The civilization of ancient Rus' - Kievan Rus. Civilization of Ancient Rus'. Establishment of Russian statehood. Kabardino – Balkar State University

Plan.

1. The problem of ethnogenesis of the Eastern Slavs.

2. Features of the social and political system of Ancient Rus'.

3. Formation of ancient Russian statehood.

4. Civilizational uniqueness of Ancient Rus'.

1. The problem of ethnogenesis of the Eastern Slavs.

The Slavs as a special people were already known to Roman historians of the 1st and 2nd centuries. AD Pliny the Elder and Tacitus. Under the name Venedov. Tacitus wrote that the Wends are numerous and occupy the space from the Vistula and from the Danube to the distant North. The Byzantine historian Procopius (6 AD) describes Slavic tribes under the name “Sclavins and Antes” occupying lands north of the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea), in the Don basin.

The problem of the ethnogenesis of the Eastern Slavs is debatable. In historiography, there were two points of view on the origin of the Slavs. Some historians believed that the Slavs moved from Asia to Europe, others, for example, the Czech historian Safarik in the middle. 19th century, N.Ya. Marr considered the Slavs to be the original inhabitants of Europe.

Currently, the prevailing opinion is that the Proto-Slavic tribes belong to the Indo-European family of peoples. The Slavs separated from the Indo-European community in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The ancestral home of the early Slavs is the territory from the river. Oder in the west to the Carpathians in the east. By the middle of the 1st millennium AD. The process of settlement of the Slavs throughout Europe is basically completed. During the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (3-6 centuries AD), the Slavs conquered the territory of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. In the 6th century. n. e. From the Slavic community, the East Slavic branch stands out, on the basis of which the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples emerged. The ancestors of the Russian ethnic group are the Eastern Slavs - the Ants (Polyans). The Eastern Slavs occupied the territory from the Carpathians in the west to the upper reaches of the Don in the East, from the Baltic in the north and to the Dnieper in the south. First, the Eastern Slavs settled in the Carpathians and on the coast of the Baltic Sea, from there in the 6th - 8th centuries the settlement of Transnistria and the East European Plain began. Colonization was in the nature of penetration, not conquest, since the Slavs were at a higher stage of development and managed to assimilate the Finno-Ugric and Balt tribes.

2. Features of the social and political system of Ancient Rus'.

The clan community played a great role in the life of the ancient Russian village. From the 1st century the process of decomposition of tribal relations begins. By the beginning of the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs, the clan community was replaced by a territorial, or neighborly one. The community members were now united not by kinship, but by common territory and economic life. Each community owned a territory on which several families lived. All possessions of the community were divided into public and private. Communal use included land, meadows, reservoirs, and fishing grounds; personal use included a house, livestock, and household land. Arable land was to be divided among families.

In the 11th century, tribal unions emerged among the Slavs. The Tale of Bygone Years names a dozen and a half such associations, which included 120-150 separate tribes; the tribe consisted of a large number of clans. Each of the unions had its own reigns. The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea reported that the Slavs and Antes are not governed by one person, but, like Byzantium, they live in a democracy, all issues are resolved at public assemblies. Such formations are usually called military democracy. Property inequality developed. In the 1st century there were 24 large cities in Rus'.

3. Formation of ancient Russian statehood.

The transition from a pre-state, pre-natal society to a state organization occurred gradually among the Eastern Slavs over the 6th – 9th centuries. The formation of statehood began in the 30s of the 1st century. The prerequisites for this process were the formation of large tribal unions. One of these associations was a union of tribes with a center in Kyiv, as well as in the land of the Vyatichi in the North-East and around Novgorod.

In the 30s of the 18th century, German scientists Z. Bayer and G. Miller created the Norman theory of the origin of the Old Russian state. The state of the Eastern Slavs owes its origin to foreigners, since in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” (862) it was said about the invitation of the Varangian prince Rurik to Novgorod by the Ilmen Slovenian and Krivichi tribes.

Supporters of the Norman theory of the origin of the Russian state were historians N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Soloviev, V.O. Klyuchevsky. This theory was opposed by V.N. Tatishchev in the 18th century.

Arguments against the Norman theory. The chronicles are not talking about the creation of statehood, but about the calling of the Varangian dynasty to an already existing throne. The appearance of Varangian squads only accelerated the process of formation of a unified state. There is no noticeable influence of the Varangians on socio-economic relations and the social system, language and culture. There is no data on the colonization of Rus' by the Varangians; archaeological data indicate their small number.

In connection with the Norman theory, there is a question about the term “Rus”, which has not yet been resolved. Northern Rus' is apparently connected with Scandinavia; the coastal strip of the Gulf of Finland was called Roslagen. In ancient times, the name Rus was not the Varangian tribe, but the Varangian squads. Supporters of the patriotic point of view adhere to the southern term "Ros", mentioned by Byzantine sources of the 1st-10th centuries to designate the people "Ros" or Scythians. A number of southern rivers are connected by name with the name “ros”: Ros - a tributary of the Dnieper, Oskol-Ros, Ros - a tributary of the Narev.

4. Civilizational uniqueness of Ancient Rus'.

An important factor influencing the formation of ancient Russian civilization is

1.geopolitical position of Ancient Rus' - at the junction of the Eastern and Western worlds

2.vast areas of residence, difficult climatic conditions.

3.formation of the Old Russian people based on several ethnic components: Slavic, Baltic, Turkic.

4. combination of various types of economic activity - agricultural, cattle breeding and fishing.

