suffered from a chaotic situation amidst German, Muscovite, and possibly Tartar interference… A union of Poland with Lithuania and her Ruthenian lands, added to those already connected with Poland, could indeed create a new great power, comprising a large and crucial section of East Central Europe and strong enough to check both German and Muscovite advance. The amazing success of a plan which would seem almost fantastic was a turning point in the history not only of that region but also of Europe.
Whereas by the reign of Basil III the Muscovite rulers had managed to bring a large part of the former territory of the Kievan state under their authority, another large part of the Kievan inheritance remained in the possession of the grand princes of Lithuania. In effect, the history of the western Russian lands was linked for centuries to the social systems and fortunes of Lithuania and Poland.
The Lithuanians, whose language belongs to the Baltic subfamily of the Indo-European family, appeared late on the historical scene, although for a very long time they had inhabited the forests of the Baltic region. It was apparently the pressure of the Teutonic Knights - the same who attacked Novgorod - that finally forced a number of Lithuanian tribes into a semblance of unity under the leadership of Mindovg, or Mindaugas, whose rule is dated approximately 1240-63. Mindovg accepted Christianity and received a crown from Pope Innocent IV only to sever his Western connections and relapse into paganism. A period of internal strife and
rapidly changing rulers followed his assassination. However, toward the end of the thirteenth century Viten, or Vytenis, managed to unite the Lithuanians again. He ruled as grand prince from 1295 to 1316, acted energetically at home and in foreign relations, and perished fighting the Teutonic Knights.
Viten's brother Gedymin (Gediminas), who reigned from 1316 to 1341, has been called the true founder of the Lithuanian state. He completed the unification of the Lithuanian tribes and strove hard to organize his possessions into a viable political unit. What is more, he extended his dominion
to the southeast. Some Russian territories, notably in the Polotsk area, had already become parts of the Lithuanian principality under Mindovg; with Gedymin, that principality began a massive expansion into Russia. Vilna-Vilnius in Lithuanian - became the capital of the growing state.
Gedymin's famous son Olgerd, or Algirdas, who died in 1377, carried the work of his father much further. Assisted by his valiant brother Keistut, or Kestutis, who undertook the heavy task of blocking the formidable Teutonic Order in the west, Olgerd expanded eastward with a stunning rapidity. The Russian lands which he brought under his authority included, among others, those of Volynia, Kiev, and Chernigov, and a large part of Smolensk. In the process, he defeated the Polish effort to win Volynia and fought successfully against the Mongols. Lithuanian sway spread from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Indeed, Olgerd wanted to rule all of Russia. Three times he campaigned against the Muscovite state, and twice he besieged Moscow itself, although he failed to capture it or to force the issue otherwise.
The sweeping Lithuanian expansion into Russia has more explanations than one. Obviously, internal division and foreign invasions had made the Russian power of resistance extremely low. But it should also be noted that the attacks of the Lithuanians could not be compared in destruction and brutality to the invasions of the Mongols or the Teutonic Knights, and that their domination, in a sense, did not represent foreign rule for the Russians. Indeed, many historians speak, on good evidence, of a Lithuanian-Russian state. Population statistics help to illustrate the situation: it has been estimated that, after the expansion of the Lithuanian state virtually to the Black Sea, two- thirds or even three-fourths and more of its people were Russians. Also, very little social displacement took place: the towns retained their Russian character; the Russian boyars and the Orthodox Church kept their high positions and extensive privileges; Russian princes continued to rule in different appanages next to Lithuanian princes, all subject to the Lithuanian grand prince; and intermarriage between the two aristocracies was quite common. Perhaps as important as the superior numbers of the Russian element was the fact that the Lithuanians, on their part, had little to offer and much to learn. Coming from a still pagan and relatively isolated and culturally backward area, the ruling circles of Lithuania eagerly accepted the culture of Kievan Russia. The Lithuanian army, administration, legal system, and finance were organized on the Russian pattern, and Russian became the official language of the new state. As Platonov insisted in the case of Grand Prince Olgerd of Lithuania: 'In relation to different nationalities, it can be said that Olgerd's entire sympathy and attention concentrated on the Russian nationality. By his opinions, habits, and family connections, Olgerd belonged to the Russian nationality and served as its representative in Lithuania.' Not surprisingly, then, the
Lithuanian state could well be considered as another variation on the Kievan theme and an heir to Kiev, rather than a foreign body imposed upon Russia. And this made its rivalry with Moscow, the other successful heir, all the more fundamental and significant.
