Russian principalities during the period of feudal fragmentation. (XII-XIII centuries)

The period of feudal fragmentation, traditionally called the “appanage period,” lasted from the 12th to the end of the 15th centuries. Feudal fragmentation weakened the defensive capabilities of Russian lands. This became noticeable in the second half of the 11th century, when a new strong enemy- Polovtsians (Turkic nomadic tribes). According to the chronicles, it is estimated that from 1061 to the beginning of the 13th century. there were more than 46 major invasions of the Polovtsians. The peculiarity of feudal fragmentation in Rus' compared with European countries there was a simplified feudal hierarchy: it consisted of only 3 main levels - the great princes, appanage princes and their boyars (close associates), and all the princely families were branches of only two families - the ruling dynasty of Rurik and Gedimin. As a result of crushing ancient Russian state by the middle of the 12th century. separated into independent ten states-principalities. Subsequently, by the middle of the 13th century, their number reached eighteen. They were given names based on the capital cities: Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Muromo-Ryazans. Suzdal (Vladimir). Smolensk, Galicia, Vladimir-Volynsk, Polotsk, Novgorod Boyar Republic. In each of the principalities, one of the branches of the Rurikovichs ruled, and the sons of princes and governor-boyars ruled individual appanages and volosts. However, in all lands the same written language, a single religion and church organization, the legal norms of the “Russian Truth” were preserved, and most importantly - awareness common roots, common historical fate. At the same time, each of the established independent states had its own development characteristics. The largest of them, which played a significant role in the subsequent history of Rus', were: Suzdal (later - Vladimir) principality - North-Eastern Rus'; Galician (later - Galician-Volyn) principality - South-Western Rus'; Novgorod boyar republic - Novgorod land (North-Western Rus'). The main centers of Rus' during the period of specific fragmentation were the great principalities of Vladimir-Suzdal (since 1169, after the victory of its prince Andrei Bogolyusbsky over Kiev, the city of Vladimir became the nominal capital of all Rus'), Kiev (according to tradition, Kiev remained for a long time the cultural and ecclesiastical center of Rus'; only in 1299 did the head of the Russian church, the Metropolitan, move to Vladimir), Galicia-Volyn in the west and the Novgorod feudal republic.

The Vladimir-Suzdal principality during the period of feudal fragmentation.

Features of development: the main branch of the economy is agriculture due to the abundance of fertile lands, a constant influx of population in search of protection from the raids of nomads, fast growth cities, location at the intersection of trade routes, the unlimited nature of the prince's power.

Political structure: Prince, Squad, Veche, Boyars

Novgorod boyar republic during the period of feudal fragmentation.

Features of development: the leading sectors of the economy are trade and crafts, poor development of agriculture due to harsh climatic conditions, widespread development of industries - salt making, hunting, etc., special public administration, constant focus on European countries.

Political structure: Veche, Boyar Council, Tysyatsky, Posadnik, Prince.

Consequences of fragmentation:

Positive: 1) development of crafts and trade. 2) growth in the number of cities. 3) political stabilization on the ground. 4) the flourishing of culture

Negative: 1) lack of a unified defense system. 2) external danger for each principality. 3) ruinous civil strife. 4) weakness of the central government

7.Mongol-Tatar invasion and its consequences. Rus' and the Golden Horde. At the beginning of the 13th century. in the steppes Central Asia The Mongol-Tatars formed a military-feudal power. This was a unification not of a single people, but of dozens of nomadic tribes. In 1222, the hordes of Genghis Khan invaded Transcaucasia, passed through Iran and the Caucasus with fire and sword. Having devastated the country of the Alans (Ossetia), the Mongols defeated the Cumans and in the spring of 1223 they reached the banks of the Don. The threat of Mongol conquest loomed over the Cumans, who turned to the Russian princes for help, warning them of the impending danger. In conditions of feudal fragmentation, far from all the princes supported the Polovtsians. The united Russian-Polovtsian army took on the battle with the main forces of the Mongols on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River. The battle ended in complete victory for the Mongol-Tatars. The reason for the defeat of the Russians was the complete lack of overall command. Thirteen years later, the army of the Mongol-Tatars, which was led by the grandson of Genghis Khan Batu, having defeated Volga Bulgaria, began the conquest of Russia. In 1236, Batu invaded the territory of North-Eastern Rus'. The first victim of his invasion was the Ryazan principality. In conditions of fragmentation, each principality defended itself with its own forces. Following the Ryazan army, Batu's army conquered the Vladimir-Suzdal and Smolensk principalities. In 1239-1240. Batu made his second campaign against Rus'. The southwestern principalities came under attack. Without encountering organized resistance, he conquered the Chernigov, Pereyaslav and Gapitsin-Volyn principalities. In 1242 Batu created a powerful state - Golden Horde, with the capital Saray on the Lower Volga. The Mongol-Tatar yoke was established in Rus'. The Mongols retained the previous system in the occupied lands government structure And public relations, but established control over them. The khans of the horde began to issue permits (labels) for the great reign in Rus'. To collect tribute, the Mongol-Tatars introduced the institution of baskaks (tribute collectors). At first, tribute was collected in kind, then in money. The Mongol conquest led to a long-term economic, political and cultural decline of the Russian lands. Many territories were ravaged and devastated, cities were destroyed, the most skilled artisans were taken to the Horde, and a demographic decline began. Despite the severity of the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, Rus' managed to preserve its statehood, religion and culture.

