When did the ancient Russian state arise and what was its name? Separation of the Polyan Union. The Baptism of Rus' and its heyday

21.09.2019

There are quite a lot theories regarding the formation of the Old Russian state. In short, the main one is:

The northern territory of settlement of the Slavs was obliged to pay tribute to the Varangians, the southern - to the Khazars. In 859, the Slavs freed themselves from the oppression of the Varangians. But due to the fact that they could not decide who would rule them, civil strife began among the Slavs. To resolve the situation, they invited the Varangians to reign over them. As the Tale of Bygone Years says, the Slavs turned to the Varangians with a request: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order (order) in it. Come reign 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.

This was in 862, which is considered the year of the founding of the Old Russian state.

Exists Norman theory the emergence of Rus', 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 proven by the following fact: until 862, the Slavs developed relationships 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 into super-unions, 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 Rus' is the work of foreigners, it is the work of the entire people. But still, this theory still exists in the minds of Europeans. From this theory, foreigners conclude that Russians are an inherently backward people. But, as scientists have already proven, this is not so: the Russians are capable of creating a state, and the fact that they called the Varangians to rule over them speaks only about 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 method of production. The Old Russian state took shape in the process of the development of feudal relations, the emergence of class contradictions and coercion.

Among the Slavs, a dominant layer gradually formed, the basis of which was the military Nobility of the Kyiv princes - the squad. Already in the 9th century, strengthening the position of their princes, the warriors firmly occupied leading positions in society.

It was in the 9th century that two ethnopolitical associations were formed in Eastern Europe, which ultimately became the basis of the state. It was formed as a result of the unification of the 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, this association began to be ruled by a native of Scandinavia, Rurik (862-879). Therefore, the year of formation of the Old Russian state is considered to be 862.

The presence of Scandinavians (Varangians) on the territory of Rus' is confirmed by archaeological excavations and records in 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, associated the word “Rus” with the Sarmatians-Roxolans, the Ros River, flowing in the south.

Lomonosov, relying on “The Legend of the Princes of Vladimir,” argued that Rurik, being a native of Prussia, belonged to the Slavs, which 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 Rus' are attested in the “Bavarian Chronograph” and date back to the period 811-821. In it, the Russians are mentioned as a people within the Khazars, inhabiting Eastern Europe. In the 9th century, Rus' was perceived as an ethnopolitical entity on the territory of the glades and northerners.

Rurik, who took control 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 Krivichs to his power, and in 882 he fraudulently lured Askold and Dir out of Kyiv and killed them. Having captured Kyiv, he managed to unite the two most important centers by force 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, launched a campaign against Constantinople (Constantinople), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Russian squad devastated the surrounding area, and forced the Greeks to ask Oleg for peace and pay a huge tribute. The result of this campaign was peace treaties with Byzantium, very beneficial for Rus', concluded in 907 and 911.

Oleg died in 912 and was succeeded by Igor (912-945), the son of Rurik. In 941 he attacked Byzantium, which violated the previous treaty. 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 launched a new campaign against Constantinople and forced the Greeks to once again conclude a peace treaty. In 945, while trying to collect a second tribute from the Drevlyans, Igor was killed.

Igor's widow, Princess Olga (945-957), ruled during the childhood of her son Svyatoslav. She brutally took revenge for the murder of her husband by ravaging the lands of the Drevlyans. Olga organized the sizes and places of collecting tribute. In 955 she visited Constantinople and was baptized into Orthodoxy.

Svyatoslav (957-972) is 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, the Bulgars. 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, and the eastern regions united around them. Slavic tribes, northern and southern. In the 9th century, both of these groups united into a single Old Russian state, which went down in history as Rus'.

Kievan Rus is an ancient Russian state in the west, southwest, and partly in the south of the East European Plain. Existed from the ninth to the early twelfth centuries AD. The capital was Kyiv. It arose by a union of Slavic tribes: Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Polotsk, Radimichi, Northerners, Vyatichi.

The year 862 is considered fundamental in the history of Kievan Rus, when, as the ancient written source “The Tale of Bygone Years” indicates, the Slavic tribes called the Varangians to reign. The first head of Kievan Rus was Rurik, who took the throne in Novgorod.

