon had to transfer the reign to Izyaslav Mstislavich. When in 1146 Izyaslav occupied the Kyiv throne, he planted his son Mstislav in Pereyaslavl.

In 1149, Yuri Dolgoruky resumed the struggle with Izyaslav and his sons for dominion in the southern Russian lands. For five years, the Principality of Pereyaslav turned out to be either in the hands of Mstislav Izyaslavich (1150–1151, 1151–1154), or in the hands of the sons of Yuri Rostislav (1149–1150, 1151) and Gleb (1151). In 1154, the Yuryevichs established themselves in the principality for a long time: Gleb Yuryevich (1155–1169), his son Vladimir (1169–1174), brother of Gleb Mikhalko (1174–1175), again Vladimir (1175–1187), grandson of Yuri Dolgorukov Yaroslav Krasny (until 1199 ) and the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest Konstantin (1199–1201) and Yaroslav (1201–1206). In 1206, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod Chermny from the Chernigov Olgovichi planted his son Mikhail in Pereyaslavl, who, however, was expelled in the same year by the new Grand Duke Rurik Rostislavich. From that time on, the principality was held either by the Smolensk Rostislavichs or the Yuryevichs. In the spring of 1239, the Tatar-Mongol hordes invaded Pereyaslav land; they burned Pereyaslavl and subjected the principality to a terrible defeat, after which it could no longer be revived; the Tatars included him in the "Wild Field". In the third quarter of the 14th c. Pereyaslavshchina became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Vladimir-Volyn principality.

It was located in the west of Russia and occupied a vast territory from the upper reaches of the Southern Bug in the south to the upper reaches of the Nareva (a tributary of the Vistula) in the north, from the valley of the Western Bug in the west to the Sluch River (a tributary of the Pripyat) in the east (modern Volynskaya, Khmelnitskaya, Vinnitskaya, north of Ternopil, northeast of Lvov, most of the Rivne region of Ukraine, west of Brest and southwest of Grodno region of Belarus, east of Lublin and southeast of Bialystok voivodeship of Poland). It bordered in the east with Polotsk, Turov-Pinsk and Kiev, in the west with the Principality of Galicia, in the northwest with Poland, in the southeast with the Polovtsian steppes. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe Dulebs, who were later called Buzhans or Volynians.

Southern Volyn was a mountainous area formed by the eastern spurs of the Carpathians, the northern one was lowland and wooded woodland. A variety of natural and climatic conditions contributed to economic diversity; The inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, and cattle breeding, and hunting, and fishing. The economic development of the principality was favored by its unusually advantageous geographical position: the main trade routes from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from Russia to Central Europe passed through it; at their intersection, the main urban centers arose - Vladimir-Volynsky, Dorogichin, Lutsk, Berestye, Shumsk.

At the beginning of the 10th c. Volyn, together with the territory adjacent to it from the south-west (the future Galician land), became dependent on the Kiev prince Oleg. In 981, St. Vladimir annexed to it the Peremyshl and Cherven volosts, which he had taken from the Poles, pushing the Russian border from the Western Bug to the San River; in Vladimir-Volynsky, he established an episcopal see, and made the Volyn land itself a semi-independent principality, transferring it to his sons - Pozvizd, Vsevolod, Boris. During the internecine war in Russia in 1015-1019, the Polish king Boleslav I the Brave returned Przemysl and Cherven, but in the early 1030s they were recaptured by Yaroslav the Wise, who also annexed Belz to Volhynia.

In the early 1050s, Yaroslav placed his son Svyatoslav on the Vladimir-Volyn table. According to Yaroslav's will in 1054, he passed to his other son Igor, who held him until 1057. According to some sources, in 1060 Vladimir-Volynsky was transferred to Igor's nephew Rostislav Vladimirovich; he, however, did not last long. In 1073, Volhynia returned to Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who had taken the throne of the Grand Duke, who gave it to his son Oleg "Gorislavich" as an inheritance, but after the death of Svyatoslav at the end of 1076, the new Kyiv prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich took this region from him.

When Izyaslav died in 1078 and the great reign passed to his brother Vsevolod, he planted Yaropolk, the son of Izyaslav, in Vladimir-Volynsky. However, after some time, Vsevolod separated the Przemysl and Terebovl volosts from Volyn, transferring them to the sons of Rostislav Vladimirovich (the future Galician principality). The attempt of the Rostislavichs in 1084-1086 to take away the Vladimir-Volyn table from Yaropolk was unsuccessful; after the murder of Yaropolk in 1086, Grand Duke Vsevolod made his nephew Davyd Igorevich Volhynia ruler. The Lyubech congress of 1097 secured Volyn for him, but as a result of the war with the Rostislavichs, and then with the Kiev prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich (1097–1098), Davyd lost it. By decision of the Uvetichi Congress of 1100, Vladimir-Volynsky went to Svyatopolk's son Yaroslav; Davyd got Buzhsk, Ostrog, Czartorysk and Duben (later Dorogobuzh).

In 1117, Yaroslav rebelled against the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh, for which he was expelled from Volhynia. Vladimir passed it on to his son Roman (1117–1119), and after his death to his other son Andrei the Good (1119–1135); in 1123, Yaroslav tried to regain his inheritance with the help of the Poles and Hungarians, but died during the siege of Vladimir-Volynsky. In 1135, Prince Yaropolk of Kyiv installed his nephew Izyaslav, son of Mstislav the Great, in place of Andrei.

