Creation of an ancient state. Old Russian state of Kievan Rus
History of the Ukrainian SSR in ten volumes. Volume One Team of Authors
1. FORMATION OF THE OLD RUSSIAN STATE
1. FORMATION OF THE OLD RUSSIAN STATE
Chronicle information about the beginning of the Old Russian state. The problem of the emergence of Kievan Rus is one of the most important and relevant in Russian historiography. Already the chronicler Nestor in The Tale of Bygone Years, answering the question “Where did the Russian land come from?”, Draws a picture of the settlement of the East Slavic tribes at the stage of the birth of their statehood. Listing separate groups of Slavs, he calls them by name - Polyans, Drevlyans, Northerners, Vyatichi, Slovenes, etc., and where he tries to give them a social characteristic, - principalities. After the death of the Polyansky prince Kiy, the chronicler notes, “more often their princedom was born in the fields, and the trees were their own, and the Dregovichi were their own, and the words? Not theirs to Novgorod?, and the other to Polot? "Clan" here appears in the understanding of the dynasty. The principalities or alliances of East Slavic tribes named in the annals date back to the 6th-8th centuries.
The leading role in the formation of the Old Russian state was played by the Polyansky principality with its center in Kyiv. The chronicle calls Kyi the first prince of Polyana, who, together with the brothers Shchek and Khoriv and his sister Lybid, founded Kyiv. The chroniclers give two versions regarding the personality of Kyi, which existed at that time in the oral tradition. According to the first, Kiy was a carrier on the Dnieper, according to the second, he was a prince. Nestor wrote that Kiy went to Tsar-grad, he was received with honors by the Byzantine emperor, whose name was unknown to the chronicler. Returning from Byzantium, Kyi had the intention to settle on the Danube, where he built a town, but under the onslaught of local tribes he was forced to abandon his plans and return to Kyiv. After the death of Kiy, the Principality of Polyana passed to his heirs. This story, according to Soviet historians, is based on actual historical events that took place in the 6th century.
The chronicler does not say anything about the successors of Kiy. Perhaps such information was contained in the text before the first edition of The Tale of Bygone Years, but later, with repeated revisions of the chronicle, they fell out. It is possible that the editor, a supporter of the theory of the Norman origin of the Old Russian state, deliberately removed them, since this information contradicted his views.
An important stage in the development of the Old Russian state was the VIII-IX centuries. It was then, as can be concluded from Nestor's story, that a state association was formed in the Middle Dnieper - the Russian land, which included the glade, drevlyans, and northerners. It is characteristic that at first the name "Russian Land" was used in relation to the Middle Dnieper and only eventually spread to all the lands of the Eastern Slavs.
Approximately from the middle of the ninth century. in the annals, a consistent presentation of the dynastic history of Kievan Rus begins. Under 862 Askold and Dir are called princes of Kiev. According to a number of written sources, they were the last princes from the Slavic dynasty, the beginning of which was laid by Kiy. They reigned probably at different times. Dira mentions al-Masudi, according to his information is based on earlier sources. According to Masudi, Dir was the most prominent of the Slavic princes, he owned many cities and vast territories, Muslim merchants came to his capital. Chronicle information about the reign of Askold was preserved in the Nikon Chronicle; they clearly refute the claims of his Norman origin. These records are conditionally called the Askold chronicle and date back to the 9th century.
Separate principalities among the Eastern Slavs also existed later, when the Old Russian state had already formed. One of them was the Drevlyansky, which was headed in the first half of the 10th century. Prince Mal stood. It opposed the unifying policy of Kyiv, and therefore the Kiev princes repeatedly equipped squads to fight the obstinate Drevlyans. In 945, the Drevlyans rebelled against Prince Igor and killed him. Princess Olga suppressed the uprising. Among the Vyatichi, a local princely dynasty existed even at the beginning of the 12th century. Vladimir Monomakh twice had to go on campaigns against their prince Khodot and his son.
The chronicles do not specifically report the existence of other principalities among the Eastern Slavs and their princes, but there is no doubt that before the formation of the Old Russian state, in addition to those known from the annals, there were other principalities. This is confirmed, in particular, by the agreements between Russia and Byzantium. In 907, the Greeks undertook to pay tribute to the Russian cities - Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Polotsk and other centers where "great princes live under Olga." The treaty of 911 also mentions light and great princes who were at Oleg's hand. Thus, Kievan Rus by the beginning of the tenth century. had a complex state - political structure; it included many vassal principalities, previously independent.
The foreign policy situation that developed in the second half of the 1st millennium A.D. e., accelerated the processes of unification of individual Slavic principalities into a single political organization. The migration of peoples continued, and numerous nomads periodically rolled over the lands of the Eastern Slavs in waves. The Avars brought great grief to the latter, about which information has been preserved in the annals. There is no chronicle data on how the movement of the Bulgarian horde to the Danube in the second half of the 7th century was reflected in the position of the Eastern Slavs, but its path ran directly through the southern East Slavic lands, and, of course, the attitude of the nomads towards the local population was not benevolent. The chronicle twice mentions the appearance in the 7th and 9th centuries. Ugrians near Kyiv during their movement to the Danube. Their stay in Kyiv is evidenced by the name of the Ugorsky tract and archaeological sites.
