) the feudal nobility used to limit the power of the prince. Veche meetings became widespread in Russia with the weakening of princely power during the period of feudal fragmentation (second half of the 11th-12th centuries). In the annals Veche (national assembly in Russia) first mentioned in Belgorod under 997, in Veliky Novgorod - under 1016, Kyiv - under 1068. Veche (national assembly in Russia) was in charge of issues of war and peace, the calling and expulsion of princes, the election and removal of posadniks, thousand and others, and in Novgorod also the archbishop, the conclusion of agreements with other lands and principalities, the adoption of laws (for example, the Novgorod and Pskov judicial charters). Veche meetings were usually convened by the ringing of the veche bell at the initiative of representatives of the authorities or the population itself; they did not have a certain frequency. At the beginning of the veche letter, accepted on Veche (national assembly in Russia), the names of the archbishop, posadnik, thousandth were put, then it was about Veche (national assembly in Russia): "and the boyars, and the living people, and the merchant, and the black people, and the whole lord sovereign the great Novgorod, all five ends, on the wind, on Yaroslav Dvor, commanded ...". Veche (national assembly in Russia) had a permanent gathering place (in Novgorod - Yaroslav's Courtyard, in Kyiv - the courtyard of the Sophia Church, in Pskov - the courtyard of the Trinity Church). In addition, they were going Veche (national assembly in Russia) separate parts of large cities (for example, "Konchan" Veche (national assembly in Russia) in Novgorod). Veche (national assembly in Russia) there was no genuine democracy, in fact, power belonged to the feudal and urban elites; however, it gave the popular masses a certain opportunity to influence political life. The feudal nobility therefore sought to reduce the importance Veche (national assembly in Russia), and the princely power sought the complete abolition of the veche order. In Novgorod, there was a special "council of masters", which included the feudal nobility and who owned the actual power in the city. In North-Eastern Russia, where the cities were weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the power of the grand dukes was strengthening by the end of the 14th century. liquidated veche institutions. However, during the intensification of the class struggle, people's meetings in the cities repeatedly took the form Veche (national assembly in Russia)(uprisings in Tver in 1293 and 1327, in Moscow in 1382, 1445 and 1547, etc.). The veche system lasted the longest in the Novgorod (until 1478) and Pskov (until 1510) feudal republics, where it reached its greatest development, as well as in the Vyatka land.
Lit.: Sergeevich Veche (national assembly in Russia) I., Veche and prince, M., 1867; Grekov B. D. Kievan Rus, M., 1953 (historiographic review and bibl. on pp. 353-58); Tikhomirov M.N., Old Russian cities, 2nd ed., M., 1956; Yanin Veche (national assembly in Russia) L., Novgorod posadniki, Moscow, 1962; Epifanov P. P. About the Old Russian Veche, “Bulletin of Moscow State University, Series 9, History”, 1963, No. 3; Pashuto Veche (national assembly in Russia) T., Features of the political system of Ancient Russia, in the book: Old Russian state and its international significance, M., 1965.
BUT. Veche (national assembly in Russia) Artsikhovsky, A. M.
Ve "che (common Slavic; from Old Slavonic vet - council), a people's assembly in ancient and medieval Russia to discuss common affairs. It arose from the tribal meetings of the Slavs. With the formation of the Old Russian state (see Kievan Rus), the feudal nobility used V. to limit the power of the prince Veche meetings became widespread in Russia with the weakening of princely power during the period of feudal fragmentation (2nd half of the 11th-12th centuries). V. was in charge of issues of war and peace, the calling and expulsion of princes, the election and removal of posadniks, thousand and others, and in Novgorod also the archbishop, the conclusion of agreements with other lands and principalities, the adoption of laws (for example, the Novgorod and Pskov court letters) Veche meetings were usually convened by the ringing of the veche bell at the initiative of representatives of the authorities or the population itself, they did not have a certain frequency. the name of the archbishop, posadnik, thousandth, was put on V., then it was about V.: “and the boyars, and the living people, and the merchant, and the black people, and the whole Mr. Sovereign Veliky Novgorod, all five ends, on the wind , in Yaroslav Dvor, commanded ... ". V. had a permanent gathering place (in Novgorod - Yaroslav's courtyard, in Kyiv - the courtyard of the church of Sophia, in Pskov - the courtyard of the Trinity church). In addition, V. gathered in separate parts of large cities (for example, the "Konchan" V. in Novgorod). V. was not a genuine democracy, in fact, power belonged to the feudal and urban elites; however, it gave the popular masses a certain opportunity to influence political life. The feudal nobility, therefore, strove to reduce the importance of V., and the princely power sought the complete abolition of the veche system. In Novgorod, there was a special "council of masters", which included the feudal nobility and who owned the actual power in the city. In North-Eastern Russia, where the cities were weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the power of the grand dukes was strengthening by the end of the 14th century. liquidated veche institutions. However, during the intensification of the class struggle, people's assemblies in the cities repeatedly took the form of rebellion (uprisings in Tver in 1293 and 1327, in Moscow in 1382, 1445, and 1547, and others). The veche system lasted the longest in the Novgorod (until 1478) and Pskov (until 1510) feudal republics, where it reached its greatest development, as well as in the Vyatka land.
Lit .: Sergeevich V.I., Veche and Prince, M., 1867; Grekov B.D.. Kievan Rus, M., 1953 (historiographic review and bibliography on pp. 353-58); Tikhomirov M.N., Old Russian cities, 2nd ed., M., 1956; Yanin V. L., Novgorod posadniki, M., 1962; Epifanov P. P. About the Old Russian Veche, “Bulletin of Moscow State University, Series 9, History”, 1963, No. 3; Pashuto V. T., Features of the political system of Ancient Russia, in the book: Old Russian state and its international significance, M., 1965.
