##ShortTitle: Historical Dictionary of Belarus
##LongTitle: Historical Dictionary of Belarus
##FrontpageTitle: Historical Dictionary of Belarus
##ExpandArticle: true
##Type: enc
##TitleNote: анг.; частка - V-Ž
##ArticleLang: en
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Створана на падставе:
Historical Dictionary of Belarus. Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Scarecrow Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8108-3449-9
Укладальнік: Jan Zaprudnik
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@Varangians (varahi), East Slavonic term for Vikings, the Nordic pirates of the second half of the ninth and the 10th centuries who traveled from Scandinavia to Byzantium along the West Dvina and Dnieper Rivers. These rivers flow close to each other near the cities of Viciebsk and Vorša, where a combination of lakes and portages allowed switching from one waterway to another. Another route to the Black Sea taken by Vikings was to go along the rivers of Neman, Biarezina (Berezina), and Dnieper. In the old chronicles these north-south treks along rivers, lakes, and portages were called "the Route from the Varangians to the Greeks," i.e., from Scandinavia to Byzantium. According to some accounts, Duke Rahvałod, a Varangian, came to Połacak from "over the Seas," i.e., from Scandinavia.
@Vasilevič Ryhor (1955- ), lawyer and justice. He is a graduate of the Belarusian State University. After 1978, he worked at various legal jobs in Miensk and continued his studies. After 1980, Vasilevič taught at his alma mater. From 1986 to 1994, he fulfilled administrative and legal tasks in the republic's Supreme Council and in 1994 was elected a justice of the Constitutional Court. He authored four books and many articles. In the political crisis that surrounded the Referendum of November 1996, President Łukašenka appointed Vasilevič chief justice of the new Constitutional Court in January 1997 after disbanding the previous one chaired by Valery Cichinia.
@Viadroša, Battle of (1500), took place during the war (1500-1503) between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and Muscovy on the Viadroša River. A four- to five-thousand-strong army of the GDL under the command of Prince Kanstancin Astrožski was defeated by significantly more numerous Muscovite troops in a six-hour battle. Only several hundred of Astrožski's soldiers escaped alive, while the commander himself was taken prisoner. The situation of the GDL in the east became more precarious.
@Viciebsk (also Vitebsk), one of six main administrative cities of Belarus, with a population of 359,000 (1995), and capital of the Viciebsk Province (vobłaść). The city was founded in 974 by Duchess Olga of Kiev. It played an important role as a main point on the "Route from the Varangians to the Greeks," i.e., from Scandinavia to Byzantium, that passed through Belarus by a combination of rivers and portages. After being part of the Połacak Duchy, the city became the center of an appanage. From the 14th century until 1772 Viciebsk was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanina, Ruś, and Samogitia (GDL). It grew into an important trade and manufacturing hub, one of the 15 biggest cities of the GDL, in the 15th to 16th centuries. In 1597, Viciebsk was granted the right to self-rule (see Magdeburg Statutes). The city was the site of the 1623 Uprising against the Uniates during which Greek Catholic Bishop Jazafat Kuncevič and several of his associates were killed. The act was punished by the government with the execution of 19 accomplices and the sentencing to death in absentia of 78 others. In the course of the next two centuries, Viciebsk was repeatedly burned and destroyed in wars between the Commonwealth and Russia. During the 17th century, a number of Orthodox and Catholic schools and monasteries were established there. In 1772, the eastern swath of Belarus, including Viciebsk, was incorporated into the Russian Empire.
The city was greatly affected by the military operations of World War I. With a population of only about 70,000, it had to accommodate 40,000 Russian troops. After the establishment of the Belarusian SSR, Viciebsk remained in the Russian Federation until 1924, when it was transferred to the BSSR. The city is known for its distinct style of painting, especially for its art school led by Michaił Kierzin, and in connection with the early works of Marc Chagall, who was born in its vicinity; the art of Kazimir Malevič; and the canvases of Judal Pen. The city, set in picturesque surroundings, has a number of historic buildings, rich art galleries, and museums that attract tourists.
