Periodization of Russian history. Test: Stages of study and periodization of Russian history

« Who can live well in Rus'? "(N. Nekrasov, production: "Who can live well in Rus'?")

« Rus', where are you going? ? (N.V. Gogol, production “Dead Souls”)

- « Who is guilty? "(A.I. Herzen, production: “Who is to blame?”)

- « What to do? "(I. G. Chernyshevsky, production "What to do")

« Who to be? » (V.V. Mayakovsky, production “Who to be?”)

Periodization of Russian history

Traditionally, Russian history is counted from 862, when the Varangians from Scandinavia came to Rus' and became princes of the Russian lands. Russian civilization is relatively young.

The history of Russia can be divided into 5 cycles:

9th-13th centuries

The period of prosperity was reached under Yaroslav the Wise in the 12th century, when Kievan Rus became one of the leaders of medieval society. The cycle ended as a result of the feudal fragmentation of the state and Tatar-Mongol invasion.

14th century – beginning of the 17th century.

The center of the country was moved to Moscow, and a Moscow State. The cycle reached its peak under Ivan III and ended in national catastrophe during the Time of Troubles.

Early 17th century - early 20th century

The third cycle began with the accession of the Romanov dynasty and reached its peak during the reign of Peter I and Catherine II. Russian empire became one of the world powers. However, later they prevailed conservative tendencies, there was a delay in the transition to an industrial society (almost a century compared to Europe). The completion of this cycle is a series of national catastrophes: defeat in the war with Japan, in the First World War, the collapse of the Russian Empire and civil war.

20 20 century – 1991

The Russian Bolsheviks, with difficulty and using violent methods, reassembled most of the disintegrated empire under the rule of a single center. Local civilization is being revived again, but for the first time not under the flag of Orthodoxy, but of socialism. Soviet Union became a superpower. This cycle ended with economic and geopolitical weakening, internal national problems and then the collapse of the USSR.

Many people think that in the 20th century. The natural course of Russian history was interrupted by a catastrophe. Tens of millions of people died at the hands of their fellow citizens and with their consent. There was a sharp degradation of morals and culture. This situation is sometimes compared to the death of classical ancient culture.

Since 1991

Having abandoned socialist ideology and overcome economic crisis 90, Russian Federation looking for a way to a better future.

(According to the book by Kononenko, B.I.: Culture. Civilization. Russia.)

Features of Russian history

Several times in the thousand-year history of Russia, radical socio-political and economic transformations took place (the era of the reign of Peter I, socialism, reforms of the 90s of the 20th century).
Several times the country reached a dead end (Time of Troubles, socialism). The population often experienced disasters. Wars and famines recurred.

However, against the tragic background of Russian history, a high culture arose, stages of upsurges in spirituality were observed, and global successes in science were achieved.

East-West

Russian history alternates between eastern and western phases. Russians see their country as largely Asian, which needs to be civilized along the European path.
Western historians see in Russia more of a type of Eastern society (people rule, not the law; power is concentrated in the hands of one person; there is no understanding of the individual as an absolute value).
However, Russian civilization can generally be considered hybrid: it includes elements of Europeanism and Asianism.

Eastern Slavs and Kievan Rus

East Slavs

In the 6th-8th centuries. in progress final stage Great Migration various tribes of the Eastern Slavs (for example, Vyatichi, Drevlyans, Krivichi, etc.) settled over a vast area from the Middle Dnieper in the south to Lake Ladoga in the north, from the Western Bug in the west to the Volga in the east.
Although the conditions for the effective development of agriculture in these areas were unsuitable due to the harsh climate (the fertile southern steppe regions were occupied by nomadic tribes - Cumans, Pechenegs, Turks, Khazars, etc.), the Eastern Slavs were mainly engaged in agriculture, as well as hunting and fishing and cattle breeding. They traded honey, wax, and furs.
At the head of the East Slavic communities were the prince and his squads. Their residences were fortified settlements - cities.

The religion of the Eastern Slavs was paganism - they revered natural gods (Perun is the main god, the god of thunder and lightning, Radegast is the sun god).

Rus' and Kievan Rus

The north-south water trade route passed along the Dnieper and Volkhov rivers "from the Varangians to the Greeks". This route was chosen by the Varangians, a northern tribe of Scandinavians (Vikings) for trade with Byzantium. Large cities arose on it - Novgorod And Kyiv.

In 862, the Varangians created the earliest union of East Slavic lands in Novgorod - Rus, later called Kievan Rus.
The Varangians left traces in the Russian language - for example, the name Vladimir = Waldemar, Olga = Helga. The word “Rus” possibly comes from the Finnish “Ruotsi”, which, according to one hypothesis, was the name of the tribes of the Eastern Slavs.

The first ruler of Rus' was the Varangian prince (Hrörekr, Roderick) who came to Novgorod. The founder of the first dynasty of Russian rulers - the Rurikovichs. Under Rurik's heir, prince Oleg, Kyiv was annexed to his lands, which became the capital of the principality.

In 988 under the prince Vladimir Orthodox Christianity, borrowed from Byzantium, was adopted. A sculpture of the pagan god Perun in Kyiv was thrown into the Dnieper River.
After baptism, it penetrates into Rus' Slavic writing, created in the 9th century. Cyril and Methodius.

Kievan Rus developed intensive trade and cultural ties with Byzantium. Byzantine civilization left many traces in Russian society.

Kievan Rus reaches its peak in the half of the 11th century. at Yaroslav the Wise. At this time, it was part of the advanced European states, and its rich diplomatic and trade ties with Europe were strengthened. Yaroslav's sons married European princesses, his daughters married European kings.
Under Yaroslav, the first set of laws of Ancient Rus' was adopted - Russian Truth .
In 1125, with the end of the reign Vladimir Monomakh, Kievan Rus broke up into separate principalities.

The first written monument testifying to the early history of Russia is the chronicle The Tale of Bygone Years , created by monks in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

At the initial stage of the development of Rus', the geographical location at the crossroads of Eurasian trade and migration routes played an important role. The history of that time is an almost continuous struggle between sedentary (mostly Slavic) and nomadic (mostly Asian) peoples. Kievan Rus blocked the way to the west for hordes of nomads. A myth arises about Russia as the “shield of Europe.”

Period of feudal fragmentation

After the collapse of Kievan Rus, a system of separate, virtually independent principalities was formed. They folded around big cities Kievan Rus. The most significant: Novgorod, Vladimir-Suzdal, Smolensk, Chernigov, Later Tverskoye.

Novgorod land

Novgorod was the most developed, largest shopping center. He had his own money, laws, army, government system (“boyar republic”). The most valuable architectural monuments arose here.
The famous prince was from Novgorod Alexander Nevskiy, who twice defended the land from enemies - from the Swedes (battle on the Neva River, 1240) and the Teutonic knights (Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi, 1242).

Mongol-Tatar yoke

At the beginning of the 13th century. a large army of new nomads led by Genghis Khan approached the southeastern borders of Rus'.
In 1237, a union of Mongol tribes was founded in the lower reaches of the Volga River. Golden Horde. From here the Mongols invaded Russian lands, took Ryazan, Vladimir, Moscow, and ravaged Kyiv. From Rus' Mongol troops began a trip to Central Europe.
For 240 years, the Russian lands were practically a protectorate of the Mongol Empire and paid it an annual tribute.
In 1380, the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy defeated the Tatars in Battle of Kulikovo Field and marked the beginning of liberation.

Consequences of the invasion

Many cities were destroyed, crafts were forgotten, and construction was stopped. The invasion caused a deep decline in culture and a long lag between Russia and Western Europe.

An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar. (Russian folk proverb)

Moscow State

The Moscow princes took advantage of Moscow's advantageous position in the center of the Russian principalities and, with the help of the Golden Horde, eliminated their rivals (princes of the cities of Vladimir, Ryazan and Tver). Moscow began to claim the role of a center in the process of “gathering Russian lands.”
In the middle of the 15th century. The Horde split into the Crimean, Astrakhan, Kazan and Siberian khanates.

Ivan III

In 1462, Ivan III, “Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus',” ascended the throne. The era of his reign is associated with the centralization of the country and calm on its eastern borders. Ivan III annexed the appanage principalities: he suppressed separatism in Novgorod, conquered Yaroslavl, Tver, Pskov, Ryazan. During the reign of the heirs of Ivan III, the borders of the Moscow state continued to expand.

Ideological platform of the Moscow state

• ancient origin of the power of rulers from the Rurik dynasty
• the power of the sovereign is from God himself, the ruler is a fighter for the true faith
• Moscow – “the third Rome” (Moscow is the spiritual center of world Christianity)

After overcoming the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, a huge rise of culture. Stone Kremlin cathedrals grew, and valuable monuments of painting (icons and frescoes by Andrei Rublev) and literature (chronicles, hagiography) arose.

Under Ivan III the first central government bodies(“orders” and institutions that decide matters of state affairs - for example, the Ambassadorial Prikaz, the predecessor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Was written Code of Law , a new set of laws.
A merchant class was formed (for example, the famous old Stroganov family), crafts and construction developed. However, in the economic field, the life of people (the population numbered about 6.5 million) in the Moscow state developed unevenly - booms were replaced by stagnation, there were frequent crop failures and plague epidemics.

Ivan IV the Terrible

In 1533, three-year-old Ivan IV (later nicknamed the Terrible) ascended the Moscow throne. Throughout his childhood and youth, when he could not actually rule, there was a struggle between boyar factions at court.
In 1547, 16-year-old Ivan, as the first Russian Grand Duke, was officially crowned king.

Personality of Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV grew up in an atmosphere of conspiracies and murders, without a mother, which greatly influenced his psyche. After his beloved wife died, he lost the last signs of humanity. The king, in a fit of anger, even killed his son.

Public Administration Reforms

The young tsar and his boyar assistants carried out a number of reforms.
Created the first Russian parliament - Zemsky Sobor. A system of orders from central bodies governing different areas states.
The population paid cash and in-kind taxes.

Trade Development

In Ivan the Terrible's Russia, industry and trade relations with other countries, mainly Persia and England, developed. English and Dutch merchants and entrepreneurs often arrived in Russia at that time.

Foreign policy and wars

A semi-regular army emerges, and the Tsar fights the enemies of Russia with military means. He manages to conquer the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates (their lands turn into almost deserted spaces); later the Siberian Khanate was also defeated. Lands along the entire Volga River were annexed to Russia, and the occupied territories were colonized. For the first time, Russia turned into a multinational state (non-Slavic and non-Orthodox peoples lived in the newly annexed territories).

At the end of the 50s. 16th century started Livonian Wars(Livonia - today's Latvia and Estonia), which actually ended in the defeat of Russia.

Repression

The monarch's individual power gradually strengthened and his suspicion deepened; the policy of repression affected all segments of the population.
The king divided the state in two: into the so-called. "oprichnina", to which those he trusted were included (the territory of the “oprichnina” occupied a third of the country). Here the boyars, who became the executors of the policy of tsarist terror, ruled in their own way, not constraining themselves by any laws. It was forbidden to talk about the “oprichnina” in the presence of foreigners. The rest of Russia was called "Zemshchina".
Many thousands of people died during the terror. The most terrible evil was the defeat and depopulation of Novgorod.

Consequences of the reign of Ivan IV

Moscow Rus', led by the first Tsar, expanded significantly, turned into a multinational state and began to be called Russia. A strictly centralized monarchy was created.

Time of Troubles

(vague = strange, unclear; turmoil - excitement, rebellion)
The Time of Troubles or Time of Troubles is the name of a stage in the history of Russia when dynasties changed in difficult and unclear conditions.
After the death of Ivan IV the Terrible in 1584, his mentally retarded son became the heir to the throne. Feodor I, who entrusted the conduct of state affairs to his brother-in-law, the guardsman Boris Godunov. Second son of Ivan the Terrible, Dmitriy, died unexpectedly at the age of eight; Godunov was unofficially accused of his murder. After the death of Tsar Feodor, the Zemsky Sobor elected Godunov as tsar. The Rurik dynasty came to an end.

Reign of Boris Godunov

The reign of Boris Godunov was plagued by failures - terrible crop failures and famines, epidemics, invasions, uprisings, in which the people saw signs of God's wrath.
At the end of the 16th century. measures were taken to establish serfdom in Russia.

Impostors

In an atmosphere of general discontent and chaos, impostors appear who act as the heirs of Ivan IV.
In Poland (at that time the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), one young man declared himself the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry. Boris Godunov was killed as a result of a conspiracy, and after the capture of Moscow by the Poles in 1605, an impostor was elevated to the throne in Russia. He entered the history of Russia under the name False Dmitry I. The Russians learned that this was not the real Russian Tsar, as various legends say, for example, by the fact that he did not sleep after dinner, as was customary in Russia, and did not go to the bathhouse. The conspirators soon got rid of the new king.

After royal throne passed from hand to hand, for some time it was again at the disposal of the Poles.
Only in 1613, with the help of the popular patriotic movement (led by Novgorodians Minin and Pozharsky), the Russian throne was liberated from the power of foreigners. The Zemsky Sobor elected to reign Mikhail Romanov. The reign of the Romanov royal dynasty begins.

Board of Mikhail Romanov

The first decades of Romanov power were associated with the tightening of serfdom. The culmination of the peasant resistance was uprising of the Don Cossack Stepan Razin (1667–1671).
Cossacks are former serfs who ran away from their owners, free people living on the outskirts of Russian territory.

Traditionally, the date of the beginning of Russian statehood is considered to be 862, to which the Tale of Bygone Years refers to the calling of the Varangians-Rus (there are different versions about the origin of this people) to Novgorod the Great by tribal unions of the eastern Baltic and upper Volga region: the East Slavic Slovenes and Krivichi and the Finno-Ugric Chuds , measure and weigh. In 882, the Rurik dynasty captured Kyiv and also took possession of the lands of the Polyans, Drevlyans, Severians, Radimichi, Ulichs and Tiverts, which together made up the main territory of the Old Russian state.

Old Russian state

Also Rus', Russian land. IN Western Europe- “Russia” and Rusiya (Russia, Ruscia, Rusca, Rutigia). Since the 11th century, the name “prince of Russians” has been used. And at the beginning of the 12th century (in papal charters) the name “Russia” appears. In Byzantium - Ρως, “Ros”, Title "Russia"(Greek Ρωσα) first used in the middle. 10th century by Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

During the period of maximum expansion of borders Old Russian state also included the lands of the Dregovichi, Vyatichi, Volynians, White Croats, Yatvingians, Muroms, Meshcheras, possessions at the mouth of the Dnieper (Oleshye), on the lower Don (Sarkel) and on the banks of the Kerch Strait (Tmutarakan Principality). Gradually, the tribal nobility was ousted by the Rurikovichs, who already at the beginning of the 11th century reigned throughout the territory of Rus'. During the 11th-12th centuries, tribal names gradually ceased to be mentioned (with the exception of tribal names in the territories of the eastern Baltic and the middle Volga basin dependent on the Russian princes). At the same time, starting from the end of the 10th century, each generation of Rurikovich carried out divisions of Rus' among themselves, but the consequences of the first two partitions (972 and 1015) were gradually overcome through a fierce struggle for power, as well as the suppression of individual lines of Rurikovich (1036). Section 1054, after which the so-called The “triumvirate of the Yaroslavichs,” despite the long-term concentration of power in the hands of the younger Yaroslavich Vsevolod (1078–1093), was never completely overcome. After a struggle for power after his death, complicated by the intervention of the Polovtsians, in 1097 at the Lyubech Congress of Princes the principle “everyone holds his fatherland” was established.

After the allied actions of the princes moved the fight against the Polovtsians from the southern Russian borders deep into the steppes, the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh and his eldest son Mstislav, after a series of internal wars, managed to achieve recognition of their power by part of the Russian princes, others were deprived of their possessions. At the same time, the Rurikovichs began to enter into intra-dynastic marriages.

Russian principalities

In the 1130s, the principalities began to gradually emerge from the power of the Kyiv princes, although the prince who owned Kiev was still considered the eldest in Rus'. With the beginning of the fragmentation of Russian lands, the names “Rus” and “Russian Land” were in most cases applied to the Principality of Kyiv.

With the collapse of the Old Russian state, the Principality of Volyn, the Principality of Galicia, the Principality of Kiev proper, the Principality of Murom-Ryazan, the Novgorod Land, the Principality of Pereyaslavl, the Principality of Polotsk, the Principality of Rostov-Suzdal, the Principality of Turov-Pinsk, and the Principality of Chernigov were formed. In each of them the process of formation of appanages began.

On March 12, 1169, the troops of ten Russian princes, acting on the initiative of Andrei Bogolyubsky, for the first time in the practice of inter-princely strife, plundered Kiev, after which Andrei gave Kiev to his younger brother without leaving Vladimir, thereby, in the words of V.O. Klyuchevsky, “torn off seniority from places." Andrei himself, and subsequently his younger brother Vsevolod the Big Nest (1176-1212), sought (temporary) recognition of their seniority by the majority of Russian princes.

By the beginning of the 13th century, unifying tendencies had also emerged. The Principality of Pereyaslavl came into possession Vladimir princes, the united Galician-Volyn principality arose under the rule of the senior branch of the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh. In 1201, Roman Mstislavich Galitsky, being invited by the Kyiv boyars to reign, also gave the city to his younger cousin. In the chronicle of 1205, Roman is called “the autocrat of all Rus'.” By the 13th century, in addition to those of Kyiv, Ryazan, Vladimir, Galician and Chernigov also began to be titled as grand dukes.

After the Mongol invasion, the institution of “sacraments in the Russian land” disappeared, when the Kyiv lands were considered as the common property of the Rurik family, and the name “Rus” was assigned to all East Slavic lands.

The strengthening of the positions of the Vladimir Grand Dukes after the Mongol invasion was facilitated by the fact that they did not participate in the large-scale South Russian civil strife before it, that the principality until the turn of the XIV-XV centuries did not have common borders with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was expanding into Russian lands, and also that that the Grand Dukes of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, and then his son Alexander Nevsky were recognized in the Golden Horde as the oldest in Rus'. In fact, all the great princes were directly subordinate to the khans, first of the Mongol Empire, and from 1266 - of the Golden Horde, independently collected tribute in their possessions and forwarded it to the khan. From the middle of the 13th century, the title of Grand Dukes of Chernigov was almost constantly held by the Bryansk princes. Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy (1305-1318) was the first of the great princes of Vladimir to be called “Prince of All Rus'”.

Since 1254, the Galician princes bore the title of “kings of Rus'”. In the 1320s, the Galician-Volyn principality entered a period of decline (which some researchers associate with the new onslaught of the Golden Horde) and in 1392 ceased to exist, its lands were divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (full name - Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, Zhemoitsk and others) and the Kingdom of Poland. A little earlier, the main part of the southern Russian lands was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Bryansk 1356, Kyiv 1362).

In the 14th century, the great principalities of Tver and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod were also formed in the northeast of Rus', and the Smolensk princes also began to be called great. Since 1363, the label for the great reign of Vladimir, which meant seniority within North-Eastern Rus' and Novgorod, was issued only to Moscow princes, who from that time began to be titled great. In 1383, Khan Tokhtamysh recognized the Grand Duchy of Vladimir as the hereditary possession of the Moscow princes, while simultaneously authorizing the independence of the Grand Duchy of Tver. The Grand Duchy of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod was annexed to Moscow in 1392. In 1405, Lithuania captured Smolensk. Finally, all Russian lands were divided between the great principalities of Moscow and Lithuania by the end of the 15th century.

Russian state

Since the 15th century, the terms “Russia” and “Russian” appear in Russian sources and spread more and more until they are finally established in the Russian language. The period from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 18th century in modern Russian historiography is designated as the “Russian state”.

Grand Duchy of Moscow

In 1478, the Novgorod land was annexed to Moscow, and in 1480 the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off. In 1487, after a successful campaign against the Kazan Khanate, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III proclaimed himself “Prince of Bulgaria,” which was one of the reasons for the beginning of the transition of appanage princes from the eastern outskirts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Moscow service along with the lands. As a result of five Russian-Lithuanian wars, Lithuania lost the Verkhovsky principalities, Smolensk and Bryansk. Other important territorial acquisitions were the Tver (1485) and Ryazan great principalities (1521). In addition to independence from the Golden Horde and territorial integrity, the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the last period of its existence as a grand duchy was also distinguished by a general set of laws (Code Code of 1497), the liquidation of appanages and the introduction of a local system.

Russian kingdom

From January 16, 1547, after Grand Duke Ivan IV Vasilyevich assumed the title of Tsar. Also Rus, Russia, Russia, Russian Tsardom, Russian Tsardom, Muscovite Tsardom. In the middle of the 16th century, the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates were annexed, which further substantiated the royal title of the Moscow monarch.

In 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania accepted the Union of Lublin with Poland, which united the two states into a confederation, while transferring the southern Russian lands to Poland and generally returning to the borders of the mid-13th century.

In 1613, the Metropolitan’s title used the term “Rusia”, and Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich’s title used “Russia”. “Muscovy” is the name of the Russian state in foreign sources of the 16th–17th centuries. The term “Russia” was finally consolidated by Peter the Great (1689-1725). On the coins of Peter I, before accepting the title of emperor, it was written “Tsar Peter Alekseevich, Ruler of All Russia” and “Moscow ruble” on the back. (“The Lord of All Russia” was abbreviated as “V.R.P.”, but sometimes it was written in full). On May 19, 1712, the capital was moved to St. Petersburg.

Russian empire

After Tsar Peter Alekseevich accepted the title of emperor.

August 18 (31), 1914 In connection with the war with Germany, the name of the capital was changed from German to Russian - Petrograd.

Russian Republic

After a special legal meeting. In fact - after the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich, brother of Nicholas II from March 3, 1917

Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic- this name was first mentioned on January 21 (February 3), 1918 in the Decree on the cancellation of state loans, the decree was signed by the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee Ya. Sverdlov. This name of the state was introduced after the transformation of the Russian Republic into a “federation of Soviet national republics” at the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets on January 10-18 (23-31), 1918 in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd.

Before the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the name Russian Republic was used.

Proclamation of the Federation:

• January 3 (16), 1918 - the text of the Declaration was written.
• January 5 (18), 1918 - announced by Sverdlov at the All-Russian constituent assembly(dissolved January 6 (19)).
• January 12 (25), 1918 - III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in the adopted Declaration.
• January 18 (31), 1918 - at the united III Congress of Soviets (after the merger of the III Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies with the III Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies) in the re-adopted Declaration.
• January 28 (15), 1918 - in the Resolution of the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets “On the federal institutions of the Russian Republic”.
• On March 6 - 8, 1918, at the VII Congress of the RCP (b), it was once again decided to transform the country into a federation.
• July 10, 1918 - in the Constitution at a meeting of the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

Variability of the name of the Republic In the period between the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the adoption of the first Constitution (at the V Congress), in which the name of the state was finally fixed, variants of the still unsettled name of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic were found in documents:

The words were swapped:

• Russian Federative Socialist Soviet Republic,
• Russian Socialist Soviet Federative Republic,
• Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic;

Incomplete name with different word order (4 words):

• Russian Federative Soviet Republic,
• Russian Soviet Federative Republic,
• Russian Socialist Federative Republic,
• Russian Socialist Soviet Republic,
• Russian Soviet Socialist Republic;

Incomplete name with different word order (3 words):

• Russian Soviet Republic,
• Soviet Russian Republic
• Russian Federative Republic
• Russian Federation of Soviets

Other names:

• Russian Republic,
• Soviet Republic,
• Republic of Soviets.

Note: The new government did not immediately spread across the territory of the former Russian Empire (republic).

Note: Already, being part of the USSR, on December 5, 1936, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic was renamed into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, i.e. two words have been swapped.

In everyday life and semi-officially, the abbreviated form was often used for the RSFSR - Russian Federation, but this name was not officially enshrined in the constitution until 1992 (it is worth noting that since 1990 this name was supposed to be approved as the official name of the country)

Formed by the unification of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Trans-SFSR.

On December 5, 1936 (according to the new constitution), in the name of the RSFSR, the order of the words “socialist” and “Soviet” was brought into line with the order of these words in the name of the USSR.

Russian Federation

Russian Federation— On December 25, 1991, by law No. 2094-I, the state of the RSFSR was renamed the Russian Federation ( modern name, enshrined in the constitution along with the name Russia). On April 21, 1992, appropriate amendments were made to the then-current Constitution (Basic Law) of the RSFSR of 1978.

Also, before the adoption of the new constitution in 1993, a new coat of arms was in development. De facto, on the territory of the Russian Federation in the first half of the 1990s, forms and seals of institutions with the old coat of arms and the name of the state of the RSFSR were still used, although they were supposed to be replaced during 1992.

Use of the name "Russian Federation" before the collapse of the USSR

• 1918 - in paragraph e) of Article 49 of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918 (as a variant of the name).
• 1966 - in the title of the book “Chistyakov O.I., Formation of the Russian Federation (1917-1922), M., 1966.”
• 1978 - in the preamble to the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978.

In modern Russia, some documents are still in force in which the old name “RSFSR” remains:

• Law of the RSFSR of December 15, 1978 (as amended on June 25, 2002) “On the protection and use of historical and cultural monuments”
• Law of the RSFSR of 07/08/1981 (as amended on 05/07/2009) “On the judicial system of the RSFSR”
• Declaration of the SND of the RSFSR dated 06/12/1990 N 22-1 “On the state sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”
• Law of the RSFSR dated October 24, 1990 N 263-1 “On the effect of acts of bodies of the USSR on the territory of the RSFSR”
• Law of the RSFSR of October 31, 1990 N 293-1 “On ensuring the economic basis of the sovereignty of the RSFSR”
• Law of the RSFSR dated March 22, 1991 N 948-1 (as amended on July 26, 2006) “On competition and restrictions on monopolistic activities in commodity markets”
• Law of the RSFSR dated April 26, 1991 N 1107-1 (as amended on July 1, 1993) “On the rehabilitation of repressed peoples”
• Law of the RSFSR dated June 26, 1991 N 1488-1 (as amended on December 30, 2008) “On investment activities in the RSFSR”
• Law of the RSFSR dated June 26, 1991 N 1490-1 (as amended on February 2, 2006) “On priority provision of the agro-industrial complex with material and technical resources”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 15, 1991 N 211 (as amended on June 26, 1992) “On increasing wages of employees of budgetary organizations and institutions”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 21, 1991 N 228 “On the organization Russian Academy Sciences"
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 25, 1991 N 232 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the commercialization of the activities of trading enterprises in the RSFSR”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 28, 1991 N 240 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the commercialization of the activities of public service enterprises in the RSFSR”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 255 “On priority measures to organize the work of industry in the RSFSR”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 256 “On measures to stabilize the work of the industrial complex of the RSFSR in the conditions of economic reform”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 297 (as amended on February 28, 1995) “On measures to liberalize prices”
• Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 12, 1991 N 269 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the single economic space of the RSFSR”
• Law of the RSFSR dated December 25, 1991 N 2094-1 “On changing the name of the state of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”
• Decree of the Government of the RSFSR dated December 24, 1991 N 62 (as amended on November 13, 2010) “On approval of lists of federal roads in the RSFSR”

Main periods of Russian history February 13th, 2015

The history of any country can be divided into periods with significantly different quality states. There are six such major periods in the history of Russia.
1. Ancient Rus',IX - XIIIcenturies



The period of Ancient Rus' is often called the period of Kievan Rus. However, this is not entirely true. Kyiv was the political center of Rus' only until the last thirdXXIIV. In 1169 the great reign was transferred to Vladimir. In turn, in 1325 the residence of the metropolitan was moved to Moscow and Moscow became the political center. Accordingly, in the history of Ancient Rus' we can distinguish: the period of Kievan Rus - fromIX century to 1169, the period of Vladimir Rus' - from 1169 to 1325 and the period of Moscow Rus' from 1325 - to the mid-16th century.

2. Tatar-Mongol yoke,XIII - XVcenturies


This period is characterized by the collapse and subsequent reassembly of the Russian state. Historically, there were several competing assembly centers, of which the main- Grand Duchy of Moscow,Grand Duchy of Tver and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Moscow won.

3. Moscow kingdom,XVI - XVIcenturies


The end of the period of Muscovite Rus' can be considered 1547, when IvanIV- Ivan the Terrible was crowned king. From this date the period of the Muscovite kingdom began. The adoption of royal regalia marked a fundamental change political system Rus' - from the system of great and appanage principalities to autocracy.

4. Russian Empire,XVIII- StartXXcenturies

The next major stage in the history of Russia was the period of the Russian Empire. It began in 1721 after the victory in the Northern War, when Peter I took the title of emperor. Ended - as a result of the February bourgeois revolution1917and the abdication of the last Emperor Nicholas II from the throne.

5. USSR, beginning - endXXV.

From 1917 to 1991, the period of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics lasted when, in my opinion, historical Russia reached its greatest prosperity and power. Usually, the beginning of the Soviet period is considered to be the Great October Socialist Revolution, i.e. October 1917 However, from a formal point of view, the formation of the USSR took place on December 30, 1922, whenRSFSR , Ukrainian SSR , Byelorussian SSR AndTranscaucasian SFSR united into a single state. The end of the Soviet period is December 8, 1991, when the degenerates Yeltsin, Kravchuk and Shushkevich, as heads of the RSFSR, the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine, signed the Belovezhskaya Agreements on the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the CIS.

6. Since 1991, the period of the Russian Federation began, in which we now live.

It is clear that this structuring is rough. It is also clear that within each period it is possible and necessary to distinguish sub-periods, and within sub-periods sub-sub-periods, etc. That is, the given structuring has the property of self-similarity, when a part is similar to the whole. It is quite possible that it also has a fractal dimension)).

In Soviet historiography, periodization was based on a formational approach, according to which national history distinguished: 1) primitive communal system (until the 9th century); 2) feudalism (IX - mid-19th V.); 3) capitalism (second half of the 19th century - 1917); 4) socialism (since 1917).

In modern history Russian statehood There are 11 periods. This periodization is determined by the socio-economic structure of society and the factor of state development:

Ancient Rus' (IX-XII).

The period of independent feudal states of Ancient Rus' (XII-XIV).

Russian (Moscow) state (XV-XVII).

The Russian Empire of the period of absolutism (XVIII - mid-XIX).

The Russian Empire of the period of the bourgeois monarchy (mid-XIX - early XX).

Russia during the period of the bourgeois-democratic republic (Feb-Oct 1917).

The period of formation of Soviet statehood (1918-1920).

Transition period and NEP period (1921-1930).

The period of state-party socialism (1930 - early 60s).

The period of crisis of socialism (60-90s).

Modern period development (since the late 90s).

This periodization is conditional, but it allows us to systematize the training course and consider the main stages of the formation of statehood in Russia, the accumulation and development of management experience and management thought.

Lecture 2. Public administration in Ancient Rus' (IX - XI centuries)

The origins of statehood among the Eastern Slavs

Historical science has reliable information about the Slavs only from the 5th - 6th centuries. AD Their earlier history is very vague. There is no unity among historians on the issue of the origin of the Slavs. Some believe that from ancient times they inhabited the territories between the Danube, Dnieper and Vistula - the “autochthonous” (aboriginal) theory. Others believe that the Slavic ethnicity was formed from the close interaction of many different ethnic groups that inhabited vast areas of Europe. Still others consider the Slavs to come from the Asian part of the mainland.

Whatever the origins of the Slavs, in the V - VI centuries. part of the Slavs, who made up the ancient population of Central and Eastern Europe, begins to move into the territory of the East European Plain, inhabited by Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes. During the resettlement, the tribal structure of the Slavs disintegrates and is replaced by territorial-ethnic formations - tribal unions (Polyans, Slovenes, Vyatichi, Dregovichi, etc.), which formed an independent branch of the Slavs - the eastern one. The Eastern Slavs lived in neighboring, territorial communities (verv, mir).

The complex hydrography of Eastern Europe determined the settlement of tribes, determined the most important military, trade and communication routes, and did not allow the forest-steppe zone (in the absence of natural geographical barriers to enemy attacks) to separate into separate settlements, which created an objective basis for ethnic and political unity. This, as well as the peculiarities of the climate (cold summer, harsh winter, protracted spring and autumn) over the centuries developed a peculiar arrhythmia of life and work, specific features of the life and psychology of the ancient Russians and other local peoples.

Written sources record the state of East Slavic society at the stage of “military democracy,” when it had a three-stage structure: tribe - union of tribes - super-union of tribes.

If the primary unions united related tribes, then the secondary ones constituted super-unions, i.e. united several tribal unions. The super-unions brought to life by external threats were multi-tribal with conflicting and changing interests. Their formation took place in a stubborn inter-tribal struggle for a dominant position in them. The prince of the dominant tribe or alliance of tribes became the main ruler, and the weaker leaders and their fellow tribesmen were subordinate to him. Often such a struggle went on with varying degrees of success, which made super-unions unstable formations. Nevertheless, in the 8th century. in the Middle Dnieper region, the glades, throwing off the Khazar yoke, united around themselves several tribal unions (northerners, Radimichi and, possibly, other tribes), creating one of the centers of ancient Russian statehood. This created the preconditions for the emergence of public power and the emergence of statehood.

Statehood of Kievan Rus

The initial stage in the history of Russian statehood is associated with the formation of the Old Russian state, also known as Kievan Rus. This state, the largest in medieval Europe, existed from the end of the 9th to the middle of the 12th centuries, occupied a vast territory from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Western Bug to the Volga. By the time the state was formed, this territory was inhabited by numerous agricultural tribes of the Eastern Slavs, as well as dozens of peoples of Finnish, Baltic, Turkic and Iranian origin. Individual East Slavic tribes united into large political and military alliances mentioned in ancient chronicle: Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Slovenes, Radimichi, Vyatichi, etc. Therefore, one of the main features of the worldview of the population of Kievan Rus is the initial, one might say, genetic absence of tribal egoism, wide openness in relation to other languages ​​and peoples.

In the East Slavic tribes, state power grew in the conditions of territorial communities. The main wealth is land. However, the abundance of forests and infertile lands made farming difficult. The difficult terrain and many swamps made roads impassable and did not contribute to the development of trade. Only the strong power of the clan elders could overcome all these difficulties. Here lie the deep origins of Russian autocracy, despotism and totality, which were vitally necessary at that distant time, but persisted for many centuries.

In the 9th century The Eastern Slavs already had internal prerequisites for the creation of statehood. The tribal system was at the stage of decomposition. The supreme body of the tribe was still the veche - a meeting of all its free members. But there already existed a tribal nobility in the person of several privileged clans, which differed from the mass of community members in social and property terms. From among them, the veche elected leaders (princes) and elders. By the time the state was formed, separate tribal kingdoms already existed. The power of the tribal princes was based on a system of strengthening urban settlements, some of which later turned into real feudal cities. Tribal principalities were still pre-state formations, and tribal leaders were not yet princes in the true sense of the word.

There were also external prerequisites that contributed to the creation of a state among the Eastern Slavs. The endless steppes stretching between the Black Sea and the forest belt of the Russian Plain have long been the highway to Europe for warlike nomads, whose hordes were driven out of Asia every one and a half to two centuries. Many nomadic tribes tried to gain a foothold in these lands, but settled Slavic farmers were ready to stubbornly defend the fertile arable land, which yielded huge harvests. The constant struggle with nomads contributed to the unification of the East Slavic tribes into the Old Russian people. In essence, the Kiev state emerged in the fight against external enemies and later became truly a “form of survival” in the constant struggle with the Steppe.

In the fight against the Khazars, the Slavs began to rely on alliances (pacts) with the Scandinavian kings. The “summoned” princes and their squads on the basis of agreements with tribal unions were called “Rus”. Initially, “protorus” was Scandinavian in its ethnicity. According to the inserted legend in the Tale of Bygone Years about the calling of Rurik by the Novgorodians (862), the unification of the two main centers of ancient Russian statehood in 882 after the campaign against Kyiv from Novgorod by Prince Oleg is associated with the Varangians. The power created by Oleg was a “federation” of state entities and unions of tribes of the Eastern Slavs. The Rurik dynasty was probably Scandinavian in origin, but quickly became glorified. And already the first princes - the Rurikovichs and their squads swore by the Slavic gods - Perun and Veles. The term “Rus”, which originally had a social meaning, is transferred to the entire state territory and becomes the ethnonym of the Eastern Slavs.

In 882, according to the chronicle, the Novgorod prince Oleg, having previously occupied Smolensk and Lyubech, captured Kiev and proclaimed it the capital of his state. Oleg himself began to be titled Grand Duke. Thus, 882, when Northern Rus' (Novgorod) and Southern Rus' (Kyiv) united under the rule of one prince, became a turning point in the destinies of the Eastern Slavs. The unification of the two most important centers along the great waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks” gave Oleg the opportunity to begin subjugating other East Slavic lands to his power. Thus began a long process of consolidation of individual tribal principalities of the Eastern Slavs into a single state.

The highest political power in Kievan Rus was represented by the Grand Duke. He acted as legislator, military leader, supreme administrator and supreme judge. Since the time of the first Russian princes, known from the chronicles, Rurik and Oleg, princely power became individually hereditary, and this gave it legitimacy in the eyes of its contemporaries. The idea of ​​the chosenness of people belonging to the princely family was affirmed. Gradually, the power of the prince began to be perceived as state power. By the end of the 10th century, the Kiev state acquired the features of an early feudal monarchy.

The adoption of Christianity by Russia was of great importance. The Church strengthened the authority of the prince, considering his power as God-given. In 996, a council of Russian bishops solemnly declared to Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich: “You have been appointed by God to be executed by the evil, and by the good to mercy.”

Start of system folding government controlled

Old Russian society can be socially divided into large groups:

) priests - fortune tellers - soothsayers - magicians - healers - magicians made up a circle of people, according to popular belief, who possessed the art of knowing the will of the gods and transmitting it to people;

) princes - boyars - elders - the best men who were the heads of lands, volosts, cities;

) all free community members were called people;

) slaves were called servants.

The source of slavery was military captivity. The Slavs kept slaves only for a certain time, after which the captives were given a choice: either return to their homeland or remain as free people. Captive slaves were called “servants.” They were completely powerless. People who became slaves for reasons such as purchasing, marrying a slave, were called serfs.

The slave class was not numerous, and the slave in Rus' was never the main productive force. Thus, the stage of slavery in pure classic look was absent from Rus'. However, over time, the number of slaves became more and more numerous and they soon became the main productive force of Russian society. This state of affairs lasted almost until the beginning of the twentieth century and went down in history under the name of serfdom.

According to contemporaries, the Slavs governed democratically, discussing and deciding matters in national assemblies, although the people were called “to council” only on the most important state matters.

The permanent authorities were princes, boyars, elders, and elders.

Civil power was not separated from military power.

The power of the elected prince was based on popular trust, and his constant activity was justice based on customs.

The power base of the Kyiv princes was the squad. In a tribal society, the squad did not exist on a permanent basis, but for a one-time raid on neighbors. In the hands Prince of Kyiv it became a means of coercion and control, collection of tribute, protection of one’s own interests and the country’s population from enemies.

The squad lived at the prince's court in a special room - the gridnitsa - and was fully supported by the prince. There were significant differences in position among the vigilantes. The senior squad, consisting of rich and noble people, was called “boyars”, “husbands”. A boyar is an honored member of the squad who has received special independence. The younger squad was called “gridi”, “grid”, “gridba”, as well as “youths”, “children”, “boyar children”. Age did not matter; a “youth” could be a very old person.

The senior squad participated in meetings with the prince, and its opinion carried great weight with the first princes. They could only convince the squad, but not order it. It was precisely from the members of the squad that the primitive administrative apparatus consisted for a long time.

It is known that of the three forms or branches of government - legislation, management, justice - management is the oldest and most developed form. At the dawn of ancient Russian statehood, the lands of the tribes annexed to Kyiv were ruled primarily by extending tribute collection systems to them and creating local strongholds of central power. Together with his retinue, the prince went “to polyudye” - that was the name of the campaigns to collect tribute. Initially, tribute was collected mainly by furs, and in the 11th century. Money was already dominant. For a long time, tribute remained, as a rule, unregulated. Its size was sometimes used by the prince as a means of economic and political pressure on the rebellious. If the prince did not have enough funds, the population was subject to emergency taxes.

Gradually, tribute acquired the character of a permanent tax obligation throughout the state. For more or less regular collection of taxes, “cemeteries” and “camps” were established, i.e. places where collectors and payers gathered. These were essentially administrative districts. “Charters and lessons” were also introduced, which determined the amount and places for collecting tribute. In the 11th century Appeared special officials for collecting tribute - “tributers”.

The tribute in the hands of the princes and warriors turned into a commodity and went mainly abroad (primarily to Byzantium), and partly for the armament of the squad and other needs of the state.

From among the senior warriors, the prince appointed posadniks to individual centers of his state. The posadnik represented administrative power: he collected tribute, judicial and trade duties, and administered justice. Part of the collected funds was used to support the mayor and his squad. In addition to tribute, the population was also subject to a number of natural duties (military and submarine), and participated in the construction and repair of fortifications.

Vassal relations gradually began to arise between the feudal lords. The prince's vassals were warriors who could move from one prince to another. This was not considered treason. Only in the princely service could one become an aristocratic boyar. The service agreement was accompanied by a number of conditions. Boyars in administrative positions received salaries and food. This is how the so-called practice appeared. “feedings”, when the prince granted his vassal the right to collect tribute in his favor of one or another volost without owning the volost itself.