In the 7th century Khazars appeared in the lower reaches of the Volga and on the Don, who founded the so-called Khazar Khaganate with its center in the city of Itil at the mouth of the Volga. In modern bourgeois and bourgeois-nationalist historiography, the idea is affirmed that this "peaceful trading state" had an exceptionally beneficial effect on the state and cultural development of the Eastern Slavs. In fact, the “civilizing” activity of the Khazars consisted in the fact that they subjugated by force some East Slavic tribes - Polyans, Severians and Vyatichi and turned them into their tributaries. Excavations of early ancient Russian centers show that their layers contain only a few things of Khazar origin, which did not have any noticeable impact on the development of East Slavic material culture. As for statehood, the only “merit” of the Khazars in this was that they forced the Eastern Slavs to consolidate their forces to fight for their liberation. The state of "Russian Land" developed and grew stronger in the fight against the Khazar expansion.
The Normans threatened the Slavs from the north. They from across the sea, from Scandinavia, attacked the Slavs and other tribes, robbed them. According to the chronicle, the Varangians collected tribute from the Novgorod Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud and Mary. The local population repeatedly rebelled against the Varangians and drove them out. The princes of Kiev also equipped detachments to fight them. It is possible that in a certain connection with this struggle there was also the emergence of Novgorod, which, located at the confluence of the Volkhov into Lake. Ilmen, was called upon to block the way to Russia for the Vikings. Novgorod retained this important strategic importance for quite a long time.
Unlike the coastal regions of Western Europe, where the Normans penetrated in large numbers, Russia did not know a significant Varangian expansion. The geographical position of North-Western Russia did not allow the Normans to unexpectedly attack cities and capture them. It was difficult for large Norman detachments to quickly penetrate deep into the country through the system of rivers and portages unnoticed. They could carry out only individual attacks on the lands closest to the sea coast. The Normans mostly came to Russia as merchants or as part of hired military squads. They did not seize Russian cities by force and never owned them. Moreover, the Normans did not even have the right to live in ancient Russian cities; they set up their fortified camps 10-15 kilometers from them. In general, as many Varangians could get into Russia as the princes of Kievan Rus allowed. It is no coincidence that in order to capture Kiev in 882, the Varangian king Oleg and his squad were forced to pretend to be Varangian merchants. Settlements of the Varangians in Russia are known in Gnezdovo, near Smolensk, and in Shestovitsy, not far from Chernigov. The Shestovitsky burial ground is one of the richest finds of Scandinavian origin. Their analysis, comparison with products of local production, as well as the funeral rite indicate that the proportion of the Norman cultural element in Shestovitsy was insignificant. Living in a Slavic environment led to the fact that the Normans were quickly assimilated by the local population.
Thus, the Normans did not have any influence on the socio-economic, socio-political and cultural development of Russia. They are not the creators of Russian statehood, as some Norman historians are trying to prove, but only participants in those qualitative changes in the socio-political life of Russia, which were prepared by the centuries-old socio-economic development of the Eastern Slavs. Arriving in Russia at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries, the Normans found here the established state organization and cities, laid trade routes, including the famous route "from the Greeks". As shown by Soviet historians V. V. Mavrodin, B. D. Grekov, M. N. Tikhomirov and others, who created the Marxist concept of the origin of the Old Russian state, the Norman dynasty remained in Russia because it entered the service of the Russian ruling elite, quickly merged with it and, in essence, dissolved in it. This is confirmed, in particular, by the treaty between Prince Oleg of Kiev and the Greeks, written not in Swedish, but in Slavonic.
The origin of the ethnonym "Rus" is one of the most important issues in Russian history. He is named first in the list of those questions that the author of The Tale of Bygone Years tried to answer. To one degree or another, all historians of Kievan Rus touched it. As a result of a comprehensive study, it was found that the concepts of "Rus" and "Russian land" have two meanings - a broad one, referring to all the East Slavic lands that were part of the Old Russian state, and a narrow one, applied only to the southern part of these lands. So, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky set out with an army from Rostov-Suzdal land "to Russia", that is, to Kyiv. Izyaslav Mstislavich, forced to leave Kyiv, left the “Russian land” for Volyn, and then returned from Volyn to the “Russian land”. Thus, according to these testimonies, Russia occupied the territory from the Upper Desenie - in the north to Ros and Tyasmin - in the south and from Seim and Sula - in the east to Irpen - in the west, i.e. covered the lands of the glades, drevlyans, northerners and streets. These groups of East Slavic tribes constituted Russia in the narrow sense of the word. The main role in the creation of the inter-tribal association, which became known as "Rus", belonged to the glades; the chronicler considered it necessary to emphasize this - "a glade, as if now calling Russia." It is characteristic that it was on the lands of the glades that most of the hydronyms associated with the name "Rus" were preserved - Ros, Rosava, Rostavitsa. The political centers of the state formation "Russian Land" were Kyiv, Chernihiv, Pereyaslav.
In the IX - X centuries. Russia as a country and its people are already known far beyond the borders of the East Slavic lands. They are repeatedly mentioned by Arab writers of that time, who were the best experts on the historical geography of the medieval world. “They (Russians.) Are one of the divisions of the Slavs,” the writer of the middle of the 9th century emphasized. Ibn - Hardadbeg. His contemporary, an anonymous geographer, specifying the location of Russia, wrote that it is located in the area, “to the east of which is the mountain of the Pechenegs, to the south of it is the Ruta River, to the west of it are the Slavs, to the north are the deserted lands of the north, and the region this big one." Ibn - Hardadbeg and other authors of that time (Ibn - Ruste, Gardizi) noted that the Slavs "have a large number of cities and they live in abundance."
