Gedimin. Russian-Lithuanian state: device, formation, characteristics and historical facts Russian lands as part of the Lithuanian Russian state
Task 1. Underline the statements characterizing the Lithuanian Russian state under Prince Gediminas.
Task 2. Fill in the table "Russian lands as part of the Lithuanian-Russian state."
Task 3. On the contour map, shade with different colors and indicate: 1) Lithuanian lands at the beginning of the 13th century; 2) the lands of Western and Southern Rus', ceded to Lithuania in the 13th-15th centuries; 3) the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality, which were ceded to Poland in the 14th century; 4) the place of the Battle of Grunwald; 5) the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1462
Task 4. Using the materials of the paragraph, describe the relationship between the inhabitants of Russian lands and the Lithuanian princes.
The Russian lands did not experience strict control from the Lithuanian prince. They kept their customs, traditions and order of government. Russian lands paid tribute to Lithuania as a payment for maintaining calm in the territory of the state.
Task 5. Underline the correct statements. The unification of people into the Great Russian nationality was facilitated by:
Features of economic life;
Mutual language;
Preservation of local dialects;
Culture and life.
Task 6. Using the text of the textbook and the Internet, prove that the Great Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples were formed from a single ancient Russian people.
Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian come from Old Russian. Since the language is an important component of the nationality, it follows that the Great Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities were formed from a single Old Russian one.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in some historical works is called the Russian-Lithuanian state, it existed from the second third of the 13th century to 1795 on the territory of most CIS countries and combined a huge number of peoples differing from each other in origin, religion and social status. It would seem that this political unit will exist for a long time, but after the division of the Commonwealth, it has sunk into oblivion.
How did the principality come about?
Historians note that the prerequisites for the formation of the Lithuanian-Russian state appeared at the beginning of the 11th century, it was then that the first mention of Lithuania appeared in the annals. In the XII century, they began to rapidly lose their positions, life inside these formations is not even described in historical papers. The only mentions in the annals are found only in connection with the numerous battles that took place then between the Russians and Lithuanians.
In 1219, agreements were signed on the formation of a joint state between representatives of the Galicia-Volyn principality and various ethnic groups belonging to Lithuania. As the ruler, the oldest among all the princes, Mindovg, was mentioned, it was he who controlled the consolidation of the newly formed country, which took place against the backdrop of resistance to the raids of the Mongols and crusaders. There is no exact date for the appearance of this state, however, most researchers believe that it appeared in 1240 after Mindovg began to rule Novogrudok, the center of the principality.
The new ruler understood the importance of cooperation with the church, which is why he became a Catholic in 1251. The Pope of Rome conducted the inauguration of Mindaugas as a full-fledged king, after which the formation of the Russian-Lithuanian state was carried out according to standard European rules. According to some reports, the coronation took place in Novogrudok, the capital of the new political entity. In parallel with the solution of administrative issues, active work was carried out to expand the territories in the northern and eastern directions.
Mindovg committed a large number of successful raids on Poland, thereby provoking the wrath of the church. Poles, Austrians and Czechs repeatedly carried out Crusades against Lithuania, which led to in 1260. Livonia, Poland and Prussia in 1260-1262 were repeatedly subjected to devastating and devastating attacks by Mindaugas and his troops. A year later, the supreme prince was killed as a result of a conspiracy of Polotsk and Nalsha rulers. Further, power constantly changed hands between various noble families.
Who lived in this country?
Initially, it was multinational, since it included a large number of lands very different in their ethnic composition. Most of the population consisted of Balts and Slavs, the latter came from the former Russian principalities, which at one time were annexed by the Lithuanians. Subsequently, the Balts formed the Lithuanian people, and the Slavs - the Ukrainian and Belarusian, respectively.
Poles, Prussians, Germans, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Hungarians and representatives of peoples little known today also lived in the principality. Despite the fact that all operations were carried out using the Western Russian language, it was not recognized as official for a long time, this happened only in the 14th century. In the middle of the 17th century, the Polish language was chosen for office work, but they tried not to use Lithuanian in official papers.
Historians from Lithuania, who spent a lot of time searching for an answer to the question of how the Russian-Lithuanian state was formed, argue that their language was a means of communication between representatives of various classes. Belarusian scientists do not agree with them, they argue that Lithuanian was used only for communication between the lower strata of society. There is still no single point of view on this issue, however, the fact of using all the above languages is confirmed by historical documents.
How was the state governed?
The structure of the Lithuanian-Russian state largely borrowed the management techniques used in neighboring countries. All power was concentrated in the hands of the Grand Duke, the feudal lords who controlled the existence of smaller principalities and lands were subordinate to him. The ruler had the opportunity to conduct international affairs, make decisions on declaring peace or wartime, control the troops and join various associations. All legislative papers were signed by the prince and only then came into force.
In the 15th-16th centuries, there was a Rada under the princes, consisting of chancellors, governors, elders, bishops and other wealthy pans with state-administrative posts. It was assumed that she would play the role of an advisory body, but over time she began to influence the power of the prince, with which not everyone was happy, including the rulers themselves.
If you suddenly have to take an exam in history and you are asked to underline the statements that characterize the Lithuanian-Russian state, be sure to indicate the presence of the oldest noblemen in the country's governing bodies. Bishops, governors, castellans and elders could receive such a title, it was on them that most of the work in the conduct of state affairs fell. They were engaged in the preparation of decrees and their execution, the reception of foreign guests and the conduct of various audits and events.
Pan-rada exerted a great influence during meetings devoted to the conduct of hostilities. They most often advocated a position of peace between states and principalities, which is why they were often criticized by experienced governors who considered armed conflicts as a way to gain new lands and enrich their country.
Voits, burmisters and city councils acted as representatives of local authorities. The former served as governor for life, he was appointed by the prince himself, and he could not leave his post on his own. The members of the council were elected by the voit on the basis of letters received from the capital; it included artisans and merchants. By joint efforts, burmisters were further chosen, whose powers extended to urban improvement, solving current problems, creating trade conditions, etc.
The head of the city controlled the timely collection of tax taxes, monitored the situation on his territory, and in some cases even administered justice. In the settlements, meetings of the townspeople were periodically held, at which the burmisters reported on spending from the treasury, accepted petitions and complaints, and also formed financial requests for certain events. Investigations of criminal cases were also conducted at these gatherings, and decisions were often made right there. The larger the cities within the principality became, the more social inequality increased, which ultimately negated the need for meetings.
How was justice done?
Until the 16th century, the legal system of the Russian-Lithuanian state was based on the Russkaya Pravda, a code of laws created in 1468. In parallel with this, feudal practices and related customs were used in the regions. In 1529, the first edition of the Statute was created - a systematic collection of legislative acts. Over the course of sixty years, he repeatedly corresponded, and only in 1588 was it possible to accept his final version. The latter acted even after the collapse of the state in those territories that were part of it, until 1840.
Most of the courts that existed at that time had an estate character, and were assembled as needed. This was especially true for mining courts, where the victim independently gathered local residents in order to identify the perpetrators and deal with a civil offense. Despite the democratic nature of the consideration of such cases, the authorities had to control the observance of order.