When in 1139 the Olgoviches of Chernigov took possession of the Kiev table, they decided to oust the Monomashichs from Volhynia. In 1142, Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich managed to plant his son Svyatoslav in Vladimir-Volynsky instead of Izyaslav. However, in 1146, after the death of Vsevolod, Izyaslav seized the great reign in Kyiv and removed Svyatoslav from Vladimir, allocating Buzhsk and six more Volyn cities as his inheritance. From that time on, Volhynia finally passed into the hands of the Mstislavichs, the eldest branch of the Monomashichs, who ruled it until 1337. Izyaslav Mstislav (1156–1170). Under them, the process of fragmentation of the Volyn land began: in the 1140s–1160s, the Buzh, Lutsk and Peresopnytsia principalities stood out.

In 1170, the Vladimir-Volyn table was taken by the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich Roman (1170-1205 with a break in 1188). His reign was marked by the economic and political strengthening of the principality. Unlike the Galician princes, the Volyn rulers had an extensive princely domain and were able to concentrate significant material resources in their hands. Having strengthened his power within the principality, Roman in the second half of the 1180s began to pursue an active foreign policy. In 1188 he intervened in civil strife in the neighboring principality of Galicia and tried to seize the Galician table, but failed. In 1195 he came into conflict with the Smolensk Rostislavichs and ruined their possessions. In 1199 he managed to subjugate the Galician land and create a single Galicia-Volyn principality. At the beginning of the XIII century. Roman extended his influence to Kyiv: in 1202 he expelled Rurik Rostislavich from the Kiev table and placed his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich on him; in 1204 he arrested and tonsured a monk, Rurik, who was newly established in Kyiv, and restored Ingvar there. Several times he invaded Lithuania and Poland. By the end of his reign, Roman had become the de facto hegemon of Western and Southern Russia and styled himself "King of Russia"; nevertheless, he failed to put an end to feudal fragmentation - under him, old and even new appanages continued to exist in Volhynia (Drogichinsky, Belzsky, Chervensko-Kholmsky).

After the death of Roman in 1205 in a campaign against the Poles, there was a temporary weakening of princely power. His successor Daniel already in 1206 lost the Galician land, and then was forced to flee from Volhynia. The Vladimir-Volyn table turned out to be the object of rivalry between his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich and cousin Yaroslav Vsevolodich, who constantly turned to the Poles and the Hungarians for support. Only in 1212 Daniil Romanovich was able to establish himself in the Vladimir-Volyn principality; he managed to achieve the liquidation of a number of destinies. After a long struggle with the Hungarians, Poles and Chernigov Olgoviches, in 1238 he subjugated the Galician land and restored the united Galicia-Volyn principality. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, Daniel handed over Volhynia to his younger brother Vasilko (1238–1269). In 1240 Volhynia was ravaged by the Tatar-Mongol hordes; Vladimir-Volynsky taken and plundered. In 1259 the Tatar commander Burundai invaded Volyn and forced Vasilko to demolish the fortifications of Vladimir-Volynsky, Danilov, Kremenets and Lutsk; however, after an unsuccessful siege of the Hill, he had to retreat. In the same year, Vasilko repulsed the attack of the Lithuanians.

Vasilko was succeeded by his son Vladimir (1269–1288). During his reign, Volyn was subjected to periodic Tatar raids (especially devastating in 1285). Vladimir restored many devastated cities (Berestye, etc.), built a number of new ones (Kamenets on Losnya), erected temples, patronized trade, and attracted foreign artisans. At the same time, he waged constant wars with the Lithuanians and Yotvingians and intervened in the feuds of the Polish princes. This active foreign policy was continued by Mstislav (1289–1301), the youngest son of Daniil Romanovich, who succeeded him.

After death ca. 1301 childless Mstislav Galician Prince Yuri Lvovich again united the Volyn and Galician lands. In 1315 he failed in the war with the Lithuanian prince Gedemin, who took Berestye, Drogichin and laid siege to Vladimir-Volynsky. In 1316, Yuri died (perhaps he died under the walls of besieged Vladimir), and the principality was divided again: most of Volyn was received by his eldest son, the Galician prince Andrei (1316–1324), and the Lutsk inheritance was given to his youngest son Lev. The last independent Galician-Volyn ruler was Andrey's son Yuri (1324-1337), after whose death the struggle for the Volyn lands between Lithuania and Poland began. By the end of the 14th century Volyn became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Galician principality.

It was located on the southwestern outskirts of Russia to the east of the Carpathians in the upper reaches of the Dniester and Prut (modern Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Lvov regions of Ukraine and the Rzeszow province of Poland). It bordered in the east with the Volyn principality, in the north with Poland, in the west with Hungary, and in the south it ran into the Polovtsian steppes. The population was mixed - Slavic tribes occupied the Dniester valley (Tivertsy and streets) and the upper reaches of the Bug (Dulebs, or Buzhans); Croats (herbs, carps, hrovats) lived in the Przemysl region.

Fertile soils, mild climate, numerous rivers and vast forests created favorable conditions for intensive agriculture and cattle breeding. The most important trade routes passed through the territory of the principality - the river from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea (through the Vistula, the Western Bug and the Dniester) and the land route from Russia to Central and South-Eastern Europe; periodically extending its power to the Dniester-Danube lowland, the principality also controlled the Danube communications between Europe and the East. Here, large shopping centers arose early: Galich, Przemysl, Terebovl, Zvenigorod.

In the 10th-11th centuries. this region was part of the Vladimir-Volyn land. In the late 1070s - early 1080s, the great Kyiv prince Vsevolod, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, separated the Przemysl and Terebovl volosts from it and gave it to his great-nephews: the first Rurik and Volodar Rostislavich, and the second - to their brother Vasilko. In 1084–1086, the Rostislavichs unsuccessfully tried to establish control over Volhynia. After the death of Rurik in 1092, Volodar became the sole owner of Przemysl. The Lubech congress of 1097 assigned him the Przemysl, and Vasilko the Terebovl volost. In the same year, the Rostislavichi, with the support of Vladimir Monomakh and the Chernigov Svyatoslavichs, repelled an attempt by the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich to seize their possessions. In 1124 Volodar and Vasilko died, and their inheritances were divided among themselves by their sons: Przemysl went to Rostislav Volodarevich, Zvenigorod to Vladimirko Volodarevich; Rostislav Vasilkovich received the Terebovl region, allocating a special Galician volost from it for his brother Ivan. After the death of Rostislav, Ivan annexed Terebovl to his possessions, leaving a small Berladsky inheritance to his son Ivan Rostislavich (Berladnik).