Princes of Kievan Rus

864 - Varangians Askold and Dir seized princely power in Kyiv
882 - Varyag Oleg, who reigned in Novgorod, killed Askold and Dir, sat down to reign in Kyiv, united the northern and southern Slavic lands and took the title of Grand Duke
912 - Death of Oleg. Elevation Igor, son of Rurik
945 - Death of Igor. His wife is on the throne Olga
957 - Olga transferred power to her son Svyatoslav
972 - Death of Svyatoslav at the hands of the Pechenegs. The Kyiv throne took Yaropolk
980 - Death of Yaropolk in a civil strife with his brother Vladimir. Vladimir - Kyiv prince
1015 - Death of Vladimir. His son seized power in Kyiv Svyatopolk
1016 - Three-year struggle for supremacy in Rus' between Svyatopolk and Novgorod prince Yaroslav
1019 - Death of Svyatopolk. Yaroslav, nicknamed wise - prince in Kyiv
1054 - After the death of Yaroslav, his son took the throne Izyaslav
1068 - Uprising of the Kyiv people, their proclamation of the Prince of Polotsk Vseslav Grand Duke, Return Izyaslav.
1073 - Expulsion of Izyaslav by his brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. Prince - Svyatoslav Yaroslavich
1076 - Death of Svyatoslav. Return Izyaslav.
1078 - Death of Izyaslav at the hands of the nephew of Oleg Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov. The Kyiv throne took Vsevolod Yaroslavich
1099 - Prince Svyatopolk, son of Izyaslav
1113 - Prince Vladimir Monomakh
1125 - Death of Vladimir Monomakh. His son ascended the throne Mstislav
1132 - Death of Mstislav. Disintegration of Novgorod-Kievan Rus.

Brief history of Kievan Rus

Kyiv remained the center of Kievan Rus until 1169, when it was captured and plundered by troops of Prince of Rostov-Suzdal Andrei Bogolyubsky

Cities of Kievan Rus

Novgorod (until 1136)
Pskov
Chernigov
Polotsk
Smolensk
Lyubech
Zhytomyr
Iskorosten
Vyshgorod
Crossed
Pereyaslavl
Tmutarakan

Until the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the middle of the 13th century, Kyiv continued to be formally considered the center of Rus', but in fact lost its significance. The time of feudal fragmentation has come in Rus'. Kievan Rus split into 14 principalities, ruled by the descendants of different branches of the Rurik tree, and the free city of Novgorod

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

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

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

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

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In the 9th century. As a result of the centuries-long development of East Slavic society, the early feudal state of Rus' was formed with its center in Kyiv. Gradually, all the East Slavic tribes united in Kievan Rus.

The topic of the history of Kievan Rus considered in the work seems not only interesting, but also very relevant. Recent years have been marked by changes in many areas of Russian life. The lifestyle of many people has changed, the system has changed life values. Knowledge of the history of Russia, the spiritual traditions of the Russian people, is very important for increasing national identity Russians. A sign of the revival of the nation is the ever-increasing interest in the historical past of the Russian people, in their spiritual values.

FORMATION OF THE ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE IN THE 9th century

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

Having begun his story, like all medieval historians, with global flood, Nestor tells about the settlement of Western and Eastern Slavs in Europe in ancient times. He divides the East Slavic tribes into two groups, the level of development of which, according to his description, was not the same. Some of them lived, as he put it, in a “beastly manner,” preserving the features of the tribal system: blood feud, remnants of matriarchy, the absence of marriage prohibitions, “kidnapping” (kidnapping) of wives, etc. Nestor contrasts these tribes with the glades, in whose land Kyiv was built. The Polyans are “sensible men”; they have already established a patriarchal monogamous family and, obviously, have overcome blood feud (they are “distinguished by their meek and quiet disposition”).

Next, Nestor talks about how the city of Kyiv was created. Prince Kiy, who reigned there, according to Nestor’s story, came to Constantinople to visit the Emperor of Byzantium, who received him with great honors. Returning from Constantinople, Kiy built a city on the banks of the Danube, intending to settle here for a long time. But local residents They treated him with hostility, and Kiy returned to the banks of the Dnieper.

