Introduction 2

1 Prerequisites and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state 4

2 Social order 7

3 Political structure and development of law 10

Conclusion 16

List of sources used 17

Introduction

One of the first reasons for the formation of the Russian centralized state is the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands. This process was caused by the general economic development of the country. First of all, agriculture developed strongly. The slash and fallow system is being replaced by another way of cultivating the land - the arable system, which requires more advanced production tools. There is an increase in sown areas due to the development of new and previously abandoned lands. Surpluses appear, which contributes to the development of animal husbandry, as well as trade, which begins to progress during this period. Handicraft is developing, as agriculture needs more and more tools. There is a process of separation of craft from agriculture, which entails the need for exchange between the peasant and the artisan, that is, between the city and the countryside. Everywhere there is not only the improvement of old technologies, but also the emergence of new ones. In the production of ore, there is a separation of mining and smelting of ore from its subsequent processing. In the leather industry, in addition to shoemakers, such professions as belt makers, bagmakers, chebotari, and bridle makers appear. In the XIV century, water wheels and water mills became widespread in Russia, parchment began to be actively replaced by paper.

All this urgently demanded the unification of the Russian lands, that is, the creation of a centralized state. Most of the population was interested in this, and, above all, the nobility, merchants and artisans.

Another prerequisite for the unification of Russian lands was the intensification of the class struggle. During this period, the exploitation of the peasantry by the feudal lords intensified. The process of enslaving the peasants begins. The feudal lords strive to secure the peasants to their estates and estates not only economically, but also legally. All this contributes to the resistance of the peasants. They kill feudal lords, rob and set fire to their estates, and sometimes simply run away to lands free from landlords.

The feudal lords were faced with the task of taming the peasantry and bringing its enslavement to the end. This task could only be accomplished by a powerful centralized state capable of fulfilling the main function of an exploiting state - suppressing the resistance of the exploited masses.

These two reasons played, of course, not the last role in the process of unification of the Russian lands, but there was also a third factor that accelerated the centralization of the Russian state, the threat of an external attack, which forced the Russian lands to gather into one powerful fist. The main external enemies during this period were the Commonwealth and the Golden Horde. But only after the individual principalities began to unite around Moscow, it became possible to defeat the Mongol-Tatars on the Kulikovo field. And when Ivan III united almost all Russian lands, the Tatar yoke was finally overthrown. With Lithuania, Moscow and other princes, Novgorod and Pskov fought 17 times. Lithuania constantly attacked the Novgorod and Pskov lands, which also contributed to the unification of these principalities with Moscow. The struggle for the annexation of the western and southwestern lands of Ancient Russia to the Muscovite state led to a protracted Lithuanian-Muscovite war of 1487-1494. According to the agreement of 1494, Moscow received the Vyazemsky principality and the territory in the basin of the upper reaches of the Oka.

The broad masses of the people were interested in the formation of a single centralized state, because only it can cope with an external enemy. one

1 Prerequisites and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state

From the beginning of the XIV century. the fragmentation of the Russian principalities stops, giving way to their unification. The creation of the Russian centralized state was caused primarily by the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands, which was a consequence of the overall economic development of the country.

The starting point in the development of the feudal economy was the progress of agriculture. Agricultural production is characterized in this period by the increasing spread of the arable system, which becomes the predominant method of cultivating the land in the central regions of the country. The arable system noticeably replaces the slashing system, which is widespread mainly in the northern forest areas, and the fallow, which still dominates in the south.

The growing need for agricultural implements necessitates the development of handicrafts. As a result, the process of separation of handicraft from agriculture goes deeper and deeper. The number of artisans who have ceased to engage in agriculture is increasing.

The separation of handicraft from agriculture entails the need for exchange between the peasant and the artisan, i.e. between city and countryside. This exchange takes place in the form of trade, which in this period increases accordingly. Based on this exchange, local markets are created. The natural division of labor between individual regions of the country, due to their natural characteristics, forms economic ties on the scale of the whole of Russia. The development of foreign trade also contributed to the establishment of internal economic ties.

All this urgently demanded the political unification of the Russian lands, i.e. creation of a centralized state. Wide circles of Russian society were interested in this, and first of all, the nobility, merchants and artisans.

Another prerequisite for the unification of the Russian lands was the intensification of the class struggle, the strengthening of the class resistance of the peasantry.

The rise of the economy, the possibility of obtaining ever greater surplus product induce the feudal lords to intensify the exploitation of the peasants. Moreover, the feudal lords strive not only economically, but also legally to secure the peasants to their estates and estates, to enserf them. Such a policy evokes natural resistance from the peasantry, which assumes various forms. Peasants kill feudal lords, seize their property, set fire to estates. Such a fate often befalls not only secular, but also spiritual feudal lords - monasteries. Robbery directed against the masters sometimes acted as a form of class struggle. The flight of the peasants, especially to the south, to lands free from landlords, also takes on a certain scale.

Under such conditions, the feudal class was faced with the task of keeping the peasantry in check and bringing its enslavement to the end. This task could only be accomplished by a powerful centralized state capable of fulfilling the main function of an exploiting state - suppressing the resistance of the exploited masses.

These two reasons played a leading role in the unification of Russia. Without them, the process of centralization could not have achieved any significant success. At the same time, in itself, the economic and social development of the country in the XIV-XVI centuries. could not yet lead to the formation of a centralized state.

Although economic ties during this period reached a significant development, they were still not wide enough, deep and strong enough to bind the whole country together. This is one of the differences between the formation of the Russian centralized state and similar processes in Western Europe. There, centralized states were created in the course of the development of capitalist relations. In Russia, in the XIV - XVI centuries. there could still be no question of the emergence of capitalism, of bourgeois relations.

The same must be said about the development of class relations, the class struggle. No matter how great its scope was in this period, nevertheless this struggle did not acquire such forms as it already had in the West or at a later time in Russia (peasant wars led by Bolotnikov, Razin in the 17th century. Even for the beginning of the 16th century. predominantly outwardly imperceptible, latent accumulation of class contradictions is characteristic.

The factor that accelerated the centralization of the Russian state was the threat of an external attack, which forced the Russian lands to unite in the face of a common enemy. It is characteristic that when the formation of the Russian centralized state began, the defeat of the Mongol-Tatars on the Kulikovo field became possible. And when Ivan III managed to collect almost all Russian lands and lead them against the enemy, the Tatar yoke was finally overthrown.

It is known that only a powerful centralized state can cope with an external enemy. Therefore, rather broad masses of the people were also interested in his education.

The Russian centralized state was formed around Moscow, which was destined to eventually become the capital of a great power. This role of Moscow, a relatively young city, was due primarily to its economic and geographical position. Moscow arose in the then center of the Russian lands, due to which it was better than other principalities, covered from external enemies. It stood at the crossroads of river and land trade routes.

Having emerged as a city in the 12th century, Moscow was not originally the center of a separate principality. Only from time to time it was given to the younger sons of the Rostov-Suzdal princes. Only from the end of the XIII century. Moscow becomes the capital city of an independent principality with a permanent prince. The first such prince was the son of the famous hero of the Russian land Alexander Nevsky - Daniel. Under him in the late XIII - early XIV centuries. the unification of the Russian lands began, successfully continued by his successors. Pursuing a line towards the unification of the Russian principalities, the Muscovite princes bought up the lands of neighboring principalities, seized them at an opportunity by armed force, often using the Golden Horde for this, annexed them diplomatically, entered into agreements with the weakened specific princes, making them their vassals. The territory of the Moscow Principality also expanded due to the settlement of the Upper Trans-Volga region.