The geographical information of Arab writers about Russia and the Slavic lands is sometimes very difficult to precisely localize on the map, since the specificity of the Arabic script complicates the transfer of foreign names. In addition, writers did not always use direct or reliable data in their reports about Russia, as a result of which their own names were distorted, accurate information was overgrown with legendary details. But in conjunction with archaeological materials, they are still a valuable source for highlighting the initial period of the history of Russia.
As a result of the political, ethnic and cultural consolidation of the East Slavic tribes at the end of the 9th century. the long process of formation of the Old Russian state ended.
The composition of the ancient Russian people. Simultaneously with the formation and development of the state, the formation of the ancient Russian nationality took place, which was a new, higher form of ethnic community in comparison with the clan and tribe. At a certain stage in the development of the East Slavic tribes (VI-VIII centuries), due to their internal consolidation - linguistic, cultural and economic - it became necessary and possible to create first several, and then (at the end of the IX century) a single state formation - Kievan Rus. Born on a territorial basis of kindred East Slavic tribes, the young Old Russian state itself became a condition for their further consolidation, turning into a single Old Russian nationality.
The East Slavic tribes on the eve of the formation of a single state were unions of tribes, and perhaps even larger ethnic communities. In the annals, they are called glades, drevlyans, krivichs, volynians, slovenes, etc. F. Engels, exploring ethnic processes in Western Europe, called the Swabians, Lombards, Aquitans and other associations that were approximately at the same level of ethnic development as East Slavic chronicle tribes, "narodtsy".
The merging of such East Slavic “peoples” into the Old Russian nationality took place especially intensively when their linguistic and cultural unity was supplemented by the unity of political and state life. Formation and development of the Old Russian state in the 9th - 10th centuries. caused great changes in the ethnic composition of the population of Eastern Europe. Some non-Slavic tribes were also drawn into the process of the formation of the Old Russian nationality.
The activation of the processes of social development, which led to the change of the primitive communal system in Russia to the feudal one, the emergence of classes, the strengthening of trade relations, the development of writing and the Old Russian literary language - all this led to the overcoming of tribal isolation and the formation of a single Old Russian people. Since the most important means of communication and establishing ties was the language, which is the basis of each ethnic formation, the integration processes among the Eastern Slavs took place primarily by strengthening the commonality of their language. In the IX-XI centuries. In the 19th century, the Dnepr Russian literary language developed, which was based on the folk spoken language, which, although it retained certain dialect features, was understandable throughout the territory of the Old Russian state. The decisive role in its formation belonged to the broad masses of the people of Russia.
Created on the basis of the language of related East Slavic tribes and formed in the conditions of a single state, the Old Russian language significantly outlived Kievan Rus. The activity of the social life of Russia in the era of feudal fragmentation not only did not contribute to the regional linguistic isolation, but also practically excluded it.
Along with the linguistic community, the territorial community of the Eastern Slavs also developed. A characteristic feature of this process is the coincidence of ethnic and state borders, the borders of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs and the borders of Kievan Rus. This territorial unity of the Eastern Slavs proved to be extremely strong and stable. Suffice it to say that the western borders of the Ukrainian and Belarusian nations, the heirs of the ancient Russian nationality, basically coincide with the ethnic borders of the Eastern Slavs in the west and the state border of Kievan Rus.
The practical coincidence of the borders of Kievan Rus with the borders of its people became one of the factors that ensured its very rapid progress in the socio-economic and cultural fields. In the conditions of the Middle Ages, most European countries were in this position. F. Engels, noting the facts of the lack of coincidence of the boundaries of the language and the state, emphasized that in the Middle Ages “... each nationality, with the possible exception of Italy, was represented in Europe by a special large state, and the tendency to create national states, which is becoming clearer and more conscious , is one of the most important levers of progress in the Middle Ages."
The consolidation of the Old Russian people was accompanied and stimulated by the common economic development of Kievan Rus, which manifested itself in the deepening of the processes of separation of craft from agriculture, the formation of local markets, the expansion of the network of trade routes, the wide exchange of handicraft products and the growth of commodity production.
Under the conditions of the existence of Kievan Rus, a single material and spiritual culture of the ancient Russian people is being formed. Moreover, this unity can be traced not only in a wide range of urban and rural crafts, but also in house building, monumental architecture, applied and fine arts, everyday life, ideology, in all folk art.
Obviously, the most complete manifestation of the high level of ethnic cohesion was the awareness by the ancient Russian people of the need to preserve their unity. Eloquent evidence of this is such monuments of ancient Russian literature as The Tale of Bygone Years, The Tale of Law and Grace, The Teaching of Monomakh, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, etc. The idea of the need to preserve the unity of the Russian land sounds with unrelenting force. , the unity of the ancient Russian people, the feelings of love for their homeland are displayed. The authors of these works glorify the strength and glory of Russia, its heroic defenders, the wealth of populous cities. They are equally close to the roads of Kyiv and Novgorod, Chernigov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir on the Klyazma, Pereyaslav and Ryazan, Rostov and Polotsk, Suzdal and Novgorod - Seversky, all of Russia from the Novgorod north to the Kiev south and from Transcarpathia to the Volga and Don.
