Vilna Governorate-General (, ), known as Lithuania Governorate-General before 1830, was a

Governorate-General A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions of ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

from 1794 to 1912. It primarily encompassed the

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

, and

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

s. Governors General were also commanders of the

Vilna Military District Vilna Military District () was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army. The district was formed in 1862 as part of Russian military reforms and was responsible for parts of modern Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The district was di ...

. According to the Russian Empire Census, the Governorate-General had 4,754,000 residents in 1897.

Composition

The Governorate-General was established in November 1794 when territories of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

were incorporated into the Russian Empire following the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The core of the Governorate-General was the present-day territory of Lithuania and western Belarus. In 1794–1797, the Governorate-General was composed of two governorates,

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

and

Slonim Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gr ...

, which were merged into the

Lithuania Governorate Lithuania Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire in 1796–1801. After the third partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the former territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

. After his assassination, the governorate was again divided into Vilna and

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

s. In 1834,

was formed from the seven western powiats of the Vilna Governorate. The Governorate-General temporarily included other territories as well: *

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

(1834–1852, 1862–1870) *

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

(1862–1869) *

Mogilev Governorate Mogilev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. The governorate bordered the Vitebsk Governorate to the north, the Smolensk Governorate to the east, the Chernigov Gover ...

(1862–1869) * Four uyezds of

Augustów Governorate Augustów Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. It was created in 1837 from the Augustów Voivodship, and had the same borders and capital (Suwałki) as the voivodship. In 1 ...

(1863–1864)

Governors General

References

{{Authority control 1794 establishments in the Russian Empire States and territories established in 1794 1912 disestablishments in the Russian Empire States and territories disestablished in 1912 Governorates-General of the Russian Empire History of Vilnius