Bely Gorod ( Russian : Бе́лый го́род , IPA: [ˈbʲelɨj ˈɡorət] , lit. ' white city ' ) is the central core area of Moscow , Russia beyond the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod .
120-568: The name comes from the color of its defensive wall, which was erected in 1585–1593 at the behest of tsar Feodor I and Boris Godunov by architect Fyodor Kon . The wall is 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) in length, and its width ranges up to 4.5 meters (15 ft) at its widest. Bely Gorod had 28 towers and 11 gates, the names of some of which are still preserved in the names of squares, namely: Trehsvyatsky, Chertolsky (Prechistensky), Arbatsky, Nikitsky, Tversky, Petrovsky, Sretensky, Myasnitsky, Pokrovsky, Yauzskiy, Vasilievsky. The walls were cogged, like
240-593: A Habsburg succession to the throne as early as 1584, which would have meant the election of one of the brothers of Rudolf II . As the Habsburg court was interested in preventing Polish expansion into Russia, discussions were held in Prague , and in 1589, a Habsburg envoy reported that Boris Godunov wanted Archduke Maximilian , who was a candidate for the Polish throne, to be Feodor's successor. Andrey Shchelkalov ,
360-545: A blessed sword and hat , given by Pope Gregory XIII through the envoy Paweł Uchański. This was a recognition by the Pope of the ruler's successes in the struggle against the infidels. In Lithuania, this ceremony was treated as the celebration of the elevation of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, during which Lithuania's sovereignty was manifested. Báthory's reign was marked with successful Livonian campaign against tsar Ivan
480-553: A base for further military campaigns. Around 1307, Polotsk, an important trading centre, was annexed by military force. Vytenis also began constructing a defensive castle network along Nemunas . Gradually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order. The expansion of the state reached its height under Grand Duke Gediminas , also titled by some contemporaneous German sources as Rex de Owsteiten (English: King of Aukštaitija ), who created
600-574: A campaign against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , he left both tsareviches in Moscow and ordered Ivan Ivanovich “to write in his name to the commanders in all the towns about taking care of things and ordered all affairs of the land to his son Tsarevich Ivan". Upon his return in the autumn, the two tsareviches met the tsar on the Arbat , along with the metropolitan. During the next military campaign in
720-602: A convention in Grodno (on 8-20 April 1576), protested this choice, threatening to break the union and giving themselves the right to choose a separate ruler. However, the king managed to rally the Lithuanian delegation by promising to preserve their rights and freedoms. On May 29, 1580, in Vilnius Cathedral , King and Grand Duke Stephen Báthory received from the hand of the bishop of Samogitia Merkelis Giedraitis
840-591: A decade of relative peace. Mindaugas later renounced Christianity and converted back to paganism. Mindaugas tried to expand his influence in Polatsk , a major centre of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and Pinsk . The Teutonic Knights used this period to strengthen their position in parts of Samogitia and Livonia, but they lost the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260. This encouraged
960-583: A manifestation of the sovereignty of Lithuania occurred when Casimir was elected as the Grand Duke of Lithuania upon his arrival to Vilnius on 29 June 1440 and subsequently titled himself as a "free lord" ( pan – dominus ), this way breaching the agreements of the Union of Grodno (1432) and terminating the Polish–Lithuanian union ; Casimir also became the King of Poland in 1447. Following Casimir's death in 1492,
1080-576: A privilege that equalized the rights of Orthodox and Catholics in Lithuania and abolished all previous restrictions on Orthodox. There was an effort to polarise Orthodox Christians after the Union of Brest in 1596, by which some Orthodox Christians acknowledged papal authority and Catholic catechism, but preserved their liturgy. The country also became one of the major centres of the Reformation. In
1200-593: A procession, parading the icon around Moscow and then to the Church of St. Sergius to appeal for divine help. His reign was dramatised by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy in his verse drama Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1868). In 1575, Feodor married Irina Godunova , a sister of Ivan's minister Boris Godunov . The exact date of the marriage is not known, but the evidence suggests that Feodor, along with his brother, were married by 5 March, and that their weddings probably took place shortly after their father's wedding
1320-643: A role in the affairs of the state, although it is not clear if she had any real political power. Three charters regarding grants to monasteries from 1587 to 1597 are in the name of both the tsar and tsaritsa. In May 1586, the Shuyskys , backed by the metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church and the people of Moscow, organized a petition in the name of the Zemskoy Sobor that was addressed to Feodor and urged him to divorce his wife, who
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#17327978938041440-416: A small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such a fact is not unprecedented in world history. A credible modern theory of etymology of the name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva ) is Artūras Dubonis's hypothesis, that Lietuva relates to the word leičiai (plural of leitis , a social group of warriors-knights in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania). The title of
1560-708: A strong central government and established an empire that later spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea . In 1320, most of the principalities of western Rus' were either vassalized or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321, Gediminas captured Kiev , sending Stanislav , the last Rurikid to rule Kiev , into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of the Grand Duchy in Vilnius , presumably moving it from Old Trakai in 1323, which previously served as
1680-467: A strong marriage. The lonely Feodor soon grew extremely close to his wife, to a degree that was unusual for that period and milieu . The two shared a relationship of warmth and trust which was the support of Feodor's life for as long as he lived. He entrusted her to handle tsarist responsibilities, including signing decrees in his name. Feodor and Irina's marriage did not immediately produce children, and may not have even been consummated for some years. It
