Kievan Rus: education and history. Kievan Rus. The emergence, flourishing and collapse of the Kievan Rus era existed

In the Russian-language "Wikipedia" the article "Kievan Rus" disappeared. Instead of it now - the "Old Russian State". The cradle of the "three fraternal peoples" was put into storage.

Russia and Ukraine are moving away from each other not only in politics, but also in interpretations of a common history. Back in the 80s, we were taught that Kievan Rus is the cradle of three fraternal peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. But the new "feudal fragmentation" that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union is slowly making its way into the works of researchers and school textbooks.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the concept of the chairman of the Central Rada, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, has become official in Ukraine, and at the beginning of the 20th century he declared Russia to be an exclusively “ancient Ukrainian state”. Russia kept silent for a long time and, finally, delivered a retaliatory “strike”.

The familiar phrase "Kievan Rus" is now quietly disappearing from scientific papers and school textbooks in the Russian Federation. It is replaced by the term “Old Russian state”, which is devoid of geographic references to Kyiv, which was abroad. Politics is once again reshaping history for the masses.

In fairness, we note that Kievan Rus as the official name of the early medieval state of the Eastern Slavs never existed. Chronicles, on the basis of which modern historians build their schemes, called this power simply Rus, or Russian land. It is under this name that she appears in The Tale of Bygone Years, written by a contemporary of Vladimir Monomakh, the Kyiv monk Nestor at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries.

But the same justice makes us recall that the term "Kievan Rus" was coined not in Kyiv, but in ... Moscow, in the 19th century. Some researchers attribute its authorship to Nikolai Karamzin, others to Mikhail Pogodin. But it came into wide scientific use thanks to the professor of Moscow University Sergei Solovyov (1820-1879), who widely used the expression "Kievan Rus" along with "Rus Novgorod", "Rus Vladimir" and "Moscow Rus" in the famous "History of Russia from ancient times ". Solovyov adhered to the so-called concept of "change of capitals". The first capital of the ancient Slavic state, in his opinion, was Novgorod, the second - Kyiv, the third - Vladimir-on-Klyazma, the fourth - Moscow, which did not prevent Russia from remaining one state.

The term "Kievan Rus" gained popularity thanks to the Moscow historian of the 19th century. Sergei Solovyov

After Solovyov, "Kievan Rus" from scientific works penetrated into books for secondary school. For example, in M. Ostrogorsky's "Textbook of Russian History", repeatedly reprinted (in 1915, it ran through 27 editions!) On page 25, one can read the chapter titled "The Decline of Kievan Rus". But in pre-revolutionary Russia, history remained an elitist science. Half of the population remained illiterate. An insignificant percentage of the population studied in gymnasiums, seminaries and real schools. By and large, the phenomenon of mass historical consciousness did not yet exist - for the peasants who met the year 1917, everything that happened before their grandfathers happened “under Tsar Pea”.

There was no need for the concept of "the cradle of three fraternal peoples" and the tsarist government. Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians before the Great October Revolution were officially considered three Russian nationalities. Consequently, they still, figuratively speaking, lay in the same Russian cradle. No one was going to outweigh it a thousand years ago - in the semi-dugouts of the chronicle glades, Drevlyans and Krivichi, who from their 10th century also did not care how their descendants in the 20th century would call them - "Old Russian" or "Old Ukrainian" tribes. Or ancient Belarusian, as an option.

Everything changed the revolution and ... Stalin. Promising the masses a wonderful communist future, the Bolsheviks, with no less zeal, undertook to remake the past. More precisely, rewrite his picture. The work was personally supervised by the leader and teacher, who was distinguished by enviable diligence and organizational skills. In the mid-1930s, Soviet schoolchildren received the textbook "A Short Course in the History of the USSR", where, without any doubt, it was clearly and unambiguously written, as it was carved with an ax: "Since the beginning of the 10th century, the Kiev Principality of the Slavs has been CALLED Kyiv RUSSIA." This textbook was intended for third graders. Thus, with the help of Stalinism and totalitarianism, the phrase "Kyiv RUSS" was hammered into the heads of several generations FOR THE FIRST TIME. And who would have dared to argue with Comrade Stalin and his People's Commissariat of Education that this was exactly what it was called in the 10th century? Yes, to hell with this story! Here it would be possible to survive during the GREAT CRUCIFICATIONS!

For high school students. Map from M. Ostrogorsky's history textbook, 1915

ON INSTRUCTIONS OF THE LEADER. A whole twenty pages were occupied by a section called "Kievan Rus" in the Stalinist textbook "History of the USSR" for the 8th grade, edited by Professor G. Pankratova. By the way, despite the fact that the official Soviet historical science, until the very collapse of the Soviet Union, fought with the Varangians, denying their contribution to the creation of Russia, Pankratova's textbook was not free from remnants of pre-revolutionary Normanism. At least, he did not deny the Scandinavian origin of the founder of the Rurik dynasty.

