Political system and social structure of the ancient Russian state. Social system of the Old Russian state Political system and social organization of Old Russian society
In the ninth – twelfth centuries, Ancient Rus' was a so-called proto-state, just being formed by its political system. The previously disparate communities began to gradually unite into one state, at the head of which it was decided to put the Rurik dynasty.
At the same time, historians agree that in that period (early) Kievan Rus had a feudal monarchy as a form of government.
Ancient Rus' was formed on the territory of the Eastern Slavs at the end of the tenth century. A prince is placed at the head of this state, who promises protection and patronage to the surrounding feudal lords. In exchange for these services, the feudal lords give him part of their own territories for use as payment.
At the same time, part of the territories that were conquered as a result of military campaigns is given to the boyars, who exact tribute from these lands. For this procedure, vigilantes are hired who were allowed to stay and live in the territory to which they were assigned. This is how the feudal hierarchy began to form (Prince - patrimonial landowners - boyars - small land holders).
This system contributed to the fact that the prince himself began to turn from a military leader into an actual political figure. This is how the beginnings of a monarchy appear and feudal power develops.
Socio-political system of Ancient Rus'
The first legal document was “Russian Truth”, which was created by Yaroslav the Wise.
The main objective of this document was to protect people from all kinds of unrest, as well as to regulate public relations.
However, besides this, this document divided society into certain social categories. For example, there were dependents and community members. The former were considered not full citizens and had no freedoms at all (they also did not have the right to serve in the army). They were divided into temporarily dependents, serfs (servants), and commoners (smerds).
Free community members were divided into people and smerds.
Features of the political system of Rus'
At the head of the state was the prince, to whom the warriors and boyars were subordinate, with the help of whom he implemented public administration. The squad was divided into senior and junior.
The final formation of the state political system of Rus' was completed only at the end of the twelfth century.
The political system of the ancient Russian state of the 9th - 10th centuries. can be characterized as an early feudal monarchy. The head of the state was the Kiev prince, called the Grand Duke. Some princes who temporarily ruled in Rus', for example, the Novgorod prince Rurik (second half of the 9th century) or Oleg (late 9th - early 10th century), were Varangians by origin who seized power in the Russian lands.
The Kiev prince ruled with the help of a council of other princes and warriors (boyar duma). The squad was divided into senior (boyars, men) and junior (gridi, youths, children). The trial, collection of tribute and court fees were carried out by princely warriors, called swordsmen, virniks, emtsy, etc.
With the help of the squad, the princes strengthened their power over the population and expanded the territory of the ancient Russian state. The warriors received from the princes the right to income (in the form of tribute) from the population of entire territories that were part of the ancient Russian state. With the development of feudal relations, an increasing part of the warriors became land owners who managed farming on their estates by exploiting the labor of enslaved peasants.
The cities were ruled by princely posadniks, and in the largest of them there were the positions of thousand and sotsky, which, obviously, corresponded to the military division of the regiments (very ancient in origin).
In the hands of the Kyiv prince there were significant military forces necessary both to organize a system of rule over the population and to expand the borders of the state and its protection. These military forces consisted of troops of vassal princes and boyars and of their own squad, which was always close to the prince. IN special cases a wider militia was gathering. The cavalry played an important role in the army, suitable both for long marches and for fighting the mounted detachments of southern nomads. It is known that during the campaigns in the Balkans, Prince Svyatoslav gathered an army of 60 thousand.
IN ancient Rus' there was a significant boat fleet operating on rivers and the Black Sea.
Russian political institutions of the Kyiv period were based on a free society. There were no insurmountable barriers between different social groups of free people, there were no hereditary castes or classes, and it was still easy to leave one group and find yourself in another.
The main social groups of this period:
1) upper classes - princes, boyars and other owners of large land estates, rich merchants in cities. The princes were at the top of the social ladder. In addition to the princely boyars - governors, governors of the regions, there was also a tribal aristocracy - “deliberate children”: children of former local princes, clan and tribal elders, relatives of the first two groups. In general, the boyars were a group of heterogeneous origins. Its basis was made up of the descendants of the old clan aristocracy of the Antes. Some of the boyars, especially in Novgorod, came from merchant families. With the growth of princely power in Kyiv, the princely entourage became an important factor in the formation of the boyar class.
2) middle class - merchants and craftsmen (in cities), owners of medium and small estates (in rural areas). In the IX-X centuries. merchants were closely connected with the princely power, since the princes who collected tribute themselves organized trade expeditions to sell this tribute in Constantinople or somewhere in the East. Later, “private” merchants appeared. A significant part of them were small traders (like later peddlers). Rich merchants carried out large operations inside and outside Rus'. Less wealthy merchants founded their own guilds or formed family companies.
Craftsmen of each specialty usually settled and traded on the same street, forming their own association or “street” guild. In other words, artisans united into professional groups of one type or another, which later became known as artels.