1800-495: Is Lietava . As time passed, the suffix - ava could have changed into - uva , as the two are from the same suffix branch. The river flows in the lowlands and easily spills over its banks, therefore the traditional Lithuanian form liet - could be directly translated as lietis (to spill), of the root derived from the Proto-Indo-European leyǝ- . However, the river is very small and some find it improbable that such
1920-497: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Moscow location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Feodor I Feodor I Ioannovich ( Russian : Феодор I Иоаннович ) or Fyodor I Ivanovich ( Russian : Фёдор I Иванович ; 31 May 1557 – 17 January 1598), nicknamed the Blessed ( Блаженный ), was Tsar of all Russia from 1584 until his death in 1598. Feodor's mother died when he
2040-973: Is listed in the Great Synaxaristes of the Eastern Orthodox Church , with his feast day on 7 January (O.S.). Feodor was born on 31 May 1557 in Moscow , the third son of Ivan IV ("the Terrible") by his first wife Anastasia Romanovna . He was baptized at the Chudov Monastery and his godfather was Macarius , the metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church . Although he was the sixth and youngest child of his mother, he grew up with only one older brother, Ivan Ivanovich , because all his other older siblings had died in infancy. His mother also died by
2160-527: Is mentioned as a participant in military campaigns and political discussions in razriady every year from 1567 until his death. Despite this, Feodor was selected as a candidate for the Polish throne in 1572–1573 and 1574–1576, besides his father himself. Feodor and his brother were not given a new title by their father, and in August 1581, the papal envoy in Russia, Antonio Possevino , was ordered to be told by
2280-459: Is now Belarus , Lithuania , most of Ukraine as well as parts of Latvia , Moldova , Poland and Russia . At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. The consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 13th century. Mindaugas ,
2400-525: The Stoglav of the church council of 2 July 1584 which states that Feodor was placed on the throne "according to the blessing of his father... having taken up the scepter of the Russian tsardom". At his coronation, Feodor was also claimed to have said that his father gave him the title "Tsar and Grand Prince, otchich i dedich i naslednik Rossiiskogo tsarstviia " ("inheritor from his father and grandfather of
2520-799: The Constitution of 3 May and Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations were passed in 1791. Following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were directly annexed by the Russian Empire , the rest by Prussia . In 1812, just prior to the French invasion of Russia , the former Grand Duchy revolted against the Russians. Soon after his arrival in Vilnius, Napoleon proclaimed
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#17327978938042640-673: The Deluge in the mid-17th century most of the territory of Lithuania was annexed by the Tsardom of Russia and even the Lithuania's capital Vilnius was captured for the first time by a foreign army and ravaged . In 1655, Lithuania unilaterally seceded from Poland, declared the Swedish King Charles X Gustav as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and fell under the protection of the Swedish Empire . However, by 1657 Lithuania
2760-527: The Federation , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate ministries, laws, army, and treasury. The federation was terminated by the passing of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 , when it was supposed to become a single country, the Commonwealth, under one monarch, one parliament and no Lithuanian autonomy. Shortly afterward, the unitary character of the state
2880-627: The Golden Horde , maintaining vassal relationships with a fair degree of independence. Lithuania annexed some of these areas as vassals through diplomacy, as they exchanged rule by the Mongols or the Grand Prince of Moscow with rule by the Grand Duchy. An example is Novgorod , which was often in the Lithuanian sphere of influence and became an occasional dependency of the Grand Duchy. Lithuanian control resulted from internal frictions within
3000-516: The Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward. In other languages, the grand duchy is referred to as: Naming convention of both title of ruler ( hospodar ) and the state changed as it expanded its territory. Following the decline of the Kingdom of Ruthenia and incorporation of its lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gediminas started to title himself as "King of Lithuanians and many Ruthenians", while
3120-470: The Kingdom of Prussia and Austria in 1795. The name of Lithuania ( Litua ) was first mentioned in 1009 in Annals of Quedlinburg . Some older etymological theories relate the name to a small river not far from Kernavė , the core area of the early Lithuanian state and a possible first capital of the would-be Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is usually credited as the source of the name. This river's original name
3240-619: The Lithuanian nobility . After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated. Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family , attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, unsuccessful wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact. Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In
3360-674: The Rus' . Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk , but they soon grew in strength and organized their own small-scale raids. At some point between 1180 and 1183 the situation began to change, and the Lithuanians started to organize sustainable military raids on the Slavic provinces, raiding the Principality of Polotsk as well as Pskov , and even threatening Novgorod . The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of
3480-583: The Tale of the Honorable Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia Fedor Ivanovich . The tale says that Boris Godunov, who built a fort and within it a church dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh , stationed his army there in hopes of saving Moscow from "pagan barbarians". Feodor prayed before an icon of the Mother of God, seeking intercession in the tradition of his ancestor Dmitry Donskoy , while Patriarch Job led
