HISTORY of Lithuania

FORMATION OF THE STATE:

Until 1200 AD the Baltic tribes, Prussians, Yatvingens, Semigallians, Curonians, Lithuanians, Latgalians, Galindians, Samogitians and others along the Southeastern shores of the Baltic were largely unnoticed by then “civilized” world and were individually ruled by their own tribal chieftains.  They were the last non-baptized pagan peoples in Europe sandwiched between the Byzantine East and the Roman West. 

The end of Crusades left many of the Western religious military Orders unemployed and with no place to go.  Rome’s solution was to use their zeal to subjugate and impose Christianity on the Baltic tribes.   In 1200 AD the Knights of The Sword Order, also known as Livonian Order, established themselves at the mouth of river Dauguva (presently Riga) and quickly conquered Livians, Latvians, Coronians and Estonians.  At the same time, in 1230, the Order of the Knights of the Cross established themselves on the banks of river Vistula (presently Kaliningrad), then engaged and in time subjugated the Prussians.

Meanwhile, Mindaugas, one of the Lithuanian chieftains (dukes), managed to unify the Lithuanians under his rule and , in 1236 with aid of Samogitian duke Vykintas, repelled the Livonian Order at Siauliai.  In process of unifying Lithuania under his rule Mindaugas created many internal enemies.  Unification was achieved not just by peaceful means. It also involved  expulsion into exile or killing of less powerful chieftains, some of which appeared to be his relatives.  Therefore, Mindaugas continued to be constantly beseeched not only by external enemies but also internally by number of powerful dukes.  So, when the Archbishop of Riga offered Mindaugas the kings crown in return of him and his family being baptized, plus a promise to build a cathedral, allow a cleric of the Livonian Order to be ordained Bishop of Lithuania and to cede some territory (some of which, like Samogitia, he did not rule over), he accepted to gain a temporary peace with the Crusaders.  In 1253 Mindaugas was crowned king of Lithuania and ruled until 1263.

Mindaugas used this period of peace with the Order to expand his newly created state eastward and Southward into Slavic lands.   Meanwhile, the pagan Samogitians continued alone to fend off the efforts by the Order to subjugate them, defeating the Order at Lake Durbe in 1260.

After the defeat of the Livonian Order by the Samogitians under their Duke Treniota, Mindaugas, eying further expansion of his domains, became receptive to Treniotas’ urging to revert to paganism and form alliance to fight the Order.  1261 their combined army attacked Orders stronghold of Wenden, but failed to capture it primarily due to late arrival of Mindaugas’ Russian allies.  After this failure Mindaugas had second thoughts and regrets about this alliance and turned against Treniota.  Threat of major internal war was averted by Treniota managing to assassinate Mindaugas and his two sons. 

The murder of Mindaugas plunged the country into turmoil, Treniota held power only for one year.  Mindaugas’ remaining son Vaisvilas, who upon his conversion to Christianity had become a monk, with help of Russians overthrew Treniota killing him to avenge the murder of his father.  Vaisvilas rule lasted for three years.  He was succeeded by his brother-in-law Svarnas who also lasted only three years. 

This period of unrest ended with ascension to power of Traidenis, a Lithuanian chieftain (Duke) with no apparent family ties with the Mindaugas clan.  He managed to obtain allegiance all Lithuanian Dukes and unify the country under his rule.  His rule marked the beginning of truly unified and distinctly definable state.   He restored old pagan religion and successfully checked the Livonian Order’s probes into Lithuanian territory.  He died in 1282 of natural causes.

YEARS OF EXPANSION AND DIARCHY 

At the end of the thirteenth century the Knights of the Cross, or often referred as Teutonic Order, finally managed to complete the subjugation of the Prussian and Zemgalian tribes and Lithuanians faced a new formidable enemy to the West.  Again the goal of these Germanic Orders was to gain land bridge between their domains, which was Samogitia.  Wars, principally with the Teutonic Order, lasting well into the fifteenth century ensued with the Samogitian lands ceded and recovered by Lithuanian rulers.  

