Polotsk is one of the earliest mentioned cities of theEastern Slavs. ThePrimary Chronicle mentioned Polotsk in the year 862 (as Полотескъ, /poloteskŭ/), together withMurom andBelozersk. However, an archaeological expedition from the Institute of History of theNational Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed in the first half of the 9th century.[5]
The first known prince of Polotsk wasRogvolod (ruled 945–978). He had two sons and a daughter namedRogneda. Rogvolod promised Rogneda to theprince of Kiev,Yaropolk, as a wife. But Yaropolk's brother,Vladimir, had attacked Polotsk before Yaropolk came. He killed Rogvolod, his wife and sons, and married Rogneda.[6][7]
Vladimir and Rogneda had five children and the eldest of them,Izyaslav, became Prince of Polotsk (ruled 989–1001).
Between the 10th and 12th centuries, thePrincipality of Polotsk emerged as the dominant center of power in what is now Belarusian territory, with a lesser role played by thePrincipality of Turov to the south. It repeatedly asserted its sovereignty in relation to other centers ofKievan Rus', becoming a political capital, theepiscopal see and the controller ofvassal territories amongBalts in the west. Its most powerful ruler was PrinceVseslav of Polotsk, who reigned from 1044 to 1101. A 12th-century inscription commissioned by Vseslav's sonBoris may still be seen on ahuge boulder installed near St. Sophia Cathedral.
The Siege of Polotsk in 1579
During theMongol invasion, Polotsk avoided being invaded or paying tribute to theGolden Horde. But in 1240, it became a vassal of the Lithuanian princes. TheGrand Duke of LithuaniaVytenis annexed the city by military force in 1307, completing the process which the Lithuanian princes had begun in the 1250s.[8] Polotsk received a charter of autonomy guaranteeing that the grand dukes "will not introduce new, nor destroy the old".[9] It was the earliest to be so incorporated into theGrand Duchy of Lithuania.[9] By doing so, the Lithuanians managed to firmly grasp theDvina trade route in their hands, securing an important element for the surrounding economies.[8]Magdeburg law was adopted in 1498. Polotsk functioned as a capital of thePołock Voivodship of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1772. Captured by theRussian army ofIvan the Terrible in 1563, it was returned to theGrand Duchy of Lithuania just 15 years later.[10] It was again captured by Russia on 17 June 1654, but recaptured by Poland–Lithuania on 30 October 1660 during theRusso-Polish War (1654–67).
Since the Russian EmpressCatherine II did not acknowledge the Papalsuppression of the Society of Jesus (1773–1814), the Jesuit branches in these lands were not disbanded, and Połock became the European centre of the Order, with anovitiate opening in 1780, and with the arrival of distinguished Jesuits from other parts of Europe who brought with them valuable books and scientific collections. Jesuits continued their pastoral work and upgraded theJesuit College in Polotsk (opened in 1580 by decree of the Polish kingStefan Batory, with the JesuitPiotr Skarga (1536–1612) as its first rector) into thePołock Academy (1812–1820), with three faculties (Theology, Languages and Liberal Arts), four libraries, a printing house, a bookshop, a theatre with 3 stages, a science museum, an art gallery and a scientific and literary periodical, and a medical-care centre. The school was also the patron of the college in Petersburg, the mission toSaratov and an expedition to Canton.
In 1820, pressure from theRussian Orthodox Church influenced the Russian Emperor Alexander I to exile the Jesuits and to close the Polock Academy, there were 700 students studying there.[11][12] The Russian authorities also broke up the Academy's library of 40,000–60,000 volumes, the richest collection of 16th- to 18th-century books — the books went to St. Petersburg, Kiev and other cities, 4000 volumes (along with books from other closed Jesuit schools) going to the St. Petersburg State University Scientific Library.[13][14]
Polotsk came under occupation by theGerman Empire between 25 February 1918 and 21 November 1918 duringWorld War I, by Poland between 22 September 1919 and 14 May 1920 in thePolish–Soviet War. and byNazi Germany between 16 July 1941 and 4 July 1944 duringWorld War II. In August 1944, there were serious considerations to transfer Polotsk and its surrounding areas (18,000 square kilometers) with ~400,000 people from theByelorussian SSR to theRussian SFSR, howeverJoseph Stalin, persuaded byPanteleimon Ponomarenko, eventually rejected to approve the already prepared transferring documents and subsequently Polotsk functioned as the center ofPolotsk Region between 20 September 1944 and 8 January 1954.[15] A reorganisation of the area betweenVitebsk andMolodechno Regions left Polotsk part of the former.
Cultural achievements of the medieval period include the work of the nunEuphrosyne of Polotsk (1120–1173), who built monasteries, transcribed books, promoted literacy and sponsored art (including local artisan Lazarus Bohsha's famous "Cross of Saint Euphrosyne," a national symbol and treasure lost duringWorld War II), and the prolific, originalChurch Slavonic sermons and writings of BishopCyril of Turaw (1130–1182).
The first Belarusian printer,Francysk Skaryna, was born in Polotsk around 1490. He is famous for being the first to print theBible in theOld Belarusian language (East Slavic language) in 1517, several decades after the first-ever printed book byJohann Gutenberg and just several years after the first Czech Bible (1506).
In September 2003, as "Days of Belarusian Literacy" were celebrated for the 10th time in Polotsk, city authorities dedicated a monument to honor the uniqueCyrillic Belarusian letter Ў, which is not used in any other Slavic language. The original idea for the monument came from the Belarusiancalligraphy professorPaval Siemchanka, who has been studyingCyrillic scripts for many years.
^Symposium 2014: Jesuit Survival and Restoration 1773 - 1814: 200th Anniversary Perspectives from Boston and Macau
^Połock Academy (1812–1820): An Example of the Society of Jesus's Endurance, by Irena Kadulska in: Robert A. MARYKS and Jonathan WRIGHT (eds.), Jesuit Survival and Restoration: A Global History, 1773–1900, Leiden and Boston, MA: Brill, 2015,ISBN9789004282384, pp. 83-98
^Savelyev, Yu. R. Vizantiysky stil v architecture Rossii (Савельев, Ю. Р. Византийский стиль в архитектуре России. - СПБ., 2005) Saint Petersburg, 2005.ISBN5-87417-207-6, p.260
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