The history of the foundation of ancient Russia. Old Russian state of Kievan Rus


in the 5th century split into 3 branches

western southern

Eastern

Russian ancestors,

Belarusian and

Ukrainian peoples

Proto-Slavs lived in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Elbe and Oder rivers in the west to the upper reaches of the Dniester and the middle reaches of the Dnieper in the east. Slavs in ancient written sources (eg Greek) are referred to as Wends, Sklavins and Antes.

The great migration of peoples set in motion, including the Slavic tribes. In the 5th century - the division of the Slavs into 3 branches.

In the 4th-6th centuries, according to various sources, the lands to the east of the Carpathians were inhabited by the descendants of the eastern Venets - Antes.

Our immediate ancestors, the Eastern Slavs, leave for the East European Plain and settle, as Nestor writes in the 12th century. in "The Tale of Bygone Years" along the Dnieper. History knows about 15 East Slavic tribes, more precisely, tribal unions that existed around the 9th-11th centuries, and by the 11th-13th centuries formed the Old Russian people.

Tribes of the North: Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polochans

Tribes of the Northeast: Radimichi, Vyatichi, northerners

Duleb group: Volhynians, Drevlyans, glades, Dregovichi

Tribes of the South-East: Buzhans, Don Slavs

Tribes of the South: White Croats, Ulichi, Tivertsy

Periodization of the ancient history of Russia

IX-XI centuries - Kievan Rus

XII - XIII centuries. - fragmentation of Russia (Vladimir Rus)

XIV - XV centuries. - Muscovite Russia

Gardarika- "country of cities", the so-called lands of the Eastern Slavs in Greek, Arabic and Scandinavian sources

Local reigns (Gostomysl in Novgorod, Kiy in Kyiv, Mal among the Drevlyans, Khodot and his son among the Vyatichi) are the embryonic form of the statehood of Ancient Russia.

Eastern chroniclers singled out 3 centers of the emergence of statehood in the Slavic lands: Kuyaba (in the south, around Kyiv), Slavia (in the Ilmenye), Artania (in the east, around ancient Ryazan)

Rurik (862-879)

862 - the calling of the Varangians (Rurik with his tribe Rus) The calling of the Varangians in the painting by Vasnetsov

Rurik founded a dynasty of Russian princes and ruled in Novgorod.

"Norman theory" is a theory about the creation of a state by the Slavs from the outside (Varangians-Scandinavians).

The first anti-Normanist Mikhail Lomonosov (the origin of the Varangians from the West Slavic lands)

Anti-Normanists (the formation of the state is a stage in the internal development of society).

Oleg(Prophetic) (879-912)

882 - the formation of Kievan Rus (unification of the two political centers of Novgorod and Kyiv into a single ancient Russian state by Prince Oleg)

907 and 911 - Oleg's campaigns against Byzantium (the goal is the signing of profitable trade agreements)

Fight against the Khazars

polyudie- collection of tribute by the prince from subject East Slavic tribes

Polyudye trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" ( Baltica-Volkhov-Lovat-Western Dvina-Dnepr) Constantinople

Varangians. Nicholas Roerich, 1899

Igor(Old) (912-945)

The unsuccessful campaign of Prince Igor against Byzantium in 941

Greek fire- a combustible mixture ejected from copper pipes under pressure onto an enemy ship, not extinguished by water.

A second campaign in 943 ended with a peace treaty in 944.

In 945 he was killed during the uprising of the Drevlyans

Olga(organizer of the Russian land) (945-969)

1) Cunning (cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for her husband)

2) "The organizer of the Russian land" - streamlined the collection of tribute (polyudye taxes) (introduced lessons- the exact amount of tribute,

graveyards- collection points)

3) Carried out a volost reform (divided the state into volosts), (introduced uniform rules for the court of princely governors)

4) Established diplomatic relations with Byzantium

5) First converted to Christianity (Elena)

Svyatoslav(warrior prince) (962-972)

He spent his whole life on campaigns (expanded the borders of the state, ensured the safety of trade routes for Russian merchants)

1. Subdued the Vyatichi

2. Defeated the Bulgars and the Khazars by opening a bargain. the way along the Volga to the eastern countries

("Coming at you")

3. Campaigns against the Bulgarians on the Danube (an attempt to move the capital to the city of Pereyaslavets)

But he often left the state without protection, for example, the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs (968), undertaken while the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav was on the Danube.

(According to the chronicle, while Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was campaigning against the Bulgarian kingdom, the Pechenegs invaded Russia and laid siege to its capital, Kyiv. The besieged suffered from thirst and hunger. People from the other side of the Dnieper, led by the governor Pretich, gathered on the left bank of the Dnieper.

Driven to the extreme, Svyatoslav's mother, Princess Olga (who was in the city with all of Svyatoslav's sons) decided to tell Pretich that she would surrender the city in the morning if Pretich did not lift the siege, and began to look for ways to contact him. Finally, a young Kyivian who spoke fluent Pecheneg volunteered to get out of the city and get to Pretich. Pretending to be a Pecheneg looking for his horse, he ran through their camp. When he rushed to the Dnieper and swam to the other side, the Pechenegs understood his deceit and began to shoot at him with bows, but did not hit.

When the young man reached Pretich and informed him of the desperate situation of the people of Kiev, the governor decided to suddenly cross the river and take out Svyatoslav's family, and if not, Svyatoslav will destroy us. Early in the morning, Pretich and his squad boarded their ships and landed on the right bank of the Dnieper, blowing their trumpets. Thinking that Svyatoslav's army had returned, the Pechenegs lifted the siege. Olga and her grandchildren left the city to the river.

The leader of the Pechenegs returned to negotiate with Pretich and asked him if he was Svyatoslav. Pretich confirmed that he was only a governor, and his detachment was the vanguard of Svyatoslav's approaching army. As a sign of peaceful intentions, the ruler of the Pechenegs shook hands with Pretich and exchanged his own horse, sword and arrows for Pretich's armor.

Meanwhile, the Pechenegs continued the siege, so that it was impossible to water the horse on Lybid. The Kievans sent a messenger to Svyatoslav with the news that his family was almost captured by the Pechenegs, and the danger to Kyiv still remains. Svyatoslav quickly returned home to Kyiv and drove the Pechenegs into the field. A year later, Olga died, and Svyatoslav made Pereyaslavets on the Danube his residence)

But after a difficult campaign against Byzantium in 972, the pleasing army of Svyatoslav with heavy military booty was met on the Dnieper rapids by the waiting hordes of Pechenegs. The Rus were surrounded and completely destroyed. They all perished, including Prince Svyatoslav. From his skull, Khan Kurya ordered to make a drinking cup, encasing it in gold.

Vladimir(Red Sun, Saint) (980-1015)

Civil strife (Vladimir - the son of a slave, Yaropolk wins)

1. We love the people (the image of the prince is displayed in epics):

A) the creation of a system of fortresses in the south for defense against the Pechenegs;

B) recruited people from the people into the squad;

C) arranged feasts for all Kyivans.

2. Strengthens the state and princely power:

A) conducts a pagan reform (Perun is the main god)

Purpose: an attempt to unite the tribes into a single people through religion

B) 988 - baptism of Russia byzantine style

C) the acquisition of an important military and political ally in the person of Byzantium

D) development of culture:

1) Slavic writing (Cyril and Methodius);

2) books, schools, churches, iconography;

The Church of the Tithes is the first stone church in Kyiv (1/10 of the prince's income for construction);

3) the establishment of the Russian metropolis

Baptism of Vladimir. Fresco by V. M. Vasnetsov.

Prince Vladimir went down in history as the Baptist of Russia. The prince's decision to be baptized was not spontaneous. According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, a few years before the campaign against Korsun (Chersonese), Vladimir thought about choosing a faith. The heart of the prince was inclined to Orthodoxy. And he established himself in this decision after his ambassadors went "for reconnaissance" to Constantinople. Returning, they said: “When we came to the Greeks, we were led to where they serve their God, and we did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth: we cannot forget this beauty, for every person, having tasted sweet, turns away from the bitter, so we "are not imams here to be," we do not want to remain in the old pagan faith. Then they remembered: “If the Greek law was not good, then your grandmother Olga, the wisest of all people, would not have accepted it.”

Monument "Millennium of Russia"- a monument erected in Veliky Novgorod in 1862 in honor of the millennial anniversary of the legendary calling of the Varangians to Russia. The authors of the monument project are sculptors Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Shreder and architect Viktor Hartman. The monument is located in the Novgorod citadel, opposite St. Sophia Cathedral

The prince ruled the Russian state for 37 years, 28 of them being a Christian. It is worth noting that Prince Vladimir accepted Orthodoxy from Byzantium not as a vassal, but as an equal. “Historians are still building different versions of why the prince went to the siege of Chersonese,” says S. Belyaev. One of the versions says: having decided to accept Orthodoxy, Vladimir did not want to appear before the Greeks as a petitioner. Significantly: Vladimir did not go to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, to be baptized. It was to him, in the conquered Chersonese, that they came, and even brought Princess Anna. At the same time, the very decision of Vladimir to become Orthodox was dictated by the need of the soul, as evidenced by the dramatic changes that occurred with the prince.

