Political system Old Russian state combined the institutions of feudal and primitive communal formations. The political structure was of a peculiar nature (largely due to the transitional state). Russia was a federation of principalities, which was ruled jointly by the Rurik family. Its members occupied tables in the cities on the principle of seniority, receiving them in temporary possession. At the same time, all Rurikovichs were considered equal among themselves, calling the Kiev prince "elder brother." State headed Grand Duke of Kyiv, who received power by inheritance as the eldest descendant of Rurik. The prince was a legislator, a military leader, a supreme judge, an addressee of tribute.

While in Kyiv, the prince appointed his representatives to other centers of the state. posadniks, who monitored the observance of order, judged the local population, collected tribute and duties. Part of the collected funds went to the maintenance of the posadnik and his squads. Gradually, the closest relatives of the prince (sons, brothers, nephews) became posadniks. Under the princes and posadniks, there were officials who performed various functions: tiunas, tributaries and etc.

The power of the prince was monarchical, but limited to the participation in it of the senior squad and the city council. Prince surrounded retinue. The warriors lived in the princely court (in gridnitsa), feasted with the prince, participated in campaigns, collected and shared tribute and military booty. The relationship between the prince and the squad was not always in the nature of citizenship: the prince consulted with the squad on all matters. At the same time, the squad needed the prince not only as a military leader, but also as a symbol of statehood.

The squad was divided into the eldest ("boyars","husbands") and junior (« gridy", "youths"). The most respected, senior warriors, constituted the permanent council of the prince (“duma”) and acted as governor. Some of them may have had their own squads. The junior combatants acted as a professional military force and performed the duties of the administrative agents of the prince: swordsmen, virnikov, mytnikov, spotters and others. endowed with land on patrimonial rights, represented the emerging class of feudal lords.

The appearance of the squad meant that the eradication of the general armament of the people, characteristic of the tribal system, began. However, the immaturity of feudal relations was manifested in the fact that an important role continued to play civil uprising (« howl”), which often participated more actively in hostilities than the combatants, whom the prince protected.

Princely power was also limited by elements of the remaining popular self-government. Veche As a people's assembly, the entire period of the existence of Kievan Rus was active. It participated in solving all the most important issues, including sometimes in the transfer of power to a specific prince (14 Kiev princes were invited to the veche). Folk Elders (« the elders of the city”) participated in the princely duma, and without their consent, it was probably difficult to make the most important decisions. The role of the veche gradually declined during the 9th-11th centuries. as the princely power strengthened and his apparatus strengthened, it met less and less often and only in extraordinary conditions, when the prince needed additional support. However, the veche continued to exist, and in some regions (Novgorod land) retained a strong position.

That is, the “early feudal monarchy of the Rurikids,” as researchers usually call it, was distinguished by great originality, because it included elements of primitive self-government (veche) and the emerging class power (senior squad). The ratio of princely power, the boyars and the people's veche will further determine the type of statehood that prevailed in certain territories of Russia during the period of fragmentation.

2.5. The formation of Russian culture and its features

IX-XII centuries became the time of the dominance of medieval culture, which was characterized by a slow pace of development, traditionalism, the dominance of the ideology of the religious worldview, the accumulation of knowledge, provided that many facts and phenomena had not yet received a scientific explanation. Russian culture, despite certain differences in the development of Russia, was formed in the general mainstream of European culture. This is due to the uniformity of socio-economic development and the similarity social structure. Christian values ​​that determined the type of culture were also common.

The culture of Kievan Rus inherited the culture of the East Slavic tribes, which formed the core of the people and the state. She absorbed the culture of the Finno-Ugric peoples, was influenced by the nomadic peoples of the Steppe and especially Byzantium, from where to Russia under Vladimir the Holy (Red Sun)(880-1015) came Christianity. Through Byzantium, Russia joined the heritage of antiquity. The traditions of Byzantium fertilized the folk culture of Russia based on a pagan worldview, but they were seriously reworked on Russian soil.

By the time Christianity was adopted, Russia already had its own alphabet ( Glagolitic), but the baptism of Russia contributed to the further development of writing and education ( Cyrillic). There is a lot of evidence of the spread of literacy among the inhabitants of Ancient Russia (inscriptions on the walls of cathedrals, birch bark letters, the opening of schools in Kyiv under Yaroslav the Wise, in which more than 300 children studied, etc.). About 150 books have come down to us from the pre-Mongolian period (“ Ostromir Gospel"). The genres of ancient Russian literature include chronicles (" Tale of Bygone Years”), biographies of Russian saints ("Lives" of Princes Boris and Gleb), journalistic writings (" A Word on Law and Grace by Hilarion, "Teaching Children" by Vladimir Monomakh). The books were decorated screensavers and miniatures, they were written in parchment. Along with written literature, oral folk art existed, primarily epics narrating about the heroic struggle against the nomads, about the creative work of the people. The period of Kievan Rus is often called the time of monumentalism in culture, which is especially noticeable in architecture. Its main monuments are represented by temples ( Sophia Cathedrals in Kyiv, Novgorod and Polotsk, Spassky Cathedral in Chernigov), the principles of construction of which were borrowed from Byzantium. Inside the temples were decorated frescoes, mosaics, icons. The names of Russian icon painters of this time are known: Alympius, Olisei, George and others. Secular paintings were also created (“ parsers"). Stone carving was widely used in decorating the walls of cathedrals. Handicraft has received outstanding development. According to academician B.A. Rybakov, craftsmen of more than 60 specialties worked in ancient Russian cities. There was arts and crafts (in the manufacture of jewelry used " filigree", "grain", "enamel", "niello»).

Russian culture was distinguished by a complex character, as it arose as a result of the synthesis of many cultures: East Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Byzantine, Turkic, Varangian. It was urban, democratic, open and rapidly developing. Under the conditions of a federal state, a single culture did not become unified, acquiring diversity in its regional manifestations. Religious elements were combined with secular ones.

One of the most important results of the development of Kievan Rus and its culture was the formation of the Russian nationality. It was characterized by a single language, political unity, common territory, closeness of material and spiritual culture, common historical roots.

Toynbee A. Comprehension of history. M., 1991. S. 87.

Ancient Russia (9-12 centuries) was a proto-state (early), which was just beginning to take shape as a political system. Former scattered communities began to gradually unite into single state, headed by the Rurik dynasty.

Scientists agree that Ancient Russia was an early feudal monarchy.

The origin of the socio-political system of Ancient Russia

The state (Ancient Russia) was formed at the end of the 10th century on the territory Eastern Slavs. At the head is a prince from the Rurik dynasty, who promises patronage and protection to the surrounding feudal lords. In exchange for this, the feudal lords give parts of their lands to the use of the prince as a payment.

At the same time, part of the lands conquered during wars and military campaigns is given to the use of the boyars, who receive the right to collect tribute from these lands. To remove the tribute, combatants are hired who could settle in the territory to which they were attached. Thus, the feudal hierarchy begins to take shape.

Prince –> estates –> boyars –> petty holders of land.

Such a system contributes to the fact that the prince from an exclusively military leader (4-7 centuries) turns into a political figure. The beginnings of a monarchy appear. Feudalism develops.

Socio-political system of Ancient Russia

The first legal document was adopted by Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century and was called "Russian Truth".

The main objective of this document is to protect people from unrest and regulate social relations. In "Russian Truth" various types of crimes and punishments for them were prescribed.

In addition, the document divided society into several social categories. In particular, there were free community members and dependents. Dependents were considered to be citizens without full rights, had no freedoms and could not serve in the army. They were divided into smerds (commoners), serfs (servants) and temporarily dependents.

Free community members were divided into smerds and people. They had rights and served in the army.

Features of the political system of Ancient Russia

In the 10-12th century, the head of the state (which united several principalities) was the prince. The council of boyars and warriors were subordinate to him, with the help of which he carried out government.

The state was an association of city-states, since life outside the cities was poorly developed. City-states were ruled by princely posadniks.

Rural lands were ruled by boyars and votchinniki, to whom these lands belonged.

The prince's squad was divided into old and younger. The old one included boyars and older men. The squad was engaged in the collection of tribute, the implementation of trials and local administration. The younger squad included young people and less noble people. The prince also had a personal squad.

Legislative, executive, military and judicial power were in the hands of the prince. With the development of the state, these branches of government began to separate into separate institutions.

Also in Ancient Russia there were the beginnings of democracy, which were expressed in the holding of people's assemblies - veche.

The final formation of the political system in Russia was completed by the end of the 12th century.

The Old Russian state can be characterized as an early feudal monarchy. The head of state was the Grand Duke of Kyiv. His brothers, sons and warriors carried out the administration of the country, the court, the collection of tribute and duties. The income of the princes and their entourage was then still largely determined by the tribute from the subordinate tribes, the possibility of exporting it to other countries for sale. The young state faced major foreign policy tasks related to the protection of its borders: repulsing the raids of the nomadic Pechenegs, fighting the expansion of Byzantium, the Khazar Khaganate. Volga Bulgaria.

The history of Kievan Rus, whose chronological framework is defined by most historians as the 9th to the beginning of the 12th centuries, can be conditionally divided into three large periods. The first (IX - the middle of the X century) is the time of the first Kiev princes. The second (the second half of the X-first half of the XI century) is the time of Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise, the heyday of the Kievan state; the third period, the second half of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries, the transition to territorial and political fragmentation.

THE FIRST KIEV PRINCES (IX MIDDLE X century)

Unification of Novgorod and Kyiv. From 862, Rurik established himself in Novgorod. From that time on, Russian statehood began. Rurik settled in Novgorod, one of his brothers, Sineus, on the White Lake, the other, Truvor in Izborsk. Two years later, the brothers died, and Rurik handed over the most important cities to his husbands. Two of them, Askold and Dir, who made an unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium, occupied Kyiv and freed the people of Kiev from the Khazar tribute. After the death of Rurik in 879, who left no heir behind, Oleg (879-911), the leader of one of the Varangian detachments, seized power in Novgorod.

