Medieval Rus' and European cultures. Middle Ages of Russia and Europe
The Old Russian state is a country in Eastern Europe inhabited by Slavic tribes. It arose after the unification of two centers - Novgorod and Kyiv on lands along the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.”
862-879 Rurik's reign in Novgorod. According to legend, the head of the Varangian military detachment, Rurik, was called by the Ilmen Slavs to reign in Novgorod. Founder of the dynasty of Russian princes Rurikovich.
879–912 Reign of Oleg, Varangian prince in Novgorod. In 882 he captured Kyiv and made it the capital of his state. From this time on, we can talk about the formation of Kievan Rus. In 907 he made a campaign against Byzantium and, as a sign of victory, nailed his shield on the gates of Constantinople (Constantinople). In 907 and 911 he concluded profitable agreements with Byzantium. He subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi.
980–1015 Reign of the Grand Duke Kyiv Vladimir I Red Sun. In 988-989 he introduced Christianity “according to the Byzantine model” (Orthodoxy) as the state religion. The Old Russian state entered its heyday, and the international authority of Rus' increased.
1019-1054 Reign of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise. With a series of victories he secured the southern and western borders of Rus'. Established dynastic ties with many European countries. Under him, the “Russian Truth” was compiled - a code of ancient Russian law.
1097 Princely Congress in Lyubech. The beginning of the period of fragmentation of Kievan Rus.
1113-1125 Reign of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir II (Vsevolodovich) Monomakh. Called up by the Kyiv boyars during the popular uprising. Fought against feudal strife. Developed a charter limiting the arbitrariness of moneylenders. In the “Instruction” he called on his sons to strengthen the unity of Rus'.
1120-1157 Reign of the Prince of Suzdal and Grand Duke of Kyiv Yuri (Vladimirovich) Dolgoruky. He moved the capital of the Rostov-Suzdal Principality from Rostov the Great to Suzdal. From the 1130s he fought for Kyiv, and in 1155 he took possession of this city for the second time. Under him, Moscow was mentioned for the first time in the chronicle (1147).
1157-1174 Reign of Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal Andrei (Yuryevich) Bogolyubsky. He made the city of Vladimir on Klyazma the capital. In 1169 he captured Kyiv. Killed by the boyars in his residence, the village of Bogolyubovo.
1216, April 21-22, Battle of Lipitsa (on the Lipitsa River, near Yuryev Polsky) between the Vladimir-Suzdal army of Yaroslav and Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Novgorod-Smolensk-Rostov army of Mstislav the Udaly, Konstantin Vsevolodovich and others. It ended in the defeat of Yaroslav and Yuri, led to the strengthening the role of Novgorod.
1223, May 31 Battle between the Russian-Polovtsian army and the Mongols on the Kalka River. The lack of unity between the Russian princes and the flight of the Polovtsians led to their defeat.
1236-1263 Reign of the Novgorod prince Alexander (Yaroslavich) Nevsky. From 1252 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. With victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva on July 15, 1240) and the knights of the Livonian Order in the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi (April 5, 1242), he secured the western borders of Rus'. Through skillful policies he eased the burdens of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
1237-1241 Two devastating campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars led by Khan Batu to Rus'. The heroic defense of Ryazan, Vladimir, Kyiv and other cities undermined the combat power of Batu's troops.
1243-1480 Mongol-Tatar yoke (dominance of the Golden Horde) in Rus'. During this period, the princes received the label for the great reign from the hands of the Golden Horde Khan.
Moscow State
1325-1340 Reign of Moscow Prince Ivan I (Daniilovich) Kalita, from 1328 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. He obtained from the Golden Horde the right to collect tribute in Rus'. Laid the foundations of the political and economic power of Moscow; under him, the residence of the metropolitan was moved from Vladimir to Moscow.
1359-1389 Reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir (from 1362) Dmitry (Ivanovich) Donskoy. He led the struggle of the Russian people against the Mongol-Tatars; under his leadership, the first victory of Russian troops over the Golden Horde was won in the Battle of the Vozha River (1378). On September 8, 1380, in the battle of Russian troops with the Horde under the command of Mamai, he showed extraordinary military talent. This victory, for which the prince was nicknamed Donskoy, became the beginning of the liberation of the Russian and other peoples from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, Moscow strengthened its leading position in the Russian lands. Donskoy for the first time transferred the great reign to Vasily I without the sanction of the Horde.
1462-1505 Reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III (Vasilievich) the Great. The territorial core of a unified Russian state was formed, and the creation of a state apparatus began. Annexed Yaroslavl (1463), Perm (1472), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka to Moscow. In 1500-1503 he conquered the cities of the Seversk land (former Chernigov principality) from Lithuania. Under him, the Mongol-Tatar yoke was overthrown (standing on the Ugra River, the left tributary of the Oka, 1480), the Code of Laws was drawn up (1497), and large-scale construction began in Moscow. The title was formalized - Grand Duke of “All Rus'”. 1584-1598 Married Sophia (Zoe) Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, which made it possible to consider the Russian state as the successor of Byzantium (“Third Rome”).
1505-1533 Reign of the Grand Duke of “All Rus'” Vasily III (Ivanovich). He completed the unification of Rus' around Moscow with the annexation of Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521).
1533-1584 Reign of the Grand Duke of “All Rus'” Ivan IV (Vasilievich) the Terrible, from 1547 - the first Russian Tsar. From the late 1540s he ruled together with the Elected Rada (the unofficial government). Under him, the convening of Zemsky Sobors began, a new Code of Law was drawn up (1550), and an order system of centralized management was formed. Governance and judicial reforms have been carried out. The Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates were conquered. Oprichnina was introduced in 1565. Trade ties were established with England (1553), and the first printing house was created in Moscow. In 1558–1583, the Livonian War was fought for access to the Baltic Sea, which ended in a peace unfavorable for Russia. In 1581, the annexation of Siberia began. Domestic policy was accompanied by mass disgraces and executions, and the enslavement of peasants intensified.
1572, July 26 - August 3, Battle of Molodinsk. The Russian army defeated the Tatar-Turkish troops of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey near the village of Molodi, 60 km south of Moscow.
1584-1598 Reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the last Russian ruler from the Rurik dynasty. Unable to government activities, he left the government of the country to his brother-in-law Boris Godunov. In 1589, the patriarchate was established, and Job became the first Patriarch of Moscow of “All Rus'” (until 1605).
1598-1605 Reign of Tsar Boris Godunov. He came forward during the oprichnina; brother of Ksenia Godunova, wife of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, and de facto ruler under him. Strengthened central power, relying on the nobility; continued the enslavement of peasants.
1605-1613 "Time of Troubles". Crisis of state power, popular uprisings, Polish and Swedish interventions, the reign of the impostor False Dmitry I (Grigory Otrepyev?) 1605-1606 and Tsar Vasily IV (Ivanovich) Shuisky 1606-1610, ruin of the country.
1609-1618 Polish intervention in Russia. The siege of Smolensk from September 1609, the march on Moscow and its capture (1610). In the same year, the Russian government “Seven Boyars” proclaimed the Polish prince Vladislav king. Liberation of Moscow in October 1612. The second militia was led by the townsman from Nizhny Novgorod Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.
1610-1617 Swedish intervention in Russia with the aim of capturing Pskov, Novgorod, northwestern and northern Russian regions. The Swedes did not achieve their main goals. The intervention ended with the Treaty of Stolbov (February 1617).
1613-1645 Reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the first of the Romanov dynasty. Elected by the Zemsky Sobor. He left control of the country to his father, Patriarch Filaret (until 1633), and then to the boyars. Unsuccessful war with Poland for the return of Smolensk and Seversk lands (1632-1634).
1645-1676 Reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The central government strengthened and serfdom took shape (the Council Code, 1649), and the Smolensk and Seversk lands were returned. The peasant war of 1670-1671 under the leadership of Stepan Razin was suppressed.
1654 Church reforms of Patriarch Nikon. The beginning of a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church.
1654, January 8 At the Pereyaslav Rada, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky proclaimed the reunification of Left Bank Ukraine with Russia.
1676-1681 Russia's war with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate. It ended with the Bakhchisarai Peace Treaty of 1681, according to which Turkey recognized Left Bank Ukraine as part of the Russian state.
1682-1696 Joint reign of the young tsars Peter I and Ivan V Alekseevich. Regency of Princess Sophia (until 1689).
2/ Feudal fragmentation is a natural historical process. Western Europe and Kievan Rus during the period of feudal fragmentation
1. Formation of ancient Russian statehood. Spiritual, moral, political and socio-economic foundations of the formation of the Russian ethnic group
Heiress Ancient Rus' and the further stage in the formation of the Russian ethnic group is Kievan Rus. Kievan Rus is a society with a relatively high degree of development of statehood.
The early Middle Ages knew two types of statehood: eastern, based on relations of citizenship, and European statehood, built on the cooperation of government and society.
An example of a strong state of the eastern type was the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium remained a centralized state throughout its history. The bearer of supreme power was the emperor, endowed with great powers. There was a bureaucratic apparatus with strict subordination, a tax system, secret police, and financial services. The foreign policy department had particular influence, which could weaken its enemies with bribes, bribery and intrigue. belonged to the state large areas land. Crafts and trade were under the control of government services, and a developed system of state monopolies for the production and sale of individual products operated. The presence of strong state power led to the fact that in Byzantium neither private property, nor the vassal-feudal hierarchy, nor immunity reached maturity. Roman law remained the most important element of Byzantine life. Byzantium was a legal state in the Middle Ages.
The special role of the state principle in the Byzantine Empire received ideological justification. It was believed that along with the one God, the one true faith and the one true church, there should also exist a single Christian empire, the defender of the faith and the church. Imperial power acquired sacred functions, for by its very existence it ensured the salvation of the human race. These ideas were a factor in the viability of Byzantine civilization and created a spiritual support to withstand external onslaught.
Islam gave a unique direction to the development of statehood among the Arabs. The Koran did not recognize any distinction between church and state. The caliphs had supreme religious and secular power. All land was the property of the caliph. State land ownership prevailed over other forms of land ownership, the existence of which did not contradict the Koran. In the field of government, the Arabs borrowed those forms that existed in the territory newly included in the caliphate. Thus, the Arab Caliphate was a type of strong sacral (sacred) state power, which was fundamentally different from the European one.
Kievan Rus, as a political union, began to take shape during the expansion of the Varangians from Novgorod to the south immediately after Rurik and his retinue came to reign. In 882, Rurik’s warriors Askold and Dir freed the glades from paying tribute to the Khazars and remained to rule Kiev. Rurik's relative, Prince Oleg (882-912), cunningly lured Askold and Dir out of the city, killed them, and then united the Novgorod and Kiev principalities, making Kyiv the capital of the new state. The unification of Southern and Northern Rus' at the end of the 9th century. - the starting point of the formation of Kievan Rus as a new stage of the ancient Russian state. In the future, the activities of the Kyiv princes will be aimed at expanding the territory of the Kyiv principality. Oleg conquered the Drevlyans and imposed tribute on the northerners and Radimichi. Prince Igor (912-945) will have to re-annex the Drevlyans and pacify the Uglichs. Igor's wife Olga (945-964) continued the work of her husband, and by force of arms, as well as diplomacy, significantly strengthened the ancient Russian statehood. The work of Igor and Olga was continued by their son Svyatoslav (964-972), who annexed the Vyatichi and conquered Danube Bulgaria.
The formation of Kievan Rus as a political and cultural center was completed under Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich (980-1015), with the unification of the Western Slavs, Volynians, Croats and the adoption of Christianity.
The most important milestone on the path to the formation of the Russian ethnic group is the adoption of Christianity in the form of Orthodoxy as the state religion of Kievan Rus. A specific act of adoption of Orthodoxy was the famous baptism of the population of the city of Kyiv on the Dnieper by Prince Vladimir in 988. However, the adoption of Orthodoxy is not limited to this act. It has a long history: the spread of Christianity in Rus' began long before the baptism on the Dnieper and continued for another century and a half.
Orthodox sources connect the penetration of Christianity into the territory of Kievan Rus with the missionary activities of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the 1st century AD. e., who supposedly after the death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ went to preach his teachings to Byzantium, and then “and walked along the Black Sea to the Dnieper and the Dnieper up to Kiev, and from Kiev further to Veliky Novgorod.” There are no historical sources confirming the version of the missionary activity of the Apostle Andrew. However, there are sources indicating that Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga, was a Christian. Some prominent warriors of Prince Vladimir were also Christians.
Historians have always faced questions: what was the reason for the Christianization of Rus' and why did Prince Vladimir choose Orthodoxy? The answer to these questions should be sought both in the personality of Prince Vladimir and in the analysis of the socio-political and spiritual processes that took place at that time in Kievan Rus.
Prince Vladimir was a major statesman of his time. He had long been aware that pagan polytheism did not correspond to the political and spiritual needs of the state. In 980, Vladimir undertook the first religious reform, the essence of which was an attempt to merge the heterogeneous gods of all the tribes of Kievan Rus into a single pantheon led by the princely god Perun. However, the attempt to spread the cult of Perun everywhere failed. The pagan god was opposed by other pagan gods, who were worshiped by the Slavic and non-Slavic tribes of Kievan Rus. Paganism did not ensure the ethnocultural unity of all tribes and lands of Kievan Rus. Historical practice has shown that this unity is best ensured by the so-called world religions: Christianity and Islam.
The Orthodox version of the adoption of Christianity claims that this event was preceded by a procedure of “choice of faiths.” According to its geopolitical position, Kievan Rus was in close contact with the Khazar Kaganate, in which Judaism dominated, the Arab-Muslim world, in which Islam was practiced, Orthodox Byzantium and the Catholic states of Western Europe. Vladimir allegedly sent his ambassadors to all these regions to determine best faith. Having completed the task of the Grand Duke, the ambassadors returned and clearly gave preference to Orthodoxy because of the beauty of its churches and the spiritual uplift that they felt in them.
However, these circumstances were not what played the main role in the adoption of Orthodoxy. The decisive factor in turning to the religious and ideological experience of Byzantium were the traditional political, economic, and cultural ties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium. In the Byzantine state system, spiritual power occupied a subordinate position to the emperor. This corresponded to the political aspirations of Prince Vladimir. Dynastic considerations also played an important role. The adoption of Orthodoxy opened the way for Vladimir's marriage with the sister of the Byzantine emperor, Princess Anna - and thus further strengthened friendly relations with such an influential power as Byzantium. Friendship with Byzantium not only opened the way to the expansion of trade, economic and cultural ties, but also to some extent protected Rus' from the raids of numerous nomadic tribes inhabiting the Great Steppe north of the Black Sea, which Byzantium constantly used in the fight against its northern neighbor .
And one more point played a role in choosing Orthodoxy. In Catholicism, worship took place in Latin, the texts of the Bible and other liturgical books were in the same language. Orthodoxy did not bind itself to linguistic canons. Moreover, during this period, Orthodoxy was established in Slavic Bulgaria. Thus, the liturgical books and the entire ritual were linguistically related to the population of Kievan Rus. Through Bulgarian liturgical books and Bulgarian clergy, Orthodoxy began to establish itself in the spiritual life of Russian society.
The establishment of Orthodoxy as the state religion of Kievan Rus was fraught with significant difficulties. Religion is not just a belief in some gods and spirits, a system of rituals. This is a way of life, a certain system of ideas, beliefs, ideas about a person, his place in the world, etc. Religious beliefs are associated with such important aspects of life as marriage and family relationships, moral norms, food systems, etc. Therefore, the process of Christianization meant a disruption of the existing way of life, worldview, culture, and way of life.
Christianization met resistance from the population everywhere. Prince Vladimir, his warriors, and the clan nobility had to make a lot of effort, and sometimes even use direct force, in order to establish Christian rituals, beliefs, and way of life. There were repeated uprisings against Christianization. History knows the largest of them: in Suzdal, Kyiv, Novgorod.
