Features of the political situation of Ukrainian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The beginning of the era of Lithuanian political supremacy over the Ukrainian lands was laid in 1340, when Gediminas' son Lubart sat on the prince's table in Volhynia and Galicia. The latter, after a 40-year desperate military-political struggle, went to Poland, and Volhynia became the first real acquisition of Lithuania on Ukrainian lands. Then, within one or two decades, the Kiev region, Severshchina and Podolia also came under the control of Vilna, as a result of which the territory of the Lithuanian principality almost doubled. In fact, about 90% of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were Rusyns, that is, Belarusians and Ukrainians. The Russian language has become official language government bodies and the grand ducal court, Russian traditions of life and institutions of power have established themselves as state.

Until the end of the 14th century. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a kind of federation of lands-principalities, including Ukrainian ones - Kiev, Chernigov-Seversky, Volyn, Podolsky. Each of them was ruled by a specific prince, however, now not from the Russian Rurik dynasty, but from the Lithuanian - Gediminovich. Baptized according to the Russian rite, married to Russian princesses, accustomed to the traditions of local life, these rulers were not perceived as foreign conquerors, but, on the contrary, came to an agreement with the Russian nobility, which fully shared the mood of their rulers, who considered themselves independent from the capital Vilna. Evidence of this is the minting of its own coin in Kiev Vladimir Olgerdovich, who was titled "By the grace of God, Prince of Kiev." He did not particularly consider the metropolis and, the Chernihiv-Seversky ruler Dmitry-Koribut Olgerdovich, conducting its own foreign policy in partnership with close neighbors - the Moscow and Tver princes. The brothers Koriatovichi, who were especially concerned about the neighborhood of the Tatars, did not burden themselves with the obligations of citizenship in distant Podolia. In the Russian principalities, large-scale fortification work was launched, initiated by the rulers - the Gediminids. So, in Kiev in the second half of the 14th century: on a high hill above the artisan Podil and Knyazhya Gora, on the orders of Vladimir Olgerdovich, a spacious and strong castle of oak logs grew up, which existed with certain restructurings until the middle of the 17th century. Under Lubart Gediminovich, the Lutsk Castle, built at the end of the 13th - the first quarter of the 14th century, underwent significant modernization. The power of defensive construction in Podolia, begun under the Koriatovichs, is striking, in particular, the radical restructuring of the fortress and city fortifications of impregnable Kamenets.

With the approval of the Lithuanian princes, the position of the indigenous inhabitants did not change either. since the Russian laws and customs, confirmed in the contracts of the Grand Duke with local landowners and townspeople, remained in force. The boyars-warriors were assigned their ancestral lands, from which they had to go with weapons to serve on the call of the prince-ruler; as before, in the cities, merchants and artisans lived in accordance with Russian city law. Finally, the wealth and influence of the church rapidly increased, having received devout and generous defenders among the newly converted pagans.

After entering into 1385 Dynastic Union of Kreva between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland in the principality there was an anti-union. opposition led by Vitovt. After Yagai-lo and Vitovt came to an agreement in 1392, Vitovt, with the rank of governor, actually became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The new Grand Duke took a course towards political weakening with the subsequent liquidation of the largest specific principalities of the state, primarily the remote ones - Kiev, Chernigov-Seversky and Podolsky. The Lithuanian-Russian state began to lose the Russian element, instead, Polish traditions were strengthened.

It is necessary to trace the course of political events connected with the struggle of Poland and Lithuania for the Galicia-Volyn principality. In 1386, Galicia finally joins the Kingdom of Poland, and most of the territory of Volyn became part of the Lithuanian state. As a result of this victorious battle on the Blue Waters with the Tatars (1362), the great Lithuanian prince Olgerd took possession of the Kiev region, Podolia and Pereyaslav region, a huge part of Chernigov-Seversk land was under the rule of Lithuania. Attention should be paid to the role of the Union of Krevo (1385), which laid the foundation for the socio-cultural and political influence of Poland on Lithuania. Having been crowned with the Polish crown, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello undertook to make Catholicism the state religion in Lithuania, to annex it to Poland, and with it the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands. However, thanks to the activities of Vitovt, supported by the Ukrainian and Belarusian feudal lords, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was preserved as an independent state body and existed until 1569. It must be borne in mind that the socio-political system of the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands for a long time kept mainly its previous content. The princes from the Gediminovich dynasty only changed the former Rurikovich and recognized the power over themselves of the Grand Duke of Lithuania. This was the reason for the relatively easy assertion of Lithuanian power in Ukraine. For Ukrainians, Lithuanian domination was a much lesser evil than the heavy yoke of the Golden Horde. To this it should be added that the Lithuanians very quickly fell under the influence of a more cultured Rus', which contributed to the development and power of the Lithuanian principality. However, the grand-ducal power, pursuing a course towards the creation of a centralized state, sought to prevent the strengthening of new local dynasties in certain Ukrainian lands and deprive them of local support. These attempts aroused the dissatisfaction of the Ukrainian feudal lords, which was also aggravated by the steady growth of the social and political privileges of Catholics. In this situation, Poland sought to seize the Volyn and Podolsk lands, and the Ukrainian party sought to ensure the dominant position of the Ukrainian nobility in the Lithuanian state.

Particular attention should be paid to the restoration of the specific principalities of Kyiv (1440) and Volyn (1445). At the same time, the Kiev principality covered not only the Kyiv land, but also the Bratslav and Pereyaslav regions, in fact, it was the restoration of Ukrainian statehood for a very short time (until 1470). In the further struggle of the Ukrainian feudal lords against Lithuanian centralism and the advantages of Polish influence, the speeches of the princes Fyodor Belsky, Mikhail Olelkovich, Ivan Golshansky (1480), as well as the uprising of Mikhail Glinsky (1508), played a rather noticeable role. Despite this, the rebels failed to raise the general population, including most of the magnates and the Orthodox gentry, who, on the whole, merged into the political and administrative system of the Lithuanian state, strengthened their positions in it and did not want the restoration of the specific princely system.

Getting acquainted with the main aspects of socio-economic development, one should pay attention to the development of feudal landownership and the strengthening of the enslavement of the peasantry. At the same time, it is necessary to form a filvark system of a noble economy, associated with the strengthening of commodity - money relations. The most important state was a noble state, the most influential place in which was occupied by several dozen magnate families - large feudal lords who were descendants of the Rurik or Gediminids. Among them are the princes Ostrozhsky, Sangushki, Zbarazhsky, Vishnevetsky, Zaslavsky, Czartorysky, Chetvertinsky, who occupied high positions in the state of Lithuania, however, they turned out to be outside its most influential body - the "Pana Rada" as a result of the strengthening of the Lithuanian - Catholic Party. With the growth of cities, their inhabitants formed into a separate estate - the bourgeoisie, which achieved the introduction of Magdeburg law (city self-government). It was received by Lvov (1356), Lutsk (1432), Kamenets-Podolsky (1374), Kyiv (1497) and others.

The strengthening of feudal feudal oppression, which was intertwined with various forms of national and religious oppression, aroused the resistance of the Ukrainian population. A common form of peasant-plebeian protest against the feudal order was the escape to the sparsely populated outskirts of Podolia and the Kiev region. Establishing themselves in new places with the help of a plow and a saber, these fugitives considered themselves free people and began to be called Cossacks, which meant in the Turkic language - a free man. The appearance of the Cossacks in the fertile southern steppes was accompanied by their intensive economic activity, contributed to the development of agriculture, as well as cattle breeding, the formation of Cossack settlements and farms. Cossack colonization caused the development of vast southern spaces, became one of the important sources of the power of the Polish state in the future.

The Cossacks managed to create an original social organization, which, with all its content, was directed against the feudal system. Without exception, all members of the Cossack community, which was both a military and self-governing organization, had equal rights to the use of land, participation in the Cossack council, elections of foremen, etc. The Cossacks convincingly demonstrated to the Ukrainian peasantry the possibility of organizing social and economic life without a feudal lord and exercised a strong revolutionary influence on the serf peasantry. This made the Cossacks a detonator of deep social movements against the feudal system, shattered the entire state organism of feudal Poland.

Lithuanian princes were among the first to move to Ukrainian lands. Lithuanian tribes, who occupied wooded areas in the basin of the Vistula, Neman and Dvina, by the middle of the 13th century. did not have their own state organization. The process of unification of the Lithuanian tribes was determined, on the one hand, by the schedule of the tribal system, on the other hand, by a tense struggle with neighbors and the threat of complete annihilation from the German knights. The founder of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Mindovg (1230-1236 pp.), Which in the middle of the XIII century. united under his rule Aukstaitia, Samogitia, part of Yatvyagia and took possession of part of the Western Russian (Belarusian) lands. In the early 1260s pp. Mindovg also made an attempt to capture Chernihiv-Sivershchina.