As one of the features of the Lithuanian-Russian state, one should single out the transfer of state estates for maintenance to merchants and governors. The latter, although they had different incomes, had to pay a certain tribute to the prince, and by the 15th century, such a scheme began to resemble a sale. The estates could be distributed for a certain period or until the will of the sovereign was canceled, but most often they were given for life. If the governor died, then the Grand Duke most often transferred the territory to his heir.
In the middle of the 16th century, zemstvo, Podkomorsky and city courts appeared, which consisted of local representatives of the nobility with the necessary knowledge in the field of law. In the jurisdiction of these institutions were civil and criminal cases, land disputes, as well as securing transactions and earlier court decisions. All procedures corresponded to the relevant Statutes at that time.
In the Russian-Lithuanian state, there were settlements that actively applied the Magdeburg Law, which came to the country from Poland. Its essence was to free residents from taxation and various duties, in parallel with this, it was proposed to save them from jurisdiction - if they committed a non-serious crime, then it was not considered by state officials. It was far from being fully implemented, and the authorities did not allow full self-government in the cities.
In those settlements where the Magdeburg Law was carried out, collegiums of radtsov and lavniki were formed. The first had to conduct trials in civil cases, and the second had to consider criminal cases in the presence of a voit. Historical evidence proves that the existing order was very often violated: a voit could lead the councilors, and in some cases the two colleges united into a magistrate for joint decision-making.
How did ordinary people live?
If someone asks you a question: "Name the characteristic features of the Lithuanian-Russian state," remember that one of the correct answers would be the complete absence of serfdom right up to the middle of the 15th century. Up to this point, the labor force on the estates of noble people was hard-working and involuntary servants, when there were not enough people, petty bourgeois and peasants who did not obey anyone were also called to help. The development of various branches of the economy lay with the beekeepers, falconers, falconers and other classes of peasants. Craftsmen and tributaries were superior in status to taxpayers, although they also had to pay tribute.
The tax was imposed on arable land and land located on private or public territories: lakes and forests. In terms of size, they were not the same, and very often belonged to noble families, whose representatives carried out public service. The government made every effort to transfer taxation to an individual, as a result of which the peasants, one way or another, were attached to certain plots of land, and not always to their own.
If for some reason an ordinary person became impoverished, he could move to another area or even ask a noble person to serve, the authorities practically did not return them to their own places. With all this, the rights of peasants to own land extended only to each other and persons from other social strata. The Supreme Prince had a unique right in the Russian-Lithuanian state, a briefly thrown word was enough to take away the land from any peasant without its further return.
The work of civilians was controlled by the peasant authorities, consisting of the most experienced and responsible relatives. Most of the tribute they had to pay was taken in the form of oats, chickens, eggs, livestock, and it was also possible to pay it in honey, fish, coal, valuable furs. As a result, the peasants got only a small part of the products, which led to discontent among the population. The agrarian reform caused particular irritation among the inhabitants of the principality, as a result of which the total amount of taxes increased by 1.5 times.
At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, the Russian-Lithuanian state turned into a large arena for long and fierce battles. Famine, epidemic and devastation flooded the country, the number of its inhabitants decreased by 50%, villages were looted and burned as a result of peasant uprisings. Only such behavior of the inhabitants of the country forced the government to temporarily release them from an exorbitantly high tribute.
In the middle of the XVIII century Agriculture managed to restore at the same level, which the landowners did not fail to take advantage of: they again began to increase the tax. The peasants, in response to this, refused to do their work, organized escapes, and filed complaints with the courts. The process of restoring the country was constantly accompanied by skirmishes and conflicts, but they were less localized and bloody.
What parts was the country divided into?
The structure of the Lithuanian-Russian state took place throughout its existence. In the XII century, it consisted in the unification of neighboring principalities and the formation of a single center of power, which required a lot of effort from all rulers. In the XIII-XIV centuries, after fierce battles, some territories belonging to Western Rus' became part of the state. In the 15th century, the country had a new capital - Vilna, at that time the area of the principality almost reached one million square kilometers.
The beginning of the 15th century was marked by a series of changes in the structure of the Lithuanian-Russian state, it is difficult to briefly describe them even to the most experienced historian. Within the framework of the principality, voivodships appeared as large administrative units, and within them povets were formed, consisting of several volosts. The division of the country took place over several years, and the process did not always proceed peacefully.
Only at the beginning of the 16th century was the creation of voivodeships completed, while the rights of a large number of people were seriously violated. This was the reason for the implementation of a completely new administrative reform in 1565, as a result of which 11 territorial-administrative units were formed, including Minsk, Vitebsk, Novgorod and Kiev provinces. The established order lasted from 1588 until the collapse of the principality.
What was the military power of the state?
From the very moment of its appearance, the Lithuanian-Russian state needed professional army. Initially, military operations were carried out by armed groups consisting of boyars, but they were ineffective against the Polish princes and crusaders, who had vast experience. Until the end of the 14th century, each boyar had his own squad with infantry and cavalry, consisting of 300 or more squires, footmen and archers. Such military formations were the main striking force that could fight with more or less varying success.
Since the XIV-XVI centuries were a time of constant hostilities for the state, the supreme princes understood that a combat-ready army could help protect the country and not give it to the enemy for plunder. As a result, military service has become an obligatory matter for absolutely every male, regardless of his estate. At the end of the XIV century, a practice appeared when, when attacked by enemy troops, a people's militia was immediately formed, capable of fighting back.
From the point of view of conducting military affairs, the characteristic of the Lithuanian-Russian state is a typical description of a European country of the Middle Ages. In the 16th century, the principality acquired several types of cavalry at once, cavalry and professional infantry appeared in its troops. The authorities even began to resort to the use of mercenaries - immigrants from other countries and local impoverished peasants who had been engaged in military affairs all their lives and defended the state from enemy intrigues.
Did the people have aesthetic claims?
One of the main features of the Lithuanian-Russian state is that its culture has almost completely dissolved in the heritage of neighboring European and East Slavic states. Its creation was seriously influenced by the political and socio-economic factors of the surrounding countries, as a result, a certain metaculture appeared, which today can be traced in the behavior of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The principality was located on the territories belonging to these nationalities, which contributed to cultural closeness and common historical traditions.
Local residents had a religious consciousness and were mainly guided by traditional values, they liked the common cultural space that existed at that time. With its help, they resolved a large number of disputes and uncomfortable moments, the interaction of cultures can be traced in the descendants of the inhabitants of this state: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians have respect and sympathy for each other.
What religion did the inhabitants practice?
If you are writing a history test and you are asked to underline the statements that characterize the Lithuanian-Russian state, one of the correct answers would be that the territory of the principality was divided into two religious parts for a long time. In the north-west of the country, until the end of the 16th century, the people professed traditional paganism, the rest adopted Orthodoxy back in X-XI centuries within Kievan Rus.
The rulers were not satisfied with either one or the other, which is why Catholicism was actively spreading in the country. In the middle of the 16th century, Protestant reforms swept across Europe, which reached the principality. In 1596, most of the Orthodox inhabitants of the country submitted to the Union of Brest and recognized the Pope as a representative of their religion, it was then that Uniatism was formed - a special Catholic Church. Islam and Judaism were also widespread in the principality, which came there from the east in the 14th century.
Was it possible to get an education?
The state shows that writing began to spread actively here as early as the 13th century, and in the next century the first schools began to appear, where children from noble classes were sent. Those who did not have enough money could take advantage of the conditions of itinerant teachers who taught elementary literacy for a modest reward (sometimes even for food).
