The internal foreign policy of the Kiev princes briefly. Foreign policy of Kievan Rus X-XII centuries. Igor's reign
The goals of the foreign policy of the Old Russian state in the 9th-early 12th centuries. consisted in expanding their territorial possessions, spreading political influence and strengthening trade relations with neighbors. In an effort to conquer the neighboring East Slavic tribes, the Kiev princes came into conflict with the Khazars. The main directions of the foreign policy of the Kiev princes were advancement to the Danube, mastery of the trade route along the Black Sea and the Crimean coast, which led to the struggle of the Russian princes with Byzantium. In 907 Prince Oleg organized a campaign by sea against Constantinople. The Byzantines were forced to ask the Russians to make peace and pay an indemnity. According to the peace treaty of 911, Russia received the right of duty-free trade in Constantinople.
In the reign of Igor, two new campaigns against Byzantium were undertaken. During the first campaign in 941, the Russians passed the Black Sea coast from the Bosporus to Paphlagonia, but in the decisive battle the Byzantines defeated the Russian fleet. The second campaign in 944 ended with a new peace treaty, less beneficial for Russia than the treaty of 911.
The Kiev princes undertook campaigns to more distant lands - beyond the Caucasus Range, to the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea (campaigns in 880, 909, 910, 913-914). In 913, one of the islands near Baku was occupied by Russian troops. During the campaign in 944, the Russians captured the important center of Transcaucasia, the city of Berdaa, but could not gain a foothold here.
The active foreign policy of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was aimed at access to the sea, mastering the Volga route, strengthening at the mouth of the Don and expanding ties with Iran and Central Asia. Campaigns of the troops of Svyatoslav in the 60s of the X century. ended with the subjugation of the Volga Bulgaria, the defeat and destruction of the Khazar Khaganate. In the North Caucasus, the lands of Ossetians and Circassians were subordinated. The power of Russia spread to the shores of the Kerch Strait, where the Tmutarakan principality was founded with the capital city of Tmutarakan, which became a major trading harbor.
At the beginning of the X century. Byzantium tried to push Russia and Bulgaria. Byzantium sought to weaken Bulgaria, trying to divert the attention of Russia from Chersonese. Prince Svyatoslav intervened in the Byzantine-Bulgarian struggle in order to expand the possessions of Russia. As a result of the first campaign of Svyatoslav in the Balkans in 968, his troops occupied a number of cities along the Danube.
Due to the attack of the Pechenegs on Kyiv, Svyatoslav's troops were forced to return from Bulgaria to Russia. During the second trip to the Balkans in 969, Svyatoslav acted in alliance with the Bulgarians. Russian-Bulgarian troops, joined by the Hungarians, entered Philippopolis (Plovdiv), occupied Thrace, passed through Macedonia. Only by gathering large forces, the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes managed to take Great Preslav. After a bloody battle at Dorostol, Svyatoslav's troops left the Balkans. On the way back in 972, the prince was killed by the Pechenegs. The failure of the Russian campaign led to the fact that Eastern Bulgaria fell under the rule of Byzantium.
Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in the south of the country erected a line of fortifications along the rivers Stugna, Irpen, Trubezh and others, and the city fortifications of Kyiv were reconstructed to protect against the Pechenegs.
During the reign of Yaroslav (1019-1054), the strengthening and further expansion of the boundaries of the Old Russian state continued. In the Baltic States in 1030, the city of Yuryev (Tartu) was built. In 1031, the Cherven cities of Southwestern Russia were reattached. The Kyiv prince subjugated the Chernigov and Tmutarakan lands (1036). In 1038-1040. Russian troops made campaigns in Lithuanian lands. In 1040, the Old Russian state annexed Southern Finland. In 1036, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv. Having suffered a severe defeat from the Russians, they went beyond the Danube.
The struggle of Russia against the raids of nomads was of great importance for the security of the countries of Western Asia and Europe. The international authority of Russia is evidenced by dynastic marriages concluded by the Russian princes. One of the daughters of Yaroslav the Wise was married to the French king Henry I, the other - to the Norwegian king Harald the Bold, the third - to the Hungarian king Andrew (András). Vladimir Monomakh on his mother's side was the grandson of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Monomakh. Vladimir Monomakh's sister Eupraxia-Adelgeida married the German emperor Henry IV, and his daughter Euphemia married the Hungarian king Koloman, etc. Vladimir Monomakh himself was married to Guide, the daughter of the English king Harold.
The international significance of Russia is evidenced by extensive trade relations. Russia traded with Germany, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, France, England, Byzantium and Arab countries.
The tribute that went to the prince nourished the foreign trade of Russia. The main public interest - trade - also directed the foreign policy of the first Russian princes. This policy was aimed at two goals: 1) to acquire and hold overseas markets, 2) to clear and protect the trade routes that led to these markets.
The most prominent phenomenon in the foreign policy of Russia until the middle of the XI century. there were military campaigns of the Kievan princes against Constantinople; before the death of Yaroslav, they can be counted six, except for Vladimir's campaign against the Byzantine colony Tauric Chersonese. It is enough to see the cause of the first and last of these campaigns in order to notice the main impulse by which they were called. In 860, Askold and Dir attacked Constantinople, irritated, according to Patriarch Photius, with the killing of their fellow tribesmen, apparently Russian merchants, after the Byzantine government refused Russia satisfaction for this insult. In 1043, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav sent his son Vladimir to the Greeks with a fleet, because Russian merchants were beaten in Constantinople and one of them was killed. So, the Byzantine campaigns were caused by the desire of Russia to maintain and restore its interrupted trade relations with Byzantium. That is why these campaigns usually ended in trade treatises.
All the treaties of Russia with the Greeks of the 10th century that have come down to us have such a commercial character. Of these, two of Oleg's treaties have come down to us, one of Igorev's and one short treaty, or only an excerpt from Svyatoslavov's treaty. Reading these foreign policy treatises, it is easy to see what interest Russia connected with Byzantium. In total, they define in more detail and more precisely the order of annual trade relations between Russia and Byzantium; in this respect they are remarkable for their remarkable juridical elaboration. Every year in the summer, Russian merchants came to Constantinople for a trading season that lasted six months; none of the Russians had the right to stay in Constantinople for the winter. Russian merchants stopped on the outskirts of Constantinople at St. Mamas (the long-vanished monastery of St. Mamant). Imperial officials confiscated the prince's charter from the arriving merchants indicating the number of ships sent from Kyiv, copied the names of the prince's ambassadors and guests. These ambassadors and guests during their stay in Constantinople enjoyed free baths and free food from the local government - a sign that these trade trips in Constantinople were viewed not as private industrial enterprises, but as trade embassies of the allied Kiev government. Ambassadors received their ambassadorial salaries, and ordinary merchants - a month monthly food, which was distributed to them in a certain order according to the seniority of the cities, first in Kiev, then in Chernigov, Pereyaslav and from other cities. This order of trade relations with Byzantium was established by the agreements of princes Oleg and Igor. Russia sold furs, skins, honey, wax and servants to the Greeks in exchange for gold, silk fabrics, wines, vegetables and weapons.
Prince Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople. Engraving by F. Bruni, 1839
Another concern of the foreign policy of the first Russian princes was the support and protection of trade routes that led to overseas markets. The Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus vividly depicts the dangers that the Russian merchant fleet had to overcome on its way to Byzantium. Collected on the Dnieper near Kiev, the caravans of princely, boyar and merchant boats moved together to the rapids blocking the river for 70 miles between Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) and Aleksandrovsk. Russia passed through some of these rapids near the shore, choosing a path between stones, others, more dangerous, bypassed, pulling boats to the shore, along which they dragged them or carried them on their shoulders, pushing an armed detachment forward into the steppe to protect the caravan from the Pechenegs. Having safely got out of the rapids and made thanksgiving sacrifices to their gods, Russia descended to the mouth of the Dnieper, rested here on one island for two or three days, corrected ship gear and, holding on to the coast, moved by sea. Approaching the mouths of the Danube, the caravan again sent a guard detachment ashore to repel the Pechenegs who were waiting here. From the mouths of the Danube, the caravan along the banks was already safely moving towards Constantinople. Reading a detailed description of these travels from the emperor, you vividly feel why Russian trade needed armed guards during the movement of Russian merchants to Constantinople.
But, blocking the steppe paths of Russian trade, the nomads disturbed the very borders of the Russian land. Hence the third concern of the foreign policy of the first Russian princes - to protect and defend the borders of Russia from the steppe barbarians. Oleg, according to the story Tale of the beginning of the Russian land, as soon as he established himself in Kyiv, he began to build cities around him. Vladimir, having become a Christian, said: “It’s bad that there are few cities near Kyiv,” and began to build cities along the rivers Stugna, Desna, Trubezh, Sula, and others. These fortified points were populated by fighting people who were recruited from various Slavic and Finnish tribes, inhabiting the Russian plain. Over time, these fortified places were connected to each other by ramparts and notches. So along the southern and southeastern borders of what was then Russia, on the right and left sides of the Dnieper, they were bred in the 10th and 11th centuries. rows of earthen trenches and outposts, towns to hold back the attacks of nomads. The whole reign of Vladimir passed in a stubborn struggle with the Pechenegs, who spread out on both sides of the Lower Dnieper in eight hordes, each divided into five tribes. Under St. Vladimir, the fortified steppe border of the Kievan land went along the river. Stugne (right tributary of the Dnieper), at a distance of no more than one day's journey from Kyiv. In continuation of half a century of stubborn struggle, thanks to the successful foreign policy of Princes Svyatoslav and Vladimir, Russia managed to break through into the steppe to the line of the Ros river, where Vladimir's successor Yaroslav "would set up cities", populating them with captive Poles.
The first Russian princes outlined with their sword a fairly wide circle of lands, the political center of which was Kyiv. The population of this territory was rather motley; it gradually included not only all the eastern Slavic tribes, but also some of the Finnish ones: the Baltic Chud, the entire Belozersky, the Rostov Merya and the Muroma along the Lower Oka. Among these foreign tribes, Russian cities appeared early. Thus, Yuryev (Derpt) arose among the Baltic Chud under Yaroslav; even earlier, Russian government centers appeared among the Finnish tribes in the east, among the Murom, Meri and Vesi - Murom, Rostov and Belozersk. Yaroslav built a city on the banks of the Volga, named after his princely name Yaroslavl. The Russian territory thus stretched from north to south from Lake Ladoga to the mouths of the Ros River, the right tributary of the Dnieper, and from east to west, from the confluence of the Klyazma into the Oka to the upper reaches of the Western Bug, where the city of Vladimir arose under Prince Vladimir. The country of the ancient Croats, Galicia was in the X and XI centuries. a disputed region that passed between Poland and Russia from hand to hand. The lower course of the river. The Oka, which was the eastern border of Russia, was apparently outside the power of the Kiev prince, as well as the lower reaches of the southern rivers - the Dnieper, the Southern Bug and the Dniester.
Such were the tasks and results of the foreign policy of the first Russian princes.
Based on the materials of the works of V. O. Klyuchevsky
Prince Rurik. Since 862, Rurik, according to the "Tale of Bygone Years", established himself in Novgorod. According to tradition, from that time they lead the beginning of Russian statehood. (In 1862, a monument to the millennium of Russia was erected in the Novgorod Kremlin, sculptor M.O. Mikeshin.) Some historians believe that Rurik was a real historical figure, identifying him with Rurik Friesland, who, at the head of his squad, repeatedly made trips to Western Europe . Rurik settled in Novgorod, one of his brothers, Sineus, on the White Lake (now Belozersk, Vologda region), the other, Truvor, in Izborsk (near Pskov). Historians consider the names of the "brothers" to be a distortion of the ancient Swedish words: "sineus" "with their families", "truvor" a faithful squad. This usually serves as one of the arguments against the authenticity of the Varangian legend. Two years later, according to chronicles, the brothers died, and Rurik handed over the most important cities to his husbands. Two of them, Askold and Dir, who made an unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium, occupied Kyiv and freed the people of Kiev from the Khazar tribute.
After the death of Rurik in 879, who did not leave behind an heir (according to another version, he was Igor, which subsequently gave grounds in historical literature to call the dynasty of Kievan princes "Rurikovich", and Kievan Rus "the power of Rurikovich"), the leader seized power in Novgorod one of the Varangian detachments Oleg (879-911).
Prince Oleg. Oleg undertook a campaign against Kyiv, where Askold and Dir reigned at that time (some historians consider these princes to be the last representatives of the Kiya family). Posing as merchants, Oleg's warriors killed Askold and Dir with the help of deceit and captured the city. Kyiv became the center of the united state.
Russia's trading partner was the mighty Byzantine Empire. Kiev princes repeatedly made campaigns against their southern neighbor. So, back in 860, Askold and Dir undertook this time a successful campaign against Byzantium. (Even more famous was the agreement between Russia and Byzantium, concluded by Oleg.
In 907 and 911, Oleg and his army fought twice successfully under the walls of Constantinople (Tsargrad). As a result of these campaigns, treaties were concluded with the Greeks, drawn up, as the chronicler wrote, "for two charats", i.e. in two copies in Russian and Greek. This confirms that Russian writing appeared long before the adoption of Christianity. Before the advent of Russkaya Pravda, legislation was also taking shape (the treaty with the Greeks mentioned the Russian Law, with which the inhabitants of Kievan Rus were judged).
According to the agreements, Russian merchants had the right to live for a month at the expense of the Greeks in Constantinople, but were obliged to walk around the city without weapons. At the same time, the merchants had to have written documents with them and warn the Byzantine emperor in advance about their arrival. Oleg's agreement with the Greeks ensured the possibility of exporting the tribute collected in Russia and selling it on the markets of Byzantium.
Under Oleg, the Drevlyans, Northerners, and Radimichi were included in his state and began to pay tribute to Kiev. However, the process of incorporating various tribal unions into Kievan Rus was not a one-time action.
Prince Igor. Oleg's death in Kyiv, Igor (912-945) began to reign. During his reign in 944, an agreement with Byzantium was confirmed on less favorable terms. Under Igor, the first popular indignation described in the annals took place - the uprising of the Drevlyans in 945. The collection of tribute in the conquered lands was carried out by the Varangian Sveneld with his detachment. Their enrichment caused a murmur in Igor's squad. "Prince, Igor's warriors said, the soldiers of Sveneld were richly dressed in weapons and ports, and we were impoverished. Let's go collect tribute, and you will get a lot and we."
Having collected tribute and sent carts to Kyiv, Igor returned with a small detachment, "desiring more estate." The Drevlyans gathered at a veche (the presence of their own principalities in separate Slavic lands, as well as veche gatherings, indicates that the formation of statehood continued in Kievan Rus). The veche decided: "If a wolf gets into the sheep, then he will drag everything, if not to kill him." Igor's squad was killed, and the prince was executed.