I quote this "History of the USSR" for the 8th grade, with the preservation of all the features of the spelling of the original in Ukrainian - in the language in which this ideologically important subject was studied by students of Ukrainian schools in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic: "Through the lands, occupied by similar words, passing the water way, which crossed the Baltic Sea from Chornim: “the way from the Varangians from the Greeks”, then from the edge of the Varangians - Scandinavia - from Byzantium ... Tsim path in the IX century. gangs of Varangians walked around, jokingly making money, like in Skhidny Europe they called the inhabitants of Scandinavia - Normans ... Okremi Varangian gangs with their retinues slaughtered the most handy points on the “way from the Varangians from the Greeks” and imposed a danina on the populace. Sometimes the stinks were indignant, or they corroborated their own words of the Jansk princes and stood in their place. Behind the order, in the middle of the IX century. one of these shukachiv goodies - Rurik - having established himself in Novgorod, which was the key from the pivnochi to the Dnipro way.

Academician Grekov clutched his head. This is what one of the history conferences looked like in the late 1940s. All at the behest of Stalin!

Then there was a story about the Novgorod prince Oleg, who captured Kyiv from people with obviously non-Slavic names Askold and Dir. But the schoolchildren could only guess what connection he had with his predecessor Rurik and why this obviously strong-willed predatory action of the Novgorod prince in relation to Kyiv should be considered a “unification” of the small Slavic states - Novgorod and Kyiv - under the rule of Prince Oleg.

The Stalinist textbook also lied about Rurik. After all, he established himself in Novgorod not “according to legend”, but according to the message of the “Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor the Chronicler, who tells about the decision of the Novgorodians in this way: “In the year 6370 from the creation of the world (in 862 AD) the Varangians were expelled across the sea, and they did not give them tribute, and began to rule themselves, and there was no righteousness among them, and generation to generation stood up, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: "Let's look for a prince who would rule over us and judge by right." And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia. Those Varangians were called Rus, as others are called Swedes, and other Varangians are Normans and Angles, and still others are Gotlanders, like these. The Russians said Chud, Slovenes, Krivichi and all: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers with their clans were elected, and they took all of Russia with them, and they came, and the eldest, Rurik, sat in Novgorod ... And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed.

Not a word about Kievan Rus, right? Only about the Russian land. And initially in the north - in the region of Novgorod. Already this Russia was multinational. Indeed, in addition to the Slavic tribes of Slovenes and Krivichi, among those who called the Varangians, there are Finnish peoples of Chud and the whole (the first lived in the Baltic states, the second - east of Lake Nevsky). These are the same Finno-Ugric peoples hated by our nationalists (they consider them the ancestors of the “Muscovites”), who, according to the annals, became Rus earlier than the Kyiv meadows! After all, the glades of the Rurikovich had yet to conquer, so that they too would become “Russified”. As Nestor says: "The glades, which are now called Rus."

Oh, this story! Well, she does not want to unconditionally surrender to politics! After all, if you believe Nestor, it turns out that not only Kievan Rus, but even just Rus Kyiv was not before its capture by the Novgorod prince Oleg, whose squads consisted of Scandinavian Varangians (“Rus”), northern Slavs (Slovenes and Krivichi) and Finns (chudi and weigh).

VARIAGIANS BE SILENT! Stalin was, first of all, a politician, not a historian. He introduced the myth of Kievan Rus through schools and universities into the mass consciousness in order to divert attention from the long period that preceded it.

According to the chronicle, Prince Oleg of Novgorod captured Kyiv in 882. By this time, the Varangians had ruled in the north, in the region of Ladoga and Novgorod, for almost a century. Sailing from the Baltic Sea, they took tribute from the Slavic and Finnish tribes. Ladoga became the first stronghold of the Vikings. Novgorod, after Rurik established himself there, is the second. The names of the first Russian princes were of Scandinavian origin. Oleg (Helgi), Igor (Ingvar), Askold (Haskuld) speak for themselves. They are very different from the Slavic Vladimirs and Svyatoslavs.

All this raised numerous questions about the true history of the origin of Russia, to which Stalin did not want to answer. So why not move the conversation to another topic? Why delve into the history of the appearance of the Varangians in Novgorod and evaluate their role in the creation of the Old Russian state? Let's just write that Oleg fell to Kyiv from Novgorod, without going into details of his origin. And let's call Russia Kievan, so that the inhabitants of Soviet Ukraine remember that they, too, at least a little bit, but still Russians.

Academician Grekov fulfilled Stalin's instructions to introduce Kievan Rus into the consciousness of the masses

Comrade Stalin proclaimed that Russia was founded not by the Swedes, but by the Slavs, and gave instructions on this matter. None of the historians could even think of disobeying him. A decisive battle was declared against the historical "sabotage" and the intrigues of the Normanists! “Soviet historical science, following the instructions of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, based on the remarks of comrades Stalin, Kirov and Zhdanov on the “Synopsis of the textbook of the history of the USSR”, developed a theory about the pre-feudal period ... already in the theoretical constructions of the founders of Marxism there are no and cannot be place for the Normans as the creators of the state among the wild East Slavic tribes, ”wrote Vladimir Mavrodin, dean of the Faculty of History of Leningrad University, in 1949 in his work“ The Struggle against Normanism in Russian Historical Science ”.