In 1141, Ivan Vasilkovich died, and the Terebovl-Galician volost was captured by his cousin Vladimirko Volodarevich Zvenigorodsky, who made Galich the capital of his possessions (now the Galician principality). In 1144, Ivan Berladnik tried to take Galich from him, but failed and lost his Berladsky inheritance. In 1143, after the death of Rostislav Volodarevich, Vladimirko included Przemysl in his principality; thus, he united under his rule all the Carpathian lands. In 1149-1154 Vladimirko supported Yuri Dolgoruky in his struggle with Izyaslav Mstislavich for the Kyiv table; he repulsed the attack of Izyaslav's ally the Hungarian king Geyza and in 1152 captured Izyaslav's Upper Pogorynya (the cities of Buzhsk, Shumsk, Tihoml, Vyshegoshev and Gnojnitsa). As a result, he became the ruler of a vast territory from the upper reaches of the San and Goryn to the middle reaches of the Dniester and the lower reaches of the Danube. Under him, the Galician principality became the leading political force in Southwestern Russia and entered a period of economic prosperity; his ties with Poland and Hungary were strengthened; it began to experience a strong cultural influence of Catholic Europe.

In 1153 Vladimirko was succeeded by his son Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153–1187), under whom the Principality of Galicia reached the peak of its political and economic power. He patronized trade, invited foreign artisans, built new cities; under him, the population of the principality increased significantly. Yaroslav's foreign policy was also successful. In 1157, he repelled an attack on Galich by Ivan Berladnik, who settled in the Danube and robbed Galician merchants. When in 1159 the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Davydovich tried to put Berladnik on the Galician table by force of arms, Yaroslav, in alliance with Mstislav Izyaslavich Volynsky, defeated him, expelled him from Kyiv and transferred the Kievan reign to Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky (1159–1167); in 1174 he made his vassal Yaroslav Izyaslavich Lutsky prince of Kiev. Galich's international prestige increased enormously. Author Words about Igor's regiment described Yaroslav as one of the most powerful Russian princes: “Galician Osmomysl Yaroslav! / You sit high on your gold-forged throne, / propped up the Hungarian mountains with your iron regiments, / blocking the way for the king, closing the gates of the Danube, / the sword of gravity through the clouds, / rowing courts to the Danube. / Your thunderstorms flow across the lands, / you open the gates of Kyiv, / you shoot from the father’s golden throne of the saltans behind the lands.

During the reign of Yaroslav, however, the local boyars intensified. Like his father, he, in an effort to avoid fragmentation, handed over cities and volosts to the holding not of his relatives, but of the boyars. The most influential of them ("great boyars") became the owners of huge estates, fortified castles and numerous vassals. The boyar landownership surpassed the princely in size. The strength of the Galician boyars increased so much that in 1170 they even intervened in the internal conflict in the princely family: they burned Yaroslav's concubine Nastasya at the stake and forced him to take an oath to return his legitimate wife Olga, the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky, who had been rejected by him.

Yaroslav bequeathed the principality to Oleg, his son by Nastasya; he allocated the Przemysl volost to his legitimate son Vladimir. But after his death in 1187, the boyars overthrew Oleg and elevated Vladimir to the Galician table. Vladimir's attempt to get rid of the boyar guardianship and rule autocratically already in the next 1188 ended with his flight to Hungary. Oleg returned to the Galician table, but soon he was poisoned by the boyars, and Volyn Prince Roman Mstislavich occupied Galich. In the same year, Vladimir expelled Roman with the help of the Hungarian king Bela, but he gave the reign not to him, but to his son Andrei. In 1189 Vladimir fled from Hungary to the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, promising him to become his vassal and tributary. By order of Frederick, the Polish king Casimir II the Just sent his army to the Galician land, at the approach of which the boyars of Galich overthrew Andrei and opened the gates to Vladimir. With the support of the ruler of North-Eastern Russia, Vsevolod the Big Nest, Vladimir was able to subjugate the boyars and hold on to power until his death in 1199.

With the death of Vladimir, the family of the Galician Rostislavichs ceased, and the Galician land became part of the vast possessions of Roman Mstislavich Volynsky, a representative of the older branch of the Monomashichs. The new prince pursued a policy of terror in relation to the local boyars and achieved its significant weakening. However, shortly after the death of Roman in 1205, his power collapsed. Already in 1206, his heir Daniel was forced to leave the Galician land and go to Volhynia. A long period of unrest began (1206-1238). The Galician table passed either to Daniel (1211, 1230–1232, 1233), then to the Chernigov Olgoviches (1206–1207, 1209–1211, 1235–1238), then to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (1206, 1219–1227), then to the Hungarian princes (1207-1209, 1214-1219, 1227-1230); in 1212-1213 the power in Galich was even usurped by the boyar - Volodislav Kormilichich (a unique case in ancient Russian history). Only in 1238 Daniel managed to establish himself in Galicia and restore a single Galicia-Volyn state. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, he allocated Volhynia to his brother Vasilko.