A significant role in the Christianization of Rus' was played by the monasteries that appeared on its territory in the middle of the 11th century. In the monasteries, cadres of clergy were trained, understanding of religious doctrine took place, the spiritual and moral foundations of new rituals, Christian life, etc. were formed. Monasteries played a significant role in the dissemination of literacy, and were the guardians and transmitters of cultural heritage. From the monasteries missionary activity was carried out in all cities and rural areas ancient Russian state. By the middle of the 13th century. There were about 80 monasteries in Rus'.
The adoption of Christianity was of great importance for the entire Russian society. Christianity created a broad basis for the unification of all peoples of this society. The border between Russian and Slav, Finno-Ugric and Slav, etc. disappeared. They were all united by a common spiritual basis. Christianity gradually began to displace pagan rituals and traditions, and on this basis the humanization of society took place. A significant cultural revolution was the introduction of a unified written language. The adoption of Christianity contributed to the formation of urban culture in a predominantly agricultural country. Temple construction, bookmaking, literature, history and philosophy developed under the influence of Christians.
On the basis of Christianization, a new type of statehood is emerging in Kievan Rus, which largely takes on a Byzantine form. A close relationship is established between secular and ecclesiastical authorities, with the primacy of the first over the second. In the first half of the 11th century. the establishment of ecclesiastical jurisdiction begins. Matters concerning marriage, divorce, family, and some inheritance matters are transferred to the jurisdiction of the church. By the end of the 12th century. The church began to supervise the service of weights and measures. The church plays a significant role in international affairs related to deepening relations with Christian states and churches.
In general, thanks to the adoption of Christianity, Kievan Rus was included in the European Christian world, and therefore became an equal element of the European civilizational process. However, the adoption of Christianity in the Orthodox version had its negative consequences. Orthodoxy contributed to the isolation of Rus' from Western European civilization. With the fall of Byzantium, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church found themselves, in fact, isolated from the rest of the Christian world. It is this circumstance that can partly explain the refusal of the Western
Europe to come to the aid of Rus' in its confrontation with the infidels (Tatar-Mongols, Turks and other conquerors).
The structure of the power system. Kievan Rus was not a static society. Its political structure and economic relations underwent certain changes. At the first stage of its existence, Kievan Rus was relatively centralized state. It was headed by the Kiev prince, to whom the princes of the subject lands were subordinate. During the life of the prince-father, his sons sat as governors in the main cities and paid tribute. In Rus' he admitted tribal suzerainty. Power over the territory belonged to the entire ruling Rurik family. Representatives of the ruling dynasty ruled part of the territory, that is, they co-governed through the institution of communion. But this did not mean collective leadership, there must be a person who was senior - the princeps - this is the Kiev prince, i.e. there was a system of principate - eldership. Who became the principle? The eldest in the family. Inheritance followed a direct descending male line. But this principle was often violated, which greatly confused the situation. This system existed until the end of the 11th century.
The Kiev prince was a legislator, military leader, supreme judge and tax collector. Around the prince there was a squad that lived in the princely court and shared tribute and spoils of war with their head. The feasts that the prince organized in his courtyard were also a kind of remuneration for the work of the squad.
There are two types of relations between government and subjects: vassal and subject. Vassal relations were established between the Kyiv prince and the squad. The prince consulted with the warriors on all issues, otherwise he could lose their support. The most experienced, senior warriors made up the council (duma) and were called boyars. The younger warriors were called “youths” or “gridi”. Boyars often acted as governors, while youths became junior administrators. At first, the vigilantes replaced the general armament of the people, then they turned into an administrative-military layer, and later into the class of feudal lords. The princely-retinue power was for the time being limited to elements of self-government preserved from previous times. This “veche” is a people’s assembly, “city elders.” These institutions were especially strong on the outskirts of the country.
Socio-economic relations. The formation of feudal relations in Rus' proceeded generally according to the pan-European type: from state forms to seigneurial (patrimonial) ones. But unlike Western Europe, where the traditions of private property of antiquity led to the rapid growth of seigneurial land ownership, in Rus' this process was much slower.
Until the middle of the 10th century. the nature of socio-economic relations was determined by tributary relations. Method - collection of tribute during polyudya. An institution emerges from the collection of tribute feeding. The tribute went to the prince's treasury, then the prince redistributed part of the tribute among the warriors in the form of gifts and feasts. In addition to tribute, the treasury received various types of fines imposed as punishment on offenders, as well as court fees.
Socio-economic relations also determined the social structure of ancient Russian society. We can judge the nature of this structure based on studying the code of laws of that time - "Russian Truth", the first part of which was compiled on the initiative of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054). According to “Russian Pravda,” there were two population groups in Kievan Rus: “people who served and those who did not,” “people who settled as princes,” and just people. The first personally served the prince in military, civil or economic fields. The latter paid tribute to the prince, forming rural and urban tax societies. Among the princely men, the boyars stood out - the top of the nobility, and among the common people - smerds, purchases and rank and file.
The bulk of the population of the Old Russian state were free community members(people) who lived in societies (rope). Rural societies were no longer tribal, but territorial, and moreover, wealthy families often stood out from them. For a long time, communal people were confused with smerds. However, for their murder there was a different fine, and the smerds were closely connected with the prince. Apparently, this was an unfree or semi-free population, princely tributaries who sat on the land and bore duties in favor of the prince.
Many articles in Russkaya Pravda are devoted to slaves, known as “servants” or “slaves.” Most historians are inclined to believe that “servant” is a term from an earlier period, which is used on a par with the new name “serf”. Serfs were completely powerless - a serf who hit a free man could be killed with impunity. They had no right to testify in court; for their murder, the owner was subjected only to church repentance.
In addition to serfs, “Russkaya Pravda” names purchasers, rank and file and outcasts. Zakup is a bankrupt community member who has fallen into debt bondage for a loan (kupa) taken and not repaid. The status of the ryadovich is not entirely clear, although the name comes from a certain agreement (row). An outcast is a person who has lost his social status (people who have broken with the community, slaves who have been set free). Ryadovichi and outcasts, like purchasers, were subject to corporal punishment, had no rights in court and were not themselves responsible for some crimes (the owner paid a fine for them).
2. Feudal fragmentation is a natural historical process. Western Europe and Kievan Rus during the period of feudal fragmentation
In the history of the early feudal states of Europe in the X-XII centuries. are a period of political fragmentation. By this time, the feudal nobility had already become a privileged group, membership to which was determined by birth. The established monopoly ownership of land by feudal lords was reflected in the rules of law. "There is no land without a lord." The majority of peasants found themselves in personal and land dependence on the feudal lords.
Having received a monopoly on land, the feudal lords also acquired significant political power: transferring part of their land to vassals, the right of legal proceedings and minting money, maintaining their own military force, etc. In accordance with the new realities, a different hierarchy of feudal society is now taking shape, which has a legal basis: "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal." In this way, the internal cohesion of the feudal nobility was achieved, its privileges were protected from attacks by the central government, which by this time was weakening. For example, in France until the beginning of the 12th century. the king's real power did not extend beyond the domain, which was inferior in size to the possessions of many large feudal lords. The king, in relation to his direct vassals, had only formal suzerainty, and the major lords behaved completely independently. This is how the foundations of feudal fragmentation began to take shape.
It is known that in the territory that collapsed in the middle of the 9th century. During the empire of Charlemagne, three new states arose: French, German and Italian (Northern Italy), each of which became the basis of an emerging territorial-ethnic community - a nationality. Then a process of political disintegration engulfed each of these new formations. So, on the territory of the French kingdom at the end of the 9th century. there were 29 possessions, and at the end of the 10th century. - about 50. But now these were for the most part not ethnic, but patrimonial-seignorial formations.
The process of feudal fragmentation in the X-XII centuries. began to develop in England. This was facilitated by the transfer by royal power to the nobility of the right to collect feudal duties from peasants and their lands. As a result of this, the feudal lord (secular or ecclesiastical) who received such a grant becomes the full owner of the land occupied by the peasants and their personal master. The feudal lords' private property grew, they became economically stronger and sought greater independence from the king.
The situation changed after England was conquered by the Norman Duke William the Conqueror in 1066. As a result, the country, which was heading towards feudal fragmentation, turned into a united state with a strong monarchical power. This is the only example on the European continent at this time.
The point was that the conquerors deprived many representatives of the former nobility of their possessions, carrying out a massive confiscation of land property. The actual owner of the land became the king, who transferred part of it as fiefs to his warriors and part of the local feudal lords who expressed their readiness to serve him. But these possessions were now located in different parts of England. The only exceptions were a few counties, which were located on the outskirts of the country and were intended for the defense of border areas. The scattered nature of feudal estates (130 large vassals had land in 2-5 counties, 29 in 6-10 counties, 12 in 10-21 counties), their private return to the king served as an obstacle to the transformation of barons into independent landowners, as it was, for example, in France.
The development of medieval Germany was characterized by a certain originality. Until the 13th century. it was one of the most powerful states in Europe. And then the process of internal political fragmentation begins to rapidly develop here, the country breaks up into a number of independent associations, while other Western European countries embarked on the path of state unity. The fact is that the German emperors, in order to maintain their power over their dependent countries, needed the military assistance of the princes and were forced to make concessions to them. Thus, if in other European countries the royal power deprived the feudal nobility of its political privileges, then in Germany the process of legislative consolidation of the highest state rights for the princes. As a result, imperial power gradually lost its position and became dependent on large secular and church feudal lords.
Moreover, in Germany, despite the rapid development already in the 10th century. cities (the result of the separation of crafts from agriculture), an alliance between royal power and cities did not develop, as was the case in England, France and other countries. Therefore, German cities were unable to play an active role in the political centralization of the country. And finally, in Germany, like England or France, a single economic center that could become the core of a political unification was not formed. Each principality lived separately. As the princely power strengthened, the political and economic fragmentation of Germany intensified.
In Byzantium by the beginning of the 12th century. The formation of the main institutions of feudal society was completed, a feudal estate was formed, and the bulk of the peasants were already in land or personal dependence. The imperial power, granting broad privileges to secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords, contributed to their transformation into all-powerful fiefs who had an apparatus of judicial-administrative power and armed squads. This was the payment of the emperors to the feudal lords for their support and service.
The development of crafts and trade led to the beginning of the 12th century. to the fairly rapid growth of Byzantine cities. But unlike Western Europe, they did not belong to individual feudal lords, but were under the authority of the state, which did not seek an alliance with the townspeople. Byzantine cities did not achieve self-government, like Western European ones. The townspeople, subjected to cruel fiscal exploitation, were thus forced to fight not with the feudal lords, but with the state. Strengthening the positions of feudal lords in the cities, establishing their control over trade and sales of manufactured products, undermined the well-being of merchants and artisans. With the weakening of imperial power, feudal lords became absolute rulers in the cities.
Increased tax oppression led to frequent uprisings that weakened the state. At the end of the 12th century. the empire began to fall apart. This process accelerated after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the Crusaders. The empire fell, and on its ruins the Latin Empire and several other states were formed. And although in 1261 the Byzantine state was restored again (this happened after the fall of the Latin Empire), its former power was no longer there. This continued until the fall of Byzantium under the attacks of the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
The collapse of the early feudal territorial organization of state power and the triumph of feudal fragmentation represented the completion of the process of the formation of feudal relations and the flowering of feudalism in Western Europe. In its content, this was a natural and progressive process, due to the rise of internal colonization and the expansion of the area of cultivated land. Thanks to the improvement of tools, the use of animal draft power and the transition to three-field farming, land cultivation improved, industrial crops began to be cultivated - flax, hemp; new branches of agriculture appeared - viticulture, etc. As a result, peasants began to have surplus products that they could exchange for handicraft products, rather than making them themselves.
The labor productivity of artisans increased, the equipment and technology of handicraft production improved. The artisan turned into a small commodity producer working for trade exchange. Ultimately, these circumstances led to the separation of crafts from agriculture, the development of commodity-money relations, trade and the emergence of a medieval city. They became centers of crafts and trade.
As a rule, cities in Western Europe arose on the land of the feudal lord and therefore inevitably obeyed him. The townspeople, the majority of whom were mainly former peasants, remained in the land or personal dependence of the feudal lord. The desire of the townspeople to free themselves from such dependence led to a struggle between cities and lords for their rights and independence. This is a movement widely developed in Western Europe in the 10th-13th centuries. went down in history under the name of the “communal movement.” All rights and privileges won or acquired through ransom were included in the charter. By the end of the 13th century. many cities achieved self-government and became city-communes. Thus, about 50% of English cities had their own self-government, city council, mayor and their own court. Residents of such cities in England, Italy, France, etc. became free from feudal dependence. A runaway peasant who lived in the cities of these countries for a year and one day became free. Thus, in the 13th century. a new class appeared - the townspeople - as an independent political force with its own status, privileges and liberties: personal freedom, jurisdiction of the city court, participation in the city militia. The emergence of estates that achieved significant political and legal rights was an important step towards the formation of estate-representative monarchies in the countries of Western Europe. This became possible thanks to the strengthening of central power, first in England, then in France.
The development of commodity-money relations and the involvement of the countryside in this process undermined subsistence farming and created conditions for the development of the domestic market. The feudal lords, in an effort to increase their incomes, began to transfer lands to the peasants as hereditary holdings, reduced lordly plowing, encouraged internal colonization, willingly accepted runaway peasants, settled uncultivated lands with them, and provided them with personal freedom. The estates of feudal lords were also drawn into market relations. These circumstances led to a change in the forms of feudal rent, weakening, and then the complete elimination of personal feudal dependence. This process happened quite quickly in England, France, and Italy.
The development of social relations in Kievan Rus is perhaps following the same scenario. The onset of a period of feudal fragmentation fits within the framework of the pan-European process. As in Western Europe, tendencies towards political fragmentation in Rus' appeared early. Already in the 10th century. After the death of Prince Vladimir in 1015, a power struggle breaks out between his children. However, a single ancient Russian state existed until the death of Prince Mstislav (1132). It is from this time that historical science has been counting feudal fragmentation in Rus'.
What are the reasons for this phenomenon? What contributed to the fact that the unified state of the Rurikovichs quickly disintegrated into many large and small principalities? There are many such reasons.
Let's highlight the most important of them.
The main reason is the change in the nature of the relationship between the Grand Duke and his warriors as a result of the warriors settling on the ground. In the first century and a half of the existence of Kievan Rus, the squad was completely supported by the prince. The prince, as well as his state apparatus, collected tribute and other exactions. As the warriors received land and received from the prince the right to collect taxes and duties themselves, they came to the conclusion that income from military spoils was less reliable than fees from peasants and townspeople. In the 11th century The process of the squad’s “settling” to the ground intensified. And from the first half of the 12th century. in Kievan Rus, the predominant form of property became patrimony, the owner of which could dispose of it at his own discretion. And although ownership of the estate imposed on the feudal lord the obligation to perform military service, his economic dependence on the Grand Duke weakened significantly. The income of the former feudal warriors no longer depended on the mercy of the prince. They provided for their own existence. With the weakening of economic dependence on the Grand Duke, political dependence also weakens.
The developing institution played a significant role in the process of feudal fragmentation in Rus' feudal immunity providing for a certain level of sovereignty of the feudal lord within the boundaries of his fiefdom. In this territory, the feudal lord had the rights of the head of state. The Grand Duke and his authorities did not have the right to act in this territory. The feudal lord himself collected taxes, duties, and administered justice. As a result, a state apparatus, squads, courts, prisons, etc. are formed in independent principalities-patrimonial lands, appanage princes begin to manage communal lands, transferring them in their own name to the power of boyars and monasteries. In this way, local princely dynasties are formed, and local feudal lords make up the court and squad of this dynasty. The introduction of the institution of heredity to the land and the people inhabiting it played a huge role in this process. Under the influence of all these processes, the nature of relations between local principalities and Kiev changed. Service dependence is replaced by relations of political partners, sometimes in the form of equal allies, sometimes suzerain and vassal.
All these economic and political processes in political terms meant fragmentation of power, collapse of the former centralized statehood of Kievan Rus. This collapse, as was the case in Western Europe, was accompanied by internecine wars. Three most influential states were formed on the territory of Kievan Rus: the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal (North-Eastern Rus'), the Principality of Galicia-Volyn (South-Western Rus') and the Novgorod Land (North-Western Rus'). Both within these principalities and between them, fierce clashes and destructive wars took place for a long time, which weakened the power of Rus' and led to the destruction of cities and villages.
Foreign conquerors did not fail to take advantage of this circumstance. The uncoordinated actions of the Russian princes, the desire to achieve victory over the enemy at the expense of others, while preserving their army, and the lack of a unified command led to the first defeat of the Russian army in the battle with the Tatar-Mongols on the Kalka River on May 31, 1223. Serious disagreements between the princes, which did not allow them to act as a united front in the face of Tatar-Mongol aggression, led to the capture and destruction of Ryazan (1237). In February 1238, the Russian militia was defeated on the Sit River, Vladimir and Suzdal were captured. In October 1239, Chernigov was besieged and captured, and Kyiv was captured in the fall of 1240. Thus, from the beginning of the 40s. XIII century a period of Russian history begins, which is usually called the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted until the second half of the 15th century.
It should be noted that the Tatar-Mongols did not occupy Russian lands during this period, since this territory was unsuitable for the economic activities of nomadic peoples. But this yoke was very real. Rus' found itself in vassal dependence on the Tatar-Mongol khans. Each prince, including the Grand Duke, had to obtain permission from the khan to rule the “table”, the khan’s label. The population of the Russian lands was subject to heavy tribute in favor of the Mongols, and there were constant raids by the conquerors, which led to the devastation of the lands and the destruction of the population.
At the same time, a new dangerous enemy appeared on the northwestern borders of Rus' - the Swedes in 1240, and then in 1240-1242. German crusaders. It turned out that the Novgorod land had to defend its independence and its type of development in the face of pressure from both the East and the West. The struggle for the independence of the Novgorod land was led by the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich. His tactics were based on the struggle against the Catholic West and concession to the East (Golden Horde). As a result, the Swedish troops that landed at the mouth of the Neva in July 1240 were defeated by the squad of the Novgorod prince, who received the honorary nickname “Nevsky” for this victory.
Following the Swedes, German knights attacked the Novgorod land, who at the beginning of the 13th century. settled in the Baltic states. In 1240 they captured Izborsk, then Pskov. Alexander Nevsky, who led the fight against the crusaders, managed to liberate Pskov first in the winter of 1242, and then on the ice of Lake Peipus in the famous Battle of the Ice (April 5, 1242) to inflict a decisive defeat on the German knights. After that, they no longer made serious attempts to seize Russian lands.
Thanks to the efforts of Alexander Nevsky and his descendants in the Novgorod land, despite dependence on the Golden Horde, the traditions of Westernization were preserved and the features of submission began to form.
However, in general, by the end of the 13th century. North-Eastern and Southern Rus' fell under the influence of the Golden Horde, lost ties with the West and previously established features of progressive development. It is difficult to overestimate the negative consequences that had Tatar-Mongol yoke for Rus'. Most historians agree that the Tatar-Mongol yoke significantly delayed the socio-economic, political and spiritual development of the Russian state, changed the nature of statehood, giving it the form of relations characteristic of the nomadic peoples of Asia.
It is known that in the fight against the Tatar-Mongols, the princely squads took the first blow. The vast majority of them died. Along with the old nobility, the traditions of vassal-squad relations passed away. Now, as the new nobility formed, relations of allegiance were established.
The relationship between princes and cities changed. The veche (with the exception of the Novgorod land) lost its significance. In such conditions, the prince acted as the only protector and master.
Thus, Russian statehood begins to acquire the features of eastern despotism with its cruelty, arbitrariness, and complete disregard for the people and the individual. As a result, a unique type of feudalism was formed in Rus', in which the “Asian element” was quite strongly represented. The formation of this unique type of feudalism was facilitated by the fact that, as a result of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Rus' developed for 240 years in isolation from Europe.
general characteristics medieval Rus'
In the history of the Russian state and culture from the 9th to the 17th centuries. belongs special place. It was in the Middle Ages that the borders of the state were mainly determined, the ethnocultural foundations of future nations and national languages were laid, Orthodox Christian social ideals and basic values were formed, and a rich culture emerged. There is a huge historiography about this period. Among the issues that traditionally provoke discussions among historians, one should name such as: the origin of the term “Rus”, the role of exogenous factors in the early stages of the formation of ancient Russian statehood, the genesis of feudalism in Eastern Slavs and the role of the geopolitical factor that influenced the specifics of Russian history and culture, the concept of the Pre-Renaissance in Russian culture of the late XIV-XV centuries. and etc.
Three periods can be traced in the history of medieval Rus': I – ancient history Russian state from the second half of the 9th century. until the 30s of the 13th century; II – second half of the XIII-XV centuries; III – beginning of the XVI-XVII centuries.
History Old Russian state can be divided into three stages. The first of them is a time of rather long “gathering” of the East Slavic lands. It has been stretching since the 80s of the 9th century. almost until the end of the 10th century. The second stage is the period of existence of the relatively unified Kyiv early feudal state, approximately from the time of Prince Vladimir I until the 20s of the 13th century, when it finally broke up into independent principalities. And finally, the third stage - the dominance of feudal fragmentation - from the 20s of the 12th century. before the Mongol invasions of the 30-40s of the 13th century.
The unification of the East Slavic lands was prepared by internal socio-economic processes. Slavic in its essence, Kievan Rus absorbed the Baltic, Finno-Ugric tribes, and the unification of the North and South was accelerated by the participation of the Varangian squads in this process.
Within the framework of the Old Russian state, the genesis of feudalism took place, the specifics of which were reflected in the formation of its basis - feudal land ownership, social class structure. A particularly significant development factor was the adoption at the end of the 10th century. Christianity, which turned into a form of ideology that dominated in medieval society, determining psychology and social behavior people of that time.
The Baptism of Rus' was an important stage in the development of its culture, which acquired completely new features. The Byzantine influence became the most significant after the adoption of Christianity, but it was soon rethought and reworked on the basis of a distinctive culture, the origins of which go back to ancient times.
The history of the Russian lands of the II period can be divided into three stages. The first covers the 40s of the 13th century - the beginning of the 14th century. and is characterized by a deep demographic crisis, a slowdown in socio-economic development, which was a consequence of the Mongol-Tatar invasion of the 30s of the 13th century. The second stage occurs in the 14th century. At this time, the crisis is gradually being overcome, the development of feudal relations is accelerating, political centers, fighting for a leading position in the region, the first attempts are being made to liberate themselves from the foreign yoke. The third stage - the 15th century - is characterized by a relatively rapid growth rate of productive forces, the involvement of lands with a Finno-Ugric population in the process of development of feudalism due to internal colonization in North-Eastern Rus'. Cities are fortified. By the end of the 15th century. A state of the class monarchy type was formed - the Moscow State, which achieved complete liberation from Mongol-Tatar dependence. Since the 15th century. The prerequisites for the formation of new nationalities, the identification of their languages, and the characteristics of their material and spiritual culture gradually took shape. Within the Russian state, the reunification of the former lands of Kievan Rus began.
Over the course of two and a half centuries, Russian culture went from a terrible ruin, which suspended its development, through a persistent revival, which led to the highest achievements of the late XIV-XV centuries. Diverse in its local characteristics, it increasingly took shape as a single whole.
In the III period, under the conditions of the Moscow state, the phenomenon of Russia was formed in its main features. It was then that the name of the country itself was born and established.
Medieval Rus' was slowly disappearing into the past. In the 17th century the process of the genesis of capitalist relations was already irreversible. The state structure of Russia underwent significant changes - from an estate-representative monarchy, it turned into an absolutist monarchy. A crisis of religious ideology and church organization arose. Society has become more open. During the middle of the second half of the 16th–first third of the 17th century. There was a turn from the culture of Ancient Rus' to the culture of Modern Russia. This was the beginning of a new period in Russian history - the country’s preparation for the era of reforms of Peter I.
Section I. Ancient and medieval Rus'.
Topic 1. Ancient Rus'. The era of Kievan Rus.
Our distant ancestors were the Slavs - the largest group of peoples in Europe, connected by related origin, common territory of residence and similarity of language.
In terms of their language, all Slavs belong to the large family of Indo-European peoples who have long inhabited Europe and part of Asia (up to and including India).
In the middle of the 1st millennium AD. On the vast territory of Eastern Europe, from Lake Ilmen to the Black Sea steppes and from the Eastern Carpathians to the Volga, East Slavic tribes formed. Historians count about 15 such tribes. The Monk Nestor compiled a new chronicle - “The Tale of Bygone Years”, which, according to the definition of Academician D.S. Likhachev, is “a complete literary history of Rus'.” According to the Tale of Bygone Years, a map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs in the 8th-9th centuries. looked like this: Slovenes lived on the shores of Lake Ilmen and Volkhov; Krivichi with Polotsk - in the upper reaches Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Berezina; Vyatichi - on the Oka and Moscow Rivers; Radimichi - on the Sozh and Desna; northerners on the Desna, Seim, Sula and Seversky Donets; Drevlyans - in Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper region; glade - along the middle reaches of the Dnieper; Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs - in Volyn, along the Bug; Tivertsy, Ulich - in the very south, near the Black Sea and the Danube).
The Slavs cultivated wheat, barley, rye, millet, peas, and buckwheat. They raised cattle and pigs, as well as horses, and were engaged in hunting and fishing. In everyday life, the Slavs widely used the so-called ritual calendar, associated with agricultural magic. The indicated four periods of rain were considered optimal for the Kiev region in agronomic manuals of the late 19th century, which indicates that the Slavs had 4th century rainfall. reliable agrotechnical observations.
Blacksmithing and foundry were widely developed among the Eastern Slavs. They made ceramics on a potter's wheel and made jewelry and bone household items.
The Eastern Slavs lived surrounded by numerous neighbors. To the west of them lived the Western Slavs, to the south - the South Slavs. In the northwest, the Baltic lands were occupied by the ancestors of modern Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. Many Finno-Ugric tribes lived in the northeastern forests and taiga - the Mordovians, Karelians, Chuds. In the east, in the region of the Middle Volga, the state of Volga Bulgaria was formed.
The pagan beliefs of our ancestors are generally little known. Like all Aryans, the Russian Slavs worshiped the forces of visible nature and revered their ancestors. The pagan worldview of our ancestors, which had not achieved much development and did not have an internal strength, should have easily yielded to outside religious influences.
Baptism of Russian squads in Kyiv in 860. had an unusual important for the spread of Christianity in the Russian land. Trade relations with Greece made it easier for Rus' to become acquainted with the faith of Christ.
In Rus', along with a new creed, new authorities, new enlightenment, new laws and courts, new landowners and new landowning customs appeared. Since Rus' adopted the faith from Byzantium, everything new that came along with the faith had a Byzantine character and served as a conductor of Byzantine influence on Rus'. The influence of Christianity on the political structure of the Ancient Russian state can also be traced. But it was here that the contradictions clearly emerged between the measures of the Kiev princes, who tried to strengthen the central power with the help of the new religion, and, ultimately, the real course of socio-economic development, which led the “Rurikovich state” to the inevitable victory of fragmentation on a new basis. To strengthen his power in various parts of the vast state, Vladimir appointed his sons as governors in various cities and lands of Rus'. After the death of Vladimir, a fierce struggle for power began between the sons. One of Vladimir's sons, Svyatopolk, seized power in Kyiv and declared himself Grand Duke. By order of Svyatopolk, three of his brothers were killed - Boris of Rostov, Gleb Oannovich and Svyatoslav of Drevlyan. Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who occupied the throne in Novgorod, understood that danger threatened him too. He decided to oppose Svyatopolk, who called on the Pechenegs to help him. Yaroslav's army consisted of Novgorodians and Varangian mercenaries. The internecine war between the brothers ended with the flight of Svyatopolk to Poland, where he soon died. Yaroslav Vladimirovich established himself as the Grand Duke of Kyiv (1019-1054) in 1024. His brother Mstislav Tmutarakansky opposed Yaroslav. As a result of this strife, the brothers divided the state into two parts: the region east of the Dnieper passed to Mstislav, and the territory west of the Dnieper remained with Yaroslav. After the death of Mstislav in 1035.
Yaroslav became the sovereign prince of Kievan Rus. The time of Yaroslav was the heyday of Kievan Rus, which became one of the strongest states in Europe. The most powerful sovereigns at this time sought an alliance with Russia.
Topic 2. Rus' during the period of feudal fragmentation in the XII-XIII centuries.
Feudal fragmentation in Rus' was a natural result of economic and political development early feudal society
After the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 1015. a long war began between his many sons, who ruled certain parts of Rus'. The instigator of the strife was Svyatopolk the Accursed, who killed his brothers Boris and Gleb. In internecine wars, the princes-brothers brought to Rus' either the Pechenegs, or the Poles, or mercenary detachments of the Varangians. In the end, the winner was Yaroslav the Wise, who divided Rus' (along the Dnieper) with his brother Mstislav of Tmutarakan from 1024 to 1036, and then, after the death of Mstislav, became an “autocrat”.
The essence of feudal fragmentation lies in the fact that it was a new form of state-political organization of society. It was this form that corresponded to the complex of relatively small feudal worlds not connected with each other and the state-political separatism of local boyar unions.
Feudal fragmentation- a progressive phenomenon in the development of feudal relations. The collapse of early feudal empires into independent principalities-kingdoms was an inevitable stage in the development of feudal society, whether it concerned Rus' in Eastern Europe, France in Western Europe or the Golden Horde in the East.
The first reason for feudal fragmentation was the growth of boyar estates and the number of smerds dependent on them. The 12th and early 13th centuries were characterized by the further development of boyar land ownership in various principalities of Rus'. The boyars expanded their possessions by seizing the lands of free community members, enslaving them, and buying lands. In various lands of Rus', economically powerful boyar corporations began to take shape, striving to become sovereign masters of the lands where their estates were located. They wanted to administer justice to their peasants themselves and receive fines from them. Many boyars had feudal immunity (the right of non-interference in the affairs of the estate). However, the Grand Duke (and such is the nature of princely power) sought to retain full power in his hands. He interfered in the affairs of the boyar estates, sought to retain the right to judge the peasants and receive vir from them in all the lands of Rus'. The Grand Duke, considered the supreme owner of all the lands of Rus', and their supreme ruler, continued to consider all the princes and boyars as his service people, and therefore forced them to participate in the numerous campaigns he organized. These campaigns often did not coincide with the interests of the boyars and tore them away from their estates. The boyars began to feel burdened by serving the Grand Duke and tried to evade it, which led to numerous conflicts.
The increase in clashes between the smerds and townspeople and the boyars became the second reason for feudal fragmentation. The need for local princely power and the creation of a state apparatus forced local boyars to invite the prince and his retinue to their lands. But when inviting the prince, the boyars were inclined to see in him only a police and military force that did not interfere in boyar affairs. The princes and squad also benefited from such an invitation.
The prince received a permanent reign, his land patrimony, and stopped rushing from one princely table to another.
The third reason for feudal fragmentation was the growth and strengthening of cities, as new political and cultural centers. It was on the cities that the local boyars and the prince relied in the fight against the great Prince of Kyiv. The increasing role of the boyars and local princes led to the revival of city veche meetings. The veche, a unique form of feudal democracy, was a political body. In fact, it was in the hands of the boyars, which excluded real decisive participation in the management of ordinary townspeople
The reasons for feudal fragmentation also include the decline of the Kyiv land from constant Polovtsian raids and the decline of the power of the Grand Duke, whose land patrimony decreased in the 12th century. Rus' split into 14 principalities
The collapse of Rus' did not, however, lead to the collapse of the Old Russian people, a historically established linguistic, territorial, economic and cultural community. In the Russian lands, a single concept of Rus', the Russian land, continued to exist.
During the period of feudal fragmentation, three centers emerged in the Russian lands: the Vladimir-Suzdal, Galician-Volyn principalities and the Novgorod feudal republic.
The period of feudal fragmentation is characterized by the development of all its economic and socio-political institutions of feudal land tenure and economy, medieval crafts and the city of feudal immunity and feudal class hierarchy, dependence of the peasants, the main elements of the feudal state apparatus.
Topic 3. Rus''s struggle against external invasion in the 13th century.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongol state was formed in Central Asia. After the name of one of the tribes, these peoples were also called Tatars. Subsequently, all the nomadic peoples with whom Rus' fought began to be called Mongol-Tatars. In 1206, a congress of the Mongolian nobility, the kurultai, was held, at which Temujin, who received the name Genghis Khan (Great Khan), was elected leader of the Mongolian tribes. The Mongol-Tatars began their campaigns by conquering the lands of their neighbors. Then they invaded China, conquered Korea and Central Asia.
After an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Central Asia, the Tatar-Mongols directed their aggression towards the Polovtsian steppes. Polovtsian Khan KOTYAN turned to the Russian princes for help. The Kiev, Smolensk, Galician, and Volyn princes responded. But they did not have one plan, a common command, and even here the strife did not stop.
Just before the Russian offensive, Tatar-Mongol ambassadors arrived in Rus', who assured that they would not touch the Russians if they did not go to the aid of their neighbors. MAY 31, 1223 on the bank of the river. KALKI began a bloody battle. But not all princes took part in it. The Polovtsians began to flee in the midst of the battle. The Tatar-Mongols went on the offensive: the Russians were completely defeated, six princes were killed (1 out of ten warriors returned home). Reconnaissance in force showed that it was possible to wage aggressive campaigns against Rus' and its neighbors only by organizing an all-Mongol campaign against European countries. The head of this campaign was the grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu. In 1236 The Mongol-Tatars captured Volga Bulgaria, and in 1237. subjugated the nomadic peoples of the steppe. In the autumn of 1237 The main forces of the Mongol-Tatars, having crossed the Volga, concentrated on the Voronezh River, aiming at Russian lands. In 1237 Ryazan suffered the first blow. The princes of Vladimir and Chernigov refused to help Ryazan. The battle was very difficult, Ryazan fell. The entire city was destroyed and all the inhabitants were exterminated. The Horde left behind only ashes. The battle of the Vladimir-Suzdal army with the Mongol-Tatars took place near the city of Kolomna. In this battle, the Vladimir army died, predetermining the fate of North-Eastern Rus'. In mid-January, Batu occupied Moscow, then, after a 5-day siege, Vladimir. All cities in the north, except Torzhok, surrendered almost without a fight. Kozelsk held out for 7 weeks and withstood the general assault. Batu took the city and did not spare anyone, killing everyone down to the infants. In 1240, after a 10-day siege of Kyiv, which ended with the capture and complete plunder of the latter. Batu's troops invade the states of Europe, where they instill horror and fear in the inhabitants. But Rus' still resisted. In 1241 Batu returned to Rus'. In 1242, Batu Khan in the lower reaches of the Volga, where he established his new capital - Sarai-batu. The Horde yoke was established in Rus' by the end of the 13th century, after the creation of the state of Batu Khan - the Golden Horde, which stretched from the Danube to the Irtysh. The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused great damage to the Russian state. Enormous damage was caused to the economic, political and cultural development of Rus'. The old agricultural centers and once-developed territories became desolate and fell into decay. Russian cities were subjected to massive destruction. Many crafts have become simpler and sometimes disappeared. Tens of thousands of people were killed or taken into slavery. The main purpose of enslavement was to obtain tribute from the conquered people. The size of the tribute was very large. The Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the forces to overthrow the Tatar-Mongol yoke were still not enough.
Realizing this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - took a more flexible policy towards the Horde and the khan. Thanks to such a soft policy, the Russian land was saved from complete plunder and destruction. As a result of this, a slow restoration and economic recovery of the Russian lands began, which ultimately led to the Battle of Kulikovo and the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
The situation in northwestern Rus' was alarming. The Russian land was devastated by the Tatar-Mongols, and the forces of German, Swedish and Danish feudal lords converged on the northwestern borders of the Novgorod-Pskov land. The Swedish government decided to send an expedition. The goal of the campaign was to capture the Neva and Ladoga, and in case of complete success, Novgorod and the entire Novgorod land. By capturing the Neva and Ladoga, two goals could be achieved at once: firstly, the Finnish lands were cut off from Rus', and deprived of Russian support, they could easily become the prey of Swedish feudal lords; secondly, with the capture of the Neva in the hands of the Swedes, Novgorod and all of Rus' had the only access to the Baltic Sea. All foreign trade in northwestern Rus' was to come under Swedish control.
At the beginning of 1241, knights began to increasingly invade Novgorod's possessions. They, together with auxiliary detachments of the Estonians, attacked the land of the Vodi and imposed tribute on it. Some of the local nobility went over to the side of the invaders. The Crusaders set out to capture not only the land of the water, but also the coast of the Neva and Karelia. In the same year, Prince Alexander, having gathered an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga residents, as well as Karelians and Izhorians, marched against the crusaders. The victory on Lake Peipus - the Battle of the Ice - was of great importance for all of Rus', for all Russians and peoples associated with it, because this victory saved them from foreign yoke.
Alexander Nevsky (1221-1263), Prince of Novgorod in 1236-51, Grand Duke of Vladimir from 1252. Son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. With victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva 1240) and the German knights of the Livonian Order (Battle of the Ice 1242), he secured the western borders of Rus'. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Topic 4. Formation of a centralized state
(XIV - first half of the 16th centuries).
The process of formation of a unified Russian state took place approximately from the beginning of the 14th century to the middle of the 16th century, and a new state mechanism began to take shape. Reasons for the rise of Moscow:
1. Geographical location that provides political and trade benefits;
2. The personalities of the Moscow princes and their policies (the princes made the Tatars themselves a weapon for the rise of power, as can be seen from the struggle between Tver and Moscow);
3. The Tatar policy determined in favor of Moscow;
4. Sympathy of the boyars and clergy;
5. Correctness of succession to the throne in Moscow.
Moscow became in the 14th century. A large trade and craft center. Moscow artisans gained fame as skilled masters of foundry, blacksmithing and jewelry. It was in Moscow that it was born and received baptism of fire Russian artillery.
First stage formation single state(n. XIV-XIV centuries). The Moscow princes gradually removed their principality from its original narrow limits. In the possession of Prince Daniel were the districts: Moscow, Zvenigorod, Ruz and Bogorodsky with part of Dmitrovsky. The Moscow territory did not include Dmitrov, Klin, Volokolamsk, Mozhaisk, Serpukhov, Kolomna, Vereya.
The first Moscow prince Daniel attacked the Ryazan prince Constantine by surprise, and took Kolomna from him, and the city of Mozhaisk from the Smolensk prince. In addition, Daniil received the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in his will.
Yuri Daniilovich decided to look in the Horde for a label to the great Vladimir and entered into the fight for Vladimir with the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich. The struggle was carried out in the Horde through intrigue. Both princes were killed.
The khans of the Golden Horde sought to prevent the strengthening of any of the fighting sides. The largest uprising against the invaders was the uprising in Tver in 1327. It was used by the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1325-1340) to defeat his strongest rival. Having taken part in the punitive campaign of the Mongol-Tatar army, in 1328. Kalita, having thus earned the trust of the khan, received the label for the great reign of Vladimir.
Even after Ivan Kalita became the Grand Duke, the Moscow inheritance remained very insignificant. It consisted of five or seven cities with counties. The Moscow princes, having free money, began to buy land from private individuals, church institutions, the metropolitan, monasteries, and other princes. Ivan Kalita bought three specific cities with districts: Belozersk, Galich, Uglich. Also acquired were: Vereya, Borovsk, Volokolamsk, Kashir.
The Battle of Kulikovo marked the beginning of the revival of the national identity of the Russian people. Dmitry Donskoy played a huge role in this victory. This is a historical figure who managed to understand the people's aspirations and unite all Russian people to achieve them and, before the decisive battle with the oppressors, reconcile the most acute social contradictions. This is his merit in domestic politics. The Russian people realized that with united forces it was possible to achieve victory over foreign conquerors. Moscow's authority as the center of the liberation movement rose even higher. The process of unification of Russian lands around Moscow accelerated. Later, Dmitry Donskoy captured Starodub on Klyazma and Galich with Dmitrov.
The son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily, “witted” the Tatar princes and the khan himself and for “a lot of gold and silver” bought a label for Murom, Tarusa and the Nizhny Novgorod principality.
From the second half of the 14th century. begins second phase unification process, the main content of which was Moscow’s defeat of its main political rivals and the transition to the state unification of Russian lands around it and its organization of a nationwide struggle to overthrow the Horde yoke.
With the unification into a single whole of the “Great Reign of Vladimir” with the Principality of Moscow, Moscow asserted for itself the role and significance of the territorial and national center of the emerging Russian state. In 1393 Vasily I achieved agreement on the transfer of the Murom and Nizhny Novgorod principalities to Moscow, with the annexation of which it became possible to begin the creation of an all-Russian system of defense of the borders with the Horde. At the end of the 14th century. Moscow is taking the first steps to limit the independence of the Novgorod Boyar Republic and include its lands in the Moscow Principality.
Third (final) stage The formation of a unified state (1462 - 1533) took approximately 50 years - the time of the great reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505) and the first years of the reign of his successor - Vasily III Ivanovich (1505-1533).
In 1478 The Novgorod Republic was liquidated. In 1494 A peace was concluded between the Russian state and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, according to which Lithuania agreed to return to Russia the lands from the upper reaches of the Oka and the city of Vyazma. Finally, in 1521, the Ryazan principality, which had long been under the virtual subordination of Moscow, ceased to exist.
The unification of Russian lands was basically completed. A huge power was formed, the largest in Europe. Within the framework of this state, the Russian (Great Russian) people were united. From the end of the 15th century. The term “Russia” began to be used.
Topic 5. The era of the reign of Ivan the Terrible
By the end of the 16th century, Russia was a large country. In the west, the border region is Smolensk land, in the southwest - the regions of Orel, Kursk, and Tula. Kaluga was a border city. Next is a wild field - the steppe, which was under the constant threat of attack by the Crimean Khan. In the east, Russia ended with Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan districts. The state was already united, but the unification of Russian lands ended only recently.
Former appanage princes became the boyars of the Grand Duke. They became part of the Boyar Duma - the class body of the princely-boyar aristocracy. The Boyar Duma limited the power of the Grand Duke. The prince decided all the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy together with her.
The system of local self-government was archaic. The existing appanage principalities: there were still two of them left, they belonged to the younger brothers of Vasily III - Yuri (Dmitrov and Zvenigorod) and Andrey (Tver land and Vereya).
Ivan IV was born on August 25, 1530. When Ivan was 3 years old, his father, the 54-year-old prince, died Vasily III, having managed to bless his eldest son for the Grand Duchy. For the first five years, the child had a mother who firmly and decisively ruled the country. She eliminated Princes Yuri Ivanovich and Andrei Ivanovich in one way or another. After the death of Princess Elena in 1538, power was seized by opponents of centralization of power - the Shuisky princes, they were soon pushed aside by the Belsky princes, in 1543 the Vorontsov boyars came to power, then the Shuiskys again. In 1546, power again returned to the Glinskys, led by the grandmother of Ivan IV, Princess Anna.
Ivan IV had a sharp natural mind, brilliant eloquence and talent as a writer-publicist. At the age of 17-20, he amazed those around him with an exorbitant number of experienced impressions and changed thoughts, which his ancestors had not thought of even in mature age. He was a subtle politician, a skilled diplomat and a major military organizer. But a man of violent passions, nervous, harsh, hot-tempered, Ivan IV was endowed with a very heavy despotic character. He quickly lost control and flew into a terrible rage. WITH early youth He showed two traits: suspicion and cruelty.
The first step towards strengthening power was the crowning of Ivan IV, carried out by Metropolitan Macarius in 1547. This, according to the concepts of that time, sharply elevated Ivan above the Russian nobility and equated him with Western European sovereigns. The capital of the state, Moscow, was now adorned with a new title - it became the “king city”, and the Russian land - the Russian kingdom. But for the peoples of Russia, one of the most tragic periods of its history began. The “time of Ivan the Terrible” was coming.
The first steps of the Moscow sovereign are aimed at achieving a compromise between the feudal lords. A “Chosen Rada” is created, which includes representatives of different classes from those close to the king. In 1549 The Zemsky Sobor is created - an advisory body in which the aristocracy, clergy, and “sovereign people” are represented; later representatives of the merchant class and the city elite are elected.
To achieve his goals, the tsar establishes a sovereign land allotment - oprichnina (from the ancient “oprich” - except), where best lands in arable and military-strategic terms, expanded at the expense of the disgraced boyars. To implement the idea of centralization and the fight against undesirables, a “sovereign court” is created, a special army of a half-monastic, half-knightly image, an oprichnina Duma. The guardsmen are selected to be loyal, ready to obey unquestioningly, those close to the tsar from the princely-boyar aristocracy, foreign mercenaries. By establishing the oprichnina, Ivan IV granted himself the right to execute boyars without trial, which was one of the means of strengthening absolute power.
Russian foreign policy in the second half of the 16th century. The second half of the 16th century was spent in diplomatic and military attempts to eliminate the source of aggression in Kazan. Only by 1556, as a result of the siege and subsequent suppression of the actions of the Udmurts, Chuvash, and Mari, Kazan was turned into a Russian administrative and commercial center. In 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate was annexed to Russia, and in 1557. Bashkirs became part of the state. In the same year, the head of the Great Nogai Horde, Murza Izmail, swore allegiance to Russia. The conquest of Kazan created a stronghold for further advancement to the East, to the riches of the Urals and Siberia, which had attracted the attention of Russians since ancient times.
To develop economic and cultural ties with Western Europe, Russia needed free access to the Baltic Sea. But the Baltic states were in the hands of German feudal lords, who founded the Livonian Order of Knights there, which hindered Russia’s trade with Western countries. The Livonian War, which lasted almost a quarter of a century, ended in defeat for Russia. Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark acted as a united front against it. The strength of the Russian state during the war was undermined by acute internal struggle, primarily the oprichnina, and the Russian economy could not withstand such prolonged tension. After almost 25 years, a truce was concluded, as a result of which almost all conquests in the Baltic states were lost. Russia retained a small section of the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Neva.
The Russian population of the state was aware of its ethnic unity. The concept of “Russia” and its derivative “Russian”, which were used to define the entire country and its population, were increasingly established in the country. The word “Russian” began to be used to denote belonging to the Russian nationality, and the word “Russian” was used to denote belonging to the Russian state. This was finally established at the beginning of the 17th century.
Topic 6. Russia at the beginning of the 17th century. Time of Troubles
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Moscow state was experiencing a difficult and complex moral, political and socio-economic crisis. While on the Moscow throne there were sovereigns of the old familiar dynasty, direct descendants of Rurik and Vladimir the Saint, the vast majority of the population meekly and unquestioningly obeyed their “natural sovereigns.” But when the dynasties ceased and the state turned out to be “nobody’s,” the earth was confused and went into ferment.
The upper stratum of the Moscow population, the boyars, economically weakened and morally humiliated by the policies of Ivan the Terrible, began a troubled struggle for power in a country that had become “stateless.”
After the death of the childless Tsar Fyodor Annovich (in January 1598), Moscow swore allegiance to his wife, Tsarina Irina, but Irina renounced the throne and took monastic vows. When Moscow was suddenly left without a tsar, everyone's eyes turned to ruler Boris Godunov. A Zemstvo Sobor was convened from representatives of all ranks of all cities of the Moscow State, and the Sobor unanimously elected Boris Fedorovich to the kingdom. For eighteen years the fate of the Russian state and people was connected with the personality of Boris Godunov
During the general rule, Boris tried to maintain order and justice... Under him, the Russian colonization of Siberia and the construction of Russian cities (Turinsk, Tomsk) successfully continued.
The first two years of Boris's reign were calm and prosperous. In 1601 There was a widespread crop failure in Russia, which was repeated for the next two years. The result was famine and pestilence. The king wanted to help by distributing bread from the treasury, but these measures were not enough. A conviction arose among the people that the reign of Boris was not blessed by heaven, because, achieved by lawlessness, it was supported by untruth; they interpreted that if the family of Boris established itself on the throne, it would not bring happiness to the Russian land.
At this time, in Poland, a young man spoke out against Tsar Boris, who called himself Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, and declared his intention to go to Moscow, to gain the ancestral throne for himself. The Moscow government claimed that he was the Galich boyar son Grigory Otrepyev.
Some Polish lords agreed to help him, and in October 1604 False Dmitry entered the Moscow borders; issued an appeal to the people that God had saved him, the prince, from the villainous intentions of Boris Godunov, and he called on the population to accept him as the legitimate heir to the Russian throne. The struggle between the unknown young adventurer and the powerful king began, and in this struggle Rasstriga turned out to be the winner.
In 1605, Boris Godunov died, and the Throne was transferred to his son Theodore and the widow queen. An uprising broke out in Moscow, Theodore and his mother were strangled. The new tsar, False Dmitry I, entered Moscow accompanied by the Polish army. But he did not rule for long: in 1606 Moscow rebelled, and False Dmitry was captured and killed. Vasily Shuisky became king.
The movement against the “boyar tsar” Vasily Shuisky involved a variety of segments of the population: the lower classes, the nobility, and part of the boyars. It was they who took part in the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov in 1606–1607. The movement of Ivan Bolotnikov weakened the Russian state and prepared the conditions for the introduction of a second impostor into Russia, who enjoyed the direct help of the Polish-Lithuanian gentry. False Dmitry II moved his troops from Poland. In 1610, Shuisky’s army was defeated, the king was overthrown and tonsured a monk. Power passed into the hands of the Boyar Duma: the period of the “Seven Boyars” began. A national liberation movement against the interventionists was rising in the country. The Duma nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov became the head of the first militia. However, soon disagreements and a struggle for primacy began between the leaders of the militia. Taking advantage of the fact that power in the militia was passing into the hands of the “good nobles”, they organized the murder of Prokopiy Lyapunov.
The organizer of the second militia was the “zemsky elder” Kuzma Minin, who addressed the Nizhny Novgorod residents with an appeal: Decisive role Kuzma Minin also played a role in the selection of the military leader of the militia: it was he who formulated strict requirements for the future governor. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky satisfied all these requirements. In August 1612, after a difficult battle, the militia drove the Poles out of Moscow and locked their garrison in the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod. After a two-month siege, the interventionists, exhausted by hunger, surrendered.
The most important thing was to elect a king. A strong government was also needed in order to make peace with Poland and Sweden and restore order in the country. In the winter of 1613 The Zemsky Sobor was convened, the most representative of all those before and after. Long and stormy meetings finally led to the selection of a young 16-year-old boyar, Mikhail Romanov, the female nephew of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. The new tsar himself was at that time with his mother in a monastery near Kaluga.
There is a legend that one of the Polish detachments sought to harm him (kill him or capture him). However, the Polish detachment was led into the forests certain death peasant Ivan Susanin, who accomplished a feat in the name of his homeland, since the life of the young tsar was then tantamount to the unity and independence of Russia.
Section II. Russia in modern times.
Topic 7. Russia in the 17th century.
The problem of Russia's transition from a feudal formation to a capitalist one is complex and multifaceted. The beginning of capitalist development in Russia dates back to the 17th century.
Already in the 16th century. The Russian state was covered with a wide network of markets and fairs, at which a variety of industrial and agricultural products were sold, ranging from bread and livestock to small-scale industrial products. Among the townspeople's artisans, on the one hand, a group of wealthy commodity producers emerged, who became buyers or owners of large workshops, and on the other hand, a significant layer of poor people who lost the opportunity to conduct independent production. The same phenomenon was observed among the rural population, which included many impoverished and bankrupt owners, as opposed to wealthy peasants who acted as tenants and traders.
Russian state of the 16th-17th centuries. did not have the conditions for its economic development: its trade and industry did not reach a level that could ensure the gradual elimination of the personal dependence of the peasant; remote from the western and southern seas, it could not establish independent and active maritime trade; the fur riches of Siberia could not compete with the inexhaustible values of the American and South Asian colonies. Russia received in the 17th century. the importance of the commodity market, the supplier of agricultural products is economically more developed countries. Huge land reserves, relatively easily accessible to settlers, attracted by the fertility of the soil and the mildness of the climate, contributed to the gradual thinning of the population in the historical center, thereby softening the severity of its class contradictions,
From the middle of the 17th century, Russia was shaken by powerful uprisings that took place in response to government measures to increase exploitation and further enslavement of the peasants - the expansion of noble land ownership, the introduction of new fees and duties.
In the 2nd half of the 17th century, a broad religious movement arose in the Moscow state, known as schism. The external reason for this movement was the church reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikon and which caused a sharp clash within the Orthodox Church between defenders of the reform and opponents. But the main reason was the struggle of peasants and townspeople against feudal exploitation. The schismatics tried to obscure class contradictions; disputes about faith and rituals came first.
In 1648 A movement called the “salt riot” broke out in Moscow. To stabilize the situation, the authorities convened the Zemsky Sobor, which decided to prepare a new “Code”. The unrest in the capital did not stop until the end of the year. A powerful, albeit fleeting, uprising broke out in Moscow - the “Copper Riot” on July 25, 1662.
In 1667 An uprising of Cossacks led by Stepan Razin broke out on the Don.
The introduction of a new code of laws, " Cathedral Code“1649, the brutal search for fugitives, the increase in taxes for the war intensified the already tense situation in the state. The bulk of the Cossacks, especially the fugitives, lived poorly and meagerly. The Cossacks did not engage in agriculture. The salary they received from Moscow was not enough. The Cossacks sent an embassy to Moscow with a request to accept them into the royal service, but they were refused. By 1667 The Cossack uprisings turned into a well-organized movement under the leadership of Razin. A large army of rebels was defeated in 1670. near Simbirsk. At the beginning of 1671 The main centers of the movement were suppressed by punitive detachments of the authorities.
As a result of a long struggle between Russia and Poland in the 50-60s of the 17th century. Russia according to the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667. managed to return Smolensk and capture left-bank Ukraine; Kyiv also passed to Russia. The Andrusovo truce was supplemented in the same year by the so-called Moscow Union Decree.
But if in relations between Russia and Poland in the second half of the 17th century. Since a balance had been established based on equality of power and a certain coincidence of interests, Russia’s position relative to its other western neighbor, Sweden, was fraught with long-term conflicts.
According to the Stolbovo Treaty of 1617, the Swedes completely pushed Russia away from Baltic Sea, capturing the ancestral Russian lands on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.
The Russian state was deprived of a natural route of communication with the countries of Western Europe, communication with which was an important condition for overcoming the country's backwardness. In the 17th century (in 1654) the reunification of Left Bank Ukraine with Russia took place.
Topic 8. The era of Peter I. The birth of an empire. Russia at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries.
Russia of the 17th century itself historical development was faced with the need for radical reforms, since only in this way could it secure its worthy place among the states of the West and the East.
In the second half of the 17th century, the nature of the state system in Rus' began to change, and absolutism took shape more and more clearly. Russian culture and sciences received further development: mathematics and mechanics, physics and chemistry, geography and botany, astronomy and mining. Cossack explorers discovered a number of new lands in Siberia.
During his reign, Peter I carried out major reforms aimed at overcoming Russia's lag behind Europe. As a result of reforms of the state apparatus, the place of the Boyar Duma was taken by the Senate, established in 1711 to manage all affairs in the event of the departure of the sovereign. The Senate was the highest judicial, administrative and legislative institution that submitted various issues for legislative resolution by the monarch. The boards in charge of the economic life of Russia and organized according to the Swedish model, instead of a complex and clumsy apparatus of orders, were subordinated to the Senate. In total, by the end of the 1st quarter of the 17th century. there were 13 collegiums, which became central government institutions, formed on a functional basis. In 1721, Peter approved the Spiritual Regulations, which completely subordinated the church to the state. The patriarchate was abolished, and the Holy Governing Synod was established to govern the church. The Synod was the main central institution for ecclesiastical matters. He appointed bishops, exercised financial control, was in charge of his fiefs and exercised judicial functions in relation to such crimes as heresy, blasphemy, schism, etc. Great importance had administrative reform, which divided Russia into 8 (and then 10) provinces headed by governors “to take a better look at monetary collections and other matters.” On May 16, 1703, on one of the islands at the mouth of the Neva, by order of Peter I, the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress began. The fortress became the beginning of a new city, named St. Petersburg in honor of the patron saint. In 1712, St. Petersburg became the capital of the Russian state.
Peter's transformations affected all spheres of public life: the Decree on Single Inheritance secured noble ownership of land, and the Table of Ranks established the order of ranks for military and civil servants not according to nobility, but according to personal merit and abilities.
The growth of the state budget, necessary for an active foreign and domestic policy, led to a radical reform of the entire tax system - the introduction of a poll tax, which increased the serfdom of peasants on the landowners. The poll tax was heavier than the duties that serfs served in favor of the master. The people responded to the deterioration of their situation with increased resistance: escapes of serfs, destruction of noble estates, and armed resistance became more frequent. Astrakhan uprising 1705-1706. And the uprising under the representation of Bulavin was brutally suppressed by government troops.
Peter created a regular army and navy. The basis of the structure of the armed forces was conscription, introduced in 1705, and compulsory military service of nobles who received the rank of officer after graduating from military school or serving as privates. The organization, weapons, tactics, rights and responsibilities of all ranks were determined by the Military Regulations (1716), the Naval Regulations (1720) and the Maritime Regulations (1722), in the development of which Peter himself participated.
In 1722 Peter I issued the Charter of Succession to the Throne, according to which the monarch could determine his successor “recognizing the convenient one” and had the right, seeing “indecency in the heir,” to deprive him of the throne “seeing him worthy.” The legislation of that time defined actions against the king and the state as the most serious crimes
Started by Peter I North War had the goal of returning to Russia those of its lands, the possession of which was absolutely necessary for its further development. The victorious Northern War provided Russia with a full place in Europe. From now on, the history of the Russian Empire is a history of territorial acquisitions and movement to the west, south and southeast.
Topic 9. The Russian Empire in the 18th century.
In the first half of the 18th century. there has been a magnitude of change. The country's territory grew significantly, after many centuries of struggle it gained access to the sea, eliminating political and economic isolation, entered the international arena and became a great European power.
November 25, 1741 Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the throne through a coup. The Empress did not forget about the legitimate Russian sovereign John YI - the main reason for her fears, although she did not intend to break her vow to save his life. Elizaveta Petrovna already on November 28, 1741. hastened to proclaim the son of Duke Karl Friedrich and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, Karl-Peter-Ulrich as heir Russian throne. February 5, 1742 The 14-year-old prince was brought to St. Petersburg and baptized Orthodox rite and has already been officially declared the heir to the Russian crown - Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.
December 25, 1761 Empress Elizabeth, having reigned for exactly twenty years and one month, died, and Peter Fedorovich ascended the throne under the name of Peter III. In just 186 days of the reign of Peter III, he issued 192 decrees, and most of them were still far from extravagant. The general course of the country's government was pro-noble. February 18, 1762 a manifesto was issued on the granting of freedom to the Russian nobility - the nobles were exempted from compulsory public service, and could now continue or stop serving according to at will and at any time. A number of decrees were devoted to more humane treatment of serfs. By decree of January 29, 1762 The emperor put an end to the persecution of Old Believers for their faith. The Emperor took steps to strengthen military discipline in the guards units. His attitude towards the guards was negative: Peter did not hide his intention to abolish them in the future guards regiments at all. All this could not but give rise to opposition to Peter III among the officers, especially among the guards. Both the clergy and part of the nobility were dissatisfied, shocked by some of the emperor’s antics and disregard for the rules of court etiquette. Ekaterina Alekseevna took advantage of the dissatisfaction of precisely these circles. Relying on the guards regiments, she proclaimed herself autocrat and her husband deposed.
In foreign policy, Catherine II was a direct follower of Peter I|. She was able to understand the fundamental tasks of Russian foreign policy and managed to complete what the Moscow sovereigns had been striving for for centuries. Russia under Catherine waged wars with Turkey and Sweden, participated in three partitions of Poland and, as a result, annexed all Russian regions except Galicia, conquered the Crimea, significant territories in Belarus, Lithuania, western Ukraine, and Courland.
Ekaterina made a significant contribution to the development of culture and art in Russia.
The legislation on peasants of Catherine's time was still aimed at further limiting peasant rights and strengthening the landowner's power over them. During the peasant unrest in 1765-1766. landowners received the right to exile their peasants not only to settle in Siberia (this had already happened before), but also to hard labor, “for insolence” to the landowner. The landowner could give the peasant as a soldier at any time, without waiting for the time of recruitment. By decree of 1767 peasants were prohibited from filing any complaints against the landowners. During the reign of Catherine, the secularization of church lands, the development of legislation on estates, judicial reform, legislative consolidation of private property, measures to expand trade and entrepreneurship, and the introduction of paper money were carried out. In 1775 "Institutions for the management of provinces" were published. Instead of the previous 20 provinces that existed in 1766, according to these “institutions on provinces” there appeared by 1795. already fifty-one provinces.
Topic 10. The Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century.
In the first decades of the 19th century. The decomposition of the feudal-serf system and the formation of a capitalist structure in its depths was accompanied by phenomena characteristic of the transition period in the socio-economic development of Russia. Agriculture remained the basis of the country's economy at this time.
Paul I, after ascending the throne, alienated the army and the people. Dissatisfaction with him grew, the break with England created a serious danger for Russia, a sudden expedition to Turkestan was madness. Alexander I is the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and his second wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna. He took the throne after his father was killed in a conspiracy
The first half of the reign of Alexander I was marked by moderate liberal reforms. The Emperor granted freedom to those imprisoned and exiled by his father, issued a decree on the abolition of torture, and restored the validity of the Charters of 1785. At this time, important changes were made in the administrative system of the empire: in 1802, ministries and the State Council were established. In 1803, the Decree on Free Plowmen was issued, according to which landowners were allowed to dismiss peasants with land. However, noticeable practical significance this decree did not have. It was more of a farce than a real attempt to end the serfdom.
In foreign policy in the first decade XIX centuries, Russia maneuvered between England and France. In 1805-1807 Russia took part in the wars against Napoleonic France, which ended in 1807 with the signing of the Peace of Tilsit. But in 1810, relations between Russia and France became openly hostile. The war between Russia and France began in the summer of 1812. The Russian army, having rid the country of invaders, completed the liberation of Europe with a triumphal entry into Paris. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov fought the famous Battle of Borodino, which had enormous strategic and political significance not only during the War of 1812, but throughout the history of the Russian people,
Successfully ended wars with Turkey (1806-1812) and Sweden (1808-1809) strengthened international situation Russia. During the reign of Alexander I, Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812), and Azerbaijan (1813) were annexed to Russia. In 1825, during a trip to Taganrog, Emperor Alexander I caught a severe cold and died on November 19, 1825.
The personality of A.A. Arakcheev, the all-powerful temporary worker under Emperor Alexander I, is usually associated with the reactionary course of the autocracy after the Patriotic War of 1812, a course called “Arakcheevism”. In memoirs and research literature, many unflattering words were said about this temporary worker. During the years of his power, Arakcheev was hated by both “right” and “left”.
February 9 will become a memorable day in the history of Russia. A group of young officers created their first secret society, which they will call the “Union of Salvation”, and a little later - the “Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland”. This society was joined by Pavel Pestel, Ivan Pushchin, Mikhail Lunin, about 30 young people, mostly guards officers, who swore that the only goal of their lives would be to fight against Serfdom, for the introduction of constitutional laws in Russia limiting absolutism. The policies of Alexander I, his attitude towards the suffering of the serfs, the torment of the people, the scourge of Arakcheevism gave rise to the anger and rebellion of honest Russian people, the Decembrist uprising (December 14, 1826).
The accession of Nicholas I brought a clear revival to the life of the country. Quite soon, the new emperor managed to win the sympathy of secular society. And not only him. Despite the reputation of a narrow-minded martinet, which Nicholas earned as a Grand Duke, he was presented as the new Peter.
The second quarter of the 19th century was characterized by the growing crisis of the serfdom system, which hampered the development of production forces. At the same time, the processes of disintegration of old forms of management have become more clearly visible. As the foreign market took shape and foreign trade expanded, the share of industry in the economy increased. Manufacture grew into a capitalist factory. Domestic mechanical engineering is on the rise. In rural households, serfdom also experienced a crisis. The influence of new economic demands has already been felt in transport. This has become especially noticeable in water transport. In 1833, 15 volumes of the Code of Laws were prepared. During the 30 years of his reign, the focus of Nicholas 1’s attention was on the peasant issue. The first step in this direction was to be the reform of state village management.
It broke out in 1830. The uprising in Poland led to the flight of Konstantin Pavlovich and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. But the Russian army managed to storm Warsaw and suppress the uprising. The relative independence of Poland was eliminated.
The Caucasian War, which began in 1817, accompanied the annexation of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan and the Northwestern Caucasus to Russia. In 1834-1859. The struggle of the highlanders of Dagestan and Chechnya against the tsarist colonialists was led by Shamil, who created a military-theocratic state - the imamate. In 1859, due to the superiority of the tsarist troops, Shamil was forced to surrender on honorable terms. The last pockets of resistance in the North Caucasus were suppressed only in 1864.
Topic 11. Russia in the second half of the 19th century.
Emperor of All Russia (02/18/1856-03/1/1881) Alexander Nikolaevich, the eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, ascended the throne after the death of Nicholas I. Under Alexander II, serfdom was abolished in Russia (Regulation of February 19, 1861), for that the emperor was nicknamed the Tsar Liberator. More than 22 million Russian peasants were liberated and new order public peasant management. According to the Judicial Reform of 1864, the judicial power was separated from the executive, administrative and legislative powers. In civil and criminal trials, openness and jury trials were introduced, and the irremovability of judges was declared. In 1874, a decree was issued on all-class military service, which removed the hardships military service from the lower classes. At this time, higher educational institutions for women were created (in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Kyiv), 3 universities were founded - Novorossiysk (1865), Warsaw (1865) and Tomsk (1880). In 1863, a provision was adopted to exempt capital periodicals, as well as some books, from preliminary censorship. There was a gradual abolition of exclusionary and restrictive laws in relation to schismatics and Jews. However, after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. the government gradually moved towards limiting reforms to a number of temporary rules and ministerial circulars... Emperor Nicholas I left his heir the Crimean War, which ended with the defeat of Russia and the signing of peace in Paris in March 1856. In 1864, the conquest of the Caucasus was completed. According to the Aigun Treaty with China, the Amur Territory was annexed to Russia (1858), and according to the Beijing Treaty - the Ussuri Territory (1860). In 1864, Russian troops began a campaign in Central Asia, as a result of which the areas that formed the Turkestan region (1867) and the Fergana region (1873) were captured. Russian rule extended all the way to the peaks of the Tien Shan and to the foot of the Himalayan range. In 1867, Russia sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States. The most important event in Russian foreign policy during the reign of Alexander II was the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which ended in the victory of Russian troops. The result of this was the declaration of independence of Serbia, Romania and Montenegro. Russia received part of Bessarabia, seized in 1856 (except for the islands of the Danube Delta) and a monetary indemnity in the amount of 302.5 million rubles. In addition, Ardahan, Kars and Batum with their districts were annexed to Russia. On March 1, 1881, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded by a bomb thrown at him by the terrorist Grinevitsky. Alexander II is buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Emperor of All Russia (03/2/1881-10/20/1894) On March 1, 1881, after the assassination of Emperor Alexander II by terrorists, his son Alexander III ascended the throne. On April 29, 1881, Alexander III issued a manifesto on the establishment of autocracy, which meant a transition to a reactionary course in domestic politics. However, in the first half of the 1880s, under the influence of economic development and the current political situation, the government of Alexander III was forced to carry out a number of reforms. In 1882, a peasant bank was established, with the help of which peasants could acquire land property. On foreign policy, during these years there was a deterioration in Russian-German relations and there was a gradual rapprochement between Russia and France, ending with the conclusion of the Franco-Russian Union (1891-1893). Alexander III died in the fall of 1894.
At the turn of two centuries, Russian social democracy entered a qualitatively new stage of its development. There was a process of transition from circles to the formation of a single political party of the working class. But because Several movements continued to exist within Social Democracy that had their own vision of the paths of revolution, but this process was not simple. The greatest authority and recognition among Russian Social Democrats enjoyed the so-called. an orthodox trend that traces its origins to the “Emancipation of Labor” group and was further developed in the St. Petersburg “Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class” and in similar organizations.
At the end of the 90s. XIX century “legal Marxists” and “economists” appeared in Russian social democracy, whose representatives attempted to “modernize” Marxist orthodoxy. Sharing many of E. Bernstein’s ideas, “legal Marxists” and “economists” sought to adapt and develop them in relation to specific Russian conditions. The formation of the RSDLP in 1989 was a logical stage in the development of the labor and social democratic movement in Russia.
Section III. Russia, USSR in modern times.
Topic 12. Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
Over the post-reform forty years, thanks to high growth rates, primarily in industry, Russia has traveled a path that took the West centuries to achieve. After the industrial boom of the 90s, Russia experienced a severe economic crisis of 1900-1903, then a period of long depression of 1904-1908. In 1909-1913. The country's economy made a new sharp leap, industrial production increased 1.5 times. Monopolization process Russian economy received a new impetus. Leading positions in the country's economy by the beginning of the 20th century. occupied by the bourgeoisie. However, until the mid-90s, it actually did not play any independent role in the socio-political life of the country. The nobility, while remaining the ruling class-estate, also retained significant economic power. Despite the loss of almost 40% of all its lands, by 1905 it was the most important social pillar of the regime.
People who made a significant contribution to the solution of the main thing for Tsarist Russia issue - agricultural, of course, S.Yu. Witte and P.A. Stolypin. In 1894-95 Witte achieved stabilization of the ruble, and in 1897 he did what his predecessors had failed to do - he introduced gold currency circulation, providing the country with a hard currency until the First World War and an influx of foreign capital. At the same time, taxation, especially indirect taxation, increased sharply. One of the most effective means of pumping money out of the people's pockets was the state monopoly introduced by Witte on the sale of alcohol, wine and vodka products.
A document drawn up under the leadership of Witte was published, which became known as the October 17 Manifesto.
This manifesto granted Russian subjects civil liberties, and the future State Duma (the convocation of which was proclaimed on August 6) was endowed with legislative rights. Witte also achieved the publication of his report with a reform program along with the manifesto.
In the field of foreign policy, Nicholas II took some steps to stabilize international relations. In 1898, the Russian emperor turned to the governments of Europe with proposals to sign agreements on maintaining world peace and establishing limits to the constant growth of armaments. The Hague Peace Conferences took place in 1899 and 1907, some of whose decisions are still in effect today. In 1904, Japan declared war on Russia, which ended in 1905 with the defeat of the Russian army. During these same years, Russia intervened in the struggle for the redistribution of sales markets. The war between Russia and Japan for dominance in the sales market in China, which ended in the defeat of Russia, clearly showed the unpreparedness of the Russian army and the weakness of the economy.
Nicholas II ascended the throne after the death of his father. The coronation of Nicholas II was marked by a disaster on the Khodynskoye Field in Moscow. The entire reign of Nicholas II passed in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement.
At the beginning of 1905, a revolution broke out in Russia, marking the beginning of some reforms. The impetus for the start of the revolution was the shooting on January 9, 1905 of a peaceful workers' demonstration in St. Petersburg. On October 17, 1905, a Manifesto was issued, which recognized the foundations of civil freedom: personal inviolability, freedom of speech, assembly and union. A large and influential party that united wide circles of liberal and radical intellectuals was the People's Freedom Party, or the Constitutional Democratic Party. Its leader was professor-historian P.N. Milyukov. Between the left and radical movements, on the one hand, and the right, conservative and reactionary, on the other, there was the moderate liberal “Union of October 17th” (“Octobrists”) (the leader of the Union was the major Moscow industrialist A.I. Guchkov) . July 17, 1903 The Second Congress of the RSDLP began its work in Brussels. Trotsky fully supported the line. He did not accept Lenin’s formulation, seeing in it the desire to create a closed organization, and the inevitable penetration of opportunism into the party in this regard. The Second Congress separated Trotsky from Lenin and Martov.
Results of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. One of the main results of the revolution of 1905-1907. There was a noticeable shift in the consciousness of the people. Patriarchal Russia was replaced by revolutionary Russia.
Topic 13. Russia in 1907-1917.
With the defeat in the war with Japan, the revolutionary situation in the country grew (1905-1907). Russia needed both political and economic reforms that could strengthen and improve the economy. The leader of these reforms had to be a person for whom the fate of Russia was important. He became Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin.
According to the project of P.A. Stolypin, an agrarian reform was carried out: peasants were allowed to freely dispose of their land and create farmsteads. An attempt was made to abolish the rural community, which was of great importance for the development of capitalist relations in the countryside.
November 9, 1906 a decree was issued “On supplementing some resolutions current law relating to peasant land ownership and land use." Reworked in the III State Duma, it came into force as a law on June 14, 1910. May 29, 1911 The law “On Land Management” was adopted.
The last three acts formed the legal basis for the measures that went down in history as the “Stolypin agrarian reform.”
June 15, 1914 In the city of Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinant, was killed. Serbian student terrorist Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke and his wife. In response to this murder, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia on July 10, which contained a number of obviously unacceptable demands. Russia was considered the patroness and protector of Orthodox Slavic Serbia. The Germans sought to expand their borders. War was inevitable.
In 1914, Russia entered the First World War on the side of the Entente countries against Germany. Failures at the front in the First World War, revolutionary propaganda in the rear and among the troops, etc. caused sharp discontent with the autocracy in various circles of society. The defeat in East Prussia somewhat cooled the enthusiasm in Russia caused by the outbreak of war. Hopes for a lightning victory gradually evaporated. It became clear that the war promises to be long and difficult...
It was already the thirty-first month of the World War when, in February 1917. A revolution took place in Russia. By this time, the Russian front held almost half of all enemy military forces. At first glance, the situation at the front has become stable. However, deep dissatisfaction with the endless war had already accumulated in the armies, and the thirst for a speedy peace intensified.
The uprising broke out spontaneously, taking everyone by surprise. February Revolution began under the conditions of the World War, which aggravated and deepened the existing problems and contradictions in the political, socio-economic, national and other spheres of life.
The February Revolution was one of the searches for ways out of the crisis of bourgeois civilization. Its first result was the fall of the autocracy and the arrest of the tsarist government. The starting point for the collapse of the historical connection of times was the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II from the throne on March 2, 1917. The formation of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet created a situation of dual power in the country. The generalization of the components of the forces of the revolution into two resultants - the Provisional Government and the Council - is permissible only in the first months of the revolution
The February Revolution, having created the conditions for the establishment of democracy in a backward country with centuries-old traditions of autocracy, could direct the development of the country along a constructive path, and small radical groups of extremists (on the left - Bolsheviks and anarchists, on the right - monarchists) could not interfere with this.
But the Provisional Government was unable to implement much-needed changes: to end the war and give land to the peasants. Perhaps his main mistake and vice was the continuation of the imperialist war, into which Russia was drawn by the autocracy.
Topic 14. Revolutionary upheavals and confrontations in society (1917-1920).
The reasons for the accession of Bolshevism were: fatigue from war and unrest, general dissatisfaction with the existing situation, captivating slogans - “Power to the proletariat! Land for the peasants! Enterprises for workers! Immediate peace! This happened not least because Lenin’s radicalism in the fight against the old order, at least in the form in which Lenin put his calls in 1917, fully met the aspirations of the majority ordinary people. Power was falling from the hands of the Provisional Government; in the whole country there was no force, except the Bolsheviks, that could lay claim to their heavy legacy fully armed real power. The process of seizing power took place clearly and openly. Congresses of Soviets and the Bolshevik press called for an uprising. When the armed conflict of the October Revolution began in the capital on October 25, there was no armed force on the side of the government. Only a few military and cadet schools entered the battle. The remaining troops were on the side of the Soviets, they were joined by sailors and several naval vessels who arrived from Kronstadt. On October 25-26, power in the capital changed.
On October 25 at 22:40 the 2nd Congress of Soviets began to work. The congress legislated the transfer of power to the Bolsheviks, adopted decrees on peace and land, and approved the first Soviet government based on Trotsky's report - SNK. In the first Soviet government, Lenin became chairman. Trotsky took the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Lunacharsky - People's Commissar for Education. Stalin at that time was the People's Commissar for Nationalities.
The situation in the opposite camp was not much better: the attack on Petrograd by Krasnov’s troops, the flight of Kerensky, the dictatorship in Petrograd in the person of the peaceful man Dr. N.M. Kishkin, the paralysis of the headquarters of the Petrograd district. Gatchina became the only center of active struggle against the Bolsheviks. Everyone gathered there (Kerensky, Krasnov, Savinkov, Chernov, Stankevich and others). It all ended on November 1 with the flight of Kerensky and the conclusion of a truce between General Krasnov and sailor Dybenko. The only elements that could be turned to for help to save the state were the “Kornilov rebels.” Headquarters, depersonalized by the long months of the Keren regime, having missed the time when organization and accumulation of forces were still possible, cannot become the moral organizing center of the struggle. The first days of Bolshevism in the country and in the army: Finland and Ukraine declared their sovereignty, Estonia, Crimea, Bessarabia, Transcaucasia, Siberia declared their autonomy. The Soviets issued decrees: “A truce on all fronts and peace negotiations,” on the transfer of land to volost land committees, control workers in factories, on “the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia,” on the abolition of courts and laws.
The problem of armed defense of power required an immediate solution, and at the beginning of 1918, the Bolsheviks created armed detachments of volunteer soldiers and selected commanders. But with the growth of opposition and the beginning foreign intervention the government was forced on June 9, 1918 to announce mandatory military service. The emergency commissioner for supply of the Red Army and Navy, Rykov, was responsible for the equipment.
The Civil War is the greatest tragedy in the history of our country. This struggle took the most extreme forms, bringing with it mutual cruelty, terror, and irreconcilable anger. The denial of the past of the world often turned into a denial of the entire past and resulted in the tragedy of those people who defended their ideals. From the second half of 1918 to 1920, war became the main content of the country's life. The Bolsheviks defended their conquests October revolution. Their opponents pursued a variety of goals - from a “united and indivisible” monarchical Russia to Soviet Russia, but without communists. The escalation of the civil war was facilitated by the intervention of the Entente. The intervention sharply activated the forces of internal counter-revolution. A wave of riots swept across Russia. The army of Ataman Krasnov was formed on the Don, and the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin was formed in the Kuban.
In the new conditions, the peasants should be patient, regularly supply grain to the city according to surplus appropriation, and the authorities will “distribute it to plants and factories”, promptly restore on this basis the industry almost completely destroyed during the years of hard times, return the debt to the peasantry - and then , according to Lenin, “we will have communist production and distribution.”
The years of “war communism” became a period of the establishment of a political dictatorship that completed a two-pronged process that lasted for many years: the destruction or subordination to the Bolsheviks of the independent institutions created during 1917 (Soviets, factory committees, trade unions), and the destruction of non-Bolshevik parties.
Publishing activities were curtailed, non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned, leaders of opposition parties were arrested, who were then outlawed, independent institutions were constantly monitored and gradually destroyed, the terror of the Cheka intensified, and the “rebellious” Soviets were forcibly dissolved.
Topic 15. Russia, USSR in 1920 – 1930.
Since the end of 1920, the position of the ruling Communist Party in Russia began to rapidly deteriorate. The multimillion-dollar Russian peasantry, having defended their land in battles with the White Guards and interventionists, more and more persistently expressed their reluctance to put up with the economic policies of the Bolsheviks, which stifled any economic initiative.
The latter persisted because they did not see anything wrong in their actions. This is understandable: after all, they regarded “war communism” not simply as a sum of emergency measures forced by the war, but also as a breakthrough in the right direction - towards the creation of a non-commodity, truly socialist economy.
In response, one after another in different parts of the country (in the Tambov province, in the Middle Volga region, on the Don, Kuban, in Western Siberia) anti-government peasant uprisings break out. In March, sailors and Red Army soldiers of Kronstadt, the largest naval base, took up arms against the communists Baltic Fleet. A wave of mass strikes and demonstrations by workers was growing in the cities.
At the end of 1921 Lenin’s formula of “state capitalism” is enriched with the concept of “transfer of state enterprises to the so-called economic accounting”, i.e. in his words, “largely on commercial, capitalist grounds.” It is not without reason that in the early 20s the Politburo of the Central Committee paid special attention to the legal side of regulating private-economic relations in order to have appropriate legal grounds ready against them.
The transition to the NEP strengthened the objective need for the unification of the republics. Stalin at that time was the People's Commissar for Nationalities, and he was a supporter of unification on the basis of autonomy, because At the same time, it was possible to completely control the entire territory. At the same 10th Congress, Stalin proposed putting an end to national issue forever and proposed an administrative repartition of Russia.
But the Bolsheviks underestimated the national question. A policy of forced rapprochement and unification of nationalities began. In July 1922 The FSSSRZ project was proposed. At the same time, the main powers remained in the hands of the republics. It was a union based on confederations. The Bolsheviks rarely took into account the national question and the opinions of people who did not agree with the general course of the party. On a not very voluntary basis, the USSR began to consist of 6 republics - the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the ZSFSR.
The years of “war communism” became a period of establishment of a political dictatorship, which completed a two-pronged process that lasted for many years: the destruction or subordination of the independent institutions created during 1917 to the Bolsheviks. (Soviets, factory committees, trade unions), and the destruction of non-Bolshevik parties.
Industrialization required large capital investments. They could be provided by commercial farms of strong peasants, including kulak farms. The kulak, by its nature an economically free commodity producer, did not “fit” into the framework of administrative regulation of the economy. On his farm he used hired force, i.e. was an exploiter, a class enemy. “Total collectivization” was the result of a massive forced movement of peasants into the collective farm. This was an action, the consequence of which was the “de-peasantization” of the country.
The kulak was declared the main enemy, and all difficulties, mistakes, and miscalculations began to be explained by kulak machinations. This is understandable: the alienation of the producer from the means of production required the use of violent actions.
Famine 1932-1933 for Ukrainians was the same as the Nazi genocide for Jews or the massacre of 1915. for Armenians. The most terrible thing about the Holodomor of 1932-1933. - that it could have been avoided. In other words, there was enough food. However, the state systematically seized most of them for its own needs. Despite requests and warnings from Ukrainian communists, Stalin raised the target for grain procurements in Ukraine by 44%. His decision and the cruelty with which it was carried out condemned millions of people to death from artificially created famine.
The USSR Constitution of 1936, or “Stalinist”, was a fictitious fundamental law. Its text proclaimed many of the rights that were enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and the rights were enshrined as universal and equal for all “workers” (meaning that “exploiters and their accomplices” had already been destroyed). But in reality, man was completely powerless and powerless in the face of the super-powerful machine of total terror.
The main reason for the repressions that were organized by Stalin was disappointment in him as a Secretary General Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of a certain part of party workers and communists. They condemned him for organizing forced collectivization, the famine it caused, and the incredible pace of industrialization that caused numerous casualties. This dissatisfaction found expression during the voting for the list of the Central Committee. 270 delegates expressed in their ballots a vote of no confidence in the “leader of all times and peoples.” Moreover, they offered S.M. Kirov the post of General Secretary, who did not accept the offer. However, this did not help Kirov: December 1, 1934. he was killed.
Stalin, having organized the murder of Kirov, used it to instill fear in the country, to deal with the remnants of the previously defeated opposition” with its new manifestations. In March 1935 A law was passed on punishing family members of traitors to the Motherland, and a month later a Decree on bringing children under 12 years of age to trial. Millions of people, the vast majority of whom were not guilty, found themselves behind the wire and walls of the Gulag. Archival materials, published since the early 90s, will ultimately help determine the exact figure Stalin's repressions. However, individual figures and facts provide a sufficient idea of the past of the 30s. Only in 1939 2,103 thousand people passed through the Gulag system. Of these, 525 thousand died.
Topic 16. USSR during the Great Patriotic War
(1941-1945).
The USSR was preparing for war, preparing very intensely: at an accelerated pace, a second industrial and economic base was created in the regions of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia, with special attention paid to the development of the defense industry:
December 18, 1940 In Germany, the famous directive N21 “Operation Barbarossa” was issued; the main idea of the “Barbarossa” plan was as follows: to defeat Soviet Russia through a quick military operation.
Sudden German invasion on June 22, 1941 into the territory of the USSR required quick and precise action from the Soviet government. First of all, on the day of the Nazi attack, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree on the mobilization of those liable for military service in 1905-1918. birth. In a matter of hours, detachments and units were formed.
On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR was formed for strategic leadership of military operations, headed by I.V. Stalin, who was appointed People's Commissar of Defense, and then the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
Defeats 1941-1942 led to the irretrievable loss of a significant part of the personnel army, along with a large amount of weapons, and the enemy’s occupation of a vast territory with the main centers of the defense industry.
The victory of Soviet troops near Moscow was of great importance in the fight against fascism. Hitler's Germany, which enslaved dozens of European nations, suffered a serious defeat for the first time in World War II. At the walls of the Soviet capital, the myth of the “invincibility” of the Wehrmacht was dispelled. The victory near Moscow marked the beginning of a radical turn in the Great Patriotic War.
November 19, 1942 The Red Army launched a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army defeated five armies of Nazi Germany and its allies: two German, two Romanian and one Italian. Under the influence of the Battle of Stalingrad, major changes occurred in the international situation. The death of selected Wehrmacht troops at Stalingrad caused a moral decline among the German population. A 3-day mourning period was declared in the country.
As a result of the successful offensive of the Soviet Army in 1944. Leningrad was completely liberated from the siege.
The Battle of Stalingrad took place on July 17, 1942. to February 2, 1943 It was the beginning of a radical change and collapse of the Wehrmacht’s offensive strategy. The enemy suffered the second major defeat on the Soviet-German front in the Battle of Kursk - July 5-August 23, 1943. The Battle of Kursk lasted fifty days - one of greatest battles Second World War. After the Battle of Kursk, the power and glory of Russian weapons increased.
During the assault on the German capital, Soviet troops lost 300 thousand killed and wounded. Leftovers German troops in northern Germany, pressed against the Baltic Sea coast, also capitulated. On May 9, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. It was Victory.
Fearing a possible prolongation of the war with Japan, Roosevelt offered Stalin very favorable terms in exchange for the USSR opening military action against Japan three months after Germany's surrender:
Due to rapid progress German troops to the east, there was an urgent need to evacuate the population, factories and valuables from territories that were in danger and could fall into the hands of the enemy. During the evacuation, 7 million people were evacuated in 1941. and 4 million people in 1942. The following plants were transported: “Zaporozhstal” from Dnepropetrovsk to Magnitogorsk (8 thousand cars were required) Leningrad plant named after. Kirov and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (both of these plants were merged into a single plant to produce tanks). The first years of the war were the most difficult. We had to rebuild the economy, put it on a war footing.
The German attack on the USSR marked the beginning of the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition. June 12, 1941 A Soviet-British cooperation agreement was signed. The parties agreed not to enter into separate peace with Germany. On June 24, the United States also announced its support for the USSR. On October 1, the first trilateral agreement was signed, according to which the United States and Great Britain pledged to assist the USSR by providing it with weapons and food.
By the end of 1943 a radical turning point in the course of the war had been achieved. The first summit meeting of the leaders of the three main states of the anti-Hitler coalition - Franklin Roosevelt, JV Stalin and Winston Churchill - took place in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The purpose of the conference was to coordinate actions for 1944. and discussion of issues of the post-war world order. Among the main decisions of the conference was the determination of the date and place of the opening of the second front.
The Crimean Conference took place on February 4–11. It was decided to seek the unconditional surrender of Germany with its subsequent occupation. Moreover, in addition to the USSR, the USA and England, France was also supposed to receive the occupation zone. July 17 - Berlin (Potsdam) Conference of USSR Leaders, August 2 USA and Great Britain 1945
In Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, the attack on the position of the bourgeoisie was carried out by establishing state and workers' control over private enterprises. That. almost already in 1945-1946. The communist parties managed to ensure that the process of confiscating the property of the bourgeoisie and transferring it into the hands of the state began. This meant going beyond the programs of the National Fronts, a transition from solving national problems to solving problems of a social nature.
Topic 17. Post-war years. USSR in 1945-1953.
The international position of the USSR after the war, which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was extremely paradoxical. The country was ruined. At the same time, its leaders had the legal right to claim a prominent role in the life of the world community.
Stalin, who fully supported the concept of zones of influence, encouraged by successes in Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia and wanted to achieve final recognition of the USSR as a superpower.
In an increasingly polarized world, this policy led in subsequent years to the formation of blocs, confrontations, primarily around the German question, and real war In Korea. After the clashes of 1945-1946. The Cold War entered its active phase in the summer of 1947, when the world split into two antagonistic blocs. The imperialist camp, led by the United States, set a course for the remilitarization of West Germany (from 1949 - Germany). The Greek and Turkish crises served as the source of the Truman Doctrine, which became the first step towards formalizing American commitments towards Europe and the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in 1949.
In January 1949 The USSR, together with other socialist countries, took part in the creation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). The USSR provided political and economic support to the peoples of Asia and Africa. In May 1955 8 European socialist states signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Warsaw Pact) in Warsaw. This treaty was an important step towards achieving pan-European security.
The war between the two Korean states was simultaneously a confrontation between the USSR, which acted jointly with the PRC, and the USA. In October 1950 Units of Chinese “people’s volunteers” crossed the border of the DPRK and took part in combat operations Soviet aviation. The USSR supplied the DPRK army and “people's volunteers” with weapons and ammunition. After lengthy negotiations, July 27, 1953 a truce agreement was signed.
The 38th parallel remains the boundary between the two Korean states. The state of truce continues to this day.
The main task was to restore the areas affected by the war, achieve the pre-war level of the national economy and then surpass this level. By the end of 1948, 6,200 large industrial enterprises had been restored, built and put into operation (the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, metallurgical plants in the South, and Donbass mines had been restored). Gross industrial output by 1950 increased compared to pre-war 1940. by 72%.
The restoration of agriculture took place in difficult conditions. In 1946 there was a crop failure caused by drought. The transfer of industry to a peaceful mode, the restoration and construction of tractor factories and agricultural machinery factories made it possible to supply agriculture new technology. The growth of agricultural productivity was hampered by the abundance of small collective farms. In order to strengthen the collective farms, they were strengthened: instead of 123.7 thousand. (early 1950) to 1953 93.3 thousand collective farms were formed.
Of great importance were the monetary reform and the abolition of the card system (December 1947), and the reduction in prices for manufactured goods and food. The real wages of workers have increased.
In the post-war period, science began to play an increasingly important role in the development of the national economy and strengthening the country's defense power. Soviet scientists have achieved great success in the fields of nuclear physics, rocketry, electronics, radio engineering, etc. In 1949 The first atomic test was carried out in the USSR, then (1953) hydrogen bomb. This eliminated the US monopoly on nuclear weapons.
Topic 18. USSR and the reign of Nikita Khrushchev
(1953-1964).
March 5, 1953 Stalin died. After Stalin's death in 1953, Khrushchev came to power, and three years later, at the 20th Congress, he spoke about Stalin's cult of personality and the harm caused by this cult. Many thousands of innocent victims were rehabilitated.
The campaign against “enemies of the people” was immediately stopped. Amnesties were proclaimed for all minor crimes and sentences to longer prison sentences were reduced. On April 4, the Ministry of Internal Affairs made a sensational statement that the “enemies of the people” were innocent. It made a huge impression. Beria sought to gain popularity. However, three months later he was accused of conspiracy to establish his personal power. Cruel and cynical, he was surrounded by general hatred. His main desire was to place the Ministry of Internal Affairs over the party and government. There was no other way to change the situation other than a decisive struggle against Beria and his apparatus.
The dangerous work to overthrow Beria was led by N.S. Khrushchev. Malenkov provided him with every support. At a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee in June 1953, Beria was arrested and sent into custody. On June 10, this was announced to the whole country after the Plenum of the Party Central Committee, which lasted six days. In December 1953 it was reported trial over Beria and his execution.
Social life in the country also required important changes. Existing dogmas about the role of Stalin began to be revised. Several thousand illegally arrested people were released. Ilya Orenburg called this period the word “thaw”.
In 1955, the population of the USSR reached pre-war levels. In 1959, the urban population was equal to the rural population, and in 1960 it exceeded it. In the second half of the 50s, the USSR completed the tasks of industrialization. The need to improve living standards came to the fore. Post-Stalin reforms began to produce tangible results. The most acute problem was the housing problem. From 1956 to 1963, more housing was built in the USSR than in the previous 40 years.
In 1957-1958, N. S. Khrushchev carried out three reforms.
It was decided that industrial enterprises should be managed not by ministries, but by local bodies - economic councils. In reality, the economic councils became simply diversified ministries and failed to cope with their tasks
The poorest collective farms were united and, to improve their health, transformed into state farms.
Khrushchev's third reform affected the education system. N.S. Khrushchev eliminated the system of labor reserves. They were replaced by regular vocational schools, which could be entered after the seventh grade.
The first development plan for the country, which was based mainly on industrialization, was the seven-year plan adopted by the 21st Party Congress. Seven Year Plan brought the Soviet economy out of stagnation. The economic gap between the USSR and the USA has narrowed. However, not all sectors developed equally. The production of consumer goods grew slowly.
The development of virgin lands delayed the revival of the old arable agricultural regions of Russia. In 1954-56. 36 million hectares of virgin and fallow lands have been developed in Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Volga region, the Southern Urals, and the North Caucasus. But still First stage the development of virgin lands will remain in history as a true epic of labor. The development of virgin lands is a great labor feat of the Soviet people.
N.S. Khrushchev and J. Kennedy became the heroes of the most dramatic crisis between the USSR and the USA. It was famous Caribbean crisis October 1962. The United States attempted to overthrow the Castro government in Cuba. In response to this, the USSR in the summer of 1962 deployed its missiles on the island, aimed at American territory.
The armed forces of both countries were ready for a clash. The USSR then agreed to remove the missiles, and the US agreed not to organize or support invasions of Cuba. Thus, having reached the edge of the abyss, both opponents retreated.
The USSR's policy in the Eastern European socialist countries remained almost as tough as before. The creation of the Berlin Wall did not lead to the strengthening of international relations, but had a negative impact on their development in Europe and throughout the world. The armed suppression of the uprisings in Hungary in 1956 was a true national tragedy. and in the GDR in 1961, although anti-Soviet protests on a smaller scale also took place in other countries, primarily in Poland (1956 unrest in Poznan).
Hungarian events of 1956 led to a decline in the authority of the USSR in the international arena, including the popularity of communist ideas in the world and the weakening of the world communist movement.
One of the most important events of 1955 was the reconciliation of the USSR with Yugoslavia. The Soviet leadership came to the conclusion that the Yugoslav regime had not become “restored capitalism,” but that Yugoslavia was following its own path to socialism. Much of the credit for restoring relations with this country belonged to Khrushchev.
Topic 19. USSR in 1964-1985.
Khrushchev is the only ruler of the USSR who left his post alive. On October 14, 1964, during Khrushchev’s vacation in Pitsunda, the opposition in the Central Committee removed him from the post of General Secretary.
Brezhnev became the new Secretary General. His reign was marked by total corruption, penetrating into all spheres of society: internal affairs bodies, the prosecutor's office, party leadership, trade, etc. In Central Asia, real feudal mini-states based on bribes were formed. Valuables worth millions of rubles ended up in the treasury of their “rulers.” From here the money went “up” to Moscow.
Brezhnev's character was gentle and good-natured; he did not resort to repression.
The standard of living of the people grew due to the receipt of foreign currency from the sale of oil abroad. This time is now often remembered, with a nostalgic sigh, after all, it all happened... Total distribution, suppression of initiative, entrepreneurship, lack of economic stimulation of labor, its replacement with political slogans lead to the stagnation of the legal economy and the prosperity of the “shadow” economy, in which all normal commodity-money relations.