By this moment, the unfortunate Normanists - both the dead, like the pre-revolutionary Karamzin and Solovyov, and the living, huddled under the chairs, were finally "smashed" by Academician Boris Grekov. This Lysenko of history, who was born in Mirgorod and taught at a women's gymnasium before the revolution, had already managed to become famous for the exact execution of Stalin's instructions in the monographs Kievan Rus and The Culture of Kievan Rus, published in 1939 and 1946. He didn't have much of a choice. Boris Grekov was Stalin's hook: in 1930 he was arrested in the so-called "Academic Case", remembering that in 1920 the future academician ended up in the Crimea with Wrangel. Fellow historians were well aware that Grekov was inventing "Kievan Rus", serving the order of the regime. But to object to him meant to argue with Stalin.

All these details were forgotten over time. Today's Ukrainian schoolchildren, who are taught this Kievan Rus that never existed, know nothing about Grekov or his true inspiration with a Caucasian mustache. They also do not ask unnecessary questions in order to pass the tests without any problems. But you and I know that Russia was just Russia. And not ancient. And not Kyiv. It will not be possible to privatize it or hand it over to the archive of history. I am sure that this country is still waiting for amazing transformations. We just can't imagine them yet.

Basic terms on the topic "Kievan Rus"

Corvee - a duty that consisted in the obligation of a peasant who had his own allotment to work on the master's field for a certain number of days a week.

beekeeping - initially extracting honey from wild bees from natural hollows, then breeding bees in hollowed hollows.

Boyar Duma - the highest council of the nobility under the Grand Duke (during the time of Kievan Rus and the period of fragmentation), and from the 16th century. with the king. The Boyar Duma was a permanent legislative and advisory body and took part in resolving issues of domestic and foreign policy of the state.

Boyars - in Kievan and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, senior princely warriors, in Novgorod and Pskov - the top of the urban population, descendants of the ancient tribal nobility. The highest, along with the great and specific princes, a layer of society in Russia from the 10th toXVIIIcenturies

Varangians - Vigilante warriors from the Scandinavian peoples, who in Europe were called Vikings, Normans. The Varangians are mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. In the 9th-11th centuries, many Varangian warriors served as mercenaries with the Russian princes. Scandinavian merchants who traded on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks" were also called Varangians in Russia. In the XI-XIII centuries. Varangian warriors and merchants in Russia were glorified without having a noticeable impact on Russian history and culture.

rope - one of the names of the community among the Eastern and Southern Slavs. In Russia, it initially developed on a consanguineous basis and gradually turned into a neighboring (territorial) community bound by mutual responsibility. In Russkaya Pravda, the rope was responsible to the prince for the murder committed on its territory, contained (fed) the princely fine collectors.

Veche - a national assembly in ancient and medieval Russia to discuss common affairs. It arose from the tribal assemblies of the Slavs. Veche was in charge of issues of war and peace.

Vira - a large fine awarded under the laws of Russkaya Pravda for the murder of a free person.

virnik - Collector of fines.

Magus - pagan priest, sorcerer.

Votchina - in Russia, the hereditary land ownership of a feudal lord. The first estates were princely, they appear in the tenth century. By the XI-XII centuries. the documents already mention boyar and monastic estates. The main value in the patrimonial economy was represented not so much by the land as by the dependent peasants who lived on it. The peasants could not own the land, so they took it for use from their feudal lord. For this they worked out the corvée and paid dues.

Guests - A category of trading people who came to trade from other countries, later - local merchants who traded in other cities or abroad.

Hryvnia - the main monetary unit in Kievan Rus.

tithe - tax in favor of the church.

Druzhina - originally a detachment of warriors, which evolved around a military leader at the stage of transition from a tribal system to a state. The squad was supposed to protect the leader, and he, in turn, provided the squad with everything necessary. The main source of wealth for the combatants was the war and the booty captured during them. Gradually, the squad turns into the top of the tribe, concentrating wealth and power in their hands. In Russia, the squad appeared in the 9th century. It was led by a prince. In those days, the squad consisted of two parts: the so-called "senior" squad (the closest advisers and assistants to the prince) and the "junior", which included recently recruited soldiers.

Purchase - the category of the dependent population of the Old Russian state. A free man took a loan from the feudal lord, a “kupa” (cattle, money, tools, etc.) and was obliged to work it out.

Cyrillic - Slavic alphabet, created on the basis of the Byzantine unitiat (statutory alphabet), by assumption, a student of the Slavic enlightener Methodius Clement. Named "Cyrillic" as a sign of deep recognition of the people of the activities of the first Slavic enlighteners Cyril and Methodius.

