What was Rus' like before Kyiv? History of Kievan Rus
1. Formation of the Old Russian state - Kievan Rus
The state of Kievan Rus was created at the end of the 9th century.
The emergence of a state among the Eastern Slavs is reported in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” (XIIV.). It tells that the Slavs paid tribute to the Varangians. Then they drove the Varangians overseas and the question arose: who will rule in Novgorod? None of the tribes wanted to establish the power of a representative of a neighboring tribe. Then they decided to invite a stranger and turned to the Varangians. Three brothers responded to the invitation: Rurik, Truvor and Sineus. Rurik began to reign in Novgorod, Sineus in Beloozero, and Truvor in the city of Izborsk. Two years later, Sineus and Truvor died, and all power passed to Rurik. Two of Rurik’s squad, Askold and Dir, went south and began to reign in Kyiv. They killed the rulers there, Kiya, Shchek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid. In 879 Rurik died. His relative Oleg began to rule, since Rurik’s son Igor was still a minor. After 3 years (in 882), Oleg and his squad seized power in Kyiv. Thus, Kyiv and Novgorod united under the rule of one prince. This is what the chronicle says. Were there really two brothers - Sineus and Truvor? Today historians believe that there were none. “Rurik sine hus truvor” means, translated from ancient Swedish, “Rurik with house and squad.” The chronicler mistook the incomprehensible-sounding words for personal names, and wrote that Rurik arrived with two brothers.
Exists two theories of the origin of the ancient Russian state: Norman and anti-Norman. Both of these theories appeared in the XYIII century, 900 years after the formation of Kievan Rus. The fact is that Peter I - from the Romanov dynasty, was very interested in where the previous dynasty - the Rurikovichs - came from, who created the state of Kievan Rus and where this name came from. Peter I signed a decree on the creation of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. German scientists were invited to work at the Academy of Sciences.
Norman theory . Its founders are the German scientists Bayer, Miller, Schletser, who were invited back under Peter I to work at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. They confirmed the calling of the Varangians and made the assumption that the name of the Russian Empire was of Scandinavian origin, and that the state of Kievan Rus itself was created by the Varangians. “Rus” is translated from ancient Swedish as the verb “to row”; the Rus are rowers. Perhaps “Rus” is the name of the Varangian tribe from which Rurik came. At first, the Varangian warriors were called Rus, and then this word gradually passed on to the Slavs.
The calling of the Varangians was confirmed at a later time by data from archaeological excavations of mounds near Yaroslavl, near Smolensk. Scandinavian burials in a boat were discovered there. Many Scandinavian objects were clearly made by local – Slavic craftsmen. This means that the Varangians lived among the local residents.
But German scientists exaggerated the role of the Varangians in the formation of the ancient Russian state. As a result, these scientists agreed to such an extent that supposedly the Varangians were immigrants from the West, which means that it was they - the Germans - who created the state of Kievan Rus.
Anti-Norman theory. It also appeared in the 18th century, under the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna. She did not like the statement of German scientists that the Russian state was created by Westerners. In addition, during her reign there was a 7-year war with Prussia. She asked Lomonosov to look into this issue. Lomonosov M.V. did not deny the fact of the existence of Rurik, but began to deny his Scandinavian origin.
The anti-Norman theory intensified in the 30s of the twentieth century. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, they tried to prove the inferiority of the Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks), that they were not able to create states, that the Varangians were Germans. Stalin gave the task to refute the Norman theory. This is how a theory emerged according to which the Ros (Ross) tribe lived south of Kyiv on the Ros River. The Ros River flows into the Dnieper and this is where the name of Rus' comes from, since the Russians supposedly occupied a leading place among the Slavic tribes. The possibility of a Scandinavian origin for the name of Rus' was completely rejected. The anti-Norman theory tries to prove that the state of Kievan Rus was created by the Slavs themselves. This theory penetrated into textbooks on the history of the USSR, and was prevalent there until the end of “perestroika.”
The state appears there and then when opposing interests and classes appear in society, hostile to each other. The state regulates relations between people, relying on armed force. The Varangians were invited to reign, therefore, this form of power (princeship) was already known to the Slavs. It was not the Varangians who brought property inequality and the division of society into classes to Rus'. The ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus - arose as a result of the long, independent development of Slavic society, not thanks to the Varangians, but with their active participation. The Varangians themselves quickly became glorified and did not impose their language. The son of Igor, the grandson of Rurik, already bore the Slavic name - Svyatoslav. Today, some historians believe that the name of the Russian Empire is of Scandinavian origin and the princely dynasty begins with Rurik, and was called the Rurikovichs.
The ancient Russian state was called Kievan Rus.
2 . Socio-economic and political system of Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus was an early feudal state. It existed from the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 12th century (approximately 250 years).
The head of state was the Grand Duke. He was the highest military leader, judge, legislator, and recipient of tribute. He led foreign policy, declared war, made peace. Appointed officials. The power of the Grand Duke was limited:
Council under the prince, which included military nobility, city elders, clergy (since 988)
Veche - a national assembly in which all free people could take part. The veche could discuss and resolve any issue that interested it.
Appanage princes - local tribal nobility.
The first rulers of Kievan Rus were: Oleg (882-912), Igor (913-945), Olga - Igor’s wife (945-964).
The unification of all East Slavic and part of the Finnish tribes under the rule of the Grand Duke of Kyiv.
Acquisition of overseas markets for Russian trade and protection of trade routes that led to these markets.
Protection of the borders of the Russian land from attacks by steppe nomads (Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians).
The most important source of income for the prince and his squad was the tribute paid by the conquered tribes. Olga organized the collection of tribute and established its size.
The son of Igor and Olga, Prince Svyatoslav (964-972), made campaigns against Danube Bulgaria and Byzantium, and also defeated the Khazar Khaganate.
Under Svyatoslav’s son, Vladimir the Holy (980-1015), Christianity was adopted in Rus' in 988.
Socio-economic system:
The main branch of the economy is arable farming and cattle breeding. Additional industries: fishing, hunting. Rus' was a country of cities (more than 300) - in the 12th century.
Kievan Rus reached its peak under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054). He became related and became friends with the most prominent states of Europe. In 1036, he defeated the Pechenegs near Kiev and ensured the security of the eastern and southern borders of the state for a long time. In the Baltic states, he founded the city of Yuryev (Tartu) and established the position of Rus' there. Under him, writing and literacy spread in Rus', schools were opened for the children of the boyars. The higher school was located in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. The largest library was in St. Sophia Cathedral, also built under Yaroslav the Wise.
Under Yaroslav the Wise appeared the first set of laws in Rus' - “Russian Truth”, which operated throughout the XI-XIII centuries. There are 3 known editions of “Russian Truth”:
1. Brief truth of Yaroslav the Wise
2. Extensive (grandchildren of Yar. the Wise - Vl. Monomakh)
3. Abbreviated
“Russian Truth” consolidated the feudal property that was emerging in Rus', established harsh punishments for attempts to encroach on it, and defended the lives and privileges of members of the ruling class. According to “Russian Truth” one can trace the contradictions in society and the class struggle. “Russian Truth” of Yaroslav the Wise allowed blood feud, but the article on blood feud was limited to defining the exact circle of close relatives who have the right to take revenge: father, son, brother, cousin, nephew. This put an end to the endless chain of murders exterminating entire families.