Looking closely at the Baptist of Russia, it becomes clear that he was also an outstanding state strategist. And in the first place he put the national interests of Russia, which under his leadership united, straightened its shoulders and subsequently became a great empire.

On the Day of National Unity, November 4, 2016, the grand opening of the monument to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, which was designed by People's Artist of Russia Salavat Shcherbakov, took place on Borovitskaya Square. The monument was created on the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society and the Government of Moscow. the opening ceremony of the monument to Prince Vladimir. The ceremony was attended by President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

The President stressed that Prince Vladimir went down in history forever as a collector and defender of Russian lands, as a far-sighted politician who laid the foundations of a strong, unified, centralized state.

After the President's speech, Patriarch Kirill consecrated the monument to the holy Prince Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Yaroslav the Wise(1019-1054)

Vladimir has 12 feuding sons (the eldest Svyatopolk killed his brothers Boris and Gleb, who became the first saints in Russia, and Svyatopolk was christened the Accursed also because he brought foreigners to Russia who ruined and killed)

Yaroslav, who ruled Novgorod, supported by the Novgorodians in the fight against his brother, seizes the throne (from 1019 to 1036 he rules jointly with his brother Mstislav). A calm wise rule begins - the heyday of the Old Russian state.

1. Strengthened power (the highest power belonged to the great Kyiv prince, who issued laws, was the supreme judge, led the army, determined foreign policy). Power was inherited by the eldest in the family (sons-deputies in the volosts, moved in the event of the death of their elder brother to a larger volost).

2. He laid the foundation for the creation of a unified code of laws "Russian Truth" (1016). (In Pravda Yaroslav, for example, blood feud is limited and replaced by a fine-vira)

3. Measures to strengthen the independence of the Russian Church (since 1051, not Greeks, but Russians began to be appointed metropolitans, and without the knowledge of Constantinople. Hilarion was the first Russian metropolitan).

4. Developed culture (built churches, cathedrals (St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Novgorod), monasteries (Kiev-Pechersky - the monk Nestor in the 12th century wrote the first Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years"), where the scripture was distributed annals(description of historical events by years-years), schools, libraries, which contributed to the development of literacy)

5. Conducted a wise foreign policy:

· strengthened the southern borders of Russia (built defensive lines from fortress cities on the southeastern borders);

· defeated the Pechenegs under the walls of Kyiv in 1036, where he built the St. Sophia Cathedral;

expanded the northwestern borders of the state (in 1030 he built the city of Yuryev on the western coast of Lake Peipus, which he captured from the Poles and Lithuanians)

All land acquisitions were secured by peace treaties and dynastic marriages

It was under Yaroslav the Wise that the process of state formation among the Eastern Slavs ended, and the Old Russian nationality was taking shape.

The social structure of society in the Old Russian state

In the XI century. Kievan Rus is an early feudal state (along with the emergence of the upper stratum and, conversely, dependent, the bulk of the population are still free community members who paid taxes to the state. And the formation of feudal land ownership was very slow).

The land belonged to the state, so the community (the land was jointly owned, divided among all the families that were part of the community) paid a tax for the use of state land.

The first feudal lords who seized land as their property were the princes. They granted lands to the church and boyars for their service ( votchina - hereditary land holding) who also became feudal lords.

I. Upper layer:

II. Free landowners united in communities

(the largest part of the population of the Old Russian state)

III. Dependent population:

Smerd- a member of a rural community, but a peasant directly dependent on the prince in the Old Russian state in the period of the XI-XIV centuries.

Ryadovich- concluded an agreement ("row") on work for the feudal lord on certain conditions.

Purchase- ruined community members who fell into debt dependence for non-payment of loans (“kupy”). If he returned the debt, he became free.

serf a slave who worked on the land of a feudal lord. (prisoners of war became slaves, purchases that did not fulfill their obligations and ryadovichi, children of slaves, from great need a person sold himself into slaves).

Culture of Ancient Russia

culture- a set of material and spiritual values ​​​​created by society.

East Slavs

1) Beliefs - paganism, from the word "language" - a tribe, a people.

Gods - Perun, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Svarog, Yarilo, Lada, Makosh, etc.

The place of worship of idols is a temple where sacrifices were made.

Magi ("magician, magician, fortuneteller") - ancient Russian pagan priests who performed worship, sacrifices and supposedly knew how to conjure the elements and predict the future.

Vasnetsov "Meeting of Prince Oleg with a magician"

2) ancient legends, epics - poetic tales about the past, where the exploits of Russian heroes were glorified (Mikula Selyaninovich, Ilya Muromets, Stavr Godinovich, etc.). The main motive is the defense of the Russian land from the enemy.

Victor Vasnetsov "Bogatyrs"

3) the art of blacksmiths, wood and bone carvers.

The Christianization of Russia had a huge impact.

1) The spread of writing and literacy in Russia (the 60s of the 9th century - Cyril and Methodius - lived in Thessaloniki (Greece), the compilers of the Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic, translated the Gospel into Slavic, preached in Slavic. Cyrillic, subsequently created by them students, in a modified form is the basis of the modern Russian alphabet).

2) Distribution of chronicles (1113 - "The Tale of Bygone Years")

At the church of St. Sofia Yaroslav created the first library in Russia.

Yaroslav created a powerful center for book writing and translated literature in Kyiv.

There are monasteries - Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (founders Anthony and Theodosius).

XI - n. 12th century - Annalistic centers are being formed in Kyiv and Novgorod.

3) The origin of Russian literature:

A) 1049 - "Sermon on Law and Grace" by Hilarion (solemn address, message and teaching, sermon on the moral assessment of the ruler);

B) lives - a literary description of the life of people canonized as saints (Nestor wrote the life of Boris and Gleb)

Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb. Icon, early 14th century. Moscow

C) 1056 - "Ostromir Gospel" - the oldest of the handwritten books.

Books were written in monasteries, which were centers of culture (they wrote on parchment - thin tanned calfskin).

Ordinary people, exchanging information, used birch bark.

The art of book miniature developed (handwritten illustrations)

4) Architecture (the construction of temples was based on the Byzantine cross-domed system).

Wooden (terema, city walls, huts)

Feature: multi-tiered, turrets, outbuildings, carving)

· The first stone church in Kyiv was called Desyatinnaya (989), as the prince gave a tenth of his income for its construction. The church had 25 domes.

· 1037 - Construction of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv.

Model-reconstruction of the original appearance of the cathedral

Modern view of St. Sophia Cathedral

Many domes are a characteristic feature of Russian architecture (1 dome in the center, 12).

For facing temples, plinth is used - a wide and flat brick

Yaroslav's stone tomb is located in Sofia.

In the altar there is an image of the Mother of God. Image type - Oranta - with hands raised up. The people of Kiev called her the "Indestructible Wall" and considered her to be their protector.

There are frescoes depicting the family of Yaroslav the Wise.

Interior decoration of temples: frescoes, icons, mosaics

The icons were painted by the monk Alimpiy from the Caves.

Under Yaroslav, Kyiv is being built. It is called "an ornament of the East and a rival of Constantinople." The Golden Gate is the main entrance to the city.

1113-1125 - reign of Vladimir Monomakh (grandson of Yaroslav and the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh). At the age of 60 he ascended the throne of Kyiv.

1) Campaigns against the Polovtsy (1111 - a crushing blow to the Polovtsy

gone to the steppes, relative calm

2) Fought against strife (the initiator of the Lyubech Congress (1097) - “let everyone keep his patrimony.” Although this only consolidated fragmentation in Russia (legislatively)

3) He fought for the unity of Russia (subdued the Russian princes, punished for strife), but after the death of Vladimir and his son Mstislav, who continued his father's policy, civil strife resumed

4) An educated person and a gifted writer, he left a covenant to his sons to live in peace, faithfully serve the Fatherland (1117 - “Instruction for Children” - a valuable historical source and a vivid literary monument).

5) Created a set of laws "Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich", in which he eased the position of debtors, forbidding them to turn into slaves.

6) Founded on the river. Klyazma city named after him.

7) New literary genres are being formed - parables, teachings, walking.

8) Under Vladimir, they began to mint gold and silver coins, then they replaced them with silver bars - hryvnias.

9) A high level of craft development - casting, chasing, ceramics, embroidery, enamel

art craft

A) blacksmithing (weapons, armor);

B) jewelry craft (grain, filigree, enamel)

Filigree - an image made of thin gold wire;

Grain - the balls are soldered onto a filigree;

  • In ancient Egyptian numbering, which originated more than 5000 years ago, there were special characters (hieroglyphs) for recording numbers.

    • For several centuries, Russia experienced ups and downs, but eventually became a kingdom with its capital in Moscow.

    Brief periodization

    The history of Russia began in 862, when the Viking Rurik arrived in Novgorod, proclaimed a prince in this city. Under his successor, the political center moved to Kyiv. With the advent of fragmentation in Russia, several cities at once began to argue with each other for the right to become the main one in the East Slavic lands.