3) With the growth of the church, a new social group appeared, the so-called church people. This group included not only the clergy and members of their families, but also members of various charitable institutions supported by the church, as well as freed slaves. The Russian clergy was divided into two groups: the “black clergy” (i.e., monks) and the “white clergy” (priests and deacons).
4) lower classes - the poorest artisans and peasants who inhabited state lands. In addition to free people, there were also semi-free and slaves in Kievan Rus. The free population of Rus' was usually called "people". The bulk of it were peasants. In addition to the communal landowners, there was also a group of peasants sitting on state lands, known as smerdas. They had to pay a state tax (the so-called tribute), which was not paid by city residents or middle-class landowners. If the smerd did not have a son, the land was returned to the prince. The dependent category of the peasantry included purchases - people who took out a kupa (in debt). The most powerless members of society were slaves and servants.
Rus' at that time was a vast state that already united half of the East Slavic tribes. Turned into feudal state Russian tribal union subjugated neighboring Slavic tribes and equipped for long campaigns. In the literature there is also information about the Rus who lived at that time on the shores of the Black Sea, about their campaigns against Constantinople and about the baptism of part of the Rus in the 60s. 9th century
Kievan Rus is the first stable large state association of the Eastern Slavs during the formation of feudalism. It occupied a vast territory from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Western Bug to the Volga. Under the authority of the Kyiv prince there were a number of Slavic tribal unions of the Middle Dnieper, and then several Lithuanian-Latvian tribes of the Baltic states and numerous Finno-Ugric tribes of north-eastern Europe were subordinated to him. The center of the unification was the Polyan tribe, which in the second half of the 9th century. was the strongest economically.
The main industries in Kievan Rus at that time were agriculture and crafts.
Russian craft of that time was not inferior in its technical and artistic level to the craft of advanced countries of Western Europe. During these same years, the number of cities began to grow. More than 220 cities were mentioned in the chronicles (until the 13th century). It is interesting that even in Scandinavia Rus' was called “Gardaria” - the country of cities.
Kievan Rus was an early feudal monarchy. The head of the state was the Grand Duke. He had with him a council (Duma) of the most noble princes and senior warriors (boyars), who acted as governors, as well as a management apparatus that was in charge of collecting tribute and taxes, court cases, and the collection of fines. In this apparatus, the duties of officials were performed by junior warriors - swordsmen (bailiffs), virniks (fines collectors), etc. In the lands and cities subject to the Grand Duke, the functions of administration were carried out by princely governors - mayors and their closest assistants - thousanders, who led the people's militia during military operations.
To exercise power over the population, expand the borders of the state and protect it from external enemies, the Grand Duke had significant military forces. They consisted primarily of the squad of the Grand Duke himself, as well as the troops of the vassal princes, who also had their own squads.
The princes of individual lands and other large, medium and small feudal lords were in vassal dependence on the Grand Duke. They were obliged to supply the Grand Duke with soldiers and to appear at his request with a squad. At the same time, these vassals themselves exercised full management functions in their estates and the grand-ducal governors had no right to interfere in their internal affairs.
In the early feudal society of Kievan Rus, there were two main classes - peasants (primarily smerds) and feudal lords. Both classes were not homogeneous in their composition. Smerdas were divided into free community members and dependents. Free smerds had their own subsistence economy, paid tribute to the princes and boyars, and at the same time served as a source for the feudal lords to replenish the category of dependent people. The dependent population consisted of purchases, ordinary people, outcasts, free spirits and slaves.
Those who became dependent by taking on a kupa (debt) were called purchasers. Those who became dependent after concluding a series of (agreements) became ordinary people. Outcasts are impoverished people from the communities, and freedmen are freed slaves. The slaves were completely powerless and were actually in the position of slaves.
The class of feudal lords consisted of representatives of the grand ducal house with the Grand Duke at its head, princes of tribes or lands, boyars, as well as senior warriors.
Somewhat later, in the second half of the 10th and especially in the 11th centuries. The upper clergy also joined this emerging ruling class, who also exploited the peasants and townspeople. The interests of the feudal lords were protected by the laws of the state; they had power and military force on their side. But the peasants did not remain passive to feudal oppression. In the history of that period, many uprisings of peasants and townspeople are known, especially in the 11th - early 12th centuries. The largest of them were during this period of uprising in Kyiv.
The peculiarity of the formation of the ancient Russian state also affected the development of feudal relations in Rus'. This is evidenced by the very nature of the socio-economic and political system of Rus'.
