Rurik………………………………………………………………………………………..…3

Prince Oleg………………………………………………………………………………………..……..5

Prince Igor………………………………………………………………………………………..……7

Princess Olga……………………………………………………………………………….9

Prince Svyatoslav………………………………………………………………………………………..……13

Prince Yaropolk………………………………………………………………………………16

Prince Vladimir………………………………………………………………………………………..…..17

Literature………………………………………………………………………………………..19

"History, in a sense, is the sacred book of nations:
main, necessary; a mirror of their existence and activity;
the tablet of revelations and rules; the covenant of ancestors to posterity;
a complement to the present and an example of the future.”

N. M. Karamzin

Rurik

The formation of the Russian state dates back to 862, and this event is associated with the names of Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor. Perhaps these names appeared from legends, but they came to us from the words of Nestor (XI and early XII centuries), Sylvester (died in 1123) and other chroniclers. Among the “others” the legendary chronicler Joachim is most often named. The historian V.N. Tatishchev also refers to it when he writes: “The northern writers of the ancient Russian sovereigns remember several names on strangers’ occasions without all the circumstances, or maybe they have some circumstances, but new writers, choosing from them, neglected and left it locked.” However, N.M. Karamzin believes that Joachim’s name is fictitious. Among the “closed” princes, Tatishchev names Gostomysl, who allegedly had four sons and three daughters. The sons died without leaving children, and from the middle daughter, who was married to the Finnish king, a son, Rurik, was born. Gostomysl, according to Nestor, died in 860. in this case Tatishchev used the so-called Joachim Chronicle, which he attributed to the Novgorod bishop Joachim. Most modern historians believes that this chronicle was compiled much later, in the 17th century. But the legend is persistent and cannot be ignored.

So, if you believe Nestor, three Varangian brothers appeared in Rus' in 862. They were invited to rule the Novgorodians (Ilmen Slovenes), as well as the Krivichi, all the Chud. But, as proven by the most prominent expert on Russian chronicles, Academician A.A. Shakhmatov, the legend about the calling of the Varangian princes is of Novgorod origin and was recorded in the chronicle only at the beginning of the 12th century. The princes are called brothers, which reflected the union of three tribes - Slovenian (Slavic), Finnish (Vesi) and Krivichi.

Surrounded by a large Scandinavian squad, these ambitious Varangians left their fatherland forever. Rurik arrived in Novgorod, Sineus - in Beloozero, not far from modern Beloozersk, in the region of the Finnish Vesi people, and Truvor - in Izborsk, the city of the Krivichi. Smolensk and Polotsk still remained independent and did not take part in the calling of the Varangians.

Consequently, as N.M. narrates. Karamzin, “the power of three rulers, united by ties of kinship and mutual benefit, extended only from Estonia and the Slavic Keys, where we see the remains of Izborsk. That is, we are talking about the former St. Petersburg, Estland, Novgorod and Pskov provinces.”

Two years later, after the death of Sineus and Truvor (according to some sources, the brothers were killed in 864), their elder brother Rurik, annexing the regions to his principality, founded the Russian monarchy. “Its borders have already reached in the east to the present Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, and in the south - to the Western Dvina; Already Merya, Murom and Polotsk depended on Rurik” N.M. Karamzin).

The chroniclers attribute the next important event to this time. Two of Rurik's close associates - Askold and Dir - perhaps dissatisfied with him, went with a small squad from Novgorod to Constantinople (Constantinople) to seek their fortune. On the way there, on the high bank of the Dnieper, they saw a small town and asked whose it was. They were told that its builders, three brothers, had died long ago and that the peace-loving inhabitants were paying tribute to the Khazars. It was Kyiv. Askold and Dir took possession of the town, invited many residents from Novgorod and began to rule in Kyiv.

Consequently, as N.M. writes. Karamzin, “...the Varangians founded two autocratic regions in Rus': Rurik in the north, Askold and Dir in the south.”

In 866, the Slavs, led by Askold and Dir, attacked the Byzantine Empire. Having armed 200 ships, these knights, experienced in voyages since ancient times, penetrated the navigable Dnieper and the Russian (Black) Sea into the territory of Byzantium. They devastated the outskirts of Constantinople with fire and sword, then besieged the capital from the sea. The Empire saw its formidable enemies for the first time, and for the first time the word “Rusich” (“Russian”) was pronounced with horror. Having learned about the attack on the country, its emperor Michael III hurried to the capital (at that time he was out of the country). But it was not so easy to defeat the attackers. However, a miracle helped. A storm began, and the light boats of the Russians were scattered across the sea. The Byzantines were saved. Few soldiers returned to Kyiv.

Rurik reigned as sole ruler in Novgorod for 15 years. He died in 879, entrusting the rule of the principality and his young son Igor to his relative Oleg.

The memory of Rurik as the first ruler of Rus' has remained immortal in our history. The main task of his reign was the unification of some Finnish tribes and the Slavic people into a single power, as a result, over time, the entire Muroma and Merya merged with the Slavs, adopting their customs, language and faith. Thus, Rurik is considered the ancestor of Russian princes.

Prince Oleg

The news of Rurik's success attracted many Varangians to Rus'. Probably among his entourage was Oleg, who began to rule Northern Russia after the death of Rurik. Oleg went to conquer the Dnieper lands in 882, captured Smolensk - the city of free Krivichi, and the ancient city of Lyubech (on the Dnieper). Oleg took possession of Kiev by cunning and killed Askold and Dir, and he showed little Igor to the glades, saying: “Here is the son of Rurik - your prince.”

The navigable Dnieper, the convenience of having relations with various rich countries - with the Greek Kherson (in the Crimea), Khazar Taurida, Bulgaria, Byzantium captivated Oleg, and he said: “Let Kiev be the mother of Russian cities” (chronicle).

The vast Russian possessions did not yet have stable internal connections. Between Novgorod and Kiev lived peoples independent of Rus'. The Ilmen Slavs bordered on the whole, the whole - on the Merya, the Merya - on Muroma and Krivichi. In 883, Oleg conquered the Drevlyans (Pripyat River), in 884 - the Dnieper northerners, in 885 - the Radimichi (Sozh River). Thus, having subjugated neighboring peoples and destroyed the rule of the Khazar Khagan, Oleg united the lands of Novgorod and Kyiv. Then he conquered the lands along the banks of the Sula River (neighboring Chernigov), part of the Polotsk and Volyn lands.

Kyiv was attacked by the Ugrians (Hungarians), who once lived near the Stone Belt (Ural), and in the 9th century. - east of Kyiv. They were looking for new places to live. Oleg let these people through without military clashes. The Hungarians crossed the Dnieper and took possession of the lands between the Dniester and the Danube.

By this time, Igor, the son of Rurik, had matured. Accustomed from childhood to obedience, he did not dare to demand his inheritance from the power-hungry Oleg, surrounded by the splendor of victories, the glory of conquests and brave comrades who considered his power legitimate, for he was able to exalt the state.

In 903, Oleg chose a wife for Igor, the legendary Olga, famous at that time for her feminine charms and good behavior alone. She was brought to Kyiv from Pleskov (now Pskov). This is what Nestor wrote. According to other sources, Olga was of a simple Varangian family and lived in the village, not far from Pskov. She adopted her name, according to N.M. Karamzin, on behalf of Oleg, as a sign of his friendship for her or as a sign of Igor’s love for him.

Oleg decided to attack Byzantium. In 907, he assembled two thousand ships with forty warriors on each ship. The cavalry walked along the shore. Oleg ravaged this country, brutally dealt with the inhabitants (“sea of ​​blood”), and besieged Constantinople (Constantinople). The Byzantines hastened to pay off. The winner demanded from them twelve hryvnias for each soldier of the fleet. The Byzantines granted Oleg's request, after which peace was concluded (911). Returning from this campaign, the Russians brought home a lot of gold, expensive fabrics, wine and all other wealth.

This peace, beneficial to the Russians, was approved sacred rites faith: the emperor swore by the Gospel, Oleg and his warriors swore by weapons and the gods of the Slavic people - Perun and Volos. As a sign of victory, Oleg hung his shield on the gates of Constantinople and returned to Kyiv. The people warmly welcomed Oleg and unanimously called him prophetic, that is, wise.

Then Oleg sent his ambassadors to Byzantium (and as later retellings of the chronicles tell) with a letter, from which it is clear that the Russians were no longer presented as savage barbarians. They knew the sanctity of honor and had their own laws that approved personal security, property, the right of inheritance, the power of wills, and conducted internal and external trade.

Oleg, humbled by years, already wanted silence and enjoyment of universal peace. None of the neighbors dared to interrupt his calm. And in his old age he seemed formidable. The Magi predicted Oleg's death from his horse. From that time on, he stopped mounting his pet. Four years have passed. One autumn, the prince remembered the sage’s prediction and laughed at him, since the horse had been dead for a long time. Oleg wanted to look at the bones of the horse, stood with his foot on the skull, and said: “Should I be afraid of him?” But there was a snake in the skull. She stung the prince, and the hero died. You can believe or not believe that Oleg was actually bitten by a snake, but such a legend has come down to our time from the past. The people mourned Oleg. Having annexed the richest lands to his power, the prince was the true founder of its greatness.

If Rurik's possessions extended from Estonia and Volkhov to Beloozero, the mouth of the Oka and the city of Rostov, then Oleg conquered all the lands from Smolensk, the Sula and Dniester rivers to the Carpathians.

Oleg, having reigned for 33 years, died at a ripe old age. The prince's body was buried on Mount Shchekovitsa, and the Kyiv residents, Nestor's contemporaries, called this place Oleg's grave (Oleg's other supposed burial place is Staraya Ladoga).

Some modern domestic historians are trying to reinterpret Nestor’s famous chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, speaking, in particular, about “attributing” to Oleg many victories over neighboring tribes and the merit of annexing vast lands to Rus'. They also do not agree with the fact that it was Oleg who made the campaign against Constantinople, giving the laurels of primacy to Askold and shifting the date of the event from 907 to 860.

You can, of course, sow doubts, but we must not forget that Nestor described what was happening nine centuries before us and looked at these events through the eyes of both a historian and a contemporary mature age took power.

Prince Igor

Oleg's death encouraged the defeated Drevlyans, and in 913 they tried to free themselves from Kyiv. Igor pacified them and added tribute. But soon new enemies, strong in numbers, terrible in insolence and robbery, appeared in Rus'. These were the Pechenegs. They, like other peoples - the Huns, Ugrians, Bulgars, Avars - came from the east. All these peoples, except the Ugrians, no longer exist in Europe.