In the Pravda of the Yaroslavichs (under the children of Yar. the Wise), blood feud is already prohibited, and instead a fine for murder has been introduced, depending on the social status of the person killed, from 5 to 80 hryvnia.
Kievan Rus
The first settlements on the territory of modern Kyiv arose from 1500 to 2000 years ago. According to legend, at the end of the 5th - beginning of the 6th century. AD, the brothers Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Lybid chose a place on the slopes of the Dnieper and founded a city on the steep right bank and named it, in honor of their elder brother, Kiev.
The location for the city was chosen well - the high slopes of the Dnieper served as good protection from raids by nomadic tribes. The Kyiv princes, for greater security, built their palaces and churches on the high Starokievskaya Mountain. Merchants and artisans lived near the Dnieper, where present-day Podol is located.
At the end of the 9th century. n. e., when the Kyiv princes finally managed to unite the scattered and disparate tribes under their rule, Kyiv became the political and cultural center of the Eastern Slavs, the capital of Kievan Rus - an ancient Slavic feudal state. Due to its location on the trade routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” Kyiv has long maintained strong political and economic ties with the countries of Central and Western Europe.
Kyiv begins to develop especially rapidly during the reign of Vladimir the Great (980 - 1015). In order to strengthen the unity of Kievan Rus and increase its influence in the international arena, Prince Vladimir baptized Rus' in 988. Christianity brought significant political benefits to Kievan Rus and served as an impetus for the further development of writing and culture. Under Vladimir the Great, the first stone church was built in Kyiv - the Church of the Tithes.
In the 11th century, under the rule of Yaroslav the Wise, Kyiv became one of the largest centers of civilization in the Christian world. St. Sophia Cathedral and the first library in Rus' were built. In addition, at that time the city had about 400 churches, 8 markets and more than 50,000 inhabitants. (For comparison: at the same time, Novgorod, the second largest city in Rus', had 30,000 inhabitants; London, Hamburg and Gdansk - 20,000 each). Kyiv was one of the most prosperous craft and trade centers in Europe.
However, after the death of Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1125), the process of fragmentation of the more or less unified Kyiv state began. By the middle of the 12th century. Kievan Rus splits into many independent principalities. External enemies were quick to take advantage of the situation. In the autumn of 1240, countless hordes of Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, appeared under the Kyiv walls. The Mongol-Tatars managed to take the city after a protracted and bloody battle. Thousands of Kiev residents were killed, most of the city was razed to the ground. A long and dark period of decline began in the history of Kyiv. For almost a hundred years, the Mongol-Tatars dominated the Ukrainian lands. And yet, Kyiv managed to preserve its ancient craft, merchant and cultural traditions and remain an important political, commercial and economic center. In the 14th century, the Kiev region became a stronghold of the nascent Ukrainian nation.
In the 15th century Kyiv was granted Magdeburg law, which ensured much greater independence of the city in matters of international trade and significantly expanded the rights of the urban classes - artisans, merchants and townspeople. In 1569, after the signing of the Union of Lublin, Poland and Lithuania united into one state, known in history as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and gradually established their dominance in Ukraine. The cruelty and arbitrariness of foreigners led to numerous uprisings of the Ukrainian people.
Royal Russia
In 1648, the inhabitants of Ukraine began an armed struggle against their enslavers. The head of the uprising was the hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks Bogdan Khmelnytsky. Soon most of Ukraine and Kyiv were liberated. However, faced with the need to fight on several fronts - with the Polish and Lithuanian knights in the west, the Crimean Khan and the Turkish Sultan in the south - Khmelnitsky was forced to turn to the Russian Tsar for military help. Formally, the union of Ukraine with Russia was concluded in 1654 in Pereyaslav (Pereyaslav Rada). After the defeat and death of Ivan Mazepa, who was trying to find an ally in the fight against tsarism in Sweden, Ukraine fell under the rule of the Russian Empire for a long time. But despite the merciless royal oppression, in the 17th -18th centuries. in Kyiv there still remained strongholds of the political, economic, cultural and religious development of the nation. Ukrainian culture concentrated around institutions such as the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. Some Ukrainian scientists and educators have won wide recognition and authority throughout Europe. Still, significant concessions could not be achieved.
After the social reforms of 1861 and the abolition of serfdom, some changes for the better took place in the cultural and economic life of Kyiv. The number of hospitals, almshouses, and educational institutions has increased. After construction in the 1860s. The Odessa-Kursk railway line, with shipping along the Dnieper developed by that time, Kyiv became a major transport and trade center. Trading on the Kyiv grain and sugar exchanges determined world prices for these products. The first electric tram in Russia (and the second in Europe) was launched in Kyiv in 1892 along a route connecting Podol and the Upper Town and passing along the current Vladimirsky Descent. Domestic and foreign industrialists invested significant funds in the city. Kyiv's infrastructure was developing rapidly.
The Kiev-Mohyla Academy, founded in the 17th century by Peter Mohyla, became the first university in Eastern Europe. During that period, Ukrainians were the most educated in the world, and almost all were literate. Books were printed, philosophy was studied, music, literature and painting flourished. The first Constitution appeared in Ukraine during the Cossack period (1711).
Soviet Union
After the revolution in St. Petersburg, power in the city changed several times. Between 1917 and 1921 In Kyiv, three governments of the independent, but torn apart by civil war, Ukrainian state replaced each other. On January 22, 1918, the Ukrainian Central Rada, headed by historian Mykhailo Grushevsky, declared the independence of Ukraine. Grushevsky himself was elected the first president of the Ukrainian Republic. However, this decision was an attempt by a drowning man to grasp at straws. Ukrainian politicians did not have enough political, economic and military power to defend the independence of the Ukrainian state. Soon, units of the Red Army led by Antonov-Ovseenko attacked Ukraine. In January 1919, in an atmosphere of great solemnity, the Ukrainian People's Republic, led by Symon Petliura, formally united with the Western Ukrainian People's Republic. (The latter, which had Lviv as its capital, arose on lands that were previously part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). However, this union of Ukrainian lands turned out to be very short-lived, since the regiments of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic were soon defeated by the Polish invaders who invaded Galicia, and the troops of Soviet Russia ousted Petliura's units from Kyiv.
In 1922, the Soviet Union was created, which included the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic. Formally, as a sovereign power within a federation, in fact, all power was transferred to the center, and the USSR became a totalitarian country.
Under Stalin, the best personnel of Ukrainian science and culture, numerous representatives of the technical, creative and military intelligentsia fell under the millstones of the Gulag and ended their life in the Siberian logging fields and in the icy wastelands of Magadan.