Unification of Kyiv and Novgorod. Treaty of Russia with the Greeks. In 882

Oleg undertook a campaign against Kyiv, where Askold and Dir reigned at that time. Posing as merchants, Oleg's warriors killed Askold and Dir with the help of deceit and captured the city. Kyiv became the center of the united state.

Russia's trading partner was the Byzantine Empire. Kiev princes repeatedly made campaigns against their southern neighbor. So, back in 860, Askold and Dir undertook a successful campaign against Byzantium.

In 907 and 911, Oleg and his army fought twice successfully under the walls of Constantinople. As a result of these campaigns, agreements were concluded with the Greeks, drawn up in two copies in Russian and Greek. This confirms that Russian writing appeared long before the adoption of Christianity. Before the advent of Russkaya Pravda, legislation was also taking shape.

According to the agreements, Russian merchants had the right to live for a month at the expense of the Greeks in Constantinople, but they were obliged to walk around the city without weapons. At the same time, the merchants had to carry written documents with them and warn the Byzantine emperor in advance about their arrival. Oleg's agreement with the Greeks made it possible to export the tribute collected in Russia and sell it in the markets of Byzantium.

Under Oleg, the Drevlyans, northerners, and Radimichi were included in his state and began to pay tribute to Kiev. However, the process of incorporating various tribal unions into Kievan Rus was not a one-time action.

Prince Igor. Revolt of the ancients. After the death of Oleg, Igor (912-945) began to reign in Kyiv. During his reign in 944, an agreement with Byzantium was confirmed on less favorable terms. Under Igor, the first popular indignation took place - the uprising of the Drevlyans in 945. The collection of tribute in the conquered lands was carried out by the Varangian Sveneld with his detachment. Their enrichment caused a murmur in Igor's squad.

Having collected tribute and sent carts to Kyiv, Igor returned with a small detachment, wanting to collect more tribute. The Drevlyans gathered at the veche. Igor's squad was killed, and the prince was executed.

Lessons and graveyards. After the death of Igor, his wife Olga (945-964) cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband. The first embassy of the Drevlyans, which offered Olga instead of Igor as the husband of their prince Mal, was buried alive in the ground, the second was burned. At the funeral feast, on the orders of Olga, the tipsy Drevlyans were killed. According to the chronicle, Olga suggested that the Drevlyans give three pigeons and three sparrows from each yard as a tribute. A burning tow with sulfur was tied to the legs of the pigeons; when they flew into their old nests, a fire broke out in the Drevlyansk capital. As a result, the capital of the Drevlyans burned out. About 5,000 people died in the fire.

Having brutally avenged the Drevlyans, Olga was forced to go to streamline the collection of tribute. She set the size and places of tribute collection. Along with the camps, graveyards appeared, where tribute was brought. These graveyards then became the supporting centers of princely power.

Campaigns of Svyatoslav. Some historians consider Svyatoslav (964-972), the son of Olga and Igor, a talented commander and statesman, others argue that it was an adventurer prince who saw the purpose of his life in the war. Svyatoslav was faced with the task of protecting Russia from nomadic raids and clearing trade routes to other countries. Svyatoslav coped with this task successfully, which confirms the validity of the first point of view.

Svyatoslav, in the course of his numerous campaigns, began to annex the lands of the Vyatichi, defeated the Volga Bulgaria, conquered the Mordovian tribes, defeated the Khazar Khaganate, successfully fought in the North Caucasus and the Azov coast, having captured Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula, repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs. He tried to bring the borders of Russia closer to Byzantium and joined the Bulgarian-Byzantine conflict, and then led a stubborn struggle with the Emperor of Constantinople for the Balkan Peninsula. During the period of successful hostilities, Svyatoslav even thought about moving the capital of his state on the Danube to the city of Pereyaslavets, where, as he believed, “goods from different countries would converge”; silk, gold, Byzantine utensils, silver and horses from Hungary and the Czech Republic, wax, honey, furs and captive slaves from Russia. However, the struggle with Byzantium ended unsuccessfully, Svyatoslav was surrounded by a hundred thousandth Greek army. With great difficulty he managed to escape to Russia. A non-aggression pact was concluded with Byzantium, but the Danubian lands had to be returned.

On the way to Kyiv, Svyatoslav in 972 was ambushed by the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids and was killed. The Pecheneg Khan ordered to make a cup from the skull of Svyatoslav, bound with gold, and drank from it at feasts, believing that the glory of the murdered would pass to him.

FLOWERING OF KIEVAN RUSSIA

Vladimir I. After the death of Svyatoslav, his eldest son Yaropolk (972-980) became the Grand Prince of Kiev. His brother Oleg received the Drevlyane land. The third son of Svyatoslav Vladimir received Novgorod. In the civil strife that began five years later between the brothers, Yaropolk defeated the Drevlyansk squads of Oleg. Oleg himself died in battle.

Vladimir, together with Dobrynya, fled "over the sea", from where he returned two years later with a hired Varangian squad. Yaropolk was killed. Vladimir occupied the grand-ducal throne.

Under Vladimir I (980-1015), all the lands of the Eastern Slavs united as part of Kievan Rus. There was a further strengthening of the state apparatus. The princely sons and senior warriors received the largest centers in control. One of the most important tasks of that time was solved: ensuring the protection of Russian lands from the raids of numerous Pecheneg tribes. For this purpose, a number of fortresses were built along the rivers Desna, Osetr, Suda, Stugna. Apparently, here, on the border with the steppe, there were "heroic outposts" that protected Russia from raids, where the legendary Ilya Muromets and other epic heroes stood for their native land.

Acceptance of Christianity. In 988, under Vladimir I, Christianity was adopted as the state religion.

The baptism of Vladimir and his entourage took place in the city of Korsun (Chersonese), the center of the Byzantine possessions in the Crimea. It was preceded by the participation of the Kiev squad in the struggle of the Byzantine emperor Basil II with the rebellion of the commander Varda Foki. The emperor won, but did not fulfill his obligation to give his daughter Anna for Vladimir. Then Vladimir laid siege to Korsun and forced the Byzantine princess to marry in exchange for the baptism of a "barbarian" who had long been attracted to the Greek faith.

Vladimir, having baptized himself, baptized his boyars, and then the whole people. The spread of Christianity often met with resistance from the population, who revered their pagan gods. Christianity established itself slowly. On the outlying lands of Kievan Rus, it was established much later than in Kyiv and Novgorod.

The adoption of Christianity was great importance for the further development of Russia. Christianity, with its idea of ​​the eternity of human life, affirmed the idea of ​​the equality of people before God. According to the new religion, the path to paradise is open to both the rich nobleman and the commoner, depending on the honest fulfillment of their duties on earth.

The adoption of Christianity strengthened state power and the territorial unity of Kievan Rus. It had a great international importance, which consisted in the fact that Russia, having rejected "primitive" paganism, now became equal to other Christian countries, ties with which expanded significantly. Finally, the adoption of Christianity played a large role in the development of Russian culture, which was influenced by Byzantine, and through it, ancient culture.

A metropolitan appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople was placed at the head of the Russian Orthodox Church; separate regions of Russia were headed by bishops, to whom priests in cities and villages were subordinate.

The entire population of the country was obliged to pay a tax in favor of the church "tithe" (which at first constituted a tenth of the income of the population). Subsequently, the size of this tax has changed, but its name has remained the same.

The adoption of Christianity in the Orthodox tradition has become one of the determining factors in our further historical development.

Yaroslav the Wise. Twelve sons of Vladimir I ruled the largest volosts of Russia. After his death, the throne of Kyiv passed to his eldest son Svyatopolk (1015-1019). In the outbreak of civil strife, on the orders of the new Grand Duke, Boris Rostovsky and Gleb Muromsky were innocently killed. Svyatopolk was nicknamed the Accursed for his crime.

Svyatopolk the Accursed was opposed by his brother Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod the Great. Shortly before the death of his father, Yaroslav made an attempt not to submit to Kiev, which indicates the emergence of tendencies towards the fragmentation of the state. Relying on the help of the Novgorodians and the Varangians, Yaroslav, in the most severe strife, managed to expel the "Holy Holy One" from Kyiv to Poland, where Svyatopolk went missing.

Under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) Kievan Rus reached its highest power. He, like Vladimir I, managed to protect Russia from Pecheneg raids. In 1030, after a successful campaign against the Baltic Chud, Yaroslav founded the city of Yuryev (now Tartu in Estonia) near Lake Peipus, establishing Russian positions in the Baltic. After the death of his brother Mstislav in 1035, who had owned the lands east of the Dnieper since 1024, Yaroslav finally became the sovereign prince of Kievan Rus.

Under Yaroslav the Wise, Kyiv became one of the largest cities in Europe, competing with Constantinople. According to reports, there were about four hundred churches and eight markets in the city. Extensive work was carried out on the correspondence and translation of books into Russian, teaching literacy.

Under Yaroslav the Wise, Russia achieved wide international recognition. The largest royal courts of Europe sought to intermarry with the family of the Kiev prince. Yaroslav himself was married to a Swedish princess. His daughters were married to the French, Hungarian and Norwegian kings. Yaroslav's son Vsevolod married the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh Hence the nickname given to Vsevolod's son, Vladimir Monomakh.

Socio-economic structure of Kievan Rus. Land was in those days the main wealth, the main means of production.

A common form of organization of production has become a feudal patrimony, or fatherland, i.e. paternal property passed from father to son by inheritance. The owner of the estate was a prince or boyar. In Kievan Rus, along with the princely and boyar estates, there was a significant number of communal peasants who were not yet subject to private feudal lords. Such peasant communities independent of the boyars paid tribute in favor of the state to the Grand Duke.

All the free population of Kievan Rus was called "people". Hence the term, meaning the collection of tribute, "polyudye". The bulk rural population, dependent on the prince, was called "smerds". They could live both in peasant communities, which carried duties in favor of the state, and in estates. Those smerds who lived in estates were in a more severe form of dependence and lost their personal freedom. Purchasing was one of the ways to enslave the free population. Ruined or impoverished peasants borrowed part of the harvest, livestock, and money from the feudal lords. Hence the name of this category of population purchases. The purchase had to work for and obey its creditor until it paid back the debt.