In the 1240s, the foreign policy situation of the principality became more complicated. In 1242 it was devastated by the hordes of Batu. In 1245, Daniil and Vasilko had to recognize themselves as tributaries of the Tatar Khan. In the same year, the Chernigov Olgoviches (Rostislav Mikhailovich), having entered into an alliance with the Hungarians, invaded the Galician land; only with great effort, the brothers managed to repel the invasion, having won a victory on the river. San.

In the 1250s, Daniel launched an active diplomatic activity to create an anti-Tatar coalition. He concluded a military-political alliance with the Hungarian king Bela IV and began negotiations with Pope Innocent IV on a church union, a crusade of European powers against the Tatars and recognition of his royal title. In 1254 the papal legate crowned Daniel with a royal crown. However, the inability of the Vatican to organize a crusade removed the issue of union from the agenda. In 1257, Daniel agreed on joint actions against the Tatars with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg, but the Tatars managed to provoke a conflict between the allies.

After Daniel's death in 1264, the Galician land was divided between his sons Leo, who received Galich, Przemysl and Drogichin, and Shvarn, to whom Kholm, Cherven and Belz passed. In 1269, Shvarn died, and the entire Galician principality passed into the hands of Leo, who in 1272 transferred his residence to the newly built Lvov. Leo intervened in internal political strife in Lithuania and fought (though unsuccessfully) with the Polish prince Leshko Cherny for the Lublin volost.

After the death of Leo in 1301, his son Yuri reunited the Galician and Volhynian lands and took the title "King of Russia, Prince of Lodimeria (i.e. Volhynia)". He entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and tried to achieve the establishment of an independent church metropolis in Galicia. After the death of Yuri in 1316, Galicia and most of Volhynia were given to his eldest son Andrei, who was succeeded in 1324 by his son Yuri. With the death of Yuri in 1337, the senior branch of the descendants of Daniil Romanovich died out, and a fierce struggle began between Lithuanian, Hungarian and Polish pretenders to the Galician-Volyn table. In 1349-1352, the Polish king Casimir III captured the Galician land. In 1387, under Vladislav II (Jagiello), it finally became part of the Commonwealth.

Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir-Suzdal) Principality.

It was located on the northeastern outskirts of Russia in the basin of the Upper Volga and its tributaries Klyazma, Unzha, Sheksna (modern Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, most of Moscow, Vladimir and Vologda, southeast of Tver, west of Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma regions); in the 12th–14th centuries the principality was constantly expanding in the eastern and northeastern directions. In the west, it bordered on Smolensk, in the south - on Chernigov and Muromo-Ryazan principalities, in the northwest - on Novgorod, and in the east - on Vyatka land and Finno-Ugric tribes (Merya, Mari, etc.). The population of the principality was mixed: it consisted of both Finno-Ugric autochthons (mainly Merya) and Slavic colonists (mainly Krivichi).

Most of the territory was occupied by forests and swamps; fur trade played an important role in the economy. Numerous rivers abounded with valuable species of fish. Despite the rather harsh climate, the presence of podzolic and soddy-podzolic soils created favorable conditions for agriculture (rye, barley, oats, garden crops). Natural barriers (forests, swamps, rivers) reliably protected the principality from external enemies.

In 1 thousand AD. the upper Volga basin was inhabited by the Finno-Ugric tribe Merya. In the 8th–9th centuries an influx of Slavic colonists began here, who moved both from the west (from the Novgorod land) and from the south (from the Dnieper region); in the 9th century Rostov was founded by them, and in the 10th century. - Suzdal. At the beginning of the 10th c. Rostov land became dependent on the Kiev prince Oleg, and under his closest successors it became part of the grand ducal domain. In 988/989 St. Vladimir singled it out as an inheritance for his son Yaroslav the Wise, and in 1010 he transferred it to his other son Boris. After the assassination of Boris in 1015 by Svyatopolk the Accursed, direct control of the Kiev princes was restored here.

According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise in 1054, Rostov land passed to Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who in 1068 sent his son Vladimir Monomakh to reign there; under him, Vladimir was founded on the Klyazma River. Thanks to the activities of the Rostov Bishop St. Leonty, Christianity began to actively penetrate into this area; St. Abraham organized the first monastery here (Bogoyavlensky). In 1093 and 1095 Vladimir's son Mstislav the Great sat in Rostov. In 1095, Vladimir singled out the Rostov land as an independent principality for his other son Yuri Dolgoruky (1095–1157). The Lyubech congress of 1097 assigned it to the Monomashichs. Yuri moved the princely residence from Rostov to Suzdal. He contributed to the final approval of Christianity, widely attracted settlers from other Russian principalities, founded new cities (Moscow, Dmitrov, Yuryev-Polsky, Uglich, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma). During his reign, the Rostov-Suzdal land experienced an economic and political flourishing; the boyars and the trade and craft layer intensified. Significant resources allowed Yuri to intervene in the princely civil strife and spread his influence to neighboring territories. In 1132 and 1135, he tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to bring Pereyaslavl Russian under control, in 1147 he made a trip to Novgorod the Great and took Torzhok, in 1149 he began the fight for Kyiv with Izyaslav Mstislavovich. In 1155, he managed to establish himself on the Kievan grand-ducal table and secure the Pereyaslav region for his sons.

After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157, the Rostov-Suzdal land broke up into several destinies. However, already in 1161 Yuri's son Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174) restored its unity, depriving his three brothers (Mstislav, Vasilko and Vsevolod) and two nephews (Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavichs) of their possessions. In an effort to get rid of the guardianship of the influential Rostov and Suzdal boyars, he moved the capital to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, where there was a numerous trade and craft settlement, and, relying on the support of the townspeople and the squad, began to pursue an absolutist policy. Andrei renounced his claims to the Kyiv table and accepted the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir. In 1169-1170, he subjugated Kyiv and Novgorod the Great, transferring them respectively to his brother Gleb and his ally Rurik Rostislavich. By the early 1170s, the Polotsk, Turov, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Murom and Smolensk principalities recognized dependence on the Vladimir table. However, his campaign in 1173 against Kyiv, which fell into the hands of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, failed. In 1174 he was killed by boyars-conspirators in the village. Bogolyubovo near Vladimir.