@Vieča, town or land assembly, common to other East Slavic lands. It was a general forum of nobility and freemen at which basic issues of taxation, justice, war, and peace were decided. In some cases, the assembly was powerful enough to ban the ruling duke and invite another in. The city of Połacak is known for a strong vieča. The earliest mention of the vieča in Belarusian lands goes back to 1138. The institution declined by the 15th century and was replaced by the Sojm. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruś, and Samogitia the need for self-rule was partially satisfied through the Magdeburg Statutes.
@Vilnia (also Vilnius, Vilna, Wilno), second capital, after Navahradak, of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruś, and Samogitia (GDL) and since 1940 capital of the Lithuanian state. According to some researchers, the city was founded in the 11th century by the Slavic tribe of Kryvichans who had settled in the area around the sixth or seventh century and lived scattered among the Balts. The first mention of Vilnia in written sources appears in a treaty between the GDL and the Livonian Order in 1323. Much of Belarusian history is connected with Vilnia, where in 1511 there were 14 Orthodox churches and only seven Catholic ones. Many milestone Belarusian publications are connected with this city, among them Francišak Skaryna's Apostle, Leu Sapieha's third Code of the GDL, and Naša Niva. Vilnia University was alma mater to many outstanding figures in Belarusian history.
In 1795, the city was incorporated into the Russian Empire and became a hub of Belarusian, Polish, Jewish, Lithuanian, and Russian life and much of the political activity of all these nationalities. For a two-month period in 1919, Vilnia was the center of the Lithuanian-Belarusian SSR. After World War I, the city became a source of tension between Poland and Lithuania when the former annexed the city in 1920. In interwar Poland, Vilnia was a cultural center of Belarusian life. Belarusian political parties, publications, and cultural institutions were headquartered in Vilnia. In 1939, soon after West Belarus was incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, the Soviet government transferred the city to Lithuania. Under the Soviet regime, Belarusian life in Vilnia was almost extinguished mainly as a result of political repression and deportations of Belarusian leaders. Since the late 1980s, Belarusian activities in Vilnia have been renewed. According to the 1989 census, over 30,000 Belarusians live in the city. They have a cultural society, radio broadcasts, a school, and a newspaper. When the Belarusian Popular Front faced hurdles in getting organized in Miensk in 1989, Lithuanian authorities gave the organizers permission to hold their convention in Vilnia. Lithuanians continued to help the Belarusian democratic opposition when it faced censorship from the Łukašenka regime, to publish several independent newspapers in Vilnia, which were then disseminated in Belarus.
@Vilnius, see Vilnia.
@Vitaŭt (also Vytautas, Witold; 1350-1430), Duke of Troki and Horadnia, after 1392 Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), outstanding statesman, and military leader. His father, Grand Duke Kiejstut, was killed (1382) at the order of Grand Duke Jahajła, Kiejstut's nephew, in the struggle for power. Challenging his cousin Grand Duke Jahajła, who was made king of Poland in 1386, Vitaŭt allied himself with the Teutonic Order and the Muscovite Grand Duke Vasil I by letting him marry his daughter. In 1392, however, Vitaŭt reached an understanding with King Jahajła, was recognized by the latter as the ruler of the GDL with the title of Grand Duke, and successfully consolidated his power. Vitaŭt fought with Moscow for the control of Smalensk and Novgorod, and added the former city to his state in 1395. In his dealings with the Golden Horde, he lost badly at the Battle of Vorskła (1399). The debacle forced him to seek further accommodation with Jahajła, especially in the face of continuing attacks against the GDL by the Teutonic Order. Soon, Poland and the GDL were brought closer together by the Vilnia-Radom Union of 1401, by which the Polish side pledged not to elect a king without concurrence of lords of the GDL. The act reconfirmed Grand Duke Vitaŭt in his position as the ruler of the GDL, while King Jahajła remained supreme sovereign of the united realm. The 1401 union laid the foundation for a common defense against outside aggression and led to the defeat of the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald (1410).
