Old Russian state of Kievan Rus. History of Kievan Rus

Are you here: Reporting

Chronicle " Tale of Bygone Years” is the only written source confirming the existence of the so-called Kievan Rus. Appeared to the world at the time of formation " official version» of our ancient history, it is constantly subjected to fair criticism by specialists and cannot be considered as a reliable historical document.

But even if we take seriously this purely literary work and the events described in it, then this is at least not enough to confirm the existence of such a medieval association as Kievan Rus. Well, such an "outstanding" state in Eastern Europe could not leave behind only one written historical source! But first things first…

Could Kiev be the capital of Russia?

To begin with, I would like to consider the very possibility of the emergence of such a Dnieper association as Kievan Rus, and in particular its center - Kiev. Even for a person far from historical science, it is clear that the probability that Kiev, located somewhere on the outskirts, could become the center of the state is not only negligible, but also absurd. Firstly, regardless of the initial size of the state, they always try to locate its capital as close to the center as possible - away from the external borders and their potential enemy. Thus, the center of the country will be reliably protected from external invasion, which we do not see at all in the case of Kiev, which was located on the outskirts of a medieval state.

Secondly, another, the most favorable place for the location of the capital is the point of intersection of transport routes. In this case, from the center you can always easily get to any, even the most remote corner of the state. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to manage such a gigantic association as Kievan Rus without modern means of communication (telephone, radio, television, telegraph, Internet). But in the case of Kiev, we see a completely opposite picture - it is not only located on the outskirts, but also does not have convenient transport links with most important cities - Moscow, Novgorod, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Polotsk and others.

Thirdly, most of the medieval capitals are not only administrative, but also trading centers of their states. For the convenience of maintaining trade, they could be located on the coast of the sea or a large river. And in the case of Kiev, at first glance, everything is fine - it is located on the Dnieper. But this is only at first glance! Since the prospect of developing international trade along the Dnieper River is very doubtful. Its tributaries allow you to get into such "partisan" territories as Pripyat, Polesie or Pinsk, the development of which was not completed even by the beginning of the 20th century. What can we say about the earlier period and the prospects for the development of transit trade through these lands. And here supporters of the Varangian way come to the aid of the dubious position of Kiev - "from the Varangians to the Greeks." According to some historians, it was this route that connected the northern Baltic lands, Novgorod, Kiev and the Black Sea. Absolutely irrational, and sometimes absurd, it involves the passage of an intricate, winding route " Baltic - Volkhov - Lovat - Western Dvina - Dnieper”and overcoming two watersheds by dragging. But the Varangians are the real heroes of their time, they don’t care! They can drag their ships across the land and do not look for direct routes!

But seriously, the distance along the route "Baltic - Volkhov - Lovat - Western Dvina - Dnieper" is 5 times more than the distance along the route "Baltic - Western Dvina - Dnieper", which involves only one portage and goes directly to the Black Sea . Not to mention the fact that it was also possible to "go to the Greeks" along the route "Baltic - Vistula - Bug - Pripyat - Dnieper". But, no matter how the Vikings “walked”, the existence of an economically profitable trade route connecting the north, Kiev and the south is highly doubtful. This is very unlikely due to the natural geographical features of the Dnieper itself - below Kiev it is dotted with rather dangerous rapids, which exclude the possibility of the passage of merchant ships. Thus, the famous French engineer and cartographer Guillaume Beauplan in his work" Description of Ukraine"writes:

The fertility of the soil provides the inhabitants with grain in such abundance that they often do not know what to do with it, especially since they have no navigable rivers flowing into the sea, with the exception of the Dnieper, which, 50 miles below Kiev, is blocked by thirteen rapids, the last of which is a good seven miles from the first, which is a whole day's journey, as you can see on the map. This barrier prevents them from bringing their grain to Constantinople.

Interesting fact! Like in the 17th century. suddenly ceased to be a navigable river, along which only a few centuries ago passed the largest trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks"? Well, let's say that the selfless merchants of that time were not afraid of any obstacles. Consumed by a thirst for profit, they were ready to wind around an absurd route, dragging their ships for tens of miles, crashing them on the dangerous Dnieper rapids, and all in order to get from the Baltic to the Black Sea through Kiev. Then a completely logical question arises: where, in fact, is the existence of a seaport or at least a run-down fortress located at the mouth of the river. Dnieper? After all, it was only with their help that the princes of Kiev could control trade and order along this route. But they just don't exist!

And only in the future, representatives of the Ottoman Empire will build a geographically and strategically important fortress Achi-Kale, which blocked access to the Black Sea from the Dnieper. It is for Achi-Kale that the prince will fight for almost a year and a half Potemkin. In 1788, it will be conquered, and from 1792 it will begin to bear the Russian name - Ochakov. A little earlier (in 1778) at the mouth of the river. Dnipro, another large city will appear - Kherson. But it was also founded as a Russian fortress and has nothing to do with the existence of Kievan Rus. As well as the fortress founded in 1784 in the Dnieper-Bug estuary, from which the city of Nikolaev.

But this time too, the precarious position of Kievan Rus " saved by cunning historians". In particular, they literally think out the existence of an ancient Russian port at the mouth of the river. Dnieper. Say, earlier on the site of the small town of Aleshki, which was founded in 1784 and since 1854 has been called Tsyurupinsk, a fairly rich trading port city was erected Oleshye(XI century), which appeared during the existence of the Cossack Sich. At the same time, direct historical evidence of this " miraculous metamorphosis". And all real archaeological finds only prove that at the beginning of the XVIII century. there really was a Cossack fortification, which arose at the end of the 17th century. However, this settlement was called Dneprovsk, and only after a while it was renamed in honor of the fictitious old Russian city of Oleshye. After all, changing toponymy, especially if the need arises, is not difficult for historians!

But let's get back to our "great trade route", which, by all definitions, was supposed to be a tasty morsel of profit for dashing robbers. To protect against them, the princes and their subjects were simply obliged to build well-fortified settlements on the banks of the Dnieper. With inns for the rest of merchants and the necessary infrastructure, over time they had to expand and gradually turn into fairly large cities. And now the question is: how many such ancient Russian cities are on the banks of the river. Do you know the Dnieper? Small Kanev with a population of only 28,000 people, the village Lyubech, district town Rogachev, Orsha And Smolensk? But this is an insignificant number in terms of its geographical and strategic scale! Especially considering the fact that the Scandinavians called the territory of Ancient Russia nothing more than Gardarika- country of cities. Where are these cities? And this is not to mention the particularly dangerous sections of the "Great Trade Route" - the Dnieper rapids, the overcoming of which meant reliable protection from an external attack by robbers. Such protection could only be guaranteed by fortifications erected along the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." But where are these fortifications?

Kiev archeology: few finds, many tales

And now let's try to look at the problem of the existence of Kievan Rus from an economic point of view. According to its postulates, any more or less large trading city is a place where transactions are made and there is a customs fee, i.e. washed And in this case, historians are trying to convince us that Kiev was just such a place. He " gave the go-ahead” to actively trading merchants following the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, and here all the merchants are still with “ Dokiev»times were obliged to pay myt. At the same time, one of the most influential figures in Soviet history, professor and academician Boris Rybakov, in his study City of Kia' writes the following:

The assumption of "customs fees" in the vicinity of the future Kiev is supported by a large number of finds of beautiful bronze objects decorated with multi-colored champlevé enamel. Brooches, decorative chains, details of drinking horns are found in a compact mass in the space from the mouth of the Desna to Rossi.

What is the academician telling us? It turns out that everywhere the customs demanded the payment of money in money, and the "Dociev" and Kiev customs officers were painfully greedy for works of applied art and, out of their kindness of soul, took duty from merchants not in money, but in various utensils? However, thanks to Academician Rybakov for this! Indeed, unlike the modern "luminaries" of Ukrainian historical science, at least he did not lie and honestly, albeit in a veiled form, he stated: Myt coin was not found near Kiev. On the other hand, household utensils made of bronze are found in abundance. By the way! A similar conclusion was reached by Scandinavian researchers, who also refute " the greatness of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks". According to them, the share of Byzantine coins accounts for less than 1% of all finds found on the territory of archaeological complexes. At the same time, a large number of discovered silver dirhams indicates quite developed trade relations with the Russians living in the Volga region.

Summarizing all of the above, the conclusion suggests itself. In essence, Kyiv is more of a regional trade center. He is far from the title of "world" center of trade relations, and even more so he could not play a significant role in the political life of ancient Russia. If it were really the capital, then fortifications would undoubtedly form around its center, eventually forming satellite cities that protect its approaches from all sides. For example, around the same Moscow, the Golden Ring was formed with well-fortified cities and monasteries. The approaches to St. Petersburg are protected by a large number of forts and an extensive network of suburbs, etc.

Unlike Moscow and St. Petersburg, Kiev was very, very poorly protected, which is why, at the slightest threat from a potential enemy, it easily passed “from hand to hand” and could not withstand the onslaught. At the same time, on the territory of the city itself, we do not find even a faint resemblance to an impregnable citadel, which befits the status of the capital. There is no hint of the Moscow Kremlin here, or at least of the smaller Pskov or Novgorod structures. And all the known fortifications were erected on the territory of Kiev much later, at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. All this once again emphasizes a certain failure of Kiev in political, commercial and economic terms. In response to these facts, historians keep repeating one thing: they say that at one time Kiev suffered greatly from the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it was plundered, burned, destroyed, etc. Then a completely logical question: why was such a “major capital” of Kievan Rus not restored and shone in its greatness to spite the enemies? Why did Moscow, burnt down in 1812 and several times earlier, always rebuild quickly? While "poor, unfortunate" Kiev was broken, suppressed and vegetated in the shadows almost until the onset of the Soviet era.

