Main dates and events: 1613 - accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov; 1649 - adoption of the Cathedral Code; 1653 - the last Zemsky Sobor.
Historical figures: Mikhail Fedorovich; Patriarch Filaret; Alexey Mikhailovich; Fedor Alekseevich.
Basic terms and concepts: localism; autocracy; absolutism.
Answer plan: 1) the main directions of changes in the political system; 2) Zemsky Sobors; 3) Boyar Duma; 4) order system; 5) local government; 6) the Cathedral Code of 1649. 7) the beginning of the formation of absolutism.
Reply material: The first Russian tsar of the new herd dynasty was Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613-1645). By the time he began his reign, he was barely 16 years old. At that age, he could not be an independent politician. Assuming the throne, Mikhail took a solemn oath in which he promised not to rule without the Zemsky Sobor and the Boyar Duma. The king fulfilled this oath until he returned from the captivity of his father. Filaret, proclaimed patriarch in 1619, also received the title of "great sovereign" and became co-ruler of his son. Until his death in 1633, Filaret was the de facto ruler of Russia. After the death of Mikhail, his son Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) became king.
Already under the first tsars of the Romanov dynasty, there was a significant strengthening of royal power and a weakening of the role of class-representative bodies in public life.
The promise of Mikhail Fedorovich to rule in accordance with the Zemsky Sobor and the Boyar Duma was not accidental: in the conditions of economic ruin and the weakness of the central government, the tsar was forced to seek support. First of all, the Zemsky Sobor became such a support. Throughout the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, a feature of the Zemsky Sobors was a significant increase in the representation of the lower classes. Moreover, the deputies elected to the Council received "orders" from their voters and had to defend them before the tsar. However, as the tsarist power strengthened and the situation in the country stabilized, Zemsky Sobors began to meet less and less frequently.
After Filaret's death, some noblemen proposed to transform the Zemsky Sobor into a permanent parliament. However, these ideas did not meet the interests of autocratic power. Councils began to be convened only to approve the projects already prepared by the tsar, and not to discuss the ways of the country's development. The last Zemsky Sobor, at which various strata of Russian society were widely represented, was convened in 1653. It accepted the population of the Left-Bank Ukraine and Kiev into Russian citizenship. In the future, the bureaucracy and the army became the main support of autocratic power.
The Boyar Duma also gradually lost its former role. The composition of the Duma was expanded by Mikhail Fedorovich - this is how he thanked those who supported his accession (up to a hundred people). Moreover, the Duma now included not only the tribal aristocracy, but also representatives of humble families. The Duma was still called upon to resolve the most important issues - war and peace, approval of bills, the introduction of new taxes, the resolution of controversial issues, etc. The tsar or a boyar appointed by him supervised its work.
The increase in the size of the Duma made it too cumbersome and forced the tsar to create a more flexible governing body, consisting of the most trusted persons - the "near" ("small", "secret") Duma, which gradually replaced the "big" Duma. In full force, the Boyar Duma began to convene less and less. The "near" Duma concentrated in its hands the solution of many questions of state administration.
The growth of the country's territory, the complication of economic tasks led to a significant increase in the number of orders. At various times in Russia there were about a hundred of them. Foreign policy issues (including the release of prisoners of war for ransom) were in charge of the Ambassadorial Order. The order of the Grand Palace was in charge of the palace economy and the property of the king. The state order was responsible for the safety of jewelry and things of the royal family. The stable order disposed of numerous royal stables and equipment for royal trips. The discharge order distributed the nobles and boyars to the royal service. Land grants and the collection of taxes from estates and estates were in charge of the Local Order. Yamskoy Prikaz was responsible for fast and reliable postal communication. With the growth of the scale of stone construction in the capital and large cities, the Order of Stone Affairs arose. Almost the central place was occupied by the Petition Order, which considered the petitions and complaints of the royal subjects. Under Alexei Mikhailovich, there was also the Order of Secret Affairs, which controlled the activities of all state institutions and was in charge of the economy of the royal family.
However, the numerical growth of orders had a negative impact on the management system as a whole, confused the duties of employees, increased bureaucratic red tape and abuse of official position. Sometimes orders were engaged in solving the same or similar tasks. So, judicial issues were resolved by Rogue and Zemsky orders. Military affairs were in charge of the Discharge, Streltsy, Pushkar, Inozemsky, Reitarsky, Cossack orders. A number of orders were responsible for the control of local government. All this testified to the need to reform the order system, to simplify it.
In the 17th century, the county remained the main administrative unit. By the end of the century there were more than 250 of them. Counties, in turn, were divided into camps and volosts. From the very beginning of the century, the tsar appointed governors at the head of counties and a number of border towns. They not only led local military detachments, but also possessed the highest administrative and judicial power: they were responsible for collecting taxes, performing duties by the population, and adjudicating court.
To overcome the consequences of the Time of Troubles, it was necessary to adopt many new laws. As before, their projects were prepared on behalf of the tsar by persons close to him and gained strength after the consent of the Boyar Duma and the tsar. In those cases when the bill was especially important, it was approved by the Zemsky Sobor. The appearance in the first half of the century of new laws, applied along with the laws of an earlier time, required their streamlining, bringing them into a single document - a set of laws. The compilation of such a code was entrusted to close associates of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, headed by Prince N. I. Odoevsky. When compiling the Cathedral Code (adopted by the Zemsky Sobor in 1649), not only Russian laws, but also foreign ones were used. The young Tsar Alexei himself participated in the development of the code of laws.
The code reflected the increased role of the king in the life of the country. For the first time, the concept of “state crime” (against the honor and health of the king and his family, representatives of state power and the church) was introduced into the law, for which severe punishment was provided. The code approved the full right of the landowner to the land and dependent (serf) peasants. An indefinite search for runaway peasants was established and a large fine for harboring fugitives.
Thus, in the course of the 17th century, tendencies were growing to strengthen the autocratic power of the tsar, who now relied not on estate representation, but on the bureaucratic apparatus and the army; there was a final approval of serfdom; the rights and privileges of the nobility, the social support of the tsarist autocracy, increased significantly.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Russia was going through hard times. The victory of the militia of Minin and Pozharsky over the Poles allowed Russia to defend its independence, and at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, elections were held for a new tsar, who should have liquidated the consequences of the Troubles in the coming years ...
The reign of Mikhail Romanov
The first tsar of the Romanov dynasty was Mikhail Romanov. His history of government begins at the age of 17. He was a weak and timid young man, who was considered by the boyars not as capable, but as a tsar convenient for lobbying their interests. The Time of Troubles ended, but the boyars dreamed of maintaining their influence in the new model of autocracy.
So he ruled from 1613 to 1619, until his father Filaret returned from Polish captivity.
Rice. 1. Mikhail Romanov.
Filaret took over the functions of government in the country. He not only received the rank of patriarch, but also received the title of "great sovereign", protecting Mikhail from the influence of the boyars and ruling the country until his death in 1633.