The reasons for the defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars:

The absence of a unified Russian army, the significant numerical superiority of the Mongols, the high military skill of the Mongols, fragmentation and lack of unity in the Russian lands, the most severe discipline that reigned in the Mongol army, the lack of mounted warriors in the Russian troops.

Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion:

Migration of the population to the northern regions, the weakening of the military potential of the Russian principalities, the decline of crafts and trade, the conversion of a significant number of the population into slavery, numerous casualties among the civilian population, the conservation of feudal fragmentation, the inhibition of the development of commodity-monetary relations, the political dependence of the Russian princes, the desolation of agricultural land, theft of artisans into the Horde.

Russian principalities- a period in the history of Russia (from the 12th to the 16th centuries), when the territory was divided into fiefs led by the princes of the house of Rurikovich. Within the framework of Marxist theory, it is described as a period of feudal fragmentation.

Review

From its very beginning, Kievan Rus was not a unitary state. The first division was made between the sons of Svyatoslav Igorevich in 972, the second - between the sons of Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 1015 and 1023, and the descendants of Izyaslav of Polotsk, having become outcasts for Kyiv, became a separate dynasty already at the beginning of the 11th century, as a result of which the Principality of Polotsk earlier others separated from Kievan Rus. However, the division of Rus' by Yaroslav the Wise in 1054 is considered to be the beginning of the division into principalities proper. The next important stage was the decision of the Lyubech Congress of Princes “let each one keep his fatherland” in 1097, but Vladimir Monomakh and his eldest son and heir Mstislav the Great, through seizures and dynastic marriages, were able to again put all the principalities under the control of Kyiv.

The death of Mstislav in 1132 is considered to be the beginning of the period of feudal fragmentation, but Kyiv remained not only a formal center, but also a powerful principality for several more decades; its influence on the periphery did not disappear, but only weakened in comparison with the first third of the 12th century. The Kiev prince continued to control the Turov, Pereyaslav and Vladimir-Volyn principalities and have both opponents and supporters in every region of Rus' until the middle of the century. The Chernigov-Seversk, Smolensk, Rostov-Suzdal, Murom-Ryazan, Peremyshl and Terebovl principalities and the Novgorod land became separated from Kyiv. Chroniclers began to use the name for the principalities land, which previously designated only Rus' as a whole (“Russian land”) or other countries (“Greek land”). The lands acted as independent subjects of international relations and were ruled by their own Rurik dynasties, with some exceptions: Principality of Kiev and the Novgorod land did not have their own dynasty and were objects of struggle between princes from other lands (at the same time, in Novgorod, the rights of the prince were severely limited in favor of the local boyar aristocracy), and for the Galician-Volyn principality, after the death of Roman Mstislavich, there was a war for about 40 years between all the southern Russian princes, ending with the victory of Daniil Romanovich Volynsky. At the same time, the unity of the princely family and church unity were preserved, as well as the idea of ​​Kyiv as formally the most important Russian table and the Kyiv land as the common property of all princes. Back to top Mongol invasion(1237) the total number of principalities, including appanages, reached 50. The process of formation of new fiefs continued everywhere (in the 14th century the total number of principalities is estimated at 250), but in the 14th-15th centuries the reverse process began to gain strength, the result of which was the unification of Russian lands around two great principalities: Moscow and Lithuania.

In historiography, when considering the period of the XII-XVI centuries, special attention is usually paid to several principalities.

Novgorod Republic

In 1136, Novgorod left the control of the Kyiv princes. Unlike other Russian lands, the Novgorod land became a feudal republic, its head was not a prince, but a mayor. The mayor and tysyatsky were elected by the veche, while in the rest of the Russian lands the tysyatsky was appointed by the prince. The Novgorodians entered into an alliance with some Russian principalities to protect their independence from others, and from the beginning of the 13th century, to fight external enemies: Lithuania and Catholic orders settled in the Baltic states.

Releasing his eldest son Constantine to the Novgorod throne in 1206, Grand Duke Vladimir Vsevolod the Big Nest gave a speech: “ my son, Konstantin, God has placed upon you the eldership of all your brothers, and Novgorod the Great to have the eldership of the princess in the entire Russian land».