Just for reference, some statistics, so to speak, an opportunity to look at the problem from the other side. At the turn of the XVIII - XIX centuries. the population of Kiev is 188 000 human. The population of the then very young Odessa was more 193 000 human. In Kharkov at the moment lives about 198 000 residents. By the end of the XIX century. already lives in Moscow 800 000 people, and Petersburg, together with the suburbs, there are more than 1 350 000 residents. At the same time, the population of Kiev practically did not increase, and he himself was an insignificant provincial, almost provincial city in Russia and just a railway junction. And the point here is far from “historical injustice”! And the geographical and strategic position of Kiev. Located far from major trade and economically significant centers, it is unattractive for settlement and continues to be just a province. And along with its vegetation, the southern region and Novorossiya are being actively developed. Even with the advent of Soviet power, the capital of Ukraine is not Kiev, but Kharkov, where practically no one speaks the Ukrainian language. And only in the post-war period, when in 1947-1954. the architectural ensemble of Khreshchatyk was built, Kiev acquires a more attractive, solemn look, becomes a more “capital” and beautiful city.

In general, even in the past, Kiev was never considered as a single settlement. So, at the end of the XVIII century. Three separate settlements were located on the future territory of the modern city: the Kiev-Pechersk fortress with its suburbs, Upper Kiev was located two versts from it, and Podol lay three versts from them. According to the "Geographical description of the city of Kiev, composed by the Kiev garrison by lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Novgorodtsov"

... The Old or Upper City of Kiev consists of four departments, which are surrounded by an earthen rampart with deliberately deep ditches and are called Andreevsky, Sofia, Mikhailovsky And Pechersk departments... There were 682 particular wooden courtyards.

At that time, in the Kiev-Pechersk fortress, which included the Lavra and the suburbs, Novgorodtsev recorded 2 monasteries, 8 stone and 3 wooden churches. And the auditor who arrived counted 9 state-owned stone and 27 wooden buildings, along with the suburbs, and 1095 particular (civil) courtyards.

Podil was the most populated part of Kiev. Namely:

In the city of Kiev-Podil there are buildings: monasteries for men: stone - 7, wooden - 2, women's stone - 7; churches: stone - 9, wooden - 77; magistrate's building: stone - 4, wooden - 7; philistine yards: stone - 3, wooden - 1926.

Thus, in all three scattered settlements of Kiev, there were less than 4,000 yards(houses), three of which were stone. And the total number of inhabitants, according to the census at the time of the reign of Catherine II, did not exceed 20,000 people! In other words, an average regional center. The trading opportunities of the then Kiev can be judged by the phrase of the same lieutenant:

There are no merchants from the burghers of Kiev, who used to have large capitals, except for three or four, while others have mediocre, better to say, small capital.

In other words, the nature of the trade was very, very mediocre. Then he continues:

Along the Dnieper River in spring and low water, and also in autumn from Great Russian cities: from Bryansk, Trubchevsk, and from Little Russian cities: Novgorodka-Seversky and from other places to Kiev and to the Little Russian cities of Pereyaslav, Gorodishche, Kremenchug and Perevolochna with bread, with bread wine Barges, or the so-called canoes, sail from Poland in rafts with hemp oil, dyogtem, with ropes, matting, with honey, with ham fat and wooden utensils, and from Poland in rafts, timber and firewood, and other forest supplies are rafted ... Near the city of Podil there is a marina for ships.

In a word, the lieutenant does not report anything interesting and particularly outstanding about the life of the provincial city of Kiev in his report. The Big Picture" dull provincial chronicle”confirmed by archaeological excavations. Called to discover the material values of the past, they have been actively conducted on the territory of Kiev since the mid-1950s. 20th century During this time, a decent amount of various insignificant trifles was discovered, thanks to which many scientific works were written. And what is the result? - In the end, nothing! Treasures, which are of particular value to archaeologists, are discovered with cherished regularity on the territory of Kiev, especially in Podil. But the problem is that the Byzantine coins found at the same time have nothing to do with the period of the birth of the “statehood” of Kievan Rus and the formation of its “capital”. And based on the official dating of the discovered coins, only one conclusion can be drawn: silver and gold in the Dnieper expanses were buried by ordinary robbers.

But what about the old Russian coins? Yes, no way either! Period XII-XIII centuries. was officially declared by "historians" to be "coinless". Say, there was no money in that era and, accordingly, it is pointless to look for them. At the same time, some pundits offer their own version of commodity-money relations - the existence of the so-called hryvnia, which in essence were silver ingots.

Silver bars (hryvnias) are, of course, much better than the “coinless” period in general. But then a completely natural question arises: how did ordinary people pay for their purchases in the bazaar? Agree, it's hard to imagine some layman who came to "sting on the little things" and each of the sellers "chops off" a small piece of silver from his bullion. Any coin is a simple and at the same time ingenious invention of mankind. After all, all coins are identical to each other - they are equal in weight and composition, which means they have exactly the same purchasing value. As for ingots, then to determine by eye how much silver needs to be “cut off”, for example, for a chicken, neither the seller nor the buyer can do this with jewelry accuracy. Therefore, even ordinary common sense suggests that if coins have entered circulation at least once in the history of the people, then they will not go anywhere - this is convenient and greatly simplifies commodity-money relations.

But the problem is that silver and gold coins gradually wear out during their daily use. For example, there was a coin weighing 12 g, and a year later, you see, and it no longer weighs 12 g, but 11 g. What to do in this situation? A man came up with a way out - over time, paper bills were invented that did not lose their weight, and, consequently, their purchasing power either in a year or two. But this happened over time, but for now hryvnias were invented - a kind of 200-gram silver bills.

Thus, hryvnia silver bars are not consumable coins! These are banknotes of a large denomination, intended for payment for wholesale purchases. And most likely they were in circulation not instead of small coins, but along with them. Moreover, they paid only for large transactions, for example, merchants for their wholesale. And ordinary inhabitants still went to the shop or to the market with small coins. In this case, a new question arises: why do historians stubbornly date hryvnias to the XII-XIII centuries? Indeed, even according to the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, they were in circulation until the 16th century, and there are no visible grounds to tie their existence to the period of Kievan Rus. The answer to this question is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

A hryvnia is a certain measure of silver. At the same time, completely different coins could be in circulation - dinars, efimki, thalers. They could be silver or gold. The main thing is that they were all converted into a single silver hryvnia weighing 200 g. At the same time, their flow was supposed to flow into a single princely mint, which, according to the "stories" of historians, could only be located in Kiev, as in the capital of Kievan Rus. And, therefore, it was here that archaeologists had to continually discover a large number of treasures with hryvnias. But where are they, these treasures!? For the answer, let's turn to official historical sources! Yes, the book Ivan Spassky « Russian monetary system' indicates the following:

Only one coin was found in Kiev [in 1792], and even then not in the ground, but as a pendant to an icon, while all the rest gravitate towards the northwestern edge of the ancient Russian state: one was found in the ground near the ancient Yuryev (Tartu) , the other - on the island of Saarema; there are indications of a find in the St. Petersburg province. Several imitative coins are known originating from Scandinavia. "Yaroslavl silver" and therefore refer to the period of the reign of Yaroslav in Novgorod - at the hand of Vladimir, who occupied the Russian table. Just as the image of Christ was placed on the coins of the early Kiev type described above, here the other side is occupied by the image of the Christian patron of Yaroslav - St. George.

... At the end of the 20s. 19th century a few more coins appeared: two silver coins of Vladimir were found in Borispol in Ukraine, and one each - in the Tsimlyansk settlement (ancient Sarkel - Belaya Vezha) and in Poland - as part of the Lenchitsky treasure.<…>In 1852, the famous Nezhinsky treasure was found - about 200 silver coins.

Thus, these coins can hardly be called "truly Kievan" - they are found anywhere, but not in the coin warehouses-hoards of the capital of Kievan Rus. For example, one of the largest treasures was discovered in 1906 on the territory of Tver. Many coins of the Kiev type were unearthed during excavations of the Gotland treasure in Sweden. At the same time, historians do not provide any evidence that these “treasures” were minted in Kiev. Conclusion: linking them specifically to Kiev is nothing more than another speculative move by “unfortunate historians”. And only one find on the territory of the Mikhailovsky Monastery could speak in favor of minting truly Kiev coins in Kiev. But, unfortunately, it was made in 1997, i.e. already in the period Svidomo independence", and could well have been simply falsified. And the proof of this is all the latest "sensational" finds of modern Ukrainian archaeologists. Then they discovered the mass grave of the victims" Baturin massacre", then in a miraculous way the world was revealed" Ukrainian"A variant of the Orlik constitution, although the "moves" in the 18th century. didn't exist yet. In a word, if for propaganda or political purposes it is necessary to discover the sunken Atlantis in the middle of the Kiev reservoir, then Ukrainian archaeologists will easily dig it out there.

But it is known for certain that the so-called Kiev silver coins should be understood as about 340 types of coins with different silver contents. Most likely, they were minted as soon as the princely treasury was empty, and then they were forcibly put into circulation at the desired rate, which directly indicates the economic weakness of the principality. But still! What are Kiev treasures and what does their presence indicate? In most cases, these are modest stash of the townsfolk. In essence, these are silver or gold jewelry set aside for a "rainy day": rings, earrings, crosses. As a rule, they are hidden in pots and simply buried in the ground. As for larger treasures, for example, those belonging to the same merchants, in this case, not everything is so transparent and simple. Here is just one of the latest examples. " Treasure from the ruins of the Church of the Tithes» S.I. Klimovsky, an employee of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, published in the East European Archaeological Journal (No. 5 (6), 2000). This article starts off promisingly:

Among the ancient Russian cities, Kiev ranks first in terms of the number of treasures found ...

However, this is followed by a description of some mythical finds made as early as the 11th century, and which are known only from the annals of subsequent centuries. Of the reliably made discoveries, the author is the first to mention the treasure discovered " in the choirs of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which was the secret monastic treasury of the 17th-18th centuries. and numbering 6184 gold coins ...". Undoubtedly! This treasure is a real treasure for archaeologists and historians, but, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with ancient Kievan Rus. Finally, S.I. Klimovsky provides true information:

In 1955, during excavations on the street. Vladimirskaya, 7-9 in a dwelling of the XIII century. an earthenware pot was found near the stove, in which there were gold kolts, earrings, silver twisted and lamellar bracelets, and rings. This treasure, hidden during the siege of 1240, was for many years the last ancient Russian treasure discovered in this part of Kiev. And now, 43 years later, on the opposite side of the street, a new treasure was found, which differs sharply from those known in the area, but is closely connected, like most of them, with the events of December 1240.

Based on this, it is not difficult to predict the rhetoric of interested historians: all the ancient treasures have long been looted, and “reliable” rumors about their early existence reach us. At the same time, any sane person can make a completely logical conclusion: all the coin treasures dug in the territory of Kiev indicate that this ancient city has never been and could not be the capital of the Russian state.

Kiev was not an administrative, commercial or economic center of Kievan Rus. Otherwise, he would continually delight archaeologists with valuable finds proving his power and the economic prosperity of the ancient state. Why isn't this happening? Here the answer is already extremely simple! because Kievan Rus with the capital Kiev is nothing more than an invention of historians interested in this.

———————————————-

According to the book Alexey Kungurov
« There was no Kievan Rus, or what historians hide»

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 Kiev. It arose as a union of Slavic tribes: Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Polochans, Radimichi, Severyans, 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 chief of Kievan Rus was Rurik, who took the throne in Novgorod.

Princes of Kievan Rus

864 - Varangians Askold and Dir seized princely power in Kiev
882 - Varyag Oleg, who reigned in Novgorod, killed Askold and Dir, sat down to reign in Kiev, 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 - The death of Svyatoslav at the hands of the Pechenegs. Kiev throne took Yaropolk
980 - The death of Yaropolk in the civil strife with his brother Vladimir. Vladimir- Kiev prince
1015 - Death of Vladimir. Power in Kiev was seized by his son Svyatopolk
1016 - A three-year struggle for supremacy in Russia between Svyatopolk and Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod
1019 - The death of Svyatopolk. Yaroslav, nicknamed the wise - prince in Kiev
1054 - After the death of Yaroslav, the throne was taken by his son Izyaslav
1068 - The uprising of the Kiev people, the proclamation of the Polotsk prince by them 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 - The death of Izyaslav at the hands of his nephew Oleg Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov. Kiev 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.

A Brief History of Kievan Rus

Kiev was the center of Kievan Rus until 1169, when it was captured and plundered by the troops of the prince of Rostov-Suzdal Andrey Bogolyubsky

Cities of Kievan Rus

Novgorod (until 1136)
Pskov
Chernihiv
Polotsk
Smolensk
Lyubech
Zhitomir
Iskorosten
Vyshhorod
crossed
Pereyaslavl
Darkness

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

Kievan Rus was first formed in the lands of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, it was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, and from the middle of the ninth century until 1240 the Russian state was centered around the city of Kiev. Kievan Rus was inhabited by Eastern Slavs, Finns and the peoples of the Baltic, who lived in the territories along the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Lovat, Volkhva and in the upper Volga.

All these peoples and territories recognized the Rurik dynasty as their rulers, and after 988 they formally recognized the Christian Church, headed by the metropolitan in Kiev. Kievan Rus was destroyed by the Mongols in 1237-1240. The era of Kievan Rus is considered in history as a stage in the formation of modern Ukraine and Russia.

The process of formation of the Russian state is the subject of controversy among Norman historians. They argue that the Scandinavian Vikings played a key role in the creation of Russia. Their view is based on the archaeological evidence of Scandinavian travelers and traders in the regions of northwestern Russia and the upper Volga since the 8th century.

He also relies on an account in the Primary Chronicle, compiled in the 11th and early 12th centuries, which reports that in 862 the tribes of Slavs and Finns in the vicinity of the Lovat and Volkhov rivers invited the Varangian Rurik and his brothers to restore order to their lands. Rurik and his descendants are considered the founders of the Rurik dynasty, which ruled Kievan Rus. Anti-Normanists downplay the role of the Scandinavians as the founders of the state. They argue that the term Rus refers to the Polans, a Slavic tribe that lived in the Kiev region, and that the Slavs themselves organized their own political structure.

Early years of Kievan Rus

According to the First Chronicle, Rurik's immediate successors were Oleg (r. 879 or 882-912), who was regent for Rurik's son Igor (r. 912-945); Igor's wife Olga (regent for the young son Svyatoslav in 945-964) and their son Svyatoslav Igorevich (ruled in 964-972). They established their rule over Kiev and the surrounding tribes, including the Krivichi (in the region of the Valdai Hills), the Polyans (around Kiev on the Dnieper River), the Drevlyans (south of the Pripyat River, a tributary of the Dnieper) and the Vyatichi, who inhabited the lands along the Oka and Volga rivers.

Since the 10th century, the Ruriks not only took away the subordinate territories and tribute from them from the Volga Bulgaria and Khazaria, but also pursued an aggressive policy towards these states. In 965, Svyatoslav launched a campaign against Khazaria. His enterprise led to the collapse of the Khazar Empire and the destabilization of the lower Volga and the steppe territories south of the forests inhabited by the Slavs.

His son Vladimir (prince of Kiev in 978-1015), who conquered the Radimichi (east of the Upper Dnieper), attacked the Volga Bulgars in 985; the agreement that he subsequently reached with the Bulgars became the basis for peaceful relations that lasted a century.

The early Rurikovichs also helped out their neighbors in the south and west: in 968, Svyatoslav saved Kiev from the Pechenegs, a steppe tribe of nomadic Turks. However, he was going to establish control over the lands on the Danube River, but the Byzantines forced him to give up this. In 972 he was killed by the Pechenegs when he was returning to Kiev. Vladimir and his sons fought many times with the Pechenegs, built border forts, which seriously reduced the threat to Kievan Rus.

Rurik's heirs and power in Kievan Rus

Shortly after the death of Svyatoslav, his son Yaropolk became the Prince of Kiev. But conflict broke out between him and his brothers, which prompted Vladimir to flee Novgorod, the city he ruled, and raise an army in Scandinavia. Upon his return in 978, he first became related to the prince of Polotsk, one of the last non-Rurik rulers of the Eastern Slavs.

Vladimir married his daughter and strengthened his army with the prince's army, with which he defeated Yaropolk and seized the throne of Kiev. Vladimir outmaneuvered both his brothers and the rival non-Rurik rulers of neighboring powers, gaining for himself and his heirs a monopoly of power throughout the region.

Prince Vladimir decided to baptize Kievan Rus. Although Christianity, Judaism and Islam have long been known in these lands, and Olga personally converted to Christianity, the population of Kievan Rus remained pagan. When Vladimir took the throne, he tried to create a single pantheon of gods for his people, but soon abandoned this, choosing Christianity.

Renouncing his many wives and concubines, he married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor Basil. The Patriarch of Constantinople appointed a metropolitan for Kiev and all Russia, and in 988 the Byzantine clergy baptized the population of Kiev on the Dnieper.

After the adoption of Christianity, Vladimir sent his eldest sons to rule over different parts of Russia. Each prince was accompanied by a bishop. The lands ruled by the Rurik princes and subordinate to the Kievan church constituted Kievan Rus.

The structure of the Kievan Rus state

During the 11th and 12th centuries, Vladimir's descendants developed a dynastic political structure to govern the ever-increasing realm. However, during this period there are different characteristics of the political development of the state. Some argue that Kievan Rus reached its apogee in the 11th century. The next century saw a decline, marked by the emergence of powerful autonomous principalities and warfare between their princes. Kiev lost its centralizing role, and Kievan Rus collapsed before the Mongol invasion.

But there are opinions that Kiev has not ceased to be viable. Some argue that Kievan Rus maintained its integrity throughout the entire period. Although it became an increasingly complex state, containing numerous principalities that competed in the political and economic sectors, dynastic and ecclesiastical ties ensured their cohesion. The city of Kiev remained a recognized political, economic and ecclesiastical center.

Establishing an effective political structure became a constant challenge for the Rurikids. In the 11th and 12th centuries, princely administration gradually replaced all other rulers. Already during the reign of Olga, her officials began to replace the leaders of the tribes.

Vladimir distributed the regions among his sons, to whom he also delegated responsibility for tax collection, protection of roads and trade, as well as local defense and territorial expansion. Each prince had his own squad, which was supported by tax revenues, commercial fees and booty captured in battle. They also had the authority and means to recruit additional forces.

"Russian Truth" - a code of laws of Kievan Rus

However, when Vladimir died in 1015, his sons engaged in a power struggle that ended only after four of them died and two others, Yaroslav and Mstislav, divided the kingdom among themselves. When Mstislav died (1036), Yaroslav became completely in control of Kievan Rus. Yaroslav passed a law known as "Russian Truth", which, with amendments, remained in force throughout the era of Kievan Rus.

He also tried to put dynastic relations in order. Before his death, he wrote a "Testament" in which he handed over Kiev to his eldest son Izyaslav. He placed his son Svyatoslav in Chernigov, Vsevolod in Pereyaslavl, and his younger sons in small towns. He told them all to obey their elder brother as a father. Historians believe that the "Testament" laid the foundation for the succession of power, which included the principle of transferring power according to seniority among the princes, the so-called ladder order (when power is transferred to the eldest relative, not necessarily the son), the specific system of land ownership by side branches of heirs and dynastic power of Kievan Rus. Having appointed Kiev to the senior prince, he left Kiev the center of the state.

The fight against the Polovtsians

This dynastic system, through which each prince kept in touch with his immediate neighbors, served as an effective means of protecting and expanding Kievan Rus. He also encouraged cooperation between the princes if danger arose. The invasions of the Polovtsy, the Turkic nomads who moved to the steppe and ousted the Pechenegs in the second half of the 11th century, were opposed by the concerted actions of the princes Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod in 1068. Although the Cumans were victorious, they retreated after another encounter with Svyatoslav's forces. With the exception of one border skirmish in 1071, they refrained from attacking Russia for the next twenty years.

When the Cumans resumed hostilities in the 1090s, the Ruriks were in a state of internecine conflict. Their ineffective defense allowed the Polovtsians to reach the outskirts of Kiev and burn the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, founded in the middle of the 11th century. But after the princes agreed at the congress in 1097, they were able to push the Polovtsy into the steppe and defeated them. After these military campaigns, relative peace was established for 50 years.

The growth of the Rurik dynasty and the struggle for power in Kievan Rus

However, the dynasty grew, and the system of succession required revision. Confusion and constant disputes arose in connection with the definition of seniority, the rights of side branches to destinies. In 1097, when internecine wars became so serious that they weakened the defense against the Cumans, the princely congress in Lyubech decided that each appanage in Kievan Rus would become hereditary for a certain branch of heirs. The only exceptions were Kiev, which in 1113 returned to the status of a dynastic possession, and Novgorod, which by 1136 approved the right to choose its prince.

The congress in Lyubech ordered the succession of the throne of Kiev for the next forty years. When Svyatopolk Izyaslavich died, his cousin Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh became the prince of Kiev (1113-1125). He was succeeded by his sons Mstislav (ruled 1125-1132) and Yaropolk (ruled 1132-1139). But the Lubech Congress also recognized the division of the dynasty into separate branches and Kievan Rus into various principalities. The heirs of Svyatoslav ruled Chernigov. The principalities of Galicia and Volhynia, located southwest of Kiev, acquired the status of separate principalities at the end of the 11th and 12th centuries, respectively. In the twelfth century, Smolensk, north of Kiev on the headwaters of the Dnieper, and Rostov-Suzdal, northeast of Kiev, also became powerful principalities. The northwestern part of the kingdom was dominated by Novgorod, whose strength was based on its lucrative commercial relations with the Scandinavian and German merchants of the Baltic, as well as on its own vast territory, which extended to the Urals by the end of the 11th century.

The changing political structure contributed to repeated dynastic conflicts for the throne of Kiev. Some princes, having no claim to Kiev, focused on developing their increasingly autonomous principalities. But the heirs, who became princes of Volyn, Rostov-Suzdal, Smolensk and Chernigov, began to get involved in succession disputes, often caused by the attempts of the young to bypass the older generation and reduce the number of princes eligible for the throne.

Serious civil strife occurred after the death of Yaropolk Vladimirovich, who tried to appoint his nephew as successor and thereby aroused objections from his younger brother Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince of Rostov-Suzdal. As a result of discord among the heirs of Monomakh, Vsevolod Olgovich from Chernigov sat on the Kiev throne (1139-1146), taking a place on the Kiev throne for his dynastic branch. After his death, the struggle resumed between Yuri Dolgoruky and his nephews; it continued until 1154, when Yuri finally ascended the throne of Kiev and restored the traditional order of succession.

An even more destructive conflict broke out after the death in 1167 of Rostislav Mstislavovich, the successor of his uncle Yuri. When Mstislav Izyaslavich, Prince of Volyn of the next generation, tried to seize the throne of Kiev, a coalition of princes opposed him. Led by Yuriy's son Andrei Bogolyubsky, he represented the older generation of princes, including also the sons of the late Rostislav and the princes of Chernigov. The struggle ended in 1169, when Andrew's army expelled Mstislav Izyaslavich from Kiev and plundered the city. Andrei's brother Gleb became the prince of Kiev.

Prince Andrew personified the growing tension between the increasingly powerful principalities of Kievan Rus and the state center in Kiev. As prince of Vladimir-Suzdal (Rostovo-Suzdal), he focused on the development of the city of Vladimir and challenged the primacy of Kiev. Andrei persistently advocated that the rulers in Kiev should be replaced according to the principle of seniority. However, after Gleb died in 1171, Andrei was unable to secure the throne for his other brother. The prince of the Chernigov line, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich (reigned 1173-1194), took the throne of Kiev and established a dynastic peace.

At the turn of the century, the right to the throne of Kiev was limited to three dynastic lines: the princes of Volyn, Smolensk and Chernigov. Since opponents were often of the same generation, and yet the sons of former grand dukes, dynastic succession traditions did not make it very clear which prince had seniority. By the mid-1230s, the princes of Chernigov and Smolensk were mired in a long conflict that had serious consequences. During the hostilities, Kiev was devastated two more times, in 1203 and 1235. Disagreements revealed a divergence between the southern and western principalities, which were mired in conflicts over Kiev, while the north and east were relatively indifferent. Conflicts between the Rurik princes, exacerbated by the lack of cohesion of the parts of Kievan Rus, undermined the integrity of the state. Kievan Rus remained practically defenseless against the Mongol invasion.

Economy of Kievan Rus

When Kievan Rus was first formed, its population consisted mainly of peasants who grew cereals, as well as peas, lentils, flax and hemp, clearing forest areas for fields by cutting and uprooting trees or burning them with a slash-and-burn method. They also fished, hunted and gathered fruits, berries, nuts, mushrooms, honey and other natural products from the forests around their villages.

However, trade provided the economic basis for Kievan Rus. In the 10th century, the Rurikovichs, accompanied by squads, made annual detours of their subjects and collected tribute. During one of these raids in 945, Prince Igor met his death when he and his people, collecting tribute from the Drevlyans, tried to take more than they were supposed to. Kiev princes collected furs, honey and wax, loaded goods and prisoners onto boats, which were also taken from the local population, and along the Dnieper they got to the Byzantine market of Kherson. Twice they undertook military campaigns against Constantinople - in 907 Oleg and in 944, less successfully, Igor. The arrangements obtained as a result of the wars allowed the Rus to trade not only in Cherson, but also in Constantinople, where they had access to goods from almost every corner of the known world. This advantage allowed the Rurik princes of Kiev to control all traffic moving north from the cities to the Black Sea and neighboring markets.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" ran along the Dnieper north to Novgorod, which controlled the trade routes from the Baltic Sea. Novgorod goods were also transported east along the upper Volga through Rostov-Suzdal to Bulgaria. In this center of trade on the Middle Volga, which connected Russia with the markets of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea, the Russians exchanged their goods for oriental silver coins or dirhams (until the beginning of the 11th century) and luxury goods: silks, glassware, fine ceramics.

Social strata of Kievan Rus

The establishment of the political dominance of the Rurikovich changed the class composition of the region. The princes themselves, their squads, servants and slaves were added to the peasants. After the introduction of Christianity by Prince Vladimir, along with these estates, the clergy arose. Vladimir also changed the cultural face of Kievan Rus, especially in its urban centers. In Kiev, Vladimir built a stone church of the Most Holy Theotokos (also known as the Church of the Tithes), surrounded by two other palace structures. The ensemble formed the central part of the "city of Vladimir", which was surrounded by new fortifications. Yaroslav expanded the "city of Vladimir" by building new fortifications, which turned out to be part of the theater of operations when he defeated the Pechenegs in 1036. The Golden Gates of Kiev were installed in the southern wall. Within the protected area, Vladimir built a new complex of churches and palaces, the most impressive of which was the brick Hagia Sophia, where the Metropolitan himself served. The cathedral became the symbolic center of Christianity in Kiev.

The introduction of Christianity met with resistance in some parts of Kievan Rus. In Novgorod, representatives of the new church threw an idol into the Volkhov River, as a result, a popular uprising broke out. But the landscape of Novgorod quickly changed with the construction of wooden churches, and in the middle of the 11th century, the stone Hagia Sophia. In Chernigov, Prince Mstislav built in 1035 the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Savior.

By agreement with the Rurikids, the church became legally responsible for a range of social and family acts, including birth, marriage, and death. The ecclesiastical courts were under the jurisdiction of the priests and enforced Christian norms and rites in the larger community. Although the church received income from its courts, the clergy were not very successful in their attempts to convince the people to abandon pagan customs. But to the extent that they were adopted, Christian social and cultural standards provided a common identity for the different tribes that made up the society of Kievan Rus.

The spread of Christianity and the construction of churches strengthened and expanded trade relations between Kiev and Byzantium. Kiev also attracted Byzantine artists and artisans, who designed and decorated early Russian churches and taught their style to local students. Kiev became the center of handicraft production in Kievan Rus in the 11th and 12th centuries.

While architecture, mosaic art, fresco and iconography were the visible attributes of Christianity, Kievan Rus received from the Greeks chronicles, the lives of saints, sermons and other literature. The outstanding literary works of this era were the Primary Chronicle or The Tale of Bygone Years, compiled by the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and the Sermon on Law and Grace, compiled (circa 1050) by Metropolitan Hilarion, the first native of Kievan Rus to head the church.

In the 12th century, despite the emergence of competing political centers within Kievan Rus and repeated sacks of Kiev (1169, 1203, 1235), the city continued to flourish economically. Its population, estimated to have reached between 36,000 and 50,000 by the end of the 12th century, included princes, soldiers, clerics, merchants, artisans, unskilled laborers, and slaves. Kiev artisans produced glassware, glazed ceramics, jewelry, religious items and other goods that were sold throughout the territory of Russia. Kiev also remained a center of foreign trade and increasingly imported foreign goods, exemplified by Byzantine amphoras used as vessels for wine, to other Russian cities.

The spread of political centers within Kievan Rus was accompanied by economic growth and an increase in social strata, characteristic of Kiev. Novgorod's economy also continued to trade with the Baltic region and with Bulgaria. By the twelfth century, artisans in Novgorod had also mastered enamelling and fresco painting. The developing economy of Novgorod supported a population of 20,000 to 30,000 by the beginning of the 13th century. Volyn and Galicia, Rostov-Suzdal and Smolensk, whose princes competed with Kiev, became much more economically active on trade routes. The construction of the brick Church of the Mother of God in Smolensk (1136-1137), the Assumption Cathedral (1158) and the Golden Gates in Vladimir reflected the wealth concentrated in these centers. Andrei Bogolyubsky also built his own Bogolyubovo palace complex outside Vladimir and celebrated the victory over the Volga Bulgars in 1165 by building the Church of the Intercession next to the Nerl River. In each of these principalities, the boyars, officials, and servants of the princes formed local landowning aristocracies as well as consumers of foreign-made luxury goods in Kiev and their own cities.

Mongol Empire and the collapse of Kievan Rus

In 1223, the troops of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, reached the steppe in the south of Kievan Rus for the first time. they defeated the combined army of Polovtsians and Russ from Kiev, Chernigov and Volhynia. The Mongols returned in 1236 when they attacked Bulgaria. In 1237-1238 they conquered Ryazan and then Vladimir-Suzdal. In 1239 the southern cities of Pereyaslavl and Chernigov were devastated, and in 1240 Kiev was conquered.

The fall of Kievan Rus happened with the fall of Kiev. But the Mongols did not stop and attacked Galicia and Volhynia before invading Hungary and Poland. In the lower reaches of the Volga, the Mongols founded part of their empire, commonly known as. The surviving Rurik princes went to the Horde to pay tribute to the Mongol Khan. Khan assigned to each of the princes of their principality, with the exception of Prince Michael of Chernigov - he executed him. So the Mongols ended the collapse of the once strong state of Kievan Rus.

Kievan Rus or Old Russian state- a medieval state in Eastern Europe, which arose in the 9th century as a result of the unification of the East Slavic tribes under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty.

In the period of its highest prosperity, it occupied the territory from the Taman Peninsula in the south, the Dniester and the upper reaches of the Vistula in the west to the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina in the north.

By the middle of the XII century, it entered a state of fragmentation and actually broke up into a dozen separate principalities, ruled by different branches of the Rurikovich. Political ties were maintained between the principalities, Kiev continued to formally remain the main table of Russia, and the Kiev principality was considered as the collective possession of all the Rurikids. The end of Kievan Rus is considered the Mongol invasion (1237-1240), after which the Russian lands ceased to form a single political entity, and Kiev fell into decay for a long time and finally lost its nominal capital functions.

In chronicle sources, the state is called "Rus" or "Russian land", in Byzantine sources - "Rosia".

Term

The definition of "Old Russian" is not connected with the division of antiquity and the Middle Ages generally accepted in historiography in Europe in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. In relation to Russia, it is usually used to refer to the so-called. "pre-Mongolian" period of the IX - the middle of the XIII centuries, in order to distinguish this era from the following periods of Russian history.

The term "Kievan Rus" arose at the end of the 18th century. In modern historiography, it is used both to refer to a single state that existed until the middle of the 12th century, and for a wider period of the middle of the 12th - the middle of the 13th centuries, when Kiev remained the center of the country and Russia was ruled by a single princely family on the principles of "collective suzerainty".

Pre-revolutionary historians, starting with N. M. Karamzin, adhered to the idea of transferring the political center of Russia in 1169 from Kiev to Vladimir, dating back to the works of Moscow scribes, or to Vladimir and Galich. However, in modern historiography, these points of view are not popular, as they are not confirmed in the sources.

The problem of the emergence of statehood

There are two main hypotheses for the formation of the Old Russian state. According to the Norman theory, based on the Tale of Bygone Years of the XII century and numerous Western European and Byzantine sources, statehood was introduced to Russia from outside by the Varangians - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor in 862. The founders of the Norman theory are German historians Bayer, Miller, Schlozer, who worked at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The point of view about the external origin of the Russian monarchy was generally held by Nikolai Karamzin, who followed the versions of The Tale of Bygone Years.

The anti-Norman theory is based on the concept of the impossibility of introducing statehood from outside, on the idea of the emergence of the state as a stage in the internal development of society. Mikhail Lomonosov was considered the founder of this theory in Russian historiography. In addition, there are different points of view on the origin of the Varangians themselves. Scientists classified as Normanists considered them Scandinavians (usually Swedes), some anti-Normanists, starting with Lomonosov, suggest their origin from the West Slavic lands. There are also intermediate versions of localization - in Finland, Prussia, another part of the Baltic states. The problem of the ethnicity of the Varangians is independent of the question of the emergence of statehood.

In modern science, the point of view prevails, according to which the rigid opposition of "Normanism" and "anti-Normanism" is largely politicized. The prerequisites for the original statehood among the Eastern Slavs were not seriously denied either by Miller, or Schlözer, or Karamzin, and the external (Scandinavian or other) origin of the ruling dynasty is a fairly common phenomenon in the Middle Ages, which in no way proves the inability of the people to create a state or, more specifically, the institution of a monarchy. Questions about whether Rurik was a real historical person, what is the origin of the chronicle Varangians, whether the ethnonym (and then the name of the state) is associated with them Russia, continue to be debatable in modern Russian historical science. Western historians generally follow the concept of Normanism.

History

Education of Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus arose on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" on the lands of the East Slavic tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, then embracing the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Polochans, Radimichi, Severyans, Vyatichi.

According to the chronicle legend, the founders of Kiev are the rulers of the Polyan tribe - the brothers Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv. According to archaeological excavations conducted in Kiev in the 19th-20th centuries, already in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. there was a settlement on the site of Kiev. Arab writers of the 10th century (al-Istarkhi, Ibn Khordadbeh, Ibn-Khaukal) later speak of Kuyab as a large city. Ibn Haukal wrote: “The king lives in a city called Kuyaba, which is larger than Bolgar ... Russ constantly trade with Khazar and Rum (Byzantium)”

The first information about the state of the Rus dates back to the first third of the 9th century: in 839, the ambassadors of the kagan of the Ros people are mentioned, who first arrived in Constantinople, and from there to the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. Since that time, the ethnonym "Rus" has also become famous. The term "Kievan Rus" appears for the first time in historical studies of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 860 (The Tale of Bygone Years erroneously refers it to 866) Russia makes the first campaign against Constantinople. Greek sources associate it with the so-called first baptism of Russia, after which a diocese may have arisen in Russia, and the ruling elite (possibly led by Askold) adopted Christianity.

In 862, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes called for the reign of the Varangians.

“In the year 6370 (862). They expelled the Varangians across the sea, and did not give them tribute, and began to rule themselves, and there was no truth among them, and clan stood against clan, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: "Let's look for a prince who would rule over us and judge by right." And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia. Those Varangians were called Rus, as others are called Swedes, and others are Normans and Angles, and still others are Gotlanders, and so are these. The Russians said Chud, Slovenes, Krivichi and all: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers were elected with their clans, and they took all of Russia with them, and they came, and the eldest, Rurik, sat in Novgorod, and the other, Sineus, on Beloozero, and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. Novgorodians are those people from the Varangian family, and before they were Slovenes.

In 862 (the date is approximate, like the entire early chronology of the Chronicle), the Varangians, Rurik’s combatants Askold and Dir, sailing to Constantinople, seeking to establish full control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, establish their power over Kiev.

Rurik died in 879 in Novgorod. The reign was transferred to Oleg, the regent under the young son of Rurik Igor.