If we bear in mind the socio-economic system of Rus' of that period, first of all we should pay attention to the state of agriculture. The basis of agriculture during the period of early feudalism was farming different types. During this period, farming techniques were significantly improved. And yet, in general, agricultural technology was quite archaic. IN agriculture An important place was occupied by the peasant community, which consisted of both one large massif and a number of scattered settlements, which included both small and large peasant farms, which jointly cultivated the land, were bound by mutual responsibility, mutual responsibility for paying tribute, etc. .d. Peasant communities existed in Rus' throughout the history of feudalism. The number of such communities gradually decreased and subsequently they remained only in the far north of the country. Feudal relations expanded over time due to the enslavement of personally free community members. Feudal ownership of land arose in the process of property inequality in connection with the transfer of a significant part of the arable land to the community members. At the same time, the appearance of feudal castles with their reserves of grain and other products was to a certain extent a progressive phenomenon, since it created certain reserves in case of crop failure or war. The main productive unit of feudal society were the peasants. Landowners, or feudal lords, of Ancient Rus', as well as in Western European countries, differed in the amount of land, dependent people and military servants they owned. After the adoption of Christianity, church and monastic land ownership also became a special type of land ownership. With the development of feudal relations, the struggle of peasants against the ruling class intensified. For many regions of Ancient Rus' X-XII centuries. Peasants' discontent and their open protests were characteristic.
Along with the peasant community, an important element of feudal society was the city, which was a fortified center of craft production and trade. At the same time, the cities were important administrative centers in which wealth and large food reserves were concentrated, which were brought here by the feudal lords. The largest cities of Ancient Rus' were Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Chernigov. Cities founded by princes, as a rule, retained the names of these princes: Yaroslavl, Izyaslav, Vladimir, Konstantinov. Many of these city names have survived to this day.
Internal and foreign trade occupied a large place in the history of Ancient Rus'. Foreign trade became especially intensified from the end of the 9th century. Russian squads mastered the routes to the most advanced countries of that time - to Byzantium, the Caucasus, Central Asia and to other parts of the outside world.
The political system of Ancient Rus' in the 9th-10th centuries. characterized as an early feudal monarchy. The head of the state was the Kiev prince, called the Grand Duke. The prince ruled with the help of a council of other princes and warriors. Somewhat later, this form of government entered the history of Rus' under the name Boyar Duma. The prince had a significant military force, which included a fleet that operated both on the rivers and on the Black Sea. Legal norms developed in the 10th century played an important role in strengthening the state. The norms of early feudal law were reflected in the so-called “Ancient Truth”, published at the beginning of the 11th century. Prince Yaroslav the Wise, which reflected the basic legal provisions regulating many aspects of life.
A noticeable step forward in its development was made by the young Russian state during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980-1015). The position of Rus' has noticeably strengthened. Vladimir managed to create a powerful defensive system, protecting Rus' from new raids. Under him, the first detailed chronicle was created. Two religious reforms of Vladimir were important: the desire to unify pagan cults and the adoption of Christianity. Before the adoption of Christianity, the ancient Russians were pagans and worshiped many gods.
At the end of the 10th century, more precisely in 988, Prince Vladimir himself was baptized, he baptized his boyars and forced everyone else to be baptized.
The transition to Christianity was objectively of great and progressive significance, since it contributed to the rapid withering away of the remnants of the tribal system. First of all, this concerned marriage law. Polygamy prevailed in the highest circles. For example, Prince Vladimir had five “led”, i.e. legal wives, not counting concubines. From the very beginning, the Christian Church promoted the elimination of old forms of marriage and consistently put this line into practice. And if already in the 11th century. Since monogamous marriage received final recognition in Rus', this was a considerable merit of the Christian Church.
By accelerating the process of eliminating the remnants of the clan system, Christianity contributed to the acceleration of the development of the feudal mode of production in Ancient Rus'. In Byzantium, the church was a major feudal institution and landowner. With the adoption of Christianity, these same methods were introduced into Kievan Rus, where church institutions, along with princely ones, created large land ownership, concentrating large land holdings in their hands. The progressive side of the activities of the Christian church was its desire to eliminate the elements of slave labor that remained in some areas of Ancient Rus'. To a certain extent Christian church also fought against the illegal enslavement of people. The influence of the Byzantine clergy also affected the development of feudal legislation in Rus'.
In the history of Ancient Rus', Christianity was a progressive phenomenon. Borrowed from the Greeks and at the same time not completely dissociated from the West, it ultimately turned out to be neither Byzantine nor Roman, but Russian. In the history of Rus', the Russian Church played a complex and multifaceted role. However, its positive role was that it, as an organization, objectively helped strengthen the young Russian statehood in the era of the rapid progressive development of feudalism.
Thus, the main economic activities of the Slavs were agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, and crafts. Byzantine sources characterize the Slavs as tall, fair-haired people who live sedentary lives, as they “build houses, carry shields and fight on foot.” A new level of development of productive forces, the transition to arable, sedentary and mass agriculture, with the formation of relations of personal, economic and land dependence, gave the new production relations a feudal character. Gradually, the slash-and-burn farming system is being replaced by two- and three-field farming, which leads to the seizure of communal lands strong people– the process of stripping the land is taking place.
By the X-XII centuries. Large private land ownership was developing in Kievan Rus. The form of land ownership becomes feudal patrimony (otchina - paternal possession), not only alienable (with the right of purchase and sale, donation), but also inherited. The estate could be princely, boyar, or church. The peasants living on it not only paid tribute to the state, but became land dependent on the feudal lord (boyar), paying him rent in kind for the use of the land or working off corvée. However, a significant number of the inhabitants were still community peasants independent from the boyars, who paid tribute to the state to the Grand Duke.
The key to understanding the socio-economic system of the ancient Russian state can largely be polyudye - the collection of tribute from the entire free population ("people"), chronologically covering the end of the 8th - the first half of the 10th century, and locally until the 12th century. This was in fact the most naked form of domination and subordination, the exercise of the supreme right to land, and the establishment of the concept of citizenship.
The wealth collected in colossal amounts (food, honey, wax, furs, etc.) not only satisfied the needs of the prince and his squad, but also accounted for a fairly high share of ancient Russian exports. To the collected products were added slaves, servants from prisoners or people caught in heavy bondage, who found demand in international markets. Grandiose, well-guarded military-trade expeditions, occurring in the summer, delivered the export part of polyudye along the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Byzantium, and the Caspian Sea; Russian land caravans reached Baghdad on their way to India.
The peculiarities of the socio-economic system of Kievan Rus are reflected in the “Russian Truth” - a genuine code of ancient Russian feudal law. Amazing high level lawmaking, a legal culture developed for its time, this document was in force until the 15th century. and consisted of separate norms of the “Russian Law”, “The Most Ancient Truth” or “The Truth of Yaroslav”, Additions to the “Pravda of Yaroslav” (provisions on collectors of court fines, etc.), “The Truth of the Yaroslavichs” (“The Truth of the Russian Land”, approved by the sons Yaroslav the Wise), the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh, which included the “Charter on cuts” (interests), “Charter on procurement”, etc.; "Dimensional Truth".
The main trend in the evolution of "Russian Truth" was the gradual expansion of legal norms from princely law to the environment of the squad, the definition of fines for various crimes against the person, a colorful description of the city to attempts to codify the norms of the early feudal law that had developed by that time, which covered every resident of the state from princely warriors and servants , feudal lords, free rural community members and townspeople to serfs, servants and those who did not own property and were in the full possession of their master, actual slaves.
The degree of unfreedom was determined by the economic situation of the peasant: smerds, ryadovichi, zakup-farmers, who for one reason or another became partially dependent on the feudal lords, worked a significant part of their time on patrimonial lands.
The structure of the patrimony as a form of land ownership and organization of production is reflected in “The Truth of the Yaroslavichs”. Its center was the mansion of a prince or boyar, the houses of his entourage, stables, and a barnyard. The estate was managed by a fireman - the prince's butler. The princely entrance was engaged in collecting taxes. The work of the peasants was supervised by ratay (arable land) and village elders. In the estate, organized on the principle of self-sufficiency, there were artisans and craftswomen.
In Kievan Rus, more than 60 types of crafts developed (carpentry, pottery, linen, leather, blacksmithing, weapons, jewelry, etc.). The products of artisans were sometimes distributed over tens and hundreds of kilometers around the city and abroad.
Cities also took on the functions of trade and exchange. In the largest of them (Kyiv, Novgorod) there was widespread and regular trade in rich and extensive bazaars, and both nonresident and foreign merchants lived permanently. Foreign economic relations acquired particular importance in the economic life of Kievan Rus. Russian merchants "Rusarii" were well known abroad, they were provided with significant benefits and privileges: treaties of 907, 911, 944, 971. with Byzantium, etc. Among the five most important main trade routes are the Constantinople-Byzantine, Trans-Caspian-Baghdad, Bulgarian, Reginsburg and Novgorod-Scandinavian highest value at first they had the first two.
It is interesting that internal trade in Rus', especially in the 11th-10th centuries, was predominantly of an “barter” nature. Then, along with the exchange, the monetary form appears. At first, livestock (leather money) and fur (coon-marten fur) were used as money. "Russian Truth" also mentions metal money. The main metallic monetary unit of account was the hryvnia kun (an oblong silver ingot). Hryvnia kun was divided into 20 nogat, 25 kun, 50 rezan, etc. Having existed in the ancient Russian market until the 14th century, this monetary unit was supplanted by the ruble. The minting of its own coins in Rus' began in the 10th-11th centuries. Along with it, foreign coins were also in circulation.
Related information.
Like other states of this type, Kievan Rus of the 9th-10th centuries. did not represent a monolithic whole, but was a mechanical connection of lands with different levels of economic and cultural development. In some of them, local princely dynasties were preserved: among the Drevlyans - until the middle of the 10th century, among the Vyatichi and Radimichi - until the beginning of the 11th century. The Polotsk land retained its identity and independence.