3600-576: The Third Statute of Lithuania which stated that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is a federation of two countries – Poland and Lithuania where both countries have equal rights within it and separated the powers of the ruler, the Seimas , the executive and the courts (this for the first time in European history ensured the rule of law in the state, but Lithuania's citizens, who were subjects to
3720-532: The Union of Krewo in 1386, bringing two major changes in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: conversion to Christianity of Europe's last pagan state, and establishment of a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland . This marked the beginning of the rule of other countries by the patrilineal members of the Lithuanian ruling Gediminids dynasty who since
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3840-580: The 14th–15th centuries ruled not only Lithuania, but also Poland , Hungary , Croatia , Bohemia , and Moldavia . The reign of Vytautas the Great , son of Kęstutis, marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the grand duchy (it became one of the largest countries territorially in Europe) and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. It also marked the rise of
3960-642: The 16th century. Ruthenians, ancestors of modern Belarusians and Ukrainians, living in the eastern and southern lands of the Grand Duchy spoke Ruthenian language . The Ruthenian language had an old writing tradition. The language of the Orthodox Church was Old Church Slavonic , while official documents used the so-called Chancery Ruthenian , close to but not identical to the spoken language, which over time absorbed many Lithuanian and Polish words. Some Poles (mainly burghers , clergy, merchants, and szlachta ) moved to Lithuania, although this migration
4080-462: The 1795 partitions of Poland–Lithuania . The state was founded by Lithuanians , who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija . By 1440 the grand duchy had become the largest European state, controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what
4200-569: The 17th century, there were relics of old faith reported by counter-reformation active Jesuit priests, like feeding žaltys with milk or bringing food to graves of ancestors. The lands of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine , as well as local dukes (princes) in these regions, were firmly Orthodox Christian (Greek Catholic after the Union of Brest ), though. While pagan beliefs in Lithuania were strong enough to survive centuries of pressure from military orders and missionaries, they did eventually succumb. A separate Eastern Orthodox metropolitan eparchy
4320-476: The 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. The Muscovites lost about 30,000 men, while the losses of the Poland–Lithuania army totalled only 500. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, Muscovy ultimately prevailed in the war. Under the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions. The wars with the Teutonic Order,
4440-760: The English ambassador Sir Jerome Bowes , whose pomposity had been tolerated by Feodor's father. Elizabeth I sent a new ambassador, Giles Fletcher, the Elder , to demand of Boris Godunov that he convince the tsar to reconsider. The negotiations failed because Fletcher addressed Feodor with two of his titles omitted. Even after this setback, Elizabeth continued to address Feodor on that topic in half appealing, half reproachful letters. She proposed an alliance between Russia and England, something which she had refused to do when it had been sought by Feodor's father, but he turned her down. Some boyars may also have been interested in
4560-405: The English reports were published soon after the events, and therefore may contain omissions due to political reasons, while the originals have not survived. Polish and Vatican reports mention the expectation of an election taking place, due to Feodor's "madness", but the letter of the emissary Lew Sapieha tells how the Russian pristav shared the story of Feodor sitting on the throne according to
4680-524: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania slowly became more centralized, as the governours loyal to Vytautas replaced local princes with dynastic ties to the throne. The governours were rich landowners who formed the basis for the nobility of the Grand Duchy. During Vytautas' rule, the Radziwiłł and Goštautas families started to gain influence. In 1440, Casimir IV Jagiellon was sent by his older brother Władysław III to Lithuania to rule in his name, however instead
4800-455: The Grand Duchy to an end. Most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were re-annexed by Russia. The Augustów Voivodeship (later Augustów Governorate ), including the counties of Marijampolė and Kalvarija , was attached to the Kingdom of Poland , a rump state in personal union with Russia. Administrative structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1564). After the baptism in 1252 and coronation of King Mindaugas in 1253, Lithuania
4920-585: The Great , who reigned from 1392 to 1430. Vytautas was one of the most famous rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, serving as the Grand Duke from 1401 to 1430, and as the Prince of Hrodna (1370–1382) and the Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389). Vytautas was the son of Kęstutis , uncle of Jogaila, who became King of Poland in 1386, and he was the grandfather of Vasili II of Moscow . In 1410, Vytautas commanded
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5040-617: The Horde but was defeated in the Battle of the Vorskla River , losing the steppe region. Lithuania was Christianized in 1387, led by Jogaila , who personally translated Christian prayers into the Lithuanian language and his cousin Vytautas the Great who founded many Catholic churches and allocated lands for parishes in Lithuania. The state reached a peak (becoming one of the largest countries territorially in Europe) under Vytautas
5160-521: The Kremlin walls, with loopholes that allowed keeping a continuous fire. During the reign of Catherine the Great and her grandson Alexander I the wall was demolished and replaced by a chain of boulevards, known as the Boulevard Ring . 55°45′04″N 37°37′42″E / 55.75111°N 37.62833°E / 55.75111; 37.62833 This Russian history –related article
5280-716: The Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija . The Lithuanians are the only branch within the Baltic group that managed to create a state entity in premodern times. The Lithuanian Crusade began after the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights , crusading military orders , were established in Riga and in Prussia in 1202 and 1226 respectively. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, and further galvanized