The foundation of Moscow's power was laid under Daniel's second son, Ivan Kalita (1325-1340). Under him, the collection of Russian lands continued. Ivan Kalita managed to get a label from the Tatars for a great reign, acquired the right to collect tribute for the Tatars from all or almost all Russian principalities that retained their independence. This position was used by the Moscow princes in order to gradually subjugate these principalities. Thanks to the flexible foreign policy of the Moscow princes, it was possible to ensure peace in Russia for several decades. Moscow became the center of the Orthodox Church, in 1326. the metropolitan see was transferred to it from Vladimir. Expanding the territory of the Muscovite state, the Grand Dukes turned the destinies into simple estates. The appanage princes ceased to be sovereigns in their appanages and were equated with the boyars, that is, they became subjects of the Grand Duke of Moscow. They could no longer pursue an independent domestic and foreign policy.

By the end of the XIV century. The Moscow principality became so strong that it was able to start a struggle for liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The first crushing blows were dealt to the Horde, the most significant of which was the victory of the Russian troops under the command of Prince Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field. Under Ivan III, the unification of Russian lands entered its final phase. The most important lands were annexed to Moscow - Novgorod the Great, Tver, part of the Ryazan principality, Russian lands along the Desna. In 1480 after the well-known "standing on the Ugra", Russia finally freed itself from the Tatar yoke. The process of unification of Russian lands was completed at the beginning of the 16th century. Prince Vasily III annexed to Moscow the second half of the Ryazan principality, Pskov, liberated Smolensk from Lithuanian domination.

In the XIII-XIV centuries, the prerequisites for the formation of a Russian centralized state were formed - economic and political. The starting point in the development of the feudal economy was the rapid development of agriculture, the development of abandoned lands. There was an urgent need for more new, better tools, which led to the separation of handicrafts from agriculture, and hence the growth of cities. There is a process of exchange in the form of trade between the artisan and the farmer, ᴛ.ᴇ. between city and countryside.

The division of labor between individual regions of the country required the political unification of the Russian lands. Nobles, merchants, artisans were especially interested in this. The strengthening of economic ties was one of the reasons for the formation of a single Russian state. During this period, the exploitation of the peasants intensifies, which leads to an aggravation of the class struggle. The feudal lords strive to legally subjugate the peasants to themselves, to secure them for their property. Only a centralized state can perform such a function. The threat of attack from outside accelerated the process of centralization of the Russian state, because. all strata of society were interested in the struggle against an external enemy.

In the process of formation of a unified Russian state, three stages can be distinguished.

Back in the XII century, there was a tendency to unite the lands under the rule of one prince in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality.

• The first stage (the end of the 13th century) is the rise of Moscow, the beginning of unification. Moscow becomes the main contender to be considered the center of Russian lands.
• The second stage (1389-1462) - the fight against the Mongols-Tatars. Strengthening Moscow.
• The third stage (1462-1505) is the completion of the formation of a unified Russian state. The Mongol-Tatar yoke was overthrown, the process of unification of Russia was completed.

Unlike the countries of Western Europe, the formation of the Russian centralized state had its own characteristics:

• The unification took place against the background of late feudalism, and not flourishing, as in Europe;
• The unification of the Russian lands was led by the Moscow princes, and in Europe by the urban bourgeoisie;
• First of all, Russia united for political reasons, and then for economic ones, while for European countries the main ones were economic reasons.

The first tsar of all Russia and the supreme judge was Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible, son Vasily 3. The specific princes were now under the control of proteges from Moscow.

The young centralized state in the XVI century. became known as Russia. The country has entered a new stage of its development.

Formation of the Russian centralized state

The period from the end of the XIII to the XV century inclusive was very difficult in the life of Russia. The Tatar-Mongol yoke threw Russia back and caused it to lag behind the countries of Western Europe, leaving it for a long time a feudal country. But the development of the country, slowed down by the invasion, continued: Russia rose to its feet.

Agriculture developed most rapidly in the area between the Oka and the Volga, where the influx of population increased, the plowing of land grew, forests were cut down, cattle breeding and crafts developed.

Feudal landownership developed. The princes and boyars were large owners of the land, there was a struggle for land and the enslavement of the peasants. Handicraft production grew in the cities, especially in Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov and other cities of northeastern Russia, protected by dense forests and a dense network of rivers and lakes.

The rise of the economy, the development of cities, trade led to increased communication between the Russian lands, to their unification, which was also dictated by the struggle against external enemies, primarily against the Mongol-Tatars. For a successful struggle, a single state with strong power was required.

At the end of the 15th century, the concept of "Russia" (and before that - "Rus") appeared, uniting the Russian lands

The formation of the Russian centralized state was a long process that continued until the middle of the 16th century. Its territory consisted of the lands of Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Smolensk, Muromo-Ryazan principalities. And from the end of the XII century. there was a stubborn struggle for supremacy in these lands. Since XIII, the Moscow principality also entered this struggle. It was Moscow that became the center of the collection of Russian lands. In addition to Moscow, the real contenders for this role were Tver, Ryazan, Novgorod. However, already during the reign of Ivan Kalita (1325-1340), the importance of the young Moscow principality increased immeasurably.

The main reasons for the rise of Moscow were: its relative remoteness from the Golden Horde; patronage of the Horde khans; the intersection of trade routes in North-Eastern Russia, etc. However, there were two main prerequisites: the transformation of Moscow into the center of the struggle for liberation from the Horde domination and the transfer to Moscow under Ivan Kalita of the center of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Moscow took over the organization of the struggle against the yoke of the Mongol-Tatars. At the first stage of this struggle and the gathering of Russian lands by Moscow from the formation of the Moscow principality to the beginning of the reign of Ivan Kalita and his sons, the foundations of the economic and political power of the principality were laid. At the second stage (during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy and his son Vasily I), a rather successful military confrontation between Russia and the Horde began. The largest battles of this period were the battles on the Vozha River (1378) and on the Kulikovo Field (1380). At the same time, the territory of the Muscovite state is expanding significantly, and the international authority of the Moscow princes is growing.

Along with the military and political processes that took place in the Russian lands during the XIV-XV centuries. and lasting until the middle of the 16th century, significant socio-economic processes took place in them, which largely determined the nature, pace and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state. The essence of these processes lies in the fact that, firstly, the catastrophic consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the 240th anniversary of the Golden Horde yoke delayed the economic development of the Russian lands. This contributed to the conservation of feudal fragmentation; secondly, this historical period can be characterized as a whole as a period of formation and strengthening of feudal-serf relations, which determined the system of the feudal hierarchy, political system and administration. The presence in Russia of huge land and human resources also contributed to the offensive development of feudalism in depth and breadth; third; political centralization in Russia was to significantly determine the beginning of the process of overcoming the economic disunity of the country and was accelerated by the struggle for social independence.

An important prerequisite for the unification of the Russian lands was a toast of social forces interested in eliminating feudal fragmentation and creating a unified Russian state in the conditions of economic growth, the growth of the social development of labor, expressed in the separation of crafts from agriculture, in the development of trade.

One of these social forces was primarily the townspeople, since feudal fragmentation was a significant obstacle to the development of handicrafts and trade. The fact is that the numerous political partitions between the principalities with their outposts and trade duties made it much more difficult for the exchange and free distribution of goods. Feudal strife sharply undermined the economy of cities.