A. V. Artsikhovsky, A. M. Sakharov.
VECHE (PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY IN RUSSIA)
(common Slavic; from the old Slavonic vet - council), a people's meeting in ancient and medieval Russia to discuss common affairs. It arose from the tribal assemblies of the Slavs. With the formation of the Old Russian state (see Kievan Rus), the feudal nobility used V. to limit the power of the prince. Veche meetings became widespread in Russia with the weakening of princely power during the period of feudal fragmentation (second half of the 11th-12th centuries). In the annals, V. was first mentioned in Belgorod under 997, in Novgorod the Great - under 1016, Kyiv - under 1068. V. was in charge of issues of war and peace, the calling and exile of princes, the election and removal of posadniks, thousands, etc., and in Novgorod also the archbishop, the conclusion of agreements with other lands and principalities, the adoption of laws (for example, the Novgorod and Pskov judicial charters). Veche meetings were usually convened by the ringing of the veche bell at the initiative of representatives of the authorities or the population itself; they did not have a certain frequency. At the beginning of the veche letter, accepted on V., the names of the archbishop, posadnik, thousandth were put, then it was about V.: "both the boyars, and the living people, and the merchant, and the black people, and the whole Mr. Sovereign Great Novgorod, all five ends , on the wind, on Yaroslav Dvor, commanded ... ". V. had a permanent gathering place (in Novgorod - Yaroslav's courtyard, in Kyiv - the courtyard of the church of Sophia, in Pskov - the courtyard of the Trinity church). In addition, V. gathered in separate parts of large cities (for example, the "Konchan" V. in Novgorod). V. was not a genuine democracy, in fact, power belonged to the feudal and urban elites; however, it gave the popular masses a certain opportunity to influence political life. The feudal nobility, therefore, strove to reduce the importance of V., and the princely power sought the complete abolition of the veche system. In Novgorod, there was a special "council of masters", which included the feudal nobility and who owned the actual power in the city. In North-Eastern Russia, where the cities were weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the power of the grand dukes was strengthening by the end of the 14th century. liquidated veche institutions. However, during the intensification of the class struggle, people's assemblies in the cities repeatedly took the form of rebellion (uprisings in Tver in 1293 and 1327, in Moscow in 1382, 1445, and 1547, and others). The veche system lasted the longest in the Novgorod (until 1478) and Pskov (until 1510) feudal republics, where it reached its greatest development, as well as in the Vyatka land.
Lit .: Sergeevich V.I., Veche and Prince, M., 1867; Grekov B.D.. Kievan Rus, M., 1953 (historiographic review and bibliography on pp. 353-58); Tikhomirov M.N., Old Russian cities, 2nd ed., M., 1956; Yanin V. L., Novgorod posadniki, M., 1962; Epifanov P. P. On the Old Russian Veche, "Bulletin of Moscow State University, Series 9, History", 1963, | 3; Pashuto V. T., Features of the political system of Ancient Russia, in the book: Old Russian state and its international significance, M., 1965.
A. V. Artsikhovsky, A. M. Sakharov.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is VECHE (PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY IN RUSSIA) in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- FOLK The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons:
ENTERPRISE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HUNTING WEAPONS them. E. THELMANN is a German company producing hunting weapons. As part of the "" People's Enterprise for the Production ... - MEETING
1) the joint presence of people who are organizationally not strangers to each other (members of the same organization, labor collective, etc.) in a predetermined place ... - VECHE in the One-volume large legal dictionary:
(from Staroslav. vet - council) - a popular assembly in ancient and medieval Russia in the 10th-14th centuries. solved the issues of war and ... - MEETING in the Big Law Dictionary:
- 1> the joint presence of people who are organizationally not strangers to each other (members of the same organization, work collective, etc.), in a predetermined ... - FOLK in the Directory Settlements and postal codes of Russia:
397130, Voronezh, ... - MEETING
FEDERAL - see FEDERAL ASSEMBLY ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
FOUNDATION - see CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
REPUBLIC - the name of the unicameral parliament ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
PEOPLE - see PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY - see NATIONAL ASSEMBLY... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
CONSTITUTIONAL - see CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
LEGISLATIVE - see LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. "COLLECTION OF LEGISLATION OF THE RF" is an official periodical (newsletter), in which, in accordance with ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
CITIZENS (SHOD) - in constitutional law - a form of direct participation of citizens in the implementation local government. The procedure for convening and holding a meeting ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
STATE - see STATE ASSEMBLY ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
EXCHANGE - see EXCHANGE ... - MEETING in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
SHAREHOLDERS - the supreme governing body of joint-stock companies. There are constituent, extraordinary, special and ordinary meetings. The right to vote for SA. have… - FOLK in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
ECONOMY - the economy, the economy of the whole country; the term was widely used in the Soviet ... - FOLK in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
ASSEMBLY - the name of the unicameral parliament in Bulgaria and ... - FOLK in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
REPRESENTATION - a system of power of the people, exercised through elected representatives. See also REPRESENTATIVE … - FOLK in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
ENTERPRISE - an enterprise that is collectively owned by its employees, not divided into shares, shares, that is, wholly owned by the entire team ... - FOLK in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
VETO - in a number of states - an institution of direct democracy, a kind of rejecting referendum. It is held on the initiative of voters (for this ... - VECHE in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
(from Staroslav. vet - council) - a people's assembly in ancient and medieval Russia in the X-XIV centuries. V. received the greatest development ... - MEETING in Sayings of famous people:
- MEETING in Dictionary One sentence, definitions:
- a group of colleagues seeking to quickly go home. … - MEETING in Aphorisms and clever thoughts:
a group of colleagues seeking to quickly go home. … - VECHE in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
National assembly in ancient and medieval Russia in the 10th-14th centuries. The greatest development is in Russian cities of the 2nd half. 11th-12th centuries … - VECHE in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- VECHE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
national assembly in Russia. The greatest development in Russian cities of the 2nd half of the 11th - 12th centuries (Kyiv, Novgorod, etc.). Decided... - MEETING in encyclopedic dictionary:
, -i, cf. 1. Joint presence somewhere. team members to discuss decisions of some. questions. General with. employees. C. voters. Trade union … - VECHE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
, -a, cf. In Russia in the 10th-15th centuries: a meeting of townspeople to resolve public affairs, as well as the place of such a meeting. Novgorodskoe … - MEETING
COLLECTION OF LEGISLATIONS OF THE RSFSR (SU RSFSR), in 1917-38 official. edition, in which decrees and resolutions were published. Vseros. Congress of Soviets, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Council of People's Commissars ... - MEETING in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
"COLLECTION OF RUSSIAN FACTORY WORKERS OF ST. PETERSBURG", Society of Workers, 1903 - Jan. 1905, St. Petersburg, osn. G.A. Gapon. It had 11 district branches, uniting ... - MEETING in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
COLLECTION OF RESOLUTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE USSR (SP USSR), in 1938-91 official. edition of the production of the USSR. A post has been published. production of the USSR, which had a general meaning or ... - MEETING in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
ASSEMBLY OF THE LAWS OF THE USSR (SZ USSR), in 1924-37 official. publication of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, in which decrees and resolutions of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR were published, its ... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY, a set of industries and sectors of the country's economy, interconnected societies. division of labor. The term was widely used in owls. economy science and... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
FOLK CREATIVITY (folk art, folklore), art. collective creativity. the activities of the people, reflecting their life, views, ideals; created by the people and existing in ... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
Russian folk poetry, Russian versification. oral nar. poetry. There are 3 types: spoken verse (proverbs, sayings, riddles, jokes, etc.) - ... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
PEOPLE'S MILITIA 1941, volunteer. formations from persons who were not subject to a priority call for mobilization; created in the USSR at the beginning. Vel period. … - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
PEOPLE'S MILITIA 1812, auxiliary. military formations created in Russia during Fatherland. war of 1812 from serfs, volunteers from artisans, ... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
"PEOPLE'S EDUCATION", social-ped. magazine, since 1918, Moscow. Founders (1998) - Editorial "N.o." and Ped. about-in Russia. Published in collaboration with… - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
PUBLIC EDUCATION (public education), the system of education., Uch. and cultural education. institutions and activities and their governing bodies in the country. By structure... - FOLK in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
PEOPLE'S WEALTH, see National wealth ... - VECHE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
"VECHE", daily (in 1910 - weekly) newspaper, Moscow, Dec. 1905 - Feb. 1910, organ mosc. department of the "Union of the Russian people", ed.-ed. … - VECHE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
EVECHE, Nar. assembly in Russia in the 10th-14th centuries. Naib. development - in Russian. cities of the 2nd half. 11th-12th centuries Resolved issues...
