Even today scientists cannot say exactly when the Old Russian state appeared. Different groups of historians talk about many dates, but most of them agree on one thing: the appearance of Ancient Rus' can be dated back to the 9th century. That is why various theories of the origin of the ancient Russian state are widespread, each of which tries to prove its own version of the emergence of the great state.
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The emergence of the Old Russian state briefly
As it is written in the world-famous “Tale of Bygone Years,” Rurik and his brothers were called to reign in Novgorod in 862. This date for many became the beginning of the countdown of the statehood of Ancient Rus'. The Varangian princes sat on the thrones in Novgorod (Rurik), Izborsk (Truvor), and Belozero (Sineus). After some time, Rurik managed to unite the represented lands under a single authority.
Oleg, a prince from Novgorod, captured Kyiv in 882 to unite the most important groups of lands, and then annexed the remaining territories. It was from that period that the lands of the Eastern Slavs united into a large state. In other words, the formation of the ancient Russian state dates back to the 9th century, according to most scientists.
The most common theories of the origin of the ancient Russian state
Norman theory 
The Norman theory tells that the Varangians, who at one time were called to the throne, were able to organize the state. We are talking about the brothers mentioned above. It is worth noting that this theory originates in The Tale of Bygone Years. Why were the Varangians able to organize a state? The whole point is that the Slavs allegedly quarreled among themselves, unable to come to a common decision. Representatives of the Norman theory say that Russian rulers turned to foreign princes for help. It was in this way that the Varangians established the political system in Rus'.
Anti-Norman theory
The anti-Norman theory states that the state of Ancient Rus' appeared for other, more objective reasons. Many historical sources say that the statehood of the Eastern Slavs took place before the Varangians. At that period of historical development, the Normans were lower than the Slavs in terms of political development. In addition, the state cannot arise in one day thanks to one person, it is the result of a long-term social phenomenon. The autochthonous (in other words, Slavic theory) was developed thanks to its successors - N. Kostomarov, M. Grushevsky. The founder of this theory is the scientist M. Lomonosov.
Other famous theories
In addition to these most common theories, there are several more. Let's look at them in more detail.
THE IRANO-SLAVIC THEORY of the emergence of the state says that there were 2 separate types of Russians in the world - the inhabitants of Rügen (Russians-Obodrits), as well as the Black Sea Russes. Some Ilmen Slovenes invited the Obodrit Russians. The rapprochement of the Russians occurred precisely after the unification of the tribes into one state.
The COMPROMISE theory is in other words called Slavic-Varangian. One of the first adopters of this approach to the formation of the Russian state was the historical figure Klyuchevsky. The historian identified a certain urban area - an early local political form. We are talking about a trading district, which was controlled by a fortified city. He called the Varangian principalities the second local political form. After the unification of the Varangian principalities and the preservation of the independence of the city regions, another political form emerged, called the Grand Duchy of Kyiv.
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In addition, there is a theory called Indo-Iranian. This theory is based on the opinion that Ros and Rus are completely different nationalities that arose at different times.
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Kievan Rus or Old Russian state- a medieval state in Eastern Europe that arose in the 9th century as a result of the unification of East Slavic tribes under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty.
At its peak, it occupied the territory from the Taman Peninsula in the south, the Dniester and the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the headwaters of the Northern Dvina in the north.
By the middle of the 12th century, it entered into a state of fragmentation and actually broke up into one and a half dozen separate principalities, ruled by different branches of the Rurikovichs. Political ties were maintained between the principalities, Kyiv continued to formally remain the main table of Rus', and the Principality of Kiev was considered as the collective possession of all the Rurikovichs. The end of Kievan Rus is considered to be the Mongol invasion (1237-1240), after which the Russian lands ceased to form a single political whole, and Kyiv fell into decline for a long time and finally lost its nominal capital functions.
In chronicle sources the state is called “Rus” or “Russian Land”, in Byzantine sources - “Russia”.
Term
The definition of “Old Russian” is not connected with the division of antiquity and the Middle Ages in Europe generally accepted in historiography in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. In relation to Rus', it is usually used to refer to the so-called. the “pre-Mongol” period of the 9th - mid-13th centuries, in order to distinguish this era from the following periods of Russian history.
The term “Kievan Rus” arose at the end of the 18th century. In modern historiography, it is used both to designate a single state that existed until the mid-12th century, and for the broader 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.”
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, going back to the works of Moscow scribes, or to Vladimir and Galich. However, in modern historiography these points of view are not popular, since they are not confirmed in the sources.
The problem of the emergence of statehood
There are two main hypotheses for the formation of the Old Russian state. According to the Norman theory, based on the Tale of Bygone Years of the 12th century and numerous Western European and Byzantine sources, statehood in Rus' was brought from outside by the Varangians - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor in 862. The founders of the Norman theory are considered to be the German historians Bayer, Miller, and Schlözer who worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The point of view on the external origin of the Russian monarchy was generally held by Nikolai Karamzin, who followed the versions of The Tale of Bygone Years.
The anti-Norman theory is based on the concept of the impossibility of introducing statehood from the outside, on the idea of the emergence of the state as a stage in the internal development of society. The founder of this theory in Russian historiography was considered to be Mikhail Lomonosov. In addition, there are different points of view on the origin of the Varangians themselves. Scientists classified as Normanists considered them to be Scandinavians (usually Swedes); some anti-Normanists, starting with Lomonosov, suggest their origin from West Slavic lands. There are also intermediate versions of localization - in Finland, Prussia, and other parts of the Baltic states. The problem of the ethnicity of the Varangians is independent of the issue of the emergence of statehood.
In modern science, the prevailing point of view is that the strict opposition between “Normanism” and “anti-Normanism” is largely politicized. The prerequisites for primordial statehood among the Eastern Slavs were not seriously denied by either Miller, Schlözer, or Karamzin, and the external (Scandinavian or other) origin of the ruling dynasty was a fairly common phenomenon in the Middle Ages, which in no way proves the inability of the people to create a state or, more specifically, the institution of monarchy. Questions about whether Rurik was a real historical person, what is the origin of the chronicled Varangians, whether the ethnonym (and then the name of the state) is associated with them Rus, continue to remain controversial in modern Russian historical science. Western historians generally follow the concept of Normanism.
Story
Education of Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus 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, Vyatichi.
The chronicle legend considers the founders of Kyiv to be the rulers of the Polyan tribe - the brothers Kiya, Shchek and Khoriv. According to archaeological excavations carried out in Kyiv in the 19th-20th centuries, already in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. there was a settlement on the site of Kyiv. Arab writers of the 10th century (al-Istarhi, Ibn Khordadbeh, Ibn-Haukal) later speak of Cuyaba as a large city. Ibn Haukal wrote: “The king lives in a city called Cuyaba, which is larger than Bolgar... The Rus constantly trade with the Khozar and Rum (Byzantium).”
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 in historical studies of the 18th–19th centuries.
In 860 (The Tale of Bygone Years erroneously dates it to 866), Rus' makes its first campaign against Constantinople. Greek sources connect it with 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.
In 862, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes called the Varangians to reign.
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“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, just like 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 people from the Varangian family, but before that they were Slovenians.” |
In 862 (the date is approximate, like the entire early chronology of the Chronicle), the Varangians, Rurik’s warriors Askold and Dir, sailing to Constantinople, seeking to establish complete control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” established their power over Kiev.
In 879 Rurik died in Novgorod. The reign was transferred to Oleg, regent for Rurik’s young son Igor.
Reign of Oleg the Prophet
In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg, a relative of Rurik, set off on a campaign from Novgorod to the south. Along the way, he captured Smolensk and Lyubech, establishing his power there and putting his people under reign. Then Oleg, with the Novgorod army and a hired Varangian squad, under the guise of merchants, captured Kiev, killed Askold and Dir, who ruled there, and declared Kiev the capital of his state (“And Oleg, the prince, sat down in Kyiv, and Oleg said: “Let this be the mother of Russian cities.” “.”); the dominant religion was paganism, although there was also a Christian minority in Kyiv.
Oleg conquered the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi; the last two alliances had previously paid tribute to the Khazars.
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. The tribes of the Radimichi, Northerners, Drevlyans, and Krivichi were subject to tribute. 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
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 then turned its arms against Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944. It ended with a treaty that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous treaties of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. In 943 or 944, a campaign was made against Berdaa. In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. After Igor's death, due to the minority of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. 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). However, around 959 Olga invited the German bishop Adalbert and priests of the Latin rite to Rus' (after the failure of their mission they were forced to leave Kyiv).
Svyatoslav Igorevich
Around 962, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all the East Slavic tribes to pay tribute to the Khazars. In 965, Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Khazar Kaganate, taking its main cities by storm: Sarkel, Semender and the capital Itil. On the site of the city of Sarkela, he built the Belaya Vezha fortress. Svyatoslav also made two trips to Bulgaria, where he intended to create his own state with its capital in the Danube region. He was killed in a battle with the Pechenegs while returning to Kyiv from an unsuccessful campaign in 972.
After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out 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, Vladimir received Novgorod. In 977, Yaropolk defeated Oleg’s squad, Oleg died. Vladimir fled “overseas”, but returned 2 years later with a Varangian squad. During the civil strife, Svyatoslav's son Vladimir Svyatoslavich (reigned 980-1015) defended his rights to the throne. Under him, the formation of the state territory of Ancient Rus' was completed, the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus' were annexed.
Characteristics of the state in the 9th-10th centuries.
Kievan Rus united under its rule vast territories inhabited by East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. In the chronicles the state was called Rus; the word “Russian” in combination with other words was found in various spellings: both with one “s” and with a double one; both with and without “b”. In a narrow sense, “Rus” meant the territory of Kyiv (with the exception of the Drevlyan and Dregovichi lands), Chernigov-Seversk (with the exception of the Radimich and Vyatichi lands) and Pereyaslavl lands; It is in this meaning that the term “Rus” is used, for example, in Novgorod sources up to the 13th century.
The head of state bore the title of Grand Duke, Russian Prince. Unofficially, other prestigious titles could sometimes be attached to it, including Turkic kagan and Byzantine king. Princely power was hereditary. In addition to the princes, grand-ducal boyars and “men” participated in the administration of the territories. These were warriors appointed by the prince. The boyars commanded special squads, territorial garrisons (for example, Pretich commanded the Chernigov squad), which, if necessary, were united into a single army. Under the prince, one of the boyar-voevodas also stood out, who often performed the functions of real government of the state; such governors under the young princes were Oleg under Igor, Sveneld under Olga, Svyatoslav and Yaropolk, Dobrynya under Vladimir. At the local level, the princely government dealt with tribal self-government in the form of the veche and “city elders.”
Druzhina
Druzhina during the 9th-10th centuries. was hired. A significant part of it were newcomer Varangians. It was also replenished by people from the Baltic lands and local tribes. The size of the annual payment of a mercenary is estimated by historians differently. Salaries were paid in silver, gold and furs. Typically, a warrior received about 8-9 Kyiv hryvnia (more than 200 silver dirhams) per year, but by the beginning of the 11th century, the pay of a private soldier was 1 northern hryvnia, which is much less. Ship helmsmen, elders and townspeople received more (10 hryvnia). In addition, the squad was fed at the expense of the prince. Initially, this was expressed in the form of canteen, and then turned into one of the forms of taxes in kind, “feeding”, the maintenance of the squad by the tax-paying population during polyudye. Among the squads subordinate to the Grand Duke, his personal “small”, or junior, squad, which included 400 warriors, stands out. The Old Russian army also included a tribal militia, which could reach several thousand in each tribe. The total number of the ancient Russian army reached from 30 to 80 thousand people.
Taxes (tribute)
The form of taxes in Ancient Rus' was tribute, which was paid by subject tribes. Most often, the unit of taxation was “smoke,” that is, a house or family hearth. The tax amount was traditionally one skin per smoke. In some cases, from the Vyatichi tribe, a coin was taken from the ral (plough). The form of collecting tribute was polyudye, when the prince and his retinue visited his subjects from November to April. Rus' was divided into several tax districts; Polyudye in the Kiev district passed through the lands of the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Krivichis, Radimichis and Northerners. A special district was Novgorod, paying about 3,000 hryvnia. The maximum amount of tribute according to late Hungarian legend in the 10th century was 10 thousand marks (30 thousand or more hryvnia). The collection of tribute was carried out by squads of several hundred soldiers. The dominant ethno-class group of the population, which was called “Rus”, paid the prince a tenth of their annual income.
In 946, after the suppression of the Drevlyan uprising, Princess Olga carried out a tax reform, streamlining the collection of tribute. She established “lessons”, that is, the size of the tribute, and created “cemeteries”, fortresses on the route of Polyudya, in which the princely administrators lived and where the tribute was brought. This form of collecting tribute and the tribute itself was called a “cart.” When paying the tax, subjects received clay seals with a princely sign, which insured them against repeated collection. The reform contributed to the centralization of grand-ducal power and the weakening of the power of tribal princes.
Right
In the 10th century, customary law was in force in Rus', which in sources is called “Russian Law”. Its norms are reflected in the treaties of Rus' and Byzantium, in the Scandinavian sagas and in “The Truth of Yaroslav”. They concerned the relationship between equal people, Russia, one of the institutions was “vira” - a fine for murder. Laws guaranteed property relations, including ownership of slaves (“servants”).
The principle of inheritance of power in the 9th-10th centuries is unknown. The heirs were often minors (Igor Rurikovich, Svyatoslav Igorevich). In the 11th century, princely power in Rus' was transferred along the “ladder”, that is, not necessarily to the son, but to the eldest in the family (the uncle had precedence over his nephews). At the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, two principles collided, and a struggle broke out between the direct heirs and the collateral lines.