The main forces of the feudal lords were also interested in the creation of the Russian state. For the Moscow boyars, for example, the growth of the political power of the Moscow principality and the expansion of its territory meant the growth of its own power. The middle and small feudal lords, who were entirely dependent on the Grand Duke, were even more interested and fought for a single Russian state. The unifying tendencies were also supported by the Russian Church, which sought to consolidate its privileges throughout the country.

The tendencies towards overcoming the feudal fragmentation of Russia, which emerged in the 14th century, corresponded to the progressive course of historical development, since the political unification of Russia was a necessary prerequisite for its further economic growth and the achievement of state independence.

A major role in the conditions of the Moscow principality, in the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow, was played by the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita - a tough and cunning, intelligent and stubborn ruler in achieving his goals. He used for this purpose the help of the Golden Horde, for which he collected a huge tribute from the population. He accumulated great wealth, for which he received the nickname "Kalita" (purse, "money bag"), and he used this wealth to acquire land in foreign principalities and possessions, for which he was nicknamed "collector of Russian lands." Under Ivan Kalita, Moscow became the residence of the Metropolitan of "All Russia", which was of great importance, since the church enjoyed great influence. The position of Kalita contributed to the fact that the foundation was laid for the political and economic power of Moscow and the economic rise of Russia began.

At the third stage (1425-1462), the main goal of the struggle was the desire to seize power in the growing weight in the Muscovite state. The final stage in the struggle was the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505 and Vasily III (1505-1533), when the main Russian principalities were united under the rule of Moscow. A single code of laws was adopted, state administration bodies were created, economic orders were established, etc.

the Principality of Tver was annexed to the Moscow principality, in 1489 - the Vyatka land, in 1510 - the Pskov Republic, in 1521 - the Ryazan principality.

Under Ivan III, Moscow refused to pay tribute to the Horde, and the punitive campaign of Khan Akhmat was repulsed by the Russian army. So in 1480 the yoke of the Golden Horde ended.

The Russian state from the very beginning was formed as a multinational one.

With the unification of the lands, the task of creating a centralized control system was also solved: the significance of the Boyar Duma increased (it became a permanent supreme body under the Grand Duke). At the end of the 15th century, the first order appeared as a central institution; in 1497, the Code of Laws was compiled - a collection of laws that played a large role in the centralization of state administration. He initiated the creation of a nationwide system of serfdom.

The formation of the Russian centralized state was a natural and progressive process and was of great historical significance. It contributed to the liberation of Russia from the Horde yoke. The formation of the political center strengthened the position of the state in the international arena. On the Russian lands, the formation of a single economic space began. The national economy and culture began to develop faster, local isolation disappeared; better ensured the security of the country; the influence of the church expanded.

Awareness of the Russian people as a single whole now formed the basis of the spiritual life of the inhabitants of various regions of the state.

Moscow princes began to be called "the states of all Russia" and to transfer power in the state by inheritance.

Thus was formed the largest country in Europe. From the end of the 15th century, its new name, Russia, began to be widely used. This meant that at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries a single Russian state was formed. But his education went only to a part of the ancient Russian lands, the part that consisted of principalities that became dependent on the Golden Horde. The process of uniting these lands around Moscow was at the same time a process of gradual, gradual liberation (struggle for independence) from the oppression of the Golden Horde. And the formation of a unified Russian state was based not so much on economic and cultural ties, but on the military power of the unifying force - the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

In the XIII-XV centuries, the main events that determined the development of the culture of the Russian lands were the Batu invasion and the establishment of Mongol-Tatar rule. The largest cultural monuments were destroyed or lost - cathedrals and monasteries, frescoes and mosaics, handicrafts. The craftsmen and craftsmen themselves were killed or driven into Horde slavery. The stone building has stopped.

The formation of the Russian people and a unified state, the struggle for liberation from the Mongols, the creation of a single language became important factors in the development of the culture of Russian lands in the 13th-15th centuries.

The main theme of oral folk art was the struggle against Horde domination. Legends about the battle on Kalka, about the devastation of Ryazan by Batu, about Yevpatiy Kolovrat, the exploits of Alexander Nevsky, the Battle of Kulikovo have survived or in a revised form have survived to this day. All of them made up the heroic epic epic. In the XIV century, epics and the power of their land were created. A new type of oral folk art appeared - a historical song that described in detail the events, the contemporary of which was the author.

In works of literature, the theme of the fight against invaders was also central. At the end of the XIV century, the all-Russian chronicle was resumed.

From the end of the XIII century, the revival of stone construction began. It developed more actively in the lands least affected by the invasion. Novgorod became one of the centers of culture during these years, the architects of which built the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of Fyodor Stratilat. These temples marked the emergence of a particular architectural style, characterized by a combination of simplicity and majesty. In Moscow, stone construction began in the time of Ivan Kalita, when the Assumption Cathedral was laid in the Kremlin, which became the cathedral (main) temple of Russia. At the same time, the Annunciation Cathedral and the Archangel Cathedral (the tomb of Moscow rulers) were created.

Russian culture, which suffered during the Mongol invasion, began its revival at the end of the 13th century. Literature, architecture and fine arts of that time were permeated with the idea of ​​struggle for the overthrow of the Horde domination, the formation of the foundations of all-Russian culture.

The formation of the Russian state was an objective and natural process of further development of state forms on the territory of the East European Plain. The formation of Russian statehood was greatly influenced by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, which led, in particular, to changes in the authorities: the strengthening of monarchical, autocratic principles in the person of princes. Important reasons for the birth and development of a new state form - the unified Russian state were economic and social changes, as well as a foreign policy factor: the need for constant defense from enemies. The chronological closeness of the formation of a single Russian state and centralized monarchies in Western Europe is often noted. Indeed, the formation of a single state in Russia, as in France and Spain, falls on the second half of the 15th century. However, in socio-economic terms, Russia was at an earlier stage of development. In Western Europe in the 15th century, seigneurial relations dominated, and the personal dependence of the peasants weakened. In Russia, however, state-feudal forms still prevailed, the relationship of personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords was only taking shape. Unlike Western Europe, where cities played an active role in political life, in Russia they were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility. Thus, in Russia there were no sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single state.

The leading role in its formation was played by a foreign policy factor - the need to confront the Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Such a “leading” (in relation to socio-economic development) nature of the process determined the features of the developed by the end of the 15th - 16th centuries. states: strong monarchical power, rigid dependence of the ruling class on it, a high degree of exploitation of direct producers.
Decisive steps in the creation of a unified Russian state were made by the son of Vasily the Dark, Ivan III. Ivan stayed on the throne for 43 years. The blind father early made Ivan a co-ruler and Grand Duke, and he quickly gained worldly experience and a habit of business. Ivan, who began as one of the specific princes, became in his life the sovereign of a single nation.
By the mid-70s, the Yaroslavl and Rostov principalities were finally annexed to Moscow. After 7 years of diplomatic and military struggle in 1478

Formation of the Russian centralized state

Ivan III managed to subjugate the vast Novgorod Republic. At the same time, the veche was liquidated, the symbol of Novgorod freedom - the veche bell was taken to Moscow. The confiscation of Novgorod lands, unprecedented in its scale, began. They were transferred into the possession of the servants of Ivan III. Finally, in 1485, as a result of a military campaign, the Tver principality was annexed to Moscow. From now on, the vast majority of the northeastern Russian lands were part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Ivan III became known as the Sovereign of All Russia. In general, a single state was created and finally approved its independence.
Already in 1476, Ivan III refused to go to the Horde and send money. In 1480, the Nogai Horde separated from the Great Horde. At the end of the first quarter of the 15th century, the Crimean Khanate was formed, in the second quarter - the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia. Horde Khan Akhmat moved to Russia. He entered into an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Casimir and gathered a 100,000-strong army. Ivan III hesitated for a long time, making a choice between an open struggle with the Mongols and accepting the humiliating terms of surrender proposed by Akhmat. But by the autumn of 1480, he managed to come to an agreement with his rebellious brothers, and even in the newly annexed Novgorod it became calmer. In early October, the rivals met on the banks of the Ugra River (a tributary of the Oka). Casimir did not appear on the battlefield, and Akhmat waited for him in vain. Meanwhile, early snow covered the grass, the cavalry became useless and the Tatars retreated. Khan Akhmat soon died in the Horde, and the Golden Horde finally ceased to exist. The 240-year-old Horde yoke fell.
The name "Russia" is the Greek, Byzantine name for Russia. It came into use in Muscovite Russia in the second half of the 15th century, when, after the fall of Constantinople and the liquidation of the Horde yoke, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, being the only independent Orthodox state, began to be regarded by its rulers as the ideological and political successor of the Byzantine Empire.
During the reign of the son of Ivan III - Vasily III, the Russian state continued to grow rapidly. In 1510, the Pskov land became part of it, and in 1521, the Ryazan principality. As a result of the wars with Lithuania at the end of the 15th - the first quarter of the 16th centuries. Smolensk and partially Chernihiv lands were annexed. Thus, in the first third of the 16th century, Russian lands, which were not part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were annexed to Moscow.
Byzantium had a significant influence on the formation of autocracy and the formation of Russian political ideology. In 1472, Ivan III married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Palaiologos. The double-headed eagle, a symbol widespread in Byzantium, becomes the state emblem of Russia. Even the appearance of the sovereign changed: in his hands appeared a scepter and an orb, on his head was a “cap of Monomakh”. The fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks made Russia the last stronghold of Orthodoxy and contributed to a certain ideologization of the supreme state power. From the 16th century the idea of ​​Moscow as a “third Rome” is spreading, in which religious and political motives are especially closely intertwined. The Pskov monk Philotheus, in a letter to Vasily III, argued that the “first Rome” fell because of heresies, the “second” - because of the union with Catholicism, the “third”, truly Christian Rome, stands, “and there will not be a fourth.” Thus, the preservation of Orthodoxy was seen as the most important condition for national independence, state power, and the Russian sovereigns acted as the guardians of the faith.
The system of central and state governing bodies was formed by: the advisory Boyar Duma, which combined the highest legislative, military-administrative and judicial functions, and two executive bodies - the Sovereign's Palace and the Sovereign's Treasury. There was no clear distribution of managerial functions. Basically, the Palace was in charge of the sovereign's lands. The treasury was in charge mainly of the state press, finances and foreign policy. The Judicial Code of Ivan III contributed to the formation of the state apparatus, its centralization, it was adopted in 1497 and was the first set of Russian laws.
Gradually, the system of administrative-territorial division was also streamlined. Ivan III limited the rights of specific princes, and Vasily III reduced the number of appanages. By the end of the first third of the 16th century, there were only two of them left. Instead of the former independent principalities, counties appeared, ruled by the governors of the Grand Duke. Then the counties began to be subdivided into camps and volosts, which were headed by volosts. The governors and volostels received the territory in "feeding", i.e. took legal fees and part of the taxes collected in the territory. Feeding was a reward not for administrative activities, but for previous service in the army. Therefore, the governors had no incentives for active administrative work. Since they did not have experience in administrative work, they often delegated their powers to tiuns - assistants from serfs.
It should be emphasized that the Russian state from the very beginning of its existence demonstrated an unprecedented expansion of borders in terms of its scale and swiftness. With the accession to the throne of Ivan III and until the death of his son Vasily III, i.e. from 1462 to 1533, the territory of the state grew six and a half times - from 430,000 sq. kilometers to 2,800,000 sq. kilometers.
Thus, for all the chronological closeness of the periods of formation of centralized monarchies in Russia and Western Europe, the Russian state differed from the western ones in its colossal territory, which was constantly growing, multinationality and some features of the organization of power. These features of the Russian state were determined not only by its geopolitical position, but also by the specifics of its creation. Let us recall that a single state was formed in our country mainly thanks to foreign policy factors, and not to new elements in socio-economic development. Therefore, Russian sovereigns, unlike Western European monarchs, relied not on cities, not on contradictions between the feudal lords and the third estate, but on the military-bureaucratic apparatus and, to some extent, on the patriotic and religious feelings of the people.
In all of Russian history, there is no event or process comparable in its significance to the formation of the Muscovite state at the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries. These half a century are a pivotal time in the fate of the Russian people. The conditions under which and how the formation of the Muscovite state proceeded for five centuries predetermined the social, political and cultural history of not only the Russian, but in many respects all the peoples of Eastern Europe.

Features of formation

Russian centralized state

The formation of the Russian centralized state chronologically coincides with the formation of monarchies in a number of Western European countries. However, the content of this process had its own specifics.

On the European continent, as a result of a sharp political and religious struggle, national-territorial states of a secular type were formed with a rational worldview and individual autonomy. This was due to the formation of civil society and the limitation of the rights of power by law. This trend was personified by England, France, Sweden. In the first half of the 17th century, the Holy Roman Empire, a stronghold of the medieval type of development, collapsed, turning into a conglomerate of independent states.

In the same period, a special, different from the pan-European, type of feudal society was formed in Russia with autocracy at the head, rigid dependence on the monarchical power of the ruling class, and a high degree of exploitation of the peasantry.

As Klyuchevsky notes, the unification of Russian lands around Moscow led to a radical change in the political significance of this city and the great Moscow princes. They, the recent rulers of one of the Russian principalities, found themselves at the head of the vastest state in Europe. The emergence of a single state created favorable conditions for the development of the national economy and for repelling external enemies. The inclusion of a number of non-Russian nationalities in the unified state created conditions for the growth of ties between these nationalities and a higher level of the economy and culture of Russia.

So, what influenced the creation of a centralized state in Russia? Let's consider some points:

¨ Geographical position

In comparison with Tver, the Moscow principality occupied a more advantageous central position in relation to other Russian lands. The river and land routes passing through its territory gave Moscow the importance of the most important junction of trade and other ties between the Russian lands.

Moscow became in the fourteenth century. a large trade and craft center. Moscow craftsmen gained fame as skillful masters of foundry, blacksmithing and jewelry. It was in Moscow that Russian artillery was born and received its baptism of fire. Trade relations of Moscow merchants stretched far beyond the borders of Russian lands. Covered from the northwest of Lithuania by the Principality of Tver, and from the east and southeast of the Golden Horde by other Russian lands, the Principality of Moscow was to a lesser extent subjected to sudden devastating raids by the Golden Horde. This allowed the Moscow princes to gather and accumulate strength, gradually create superiority in material and human resources, so that they could act as organizers and leaders of the unification process and the liberation struggle. The geographical position of the Moscow Principality predetermined its role as the ethnic core of the emerging Great Russian people. All this, combined with the purposeful and flexible policy of the Moscow princes in relations with the Golden Horde and other Russian lands, ultimately led to Moscow's victory for the role of leader and political center for the formation of a unified Russian state.

¨ Economic situation

From the beginning of the XIV century. the fragmentation of Russian lands stops, giving way to their unification. This was caused primarily by the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands, which was a consequence of the overall economic development of the country.