Ve’che(common Slavic; from the old Slavonic vet - council), a people's meeting in ancient and medieval Russia to discuss common affairs. It arose from the tribal assemblies of the Slavs. With the formation of the ancient Russian state (see), the feudal nobility used V. to limit the power of the prince. Veche meetings became widespread in Russia with the weakening of princely power during the period of feudal fragmentation (second half of the 11th-12th centuries). In the annals, V. was first mentioned in Belgorod under 997, in Novgorod the Great - under 1016, Kyiv - under 1068. V. was in charge of issues of war and peace, the calling and exile of princes, the election and removal of posadniks, thousands, etc., and in Novgorod also the archbishop, the conclusion of agreements with other lands and principalities, the adoption of laws (for example, the Novgorod and Pskov judicial charters). Veche meetings were usually convened by the ringing of the veche bell at the initiative of representatives of the authorities or the population itself; they did not have a certain frequency. At the beginning of the veche letter, accepted on V., the names of the archbishop, posadnik, thousandth were put, then it was about V.: “both the boyars, and the living people, and the merchant, and the black people, and the whole lord sovereign great Novgorod, all five ends , on the wind, on Yaroslav Dvor, commanded ... ". V. had a permanent gathering place (in Novgorod - Yaroslav's courtyard, in Kyiv - the courtyard of the church of Sophia, in Pskov - the courtyard of the Trinity church). In addition, V. gathered in separate parts of large cities (for example, the "Konchan" V. in Novgorod). V. was not a genuine democracy, in fact, power belonged to the feudal and urban elites; however, it gave the popular masses a certain opportunity to influence political life. The feudal nobility, therefore, strove to reduce the importance of V., and the princely power sought the complete abolition of the veche system. In Novgorod, there was a special "council of masters", which included the feudal nobility and who owned the actual power in the city. In North-Eastern Russia, where the cities were weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the power of the grand dukes was strengthening by the end of the 14th century. liquidated veche institutions. However, during the intensification of the class struggle, people's assemblies in the cities repeatedly took the form of rebellion (uprisings in Tver in 1293 and 1327, in Moscow in 1382, 1445, and 1547, and others). The veche system lasted the longest in the Novgorod (until 1478) and Pskov (until 1510) feudal republics, where it reached its greatest development, as well as in the Vyatka land ..
Lit .: Sergeevich V.I., Veche and Prince, M., 1867; Grekov B.D.. Kievan Rus, M., 1953 (historiographic review and bibliography on pp. 353-58); Tikhomirov M.N., Old Russian cities, 2nd ed., M., 1956; Yanin V. L., Novgorod posadniki, M., 1962; Epifanov P. P. About the Old Russian Veche, “Bulletin of Moscow State University, Series 9, History”, 1963, No. 3; Pashuto V. T., Features of the political system of Ancient Russia, in the book: The Old Russian state and its international significance, M., 1965 ..
A. V. Artsikhovsky, A. M. Sakharov.
Kievan Rus of the 9th - 12th centuries is, firstly, the cradle of the statehood of three fraternal peoples - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and secondly, it is one of the largest powers of medieval Europe, which played historical role in the fate of the peoples and states of the West, East and distant North. Kyiv - the capital of Russia - was one of the five largest cities in the world.From a relatively small union of the Slavic tribes of the Middle Dnieper (the origins of this union go back to the time of Herodotus), Russia grew to a huge power that united both all the East Slavic tribes, as well as a number of Lithuanian-Latvian tribes in the Baltic states and numerous Finno-Ugric tribes of northeast Europe.
The importance and necessity of studying Kievan Rus as the first state formation was already fully realized by our ancestors: Nestor's Tale of Bygone Years, created at the beginning of the 12th century, was copied and multiplied by scribes for more than 500 years. And this is a wise order for us to study the glorious epic past of our Motherland in its entirety and variety of historical sources available to us.
The era of Kievan Rus is the era of the greatness of our people, so I consider its history to be one of the most important pages of our past.
In this work, I would like to consider the role of the prince and the veche in the “political” sphere of society in the 9th-12th centuries. Here main question consists in how the relations between the called-up governmental principle and the called-for tribes, as well as those who were subsequently subordinated, were determined; how the life of these tribes changed as a result of the influence of the governmental principle - the squad, and how, in turn, the life of the tribes affected the definition of relations between the governmental principle and the rest of the population when establishing internal order, or attire.
Sources and historiography
Sources on the history of Kievan Rus are quite plentiful and varied. A good and detailed review of Russia and the feudal principalities is made in a solid collective work, created under the editorship of V.V. Mavrodin: “Soviet Kievan Rus” (L., 1979), where the authors reasonably understand by Kievan Rus not only the period from IX to beginning of XII century, but initial phase feudal fragmentation until the beginning of the 13th century, which is justified by them in another very useful publication.
Of great interest are the letters of the 12th century that have come down to us, some of which reflect individual transactions between feudal lords, and some give a broad picture of the whole principality. A number of princely and veche deeds are reflected in the birch-bark letters of Novgorod the Great. Birch-bark writings turn out to be a very important source when compared with chronicles, act material, and later scribe books.
For the era of the existence of Kievan Rus in the 9th - 12th centuries, chronicles are still the most important historical source. In numerous works of historians and literary critics, both the all-Russian annals and the annals of different regions are comprehensively considered.
Two works devoted to the bibliography and historiography of chronicle writing help to orientate in the extensive and involuntarily contradictory literature on Russian chronicle writing: these are the works of V. I. Buganov and R. P. Dmitrieva.
If the 10th century left us only the chronicle of Kyiv, then the 11th century, when the state chronicle in the capital continued uninterruptedly, added the chronicle of Novgorod, which often gave a different, local assessment of events and figures. In the future boyar republic (since 1136), interest in the life of the city is clearly visible, some Kiev princes are negatively evaluated. It is possible that the Novgorod posadnik Ostomir was the initiator of the first chronicle of the “Lord of Veliky Novgorod”.
In the twelfth century, chronicle writing ceased to be the privilege of only these two cities and appeared in every major center. Chronicles continued to be kept both in Kyiv and Novgorod.
Sources on the history of Kievan Rus are numerous and varied. Studying them and extracting data from them about the economy, social structure, the political system and social thought is far from over.
In this work, I used several books - works of famous historians.
