Eastern Slavs before the state period. Economy of the Eastern Slavs in the pre-state period

10.01.2024 | Physics

The Slavs are one of the largest European ethnic groups. In the modern world it combines about 300 ml| people, of whom more than 125 million live in Russia. Slavic languages are divided into three large groups: western (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Lusatian), southern (Bulgarian Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian and Macedonian) and eastern (Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian). All of them belong to Indo-European! language family, which also includes Indian, Iranian, Italian Romance, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and other languages. It is assumed that the Indo-European community was once united for a long time and developed as one entity and on a certain level! did not begin to disintegrate. In this process, the co6d ancestors of the Slavs began to stand out, it’s hard to say with certainty. Most teachings agree that this could have happened somewhere in the 1st millennium! AD, most likely not earlier than its middle. I The processes of Slavic ethnogenesis are divided into a total of three stages: until the end of the 1st millennium AD. - Proto-Slavic from the turn of AD. 3rd-4th centuries - Proto-Slavic V-VII centuries. -Early Slavic. After this, the Slavs finally acquire their own ethnic identity, and their socio- and political genesis enters the active phase. 1 Currently, several theories about the Slavic ancestral home prevail, which localize it either in the Carpathian-Danube region, or in the Vistula-Oder interfluve, or in the territory between the Dnieper and the Vistula in the forest and forest-steppe natural zones. I In written sources, the Slavs first appear under the name of the Wends. At least, the large proto-ethnic image of the Wends/Veneti, known to the ancient authors Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, and Ptolemy, included the ancestors of the Slavs. The Gothic historian of the 6th century directly points to this. Jordan: “These (Vends. -D A.) come from the same root and are now known under three names: Veneti, Antes and Sklavins.” The Veneds settled over the vast territory of Eastern Europe from the borders of the Finno-Ugric tribes in the north to the Carpathian Mountains and the Dnieper region in the south, from the right tributaries of the Vistula in the west to the upper reaches of the Volga, Oka and Don in the east. Complex ethnic processes took place in this area, during which the Proto-Slavic ethnic group began to emerge. The consolidation of the Slavic tribes was accelerated by the invasion of Eastern Europe at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. AD Germans (Goths), who created a powerful early state formation in the Black Sea region and adjacent regions (the so-called power of Germanaric). The Goths were at enmity with the Slavs, tried to annex them and, obviously, achieved some success in this. However, at the end of the 4th century. The Gothic power was destroyed by a large-scale invasion of eastern nomads - the Huns. Carried away by the pursuit of the Goths retreating to the west and the plunder of the provinces of the Roman Empire, the Huns advanced into Central and even Western Europe. The north of Germanarich's former possessions turned out to be sparsely populated, and Slavic tribes began to migrate here from the forest zone. After the collapse of the nomadic Hunnic power in the 6th century. The Slavs began to dominate Eastern Europe. From the 6th century The period of the most intensive settlement of the Slavs begins. They partially move to the north of the continent, displacing and assimilating local Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes. But the main stream of migration rushes south, to the Danube borders of the rich Eastern Empire - Byzantium. It was then that numerous references to two early Slavic peoples - the Ants and the Sklavians - appeared on the pages of the works of Byzantine and other authors. The Slavs not only staged short-term raids, but also permanently moved to new lands, moving to the Balkans, Greece and Asia Minor all the way to Syria. However, at the turn of the VI-VII centuries, they suffered a series of defeats from the southern European tribal unions, known as the Vlachs, which forced them to partially resettle in the central and reverse migration to the eastern part of the European continent. These events marked the beginning of the division of the Slavs into three branches - western, southern and eastern; their isolation was basically completed by the 8th-9th centuries. During the migrations of Slavic tribes from Eastern Europe to the Danube region and back, the Sclavenians and Antes are mixed. At the beginning of the 7th century. (602) the Antes are mentioned by sources for the last time, and from that moment on, the Byzantines and European authors write only about the Slavs/Slavs. Meanwhile, the invasions of nomadic peoples from the depths of Asia into the southern Russian steppes continued. In the middle of the 6th century, at the height of the Slavic invasions across the Danube, Turkic-speaking or Mongol-speaking Avars appeared here, which probably ultimately became the main reason for the decline of the Ant tribal community. A little later, in the middle of the 7th century, the Black Sea steppes attracted new Turks - the Bulgarians. The latter, led by Khan Asparukh, migrated to the Lower Danube and, having conquered the local tribes of the southern Slavs, laid the foundation for Danube Bulgaria. Both Avars and Bulgarians smashed and plundered Slavic settlements from the Dnieper to the Danube region, enslaved the population, causing fierce resistance and provoking the Slavic tribes to a new consolidation in the face of a common enemy. By the end of the 7th - mid-8th century. to the south and southeast of the main territory of settlement of the Eastern Slavs, a new powerful state formation of nomads is gradually taking shape - the Khazar Kaganate. This process probably became the main incentive for the formation of East Slavic tribal unions of pre-Old Russian times. According to the chronicles, about a dozen such unions are known. In the Middle Dnieper region they localized the union of glades, the center of which was the city of Kyiv. The chronicler himself attributes its foundation to three legendary brothers - the first Polyansky princes Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, the name of the eldest gave the name to the fortress. To the south and southwest of the glades there were unions of Tiverts (along the Dniester), White Croats (in the Carpathian region), Ulitsch (on the Lower Dnieper), Buzhans (along the Southern Bug) and Dulebs (on the Western Bug). The last two were in the 9th century. . form parts of the Volhynian tribal union. To the northwest of the glades, in Eastern Volyn, were the lands of the Drevlyans. To the north of the Drevlyans, deeper in the forest zone, between the Pripyat and Dvina rivers, there was a tribal union of the Dregovichs. To the east of the glades, in the Dnieper Left Bank, tribes of northerners settled. To the north of them, the chronicle places unions of the Radimichi tribes (the Sozh River basin) and the Vyatichi (along the Oka). The most northern of the East Slavic tribal associations were the Krivichi and Slovenian Ilmen. The first settled in the Smolensk and Pskov regions, and later the Polochans separated from them. The latter lived in the area of Lake Ilmen. Their tribal center was first Ladoga, where already at the end of the 9th century. the oldest stone fortress in Rus' is being built, and later Novgorod. The picture of the settlement of Slavic tribes is complemented by the vast region of the Don Slavs, located in the upper and middle reaches of the river. Don. Its non-mentioning in the chronicles is apparently due to the fact that it was most dependent on the Khazars and ultimately never gained independence. The process of formation of Slavic statehood will be poorly understood if one does not turn to an analysis of the social system of the Slavs on the eve of the formation of the Kyiv state. The Slavs traditionally lived in communities, which can be correlated with individual settlements. A large patriarchal family settled in one village - patronymy, or lineage. Clusters of closely located settlements (the so-called “bush”), characteristic of the Eastern Slavs, reflect the structure of clan organizations. Several clans occupying a certain topographical territory formed a tribe. Thus, the size of the tribe could vary greatly, but it is unlikely to exceed several thousand people. Until a certain time, consanguinity played a decisive role in the tribe. Such a social structure is called rodotopeminal, or primitive (primitive-communal). However, over time, as a result of the progress of productive forces (mastery of metals, improvement of tools, etc.), the separation of individual paired (nukpear) families occurs and patronymy begins to disintegrate. This objective process also took place in the East Slavic lands, but obviously at a slower pace. The fact is that in the forest zone - the main natural habitat of the Slavs - the slash-and-burn farming system prevailed, which required significant labor costs. It was difficult for one married couple with children to clear a forest area of mature trees, and community ties continued to play a big role. The beginning of the active stage of decomposition of tribal relations among the Eastern Slavs should be associated primarily with the intensification of their military activities and the formation of squads. It was the spoils of war that accumulated in the hands of leaders and the most successful warriors, and not the successes of individual families in agriculture, that caused property differentiation in the Slavic community. This obviously explains the contrast between the military stratum and the direct producers, led by their clan elders, which can be traced in a number of chronicle stories and some foreign sources. For example, some Arab authors write about two peoples, Rus and Slovenians, of which the latter are subordinate to the former. The formation of professional squads led by military leaders also accelerates the processes of politogenesis, since it is they who give rise to the need for the formation of tribal unions, which are the earliest form of military-political associations. The military elite played a leading role in them, but the primitive democratic institutions of power were also preserved - the people's assembly, the council of clan elders, etc. Moreover, military leaders do not immediately gain primacy in resolving general tribal issues, gradually displacing the traditional governing bodies of the tribal community. The military leader - the leader of the squad among the Slavs receives the name prince. The union of tribes is a potestary, i.e. e. pre-state education. It already contains some elements of the actual political organization - the power of the military leader (prince), based on the strength of his squad, combining administrative, military, judicial and other functions. However, these functions do not yet have a solid basis, they are not always enshrined even in customary law, the power of such a prince is not yet hereditary, its boundaries are unclear, the position of the ruler may be precarious due to the lack of a long tradition of his legitimacy. The Slavs had such tribal unions as the Polyans, Drevlyans, Krivichi and others. It should, however, be noted that these associations correspond, rather, not with tribal unions, but with “unions of unions” or “super-unions”, since their scale is very significant. The formation and development of large tribal associations represents the first stage in the formation of statehood of the Eastern Slavs. The second stage was the emergence of tribal kingdoms. The chronicle tradition has brought to us the names of some of the tribal princes - legendary (Kiy, Radim, Vyatko) and, probably, historical (Derevlyan prince Mal). The third stage is associated with the formation of the early states of the Eastern Slavs. One of them occurs in the Middle Dnieper region, on the territory of the glades and their neighbors. In some sources it appears as Cuiaba. Historians call it differently - Lower Rus', Russian Land, Russian Khaganate. Its center was Kyiv. The title of the ruler of this country - Kagan - in political significance correlates with the title of the rulers of the strong neighboring state of the Khazars. We have almost no reliable information about the history of the Dnieper East Slavic power, with the exception of data on several campaigns against Byzantium in the 9th century. (in 860) and the names of its last princes (khagans?) Askold and Dir. Another early state formation is formed in the north of Eastern Europe, around Ladoga and, later, Novgorod and correlates with Slavia mentioned in various sources. It is his story that is firmly linked with the invitation to the reign of Rurik in the middle of the 9th century. The very fact of such an invitation speaks to the unconditional existence of the institution of reign, otherwise on what basis would the relations of the visiting military leader with the local population develop? The practice of inviting a ruler from outside was not unusual in the early Middle Ages and was common in Europe. In this case, according to the chronicle, Rurik and his squad were needed as a neutral force to restore order among the tribes that called them, who, according to the chronicle, were at enmity with each other. Obviously, the Eastern Slavs had other early royal associations. For example, Arab sources also mention Arsu (Artania), the location of which is disputed by scientists. _ Finally, the last, fourth, stage of development of East Slavic statehood is associated with the unification of Kyiv, Novgorod and some other East Slavic lands into a single ancient Russian power - Kievan Rus. This will be discussed in the next section. 1.