The rapid growth of the Lithuanian state begins with Gediminas (1316-1341 pp.). Having well strengthened the rear, he set about expanding his possessions. This was facilitated by the fact that the Lithuanian princes carefully took care of the development of military affairs. They set a rule: who owns land, he must serve in the army; who refuses military service, the land should be taken away from him. This rule applied to all social strata - from princes to peasants. So, Lithuania at that time had a large organized army. Gediminas completed the annexation of the Belarusian lands, begun by his predecessors, and proceeded to the annexation of the southwestern Russian (Ukrainian) lands. In particular, the manifestation of Lithuanian claims to the Ukrainian lands was that after the death of Yuri II Boleslav in Volyn, the reign passed to the son of Gediminas Lubart, who was also considered a Galician-Volyn prince. The expansion of Lithuania to the east and north of Rus' ran into strong resistance from the Moscow principality, which was strengthened under Ivan Kalita (1325-1340 pp.). The decisive role in the seizure of Ukrainian lands belongs to the son of Gediminas - Olgerd (1345-1377 pp.). The gradual displacement of the Tatars by the Lithuanians led to the inclusion of the Chernihiv-Sivershchyna, Kievshchyna and Pereyaslavshchyna into the Lithuanian state. By the end of the 40s pp. 14th century Podillia was also in the sphere of Lithuanian influence. In modern historical literature, the subjugation of Russian lands by Lithuania is considered not as a conquest, but as a "peaceful annexation". The reasons for this were as follows:

The success of the Lithuanians was facilitated by the fact that the Russian lands were weakened by the Golden Horde domination.

The majority of the local population viewed the Lithuanians not as conquerors, but as liberators from the Tatars.

Russian princes and boyars did not try to fight the Lithuanians, and in most cases voluntarily recognized their authority.

The Golden Horde at that time was weakened by the struggle for power and civil strife between the warring hordes.

Decisive in the subordination of the Ukrainian lands to Lithuania was 1362. This year, the army of three neighboring peoples - Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian - defeated the army of the Mongol-Tatars in Blue Waters, giving rise to the liberation of Ukrainian lands from the Mongol yoke.

Political consequences of the Battle of Blue Waters (1362):

The territorial boundaries of the Golden Horde were pushed back in the lower reaches of the Dniester and the Southern Bug to the coastal strip, and on the Dnieper - to the rapids.

A significant weakening of the political influence of the Tatar hordes located to the west of the Dnieper, and the aggravation of contradictions in the Golden Horde.

The vast majority of Ukrainian lands was assigned to the Lithuanian state.

Thus, in the second half of the XIV century. under the rule of Lithuania was the whole of Belarus, part of the lands of Russia and a significant part of the territory of Ukraine - almost all of Volhynia, Chernihiv-Sivershchina, Kiev region, Pereyaslavshchina, Podolia. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania became one of the largest states in Europe.

Russian lands accounted for about 90 percent of the entire territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and approximately the same ratio was in terms of the national composition of the population. Therefore, the Lithuanian state of that time, some researchers, not without reason, are also called the Lithuanian-Russian state.

The Lithuanian period in the history of Ukraine was a new phase in the development of that same social organism inherited from Kievan Rus. Russian lands were economically and culturally superior to Lithuania. It is no coincidence that the Lithuanian conquerors found themselves under the extremely strong cultural influence of the East Slavic peoples.

Many of the norms of Russian law, Russian names of positions, states, the system of administrations and others were adopted by Lithuania. Russian became the state language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and all office work was carried out by it. Even the official title of the Lithuanian prince begins with the words: "Grand Duke of Lithuania and Russia ...". It was then that the well-known saying appeared: "Poland of Latin blooms, Lithuania of Rusyns blooms."

Lithuanian princes converted to Orthodoxy, adopted the language, culture, customs of Rus', willingly entered into marriages with Ukrainian and Belarusian princely daughters.

So, at first Lithuanian superiority was not too burdensome for Ukraine. In these favorable conditions for the Ukrainian people, Volhynia, Podolia and the Dnieper region within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained their originality.

But after the death of Olgerd, a turning point occurred in the foreign policy situation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which determined a new direction for its entire subsequent history. This turning point was the Union of Kreva between Lithuania and Poland (1385), which marked the beginning of a new period in the history of the Lithuanian state - the gradual displacement of Russian influences by Polish ones.

According to the Union of Kreva (1385), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was not enough to unite with the Kingdom of Poland, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello was to simultaneously become the Polish king, marrying the Polish queen Jadwiga, accept the Catholic faith and convert the entire population to it.

A positive consequence of the Union of Krevo was that it allowed Poland and Lithuania to join their efforts in the fight against the Teutonic Order, which reigned on the Baltic coast and stop its advance to the East and, in particular, Slavic lands. The negative consequence of the union was the strengthening of Polish influence and the beginning of the planting of Catholicism in Ukrainian lands.

In Lithuania, the union was perceived ambiguously. Dissatisfied rallied around cousin Jagiello Vitovt (1392-1430 pp.), Who made concessions from Poland. According to the agreement of 1392, Vytautas was recognized as the lifelong ruler of the Principality of Lithuania, and later he took the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1398 the union was abolished.

Trying to strengthen the political unity of his state and centralize administration, Vitovt liquidates the southwestern Russian principalities (Volyn, Novgorod-Seversk, Kiev, Podolsk) and transfers them to the administration of his governors. As a result, social oppression intensified and the former autonomy of Ukrainian lands was eliminated.

Further plans to strengthen Lithuania were prevented by the defeat of Vitovt from the Mongol-Tatars on the river. Vorskla (1399). He was forced to seek mutual understanding with Jagiello. In 1401, a new union was concluded in Vilna, according to which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania recognized vassal dependence on Poland. All lands after the death of Vytautas were to go directly to the Polish king. This union aroused the indignation of Svidrigailo Olgerdovich, the younger brother of Jagiello, who felt the possibility of losing his rights to the Lithuanian grand ducal table. Since that time, he has constantly threatened the internal stability of the Lithuanian state, trying to use any excuse to depose Vytautas.

The failure at Vorskla did not stop Lithuania's advance to the east. In 1404 Vitovt annexed Smolensk to his possessions, as a result of the war with the Muscovite state (1406-1408 pp.) Vyazma, Kozelsk, Mtsensk became part of Lithuania, Tver and Ryazan recognized their vassal dependence. In Novgorod and Pskov, pro-Lithuanian forces came to power. Svidrigailo went over to the side of Moscow. But the very next year, when the war began with the Teutonic Order (1409-1411 pp.), He entered into an agreement with the Crusaders. For this, he was imprisoned for nine years in the Kremenets castle.

In 1409 Vytautas intervened in dynastic disputes in the Golden Horde and contributed to the establishment of Tokhtamysh in it. He renounced "historical rights" to the Russian lands, and also sent Tatar detachments to participate in the Battle of Grunwald (1410) on the side of Lithuania and Poland.

As a result of the victory of Lithuania and Poland over the Teutonic Order, the position of Vitovt was further strengthened. In 1413, the Union of Horodel was concluded, which clearly recognized the Lithuanian statehood, headed by the Grand Duke. Lithuania had to maintain its independence even after the death of Vytautas, however, under the sovereignty of the Polish king. The institute of joint Polish-Lithuanian diets was introduced. The Unia confirmed the privileged position of Catholics in Lithuania, who were members of the Grand Ducal Council and held high positions. The Lithuanian Catholic nobility received the same rights as the Polish. In particular, Lithuanian Catholic landowners, unlike the Orthodox, received the right to freely dispose of their lands (prior to this, their land ownership was a little conditional).

The last points of the Union of Gorodel "caused discontent among the Orthodox gentry and the princes of the Rurik dynasty and the Orthodox Gediminovich dynasty. Feeling their power, the already middle-aged Vitovt decided to crown himself and ensure an independent existence for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, the Poles, not wanting to turn the principality into an independent kingdom, intercepted the crown and chopped The coronation ceremony was postponed, and on October 27, 1430 Vitovt suddenly died.

Contrary to the Union of Horodel, which obliged them to choose a new Grand Duke only with the consent of Jagiello, the Lithuanian and Russian magnates chose Svidrigail Olgerdovich as Prince. This immediately led to a war between Lithuania and Poland. In 1431, Jagiello's troops defeated Svidrigail, and the latter was forced to conclude a truce, according to which the Western Podillya went to Poland. However, Svidrigailo did not give up further struggle. In his policy, he relied on the Ukrainian and Belarusian princes and boyars, dissatisfied with the privileged position of the Catholics.

In 1432. In comparison with Svidrigailo, a conspiracy was arranged, as a result of which Sigismund became the great Lithuanian prince. However, his power extended only to his own Lithuanian lands, Beresteyshchyna, Podlachie. All other lands recognized Svidrigailo as their owner. Within the framework of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, two states arose - Lithuania and the "Grand Duchy of Russia", between which a war broke out. The decisive battle took place at Wilkomir (1435), in which Sigismund won a landslide victory. Although Svidrigail managed to escape and continue the fight, but already in 1438 Sigismund took possession of all the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

However, after some time, Sigismund himself began to strive to ensure the independence of Lithuania from Poland. In his policy, he tried to rely on the nobility, which caused discontent among the magnates, both Lithuanian and Ukrainian. In 1440, conspirators led by Prince Ivan Czartorysky, a representative of the Ukrainian aristocracy, and voivode Dovgerd killed Sigismund, trying to proclaim Svidrigailo Grand Duke. However, the Lithuanian nobility could not allow such a strengthening of the Ukrainian party. The prince was proclaimed the youngest son of Jagiello, 13-year-old Casimir (1440-1492 pp.), who in 1447 became the king of Poland. At the coronation ceremony in 1447, Casimir issued the so-called "Vilna Privilege", which expanded the rights and freedoms of the gentry, including the Orthodox.