After the death of Andrei, the local boyars invited his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich to the Rostov table; Suzdal, Vladimir and Yuryev-Polsky received Mstislav's brother Yaropolk. But in 1175 they were expelled by the brothers of Andrei Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest; Mikhalko became the ruler of Vladimir-Suzdal, and Vsevolod became the ruler of Rostov. In 1176 Mikhalko died, and Vsevolod remained the sole ruler of all these lands, behind which the name of the great Vladimir principality was firmly established. In 1177, he finally eliminated the threat from Mstislav and Yaropolk, inflicting a decisive defeat on the Koloksha River; they themselves were taken prisoner and blinded.

Vsevolod (1175-1212) continued the foreign policy of his father and brother, becoming the chief arbiter among the Russian princes and dictating his will to Kiev, Novgorod the Great, Smolensk and Ryazan. However, already during his lifetime, the process of crushing the Vladimir-Suzdal land began: in 1208 he gave Rostov and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky as inheritance to his sons Konstantin and Yaroslav. After the death of Vsevolod in 1212, a war broke out between Konstantin and his brothers Yuri and Yaroslav in 1214, ending in April 1216 with Constantine's victory in the Battle of the Lipitsa River. But, although Constantine became the great Prince of Vladimir, the unity of the principality was not restored: in 1216-1217 he gave Yuri Gorodets-Rodilov and Suzdal, Yaroslav - Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and his younger brothers Svyatoslav and Vladimir - Yuryev-Polsky and Starodub . After Constantine's death in 1218, Yuriy (1218–1238), who had taken the Grand Duke's throne, endowed his sons Vasilko (Rostov, Kostroma, Galich) and Vsevolod (Yaroslavl, Uglich) with lands. As a result, the Vladimir-Suzdal land broke up into ten specific principalities - Rostov, Suzdal, Pereyaslav, Yuriev, Starodub, Gorodet, Yaroslavl, Uglich, Kostroma, Galicia; the Grand Prince of Vladimir retained only formal supremacy over them.

In February-March 1238, North-Eastern Russia fell victim to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Vladimir-Suzdal regiments were defeated on the river. City, Prince Yuri fell on the battlefield, Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal and other cities were subjected to a terrible defeat. After the departure of the Tatars, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied the grand-ducal table, who transferred to his brothers Svyatoslav and Ivan Suzdal and Starodub, to his eldest son Alexander (Nevsky) Pereyaslav, and to his nephew Boris Vasilkovich the Rostov principality, from which the Belozersky inheritance (Gleb Vasilkovich) separated. In 1243, Yaroslav received from Batu a label for the great reign of Vladimir (d. 1246). Under his successors, brother Svyatoslav (1246–1247), sons Andrei (1247–1252), Alexander (1252–1263), Yaroslav (1263–1271/1272), Vasily (1272–1276/1277) and grandsons Dmitry (1277–1293) ) and Andrei Alexandrovich (1293–1304), the crushing process was on the rise. In 1247, the Tver (Yaroslav Yaroslavich) principalities were finally formed, and in 1283, the Moscow (Daniil Alexandrovich) principalities. Although in 1299 the metropolitan, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, moved to Vladimir from Kyiv, its importance as the capital gradually declined; from the end of the 13th century the grand dukes stop using Vladimir as a permanent residence.

In the first third of the 14th century Moscow and Tver begin to play a leading role in North-Eastern Russia, which enter into rivalry for the Vladimir Grand Duke's table: in 1304/1305–1317 it was occupied by Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy, in 1317–1322 by Yuri Danilovich of Moscow, in 1322–1326 by Dmitry Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1326-1327 - Alexander Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1327-1340 - Ivan Danilovich (Kalita) of Moscow (in 1327-1331 together with Alexander Vasilyevich Suzdalsky). After Ivan Kalita, it becomes the monopoly of the Moscow princes (with the exception of 1359-1362). At the same time, their main rivals - the Tver and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes - in the middle of the 14th century. also take the title of great. The struggle for control over North-Eastern Russia during the 14th–15th centuries. ends with the victory of the Moscow princes, who include the disintegrated parts of the Vladimir-Suzdal land into the Moscow state: Pereyaslavl-Zalesskoe (1302), Mozhaiskoe (1303), Uglichskoe (1329), Vladimirskoe, Starodubskoe, Galicia, Kostroma and Dmitrovskoe (1362–1364), Belozersky (1389), Nizhny Novgorod (1393), Suzdal (1451), Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474) and Tver (1485) principalities.

Novgorod land.

It occupied a vast territory (almost 200 thousand square kilometers) between the Baltic Sea and the lower reaches of the Ob. Its western border was the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipsi, in the north it included Lakes Ladoga and Onega and reached the White Sea, in the east it captured the Pechora basin, and in the south it was adjacent to the Polotsk, Smolensk and Rostov-Suzdal principalities (modern Novgorod, Pskov, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, most of the Tver and Vologda regions, Karelian and Komi autonomous republics). It was inhabited by Slavic (Ilmen Slavs, Krivichi) and Finno-Ugric tribes (Vod, Izhora, Korela, Chud, All, Perm, Pechora, Lapps).