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In historical science, it is generally accepted that the history of any nation begins with the formation of a state. More than 100 peoples and nationalities live in the Russian Federation. But the main state-forming people of our country are the Russian people (out of 149 million - 120 million are Russians). The Russian people - one of the largest peoples in the world - for many centuries played a leading role in the political, economic, and cultural development of the country. The first state of Russians, as well as Ukrainians and Belarusians, was formed in the 9th century around Kyiv by their common ancestors - the Eastern Slavs.
The first written evidence about the Slavs. By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Slavs stand out from the Indo-European community. By the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. the Slavs became so significant in numbers and influence in the world around them that Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine authors began to report on them (Roman writer Pliny the Elder (See textbook material), historian Tacitus - 1st century AD, geographer Ptolemy Claudius - 2nd century AD. Ancient authors call the Slavs “Antes”, “Slavins”, “Vends” and speak of them as “countless tribes”). (See textbook material)
During the era of the great migration of peoples, the Slavs on the Danube began to be crowded out by other peoples. The Slavs began to split up.

Some of the Slavs remained in Europe. Later they will get a name southern Slavs(Later from them will come Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Montenegrins).
Another part of the Slavs moved to the north - Western Slavs(Czechs, Poles, Slovaks). Western and southern Slavs were conquered by other peoples.
And the third part of the Slavs, according to scientists, did not want to submit to anyone and moved to the northeast, to the East European Plain. Later they will get a name Eastern Slavs(Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians).

It should be noted that most tribes strove to Central Europe, to the ruins of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire soon fell (476 AD) under the attacks of alien barbarians. On this territory, the barbarians will create their own statehood, absorbing the cultural heritage of ancient Roman culture. The Eastern Slavs went to the northeast, into the deep forest wilds, where there was no cultural heritage. The Eastern Slavs left in two streams. One part of the Slavs went to Lake Ilmen. Later, the ancient Russian city of Novgorod will stand there. The other part - to the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper - there will be another ancient city of Kyiv.
In the VI - VIII centuries. The Eastern Slavs mainly settled across the East European Plain.
Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs. And other peoples already lived on the East European (Russian) Plain. Baltic (Lithuanians, Latvians) and Finno-Ugric (Finns, Estonians, Ugrians (Hungarians), Komi, Khanty, Mansi, etc.) tribes lived on the Baltic coast and in the north. The colonization of these places was peaceful, the Slavs got along with the local population.
In the east and southeast the situation was different. There the Steppe adjoined the Russian Plain. The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs were the steppe nomads - the Turks (Altai family of peoples, Turkic group). In those days, peoples leading different lifestyles - sedentary and nomadic - were constantly at odds with each other. The nomads lived by raiding the settled population. And for almost 1000 years, one of the main phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs would be the struggle with the nomadic peoples of the Steppe.
The Turks on the eastern and southeastern borders of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs created their own state formations.

In the middle of the 6th century. in the lower reaches of the Volga there was a state of the Turks - the Avar Kaganate. In 625 Avar Khaganate was defeated by Byzantium and ceased to exist.
In the 7th - 8th centuries. here the state of other Turks appears - Bulgar (Bulgarian) kingdom. Then the Bulgarian kingdom collapsed. Part of the Bulgars went to the middle reaches of the Volga and formed Volga Bulgaria. Another part of the Bulgars migrated to the Danube, where they were formed Danube Bulgaria (later the newcomer Turks were assimilated by the southern Slavs. A new ethnic group arose, but it took the name of the newcomers - “Bulgarians”).
After the departure of the Bulgars, the steppes of southern Rus' were occupied by new Turks - Pechenegs.
On the lower Volga and in the steppes between the Caspian and Azov seas, semi-nomadic Turks created Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars established their dominance over the East Slavic tribes, many of whom paid them tribute until the 9th century.