At this time, the intensive development of agriculture begins. But the rise was due not so much to the development of tools as to the expansion of sown areas due to the development of new and previously abandoned lands. An increase in the surplus product in agriculture makes it possible to develop animal husbandry, as well as to sell grain to the side. The growing need for agricultural implements determines the necessary development of handicrafts. As a result, the process of separation of handicraft from agriculture is going deeper and deeper. It entails the need for exchange between the peasant and the artisan, that is, between town and country. This exchange takes the form of trade, which in the given period is correspondingly intensified and entails the creation of local markets. The natural division of labor between individual regions of the country, due to their natural features, forms economic ties throughout Russia. The establishment of these ties also contributed to the development of foreign trade. All this urgently demanded the political unification of the Russian lands, that is, the creation of a centralized state.

¨ Political position

Another factor that led to the unification of the Russian lands was the intensification of the class struggle, the strengthening of the class resistance of the peasantry. The rise of the economy, the possibility of obtaining ever greater surplus product induce the feudal lords to intensify the exploitation of the peasants. Moreover, the feudal lords strive not only economically, but also legally to secure the peasants to their fiefdoms and estates, to enserf them.

Such a policy aroused the natural resistance of the peasantry, which took on various forms. Peasants kill feudal lords, seize their property, set fire to estates. Such a fate often befalls not only secular, but also spiritual feudal lords - monasteries. Sometimes a battle directed against the masters also acted as a form of class struggle. The flight of peasants takes a certain scale, especially to the south, to lands free from landlords. Under such conditions, the feudal lords are faced with the task of keeping the peasantry in check and bringing serfdom to an end. This task could only be accomplished by a powerful centralized state capable of performing the main function of the exploiting state—the suppression of the resistance of the exploited masses.

¨ Ideology

The Russian Church was the bearer of the national Orthodox ideology, which played an important role in the formation of powerful Russia. In order to build an independent state and bring foreigners into the fence of the Christian church, Russian society needed to strengthen its moral strength. Sergius devoted his life to this. He is building a trinity temple, seeing in it a call to the unity of the Russian land, in the name of a higher reality. In a religious shell, heretical movements represented a peculiar form of protest. At a church council in 1490, the heretics were cursed and excommunicated.

In the very first years of his reign, Ivan Kalita gave Moscow a moral significance by transferring the metropolitan see from Vladimir to Moscow. Back in 1299, Metropolitan Maxim of Kyiv left Kyiv for Vladimir-on-Klyazma. The Metropolitan was supposed to visit the southern Russian dioceses from Vladimir from time to time.

The formation of a centralized state in Russia briefly

On these trips, he stopped at a crossroads in Moscow. Metropolitan Maxim was succeeded by Peter (1308). A close friendship began between Metropolitan Peter and Ivan Kalita. Together they laid the stone Cathedral of the Assumption in Moscow. While in Moscow, Metropolitan Peter lived in his diocesan town in the ancient courtyard of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, from where he later moved to the place where the Assumption Cathedral was soon laid. In this town he died in 1326. Peter's successor Theognost no longer wanted to live in Vladimir and settled in the new metropolitan courtyard in Moscow.

personality factor

V. O. Klyuchevsky notes that all Moscow princes before Ivan III, like two drops of water, are similar to each other. Some individual features are noticeable in their activities. However, following the successive change of Moscow princes, one can catch only typical family features in their appearance.

The founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniel. Under him, the rapid growth of the Moscow principality began. In 1301, Daniil Alexandrovich seized Kolomna from the Ryazan princes, and in 1302, the Pereslavl principality passed to him, according to the will of a childless prince of Pereslavl, who was at enmity with Tver. In 1303, Mozhaisk, which was part of the Smolensk principality, was annexed, as a result of which the Moskva River, which was then an important trade route, turned out to be within the Moscow principality from source to mouth. In three years, the Moscow principality almost doubled, became one of the largest and strongest principalities in North-Eastern Russia, and the Moscow prince Yuri Daniilovich considered himself strong enough to join the struggle for the great reign of Vladimir.

Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver, who in 1304 received a label for a great reign, strove for sovereign rule in "all Russia", subjugation by force of Novgorod and other Russian lands. He was supported by the church and its head, Metropolitan Maxim, who in 1299 transferred his residence from devastated Kyiv to Vladimir. Mikhail Yaroslavich's attempt to take away Pereslavl from Yuri Danii-lovich led to a protracted and bloody struggle between Tver and Moscow, in which the question was already being decided not so much about Pereslavl, but about political supremacy in Russia. In 1318, at the intrigues of Yuri Daniilovich, Mikhail Yaroslavich was killed in the Horde, and the label for the great reign was transferred to the Moscow prince. However, in 1325, Yuri Daniilovich was killed in the Horde by one of the sons of Mikhail Yaroslavich, who avenged the death of his father, and the label for a great reign again fell into the hands of the Tver princes.

During the reign of Kalita, the Moscow principality was finally defined as the largest and strongest in North-Eastern Russia. Since the time of Kalita, there has been a close alliance between the Moscow grand ducal authorities and the church, which played a large role in the formation of a centralized state. Kalita's ally, Metropolitan Peter, moved his residence from Vladimir to Moscow (1326), which became the church center of all Russia, which further strengthened the political positions of the Moscow princes.

In relations with the Horde, Kalita continued the line of external observance of vassal obedience to the khans, outlined by Alexander Nevsky, the regular payment of tribute, so as not to give them reasons for new invasions of Russia, which almost completely stopped during his reign. “And then the silence was great for 40 years and the trash ceased to fight the Russian land and slaughter the Christians, and the Christians rested and calmed down from the great languor and many hardships, about the violence of the Tatars…”, wrote the chronicler, evaluating the reign of Kalita.

The Russian lands received the respite they needed to restore and boost the economy, to accumulate strength for the upcoming struggle to overthrow the yoke.

The creation of the Russian centralized state is the most important stage in the historical development of our country. The overcoming of feudal fragmentation, the unification of Russian lands under the leadership of Moscow and, as a result of this, the elimination of the Tatar-Mongol yoke are connected with it.

The formation of a single state created the necessary conditions for the further economic and political development of Russia, the development of domestic statehood and the Russian legal system. The role of Russia increased both in European and world history.

From the beginning of the XIV century. the fragmentation of the Russian principalities stops, giving way to their unification. It was based on economic reasons, in particular, the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands. The starting point in the development of the feudal economy was the progress of agriculture. Agricultural production is characterized in this period by the increasing spread of the arable system, which becomes the predominant method of cultivating the land in the central regions of the country. The arable system is gradually replacing the slashing system. Equally important was the constant expansion of sown areas through the development of new and previously abandoned lands.

The growing need for agricultural tools led to the development of handicrafts. The process of separation of handicraft from agriculture is intensively going on. There is a need for the exchange of products of labor between the artisan and the peasant. Based on this exchange, local markets are created. The development of foreign trade contributed to the establishment of internal economic ties. All this urgently demanded the political unification of the Russian lands, the creation of a single state. Wide circles of Russian society were interested in his education, and first of all, the nobility, merchants and artisans.

Another prerequisite for the unification of Russian lands was the aggravation of social class contradictions. The rise of agriculture prompted the feudal lords to intensify the exploitation of the peasants. They sought not only economically, but also legally to secure the peasants for their estates and estates, to enserf them. Such a policy, of course, aroused the resistance of the peasant masses. The feudal lords needed guarantees that the process of enslavement would be brought to an end. This task could be solved only by a powerful centralized state.