Trying to ensure internal peace in the state, Kazimir recognized Svidrigailo the title of Grand Duke for life and granted him the restored Volyn principality. The Principality of Kiev was also renewed, the Olelkovich dynasty, founded by Vladimir Olgerdovich, was returned. However, when the situation stabilized, Kazimir, taking advantage of the death of Svidrigailo and Semyon Olelkovich, liquidated the Volyn (1452) and Kiev (1471) principalities. The voivodship system was extended to the Ukrainian lands.

Russian princes tried to resist the liquidation of specific principalities. In particular, the well-known "conspiracy of Russian princes" in 1481, when the grandchildren of Vladimir Olgerdovich Mikhail Olelkovich, Fyodor Belsky and Ivan Golshansky tried to remove the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir from power and put Mikhail Olelkovich in his place. The plot was exposed.

The last attempt to secede from Lithuania was carried out by the Russian and Belarusian nobility in 1508, when an uprising broke out under the leadership of M. Glinsky. However, it also ended in defeat. Since that time, the Russian boyars and princes began to lose the role of spokesman and defender of national interests and more and more withdraw from participation in political activities.

So, the Ukrainian lands were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for several centuries. During this time, the attitude of the Lithuanian authorities towards the local population has undergone significant changes. After the formation of the Commonwealth (1569), Ukrainian lands came under Polish rule, which led to forced Catholicization and increased Polonization of the Ukrainian population.

The Lithuanian princes were among the first to go to the Ukrainian lands, which were fragmented and weakened by the Golden Horde yoke.

The founder of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Mindovg , which in the middle of the XIII century. united Aukstaitia, Samogitia, part of Yatvyagia under his rule and took control of a part of Western Rus'. In the early 60s of the XIII century. Mindovg also made an attempt to capture Chernihiv-Sivershchina.

The rapid growth of the Lithuanian state began with Gediminas (1316-1341). Having well strengthened the rear, he set about expanding his possessions. This was facilitated by the fact that the Lithuanian princes took great care of the development of military affairs. They decided for the rule: whoever has land ownership must serve in the army; who refused military service, they took away the land. This rule applied to all social strata - from princes to peasants. We can say that Lithuania at that time had a large organized army. Gediminas completed the annexation of the Belarusian lands, begun by his predecessors, and proceeded to the annexation of the Ukrainian lands. The expansion of Lithuania to the east and north of Rus' ran into strong resistance from the Moscow principality. The decisive role in the seizure of Ukrainian lands belongs to the son of Gediminas - Olgerd (1345-1377), who took possession of Chernihiv-Sivershchina, and in 1362 occupied Kyiv.

The turning point in the subordination of the Ukrainian lands to Lithuania was 1362. This year, the army of three neighboring peoples - Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarusian defeated the Mongol-Tatars in Blue Waters, giving rise to the liberation of Ukrainian lands from the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

Thus, in the second half of the 14th century. under the rule of Lithuania was the whole of Belarus, part of the lands of Muscovy and a significant part of the territory of Ukraine - almost all of Volhynia, Chernihiv-Sivershchina, Kiev region, Pereyaslavshchina, Podolia. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania became one of the largest states in Europe.

The lands of Belarus and partly of Ukraine and Muscovy then accounted for 90 percent of the entire territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and approximately the same ratio was in terms of the national composition of the population, therefore, some researchers also reasonably call the Lithuanian state of that time Lithuanian-Russian state.

Russian lands were economically and culturally superior to Lithuania. It is no coincidence that the Lithuanian conquerors were under the extremely strong cultural influence of the East Slavic peoples, so Lithuania, annexing the lands of Rus', “ did not destroy antiquity, butnewdid not introduce". All this contributed to the fact that the annexation of Ukrainian lands to Lithuania took place peacefully, without significant resistance. The Ukrainians, on the whole, approved of this act also because it contributed to the defense of the country from the raids of the Mongol-Tatars.

There are many norms of Russian law, Russian titles of positions, states, the system of administrations, etc. were accepted by Lithuania. The state language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Russian, which was used for all business papers.

Lithuanian princes converted to Orthodoxy, adopted the language, culture, customs of Rus', willingly entered into marriages with Ukrainian and Belarusian princely daughters.

So, we can distinguish the following features of the status of Ukrainian lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:

• the accession took place mainly peacefully due to the desire of the principalities to get rid of the Mongol yoke;
• the management system remained unchanged: the Russian princes paid an annual tribute and provided military assistance;
• Russian became the state language;
• the Orthodox Church retained its dominant position;
• Russian legislation was preserved;
• Lithuanians were joined by dynastic marriages with Ukrainians;
• Ukrainian culture reigned.

By the middle of the XIV century. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was fully formed as a state and significantly expanded its territory. This expansion occurred mainly due to the entry into the ON of the Belarusian and Ukrainian principalities.

In 1381 - 1384. - held in the Grand Duchy first Lithuanian-Russian civil war. To strengthen the internal and external position of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the fight against the expansion of the Teutonic Order, the strengthening of state power and centralization in 1385, Prince Jagiello concluded Kreva union with Poland.

However, the dissatisfaction of part of the Lithuanian and Belarusian gentry with rapprochement with Poland led to the beginning of the second social war in the GDL. As a result of the war, the Grand Duke of Lithuania became Vytautas. He pursued a policy of "great reigning throughout the Russian land", developed a system of defensive fortifications in the south of Ukrainian lands (in Bratslav, Cherkassy and other cities), erected fortresses in the southern steppes (Dniester Estuary), carried out in 1397-1398. two victorious campaigns against the Golden Horde. During the reign of Vitovt, Ukrainian territorial colonization spread significantly to the south and east, up to the Black Sea. And since 1398, the Lithuanian state began to be called Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Russian and Zhemaitisk O e .

However, the defeat of the Lithuanian-Russian troops in 1399 crossed out Vitovt's dreams of uniting all of Rus' within the limits of the Lithuanian statehood. After this defeat, the formation of an independent Lithuanian-Russian state stopped, and Vitovt was forced to move closer to Poland.

In 1401 was signed Vilna-Radom Union. This rapprochement created the conditions for victory over the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald (1410), the annexation of Samogitia and the lands beyond the Neman to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at the same time contributing to the appropriation of Ukrainian lands by Polish domination, the spread of Polish gentry law and the farm-corvee system in Ukraine. Jagiello failed to create a single state, but the union determined the process of rapprochement between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland and the gradual decrease in the role of Russian elements in the state, which became even more noticeable with the transition to Catholicism of the ruling elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1432-1440. in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russian and Samogitia took place another civil war. For 4 years (1432-1435), two states actually existed within the GDL - actually Lithuania And Grand Duchy of Russia . First led Sigismund, second - Svidrigailo, who was proclaimed the Grand Duke of Russia (Kyiv). Although Polotsk was considered the center of Svidrigailo.

The political and state system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was formed in the 15th-16th centuries. as a class-representative monarchy, the power in which was concentrated in the hands of the Lithuanian rocking-gentry elite. There is a strengthening of the power of the feudal lords over the peasantry, the registration of their personal dependence, the loss of land rights.

and the Commonwealth

The entry of the East Slavic lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The beginning of the rapid rise of the Principality of Lithuania falls on the reign of Mindaugas. In 1240, Mindovg proclaimed himself the sovereign ruler of Lithuania, and after that, the process of extending the power of the Lithuanian prince to the neighboring Slavic lands, formerly part of Kievan Rus, began. During the reign of Gediminas (1316-1341), the Brest, Vitebsk, Pinsk and Turov lands were added to the lands of the so-called Black Rus' in the region of the Middle Neman that had already passed under the rule of Lithuania.

The entry of the majority of Ukrainian lands into the Lithuanian principality falls on the reign of the son of Gediminas - Olgerd. Olgerd, who came up with an anti-Horde program for collecting Russian lands, in the early 1360s. managed to capture Kiev, planting his son Vladimir Olgerdovich as governor, part of the Chernigov-Severshchina, as well as most of the Pereyaslav land. In the autumn of 1362, Olgerd, with the support of detachments of the Kiev and Chernihiv-Seversky boyars, squads of Volhynians led by Prince Lubart Gediminovich and Podillians led by the Koriatovichs, in the battle of Blue Waters, won an important victory over those who had separated from the former Nogai ulus and controlled Podolia and the steppe territories of the Northern Black Sea coast of Crimean , Perekop and Dzhamboylutsk hordes. The victory allowed the prince to move even deeper to the south.

