Apie Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės politinės būklės Abiejų Tautų Respublikoje ir jos raidos 1569-1764 metais problemas

LTStraipsnyje apžvelgiama LDK valstybingumo, jos politinės istorijos raida po 1569 m. Liublino unijos. Akivaizdu, kad nors istoriografija gausi, toli gražu ne visos Lietuvos valstybingumo problemos yra pakankamai išnagrinėtos. Bene kiekvienas naujas straipsnis, skirtas šio laikotarpio problemoms, skatina pildyti ir tikslinti jau susiklosčiusį vaizdą. Ne su viskuo, kas jau teigiama, galima sutikti. Todėl pateikiamas Lietuvos valstybingumo po 1569 m. Liublino unijos supratimas, valstybingumo, sąlygoto politinių permainų tiek Abiejų Tautų Respublikoje, tiek LDK, raidos suvokimas.

ENThe historiography, dealing with the relationship between Lithuania and Poland and with the self-dependence of the Lithuanian state system after the Lublin Union, is contradictory. Although the idea that after the Union Lithuania preserved its independency and the union itself was developing as a confederation of two legitimately equal states has been accepted, every new study, devoted to these problems, adds some additional knowledge and is an impulse for further research. This paper presents a review of the development of Lithuanian self-dependence, conditioned by the internal political changes in Lithuania and in the Republic, and a tentative division of this process into periods. The period from 1569 to 1588 should be treated as Lithuania’s adaptation to the existence in the union and its attempts to make the acts of the union serve its own needs. In its endeavour to achieve these goals Lithuania had several ways at its disposal, such as its consolidated legal and political system (general congresses and convocations kas tai yra? gal assemblies?, the Chief Tribunal of Lithuania, established in 1581, the Third Lithuanian Statute of 1588, its separate foreign policy, mainly during interregnums, the search for an alliance with the sovereign during the reign of Stephan Bathory, etc. The adoption of the Third Lithuanian Statute and the compromise agreement with Sigismundus Vasa recognizing him as king clearly showed Lithuania’s resolution to enter the union with Poland without losing its rights, its identity and self-dependence. A long period from 1588 to 1763 was characterized both by a virtually stable coexistence in the union and by the approaching confusion of the public and political life and the collapse of the state. In both countries integration processes were influencing the spheres of culture and politics, although opposition was also evident, especially in regard to the existence of the two states in one Republic.The aspirations of the more powerful partner in the union - Poland - to transform the Republic of Two Nations into a single state of Poland played their part, too, in the direction of changing the essence of the union itself. Respectively, Lithuania was deeply concerned about the preservation of its self-independence in the complex political situation and in the framework of various forces (Lithuania, Poland, the sovereign, etc.). Forced to defend its interests, Lithuania relied on state institutions, foreseen in the acts of the Lublin Union - separate governing bodies, a separate army and treasury, independent of Poland. Such a structure of the state strengthened the union, making it acceptable to Lithuania. There were attempts to seek counter-measures against adverse phenomena, weakening the union, in particular against the progressing ‘de-centralization of sovereignty’ and against the increasing disrespect of the specifically Lithuanian matters on the part of the rulers of the Republic. The latter circumstance in particular made Lithuanian politicians exploit their pre-union experience, gained in the activity of the Council of the Nobles, and rule the state on their own. Often those nobles were in opposition to the sovereign, nevertheless, having consolidated Lithuanian society and representing the state as a whole, they were not only the defenders of Lithuanian statehood, but also the guardians of the union of two equal partners. Taking into account the relationship of the above-mentioned processes and forces it is possible to divide the two-century span from 1588 to 1763 into smaller periods: (1) the year 1588 - the mid-seventeenth century - the period, when the Radvilas, in collaboration with other noble families, were the leaders of the political life in the country, and the relations between Lithuania and the sovereign were still constructive enough, though the discrepancies in their interests prevented their smooth development.(2) the mid-seventeenth century - the beginning of the eighteenth century - the time when the primacy of a particular family (the Pacas, the Sapiehas) consolidated the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, while the relations between the sovereign and Lithuania became more and more complicated and even hostile; (3) the early eighteenth century - the year 1763, when Lithuania, having lost its leaders in the internal wars, underwent the de-centralization of the sovereignty and the decline of the state , and when the former integrative forces and structures of the Republic gained the upper hand and overwhelmed the forces, defending the statehood of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and when the conflicts between those forces became unavoidable. The following years from 1764 to 1795 would be the period, characterized by the problems of re-vitalization and the final destruction of the Republic, but that is not the concern of this study. The present chronological division is not an end in itself and it is not definitive. Nevertheless it should enable the scholars to comprehend the least investigated aspects of this sphere, and new knowledge in its turn will favour the clarification of this complex process.