During World War II, Kyiv was almost completely destroyed. The heroic defense of Kyiv from the fascist occupiers continued for 72 days, but the enemy was stronger. On September 19, 1941, Nazi German troops entered the city. The tragedy of Babyn Yar, a Kyiv tract that the Nazis turned into a place of mass executions, is widely known. In addition, the Nazis built two more concentration camps in the vicinity of the city. During the war years, a total of more than 200,000 people were tortured there - Soviet prisoners of war and civilians. More than 100,000 people were sent from Kyiv to forced labor in Germany. The city was liberated on November 6, 1943 at the cost of heavy losses and human lives.
In the post-war years, Kyiv was rapidly rebuilt. The political situation, however, remained the same - denunciations, purges, show trials, executions in NKVD prisons, exile to the Gulag without trial. After Stalin's death, the regime in the country softened somewhat.
The Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986 made the whole world shudder. From now on, the life of every Kiev resident was split into two parts: before the reactor explosion and after. Chernobyl has already brought tens of thousands of deaths to Ukraine, ruined the health of hundreds of thousands of people, and caused enormous environmental and economic damage.
Independent Ukraine
At the end of the 80s, the hopelessness of the socialist path of development became more and more noticeable. The promised communism never materialized, and people were increasingly dissatisfied with “developed socialism.” The new leader, the first (and last) president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, is heading for the so-called “perestroika”, which was accompanied by “glasnost”, queues in stores and high inflation. One after another, Hungary, Poland, the GDR, the Czech Republic, and Romania are leaving the socialist camp. The "iron system" is bursting at the seams.
On July 6, 1990, the parliament of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic proclaims the sovereignty of Ukraine. The disturbing three days of the failed Kremlin coup in August 1991 became a turning point in the history of Ukraine. On August 24, 1991, the Supreme Council of Ukraine proclaims the Declaration of Independence. On December 1, 1991, the country's population voted in favor of independence in a national referendum with an overwhelming majority of votes - 93%. Leonid Makarovich Kravchuk, a former communist ideologist, becomes the first democratically elected President of independent Ukraine. On July 10, 1994, in the second round of the presidential election, Leonid Kravchuk lost to Leonid Kuchma, who was re-elected to a second term in 1999.
70 years of totalitarianism are behind us. Ukrainian politicians see Ukraine as a democratic country with a market, socially oriented economy.
Still, this is a very interesting moment in official history for it to continue to be ignored. It is interesting because it contains a horribly indecent logical hole.
Allegedly, there was Kievan Rus, and then suddenly Ukraine with Ukrainians appeared.
Knowing that such a term did not exist two or three centuries ago, it nevertheless turned out to be difficult to find its original source. Therefore, it was decided to get to the bottom of it, collecting various kinds of thoughts on this matter along the way.
If we turn to historical sources, we will see that no name Kievan Rus existed in ancient times. This state was called Rus' or more broadly - Russian land.
At one time, when Russian historical science was periodizing the past of Russia, the Russian historian Sergey Soloviev(1820-1879) divided the past of Rus' into several stages. He divided it based on the location of the capital of the State. Kievan Rus', Vladimir Rus', Moscow Rus', St. Petersburg Russia. This is where the formation of “Kievan Rus” came from. Although we emphasize that this is a conventional name introduced by historians, and it never existed in our past reality. Until the 19th century there was no difference between Ukrainians and Russians, and they themselves called themselves Russians.”
How then did the figurative expression “Kievan Rus” become associated in the minds of Soviet people with the state “Kievan Rus”?
The answer is as directed by the party. In the textbook “A Short Course in the History of the USSR”, 1937 edition, on page 13 it says: “Since the beginning of the 10th century, the Kievan Principality of the Slavs has been called Kievan Rus.” Since then, at the direction of the party, this false idea has been entrenched in our heads.
The formation of the first state on the territory of Eastern Europe, which received the name Kievan Rus in the nineteenth century, had a strong influence on further course of the history of the region. Having existed for several centuries, going through periods of prosperity and decline, it disappeared, laying the foundation for the emergence in the future of several states that play an important role in modern times.
The emergence of the Eastern Slavs
The history of the formation of the Kyiv state can be conditionally divided into three stages:
- the emergence of tribal unions;
- the emergence of the ruling elite;
- the beginnings of statehood, Kyiv.
The origin of the term Kievan Rus dates back to the nineteenth century. This is what historians called Rus', denoting a huge state in Eastern Europe, which was succeeded by several modern countries.
There is no exact date for the creation of Rus'. The formation of the Kyiv state was preceded by several centuries of the formation of Slavic tribal unions on its territory on the basis of the gradually disintegrating Slavic ethnic group. By the beginning of the eighth century, individual Slavic tribes created seven tribal unions here. On the lands of the glades, one of these unions located along the middle reaches of the Dnieper, the birth of the state of Kievan Rus took place.
The formation of military-tribal alliances was accompanied by the collapse of primitive democracy within the tribes, when a ruling military elite emerged, princes and their warriors, who appropriated most of the military spoils. The formation of the ruling stratum contributed to the emergence of the rudiments of the state. Large settlements began to emerge in the places of future key cities of ancient Rus'. Their number included ancient Russian Kyiv, which arose in the sixth century, the first ruler of which is considered to be the prince of the Polyans, Kiy. This process especially intensified at the turn of the eighth and ninth centuries.
Formation of Kyiv statehood
The history of Kievan Rus as a state entity began in the 9th century, when tribal unions began to fight among themselves for leadership in the region. As a result, during the 9th and 10th centuries, a military-trading association of tribal alliances was first formed, which gradually grew into the Kiev state.
The reign of Rurik in Novgorod
The gradual transition of tribal relations within tribes to feudal ones also required new methods of management. New social relations required other, more centralized forms of power that would be able to maintain the changing balance of interests. The most famous result of such a search was, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the calling in 862 to the princely throne of Novgorod, at that time the most developed city of the future Rus', of the Norman king Rurik, who was the founder of the future dynasty of Kyiv princes.
Having gained a foothold on the Novgorod table, Rurik, with the help of the warriors Askold and Dir, seizes power in Kyiv, which was an important trading point on the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” After the death of Rurik, his governor Oleg, having killed Askold and Dir, declares himself Grand Duke of Kyiv, making Kyiv the center of the united northern and southern Slavic lands. He made many military campaigns, including two against Byzantium, which resulted in the conclusion of trade and political treaties in 907 and 911 that were beneficial for Rus'. And also the result of the wars carried out by Oleg, nicknamed the Prophetic, was an almost doubling of the country’s territory.
Reign of Igor, Olga and Svyatoslav
Rurik's son Igor, nicknamed the Old, since he received power late, took the grand-ducal throne after Oleg's death in 912. His reign was less successful than that of his predecessor. An attempt in alliance with Byzantium to defeat the Khazar Khaganate ended in defeat, which turned into an unsuccessful military conflict with the former ally. The result of the next campaign in 944 against Byzantium was the signing of a new treaty, less beneficial for Rus', reintroducing trade tariffs.
Igor the Old was killed by the Drevlyans while collecting tribute from them in 945, leaving behind his young son Svyatoslav. As a result, his widow, Princess Olga, received real power in the principality.
Olga streamlined many laws of the Old Russian land, including carrying out a tax reform, the impetus for which was the uprising of the Drevlyans. Polyudye was abolished and clear tribute amounts and “lessons” were established. The tribute had to be delivered to special fortresses called “cemeteries” and received by administrators appointed by the prince. Such tribute and the procedure for receiving it were called “carriage”. Having paid the tribute, the payer received a clay seal with the sign of the prince, which guaranteed against paying the tax again.
Princess Olga's reforms contributed to strengthening the power of the Kyiv princes, its centralization, and reducing the independence of the tribes.
In 962, Olga transferred power to her son Svyatoslav. The reign of Svyatoslav was not marked by noticeable reforms; the prince himself, being primarily a born warrior, preferred military campaigns to state activities. First, he subjugated the Vyatichi tribe, incorporating it into the Russian land, and in 965 he led a successful campaign against the Khazar state.
The defeat of the Khazar Kaganate opened up for Rus' trade route to the east, and two subsequent Bulgarian campaigns provided the Old Russian state with dominance over the entire northern coast of the Black Sea. Rus' advanced its borders to the south, establishing itself in Tmutarakan. Svyatoslav himself was going to found his own state on the Danube, but was killed by the Pechenegs, returning from an unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium in 872.
Board of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich
The sudden death of Svyatoslav caused an internecine struggle in Rus' between his sons for the Kiev table. Yaropolk, who by seniority had the original right to the grand-ducal throne, first defended it in the fight against Oleg, who reigned among the Drevlyans, who died in 977. Vladimir, who ruled in Novgorod, fled beyond the borders of Rus', but later returned with a Varangian squad in 980 and, having killed Yaropolk, took the place of the Kyiv prince.
Reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, later called the Great or the Baptist, marked the formation of Rus' as a state. Under him, the boundaries of the territory of the Old Russian state were finally determined, Cherven and Carpathian Rus' were annexed. The increasing threat of Pecheneg attacks forced him to create a border defensive line of fortresses, the garrisons of which consisted of selected warriors. But the main event of the reign of Vladimir the Baptist is the adoption by Russia of Orthodox Christianity as the official state religion.
The reason for adopting a religion professing belief in one God was purely practical. The feudal society with its monarchical form of government, which was finally formed by the end of the tenth century, was no longer satisfied with a religion based on polytheism. Religious beliefs in the Middle Ages formed the basis of a person’s worldview and were the state ideology of any country. Therefore, paganism, which reflected primitive tribalism, has become obsolete. There was a need to replace the old religion with a monotheistic one, more suitable for monarchical feudal state.
Prince Vladimir the Great did not immediately decide which of the then dominant religious beliefs to accept as the basis of the ideology of the state. According to the chronicles, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism could have established themselves in Rus'... But the choice fell on Byzantine-style Orthodoxy. Both the prince’s personal preferences and political expediency played a role here.
Christianity became the official religion in Kievan Rus in 988.
The heyday of Kievan Rus
Historians conventionally divide the time before the reign of Prince Vladimir Monomakh into several stages.
- Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.
- Eleventh century. Triumvirate of Yaroslavichs.
- Kievan Rus. 12th century. Vladimir Monomakh.
Each stage is distinguished by events important for the development and formation of statehood.
Rivalry between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav
Vladimir the Baptist died in 1015, immediately a new internecine struggle for power between his sons began in the country. Svyatopolk the Accursed kills his brothers Boris and Gleb, later canonized, and seizes the Kiev table. After which he enters into a fight with Yaroslav, who ruled in Novgorod.
The struggle goes on with varying success for several years and almost ends with the complete victory of Svyatopolk-Yaroslav, who, once again expelled from Kyiv, refuses further struggle and is going to flee “overseas.” But at the insistence of the Novgorodians, for the money they collected, he again recruits a mercenary army and finally expels Svyatopolk, who later went missing “between the Czechs and the Poles,” from Kyiv
After the elimination of Svyatopolk in 1019, Yaroslav's struggle for power was not over. First, after a year and a half, there was a battle with his nephew, the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, who plundered Novgorod. Later he entered into battle with the prince of Tmutarakan Mstislav. While Yaroslav in the north suppressed the uprising of pagan tribes, Mstislav tried unsuccessfully to capture Kyiv, after which he stopped in Chernigov. The battle that took place later on the banks of the Dnieper with Yaroslav arriving in time ended for the latter with a crushing defeat and flight.
Despite the victory, Mstislav did not have the strength to fight further, so he initiated the signing of a peace treaty that divided Rus' along the Dnieper between the two capitals, Kiev and Chernigov, in 1026. The agreement turned out to be strong, the “duumvirate” of the brothers lasted successfully until 1036, when, after the death of left no heirs Mstislav, his lands came into the possession of the Kyiv prince. Thus, Yaroslav completed a new “gathering of lands” of the former possessions of Vladimir the Great.
During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, Rus' reached its peak. The Pechenegs were defeated. Rus' was recognized as an influential state in Europe, as evidenced by numerous dynastic marriages. A collection of laws “Russian Truth” was written, the first stone architectural monuments were built, and the level of literacy rose sharply. The geography of trade expanded, which was carried out with many countries from Central Asia to Western Europe.
After Yaroslav's death in 1054, power was shared by his three eldest sons, who ruled in Kyiv, Chernigov and Pereyaslav. At this time there were a number of Russian-Polovtsian wars, unsuccessful for the Russian princes. The congress held in Lyubech in 1097, dividing the Rurikovichs into separate dynasties, stimulated further feudal fragmentation, while simultaneously stopping strife to fight the Polovtsians.
Vladimir Monomakh and Mstislav Vladimirovich
In 1113, the Kiev period of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh began. Being a subtle politician, with the help of compromises he managed to stop the inevitable disintegration of the state into separate principalities during his reign. Having complete control over the country's military forces, he managed to achieve the obedience of his willful vassals and, for some time, eliminate the danger of a Polovtsian invasion.
After Monomakh's death in 1125, his son Mstislav continued his father's policies. The years of the reign of Mstislav the Great were the last when Rus' still remained united.
Disappearance of the State
The death of Mstislav in 1132 marked the end of the era of the ancient Russian state. Having broken up into a dozen virtually independent principalities, it finally ceased to exist as an integral state entity. At the same time, Kyiv still continued to represent for some time a symbol of the prestige of the princely power, gradually losing real influence. But even in this capacity, Ancient Rus' only had a century left to exist. The invasion of the Mongols in the middle of the thirteenth century led to the loss of independence of the ancient Russian lands for several centuries.
During the VI-IX centuries. among the Eastern Slavs there was a process of class formation and the creation of the preconditions for feudalism. The territory where ancient Russian statehood began to take shape was located at the intersection of routes along which the migration of peoples and tribes took place, and nomadic routes ran. The South Russian steppes were the scene of endless struggle among moving tribes and peoples. Often Slavic tribes attacked the border regions of the Byzantine Empire.
In the 7th century in the steppes between the Lower Volga, Don and North Caucasus, a Khazar state was formed. The Slavic tribes in the regions of the Lower Don and Azov came under his rule, retaining, however, a certain autonomy. The territory of the Khazar kingdom extended to the Dnieper and the Black Sea. At the beginning of the 8th century. The Arabs inflicted a crushing defeat on the Khazars, and through the North Caucasus they deeply invaded the north, reaching the Don. A large number of Slavs - allies of the Khazars - were captured.
The Varangians (Normans, Vikings) penetrate into Russian lands from the north. At the beginning of the 8th century. they settled around Yaroslavl, Rostov and Suzdal, establishing control over the territory from Novgorod to Smolensk. Some of the northern colonists penetrated into southern Russia, where they mixed with the Rus, adopting their name. The capital of the Russian-Varangian Kaganate, which ousted the Khazar rulers, was formed in Tmutarakan. In their struggle, the opponents turned to the Emperor of Constantinople for an alliance.
In such a complex environment, the consolidation of Slavic tribes into political unions took place, which became the embryo of the formation of a unified East Slavic statehood.
In the 9th century. As a result of the centuries-long development of East Slavic society, the early feudal state of Rus' was formed with its center in Kyiv. Gradually, all the East Slavic tribes united in Kievan Rus.
The topic of the history of Kievan Rus considered in the work seems not only interesting, but also very relevant. Recent years have been marked by changes in many areas of Russian life. The lifestyle of many people has changed, the system of life values has changed. Knowledge of the history of Russia, the spiritual traditions of the Russian people, is very important for increasing the national self-awareness of Russians. A sign of the revival of the nation is the ever-increasing interest in the historical past of the Russian people, in their spiritual values.
FORMATION OF THE ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE IN THE 9th century
The time from the 6th to the 9th centuries is still the last stage of the primitive communal system, the time of the formation of classes and the imperceptible, at first glance, but steady growth of the preconditions of feudalism. The most valuable monument containing information about the beginning of the Russian state is the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years, where the Russian land came from, and who began to reign first in Kyiv and where the Russian land came from,” compiled by the Kyiv monk Nestor around 1113.
Having begun his story, like all medieval historians, with the Flood, Nestor talks about the settlement of Western and Eastern Slavs in Europe in ancient times. He divides the East Slavic tribes into two groups, the level of development of which, according to his description, was not the same. Some of them lived, as he put it, in a “beastly manner,” preserving the features of the tribal system: blood feud, remnants of matriarchy, the absence of marriage prohibitions, “kidnapping” (kidnapping) of wives, etc. Nestor contrasts these tribes with the glades, in whose land Kyiv was built. The Polyans are “sensible men”; they have already established a patriarchal monogamous family and, obviously, have overcome blood feud (they are “distinguished by their meek and quiet disposition”).
Next, Nestor talks about how the city of Kyiv was created. Prince Kiy, who reigned there, according to Nestor’s story, came to Constantinople to visit the Emperor of Byzantium, who received him with great honors. Returning from Constantinople, Kiy built a city on the banks of the Danube, intending to settle here for a long time. But the local residents were hostile to him, and Kiy returned to the banks of the Dnieper.
Nestor considered the formation of the principality of Polans in the Middle Dnieper region to be the first historical event on the path to the creation of the Old Russian states. The legend about Kiy and his two brothers spread far to the south, and was even brought to Armenia.
Byzantine writers of the 6th century paint the same picture. During the reign of Justinian, huge masses of Slavs advanced to the northern borders of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine historians colorfully describe the invasion of the empire by Slavic troops, who took away prisoners and rich booty, and the settlement of the empire by Slavic colonists. The appearance of the Slavs, who dominated communal relations, on the territory of Byzantium contributed to the eradication of slave-owning orders here and the development of Byzantium along the path from the slave-owning system to feudalism.
The successes of the Slavs in the fight against the powerful Byzantium indicate a relatively high level of development of Slavic society for that time: the material prerequisites had already appeared for equipping significant military expeditions, and the system of military democracy made it possible to unite large masses of Slavs. Long-distance campaigns contributed to the strengthening of the power of the princes in the indigenous Slavic lands, where tribal principalities were created.
Archaeological data fully confirms the words of Nestor that the core of the future Kievan Rus began to take shape on the banks of the Dnieper when the Slavic princes made campaigns in Byzantium and the Danube, in the times preceding the attacks of the Khazars (7th century).
The creation of a significant tribal union in the southern forest-steppe regions facilitated the advance of Slavic colonists not only in the southwest (to the Balkans), but also in the southeast direction. True, the steppes were occupied by various nomads: Bulgarians, Avars, Khazars, but the Slavs of the Middle Dnieper region (Russian land) were obviously able to protect their possessions from their invasions and penetrate deep into the fertile black earth steppes. In the VII-IX centuries. The Slavs also lived in the eastern part of the Khazar lands, somewhere in the Azov region, participated together with the Khazars in military campaigns, and were hired to serve the Kagan (Khazar ruler). In the south, the Slavs apparently lived in islands among other tribes, gradually assimilating them, but at the same time absorbing elements of their culture.
During the VI-IX centuries. Productive forces grew, tribal institutions changed, and the process of class formation began. As the most important phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs during the VI-IX centuries. The development of arable farming and the development of crafts should be noted; the collapse of the clan community as a labor collective and the separation from it of individual peasant farms, forming a neighboring community; the growth of private land ownership and the formation of classes; the transformation of the tribal army with its defensive functions into a squad that dominates its fellow tribesmen; seizure by princes and nobles of tribal land into personal hereditary property.
By the 9th century. Everywhere in the territory of settlement of the Eastern Slavs, a significant area of arable land cleared from forest was formed, indicating the further development of productive forces under feudalism. An association of small clan communities, characterized by a certain unity of culture, was the ancient Slavic tribe. Each of these tribes assembled a national assembly (veche). The power of the tribal princes gradually increased. The development of intertribal ties, defensive and offensive alliances, the organization of joint campaigns and, finally, the subjugation of their weaker neighbors by strong tribes - all this led to the consolidation of tribes, to their unification into larger groups.
Describing the time when the transition from tribal relations to the state took place, Nestor notes that various East Slavic regions had “their own reigns.” This is confirmed by archaeological data.
The formation of an early feudal state, which gradually subjugated all the East Slavic tribes, became possible only when the differences between the south and the north in terms of agricultural conditions were somewhat smoothed out, when in the north there was a sufficient amount of plowed land and the need for hard collective labor in cutting and forest uprooting has decreased significantly. As a result, the peasant family emerged as a new production team from the patriarchal community.
The decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Eastern Slavs occurred at a time when the slave system had already outlived its usefulness on a world-historical scale. In the process of class formation, Rus' came to feudalism, bypassing the slave-owning formation.
In the 9th-10th centuries. antagonistic classes of feudal society are formed. The number of vigilantes is increasing everywhere, their differentiation is increasing, and the nobility - the boyars and princes - are being separated from their midst.
An important question in the history of the emergence of feudalism is the question of the time of the appearance of cities in Rus'. In the conditions of the tribal system, there were certain centers where tribal councils met, a prince was chosen, trade was carried out, fortune telling was carried out, court cases were decided, sacrifices were made to the gods and the most important dates of the year were celebrated. Sometimes such a center became the focus of the most important types of production. Most of these ancient centers later turned into medieval cities.