In the 15th century, a large number of colleges and academies appeared, where Lithuanian boyars could receive knowledge only in the Western Russian language. Since the clergy also needed qualified personnel, corresponding schools were formed at the cathedrals. Most of the graduates of these institutions later worked in churches, but there were also those who received other secular professions. In the 16th century, some educational institutions began to teach in Latin, but the Western Russian language still prevailed in the learning process until the end of the 17th century.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia is a very unusual state, at one time it was a kind of synthesis between European and Asian countries, which is why in the 16th century it acquired its own Calvinist schools. Later, Jesuit, Arian and Basilian churches also appeared here. educational establishments where, in most cases, future monks were brought up. The graduates of the institutions carried out missionary work and often passed on their knowledge to the poorer sections of the population.
Princess Sofia Alekseevna. The ruin of Moscow by Tokhtamysh. Icon. Rise of Stepan Razin. Moscow is the third Rome. Marina Mnishek. Moscow kingdom. Minin and Pozharsky. Kuzma Minin. Copper Riot. Church of the Intercession. Ivan V. Faceted Chamber. Fedor Ioannovich. Founder of the Siberian colonies. Formation of the Russian state. Moscow Rus'. English yard. Exploration of Siberia in the 17th century. Battle of Kulikovo, September 8, 1380.
"Unification of Russian lands" - What was the "price" of Ivan Kalita's achievements? Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky. Why was Chol Khan called Dudentevich in the epics? Why did Moscow become the center of the association? What are the main achievements of the Moscow princes by the end of the 50s. Baskaks. What common features of the Tver princes are emphasized by the chronicle? Walls of the city of Carcassonne (France, XIII century). Capture of Novgorod-owned Torzhok and Bezhetsky top. He married his daughter to Prince Vasily Kashinsky, who became the Grand Duke of Tver.
"Gathering lands around Moscow" - Worksheet. Fight between Moscow and Tver. Features of the process of unification of Russian lands. Missing names of princes. Politics of the Moscow princes. Annexation of Vyatka. Lithuania. Ivan III. Distribution of power. Northwestern Rus'. "Fatherland" by Daniil Alexandrovich. Rise of new Russian centers. Accession of the Tver principality. Moscow Grand Dukes. Northeast Rus'. Southwestern Rus'. Formation of a centralized state.
"Lithuanian-Russian state" - Western territories of Rus'. strife. Rus' and Lithuania. Rights of the Orthodox Church. papal embassy. Killed during strife. Orthodoxy. Significance of the annexation of Russian lands to Lithuania. Formation of the Lithuanian-Russian state. Russian and Lithuanian lands. Mindovg. Prince Mindovg. Borders. Gedimin. Character of the Lithuanian-Russian state. Hungary and Poland. Vilna. possessions.
"Formation of the Moscow State" - Unification of Russian lands around Moscow. Ideological substantiation of the policy. The formation of a bureaucracy. Politics of the Moscow princes. Rise of Tver and Moscow. Fight between Moscow and Tver. Church figures of Medieval Rus'. New ideas about power. Principles of Moscow politics in the XIV century. Territory expansion. Reform of the management system. Development of the local system.
"Feudal war of the 15th century" - Vitovt. Moscow boyars. feudal war. War for the great reign. Tamerlane. Moscow State. Basil. feudal landownership. Muscovy. Service people. Strengthening contradictions. Army of Tamerlane. Powerful forces. Construction of the wooden Moscow Kremlin. A series of diplomatic efforts. A number of feudal principalities. Ulu Muhammad. Edigey himself. Prince Vasily Dmitrievich. Grand Duke of Moscow.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, Zhamoitskoe - a strong state in the 13th - 16th centuries, located on the territories of modern Lithuania, Belarus, partly Ukraine and Russia.
The borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Brest region to the Smolensk region.
The process of formation of the principality, begun by Mindovg, ended in the 50s of the 13th century. The Principality of Lithuania included the united Lithuanian lands and part of the lands of Southern and Western Rus'.
The capital of the Lithuanian Principality is the city of Vilnia (Vilna), formerly the cities of Kernova and Novogrudok.
The official language of the principality is Old Belarusian. All codes of laws were in the Belarusian language.
The culture of the Grand Duchy developed under the influence of the traditions of the West, but at the same time relying on the Old Russian heritage. She was greatly influenced historical events, entailing changes in the political situation, socio-economic and religious.
According to the state system, the principality was officially a feudal monarchy.
But state structure The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was peculiar. Unlike Moscow, the creation of a centralized administration apparatus was hampered by the significant influence of the aristocracy and the autonomy of different lands.
Since the 15th century, the power of the prince in public administration limited the Rada of the Grand Duchy. The final state structure was determined in the 16th century during the formation of the Commonwealth with the establishment of authorities - the Senate and the Sejm.
Chronology of the main events of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th - 16th centuries
In 1236, the Lithuanians defeat the invading troops of the Order of the Sword at Saul.
1252 - Mindovg - became the first Lithuanian prince, united the Lithuanian lands.
In 1255 - all the lands of Black Rus' go to Daniil of Galicia; The unification of the Lithuanian lands is falling apart.
1260 - the victory of the Lithuanian principality over the Teutons at Durba.
1293 - the beginning of the reign of Viten. He carried out several trips to the lands of the Livonian Order. In 1307, Vyten liberated Polotsk from the German knights and annexed its territory to the Lithuanian principality.
1316 - the beginning of the reign of Gedimin, the founder of the Gedimin dynasty.
1345 - Olgerd Gediminovich became the head of the Principality of Lithuania.
Olgerd twice defeated the Teutonic Order (on the Struva - 1348, under the Boa constrictor - 1370)
1362 - Olgerd's victory over Blue Waters.
1368, 1370, 1372 - unsuccessful campaigns against Moscow in support of the Tver principality.
1377 - the beginning of the reign of Grand Duke Jagiello Olgerdovich.
Jagiello acted as an ally of the Horde in, but did not have time to join the Khan's army.
1385 - the conclusion of the Union of Krevo (union) with Poland. Catholic expansion begins in the lands of Rus'.
1392 - Vitovt Keistutovich comes to power, not agreeing with the policy of Jagiello.
1406 - 1408 - three times Vitovt attacks the Moscow principality;
1404 - he captures Smolensk;
1406 - war against Pskov.
1394 - the attack of the Teutonic Order on Samogitia.
In 1480, Casimir 4 promises to help the Golden Horde in a campaign against Moscow, but does not fulfill this promise due to the invasion of the Crimean Khan.
1487 - 1494 and 1500 - 1503. - Russo-Lithuanian wars.
1512 - 1522 - war with Russia, as a result, Smolensk was annexed to it.
1558 - 1583 - Livonian war.
1569 - formation of the Commonwealth (Unia of Lublin).
Lithuania historically formed a buffer between the Russian Slavs and the Germans, especially when the latter destroyed the tribes of the Baltic Slavs. The fact is extraordinary for the Germans, for even one German chronicler considered it extremely important event the death of the last encouraging Slav and noted him along with a tedious enumeration of the deeds of bishops and dukes.
