Principality of Chernigov
During the times of Kievan Rus', it was part of the Principality of Chernigov. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it was part of Lithuania. Ivan III ("the Great") attached the area to Russia by the end of the 15th century. The region was attacked by the Tatars in 1507, 1512, 1530, 1536 and 1544. During this time, Belyev became both a fortress in the defensive line of Russia and a major religious center with two monasteries founded. In 1777, by decree of Catherine the Great, the district was officially formed as part of Tula Province. The Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky was born in the village of Mishenskoe in Belyovsky District in 1783.