In the 9th-10th centuries. feudal lords created a number of new cities that served both the purposes of defense against nomads and the purposes of domination over the enslaved population. Craft production was also concentrated in cities. The old name “grad”, “city”, denoting a fortification, began to be applied to a real feudal city with a detinets-kremlin (fortress) in the center and an extensive craft and trading area.
Despite the gradual and slow process of feudalization, one can still indicate a certain line, starting from which there is reason to talk about feudal relations in Rus'. This line is the 9th century, when the Eastern Slavs had already formed a feudal state.
The lands of the East Slavic tribes united into a single state received the name Rus. The arguments of “Norman” historians who tried to declare the Normans, who were then called Varangians in Rus', the creators of the Old Russian state, are unconvincing. These historians stated that the chronicles meant the Varangians by Rus. But as has already been shown, the prerequisites for the formation of states among the Slavs developed over many centuries and by the 9th century. gave noticeable results not only in the West Slavic lands, where the Normans never penetrated and where the Great Moravian state arose, but also in the East Slavic lands (in Kievan Rus), where the Normans appeared, robbed, destroyed representatives of local princely dynasties and sometimes became princes themselves. It is obvious that the Normans could neither promote nor seriously hinder the process of feudalization. The name Rus' began to be used in sources in relation to part of the Slavs 300 years before the appearance of the Varangians.
The first mention of the Ros people was found in the middle of the 6th century, when information about them had already reached Syria. The glades, called, according to the chronicler, Russia, become the basis of the future ancient Russian nation, and their land - the core of the territory of the future state - Kievan Rus.
Among the news belonging to Nestor, one passage has survived, which describes Rus' before the Varangians appeared there. “These are the Slavic regions,” writes Nestor, “that are part of Rus' - the Polyans, the Drevlyans, the Dregovichi, the Polochans, the Novgorod Slovenes, the Northerners...”2. This list includes only half of the East Slavic regions. Consequently, Rus' at that time did not yet include the Krivichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Croats, Ulichs and Tivertsy. At the center of the new state formation was the Polyan tribe. The Old Russian state became a kind of federation of tribes; in its form it was an early feudal monarchy
ANCIENT Rus' OF THE END OF THE IX – BEGINNING OF THE 12TH CENTURY.
In the second half of the 9th century. Novgorod prince Oleg united power over Kiev and Novgorod in his hands. The chronicle dates this event to 882. The formation of the early feudal Old Russian state (Kievan Rus) as a result of the emergence of antagonistic classes was a turning point in the history of the Eastern Slavs.
The process of uniting the East Slavic lands as part of the Old Russian state was complex. In a number of lands, the Kyiv princes encountered serious resistance from local feudal and tribal princes and their “husbands.” This resistance was suppressed by force of arms. During the reign of Oleg (late 9th - early 10th centuries), a constant tribute was already levied from Novgorod and from the lands of the North Russian (Novgorod or Ilmen Slavs), Western Russian (Krivichi) and North-Eastern lands. The Kiev prince Igor (beginning of the 10th century), as a result of a stubborn struggle, subjugated the lands of the Ulitches and Tiverts. Thus, the border of Kievan Rus was advanced beyond the Dniester. A long struggle continued with the population of the Drevlyansky land. Igor increased the amount of tribute collected from the Drevlyans. During one of Igor’s campaigns in the Drevlyan land, when he decided to collect a double tribute, the Drevlyans defeated the princely squad and killed Igor. During the reign of Olga (945-969), Igor's wife, the land of the Drevlyans was finally subordinated to Kyiv.
The territorial growth and strengthening of Rus' continued under Svyatoslav Igorevich (969-972) and Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980-1015). The Old Russian state included the lands of the Vyatichi. The power of Rus' extended to the North Caucasus. The territory of the Old Russian state expanded in a western direction, including the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus'.
With the formation of the early feudal state, more favorable conditions were created for maintaining the security of the country and its economic growth. But the strengthening of this state was associated with the development of feudal property and the further enslavement of the previously free peasantry.
The supreme power in the Old Russian state belonged to the Grand Duke of Kyiv. At the princely court there lived a squad, divided into “senior” and “junior”. The boyars from the prince's military comrades turn into landowners, his vassals, patrimonial fiefs. In the XI-XII centuries. the boyars are formalized as a special class and their legal status is consolidated. Vassalage is formed as a system of relations with the prince-suzerain; its characteristic features are the specialization of the vassal service, the contractual nature of the relationship and the economic independence of the vassal4.
Princely warriors took part in government. Thus, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, together with the boyars, discussed the issue of introducing Christianity, measures to combat “robberies” and decided on other matters. Certain parts of Rus' were ruled by their own princes. But the Grand Duke of Kiev sought to replace the local rulers with his proteges.
The state helped strengthen the rule of feudal lords in Rus'. The apparatus of power ensured the flow of tribute, collected in money and in kind. The working population also performed a number of other duties - military, underwater, participated in the construction of fortresses, roads, bridges, etc. Individual princely warriors received control over entire regions with the right to collect tribute.
In the middle of the 10th century. under Princess Olga, the size of duties (tributes and quitrents) was determined and temporary and permanent camps and graveyards were established in which tribute was collected.
The norms of customary law have developed among the Slavs since ancient times. With the emergence and development of class society and the state, along with customary law and gradually replacing it, written laws appeared and developed to protect the interests of the feudal lords. Already in Oleg’s treaty with Byzantium (911) the “Russian law” was mentioned. The collection of written laws is “Russian Truth”, the so-called “Short Edition” (late 11th - early 12th centuries). In its composition, the “Most Ancient Truth” was preserved, apparently written down at the beginning of the 11th century, but reflecting some norms of customary law. It also talks about the remnants of primitive communal relations, for example, about blood feud. The law considers cases of replacing revenge with a fine in favor of the relatives of the victim (later in favor of the state).
The armed forces of the Old Russian state consisted of the squad of the Grand Duke, the squads that were brought by the princes and boyars subordinate to him, and the people's militia (warriors). The number of troops with which the princes went on campaigns sometimes reached 60-80 thousand. Foot militia continued to play an important role in the armed forces. Detachments of mercenaries were also used in Rus' - nomads of the steppes (Pechenegs), as well as Cumans, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Czechs, Poles, and Norman Varangians, but their role in the armed forces was insignificant. The Old Russian fleet consisted of ships hollowed out of trees and lined with boards along the sides. Russian ships sailed in the Black, Azov, Caspian and Baltic seas.
The foreign policy of the Old Russian state expressed the interests of the growing class of feudal lords, who expanded their possessions, political influence and trade relations. Striving to conquer individual East Slavic lands, the Kyiv princes came into conflict with the Khazars. Advancement to the Danube, the desire to seize the trade route along the Black Sea and the Crimean coast led to the struggle of the Russian princes with Byzantium, which tried to limit the influence of Rus' in the Black Sea region. In 907, Prince Oleg organized a campaign by sea against Constantinople. The Byzantines were forced to ask the Russians to conclude peace and pay an indemnity. According to the peace treaty of 911. Rus' received the right to duty-free trade in Constantinople.