    This feudal period was interrupted by the invasion of the Mongol hordes and the established yoke. In extremely difficult conditions of devastation and constant wars, Moscow became the main Russian city, which finally united Russia and made it independent. In the XV-XVI centuries this name became a thing of the past. It was replaced by the word "Russia", adopted in the Byzantine manner.

    In modern historiography, there are several points of view on the question of when feudal Russia went into the past. Most often, researchers believe that this happened in 1547, when Prince Ivan Vasilyevich took the title of king.

    The emergence of Russia

    The ancient united Russia, whose history began in the 9th century, appeared after Novgorod captured Kyiv in 882 and made this city its capital. During this era, the East Slavic tribes were divided into several tribal unions (Polan, Dregovichi, Krivichi, etc.). Some of them were at enmity with each other. The inhabitants of the steppes also paid tribute to the Khazars, hostile foreigners.

    Unification of Russia

    Northeastern or great Russia became the center of the struggle against the Mongols. This confrontation was led by the princes of small Moscow. At first they were able to obtain the right to collect taxes from all Russian lands. Thus, part of the money settled in the Moscow treasury. When enough strength had gathered, Dmitry Donskoy found himself in open confrontation with the Golden Horde khans. In 1380, his army defeated Mamai.

    But even despite this success, for another century, Moscow rulers periodically paid tribute. Only after in 1480 the yoke was finally thrown off. At the same time, under Ivan III, almost all Russian lands, including Novgorod, were united around Moscow. In 1547, his grandson Ivan the Terrible assumed the title of tsar, which was the end of the history of princely Russia and the beginning of a new tsarist Russia.

    Today, our knowledge of Ancient Russia is similar to mythology. Free people, brave princes and heroes, milky rivers with jelly banks. The real story is less poetic, but no less interesting for that.

    "Kievan Rus" was invented by historians

    The name "Kievan Rus" appeared in the 19th century in the writings of Mikhail Maksimovich and other historians in memory of the primacy of Kyiv. Already in the very first centuries of Russia, the state consisted of several separate principalities, living their own lives and quite independently. With the nominal subordination of the lands to Kyiv, Russia was not united. Such a system was common in the early feudal states of Europe, where each feudal lord had the right to own land and all the people on it.

    The appearance of the Kyiv princes was not always truly "Slavic" as it is commonly represented. It's all about subtle Kyiv diplomacy, accompanied by dynastic marriages, both with European dynasties and with nomads - Alans, Yases, Polovtsians. The Polovtsian wives of the Russian princes Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and Vsevolod Vladimirovich are known. On some reconstructions, Russian princes have Mongoloid features.

    Organs in ancient Russian churches

    In Kievan Rus, one could see organs and not see bells in churches. Although bells existed in large cathedrals, in small churches they were often replaced by flat beaters. After the Mongol conquests, the organs were lost and forgotten, and the first bell makers came again from Western Europe. The researcher of musical culture Tatyana Vladyshevskaya writes about organs in the Old Russian era. On one of the frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, "Buffoons", a scene with playing the organ is depicted.

    Western origin

    The language of the Old Russian population is considered East Slavic. However, archaeologists and linguists do not quite agree with this. The ancestors of the Novgorod Slovenes and part of the Krivichi (Polochans) did not come from the southern expanses from the Carpathians to the right bank of the Dnieper, but from the West. Researchers see the West Slavic "trace" in the finds of ceramics and birch bark records. A prominent historian and researcher Vladimir Sedov is also inclined to this version. Household items and features of rituals are similar among the Ilmen and Baltic Slavs.

    How Novgorodians understood Kyivans

    Novgorod and Pskov dialects differed from other dialects of Ancient Russia. They had features inherent in the languages ​​of the Polabs and Poles, and even completely archaic, Proto-Slavic. Well-known parallels: kirki - “church”, hede - “gray-haired”. The remaining dialects were very similar to each other, although they were not such a single language as modern Russian. Despite the differences, ordinary Novgorodians and Kievans could understand each other quite well: the words reflected the life common to all Slavs.

    "White spots" in the most prominent place

    We know almost nothing about the first Ruriks. The events described in The Tale of Bygone Years were already legendary at the time of writing, and the evidence from archaeologists and later chronicles is scarce and ambiguous. Written treaties mention certain Helga, Inger, Sfendoslav, but the dates of the events differ in different sources. The role of the Kyiv "Varangian" Askold in the formation of Russian statehood is not very clear either. And this is not to mention the eternal disputes around the personality of Rurik.

    "Capital" was a border fortress

    Kyiv was far from the center of Russian lands, but was the southern border fortress of Russia, while being located in the very north of modern Ukraine. Cities south of Kyiv and its environs, as a rule, served as centers of nomadic tribes: Torks, Alans, Polovtsy, or were predominantly defensive (for example, Pereyaslavl).

    Russia - the state of the slave trade

    An important article of the wealth of Ancient Russia was the slave trade. They traded not only captured foreigners, but also Slavs. The latter were in great demand in the Eastern markets. Arabic sources of the 10th-11th centuries describe in colors the way of slaves from Russia to the countries of the Caliphate and the Mediterranean. The slave trade was beneficial to the princes, the large cities on the Volga and the Dnieper were the centers of the slave trade. A huge number of people in Russia were not free, they could be sold into slavery to foreign merchants for debts. One of the main slave traders were Jewish radonites.

    Khazars "inherited" in Kyiv

    During the reign of the Khazars (IX-X centuries), in addition to the Turkic tribute collectors, there was a large diaspora of Jews in Kyiv. Monuments of that era are still reflected in the "Kiev letter", which contains the correspondence in Hebrew of Kyiv Jews with other Jewish communities. The manuscript is kept in the Cambridge Library. One of the three main Kyiv gates was called Zhidovskie. In one of the early Byzantine documents, Kyiv is called Sambatas, which, according to one of the versions, can be translated from the Khazar as “upper fortress”.

    Kyiv - Third Rome

    Ancient Kyiv, before the Mongol yoke, occupied an area of ​​​​about 300 hectares during its heyday, the number of churches went to hundreds, for the first time in the history of Russia, the planning of quarters was used in it, making the streets slender. The city was admired by Europeans, Arabs, Byzantines and called the rival of Constantinople. However, from all the abundance of that time, almost not a single building remained, not counting the St. Sophia Cathedral, a couple of rebuilt churches and the recreated Golden Gate. The first white-stone church (Desyatinnaya), where the people of Kiev fled from the Mongol raid, was destroyed already in the 13th century.

    Russian fortresses older than Russia

    One of the first stone fortresses of Russia was the stone-and-earth fortress in Ladoga (Lyubshanskaya, 7th century), founded by the Slovenes. The Scandinavian fortress that stood on the other side of the Volkhov was still made of wood. Built in the era of the Prophetic Oleg, the new stone fortress was in no way inferior to similar fortresses in Europe. It was she who was called Aldegyuborg in the Scandinavian sagas. One of the first strongholds on the southern border was a fortress in Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny. Among Russian cities, only a few could boast of stone defensive architecture. These are Izborsk (XI century), Pskov (XII century) and later Koporye (XIII century). Kyiv in ancient Russian times was almost completely wooden. The oldest stone fortress was Andrey Bogolyubsky's castle near Vladimir, although it is more famous for its decorative part.

    Cyrillic was almost never used

    The Glagolitic alphabet, the first written alphabet of the Slavs, did not take root in Russia, although it was known and could be translated. Glagolitic letters were used only in some documents. It was she who in the first centuries of Russia was associated with the preacher Cyril and was called "Cyrillic". The Glagolitic was often used as a secret script. The first inscription in Cyrillic proper was a strange inscription “goroukhshcha” or “gorushna” on an earthenware vessel from the Gnezdovo barrow. The inscription appeared shortly before the baptism of the people of Kiev. The origin and exact interpretation of this word is still controversial.

    Old Russian universe

    Lake Ladoga was called the “Great Lake Nevo” after the Neva River. The ending "-o" was common (for example: Onego, Nero, Volgo). The Baltic Sea was called the Varangian, the Black Sea - the Russian, the Caspian - the Khvalis, the Azov - the Surozh, and the White - the Studyon. The Balkan Slavs, on the contrary, called the Aegean Sea the White (Bialo Sea). The Great Don was not called the Don, but its right tributary, the Seversky Donets. The Ural Mountains in the old days were called Big Stone.

    Heir of Great Moravia

    With the decline of Great Moravia, the largest Slavic power for its time, the rise of Kyiv and the gradual Christianization of Russia began. So, the annalistic white Croats got out from under the influence of the collapsing Moravia, and fell under the attraction of Russia. Their neighbors, Volhynians and Buzhans, have long been involved in Byzantine trade along the Bug, which is why they were known as translators during Oleg's campaigns. The role of the Moravian scribes, who were oppressed by the Latins with the collapse of the state, is unknown, but the largest number of translations of Great Moravian Christian books (about 39) was in Kievan Rus.

    Alcohol and sugar free

    There was no alcoholism as a phenomenon in Russia. Wine alcohol came to the country after the Tatar-Mongol yoke, even brewing in its classical form did not work out. The strength of drinks was usually not higher than 1-2%. They drank nutritious honey, as well as intoxicated or set (low alcohol), digests, kvass.