The unfavorable natural conditions of the North hindered the development of agriculture; grain was one of the main imports. At the same time, huge forests and numerous rivers favored fishing, hunting, and fur trade; The extraction of salt and iron ore was of great importance. Since ancient times, the Novgorod land has been famous for its various crafts and the high quality of handicrafts. Its advantageous location at the crossroads from the Baltic Sea to the Black and Caspian ensured her the role of an intermediary in the trade of the Baltic and Scandinavia with the Black Sea and the Volga region. Craftsmen and merchants, united in territorial and professional corporations, represented one of the most economically and politically influential strata of Novgorod society. Its highest stratum, large landowners (boyars), also actively participated in international trade.

Novgorod land was divided into administrative districts - pyatins, directly adjacent to Novgorod (Votskaya, Shelonskaya, Obonezhskaya, Derevskaya, Bezhetskaya), and remote volosts: one stretched from Torzhok and Volok to the Suzdal border and the upper reaches of the Onega, the other included Zavolochye (onega interfluve and Mezen), and the third - the land to the east of the Mezen (Pechora, Perm and Yugra regions).

Novgorod land was the cradle of the Old Russian state. It was here that in the 860s-870s a strong political formation arose, uniting the Slavs of the Ilmen, Polotsk Krivichi, Meryu, all and partly Chud. In 882 Prince Oleg of Novgorod subjugated the Polans and the Smolensk Krivichi and moved the capital to Kyiv. Since that time, Novgorod land has become the second most important region of the Rurik dynasty. From 882 to 988/989 it was ruled by governors sent from Kyiv (with the exception of 972–977, when it was the inheritance of St. Vladimir).

At the end of the 10th-11th centuries. Novgorod land, as the most important part of the grand princely domain, was usually transferred by the Kiev princes to the eldest sons. In 988/989 St. Vladimir installed his eldest son Vysheslav in Novgorod, and after his death in 1010, his other son Yaroslav the Wise, who, having taken the throne in 1019, in turn passed it on to his eldest son Ilya. After Elijah's death c. 1020 Novgorod land was captured by the Polotsk ruler Bryachislav Izyaslavich, but was expelled by the troops of Yaroslav. In 1034 Yaroslav handed over Novgorod to his second son Vladimir, who held it until his death in 1052.

In 1054, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, Novgorod fell into the hands of his third son, the new Grand Duke Izyaslav, who ruled it through his governors, and then planted his youngest son Mstislav in it. In 1067 Novgorod was captured by Vseslav Bryachislavich of Polotsk, but in the same year he was expelled by Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav from the Kiev table in 1068, the Novgorodians did not submit to Vseslav of Polotsk, who reigned in Kyiv, and turned for help to Izyaslav's brother, Prince Svyatoslav of Chernigov, who sent his eldest son Gleb to them. Gleb defeated the troops of Vseslav in October 1069, but soon, obviously, he was forced to transfer Novgorod to Izyaslav, who returned to the grand prince's table. When in 1073 Izyaslav was again overthrown, Novgorod passed to Svyatoslav of Chernigov, who received the great reign, who planted his other son Davyd in it. After the death of Svyatoslav in December 1076, Gleb again took the throne of Novgorod. However, in July 1077, when Izyaslav regained the Kievan reign, he had to cede it to Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who returned the Kievan reign. Izyaslav's brother Vsevolod, who became Grand Duke in 1078, retained Novgorod for Svyatopolk and only in 1088 replaced him with his grandson Mstislav the Great, son of Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of Vsevolod in 1093, Davyd Svyatoslavich again sat in Novgorod, but in 1095 he came into conflict with the townspeople and left the reign. At the request of the Novgorodians, Vladimir Monomakh, who then owned Chernigov, returned Mstislav (1095–1117) to them.

In the second half of the 11th c. in Novgorod, the economic power and, accordingly, the political influence of the boyars and the trade and craft layer increased significantly. Large boyar land ownership became dominant. The Novgorod boyars were hereditary landowners and were not a service class; possession of land did not depend on the service of the prince. At the same time, the constant change of representatives of different princely families on the Novgorod table prevented the formation of any significant princely domain. In the face of the growing local elite, the prince's position gradually weakened.

In 1102, the Novgorod elites (boyars and merchants) refused to accept the reign of the son of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, wishing to keep Mstislav, and the Novgorod land ceased to be part of the Grand Duke's possessions. In 1117 Mstislav handed over the Novgorod table to his son Vsevolod (1117–1136).

In 1136 the Novgorodians revolted against Vsevolod. Accusing him of bad management and neglect of the interests of Novgorod, they imprisoned him with his family, and after a month and a half they expelled him from the city. From that time on, a de facto republican system was established in Novgorod, although the princely power was not abolished. The supreme governing body was the people's assembly (veche), which included all the free citizens. The veche had broad powers - it invited and dismissed the prince, elected and controlled the entire administration, resolved issues of war and peace, was the highest court, introduced taxes and duties. The prince from a sovereign ruler turned into the highest official. He was the supreme commander in chief, could convene a council and issue laws if they did not contradict customs; embassies were sent and received on his behalf. However, when elected, the prince entered into contractual relations with Novgorod and gave an obligation to govern “in the old way”, appoint only Novgorodians as governors in the volosts and not impose tribute on them, wage war and make peace only with the consent of the veche. He did not have the right to remove other officials without trial. His actions were controlled by an elected posadnik, without whose approval he could not make judicial decisions and make appointments.

The local bishop (lord) played a special role in the political life of Novgorod. From the middle of the 12th century the right to elect him passed from the Metropolitan of Kiev to the veche; the metropolitan only sanctioned the election. The Novgorod lord was considered not only the main clergyman, but also the first dignitary of the state after the prince. He was the largest landowner, had his own boyars and military regiments with a banner and governors, certainly participated in peace negotiations and inviting princes, and was a mediator in internal political conflicts.

