Lithuanian–Muscovite War | |||||||
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Part of theMuscovite–Lithuanian Wars | |||||||
![]() Algirdas retreats from Moscow in 1370, miniature from theIllustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Grand Duchy of Lithuania Principality of Tver | Principality of Moscow | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Algirdas Mikhail II of Tver Kęstutis | Dmitry Donskoy Vladimir the Bold |
TheLithuanian–Muscovite War, known in theRogozh Chronicle asLitovschina (Russian:Литовщина), encompasses three raids byAlgirdas,Grand Duke of Lithuania, to thePrincipality of Moscow in 1368, 1370, and 1372. Algirdas organized the raids againstDmitry Donskoy in support of thePrincipality of Tver, chief rival of Moscow. In 1368 and 1370, Lithuanians besiegedMoscow and burned theposad, but did not succeed in taking thecity's Kremlin. In 1372, the Lithuanian army was stopped nearLyubutsk where, after a standoff, theTreaty of Lyubutsk was concluded. Lithuanians agreed to cease their aid to Tver, which was defeated in 1375.Mikhail II of Tver had to acknowledge Dmitry as "elder brother".[1]
Influence and power of the Principality of Moscow grew steadily and its interests clashed with those of Lithuania. After theBattle of Blue Waters in 1362 Lithuania took over thePrincipality of Kiev and became a direct neighbor of Moscow.[1] In 1368,Mikhail II of Tver becamePrince of Tver.Dmitry Donskoy andAlexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, invited Mikhail to Moscow and imprisoned him. Mikhail was released when envoys of theGolden Horde arrived and Dmitry did not want to involve the Tatars in the Moscow–Tver dispute.[2] Mikhail fled to Lithuania to ask assistance of Algirdas, who was married to his sisterUliana of Tver. Algirdas decided to assist thePrincipality of Tver, chief rival of Moscow, and sought to put Mikhail on thethrone of Vladimir, a long-time possession of Moscow.[3]
In 1368, Algirdas gathered a large army, which included his brotherKęstutis and forces from Tver andSmolensk.[4] The army was assembled in secret and marched quietly so that not to give an advance warning to the Russians. After crossing theLithuania–Russia border, Lithuanians began pillaging and burning various villages while Russians hastily assembled a defensive force, commanded by Dmitry Minin (boyar of Dmitry Donskoy) and Akinfiev Shuba (boyar ofVladimir the Bold).[4] Lithuanians killed Semion, son of Prince Dmitry ofStarodub-on-the-Klyazma. They then capturedObolensk killing Prince KonstantinObolensky.[4] On November 21, 1368, the Lithuanians defeated the Russian defense forces on the Trosna River and killed its commanders and other boyars. Dmitry Donskoy retreated to theMoscow Kremlin, behind thewalls that were completed just a few months before, and ordered to burn theposad so that the Russian defense would have a better position. The Lithuanians surrounded the Kremlin, burned and looted, but retreated three days later without a serious attempt at taking the stronghold.[4]
'In the year 1370 (...), Olgerd [Algirdas] with the Lithuanians was near Moscow and burned the outer town.'
In early 1370, Moscow attacked Tver andBryansk which belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[2] Mikhail II of Tver traveled to theGolden Horde and obtained ayarlyk for thethrone of Vladimir. Mikhail attempted to establish his rule in Vladimir, but failed and retreated to Lithuania asking for help.[2] At the end of November 1370, Algirdas organized the second raid towards Moscow.[4] His forces included his brotherKęstutis, Mikhail II of Tver, andSvyatoslav II of Smolensk. On November 26, the Lithuanian army besiegedVolokolamsk. The battle continued for two days. Lithuanians killed Prince Vasily Ivanovich Berezuysky, commander of the city's defenses, but did not succeed in capturing the city.[4] The army marched forward and besieged Moscow on December 6. Algirdas' forces burned and pillaged, but did not succeed in taking thecity's Kremlin where Dmitry Donskoy had retreated. This time Donskoy had allies ready to march: his cousinVladimir the Bold inPeremyshl and Prince Vladimir ofPronsk with troops fromRyazan. Therefore, a truce was concluded and Algirdas retreated after eight days.[4]
After the 1370 raid,Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, excommunicated all Russian princes that supported the Lithuanians; these excommunications were quickly approved by PatriarchPhilotheus I of Constantinople.[2] Algirdas responded with his own letter listing injustices committed by the Russians. In particular, Algirdas complained that Dmitry Donskoy attacked nine Lithuanian fortresses on the upperVolga andOka Rivers[4] and requested appointment of a newmetropolitan bishop of Lithuania.[2] The Patriarch sentapocrisiariusCyprian to Lithuania to investigate.[6] Algirdas succeeded in winning over Cyprian and eventually promoting him toMetropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'.[6] But it seems Algirdas also wanted peace as his daughter Helen marriedVladimir the Bold at the end of 1371.[2] In the meantime, Tver and Moscow continued to compete and each obtained newyarlyks for Vladimir.[2] In December 1371, the Muscovites defeated princeOleg II Ivanovich of Ryazan in theBattle of Skornishchevo; he was exiled for six months before returning to his throne.