The essence of the reform was as follows: reduction of planned indicators communicated to the enterprise; creation of financial incentive funds at enterprises; introduction of a fixed fee, independent of profit, for the use of production assets by enterprises.
The attempt to carry out reform while simultaneously curtailing the process of democratization in the political sphere was unsuccessful. This is the main reason for the failure of the 1965 reform. In the early 70s, the collapse of the reform turned out to be not as painful as in the previous period. The development of Western Siberian oil sources made it possible to organize significant exports abroad. The influx of petrodollars made it possible to delay the manifestation of negative consequences in economic development.
In the mid-70s, work was carried out in the USSR on 15 major national economic programs, including the development of agriculture in the Non-Black Earth Zone of the RSFSR, the creation of the West Siberian territorial production complex, the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, etc. and so on.
In the 70s, Soviet-American relations were built on the basis of a “controlled” struggle, but no one received clear advantages, which resulted in confrontation and decreased cooperation.
The Carter administration (second half of the 70s) pursued inconsistent policies, which was a consequence of the contradictory nature of the American concept of détente. During this period, unfavorable trends were created for the United States in the global arena. The internal affairs of the USSR became the object of American policy.
Initially, Carter approved negotiations on a nuclear test ban, advocated restrictions on all types of weapons, and efforts were made to strengthen the nonproliferation regime nuclear weapons, negotiations were held with the USSR on limiting military activity in the zone Indian Ocean. Carter reintroduced the term "détente." The rivalry continued, but not along military lines. The military budget was reduced.
The thaw that became a reality was supported by the signing in 1963. USSR and USA Treaty to Limit Nuclear Weapons Tests, nine years later - Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT-1), in 1979. - according to SALT-2. But the last agreement was not ratified by the American side, the reason for this was the introduction of troops by the Soviet Union into Afghanistan. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at the end of December 1979 shocked the world community.
The entry of troops into Czechoslovakia (1968) briefly worsened relations between Moscow and Washington, and this did not interfere with the SALT negotiations in Helsinki. The Americans realized that Czechoslovakia was closer to the USSR than Vietnam was to the USA, and the “Monroe Doctrine” ruled there for 200 years.
Topic 20. Perestroika in the USSR in 1985-1991.
Perestroika is a set of state-legal, political and social phenomena and processes associated with reforms and the destruction of state-legal and socio-political institutions of the USSR that occurred in the period 1985-1991.
The stage of 1985-1991 is associated, first of all, with the name of Gorbachev. Gorbachev chose a completely Marxist method - trial and error. First there was “acceleration” - a naive attempt, with the help of ideological incantations and calls for “everyone in his own workplace,” to make the rusty economic mechanism turn faster. But persuasion alone was not enough: only one-seventh of the fixed production assets were used for the production of consumer goods. And the government started small-scale industrialization - in order to ultimately modernize the backward light industry. All this, however, ended in failure.
Then they reduced the purchase of consumer goods and used foreign currency to purchase equipment abroad. The result is minimal. Some of the equipment remained in warehouses and in the open air due to a lack of production space.
The losses of the national economy from Gorbachev's first reform - the anti-alcohol campaign - are estimated at 40 billion rubles. The damage that the 1987 reform caused to our socialist economy is completely incalculable. The second wind did not come to socialism - agony began.
The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (May 25 - June 9, 1989) became a very major political event. Practical results There were few congresses, in particular, a new Supreme Council of the USSR was elected. Several general resolutions were adopted, for example the Decree on the main directions of domestic and foreign policy of the USSR.
Discussions at the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (December 12-24, 1989) were more businesslike in nature compared to the first Congress. The Second Congress adopted 36 normative acts, incl. 5 laws and 26 regulations. One of the central issues on the agenda of the Second Congress of People's Deputies was the discussion of measures to improve the economy. The issue of combating organized crime was discussed. The congress reviewed the commission's reports on both foreign policy problems (assessment of the non-aggression treaty between the USSR and Germany of August 23, 1939, political assessment of the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979) and domestic political issues (about the Gdlyan investigative group, about the events in Tbilisi on April 9 1989, about privileges).
The days from August 19 to 21, 1991 were remembered throughout the country as the days of the victory of democracy in Russia. On August 19, the country's top leaders organized the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP), headed by G. Yanaev. This was an attempt to reverse all reforms.
December 8, 1991 at Belovezhskaya Pushcha The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met - B. Yeltsin, L. Kravchuk and S. Shushkevich. They signed a statement stating that the republics of the USSR were becoming independent. Instead of the USSR, they created the Union of Independent States (CIS).
On December 25, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation from this post on television in his last address to the people. In the evening of the same day there was a ceremonial change of flags over the Kremlin.
On April 14, 1988, a joint Soviet-American agreement “On the relationship for resolving the situation related to Afghanistan” was adopted. The agreement set deadlines for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country: half of the limited contingent was withdrawn by August 15, 1988, and all units after another six months, that is, by February 15. This agreement was carried out exactly by the Soviet side.
Topic 21. Sovereign Russia (1993-2000)
After the collapse of the USSR began new era. Yeltsin was one of the most prominent political figures not only in Russia, but throughout the world. It was he who made the political weather in Russia in 1993-2000.
One of Boris Yeltsin's most important achievements is the adoption of a new democratic Constitution. The Supreme Council was categorically against the new fundamental law of the country, since it deprived him of his sovereignty and redistributed power in favor of the President of Russia. The new Constitution gave the president more power, since it (power) was necessary to carry out democratic changes. On September 21, 1993, as a result of ongoing contradictions that were slowing down the reform process, President Yeltsin decided to dissolve the Supreme Council of Russia. However, members of the Supreme Council announced their decision to remain and work in the White House.
On October 3, led by Vice President A. Rutsky and Chairman of the Supreme Council R. Khasbulatov, they blocked themselves in the White House and called on the people to go and defend the White House. They provoked armed action. In fact, they pushed the people into a civil war. Boris Yeltsin, by decree, introduced a state of emergency in Moscow, and on the morning of October 4, troops completely surrounded the house of the Supreme Council and continued tank shelling until mid-day. A curfew was introduced in Moscow. Thus, the coup attempt was brutally suppressed. Bringing tanks into Moscow was, perhaps, the only way out of this situation. On December 12, 1993, the new Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by popular vote.
Russia's transition to a market economy entailed a number of negative phenomena in the life of society. This is, first of all, unemployment and social vulnerability of such sections of society as pensioners, the public sector, and the army. The rampant crime and its introduction into the economic life of society also instills anxiety and uncertainty in Russians. The phenomenon of non-payment of wages has appeared in the economy, which in turn creates social tension in society. The most important tasks are now concentrated in the field of national policy. The main thing is to preserve the integrity of Russia as a state and increase the sense of national unity.
The Chechen war was, perhaps, one of the most terrible pages in the life of Russia in the last decade of the twentieth century. Problems in the Caucasus - the border of Orthodoxy and Islam - have always existed, and this is not the first time Russia has been drawn into such a bloody, cruel and unnecessary war.
The problems that arose around Chechnya could have been resolved peacefully. As a successful solution to economic and national problems, one can cite the example of the Republic of Tatarstan, which was granted broader economic and political rights, due to which it remained part of the Russian Federation as a republic with more expanded autonomous governance. At the same time, Russia has retained significant oil reserves located on the territory of this republic.
Literature.
1. Gumilyov L.N. Search for a fictitious kingdom: (The Legend of the “State of Prester John”). - M.: Nauka, 1970;
2. Degtyarev A.Ya. Defender of the Fatherland. - L.: Artist. lit., 1990;
3. Zaichkin I.A., Pochkaev I.N. Russian history from Catherine the Great to Alexander II. M., 1994;
4. Isaev I.A. History of state and law of Russia. Full course of lectures. M., 1994;
5. Ipatiev Chronicle//Complete collection of Russian chronicles. - M.: Eastern Publishing House. lit., 1962. - T.2;
6. History of the Orenburg region. - Tutorial. Orenburg, 1996;
7. Karamzin N.M. Legends of the centuries: Tales, legends, stories from the “History of the Russian State” / Comp. and entry Art. G.P. Makogonenko; comment G.P. Makogonenko and M.V. Ivanova - M.: Pravda, 1988;
8. Karamzin N.M. “History of the Russian State”, Moscow, 1993;
9. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history course. T.5 M., 1988;
11. Krasnobaev B.I. Essays on the history of Russian culture of the XYIII century. M., 1987;
12. Course of lectures /Ed. prof. B.V.Lichman. Ekaterinburg: Ural. state tech. univ. 1995, p. 212-233;
13. Minenko N.A. Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th century. In the book: History of Russia from ancient times to the second half of the 19th century V.;
14. Mylnikov A.S. Temptation by miracle: “Russian Prince”, its prototypes and impostor doubles. M., 1991;
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16. Political history of Russia. Reader / Comp. V. I. Kovalenko et al. M., 1996;
Medieval: Rus' is a rather amorphous, insufficiently clear, chronologically vague concept, which opens with the beginning of the political fragmentation of Ancient Rus', the cessation of the existence of a single Old Russian state and the simultaneous establishment of key socio-economic, political, cultural, religious, ideological institutions and categories of feudal society, based primarily on the feudal hierarchy, the land dependence of some segments of the population on others. These features are fully revealed, without having practically any civilizational counterbalances, in the Russian centralized state of the 15th–16th centuries. The Russian Middle Ages apparently ended at the turn of the 16th–17th centuries, when Russia entered the “Time of Troubles” and after it turned towards new civilizational challenges that came from the advanced Western countries that stood the day before bourgeois revolutions and the fall of absolutist, typically medieval political regimes.
At the same time, the ambiguity and blurriness of this periodization is explained by the fact that both in the 17th century and in the 18th century. powerful signs of the Middle Ages, especially in the vast Russian spaces, continued to define Russian life. Therefore, when approaching the solution of this issue, one should constantly take into account the place, time, and pace of civilizational change.
The given periodization is based on a set of criteria, primarily socio-economic and political signs, feudal-hierarchical system and the quality of state structure.
However, this historical outline takes into account only the main civilizational guidelines that apply to one degree or another both to the countries of Western Europe and to the most developed regions of Russia and the neighboring states of Western Asia, i.e. to the entire Eurasian space. But as soon as we touch the entire territory of the peoples of Russia, these criteria begin to fluctuate. It is no coincidence that Russian scientists propose to single out the concept of the late Middle Ages and early modern times specifically for Russia.
We also have to take into account the fact that in Western Europe civilizational processes proceeded much faster than in Russia. The main features of the Middle Ages were corroded there already in the 14th–15th centuries. with the mighty advance of the Renaissance, the advent of the Reformation and the progress of the human personality on this basis. Fantastic duties were of great importance for the departure from the Middle Ages. geographical discoveries XV-XVI centuries, which expanded world horizons European countries. In addition, a manufacturing system began to take shape - the forerunner of free enterprise, the elimination of serfdom and the persistent struggle of cities for freedom from feudal and royal dictates, and the struggle for self-government. Absolutist power, the feudal hierarchy, and the class system as a result remained on an increasingly precarious economic, cultural, and psychological foundation; they encountered resistance from more and more civilizational counterweights, loosening the feudal soil and preparing it for the achievements of the New Age.
XVII century essentially opens the period of the New Age in Western Europe - transitional to a change in the main civilizational paradigms and the gradual establishment of the principles of such an organization of society, which have not been exhausted to this day. At the same time, the main features of the Middle Ages in Western European countries (depending on the regions) remained for a long time - both in the 17th century and in the 17th century. - continued to exist, slowly giving way to a new one European civilization based on bourgeois relations in economics and democratic principles in politics. This process was uneven different countries: faster in the Netherlands, England, Italian city-states, slower in France, Spain, German states.
The Middle Ages sometimes still had a fairly tenacious hold on the European region. The shadow of the Inquisition still hung menacingly over Spain, ascetics-scientists burned at the stake in Italy and Poland, and the torches of St. Bartholomew's Night in France ominously illuminated the triumph of Catholic reaction. The bloody regime of Henry VIII and then the feudal dictatorship of Elizabeth in England called into question the emerging personal and freedom-loving priorities.
In Russia, due to the general slow development of the region, the main signs of the Middle Ages appeared much later than in Western European countries. Only at the end of the existence of Ancient Rus' they are revealed quite fully, while in Western Europe they have already begun to experience a certain crisis. Moreover, these features of the Middle Ages in Russia are established in a much more complete form, brought to its logical conclusion. This became serfdom, the autocratic feudal state and its extreme form - the feudal dictatorship of Ivan IV the Terrible, the formation of the absolutism of the first Romanovs and the curtailment of class representation.
The advanced countries of Western Europe at this time were already parting with serfdom, and the absolutist monarchies found themselves in a deep civilizational crisis. The Russian Middle Ages therefore did not end at the turn of the 16th–17th centuries, but in its main features continued further.
It was during this period of time that, apparently, the Eurasian essence of the Russian state took shape in its main features. The annexation of the Volga and Urals regions to Russia, the inclusion of the Muslim peoples of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates into Russia, and the advance into Siberia gradually turned Russia into a country that, both territorially and politically, ethnically, religiously, and mentally, experienced increasing influence from Asia. At the same time, the blockade continued Russian borders in the West and an unsuccessful attempt during the period Livonian War break the ring of this blockade. The West erected an iron curtain against Russia, contributing to the stagnation of medieval orders in the country and the turn of its state face to the East
This was largely facilitated by the unsuccessful attempt of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian-Russian state) to initiate the unification of all East Slavic lands, and the strong support of the emerging unified Russian state with a center: in Moscow on the Golden Horde, and then the crushing of the Horde itself by the Moscow state and the capture (in to some extent) its political traditions.
The victory of the great Lithuanian prince Olgerd at Blue Waters over the Golden Horde army (1363), the defeat of Mamai by Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field (1380), the famous stand on the Ugra (1480) and the triumph of Ivan III in the fight against the Golden Horde meant the final defeat of the East in its confrontation with the West.
But a new confrontation between East and West was already growing - the Turkish threat was approaching after the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks. This time, Russia remained on the periphery of the formidable events, but the tongues of the all-consuming Muslim flame reached Russian borders, constantly fueling the militant hatred of the Crimean Khanate towards Rus', inspiring the hopes of the defeated Muslim khanates on the Volga.
All this did not contribute to the turn of Russian civilization in a western direction and preserved Eurasian features Russian politics and Russian life, although the general civilizational parameters social development, set by the advanced countries of the West, powerfully dictated to Russia the need to introduce the country to these emerging universal human values. However, attempts in this direction were timid, sporadic and unsystematic; they were suppressed by medieval ideas and social practice.
The leading processes in Rus' were the further strengthening of the landowner class as the social and military support of the Russian centralized state, the continuation of the enslavement of the Russian, and primarily the Russian peasantry, and the strengthening of autocratic feudal features in the country's political system.
In all these processes of the country's development within the Middle Ages, the Russian Empire occupied an important place. Orthodox Church, increasingly integrated into the political state of society and largely determined its socio-economic, colonization, and cultural processes. The influence of the Church was at times pervasive and contradictory. On the one hand, it cemented society along the paths of political consolidation of the country, the struggle for independence and sovereignty; contributed to the development of Russian culture, strengthening the morality of the people, rooting humanistic tendencies in them, overcoming backward pagan traits, including by introducing Christianity to the peoples of the Volga and Urals regions; actively participated in the economic progress of the country through efforts in organizing large patrimonial farming and supporting the internal colonization of the country. On the other hand, the Church supported the main medieval political institutions and traditions; claimed a leading role in the new system Russian statehood; stood as a wall in the way of new civilizational trends from the West; contributed to the isolation of Russia from the rest of the non-Orthodox world and its increasingly aggressive opposition to this world. This confrontation became especially aggravated due to the Church’s promotion of the “Moscow-Rome” idea, which became a state medieval propaganda panacea that covered up and justified the country’s civilizational lag.
It was the concentration of all these contradictory features of Russian life against the backdrop of the development of the Eurasian space that led to the most difficult socio-economic and political crisis which ended in "times of troubles".
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