2/ Feudal fragmentation is a natural historical process. Western Europe and Kievan Rus during the period of feudal fragmentation

1. Formation of Old Russian statehood. Spiritual, moral, political and socio-economic foundations of the formation of the Russian ethnos

heiress Ancient Russia and the next stage in the formation of the Russian ethnos 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: the eastern one, based on the relationship of allegiance, and the European statehood, built on cooperation between government and society.

An example of a strong statehood 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 a special influence, which could weaken its enemies with bribes, bribery and intrigues. The state owned large areas of land. Crafts and trade were under the control of government services, a developed system of state monopolies for the production and sale of individual products operated. The presence of a strong state power led to the fact that in Byzantium neither private property, nor a vassal-fief hierarchy, nor immunity reached maturity. Roman law remained the most important element of Byzantine life. Byzantium was the legal state of the Middle Ages.

The special role of the state principle in the Byzantine Empire received an ideological justification. It was believed that along with the one God, the one true faith and the one true church, there should also be a single Christian empire, the defender of faith and the church. The 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 the Byzantine civilization, they created a spiritual support for resisting external onslaught.

Islam gave a peculiar direction to the development of statehood among the Arabs. The Qur'an recognized no distinction between church and state. 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 state administration, the Arabs borrowed those forms that existed in the territory newly included in the Caliphate. Thus, the Arab Caliphate was a kind of strong sacred (sacred) state power, which was fundamentally different from the European one.

Kievan Rus, as a political association, begins 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 combatants Askold and Dir freed the glades from paying tribute to the Khazars and remained to rule Kyiv. Rurik's relative Prince Oleg (882-912) tricked Askold and Dir out of the city, killed them, and then united the Novgorod and Kiev principalities, making Kyiv the capital of a new state. Unification of Southern and Northern Russia at the end of the 9th century. - the starting point for the formation of Kievan Rus as a new stage of the Old 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 reattach 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 by diplomacy, she significantly strengthened the Old Russian statehood. The case 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 under Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich (980-1015), the unification of Western Slavs, Volhynians, Croats and the adoption of Christianity is nearing completion.

The most important milestone on the path of the formation of the Russian ethnos is the adoption of Christianity in the form of Orthodoxy as the state religion of Kievan Rus. The specific act of the adoption of Orthodoxy was the famous baptism on the Dnieper of the population of the city of Kyiv 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 Russia 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 activity of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the 1st century AD. e., who allegedly after the death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ went to preach his teachings in Byzantium, and then "and passed the Black Sea to the Dnieper and the Dnieper up to Kyiv, and from Kyiv 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 is the reason for the Christianization of Russia 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 were taking 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 meet 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 headed 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 ethno-cultural unity of all the 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 "choosing faiths." Kievan Rus in its geopolitical position was in close contact with the Khazar Kaganate, which was dominated by Judaism, the Arab-Muslim world, which professed Islam, Orthodox Byzantium and the Catholic states of Western Europe. Vladimir allegedly sent his ambassadors to all these regions to determine the best faith. Having completed the task of the Grand Duke, the ambassadors returned and unequivocally gave preference to Orthodoxy because of the beauty of its churches and the spiritual uplift that they felt in them.

However, these circumstances did not play a major role in the adoption of Orthodoxy. The decisive factor in turning to the religious and ideological experience of Byzantium was the traditional political, economic, cultural ties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium. In the system of Byzantine statehood, spiritual power occupied a subordinate position from the emperor. This corresponded to the political aspirations of Prince Vladimir. Not the last role was played by dynastic considerations. The adoption of Orthodoxy opened the way for the marriage of Vladimir 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 expanding trade, economic and cultural ties, but also to some extent protected Russia from the raids of numerous nomadic tribes that inhabited the Great Steppe to the north of the Black Sea, which Byzantium constantly used in the fight against its northern neighbor .