Prince - the head of state or inheritance in the IX-XVI centuries. among the Slavs and other peoples, later - a title of nobility. Before the formation of the state, the princes were tribal leaders, who then gradually turned into heads of state. At first, the power of the prince was elective, then it became hereditary. For example, the Rurik dynasty in the Old Russian state.

Baptism - the introduction of Christianity as a state religion in Kievan Rus, carried out at the end of the 10th century (988) by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

ladder system - a system for the transfer of grand ducal power according to seniority in the family.

chronicle - records of events of Russian history, arranged by years.

Metropolitan - head of the Russian Orthodox Church until the establishment of the patriarchate in 1589

Mytnik - collector of trade duties in Russia

Viceroy - in Russia X-XVI centuries. local government official. Appointed by the prince.

Norman theory - a direction in Russian and foreign historiography, whose supporters considered the Normans (Varangians) to be the founders of the state in Ancient Russia. Formulated in the second quarter of the 18th century. G. Z. Bayer, G. F. Miller and others. The Norman theory was rejected by M. V. Lomonosov, D. I. Ilovaisky, S. A. Gedeonov and others.

Quit natural - a duty, which consisted in the obligation of the peasant to contribute in favor of the owner of the land a certain amount of products produced on his own farm.

Quit money - a duty, which consisted in the obligation of the peasant to pay the owner of the land a certain amount of money.

ognischanin - the chief servant, the manager of the estate's economy.

cart - the system of tribute collection, which was introduced by Princess Olga, instead of polyudya, setting its fixed size (lessons) and the place of collection (graveyards).

Pogost - according to the tax reform of Princess Olga, the place of tribute collection, where it was brought by the population and where the court of the princely official (tiuna) was located, who monitored the timely and correct receipt of taxes to the treasury.

polyudie - in Kievan Rus, a detour by the prince and a squad of subject lands to collect tribute.

Posad - the name of the trade and craft part of the city in Russia.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" - water (sea and river) route from Scandinavia through Eastern Europe to Byzantium in the Middle Ages. One of the waterways of the expansion of the Varangians from the region of residence (the coast of the Baltic Sea) to the South - to South-Eastern Europe and Asia Minor in the VIII-XIII centuries AD. e. The same route was used by Russian merchants to trade with Constantinople and Scandinavia.

early feudal state - with this term, historians characterize the Old Russian state of the 9th-10th centuries. During this period, the territory of the state had not yet finally taken shape, there was no established system of government. The tribal isolation of the territories that were part of the state was preserved.

tribal community - one of the first forms of social organization of people. In the early stages of its history, an individual person was unable to resist nature, to obtain the minimum necessary for life. This led to the unification of people into communities. The tribal community is characterized by collective labor and egalitarian consumption. Within the community there was only a gender and age division of labor.

Russian truth - the first collection of laws of Ancient Russia that has come down to us.

Ryadovich - the category of the dependent population of the Old Russian state. They entered into an agreement (row) with the feudal lord, which put them in a certain dependence on the feudal lord.

Smerd - in ancient Russia, a category of people with no rights. The life of a smerd in Russkaya Pravda was protected by a minimum wage - 5 hryvnias. Perhaps this was the name of the inhabitants of the recently annexed territories, subject to increased tribute. It is believed that all farmers were called smerds, among whom were both dependent and free.

neighborhood community - a group of people who are not related by family ties. Community members live in a certain territory and are included in the community on the principle of neighborhood. Each family within the community has the right to a share of community property and cultivates its own part of the arable land. Together, the community members are raising the virgin lands, clearing the forest, laying roads. Among the Eastern Slavs, the transition from a tribal community to a neighboring community was completed by the 7th century. After that, the male population of the community was called "people". With the growth of feudal land ownership (the time of the existence of the Old Russian state), the community becomes dependent on the feudal lord or the state. However, it retains all its functions. The community regulated the cycle of agricultural work, distributed taxes among the community members (at the same time, the principle mutual responsibility), solved current economic issues.

Tiun - servant-manager in the household of the patrimony; princely tiuns also carried out various government assignments.

lot - part of the principality-land, semi-independent possession, allocated to one of the younger members of the ruling dynasty.

Lesson - according to the tax reform of Princess Olga, a fixed amount of tribute levied from the subject population.

serf - the category of dependent population in Russia in the X-XVIII centuries. The most disenfranchised part of the population, in its legal status close to slaves. The feudal lord could kill, sell, punish the serf, and was also responsible for the actions of his serf. They became serfs as a result of captivity, sale for debts, marriage to a serf. As a rule, serfs did not have their own allotment and were among the servants.

Servants - in the broad sense of the word servant. In Ancient Russia, the category of dependent people, slaves.

Paganism - religious beliefs based on primitive myths about many gods, spirits, personifying the forces of nature (sun, rain, fertility), human occupations (agriculture, trade, war).