Since 1333, Novgorod for the first time invited a representative of the Lithuanian princely house to reign. In 1449, under an agreement with Moscow, the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV renounced claims to Novgorod, in 1456 Vasily II the Dark concluded the unequal Yazhelbitsky peace treaty with Novgorod, and in 1478 Ivan III completely annexed Novgorod to his possessions, abolishing the veche . In 1494, the Hanseatic trading court in Novgorod was closed.

Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, Grand Duchy of Vladimir

In chronicles until the 13th century it was usually called "Suzdal land", with con. XIII century - "the great reign of Vladimir". In historiography it is designated by the term "North-Eastern Rus'".

Soon after the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky, as a result of many years of struggle, established himself in the reign of Kiev, his son Andrei left for the north, taking with him the icon Mother of God from Vyshgorod (1155). Andrei moved the capital of the Rostov-Suzdal principality to Vladimir and became the first Grand Duke of Vladimir. In 1169, he organized the capture of Kyiv, and, in the words of V.O. Klyuchevsky, “separated seniority from place,” placing his younger brother in the reign of Kiev, while he himself remained reigning in Vladimir. The seniority of Andrei Bogolyubsky was recognized by all Russian princes, except those of Galicia and Chernigov. The winner in the struggle for power after Andrei's death was his younger brother Vsevolod the Big Nest, supported by residents of the new cities of the southwestern part of the principality (“slaves-masons”) against the proteges of the old Rostov-Suzdal boyars. By the end of the 1190s, he achieved recognition of his seniority by all the princes, except those of Chernigov and Polotsk. Shortly before his death, Vsevolod convened a congress of representatives of various social strata on the issue of succession to the throne (1211): The Great Prince Vsevolod summoned all his boyars from the cities and volosts and Bishop John, and the abbots, and the priests, and the merchants, and the nobles, and all the people.

The Pereyaslavl principality was under the control of the Vladimir princes from 1154 (with the exception of a short period 1206-1213). They also used the dependence of the Novgorod Republic on the supply of food from agricultural Opolye through Torzhok in order to extend their influence over it. Also, the Vladimir princes used their military capabilities to protect Novgorod from invasions from the west, and from 1231 to 1333 they invariably reigned in Novgorod.

In 1237-1238 the principality was devastated by the Mongols. In 1243, the Vladimir prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was summoned to Batu and recognized as the oldest prince in Rus'. At the end of the 1250s, a census was carried out and the systematic exploitation of the principality by the Mongols began. After the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263), Vladimir ceased to be the residence of the grand dukes. During the 13th century, appanage principalities with their own dynasties were formed: Belozerskoye, Galitsko-Dmitrovskoye, Gorodetskoye, Kostroma, Moscow, Pereyaslavskoye, Rostovskoye, Starodubskoye, Suzdal, Tverskoye, Uglitsky, Yuryevskoye, Yaroslavskoye (up to 13 principalities in total), and in the 14th century the Tver principalities , Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal princes began to be titled “great”. The Vladimir great reign itself, which included the city of Vladimir with a vast territory in the zone of the Suzdal Opolye and the right to collect tribute for the Horde from all the principalities of North-Eastern Rus', except the great ones, was received by one of the princes by label from the Horde khan.

In 1299, the Metropolitan of All Rus' moved from Kyiv to Vladimir, and in 1327 to Moscow. Since 1331, the Vladimir reign was assigned to the Moscow princely house, and since 1389 it appeared in the wills of the Moscow princes along with the Moscow domain. In 1428, the final merger of the Vladimir principality with the Moscow principality took place.

Galicia-Volyn Principality

After the suppression of the first Galician dynasty, Roman Mstislavich Volynsky took possession of the Galician throne, thereby uniting the two principalities in his hands. In 1201, he was invited to reign by the Kyiv boyars, but left a younger relative to reign in Kyiv, turning Kyiv into an outpost of his possessions in the east.

Roman hosted the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos, who was expelled by the crusaders during the Fourth Crusade. Received an offer of the royal crown from Pope Innocent III. According to the version of the “first Russian historian” Tatishchev V.N., Roman was the author of a project for the political structure of all Russian lands, in which the Kiev prince would be elected by six princes, and their principalities would be inherited by the eldest son. In the chronicle, Roman is called “the autocrat of all Rus'.”

After the death of Roman in 1205, there was a long struggle for power, from which Roman's eldest son and heir Daniel emerged victorious, having restored his control over all of his father's possessions by 1240 - the year of the beginning of the last phase of the western campaign of the Mongols - the campaign against Kyiv, the Galician-Volyn principality and to Central Europe. In the 1250s, Daniel fought against the Mongol-Tatars, but he still had to admit his dependence on them. The Galician-Volyn princes paid tribute and participated as forced allies in the Horde campaigns against Lithuania, Poland and Hungary, but maintained the order of transfer of the throne.