However, shortly after Olgerd's death a new major element entered the situation: a link between Lithuania and Poland. In 1386, following the dynastic agreement of Krewo of 1385, Olgerd's son and successor Jagiello, or Jogaila - who reigned from 1377 to 1434 - married Queen Jadwiga of Poland. Because the Polish Piast ruling family had no male members left, Jagiello became the legitimate sovereign of both states, with the Polish name of Wladyslaw II. The states remained distinct, and the union personal. In fact, in 1392 Jagiello had to recognize his cousin, Keistut's son Vitovt, or Vytautas, as a separate, although vassal, grand prince of Lithuania, an arrangement extended in 1413 to subsequent rulers of the two states. Yet both positions came to be occupied by the same man again when, in 1447, Casimir IV ascended the Polish throne without relinquishing his position as grand prince of Lithuania. Whether with the same or different rulers, Poland exercised a major and increasing influence on Lithuania after 1385.
The late fourteenth and early fifteenth century was a remarkable period in the history of the Lithuanian state. Within the decade from 1387 to 1396, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bessarabia accepted Lithuanian suzerainty. Vitovt's rule, which lasted from 1392 to 1430, witnessed the greatest extension of the Lithuanian domain, with still more alluring possibilities in sight, as Lithuania continued to challenge Moscow for supremacy on the great Russian plain. In addition, in 1410 Vitovt personally led his army in the crucial battle of Tannenberg, or Grunwald, where the joint forces of Poland and Lithuania crushed the Teutonic Knights, thus finally eliminating this deadly threat to both Slav and Lithuanian. The Lithuanian prince's great defeat came in 1399, when his major campaign against the Mongols met disaster at their hands. Some historians believe that had Vitovt won rather than lost on the banks of the Vorskla, he could then have asserted his will successfully against both Moscow and Poland and given a different direction to eastern European history.
Jagiello's marriage, in the last analysis, proved more important for Lithuania than Vitovt's wars. It marked the beginning of a Polonization of the country. Significantly, in order to marry Jadwiga, Jagiello forsook Orthodoxy for Roman Catholicism. Moreover, he had his pagan Lithuanians converted to Catholicism. The clergy, naturally, came to Lithuania from Poland, and the Church became a great stronghold of Polish influence. It has been noted, for instance, that three of the first four bishops of Vilnius were definitely Poles, and that the Poles constituted the majority in the Vilnius chapter even at the end of the fifteenth century. Education followed
religion: the first schools were either cathedral or monastic schools, and their teachers were mainly members of the clergy. To obtain higher education, unavailable at home, the Lithuanians went to the great Polish university at Cracow, which provided the much- needed training for the Lithuanian elite. Russian historians, who stress the cultural impact of the Russians on the Lithuanians, often fail to appreciate the powerful attraction of the glorious Polish culture of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Naturally the Lithuanians were dazzled by what Poland had to offer. Naturally too Polish specialists, ranging from architects and artists to diplomats, appeared in Lithuania. Even Polish colonists came. But, to return to the Church, its influence extended, of course, beyond religion proper, education, and culture, to society, economics, and politics. Church estates grew, and they remained exempt from general taxation. The bishops sat in the council of the grand prince, while many clerics, highly esteemed for their education, engaged in the conduct of state business.
Polonization was the most extensive at the court and among the upper classes. Poland, with its sweeping