5400-462: The Lithuanian language. The Lithuanian language was still strongly present at the Vilnius court of Casimir Jagiellon , who had to learn it when he assumed power in the Grand Duchy in 1444. Casimir's assumption of power in Poland in 1447 marked the end of the existence of a separate court in Vilnius (it later existed only in years 1492–1496 and 1544–1548 ). Many Lithuanians and Ruthenian nobles joined
5520-538: The Lithuanian sphere of influence. By about 1355, the State of Moldavia had formed, and the Golden Horde did little to re-vassalize the area. In 1362, regiments of the Grand Duchy army defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle at Blue Waters . In 1380, a Lithuanian army allied with Russian forces to defeat the Golden Horde in the Battle of Kulikovo , and though the rule of the Mongols did not end, their influence in
5640-413: The Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families. The formal acknowledgement of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state. Mindaugas, the duke of southern Lithuania, was among the five senior dukes mentioned in
5760-636: The Livonian Order, winning the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and the Battle of Aizkraukle in 1279, and assisted the Yotvingians /Sudovians to defend from the Teutonic Order . For his military assistance, Nameisis recognized Traidenis as his suzerain . There is considerable uncertainty about the identities of the grand dukes of Lithuania between Traidenis' death in 1282 and the assumption of power by Vytenis in 1295. The country's capital
5880-408: The Livonian Order. He promised to convert to Christianity and exchange some lands in western Lithuania in return for military assistance against his nephews and the royal crown. In 1251, Mindaugas was baptized and Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull proclaiming the creation of the Kingdom of Lithuania . After the civil war ended, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania on 6 July 1253, starting
6000-505: The Order, the Kingdom of Poland, and Ruthenia. Vytenis was involved in succession disputes in Poland, supporting Boleslaus II of Masovia , who was married to a Lithuanian duchess, Gaudemunda . In Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and to capture the principalities of Pinsk [ lt ] and Turov . In the struggle against the Order, Vytenis allied with Riga 's citizens; securing positions in Riga strengthened trade routes and provided
6120-434: The Russian tsardom"). Foreign sources like the account by Jerome Bowes described Feodor's accession as normal and without any mention of a council. Another English source from Jerome Horsey described how the boyars "were appointed to settle and dispose his [Ivan the Terrible's] son Fyodor Ivanovich, having sworn one another, and all the nobility and officers whosoever" before a "parliament" met on 4 May. However, both of
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#17327978938046240-412: The Ruthenian lands stayed Orthodox , however, on 22 February 1387, Supreme Duke Jogaila banned Catholics marriages with Orthodox, and demanded those Orthodox who previously married with the Catholics to convert to Catholicism. At one point, though, Pope Alexander VI reprimanded the Grand Duke for keeping non-Catholics as advisers. Consequently, only in 1563 did Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus issue
6360-432: The Statute, were only nobles). During the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) Polish and Lithuanian forces achieved victory and restored status quo ante bellum , notably winning the decisive Battle of Kircholm in 1605, while during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) Polish and Lithuanian armies achieved territorial gains (e.g. restored the control of Smolensk , the capital of the Smolensk Voivodeship , in 1611) and for
6480-428: The Terrible 's military forces, which resulted in the reintegration of Polotsk to Lithuania and the restoration of control of the Duchy of Livonia . The rule of Lithuania by the Gediminid–Jagiellonian family representatives resumed through matrilineal line following the death of Báthory (1586) when Sigismund III Vasa (son of Catherine Jagiellon ) was elected in 1587 . On 28 January 1588, Sigismund III confirmed
6600-468: The army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin. The battle was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the former lands of Kievan Rus' under their rule. According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein, the primary source for the information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated
6720-417: The blessing of his father, his son our sovereign tsar and grand prince Fyodor Ivanovich came to rule his states". Feodor was only the nominal ruler: his wife's brother and trusted minister Boris Godunov legitimized himself, after Ivan IV's death, as the de facto regent for the weak and disabled Feodor. As a result, the government was mainly in the hands of the boyars and Feodor's brother-in-law. By
6840-477: The blessing of his father. Pontus De la Gardie , the Swedish viceroy of Livonia , wrote a letter on 16 April to the viceroy of Novgorod about prolonging the truce between Sweden and Russia, because he had learned that the tsar had died and "in his place they had elected as grand prince his son Fyodor to the rank of his father and crowned him". The answering letter did not correct the error about Feodor being elected and simply stated that "with God’s help according to
6960-457: The city, which attempted to escape submission to Moscow . Such relationships could be tenuous, however, as changes in a city's internal politics could disrupt Lithuanian control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other East-Slavic cities. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania managed to hold off Mongol incursions and eventually secured gains. In 1333 and 1339, Lithuanians defeated large Mongol forces attempting to regain Smolensk from
7080-458: The composition of the assembly, and thus Godunov was legitimately elected. On the other hand, contemporaries of the Time of Troubles viewed the election of Godunov as immoral due to his perceived role in the death of Tsarevich Dmitry of Uglich . Feodor's failure to sire other children brought an end to the centuries-old central branch of the Rurik dynasty , although many princes of later times are descendants of Rurik as well. The termination of