Everyone is primarily interested in the question, where did this beautiful and powerful state called Kievan Rus come from? Where did the Russians come from? Who are they and whose descendants are we? There are many theories on this subject, among which there are popular and not very popular. After all, the name "Rus" appears in foreign chronicles only in the 8th century. That is why the question arises about the origin of the name of the state ... The first theory is called Varangian. She tells us that Russia came from a tribe of Norman conquerors who attacked European countries incredibly often, traveling inland thanks to boats and the presence of rivers. They were extremely cruel and this cruelty was in their soul, they were real Viking warriors...

Researchers believe that since then the name "Rus" has gone. This theory was put forward by the German scientists Bayer and Miller, who really believed that it was the Normans (immigrants from Sweden) who founded Kievan Rus. They refer to the fact that it was the Norman princes who helped the Russian people master the art of war. No matter what anyone says, the Normans played an incredible role in the creation of the state and gave rise to the Rurik dynasty.
The second most important theory of the origin of the name of the state and the Russians themselves is a theory that claims that the name comes from a river, a tributary of the Dnieper, called Ros. The tributary of the Ros, in turn, is called the Rosava. On the territory of Volyn in Ukraine there is the river Roska... Therefore, Russia could really be named after the rivers, although some believe that these rivers are named after the state...
It is worth mentioning that there is another theory of the origin of the state. A scientist from the USA named Pritsak put forward the theory that the Khazars founded Kievan Rus. But why then was it necessary to separate from the Russians? After all, the state of the Khazars was as big as Russia. Moreover, in my opinion, the traditions of the Khazars and the Russians are very different, in order to enable us to call them one people with common roots. So, the history of Russia is extremely rich even at the beginning, not that in the further development...
The history of Kievan Rus has many facts that simply forced the Russians to create their own state. First of all, historians believe that it was the emergence of feudal relations that contributed to the creation of the state, as in all other states of Europe. Then it should be said that our ancestors needed to defend themselves from enemies, the main of which were the Khazar Khaganate and Byzantium. The common ethnic origin only united the Russians even more. The development of trade also forced the Russians to create a state. As for Kyiv, thanks to its economic and geographical position, it began to play a huge role in relations with other states.
Scientists say that Kievan Rus was formed around the 9th century AD. It was then that the state appeared with its center in Kyiv. The heyday of Russia fell on the period 978-1054, when Russia significantly expanded its territories and achieved both political and cultural development. The third period is characterized by the disintegration of the state into separate principalities. It can be said with all certainty that Yaroslav the Wise would never have divided the land between his sons if he knew what it would lead to...
It is worth remembering that Russia was also developed in a cultural sense. It is no joke to say that the children of the Kyiv prince knew several languages ​​and were extremely educated, which cannot be said about the dynasty of other European states.
Militarily, Kievan Rus was a formidable force. The best of the best of the Russian soldiers served together with the Byzantine legions thousands of miles from their homeland. What is worth only the well-known example of the defense of Sicily from the Arabs in 1038-1041. Thanks to the Russian corps, Byzantium was able to keep the island behind.
The authority of Kievan Rus in Europe was unconditional. Therefore, we can really be proud of our ancestors, who even stopped the Mongol-Tatar invasion and saved the whole of Europe, weakened from ruin.

Until now, historians put forward various theories about the emergence of Kievan Rus as a state. For a long time, the official version has been taken as the basis, according to which the year 862 is called the date of birth. But after all, the state does not appear “from scratch”! It is impossible to imagine that before this date there were only savages in the territory where the Slavs lived, who could not create their own state without help from “outsiders”. After all, as you know, history moves along an evolutionary path. For the emergence of the state must be certain prerequisites. Let's try to understand the history of Kievan Rus. How was this state created? Why has it fallen into disrepair?

The emergence of Kievan Rus

At the moment, domestic historians adhere to 2 main versions of the emergence of Kievan Rus.

1. Norman. It relies on one weighty historical document, namely the Tale of Bygone Years. According to this theory, the ancient tribes called on the Varangians (Rurik, Sineus and Truvor) to create and manage their state. Thus, they could not create their own state formation on their own. They needed outside help.
2. Russian (anti-Norman). For the first time, the rudiments of the theory were formulated by the famous Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. He argued that the entire history of the ancient Russian state was written by foreigners. Lomonosov was sure that there was no logic in this story, the important question of the nationality of the Varangians was not revealed.

Unfortunately, until the end of the 9th century, there are no mentions of the Slavs in the annals. It is suspicious that Rurik "came to rule the Russian state" when it already had its own traditions, customs, its own language, cities and ships. That is, Russia did not arise from scratch. Old Russian cities were very well developed (including from a military point of view).

According to generally accepted sources, the year 862 is considered the date of foundation of the ancient Russian state. It was then that Rurik began to rule in Novgorod. In 864, his associates Askold and Dir seized the princely power in Kyiv. Eighteen years later, in 882, Oleg, who is usually called the Prophet, captured Kyiv and became the Grand Duke. He managed to unite the scattered Slavic lands, and it was during his reign that a campaign against Byzantium was made. More and more new territories and cities joined the grand ducal lands. During the reign of Oleg, there were no major clashes between Novgorod and Kyiv. This was largely due to blood ties and kinship.