Grand Duke Vitaŭt continued consolidating his power in the duchy. Appreciating the role of religion in his eastward territorial expansion, Vitaŭt established an independent Orthodox metropolitanate for the GDL in the city of Navahradak. To enhance his stature as an independent ruler, he attempted in 1429 and 1430 to receive the royal title from the pope but was prevented by Polish efforts. The GDL reached the peak of its power under Vitaŭt, who earned himself the sobriquet "Great" from some historians.
@Vitebsk, see Viciebsk.
@Vojšałk (1223-1268), Duke of Navahradak (1254, 1258-1263), Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1263-1267), and son of Mindoŭh. Christened in the Orthodox rite, he is remembered for the monastery he built at Łaŭryšava near Navahradak, in which he lived for a while. After gaining the ducal seat in Navahradak for the second time in 1258, he conquered Lithuania, subordinated the lands of Połacak and Viciebsk, and thus laid the foundation for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruś, and Samogitia.
@Vorskła, Battle of (1399), one of the major battles connected with the eastward expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) under Grand Duke Vitaŭt. The battle took place in Ukraine on the banks of the Vorskła River, the Dnieper's left tributary. Vitaŭt had between 15,000 and 20,000 soldiers, among whom were several thousand Tatar allies of Khan Takhtamysh, his ally, who was challenging the ruler of the Golden Horde, Khan Timur-Kutluk. Also, there were Polish, German, and Wallachian units, since Vitaŭt's move was blessed by the pope as a crusade. However, Vitaŭt's army suffered a debacle at the hand of the superior army of Timur-Kutluk. Many thousands of Vitaŭt's host perished. He and Takhtamysh managed to escape. The defeat doomed Vitaŭt's ambition to unite the lands of Ruś under his helm.
@Vseslav Brachislavich, see Usiasłaŭ Bračysłavič.
@West Belarus, name for the western part of Belarus that was under Polish rule between 1921 and 1939 as a result of the Treaty of Riga. West Belarus, with a territory of 108,000 square kilometers, was inhabited by over four million people. It remained the most underdeveloped section of Poland, where 80 percent of the population, many of them landless, lived in rural areas. With chronic unemployment and cultural and religious discrimination against Belarusians, West Belarus became a source of social and political unrest. By the second half of the 1930s, citizens of Orthodox confession were denied the right to buy land. Many Belarusians, in search of employment, emigrated to countries of Western Europe (mainly France) and North and South America (especially Argentina and Paraguay). The official policy of the government was Polonization. Thus, of the 400 Belarusian schools active before the beginning of Polish rule, only 29 Belarusian schools and 49 mixed Belarusian-Polish schools were left by 1928, and not a single one remained by 1939. In September 1939, West Belarus was incorporated into the Belarusian SSR, where it remains after some territorial concessions to Poland and Lithuania.
@West Dvina (Zachodniaja Dźvina), a major river flowing for 328 kilometers through Belarus from east (Russia) to west (Latvia) into the Baltic Sea. On its banks, important ancient cities were built, among them Połacak and Viciebsk. Along this river, the influence of the Połacak Duchy extended westward into the lands of the Livs, where the vassal towns of Hiercykie and Kukienojs were trading posts on the route from Połacak to Riga.
@Westrussianism (zachodnierusizm), a notion among Belarusians, especially in the eastern part of the country during the latter part of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, that Belarus is part of West Russia and the Belarusians are but a branch of the Russian nation. Such an understanding was the result of the Russification that had been intensively conducted during the 19th century. There were two strands of Westrussianism. Conservative "Westrussian" ideologues claimed that the Belarusian national movement was simply a Polish scheme to tear away "part of Russia." "Westrussians" of liberal bent recognized Belarus as a distinct ethnic region, but denied its right to separate national development. In the 1900s and 1910s, "Westrussians" published a number of periodicals propounding their doctrine. Their views and arguments are eloquently presented in Alaksandar Ćvikievič's Russian-language monograph, "Westrussianism": From the History of Social Thought in Belarus in the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Century (1929).
@Wilno, see Vilnia.
@World War I (1914-1921), from the very beginning of the war (August 1914), in which Russia fought Germany, Belarus was turned into a front zone with the presence of about 1.5 million Russian troops. Russian soldiers also became a deciding factor in the ensuing political developments. At the start of the war, more than one million civilians were either evacuated or driven away by force from western Belarus before it became a battleground in the summer and fall of 1915. Toward the end of that year, one-third of Belarusian territory was occupied by the Germans. After further territorial gains in February 1918, including the city of Miensk, the Germans left the country only at the end of 1918.
Under the German occupation, Belarusian political and cultural life was centered in Vilnia. There, a number of cultural and political organizations were active and the newspaper Homan (Clamor) continued the cause of Naša Niva. About 100 Belarusian primary schools were opened in the Vilnia district, and a teachers' college was organized in the town of Śvisłač. Meanwhile, on the Russian side of the front, the first All-Belarusian Congress took place in Miensk in December 1917 and launched the process of the formation of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR).
In February 1918, the German troops made a deep advance to the east and forced the Soviet government to sign a separate truce under harsh conditions. The March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk left Belarus divided, which prompted the Council of the BDR in German-occupied Miensk to declare the independence of Belarus on March 25, 1918. Germany did not recognize the act of independence and hindered the activities of the BDR government.
The war caused terrible devastation in Belarus in terms of human dislocation and material losses. Nearly 1.5 million refugees were displaced from their homes, while Russian and German troops flooded the area. Most industrial enterprises were destroyed, and over 140,000 buildings, including historical and cultural centers, were burned or demolished. During the 1914-1917 period, the amount of tillable land decreased by 72 percent, and the harvesting of grain was reduced by almost one-third.
The withdrawal of German troops from Belarus at the end of 1918 was followed by the Russo-Polish military conflict (1919-1920). This conflict resulted in the partition of Belarus into the Belarusian SSR within the Soviet Union (since 1922) and West Belarus, which was placed under Polish rule, according to the Treaty of Riga. While the Riga treaty was negotiated, the Słucak Uprising took place in southern Belarus in November-December 1920, adding to the devastation and loss of life.
@World War II (1939-1945), the war began on September 1, 1939, with Germany's attack on Poland. Within three weeks West Belarus, which had been under Polish rule since the 1921 Treaty of Riga, found itself annexed to the Soviet Union as a result of the secret protocol signed in August 1938 between Berlin and Moscow. For the first time since the establishment of the Belarusian Soviet state, the territory of Belarus was brought together in a formally Belarusian political state. The installation of the Soviet regime in West Belarus was accompanied by deportations. Many of the Belarusians serving in the Polish army were taken by the Soviets as prisoners of war along with Polish soldiers.
On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, and within two months the entire territory of Belarus was occupied by the Germans. They partitioned the country by apportioning swaths of territory to Lithuania, East Prussia, and Ukraine, while central and eastern Belarus were turned into civil and military zones, respectively. Life under German occupation was characterized by Soviet guerrilla warfare, Nazi extermination camps, and the struggle of nationalists caught between the Communists and the Germans. As to the civil administration of Belarus, a number of organizations and institutions were set up to foster national aspirations and defend local interests, while not counteracting the occupying authorities. Collaborationism, mostly from those who had suffered under the Communists, was on a moderate scale, largely because of the brutal German policies and genocidal actions toward Jews and the population of the guerrilla country, where entire villages and their inhabitants were burned. West Belarus was a site of military operations by the Polish Home Army, whose fighting strategy, including acts of terror against Belarusian teachers and members of the local administration, was dictated by the plan to secure the inclusion of West Belarus into a postwar Polish state.
As a result of World War II, Belarus lost more than 2.2 million people, including nearly 380,000 deported to Germany as laborers. Material losses were also immense: 209 cities and townships and 9,200 villages had been destroyed. According to a specialist, Andrej Bahrovič, Belarus's overall demographic deficit of the 1939-1959 period was over 6 million. Afraid of Soviet retribution, tens of thousands of Belarusians fled to the West with the retreating German army. Many of them settled in Western countries as political refugees after the end of the war (see Diaspora). During the first two postwar years, over 450,000 Belarusians, especially Catholics, resettled to Poland, escaping the repressive Soviet regime. Only in 1971 did Soviet Belarus managed to restore its prewar population level. One of the unforeseen results of World War II was Belarus's United Nations membership, which was a recognition of the country's contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany and, as a side effect, enhanced a sense of national self-awareness.
@Yatvegians, a Baltic tribe inhabiting the southwestern part of Belarus at the end of the first millennium A.D. They were first mentioned in Rusan chronicles in the year 983. From the 11th to the 13th century, Yatvegians fought with Polish and Rusan dukes and, later, with the German Knights. Partly exterminated in these wars, they were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and assimilated by the Slavs.
@Youth Movement. In Soviet Belarus, the only legal youth organization was the Communist Youth League, Kamsamol, which disintegrated along with the Communist Party. In its place, more than 45 scattered youth groups were active in 1997, the largest of which was the Belarusian Youth Union (former Komsomol). In March 1997, under the sponsorship of President Alaksandar Łukašenka, a steering committee of the Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union was set up to create a unified youth organization that would support Łukašenka's policies and counteract the rising affiliation of young people with the democratic opposition. According to polls, about 15 percent of Belarus's youngsters would like to be a member of a youth organization, while only 3 to 4 percent actually are such members.
@Zacharanka Jury (also Zakharenko Yuri; 1952- ), politician and leader of the opposition to President Łukašenka and former minister of the interior of the Republic of Belarus (1994-1996). Born in Homiel Province and a graduate of the Academy of the Interior Ministry of the USSR (1987), he reached the rank of major-general. From 1991 he worked in anticrime organs of the USSR and Belarus. In 1992-1996, Zacharanka served as minister of the interior of the Republic of Belarus. After his dismissal from the ministerial post in October 1996, he joined the United Civic Party. In October 1996, Zacharanka was elected chairman of the nongovernmental Civil Commission on Investigation of Crimes of the Regime.
@Zacharka (also Zakharka) Vasil (1877-1943), political leader and president of the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BDR) in Exile (1928-1943). He received a pedagogical education. Zacharka was involved in the cause of Belarusian independence during the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and was a delegate to the All-Belarusian Congress and a member of its executive council. Having settled in Prague after World War I, he continued to be active in political life and replaced Piotra Krečeŭski as chairman of the Council of the BDR after the latter's death in 1928. During World War II, Zacharka rejected the advances of the Germans for collaboration.
@Zakharenko Yuri, see Zacharanka Jury.
@Zametalin Vladimir, see Zamiatalin Uładzimir.
@Zamiatalin Uładzimir (also Zametalin Vladimir; 1947- ), one of the closest collaborators of Prime Minister Viačasłaŭ Kiebič and, after him, of President Alaksandar Łukašenka. Born in Russia, Zamiatalin made his career as a political commissar in the Soviet armed forces. In 1993, Colonel Zamiatalin served as director of the army's press center, allowing himself to use derogatory language with respect to the Supreme Council of Belarus and the idea of Belarusian nationhood. President Łukašenka made him his chief ideologist and censor. A shadowy figure, Zamiatalin has often been mentioned in the opposition press as Łukašenka's main "integrator" with Russia and also as an agent of the Russian intelligence.
@Zhilunovich Dimitri, see Žyłunovič Źmicier.
@Žuk-Hryškievič Vincent (1903-1989), civic and political leader and president of the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile (1970-1982). He was a graduate of Prague University (1927) and worked as a teacher in Vilnia. Deported to Siberia in 1940, he served in the Polish army in Italy during World War II and after the war was one of the founders of the London-based Association of Belarusians in Great Britain. In 1950, he moved to Toronto, Canada, where he obtained his Ph.D. in literature and was active in Belarusian cultural life. From 1954 to 1956, Dr. Žuk-Hryškievič was head of the Belarusian Service of Radio Liberation (later Liberty) in Munich, Germany. His life has been documented by his wife Raisa Žuk-Hryškievič's book.
@Žyhimont Kiejstutavič (ca. 1365-1440), Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), younger son of Kiejstut, and brother of Vitaŭt. In the power struggle between Grand Duke Vitaŭt and his cousin Grand Duke Jahajła, Žyhimont sided with Vitaŭt, from whom he received the Duchy of Staradub. He participated in the battles of Vorskła and Grunwald. After Vitaŭt's death (1430), Žyhimont was elected Grand Duke of the GDL with the support of those Lithuanian and Polish magnates who were interested in promoting a union of the two states. He fought his cousin Grand Duke Śvidryhajła (r. 1432-1439), who was based in Viciebsk and was supported by Orthodox lords of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands. These lords sided with Śvidryhajła largely because they did not enjoy privileges given to their Catholic counterparts by the charters of 1387 and 1413. Žyhimont was forced to grant Orthodox landlords equal rights in the 1434 charter. He was killed in a conspiracy against him by supporters of Śvidryhajła.
@Žyhimont I Stary ("The Old"; 1467-1548), Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and king of Poland (also Zygmunt, Sigismund; r. 1506-1548). Son of Kazimir IV and younger brother of Alaksandar. Žyhimont was well educated and fluent in several languages. His domestic policy, strongly influenced by his second, Italian-born wife, Bona Sforza (whom he married in 1518), was aimed at consolidating an absolutist monarchy. However, his attempts to limit the rights of the gentry and return the lands seized by magnates were not successful. He had to concede the right to be elected representatives in the Sojm to the gentry, as formalized by the 1529 Code of the GDL.
In the area of external policy, Žyhimont had to contend with expansive Muscovy and fight the wars of 1507-1508, 1512-1522, and 1534-1537 with his eastern neighbor, resulting in territorial losses, including the city of Smalensk. A highlight of these wars was the overwhelming victory over the Russians at the 1514 Battle of Vorša. This allowed King Žyhimont to conclude the advantageous Treaty of Vienna (1515) in which the Austrian emperor agreed not to support Muscovy against the GDL and Prussia against Poland. One of Žyhimont's major achievements in foreign affairs was turning the secularized Teutonic Order into a fief of Poland (1525) and incorporating Mazovia into his kingdom (1526). Žyhimont's reign was marked by the flourishing of Renaissance arts and spread of humanism in his realm, a trend continued under his son Žyhimont II Aŭhust. His reign was highlighted by the literary activity of Francišak Skaryna and Mikoła Husoŭski.
@Žyhimont II Aŭhust (1520-1572), Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and king of Poland (1548-1572). Son of Žyhimont I and the last monarch of the Jahajła dynasty. Elected Grand Duke of the GDL and king of Poland (1529) at the age of ten, Žyhimont Aŭhust (Sigismund Augustus) began fulfilling the duties of Grand Duke of the GDL in 1544. In 1547, he married Barbara Radzivił, who came from the most powerful magnate family of the Grand Duchy. Two of her brothers had considerable influence on the young Grand Duke, to the chagrin of his parents. According to legend, Barbara was poisoned (she died in 1551) as a result of that conflict.
