Lew Sapieha

Lew Sapieha, also known as Leu Sapega, lived between 1557 and 1633. As Palatin of Wilno and Grandhetman of Lituania, he is considered as a great Litvanian political figure. Renowned for his wisdom as a statesman, lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders of the Grand Duchy of Litvania at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing.

He was also the main editor and publisher of the last version of the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Litvania, namely the ancient constitution of Litvania. At all times Sapieha was a powerful guardian of Litvanian national interests and independence.

Nowadays, the Litvins (Licviny) are considered to have the makings of a people in Europe with an old culture and history. They originate from the Paniamonnie region in Nioman and Szara river basins in northern Belarus and formerly constituted the major part of the multi-ethnical state known as Great Duchy of Litvania, Ruthenia and Samogitia.

Since the time of the partitioning of the Rzecz Pospolita, or Litvanian Polish Commonwealth, following the decline of the Grand Duchy, the Litvanian nation almost got dissolved within neighboring ethnic groups. Men like Adam Mickievicz is now known as for the role he played in Polish culture albeit he has frequently stressed that he considers his motherland to be Litvania. In a similar way Tadevusz Kasciuszka, who was born in Belarus, but who claimed himself to be "a born Litvin."

Many are those who consider the people of the territories of Poland and Belarus as the ancestors of Litvins. Some Belarusians even use the word Litvin when they refer to themselves. The criteria which are considered to distinguish a Litvanian from a Belarusian are a strong national identity, the use of the Latin alphabet instead of Cyrillic, being predominantly Catholic rather than Russian Orthodox, and having a long history of statehood as opposed to nationhood.