Monetary system
In the 10th century, a more or less unified monetary system developed, focused on the Byzantine liter and the Arab dirham. The main monetary units were the hryvnia (the monetary and weight unit of Ancient Rus'), kuna, nogata and rezana. They had a silver and fur expression.
State type
Historians have different assessments of the nature of the state of a given period: “barbarian state”, “military democracy”, “druzhina period”, “Norman period”, “military-commercial state”, “the formation of the early feudal monarchy”.
The Baptism of Rus' and its heyday
Under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 988, Christianity became the official religion of Rus'. Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir faced an increased Pecheneg threat. To protect against nomads, he builds a line of fortresses on the border. It was during the time of Vladimir that many Russian epics took place, telling about the exploits of heroes.
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.
After the death of Vladimir, a new civil strife occurs in Rus'. Svyatopolk the Accursed in 1015 kills his brothers Boris (according to another version, Boris was killed by Scandinavian mercenaries of Yaroslav), Gleb and Svyatoslav. Boris and Gleb were canonized as saints in 1071. Svyatopolk himself is defeated by Yaroslav and dies in exile.
The reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019 - 1054) was the time of the greatest 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 is underway. In 1036, Yaroslav defeated the Pechenegs near Kiev and their raids on Rus' ceased.
Changes in public administration at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 12th centuries.
During the baptism of Rus', the power of the sons of Vladimir I and the power of Orthodox bishops, subordinate to the Kyiv Metropolitan, were established in all its lands. Now all the princes who acted as vassals of the Kyiv Grand Duke were only from the Rurik family. Scandinavian sagas mention the fief possessions 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 strength under Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise and later under Vladimir Monomakh. Attempts to strengthen it, but less successfully, were also made by Izyaslav Yaroslavich. 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 distribute lands to the warriors instead of monetary salaries. If initially these were cities for feeding, then in the 11th century villages received warriors. Along with the villages, which became fiefdoms, the boyar title was also granted. The boyars began to form the senior squad, which was a feudal militia in type. The younger squad (“youths”, “children”, “gridi”), who were with the prince, lived off feeding from the princely villages and the war. To protect the southern borders, a policy was pursued of relocating the “best men” of the northern tribes to the south, and agreements were also concluded with the allied nomads, the “black hoods” (Torks, Berendeys and Pechenegs). The services of the hired Varangian squad were largely abandoned during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.
After Yaroslav the Wise, the “ladder” principle of land inheritance in the Rurik family was finally established. The eldest in the clan (not by age, but by line of kinship) received Kyiv and became the Grand Duke, all other lands were divided among 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). In 1097, the principle of mandatory allocation of inheritance to princes was established.
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 him. 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, 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 ryadovichi.
“Pravda Yaroslava” equalized the rights of “Rusyns” and “Slovenians”. 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 first separated from Kyiv 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 were concentrated in the hands of the three elders: Izyaslav of Kyiv, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod of Pereyaslav (the “Yaroslavich triumvirate”). After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, the Kiev princes attempted to deprive his sons of the Chernigov inheritance, and they resorted to the help of the Polovtsians, whose raids began in 1061 (immediately after the defeat of the Torks by the Russian princes in the steppes), although for the first time the Polovtsians were 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), designed 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 made it possible to stop the strife and join forces to fight the Cumans, which was moved deep into the steppes. However, this also opened the way to political 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.
In the second quarter of the 12th century, Kievan Rus actually disintegrated into independent principalities. The modern historiographic tradition considers the chronological beginning of the period of fragmentation to be 1132, when, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the power of the Kiev 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.”
In 1169, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Andrei Bogolyubsky, having captured Kyiv, for the first time in the practice of inter-princely strife, he did not reign in it, but gave it as an appanage. From that moment on, Kyiv began to gradually lose the political and then cultural attributes of an all-Russian center. The political center under Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest moved to Vladimir, whose prince also began to bear the title of great.
Kyiv, unlike 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 Rus', and later by his son Alexander Nevsky. However, they 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 the capital at a later time, but by this time it was already a provincial city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the beginning of the 14th century, the Vladimir princes began to bear the title of “Grand Dukes of All Rus'”.
The nature of statehood of Russian lands
At the beginning of the 13th century, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, there were about 15 relatively territorially stable principalities in Rus' (in turn divided into fiefs), three of which: Kiev, Novgorod and Galicia were objects of all-Russian struggle, and the rest were ruled by the Rurikovich’s own branches. The most powerful princely dynasties were the Chernigov Olgovichs, the Smolensk Rostislavichs, the Volyn Izyaslavichs and the Suzdal Yuryevichs. After the invasion, almost all Russian lands entered a new round of fragmentation and in the 14th century the number of great and appanage principalities reached approximately 250.