The advance of the Lithuanian princes in the western direction met with resistance from the Kingdom of Poland. As a result, the power of the son of Gediminas Luba mouth, invited after the death of the last Galician-Volyn prince Yuri II (Boleslav) to reign in the Galician-Volyn principality, actually extended only to the Volyn lands. And the whole second half of the XIV century. marked by permanent wars for the Galician-Volyn heritage between Poland and Lithuania. The result of this confrontation was the renunciation of Lubart's claims to Galicia, the Kholm region and the Belz region.

The death of Olgerd in 1377 entailed extremely important political consequences. According to his will, the capital of the Principality of Lithuania, Vilna, and, accordingly, the primacy among the Lithuanian princes, Olgerd transferred under the authority of his youngest son Jagail, whose mother was the second wife of the late prince, the Tver princess Ulyana.

The eldest sons - children from marriage with Princess Mary of Vitebsk, as well as his brothers, resolutely opposed such a will of the father. Wanting to strengthen his position within the state and oppose the Moscow principality, Jagiello at first entered into an alliance with the ruler of the Golden Horde, Mamai (however, at the last moment he avoided participation in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, where his brothers, Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry-Koribut, as well as the son of Prince Koriat (Mikhail) Gediminovich, Volyn governor Dmitro Bobrok-Volynsky). A little later, in the same 1380, Jagiello signed an agreement with the Teutonic and Livonian orders, which provoked a conflict with his father's brother Keistut. In the struggle for power, Jogail managed to capture Keistut and, through sent servants, take his life. However, this did not strengthen his position, since the son of Keistut Vitovt managed to escape from captivity and launch active activities directed against the Grand Duke.

Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd. Engraving of the 17th century.

Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas. Engraving of the 17th century.

Lutsk. Small castle of Lubart Gediminovich. Engraving of the late 19th century.

In search of allies, Jagiello makes an attempt to radically change the foreign policy of the principality. In 1383–1384 establishes relations with the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy, who at that time clearly demonstrated his intentions to achieve independence from the Horde. In order to strengthen the alliance with Moscow, Jagiello had to marry the daughter of the Moscow prince Sophia, himself accept Christianity according to the Orthodox rite and persuade his subjects to Orthodoxy.

And if the military-political component of rapprochement with Moscow did not meet with active opposition from the Lithuanian elite, then the issues of confessional transformation of Lithuania aroused serious objections. Firstly, the Lithuanian elite was afraid of a significant strengthening of the positions of the Orthodox Russian nobility in the state. Secondly, the adoption of Orthodoxy by Lithuania would provide a convenient ideological tool for increasing pressure from the Teutonic and Livonian Orders and would complicate the search for allies among the Catholic courts of Europe. Thirdly, rapprochement with Moscow complicated Lithuania's relations with the Golden Horde.

In addition, Jogaila had a good prospect of solving existing problems through the establishment of allied relations with the Kingdom of Poland. Indeed, in Poland, after the death of Casimir III in 1370, the Piast dynasty was cut short in the male line, and after several years of civil strife in the early 80s. the throne was inherited by the granddaughter of Casimir III Jadwiga. The queen, according to the traditions existing in the Kingdom of Poland, could reign, but not rule. The marriage of Jadwiga and Jagail made it possible not only to solve the problem of government in Poland, but also to unite the efforts of mutually interested parties in organizing counteraction to the onslaught of the German knights.

The Polish-Lithuanian union in the form of a personal union was proclaimed in the Kreva castle (in Belarus) in the summer of 1385. According to the union agreements, Jagiello, remaining the Grand Duke of Lithuania, received invitations to the Polish throne. The conditions for the implementation of the union were marriage to Jadwiga, his adoption of Christianity according to the Roman Catholic rite and the conversion of the unbaptized population of Lithuania to Catholicism, as well as the return of the territories previously lost by Poland and Lithuania on their own.

The union of 1385 became a political reality at the beginning of the next year. Then Jogaila was baptized (since that time he took the Christian name Vladislav), his wedding with Jadwiga and, finally, the coronation. However, there was no real unification of states. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania continued to exist autonomously further, maintaining the isolation of socio-political institutions. Moreover, immediately after the proclamation of the Union of Kreva, Prince Andrei Olgerdovich of Polotsk became in opposition to it, believing that Jagiello, who had converted to Catholicism, could not claim power over the Orthodox population of Lithuania and Rus'. By the spring of 1387, Jogail managed to suppress his opponent's speeches. However, this did not save the situation, since at the turn of the 80-90s. the nobility of Lithuania and Black Rus' opposed the union, which was headed by the son of the murdered Jogail in rivalry for the grand-ducal table of Keistut Gediminovich - Vitovt.

The defeats of 1390 forced Vytautas to flee to Prussia. However, the military alliance signed with the Order made it possible to take a convincing revenge. In the summer of 1392, a secret agreement between Vytautas and Jogaila took place, providing for the former to refuse the services of the knights and destroy their castles in Lithuania in return for returning to him all the territories owned by his father Keistut, and proclaiming him ruler of Lithuania and Rus' for life under the patronage of Jogaila. But in essence, the status of Vytautas corresponded to the status of the royal governor. However, he considered the agreements of 1392 only as a tactical step, allowing him to strengthen his power. The very next year, Vytautas proclaimed himself the sovereign Grand Duke of Lithuania under nominal dependence on the Polish king. At the same time, he consistently strengthened the internal consolidation of the principality. Overcoming the separatist tendencies of the regional nobility, Vitovt deprived Fyodor Lyubartovich of power in Volhynia, Vladimir Olgerdovich in the Kyiv land, Dmitr-Koribut Olgerdovich in Chernihiv-Severshchina, Fyodor Koriatovich in Podolia. In place of the semi-independent princes, governors who were entirely dependent on the grand duke's power were appointed.

Vladislav II Jagiello. Portrait by J. Matejko. 19th century

In 1398, Vytautas attempted to completely free the Polish king from dependence, signing a secret agreement with the Teutonic Order for this purpose. At the same time, the Grand Duke begins a very risky game aimed at achieving the hegemony of the Grand Duchy by strengthening his positions in the Golden Horde. Vytautas chose ex-Khan Tokhtamysh as an instrument of this policy. In the same 1398, Tokhtamysh, with a special label on behalf of the Golden Horde, formally renounced the ownership of Ukrainian lands, ceding them to the ruler of the Grand Duchy. In return, Vitovt took upon himself the obligation to help the ally regain his power in the Horde, and he, after retronization, to support the efforts of the Grand Duke in the fight against the Grand Duchy of Moscow. When the terms of the agreement became widely known, Vytautas found himself in international isolation. And his refusal to hand over Tokhtamysh to the Horde provoked the campaign of Khan Timur-Kutluk to the Ukrainian lands. While waiting for the troops of Emir Edigei (the last unifier of the Horde in 1397–1410) to approach from the Crimea, Timur-Kutluk entered into negotiations with the Grand Duke, but he demanded recognition of his supreme power over the Horde, the annual payment of tribute, and even the printing of “symbols” on Horde coins. » Vitovta. In the battle on the river Vorskla, held on August 12, 1399, Vitovt suffered a crushing defeat. Tens of thousands of representatives of boyar and princely families from the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands laid down their lives, which greatly weakened the military-political potential of the Grand Duchy. All this in combination forced the Grand Duke to abandon his ambitious plans and take steps to strengthen relations with the Polish Crown. In January 1401, the Vilna-Radom Treaty was signed, according to which Vitovt received the title of Grand Duke, and Jagiello - the Supreme Prince. In addition, it was envisaged that after the death of Vitovt, the implementation of the decisions of the Kreva Union would begin.

Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt. Engraving of the 16th century.

However, the new strengthening of the positions of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, which became apparent after his triumph in the battle of nations against the German knights near Grunwald in 1410, made it possible to revise the restrictive provisions of the treaties signed with the Polish king. According to the provisions of the Union of Horodel in 1413, Jagiello recognized the right of the Grand Duchy to political autonomy even after the death of Vitovt. Its only limitation was the requirement to coordinate with the Polish king the candidacy of the successor to the Grand Duke (however, for the Polish side, such coordination was also mandatory when elected to the Polish kingdom). In order to bring Poland and Lithuania closer together, two voivodeships were created on the territory of the latter in the Polish manner - Vilna and Trokai, and noble Lithuanian families were admitted to the Polish gentry emblems. The nobility received the right to freely dispose of their estates.

The Unia documents of 1413 also contained a number of discriminatory provisions, the implementation of which inevitably led to the growth of separatist sentiments in Rus'. In particular, only Catholics were allowed to participate in the sovereign council, as well as in the administration of voivodeships and castelias. The right to freely dispose of estates also contained a confessional sign. It should be noted that the Orthodox princes of Rus' did not take part in coordinating the provisions of the union of 1413. Consequently, its provisions did not receive their distribution here either.

