Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Did?ioji Kunigaik?tyst?, Belarusian: ???????? ???????? ?????????? (???), Ukrainian: ?????? ?????????? ????????? (???), Polish: Wielkie Ksi?stwo Litewskie) was an Eastern European state of the 12th - 18th centuries. Founded by pagan, Baltic Lithuanians in the second half of the 12th century it soon overpassed the confines of the traditional area of Lithuanian settlement, acquiring large parts of former Kievan Rus. In this way it covered the territory of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Transnistria and parts of Poland and Russia during the period of its greatest extent in the 15th century. In the Union of Krewo in 1386, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made a personal union with the Kingdom of Poland. Since the Lublin Union in 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign State of Federation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (having separate government, laws, army and treasury) until the annexation of the Federation by Imperial Russia, Prussia and Austria causing the partitioning of the state in 1795.

Related Topics:
Lithuanian - Belarusian - Ukrainian - Polish - 12th - 18th - Pagan - Baltic - Lithuanians - Kievan Rus - Lithuania - Belarus - Ukraine - Transnistria - Poland - Russia - 15th century - Union of Krewo - 1386 - Personal union - Kingdom of Poland - Lublin Union - 1569 - Federation - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Imperial Russia - Prussia - Austria - Partitioning of the state - 1795

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Being expanded presumably by peaceful means, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a multinational state, where all its parts (Catholic Lithuanians and Poles, Orthodox and Uniate Eastern Slavs, Jews, Armenians, Germans etc.) contributed to cultural and political life. This multinational character of the state and cosmopolitan tendencies in thinking of the leading elite after the end of 14th century caused the question of legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 19th - 20th centuries. This question was disputed by Polish, Russian, Lithuanian and Belarusian historians and national leaders. These disputes reached their peak during independence wars in 1917 ? 1920, sometimes becoming local wars (see Curzon line, Central Lithuania).

Related Topics:
Catholic - Lithuanians - Poles - Orthodox - Uniate - Eastern Slavs - Jew - Armenians - Germans - 14th century - 19th - 20th - 1917 - 1920 - Curzon line - Central Lithuania

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The word "conquest", although it's used often by international (especially Anglo-American), is not the most proper word to describe the process by which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united the lands of White Ruthenia. It is worth noting that both peoples, the forefathers of modern Lithuanians and modern Belarusians, called themselves "Lithuanians" in their own tongue (respectively lietuviai in Lithuanian and litviny in Belarusian). At that time "Lithuanian" had a double meaning: one being a person from Lithuanian nation (a Baltic nation in the first lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (northwest of late GDL) and northeastern part of East Prussia) and the second to mean every inhabitant of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The usage of this word differed from place to place: in East Prussia it was used refer mostly to the Lithuanian nationality, which made a considerable minority there (Lithuania Minor), while in the Slavic lands of GDL the second usage was more common, though Belarusians (especially catholics), as mentioned above, did use litviny as their ethnonym, unlike Ukrainians who are referred to only as Ruthenians or Ukrainians. The usage of term "Lithuanian" and the number of people considering themselves to be Lithuanians dropped with time due to polnization and Polish language and culture being seen as more modern; due to that most of GDL nobles started to consider themselves to be Poles. The Lithuanian self-determination started to be popular again with the national revival of Lithuanians in the XIX age. By then however the term was only associated with Lithuanian nation; Belarusians, who also had a national revival at the time, started to see themselves as a different nation. Due to this overlapping, there are also some disputes where exactly was the approximate border in past between the Lithuanian and Belarusian nations and aereals of languages.

Related Topics:
White Ruthenia - Lithuanians - Belarusians - Lithuanian - Litvin - Belarusian - East Prussia - Lithuania Minor

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