The internal policy of Mikhail Fedorovich was aimed entirely at restoring the ruined economy of the country, which was hampered by frequent raids by the Crimean Tatars. In governing the country, the young tsar relied on the Zemsky Sobor, which was convened quite often.
An important reform was the introduction of voivodeship local government, which streamlined the vertical of power. The strengthening of power made it possible to increase taxes levied on the townspeople, which increased the revenues of the treasury.
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Mikhail Romanov made an attempt to form a regular army, where foreign specialists were invited as officers. It was during his reign that dragoon regiments appeared in Russia.
In 1645, Mikhail Fedorovich died and his son Alexei became king.
The reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676)
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the royal power is strengthened. In 1653-1655, on his orders, Patriarch Nikon carried out a church reform, according to which believers had to be baptized with three fingers instead of two, give bows instead of bows to the earth, and church books and icons were edited in the Greek manner.
Rice. 2. Alexey Mikhailovich Quiet.
This reform caused a great public outcry. A large number of her opponents were found, and a movement of Old Believers (Old Believers) led by Archpriest Avvakum also arose. The Old Believer movement still exists today.
In 1648, a military reform took place in Russia. The best regiments of the "old system" - cavalry, archers and gunners - were strengthened and enlarged. Massively created regiments of the "new system" - reytars, dragoons and hussars. To carry out the reform, European specialists who had gained extensive experience of the Thirty Years' War were invited en masse.
In 1649, the Council Code was adopted - a code of laws of Russia, which was in force for almost 200 years. It officially recorded the attachment of not only peasants, but also their children to the land allotments of feudal lords.
In 1654, a monetary reform was carried out. Copper was added to the composition of the coins, which worsened its quality. This reform is considered a failure.
In general, the policy of the first Romanovs contributed to the formation of absolutism.
Rice. 3. Map of Russia in the 17th century.
Popular riots
Under Alexei Mikhailovich, a series of popular riots took place. The copper riot was caused by the monetary reform. In 1648, the Salt Riot took place in Moscow, caused by a sharp rise in the price of salt.
The final enslavement of the peasants, the growth of taxes and an attempt to limit the Cossack freemen gave rise to an uprising of peasants and Cossacks on the Don in 1667-1671 led by Stepan Razin. The uprising took on a large territorial scale and was drowned in blood, and its leaders were executed.
Foreign policy of the first Romanovs
Under the first Romanovs, Russia experienced several wars. Let's study them with the help of a table.
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Event |
the date |
Event value |
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Smolensk war |
Unsuccessful. Showed the need to reform the army |
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Azov seat |
Fearing a major conflict with the Ottoman Empire, Russia missed the chance to seize Azov |
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Rebellion of Bogdan Khmelnytsky |
The uprising of the Cossacks of the Zaporozhian Sich against the Poles demanding the independence of the Sich. |
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Pereyaslav Rada |
Accession of Ukraine to Russia |
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War with the Commonwealth |
A protracted war, during which Russia defended the Ukrainian lands. |
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Truce with the Commonwealth |
Cessation of hostilities |
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War with Sweden |
Ended unsuccessfully for Russia |
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Continuation of the war with the Commonwealth |
Having spent forces on the Swedes, Russia could not win the war |
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Rokosh Lubomirsky |
The military confederation in Poland itself against the king thwarted the plans of the Poles to capture Smolensk |
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Andrusovo truce |
Ended the war with the Poles. Russia annexed Smolensk, Ukraine and Kyiv. |
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Colonization of Siberia |
Russia continues to move deep into Siberia, colonizing lands undeveloped by civilized states. |
What have we learned?
Speaking briefly about Russia under the first Romanovs, it should be noted that on the whole they managed to defend the sovereignty of the country, recover it from the devastation after the Time of Troubles and strengthen the royal power. However, the eternal problems with access to the Baltic and the Black Sea have not been resolved.
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Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov became the Russian tsar at a difficult time (Scheme 82). The turmoil led Russia to a complete economic collapse. Political stability was not immediately established either, the system of government in the center and in the regions was destroyed. The main tasks of the young king were to achieve reconciliation in the country, overcome the economic ruin and streamline the management system. For the first six years of his reign, Mikhail ruled, relying on the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobors. The latter did not actually stop working from 1613 to 1619. In 1619, the tsar's father Fyodor Nikitich (in monasticism Filaret) Romanov returned from Polish captivity. Filaret, who took the patriarchal rank, actually ruled the country until his death in 1633. In 1645, Mikhail Romanov also died. His son Alexei Mikhailovich became the Russian Tsar (Scheme 83).
By the middle of the century the economic ruin had been overcome. Economic development of Russia in the XVII century. characterized by a number of new phenomena in economic life (Scheme 84). The craft gradually developed into small-scale production. More and more products were made not to order, but for the market. There was an economic specialization of individual regions. In Tula and Kashira, for example, metal products were produced. The Volga region specialized in leather processing. Novgorod and Pskov were centers of flax production. The best jewelry was created in Novgorod, Tikhvin and Moscow. In the same era, centers of artistic crafts began to emerge (Khokhloma, Palekh, etc.).
The development of commodity production led to the emergence of manufactories. They were divided into state-owned, i.e. owned by the state (for example, the Armory), and privately owned. The latter arose mainly in metallurgy. Such enterprises were located in Tula, Kashira and in the Urals.
Scheme 82
The growth of productive forces contributed to the development of trade and the emergence of an all-Russian market. Two major all-Russian fairs arose: Makarievskaya on the Volga and Irbitskaya on the Urals.
In the 17th century final legal registration took place in Russia serfdom. By this term, historians understand the most severe form of dependence of the peasants on the landowner, whose power extended to the person, labor and property of the peasants belonging to him. The forcible attachment of peasants to the land was practiced in a number of European countries in the Middle Ages. However, in Western Europe, serfdom was relatively short-lived and did not exist everywhere. In Russia, it was finally established at the turn of the 17th century, existed in the most rigid form and was abolished only in 1861.
Scheme 83
How can this phenomenon of Russian history be explained? In the literature, one of the reasons for the enslavement of peasants is the low productivity of peasant farms. Other reasons for the formation of serfdom, historians consider the harsh natural and climatic conditions and the economic dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords. The position of the Russian peasantry was also influenced by the peculiarities of the political development of Russian statehood. The basis of the armed forces of Russia in the XVII century. constituted the service class of landowners. The ever-increasing costs of maintaining the country's defense capability required the strengthening of this estate and the provision of free labor force (Scheme 85).