The Kyiv princes also undertook campaigns to more distant lands - beyond the Caucasus ridge, to the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea (campaigns of 880, 909, 910, 913-914). The expansion of the territory of the Kyiv state began to be especially active during the reign of Princess Olga's son, Svyatoslav (Svyatoslav's campaigns - 964-972). He dealt the first blow to the Khazar empire. Their main cities on the Don and Volga were captured. Svyatoslav even planned to settle in this region, becoming the successor to the empire he destroyed6.
Then the Russian squads marched to the Danube, where they captured the city of Pereyaslavets (previously owned by the Bulgarians), which Svyatoslav decided to make his capital. Such political ambitions show that the Kyiv princes had not yet connected the idea of the political center of their empire with Kiev.
The danger that came from the East - the invasion of the Pechenegs - forced the Kyiv princes to pay more attention to the internal structure of their own state.
ADOPTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN Rus'
At the end of the 10th century. Christianity was officially introduced in Rus'. The development of feudal relations prepared the way for the replacement of pagan cults with a new religion.
The Eastern Slavs deified the forces of nature. Among the gods they revered, the first place was occupied by Perun, the god of thunder and lightning. Dazhd-bog was the god of the sun and fertility, Stribog was the god of thunderstorms and bad weather. Volos was considered the god of wealth and trade, and the blacksmith god Svarog was considered the creator of all human culture.
Christianity began to penetrate early into Rus' among the nobility. Back in the 9th century. Patriarch Photius of Constantinople noted that Rus' changed “pagan superstition” to “Christian faith”7. Christians were among Igor's warriors. Princess Olga converted to Christianity.
Vladimir Svyatoslavich, having been baptized in 988 and appreciating the political role of Christianity, decided to make it the state religion in Rus'. Russia's adoption of Christianity occurred in a difficult foreign policy situation. In the 80s of the 10th century. The Byzantine government turned to the prince of Kyiv with a request for military assistance to suppress uprisings in the lands under its control. In response, Vladimir demanded an alliance with Russia from Byzantium, offering to seal it with his marriage to Anna, the sister of Emperor Vasily II. The Byzantine government was forced to agree to this. After the marriage of Vladimir and Anna, Christianity was officially recognized as the religion of the Old Russian state.
Church institutions in Rus' received large land grants and tithes from state revenues. Throughout the 11th century. bishoprics were founded in Yuryev and Belgorod (in the Kyiv land), Novgorod, Rostov, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny, Vladimir-Volynsky, Polotsk and Turov. Several large monasteries arose in Kyiv.
The people met the new faith and its ministers with hostility. Christianity was imposed by force, and the Christianization of the country dragged on for several centuries. Pre-Christian (“pagan”) cults continued to live among the people for a long time.
The introduction of Christianity was a progress compared to paganism. Together with Christianity, the Russians received some elements of a higher Byzantine culture and, like other European peoples, joined the heritage of antiquity. The introduction of a new religion increased the international significance of ancient Rus'.
DEVELOPMENT OF FEUDAL RELATIONS IN Rus'
Time from the end of the X to the beginning of the XII century. is an important stage in the development of feudal relations in Rus'. This time is characterized by the gradual victory of the feudal mode of production over a large territory of the country.
Sustainable field farming dominated Russian agriculture. Cattle breeding developed more slowly than agriculture. Despite the relative increase in agricultural production, harvests were low. Frequent phenomena were shortages and hunger, which undermined the Kresgyap economy and contributed to the enslavement of the peasants. Hunting, fishing, and beekeeping remained of great importance in the economy. The furs of squirrels, martens, otters, beavers, sables, foxes, as well as honey and wax went to the foreign market. The best hunting and fishing areas, forests and lands were seized by the feudal lords.
In the XI and early XII centuries. part of the land was exploited by the state by collecting tribute from the population, part of the land area was in the hands of individual feudal lords as estates that could be inherited (they later became known as estates), and estates received from princes for temporary conditional holding.
The ruling class of feudal lords was formed from local princes and boyars, who became dependent on Kiev, and from the husbands (combatants) of the Kyiv princes, who received control, holding or patrimony of the lands “tortured” by them and the princes. The Kyiv Grand Dukes themselves had large land holdings. The distribution of land by princes to warriors, strengthening feudal production relations, was at the same time one of the means used by the state to subjugate the local population to its power.
Land ownership was protected by law. The growth of boyar and church land ownership was closely related to the development of immunity. The land, which was previously peasant property, became the property of the feudal lord “with tribute, virami and sales,” that is, with the right to collect taxes and court fines from the population for murder and other crimes, and, consequently, with the right of trial.
With the transfer of lands into the ownership of individual feudal lords, peasants in different ways became dependent on them. Some peasants, deprived of the means of production, were enslaved by landowners, taking advantage of their need for tools, equipment, seeds, etc. Other peasants, sitting on land subject to tribute, who owned their own tools of production, were forced by the state to transfer the land under the patrimonial power of the feudal lords. As the estates expanded and the smerds became enslaved, the term servants, which previously meant slaves, began to apply to the entire mass of the peasantry dependent on the landowner.
Peasants who fell into bondage to the feudal lord, legally formalized by a special agreement - nearby, were called purchases. They received from the landowner a plot of land and a loan, which they worked on on the feudal lord's farm with the master's equipment. For escaping from the master, the zakuns turned into serfs - slaves deprived of all rights. Labor rent - corvée, field and castle (construction of fortifications, bridges, roads, etc.), was combined with nagural quitrent.
The forms of social protest of the masses against the feudal system were varied: from flight from their owner to armed “robbery”, from violating the boundaries of feudal estates, setting fire to the trees belonging to the princes to open uprising. The peasants fought against the feudal lords with weapons in their hands. Under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, “robberies” (as armed uprisings of peasants were often called at that time) became a common phenomenon. In 996, Vladimir, on the advice of the clergy, decided to apply the death penalty against “robbers”, but then, having strengthened the apparatus of power and, needing new sources of income to support the squad, he replaced the execution with a fine - vira. The princes paid even more attention to the fight against popular movements in the 11th century.
At the beginning of the 12th century. further development of the craft took place. In the village, under the conditions of state dominance of the natural economy, the production of clothing, shoes, utensils, agricultural implements, etc. was home production, not yet separated from agriculture. With the development of the feudal system, some of the community artisans became dependent on the feudal lords, others left the village and went under the walls of princely castles and fortresses, where craft settlements were created. The possibility of a break between the artisan and the village was due to the development of agriculture, which could provide the urban population with food and the beginning of the separation of crafts from agriculture.
Cities became centers for the development of crafts. In them by the 12th century. there were over 60 craft specialties. Russian artisans of the 11th-12th centuries. produced more than 150 types of iron and steel products, their products played an important role in the development of trade relations between the city and the countryside. Old Russian jewelers knew the art of minting non-ferrous metals. Tools, weapons, household items, and jewelry were made in craft workshops.