The factor that accelerated centralization was an external danger that forced the Russian lands to rally in the face of a common enemy. It is noteworthy that the process of state consolidation made possible the Battle of Kulikovo, which begins the liberation of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. When, under Ivan III, it was possible to collect almost all Russian lands, this yoke was finally overthrown.

The Russian centralized state developed around Moscow, which eventually became its capital. It became the center of the association because, due to its geographical position, it was better protected from external enemies, it was located at the crossroads of river and land trade routes.

Founded in the 12th century, Moscow was at first a small city, which the Rostov-Suzdal princes gave as inheritance to their younger sons. Only from the end of the XIII century. it became the capital city of an independent principality with a permanent prince. The first Moscow prince was the son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel, under whom at the turn of the XIII and XIV centuries. the process of all-Russian state consolidation began. His successors, continuing the policy of uniting the Russian lands, bought up or seized by force the lands of neighboring principalities, concluded agreements with the weakened specific princes, making them their vassals. The territory of the Moscow Principality also expanded due to the settlement of the Upper Trans-Volga region.

The foundation of Moscow's power was laid under the second son of Daniel, Ivan Kalita (1325-1340), who managed to get a label from the Tatars for a great reign and, thus, acquired the right to collect tribute in their favor from all Russian lands. This right was later used by the Moscow princes in order to unite these lands under their rule. When in 1326 the metropolitan see was transferred to Moscow from Vladimir, it became the center of the Orthodox Church. Expanding the territory of the Muscovite state, the Grand Dukes of Moscow turned the destinies into simple estates. Appanage princes, falling under their power, became boyars - subjects of the great Moscow prince.

By the end of the XIV century. The Moscow principality became so strong that it was able to lead the struggle of Russia for the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol oppression. The Horde was dealt the first sensitive blows - the most significant on the Kulikovo field. Under Ivan III, the unification of Russian lands entered its final stage. Novgorod the Great, Tver, part of the Ryazan principality, Russian lands on the Desna were annexed to Moscow.

In 1480, after the well-known "standing on the Ugra", Russia finally freed itself from the Tatar yoke. The unification process was completed at the beginning of the 16th century. Grand Duke Vasily III annexed the second half of the Ryazan principality to Moscow. Pskov, Smolensk liberated from Lithuanian domination. Together with Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm and other lands, non-Russian peoples also became part of the Moscow state: Meshchers, Karelians, Saami, Nenets, Udmurts, etc. The Russian state, like Kiev, became multinational.

Along with the unification of Russian lands, the annexation of other territories, the power of the great Moscow princes also grew. The Moscow principality gradually turned into a powerful state formation, in which the former division into appanages was replaced by division into administrative-territorial units, headed by governors and volosts sent from Moscow.

More on the topic Prerequisites for the formation of the Russian centralized state:

1. PREREQUISITES FOR THE FORMATION OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRALIZED STATE. FEATURES OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRALIZED STATE
2. 6. Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia and its impact on the development of the state and legal system. Prerequisites for the formation of a centralized Russian state
3. § 2. Court and investigation during the period of unification of Russian lands and the formation of a centralized Russian state

Having won the struggle for the great reign in Russia, the Moscow princes continued their efforts to unite the lands around Moscow. The reign of Ivan the 3rd (1462-1505) accelerated this process. In 1463, pursuing a unifying policy, he annexed the Yaroslavl principality.

Active resistance to the unification was provided by the Tver principality and the Novgorod Republic. To preserve their independence, the Novgorod boyars entered into an alliance with Lithuania and ended up under the partial rule of the Lithuanian prince Casimir 4th.

In 1471, Ivan the 3rd led an army to Novgorod and in the battle on the river. Shelony won. For the complete conquest of Novgorod, a second campaign was also needed. In 1478, Ivan the 3rd finally conquers the city (having survived the siege) and deprives it of its independence by abolishing local governments and eliminating symbols of independence (the veche Novgorod bell was taken to Moscow). With the fall of Novgorod, all of its vast territories fell into the possession of Moscow.

In 1472 the Perm Territory was conquered. In 1474, the Rostov Principality was redeemed. In 1485, Ivan the 3rd, at the head of a large army, approached Tver and took the city without loss in two days, taking advantage of the betrayal of the Tver boyars. Grand Duke Mikhailo Borisovich fled to Lithuania.

Having annexed Tver, Ivan the 3rd created a single state and began to title himself the sovereign of all Russia.

In the middle of the 15th century. broke up into several independent khanates. Ivan the 3rd began to behave towards them as an independent sovereign. He stopped paying the ransom and created an alliance with the enemy of the Golden Horde - the Crimean Khan.

The Golden Horde Khan Akhmat tried to restore his power over Russia. In 1480, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian Grand Duke and the Polish King Casimir 4th, he led his troops to Moscow.

It all ended with a confrontation between Russian and Tatar troops on the river. Acne.

Without waiting for the allies, Akhmat did not dare to start the battle and in November 1480 he was forced to retreat. This meant the final fall of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, which had gravitated over Russia for more than two centuries.

Ivan the 3rd sought to further expand the state. In 1487 Kazan recognized its dependence on Moscow. By the end of the 15th century. the state includes territories in the northeast. Ivan the 3rd conquers a number of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands from Lithuania and Poland.

The unifying policy was continued by the son of Ivan the 3rd - Vasily 3rd. In 1503, having destroyed the Pskov feudal republic, he annexed Pskov. In 1514 he recaptured Smolensk from Lithuania. In 1517-1523. Vasily 3rd took Chernigov and the Ryazan principality.

The process of formation of a single state consisted in significant internal socio-economic and political changes. This was expressed in the formation of a class-representative monarchy, in which the autocracy is supported by various classes, primarily the nobility, the townspeople and the top of the capital's boyars, who were interested in creating a state and having a strong central authority in it.

The years of the reign of Ivan the 3rd are characterized by changes in the authorities. becomes the supreme deliberative body, institutions are created that are in charge of various spheres of state life, the first orders are issued, governors are engaged in local administration and are supported by the territory they control.

In 1497, a code of laws was published, the first code of the Russian state, which consolidated a unified system of state administration and regulated the activities of state bodies. The Sudebnik set a deadline for peasant transitions (once a year, on St. George's Day) and payment for the use of the yard. The law limited the freedom of the peasants and attached them to the land.

During the reigns of Ivan the 3rd and Vasily the 3rd (1505-1533), the process of unification of Russian lands was completed and the strengthening of Russian statehood continued.

1. Prerequisites, course and features of the formation of a centralized state in Russia

Tendencies towards the unification of Russian lands into a single state began to take shape as early as the beginning of the 13th century. However, in the 30s of the XIII century. the unification process was interrupted by the Tatar-Mongol invasion and it took many decades for the conditions to resume the unification process, the need for which increases especially in the context of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, began to develop again.

From the beginning of the 4th c. the fragmentation of Russian lands stops, giving way to their unification. One of the first reasons for the formation of the Russian centralized state is the strengthening of economic ties between the Russian lands. This process was caused by the general economic development of the country. At this time, intensive development of agriculture begins. Agricultural production is characterized in this period by the increasing spread of the arable system, which requires constant cultivation of the land. Since the peasant always deals with the land, he needs perfect instruments of production.

But the rise of agriculture was due not so much to the development of tools as to the expansion of sown areas through the development of new and previously abandoned lands. An increase in the surplus product in agriculture makes it possible to develop animal husbandry, as well as to sell grain to the side.