The only all-Russian political body remained the Congress of Princes, which mainly decided on issues of the fight against the Polovtsians. The church also maintained its relative unity (excluding the emergence of local cults of saints and veneration of the cult of local relics) headed by the metropolitan and fought against various kinds of regional “heresies” by convening councils. However, the position of the church was weakened by the strengthening of tribal pagan beliefs in the 12th-13th centuries. Religious authority and "zabozhni" (repression) were weakened. The candidacy of the Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod was proposed by the Novgorod Council, and cases of expulsion of the ruler (archbishop) are also known.
During the period of fragmentation of Kievan Rus, political power passed from the hands of the prince and the younger squad to the strengthened boyars. If earlier the boyars had business, political and economic relations with the whole Rurik family, headed by the Grand Duke, now - with individual families of appanage princes.
In the Principality of Kiev, the boyars, in order to ease the intensity of the struggle between the princely dynasties, in a number of cases supported the duumvirate (government) of the princes and even resorted to the physical elimination of the alien princes (Yuri Dolgoruky was poisoned). The Kiev boyars sympathized with the power of the senior branch of the descendants of Mstislav the Great, but external pressure was too strong for the position of the local nobility to become decisive in the choice of princes. In the Novgorod land, which, like Kyiv, did not become the fiefdom of the appanage princely branch of the Rurik family, retaining all-Russian significance, and during the anti-princely uprising a republican system was established - from now on the prince was invited and expelled by the veche. In the Vladimir-Suzdal land, princely power was traditionally strong and sometimes even prone to despotism. There is a known case when the boyars (Kuchkovichi) and the younger squad physically eliminated the “autocratic” prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. In the southern Russian lands, city councils played a huge role in the political struggle; there were councils in the Vladimir-Suzdal land (mentions of them are found until the 14th century). In the Galician land there was a unique case of electing a prince from among the boyars.
The main type of army became the feudal militia, the senior squad received personal inheritable land rights. The city militia was used to defend the city, urban area and settlements. In Veliky Novgorod, the princely squad was actually hired in relation to the republican authorities, the ruler had a special regiment, the townspeople made up the “thousand” (militia led by the thousand), there was also a boyar militia formed from the inhabitants of “Pyatin” (five dependent on the Novgorod boyars families of districts of Novgorod land). The army of a separate principality did not exceed 8,000 people. The total number of squads and city militia by 1237, according to historians, was about 100 thousand people.
During the period of fragmentation, several monetary systems emerged: Novgorod, Kyiv and “Chernigov” hryvnias are distinguished. These were silver bars of various sizes and weights. The northern (Novgorod) hryvnia was oriented towards the northern mark, and the southern one - towards the Byzantine liter. Kuna had a silver and fur expression, the former being to the latter as one to four. Old skins sealed with a princely seal (the so-called “leather money”) were also used as a monetary unit.
The name Rus was retained during this period for the lands in the Middle Dnieper region. Residents of different lands usually called themselves after the capital cities of appanage principalities: Novgorodians, Suzdalians, Kurians, etc. Until the 13th century, according to archeology, tribal differences in material culture persisted; the spoken Old Russian language was also not unified, maintaining regional tribal dialects.
Trade
The most important trade routes of Ancient Rus' were:
- the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, starting from the Varangian Sea, along Lake Nevo, along the Volkhov and Dnieper rivers leading to the Black Sea, Balkan Bulgaria and Byzantium (by the same route, entering the Danube from the Black Sea, one could get to Great Moravia) ;
- the Volga trade route (“the path from the Varangians to the Persians”), which went from the city of Ladoga to the Caspian Sea and further to Khorezm and Central Asia, Persia and Transcaucasia;
- a land route that began in Prague and through Kyiv went to the Volga and further to Asia.
What is a state? This is an administrative apparatus that stood out from society and rose above it in order to protect its order. In the early Middle Ages, the signs of an emerging state were:
- the emergence of a government separated from the people;
- territorial sign of residence;
- collection of taxes by the center for the maintenance of the “administrative apparatus” and the defense of territories.
Since the 7th century. The Slavic tribes merged with their territories of residence into larger tribal unions, the management of which was entrusted to the nobility of the tribes. After some time, a special caste appears in tribal unions - the military, called upon to protect the territory of the union.
At a certain historical moment, it became obvious that in the territories of the tribes of the ancient Slavs, the main prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state:
- Tribal ties began to break down.
- The production method has improved and become more progressive.
By this time, feudal relations had arisen in their places of residence. Against the background of their formation, the emergence of and, which was the result of contradictions between the newly emerging classes, took place. Over time, the dominant role passes to the princes and their squads.
