![RON województwo smoleńskie map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/RON_wojew%C3%B3dztwo_smole%C5%84skie_map.svg)
Smolensk Voivodeship ( la, Palatinatus smolencensis, be, Смале́нскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo smoleńskie, lt, Smolensko vaivadija) was a unit of administrative division and local government in 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 Li ...
and later the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
.
The territory of Smolensk was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1404, but the voivodeship was established only in 1508.
[ Just six years later, in 1514, it was lost 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 ...
during the 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 voivodeship was recaptured by the Commonwealth in 1611 during the ]Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18) Polish–Muscovite War can refer to:
*Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
*Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18)
*Smolensk War (1631–34)
*Russo-Polish War (1654–67)
Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Rus ...
and lost again in 1654 during the Russo-Polish War (1654–67)
Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Russia (including the Soviet Union) include:
Originally a Polish civil war that Russia, among others, became involved in.
Originally a Hungarian revolution b ...
.[ Even when the territory was under Russian control, Poland and Lithuania claimed it as a titular voivodeship. The capital of the voivodeship, and the seat of its governor (]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 me ...
), was in 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 ...
. It was subdivided into two powiat
A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powia ...
s: Smolensk and Starodub
Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975).
History
Starodub has been known ...
.
Zygmunt Gloger
Zygmunt Gloger (3 November 1845 in Tybory-Kamianka – 16 August 1910 in Warsaw) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popul ...
in his monumental book Historical Geography of the Lands of Old Poland provides this description of the Smolensk Voivodeship:
In the 9th century, Smolensk was the main center of the Krivichs
The Krivichs (Kryvichs) ( be, крывічы, kryvičý, ; rus, кри́вичи, p='krʲivʲɪtɕɪ, kríviči) were a tribal union of Early East Slavs
The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration P ...
. In the 11th century, it became the capital of a separate duchy, the Principality of Smolensk
The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princip ...
, which in the 14th century was conquered by 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 Li ...
. In 1404, it became a permanent part of Lithuania, and later on, the Principality was turned into a Voivodeship. In 1514, Smolensk was captured by Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to:
*Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555
* Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
, which was confirmed by a 1522 treaty. For the next 89 years Smolensk belonged to Muscovy. It was recovered by King Sigismund III of Poland
Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632
N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 t ...
in 1611, but Smolensk Voivodeship as part of the Commonwealth existed only for 56 years. In 1654 it was recaptured by the Russians, which was confirmed by the Truce of Andrusovo
The Truce of Andrusovo ( pl, Rozejm w Andruszowie, russian: Андрусовское перемирие, ''Andrusovskoye Pieriemiriye'', also sometimes known as Treaty of Andrusovo) established a thirteen-and-a-half year truce, signed in 1667 bet ...
in 1667.
Smolensk Voivodeship had three senators: the Bishop, the Voivode, and the Castellan of Smolensk. It was divided into two counties: those of Smolensk and Starodub
Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975).
History
Starodub has been known ...
. After its annexation by the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, it continued to exist as a so-called fictitious voivodeship, with sejmik
A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Pol ...
s taking place at a Bernardine Church in Wilno
Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...
. Furthermore, the fictitious title of Bishop of Smolensk remained in use. Last Bishops before the partitions of Poland were Adam Naruszewicz
Adam Stanisław Naruszewicz ( lt, Adomas Naruševičius; 20 October 1733 – 8 July 1796) was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, Jesuit and Roman Catholic bishop.
Born in a szlachta family, he wen ...
, and Tymoteusz Gorzeński.
See also
* Prince of Smolensk The Prince of Smolensk was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Smolensk, a lordship based on the city of Smolensk. It passed between different groups of descendants of Grand Prince Iaroslav I of Kiev until 1125, when ...
References
Smolensk Voivodeship, description by Zygmunt Gloger
{{coord, 54.782778, 32.045278, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark
Voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Former voivodeships of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
1508 establishments in Lithuania
1654 disestablishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth