History of Ancient Rus'- history of the Old Russian state from 862 (or 882) to the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

By the middle of the 9th century (according to the chronicle chronology in 862), in the north of European Russia in the Ilmen region, a large union had formed from a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes, under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, who founded a centralized state. In 882, the Novgorod prince Oleg captured Kyiv, thereby uniting the northern and southern lands of the Eastern Slavs under one rule. As a result of successful military campaigns and diplomatic efforts of the Kyiv rulers, the new state included the lands of all East Slavic, as well as some Finno-Ugric, Baltic, and Turkic tribes. In parallel, there was a process of Slavic colonization of the northeast of the Russian land.

Ancient Rus' was the largest state formation in Europe and fought for a dominant position in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region with the Byzantine Empire. Under Prince Vladimir in 988, Rus' adopted Christianity. Prince Yaroslav the Wise approved the first Russian code of laws - Russian Truth. In 1132, after the death of the Kyiv prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the collapse of the Old Russian state began into a number of independent principalities: the Novgorod land, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Galician-Volyn principality, the Chernigov principality, the Ryazan principality, the Polotsk principality and others. At the same time, Kyiv remained the object of struggle between the most powerful princely branches, and the Kiev land was considered the collective possession of the Rurikovichs.

In North-Eastern Rus', since the middle of the 12th century, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality has risen; its rulers (Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod the Big Nest), while fighting for Kyiv, left Vladimir as their main residence, which led to its rise as a new all-Russian center. Also, the most powerful principalities were Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn and Smolensk. In 1237-1240, most of the Russian lands were subjected to the destructive invasion of Batu. Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Vladimir, Galich, Ryazan and other centers of Russian principalities were destroyed, the southern and southeastern outskirts lost a significant part of the settled population.

Background

The Old Russian state arose on the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” on the lands of the East Slavic tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, then covering the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Polotsk, Radimichi, Severians.

Before the calling of the Varangians

The first information about the state of the Rus dates back to the first third of the 9th century: in 839, the ambassadors of the Kagan of the people of Rus were mentioned, who arrived first in Constantinople, and from there to the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. From this time on, the ethnonym “Rus” also became known. The term " Kievan Rus"appears for the first time only in historical studies of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 860 (The Tale of Bygone Years mistakenly dates it to 866), Rus' made its first campaign against Constantinople. Greek sources associate with him the so-called first baptism of Rus', after which a diocese may have arisen in Rus' and the ruling elite (possibly led by Askold) adopted Christianity.

Rurik's reign

In 862, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes called the Varangians to reign.

Per year 6370 (862). They drove the Varangians overseas, and did not give them tribute, and began to control themselves, and there was no truth among them, and generation after generation arose, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: “Let’s look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus'. Those Varangians were called Rus, just as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, so are these. The Chud, the Slovenians, the Krivichi and all said to the Russians: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers were chosen with their clans, and they took all of Rus' with them, and they came and the eldest, Rurik, sat in Novgorod, and the other, Sineus, in Beloozero, and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. Novgorodians are those people from the Varangian family, and before they were Slovenians.

In 862 (the date is approximate, like the entire early chronology of the Chronicle), the Varangians and Rurik’s warriors Askold and Dir, heading to Constantinople, subjugated Kiev, thereby establishing complete control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” At the same time, the Novgorod and Nikon chronicles do not connect Askold and Dir with Rurik, and the chronicle of Jan Dlugosh and the Gustyn chronicle call them descendants of Kiy.

In 879, Rurik died in Novgorod. The reign was transferred to Oleg, regent for Rurik’s young son Igor.

The first Russian princes

Reign of Oleg the Prophet

In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg ( Oleg the Prophet), a relative of Rurik, went on a campaign from Novgorod to the south, capturing Smolensk and Lyubech along the way, establishing his power there and putting his people under reign. In Oleg's army there were Varangians and warriors of the tribes under his control - Chud, Slovene, Meri and Krivichi. Then Oleg, with the Novgorod army and a hired Varangian squad, captured Kyiv, killed Askold and Dir, who ruled there, and declared Kyiv the capital of his state. Already in Kyiv, he established the amount of tribute that the subject tribes of the Novgorod land - the Slovenes, Krivichi and Merya - had to pay annually. The construction of fortresses in the vicinity of the new capital also began.

Oleg extended his power by military means to the lands of the Drevlyans and Northerners, and the Radimichi accepted Oleg’s conditions without a fight (the last two tribal unions had previously paid tribute to the Khazars). The chronicles do not indicate the reaction of the Khazars, however, the historian Petrukhin puts forward the assumption that they began an economic blockade, ceasing to allow Russian merchants through their lands.

As a result of the victorious campaign against Byzantium, the first written agreements were concluded in 907 and 911, which provided for preferential terms of trade for Russian merchants (trade duties were abolished, ship repairs and overnight accommodation were provided), and resolution of legal and military issues. According to historian V. Mavrodin, the success of Oleg’s campaign is explained by the fact that he was able to rally the forces of the Old Russian state and strengthen its emerging statehood.

According to the chronicle version, Oleg, who bore the title of Grand Duke, reigned for more than 30 years. Rurik's own son Igor took the throne after Oleg's death around 912 and ruled until 945.

Igor Rurikovich

The beginning of Igor's reign was marked by the uprising of the Drevlyans, who were again conquered and imposed an even greater tribute, and the appearance of the Pechenegs in the Black Sea steppes (in 915), who ravaged the possessions of the Khazars and ousted the Hungarians from the Black Sea region. By the beginning of the 10th century. The Pecheneg nomads extended from the Volga to the Prut.

Igor made two military campaigns against Byzantium. The first, in 941, ended unsuccessfully. It was also preceded by an unsuccessful military campaign against Khazaria, during which Rus', acting at the request of Byzantium, attacked the Khazar city of Samkerts on the Taman Peninsula, but was defeated by the Khazar commander Pesach and turned its arms against Byzantium. The Bulgarians warned the Byzantines that Igor had begun the campaign with 10,000 soldiers. Igor's fleet plundered Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Heraclea Pontus and Nicomedia, but then it was defeated and he, abandoning the surviving army in Thrace, fled to Kyiv with several boats. The captured soldiers were executed in Constantinople. From the capital, he sent an invitation to the Varangians to take part in a new invasion of Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944.

Igor's army, consisting of Polans, Krivichi, Slovenes, Tiverts, Varangians and Pechenegs, reached the Danube, from where ambassadors were sent to Constantinople. They concluded a treaty that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous treaties of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. Rus' pledged to defend Byzantine possessions in Crimea. In 943 or 944 a campaign was made against Berdaa.

In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. According to the chronicle version, the cause of death was the prince’s desire to receive tribute again, which was demanded of him by the warriors, who were jealous of the wealth of the squad of governor Sveneld. Igor’s small squad was killed by the Drevlyans near Iskorosten, and he himself was executed. Historian A. A. Shakhmatov put forward a version according to which Igor and Sveneld began to conflict over the Drevlyan tribute and, as a result, Igor was killed.

Olga

After Igor's death, due to the minority of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. The Drevlyans sent an embassy to her, inviting her to become the wife of their prince Mal. However, Olga executed the ambassadors, gathered an army and in 946 began the siege of Iskorosten, which ended with its burning and the subjugation of the Drevlyans to the Kyiv princes. The Tale of Bygone Years described not only their conquest, but also the preceding revenge on the part of the Kyiv ruler. Olga imposed a large tribute on the Drevlyans.

In 947, she undertook a trip to the Novgorod land, where, instead of the previous polyudye, she introduced a system of quitrents and tributes, which local residents themselves had to take to the camps and churchyards, handing them over to specially appointed people - tiuns. Thus, a new method of collecting tribute from the subjects of the Kyiv princes was introduced.

She became the first ruler of the Old Russian state to officially accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite (according to the most reasoned version, in 957, although other dates are also proposed). In 957, Olga made an official visit to Constantinople with a large embassy, ​​known from the description of court ceremonies by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his “Ceremonies,” and she was accompanied by the priest Gregory.

The Emperor calls Olga the ruler (archontissa) of Rus', the name of her son Svyatoslav (the list of retinues indicates “ Svyatoslav's people") is mentioned without a title. Olga sought baptism and recognition of Rus' by Byzantium as an equal Christian empire. At baptism she received the name Elena. However, according to a number of historians, it was not possible to agree on an alliance immediately. In 959, Olga accepted the Greek embassy, ​​but refused to send an army to help Byzantium. In the same year, she sent ambassadors to the German Emperor Otto I with a request to send bishops and priests and establish a church in Rus'. This attempt to play on the contradictions between Byzantium and Germany was successful, Constantinople made concessions by concluding a mutually beneficial agreement, and the German embassy led by Bishop Adalbert returned back with nothing. In 960, a Russian army went to help the Greeks, fighting in Crete against the Arabs under the leadership of the future emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

The monk Jacob, in the 11th century work “Memory and Praise to the Russian Prince Volodymer,” reports the exact date of Olga’s death: July 11, 969.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Around 960, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. He grew up among his father's warriors and was the first of the Russian princes to bear a Slavic name. From the beginning of his reign, he began to prepare for military campaigns and gathered an army. According to the historian Grekov, Svyatoslav was deeply involved in the international relations of Europe and Asia. Often he acted in agreement with other states, thus participating in solving the problems of European and, partly, Asian politics.

His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all the East Slavic tribes to continue to pay tribute to the Khazars. Then, according to eastern sources, Svyatoslav attacked and defeated Volga Bulgaria. In 965 (according to other sources also in 968/969) Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Khazar Kaganate. The Khazar army, led by the Kagan, came out to meet Svyatoslav’s squad, but was defeated. The Russian army stormed the main cities of the Khazars: the fortress city of Sarkel, Semender and the capital Itil. After this, the ancient Russian settlement of Belaya Vezha arose on the site of Sarkel. After the defeat, the remnants of the Khazar state were known as the Saksins and no longer played their previous role. The establishment of Rus' in the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus is also connected with this campaign, where Svyatoslav defeated the Yases (Alans) and Kasogs (Circassians) and where Tmutarakan became the center of Russian possessions.

In 968, a Byzantine embassy arrived in Rus', proposing an alliance against Bulgaria, which had then left the obedience of Byzantium. The Byzantine ambassador Kalokir, on behalf of Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, brought a gift of 1,500 pounds of gold. Having included the allied Pechenegs in his army, Svyatoslav moved to the Danube. In a short time, the Bulgarian troops were defeated, Russian squads occupied up to 80 Bulgarian cities. Svyatoslav chose Pereyaslavets, a city in the lower reaches of the Danube, as his headquarters. However, such a sharp strengthening of Rus' aroused fears in Constantinople and the Byzantines managed to convince the Pechenegs to make another raid on Kyiv. In 968, their army besieged the Russian capital, where Princess Olga and her grandchildren - Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir - were located. The city was saved by the approach of a small squad of governor Pretich. Soon Svyatoslav himself arrived with a mounted army, driving the Pechenegs into the steppe. However, the prince did not seek to remain in Rus'. Chronicles quote him as saying:

Svyatoslav remained in Kyiv until the death of his mother Olga. After that, he divided the possessions between his sons: he left Kyiv to Yaropolk, Oleg - the lands of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir - Novgorod).

Then he returned to Pereyaslavets. In a new campaign with a significant army (according to various sources, from 10 to 60 thousand soldiers) in 970, Svyatoslav captured almost all of Bulgaria, occupied its capital Preslav and invaded Byzantium. The new emperor John Tzimiskes sent a large army against him. The Russian army, which included Bulgarians and Hungarians, was forced to retreat to Dorostol (Silistria) - a fortress on the Danube.

In 971 it was besieged by the Byzantines. In the battle near the walls of the fortress, Svyatoslav’s army suffered heavy losses, and he was forced to negotiate with Tzimiskes. According to the peace treaty, Rus' pledged not to attack Byzantine possessions in Bulgaria, and Constantinople promised not to incite the Pechenegs to campaign against Rus'.

Voivode Sveneld advised the prince to return to Rus' by land. However, Svyatoslav preferred to sail through the Dnieper rapids. At the same time, the prince planned to gather a new army in Rus' and resume the war with Byzantium. In winter they were blocked by the Pechenegs and Svyatoslav’s small squad spent a hungry winter in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. In the spring of 972, Svyatoslav attempted to break into Rus', but his army was defeated and he himself was killed. According to another version, the death of the Kyiv prince occurred in 973. The Pecheneg leader Kurya made a bowl for feasts from the prince’s skull.

Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise. Baptism of Rus'

The reign of Prince Vladimir. Baptism of Rus'

After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out between his sons for the right to the throne (972-978 or 980). The eldest son Yaropolk became the great prince of Kyiv, Oleg received the Drevlyan lands, and Vladimir received Novgorod. In 977, Yaropolk defeated Oleg’s squad, and Oleg himself died. Vladimir fled “overseas”, but returned two years later with a Varangian squad. During the campaign against Kyiv, he conquered Polotsk, an important trading point on the western Dvina, and married the daughter of Prince Rogvolod Rogneda, whom he killed.

During the civil strife, Vladimir Svyatoslavich defended his rights to the throne (reigned 980-1015). Under him, the formation of the state territory of Ancient Rus' was completed, the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus', which were disputed by Poland, were annexed. After Vladimir’s victory, his son Svyatopolk married the daughter of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave and peaceful relations were established between the two states. Vladimir finally annexed the Vyatichi and Radimichi to Rus'. In 983 he made a campaign against the Yatvingians, and in 985 - against the Volga Bulgarians.

Having achieved autocracy in the Russian land, Vladimir began religious reform. In 980, the prince established a pagan pantheon of six different-tribal gods in Kyiv. Tribal cults could not create a unified state religious system. In 986, ambassadors from various countries began to arrive in Kyiv, inviting Vladimir to accept their faith.

Islam was proposed by the Volga Bulgaria, Western-style Christianity by the German Emperor Otto I, Judaism by the Khazar Jews. However, Vladimir chose Christianity, which the Greek philosopher told him about. The embassy returning from Byzantium supported the prince. In 988, the Russian army besieged the Byzantine Korsun (Chersonese). Byzantium agreed to peace, Princess Anna became Vladimir's wife. The pagan idols that stood in Kyiv were overthrown, and the people of Kiev were baptized in the Dnieper. A stone church was built in the capital, which became known as the Tithe Church, since the prince gave a tenth of his income for its maintenance. After the baptism of Rus', treaties with Byzantium became unnecessary, since closer relations were established between both states. These ties were strengthened to a large extent thanks to the church apparatus that the Byzantines organized in Rus'. The first bishops and priests arrived from Korsun and other Byzantine cities. The church organization within the Old Russian state was in the hands of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who became a great political force in Rus'.

Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir faced an increased Pecheneg threat. To protect against nomads, he builds lines of fortresses on the border, the garrisons of which were recruited from the “best men” of the northern tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud and Vyatichi. Tribal boundaries began to blur, and the state border became important. It was during the time of Vladimir that many Russian epics took place, telling about the exploits of heroes.

Vladimir established a new order of government: he planted his sons in Russian cities. Svyatopolk received Turov, Izyaslav - Polotsk, Yaroslav - Novgorod, Boris - Rostov, Gleb - Murom, Svyatoslav - Drevlyansky land, Vsevolod - Vladimir-on-Volyn, Sudislav - Pskov, Stanislav - Smolensk, Mstislav - Tmutarakan. Tribute was no longer collected during Polyudye and only in churchyards. From that moment on, the princely family and their warriors “fed” in the cities themselves and sent part of the tribute to the capital - Kyiv.

Reign of Yaroslav the Wise

After the death of Vladimir, a new civil strife occurred in Rus'. Svyatopolk the Accursed in 1015 killed his brothers Boris (according to another version, Boris was killed by Scandinavian mercenaries of Yaroslav), Gleb and Svyatoslav. Having learned about the murder of the brothers, Yaroslav, who ruled in Novgorod, began to prepare for a campaign against Kyiv. Svyatopolk received help from the Polish king Boleslav and the Pechenegs, but in the end he was defeated and fled to Poland, where he died. Boris and Gleb were canonized as saints in 1071.

After the victory over Svyatopolk, Yaroslav had a new opponent - his brother Mstislav, who by that time had gained a foothold in Tmutarakan and Eastern Crimea. In 1022, Mstislav conquered the Kasogs (Circassians), defeating their leader Rededya in battle. Having strengthened the army with the Khazars and Kasogs, he set out to the north, where he subjugated the northerners who joined his troops. Then he occupied Chernigov. At this time, Yaroslav turned for help to the Varangians, who sent him a strong army. The decisive battle took place in 1024 near Listven; victory went to Mstislav. After her, the brothers divided Rus' into two parts - along the riverbed of the Dnieper. Kyiv and Novgorod remained with Yaroslav, and it was Novgorod that remained his permanent residence. Mstislav moved his capital to Chernigov. The brothers maintained a close alliance; after the death of the Polish king Boleslav, they returned to Rus' the Cherven cities captured by the Poles after the death of Vladimir the Red Sun.

At this time, Kyiv temporarily lost its status as the political center of Rus'. The leading centers then were Novgorod and Chernigov. Expanding his possessions, Yaroslav undertook a campaign against the Estonian Chud tribe. On the conquered territory in 1030 the city of Yuryev (modern Tartu) was founded.

In 1036 Mstislav fell ill while hunting and died. His only son had died three years earlier. Thus, Yaroslav became the ruler of all Rus', except for the Principality of Polotsk. In the same year, Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs. By the time Yaroslav arrived with the army of Varangians and Slavs, they had already captured the outskirts of the city.

In the battle near the walls of Kyiv, Yaroslav defeated the Pechenegs, after which he made Kyiv his capital. In memory of the victory over the Pechenegs, the prince founded the famous Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv; artists from Constantinople were called to paint the temple. Then he imprisoned the last surviving brother, Sudislav, who ruled in Pskov. After this, Yaroslav became the sole ruler of almost all of Rus'.

The reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) was the time of the highest prosperity of the state. Social relations were regulated by the collection of laws “Russian Truth” and princely statutes. Yaroslav the Wise pursued an active foreign policy. He became related to many ruling dynasties of Europe, which testified to the wide international recognition of Rus' in the European Christian world. Intensive stone construction began. Yaroslav actively turned Kyiv into a cultural and intellectual center, taking Constantinople as a model. At this time, relations between the Russian Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople normalized.

From that moment on, the Russian Church was headed by the Metropolitan of Kiev, who was ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople. No later than 1039, the first Metropolitan of Kiev, Theophan, arrived in Kyiv. In 1051, having gathered bishops, Yaroslav himself appointed Hilarion as metropolitan, for the first time without the participation of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Hilarion became the first Russian metropolitan. In 1054 Yaroslav the Wise died.

Crafts and trade. Monuments of writing (The Tale of Bygone Years, the Novgorod Codex, the Ostromirovo Gospel, Lives) and architecture (Tithe Church, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the cathedrals of the same name in Novgorod and Polotsk) were created. The high level of literacy of the inhabitants of Rus' is evidenced by numerous birch bark letters that have survived to this day. Rus' traded with the southern and western Slavs, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Western Europe, the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The reign of the sons and grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav the Wise divided Rus' between his sons. The three eldest sons received the main Russian lands. Izyaslav - Kyiv and Novgorod, Svyatoslav - Chernigov and the Murom and Ryazan lands, Vsevolod - Pereyaslavl and Rostov. The younger sons Vyacheslav and Igor received Smolensk and Vladimir Volynsky. These possessions were not inherited; a system developed in which the younger brother succeeded the eldest in the princely family - the so-called “ladder” system. The eldest in the clan (not by age, but by line of kinship) received Kiev and became the Grand Duke, all other lands were divided between members of the clan and distributed according to seniority. Power passed from brother to brother, from uncle to nephew. Chernigov occupied second place in the hierarchy of tables. When one of the members of the clan died, all the Rurikovichs younger in relation to him moved to lands corresponding to their seniority. When new members of the clan appeared, their destiny was determined - a city with land (volost). A certain prince had the right to reign only in the city where his father reigned; otherwise, he was considered an outcast. The ladder system regularly caused strife between the princes.

In the 60s In the 11th century, the Polovtsians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region. The sons of Yaroslav the Wise were unable to stop their invasion, but were afraid to arm the Kyiv militia. In response to this, in 1068 the people of Kiev overthrew Izyaslav Yaroslavich and placed on the throne the Polotsk prince Vseslav, who had been captured by the Yaroslavichs during a strife the year before. In 1069, with the help of the Poles, Izyaslav occupied Kyiv, but after this, uprisings of the townspeople became constant during crises of princely power. Presumably in 1072 the Yaroslavichs edited the Russian Truth, significantly expanding it.

Izyaslav tried to regain control of Polotsk, but was unsuccessful, and in 1071 he made peace with Vseslav. In 1073, Vsevolod and Svyatoslav expelled Izyaslav from Kyiv, accusing him of an alliance with Vseslav, and Izyaslav fled to Poland. Kiev began to be ruled by Svyatoslav, who himself was in allied relations with the Poles. In 1076, Svyatoslav died and Vsevolod became the prince of Kyiv.

When Izyaslav returned with the Polish army, Vsevolod returned the capital to him, retaining Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. At the same time, Svyatoslav’s eldest son Oleg was left without possessions, who began the fight with the support of the Polovtsians. Izyaslav Yaroslavich died in the battle with them, and Vsevolod again became the ruler of Rus'. He made his son Vladimir, born of a Byzantine princess from the Monomakh dynasty, the prince of Chernigov. Oleg Svyatoslavich fortified himself in Tmutarakan. Vsevolod continued the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise. He sought to strengthen ties with European countries by marrying his son Vladimir to the Anglo-Saxon Gita, daughter of King Harald, who died at the Battle of Hastings. He married his daughter Eupraxia to the German Emperor Henry IV. The reign of Vsevolod was characterized by the distribution of lands to prince-nephews and the formation of an administrative hierarchy.

After the death of Vsevolod, Kyiv was occupied by Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. The Polovtsians sent an embassy to Kyiv with a peace proposal, but Svyatopolk Izyaslavich refused negotiations and seized the ambassadors. These events became the reason for the large Polovtsian campaign against Rus', as a result of which the combined troops of Svyatopolk and Vladimir were defeated, and significant territories around Kyiv and Pereyaslavl were devastated. The Polovtsy took away many prisoners. Taking advantage of this, the sons of Svyatoslav, enlisting the support of the Polovtsians, laid claim to Chernigov. In 1094, Oleg Svyatoslavich with Polovtsian troops moved to Chernigov from Tmutarakan. When his army approached the city, Vladimir Monomakh made peace with him, ceding Chernigov and going to Pereyaslavl. In 1095, the Polovtsians repeated the raid, during which they reached Kyiv itself, ravaging its surroundings. Svyatopolk and Vladimir called for help from Oleg, who reigned in Chernigov, but he ignored their requests. After the departure of the Polovtsians, the Kyiv and Pereyaslav squads captured Chernigov, and Oleg fled to his brother Davyd in Smolensk. There he replenished his troops and attacked Murom, where the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav ruled. Murom was taken, and Izyaslav fell in battle. Despite the peace proposal that Vladimir sent him, Oleg continued the campaign and captured Rostov. Another son of Monomakh, Mstislav, who was the governor in Novgorod, prevented him from continuing his conquests. He defeated Oleg, who fled to Ryazan. Vladimir Monomakh once again offered him peace, to which Oleg agreed.

Monomakh's peaceful initiative was continued in the form of the Lyubech Congress of Princes, who gathered in 1097 to resolve existing differences. The congress was attended by the Kiev prince Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh, Davyd (son of Igor Volynsky), Vasilko Rostislavovich, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavovich. The princes agreed to stop strife and not lay claim to other people's possessions. However, the peace did not last long. Davyd Volynsky and Svyatopolk captured Vasilko Rostislavovich and blinded him. Vasilko became the first Russian prince to be blinded during civil strife in Rus'. Outraged by the actions of Davyd and Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh and Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich set off on a campaign against Kyiv. The people of Kiev sent a delegation headed by the Metropolitan to meet them, which managed to convince the princes to maintain peace. However, Svyatopolk was entrusted with the task of punishing Davyd Volynsky. He freed Vasilko. However, another civil strife began in Rus', which escalated into a large-scale war in the western principalities. It ended in 1100 with a congress in Uvetichi. Davyd Volynsky was deprived of his principality. However, for “feeding” he was given the city of Buzhsk. In 1101, the Russian princes managed to make peace with the Cumans.

Changes in public administration at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 12th centuries

During the baptism of Rus', the authority of Orthodox bishops, subordinate to the Kyiv metropolitan, was established in all its lands. At the same time, the sons of Vladimir were installed as governors in all lands. Now all the princes who acted as appendages of the Kyiv Grand Duke were only from the Rurik family. Scandinavian sagas mention the fiefs of the Vikings, but they were located on the outskirts of Rus' and on newly annexed lands, so at the time of writing “The Tale of Bygone Years” they already seemed like a relic. The Rurik princes waged a fierce struggle with the remaining tribal princes (Vladimir Monomakh mentions the Vyatichi prince Khodota and his son). This contributed to the centralization of power.

The power of the Grand Duke reached its highest strengthening under Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise (then, after a break, under Vladimir Monomakh). The position of the dynasty was strengthened by numerous international dynastic marriages: Anna Yaroslavna and the French king, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the Byzantine princess, etc.

Since the time of Vladimir or, according to some information, Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, the prince began to give lands to the warriors instead of monetary salaries. If initially these were cities for feeding, then in the 11th century villages began to receive warriors. Along with the villages, which became fiefdoms, the boyar title was also granted. The boyars began to form the senior squad. The service of the boyars was determined by personal loyalty to the prince, and not by the size of the land allotment (conditional land ownership did not become noticeably widespread). The younger squad (“youths”, “children”, “gridi”), who were with the prince, lived off feeding from the princely villages and the war. The main fighting force in the 11th century was the militia, which received horses and weapons from the prince during the war. The services of the mercenary Varangian squad were largely abandoned during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

Over time, the church began to own a significant part of the land (“monastery estates”). Since 996, the population has paid tithes to the church. The number of dioceses, starting from 4, grew. The department of the metropolitan, appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, began to be located in Kiev, and under Yaroslav the Wise, the metropolitan was first elected from among the Russian priests; in 1051, Hilarion, who was close to Vladimir and his son, became the metropolitan. Monasteries and their elected heads, abbots, began to have great influence. The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery becomes the center of Orthodoxy.

The boyars and squad formed special councils under the prince. The prince also consulted with the metropolitan and the bishops and abbots who made up the church council. With the complication of the princely hierarchy, by the end of the 11th century, princely congresses (“snems”) began to gather. There were veches in the cities, which the boyars often relied on to support their own political demands (uprisings in Kyiv in 1068 and 1113).

In the 11th - early 12th centuries, the first written set of laws was formed - “Russian Truth”, which was successively replenished with articles from “The Truth of Yaroslav” (c. 1015-1016), “The Truth of the Yaroslavichs” (c. 1072) and the “Charter of Vladimir” Vsevolodovich" (c. 1113). The “Russian Truth” reflected the increasing differentiation of the population (now the size of the vira depended on the social status of the killed), and regulated the position of such categories of the population as servants, serfs, smerdas, purchases and ordinary people.

“Yaroslav’s Truth” equalized the rights of “Rusyns” and “Slovenians” (it should be clarified that under the name “Slovenes” the chronicle mentions only Novgorodians - “Ilmen Slovenes”). This, along with Christianization and other factors, contributed to the formation of a new ethnic community that was aware of its unity and historical origin.

Since the end of the 10th century, Rus' has known its own coin production - silver and gold coins of Vladimir I, Svyatopolk, Yaroslav the Wise and other princes.

Decay

The Principality of Polotsk was the first to separate from Kyiv - this happened already at the beginning of the 11th century. Having concentrated all the other Russian lands under his rule only 21 years after the death of his father, Yaroslav the Wise, dying in 1054, divided them between the five sons who survived him. After the death of the two youngest of them, all lands came under the rule of the three elders: Izyaslav of Kyiv, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod of Pereyaslavl (“the Yaroslavich triumvirate”).

In 1061 (immediately after the defeat of the Torci by the Russian princes in the steppes), raids by the Polovtsians began, replacing the Pechenegs who migrated to the Balkans. During the long Russian-Polovtsian wars, the southern princes for a long time could not cope with their opponents, undertaking a number of unsuccessful campaigns and suffering sensitive defeats (the battle on the Alta River (1068), the battle on the Stugna River (1093).

After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, the Kyiv princes attempted to deprive his sons of the Chernigov inheritance, and they resorted to the help of the Cumans, although the Cumans were first used in strife by Vladimir Monomakh (against Vseslav of Polotsk). In this struggle, Izyaslav of Kiev (1078) and the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav (1096) died. At the Lyubech Congress (1097), called upon to stop civil strife and unite the princes for protection from the Polovtsians, the principle was proclaimed: “ Let everyone keep his fatherland" Thus, while preserving the right of ladder, in the event of the death of one of the princes, the movement of the heirs was limited to their patrimony. This opened the way to political fragmentation (feudal fragmentation), since a separate dynasty was established in each land, and the Grand Duke of Kiev became first among equals, losing the role of overlord. However, this also made it possible to stop the strife and unite forces to fight the Cumans, which was moved deep into the steppes. In addition, treaties were concluded with the allied nomads - the “black hoods” (Torks, Berendeys and Pechenegs, expelled by the Polovtsians from the steppes and settled on the southern Russian borders).

In the second quarter of the 12th century, the Old Russian state broke up into independent principalities. The modern historiographic tradition considers the chronological beginning of fragmentation to be 1132, when, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the power of the Kyiv prince was no longer recognized by Polotsk (1132) and Novgorod (1136), and the title itself became the object of struggle between various dynastic and territorial associations of the Rurikovichs. In 1134, the chronicler, in connection with a schism among the Monomakhovichs, wrote: the whole Russian land was torn apart" The civil strife that began did not concern the great reign itself, but after the death of Yaropolk Vladimirovich (1139), the next Monomakhovich, Vyacheslav, was expelled from Kyiv by Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov.

During the XII-XIII centuries, part of the population of the southern Russian principalities, due to the constant threat emanating from the steppe, as well as due to the ongoing princely strife for the Kiev land, moved north to the calmer Rostov-Suzdal land, also called Zalesye or Opolye. Having joined the ranks of the Slavs of the first, Krivitsa-Novgorod migration wave of the 10th century, settlers from the populous south quickly became the majority on this land and assimilated the rare Finno-Ugric population. The massive Russian migration throughout the 12th century is evidenced by chronicles and archaeological excavations. It was during this period that the founding and rapid growth of numerous cities of the Rostov-Suzdal land (Vladimir, Moscow, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Opolsky, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Yaropolch-Zalessky, Galich, etc.) occurred. often repeated the names of the cities of origin of the settlers. The weakening of Southern Rus' is also associated with the success of the first crusades and changes in the main trade routes.

During two major internecine wars in the mid-12th century, the Principality of Kiev lost Volyn (1154), Pereyaslavl (1157) and Turov (1162). In 1169, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky sent an army led by his son Mstislav to the south, which captured Kyiv. For the first time, the city was brutally plundered, Kyiv churches were burned, and the inhabitants were taken captive. Andrei's younger brother was placed in the reign of Kiev. And although soon, after unsuccessful campaigns against Novgorod (1170) and Vyshgorod (1173), the influence of the Vladimir prince in other lands temporarily fell, Kyiv began to gradually lose, and Vladimir began to acquire, the political attributes of an all-Russian center. In the 12th century, in addition to the Kyiv prince, the title of great also began to be borne by the Vladimir princes, and in the 13th century, occasionally also by the princes of Galicia, Chernigov and Ryazan.

Kyiv, unlike most other principalities, did not become the property of any one dynasty, but served as a constant bone of contention for all powerful princes. In 1203, it was plundered for the second time by the Smolensk prince Rurik Rostislavich, who fought against the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. The first clash between Rus' and the Mongols took place in the Battle of the Kalka River (1223), in which almost all the southern Russian princes took part. The weakening of the southern Russian principalities increased the pressure from the Hungarian and Lithuanian feudal lords, but at the same time contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Vladimir princes in Chernigov (1226), Novgorod (1231), Kiev (in 1236 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied Kyiv for two years, while his elder brother Yuri remained reign in Vladimir) and Smolensk (1236-1239). During the Mongol invasion of Rus', which began in 1237, Kyiv was reduced to ruins in December 1240. It was received by the Vladimir princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, recognized by the Mongols as the oldest in the Russian lands, and later by his son Alexander Nevsky. They, however, did not move to Kyiv, remaining in their ancestral Vladimir. In 1299, the Kiev Metropolitan moved his residence there. In some church and literary sources - for example, in the statements of the Patriarch of Constantinople and Vytautas at the end of the 14th century - Kyiv continued to be considered as a capital city at a later time, but by this time it was already a provincial city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since 1254, the Galician princes bore the title “King of Rus'”. From the beginning of the 14th century, the Vladimir princes began to bear the title of “Grand Dukes of All Rus'”.

In Soviet historiography, the concept of “Kievan Rus” was extended both until the middle of the 12th century, and for the wider period of the mid-12th - mid-13th centuries, when Kiev remained the center of the country and the governance of Russia was carried out by a single princely family on the principles of “collective suzerainty”. Both approaches remain relevant today.

Pre-revolutionary historians, starting with N.M. Karamzin, adhered to the idea of ​​​​transferring the political center of Rus' in 1169 from Kyiv to Vladimir, dating back to the works of Moscow scribes, or to Vladimir (Volyn) and Galich. In modern historiography there is no consensus of opinion on this matter. Some historians believe that these ideas are not confirmed in the sources. In particular, some of them point to such a sign of the political weakness of the Suzdal land as a small number of fortified settlements compared to other lands of Rus'. Other historians, on the contrary, find confirmation in the sources that the political center of Russian civilization moved from Kyiv, first to Rostov and Suzdal, and later to Vladimir-on-Klyazma.

in the 5th century divided into 3 branches

western southern

eastern

Russian ancestors,

Belarusian and

Ukrainian peoples

The Proto-Slavs lived in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Elbe and Oder rivers in the west to the upper reaches of the Dniester and the middle reaches of the Dnieper in the east. The Slavs in ancient written sources (eg Greek) are mentioned as Wends, Sklavins and Antes.

The Great Migration of Peoples also set in motion the Slavic tribes. In the 5th century – division of the Slavs into 3 branches.

In the 4th-6th centuries, according to various sources, the lands east of the Carpathians were inhabited by the descendants of the Eastern Veneti - the Antes.

Our immediate ancestors, the Eastern Slavs, go to the East European Plain and settle, as Nestor writes in the 12th century. in the "Tale of Bygone Years" along the Dnieper. History knows about 15 East Slavic tribes, more precisely, tribal unions that existed approximately in the 9th-11th centuries, and by the 11th-13th centuries formed the Old Russian people.

Tribes of the North: Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polochans

Tribes of the Northeast: Radimichi, Vyatichi, Northerners

Duleb group: Volynians, Drevlyans, Polyans, Dregovichi

Tribes of the Southeast: Buzhans, Don Slavs

Tribes of the South: White Croats, Ulichs, Tivertsi

Periodization of the Ancient History of Rus'

IX – XI centuries - Kievan Rus

XII – XIII centuries – fragmentation of Rus' (Vladimir Rus')

XIV – XV centuries. – Moscow Rus'

Gardarika– “country of cities”, this is how the lands of the Eastern Slavs are called in Greek, Arab and Scandinavian sources

Local principalities (Gostomysl in Novgorod, Kiy in Kyiv, Mal among the Drevlyans, Khodot and his son among the Vyatichi) are the embryonic form of statehood in Ancient Rus'.

Eastern chroniclers identified 3 centers of the emergence of statehood in the Slavic lands: Cuyaba (in the south, around Kyiv), Slavia (in the Ilmen region), Artania (in the east, around ancient Ryazan)

Rurik (862-879)

862 - calling of the Varangians (Rurik with his tribe Rus) Calling of the Varangians in Vasnetsov’s painting

Rurik founded a dynasty of Russian princes and ruled in Novgorod.

“Norman theory” is a theory about the creation of a state among the Slavs from the outside (by the Varangians-Scandinavians).

The first anti-Normanist Mikhail Lomonosov (the origin of the Varangians from the West Slavic lands)

Anti-Normanists (the formation of the state is a stage of internal development of society).

Oleg(Prophetic) (879-912)

882 - formation of Kievan Rus (unification of the two political centers of Novgorod and Kyiv into a single ancient Russian state by Prince Oleg)

907 and 911 – Oleg’s campaigns against Byzantium (the goal was to sign profitable trade agreements)

Fight against the Khazars

Polyudye- collection of tribute by the prince from the subject East Slavic tribes

Polyudye trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” ( Baltic-Volkhov-Lovat-Western Dvina-Dnieper) Constantinople

Varangians. Nicholas Roerich, 1899

Igor(Old) (912-945)

Prince Igor's unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium in 941

Greek fire- a flammable mixture ejected from copper tubes under pressure onto an enemy ship, not extinguished by water.

Repeated campaign in 943, ending with a peace treaty in 944.

In 945 he was killed during the Drevlyan uprising

Olga(organizer of the Russian land) (945-969)

1) Cunning (cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans for her husband)

2) “Organizer of the Russian land” - streamlined the collection of tribute (polyudye taxes) (introduced lessons– exact size of the tribute,

churchyards– tribute collection points)

3) Conducted a volost reform (divided the state into volosts), (introduced uniform rules for the court of princely governors)

4) Established diplomatic relations with Byzantium

5) She was the first to accept Christianity (Elena)

Svyatoslav(warrior prince) (962-972)

He spent his entire life on campaigns (expanded the borders of the state, ensured the safety of trade routes for Russian merchants)

1. Subdued the Vyatichi

2. Defeated the Bulgars and Khazars, opening a trade. way along the Volga to the eastern countries

(“I’m coming at you”)

3. Campaigns against the Bulgarians on the Danube (an attempt to move the capital to Pereyaslavets)

But he often left the state without protection, for example, the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs (968), undertaken while the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav was on the Danube.

(According to the chronicle, while Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was leading a campaign against the Bulgarian kingdom, the Pechenegs invaded Rus' and besieged its capital, Kiev. The besieged suffered from thirst and hunger. People from the other side of the Dnieper, led by governor Pretich, gathered on the left bank of the Dnieper.

Driven to extremes, Svyatoslav's mother Princess Olga (who was in the city with all of Svyatoslav's sons) decided to tell Pretich that she would surrender the city the next morning if Pretich did not lift the siege, and began to look for ways to contact him. Finally, a young Kiev resident who spoke Pecheneg fluently volunteered to get out of the city and get to Pretich. Pretending to be a Pecheneg looking for his horse, he ran through their camp. When he rushed into the Dnieper and swam to the other bank, the Pechenegs realized his deception and began to shoot at him with arrows, but did not hit.

When the young man got to Pretich and told him about the desperate situation of the Kievites, the governor decided to suddenly cross the river and take out Svyatoslav’s family, and if not, Svyatoslav would destroy us. Early in the morning, Pretich and his squad boarded their ships and landed on the right bank of the Dnieper, blowing trumpets. Thinking that Svyatoslav's army had returned, the Pechenegs lifted the siege. Olga and her grandchildren left the city to the river.

The Pecheneg leader returned to negotiate with Pretich and asked him if he was Svyatoslav. Pretich confirmed that he is only a governor, and his detachment is the vanguard of Svyatoslav’s approaching army. As a sign of peaceful intentions, the Pecheneg ruler shook hands with Pretich and exchanged his own horse, sword and arrows for Pretich's armor.

Meanwhile, the Pechenegs continued the siege, so it was impossible to water the horse on Lybid. The people of Kiev sent a messenger to Svyatoslav with the news that his family had almost been captured by the Pechenegs, and the danger to Kyiv still remained. Svyatoslav quickly returned home to Kyiv and drove the Pechenegs into the field. A year later, Olga died, and Svyatoslav made Pereyaslavets on the Danube his residence)

But after a difficult campaign against Byzantium in 972, Svyatoslav’s wounded army with heavy military booty was met on the Dnieper rapids by waiting hordes of Pechenegs. The Rus were surrounded and completely destroyed. Every single one of them died, including Prince Svyatoslav. Khan Kurya ordered a drinking cup to be made from his skull, bound with gold.

Vladimir(Red Sun, Holy) (980-1015)

Civil strife (Vladimir, the son of a slave, defeats Yaropolk)

1. We are loved by the people (the image of the prince is depicted in epics):

A) creation of a system of fortresses in the south for defense against the Pechenegs;

B) recruited people from the people into the squad;

B) organized feasts for all Kiev residents.

2. Strengthens the state and princely power:

A) carries out pagan reform (Perun is the main god)

Goal: an attempt to unite tribes into a single people through religion

B) 988 – baptism of Rus' according to the Byzantine model

C) the acquisition of an important military and political ally in the person of Byzantium

D) development of culture:

1) Slavic writing (Cyril and Methodius);

2) books, schools, churches, icon painting;

Tithe Church - the first stone church in Kyiv (1/10 of the prince’s income for construction);

3) establishment of the Russian metropolitanate

Baptism of Vladimir. Fresco by V. M. Vasnetsov.

Prince Vladimir went down in history as the Baptist of Rus'. The prince's decision to be baptized was not spontaneous. According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, several years before the campaign against Korsun (Chersonese), Vladimir thought about choosing a faith. The prince's heart was inclined towards Orthodoxy. And he confirmed this decision after his ambassadors went “on reconnaissance” to Constantinople. When they returned, they said: “When we came to the Greeks, we were led to where they serve their God, and we did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth: we cannot forget this beauty, for every person, having tasted the sweet, turns away from bitter things, so we “are not imams to be here,” we do not want to remain in the former pagan faith.” Then they remembered: “If the Greek law had not been good, then your grandmother Olga, the wisest of all people, would not have accepted it.”

Monument “Millennium of Russia”- a monument erected in Veliky Novgorod in 1862 in honor of the thousandth anniversary of the legendary calling of the Varangians to Rus'. The authors of the monument project are sculptors Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and architect Victor Hartman. The monument is located in Novgorod Detinets, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral

The prince ruled the Russian state for 37 years, 28 of them as a Christian. It is worth noting that Prince Vladimir accepted Orthodoxy from Byzantium not as a vassal, but as an equal. “Historians are still building different versions of why the prince went to the siege of Chersonesos,” says S. Belyaev. One version says: having decided to convert to Orthodoxy, Vladimir did not want to appear before the Greeks in the role of a supplicant. It is significant: it was not Vladimir who went to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, to be baptized. They came to him, in the conquered Chersonesos, and even brought Princess Anna. At the same time, Vladimir’s very decision to become Orthodox was dictated by the need of the soul, as evidenced by the dramatic changes that occurred with the prince.

Taking a close look at the Baptist of Rus', it becomes clear that he was also a remarkable state strategist. And he put the national interests of Rus' in first place, which under his leadership united, straightened its shoulders and subsequently became a great empire.

On National Unity Day, November 4, 2016, on Borovitskaya Square, the grand opening of the monument to St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, which was designed by People's Artist of Russia Salavat Shcherbakov, took place. The monument was created on the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society and the Moscow Government. opening ceremony of the monument to Prince Vladimir. The ceremony was attended by President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

The President emphasized that Prince Vladimir forever went down in history as a collector and defender of Russian lands, as a far-sighted politician who laid the foundations of a strong, unified, centralized state.

After the president’s speech, the monument to the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince was consecrated by Patriarch Kirill.

Yaroslav the Wise(1019-1054)

Vladimir has 12 sons - civil strife (the eldest, Svyatopolk, killed his brothers Boris and Gleb, who became the first saints in Rus', and Svyatopolk was also dubbed the Damned because he brought foreigners to Rus', who ravaged and killed)

Yaroslav, who ruled Novgorod, supported by the Novgorodians in the fight against his brother, seizes the throne (from 1019 to 1036 he rules together with his brother Mstislav). A calm, wise reign begins - the heyday of the Old Russian state.

1. Strengthened power (the highest power belonged to the Grand Duke of Kyiv, who issued laws, was the highest judge, led the army, and determined foreign policy). Power was inherited by the eldest in the family (sons-vicars in the volosts moved in the event of the death of their elder brother to a larger volost).

2. Laid the foundation for the creation of a single set of laws “Russian Truth” (1016). (In “Yaroslav’s Truth,” for example, blood feud is limited and replaced with a fine)

3. Measures to strengthen the independence of the Russian Church (from 1051, not Greeks, but Russians began to be appointed metropolitans, and without the knowledge of Constantinople. The first Russian metropolitan was Hilarion).

4. Developed culture (built churches, cathedrals (St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Novgorod), monasteries (Kievo-Pechersk - monk Nestor wrote the first Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” in the 12th century), where scripture was distributed chronicles(description of historical events by year), schools, libraries, which contributed to the development of literacy)

5. Conducted a wise foreign policy:

· strengthened the southern borders of Rus' (built defensive lines of fortified cities on the southeastern borders);

· defeated the Pechenegs under the walls of Kyiv in 1036, where he built the St. Sophia Cathedral;

· expanded the northwestern borders of the state (in 1030 he built the city of Yuryev on the western coast of Lake Peipus, which he captured from the Poles and Lithuanians)

· All land acquisitions were secured by peace treaties and dynastic marriages

It was under Yaroslav the Wise that the process of state formation among the Eastern Slavs ended, and the ancient Russian nation took shape.