At the head Old Russian state stood the Grand Duke of Kiev. In his name, treaties between Rus' and other countries were concluded; his power was supreme. From the agreements with the Greeks it follows that “under the hand” of the Russian Grand Duke were the “bright and great princes” who sat in major cities Rus', and the “great boyars”. These were representatives of local princes and the old “deliberate child”. Like the Kyiv prince, they had their own courts, their own squads, and sent their ambassadors as part of national embassies when concluding treaties with foreign states.
The local agricultural nobility, together with the highest layer of the princely squad, constituted the environment that, together with the prince, ruled the state.
Fighting to strengthen their power, Kyiv princes they sought to remove the local “princes” from governing certain regions and replace them with their proteges. Olga took a decisive step in this regard. She abolished tribal kingdoms and installed her own administration everywhere. It is noteworthy that in the treaty of Svyatoslav with the Greeks (972) there are no longer “bright and great princes” sitting “under the hand” of the Kyiv prince. It speaks only about the boyars - “who are the essence of Rus' under me, the boyars and others.” The “Bright and Grand Dukes” became the boyars of the Kyiv prince. Under Vladimir as assistants, in major centers His sons sat in Rus'. This strengthened the internal ties of the Old Russian state.
With the formation of the state, the army became a part not of the people's militia, but of the apparatus of state power.
The main role under the prince was played by the squad surrounding him. He went hiking with her; captured and divided the spoils, brought new lands under his rule, and collected tribute. The prince's servants and assistants in managing his household and state came from the druzhina environment.
The squad was sharply divided into two parts (layers) - the senior squad (boyars, princely men) and the younger squad (gridi, youths, children). The senior squad, consisting of the most noble representatives of the nobility, as well as advanced warriors, was the prince’s closest circle. The most important matters - military and internal - were decided by the Kiev prince in council with the senior squad. With her, he “thought about the earthly system and about the army and about the charter of the earthly women. The prince had to take into account the opinion of the squad. In case of disagreement with the prince, the squad could refuse to participate in one or another enterprise of the prince.
The social status of the senior warrior, according to Russian Pravda, is characterized by the fact that 80 hryvnia were exacted for murder, and only 40 hryvnia for a gridi or swordsman.
The most prominent of the senior warriors, such as Sveneld, had their own squad under Igor and went on campaigns with their own armed forces.
Representatives of the senior squad were entrusted with the most important functions of state, patrimonial and princely administration.
The main source of material support for the warriors at first was military booty and especially tribute, which the prince shared with his servants. The largest of them received from the prince the right to collect tribute from vast areas in their favor.
The population subject to the prince was obliged to pay him tribute. The oldest type of tribute collection was polyudye. The prince, together with his retinue, traveled around the lands of his household and collected tribute from them. Its size was determined by the needs of the prince and his squad, which, of course, could not but give rise to conflicts between the prince and the population. A striking example of polyudia is Igor’s campaign for tribute in the Drevlyan land, which cost him his life. Under Olga, the collection of tribute was streamlined. Tribute norms were established - “lessons” and administrative and financial management centers were created. These centers were some “cemeteries” and “places” (villages). Here were the princely men who were in charge of collecting tribute, court fees and administering justice on the basis of “Russian law.” Tribute was brought here by the population of the surrounding area. The tribute was collected from the “smoke” or “rala” (plough), that is, from an individual farm.
In addition to tribute, the population bore various kinds of duties for the state. It was obliged to participate in military campaigns, deliver supplies, build fortresses, etc.
The Old Russian state had large military forces. They consisted, on the one hand, of a professional army - the squad of the prince and the squads of his vassals, and on the other hand - of the people's militia "warriors". The howls were an undoubted remnant of the times of military democracy, when the army consisted of the entire armed people. As feudal relations developed, the importance of the people's militia steadily declined. But in the early feudal period, the howls constituted a large, perhaps the main, force Kyiv army. The Voy were an irregular army, recruited as needed. The warriors fought on horseback, while the warriors formed a foot army.
The army of the Old Russian state was organized according to the decimal system. It was divided into thousands, hundreds, tens. The commanders of these units bore the corresponding names: ten's, sot's, thousand's. The head of all military forces of the state was the prince.
The armament of the ancient Russian army consisted of swords, sabers, spears, battle axes, iron arrows, and long forged shields. The warriors had metal helmets, the nobility wore steel chain mail. A witness to the struggle of the Greeks with Svyatoslav, Leo the Deacon, reports that the Rus had throwing weapons that fired stones.
Along with the ground forces, the Rus had a large navy, with the help of which they undertook bold sea voyages across the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. The Old Russian fleet consisted of ships hollowed out of large trees and lined with boards along the sides.
Formation of the Old Russian State
Topic No. 2. Kievan Rus IX-XIII centuries.