Thus. The Lithuanian-Russian state was formed as a result of the classical vice: from the north - the Order, from the west - the Poles, from the south - the Horde. (Koyalovich M.O., Lectures on the history of Western Russia, St. Petersburg, 1864 P. 91-92).
The Tatars saved the North-East from the Germans. The order was simply afraid to invade the Dzhuchiev ulus, realizing that nothing good would come of it. As an example, we can cite the well-known case of 1269, when Prince. Yaroslav Yaroslavovich decided to attack the order together with the Novgorodians, avenging previous insults. Together with the prince, Baskak Amragan arrived in Novgorod with his son-in-law Aidar and a detachment of Tatars. The Germans of the Order, having learned that there were Tatars in the Russian detachment, "feared and trembled, sent with a great petition and sent their own gifts with many gifts, and finished off with a brow with all his will, and all the izdarish and the great Baskak and all the princes of the Tatars and Tatars; boahusya the name of the Tatar "(Quoted by: Nasonov A.N., Mongols and Russia, pp. 20-21).
Poland and Lithuania, because of the Tatars, could not gain a foothold in Galicia and Volhynia until 1348. The Podolian Horde, which roamed here in Ponysia, disturbed Poland and Lithuania with their raids through Galich, which caused several papal bulls preaching crusade against the Tatars, and the famous prince Daniel of Galicia could not think of anything better than to accept the royal title from the pope, hoping in vain that the West would help him in the fight against the Tatars. The successors of this prince were already conducting a more balanced policy. All of them were already fetters of the Tatars, regularly paying tribute, but also using the benefits of their position. Yes, book. Lev Danilovich several times led the Tatars to Lithuania and Poland, when they pressed too hard on his possessions (Fipevich I.P., The struggle of Poland and Lithuania-Rus for the Galician-Vladimir inheritance, St. Petersburg, 189O, S.5O.)
Therefore, before the death of Uzbek, the prey of Lithuania was mainly the border western Russian lands - the territory of the former Krivichi, the so-called. "Black Rus'". "White Russia", i.e. "Belarus" this part of Russia began to be called after the capture of Smolensk by Vitovt, but even before Vitovt, starting with Gediminas, the great Lithuanian princes take the title: Rex Lethowinorum et multorum Ruthenorum, in connection with which it was necessary to transfer the name of the former Reutov-Suzdal land to the west. For more details, see the explanation of this issue from V.N. Tatishchev, "Russian History", vol. 1., M.-L., 1962, pp. 355-357.
So, Lithuania enters the historical stage by the XII century. from R.H. What was she then? According to the general opinion of historians, even in the first decades of the XIII century. Lithuania was a bizarre mixture of Lithuanian clans and tribes, held together only by the weak bonds of the priestly hierarchy. It must be said that the western neighbors of Lithuania took advantage of this most of all: by the beginning of the XIII century. the Germans completely slaughtered and catholicized the large Lithuanian Prussian tribe; thus, out of the previously 8 Lithuanian tribes, 2 had already disappeared by this time; the golyad tribe disappeared earlier. * Lithuanians, in their language, public institutions, represent a real Indo-European relic.
Their language is extremely close to Sanskrit. So, Schleicher assured that the illiterate Lithuanian peasants easily understood the simple sentences he said in Sanskrit. However, already from the middle of the XVI century. the Lithuanians themselves tried to develop their own view of their history and the origin of the Lithuanian ethnos. Michalon Litvin was the first to put forward the thesis about the Latin-Roman origin of Lithuanians, basing his conclusions on extremely close parallels between Lithuanian and in Latin, For example:
As for the third tribe of the Yotvingians, we did not classify them as ethnic Lithuanians, because quite large authorities, for example, A.A. Shakhmatov, did not consider them as such. He believed that the Yotvingians were the descendants of the Avars, that part of this people who managed to break through to the north, escaping from the troops of Charlemagne. This movement of the Avars caused the movement of the tribes of the Western Slavs, Vyatichi and Radimichi to the Oka basin and the upper Volga. P.I. did not consider the Yotvingians a Lithuanian tribe either. Shafarik, - quoting the well-known Belarusian proverb "looks like a yatving"; he noticed that the racial type of the Yotvingians was clearly not Aryan. Lithuanians, as a people of Indo-European roots, racially represent the complete opposite of the Yatvingians. LATIN Lithuanian fire ignis ugnis air aer oras day dies diena God Deus Dieva man vir vyras you tu tu alive vivus gyvas etc. In a word, "After all, our ancestors, warriors and Roman citizens, once sent to the colonies, came to these lands to drive the Scythian peoples away from their borders. Or, in accordance with a more correct point of view, they were brought by the storms of the Ocean under Guy Julius Caesar " , - Michalon Ditvin. On the morals of the Tatars, Lithuanians and Muscovites, p.86. Over time, science came to a more correct point of view on this issue, the Lithuanian tribes were among the last to come to Europe and, occupying one of the inaccessible places in Eastern Europe, accordingly, they began to look for a justification for their own identity on the side late.
Above, we have already noted the extremely primitive social ties of the Lithuanians before their active interaction with the Germans in the west and the Russians in the southeast. Until the XII century. there were no cities in Lithuania, the tribes lived in separate communities, each of which was headed by its own prince. Hence, by the way, such an incredible number of Lithuanian princes, beaten in skirmishes with Russian princes, as chronicles tell us.
The only all-Lithuanian force before the separation of the top of the tribal nobility were the priests. V.B. Antonovich even believes in this connection that if Lithuania could manage to withdraw into itself, then over time the Lithuanians would develop a theocratic form of monarchy.
So, the high priest of all Lithuanians - Krive-Kriveito (pontifex maximus) was elected for life by a special priestly college of vaidelots (teachers, doctrinaires). The custom demanded that Krive-Kriveito sacrifice himself at the stake for the people if he lived to the point of decrepitude. Tradition has preserved a list of 20 high priests who did just that. The power of Krive-Kriveito was absolute and indisputable among all Lithuanian tribes. Modern German chronicles compare his power with that of the Pope.
Next to Krive-Kriveito we find Evart-Krive, the deputy pontifex maximus and simply Krive, the chiefs of the colleges of priests. Of particular interest to us should also be Krivula's collegium of judges who judged on the basis of customary law and the provisions of religion. Krivule, on behalf of Krive-Kriveito, convened people's assemblies. The position of village foreman lay on the shoulders of the Vaidelots, in whose absence this position was filled by the Virshaitoses. In addition to the named colleges, there were also colleges of schwalgons - (they made marriages); lingussons and tilissons - (funeral rites). Soothsayers, doctors, etc. enjoyed great fame. persons who were also members of the priestly colleges. Women's priestly colleges were also strictly defined, for example, waidelots, ragutins, burts, etc. It seems superfluous to say that the priestly hierarchy of the Lithuanians very much resembles the similar structures of the Brahmins of India and the ius sacrum (sacred system) ancient rome. *
The reason for the emergence of Lithuanian statehood was the contacts of Lithuanians with the tribes of Russian Slavs, who stood in the XIII century. at a higher level of cultural development than the first. In fairness, it must be admitted that the Russian princes owned the initiative from the very beginning: invading Lithuanian lands, founding fortified castles there, they, the princes, thus, as it were, dragged the Lithuanians into their internal squabbles. We find especially vivid confirmation of this in the Principality of Polotsk. It was here that the princes began to call for help from the Lithuanian detachments, the leaders of which were able to see for themselves the internal weakness of the Russian principalities.
