vt married the sister of Vassili, Grand Duke of Moscow, and
extended his domain toward the east. He invaded Smolensk, whose Grand
Duke Sviatoslaf, when fighting in Russia, had taken a delight in
impaling and burning alive Russian women and children. That savage had
been killed in 1387, in a battle with the Lithuanians, and his son had
succeeded him. Vitovt, before Smolensk, invited this prince and his
brothers to visit him in his tent. They accepted and were warmly
received, but when they were ready to depart, they were told that they
were prisoners of war. Smolensk was taken by surprise, and pillaged.

Vitovt contemplated the conquest of Russia. His territory bordered in
the east on Souzdal and Riazan. He had defeated an army of Tartars in
the south, and was making preparations for a bold stroke. Collecting
an army of Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, and five hundred Knights of
the Teutonic Order, he set out from Kief and came upon the Tartar army
near Pultowa where, in 1399, he suffered a serious defeat. He
recovered from this blow, and after some time began a war with the
Teutonic Order which he defeated in 1410, at the battle of the (p. 082)
Tannenberg. He thereupon re-annexed the Jmoud country.

Vitovt had given up his designs upon Russia; he planned to raise
Lithuania into a kingdom, and to have a Metropolitan of its own,
instead of being dependent upon the head of the Greek Church at
Moscow. He succeeded in the last-named object, but met with a check in
the former, and, as he was eighty years old, the disappointment caused
an illness from which he died, in 1430. After his death, Lithuania had
no more influence upon Russia. Sometimes it had a grand duke of its
own, at other times it was united with Poland. In 1501, it became the
property of the King of Poland, who added to his title that of Grand
Duke of Lithuania. Its nobles spoke the Polish language.

It was necessary to sketch in a few words the history of Lithuania,
not only because it is part of Russia to-day, but because it has
always been claimed by Russia. The history of that country, however,
from the beginning of the 14th century, is centered about Muscovia,
the territory of the Grand Duke of Moscow. At the time of the
Lithuanian conquest, Muscovia was bounded on the north by Tver, on the
east by Souzdal, on the south by Riazan, and on the west by Lithuania.
It belonged to Alexander Nevski, who at his death left it to his son
Daniel. Its area was incr