First historical event On the way to creating the Old Russian states, Nestor considered the formation of the principality of Polyans in the Middle Dnieper region. The legend about Kiy and his two brothers spread far to the south, and was even brought to Armenia.

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

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

Archaeological data fully confirms the words of Nestor that the core of the future Kievan Rus began to take shape on the banks of the Dnieper when the Slavic princes made campaigns in Byzantium and the Danube, in the times preceding the attacks of the Khazars (7th century).

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

During the VI-IX centuries. Productive forces grew, tribal institutions changed, and the process of class formation began. As the most important phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs during the VI-IX centuries. The development of arable farming and the development of crafts should be noted; disintegration of the tribal community as labor collective and isolating from it individual peasant farms, forming a neighboring community; the growth of private land ownership and the formation of classes; the transformation of the tribal army with its defensive functions into a squad that dominates its fellow tribesmen; seizure by princes and nobles of tribal land into personal hereditary property.

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

Describing the time when the transition from tribal relations to the state took place, Nestor notes that various East Slavic regions had “their own reigns.” This is confirmed by archaeological data.

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

The decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Eastern Slavs occurred at a time when the slave system had already outlived its usefulness on a world-historical scale. In the process of class formation, Rus' came to feudalism, bypassing the slave-owning formation.

In the 9th-10th centuries. antagonistic classes of feudal society are formed. The number of vigilantes is increasing everywhere, their differentiation is increasing, and the nobility - the boyars and princes - are being separated from their midst.

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

In the 9th-10th centuries. feudal lords created a number of new cities that served both the purposes of defense against nomads and the purposes of domination over the enslaved population. Craft production was also concentrated in cities. The old name “grad”, “city”, denoting a fortification, began to be applied to a real feudal city with a detinets-kremlin (fortress) in the center and an extensive craft and trading area.

Despite the gradual and slow process of feudalization, one can still indicate a certain line, starting from which there is reason to talk about feudal relations in Rus'. This line is the 9th century, when the Eastern Slavs had already formed a feudal state.

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

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

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

ANCIENT Rus' OF THE END OF THE IX – BEGINNING OF THE 12TH CENTURY.

In the second half of the 9th century. Novgorod prince Oleg united power over Kiev and Novgorod in his hands. The chronicle dates this event to 882. The formation of the early feudal Old Russian state (Kievan Rus) as a result of the emergence of antagonistic classes was a turning point in the history of the Eastern Slavs.

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

The territorial growth and strengthening of Rus' continued under Svyatoslav Igorevich (969-972) and Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980-1015). The Old Russian state included the lands of the Vyatichi. The power of Rus' extended to the North Caucasus. The territory of the Old Russian state expanded in a western direction, including the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus'.

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

The supreme power in the Old Russian state belonged to the Grand Duke of Kyiv. At the princely court there lived a squad, divided into “senior” and “junior”. The boyars from the prince's military comrades turn into landowners, his vassals, patrimonial fiefs. In the XI-XII centuries. the boyars are formalized as a special class and their legal status is consolidated. Vassalage is formed as a system of relations with the prince-suzerain; his characteristic features become the specialization of the vassal service, the contractual nature of the relationship and the economic independence of the vassal4.

Princely warriors took part in government. Thus, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, together with the boyars, discussed the issue of introducing Christianity, measures to combat “robberies” and decided on other matters. Certain parts of Rus' were ruled by their own princes. But the Grand Duke of Kiev sought to replace the local rulers with his proteges.

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

In the middle of the 10th century. under Princess Olga, the size of duties (tributes and quitrents) was determined and temporary and permanent camps and graveyards were established in which tribute was collected.

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

The armed forces of the Old Russian state consisted of the squad of the Grand Duke, the squads that were brought by the princes and boyars subordinate to him, and the people's militia (warriors). The number of troops with which the princes went on campaigns sometimes reached 60-80 thousand. Foot militia continued to play an important role in the armed forces. Detachments of mercenaries were also used in Rus' - nomads of the steppes (Pechenegs), as well as Cumans, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Czechs, Poles, and Norman Varangians, but their role in the armed forces was insignificant. The Old Russian fleet consisted of ships hollowed out of trees and lined with boards along the sides. Russian ships sailed in the Black, Azov, Caspian and Baltic seas.

