To the Decline of Polatsk

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The history of the Belarusian people and land can hardly have a definite origin, since the territories between the rivers Dnieper, Pripyat, and Bug were inhabited from time immemorial. However, the first evidence of Slavic tribes living there dates back to the very first centuries AD. These tribes lived in small communities located in forests or near rivers and lakes.

The land of Belarus looked different in those times. The area was completely covered by secular forests. Numerous lakes and rivers were full of fish; woods were the homes of lots of animals. This allowed our Belarusian ancestors to live by hunting, fishing and gathering. On small plots of land near water they also started farming, growing mostly rye, wheat, oats, buckwheat, and flax. In the villages, they kept domestic animals; in addition, bee-keeping was started and spread among the communities.

Each community had its chief, who was the top authority. The family as a social unit was very important, too. The father was its head, and the mother was its heart. Both men and women were tall, strong, and hardy. Most people had light brown hair and blue or grey eyes. The clothes of our Belarusian ancestors were usually white, made of flax or wool.

The belief of these tribes was paganism. They had their own pantheon of gods, each responsible for different aspect of their lives. All this information about the prehistoric times of Belarus has been determined, to a large extent from kurgans, or ancient graves, which are still numerous all over Northern Europe. These kurgans contain lots of things from their creators’ everyday life: earthenware, weapons, jewelry, clothes, and also Arabic, Indian, Scandinavian, Roman, and German coins, which show that our ancestors had established trade with many neighboring lands.

The tribes, which actually were historical ancestors of the Belarusian people, can be distinguished from other Slavic tribes after the 6^th century. The largest tribe among them were the Kryvichy, or “relatives by blood”. They occupied the northern part of today’s Belarus. In the central part of Belarus lived the Dreulane; in the south, the Drehavichy; in the east, the Radzimichy. The northwestern part of the territory was occupied by a Baltic tribe, the Yatviags. All these tribes had much in common in their languages, customs and beliefs, and therefore they merged into one Belarusian people. The Kryvichy in the north founded the principalities of Polatsk and Smolensk and the Pskov republic; Dreulane united into the principality of Turau. The principalities of Polatsk and Turau became the first states on the territory of modern Belarus. They are first mentioned in the chronicles of the 9^th century, and are also the oldest centers of Belarusian culture. Some Scandinavian songs mention Polatsk as already being a strong and powerful town in the 6^th century.

After the people of Kiev were baptized in 988, the Belarusian principalities adopted Christianity together with the other Slavic states. However, some historians believe that Christianity came to Belarus much earlier from Scandinavia.

The power in early Belarusian states belonged to the vecha, or council of all the citizens of the town and vicinity. All the decisions about war and peace, trade, and internal affairs were made by the vecha. In case of war, the vecha chose a prince for commanding the army. The prince usually also had power over the army in peacetime.

One of the first known Polatsk princes was Rahvalod who lived in the 10^th century. He struggled against the Kiev prince for influence in the Turau and Smolensk principalities, but lost the war and died in battle. Another historical figure in Polatsk was Prince Useslau “the Magician” (1044 – 1101), who lived at the time Polatsk achieved its highest power and wealth. It traded with many neighboring and remote countries, controlled other Belarusian towns, and had developed manufacturing. Useslau led the war against the Kiev princes for the control of Pskov and Novgorod – other Slavic principalities. One of the battles of this war occurred near the river Niamiga in 1067, and this is the first mention of the town of Minsk in a chronicle. In fact, the town was called Mensk from the word mena - change.

Mensk was at the crossroads from the Baltic to the lands to the south, and therefore was a convenient marketplace. The town kept this name until the 20^th century. Unfortunately, the irony of history is that in 1067 – the official date of Minsk’s birth – it was totally destroyed in the battle. After the battle, which was won by Kiev, Useslau was imprisoned in Kiev. However, the Kievan prince was also fighting the Turkic tribes in the southern Ukraine at the same time, and this war was fatal for him. Seeing this, Kievans discharged Useslau and elected him as the Kiev prince. The newcomer defended Kiev from the enemy and governed the principality for eight months, after which he returned to his native Polatsk. During Useslau’s reign, many lands were joined to Polatsk, among them the Minsk, Vitebsk, Orsha and Slutsk principalities, as well as part of Livonia and other territories. Useslau was very popular among the people due to his intelligence, courage, and strong character. Many legends and stories about him were created; he was even called “The Magician”.

At that time the Slavic state in Kiev was called Rus, from which later the name Russia was derived. But the original Rus has nothing to do with Moskow or Siberia. It was the state on the territory of modern Ukraine, and only later, when Moscow was founded and gained power to unite other principalities, it took this name. At the time that Kiev and Polatsk flourished, Moscow and other eastern Slavic states were weak and unstable.

The name Belarus means “white Rus”, and there’s still no exact version of its origin. Some historians believe that “white” in old Slavic languages meant “free”, pointing to the fact that Belarus was never invaded by the Tatars or under their control, unlike the other principalities later in the 13-15^th centuries. Others think that this name is older and served as a difference between Kievan Rus, Black Rus – a small territory in the western part of modern Belarus, and the territory known as White Rus. Whatever the source of this name, it is clear that it is very old and originally corresponded to the territory where the ancestors of the Belarusians lived and where the modern Republic of Belarus is situated.

Another remarkable figure in Belarusian history is Euphrasinnia, the granddaughter of Useslau, the Magician. She was one of the first Belarusian enlighteners. She founded a nunnery in Polatsk and led extensive educational work among the nuns and the neighboring people. Later she was canonized by the Belarusian Orthodox Church. The diamond-decorated cross of Euphrasinnia from her nunnery in Polatsk is a Belarusian national treasure; however, it was stolen during World War II and still there is no information about its location.

After Useslau the Magician, the glory of Polatsk began to diminish. The principality of Polatsk was divided into several smaller principalities which were half-dependent on their more powerful neighbors, mainly Kiev and Novgorod. Sometimes they managed to conquer some lands to the north of Belarus – Livonia and Estonia, but these victories were short-lived and insignificant, because the crusaders who occupied those territories quickly restored the status quo.

Meanwhile, to the northwest of Belarus, on the territories with mixed Baltic and Belarusian populations, a new state started its growth and development. It was called Lithuania (Litva) and initially consisted of Belarusians and the Orthodox Baltic tribe, the Yatviags, which later merged with Slavs. Later two Pagan Baltic tribes – Zhmudz and Aukshtota, which were the ancestors of modern Lithuanians – were forced to join the new state. The first capital of Lithuania was Kreva (now a village in northwestern Belarus); later Prince Mindaug moved it to Navahradak (now a town in the Hrodna region, Belarus), which used to be the center of Black Rus. Mindaug was one of the first known princes of Lithuania; he ascended to the throne in 1242. His father, Ryngold, was the first to conquer some Belarusian principalities. Mindaug and his successors, Lutavar, Viten, and Gedymin expanded their power over Polatsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk and Turau, mostly by the smart policy of marrying their children to Belarusian princes or princesses. According to some historic evidence, Mindaug himself belonged to the stock of Polatsk princes. This proves the tight connection between the Baltic and Belarusian tribes. The new state was called the Great Lithuanian Principality, and it was a federation of Belarusian lands under the power of the Great Prince. The Belarusian principalities in Lithuania were half-independent – they had their armed forces, local princes, kept their customs and traditions. In spite of the fact that Mindaug adopted Catholicism in order to avoid war with crusaders, most of the population of the principality remained Orthodox Christian.