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Mikhailo Aleksandrovich Olelkovich (executed on August 30, 1481 in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
) was a Ruthenian noble from the
Olelkovich The House of Olelkovich ( be, Алелькавічы, lt, Olelkaičiai, pl, Olelkowicze, uk, Олельковичі) was a 15th–16th-century princely family from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their main possession was the Duchy of Slutsk–K ...
family of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
. He was the brother of Prince Simeon Olelkovich of Kiev and cousin of Grand Prince
Ivan III of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...
. Mikhailo was allegedly involved both in bringing the Judaizer Heresy to Novgorod and the failed defection of the city to the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
in 1471. He also organized a coup against
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, but was discovered and executed in 1481. Mikhailo's son Semen continued the family line.


Novgorod affair

According to the 1456
Treaty of Yazhelbitsy The Treaty of Yazhelbitsy (russian: Яжелбицкий мирный договор) was a peace treaty signed by Vasili II, Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir, and the government of Novgorod the Great in the village of Yazhelbitsy in February ...
, the
Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
became dependent on the Grand Duchy of Moscow was not allowed to conduct independent foreign policy. In a bid to regain independence, Novgorod began negotiations for an anti-Muscovite alliance with
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
, Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was alleged in an account purportedly drawn up in the archiepiscopal scriptorium in the mid-1470s that Mikhailo, as regent for Casimir IV, arrived in Novgorod initially to marry
Marfa Boretskaya Marfa Boretskaya, also known as Martha the Mayoress (russian: Марфа Посадница - Marfa Posadnitsa), was the wife of Isaac Boretsky, Novgorod's posadnik in 1438–1439 and again in 1453. According to legend and historical traditi ...
, the matriarch of the pro-Lithuanian faction in the city (or else to have her married to an unnamed Lithuanian nobleman). Moscow accused Novgorod not only of violation of a political treaty, but also of religious treachery: there were also allegations that the marriage would have brought Novgorod over to Catholicism, but Gail Lenhoff and Janet Martin argue that the pro-Lithuanian, pro-Catholic allegations are highly suspect and, indeed, very unlikely. Mikhailo was Orthodox (as was Marfa Boretskaya) and he and his brother had strong differences of opinion with Casimir IV Jagiellon. Mikhailo entered Novgorod on November 8, 1470 with a large retinue and remained in the city until March 15, 1471. His large retinue included Skhariya (Zechariah) the Jew, who gained a following in Novgorod. The heresy spread from there to Moscow in 1479 when Grand Prince Ivan III transferred several heretical priests to Moscow.Fennell, ''Ivan the Great'', 327. The affair ended when Mikhailo withdrew from the city and Ivan III defeated the Novgorodians in the
Battle of Shelon The Battle of Shelon (russian: Шелонская битва) was a decisive battle between the forces of the Grand Duchy of Moscow under Ivan III (r. 1462–1505) and the army of the Novgorod Republic, which took place on the Shelon River on 14 ...
in July 1471. In 1478, Moscow took direct control of the city.


Coup of 1481

After the death of his brother
Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, so ...
in 1470, 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 ...
was converted into the
Kiev Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
and was governed by appointed officials (
voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
s). This was a serious setback to the Olelkovich family as it claimed the principality as their possession since Mikhailo's grandfather
Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
, son of Algirdas. The loss of Kyiv could be attributed to Olelkovich's faith (Eastern Orthodoxy rather than Catholicism) and their close kinship with the Grand Princes of Moscow, who threatened Lithuania's eastern borders. For example, in 1479 Mikhailo acted as intermediary in arranging the marriage of
Ivan the Young Ivan Ivanovich (also known as, Ivan the Young, Ioann Ioannovich and Ivan Molodoy) (''Иван Иванович'', ''Иоанн Иоаннович'', ''Иван Молодой'' in Russian) (15 February 1458 – 6 March 1490), was the eldest son a ...
, son of Ivan III, and Elena, daughter of
Stephen III of Moldavia Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
. Disappointed by the Lithuanian politics, Mikhailo Olelkovich organized opposition to Casimir IV. In 1481, he together with relatives Iwan Olshanski-Dubrovicki and Feodor Ivanovich Belsky organized a coup against the Grand Duke. However, the plot was discovered, possibly by voivode of Kiev Ivan Chodkiewicz, and Mikhailo and Iwan were executed. Feodor managed to escape to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Mikhailo and twelve other Ruthenian nobles signed a letter to Pope Sixtus IV in 1476, authored by Miseal (Misail Pstruch),
Metropolitan of Kiev Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...
. The letters expressed loyalty to the Council of Florence and supported a
church union Church union is the name given to a merger of two or more Christian denominations. Such unions may take on many forms, including a united church and a federation. United churches {{main, United and uniting churches A united church is the res ...
between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It also contained complains that the Catholics were discriminating the Orthodoxs and asked the Pope for protection. There are doubts whether the letter was authentic and not a later forgery.


Ancestry


References


External links


Mykhailo Olelkovych
at the
Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olelkovich, Mikhailo 1481 deaths Gediminids Politicians from Vilnius People from medieval Novgorod Year of birth unknown 15th-century Lithuanian people