The formation and flourishing of Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus was a powerful and developed state. Its capital was a fortified outpost located on the banks of the Dnieper. Taking power in Kyiv meant becoming the head of vast territories. It was Kyiv that was compared with the “mother of Russian cities” (although Novgorod, from where Askold and Dir arrived in Kyiv, was quite worthy of such a title). The city retained the status of the capital of the ancient Russian lands until the period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

• Among the key events of the heyday of Kievan Rus can be called Baptism in 988, when the country abandoned idolatry in favor of Christianity.
• The reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise led to the fact that at the beginning of the 11th century the first Russian code of laws appeared under the name "Russian Truth".
• The Kyiv prince intermarried with many famous ruling European dynasties. Also, under Yaroslav the Wise, the raids of the Pechenegs forever turned, which brought Kievan Rus a lot of trouble and suffering.
• Also from the end of the X century on the territory of Kievan Rus began its own coin production. Silver and gold coins appeared.

The period of civil strife and the collapse of Kievan Rus

Unfortunately, an understandable and uniform system of succession to the throne was not developed in Kievan Rus. Various grand-princely lands for military and other merits were distributed among combatants.

Only after the end of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, such a principle of inheritance was established, which involved the transfer of power over Kyiv to the eldest in the family. All other lands were divided among members of the Rurik dynasty in accordance with the principle of seniority (but this could not remove all the contradictions and problems). After the death of the ruler, there were dozens of heirs claiming the "throne" (starting from brothers, sons, and ending with nephews). Despite certain rules of inheritance, the supreme power was often established by force: through bloody clashes and wars. Only a few independently abandoned the control of Kievan Rus.

Applicants for the title of the Grand Duke of Kyiv did not shy away from the most terrible deeds. Literature and history describe a terrible example with Svyatopolk the Accursed. He went to fratricide only in order to gain power over Kyiv.

Many historians come to the conclusion that it was internecine wars that became the factor that led to the collapse of Kievan Rus. The situation was also complicated by the fact that the Tatar-Mongols began to actively attack in the 13th century. "Small rulers with big ambitions" could unite against the enemy, but no. The princes dealt with internal problems "in their own area", did not compromise and desperately defended their own interests to the detriment of others. As a result, Russia became completely dependent on the Golden Horde for a couple of centuries, and the rulers were forced to pay tribute to the Tatar-Mongols.

The prerequisites for the coming collapse of Kievan Rus were formed under Vladimir the Great, who decided to give each of his 12 sons his own city. The beginning of the collapse of Kievan Rus is called 1132, when Mstislav the Great died. Then immediately 2 powerful centers refused to recognize the grand ducal power in Kyiv (Polotsk and Novgorod).

In the XII century. there was a rivalry of 4 main lands: Volyn, Suzdal, Chernigov and Smolensk. As a result of internecine clashes, Kyiv was periodically looted and churches burned. In 1240 the city was burned by the Tatar-Mongols. The influence gradually weakened, in 1299 the residence of the metropolitan was transferred to Vladimir. To manage the Russian lands, it was no longer necessary to occupy Kyiv

Kievan Rus (Old Russian state, Kiev state, Russian state)- the name of the early feudal ancient Russian state with a center in Kyiv, which arose at the turn of the 7th-9th centuries. as a result of a long process of economic, political and cultural consolidation of East Slavic tribal unions and in various forms existed until the middle of the 13th century.

In the history of Kievan Rus, one can distinguish three consecutive periods:

The period of emergence, and formation, and evolution of state structures, chronologically covers the end of the 9th - the end of the 10th century;

The period of the greatest rise and development of Kievan Rus (late X - mid-XI century)

The period of political fragmentation of Kievan Rus (the end of the 11th - the middle of the 13th century).

2 Origin of the names "Kievan Rus" and "Rus-Ukraine". The state of the Eastern Slavs was called "Kievan Rus", or "Rus-Ukraine". Researchers do not have a common opinion about the origin and definition of the name "Rus". There are several versions:

The tribes of the Normans (Varangians) were called Rus - they founded the state of the Slavs and the name "Russian Land" came from them; This theory originated in the 18th century. in Germany and was called "Norman", its authors - historians G. Bayer and G. Miller, their followers and like-minded people are called Normanists;

Russ - Slavic tribes who lived in the middle reaches of the Dnieper;

Rus is an ancient Slavic deity, from which the name of the state came;

Rusa - in the Proto-Slavic language "river" (hence the name "channel").

Ukrainian historians generally adhere to anti-Norman views, although they do not deny the significant contribution of the Varangian princes and troops to the formation of the state system of Kievan Rus.