7200-780: The conquered Semigallians and Old Prussians to rebel against the Knights. Encouraged by Treniota , Mindaugas broke the peace with the Order, possibly reverted to pagan beliefs . He hoped to unite all Baltic tribes under the Lithuanian leadership. As military campaigns were not successful, the relationships between Mindaugas and Treniota deteriorated. Treniota, together with Daumantas of Pskov , assassinated Mindaugas and his two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263. The state lapsed into years of internal fighting. From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three grand dukes – Treniota , Vaišvilkas , and Švarnas . The state did not disintegrate, however, and Traidenis came to power in 1269. Traidenis strengthened Lithuanian control in Black Ruthenia , fought with
7320-419: The conquests, already initiated by Mindaugas in 13th century, began the process of fusing Ruthenian and Lithuanian culture and, in the absence of its own writing tradition, adopting Ruthenian as the language of administration and written communication. From at least the time of Vytautas , but probably much earlier, the language of internal administration was Chancery Ruthenian , a language similar to, but not
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#17327978938047440-415: The country's capital since 1316 or 1321. The state continued to expand its territory under the reign of Grand Duke Algirdas and his brother Kęstutis , who both ruled the state harmonically. During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs until 1569, the Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral . Lithuania was in a good position to conquer
7560-403: The creation of a Commissary Provisional Government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which, in turn, renewed the Polish-Lithuanian Union . The union was never formalized, however, as only half a year later Napoleon's Grande Armée was pushed out of Russia and forced to retreat further westwards. In December 1812, Vilnius was recaptured by Russian forces, bringing all plans for the recreation of
7680-456: The dynasty would later result in the Time of Troubles . Paul Bushkovitch disagrees with the assumption by historians that the elections of tsars that took place after the death of Feodor was simply caused by the extinction of the Rurik dynasty, stating that from at least 1450, the succession of monarchs relied on the public designation of the tsar's successor, rather than automatic primogeniture . Contemporaries are unanimous that Feodor's reign
7800-413: The end of the 40-day period of mourning, the Zemsky Sobor convened and elected Boris Godunov as the new tsar. The traditional view among historians was that supporters of Godunov dominated the assembly; however, Vasily Klyuchevsky concluded that the assembly was entirely conventional in its composition at the time. Klyuchevsky argued that if there was a campaign in favor of Godunov, it did not alter
7920-412: The ethnically Lithuanian peasants and some middle nobility. Islam in Lithuania , unlike many other northern and western European countries, has a long history starting from 14th century. Small groups of Muslim Lipka Tatars migrated to ethnically Lithuanian lands, mainly under the rule of Grand Duke Vytautas (early 15th century). In Lithuania, unlike many other European societies at the time, there
8040-407: The factual termination of the Polish–Lithuanian union also occurred during the reign of Casimir's sons Alexander Jagiellon and John I Albert who had respectively ruled Lithuania and Poland separately in 1492–1501. The rapid expansion of the influence of Moscow soon put it into a comparable position to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and after the annexation of Novgorod Republic in 1478, Muscovy
8160-414: The first ruler of the grand duchy, was crowned as the Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in a religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order , but survived. Its rapid territorial expansion started late in the reign of Gediminas , and continued under the diarchy and co-leadership of his sons, Algirdas and Kęstutis . Algirdas's son Jogaila signed
8280-443: The first time fully captured Russia's capital Moscow in 1610. Sigismund III's son, Władysław IV Vasa , began ruling Lithuania in 1632 and achieved military success and popularity during the Smolensk War , but he renounced his claims to the Russian throne per the Treaty of Polyanovka in 1634 and failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne. John II Casimir Vasa 's reign was initially marked with disastrous military loses as during
8400-446: The following year, the two sons were not given any formal responsibilities, and at the end of 1564, Ivan IV took his sons with him in the procession to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda , where he would stay for most of the remainder of his reign. In 1577, Feodor was left by his father in Novgorod with the boyars Dmitry and Boris Godunov and others, including a tutor. Feodor did not play any role in foreign affairs, whereas his brother
8520-407: The forces of the Grand Duchy in the Battle of Grunwald . The battle ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory against the Teutonic Order . The war of Lithuania against military Orders , which lasted for more than 200 years, and was one of the longest wars in the history of Europe, was finally ended. Vytautas backed the economic development of the state and introduced many reforms. Under his rule,
8640-402: The formation of the Lithuanian state. The peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians . This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes , including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija ( Živinbudas , Daujotas , Vilikaila , Dausprungas and Mindaugas ) and several dukes from Žemaitija . Although they had battled in the past,
8760-481: The fusion of Lithuanian and Ruthenian elements in its culture, became the trigger for a long-running debate among historians from Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine over whether the state was essentially Lithuanian or Ruthenian-Lithuanian, in which the more advanced Ruthenian culture played a central role. Before the Lithuanian expansion into the Ruthenian lands, Lithuanian was the only language of public life. However,
8880-673: The head of the Posolsky prikaz (ambassadorial office), made a secret proposal to the Habsburg envoy in 1593 to have Feodor's daughter Feodosiya married to one of the Habsburg princes; however, Feodosiya died and the proposal was no longer being considered. Feodor died on 17 January [ O.S. 7 January] 1598 in Moscow . He was buried at the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin . Feodor produced no sons, despite his efforts to have children. After