For example, the work of I. N. Danilevsky gives an idea of the current state of domestic and foreign science in the study of the early period of Russian history (before the 12th century). The book is based on a critical rethinking of the source base used for historical constructions, and it also includes a detailed analysis of the potential opportunities and experience accumulated to date in the study of Russian history by different schools of the humanities.
The work of the largest Russian historian S. M. Solovyov “History of Russia from ancient times”, which is a great scientific work, and historical and cultural interest in which is not weakening, was used.
The monographs of Rybakov B.A. also served as sources. fundamental work on the history of our Motherland, the study of the origin of the ancient Slavs, the initial stages of the formation of Russian statehood, Kievan Rus of the 9th - 12th centuries, the development of crafts, the culture of Russian lands and the art of the ancient Slavs.
Prerequisites for the formation of the state
and his education.
Origin of the Eastern Slavs
| H |
Based on the analysis of archaeological sites, the following is known: in the village. I millennium BC e. Proto-Slavs lived in Powislenie. They maintained ethnic contacts with the Balts, Germans, Illyrians, Celts, from the 2nd century BC. - with the descendants of the Scythians and Sarmatians. Finds on the Kiev hills of treasures of Roman coins and jewelry of the 1st–3rd centuries. testify to the trade of the Slavs with the Greek colonies. In the III century. the Slavs fought fierce wars with the Goths, and in the 4th century. - with the Huns. At the same time, the area of settlement of the Proto-Slavs in the 4th century. expanded from the lower reaches of the Elbe in the west to tributaries and the middle Dnieper in the east. The Slavs constituted a single Indo-European community with the Germans.
From written sources we know the following: the Proto-Slavs - Wends (as the Proto-Slavs were called in ancient sources of the 1st century) - lived in small villages. The social system is a tribal community. The basis of the economy from the I-III centuries. arable farming is becoming, as well as cattle breeding, fishing and hunting. Tools of labor - axes, knives, sickles - were also made of stone. Bronze was used mainly for decorations, and from household equipment only for chisels needed in wooden construction. Herodotus wrote about the northern regions, where "many huge rivers" lived Scythian plowmen, "who sow grain not for their own needs, but for sale." In the II century. the Slavs borrowed the "chetverik" bread measure from the colonists. household information, and social order Eastern Slavs are contained in the work "Strategikon" by the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea. In the IV century. Proto-Slavic tribes united in tribal unions.
Neither from archaeological nor from written sources do we reliably know the origin of the Slavs. Some researchers believe that the Slavs were the autochthonous population of Eastern Europe; others believe that the Slavs are descended from Herodotus' "Scythian plowmen"; still others believe that the Slavs descended from the Finno-Ugric peoples and the Balts. "The Tale of Bygone Years" reports that the Slavs are from Central Europe. Academician Rybakov B. A. noted: "... judging by the landscape designations common to all Slavic peoples, the Proto-Slavs lived in the zone of deciduous forests and forest-steppe, where there were glades, lakes, swamps, but there was no sea; where there were hills, ravines, watersheds, but there were no high mountains.
The resettlement of the ancient Russian peoples
| AT |
3rd–4th centuries The settlement of the territory of Eastern and Southern Europe by the Slavs begins.
Causes:
1. Slavic tribal unions were involved in the last wave of the Great Migration. In 530 Slavic migration intensified. The first mention of the people "Ros" dates back to this time.
2. The appearance of the Slavs in the IV-V centuries. arable farming, which required new lands
3. Gradual cooling on European continent.
Migration did not come from one region, but from different dialect areas of the Proto-Slavic area. This circumstance, along with the processes of assimilation of the local population, led to the collapse in the 6th-8th centuries. Proto-Slavs into three branches of the Slavs: Wends, Ants and Slavs. Wends - the ancestors of the Czechs, Poles, Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs - Western Slavs. Sklavins - the ancestors of Serbs, Slovenes, Croats, Bulgarians, Balkan Muslims - southern Slavs. Anty - the ancestors of Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians - Eastern Slavs.
The Old Russian nationality was formed in the vast expanses of the East European Plain. Neighbors of the Ants in the VI-VII centuries. there were Finno-Ugric, Lithuanian, Turkic (Berendey, obry, torks, Khazars, black hoods, Pechenegs) tribes. Relations with neighbors were uneven. In 558, the Avar Khagan Boyan killed Mezhamir, the ambassador of the Dulebs, and conquered their country. In 602, the Avars again sent an army under the command of Aspih to the land of the Antes. The history of Eastern Slavs begins from the period when an independent East Slavic language began to stand out from the common Slavic (Proto-Slavic) language. This happened in the 7th-8th centuries. Tribal differences within the East Slavic community were due to mixing with the peoples of the Finno-Ugric group.
During the settlement (IV-IV centuries), there were changes in the socio-political structure:
1. East Slavic tribal unions were formed (Polyans, Northerners, Ulichs, Dulebs, Drevlyans, Volynians, Buzhans, White Croats, Dregovichi, Krivichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Ilmen Slovenes and others), each consisting of 120-150 tribes. According to the "Tale of Bygone Years" in the VIII century. 12–15 tribal unions lived on the territory of Eastern Europe
2. The tribal community and the patriarchal family were replaced by a branch
3. The transition from military democracy to an early feudal monarchy began.
State formation
| D |
the ancient Russian state was formed as a result of internal prerequisites: the decomposition of the tribal system, common territory, culture, language, history, economic structure. Along with the formation of the state as a result of the merger of tribal unions, an ancient Russian single nationality was taking shape.
The initiators of the creation of a tribal union on the middle Dnieper in the 5th century. there were clearings in the person of Prince Kiy - the legendary founder of Kyiv. There is very little reliable information about the history of this proto-state. It is known that the prince of Kyiv with his retinue referred to themselves as "dews", in contrast to the bulk of the tax-paying population - glades.
OK. 6th century a similar proto-state of Slavia was formed - a tribal union of the Ilmen Slovenes around Novgorod and Ladoga. It was the Ilmenian Slovenes who initiated the formation of a single East Slavic state through the unification of Kyiv and Novgorod.
It is absolutely not known exactly when the Old Russian state was formed, because. this stage of development is legendary. The main signs of the existence of statehood in early medieval society, modern historians consider the presence of power alienated from the people, the distribution of the population according to the territorial principle and the collection of tribute to maintain power. You can add to this as a prerequisite - the inheritance of power by the prince. In the conditions of Kievan Rus at the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th centuries, specific forms of statehood were: subjugation by power state center territories of tribal principalities and the extension of the system of collecting tribute, administration and legal proceedings to these lands.
Thus, among the Eastern Slavs, the existence of tribute collection and veche can be distinguished. The veche is characterized by the fact that the Slavs have some kind of organization that needs to be led, therefore, there is a “chairman”. The collection of tribute is the establishment of the order by which the contract arises: "We protect you - you pay us." Tribute is the payment for a failed raid. So, we see that in the VIII century. - early 9th century the structure of the prince - squad - veche is associated with the use of force, but there are no rules (laws) as such yet. Therefore, we call this period "military democracy". At this time, society is heterogeneous: a prince stands out - a military leader who managed the affairs of the tribe, but at the same time there was a veche - a people's assembly, which gathered a tribal militia (at the head of the militia - governor). There is a squad under the prince (its members are “lads” – warriors).
