Kulakovsky P. The Chernihiv-Siversky Lands in the Compo-sition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1618-1648).

This dissertation is the first attempt in historiography to research the history of Chernihiv-Siversky lands when they were ruled by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1618-1648). The process of basic governance formation in the times of Chernihiv Principality (1618-1632) and the introduction of estate system are studied. The author thoroughly explains the reasons, course, and results of the War of Smolensk (1632-1634) in the region. The basic steps and essential elements for the district system spreading in Chernihiv-Siversky lands are researched; the activity of the governing bodies of gentry's self-government is analyzed; and the place of the region in the state budget formation is established. The process of palatinate's border formation is reconstructed; the impact of political and historical factors on the establishment of borders and district division is researched. For the first time the process of colonization, which took place in the Chernihiv-Seversky lands, is studied in every detail: (1)the stages and (2) the methods of colonization are determined; (3) the role of central power and private persons in this process is defined; (4) the classification of settlements that appeared as a result of resettling and economic activity in the region is defied. The major tendencies of economic development of the Chernihiv-Siversky lands are shown; the importance of local crafts in the economic development is demonstrated; the spread of more sophisticated forms of management, domestic trade, and craftsmanship is studied; and the place of the region in the foreign trade of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, primary with Moscow state, is determined.