The first state of the ancient Slavs and its capital
According to records in the “Bavarian Chronograph” at the beginning of the 9th century, the Russians are perceived as one of the Khazar peoples living in eastern Europe, which included the Polans and the Northerners. By the end of the century, these ethnic groups had united in a political union, and their territory, an ancient Russian state was created. But, since the new formation included peoples of two groups, capital of the ancient Russian state could not be located in one place: the glades settled in Kyiv, and the northern tribes settled near about. Ilmen with its capital in Novgorod.
Formation of the Old Russian state
The further history of the appearance of the ancient Russian state on the map of Europe cannot be considered completely reliable. About how it went formation of the ancient Russian state briefly There are two theories: Norman and autochthonous (Slavic).
Norman theory
In accordance with the work of that time - “The Tale of Bygone Years” - three brothers from the Varangian princes were called to rule over the northerners. These brothers were Rurik, who arrived in Novgorod, Sineus, who came to Belozero, Truvor, who took the throne of Izborsk. Rurik turned out to be the most energetic and, after three years, he united these principalities under his leadership. According to sources of those times, this happened in 862, but it was not yet the emergence of the ancient Russian state. 20 years later, the Novgorod prince Oleg, in the process of expanding his lands, conquered Kyiv and the surrounding territories and united everything under his rule. Based on this, it is believed that formation of the ancient Russian state Kievan Rus happened in 882
However, this theory is doubtful, since at the time of the arrival of the Varangian princes on the territory of the Slavs, the latter had all the prerequisites for the emergence of their statehood.
- The ancient Slavs had warriors organized into squads.
- They already lived in tribal unions, which indicates the birth of the state.
- The economy was well developed: trade was carried out, there was a division of labor.
It is also worthy of attention that in the early Middle Ages it was customary to invite neutral princes from distant lands to restore order, and this case was not the only one in the history of those times.
Autochthonous theory
According to the Autochthonous theory, formation of the ancient Russian state occurred due to the existing objective economic and political conditions. As a consequence of the developed situation, the emergence of a Slavic state was bound to occur.
Comparing historical sources, it is clear that the Eastern Slavs had a more developed political system, unlike the Normans, and their own statehood. They have already traveled the path of long-term development and formation of the prerequisites for the emergence of statehood. That's why the emergence and development of the ancient Russian state became the logical conclusion of the next stage of socio-economic relations.
Moments of formation of the ancient Russian state
In the period after the formation of Kievan Rus there was formation of the ancient Russian state. At this time, power in the cities quickly passes to the princes, who, having an apparatus of suppression - the squad, strive to influence the political life in them. Under these conditions, the military class quickly becomes significant, one of whose functions is to intimidate and persuade the inhabitants of the principalities to commit actions beneficial to the princes. Taxes from the population begin to be collected systematically by trusted people of the princes. A new religion comes from Byzantium, which very quickly becomes obligatory for everyone. The last moment in the establishment of the state apparatus was the legitimation of the principles of inheritance of power.
As a result, at the end of the 10th century, an ancient Russian state emerged in the area inhabited by the Slavs - from the Carpathians to the Don steppes and between the Black and White Seas. It existed until the Tatar-Mongol invasion, which occurred in the middle of the 13th century.
Political system of Kievan Rus
Politically, the ancient Russian state had a system based on a mixed type of government, which had two components:
- monarchical (central power - prince);
- democratic (veche).
During the time of the Rurikovichs, the princes owned volosts around the main cities, the management of which was entrusted to representatives of their clan. In Kievan Rus, the right of paternal inheritance was introduced, according to which the prince allocated to each son a part of his lands - a volost, where the young prince later lived and ruled.
Due to this, political system of the ancient Russian state was based on members of the same clan, who in the future inevitably had to move away and begin to fight for ownership of the central lands.
Collapse of the state of Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus began to be divided into appanage principalities during the time of Yaroslav the Wise. Vladimir Monomakh, by the power of his authority, was able to stop this process, however, only for the duration of his reign. With his active participation, around 1097, a congress of district princes was held in Lübeck, the main task of which was to stop the discord between the princes and collapse of the ancient Russian state. At the congress the princes agreed:
- Stop internecine wars.
- They proclaimed the principle of inheritance: “Princes have the right to reign exclusively in those lands that their fathers owned.”
This principle of inheritance showed over time that the congress in Lübeck legitimized the further fragmentation of the ancient Russian state. Gradually it turned out that establishing priorities in inheritance among relatives was becoming more and more difficult each time. The once great principalities began to be split into fiefs, which very quickly began to become poor. The power of such princes was taken into account less and less. Then the governors in the remote princely territories began to take political power into their own hands.
The once great state of Kievan Rus at the end of the 12th century was suffering from a fatal illness. And, as subsequent history showed, it was possible to overcome it only against the backdrop of a huge common misfortune that befell the ancient Russian state in the middle of the 13th century.
How the Russian Empire was created. Baptism of Rus' - 988
Kievan Rus or the Old Russian State is a medieval state in Eastern Europe that arose in the 9th century as a result of the unification of East Slavic tribes under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty.
The problem of the emergence of statehood
In historiography, there have long been two hypotheses for the formation of the “Old Russian state”. According to the Norman theory, based on the Initial Russian Chronicle and numerous Western European and Byzantine sources, statehood in Rus' was brought from outside by the Varangians (Rurik, Sineus and Truvor) in 862. The founders of the Norman theory are considered to be the German historians Bayer, Miller, who worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Schlözer; The point of view about the external origin of the Russian monarchy was generally held by N. M. Karamzin, who followed the versions of PVL. The anti-Norman theory is based on the concept of the impossibility of introducing statehood from the outside, on the idea of the emergence of the state as a stage in the internal development of society. The founder of this theory in Russian historiography was considered to be Mikhail Lomonosov.
In addition, there are different points of view on the origin of the Varangians themselves. Scientists classified as Normanists considered them to be Scandinavians (usually Swedes); some anti-Normanists, starting with Lomonosov, suggest their origin from Western Slavic lands. There are also intermediate versions of localization - in Finland, Prussia, and other parts of the Baltic states. The problem of the ethnicity of the Varangians is independent of the issue of the emergence of statehood.
In modern science, the prevailing point of view is that the strict opposition between “Normanism” and “anti-Normanism” is largely politicized; the prerequisites for primordial statehood among the Eastern Slavs were not seriously denied by either Miller, Schlözer, or Karamzin, and the external (Scandinavian or other) origin of the ruling dynasty was a fairly common phenomenon in the Middle Ages, which in no way proves the inability of the people to create a state or, more specifically, the institution of monarchy.
Questions about whether Rurik was the founder of the princely dynasty, what the origin of the chronicled Varangians is, whether the ethnonym (and then the name of the state) Rus' is associated with them, continue to remain controversial in modern Russian historical science. Western historians generally follow the concept of Normanism.
Education of Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus (Old Russian state) arose on the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” on the lands of the Slavic tribes - the Polyans, the Drevlyans and the Northerners in the Middle Dnieper region. The chronicle legend considers the brothers Kiya, Shchek and Khoriv to be the founders of Kyiv and the first rulers of the Polyan tribe. According to archaeological excavations carried out in Kyiv in the 19th-20th centuries, already in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. on the site of Kyiv there was an urban settlement. Arab writers of the end of the 1st millennium (al-Istarkhi, Ibn-Khordadbeh, Ibn-Haukal speak of Kiev (Cuyaba) as a large city. Ibn Khaukal wrote: “The king lives in a city called Kuyaba, which is larger than Bolgar... The Russes constantly trade with the Khozar and rum (Byzantium)."
The Varangians, seeking to establish complete control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” established control over Kiev in the 9th-10th centuries. The chronicle preserved the names of the leaders of the Varangians who ruled in Kyiv: Askold (Hoskuldr), Dir (Dyri), Oleg (Helgi) and Igor (Ingvar).
Rus' is mentioned as a power in a number of other early sources: in 839, the ambassadors of the Kagan of the people of Ros are 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. By analogy with other ethnonyms of that time (Chudin, Greek, Nemchin, etc.), a resident (inhabitant) of Rus', who belonged to the “Rus” people, was called “Rusin”. However, the term "Kievan Rus" appears only in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 860, under the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, Rus' loudly entered the international arena: it carried out the first known campaign against Constantinople, which ended in victory and the conclusion of a Russian-Byzantine peace treaty. The Tale of Bygone Years attributes this campaign to the Varangians Askold and Dir, who ruled in Kyiv, independent of Rurik. The campaign led to the so-called first baptism of Rus', known from Byzantine sources, after which a diocese arose in Rus' and the ruling elite (apparently led by Askold) adopted Christianity.
In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg, a relative of Rurik, captured Kyiv, killed Askold and Dir and declared Kyiv the capital of his state; Paganism again became the dominant religion, although a Christian minority remained in Kyiv. Oleg the Prophet is considered the founder of Rus'.
Oleg conquered the Drevlyans, northerners and Radimichi, who had previously paid tribute to the Khazars. The first written agreements were concluded with Byzantium 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 the resolution of legal and military issues. The tribes of the Radimichi, Northerners, Drevlyans, and Krivichi were subject to tribute. According to the chronicle version, Oleg, who bore the title of Grand Duke, ruled for more than 30 years, regardless of Rurik’s own son, Igor. He took the throne after the death of Oleg around 912 and ruled until 945.