The unity of the ancient Russian people was so strong that even under the conditions of long-term foreign domination - Mongol - Tatar, Lithuanian - Polish and Hungarian - in different parts of the former Old Russian state, much in common in language, culture, life and customs was preserved.
The ethnocultural heritage of the ancient Russian people became the basis on which the 14th-15th centuries were formed. fraternal East Slavic peoples - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, who have preserved and carried through the centuries a sense of not only a common origin, cultural unity, but also a common historical destiny.
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There are quite a few theories regarding the formation of the Old Russian state. Briefly, the main ones are:
The northern territory of the settlement of the Slavs was obliged to pay tribute to the Varangians, the southern - to the Khazars. In 859 the Slavs liberated themselves from the oppression of the Varangians. But due to the fact that they could not decide who would manage them, the Slavs began civil strife. To resolve the situation, they invited the Varangians to rule over them. As the Tale of Bygone Years says, the Slavs turned to the Varangians with a request: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no dress (order) in it. Yes, go and rule over us.” Three brothers came to reign on Russian soil: Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. Rurik settled in Novgorod, and the rest in other parts of the Russian land.
It was in 862, which is considered the year of foundation of the Old Russian state.
Exists Norman theory the emergence of Russia, according to which the main role in the formation of the state was played not by the Slavs, but by the Varangians. The inconsistency of this theory is proved by the following fact: until 862, the Slavs developed relations that led them to the formation of a state.
1. The Slavs had a squad that protected them. The presence of an army is one of the signs of a state.
2. Slavic tribes united in superunions, which also speaks of their ability to independently create a state.
3. The economy of the Slavs was quite developed for those times. They traded among themselves and with other states, they had a division of labor (peasants, artisans, warriors).
So it cannot be said that the formation of Russia is the work of foreigners, this is the work of the whole people. Yet this theory still exists in the minds of Europeans. From this theory, foreigners conclude that the Russians are an initially backward people. But, as scientists have already proved, this is not so: the Russians are capable of creating a state, and the fact that they called on the Varangians to rule them speaks only of the origin of the Russian princes.
Prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state began the collapse of tribal ties and the development of a new mode of production. The Old Russian state took shape in the process of development of feudal relations, the emergence of class contradictions and coercion.
Among the Slavs, a dominant layer was gradually formed, the basis of which was the military Nobility of the Kiev princes - the squad. Already in the 9th century, strengthening the positions of their princes, the combatants firmly took leading positions in society.
It was in the 9th century that two ethno-political associations were formed in Eastern Europe, which eventually became the basis of the state. It was formed as a result of the association of glades with the center in Kyiv.
Slavs, Krivichi and Finnish-speaking tribes united in the area of Lake Ilmen (the center is in the city of Novgorod). In the middle of the 9th century, Rurik (862-879), a native of Scandinavia, began to rule this association. Therefore, the year of formation of the Old Russian state is considered to be 862.
The presence of the Scandinavians (Varangians) on the territory of Russia is confirmed by archaeological excavations and records in the chronicles. In the 18th century, German scientists G.F. Miller and G.Z. Bayer proved the Scandinavian theory of the formation of the Old Russian state (Rus).
M.V. Lomonosov, denying the Norman (Varangian) origin of statehood, connected the word "Rus" with the Sarmatians-Roksolans, the Ros River, flowing in the south.
Lomonosov, relying on The Tale of the Vladimir Princes, argued that Rurik, being a native of Prussia, belonged to the Slavs, who were the Prussians. It was this “southern” anti-Norman theory of the formation of the Old Russian state that was supported and developed in the 19th and 20th centuries by historians.
The first mentions of Russia are attested in the "Bavarian Chronograph" and refer to the period 811-821. In it, the Russians are mentioned as a people within the Khazars, inhabiting Eastern Europe. In the 9th century, Russia was perceived as an ethno-political formation on the territory of the glades and northerners.
Rurik, who took over the administration of Novgorod, sent his squad led by Askold and Dir to rule Kiev. Rurik's successor, the Varangian prince Oleg (879-912), who took possession of Smolensk and Lyubech, subjugated all the Krivichi to his power, in 882 he fraudulently lured Askold and Dir out of Kyiv and killed him. Having captured Kyiv, he managed to unite the two most important centers by the power of his power. Eastern Slavs- Kyiv and Novgorod. Oleg subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi.
In 907, Oleg, having gathered a huge army of Slavs and Finns, undertook a campaign against Tsargrad (Constantinople), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Russian squad devastated the surroundings, and forced the Greeks to ask Oleg for peace and pay a huge tribute. The result of this campaign was very beneficial for Russia peace treaties with Byzantium, concluded in 907 and 911.
Oleg died in 912 and was succeeded by Igor (912-945), the son of Rurik. In 941, he committed against Byzantium, which violated the previous agreement. Igor's army plundered the shores of Asia Minor, but was defeated in a naval battle. Then, in 945, in alliance with the Pechenegs, he undertook a new campaign against Constantinople and forced the Greeks to conclude a peace treaty again. In 945, while trying to collect a second tribute from the Drevlyans, Igor was killed.
Igor's widow Princess Olga (945-957) ruled for the infancy of her son Svyatoslav. She brutally avenged the murder of her husband by devastating the lands of the Drevlyans. Olga streamlined the size and places of tribute collection. In 955 she visited Constantinople and was baptized into Orthodoxy.