Social structure of society in the Old Russian state

In the 11th century Kievan Rus is an early feudal state (along with the emergence of an upper layer and, conversely, a dependent one, the bulk of the population were free community members who paid taxes to the state. And the formation of feudal land ownership proceeded very slowly).

The land belonged to the state, so the community (the land was jointly owned, divided between all families included in the community) paid a tax for the use of the land to the state.

The first feudal lords to seize land as their own were princes. They granted land to the church and the boyar warriors for their service ( patrimony - hereditary land ownership), who also became feudal lords.

I. Upper layer:

II. Free landowners united in communities

(the largest part of the population of the Old Russian state)

III. Dependent Population:

Smerd- a member of the rural community, but a peasant dependent directly on the prince in the Old Russian state during the period of the 11th-14th centuries.

Ryadovich- who has entered into an agreement (“row”) to work for the feudal lord under certain conditions.

Purchase- ruined community members who fell into debt dependence for non-payment of a loan (“kupa”). If he repaid the debt, he became free.

Serf- a slave who worked on the land of a feudal lord. (prisoners of war, non-fulfilling purchase obligations and ordinary soldiers, children of slaves became slaves; out of great need, a person sold himself as a slave).

Culture of Ancient Rus'

Culture– a set of material and spiritual values ​​created by society.

East Slavs

1) Beliefs - paganism, from the word “language” - tribe, people.

Gods - Perun, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Svarog, Yarilo, Lada, Makosh, etc.

The place of worship of idols is the temple where sacrifices were made.

Magi (“wizard, sorcerer, fortuneteller”) are ancient Russian pagan priests who performed divine services, sacrifices and allegedly knew how to conjure the elements and predict the future.

Vasnetsov “Meeting of Prince Oleg with a magician”

2) ancient tales, epics - poetic tales about the past, where the exploits of Russian heroes were glorified (Mikula Selyaninovich, Ilya Muromets, Stavr Godinovich, etc.). The main motive is the protection of Russian land from the enemy.

Viktor Vasnetsov “Bogatyrs”

3) the art of blacksmiths, wood and bone carvers.

The Christianization of Rus' had a huge impact.

1) The spread of writing and literacy in Rus' (60s of the 9th century - Cyril and Methodius - lived in Thessaloniki (Greece), compilers of the Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic alphabet, translated the Gospel into the Slavic language, preached in the Slavic language. Cyrillic alphabet, created subsequently by them students, in a modified form is the basis of the modern Russian alphabet).

2) Distribution of chronicles (1113 - “The Tale of Bygone Years”)

At the Church of St. Sofia Yaroslav created the first library in Rus'.

Yaroslav created a powerful center for book writing and translated literature in Kyiv.

Monasteries emerge - the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (founders Anthony and Theodosius).

XI - n. XII centuries - chronicle centers are formed in Kyiv and Novgorod.

3) The origin of Russian literature:

A) 1049 – “The Sermon on Law and Grace” by Hilarion (solemn address, message and teaching, sermon on the moral assessment of the ruler);

B) lives - a literary description of the lives of people canonized as saints (Nestor wrote the lives of Boris and Gleb)

Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb. Icon, early 14th century. Moscow

C) 1056 - “Ostromir Gospel” - the oldest handwritten book.

Books were written in monasteries, which were centers of culture (written on parchment - thin tanned calfskin).

Ordinary people used birch bark to exchange information.

The art of book miniatures (handwritten illustrations) developed

4) Architecture (the construction of temples was based on the Byzantine cross-dome system).

· Wooden (mansion, city walls, huts)

Features: multi-tiered, turrets, extensions, carvings)

· The first stone church in Kyiv was called Desyatinnaya (989), since the prince gave a tenth of his income for its construction. The church had 25 domes.

· 1037 - Construction of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

Model-reconstruction of the original appearance of the cathedral

Modern view of St. Sophia Cathedral

Multiple domes are a characteristic feature of Russian architecture (1 dome in the center, 12).

For cladding temples they use plinth - wide and flat bricks.

In Sofia there is a stone tomb of Yaroslav.

In the altar there is an image of the Mother of God. Type of image - Oranta - with arms raised up. The people of Kiev called it the “Unbreakable Wall” and considered it their protector.

There are frescoes depicting the family of Yaroslav the Wise.

Interior decoration of temples: frescoes, icons, mosaics

The icons were painted by the Pechersk monk Alimpiy.

Under Yaroslav, Kyiv was being built. It is called “the adornment of the East and the rival of Constantinople.” The Golden Gate is the main entrance to the city.

1113-1125 - reign of Vladimir Monomakh (grandson of Yaroslav and Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh). At the age of 60 he ascended the Kiev throne.

1) Campaigns against the Polovtsians (1111 - a crushing blow to the Polovtsians

gone to the steppes, relative calm

2) Fought against strife (initiator of the Lyubech Congress (1097) - “let each one keep his own patrimony.” Although this only consolidated fragmentation in Rus' (legislatively)

3) Fought for the unity of Rus' (subjugated Russian princes, punished them for strife), but after the death of Vladimir and his son Mstislav, who continued his father’s policies, civil strife resumed

4) An educated man and a gifted writer, he left a behest to his sons to live in peace, to faithfully serve the Fatherland (1117 - “Instructions for Children” - a valuable historical source and a vivid literary monument).

5) Created a set of laws “Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich”, in which he eased the situation of debtors, prohibiting them from turning into slaves.

6) Founded on the river. Klyazma is a city named after him.

7) New literary genres are being formed - parables, teachings, walks.

8) Under Vladimir, gold and silver coins began to be minted, then replaced with silver bars - hryvnia.

9) High level of development of crafts - casting, embossing, ceramics, embroidery, enamel

artistic craft

A) blacksmithing (weapons, armor);

B) jewelry craft (grain, filigree, enamel)

Filigree - an image made of thin gold wire;

Grain - balls are soldered onto filigree;

Cloisonne enamel - enamel is used to fill gaps in metal.

The spiritual world of medieval man combines the sublime (appeal to God) and the earthly ("culture of laughter"). The bearers of the “laughter culture” of the Middle Ages in Rus' were buffoons and guslars - traveling actors who were persecuted by the church, but loved at the courts of princes and in villages.

Its history can be divided into three periods:

the first - the period of formation of Ancient Rus' under the first Rurik princes (second half of the 9th - last third of the 10th centuries);

the second - the heyday of Kievan Rus under Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise (late 10th - first half of the 11th centuries);

the third is the period of the beginning of the territorial and political fragmentation of the Old Russian state and its collapse (second half of the 11th - first third of the 12th centuries).

- First period the history of Ancient Rus' begins since 862, when in Novgorod or, perhaps, first in Staraya Ladoga he began to reign Rurik (862 – 879). As already noted, this year is traditionally considered the legendary beginning of Russian statehood.

Unfortunately, information about the details of Rurik’s reign has not reached us. Since Rurik’s son Igor was a minor, he became the Novgorod prince’s guardian Oleg (879 – 912). According to some sources, he was a relative of Rurik, according to others, he was the leader of one of the Varangian detachments.

In 882, Oleg launched a campaign against Kyiv and killed Askold and Dir, who reigned there. who were the last representatives of the family of the legendary Kiya. True, some scientists consider them Rurik’s warriors who took the Kiev throne. Oleg made Kyiv the capital of the united state, calling it “the mother of Russian cities.” That is why the Old Russian state also went down in history under the name Kievan Rus.

In 911, Oleg made a victorious campaign against Constantinople(as the Russians called Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium). He concluded a very beneficial agreement for Rus' with the Byzantine emperor and returned to Kyiv with rich booty. According to the agreement, Russian merchants, or guests, as they were called then, could buy goods in Constantinople without paying duties for them, live in the capital for a month at the expense of the Greeks, and so on. Oleg included the Krivichi, Northerners, Radimichi and Drevlyans into his state, who began to pay tribute to the Kyiv prince.

For his luck, wisdom and cunning, Oleg was nicknamed the Prophetic by the people, that is, knowing in advance what to do in a given situation.

After the death of Oleg, the son of Rurik became the prince of Kyiv Igor (912 – 945). Under him, Russian squads made two campaigns against Byzantium and concluded a new agreement with the Byzantine emperor, which stipulated the order of trade between the two states. It also included articles on military alliance.

Igor fought with the Pechenegs who were attacking Russian lands. Under him, the territory of the state expanded due to the inclusion of the lands of the streets and Tiverts. Subject lands paid tribute to the Kyiv prince, which he collected annually by traveling around them with his retinue. In 945, trying to re-take tribute from the Drevlyans, Igor was killed by them.

Igor's successor was his wife, Princess Olga (945 – 964). She brutally took revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of her husband, killing many of the rebellious ones, and burned their capital - the city of Iskorosten (currently Korosten). The Drevlyans were finally included in the Old Russian state.

Under Olga, the collection of tribute was streamlined. Special places for collecting tribute were established - graveyards, the size of the tribute - lessons, and the timing of its collection was determined.

During this period, the international relations of Ancient Rus' expanded significantly. There was an exchange of embassies with the German Emperor Otto I, and relations with Byzantium were strengthened. While visiting Constantinople, Olga promised support to the Byzantine emperor in his policy towards his neighbors, and also accepted Christianity there. Later, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Olga.

The next prince of Kyiv was the son of Igor and Olga - Svyatoslav (964 – 972). He was a talented commander who glorified the Russian land with his military campaigns. It was Svyatoslav who owned the famous words that he uttered before his squad in one of the difficult battles: “We will lie here as bones: the dead have no shame!”

He began the subjugation of Ancient Rus' by the Vyatichi, who until the last fought for their independence and remained the only Slavic tribe in the east not subject to the Kyiv prince. Svyatoslav defeated the Khazars, repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs, defeated the Volga Bulgaria, successfully fought on the Azov coast, capturing Tmutarakanya (modern Taman) on the Taman Peninsula.

Svyatoslav began a war with Byzantium for the Balkan Peninsula, which at first went well, and he even thought of moving the capital of his state from Kyiv to the bank of the Danube, to the city of Pereyaslavets. But these plans failed to be realized. After stubborn battles with a large Byzantine army, Svyatoslav was forced to conclude a non-aggression treaty with Byzantium and return the captured lands.

Returning to Kyiv with the remnants of his squads, Svyatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids and was killed. The Pechenezh prince cut off his head and made a cup from the skull, believing that all the strength of the great warrior would pass to the one who drank from it. These events took place in 972. Thus ended the first period of the history of Ancient Rus'.

After the death of Svyatoslav, turmoil and struggle beganfor power between his sons. It stopped after his third son, Prince Vladimir, took the Kiev throne. He went down in history as Vladimir I, outstanding statesman and commander (980 – 1015). And in Russian epics - this is Vladimir the Red Sun.

Under him, all the lands of the Eastern Slavs were finally united as part of Ancient Rus', some of which, primarily the Vyatichi, during the period of unrest tried to again become independent of the Kyiv prince.

Vladimir managed to solve the main task of the foreign policy of the Russian state at that time - to organize an effective defense against Pecheneg raids. For this purpose, several defensive lines with a well-thought-out system of fortresses, ramparts, and signal towers were built on the border with the steppe. This made a sudden attack by the Pechenegs impossible and saved Russian villages and cities from their raids. It was in those fortresses that the epic heroes Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich and Dobrynya Nikitich served. In battles with Russian squads, the Pechenegs suffered heavy defeats.

Vladimir made several successful military campaigns in the Polish lands, Volga Bulgaria and others.

The Kiev prince reformed the system of government and replaced the local princes, who continued to rule the tribes that became part of Ancient Rus', with their sons and “husbands,” that is, the leaders of the squads.

With him, the first Russian coins appeared: zlatniki and serebrianniki. The coins depicted Vladimir himself, as well as Jesus Christ.

The appearance of Jesus Christ on coins was not accidental. In 988, Vladimir I adopted Christianity and made it the state religion.

Christianity has been penetrating Rus' for a long time. Even under Prince Igor, some of the warriors were Christians; the Cathedral of St. Elijah was located in Kyiv; Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga, was baptized.

Vladimir's baptism took place in Crimea after the victory over Byzantine troops during the siege of the city of Korsun (Chersonese). Vladimir demanded the Byzantine princess Anna as his wife and declared his intention to be baptized. This was happily accepted by the Byzantine side. The Byzantine princess was sent to the Kyiv prince, as well as priests who baptized Vladimir, his sons and his squad.

Returning to Kyiv, Vladimir, under pain of punishment, forced the people of Kiev and the rest of the people to be baptized. The baptism of Rus', as a rule, took place peacefully, although it met with some resistance. Only in Novgorod did the residents rebel and were pacified by force of arms. After which they were baptized, driven into the Volkhov River.

The adoption of Christianity was of great importance for the further development of Rus'.

Firstly, it strengthened the territorial unity and state power of Ancient Rus'.

Secondly, having rejected paganism, Rus' was now on a par with other Christian countries. There has been a significant expansion of its international connections and contacts.

Thirdly, it had a huge impact on the further development of Russian culture.

For his services in the baptism of Rus', Prince Vladimir was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and named equal to the apostles.

The Russian Orthodox Church was headed by the Metropolitan, who was appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople until the mid-15th century.

After the death of Vladimir I, turmoil began again, in which twelve of his sons fought for the Kiev throne. The Troubles lasted four years.

During this princely feud, on the orders of one of the brothers, Svyatopolk, three other brothers were killed: Boris of Rostov, Gleb of Murom and Svyatoslav Drevlyansky. For these crimes, Svyatopolk was popularly nicknamed the Damned. And Boris and Gleb began to be revered as holy martyrs.

Civil strife ended after the beginning of the reign in Kyiv Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who received the nickname Wise from his contemporaries (1019 - 1054). The years of his reign in history are considered the period of the highest prosperity of Ancient Rus'.

Under Yaroslav, the Pecheneg raids stopped, and they were given a tough rebuff. In the north, in the Baltic lands, Yuryev (now the city of Tartu in Estonia) was founded, and on the Volga - the city of Yaroslavl. The Kyiv prince managed to unite all of Ancient Rus' under his leadership, that is, he finally became the sovereign prince of the Old Russian state.

Rus' has received wide international recognition. Yaroslav had family ties with many of the European ruling dynasties. His daughters were married to Hungarian, Norwegian, and French kings. Yaroslav's sister married the Polish king, and her granddaughter married the German emperor. Yaroslav himself married a Swedish princess, and his son Vsevolod married a Byzantine princess, daughter of Emperor Constantine Monomakh. Yaroslav's grandson Vladimir, born from this marriage, received the nickname Monomakh. It was he who later continued the glorious deeds of his grandfather.

Yaroslav went down in history as a Russian legislator. It was under him that the first set of laws “Russian Truth” appeared, which regulated life in Ancient Rus'. The law, in particular, allowed blood feud. Murder could be avenged legally: son for father and father for son, brother for brother and nephew for uncle.

Under Yaroslav, there was a rapid development of Russian culture: churches were built, work was carried out on teaching literacy, translating from Greek and copying books into Russian, and a book depository was created. In 1051, shortly before the death of Yaroslav, for the first time not a Byzantine, but a Russian clergyman, Hilarion, became the Metropolitan of Kyiv. He wrote that the Russian state at that time was “known and heard in all corners of the earth.” With the death of Yaroslav in 1054, the second period of the history of Ancient Rus' ended.

- Social and state system of Kievan Rus

Geographically, Rus' in the 11th century was located from the Baltic (Varangian) and White Seas, Lake Ladoga in the north to the Black (Russian) Sea in the south, from the eastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka in the east. About 5 million people lived on vast territories. The family made up the yard, “smoke”, “ten”. Families were territorially neighboring (no longer consanguineous) communities (“rope”, “hundred”). Communities gravitated towards churchyards - trade and administrative centers, on the site of which cities grew (“regiment”, “thousand”). In place of the previous tribal unions, principalities (“lands”) were formed.

The political system of the Old Russian state combined the institutions of the new feudal formation and the old, primitive communal one. At the head of the state was a hereditary prince called the Grand Duke. He ruled with the help of a council of other princes and warriors. The rulers of other principalities were subordinate to the Kyiv prince. The prince had a significant military force, which included a fleet.

Supreme power belonged to the Grand Duke, the eldest among the Rurikovichs. The prince was a legislator, military leader, supreme judge, and recipient of tribute. The prince was surrounded by a squad. The warriors lived in the prince's court, took part in campaigns, shared tribute and spoils of war, and feasted with the prince. The prince consulted with his squad on all matters. The Boyar Duma, which was initially composed of senior warriors, participated in the administration. In all lands, the people's council played an important role. Administration was carried out by princes, mayors from the boyars, governors, elected thousanders in cities, etc.

The armed forces included a professional princely squad and a militia. Initially, the permanent detachments (“courts of princes”) included courtyard servants, both free and dependent (“slaves”). Later, service to the prince began to be based on his agreement with his servant (boyar) and became permanent. The word “boyar” itself takes its origin from the word “bolyar” or “fighter”. If necessary, in case of military danger, a people's militia was assembled, led by a thousand, by decision of the veche assembly. The militia consisted of free people - peasants and townspeople. The militia was built according to the “decimal principle”. The warriors united into dozens, tens into hundreds, hundreds into thousands. Most of the commanders - tens, sots, thousand - were chosen by the soldiers themselves. The warriors knew each other well. The hundred usually consisted of men from the same volost, usually related by some degree of kinship. Over time, the territorial (district) principle appears to replace the decimal system. “Thousand” is replaced by a territorial unit – an army. The detachments began to be called "regiments". The “tens” were transformed into a new territorial unit – the “spear”.

In 988, under Vladimir I, Christianity in the Byzantine version was adopted as the state religion instead of paganism. The Russian Orthodox Church initially supported the state and depended on it, since according to the Charter of Vladimir, proclaimed a saint, it received 10% of all income in the state for its functioning. The Grand Dukes actually appointed the highest clergy and encouraged the development of monasteries. The principle of the predominance of secular power over spiritual power is usually called Caesaropapism.

The bulk of landowners, boyars, who had extensive farms in the countryside, lived in Russian cities. They were interested in collecting and sharing the tribute collected in the surrounding territories. This is how the state apparatus was born in the cities, the upper strata of society were consolidated, interterritorial ties were strengthened, that is, the process of state formation developed.

The basis of the social organization of Ancient Rus' was the community. In modern Russian historical science, the prevailing opinion is that in the Old Russian state the absolute majority of the population were free community peasants, united in a rope (from the rope with which plots of land were measured; the rope was also called “hundred”, later - “guba”). They were respectfully called “people”, “men”. They plowed, sowed, cut and burned the forest for new arable land (“slash-and-burn system”). They could kill a bear, elk, wild boar, catch fish, collect honey from forest edges. The “husband” of Ancient Rus' participated in the community gathering, chose the headman, and participated in the trial as part of a kind of “jury panel” - “twelve best husbands” (called “izvod”). The ancient Russian, together with his neighbors, pursued a horse thief, an arsonist, a murderer, participated in the armed militia in the event of major military campaigns, and together with others fought off the raid of nomads. A free person had to control his feelings, be responsible for himself, relatives and dependent people. For premeditated murder in accordance with the “Russian Truth”, a set of laws of the first half of the 11th century. property was confiscated, and the family was completely enslaved (this procedure was called "stream and plunder"). For a tuft of hair torn out of a beard or mustache, an offended free person was entitled to compensation of 12 hryvnia “for moral damage” (the hryvnia is a silver ingot weighing about 200 grams; currently the hryvnia is the main monetary unit in Ukraine). This is how the personal dignity of a free person was valued. Murder was punishable by a fine of 40 hryvnia.

The “husband” of Ancient Rus' was indisputably liable for military service, a participant in military campaigns. By decision of the people's assembly, all combat-ready men went on the campaign. Weapons (swords, shields, spears) were received, as a rule, from the princely arsenal. Each man knew how to handle an ax, knife, and bow. Thus, the army of Svyatoslav (965–972), including, along with the squad and the people’s militia, numbered up to 50–60 thousand people.

The communal population constituted the absolute majority in the Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Chernigov, Vladimir, Polotsk, Galician, Kyiv and other lands. The population of cities also constituted a unique community, among which Novgorod with its veche system is of greatest interest.

At the same time, various life circumstances created categories of people with a different legal status. Ryadovichi were those who became temporarily dependent on the owner on the basis of an agreement (“row”) concluded with him. Those who lost their property became purchasers and received from the owner a small plot of land and tools. The purchaser worked for a loan (kupa), grazed the owner's livestock, could not leave him, could be subject to corporal punishment, but could not be sold into slavery, retaining the chance to buy out his freedom. As a result of captivity, self-sale, sale for debts or crimes, through marriage to a serf or servant, Russian people could become serfs. The master's right in relation to the slave was not limited in any way. His murder “cost” only 5 hryvnia. Serfs were, on the one hand, the servants of the feudal lord, who were part of his personal servants and squads, even the princely or boyar administration. On the other hand, serfs (slaves of Russian society), unlike ancient slaves, could be planted on the land (“suffering people”, “sufferers”), and worked as artisans. By analogy with Ancient Rome, the lumpen-proletarians of Ancient Rus' can be called outcasts. These were people who had lost their previous social status: peasants expelled from the community; freed slaves bought their freedom (as a rule, after the death of the owner); bankrupt merchants and even princes “without a place,” that is, who did not receive the territory in which they performed administrative functions. When considering court cases, a person’s social status played an important role, and the principle was “just judge based on your husband.” Landowners, princes and boyars acted as masters of dependent people.

3. Feudalism of Western Europe and the socio-economic system of Ancient Rus': similarities and differences.

The emergence and development of feudal land tenure and the associated enslavement of the peasantry occurred in different ways. In Western Europe, for example, in France, for military service the king was granted land first for life, and then as hereditary property. Over time, peasants were attached both to the personality of the landowner-feudal lord and to the land. The peasant had to work on his farm and on the farm of the seigneur (elder, master). The serf gave the owner a significant part of the products of his labor (bread, meat, poultry, fabrics, leather, shoes), and also performed many other duties. All of them were called feudal rent and were considered the peasant’s payment for the use of land, thanks to which his family was fed. This is how the main economic unit of the feudal mode of production arose, which in England was called a manor, in France and many other countries - a seigneury, and in Russia - a fiefdom.

In Byzantium, such a rigid system of feudal relations did not develop. In Byzantium, feudal lords were forbidden to maintain squads or build prisons on their estates, and they lived, as a rule, in cities, and not in fortified castles. On charges of conspiracy or high treason, any feudal owner could lose his property and his very life. In all feudal societies, land was the main value. To cultivate the land, feudal landowners used various systems of exploitation of peasant labor, without which the land remained dead.