Despite the significant narrowing of princely prerogatives, the rich Novgorod land remained attractive to the most powerful princely dynasties. First of all, the senior (Mstislavichi) and junior (Suzdal Yuryevich) branches of the Monomashichs competed for the Novgorod table; Chernigov Olgovichi tried to intervene in this struggle, but they achieved only episodic successes (1138–1139, 1139–1141, 1180–1181, 1197, 1225–1226, 1229–1230). In the 12th century the preponderance was on the side of the Mstislavich clan and its three main branches (Izyaslavichi, Rostislavichi and Vladimirovichi); they occupied the Novgorod table in 1117-1136, 1142-1155, 1158-1160, 1161-1171, 1179-1180, 1182-1197, 1197-1199; some of them (especially the Rostislavichs) managed to create independent, but short-lived principalities (Novotorzhskoe and Velikolukskoe) in the Novgorod land. However, already in the second half of the 12th century. the positions of the Yurievichs began to strengthen, who enjoyed the support of the influential party of the Novgorod boyars and, in addition, periodically put pressure on Novgorod, blocking the supply of grain from North-Eastern Russia. In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruky made a trip to the Novgorod land and captured Torzhok, in 1155 the Novgorodians had to invite his son Mstislav to reign (until 1157). In 1160, Andrei Bogolyubsky imposed on the Novgorodians his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich (until 1161); in 1171 he forced them to return Rurik Rostislavich, who had been expelled by them, to the Novgorod table, and in 1172 to transfer him to his son Yuri (until 1175). In 1176 Vsevolod the Big Nest managed to plant his nephew Yaroslav Mstislavich in Novgorod (until 1178).

In the 13th century Yuryevichi (Vsevolod's Big Nest line) achieved complete predominance. In the 1200s, the Novgorod throne was occupied by the sons of Vsevolod Svyatoslav (1200–1205, 1208–1210) and Konstantin (1205–1208). True, in 1210 Novgorodians were able to get rid of the control of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes with the help of the Toropetsk ruler Mstislav Udatny from the Smolensk Rostislavich family; The Rostislavichs held Novgorod until 1221 (with a break in 1215-1216). However, then they were finally ousted from the Novgorod land by the Yurievichs.

The success of the Yurievichs was facilitated by the deterioration of the foreign policy situation of Novgorod. In the face of the increased threat to its western possessions from Sweden, Denmark and the Livonian Order, the Novgorodians needed an alliance with the most powerful Russian principality at that time - Vladimir. Thanks to this alliance, Novgorod managed to defend its borders. Called to the Novgorod throne in 1236, Alexander Yaroslavich, the nephew of Prince Yuri Vsevolodich of Vladimir, defeated the Swedes at the mouth of the Neva in 1240, and then stopped the aggression of the German knights.

The temporary strengthening of princely power under Alexander Yaroslavich (Nevsky) was replaced in the late 13th - early 14th century. its complete degradation, which was facilitated by the weakening of external danger and the progressive disintegration of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. At the same time, the role of the veche also declined. In Novgorod, an oligarchic system was actually established. The boyars turned into a closed ruling caste that shared power with the archbishop. The rise of the Moscow principality under Ivan Kalita (1325–1340) and its formation as the center of the unification of Russian lands aroused fear among the Novgorod leaders and led to their attempts to use the powerful Lithuanian principality that had arisen on the southwestern borders as a counterweight: in 1333, for the first time, he was invited to the Novgorod table the Lithuanian prince Narimunt Gedeminovich (although he only lasted a year on it); in the 1440s, the Grand Duke of Lithuania was given the right to collect irregular tribute from some Novgorod volosts.

Although 14-15 centuries. became a period of rapid economic prosperity of Novgorod, largely due to its close ties with the Hanseatic Trade Union, the Novgorod leaders did not use it to strengthen their military-political potential and preferred to pay off the aggressive Moscow and Lithuanian princes. At the end of the 14th century Moscow launched an offensive against Novgorod. Vasily I captured the Novgorod cities of Bezhetsky Verkh, Volok Lamsky and Vologda with adjacent regions; in 1401 and 1417 he tried, though unsuccessfully, to seize Zavolochye. In the second quarter of the 15th c. Moscow's offensive was suspended due to the internecine war of 1425–1453 between Grand Duke Vasily II and his uncle Yuri and his sons; in this war, the Novgorod boyars supported the opponents of Vasily II. Having established himself on the throne, Vasily II imposed tribute on Novgorod, and in 1456 went to war with him. Having suffered a defeat at Russa, the Novgorodians were forced to conclude a humiliating Yazhelbitsky peace with Moscow: they paid a significant indemnity and pledged not to enter into an alliance with the enemies of the Moscow prince; the legislative prerogatives of the veche were abolished and the possibilities of conducting an independent foreign policy were seriously limited. As a result, Novgorod became dependent on Moscow. In 1460, Pskov was under the control of the Moscow prince.

In the late 1460s, the pro-Lithuanian party led by the Boretskys triumphed in Novgorod. She achieved the conclusion of an alliance treaty with the great Lithuanian prince Casimir IV and an invitation to the Novgorod table of his protege Mikhail Olelkovich (1470). In response, Moscow Prince Ivan III sent a large army against the Novgorodians, which defeated them on the river. Shelon; Novgorod had to annul the treaty with Lithuania, pay a huge indemnity and cede part of Zavolochye. In 1472 Ivan III annexed the Perm Territory; in 1475 he arrived in Novgorod and massacred the anti-Moscow boyars, and in 1478 liquidated the independence of the Novgorod land and included it in the Muscovite state. In 1570 Ivan IV the Terrible finally destroyed Novgorod's liberties.

Ivan Krivushin

GREAT KIEV PRINCES

(from the death of Yaroslav the Wise to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Before the name of the prince - the year of his accession to the throne, the number in brackets indicates at what time the prince occupied the throne, if this happened again.)