Svyatoslav (957-972) - the bravest and most influential of the princes, who subjugated the Vyatichi to his power. In 965, he inflicted a series of heavy defeats on the Khazars. Svyatoslav defeated the North Caucasian tribes, as well as the Volga Bulgarians, and plundered their capital Bulgar. The Byzantine government sought an alliance with him to fight external enemies.
Kyiv and Novgorod became the center of formation of the Old Russian state, East Slavic tribes, northern and southern, united around them. In the 9th century, both of these groups united into a single Old Russian state, which went down in history as Russia.
The process of formation of a centralized state on the territory of the settlement of East Slavic tribes.
The embryos of the first East Slavic states are considered to be tribal principalities that, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, existed in each of the 12 East Slavic tribal unions and arose no later than the 8th century. This is still a transitional stage between pre-state forms of political organization and the state.
Real states appear in the first half of the 9th century. These were a kind of federation of tribal principalities. Their appearance was accelerated by the fact that just then two trade routes that passed through the lands of the Eastern Slavs - the Volga and the Dnieper - became very popular. It was very profitable to control these routes, but only the top of a large, strong state could control them.
There are two known federations of tribal principalities. One was located in the north of the East Slavic territory, in the lands of Slovenes (Ilmen), Krivichi, Chud and Ves, and its center was in the region of the future Novgorod. The second arose in the south, in the Middle Dnieper, and Kyiv, which stood in the land of the meadows, became its center. It was believed that these two states are mentioned in Arabic sources of the 9th - 10th centuries. under the names "Slavia" and "Kuyava"; in Soviet historical science, they were conditionally called the "Kiev" and "Novgorod" states.
According to the widespread version, the "Kiev" state is the Russian Khaganate, the fact of whose existence was recorded by the German "Bertin Annals", in the story of the arrival on May 18, 839 to the Emperor of the Franks, Louis the Pious, ambassadors from the "Khakan Rosov". Indeed, Kyiv was in the sphere of influence of the Khazar Khaganate, and the Kiev princes could rather borrow from the head of this powerful state the title "khakan" ("kagan"). However, some historians believe that the Russian Khaganate is the "Novgorod" state.
Almost immediately, both states were headed by the Scandinavians, those who in Russia were later called the Varangians, and in Western Europe - the Normans. After all, the ninth century - this is the time of the Scandinavian expansion in Europe, and it is not surprising that the prospect of gaining control over the Volga and Dnieper routes tempted the leaders of the Scandinavian squads who were looking for profit. The "Kiev state" was led by the Scandinavians Askold and Dir, the circumstances and time of their coming to power remain unclear, and around 862 the Scandinavian Rurik became the head of the "Novgorodsky" state. According to The Tale of Bygone Years (PVL), he was invited by the locals to reign, according to D.S. Likhachev and B.A. Rybakov - as the leader of a mercenary army, but usurped state power (this version seems speculative).
Around 882 (all the dates given for the 9th - 10th centuries by the main source on the history of the Old Russian state - PVL - are conditional) Rurik's successor, the Scandinavian prince Oleg Veshchy, captured Kyiv and united the "Novgorod" state with the "Kiev" state. The resulting state (with its capital in Kyiv) is called Old Russian in science. Contemporaries called it "Rus" or "Russian land".
Initially, it included the lands of the Slovenes of the Ilmen (most likely, partially), Krivichi and Polyans - as well as a number of Finno-Ugric tribes. Oleg (according to the PVL - in 883 - 885) conquered the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi, and his successor Igor (according to the PVL - about 914) conquered the streets. Under Oleg or Igor, the Dregovichi were also subordinated. Igor's widow Olga (according to PVL - in 947) subjugated the western and eastern outskirts of the land of the Ilmen Slovenes (lands along Luga and Msta), and Igor's son - Svyatoslav (according to PVL - in 964) - Vyatichi. The latter, however, soon set aside from Kyiv, and Svyatoslav's son Vladimir (according to the PVL - in 981) had to conquer them (as well as the Radimichi, according to the PVL - in 984) again.
As follows from the PVL, in 980 (most likely in 978) Vladimir Svyatoslavich subjugated the Polotsk people, in 981 (most likely in 979) the Volhynians, and in 992 the White Croats. (Volhynians and White Croats may have been conquered by Oleg, but then separated.) As a result, the Old Russian state began to unite almost all (with the exception of Transcarpathia, which became part of Hungary) East Slavic lands.
The above scheme for the formation of the territory of the Old Russian state is quite approximate. Since until the 990s. the dependence of the tribal principalities that became part of the state on Kyiv was very weak, the state territory often changed: the tribal principalities either separated from Kyiv, or were again “tortured” by this latter.
Before the Old Russian state began to irreversibly disintegrate in 1054, it underwent temporary disintegration twice. In 972, it was divided into three - "Kiev", "Novgorod" and "Drevlyanskoye", - reunited by Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 978 (according to PVL - in 980). And in 1026 - into two - "western (Kiev)" and "eastern (Chernigov)" - in 1036 again united by Yaroslav the Wise.
1. Formation of the Old Russian state - Kievan Rus
The state of Kievan Rus was created at the end of the 9th century.