The Pechenegs led a nomadic lifestyle and engaged in robbery. They hoped to devastate Kyiv, but met with a strong army and were forced to retire to Bessarabia. These people terrified their neighbors. The Byzantines used the Pechenegs against the Ugrians, Bulgars and especially the Slavs for gold and money. For almost two centuries, the Pechenegs dominated the lands south of Rus'. Having made peace with Igor, they did not disturb the Russians for five years, but from 920, as Nestor writes, they began to invade the expanses of Rus'.

Igor's reign was not marked by any great events until 941, before the war between the Russians and the Byzantines. Igor, like Oleg, wanted to glorify his reign with military exploits. If you believe the chroniclers, then Igor entered the Russian (Black) Sea on ten thousand ships in 941. He devastated the outskirts of Constantinople, turning temples, villages, and monasteries to ashes. But soon Byzantine troops and fleet arrived. They caused significant damage to Igor and he left the empire with great losses.

Igor did not lose heart. He wanted to take revenge on the Byzantines. In 943 - 944 A new campaign against Byzantium took place, but it paid off with rich gifts. Igor returned to Kyiv. In 944, Rus' and Byzantium made peace.

By old age, Igor really wanted peace. But the greed of the squad did not allow him to enjoy peace. “We are barefoot and naked,” the soldiers said to Igor, “come pay tribute with us, and we, together with you, will be happy.” Going “to tribute” meant collecting taxes.

In the fall of 945, Igor and his retinue went to the Drevlyans. There they pretty much plundered the local population. Most of the army was sent to Kyiv, and Igor still wanted to “wander” through the Drevlyan land and rob the people. But the Drevlyans, driven to extremes, attacked Igor, tied him to two trees and tore him in two. The army was also destroyed. At the head of the rebellious Drevlyans was Prince Mal.

This is how Igor ended his life ingloriously. He did not have the successes that Oleg achieved in the war with the Byzantines. Igor did not have the properties of his predecessor, but he preserved the integrity of the power founded by Rurik and Oleg, defended honor and benefits in treaties with Byzantium.

However, the people reproached Igor for allowing the dangerous Pechenegs to establish themselves in the neighborhood of the Russians and for the fact that this prince loved to collect excessive tribute from his people.

Having united the East Slavic lands, defending them from the onslaught of foreigners, Oleg gave the princely power unprecedented authority and international prestige. He now assumes the title of Prince of all Princes, or Grand Duke. The rest of the rulers of individual Russian principalities become his tributaries, vassals, although they still retain the rights to govern in their principalities.

Rus' was born as a united East Slavic state. In its scale it was not inferior to the empire of Charlemagne or the territory of the Byzantine Empire. However, many of its areas were sparsely populated and poorly suitable for life. The difference in the level of development was too great various parts states. Having appeared immediately as a multi-ethnic entity, this state was therefore not distinguished by the strength that characterized states where the population was mainly single-ethnic.

Duchess Olga

Although historians do not particularly highlight Olga’s reign, she deserved great praise for her wise deeds, as she worthily represented Rus' in all external relations and skillfully ruled the country. Probably, with the help of the boyar Asmud, the teacher of Svyatoslav (son of Olga and Igor), and Sveneld, the governor, Olga was able to take possession of the helm of the state. First of all, she punished Igor’s killers. Perhaps the chronicler Nestor reports not entirely plausible facts about Olga’s revenge, cunning and wisdom, but they are included in our history.

The Drevlyans, proud of the murder of Igor as a victory, and despising the young Svyatoslav, planned to rule over Kiev and wanted their prince Mal to marry Olga. Twenty famous Drevlyan ambassadors sailed to Kyiv in a boat. Olga received them with affection. The next day, having ordered a deep grave to be dug, she buried all the Drevlyan ambassadors alive along with the boat.

Then Olga sent her messenger to Mal so that he would send more famous husbands to her. The Drevlyans did just that. According to the old custom, a bathhouse was heated for the guests, and then they were all locked up there and burned.

Olga announced her readiness to come to the Drevlyans to marry Mal. The ruler approached the city of Iskorosten, where Igor died, watered his grave with tears and performed a funeral feast. After this, the Drevlyans began a merry feast. Having left, Olga gave a sign to her soldiers, and five thousand Drevlyans died at Igor’s grave.

In 946, Olga, returning to Kyiv, gathered a large army and marched against her enemies, punished by cunning, but not yet by force. Little Svyatoslav began the battle. A spear thrown at the enemy by a weak child’s hand fell at the feet of his horse, but the commanders Asmud and Sveneld encouraged the warriors by the example of the young hero with the exclamation “Friends! Let’s stand for the prince!” And they rushed into battle.

The frightened residents wanted to flee, but they all fell into the hands of Olga’s soldiers. She condemned some elders to death, took others into slavery, and the rest had to pay tribute.

Olga and her son Svyatoslav traveled throughout the Drevlyansky land, imposing tribute on the people in favor of the treasury. But the residents of Iskorosten itself paid the third part of the tribute to Olga personally, in her own inheritance, in Vyshgorod, founded, perhaps, by Oleg and given to Olga as the bride or wife of a prince. This city was located seven miles from Kyiv, on the high bank of the Dnieper.

The next year, Olga went to Northern Rus', leaving Svyatoslav in Kyiv. The princess visited the Novgorod lands. She divided Rus' into several volosts, did, without a doubt, everything necessary for the state good and left signs of her protective wisdom. After 150 years, the people remembered with gratitude Olga’s beneficent journey, and during the time of Nestor, the townspeople of Pskov kept her sleigh as a precious thing. It is likely that the princess, born in Pskov, granted privileges to the residents of this city. But in the neighboring city, the more ancient one, Izborsk, which was taxed, life somehow faded away, and he lost past glory. Having established internal order, Olga returned to Kyiv, to her son Svyatoslav. There she lived for several years in peace and tranquility.

Olga was a pagan, but in 957 she decided to accept Christian faith, for which she went to Constantinople. Olga herself headed the magnificent and crowded embassy, ​​consisting of more than a hundred people, not counting the servants and shipmen. Olga was accepted at the highest rank. She was invited to the imperial chambers for lunch, and she was received by the empress. During the conversations, Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Olga confirmed the validity of the previous treaty, as well as the military alliance of the two states, directed primarily against the Arabs and Khazaria.

Baptism of Princess Olga. An important question negotiations became the baptism of the Russian princess.

By the middle of the 9th century. almost all the large states of Western Europe, as well as part of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula and the Caucasus, adopted Christianity - some according to the Roman, others according to the Byzantine model. Christianity introduced states and peoples to a new civilization, enriched their spiritual culture, and raised the prestige of baptized statesmen to a higher level.

But for the pagan world this process was difficult and painful. That is why in most countries the adoption of Christianity took place in several stages and took various forms. In the Frankish state, King Clovis adopted Christianity along with his retinue at the turn of the 5th - 6th centuries. The purpose of baptism was clear: to receive help from papal Rome in the fight against strong opponents in still pagan Europe. The bulk of Frankish society remained pagan for a long time and was only later Christianized. In England in the 7th century. kings accepted personal baptism, but then, under the influence of pagan opposition, they renounced it, and then were baptized again. In Bulgaria in the 9th century. The entire population converted to Christianity along with Boris I. There, the roots of Christianity under the influence of neighboring Byzantium were very deep.

Olga chose the baptism of English kings as her model. She, being a very perspicacious ruler, understood that further strengthening the state prestige of the country and the dynasty was unthinkable without the adoption of Christianity. But she also understood the difficulties of this process in Rus' with its powerful pagan tradition, with the great commitment of the people and part of the ruling circles to the old religion. IN major cities among the merchants, townspeople, and part of the boyars there were already many Christians and they had equal rights with the pagans. But the further from the center of the state, the stronger the influence of pagan orders, and most importantly, the pagan magicians. Therefore, Olga decided to accept personal baptism, starting this process in the princely environment.

Moreover, morally, the princess was already prepared for this act. Having survived tragic death husband, bloody battles with the Drevlyans, the destruction of their capital in the fire, Olga could turn to her for answers to the human questions that worried her new religion, which was just tuning into the inner world of a person and trying to answer it from eternal questions about the meaning of being and your place in the world. If paganism sought answers to all eternal questions outside of man, in the powerful actions of the forces of nature, Christianity turned to the world of human feelings and the human mind.

Olga arranged the baptism with the pomp appropriate for a great state. The baptism took place in the Church of St. Sophia. The emperor himself was her godfather, and the patriarch baptized her. Olga took the name Helen in baptism, in honor of the mother of Constantine the Great, the Byzantine emperor who made it in the 4th century. Christianity was the official religion of the empire. After baptism, Olga was received by the patriarch and had a conversation with him about faith.

Upon returning to Kyiv, Olga tried to persuade Svyatoslav to Christianity, saying that the prince’s squad would also accept baptism. But Svyatoslav, being an ardent pagan who worshiped the warrior god Perun, refused her.

A few years after her trip to Constantinople, Olga sent an embassy to the German Emperor Otgon I. The purpose of the embassy was twofold - to establish permanent political relations with Germany and strengthen religious ties. A zealous Christian, Otto I sent Christian missionaries to Kyiv. Olga continued her line. However, the Kyiv pagans drove the missionaries out of the city and almost killed them.

Dying, the princess bequeathed not to celebrate a pagan funeral feast at her grave, but to bury her according to Christian rites.

Olga died in 969. The people called her cunning, the church - a saint, history - wise. Before Olga's time, the Russian princes fought, but she ruled the state. Confident in his mother’s wisdom, Svyatoslav left her internal board, constantly engaged in wars. Under Olga, Rus' became famous in the most remote countries of Europe.

Prince Svyatoslav

Having matured, Svyatoslav began to think about exploits and conquests. He burned with jealousy to distinguish himself by deeds and to restore the glory of Russian weapons, so happy under Oleg. Svyatoslav gathered an army. Among his warriors, he lived, like them, in harsh conditions: he ate horse meat, fried it himself, neglected the cold and bad weather of the northern climate, did not know a tent, slept under open air. Proud Svyatoslav always followed the rules of true knightly honor - he never attacked by surprise. It was he who wrote the words: “I’m going against you” (against the enemy).

In 964, Svyatoslav conquered the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. The Vyatichi tribe became part of the Slavic peoples of Ancient Rus', freed from the oppression of the Khazars. Having spent the winter on the Itil (Volga) River, in the spring of 965 Svyatoslav quickly attacked the capital of Khazaria, the city of Itil (Balangiar) and “overcame” it. The city residents fled. The Khazar capital was empty.

In 965, Svyatoslav's warriors entered the lands of the Yas (Ossetians) and Kasogs (Circassians). They conquered the Khazar fortress of Semikara by storm and reached the Sea of ​​Surozh (Azov). Despite the fact that powerful fortresses Tmutarakan and Korchev (Kerch) stood here, their defenders did not fight Svyatoslav. They, having driven out the Khazar governors, went over to the side of the Russians. Svyatoslav did not yet bother the Greek Taurida (Crimea), since he did not want to quarrel with Byzantium.

The prince directed his forces to impregnable fortress Sarkel (White Vezha). Having conquered the fortress by storm, Svyatoslav conquered this Khazar city, thereby significantly weakening his long-time enemies - the Khazars and Pechenegs. The trophies were great, the glory of the ancient Russian commander was great.

In 967, with 60 thousand soldiers, Svyatoslav went to war against Bulgaria. We crossed the Danube. The cities surrendered to the winner. The Bulgarian Tsar Peter died “of grief.” The Russian prince began to rule in ancient Mysia. He lived there, not thinking that his own capital was in danger. The Pechenegs attacked Rus' in 968. They approached Kiev, where Olga and children of Svyatoslav. There was not enough water in the besieged city. One warrior managed to make his way from Kiev to the Russian army and report the disaster. Svyatoslav took revenge on the Pechenegs.

Soon Svyatoslav again rushed to the banks of the Danube. Olga asked her son to wait a little, not to leave her, as she felt bad. But he didn't listen to the advice. Four days later Olga died. After the death of his mother, Svyatoslav could freely fulfill his reckless intention - to move the capital of the state to the banks of the Danube. He gave Kyiv to his son Yaropolk, and to his other son, Oleg, the Drevlyansky land. Svyatoslav also had a third son - Vladimir, born from Olga's housekeeper, Malusha's servant. The Novgorodians elected him as their prince.

Svyatoslav conquered Bulgaria for the second time, but the Byzantines, who were afraid of their formidable neighbor, intervened. The Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes, an experienced commander and diplomat, began negotiations with Svyatoslav. But the Russian knight rejected the peace terms and had no intention of leaving Bulgaria. Then Tzimiskes began to arm himself. The famous Byzantine commanders Varda Sklir and the patrician Peter came out to meet Svyatoslav. In the spring of 970, without waiting for the enemy to arrive, Svyatoslav himself entered Thrace - the indigenous Byzantine land. The Bulgarians and Pechenegs also fought on the side of the Russians. Svyatoslav's horsemen crushed Skler's cavalry.

The Russians and Bulgarian troops took Adrianople. Master Sklir lost the battle under the city walls completely. There was practically no one to defend the road to the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople. The combined forces of the “barbarians,” as the Byzantines called them, under the leadership of Svyatoslav crossed Macedonia, defeated the army of Master John Kurkouas and devastated the entire country.

Tzimiskes had one chance left - diplomacy. And he used it. The arriving Byzantine ambassadors “ransomed” the world with rich gifts and expenses for military needs. Svyatoslav gave his word not to interfere in Bulgarian affairs anymore.

But Tzimiskes was not like that. On April 12, 971, the imperial regiments unexpectedly surrounded the capital of Bulgaria - the city of Preslav, which was defended by a small garrison of Russians. They all died in fierce battles. On April 17, Tzimiskes quickly marched to Dorostol, where Prince Svyatoslav was located. His small army showed examples of courage and perseverance. Svyatoslav demonstrated the true military art of defense and attack. Continuous battles continued until July 22. Almost the entire army of the Rus was lost - 15 thousand killed, but military happiness was still on the side of Svyatoslav. Tzimiskes himself asked for peace (apparently, a conspiracy was brewing against him, and he was forced to save his throne).

According to legends, Svyatoslav was of average height, rather slender, but gloomy and wild in appearance, had a wide chest, a thick neck, blue eyes, thick eyebrows, a flat nose, a long mustache, a sparse beard and one tuft of hair on his head, as a sign of his nobility in On her ear hung a gold earring decorated with two pearls and a ruby.

Svyatoslav returned to Kyiv with a detachment of exhausted soldiers. According to Nestor, the residents of Pereyaslavets let the Pechenegs know that the Russian prince was returning to Kyiv with great wealth and a small retinue.

Despite the small number of exhausted warriors, proud Svyatoslav decided to fight the Pechenegs at the rapids of the Dnieper. In this battle he died (972). The Pecheneg prince Kurya, having cut off the head of Svyatoslav, made a cup from the skull. Only a few Russian soldiers, led by governor Sveneld, escaped and brought the sad news of the prince’s death to Kyiv.

Thus, the famous warrior died. But he, an example of great commanders, as N.M. writes. Karamzin is not a great sovereign, since he respected the glory of victories more than the state good, and his character, captivating the imagination of the poet, deserves the reproach of a historian.

Prince Yaropolk

After the death of Svyatoslav, Yaropolk reigned in Kyiv. Oleg is in the Drevlyansky land, Vladimir is in Novgorod. Yaropolk had no power over the destinies of his brothers. Soon the disastrous consequences of such a division were revealed, and brother went against brother. Yaropolk decided to go to the lands of the Drevlyans and annex them to Kyiv. Oleg gathered soldiers and set out to meet his brother (977), but his army was defeated, and he himself died. Yaropolk sincerely mourned the death of his brother.

Having assembled a squad, Vladimir returned to Novgorod two years later and replaced Yaropolk’s confidants, telling them with pride: “Go to my brother: let him know that I am arming myself against him, and let him prepare to repel me!” (chronicle).

Yaropolk had a lovely bride, Rogneda, in Polotsk. Vladimir, preparing to take away his brother’s power, wanted to deprive him of his bride, and through ambassadors demanded her hand. Rogneda, loyal to Yaropolk, replied that she could not marry the son of a slave. Irritated, Vladimir took Polotsk, killed Rogneda’s father, Rogvolod, and his two sons and married Rogneda. Then he went to Kyiv. Yaropolk closed himself in the city, and then left it, going to the city of Rodnya (where the Ros flows into the Dnieper).

After some time, Yaropolk, weak in spirit, with the assistance of his commander Blud, who had entered into an agreement with Vladimir, came to him. “The traitor led his gullible Sovereign into his brother’s home, as if into a den of robbers, and locked the door so that the princely squad could not enter after them: there two mercenaries of the Varangian tribe pierced Yaropolkov’s chest with swords...” N.M. Karamzin).

Thus, the eldest son of the famous Svyatoslav, having been the ruler of Kyiv for four years and the head of all Rus' for three years, “left for history one memory of a good-natured but weak man.”

Yaropolk was married under his father, but also wooed Rogneda: polygamy was not considered lawlessness in pagan Rus'.

Prince Vladimir

Vladimir soon proved that he was born to be a great sovereign. He showed excellent zeal for the pagan gods, building a new Perun with a silver head. On the banks of the Volkhov, the newly rebuilt rich city of Perunov was erected.

Vladimir was not afraid of wars. He took the cities of Cherven, Przemysl and others in 982 - 983. conquered Galicia. He pacified the rebellion of the Vyatichi, who did not want to pay tribute, and conquered the country of the Yatvingians - the courageous Latvian people. Further, the possessions of Rus' were expanded all the way to the Varangian (Baltic) Sea. In 984 the Radimichi rebelled and Vladimir conquered them. In 985, the Kama Bulgars were defeated, who promised to live with the Russians in peace and friendship.

Vladimir long ago rejected his first wife, Rogneda. She decided to take revenge - to kill her husband, but she failed to do this: Vladimir sent Rogneda and her son Izyaslav to a city built for them and called Izyaslavl.

Rus' became a prominent state in Europe. Mohammedans, Jews, Catholics, and Greeks offered their faith. Vladimir sent ten prudent men to different countries to study different faiths and propose the best one. In their opinion, the Orthodox faith turned out to be the best.

In 988, having gathered a large army, Vladimir went on ships to the Greek Kherson (on the site of Sevastopol) to accept the Christian faith, but in a unique way - using force of arms. They laid siege to the city; exhausted by thirst (after Vladimir damaged the water pipeline that began outside the city walls), the townspeople surrendered. Vladimir then announced to the Byzantine emperors Vasily and Constantine that he wished to be the husband of their sister, the young princess Anna. In case of refusal, he promised to take Constantinople. The marriage took place.

In the same year 988, Christianity was adopted in Rus' - important milestone in the history of our state. The first church of St. Basil was erected in Kyiv. Schools were opened for children (church books were translated by Cyril and Methodius back in the 9th century), which were the first educational institutions in Rus'.

To protect the country in the south from the Pechenegs, Vladimir built cities along the Desna, Oster, Trubezh, Sula, and Stugna rivers and populated them with Novgorod Slavs, Krivichi, Chudya, and Vyatichi. He fortified Kyiv with a white wall, because he loved this city very much.

In 993, the Russians fought with the white Croats who lived on the borders of Galicia, as well as with the Pechenegs. The war with the Pechenegs ended in single combat between a Russian youth of small stature but great strength and a giant Pecheneg. “We chose a place: the combatants grappled. The Rusich crushed the Pecheneg with his strong muscles and hit the dead man on the ground...” (from the chronicle). Joyful Vladimir, in memory of this incident, founded a city on the banks of Trubezh and named it Pereyaslavl: for the young man “took over” the “glory” from his enemies (possibly a legend).

For three years (994 - 996) there was no war in Rus'. The first stone church dedicated to the Mother of God was built in Kyiv.

Fate did not spare Vladimir in his old age: before his death, he had to see with grief that the lust for power arms not only brother against brother, but also son against father. Yaroslav (who ruled Novgorod) rebelled in 1014. To pacify the rebellious Yaroslav, the Grand Duke placed his beloved son Boris, Prince of Rostov, at the head of the army.

During these events, Vladimir died in Berestov (near Kiev) in a country palace, without choosing an heir and leaving the helm of the state to the will of fate... Despite his naturally weak health, he lived to old age.

Prince Vladimir has earned in history the name of the Great, or Saint. His reign was marked by the adoption of the Orthodox faith and the expansion of the state. He introduced education, built cities, established schools, including art schools.