And one more moment played its role in the choice of Orthodoxy. In Catholicism, worship took place in Latin, the texts of the Bible and other liturgical books - in the same language. Orthodoxy did not bind itself by linguistic canons. In addition, during this period, Orthodoxy was established in Slavic Bulgaria. Thus, the liturgical books and the entire rite 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 associated 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 relations, moral norms, the food system, etc. Therefore, the process of Christianization meant breaking the existing way of life, worldview, culture, and way of life.

Christianization everywhere met with resistance from the population. Prince Vladimir, his warriors, the clan nobility had to make a lot of efforts, and sometimes use direct force in order to establish Christian rituals, beliefs, and a way of life. Repeatedly rose uprisings against Christianization. History knows the largest of them: in Suzdal, Kyiv, Novgorod.

A significant role in the Christianization of Russia was played by the monasteries that appeared on its territory in the middle of the 11th century. In the monasteries, cadres of clergymen were trained, the dogma was comprehended, the spiritual and moral foundations of the new rituals, Christian life, etc. were formed. Monasteries played a significant role in the dissemination of letters, were custodians and transmitters of cultural heritage. From the monasteries, missionary activities were carried out in all cities and rural areas of the ancient Russian state. By the middle of the XIII century. about 80 monasteries functioned in Russia.

The adoption of Christianity was of great importance for the entire Russian society. Christianity has created a broad basis for the unification of all the peoples of this society. The border between the Rus and the Slav, the Finno-Ugric and the Slav, etc., disappeared. All of them were united by a common spiritual basis. Christianity gradually began to supplant pagan rites and traditions, and on this basis the humanization of society took place. A significant cultural upheaval was the introduction of a single script. The adoption of Christianity contributed to the formation of urban culture in a predominantly agricultural country. Under the influence of Christians, temple construction, book publishing, literature, history and philosophy developed.

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 being established between secular and ecclesiastical authorities, with the primacy of the former over the latter. In the first half of the XI century. ecclesiastical jurisdiction begins. Matters of marriage, divorce, family, some inheritance cases are transferred to the jurisdiction of the church. By the end of the XII century. the church began to supervise the service of weights and measures. A significant role is assigned to the church in international affairs related to the deepening of 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 Russia from Western European civilization. With the fall of Byzantium, the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church were, in fact, isolated from the rest of the Christian world. It is this circumstance that may partly explain the refusal of Western

Europe to come to the aid of Russia in its confrontation with the infidels (Tatar-Mongols, Turks and other conquerors).

The structure of the system of power. 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 prince of Kyiv, 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. admitted in Russia tribal suzerainty. Power over the territory belonged to the entire ruling family of Rurikovich. Representatives of the ruling dynasty ruled part of the territory, that is, they co-ruled through the institution of communion. But this did not mean collective leadership, there should be a person who was the eldest - princeps - this is the Kyiv prince, that is, there was a principate system - eldership. Who became a principle? Elder in the family. Inheritance followed a straight descending male line. But this principle was often violated, which made the situation extremely confusing. This system continued until the end of the 11th century.

The Kyiv prince was a legislator, military leader, supreme judge and tax collector. Around the prince there was a squad that lived in the prince's court and shared tribute and military booty with its head. The feasts that the prince arranged in his courtyard were also a kind of remuneration for the squad.

There are two types of relations between power and subjects: vassal and subject. Vassal relations were established between the Kyiv prince and the retinue. The prince consulted with the combatants 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 "lads" or "gridi". The boyars often acted as governors, while the youths became junior administrators. At first, the combatants replaced the general armament of the people, then they turned into an administrative-military layer, and later - into the estate of feudal lords. The princely retinue power was for the time being limited to elements of self-government, preserved from previous times. This "veche" - the people's assembly, "the elders of the city." These institutions were especially strong on the outskirts of the country.

Socio-economic relations. The formation of feudal relations in Russia proceeded in general according to the pan-European type: from state forms to seigneurial (patrimonial). But unlike Western Europe, where the traditions of private property in antiquity led to the rapid growth of senior landownership, in Russia this process was much slower.

