Prince Olgerd is a famous Lithuanian nobleman, brother of Keistut and son of Gediminas. He ruled from 1345 to 1377, having managed to significantly expand the borders of his state. His predecessor was Prince Eunutius, and his successor was Jagiello.
Where did the name come from
There are two main versions of the origin of the name of Prince Algerd. According to the most common of them, it originates from two Lithuanian words, which in exact translation mean “hearing” and “reward”. Literally, the name translates as "known for reward."
There is another version according to which the name comes from an ancient Germanic root meaning "spear". In this case, it should be translated as "a noble spear."
Currently, there is no common position among domestic scientists and researchers even on the question of where the stress falls in the name of Prince Algerd. In Polish, it is traditionally the penultimate syllable. But in Russian-language literature, emphasis is usually placed on the second. For example, in this form, the name of Prince Olgerd is found in Alexander Pushkin.
In the most authoritative dictionaries and encyclopedias, emphasis is also placed on the second syllable. Moreover, in modern editions of encyclopedias it has already been transferred to the first.
Accession to the throne
The future Lithuanian prince Olgerd was born in 1296. When he was 22 years old, he married Maria Yaroslavovna, daughter of the Vitebsk prince. They settled in Usvyaty, now it is an urban-type settlement in the Pskov region.
In 1341, he and his brother Kuystut were invited by the Pskovians to protect their lands from the Livonian knights. At the same time, Olgerd refused to rule in this city, appointing his son Andrei as governor. He himself remained to lead Krevo (the territory of the modern Grodno region), as well as lands to the Berezina River. When his father-in-law Yaroslav died, he began to reign in Vitebsk.
After the death of the nobleman, the Principality of Lithuania was defeated between his children and his brother. The youngest of the sons - Eunutius - ruled in Vilna. According to the authoritative historian Vladimir Antonovich, he himself was not considered a grand duke. Apparently, the children of Gedimin ruled on their own, so none of them was considered the eldest over the rest.
In 1345, Keistut, in collusion with Olgerd, occupied Vilna. Brothers handed over the eunacy to Zaslavl, who was three days away from here.
City development
In the biography of Prince Olgerd, an important place was occupied by the first years of the city’s reign, when he contributed to the active construction of Orthodox churches. For example, the church of St. Nicholas, which today remains the oldest in Vilna. In the early 1340s there was a monastery on this site, in which the sister of Gediminas spent a lot of time.
1345 is considered the year when the Pyatnitskaya Church was founded, and the next year they began to build the Prechistenskaya Church. After the meeting of the Orthodox community with the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, Holy Trinity was erected.
Keistut and brother concluded an agreement between themselves, according to which they agreed to remain in the union, and share all the acquisitions equally. It is noteworthy that none of the specific princes began to oppose this order, only Narimunt and Yevnuty tried to find support abroad.
Mostly the Crusaders opposed Keistut. Olgerd focused his efforts on expanding the borders of his state at the expense of neighboring regions. He sought to strengthen his influence in Pskov, Novgorod and Smolensk. Novgorodians and Pskovs did their best to maneuver between Lithuania, Livonia and the Horde. But as a result, an influential Livonian party appeared there, which in its significance was significantly inferior to the Moscow party, but nevertheless represented a certain advantage.
Success in Smolensk
But some success was achieved in Smolensk. Olgerd defended Prince Ivan Alexandrovich, agreeing to act together.
His son Svyatoslav was in a position of complete dependence on the Lithuanian prince, for example, he had to accompany him on campaigns, as well as provide Smolensk soldiers for battles against the crusaders. Any non-compliance by Svyatoslav with these duties threatened Olgerd’s campaign in Smolensk and its devastation.
In 1350, the hero of our article married again, now to the daughter of Alexander Mikhailovich, who ruled in Tver. He himself was killed in the Horde. The new wife of Grand Duke Olgerd was called Ulyana. This happened during a dispute over reigning in Tver between the Kashin ruler Vasily Mikhailovich and Vsevolod Kholmsky, who was his own nephew. The first was supported by Prince Dmitry of Moscow, and the second by Algerd. Then for the first time between them there was a confrontation.