In the Russian lands, the formation of socio-economic relations inherent in feudal society had its own characteristics. Pressure from the prince and his administration had certain limits. There was a lot of free land in the country. For centuries, it was possible to move from the previous place and settle 50–100 miles to the north or east. It was possible to build a house in a new place in a few days, and clear a plot of land for arable land in a few months. This opportunity warmed the soul of the Russian people for many decades. Colonization of free territories and their economic development occurred almost continuously. They escaped from the raids of nomads in the nearby forest. The process of feudalization and restriction of freedom of rural and urban workers was slow.

In the IX – X centuries. at the initial stage of development of feudal relations, direct producers were subordinated to state power. The main form of peasant dependence was state taxes: land tax - tribute (polyudye), court taxes ( Virs, sales).

At the second stage, individual, large land ownership takes shape, which in Western Europe is called seigneurial. Feudal land ownership arose and was formalized legally in different ways in different Russian lands, at different speeds as a result of increasing property inequality and in connection with the transfer of a significant part of the arable land of the community members into the private ownership of large owners - feudal lords, princes and boyars. Agricultural communities gradually came under the patronage of the prince and his squad. A system of exploitation of the personally free population by the military-service nobility (squad) of the Kyiv princes was formed by collecting tribute. Another way to subjugate a neighboring community to the feudal lords was to capture them by warriors and princes. But most often, the tribal nobility turned into large owners, subjugating the community members. Communities that did not fall under the power of feudal lords were obliged to pay taxes to the state, which in relation to these communities acted both as the supreme power and as the feudal lord.

In the 10th century Domain land ownership of the Kyiv princes arises and in the next century strengthens. The main form of organization of economic life becomes feudal fiefdom, i.e., paternal estate handed down from father to son. In the 11th century Land ownership appears among the representatives of the top of the service nobility - the boyars. The princes and their noble warriors begin to take control of various, mostly communal, lands. The process of feudalization of Russian society is underway, since ownership of land provides significant economic advantages and becomes an important political factor.

The princes of individual lands and other large, medium, and small feudal lords were in vassal dependence on the Grand Duke. They were obliged to supply the Grand Duke with soldiers and to appear at his request with a squad. At the same time, these vassals themselves exercised control over their estates and the grand ducal governors had no right to interfere in their internal affairs.

Each fiefdom was something like a small independent state with its own independent economy. The feudal estate was stable because it conducted subsistence farming. If necessary, peasants were involved in “corvee labor,” that is, general work for the benefit of the owner.

In the XII - first half of the XIII century. patrimonial land ownership continues to grow. In economic life, boyar and princely estates, as well as church, feudal in nature, land holdings come first. If in written sources of the 11th century. There is little information about boyar and monastic estates, but in the 12th century, references to large landholdings became regular. The state-feudal form of ownership continued to play a leading role. Most of the direct producers continued to remain personally free people. They depended only on state power, paying tribute and other state taxes.

4. Neighbors of Ancient Rus' in the 9th-12th centuries: Byzantium, Slavic countries, Western Europe, Khazaria, Volga Bulgaria.

At the stage of the formation of the Old Russian state (862-980), the Rurikovichs solved the following problems:

1. They expanded their sphere of influence, subjugating more and more East Slavic and non-Slavic tribes. Rurik annexed the Finnish tribes to the Slavs - all, Meryu, Meshchera. Oleg moved the center of Ancient Rus' to Kyiv, “the mother of Russian cities” in 882. He included the lands of the Krivichi, Drevlyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Dulebs, Tivertsi and Croats into Ancient Russia and essentially completed the unification of all East Slavic tribes within a single state. Ancient Rus' included most of the East European Plain.

2. The first Rurikovichs entered into relationships with neighboring established and emerging states, fought wars, and achieved international recognition through the signing of international agreements.

Oleg, at the head of a significant army, besieged Constantinople (Tsargrad), the capital of Byzantium, and concluded with it the first international equal treaty for Rus' in 911. Igor, the son of Rurik and Oleg’s pupil, began to fight against Pechenegs, which were completely defeated by his great-grandson Yaroslav the Wise. Igor made unsuccessful campaigns against Byzantium in 941 and 944, and concluded a treaty in 944. He kept the tribes subjugated by Rurik and Oleg in subjection. He was killed in the Drevlyan land for arbitrariness during the collection dani (polyudye).

The outstanding commander Svyatoslav liberated the Vyatichi from the Khazars, subjugated them to Rus', and defeated the Khazar Khaganate in 965. Svyatoslav founded Tmutarakan near the Kerch Strait and Preslavets near the mouth of the Danube. He fought a difficult war against Byzantium (the Battle of Dorostol), and sought to advance as much as possible in the southwestern direction to areas with a more favorable climate. He signed a truce with Byzantium and was killed by the Pechenegs while returning home.

3. The first Russian rulers established trade, economic, cultural, family and dynastic relations with neighboring states and rulers. Rus' did not have its own deposits of gold and silver. Therefore, at first Byzantine denarii and Arab dirhams were used, and then their own zlatniks and silver coins began to be minted.

During the heyday (980-1132), the content and priorities of foreign policy activities began to change in accordance with the increasing economic and military power of the Russian state.

The Rurikovichs established trade, economic, cultural, family and dynastic relations with neighboring states and rulers. During its heyday (980-1132), the ancient Russian state occupied a prominent place on the political map of Europe. Political influence grew as economic and military power strengthened, due to entry into the circle of Christian states. The borders of the Russian state, the nature of relationships, the order of trade and other contacts were determined by a system of international treaties. The first such document was signed with Byzantium by Prince Oleg in 911 after a very successful military campaign. For the first time, Rus' acted as an equal subject of international relations. The baptism of Rus' in 988 also occurred under circumstances in which Vladimir I took an active position. In exchange for helping the Byzantine Emperor Vasily II in the fight against internal opposition, he actually forced the emperor's sister Anna to marry him. Vladimir's son Yaroslav the Wise was married to the Swedish princess Ingigerda (baptized Irina). Through his sons and daughters, Yaroslav the Wise became related to almost all European ruling houses. The Novgorod land, Galicia-Volyn, Polotsk, Ryazan and other principalities had extensive international connections.

Foreign trade played an exceptional role in the economic life of Novgorod. This was facilitated by the geographical location of the northwestern corner of Rus', adjacent to the Baltic Sea. Novgorod was home to many artisans who worked primarily to order. But the main role in the life of the city and the entire Novgorod land was played by merchants. Their association at the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa has been known since the 12th century. Its participants conducted long-distance, that is, overseas, foreign trade. Wax traders united into the Ivan merchant class. Pomeranian merchants, Nizovsky merchants and other entrepreneurial artels traded with other Russian lands. Since ancient times, Novgorod has been most closely connected with Scandinavia. In the IX-XI centuries. Relations with the Danes, Germans (especially the Hanseatics), and the Dutch improved. Chronicles, acts and treaties of Novgorod for the XI-XIV centuries. record regular trips of Novgorod merchants to Narva, Revel, Dorpat, Riga, Vyborg, Abo, Stockholm, Visby (Gotland Island), Danzig, Lubeck. A Russian trading post was established in Visby. The foreign trade of the Novgorodians was focused exclusively on the western direction. A major role was played by the re-export of Western goods deep into Rus', further to the countries of the East, and of Russian and Eastern goods to the West. For many centuries, the Neva and Ladoga region played the role of a kind of gateway to Eurasia, which predetermined the economic importance of this region and the fierce struggle for influence in it. Various contractual relations and family alliances connected the Rurikovichs with their neighbors in the east, especially with the Polovtsians. Russian princes were participants in many international coalitions, often relied on the support of foreign military forces, and provided their services. Most of the princes spoke, in addition to Russian, Greek, German, Polish, Polovtsian and others.

1. Vladimir I, Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir II successfully defended the territory of their state and strengthened the recognition of its borders by a system of treaties.

Vladimir I finally conquered Vyatichi, Radimichi, Yatvag, annexed lands in Galicia (Cherven, Przemysl, etc.). Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) in 1036 completely defeated the Pechenegs, who began to serve the Russian princes or migrated to Hungary. In 1068, the struggle of the Russian people against the Polovtsians began, which proceeded with varying success due to the flaring up of civil strife within the House of Rurikovich. During the reign of Vladimir II Monomakh (1113-1125), serious defeats were inflicted on the Polovtsians, with whom mostly peaceful relations began to develop.

2. In the east, the struggle with the nomads became protracted. The Pechenegs were defeated, powerful blows were dealt to the Polovtsy, and some of the nomads went into the service of the Russian princes.

3. With the adoption of Christianity, Rus' stood on a par with most European states. But in 1054 There was a split in Christianity. Over time they took shape Catholicism And Orthodoxy. The schism has persisted for almost a thousand years. Byzantium and Rus' became closer based on their adherence to Orthodoxy.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, each principality pursued its own foreign policy.

1. Ties with the ruling houses of European states have strengthened. Vladimir II was married to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, from whom, according to legend, he received the symbol of supreme power - the “Monomakh cap”, the prototype of the future royal crown.

Wars were fought against close neighbors, conquests were carried out, peace treaties were concluded and broken, and mutual claims accumulated. Under Vsevolod III Yuryevich (nicknamed the Big Nest) (1176-1212), the center of the Russian state actually moved to the richest city of Vladimir. Vsevolod subjugated the Ryazan principality and made campaigns against the Kama Bulgarians.

2. The rulers of the principalities, in the fight against their relatives in the “House of Rurikovich,” increasingly turned to foreign states for help (Poland, Hungary, Sweden, etc.). This was often accompanied by concessions of territories, benefits for foreign merchants, etc. Foreign policy activities were carried out directly by princes from the House of Rurikovich, who usually spoke European and Eastern languages, conducted diplomatic correspondence, and sent their trusted representatives from among the boyars and wealthy merchants as ambassadors.

3. Russian rulers underestimated the danger from the east. The Russian regiments, even united with the Cumans, suffered a catastrophic defeat on the Kalka River (a tributary of the Don) in 1223 from large advanced forces of the Mongol-Tatars, led by the commander of Genghis Khan. No conclusions were drawn from this defeat and the Mongol invasion of 1237/38. took the Russian lands by surprise. The policy of “walking apart, fighting together” was carried out inconsistently and turned out to be ineffective.

5. Old Russian culture of the 9th-12th centuries.

1. Culture and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs

The ancient Slavs were people of Vedic culture, therefore it would be more correct to call the ancient Slavic religion not paganism, but Vedism. This is a peaceful religion of a highly cultured agricultural people, related to other religions of the Vedic root - Ancient India, Ancient Greece.

According to the Book of Veles (presumably written by Novgorod priests no later than the 9th century, dedicated to the god of wealth and wisdom Veles and resolving the dispute over the origin of the Slavs), there was an archaic Trinity-Triglav: Svarog (Svarozhich) - the heavenly god, Perun - the thunderer, Veles (Volos) the destroyer god Universe. There were also mother cults. The fine arts and folklore of the ancient Slavs were inextricably linked with paganism. The main deities of the Slavs were: Svarog (god of the sky) and his son Svarozhich (god of fire), Rod (god of fertility), Stribog (god of cattle), Perun (god of thunderstorms).

The decomposition of clan relations was accompanied by the complication of cult rituals. Thus, the funerals of princes and nobles turned into a solemn ritual, during which huge mounds were built over the dead, one of his wives or a slave was burned along with the deceased, a funeral feast was celebrated, i.e. commemorations accompanied by military competitions. Archaic folk holidays: New Year's fortune-telling, Maslenitsa were accompanied by incantatory magical rituals, which were a kind of prayer to the gods for general well-being, harvest, deliverance from thunderstorms and hail.

Not a single culture of a spiritually developed people can exist without writing. Until now, it was believed that the Slavs did not know writing before the missionary activity of Cyril and Methodius, but a number of scientists (S.P. Obnorsky, D.S. Likhachev, etc.) pointed out that that there is indisputable evidence of the presence of writing among the Eastern Slavs long before the baptism of Rus'. It was suggested that the Slavs had their own original writing system: knotted writing, its signs were not written down, but were transmitted using knots tied on threads that were wrapped in ball books. The memory of this letter remains in language and folklore: for example, we still talk about the “thread of the narrative”, “the intricacies of the plot”, and also tie knots as a keepsake. Knot-pagan writing was very complex and accessible only to a select few - priests and high nobility. Obviously, the knotted writing could not compete with the simpler, logically perfect writing system based on the Cyrillic alphabet.

2. The adoption of Christianity by Russia and its significance in the development of Russian culture

The adoption of Christianity by Russia is the most important event in the cultural life of that period. The nature of the historical choice made in 988 by Prince Vladimir was not accidental. The chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” contains a long story about the doubts of Vladimir and his boyars when choosing a faith. However, the prince made his choice in favor of Greek Orthodox Christianity. The decisive factor in turning to the religious and ideological experience of Byzantium were the traditional political, economic, and cultural ties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium. Around 988, Vladimir himself was baptized, he baptized his squad and the boyars, and, under pain of punishment, forced the people of Kiev and all Russians in general to be baptized. The baptism of the rest of Rus' took a long time. In the Northeast, the conversion of the population to Christianity was completed only at the end of the 11th century. Baptism has met with resistance more than once. The most famous uprising took place in Novgorod. The Novgorodians agreed to be baptized only after the princely warriors set fire to the rebellious city. Many ancient Slavic beliefs entered the Christian canon in Rus'. The Thunderer Perun became Elijah the Prophet, Veles became St. Blaise, the Kupala holiday turned into St. John the Baptist, Pancake Day pancakes are a reminder of the pagan worship of the Sun. Belief in lower deities remained - goblins, brownies, mermaids and the like. However, all this is just remnants of paganism, which do not make an Orthodox Christian a pagan.

The adoption of Christianity by Russia had a progressive significance; it contributed to the development of feudal relations in ancient Russian society, sanctifying the relations of domination and subordination (“let the servant fear his master,” “there is no power except from God”); the church itself became a large landowner. Christianity introduced humanistic values ​​(“thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not steal,” “love thy neighbor as thyself”) into the morals and customs of ancient Russian society. The adoption of Christianity strengthened the unity of the country and the central government. The international position of Rus' changed qualitatively - from a pagan barbarian power it turned into a European Christian state. The development of culture received a powerful impetus: liturgical books in the Slavic language, icon painting, fresco painting, and mosaics appeared, stone architecture flourished, the first schools were opened in monasteries, and literacy spread.

3. Old Russian literature

Russian literature was born in the first half of the 11th century. among the ruling class and was elitist. The church played a leading role in the literary process, therefore, along with secular literature, church literature received great development. The writing materials were parchment, specially tanned calfskin, and birch bark. Paper finally replaces parchment only in the 15th-16th centuries. They wrote with ink and cinnabar, using goose quills. An Old Russian book is a voluminous manuscript made up of notebooks sewn into a wooden binding covered with embossed leather. In the 11th century Luxurious books with cinnabar letters and artistic miniatures appeared in Rus'. Their binding was bound in gold or silver, decorated with pearls and precious stones. This is the “Ostromir Gospel”, written by Deacon Gregory for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir in 1057.

The literary language is based on the living spoken language of Ancient Rus'; at the same time, in the process of its formation, a closely related language, although foreign in origin, was played by the Old Church Slavonic or Church Slavonic language. On its basis, church writing developed in Rus' and worship was conducted.

One of the genres of ancient Russian literature was the chronicle - a weather account of events. The chronicler not only described historical events, but also had to give them an assessment that met the interests of the prince-customer. The oldest chronicle that has come down to us dates back to 1113. It went down in history under the name “The Tale of Bygone Years”, as is commonly believed, was created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. “The Tale” is distinguished by the complexity of its composition and the variety of materials included in it.

One of the oldest monuments of ancient Russian literature is the famous “Sermon on Law and Grace” (1037-1050) by the princely priest in Berestov and the future first Metropolitan of Kyiv Hilarion. The content of the “Word” was the substantiation of the state-ideological concept of Ancient Rus', the definition of its place among other peoples and states, its contribution to the spread of Christianity.

At the beginning of the 12th century. In ancient Russian culture, newer literary genres were formed: teachings and walking (travel notes). The most striking examples are the “Instructions for Children”, compiled in his declining years by the Kyiv Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh, as well as the famous “Walking” created by one of his associates, Abbot Daniel, describing his journey through holy places through Constantinople and Crete to Jerusalem.

At the end of the 12th century. the most famous of the poetic works of ancient Russian literature was created - “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” (came down to us in the only copy that died during the fire of 1812 in Moscow), the plot of which was based on a description of the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians of the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich (1185). The unknown author of the Lay apparently belonged to the druzhina nobility. The main idea of ​​the work was the need for unity of Russian princes in the face of external danger; its call is aimed at ending civil strife and princely strife.

The legal code of Rus' was “Russian Truth”, which contains, first of all, the norms of criminal, inheritance, trade and procedural legislation and is the main source of legal, social and economic relations of the Eastern Slavs. Most modern researchers associate the Most Ancient Truth with the name of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise. The approximate period of its creation is 1019-1054. The norms of Russian Truth were gradually codified by the Kyiv princes.

4. Construction and architecture.

With the advent of Christianity in Rus', the construction of religious buildings and monasteries began widely. Unfortunately, the monuments of ancient Russian wooden architecture have not survived to this day. One of the first central monasteries was Kiev-Pechersk, founded in the middle. 11th century Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. Pechery, or caves, are places where Christian ascetics originally settled, and around which a settlement arose, which turned into a communal monastery. Monasteries became centers for the dissemination of spiritual knowledge.

At the end of the 10th century. Stone construction began in Rus'. One of the first stone buildings in Kyiv was the Tithe Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, erected by Greek craftsmen and destroyed during the Batu invasion in 1240. Excavations revealed that it was a powerful structure made of thin brick, decorated with carved marble, mosaics, and frescoes. The Byzantine cross-domed church became the main architectural form in Ancient Rus'. Archaeological excavations of this ancient temple of Rus' made it possible to establish that this building with an area of ​​about 90 sq.m. crowned, according to the chronicle, with 25 crowns, i.e. chapters, was grandiose in concept and execution. In the 30s of the 11th century. The stone Golden Gate with the Gate Church of the Annunciation was built.

The outstanding work of architecture of Kievan Rus was the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod. It is much more severe than the Kyiv one, has 5 domes, much more powerful and more severe walls made of local limestone. There are no bright mosaics in the interior, but only frescoes, but not as dynamic as in Kyiv, and an excess of ornamental decorations of pagan antiquity with a clearly visible pattern of knotted writing.

5. Crafts.

Crafts were highly developed in Kievan Rus: pottery, metalworking, jewelry, beekeeping, etc. In the 10th century. A potter's wheel appears. By the middle of the 11th century. refers to the first known sword with the Russian inscription: “Lyudota forged.” Since that time, Russian swords have been found in archaeological excavations in the Baltic states, Finland, and Scandinavia.

The jewelry technique of Russian craftsmen was very complex, and Russian products were in great demand on the world market of that time. Many decorations are made using the granulation technique: a pattern consisting of many balls is soldered onto the product. Decorative and applied art was enriched with techniques brought from Byzantium: filigree - soldering thin wire and balls, niello - filling a silver surface with a black background, enamel - creating a colored pattern on a metal surface.

6. The Middle Ages as a stage of the historical process in Western Europe, the East and Russia.

Technology, relations of production and modes of exploitation, political systems, ideology and social psychology.

The emergence and development of feudal land tenure and the associated enslavement of the peasantry occurred in different ways. In Western Europe, for example, in France, for military service the king was granted land first for life, and then as hereditary property. Peasant farmers who worked on the land found themselves dependent on the owner. Over time, peasants were attached both to the personality of the landowner-feudal lord and to the land. The peasant had to work on his farm and on the farm of the seigneur (elder, master). The serf gave the owner a significant part of the products of his labor (bread, meat, poultry; fabrics, leather, shoes), and also performed many other duties. All of them were called feudal rent and were considered the peasant’s payment for the use of land, thanks to which his family was fed. This is how the main economic unit of the feudal mode of production arose, which in England was called a manor, in France and many other countries - a seigneury, and in Russia - a fiefdom.

In Byzantium, such a rigid system of feudal relations did not develop (see above). In Byzantium, feudal lords were forbidden to maintain squads or build prisons on their estates, and they lived, as a rule, in cities, and not in fortified castles. On charges of conspiracy or high treason, any feudal owner could lose his property and his very life.

The “queen” of all sciences was theology (translated from Greek as “the doctrine of God”; theology). Theologians interpreted the Holy Scriptures and explained the world around them from a Christian perspective. Philosophy has been in the position of “the handmaiden of theology” for a long time. The clergy, especially the monks, were the most educated people of their time. They knew the works of ancient authors, ancient languages, and especially respected the teachings of Aristotle. The language of the Catholic Church was Latin. Therefore, access to knowledge for “simple people” was actually closed.

Theological disputes were often artificial. Dogmatism and scholasticism became widespread. Dogma translated from Greek means “opinion, teaching, decree.” By “dogmatism” we mean one-sided, ossified thinking that operates with dogmas, that is, positions taken on faith as an immutable truth, unchangeable under any circumstances. The tendency towards dogmatism has safely survived to this day. The term “scholasticism” and the well-known word “school” have a common origin from the Greek word meaning “school, scholar.” During the Middle Ages, scholasticism became most widespread. It was a type of religious philosophy that combined theological-dogmatic approaches with rationalistic methodology and interests in formal-logical problems.

At the same time, rationalism (translated from Latin as “reason, rational”) appeared in the depths of theology over time. The gradual recognition that truth can be obtained not only through faith, divine revelation, but also through knowledge and rational explanation, contributed to the gradual liberation of the natural sciences (medicine, alchemy, geography, etc.) from the strict control of the church.

The Church made sure that the peasant, artisan, merchant, and any ordinary person of the Middle Ages felt sinful, dependent, and insignificant. The daily life of the “little man” was under the comprehensive control of the priest, the feudal lord and the community. The sacrament of confession, obligatory for everyone, forced a person to evaluate his actions and thoughts, taught him to self-discipline and self-restraint. It was not accepted and dangerous to stand out from the general gray mass. The clothes of men and especially women were of a simple cut and should not emphasize the texture of the body.

The people of the Middle Ages were characterized by fear of the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment, which was expected more than once in a state of mass history and panic.

Of course, not everywhere, not always, and not everything was so gloomy. In the spiritual culture of the Middle Ages, in the lives of people, heresies, remnants of paganism, and folk culture opposed the dominant religious culture. The people were entertained by traveling actors - jugglers (buffoons). During the holidays, mummers walked along the streets of villages and cities (at Christmas), dances, competitions and games were held in the squares. During the “Feasts of Fools,” which parodied church services, the lower clergy put on monstrous masks right in the church, sang daring songs, feasted and played dice. Smart clergymen understood that explosions of unbridled, “worldly” fun allowed them to “let off steam” and brighten up a rather difficult, dull everyday life. In many European countries, modern festivals, carnivals, and traditional events originated during the Middle Ages.

