fled to the
Khan of the Crimea, interested him in his cause and returned at the
head of a Mussulman army. Lithuania rose in rebellion against Poland;
the governors and nobles, and especially the priests of the Catholic
Church, were hunted down, and those of the Greek Church took revenge
for recent injuries and insults.

Vladislas died, and the Diet elected his brother John Casimir. He
tried to reduce the very serious rebellion by promises, but there was
too deep a hatred between the two churches. Meanwhile order had been
restored in Russia, when the people of Lithuania wrote to the czar
begging him to take them under his protection. Alexis convoked the
Estates, told them that he had been insulted by Poland, and that the
Poles were persecuting the members of the Greek Church. They declared
in favor of war, and a boyard was sent to Kief to receive the oath of
allegiance. The people were willing provided their liberties would be
respected. This the czar promised. He declared that the privileges of
the Assembly and of the towns would be maintained, that only natives
would be employed in the administration and in taxation.

Poland was now sorely pressed. Charles X of Sweden invaded the (p. 143)
kingdom and took two of its capitals. The Cossack and Lithuanians
entered it from the south, and the Czar Alexis at the head of his own
army attacked it on the east. He maintained strict discipline so that
the Polish Governors said, "Moscow makes war in quite a new way, and
conquers the people by the clemency and good-nature of the czar." The
towns of White Russia opened their gates to his army, and Smolensk
surrendered after a five weeks' siege. The Swedes captured Warsaw, the
last capital of the misruled kingdom.

It was the jealousy of its enemies that saved Poland this time. Alexis
entered into a truce and attacked Sweden. This war was carried on from
1656 until 1661, and ended by the peace of Cardis whereby neither
country gained any advantage. The Poles, seeing the danger they had
incurred, rallied, and once again war broke out with Russia. It was
carried on with various success until both countries were exhausted.
In 1661, a thirteen years' truce was concluded, whereby Russia
restored Lithuania, but kept Little Russia on the left bank of the
Dnieper, together with Kief and Smolensk.

In 1668, a revolt was organized by the Metropolitan of Kief, who
preferred the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople to that
of