The state of the Eastern Slavs arises as a two-centered state with centers in Kyiv and Novgorod. (Oleg united Novgorod and Kiev Rus in 882. And, although Novgorod was the initiator of the unification, the state of the Eastern Slavs was called "Kievan Rus", since Kyiv was richer and had traditional ties with Byzantium.)
The history of the formation of the state of Kievan Rus covers the period from 862 to 1019, i.e. from the calling of Rurik to the beginning of the reign in Kyiv of Yaroslav the Wise. At that time, the following ruled: Rurik - Oleg - Igor - Olga - Svyatoslav - Vladimir - Svyatopolk. The main subject of their concerns and efforts were: the unification of all East Slavic (and part of the Finnish) tribes under the rule of the Grand Duke of Kiev; the acquisition of overseas markets for Russian trade and the protection of trade routes that led to these markets; protection of the borders of the Russian land from the attacks of the steppe nomads.
Later we will consider in detail how these rulers reigned.
The political structure of Russian lands in the X-XII centuries.
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Early ninth century marked the transition from military democracy to early feudal monarchy. The process of turning the tribal nobility into owners of the land began. There was a structure of tribal "executive" power - a prince, a squad (boyars, gridi, youths) and a structure of "legislative" power - a veche. The class of feudal lords was also formed by singling out the most prosperous members of the community, who turned part of the communal arable land into property. The growth of the economic and political power of landowners led to the establishment of various forms of dependence of ordinary community members on landowners. Against this background, the role of councils of elders and people's militias gradually decreased.
Kievan Rus XI-XII centuries. It was not a single state, nor was it a political federation, because princely congresses were a comparatively rare phenomenon, gathered only in exceptional cases, and resolutions were not legally binding. All members of the Rurik clan considered themselves born sovereign princes and “brothers” among themselves; they usually call the eldest in the family, the Grand Duke of Kiev, their “father”, but this is nothing more than an honorary appointment without any real content, especially since Kyiv prince was by no means always really the eldest in the family. In reality, each prince within his “volost” and in inter-princely relations behaved like an independent sovereign and his relations with other princes were determined “either by the army or by peace”, that is, all disputed issues were resolved either by force of arms, or agreements, treaties with other princes. This contractual principle in inter-princely relations runs through the entire ancient Russian history and stops only in the Muscovite state.
Kievan Rus did not develop any definite order in the distribution of volosts among the princes, because that regular order of princely possessions, based on the principle of tribal seniority, in reality did not enter the political life of Kievan Rus.
A number of other principles and factors that did not depend on seniority played a role in the distribution of princely tables. One of them was the principle of "fatherland", or hereditary possession. Princes often claim the nominal area that their father owned and where they were born and raised. Already Lyubech congress princes in 1097, in order to get out of difficulties, adopted a decree: “let each one keep his fatherland.” Quite often, "tables" were distributed according to agreements and treaties between the princes. Sometimes the order or testament of a sufficiently strong and authoritative sovereign prince transferred the throne to his son or brother.
Very often, the population of the older volost cities at the veche decided the question of inviting some popular prince to reign or the expulsion of a prince unloved by the people, without, of course, paying any attention to the family accounts of the princes. Veche sent their ambassadors to the elected candidate for the throne with an invitation.
Finally, quite often stronger, bolder, enterprising and shameless princes occupied the tables simply by force of arms, defeating a rival prince. This practice of "getting" tables runs continuously throughout our ancient history.
Veche and princely power in Kievan Rus
Prince and princely government in Kievan Rus.
The prince in relation to other sovereign princes was an independent sovereign. Inside his volost, the prince was the head of the administration, the highest commander and judge. Princely power was a necessary element in the state power of all Russian lands. However, the state system of the ancient Russian principalities cannot be called monarchical. Political system ancient Russian principalities X-XII centuries represents a kind of "unstable balance" between the two elements of state power: monarchical, in the person of the prince, and democratic, in the person of the people's assembly or vecha senior volost cities. The power of the prince was not absolute, it was everywhere limited by the power of the veche. But the power of the veche and its intervention in affairs manifested itself only in cases of emergency, while the power of the prince was a constantly and daily acting governing body.
The duty of the prince was primarily to maintain external security and protect the land from attacks by an external enemy. The prince conducted foreign policy, was in charge of relations with other princes and states, concluded alliances and treaties, declared war and made peace (however, in those cases when the war required the convening militia, the prince had to obtain the consent of the council). The prince was a military organizer and leader; he appointed the head of the people's militia ("thousand") and during the hostilities he commanded both his squad and the people's militia.
The prince was a legislator, administrator and supreme judge. He had to "work the truth in this world." The prince often entrusted the court to his deputies, “posadniks” and “tiuns”, but the people always preferred the personal court of the prince.
The prince was the head of government and appointed all officials. Regional governors appointed by the prince were called "posadniks". The administrative and judicial powers were in the hands of the posadniks. Under the prince and under the posadniks, there were petty officials, some of the free, some of their slaves, for all kinds of judicial and police executive actions - these were “virniki”, “metal workers”, “children”, “youths”. The local free population, urban and rural, made up their own communities, or worlds, had their own elected representatives, elders and “ good people”, who defended his interests before the princely administration. At the princely court was the management of the vast princely economy - "tiuny courtiers".
The princely income consisted of tribute from the population, fines for crimes and trade duties and income from princely estates.
In their government activities, the princes usually used the advice and help of their senior warriors, "princely husbands." In important cases, especially before the start of military expeditions, the princes gathered the entire squad for advice. The combatants were personally free and connected with the prince only by the bonds of a personal agreement and trust. But the thought with the boyars and warriors was not mandatory for the prince, as well as did not impose any formal obligations on him. There was also no mandatory composition of the princely council. Sometimes the prince consulted with the entire retinue, sometimes only with its highest layer of “princely men”, sometimes with two or three close boyars. Therefore, that “aristocratic element of power”, which some historians see in the Russian princely Duma, was only an advisory and auxiliary body under the prince.
But in this druzhina or boyar duma sat the "old men of the city", that is, the elected military authorities of the city of Kyiv, and perhaps other cities, "thousand" and "sotsky". So the very question of accepting Christianity was decided by the prince on the advice of the boyars and the "old men of the city." These elders, or elders of the city, are hand in hand with the prince, together with the boyars, in matters of administration, as in all court celebrations, forming, as it were, a zemstvo aristocracy next to the princely service. At the prince's feast on the occasion of the consecration of the church in Vasilevo in 996, along with the boyars and posadniks, "the elders from all over the city" were called. In exactly the same way, by order of Vladimir, it was supposed to come to his Sunday feasts in Kyiv boyars, “gridi”, “sotsky”, “ten” and all “deliberate men”. But constituting the military-government class, the princely retinue at the same time still remained at the head of the Russian merchant class, from which it stood out, taking an active part in overseas trade. This Russian merchant class is about half of the 10th century. far from being Slavic Russian.