Igor made two military campaigns against Byzantium. The first, in 941, ended unsuccessfully. It was preceded by an equally 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 then turned its arms against Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944. It ended with a treaty that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous treaties of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. After Igor's death, due to the minority of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. 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). However, around 960 Olga invited the German bishop Adalbert and priests of the Latin rite to Rus' (after the failure of their mission they were forced to leave Kyiv).
Around 962, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all the East Slavic tribes to pay tribute to the Khazars. In 965 (according to other sources in 968/969) Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Kaganate. Svyatoslav intended to create his own Slavic state with its capital in the Danube region. He was killed in a battle with the Pechenegs while returning to Kyiv from an unsuccessful campaign in 972. After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out for the right to the throne (972-978 or 980). During the civil strife, the son of Svyatoslav Vladimir I the Holy defended his rights to the throne.
The prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state were the collapse of tribal ties and the development of a new method of production. The Old Russian state took shape in the process of the development of feudal relations, the emergence of class contradictions and coercion.
Among the Slavs, a dominant layer gradually formed, the basis of which was the military Nobility of the Kyiv princes - the squad. Already in the 9th century, strengthening the position of their princes, the warriors firmly occupied leading positions in society.
It was in the 9th century. In Eastern Europe, two ethnopolitical associations were formed, which ultimately became the basis of the state. It was formed as a result of the unification of the glades with the center in Kyiv.
Slavs, Krivichi and Finnish-speaking tribes united in the area of Lake Ilmen (center in Novgorod). In the middle of the 9th century. this association began to be ruled by a native of Scandinavia, Rurik (862-879). Therefore, the year 862 is considered the year of formation of the ancient Russian state.
The presence of Scandinavians (Varangians) on the territory of Rus' is confirmed by archaeological excavations and records in chronicles. In the 18th century German scientists G.F. Miller and G.Z. Bayer proved the Scandinavian theory of the formation of the ancient Russian state (Rus).
M.V. Lomonosov, denying the Norman (Varangian) origin of statehood, associated the word “Rus” with the Sarmatians-Roxolans, the Ros River, flowing in the south.
Lomonosov, relying on “The Legend of the Princes of Vladimir,” argued that Rurik, being a native of Prussia, belonged to the Slavs, which were the Prussians. It was this “southern” anti-Norman theory of the formation of the ancient Russian state that was supported and developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. historians.
The first mentions of Rus' are attested in the “Bavarian Chronograph” and date back to the period 811-821. In it, the Russians are mentioned as a people within the Khazars inhabiting Eastern Europe. In the 9th century Rus' was perceived as an ethnopolitical entity on the territory of the glades and northerners.
Rurik, who took control of Novgorod, sent his squad led by Askold and Dir to rule Kiev. Rurik's successor, Varangian Prince Oleg(879-912), who took possession of Smolensk and Lyubech, subjugated all the Krivichi to his power, and in 882 he fraudulently lured Askold and Dir out of Kyiv and killed them. Having captured Kyiv, he managed to unite by force of his power the two most important centers of the Eastern Slavs - Kyiv and Novgorod. Oleg subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi.
In 907, Oleg, having gathered a huge army of Slavs and Finns, launched a campaign against Constantinople (Constantinople), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Russian squad devastated the surrounding area and forced the Greeks to ask Oleg for peace and pay a huge tribute. The result of this campaign was peace treaties with Byzantium that were very beneficial for Rus', concluded in 907 and 911.
Oleg died in 912, and his successor was Igor(912-945), son of Rurik. In 941 he attacked Byzantium, which violated the previous treaty. Igor's army plundered the shores of Asia Minor, but was defeated in a naval battle. Then in 945, in alliance with the Pechenegs, he launched a new campaign against Constantinople and forced the Greeks to once again conclude a peace treaty. In 945, while trying to collect a second tribute from the Drevlyans, Igor was killed.
Igor's widow Duchess Olga(945-957) ruled due to the childhood of his son Svyatoslav. She brutally took revenge for the murder of her husband by ravaging the lands of the Drevlyans. Olga organized the sizes and places of collecting tribute. In 955 she visited Constantinople and was baptized into Orthodoxy.
Svyatoslav(957-972) - the bravest and most influential of the princes, who subjugated the Vyatichi to his power. In 965 he inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the Khazars. Svyatoslav defeated the North Caucasian tribes, as well as the Volga Bulgarians, and plundered their capital, the Bulgars. The Byzantine government sought an alliance with him to fight external enemies.
Kyiv and Novgorod became the center of formation of the ancient Russian state, and the East Slavic tribes, northern and southern, united around them. In the 9th century both of these groups united into a single ancient Russian state, which went down in history as Rus'.