Duchess Olga. After the death of Igor, his wife Olga (945-964) cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband. The first embassy of the Drevlyans, which offered Olga instead of Igor as the husband of their prince Mal, was buried alive in the ground, the second was burned. At the funeral feast (feast), on the orders of Olga, the tipsy Drevlyans were killed. According to the chronicle, Olga suggested that the Drevlyans give three doves and three sparrows from each yard as a tribute. A burning tow with sulfur was tied to the legs of the pigeons; when they flew into their old nests, a fire broke out in the Drevlyansk capital. As a result, the capital of the Drevlyans Iskorosten (now the city of Korosten) burned out. According to the annals, about 5 thousand people died in the fire.
Having brutally avenged the Drevlyans, Olga was forced to go to streamline the collection of tribute. She established the "lessons" of the amount of tribute and the "graveyards" of the place of tribute collection. Along with the camps (places where there was shelter and the necessary food supplies were stored and where the princely squad stopped during the collection of tribute), graveyards appeared, apparently fortified courts of princely stewards, where tribute was brought. These graveyards then became the supporting centers of princely power.
During the reign of Igor and Olga, the lands of the Tivertsy, the streets, and finally the Drevlyans were annexed to Kiev.
Prince Svyatoslav. Some historians consider Svyatoslav (964-972), the son of Olga and Igor, a talented commander and statesman, others argue that he was an adventurer prince who saw the goal of his life in war. Svyatoslav was faced with the task of protecting Russia from nomadic raids and clearing trade routes to other countries. Svyatoslav coped with this task successfully, which confirms the validity of the first point of view.
Svyatoslav, in the course of his numerous campaigns, began to annex the lands of the Vyatichi, defeated the Volga Bulgaria, conquered the Mordovian tribes, defeated the Khazar Khaganate, successfully fought in the North Caucasus and the Azov coast, having captured Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula, repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs. He tried to bring the borders of Russia closer to Byzantium and joined the Bulgarian-Byzantine conflict, and then led a stubborn struggle with the Emperor of Constantinople for the Balkan Peninsula. During the period of successful hostilities, Svyatoslav even thought about moving the capital of his state on the Danube to the city of Pereyaslavets, where, as he believed, “goods from different countries would converge”; silk, gold, Byzantine utensils, silver and horses from Hungary and the Czech Republic, wax, honey, furs and captive slaves from Russia. However, the struggle with Byzantium ended unsuccessfully, Svyatoslav was surrounded by a hundred thousandth Greek army. With great difficulty he managed to escape to Russia. A non-aggression pact was concluded with Byzantium, but the Danube lands had to be returned.
On the way to Kyiv, Svyatoslav in 972 was ambushed by the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids and was killed. The Pecheneg Khan ordered to make a cup from the skull of Svyatoslav, bound with gold, and drank from it at feasts, believing that the glory of the murdered would pass to him. (In the 30s of the 20th century, during the construction of the Dneproges, steel swords were discovered at the bottom of the Dnieper, which, presumably, belonged to Svyatoslav and his warriors.)
Prince Vladimir I (Red Sun). Vladimir I. After the death of Svyatoslav, his eldest son Yaropolk (972-980) became the Grand Prince of Kiev. His brother Oleg received the Drevlyane land. The third son of Svyatoslav Vladimir, born from his slave Malusha, the housekeeper of Princess Olga (Dobrynya's sister), received Novgorod. In the civil strife that began five years later between the brothers, Yaropolk defeated the Drevlyansk squads of Oleg. Oleg himself died in battle.
Vladimir, together with Dobrynya, fled "over the sea", from where he returned two years later with a hired Varangian squad. Yaropolk was killed. Vladimir occupied the grand-ducal throne.
Under Vladimir I (980-1015), all the lands of the Eastern Slavs united as part of Kievan Rus. The Vyatichi, lands on both sides of the Carpathians, Chervlensky cities were finally annexed. There was a further strengthening of the state apparatus. The princely sons and senior warriors received the largest centers in control. One of the most important tasks of that time was solved: ensuring the protection of Russian lands from the raids of numerous Pecheneg tribes. For this purpose, a number of fortresses were built along the rivers Desna, Osetr, Suda, Stugna. Apparently, here, on the border with the steppe, there were "heroic outposts" that protected Russia from raids, where the legendary Ilya Muromets and other epic heroes stood for their native land.
In 988, under Vladimir I, Orthodox Christianity was adopted as the state religion.
Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Twelve sons of Vladimir I from several marriages ruled the largest volosts of Russia. After his death, the throne of Kyiv passed to the eldest in the family Svyatopolk (1015-1019). In the civil strife that broke out, on the orders of the new Grand Duke, the favorite brothers of Vladimir and his squads, Boris Rostovsky and Gleb Muromsky, were innocently killed. Boris and Gleb were canonized by the Russian Church as saints. Svyatopolk was nicknamed the Accursed for his crime.
Svyatopolk the Accursed was opposed by his brother Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod the Great. Shortly before the death of his father, Yaroslav made an attempt not to submit to Kiev, which indicates the emergence of tendencies towards the fragmentation of the state. Relying on the help of the Novgorodians and the Varangians, Yaroslav, in the most severe strife, managed to expel the "Holy Damned" son-in-law of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave - from Kyiv to Poland, where Svyatopolk went missing.
Under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054), Kievan Rus reached its highest power. He, like Vladimir I, managed to protect Russia from Pecheneg raids. In 1030, after a successful campaign against the Baltic Chud, Yaroslav founded the city of Yuryev (now Tartu in Estonia) near Lake Peipus, establishing Russian positions in the Baltic. After the death of his brother Mstislav Tmutarakansky in 1035, who had owned the lands east of the Dnieper since 1024, Yaroslav finally became the sovereign prince of Kievan Rus.
Under Yaroslav Murom, Kyiv turned into one of the largest cities in Europe, competing with Constantinople. According to reports, there were about four hundred churches and eight markets in the city. According to legend, in 1037, on the site where Yaroslav had previously defeated the Pechenegs, the St. Sophia Cathedral was erected - a temple dedicated to wisdom, the divine mind that rules the world. At the same time, under Yaroslav, the Golden Gate was built in Kyiv - the main entrance to the capital of Ancient Russia. Extensive work was carried out on the correspondence and translation of books into Russian, teaching literacy.
The growth of the power and authority of Russia allowed Yaroslav to appoint for the first time the statesman and writer Hilarion of Russian origin as the Metropolitan of Kiev. The prince himself was called, like the Byzantine rulers, the king, as evidenced by the inscription of the XI century. on the wall of St. Sophia Cathedral. Above the sarcophagus, made of a whole piece of marble, in which Yaroslav is buried, one can read a solemn record "about the Assumption (death. - Auth.) of our Tsar." 32
Under Yaroslav the Wise, Russia achieved wide international recognition. The largest royal courts of Europe sought to intermarry with the family of the Kiev prince. Yaroslav himself was married to a Swedish princess. His daughters were married to the French, Hungarian and Norwegian kings. Yaroslav's granddaughter married the German emperor. Yaroslav's son Vsevolod married the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. Hence the nickname that Vsevolod's son received, Vladimir Monomakh. Metropolitan Hilarion rightly wrote about the Kievan princes: "They were rulers not in a bad country, but in a Russian which is known and heard in all the ends of the earth."
Socio-economic structure of Kievan Rus. Land was in those days the main wealth, the main means of production.
A common form of organization of production has become a feudal patrimony, or fatherland, i.e. paternal property passed from father to son by inheritance. The owner of the estate was a prince or boyar. In Kievan Rus, along with the princely and boyar estates, there was a significant number of communal peasants who were not yet subject to private feudal lords. Such peasant communities independent of the boyars paid tribute in favor of the state to the Grand Duke.
All the free population of Kievan Rus was called "people". Hence the term, meaning the collection of tribute, "polyudye". The bulk of the rural population, dependent on the prince, was called "smerds". They could live both in peasant communities, which carried duties in favor of the state, and in estates. Those smerds who lived in estates were in a more severe form of dependence and lost their personal freedom. Purchasing was one of the ways to enslave the free population. Ruined or impoverished peasants borrowed from the feudal lords part of the harvest, livestock, and money. Hence the name of this category of population purchases. The purchase had to work for and obey its creditor until it paid back the debt.
In addition to smerds and purchases, there were slaves in the princely and boyar estates, called serfs or servants, who were replenished from among the captives and from among the ruined tribesmen. The slave-owning way of life, as well as the remnants of the primitive system, were quite widespread in Kievan Rus. However, the dominant system of production relations was feudalism.
The process of economic life of Kievan Rus is poorly reflected in historical sources. The differences between the feudal system of Russia and the "classical" Western European models are obvious. They lie in the huge role of the public sector in the country's economy, the presence of a significant number of free peasant communities, who were in feudal dependence on the grand duke's power.
As noted above, in the economy of Ancient Russia, the feudal structure existed along with slavery and primitive patriarchal relations. A number of historians call the state of Russia a country with a multiform, transitional economy. Such historians emphasize the early class nature of the Kievan state, close to the barbarian states of Europe.
"Russian Truth". Tradition connects the compilation of "Russian Truth" with the name of Yaroslav the Wise. This is a complex legal monument, based on customary law and on previous legislation. For that time, the most important sign of the strength of a document was a legal precedent and a reference to antiquity. Although Russkaya Pravda is attributed to Yaroslav the Wise, many of its articles and sections were adopted later, after his death. Yaroslav owns only the first 17 articles of "Russian Pravda" ("Ancient Truth" or "Yaroslav's Truth"),
"Pravda Yaroslava" limited the blood feud to the circle of the closest relatives. This suggests that the norms of the primitive system already existed under Yaroslav the Wise as remnants. Yaroslav's laws sorted out disputes between free people, primarily among the princely squad. Novgorod men began to enjoy the same rights as Kiev.