Russia, Russian land in their opinion:

The name of the territory of the Kiev region, Chernihiv region, Pereyaslav region (lands of glades, northerners, drevlyans);

The name of the tribes that lived on the banks of the rivers Ros, Rosava, Rostavitsa, Roska and others;

The name of the Kievan state since the IX century.

The name "Ukraine" (land, region) means the territory that was the basis of Kievan Rus in the 11th-12th centuries. For the first time this term is used in the Kyiv Chronicle in 1187 in relation to the lands of the Southern Kiev region and Pereyaslav region.

3. The emergence of Kievan Rus. Before the formation of the state on the territory of the future Kievan Rus lived:

a) East Slavic tribes- ancestors of Ukrainians- Drevlyans, glades, northerners, Volhynians (dulibs), Tivertsy, white Croats;

b) East Slavic tribes - ancestors of Belarusians- Dregovichi, Polotsk;

c) East Slavic tribes - Russian ancestors - Krivichi, Radimichi, Slovenian, Vyatichi.

Basic prerequisites formation of East Slavic statehood:

At the beginning of the VIII century. in general, the process of the settlement of the Slavs and the creation of territorially defined large and small unions of tribes was completed;

The presence in the East Slavic unions of tribes of certain local differences in culture and life;

The gradual development of tribal unions into tribal principalities - pre-state associations of a higher level that preceded the emergence of the East Slavic state;

Formation at the turn of the VIII-IX centuries. around Kyiv, the first East Slavic state, which experts conditionally call the Kyiv Principality of Askold.

The following can be distinguished milestones the process of unification of the Eastern Slavs into one state:

a) the creation of a principality (state) with its capital in Kyiv; the structure of this state included glades, Russ, northerners, Dregovichi, Polochans;

b) the seizure of power in Kyiv by the Novgorod prince Oleg (882), under whose authority a part of the Slavic tribes had previously been under his rule;

c) the unification of almost all East Slavic tribes into a single state of Kievan Rus.

The first Slavic princes:

- prince Kiy (semi-legendary) - the leader of the union of tribes of the glades, the founder of the city of Kyiv (according to legend, together with the brothers Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid in the 5th-6th centuries);

Prince Rurik - an annalistic mention of him in the Tale of Bygone Years, it says that in 862 the Novgorodians called the "Varangians" Rurik with an army ; .

The princes Askold and Dir conquered Kyiv in the second half of the 9th century, according to the chronicles Askold and Dir were the boyars of Prince Rurik;

After the death of the Novgorod prince Rurik (879), until the age of his son Igor, Oleg became the de facto ruler of the Novgorod land;

In 882, Oleg captured Kyiv, on his orders the Kyiv brothers Askold and Dir were killed; the beginning of the rule in Kyiv of the Rurik dynasty; Many researchers consider Prince Oleg the direct founder of Kievan Rus.

4. Economic development of Kievan Rus. The leading place in the economy of the Kievan state was occupied by agriculture, which developed in accordance with natural conditions. In the forest-steppe zone of Kievan Rus, a fire-slashing system of tillage was used, and in the steppe, a shifting system was used. Farmers used perfect tools: a plow, harrows, shovels, scythes, sickles, they sowed cereals and industrial crops. Cattle breeding has reached significant development. Hunting, fishing, beekeeping retained their importance.

Initially, landownership of free community members prevailed in the Old Russian state, and from the 11th century. gradually formed and intensified feudal tenure - patrimony, which was inherited. Handicraft occupied an important place in the economy of Kievan Rus. Since that time, more than 60 types of handicraft specialties have been known. Trade routes ran through the Old Russian state: for example, “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, connecting Russia with Scandinavia and the countries of the Black Sea basin. In Kievan Rus, the minting of coins - silversmiths and goldsmiths - began. In the Russian state, the number of cities grew - from 20 (IX-X centuries), 32 (XI century) to 300 (XIII century).

5. The political and administrative system of Kievan Rus. The political and administrative system of Kievan Rus was based on a princely-druzhina structure for the long-term preservation of self-government bodies of urban and rural communities. Communities united in volosts - administrative-territorial units, which included cities and rural districts. Groups of volosts united into lands. Kievan Rus was formed as a sole monarchy. At the head of the state was the Grand Duke of Kyiv, who concentrated in his hands all the fullness of legislative, executive, judicial and military power. The prince's advisers were "princely men" from the top of his retinue, who received the title governors, and from the 11th century they were called boyars. Over time, dynasties of boyars arose, occupying important government positions.

The internal administration of the state was carried out by numerous princely rulers (posadniki, thousand, butlers, tiuns, etc.). The princely power relied on a permanent military organization - the squad. Vigilantes-posadniks were entrusted with the management of individual volosts, cities and lands. The people's militia was formed according to the decimal principle. Separate subdivisions were headed by a foreman, a sotsky, a thousand. "Thousand" was a military-administrative unit. In the XII-XIII centuries. the form of the state has changed. Relations between individual principalities developed on the principles of federation or confederation.