For a long time, monasteries were centers of spiritual culture. At the beginning of the second millennium, universities competed with them.

7. Reasons, nature and features of the period of feudal fragmentation. Russian lands in the XII-XIV centuries.

Modern researchers understand feudal fragmentation as the period of the 12th - 15th centuries. in the history of our country, when from several dozen to several hundred large states were formed and functioned on the territory of Kievan Rus. Feudal fragmentation was a natural result of the previous political and economic development of society, the so-called period of the early feudal monarchy.

There are four most significant reasons for the feudal fragmentation of the Old Russian state.

The main reason was political. The vast expanses of the East European Plain, numerous tribes, both Slavic and non-Slavic origin, at different stages of development - all this contributed to the decentralization of the state. Over time, the appanage princes, as well as the local feudal nobility represented by the boyars, began to undermine the foundation under the state building with their independent separatist actions. Only strong power concentrated in the hands of one person, the prince, could keep the state organism from collapse. And the Grand Duke of Kiev could no longer completely control the policy of local princes from the center; more and more princes left his power, and in the 30s. XII century he controlled only the territory around Kyiv. The appanage princes, sensing the weakness of the center, now did not want to share their income with the center, and the local boyars actively supported them in this.

The next reason for feudal fragmentation was social. By the beginning of the 12th century. The social structure of ancient Russian society became more complex: large boyars, clergy, merchants, artisans, and urban lower classes appeared. These were new, actively developing layers of the population. In addition, the nobility arose, serving the prince in exchange for a land grant. His social activity was very high. In each center, behind the appanage princes there was an impressive force in the person of the boyars with their vassals, the rich elite of the cities, and church hierarchs. The increasingly complex social structure of society also contributed to the isolation of the lands.

Economic reasons also played a significant role in the collapse of the state. Within the framework of a single state, over three centuries, independent economic regions emerged, new cities grew, and large patrimonial estates of the boyars, monasteries and churches arose. The subsistence nature of the economy provided the rulers of each region with the opportunity to separate from the center and exist as an independent land or principality.

In the 12th century. The foreign policy situation also contributed to feudal fragmentation. Rus' during this period did not have serious opponents, since the Grand Dukes of Kyiv did a lot to ensure the security of their borders. A little less than a century will pass, and Rus' will face a formidable enemy in the person of the Mongol Tatars, but the process of the collapse of Rus' by this time will have gone too far, and there will be no one to organize the resistance of the Russian lands.

All major Western European states experienced a period of feudal fragmentation, but in Western Europe the engine of fragmentation was the economy. In Rus', during the process of feudal fragmentation, the political component was dominant. In order to receive material benefits, the local nobility - the princes and boyars - needed to gain political independence and strengthen their inheritance, to achieve sovereignty. The main force in the process of separation in Rus' was the boyars.

At first, feudal fragmentation contributed to the rise of agriculture in all Russian lands, the flourishing of crafts, the growth of cities, and the rapid development of trade. But over time, constant strife between the princes began to deplete the strength of the Russian lands and weaken their defense capability in the face of external danger. Disunity and constant hostility with each other led to the disappearance of many principalities, but most importantly, they became the cause of extraordinary hardships for the people during the period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

In conditions of feudal fragmentation, the exploitation of the peasantry intensified, the number of free community members gradually decreased, and the community fell under the power of farmers. Previously free community members became feudal dependents. The deterioration of the situation of the peasants and urban lower classes was expressed in various forms, and uprisings against the feudal lords became more frequent.

In the XII-XIII centuries. so-called immunities have become widespread. Immunity is the provision of a special charter to the landowner (letter immunities), in accordance with which he exercised independent management and legal proceedings in his patrimony. He was simultaneously responsible for the performance of state duties by the peasants. Over time, the owner of the immunity charter became the sovereign and obeyed the prince only formally.

In the social development of Rus', the hierarchical structure of feudal land ownership and, accordingly, seignorial-vassal relations within the class of feudal lords are quite clearly manifested.

The main overlord was the Grand Duke - exercising supreme power and being the owner of all the land of a given principality.

The boyars, being vassals of the prince, had their own vassals - medium and small feudal lords. The Grand Duke distributed estates, immunities and was obliged to resolve controversial issues between feudal lords and protect them from the oppression of their neighbors.

A typical feature of the period of feudal fragmentation was the palace-patrimony system of government. The center of this system was the princely court, and the management of the princely lands and the state was not differentiated. Palace officials (butler, equerry, falconer, bowler, etc.) performed national duties, managing certain territories, collecting taxes and taxes.

Legal issues during the period of feudal fragmentation were resolved on the basis of "Russian Truth", customary law, various agreements, charters, charters and other documents.

Interstate relations were regulated by treaties and letters (“finished”, “row”, “kissing of the cross”). In Novgorod and Pskov in the 15th century. their own legal collections appeared, developed in the development of “Russian Truth” and church statutes. In addition, they implemented the norms of customary law of Novgorod and Pskov, charters of princes and local legislation.

8. The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' and its impact on the economic, political, social and cultural development of the country. The struggle of the Russian people against foreign invaders (XIII-XV centuries).

The Russian state, formed on the border of Europe and Asia, which reached its peak in the 10th - early 11th centuries, at the beginning of the 12th century broke up into many principalities. This collapse occurred under the influence of the feudal mode of production. The external defense of the Russian land was especially weakened. The princes of individual principalities pursued their own separate policies, considering primarily the interests of the local feudal nobility and entered into endless internecine wars. This led to the loss of centralized control and to a severe weakening of the state as a whole. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongol state was formed in Central Asia. After the name of one of the tribes, these peoples were also called Tatars. Subsequently, all the nomadic peoples with whom Rus' fought began to be called Mongol-Tatars. In 1206, a congress of the Mongolian nobility took place - the kurultai, at which Temujin was elected leader of the Mongolian tribes, and received the name Genghis Khan (Great Khan). As in other countries, at the early stage of the development of feudalism, the state of the Mongol-Tatars was distinguished by its strength and solidity. The nobility was interested in expanding pastures and organizing predatory campaigns against neighboring agricultural peoples who were at a higher level of development. Most of them, like Rus', experienced a period of feudal fragmentation, which greatly facilitated the implementation of the aggressive plans of the Mongol-Tatars. Then they invaded China, conquered Korea and Central Asia, and defeated the allied forces of the Polovtsian and Russian princes on the Kalka River (1223). Reconnaissance in force showed that it was possible to wage aggressive campaigns against Rus' and its neighbors only by organizing an all-Mongol campaign against European countries. The head of this campaign was the grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, who inherited from his grandfather all the territories in the west, “where the foot of a Mongol horse has set foot.” In 1236, the Mongol-Tatars captured Volga Bulgaria, and in 1237 they subjugated the nomadic peoples of the steppe. In the fall of 1237, the main forces of the Mongol-Tatars crossed the Volga and concentrated on the Voronezh River, aiming at Russian lands.

In 1237, Ryazan suffered the first blow. The princes of Vladimir and Chernigov refused to help Ryazan. The battle was very difficult. The Russian squad came out of encirclement 12 times, and Ryazan held out for 5 days. “One Ryazan man fought with a thousand, and two – with ten thousand” - this is how the chronicle writes about this battle. But Batu had a great superiority in strength, and Ryazan fell. The entire city was destroyed.

The battle of the Vladimir-Suzdal army with the Mongol-Tatars took place near the city of Kolomna. The Vladimir army died in this battle, predetermining the fate of North-Eastern Rus'. In mid-January, Batu occupied Moscow, then, after a 5-day siege, Vladimir. After the capture of Vladimir, Batu splits his army into several parts. All cities in the north, except Torzhok, surrendered almost without a fight.

After Torzhok, Batu does not go to Novgorod, but turns south. The turn away from Novgorod is usually explained by spring floods. But there are other explanations: firstly, the campaign did not fit into the deadlines, and secondly, Batu was unable to defeat the united forces of North-Eastern Rus' in one or two battles, using numerical and tactical superiority.

Batu combs the entire territory of Rus' using hunting raid tactics. The city of Kozelsk was declared the gathering point for the Khan’s troops. Kozelsk held out for 7 weeks and withstood the general assault. Batu took the city by cunning and did not spare anyone, killing everyone down to the infants. Batu ordered to destroy the city to the ground, plow up the ground and fill the place with salt so that this city would never be reborn. On his way, Batu destroyed everything, including villages, as the main productive force in Rus'.

In 1240, after a 10-day siege of Kyiv, which ended with the capture and complete plunder of the latter, Batu’s troops invaded the states of Europe, where they brought horror and fear to the inhabitants. In Europe it was stated that the Mongols had escaped from hell, and everyone was waiting for the end of the world.

But Rus' still resisted. In 1241 Batu returned to Rus'. In 1242, Batu was in the lower reaches of the Volga, where he set up his new capital - Sarai-batu. The Horde yoke was established in Rus' by the end of the 13th century, after the creation of the state of Batu - the Golden Horde, which stretched from the Danube to the Irtysh.

Already the first consequences of the Mongol conquests were catastrophic for the Slavic lands: the fall and destruction of the role of cities, the decline of crafts and trade, demographic losses - physical destruction, slavery and flights became factors that significantly reduced the population in the south of Rus', the destruction of a significant part of the feudal elite.

The essence of the Golden Horde invasion as a historical phenomenon is the formation and strengthening of a stable system of dependence of Russian lands on the conquerors. The Golden Horde invasion manifested itself primarily in 3 spheres: economic (the system of taxes and duties - tribute, plow, underwater, duties, feed, hunting, etc.), political (the Horde’s approval of princes on the tables and the issuance of labels for land management) , military (the obligation of the Slavic principalities to delegate their soldiers to the Mongol army and take part in its military campaigns). The khan's governors in the Russian lands, the Baskaks, were called upon to monitor the preservation and strengthening of the system of dependence. In addition, in order to weaken Rus', the Golden Horde, throughout almost the entire period of its dominance, practiced periodic devastating campaigns.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused great damage to the Russian state. Enormous damage was caused to the economic, political and cultural development of Rus'. The old agricultural centers and once-developed territories became desolate and fell into decay. Russian cities were subjected to massive destruction. Many crafts have become simpler and sometimes disappeared. Tens of thousands of people were killed or taken into slavery. The ongoing struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative bodies of power in Rus'. Rus' retained its statehood. This was also facilitated by the lower level of cultural and historical development of the Tatars. In addition, Russian lands were unsuitable for raising nomadic cattle. The main purpose of enslavement was to obtain tribute from the conquered people. The size of the tribute was very large. The size of the tribute alone in favor of the khan was 1300 kg of silver per year. In addition, deductions from trade duties and various taxes went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tribute in favor of the Tatars.

The Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the forces to overthrow the Tatar-Mongol yoke were still not enough. Realizing this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - took a more flexible policy towards the Horde and the khan. Realizing that an economically weak state would never be able to resist the Horde, Alexander Nevsky set a course for restoring and boosting the economy of the Russian lands.

In the summer of 1250, the Khan of the Mighty sent his envoys to Daniil Galitsky with the words: “Give Galich!” Realizing that the forces are unequal, and by fighting the Khan’s army he dooms his lands to complete plunder, Daniel goes to the Horde to bow to Batu and recognize his strength. As a result, the Galician lands are included in the Horde with the rights of autonomy. They retained their land, but were dependent on the khan. Thanks to such a soft policy, the Russian land was saved from complete plunder and destruction. As a result of this, a slow restoration and economic recovery of the Russian lands began, which ultimately led to the Battle of Kulikovo and the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

During the difficult years of the Mongol invasion, the Russian people had to repel the onslaught of German and Swedish feudal lords. The goal of this campaign was to capture Ladoga, and, if successful, Novgorod itself. The predatory goals of the campaign, as usual, were covered up with phrases that its participants were trying to spread the “true faith” - Catholicism - among the Russian people.

At dawn on a July day in 1240, the Swedish flotilla unexpectedly appeared in the Gulf of Finland and, having passed along the Neva, stood at the mouth of the Izhora. A temporary Swedish camp was set up here. Novgorod Prince Alexander Yaroslavich (son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich), having received a message from the head of the sea guard, Izhorian Pelgusius, about the arrival of enemies, gathered his small squad and part of the Novgorod militia in Novgorod. Considering that the Swedish army was much more numerous than the Russian one, Alexander decided to deal an unexpected blow to the Swedes. On the morning of July 15, the Russian army suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The cavalry squad fought its way to the center of the Swedish troops. At the same time, the foot Novgorod militia, following along the Neva, attacked enemy ships. Three ships were captured and destroyed. With blows along Izhora and the Neva, the Swedish army was overthrown and pushed into the corner formed by two rivers. The balance of forces changes

“Ancient Rus'” opens a new book series “Russia - the path through the centuries.” The 24-series publications will present the entire history of Russia - from the Eastern Slavs to the present day. The book offered to the reader is dedicated to the ancient history of Rus'. It tells about the tribes that inhabited the territory of our country even before the appearance of the first Old Russian state, about how Kievan Rus was formed, about the princes and principalities of the 9th - 12th centuries, about the events of those ancient times. You will find out why pagan Rus' became an Orthodox country, what role it played in the outside world, with whom it traded and fought. We will introduce you to ancient Russian culture, which even then created masterpieces of architecture and folk art. The origins of Russian beauty and the Russian spirit lie in distant antiquity. We take you back to your roots.

A series: Russia - a path through the centuries

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by liters company.

Old Russian state

In the distant past, the ancestors of Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians formed a single people. They came from related tribes who called themselves "Slavs" or "Slovenes" and belonged to the branch of the Eastern Slavs.

They had a single - Old Russian - language. The territories where different tribes settled expanded and then contracted. Tribes migrated and others took their place.

Tribes and peoples

What tribes inhabited the East European Plain even before the formation of the Old Russian state?

At the turn of the old and new eras

SCYTHIANS ( lat. Scythi, Scythae; Greek Skithai) is the collective name of numerous Iranian-speaking tribes related to the Sauromatians, Massagetae and Sakas and inhabiting the Northern Black Sea region in the 7th–3rd centuries. BC e. They were located in the regions of Central Asia, then began to advance to the North Caucasus and from there to the territory of the Northern Black Sea region.

In the 7th century. BC e. The Scythians fought with the Cimmerians and drove them out of the Black Sea region. Pursuing the Cimmerians, the Scythians in the 70s. 7th century BC e. invaded Asia Minor and conquered Syria, Media and Palestine. But after 30 years they were expelled by the Medes.

The main territory of settlement of the Scythians was the steppes from the Danube to the Don, including Crimea.

The most complete information about the Scythians is contained in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), who lived for a long time in Olbia surrounded by the Scythians and was well acquainted with them. According to Herodotus, the Scythians claimed to be descended from the first man - Targitai, the son of Zeus and the daughter of the river stream, and his sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the youngest - Koloksai. Each of the brothers became the founder of one of the Scythian tribal associations: 1) the “royal” Scythians (from Koloksai) dominated the rest, they lived in the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper;

2) Scythian nomads lived on the right bank of the Lower Dnieper and in the steppe Crimea; 3) Scythian plowmen - between Ingul and the Dnieper (some scientists classify these tribes as Slavic). In addition to them, Herodotus distinguishes the Hellenic-Scythians in the Crimea and the Scythian farmers, without confusing them with “ploughmen”. In another fragment of his “History,” Herodotus notes that the Greeks incorrectly call everyone living in the Northern Black Sea region Scythians. On the Borysthenes (Dnieper), according to Herodotus, lived the Borysthenes, who called themselves Scolotes.

But the entire territory from the lower reaches of the Danube to the Don, the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait is archaeologically one cultural and historical community. Its main feature is the “Scythian triad”: weapons, horse equipment and “animal style” (i.e., the predominance of realistic images of animals in works of craft; images of deer are most often found, later the lion and panther were added).

The first Scythian mounds were excavated back in 1830. Among the archaeological monuments, the most famous are the mounds of the “royal” Scythians in the Northern Black Sea region - huge, rich in gold items. The “royal” Scythians apparently worshiped the horse. Every year, at the wake of the deceased king, 50 horsemen and many horses were sacrificed. In some mounds, up to 300 horse skeletons were found.

Rich burial mounds indicate the existence of slave-owning nobility. The ancient Greeks knew about the existence of the “Scythian Kingdom,” which until the 3rd century. BC e. was located in the Black Sea steppes, and after the Sarmatian invasion it moved to the Crimea. Their capital was moved from the site of the modern Kamensky settlement (near Nikopol). In con. 2nd century Don. e. a kind of Scythian state in Crimea became part of the Pontic kingdom.

From the end 1st century BC e. The Scythians, repeatedly defeated by the Sarmatians, did not represent a serious political force. They were also weakened by constant conflicts with Greek colonial cities in Crimea. The name “Scythians” later passed on to the Sarmatian tribes and most other nomads who inhabited the Black Sea regions. Subsequently, the Scythians disappeared among other tribes of the Northern Black Sea region. The Scythians existed in Crimea until the invasion of the Goths in the 3rd century. n. e.

In the Early Middle Ages, Scythians were the name given to the northern Black Sea barbarians. E. G.

SKOLOTY is the self-name of a group of Scythian tribes that lived in the 2nd half. 1st millennium BC e. in the Northern Black Sea region.

Mention of the chips is found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC): “To all the Scythians together - the name is chipped.”

The modern historian B. A. Rybakov classifies the Skolots as Scythian plowmen - the ancestors of the Slavs, and considers the term “Skolot” itself to be derived from the Slavic “kolo” (circle). According to Rybakov, the ancient Greeks called the Skolotes who lived along the banks of the Borysthenes (the Greek name for the Dnieper) Borysphenites.

Herodotus cites a legend about the forefather of the Scythians - Targitai and his descendants Arpoksai, Lipoksai and Koloksai, according to which the chipped people got their name from the latter. The legend contains a story about the fall of sacred objects - a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl - onto the Scythian land. The plow and yoke are the tools of labor not of nomads, but of farmers. Archaeologists find cult bowls in Scythian burials. These bowls are similar to those common in pre-Scythian times in the forest-steppe archaeological cultures - Belogrudov and Chernolesk (12-8 centuries BC), which many scientists associate with the Proto-Slavs. E. G.

SAUROMATES ( lat. Sauromatae) - nomadic Iranian tribes who lived in the 7th–4th centuries. BC e. in the steppes of the Volga and Urals regions.

In origin, culture and language, the Sauromatians are related to the Scythians. Ancient Greek writers (Herodotus and others) emphasized the special role that women played among the Sauromatians.

Archaeologists have found burials of rich women with weapons and horse equipment. Some Sauromatian women were priestesses; stone altars were found in their graves next to them. In con. 5th–4th centuries BC e. The Sauromatian tribes pushed back the Scythians and crossed the Don. In the 4th–3rd centuries. BC e. they developed strong tribal alliances. The descendants of the Sauromatians are the Sarmatians (3rd century BC – 4th century AD). E. G.

SARMATI - the general name of the Iranian-speaking tribes that roamed in the 3rd century. BC e. – 4th century n. e. in the steppes from Tobol to the Danube.

Women played a major role in the social organization of the Sarmatians. They were excellent riders and shooters, and participated in battles along with men. They were buried in the mounds as warriors - along with their horses and weapons. A number of historians believe that the Greeks and Romans knew about the Sarmatian tribes; Perhaps it was information about the Sarmatians that became the source of ancient legends about the Amazons.

In con. 2nd century BC e. The Sarmatians became an important political force in the life of the Northern Black Sea region. In alliance with the Scythians, they took part in campaigns against the Greeks, and in the 1st century. BC e. drove out the remnants of the Scythian tribes from the shores of the Black Sea. Since then, on ancient maps, the Black Sea steppes - “Scythia” - began to be called “Sarmatia”.

In the first centuries A.D. e. Among the Sarmatian tribes, tribal unions of Roxolans and Alans stood out. In the 3rd century. n. e. The Goths, who invaded the Black Sea region, undermined the influence of the Sarmatians, and in the 4th century. the Goths and Sarmatians were defeated by the Huns. After this, part of the Sarmatian tribes joined the Huns and participated in the Great Migration of Peoples. Alans and Roxolans remained in the Northern Black Sea region. E. G.

ROKSOLANY ( lat. Roxolani; Iran.- “light Alans”) - a Sarmatian-Alan nomadic tribe that headed a large union of tribes roaming the Northern Black Sea region and the Azov region.

The ancestors of the Roksolans are the Sarmatians of the Volga and Urals regions. In the 2nd–1st centuries. BC e. The Roxolani conquered the steppes between the Don and Dnieper from the Scythians. As the ancient geographer Strabo reports, “the Roxolani follow their herds, always choosing areas with good pastures, in winter - in the swamps near Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov. - E. G.), and in the summer – on the plains.”

In the 1st century n. e. warlike Roxolans occupied the steppes west of the Dnieper. During the Great Migration of Peoples in the 4th–5th centuries. Some of these tribes migrated along with the Huns. E. G.

ANTS ( Greek Antai, Antes) is an association of Slavic tribes or a related tribal union. In the 3rd–7th centuries. inhabited the forest-steppe between the Dnieper and Dniester and east of the Dnieper.

Typically, researchers see in the name “Anty” a Turkic or Indo-Iranian designation for a union of tribes of Slavic origin.

The Ants are mentioned in the works of Byzantine and Gothic writers Procopius of Caesarea, Jordan and others. According to these authors, the Ants used a common language with other Slavic tribes, they had the same customs and beliefs. Presumably, earlier Ants and Sklavins had the same name.

The Antes fought with Byzantium, the Goths and the Avars, and together with the Sklavins and Huns they ravaged the areas between the Adriatic and Black Seas. The leaders of the Antes - “archons” - equipped embassies to the Avars, received ambassadors from the Byzantine emperors, in particular from Justinian (546). In 550–562 the Antes' possessions were devastated by the Avars. From the 7th century Ants are not mentioned in written sources.

According to archaeologist V.V. Sedov, 5 tribal unions of the Antes laid the foundation for the Slavic tribes - Croats, Serbs, Ulichs, Tiverts and Polyans. Archaeologists classify the Ants as the tribes of the Penkovo ​​culture, whose main occupations were arable farming, sedentary cattle breeding, crafts and trade. Most of the settlements of this culture are of the Slavic type: small semi-dugouts. During burial, cremation was used. But some finds cast doubt on the Slavic nature of the Antes. Two large craft centers of Penkovo ​​culture have also been opened - Pastorskoe Settlement and Kantserka. The life of the artisans of these settlements was unlike the Slavic one. E. G.

VENEDS, Veneti - Indo-European tribes.