The contradictions inherent in the Union of Gorodel loudly declared themselves after the death of Vytautas in 1430. Contrary to previous agreements, the Lithuanian and Russian nobility of the Grand Duchy, choosing a successor to Vytautas, ignored the opinion of King Jogail and, at their discretion, elected Svidrigailo Olgerdovich as Grand Duke. Despite the clear violation of previous agreements, as well as the strong reputation of Svidrigaila Olgerdovich as the ruler of an adventurous warehouse, the Polish king was forced to agree with this decision. The reason for this was not only Jagail's fear of aggravating relations with the local elite, but also his own political calculation - unwillingness to create a precedent for the direct inheritance of the reign by a close relative of Vitovt, because Svidrigaila's most real rival was the younger brother of the late Sigismund Keistutovich. However, as the further development of events showed, the signal given by Jogail to reconcile the parties did not lead to the attenuation of the conflict.

When Polish troops entered the lands of Western Podolia in 1430, which had been a bone of contention between Poland and Lithuania for a long time, Svidrigaila's troops blocked King Jagiello in Vilna. In the summer of the following year, the armed conflict moved to Volhynia. Considering the fact that in Volhynia Svidrigailo enjoyed the wide support of the local population, as well as the speed with which he managed to mobilize the Germans, Tatars and Vlachs for help, the chances of the Polish king for success were insignificant. Jagiello was forced to offer a compromise - a truce and a moratorium on the resolution of territorial disputes.

Svidrigailo enjoyed the highest authority in Volhynia. After all, while still in opposition to Vytautas, the prince advocated the preservation of their traditional structure and autonomy for individual parts of the principality. Being forced after the signing of the Union of Kreva under the pressure of his brother - King Jogaila - to switch from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, Svidrigailo nevertheless relied on Orthodox Rusyns in his policy. After being elected to the grand duke's table, he consistently ignored the resolutions of the Union of Horodel on the exclusive rights of Catholics to occupy the highest state and voivodeship positions.

The reverse side of the growth of Svidrigaila's popularity among the Rusyns was the consolidation of oppositional sentiments towards him among the Catholics of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian. Preparing for a decisive battle with the Polish king, he made an attempt to enter into an alliance with the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, the Tatars, the Moldavian ruler. This further catalyzed the oppositional moods of the Lithuanian nobility, among whom a conspiracy had matured. On the night of September 1, 1432, the Starodub prince Sigismund Keistutovich, together with Simon Golynansky, attacked the residence of the Grand Duke in Oshmyany. And although Svidrigail managed to escape from the hands of the conspirators, power passed to his opponent - Sigismund Keistutovich. The powers of the new Grand Duke were immediately recognized by the population of Vilna, Kovno, Trokov, Gorodnya. On the contrary, Rus' remained loyal to Svidrigail. As a result, the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian was plunged into a civil war.

Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Keistutovich. Engraving of the 16th century.

The war dragged on with varying success until 1440. An important political victory for Sigismund, limiting the social support of his opponent, was the publication of privileges in 1434 - a document that actually equalized the rights of Orthodox Rusyns and Catholic Lithuanians. Trying to seize the initiative, Svidrigailo makes an attempt to introduce a church union, thereby clearing the way for himself to search for allies in Europe. However, these actions of his do not find understanding among the Orthodox.

The crushing defeat of Svidrigaila in the battle on the Shvyanti (Holy) River on September 1, 1435 completely deprives him of the strategic initiative. The lands and regions, one after another, passed to the side of Sigismund. Nod, only the Kiev region, Chernihiv-Severshchina and Volhynia remained under the power of Svidrigaila. Certain hopes for revenge were given to him by death at the hands of the conspirators of Grand Duke Sigismund Keistutovich in 1440. In addition to Svidrigaila, the son of the late Grand Duke Mikhalko and the Polish king Vladislav Varnenchik (son of Jogaila and Jadwiga) also claimed the vacant grand duke's table.

Vladislav III Varnenchik. Engraving of the 16th century.

However, contrary to the agreements previously signed between Lithuania and Poland, the supreme advisory body of the Grand Duchy - pany-rada - without the consent of its sovereign, the Polish king, elected his younger brother, 13-year-old Kazimir Yagailovich, as Grand Duke. This, in fact, terminated the previously existing personal union of the principality with the Polish Crown.

The election of Casimir Jagiellonchik (Jagellon) as Grand Duke did not bring peace to relations between Lithuania and Rus'. On the contrary, centrifugal movements have intensified throughout the principality, and the separatist-minded Volyn sets the tone for this process. In order to calm the situation, the king's entourage makes a number of concessions. In particular, on behalf of the Grand Duke, privileges are issued that guarantee the preservation of local regional traditions and autonomous rights. In the context of the implementation of the new political course, Svidrigail is recognized as the nominal title of the Grand Duke with a lot in the Volyn land. The management of the Kievan land, selected by Vitovt from Vladimir Olgerdovich, is returned to his youngest son Olelko.

As a result of the adoption of compromise decisions, a long series of conflicts and armed confrontations is replaced by stabilization.

Political and social structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian

The Grand Duchy was a huge - stretching from the Baltic in the north to the Black Sea in the south - a multi-ethnic state. About 9/10 of the population of the country were Orthodox Rusyns - Ukrainians and Belarusians. Based on their state and legal traditions, the foundations of the statehood of the Grand Duchy were formed. And Russian business language becomes the official language on the territory of the state.

Casimir IV Jagiellon. Engraving of the 16th century.

According to its political and administrative structure, the Grand Duchy was a federation of lands-principalities. In the direct control of the Grand Duke were only his patrimonial lands in Lithuania and parts of Belarus. The rest were in the control of the princes, who were in vassal dependence on the Grand Duke or were ruled by the governors of the latter.

The management of the Russian lands was in the hands of the Gediminids, in particular the heirs of Prince Olgerd. Vladimir Olgerdovich reigned in Kiev, Dmitry-Koribut Olgerdovich - in Chernihiv-Severshchina, Koriatovichi, Olgerd's nephews, - in Podolia, Lyubart, Olgerd's brother, and his son Fedor - in Volhynia. The Gediminoviches who replaced the Rurikovichs very quickly found support from the local nobility, which was facilitated by their tolerant attitude towards local laws and regulations, the preservation of which was guaranteed by special agreements - rows. The specific princes only nominally recognized the supremacy of the Grand Duke. A convincing illustration of their political independence was, for example, the fact that the Kyiv prince Vladimir Olgerdovich minted his own coin or his official title "With God's grace, the prince of Kiev."

The activities of Prince Vitovt aimed at centralizing power seriously shook the autonomy of the Russian principalities. However, the reforms of Casimir Jagiellonchik provided the Russian nobility with a chance for its resuscitation. At the same time, the elections demonstrated to the Russian aristocracy that their plans to dominate Vilna were unrealistic. As a result, the nobility of Ukraine-Rus is heading for self-isolation and strengthening of autonomous local authorities. Thus, during the reign of Svidrigaila, already as a life-long nominal Grand Duke, a unique regional complex of power and socio-economic relations was formed in Volhynia, based on the presence of large, extraterritorial princely possessions of Ostrog, Zbarazh, Vyshnevetsky, Koretsky, Chetvertinsky, Czartorysky, Sangushki .

The real renaissance of the Kyiv principality has been observed since the return in 1440 of the legal estate of Vladimir Olgerdovich and his son Olelko. During the years of the reign of the latter, and especially his son Semyon Olelkovich (ruled from 1455), the Kiev land is experiencing times of political, economic and cultural upsurge. The power of the Kyiv prince extends not only to the Kiev region and the Dnieper region, but also to the Eastern Podolia. The economic colonization of the southeastern lands is taking place at an intensive pace. Through the efforts of the princely power, the border castles - Cherkassy, ​​Kanev, Zvenigorod, Lyubech, Oster, designed to protect Russian lands from nomadic raids, are being strengthened. The administrative, judiciary and fiscal branches of government are successfully functioning, completely focused not on Vilna, but on Kyiv.

Contemporaries pay attention to the spiritual and cultural upsurge of the Kyiv land. Both Vladimir Olgerdovich and his son, and especially his grandson, patronize the Orthodox Church. Semyon Olelkovich rebuilds the Dormition Church of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery devastated by Batu. The monastery becomes the ancestral tomb of the Olgerdoviches. At the princely court there is a scientific circle, whose members, by order of Semyon Olelkovich, are engaged in translations of works by Byzantine, Arabic, Jewish authors, both religious and secular content.

The rather significant position of the Olgerdovichs in the hierarchy of seniority of the Gediminovichs allows Prince Olelko to claim the grand prince's table after the death of Sigismund Keistutovich. As well as his son from marriage with the daughter of the Grand Duke of Moscow Anastasia (granddaughter of Dmitry Donskoy) Semyon to put forward his candidacy during the discussion of the detronization of Casimir Jagiellonchik in 1456 and 1461. However, the premature death of Semyon Olelkovich in 1470 allows Vilna, ignoring the claim to the princely table in Kiev of the younger brother of the deceased Mikhail and the young son of Vladimir, to send his governor to Kiev so that "the princes cease to be in Kiev" .

Pan-European tendencies of centralization of power and unification state structure have a certain influence on the political development of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian. Since the time of Vytautas, the formation of the highest state apparatus has been taking place here, orders (state positions) of the gospodar and zemstvo marshals, clerks, chancellors, podchashy and podkarbiya, a little later - the hetman, cornet, swordsman, understolium appear. Initially, the persons occupying these positions act as executors of the will of the prince, and over time they are transformed into independent institutions of power.