Scheme 84
It is easy to trace the stages of the legal registration of serfdom. In 1581, Ivan the Terrible introduced "Reserved Years", until the abolition of which the peasants were forbidden to leave their owners. In reality, this meant that the peasants were deprived of the ancient right to move on St. George's Day to another owner, although formally there was probably no law on its abolition. In continuation of the policy of enslaving the peasants, the government of Boris Godunov adopted in 1597 a decree on a five-year search for fugitive peasants. By decrees of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich of 1637 and 1641, the state investigation was increased, respectively, to 9 and 15 years. The date of the final registration of serfdom is considered to be 1649. The Council Code of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich established an indefinite search for fugitive peasants.
Scheme 85
In the historical literature, there are two main concepts of the enslavement of the Russian peasantry. According to the concept of "decree" serfdom, serfdom was introduced at the initiative of the state authorities to maintain the country's defense capability and ensure the service class. This point of view was held by historians N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Solovyov, N.I. Kostomarov, S.B. Veselovsky and B.D. Grekov, as well as the modern historian R.G. Skrynnikov. In the works of V.O. Klyuchevsky, M.P. Pogodin and M.A. Dyakonov defends the "unordered" concept, according to which serfdom was a consequence of the real living conditions of the country, only legally formalized by the state (Scheme 86).
In 1649, the Council Code was adopted - a code of domestic feudal law that regulated relations in the main areas of society (Scheme 87). In July 1648, the Zemsky Sobor considered the petition of servicemen and merchants for the adoption of a new code of laws. For its development, a special commission was created, headed by the boyar N.I. Odoevsky. Already in the autumn of the same year, the draft Code was presented to the king. At the beginning of 1649, the Code was approved by the Zemsky Sobor. Soon it was published with a circulation of 1200 copies. The code is divided into chapters, and the chapters are divided into articles. In total, the Cathedral Code has 25 chapters and 967 articles.
The code of laws begins with the chapter "On blasphemers and church rebels", which prescribes to punish any blasphemy, heresy or speech against church authorities by burning at the stake. The next two chapters regulate the status of the king. The very name of one of them is indicative: "On the sovereign's honor and how to protect his sovereign's health." The Council Code prescribes cruel punishments not only for rebellion against the tsar or insulting the head of state, but even for fights and outrages in the royal court. Thus, the legislative consolidation of the absolute monarchy took place.
Scheme 86
Scheme 87
The social structure of society is framed in the Cathedral Code, since it regulates the rights and obligations of all estates. Chapter 11 "The Court of the Peasants" was of the greatest importance. It is in it that the indefinite search for runaway peasants is indicated, which finally consolidated serfdom. According to the Cathedral Code, urban residents were attached to the place of residence and "tax", i.e. carrying out government duties. A significant part of the Code is devoted to the order of legal proceedings and criminal law. Laws of the 17th century look too harsh. Historians of law have counted 60 crimes for which the death penalty is provided for in the Council Code. The Code also regulates the procedure for military service, travel to other states, customs policy, etc.
Political development of Russia in the 17th century. characterized by the evolution of the state system: from a class-representative monarchy to absolutism. A special place in the system of estate-representative monarchy was occupied by Zemsky Sobors (Scheme 88). The Zemsky Sobor included the higher clergy ("consecrated cathedral"), the Boyar Duma and the elected part ("curia"). The elected delegates of the Council represented the Moscow nobles, the administration of orders, the district nobility, the tops of the "draft" settlements of the Moscow suburb, as well as the Cossacks and archers ("service people on the device"). Black-nose peasants were represented only once - at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613.
Scheme 88
As already mentioned, the first Zemsky Sobor in the history of Russia was convened by Ivan IV in 1549 (the Council of Reconciliation) (Scheme 89). Cathedrals of the 16th century resolved questions about the continuation of the Livonian War and the election of the king. A special role in Russian history was played by the Council of 1613, which elected Mikhail Romanov as king. In the first years of the reign of the young tsar, the Zemsky Sobors worked almost continuously and helped Mikhail in governing the state. After the return of Father Mikhail Fedorovich Filaret Romanov from Polish captivity, the activities of the Sobors become less active. They mainly dealt with issues of war and peace. In 1649, the Zemsky Sobor adopted the Cathedral Code. The last Zemsky Sobor, which worked in 1653, resolved the issue of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. Subsequently, zemstvo activity fades away. In the 1660-1680s. Numerous estate commissions met. All of them were predominantly boyar. The end of the work of Zemsky Sobors actually meant the completion of the transition from a class-representative monarchy to absolutism.
Scheme 89
The significant role of the Boyar Duma remained in the system of state authorities and administration. However, in the second half of the XVII century. its value is declining. From the composition of the Duma, the so-called Near Duma, consisting of persons especially devoted to the tsar, stands out.
High development in the XVII century. reaches the command control system (diagram 90). Permanent orders were engaged in certain branches of public administration within the country or were in charge of certain territories. The defense of the country and the affairs of the service class were in charge of the discharge, archery, Pushkar, foreign and Reitar orders. The local order formalized land allotments and conducted judicial investigations on land cases. The embassy order carried out the foreign policy of the state. Along with the permanent ones, temporary orders were also created. One of them was the order of secret affairs, led personally by Alexei Mikhailovich. The order was engaged in the supervision of the activities of higher state institutions and officials.
The main administrative-territorial unit of the state was the county. The system of local government in the XVII century. was built not on the basis of elected bodies, but on the authorities appointed from the center of the governor. Zemsky and labial elders obeyed them.
The social structure of Russian society in the 17th century. was deeply estate (Scheme 91). The term "estate" means a social group that has rights and obligations enshrined in custom or law and inherited. The privileged class were secular and spiritual feudal lords. Secular feudal lords were divided into ranks. In the 17th century this concept reflected not so much an official position as belonging to a certain group of the feudal estate. Its top was made up of Duma ranks: boyars, roundabouts, there were Moscow ranks - officials, solicitors, Moscow nobles. They were followed by the lower categories of the privileged class - the ranks of the city. These included provincial nobles, who were called "children of the boyars."
Most of the dependent population were peasants. Personally free members of the community were called black-haired peasants. The rest of the peasants were either privately owned, i.e. belonging to the landlords, or palace, or appanage, belonging to the royal family. Slaves were in the position of slaves. Attached to their duties were the inhabitants of the cities - artisans and merchants. The richest merchants were called "guests". Among the dependent estates were "service people on the instrument": archers, gunners and Cossacks.
Scheme 90
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The reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613-1645)
July 11, 1613 the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty - Mikhail Fedorovich - was married to the kingdom. In the conditions of a devastated country, the young and inexperienced king needed support. For the first ten years of his reign, Zemsky Sobors sat almost continuously, where the tsar's mother and his maternal relatives, the Saltykov boyars, played a decisive role. Since 1619, the father of the tsar, Patriarch Filaret, who returned from Polish captivity, became the actual ruler of Russia with the title of "great sovereign". The main content of the internal policy of these years was the strengthening of the principles of autocracy. To this end, the authorities have taken the following measures:
The transfer of large lands and cities into the possession of secular and church landowners was widely practiced.