In his domestic policy, Žyhimont II sought to increase the rights of the middle gentry, supported reforms of the treasury, courts, and army, and made steps toward the return to the state of lands that had been distributed to magnates since 1504. A part of the finances raised through this measure was spent on building the Polish navy. Žyhimont Aŭhust was tolerant of the Reformation and non-Catholic confessions. By his Charter of 1563, he fully equalized the rights of the Orthodox and Catholic gentry and confirmed the updated Code of the GDL in 1566. As a man of the Renaissance, the monarch was generous in support of artists, architects, musicians, and actors. Cultural activities in his realm, marked by the vigorous spread of humanist ideas and the Reformation, flourished throughout his reign. Toward the end of his years, he had to concede to the demands of the Catholic hierarchy to invite Jesuits to Poland (1564) and the GDL (1569) in order to counteract the Reformation (see Counter-Reformation). He strongly favored the fusion of the kingdom and the Grand Duchy, which was achieved through the Union of Lublin (1569). The primary reason for this move was military pressure from Russia, with which the GDL fought in the Livonian War. During Žyhimont's reign Poland was successful in retaining her homage of the duke of Prussia and improved relations with Sweden.
@Žyhimont III Vaza (1566-1632), Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and king of Poland (1587-1632). Son of the king of Sweden and of Catherine, the sister of Žyhimont Aŭhust. He was opposed in the election to the Polish throne by the Austrian candidate. To gain support among the Lithuanian magnates, Žyhimont (Sigismund) III confirmed the 1588 Code of the GDL, which guaranteed the separate status of the duchy within the Commonwealth. After the death of his father (1592), he inherited the Swedish throne and until the end of his life fought unsuccessfully to regain it, thus entangling the Commonwealth in wars with Sweden. As an ardent Catholic, he supported the Religious Union of Bieraście (1596), but barred Uniate bishops from membership in the Senate. His attempts to introduce an absolutist monarchy provoked a revolt of the gentry (1606), who demanded religious tolerance and a reorientation of foreign policy. Žyhimont, who needed allies in his foreign policy ventures, had to concede to an elected monarch and oversight of his actions by the Senate. He also encouraged decisions by the Sojm (1609, 1618, and 1631) granting rights to Orthodox subjects. Supported by a group of magnates, including Leŭ Sapieha, King Žyhimont fought Russia (1609-1618) and attempted to interfere in the chaotic situation in Moscow, where a group of boyars elected (1611) his son, Władysław, as tsar of Russia. Eventually, Žyhimont himself tried to be accepted as tsar. Polish-Lithuanian troops entered Moscow in 1611 and defended themselves in the Kremlin for over two years. After an exhausting struggle, an armistice was concluded without any gains for Žyhimont. His policies contributed to the decline of the Commonwealth and the loss of the important role this state played in European affairs during the reign of the two previous rulers.
@Žyłunovič Źmicier (1887-1937), writer and politician. He began his career as a worker in St. Petersburg, where he participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 and later contributed to Naša Niva. In 1918, Žyłunovič was a member of the Belarusian National Commissariat and one of the principal proponents of the proclamation of the Belarusian SSR, whose first government he briefly headed. During the 1920s, he was actively involved in literary and cultural activities, held high positions in the Communist Party (of Bolsheviks) of Belarus, and was elected member of the Academy of Sciences (1928). In 1931, in the waves of political repression, his career came to an end with his exclusion from the party and then arrest in 1936 as an "enemy of the people." Thrown into prison, he committed suicide in 1937.
@Žyrovičy Monastery, one of the oldest and most renowned of Belarusian monasteries, built in the 16th century in the village of Žyrovičy after the appearance of St. Mary to a group of children in its environs in 1470. An Orthodox church was built there by the local landlord, A. Soltan. His descendants founded a monastery in the 16th century. The icon of the Mother of God of Žyrovičy is one of the most revered in Belarus. In 1609, the monastery passed into the hands of the Uniates and in time, expanded its buildings and churches, as well as land holdings, and became an educational center. In 1839, when the Uniate Church was abolished, the monastery, stripped of most of its lands, was returned to the Orthodox Church and made a center of religious instruction. A part of its rich library and archives was transferred to Vilnia and St. Petersburg. Between the 1960s and 1989, it was a closed place, with few monks and nuns living in it. In 1989, the Miensk Theological Seminary of the Belarusian Orthodox Church began functioning there.