Lithuanian state territorial contacts in the East in the 15th-16th centuries : several episodes of bordeline history

The state borderline delineation depends on various factors such as territorial structure aspects, region’s specific political situation, which determines the character of the delineation process, its intensity, and generates assumptions about the other state borderline formation stage – demarcation. This article investigates the history of the establishment of the eastern state borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the 15th–16th centuries with the exception of Sebezh, Polotsk and Vitebsk cases in the geography of delineation of state borders. These cases serve as examples which allow to claim that the prevailing non-linear conception of the eastern borderline between the GDL and the Moscow state could be broadened; consequently, new aspects of territorial conception and borderline specifics could be demonstrated. On the basis of the sources, a precondition is made that the cases analyzed in the article permit to recognize some features of linear borderline delineation in the state’s eastern territory in the second half of the 16th century; however, in view of localization and chronology, the acknowledgment of these features testifies to their local character. Indications to the linear borderline conception were found only in the diplomatic correspondence and negotiation documents. Official delineation documents were not prepared.[...]Istorijos katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta