Few Kyivites know that toward the end of the 15th century this city was granted the Magdeburg Rights (also known as Magdeburg Law) by Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania. Few Lithuanians know that several outstanding architectural monuments in Vilnius appeared there thanks to Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozky of Volhynia. These and other facts of Ukrainian-Lithuanian history are found in the recently launched book Ukraina: Lytovska doba 1320-1569 (Ukraine: Lithuanian Era of 1320-1569). Leading historians of Ukraine and Lithuania who worked on the book are convinced that this book is just the first of a series; it contains little-known and fundamentally new information about Ukrainian history of the 14th-16th centuries.
Says Dr. Alfredas Bumblauskas, professor at Vilnius University and co-author of the book: “The idea of a book about the development of Ukraine during the Lithuanian era and about Lithuanian things in Kyiv and Ukrainian things in Vilnius was conceived a long time ago. I have an acquaintance in Ukraine who has been studying the history of Lutsk for 30 years, yet I was the first to tell him that the castle in this city appeared at the time of Vytautas the Great of Lithuania. This was the first thing that prompted us to start writing the book. At the time, Ukraine was a powerful state and had five territories within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and four more beyond its borders. Even though Ukraine occupies a large territory now, Lithuanians aren’t sure where to go and which sites to see in your country. Now the situation will change.”
Ukrainian historians also regard this book as unique and remarkable, for it is the first of its kind to contain some 300 archival documents, dozens of portraits of historic personalities, and the coats of arms of celebrated Ukrainian and Lithuanian dynasties, as well as samples of monetary units and illustrations of the most interesting fortifications of the 14th–16th centuries in Ukrainian and Lithuanian cities. Lithuania’s ambassador to Ukraine Algirdas Kumza, who was also present during the launch of the book, admits that he has learned some historical facts precisely from this volume. The publication was financed by the Lithuanian embassy in Kyiv and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. The Ukrainian side only contributed to the writing of the book.
Says Dr. Feliks Shabuldo, one of the Ukrainian co-authors: “This book could be different if we had we been given more time to prepare it. Anyway, the first step has been taken. The book is published in Ukrainian, although we’d like to have a Lithuanian version, too. What makes this publication important for us is that for the first time in many years we have discovered new facts relating to the development of Ukraine during the Lithuanian era. Under the Communists this topic was closed. Ukraine’s entry into the Lithuanian duchy triggered progressive changes in our lands. The agrarian, administrative-territorial, and military reforms were carried out. Kyiv regained its status of a religious capital. It was at that time that many ideological, political, and cultural contacts between the two peoples were established. These contacts have been maintained until our day and age.”