In the south the neighbor of the Eastern Slavs was Byzantine Empire(395 - 1453) with its capital in Constantinople (in Rus' it was called Constantinople).
Territory of the Eastern Slavs. In the VI - VIII centuries. The Slavs were not yet one people.
They were divided into tribal unions, which included 120 - 150 separate tribes. By the 9th century there were about 15 tribal unions. Tribal unions were named either by the area in which they lived or by the names of the leaders. Information about the settlement of the Eastern Slavs is contained in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor in the second decade of the 12th century. (The chronicler Nestor is called the “father of Russian history”). (See textbook material) According to the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the Eastern Slavs settled: the glades - along the banks of the Dnieper, not far from the mouth of the Desna; northerners - in the basin of the Desna and Seim rivers; Radimichi - on the upper tributaries of the Dnieper; Drevlyans - along Pripyat; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina; Polotsk residents - along Polota; Ilmen Slovenes - along the Volkhov, Shchelon, Lovat, Msta rivers; Krivichi - in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volga; Vyatichi - in the upper reaches of the Oka; Buzhans - along the Western Bug; Tivertsy and Ulich - from the Dnieper to the Danube; White Croats - the northern part of the western slopes of the Carpathians.
The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks." The Eastern Slavs did not have a sea coast. Rivers became the main trade routes for the Slavs. They "huddled" to the banks of rivers, especially the greatest river of Russian antiquity - the Dnieper. In the 9th century a great trade route arose - “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” (See textbook material) It connected Novgorod and Kyiv, Northern and Southern Europe. From the Baltic Sea along the Neva River, caravans of merchants reached Lake Ladoga, from there along the Volkhov River and further along the Lovat River to the upper reaches of the Dnieper. From Lovat to the Dnieper in the area of Smolensk and on the Dnieper rapids we crossed by "portage routes". Further, along the western shore of the Black Sea they reached the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople (the Eastern Slavs called it Constantinople). This path became the core, the main trade road, the “red street” of the Eastern Slavs. The entire life of East Slavic society was concentrated around this trade route.
Occupations of the Eastern Slavs. The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. They cultivated wheat, rye, barley, millet, planted turnips, millet, cabbage, beets, carrots, radishes, garlic and other crops. They were engaged in cattle breeding (they raised pigs, cows, horses, small cattle), fishing, and beekeeping (collecting honey from wild bees). A significant part of the territory of the Eastern Slavs lay in a zone of harsh climate, and farming required the exertion of all physical strength. Labor-intensive work had to be completed within a strictly defined time frame. Only a large team could do this. Therefore, from the very beginning of the appearance of the Slavs on the East European Plain, the most important role in their life began to be played by the collective - the community and the role of the leader.
Cities. Among the Eastern Slavs in the V - VI centuries. cities arose, which was associated with the long-standing development of trade. The most ancient Russian cities are Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Suzdal, Murom, Pereyaslavl South. In the 9th century The Eastern Slavs had at least 24 large cities. Cities usually arose at the confluence of rivers, on a high hill. The central part of the city was called Kremlin, Detinets and was usually surrounded by a rampart. The Kremlin housed the dwellings of princes, nobility, temples, and monasteries. Behind the fortress wall, a ditch filled with water was built. Behind the moat there was a market. Adjacent to the Kremlin was a settlement where artisans settled. Individual districts of the settlement, inhabited by artisans of the same specialty, were called settlements.
Public relations. The Eastern Slavs lived in clans. Each clan had its own elder - the prince. The prince relied on the clan elite - the “best husbands”. The princes formed a special military organization - a squad, which included warriors and advisers to the prince. The squad was divided into senior and junior. The first included the most notable warriors (advisers). The younger squad lived with the prince and served his court and household. The warriors from the conquered tribes collected tribute (taxes). Trips to collect tribute were called "polyud". Since time immemorial, the Eastern Slavs have had a custom - all the most important issues in the life of the family are resolved at a worldly gathering - a veche.
Beliefs of the Eastern Slavs. The ancient Slavs were pagans. They worshiped the forces of nature and the spirits of their ancestors. In the pantheon of Slavic gods, a special place was occupied by: the sun god - Yarilo; Perun is the god of war and lightning, Svarog is the god of fire, Veles is the patron of livestock. The princes themselves acted as high priests, but the Slavs also had special priests - magicians and magicians.

At the beginning of the first millennium of the new era, the territory of the East European Plain was inhabited by the Eastern Slavs. Starting from the 6th century, the Eastern Slavs occupied the space from the Onega and Ladoga lakes in the north to the lower reaches of the Prut, Dniester, and Southern Bug rivers in the south, and from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Oka and Volga in the east. In Eastern Europe, the Slavs met Finno-Ugric tribes who lived on its territory before the appearance of the Slavs. The settlement of the Slavs took place peacefully, so the population density of the Finno-Ugric tribes was very low. Gradually, the Finno-Ugric tribes were assimilated by the Slavs.

The natural and climatic conditions of the Russian Plain contributed to the formation of successful economic activity of the Slavs: deep rivers, fertile soils, dense forests with an abundance of birds and animals, a moderate, even climate. These conditions played a significant role in the development of the economy of the ancient Slavs. In the southern fertile lands, people were engaged in agriculture, in the southeastern steppes - nomadic cattle breeding, in the northern and northwestern regions - hunting, harvesting the fur of valuable fur-bearing animals, beekeeping (collecting honey and wax from wild bees), and fishing.

Rivers played an important role in the settlement and daily life of the Slavs. “Remembering,” writes V.O. Klyuchevsky, “how the Tale of the Beginning of the Russian Land places the Slavic tribes across our plain, it is easy to notice that the mass of the Slavic population occupied its western half. The economic life of the population in this region was directed by one mighty stream, the Dnieper, which cuts through it from north to south. Given the importance of rivers at that time as the most convenient means of communication, the Dnieper was the main economic artery, a main trade road for the western strip of the plain: with its upper reaches it comes close to the Western Dvina and the Ilmen-Lake basin, that is, to the two most important roads. into the Baltic Sea, and with its mouth it connects the central Alaun Upland with the northern shore of the Black Sea; the tributaries of the Dnieper, coming from afar from the right and left, like access roads of the main road, bring the Dnieper region, on the one hand, to the Carpathian basins of the Dniester and Vistula, on the other - to the basins. Volga and Don, that is, to the Caspian and Azov seas. Thus, the Dnieper region covers the entire western and partly the eastern half of the Russian plain. Thanks to this, there has been a lively trade movement along the Dnieper since time immemorial, the impetus for which was given by the Greeks." Klyuchevsky V.O. Course of Russian History. M., Mysl, 1987. T. 1. p. 137

Archaeological excavations of settlements indicate that the main occupation of the Slavs was agriculture. They widely sowed millet, rye (zhito), wheat, flax and other crops. To cultivate the land they used a ralo - a primitive wooden plow with an iron tip (knuckle), a hoe, a sickle, a rake, and a scythe. Later a plow with an iron blade will appear.

Agriculture was carried out in fallow or slash-and-burn form. Relog involved the use of the same plots of land for several years in a row. After the land was depleted, this plot was abandoned for 20-30 years for the natural restoration of fertility, and the farmer himself moved to another plot. This system existed mainly in steppe and forest-steppe regions. In forest areas, a slash-and-burn system developed in which a plot of land for arable land was cleared of trees, which were cut down and burned. The resulting ash served as a natural fertilizer. This system required a lot of physical labor from people united in a clan community.

People were united into tribal patriarchal families, which lived in a separate settlement - a courtyard. In such a family there was collective ownership of land, tools and the results of labor. The size of the land plots depended on how much land such a family could cultivate.

The widespread spread of the plow and the transition from matt to arable farming significantly increased the culture of agriculture and its productivity, although this increase occurred extensively, due to an increase in the area of \u200b\u200bcultivable land. Nevertheless, there were also signs of agricultural intensification. So, first a two-field system appeared, and then a three-field system, that is, the annual alternation of various crops and fallow to restore soil fertility. Tillage was carried out using draft animals: oxen and horses. The development of production factors and the increase in the product produced led to the decomposition of the consanguineous community and the transition to a neighboring community in the 6th-8th centuries.

This transition meant that the individual family became the main economic unit. At the same time, the cultivation of the land could be carried out by small groups that settled according to the principle of neighborhood, and not kinship. The emergence of private ownership of tools and the results of labor meant the complete disintegration of the clan community. The yard gives way to the village, and the rural community itself began to be called verv (world).

And although in the neighboring community the main agricultural lands still remained in joint ownership, they were already divided into plots - allotments, which were transferred for limited private use to community members for a certain time. Non-agricultural lands (forests, reservoirs, hayfields, pastures) remained communal. Various types of work were also preserved, the implementation of which required the combined labor of all members of the community: laying roads, uprooting forests, and others.

Land plots were cultivated by members of a separate family with their own tools, and the harvest also belonged to this family. Thus, the individual family no longer had to participate in the forced division of production and distribution of products equally. This led to property stratification within the neighboring community, the emergence of more successful elders, tribal nobility, and future large landowners - feudal lords.

At the last stage of the transition to feudalism, the Eastern Slavs formed a type of relationship characteristic of all peoples during the transition from primitive to class society - military democracy. During this period, the role of the highest military commander - the prince, who was both the leader of the army and the head of the tribe or tribal union - was strengthened. Initially, the prince was elected at the assembly as the leader of the squad. All free community members who participated in the people's militia could take part in the work of the veche. In addition to the people's militia, a professional squad also emerged. The squad was fed at the expense of the prince's income, which consisted of booty during military campaigns and offerings (taxes) collected from residents for protecting them from enemy attacks. Gradually, the prince and his squad took a leading position in the tribe, acquired the functions of a court, began to extend their rights to land as private property, and to assume power over other community members and their income. All this meant a transition from pre-class to class society and a prerequisite for the emergence of the state. “The power of the collective was replaced by hereditary princely power. The princes, relying on their military formations, acquired such weight and influence in society that they essentially turned into a special force standing above the masses.” Rapov O.M. Russian Church in the 9th - first third of the 12th century. Acceptance of Christianity. M.: Russian Panorama, 1998. p. 29

Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation

Kemerovo State Agricultural Institute

Department of History and Pedagogy

TEST

in the discipline "NATIONAL HISTORY"

on the topic: Eastern Slavs in the pre-state period. Formation of the Old Russian State

Completed:

SOP group student

"Economics and enterprise management"

Purtov K.V.