In spring 1372, Lithuanians raided Russian lands again. This time Algirdas did not participate. The Lithuanian Army was commanded byKęstutis and his sonVytautas and Algirdas' sonAndrei of Polotsk. They attackedPereslavl-Zalessky, burned the posad and churches, looted and extracted a ransom.[4] At the same time Mikhail II of Tver attackedDmitrov. Then the two armies attackedKashin and its duke acknowledged Tver's suzerainty. Then the Lithuanian Army retreated through Tver andTorzhok.[4]
The third and the last campaign by Algirdas was organized in summer 1372. This time Dmitry Donskoy marched with his army to meet the invaders and the Lithuanian army was stopped nearLyubutsk, a fort on theOka River northeast ofTula.[4] Lithuanian vanguard troops were defeated and had to retreat. The two armies were separated by a steep ravine which was not suitable landscape for combat. After a period of standoff, theTreaty of Lyubutsk was concluded. Algirdas agreed to abandon the plans of promoting Mikhail thus ending Lithuania's assistance to Tver.[4]
Mikhail II of Tver did not end his war with Moscow. He once again obtained a yarlyk for Vladimir and attempted to establish his rule. Dmitry Donskoy assembled a large army and besieged Tver.[7] Dmitry had support of many Russian dukes, includingSvyatoslav II of Smolensk who fought for Mikhail in 1370 (Lithuanians revenged that by raiding Smolensk in fall 1375).[2] Seeing an overwhelming force and not having his Lithuanian allies, on September 3, 1375, Mikhail agreed to acknowledge Dmitry as elder brother and abandoned independent dealings with the Lithuanians or the Golden Horde. Thus while Mikhail retained his title, the Principality of Tver became dependent on Moscow.[7] KhanMamai burnedNovosil as retribution for breaking the yarlyk, but it was too late to change the situation.[2]
The raids to Moscow consumed many resources at the time when Lithuania faced another war with theTeutonic Order and suffered several defeats, particularly theBattle of Rudau in February 1370.[4] The raids were a tactical defeat. Lithuania did not gain any new territory and lost Tver, one of its most reliable allies.[2] They strengthened Moscow's prestige and influence inRus' and signified that Lithuanian eastward expansion into Slavic lands was coming to an end.[3] The peace between Lithuania and Moscow lasted for about seven years until 1379, when after the death of Algirdas in 1377 his eldest sonAndrei of Polotsk allied himself with Moscow againstJogaila.[8]
The raids were not mentioned by the earlyLithuanian Chronicles. TheBychowiec Chronicle, a late and generally unreliable source, introduced the war to Lithuanian historiography. The chronicle merged the three raids into one and added a colorful exchange of threats between Algirdas and Dmitry Donskoy.[9] In one of the threats, Algirdas promises to kiss Dmitry with his spear and to rest his spear against theKremlin's Wall. Algirdas then invades the Principality of Moscow and Dmitry Donskoy sues for peace offering a large ransom. Algirdas accepts but, just as he promised, rests his spear against the Kremlin's Wall. The poetic visual was repeated byMaciej Stryjkowski,Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz and later historians with various modifications.[9]
The description in theBychowiec Chronicle is clearly a piece of Lithuanian propaganda.[9] The chronicle was compiled in the first half of the 16th century when Lithuania and Moscow were engaged in a series ofMuscovite–Lithuanian Wars.[9] The wars were unsuccessful for Lithuania – it lost a significant portion of its territory, including the strategically important Smolensk. Therefore, the chronicle used the historical event to encourage the Lithuanians to fight. The episode with the spear was probably borrowed from Polish historiography: KingBoleslaus I of Poland used his sword (Szczerbiec) to hit theGolden Gate inKiev in 1018.[9]