So, in 1159, the Polotsk prince Volodar Glebovich refused to kiss the cross for peace with his opponents and went to Lithuania, to the forests, as the Ipatiev Chronicle reports. In 1162, three years later, this prince defeated, in alliance with Lithuania, the army of the Polotsk prince Rogvold Borisovich. In 1180, we met many Lithuanians in the army of another Polotsk prince Vsevolod Vasilkovich. Very early, our princes begin to take wives from Lithuania. The beginning of the next century only intensifies these processes.
Another component of the all-Russian policy in the Baltics at that time was the fight against the Germans. Thus, according to the German
Details of the pantheon of Lithuanian gods and rituals can be found, for example, in: Famitsyn A.S., Deities of the ancient Slavs, St. Petersburg, 1995, p. 101-124.
chronicles, the Germans first of all had to fight in the Baltic with the Russians; with their combat detachments, and then with the Lithuanians. (See: Heinrich of Latvia, Chronicle of Livonia, M-L., 1938, pp. 71, 73, 85, 92-93 et seq.). In general, the appearance of the Germans in the Baltic states is the result of the short-sightedness of the Polotsk princes. In 1202, one of them allowed the foundation of a fortress (Riga), and in 1212 Prince. Vladimir Polotsky had already had to refuse tribute from the Livs in favor of the Order (Ibid., p. 153). With the establishment of Tatar domination in Rus', the Germans were opposed by the Lithuanians, but not very successfully.
The first step in Lithuanian history in the true sense of the word is made by the Grand Duke Mindovg 1, who already in 1215 acts as the head of several Lithuanian princely families: Vilikail; and the Zhemoit princes: Yerdivil, Vykynt; and Rushkovichev: Kintibut, Vonibut, Butovit, Vizheik and his son Vishliy, Kitenei, Plikosova; and Bulevichi: Vishimut, kill him Mindovg and drink his wife and beat his brother, Edivip, Spudeika..." (Quoted from: Presnyakov A.E., Lectures on Russian history, v.2, issue 1, M., 1939, p.46). Over time, Mindovg becomes so strong that he switches to an active policy of seizing the western and southwestern lands of Russia. The only obstacle in his way: the Galician-Volyn prince Daniel in the south and the Tatars in the east. In 1263, Mindovg was killed by his own princes, allegedly dissatisfied with Mindovg's disdain for everything Lithuanian. It seems that this is rather a traditional version, because an active participant in the Dovmont conspiracy flees with all his family to Pskov, where he is baptized. Book himself. Dovmont is very well known to us from the Pokov Judgment Charter. Obviously, the death of Mindovg was actually caused by dynastic disputes among his close associates, and not by the Russophilia of this Grand Duke of Lithuania. The death of Mindovg caused a jam, the winner of which is Mindovg's son Voyshelk. Voyshelk was originally a fanatical pagan. The Ipatiev Chronicle characterizes the initial period of this prince’s activity in this way: “Voyshelk began to reign in Novgorodets in the abomination of fornication, and began to shed a lot of blood; to kill someone, then he is cheerful ... "However, having become a neophyte, Voyshelk is completely transformed; in the end, he goes to the monastery, the death of his father leads him out of the schema, and after the punishment of the murderers of his father, he does not find anything else but to transfer power in the Lithuanian principality to the Galicia-Volyn princes. Voyshelk was adopted by Vasilko Romanovich, the brother of Daniil Galitsky; For himself, Voyshelk adopted Shvarn Danilovich, the son of the latter. So Lithuania is actually united until the time of Troyden Romuntovich (1270) under the rule of the Galician Danilovichs. Troiden actually spent his entire reign under the sign of defending his own claims to the throne of Mindaugas from the claims of the Daniloviches.
In this era, before the accession of the new Zhmud dynasty, the founder of which was the Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341), the final Russification of Lithuania takes place. The Lithuanian-Russian state itself by the time of Gediminas' accession to 9/10 consists of the Orthodox Russian population. The written official language of Lithuania is the Russian idioma Ruthenuva, as Michalon Litvin complained, and the Cyrillic alphabet (Literas Moscovitas) was replaced by the Latin alphabet only at the end of the 16th century, when the first monuments written in Lithuanian actually appear. The baptism of Lithuania took place, as is known, in 1387.
The fact that Lithuania preferred Latin to Cyrillic and Catholicism to Orthodoxy, thus dooming itself to an internal conflict, can only be explained from the standpoint of the fear that the Lithuanians nurtured about absorption of themselves and their culture into Russian culture. In some ways, they resemble the Khazars, who adopted Judaism as an alternative to Islam and Christianity, thereby emphasizing their independence from their opponents in the West and South. Lithuania, perfectly understanding the ephemerality of the legitimacy of its rule over the Orthodox Russian lands, tried to prolong its agony, relying on the Catholic West. Although, given the specific circumstances, Lithuania tried that year (1387) to find help against the Order, partly accepting the religion of its opponent and thus, as it were, depriving the fight against it of any sense. However, the most natural step towards acquiring integrity was missed by the elite of Lithuanian society and very soon became a mere appendage of Poland.
At the time of Gediminas, the first clash between Lithuania and Moscow also falls. Novgorod was the bone of contention. In general, Novgorod and other Russian lands, which were under the rule of the Tatars, were extremely necessary for Lithuania in its struggle with the Order. Especially Novgorod, the possibility of possession of which provided an extremely advantageous strategic position: the entire land border of the Order would be under direct attack from Lithuania-Rus. In addition, Novgorod is an important economic leverage. It now becomes clear why Gediminas hurried to support the fugitive prince of Tver. But it was not there. In 1338 behind the figure of Ivan Kalita loomed the formidable figure of Uzbek with all the might of the Golden Horde. It is in Gediminas' desire to find an advantageous strategic position in the fight against the Order that one should, in our opinion, look for the reason for drawing Lithuania into the Great Russian affairs in the future, and not Gediminas' conscious desire to unite all Russian lands under his rule, which the traditional point of view insists on, for example: .B. Antonovich, A.E. Presnyakov.
The fact that such a line is possible and appears among the later princes, especially Vitovt, simply speaks of a change in the position of Moscow in relation to the Tatars. As soon as the Battle of Kulikovo took place (1380), which proved the possibility of confronting a large mass of Tatar troops, the Lithuanian princes began to realize this task for themselves. But the possibility of its desirable implementation was soon put a fat cross in the battle on the Vorskla River in 1399. Regardless of the outcome of the case, fighting Moscow for Lithuania meant fighting the Horde, which is clearly indicated by the fact that Dzhanibek sent Olgerd ambassadors to Simeon the Proud in 1350
In general, it should be noted that the Lithuanian-Russian state is extremely unlucky with princes after Gediminas. First comes Olgerd*,
* Here, for example, is how the Moscow chronicler characterizes Olgerd: “This Opgerd is wise without zeal and speaks many languages and surpasses dignity and power more than anyone else; always day and night about your power; and you turn away drunkenness: you don’t drink wine and beer, and honey, and all drinking drunkenness, by no means hating drunkenness, and the great abstinence of the name in everything, and from this drunkenness you will gain reason and wisdom, and a strong thought acquiring, and by such deceit many lands and countries of war, and hails and reigns caught for himself, and holding back to fall into greatness, and multiply his reign more than all, his father is lower, his grandfather is taco below. him, where it is more meaningful to go, or for which he takes a lot of armies, even though they themselves
these militant ranks and the whole army, not knowing where they are going: neither their own, nor strangers, nor alien guests; in the sacrament, everything is done wisely, but the news does not leave the earth on it, but it wants to go to the army, and with such cunning all things are done wisely ... and be afraid of him at all, and surpass reigning and wealth. "Quoted by: Antonovich V.B ., UK.cit., pp. 83-84 By the way, as GV Vernadsky noted in his time, Olgerd's character was very reminiscent of Ivan III, his direct descendant in the third generation.
