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The Principality of Polotsk (obsolete spelling: Polock; Belarusian: По́лацкае кня́ства, romanized: Połackaje kniastva; Latin: Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' mention Polotsk being conquered by Vladimir the Great, and thereafter it became associated with Kievan Rus' and its ruling Rurikids.
The principality was supposedly established around the town of Polotsk (now in Belarus) by the tribal union of Krivichs. The principality held an important position on the Route from the Varangians to the Greeks. In the second half of the 10th century, Polotsk was governed by its own dynasty; its first ruler mentioned in the chronicles was the semi-legendary Rogvolod (?–978), better known as the father of Rogneda. The principality was heavily involved in several succession crises of the 11th–12th centuries and a war with the Novgorod Land. By the 13th century, it was integrated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
At the time of its greatest extent, the principality stretched over large parts of present-day northern and central Belarus and a smaller part of today's southeastern Latvia, including (besides Polotsk itself) the following towns: Vitebsk, Drutsk, Minsk, Izjaslaw (now Zaslawye), Lahoysk, Barysaw, Brachyslaw (now Braslaw), Kukenois (now Koknese) and others.
Polotsk was formed on the basis of a fortified settlement on the bank of the Palata, near its confluence with the Daugava. Until the 5th–6th centuries the population of the settlement was entirely composed of Balts; afterwards Slavs arrived. Near the settlement, on the right and left banks of the Palata, were settlements. The growth of Polotsk was aided by its strategic position on the Route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It is likely that in the 8th–10th centuries, the Krivichs had chiefdoms, pre-state political formations led by tribal chiefs, of which at least one, the Chiefdom of Polotsk, evolved into an early feudal state during the second half of the 10th century.
No exact date is recorded for when the principality formed; it likely evolved over time. In 862, Polotsk was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as a town within the realm of Novgorod Rus', alongside Murom and Beloozero. Initially, the Principality of Polotsk was governed by a local dynasty, and not by an appointed governor from Kiev. Local statehood was a result of local political evolution in the Early East Slavs' tribal union of Krivichs.
The second mention of Polotsk came a full century later, in 980, when its ruler was a Varangian warlord, Ragnvald or Rogvolod. The chronicle reports that he arrived at Polotsk "from overseas", a routine phrase to designate Varangians. Rogvolod was an active player in the power struggle in Rus'.
In 972, after the prince of Kiev, Sviatoslav I, died, there was a power struggle between his two sons: Vladimir, prince of Novgorod, and Yaropolk, prince of Kiev. Both had hoped for political and military support from Polotsk.
To secure this support, Vladimir proposed to Rogneda, Rogvolod's daughter. She declined, because she would not marry the son of a slave (Vladimir's mother, Malusha, is believed to have been a slave). She declared that she would prefer to marry Yaropolk. Vladimir then waged war against Polotsk. According to the Primary Chronicle, he took the city, raped Rogneda in front of her parents, then killed her entire family and burnt down the city. Rogneda was taken to Kiev to be Vladimir's wife. Thus, the local dynasty was exterminated. Rogneda bore Vladimir a son, named Izyaslav.
After Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 and took Anna Porphyrogeneta as his wife, he had to divorce all his previous wives, including Rogneda. He planned to marry his former wives to his senior Boyars, his staunchest political allies. Rogneda refused to remarry and attempted to assassinate Vladimir. Though Vladimir planned to kill her, he gave her time to change into formal attire as was appropriate for a noblewoman meeting her death, according to contemporary custom. By the time Vladimir returned, Izyaslav blocked his path with a wooden sword, impressing his father with his bravery. Vladimir decided not to execute Rogneda but to send her back to Polotsk where she and her son inherited Rogvolod's principality.
Thus the principality was restored, but with the most senior branch of the Rurik dynasty on the local throne. Rogneda became a nun and took the name Anastasia. Since this time, the lands of the principality became Christian (Eastern Orthodox).
For two centuries, descendants of Izyaslav largely controlled the Principality of Polotsk. All other lands of Kievan Rus' were under the control of princes who were descendants of Yaroslav the Wise.
In 1001, Izyaslav was succeeded by his son, Bryachislav of Polotsk. Under his rule, Polotsk attempted to distance itself from Kiev. Tensions were exacerbated by the fact that, under the East Slavic house law, since Izyaslav predeceased his father and never reigned in Kiev, his descendants from the House of Polotsk forfeited their dynastic rights to the Kievan throne. In 1020, Bryachislav sacked Novgorod but then lost it to his uncle, Yaroslav the Wise, and had to give up some of his other possessions.
The golden age of medieval Polotsk is associated with the rule of Bryachislav's son, Vseslav (1044–1101). He profited from the civil wars in Kiev in order to assert his independence and run the affairs of the principality separately. During this time, Polotsk became a centre of trade, serving as a transit location between other lands of Kievan Rus' and Scandinavia. It also asserted its independent status, balancing between Kiev, Novgorod, and the Varangians. Contemporary Norse sagas described the town as the most heavily fortified in all of Kievan Rus'. After the late 10th century, Polotsk also successfully colonised some of the lands of its western neighbours, the ancestors of today's Latvians and Lithuanians. In the early 13th century, Teutonic knights seized power over the former from Polotsk, but the historical ties with the latter proved much stronger and lasted for 700 more years, although the leading role in this “marriage” soon shifted to the other side. The last pagans of Europe, brave and skilful warriors, Lithuanians initially served Polotsk as auxiliary troops in its wars with the Teutonic knights and other East Slavic principalities; but from 1183 they refused obedience to the metropoly and established their state.
The Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Polotsk – built by Vseslav between 1044 and 1066 – was a symbol of the independent-mindedness of Polotsk, rivalling churches of the same name in Novgorod and Kiev and referring to the original Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (and thus to claims of imperial prestige, authority, and sovereignty).
After his defeat at the Battle on the river Nemiga and temporary imprisonment, Vseslav died, and his surviving sons divided the principality. Polotsk was splintered between various smaller fiefs – the Principality of Minsk, Principality of Vitebsk, Principality of Druck, Principality of Jersika, and Principality of Koknese. Local princes waged wars against each other, trying to assert control over Polotsk. At last the rulers of Vitebsk emerged victorious. For short periods, the neighbouring Principality of Smolensk also claimed control over some lands of the principality.
Beginning in the mid-12th century, changes occurred in the lands west of the Principality. The fortress of Riga became the main military base of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. In 1209, German crusaders conquered the principalities of Jersika and Koknese in southeast Latvia, previously under Polotsk's control, forcing Polotsk to permit free travel for German merchants in 1212 and ending Livonian tributes. In 1227, Smolensk ceded Polotsk by treaty to the city of Riga.
Annals affirm the alliance and united military-campaign policy of Polotsk and Lithuania. For example, The Chronicle of Novgorod informs about "Izyaslav had been set to be Knyaz in Luki and covered Novgorod from the Lithuanians" in 1198 while Luki is situated on the east of Polotsk.
The Principality of Polotsk escaped the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237–1239. However, pagan Lithuanians began consolidating lands of the principality, and in 1240 Polotsk became a vassal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It officially became part of Lithuania in 1307, though it retained some degree of local autonomy until the 1390s. The principality was then abolished and became part of the Polotsk Voivodeship.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Principality of Polotsk”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.