In addition to smerds and purchases, there were slaves in the princely and boyar estates, called serfs or servants, who were replenished from among the captives and from among the ruined tribesmen. The slave-owning way of life, as well as the remnants of the primitive system, were quite widespread in Kievan Rus. However, the dominant system of production relations was feudalism.

The process of economic life of Kievan Rus is poorly reflected in historical sources. The differences between the feudal system of Russia and the "classical" Western European models are obvious. They lie in the huge role of the public sector in the country's economy, the presence of a significant number of free peasant communities, who were in feudal dependence on the grand duke's power.

As noted above, in the economy of Ancient Russia, the feudal structure existed along with slavery and primitive patriarchal relations. A number of historians call the state of Russia a country with a multiform, transitional economy. Such historians emphasize the early class nature of the Kievan state, close to the barbarian states of Europe.

"Russian Truth". Tradition connects the compilation of "Russian Truth" with the name of Yaroslav the Wise. This is a complex legal monument, based on customary law and on previous legislation. For that time, the most important sign of the strength of a document was a legal precedent and a reference to antiquity. Although Russkaya Pravda is attributed to Yaroslav the Wise, many of its articles and sections were adopted later, after his death. Yaroslav owns only the first 17 articles of Russkaya Pravda.

"Pravda Yaroslava" limited the blood feud to the circle of the closest relatives. This suggests that the norms of the primitive system already existed under Yaroslav the Wise as remnants. Yaroslav's laws sorted out disputes between free people, primarily among the princely squad. Novgorod men began to enjoy the same rights as Kiev.

Popular uprisings in the 60-70s. 11th century Mass popular demonstrations swept through Kievan Rus in 1068-1072. The most powerful was the uprising in Kyiv in 1068. It broke out as a result of the defeat suffered by the sons of Yaroslav.

In Kyiv, on Podil, in the handicraft part of the city, a veche was held. The Kievans asked the princes to issue weapons in order to fight the Polovtsy again. The Yaroslavichi refused to hand over their weapons, fearing that the people would use them against them. Then the people defeated the yards of the rich boyars. The Grand Duke Izyaslav fled to Poland and only with the help of the Polish feudal lords returned to the throne of Kyiv in 1069. Mass popular uprisings took place in Novgorod, in the Rostov-Suzdal land.

True Yaroslavich. The uprisings of the late 60s and early 70s of the XI century. demanded vigorous action from the princes and boyars. "Russkaya Pravda" was supplemented by a number of articles, called "Truths of the Yaroslavichs". The meaning of the additions is to protect the property of the feudal lord and his fiefdom. From "The Truth of the Yaroslavichs" we learn about the structure of the patrimony. Its center was the princely or boyar court. It housed the mansions of a prince or boyar, the houses of his entourage, stables, and a barnyard. At the head of the management of the patrimony was the princely butler ognischanin (from the word "fire" - house). In addition to it, there was a princely entrance, appointed to collect taxes.

The wealth of the patrimony was land, so the princely boundary was guarded by an extremely high fine. Dependent smerds and slaves (serfs, servants) worked on this land. The work was supervised by the ratai (field) elders, to whom the slaves obeyed, and the village elders, who monitored the performance of the work by the serfs. There were also artisans and artisans in the patrimony.

"Pravda Yaroslavichi" abolished blood feuds and increased the difference in payment for the murder of various categories of the population, reflecting the state's concern for the protection of property, life and property of the feudal lords.

TRANSITION TO SPECIFIC DISPOSION (SECOND HALF OF THE 11TH BEGINNING OF THE XII CENTURIES)

"Next" order of succession to the throne. Dying, Yaroslav the Wise divided the territory of the state between his five sons and a nephew from the deceased eldest son Vladimir. He bequeathed to the heirs to live in peace and love and obey his elder brother Izyaslav in everything. This procedure for the transfer of the throne to the eldest in the family, i.e. from brother to brother, and after the death of the last of the reigning brothers to his eldest nephew, he received the name "next". The throne of Kyiv, therefore, was to be occupied by the eldest prince in the Rurik family.

The complexity of dynastic accounts, on the one hand, the growth of the power of each individual principality, on the other, personal ambitions, on the third, inevitably led to princely strife. The wealth of individual principalities was based primarily on the wealth of the local landowners of the boyars, as well as the income collected by the prince from the peasant communities subordinate to him.

Lubech Congress. With the death in 1093 of the last of the Yaroslavichs, Vsevolod, power over Kiev passed to Svyatopolk II (1093-1113). The new prince was unable to cope with the strife, to resist the Polovtsy. Moreover, he was a self-serving man, very unscrupulous in the means of strengthening power. So, under him, speculation in bread and salt was widely conducted, uncontrolled usury flourished.

The most popular in Russia at that time was Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh. On his initiative, in 1097, the Lubech Congress of Princes took place. It was decided to stop the strife. However, the strife continued even after the Lyubech Congress.

An external factor, namely the need to rebuff those that appeared by the middle of the 11th century. in the southern Russian steppes to the nomadic Polovtsy, still kept Kievan Rus from disintegrating into separate principalities for some time. The fight was not easy. Historians count about 50 Polovtsian invasions from the middle of the 11th century to the beginning of the 13th century.

Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of Svyatopolk II in 1113, an uprising broke out in Kyiv. The people smashed the courts of princely rulers, large feudal lords and usurers. The uprising raged for four days. The Kievan boyars summoned Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to the grand-ducal throne.

Vladimir Monomakh was forced to make certain concessions, issuing the so-called "Charter of Vladimir Monomakh", which became another part of the "Russian Truth". The charter streamlined the collection of interest by usurers, improved the legal status of the merchants, and regulated the transition to servitude. Monomakh gave a great place in this legislation to the legal status of purchases, which indicates that purchasing became a very common institution and the enslavement of smerds proceeded at a more decisive pace.

Vladimir Monomakh managed to keep the entire Russian land under his rule, despite the fact that signs of fragmentation intensified, which was facilitated by a lull in the fight against the Polovtsians. Under Monomakh, the international prestige of Russia was strengthened. The prince himself was the grandson of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. His wife was an English princess. It is no coincidence that Ivan III, the Grand Duke of Moscow, who liked to "stir up the chroniclers", often referred to the reign of Vladimir Monomakh. The appearance in Russia of the crown of Russian tsars, the cap of Monomakh, and the succession of the power of Russian tsars from the emperors of Constantinople were associated with his name. Under Vladimir Monomakh, The Tale of Bygone Years was compiled. He entered our history as a major politician, military leader and writer.

The son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav I the Great (1125-1132), managed to keep the unity of the Russian lands for some time. After the death of Mstislav, Kievan Rus finally disintegrated into a dozen and a half principalities-states. A period has come that has received in history the name of the period of fragmentation or specific period.

Ticket 4. Causes and historical consequences feudal fragmentation in Russia. Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Novgorod feudal republic.

Reasons for fragmentation. The rise of the economy of the Kievan state took place against the background of the continued expansion of its territory due to the further development of the East European Plain.

Political fragmentation has become a new form of organization of Russian statehood in the context of the development of the country's territory and its further development along an ascending line. Arable farming has spread everywhere. Tools of labor were improved: archaeologists count more than 40 types of metal tools used in the economy. Even on the most remote outskirts of the Kievan state, boyar estates developed. An indicator of economic recovery was the growth in the number of cities. In Russia, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, there were about 300 cities - centers of highly developed crafts, trade, and culture.

The princely and boyar estates, as well as the peasant communities that paid taxes to the state, had a natural character. They sought to satisfy their needs as much as possible at the expense of internal resources. Their links with the market were very weak and irregular. The dominance of subsistence economy gave each region the opportunity to separate from the center and exist as an independent land or principality.

Further economic development of individual lands and principalities led to inevitable social conflicts. To resolve them, a strong local government was needed. Local boyars, relying on the military power of their prince, no longer wanted to depend on the central government in Kyiv.

The main force of the disunity process was the boyars. Based on his power, the local princes managed to establish their power in every land. However, later inevitable contradictions arose between the strengthened boyars and local princes, the struggle for influence and power. In different land-states, it was resolved in different ways. For example, in Novgorod, and later in Pskov, boyar republics were established. In other lands, where the princes suppressed the separatism of the boyars, power was established in the form of a monarchy.

The order of occupation of thrones that existed in Kievan Rus, depending on the seniority in the princely family, created an atmosphere of instability, uncertainty, which hindered the further development of Rus, new forms of political organization of the state were needed, taking into account the existing correlation of economic and political forces. Such a new form of state-political organization was political fragmentation, which replaced the early feudal monarchy.

Fragmentation is a natural stage in the development of Ancient Russia. The assignment of separate territories-lands to certain branches of the Kiev princely family was a response to the challenge of the times. The "circle of princes" in search of a richer and more honorable throne hindered the further development of the country. Each dynasty no longer regarded its principality as an object of war booty; economic accounting came to the fore. This allowed the local authorities to respond more effectively to the discontent of the peasants, to crop shortages, and external intrusions.

Kyiv became the first among equal principalities-states. Soon other lands caught up and even outstripped him in their development. Thus, a dozen and a half independent principalities and lands were formed, the borders of which were formed within the framework of the Kievan state as the boundaries of destinies, volosts, where local dynasties ruled.

The title of the Grand Duke was now called not only Kiev, but also the princes of other Russian lands. Political fragmentation did not mean a rupture of ties between the Russian lands, did not lead to their complete disunity. This is evidenced by a single religion and church organization, a single language, the legal norms of the "Russian Truth" that were in force in all lands, and people's awareness of a common historical destiny.

As a result of fragmentation, the principalities stood out as independent, the names of which were given by the capital cities: Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Murom, Ryazan, Rostov-Suzdal, Smolensk, Galicia, Vladimir-Volyn, Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk, Tmutarakan; Novgorod and Pskov lands. Each of the lands was ruled by its own dynasty, one of the branches of the Rurikovich. The sons of the prince and the boyars-deputies ruled the local destinies. Civil strife, both within the individual branches of the princes of the Rurik House, and between individual lands, largely determine the political history of the period of specific fragmentation.