Boyars from the tribal nobility received immunity for their vassal service - exemption from paying tribute and from the jurisdiction of the princely court.

Many boyars had their own squad. His warriors settled on the ground and turned into second-order vassals (sub-vassals); they were obliged to the boyar for military service.

Under the princes and mayors there were tiuns - agents who performed various functions. Usually tiuns were appointed from among the prince's court servants. They were in charge of the princely household in the villages and at the princely court and, depending on this, were called “rural tiuns” and “court tiuns.” In addition to the duties of clerks, they were present at the court of the prince or mayor. Often they replaced them at the trial, i.e. performed the functions of lower-ranking judges.

There were other officials: mytniks, who collected “wash” (trade duties), virniks, who collected “virs” (court fines for killing a person) and “sales” (fines for other types of crimes). The tax for the sale of horses (“spot”) was collected by the spotters.

BODIES OF AUTHORITY AND MANAGEMENT OF THE ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE

The activities of the princely government and its local representatives have not yet completely replaced the activities of peasant communities-worlds, which from ancient times were accustomed to performing judicial, administrative and financial functions. Community orders were adapted to the requirements of the state. The community, for example, was obliged to look for murderers and thieves (otherwise it faced heavy fines); court cases were dealt with only in the presence of representatives of the peasants.

The army was recruited from the population as needed. It was collected from all parts of the Kyiv state. The warriors were usually on horseback, the army on foot. The prince was supposed to supply weapons. From among the senior warriors, the prince also appointed military leaders - the governor and the thousand. The prince also had a fleet at his disposal - not only a river one, but also a sea one. The Kiev chronicler reports on sea campaigns on the Black Sea shores of Byzantium and the Caspian Sea.

Russian Truth

In their practice of government and court, the princes relied on customary law - the unwritten folk law of the Slavs, the so-called “Russian law”. The oldest text of recorded Russian law, called “Russian Truth,” appeared at the beginning of the 11th century. during the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. This was the first Russian written code of laws. Two editions of this monument have reached us: one short and the other lengthy. The short edition, published in 1017, constitutes the original authentic version of Pravda. The name “Yaroslav’s Truth” was established behind it, because it came out during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

It was based on the customs of the Slavic tribes, adapted to the conditions of feudal relations. The lengthy edition is the “Pravda Yaroslavich”, modified and supplemented by subsequent princes. Both of these editions are common name"The Court of Yaroslav Vladimirovich."

“Russian Truth” spread widely throughout all the lands of Ancient Rus' and became the basis of state administration until 1497, when it was replaced by the Code of Laws, published in the Moscow centralized state.

“Russian Truth” included articles of both civil and criminal laws. It established legal proceedings and determined punishments for certain offenses and crimes. Unlike the codes of laws of other countries of that time Christendom"Russian Truth" did not know the use of torture and corporal punishment, but execution for the most serious crimes existed. For the first time in the history of Rus', the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, spoke out for the abolition of the death penalty as a form of punishment in general, even for the most serious crimes. True, this was not reflected in the legislation of his time. As for the punishments reflected in Russkaya Pravda, these were mainly monetary fines, the size of which depended on the severity of the offense and the social status of the victim.

According to the “Russian Truth”, all Russian lands were divided into patrimonial and local.

Estates were the lands assigned to the boyars and servants of the prince as his gift for public service(benefice). These lands became hereditary for the boyars. The lands that were given under the condition of service were called estates. The princes were large land owners.

Land was also the collective property of the community. The Russian community consisted of residents of a village or village who jointly owned land. Each adult male villager had the right to a plot of land equal to the plots of other residents of the village; land redistribution was practiced.

In "Russkaya Pravda" the inheritance was called the "back" and the remainder; it was opened at the time of the death of the father of the family and passed to the heirs or by will. Among legitimate children, sons were preferred, but the brothers, who excluded sisters from the inheritance, pledged to support them until they got married, and then provide a dowry according to your means.

The marriage was preceded by a betrothal, which was considered indissoluble. The marriage took place through a wedding in a church. Wedding conditions: age - 15 years for the groom, 13 years for the bride, free desire of the bride and groom, parental consent. The Church did not allow third marriage. The Church allowed divorce, but had a specific list of reasons for divorce (death of a husband or wife, adultery, entering a monastery, missing spouse, etc.). The adoption of Christianity brought significant changes to marriage and family relations. Russian paganism allowed polygamy. So Prince Svyatoslav had two wives, and Prince Vladimir had five wives and 800 concubines.

The church, its property and church servants were protected by reinforced punishments.

According to the “Russian Truth”, the court in all worldly matters was concentrated in the hands of the prince, as the supreme legislator, ruler and judge. The prince administered justice personally or through the protection of his governors.

The place of court in the capital and province was the princely court, which was later replaced by the order or voivode's hut. The trial began with a claim (“slander”) from the plaintiff. In addition to the plaintiff, there were witnesses (videos) and (hearsay). At the same time, the community in which the crime was committed had to find the criminal themselves or pay a huge fine. Among the evidence were tests with iron and water, as well as an oath, which was accompanied by kissing the cross. Complaints against the court's decision were submitted to the prince.

Thus, “Russian Truth” is the first ancient Russian code. Its statutes determined changes in financial, family, criminal and administrative law.

Veche system

In the Old Russian state, a veche was preserved - a people's assembly, in which the entire adult population of the city, and sometimes residents of the suburbs and even villages, participated. One of its functions was the recruitment of the people's militia and the election of its leaders - thousand, sotsky, ten. Over time, the thousand was already appointed prince from among his entourage. The entire structure of the Kyiv state, the nature of the power of the prince and the nobility surrounding him excluded the possibility of the systematic functioning of popular assemblies. In the XI-XII centuries. all cases of mentioning veche meetings in chronicles are associated with exceptional situations when, as a result of a military threat, natural Disasters or prolonged famine, the administration was unable to control the situation. The only exceptions to this rule were Novgorod with its “suburb” Pskov and, to some extent, Polotsk. Here the veche retained its strength and over time became one of the integral attributes of the feudal republic (Novgorod and Pskov).

The strengthening of the power of the Grand Duke of Kyiv took place both in the struggle and in the process of synthesis of tribal systems of government with the emerging central government. Initially, the functions of pagan princes were in one way or another connected with military tasks and diplomatic relations, protection of trade routes, and collection of tribute (polyudye). The power of the Kyiv prince increased as the power of the princes of the tribal unions subject to Kyiv was absorbed.

Subordinate to the Kyiv prince were local tribal princes, who, according to the agreement, were “under the hand” of the Kyiv prince and the tribal nobility, who performed judicial and administrative functions. However, the great Kyiv princes often had to deal with the separatism of local princes, which predetermined the gradual liquidation of this institution (over the entire 10th century).

This also forced them to look for religious and ideological means to strengthen the power of the Kyiv dynasty. Thus, Vladimir I carried out a grandiose religious reform, trying to turn Kyiv into an all-Russian sacred center, gathering in the capital a pantheon of gods led by Perun, but this did not help. More radical means were required to unite Kievan Rus and strengthen the power of the prince.

In 988, Vladimir I adopted Eastern Christianity as the state religion, which was of fateful significance for Rus'. It was this that led to the transformation of the ancient Russian cultural archetype, a change in mentality and entry into the Orthodox Byzantine-Slavic civilization. The evolutionary type of social development has been replaced by an innovative one, and Kyiv is becoming its unconditional source. The gradual establishment of canonical Christian ideas about the nature of power, the state and its goals begins.

The Kiev veche was important for higher and central government and veche meetings in the centers of local principalities for regional government. The evenings differed from previous tribal meetings; all free citizens took part in them; they were a structural element of higher government administration. The veche and the prince entered into an agreement with each other, which was a mutual oath. If it was violated, the veche could refuse the prince to take the throne.

Thus, the form of government in Rus' can be defined as a “druzhina state”, which contained monarchical (prince), oligarchic (senior squad, boyars) and democratic (veche) tendencies. None of them received full embodiment in Kievan Rus.

6. Church

The head of the church was the Metropolitan of Kiev, appointed by the Byzantine patriarch. In the cities, bishops (and in some lands, archbishops) were installed subordinate to the metropolitan. They led vast church-administrative districts - dioceses. The clergy of churches and the brethren of monasteries were subordinate to their bishop, and through him to the metropolitan. Thus, the power of the metropolitan extended over all of Rus' and united all the clergy of the country.

However, the Russian Church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (until 1448) and was formally subordinate to it. It was the largest metropolis in terms of territory and number of parishioners.

Having recognized Christianity as the state religion, the secular authorities took care of its material support. By order of Prince Vladimir, at the end of the 10th century, a tenth of all princely incomes - tithes - were annually transferred to the church treasury. With the development of feudal land ownership, in exchange for tithes, the state provided the church with a number of permanent sources of income: ownership of vast territories - “patrimonies”, which made it possible to receive taxes and impose certain duties on local peasants; exemption of clergy and their property from taxes and duties.

At the end of the 10th century. The church was granted the right to court and collect court fees in matters of a family and domestic nature. Under the jurisdiction of the church there was a special class of persons who obeyed not the prince, but the church: hierarchs, priests, monks, clergy; persons looked after by the church - old, crippled, sick; outcasts; church slaves who were donated to the church from secular owners, etc.

Thus, secular and spiritual power in Rus' existed autonomously. The government contributed to the spread of Christianity, but also coordinated its activities with the guidelines of the church. Orthodoxy determined the spiritual foundations for the development of ancient Russian government, law and legal consciousness. The church itself becomes by the 12th century. the most important subject of governance, but unlike Catholicism, does not interfere directly in the affairs of secular power, which corresponded to the Eastern Christian legal culture.

Lecture 4. Public administration of Rus' in the appanage period (XII - XIII centuries)

Causes of feudal fragmentation

Already in the 2nd half. XI century New trends in the socio-economic and political development of Russian lands were clearly defined, which a century later ushered in a new stage in the history of Russian statehood - the era of feudal fragmentation.

Let us highlight its main reasons:

) The emergence of estates - private large land holdings, which, as a rule, belonged to the boyars. Votchinniki - boyars - owned arable land, herds of horses, herds of cows, poultry. Unfree workers (slaves - servants, serfs) were also part of the boyar's property. Free people also became dependent on the boyars. These were, for example, the “ryadovichi”, who entered into an agreement (“row”), on the basis of which they worked for the owner. A type of “ryadovichi” were “purchases”, obliged to work off the owner’s “kupu” - a debt.

From now on, the boyars ceased to depend on the prince. Having received regular income from the estate, they no longer needed tribute, and therefore were in no hurry to go on a campaign for the prince. It was not tribute, but land cultivated by the labor of dependent peasants that became the main value. The boyar did not want to tear his smerds away from the arable land, not only for the sake of long-distance campaigns, but sometimes even for the sake of protecting the country from the invasions of nomads, if they did not directly affect his possessions. The princely squad was not needed to pacify and subjugate dependent people. The boyar had his own “apparatus of suppression”: boyar tiun (household manager), elders, guards, etc.

The younger squad remained with the prince. It was not only a military force, but also part of the state apparatus, personally dependent on the prince. She was entrusted with collecting court fines and taxes. Gathered on behalf of the prince, they were the main source of livelihood for the younger warriors, who needed the prince and “fed” his mercy.

At the turn of the XI-XII centuries. The first contradictions emerged between the boyars and the younger squad. The interests of the boyars, who found themselves connected with their estates, often did not coincide with those of the princes. Landowners, who acquired great political power thanks to their wealth, sought independence from the central government and put pressure on local princes to decide at their own discretion on issues of domestic and even foreign policy.

The very nature of princely power prevented this. At that time, in Rus' there was a system of replacing princely thrones based on the principle of clan eldership. Rus' was conceived as a common ancestral domain of the Rurikovichs, and this meant the right of each family member to temporary possession of a certain part of the land in order of seniority. In conditions of lack of stability in political life and loose land holdings, princes often moved from one volost to another. They were passing figures for the population. The princely squad, who came with the prince, only collected tribute and taxes from the population, without worrying at all about the future. The outstanding Russian historian Klyuchevsky wrote: “The constant movement of princes from table to table and the disputes that accompanied it undermined the prince’s zemstvo authority. The prince was not attached to the place of ownership, to this or that table, either by dynastic or even personal connections. He came and soon went away, was a political accident for the region, a wandering comet.”

) Changes also occurred in the princely environment. The practice of clan eldership when replacing thrones no longer satisfied what had grown by the 12th century. Rurik family. There was no clear order either in the distribution of inheritances or in their inheritance. It became increasingly difficult to establish clan eldership. The “paternal” principle of inheritance from father to son gained strength. Each prince turned from a governor, ready to leave his inheritance, into its permanent and hereditary owner, and Rus' became the territory of the hereditary possessions of the princes.

A complex, slow and contradictory process of the formation of land dynasties began, the integration of transient princes into social structures lands and volosts, whose overlords they became. From this time on, the land interests of local princes and boyars began to coincide. They united in the fight against the central government, and the specific fragmentation of the country became irreversible.

) Socio-economic progress in the XI-XII centuries, the rise of agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts and trades, the development of domestic and foreign trade contributed to the growth and strengthening of individual lands and principalities of the Old Russian state. Cities grew, veche life became lively, townspeople actively fought for city liberties and played an important role in political affairs. Therefore, for local socio-economic development, the huge scale of the state as a whole was no longer needed.

) Ancient Rus' was united, first of all, thanks to the common desire for predatory campaigns against Byzantium. However, by the end of the 10th century. the benefits in the form of booty and tribute began to be noticeably inferior in importance to the benefits received from the development of ordinary trade, which became possible, firstly, thanks to the conclusion of trade agreements with Byzantium, and secondly, due to the increase in wealth in the hands of the prince (on behalf of which, in fact, was traded by Russian merchants), caused by an increase in tax collection after the stabilization of relations within the state. Thus, military campaigns against Byzantium ceased.

) It was possible to stabilize relations with the “steppe”. Svyatoslav also defeated the Khazars, Vladimir and Yaroslav actually put an end to the Pechenegs, and only the Polovtsians continued to harass Rus' with their raids. However, the Polovtsian forces were small, so there was no need to mobilize the troops of the entire state.

) Internal functions - primarily judicial - were carried out with great success within separate, small territories. The increasing complexity of public life required not the rare appearance of a judge-arbiter from the center, but daily regulation. Local interests increasingly capture the princes sitting in individual lands, who begin to identify them with their own interests.

Thus, by the end of the 11th century. the obvious disappearance of those common, uniting interests that had previously cemented the state quite firmly was revealed. Other connecting threads, say, economic ones (subsistence farming), simply did not exist. Therefore, Rus', having lost most of what connected it, fell apart.

The appanage princes stopped paying tribute to Kyiv and severed ties with their supreme overlord. From the 2nd half. XII century in Rus' there already existed 15 principalities and separate lands: Rostov-Suzdal, Murom-Ryazan, Smolensk, Kiev, Chernigov, Galician, Volyn, Novgorod, etc. The number of independent principalities was not stable due to family divisions and the unification of some of them. If in the middle of the 12th century. there were 15 large and small appanage principalities, then on the eve of the Horde invasion (1230s) - about 50, and in the 14th century. the number of principalities of various ranks exceeded 2.5 hundred.

The political structure and form of government have changed. The weakening of the power of the Kyiv prince required compensation by introducing a different method of governance. Thus a system of collective suzerainty was created. Its essence is that the Kiev prince allocated a share in the southern Russian land to someone who recognized his eldership and power and took upon himself the obligation to protect it from enemies. Such decisions of the Grand Duke were approved at a congress with other South Russian princes. The practice became the obligation of the Kyiv prince to “think about the Russian land” (i.e., govern) together with other co-owners. This system turned out to be viable, ensuring relative stability in the socio-political life of Ancient Rus' almost until the time of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

Old Russian principalities and lands: specifics of political organization

However, the collapse was not absolute. Along with centrifugal tendencies, centripetal ones also persisted. They were expressed, in particular, in maintaining the prestige of the title of Grand Duke of Kyiv (although it no longer plays a real unifying role). In addition, the princes from time to time found it necessary to gather at their inter-princely congresses to discuss emerging common problems.

By the end of the 12th century, the fall of Kyiv became obvious due to inter-princely strife and Polovtsian raids. The population left Kyiv in two directions: to the west, towards the Carpathian Mountains or to the north, to the upper reaches of the Volga. Then these were the outskirts of Rus', in which, to replace the old Kyiv, 3 centers of state life arose

Galicia-Volyn land;

Vladimir-Suzdal land;

Novgorod and Pskov feudal republics.

Assessing the feudal fragmentation of Rus' in the 12th-15th centuries, it should be emphasized that, being the product of a progressive nature, it was a complex and contradictory phenomenon. The highest authority in each principality came closer to the object of control, which, it would seem, should have contributed to the economic prosperity of individual regions. At the same time, the internal life of Rus' at that time was largely determined by princely strife, during which thousands of people died and the very productive forces were destroyed, the development of which led to a state of fragmentation. In addition, the weakening of the central government and the strife of the princes undermined the country's defense capability and made Rus' an easy prey for foreign conquerors.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, the political structure of individual lands and principalities retained traditional features: in most principalities - in the form of a feudal monarchy, in the Galicia-Volyn land - an oligarchic form of government, and in the Novgorod and Pskov lands - in the form of a feudal republic.

a) Vladimir-Suzdal land.

In the principalities of the monarchical type, the princes adhered to the traditional form of government, although each of the Russian lands had its own characteristic features. An example of this is the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality.

In the 11th century Suzdal or Zalesskaya Rus' was located between the Oka, on the one hand, and the Volga, on the other. Until the end of the 11th century. This eastern outskirts of Kievan Rus was a remote and sparsely populated region. At the end of the 11th century. Suzdal land became a special principality. By agreement of the princes, it was given to Vladimir Monomakh, who began to arrange it for his youngest son Yuri Dolgoruky. From this time on, the construction of cities such as Tver, Kostroma, Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod and others began. The influx of Russian settlers increased here.

The nature of the Vladimir-Suzdal land differed from both Kyiv and Novgorod. There were no rich black soils here, but there was no rocky soil either. Nature allowed for farming and forestry. The Suzdal princes become the most powerful in the entire Russian land.

Strong influence Yuri Dolgoruky possessed here. Its role in the construction of cities is great. His son Andrei Bogolyubsky develops the city of Vladimir, erects the Assumption Cathedral in it. He strove for autocracy not only in the Suzdal principality, but throughout the entire Russian land.

Under another son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Vsevolod (Big Nest), the Vladimir principality grew and became one of the large feudal states of Europe, widely known outside of Rus'.

The development of feudal relations in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was subject to the laws of feudal development: a significant increase in large land ownership and the struggle of feudal lords for the land of peasants; the emergence of new groups of feudal-dependent people; strengthening the link between land ownership and political power. Moreover, feudal relations began to develop here later than in other regions of Rus'; princely power arose later, but was strong and had huge land holdings.

To others important factor strengthening of princely power is the growth of new cities by the 12th century, such as Moscow, Yaroslavl, Zvenigorod, Dmitrov, etc. Relying on the squad, court and growing cities, the princes suppressed the opposition of the old Rostov-Suzdal boyars and strengthened their power. However, after the death of Vsevolod, the disintegration of the principality began, in the state in which the Tatar-Mongols found him. One of the first was conquered during the Tatar-Mongol invasion. But it was here that the prerequisites for the unification of Rus' began to mature earlier and faster than others.

The Vladimir-Suzdal princes were characterized by: 1. Ownership of princely estates - domains (hereditary land); 2. The supreme power of the prince over large land estates, villages and cities; 3. Creation of palace lands by merging the prince's estates with state lands.

In the 2nd half. XII century In the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, a new class of feudal lords emerges - the nobles. At first, this was a lower social group of the feudal class, which was characterized by the following features: military service with the prince, for which they were rewarded with lands and the right to exploit the peasants. However, this land ownership was conditional and was lost in the event of termination of service. The nobles did not have the right to freely move from prince to prince.

Peasants bore duties in the form of quitrents in kind, labor rent (corvee labor), and state duties. Dependent peasants had the right to move from one feudal lord to another. When they left, they were obliged to pay off the debt.

The urban population of the Vladimir-Suzdal land consisted of artisans, merchants, clergy and boyars.

In the 13th century In connection with the growth of independence, appanage princes turn into heads of feudal estates independent from the Grand Duke. These princes appropriate the title of great princes, and they have their own great princes.

The Grand Duke of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality was the bearer of supreme power. He owned legislative, executive, administrative, judicial and ecclesiastical powers.

The governing bodies of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality were the prince's council, the veche and feudal congresses. The princely council included the most powerful representatives of the service boyars, loyal to the prince. The Veche was convened to resolve the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy, and Feudal Congresses were convened in emergency situations on the initiative of the Grand Duke.

Local government was in the hands of the volost governors, who were the local representatives of the Grand Duke.