The glory of Vladimir remained in epics and fairy tales about Dobrynya of Novgorod, Alexander with a golden mane, Ilya Muromets, strong Rakhday.

Literature

1. Kostomarov N.I. “Russian history in the biographies of its main figures”

2..Soloviev S.M. “Essays. Book I"

3. Karamzin N.M. “Tales of the Ages: Tales, Legends, Stories from the “History of the Russian State”, M.: ed. "Pravda", 1989.

4. Klyuchevsky V.O. “A short guide to Russian history”, M.: ed. "Dawn", 1992.

Rurik(?-879) - the founder of the Rurik dynasty, the first Russian prince. Chronicle sources claim that Rurik was called from the Varangian lands by Novgorod citizens to reign together with his brothers Sineus and Truvor in 862. After the death of the brothers, he ruled all the Novgorod lands. Before his death, he transferred power to his relative, Oleg.

Oleg(?-912) - the second ruler of Rus'. He reigned from 879 to 912, first in Novgorod, and then in Kyiv. He is the founder of a single ancient Russian power, created by him in 882 with the capture of Kyiv and the subjugation of Smolensk, Lyubech and other cities. After moving the capital to Kyiv, he also subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners, and Radimichi. One of the first Russian princes undertook a successful campaign against Constantinople and concluded the first trade agreement with Byzantium. He enjoyed great respect and authority among his subjects, who began to call him “prophetic,” that is, wise.

Igor(?-945) - third Russian prince (912-945), son of Rurik. The main focus of his activities was protecting the country from Pecheneg raids and preserving the unity of the state. He undertook numerous campaigns to expand the possessions of the Kyiv state, in particular against the Uglich people. He continued his campaigns against Byzantium. During one of them (941) he failed, during the other (944) he received a ransom from Byzantium and concluded a peace treaty that consolidated the military-political victories of Rus'. Undertook the first successful campaigns of the Russians into the North Caucasus (Khazaria) and Transcaucasia. In 945 he tried to collect tribute from the Drevlyans twice (the procedure for collecting it was not legally established), for which he was killed by them.

Olga(c. 890-969) - wife of Prince Igor, the first female ruler of the Russian state (regent for her son Svyatoslav). Established in 945-946. the first legislative procedure for collecting tribute from the population of the Kyiv state. In 955 (according to other sources, 957) she made a trip to Constantinople, where she secretly converted to Christianity under the name of Helen. In 959, the first of the Russian rulers sent an embassy to Western Europe, to Emperor Otto I. His response was to send it in 961-962. with missionary purposes to Kyiv, Archbishop Adalbert, who tried to bring Western Christianity to Rus'. However, Svyatoslav and his entourage refused Christianization and Olga was forced to transfer power to her son. IN last years life from political activity was actually suspended. Nevertheless, she retained significant influence on her grandson, the future Prince Vladimir the Saint, whom she was able to convince of the need to accept Christianity.

Svyatoslav(?-972) - son of Prince Igor and Princess Olga. Ruler of the Old Russian state in 962-972. He was distinguished by his warlike character. He was the initiator and leader of many aggressive campaigns: against the Oka Vyatichi (964-966), the Khazars (964-965), the North Caucasus (965), Danube Bulgaria (968, 969-971), Byzantium (971). He also fought against the Pechenegs (968-969, 972). Under him, Rus' turned into the largest power on the Black Sea. Neither the Byzantine rulers nor the Pechenegs, who agreed on joint actions against Svyatoslav, could come to terms with this. During his return from Bulgaria in 972, his army, bloodless in the war with Byzantium, was attacked on the Dnieper by the Pechenegs. Svyatoslav was killed.

Vladimir I Saint(?-1015) - the youngest son of Svyatoslav, who defeated his brothers Yaropolk and Oleg in an internecine struggle after the death of his father. Prince of Novgorod (from 969) and Kiev (from 980). He conquered the Vyatichi, Radimichi and Yatvingians. He continued his father's fight against the Pechenegs. Volga Bulgaria, Poland, Byzantium. Under him, defensive lines were built along the rivers Desna, Osetr, Trubezh, Sula, etc. Kyiv was re-fortified and built up with stone buildings for the first time. In 988-990 introduced Eastern Christianity as the state religion. Under Vladimir I Old Russian state entered a period of prosperity and power. The international authority of the new Christian power grew. Vladimir was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and is referred to as a Saint. In Russian folklore it is called Vladimir the Red Sun. He was married to the Byzantine princess Anna.

Svyatoslav II Yaroslavich(1027-1076) - son of Yaroslav the Wise, Prince of Chernigov (from 1054), Grand Duke of Kiev (from 1073). Together with his brother Vsevolod, he defended the southern borders of the country from the Polovtsians. In the year of his death, he adopted a new set of laws - “Izbornik”.

Vsevolod I Yaroslavich(1030-1093) - Prince of Pereyaslavl (from 1054), Chernigov (from 1077), Grand Duke of Kiev (from 1078). Together with the brothers Izyaslav and Svyatoslav, he fought against the Polovtsians and took part in the compilation of the Yaroslavich Truth.

Svyatopolk II Izyaslavich(1050-1113) - grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. Prince of Polotsk (1069-1071), Novgorod (1078-1088), Turov (1088-1093), Grand Duke of Kiev (1093-1113). He was distinguished by hypocrisy and cruelty both towards his subjects and his close circle.

Vladimir II Vsevolodovich Monomakh(1053-1125) - Prince of Smolensk (from 1067), Chernigov (from 1078), Pereyaslavl (from 1093), Grand Duke of Kiev (1113-1125). . Son of Vsevolod I and daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh. He was called to reign in Kyiv during the popular uprising of 1113, which followed the death of Svyatopolk P. He took measures to limit the arbitrariness of moneylenders and the administrative apparatus. He managed to achieve the relative unity of Rus' and an end to strife. He supplemented the codes of laws that existed before him with new articles. He left a “Teaching” to his children, in which he called for strengthening the unity of the Russian state, living in peace and harmony, and avoiding blood feud

Mstislav I Vladimirovich(1076-1132) - son of Vladimir Monomakh. Grand Duke of Kiev (1125-1132). From 1088 he ruled in Novgorod, Rostov, Smolensk, etc. He took part in the work of the Lyubech, Vitichevsky and Dolobsky congresses of Russian princes. He took part in campaigns against the Polovtsians. He led the defense of Rus' from its western neighbors.

Vsevolod P Olgovich(?-1146) - Prince of Chernigov (1127-1139). Grand Duke of Kiev (1139-1146).

Izyaslav II Mstislavich(c. 1097-1154) - Prince of Vladimir-Volyn (from 1134), Pereyaslavl (from 1143), Grand Duke of Kiev (from 1146). Grandson of Vladimir Monomakh. Participant in feudal strife. Supporter of Russian independence Orthodox Church from the Byzantine Patriarchate.

Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky (90s of the 11th century - 1157) - Prince of Suzdal and Grand Duke of Kiev. Son of Vladimir Monomakh. In 1125 he moved the capital of the Rostov-Suzdal principality from Rostov to Suzdal. Since the beginning of the 30s. fought for southern Pereyaslavl and Kyiv. Considered the founder of Moscow (1147). In 1155 captured Kyiv for the second time. Poisoned by the Kyiv boyars.

Andrey Yurievich Bogolyubsky (ca. 1111-1174) - son of Yuri Dolgoruky. Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal (from 1157). He moved the capital of the principality to Vladimir. In 1169 he conquered Kyiv. Killed by boyars at his residence in the village of Bogolyubovo.

Vsevolod III Yurievich Big Nest(1154-1212) - son of Yuri Dolgoruky. Grand Duke of Vladimir (from 1176). He severely suppressed the boyar opposition that participated in the conspiracy against Andrei Bogolyubsky. Subjugated Kyiv, Chernigov, Ryazan, Novgorod. During his reign, Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' reached its heyday. Got his nickname for a large number of children (12 people).

Roman Mstislavich(?-1205) - Prince of Novgorod (1168-1169), Vladimir-Volyn (from 1170), Galician (from 1199). Son of Mstislav Izyaslavich. He strengthened the princely power in Galich and Volyn, and was considered the most powerful ruler of Rus'. Killed in the war with Poland.

Yuri Vsevolodovich(1188-1238) - Grand Duke of Vladimir (1212-1216 and 1218-1238). During the internecine struggle for the Vladimir throne, he was defeated in the Battle of Lipitsa in 1216. and ceded the great reign to his brother Constantine. In 1221 he founded the city. Nizhny Novgorod. He died during the battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the river. City in 1238

Daniil Romanovich(1201-1264) - Prince of Galicia (1211-1212 and from 1238) and Volyn (from 1221), son of Roman Mstislavich. United the Galician and Volyn lands. He encouraged the construction of cities (Kholm, Lviv, etc.), crafts and trade. In 1254 he received the title of king from the Pope.

Yaroslav III Vsevolodovich(1191-1246) - son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. He reigned in Pereyaslavl, Galich, Ryazan, Novgorod. In 1236-1238 reigned in Kyiv. Since 1238 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Went to twice Golden Horde and to Mongolia.

Princes of Ancient Rus'

1. Rurik (862–879)

The Tale of Bygone Years reports that in 862 In Slovenia, the Ilmen, Krivichi and Finno-Ugric tribes invited the Varangian Rurik and his retinue to reign in Novgorod. Rurik was the prince of Novgorod from 862 to 879. He successfully suppressed the uprising of Vadim the Brave in 874 and, to strengthen his position, married a representative of the local nobility, Efanda, who bore him a son, Igor (Ingvar), and two daughters. The chronicle calls Rurik the founder of many cities of the Novgorod land and mentions that, dying in 879, Rurik entrusted the care of his young son to the warrior Oleg (Helgu), who became the next Novgorod prince. It is generally accepted that Rurik is the founder princely dynasty Rus' and the creator of the system polyudya - a tour by the prince of subordinate lands for the purpose of collecting tribute.