The supreme power in the state was represented by the Grand Duke, or ruler. Gospodarskaya power formally had an unlimited character. However, in the context of the existence of a number of autonomous principalities, it is not uncommon sovereignty the Grand Duke in certain territories was nominal. Its certain limitation in the center was also the activity of the advisory princely council (pany-rada or glad pany) under the Grand Duke. It consisted of representatives of the central government, as well as governors, castellan, some elders and marshals, Catholic bishops. As a rule, the most important issues of foreign policy, the organization of defense, the election of the Grand Duke and appointment to the highest government positions were submitted to the council for consideration.

The most important and urgent issues were considered at a meeting of the so-called senior, or front, princely council. It included the Bishop of Vilna, the voivode and the kashtelyan, as well as the Trotsky voivode and the kashtelyan (it was these five persons who sat on the front bench at the meeting of the princely council - hence the second name of the institute). Throughout the 15th century the importance of the institution of noble pans invariably increased, and the prerogatives of the grand duke's power narrowed accordingly.

A serious limitation of the power of the Grand Duke was the institution of class democracy of the gentry - the Seim (the first Val-ny Seim of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian was convened in 1492). Initially, his prerogatives were limited to resolving issues of the election of the Grand Duke and internal device states. However, under the influence of the development of Polish estate democracy in the activities of the Sejm of the Grand Duchy, issues of foreign policy and defense organization acquired priority.

The successful functioning of the organs of gentry democracy was impossible without further consolidation of the ruling class. Back in the time of Vitovt, the boyars-gentry were the first to form a closed social group, whom the Grand Duke used in the fight against separatist tendencies among the specific princes. An important role in the process of strengthening the position of the boyars was played by the resolutions of the Union of Gorodel in 1413, according to which representatives of fifty large Catholic landowners received nobilitation (the process of relating to the category of nobility, aristocracy), coats of arms and gentry privileges. In order to expand their social support in 1440, the Grand Duke's power nobilitated the service people of the Dragichinsky land and Podlasie. In 1443, the gentry's rights, which previously belonged exclusively to Catholics, were also extended to the Orthodox aristocracy of Rus'. An important prerequisite for the further consolidation of the Lithuanian and Russian elites is the publication of the grand-ducal privilege of 1447, a document guaranteeing the rights of the nobility: to princes, pans and boyars, regardless of their religion. According to this act, the nobility received guarantees of extrajudicial immunity, inalienability of hereditary estates. The right of free travel abroad, patrimonial trial of peasants and philistines living on their lands, etc., was also constituted.

At the same time, as noted earlier, in Volhynia, the local aristocracy managed to conserve the dominance of the princely class in both economic and political life. Representatives of the princely families recognized their vassal dependence on the Grand Duke, but at the same time pursued an independent domestic policy in the lands subject to them, organizing administration, financial activities, legal proceedings, and even military affairs at their discretion. Each princely family had an extensive network of vassal dependent servants-fiefs who owned land on the terms of military or administrative service to the prince. And besides, under their control, and often under patronage, there were pans who owned estates on the basis of inheritance law. Often, pans under princely patronage had their own clients from among the petty boyars-gentry. As a result, a branched and multi-stage social hierarchy was formed.

Characteristically, the authority of the princely families was based not only on their economic and political power, but also had a certain ideological connotation, often bordering on the practice of sacralization of princely power. Very characteristic in this regard is the signature of V.K.

The picture of the social stratification of the elite group of Volyn was repeated in general terms in the Kiev region and Podolia. True, the dominance of the princely aristocracy was less noticeable here, although over time these regions of Rus' also fell under their influence. In addition, the specifics of the borderland predetermined the presence of intermediate groups between the nobility and dependent strata of the population, in fact the semi-gentry class, the so-called horse servants, who, for the performance of the service of protecting castles, carrying out border service, performing courier duties, etc. complained about certain gentry privileges. In order to demarcate the gentry and semi-gentry, as well as to block the access of commoners to the environment of the nobility, they distinguished boyar-knights who carried out military service and owned land from their grandfather-great-grandfather, the so-called zemyans, and the so-called armored boyars, or horse servants who own the land for the performance of military duties.

The first written report about Christian Cossacks who attacked a Turkish ship in the arm of the Dnieper dates back to 1492. Next year - the assault on the Tatar fortress of Ezi. With the formation of the Crimean Khanate and the expansion of the borders of Tatar raids on Christian lands, the Cossacks become an important character in the history of the development of complex interactions between the Christian and Muslim worlds.

The number of Cossacks increased especially rapidly in the first decades of the 16th century, when among the partnership there were many representatives of well-known gentry families, influential administrators - O. Dashkovich, P. Lyantskoronsky, V. Pretvich, B. Koretsky, Yu. Yazlovetsky, S. Pronsky. Being the South Ukrainian elders, they actively used the energy of the Cossacks in strengthening the southern borders, introducing an element of organization into the life of the Cossack gangs. It was among these administrators that the idea of ​​creating a regular border service of the Cossacks first matured, which, however, due to the paucity of the treasury, was not destined to be realized.

Further consolidation of the ruling class and the growth of its power inevitably affected the derogation of the rights of the dependent population. In the XV century. in legal terms, the peasantry of the White Principality of Lithuanian-Russian was divided into two large groups: fine, that is, who had the right to move, and bad, attached to the land. It should be noted that the peak of activity in the introduction of non-economic exploitation of the rural population fell already in the 16th century, however, the beginning of its attachment to the land was laid down by the privilege of Casimir Jagiellonchik in 1447, which was forbidden to take an Oichist peasant to other people's households. The category of the latter included fine peasants who had spent a long time on the lands of one pan.

The dominance of princely families in the public life of the Grand Duchy was secured by the First Lithuanian Statute adopted at the Seimas in 1528/29. The Legal Code systematized the provisions of Russian Pravda, as well as the legal concepts of Roman law, a number of provisions of Czech, German and Polish codes, in addition, it fixed the existing local norms of “sound” law. The Statute both constituted the structure of the state and developed the norms of civil and criminal law; was imbued with the spirit of innovative Renaissance political and legal ideas, established equal responsibility before the law, declared equality in court of representatives of different ethnic groups and religions, introduced the institution of the bar, proclaimed the principle of personal responsibility. Separate articles of the code guaranteed the rights of the unprivileged segments of the population.

The adoption of the Statute made the state one of the most legally developed countries in Europe. Although the consolidation of norms that conserve the dominance of princely and great-panish families in public life by reducing the role of broader layers of the nobility, significantly weakened its significance as a legal code designed to consolidate the state.

Western Ukrainian lands as part of the Polish Crown

The first attempt to include Western Ukrainian lands under the authority of the Polish king dates back to the moment of the death of the last independent Galician-Volyn prince Yuri II (Boleslav Troydenovich) in 1340. A few days after this tragic event, King Casimir III sent his troops to Lviv. However, having met resistance from the local population, he was forced to leave the city. After that, the Russian nobility invited the son of Prince Gediminas Lubart to reign. However, the power of the latter did not go beyond the borders of Volhynia, and the administration of the Galician lands was concentrated in the hands of a group of boyars headed by Yuri II's closest assistant Dmitry Dedko. Only from the second half of the 40s. the Polish king manages to extend his influence first to the Syanock land, later to Lvov, Belz, Kholm, Berestya and Vladimir. At the end of the 70s. Lubart was forced to renounce in favor of the Polish king his claims to Galicia, Kholmshchina and Belzshchina.

An important role in the victory of the Poles was played by a military alliance with the Hungarian king Lajos the Great, who in 1370 simultaneously occupied the Polish throne, uniting the states with a personal union. After the death of the king, the union broke up, and the Galician land and Western Podolia, as an autonomous unit - as the personal domain of Queen Jadwiga (daughter of Lajos the Great) were included within the Polish Crown.

The incorporation of lands into the Crown was initiated by Vladislav Jagiello. In 1434, the king formed the Russian and Podolsk, later Belz provinces. The local chivalry received an exemption from carrying out various duties and services in favor of the king and his administration, except for the military, and also acquired the right to form bodies of gentry self-government, a zemstvo estate court, etc. The decrees of the Seimas of 1501 limited the judicial prerogatives of royal power, at the same time expanding the prerogatives of the council of senators and the embassy hut (house of representatives) in government. The Constitution of 1505 guaranteed the embassy's hut the exclusive right to formulate the laws of the state. The composition of the House of Representatives was formed by elections at zemstvo sejmiks. Five zemstvo sejmiks functioned in Western Ukrainian lands: in Sudova Vyshnia, Kholm, Belz, Terebovlya and Kamianets-Podilskyi.

The reign of Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund August, covering almost the entire 16th century - from 1506 to 1572 - is rightfully considered the "golden age" of gentry democracy in the Polish state. The gentry, fighting for control over the activities of the royal power, achieved impressive results in sharing responsibility with the monarch for the distribution of the land fund, determining the directions for the development of foreign and domestic policies, ways of filling the treasury and distribution of financial resources, appointment to the highest government positions.