Kemerovo 2010

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….3

1. Social system of the Eastern Slavs in the VI-VIII centuries. n. hey………………...3

2. Religious beliefs of the Slavs. Life, manners, customs……………………….4

3. Origin of the Old Russian state……………………………..6

3.1. Political system of Kievan Rus………………………………………………………10

3.2. Socio-economic system of Ancient Rus'…………………………10

4.Adoption of Christianity and its consequences…………………………………..11

List of references………………………………………………………..…16

Introduction

In historical science, it is generally accepted that the history of any nation begins with the formation of a state. More than 100 peoples and nationalities live in the Russian Federation. But the main state-forming people of our country are the Russian people (out of 149 million, 120 million are Russians). The Russian people - one of the largest peoples in the world - for many centuries played a leading role in the political, economic, and cultural development of the country. The first state of Russians, as well as Ukrainians and Belarusians, was formed in the 9th century. around Kyiv by their common ancestors - the Eastern Slavs.
By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Slavs stand out from the Indo-European community. The oldest known habitat of the Slavs in Europe was the lower and middle reaches of the Danube. By the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The Slavs became so significant in numbers and influence in the world around them that Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine authors began to report on them (Roman writer Pliny, Senior historian Tacitus - 1st century AD, geographer Ptolemy Claudius - 2nd century AD .e. Ancient authors call the Slavs “Antes”, “Slavins”, “Vends” and speak of them as “countless tribes”.

1. Social system of the Eastern Slavs

During the era of the great migration of peoples, the Slavs on the Danube began to be crowded out by other peoples. The Slavs began to split up.

Some of the Slavs remained in Europe. Later they will receive the name of the southern Slavs (from them will come the Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Montenegrins).
Another part of the Slavs moved to the north - the Western Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Slovaks). Western and southern Slavs were conquered by other peoples.
The third part of the Slavs, according to scientists, did not want to submit to anyone and moved to the northeast, to the East European Plain. Later they will receive the name Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians).

It should be noted that during the era of the great migration of peoples, most tribes strove to Central Europe, to the ruins of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire soon fell (476 AD) under the attacks of alien barbarians. On this territory, the barbarians, having absorbed the heritage of ancient Roman culture, will create their own statehood. The Eastern Slavs went to the northeast, into the deep forest wilds, where there was no cultural heritage. The Slavs went to the northeast in two streams: one part of the Slavs went to Lake Ilmen (later the ancient Russian city of Novgorod would stand there), the other part went to the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper (another ancient city of Kyiv would become there).
In the VI - VIII centuries. Eastern Slavs mainly settled along the East European Plain.
Other peoples already lived on the East European (Russian) Plain. Baltic (Lithuanians, Latvians) and Finno-Ugric (Finns, Estonians, Ugrians (Hungarians), Komi, Khanty, Mansi, etc.) tribes lived on the Baltic coast and in the north. The colonization of these places was peaceful, the Slavs got along with the local population.
In the east and southeast the situation was different. There the steppe adjoined the Russian Plain. The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs were the steppe nomads - the Turks (Altai family of peoples, Turkic group). In those days, peoples leading different lifestyles - sedentary and nomadic - were constantly at war with each other. The nomads lived by raiding the settled population. And for almost 1000 years, one of the main phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs would be the struggle with the nomadic peoples of the Steppe.
The Turks on the eastern and southeastern borders of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs created their own state formations.

In the middle of the 6th century. in the lower reaches of the Volga there was a state of the Turks - the Avar Kaganate. In 625, the Avar Khaganate was defeated by Byzantium and ceased to exist.
In the 7th - 8th centuries. here the state of other Turks appears - the Bulgar (Bulgarian) kingdom. Then the Bulgarian kingdom collapsed. Part of the Bulgars went to the middle reaches of the Volga and formed Volga Bulgaria. Another part of the Bulgars migrated to the Danube, where Danube Bulgaria was formed (later the newcomer Turks were assimilated by the southern Slavs. A new ethnic group arose, but it took the name of the newcomers - “Bulgars”).
After the departure of the Bulgars, the steppes of southern Rus' were occupied by new Turks - the Pechenegs.
On the lower Volga and in the steppes between the Caspian and Azov seas, semi-nomadic Turks created the Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars established their dominance over the East Slavic tribes, many of whom paid them tribute until the 9th century.

In the south, the neighbor of the Eastern Slavs was the Byzantine Empire (395-1453) with its capital in Constantinople (in Rus' it was called Constantinople).
In the VI - VIII centuries. The Slavs were not yet one people.
They were divided into tribal unions, which included 120 - 150 separate tribes. By the 9th century there were about 15 tribal unions. Tribal unions were named either by the area in which they lived or by the names of the leaders. Information about the settlement of the Eastern Slavs is contained in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor in the second decade of the 12th century. (The chronicler Nestor is called “the father of Russian history”). According to the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the Eastern Slavs settled: the glades - along the banks of the Dnieper, not far from the mouth of the Desna; northerners - in the basin of the Desna and Seim rivers; Radimichi - on the upper tributaries of the Dnieper; Drevlyans - along Pripyat; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina; Polotsk residents - along Polota; Ilmen Slovenes - along the Volkhov, Shchelon, Lovat, Msta rivers; Krivichi - in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volga; Vyatichi - in the upper reaches of the Oka; Buzhans - along the Western Bug; Tivertsy and Ulich - from the Dnieper to the Danube; White Croats occupied part of the western slopes of the Carpathians.
The Eastern Slavs did not have a sea coast. Rivers became the main trade routes for the Slavs. They "huddled" to the banks of rivers, especially the greatest river of Russian antiquity - the Dnieper. In the 9th century a great trade route arose - “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” It connected Novgorod and Kyiv, Northern and Southern Europe. From the Baltic Sea along the Neva River, caravans of merchants reached Lake Ladoga, from there along the Volkhov River and further along the Lovat River to the upper reaches of the Dnieper. From Lovat to the Dnieper in the area of Smolensk and on the Dnieper rapids they crossed by “portage routes”. Then along the western shore of the Black Sea they reached the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople. This path became the core, the main trade road, the “red street” of the Eastern Slavs. The entire life of East Slavic society was concentrated around this trade route.

2. Religious beliefs of the Slavs, life, morals and customs

The religion of the Eastern Slavs was complex, varied, with detailed customs. Its origins go back to Indo-European ancient beliefs and even further back to Paleolithic times. It was there, in the depths of antiquity, that man’s ideas about the supernatural forces that control his destiny, about his relationship to nature and its relationship to man, about his place in the world around him arose. The religion that existed among different peoples before they adopted Christianity or Islam is called paganism.

Like other ancient peoples, like the ancient Greeks in particular, the Slavs populated the world with a variety of gods and goddesses. There were among them the main and the secondary, the powerful, the omnipotent and the weak, the playful, the evil and the good.

At the head of the Slavic deities was the great Svarog - the god of the universe, reminiscent of the ancient Greek Zeus.

His sons - Svarozhichi - the sun and fire, were carriers of light and warmth. The sun god Dazhdbog was highly revered by the Slavs. The Slavs prayed to Rod and women in labor - the god and goddesses of fertility. This cult was associated with the agricultural activities of the population and was therefore especially popular. God Veles was revered by the Slavs as the patron of cattle breeding; he was a kind of “cattle god”. Stribog, according to their concepts, commanded the winds, like the ancient Greek Aeolus.

As the Slavs merged with some Iranian and Finno-Ugric tribes, their gods migrated to the Slavic pantheon.

So, in the VIII - IX centuries. The Slavs revered the sun god Khors, who clearly came from the world of Iranian tribes. From there the god Simargl also appeared, who was depicted as a dog and was considered the god of the soil and plant roots. In the Iranian world, it was the master of the underworld, the deity of fertility.

The only major female deity among the Slavs was Makosh, who personified the birth of all living things and was the patroness of the female part of the household.

Over time, as princes, governors, squads began to emerge in the public life of the Slavs, and the beginning of great military campaigns, in which the young prowess of the nascent state played, the god of lightning and thunder Perun, who became the main heavenly deity, increasingly came to the fore among the Slavs. merges with Svarog, Rod as more ancient gods. This does not happen by chance: Perun was a god whose cult was born in a princely, druzhina environment.