Until the middle of the tenth century the nature of socio-economic relations was determined by tributary relations. Method - collection of tribute during polyudya. On the basis of the collection of tribute, an institution arises feeding. Tribute entered the prince's treasury, then the prince redistributed part of the tribute among the combatants in the form of gifts, feasts. In addition to tribute, the treasury received various kinds of fines imposed in the form of 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 on the basis of 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 Russkaya Pravda, there were two groups of the population in Kievan Rus: “people who served and those who did not serve,” “people who sat down as princes” and ordinary people. The former personally served the prince in the military, civil or economic field. The latter paid tribute to the prince, forming rural and urban tax societies. Among the princely husbands, the boyars stood out - the top of the nobility, and among the common people - smerds, purchases and ryadovichi.

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, moreover, wealthy families often stood out from them. For a long time, communal people were confused with smerds. However, a different monetary fine was due for their murder, and besides, the smerds were closely connected with the prince. Apparently, it was a non-free or semi-free population, princely tributaries who sat on the ground and carried duties in favor of the prince.

Many articles in Russkaya Pravda are devoted to slaves known as servants or serfs. Most historians are inclined to believe that “servants” is a term of an earlier period, which is used along with the new name “serf”. The serfs were completely powerless - a serf who hit a free man could be killed with impunity. They did not have the right to testify in court, for their murder the owner was subjected only to church repentance.

In addition to serfs, Russkaya Pravda names purchases, ryadoviches and outcasts. A purchase is a bankrupt community member who has gone into debt bondage for a loan (kupa) taken and not repaid. The status of 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, serfs who have been set free). Ryadovichi and outcasts, as well as purchases, were subjected to corporal punishment, had no full rights in court and were not responsible for some crimes themselves (the owner paid a penalty 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 turned into a privileged group, belonging to which was determined by birth. The existing monopoly property of the feudal lords on land was reflected in the rules of law. "There is no land without a lord." The peasants found themselves for the most part in personal and land dependence on the feudal lords.

Having received a monopoly on land, the feudal lords also acquired significant political power: the transfer of part of their land to vassals, the right to litigate and mint money, the maintenance of their own military force, etc. In accordance with the new realities, a different hierarchy of feudal society is now taking shape, which has legal consolidation: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal." Thus, the internal cohesion of the feudal nobility was achieved, its privileges were protected from encroachments by the central government, which was weakening by this time. For example, in France before the beginning of the XII century. the real power of the king 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 immediate vassals, had only formal suzerainty, and the big lords behaved completely independently. Thus began to take shape the foundations of feudal fragmentation.

It is known that on the territory that collapsed in the middle of the 9th century. Three new states arose in the empire of Charlemagne: French, German and Italian (Northern Italy), each of which became the base of the emerging territorial-ethnic community - nationality. Then the process of political disintegration embraced each of these new formations. So, in the territory of the French kingdom at the end of the 9th century. there were 29 possessions, and at the end of the tenth century. - about 50. But now they were for the most part not ethnic, but patrimonial-seigneurial formations.

The process of feudal fragmentation in the X-XII centuries. began to develop in England. This was facilitated by the transfer by the royal power to the nobility of the right to collect feudal duties from the peasants and their lands. As a result of this, the feudal lord (secular or ecclesiastical), who received such an award, becomes the full owner of the land occupied by the peasants and their personal master. The private property of the feudal lords grew, they became economically stronger and sought greater independence from the king.

The situation changed after England in 1066 was conquered by the Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror. As a result, the country, moving towards feudal fragmentation, turned into a cohesive state with strong monarchical power. This is the only example on the European continent in this period.

