The Lithuanian–Muscovite War, known in Russia as Litovschina (russian: Литовщина) encompasses three raids by

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

, to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

in 1368, 1370, and 1372. Algirdas organized the raids against

Dmitry Donskoy Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

in support of the

Principality of Tver The Principality of Tver (russian: Тверское княжество, la, Tferiae Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and burned the

posad A posad (russian: посад, uk, посад) was a historical type of settlement in East Slavic lands since the Ancient Rus, often surrounded by ramparts and a moat, adjoining a town or a kremlin, but outside of it, or adjoining a monastery ...

, but did not succeed in taking the city's Kremlin. In 1372, the Lithuanian army was stopped near

Lyubutsk Lyubutsk (Lyubutsk, Lyubutesk, russian: Любутск) was a Russian fortress, located about below the confluence the Oka River with Dugna in the present-day Kaluga Oblast. Its name derives from a rivulet flowing on northern and eastern sides o ...

where, after a standoff, the

Treaty of Lyubutsk Treaty of Lyubutsk was a peace treaty signed in summer of 1372 between Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Dmitri Donskoi, Prince of Moscow. The treaty ended the Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–72) and resulted in a seven-year peace period. ...

was concluded. Lithuanians agreed to cease their aid to Tver, which was defeated in 1375.

Mikhail II of Tver Mikhail Alexandrovich (russian: Михаил Александрович) (1333 – August 26, 1399) was Grand Prince of Tver and briefly held the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir. He was one of only two Tver princes after 1317 (the other was his fa ...

had to acknowledge Dmitry as "elder brother".

Background

Influence and power of the

grew steadily and its interests clashed with those of Lithuania. After the

Battle of Blue Waters The Battle of Blue Waters ( lt, Mūšis prie Mėlynųjų Vandenų, be, Бітва на Сініх Водах, uk, Битва на Синіх Водах) was a battle fought at some time in autumn 1362 or 1363 on the banks of the Syniukha river, ...

in 1362 Lithuania took over the

Principality of Kiev , conventional_long_name = Inner Principality of Kiev , common_name = Kiev , status = Protectorate , status_text = part of the Grand Principality of Vladimir part of the ...

and became a direct neighbor of Moscow. In 1368,

became

Prince of Tver The title of Prince of Tver was borne by the head of the branch of the Rurikid dynasty that ruled the Principality of Tver. In 1247 Tver was allocated to Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky, and became an independent principality. In 1252, the principal ...

and

Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Alexius (''Алекси́й'' or ''Aleksij'' in Russian) (before 1296–1378) was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia (from 1354), and presided over the Moscow government during Dmitrii Donskoi's minority. Biography Alexius, whose na ...

, invited Mikhail to Moscow and imprisoned him. Mikhail was released when envoys of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

arrived and Dmitry did not want to involve the Tatars in the Moscow–Tver dispute. Mikhail fled to Lithuania to ask assistance of Algirdas, who was married to his sister

Uliana of Tver Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver (russian: Юлиания Александровна Тверская; – 17 March 1391) was a daughter of Prince Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Halych (daughter of Yuri I of Galicia). She was the second wif ...

. Algirdas decided to assist the

Principality of Tver The Principality of Tver (russian: Тверское княжество, la, Tferiaethrone of Vladimir, a long-time possession of Moscow.

Conflict

First raid

In 1368, Algirdas gathered a large army, which included his brother

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( la, Kinstut, ; – 3 or 15 August 1382) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila ...

and forces from Tver and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

. The army was assembled in secret and marched quietly so that not to give an advance warning to the Russians. After crossing the

Lithuania–Russia border The Lithuania–Russia border is an international border between the Republic of Lithuania ( EU member) and Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of the Russian Federation ( CIS member). It is an external border of the European Union. The long borde ...

, 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 of

Vladimir the Bold Vladimir Andreyevich the Bold (; July 15, 1353 – 1410) was the most famous prince of Serpukhov. His moniker alludes to his many military exploits committed in the wars waged by his cousin, Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow. Biography A grandson of Ivan ...

