The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in some historical works is called the Russian-Lithuanian state, it existed from the second third of the XIII century to 1795 in the territory of most CIS countries and combined a huge number of peoples that differ from each other in origin, religion and social status. It would seem that this political unit would exist for a long time, but after the division of the Commonwealth, it sank into oblivion.
How did the principality appear?
Historians note that the preconditions for the formation of the Lithuanian-Russian state appeared at the beginning of the XI century, it was then that the first mentions of Lithuania appeared in the annals. In the XII century, Russian principalities began to rapidly lose their positions, life inside these entities 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 between the Russians and Lithuanians then.
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 held the inauguration of Mindovg 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 was carried out in Navahrudak - 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 north and east direction.
Mindovg made a large number of successful raids on Poland, thereby causing the anger of the church. Poles, Austrians and Czechs repeatedly held Crusades against Lithuania, which led to the severance of diplomatic relations in 1260. Livonia, Poland and Prussia in 1260-1262 were repeatedly subjected to devastating and devastating attacks of Mindovg and his troops. A year later, the supreme prince was killed as a result of a conspiracy of the Polotsk and Nalshan rulers. Further, power constantly passed from hand to hand between various noble families.
Who lived in this country?
The Russian-Lithuanian state was initially multinational, since it included a large number of lands of different ethnic composition. Most of the population consisted of the 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 - Ukrainian and Belarusian, respectively.
The Principality was also inhabited by Poles, Prussians, Germans, Jews, Armenians, Italians, Hungarians and representatives of today's little-known peoples. Despite the fact that all operations were conducted using the West Russian language, it was not recognized as official for a long time, this only happened in the XIV century. In the middle of the XVII 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, claim 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 layers of society. There is 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 ruled?
The structure of the Lithuanian-Russian state in many respects 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 obeyed him. The ruler had the opportunity to conduct international affairs, make decisions on the declaration of peace or wartime, control troops and join various associations. All legislative papers were signed by the prince and only then entered into force.
In the XV-XVI centuries, under the princes, there was a Council consisting of chancellors, governors, elders, bishops and other wealthy lords with state and administrative posts. It was understood that she would play the role of an advisory body, but over time she began to exert influence on the prince’s power, which not everyone was happy with, including the rulers themselves.
If you suddenly have to take an exam in history and you are asked to emphasize the statements characterizing the Lithuanian-Russian state, be sure to indicate the presence of the oldest pan-members in the country's governing bodies. Such a title could be given to bishops, governors, coughtans, and elders; it was they who laid the bulk of the work of conducting state affairs. They were involved in the preparation of decrees and their implementation, the reception of foreign guests and various audits and events.
Pana-rada had a tremendous influence during the meetings devoted to the conduct of hostilities. They most often argued for a position of peace between states and principalities, which is why they were often criticized by experienced voivods who considered armed conflict as a way to get new lands and enrich their country.
Representatives of the local government were the voites, burmists and city councils. The first served as governor for life, he was appointed by the prince, and he could not leave his post on his own. The members of the council were chosen by voit on the basis of letters received from the capital, it included artisans and merchants. Together, burmisters were chosen further, whose powers extended to urban improvement, the solution of current problems, the formation of trading 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. Meetings of petty bourgeoisie were periodically held in settlements, at which the bourmisters reported on spending from the treasury, received petitions and complaints, and also formed financial requests for certain events. Criminal investigations were also conducted at these gatherings, and often it was there that decisions were immediately made. The larger the cities within the principality became, the greater the increase in social inequality, which ultimately nullified the need for meetings.
How was justice done?
Until the sixteenth century, the legal system of the Russian-Lithuanian state was based on the “Russian Truth” - the code of laws created in 1468. In parallel with this, feudal practice and the corresponding customs were used in the regions. In 1529, the first edition of the Statute was created - a systematic collection of legislative acts. For sixty years, he corresponded several times, and only in 1588 was it possible to accept its final version. The latter acted even after the collapse of the state in the territories that were part of it, until 1840.
Most of the ships that existed at that time were of a class nature, and assembled as necessary. This was especially true for the mock ships, where the victim independently gathered local residents to identify the perpetrators and deal with the civil offense. Despite the democratic nature of the consideration of such cases, the authorities had to control the observance of order.
One of the features of the Lithuanian-Russian state is the transfer of state estates for maintenance to merchants and governors. The latter, although they had different incomes, had to pay the prince a certain tribute, and by the 15th century a similar scheme began to resemble a sale. The estates could be handed out for a certain period or until the sovereign’s will was canceled, but most often they were given for life. If the governor was dying, the grand duke most often transferred the territory to his heir.
In the mid-sixteenth century, zemstvo, sub-maritime and city courts appeared, which consisted of local representatives of the nobility, possessing the necessary knowledge in the field of law. The jurisdiction of these institutions included civil and criminal cases, land disputes, as well as securing transactions and earlier court decisions. All procedures were in compliance with the Statutes relevant at that time.
In the Russian-Lithuanian state, there were settlements that actively applied Magdeburg law, which came to the country from Poland. Its essence was to exempt residents from taxation and various duties, at the same time it was proposed to relieve them of jurisdiction - if they did not commit a serious crime, then it was not considered by government officials. It was far from being fully implemented, and the authorities did not allow complete self-government in the cities.