Jagiello, and, finally, Vitovt, who turned out to be a very serious rival of Moscow. So it gives the Moscow Rurikovich a lot of honor that they were able to sit out such serious opponents. It seems to us that, apart from Dmitry Donskoy, none of the Moscow Rurikovichs dared to enter into open combat with them, hiding behind the Tatars in emergency situations and firmly insisting on what had already been achieved. Under Basil II, and especially under his son Ivan III, the situation changes dramatically and Lithuania is forced, in order to resist the dispute with Moscow, to turn to Poland for help, help, of course, not selfish.
Lithuania, in its internal state, was never able to develop its own modus vivendi of state communication, finding in copying the Polish system a catalyst for the destruction of its own statehood. Moreover, starting from Vytautas, with the final assignment of Kyiv to Lithuania, the thesis about the true location of the Russian metropolis emerges from oblivion. The ecclesiastical dispute about the location of the metropolitan see only stimulated the departure of the Western Orthodox and their falling into union with the Roman bishop. The Union of Florence added fuel to the fire. Ultimately, the question of faith only provoked the disintegration of the Lithuanian-Russian state; forced Catholicization, expressed in a ban on building new and repairing old Orthodox churches (1481) and in religious persecutions unleashed after the Union of Brest in 1595, naturally played on the opposite goal, not on the unity, but on the split of society. In this case, the Lithuanians, lacking the much-needed tact that the Tatars and Russians ultimately possessed, failed to rise to a true understanding of their role among Orthodox subjects.
Since 1500, service people have been resettled from Lithuania to Moscow. A significant stimulus for their resettlement was the fact that at home in Lithuania, the Orthodox could not occupy a high social position, despite their generosity and wealth; Moscow, on the contrary, provided a wide field of activity.
Power in the Lithuanian-Russian state was determined in a stable form when the Lithuanian state itself ceased to exist independently and was absorbed by Poland in the so-called. "Rzhechi Commonwealth", in its type - "parliamentary union". The entire period of independent (up to 1385) existence of Lithuania can be defined as the time of impunity (except for cases of Tatar opposition) seizure of Russian lands, when Lithuania, taking advantage of the weakness of its neighbors, pursued an active policy of conquest. For the most part, this is a specific period when the Russian princes were guaranteed their own inheritance, subject to joining Lithuania. At the same time, this is the period when the great Lithuanian princes cannot decide on their successors in any way and divide the already united state again into destinies exactly as Yaroslav the Wise did; and only the natural decline of the Gediminoviches, due to the battle on the Vorskla River and other upheavals, allows Vitovt to stand out against the general gray background of the serving boyars and princes.
Starting from Vytautas (1392-1430) and until the Union of Lublin in 1569, Lithuania gradually slides into the abyss of small-town feudalism, when, having experienced an unprecedented rise under Vytautas, Lithuania begins to experience an unprecedented pressure from the East. At that time, a small estate system was being formed here, which was completely devoid of a hierarchical center, as A.E. Presnyakov figuratively put it: "a patrimonial state was not created from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania." (Lectures on Russian history, vol. 2, issue 1, p. 104). The Lithuanian-Russian state is an amorphous conglomerate of lands, aptly referred to in our literature as "annexes"; and out of these appendages, deprived of the salutary anchor of autocracy in the stormy sea of aristocratic democracy, a common appendage to the no less anarchic Kingdom of Poland is being formed. We must not forget that at that time the absence of a dynasty was tantamount to the absence of statehood.
In addition, the fundamental issue of Lithuanian statehood proper has not yet been resolved in science. It is very favorably set off by the example of the emergence and operation in the Lithuanian-Russian state of national assemblies (valny soyms). There are two main points of view here.
One point of view was expressed by M.K. Lyubavsky: “A close and lasting connection of Lithuania with Poland became possible only when, in these relations, and not only in external interests, Lithuania came close to Poland, when Litvin in Poland began to find something the same as at home and at home the same as in Poland." (Lithuanian-Russian Seim, M., 1901, p.6).
Another point of view, rather functional in nature, was presented by N.A. Maksimeiko: “Even after the formation of the general Lithuanian Seimas, issues of legislation and the court were often resolved at the Seimas of individual regions ... Another thing is measures that somehow related to the protection of the state, they It follows from this that the needs of the military struggle and the defense of the state constituted the building foundation of the Lithuanian-Russian Seimas, while the functions of legislation and the court only came to its competence: it means that cases of the first category were necessarily considered at the Seimas, cases of the second category only for reasons of convenience." (Diets
Lithuanian-Russian state before the Union of Lublin in 1569, Kharkov, 1902, p.51). Accordingly, the reason for the emergence of the Seimas in Lithuania should be sought in itself.
These two points of view actually testify to the struggle between two principles within the Lithuanian self-consciousness. Where, in fact, did Lithuania acquire the idea of its statehood? And then, to which world should Lithuania be ranked? The answer is obvious, and even Lithuanian nationalists are forced to admit in it that Lithuania has not played and cannot play any independent significance - its destiny is the destiny of an outpost of the West in the East. Therefore, the answer is obvious, developed in great detail by Polish historiography, in this case M.K. Lyubavsky only voiced it: Lithuania received its statehood from Poland.
There are several main arguments here.
Firstly, the Kreva Union of 1385, despite the seeming independence of Lithuania, quite significantly knocked it down. The Grand Duke Vytautas himself, under whom Lithuania reached its heights and was about to swallow Moscow, was in fact not an independent sovereign in his land; he was not a sovereign jure suo, but only a lifelong ruler, according to the terms of the Ostrovsky agreement of 1392.
Secondly, literally from the very beginning of their history, the Lithuanian Seimas met not to resolve the issue of war and peace with Moscow, or with the Order, but to review or approve a new union with Poland. So it was in 1385, in 1401, in 1413 - the Sejm of Grodel, for example, was generally convened solely to revise the union agreement.
Thirdly, from the analysis of the modus "a operandi of the Poles in relations with Lithuania, it is clear that they sought to raise the Lithuanians to their own level, which mainly resulted in the propaganda of the gentry ideology and its active calling to political existence.
Fourthly, the final political physiognomy of Lithuania was determined when it firmly connected its fate with the West and Poland. The Poles, in general, from 1385, sought to consider Lithuania as part of their state, and not as another, independent state.
The final conclusion from all of the above, I think, will be that the foundations of the Lithuanian statehood, from the very beginning possessing the elementary nature of an aggressive being, later turned into the artificial foundations of the military task of the Lithuanian-Russian state, which ultimately led to its collapse. Indigenous Lithuania, divided between Poland and the Order, played the role of a cargo that dragged southern and western Rus' to the bottom.