The point was that the conquerors deprived many representatives of the former nobility of their possessions, carrying out mass confiscation of landed property. The king became the actual owner of the land, 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 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 the border areas. The dispersion 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 turning the 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 develop rapidly here, the country breaks up into a number of independent associations, while other Western European countries embarked on the path of state consolidation. The fact is that the German emperors, in order to maintain their power over dependent countries, needed the military assistance of the princes and were forced to make concessions to them. Thus, if in other countries of Europe 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 developed. As a result, the imperial power gradually lost its positions and became dependent on large secular and church feudal lords.

In addition, in Germany, despite the rapid development already in the tenth century. cities (the result of the separation of craft from Agriculture), did not develop, as was the case in England, France and other countries, an alliance between the royal power and the cities. Therefore, the German cities were unable to play an active role in the political centralization of the country. And, finally, Germany has not formed, like England or France, a single economic center that could become the core of political unification. Each principality lived separately. As the princely power strengthened, the political and economic fragmentation of Germany intensified.

In Byzantium at the beginning of the XII 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, presenting wide privileges to secular and church feudal lords, contributed to their transformation into all-powerful patrimonials, who had an apparatus of judicial and administrative power and armed squads. It was the payment of the emperors to the feudal lords for their support and service.

The development of crafts and trade led at the beginning of the XII 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 rule of the state, which did not seek an alliance with the townspeople. Byzantine cities did not achieve self-government, like Western European cities. 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 marketing of their products, undermined the well-being of merchants and artisans. With the weakening of imperial power, the feudal lords became sovereign masters in the cities.

Increasing tax oppression led to frequent uprisings that weakened the state. At the end of the XII century. the empire began to fall apart. This process accelerated after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the crusaders. The empire fell, and the Latin Empire and several other states were formed on its ruins. And although in 1261 the Byzantine state was restored again (it happened after the fall of the Latin Empire), but the former power was no longer there. This continued until the fall of Byzantium under the blows 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 formation of feudal relations and the flourishing of feudalism in Western Europe. In its content, it was a natural and progressive process, due to the rise of internal colonization, the expansion of the area of ​​cultivated land. Thanks to the improvement of labor tools, the use of animal draft power and the transition to three-field cultivation, land cultivation improved, industrial crops began to be cultivated - flax, hemp; new branches of agriculture appeared - viticulture, etc. As a result, the peasants began to have surplus products that they could exchange for handicrafts, and not make them themselves.

The labor productivity of artisans increased, and the technique and technology of handicraft production improved. The craftsman turned into a small commodity producer working for trade. Ultimately, these circumstances led to the separation of craft 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 submitted to him. The townspeople, most 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 movement, widely developed in Western Europe in the X-XIII centuries. went down in history under the name of "communal movement". All rights and privileges won or acquired for a ransom were recorded in the charter. By the end of the XIII century. many cities achieved self-government, became commune cities. So, about 50% of English cities had their own self-government, city council, mayor and court. The inhabitants of such cities in England, Italy, France, etc. became free from feudal dependence. A fugitive peasant who lived in the cities of these countries for a year and one day became free. Thus, in the XIII century. a new estate 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 important step on the way to the formation of class-representative monarchies in the countries of Western Europe. This became possible thanks to the strengthening of the central government, first in England, then in France.

The development of commodity-money relations and the involvement of the countryside in this process undermined the subsistence economy and created conditions for the development of the domestic market. The feudal lords, seeking to increase their incomes, began to transfer land to the peasants for hereditary holding, reduced the lord's plowing, encouraged internal colonization, willingly accepted fugitive peasants, settled uncultivated lands with them and provided them with personal freedom. The estates of the feudal lords were also drawn into market relations. These circumstances led to a change in the forms of feudal rent, the weakening, and then the complete elimination of personal feudal dependence. Quite quickly this process took place in England, France, Italy.

The development of social relations in Kievan Rus is probably following the same scenario. The onset of a period of feudal fragmentation fits into the framework of the all-European process. As in Western Europe, tendencies towards political fragmentation in Russia appeared early. Already in the tenth century after the death of Prince Vladimir in 1015, a struggle for power breaks out between his children. However, a single ancient Russian state existed until the death of Prince Mstislav (1132). Since that time, historical science has been counting down the feudal fragmentation in Russia.

What are the reasons for this phenomenon? What contributed to the fact that the unified state of the Rurikovich 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 relations between the Grand Duke and his warriors as a result of the settlement of warriors 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 requisitions. As the combatants received land and received from the prince the right to collect taxes and duties themselves, they came to the conclusion that the income from military robbery booty is less reliable than fees from peasants and townspeople. In the XI century. the process of "settlement" of the squad on the ground intensified. And from the first half of the XII century. in Kievan Rus, the votchina becomes the predominant form of ownership, the owner of which could dispose of it at his own discretion. And although the possession of a fiefdom imposed on the feudal lord the obligation to perform military service, his economic dependence on the Grand Duke was significantly weakened. The incomes of the former feudal combatants no longer depended on the mercy of the prince. They made their own existence. With the weakening of economic dependence on the Grand Duke, political dependence also weakens.

A significant role in the process of feudal fragmentation in Russia was played by the developing institution 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 court. As a result, a state apparatus, a squad, courts, prisons, etc., are formed in independent principalities-patrimonies, and specific princes begin to dispose of communal lands, transfer them on their own behalf to boyars and monasteries. Thus, local princely dynasties are formed, and local feudal lords make up the court and squad of this dynasty. Of great importance in this process was the introduction of the institution of heredity on the earth and the people inhabiting it. Under the influence of all these processes, the nature of relations between the local principalities and Kyiv changed. Service dependence is being replaced by relations of political partners, sometimes in the form of equal allies, sometimes suzerain and vassal.

All these economic and political processes politically meant fragmentation of power, the collapse of the former centralized statehood of Kievan Rus. This disintegration, as it was in Western Europe, was accompanied by internecine wars. Three most influential states were formed on the territory of Kievan Rus: Vladimir-Suzdal principality (North-Eastern Rus), Galicia-Volyn principality (South-Western Rus) and 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 Russia, 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 maintaining their own army, 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 the Tatar-Mongol aggression, led to the capture and destruction of Ryazan (1237). In February 1238, the Russian militia on the Sit River was defeated, Vladimir and Suzdal were captured. In October 1239, Chernigov was besieged and taken; in the fall of 1240, Kyiv was captured. Thus, from the beginning of the 40s. 13th century the 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 of little use for the economic activity of nomadic peoples. But this yoke was very real. Russia found itself in vassal dependence on the Tatar-Mongol khans. Each prince, including the Grand Duke, had to receive 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, there were constant raids of 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 Russia - in 1240 the Swedes, and then in 1240-1242. German crusaders. It turned out that the Novgorod land had to defend its independence and its type of development under 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 in July 1240 at the mouth of the Neva were defeated by the retinue of the Novgorod prince, who received the honorary nickname "Nevsky" for this victory.

Following the Swedes, German knights attacked the Novgorod land, which at the beginning of the 13th century. settled in the Baltics. In 1240 they captured Izborsk, then Pskov. Alexander Nevsky, who led the fight against the crusaders, managed to liberate Pskov in the winter of 1242, and then on the ice of Lake Peipsi in the famous battle on the ice (April 5, 1242) inflicted 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 the dependence on the Golden Horde, the traditions of Western orientation were preserved and features of subjection began to form.

However, in general, by the end of the XIII century. North-Eastern and Southern Russia fell under the influence of the Golden Horde, lost ties with the West and the previously established features of progressive development. It is difficult to overestimate the negative consequences that Tatar-Mongol yoke for Russia. 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. Together with the old nobility, the traditions of vassal-druzhina relations left. Now, with the formation of the new nobility, the relationship of allegiance was established.

Relations between princes and cities changed. Veche (with the exception of the Novgorod land) has lost its significance. The prince in such conditions acted as the only protector and master.