The reign of Oleg the Prophet

In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg, a relative of Rurik, set off on a campaign from Novgorod to the south. On the way, they captured Smolensk and Lyubech, established their power there and put their people on the reign. Further, Oleg, with the Novgorod army and a mercenary Varangian squad, under the guise of merchants, captured Kiev, killed Askold and Dir, who ruled there, and declared Kiev the capital of his state (“And Oleg, the prince, sat down in Kiev, and Oleg said: “May this be the mother of Russian cities “.”); the dominant religion was paganism, although Kiev also had a Christian minority.

Oleg conquered the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichis, the last two unions before that paid tribute to the Khazars.

As a result of the victorious campaign against Byzantium, the first written agreements were concluded in 907 and 911, which provided for preferential terms of trade for Russian merchants (trade duties were canceled, repairs of ships were provided, accommodation for the night), the solution of legal and military issues. The tribes of Radimichi, Severyans, Drevlyans, Krivichi were taxed. According to the chronicle version, Oleg, who bore the title of Grand Duke, ruled for more than 30 years. Rurik's own son Igor took the throne after the death of Oleg around 912 and ruled until 945.

Igor Rurikovich

Igor made two military campaigns against Byzantium. The first, in 941, ended unsuccessfully. It was also preceded by an unsuccessful military campaign against Khazaria, during which Russia, acting at the request of Byzantium, attacked the Khazar city of Samkerts on the Taman Peninsula, but was defeated by the Khazar commander Pesach, and then turned its weapons against Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944. It ended with an agreement that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous agreements of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. In 943 or 944, a campaign was made against Berdaa. In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. After Igor's death, due to the infancy of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. She became the first ruler of the Old Russian state who officially adopted Christianity of the Byzantine rite (according to the most reasoned version, in 957, although other dates are also proposed). However, around 959 Olga invited the German bishop Adalbert and priests of the Latin rite to Russia (after the failure of their mission, they were forced to leave Kiev).

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Around 962, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all East Slavic tribes to pay tribute to the Khazars. In 965, Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Khazar Khaganate, taking by storm its main cities: Sarkel, Semender and the capital Itil. On the site of the city of Sarkel, he built the Belaya Vezha fortress. Svyatoslav also carried out two trips to Bulgaria, where he intended to create his own state with its capital in the Danube region. He was killed in battle with the Pechenegs while returning to Kiev from an unsuccessful campaign in 972.

After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out for the right to the throne (972-978 or 980). The eldest son Yaropolk became the great prince of Kiev, Oleg received the Drevlyansk lands, Vladimir - Novgorod. In 977, Yaropolk defeated Oleg's squad, Oleg died. Vladimir fled "over the sea", but returned after 2 years with the Varangian squad. During the civil strife, Svyatoslav's son Vladimir Svyatoslavich (r. 980-1015) defended his rights to the throne. Under him, the formation of the state territory of Ancient Russia was completed, the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus were annexed.

Characteristics of the state in the IX-X centuries.

Kievan Rus united vast territories inhabited by East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes under its rule. In the annals, the state was called Rus; the word "Russian" in combination with other words was found in various spellings: both with one "s" and with a double one; both with "b" and without it. In a narrow sense, "Rus" meant the territory of Kiev (with the exception of the Drevlyansk and Dregovichi lands), Chernigov-Seversk (with the exception of the Radimich and Vyatichi lands) and Pereyaslav lands; it is in this sense that the term "Rus" was used, for example, in Novgorod sources until the 13th century.

The head of state bore the title of Grand Duke, Prince of Russia. Unofficially, other prestigious titles could sometimes be attached to it, including the Turkic kagan and the Byzantine king. Princely power was hereditary. In addition to the princes, the grand ducal boyars and "husbands" participated in the administration of the territories. These were combatants appointed by the prince. The boyars commanded special squads, territorial garrisons (for example, Pretich commanded the Chernigov squad), which, if necessary, united into a single army. Under the prince, one of the boyar governors also stood out, who often performed the functions of real government, such governors under the juvenile princes were Oleg under Igor, Sveneld under Olga, Svyatoslav and Yaropolk, Dobrynya under Vladimir. At the local level, princely power dealt with tribal self-government in the form of a veche and "city elders".

Druzhina

Druzhina in the period of IX-X centuries. was hired. A significant part of it was the newcomers Varangians. It was also replenished by people from the Baltic lands and local tribes. The size of the annual payment of a mercenary is estimated by historians in different ways. Wages were paid in silver, gold and furs. Usually a warrior received about 8-9 Kiev hryvnias (more than 200 silver dirhams) per year, but by the beginning of the 11th century, the pay for an ordinary soldier was 1 northern hryvnia, which is much less. Helmsmen on ships, elders and townspeople received more (10 hryvnias). In addition, the squad was fed at the expense of the prince. Initially, this was expressed in the form of dining, and then turned into one of the forms of taxes in kind, "feeding", the maintenance of the squad by the tax-paying population during polyudya. Among the squads subordinate to the Grand Duke, his personal “small”, or junior, squad, which included 400 soldiers, stands out. The Old Russian army also included a tribal militia, which could reach several thousand in each tribe. The total number of the Old Russian army reached from 30 to 80 thousand people.

Taxes (tribute)

The form of taxes in Ancient Russia was tribute, which was paid by subject tribes. Most often, the unit of taxation was "smoke", that is, a house, or a family hearth. The size of the tax has traditionally been one skin from the smoke. In some cases, from the Vyatichi tribe, a coin was taken from a ral (plough). The form of tribute collection was polyudye, when the prince with his retinue traveled around his subjects from November to April. Russia was divided into several taxable districts, polyudye in the Kiev district passed through the lands of the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Krivichi, Radimichi and Northerners. A special district was Novgorod, paying about 3,000 hryvnias. According to a late Hungarian legend, the maximum amount of tribute in the 10th century was 10,000 marks (30,000 or more hryvnias). The collection of tribute was carried out by squads of several hundred soldiers. The dominant ethno-class group of the population, which was called "Rus" paid the prince a tenth of their annual income.

In 946, after the suppression of the uprising of the Drevlyans, Princess Olga carried out a tax reform, streamlining the collection of tribute. She established "lessons", that is, the amount of tribute, and created "graveyards", fortresses on the path of polyudy, in which princely administrators lived and where tribute was brought. This form of tribute collection and the tribute itself was called "cart". When paying the tax, subjects received clay seals with a princely sign, which insured them from re-collection. The reform contributed to the centralization of grand ducal power and the weakening of the power of tribal princes.

Right

In the 10th century, customary law operated in Russia, which is called the “Russian Law” in the sources. Its norms are reflected in the treaties of Russia and Byzantium, in the Scandinavian sagas and in Yaroslav's Pravda. They concerned the relationship between equal people, Russia, one of the institutions was "vira" - a fine for murder. Laws guaranteed property relations, including ownership of slaves (“servants”).

The principle of inheritance of power in the IX-X centuries is unknown. The heirs were often underage (Igor Rurikovich, Svyatoslav Igorevich). In the XI century, princely power in Russia was transferred along the "ladder", that is, not necessarily the son, but the eldest in the family (the uncle had an advantage over the nephews). At the turn of the XI-XII centuries, two principles clashed, and a struggle broke out between the direct heirs and the side lines.

monetary system

In the X century, a more or less unified monetary system developed, focused on the Byzantine liter and the Arab dirham. The main monetary units were the hryvnia (monetary and weight unit of ancient Russia), kuna, nogata and rezana. They had a silver and fur expression.

State type

Historians assess the nature of the state of this period in different ways: “barbarian state”, “military democracy”, “druzhina period”, “Norman period”, “military-commercial state”, “folding of the early feudal monarchy”.

Baptism of Russia and its heyday

Under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 988, Christianity became the official religion of Russia. Having become the prince of Kiev, Vladimir faced the increased Pecheneg threat. To protect against nomads, he builds a line of fortresses on the border. It was during the time of Vladimir that the action of many Russian epics telling about the exploits of heroes takes place.

Crafts and trade. Monuments of writing (“The Tale of Bygone Years”, the Novgorod Codex, the Ostromir Gospel, Lives) and architecture (the Church of the Tithes, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and the cathedrals of the same name in Novgorod and Polotsk) were created. The high level of literacy of the inhabitants of Russia is evidenced by numerous birch bark letters that have come down to our time). Russia traded with the southern and western Slavs, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Western Europe, the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

After the death of Vladimir in Russia, a new civil strife takes place. Svyatopolk the Accursed in 1015 kills his brothers Boris (according to another version, Boris was killed by Yaroslav's Scandinavian mercenaries), Gleb and Svyatoslav. Boris and Gleb in 1071 were canonized as saints. Svyatopolk himself is defeated by Yaroslav and dies in exile.

The reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019 - 1054) was at times the highest flowering of the state. Public relations were regulated by the collection of laws "Russian Truth" and princely charters. Yaroslav the Wise pursued an active foreign policy. He intermarried with many ruling dynasties of Europe, which testified to the wide international recognition of Russia in the European Christian world. Intensive stone construction is unfolding. In 1036, Yaroslav defeats the Pechenegs near Kiev and their raids on Russia stop.

Changes in public administration at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 12th centuries.