1. Formation of the Old Russian state.
2. Political and socio-economic system.
3. Church, law, foreign policy, specific period.
The role of the Varangians in the formation of the Old Russian state. The question of the origin of the Russian state and the role of the Varangians in its formation already in the 18th century. divided historians into two schools - Normanists and anti-Normanists. The Normans assigned the main role in this process to the Scandinavians, the Normans, who were called to reign in Novgorod. Norman theory dominated pre-revolutionary historiography. In Soviet times, the anti-Norman concept reigned supreme for a long time, in which the main role was assigned not to the external, but to internal factors. Today, most researchers do not contrast these concepts, but bring them closer, noting that matured on the territory of the Eastern Slavs by the middle of the 9th century. the prerequisites for the formation of the state were realized with the significant role of the Norman prince Rurik, his squad and immediate successors. This role was explained not by the exceptional qualities of the Scandinavians (who were at the same level of development) or the inability of the Eastern Slavs to self-organize, but by the political consolidation of the East Slavic lands that had already emerged by that time, leading at the beginning to the role of the Varangian warriors as the support of the military power of the great princes. In this case, what happened was not the enslavement of the local population and opposition to it, but the assimilation and Slavicization of the alien dynasty and the Varangian elite. Thus, The Varangians are not the source of Russian statehood, but the probable ethnic affiliation of the princely dynasty. The very fact of the foreign origin of the ruling dynasty is not exceptional; on the contrary, it is often found in European and world history. In historical science discussion continues about the origin, ethnicity and role of the Varangians in the formation of the Old Russian state.
Formation of the Old Russian state. Since 862, Rurik, according to the chronicle, established himself in Novgorod. According to tradition, this date is considered the beginning of Russian statehood. Rurik's successor Oleg captured Kyiv in 882 and united the two most important centers of the Eastern Slavs. Kyiv became the center of the united state. It included the Drevlyans, Northerners, and Radimichi. After Oleg, Igor reigned (912-945), then his son Svyatoslav (945-972), who paid more attention to external affairs. During the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980-1015), the formation of Russian statehood was completed, which included the lands of all Eastern Slavs. This process was accompanied by princely strife, but the prevailing tendency was towards unification. Given the centralized nature of the collection and distribution of tribute, the nobility did not yet seek to isolate themselves and tried to strengthen their status in the service of the powerful Kiev prince. The name “Rus”, “Russian land” spread from the middle Dnieper region to the entire territory subject to the Kiev princes.
Political system of the Old Russian state combined the institutions of the new feudal formation and the old, primitive communal one. Supreme power - legislative, military, judicial - belonged to the Grand Duke, who occupied the main Kiev table. He was a military leader, supreme judge, recipient and distributor of tribute. The Grand Duke occupied the main table according to the rule of family seniority(i.e. not always inherited from the father) and was the eldest among equals. The same rule determined the change of princes in the cities and lands subordinate to Kiev. The supreme princely power had the form of a tribal, collective (not monarchical). The vassal princes and governors of the Grand Duke ruled within their domains - volosts - as independent sovereigns. Under the Grand Duke, there was a princely duma (made up of senior warriors - boyars) and a council of elders. The support of the princely power was the squad. The relationship between the princes and the squad was based on their interdependence and equality. In his service to the prince boyars(descendants of tribal nobility, senior warriors), were completely free and could leave the princely court and go to the service of another prince. Armed forces the Grand Duke consisted his squad, the troops of vassal princes, the people's militia. The people's militia prevailed in numbers and continued to play an important and often decisive role. The organization of the male population of cities was determined primarily by military tasks (hence its division into tens, hundreds, thousands, led by commanders). The main functions of the grand ducal power were tribute collection (Polyudye), court, defense, military campaigns, foreign trade, diplomacy.
An important role in the life of leading cities (and their lands) was played by the city that was active in the 9th-11th centuries. veche - a people's meeting of free male citizens. It summoned princes, entered into agreements with them, could expel them, decided to start a war, and controlled the administration and legal proceedings. The authority of the veche was based not only on the stable tradition of popular self-government (dating back to primitive democracy), but also on the strength of the armed people - the people's militia. Subsequently, from the end of the 11th century, as the grand-ducal power weakened and collapsed (during the appanage period) in some cities (Novgorod, Pskov), the role of the veche increased even more, in others, on the contrary, it faded away (Vladimir, Suzdal, Galich).
Economic system. Some authors attribute the emergence feudal land tenure to the 9th-10th centuries, but most believe that then it was just in its infancy in the form of separate princely villages. The princes did not grant their servants land as such (there was still no incentive to cultivate the land; the wealth of the land was no less valuable), but power over people and the right to collect taxes. The system of taxes and duties from a certain territory was more significant and developed than the slowly emerging feudal land tenure. The collection of tribute from the local population was carried out during polyudya (the campaign of the prince with his squad); the prince divided the collected tribute among the warriors. This order, together with the underdevelopment of commodity-money relations, contributed to the fact that the feudal aristocracy was not isolated from the local ruler(as it happened in Western Europe), A concentrated in cities at the princely court and thus, collective dominated state uniform feudal property. This was a feature of the economic structure of early feudal society. From the middle of the 11th century. private land ownership arises and develops in the form of feudal estates(on lands granted by the prince to his warriors and inherited from father to son), church and monastic land ownership was rapidly growing. But Until the middle of the 13th century, however, state-feudal forms of land tenure predominated.