The nobility was rewarded with lands and privileges for their service.
There was a process of further securing the peasants for their owners.
The social composition of the Boyar Duma expanded: the representation of the nobles in it increased due to the granting of the ranks of duma nobles and clerks to them.
At the same time, the circle of people who had real powers of authority narrowed: the Middle Duma was created from four boyars - relatives of the tsar.
There was an increase in the number of orders.
Changes in the system of local government also served to strengthen the centralization of the state - gradually power was concentrated in the hands of the governor. The introduction of a new state seal and the inclusion of the concept of "autocrat" (1625) in the royal title should have served to increase the authority of the central government. After the defeat of the Russian troops near Smolensk (1634), the government of Mikhail Fedorovich conceived a military reform. The formation of infantry and cavalry formations according to the Western European model began. These units - "regiments of the new system" - were armed with Western weapons and acted according to the tactics adopted at that time in Western European countries. In Moscow, the number of foreigners invited to the Russian service has significantly increased: mercenary officers, artisans, doctors; outside the city limits, a special German settlement arose.
Signs of an absolute monarchy.
The main trend of the internal political development of Russia in the XVII century. was the formation of absolutism - a form of government in which power belongs entirely to the monarch; public participation in legislation and control over the government of the country is minimal or non-existent.
Signs of the beginning of the formation of absolutism in Russia:
The fall of the role of Zemsky Sobors.
The fall of the role of the Boyar Duma and the expansion of its social composition at the expense of the nobility, merchants.
The growth of the state apparatus and bureaucracy.
Local replacement of elected zemstvo bodies by appointed governors.
An increase in the number of standing army ("regiments of the new system").
According to many historians, the 17th century is the first stage in the formation of absolutism in Russia. The absolute monarch rules, relying on the bureaucratic apparatus, the standing army, the church as an ideological force submits to him. However, the absolute monarchy that developed in Russia, due to specific historical conditions, was quite effective. Therefore, at the end of the XVII century. there was an urgent need to reform the institutions of public administration.
Control system
At the initiative of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, changes in the management system continued:
An order of Secret Affairs was created, personally subordinate to the king, and uniting the financial management of the country, the Accounting Order;
From Ser. 50s of the XVII century. by recruiting peasants and townspeople, “regiments of the new system” were formed (according to the Western European model), while the importance and number of noble cavalry decreased.
In the 17th century the power and influence of orders - institutions involved in solving military, financial, land and foreign policy problems - increased.
The reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. (1645-1678)
Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the throne at the age of sixteen. He was a rather well-educated, well-read man, distinguished by good health, not angry, cheerful character and unfeigned piety. For his meek disposition, he was nicknamed the Quietest.
The Time of Troubles has always caused controversy among historians. A number of researchers believe that some episodes of the Time of Troubles concealed the possibility of an alternative development for Russia (for example, the beginnings of contractual relations between the tsar and his subjects when Vasily Shuisky and Prince Vladislav were called to the throne). Many historians point out that the national consolidation that made it possible to repel foreign invasions was achieved on a conservative basis, which for a long time postponed the much-needed modernization of the country.
Socio-economic and political development of Russia under the first Romanovs
a) Socio-economic development
Agriculture
The events of the Time of Troubles led to the ruin and devastation of a significant part of Russia, especially its central regions. Starting from the 20s. 17th century the recovery process has begun. Basically, it was restored by the 40s. 17th century However, this process in different regions of the country proceeded at different rates. The southern regions, where there were fertile lands, recovered faster. A slower rise in the economy took place in the central regions of Russia, which suffered the most during the Polish intervention and the peasant war. For example, in 14 central counties in the 70th year of the XVII century. plowed land was 60% of the previously cultivated.
The main branch of the Russian economy remained agriculture, where the three-field system of agriculture continued to dominate. The main agricultural crops were rye and oats. Wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, peas were also grown, flax and hemp were also grown from industrial crops. Horticulture and horticulture developed. The plow, harrows, sickle, scythe remained the main tools of labor, the plow was slowly introduced. In agriculture, the methods of cultivating the land, traditional for the previous time, remained routine, but in the 17th century. In general, compared with the 16th century, more agricultural products were produced in Russia, primarily due to the development of new sown areas in the south of Russia, in the Volga region, and Siberia. The development of the commercial economy is observed.
The economy of large estates and monasteries was drawn into market relations. The intensive involvement in commodity production of the farms of privately owned peasants was hampered by their complete subordination to the power of the feudal lords, the inability to freely dispose of their labor, and the growth of property and state duties.
Craft and industry
In the 17th century the share of handicraft production in the country's economy increased. The division of labor deepened. The largest centers of handicraft production were Moscow, Ustyug the Great, Yaroslavl, Novgorod, Tula, and others. Handicraft centers in the 17th century. there were also some villages in which the peasants completely or partially broke with agriculture. For example, commercial and industrial villages in the Volga region - Pavlov, Lyskovo, Murashkino.
In the development of handicraft production in the XVII century. there is a clear trend towards becoming small scale production. If earlier artisans mainly worked to order, then in the 17th century the number of artisans working for the market increased. During this period, the commodity specialization of individual regions began to manifest itself clearly. In Yaroslavl and Kazan, the production of leather was actively developing, metal was brought from Tula and Ustyuzhna Zhelezopolskaya, metal products from Ustyug and the Urals, flax from Pskov and Rzhev, salt from Totma and Staraya Rusa.
The development of small-scale crafts and the growth of commodity specialization prepared the ground for the emergence manufactories. Their creation was accelerated by state needs. Manufactory production took shape in places where commodity production developed. If Western European manufactory operated on the basis of civilian labor, then Russian manufactory was based on the labor of serfs, since the market for civilian labor in Russia, where serfdom dominated, was practically absent.
In the 17th century There were 30 manufactories in Russia. The first manufactory was created in 1631 in the Urals - Nitsinsky copper smelter. The ironworks of Vinnius and Wilkinson functioned near Tula. Several metallurgical plants built by S. Gavrilov operated in the Olonets region. Leather manufactory production developed in Yaroslavl, Kazan. The treasury owned manufactories - Mint, Printing, Khamovny (linen) yards.
Trade
In the 17th century in Russia, trade developed intensively. Several regional shopping centers were formed: Moscow, Ustyug the Great, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Kostroma. The Volga was a lively trade artery, where the cities of Astrakhan, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod developed as large shopping centers. Fairs played an important role in the development of trade: Makaryevskaya, Svenskaya, Tikhvinskaya, Irbitskaya, Solvychegodskaya. The number of local rows and fairs grew.
But there were significant obstacles in the way of the development of trade and merchants. There was an acute question of access to the seas, the absence of which hampered the development of trade. Foreign capital sought to capture Russian markets, which led to a clash with the interests of Russian merchants. The merchants of Russia demanded that the state protect them from competition with foreign merchants. Trade charter 1653 established a single ruble duty for merchants and abolished a number of internal duties. In 1667 was adopted new trading charter, according to which foreign merchants were prohibited from retail trade in Russia.