During the baptism of Russia in all its lands, the power of the sons of Vladimir I and the power of Orthodox bishops, who were subordinate to the Kiev Metropolitan, were established. Now all the princes who acted as vassals of the Kiev Grand Duke were only from the Rurik family. The Scandinavian sagas mention fief possessions of the Vikings, but they were located on the outskirts of Russia and on the newly annexed lands, so at the time of writing The Tale of Bygone Years, they already seemed like a relic. The Rurik princes waged a fierce struggle with the remaining tribal princes (Vladimir Monomakh mentions the Vyatichi prince Khodota and his son). This contributed to the centralization of power.

The power of the Grand Duke reached its highest level under Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, and later under Vladimir Monomakh. Attempts to strengthen it, but less successfully, were also made by Izyaslav Yaroslavich. The position of the dynasty was strengthened by numerous international dynastic marriages: Anna Yaroslavna and the French king, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the Byzantine princess, etc.

From the time of Vladimir or, according to some reports, Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, instead of a monetary salary, the prince began to distribute land to combatants. If initially these were cities for feeding, then in the 11th century the combatants received villages. Together with the villages, which became estates, the boyar title was also granted. The boyars began to make up the senior squad, which by type was a feudal militia. The younger squad (“youths”, “children”, “gridi”), who was with the prince, lived off feeding from the princely villages and the war. To protect the southern borders, a policy of resettlement of the "best men" of the northern tribes to the south was carried out, and agreements were also concluded with allied nomads, "black hoods" (torks, berendeys and pechenegs). The services of the hired Varangian squad were basically abandoned during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

After Yaroslav the Wise, the "ladder" principle of land inheritance in the Rurik dynasty was finally established. The eldest in the family (not by age, but by line of kinship), received Kiev and became the Grand Duke, all other lands were divided among members of the family and distributed according to seniority. Power passed from brother to brother, from uncle to nephew. The second place in the hierarchy of tables was occupied by Chernihiv. At the death of one of the members of the family, all the younger Ruriks moved to the lands corresponding to their seniority. When new members of the clan appeared, they were assigned a lot - a city with land (volost). In 1097, the principle of mandatory allocation of inheritance to the princes was enshrined.

Over time, the church (“monastic estates”) began to possess a significant part of the land. Since 996, the population has paid tithes to the church. The number of dioceses, starting from 4, grew. The chair of the metropolitan, appointed by the patriarch of Constantinople, began to be located in Kiev, and under Yaroslav the Wise, the metropolitan was first elected from among the Russian priests, in 1051 he became close to Vladimir and his son Hilarion. The monasteries and their elected heads, abbots, began to have great influence. The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery becomes the center of Orthodoxy.

The boyars and the retinue formed special councils under the prince. The prince also consulted with the metropolitan, bishops and abbots, who made up the church council. With the complication of the princely hierarchy, by the end of the 11th century, princely congresses (“snems”) began to gather. There were vechas in the cities, on which the boyars often relied to support their own political demands (the uprisings in Kiev in 1068 and 1113).

In the 11th - early 12th centuries, the first written code of laws was formed - "Russian Pravda", which was consistently replenished with articles "Pravda Yaroslav" (c. 1015-1016), "Pravda Yaroslavichi" (c. 1072) and "Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich" (c. 1113). Russkaya Pravda reflected the growing differentiation of the population (now the size of the virus depended on the social status of the murdered), regulated the position of such categories of the population as servants, serfs, smerds, purchases and ryadovichi.

"Pravda Yaroslava" equalized the rights of "Rusyns" and "Slovenes". This, along with Christianization and other factors, contributed to the formation of a new ethnic community, which was aware of its unity and historical origin.
Since the end of the 10th century, Russia has known its own coin production - silver and gold coins of Vladimir I, Svyatopolk, Yaroslav the Wise and other princes.

Decay

The Principality of Polotsk separated from Kiev for the first time at the beginning of the 11th century. Having concentrated all the other Russian lands under his rule only 21 years after the death of his father, Yaroslav the Wise, dying in 1054, divided them among his five surviving sons. After the death of the two younger of them, all the lands were concentrated in the hands of the three elders: Izyaslav of Kiev, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod Pereyaslavsky (“the triumvirate of Yaroslavichi”). After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, the Kiev princes attempted to deprive his sons of the Chernigov inheritance, and they resorted to the help of the Polovtsy, whose raids began as early as 1061 (immediately after the defeat of the Torques by the Russian princes in the steppes), although for the first time the Polovtsy were used in strife by Vladimir Monomakh (against Vseslav Polotsky). In this struggle, Izyaslav of Kiev (1078) and the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav (1096) died. At the Lyubech Congress (1097), called to stop civil strife and unite the princes to protect themselves from the Polovtsians, the principle was proclaimed: "Let everyone keep his fatherland." Thus, while maintaining the right of the ladder, in the event of the death of one of the princes, the movement of heirs was limited to their patrimony. This made it possible to stop the strife and join forces to fight the Polovtsy, which was moved deep into the steppes. However, this also opened the way to political fragmentation, as a separate dynasty was established in each land, and the Grand Duke of Kiev became the first among equals, losing the role of overlord.

In the second quarter of the 12th century, Kievan Rus actually broke up into independent principalities. The modern historiographic tradition considers the chronological beginning of the period of fragmentation to be 1132, when, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, Polotsk (1132) and Novgorod (1136) ceased to recognize the power of the Kiev prince, and the title itself became an object of struggle between various dynastic and territorial associations of the Rurikovichs. The chronicler under 1134, in connection with the split among the Monomakhoviches, wrote down "the whole Russian land was torn apart."

In 1169, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Andrei Bogolyubsky, having captured Kiev, for the first time in the practice of inter-princely strife, did not reign in it, but gave it to inheritance. From that moment on, Kiev began to gradually lose the political, and then the cultural attributes of the all-Russian center. The political center under Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest moved to Vladimir, whose prince also began to bear the title of great.

Kiev, unlike other principalities, did not become the property of any one dynasty, but served as a constant bone of contention for all strong princes. In 1203, it was again plundered by the Smolensk prince Rurik Rostislavich, who fought against the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. In the battle on the Kalka River (1223), in which almost all South Russian princes took part, the first clash of Russia with the Mongols took place. The weakening of the southern Russian principalities increased the onslaught from the Hungarian and Lithuanian feudal lords, but at the same time contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Vladimir princes in Chernigov (1226), Novgorod (1231), Kiev (in 1236 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied Kiev for two years, while his older brother Yuri remained reign in Vladimir) and Smolensk (1236-1239). During the Mongol invasion of Russia, which began in 1237, in December 1240, Kiev was turned into ruins. It was received by Vladimir princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, recognized by the Mongols as the oldest in Russia, and later by his son Alexander Nevsky. However, they did not move to Kiev, remaining in their ancestral Vladimir. In 1299, the Metropolitan of Kiev moved his residence there. In some church and literary sources, for example, in the statements of the Patriarch of Constantinople and Vytautas at the end of the 14th century, Kiev continued to be considered the capital at a later time, but by that time it was already a provincial city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The title of "great princes of all Russia" from the beginning of the 14th century began to be worn by the princes of Vladimir.

The nature of the statehood of Russian lands

At the beginning of the XIII century, on the eve of the Mongol invasion in Russia, there were about 15 relatively territorially stable principalities (in turn divided into destinies), three of which: Kiev, Novgorod and Galicia were objects of the all-Russian struggle, and the rest were controlled by their own branches of the Rurikovich. The most powerful princely dynasties were Chernigov Olgovichi, Smolensk Rostislavichi, Volyn Izyaslavichi and Suzdal Yurievichi. After the invasion, almost all Russian lands entered a new round of fragmentation, and in the 14th century the number of great and specific principalities reached approximately 250.

The only all-Russian political body remained the congress of princes, which mainly decided the issues of the struggle against the Polovtsy. The Church also maintained its relative unity (excluding the emergence of local cults of saints and the veneration of the cult of local relics) headed by the metropolitan and fought various kinds of regional "heresies" by convening councils. However, the position of the church was weakened by the strengthening of tribal pagan beliefs in the XII-XIII centuries. Religious authority and "zabozhny" (repression) were weakened. The candidacy of the archbishop of Veliky Novgorod was proposed by the Novgorod veche, there are also known cases of the expulsion of the lord (archbishop) ..

During the period of fragmentation of Kievan Rus, political power passed from the hands of the prince and the younger squad to the intensified boyars. If earlier the boyars had business, political and economic relations with the whole family of Rurikoviches headed by the Grand Duke, now they have with individual families of specific princes.

In the Principality of Kiev, the boyars, in order to reduce the intensity of the struggle between the princely dynasties, in a number of cases supported the duumvirate (coordination) of the princes and even resorted to the physical elimination of the alien princes (Yuri Dolgoruky was poisoned). The Kiev boyars sympathized with the authorities of the senior branch of the descendants of Mstislav the Great, but external pressure was too strong for the position of the local nobility to become decisive in the choice of princes. In the Novgorod land, which, like Kiev, did not become the patrimony of the specific princely branch of the Rurik family, retaining its all-Russian significance, and during the anti-princely uprising, a republican system was established - from now on, the prince was invited and expelled by the veche. In the Vladimir-Suzdal land, the princely power was traditionally strong and sometimes even prone to despotism. There is a known case when the boyars (Kuchkovichi) and the younger squad physically eliminated the prince of the “autocratic” Andrei Bogolyubsky. In the southern Russian lands, city vechas played a huge role in the political struggle, there were also vechas in the Vladimir-Suzdal land (there are references to them up to the 14th century). In the Galician land, there was a unique case of the election of a prince from among the boyars.