2. Oleg (879–912)

A warrior (according to some sources, a relative) of Rurik, Oleg reigned in Novgorod from 879. Dying, Rurik not only handed over the throne to Oleg, but also instructed him to take care of his young son Igor. IN 882 g. Oleg captured Kyiv, killing Askold and Dir, who ruled there. Thus, both centers of Slavic statehood were united, and Kievan Rus was created. Oleg subjugated the Drevlyans, northerners, and Radimichi. Successfully fought with the Khazars. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that in 907 Oleg, at the head of a huge army (2000 ships), made a campaign against Constantinople (Tsargrad), as a result of which the first international treaty in Russian history was concluded. Byzantium assumed obligations that were extremely beneficial for Rus', for example, the Greeks paid 12 hryvnia to each Russian soldier. According to legend, Oleg, as a sign of victory, attached his shield “to the gates of Constantinople.” IN 911 A new Russian-Byzantine agreement was concluded, under the terms of which Russian merchants received the right to duty-free trade in Constantinople, could live in Byzantium for six months at the expense of the treasury, and the Greeks also agreed to repair and equip Russian ships at their own expense. The chronicle reports that Prince Oleg died in 912 from a snake bite.

3. Igor (912–945)

After the death of Prince Oleg, Rurik’s son, Grand Duke Igor, ascended the Kiev throne (912–945). In 903, he married the noble Pskovite Olga, who gave birth to Igor’s son Svyatoslav. Going on a campaign against Byzantium in 907, Prince Oleg entrusted Igor with the administration of Kiev. The first chronicle mention of the nomadic Pecheneg tribes dates back to the reign of Prince Igor. In 915, the Kiev prince made peace with the Pechenegs, but already in 920 he fought with them. Prince Igor made two unsuccessful campaigns against Byzantium in 941 and in 944. They canceled the benefits of the 911 trade treaty. Main event Prince of Kyiv there was a collection of tribute from the tribes under his control. It was called polyudye and lasted from November to April. The size of the tribute was not fixed. Therefore in 945, after Grand Duke Igor returned with a small retinue to the land of the Drevlyans for the second time, indignant community members, led by the local prince Mal, killed Igor. For his death, Princess Olga cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans.

4. Olga (945–957)

Having brutally suppressed the uprising of the Drevlyans, Grand Duchess Olga (945–962) abolished Polyudye and introduced a new tax collection procedure - cart Now subjects themselves had to bring tribute to special places - churchyards, where it was taken into account by specially appointed tributaries or princely tiuns. The amount of taxes was strictly fixed and was called lesson. Churchyards were also places of exchange or trade. Thus, thanks to Grand Duchess Olga, a noticeable step was taken towards strengthening the state. In 955 (or 957). Olga visited Constantinople, where she accepted Christianity according to the Eastern model and received the name Elena at baptism. It is generally accepted that after 957 she handed over the reins of government to her son, Svyatoslav Igorevich. However, during his frequent military campaigns, she was forced to again take over control of the state, although she did not always support Svyatoslav’s active policy of conquest. In 969, Grand Duchess Olga died. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

5. Svyatoslav (962–972)

Son of Igor and Olga, Svyatoslav (962–972), became famous as a “warrior prince” and spent the vast majority of his reign on military campaigns. The chronicler, characterizing Svyatoslav, creates the image of a true knight - brave, noble, unpretentious in everyday life, uncompromising and tireless. During the hike 964–966 Svyatoslav subjugated the Vyatichi, defeated the Volga Bulgaria and destroyed the Khazar Khaganate. By agreement with the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas, Svyatoslav attacked Danube Bulgaria in 967 and conquered it. The chronicle reports that he intended to annex Bulgaria to his possessions and even move the capital to Pereyaslavets-on-Danube. In 968, Kyiv, where Svyatoslav’s mother and sons were, was besieged by the Pechenegs. The prince was forced to return to Rus'. However, already in 970 he again fought on the Danube. Now Byzantium became his enemy. IN 971 Svyatoslav and his army were besieged in Dorostol. After an unsuccessful attempt to lift the siege, he had to sign an agreement with Emperor John Tzimiskes, according to which the Russians had to leave the Danube region. Svyatoslav died in 972, returning to his homeland, at the hands of the Pecheneg Khan Kuri, who ambushed him on the Dnieper rapids.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is a book that has come down to our times from the 12th century. Its pages tell not only about the events of ancient times, but also help to learn about the life of the great princes, whose activities influenced the emergence of the Old Russian state. Rurik, Oleg, Igor, Svyatoslav, Olga - Nestor paid attention to each of them in the “Tale”. Thanks to him and numerous studies by scientists, one can understand what they were like - the princes of ancient Rus'.

The first prince in Rus'

It all started with Rurik, whom the Slavic tribes called to reign in Novgorod. Nestor cites the civil strife that engulfed the lands as the reason for this decision. Together with Rurik, his two brothers came, one of whom got Belozer, and the third got Izborsk. In addition, it was the Varangians who came who gave the name to the Russian land, because Rurik’s clan was called Rus'.

The most mysterious prince

After his death, Oleg took over the reins of government. Of course, Nestor could not ignore this legendary ruler of Rus'. Few facts are known about him, so historians rely on the legend described in the Tale of Bygone Years. It is not known for sure whether Oleg was a relative of Rurik or simply looked after his son, Igor. But he did a lot for Rus' and remained in history as the Prophetic - it was believed that he foresaw the future. Whether this is true or not, you will never know, but he was a prudent politician.

Of course, the princes of ancient Rus' were different in character. Oleg was distinguished by his entrepreneurial spirit and belligerence. During his reign, the territory of Rus' expanded significantly. In 882 he united:

• north and south of Rus',
• Kyiv and Novgorod.

And Oleg, deciding that it was much more convenient to govern from Kyiv, named it the capital. The Drevlyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Ulichs, Tivertsi - the prince subjugated all these tribes to Rus'.

Like the first prince in Rus', Oleg did not live long. At that time, men rarely crossed the 35-year-old mark. Therefore, managers changed frequently. During his activity, Prophetic Oleg not only expanded the territory of Rus', but also strengthened foreign policy ties. In particular, a campaign was made against Constantinople, where the prince concluded peaceful and very profitable treaties.

Son of Rurik

The famous prince was replaced by the grown-up Igor, the son of Rurik. This happened after the death of the great Oleg, who, according to legend, died from a snake. The Drevlyans tried to separate, but Igor managed to stop them and imposed even greater tribute. He had to defend himself from the Pechenegs - hordes of nomads who appeared at the end of the 9th century. The prince not only coped with the task with dignity, but also signed a peace treaty with them.

Igor’s death was brought about by the Drevlyans, to whom he went for tribute. Historians note that when collecting tribute, the prince was distinguished by cruelty and, having collected the tax, he decided to return and do it again. The Drevlyans did not forgive him for this and cruelly got even with the prince: they bent down the trunks of two trees, tied up the ruler of Rus' and released them. This led to Igor's death.

Duchess Olga

Svyatoslav was to become Igor's successor. But at that time the heir was too small and Olga, Igor’s widow, began to rule Russia. Some sources say that she got married at the age of 10, while others say that she met her future husband at a crossing near Pskov. According to the legend described in the Degree Book (16th century), she was a boat carrier, dressed in men's clothing. Igor became interested in the girl, but she rejected the prince’s advances, declaring that it was better to throw herself into the water than to suffer a reproach. And when the time came to look for the bride, the ruler sent for her. Whether this happened is now difficult to know. But Olga managed to do a lot.

After the Drevlyans dealt with Igor, they invited Olga to marry their prince, Mal. But the princess not only rejected their proposal, but also cruelly took revenge for the death of her beloved. Although she ruled only until her son came of age, she actually continued to make decisions even after, while Svyatoslav was on military campaigns.

First of all, upon ascending the throne, Olga set off on a journey through her lands. She created graveyards - strong points and left managers there. Instead of focusing on conquests, Olga turned her attention to foreign policy. Thanks to skillful diplomacy, she increased the prestige of Rus', and the state became famous in different countries Europe.

In addition, Olga became the first ruler to convert to Christianity. She was baptized by Constantine, the Byzantine emperor, and at baptism she received the name Elena. But this decision did not affect the baptism of Rus', and even her son remained a pagan.

Great commander

The next prince of the Slavs is Svyatoslav. Military campaigns and conquests - this is how his reign remained in history. During the campaigns, he slept and ate like a simple warrior, thereby winning the favor of his squad. He defeated the Khazars, defeated the Yaasmi and Kosogs, and captured the cities of the Bulgarians. The prince died at the hands of the Pechenegs, who waylaid him upon his return to Kyiv.

The first Russian princes - prominent figures. They date back to the middle of the 9th century. They are distinguished by justice towards their people and at the same time - harshness towards their neighbors. But at this time, conquest and raids were an integral part of the formation of states. Therefore, the princes expanded the borders of Rus', trying to protect their subjects from enemies.

History of Ancient Rus'- history of the Old Russian state from 862 (or 882) to the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

By the middle of the 9th century (according to the chronicle chronology in 862), in the north of European Russia in the Ilmen region, a large union had formed from a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes, under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, who founded a centralized state. In 882, the Novgorod prince Oleg captured Kyiv, thereby uniting the northern and southern lands of the Eastern Slavs under one rule. As a result of successful military campaigns and diplomatic efforts of the Kyiv rulers, the new state included the lands of all East Slavic, as well as some Finno-Ugric, Baltic, and Turkic tribes. In parallel, there was a process of Slavic colonization of the northeast of the Russian land.

Ancient Rus' was the largest public education Europe, fought for a dominant position in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region with Byzantine Empire. Under Prince Vladimir in 988, Rus' adopted Christianity. Prince Yaroslav the Wise approved the first Russian code of laws - Russian Truth. In 1132, after the death of the Kyiv prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the collapse of the Old Russian state began into a number of independent principalities: the Novgorod land, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Galician-Volyn principality, the Chernigov principality, the Ryazan principality, the Polotsk principality and others. At the same time, Kyiv remained the object of struggle between the most powerful princely branches, and the Kiev land was considered the collective possession of the Rurikovichs.

In North-Eastern Rus', since the middle of the 12th century, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality has risen; its rulers (Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod the Big Nest), while fighting for Kyiv, left Vladimir as their main residence, which led to its rise as a new all-Russian center. Also, the most powerful principalities were Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn and Smolensk. In 1237-1240, most of the Russian lands were subjected to the destructive invasion of Batu. Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Vladimir, Galich, Ryazan and other centers of Russian principalities were destroyed, the southern and southeastern outskirts lost a significant part of the settled population.

Background

The Old Russian state arose on the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” on the lands of the East Slavic tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, then covering the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Polotsk, Radimichi, Severians.