5. Unlike the Western European peoples, who were influenced by a highly developed ancient culture, the Slavs themselves assimilated the less developed tribes of the Finno-Ugric and Balts.

The characteristic features of ancient Russian civilization were:

1. The enormous importance of the tribal community, and subsequently the territorial, or neighboring (rope)

2. Paganism as an early form of ancient Russian religion.

Kievan Rus.

Plan.

2. Features of the statehood of Kievan Rus.

3. Rus' during the period of feudal fragmentation X1-X111 centuries.

4. Socio-political changes in Russian lands in the 111th-19th centuries.

5. The influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke on the development of Rus'.

1. Stages of formation of the early feudal state of Kievan Rus.

The formation of the core of the future state is associated with Oleg’s campaigns to the south. In 882, he captured Kyiv and killed Askold and Dir (boyars of the Novgorod ruler Rurik) who reigned there. This is how the unification of the Novgorod North and the Kyiv South took place. This date is conventionally considered the date of formation of the Old Russian state (Kievan Rus). A more expansive interpretation: late 9th - early 10th century. Under princes Igor (912-945) and Svyatoslav (945-972), a further expansion of the territory of Kievan Rus took place. The final stage of the formation of the state, its heyday, is associated with the reign of Vladimir the Holy (980-1015) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054).

The formation of the early feudal state required changes in religion; it was not possible to adapt the pagan cult to its needs. The basis for the entry of the Old Russian state into the European community was the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in 988. It is believed that the baptism of Prince Vladimir marked the beginning of the Christianization of Rus', but church tradition dates the beginning of Christianization to the visit of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called to Rus' back in the 1st century AD. The baptism of Rus' was largely of a violent nature, lasted 100 years, and was mainly completed by Prince Yaroslav in the 11th century. Unlike other countries, this was an internal matter of the state, and not the result of an external invasion. The adoption of Christianity strengthened state power, made Rus' equal to other Christian countries, contributed to the development of culture, the withering away of vestiges of the tribal system and the acceleration of the development of feudal relations.

In Rus', after the death of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 1015, a tendency towards political fragmentation arose. At the turn of the 11th-11th centuries. The unified ancient Russian state broke up into a number of independent principalities and lands. The period of feudal fragmentation began. Back at the end of the 1st century. A princely congress convened, at which a new principle of organizing power was established. The Russian land was not considered a single possession of the princely house, but was the totality of the possessions of the princely house, which legally consolidated feudal fragmentation. For some time, Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) managed to stop the strife. The cessation of the existence of a single ancient Russian state is associated with the death of his son, Prince Mstislav the Great (1125-1132).

2. Features of the statehood of Kievan Rus.

Kievan Rus was an early feudal monarchy. The head of the state was the Grand Duke. He had with him a council (Duma) of the most noble princes and senior warriors (boyars), as well as a management apparatus for collecting tribute and taxes. The duties of officials were performed by junior warriors - swordsmen (bailiffs), virniks (fines collectors). In the subject lands and cities there were princely governors - mayors and thousanders, who led the people's militia. The prince also had a squad, and the troops of the vassal princes were subordinate to him. The princes of individual lands were in vassal dependence on the Grand Duke, but exercised control over their estates.

In Kievan Rus, two classes were distinguished - peasants (primarily smerds) and feudal lords. Smerdas were divided into free community members and dependents. Free smerds had a subsistence economy; the dependents consisted of purchases (those who took on the debt “kupa”), ryadovichi (became dependent after the conclusion of an agreement (row), outcasts (impoverished people from communities), pastudniks (freed slaves), serfs (were on position of slaves). The class of feudal lords consisted of the grand duke, princes of tribes, lands, boyars, senior warriors, and later the rules of early feudal law were enshrined in the “Ancient Truth”, published at the beginning of the 11th century.

Merging into the European historical process, Kievan Rus had its own characteristics.

1. The basis of the socio-economic life of ancient Russian society was not private land ownership, but the collective land ownership of free communal peasants.

3. In the feudal community, slavery played a significant role (servants: captive slaves, serfs: slaves of local origin).

4. The prince in Kievan Rus did not become a true sovereign; he had to enter into an agreement with the people's council (“row”).

5. The People's Council retained a significant role.

6. In Rus', not only the prince and the squad were armed, but also the ordinary population: the people's militia, subordinate to the veche.

7. If in Europe cities are centers of trade, craft and culture, then in Rus' they are public centers with government functions, i.e. city-states.

3.Rus during the period of feudal fragmentation X1-X111 centuries.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, it was not the collapse of the ancient Russian state that occurred, but its transformation into a kind of unification of principalities led by the Grand Duchy of Kyiv. The princes had all the rights of a sovereign sovereign: they resolved issues of internal structure, war and peace with the boyars. In the middle of the 11th century. there were 15 appanage principalities, on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion - 50, in the 19th century. – 250. Until the middle of the 11th century, the head of the feudal hierarchy throughout Rus' was the Kiev prince. At the end of the 11th and beginning of the 111th centuries, three main political centers were determined in Rus': for northeastern and western Rus' - the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, for southern and southwestern Rus' - the Galician-Volyn Principality, for northwestern Rus' - the Novgorod Feudal Republic .

Reasons for feudal fragmentation:

1. The emergence of feudal land ownership, not only princely, but also boyar.

2. The vigilantes settling to the ground.

3. Strengthening the power of large feudal lords locally and the emergence of new local administrative centers.

4. The princes began to fight not for the seizure of power throughout the country, but for the expansion of their principality.