Thus, Russian statehood begins to acquire the features of oriental despotism with its cruelty, arbitrariness, complete disregard for the people and the individual. As a result, a peculiar type of feudalism was formed in Russia, in which the “Asian element” is quite strongly represented. The formation of this peculiar type of feudalism was facilitated by the fact that, as a result of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Russia developed for 240 years in isolation from Europe.

Introduction

The period of the Middle Ages is of great importance in the history of Russian culture. At the same time, the era of the Middle Ages in Russia lasted longer than in other European countries.

The beginning of a new era was laid with the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 10th century (989), when the Russian principalities entered the Byzantine area and adopted one of the most developed types of culture in the world at that time. At the same time, the sign of the baptism of Russia marked the beginning of the formation of the Russian Orthodox civilization. In turn, baptism was caused by a complex of factors. And among them is Vladimir's desire to strengthen the state and its territorial unity.

In an effort to replace the Slavic pagan pantheon with an authoritative monotheistic (monotheism) religion, Prince Vladimir chose between four faiths. The question of the choice of faith was the question of the choice of political and cultural orientation and, more broadly, the very nature of the people and their psychology.

In turn, the Byzantine masters built stone churches in Russia, the interiors of which were decorated with mosaics and frescoes. However, it should be noted that, in contrast to religion and basic philosophical knowledge, adopted by Russia from Byzantium and not changed until the 17th century, in the field of artistic culture, Russia immediately began to develop independent forms. So, by the beginning of the XII century. brilliant success was achieved by original Russian literature and, above all, chronicle writing. The annals were also strikingly different from the Western European annals. In the event that the annals of Ancient Russia were a kind of embodiment of awareness of the emergence of a new people, then the annals of Muscovite Russia aimed to collect and preserve the entire previous tradition. This testified to the high development of the sense of historical memory.

Characterization of medieval Russia as a successive change of phases of development allows us to trace all the diversity, multifactorial nature of its economic life, political changes, spiritual and artistic culture. These are dynamic processes, changing within their internal limits, the vector of which pointed in the direction of the transformation of the medieval cultural and historical complex.

The purpose of this work is to study the features of the culture of Medieval Russia.

General characteristics of medieval Russia

In the history of the Russian state and culture of the period from the 9th to the 17th centuries. belongs to a special place. It was during this period that the boundaries of the entire state were determined. Only in the Middle Ages were the ethnocultural foundations of future nations and many national languages ​​somehow laid. During the Middle Ages, Orthodox Christian social ideals were formed.

At the same time, several stages can be traced in the history of medieval Russia:

I - the most ancient history of the Russian state from the second half of the 9th century. until the 30s of the XIII century;

II - the second half of the XIII-XV centuries;

III - the beginning of the XVI-XVII centuries.

In the process of feudalization, the Old Russian state was fragmented into a number of separate, to a certain extent independent, principalities and lands. Feudal fragmentation, which was a natural stage in the historical development of Russia, was a consequence of the economic isolation of individual principalities. The growth of large property and the spread of food rent created during this period more favorable conditions for the further development of the economy. At the same time, the consequence of fragmentation was the strengthening of princely strife. In the conditions of constant internecine wars, the foreign policy position of Russia worsened, and, in the end, as a result of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it lost its independence.

The economic and political development of Ancient Russia in the pre-Christian era, which was distinguished by dynamism and multi-qualitativeness, gave rise to a plurality of forms and manifestations of a spiritual culture that was quite high for its time. Unfortunately, a lot of the cultural heritage of ancient Russian society has been irretrievably lost: the ruthless time, the all-destroying natural disasters (primarily fires), and numerous enemy invasions, interspersed with princely civil strife, and the neglectful attitude of the ruling classes to the national cultural heritage are to blame for this. There is a share of guilt (and a considerable one, too!) on the Russian Orthodox Church: at her command, many works of culture of pre-Christian times were exterminated as “creations of pagan superstition” or forgotten.