Vladimir-Suzdal principality. North-Eastern Russia Vladimir-Suzdal or Rostov-Suzdal land was located in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga. Here by the beginning of the XII century. there was a large boyar land ownership. In the Zalessky region there were fertile soils suitable for agriculture. Plots of fertile land were called opoly (from the word "field"). One of the cities of the principality even received the name of Yuryev-Polskaya (that is, located in the opole).

Here old cities grew and new cities arose. At the confluence of the Oka and the Volga in 1221, Nizhny Novgorod was founded, the largest stronghold and trade center in the east of the principality. The old cities were further developed: Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl. New fortress cities of Dmitrov, Yuryev-Polskoy, Zvenigorod, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma, Moscow, Galich-Kostroma and others were built and strengthened.

The territory of the Rostov-Suzdal land was well protected from external invasions by natural barriers, forests and rivers. It was called the Zalessky region. Because of this, one of the cities received the name Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. In addition, on the way of the nomads to Rostov-Suzdal Rus lay the lands of other southern Russian principalities, which took the first blow. The economic growth of the north-east of Russia was facilitated by a constant influx of population. In search of protection from enemy attacks and normal conditions for farming, the population of the lands subjected to nomad raids rushed to the Vladimir-Suzdal opolye. The flow of colonization also came here from the northwest in search of new commercial lands.

Among the factors that contributed to the rise of the economy and the separation of the Rostov-Suzdal land from the Kiev state, one should mention the presence of profitable trade routes that passed through the territory of the principality. The most important of them was the Volga trade route, which connected northeastern Russia with the countries of the East. Through the upper reaches of the Volga and the system of large and small rivers, it was possible to go to Novgorod and further to the countries of Western Europe.

In the Rostov-Suzdal land, the capital of which was the city of Suzdal at that time, the sixth son of Vladimir Monomakh, Yuri (1125-1157), reigned at that time. For the constant desire to expand his territory and subjugate Kyiv, he received the nickname "Dolgoruky".

Yuri Dolgoruky, like his predecessors, devoted his whole life to the struggle for the throne of Kyiv. Having captured Kyiv and becoming the Grand Duke of Kiev, Yuri Dolgoruky did not forget about his northeastern lands. He actively influenced the policy of Novgorod the Great. Ryazan and Murom fell under the traditional influence of the Rostov-Suzdal princes. Yuri led the extensive construction of fortified cities on the borders of his principality. Under 1147, the annals first mentioned Moscow, built on the site of the former estate of the boyar Kuchka, confiscated by Yuri Dolgoruky. Here, on April 4, 1147, Yuriy negotiated with the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav, who brought Yuriy the skin of a pardus (leopard) as a gift.

Even during the life of his father, Yuri's son Andrei realized that Kyiv had lost its former role. On a dark night in 1155, Andrei fled Kyiv with his entourage. Having captured the "shrine of Russia" the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, he hurried to the Rostov-Suzdal land, where he was invited by the local boyars. The father, who tried to reason with his rebellious son, soon died. Andrei never returned to Kyiv.

During the reign of Andrei (1157-1174), a fierce struggle unfolded with the local boyars. Andrei moved the capital from the rich boyar Rostov to the small town of Vladimir-on-Klyazma, which he built up with extraordinary splendor. The impregnable white-stone Golden Gates were built, the majestic Assumption Cathedral was erected. Six kilometers from the capital of the principality, at the confluence of the Nerl and Klyazma rivers, Andrei founded his country residence Bogolyubovo. Here he spent a significant part of his time, for which he received the nickname "Bogolyubsky". Here, in the Bogolyubsky Palace, on a dark July night in 1174, Andrei was killed as a result of a conspiracy of the boyars, headed by the Kuchkovichi boyars, the former owners of Moscow.

The rulers of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality bore the title of Grand Dukes. The center of Russian political life has moved to the northeast. In 1169, Andrei's eldest son captured Kyiv and subjected it to cruel plunder. Andrei tried to subjugate Novgorod and other Russian lands. His policy reflected the tendency to unite all Russian lands under the rule of one prince.

Andrei's policy was continued by his half-brother Vsevolod the Big Nest (1176-1212). The prince had many sons, which is why he got his nickname (his sons are depicted on the wall relief of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir). The twenty-two-year-old son of the Byzantine princess, Vsevolod, brutally cracked down on the boyars-conspirators who killed his brother. The struggle between the prince and the boyars ended in favor of the prince. Power in the principality was finally established in the form of a monarchy. /

Under Vsevolod, white-stone construction was continued on a large scale in Vladimir and other cities of the principality. Vsevolod the Big Nest tried to subjugate Novgorod to his power, expanded the territory of his principality at the expense of the Novgorod lands along the Northern Dvina and Pechora, pushed the border of Volga Bulgaria beyond the Volga. Vladimir-Suzdal prince was at that time the strongest in Russia. The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign spoke of the power of Vsevolod: "He can splash the Volga with oars, and scoop up the Don with helmets."

The Vladimir-Suzdal principality retained its primacy among the Russian lands even after the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest. Yuri (1218-1238) emerged victorious in the internecine struggle for the throne of Vladimir between his sons. Under him, control was established over Veliky Novgorod. In 1221 he founded Nizhny Novgorod, the largest Russian city in the east of the principality.

The process of further economic growth of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was interrupted by the Mongol invasion.

Novgorod boyar republic. Novgorod land (northwestern Russia) occupied a vast territory from the Arctic Ocean to the upper reaches of the Volga, from the Baltic to the Urals.

Novgorod land was far from the nomads and did not experience the horror of their raids. The wealth of the Novgorod land consisted in the presence of a huge land fund, which fell into the hands of the local boyars, who grew out of the local tribal nobility. Novgorod did not have enough of its own bread, but hunting, fishing, salt making, iron production, beekeeping received significant development and gave considerable income to the boyars. The rise of Novgorod was facilitated by exceptionally advantageous geographical position: the city was located at the crossroads of trade routes that connected Western Europe with Russia, and through it with the East and Byzantium. Dozens of ships stood at the piers of the Volkhov River in Novgorod.

As a rule, Novgorod was ruled by that of the princes who held the throne of Kyiv. This allowed the eldest among the Rurik princes to control the great path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and dominate Russia. Using the dissatisfaction of the Novgorodians (the uprising of 1136), the boyars, which had significant economic power, managed to finally defeat the prince in the struggle for power. Novgorod became a boyar republic. supreme body In the republic, there was a veche at which the Novgorod administration was elected, the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy were considered, and so on. Along with the citywide veche, there were "Konchan" (the city was divided into five districts of the ends, and the entire Novgorod land into five regions of five regions) and "street" (uniting the inhabitants of the streets) veche gatherings. The actual owners of the veche were 300 "golden belts" - the largest boyars of Novgorod.

The main official in the Novgorod administration was the posadnik (from the word "plant"; usually the great Kyiv prince "planted" his eldest son as the governor of Novgorod). Posadnik was the head of the Government, in his hands were the administration and the court.

In fact, boyars from the four largest Novgorod families were elected as posadniks. Veche chose the head of the Novgorod church bishop (later archbishop). Vladyka disposed of the treasury, controlled the external relations of Veliky Novgorod, trade measures, etc. The archbishop even had his own regiment. The third important person in the city administration was the thousand man, who was in charge of the city militia, the court for commercial affairs, and also the collection of taxes.

Veche invited the prince, who led the army during military campaigns; his squad maintained order in the city. It seemed to symbolize the unity of Novgorod with the rest of Russia. The prince was warned: “Without a posadnik, you, prince, can’t judge the court, don’t hold volosts, don’t give letters. Even the prince’s residence was located outside the Kremlin on Yaroslav’s courtyard of the Torgovaya side, and later - a few kilometers from the Kremlin on Gorodishche.

The inhabitants of the Novgorod land managed to repel the onslaught of non-Mepko-Swedish aggression in the 40s of the XIII century. The Mongol-Tatars could not capture the city either, but the heavy tribute and dependence on the Golden Horde also affected the further development of this region.

Kievan principality. The Kiev principality, endangered by the nomads, lost its former importance due to the outflow of the population and the decline in the role of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks"; however, it still remained a major power. By tradition, the princes still competed for Kyiv, although its influence on the general Russian life weakened. the day before Mongol invasion it established the power of the Galician-Volyn prince Daniel Romanovich. In 1299, the Russian metropolitan moved his residence to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, as if establishing a new alignment of forces within Russia. The Mongol invasion from the east, the expansion of the Catholic Church from the west, changes in the world (the weakening of Byzantium, etc.) largely determined the nature of the further development of the Russian principalities and the lands of the successors of the Kievan state,

Although there was no longer political unity within Russia, the factors of future unification were objectively preserved: a single language, a single faith, a single legislation, common historical roots, the need to defend the country and survive in a vast territory with a sharply continental climate, a sparse population, infertile soils in the absence of natural borders . The idea of ​​the unity of Russia continued to live in the minds of people, and the experience of joint historical practice only confirmed the need for unity. The call of the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" for inner peace and harmony in the fight against the nomads in those conditions sounded like a call for the unity of Russia.

In the ninth century among the Eastern Slavs, a class society arises and a state appears. This new stage in the life of East Slavic society was prepared by the entire course of the previous development. Naturally, the initial period of the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs is not sufficiently reflected in the sources: after all, writing spreads after the creation of the state, and the annalistic news about this time contains historical reminiscences that are at least two centuries distant from events, often bearing the features of a legend.

In the XVIII - XIX centuries. many historians adhered to the so-called Norman theory, attributing the creation of the Russian state to the Normans - the Scandinavian Vikings (in Russia they were called Varangians). The basis for this theory was the chronicle story about the calling to reign in Novgorod in 862 of the Varangian princes Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. Three versions of this story (the Lavrentievsky and Ipatievsky lists of the Tale of Bygone Years and the Novgorod First Chronicle) report that initially the Varangians took tribute from the Novgorodians, then they were expelled, but civil strife began between the tribes (according to the Novgorod Chronicle - between the cities): "and fight more often on your own." After that, the Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud and Merya (Chud and Merya are Finno-Ugric peoples) turned to the Varangians with the words: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no dress (i.e., order) in it. Yes, go to reign and rule over us. The Varangians responded to the call "and elected 3 brothers from their families": Rurik, who sat down in Novgorod, Sineus - on Beloozero and Truvor - in Izborsk.