In those settlements where Magdeburg law was being implemented, collegia of radts and shopkeepers were formed. The first had to conduct litigation in civil cases, and the second - in the presence of vojt to consider criminal cases. Historical evidence proves that the existing order was very often violated: the voight could lead the radts, 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: “What are the characteristic features of the Lithuanian-Russian state”, remember, one of the options for the correct answer would be the complete absence of serfdom right up to the middle of the 15th century. Up to this point, the labor force in the estates of noble people was a heavy and involuntary servants, when there were not enough people, the bourgeoisie and peasants who did not obey anyone were also called for help. The development of various branches of the economy lay on the storages, falconers, kennel and other classes of peasants. The artisans and tributaries in their position were above the grave, although they also had to pay tribute.
The tax was applied on arable land and land located in private or public areas: lakes and forests. They were not the same in size, and very often belonged to noble families, whose representatives served in the 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 a simple person became poor, he could go to another station or even ask a noble person to serve, the authorities practically did not return them to their places. With all this, the rights of peasants to own land extended only to each other and to people from other social strata. The High Prince had a unique right in the Russian-Lithuanian state, a briefly abandoned word was enough to take the land from any peasant without its further return.
The work of civilians was controlled by peasant authorities, consisting of the most experienced and responsible relatives. Most of the tribute that they needed to pay was taken in the form of oats, chickens, eggs, livestock, and it was also possible to pay it with honey, fish, coal, and valuable furs. As a result, the peasants received only a small part of the products, which led to the discontent of the population. 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.
In the late XVII and early XVIII centuries, the Russian-Lithuanian state turned into a large arena for long and fierce battles. Hunger, 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 country's inhabitants forced the government to temporarily release them from exorbitantly high tribute.
In the middle of the XVIII century, agriculture was restored at the same level, which the landowners did not fail to take advantage of: they again began to increase the supply. The peasants in response to this refused to do their job, arranged shoots, filed complaints with the courts. The process of rebuilding the country was constantly accompanied by skirmishes and conflicts, but they were less local and bloody.
What parts was the country divided into?
The device of the Lithuanian-Russian state took place throughout its existence. In the XII century, it consisted in uniting the principalities located nearby and forming a single center of power, which required a lot of effort from all the rulers. In the XIII-XIV centuries, after fierce battles, some territories belonging to Western Russia entered the state. In the XV century, the country had a new capital - Vilna, at that time the area of the principality almost reached a million square kilometers.
The beginning of the 15th century was marked by a series of changes in the structure of the Lithuanian-Russian state, and it’s hard to tell about them even to the most experienced historian. In the framework of the principality, voivodships appeared as large administrative units, and within them the districts consisting of several volosts were formed. The division of the country took place over several years, and the process was far from always peaceful.
Only at the beginning of the XVI century the creation of the voivodship was completed, while the rights of a large number of people were seriously violated. This was the reason for a completely new administrative reform in 1565, as a result of which 11 territorial-administrative units were formed, including Minsk, Vitebsk, Novgorod and Kiev voivodships. The established order existed 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 a professional army. Initially, military operations were carried out by armed groups consisting of boyars, but they were ineffective against the Polish princes and crusaders with great experience. Until the end of the XIV century, each boyar had his own squad with infantry and cavalry, consisting of 300 or more squire, foot and archers. Such military formations were the main striking force that could lead battles with more or less variable success.
Since the XIV-XVI centuries for the state were a time of constant hostilities, the high 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 absolute must for every male, regardless of his class. At the end of the fourteenth century, a practice appeared when, during an attack by enemy troops, a militia was immediately formed that could fight 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 XVI century, the principality acquired several varieties 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 machinations.
Did the people have aesthetic claims?
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The locals had a religious consciousness and mainly focused on traditional values, they liked the common cultural space that existed at that time. With it, they resolved a large number of disputes and uncomfortable moments, the interaction of cultures can be traced to the descendants of the inhabitants of this state: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians have respect and sympathy for each other.
What religion did the people practice?
If you are writing a history test and you are asked to emphasize the statements characterizing the Lithuanian-Russian state, one of the correct answer options would be that the territory of the principality has long been divided into two religious parts. In the north-west of the country, until the end of the 16th century, people professed traditional paganism, the remainder converted to Orthodoxy in the X-XI centuries as part of Kievan Rus.
The rulers did not like either one or the other, which is why Catholicism was actively spreading in the country. In the middle of the XVI century, Protestant reforms swept Europe, which reached the principality. In 1596, most of the Orthodox inhabitants of the country obeyed the Union of Brest and recognized the Pope as a representative of their religion, it was then that the Uniate Church was formed - a special Catholic church. Islam and Judaism, which came there from the east in the 14th century, were also widespread in the principality.
Was it possible to get an education?
The history of the Russian-Lithuanian state shows that writing began to actively spread here in the XIII century, and in the next century the first schools began to appear, where children were sent from noble classes. Those who did not have enough money could take advantage of the conditions of stray teachers who taught elementary literacy for a modest reward (sometimes even for food).
In the XV century, a large number of colleges and academies appeared, where Lithuanian boyars could receive knowledge only in the West Russian language. Since the clergy also needed qualified personnel, corresponding schools at the cathedrals were formed. 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, in some educational institutions, they began to teach in Latin, but West Russian 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 educational institutions also appeared here, where in most cases future monks were educated. Institutional graduates carried out missionary work and often transferred their knowledge to poorer sections of the population.