The emergence of the state among the Eastern Slavs is reported by the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" (XIIin.). It tells that the Slavs paid tribute to the Varangians. Then the Varangians were expelled across the sea and the question arose: who would rule in Novgorod? None of the tribes wanted to establish the power of a representative of a neighboring tribe. Then they decided to invite a stranger and turned to the Varangians. Three brothers responded to the invitation: Rurik, Truvor and Sineus. Rurik began to reign in Novgorod, Sineus on Beloozero, and Truvor - in the city of Izborsk. Two years later, Sineus and Truvor died, and all power passed to Rurik. Two of Rurik's squad, Askold and Dir, went south and began to reign in Kyiv. They killed Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid who ruled there. Rurik died in 879. His relative Oleg began to rule, since the son of Rurik, Igor, was still a minor. After 3 years (in 882), Oleg and his retinue seize power in Kyiv. Thus, under the rule of one prince, Kyiv and Novgorod were united. This is what the chronicle says. Were there really two brothers - Sineus and Truvor? Today, historians believe that they were not. "Rurik blue hus truvor" means, translated from the ancient Swedish language, "Rurik with a house and a squad." The chronicler took incomprehensibly sounding words for personal names, and wrote that Rurik arrived with two brothers.
Exists two theories of the origin of the ancient Russian state: Norman and anti-Norman. Both of these theories appeared in the XYIII century, 900 years after the formation of Kievan Rus. The fact is that Peter I - from the Romanov dynasty, was very interested in where the previous dynasty appeared - the Rurikovich, who created the state of Kievan Rus and where this name came from. Peter I signed a decree establishing the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. German scientists were invited to work at the Academy of Sciences.
Norman theory . Its founders are the German scientists Bayer, Miller, Schlozer, invited under Peter I to work at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. They confirmed the calling of the Varangians and made the assumption that the name of the Russian Empire was of Scandinavian origin, and that the state of Kievan Rus itself was created by the Varangians. “Rus” is translated from Old Swedish as the verb “to row”, the Rus are rowers. Perhaps "Rus" is the name of the Varangian tribe from which Rurik came. At first, the Varangians-druzhinniks were called Rus, and then this word gradually passed to the Slavs.
The calling of the Varangians was confirmed at a later time by the data of archaeological excavations of burial mounds near Yaroslavl, near Smolensk. Scandinavian burials in the boat were found there. Many Scandinavian items were obviously made by local Slavic craftsmen. This means that the Varangians lived among the locals.
But German scientists exaggerated the role of the Varangians in the formation of the ancient Russian state. As a result, these scientists agreed to such an extent that, allegedly, the Varangians are immigrants from the West, which means that it is they - the Germans - who created the state of Kievan Rus.
Anti-Norman theory. She also appeared in the XYIII century, under the daughter of Peter I - Elizabeth Petrovna. She did not like the statement of German scientists that the Russian state was created by immigrants from the West. In addition, she had a 7-year war with Prussia. She asked Lomonosov to look into this matter. Lomonosov M.V. did not deny the existence of Rurik, but began to deny his Scandinavian origin.
Anti-Norman theory intensified in the 30s of the twentieth century. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, they tried to prove the inferiority of the Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks), that they were not able to create states, that the Varangians were Germans. Stalin gave the task of refuting the Norman theory. This is how the theory appeared, according to which, to the south of Kyiv, on the Ros River, the Ros (Ross) tribe lived. The Ros River flows into the Dnieper and it is from here that the name of Rus comes from, since the Russians allegedly occupied a leading place among the Slavic tribes. The possibility of the Scandinavian origin of the name of Russia was completely rejected. The anti-Norman theory tries to prove that the state of Kievan Rus was created by the Slavs themselves. This theory penetrated into textbooks on the history of the USSR, and was prevailing there until the end of "perestroika".
The state appears there and then, when opposing, mutually hostile interests, classes appear in society. The state regulates relations between people, relying on armed force. The Varangians were invited to reign, therefore, this form of power (reigning) was already known to the Slavs. It was not the Varangians who brought property inequality to Russia, the division of society into classes. The Old Russian state - Kievan Rus - arose as a result of a long, independent development of Slavic society, not thanks to the Varangians, but with their active participation. The Varangians themselves quickly became Slavic, they did not impose their own language. The son of Igor, the grandson of Rurik, already bore the Slavic name - Svyatoslav. Today, some historians believe that the name of the Russian Empire of Scandinavian origin and the princely dynasty begins with Rurik, and was called the Rurikovichi.
The ancient Russian state was called Kievan Rus.
2 . Socio-economic and political system of Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus was an early feudal state. It existed from the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 12th century (about 250 years).
The head of state was the Grand Duke. He was the supreme commander, judge, legislator, recipient of tribute. Conducted foreign policy, declared war, made peace. Appointed officials. The power of the Grand Duke was limited to:
Council under the prince, which included the military nobility, the elders of the cities, the clergy (since 988)
Veche - a popular assembly in which all free people could take part. Veche could discuss and resolve any issue that interested him.
Specific princes - local tribal nobility.
The first rulers of Kievan Rus were: Oleg (882-912), Igor (913-945), Olga - Igor's wife (945-964).
The unification of all East Slavic and part of the Finnish tribes under the rule of the great Kiev prince.
The acquisition of overseas markets for Russian trade and the protection of trade routes that led to these markets.
Protection of the borders of the Russian land from the attacks of the steppe nomads (Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy).