But pagan ideas were not limited to the main gods. The world was also inhabited by other supernatural beings. Many of them were associated with the idea of the existence of an afterlife. It was from there that evil spirits - ghouls - came to people. And the good spirits who protect people were the beregins. The Slavs sought to protect themselves from evil spirits with spells, amulets, and so-called “amulets.” Goblin lived in the forest, mermaids lived near the water. The Slavs believed that these were the souls of the dead, coming out in the spring to enjoy nature.

The Slavs believed that every house was under the protection of a brownie, who was identified with the spirit of their ancestor, ancestor, or schur, chur. When a person believed that he was threatened by evil spirits, he called on his patron - the brownie, chur, to protect him and said “Chur, me, chur, me!”

Births, weddings, and funerals were accompanied by complex religious rites. Thus, the funeral custom of the Eastern Slavs is known to bury along with the ashes of a person (the Slavs burned their dead at the stake, placing them first in wooden boats; this meant that the person sailed into the underground kingdom) one of his wives, over whom a ritual murder was committed; The remains of a war horse, weapons, and jewelry were placed in the warrior’s grave. Life continued, according to the Slavs, beyond the grave. Then a high mound was poured over the grave, and a pagan funeral feast was performed: relatives and associates commemorated the deceased. During the sad feast, military competitions were also held in his honor. These rituals, of course, concerned only tribal leaders.

The whole life of a Slav was connected with the world of supernatural creatures, behind which stood the forces of nature. It was a fantastic and poetic world. It was part of the everyday life of every Slavic family.

The leading sectors of the economy among the tribes of the forest-steppe and forest zones of Eastern Europe were agriculture and cattle breeding, among the Slavs, and from the first centuries AD. e. and among the Balts, agriculture came first.
The basis of the economy of the Eastern Slavs was arable farming. Plowing tools with iron working parts were used - ralo (in the southern regions), plow (in the north). Cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, and beekeeping played a subordinate role in the economy.
The economic unit was predominantly a small family. The lowest link in the social organization of direct producers, uniting the farms of individual families, was the neighboring (territorial) community - the rope. The transition from a consanguineous community and patriarchal clan to a neighboring community and small family occurred among the Slavs during the settlement of the 6th-8th centuries. Members of the vervi jointly owned hayfields and forest lands, and arable lands were divided between individual peasant farms.

The Eastern Slavs lived in births. Each clan had its own elder - the prince. The prince relied on the clan elite - the “best husbands”. The princes formed a special military organization - a squad, which included warriors and advisers to the prince. The squad was divided into senior and junior. The first included the most notable warriors (advisers). The younger squad lived with the prince and served his court and household. The warriors from the conquered tribes collected tribute (taxes). Trips to collect tribute were called polyudye. Since time immemorial, the Eastern Slavs have had a custom of resolving all the most important issues in the life of the clan at a worldly meeting - a veche.

3. Origin of the Old Russian state

By the 9th century The Eastern Slavs developed a complex of socio-economic and political prerequisites for the formation of a state:
socio-economic - the clan community ceased to be an economic necessity and disintegrated, giving way to a territorial, “neighborhood” community; there was a separation of crafts from other types of economic activity, the growth of cities and foreign trade; the process of forming social groups was underway, nobility and squads emerged;
political - large tribal unions appeared, which began to enter into temporary political alliances with each other; from the end of the 6th century. a union of tribes led by Kiy is known; Arab and Byzantine sources report that in the VI-VII centuries. there was a “Power of the Volynians”; Novgorod chronicles say that in the 9th century. around Novgorod there was a Slavic association led by Gostomysl; Arab sources claim that on the eve of the formation of the state, there were alliances of large tribes of Slavs: Cuiaba - around Kyiv, Slavia - around Novgorod, Artania - around Ryazan or Chernigov;
foreign policy - the most important thing for the formation and strengthening of states among all peoples was the presence of external danger; the problem of repelling external danger among the Eastern Slavs was very acute from the very appearance on the East European Plain; from the 6th century The Slavs fought against numerous nomadic tribes of the Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Avars, Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, etc.

So, by the 9th century. The Eastern Slavs, with their internal development, were ready for the formation of a state. But the final fact of the formation of the state of the Eastern Slavs is connected with their northern neighbors - the inhabitants of Scandinavia (modern Denmark, Norway, Sweden). In Western Europe, the inhabitants of Scandinavia were called Normans, Vikings, and in Rus' - Varangians. In Europe, the Vikings were engaged in robbery and trade. All of Europe trembled before their raids. In Rus' there were no conditions for sea robbery, so the Varangians mainly traded and were hired by the Slavs in military squads. The Slavs and Varangians were at approximately the same stage of social development - the Varangians also experienced the decomposition of the tribal system and the formation of prerequisites for the formation of a state.
As the chronicler Nestor testifies in the Tale of Bygone Years, by the 9th century. Novgorodians and some northern Slavic tribes became dependent on the Varangians and paid them tribute, and the southern Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazars. In 859, the Novgorodians drove out the Varangians and stopped paying tribute. After this, civil strife began among the Slavs: they could not come to an agreement on who should rule them. Then, in 862, the Novgorod elders turned to the Varangians with a request: to send them one of the Varangian leaders to reign. “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order (order) in it. Come reign and rule over us.” The Varangian king (leader) Rurik responded to the call of the Novgorodians. So in 862, power over Novgorod and its environs passed to the Varangian leader Rurik. It so happened that the descendants of Rurik were able to strengthen themselves among the Eastern Slavs as leaders.
The role of the Varangian leader Rurik in Russian history is that he became the founder of the first ruling dynasty in Rus'. All his descendants began to be called Rurikovichs.
After his death, Rurik was left with a young son, Igor. Therefore, another Varangian, Oleg, began to rule in Novgorod. Oleg was probably a very enterprising person, since he soon wanted to establish his control over the southern section of the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” which was owned by the Kievans.
In 882 Oleg went on a campaign to Kyiv. Rurik's warriors Askold and Dir ruled there at that time. Oleg tricked them into leaving the city gates and killed them. After this, he was able to gain a foothold in Kyiv. The two largest East Slavic cities were united under the rule of one prince. Next, Oleg established the boundaries of his possessions, imposed tribute on the entire population, began to maintain order in the territory under his control and ensure the protection of these territories from enemy attacks.
This is how the first state of the Eastern Slavs was formed.
Later, chroniclers will begin counting time “from the summer of Olegov,” i.e. from the time when Oleg began to rule in Kyiv.
Origin of the word "Rus". Over time, the lands around Kyiv, the population of Kyiv will begin to be called the word “Rus”. In historical science, there are several versions about the origin of this name. Currently, the prevailing point of view is that this was the name of the Varangian tribe from which Rurik came. Later this name will be assigned to the state and to all Eastern Slavs.
The significance of the formation of the Old Russian state. The state of Rus', Kievan Rus (scientific name - Old Russian state, Ancient Rus'), due to its geographical location, immediately took an important place in the system of European and Asian states. At this time, the process of formation of states was also taking place in Western Europe, although states equal to Rus' in importance had already taken shape. Rus' developed as part of a global civilization. But the further course of the historical process was influenced by a number of the following factors:

harsh climate;
the territory of Rus' was a plain, open on all sides to any enemy;
Rus' then included hundreds of peoples and nationalities at different stages of development;
the state's lack of access to the sea, the necessity of which became a state requirement;
lack of cultural heritage.