TERRITORIAL DEVICE According to the terminology of that time
OF THE LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN STATE, everything is Lithuanian-Russian
the state before the Polish absorption was divided into two general parts: omnes terrae Lithuaniae - the Lithuanian lands proper, native Lithuania, Zhmud; and terrae Russiae, Lithuanias subjectas - Russian principalities subordinate to the authorities of the Lithuanian state proper. The internal structure of these lands was determined and regulated by statutory zemstvo charters, exactly the same in their purpose as the statutory charters of the Moscow principality.
It should be noted here that the Lithuanian charters that have come down to us: Vitebsk land in 1503 and 1509, Kiev land in 1507 and 1529, Volyn land in 1501 and 1509, Smolensk land in 1505, etc., are much more detailed than the statutory letters of the Moscow princes. True, all Great Russian letters are older than Lithuanian ones and were issued under completely different circumstances than their Western counterparts. The internal structure of the appanages of Moscow and Lithuania is completely different in their orientations: the general princely power in Moscow is only strengthening, the specific princes are transferred to the center, in Lithuania the princes are not transferred, they are left to themselves and nothing is required of them except military service; in Moscow, the class principle, the principle of separating the population by rigid partitions, temporarily triumphed only in late XVIII Art.; in Lithuania already by the beginning of the 15th century. we see a strong estate organization and, as a consequence of this, the absence of the necessary state unity etc.
Cities in the Lithuanian-Russian state receive control under the Magdeburg law, as it was said in one act: "that place is ours from the law of Lithuanian and Russian, and which, if it is first kept in the right of the German Maidebor, was changed to perpetual hours." This seemingly progressive decision, in fact, soon led to the dominance of Germans and Jews in urban life, on the one hand, and on the other hand, cities lost contact with their district-land, as was the case in ancient Russian state. The Grand Duke's power also lost contact with the urban communities, because the latter were now obliged only to regularly pay taxes, but the rights of participation of the townspeople (from the Polish "town" i.e. "city", hence the "petty bourgeois" - "townspeople" translated into Russian) in the Great Valny Soyms they were completely taken away. As a result, the land existed on its own, its cities - on their own. Only the gentry had such a right: "Inhabitants of one city thus constituted the category of philistines. But the inhabitants of all cities in the state did not legally constitute the estate of urban residents" (Yasinsky M., Statutory zemstvo letters of the Lithuanian-Russian state, Kiev, 1889, p. 21- 22). Drawing an analogy with
Moscow, you can see that in Lithuania there were no townspeople, although there were philistines.
It is characteristic, but the ratio of statutory charters in Moscow and Lithuania looks exactly the same: the population's petition about the loss of the old charter due to its dilapidation, references to the neighbors' orders, to the old days: "because we do not destroy the old, but we do not introduce new ones, we sweep, as it was for the Grand Duke Vytautas and for Zhikgimont", we read, for example, in the Kiev charter of 1507.
The content and structure of the Lithuanian-Russian statutory charters is similar to those in Moscow. Here we meet the promise of the central government not to give the newly annexed regions into private ownership: "But Viteblyany is not given to us by anyone," we read in Vitebsk 1502. in Polotsk in 1511. In detail, much more detailed than in Moscow samples, a kind of Habeas corpus act of the Lithuanian-Russian population is pronounced: will, and which the voivode will dislike to them, but they will wash him before us, otherwise we will give the voivode a different one, according to their will, "- Vitebsk 1503:" To the headman whom we would like to mark, we give it to them, but after all, with ours will," - Zhmudskaya 1492; service benefits: "and Vitblyan is not sent to the outpost anywhere," - Vitebsk 1503; judicial guarantees: “And which Polochan has something to complain about violence against a Polochan, having arrived in Lithuania alone, without a plaintiff: don’t send us a detsky from Lithuania, write us your letter to our governor, at least with mortal guilt, -” Polotsk 1511; "And the ancestors of our great princes do not judge the courts," or "but do not judge your own courts," - Vitebsk 1503; "and without the right we don’t execute people, but don’t destroy, and don’t take away our estates; if someone calls something, having laid siege to something, the right will indicate that the guilty one is to be executed through his fault. otherwise, you can’t execute him with any guilt, neither with wealth, nor with shyya (death penalty - M.I.): put a lie on a clear court of Christians - Christian one who vads, and the one who is important, and having looked between them, the right to incriminate ", - in the Kiev charter of 1507; The right of petitions was also not ignored: “and we will receive petitions from Vitblyan” - Vitebsk 1503. Finally, church affairs stand apart. Here, at this point, perhaps, the main reason for the instability of Lithuanian statehood was observed, despite the fact that in the Smolensk charter of 1505 it was solemnly proclaimed: "For the first time, we shall not destroy the Greek law of Christianity, we shall not impose taxes on their faith."
Likewise, statutory charters regulated class rights and privileges (privileges), local government, financial management; traditional for such acts are issues of civil law and procedure, as well as the norms of criminal law and process.
However, immediately after the death of Vitovt (1430), the struggle between Svidrigailo and Sigismund acquires a national coloring. All Russian lands are behind the first, native Lithuania is behind the second. Moreover, some military positions: governor, headman, castellan, marshal, etc. in the lands became available from now on only for persons fidelis catholicae cultores, i.e. for Catholics. The Lithuanian grand dukes, it would seem, do not violate anything, they guarantee the Orthodox what they already have by right of prescription (usucapio), but they do not at all guarantee them a new state, which is ensured only for the Catholics.
CENTRAL In addition to statutory letters in the Lithuanian-Russian
GOVERNING the state for its internal organization
a special role was played by such nationwide acts as privileges, especially privileges led. book. Alexander, published in 1447. In this act, representative forms of government are finally established, restrictions on central power are established.
The Grand Duke under this act undertakes to negotiate with foreign states only with the consent of the Sejm, he is forbidden by his power to issue acts that contradict the acts of the Sejm; he cannot legislate at all without a Diet; awards, especially large ones, are also made with the consent of the Sejm; and perhaps most importantly, taxes are henceforth collected only with the consent of the Diet.
The competence of the Diet itself will look like this:
Election of the Grand Duke;
Regulation of the gentry military service; -establishment of financial duties and taxes;
Conclusion of state loans;
Legislation.
Finally, at the Vilna Seim in 1566, Grand Duke. Sigismund II Augustus made the following promise, which was subsequently entered into the Lithuanian Statute of 1566: Ill, Article 7: "We and our descendants, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, with the need for speech, have drunk for the joy of our glad people of the same panship, but for the sake of chivalry, fold the Diets in the same panate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania forever, if it is necessary" . Undoubtedly, aristocratic democracy was only strengthened by the final absorption of Lithuania by Poland.
The central power itself, in the person of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, also went through several periods, as well as the formation of the Lithuanian-Russian state, its representative government.