Organization of military forces in Kievan Rus.
The main components of the armed forces of the principalities in the X-XII centuries. were, firstly, the princely squad, and secondly, the people's militia.
The princely squad was not numerous; even among the senior princes, she was a detachment of 700-800 people. But they were strong, brave, trained professional warriors. The squad was divided into the younger (lower, “young”), which was called “grids” or “gridboi” (Scandinavian grid - yard servant), “youths”, “children”, and the eldest (highest), which was called princely husbands or boyars. The oldest collective name of the junior squad “grid” was later replaced by the word yard or servants. This retinue, together with its prince, emerged from among the armed merchants of large cities. In the XI century. it still did not differ from this merchant class in sharp features, either political or economic. The squad of the principality was, in fact, a military class.
Initially, the squad was kept and fed at the princely court and, as an additional reward, received its share from the tribute collected from the population and from military booty after a successful campaign. Subsequently, the combatants, especially their upper layer, the boyars, began to acquire land and acquire a household, and then they went to war with their “lads” - servants.
The princely squad was the strongest core and the main core of the army. In the event of forthcoming extensive military operations, the people's militia, made up of the free urban population, was called to arms, and in cases of emergency they were called up for military service and the villagers are “smerds”.
Large trading cities were arranged in a military manner, formed each integral organized regiment, called a thousand, which was subdivided into hundreds and tens (battalions and companies). A thousand (people's militia) were commanded by the “thousand” who was chosen by the city, and then appointed by the prince, hundreds and tens were also elected “sotsky” and “tenth”. These elected commanders made up the military administration of the city and the region that belonged to it, the military-government foreman, who is called in the annals "the elders of the city." City regiments, more precisely, armed cities took a constant part in the prince's campaigns along with his squad. But the prince could call on the people's militia only with the consent of the veche.
In addition to the princely squad and the people's militia, auxiliary detachments from foreigners took part in the wars. Initially, these were mainly Varangian squads that the Russian princes hired into their service, and from the end of the 11th century they were cavalry detachments of “their filthy” or “black hoods” (torks, berendeys, pechenegs), which the Russian princes settled on the southern outskirts of the Kievskaya earth.
Veche.
The news of the chronicles about the Veche life in Russia are numerous and varied, although detailed descriptions Veche meetings are very rare. Of course, in all cases when the population of the city acted independently and independently of the prince, we must assume a preliminary conference or council, that is, a veche.
In the era of tribal life. Before the formation and strengthening of the Grand Duchy of Kiev, individual tribes, glades, Drevlyans, and others, gather, if necessary, at their tribal meetings and confer with their tribal princes on common affairs. In the X and at the beginning of the XI century. with amplification central government in the person of the Grand Duke of Kiev (St. Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise), these tribal gatherings are losing their political significance, and from the middle of the XI century they were replaced by an active and influential veche of the older regional cities.
However, in exceptional cases (especially in the absence of the prince), the urban population shows its activity and initiative in the early period Kiev state. For example, in 997 we see a veche in Belgorod besieged by the Pechenegs.
After the death of Yaroslav (in 1054), when the Russian land was divided into several principalities, the veche of the main volost cities acts as the bearer of supreme power in the state. When the prince was strong enough and popular enough, the veche was inactive and left the prince to manage government affairs. On the other hand, emergency cases, such as a change in the throne or the solution of questions of war and peace, caused the imperious intervention of the veche, and the voice of the people's assembly in these matters was decisive.
The power of the veche, its composition and competence were not determined by any legal norms. Veche was an open meeting, a national meeting, and all the free could take part in it. It was only required that the participants should not be under paternal authority (the fathers of the veche decided for the children) or in any private dependence. In fact, the veche was a meeting of the townspeople of the main city; residents of small towns or "suburbs" had the right to attend the veche, but rarely had the actual opportunity to do so. The decision of the veche meeting of the older city was considered binding on the residents of the suburbs and for the entire volost. No law defined or limited the competence of the evening. Veche could discuss and resolve any issue that interested him.
The most important and common subject of the competence of veche meetings was the calling, or acceptance, of princes and the expulsion of princes who were not pleasing to the people. The calling and change of princes were not only political facts, resulting from the real balance of forces, but were generally recognized law population. This right was recognized by the princes themselves and their squads.
The second - extremely important - range of questions to be decided by the veche were questions about war and peace in general, as well as about the continuation or cessation of hostilities. For the war by his own means, with the help of his squad and hunters from the people, the prince did not need the consent of the veche, but for the war by means of the volost, when the convocation of the people's militia was required, the consent of the veche was needed.
Development of political freedom and independence of the Great
Novgorod. Veche and princely power of Novgorod Rus.
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X-XI centuries Novgorod was under the rule of the great princes of Kiev, who kept their governor in it (usually one or their sons) and to whom Novgorod, until the time of Yaroslavl I, paid tribute on an equal basis with other Russian lands. However, already under Yaroslavl, a significant change took place in Novgorod's relations with the Grand Duke of Kiev. Yaroslav “was sitting” in Novgorod in 1015, when his father died, Vladimir the Holy and his brother Svyatopolk began to beat their brothers in order to seize power over all Russian lands. Only thanks to the active and energetic support of the Novgorodians did Yaroslav manage to defeat Svyatopolk and take possession of the Grand Duchy of Kiev.
The division of Russia into several separate principalities weakened the power and influence of the Grand Duke of Kiev, and strife and civil strife in the princely family provided Novgorod with the opportunity to invite rival princes, who was “loved” to him, to reign.
The right of Novgorod to choose for itself any prince among all the Russian princes was indisputable and universally recognized. In the Novgorod chronicle we read: “And Novgorod laid out all the princes in freedom: wherever they are, they can capture the same prince.” In addition to the prince, the head of the Novgorod administration was a posadnik, who in the 10th-11th centuries. was appointed prince, but in the 30s. 12th century the important post of posadnik in Novgorod becomes elective, and the right to change the posadnik belongs only to the veche.
The important position of the thousand ('thousand') also becomes elective, and the Novgorod veche “gives” and “takes away” it at its own discretion. Finally, from the second half of the XII century. upon the election of the veche, the high post of the head of the Novgorod church, the lord of the archbishop of Novgorod, is replaced. In 1156, after the death of Archbishop Nifont, “gathering all the city of people and deigning to appoint a bishop, a man chosen by God by Arcadius”; of course, the chosen one of the veche was then to receive a “decree” for the episcopal chair from the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia.
Thus, during the XI-XII century. the entire higher Novgorod administration becomes elected, and the veche of the Lord of Veliky Novgorod becomes the sovereign manager of the fate of the Novgorod state.
State structure and management:
Prince.