Thus, in the Russian economy of the XVII century. the dominant position was occupied by the feudal system. At the same time, early bourgeois elements began to take shape in the country, which were subject to the deforming effects of the feudal system.
In Soviet historiography of the 17th century. was called the beginning new period of Russian history. By this time, a number of historians attributed the beginning of the disintegration of feudalism and the emergence in its depths of the capitalist way of economy. Questions related to the genesis of capitalism in Russia remain debatable. Disputes are raised by the question of whether the new phenomena in the country's economy were of a bourgeois nature.
b)Popular movements. Adoption of serfdom
Urban uprisings
The state was faced with the task of returning the lands seized during the years of intervention. For this, funds were needed to maintain the army. The financial situation of the state was extremely difficult. The feudal state shifted the entire burden of eliminating the consequences of the intervention onto the masses. In addition to the land tax, they resorted to extraordinary cash collections - "five money", which were collected from 1613 to 1633 seven times. The population strongly resisted the collection of emergency taxes. The heaviest direct tax on the upkeep of the troops, the "streltsy money", has increased greatly.
Since each township community was given the total amount of tax for the year, it was possible for the urban elite to shift the entire burden of the tax onto ordinary township taxpayers. Large arrears were formed, which the state extorted in 1646-1647. by the most severe methods.
There was another circumstance that worsened the situation of ordinary townspeople - the penetration of feudal landownership into the cities. The settlements in the cities belonging to the feudal lords were called white, and them people were exempted from paying state taxes. Many townspeople went to white freedoms, escaping from state taxes, and the share of taxes that fell on the departed was distributed to the remaining population. The townspeople demanded the destruction of the white settlements. contradictions between. the urban poor and the feudal nobility, as well as the merchant elite adjoining it, continuously increased.
This led to a number of urban uprisings.
Having failed to collect arrears of direct taxes in 1646, the government of the boyar B.I. Morozov established an indirect tax on salt. The people were unable to buy salt at the new prices. Instead of replenishing the treasury, there was a reduction in cash income. In 1647 the state abolished the tax on salt. Then Morozov, who was at the head of the government, tried to reduce cash costs by reducing the salaries of archers, gunners, officials of orders. This led to an unprecedented scale of bribery and embezzlement, dissatisfaction with the archers and gunners, who, in their position, were increasingly close to the townspeople.
The activities of the Morozov government caused powerful
urban uprisings. In 1648, uprisings took place in Kozlov, Voronezh, Kursk, Solvychegodsk and a number of other cities. The most powerful was the uprising in Moscow in the summer of 1648. The reason for the uprising was an attempt to file a petition demanding the liquidation of white settlements, protection from unfair judges of the Zemsky order (Morozov and Pleshcheev), and tax reduction. The people, who tried to give the tsar a petition, were dispersed. The next day, the opposition of the boyars surrounding the tsar and the clerks embittered the settlements even more. The townspeople defeated the palaces of Morozov, Pleshcheev, and the merchant Shorin. Archers joined the uprising. The rebels demanded the extradition of the hated boyars. Pleshcheev's crowd tore to pieces on the spot. Morozov was exiled. The city was in the hands of the rebels. The peasants of the surrounding villages joined the uprising.
The nobles took advantage of the stormy events of the June days to force the exhausted government of the boyar aristocracy to satisfy their demands.
On June 10, a meeting of Moscow and provincial nobles and the merchant elite took place. The meeting participants demanded the convening of the Zemsky Sobor to discuss the urgent tasks of the nobility's land ownership. Influenced by a wave of urban uprisings, the government immediately agreed.
Cathedral Code 1649 G.
On September 1, 1648, the Zemsky Sobor began its work, and in January 1649 it adopted the Cathedral Code.
The Cathedral Code in its content was feudal and reflected the victory of the nobility. This document proclaimed the abolition of "lesson years" and the establishment of an indefinite investigation of fugitive peasants and townspeople. The property of the feudal lord became not only the peasant with his family, but also his property.
The Cathedral Code completed the long process of folding serfdom, which went through a number of stages. Since the time of Kievan Rus, there have been various categories of unfree peasants (zakupy, ryadovichi). Sudebnik 1497 The city limited the transition of peasants to other lands to two weeks a year (before and after St. George's Day), introduced a payment "for the elderly." which the peasant, leaving, had to pay the feudal lord. AT 1581 For the first time, “reserved summers” were introduced, when the transition was unconditionally prohibited. AT 1592 The compilation of cadastral books was completed. AT1597 a five-year term was introduced to search for peasants who fled after1592 d. V 1607 A fifteen-year period of investigation was introduced. Finally, in1649 serfdom was finally formalized. As mentioned above, serfdom - this is the dependence of the peasant on the feudal lord (or on the feudal state) in personal, land, property. legal relations, based on attaching the peasant to the land.
The Code recognized for the nobleman the right to transfer the estate by inheritance, provided that the sons would serve, like the father. In this way; two forms of feudal property - the votchina and the estate - converged. Church land ownership was limited. The creation of the Monastic Order placed church land ownership under the control of the state. White settlements were eliminated. Their population is obliged to pay tax. Posad people are also attached to the community, like a peasant to a feudal lord. Service people according to the instrument - archers, etc. - were obliged to pay state taxes from their trades and crafts.
The adoption of the Council Code, directed against the working people of the city and countryside, aggravated the class struggle. In 1650, the uprisings of the townspeople broke out in Pskov and Novgorod. The state needed funds to maintain the state apparatus and troops (Russia waged war with Sweden in 1656-1661 and with Poland in 1654-1667). Up to 67% of state funds were spent on the maintenance of the troops. In an effort to increase the revenues of the treasury, since 1654 the government began to mint copper coins at the same price instead of silver coins. For eight years there were so many of them (including fake ones) that they simply depreciated. This led to an increase in prices. Silver money disappeared, and the state accepted taxes only with them. Arrears grew. Price gouging led to famine. The desperate townspeople of Moscow rebelled in 1662 (Copper Riot). The uprising was brutally suppressed, but copper money was no longer minted.
Peasant war led by Stepan Razin
The uprising of 1662 became one of the harbingers of the impending peasant war, led by ataman S.T. Razin. The norms of the Council Code of 1649 sharply aggravated the class antagonism in the countryside. The development of commodity-money relations led to the intensification of feudal exploitation, which was expressed in the growth in the black earth regions of corvée and monetary quitrents in places where the land was infertile. The deteriorating position of the peasants in the fertile lands of the Volga region was felt with particular acuteness, where the landownership of the Morozov, Mstislavsky, and Cherkassky boyars was growing intensively. The specificity of the Volga region was that there were lands nearby where the population had not yet experienced the full severity of feudal oppression. This is what attracted the Trans-Volga steppes and the Don runaway serfs, peasants, townspeople. The non-Russian population - Mordovians, Chuvashs, Tatars, Bashkirs were under the double oppression of feudal and national. All this created the prerequisites for the deployment of a new peasant war in this area.