In the 1st century BC e. – 1st century n. e. In Europe, there were three groups of tribes with this name: the Veneti on the Brittany Peninsula in Gaul, the Veneti in the valley of the river. Po (some researchers associate the name of the city of Venice with them), as well as the Wends on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Up to the 16th century. the modern Gulf of Riga was called the Gulf of Venedia.

From the 6th century, as the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea was settled by Slavic tribes, the Wends assimilated with the new settlers. But since then, the Slavs themselves were sometimes called Wends or Wends. Author 6th century Jordan believed that the Slavs were previously called “Vends”, “Vends”, “Winds”. Many German sources call the Baltic and Polabian Slavs “Weneds”. The term “Vendi” remained the self-name of some of the Baltic Slavs until the 18th century. Yu. K.

SKLAVINY ( lat. Sclavini, Sclaveni, Sclavi; Greek Sklabinoi) is a common name for all Slavs, known both among Western early medieval and early Byzantine authors. Later it switched to one of the groups of Slavic tribes.

The origin of this ethnonym remains controversial. Some researchers believe that “sklavins” is a modified word for “Slovene” in the Byzantine environment.

In con. 5 – beginning 6th centuries The Gothic historian Jordan called the Sklavins and Antes the Venets. “They live from the city of Novietuna (a city on the Sava River) and the lake called Mursiansky (apparently, Lake Balaton is meant) to Danastra, and to the north - to Viskla; instead of cities they have swamps and forests.” The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea defines the lands of the Sklavins as located “on the other side of the Danube River not far from its shore,” that is, mainly on the territory of the former Roman province of Pannonia, which the Tale of Bygone Years connects with the ancestral home of the Slavs.

Actually, the word “Slavs” in various forms became known in the 6th century, when the Sklavins, together with the Ant tribes, began to threaten Byzantium. Yu. K.

SLAVS are a large group of tribes and peoples belonging to the Indo-European language family.

The Slavic language “tree” has three main branches: East Slavic languages ​​(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian), West Slavic (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Upper and Lower Sorbian-Serbian, Polabian, Pomeranian dialects), South Slavic (Old Slavic, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian , Slovenian). All of them originated from a single Proto-Slavic language.

One of the most controversial issues among historians is the problem of the origin of the Slavs. In written sources the Slavs have been known since the 6th century. Linguists have established that the Slavic language has retained the archaic features of the once common Indo-European language. This means that the Slavs, already in ancient times, could have separated from the common family of Indo-European peoples. Therefore, the opinions of scientists about the time of the birth of the Slavs vary - from the 13th century. BC e. up to 6th century n. e. Opinions about the ancestral home of the Slavs are equally different.

In the 2nd–4th centuries. the Slavs were part of the carrier tribes of the Chernyakhov culture (some scientists identify its distribution area with the Gothic state of Germanarich).

In the 6th–7th centuries. The Slavs settled in the Baltic states, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Dnieper region. Over the course of a century, approximately three-quarters of the Balkan Peninsula were conquered by the Slavs. The entire region of Macedonia adjacent to Thessalonica was called "Sclavenia". By the turn of the 6th–7th centuries. includes information about Slavic flotillas that sailed around Thessaly, Achaea, Epirus and even reached southern Italy and Crete. Almost everywhere the Slavs assimilated the local population.

Apparently, the Slavs had a neighboring (territorial) community. The Byzantine Mauritius the Strategist (6th century) noted that the Slavs did not have slavery, and the captives were offered either to be ransomed for a small sum, or to remain in the community as equals. Byzantine historian of the 6th century. Procopius of Caesarea noted that the Slavic tribes “are not ruled by one person, but from ancient times they have lived in the rule of people, and therefore they consider happiness and misfortune in life to be a common matter.”

Archaeologists have discovered monuments of the material culture of the Sklavins and Antes. The Sklavins correspond to the territory of the Prague-Korchak archaeological culture, which spread to the southwest of the Dniester, and the Antam - Penkov culture - to the east of the Dnieper.

Using data from archaeological excavations, it is possible to fairly accurately describe the way of life of the ancient Slavs. They were a sedentary people and were engaged in arable farming - archaeologists have found plows, openers, rawls, plow knives and other tools. Until 10th century The Slavs did not know the potter's wheel. A distinctive feature of Slavic culture was rough molded ceramics. Slavic settlements were located on low banks of rivers, were small in area and consisted of 15–20 small semi-dugouts, each of which housed a small family (husband, wife, children). A characteristic feature of a Slavic dwelling was a stone stove, which was located in the corner of the semi-dugout. Polygamy (polygamy) was widespread among many Slavic tribes. The pagan Slavs burned their dead. Slavic beliefs are associated with agricultural cults, the cult of fertility (Veles, Dazhdbog, Svarog, Mokosh), and the highest gods are associated with the earth. There were no human sacrifices.

In the 7th century. The first Slavic states arose: in 681, after the arrival of nomadic Bulgarians in the Danube region, who quickly mixed with the Slavs, the First Bulgarian Kingdom was formed, in the 8th–9th centuries. – Great Moravian state, the first Serbian principalities and the Croatian state appeared.

At 6 – start. 7th centuries The territory from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Dnieper and Don in the east and to Lake Ilmen in the north was inhabited by East Slavic tribes. At the head of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs - the Northerners, Drevlyans, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Polyan, Dregovichi, Polotsk, etc. - were princes. On the territory of the future Old Russian state, the Slavs assimilated Baltic, Finno-Ugric, Iranian and many other tribes. Thus, the Old Russian people were formed.

Currently, there are three branches of Slavic peoples. The South Slavs include Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, Macedonians, and Bulgarians. The Western Slavs include Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, as well as Lusatian Serbs (or Sorbs) living in Germany. The Eastern Slavs include Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

E. G., Yu. K., S. P.

East Slavic tribes

BUZHAN - an East Slavic tribe that lived on the river. Bug.

Most researchers believe that the Buzhans are another name for the Volynians. In the territory inhabited by the Buzhans and Volynians, a single archaeological culture was discovered. “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports: “The Buzhans who sat along the Bug later began to be called Volynians.” According to archaeologist V.V. Sedov, part of the Dulebs who lived in the Bug basin were first called Buzhans, then Volynians. Perhaps the Buzhans are the name of only part of the Volynian tribal union. E. G.

VOLYNIANS, Velynians - an East Slavic union of tribes that inhabited the territory on both banks of the Western Bug and at the source of the river. Pripyat.

The ancestors of the Volynians were presumably the Dulebs, and their earlier name was the Buzhans. According to another point of view, “Volynians” and “Buzhanians” are the names of two different tribes or tribal unions. The anonymous author of the “Bavarian Geographer” (1st half of the 9th century) counts 70 cities among the Volynians, and 231 cities among the Buzhans. Arab geographer of the 10th century. al-Masudi distinguishes between Volhynians and Dulebs, although perhaps his information dates back to an earlier period.

In Russian chronicles, the Volynians are first mentioned in 907: they participated in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium as “talkovins” - translators. In 981, the Kiev prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich subjugated the Przemysl and Cherven lands, where the Volynians lived. Volynsky

The city of Cherven has since become known as Vladimir-Volynsky. In the 2nd half. 10th century The Vladimir-Volyn principality was formed on the lands of the Volynians. E. G.

VYATICHI is an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the basin of the upper and middle reaches of the Oka and along the river. Moscow.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the ancestor of the Vyatichi was Vyatko, who came “from the Lyakhs” (Poles) together with his brother Radim, the ancestor of the Radimichi tribe. Modern archaeologists do not find confirmation of the West Slavic origin of the Vyatichi.

In the 2nd half. 9th–10th centuries The Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. For a long time they maintained independence from the Kyiv princes. As allies, the Vyatichi took part in the campaign of the Kyiv prince Oleg against Byzantium in 911. In 968, the Vyatichi were defeated by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. In the beginning. 12th century Vladimir Monomakh fought with the Vyatichi prince Khodota. In con. 11–beg. 12th centuries Christianity was implanted among the Vyatichi. Despite this, they maintained pagan beliefs for a long time. The Tale of Bygone Years describes the funeral rite of the Vyatichi (the Radimichi had a similar rite): “When someone died, they held a funeral feast for him, and then laid out a large bonfire, laid the deceased on it and burned him, after which, collecting the bones, they put them in a small vessel and placed them on pillars along the roads.” This ritual was preserved until the end. 13th century, and the “pillars” themselves were found in some areas of Russia until the beginning. 20th century

By the 12th century The territory of the Vyatichi was located in the Chernigov, Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities. E. G.

DREVLYANE - an East Slavic tribal union that occupied in the 6th–10th centuries. the territory of Polesie, the Right Bank of the Dnieper, west of the glades, along the rivers Teterev, Uzh, Ubort, Stviga.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Drevlyans “descended from the same Slavs” as the Polyans. But unlike the glades, “the Drevlyans lived in a bestial manner, lived like bestials, killed each other, ate everything unclean, and they did not have marriage, but they kidnapped girls near the water.”

In the west, the Drevlyans bordered on the Volynians and Buzhans, in the north – on the Dregovichi. Archaeologists have discovered burials on the lands of the Drevlyans with corpses burned in urns in moundless burial grounds. In the 6th–8th centuries. Burials in mounds spread in the 8th–10th centuries. – urnless burials, and in the 10th–13th centuries. – corpses in burial mounds.

In 883, the Kiev prince Oleg “began to fight against the Drevlyans and, having conquered them, imposed tribute on them by black marten (sable),” and in 911, the Drevlyans took part in Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium. In 945, Prince Igor, on the advice of his squad, went “to the Drevlyans for tribute and added a new one to the previous tribute, and his men committed violence against them,” but was not satisfied with what he had collected and decided to “collect more.” The Drevlyans, after consulting with their prince Mal, decided to kill Igor: “if we don’t kill him, then he will destroy us all.” Igor’s widow, Olga, cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans in 946, setting fire to their capital, the city of Iskorosten, “she took the city elders captive, and killed other people, gave others as slaves to her husbands, and left the rest to pay tribute,” and all the land of the Drevlyans was annexed to the Kiev appanage with its center in the city of Vruchiy (Ovruch). Yu. K.

DREGOVICHI - tribal union of the Eastern Slavs.

The exact boundaries of the habitat of Dregovichi have not yet been established. According to a number of researchers (V.V. Sedov and others), in the 6th–9th centuries. Dregovichi occupied territory in the middle part of the river basin. Pripyat, in the 11th–12th centuries. the southern border of their settlement passed south of Pripyat, the northwestern - in the watershed of the Drut and Berezina rivers, the western - in the upper reaches of the river. Neman. The neighbors of the Dregovichs were the Drevlyans, Radimichi and Krivichi. “The Tale of Bygone Years” mentions the Dregovichi up to the middle. 12th century According to archaeological research, the Dregovichi are characterized by agricultural settlements and burial mounds with corpses. In the 10th century the lands inhabited by the Dregovichi became part of Kievan Rus, and later became part of the Turov and Polotsk principalities. Vl. TO.

DULEBY - tribal union of Eastern Slavs.

They lived in the basin of the Bug and the right tributaries of the Pripyat since the 6th century. Researchers attribute the Dulebs to one of the earliest ethnic groups of the Eastern Slavs, from which some other tribal unions were later formed, including the Volynians (Buzhans) and the Drevlyans. Archaeological monuments of Duleb are represented by the remains of agricultural settlements and burial mounds with corpses burned.

According to chronicles, in the 7th century. The Dulebs were invaded by the Avars. In 907, the Duleb squad took part in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople. According to historians, in the 10th century. The association of Dulebs disintegrated, and their lands became part of Kievan Rus. Vl. TO.

KRIVICHI - tribal union of the Eastern Slavs of the 6th–11th centuries.

They occupied territory in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga, Western Dvina, as well as in the region of Lake Peipus, Pskov and Lake. Ilmen. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that the cities of the Krivichi were Smolensk and Polotsk. According to the same chronicle, in 859 the Krivichi paid tribute to the Varangians “from overseas”, and in 862, together with the Slovenians of Ilmen and Chud, they invited Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor to reign. Under 882, the Tale of Bygone Years contains a story about how Oleg went to Smolensk, to the Krivichi, and, taking the city, “planted his husband in it.” Like other Slavic tribes, the Krivichi paid tribute to the Varangians and went with Oleg and Igor on campaigns against Byzantium. In the 11th–12th centuries. The principalities of Polotsk and Smolensk arose on the lands of the Krivichi.

Probably, the ethnogenesis of the Krivichi involved the remnants of local Finno-Ugric and Baltic (Estonians, Livs, Latgalians) tribes, which mixed with the numerous newcomer Slavic population.

Archaeological excavations have shown that initially the specific burials of the Krivichi were long mounds: low rampart-shaped mounds from 12–15 m to 40 m long. Based on the nature of the burial grounds, archaeologists distinguish two ethnographic groups of Krivichi - Smolensk-Polotsk and Pskov Krivichi. In the 9th century long mounds were replaced by round (hemispherical) ones. The dead were burned on the side, and most of the things were burned on the funeral pyre along with the deceased, and only severely damaged things and jewelry went into the burials: beads (blue, green, yellow), buckles, pendants. In the 10th–11th centuries. Among the Krivichi, corpses appear, although up to the 12th century. The features of the previous ritual are preserved - a ritual fire under the burial and a mound. The burial inventory of this period is quite diverse: women's jewelry - bracelet-shaped knotted rings, necklaces made of beads, pendants to necklaces in the form of skates. There are items of clothing - buckles, belt rings (they were worn by men). Often in the Krivichi burial mounds there are decorations of Baltic types, as well as Baltic burials themselves, which indicates a close connection between the Krivichi and the Baltic tribes. Yu. K.

POLOCHANS - a Slavic tribe, part of the Krivichi tribal union; lived along the banks of the river. Dvina and its tributary Polota, from which they got their name.

The center of the Polotsk land was the city of Polotsk. In the Tale of Bygone Years, Polotsk residents are mentioned several times along with such large tribal unions as the Ilmen Slovenians, the Drevlyans, the Dregovichi, and the Polyans.

However, a number of historians question the existence of Polotsk as a separate tribe. Arguing their point of view, they draw attention to the fact that “The Tale of Bygone Years” in no way connects Polotsk residents with the Krivichi people, whose possessions included their lands. Historian A.G. Kuzmin suggested that a fragment about the Polotsk tribe appeared in the “Tale” ca. 1068, when the people of Kiev expelled Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich and placed Prince Vseslav of Polotsk on the princely table.

All R. 10 – start 11th centuries The Principality of Polotsk was formed on the territory of Polotsk. E. G.

POLYANE - a tribal union of Eastern Slavs who lived on the Dnieper, in the area of ​​​​modern Kyiv.

One of the versions of the origin of Rus', mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, is associated with the glades. Scientists consider the “Polyano-Russian” version to be more ancient than the “Varangian legend” and attribute it to the end. 10th century

The Old Russian author of this version considered the Polyans to be Slavs who came from Norik (territory on the Danube), who were the first to be called by the name “Rus”: “The Glades are now called Rus'.” The chronicle sharply contrasts the customs of the Polyans and other East Slavic tribes, united under the name of the Drevlyans.

In the Middle Dnieper region near Kyiv, archaeologists discovered a culture of the 2nd quarter. 10th century with a characteristic Slavic funeral rite: the mounds were characterized by a clay base, on which a fire was lit and the dead were burned. The borders of the culture extended in the west to the river. Teterev, in the north - to the city of Lyubech, in the south - to the river. Ros. This was, obviously, the Slavic tribe of the Polyans.

In the 2nd quarter. 10th century another people appears on these same lands. A number of scientists consider the Middle Danube region to be the place of its initial settlement. Others identify him with the Russian Rugs from Great Moravia. These people were familiar with the potter's wheel. The dead were buried according to the rite of corpse deposition in pits under the mounds. Pectoral crosses were often found in burial mounds. Over time, the Polyane and the Rus mixed, the Rus began to speak the Slavic language, and the tribal union received a double name - Polyane-Rus. E. G.

RADIMICHI - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the eastern part of the Upper Dnieper region, along the river. Sozh and its tributaries in the 8th–9th centuries.

Convenient river routes passed through the lands of the Radimichi, connecting them with Kiev. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the ancestor of the tribe was Radim, who came “from the Poles,” that is, of Polish origin, together with his brother Vyatko. The Radimichi and Vyatichi had a similar burial rite - the ashes were buried in a log house - and similar female temple jewelry (temporal rings) - seven-rayed (among the Vyatichi - seven-lobed). Archaeologists and linguists suggest that the Balt tribes living in the upper reaches of the Dnieper also participated in the creation of the material culture of the Radimichi. In the 9th century Radimichi paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. In 885, these tribes were subjugated by the Kyiv prince Oleg the Prophet. In 984, the Radimichi army was defeated on the river. Pishchane as governor of Kyiv Prince Vladimir

Svyatoslavich. The last time they were mentioned in the chronicle was in 1169. Then the territory of the Radimichi became part of the Chernigov and Smolensk principalities. E. G.

RUSSIANS - in sources of the 8th–10th centuries. the name of the people who participated in the formation of the Old Russian state.

In historical science, discussions about the ethnic origin of the Rus are still ongoing. According to the testimony of Arab geographers in the 9th–10th centuries. and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (10th century), the Rus were the social elite of Kievan Rus and dominated the Slavs.

The German historian G. Z. Bayer, invited to Russia in 1725 to work at the Academy of Sciences, believed that the Rus and Varangians were one Norman (i.e., Scandinavian) tribe that brought statehood to the Slavic peoples. Followers of Bayer in the 18th century. there were G. Miller and L. Schletser. This is how the Norman theory of the origin of the Rus arose, which is still shared by many historians.

Based on data from the Tale of Bygone Years, some historians believe that the chronicler identified the “Rus” with the Polyan tribe and led them along with other Slavs from the upper reaches of the Danube, from Norik. Others believe that the Rus are a Varangian tribe, “called” to reign in Novgorod under Prince Oleg the Prophet, who gave the name “Rus” to the land of Kyiv. Still others prove that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” connected the origin of the Rus with the Northern Black Sea region and the Don basin.

Scientists note that in ancient documents the name of the people “Rus” was different - rugi, rogi, ruten, ruyi, ruyan, ran, ren, rus, rus, dew. This word is translated as “red”, “red” (from Celtic languages), “light” (from Iranian languages), “rots” (from Swedish - “oar rowers”).

Some researchers consider the Rus to be Slavs. Those historians who consider the Rus to be Baltic Slavs argue that the word “Rus” is close to the names “Rügen”, “Ruyan”, “Rugi”. Scientists who consider the Rus to be the inhabitants of the Middle Dnieper region note that in the Dnieper region the word “Ros” (R. Ros) is found, and the name “Russian Land” in the chronicles originally designated the territory of the glades and northerners (Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl).

There is a point of view according to which the Rus are a Sarmatian-Alan people, descendants of the Roxolans. The word “rus” (“rukhs”) in Iranian languages ​​means “light”, “white”, “royal”.

Another group of historians suggests that the Rus are Rugs who lived in the 3rd–5th centuries. along the river Danube of the Roman province of Noricum and c. 7th century moved along with the Slavs to the Dnieper region. The mystery of the origin of the “Rus” people has not yet been solved. E.G., S.P.

NORTHERN - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the 9th–10th centuries. by rr. Desna, Seim, Sula.

The western neighbors of the northerners were the Polyans and Dregovichi, the northern - the Radimichi and Vyatichi.

The origin of the name “northerners” is not clear. Some researchers associate it with the Iranian sev, sew - “black”. In the chronicles, the northerners are also called “sever”, “severo”. The territory near the Desna and Seim was preserved in Russian chronicles of the 16th–17th centuries. and Ukrainian sources of the 17th century. name "North".

Archaeologists correlate the northerners with the carriers of the Volyntsev archaeological culture, who lived on the left bank of the Dnieper, along the Desna and Seim in the 7th–9th centuries. The Volyntsevo tribes were Slavic, but their territory was in contact with lands inhabited by the Saltovo-Mayatsk archaeological culture.

The main occupation of the northerners was agriculture. In con. 8th century they found themselves under the rule of the Khazar Khaganate. In con. 9th century the territories of the northerners became part of Kievan Rus. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Kiev prince Oleg the Prophet freed them from tribute to the Khazars and imposed a light tribute on them, saying: “I am their [Khazars’] opponent, but you have no need.”

The centers of craft and trade of the northerners were the cities. Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov, Putivl, which later became the centers of the principalities. With the annexation to the Russian state, these lands were still called “Severskaya Zemlya” or “Severskaya Ukrainian”. E. G.

SLOVEN ILMEN - a tribal union of Eastern Slavs on the territory of the Novgorod land, mainly in the lands near lake. Ilmen, next to the Krivichi.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Ilmen Slovenes, together with the Krivichi, Chud and Meri, participated in the calling of the Varangians, who were related to the Slovenes - immigrants from the Baltic Pomerania. Slovenian warriors were part of the squad of Prince Oleg and took part in the campaign of Vladimir I Svyatoslavich against the Polotsk prince Rogvold in 980.

A number of historians consider the Dnieper region to be the “ancestral homeland” of the Slovenes; others trace the ancestors of the Ilmen Slovenes from the Baltic Pomerania, since the legends, beliefs and customs, the type of dwellings of the Novgorodians and Polabian Slavs are very similar. E. G.

TIVERTS - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the 9th - beginning. 12th centuries on the river Dniester and at the mouth of the Danube. The name of the tribal association probably comes from the ancient Greek name of the Dniester - “Tiras”, which, in turn, goes back to the Iranian word turas - fast.

In 885, Prince Oleg the Prophet, who conquered the tribes of the Polyans, Drevlyans, and Northerners, tried to subjugate the Tiverts to his power. Later, the Tiverts took part in Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople (Constantinople) as “interpreters” - that is, translators, since they knew well the languages ​​and customs of the peoples living near the Black Sea. In 944, the Tivertians, as part of the army of the Kyiv prince Igor, again besieged Constantinople, and in the middle. 10th century became part of Kievan Rus. In the beginning. 12th century Under the attacks of the Pechenegs and Polovtsians, the Tivertians retreated to the north, where they mixed with other Slavic tribes. The remains of settlements and ancient settlements, which, according to archaeologists, belonged to the Tiverts, have been preserved in the area between the Dniester and Prut rivers. Burial mounds with corpses burned in urns were discovered; Among the archaeological finds in the territories occupied by the Tiverts, there are no female temporal rings. E. G.