The Novgorodians were “free men”, they lived and ruled “with all their will”, but they did not consider it possible to do without a prince. Novgorod needed the prince mainly as the leader of the troops. That is why the Novgorodians so valued and respected their warlike princes. However, giving the prince command of the armed forces, the Novgorodians by no means allowed him to independently conduct foreign policy affairs and start a war without the consent of the veche. Novgorodians demanded an oath from their prince that he would inviolably observe all their rights and liberties.
Inviting a new prince, Novgorod entered into a formal agreement with him, precisely defining his rights and obligations. Each newly invited prince undertakes to observe inviolably: “On this prince, kiss the cross to all Novgorod, on which grandfathers and fathers kissed, keep Novgorod in the old days, according to the duty, without offense.” All the judicial and governmental activities of the prince must go in agreement with the Novgorod posadnik and under his constant supervision: “And the demon of the posadnik, prince, do not judge the court, neither give out volosts, nor give letters”; and without the fault of the husband, the volost cannot be deprived. And in the row in the Novgorod volost you, prince, and your judges do not judge (i.e., do not change), but do not plot lynching. The entire local administration should be appointed from Novgorodians, and not from princely husbands: “that the volosts of all Novgorod, that you, prince, do not keep your husbands, but keep the men of Novgorod; you have a gift from those volosts.” This "gift" from the volosts, the size of which is precisely determined in the contracts, is the remuneration of the prince for his government activities. A number of decrees secured the trade rights and interests of Novgorod from violations. Ensuring the freedom of trade between Novgorod and the Russian lands, the treaties also demanded from the prince that he should not interfere with Novgorod trade with the Germans and that he himself should not take a direct part in it.
Novgorod took care that the prince with his retinue did not enter too closely and deeply into the inner life of Novgorod society and would not become an influential social force in it. The prince with his court was supposed to live outside the city, on Gorodische. He and his people were forbidden to take any of the Novgorodians into personal dependence, as well as to acquire landed property in the possessions of Veliky Novgorod - “and you, prince, neither your princess, nor your boyars, nor your nobles, do not hold villages, nor buy, nor receive freely throughout the Novgorod volost.
Thus, “the prince had to stand near Novgorod, serving him. And not at the head of him, they are right,” says Klyuchevsky, who points to the political contradiction in the system of Novgorod: he needed the prince, but “at the same time treated him with extreme distrust” and tried in every possible way to constrain and limit his power.
Veche.
Veliky Novgorod was divided into “ends”, “hundreds” and “streets”, and all these divisions represented self-governing communities, they had their own local councils and elected sotsky, as well as Konchan and street elders for management and representation. The union of these local communities constituted Veliky Novgorod, and “the combined will of all these allied worlds was expressed in the general veche of the city” (Klyuchevsky). The veche was not convened periodically, at certain times, but only when the need arose. Both the prince and the posadnik, and any group of citizens could convene (or “call”) a veche. All free and full-fledged Novgorodians gathered on Veche Square, and everyone had the same right to vote. Sometimes residents of the Novgorod suburbs (Pskovians and Ladoga residents) took part in the veche, but usually the veche consisted of citizens of one older city.
The competence of the Novgorod veche was comprehensive. It adopted laws and regulations (in particular, in 1471, the Novgorod Code of Laws, or the so-called “judgment charter” was adopted and approved in 1471); it invited the prince and concluded an agreement with him, and in case of dissatisfaction with him, expelled him; the veche elected, replaced and judged the posadnik and the thousandth, and sorted out their disputes with the prince; it chose a candidate for the post of archbishop of Novgorod, sometimes "peace" put churches and monasteries; the veche granted the state lands of Veliky Novgorod to church institutions or private individuals, and also granted some suburbs and lands “for feeding” the invited princes; it was the highest court for the suburbs and for private individuals; was in charge of the court for political and other major crimes, combined with the most severe punishments - deprivation of life or confiscation of property and exile; finally, the veche was in charge of the entire region foreign policy: made a decision on the collection of troops on the construction of fortresses on the borders of the country and in general on the measures of defense of the state; declared war and concluded peace, as well as concluded trade agreements with foreign countries.
The veche had its own office (or veche hut, headed by the “eternal clerk” (secretary). The decrees or sentences of the veche were recorded and sealed with the seals of the Lord Veliky Novgorod (the so-called “eternal letters”). Letters were written on behalf of all Novgorod, its government and In the salary of the Novgorod charter given to the Solovetsky Monastery, we read: “And with the blessing of Mr. His Grace Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod and Bishop of Pskov Jonah, Mr. Ivan Lukinich, the posadnik of Veliky Novgorod, and the old posadniks, and Mr. and the boyars, and living people, and merchants, and black people, and the whole Mr. Sovereign Veliky Novgorod, all five ends, at the veche, in Yaroslavl's court, granted the hegumen ... and all the elders ... thy islands "...
A large Novgorod veche usually gathered on the trading side, in Yaroslavl's yard (or "courtyard"). The huge crowd of many thousands of “freemen” who gathered here, of course, did not always observe order and propriety: “At a meeting, by its very composition, there could be neither a correct discussion of the issue, nor a correct vote. The decision was drawn up by eye, it is better to say by ear, rather by the strength of the cries than by the majority of votes ”(Klyuchevsky). In case of disagreement, noisy disputes arose at the veche, sometimes fights, and “the side that prevailed was recognized by the majority” (Klyuchevsky). Sometimes two vechas met at the same time: one on the trading side, the other on the Sofia side; some participants appeared “in armor” (i.e., armed), and disputes between hostile parties sometimes reached armed clashes on the Volkhov bridge.
administration and court.
Advice of gentlemen At the head of the Novgorod administration were the “powerful posadnik” and the “powerful tysyatsky”.
The court was distributed among different authorities: the lord of Novgorod, the princely governor, the posadnik and the thousand; in particular, the tysyatsky, together with a board of three elders from living people and two elders from merchants, was supposed to “manage all sorts of affairs” of the merchants and the “trading court”. In appropriate cases, a joint court of different instances acted. For "gossip", i.e. to review cases decided in the first instance, there was a board of 10 "rapporteurs", one boyar and one "zhite" from each end. For executive judicial and administrative-police actions, the higher administration had at its disposal a number of lower agents who bore various names: bailiff, podvoisky, callers, izvetniki, birichi.
The populous veche crowd, of course, could not sensibly and in detail discuss the details of government measures or individual articles of laws and treaties; she could only accept or reject the ready reports of the highest administration. For the preliminary development of the necessary measures and for the preparation of reports in Novgorod, there was a special government council, or council of gentlemen, it consisted of a sedate posadnik and a thousand, Konchansky elders, sotsk and old (i.e. former) posadniks and thousand. This council, which included the tops of the Novgorod boyars, had big influence in the political life of Novgorod and often predetermined issues to be decided by the vecha - “‘this was a hidden, but very active spring of Novgorod government” (Klyuchevsky).