Much of this legend is still unclear. If the fiction of Sineus and Truvor is recognized by most historians (in the Old Swedish language, the words "sine hus truvor" mean "with a house and a squad"), then the historicity of Rurik, although not indisputable, is not rejected by a number of researchers. There is nothing incredible in the very fact of the calling of foreign princes: the early class state is always born in a sharp and bloody internecine struggle (“Stand by clan against clan”), and one of the possible ways to stop mutual extermination may be to invite some third, “neutral” in relation to opposing sides of power. However, another possibility is also quite probable: the forcible seizure of power by the Varangians as an act of “voluntary” calling. In any case, in the annalistic text, it is not at all about the creation of a state in Russia, but about the appearance of the Varangian dynasty in the Novgorod land.

Both the supporters of the Norman theory and their opponents, the authors of pre-revolutionary studies, proceeded from the possibility of "teaching" the state, which naturally idealized and personified the process of its creation. Such an approach was resolutely rejected in Soviet historical science: the emergence of the state was seen as a consequence of the internal development of society, its division into classes and the struggle between them. At the same time, the question of the ethnic origin of the princely dynasty receded, as it were, into the background, especially since the Varangian nobility was very quickly assimilated by the local population, and in Russia the grandson (according to the chronicle genealogy) of Rurik Svyatoslav already bore a Slavic name. With such a view, something else was important: statehood is not an object of export or import, but a natural result of the centuries-old historical path of the people.

Sources testify that the East Slavic society of the 9th century. was in the process of establishing a statehood. The chronicler narrates about tribal principalities - early public entities that existed near the meadows (where, according to the chronicle, the legendary founder of Kyiv, Kiy, was the first prince), the Drevlyans, the Dregovichi, and the Polochans. A work by an unnamed Persian author of the 10th century is known. (but according to its information dating back to an earlier time), where three Russian cities are called: Kuyaba (apparently Kyiv), Slaba, or Slava (it is believed that either Novgorod or Pereyaslavl), and Urtab, or Artab, which has not yet been succeeded reliably identify. This is only a small part of the cities of Russia of the early period: it was not without reason that in Scandinavia Russia was called "Gardarika" - the country of cities.

At the same time, it cannot be said that the level of development of the Varangians was higher than that of the Slavs. Both were at roughly the same stage. social development- the transition from military democracy to an early class society. Synchronicity of development allowed the Varangians to actively join the historical process in Eastern Europe. In clarifying the real role of the Varangians, archaeological data give a lot. Thus, the excavations of Gnezdov near Smolensk, Timirevsky and Mikhailovsky burial mounds near Yaroslavl revealed a large number of Scandinavian burials with characteristic "Scandinavian" items of local production. In other words, the Varangians lived among the local retinue nobility as early as the 9th century. and it was no accident that they were contacted.

In recent years, in the historical literature, Russian researchers, in search of new conceptual approaches, have turned much less than before to the problems of class formation and class struggle. Former ideas, when the latter is given a decisive role in the creation of the state, do not seem indisputable to everyone. The very process of class formation is extremely difficult to single out, and it is undoubtedly devoid of the straightforwardness that was present in Soviet literature.

On the other hand, much attention is paid to such a function of the state as its ability to be a universal regulator of social relations. With the decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of more complex social structures - the union of tribes, the former means of resolving and regulating relations (primarily the institution of blood feud) turned out to be insufficient. The emerging state filled this gap by resolving social and other contradictions at a fundamentally different level and by other means. With this approach, the state turns out to be a socio-political organism, in the existence of which various sections of society are interested. The role of the Normans, which was partly mentioned above, looks more “natural”: the calling of the Varangian prince to the Novgorod Priilmenie was associated with a difficult ethnic situation in this region, where the Slavs, Finno-Ugric peoples, and Balts lived. It was easier for a foreign ethnos to rise above tribal relations and fulfill the task of a universal regulator; local tribes were more willing to put up with the supremacy of strangers than with the power belonging to representatives of a neighboring tribe.

Unlike the “barbarian” states of Western Europe, which in their development inherited many of the state and legal traditions of antiquity, Eastern Europe found itself outside its framework. This, apparently, can explain the relatively slow rate of maturation state institutions, their archaism and originality. In particular, many researchers associate with the ruling Varangian dynasty such a feature of the Old Russian state as the larch order of succession to the throne. He, in turn, reflected the view of the Old Russian state as the collective patrimonial property of the conquering princes. This moment can be traced quite clearly in political history.

Rurik's relative, Prince Oleg (Rurik's son Igor, according to the chronicle, was a minor at the time of his father's death) began the subjugation of the East Slavic tribes outside the Novgorod land. In 882 (this date is conditional, like most of the annalistic dates of the 9th - 10th centuries, because they do not go back to the weather records of a contemporary, but are the result of chronological calculations of the chroniclers of the 11th - 12th centuries), he went south with his retinue and approached Kiev, where Askold and Dir reigned. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, they were the "men" of Rurik, who liberated the land of the glades from tribute to the Khazars and captured Kyiv. There is a hypothesis, based on later chronicle texts, that they were not Varangians, but descendants of Kiy. Oleg lured them out of the city by cunning, killed and captured Kyiv, making it his capital. According to the chronicle, he called Kyiv "Mother city of Rus". Be that as it may, this story quite clearly reflects the fact of confrontation by the end of the 9th century. two centers of the emerging Russian statehood - Novgorod and Kyiv. Since they were on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", the desire for unification and control over these territories is understandable. At the same time, the new dynasty went to shift the center of political life from north to south, making Kyiv its capital.

Having settled in Kyiv, Oleg subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi. The reign of Oleg, nicknamed "Prophetic", according to the chronicle, lasted 33 years. In terms of its significance, this board was a milestone: it was from this moment that we can talk about the existence of the Old Russian state, the power of the Rurikovichs.

One of the chronicles brought to us a poetic legend about the death of Oleg, who tried to deceive the prediction of the Magi and yet died from a snake hiding in the skull of his warhorse. As you know, this legend inspired A. S. Pushkin to create "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg."

Oleg's heir Igor continued his policy. He, however, again had to fight with the Drevlyans - "Igor went to the Drevlyans, and having defeated a (them), and lay tribute to the greater Olgovy." In the fight against the Drevlyans, he died. In 945, having taken tribute from the Drevlyans, he returned with a small squad (so that everyone got more) for additional tribute. According to the chronicle legend, the Drevlyans decided at the council that if a wolf gets into the herd, then until they kill him, he will drag all the sheep. “If we don’t kill him, then we will all be destroyed.” Igor was killed, and the Drevlyansky prince Mal (undoubtedly a Slavic, and not a Varangian prince) sent ambassadors to Igor's widow Olga, offering her to marry him. It was, of course, about a dynastic marriage: by taking the widow of a murdered enemy as his wife, Mal thereby extended his power both to the Polyana land and to all of Russia. However, Olga brutally cracked down on the Drevlyansk ambassadors and went to war on the Drevlyansk land. She managed to defeat the Drevlyans, their capital Iskorosten was burned, the nobility was exterminated, some of the Drevlyans were enslaved, and tribute was imposed on the rest.

The son of Igor and Olga, Svyatoslav, paid more attention not to internal, but to external affairs. The prince-warrior, who fought with his retinue both in the Volga region and in Danube Bulgaria, he was a rare guest in Kyiv, for which the people of Kiev even reproached him: “You, prince, are looking for and watching other people’s lands, but having swindled your own” (vol. e. neglect). However, he managed to subjugate to his power another East Slavic tribal group, located on the farthest northeastern periphery, the Vyatichi.

During his lifetime, Svyatoslav made his eldest son Yaropolk his governor in Kyiv, and transferred the Drevlyansk land to his second son, Oleg. The third - Vladimir was summoned by the Novgorodians. He was considered lower than his brothers as the son of a slave (his mother was the housekeeper of Princess Olga Malusha, sister of the combatant Dobrynya), and yet it was he who won the civil strife that began after the death of Svyatoslav and captured Kyiv (980). Both older brothers found death in the struggle for power.

During the strife, the princely power was shaken, in any case, Vladimir had to fight twice with the Vyatichi, and then with their Radimich neighbors.

Civil strife did not stop even after the death of Vladimir. He was still alive when his son Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod, refused to obey his father. Vladimir was going on a campaign, but fell ill and died (1015). A bloody struggle for the throne of Kyiv continued for several years. Rivals relied on foreign aid: Yaroslav attracted Varangian mercenaries, Svyatopolk - the troops of the Polish king. The struggle ended with the victory of Yaroslav, who managed to land in Kyiv (1019). Svyatopolk fled. The chronicle accused Svyatopolk the Accursed of the death of his younger brothers, Boris and Gleb, the first Russian saints. An appeal to Scandinavian sources makes it possible to cast doubt on this version, at least in relation to Boris (after the disgrace of Svyatopolk, in the last years of Vladimir's life he was close to his father and really claimed the throne), who, apparently, died at the hands of the Varangians Yaroslav. But Yaroslav prevailed, and the chronicle tradition evolved to please the winner.

Yaroslav tried to subjugate the possessions of his brother Mstislav, Prince of Tmutarakan. But in 1024, in the battle of Listven, he was defeated and was forced to flee again to Novgorod. But Mstislav offered his brother peace, according to which he left the Left Bank of the Dnieper and Tmutarakan. Only after his death in 1036 Yaroslav was finally approved as the sole ruler of Ancient Russia.

It is important to emphasize that the princely civil strife did not end yet with the collapse of the united Old Russian state, but only with the elimination of rivals. The trend towards unification prevailed. This was due to the centralized nature of the collection and distribution of tribute, when the supreme power "monopolized" the right to "distribute benefits." The nobility did not yet seek to stand apart and tried to strengthen its status in the service of the powerful Kiev prince.