5. The warriors also become feudal lords, but smaller ones.

6. Everything necessary was produced in the patrimonial feudal farms

7. Growth of cities.

Feudal fragmentation was a natural stage in the development of feudal relations, contributed to the growth of cities, markets, culture, and created conditions for the unification of Rus' at a higher level. At the same time, it weakened Rus' in the fight against the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

4. Socio-political changes in Russian lands in the 111th-19th centuries.

In the X111th century. Rus' is entering a period of struggle against foreign invaders. From the east came the Tatar-Mongols, from the west - Swedish (in 1240 defeated by Alexander Nevsky) and German (April 5, 1242 defeated in the ice battle on Lake Peipsi by Alexander Nevsky) knights - crusaders. The most destructive for Rus' was the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The invasion began in the 111th century with the conquest of Siberia, northern China, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia. On May 31, 1223, Russian-Polovtsian troops were on the Kalka River in the Azov region. In 1236, Batu’s troops began a campaign against the Russian lands, capturing Ryazan and Kolomna. In 1238 - Vladimir, Suzdal, Torzhok, in 1239 - Murom, in December 1240 - Kyiv, then Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich. This is how the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke began (from the beginning of 40 of the 111th century to the second half of the 15th century)

The main reason for the defeat of Rus' was feudal fragmentation. Rus' became dependent on the Golden Horde. The Grand Duke was supposed to receive a “label” for a great reign in the Horde. Only in 1380, on the Kulikovo field, the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich (nicknamed “Donskoy” for this) managed to defeat the Tatar-Mongol troops led by Mamai. After the Battle of Kulikovo, Rus' began to strengthen, its dependence on the Golden Horde began to weaken, and processes of consolidation began.

5. The influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke on the development of Rus'.

The Horde yoke slowed down the economic development of Rus' for a long time, undermined Russian culture, the role of cities in political and economic life fell, trade relations with the West were dealt a blow, Russian statehood began to acquire the features of eastern despotism. But, at the same time, the Tatar-Mongols refused to directly include Russian lands in the Golden Horde; dependence was expressed in heavy tribute; they did not openly destroy the Orthodox faith, using the Russian Church to fight Catholicism. All this helped preserve national independence for the Russian people and prepared the way for the overthrow of the yoke.

During the Middle Ages, the birth and formation of modern peoples took place: the French, Germans, English, Spaniards, Italians, Czechs, Poles, Bulgarians, Russians, Serbs, etc. The Middle Ages created a new urban way of life, high examples of spiritual and artistic culture, including institutions of scientific knowledge and education, among which the university institute should be especially highlighted. All this taken together gave a powerful impetus to the development of world civilization.

The main civilizational regions of the Middle Ages were Asia and Europe.

In Asia, in accordance with the specific characteristics of the cultural heritage, geographical environment, economic system, social organization and religion, the Arab-Muslim civilization was formed. To some extent, it is the historical successor of the eastern type of civilization and exhibits all its most characteristic features. The distinctive features of this form of civilization are associated with the characteristics of its culture.

This culture is based on the Arabic language, beliefs and cult of Islam. Islam was formed in the Arab environment. The birthplace of Islam is the Arab cities of Mecca and Medina. The adoption of Islam by Arab tribes contributed to their consolidation; on the basis of Islam, a powerful state grew - the Arab Caliphate, which during its heyday included Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Khiva, Bukhara, Afghanistan, a significant part of Spain, Armenia, and Georgia. Arab astronomy, medicine, algebra, philosophy, undoubtedly, were an order of magnitude higher than European science of that time. The field irrigation system and some agricultural crops (rice, citrus fruits) were borrowed by Europeans from the Arabs. Arab-Muslim influence on medieval Europe was mainly limited to the borrowing of individual innovations and discoveries. There is only one reason - religious differences. Christian Europe preferred to inflame religious hatred of Islam, seeing in Muhammad the embodiment of the Antichrist. The preaching against the “infidels” marked the beginning of the Crusades (late 11th to late 13th centuries).

In Europe, the Middle Ages are the period of formation of a new form of Western civilization - European Christian civilization. European civilization is being formed on the territory of the former Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, as noted above, split into two parts: the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire ceased to exist as a result of internal contradictions and the invasion of the so-called “barbarians” in 476. Therefore, civilizational processes in both parts of the Roman Empire, along with general patterns, also had significant differences. As a result of these differences, two varieties of European civilization were formed - Eastern and Western. The formation of European civilization occurred as a result of the synthesis of ancient civilization and the barbarian way of life during the processes of Romanization, Christianization, the formation of statehood and the culture of the new peoples of Europe.

The cultural basis of European civilization is antiquity. Byzantium never broke with antiquity. Its culture, economic activities and political institutions were largely based on ancient tradition and were organic forms of its development. The greatest originality of the Byzantine way of life is associated with the modernization that Christianity acquired in Byzantium.

The Byzantine Empire disappeared as an independent state in the 15th century. But it laid the foundations of the Eastern European civilization, the carriers of which are Russians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Serbs, Ukrainians, Belarusians and many other peoples of Europe.

The formation of Western European Catholic civilization is associated with the Great Migration of Peoples - the invasion of the Roman Empire by the so-called barbarians: numerous Germanic tribes, Huns, etc. The degree of backwardness and “barbarism” of these peoples should not be exaggerated. Many of them date back to the 3rd-5th centuries. had fairly developed agriculture, mastered crafts, including metallurgy, were organized into tribal unions on the principles of military democracy, and maintained lively trade contacts with the Romans and with each other.