The Galician princes also extended their influence to the Turovo-Pinsk principality. Since 1254, Daniil and his descendants bore the title of “Kings of Rus'”. After the transfer of the residence of the Metropolitan of All Rus' from Kyiv to Vladimir in 1299, Yuri Lvovich Galitsky founded a separate Galician metropolis, which existed (with interruptions) until the capture of Galicia by Poland in 1349. The Galician-Volynian lands were finally divided between Lithuania and Poland in 1392 following the War of the Galician-Volynian Succession.

Principality of Smolensk

It became isolated under the grandson of Vladimir Monomoh - Rostislav Mstislavich. The Smolensk princes were distinguished by their desire to occupy tables outside their principality, thanks to which it was almost not subject to fragmentation into appanages and had interests in all regions of Rus'. The Rostislavichs were constant contenders for Kyiv and firmly established themselves in a number of its suburban tables. From 1181 to 1194, a duumvirate was established in the Kyiv land, when the city was owned by Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, and the rest of the principality was owned by Rurik Rostislavich. After the death of Svyatoslav, Rurik gained and lost Kyiv several times and in 1203 repeated the act of Andrei Bogolyubsky, subjecting the capital of Rus' to defeat for the second time in the history of civil strife.

The pinnacle of Smolensk power was the reign of Mstislav Romanovich, who occupied the Kiev throne from 1214 to 1223. During this period, Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Vitebsk and Galich were under the control of the Rostislavichs. It was under the auspices of Mstislav Romanovich as the prince of Kyiv that an essentially all-Russian campaign against the Mongols was organized, which ended in defeat on the river. Kalke.

The Mongol invasion affected only the eastern outskirts of the principality and did not affect Smolensk itself. The Smolensk princes recognized their dependence on the Horde, and in 1275 a Mongol census was carried out in the principality. The position of Smolensk was more favorable compared to other lands. It was almost never subjected to Tatar raids; the appanages that arose within it were not assigned to individual princely branches and remained under the control of the Smolensk prince. In the 90s XIII century, the territory of the principality expanded due to the annexation of the Bryansk principality from the Chernigov land, at the same time Smolensk princes through a dynastic marriage they established themselves in the Yaroslavl principality. In the 1st half. In the 14th century, under Prince Ivan Alexandrovich, the Smolensk princes began to be called great. However, by this time the principality found itself in the role of a buffer zone between Lithuania and the Moscow principality, whose rulers sought to make the Smolensk princes dependent on themselves and gradually seized their volosts. In 1395, Smolensk was conquered by Vytautas. In 1401, the Smolensk prince Yuri Svyatoslavich, with the support of Ryazan, regained his throne, but in 1404 Vytautas again captured the city and finally included it in Lithuania.

Principality of Chernigov

It became isolated in 1097 under the rule of the descendants of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, their rights to the principality were recognized by other Russian princes at the Lyubech Congress. After the youngest of the Svyatoslavichs was deprived of his reign in 1127 and, under the rule of his descendants, the lands on the lower Oka separated from Chernigov, and in 1167 the line of descendants of Davyd Svyatoslavich was cut off, the Olgovich dynasty established itself on all the princely tables of the Chernigov land: the northern and upper Oka lands the descendants of Vsevolod Olgovich owned (they were also permanent claimants to Kyiv), the Novgorod-Seversky principality was owned by the descendants of Svyatoslav Olgovich. Representatives of both branches reigned in Chernigov (until 1226).

In addition to Kyiv and Vyshgorod, at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, the Olgovichs managed to briefly extend their influence to Galich and Volyn, Pereyaslavl and Novgorod.

In 1223, the Chernigov princes took part in the first campaign against the Mongols. In the spring of 1238, during the Mongol invasion, the northeastern lands of the principality were devastated, and in the autumn of 1239, the southwestern ones. After the death of the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich in the Horde in 1246, the lands of the principality were divided between his sons, and the eldest of them, Roman, became a prince in Bryansk. In 1263, he liberated Chernigov from the Lithuanians and annexed it to his possessions. Starting from Roman, the Bryansk princes were usually titled as the Grand Dukes of Chernigov.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the Smolensk princes established themselves in Bryansk, presumably through a dynastic marriage. The struggle for Bryansk lasted for several decades, until in 1357 the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd Gediminovich installed one of the contenders, Roman Mikhailovich, to reign. In the second half of the 14th century, in parallel with him, Olgerd’s sons Dmitry and Dmitry-Koribut also reigned in the Bryansk lands. After the Ostrov agreement, the autonomy of the Bryansk principality was eliminated, Roman Mikhailovich became the Lithuanian governor in Smolensk, where he was killed in 1401.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

It arose in the 13th century as a result of the unification of Lithuanian tribes by Prince Mindovg. In 1320-1323, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas conducted successful campaigns against Volyn and Kyiv (the Battle of the Irpen River). After Olgerd Gediminovich established control over Southern Russia in 1362, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a state in which, despite the presence of a foreign ethnic core, the majority of the population was Russian, and the predominant religion was Orthodoxy. The principality acted as a rival to another rising center of Russian lands at that time - the Moscow principality, but Olgerd's campaigns against Moscow were unsuccessful.