9000-466: The last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291. The Orders could now turn their full attention to Lithuania. The "buffer zone" composed of other Baltic tribes had disappeared, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left to battle the Orders on its own. The Gediminid dynasty ruled the grand duchy for over a century, and Vytenis was the first ruler of the dynasty. During his reign Lithuania was in constant war with
9120-489: The loss of land to Moscow, and the continued pressure threatened the survival of the state of Lithuania, so it was forced to ally more closely with Poland, forming a real union with the Kingdom of Poland in the Union of Lublin of 1569. The union was formally called the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , however now commonly known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . During
9240-554: The main target of both orders. The battle provided a break in the wars with the Knights, and Lithuania exploited this situation, arranging attacks on the Ruthenian provinces and annexing Navahrudak and Hrodna . In 1248, a civil war broke out between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas . The powerful coalition against Mindaugas included Vykintas, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia and Vasilko of Volhynia . Taking advantage of internal conflicts, Mindaugas allied with
9360-462: The marriage. The boyar families rival to the Godunov clan attempted to convince Feodor to divorce and re-marry, but he always rejected the idea. Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania , to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during
9480-521: The mid-16th century, the other being Ruthenian; later, both languages began to be replaced by Polish. Ruthenian culture dominated the courts of the Gediminid princes since the 14th century, especially those ruling directly over Ruthenian subjects. Grand Duke Jogaila was most likely bilingual, knowing and speaking Lithuanian and Ruthenian, and was able to communicate in the Samogitian dialect of
9600-536: The name of the state became the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Ruthenia. Similarly the title changed to "King of Lithuanians and Ruthenians, ruler and duke of Semigallia" when Semigallia became part of the state. The 1529 edition of the Statute of Lithuania described the titles of Sigismund I the Old as "King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Samogitia, Mazovia, and other [lands]". The country
9720-409: The peasants. Since the 16th century, Polish was used much more often than other languages for writing. Polish finally became the Commonwealth's official chancellery language in 1697. Other important ethnic groups throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were Jews and Tatars . Jews spoke mainly in the eastern dialect of Yiddish. The Lithuanian Tatars used a language of Kipchak origin that
9840-468: The period of the Union, many of the territories formerly controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were transferred to the Crown of the Polish Kingdom , while the gradual process of Polonization slowly drew Lithuania itself under Polish domination. Following the death of Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, a joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch was to be elected as in the Union of Lublin it
9960-577: The rank of boyar and dvoretsky shortly after Feodor ascended the throne, while the second one was another supporter of the Godunovs who would be promoted from dumny dvoryanin to okolnichy in 1586. Around the same time, Ivan IV was looking for his eighth wife in England and consulted his physician Robert Jacob about relatives of Queen Elizabeth I who would be suitable. Jacob suggested Lady Mary Hastings , and Ivan told Elizabeth that if
10080-564: The record of the coronation of his father, it was stated that the ancient custom of Russian grand princes was to bestow the rulership on "their firstborn sons". As a result, Metropolitan Dionysius simply stated that "the tsars and grand princes gave the Tsardom and Grand Principality of Russia to their sons [ synom svoim ]". Due to the only surviving testament of Ivan IV being outdated and there being no reference of another testament having been written, historians have debated whether there
10200-518: The region waned thereafter. In 1387, Moldavia became a vassal of Poland and, in a broader sense, of Lithuania. By this time, Lithuania had conquered the territory of the Golden Horde all the way to the Dnieper River. In a crusade against the Golden Horde in 1398 (in an alliance with Tokhtamysh ), Lithuania invaded northern Crimea and won a decisive victory. In an attempt to place Tokhtamish on the Golden Horde throne in 1399, Lithuania moved against
10320-540: The same as, the spoken language used by Ruthenians living in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As for the correspondences with foreign courts the grand ducal chancellery prepared it in the language appropriate to the recipient: Latin for the correspondence with the West, German with the Teutonic Order and Chancery Ruthenian with the East Slavic and Tatar rulers. The language used at court continued to be Lithuanian until
10440-545: The same year. Daniel Prinz von Buchau, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire who was in Moscow from November 1575 to February 1576, wrote that "both sons, the older one 20 years old and the younger one 18, both still without whiskers, entered into marriage with some or other daughters of boyars in the same year when we were there". Although the marriage was arranged by the tsar and the couple knew nothing of each other before their wedding day, they went on to have
10560-509: The second half of the 16th century, Calvinism spread in Lithuania, supported by the families of Radziwiłł , Chodkiewicz , Sapieha , Dorohostajski and others. By the 1580s the majority of the senators from Lithuania were Calvinist or Socinian Unitarians ( Jan Kiszka ). In 1579, Stephen Báthory , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, founded Vilnius University , one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe . Due to
10680-504: The summer of 1584, the two boyar clans had effected a rapprochement, and Luka Novosiltsev, the Russian ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire , referred to Godunov in November as "the ruler of the land, a great and gracious lord". By the end of the 1580s, Boris Godunov was able to deal with foreign powers independently, using a variety of titles in addition to that of equerry , which he received in 1584. Feodor's wife Irina also began to play