Popular uprisings in the 60-70s. 11th century Mass popular demonstrations swept through Kievan Rus in 1068-1072. The most powerful was the uprising in Kyiv in 1068. It broke out as a result of the defeat suffered by the sons of Yaroslav (Yaroslavichi) - Izyaslav (d. 1078), Svyatoslav (d. 1076) and Vsevolod (d. 1093) from the Polovtsy.
In Kyiv, on Podil, in the handicraft part of the city, a veche was held. The Kievans asked the princes to issue weapons in order to fight the Polovtsy again. The Yaroslavichi refused to hand over their weapons, fearing that the people would use them against them. Then the people defeated the yards of the rich boyars. The Grand Duke Izyaslav fled to Poland and only with the help of the Polish feudal lords returned to the throne of Kyiv in 1069. Mass popular uprisings took place in Novgorod, in the Rostov-Suzdal land.
"Pravda Yaroslavichi" abolished blood feuds and increased the difference in payment for the murder of various categories of the population, reflecting the state's concern for the protection of property, life and property of the feudal lords. The largest fine was paid for the murder of senior combatants, firefighters, princely porches, whose life was estimated at 80 hryvnias. The life of the free population - people (husbands) - was estimated at 40 hryvnias; the life of village and ratay elders, as well as artisans, was estimated at 12 hryvnias; the life of smerds who lived in estates, and slaves in 5 hryvnias.
The most popular in Russia at that time was Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh. On his initiative, in 1097, the Lubech Congress of Princes took place. It was decided to stop the strife and proclaimed the principle "Everyone keeps his fatherland." However, the strife continued even after the Lyubech Congress.
An external factor, namely the need for an otior that appeared by the middle of the 11th century. in the southern Russian steppes to the nomadic Polovtsy, still kept Kievan Rus from disintegrating into separate principalities for some time. The fight was not easy. Historians count about 50 Polovtsian invasions from the middle of the 11th century to the beginning of the 13th century.
Prince Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of Svyatopolk in 1113, an uprising broke out in Kyiv. The people smashed the courts of princely rulers, large feudal lords and usurers. The uprising raged for four days. The Kievan boyars summoned Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to the grand-ducal throne.
Vladimir Monomakh was forced to make certain concessions, issuing the so-called "Charter of Vladimir Monomakh", which became another part of the "Russian Truth". The charter streamlined the collection of interest by usurers, improved the legal status of the merchants, and regulated the transition to servitude. Monomakh gave a great place in this legislation to the legal status of purchases, which indicates that purchasing became a very common institution and the enslavement of smerds proceeded at a more decisive pace.
Vladimir Monomakh managed to keep the entire Russian land under his rule, despite the fact that signs of fragmentation intensified, which was facilitated by a lull in the fight against the Polovtsians. Under Monomakh, the international prestige of Russia was strengthened. The prince himself was the grandson of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. His wife was an English princess. It is no coincidence that Ivan III, the Grand Duke of Moscow, who liked to "stir up the chroniclers", often referred to the reign of Vladimir Monomakh. The appearance in Russia of the crown of Russian tsars, the cap of Monomakh, and the succession of the power of Russian tsars from the emperors of Constantinople were associated with his name. Under Vladimir Monomakh, the initial Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" was compiled. He entered our history as a major politician, military leader and writer.
The son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav I the Great (1125-1132), managed to keep the unity of the Russian lands for some time. After the death of Mstislav, Kievan Rus finally disintegrated into a dozen and a half principalities-states. A period has come that has received in history the name of the period of fragmentation or specific period.
Hi friends!
In this post, we will focus on such a difficult topic as the first Kiev princes. Today, 7 author's historical portraits from Oleg the Prophet to Vladimir II Monomakh will be presented, all these historical portraits are written for the maximum score and meet all the criteria for assessing work on the exam.
You see in front of you a map of Ancient Russia, or rather the tribes that lived on their territory. You see that this is the territory of present-day Ukraine and Belarus. Ancient Russia stretched from the Carpathians in the West, to the Oka and Volga in the East, and from the Baltic in the North, to the Black Sea steppes in the South. Of course, Kyiv was the capital of this Old Russian state, and it was there that the princes of Kiev sat. We will begin the study of Ancient Russia with Prince Oleg. Unfortunately, no information about this prince has been preserved, and only the legend “The Legend of the Prophetic Oleg” has been preserved, which you all know very well. And in 882, Oleg went to Kyiv from Novgorod. He was Rurik's combatant (862-882) and while Rurik's son, Igor, was small, Oleg was his regent. And in 882, Oleg captured Kyiv, killing Askold and Dir, and from that moment the time of his reign began.
Oleg Veshchiy - Historical portrait
Lifetime:9th century - beginning10th century
Years of government: 882-912
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. He made Kyiv the capital of Ancient Russia, so some historians consider Oleg the founder of the Old Russian state. “Let Kyiv be the mother of Russian cities”
1.2. He united the northern and southern centers of the Eastern Slavs, by conquering the lands of the streets, Tivertsy, Radimichi, northerners, Drevlyans, subjugating such cities as Smolensk, Lyubech, Kyiv.