The main significance of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality for the history of Russia is that Moscow arose on its territory, which later became the capital of the Russian state. The first mention of Moscow in Russian chronicles dates back to April 4, 1147.

b) Galicia-Volyn land.

Simultaneously with the development of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the southwest of Rus', the Volyn and Galician lands began to develop and become richer. At the end of the 12th century. the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Roman Mstislavovich, captured the Galician principality adjacent to Volyn, located on the eastern slopes of the Carpathians and laid the foundation for the creation of a single strong Galician-Volyn principality (from 1200). Soon the city of Galich, distinguished by its fertility and richness of land, became its center.

The position of the Galicia-Volyn land was more dangerous than the position of the Suzdal land, because they were not in the center, but on the borders of the Russian land and had Poles, Lithuanians, Ugrians, and also strong enemies Russian Polovtsians.

In addition, the peculiarity of the social life of Volyn and Galich was that the boyars fought there with the princes, as well as the princely squad.

The effectiveness of the veche in this principality occupied an insignificant place and the princes had to reckon with the boyars. The boyars here acquired destructive power, and their feuds significantly weakened the state.

The urban population of the Galicia-Volyn land was not numerous.

The bulk rural population depended on the boyars. The exploitation of peasants here was much stronger than in other lands.

Feature government structure The Galician-Volyn land was that for a long time it was not divided into appanages.

The highest authorities were the prince, the council of boyars and the veche. The boyars played the leading role in political life. The most important body of the boyars was the Boyar Council (Duma). The veche played a formal role.

A system of palace management was created here, and before influential officials appeared in other lands - a butler, an equerry, a printer.

The entire Galicia-Volyn land was divided into voivodeships, headed by voivodes appointed from among the boyars. “Lesser boyars” were appointed as managers in rural areas and volosts. The Prince was called to power by the Boyar Duma.

A single strong state did not emerge from the Galicia-Volyn principality, the main reason for this was the border position of the principality: on the one hand, the influence of Poland and Lithuania. By the 13th century. the Poles occupied Galicia, on the other hand, the Lithuanians captured Volyn. So, by the 13th century. this principality ceased to exist.

c) Novgorod and Pskov republics.

A typical example of a feudal-republican system of government was Novgorod, which in the 12th century. became a boyar republic with a unique veche system.

In the period from 1136 to 1478. in the north-west of Rus' there was a Novgorod feudal republic, and from 1348 to 1510. A republican form of government also existed in Pskov.

“Mr. Veliky Novgorod” consisted of five districts, which were called 5 “ends”. Accordingly, the entire Novgorod land was divided into 5 provinces. These 5 provinces made up a huge territory from Lake Onega to the Volga. The Novgorod lands also included lands along the Northern Dvina, Pechora, and Vyatka rivers.

The owner of all these possessions was Veliky Novgorod - as it was called, the “elder city” with all its free population. The Novgorodians called their lands “the land of Hagia Sophia” after the name of the main Novgorod temple.

The cities subordinate to Novgorod were fortresses that were supposed to protect the city in the event of an attack by enemies - Germans, Swedes, Danes. Such fortress cities were Pskov (later separated from Novgorod), Izborsk, Staraya Russa, Ladoga.

The entire Novgorod land was infertile, rocky, and covered with swamps. Therefore, Novgorodians imported most of their goods from their eastern and western neighbors.

It is typical that grain was brought from the Volga region to Novgorod, and in exchange they sold those goods that they purchased from their western neighbors - furs, honey, flax. This mediation made it possible to concentrate capital in the hands of the local nobility.

The state structure and administration of Novgorod took shape under the influence of the people's council. The veche elected the prince, and subsequently the ruler, i.e. archbishop.

The Veche decided on the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy: it declared war and made peace, approved treaties and legislative acts.

The prince was invited to Novgorod by agreement to serve as a military commander and arbitrator in the most important legal proceedings. He was forbidden to acquire possessions in the Novgorod land for himself and his squad, to enjoy income in excess of strictly established amounts and to dispose of the city treasury. The prince did not rule the city, but served it. The Novgorodians “showed the clear path to the obstinate princes,” i.e. they were simply kicked out of the city.

All the levers and threads of government in Novgorod were in the hands of several hundred boyars. This “council of gentlemen” controlled the representative and executive power of Novgorod. The highest secular authority in the city was the mayor from the boyars. He convened the meeting, opened its sessions, and carried out its decisions. He also supervised foreign relations, controlled the actions of the prince, and carried out judicial functions. His closest assistant was Tysyatsky, the leader of the city militia, who in peacetime exercised police supervision over order in the city. The bishop, in addition to spiritual power, also had temporal power. He was in charge of the city treasury, foreign relations and had the right of court. Low-level officials were elected from local residents and reported to the mayor.

The prince was deprived of the right to acquire land holdings in Novgorod. The Novgorodians allocated him land, as a rule, on the Volga. For his service, the prince received “gifts” or “tribute” in a precisely defined amount.

The prince in Novgorod was the highest government authority. He led the Novgorod army, was the supreme judge and ruler. However, as an outsider to Novgorod, the prince did not live in the city itself, but 3 miles from it, near Lake Ilmen. The prince undertook to rule Novgorod without changing laws and customs, and with the constant participation of the mayor elected by the veche.

The mayor accompanied the prince to the war, was present at the princely court, and together with the prince appointed officials. The mayor in Novgorod was in charge civil cases, and Tysyatsky was the leader of the militia. Subordinate to Tysyatsky were the sotsky commanders of 10 hundreds, which amounted to a thousand. Each of the five ends of the city had Konchan elders, who fielded 200 militia.

The Novgorod lord-archbishop not only was in charge of church affairs, but also played a large role in the political life of Novgorod. He headed the government council, consisting of boyars, and monitored the activities of the veche. Every decision of the veche required the blessing of the bishop. The ruler sealed agreements with foreigners with his seal. The Vladyka was the custodian of the state treasury and the state archive. He had his own staff of officials and even his own regiment, separate from the Novgorod militia. The ruler was a large landowner.

The Veche in Novgorod was the body of the highest state power, made decisions, vested powers in officials, and acted in agreements with foreigners on behalf of the feudal republic.

The population of Novgorod and its lands was divided into two groups - “the best people” and “the younger people.” The first group is the boyars, living people and merchants. Boyars are officials and nobility. Less official, but rich people were called zhilii.

The entire poor population was called "lesser". Within the city these were small traders, artisans, and workers. In the provinces, smaller people were called smerds (peasants) and ladles (farmers who worked for the owners from half the harvest). Smerdas lived in graveyards, and ladles, of which there were many in the Novgorod land, were close in their position to serfs.

The history of Novgorod is one of constant civil strife and turmoil. Political power was in the hands of the boyar council, which, putting pressure on the poor, carried out the necessary decisions through the veche. The veche took up arms against the boyars, and then the poor began to beat and rob the “best people.” Internal contradictions led to the fall of the feudal republic.

Novgorodians began to look for allies in order to maintain their independence. This ruined Novgorod, since the nobility wanted an alliance with Lithuania against Moscow, and the poor wanted an alliance with Moscow against Lithuania. The civil strife ended with the Principality of Moscow conquering Novgorod in 1478 and annexing all its lands.

Pskov was the largest suburb of Novgorod. Initially it consisted of a small fortress - "detinets", and then turned into a powerful fortification with 12 fortresses. The main cathedral of Pskov was called the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and had the same meaning for Pskov as the Hagia Sophia Cathedral for Novgorod. Pskov was divided into six parts, which, like Novgorod, had their own special administration.

A system of fortifications was necessary on the western border of Rus', since Pskov stood on the border of Russia next to Lithuania and the Germans. Having become rich in trade, Pskov left the obedience of Novgorod and in 1348 gained independence.

In Pskov there were the same political bodies as in Novgorod. The main body of power was the "council of gentlemen." Just as in Novgorod, the princes were formally limited in their power, although in fact the boyars led the veil.

The veche in Pskov was more peaceful than in Novgorod. There was no sharp property inequality among residents and therefore no acute contradictions.

An example of the political state structure of Pskov is the “Pskov Judicial Charter”. In this document one can find many articles that regulated the relations between landowners and the feudally dependent population - izorniki - plowmen, gardeners and kochetniks (fishermen). Izorniki worked "half-time", i.e. Half of the harvest was given to the landowner. They had the right to leave the owner only on November 26, having returned the taken help or pokrugu (loan) in silver or goods.

The monument of legislation is the "Pskov Judgment Charter". The development of feudal relations, the growth of class contradictions, and the strengthening of protection of the property of feudal lords and merchants led to increased criminal repression for horse theft and theft of church property, which was punishable by death.

Among the serious crimes, the Pskov Judgment Charter also notes such as perevet (treason), bribery to a judge (secret promise), intrusion into a courthouse, etc. The Pskov Judgment Charter is a monument of legislation. The development of feudal relations, the growth of class contradictions, and the strengthening of protection of the property of feudal lords and merchants led to increased criminal repression for horse theft and theft of church property, which was punishable by death.

The role of the period of feudal fragmentation in the development of Ancient Rus'

In general, inter-princely strife is main theme chronicle stories of the 12th - 13th centuries, which creates a distorted idea of ​​them as the main feature of the appanage period, painting an image of the gradual decline of Rus', becoming a defenseless victim of any strong enemy. Sometimes one gets the impression of the fatal inevitability of the death of the Old Russian state. In fact, the influence of strife on the development of Ancient Rus' is clearly exaggerated.

Specific period Not only was it not a time of decline, but, on the contrary, it meant the flourishing of the Old Russian state and, above all, in the sphere of culture. Of course, strife weakened unity, and therefore the possibility of joint resistance to a major enemy, but in the foreseeable space such an enemy did not exist in Rus'.

The collapse of the Old Russian state, thus, looks like a natural stage in the development of statehood, forming more developed state structures, laying the foundations for the emergence of a society independent of the state, influencing state policy.

Lecture 5. Ancient Rus' in the management system of the Mongol Empire

1. Formation of statehood among the Mongol-Tatars

At the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. Events are taking place in Central Asia that have had a huge impact on the history of Eastern Europe, including Russia. These events are associated with the Mongol-Tatars invasion of Rus'.

There is a pseudoscientific Eurasian theory according to which the Mongol-Tatar invasion was a boon for the Russians. She was especially popular during cold war from the USA. According to this theory, Russia after the conquest turned into an Asian country. Allegedly, having adopted the aggressive, aggressive program of Genghis Khan, she became an enemy of the West. This is where the thesis about the eternal aggressiveness of the Russians, that our country is a source of international tension, an “evil empire”, “the birthplace of terrorism”, etc. originates.