Among all the achievements of ancient civilization, a special place belongs to Christianity. Despite the internal contradictions of Christian churches, the spiritual basis of all European civilization is Christianity. In the conditions of the collapse of the Roman Empire, its political and economic institutions, and the decline of culture, Christianity and its organizations - the Catholic and Orthodox Church - for many centuries were the only spiritual and social institution common to all countries and peoples of Europe. Christianity formed a unified worldview, moral norms, values ​​and patterns of behavior, and the Catholic and Orthodox churches were not only spiritual, but also very influential political organizations. Therefore, the process of formation of European civilization was largely a process of Christianization - the introduction of pagan peoples to Christian culture, beliefs and customs, joining Christian organizations - the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

So, on the basis of economic, political and cultural processes in the medieval world, the main civilizational regions were formed: Arab-Muslim, Western European and Eastern European. All events of medieval history, economic activity, trade, wars, exchange of cultural achievements and ideas.

During the Middle Ages, first Rus', and then Russia, began to enter the world historical process. The question naturally arises: what type of civilization can it be classified as? The solution to this issue is of great importance for the methodology of studying the history of Russia. But this is not just a historical and scientific problem, but a socio-political and spiritual-moral problem. Therefore, the discussion on this issue has not stopped throughout Russian history.

The fundamental idea of ​​Russian Orthodoxy, and, consequently, of the entire structure of Russian life, is the idea of ​​conciliarity. Conciliarity is manifested in all spheres of Russian life: in the church, in the family, in society, in relations between states. According to the Slavophiles, conciliarity is the most important quality that separates Russian society from the entire Western civilization. Western peoples, moving away from the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, distorted the Christian symbol of faith and thereby consigned the conciliar principle to oblivion. And this gave rise to all the flaws of European culture and, above all, its mercantilism and individualism.

Russian civilization is characterized by high spirituality, based on an ascetic worldview and a collectivist, communal structure of social life. From the point of view of the Slavophiles, it was Orthodoxy that gave birth to a specific social organization - the rural community, the “world”, which has economic and moral significance.

In the description of the agricultural community to the Slavophiles, the moment of its idealization and embellishment is clearly visible. The economic activity of the community is presented as a harmonious combination of personal and public interests, and all members of the community act in relation to each other as “comrades and shareholders.” At the same time, they still recognized that in their contemporary community structure there were negative aspects generated by the presence of serfdom. Slavophiles condemned serfdom and advocated its abolition.

However, the Slavophiles saw the main advantage of the rural community in the spiritual and moral principles that it instills in its members: the willingness to stand up for common interests, honesty, patriotism, etc. In their opinion, the emergence of these qualities in community members occurs not consciously, but instinctively, by following ancient religious customs and traditions

The problem of the origin of the Russian ethnos, the time frame, origins and historical roots of ancient Russian civilization is a complex and partly unresolved problem. In domestic historiography, different points of view are expressed on this issue. However, historians agree that the real predecessors of the Russian people were the Eastern Slavs, belonging to the group of Indo-European peoples. Academician B.A. Rybakov identifies four main stages in the life of the Slavic tribes, the consistent development of which led to the formation of the Russian ethnic group:

1. Development of Proto-Slavic tribes in the depths of Indo-European unity, away from the centers of development.

2. Isolation of the Proto-Slavs in the Bronze Age, development of internal contacts, first meetings with steppe nomads, development of iron. Here the Slavs of the middle Dnieper region advanced (VI-IV centuries BC).

3. As a result of the defeat by the Sarmatians, the Slavs move north into the forest zone, assimilating the Lithuanian-Latvian and Finno-Ugric tribes. Thus, two zones of settlement of the Slavs were formed: the southern (forest-steppe), which continued the traditions of the ancestral home of the Slavs, and the northern, where they came into contact with other tribes and the development of the Slavic ethnic group took place in more severe conditions than in the south. With the expansion of the borders of the territory of residence of the Slavs, their contacts with other peoples also expanded significantly.

4. During the period of formation and development of national statehood - Kievan Rus - the Slavs entered the European and world arena. The geopolitical space of Ancient Rus' was at the junction of the Eastern and Western worlds. Therefore, the formation of the Russian ethnos took place under the powerful influence of multidirectional civilizational factors.

The ancestors of the Russian ethnic group are the Eastern Slavs - the Ants (Polyans). The basis of the economy of the ancient Slavs was agriculture. In the forest zone, a slash system was used: trees were cut down, burned the next year, and the ash was mixed with the ground as fertilizer. If the land was depleted, they moved to a new plot. In the steppe and forest-steppe regions, the leading system was fallow: when the cultivated areas were exhausted, they left and moved to new ones. The Eastern Slavs were also engaged in cattle breeding, fishing, and collecting honey (beekeeping).

The main agricultural crops were wheat, rye, oats, millet, peas, beans, buckwheat, and hemp. For tillage and harvesting, a hoe, a plow, and later a plow with an iron share and a sickle were used.

The Eastern Slavs lived sedentary lives. The dwellings were semi-dugouts with a two- or three-slope roof.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. Slavs lived in tribal communities. But the high development of agriculture for its time and the emergence of surplus products made it possible for an individual family to ensure its independent existence. The clan community was replaced by a neighboring community, the unity of which was maintained not by blood, but by economic ties.

From the 6th century AD Among the Eastern Slavs, the process of decomposition of tribal relations begins. The emergence of property inequality and the development of product exchange between different tribes led to the formation of separate social groups. The clan nobility concentrated in its hands not only wealth, but also power. The disintegration of primitive communal relations was evidenced by the separation of military leaders who made campaigns for booty. Around them, detachments of professional warriors and advisers - squads - formed. At the same time, the people's militia played a major role, and to resolve the most important issues, a people's assembly was convened - the veche.