10800-495: The time Feodor was three years old, and her death greatly affected his father, who had been very attached to his wife. He also took a series of other wives, but Feodor's only surviving half-sibling, Dmitry of Uglich , was born on 19 October 1582 to the tsar's last wife. Feodor therefore grew up in the shadow of a distant father, with no mother to succor him, and only his older brother Ivan Ivanovich for family solidarity. He grew to be sickly of health and diffident of temperament. He
10920-526: The treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle , reports that by the mid-1230s, Mindaugas had acquired supreme power in the whole of Lithuania. In 1236, the Samogitians, led by Vykintas , defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Saule . The Order was forced to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, making Samogitia, a strip of land that separated Livonia from Prussia,
11040-401: The tsar that Russian documents did not need to be written in the name of both the tsar and the tsareviches because "my son Ivan has not yet been honored with the name of sovereign and my son Fyodor has not attained the age when he can rule the state with us". In the testament of Ivan IV, which has only survived in an 18th-century copy and is dated by historians to the 1570s, Feodor's brother
11160-411: The tsar. Feodor became tsar not only because of his brother's death, but also because his brother did not have any children, despite being married three times. He lived very differently to his elder brother due to his physical weakness and possible mental deficiencies. According to the metropolitan, Feodor was blessed by his father to succeed him, "to be anointed and crowned with that crown and diadem of
11280-413: The tsars ... [as] your father's heritor [ otchichem ] and your grandfather's heritor [ dedichem ] and the heir [ naslednik ] of the Russian tsardom". In the spring of 1583, Feodor accompanied his father's army on a military campaign against rebels around Kazan , along with two dyadki (servants). The two were not important boyars, but the first one belonged to the clan of Boris Godunov and would achieve
11400-416: The two were to have sons, they would be given appanages "according to their sovereign rank" ( po ikh gosudarskomu chinu ) and be treated "equally in degree with Fyodor" ( v rovenstve po stepeni so tsarevichem Fedorom ). However, the plan did not go anywhere. Ivan IV died on 28 March [ O.S. 18 March] 1584, and Feodor succeeded his father as tsar. Two months later, on 31 May 1584, he
11520-449: The western and the southern parts of the former Kievan Rus' . While almost every other state around it had been plundered or defeated by the Mongols , the hordes stopped at the modern borders of Belarus, and the core territory of the Grand Duchy was left mostly untouched. The weak control of the Mongols over the areas they had conquered allowed the expansion of Lithuania to accelerate. Rus' principalities were never incorporated directly into
11640-572: The work of the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation the university soon developed into one of the most important scientific and cultural centres of the region and the most notable scientific centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The work of the Jesuits as well as conversions from among the Lithuanian senatorial families turned the tide and by the 1670s Calvinism lost its former importance though it still retained some influence among
11760-486: Was a period of prosperity and stability in Russia, as the government secured peace for Russia's borders, and the economic policy of the government led to a revival in the economy during the last decade of the century; however, much of the credit goes to Boris Godunov, who was called "incomparable" by the Russian envoys to Persia in reference to his intelligence and unique position in government. The veneration of Feodor began shortly after his death and Patriarch Job composed
11880-483: Was agreed that the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be received by a jointly elected monarch in the Election sejm on his accession to the throne, thus losing its former institutional significance, however the Union of Lublin guaranteed that the institution and the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be preserved. In 1573, Henry Valua was elected as the first joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch, however his rule
12000-523: Was also called the Republic of Lithuania ( Latin : Respublica Lituana ) since at least the mid-16th century, already before the Union of Lublin in 1569. The first mention of the name Lithuania is found in the Annals of Quedlinburg , which describes the missionary expedition of Bruno of Querfurt to Yotvingians. In the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by
12120-425: Was among the preeminent states in northeastern Europe . Between 1492 and 1508, Ivan III further consolidated Muscovy, winning the key Battle of Vedrosha and capturing such ancient lands of Kievan Rus' as Chernihiv and Bryansk . On 8 September 1514, the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, fought the Battle of Orsha against
12240-495: Was an informal regency council or not. The historian Ruslan Skrynnikov attempted to prove that the Zemsky Sobor (assembly of the land) elected Feodor as tsar, while Aleksandr Zimin rejected the idea. Lev Cherepnin tried to prove that the assembly had met but Feodor was not elected as he was already recognized as the new tsar. The few contemporary Russian sources available do not state that an election took place, such as
12360-415: Was blessed with the tsardom along with most of the tsar's personal domain, with Feodor being given an appanage ; however, the testament lost its validity following the sudden death of Ivan Ivanovich. On 9 November 1581, Ivan Ivanovich died, with Antonio Possevino asserting in his 1586 book that he had been killed by his father in a fit of rage. His death left only Feodor and Dmitry as the remaining sons of
12480-462: Was childless. Feodor rejected the preposition, and Godunov waited until the return of the Russian embassy from Poland on 1 October, where he may have received confirmation of his suspicions that the Shuyskys were in contact with Polish lords. In the autumn, the Shuyskys were banished from the capital and Boris Godunov persecuted them heavily in the following year. In addition, Metropolitan Dionysius
12600-544: Was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations . However, the newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between neighbouring states. A truncated state (whose principal cities were Kraków , Warsaw and Vilnius ) remained that was nominally independent. After the Kościuszko Uprising , the territory was completely partitioned among the Russian Empire ,
