Algirdas

Grand Duke who expanded the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to near the Black Sea and marched on Moscow three times.

Life

Joint rule of brothers

Algirdas, a son of Gediminas, seized power together with his younger brother Kęstutis in 1345. Thereafter the brothers divided their responsibilities: he handled the east and Rus', while Kęstutis handled the west and the fight against the Teutonic Order.

Blue Waters

Around 1362 he defeated the army of the Golden Horde at the Battle of Blue Waters and took the region around Kyiv, so that for a time the Grand Duchy stretched from the Baltic Sea to near the Black Sea. He also led three campaigns against Moscow (1368, 1370 and 1372), contending with the Grand Prince of Moscow for leadership of Rus'.

Marched on Moscow

He himself remained a pagan and was tolerant of both Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism within his realm. He died in 1377, and the throne passed to his son Jogaila.

Legacy

Under Algirdas the Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached an unprecedented size, with most of its population being Eastern Orthodox Rus'.

Did you know? He had two wives, both princesses of Rus', and more than twenty children in all.

Key dates

• 1345Seized the grand ducal throne
• 1362Battle of Blue Waters (approx.)
• 1368First attack on Moscow
• 1372Third attack on Moscow
• 1377Died