As a result, the process of separation of handicraft from agriculture is going deeper and deeper. It entails the need for exchange between the peasant and the artisan, that is, between town and country. This exchange takes place in the form of trade, which in this period increases accordingly. Local markets are created on the basis of exchange. The natural division of labor between individual regions of the country, due to their natural characteristics, forms economic ties on the scale of the whole of Russia. The establishment of these ties also contributed to the development of foreign trade. All of the above required the political unification of the Russian lands, that is, the creation of a centralized state. Nobles, merchants, artisans were interested in this.

Another prerequisite that led to the unification of the Russian lands was the intensification of the class struggle, the strengthening of the class resistance of the peasantry. The rise of the economy, the possibility of obtaining ever greater surplus product induce the feudal lords to intensify the exploitation of the peasants. Moreover, the feudal lords strive not only economically, but also legally to secure the peasants to their estates and estates, to enserf them. Such a policy aroused the natural resistance of the peasantry, which took on various forms.

Peasants kill feudal lords, seize their property, set fire to estates. Such a fate often befalls not only secular, but also spiritual feudal lords - monasteries. Robbery directed against the masters sometimes acted as a form of class struggle. The flight of peasants takes on a certain scale, especially to the south, to lands free from landlords.

Under such conditions, the feudal lords are faced with the task of keeping the peasantry in check and bringing serfdom to an end. This task could be solved only by a powerfully centralized state, capable of performing the main function of an exploiting state - suppressing the resistance of the exploited masses.

There was another important political force - the church. She was a large feudal lord, retained immunity privileges and was free from public service and taxes. The church also actively advocated the strengthening of the state.

A factor that accelerated the centralization of the Russian state was also the threat of an external attack, which forced the Russian lands to unite in the face of a common enemy, the Commonwealth.

These reasons played a leading role in the unification of Russia. Without them, the process of centralization could not have achieved any significant success.

The broad masses of the people were interested in the formation of a single centralized state, because only it can cope with an external enemy. The formation of a single state is natural in the history of the country. It was prepared by the long socio-economic and political development of Russia.

The formation of a centralized state can be divided into 3 stages:

Stage I (end of the 13th century - 1382)

At the first stage, the main question was solved: around which center the Russian lands would unite. First of all, Tver and Moscow claimed leadership, between which a sharp struggle unfolded.

Objective and subjective preconditions predetermined the victory of Moscow in this rivalry. The formation of Moscow as the largest political center of Russia should be regarded as one of the most important events of the first stage.

Using their own means, the Moscow princes gradually led their principality out of its original narrow limits. As an example, we can consider the Moscow prince Daniel Alexandrovich (1282-1303), the son of Alexander Nevsky. The Moscow principality under Daniel is about 40 km around Moscow. Initially, the Moscow territory did not include Dmitrov, Klin, Volokolamsk, Mozhaisk, Serpukhov, Kolomna, Vere. Prior to the capture of Mozhaisk and Kolomna, the lot of Prince Daniel occupied the middle space of this province along the middle course of the Moscow River with a continuation to the east along the upper Klyazma. In the possession of Prince Daniel were counties: Moscow, Zvenigorod, Ruza and Bogorodsky with part of Dmitrovsky.

After Prince Daniel, the Moscow princes continued to unite the lands into subordination to Moscow. An important event of the first stage is the Battle of Kulikovo (09/08/1380). Having become the main national center of the unification, Moscow actively prepared its forces for the decisive battle with the Tatar-Mongols. The historic victory at the Kulikovo field can least of all be regarded as accidental. The historical significance of this victory lies in the fact that it was the first serious defeat of the main forces of the Golden Horde and marked the beginning of the liberation of Russian lands from the Horde yoke.

Stage II (second half 1382 - 1462)

From the second half of the fourteenth century. the second stage of the unification process begins, the main content of which was the defeat by Moscow in the 60-70s. its main political rivals and the transition from Moscow's assertion of its political supremacy in Russia to the state unification of Russian lands around it and the organization of a nationwide struggle for the overthrow of the Horde yoke.

At this stage, there is a struggle between the Tver and Moscow principalities. Strengthening the role of the Vladimir principality

With the unification of the "Great Princedom of Vladimir" with the Principality of Moscow, Moscow asserted for itself the role and importance of the territorial and national center of the emerging Russian state. The territorial growth of the Moscow principality took on the significance and character of the state association of Russian lands. Under Dmitry Donskoy, Dmitrov, Starodub, Uglich and Kostroma, vast territories in the Trans-Volga region in the area of ​​Beloozero and Galich Mersky and a number of Upper Oka small principalities were annexed to Moscow.

At the end of the fourteenth century Moscow takes the first steps to limit the independence of the Novgorod Boyar Republic and include its lands in the Moscow Principality. An attempt to annex the Dvina land, the richest Novgorod colony, to Moscow ended in failure.

At the end of the fourteenth century lands in the Vychegda river basin inhabited by the Komi people (Great Perm) were annexed to Moscow.

III (final) stage of the formation of a single state (1462-1533). By the end of the XV century. conditions for the transition of the unification process to the final stage - the formation of a single Russian state.

The victory of the grand princely power in the feudal war led to the liquidation of a number of small principalities and made it possible to take the first step in subordinating the Novgorod boyar republic.

The final stage of the unification process took about 50 years - the time of the great reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505) and the first years of the reign of his successor - Vasily III Ivanovich (1505-1533). An exceptionally significant event of this stage was the overthrow of the Horde yoke in 1480. The liberation of Russia contributed to the fact that the tendencies of unification with Moscow became decisive.

The biggest obstacle to this process was the existence of an independent Novgorod feudal republic. In the course of the struggle, Moscow's grand ducal authorities took over Novgorod.

In 1485 Tver, after a short (two-day) resistance, surrendered to the Moscow army. Vyatka land, important in terms of trade, was annexed in 1489. With the entry of the northern possessions of Novgorod and the Vyatka land, the non-Russian peoples of the North and North-East also became part of the Russian state. This phenomenon was not new in the state development of the Russian lands, because since ancient times, Russian principalities included non-Russian peoples who lived in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga.

In 1483-1485. large popular unrest took place in Pskov. The Moscow grand ducal authorities used this to win over the mass of the Pskov population and weaken the positions of the nobility. In 1510, the Pskov Republic, which was independent after separation from Novgorod in 1348, ceased to exist.

In 1514, as a result of the war with Lithuania, the ancient Russian city of Smolensk became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Finally, in 1521, the Ryazan Principality, which had long been in de facto subordination to Moscow, ceased to exist.

The final point in the long process of unification of the northwestern and northeastern Russian lands in a single Russian state was set by Vasily III. The unification of the Russian lands was basically completed. A huge power was formed, the largest in Europe. Within the framework of this state, the Russian (Great Russian) nationality was united.

From the three stages in the formation of a centralized state, it can be concluded that the centralization of lands occurred during wars. Not one association did not pass peacefully. The Russian people fought against their own people.

2 Changes in the economic, political, social life of Russian society in the late XV - early XVI centuries.

a) Formation of local land tenure .

With the decomposition of the feudal-patrimonial system from the second half of the 15th century. there were markedly two kinds of private estates. On the one hand, the hereditary, mostly large and privileged, patrimony as a remnant of the former feudal-boyar and princely land ownership and, on the other hand, the estate, which developed, especially since the 16th century, as a temporary and often less privileged, small and medium estate land ownership of the nobles and service people.