The driving forces of the peasant war were peasants, Cossacks, serfs, townspeople, archers, non-Russian peoples of the Volga region. Razin's "charming (from the word" seduce") letters called for a campaign against the boyars, nobles, and merchants. They were characterized by faith in a good king. Objectively, the demands of the insurgent peasants boiled down to the creation of such conditions in which the peasant economy could develop as the main cell of agricultural production.
The harbinger of the peasant war was the campaign of Vasily Us from the Don to Tula (May 1666). The Cossack detachment, in the course of its advancement, was replenished with peasants who smashed the estates. The uprising swept the territories of Tula, Dedilovsky and other counties. The government urgently threw against the rebels the noble militia. The rebels retreated to the Don.
In 1667-1668. Cossack holytba, alien serfs and peasants made a trip to Persia. He received the name "campaign for zipuns." Such attacks were made by the Don squalor before, but this campaign is striking in its scope, thoroughness of preparation, duration and tremendous success.
During the "campaign for zipuns" the differences devastated not only the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea, inflicted defeats on the Persian army and navy, but also opposed government troops. They defeated a detachment of Astrakhan archers, defeated a caravan of ships belonging to the tsar, patriarch, merchant Shorin. Thus, already in this campaign, the features of social antagonism appeared, which led to the folding of the core of the future insurgent army.
In the winter of 1669-1670. upon returning from the Caspian Sea to Don Razin, he is preparing for a second campaign, this time against the boyars, nobles, merchants, on a campaign for all the "rabble", "for all the bonded and disgraced".
The campaign began in the spring of 1670. Vasily Us joined Razin with his detachment. Razin's army gathered slanderous Cossacks, runaway serfs and peasants, archers. The main goal of the campaign was the capture of Moscow. The main route is the Volga. To carry out a campaign against Moscow, it was necessary to provide a rear - to take the government fortresses of Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan. During April-July, differences took possession of these cities. The courtyards of the boyars, nobles, clerks were destroyed, the archives of the voivodship court were burned. Cossack administration was introduced in the cities.
Leaving a detachment led by Us and Sheludyak in Astrakhan, Razin's rebel detachments took Saransk and Penza. A trip to Nizhny Novgorod was being prepared. The actions of the peasant detachments turned the Volga region and the adjacent regions into a hotbed of anti-feudal movement. The movement was transferred to the Russian North (the differences were in Solovki), to Ukraine, where a detachment of Frol Razin was sent.
Only by the exertion of all forces, by sending numerous regiments of government troops, tsarism by the spring of 1671. was able to drown the peasant movement in the Volga region in blood. In April of the same year, Razin was defeated and handed over to the government by the homely Cossacks. June 6, 1671 Razin was executed in Moscow. But the execution of Razin did not mean the end of the movement. Only in November 1671. government troops captured Astrakhan. In 1673-1675. on the Don, near Kozlov and Tambov, rebel detachments were still operating.
The defeat of the peasant war under the leadership of Stepan Razin was predetermined by a number of reasons. Chief among them was that the peasant war had a tsarist character. The peasants believed in the "good king", because, due to their position, they could not see the true reason for their
oppression and develop an ideology that would unite all the oppressed sections of the population and raise them against the existing feudal system. Other reasons for the defeat were spontaneity and locality, weak weapons and poor organization of the rebels.
Schism in the Russian Orthodox Church
The church schism took on the character of a broad popular movement. In 1653, Patriarch Nikon, wishing to strengthen the position of the church, whose authority in the 17th century. fell,
like never before, he began to carry out church reform. Its essence was to unify the norms of church life and the Orthodox Church. The correction of the rites of liturgical books according to Greek models violated the established traditional Russian forms of church rites and caused discontent among the clergy and secular nobility. Archpriest Avvakum became the recognized leader of Nikon's opponents. The speeches of the zealots of the old faith found support in different strata of Russian society, which led to a movement called the schism. The broad participation of the peasantry and other strata of the exploited population in this movement gave it a social character. In their minds, the deterioration of the situation caused by the registration of serfdom was associated with changes in faith. Speaking in defense of the old faith, the masses protested against the growing exploitation.
c) Domestic policy
Transition to absolutism
In the second half of the XVII century. In Russia, a trend is developing to move from a class-representative monarchy to an absolute monarchy. The power of the king is increasing in the country. This was expressed both in the appearance of the word "autocrat" in the royal title, and in the change in the social composition of the Boyar Duma in the direction of strengthening the representation of the nobility there. In 1678-1679. in the Duma there were 42 boyars, 27 okolnichy, 19 duma nobles and 9 duma clerks. It is characteristic that people from "merchant people" began to enter the number of Duma clerks, i.e. merchants.
In 1682, localism was abolished (the principle of holding a public office depending on the nobility of the family and the official position of the ancestors). To strengthen the power of the parya, centralize and overcome fragmentation in management, in 1654 the Order of the Great Sovereign of Secret Affairs was formed, to which a number of important state affairs were transferred from the Boyar Duma. The tendency to establish the autocratic power of the tsar was also manifested in the victory of Alexei Mikhailovich over Patriarch Nikon, who sought to actively interfere in the management of state affairs.
The tendency to strengthen autocratic power was also manifested in a number of other measures. Beginning in 1653, the convocation of Zemsky Sobors practically ceased. A merger and reorganization of orders was carried out, their subordination to one person. For example, the father-in-law of the tsar I.D. Miloslavsky supervised the work of five orders, and the Posolsky order was subordinated to 9 orders that were in charge of the annexed territories. The government tried to reorganize the local administration as well. Russia was divided into 250 districts, headed by governors. In the second half of the XVII century. some counties began to unite under the authority of one governor into the so-called categories: Ryazan, Ukrainian, Novgorod, etc. Since 1613, 33 Russian cities have received voivodship administration. In the hands of the governors appointed by the government, administrative, judicial and military power, supervision over the collection of taxes and taxes was concentrated.
In the 17th century the question of reforming the armed forces of Russia arose sharply. The fighting efficiency of the archery troops was falling. Sagittarius for many years did not receive a monetary salary from the state. The source of life for them and their families was trading and handicraft activities, which they were allowed back in the 16th century. Military service distracted archers from their studies. In addition, the archers paid state taxes from their trades and crafts, which brought them closer in their interests to the townspeople of cities. Regimental commanders often used archers to work on their farms. All this made military service a burdensome task for the archers.
The noble militia served on the same principles as in the 16th century. But if in the XVI and the first half of the XVII centuries. military service was still an incentive for the nobility, then by the end of the 17th century. it has become very burdensome for most. They shied away from service. In addition, the nobles were poorly trained in the conduct of military operations. One of the contemporaries characterized the military training of the nobles as follows: "they have no training for battle and they don't know any formation."
Already in the first half of the century, in connection with this, the formation of regiments of a new system began - the Reiters and Dragoons. They were formed on the basis of a forced recruitment of "subsistence people", when one person was taken from 100 households for lifelong service in these regiments. By the end of the HUPv. regiments of the new system began to play a significant role in the armed forces of Russia.
Russia's foreign policy inXVI–XVIIcenturies
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE XVI CENTURY
Main tasks in the field of Russian foreign policy in the XVI century. were: in the west - the need to have access to the Baltic Sea, in the southeast and east - the fight against
Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and the beginning of the development of Siberia, in the south - the protection of the country from the raids of the Crimean Khan.
Accession and development of new lands
The reasons. Formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates constantly threatened the Russian lands. They held the Volga trade route in their hands. Finally, these were areas of fertile land (Ivan Peresvetov called them "podraisky"), which the Russian nobility had long dreamed of. The peoples of the Volga region - Mari, Mordovians, Chuvashs - were striving for liberation. The solution to the problem of the subordination of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates was possible in two ways: either to plant your proteges in these states, or to conquer them.
After a series of unsuccessful diplomatic attempts to subjugate the Kazan Khanate in 1552, the 150,000-strong army of Ivan IV besieged Kazan, which at that time represented a first-class military fortress. To facilitate the task of taking Kazan, a wooden fortress was built in the upper reaches of the Volga (near Uglich), which was disassembled and floated down the Volga to the confluence of the Sviyaga River. The city of Sviyazhsk was built here, which became the stronghold of the struggle for Kazan. The construction of this fortress was headed by a talented master Ivan Vyrodkov. He also supervised the construction of mine tunnels and siege devices.
Kazan was taken by storm 2 October 1552 G . As a result of the explosion of 48 barrels of gunpowder laid in the mines, part of the wall of the Kazan Kremlin was destroyed. Through gaps in the wall, Russian troops broke into the city. Khan Yadigir-Magmet was taken prisoner. Subsequently, he was baptized, received the name Simeon Kasaevich, became the owner of Zvenigorod and an active ally of the king.
Four years after the capture of Kazan in 1556 G. was attached Astrakhan . Chuvashia and most of Bashkiria voluntarily became part of Russia. Dependence on Russia was recognized by the Nogai Horde. Thus, the new fertile lands and the entire Volga trade route became part of Russia. The Russian lands were spared from the invasions of the Khan's troops. Russia's ties with the peoples of the North Caucasus and Central Asia have expanded. The accession of Kazan and Astrakhan opened up an opportunity for advancement in Siberia . Wealthy merchants - industrialists Stroganovs received letters from Ivan the Terrible to own land along the Tobol River. At their own expense, they formed a detachment of 840 (according to other sources 600) people from free Cossacks, led by Ermak Timofeevich. In 1581, Yermak with his army penetrated the territory of the Siberian Khanate, and a year later defeated the troops of Khan Kuchum and took his capital Kashlyk (Isker).
The accession of the Volga region and Siberia had a generally positive meaning for the peoples of this region: they became part of the state, which was at a higher level of economic and cultural development. The local ruling class eventually became part of the Russian one.
In connection with the beginning of development in the XVI century. On the territory of the Wild Field (fertile lands south of Tula), the Russian government was faced with the task of strengthening the southern borders from the raids of the Crimean Khan. For this purpose, Tula (from the middle of the 16th century) and Belgorodskaya (in the 30s - 40s of the 17th century) were built. notch features- defensive lines, consisting of the blockages of the forest - notches, in between which they put wooden fortresses - stockades, which closed the passages in the notches for the Tatar cavalry.
Livonian War(1558-1583)
Trying to reach the Baltic coast, Ivan IV waged a grueling Livonian war for 25 years. The war with Livonia was caused by the need to establish close ties with Western Europe, which could be most easily achieved through the seas, as well as the need to defend the western borders of Russia. The Russian nobles were interested in this war: it opened up the possibility of acquiring new economically developed lands. The war, therefore, was conditioned by the objective needs of Russia's development at that time.
occasion The war was caused by the delay by the Livonian Order of 123 Western specialists invited to the Russian service, as well as the non-payment of tribute by Livonia for the city of Yuryev with the territory adjacent to it over the past 50 years. The Livonian ambassadors, who came to Moscow for negotiations, could not give a satisfactory explanation of the reasons for the non-payment of tribute on time. When the ambassadors were invited to the feast, they saw empty dishes in front of them. This was an unheard-of insult and actually meant war. In 1558 Ivan IV moved troops to Livonia.
The beginning of the war characterized by the victories of the Russian troops who took Narva and Yuryev. A total of 20 cities were taken. Russian troops fought successful battles, advanced to Riga and Reval (Tallinn). In 1560, the troops of the Order were defeated, and its master was captured. This led to the collapse of the Livonian Order (1561), whose lands came under the rule of Poland, Denmark and Sweden. The new Master of the Order, G.Ketler, received Courland as a possession and recognized dependence on the Polish king. The last major success of the Russians at the first stage of the war was the capture of Polotsk in 1563.
The war took protracted nature. Several European powers were drawn into it. Contradictions within Russia intensified. Among those Russian boyars who were interested in strengthening the southern Russian borders, resistance to the continuation of the Livonian War grew. The figures surrounding the tsar also showed hesitation - A. Adashev and Sylvester. This led to the termination in 1560 of the activities of the Chosen Rada. Ivan IV took a course on strengthening personal power. In 1564, Prince Andrei Kurbsky, who had previously commanded the Russian troops, went over to the side of the Poles. This was not dissatisfaction with the actions of the king, but an act of treason. In these difficult circumstances for the country, Ivan IV went to the introduction oprichnina (1565-1572).
In 1569 Poland and Lithuania united into one state - Commonwealth. The troops of the Commonwealth, as well as Sweden, who captured Narva, conducted successful military operations against Russia. Only the defense of the city of Pskov in 1581, when its inhabitants repelled 30 assaults and made about 50 sorties against the troops of the Polish king Stefan Batory, allowed Russia to conclude a truce in the Pit Zapolsky - a place near Pskov in 1582. A year later, the Plyussky truce was concluded with Sweden . The Livonian war ended in defeat.
The failure of the Livonian War was ultimately a consequence of economic backwardness Russia , which could not successfully endure a long struggle with strong opponents. The ruin of the country during the years of oprichnina only exacerbated the matter.