1054 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (1)

1068 Vseslav Bryachislavich

1069 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (2)

1073 Svyatoslav Yaroslavich

1077 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (1)

1077 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (3)

1078 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (2)

1093 Svyatopolk Izyaslavich

1113 Vladimir Vsevolodich (Monomakh)

1125 Mstislav Vladimirovich (Great)

1132 Yaropolk Vladimirovich

1139 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (1)

1139 Vsevolod Olgovich

1146 Igor Olgovich

1146 Izyaslav Mstislavich (1)

1149 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (1)

1149 Izyaslav Mstislavich (2)

1151 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (2)

1151 Izyaslav Mstislavich (3) and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2)

1154 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2) and Rostislav Mstislavich (1)

1154 Rostislav Mstislavich (1)

1154 Izyaslav Davydovich (1)

1155 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (3)

1157 Izyaslav Davydovich (2)

1159 Rostislav Mstislavich (2)

1167 Mstislav Izyaslavich

1169 Gleb Yurievich

1171 Vladimir Mstislavich

1171 Mikhalko Yurievich

1171 Roman Rostislavich (1)

1172 Vsevolod Yurievich (Big Nest) and Yaropolk Rostislavich

1173 Rurik Rostislavich (1)

1174 Roman Rostislavich (2)

1176 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1)

1181 Rurik Rostislavich (2)

1181 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (2)

1194 Rurik Rostislavich (3)

1202 Ingvar Yaroslavich (1)

1203 Rurik Rostislavich (4)

1204 Ingvar Yaroslavich (2)

1204 Rostislav Rurikovich

1206 Rurik Rostislavich (5)

1206 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (1)

1206 Rurik Rostislavich (6)

1207 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (2)

1207 Rurik Rostislavich (7)

1210 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (3)

1211 Ingvar Yaroslavich (3)

1211 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (4)

1212/1214 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (1)

1219 Vladimir Rurikovich (1)

1219 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (2), possibly with his son Vsevolod

1223 Vladimir Rurikovich (2)

1235 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)

1235 Yaroslav Vsevolodich

1236 Vladimir Rurikovich (3)

1239 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)

1240 Rostislav Mstislavich

1240 Daniel Romanovich

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Smolensk Principality, an ancient Russian principality that occupied territories along the upper reaches of the Dnieper. From cities in the Smolensk principality, in addition to Smolensk , Toropets, Orsha, later - Mstislavl, Mozhaisk were of great importance. The political isolation of Smolensk began in the 1030s. The principality of Smolensk became independent under Prince. Rostislav Mstislavich (1127 - 59), grandson Vladimir Monomakh. Under him, it expanded significantly and reached its greatest prosperity and power. In 1136, a diocese was established in the Principality of Smolensk, which later received lands and privileges. Under the successors of Roman Rostislavich (1160 - 80), the Smolensk principality began to be divided into destinies and its influence on all-Russian affairs began to decrease. At the same time, the principality of Smolensk was attacked by German crusaders and Lithuanian princes. In the 2nd floor. 13th century Mozhaisk and Vyazemsky appanages emerged from the Smolensk principality. This weakened the Smolensk principality in the fight against the Lithuanian princes. Book. Svyatoslav Ivanovich (1358 - 86) waged an energetic struggle with Lithuania for the independence of the Smolensk principality, but was defeated and died in the battle on the river. Vehre. The Smolensk principality was captured by the Lithuanian prince. Vitovtom. In 1401, an uprising took place in the Principality of Smolensk against the rule of the Lithuanians. The Smolensk people put Yuri Svyatoslavich on the Smolensk table. But in 1404 Smolensk was again taken by Vitovt. The Smolensk principality lost its political independence. It became part of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Smolensk land was returned to Russia in 1514, captured by Poland in 1618 and returned again in 1667.

G. Gorelov

Ruling princes

On the table in the Smolensk principality, the so-called Rostislavich dynasty was established, the founder of which was Rostislav Mstislavich (1128-1160), the son of the eldest son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav the Great.

Vyacheslav Yaroslavich 1054-1057

Igor Yaroslavich 1057-1060

Izyaslav Yaroslavich division of the land 1060-1073

Svyatoslav Yaroslavich division of the land 1060-1073

Vsevolod Yaroslavich division of the land 1060-1073

Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh 1073-1095

Davyd Svyatoslavich 1095-1097

Svyatoslav Vladimirovich 1097-1113

Vyacheslav Vladimirovich 1113-1116

Board of posadniks of Vladimir Monomakh... 1116-1128

Rostislav Mstislavich 1128-1160

Roman Rostislavich 1160-1173

Yaropolk Romanovich 1173-1174

Roman Rostislavich (secondary) 1174-1175

Mstislav Rostislavich the Brave 1175-1177

Roman Rostislavich (for the third time) 1177-1180

Davyd Rostislavich 1180-1197

Mstislav-Boris Romanovich the Old 1197-1214

Vladimir-Dmitry Rurikovich 1214-1219

Mstislav-Fyodor Davydovich 1219-1230

Svyatoslav Mstislavich-Borisovich 1232-1238

Vsevolod Mstislavich-Borisovich 1239-1249

Gleb Rostislavich 1249- 1278

Mikhail Rostislavich 1278-1279

Fyodor Rostislavich Cherny 1280-1297

Alexander Glebovich 1297-1313

Ivan Alexandrovich 1313-1358

Svyatoslav Ivanovich 1358-1386

Yuri Svyatoslavich 1386-1391

Gleb Svyatoslavich 1392-1395

1395-1401 - Lithuanian occupation.

Yuri Svyatoslavich (secondary) 1401-1405

Used materials of the book: Sychev N.V. Book of dynasties. M., 2008. p. 106-131.