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. He made a successful campaign against Constantinople in 907.
2.2. Concluded favorable for the country peace and trade agreements with Byzantium.
Results of activity:
Prince Oleg during the years of his reign significantly increased the territory of Russia, concluded the first trade agreement with Byzantium (Constantinople)
The second ruler after Oleg was Igor Stary and much is unknown about his reign in modern history and we only know about the last four years of his reign in Kyiv.
Historical portrait of Igor Stary
Life time: endIX century -II quarterX century
Years of government: 912-945
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. Continued the unification of the East Slavic tribes
1.2. He was the governor in Kyiv during the reign of Oleg
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. Russian-Byzantine war 941-944
2.2. War with the Pechenegs
2.3. War with the Drevlyans
2.4. Military campaign against Byzantium
Results of activity:
He extended his power to the Slavic tribes between the Dniester and the Danube, concluded a military-trade agreement with Byzantium, conquered the Drevlyans.
After the murder of Igor by the Drevlyans for excessive collection of tribute, his wife, Olga, ascended the throne.
Duchess Olga
Lifetime:II-3rd quarterX century.
Years of government: 945-962
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. Strengthening the central government by reprisals against the Drevlyane tribe
1.2. She carried out the first tax reform in Russia: she introduced lessons - a fixed amount of tribute collection and graveyards - places of tribute collection.
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. She was the first Russian princess and ruler in general who converted to Christianity.
2.2. She was able to prevent the Drevlyan dynasty of princes from reigning in Kyiv.
Results of activity:
Olga strengthened the internal position of the young Russian state, established relations with Byzantium, increased the authority of Russia, and was able to maintain the Russian throne for her son Svyatoslav.
After the death of Olga, the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich, known for his rich foreign policy, began in Kyiv.
Svyatoslav Igorevich
Time of life: second half of the 10th century.
Years of reign 945 - 972
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. He led the further strengthening of the ancient Russian state, like his predecessors.
1.2. Tried to create an empire.
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. He conducted a military campaign against Bulgaria in 967.
2.2. Defeated the Khazar Khaganate in 965.
2.3. Conducted a military campaign against Byzantium.
Results of activity:
He established diplomatic relations with many peoples of the world, strengthened the position of Russia on the world stage, removed the threat from the Volga Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate, expanded the possessions of the Kiev prince, wanted to create an empire, but his plans were not destined to come true.
After the death of Svyatoslav, Prince Yaropolk (972-980) ascended the throne of Kyiv, who, over the 8 years of his reign, made a very small contribution to the history of Ancient Russia. After his reign, Vladimir I, popularly nicknamed the Red Sun, entered the throne of Kyiv.
Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich (Saint, Red Sun) – Historical portrait
Life time: 3rd quarter of the 10th century - first half of the 11th century (~ 960-1015);
Years of government: 980-1015
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. The final annexation of the lands of the Vyatichi, Cherven cities, as well as lands on both sides of the Carpathians.
1.2. pagan reform. In order to strengthen the grand ducal power and to introduce Russia to the rest of the world, in 980 Vladimir carried out a Pagan reform, according to which Perun was placed at the head of the pantheon of Slavic gods. After the failure of the reform, Vladimir I decided to baptize Russia according to the Byzantine rite.
1.3. Acceptance of Christianity. After the failure of the pagan reform, under Vladimir in 988, Christianity was adopted as the state religion. The baptism of Vladimir and his entourage was performed in the city of Korsun. The reason for choosing Christianity as the main religion was the marriage of Vladimir to the Byzantine princess Anna and the prevalence of this faith in Russia.
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. Protection of the borders of Russia. Under Vladimir, in order to protect, the Unified Defensive System from nomads and the Alert System were created.
2.2. The defeat of the Radimichi militia, a campaign in the Volga Bulgaria, the first clash of Russia with Poland, as well as the conquest of the Polotsk principality.
Results of activity:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. The unification of all the lands of the Eastern Slavs as part of Kievan Rus.
1.2. The reform streamlined the pagan pantheon. It prompted Prince Vladimir to turn to a fundamentally new religion.
1.3. Strengthening princely power, raising the authority of the country on the world stage, borrowing Byzantine culture: fresco, architecture, icon painting, the Bible was translated into Slavic...
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. The Unified Defense System from nomads and the Notification System helped to quickly notify the center about crossing the border, and accordingly about the attack, which gave Russia an advantage.
2.2. Expansion of the borders of Russia through the active foreign policy of Prince Vladimir the Holy.
After Vladimir, a very prominent ruler was Yaroslav, nicknamed the Wise.
Yaroslav the Wise
Life time: endX- middleXI century
Years of government: 1019-1054
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. Establishment of dynastic ties with Europe and Byzantium, through the conclusion of dynastic marriages.