Possession of the opportunity to really influence the political processes in the state exalted the gentry society of the Polish Crown both in their own eyes and in the perception of their neighbors. The formation of a political nation blunted the ethnic and regional differences of the Russian gentry, gave rise to the phenomenon of a split identity, when the gentry in ethnic terms realized himself as a person of the “Russian tribe”, and politically - a representative of the “Polish nation”.

Sigismund I the Old. Portrait by J. Matejko. 19th century

Lithuanian-Moscow rivalry

The presence on the map of Europe of two heirs of Kievan Rus - Lithuanian and Muscovite Rus - inevitably put on the agenda of international relations the question of the right to its lands and its history as an ideological prerequisite for expansion.

The peak of influence in the region of Lithuanian Rus falls on the years of the reign of Vytautas. In the 1420s. the Tver and Ryuzan Rurikovichs were in alliance with him, and the Crimean and Trans-Volga hordes, the Moscow principality, Pskov and Novgorod were in the sphere of his political influence. Vitovt's heir, Kazimir Yagailovich, having concluded agreements with Pskov, Novgorod and Tver, confirmed the claims of the Grand Duchy in the East. However, the increased pressure from the Crimean Tatars, prompted by the ruler of Zhamoitia, Mikhail Sigismundovich, who claimed the return of the entire inheritance of the Keistutovichs, the threat from the Teutonic Order - all this together forced Casimir to make concessions to Moscow. In 1449, he signed an agreement with the grandson of Vitovt, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily the Dark, on the delimitation of spheres of influence. According to the agreement, Moscow pledged not to interfere in Smolensk affairs, and Vilna - not to stand up for Novgorod, Pskov, Rzhev. The parties also agreed not to accept defector princes. For the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian, the treaty of 1449 became a turning point in its eastern policy. Vilno refused to be active in this direction and, in fact, unleashed the hands of Moscow. In addition, the passivity of the Grand Duchy in the East weakened the position of its longtime ally - the Golden Horde, thanks to which in 1480 the Muscovite state was able to finally throw off dependence on Saray.

The attenuation of the activity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian, which coincided with the increase in the power of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, led to inevitable territorial losses. Already in 1478, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, who took the title of "sovereign of all Rus'", demanded that Casimir Jagiellonchik transfer Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk and other cities of the principality to him, considering them as a lost ancient Russian heritage. From the end of the 80s. Moscow military people, without declaring the war, begin to systematically invade the "Lithuanian" cities, which the grand ducal authorities are in no hurry to defend. Moscow begins an open war for the "patrimony" after the death of Casimir Jagiellonchik in 1492.

A special flavor to this war is given by the fact that on the border lands of the Grand Duchy with Moscow there were many princes-defectors from the Rurik dynasty. The petty principalities of Chernihiv-Severshchina, headed by representatives of the ancient families of Vorotinsky, Vereisky, Shemyachichi, Mozhaysky, had the status of semi-independent principalities within the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian.

Remaining faithful to the Grand Duke of Lithuania was conditioned by the provision of military protection to them. When such protection did not follow, and the pressure from Moscow intensified, the Rurikovichs one by one recognized the supremacy of the Grand Duke of Moscow. As a result of this, the lands in the upper reaches of the Oka and a significant part of the Chernihiv-Severschyna came under the rule of Ivan III.

In order to contain pressure from the Moscow principality, the Lithuanian prince Alexander Kazimirovich makes serious concessions to Ivan III. In particular, in 1494 he initiates a dynastic marriage with the daughter of the Grand Duke of Moscow, recognizes Ivan III as the title of “Sovereign of All Rus'”, concludes a peace treaty with him, securing territorial acquisitions for Moscow. At the same time, Alexander seeks to create an anti-Moscow coalition consisting of Lithuania, Poland and the Trans-Volga Horde, as well as to consolidate subjects within the country by introducing the church union of Catholics and Orthodox.

However, the latter circumstance provokes a conflict with the Orthodox nobility of the principality, using which, in the spring of 1500, Ivan III sends troops to the lands of Chernigov-Severshchina. Considering that the ally of the Moscow prince, Khan Mengli Gerey, defeated the Trans-Volga Khan Shah-Akhmat (an ally of Alexander Kazimirovich), after which he invaded Volhynia and Beresteyshchyna, the chances of Vilna to resist Ivan III were insignificant. Within a few months, the residents of Serpeisk, Putivl, Starodub, Lyubech, Gomel, Novgorod-Seversky, and Rilsk recognized the power of the Grand Duke of Moscow. The new territorial acquisitions of Moscow were consolidated by the truce of 1503.

The truce was signed for six years, but the question of revising it arose already in 1506, when, after the death of Alexander Kazimirovich, his brother Sigismund I took the throne. Moscow rejected the ultimatum, and in the spring of 1508 Vilna began preparations for war. However, Vasily Ivanovich managed to get ahead of the enemy and be the first to go on a campaign against the enemy.

In addition, in the Kiev region against Sigismund I, an influential aristocrat, marshal of the court of Alexander Kazimirovich, Prince Mikhail Glinsky, raises an uprising. A descendant of the Tatar family Mamaevich, Glinsky was rich, educated in a European way, served at the court of Emperor Maximilian. In 1506, he won the first serious victory of the principality over the Crimean horde. After the death of Alexander Kazimirovich, he unsuccessfully applied for the Grand Duke's table.

An extremely branched family clan served as a support for Glinsky. One of his brothers received the post of governor of Kyiv, the other - governor of Berestey, whole army The prince's clients were seated in important government positions. In order to expand the circle of his adherents, Glinsky promised the Kyiv boyars to restore the specific Kiev principality.

The rebels manage to capture Mozyr, Kletsk, besiege Zhitomir and Ovruch. However, the prince fails to build on his successes, since his actions do not find support from the boyars of Volhynia and Central Belarus. On the contrary, the representative of the powerful Volyn clan of the Ostrozhsky princes, the great Lithuanian hetman Konstantin Ivanovich, having mobilized his own clients, successfully opposes Glinsky. In May 1508, Glinsky takes an oath of allegiance to the Grand Duke of Moscow, and Moscow warriors come to his aid, led by another defector, Prince Vasily Shchemyachich. By joint efforts they strive to seize Minsk, Orsha, Drutsk, Novogrudok. However, Prince Ostrozhsky, at the head of the Lithuanian gentry militia and Polish troops, manages to drive the enemy out of the principality. Suffer defeats and called by Glinsky to help Crimean Tatars. However, signed in September between Vilna and Moscow " eternal peace” for Lithuania was defeatist in nature. Vasily III was recognized the right to own the lands acquired by his father; the Glinsky clan, as well as their clients, received the right to freely enter the lands subject to the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Another armed conflict between Lithuania and Moscow over the Russian lands broke out in the fall of 1512, when Vasily III, having enlisted the support of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and the German Emperor, and also assuring the Crimean Khan of his friendly intentions, launched an attack on the Smolensk lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The siege of Smolensk lasted six weeks, but brought no results. It was possible only to ruin the environs of Minsk, Orsha, Kyiv. An attempt to capture the Smolensk fortress was resumed the following year. However, having stood under the walls for four weeks and unleashed an artillery barrage on Smolensk, the Grand Duke of Moscow was forced to retreat again. And only in the summer of 1514, the Moscow army, equipped with a large number of heavy artillery pieces, finally managed to force the defenders of the city to capitulate. Vasily III tried to develop success by an offensive deep into Lithuanian territory. However, in the general battle near Orsha on September 8, 1514, it fell to the great hetman, the Lithuanian prince Ostrozhsky, to win.

Finally, Vasily III was forced to abandon his active policy in the western direction by the complication of relations with the Crimean Khan, caused by rivalry for influence on the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. In September 1522, a truce was signed between Vilna and Moscow.

The specific principalities that had moved away from Vilna to Moscow retained their autonomy for some time. However, the clearly marked tendency towards the centralization of the Muscovite state did not leave any chances for a long-term conservation of such a state. After the death of Prince Vasily Semenovich in 1518, the Starodub principality was included directly into the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1523, a similar fate awaited the principality of Novgorod-Seversk, taken from Vasily Shchemyachich. Back in 1514, Mikhail Glinsky was arrested and thrown into prison on charges of treason.

Due to the dispute over the territorial affiliation of Smolensk and Chernigov-Severshchina, it was not possible to conclude an “eternal peace” between Moscow and Vilna. During the next outbreak of the conflict, the Lithuanian army in August 1535 managed to capture Starodub, and in the truce signed two years later, the Moscow leadership was forced to cede Lyubech and Gomel.

The entry of Ukrainian lands into the Commonwealth

A new powerful impetus to the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Vilna, the situation receives from the moment of resuscitation in the late 50s. Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Grozny) of the course of his grandfather Ivan III to provide the state with access to the Baltic Sea. In the context of solving this problem, at the beginning of 1558, the first Russian tsar began a war with his former ally, the Livonian Order.

By the middle of the year, the tsarist troops stood on the shores of the Baltic, and the order was falling apart into separate formations. However, the Grand Master of the Order, having voluntarily ceded significant territories to his neighbors, and also recognizing himself as a vassal of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund, dragged Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark into the war with Moscow.