). Lithuanians killed Semion, son of Prince Dmitry of

Starodub-on-the-Klyazma Starodub-on-the-Klyazma ( rus, Староду́б-на-Кля́зьме, p=stərɐˈdub nə ˈklʲæzʲmʲɪ) was a prominent urban centre of Russian Opolye from the 12th until the 14th century. Like so many towns in the vicinity, it was named b ...

. They then captured Obolensk killing Prince Konstantin

Obolensky {{For, the rural localities in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, Obolenskoye The House of Obolensky (russian: Оболенский) is the name of a princely Russian family of the Rurik dynasty. The family of aristocrats mostly fled Russia in 1917 during the ...

. 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 the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

, behind the

walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States *Walls, Mississippi, United States * Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...

that were completed just a few months before, and ordered to burn the

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.

Second raid

In early 1370, Moscow attacked Tver and

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

which belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Mikhail II of Tver traveled to the

and obtained a

yarlyk A jarlig ( mn, зарлиг, zarlig; russian: ярлык, ''jarlyk'', also transliterated yarlyk in Russian and Turkic, or even more correctly yarlıq, and the Tatar: yarlığ) is an edict or written commandant of Mongol and Chinggisid rulers' ...

for the throne of Vladimir. Mikhail attempted to establish his rule in Vladimir, but failed and retreated to Lithuania asking for help. At the end of November 1370, Algirdas organized the second raid towards Moscow. His forces included his brother

, Mikhail II of Tver, and Svyatoslav II of Smolensk. On November 26, the Lithuanian army besieged

Volokolamsk Volokolamsk (russian: Волокола́мск) is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Po ...

. 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. The army marched forward and besieged Moscow on December 6. Algirdas' forces burned and pillaged, but did not succeed in taking the city's Kremlin where Dmitry Donskoy had retreated. This time Donskoy had allies ready to march: his cousin

in Peremyshl and Prince Vladimir of

Pronsk Pronsk (russian: Пронск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Ryazan Oblast, Russia. ;Urban localities *Pronsk, Pronsky District, Ryazan Oblast, a work settlement in Pronsky District ;Rural localities * Pronsk, Ukholovsky Distri ...

with troops from

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...

. Therefore, a truce was concluded and Algirdas retreated after eight days.

Between the raids

After the 1370 raid,

, excommunicated all Russian princes that supported the Lithuanians; these excommunications were quickly approved by Patriarch

Philotheus I of Constantinople Philotheos Kokkinos (Thessaloniki, c. 1300 – Constantinople, 1379) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from November 1353 to 1354 and 1364 to 1376, and a leader of the Byzantine monastic and religious revival in t ...

. 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 upper

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

and

Oka River The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...

s and requested appointment of a new metropolitan bishop of Lithuania. The Patriarch sent

apocrisiarius An ''apocrisiarius'', the Latinized form of ''apokrisiarios'' ( el, ), sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was ''respons ...

Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Chri ...

to Lithuania to investigate. Algirdas succeeded in winning over Cyprian and eventually promoting him to

Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' (russian: Митрополит Киевский и всея Руси, Mitropolit Kiyevskiy i vseya Rusi; ) was a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It exi ...

. But it seems Algirdas also wanted peace as his daughter Helen married

at the end of 1371. In the meantime, Tver and Moscow continued to compete and each obtained new

s for Vladimir. In spring 1372, Lithuanians raided Russian lands again. This time Algirdas did not participate. The Lithuanian Army was commanded by

and his son

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

and Algirdas' son

Andrei of Polotsk Andrei of Polotsk ( be, Андрэй Альгердавіч, lt, Andrius Algirdaitis, pl, Andrzej Olgierdowic, ca. 1325 – 12 August 1399, in the Battle of the Vorskla River) was the eldest son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and ...

. They attacked

Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...