The most important source of income for the prince and the squad was the tribute paid by the conquered tribes. Olga streamlined the collection of tribute and set its size.
The son of Igor and Olga - Prince Svyatoslav (964-972) made trips to the Danube Bulgaria and Byzantium, and also defeated the Khazar Khaganate.
Under the son of Svyatoslav - Vladimir the Holy (980-1015) in 988, Christianity was adopted in Russia.
Socio-economic structure:
The main branch of the economy is arable farming and cattle breeding. Additional industries: fishing, hunting. Russia was a country of cities (more than 300) - in the XII century.
Kievan Rus reached its peak under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054). He intermarried and made friends with the most prominent states of Europe. In 1036, he defeated the Pechenegs near Kiev and ensured the security of the eastern and southern borders of the state for a long time. In the Baltic states, he founded the city of Yuryev (Tartu) and established the position of Russia there. Under him, writing and literacy spread in Russia, schools were opened for the children of the boyars. The higher school was located in the Kiev-Pechersk monastery. The largest library was in St. Sophia Cathedral, also built under Yaroslav the Wise.
Under Yaroslav the Wise appeared the first set of laws in Russia - "Russian Truth", which operated during the XI-XIII centuries. 3 editions of Russkaya Pravda are known:
1. Brief truth of Yaroslav the Wise
2. Spacious (grandchildren of Yar. the Wise - Vl. Monomakh)
3. abbreviated
Russkaya Pravda consolidated the feudal property that was taking shape in Russia, established harsh penalties for attempts to encroach on it, and defended the lives and privileges of members of the ruling class. According to Russkaya Pravda, one can trace the contradictions in society and the class struggle. Russkaya Pravda by Yaroslav the Wise allowed blood feuds, but the article on blood feuds was limited to defining the exact circle of close relatives who have the right to take revenge: father, son, brother, cousin, nephew. Thus, the end of the endless chain of murders that exterminate entire families was set.
In Pravda Yaroslavichi (under the children of Yar. the Wise), blood feud is already prohibited, and instead a fine for murder has been introduced, depending on the social status of the murdered, from 5 to 80 hryvnias.
FORMATION OF THE OLD RUSSIAN STATE
1. Background
The Old Russian state was formed as a result of a complex interaction of a whole complex of both internal and external factors, socio-economic, political and spiritual.
First of all, one should take into account the changes that took place in the economy of the Eastern Slavs in the VIII-IX centuries. Yes, already mentioned development of agriculture , special arable land in the steppe and forest-steppe region of the Middle Dnieper, led to the appearance of an excess product, which created conditions for the separation of the princely retinue group from the community (there was separation of military administrative work from productive ).
In the north of Eastern Europe, where farming could not be widely spread due to harsh climatic conditions, crafts continued to play an important role, and the emergence of an excess product was the result of the development exchange And foreign trade .
In the area where arable farming is spread, tribal community evolution, which, thanks to the fact that now a separate large family could provide for its existence, began to transform into agricultural or neighboring (territorial ). Such a community, as before, mainly consisted of relatives, but unlike the tribal community, arable land, divided into allotments, and the products of labor were here in the use of separate large families that owned tools and livestock. This created some conditions for property differentiation, but social stratification did not occur in the community itself - the productivity of agricultural labor remained too low. Archaeological excavations of East Slavic settlements of that period revealed almost identical semi-dugout family dwellings with the same set of objects and tools.
In addition, on the vast forest territory of the East Slavic world, undercutting was preserved, and because of its laboriousness, it required the efforts of the entire tribal team. Thus, there has been an uneven development of individual tribal unions.
The political factors in the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs include the complication of intra-tribal relations and inter-tribal clashes, which accelerated the formation of princely power, increased the role of princes and squads both defending the tribe from external enemies and acting as an arbiter in various disputes.
In addition, inter-tribal struggle led to the formation of inter-tribal alliances led by the most powerful tribe and its prince. These unions took the form of tribal principalities. As a result, the power of the prince, which he sought to turn into hereditary, depended less and less on the will of the veche assemblies, strengthened, and his interests became more and more alienated from the interests of his fellow tribesmen.
The evolution of the pagan ideas of the Slavs of that era also contributed to the formation of the power of the prince. Thus, as the military power of the prince, who brought booty to the tribe, defended it from external enemies and took on the problem of resolving internal disputes, grew, his prestige grew and, at the same time, alienation from free community members occurred.
Thus, as a result of military successes, his performance of complex managerial functions, the prince’s removal from the usual circle of affairs and concerns for the community members, which often resulted in the creation of a fortified intertribal center - the residence of the prince and squad, he began to endow his fellow tribesmen with supernatural powers and abilities, in it more and more they saw the guarantee of the well-being of the entire tribe, and his personality was identified with a tribal totem. All this led to the sacralization of princely power, created the spiritual prerequisites for the transition from communal to state relations.
External prerequisites include the “pressure” exerted on the Slavic world by its neighbors, the Khazars and the Normans.
On the one hand, their desire to take control of the trade routes linking the West with the East and South accelerated the formation of princely retinue groups that were drawn into foreign trade. Taking, for example, products of crafts, primarily furs from their fellow tribesmen and exchanging them for prestigious consumption products and silver from foreign merchants, selling them captured foreigners, the local nobility more and more subjugated tribal structures, enriched themselves and isolated themselves from ordinary community members. . Over time, she, having united with the Varangian warrior-merchants, will begin to exercise control over trade routes and trade itself, which will lead to the consolidation of previously disparate tribal principalities located along these routes.
