Galicia-Volyn principality, geographically located in 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 Southern Russia during the feudal fragmentation.
Geographic location
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 on Lithuania, in the south - on the Golden Horde, in the east - on Kyiv and Turov-Pinsk principalities, in the west - on the Kingdom of Poland. And behind the mighty ridge of the Carpathians, Hungary was already spreading.
The south-west of Russia was distinguished not only by its picturesque nature, but also by a large number of reservoirs. The Pripyat and Styr rivers flowed in the east of the Galicia-Volyn principality, and the majestic Danube in the south.
Geographic locationThe Galicia-Volyn principality, frankly, was obviously beneficial.
Who and how formed a single principality?
The formation of the Galicia-Volyn principality occurred at the end of the 12th century. Historians call this historical period of time the period of feudal fragmentation of Russia.
The 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), the wise politician deftly united two culturally close territories. The result was an influential Slavic state that existed for 200 years! The prince himself entered Russian and Ukrainian history as "the autocrat of all Russia" (source - chronicle).
Objective reasons for the unification of Galicia and Volhynia
The Principality of Galicia-Volyn (briefly the act of reunification is presented above) arose not only because of the desire of one person, albeit a very resourceful one. There are also quite logical reasons why these two lands decided to become one:
- good 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;
- large s alt deposit.
Temporary Decay
During the reign of Prince Roman, things were going well in the principality: agriculture flourished, constant boyar strife stopped, and neighbors represented by Poles andHungarians began to respect the young state. But all good things come to an end sooner or later…
The time has come and Grand Duke Roman has died. Immediately after this tragic event, the situation escalated again - the struggle for power began. Also, the closest neighbors began to influence the policy of the Galicia-Volyn principality. The period of instability lasted for about 30 years, until a new strong figure appeared - Danila Galitsky. In 1238, the prince took power into his own hands.
Another 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 Kyiv. During his reign (1238-1264) the Slavic state successfully resisted the Golden Horde.
Danila's successor was Prince Yuri. Under him, there was a flourishing of cities, the growth of foreign and domestic trade, as well as peaceful life on the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
Fall of the Principality
The history of the state ended tragically. The blow came from the southern neighbor: the army of Khan Uzbek defeated the two young sons of Prince Yuri.
Having existed for 200 years, the Galicia-Volyn principality (we are already familiar with its history briefly) had a great cultural impact on the development of Russia. The history of this southwestern territory is an integral part of the history of our land.
Characteristics of the Galicia-Volyn principality
In this section, we will consider two aspects - large cities and the economyterrain. The geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality was very successful. That is why agriculture (arable farming) and various crafts were especially developed in that area.
Improving the economic situation has 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. Named after the son of Danil Galitsky Leo.
- Vladimir-Volynsky is a city in the very west of Ukraine. Due to the favorable geographical position, in the 13-14 centuries. a large Jewish community was formed here. The history of the ancient people during the Second World War is very tragic: the Nazis and local residents destroyed about 25,000 civilians. Today, a memorial complex has been built on the site of the mass executions.
- Galych is the first capital of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
There were about 80 cities on the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality. The chronicle provides such data.
State system and power
The political features of the Galicia-Volyn principality still cause controversy among historians. Official science adheres to the point of view that influential boyars had real power. It was they who chose candidates for princes and made the decision to remove a person. Of course, the management of the Galicia-Volyn principality also depended on a particular person. Especially if a wise politician who could make independent decisions became a prince.
MainThe body of power 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. It will be described in the next chapter.
Social order
A feudal society was formed on the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality. It consisted of approximately 5 estates, the difference between which was significant. Let us consider what that huge gulf between people belonging to different classes consisted of. Interesting characters inhabited the Galicia-Volyn principality. The table below shows their lifestyle.
| Estate name | What did you own? |
| "Men of Galicia" | Large landowners, estate owners. |
| Serving feudal lords | Were in the service of the prince. Their ownership of the land was very conditional, very often it ended after the end of the service. |
| Large church nobility | Only educated people belonged to this estate: archbishops and abbots. They owned peasants and land. The latter were brought as a gift by the prince. |
| Craftsmen | This category of citizens included owners of jewelry and pottery workshops. Settled exclusively in large cities. The goods they produced went to the domestic and foreign markets. |
| Peasants(smerdy) | The most dependent and numerous estate. They were subordinate to the feudal lords, worked on the fertile lands of Western Ukraine. Had no private property. |
Characteristics of the Galicia-Volyn principality would be incomplete without a detailed description of the estates.
Western Ukraine today
One of the most provocative and interesting questions: “Where do the inhabitants of Western Ukraine get such a bright self-awareness?” To answer it, you need to go a little deeper into history: the geographical location 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. Former Galicia roughly corresponds to the Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Ternopil regions. Volyn is a historical region in the northwest of modern Ukraine. It covers the current 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 South Russia. In the 14th century, Galicia was captured by Poland, and Volhynia came under the control of Lithuania. Then a single Commonwe alth arose, which again captured 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. This makes it clear why Western Ukrainians have always wantedbecome independent.
