Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Primary Chronicle recorded Polotsk in the year 862 alongside Murom and Belozersk. Archaeologists from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggest the settlement existed earlier, during the first half of the 9th century.
Prince Rogvolod ruled Polotsk between 945 and 978 before Vladimir attacked and killed him. Vladimir married Rogvolod's daughter Rogneda after slaughtering her father and brothers.
Grand Duke Vytenis annexed the city by military force in 1307. The Lithuanians had begun this process in the 1250s and a charter of autonomy guaranteed that grand dukes would not introduce new laws or destroy old ones.
Four libraries held 40,000 to 60,000 volumes before Russian authorities broke them up in 1820. Seven hundred students studied there when Emperor Alexander I exiled the order.
German Empire troops occupied Polotsk from February 25 to the 21st of November 1918 during World War I. Poland controlled the area from the 22nd of September 1919 to the 14th of May 1920 in the Polish, Soviet War.
Local artisan Lazarus Bohsha created the Cross of Saint Euphrosyne which was lost during World War II. Nun Euphrosyne lived from 1120 to 1173 and transcribed books while promoting literacy.