Social composition of the population. The population of Kievan Rus was estimated to be approximately 5 million people (in England - 1.7 million). Upper strata Old Russian society was represented by princes, boyars (of ancient and modern origin), senior warriors, large property owners, and wealthy merchants. Middle layers consisted of ordinary warriors (young), artisans, owners of small estates, and ordinary merchants. TO lower strata included most of the rural and urban population. It divided into free, semi-free (dependent) and unfree (slaves)). The free rural population, obligated only to tribute, as well as ordinary free townspeople are called people. It should be noted that During the entire pre-Mongol period, free peasants - community members - predominated numerically. The personally dependent population of the estates, as well as slave servants, were called servants And slaves. Smerdov Most researchers consider unfree or semi-free princely tributaries who sat on the ground and bore duties in favor of the prince. In the second half of the 11th century. a category of semi-free appears procurement- people who found themselves dependent on the landowner for debts, obligated to work for the master until the debt was returned, but retained their farm. Servants and servants were the complete property of the master, an object of trade, and performed the most difficult work. The sources of servitude were prisoners, purchases that failed to fulfill debt obligations, and voluntary servitude. Outcasts were people who lost their social status.
The Old Russian state in its form of government was early feudal monarchy. Except monarchical element (I) , which undoubtedly was the basis, the political organization of the Russian principalities of the Kiev period also had combination of aristocratic (II) and democratic rule (III) .
I. Monarchical element represented prince. The head of state was Grand Duke Kyiv, who, however, in Ancient Rus' was not an autocratic ruler, but rather was “first among equals.” His brothers, sons and warriors carried out: 1) government of the country, 2) court, 3) collection of tribute and duties.
The main function of the prince was military , The first duty is to defend the city from external enemies. Other features include: judicial He appointed local judges to hear cases among his wards. In important cases he judged himself as the supreme judge.
Main content of the activities of the Kyiv princes there was: 1) the unification of all East Slavic (and part of the Finnish) tribes under the rule of the Grand Duke of Kiev; 2) the acquisition of overseas markets for Russian trade and the protection of trade routes that led to these markets; 3) protection of the borders of Russian land from attacks by steppe nomads.
Thus, the prince was the highest military leader, he organized the defense of the country, fought at the head of his squad against the nomads and Byzantium, concluded peace treaties, and was also the main organizer of foreign trade, which became the most important sector of the economy of Ancient Rus'.
A feature of the political system of Ancient Rus' was the patrimonial sovereignty of the Rurikovichs over Russia, those. joint co-ownership of the entire territory of the country by all living descendants of Rurik. Therefore, each prince was allocated lot , which left after his death not to the descendants of this prince, but to the national fund , and then again redistributed among the Rurikovichs. This system was maintained until the end of the 11th century. beginning of XII century. The political system of Ancient Rus' was founded on the system of “principate” (eldership) , according to which power passes to the eldest in the family, and not along the dynastic line. Supreme power and Kyiv belonged to the oldest prince in the family. The younger princes received “volosts” for their service to the senior prince, from which they collected maintenance for themselves in the form of tribute. For non-compliance with the terms of the agreement between the princes, the volost was taken into the state fund and distributed again.
Things are starting to change at the end of the 11th century. The family of the Rurik princes became very branched, the system of their mutual kinship turned out to be too complex, and the implementation of the principle of eldership became difficult. Feudal ownership of land was taking shape, i.e. the princes began to look at the volosts and appanages not as temporary, but as their own family possessions. The Lyubech Congress of 1097 actually divided the country into three “fatherlands”: Izyaslavich, Svyatoslavich, Vsevolodovich. The order of eldership was violated in 1113 by Vladimir Monomakh, who sat on the Kiev throne after suppressing the uprising of the townspeople, bypassing other contenders(according to “eldership”, the throne of the deceased Svyatopolk was to be inherited by Yaroslav). Vladimir Monomakh passed the throne to his son, i.e. tried to establish inheritance of power along the dynastic line. From the second half of the 12th century. eldership could be assigned by election, regardless of the degree of clan seniority. At the end of the 12th century. the right to eldership was given by the possession of Kiev (and not vice versa, as before).
From the second half of the 12th century. the concept of “fatherland” comes to the fore, which was understood by the princes as the possession that the father possessed, and therefore it should be inherited. “Fatherland”, “patrimony” often coincided with the former volost, i.e. there was a combination of political power over a certain territory with the right of land ownership of this territory. A princely-boyar lordship emerges. Thus, at the end of the XI - XII centuries. The formation of feudalism in Ancient Rus' takes place.