The Lithuanian rulers, although faced with constant attacks on the Lithuanian territory from the west and the north, kept consolidating their power internally and expanding their domains and influence to the east and south.  Grand Duke Gediminas (1316-1341) through diplomacy and political marriages expanded his domain deep into the Slavic lands.  He married of a daughter to Duke of Tver, his son Algirdas to Duchess of Vitebsk, son Liubartas to Duchess of Volinia, and managed to install yet another son Teodoras as the ruler of Kiev.  He also built a castle and established Vilnius as his capital. 

Prior to his death in one of the battles with Teutonic Order, he had partitioned the country into six regions designating his sons as the rulers.   Upon his death the youngest son of Gediminas, Jaunutis, to whom father had not yet designated a fiefdom and was residing in Vilnius, suddenly found himself in control of the reigns of the state

His reign did not last for long.  In 1345 two of his elder brothers, Algirdas and Kestutis, forced Jaunutis out of Vilnius and took over the governance of the state.  Their joint rule lasted until Algirdas death in1377, with Algirdas governing the Eastern expanses and Kestutis the western Lithuania, including Samogitia.  Algirdas, by taking control of the seat of government in Vilnius became the head of state.   Kestutis established his residency in the nearby Trakai and the brother often met to discuss maters of state.  In foreign chronicles both were often referred as “Kings of Lithuania”. 

The defense of the Lithuania-proper against the onslaught of the Orders determined to occupy Samogitia and establish the themselves on the right bank of river Nemunas, fell on Kestutis, while Algirdas was relatively free to continue to pursue his father’s expansionist strategy east and south.

TREACHERY AND INTRIGUE

Algirdas was succeeded by his son Jogaila.  This ended the era of cooperative diarchy.   He, influenced by his mother, saw his uncle’s vast holdings as means to satisfy the desire of his younger brothers for domains of their own.  Faced with a challenge to the legitimacy of ascension by his older brother Andrew (by Algirdas’ first wife, he negotiated peace with the Teutonic Order to the detriment of Kestutis, by leaving Samogitia out of agreement and later secretly excluding all of Kestutis lands out and promising not to provide assistance if his lands were attacked. 

Upon discovery of this treachery, in 1381 Kestutis marched to Vilnius, capturing it without a fight and taking Jogaila as a prisoner.  Jogaila was exiled to his father’s holdings of Vitebsk and Kreva upon renouncing his claim to the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania and promise under oath not to stop his activities against Kestutis.   This was a mistake.   Only a year later while Kestutis was away with the army and Vytautas with his wife had gone to Trakai, Jogaila’s followers within the castle took control of it.  Jogaila was back in Vilnius and Vytautas was trapped in Trakai surrounded by Jogaila’s and his allies, Teutonic order forces. 

Vytautas managed escape the trap before Trakai surrendered and went to his holdings in Gardinas where he successfully raised an army.  Kestutis returning from the campaign stopped in Gardinas, where they agreed on plan of action.  Within months the combined forces of Vytautas and Kestutis stood before Trakai facing Jogaila and his allies.  Sensing overwhelming superiority of his uncles forces, Jogaila through his intermediary, his brother Skirgaila, invited Kestutis and Vytautas to negotiate peace in Vilnius promising truce and safe passage.

However, as soon as they arrived in Vilnius, they were arrested and thrown into castle’s dungeons.  Kestutis in chains was taken to Kriavas castle where five days later he died  “under mysterious circumstances”.  Vytautas escaped the fate of his father by staging successful escape from his prison.

ONE KING --- TWO COUNTRIES

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UNION WITH POLAND

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DECLINE OF POLISH-LITHUANIAN STATE

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125 YEARS UNDER RUSSIAN TSARS

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REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS

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50 YEARS OF OCCUPATION

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THE NEW INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC

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