The Teutonic Order intervened in the struggle for power in Lithuania after the death of Olgerd, and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello was forced to abandon the plan of concluding a dynastic union with Moscow and recognize (1384) the condition of baptism into the Catholic faith within the next 4 years. Already in 1385 the first Polish-Lithuanian union was concluded. In 1392, Vitovt became the Lithuanian prince, who finally included Smolensk and Bryansk in the principality, and after the death of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I (1425), married to his daughter, he extended his influence to Tver, Ryazan and Pronsk for several years.

The Polish-Lithuanian Union of 1413 granted privileges to the Catholic nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but during the struggle for power after the death of Vytautas, they were abolished (the equality of rights of the Catholic and Orthodox nobility was confirmed by the privilege of 1563).

In 1458, on the Russian lands subject to Lithuania and Poland, the Kiev metropolis was formed, independent of the Moscow metropolis of “All Rus'”.

After the entry of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Livonian War and the fall of Polotsk, the principality was united with Poland into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth confederation (1569), while the lands of Kiev, Podolsk and Volyn, previously part of the principality, became part of Poland.

Grand Duchy of Moscow

Separated from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir at the end of the 13th century as an appanage youngest son Alexander Nevsky - Daniil. In the first years of the 14th century, it annexed a number of adjacent territories and began to compete with the Tver Principality. In 1328, together with the Horde and Suzdal, Tver was defeated, and soon the Moscow Prince Ivan I Kalita became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Subsequently, the title, with rare exceptions, was retained by his offspring. After the victory on the Kulikovo Field, Moscow became the center of the unification of Russian lands. In 1389, Dmitry Donskoy transferred the great reign in his will to his son Vasily I, which was recognized by all the neighbors of Moscow and the Horde.

In 1439, the Moscow Metropolis of “All Rus'” did not recognize the Florentine Union of the Greek and Roman churches and became virtually autocephalous.

After the reign of Ivan III (1462), the process of unification of the Russian principalities under the rule of Moscow entered a decisive phase. By the end of the reign of Vasily III (1533), Moscow became the center of the Russian centralized state, annexing, in addition to all of North-Eastern Rus' and Novgorod, also the Smolensk and Chernigov lands conquered from Lithuania. In 1547, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan IV was crowned king. The first meeting was convened in 1549 Zemsky Sobor. In 1589, the Moscow metropolitanate was transformed into a patriarchate. In 1591, the last inheritance in the kingdom was eliminated.

Economy

As a result of the capture of the city of Sarkel and the Tmutarakan principality by the Cumans, as well as the success of the first crusade, the importance of trade routes changed. The route “From the Varangians to the Greeks,” on which Kyiv was located, gave way to the Volga trade route and the route that connected the Black Sea with Western Europe through the Dniester. In particular, the campaign against the Polovtsians in 1168 under the leadership of Mstislav Izyaslavich was aimed at ensuring the passage of goods along the lower Dnieper.

The “Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich,” issued by Vladimir Monomakh after the Kyiv uprising of 1113, introduced an upper limit on the amount of interest on debts, which freed the poor from the threat of long-term and eternal bondage. In the 12th century, although custom work remained predominant, many signs point to the beginning of more progressive work for the market.

Large craft centers became targets of the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237-1240. Their ruin, the capture of craftsmen and the subsequent need to pay tribute caused the decline of crafts and trade.

At the end of the 15th century, the distribution of land to nobles under the condition of service (estate) began in the Moscow principality. In 1497, the Code of Law was adopted, one of the provisions of which limited the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another on St. George’s day in the autumn.

Warfare

In the 12th century, instead of a squad, a regiment became the main fighting force. The senior and junior squads are transformed into the militia of the landowner boyars and the prince's court.

In 1185, for the first time in Russian history, the division of the battle order was noted not only along the front into three tactical units (regiments), but also in depth up to four regiments, the total number of tactical units reached six, including the first mention of a separate rifle regiment, which is also mentioned on Lake Peipus in 1242 (Battle of the Ice).