    Ordinary people in Ancient Russia did not eat butter, did not know spices like mustard and bay leaves, as well as sugar. They cooked turnips, the table abounded with cereals, dishes from berries and mushrooms. Instead of tea, they drank decoctions of fireweed, which would later become known as “Koporsky tea” or Ivan tea. Kissels were unsweetened and made from cereals. They also ate a lot of game: pigeons, hares, deer, wild boars. Traditional dairy dishes were sour cream and cottage cheese.

    Two "Bulgaria" in the service of Russia

    These two most powerful neighbors of Russia had a huge impact on her. After the decline of Moravia, both countries, which arose on the fragments of Great Bulgaria, are flourishing. The first country said goodbye to the "Bulgarian" past, dissolving into the Slavic majority, converted to Orthodoxy and adopted Byzantine culture. The second, following the Arab world, became Islamic, but retained the Bulgarian language as the state language.

    The center of Slavic literature moved to Bulgaria, at that time its territory expanded so much that it included part of the future Russia. A variant of the Old Bulgarian language became the language of the Church. It has been used in numerous lives and teachings. Bulgaria, in turn, sought to restore order in trade along the Volga, suppressing the attacks of foreign bandits and robbers. The normalization of the Volga trade provided the princely possessions with an abundance of oriental goods. Bulgaria influenced Russia with culture and literacy, and Bulgaria contributed to its wealth and prosperity.

    Forgotten "megacities" of Russia

    Kyiv and Novgorod were not the only major cities of Russia; it was not for nothing that it was nicknamed “Gardarika” (country of cities) in Scandinavia. Before the rise of Kyiv, one of the largest settlements in all of Eastern and Northern Europe was Gnezdovo, the ancestor city of Smolensk. The name is conditional, since Smolensk itself is on the sidelines. But perhaps we know his name from the sagas - Surnes. The most populated were also Ladoga, symbolically considered the "first capital", and the Timerevskoye settlement near Yaroslavl, which was built opposite the famous neighboring city.

    Russia was baptized by the XII century

    The chronicle baptism of Russia in 988 (and according to some historians in 990) affected only a small part of the people, mainly limited to the people of Kiev and the population of the largest cities. Polotsk was baptized only at the beginning of the 11th century, and at the end of the century - Rostov and Mur, where there were still many Finno-Ugric peoples. The fact that most of the common population remained pagans was confirmed by the regular uprisings of the Magi, supported by the smerds (Suzdal in 1024, Rostov and Novgorod in 1071). Dual faith arises later, when Christianity becomes a truly dominant religion.

    The Turks also had cities in Russia

    In Kievan Rus, there were also completely “non-Slavic” cities. Such was Torchesk, where Prince Vladimir allowed nomadic Torks to settle, as well as Sakov, Berendichev (named after the Berendeys), Belaya Vezha, where the Khazars and Alans lived, Tmutarakan, inhabited by Greeks, Armenians, Khazars and Circassians. By the 11th-12th centuries, the Pechenegs were no longer a typically nomadic and pagan people, some of them were baptized and settled in the cities of the union of “black hoods”, subordinate to Russia. In the old cities on the site or in the vicinity of Rostov, Murom, Beloozero, Yaroslavl lived mainly Finno-Ugric peoples. In Murom - murom, in Rostov and near Yaroslavl - Merya, in Beloozero - all, in Yuryev - Chud. The names of many important cities are unknown to us - in the 9th-10th centuries there were almost no Slavs in them.

    "Rus", "Roksolania", "Gardarika" and not only

    The Balts called the country “Krevia” after the neighboring Krivichi, the Latin “Ruthenia” took root in Europe, less often “Roksolania”, Scandinavian sagas called Russia “Gardarika” (country of cities), Chud and Finns “Venemaa” or “Venaya” (from the Wends), the Arabs called the main population of the country "As-Sakaliba" (Slavs, Slavs)

    Slavs outside the borders

    Traces of the Slavs could be found outside the state of Rurikovich. Many cities along the middle Volga and in the Crimea were multinational and populated, including Slavs. Before the Polovtsian invasion, many Slavic towns existed on the Don. The Slavic names of many Byzantine Black Sea cities are known - Korchev, Korsun, Surozh, Gusliev. This speaks of the constant presence of Russian merchants. The Chud cities of Estland (modern Estonia) - Kolyvan, Yuryev, Bear's Head, Klin - with varying success passed into the hands of the Slavs, then the Germans, then the local tribes. Along the Western Dvina, the Krivichi settled interspersed with the Balts. In the zone of influence of Russian merchants was Nevgin (Daugavpils), in Latgale - Rezhitsa and Ochela. Chronicles constantly mention the campaigns of Russian princes on the Danube and the capture of local cities. So, for example, the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl "locked the door of the Danube with a key."

    Both pirates and nomads

    Fugitive people of various volosts of Russia formed independent associations long before the Cossacks. Berladniks were known, who inhabited the southern steppes, the main city of which was Berlady in the Carpathian region. They often attacked Russian cities, but at the same time they participated in joint campaigns with Russian princes. Chronicles also introduce us to wanderers, a mixed population of unknown origin, who had much in common with Berladniks.

    Sea pirates from Russia were ushkuyniki. Initially, these were Novgorodians who were engaged in raids and trade on the Volga, Kama, in Bulgaria and the Baltic. They even undertook campaigns in the Cis-Urals - to Yugra. Later, they separated from Novgorod and even found their own capital in the city of Khlynov on Vyatka. Perhaps it was the Ushkuyniki, together with the Karelians, who ravaged the ancient capital of Sweden, Sigtuna, in 1187.

    During the VI-IX centuries. among the Eastern Slavs there was a process of class formation and the creation of the prerequisites for feudalism. The territory on which the ancient Russian statehood began to take shape was located at the intersection of the paths along which the migration of peoples and tribes took place, nomadic routes ran. The southern Russian steppes were the scene of an endless struggle of moving tribes and peoples. Often Slavic tribes attacked the border regions of the Byzantine Empire.


    In the 7th century in the steppes between the Lower Volga, the Don and the North Caucasus, a Khazar state was formed. Slavic tribes in the regions of the Lower Don and Azov fell under his dominion, retaining, however, a certain autonomy. The territory of the Khazar kingdom extended to the Dnieper and the Black Sea. At the beginning of the 8th century the Arabs inflicted a crushing defeat on the Khazars, and deeply invaded the north through the North Caucasus, reaching the Don. A large number of Slavs - allies of the Khazars - were taken prisoner.



    From the north, the Varangians (Normans, Vikings) penetrate into the Russian lands. At the beginning of the 8th century they settle around Yaroslavl, Rostov and Suzdal, establishing control over the territory from Novgorod to Smolensk. Part of the northern colonists penetrates into southern Russia, where they mix with the Rus, taking their name. In Tmutarakan, the capital of the Russian-Varangian Khaganate was formed, which ousted the Khazar rulers. In their struggle, the opponents turned to the Emperor of Constantinople for an alliance.


    In such a complex ooetanovka, the consolidation of the Slavic tribes into political unions took place, which became the embryo of the formation of a single East Slavic statehood.


    Photo active tours

    In the ninth century as a result of the centuries-old development of the East Slavic society, the early feudal state of Rus was formed with its center in Kyiv. Gradually, all the East Slavic tribes united in Kievan Rus.


    The theme of the history of Kievan Rus considered in the work is not only interesting, but also very relevant. Recent years have passed under the sign of changes in many areas of Russian life. The way of life of many people has changed, the system of life values ​​has changed. Knowledge of the history of Russia, the spiritual traditions of the Russian people, is very important for raising the national consciousness of Russians. A sign of the revival of the nation is the ever-increasing interest in the historical past of the Russian people, in its spiritual values.


    FORMATION OF THE OLD RUSSIAN STATE IN THE IX CENTURY

    The time from the 6th to the 9th centuries is still the last stage of the primitive communal system, the time of the formation of classes and the imperceptible, at first glance, but steady growth of the prerequisites of feudalism. The most valuable monument containing information about the beginning of the Russian state is the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years, where did the Russian land come from, and who in Kyiv began to reign first and where did the Russian land come from," compiled by the Kyiv monk Nestor around 1113.

    Starting his story, like all medieval historians, with the Flood, Nestor tells about the settlement of Western and Eastern Slavs in Europe in antiquity. He divides the East Slavic tribes into two groups, the level of development of which, according to his description, was not the same. Some of them lived, in his words, “in a bestial way”, preserving the features of the tribal system: blood feud, remnants of matriarchy, the absence of marriage prohibitions, “kidnapping” (kidnapping) of wives, etc. Nestor contrasts these tribes with glades, in whose land Kyiv was built. Glades are "smart men", they have already established a patriarchal monogamous family and, obviously, blood feuds have been outlived (they are "distinguished by a meek and quiet disposition").

    Next, Nestor tells how the city of Kyiv was created. Prince Kiy, who reigned there, according to Nestor's story, came to Constantinople to visit the emperor of Byzantium, who received him with great honors. Returning from Constantinople, Kiy built a city on the banks of the Danube, intending to settle here for a long time. But the locals were hostile to him, and Kiy returned to the banks of the Dnieper.


    Nestor considered the formation of the Polyan principality in the Middle Dnieper region to be the first historical event on the path to the creation of the Old Russian states. The legend about Kii and his two brothers spread far to the south, and was even brought to Armenia.


    Byzantine writers of the 6th century paint the same picture. During the reign of Justinian, huge masses of Slavs advanced to the northern borders of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine historians colorfully describe the invasion of the empire by Slavic troops, who took away prisoners and rich booty, and the settlement of the empire by Slavic colonists. The appearance on the territory of Byzantium of the Slavs, who dominated communal relations, contributed to the eradication of the slave-owning order here and the development of Byzantium along the path from the slave-owning system to feudalism.



    The successes of the Slavs in the fight against powerful Byzantium testify to the relatively high level of development of Slavic society for that time: material prerequisites for equipping significant military expeditions had already appeared, and the system of military democracy made it possible to unite large masses of Slavs. Distant campaigns contributed to the strengthening of the power of the princes in the indigenous Slavic lands, where tribal principalities were created.


    Archaeological data fully confirm the words of Nestor that the core of the future Kievan Rus began to take shape on the banks of the Dnieper when the Slavic princes made campaigns in Byzantium and the Danube, in the times preceding the attacks of the Khazars (VII century).


    The creation of a significant tribal union in the southern forest-steppe regions facilitated the advancement of the Slavic colonists not only in the southwest (to the Balkans), but also in the southeast direction. True, the steppes were occupied by various nomads: Bulgarians, Avars, Khazars, but the Slavs of the Middle Dnieper (Russian land) apparently managed to protect their possessions from their invasions and penetrate deep into the fertile black earth steppes. In the VII-IX centuries. Slavs also lived in the eastern part of the Khazar lands, somewhere in the Azov region, participated together with the Khazars in military campaigns, were hired to serve the kagan (Khazar ruler). In the south, the Slavs lived, apparently, as islands among other tribes, gradually assimilating them, but at the same time perceiving elements of their culture.


    During the VI-IX centuries. productive forces were growing, tribal institutions were changing, and the process of class formation was going on. As the most important phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs during the VI-IX centuries. it should be noted the development of arable farming and the development of handicrafts; the disintegration of the tribal community as a labor collective and the separation of individual peasant farms from it, forming a neighboring community; the growth of private land ownership and the formation of classes; the transformation of the tribal army with its defensive functions into a squad that dominates the tribesmen; capture by princes and nobility of tribal land in personal hereditary property.


    By the 9th century everywhere on the territory of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, a significant area of ​​arable land cleared from the forest was formed, testifying to the further development of productive forces under feudalism. An association of small tribal communities, which is characterized by a certain unity of culture, was an ancient Slavic tribe. Each of these tribes gathered a national assembly (veche). The power of the tribal princes gradually increased. The development of intertribal ties, defensive and offensive alliances, the organization of joint campaigns, and, finally, the subordination of weaker neighbors by strong tribes - all this led to the enlargement of the tribes, to their unification into larger groups.


    Describing the time when the transition from tribal relations to the state took place, Nestor notes that in various East Slavic regions there were "their reigns." This is also confirmed by archeological data.



    The formation of an early feudal state, which gradually subjugated all the East Slavic tribes, became possible only when the differences between the south and north were somewhat smoothed out in terms of agricultural conditions, when there was a sufficient amount of plowed land in the north and the need for hard collective labor for cutting and uprooting of the forest has decreased significantly. As a result, the peasant family emerged as a new production team from the patriarchal community.


    The decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Eastern Slavs took place at a time when the slave-owning system had already outlived itself on a world-historical scale. In the process of class formation, Russia came to feudalism, bypassing the slaveholding formation.


    In the IX-X centuries. antagonistic classes of feudal society are formed. The number of combatants is increasing everywhere, their differentiation is intensifying, there is a separation from their midst of the nobility - boyars and princes.


    Important in the history of the emergence of feudalism is the question of the time of the appearance of cities in Russia. Under the conditions of the tribal system, there were certain centers where tribal councils met, a prince was chosen, trade was carried out, fortune-telling was carried out, court cases were decided, sacrifices were made to the gods and the most important dates of the year were celebrated. Sometimes such a center became the focus of the most important types of production. Most of these ancient centers later turned into medieval cities.


    In the IX-X centuries. the feudal lords created a number of new cities, which served both for the purposes of defense against nomads and for the purposes of domination over the enslaved population. Handicraft production was also concentrated in the cities. The old name "city", "city", denoting a fortification, began to be applied to a real feudal city with a citadel-kremlin (fortress) in the center and an extensive craft and trading settlement.


    With all the gradualness and slowness of the process of feudalization, one can still point out a certain line, starting from which there are grounds for talking about feudal relations in Russia. This line is the 9th century, when a feudal state was already formed among the Eastern Slavs.


    The lands of the East Slavic tribes united into a single state were called Rus. The arguments of the "Norman" historians who tried to declare the founders of the Old Russian state the Normans, who were then called Varangians in Russia, are unconvincing. These historians stated that under Russia the chronicles meant the Varangians. But as has already been shown, the prerequisites for the formation of states among the Slavs developed over many centuries and by the 9th century. gave a noticeable result not only in the West Slavic lands, where the Normans never penetrated and where the Great Moravian state arose, but also in the East Slavic lands (in Kievan Rus), where the Normans appeared, robbed, destroyed representatives of local princely dynasties and sometimes became princes themselves. Obviously, the Normans could neither assist nor seriously interfere with the process of feudalization. The name Rus began to be used in sources in relation to part of the Slavs 300 years before the appearance of the Varangians.


    For the first time, the mention of the people of Ros is found in the middle of the 6th century, when information about it had already reached Syria. The glades, called, according to the chronicler, Rus, become the basis of the future Old Russian people, and their land - the core of the territory of the future state - Kievan Rus.


    Among the news belonging to Nestor, one passage has survived, which describes Russia before the appearance of the Varangians there. “These are the Slavic regions,” Nestor writes, “that are part of Russia - the glades, the Drevlyans, the Dregovichi, the Polochans, the Novgorod Slovenes, the northerners ...”2. This list includes only half of the East Slavic regions. The composition of Russia, therefore, at that time did not yet include the Krivichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Croats, Ulichi and Tivertsy. At the center of the new state formation was the Glade tribe. The Old Russian state became a kind of federation of tribes, in its form it was an early feudal monarchy


    ANCIENT RUSSIA IN THE END OF THE IX - BEGINNING OF THE XII CENTURIES

    In the second half of the ninth century Novgorod prince Oleg united in his hands the power over Kyiv and Novgorod. The chronicle dates this event to 882. The formation of the early feudal Old Russian state (Kievan Rus) as a result of the emergence of antagonistic classes was a turning point in the history of the Eastern Slavs.


    The process of unification of the East Slavic lands as part of the Old Russian state was complex. In a number of lands, the Kyiv princes met with serious resistance from local feudal and tribal princes and their "husbands". This resistance was crushed by force of arms. During the reign of Oleg (late 9th - early 10th century), a constant tribute was already levied from Novgorod and from the lands of the North Russian (Novgorod or Ilmen Slavs), Western Russian (Krivichi) and northeastern. Prince Igor of Kyiv (beginning of the 10th century), as a result of a stubborn struggle, subjugated the lands of the streets and Tivertsy. Thus, the border of Kievan Rus was advanced beyond the Dniester. A long struggle continued with the population of the Drevlyane land. Igor increased the amount of tribute levied from the Drevlyans. During one of Igor's campaigns in the Drevlyane land, when he decided to collect a double tribute, the Drevlyans defeated the prince's squad and killed Igor. During the reign of Olga (945-969), Igor's wife, the land of the Drevlyans was finally subordinated to Kyiv.


    The territorial growth and strengthening of Russia continued under Svyatoslav Igorevich (969-972) and Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980-1015). The composition of the Old Russian state included the lands of the Vyatichi. The power of Russia spread to the North Caucasus. The territory of the Old Russian state also expanded to the west, including the cities of Cherven and Carpathian Rus.


    With the formation of the early feudal state, more favorable conditions were created for maintaining the security of the country and its economic growth. But the strengthening of this state was associated with the development of feudal property and the further enslavement of the previously free peasantry.

    The supreme power in the Old Russian state belonged to the great Kievan prince. At the princely court there lived a squad, divided into "senior" and "junior". The boyars from the prince's combat comrades-in-arms turn into landowners, his vassals, and estates. In the XI-XII centuries. there is a registration of the boyars as a special estate and the consolidation of its legal status. Vassalage is formed as a system of relations with the prince-suzerain; its characteristic features are the specialization of the vassal service, the contractual nature of relations and the economic independence of the vassal4.


    The princely combatants took part in the administration of the state. So, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, together with the boyars, discussed the issue of introducing Christianity, measures to combat "robbery" and decided other matters. In some parts of Russia, their own princes ruled. But the great Kyiv prince sought to replace the local rulers with his proteges.


    The state helped to strengthen the rule of the feudal lords in Russia. The apparatus of power ensured the flow of tribute, collected in money and in kind. The working population also performed a number of other duties - military, underwater, participated in the construction of fortresses, roads, bridges, etc. Individual princely combatants received entire regions in control with the right to collect tribute.


    In the middle of the X century. under Princess Olga, the sizes of duties (tributes and quitrents) were determined and temporary and permanent camps and churchyards were established in which tribute was collected.



    The norms of customary law developed among the Slavs from ancient times. With the emergence and development of class society and the state, along with customary law and gradually replacing it, written laws appeared and developed to protect the interests of the feudal lords. Already in Oleg's treaty with Byzantium (911), "Russian law" is mentioned. The collection of written laws is the "Russian Truth" of the so-called "Short Edition" (end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century). In its composition, the “Ancient Truth” was preserved, apparently written down at the beginning of the 11th century, but reflecting some norms of customary law. It also speaks of the survivals of primitive communal relations, for example, blood feuds. The law considers cases of replacing revenge with a fine in favor of the relatives of the victim (subsequently in favor of the state).


    The armed forces of the Old Russian state consisted of the retinue of the Grand Duke, the retinues, which were brought by the princes and boyars subordinate to him, and the people's militia (wars). The number of troops with which the princes went on campaigns sometimes reached 60-80 thousand. An important role in the armed forces continued to be played by the foot militia. In Russia, detachments of mercenaries were also used - nomads of the steppes (Pechenegs), as well as Polovtsians, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Czechs, Poles, Norman Varangians, but their role in the armed forces was insignificant. The ancient Russian fleet consisted of ships hollowed out of trees and sheathed with boards along the sides. Russian ships sailed the Black, Azov, Caspian and Baltic seas.


    The foreign policy of the Old Russian state expressed the interests of the growing class of feudal lords, who expanded their possessions, political influence and trade relations. In an effort to conquer individual East Slavic lands, the Kyiv princes came into conflict with the Khazars. The advance to the Danube, the desire to master the trade route along the Black Sea and the Crimean coast led to the struggle of the Russian princes with Byzantium, which tried to limit the influence of Russia in the Black Sea region. In 907 Prince Oleg organized a campaign by sea against Constantinople. The Byzantines were forced to ask the Russians to make peace and pay an indemnity. According to the peace treaty of 911. Russia received the right of duty-free trade in Constantinople.


    The Kyiv princes undertook campaigns to more distant lands - beyond the Caucasus Range, to the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea (campaigns of 880, 909, 910, 913-914). The expansion of the territory of the Kievan state was especially actively carried out under the reign of the son of Princess Olga, Svyatoslav (Svyatoslav's campaigns - 964-972). He dealt the first blow to the Khazar empire. Their main cities on the Don and Volga were captured. Svyatoslav even planned to settle in this region, becoming the successor to the empire he had destroyed6.


    Then the Russian squads marched to the Danube, where they captured the city of Pereyaslavets (formerly owned by the Bulgarians), which Svyatoslav decided to make his capital. Such political ambitions show that the princes of Kyiv did not yet associate the idea of ​​the political center of their empire with Kyiv.


    The danger that came from the East - the invasion of the Pechenegs, forced the Kyiv princes to pay more attention to the internal structure of their own state.


    ACCEPTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY IN RUSSIA

    At the end of the tenth century Christianity was officially introduced in Russia. The development of feudal relations prepared for the replacement of pagan cults by a new religion.


    Eastern Slavs deified the forces of nature. Among the gods revered by them, the first place was occupied by Perun - the god of thunder and lightning. Dazhd-bog was the god of the sun and fertility, Stribog was the god of thunder and bad weather. Volos was considered the god of wealth and trade, the creator of all human culture - the blacksmith god Svarog.


    Christianity began to penetrate early into Russia among the nobility. Even in the IX century. Patriarch Photius of Constantinople noted that Russia had changed "pagan superstition" to "Christian faith"7. Christians were among Igor's warriors. Princess Olga converted to Christianity.


    Vladimir Svyatoslavich, having been baptized in 988 and appreciating the political role of Christianity, decided to make it the state religion in Russia. The adoption of Christianity by Russia took place in a difficult foreign policy situation. In the 80s of the X century. the Byzantine government turned to the prince of Kyiv with a request for military assistance to suppress uprisings in subject lands. In response, Vladimir demanded an alliance with Russia from Byzantium, offering to seal it with his marriage to Anna, the sister of Emperor Basil II. The Byzantine government was forced to agree to this. After the marriage of Vladimir and Anna, Christianity was officially recognized as the religion of the Old Russian state.


    Church institutions in Russia received large land grants and tithes from state revenues. During the 11th century Bishoprics were founded in Yuriev and Belgorod (in the land of Kyiv), Novgorod, Rostov, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny, Vladimir-Volynsky, Polotsk and Turov. Several large monasteries arose in Kyiv.


    The people met with hostility the new faith and its ministers. Christianity was forcibly planted, and the Christianization of the country dragged on for several centuries. Pre-Christian (“pagan”) cults continued to live among the people for a long time.


    The introduction of Christianity was an advance over paganism. Together with Christianity, the Russians received some elements of a higher Byzantine culture, joined, like other European peoples, to the heritage of antiquity. The introduction of a new religion increased the international significance of ancient Russia.


    DEVELOPMENT OF FEUDAL RELATIONS IN RUSSIA

    Time from the end of the X to the beginning of the XII century. is an important stage in the development of feudal relations in Russia. This time is characterized by the gradual victory of the feudal mode of production over a large area of ​​the country.


    The agriculture of Russia was dominated by sustainable field farming. Cattle breeding developed more slowly than agriculture. Despite a relative increase in agricultural production, harvests were low. Shortage and famine were frequent occurrences, undermining the Kresgyap economy and contributing to the enslavement of the peasants. Hunting, fishing, and beekeeping remained of great importance in the economy. Furs of squirrels, martens, otters, beavers, sables, foxes, as well as honey and wax went to the foreign market. The best hunting and fishing areas, forests with side lands were seized by feudal lords.


    In the 11th and early 12th centuries part of the land was exploited by the state by collecting tribute from the population, part of the land area was in the hands of individual feudal lords as estates that could be inherited (later they became known as estates), and possessions received from the princes in temporary conditional holding.


    The ruling class of feudal lords was formed from local princes and boyars, who became dependent on Kyiv, and from the husbands (combatants) of the Kyiv princes, who received land, "tortured" by them and the princes, into administration, possession or patrimony. The Kievan Grand Dukes themselves had large land holdings. The distribution of land by the princes to combatants, while strengthening feudal production relations, was at the same time one of the means used by the state to subjugate the local population to its power.


    Land property was protected by law. The growth of boyar and ecclesiastical landownership was closely connected with the development of immunity. The land, which used to be peasant property, fell into the ownership of the feudal lord “with tribute, viry and sales”, that is, with the right to collect taxes and court fines from the population for murder and other crimes, and, consequently, with the right to court.


    With the transfer of land into the ownership of individual feudal lords, the peasants fell into dependence on them in various ways. Some peasants, deprived of the means of production, were enslaved by the landowners, using their need for tools, implements, seeds, etc. Other peasants, who were sitting on land subject to tribute, who owned their tools of production, were forced by the state to transfer their land under the patrimonial power of the feudal lords. With the expansion of estates and the enslavement of smerds, the term servants, which previously denoted slaves, began to spread to the entire mass of the peasantry dependent on the landowner.


    Peasants who fell into bondage to the feudal lord, legally formalized by a special agreement - nearby, were called purchases. They received from the landowner a plot of land and a loan, which they worked out in the feudal lord's household with the master's inventory. For escaping from the master, the zakuns turned into serfs - slaves deprived of any rights. Labor rent - corvee, field and castle (construction of fortifications, bridges, roads, etc.), was combined with natural quitrent.


    The forms of social protest of the masses against the feudal system were varied: from fleeing from their owner to armed "robbery", from violating the boundaries of feudal estates, setting fire to the beech trees belonging to the princes to open rebellion. The peasants fought against the feudal lords and with weapons in their hands. Under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, “robbery” (as the armed uprisings of the peasants were often called at that time) became a common phenomenon. In 996, Vladimir, on the advice of the clergy, decided to apply the death penalty to the "robbers", but then, having strengthened the apparatus of power and, needing new sources of income to support the squad, he replaced the execution with a fine - vira. The princes paid even more attention to the struggle against popular movements in the 11th century.


    At the beginning of the XII century. further development of the craft took place. In the countryside, under the dominance of natural economy, the manufacture of clothing, footwear, utensils, agricultural implements, etc., was a domestic production that had not yet separated from agriculture. With the development of the feudal system, part of the communal artisans became dependent on the feudal lords, others left the village and went under the walls of princely castles and fortresses, where handicraft settlements were created. The possibility of a break between the artisan and the countryside was due to the development of agriculture, which was able to provide the urban population with food, and the beginning of the separation of handicrafts from agriculture.


    Cities became centers for the development of handicrafts. In them by the XII century. There were over 60 handicraft specialties. Russian artisans of the XI-XII centuries. produced more than 150 types of iron and steel products, their products played an important role in the development of trade relations between the city and the countryside. Old Russian jewelers knew the art of minting non-ferrous metals. In craft workshops, tools, weapons, household items, and jewelry were made.


    With its products, Russia won fame in what was then Europe. However, the social division of labor in the country as a whole was weak. The village lived by subsistence farming. The penetration of small retail traders into the countryside from the city did not disturb the natural character of the rural economy. Cities were the centers of internal trade. But urban commodity production did not change the natural economic basis of the country's economy.


    The foreign trade of Russia was more developed. Russian merchants traded in the possessions of the Arab Caliphate. The Dnieper path connected Russia with Byzantium. Russian merchants traveled from Kyiv to Moravia, the Czech Republic, Poland, South Germany, from Novgorod and Polotsk - along the Baltic Sea to Scandinavia, the Polish Pomerania and further to the west. With the development of handicrafts, the export of handicraft products increased.


    Silver bars and foreign coins were used as money. Princes Vladimir Svyatoslavich and his son Yaroslav Vladimirovich issued (albeit in small quantities) minted silver coins. However, foreign trade did not change the natural character of the Russian economy.


    With the growth of the social division of labor, cities developed. They arose from fortress-castles, gradually overgrown with settlements, and from trade and craft settlements, around which fortifications were erected. The city was connected with the nearest rural district, the products of which he lived and the population of which he served with handicrafts. In chronicles of the IX-X centuries. 25 cities are mentioned, in the news of the 11th century -89. The heyday of ancient Russian cities falls on the XI-XII centuries.


    Craft and merchant associations arose in the cities, although the guild system did not develop here. In addition to free artisans, patrimonial artisans, who were serfs of princes and boyars, also lived in the cities. The urban nobility was the boyars. The large cities of Russia (Kyiv, Chernigov, Polotsk, Novgorod, Smolensk, etc.) were administrative, judicial and military centers. At the same time, having grown stronger, the cities contributed to the process of political fragmentation. This was a natural phenomenon in the conditions of the dominance of subsistence farming and the weakness of economic ties between individual lands.



    PROBLEMS OF STATE UNITY OF RUSSIA

    The state unity of Russia was not strong. The development of feudal relations and the strengthening of the power of the feudal lords, as well as the growth of cities as centers of local principalities, led to changes in the political superstructure. In the XI century. the Grand Duke still stood at the head of the state, but the princes and boyars dependent on him acquired large land holdings in different parts of Russia (in Novgorod, Polotsk, Chernigov, Volhynia, etc.). The princes of individual feudal centers strengthened their own apparatus of power and, relying on local feudal lords, began to regard their reigns as ancestral, that is, hereditary possessions. Economically, they almost did not depend on Kyiv, on the contrary, the Kyiv prince was interested in their support. Political dependence on Kyiv weighed heavily on local feudal lords and princes who ruled in certain parts of the country.


    After the death of Vladimir in Kyiv, his son Svyatopolk became prince, who killed his brothers Boris and Gleb and began a stubborn struggle with Yaroslav. In this struggle, Svyatopolk used the military assistance of the Polish feudal lords. Then a mass popular movement against the Polish invaders began in the Kyiv land. Yaroslav, supported by Novgorod citizens, defeated Svyatopolk and occupied Kyiv.


    During the reign of Yaroslav Vladimirovich, nicknamed the Wise (1019-1054), around 1024, a great uprising of smerds broke out in the northeast, in the Suzdal land. The reason for it was severe hunger. Many participants in the suppressed uprising were imprisoned or executed. However, the movement continued until 1026.


    During the reign of Yaroslav, the strengthening and further expansion of the borders of the Old Russian state continued. However, the signs of the feudal fragmentation of the state became more and more distinct.


    After the death of Yaroslav, state power passed to his three sons. Seniority belonged to Izyaslav, who owned Kyiv, Novgorod and other cities. His co-rulers were Svyatoslav (who ruled in Chernigov and Tmutarakan) and Vsevolod (who reigned in Rostov, Suzdal and Pereyaslavl). In 1068, nomadic Polovtsy attacked Russia. Russian troops were defeated on the Alta River. Izyaslav and Vsevolod fled to Kyiv. This hastened the anti-feudal uprising in Kyiv, which had long been brewing. The rebels defeated the princely court, released from prison and elevated to the reign of Vseslav of Polotsk, previously (during the inter-princely strife) imprisoned by his brothers. However, he soon left Kyiv, and Izyaslav a few months later, with the help of Polish troops, resorting to deceit, again occupied the city (1069) and committed a bloody massacre.


    Urban uprisings were associated with the movement of the peasantry. Since the anti-feudal movements were also directed against the Christian church, the rebellious peasants and townspeople were sometimes led by wise men. In the 70s of the XI century. there was a major popular movement in the Rostov land. Popular movements also took place in other places in Russia. In Novgorod, for example, the masses of the urban population, led by the Magi, opposed the nobility, headed by a prince and a bishop. Prince Gleb, with the help of military force, dealt with the rebels.


    The development of the feudal mode of production inevitably led to the political fragmentation of the country. Class contradictions intensified noticeably. The ruin from exploitation and princely strife was exacerbated by the consequences of crop failures and famine. After the death of Svyatopolk in Kyiv, there was an uprising of the urban population and peasants from the surrounding villages. Frightened, the nobility and the merchants invited Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh (1113-1125), Prince of Pereyaslavsky, to reign in Kyiv. The new prince was forced to make some concessions in order to suppress the uprising.


    Vladimir Monomakh pursued a policy of strengthening the grand ducal power. Owning, in addition to Kyiv, Pereyaslavl, Suzdal, Rostov, ruling Novgorod and part of Southwestern Russia, he simultaneously tried to subjugate other lands (Minsk, Volyn, etc.). However, contrary to the policy of Monomakh, the process of fragmentation of Russia, caused by economic reasons, continued. By the second quarter of the XII century. Russia finally fragmented into many principalities.


    CULTURE OF ANCIENT RUSSIA

    The culture of ancient Russia is the culture of the early feudal society. Oral poetic creativity reflected the life experience of the people, captured in proverbs and sayings, in the rituals of agricultural and family holidays, from which the cult pagan beginning gradually disappeared, the rites turned into folk games. Buffoons - wandering actors, singers and musicians, who came from the people's environment, were the bearers of democratic trends in art. Folk motifs formed the basis of the remarkable song and musical creativity of the "prophetic Boyan", whom the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" calls "the nightingale of the old time."


    The growth of national self-consciousness found a particularly vivid expression in the historical epic epic. In it, the people idealized the time of the political unity of Russia, although still very fragile, when the peasants were not yet dependent. In the image of the "peasant son" Ilya Muromets, a fighter for the independence of the motherland, the deep patriotism of the people is embodied. Folk art had an impact on the traditions and legends that developed in the feudal secular and ecclesiastical environment, and helped the formation of ancient Russian literature.


    The appearance of writing was of great importance for the development of ancient Russian literature. In Russia, writing arose, apparently, quite early. The news has been preserved that the Slavic enlightener of the 9th century. Konstantin (Cyril) saw in Chersonese books written in "Russian characters". Evidence of the existence of written language among the Eastern Slavs even before the adoption of Christianity is an earthen vessel discovered in one of the Smolensk barrows of the beginning of the 10th century. with an inscription. Significant distribution of writing received after the adoption of Christianity.

    I understand that such an article can break the fan, so I will try to avoid sharp corners. I write more for my own pleasure, most of the facts will be from the category taught in school, but nevertheless I will gladly accept criticism and corrections, if there are facts. So:

    Ancient Russia.

    It is assumed that Russia appeared as a result of the merger of a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. The first mentions of us are found in the 830s. First, in the region of 813g. (very controversial dating) some Rosas successfully ran into the city of Amastrida (modern Amasra, Turkey) in Byzantine Palfagonia. Secondly, the ambassadors of the "Kagan Rosov" as part of the Byzantine embassy came to the last emperor of the Frankish state, Louis I the Pious (a good question, however, who they really were). Thirdly, the same Dews ran into Constantinople in 860, without much success (there is an assumption that the famous Askold and Dir commanded the parade).

    The history of serious Russian statehood begins, according to the most official version, in 862, when a certain Rurik appears on the scene.

    Rurik.

    In fact, we have a rather poor idea of ​​who he was and whether he was at all. The official version is based on the "Tale of Bygone Years" by Nestor, who, in turn, used the sources available to him. There is a theory (quite similar to the truth) that Rurik was known as Rorik of Jutland, from the Skjoldung dynasty (a descendant of Skjold, King of the Danes, mentioned already in Beowulf). I repeat that the theory is not the only one.

    Where did this character come from in Russia (specifically, in Novgorod), is also an interesting question, I personally am closest to the theory that he was originally a hired military administrator, moreover, in Ladoga, and he brought the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba hereditary transfer of power with him from Scandinavia, where it just came into fashion. And he came to power completely by himself by seizing it during a conflict with another military leader of the same kind.

    However, in the PVL it is written that the Varangians were still called upon by three tribes of Slavs, unable to resolve the disputed issues themselves. Where did it come from?

    Option one- from the source that Nestor read (well, you yourself understand, it would be enough for those who wanted to do fascinating editing from among the Rurikovichs at their leisure. Princess Olga could also do this, in the midst of a conflict with the Drevlyans, who for some reason still did not understand what to break the prince in half and offer a replacement, as always in their memory and done in such cases - a bad idea).

    Option two- Nestor could have been asked to write this by Vladimir Monomakh, who was just called by the people of Kiev, and who really did not want to prove the legitimacy of his reign to everyone who was older than him in the family. In any case, somewhere from Rurik, the well-known idea of ​​a Slavic state appears. "Somewhere" because it was not Rurik who took real steps in building such a state, but his successor, Oleg.

    Oleg.

    Called "prophetic", Oleg took over the reins of Novgorod Rus in 879. Probably (according to PVL), he was a relative of Rurik (possibly brother-in-law). Some identify Oleg with Odd Orvar (Arrow), the hero of several Scandinavian sagas.

    All the same PVL claims that Oleg was the guardian of the real heir, the son of Rurik Igor, something like a regent. In general, in a good way, the power of the Rurikovichs for a very long time was transferred to the "eldest in the family", so that Oleg could be a full-fledged ruler not only in practice, but also formally.

    Actually, what Oleg did during his reign - he made Russia. In 882 he gathered an army and in turn subjugated Smolensk, Lyubech and Kyiv. According to the history of the capture of Kyiv, we, as a rule, remember Askold and Dir (I won’t speak for Dir, but the name “Askold” seems to me very Scandinavian. I won’t lie). PVL believes that they were Varangians, but had nothing to do with Rurik (I believe, because I heard somewhere that not only did they have - Rurik sent them along the Dnieper with the task "capture everything that is badly worth "). The annals also describe how Oleg defeated his compatriots - he hid military paraphernalia from the boats, so that they looked like trade ones, and somehow lured both governors there (according to the official version from the Nikon Chronicle, he let them know that he was there . but he said he was sick, and on the ships he showed them the young Igor and killed them. But, perhaps, they simply inspected the incoming merchants, not suspecting that an ambush was waiting for them on board).

    Having seized power in Kyiv, Oleg appreciated the convenience of its location in relation to the eastern and southern (as far as I understand) lands compared to Novgorod and Ladoga, and said that his capital would be here. He spent the next 25 years "swearing in" the surrounding Slavic tribes, recapturing some of them (Northerners and Radimichi) from the Khazars.

    In 907 Oleg undertakes a military campaign in Byzantium. When 200 (according to PVL) boats with 40 soldiers on board each appeared in sight of Constantinople, Emperor Leo IV the Philosopher ordered to block the harbor of the city with stretched chains - perhaps in the expectation that the savages would be satisfied with the robbery of the suburbs and go home. "Savage" Oleg showed ingenuity and put the ships on wheels. The infantry, under the cover of sailing tanks, caused confusion in the walls of the city, and Leo IV hastily paid off. According to the legend, along the way, an attempt was made to slip wine and hemlock into the prince during the negotiations, but Oleg somehow felt the moment and pretended to be a teetotaler (for which, in fact, he was called "Prophetic" upon his return). The ransom was a lot of money, tribute and an agreement under which our merchants were exempt from taxes and had the right to live in Constantinople for up to a year at the expense of the crown. In 911, however, the agreement was renegotiated without exempting merchants from duties.

    Some historians, not finding a description of the campaign in Byzantine sources, consider it a legend, but recognize the existence of the treaty of 911 (perhaps there was a campaign, otherwise why would the Eastern Romans bend like that, but without the episode with "tanks" and Constantinople).

    Oleg leaves the stage in connection with his death in 912. Why and where exactly is a very good question, the legend tells about the skull of a horse and a poisonous snake (interestingly, the same happened with the legendary Odd Orvar). The circular buckets, foaming, hissed, Oleg left, but Russia remained.

    Generally speaking, this article should be brief, so I will try to summarize my thoughts further.

    Igor (r. 912-945). The son of Rurik, took over the reign of Kyiv after Oleg (Igor was governor in Kyiv during the war with Byzantium in 907). He conquered the Drevlyans, tried to fight with Byzantium (however, the memory of Oleg was enough, the war did not work out), concluded an agreement with her in 943 or 944 similar to that concluded by Oleg (but less profitable), and in 945 unsuccessfully went for the second time to take tribute all from the same Drevlyans (it is believed that Igor perfectly understood how all this could end, but could not cope with his own squad, which at that time was not particularly surprising). Husband of Princess Olga, father of the future Prince Svyatoslav.

    Olga (r. 945-964)- Igor's widow. She burned the Drevlyansky Iskorosten, thereby demonstrating the sacralization of the figure of the prince (the Drevlyans offered her to marry their own prince Mal, and 50 years before that this could seriously work). She carried out the first positive tax reform in the history of Russia, setting specific deadlines for collecting tribute (lessons) and creating fortified yards for receiving it and standing collectors (graveyards). She laid the foundation for stone construction in Russia.

    Interestingly, from the point of view of our chronicles, Olga never officially ruled, since the death of Igor, his son, Svyatoslav, ruled.

    The Byzantines were not allowed such subtleties, and in their sources Olga is mentioned as the archontissa (ruler) of Russia.

    Svyatoslav (964 - 972) Igorevich. Generally speaking, 964 is rather the year of the beginning of his independent reign, since formally he was considered the prince of Kyiv from 945. But in practice, until 969, his mother, Princess Olga, ruled for him, until the prince got out of the saddle. From PVL "When Svyatoslav grew up and matured, he began to gather many brave warriors, and he was fast, like a pardus, and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or boilers with him, did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or beast, or beef, and roasted on coals, so he ate, he did not have a tent, but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in his head, - all the rest of his soldiers were the same. .. I'm going to you!" In fact, he destroyed the Khazar Khaganate (to the joy of Byzantium), imposed a tribute to the Vyatichi (to his own joy), conquered the First Bulgarian Kingdom on the Danube, built Pereyaslavets on the Danube (where he wanted to move the capital), frightened the Pechenegs and, on the basis of the Bulgarians, quarreled with Byzantium, the Bulgarians fought against she is on the side of Russia - the vicissitudes of wars are vicissitudes). In the spring of 970, he put up a free army of 30,000 of his own, Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians against Byzantium, but lost (possibly) the battle of Arcadiopol, and, taking a retreat, left the territory of Byzantium. In 971, the Byzantines already besieged Dorostol, where Svyatoslav organized his headquarters, and after a three-month siege and another battle, they convinced Svyatoslav to take another retreat and go home. Svyatoslav did not get back home - first he got stuck in the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper, and then ran into the Pecheneg prince Kurya, in a battle with whom he died. Byzantium received Bulgaria as a province and minus one dangerous rival, so it seems to me that Kurya was stuck on the doorsteps all winter for a reason. However, there is no evidence for this.

    By the way. Svyatoslav was never baptized, despite repeated proposals and the possible breakdown of the engagement with the Byzantine princess - he himself explained this by the fact that the squad would not specifically understand such a maneuver, which he could not allow.

    The first prince who gave reigns to more than one son. Perhaps this led to the first strife in Russia, when, after the death of their father, the sons fought for the throne of Kyiv.

    Yaropolk (972-978) and Oleg (prince of the Drevlyans 970-977) Svyatoslavichi- two of the three sons of Svyatoslav. Legitimate sons, unlike Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav and the housekeeper Malusha (although it’s still a good question how much such a trifle played a role in Russia in the middle of the 10th century. There is also an opinion that Malusha is the daughter of the same Drevlyansky prince Mal, who executed Igor) .

    Yaropolk had diplomatic relations with the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. In 977, during the strife, opposing the brothers, he attacked Oleg's possessions in the land of the Drevlyans. Oleg died during the retreat (according to the chronicle - Yaropolk lamented). In fact, after the death of Oleg and the flight of Vladimir, he became the sole ruler of Russia somewhere "over the sea". In 980 Vladimir returned with a squad of Varangians, began to take the city, Yaropolk left Kyiv with a better fortified Roden, Vladimir laid siege to it, famine began in the city and Yaropolk was forced to negotiate. In place, instead of or in addition to Vladimir, there were two Varangians who did their job.

    Oleg - Prince of the Drevlyans, the first successor of Mala. Perhaps he accidentally started a strife by killing the son of the governor Yaropolk, Sveneld, who poached on his land. Chronicle version. Personally, it seems to me (together with Wikipedia) that the brothers would have had enough motives even without the voevoda father burning with a thirst for revenge. Also, perhaps, he laid the foundation for one of the noble families of Maravia - only the Czechs and only the 16th-17th centuries have evidence of this, so believe it or not - on the conscience of the reader.

    Brief history of Russia. How Russia was created

    14 ratings, Average rating: 4.4 out of 5

    RELATED ARTICLES