• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Union of Krevo (1385)

The Union of Krevo (1385), which joined Poland and the Grand Duchy in a confederation, hinged on Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila's conversion from paganism to Roman Catholicism and his subsequent marriage to twelve-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland. Thus he became Wladyslaw II Jagiello, king of Poland.

Under Vitaut's rule [1392-1430] the Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached the apex of its power. Vitaut made every effort to strengthen his authority through inner reforms aimed at centralization of his power and through active multifaceted foreign policy targeted at the victory over crusaders and annexation of new eastern territories. He was also engaged in diplomatic activities hoping to acquire the title of king. As the result of Vitaut's activities, the Grand Duchy expanded greatly and gained considerable international authority. The Battle of Gruenwald contributed greatly to the growing authority of the Grand Duchy since in this battle the joint forces of Poland and the Grand Duchy crushed the Teutonic Order.

Vitaut's policy continued by his successor Svidryhaila [1430-1432], who was striving to convert the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a kingdom. Under the rule of Kazimir Jagellon [1440-1492], who was elected King of Poland in 1447, the dynastic union between Poland and the Grand Duchy was reestablished. In 1468 Kazimir introduced the first Belarusian statute book. Since the Grand Duchy had not had a grand duke for a substantial period of time, the Ducal Council-the Pany-rada-rose to authority and in the late 15th-early 16th century and became the supreme body of state power. Since Kazimir simultaneously carried out the functions of both the grand duke and the king of Poland, the Grand Duchy lost its initiative in foreign affairs and in the process of east-slavic territories consolidation. This initiative was taken over in the late 15th century by the Grand Principality of Moscow, which soon claimed all the territories of Ancient Rus. During the wars of 1492-1522 the Principality of Moscow conquered a number of eastern territories, among which were some territories of the Grand Duchy. These lands were partially won back in 1534-1537.

By the mid 16th century the state system of the Grand Duchy had been shaped and its basic principles were reflected in the Statutes of 1529 and 1566. The state, which was divided into pavets (districts) and vajavodstvas (counties), was ruled by the Grand Duke and the Pany-rada. The Sojm (the Parliament) became the feudal barons' representative institution, representatives for which were elected in each district.

The fight for superiority in the Eastern Baltic region spurred the beginning of the Livonian War between the Grand Duchy and the Russian state. The failures of the Grand Ducal army, one of which was the capture of Polatsk by Russians, resulted in the establishment of the Ljublin Union, according to which a new federative state was formed-the Rzeczpospolita-with a joint ruler, who was elected by the nobility (shljahta) and the Sejm (the Parliament). The Grand Duchy had preserved its administrative set up, its army, coat of arms and state seal but it had lost a considerable part of its territories, which were annexed by the Kingdom of Poland. At that point the territory of the Grand Duchy was limited to Belarusian and Lithuanian lands. The political Union helped the new state successfully finish the war, win back the lost territories and establish dominance in Livonia.

The geographic vicinity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as a high level of the country's spiritual development fostered progressive ideas of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. At that time a lot of Belarusians were known all over the world. The great Belarusian and East-Slavonic enlightener, publishing pioneer and thinker Francysk Skaryna ranked second to none. During his period of work in Prague in 1517-1519, he translated and published 23 books of the Bible, using words and structural patterns of the Old Belarusian language. By that time the Bible had only been published in German (1445) and Czech (1448). Skaryna's followers such as Mikola Husouski, the author of a poem in Latin, called "The Song about the Aurochs" (1523, published in Krakow), Symon Budny, who wrote a number of works not only in Old Belarusian, but also in Polish and Latin, were famous in the Europe of that time.

The ideas of the European Renaissance period affected the development of architecture and art in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A vivid example of this influence was its capital - the town of Vilnia (now Vilnius, Lithuania). The castle of Mir, a popular attraction for tourists nowadays, was built in the 15th-16th centuries. The following prominent sites date back to this period: Mir Trinity church, the Trinity church in Ishkold (Baranovichi district), Holy Spirit church in Noden (Brest district), the church of St. Boris and Gleb in Novogrudok, the fortress of Novogrudok, the castle of Nesvizh, the church of Ostashino (Novogrudok district), armoured churches in Synkovichi (Zelva district), Malomozheykovo (Lida district), etc. As the Jews and the Tartars were allowed to reside on the territory of Belarus, the local authorities encouraged their cultural development, including the foundation places of worship as well as their secular buildings. The mosque of Davbuchishki (Smorgon district) is one of the oldest in Europe (it was mentioned in the Lithuanian chronicles in 1558). A lot of local craftsmen took part in building mosques and synagogues; hence these buildings have a lot of features and designs typical of the Belarusian architecture.

The situation of Belarusian cultural development changed dramatically in the second half of the 16th century. As the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was devastated by frequent wars with the Moscow Principality, it decided to unite with the Polish Kingdom. Poland and Lithuania were later united into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth), by the Union of Lublin (1569). The Old Belarusian language was the official language of that state as stipulated by the provisions of the second wording of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Statute in 1566.It seemed so as though nothing had threatened Belarusian culture in the beginning. Positive results were achieved in all spheres of spiritual life, though preceded by some difficulties.