The blow dealt to the economy by the Mongol invasion also affected the state of military affairs. The process of differentiation of functions between the detachments of heavy cavalry, which dealt a direct blow with melee weapons, and the detachments of riflemen, broke down, reunification occurred, and the warriors again began to use a spear and sword and shoot from a bow. Separate rifle units, and on a semi-regular basis, reappeared only at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries in Novgorod and Moscow (pishchalniki, archers).

Foreign Wars

Cumans

After a series of offensive campaigns at the beginning of the 12th century, the Polovtsians were forced to migrate to the southeast, right up to the foothills of the Caucasus. The resumption of internecine struggle in Rus' in the 1130s allowed the Cumans to again ravage Rus', including as allies of one of the warring princely factions. The first offensive movement of the allied forces against the Polovtsians in several decades was organized by Mstislav Izyaslavich in 1168, then Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in 1183 organized a general campaign of forces of almost all southern Russian principalities and defeated a large Polovtsian association of the southern Russian steppes, led by Khan Kobyak. And although the Polovtsians managed to defeat Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185, in subsequent years the Polovtsians did not undertake large-scale invasions of Rus' outside of princely strife, and the Russian princes undertook a number of powerful offensive campaigns (1198, 1202, 1203). By the beginning of the 13th century, there was a noticeable Christianization of the Polovtsian nobility. Of the four Polovtsian khans mentioned in the chronicle in connection with the first Mongol invasion of Europe, two had Orthodox names, and the third was baptized before the joint Russian-Polovtsian campaign against the Mongols (battle of the Kalka River). The Polovtsians, like Rus', became victims of the western campaign of the Mongols in 1236-1242.

Catholic orders, Sweden and Denmark

The first appearance of Catholic preachers in the lands of the Livs dependent on the Polotsk princes occurred in 1184. The founding of the city of Riga and the Order of the Swordsmen dates back to 1202. The first campaigns of the Russian princes were undertaken in 1217-1223 in support of the Estonians, but gradually the order not only subjugated the local tribes, but also deprived the Russians of their possessions in Livonia (Kukeinos, Gersik, Viljandi and Yuryev).

In 1234, the crusaders were defeated by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Novgorod in the battle of Omovzha, in 1236 by the Lithuanians and Semigallians in the Battle of Saul, after which the remnants of the Order of the Swords became part of the Teutonic Order, founded in 1198 in Palestine and seized the lands of the Prussians in 1227, and northern Estonia became part of Denmark. An attempt at a coordinated attack on Russian lands in 1240, immediately after the Mongol invasion of Rus', ended in failure (Battle of the Neva, Battle of the Ice), although the crusaders managed to briefly capture Pskov.

After combining the military efforts of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Teutonic Order suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Grunwald (1410), subsequently became dependent on Poland (1466) and lost its possessions in Prussia as a result of secularization (1525). In 1480, while standing on the Ugra, the Livonian Order launched an attack on Pskov, but to no avail. In 1561, the Livonian Order was liquidated as a result of the successful actions of Russian troops at the initial stage of the Livonian War.

Mongol-Tatars

After the victory on Kalka in 1223 over the combined forces of the Russian principalities and the Polovtsians, the Mongols abandoned the plan to march on Kyiv, which was the final goal of their campaign, turned east, were defeated by the Volga rainfeds at the crossing of the Volga and launched a large-scale invasion of Europe only 13 years later , but at the same time they no longer met organized resistance. Poland and Hungary also became victims of the invasion, and the Smolensk, Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk principalities and the Novgorod Republic managed to avoid defeat.

The Russian lands became dependent on the Golden Horde, which was expressed in the right of the Horde khans to appoint princes to their tables and the payment of annual tribute. The rulers of the Horde were called “kings” in Rus'.

During the onset of the “great turmoil” in the Horde following the death of Khan Berdibek (1359), Olgerd Gediminovich defeated the Horde at Blue Waters (1362) and established control over Southern Russia, thereby putting an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke. During the same period, the Grand Duchy of Moscow took a significant step towards liberation from the yoke (Battle of Kulikovo in 1380).

During periods of struggle for power in the Horde, the Moscow princes suspended the payment of tribute, but were forced to resume it after the invasions of Tokhtamysh (1382) and Edigei (1408). In 1399, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, who tried to return the Horde throne to Tokhtamysh and thus establish control over the Horde, was defeated by Timur’s henchmen in the Battle of Vorskla, in which the Lithuanian princes who took part in the Battle of Kulikovo also died.