Norman theory. The chronicle story about the calling of the Varangians to Rus' as rulers served as the basis for the emergence of the Norman theory of the formation of the Old Russian state. Its creators were German scientists G.-F. Miller, G.-Z. Bayer, A.L. Schletser, in the 18th century. invited to work in Russia by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. German scientists argued that the creation of statehood in Rus' was the result of the action of the Varangians. The great Russian scientist M.V. was an ardent opponent of the Norman theory. Lomonosov.
Nowadays, the Norman theory is often interpreted as follows: everything significant in Russia was created by foreigners and under the leadership of foreigners. Russians are not capable of independent government creativity.
The Norman theory has both supporters and opponents. Opponents of the Norman theory argue: we should not forget that the calling of the Varangians is a legend. The question of who the first Russian princes were, where they came from and how, still remains unresolved. Versions about the foreign origin of this or that dynasty are typical of antiquity and the Middle Ages. One should recall the stories about the calling of the Anglo-Saxons by the Britons and the creation of the English state, etc. The Russian chronicles, on the basis of which we form an idea of the first centuries of Russian history, were written at a later time; they tended to surround the emergence of Russian statehood with an aura of mystery. A stranger, a newcomer, always has a special charisma. Archaeological excavations confirm that the Varangians actually lived among the Slavs, which indicates their wide mutual ties. The Varangians sought to reach Rus'; in the Scandinavian sagas, Rus' is presented as a country of untold riches. But the number of Varangians in Rus' was small. The Slavs and Varangians were at the same stage of social development. The Varangians did not have a noticeable influence on the economy, social relations, or culture of the Eastern Slavs. The Varangians laid the foundation for the first ruling dynasty in Rus', the first Varangian princes (Rurik, Oleg, Igor, Olga) bore Scandinavian names, but already the son of Igor and Olga and their grandson bore Slavic names - Svyatoslav, Vladimir. Several generations after the calling of Rurik, only legends about the origin of the most noble Slavic families remained from the Varangians. The Slavs, with their internal development, were ready to form a state. The Eastern Slavs had a whole complex of prerequisites for the formation of a state. State institutions arise as a result of the long internal development of society. Consequently, if Rurik’s calling is a historical fact, then he speaks of the emergence of a princely dynasty, and not of the origin of Russian statehood.

The history of the state of Rus' can be divided into three periods

IX - mid-X century. - in scientific literature this period was called the Time of the first Kyiv princes.
Second half of the 10th century. - first half of the 11th century. - the rise of the state of Rus'.
Second half of the 11th century. - beginning of the 12th century - transition to feudal fragmentation.

The time of the first Kyiv princes

Reign of Oleg (879-912). Oleg turned out to be a warlike and enterprising ruler. He liked Kyiv and made it his main city. To gain a foothold in Kyiv, he began to build cities and plant his warriors in them. Oleg began to actively subjugate the Slavic tribes to his power. Thus, he included the lands of the Drevlyans, Northerners, and Radimichi into his possessions. Oleg and his squad collected tribute from the conquered tribes. But the tribute had to be paid. For Oleg, the opportunity to trade with his southern neighbor, Byzantium, was very important. He planned a big campaign against Byzantium.
In 907 and 911 he made two successful campaigns against Constantinople. The Greeks were forced to conclude an agreement on terms favorable to the Russians. According to the chroniclers, the agreement was concluded “for two harathys.” This suggests that Russian writing appeared even before the adoption of Christianity. Before the appearance of Russkaya Pravda, legislation was also being developed. The agreement with the Greeks mentioned the “Russian Law”, according to which the inhabitants of Kievan Rus were judged. According to the agreement, Russian merchants had the right to live for a month at the expense of the Greeks in Constantinople, but were obliged to walk around the city without weapons. At the same time, merchants had to have written documents with them and warn the Byzantine emperor about their arrival in advance. The concluded agreement provided the possibility of exporting the tribute collected in Rus' and selling it in the markets of Byzantium. In addition, Oleg took a huge tribute from Constantinople, which was enough not only for him and his warriors who were with him on the campaign, but also for those who were stationed in different Russian cities.
The fame of Oleg's successful campaigns quickly spread. Most likely, they began to talk about Oleg’s intelligence, cunning, and courage. The stories turned into legends. His death is also covered in legend. The magician predicted to Oleg that he would die from his horse. Oleg forbade bringing the horse near him. Many years later, he remembered his dead horse and laughed at the magician’s prediction. He decided to look at the bones of his horse. When I arrived at the place, I stepped on the horse’s skull. A snake crawled out from there and bit him on the leg. Oleg fell ill from this and died.

The name of Oleg, as the first, distant ruler, is surrounded by mystery and turned out to be unusually attractive to descendants. Folk memory endowed him with special, inhuman abilities. He remained in history as a “sorcerer”, “prophetic”.
Reign of Igor (912-945). After Oleg, Rurik’s son Igor began to reign in Kyiv. He also made military campaigns, but they were not so successful. In 913, Igor's raid on the Caspian residents ended in the defeat of his squad. Following the example of Oleg, he planned a campaign against Byzantium. But the Byzantine emperor paid off with rich gifts. In 944, the agreement with Byzantium was confirmed, but on less favorable terms. In his old age, Igor himself did not go to the subordinate peoples for tribute, but entrusted it to his warrior Sveneld. Sveneld collected rich tribute in the land of the Drevlyans. This caused a murmur from Igor’s squad. The warriors told Igor: “The youths of Sveneld are worn out with weapons and ports, and we are naked. Come, prince, with us for tribute, and you will get it for yourself and for us.”
Igor collected tribute from the Drevlyans and was already returning back to Kyiv, when he suddenly decided to return with a small part of his squad and once again collect tribute from the Drevlyans. The Drevlyans were indignant and gathered at a meeting with their foreman Mal. The Veche decided: “If a wolf gets into the habit of getting close to the sheep, he will drag everyone away if he is not killed.” When Igor began to collect tribute by force, the Drevlyans killed his entire squad. There is a legend that they, having bent the trunks of two trees to one another, tied Igor to them, then released them. The Kyiv prince was torn into two parts.
Olga's reign (945-957). Igor's wife Olga brutally avenged her husband's death. She buried the first embassy of the Drevlyans alive in the ground, and burned the second. The Drevlyans were also killed at the funeral feast (funeral). Then, according to the chronicle, Olga demanded from the Drevlyans a tribute of three doves and three sparrows from each yard. A lighted tow with sulfur was tied to the birds' feet. The pigeons and sparrows returned to their nests, and the capital of the Drevlyans, Korosten, burst into flames. Up to 5 thousand people died in the fire.
However, Olga was forced to streamline the collection of tribute. She established “lessons” - the amount of tribute and “cemeteries” - places for collecting tribute.
During the reign of Igor and Olga, the lands of the Tivertsy, Ulichs and finally the Drevlyans were annexed to Kyiv.
But Olga’s most important act was that she was the first of the Kyiv rulers to convert to Christianity. Russians have been familiar with Christianity for a long time. They traveled to Constantinople, and the splendor and pomp of Christian churches and services could not fail to impress. Under Igor, there was already a Christian Church of St. Elijah the Prophet in Kyiv. In 957 Olga went to Constantinople. Byzantium was very interested in Rus' accepting its religion. Olga was received by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus and the Empress. The Patriarch of Constantinople himself performed the baptismal ceremony over Olga. Konstantin Porphyrogenitus became her godfather. Princess Olga was later named a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The reign of Svyatoslav (957-972). The son of Igor and Olga, Svyatoslav, went down in history as a talented commander. He devoted his entire life to the fight against nomads. In everyday life he was unpretentious: he did not carry any tents with him, slept on the ground, and no special dishes were prepared for him. Before the attack, he usually warned: “I’m coming at you.”
Svyatoslav annexed the lands of the Vyatichi and Mordovian tribes to Kyiv, successfully fought in the North Caucasus and the Azov coast, captured Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula, and repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs. Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Kaganate. Khazaria as a state no longer existed. The Byzantine emperor involved him in his conflicts with Danube Bulgaria. In 968 Svyatoslav defeated the Bulgarians. He liked Bulgaria so much that he decided to move his capital to the Danube. But in Kyiv, the elderly mother, Princess Olga, was waiting with her grandchildren. In addition, the Pechenegs were approaching Kyiv itself. Svyatoslav had to return to Kyiv.
At this time the situation in Byzantium changed. The new emperor John Tzimiskes was himself an excellent warrior. Svyatoslav's fortification on the Danube posed a danger to Byzantium. Svyatoslav began a conflict with John Tzimiskes over the Danube possessions. In one of the battles he was surrounded by a 100,000-strong Byzantine army. Svyatoslav barely escaped captivity.
Svyatoslav returned with the remnants of his army. In 972, the Pechenegs waylaid him at the Dnieper rapids. Svyatoslav died in the battle. Tradition says that the Pecheneg leader Kurya ordered a cup to be made from Svyatoslav’s skull and drank beer from it at feasts.
Thus, common features can be traced in the policies of the first Kyiv princes. They persistently expanded their possessions, subjugating more and more new Slavic tribes, and waged a constant struggle with the nomads - the Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians; sought to provide more favorable conditions for trade with Byzantium.
As a result of the activities of the first Kyiv princes, the state was strengthened, Rus' significantly expanded its possessions and entered the international arena.