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

The Kyiv princes also undertook campaigns to more distant lands - beyond the Caucasus ridge, to the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea (campaigns of 880, 909, 910, 913-914). Territory expansion Kyiv State It began to be carried out especially actively during the reign of Princess Olga’s son, Svyatoslav (Svyatoslav’s campaigns - 964-972). He dealt the first blow to the Khazar empire. Their main cities on the Don and Volga were captured. Svyatoslav even planned to settle in this region, becoming the successor to the empire he destroyed6.

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

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

ADOPTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN Rus'

At the end of the 10th century. Christianity was officially introduced in Rus'. The development of feudal relations prepared the way for the replacement of pagan cults with a new religion.

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

Christianity began to penetrate early into Rus' among the nobility. Back in the 9th century. Patriarch Photius of Constantinople noted that Rus' changed “pagan superstition” to “Christian faith”7. Christians were among Igor's warriors. Princess Olga converted to Christianity.

Vladimir Svyatoslavich, having been baptized in 988 and appreciating the political role of Christianity, decided to make it the state religion in Rus'. Russia's adoption of Christianity occurred in a difficult foreign policy situation. In the 80s of the 10th century. The Byzantine government turned to the prince of Kyiv with a request for military assistance to suppress uprisings in the lands under its control. In response, Vladimir demanded an alliance with Russia from Byzantium, offering to seal it with his marriage to Anna, the sister of Emperor Vasily II. The Byzantine government was forced to agree to this. After the marriage of Vladimir and Anna, Christianity was officially recognized as the religion of the Old Russian state.

Church institutions in Rus' received large land grants and tithes from state revenues. Throughout the 11th century. bishoprics were founded in Yuryev and Belgorod (in Kyiv land), Novgorod, Rostov, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny, Vladimir-Volynsky, Polotsk and Turov. Several large monasteries arose in Kyiv.

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

The introduction of Christianity was a progress compared to paganism. Together with Christianity, the Russians received some elements of the higher Byzantine culture, they joined, like others European peoples, to the heritage of antiquity. The introduction of a new religion increased its international importance ancient Rus'.

DEVELOPMENT OF FEUDAL RELATIONS IN Rus'

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

Sustainable field farming dominated Russian agriculture. Cattle breeding developed more slowly than agriculture. Despite the relative increase in agricultural production, harvests were low. Frequent phenomena were shortages and hunger, which undermined the Kresgyap economy and contributed to the enslavement of the peasants. Hunting, fishing, and beekeeping remained of great importance in the economy. The furs of squirrels, martens, otters, beavers, sables, foxes, as well as honey and wax went to the foreign market. The best hunting and fishing areas, forests and lands were seized by the feudal lords.

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

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

Land ownership was protected by law. The growth of boyar and church land ownership was closely related to the development of immunity. The land, which was previously peasant property, became the property of the feudal lord “with tribute, virami and sales,” that is, with the right to collect taxes and court fines from the population for murder and other crimes, and, consequently, with the right of trial.

With the transfer of lands into the ownership of individual feudal lords, peasants in different ways became dependent on them. Some peasants, deprived of the means of production, were enslaved by landowners, taking advantage of their need for tools, equipment, seeds, etc. Other peasants, sitting on land subject to tribute, who owned their own tools of production, were forced by the state to transfer the land under the patrimonial power of the feudal lords. As the estates expanded and the smerds became enslaved, the term servants, which previously meant slaves, began to apply to the entire mass of the peasantry dependent on the landowner.

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

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

At the beginning of the 12th century. happened further development crafts. In the village, under the conditions of state dominance of the natural economy, the production of clothing, shoes, utensils, agricultural implements, etc. was home production, not yet separated from agriculture. With the development of the feudal system, some of the community artisans became dependent on the feudal lords, others left the village and went under the walls of princely castles and fortresses, where craft settlements were created. The possibility of a break between the artisan and the village was due to the development of agriculture, which could provide the urban population with food and the beginning of the separation of crafts from agriculture.