The question of the socio-political structure of the Old Russian state is quite controversial. In order to consider it, it is necessary first to dwell briefly on those sources that we have at our disposal to characterize it. The oldest set of laws of Russia is Russian Truth. Three monuments are known under this general name: the Brief Pravda, which is the oldest, the Extended Pravda, dating back to the second half of the 12th century, and the Abbreviated Pravda, based both on the Extended Pravda and on some legislative acts of an earlier time that have not come down to us. In turn, the Brief Pravda is divided into the Pravda of Yaroslav (c. 1016), the Pravda of the Yaroslavichs (second half of the 11th century) and additional articles. Naturally, the Brief Pravda is the most significant source for characterizing the social system of the Old Russian state, but the later Long Pravda also contains rules of law, which, although they were codified only in the 12th century, date back to an earlier time. Separate legal norms are also contained in the treaties of Oleg (911) and Igor (944) with Byzantium included in the text of the chronicle. These treaties also mention the "Russian law", which was taken into account in cases involving disputes between the Byzantines and Russians. The oldest chronicle that has come down to us - The Tale of Bygone Years - also provides material for studying the social system, although most of its information relates to political history.

The system of punishments in Russian Pravda shows that in the Old Russian state there were still remnants of the tribal system. The truth of Yaroslav allows blood feud, an institution typical of an era when there is no state that takes on the function of punishing crimes. However, in the article on blood feud, there is already a tendency to limit it: the legislator precisely defines the circle of close relatives who have the right to take revenge: father, son, brother (including cousin) and nephew. This puts an end to the endless chain of murders that exterminate entire families. The restriction shows the surviving nature of the blood feud in the first half of the 11th century. In Pravda Yaroslavichi, blood feud is already prohibited, and instead of it, a fine for murder (vira) was introduced, which, depending on the social status of the murdered, was differentiated over a wide range: from 80 to 5 hryvnias.

The sources contain many references to the ancient Russian community - Vervi. It was, apparently, no longer a tribal community; she possessed a certain territory (for example, the rope is responsible for a person killed by unknown people found on her land). Separate economically independent families stood out in it: Russkaya Pravda analyzes in detail cases when a community helps its member in trouble and when he must pay himself, "but people don't need it." It should be noted that Russkaya Pravda basically regulated the relations arising from the collision of the Old Russian community and the princely (boyar) economy. In other words, Russkaya Pravda makes it possible to judge the community quite one-sidedly. The very same verv continued to live according to the norms of customary law and did not experience, in contrast to the recently emerged feudal land ownership, the need for codification.

Many authors believed that the main peasant population of the country were the smerds mentioned more than once in the sources. However, Russkaya Pravda, speaking of community members, constantly uses the term "people" and not "smerds." For the murder of a lyudin, a fine of 40 hryvnias was due, for the murder of a smerd - only 5. Smerd did not have the right to leave his property to indirect heirs - it was transferred to the prince. There are many hypotheses about the social essence of smerds, but most researchers recognize, firstly, the close connection of smerds with the prince, dependence on him, and secondly, they consider smerds to be a limited, albeit rather wide, social group. Probably, smerds were not free or semi-free princely tributaries, who sat on the ground and carried duties in favor of the prince.

Russian Pravda devotes a significant place to slaves. They were known under different names - servants (singular - servants), serfs (feminine - robe). The term “chelyadin” is already found in Oleg’s agreement with Byzantium: it is about the abduction or flight of the Russian servant (“the servant of the Russians will be stolen or will run away”). The main source of slaves was captivity. When, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, Svyatoslav listed the good (“good”) coming from Russia, then, along with furs, honey and furs, he also named servants. Already in the oldest part of Russian Pravda - Yaroslav's Pravda, the procedure for litigation in the case of the theft of a servant is described. Researchers solve the issue of the ratio of servant and slave dependence in different ways. Probably, "servants" is a term of an earlier period, which for some time coexisted with a newer term - "serf".

Russian Truth draws plight serfs who were completely powerless. A serf who hit a free man, even if the master paid a fine for him, could be killed offended at the meeting, and at a later time - severely punished bodily. Kholop had no right to testify at the trial. The runaway serf, of course, was punished by the master himself, but heavy monetary fines were imposed on those who would help the runaway by showing the way or at least feeding him. For the murder of his serf, the master did not answer before the court, but was subjected only to church repentance.

The question of serfdom is set forth in particular detail already in the Long Truth, where we actually find a whole statute on serfs. At this time (XII century) two types of servitude are already known: private (full) and incomplete. The source of private servility was not only captivity. Many sold themselves into slavery. A serf became, if he did not conclude a special agreement (“row”) with the master, and the one who entered the service for the position of tiun (manager) or keykeeper. Losing freedom (if there was no special "series") and a man who married a slave. Private servility, uniform in its legal status, was at the same time heterogeneous in its real social structure. Of course, the bulk were ordinary slaves who did hard work for their master. For their murder, the lowest fine was relied - 5 hryvnia. However, the Truth of the Yaroslavichs already knows the princely rural and military (i.e., plowed) headman, for whose murder it was supposed to pay 12 hryvnias. 80 hryvnias (2 times more expensive than the life of a free person) protected the life of a princely tiun (and tiuns were, as noted above, serfs). Merchants used serfs for trade, although they were fully financially responsible for their operations. A kholop-tiun could “out of necessity” (i.e., out of necessity) also act as a witness in court.

The great attention paid to serfs in two main legislative acts - Brief and Long Pravda testifies to the important role of slaves in the social structure of Russian society in the 10th - 12th centuries.

Along with whitewashed serfs, the Extensive Pravda knows of purchasers who were perceived as incomplete, non-whitewashed serfs. This is a relatively late category of dependent people, which arose only in the 12th century. Zakup - a ruined community member who went into debt bondage to the prince or his combatant. He received some kind of loan ("kupa") and for it (or rather, for interest on the amount of debt) he had to work for the master - either on his arable land ("role" purchases), or as a servant. The owner had the right to subject the purchase to corporal punishment, and an attempt to escape was punished by turning into a white slave. However, the purchase was different from the slave. First of all, he had the right (although, probably, formal) to redeem himself at will, returning the kupa. The law specifically stipulated that it was not considered flight if the purchase went openly (“revealed”) to work (“seek kun”) in order to pay off their debt. But another circumstance is more important: the purchase continues to run its own economy, separate from the master. The law provides for the case when the purchaser is responsible for the loss of the master's inventory while working for himself ("tools of his own deed"). The purchase is financially responsible to the master, therefore, he is solvent, his economy is not the property of the master. That is why the position of the purchase, deprived of personal freedom, but not separated from the means of production, is close to the status of the future serf. Unfortunately, the sources do not give an answer to the question of how widespread the relations of purchasing were, but a large number of articles in the Long Truth devoted to them convinces that purchases are not a rare occurrence in Russia in the 12th century.

According to Russkaya Pravda, we know some more categories of the dependent population. In the Brief and Long Truths, a ryadovich (or rank and file) is mentioned once, whose life is protected by a minimum five-hryvnia fine. Its connection with the "near" (contract) is probable. It is possible that the Ryadovichi were tiuns who did not go into servitude and entered into a “row”, key-keepers and husbands of slaves, as well as children from free marriages with slaves. Judging by other sources, the Ryadovichi often played the role of petty administrative agents of their masters.

Also, once in the Brief and Long Truths, an outcast is mentioned. We are talking about a person who has lost his social status. So, princes-outcasts were called princes who did not have their own principality. The outcasts of Russkaya Pravda, apparently, are people who have broken with their community, and also, possibly, serfs who have been set free.

The question of the time of the emergence of feudal landownership in Ancient Russia remains controversial. Some authors attribute its appearance to the 9th - 10th centuries, but most believe that in the 10th century. there were only separate princely villages, the economy in which was more cattle-breeding (perhaps even horse-breeding) in nature, and already in the second half of the 11th - first half of the 12th centuries. a feudal estate is formed. In the IX - the first half of the XI century. princes collected tribute from free community members. The collection of tribute was carried out during polyudya, when the prince with his retinue came to a certain center, where he received tribute from the local population. The size of the tribute was initially not fixed, which led to Igor's clash with the Drevlyans. According to the chronicle, Olga then established the exact amount of tribute ("lessons") and the places of its collection ("graveyards" or "povosts"). The prince divided the collected tribute among the combatants.

The predominance of free community members among the direct producers of material goods, the significant role of slave labor and the absence of feudal land tenure served as grounds for putting forward the hypothesis that the Old Russian state was not yet feudal. Defending this point of view, I. Ya. Froyanov believes that in the ancient Russian society of the 9th - 11th centuries. there were several socio-economic structures, none of which was predominant. He considers the tribute collected from the local population not as a special kind of feudal rent, but as a military indemnity imposed on the tribes conquered by the Kievan princes. However, most researchers consider the Old Russian state to be early feudal.

Early feudal society is not identical to feudal society. It has not yet developed to a mature state the main character traits feudal formation and there are many phenomena inherent in previous formations. It is not so much about the predominance of one or another mode at the moment, but about the development trend, about which of the modes is developing, and which are gradually fading away. In the Old Russian state, the future belonged precisely to the feudal way of life.

Of course, the tribute included elements of both military indemnity and a national tax. But at the same time, tribute was collected from the peasant population, who gave the prince and his combatants part of their product. This brings tribute closer to feudal rent. The absence of feudal estates could be compensated by the distribution of tribute among the combatants, the total ruling class. The concept of “state feudalism” put forward by L. V. Cherepnin, according to which the peasantry of Kievan Rus was subjected to exploitation by the feudal state, is based on the recognition of the state in the person of the prince as the supreme owner of all land in the country.

The political system of the Old Russian state combined the institutions of the new feudal formation and the old, primitive communal one. The hereditary prince was at the head of the state. The rulers of other principalities were subordinate to the Kiev prince. Only a few of them are known to us from the chronicle. However, the treaties of Oleg and Igor with Byzantium contain references to the fact that there were many of them. So, Oleg's contract says that the ambassadors were sent "from Olga, the Grand Duke of Russia, and from all those who are under his hand, bright and great princes." According to Igor's agreement, ambassadors were sent from Igor and "from every princess", and the ambassadors from individual princes and princesses are named.

