13 April 2026, 19:00

Historian explains why Mstislavl princes led Veliky Novgorod’s army

Igor Marzalyuk [Screengrab/BelTA]

MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – Mstislavl princes also acted as serving princes in Veliky Novgorod. Igor Marzalyuk, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives, explains why in the BelTA project True History. Lectures by Igor Marzalyuk.

The historian noted that Mstislavl is one of the most important historical centers of Belarusian culture and statehood. “Take, for example, the fact that one of the town’s founders, Prince of Smolensk Rostislav Mstislavich, was canonized as a Belarusian saint by the Orthodox Church. Semyon and Yuri Mstislavich were brilliant warriors and knights who defeated the Crusaders. Semyon was a hero of the Battle of Grunwald. There is debate about whether Yuri could have participated in the Battle of Grunwald. I believe he did not, because he was too young. But he was a glorious and courageous warrior who did a great deal for Mstislavl and the Mstislavl land,” the historian noted, adding that the prince was a descendant of very famous ruling dynasties. “Semyon Mstislavich was the son-in-law of Dmitry Donskoy. And the blood of two of the most powerful dynasties in Eastern Europe – the Lithuanian Hiedymins and the Moscow Rurikids – flowed in the veins of his son Yury.”

The expert drew attention to how the Mstislavl princes balanced their roles in their hereditary lands with service elsewhere. “Let me remind you of a little-known fact,” said Igor Marzalyuk. “From 1388 all the way to 1458, the princes of Mstislavl – first Semyon Mstislavich and then his son Yury Semyonovich – were invited by the Novgorodians to serve as serving princes in Veliky Novgorod. In other words, they remained princes of Mstislavl. This was their patrimony and ancestral land. (And Semyon Mstislavich was also the Prince of Polotsk, not just the governor as is often written – his surviving seals read ‘Grand Prince of Polotsk.’)” “In the Novgorod lands, the princes held a separate volost in exchange for their service, which provided them with income. These included Ladoga, Orekhovo, Karelsky Gorodok, the Karelian land, and half of Koporye. The revenue from these Novgorod territories was payment for their military efforts, for the fact that they were valiant warrior princes who reliably defended the Novgorod lands. They were excellent military commanders, and as a result, the Novgorodians led by the Mstislavl princes did not lose a single battle against German and Swedish knights.”