Before the calling of the Varangians

The first information about the state of the Rus dates back to the first third of the 9th century: in 839, the ambassadors of the Kagan of the people of Rus were mentioned, who arrived first in Constantinople, and from there to the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. From this time on, the ethnonym “Rus” also became known. The term " Kievan Rus"appears for the first time only in historical research XVIII-XIX centuries.

In 860 (The Tale of Bygone Years mistakenly dates it to 866), Rus' made its first campaign against Constantinople. Greek sources The so-called first baptism of Rus' is associated with it, after which a diocese may have arisen in Rus' and the ruling elite (possibly led by Askold) adopted Christianity.

Rurik's reign

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

In 862 (the date is approximate, like the entire early chronology of the Chronicle), the Varangians and Rurik’s warriors Askold and Dir, heading to Constantinople, subjugated Kiev, thereby establishing complete control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” At the same time, the Novgorod and Nikon chronicles do not connect Askold and Dir with Rurik, and the chronicle of Jan Dlugosh and the Gustyn chronicle call them descendants of Kiy.

In 879, Rurik died in Novgorod. The reign was transferred to Oleg, regent for Rurik’s young son Igor.

The first Russian princes

Reign of Oleg the Prophet

In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg ( Oleg the Prophet), a relative of Rurik, went on a campaign from Novgorod to the south, capturing Smolensk and Lyubech along the way, establishing his power there and putting his people under reign. In Oleg's army there were Varangians and warriors of the tribes under his control - Chud, Slovene, Meri and Krivichi. Next Oleg with Novgorod army and a mercenary Varangian squad captured Kyiv, killed Askold and Dir, who ruled there, and declared Kyiv the capital of his state. Already in Kyiv, he established the amount of tribute that the subject tribes of the Novgorod land - the Slovenes, Krivichi and Merya - had to pay annually. The construction of fortresses in the vicinity of the new capital also began.

Oleg extended his power by military means to the lands of the Drevlyans and Northerners, and the Radimichi accepted Oleg’s conditions without a fight (the last two tribal unions had previously paid tribute to the Khazars). The chronicles do not indicate the reaction of the Khazars, however, the historian Petrukhin puts forward the assumption that they began an economic blockade, ceasing to allow Russian merchants through their lands.

As a result of the victorious campaign against Byzantium, the first written agreements were concluded in 907 and 911, which provided for preferential terms of trade for Russian merchants (trade duties were abolished, ship repairs and overnight accommodation were provided), and resolution of legal and military issues. According to historian V. Mavrodin, the success of Oleg’s campaign is explained by the fact that he was able to rally the forces of the Old Russian state and strengthen its emerging statehood.

According to the chronicle version, Oleg, who bore the title of Grand Duke, reigned for more than 30 years. Rurik's own son Igor took the throne after Oleg's death around 912 and ruled until 945.

Igor Rurikovich

The beginning of Igor's reign was marked by the uprising of the Drevlyans, who were again conquered and imposed an even greater tribute, and the appearance of the Pechenegs in the Black Sea steppes (in 915), who ravaged the possessions of the Khazars and ousted the Hungarians from the Black Sea region. By the beginning of the 10th century. The Pecheneg nomads extended from the Volga to the Prut.

Igor made two military campaigns against Byzantium. The first, in 941, ended unsuccessfully. It was also preceded by an unsuccessful military campaign against Khazaria, during which Rus', acting at the request of Byzantium, attacked the Khazar city of Samkerts on the Taman Peninsula, but was defeated by the Khazar commander Pesach and turned its arms against Byzantium. The Bulgarians warned the Byzantines that Igor had begun the campaign with 10,000 soldiers. Igor's fleet plundered Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Heraclea Pontus and Nicomedia, but then it was defeated and he, abandoning the surviving army in Thrace, fled to Kyiv with several boats. The captured soldiers were executed in Constantinople. From the capital, he sent an invitation to the Varangians to take part in a new invasion of Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944.

Igor's army, consisting of Polans, Krivichi, Slovenes, Tiverts, Varangians and Pechenegs, reached the Danube, from where ambassadors were sent to Constantinople. They concluded a treaty that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous treaties of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. Rus' pledged to defend Byzantine possessions in Crimea. In 943 or 944 a campaign was made against Berdaa.

In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. According to the chronicle version, the cause of death was the prince’s desire to receive tribute again, which was demanded of him by the warriors, who were jealous of the wealth of the squad of governor Sveneld. Igor’s small squad was killed by the Drevlyans near Iskorosten, and he himself was executed. Historian A. A. Shakhmatov put forward a version according to which Igor and Sveneld began to conflict over the Drevlyan tribute and, as a result, Igor was killed.

Olga

After Igor's death, due to the minority of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. The Drevlyans sent an embassy to her, inviting her to become the wife of their prince Mal. However, Olga executed the ambassadors, gathered an army and in 946 began the siege of Iskorosten, which ended with its burning and the subjugation of the Drevlyans to the Kyiv princes. The Tale of Bygone Years described not only their conquest, but also the preceding revenge on the part of the Kyiv ruler. Olga imposed a large tribute on the Drevlyans.

In 947 she undertook a trip to Novgorod land, where, instead of the previous polyudye, she introduced a system of quitrents and tributes, which local residents they had to take them to the camps and churchyards themselves, handing them over to specially appointed people - tiuns. Thus was introduced new way levying tribute from the subjects of the Kyiv princes.

She became the first ruler of the Old Russian state to officially accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite (according to the most reasoned version, in 957, although other dates are also proposed). In 957, Olga made an official visit to Constantinople with a large embassy, ​​known from the description of court ceremonies by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his “Ceremonies,” and she was accompanied by the priest Gregory.

The Emperor calls Olga the ruler (archontissa) of Rus', the name of her son Svyatoslav (the list of retinues indicates “ Svyatoslav's people") is mentioned without a title. Olga sought baptism and recognition of Rus' by Byzantium as an equal Christian empire. At baptism she received the name Elena. However, according to a number of historians, it was not possible to agree on an alliance immediately. In 959, Olga accepted the Greek embassy, ​​but refused to send an army to help Byzantium. In the same year, she sent ambassadors to the German Emperor Otto I with a request to send bishops and priests and establish a church in Rus'. This attempt to play on the contradictions between Byzantium and Germany was successful, Constantinople made concessions by concluding a mutually beneficial agreement, and the German embassy led by Bishop Adalbert returned back with nothing. In 960, a Russian army went to help the Greeks, fighting in Crete against the Arabs under the leadership of the future emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

Monk Jacob in the 11th century work “Memory and Praise of the Russian Prince Volodymer” reports the exact date Olga's death: July 11, 969.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Around 960, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. He grew up among his father's warriors and was the first of the Russian princes to bear a Slavic name. From the beginning of his reign, he began to prepare for military campaigns and gathered an army. According to the historian Grekov, Svyatoslav was deeply involved in the international relations of Europe and Asia. Often he acted in agreement with other states, thus participating in solving the problems of European and, partly, Asian politics.

His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all the East Slavic tribes to continue to pay tribute to the Khazars. Then, according to eastern sources, Svyatoslav attacked and defeated Volga Bulgaria. In 965 (according to other sources also in 968/969) Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Khazar Kaganate. The Khazar army, led by the Kagan, came out to meet Svyatoslav’s squad, but was defeated. The Russian army stormed the main cities of the Khazars: the fortress city of Sarkel, Semender and the capital Itil. After this, the ancient Russian settlement of Belaya Vezha arose on the site of Sarkel. After the defeat, the remnants of the Khazar state were known under the name of the Saksins and no longer played their previous role. The establishment of Rus' in the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus is also connected with this campaign, where Svyatoslav defeated the Yases (Alans) and Kasogs (Circassians) and where Tmutarakan became the center of Russian possessions.

In 968, a Byzantine embassy arrived in Rus', proposing an alliance against Bulgaria, which had then left the obedience of Byzantium. The Byzantine ambassador Kalokir, on behalf of Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, brought a gift of 1,500 pounds of gold. Having included the allied Pechenegs in his army, Svyatoslav moved to the Danube. In a short time, the Bulgarian troops were defeated, Russian squads occupied up to 80 Bulgarian cities. Svyatoslav chose Pereyaslavets, a city in the lower reaches of the Danube, as his headquarters. However, such a sharp strengthening of Rus' aroused fears in Constantinople and the Byzantines managed to convince the Pechenegs to make another raid on Kyiv. In 968, their army besieged the Russian capital, where Princess Olga and her grandchildren - Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir - were located. The city was saved by the approach of a small squad of governor Pretich. Soon Svyatoslav himself arrived with a mounted army, driving the Pechenegs into the steppe. However, the prince did not seek to remain in Rus'. Chronicles quote him as saying:

Svyatoslav remained in Kyiv until the death of his mother Olga. After that, he divided the possessions between his sons: he left Kyiv to Yaropolk, Oleg - the lands of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir - Novgorod).

Then he returned to Pereyaslavets. In a new campaign with a significant army (according to various sources, from 10 to 60 thousand soldiers) in 970, Svyatoslav captured almost all of Bulgaria, occupied its capital Preslav and invaded Byzantium. The new emperor John Tzimiskes sent a large army against him. The Russian army, which included Bulgarians and Hungarians, was forced to retreat to Dorostol (Silistria) - a fortress on the Danube.

In 971 it was besieged by the Byzantines. In the battle near the walls of the fortress, Svyatoslav’s army suffered heavy losses, and he was forced to negotiate with Tzimiskes. According to the peace treaty, Rus' pledged not to attack Byzantine possessions in Bulgaria, and Constantinople promised not to incite the Pechenegs to campaign against Rus'.

Voivode Sveneld advised the prince to return to Rus' by land. However, Svyatoslav preferred to sail through the Dnieper rapids. At the same time, the prince planned to gather a new army in Rus' and resume the war with Byzantium. In winter they were blocked by the Pechenegs and Svyatoslav’s small squad spent a hungry winter in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. In the spring of 972, Svyatoslav attempted to break into Rus', but his army was defeated and he himself was killed. According to another version, the death of the Kyiv prince occurred in 973. The Pecheneg leader Kurya made a bowl for feasts from the prince’s skull.

Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise. Baptism of Rus'

The reign of Prince Vladimir. Baptism of Rus'

After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out between his sons for the right to the throne (972-978 or 980). The eldest son Yaropolk became the great prince of Kyiv, Oleg received the Drevlyan lands, and Vladimir received Novgorod. In 977, Yaropolk defeated Oleg’s squad, and Oleg himself died. Vladimir fled “overseas”, but returned two years later with a Varangian squad. During the campaign against Kyiv, he conquered Polotsk, an important trading point on the western Dvina, and married the daughter of Prince Rogvolod Rogneda, whom he killed.