The prince was a legislator, a military leader, a supreme judge, an addressee of tribute. The functions of the prince are precisely defined in the legend about the calling of the Varangians: "to rule and judge by law." The prince was surrounded by a squad. The warriors lived in the princely court, feasted with the prince, participated in campaigns, shared tribute and military booty. The relationship between the prince and the warriors was far from the relationship of allegiance. The prince consulted with the squad on all matters. Igor, having received an offer from Byzantium to take tribute and abandon the campaign, "convening a squad and starting to think." Igor's squad advised him to go on an unfortunate campaign against the Drevlyans. Vladimir "thought" with his retinue "about the formation of the earth, and about the military, and about the charter of the earth", that is, about the affairs of state and military. Svyatoslav, when his mother Olga urged him to accept Christianity, refused, referring to the fact that the squad would laugh at him. The warriors could not only advise the prince, but also argue with him, demand more generosity from him. The chronicler says that Vladimir's combatants grumbled at the prince that they had to eat with wooden, not silver, spoons. In response, Vladimir “ordered to look for” silver spoons, because “with silver and gold I can’t pile on (i.e., I can’t find) squads, but with gold and silver I’ll fit in squads.”

At the same time, the squad needed the prince, but not only as a real military leader, but also as a kind of symbol of statehood. The formal independence of the will of the prince, even if still a minor, manifested itself during the battle of the Kiev squad with the Drevlyans. The prince was supposed to start the battle. The young Svyatoslav really "put a spear ... on the Derevlyans", but his childish strength was only enough for it to fly between the horse's ears and hit his legs. However, the signal for the beginning of the battle was given, the main warriors Sveneld and Asmud exclaimed: “The prince has already begun; pull, squad, according to the prince.

The most respected, senior combatants, who constituted the permanent council, the “thought”, of the prince began to be called boyars. Some of them may have had their own squad. The terms “lads”, “chad”, “gridi” were used to designate the younger squad. If the boyars acted as governors, then the junior combatants performed the duties of administrative agents: swordsmen (bailiffs), virniks (fine collectors), etc. The princely squad, detached from the community, dividing tribute among themselves, represented the emerging class of feudal lords.

The appearance of the squad as a permanent military force was a step towards the eradication of the general arming of the people, characteristic of the period of the tribal system. However, the immaturity of feudal relations was manifested, in particular, in the fact that the people's militias continued to play an important role. Along with the combatants, "howls" are constantly mentioned on the pages of the annals. Moreover, they sometimes participated more actively in hostilities than the combatants, whom the prince protected. So, during the clash between Mstislav and Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Mstislav placed northerners in the center of his troops, and a squad on the flanks. After the battle, he rejoiced that the howls of the northerners died, and "the squad is intact."

Princely power was also limited by elements of the remaining popular self-government. The people's assembly - veche - acted actively in the 9th - 11th centuries. and later. The people's elders - "the elders of the city" - participated in the princely duma, and without their consent it was apparently difficult to make this or that important decision. The chronicles reflected the decline in the role of the veche in political life: its mention is usually associated with extraordinary situations when the weakened princely administration either needed additional support or lost power. However, there were exceptions: the people's assembly in Novgorod and a number of other cities retained a strong position.

An analysis of socio-political structures allows us to speak of three centers of gravity that influenced social development: first of all, the princely power, the retinue (boyars), which was gaining strength, and the people's council. In the future, it is the ratio of these power elements that will determine one or another type of statehood that will prevail in the territories that were once part of the Rurik dynasty.

Acceptance of Christianity.

Until the middle of the X century. paganism remained the dominant religion. So, in Oleg's agreement with Byzantium in 911, it is said that it was concluded "between Christians and Russia." And further "Rus" - the pagans are opposed to the Greeks - "Christians". But very soon the situation changed. Igor's treaty was no longer accidentally concluded "between the Greeks and Russia", for it mentions not only the "Christians of Russia" living in Byzantium, but also among the ambassadors those who are "baptized or unbaptized" are named. Apparently, Princess Olga, Svyatoslav's mother, also accepted Christianity. But it was, although symptomatic, but still a personal choice of the princess. Her grandson Vladimir had to solve a larger problem - the state religious choice.

The pagan religion deified the forces of nature, therefore the pantheon of gods was directly or indirectly connected with the economic functions performed by the clan and tribe. With the complication of public life and the social structure of society, with the formation of an ethnically heterogeneous state, paganism as a religious system proved unable to ideologically substantiate the ongoing changes and unite society. Power and society acquired an early feudal character, while spiritual and moral relations were built in accordance with tribal relations.

Initially, Vladimir tried to overcome this contradiction within the framework of the old religion. The so-called church reform of Vladimir in 980 had the task of reorganizing paganism in order to give it a wider socio-political sound. The approval of the all-Russian cult of the “retinue god” Perun, the first among the “idols” preserved under the reform, was supposed to strengthen the ideas of autocracy, the integrity of the state, which were opposed to the traditions of tribal separatism. However, the Kyiv prince very soon abandoned the reform, recognizing the incompatibility of the old religion with the goals set: a simple highlighting of those pagan gods who performed "priority" social functions, could not entail a revision of the entire system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals. Such a reform did not turn paganism into a social integrator and regulator of social relations, which society badly needed. Paganism was deprived of the universalism that is inherent in Christianity.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" contains an extensive story dedicated to the history of the adoption of Christianity. It is reported about the arrival of Christian, Muslim and Jewish missionaries in Kyiv, about the sending of boyars by Vladimir to choose the best faith and about the decision of the prince and his entourage to accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite. This story is unlikely to be true. The early penetration of Christianity into Russia as an alternative to paganism determined the choice of a new religion rather harshly. Another question is that researchers are far from unanimous in how great the Byzantine influence was. Opinions are expressed about the closest ties with the Bulgarian Church, which was characterized by wide religious tolerance. Various versions of the adoption of Christianity, apparently, reflect the interests of various Christian communities that previously fought for dominance in Russia.

The generally accepted date for the adoption of Christianity was 988. However, the new religion took a long time to establish itself. The process of Christianization dragged on. The Orthodox Church had to wage a stubborn struggle against pre-Christian beliefs. The layers of popular pagan consciousness were so powerful that Christianity adopted and adapted some of its features. The cult of the gods was replaced by the cult of saints with their former "pagan functions". The strength of pre-Christian beliefs allows us to speak of a kind of dual faith as a historical and cultural phenomenon of the folk life of medieval Russia.

The establishment of Christianity in Russia as the state religion is a major event historical significance. The Old Russian state strengthened its economic, political, dynastic and cultural ties with Byzantium and Western Europe, overcame isolationism caused by religious differences. Kievan Rus became a Christian power, integrating into the family of Christian peoples and states.

Christianity was even more important for establishing a new social system. The elimination of local, tribal differences accelerated, which contributed to ethnic consolidation. Orthodox institutions found themselves in close connection with the early feudal state and the monarchy, giving them the character of divine establishment, sacredness. The country was attached to Christian values, on the basis of which fundamentally new relations began to form, cultural and spiritual life began to develop. At the same time, Christianity was adopted in its Byzantine, future Orthodox version, which subsequently led to the emergence of opposite trends - political and cultural alienation from Latin Europe, the establishment of a different model of historical development.

With the adoption of Christianity, the church and the church hierarchy began to line up, which occupied an important place in ancient Russian society. The initial history of the church is poorly known. The supreme authority, uniting all Christian Russia, was the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia, who, in turn, was appointed and subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Soon his metropolis began to be divided into dioceses, the number of which gradually increased. Among them were Novgorod, Rostov, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Polotsk and others. Metropolitans and bishops from ancient times received various gifts and land holdings from the princes. Along with the white clergy, the black clergy also appeared, monks who settled in deserts and monasteries. The number of the latter in the 11th - 13th centuries, according to chronicle, rather controversial news, reaches 70. It is characteristic that they are located mainly in cities or near cities - the protracted process of Christianization encouraged monasticism to huddle in urban "Orthodox" centers. There is also a monastic landownership, which is significantly inferior to the landed possessions of the bishops' chairs. The last until the XIV century. inclusive were the main representatives of non-secular landowners.

The political system of the ancient Russian state in the 9th-10th centuries. can be characterized as an early feudal monarchy. At the head of the state was the prince of Kyiv, who was called the Grand Duke. Some princes who temporarily ruled in Russia, for example, the Novgorod prince Rurik (second half of the 9th century) or Oleg (end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century), were Varangians by origin, who seized power in the Russian lands.

The Kyiv prince ruled with the help of a council of other princes and combatants (the boyar duma). The squad was divided into the elder (boyars, men) and the younger (gridi, youths, children). The court, the collection of tribute and court fees were carried out by princely warriors, called swordsmen, virniks, emts, etc.

With the help of the squad, as we have already noted, the princes strengthened their power over the population and expanded the territory of the ancient Russian state. The warriors received from the princes the right to income (in the form of tribute) from the population of entire territories that were “part of the ancient Russian state. With the development of feudal relations, an increasing part of the warriors became landowners who managed their estates by exploiting the labor of enslaved peasants.

The cities were ruled by princely posadniks, and in the largest of them there were positions of a thousand and sot, which obviously corresponded to the military division of regiments (very ancient in origin).

In the hands of the Kiev prince there were significant military forces necessary both for organizing a system of rule over the population, and for expanding the borders of the state and protecting it. These military forces consisted of the troops of vassal princes and boyars and of their own squad, which was always near the prince. In special cases, a larger popular militia gathered. The cavalry played an important role in the army, suitable both for distant crossings and for fighting against the cavalry units of the southern nomads. It is known that during campaigns in the Balkans, Prince Svyatoslav gathered a 60,000-strong army. In ancient Russia there was a significant boat fleet operating on the rivers and on the Black Sea.

S.V. Yushkov believed that the Old Russian state arose and existed for some time as a pre-feudal state. Most modern researchers consider this state to be early feudal from the very beginning. As such, he had certain characteristic features.