6. The social structure of Kievan Rus. The social structure of Kievan Rus corresponded to its economic system. The dominant position was occupied by governors (boyars), thousand, sotsky, tiuns, firemen, village elders, and the city elite. The free category of rural producers was called smerds, the feudally dependent population in Kievan Rus were ryadovichi, purchases and outcasts. Serfs and servants were in the position of slaves.

7. Political fragmentation of Kievan Rus and its consequences. Kievan Rus was one of the most powerful states of its time, which significantly influenced the development of European civilization, but after the death of Vladimir Monomakh's son Mstislav Vladimirovich (1132), it began to lose its political unity and was divided into 15 principalities and lands. Among them, Kiev, Chernigov, Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk and Galician principalities were large and influential.

The political prerequisites for fragmentation were as follows:

The succession to the throne among the princes of Kievan Rus was different: in some lands, power was transferred from father to son, in others - from older brother to younger;

Political ties between individual feudal estates and individual lands were weakened, the development of individual lands led to the emergence of local separatism;

In some lands, the local boyars demanded the strong power of the prince to ensure the protection of their rights; on the other hand, the real power of the specific princes and boyars increased, the power of the Kyiv prince was weakened, many boyars put local interests above national ones;

The Kiev principality did not create its own dynasty, since representatives of all princely families fought for the possession of Kyiv;

The expansion of nomads to Russian lands intensified.

Socio-economic prerequisites for fragmentation:

The natural nature of the economy of the Kievan state led to a weakening of economic and trade ties between individual lands;

Cities developed rapidly, becoming the political, economic and cultural centers of the principalities;

The transformation of the conditional landownership of the specific boyars into hereditary significantly increased the economic role of the local nobility, who did not want to share their power;

A change in the trading environment, as a result of which Kyiv lost its role as a center of trade, and Western Europe began to trade directly with a close gathering.

Modern research scientists prove that feudal fragmentation is natural stage in the development of medieval society. This is also evidenced by the fact that all the peoples and states of Europe survived it. Fragmentation was caused by the further feudalization of ancient Russian society, the spread of socio-economic development in the field. If earlier Kyiv was the center of the entire socio-economic, political, cultural and ideological life of the country, then from the middle of the XII century. other centers already competed with it: the old ones - Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk - and the new ones - Vladimir-on-Klyazma and Galich.

Russia was torn apart by princely civil strife, large and small wars, constantly going on between the feudal lords. However, contrary to popular belief, the Old Russian State did not collapse. It only changed its form: in place of the one-man monarchy came federal Monarchy, in which Russia was jointly ruled by a group of the most influential and powerful princes. Historians call this form of government "collective sovereignty."

Fragmentation weakened the state politically, but contributed to the development of the local economy and culture. She, to a certain extent, laid the foundations of three East Slavic peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. The last decades of the 15th century, when the Russian centralized state was formed, and the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands fell under the rule of Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Moldova, are considered to be the period of ending fragmentation in the East Slavic lands.

8. The value of Kievan Rus. The meaning of Kievan Rus is as follows:

a) Kievan Rus became the first state of the Eastern Slavs, accelerated the development of the last stage of development of the primitive communal system into a more progressive feudal one; this process created favorable conditions for the development of the economy and culture; M. Grushevsky argued: "Kievan Rus is the first form of Ukrainian statehood";

b) the formation of Kievan Rus contributed to the strengthening of the defense capability of the East Slavic population, preventing its physical destruction by the nomads (Pechenegs, Polovtsy, etc.);

c) the ancient Russian nationality was formed on the basis of a common territory, language, culture, mental warehouse;

d) Kievan Rus raised the authority of the Eastern Slavs in Europe; the international significance of Kievan Rus lies in the fact that it influenced political events and international relations in Europe and Asia, in the Middle East; Russian princes maintained political, economic, dynastic ties with France, Sweden, England, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Byzantium;

e) Kievan Rus laid the foundation for the statehood of not only Slavic, but also non-Slavic peoples (the Finno-Ugric population of the North, etc...);

f) Kievan Rus acted as the eastern outpost of the European Christian world, it held back the advance of the hordes of steppe nomads, weakened their onslaught on Byzantium and the countries of Central Europe.

In the historical period of Kievan Rus, in the Dnieper region, in Galicia and Volhynia, in the Black Sea region and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, traditions of independent statehood were laid on the territory of Ukraine. The historical center of the formation of the Ukrainian nationality was the territory of Kiev region, Pereyaslav region, Chernihiv-Siver region, Podolia, Galicia and Volhynia. From the 12th century the name is distributed in this area "Ukraine". In the process of fragmentation of the Kyiv state, the Ukrainian nationality became the ethnic basis of the lands-principalities of South-Western Russia in the XII-XIV centuries: Kyiv, Pereyaslav, Chernigov, Seversky, Galician, Volyn. So, Kievan Rus was a form of socio-economic and state development of the Ukrainian ethnos. The Galicia-Volyn principality became the immediate successor of Kievan Rus.