Kievan Rus was the largest state of the Middle Ages. At the same time, unlike other Eastern and Western countries, the process of formation of Russian statehood had its own specific features. One of them is the spatial and geopolitical situation. In this sense, the Russian state occupied a middle position between Europe and Asia. In turn, Kievan Rus did not have definite, pronounced borders.

In the process of formation, Russia was able to acquire the features of both eastern and western countries. In addition, the urgent need for constant protection from external enemies of a vast territory forced peoples with different types of development, religion, and culture to rally.

The Baptism of Russia had a certain impact on the cultural life of society. Christianity played a huge role in the ideological substantiation and thus in strengthening the power of the Kievan princes. The Church assigns to the Kyiv prince all the attributes of Christian emperors. On many coins minted according to Greek models, princes are depicted in Byzantine imperial attire.

The enormous influence of baptism was also reflected in the artistic field. In this case, many Greek artists created works of art in the newly converted country. For example, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built by Yaroslav in 1037.

In turn, with Orthodoxy, the art of eloquence came to Russia. In this case, the ancient Russian orators - preachers in their own speeches affirmed the spiritual and moral values ​​​​of faith. They united people and also taught many.

It is worth noting that church preaching could be oral and written. It was it that was the school of direct familiarization of the people with the high values ​​of culture. And moral consciousness and behavior are the main characteristics of a person as a social being. At the same time, morality is a spiritual and practical way of mastering reality, which determines the attitude of a person to other people, to society, to himself.

One of the most remarkable works of ancient Russian literature that has survived to this day is the “Word of Law and Grace”. A similar work was created by Metropolitan Hilarion, the first Russian metropolitan in Russia.

And, nevertheless, the history of the Russian lands of the II period should be divided into three stages:

I - the 40s of the XIII - the beginning of the XIV century. (the stage is characterized by a rather deep demographic crisis);

II - XIV centuries. (the stage is characterized by overcoming the crisis);

III - XV centuries. (the stage is characterized by a fairly rapid growth in productivity, as well as direct involvement in the process of development of feudalism of lands with Finno-Ugric populations).

It is worth noting that by the end of the 15th century, a state of the type of estate monarchy was formed - the Muscovite state. At the same time, it achieved complete liberation from the Mongol-Tatar dependence. Starting from the 15th century, certain prerequisites for the formation of new nationalities and even the allocation of languages ​​also gradually took shape. Within the boundaries of the Muscovite state, a direct reunification of the former lands of Kievan Rus began.

The process of direct collection of lands and a certain strengthening of their own power, begun by the first Moscow princes, continued actively at that time. And after a long and hard struggle between the princes, Moscow became the political center of the Russian lands.

So, Ivan III (1440 - 1505) annexes Novgorod in 1478. He cancels the veche. Then followed the Tver land and Vyatka. The cautious and prudent politician Ivan III managed to complete the expulsion of the Horde by a long "standing" on the Ugra River (a tributary of the Oka). And in November 1480 the Horde yoke ended. Ivan III was faced with the task of uniting the Russian lands around Moscow and centralizing the grand duke's power.

In turn, the system of central government is beginning to improve. This system included:

Treasury (financial, foreign policy and other national affairs);

Palaces (management from the center of the annexed lands);

governors (governors of counties appointed from the center).

It is important to emphasize that the rather lengthy process of gathering the fragmented Russian lands into a single state was coming to an end. And Ivan III took the title of Grand Duke of All Russia. So, he had the seal of the great sovereign. On one side of such a seal, a double-headed eagle is depicted, and on the other, a rider. At the same time, the progressive process of the formation of a single state was accompanied by the gradual enslavement of the peasants in the legislative order.

It is important to emphasize that Russian culture over two and a half centuries has gone through a thorny path from a terrible ruin, which stopped its development, to a stubborn revival that could lead it to the highest achievements. In turn, diverse in its own local characteristics, the culture increasingly took shape as a single whole.