Organization of state unity. This problem has caused great controversy both in pre-revolutionary and modern literature. Some authors even claim that in the ninth century. there was no single Old Russian state at all, but only a union of tribal unions. More cautious researchers believe that from the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. we can talk about the union of local principalities, i.e. states. Some people think that there was a federation, although this institution is not characteristic of a feudal state, but arises only in a bourgeois and socialist one. At the same time, they argue that the federation existed not only at the initial stage of the development of the Old Russian state, but throughout its history.

It seems that the point of view of S.V. Yushkov, who believed that the ancient Russian state was characterized by a system of relations of suzerainty-vassalage typical of early feudalism, suggesting that the entire structure of the state rests on the ladder of the feudal hierarchy. A vassal depends on his lord, that one - on a larger lord or supreme overlord. Vassals are obliged to help their lord, first of all, to be in his army, and also to pay tribute to him. In turn, the seigneur is obliged to provide the vassal with land and protect him from the encroachments of neighbors and other oppressions. A vassal is immune within his realm. This meant that no one, including the overlord, could interfere in his internal affairs. Vassals of the Grand Dukes were local princes. The main immunity rights were: the right to collect tribute and the right to administer a court with the receipt of appropriate income.

state mechanism. The ancient Russian state can be called a monarchy. It was headed by the Grand Duke. He held the supreme legislative power. There are major laws issued by the Grand Dukes and bearing their names: the Charter of Vladimir, Yaroslav's Pravda, and others. The Grand Duke also concentrated executive power in his hands, being the head of the administration. The Grand Dukes also performed the functions of military leaders, they themselves led the army and personally led the army into battle. Vladimir Monomakh recalled at the end of his life about 83 of his big campaigns. Some princes died in battle, as happened, for example, with Svyatoslav.

The grand dukes performed the external functions of the state not only by force of arms, but also through diplomacy. Ancient Russia stood at the European level of diplomatic art. It concluded various kinds of international treaties - military, commercial and other. As it was then accepted, contracts had oral and written forms. Already in the X century. The ancient Russian state entered into contractual relations with Byzantium, Khazaria, Bulgaria, Germany, as well as with the Hungarians, Varangians, Pechenegs, and others. The monarch himself led diplomatic negotiations, as was the case, for example, with Princess Olga, who traveled with an embassy to Byzantium. Performed princes and judicial functions.

The figure of the prince grew out of a tribal leader, but the princes of the period of military democracy were elected. Having become the head of state, the Grand Duke transfers his power by inheritance, in a direct descending line, i.e. from father to son. Usually the princes were men, but an exception is known - Princess Olga.

Although the great princes were monarchs, they still could not do without the opinion of those close to them. So there was a council under the prince, which was not legally formalized, but which had a serious influence on the monarch. This council included close associates of the Grand Duke, the top of his squad - princes men.

Sometimes in the Old Russian state feudal congresses, congresses of the tops of the feudal lords, were also convened, resolving disputes between princes and some other important matters. According to S.V. Yushkov, it was at such a congress that the Truth of the Yaroslavichs was adopted.

In the Old Russian state, there was also a veche that grew out of the ancient people's assembly. In science, there are disputes about the prevalence of veche in Russia and its significance in individual lands. The high activity of the veche in Novgorod is indisputable; as for his role in the Kiev land, the sources do not allow to answer this question unambiguously.

Initially, in the Old Russian state there was a decimal, numerical control system. This system grew out of a military organization, when the chiefs of military units - tenth, hundredth, thousandth - became leaders of more or less large units of the state. Thus, Tysyatsky retained the functions of a military commander, while Sotsky became a city judicial and administrative official.

The decimal system has not yet separated the central government from the local. However, later such a differentiation occurs. The so-called palace and patrimonial system is taking shape in the central administration. It grew out of the idea of ​​combining the management of the Grand Duke's palace with state administration. In the grand ducal economy there were various kinds of servants who were in charge of satisfying certain vital needs: butlers, equerry, etc. Over time, the princes entrust these persons with any areas of management, one way or another connected with their original activity, provide them with the necessary funds for this. So a personal servant becomes a statesman, an administrator.

The system of local government was simple. In addition to the local princes who were sitting in their destinies, representatives of the central government were sent to the places - governors and volostels. They received "feed" from the population for their service. This is how the feeding system came about.

The basis of the military organization of the Old Russian state was the grand ducal squad, relatively small. These were professional warriors who depended on the favors of the monarch, but on whom he himself depended. They usually lived in the princely court or around it and were always ready to go on any campaigns in which they were looking for prey and entertainment. The combatants were not only warriors, but also advisers to the prince. The senior squad was the top of the feudal lords, which to a large extent determined the policy of the prince. Vassals of the Grand Duke brought with them squads, as well as a militia from their servants and peasants. Every man knew how to wield a weapon, however, very simple at that time. Boyar and princely sons were mounted on a horse already at the age of three, and at the age of 12 their fathers took them on a campaign.

Cities, or at least their central part, were fortresses, castles, defended, if necessary, not only by the prince's squad, but by the entire population of the city. Vladimir Svyatoslavich, for defense against the Pechenegs, built a chain of fortresses on the left bank of the Dnieper, recruiting garrisons for them from the northern Russian lands.

The princes often resorted to the services of mercenaries - first the Varangians, and later the steppe nomads (Karakalpaks, etc.).

In ancient Russia, there were no special judicial bodies. Judicial functions were carried out by various representatives of the administration, including, as already mentioned, the Grand Duke himself. However, there were special officials who assisted in the administration of justice. Among them are, for example, virniks - persons who collected criminal fines for murder. Virnikov was accompanied by a whole retinue of petty officials. Judicial functions were also carried out by church bodies. There was also a patrimonial court - the right of the feudal lord himself to judge people dependent on him. The judicial powers of the feudal lord were an integral part of his immunity rights.

Public administration, wars, and the personal needs of the princes and their entourage required, of course, a lot of money. In addition to income from their own lands, from the feudal exploitation of the peasants, the princes also established a system of taxes and tribute.

Tributes were preceded by voluntary gifts from members of the tribe to their prince and squad. Later, these gifts became a mandatory tax, and the very payment of tribute became a sign of subordination, from which the word subject was born, i.e. under tribute.

Initially, the tribute was collected by polyudia, when the princes, usually once a year, traveled around the subject lands and collected income directly from their subjects. The sad fate of Grand Duke Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans for excessive extortions, forced his widow, Princess Olga, to streamline the system of collecting state revenues. She established the so-called graveyards, i.e. special collection points. In science, there are other ideas about graveyards.

A system of various direct taxes, as well as trade, judicial and other duties, has developed. Taxes were usually collected in furs, but this does not mean that they were only natural. Marten furs, squirrels were a certain monetary unit. Even when they lost their presentation, their value as a means of payment did not disappear if they retained the princely sign. These were, as it were, the first Russian banknotes. In Russia, there were no deposits of precious metals, therefore, already from the 8th century. along with furs, foreign currency (dirhams, later - denarii) enters into circulation. This currency was often melted down into Russian grivnas.

An important element of the political system of ancient Russian society was the church, closely connected with the state. Initially, Vladimir Svyatoslavich streamlined the pagan cult, establishing a system of six gods headed by the god of thunder and war - Perun. Then, however, he baptized Russia, introducing the most convenient Christian religion for feudalism, preaching the divine origin of the power of the monarch, the obedience of the working people to the state, and so on.

There is a dispute in science about where the new religion came from. According to chronicle legend, Vladimir, before changing the religions of his ancestors, called representatives of different countries and different churches. From the Khazar Khaganate, where, as we remember, the top of society professed Judaism, apologists for this religion arrived. Defenders of Islam arrived from the Volga Bulgaria. But all were defeated by Christian missionaries, who convinced the Grand Duke of Kiev of the advantages of their religion and church. The result of Vladimir's thoughts is known. However, it is debatable where exactly the Christian preachers came from. The most common opinion is that they were Byzantine missionaries. However, some researchers suggest that Christianity came to us from the Danube Bulgaria, Moravia, even Rome. There is a version that the introduction of Christianity was also not without the Varangians, in any case, modern researchers see in Old Russian Orthodoxy not only southern, but also Western European influence.

It is no coincidence that the introduction of Christianity caused stubborn resistance from the people. Even pre-revolutionary authors noted that the baptism of Russia sometimes took place with fire and sword, as was the case, for example, in Novgorod. Armed resistance to the missionaries also took place in other cities. Of course, not only class, but also purely religious motives had an effect here: people who had been accustomed to the faith of their fathers and grandfathers for centuries did not want to deviate from it for no apparent reason. This was especially true in the northern regions of Russia.

At the head of the Orthodox Church was the Metropolitan, who was appointed initially from Byzantium, and then by the Grand Dukes. In some Russian lands the church was headed by a bishop.

Conclusion.

As a result of writing the course work, we made the following conclusions:

1. The Old Russian state was a milestone in the history of the peoples of our country and its neighbors in Europe and Asia. Ancient Russia became the largest European state for its time. Its area was more than 1 million square meters. km, and the population is 4.5 million people. Naturally, it had a strong influence on the fate of world history.

2. The Old Russian state, created by the Old Russian people, was the cradle of the three largest Slavic peoples - Great Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

3. Ancient Russia from the very beginning was a multi-ethnic state. The peoples that entered it then continued their development as part of other Slavic states that became its successors. Some of them assimilated, voluntarily lost their ethnic independence, while others have survived to this day.

4. Ancient Russian law was of great importance, the monuments of which, especially Russkaya Pravda, survived to the Muscovite state. They also had significance for the law of neighboring peoples.

5. Kievan Rus carried out an active internal and foreign policy, fought with its neighbors, expanded its territory and strengthened internal ties between the united tribes.

6. The objective historical processes of the development of feudalism led to the withering away of the Old Russian state. The development of feudal relations, which gave birth to Ancient Russia, eventually led to its disintegration, the inevitable process of establishing feudal fragmentation in the 12th century.

Thus, in the Old Russian state, a form of early feudal monarchy developed, which was then preserved by its successors for several centuries.

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