, burned the posad and churches, looted and extracted a ransom. At the same time Mikhail II of Tver attacked

Dmitrov Dmitrov ( rus, Дмитров, p=ˈdmʲitrəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Mosco ...

. Then the two armies attacked Kashin and its duke acknowledged Tver's suzerainty. Then the Lithuanian Army retreated through Tver and

Torzhok Torzhok (russian: Торжо́к) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The town is famous for its folk craft of g ...

Third raid

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 near

, a fort on the

northeast of Tula. 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, the

was concluded. Algirdas agreed to abandon the plans of promoting Mikhail thus ending Lithuania's assistance to Tver.

Aftermath

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. Dmitry had support of many Russian dukes, including Svyatoslav II of Smolensk who fought for Mikhail in 1370 (Lithuanians revenged that by raiding Smolensk in fall 1375). 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. Khan

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, tt-Cyrl, Мамай, translit=Mamay; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful military commander of the Golden Horde. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but a warlord and a kingmaker ...

burned

Novosil Novosil (russian: Новоси́ль) is a town and the administrative center of Novosilsky District in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zusha River east of Oryol, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: His ...

as retribution for breaking the yarlyk, but it was too late to change the situation. The raids to Moscow consumed many resources at the time when Lithuania faced another war with the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

and suffered several defeats, particularly the

Battle of Rudau The Battle of Rudau (german: Schlacht bei Rudau, lt, Rūdavos mūšis) was a medieval pitched battle fought between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on 17 or 18 February 1370 near Rudau village, north of Königsberg (now Me ...

in February 1370. The raids were a tactical defeat. Lithuania did not gain any new territory and lost Tver, one of its most reliable allies. They strengthened Moscow's prestige and influence in Rus' and signified that Lithuanian eastward expansion into Slavic lands was coming to an end. The peace between Lithuania and Moscow lasted for about seven years until 1379, when after the death of Algirdas in 1377 his eldest son

allied himself with Moscow against Jogaila.

Story according to Lithuanian chronicles

The raids were not mentioned by the early

Lithuanian Chronicles The Lithuanian Chronicles ( lt, Lietuvos metraščiai, also called Belarusian-Lithuanian Chronicles) are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the ...

. The

Bychowiec Chronicle The Bychowiec Chronicle (also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most extensive ...

, 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. In one of the threats, Algirdas promises to kiss Dmitry with his spear and to rest his spear against the Kremlin's Wall. Algirdas then invades the Grand Duchy 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 by

Maciej Stryjkowski Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...

Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz ( pl, Wojciech Wijuk Kojałowicz; lt, Albertas Vijūkas-Kojelavičius; la, Koialovicius-Wijuk Albertus; 1609–1677) was a Lithuanian historian, theologian and translator. He was devoted Jesuit and religious polemicist, ...

and later historians with various modifications. The description in the Bychowiec Chronicle is clearly a piece of Lithuanian propaganda. The chronicle was compiled in the first half of the 16th century when Lithuania and Moscow were engaged in a series of

Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars (also known as Russo-Lithuanian Wars, or just either Muscovite Wars or Lithuanian Wars)The conflicts are referred to as 'Muscovite wars' ( pl, wojny moskiewskie) in Polish historiography and as 'Lithuanian wars' in ...

. The wars were unsuccessful for Lithuania – it lost a significant portion of its territory, including the strategically important Smolensk in 1514. Therefore, the chronicle used the historical event to encourage the Lithuanians to fight. The episode with the spear was probably borrowed from Polish historiography: King Boleslaus I of Poland used his sword ( Szczerbiec) to hit the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in 1018.

References

External links

*
Map of the campaigns in 1368–72
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lithuanian-Muscovite War (1368-72) Conflicts in 1368 Conflicts in 1369 Conflicts in 1370 Conflicts in 1371 Conflicts in 1372 1368 in Europe 1369 in Europe 1370 in Europe 1371 in Europe 1372 in Europe Wars involving the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Wars involving Russia Lithuanian–Russian wars 14th century in Lithuania 14th century in the Grand Duchy of Moscow