12720-632: Was created sometime between 1315 and 1317 by the Constantinople Patriarch John XIII . Following the Galicia–Volhynia Wars which divided the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland , in 1355 the Halych metropoly was liquidated and its eparchies transferred to the metropoles of Lithuania and Volhynia. In 1387, Lithuania converted to Catholicism , while most of
12840-469: Was crowned as the tsar and autocrat of all Russia at the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow . The coronation of Feodor was slightly modified to account for his father's recent conquests and the increasingly Byzantine practice of the tsar's court. As Feodor was Ivan's third son, the speechmakers for the coronation omitted the mention of "first" or "firstborn" in reference to heredity, which in
12960-500: Was extremely pious by nature, spending hours in prayer and contemplation. He was very fond of visiting churches, and would often cause the bells to be rung according to a special tradition in the Russian Orthodox Church. For this reason, he is known to history as Feodor the Bellringer. He is also listed in the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, with his feast day on 7 January (O.S.). In May 1562, as Ivan IV went on
13080-465: Was full of borrowings from Turkish and Arabic . It ceased to be used in the 16th century, and was replaced by Ruthenian and Polish, written in the Arabic alphabet . Brought in 1397 from Crimea, Karaites used a dialect of West Karaite language , while Hebrew was used for religious purposes. In addition, Livonia , which had been politically connected to the Grand Duchy since the mid-16th century,
13200-581: Was inhabited by Latgalians who spoke a dialect of the Latvian language . Inhabiting the towns, mainly in Livonia, the mostly Protestant Germans used a local variety of German called Baltendeutsch . Prussian and Yotvingians refugees, pushed out by the Teutonic Knights, also found their footing in the Grand Duchy. Similarly, Russian Old Believers emigrated to Lithuanian lands in the 17th century. The Grand Duchy's linguistic and ethnic situation, as well as
13320-666: Was located in Kernavė until 1316 or 1321 where Traidenis and Vytenis mainly resided and led to its prosperity. During this time, the Orders finalized their conquests. In 1274, the Great Prussian Rebellion ended, and the Teutonic Knights proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes: the Nadruvians and Skalvians in 1274–1277, and the Yotvingians in 1283; the Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia,
13440-422: Was mentioned for the first time in 1558. There were 42 Tatar families in the village in 1630. The majority of inhabitants of Lithuania proper , which included the voivodeships of Vilnius , Trakai and Samogitia , spoke Lithuanian. These areas remained almost wholly Lithuanian-speaking, both colloquially and by ruling nobility. Despite its frequent oral use, Lithuanian did not begin to be used in writing until
13560-475: Was once again a part of the Commonwealth following the Lithuanian revolt against the Swedes. The Lithuania's capital Vilnius was liberated in 1661. Throughout this Polish–Lithuanian Union period, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a separate state and retained many rights in the federation (including separate name, territory, coat of arms, ministries, ruling system, laws, army, courts, treasury, and seal) until
13680-428: Was only in 1592, after almost twelve years of marriage and numerous attempts by the court to cure her perceived barrenness (at the time, the wife was always blamed for the infertility of a couple), that Tsaritsa Irina gave birth to a daughter, who was named Feodosiya (29 May 1592 – 25 January 1594) after her father. Feodor and his wife doted on their daughter, but she died aged two in 1594. There were no other children from
13800-531: Was recognized as a Christian state until 1260, when Mindaugas supported an uprising in Courland and (according to the German order) renounced Christianity. Up until 1387, Lithuanian nobles professed their own religion, which was polytheistic . Ethnic Lithuanians were very dedicated to their faith. The pagan beliefs needed to be deeply entrenched to survive strong pressure from missionaries and foreign powers. Until
13920-614: Was religious freedom. Lithuanian Tatars were allowed to settle in certain places, such as Trakai and Kaunas . Keturiasdešimt Totorių is one of the oldest Tatar settlements in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After a successful military campaign of the Crimean Peninsula in 1397, Vytautas brought the first Crimean Tatar prisoners of war to Trakai and various places in the Duchy of Trakai , including localities near Vokė river just south of Vilnius. The first mosque in this village
14040-425: Was removed from his post. Although Boris Godunov focused on strengthening the autocracy like Feodor's father, he was not opposed to the princely elite, and the composition of the duma was predominated by the highest-ranking boyar elite. Unlike his father, Feodor had no enthusiasm for maintaining exclusive trading rights with the Kingdom of England . Feodor declared his kingdom open to all foreigners, and dismissed
14160-405: Was short and he never personally visited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, despite being announced as the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The double election of 1575 was held in the presence of a small number of Lithuanian lords, who additionally supported the Habsburg candidate Emperor Maximilian II, however, the race for the crown was won by Stephen Báthory, crowned on May 1, 1576. The Lithuanian lords, at
14280-406: Was small-scale. After the Union of Lublin , this movement significantly increased. Polish was adopted also gradually by the local inhabitants. Already in early 16th century, Polish became the Lithuanian magnates' first language. The following century it was adopted by the Lithuanian nobility in general. The Polish language also penetrated other social strata: the clergy, the townspeople, and even
14400-452: Was three, and he grew up in the shadow of his father, Ivan IV . A pious man of retiring disposition, Feodor took little interest in politics, and the country was effectively administered in his name by Boris Godunov , the brother of his beloved wife Irina . His childless death marked the end of the Rurik dynasty , and spurred Russia's descent into the catastrophic Time of Troubles . He
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