On the other hand, interaction with more advanced civilizations led to the borrowing of certain socio-political forms of their life. It is no coincidence that for a long time the great princes in Russia were called, following the example of the Khazar Khaganate, Khakans (Kagans). For a long time, the Byzantine Empire was considered the true standard of the state-political structure.
It should also be taken into account that the existence in the Lower Volga of a powerful state formation - the Khazar Khaganate, protected the Eastern Slavs from the raids of nomads, who in previous eras (the Huns in the 4th-5th centuries, the Avars in the 7th century) hampered their development, interfered with peaceful labor and , as a result, the emergence of the “embryo” of statehood.
In Soviet historical science, for a long time, priority in the formation of the state was given to internal socio-economic processes; some modern historians believe that external factors played a decisive role; however, it seems that only the interaction of both internal and external, with insufficient socio-economic maturity of the East Slavic society, could lead to the historical breakthrough that occurred in the Slavic world in the 9th-10th centuries.
2. The main stages in the formation of the Old Russian state
In its development, the ancient Russian state went through a number of stages. Let's consider them.
At the first stage of the formation of the ancient Russian state (VIII-mid-IX centuries), the prerequisites mature, the formation of intertribal unions and their centers - principalities, which are mentioned by Eastern authors. By the ninth century the appearance of the polyudya system goes back, i.e. collecting tribute from the community in favor of the prince, which in that era, most likely, was still voluntary and was perceived as compensation for military and administrative services.
At the second stage (the second half of the 9th - the middle of the 10th century), the process of folding the state is accelerated largely due to the active intervention of external forces - the Khazars and the Normans (Varangians). PVL speaks of the raids of the warlike inhabitants of Northern Europe, who forced the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi and Finno-Ugric tribes of Chud and Vesi to pay tribute. In the South, the Khazars collected tribute from the meadows, northerners, Radimichi and Vyatichi.
Data from the Tale of Bygone Years. The chronicler notes (under the year 862) that the Slavs managed to drive the Varangians across the sea. But soon a strife broke out between them, “and generation went to generation and fought more often against each other.” (Most likely, the annals reflected the rivalry between the tribal unions of the North and their nobility between which there was a so-called “struggle of prestige”). Under these conditions, not wanting to give primacy to any of their own, the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples said: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no dress (order) in it. Yes, go and rule over us, ”they decided to turn to the Varangian neighbors, who were called Rus, and their prince, Rurik, with the brothers Sineus and Truvor. The invitation was accepted, Rurik landed in Novgorod (according to other sources - in Staraya Ladoga), Sineus - in Beloozero, Truvor - in Izborsk. Two years after the death of the brothers, Rurik began to rule alone. In 882, his successor, Prince Oleg, seized Kyiv by cunning, killing Askold and Dir, the Normans who ruled there, who had left Rurik earlier. After that, he freed the Slavic tribes from the Khazar tribute and subjugated them to his power.
Norman theory of the origin of the ancient Russian state. These chronicle data formed the basis of the so-called. "Norman theory", developed in the eighteenth century. German scientists in the Russian service. Its supporters attributed the creation of the state to the Varangians, who gave it their own name - "Rus". Extreme Normanists concluded that the Slavs were eternally backward, allegedly incapable of independent historical creativity.
Some pre-revolutionary and most Soviet historians, albeit from different methodological positions, disputed this theory.
So, Academician B.A. Rybakov argued that the Varangians appeared in Eastern Europe when the Kievan state (which allegedly arose in the 6th century) had already taken shape and was used only as a hired military force. He considered the annalistic information about the peaceful “calling of the Varangians” to be a late, fictional under the influence of the political conjuncture that developed in Kyiv during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh, an insert. “Rus”, in his opinion, is a derivative of the Ros River (the right tributary of the Dnieper south of Kyiv).
Modern researchers, overcoming the extremes of Normanism and anti-Normanism, have come to the following conclusions: the process of folding the state began before the Varangians, the very fact of their invitation to reign indicates that this form of power was already known to the Slavs; Rurik - a real historical figure, being invited to Novgorod to play the role of an arbitrator and, perhaps, a defender from the "overseas Varangians" (Svei), seizes power. His appearance in Novgorod (peaceful or violent) is in no way connected with the birth of the state; the Norman squad, not burdened by local traditions, more actively uses the element of violence to collect tribute and unite Slavic tribal unions, which, to a certain extent, accelerates the process of folding the state. At the same time, there is a consolidation of the local princely squad elite, its integration with the Varangian squads and the Slavicization of the Varangians themselves; Oleg, having united the Novgorod and Kiev lands and bringing together the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, brought the economic base under the emerging state; the ethnonym "Rus" of northern origin. And although the chronicle refers it to one of the Norman tribes, it is most likely a collective name (from the Finnish ruotsi - rowers) under which was hidden not an ethnic, but an ethno-social group, consisting of representatives of various peoples engaged in sea robbery and trade. Then, on the one hand, it becomes clear the spread of this term, no longer associated with any ethnic group, among the Eastern Slavs, and on the other hand, the rapid assimilation of the Varangians themselves, who also adopted local pagan cults and did not hold on to their gods.
