Ancient Rus'. History of ancient Rus'

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East Slavs- descendants of ancient agricultural and pastoral tribes who lived in the south of Eastern Europe BC. At the beginning of our era, the Eastern Slavs occupied a vast territory from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, from the Carpathian Mountains to the upper reaches of the Oka and Volga rivers. By the middle of the 9th century. the Eastern Slavs had the prerequisites for the creation of a state - Kievan Rus. Many Western historians still claim that it was created by the Normans who came from Scandinavia. Russian scientists have long refuted this so-called “Norman theory”. They proved that the Old Russian state arose as a result of the long independent development of the East Slavic tribes, long before the arrival of the Normans. The oldest written information about the Slavs belongs to the ancient Greek scientists Hesiod, who reported on the “Antes” and “Vends” living from the Carpathians to the Baltic Sea. From the 6th century n. e. The concept “Slavs” appears in the sources. The most complete data about the Eastern Slavs was left to us by historians of the 6th century. Jordan and Procopius of Caesarea. It is believed that the ancestral home of the Slavs was Central and Eastern Europe. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. iron begins to spread among the Slavs, and a gradual decomposition of the tribal system occurs. At the same time, the single Slavic community is divided into two branches - eastern (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians) and western (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatians). Later, in the 1st thousand. n. e., the third - the southern branch of the Slavs (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Bosnians) also became isolated. The total number of Slavic peoples at the beginning of the 20th century. amounted to about 150 million people, including Russians - over 65 million, Ukrainians - about 31 million, Belarusians - about 7 million, Poles - over 19 million, Czechs - more

7 million, Slovaks - more than 2.5 million, Serbs and Croats - over 9 million, Bulgarians - 5.5 million, Slovenes - 1.5 million. The bulk of the Slavic population lived in Russia - 107.5 million. people, in Austria-Hungary - about 25 million, in Germany - over 4 million, in the countries of America - over 3 million. In 1970, the total number Slavic people amounted to about 260 million, of which: Russians - over 130 million, Ukrainians - 41.5 million, Belarusians - 9.2 million, Poles - about 37 million, Czechs - about 10 million. In the first centuries of our era The Eastern Slavs maintained a communal system. Each tribe consisted of several tribal communities. The Slavs were engaged in shifting agriculture. With the improvement of tools, shifting agriculture was replaced by arable farming with a two-field system. There was no longer any need to live in groups. Individual families began to emerge from tribal communities. Each family had its own house, plot of land, and its own tools. But hunting places fishing, pastures were in common use. With the advent of family property, property inequality appeared among the Eastern Slavs. Some families get richer, others get poorer. A class of large landowners emerges - the boyars.

In the VI-VIII centuries. The Slavs are undergoing an intensive process of decomposition of the tribal system and the formation of large tribal unions. Feudal relations are born, economic and socio-political prerequisites for the formation of statehood are created.

The names of Slavic tribal unions are mostly associated not with unity of origin, but with the area of ​​settlement. This indicates that at this time among the Slavs, territorial ties already prevailed over tribal ones. So, the Polyans lived on the Dnieper near Kyiv; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina; Krivichi - around the city of Smolensk; Vyatichi - in the Oka River basin, etc.

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The unity of the state was largely supported by the military power of the Kyiv princes. However, already in the middle of the 11th century. Signs of state fragmentation began to appear more and more clearly. The time has come for strife, conflict and rivalry. At the Lyubechsky Congress (1097), the sons of Yaroslav the Wise decided to recognize the full independence of local feudal centers: “Everyone maintains his own estate,” and Rus' ceases to be the combined possession of an entire clan. The votchina became hereditary property. Vladimir Monomakh and his son Mstislav tried for some time to prevent the collapse of the state, but after their death it became inevitable. A period of feudal fragmentation began, which lasted until the 15th century.

The era of feudal fragmentation in Rus' is an inevitable stage in the evolution of feudal society. Already by mid-XII V. Rus' broke up into 15 independent principalities. A century later there were about 50 of them, and in the 14th century. - almost 250. They were not connected either general laws, not a single one state power. The center of the political and socio-economic life of the country became a feudal estate with vassal hierarchical dependence.

Local princes were interested in taking greater care of the well-being, economic and cultural development of their possessions. New flourishing cities appeared, crafts and trade grew noticeably. The role of Kyiv as an all-Russian center in the 12th century. decreased significantly. as a result crusades(XI-XII centuries) the main trade routes moved to the Mediterranean.

The names of Vladimir Monomakh and his son Yuri Dolgoruky (90s of the 11th century - 1157) are associated with the formation and development of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. In addition to Moscow, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma were strengthened or created under him . He established himself in Kyiv in 1155 and became the Grand Duke. In 1156, by his order, Moscow was surrounded by new fortress walls.

Yuri's son Dolgoruky Prince Andrey (1111 - 1174), pursued a policy of strengthening North-Eastern Rus'. He moved the center of all Russian political life from Suzdal to Vladimir. Under him, the so-called institution of the great reign took shape. However, the conspiracy of those close to him ended with the murder of Grand Duke Andrei.

His brother’s policy of expanding and strengthening the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was continued by Vsevolod the Big Nest (1154-1212). Under him, the principality became the strongest in Rus', one of the largest European feudal states, the core of the future Moscow state, reassembled into a single Rus' in the 15th century. Vsevolod influenced the politics of Novgorod, Ryazan and Murom lands, and received a rich inheritance in the Kiev region. He managed to complete the fight against the boyars and finally establish the monarchy. From the end of the fifteenth century. Eastern Rus' became known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.