The main type of troops was the feudal militia, the senior squad received personal inheritable land rights. For the defense of the city, urban district and settlements, the city militia was used. In Veliky Novgorod, the princely squad was actually hired in relation to the republican authorities, the lord had a special regiment, the townspeople made up a “thousand” (militia led by a thousand), there was also a boyar militia formed from the inhabitants of the “pyatins” (five dependent on the Novgorod boyar families of regions of the Novgorod land). The army of a separate principality did not exceed the size of 8,000 people. The total number of squads and city militia by 1237, according to historians, was about 100 thousand people.

During the period of fragmentation, several monetary systems developed: there are Novgorod, Kiev and "Chernihiv" hryvnias. These were silver bars of various sizes and weights. The northern (Novgorod) hryvnia was oriented towards the northern mark, and the southern - towards the Byzantine liter. Kuna had a silver and fur expression, the former related to the latter as one to four. Old skins, fastened with a princely seal (the so-called "leather money"), were also used as a monetary unit.

The name Rus remained during this period behind the lands in the Middle Dnieper. Residents of different lands usually called themselves after the capital cities of specific principalities: Novgorodians, Suzdalians, Kuryans, etc. Up to the 13th century, according to archeology, tribal differences in material culture persisted, and the spoken Old Russian language was also not unified, preserving the regional- tribal dialects.

Trade

The most important trade routes of Ancient Russia were:

the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, starting from the Varangian Sea, along Lake Nevo, along the Volkhov and Dnieper rivers, leading to the Black Sea, Balkan Bulgaria and Byzantium (the same way, entering from the Black Sea to the Danube, one could get to Great Moravia) ;
the Volga trade route (“the path from the Varangians to the Persians”), which went from the city of Ladoga to the Caspian Sea and further to Khorezm and Central Asia, Persia and Transcaucasia;
a land route that began in Prague and through Kiev went to the Volga and further to Asia.

The denial of the greatness of Russia is a terrible robbery of mankind.
Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich

The origin of the ancient Russian state of Kievan Rus is one of the biggest mysteries in history. Of course, there is an official version that gives many answers, but it has one drawback - it completely sweeps aside everything that happened to the Slavs before 862. Is everything really as bad as it is written in Western books, when the Slavs are compared with half-savage people who are not able to govern themselves and for this were forced to turn to an outsider, the Varangian, to teach them the mind? Of course, this is an exaggeration, since such a people cannot take Byzantium by storm twice before this time, and our ancestors did it!

In this material, we will adhere to the main policy of our site - a statement of facts that are known for certain. Also on these pages we will point out the main points that historians manage under various pretexts, but in our opinion they can shed light on what happened on our lands at that distant time.

Formation of the state of Kievan Rus

Modern history puts forward two main versions, according to which the formation of the state of Kievan Rus took place:

Norman. This theory is based on a rather dubious historical document - The Tale of Bygone Years. Also, supporters of the Norman version talk about various records from European scientists. This version is basic and accepted by history. According to her, the ancient tribes of the eastern communities could not govern themselves and called on three Varangians - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor.
anti-Norman (Russian). The Norman theory, despite being generally accepted, looks rather controversial. After all, it does not answer even a simple question, who are the Vikings? For the first time, anti-Norman statements were formulated by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. This man was distinguished by the fact that he actively defended the interests of his homeland and publicly declared that the history of the ancient Russian state was written by the Germans and had no logic behind it. The Germans in this case are not a nation, as such, but a collective image that was used to call all foreigners who did not speak Russian. They were called dumb, hence the Germans.

In fact, until the end of the 9th century, not a single mention of the Slavs remained in the annals. This is rather strange, since quite civilized people lived here. This issue is analyzed in great detail in the material about the Huns, who, according to numerous versions, were none other than Russians. Now I would like to note that when Rurik came to the ancient Russian state, there were cities, ships, their own culture, their own language, their own traditions and customs. And the cities were quite well fortified from a military point of view. Somehow this is weakly connected with the generally accepted version that our ancestors at that time ran with a digging stick.

The ancient Russian state of Kievan Rus was formed in 862, when the Varangian Rurik came to rule in Novgorod. An interesting point is that this prince carried out his rule of the country from Ladoga. In 864, the companions of the Novgorod prince Askold and Dir went down the Dnieper and discovered the city of Kiev, in which they began to rule. After the death of Rurik, Oleg took custody of his young son, who went on a campaign to Kiev, killed Askold and Dir and took possession of the future capital of the country. It happened in 882. Therefore, the formation of Kievan Rus can be attributed to this date. During the reign of Oleg, the country's possessions expanded due to the conquest of new cities, and there was also a strengthening of international power, as a result of wars with external enemies, such as Byzantium. There were respectable relations between the princes of Novgorod and Kiev, and their minor junctions did not lead to major wars. Reliable information on this subject has not been preserved, but many historians say that these people were brothers and only blood ties held back the bloodshed.

Formation of statehood

Kievan Russia was a truly powerful state, respected in other countries. Its political center was Kiev. It was the capital, which, in its beauty and wealth, had no equal. The impregnable city-fortress Kiev on the banks of the Dnieper was a stronghold of Russia for a long time. This order was violated as a result of the first fragmentation, which damaged the power of the state. It all ended with the invasion of the Tatar-Mongolian troops, who literally razed the "mother of Russian cities" to the ground. According to the surviving records of contemporaries of that terrible event, Kiev was destroyed to the ground and lost forever its beauty, significance and wealth. Since then, the status of the first city did not belong to him.

An interesting expression is “the mother of Russian cities”, which is still actively used by people from different countries. Here we are faced with another attempt to falsify history, since at the moment when Oleg captured Kiev, Russia already existed, and Novgorod was its capital. Yes, and the princes got to the capital city of Kiev itself, having descended along the Dnieper from Novgorod.

Internecine wars and the causes of the collapse of the ancient Russian state

The internecine war is that terrible nightmare that tormented the Russian lands for many decades. The reason for these events was the lack of a coherent system of succession to the throne. In the ancient Russian state, a situation developed when, after one ruler, a huge number of contenders for the throne remained - sons, brothers, nephews, etc. And each of them sought to exercise their right to control Russia. This inevitably led to wars, when the supreme power was asserted by arms.

In the struggle for power, individual applicants did not shy away from anything, even fratricide. The story of Svyatopolk the Accursed, who killed his brothers, is widely known, for which he received this nickname. Despite the contradictions that reigned within the Rurikids, Kievan Rus was ruled by the Grand Duke.

In many ways, it was internecine wars that led the ancient Russian state to a state close to collapse. It happened in 1237, when the ancient Russian lands first heard about the Tatar-Mongols. They brought terrible misfortunes to our ancestors, but internal problems, disunity and unwillingness of the princes to defend the interests of other lands led to a great tragedy, and for a long 2 centuries Russia became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.

All these events led to a completely predictable outcome - the ancient Russian lands began to disintegrate. The date of the beginning of this process is considered to be 1132, which was marked by the death of Prince Mstislav, nicknamed the Great by the people. This led to the fact that the two cities of Polotsk and Novgorod refused to recognize the authority of his successor.

All these events led to the disintegration of the state into small destinies, which were ruled by individual rulers. Of course, the leading role of the Grand Duke also remained, but this title looked more like a crown, which was used only by the strongest as a result of regular civil strife.

Key events

Kievan Rus is the first form of Russian statehood, which had many great pages in its history. The following can be distinguished as the main events of the era of the Kievan rise:

862 - the arrival of the Varangian-Rurik to Novgorod to reign
882 - Prophetic Oleg captured Kiev
907 - campaign against Constantinople
988 - Baptism of Russia
1097 - Lubech Congress of Princes
1125-1132 - reign of Mstislav the Great

Editor's Choice

Ivan Pososhkov - the first Russian people's speller

(1726-02-12) Country: Russian kingdom Scientific sphere: Ivan Tikhonovich Pososhkov (, the village of Pokrovskoye, near Moscow - February 1 ...

Afanasy Nikitin - the great Russian traveler

The beginning of the activity of Afanasy Nikitin Very little is known about the outstanding representative of the Russian people Afanasy Nikitin. There are no reliable...

Mythology of the Great Patriotic War Who won - the main versions

During the Second World War, the Soviet Union and China suffered the most, and not the Jews, Poles or other peoples occupied in ...

Old Russian state of Kievan Rus

Chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" is the only written source confirming the existence of the so-called Kievan Rus ....

The rights of prostitutes, Jews and Clara Zetkin

Historically, Women's Day was conceived as a day for women around the world to stand up for their rights. It was invented by feminists. Full ...

Ancient Slavic tribes of Rus

To narrow the search results, you can refine the query by specifying the fields to search on. The list of fields is presented...

Afanasy Nikitin - traveler and pioneer from Tver Afanasy Nikitin brought from India

From Persia, from the Port of Hormuz (Gurmyz), Afanasy Nikitin went to India. Afanasy Nikitin's journey through India continued...

The poem “I remember a wonderful moment ... A vision of a genius of pure beauty

On the occasion of the 215th anniversary of the birth of Anna Kern and the 190th anniversary of the creation of Pushkin's masterpiece "The Genius of Pure Beauty", Alexander will name her...

The meaning of the phraseological unit "Mustache young lady Pampered young lady

A pampered, unadapted person. “Oh, you, muslin young lady! Just went camping, and you're already tired! - that's what they say...

New

Popular