Already the policy of Ivan III, especially, for example, in Novgorod, greatly undermined the proportion of large boyar patrimonial possessions here, replacing it with a smaller, local one. The oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible was the final triumph of local land ownership. It destroyed from the root the feudal advantages of the boyar patrimonial landownership. In the 17th century the dominant form of land relations is the estate.

The social composition of the local class was very diverse. Historically, the main core of it was those servants of the prince who carried out personal and military service with him, receiving from him as "feeding" and as a reward for this service and for the duration of the service plots of the prince's land for temporary use, on the estate. But a particularly rapid replenishment and formation of a new local class begins to occur from the 16th century, when Moscow, liquidating appanages and boyar estates, attracting to its service not only the former princes and boyars, but also citizens, merchants, native landowners, yard servants, even serfs , for all the difference in their class position, personal and political influence, she equaled them on one basis - an award for the sovereign's service with land for temporary use.

As a result, at the beginning of the 16th century, for example, in the Shelon Pyatina, more than half of the Novgorod lands confiscated by Moscow were distributed to Moscow service people on the estate. In other parts of the Novgorod region, by the same time, more than half and even up to two-thirds of the land belonged to the owners on a local right. The estate acquired even greater importance in the south, where, due to the need to protect the border from the attack of southern nomads, land was allocated almost exclusively to military servants and where almost all land ownership was on local law (Ryazan, Epifansky, Tula, Kashirsky, Orlovsky counties, where from 80 to 89 % of all land belonged to the owners on the local right). The patrimonial possession is preserved somewhat longer and in greater numbers in the older, northern and central parts of the state (Zvenigorodsky, Kolomna districts), but even here the estate is gradually replacing the patrimony. Only in the Far North, neither a large patrimony nor an estate gains predominance due to the preservation of a significant amount of "black lands" here. In other localities, the feudal patrimony gives way to a new dominant type of land ownership, the estate. This last circumstance - the temporary nature of landownership - gave reason to emphasize the conditionality and inconstancy of ownership, its passing character as the main features of the legal form of landownership, which at the same time have important economic consequences and explain the nature of the economic decline that was revealed in the Russian state in the second half of the 16th century

b) Political system

According to the social system, the Russian centralized state can be characterized as feudal, and according to the form of government - early feudal monarchy. In the society of the feudal period, the class difference of the population was fixed by establishing the legal place of each category of the population or by dividing it into estates.

If during the period of fragmentation the hierarchy of the feudal class was relatively stable, then in the 15th century the appanage princes became the "princes" of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Significantly weakened the economic and political significance of the boyar nobility, suppressed as a result of resistance to centralization. They no longer had the "right of departure" to another overlord, for this was followed by deprivation of the patrimony and accusation of treason. The issuance of immunity letters is terminated, judicial functions are withdrawn. At the same time, the importance of medium and small feudal lords is growing, and the emerging nobility is rising. The centralized state needed a strong army and bureaucracy. This task could be performed by the nobles who owned estates and were dependent on the Grand Duke.

Service in the apparatus of the state in the Moscow principality is considered a privilege. The palace and patrimonial system of government is gradually dying out. The butler no longer deals with the princely economy, but together with the treasurer and, relying on the clerks, controls the local administration and exercises judicial functions in the most important cases. Konyushy becomes the head of the Boyar Duma. Kravchy deals with food and supplies. Hunters, falconers, bed-riders are engaged in state affairs and can influence the solution of important issues.

During this period, there were also changes in the legal status of the peasants (peasant - a derivative of the word Christian, arose in the 14th century).

During the period of centralization, its state system also changed significantly. First of all, it should be noted the strengthening of the power of the Grand Duke (the Horde Khan was also called the king). This was facilitated by the restriction of the immune rights of the feudal lords, especially the specific princes. The political isolation of the principalities is being liquidated. The role of the Boyar Duma is rising. The Boyar Duma resolved the main issues of foreign and domestic policy, carried out the supreme administration of the country, directed orders and local government bodies, established taxes, resolved issues related to the armed forces, and exercised judicial functions.

There was no separation of the competences of the tsar and the Duma. Therefore, many decrees began with the words "the king indicated, and the boyars (that is, the thought) were sentenced."

Feudal congresses met to resolve issues of exceptional importance, requiring great effort and sacrifice. They rarely met.

At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. along with the process of limiting the functions of governors and volosts, new bodies of central administration arose. Each order was headed by a boyar, who had at his disposal a whole staff of officials. The order hut had its representatives or authorized representatives in the field. The order system was closely connected with the nobility and was appointed from among its members.

Orders exercised judicial functions in cases related to their areas of activity. In the orders, office work was fairly streamlined. During this period, there was no clear delineation of the functions of orders, they could carry out both sectoral and territorial activities, sometimes replacing each other. The order system was most developed during the period of the estate-representative monarchy.

Local government was carried out by governors in counties and volosts in volosts. They ruled the entire territory of the counties or volosts, with the exception of the boyar estates. Local government was built according to the "feeding" system, in which the local population provided the governors and volosts with everything necessary. The entire local administration was provided at the expense of the local population. required streamlining judging, etc. The organs of gubernatorial self-government, the so-called labial hut, consisting of the labial headman and kissers, were elected bodies and were formed mainly from the nobility. The functions of the lab huts were the detection of crimes, interrogation, etc. Later, they began to concentrate judicial functions in their hands and even carried out court sentences.

c) The beginning of the legal registration of serfdom. Sudebnik of Ivan III.

In modern historiography, there is no single point of view on exactly what time serfdom was born in Russia. Some historians take the Sudebnik of 1497 and, which appeared half a century later, the Sudebnik of 1550, as a kind of starting point in its development, noting the innovations established in these legislative acts (the rule of St. George's Day and the introduction of fees for the "elderly"). Others associate the birth of serfdom with the Tatar-Mongol invasion. In this paragraph, I am considering the Sudebnik of Ivan III, and in it I will emphasize the features of the enslavement of the peasants. Article 57 of this document, for the first time on a national scale, limited the right of a peasant to move from one feudal lord to another for a certain period - a week before and a week after St. George's Day (November 26) after the completion of field work: “And a Christian to refuse from the volost, from village to village, one term a year, a week before Yuryev's autumn days and a week after Yuryev's autumn days...”

As for the timing of the transition, the following statement seems to be quite reasonable: with the extremely short cycle of agricultural work, their intensity, the transition time was determined very strictly by practical considerations - the end of autumn - the beginning of winter. Leaving at another time would threaten with irreparable omissions in housekeeping. In addition, it was during this period that the main payments were made in relation to the treasury and to the owner of the land. So, apparently, here the sudnik did not introduce any innovations. But the fixation by law of a certain short transition period testified, on the one hand, to the desire of the feudal lords and the state to limit the right of the peasants, and on the other hand, to their weakness and inability to fix the peasants to the personality of a certain feudal lord.

The only new thing was that for leaving the peasant had to pay the owner "old" - money for the loss of workers, for the "yard", for the years lived in the old place. The code book of 1497 sets the size of the elderly - in the steppe zone 1 ruble (the royal code book will add two more altyns), and in the forest - half a ruble. The Code of Law also stipulates the dependence of the size of the elderly on the period of residence of the peasant on the ground, so living for 4 years was considered tantamount to the destruction of the building, therefore the full cost of the yard had to be paid, in other words, the amount of the elderly for the year was equal to ¼ of the cost of the peasant yard (Article 57 book, 88). Thus, the main provisions that influenced the restriction of freedom and liberties of peasants are the legal establishment of the rule of St. George's Day and the introduction of fees for the "elderly".

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