Cities became centers for the development of crafts. In them by the 12th century. there were over 60 craft specialties. Russian artisans of the 11th-12th centuries. produced more than 150 types of iron and steel products, their products played important role in the development of trade relations between the city and the countryside. Old Russian jewelers knew the art of minting non-ferrous metals. Tools, weapons, household items, and jewelry were made in craft workshops.

With its products, Rus' gained fame in Europe at that time. However, the social division of labor in the country as a whole was weak. The village lived on subsistence farming. The penetration of small retail traders into the village from the city did not disrupt the natural nature of the rural economy. Cities were centers of internal trade. But urban commodity production did not change the natural economic basis of the country’s economy.

Rus''s foreign trade was more developed. Russian merchants traded in the possessions of the Arab Caliphate. The Dnieper route connected Rus' with Byzantium. Russian merchants traveled from Kyiv to Moravia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Southern Germany, from Novgorod and Polotsk - according to Baltic Sea to Scandinavia, Polish Pomerania and further to the west. With the development of crafts, the export of handicraft products increased.

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

With the growth of the social division of labor, cities developed. They arose from castle fortresses, which were gradually overgrown with settlements, and from trade and craft settlements, around which fortifications were erected. The city was connected with the nearest rural district, from whose products it lived and whose population it served with handicrafts. In the chronicles of the 9th-10th centuries. 25 cities are mentioned in the news of the 11th century - 89. The heyday of ancient Russian cities fell in the 11th-12th centuries.

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

PROBLEMS OF STATE UNITY OF Rus'

The state unity of Rus' was not strong. The development of feudal relations and the strengthening of the power of the feudal lords, as well as the growth of cities as centers of local principalities, led to changes in the political superstructure. In the 11th century the head of state was still Grand Duke, but the princes and boyars dependent on him acquired large land holdings in different parts Rus' (in Novgorod, Polotsk, Chernigov, Volyn, etc.). The princes of individual feudal centers strengthened their own apparatus of power and, relying on local feudal lords, began to consider their reigns as paternal, that is, hereditary possessions. Economically, they were almost no longer dependent on Kyiv; on the contrary, the Kiev prince was interested in their support. Political dependence on Kyiv weighed heavily on local feudal lords and princes who ruled in certain parts of the country.

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

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

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

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

Urban uprisings were associated with the peasant movement. Since the anti-feudal movements were also directed against the Christian Church, the rebellious peasants and townspeople were sometimes led by the Magi. In the 70s of the 11th century. There was a major popular movement in the Rostov land. Popular movements took place in other places in Rus'. In Novgorod, for example, the masses of the urban population, led by the Magi, opposed the nobility, headed by the prince and bishop. Prince Gleb, with the help of military force, dealt with the rebels.

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

Vladimir Monomakh pursued a policy of strengthening the grand ducal power. Owning, in addition to Kyiv, Pereyaslavl, Suzdal, Rostov, ruling Novgorod and part of South-Western Rus', he simultaneously tried to subjugate other lands (Minsk, Volyn, etc.). However, contrary to Monomakh’s policy, the process of fragmentation of Rus', caused by economic reasons, continued. By the second quarter of the 12th century. Rus' was finally fragmented into many principalities.

CULTURE OF ANCIENT Rus'

The culture of ancient Rus' is the culture of early feudal society. Oral poetic creativity reflected the life experience of the people, captured in proverbs and sayings, in the rituals of agricultural and family holidays, from which the cult pagan principle gradually disappeared, and the rituals turned into folk games. Buffoons - traveling actors, singers and musicians, who came from a popular environment, were bearers of democratic tendencies in art. Folk motives formed the basis for the remarkable song and musical creativity of the “prophetic Boyan”, whom the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” calls “the nightingale of the old time.”

The growth of national self-awareness found particularly vivid expression in the historical epic epic. In it, the people idealized the time of political unity of Rus', although still very fragile, when the peasants were not yet dependent. The image of the “peasant son” Ilya Muromets, a fighter for the independence of his homeland, embodies the deep patriotism of the people. Folk art influenced the traditions and legends that developed in the feudal secular and church environment, and helped the formation of ancient Russian literature.

