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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (- 18th centuries. Founded by Pagan Baltic Lithuanians in the second half of the 12th Century , it soon expanded beyond the boundaries of the initial area of Lithuanian settlement, acquiring large parts of former Kievan Rus . It covered the territory of present-day Lithuania , Belarus , Ukraine , Transnistria and parts of Poland and Russia during the period of its greatest extent in the 15th Century . Accepting the Union Of Krewo in 1386 , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made a Personal Union with the Kingdom Of Poland . Under the Lublin Union in 1569 , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania federated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . In this Federation , the GDL had a separate government, laws, army, and treasury. In 1795 , the Commonwealth was destroyed by the Partitions among Imperial Russia , Prussia and Austria . The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a Baltic state which expanded into the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Mongols . Later it becаme a multinational state, with ethnic and religious differences. Baltic pagan gentes, who later became Catholic united called Lithuanians acquired Ruthenian lands who in the XVIII century separated into Belorussian and Ukrainian Nations and were Orthodox]. Later Because Of GDL Politics There Was Born New Church Eastern Rite in class="copylinks">Ruthenia n] Lands, Now Allmost Extinct Because Of Russian Emperial Politics In Late XIIIV And Early XIX Century. Amongst Others In GDL Lived Many [[Poles Jew s, Armenians , Germans etc. They contributed to its diverse cultural and political life. The multinational character of the state and the cosmopolitan philosophy of its elite after the end of 14th Century sparked off a debate over the national legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 19th - 20th centuries. This debate involved largely Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, and Belarusian historians and overflowed into national politics. The debate reached its peak during the wars for independence from 1917 to 1920 , and contributed to many local disputes such as those involving the Curzon Line and politics in Central Lithuania . The expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into modern White Ruthenia in centuies to come generated similar culture. Both peoples, the forefathers of modern Lithuanians and modern Belarusians , called themselves ''Lithuanians'' in their own tongue (respectively ''lietuviai'' in Lithuanian and '' Litvin y'' in Belarusian ). At that time "Lithuanian" had a double meaning. One meant an inhabitant of the GDL, and the other meant a person of Lithuanian language. Such Lithuanians lived in the region of modern Lithuania, but also East Prussia and large parts of modern Belarus . In East Prussia it was used to refer primarily to the large Lithuanian minority ( Lithuania Minor ), while in the Slavic lands of GDL the first usage was more common. In Belarus, Belarusians (especially Catholics und Units) regarded themselves as Lithuanian, while other populations there such as Ukrainians, referred to themselves only as ''Ruthenians'' or by some other Ethnonym . However, the number of people considering themselves to be Lithuanians dropped with time due to adoption of Polish culture and language, which was regarded as more sophisticated. Eventually most of the GDL nobility considered themselves to be Poles. Lithuanian nationalism and self-determination revived in the nineteenth century. By then, the term was mainly associated with persons of Lithuanian language. Belarusians, who had a national revival at about the same time, started to see themselves as a different nation. |
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