During the civil strife, Vladimir Svyatoslavich defended his rights to the throne (reigned 980-1015). With him the formation was completed state territory Ancient Rus', the cities of Cherven and Carpathian Rus', which were disputed by Poland, were annexed. After Vladimir’s victory, his son Svyatopolk married the daughter of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave and peaceful relations were established between the two states. Vladimir finally annexed the Vyatichi and Radimichi to Rus'. In 983 he made a campaign against the Yatvingians, and in 985 - against the Volga Bulgarians.

Having achieved autocracy in the Russian land, Vladimir began religious reform. In 980, the prince established a pagan pantheon of six different-tribal gods in Kyiv. Tribal cults could not create a unified state religious system. In 986, ambassadors from various countries, who invited Vladimir to accept their faith.

Islam was proposed by the Volga Bulgaria, Western-style Christianity by the German Emperor Otto I, Judaism by the Khazar Jews. However, Vladimir chose Christianity, which the Greek philosopher told him about. The embassy returning from Byzantium supported the prince. In 988, the Russian army besieged the Byzantine Korsun (Chersonese). Byzantium agreed to peace, Princess Anna became Vladimir's wife. The pagan idols that stood in Kyiv were overthrown, and the people of Kiev were baptized in the Dnieper. A stone church was built in the capital, which became known as the Tithe Church, since the prince gave a tenth of his income for its maintenance. After the baptism of Rus', treaties with Byzantium became unnecessary, since closer relations were established between both states. These ties were strengthened to a large extent thanks to the church apparatus that the Byzantines organized in Rus'. The first bishops and priests arrived from Korsun and other Byzantine cities. The church organization within the Old Russian state was in the hands of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who became a great political force in Rus'.

Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir faced an increased Pecheneg threat. To protect against nomads, he builds lines of fortresses on the border, the garrisons of which were recruited from the “best men” of the northern tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud and Vyatichi. Tribal boundaries began to blur, and the state border became important. It was during the time of Vladimir that many Russian epics took place, telling about the exploits of heroes.

Vladimir established a new order of government: he planted his sons in Russian cities. Svyatopolk received Turov, Izyaslav - Polotsk, Yaroslav - Novgorod, Boris - Rostov, Gleb - Murom, Svyatoslav - Drevlyansky land, Vsevolod - Vladimir-on-Volyn, Sudislav - Pskov, Stanislav - Smolensk, Mstislav - Tmutarakan. Tribute was no longer collected during Polyudye and only in churchyards. From that moment on, the princely family and their warriors “fed” in the cities themselves and sent part of the tribute to the capital - Kyiv.

Reign of Yaroslav the Wise

After the death of Vladimir, a new civil strife occurred in Rus'. Svyatopolk the Accursed in 1015 killed his brothers Boris (according to another version, Boris was killed by Scandinavian mercenaries of Yaroslav), Gleb and Svyatoslav. Having learned about the murder of the brothers, Yaroslav, who ruled in Novgorod, began to prepare for a campaign against Kyiv. Svyatopolk received help from the Polish king Boleslav and the Pechenegs, but in the end he was defeated and fled to Poland, where he died. Boris and Gleb were canonized as saints in 1071.

After the victory over Svyatopolk, Yaroslav had a new opponent - his brother Mstislav, who by that time had gained a foothold in Tmutarakan and Eastern Crimea. In 1022, Mstislav conquered the Kasogs (Circassians), defeating their leader Rededya in battle. Having strengthened the army with the Khazars and Kasogs, he set out to the north, where he subjugated the northerners who joined his troops. Then he occupied Chernigov. At this time, Yaroslav turned for help to the Varangians, who sent him a strong army. The decisive battle took place in 1024 near Listven; victory went to Mstislav. After her, the brothers divided Rus' into two parts - along the riverbed of the Dnieper. Kyiv and Novgorod remained with Yaroslav, and it was Novgorod that remained his permanent residence. Mstislav moved his capital to Chernigov. The brothers maintained a close alliance; after the death of the Polish king Boleslav, they returned to Rus' the Cherven cities captured by the Poles after the death of Vladimir the Red Sun.

At this time, Kyiv temporarily lost its status as the political center of Rus'. The leading centers then were Novgorod and Chernigov. Expanding his possessions, Yaroslav undertook a campaign against the Estonian Chud tribe. On the conquered territory in 1030 the city of Yuryev (modern Tartu) was founded.

In 1036 Mstislav fell ill while hunting and died. His only son had died three years earlier. Thus, Yaroslav became the ruler of all Rus', except for the Principality of Polotsk. In the same year, Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs. By the time Yaroslav arrived with the army of Varangians and Slavs, they had already captured the outskirts of the city.

In the battle near the walls of Kyiv, Yaroslav defeated the Pechenegs, after which he made Kyiv his capital. In memory of the victory over the Pechenegs, the prince founded the famous Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv; artists from Constantinople were called to paint the temple. Then he imprisoned the last surviving brother, Sudislav, who ruled in Pskov. After this, Yaroslav became the sole ruler of almost all of Rus'.

The reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) was the time of the highest prosperity of the state. Social relations were regulated by the collection of laws “Russian Truth” and princely statutes. Yaroslav the Wise pursued an active foreign policy. He became related to many ruling dynasties of Europe, which testified to the wide international recognition of Rus' in the European Christian world. Intensive stone construction began. Yaroslav actively turned Kyiv into a cultural and intellectual center, taking Constantinople as a model. At this time, relations between the Russian Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople normalized.

From that moment on, the Russian Church was headed by the Metropolitan of Kiev, who was ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople. No later than 1039, the first Metropolitan of Kiev, Theophan, arrived in Kyiv. In 1051, having gathered bishops, Yaroslav himself appointed Hilarion as metropolitan, for the first time without the participation of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Hilarion became the first Russian metropolitan. In 1054 Yaroslav the Wise died.

Crafts and trade. Monuments of writing (The Tale of Bygone Years, the Novgorod Codex, the Ostromirovo Gospel, Lives) and architecture (Tithe Church, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the cathedrals of the same name in Novgorod and Polotsk) were created. ABOUT high level The literacy of the inhabitants of Rus' is evidenced by numerous birch bark letters that have survived to this day. Rus' traded with the southern and western Slavs, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Western Europe, the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The reign of the sons and grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav the Wise divided Rus' between his sons. The three eldest sons received the main Russian lands. Izyaslav - Kyiv and Novgorod, Svyatoslav - Chernigov and the Murom and Ryazan lands, Vsevolod - Pereyaslavl and Rostov. Younger sons Vyacheslav and Igor received Smolensk and Vladimir Volynsky. These possessions were not inherited; a system developed in which the younger brother succeeded the eldest in the princely family - the so-called “ladder” system. The eldest in the clan (not by age, but by line of kinship) received Kiev and became the Grand Duke, all other lands were divided between members of the clan and distributed according to seniority. Power passed from brother to brother, from uncle to nephew. Chernigov occupied second place in the hierarchy of tables. When one of the members of the clan died, all the Rurikovichs younger in relation to him moved to lands corresponding to their seniority. When new members of the clan appeared, their destiny was determined - a city with land (volost). A certain prince had the right to reign only in the city where his father reigned; otherwise, he was considered an outcast. The ladder system regularly caused strife between the princes.

In the 60s In the 11th century, the Polovtsians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region. The sons of Yaroslav the Wise were unable to stop their invasion, but were afraid to arm the Kyiv militia. In response to this, in 1068 the people of Kiev overthrew Izyaslav Yaroslavich and placed on the throne the Polotsk prince Vseslav, who had been captured by the Yaroslavichs during a strife the year before. In 1069, with the help of the Poles, Izyaslav occupied Kyiv, but after this, uprisings of the townspeople became constant during crises of princely power. Presumably in 1072 the Yaroslavichs edited the Russian Truth, significantly expanding it.

Izyaslav tried to regain control of Polotsk, but was unsuccessful, and in 1071 he made peace with Vseslav. In 1073, Vsevolod and Svyatoslav expelled Izyaslav from Kyiv, accusing him of an alliance with Vseslav, and Izyaslav fled to Poland. Kiev began to be ruled by Svyatoslav, who himself was in allied relations with the Poles. In 1076, Svyatoslav died and Vsevolod became the prince of Kyiv.

When Izyaslav returned with the Polish army, Vsevolod returned the capital to him, retaining Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. At the same time, Svyatoslav’s eldest son Oleg was left without possessions, who began the fight with the support of the Polovtsians. Izyaslav Yaroslavich died in the battle with them, and Vsevolod again became the ruler of Rus'. He made his son Vladimir, born of a Byzantine princess from the Monomakh dynasty, the prince of Chernigov. Oleg Svyatoslavich fortified himself in Tmutarakan. Vsevolod continued the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise. He sought to strengthen ties with European countries, having married his son Vladimir to the Anglo-Saxon Gita, daughter of King Harald, who died in the Battle of Hastings. He married his daughter Eupraxia to the German Emperor Henry IV. The reign of Vsevolod was characterized by the distribution of lands to prince-nephews and the formation of an administrative hierarchy.

After the death of Vsevolod, Kyiv was occupied by Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. The Polovtsians sent an embassy to Kyiv with a peace proposal, but Svyatopolk Izyaslavich refused negotiations and seized the ambassadors. These events became the reason for the large Polovtsian campaign against Rus', as a result of which the combined troops of Svyatopolk and Vladimir were defeated, and significant territories around Kyiv and Pereyaslavl were devastated. The Polovtsy took away many prisoners. Taking advantage of this, the sons of Svyatoslav, enlisting the support of the Polovtsians, laid claim to Chernigov. In 1094, Oleg Svyatoslavich with Polovtsian troops moved to Chernigov from Tmutarakan. When his army approached the city, Vladimir Monomakh made peace with him, ceding Chernigov and going to Pereyaslavl. In 1095, the Polovtsians repeated the raid, during which they reached Kyiv itself, ravaging its surroundings. Svyatopolk and Vladimir called for help from Oleg, who reigned in Chernigov, but he ignored their requests. After the departure of the Polovtsians, the Kyiv and Pereyaslav squads captured Chernigov, and Oleg fled to his brother Davyd in Smolensk. There he replenished his troops and attacked Murom, where the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav ruled. Murom was taken, and Izyaslav fell in battle. Despite the peace proposal that Vladimir sent him, Oleg continued the campaign and captured Rostov. Another son of Monomakh, Mstislav, who was the governor in Novgorod, prevented him from continuing his conquests. He defeated Oleg, who fled to Ryazan. Vladimir Monomakh once again offered him peace, to which Oleg agreed.