With its products, Rus' gained fame in Europe at that time. However, the social division of labor in the country as a whole was weak. The village lived on subsistence farming. The penetration of small retail traders into the village from the city did not disrupt the natural nature of the rural economy. Cities were centers of internal trade. But urban commodity production did not change the natural economic basis of the country’s economy.
Rus''s foreign trade was more developed. Russian merchants traded in the possessions of the Arab Caliphate. The Dnieper route connected Rus' with Byzantium. Russian merchants traveled from Kiev to Moravia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Southern Germany, from Novgorod and Polotsk - along the Baltic Sea to Scandinavia, Polish Pomerania and further to the west. With the development of crafts, the export of handicraft products increased.
Silver bars and foreign coins were used as money. Princes Vladimir Svyatoslavich and his son Yaroslav Vladimirovich issued (albeit in small quantities) minted silver coins. However, foreign trade did not change the natural nature of the Russian economy.
With the growth of the social division of labor, cities developed. They arose from castle fortresses, which were gradually overgrown with settlements, and from trade and craft settlements, around which fortifications were erected. The city was connected with the nearest rural district, from whose products it lived and whose population it served with handicrafts. In the chronicles of the 9th-10th centuries. 25 cities are mentioned in the news of the 11th century - 89. The heyday of ancient Russian cities fell in the 11th-12th centuries.
Craft and merchant associations arose in the cities, although a guild system did not develop here. In addition to free artisans, patrimonial artisans also lived in cities, who were slaves of princes and boyars. The city nobility consisted of the boyars. The large cities of Rus' (Kyiv, Chernigov, Polotsk, Novgorod, Smolensk, etc.) were administrative, judicial and military centers. At the same time, having grown stronger, the cities contributed to the process of political fragmentation. This was a natural phenomenon under conditions of the dominance of subsistence farming and the weak economic ties between individual lands.
PROBLEMS OF STATE UNITY OF Rus'
The state unity of Rus' was not strong. The development of feudal relations and the strengthening of the power of the feudal lords, as well as the growth of cities as centers of local principalities, led to changes in the political superstructure. In the 11th century the head of the state was still headed by the Grand Duke, but the princes and boyars dependent on him acquired large land holdings in different parts of Rus' (in Novgorod, Polotsk, Chernigov, Volyn, etc.). The princes of individual feudal centers strengthened their own apparatus of power and, relying on local feudal lords, began to consider their reigns as paternal, that is, hereditary possessions. Economically, they were almost no longer dependent on Kyiv; on the contrary, the Kiev prince was interested in their support. Political dependence on Kyiv weighed heavily on local feudal lords and princes who ruled in certain parts of the country.
After the death of Vladimir, his son Svyatopolk became prince in Kyiv, who killed his brothers Boris and Gleb and began a stubborn struggle with Yaroslav. In this struggle, Svyatopolk used the military assistance of Polish feudal lords. Then a massive popular movement against the Polish invaders began in the Kyiv land. Yaroslav, supported by the Novgorod townspeople, defeated Svyatopolk and occupied Kyiv.
During the reign of Yaroslav Vladimirovich, nicknamed the Wise (1019-1054), around 1024, a large uprising of the Smerds broke out in the northeast, in the Suzdal land. The reason for it was severe hunger. Many participants in the suppressed uprising were imprisoned or executed. However, the movement continued until 1026.
During the reign of Yaroslav, the strengthening and further expansion of the borders of the Old Russian state continued. However, signs of feudal fragmentation of the state appeared more and more clearly.
After the death of Yaroslav, state power passed to his three sons. Seniority belonged to Izyaslav, who owned Kiev, Novgorod and other cities. His co-rulers were Svyatoslav (who ruled in Chernigov and Tmutarakan) and Vsevolod (who reigned in Rostov, Suzdal and Pereyaslavl). In 1068, nomadic Cumans attacked Rus'. Russian troops were defeated on the Alta River. Izyaslav and Vsevolod fled to Kyiv. This accelerated the anti-feudal uprising in Kyiv, which had been brewing for a long time. The rebels destroyed the princely court, released Vseslav of Polotsk, who had previously been imprisoned by his brothers during an inter-princely strife, and was released from prison and elevated to reign. However, he soon left Kyiv, and a few months later Izyaslav, with the help of Polish troops, resorting to deception, again occupied the city (1069) and committed a bloody massacre.
Urban uprisings were associated with the peasant movement. Since the anti-feudal movements were also directed against the Christian Church, the rebellious peasants and townspeople were sometimes led by the Magi. In the 70s of the 11th century. There was a major popular movement in the Rostov land. Popular movements took place in other places in Rus'. In Novgorod, for example, the masses of the urban population, led by the Magi, opposed the nobility, headed by the prince and bishop. Prince Gleb, with the help of military force, dealt with the rebels.
The development of the feudal mode of production inevitably led to the political fragmentation of the country. Class contradictions intensified noticeably. The devastation from exploitation and princely strife was aggravated by the consequences of crop failures and famine. After the death of Svyatopolk in Kyiv, there was an uprising of the urban population and peasants from the surrounding villages. The frightened nobility and merchants invited Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh (1113-1125), Prince of Pereyaslavl, to reign in Kyiv. The new prince was forced to make some concessions to suppress the uprising.
Vladimir Monomakh pursued a policy of strengthening the grand ducal power. Owning, in addition to Kyiv, Pereyaslavl, Suzdal, Rostov, ruling Novgorod and part of South-Western Rus', he simultaneously tried to subjugate other lands (Minsk, Volyn, etc.). However, contrary to Monomakh’s policy, the process of fragmentation of Rus', caused by economic reasons, continued. By the second quarter of the 12th century. Rus' was finally fragmented into many principalities.
CULTURE OF ANCIENT Rus'
The culture of ancient Rus' is the culture of early feudal society. Oral poetry reflected the life experience of the people, captured in proverbs and sayings, in the rituals of agricultural and family holidays, from which the cult pagan principle gradually disappeared, and the rituals turned into folk games. Buffoons - traveling actors, singers and musicians, who came from the people's environment, were bearers of democratic tendencies in art. Folk motifs formed the basis for the remarkable song and musical creativity of the “prophetic Boyan,” whom the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” calls “the nightingale of the old time.”
The growth of national self-awareness found particularly vivid expression in the historical epic. In it, the people idealized the time of political unity of Rus', although still very fragile, when the peasants were not yet dependent. The image of the “peasant son” Ilya Muromets, a fighter for the independence of his homeland, embodies the deep patriotism of the people. Folk art influenced the traditions and legends that developed in the feudal secular and church environment, and helped the formation of ancient Russian literature.
The emergence of writing was of enormous importance for the development of ancient Russian literature. In Rus', writing apparently arose quite early. The news has been preserved that the Slavic educator of the 9th century. Konstantin (Kirill) saw books in Chersonesus written in “Russian characters.” Evidence of the presence of writing among the Eastern Slavs even before the adoption of Christianity is an early 10th-century clay vessel discovered in one of the Smolensk mounds. with an inscription. Writing became widespread after the adoption of Christianity.
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