The economic rise of North-Eastern Rus' continued for some time, but was interrupted by the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The principality broke up into a number of smaller lands, including the Moscow principality in 1276. The largest center RUSSIAN lands in the north-west were Novgorod.

Unlike other lands of Kievan Rus, Novgorod moved to commodity-money relations earlier than others. In 1136, Novgorod separated from Kyiv, establishing a feudal boyar republic that lasted until 1478.

Actual power belonged to the boyars, the highest clergy and eminent merchants. Merchants and artisans also played a significant role. The prince did not have full state power, but was invited only to perform representative and military functions as the head of the squad, a professional warrior. Any attempt by the prince to interfere in internal affairs inevitably ended in his expulsion: over two centuries, 58 princes were replaced.

Novgorod was not subjected to significant Horde plunder, although it paid heavy tribute. In the struggle for the independence of Novgorod, Prince Alexander Nevsky became especially famous, who not only repelled the onslaught of German and Swedish knights (Battle of the Neva. Battle of the Ice - 40s of the 13th century), but showed a flexible policy, making concessions to the Golden Horde and organizing resistance to the advance of Catholicism from the West.

But the rights of the highest authority belonged to the people's assembly - the veche. Only in the 15th century. under Ivan III Novgorod land became part of the Moscow state, doubling its size. The rise of the Galician principality is associated with the name of Yaroslav. The Volyn prince Roman Mstislavovich in 1199 carried out the unification of the Galician and Vladimir-Volyn principalities, captured Kyiv, forming one of the largest states in Europe. The principality occupied black soil lands in the upper reaches of the Dniester, Vistula, and Narev rivers. His son Daniel (1221 - 1264), after a long and fierce struggle for the throne, united South-Western Rus' and the Kyiv lands. The cultural heyday of the principality dates back to the 12th - first half of the 13th centuries. Chronicle writing and book writing are developing, white stone temples and palaces are being built. After the death of Daniel, the Galicia-Volyn principality broke up into four appanage principalities, which in 1340 became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in 1352 - part of Poland.

Unabated civil strife and feudal fragmentation made Rus' vulnerable to foreign conquests. The Mongols attacked Northern China, conquered Siberia, and invaded Khorezm. Northern Iran and other lands began to move towards Rus'. The clash in the Azov steppes on the river. Keshke (1223) the combined forces of the Russians and Cumans were unable to resist the Mongols. For the first time, Rus' suffered such heavy damage - nine-tenths of the combined forces were killed in 1237, returning from the steppes, a huge army led by the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu (c. 1208 -1259) crossed the Volga and invaded the Russian land. The bloody Tatar-Mongol invasion began.

Batu, in the Volga region, formed a powerful Golden Horde(1242) with the capital Sarai-Batu (near Astrakhan), covering almost half of Asia and Europe. Rus' paid tribute to the Horde, and participated on its side as a forced ally in the Mongol campaigns.

As a result of assimilation with the local ethnic group, a new people- Tatars. The heyday of the Golden Horde was the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312 -1342), during which Islam became the state religion (1312).

Although the Russian lands, devastated by the Mongols, recognized vassal dependence on the Golden Horde, Rus' retained its statehood.

Period gold Horde yoke, undoubtedly, caused enormous damage to the socio-economic, political and cultural development Rus'. A significant share of the income of the Russian lands went to the Horde in the form of tribute. In the 50-70s of the 13th century. The Mongol-Tatars conducted a complete census of the Russian population in order to know the amount of taxes. As a result, at the end of the 13th century. the collection of tribute was transferred to the Russian princes, and from the first half of the 15th century. Baskachestvo was abolished completely, which weakened the Horde's interference in internal Russian affairs.

The old agricultural centers became depopulated and fell into decay. The fertile southern regions were now empty and received the name “Wild Field”. Many previously flourishing ancient Russian cities - centers of craft and culture - were subjected to massive devastation, and sometimes even destruction. Kyiv was deserted; no more than 200 houses remained in it.

The united ancient Russian nation ceased to exist. In the north-west and north-east, the Great Russian nationality begins to take shape, in the lands that became part of Lithuania - Poland - Belarusian and Ukrainian.

The gentleness and condescension of the Horde was manifested in the exemption of the Russian church from paying tribute and labor service. In response, the Mongols counted on reciprocal support from the church, recognition of the power of the khan as given by God, and work with the population to force uncomplaining submission.

The difficult state of Rus', the Swedish and German invaders. In July 1240, Swedish ships entered the mouth of the Neva. The defeat of the enemy was complete, Rus' retained access to the Baltic.

In the summer of the same 1240, the Germans also resumed their offensive. On April 5, 1242, on Lake Peipsi, still covered with ice, the troops of Alexander Nevsky met the Germans. The knights were defeated.

In 1252, Alexander Nevsky received a label from the Golden Horde for the great reign in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Alexander Nevsky's life turned out to be short-lived. He lived only 43 years.

The difficult trials that befell our Fatherland could not but affect the future of Rus'. The current situation required the consolidation of efforts to overthrow the yoke and create a Russian centralized state.

The culture of Ancient Rus', like that of any other people, was formed from the sum of values ​​inherited from past times, as well as borrowings from other peoples

For Kievan Rus)