The emergence of writing was of enormous importance for the development of ancient Russian literature. In Rus', writing apparently arose quite early. The news has been preserved that the Slavic educator of the 9th century. Konstantin (Kirill) saw books in Chersonesos written in “Russian characters.” Evidence of the presence of writing among the Eastern Slavs even before the adoption of Christianity is an early 10th-century clay vessel discovered in one of the Smolensk mounds. with an inscription. Writing became widespread after the adoption of Christianity.

The history of the emergence of the state uniting the tribes of the Eastern Slavs still causes a lot of controversy. There are two theories of the formation of the Old Russian state: Norman and anti-Roman. We will talk about them, as well as the reasons for the emergence and development of the state in Rus' today.

Two theories

The date of formation of the Old Russian state is considered to be 862, when the Slavs, due to strife between tribes, invited a “third” party - the Scandinavian princes Rurik to restore order. However, in historical science There are discrepancies about the origin of the first state in Rus'. There are two main theories:

Norman theory(G. Miller, G. Bayer, M. M. Shcherbatov, N. M. Karamzin): referring to the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years,” the creation of which belongs to the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, scientists came to the conclusion that statehood in Rus' - the work of the Normans Rurik and his brothers;
Anti-Norman theory(M.V. Lomonosov, M.S. Grushevsky, I.E. Zabelin): followers of this concept do not deny the participation of the invited Varangian princes in the formation of the state, but believe that the Ruriks did not come to an “empty” place and this form rule already existed among the ancient Slavs long before the events described in the chronicle.

Once, at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences, Mikhailo Vasilyevich Lomonosov beat Miller for a “false” interpretation of the history of Rus'. After the death of the great Russian scientist, his research in the history of the Old Russian state mysteriously disappeared. After some time, they were discovered and were published under the editorship of the same Miller. It's interesting to note that modern research showed that the published works do not belong to the hand of Lomonosov.

Rice. 1. Collection of tribute from Slavic tribes

Reasons for the formation of the Old Russian state

Nothing in this world happens for nothing. For this or that event to happen, reasons are needed. There were prerequisites for the formation of a state among the Slavs:

Uniting Slavic tribes to confront more powerful neighbors: At the beginning of the 9th century, the Slavic tribes were surrounded by stronger states. In the south there was a large medieval state - the Khazar Khaganate, to which the northerners, Polans and Vyatichi were forced to pay tribute. In the north, the hardy and warlike Normans demanded ransom from the Krivichi, Ilmen Slovenes, Chud and Merya. Only the unification of the tribes could change the existing injustice.
Destruction of the clan system and clan ties: Military campaigns, the development of new lands and trade led to the fact that in clan communities based on property equality and joint farming, stronger and richer families appeared - clan nobility;
Social stratification: The destruction of the tribal and communal system among the Slavs led to the emergence of new layers of the population. This is how a layer of tribal nobility and warriors was formed. The first included the descendants of the elders who managed to accumulate more wealth. The second, the warriors, were young warriors who, after military campaigns, did not return to agriculture, but became professional warriors who defended rulers and the community. A layer of ordinary community members, as a sign of gratitude for the protection of the soldiers and princes, presented gifts, which later turned into obligatory tribute. In addition, a layer of artisans emerged who moved away from agriculture and exchanged their “fruits” of labor for products. There were also people who lived exclusively through trade - a layer of merchants.
Urban development: In the 9th century, trade routes (land and river) played a major role in the development of society. All new layers of population - nobility, warriors, artisans, merchants and farmers sought to settle in villages located on trade routes. Thus, the number of residents increased, the social system changed, new orders emerged: the power of princes turned into state power, tribute into a mandatory state tax, small cities into large centers.

Rice. 2. Gifts to vigilantes for protection from enemies

Two centers

All of the above main stages in the development of statehood in Rus' naturally led in the first half of the 9th century to the formation of modern Russia two centers - two early ancient Russian states:

in the north- Novgorod Union of Tribes;
on South- merger with the center in Kyiv.