Chernihiv lands
Olgerd, who was a Christian, also married first to the Vitebsk and then to the Tver princess, sought to direct his efforts to liberate the Russian lands from the Tatar-Mongols. In parallel, he wanted to strengthen his influence in his native lands.
In 1355, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd conquered Bryansk, then other settlements in the district, to which the Chernigov-Seversky principality belonged, went to him. As a result, these lands were divided into several lands. Trubchevsk and Chernigov went to his son Dmitry, Novgorod-Seversk and Bryansk to the youngest Dmitry Koribut, and he gave Starodub to his nephew Patricky.
Confrontation with Kiev
In 1362, the hero of our article immediately defeated three Tatar princes on the shores of the Blue Waters. They tried to subjugate the Podolsk lands, which were recaptured by the father of Olgerd - Gedimin.
As a result, the Lithuanian prince had a significant influence over the lands in the entire district. Under his rule was the left half of the Dnieper River basin, the entire valley of the Southern Bug, the space up the Dnieper and local estuaries.
The princes of Lithuania for a long time remained in the possession of the Black Sea coast in the region of present-day Odessa. The son of Olgerd, Vladimir replaced Fedor, who reigned in Kiev from the 1320s. To take possession of Volyn, the hero of our article had to confront the Polish king Casimir III. The dispute, which lasted several years, was resolved in 1377, when Louis replaced Casimir.
With the direct mediation of Keistut, Louis and Olgerd signed an agreement. Vladimir, Beresteysky and Lutsk inheritances went to Lithuania along it, and Poland received Belz and Kholm regions.
Relations with Moscow
In 1368, Olgerd decided to attack the Principality of Moscow. First, he managed to defeat the advanced regiment led by the governor Dmitry Minin. The battle took place on the Trosny River. After that, Prince Algerd began a siege of Moscow.
True, he stood at the Kremlin for only three days, and then returned back. The result of this campaign was that for a time Moscow lost its influence on the Tver Principality.
After that, Olgerd advanced troops against the Odoyevsky principality, defeating the Russian troops on the Kholokholne River. From there, the hero of our article went to Kaluga. In Obolensk, he fought with the detachment of Prince Konstantin Ivanovich, killing him.
In 1370, the Lithuanian nobleman made another attempt to oppose Moscow. This was done after the conversion of Mikhail Tversky, who was defeated by Dmitry Ivanovich. The prince of Lithuania unsuccessfully besieged Volokolamsk, then again stood at the walls of the Kremlin, but as a result concluded a truce for six months and returned to his homeland. Moreover, the peace treaty was reinforced by dynastic marriage. Olgerd gave his daughter Elena for cousin Dmitry Ivanovich, whose name was Vladimir Andreevich.
The next campaign in 1372 ended with a ceasefire unprofitable for Lithuania. Under this agreement, Mikhail Tversky had to return to Dmitry all the Moscow cities that he had previously occupied. At the same time, Olgerd could not stand up for him, since the disputes were resolved by the Horde court. As a result, Lithuania almost completely lost its influence over Tver.
Death of a prince
The years of the reign of Prince Algerd lasted from 1345 to 1377.
After his death, he left a will that sowed discord and unrest throughout Lithuania. He bequeathed his own part of the Grand Duchy not to his eldest son from his first wife Andrei, but to his son from his second wife - Jagiello.
Personal life
There is no reliable information about Olgerd’s personal life. According to the most common version, he had twelve sons and at least seven daughters from two wives.
At the same time, information about his first wife is very contradictory, there is not even accurate information about her name.
The issue of the seniority of Olgerd’s children remains controversial. Most likely, from his first marriage with Maria or Anna, he had five sons and two daughters, and in the second marriage - eight sons and eight daughters.
The image of the prince is present at the Millennium of Russia monument; a monument to him is erected on the territory of Vitebsk.