Polotsk in the context of "Latgale"

The Principality of Polotsk (obsolete spelling: Polock; Belarusian: По́лацкае кня́ства, romanized: Polackaje kniastva; Latin: Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' mention Polotsk being conquered by Vladimir the Great, and thereafter it became associated with Kievan Rus' and its ruling Rurikids.

The principality was supposedly established around the town of Polotsk (now in Belarus) by the tribal union of Krivichs. In the second half of the 10th century, Polotsk was governed by its own dynasty; its first ruler mentioned in the chronicles was the semi-legendary Rogvolod (?–978), better known as the father of Rogneda. The principality was heavily involved in several succession crises of the 11th–12th centuries and a war with the Novgorod Land. By the 13th century, it was integrated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected in 1620. The dioceses (eparchies) included the Eparchy of Kiev itself, along with the eparchies of Lutsk, Lviv, Mahilioŭ, Przemyśl, Polatsk, and Chernihiv. The dioceses lay in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was at war with the Tsardom of Moscow for much of the 17th century. Around 1686, the Kiev and Chernihiv dioceses became Moscow-controlled territory. At the same time, the metropolis transferred from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1686. It is a matter of dispute as to whether this de facto transfer was also de jure or canonical.

Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the lands of Rus'. According to Göngu-Hrólfs saga, the name Hólmgarðaríki (also used as a name for Novgorodian Rus') was synonymous with Garðaríki, and these names were used interchangeably in several other Old Norse stories.

As the Varangians dealt mainly with the northern lands of Rus', their sagas regard the city of Hólmgarðr/Hólmgarðaborg (usually identified with Novgorod) as the capital of Garðaríki. Other important places of Garðaríki mentioned in the sagas that have generally been identified with well known historical towns are Aldeigja/Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga), Kœnugarðr/Kænugarðr (Kiev), Pallteskja/Pallteskia (Polotsk), Smaleskja/Smaleskia (Smolensk), Súrdalar (Suzdal), Móramar (Murom), and Rostofa (Rostov).

Rogneda or Rogned (Church Slavonic: Рогънѣдь, romanized: Rogŭnědĭ; Christian name: Anastasia; c. 960 – c. 1000), also known as Ragnhild (Ragnheiðr), is a person mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as having been a princess of Polotsk, the daughter of Rogvolod (Ragnvald), who came from Scandinavia and established himself at Polotsk in the mid-10th century. Vladimir the Great is narrated as having killed her father and taking her as one of his wives.

In a closely related, but separate story in the Suzdalian Chronicle, the daughter of Rogvolod of Polotsk is called Gorislava, and Vladimir rapes her in front of her parents before killing her father and taking her as a wife, after which Gorislava attempts to kill Vladimir in revenge.

Russian churches often have various recurrent elements in their architecture. The onion dome is for example a recurrent and important element in the architecture of Russian churches. Often Russian churches have also multi-colored filigree ornamental elements. Furthermore the colour white plays an important role in the style of Russian churches. In the past, Russian churches were made out of wood. Many Russian Orthodox churches are distinguished by their verticality, bright colors and multiple domes, which provide a striking contrast with the flat Russian landscape, often covered in snow. The first churches in Kievan Rus', such as the 13-domed wooden Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, differed in this regard from their mainly single-dome Byzantine predecessors. The number of domes was important symbolically. One dome symbolized the single God; three represented the Trinity, and five represented Christ and his four evangelists. At first the baptistery, narthex, and choir gallery above the narthex were a common feature of Rus' churches, but gradually they disappeared. After a century of Byzantine imitations, the Russian masons began to emphasise the verticality in church design.

The late 12th century saw the development of so-called tower churches in Polotsk and Smolensk; this design later spread to other areas such as Kiev and Chernihiv. A visual transition between the main cube of the church and the elongated cylinder below the dome was provided by one or several rows of curved corbel arches, known as kokoshniki. They could be spade-shaped, semicircular, or pointed. In later Muscovite churches, the massed banks of kokoshniki evolved into a distinctive pyramidal shape. The reign of Ivan the Terrible was marked by the introduction of so-called tented roofs. The churches such as St. Basil's Cathedral were an agglomeration of chapels capped by the steeply pitched conical roofs of fanciful designs.