Konrad Bobiatyński. Expenses of Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł’s on the defence of Niaswiž in 1655–1660

The given document contains brief information on the expenses incurred by one of the Lithuanian richest magnates Michal Kazimierz Radziwill on the defense of his main residence Niaswiž from Muscovy troops in 1655–1660. This was one of the few fortresses able to put an effective resistance to the offensives of Czar Alexei Mikhailovich who tried to capture it twice — in September of 1655 and June 1660 and never capitulated to the enemy for the entire duration of the war. This document was promulgated before the parliament in 1661, when Radziwill decided to claim the reimbursement from the state treasury. The prince at that time could count on a special grace from the royal couple, who, as the Speaker of the Sejm he worked closely with on activities aimed at implementing the election on the principle of „vivente rege”. Thus, not only did he manage to regain during the Sejm over 56 thousand given to defend Niaswiž in the first half of 1660, but also on June 30, 1661 received from Jan Kazimierz one of the main senator positions in Lithuania — castellany of Wilno. This document is a very interesting, even a unique source to study the structure, composition and amount of private armies of Lithuanian magnates in the second half of the seventeenth century.

Translated by Anatol Minkovsky