1.2. The founder of written Russian legislation - "Russian Pravda"
1.3. Erected St. Sophia Cathedral and the Golden Gate
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. Military campaigns in the Baltic
2.2. The final defeat of the Pechenegs
2.3. Military campaign against Byzantium and the Polish-Lithuanian lands
Results of activity:
During the reign of Yaroslav, Russia reached its peak. Kyiv became one of the largest cities in Europe, the prestige of Russia increased on the world stage, the active construction of temples and cathedrals began.
And the last prince, whose characteristics we will give in this post, will be Vladimir II.
Vladimir Monomakh
ATTime of life: second half of the 11th century - first quarter of the 12th century.
Years of government: 1113-1125
Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. He stopped the collapse of the Old Russian state. "Let each one keep his fatherland"
1.2. Nestor compiled "The Tale of Bygone Years"
1.3. Introduced the "Charter of Vladimir Monomakh"
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. He organized successful campaigns of princes against the Polovtsians
2.2. Continued the policy of strengthening dynastic ties with Europe
Results of activity:
He was able to unite the Russian lands for a short time, became the author of Teachings to Children, he managed to stop the Polovtsian raids on Russia.
© Ivan Nekrasov 2014
Here is a post, dear readers of the site! I hope he helped you navigate among the first princes of Ancient Russia. The best gratitude for this post is your recommendations on social networks! You may not care, but I'm glad))
Politics of the first princes . The Varangian princes, surrounded by a strong and combat-ready squad, contributed to the formation and completion of the processes leading to the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs. The Scandinavian origin of Rurik, Dir and Askold, Oleg (Helg) and Igor (Ingvar) is indisputable. However, soon the princely and retinue elite assimilated with the local population. The features of Slavization are already quite noticeable in the guise of Svyatoslav. At the end IX - early XI centuries The Old Russian state was going through a period of formation. After the death of Rurik in 879, Prince Oleg (879 - 912) became the head of the Novgorod lands. He, like subsequent rulers, made several aggressive campaigns. Oleg undertook a campaign to the south, conquering the lands of the Krivichi (Smolensk), and also occupied Kyiv. Thus, the unification of the Slovenes in the north and the lands of the Dnieper region of the glades in the south from 884 formed the territorial basis of a large unified state, which later became known as Kievan Rus.
Prince Igor (912 - 945) successfully fought the streets. During the reign of Igor's wife- Olga (945 - 964) carried out the first reforms of public administration - the establishment of "tributes, lessons and churchyards". Especially warlike is Prince Svyatoslav (964-972), who conquered the Vyatichi tribe. Possessing great foreign policy ambitions, he sought to expand the territory of the Kievan state to the South-West, within the Balkans.
During the reign of Prince Vladimir 1 (980 - 1015), the Volynians and Croats were subordinated. In addition to the Slavic, the Finno-Ugric tribes (Chud, Merya, Muroma, etc.) entered the structure of the Old Russian state. Under Vladimir 1, Christianity was adopted from Byzantium. This was essential both for strengthening the power of the Grand Duke (senior) among other princes, and for the culture and ethnic identity of the ancient Russian people. At the same time, the order of the "ladder" system of inheritance of power in the state was established. In the event of the death of the eldest son of the prince, his place was to be taken by another in seniority, then all the other princes moved to more important thrones. During the life of the Kiev prince, this system operated flawlessly, but after the death of the Grand Duke (“ hakan”), as a rule, there was a period of more or less long struggle of his sons for the throne of Kyiv.
The heyday of the Old Russian state falls on the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019 - 1054) and his sons (Yaroslavichi). By the time of this heyday is the appearance of the oldest part of the "Russian Truth"- the first monument of written law that has come down to us. The analysis of Russian truth allows historians to talk about different aspects of ancient Russian society. These are the customary legal norms of life of rural and urban communities, the situation of different categories of the country's population, this is the established system of state administration, which included the Kyiv prince, squad, governors and other categories of managers, various types of rural and urban free and dependent population.
Yaroslav the Wise pursued a skillful dynastic policy, linking his sons and daughters by marriage with the ruling families of Hungary, Poland, Germany, France and other countries. This strengthened the position of Russia in the system of international relations.
After the death of Yaroslav, from the end XI century, the power of the Kiev prince was significantly weakened and clashes between the princes of different lands intensified in the struggle for predominance. Attempts by the rulers of individual principalities to come to an agreement among themselves (congresses in 1097 and 1099) were of transitory importance in the conditions of specific strife. The necessary cooperation in the fight against the new- Polovtsian - the threat could not be reached. Tendencies towards the political fragmentation of the unified state intensified as its individual regions grew richer and stronger.
Vladimir Monomakh (1113 - 1125) was the last Kiev prince who managed to stop the collapse of the Old Russian state. Under him, the threat of Polovtsian raids decreased, some social regulation measures were taken by improving legislation (the “Charter of Volodimers” as part of Russian Truth). Relative state unity was maintained after Monomakh by his son- Mstislav the Great (1125 - 1132). After the death of the Kievan prince Mstislav, Russia was fragmented into separate principalities and destinies.