The geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Political features of the Galicia-Volyn principality

Galicia-Volyn principality, whose geographical location is Eastern Europe, is an interesting symbiosis of close cultures. It arose in 1199, after the unification of the Galician and Volyn lands. Recognized as the largest principality of the Southern Rus of times of feudal disunity.

Geographical position

Galicia-Volyn principality is located on the fertile lands of South-Western Russia. And what interesting neighbors surrounded the young state! In the north, the Galicia-Volyn principality bordered Lithuania, in the south - with the Golden Horde, in the east - with the Kiev and Turov-Pinsk principalities, in the west - with the Polish kingdom. And behind the mighty ridge of the Carpathians Hungary has already stretched.

The south-west of Rus differed not only in picturesque nature, but also in a large number of water bodies. The Pripyat and Styr rivers flowed in the east of the Galicia-Volyn principality, and the majestic Danube - in the south.

The geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality, frankly speaking, was obviously profitable.

Who and how did he form a single principality?

The formation of the Galicia-Volyn principality took place at the end of the 12th century. Historians call this historical period the period of feudal fragmentation of Russia.

A key role in the unification of the two lands (Galicia and Volhynia) was played by the wise prince Roman Mstislavovich. First he occupied Galich, and after the death of Vladimir Yaroslavovich (the last representative of the Rostislavovich dynasty), a wise politician cleverly united two culturally close territories. At the output, an influential Slavic state emerged that lasted for 200 years! The prince himself entered Russian and Ukrainian history as "the autocrat of all Russia" (historical chronicle).

Objective reasons for the unification of Galicia and Volhynia

Galicia-Volyn principality (briefly an act of reunification is presented above) arose not only because of the desire of one person, albeit very resourceful. There are also quite logical reasons why these two lands decided to become one:

• The successful geographical location of the Galicia-Volyn principality;
• Presence of common opponents: Poles, Hungarians and the Golden Horde;
• Cultural proximity of the inhabitants of Galicia and Volhynia;
• A large salt deposit.

Temporal decay

During the reign of Prince Roman, business in the principality was good: agriculture prospered, regular boyar internecine strikes ceased, and the neighbors in the person of the Poles and Hungarians began to respect the young state. But all good things end sooner or later ...

The time has come and the Grand Duke Roman died. Immediately after this tragic event, the situation was heated again - the struggle for power began. Also, the nearest neighbors began to influence the policy of the Galicia-Volyn principality. The period of instability lasted about 30 years, until a new strong figure appeared, Danila Galitsky. In 1238 the prince took power in his hands.

The next reunion and the heyday of the principality

Danila Galitsky managed to restore order and restore the unity of the two lands. Moreover, the new politician extended the influence of the Galicia-Volyn principality to Kiev. During his reign (1238-1264), the Slavic state successfully resisted the Golden Horde.

The successor of Danila was Prince Yuri. With him there was a flowering of cities, the growth of foreign and domestic trade, as well as peaceful life on the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality.

The fall of the principality

The history of the state ended tragically. The blow came from his southern neighbor: the army of Khan Uzbek defeated two young sons of Prince Yuri.

Having existed for 200 years, the Galicia-Volyn principality (briefly with its history we are already familiar) had a great cultural impact on the development of Russia. The history of this southwest territory is an integral part of the history of our land.

Characteristics of the Galicia-Volyn principality

In this section, we consider two aspects - the major cities and the economy of the area. The geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality was very successful. That is why agriculture was especially developed in that area (plow farming) and various crafts.

The improvement of the economic situation contributed to the growth of large cities. The largest cities of the Galicia-Volyn principality are:

• Lviv is one of the most beautiful cities in the CIS. It was named after the son of Danil Galitsky Lion.
• Vladimir-Volynsky is a city in the very west of Ukraine. Thanks to a successful geographical location, in the 13th-14th centuries, Here formed a large Jewish community. The history of the ancient people during the Second World War is very tragic: the Hitlerites and local residents killed about 25,000 peaceful people. Today, a memorial complex has been built on the site of mass riots.
• Galich is the first capital of the Galicia-Volyn principality.

On the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality there were about 80 cities. Such a record gives a record.

Government and government

The political features of the Galicia-Volyn principality still cause a controversy among historians. Official science holds the view that the real power was possessed by influential boyars. It was they who selected the candidates for the princes and decided on the displacement of the person. Of course, the management of the Galicia-Volyn principality depended on a particular person. Especially if the prince became a wise politician who could make independent decisions.

The main authority of the big boyars was the Soviet. It included the most influential people of the principality - bishops and large landowners. A certain social system characterizes the Galicia-Volyn principality. Its description will be presented in the next chapter.

Social order

On the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality, a feudal society was formed . It consisted of approximately 5 estates, the difference between which was considerable. Consider what was the great gap between the people belonging to different estates. Interesting characters inhabited the Galicia-Volyn principality. The table below will tell you about their lifestyle.

The characterization of the Galicia-Volyn principality would be incomplete without a detailed description of the estates.

Western Ukraine today

One of the provocative and most interesting questions: "Where does the residents of Western Ukraine have such a vivid self-awareness?" To answer it, we need to go a little deeper into history: the geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality and its fate will explain a lot.

The historical lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality are the territory of modern Western Ukraine. The former Galicia roughly corresponds to Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Ternopil regions. Volyn is a historical region in the north-west of modern Ukraine. It covers the present Rivne, Zhytomyr and Volyn regions.

After the fall of the Galicia-Volyn principality, the fate of the two lands was largely determined by the western neighbors of Southern Russia. In the 14th century, Galicia was captured by Poland, and Volyn passed under the control of Lithuania. Then came the united Commonwealth, which again seized these territories.

For many years, the population of Galicia and Volhynia was influenced by Polish and Lithuanian cultures. Also the Ukrainian language of Western Ukraine is somewhat similar to Polish. Hence it becomes clear why Western Ukrainians have always wanted to become independent.