In Russian historiography the term Upper Oka Principalities () traditionally applies to about a dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of the Oka River at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. They were reigned by the "upper princes", each of which descended from Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov ( Grand Prince of Kiev c. 1236–1243). the areas of these former polities lie within the present-day territories of various

federal subjects of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

: the Tula Oblast, the

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...

, the

Oryol Oblast Oryol Oblast (), also known as Orlovshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Oryol. Population: Geography It is loc ...

and the Bryansk Oblast. Following the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' of 1223–1240, the formerly prominent Olgovichi clan of the Principality of Chernigov gradually declined to a point where the descendants of Mikhail of Chernigov (died 1246) ruled dozens of quasi-sovereign entities. After 1350, as the principalities became wedged-in as buffer states between the ever-expanding

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

(established in 1236) to the west and the nascent Principality of Moscow (established in 1263) to the north, the various Upper Oka polities fluctuated between alignments with each of these two major regional powers. By the end of the 14th century, they were obliged to pay annual tribute to Lithuania. The strengthening alliance of Lithuanian rulers with

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caused shifts in the balance of power in the region. Most Orthodox rulers of the Upper Oka Principalities, therefore, started to look to Moscow for protection against Lithuanian expansionism. Others sought Lithuanian protection against Muscovite aggression, such as Prince Ivan of

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

who in 1454 fled to Lithuania to escape from Vasily II of Moscow. Towards the end of the 15th century, most of these princelings had moved to the Muscovite court. In 1494 Lithuania finally renounced her claims to the region.

List of principalities (in order of seniority)

* Odoyev ( Principality of Odoyev) and Novosil - the seats of the Odoyevsky princes, retained by them as an appanage until the Oprichnina of 1565-1572 * Belyov (or Belev; Principality of Belyov) - the seat of the Belyovsky princes (1468-1588) * Vorotynsk - the seat of the Vorotynsky princes, retained by them as an appanage until the Oprichnina * Mosalsk - the seat of the Mosalsky princes * - the seat of the Zvenigorodsky princes and the Nozdrevaty princes * Karachev - the seat of the Khotetovsky princes *

Kozelsk Kozelsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra (river), Zhizdra River (a tributary of the Oka (river), Oka), southwest of Kaluga ...

and Peremyshl - the seats of Princes Gorchakov * Tarusa ( Principality of Tarusa or Torusa) and Meshchevsk (now Meshchovsk) - the seats of Princes Mezetsky with their cadet branches of Teterin, Shcherbatov * Boryatino - the seat of Princes Boryatinsky * Obolensk - the seat of the Obolensky princes with their cadet branches of Repnin, Lykov, Dolgorukov, Shcherbatov, etc.

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List of principalities (in order of seniority)

References

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Further reading