FOREIGN POLICY OF RUSSIA IN THE 17TH CENTURY
The international position of Russia in the XVII century. was difficult. The country faced a number of foreign policy tasks that had to be solved. One of them was the need to return the Western Russian lands with Smolensk, torn away by the Commonwealth under the Deulino truce of 1618. In 1632, having decided to take advantage of the “kinglessness” that had come in Poland after the death of the Polish king Sigismund, by decision of the Zemsky Sobor, Russia began a war for the return of Smolensk. Due to the economic ruin of the country and the backwardness of the state and military organization, Russia was defeated in this war, and on May 17, 1634, Russia and Poland signed polyanovsky world, according to which the Commonwealth returned only the city of Serpeysk and recognized Tsar Michael as the sovereign of "All Russia". Vladislav renounced his claim to the Russian throne.
The failure in the Smolensk War was also caused by the raid of the Crimean Tatars at its most decisive moment, which once again reminded the Russian government of the sharp and tense relations with Turkey and its vassal, the Crimean Khanate.
In the 30s of the XVII century. work began on the construction of a new line of fortifications - the Belgorod notch line. In 1646, it extended far to the south and stretched from Akhtyrka through Belgorod to Tambov. The old Tula notch line was rebuilt and fortified. It went from the upper reaches of the Zhizdra River through Tula to Ryazan and became the second line of defense against Tatar raids; in the rear, the notches along the river were fortified. Ok. In the fight against the Turkish-Tatar aggression, the Don Cossacks played a prominent role, not only repulsing the raids, but also often going on the offensive. But ensuring security from the raids of the Crimean Tatars was not fully achieved. The struggle in the south against Turkish-Tatar aggression continued to occupy an important place in Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the 17th century.
Reunification of Ukraine with Russia
In the 17th century Ukrainian lands were under the rule of the Commonwealth. According to the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which included
Ukrainian lands, united with Poland. After the union, Polish magnates and gentry began to settle on Ukrainian lands. Feudal oppression intensified in Ukraine. Ukrainian peasants and urban artisans were ruined by growing taxes and duties. The regime of severe oppression in Ukraine was also aggravated by the fact that back in 1557 the pans received from the royal power the right to the death penalty in relation to their serfs. Along with the strengthening of feudal oppression, the population of Ukraine experienced national and religious oppression.
The strengthening of feudal, national and religious oppression in Ukraine by the Commonwealth was the reason for the rise of the national liberation movement. Its first wave came in the 20-30s. XVII century, but was brutally suppressed by the Polish pans. A new stage of the national liberation movement took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its center was the Zaporizhzhya Sich, where the free Cossacks were formed. An outstanding statesman and commander headed the struggle of the Ukrainian people
Bohdan Khmelnytsky. His will, mind , courage, military talent, devotion to Ukraine, created for him a huge prestige among the broad strata of the Ukrainian population and, above all, the Cossacks. The driving forces of the national liberation movement in Ukraine were the peasantry, the Cossacks, the philistines (city dwellers), the small and medium Ukrainian gentry.
The uprising in Ukraine began in the spring of 1648. That year, the rebels defeated the Poles near Zhovti Vody, Korsun and Pilyavtsy. At the same time, Khmelnytsky turned to Russia with a request to take Ukraine "under the hand of Moscow" and jointly fight against Poland. The government of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich could not satisfy his request. Russia was not ready for war with Poland: popular uprisings raged in the country. Russia, closely following the course of events in Ukraine, provided her with diplomatic, economic and military support.
After the battle near Zbarazh, in the summer of 1649, where the rebels were victorious, Poland and Ukraine began negotiations for peace. August 8, 1649 was signed Zborovsky world. According to its terms, Bogdan Khmelnitsky was recognized by the Commonwealth as a hetman, the number of registered Cossacks (who received a salary) was determined at 40 thousand. The Polish government recognized the self-government of the Cossack army, which was assigned to the Kiev, Chernigov and Bratslav provinces. The presence of Polish troops and Jesuits on their territory was prohibited, while Polish feudal lords could return to their possessions in these voivodeships. In Poland, this peace was regarded as a concession to the rebels and caused discontent among the magnates and gentry. Ukrainian peasants met with hostility the return of Polish feudal lords to their possessions. Further continuation of the struggle in Ukraine was inevitable.
Hostilities resumed in the spring of 1650. The decisive battle took place in June 1651 near Berestechko. Bribed by the Poles, an ally of the Ukrainians, Khan Islam Giray, led away his cavalry, which largely predetermined the defeat of the rebels and the offensive of the Commonwealth troops to Ukraine. He was stopped only in September 1651 under the white church, where peace was made. His conditions were difficult. The register of Cossacks was reduced to 20 thousand. In the Cossack self-government, only the Kiev province was left. The hetman was deprived of the right to independent external relations. The Polish lords were given full power over the dependent population. The answer to this was new performances in the Dnieper region. In 1652, near Batog, the rebels defeated the Polish army. However, the Commonwealth, having gathered an army of 50 thousand, launched an offensive against Ukraine, whose position was becoming more and more dangerous. In April 1653, Khmelnitsky again turned to Russia with a request to accept Ukraine into its composition.
On May 10, 1653, the Zemsky Sobor in Moscow decided to admit Ukraine to Russia. Buturlin's Russian embassy went there. On January 8, 1654, the great Rada of Ukraine in Pereyaslavl decided to reunite Ukraine with Russia, which became part of it with broad autonomous rights. In Ukraine, the hetman was elected. Recognized local government, class rights of the nobility and the Cossack officers. Hetman had the right to external relations with all countries except Poland and Turkey. The Cossack registry was set at 60,000.
The Commonwealth did not agree with the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. In 1654, a war broke out that lasted until 166.7. It ended with the signing Andrusovo truce January 31, 1667, on the basis of which a peace treaty was to be prepared. Russia received Smolensk, Dorogobuzh, Belaya Tserkov, Seversk land with Chernigov and Starodub. Poland recognized the reunification of Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia. Right-bank Ukraine and Belarus were still part of the Commonwealth. The Zaporozhian Sich remained in the joint administration of Russia and the Commonwealth. These conditions were finally fixed in 1686. Eternal peace with Commonwealth. In this world, Russia and Poland united against the Turkish-Tatar aggression. The conditions of the Eternal Peace forced Russia to terminate the agreement concluded in 1681. Bakhchisarai.peace by Turkey, according to which both sides agreed to a twenty-year truce.
Simultaneously with the Russian-Polish war (1654-1667) Russia in 1656-1658. waged war with Sweden for the return of the Baltic coast, which had gone to Sweden under the Stolbovsky peace of 1617. The war ended unsuccessfully. In 1661 in Cardissa(between Yuryev and Revel) a peace dictated by Sweden was signed. The lands at the mouth of the Neva, as well as the Livonian lands conquered during the war, remained with Sweden.
Despite the successes achieved in relations with the Commonwealth, Russia at the end of the 17th century. continued to fight against Tatar aggression and prepare the necessary foreign policy prerequisites for the transition to the struggle for access to the Baltic Sea.