Monomakh's peaceful initiative was continued in the form of the Lyubech Congress of Princes, who gathered in 1097 to resolve existing differences. The congress was attended by the Kiev prince Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh, Davyd (son of Igor Volynsky), Vasilko Rostislavovich, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavovich. The princes agreed to stop strife and not lay claim to other people's possessions. However, the peace did not last long. Davyd Volynsky and Svyatopolk captured Vasilko Rostislavovich and blinded him. Vasilko became the first Russian prince to be blinded during civil strife in Rus'. Outraged by the actions of Davyd and Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh and Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich set off on a campaign against Kyiv. The people of Kiev sent a delegation headed by the Metropolitan to meet them, which managed to convince the princes to maintain peace. However, Svyatopolk was entrusted with the task of punishing Davyd Volynsky. He freed Vasilko. However, another civil strife began in Rus', which escalated into a large-scale war in the western principalities. It ended in 1100 with a congress in Uvetichi. Davyd Volynsky was deprived of his principality. However, for “feeding” he was given the city of Buzhsk. In 1101, the Russian princes managed to make peace with the Cumans.

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

During the baptism of Rus', the authority of Orthodox bishops, subordinate to the Kyiv metropolitan, was established in all its lands. At the same time, the sons of Vladimir were installed as governors in all lands. Now all the princes who acted as appendages of the Kyiv Grand Duke were only from the Rurik family. Scandinavian sagas mention the fiefs of the Vikings, but they were located on the outskirts of Rus' and on newly annexed lands, so at the time of writing “The Tale of Bygone Years” they already seemed like a relic. The Rurik princes waged a fierce struggle with the remaining tribal princes (Vladimir Monomakh mentions the Vyatichi prince Khodota and his son). This contributed to the centralization of power.

The power of the Grand Duke reached its highest strengthening under Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise (then, after a break, under Vladimir Monomakh). The position of the dynasty was strengthened by numerous international dynastic marriages: Anna Yaroslavna and the French king, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the Byzantine princess, etc.

Since the time of Vladimir or, according to some information, Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, the prince began to give lands to the warriors instead of monetary salaries. If initially these were cities for feeding, then in the 11th century villages began to receive warriors. Along with the villages, which became fiefdoms, the boyar title was also granted. The boyars began to form the senior squad. The service of the boyars was determined by personal loyalty to the prince, and not by the size of the land allotment (conditional land ownership did not become noticeably widespread). The younger squad (“youths”, “children”, “gridi”), who were with the prince, lived off feeding from the princely villages and the war. The main fighting force in the 11th century was the militia, which received horses and weapons from the prince during the war. The services of the mercenary Varangian squad were largely abandoned during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

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

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

In the 11th - early 12th centuries, the first written set of laws was formed - “Russian Truth”, which was successively replenished with articles from “The Truth of Yaroslav” (c. 1015-1016), “The Truth of the Yaroslavichs” (c. 1072) and the “Charter of Vladimir” Vsevolodovich" (c. 1113). The “Russian Truth” reflected the increasing differentiation of the population (now the size of the vira depended on social status killed), the position of such categories of the population as servants, serfs, smerdas, purchases and rank and file was regulated.

“Yaroslav’s Truth” equalized the rights of “Rusyns” and “Slovenians” (it should be clarified that under the name “Slovenes” the chronicle mentions only Novgorodians - “Ilmen Slovenes”). This, along with Christianization and other factors, contributed to the formation of a new ethnic community that was aware of its unity and historical origin.

Since the end of the 10th century, Rus' has known its own coin production - silver and gold coins of Vladimir I, Svyatopolk, Yaroslav the Wise and other princes.

Decay

The Principality of Polotsk was the first to separate from Kyiv - this happened already at the beginning of the 11th century. Having concentrated all the other Russian lands under his rule only 21 years after the death of his father, Yaroslav the Wise, dying in 1054, divided them between the five sons who survived him. After the death of the two youngest of them, all lands came under the rule of the three elders: Izyaslav of Kyiv, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod of Pereyaslavl (“the Yaroslavich triumvirate”).

In 1061 (immediately after the defeat of the Torci by the Russian princes in the steppes), raids by the Polovtsians began, replacing the Pechenegs who migrated to the Balkans. During the long Russian-Polovtsian wars, the southern princes long time could not cope with their opponents, having undertaken a number of unsuccessful campaigns and suffered sensitive defeats (the Battle of the Alta River (1068), the Battle of the Stugna River (1093).

After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, the Kyiv princes attempted to deprive his sons of the Chernigov inheritance, and they resorted to the help of the Cumans, although the Cumans were first used in strife by Vladimir Monomakh (against Vseslav of Polotsk). In this struggle, Izyaslav of Kiev (1078) and the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav (1096) died. At the Lyubech Congress (1097), called upon to stop civil strife and unite the princes for protection from the Polovtsians, the principle was proclaimed: “ Let everyone keep his fatherland" Thus, while preserving the right of ladder, in the event of the death of one of the princes, the movement of the heirs was limited to their patrimony. This opened the way to political fragmentation (feudal fragmentation), since a separate dynasty was established in each land, and the Grand Duke of Kiev became first among equals, losing the role of overlord. However, this also made it possible to stop the strife and unite forces to fight the Cumans, which was moved deep into the steppes. In addition, treaties were concluded with the allied nomads - the “black hoods” (Torks, Berendeys and Pechenegs, expelled by the Polovtsians from the steppes and settled on the southern Russian borders).

In the second quarter of the 12th century, the Old Russian state broke up into independent principalities. The modern historiographic tradition considers the chronological beginning of fragmentation to be 1132, when, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the power of the Kyiv prince was no longer recognized by Polotsk (1132) and Novgorod (1136), and the title itself became the object of struggle between various dynastic and territorial associations of the Rurikovichs. In 1134, the chronicler, in connection with a schism among the Monomakhovichs, wrote: the whole Russian land was torn apart" The civil strife that began did not concern the great reign itself, but after the death of Yaropolk Vladimirovich (1139), the next Monomakhovich, Vyacheslav, was expelled from Kyiv by Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov.

During the XII-XIII centuries, part of the population of the southern Russian principalities, due to the constant threat emanating from the steppe, as well as due to the ongoing princely strife for the Kiev land, moved north to the calmer Rostov-Suzdal land, also called Zalesye or Opolye. Having joined the ranks of the Slavs of the first, Krivitsa-Novgorod migration wave of the 10th century, settlers from the populous south quickly became the majority on this land and assimilated the rare Finno-Ugric population. The massive Russian migration throughout the 12th century is evidenced by chronicles and archaeological excavations. It was during this period that the founding and rapid growth of numerous cities of the Rostov-Suzdal land (Vladimir, Moscow, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Opolsky, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Yaropolch-Zalessky, Galich, etc.) occurred. often repeated the names of the cities of origin of the settlers. The weakening of Southern Rus' is also associated with the success of the first crusades and changes in the main trade routes.

During two major internecine wars in the mid-12th century Principality of Kiev lost Volyn (1154), Pereyaslavl (1157) and Turov (1162). In 1169, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky sent an army led by his son Mstislav to the south, which captured Kyiv. For the first time, the city was brutally plundered, Kyiv churches were burned, and the inhabitants were taken captive. Andrei's younger brother was placed in the reign of Kiev. And although soon, after unsuccessful campaigns against Novgorod (1170) and Vyshgorod (1173), the influence of the Vladimir prince in other lands temporarily fell, Kyiv began to gradually lose, and Vladimir began to acquire, the political attributes of an all-Russian center. In the 12th century, in addition to the Kyiv prince, the title of great also began to be worn Vladimir princes, and in the 13th century, occasionally also the princes of Galicia, Chernigov and Ryazan.

Kyiv, unlike most other principalities, did not become the property of any one dynasty, but served as a constant bone of contention for all powerful princes. In 1203, it was plundered for the second time by the Smolensk prince Rurik Rostislavich, who fought against the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. The first clash between Rus' and the Mongols took place in the Battle of the Kalka River (1223), in which almost all the southern Russian princes took part. The weakening of the southern Russian principalities increased the pressure from the Hungarian and Lithuanian feudal lords, but at the same time contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Vladimir princes in Chernigov (1226), Novgorod (1231), Kiev (in 1236 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied Kyiv for two years, while his older brother Yuri remained reign in Vladimir) and Smolensk (1236-1239). During the Mongol invasion of Rus', which began in 1237, Kyiv was reduced to ruins in December 1240. It was received by the Vladimir princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, recognized by the Mongols as the oldest in the Russian lands, and later by his son Alexander Nevsky. They, however, did not move to Kyiv, remaining in their ancestral Vladimir. In 1299, the Kiev Metropolitan moved his residence there. In some church and literary sources - for example, in the statements of the Patriarch of Constantinople and Vytautas at the end of the 14th century - Kyiv continued to be considered as a capital city at a later time, but by this time it was already a provincial city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since 1254, the Galician princes bore the title “King of Rus'”. From the beginning of the 14th century, the Vladimir princes began to bear the title of “Grand Dukes of All Rus'”.

In Soviet historiography, the concept “ Kievan Rus"was distributed both until the middle of the 12th century, and for the wider period of the mid-12th - mid-13th centuries, when Kyiv remained the center of the country and the governance of Russia was carried out by a single princely family on the principles of “collective suzerainty.” Both approaches remain relevant today.

Pre-revolutionary historians, starting with N.M. Karamzin, adhered to the idea of ​​​​transferring the political center of Rus' in 1169 from Kyiv to Vladimir, dating back to the works of Moscow scribes, or to Vladimir (Volyn) and Galich. In modern historiography there is no consensus of opinion on this matter. Some historians believe that these ideas are not confirmed in the sources. In particular, some of them point to such a sign of the political weakness of the Suzdal land as a small number of fortified settlements compared to other lands of Rus'. Other historians, on the contrary, find confirmation in the sources that the political center of Russian civilization moved from Kyiv, first to Rostov and Suzdal, and later to Vladimir-on-Klyazma.