In the regional administration of the Novgorod state, we find a duality of principles - centralization and local autonomy. From Novgorod, posadniks were appointed to the suburbs, and the judicial institutions of the older city served as the highest authority for the suburbanites. The suburbs and all volosts of Novgorod had to pay tribute to Mr. Veliky Novgorod. Troubles and abuses in the field of administration caused tsetrifuzhny forces in the Novgorod regions, and some of them sought to break away from their center.
Historical fate of Ancient Russia
The Russian land as an indivisible whole, which was in the common possession of the princes-relatives, from the turn of the XI-XIII centuries. ceases to be political reality.
Despite the differences between Kiev and Novgorod Rus they had some common features. Everywhere we see as the main political institutions three forces: the prince, the squad (boyars), the city veche.
At the same time, these principalities can be conditionally divided into two types: early feudal monarchy and feudal republic. They differed in which of the listed political bodies played a decisive role in them. At the same time, other power structures could continue to exist, although in Everyday life they often remained outside the attention of contemporaries. Only in extreme situations did society "remember" such traditional state institutions.
An example of the first type of state is Kiev principality. The princes are fighting for the throne of Kyiv. Possession of it gave the right to be titled the Grand Duke, who formally stood above all other - appanage - princes.
In Kyiv (and later in Galicia and Volhynia) the princely power was strong, based on the retinue. One of the first mentions of a direct attempt by the squad of the Kiev prince to decide on their own the question of who will sit on the Kiev table dates back to 1015. Having learned about the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, his warriors offered to become the prince of Kiev younger son Boris. And only the unwillingness to violate the tradition of submission to the eldest in the family (this is how the chronicler interprets this episode in any case) did not allow the squad to insist on its own. By the way, immediately after Boris refused to fight for power in Kyiv, his father's combatants left him. Another example of this kind can be a meeting with his "husbands" in 1187 of the dying Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl about the transfer of power in Galicia to his younger son, bypassing the eldest - the legitimate heir.
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The southern princes conferred with their retinues when resolving issues of war and peace. So, in 1093, the princes Svyatopolk, Vladimir and Rostislav, before the start of hostilities, held a council with their “senseful men”: “Should we attack the Polovtsy or is it more profitable to make peace with them?” The question of the timing of the speech against the Polovtsy during the princely congresses of 1103 and 1111 was also discussed with the squads. At the same time, the voice of the prince turned out to be decisive, but only after he convinced the warriors of the correctness of his decision.
At the same time, in critical situations, when the prince, for some reason, could not perform his functions, the real power was taken into the hands of the city veche. This happened in 1068, when the Kyiv prince Izyaslav could not resist the Polovtsy and fled from the battlefield. The consequence of this was the veche decision of the people of Kiev to remove the "legitimate" prince and put Vseslav Bryachislavich Polotsky in his place. Only as a result of the most stringent measures, the former prince managed to regain the throne of Kyiv.
Another example is the situation when the Kiev veche in 1113, contrary to the existing order of succession to the throne (Kyiv was not his "patrimony" invited to the grand-ducal throne of Vladimir Monomakh. In 1125, the elder Monomashich Mstislav was placed on the Kyiv table, and after his death in 1132, the people of Kiev transferred power to his brother Yaropolk. In 1146, the people of Kiev summoned Prince Igor Olgovich, who, according to the will of his brother Vsevolod, was to take the throne of Kyiv. It is characteristic that Igor was afraid to appear at the veche himself, he did not dare to ignore the "invitation". As his plenipotentiary (while the pretender to the throne himself with his retinue was in ambush), he sent Svyatoslav Olgovich to the meeting of the townspeople, who had to listen to the complaints of the inhabitants of Kyiv and promise to stop the abuses of the princely people.
The situation in Kyiv changed with the coming to power of Grand Duke Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky (1157-1174). If his father, Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, sought the throne of Kiev all his life, then Andrei twice left the Kiev suburb, where he was planted by the Grand Duke in the North-East of Russia. There he eventually settled. Having become the Grand Duke, Andrei moved his "table" to the former suburb of Suzdal - Vladimir-on-Klyazma. Moreover, in 1169, the united troops of the Russian lands, led by Andrei, attacked Kyiv, which tried to get out of his influence, and plundered it. After that, the importance of the southern capital of the Russian land began to decline rapidly. Despite the fact that the second all-Russian campaign against Kyiv in 1173 turned out to be a failure, the former capital never recovered from the blow. In 1203, Kyiv was again plundered in a joint campaign by Rurik Rostislavich, the Olgovichi and the Polovtsians. The invasion of the Mongol detachments in 1240 only completed what the Russian princes had begun. Nevertheless, it was the southern Russian lands that continued to preserve the management traditions that had developed in Kievan Rus for a long time: the power of the prince rested there on the strength of the squad and was controlled by the city council. Conventionally, this form of government is called early feudal monarchy.
Its own type of state power has developed in the North-West of Russia. Here the princely power as an independent political force ceased to exist as a result of the events of 1136 (the so-called Novgorod "revolution"). On May 28, the Novgorodians put under arrest their prince, a protege of the prince of Kiev, Vsevolod Mstislavich, and then expelled him from the city. From that time on, the procedure was finally established to elect the Novgorod prince, like all other state posts of Novgorod the Great, at the veche. It became part of the city administrative apparatus. Now its functions were limited to military matters. The voivode was in charge of protecting law and order in the city, and all the power in the periods between veche gatherings was concentrated in the hands of the Novgorod posadniks and the bishop (since 1165 the archbishop). Difficult issues could be resolved on the so-called mixed court, which included representatives of all government structures of Novgorod.
This type state structure can be defined as feudal Republic, moreover, the republic "boyar", "aristocratic".
On the one hand, only members of influential (aristocratic) boyar families were elected to the highest government positions (primarily posadniks, who apparently had full power in between meetings of the veche) in Novgorod.
On the other hand, the characteristic of the Novgorod state is associated with the aristocratic composition of the veche - the highest state body of Novgorod. According to V.L. Yanin, from 300 to 500 people gathered at the veche - people from the largest boyar "surnames" (as we remember, M.Kh. Aleshkovsky believed that the wealthiest Novgorod merchants were also among the vechniks from the 13th century). There is, however, another point of view, according to which not only all adult residents of Novgorod, regardless of their social status, but, possibly, residents of the Novgorod suburbs, including rural ones, took part in the Novgorod veche (I.Ya. Froyanov, V. .F. Andreev and others). The most important issues of the republic's political life were decided at the veche. Chief among them was the election of officials who performed power functions: posadniks, thousandths, a bishop (archbishop), an archimandrite, a prince.
The further development of the Russian lands could follow any of the emerging paths, however, the invasion in the second third of the 13th century. Mongolian troops significantly changed the political situation in the country. But this is a topic for a special discussion.
Kievan Rus was a whole epoch in the history of the Slavic peoples. It was the only Slavic state that could compete in terms of its level of development with the leading countries of the world.