3.1. Political system of Ancient Rus'

The state of Rus' was an early feudal monarchy. At the head of the state was the Grand Duke, who relied on his squad. The state was ruled by the prince, brothers, sons of the prince, as well as warriors. They collected tribute, judged, and defended their territories. The squad was divided into senior and junior. The senior squad included the most notable warriors; they were also advisers to the prince. Often the senior squad received the right to collect tribute in some areas in their favor. The junior squad consisted of gridni, youths, children's and other warriors. With the development of feudal land ownership, warriors gradually turned into land owners. The boyars also had squads. The prince's income was determined by tribute from subordinate tribes and the possibility of exporting it to other countries for sale.

3.2. Socio-economic system of Ancient Rus'

the prince granted his warrior a certain territory for collecting tribute (“food”), and it subsequently turned into a hereditary possession;
the prince paid the warrior for his service from state lands;
the warrior received land for his service from the prince's estate.

The number and size of estates increased due to the seizure of peasant lands, grants, purchases, sales, donations, etc.
The population engaged in agricultural labor was called smerds. Smerds lived both in peasant communities and in feudal estates. Smerds who lived in estates were in a more difficult situation, as they lost personal freedom. In addition to smerds, there were also purchases, ryadovichi, and serfs in the estates. The purchaser was a bankrupt smerd, who took a debt from the owner - “buying” money, livestock, seeds or equipment. Purchase had to work for his creditor and obey him until he repaid the debt. Ryadovichi are dependent people who entered into an agreement with the patrimonial owner - a “row”, and on its basis performed various works. Another category of dependent population living in the princely or boyar estate were serfs or servants. They were actually in the position of slaves and were replenished from captives or from among their impoverished fellow tribesmen. The main forms of exploitation of the dependent population of estates in the 11th - 12th centuries. there were quitrents in kind and labor on the master's farm.
In Kievan Rus there was a significant number of peasants who lived in communities and were not subject to private feudal lords. Such communal peasants paid tribute to the state or the Grand Duke. The entire free population of Rus' was called “people”.
In the Russian economy, the feudal structure existed along with slavery and primitive patriarchal relations. But the dominant system of production relations was feudalism. The feudal system of Rus' differed from the “classical” Western European models. These differences were that the state played a huge role in the country's economy. This is evidenced by the presence of a significant number of free peasant communities that were feudally dependent on the grand ducal power.

4. The adoption of Christianity and its consequences

The reign of Vladimir the Saint (980-1015). In 980, Svyatoslav’s son, Vladimir, was on the Kiev throne.
An important achievement of Vladimir was the unification of all the lands of the Eastern Slavs in one state. He broke the independence of the Vyatichi and annexed the lands on both sides of the Carpathians. As a result, during the reign of Vladimir, the territory of Rus' took final shape.
Vladimir’s next merit is that he was the first of the Kyiv princes to organize a reliable defense of the steppe borders of Rus' from the Pechenegs. On his orders, a number of fortresses were built along the Desna, Sula, Stugna, and Osetr rivers, and the number of squads was increased. A long-range reconnaissance, warning and communications service was also established. It was at this time that Russian epics appeared in Russian history - tales in which the main characters were the mighty knights who stood to protect the steppe borders of Rus' from nomads.
During the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and on his initiative, one of the most important events for Russian history took place - in 988, Rus' adopted Christianity in the Byzantine version - Orthodoxy.
At the beginning, Vladimir was a zealous pagan. In Kyiv, he ordered images of pagan deities to be placed in prominent places, before which pagan rituals and even human sacrifices were performed. Vladimir himself led a far from Christian life: he was prone to feasts and revelry.
But paganism with polytheism no longer met the needs of the emerging unified state, and Vladimir felt this. In 980 he tried to carry out the first religious reform. A single pantheon of the most revered pagan gods was created, headed by Perun. These deities were to be worshiped throughout the state. But the reform failed. The population still worshiped the usual deities. However, the reform of 980 prepared the conditions for the adoption of Christianity.
Vladimir's hesitations became known in neighboring states. Rus''s neighbors were interested in Rus' accepting their faith: it was beneficial to have a strong Russian ruler as a coreligionist. Neighboring states professed different religions:

Western countries - Western Christianity - Catholicism;
Volga Bulgars - Islam;
the top of Khazaria is Judaism.

Ambassadors from all neighboring states arrived to Vladimir with stories about their faiths. The story of the Greek priest made the greatest impression on him. The priest told about the birth of Jesus Christ, about His teaching, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension into heaven; explained why Christ suffered and what kind of life he commanded Christians. Vladimir decided to send ambassadors to different countries to see how their church services were performed. When the Russian ambassadors arrived in Constantinople, the Byzantine emperor ordered the patriarch to perform a service for the Russians as solemnly as possible so that they could see “the glory of our God.” The Orthodox service shocked the Russian ambassadors. They said to Vladimir: “We didn’t know whether we were in heaven or on earth... There is no such beauty on earth, and we don’t know how to tell about it... God dwells there with people.”
Christianity has been widespread in Rus' since ancient times and has taken deep roots. According to legend, after the death of Jesus Christ, his disciples - the apostles - went to preach the teachings of their Teacher and spread it throughout the world. Andrew the First-Called went to Scythia, where Rus' would later become, so nicknamed because Christ was the first to call him to be his disciple. Andrei rose to the middle reaches of the Dnieper, planted a cross there and predicted that a city would arise there that would become “the mother of Russian cities.” Further, the path of Andrew the First-Called lay through Novgorod, the Baltic to Rome, where he was crucified on the cross for the Christian faith.
Christians have lived in Kyiv, Novgorod, and other Russian cities for a long time. Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga, converted to Christianity and is remembered as a wise ruler. The height of Christian teaching - monotheism, above paganism was obvious to the Kyiv prince. And, in the end, by this time the entire life of East Slavic society was oriented towards Byzantium.
And Vladimir made a choice towards Eastern Christianity, Byzantine - Orthodoxy. But Vladimir did not want to take Orthodoxy from the Greeks as alms.
He went with an army to Korsun, the richest Greek city in Crimea, and took it. He ordered the Greek brother-emperors to convey that if they did not give up their sister, the beautiful Anna, for him, then the same thing would happen to Constantinople. The emperors replied that the Orthodox do not have the custom of giving away relatives to unbaptized ones and that Vladimir should convert to Orthodoxy. Anna cried and did not want to marry a Russian “barbarian,” but her brothers persuaded her that she was sacrificing herself to a great cause: Rus' would recognize the light of the true Christian faith, and Byzantium would get rid of its dangerous neighbor.
Vladimir, together with his squad, was baptized in Korsun. Upon arrival in Kyiv, Vladimir baptized his sons in the spring, which forever received the name "Khreshchatyk". Then, in the Dnieper, the Kyiv prince baptized the people of Kiev. Rus' was not baptized easily. The Novgorodians were baptized with “fire and sword,” and the people more than once rebelled against the new religion. Basically, it took 100 years for the new religion to gain a foothold in Rus'. But even before the 14th century. In Rus', dual faith was preserved: in church, in public, they worshiped Christ, and at home, in secret, they worshiped the old familiar pagan gods.
Vladimir was a great sinner. But after accepting Orthodoxy, he changed dramatically and became a true Christian. The adoption of Orthodoxy as the state religion is Vladimir’s most important historical service to Russia. He had different options in choosing a faith for the country, but he brilliantly guessed that Orthodoxy met the needs of the state, living conditions on the Russian Plain, and the mentality of the Russian people. Orthodoxy made Russians unique; Orthodoxy determined the future high destiny of Russia. For this, he remained in the memory of the people as “Saint”, “Baptist”, “Red Sun”.
The Russian Church became a metropolitanate (branch) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople installed a metropolitan at the head of the Russian Church. Individual regions were headed by bishops, to whom priests in cities and villages were subordinate. The prince gave a tenth of the taxes collected for the maintenance of the Church. Using tithe money, Vladimir ordered the construction of the first Tithe Church in Kyiv. So, having given Rus' its faith, and later its name, Byzantium became the godmother of Rus'.
Since the adoption of Christianity, the history of the Russian Church has been closely intertwined with the history of the people. The Russian Church has never had any interests other than the interests of the state and the people.
The significance of accepting Christianity was enormous and manifested itself in literally everything. The adoption of Orthodoxy turned the entire life of an East Slavic person upside down:

in Rus', gardening began to improve; the new religion contained many fasts when it was recommended to eat only vegetables; the best gardeners in Rus' have always been monks;
Stone architecture appeared in Rus'; Russians adopted techniques from the Greeks for laying walls, erecting domes, and stone-cutting;
icons were needed to decorate temples; icon painting arose in Rus' - the image of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, saints and scenes from their lives;
fresco painting appeared in Rus';
writing appeared; the first handwritten books of church content have been known in Rus' since the 11th century;
Christianity contributed to the strengthening of the grand ducal power; together with Orthodoxy, the idea began to penetrate into East Slavic society that any power, especially the grand duke’s, is from God, therefore subjects must obey the prince unquestioningly;
Christianity united all the Eastern Slavs into one people - the Russians;
the international position of Rus' has changed; it ceased to be considered a barbarian state;
With the adoption of Christianity, Russian society acquired a spiritual core, the Church became a unifying force in the state.