In the 7th century Eastern Slavs united in tribal unions, the names of which indicate their connection to a specific area: glades (south, Kyiv region), northerners (Novgorod Seversky, Seversky Donets), Polotsk (Western Dvina river, Polot), Dregovichi (from dregva - swamp )(Belarus), Radimichi (Sozh River, Desna River), Vyatichi (Oka River, Moscow Region), etc. Each of these unions had its own reigns. Tribal leaders at this stage of social development were called princes.

In the 8th-9th centuries, intensive economic development took place in the East European Plain. Arable farming is replacing slash-and-burn farming, crafts are becoming more prominent, and close trade ties are being established with Byzantium, the East and Western Europe. In trade with the East, contacts with the Khazars are of great importance, as they open up a safe route to Asia for the Slavs.

The development of trade suggests a relatively early existence of cities among the Eastern Slavs. The chronicles do not give the time of their appearance. They were “from the beginning” - Novgorod, Polotsk, Rostov, Smolensk, Kyiv. All these cities are located on river and trade routes. In the Scandinavian sagas of the 9th century, Ancient Rus' was called the country of cities - “Gardarik”.

At the beginning of the 9th century there was a gradual process of formation of statehood. Historians note the existence of two centers of statehood in the 30s of the 9th century. The first of them is formed in the Dnieper region on the lands of the glades and their neighbors. The center of this state was Kyiv. The name of this state is unknown. Sometimes it is called the Kaganate of the Rus, since the head of this state, by analogy with the neighboring Khazar, bore the title of Kagan.

The second state is emerging far in the North - the Northern Principality with its center in Ladoga, then Novgorod. Very little is known about what happened in this state before the 60s of the 9th century. The first chronicle information is associated with the appearance here in 862 of the Varangian ruler Rurik. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that it was in this year that the citizens of the Northern Principality, in order to protect themselves from foreign raids and overcome internal strife, called on the Varangians and told them: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers were chosen with their clans, and they took all of Rus' with them and came to the Slavs and the eldest Rurik sat in Novgorod, and the other Sineus - in the White Sea region, and the third Truvor - in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed.”

Later, the version about the calling of the Varangians is supplemented with new details: in the Novgorod chronicles of the late 15th century it is mentioned that Rurik was called to Novgorod on the advice of the Novgorod elder Gostomysl, anticipating the traditional choice of a prince - a military leader - by the Novgorod veche. The so-called “Norman theory” of the origin of the Russian state is based on this information. Proponents of this theory were outstanding Russian historians N.M. Karamzin, M.P. Pogodin, S.M. Soloviev, V.O. Klyuchevsky. However, in Russian historical science there was a so-called “patriotic” tendency that sought to substantiate the identity of the Russian people. The founder of this trend, the famous historian of the 18th century. V.N. Tatishchev argued that the immediate ancestors of the Slavs were the sons of the biblical patriarch Noah Sloven and Rus and his great-grandson Scythian. In modern historiography, supporters of the patriotic point of view derive the term “Rus” from the name of the “Ros” tribe, which appeared on the banks of the Ros River. Subsequently, they argue, “ros” was transformed into “rus”. But this point of view contradicts the chronicle version, which knows only the “glades” who lived in the Dnieper region. Linguists argue that the transformation of “ros” into “rus” is impossible. Modern historians and linguists are inclined to believe that the term “Rus” has a dual origin: Scandinavian-Finnish - “Rus” is armed people in boats, rowers, participants in sea voyages, which is how the Finnish population called the Varangians - Vikings. And this coincides with the version of The Tale of Bygone Years, where “Rus” appears as the name of one of the Norman tribes, of which Rurik is a representative (Sineus and Truvor are translated from Old Swedish as family and squad).

Thus, in accordance with the Tale of Bygone Years, a representative of the Rus tribe with his family and squad was invited to rule in the already existing Slavic state. The method of calling a prince and his retinue was widespread in Europe in the early Middle Ages. The calling of a foreign prince in itself did not change the Slavic nature of the existing society. However, talking about the pure Slavic origins of the Russian ethnic group would be a big stretch. The Old Russian nationality was formed on the basis of a wide interaction of several subethnic components. It is formed as an ethnic community based on the combination of three economic and technological regions - agricultural, pastoral and fishing, and therefore three ways of life - sedentary, nomadic, wandering, in a mixture of several ethnic streams: Slavic, Baltic, with a noticeable influence of Turkic.

Spiritual culture plays a significant role in the formation of a particular ethnic group. The most important components of this culture are language and religion. The language of Ancient Rus', without a doubt, was of Slavic origin, although it was also influenced by the languages ​​of other peoples.

Slavic origins also dominate in Old Russian religion. Religious beliefs and cult rituals of Ancient Rus' are usually called paganism. Paganism is an early form of religious exploration of the world. Pagan religions are polytheism - polytheism. Like other peoples, the formation of religious ideas of the ancient Russian people went through a certain evolution. At the first stage, the forces of nature were deified. Religious systems of this stage are animistic in nature. In these ideas, the forces of nature were deified in the form of gods and various spirits. The Slavs worshiped Mother Earth; water cults of mermaids, mermen, sea creatures, etc. were quite developed. Forests and groves were also revered; they were considered the dwellings of gods and spirits. Particularly important religious actions were performed in honor of the Sun God - Dazhd-God and the God of the Wind - Stribog.