By the middle of the 9th century, the princes of the Kyiv Union - Askold and Dir achieved the liberation of their tribes from the “offerings” of tribute to the Khazar Kaganate. Events in Novgorod developed differently: in 862, due to strife, the residents of the city invited the Norman prince Rurik to reign and own the lands. He accepted the offer and settled in the Slavic lands. After his death, his close associate Oleg took control into his own hands. It was he who went on a campaign against Kyiv in 882. Thus, he united the two centers into one state - Rus or Kievan Rus.

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After Oleg’s death, the title “Grand Duke” was taken by Igor (912 -945), the son of Rurik. For excessive extortions, he was killed by people from the Drevlyan tribe.

Rice. 3. Monument to Prince Rurik - the founder of the Old Russian state

What have we learned?

Today the following questions on history (6th grade) were briefly discussed: to what century did the formation of the Old Russian state date back (9th century), what events became the prerequisites for the emergence of statehood in Rus' and who were the first Russian princes (Rurik, Oleg, Igor). These theses can be used as a cheat sheet for preparing for history exams.

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Annual event Earth Hour is an action organized World Fund wildlife(WWF), designed to limit the consumption of electrical energy for 1 hour on one day at the end of March.

The Earth Hour event was first held in 2007 in Sydney (Australia), and since then, every year the number of countries and cities taking part in the environmental event has only increased.

More than 7,000 cities and towns (with a population of more than 2 billion people), located in 188 countries around the world, plan to take part in Earth Hour 2019. Of course, these will include Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

If you are concerned about the fate of the planet and you decide to join this action, then at the specified time you should turn off the lighting in accessible rooms and unplug electrical appliances not related to life support.

What date and time will the Earth Hour 2019 event take place:

Traditionally, the event is held on the last Saturday of March, with the exception of those years when the last Saturday in March precedes Easter.

In 2019, Earth Hour is scheduled to take place on Saturday. March 30, 2019. The promotion starts at 20:30 local time and lasts for an hour, until 21:30.

That is, the Earth Hour 2019 campaign:
*Date: March 30, 2019
* Time: from 20:30 to 21:30.

March 18 in Crimea is a day off or a working day:

According to the above laws, on the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol the date "March 18" is a non-working holiday, an additional day off.

That is:
* March 18 is a day off in Crimea and Sevastopol.

If March 18 coincides with a holiday (as, for example, happens in 2023), the holiday is transferred to the next working day.

If a holiday coincides with annual paid leave, March 18 is not included in the number of calendar days of leave, but extends it.

Is March 17 a shortened working day:

If calendar date March 17 falls on a working day, then the duration of work on this day is reduced by 1 hour.

This norm is established in Article 95 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and applies to working days preceding, among other things, regional holidays.

When is the closing date of the Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk:

Previously, we already stated that the 29th Winter Universiade will be held in the very center of Russia - the city of Krasnoyarsk, from March 2 to 12, 2019.

The sporting event will end on Tuesday March 12, 2019 a colorful Closing Ceremony from director Ilya Averbukh, which will last more than three hours.

What time will the Closing Ceremony of the Universiade 2019 begin, where to watch:

Beginning of the Closing Ceremony of the Universiade 2019 - 20:00 local time, or 16:00 Moscow time .

IN live the show will show federal TV channel"Match!" . The live television broadcast starts at 15:55 Moscow time.

A live broadcast will also be available on the channel "Match! Country".

You can start a live online broadcast of the event on the Internet on the Sportbox portal.

On the first calendar day of Spring.

That is, Maslenitsa in 2020:
* Starts - March 24, 2020
*Ends - March 1, 2020

The first day of Maslenitsa (Monday - “Meeting”) in the 20th year is located after the Russian public holiday- Defender of the Fatherland Day, and in the event of a standard transfer it will be a day off.

It is symbolic that the final day Maslenitsa week(in 2020 - March 1, 2020) falls on the first day of Spring. After all, it is on the seventh day of the celebration, on Sunday, at sunset that the straw effigy of Maslenitsa is burned, which folk tradition symbolizes the transformation of an outdated winter into a beautiful Spring.