Initially, the power of the Grand Duke resembles the type of power of the great Kyiv prince. In Lithuania, we meet exactly the same distribution of destinies among the sons of the prince, as in the ancient Russian state. There is no single sovereign dynasty. As we have already emphasized above, the last historical dynasty, the Gediminids, dissolved over time among specific principalities, whose striped pattern was then represented by Western Rus'. Inheritance of the grand-ducal table among the Lithuanians followed the rule of minority - the table of the fathers was inherited by the youngest son; so Gediminas handed over his table (in Vilna) in 1343 to his youngest son Eunutius; another thing is that two years later Yevnutiy was driven from the grand duke's table by his brother Olgerd. Olgerd himself left his throne to his youngest son Jagiello, whose brother Vitovt was appointed ruler of all Lithuania, while his brother Jagiello became king of Poland and Lithuania.
It is known that Vytautas was going to split off Lithuania from Poland; to this end, he was even going to be crowned. The crown itself, which was sent to him by the Emperor of the German Empire, was intercepted by the Poles, and, as you know, this insult to a large extent caused a nervous shock that provoked Vitovt's fatal illness. Lithuanians choose their own prince every time after the death of Vytautas and until the moment of the final entry into Poland, i.e. to the Union of Lublin; it was exactly the same with the king in Poland. According to the figurative expression of the historian, the Lithuanians, as it were, raised a prince for themselves, just as the Novgorodians did.
Since 1569, the Commonwealth has been a union - a union state with one monarch on two thrones. In this state, the electoral system was finally established.
The monarch began to look more like a president for life. This system lasted until the last Polish king, Stanisław-August Poniatowski.
The competence of the Grand Duke was generally traditional for a large feudal lord of that time. However, at the same time, it experienced the strongest influence of the multi-ethnic territory on which this state was formed. The analogy closest in essence here is possible with the Spanish state, the process of formation of which intensified approximately in
period under consideration.
The power of the Lithuanian Grand Duke is based in the period we are considering on a contractual basis; it's not in last turn also due to the fact that the Grand Dukes of Lithuania were unable to establish a strict system of succession to the throne of the Grand Duke, which we meet in Moscow; moreover, the Lithuanians quite early pass to the election (election) of their Grand Duke, which does not at all contribute to the firmness and unity of the central government. All this results in the fact that the Grand Dukes are forced to conclude a series of treaties (pacta convenanta) with their subjects, of which we can distinguish two major types. These are privileges and letters of commendation. The first kind of documents is issued to entire estates of the state, the second - to individual lands - annexes.
The ratio of such agreements is clearly visible, for example, in Casimir's letter of commendation of 1457: such caresses are comforting." (Vladimirsky-Budanov M.F., Reader of the history of Russian law, issue 2, p. 20).
Again, ratio, i.e. The main reason for this kind of humiliation of the central government in front of the periphery is not only the inability of the government itself to establish itself in the form of a rigid domini-it "a and imperium" a, but also the lack of a clearly developed idea of the state among the Poles and Lithuanians. The state is not an apartment with all conveniences, the state is, in the figurative expression of G. W. F. Hegel, the embodiment in reality of the idea - "this real God." The state is a strict hierarchy; a hierarchy sanctioned by a firmly defined idea.
However, it is worth asking the hypocritical question: what for what? The state is for the individual or vice versa? This is how the mythologized consciousness tries to fight what it cannot understand; the way out, therefore, is to trivialize, to reduce the high human aspiration to the realm of the base, animal, totalitarian. But the thought of a person, its structure - this is the state; the state of this particular person!
So let's repeat. We have before us the purest pacta convenanta, not the realized dominium. This is not power, but a contract, an agreement on mutual recognition and acceptance of obligations. In fact, it is not a state at all. In any more or less state-owned community, the reason for such a state formation is power in itself, and not the myth of the common good, etc.
The legislative function of the Grand Duke of Lithuania could only be carried out in unity with the Great Walled Soym (Seim) on the one hand, and on the other hand, with the direct participation of the population that submitted the petition. The latter is especially well seen from the content of letters of commendation: "Princes and boyars and servants of Vitebsk beat us with a cholom, and the townspeople of the place of Vitebsk, and all the land of Vitebsk," we read in the Vitebsk charter of 1503; "Vladyka Joseph of Smolensk beat us with a cholom, and the Smolensk okolnichii, and all the princes, and the Panovs and boyars, and the townspeople and mountain people, and all the embassy of the place and land of Smolensk," - the Smolensk statutory charter of 1505, etc.
We certainly read about the first case of legislation by the Sejm, for example, in the preamble of Casimir's Sudebnik of 1468: "Live us with the princes and with the pans - with the joy of our Grand Duchy of Lithuania and with all the embassy having guessed, we arranged it like this ...".
Perhaps what distinguishes the Grand Duke is his right of court. In civil law, the position of the Grand Duke "his property" seems to be no higher than the position of other service classes; see Regulations, see art. 9, 11, 22 Sudebnik of 1462. At the same time, reserved property is known, which is equal in status to the treasury.
The apparatus of state power in Lithuania is represented by a detailed ladder of service ranks. Orders - positions - experienced the strongest influence of Poland and Germany, through the Magdeburg Law.
So, the general scale of orders in Lithuania was as follows.
Hetman (from German Hauptman) has been known in Lithuania since 1512. He was the commander-in-chief of the army and the highest military court. He had the right to life and death of the defendant. The post of hetman, as a rule, was combined with other higher regions like the chancellor.
Chancellor. It was formed, according to Academician K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin (Russian History, vol. 2., issue 1., St. Petersburg 1885, p. 59), from the position of a clerk under the Grand Duke. It has been mentioned since 1450. The chancellor was the official notary of the state.
Podkarby earthly and yard. The essence of the financial management of the state. Treasury - treasury. The first was engaged in accounting and distribution of incoming taxes, the second managed state property.
Governor. Corresponded to our governors, and later - to the governors themselves. These are typical palatines - representatives of the center (in this case, the "Palace") in the administered territory. Officers were subordinate to the voivode. They helped the governors to administer justice, we find a certain analogue for them in our bailiffs, etc. referee staff. Among the general mass of police officers, there were also so-called "spy officers" - persons of the Palace Administration, such as: the krai, kuhmistr, podkamornik, butler, etc., who constituted the apparatus of the yard's treasurer. The governors themselves are very often referred to in the acts as "derzhavtsy".
In addition to the officers, the local apparatus of the palatine Office included the so-called. "castellans". The first mention of them occurs already in 1387. At the same time, until 1516 there were only two castellans in Lithuania, after this date, castellans were appointed to each land of the voivodship.
Warden. Unlike Rus', the headman in Lithuania is not the head of the community, but of the whole land. In them we meet a rudiment of the power of the former specific princes. Distinctive feature This position was that it (the position) was inherited.
Lithuania is also known for its class division. Very early in the Lithuanian-Russian state, bodies of class administration were established, of which "marshals" and "voits" attract our attention.
"Marshals" are representatives of the gentry who represent its interests before the central and local authorities.
"Voyty" (from German Vogt) appeared in the urban communities of Lithuania along with the Magdeburg Law. In essence, Voight is the headman of the city community.
In addition to the above-mentioned general positions in Lithuania, there was also a wide variety of minor ranks: a cornet - a standard-bearer, a tyun, a mayor, etc.
The whole history of this state was saturated with artificiality. It was supposed to fall by itself after the disappearance of its main task - to contain the aggression of the Order. Therefore, when Ivan the Terrible inflicted a crushing defeat on the Order, only a happy accident - union with Poland and
the subsequent Troubles in the Moscow state, the existence of this ugly product of Russian separatism for another two centuries.
arstve - extended