After the collapse of the Golden Horde into several khanates Muscovy gained the opportunity to pursue an independent policy in relation to each khanate. The descendants of Ulu-Muhammad received the Meshchera lands from Vasily II, forming the Kasimov Khanate (1445). Beginning in 1472, in alliance with the Crimean Khanate, Moscow fought against the Great Horde, which entered into an alliance with the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV. The Crimeans repeatedly ravaged the southern Russian possessions of Casimir, primarily Kyiv and Podolia. In 1480, the Mongol-Tatar yoke (standing on the Ugra) was overthrown. After the liquidation of the Great Horde (1502), a common border arose between the Moscow Principality and the Crimean Khanate, immediately after which regular Crimean raids on Moscow lands began. The Kazan Khanate, starting from the middle of the 15th century, increasingly experienced military and political pressure from Moscow, until in 1552 it was annexed to the Muscovite kingdom. In 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate was also annexed to it, and in 1582 the conquest of the Siberian Khanate began.

Causes of feudal fragmentation. Many Russian pre-revolutionary historians explained the reasons for feudal fragmentation by the large families of Russian princes, who divided their lands into separate principalities between their sons. Modern historical science believes that feudal fragmentation in Rus' was a natural result of economic and political development early feudal society.

Economic forces feudal fragmentation:

Subsistence farming and economic independence of fiefdoms, isolation of fiefdoms and communities, growth and strengthening of cities;

Political factors:

Tribal and territorial conflicts, strengthening political power local princes and boyars;

External economic factors:

Temporary elimination of the Polovtsian threat (in 1111, Vladimir Monomakh defeated the Polovtsian khans. Some Polovtsian tribes migrated to the Caucasus).

The largest lands of Rus' in the era of feudal fragmentation were: the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, the Galician-Volyn Principality, the Novgorod Feudal Republic.

Vladimir-Suzdal land. In the northeast of Rus' there were fertile lands, "opole". The most important occupation of the population is agriculture. Crafts and trade play a significant role (Volga trade route). Ancient cities principalities: Rostov (former capital), Suzdal, Murom. The principality gained independence during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh's son Yuri Dolgoruky (1154-1157). He managed to subjugate Kyiv. On the eve of 1147, the chronicle contains for the first time a mention of Moscow (on the site of the estate of the boyar Kuchka, confiscated by Yuri Dolgoruky).

Galicia-Volyn principality. It occupied the territory from the Carpathians to Polesie, located on fertile black earth fields, interspersed with forest areas and mountains. Rock salt was mined on the territory of the principality. The Principality actively traded with other countries. The main cities are Galich, Vladimir-Volynsky, Przemysl. The rise of the principality occurred in the second half of the 12th century under Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl (reigned 1152-1187). The Volyn lands were annexed to the Galician lands in 1199 under Prince Roman Mstislavich (reigned 1170-1205).

This prince captured Kyiv in 1203 and took the title of Grand Duke. Under his leadership, successful wars were waged with the Poles and Polovtsians, and an active struggle for supremacy over the Russian lands. The eldest son of Roman Mstislavich, Daniil Romanovich (reigned 1221-1264), who inherited the principality, went down in history as a warlike claimant to the Russian throne with Russian, Polish, and Hungarian princes. He strengthened his position in 1238, and in 1240 he occupied Kyiv and subsequently united Southwestern Rus' and the Kyiv land. After the conquest of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars, Daniil Romanovich found himself in vassalage from the Golden Horde, but together with Andrei Yaroslavich persistently opposed it.

Novgorod feudal republic. The possessions of Veliky Novgorod extended from the White Sea to the Northern Urals. The city was located at the crossroads of trade routes. The commercial occupations of the population are hunting, fishing, salt making, iron production, and beekeeping. Novgorod, earlier than other lands, began the struggle for independence from Kyiv, rebelling in 1136. The boyars, who had significant economic power, managed to defeat the prince in the struggle for power, as a result of which a special political system developed in Novgorod - feudal democracy (boyar republic), in which supreme body control was the Veche.

Supreme official(head of government) in the Novgorod administration was posadnik (from the word “to plant”). The court was subordinate to him. The head of the militia was appointed - the thousand; He was also in charge of the commercial court. The veche elected the head of the Novgorod church - the bishop (archbishop), who managed the treasury and controlled the external relations of Novgorod.

Rice. 2. Scheme of the political structure of the Novogorod boyar republic

To control the militia during military campaigns, the Veche invited the prince; the prince and his retinue maintained order in the city. The prince was instructed: “Without a mayor, prince, you should not judge the court, you should not hold the volosts, you should not give charters.” It is symbolic that the prince’s residence was located outside the Kremlin (on the Yaroslav’s courtyard - the Trade Side, and later on the Gorodishche). The cities of Novgorod land - Pskov, Torzhok, Lagoda, Izborsk and others had political self-government and were vassals of Novgorod.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, crafts and construction rapidly improved, cities grew rapidly, trade developed. Fragmentation contributed to a richer and more diverse life of the Russian principalities.