STREETS - an East Slavic union of tribes that existed in the 9th century. 10th centuries

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Ulichi lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Bug and on the shores of the Black Sea. The center of the tribal union was the city of Peresechen. According to the historian of the 18th century. V.N. Tatishcheva, the ethnonym “Ulichi” comes from the Old Russian word “corner”. The modern historian B.A. Rybakov drew attention to the evidence of the first Novgorod chronicle: “Previously, the Ulichi sat in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, but then they moved to the Bug and Dniester” - and concluded that Peresechen was located on the Dnieper south of Kyiv. A city on the Dnieper under this name is mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle under 1154 and in the “List of Russian Cities” (14th century). In the 1960s archaeologists have discovered street settlements in the area of ​​the river. Tyasmin (tributary of the Dnieper), which confirms Rybakov’s conclusion.

For a long time the tribes resisted the attempts of the Kyiv princes to subjugate them to their power. In 885, Oleg the Prophet fought with the streets, already collecting tribute from the glades, Drevlyans, northerners and Tiverts. Unlike most East Slavic tribes, the Ulichi did not participate in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople in 907. At the turn of the 40s. 10th century Kiev governor Sveneld kept the city of Peresechen under siege for three years. All R. 10th century Under the pressure of nomadic tribes, the Ulichi moved north and were included in Kievan Rus. E. G.

On the border lands

Around the territories inhabited by the Eastern Slavs, lived a variety of tribes and peoples. Neighbors from the north were Finno-Ugric tribes: Cheremis, Chud (Izhora), Merya, Ves, Korela. In the north-west lived Baltoslavic tribes: Zemigola, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians. In the west - the Poles and Hungarians, in the southwest - the Volokhs (ancestors of the Romanians and Moldavians), in the east - the Mari, Mordovians, Murom, Volga-Kama Bulgars. Let's get acquainted with some tribal unions known from ancient times.

BALTS - the general name of the tribes that inhabited the 1st - beginning. 2nd thousand territory from the southwest of the Baltic states to the Upper Dnieper region.

The Prussians (Estians), Yatvingians, and Galinds (Golyad) made up the group of Western Balts. The central Balts included the Curonians, Semigallians, Latgalians, Samogitians, and Aukstaitians. The Prussian tribe has been known to Western and Northern writers since the 6th century.

From the first centuries AD, the Balts were engaged in arable farming and cattle breeding. From the 7th–8th centuries. fortified settlements are known. The dwellings of the Balts were above-ground rectangular houses, surrounded by stones at the base.

A number of Baltic tribes are mentioned in the “Tale of Bygone Years”: “Letgola” (Latgalians), “Zemigola” (Zemgallians), “Kors” (Curonians), “Lithuania”. All of them, excluding the Latgalians, paid tribute to Rus'.

At the turn of 1–2 thousand, the Baltic tribes of the Upper Dnieper region were assimilated by the Eastern Slavs and became part of the Old Russian people. Another part of the Balts formed the Lithuanian (Aukštaiti, Samogitians, Skalvi) and Latvian (Curonians, Latgalians, Semigallians, Sela) nationalities. Yu. K.

VARYAGS is the Slavic name for the population of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (in the 9th–10th centuries), as well as for the Scandinavian Vikings who served the Kyiv princes (in the 1st half of the 11th century).

The Tale of Bygone Years claims that the Varangians lived along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which in the chronicle is called the Varangian Sea, “to the land of Agnyanskaya and Voloshskaya.” At that time, the Danes were called Angles, and the Italians were called Volokhs. In the east, the boundaries of the settlement of the Varangians are indicated more vaguely - “to the limit of Simov.” According to some researchers, in this case we mean

Volga-Kama Bulgaria (the Varangians controlled the northwestern part of the Volga-Baltic route up to Volga Bulgaria).

A study of other written sources showed that on the southern coast, next to the Danes of the Baltic Sea, lived the “Vagrs” (“Varins”, “Vars”) - a tribe that belonged to the Vandal group and by the 9th century. already glorified. In the East Slavic vowels, the “Vagrs” began to be called “Varangians”.

In con. 8 – beginning 9th centuries The Franks began to attack the lands of the Vagr-Varins. This prompted them to look for new places of settlement. In the 8th century. “Varangeville” (Varangian city) appears in France, in 915 the city of Väringvik (Varangian Bay) appeared in England, and the name Varangerfjord (Varangian Bay) in the north of Scandinavia is still preserved.

The main direction of migration of the Vagr-Varins was the eastern coast of the Baltic. They moved to the east together with separate groups of Rus who lived along the shores of the Baltic Sea (on the island of Rügen, in the Baltic states, etc.). Hence, in the Tale of Bygone Years, the double naming of the settlers arose - Varangians-Rus: “And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus', for that was the name of those Varangians - Rus.” At the same time, the chronicler specifically stipulates that the Varangians-Rus are not Swedes, not Norwegians and not Danes.

In Eastern Europe, the Varangians appear at the end. 9th century The Varangians-Rus first came to the northwestern lands to the Ilmen Slovenes, and then descended to the Middle Dnieper region. According to various sources and according to some scientists, the leader of the Varangians-Russ who came to the Ilmen Slovenes from the shores of the Southern Baltic was Prince Rurik. The names of those founded by him in the 9th century. cities (Ladoga, White Lake, Novgorod) they say that the Varangians-Rus at that time spoke a Slavic language. The main god of the Varangian Rus was Perun. The treaty between Rus' and the Greeks in 911, which was concluded by Oleg the Prophet, says: “And Oleg and his men were forced to swear allegiance according to Russian law: they swore by their weapons and by Perun, their god.”

In con. 9th–10th centuries The Varangians played a significant role in the northwestern Slavic lands. The chronicle states that Novgorodians descended “from the Varangian family.” The Kyiv princes constantly resorted to the help of hired Varangian squads in the struggle for power. Under Yaroslav the Wise, who was married to the Swedish princess Ingigerd, Swedes appeared in the Varangian squads. Therefore, from the beginning. 11th century In Rus', people from Scandinavia were also called Varangians. However, in Novgorod the Swedes were not called Varangians until the 13th century. After the death of Yaroslav, the Russian princes stopped recruiting mercenary squads from the Varangians. The very name of the Varangians was rethought and gradually spread to all people from the Catholic West. Yu.K., S.P.

NORMANS (from scand. Northman - northern man) - in European sources of the 8th–10th centuries. general name for the peoples living north of the Frankish state.

In Western Europe, the inhabitants of Kievan Rus, which, according to German chroniclers, was located in the northeast, were also called Normans. Writer and diplomat of the 10th century. Bishop Liutprand of Cremona, talking about the campaign of the Kyiv prince Igor in 941 against Constantinople, wrote: “Closer to the north lives a certain people, which the Greeks ... call the Dews, but we call the Normans by location. After all, in German, nord means north, and man means man; That’s why northern people can be called Normans.”

In the 9th–11th centuries. The term “Norman” came to mean only the Scandinavian Vikings who raided the sea borders of European states. In this meaning the name “urmane” is found in The Tale of Bygone Years. Many modern historians identify the Varangians, Normans and Vikings. E. G.

PECHENEGS - a union of Turkic nomadic tribes, formed in the 8th–9th centuries. in the steppes between the Aral Sea and the Volga.

In con. 9th century Pecheneg tribes crossed the Volga, pushed the Ugric tribes wandering between the Don and the Dnieper to the west and occupied a huge space from the Volga to the Danube.

In the 10th century The Pechenegs were divided into 8 tribes (“tribes”), each of which consisted of 5 clans. At the head of the tribes were the “great princes,” and the clans were headed by the “small princes.” The Pechenegs were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, and also made predatory raids on Rus',

Byzantium, Hungary. Byzantine emperors often used the Pechenegs to fight Russia. In turn, during the strife, the Russian princes attracted Pecheneg detachments to battles with their rivals.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Pechenegs first came to Rus' in 915. Having concluded a peace agreement with Prince Igor, they went to the Danube. In 968, the Pechenegs besieged Kyiv. The Kiev prince Svyatoslav lived at that time in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, and Olga and her grandchildren remained in Kyiv. Only the cunning of the youth, who managed to call for help, made it possible to lift the siege from Kyiv. In 972, Svyatoslav was killed in a battle with the Pecheneg Khan Kurei. Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich repeatedly repelled Pecheneg raids. In 1036, the Pechenegs again besieged Kyiv, but were defeated by Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise and left Rus' forever.

In the 11th century The Pechenegs were pushed back to the Carpathians and the Danube by the Cumans and Torques. Some of the Pechenegs went to Hungary and Bulgaria and mixed with the local population. Other Pecheneg tribes submitted to the Cumans. Those who remained settled on the southern borders of Rus' and merged with the Slavs. E. G.

PO LOVTSY (self-name - Kipchaks, Cumans) - a medieval Turkic people.

In the 10th century The Polovtsy lived on the territory of modern North-West Kazakhstan, in the west they bordered on the Khazars, in the middle. 10th century moved on

Volga and moved to the steppes of the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. Polovtsian nomads in the 11th–15th centuries. occupied a vast territory - from the west of the Tien Shan to the mouth of the Danube, which was called Desht-i-Kipchak - “Polovtsian land”.

In the 11th–13th centuries. The Polovtsians had separate tribal alliances led by khans. The main occupation was cattle breeding. From the 12th century In the Polovtsian land there were cities that were inhabited, in addition to the Polovtsians, by Bulgars, Alans and Slavs.

In Russian chronicles, the Polovtsians were first mentioned in 1054, when the campaign against Rus' was led by the Polovtsian Khan Bolush. Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich of Pereyaslavl made peace with the Polovtsians, and they returned back “from where they came.” Constant Polovtsian raids on Russian land began in 1061. During strife, Russian princes entered into alliances with them against their own brothers who ruled in neighboring principalities. In 1103, the previously warring princes Svyatopolk and Vladimir Monomakh organized a joint campaign against the Polovtsians. On April 4, 1103, the united Russian forces defeated the Polovtsy, and they left for Transcaucasia with heavy losses.

From the 2nd half. 12th century The Russian border lands were devastated by Polovtsian raids. At the same time, many princes of Southern and North-Eastern Rus' were married to Polovtsian women. The struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsians is reflected in the monument of ancient Russian literature “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” E. G.

State formation

Gradually, the scattered tribes of the Eastern Slavs unite. The Old Russian state appears, which went down in history under the names “Rus”, “Kievan Rus”.

ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE is a common name in historical literature for a state that emerged in the late 9th century as a result of the unification under the rule of princes from the Rurik dynasty of the East Slavic lands with the main centers in Novgorod and Kyiv. In the 2nd quarter. 12th century broke up into separate principalities and lands. The term “Old Russian state” is used along with other terms – “Russian land”, “Rus”, “Kievan Rus”. Vl. TO.

Rus', Russian land - the name of the unification of the lands of the Eastern Slavs with the center in Kyiv, which arose in the end. 9th century; to the end 17th century the name extended to the territory of the entire Russian state, with its center in Moscow.

In the 9th–10th centuries. the name Rus is assigned to the territory of the future Old Russian state. At first it covered the lands of the East Slavic tribe of Polyan-Rus from the years. Kyiv, Chernigov and Pereyaslavl. At 11 am 12th centuries The lands and principalities subordinate to the prince of Kyiv (Kievan Rus) began to be called Russia. In the 12th–14th centuries. Rus is the general name for the territory on which the Russian principalities were located, which arose as a result of the fragmentation of Kievan Rus. During this period, the names Great Rus', White Rus', Little Rus', Black Rus', Red Rus', etc. arose, as designations of various parts of the common Russian land.

In the 14th–17th centuries. Rus' is the name of the lands included in the Russian state, the center of which is from the 2nd half. 14th century became Moscow. S.P.

KIEVAN RUS, Old Russian state - a state in Eastern Europe that arose as a result of the unification of lands under the rule of princes from the Rurik dynasty (9th–2nd quarter of the 12th centuries).

The first news of the existence of the state among the Eastern Slavs is legendary. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that strife began among the northern East Slavic tribes (Novgorod Slovenes and Krivichi), as well as the Finno-Ugric Chuds, Meri and Vesi. It ended with its participants deciding to find themselves a prince who would “rule over them and judge them by right.” At their request, three Varangian brothers came to Rus': Rurik, Truvor and Sineus (862). Rurik began to reign in Novgorod, Sineus - in Beloozero, and Truvor - in Izborsk.

Sometimes, from the chronicle message about the invitation of Rurik and his brothers, it is concluded that statehood was brought to Rus' from the outside. It is enough, however, to pay attention to the fact that Rurik, Truvor and Sineus are invited to perform functions that are already well known to the inhabitants of the Novgorod land. So this story is only the first mention of public institutions that were already operating (and apparently for quite a long time) on the territory of North-Western Rus'.

The prince was the leader of an armed detachment and performed the functions of the supreme ruler, initially not only secular, but also spiritual. Most likely, the prince led the army and was the high priest.

The squad consisted of professional military men. Some of them passed to the prince from their father (the “elder” or “big” squad). The younger warriors grew up and were raised together with the prince from the age of 13–14. They were apparently bound by ties of friendship, which were reinforced by mutual personal obligations.

The personal loyalty of the warriors was not secured by temporary land holdings. The Old Russian warriors are completely supported by the prince. The warriors lived separately, in the princely “yard” (in the princely residence). The prince was considered among the druzhina first among equals. The squad pledged to support and protect their prince. She performed both police and “foreign policy” functions to protect the tribes that invited this prince from violence from neighbors. In addition, with her support, the prince controlled the most important trade routes (he collected taxes and protected merchants in the territory under his control).

Another way of forming the first state institutions could be the direct conquest of a given territory. An example of such a path among the Eastern Slavs is the legend about the founders of Kyiv. It is generally accepted that Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv are representatives of the local Polyana nobility. The name of the eldest of them was allegedly associated with the beginning of the Russian land as a proto-state association of the Polyan tribe. Subsequently, Kyiv was occupied by the legendary Askold and Dir (according to the Tale of Bygone Years - Rurik’s warriors). A little later, power in Kyiv passed to Oleg, the regent of Igor, the young son of Rurik. Oleg deceived Askold and Dir and killed them. To substantiate his claims to power, Oleg refers to the fact that Igor is the son of Rurik. If previously the source of power was an invitation to rule or capture, now the decisive factor for recognizing power as legitimate is the origin of the new ruler.

The capture of Kyiv by the legendary Oleg (882) is usually associated with the beginning of the formation of the Old Russian state. With this event, the existence of a kind of “unification” of the Novgorod, Smolensk and Kyiv lands began, to which the lands of the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi were subsequently annexed. The foundation was laid for an intertribal union of East Slavic and also a number of Finno-Ugric tribes inhabiting the forest and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe. This association is usually called the Old Russian State, as well as

Ancient, or Kievan, Russia. An external indicator of recognition of the power of the Kyiv prince was the regular payment of tribute to him. The collection of tribute took place annually during the so-called polyudye.

Like any state, Kievan Rus uses force to achieve submission to its authorities. The main power structure was the princely squad. However, the inhabitants of Ancient Rus' obey the prince not only and not so much under the threat of weapons, but voluntarily. Thus, the actions of the prince and the squad (in particular, the collection of tribute) are recognized by the subjects as legal. This, in fact, provides the prince with the opportunity to rule a huge state with a small retinue. Otherwise, the free inhabitants of Ancient Rus', who were most often quite well armed, could well have defended their right not to submit to illegal (in their opinion) demands.

An example of this is the murder of the Kyiv prince Igor by the Drevlyans (945). Igor, going for a second tribute, obviously could not imagine that anyone would challenge his right to receive a tribute - even if it exceeded the usual amount. Therefore, the prince took with him only a “small” squad.

An event extremely important in the life of the young state is connected with the uprising of the Drevlyans: Olga, having brutally avenged the death of her husband, is forced to establish lessons and graveyards (sizes and places for collecting tribute). Thus, for the first time, one of the most important political functions of the state was realized: the right to make laws.

The first monument of written law that has reached our time is Russian Truth. Its appearance is associated with the name of Yaroslav the Wise (1016–1054), therefore the oldest part is sometimes called the Truth of Yaroslav. It is a collection of court decisions on specific issues, which subsequently became mandatory in resolving similar cases.

A new phenomenon in political life was the division of the entire territory of the Old Russian state between the sons of the Kyiv prince. In 970, going on a military campaign to the Balkans, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich “placed” his eldest son Yaropolk to reign in Kiev, Vladimir in Novgorod, and Oleg in the land of the Drevlyans, neighboring Kyiv. Obviously, they were also given the right to collect tribute for the Kyiv prince, i.e. from that time on the prince stopped going to polyudye. A certain prototype of the local government apparatus is beginning to take shape. Control over it continues to remain in the hands of the Kyiv prince.

This type of governance finally took shape during the reign of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980–1015). Vladimir, leaving the Kiev throne behind him, placed his eldest sons in the largest Russian cities. All local power passed into the hands of the Vladimirovichs. Their subordination to the Grand Duke-Father was expressed in the regular transfer to him of part of the tribute collected from the lands in which the Grand Duke's sons-deputies sat. At the same time, the hereditary right of power was preserved. At the same time, when determining the order of succession to power, the predominant right of seniority is gradually consolidated.

This principle was also observed in the case of redistribution of reigns between the sons of the Grand Duke of Kyiv after the death of one of the brothers. If the eldest of them died (who usually sat on the Novgorod “table”), his place was taken by the next oldest brother, and all the other brothers moved up the “ladder” of power one “step” up, moving to increasingly more prestigious reigns. This system of organizing the transfer of power is usually called the “ladder” system of ascension of princes to the thrones.

However, the “ladder” system operated only during the life of the head of the princely family. After the death of the father, as a rule, an active struggle began between the brothers for the right to own Kiev. Accordingly, the winner distributed all other reigns to his children.

So, after the Kiev throne passed to him, Yaroslav Vladimirovich managed to get rid of almost all of his brothers who had any serious claims to power. Their places were taken by the Yaroslavichs. Before his death, Yaroslav bequeathed Kyiv to his eldest son Izyaslav, who also remained the prince of Novgorod. Yaroslav divided the remaining cities according to

seniority between sons. Izyaslav, as the eldest in the family, had to maintain the established order. Thus, the political priority of the Kyiv prince was formally consolidated.

However, by the end. 11th century the power of the Kyiv princes is significantly weakened. The Kiev veche begins to play a noticeable role in the life of not only the city, but also the state as a whole. They expelled or invited princes to the throne. In 1068, the people of Kiev overthrew Izyaslav, the Grand Duke of Kyiv (1054–1068, 1069–1073, 1077–1078), who lost the battle with the Polotsk, and installed Vseslav Bryachislavich of Polotsk in his place. Six months later, after Vseslav fled to Polotsk, the Kiev veche asked Izyaslav to return to the throne.

Since 1072, a series of princely congresses took place, at which the Yaroslavichs tried to agree on the basic principles of division of power and interaction in the fight against common opponents. Since 1074, a fierce struggle for the Kiev throne has unfolded between the brothers. At the same time, Polovtsian detachments were increasingly used in the political struggle.

The increasing frequency of strife seriously worsened the internal and especially foreign political situation of the Russian lands. In 1097, a princely congress took place in the city of Lyubech, at which the grandchildren of Yaroslav established a new principle of relations between the rulers of the Russian lands: “Let each one maintain his fatherland.” Now the “fatherland” (the land in which the father reigned) was inherited by the son. The “ladder” system of princes ascending to the throne was replaced by dynastic rule.

Although neither Lyubechsky nor subsequent princely congresses (1100, 1101, 1103, 1110) were able to prevent civil strife, the significance of the first of them is extremely great. It was on it that the foundations of the existence of independent states were laid on the territory of the former united Kievan Rus. The final collapse of the Old Russian state is usually associated with the events that followed the death of the eldest of the sons of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav (1132). A.K.

On distant frontiers

On the distant borders of Kievan Rus there were other ancient states with which the Slavs developed certain relations. Among them, the Khazar Kaganate and Volga Bulgaria should be highlighted.

KHAZAR KHAGANATE, Khazaria - a state that existed in the 7th–10th centuries. in the North Caucasus, between the Volga and Don rivers.

It developed in the territory inhabited by Turkic Caspian nomadic tribes, who in the 6th century. invaded the Eastern Ciscaucasia. Perhaps the name “Khazars” goes back to the Turkic basis “kaz” - to nomad.

At first, the Khazars roamed in the Eastern Ciscaucasia, from the Caspian Sea to Derbent, and in the 7th century. entrenched in the Lower Volga and part of the Crimean Peninsula, were dependent on the Turkic Kaganate, which by the 7th century. weakened. In the 1st quarter 7th century An independent Khazar state emerged.

In the 660s. The Khazars, in alliance with the North Caucasian Alans, defeated Great Bulgaria and formed the Kaganate. There were many tribes under the authority of the supreme ruler, the Kagan, and the title itself was equated to imperial. The Khazar Khaganate was an influential force in Eastern Europe, and therefore there is a lot of written evidence about it in Arabic, Persian and Byzantine literature. The Khazars are also mentioned in Russian chronicles. Important information about the history of the Khazar Kaganate contains information dating back to the 10th century. letter from the Khazar king Joseph to the head of the Spanish Jewish community, Hasdai ibn Shafrut.

The Khazars made constant raids on the lands of the Arab Caliphate in Transcaucasia. Already from the 20s. 7th century Periodic invasions of the Khazars and allied tribes of the Caucasian Alans into the Derbent region began. In 737, the Arab commander Merwan ibn Muhammad took the capital of Khazaria - Semender, and the Kagan, saving his life, swore an oath to convert to Islam, but did not keep his word. As the Khazar legend says, after Jewish merchants arrived in Khazaria from Khorezm and Byzantium, a certain Khazar prince Bulan converted to Judaism.

His example was followed by part of the Khazars who lived on the territory of modern Dagestan.

The Khazar Khaganate was inhabited by nomadic tribes. The territory of Khazaria proper is the Western Caspian steppes between the rivers. Sulak in Northern Dagestan and the Lower Volga. Here, archaeologists have found burial mounds of Khazar warriors. Academician B. A. Rybakov suggested that the Khazar Kaganate was a small state in the lower reaches of the Volga, and gained its fame thanks to a very advantageous position on the Volga-Baltic trade route. His point of view is based on the testimony of Arab travelers, who reported that the Khazars did not produce anything themselves and lived off goods brought from neighboring countries.

Most scientists believe that the Khazar Kaganate was a huge state, under whose rule for more than two centuries was half of Eastern Europe, including many Slavic tribes, and connect it with the area of ​​the Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture. The Khazar king Joseph called the Sarkel fortress on the Lower Don the western border of his state. In addition to her, the Khazar cities are known. Balanjar and Semender, who were located on the river. Terek and Sulak, and Atil (Itil) at the mouth of the Volga, but these cities have not been found by archaeologists.

The main occupation of the population of Khazaria is cattle breeding. The system of social organization was called “eternal el”, its center was the horde - the headquarters of the kagan, who “held the el”, that is, headed the union of tribes and clans. The highest class was made up of the Tarkhans - the clan aristocracy; the noblest among them were considered to be those from the Kagan family. The hired guards guarding the rulers of Khazaria consisted of 30 thousand Muslims and “Russians”.