At the same time, the adoption of Orthodoxy led to a cultural demarcation between the eastern and part of the southern Slavs with the Western Slavs who adopted Christianity from Rome. The Eastern Slavs went into the orbit of Byzantine culture, and the Western Slavs - into Roman culture.
One of the consequences of the adoption of Christianity is associated with the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054). In 1015, Vladimir the Saint died. Vladimir's son Svyatopolk was on the Kiev throne, but Vladimir's influential squad wanted to see Vladimir's other sons on the throne - Boris of Rostov and Gleb of Murom. Svyatopolk ordered the killing of his brothers Boris and Gleb. Boris and Gleb were Vladimir's most beloved and unusual children. They were born from a Christian mother and were distinguished by Christian piety from childhood. The brothers knew that assassins had been sent to them, but decided to accept death. They, as true Christians, considered that they were dying for the glory of Jesus Christ. Christ knew about his fate, could have been saved, but humbly accepted it.
The news of the murder of Boris and Gleb shook up East Slavic society. The Russian Orthodox Church named them its first saints. Since then, Boris and Gleb have been considered the heavenly patrons of the grand-ducal dynasty, and Svyatopolk received the nickname The Accursed.
His brother Yaroslav, who reigned at that time in Novgorod, spoke out against Svyatopolk. In 1019, Yaroslav established himself on the Kiev throne, and in 1036 the entire Russian land united in his hands. Under Yaroslav the Wise, Rus' reached its greatest prosperity.
Yaroslav proved himself to be a wise statesman. Near Kiev, he inflicted a severe defeat on the Pechenegs, nomads, the then opponents of Rus'. This defeat was so strong that the Pechenegs no longer risked attacking Russian lands and disappeared from Russian history. (They were replaced by new nomads - the Polovtsy). Under Yaroslav the Wise in 1043, Rus' made its last campaign against Byzantium. The campaign was unsuccessful, and Rus' no longer fought with its southern neighbor. Relations between the two states became increasingly friendly.
Under Yaroslav, Kyiv became one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. In Kyiv under Yaroslav there were about 400 churches and 8 markets. Yaroslav wanted Kyiv to be in no way inferior to Constantinople. After all, Byzantium is a large state, and Rus' is a large state, Constantinople is located in a beautiful place - on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait, and Kyiv is located in a beautiful place - on the banks of the Dnieper. In imitation of Constantinople, Yaroslav surrounded Kyiv with a high stone wall and built the main entrance to Kyiv - the Golden Gate. In 1037, near Kiev, on the very spot where he defeated the Pechenegs, Yaroslav built the St. Sophia Cathedral - after all, the main temple of Byzantium was St. Sophia. The cathedral was built by Byzantine craftsmen from stone, and was decorated with frescoes and Byzantine icons that had never been seen before in Rus'. Kyiv Sofia amazed the imagination of contemporaries. The frescoes have survived in some places to this day. They give us an idea of life in the 11th century. They depict the prince in formal clothes, horsemen, archers, squires, dancers, musicians, and buffoons. The frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople depicted Emperor Justinian and his family to perpetuate the memory of the creator of this cathedral. Yaroslav and his family were depicted on the frescoes of Kyiv Sofia. Cathedrals under Yaroslav were also built in Polotsk and Novgorod, and Sophia of Novgorod has survived to this day in its original form.
With the construction of temples in Rus', stone architecture appeared. The first masters in Rus' were the Byzantines, but gradually the Russians adopted their skills. The first Russian painting arose - icon painting, since for a long time its subjects were religious - images of saints, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary. In Rus', the image of the Mother of God became especially beloved among icon painters and people. According to a figurative expression, the Russian people dedicated as many icons to the Mother of God “as there are stars in the sky.” Over time, the cult of the Mother of God developed in Rus'.
Under Yaroslav the Wise, the organization of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian lands was finally formed. In 1031, a metropolitan appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople appeared in Kyiv. Proof of Yaroslav's authority and strength is that in 1051, Yaroslav, without the knowledge of the Patriarch of Constantinople, himself appointed Hilarion, a metropolitan of Kyiv - Russian by origin. Hilarion was an outstanding church figure and a talented writer. His most famous work, “The Word on Law and Grace,” was dedicated to the Christian exploits of Vladimir, the Baptist of Rus'. Speaking about the rulers of Kievan Rus, Hilarion wrote: “They were not rulers in a bad land, but in a Russian one, which is known and heard in all ends of the earth.”
Yaroslav cared about educating the people. Under him, the first public schools appeared, where both boys and girls were educated. In Novgorod, on his order, a higher school was established for 300 boys for the children of elders and clergy. It taught writing, counting, reading, and the basics of Christian doctrine; studied Greek and Latin, and were engaged in regular translations of church literature from Greek.
Under Yaroslav the Wise, the first monasteries appeared, the largest of which was Kiev-Pechersk, founded in the middle of the 11th century. It was in the monasteries that literature began to develop, in particular regular chronicle writing. Yaroslav ordered singers from Byzantium. This is how church singing appeared in Rus'. In Rus', church singing received further development and is currently a unique phenomenon of Russian singing culture.
Along with the adoption of Christianity, all church orders and laws were transferred from Byzantium. The set of Byzantine church laws came to us under the name "The Helmsman's Book." Yaroslav decided to arrange a better order of justice and punishment in worldly affairs. According to the chronicle, judicial customs were written down on his orders. The first collection of Russian laws appeared - "Russian Truth". "Russian Truth" is a legal monument based on the norms of customary law (unwritten rules that have developed as a result of their repeated, traditional application) and on previous legislation. Byzantine sources contain mention of Russian law from the time of the first Kyiv princes. Scientists suggest that in those days there was a set of legal norms and rules, but in oral form. "Russian Truth" is the first collection of Russian laws in written form. Yaroslav owns the first 17 articles. They received the name "The Most Ancient Truth" or "The Truth of Yaroslav." Yaroslav's laws concerned disputes between free people, primarily among the princely squad. Blood feud was limited only to the circle of immediate relatives. This allows us to assume that the customs of the primitive system already existed as relics. Then Yaroslav's laws were expanded and supplemented by his sons.
Under Yaroslav, Rus' entered the international arena and was accepted into the family of European monarchs. Yaroslav himself in 1019 married the Swedish princess Ingigerd for the second time and had seven sons and three daughters from her. He married his daughter Elizabeth to the Norwegian king Harald, Anna to the French king Henry I, Anastasia to the Hungarian king Endre I. Yaroslav's granddaughter married the German emperor. One of his sons married the daughter of the Polish king, the other - Vsevolod - the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh.
An important merit of Yaroslav was also the fact that, largely thanks to his efforts, the existence (existence) of such a unique phenomenon in world culture as Russian culture began.
The era of Yaroslav the Wise has another lasting significance: later Rus' will more than once face difficult trials, but the historical memory of the people will preserve the image of the great Ancient Rus'. The image of a great state will always cry out for resurrection in the people's memory.

Bibliography:

1. Magazine "Science and Life", No. 3, 2004

2. Grekhov V.N., Bledny S.N. “History of Russia from ancient times to the beginning of the twentieth century.” Textbook - M.: Exlibris-Press, 2004.

3. Danilov A.A. “History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 16th century” - M.: Education, 2006.

4. Lyashevsky S. “Prehistoric Rus'” - M.: FAIR-PRESS, 2003.

5. Preobrazhensky A.A. “History of the Fatherland”: M.: Education, 1996.