The development of crafts was accompanied by the rapid growth of cities and the development of local markets. If in Kievan Rus there were about 20 cities, then in the appanage - more than 300. Old Russian cities were extremely complex socio-economic and political-administrative organisms, the basis of whose economic life was craft and trade, as well as agricultural production.

The appanage princes, having become the owners of the lands, acted as organizers of the construction of new cities and strengthening them with fortresses. Decentralization made it possible to better adapt the political structure of the lands to local conditions. In some lands, grand-ducal power was established in a monarchical form (Vladimir-Suzdal, Galicia-Volyn principalities), others became boyar feudal republics (Novgorod, Pskov). The most striking evidence of the progressive development of Rus' at this time is the flourishing of its culture. Thus, political fragmentation is a natural stage in the development of Ancient Rus'.

All-Russian legislation played an important role in the development of the ancient Russian social system. Unlike some feudal-fragmented states of Western Europe (for example, Germany), where each principality had its own laws, in Ancient Rus' of the 11th-13th centuries. there was a unified legal code of judicial and legal norms that had equal force in all lands. The Kiev state ceased to exist. But the fate of his legal system, his legislation, turned out differently. It continued to operate in those states into which Ancient Rus' broke up. They created their own laws. However, they could not replace the entire complex system of legislation of Kievan Rus.

At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. In Rus', three main political centers were identified, each of which had a decisive influence on political life surrounding lands and principalities: for North-Eastern and Western (and also to a large extent for North-Western and Southern) Rus' - the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality; for Southern and Southwestern Rus' --

Galicia-Volyn Principality; for North-Western Rus' - Novgorod feudal republic

The Vladimir-Suzdal principality became independent during the reign of the son of Vladimir Monomakh - Yuri Dolgoruky (1132-1157). The most ancient cities of the principality are Rostov, Suzdal, Murom). From the middle of the 12th century. Vladimir-on-Klyazma became the capital of the principality.

The Vladimir-Suzdal principality became independent during the reign of the son of Vladimir Monomakh - Yuri Dolgoruky (1132-1157). The geographical location (remoteness from the steppe regions and control over the Volga trade route) contributed to the influx of refugees from the southern principalities and rapid economic development. Against the background of these features, a strong princely power was formed. The land was considered as the property of the prince, and its population, including the boyars, as its servants, which led to the formation of princely-subject relations.

The successor of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174), energetically strengthened his own power and statehood. He moved the capital to Vladimir, promoted the development of culture and constantly sought to extend his power to other lands, having won a victory over Kiev in 1169.

The prince's cruelty and autocracy gave rise to conspiracies around him. The internecine struggle for the princely table ended with the victory of his half-brother Vsevolod the Big Nest, so nicknamed for the large size of his family. Vsevolod suppressed the boyar opposition and strengthened the princely power. The time of his reign was the heyday of the Vladimir-Suzdal land.

At the beginning of the 13th century. Vladimir Rus' broke up into fiefs: Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Uglich, Pereyaslav, Yuryev and Murom. Principalities of North-Eastern Rus' in the XIV-XV centuries. became the basis for the formation of the Moscow state. The process of economic recovery was interrupted by the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars.

The Galician-Volyn principality, located in the southwest of the Russian lands, arose as a result of the unification of the strong Galician and Volyn principalities. The territory from the Carpathians to Polesie.

Novgorod land occupied a vast territory from Arctic Ocean to the upper reaches of the Volga, from the Baltic to the Urals. She escaped the fate of ruin from the raids of nomads. A huge land fund was in the hands of the local boyars, who grew out of the tribal nobility. Hunting, fishing, salt making, and iron production received significant development. The city was located at the crossroads of trade routes connecting Western Europe with Russia, and through it - with the East and Byzantium.

feudal fragmentation Russian principality

During the era of feudal fragmentation, three centers rose up and began the process of collecting lands. In the southwest, Vladimir-Volynsky became such a center, in the northwest - Velikiy Novgorod, and in the northeast - Vladimir-on-Klyazma. The rise of Veliky Novgorod was associated with its special position during the time of united Rus': many great princes, before reigning in Kyiv, were the governors of their fathers in Novgorod.

The rise of Vladimir-Volynsky and Vladimir-on-Klyazma was associated with the activities of the appanage princes who ruled in these cities: Mstislav Galitsky and Andrei Bogolyubsky. These powerful rulers subjugated neighboring appanage reigns and participated in the struggle for the right to reign in Kyiv. However, their power no longer depended much on who was titled the Grand Duke.

Three new centers of Rus' began to gather lands around them at the beginning of the 12th century, but this process was stopped in the middle of the century by the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Over time, the old centers fell into disrepair. The centralization of Russian lands was completed by the middle of the 16th century.