Aukštaitijos šiaurinių pavietų ir Žemaitijos kunigaikštystės 1656 m. konfederacija: jos priežastys ir reikšmė

ENThis article gives an analysis of the northern pavietas [Pol. powiat, administrative unit within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania] in the Aukštaitija region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Breslau, Kaunas, Ukmergė and Upytė, and the rallying of the Duchy of Samogitia’s nobility and political community in general in their independently expressed interest to protect and defend the state, and ensure the re-establishment of stately functions in the years 1656-1658, that is, at the time when almost the entire Grand Duchy of Lithuania had lost its sovereign rights. The Russian military had occupied a significant part of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, meanwhile, following the signing of the Treaty of Kėdainiai (20 October, 1655) with Sweden, the Duchy of Samogitia and the earlier mentioned lands of the Breslau, Kaunas, Upytė and Ukmergė pavietas had come under the jurisdiction of Sweden’s military administration. This determined its special role in the moves towards the liberation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Twenty Year War (1648-1667). After the uprising that took place in this region in April-May, 1656, Sweden’s military administration was dissolved and the earlier order was reinstated. This was how a sovereign area appeared in an otherwise occupied Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It covered 17.2% of the state’s territory, where dūmai [literally, smoke, but refers to one household] accounted for 20.4% of the land and 23% of the total population. The situation of this region became different to most other regions and pavietas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that continued to be occupied by Russia for another several or several dozen years or terrorized by its army.The political situation which developed in 1655-1656 and their shared interests united the nobility and broader political community of this region, readying it for indepedent actions relating to the functioning of the state, its defence and financing when no other support was at hand, and later when the regular Lithuanian army was in place. Their integration spurred on the Russian army’s push into the western lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the preparation of the Treaty of Kėdainiai with Sweden, as well as the collective confirmation of and later subordination to Sweden’s military administration, followed by insurrection, the reinstatement of sovereignty and its independent defence and protection. The pavietas of Kaunas, Ukmergė and Upytė declared their political and civil provisions in the confederate act of December 16, 1656. They agreed to pay taxes, form a military and reinstate independent judicial institutions in each pavietas. A similar agreement was reached by the nobility of the Duchy of Samogitia. In this way, through its powers and decisions, this region liberated itself politically, militarily and financially, and later assisted the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in shedding the yoke of Russian occupation. In other words, it became the jumping-off point for the liberation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which began in earnest in 1660, and maintained its significance until the liberation of Vilnius and Kaunas in the end of 1661. The entire liberation process of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania revealed just how Lithuania’s political community understood the relationship between freedom and the state and how these values were independently defended.