At the second stage, the cult of ancestors, which was associated with the god Rod, received significant development in ancient Russian beliefs and rituals. The clan represented the beginning of life, the continuation of the clan. It is no coincidence that the root “rod” is the basis of many Russian words (people, homeland, spring, native, give birth, harvest, etc.). The genus was presented as a cosmic universal being. The ancestors of the Rod were called Rozhanitsy and were also revered as the Rod. Associated with the cult of Rod was the cult of the goddess - Mokoshi - the mistress of the cornucopia, mother earth, who is of Finnish origin, as well as Leda - the patroness of the spring awakening power. If the agricultural principle was represented by the veneration of Mokosha and Leda, then the pastoral principle was represented by the veneration of the god Beles.

With the emergence of the family in the cult system of the ancient Rus, a significant place was occupied by the family ancestor - the brownie - guarding the house, its inhabitants and the economy. At the third stage of the development of the pagan religion of Ancient Rus', a hierarchy of gods was formed and their pantheon was created. The main gods of this pantheon were the Thunderer Perun. All other gods are included in this pantheon, partially expanding and changing their functions. Thus, the patron god of cattle, Veles, becomes at the same time the god of wealth and trade. In general, the beliefs of the people of Ancient Rus' represented a rather complex worldview system, in which all the accumulated experience, knowledge and moral foundations of the emerging Russian ethnos found expression.

The history of the Slavs is a fairly significant part of world history, since for many centuries the Slavic peoples have played and continue to play a significant role in the formation and development of the peoples of our planet, especially European and Asian.

Suffice it to say that the Slavs are still the largest group of peoples, united by a common origin and similarity of languages. The Slavs remain the main population of Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and other countries. A certain number of Slavs live in Greece, Austria, Italy, and also make up a considerable part of immigrants in the USA, Canada, South America and Australia.

The beginning of the formation and development of ancient Russian civilization dates back to ancient times, when primitive society began to disintegrate. And it was carried out in the interaction of various factors and components. Among them: geographical environment, political structure and ecology, social structure and legislation, religion and philosophy, literature, art, people’s way of life, etc. At the same time, along with the general, natural stages of development of world civilizations, Rus' had a striking originality and specific features, uniting West and East, Europe and Asia. It became the “Middle World,” a Eurasian civilization.

At the same time, the countless potential riches of the vast territory of Rus' entailed significant difficulties for the development of civilization, requiring a long time, enormous human resources, colossal labor efforts and significant funds for its development.

6.1. The first evidence of the Slavs

Until now, scientists continue to debate about at what time and in what way the Slavs settled in the vastness of the East European Plain, where their ancestral home was located, how intertribal associations and ancient Slavic cities took shape, etc.

Russian historians are not always unanimous in determining the ancestral home of the Slavs.

So, CM. Soloviev And IN. Klyuchevsky tend to rely on the “Danube version”,

A. A. Shakhmatov believes that the Slavs came out of the territory of the upper Vistula River and the slopes of the Carpathians. B.L. Rybakov notes that after the advance of pastoral tribes across Eastern Europe, there was a gradual unification of settled related tribes into

major epics, one of which they became,1

Ancient Slavic figurine of a dancing man

Archaeological research allows us to conclude that the ancestors of the current Slavic peoples - the Proto-Slavs - have been known since the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. They separated from the Indo-European family of peoples. During the same period, other peoples (Finnish-Ugric tribes and others) emerged from the Indo-European family of peoples and settled the vast expanses of Eurasia.

By the turn of the 1st millennium BC. The first written evidence about the Slavs belongs to Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine historians. They called the ancient Slavs Wends, Ants or Slavens (Sklavens), characterizing them as “countless tribes”, “great people”.

By the 4th century. AD there is a mention that from the upper reaches of the Vistula River to the Northern Black Sea region, the German tribes of the Goths, led by Germanarich, but were defeated by the Slavs. His successor Vinitar lured by deception and brutally dealt with 70 Slavic elders led by by God(Busom). Eight centuries later, an author unknown to us in the famous “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” mentioned “the time of Busov.”

By the end of the 4th century. The Gothic tribal union was broken by the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Huns who came from Central Asia. Moving westward, the Huns carried away some of the Slavs.

The era of the Great Migration of Peoples (IV-VI centuries) also opened up the path of advancement for the Avars, and later for the Turkic nomadic tribes (Black Bulgarians, Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, etc.). Until the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The pre-Slavic ethnos developed in contact with other peoples: the tribes of the Celts, Thracians, Germans, and Scythians. Already in the 6th century. The Slavs repeatedly carried out military campaigns against the largest state of that time - Byzantium, which would hardly have been possible for weak and small tribes.

A very peculiar characteristic was given to the Slavs of that time by the Byzantine Procopius from Caesarea. In the book “War with the Goths” he says that the Slavs and Ants speak the same language, are not ruled by one person, and these tribes live in the rule of people, and therefore they consider happiness and unhappiness in life to be a common matter. They believe that only God, the creator of lightning, is the ruler over all; bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed.

Byzantine authors also argued that at that time the Slavs were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive system and the formation of a class society. In turn, the campaigns against Byzantium were accompanied by the enrichment of the tribal elite of the Slavs, thus accelerating the collapse of primitive society.

The separation of the Eastern Slavs from a single Slavic community occurred by the 6th century. Traditions reflected in ancient Russian chronicles point to the formation of large Slavic tribal associations using the example of a number of reigns. In particular, the reigns Kiya with brothers Cheek, Horeb and sister Lybedju in the Middle Dnieper region. The name of Kiy’s elder brother formed the name of the city of Kyiv founded here.