However, most modern researchers refute this theory.

First, let's look at the development of the Tatar-Mongol tribes of that time. Mongol tribes until the end of the 12th century. lived on the territory of modern Mongolia. They did not form a single nationality, did not have their own statehood and spoke different dialects of the Mongolian language. Among them at this time, the large tribe of Tatars who lived in the eastern part of Mongolia especially stood out.

The Mongol-Tatar tribes led a nomadic lifestyle. The most numerous were the steppe Mongols, who were engaged in cattle breeding and hunting. Forest Mongols were mainly engaged in hunting and fishing. The Mongols roamed in large kurens, and each kuren had significant political independence: it waged wars, entered into alliances, etc.

The Mongols were subsistence farmers and produced extremely little food. There was no money circulation, and trade took place in the form of exchange. The development of class relations, the impoverishment of ordinary nomads and the accumulation of wealth in the hands of individual families led to the disintegration of communities - kurens - into smaller economic associations - ails - nomadic camps.

By the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongol-Tatar tribes switched to the early feudal system, although they still retained remnants of tribal relations. In the process of mutual clashes between clans, tribal alliances were formed. The tribes were headed by special leaders or chiefs - from among the most powerful, dexterous, rich, who were called nayons or bogaturs. They had their own detachments of warriors - nukers, who took part in raids, hunts, feasts, and helped with advice in decisions.

The fierce struggle between the tribes ended by the beginning of the 13th century. the formation of the Mongol state, which had a strong military organization. After long, bloody wars, the leader of one of the Mongol tribes, Temujin, conquered the rest of the tribes. In 1206, at the kurultai - a meeting of the Mongolian nomadic aristocracy, Temujin was elected khan of all the Mongols under the name Genghis Khan.

The formation of the Mongolian state contributed to the development of productive forces and played an important role in the unification of all Mongolian tribes. The possibility of economic and political contacts with neighboring peoples appeared. However, this path did not suit the nomadic aristocracy, for whom war for the sake of robbery became the main source of enrichment. With the help of the military-feudal elite, the Mongol state was turned into a military camp. An important reason for the aggressive policy of the Mongols was to muffle the internal contradictions of Mongolian society through military plunder of foreign peoples.

Having become the head of a huge army, Genghis Khan pursued an aggressive policy that fully met the interests and aspirations of the nomadic aristocracy. Genghis Khan and his successors conquered China, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe and Rus'.

The heroic struggle of the Russian and other peoples of Russia weakened the offensive of the Mongol-Tatar invaders and saved European civilization from defeat. The stubborn resistance of Rus' preserved its own statehood, culture, and faith. There was virtually no Horde administration on the territory of the Russian principalities, which was the guarantor of independent government for Rus'.

The fragility of Genghis Khan's empire was revealed quite early. During his lifetime, Genghis Khan divided power between his four sons. In particular, Jochi's eldest son inherited the lands of Rus'.

Genghis Khan's grandson Batu continued aggressive wars. As a result of his conquests over a vast territory from the Irtysh to the Crimea, the Caucasus, parts Central Asia in the 30-40s. XIII century a large state was formed. In Russian chronicles it was called the Golden Horde. It reached its power under the khans Uzbek and Janibek.

Its state apparatus is taking shape, both military and administrative-judicial. However, the internal and external achievements of the Golden Horde turned out to be fragile. In the 60s of the 14th century. it entered into a period of prolonged strife that threatened its state and political existence. As a result of feudal strife for 20 years from 1360 to 1380. 20 khans were replaced. In 1380 the Battle of Kulikovo took place. The troops of the Golden Horde were defeated, from which they could no longer recover.

Public and political system Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was feudal state. Its economic basis was feudal relations, a characteristic feature of which was feudal ownership of land, pastures and livestock. It was the so-called class property, in which ordinary nomads gave their master a certain part of the product received. Smaller feudal lords depended on larger ones, which determined the nature of the structure of the Golden Horde based on the hierarchy of nomadic land ownership. All the land was the property of the Golden Horde Khan, but each landowner, within the lands granted to him, disposed of the nomads of the people dependent on him, and distributed the best pastures at his own discretion. Feudal relations were combined with numerous remnants of the tribal system.

The first group of feudal lords “white bone” - the top of the Golden Horde society - included the nomadic aristocracy. At the top of the social ladder were the khan and princes (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) from the house of Jochi, the first khan of the Golden Horde. Over time, the Jochi clan grew greatly. With the adoption of Islam, which allowed polygamy, the number of princes increased and the struggle for power between them intensified.

The second group consisted of beks (Turkic title) and nayons (Mongolian title), who were the largest feudal lords. Each major feudal lord received huge income from his possessions - 100-200 thousand dinars per year.

The third group of feudal lords was represented by Tarkhans - people of average income who occupied low positions in the state apparatus.

The fourth group of the ruling class were the nukers. They were part of the master’s inner circle and were dependent on him. The number of nukers depended on the wealth and nobility of their leader.

An important role in the Golden Horde state was played by the church with a complex system of church institutions. The state religion was Islam. Religious tolerance was allowed in the Golden Horde, but with the adoption of Islam the role of the Muslim clergy increased. Its representatives occupied important positions in the state apparatus, and church organizations had large material resources.

The feudal-dependent population was called "black bone" and consisted of nomadic pastoralists, farmers, and city dwellers. The nomadic pastoralists were called Karachu, lived in ails, ran individual households, owned livestock and grazed them on pastures that belonged to the landowner, to whom they regularly paid tribute.

They were also obliged to perform military service, support officials and military units, and provide them with horses and wagons for transportation. When dividing the spoils of war, they received a small part of it.

The peasant population in the settled agricultural regions of Central Asia was called Sobanchi and Urtakchi. Sobanchi are communal peasants, dependent on the landowner. They cultivated the master's land with their own implements, bore duties in the form of work in the vineyards, and paid duties on the irrigation ditches. The Urtakchi are impoverished members of the peasant community, deprived of land and equipment. They worked on the master's land for a share of food.

In the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Golden Horde there is a revival of urban planning. The Golden Horde cities arose as administrative and political settlements, determined by the needs of the state. However, most of them were destroyed as a result of the campaigns of Khan Timur. After this, the urban planning culture of the Golden Horde was completely destroyed and was never revived.

The urban settlements of the Golden Horde consisted mainly of artisans, small traders, merchants and were quite numerous. A number of scientists believe that there were associations of artisans in cities. Officials also lived there. At the very bottom of the social ladder were slaves. Their number was very large. The source of slavery was captivity. The slave trade flourished. Slaves, as a rule, were turned into dependent peasants, shepherds and artisans. Thus, the son of a slave was most often attached to the ground as a sobanchi or urtakchi.

Genghis Khan divided the entire state of the Golden Horde into four uluses or appanages, each of which was headed by one of his sons. At the head of the Golden Horde was a khan from the clan of Genghis, who had strong despotic power. The military structure to which the administrative division of the country was adapted permeated it from top to bottom and contributed to the strengthening of the power of the khan. The Khan had complete power over the entire Golden Horde. The khans were surrounded by the top of the nomadic aristocracy, which directed and controlled the activities of the khan's associates. Kurultai - a congress of the Mongol-Tatar nobility - was convened to decide the most important issues(choosing a khan, planning trips, conducting hunts, etc.). The convening of the kurultai was usually timed to coincide with religious holidays. The Kurultai was an advisory body. He made decisions pleasing to the khan. However, in most cases, the khan resolved issues independently in a narrow circle of court nobility. Women (khatuni) from the ruling elite were present at the kurultai and took an active part in its work.

The central apparatus of the Golden Horde consisted of the head of state (khan), court nobility, administrative apparatus, various departments and the judicial apparatus. Diwans (offices) were in charge of the sectoral management. An important official was the vizier - the second head of government after the khan.

Among the senior officials were also four ulus emirs (rulers). The eldest of the emirs was called beklyaribek (commander-in-chief of the troops).

In the central government system, the position of bakol, who was in charge of supplying the troops, was of great importance. B

Today, there are several variants of approaches to periodization in general and Russia in particular: civilizational, formational and world-systemic. Each of these approaches is distinguished not only by the criteria by which the historical process is conditionally segmented, but by its general semantic content, the way of understanding the historical process of human development. That is, criteria such as type of thinking or means of production, socio-economic relations or religion can be used for periodization. The most famous are the formational approach and the approach to the periodization of Russian history from the position of liberalism.

Formational approach

The main criterion for periodization in the formational approach is the assessment of the type of socio-economic relations in society. This principle makes it possible to formulate a fairly clear sequence of various stages in the development of society. Moreover, each stage has its own socio-economic formation. The formational approach became most widespread in Russia during the Soviet era, since one of the authors of the approach was Marx and the meaning of the approach harmoniously fit into the ideological concept of the USSR.

Thus, at different times, supporters of the formational approach distinguished at least five or seven periods in the history of Russia according to the number of formations of the social system, that is, the primitive communal period, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and socialist. Today, adherents of the formational approach distinguish between the historical periods of Ancient Rus' (IX-XII centuries), Appanage Rus' (XII century - first half of the 15th century), United (second half of the 15th century - first half of the 16th century), Russia from the second half XVI century until the first third of the 18th century. The next period is associated with the reign of Anna Ioanovna and lasts until the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

The three remaining periods are obvious: Russia from 1861 to 1917, Soviet Russia 1917–1991 and Russia since the 90s. Until now. However, critics of the formational approach note the artificiality of such periodization and the obvious artificiality of the temporary and territorial historical space of Russia. At the same time, it is noted that the slave system had no historical place in Russia, and capitalism as such lasted no more than half a century from the date of the abolition of serfdom in 1861 until the events of the October Revolution. It should be noted that the formational approach is developing and today a global relay-formation concept of world history has been formed. According to this concept, a “young” society generally does not go through all formations sequentially, but can begin from the stage at which its development predecessors stopped.

An approach to Russian history from the perspective of liberalism

IN Lately A liberal approach to the periodization of Russian history became widespread. The criterion of the approach is the principle of the development of statehood (from approximately the 9th century), the evolution of public institutions, and the organization of governance in Rus', Russia and the Soviet Union. Thus, five periods are distinguished in the history of Russia: the Old Russian state, the Moscow state, the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, the Russian Federation. According to the authors of the concept, the division reflects the main stages of Russian history. Moreover, this concept describes the most important feature of Russian history, namely the fact that for almost a thousand years Russia remained, in fact, an authoritarian state.