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Unwieldness of matchlock musket had nothing to do with the type of lock. Flintlock muskets became lighter because there were less concern with heavy armour which was already fading out. You must to consider that before shift from pikes to bayonets the pikes were much shorter than in 16th...

So disfranchise the poorest? This would weaken magnates, thus you would need more people to persuade. There were middle class of landed gentry (their power was based on grain export) whose rivalry prevented rise of bourgeois middle class. It would be intresting to see some of reforms attempted...

I don't know why it is wikifactoid. The spelling with two s was more common in Moscow, with one s in GDL. I used this to emphasise that they considered themselves different even while using the same name.

The border between two is rather close to Polish-Lithuanian border post 1569 year. Moscow claimed that that they are Russians not Rusians all the time :) Hard to say. There were a lot of factors that worked against union as well and one those factors was the ruling dynasty. Save for lost lands...

Before Moscow got Novgorod Lithuania was in match with Moscow, but after Kazan that is true. Moscow getting advantage over Lithuania and later formal Polish-Lithuanian Union IMO had the same reason - the personal Polish-Lithuanian union under Casimir.Once the balance of power shifted in...

I think that would even worsen situation. Whatever of Casimir's sons would become Grand duke of Lithuania Lithuanian nobility would get free hands to interfere. Casimir was only occasionally putting his atention to the East, when wasn't distracted by dynastic or Polish affairs.

There are such strange thing as legitimacy. Even in you example with Ivan the Terrible boyars prefered to act in the name of legitimate ruler and didn't take the place for themselves. There were some powers between Novgorod and Balkans, that were stronger than Novgorod. I am interested as well...

Even then this don't mean that he always acted in the Polish interests. My point is that he would be able rely only on Lithuanian potential and his private assets in the case of war.

Still that don't show that Poland had any interests so far to the East, because that can be expected from any Grand duke of Lithuania at the time.

Lithuanian politics and government was centred on the grand duke. Without his approval nothing could be done. The nobility had only ability to deny their support to the grand duke (as in 1457 when they didn't join Poland against the Teutonic knights), but couldn't do any active steps.

There were a lot of possibilities, not only Vorskla or Švitrigaila's success, even his death in 1432 would be beneficial. Don't forgot Polish - Lithuanian relations were very tense after Švitrigaila's death in 1452 and Polish interests in the East hardly reached beyond Volyn and Moldova.

There were the other acts signed regulating Polish - Lithuanian relations (eg Union of Horodlo)at the time we are discussing. Some of them even more fitted to support an opinion that Lithuania was Polish vassal ( acts signed by Grand duke Zigismund) I would say that aforesaid Unions was result...

Smolensk was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Poland would not be issue it had no direct access to Muscovy. Boyars could not become legitimate rulers. They would fight in support of one of princes.

I am not so sure on this. The main instigator of the Partitions was Prussia. PLC was sort of Russian protectorate and it seems that satisfied Russia enough.

In the winter they were less isolated, the ice over rivers and bogs made good way for invading armies. There were a political moment that was more important. The princes of Moscow were more successful in collaborating with Tartars.

I had no intent to be rude, just pointed some inaccuracies. If you prefer so.

Lautenburg? For Lithuanians there were no reason to go to that direction, they more likely would try to reach their teritory as quikly as is possible. That was not implied by named Union He could easily pass that castle.

The last war fought by GDL and the Order was in 1422 but in 1431 they already were allied against Poland. The reason was the fact that the Order was seen as counterweight and potential ally against Poland, as I mentioned before relations between Poland and Lithuania weren't very friendly.

Yet another possibility GDL joins Poland in the Thirteen Years' War. Lithuanian nobility rejected Kazimir's offer to join war and partition lands of the Order due to very chill relations with Poles.

Actually the Commonwealth rejected alliance with Russia. That was Saxony that allied with Russia. Accidentally the Commonwealth and Saxony happened to have the same person as king of both.