Initially, the state was ruled by a kagan, but gradually the situation changed. The “deputy” of the kagan, shad, who commanded the army and was in charge of collecting taxes, became a co-ruler with the title of kagan-bek. To the beginning 9th century the power of the kagan became nominal, and he himself was considered a sacred person. He was appointed kagan-bek from representatives of a noble family. The Kagan candidate was strangled with a silk rope and, when he began to choke, they were asked how many years he wanted to rule. If the kagan died before the time he named, it was considered normal, otherwise he was killed. Only the Kagan Bey had the right to see the Kagan. If there was a famine or epidemic in the country, the kagan was killed, as it was believed that he had lost his magical power.

The 9th century was the heyday of Khazaria. In con. 8 – beginning 9th centuries a descendant of Prince Bulan, Obadiah, having become the head of the Kaganate, carried out a religious reform and declared Judaism the state religion. Despite the opposition, Obadiah managed to unite part of the Khazar nobility around himself. Thus, Khazaria became the only state of the Middle Ages where, at least, its head and the highest nobility professed Judaism. The Khazars, with the help of the nomadic tribes of the Hungarians allied to them, were able to briefly subjugate the Volga Bulgars and Burtases, and impose tribute on the Slavic tribes of the Polyans, Northerners, Vyatichi and Radimichi.

But the Khazars' reign was short-lived. Soon the clearing was freed from dependence; The Northerners and Radimichi were saved from tribute to the Khazars by the Prophetic Oleg. In con. 9th century The Pechenegs broke into the Northern Black Sea region, weakening Khazaria with constant raids. The Khazar Khaganate was finally defeated in 964–965. Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. K con. 10th century Khazaria fell into decline. The remnants of the Khazar tribes settled in Crimea, where they subsequently mixed with the local population. E. G.

ITIL - the capital of the Khazar Khaganate in the 8th–10th centuries.

The city was located on both banks of the river. Itil (Volga; above modern Astrakhan) and on a small island where the Kagan’s palace was located. Itil was a major center of caravan trade. The population of the city consisted of Khazars, Khorezmians, Turks, Slavs, and Jews. Merchants and artisans lived in the eastern part of the city, and government offices were located in the western part. According to Arab travelers, there were many mosques, schools, baths, and markets in Itil. Housing buildings were wooden tents, felt yurts and dugouts.

In 985, Itil was destroyed by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. E.K.

BULGARIA VOLGA-KAMSKAYA, Volga Bulgaria is a state that existed in the Middle Volga region and the Kama region.

Volga Bulgaria was inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes and Bulgars, who came here after the defeat of Great Bulgaria. In the 9th–10th centuries. the inhabitants of Volga Bulgaria switched from nomadism to settled agriculture.

Some time in the 9th–10th centuries. Volga Bulgaria was under the rule of the Khazar Kaganate. In the beginning. 10th century Khan Almas began the unification of the Bulgar tribes. In the 10th century The Bulgars converted to Islam and formally recognized the Arab caliph as the supreme ruler - the head of the Muslims. In 965, Volga Bulgaria gained independence from the Khazar Khaganate.

The location of Bulgaria on the Volga-Baltic trade route, which connected Eastern and Northern Europe with the East, ensured the influx of goods into the country from the countries of the Arab East, the Caucasus, India and China, Byzantium, Western Europe, and Kievan Rus.

In the 10th–11th centuries. the capital of Volga Bulgaria was the city of Bulgar, located 5 km from the left bank of the Volga, below the mouth of the river. Kama. Bulgar quickly turned into a major center of crafts and transit trade. This is where they minted their own coins.

The city has been around since the 10th century. was well fortified, and a settlement adjoined it from the west. To the west of Bulgar there was an Armenian settlement with a Christian temple and cemetery. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of Bulgar - the Bolgar settlement, where stone buildings of the 14th century, mausoleums, a cathedral mosque, and public baths have been preserved.

In the 10th–12th centuries. Russian princes made campaigns against the Volga Bulgars more than once. The first to try to impose tribute on Volga Bulgaria

Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, but in 985 he was forced to conclude a peace treaty. “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports the following legend: “Vladimir went against the Bulgarians with his uncle Dobrynya... And they defeated the Bulgarians. And Dobrynya said to Vladimir: “I examined the convicts - everyone was wearing boots. They won’t give us these tributes, we’ll look for some bast workers.’”

Then the Volga-Kama Bulgaria was threatened by the Vladimir principality. In the 12th century The Bulgars moved the capital to the interior of the country.

Bilyar, a city on the left bank of the river, became the new capital of the state. Cheremshan. It arose in the 10th century and was mentioned for the first time in written sources in 1164. Crafts developed significantly: iron smelting, bone carving, leatherwork, blacksmithing, and pottery. Products exported from the cities of Kievan Rus, Syria, Byzantium, Iran, and China were found.

In the 13th century Volga-Kama Bulgaria was conquered by the Mongol-Tatars and became part of the Golden Horde. In 1236, Bulgar and Bilyar were devastated and burned by the Mongol-Tatars, but were soon rebuilt. Until the end 13th century Bulgar was the capital of the Golden Horde, 14th century. - the time of its greatest prosperity: active construction was carried out in the city, coins were minted, and crafts developed. A blow to the power of the Bulgar was dealt by the campaigns of the Golden Horde ruler Bulak-Timur in 1361. In 1431, the Bulgar was captured by Russian troops under the command of Prince Fyodor Motley and finally fell into decline. In 1438, the Kazan Khanate was formed on the territory of Volga Bulgaria. E. G.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Ancient Rus'. IV–XII centuries (Collective of authors, 2010) provided by our book partner -

Course "National History"

Topic 1. Ancient Rus' (IX-XIII centuries).

Kievan Rus.

"Specific period".

3. Fight against foreign invaders.

1 . Kievan Rus arose at the end of the first millennium AD. e. within the East European Plain.

Origin of the Slavs. Slavic tribes separated from the Indo-European community of peoples in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. in the area south of the Baltic coast.

Slavic colonization of the East European Plain. The Slavs participated in the “Great Migration of Peoples” (III-YI centuries AD). Some of the tribes moved east - towards the lake. Ilmen and the middle reaches of the Dnieper. An East Slavic ethnic community was formed. The 9th century became the “Slavic century”: the Eastern Slavs began to dominate the space from the Carpathians to the upper reaches of the Volga and from the Gulf of Finland to the middle reaches of the Dnieper. The autochthons (indigenous inhabitants) of the forest zone (Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes) conducted an “appropriating economy” (hunting, fishing), the inhabitants of the southern steppes (Iranian-speaking nomads) conducted primitive cattle breeding. The Slavs - arable farmers - brought the culture of productive farming to the East of Europe.

Social structure of the Eastern Slavs. The Eastern Slavs were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system. Communities based on blood ties and collective property are being replaced by “neighboring” communities based on territorial and economic unity. Tribal associations develop into territorial-political tribal unions: Polyans, Drevlyans, Ilmen Slovenes, etc. Economic and general cultural progress led to the separation of the ruling stratum - princes (from military leaders), military servicemen (druzhina) and tribal nobility ("best men") . The formation of social differentiation served as the basis for the formation of ancient Russian statehood.

The emergence of Kievan Rus. The scientific development of ancient Russian history (from the middle of the 18th century) is associated with the formation of “Norman” and “anti-Norman” theories. The first was based on the assumption of the Norman (Normans, Varangians - immigrants from Scandinavia) origin of the Kyiv statehood. The second denied the foreign origin of the state, considering the Varangian leader Rurik a mythical figure or a Slavic leader. The weakness of both theories is the identification of the question of the emergence of the state with the problem of the origin of the dynasty. The emergence of the Old Russian state could not be the result of a single act. The Slavic basis of ancient Russian statehood seems obvious. The Varangian element played an active role in the formation of state institutions of ancient Rus' (the Varangian origin of the ruling dynasty, based on the ancient Russian nobility - the boyars, formed as a result of the merger of the Varangians with the Slavic tribal elite).

Origin of the term "Rus". The dominant version is of Scandinavian origin (“Rus”: warrior - oarsman, squad). Arguments in favor of a Slavic, Baltic or Iranian etymology remain. “Kievan Rus” is a term adopted in scientific literature.

Periodization of the history of Kievan Rus. The first princes (from Rurik, 862 - 979, until the reign of Vladimir I the Holy in 980) - the formation of the ancient Russian state, the reign of Vladimir (980 - 1015) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019 - 1054) - heyday, period up to death of Mstislav the Great (1132) - collapse of Kievan Rus.

Socio-economic system. Old Russian society was agrarian in nature: the rural way of life (way of life is a system of social relations of a certain type), subordinate to the natural cycle and based on collective (community) living, was the basis of society and mentality (attitude).

Social and political system. The prevailing opinion is that Kievan Rus is an early feudal society. Feudalism is a type of social structure characterized by agrarianism, class division of society (class - a community with assigned inheritable rights and responsibilities), the presence of large (feudal) land property (feud - lands granted as hereditary possession for service), peasant property dependent on it , the dominance of religion in the spiritual sphere, as a rule, a monarchical form of government.

Social structure of Kievan Rus(fragmentarily recorded in the ancient code of laws “Russian Truth”) is characterized by division according to the class principle into layers of personally free (privileged nobility and unprivileged people) and personally dependent (entirely slaves, partially smerda, zakup, ryadovichi). The main productive force of ancient Russian society was “people” - free peasants who ran family farms on communal land, and urban people associated with crafts and trade.

In Ancient Rus', the key institutions of developed feudalism did not develop: seigneurial (private) ownership of land (princely domains began to form in the 10th century, boyar estates - in the 11th century); serfdom (legally formalized attachment of peasants to the land and personally to the owner of the land, forming “patrimonial jurisdiction” - the feudal lord’s right to non-economic coercion of the serf); rent relations (redistribution of surplus product from the producer to the land owner).

Within the privileged layer, relations of suzerainty - vassalage developed (a vassal is a servant with inalienable rights - immunities, serving the overlord for awards): the Kiev prince - “first among equals” - acted as overlord in relation to the younger Rurikovichs and the warriors. As private property relations developed in late Kievan Rus, the formation of a service layer began on the “classical” basis of land grants.

Under the dominance of collective feudal land ownership, the privileged class had three main sources of existence: trade, military booty and “polyudye”. The elite “walked among the people” who supplied industrial and industrial products. In the middle of the 10th century. Princess Olga fixed the collection order by location (“pogosts”), timing, and size. “Polyudye” was transformed from tribute into a tax used to maintain the courtyard and provide for state needs. “Polyudye” became an early form of feudal rent, which was collected from personally free peasants by the feudal nobility as a whole, the authorities.

A feature of Old Russian (Eastern European), “non-synthetic” feudalism (in contrast to the “synthetic” Western European, which adopted the Roman tradition) was the slowness of the formation of private property, the preservation of an array of state lands, which created the prospect of a long-term growth of feudalism “in breadth”. Early Russian feudalism is “state feudalism,” which demonstrates statism (increased role of the state) already at an early stage of the formation of statehood.

Formation of territorial unity. In 882 Rurik's successor Oleg captured Kyiv, which became the capital, putting an end to the confrontation between the northern and southern centers of the formation of ancient Russian statehood. During the 9th - 10th centuries. Kyiv princes subjugate the tribal principalities. During the reign of Vladimir the Saint, the replacement of “native” principalities with service princes - governors from the house of Rurikovich was completed. By the end of the 10th century. Kievan Rus was divided into volosts headed by princes - vassals of the Grand Duke. The local government (representatives of the prince, garrisons headed by thousands, centurions, tens - in accordance with the “tithe” management system) was supported by feeding - fees from the population.

A system of palace-patrimonial management begins to take shape, in which power belongs to the patrimonial owner. Servants of the princely palace economy (tiuns, elders) become managers of the corresponding branches of the state.

Cities. With the exception of Novgorod, ancient Russian cities, which developed mainly as transhipment points for foreign trade, did not have self-government, being the seat of local authorities - the support of princely power, and in this capacity playing an outstanding role in the formation of the state.

Political system. The Kiev prince, who received the throne by right of dynastic inheritance, was the personification of the state, the supreme ruler, judge, head of diplomacy, armed forces, and manager of the treasury.

Limiters of princely power: Rus' was considered the possession of the entire Rurik family, the Kiev prince was bound by relations of suzerainty - vassalage with the serving princes; boyar council; “ordinary” (“row” - agreement) agreements concluded with a number of territories; veche system; the traditional order of inheritance of the princely table, which was supposed to pass to the eldest in the Rurik family; the institution of feudal “congresses” - congresses resolving issues of dynastic and vassal relations.

Kievan Rus is an early limited monarchy (the source of power is the institution of monarchical rule).

Foreign policy. Kievan Rus, the eastern outpost of Christian Europe, was an active participant in international relations.

Khazar direction: in 964 - 965. Prince Svyatoslav crushes the Khazar Khaganate, the most dangerous rival during the 9th - 10th centuries.

Byzantine direction: peaceful trade and cultural ties were interspersed with armed conflicts (Russian campaigns at the turn of the 9th - 10th centuries, relations of alliance and confrontation during the time of Svyatoslav, the development of relations based on religious community by the end of the 10th century).

Southern direction: relations of alliance and armed struggle with the Pechenegs, who threatened the south of Rus', especially from the end of the 10th century; from the 11th century in a similar way - with the nomadic Turks - the Polovtsians.

Western direction: dynastic ties were a reflection of the diverse relationships (starting with Yaroslav the Wise, married to the daughter of the Swedish king).

Christianization of Rus'. During the formation of statehood, the Eastern Slavs (like the Varangians) professed paganism.

From the middle of the 10th century. Christianity penetrates into Rus'. In 988, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich carried out mass baptism of Kiev residents. Gradually, Christianity became the religion of the majority of the population of Rus'. The adoption of the monotheistic faith played an exceptional role in the formation of a unified ancient Russian statehood, language and culture. The differences between the Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Byzantine Orthodox) branches of Christianity left their imprint of originality on the subsequent course of Russian history.

Collapse of Kievan Rus. After the death of Yaroslav the Wise, civil strife began, leading to the fragmentation of Rus'. The process became irreversible after the Lyubechsky (near Kiev, 1097) congress of the Rurikovichs, which decided that Rus' was a collection of independent “fatherlands”.

Reasons for fragmentation:

External factors - the decline in the role of the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” which previously “pulled together” Russian lands; absence of a serious external threat;

Internal factors - the process of development of feudal society entering the stage of maturity (the collapse of early feudal states in Western Europe occurs in the X-XII centuries).

The fragile unity of Rus' was based on the underdevelopment of social relations, which prevented the independent existence of volosts and allowed the central government to make do with a limited set of administrative functions. Economic growth under the conditions of the dominance of a natural (self-sufficient) economy contributed to the formation of self-sufficiency in the volosts; the growth of private land ownership weakened the dependence of vassals on overlords; the complication of power functions revealed the impossibility of managing a gigantic territory from a single center.

The collapse of Kievan Rus revealed a rational form of statehood for the prevailing conditions.

2. The fragmentation of Rus' meant the formation of independent states, formed, as a rule, within the boundaries of appanages - volosts (“specific period of Russian history”).

Dominant centers. Southwestern Rus' was characterized by a confrontation between princely power and the dominant boyars (the so-called “princely-boyar model”). North-Eastern Rus' was characterized by a strong monarchical rule (“unipolar princely model”). The experience of government, unique for medieval Rus', developed in the north-west, in the Novgorod land (“unipolar veche model”).

Novgorod "boyar" republic(the source of power is the will of the people) gradually developed towards the end of the 12th century and existed until the second half of the 19th century.

Reasons for the formation of the republican system:

The lack of rootedness of princely power (in Kievan Rus, the Novgorod table could become a step to the Kyiv one);

Consolidation of the Novgorod boyars on a basis independent of the princely power.

State power in Novgorod was built on the basis of self-government principles: “Ulichansky”, “Konchansky” - district veche assemblies elected the local administration. The supreme authority was the citywide veche. The veche assembly elected the highest officials of the republic (mayor, thousand, archbishop, prince, who was called up mainly as a military leader). The Konchan authorities governed the provinces - “pyatinas” of the Novgorod land. In the structure of Novgorod, elements of election and separation of powers are visible. However, complete power in the “oligarchic republic” belonged to the boyars (“golden belts”). In the Moscow tradition, the Novgorod “freedom” seems to be a period of endless unrest. The reality - Novgorod was the most economically and culturally developed Russian land - refutes the “denigrating” scheme.

Culture of the pre-Mongol period. Old Russian culture is a synthesis of paganism with Christian culture based on Slavic writing, created in the second half of the 9th century. Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius.

Literacy is spreading. In the 11th century Russian literature and chronicle writing are born. The Tale of Igor's Campaign is recognized as an outstanding monument of pre-Mongol culture. High level of architecture (Kiev and Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedrals) and icon painting.

3. During the specific period, centers of aggression against Rus' were formed in the north-west and south-east.

The emergence of the Mongol-Tatar empire. In 1206, one of the noyons - princes Temujin was elected under the name of Genghis Khan (1206 - 1227) as the great khan of all the Mongols (Tatars - one of the Mongol tribes) living south of Lake Baikal - to the Gobi and the Great Wall of China. Nomadic tribes were at the stage of social differentiation (nobility, nukers - warriors, community members - cattle breeders, slaves) and the formation of statehood. Population growth, depletion of pastures due to increasing aridity, and the desire for enrichment pushed the Mongols onto the path of aggression. Beginning in 1211, an empire was created that included the territory of the south and west of Siberia, northern China, Korea, Central Asia, Iran, Transcaucasia, and the North Caucasus.

Reasons: the internal unsettlement of the neighbors, who were going through a period of fragmentation, the superiority of the Mongol army (the primitiveness of social relations made it possible to include in the troops the entire male population accustomed to military affairs), the effective use of the resources and experience of the occupied countries.

World significance of the empire. The integrity of the empire was fleeting. After the death of the founder, the state disintegrated into uluses, which nominally maintained unity but were drawn into civil strife. The long-term consequence of Mongol expansion was the acceleration of the formation of world history as a real interaction of humanity.

March to Rus'. During the campaign to the West, the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu (Batu) in 1237 - 1238. and in 1239 - 1241. attacked Russian lands. Despite fierce resistance, Rus' was conquered.

Education of the Golden Horde. After an unsuccessful campaign to the west, Batu founded the state of the Golden Horde with its capital Sarai on the Volga, covering the territory from the Irtysh to the Danube.

Reasons for the defeat of Rus'. Fractured Rus' was not able to repel the blow for the same reasons that the Mongols succeeded in their previous victories.

Aggression from the West. The situation was aggravated by the onslaught of the Swedes and German orders of knighthood. In 1240 at the mouth of the river Neva, the Swedish army was defeated by the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich, nicknamed Nevsky. In 1242, Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Lake. Chudskoye (“Battle of the Ice”). These victories diverted the threat from the West and allowed Alexander, who became the great prince of Vladimir, to establish that order of dependence on the Horde, which lasted for most of the “yoke” as a “lesser evil.”

Horde yoke. The invasion threw Rus' back: numerous human losses, economic and cultural decline. However, the Horde did not occupy Russian territory and was not interested in exterminating the Russian population, which would have deprived it of income. Punitive actions were carried out with the aim of keeping Russian lands in obedience.

Status of Rus' in relation to the Horde. Rus', which retained the social system, forms of statehood, and religion, became a “non-contractual” vassal of the Horde. The Great Khan (Tsar) was the overlord of the princes, through whom the Horde “exit” - tribute - was carried out.

The influence of the Horde on Rus'. The profound influence of the Horde on Rus' was reflected in the sphere of power relations. Khan's omnipotence, superimposed on the monarchical institutions of northeastern Rus', gave rise to the “Moscow-Horde” tradition: despotic power builds relations with the subject population as conquered, obliged to unquestioning obedience.

In the pre-Mongol period, Rus' evolved in some semblance of a pan-European pattern: from state-feudal forms, the basis of political unity, to seigneurial (privately owned) forms, the basis of fragmentation. The Horde invasion pushed the processes of the formation of a special type of feudalism, which took shape in the XYI-XYII centuries.

The place of the Golden Horde in Russian history. Long-term ties and the subsequent annexation of the Horde lands to Russia give reason to consider the history of the Golden Horde as part of Russian history.

Main events in the history of Rus' IX -trans. thirds XIII centuries

Kievan Rus

862 - calling of Rurik by the Novgorodians.

879 - 912(or 921) - Oleg's reign, 882 - Oleg's capture of Kyiv, unification of the Novgorod and Kyiv lands, 911 - campaign against Byzantium, treaty with the Greeks.

912-945 - Igor's reign, campaigns on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, on Byzantium, treaty with the Greeks, Igor's death in the Drevlyansky land during the collection of tribute.

945-972 - reign of Olga Svyatoslav Igorevich, Olga's trip to Constantinople, 964-972 - Svyatoslav's campaigns against the Vyatichi, Volga Bulgars, defeat of Khazaria, defeat from Byzantium in the struggle for Danube Bulgaria.

972-978 - struggle for power between the sons of Svyatoslav (Yaropolk, Oleg, Vladimir).

980- 1015 - reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, campaigns in Western Rus' in Poland, treaty of alliance with Byzantium, 988 - baptism of Rus'.

1015-1019 - struggle for power between the sons of Vladimir (Svyatopolk, Boris, Gleb, Yaroslav, Mstislav).

OK. 1016 – approx. 1113 – gradual creation of articles of “Russian Pravda” by Yaroslav, the Yaroslavichs and Vladimir Monomakh.

1019-1054 - reign of Yaroslav the Wise - flourishing of Kievan Rus, campaigns against Poland, Yatvingians, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Croats, Kama Bulgarians, Byzantium, fight against the Pechenegs, Polovtsians, formation of the Kiev Metropolis, attempt to install a metropolitan independent of Constantinople.

1054-1068 - joint reign of the sons of Yaroslav (Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, Vsevolod).

1068-1076 - strife of the Yaroslavichs, accompanied by the invasion of the Polovtsians, popular riots, and the involvement of the Pole in the Russian political struggle

1078-1093 - reign of Vsevolod in Kyiv.

1093 – 1113 - reign of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich.

1095-1111 - successful campaigns of the princes against the Polovtsians.

1097, 1100, 1103 - congresses and treaties of princes in Lyubech, Vitichev, on Lake Dolobskoye - attempts to streamline the system of reigns, end strife, preserve military unity in the fight against the Polovtsians.

1113-1125 - reign of Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh.

1125-1132 - reign of Mstislav Vladimirovich.

after 1132 - the collapse of Kievan Rus.