Thus, for one and a half to two millennia, the process of formation of a pan-Slavic ethnic group of peoples continued, from which in the 6th century. a branch of the Eastern Slavs became isolated, becoming the ancestral home of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples.

• Rybakov B.A. Kievan Rus and Russian principalities of the XII-XIII centuries. M.: Nauka, 1993. P. 14.

Kabardino – Balkar State University

Abstract

On the topic : "Civilization of Ancient Rus'"

Completed by a 1st year student

"Information systems in Economics"

Scientific director

Ashkhotov R. M.

Nalchik 1999
Content :

Chapter 1 Origin of the ancient Slavs

1.1 First mentions of the Slavs.

1.2 Movements of Slavic tribes.

1.3 Lifestyle of the Slavs.

1.4 The collapse of tribal communities and the beginning of statehood.

Conclusion.

Chapter 2 Kievan Rus

1.1 Formations of the Old Russian state

1.2 Social order

1.3 Economic life

Chapter 3 Baptism of Rus'

1.1 First Christians

1.2 Baptism of Rus': baptism of Vladimir. Baptism of cities and villages.

1.3 Historical significance of the baptism of Rus'.

Chapter 4 Culture of Rus'

1.1 Introduction. How the culture of Rus' was born;

1.2 Writing, literacy, schools;

1.3 Conclusion.

Literature:

Chapter 1 Origin of the ancient Slavs

Already about two thousand years ago, Greek and Roman scientists knew that in eastern Europe, between the Carpathian Mountains and the Baltic Sea, numerous tribes of Wends lived. These were the ancestors of modern Slavic peoples. After their name, the Baltic Sea was then called the Venedian Gulf of the Northern Ocean. According to archaeologists, the Wends were the original inhabitants of Europe, descendants of tribes that lived here back in the Stone and Bronze Ages.

The ancient name of the Slavs - Wends - was preserved in the language of the Germanic peoples until the late Middle Ages, and in the Finnish language Russia is still called Venea. The name "Slavs" began to spread only one and a half thousand years ago - in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. At first, only Western Slavs were called this way. Their eastern counterparts were called antes. Then all tribes speaking Slavic languages ​​began to be called Slavs.

At the beginning of our era, large movements of tribes and peoples took place throughout Europe, entering into the struggle against the slave-owning Roman Empire. At this time, the Slavic tribes already occupied a large territory. Some of them penetrated to the west, to the banks of the Odra and Laba (Elbe) rivers. Together with the population living along the banks of the Vistula River, they became

ancestors of modern West Slavic peoples - Polish, Czech and Slovak.

The movement of the Slavs to the south was especially grandiose - to the banks of the Danube and to the Balkan Peninsula. These territories were occupied by the Slavs in the VI-VII centuries. after long wars with the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, which lasted over a century.

The ancestors of the modern South Slavic peoples - the Bulgarians and the peoples of Yugoslavia - were Slavic tribes that settled on the Balkan Peninsula. They mixed with the local Thracian and Illyrian population, which had previously been oppressed by Byzantine slave owners and feudal lords.

At the time when the Slavs settled the Balkan Peninsula, Byzantine geographers and historians became closely acquainted with them. They pointed out the large number of Slavs and the vastness of their territory, and reported that the Slavs were well acquainted with agriculture and cattle breeding. Particularly interesting is the information from Byzantine authors that the Slavs in the 6th and 7th centuries did not yet have a state. They lived as independent tribes. At the head

These numerous tribes had military leaders. We know the names of the leaders who lived more than a thousand years ago: Mezhimir, Dobrita, Pirogost,

Khvilibud and others.

The Byzantines wrote that the Slavs were very brave, skilled in military affairs and well armed; They are freedom-loving, do not recognize slavery and subordination.

The ancestors of the Slavic peoples of Russia in ancient times lived in forest-steppe and forest areas between the Dniester and Dnieper rivers. Then they began to move north, up the Dnieper. It was a slow movement of agricultural communities and individual families that took place over centuries, looking for new convenient places to settle and areas rich in animals and fish. Settlers cut down virgin forests for their fields.

At the beginning of our era, the Slavs penetrated into the upper Dnieper region, where tribes related to modern Lithuanians and Latvians lived. Further in the north, the Slavs settled areas in which ancient Finno-Ugric tribes lived here and there, related to the modern Mari, Mordovians, as well as Finns, Karelians and Estonians. The local population was significantly inferior to the Slavs in terms of their culture. After several centuries it mixed

with the aliens, adopted their language and culture. In different regions, the East Slavic tribes were called differently, which is known to us from the most ancient Russian chronicles: Vyatichi, Krivichi, Drevlyans, Polyans, Radimichi and others.

To this day, on the high banks of rivers and lakes, the remains of ancient Slavic settlements have been preserved, which are now being studied by archaeologists. At that turbulent time, when wars not only between different tribes, but also between neighboring communities were a constant occurrence, people often settled in inaccessible places, surrounded by high slopes, deep ravines or water. They erected earthen ramparts around their settlements, dug deep ditches and surrounded their homes with wooden fences.

The remains of such small fortresses are called fortifications. Dwellings were built in the form of dugouts, with adobe or stone ovens inside. In each village there were usually relatives who often ran their households as a community.

The agricultural economy of that time bore very little resemblance to that of today. People worked hard to earn their own food. To prepare the land for sowing, it was necessary to first cut down an area in the forest.

The winter month, during which the forest was cut down, was called sechen (from the word “sech” - to cut). This was followed by dry and birch months, during which the forest was dried and burned. They sown directly into the ashes, slightly loosened with a wooden plow or rahl. This type of farming is called fire or slash farming. Sowed more often

millet, but other grains were also known: wheat, barley and rye. Turnips were common among the people.