For Vilna, the initial period of the Livonian War was unsuccessful: on February 15, 1563, the 60,000th Russian army managed to capture the well-fortified Polotsk, and then occupy the Belarusian lands in the Dvina region. The threat of significant territorial losses hung over the principality, and in these conditions the issue of military assistance to Poland becomes relevant. Thus, the idea of ​​unification with the Crown and, as a result, the democratization of the state structure of the Grand Duchy according to Polish models, which has long been popular among the chivalry, receives a powerful foreign policy impulse.

Reacting to the demands of the nobility to turn a personal union with the Polish Crown into a real union, Sigismund II August in 1563-1568. convened six diets, which debated various aspects of the upcoming unification of states.

The struggle for the expansion of the political rights of the chivalry of the Grand Duchy finds its embodiment in a series of battles held during 1564-1565. land reforms. The beginning of the reforms was laid by the privilege of the Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old in 1563, who proclaimed the elimination of restrictions on the rights of the Orthodox in comparison with the Catholics, introduced by the Gorodel Act of 1413 (in practice, this restriction did not work, the clearest confirmation of which is the long register of state and military positions of the Orthodox magnate K. Ostrozhsky - the great hetman of Lithuania, the Trokai governor, the Vilna castellan, the headman of Lutsk, the governor of Vinnitsa and Bratslav, etc.). The following year, under pressure from the gentry, the magnates renounced their special status in the course of legal proceedings and were formally equalized in rights with the rest of the gentry community. General elective gentry courts were introduced in the principality. According to the Vilna Privilege of 1565, the entire territory of the principality was divided into 30 povets, in which zemstvo and city courts were organized. The gentry of one or another povet was under the jurisdiction only of an elected zemstvo court, completely independent of the grand duke's power. The competence of the city (or castle) court, headed by representatives of the grand ducal authorities - the governor and the headman, included cases related to robbery, robbery, and arson.

Sigismund II August. Portrait by J. Matejko. 19th century

Following the judicial reform in 1566, a reform of the political and administrative structure was implemented. Kiev, Volyn and Bratslav provinces were formed on the lands of Ukraine-Rus. Ownership of land within one or another povet was the basis for participation in meetings of local sejmiks, through which the gentry was directly involved in government.

A series of reforms carried out culminated in the proclamation of the Second Lithuanian Statute, which consolidated the success of the gentry in turning it into a full-fledged political people, as well as constituting the formation of a class gentry power. The statute introduced fundamental changes in the political structure of the state. The Ballroom Diet, which from then on became bicameral, received the prerogatives of the legislature. The Senate, as the heir to the princely council, was formed from among the bishops, governors, castellans, as well as the highest government posts. The chamber of ambassadors consisted of delegates elected by the gentry community at meetings of the district sejmiks. The principle of electing the Grand Duke by free votes of representatives of all estates was legally fixed.

In addition, there is an accelerated convergence of the economic systems of the Grand Duchy and the Crown. The agrarian reform carried out in the Principality in accordance with the “Charters for portages” of Sigismund II August 1557, which resulted in the measurement and redistribution of land, first in the grand ducal, and later in private estates, created the conditions for the formation of a farm management system in the state.

The reforms carried out and the adopted new edition of the Lithuanian Statute turned the Grand Duchy into one of the most developed European gentry democracies. At the same time, the reforms paved the way for the unification of the Principality with the Polish Crown. The final decision on the issue of the unification of states was to be made by the general diet convened in Lublin at the beginning of 1569.

The opponents of the union were Lithuanian and Russian magnates who did not want to lose their monopoly rights to govern the state. The royal party also showed a certain passivity, considering the Grand Duchy as its inherited fiefdom.

The ideological struggle between supporters and opponents of a real union found its continuation in the course of the Lublin Diet. In response to the proposals put forward by the Polish side for a unitary structure of the united state, magnates from Lithuania first organized separate meetings of the Seimas, and soon left Lublin altogether. The demarche of the Lithuanian side cost them dearly. In their absence, on March 5, 1569, the Seim adopted a resolution on the incorporation (inclusion into its composition) of Podlasie and Volyn, a little later - the Kyiv and Bratslav provinces.

The Lithuanian aristocracy, outraged by the perfidy of the Poles, was at first ready to declare war on the Crown, but under pressure from its own gentry, it was forced to return to Lublin. The debate at the Sejm was continued, and their result was a compromise solution, providing for a combination in the union act of both unitary and federal principles. In particular, the preamble of the document stated that the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are merging into one "inseparable whole" and from two states and peoples are turning into "one general speech Commonwealth”, “one people”, led by the king of Poland, who is also the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The supreme legislative body of the state became the General Sejm, the venue of which was determined by Warsaw. The united state pursued a unified foreign policy. The gentry received equal rights throughout the state. At the same time, the Grand Duchy retained its own name and the title of its ruler, its own system of state positions, separate armed forces and financial system. The territory of the principality had its own set of laws. The ballroom Sejm adopted separate laws for the Crown of Poland, separately for the Principality of Lithuania. The magnates and gentry of the Crown were allowed to acquire land in the Principality, and vice versa.

Prince Vasily-Konstantin Ostrozhsky. 16th century portrait

Unlike the Lithuanian elite, the nobility of the Russian lands took a rather passive position in the Seimas, which negatively affected the status of the Ukrainian lands in the federal state, the titular nations of which were proclaimed by the Polish and Lithuanian elite. Representatives of the Russian chivalry did not voice their vision of the structure of the new state formation at the Sejm. The princes, on the other hand, mainly defended freedom of religion and the inviolability of local customs.

The Union of Lublin in 1569, which affected various spheres of the life of Rus'-Ukraine, was an important milestone in Ukrainian history. However, as the researchers rightly point out, contemporaries of the union did not observe any serious changes in the social and power arrangement of the Ukrainian lands that became part of the Polish Koropa. In the Kyiv region and Volhynia, the powerful princely dynasties of the Ostrozhskys, Zaslavskys, Zbarazhskys, and Vyshnevetskys remained the real rulers, as before. Having formally lost their hereditary right to seats in the Senate, the princes returned to the highest legislative chamber as governors and castellans of the Kyiv, Volyn and Bratslav provinces. And owning huge wealth and still retaining power, the princely families of Volhynia from the second half of the 16th century. penetrate into the Left-bank Kiev region and Bratslav region, actively buying up the lands of the local boyars there, which, according to the Second Lithuanian Statute, received the right to their unlimited alienation.

Kyiv. Tombstone of Prince Vasily-Konstantin Ostrozhsky. 1579

The pan-European economic situation contributes to the intensification of the economic activity of the magnates in the new lands. Its main components were the shortage of Byzantine grain and livestock, which arose as a result of the fall of Constantinople, and the massive influx after the discovery of America and the sea route to India from overseas colonies to the European markets for gold and jewelry. Only in the second half of the 16th century. prices for grain in European markets increased by 3-5 times, and this was a powerful incentive for the accelerated development of commercial agricultural production by magnates and gentry. Huge land latifundia (farms) grew on the new lands, which not only had a powerful economic potential, but also represented autonomous quasi-state formations, both in their place in the structure government controlled, and by the extent to which the legislative field of the Commonwealth spread to them.

The gold rush stimulates the economic development of sparsely populated lands on the border with nomadic peoples. At the same time, the influx of the gentry inevitably provokes a conflict with the local population, who mainly owns land on the basis of a loan, which is far from always confirmed by the relevant documentary acts. In addition, the problem of workers is especially acute in the border areas. As a result, the gentry, in relation to the hitherto free or almost free population of the border regions, seeks to introduce measures of non-economic coercion.

The processes of enslavement of the peasantry proceeded most rapidly after the adoption in 1588 of the Third Lithuanian Statute in the Western Ukrainian lands - in the Belz, Rus, Podolsk and Volyn provinces, where the duration of the panshchina often reached 5–6 days a week. In the Kiev and Bratslav regions, where state power was weaker and there was always the possibility of moving to undeveloped lands on the border with the Russian state or the Crimean Khanate, mandatory work in favor of the pan was limited to one or two, in extreme cases, three days. Nevertheless, the rapidity of social changes, as well as the possibility of armed resistance or access to free lands, provoked the maximum aggravation of social relations in the region.

Ostrozhskaya "Bible". Ostrog, 1581 Title page

Another important consequence of the Union of Lublin in 1569 stemmed from the fact that it eliminated the border dividing the Ukrainian lands into those that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian-Russian, and the lands of the Polish Crown. Union contributed to the strengthening of migration flows. Their dominant direction is the movement of educated and accustomed to secular ceremonies, but land-poor gentry from Galicia and Western Podolia to the princely courts of the magnates of Volyn, from where they eventually move to the Kiev and Bratslav regions. In a new place, they not only get the opportunity to realize their energy and skill as administrators, but also, thanks to the care of their patrons, join the ranks of local landowners. Together with the Russian gentry of the Western Ukrainian lands, many representatives of gentry corporations and other crown lands rush to the east. This, in turn, complicates the ethnic mosaic of the region, and also provokes a conflict with the local boyar service group.