An integral part of princely power was his squad, with whom he was inseparable. These are his closest associates in feats of arms, comrades and advisors. The squad was, as a rule, relatively small and consisted of 700-800 brave, trained and loyal warriors to the prince, whom he himself selected. Known from the chronicle story with Jan Usmoshvets(Usmarem), son of a tanner. During one of the battles with the Pechenegs, he defeated the Pecheneg hero and was accepted into the princely squad.
The princely squad was not homogeneous. Already in the 10th century. it was divided into senior squad – boyars, or bolyare (from the word “big”), and younger – youth, youths, grid . Yaroslav, in addition, mentions deliberate, or kind, people, not part of the squad. The prince was obliged to constantly consult with his squad and listen to their opinion. Svyatoslav, for example, refused to convert to Christianity only because the squad was against it. Igor died because, following the advice of his squad, he went to collect tribute a second time. Vladimir Svyatoslavovich defeated his brother Yaropolk thanks to his support from Blud, Yaropolk’s warrior.
Sometimes the prince collected a militia from townspeople and the free rural population, which took part in battles. Thus, the Novgorod militia helped Yaroslav the Wise in the fight with his brother Svyatopolk for the Kiev table. Gradually, the boyars-warriors stop living with the prince “on bread alone,” but settle on the land, own villages, and turn into landowners-feudal lords.
II. Aristocratic element was presented Council (Boyar Duma), which included senior warriors (boyars), city representatives, Sometimes clergy.
At the Council, as an advisory body under the prince, the most important state issues were decided questions: election of a prince, declaration of war and peace, conclusion of treaties, publication of laws, consideration of a number of judicial and financial cases, etc.
Boyar Duma symbolized the rights and autonomy of vassals and had the right of veto, although the right of decision and the authority of power remained with the prince. (The full council was convened if necessary.)
Junior squad, which included boyar children and youths, and courtyard servants, as a rule, were not included in the Prince’s Council. But in resolving the most important tactical issues, the prince usually consulted with the squad as a whole.
With the participation of princes, noble boyars and representatives of cities, they gathered and congresses of princes (from the 11th century), which discussed issues affecting the interests of all principalities, including problems of joint defense.
III. Democratic element government is the people's assembly known as veche. It was not a body of representatives, but meeting of all adult men. In the sphere of competence of veche meetings could enter the most wide range of issues : from raising funds for the city militia and hiring military detachments to the expulsion or election of the prince. In the early stages of the development of the state, city veche meetings existed everywhere. Later, their fate in different lands was different. If in the north-west there was a veche from the end of the 12th century. experienced a kind of heyday, then in the northeast it, apparently, already by the end of the 12th century. ceased to exist.
Unanimity was necessary to make any decision. In practice, it happened that this demand led to armed clashes between groups arguing at the meeting. The losing side was forced to agree with the winners' decision. The veche in the capital of the principality influenced the veche of smaller cities. In the XI–XII centuries. The veche fell under the influence of the social elite, losing the functions of management and self-government ( A.P. Novoseltsev).
Important feature Kievan Rus, which emerged as a result of constant danger, especially from the steppe nomads, became the general armament of the people, organized according to the decimal system (hundreds, thousands). Numerous people's militia often decided the outcome of battles, and they were subordinate not to the prince, but to the veche.
In terms of its territorial and state structure, the ancient Russian state was the “Rurikovich empire”, similar Frankish Empire Carolingians and other early medieval empires of Europe. It combined various peoples (Slavs, Finno-Ugrians, Balts, Turks), education of a political nature (tribal unions), self-governing cities, lands , preserved special status as part of Rus' (Novgorod, Polotsk). Relations between center and periphery states were quite specific: Kyiv princes imposed tribute on the lands they controlled , cities could be given as an appanage or volost. The economic, social and cultural development of the lands was largely outside the control of the center.
At the same time, the Rurikovichs hardly had a permanent apparatus of power on the periphery of their possessions. Representatives of the prince “came” for tribute (there was a system for collecting tribute - “polyudye”), the local population recognized them political power and saw in them their military protectors.
But over time, the management apparatus, which was in charge of legal proceedings, collection of duties and tariffs, began to take shape. From among the warriors, the prince appointed mayors – governors to manage the city, region; voivode-leaders various military units; thousand – senior officials; land tax collectors tributaries , judicial officials - Virnikov , driveways , trade tax collectors - Mytnikov . The managers of the princely patrimonial economy also stand out from the squad - tiuns (they subsequently become special government officials and are included in the public administration system).
The “Rurikovich Empire” differed from the later one by the absence of unitarity and the dictate of the center. Russian Empire, but this regional self-determination certainly contributed to the collapse of the state with the onset of feudal fragmentation.