The month of harvest was called serpen, and the month of threshing was called spring (from the word “vreshchi” - to thresh). The fact that the names of the months among the ancient Slavs are associated with agricultural work indicates the paramount importance of agriculture in their economy. But they also raised livestock, killed animals and caught fish, and were engaged in beekeeping - collecting wild honey bees.

Each family or group of relatives made everything they needed for themselves. Iron was smelted from local ores in small clay ovens - domnitsa - or pits. The blacksmith forged knives, axes, ploughshares, arrow and spear tips, and swords from it. Women sculpted pottery, wove linens and sewed clothes. Wooden dishes and utensils, as well as products made from birch bark and bast, were in great use. They bought only what could not be obtained or made locally. The most common commodity has long been salt - after all, its deposits were not found everywhere.

They also traded copper and precious metals from which they made jewelry. All this was paid for with marketable and valuable goods that played the role of money: furs, honey, wax, grain, livestock.

Near ancient Slavic settlements you can often find round or elongated earthen mounds - mounds. During excavations, they find the remains of burnt human bones and fire-burnt utensils.

The ancient Slavs burned their dead on a funeral pyre and buried the remains in mounds.

The Slavs waged a constant struggle with the nomads who lived in the Black Sea steppes and often plundered the Slavic lands. The most dangerous enemy were the nomadic Khazars, who created in the 7th-8th centuries. a large, strong state in the lower reaches of the Volga and Don rivers.

During this period, the Eastern Slavs began to be called Rus or Dews, believed to be from the name of one of the tribes - the Rus, who lived on the border with Khazaria, between the Dnieper and Don. This is how the names “Russia” and “Russians” came about.

Soon great changes took place in the life of the Slavs. With the development of metallurgy and other crafts, tools were significantly improved. The farmer now had a plow or plow with an iron share. His work became more productive. Rich and poor appeared among the community members.

The ancient community was disintegrating and was replaced by small peasant farming. The leaders and rich community members oppressed the poor, took away their land, enslaved them and forced them to work for themselves. Trade developed. The country was cut through by trade routes running mainly along rivers. At the end of the 1st millennium, trade and craft cities began to appear: Kyiv, Chernigov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Novgorod, Ladoga and many others. Foreigners called Rus' a country of cities.

To preserve and strengthen their power, the ruling elite created their own organization and army. Thus, the tribal order was replaced by a class society and a state that protected the interests of the rich.

At first, in Ancient Rus' there were several separate tribal principalities, in their place in the 9th century. a powerful Russian power arose with its center in Kyiv. The era of feudalism, or the era of the Middle Ages, began.

Chapter 2 Kievan Rus

Formation of the Old Russian state

One became one of the largest states of the European Middle Ages in the 9th-12th centuries. Kievan Rus. Unlike other countries, both eastern and western, the process of formation of Russian statehood had its own specific features. One of them is the spatial and geopolitical situation - the Russian state occupied a middle position between Europe and Asia and did not have clearly defined, natural geographical boundaries within the vast flat space. During its formation, Rus' acquired the characteristics of both eastern and western state formations. In addition, the need for constant protection of a large territory from external enemies forced peoples with different types of development, religion, culture, language, etc., to unite, create a strong state power and have a significant people's militia.

The closest to the historical truth in covering the initial phases of the development of Rus', apparently, was one of the early Russian historians, the monk-chronicler Nestor. In "The Tale of Bygone Years" he presents the beginning of the formation of Kievan Rus. creation in the 6th century. powerful union of Slavic tribes on average

Dnieper region. This union took the name of one of the tribes - “ros”, or “rus”. The unification of several dozen individual small forest-steppe Slavic tribes in the 8th-9th centuries. turns into a superethnos with a center in Kiev. Rus' of this period was equal in area to the Byzantine Empire.

Further, the chronicler Nestor claims that the warring tribes of the Ilmen Slavs, Krivichs and Chuds invited the Varangian prince to restore order. Prince Rurik(?-879) allegedly arrived with the brothers Sineus and Truvor. He himself ruled in Novgorod, and his brothers ruled in Beloozero and Izborsk. The Varangians laid the foundation for the grand ducal dynasty Rurikovich. With the death of Rurik, with his young son Igor, the king (prince) becomes his guardian. Oleg (7- 912), nicknamed Prophetic. After a successful campaign against Kyiv, he manages to unite the Novgorod and Kiev lands in 882 into the ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus with its capital in Kyiv, according to the prince’s definition, “the mother of Russian cities.”

The initial instability of the state unification and the desire of the tribes to maintain their isolation sometimes had tragic consequences. So, Prince Igor(?-945) while collecting traditional tribute (polyudye) from the subject lands, having demanded a significant excess of its amount, he was killed. Princess Olga, Igor's widow, having cruelly avenged her husband, nevertheless fixed the amount of the tribute, establishing “lessons”, and determined the places (cemeteries) and the timing of its collection. Their son Svyatoslav(942-972) combined government activity with significant military leadership. During his reign, he annexed the lands of the Vyatichi, defeated Volga Bulgaria, conquered the Mordovian tribes, defeated the Khazar Khaganate, conducted successful military operations in the North Caucasus and the Azov coast, repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs, etc. But returning after the campaign against Byzantium, Svyatoslav’s detachment was defeated by the Pechenegs , and Svyatoslav himself was killed.

The unifier of all the lands of the Eastern Slavs as part of Kievan Rus became the son of Svyatoslav - Vladimir)