As for the III period of development, the phenomenon of Russia was formed in the conditions of the Muscovite state. It was during that period that the name of the country was fixed. During the middle of the second half of the XVI-first third of the XVII century. there was a turn from the culture of Ancient Russia to the culture of Russia of the New Age. This was the beginning of a new period in Russian history - the preparation of the country for the era of reforms of Peter I.

Thus, the period of the Middle Ages is of great importance for the development of the Russian state. It was during this period that the boundaries of the entire state were determined. It was during this period of the Middle Ages that Orthodox Christian social ideals were formed.

Section I. Ancient and Medieval Russia.

Topic 1. Ancient Russia. The era of Kievan Rus.

Our distant ancestors were the Slavs - the largest group of peoples in Europe, connected by kindred origin, common territory of residence and proximity of the language.

According to their language, all Slavs belong to a 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 developed. Historians number 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 "an integral literary history of Russia" 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 Ilmenskoye and Volkhov; Krivichi with Polochans - in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Berezina; Vyatichi - on the Oka and the Moscow River; radimichi - on the Sozh and the Desna; northerners on the Desna, Seim, Sula and Seversky Donets; Drevlyans - on Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper; meadow - along the middle course of the Dnieper; Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs - in Volyn, along the Bug; Tivertsy, Uchi - in the very south, by 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, 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 rains were considered optimal for the Kiev region in the agronomic manuals of the late 19th century, which indicates that the Slavs had the 4th c. reliable agrotechnical observations.

The Eastern Slavs had widely developed blacksmithing and foundry. They made ceramics on the potter's wheel, made jewelry and bone household items.

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 - all 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 reached great development and had no internal strength, should easily yield to extraneous religious influences.

Baptism of Russian squads in Kyiv in 860. was extremely important for the spread of Christianity in the Russian land. Trade relations with Greece made it easier for Russia to get acquainted with the Christian faith.

In Russia, along with the new dogma, new authorities, new enlightenment, new laws and courts, new landowners and new landowning customs appeared. Since Russia adopted the faith from Byzantium, everything new that came along with faith had a Byzantine character and served as a conductor of Byzantine influence on Russia. The influence of Christianity on the political structure of the Old Russian state is also traced. But it was precisely here that the contradictions between the measures of the Kyiv princes, who tried to strengthen the central power with the help of a new religion, and, ultimately, the real course of socio-economic development, which led the “rurik power” to the inevitable victory of fragmentation already on a new basis, clearly manifested themselves. To consolidate their power in various parts vast state, Vladimir appointed his sons governors in various cities and lands of Russia. After the death of Vladimir, a fierce struggle for power began between the sons. One of the sons of Vladimir, Svyatopolk, seized power in Kyiv and declared himself the Grand Duke. By order of Svyatopolk, three of his brothers were killed - Boris Rostov, Gleb oannovich and Svyatoslav Drevlyansky. Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who occupied the throne in Novgorod, understood that he was also in danger. He decided to oppose Svyatopolk, who called on the help of the Pechenegs. 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. Yaroslav was opposed by his brother Mstislav Tmutarakansky. As a result of this strife, the brothers divided the state into two parts: the area 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 is the time of the heyday of Kievan Rus, which has become one of the strongest states in Europe. The most powerful sovereigns at that time sought an alliance with Russia.

Topic 2. Russia in the period of feudal fragmentation in the XII-XIII centuries.

Feudal fragmentation in Russia was a natural result of the economic and political development of the early feudal society

After the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 1015. a long war began between his numerous sons, who ruled over separate parts of Russia. The instigator of the strife was Svyatopolk the Accursed, who killed his brothers Boris and Gleb. In internecine wars, princes - brothers brought to Russia either the Pechenegs, or the Poles, or the mercenary detachments of the Varangians. In the end, the winner was Yaroslav the Wise, who divided Russia (along the Dnieper) with his brother Mstislav of Tmutarakan from 1024 to 1036, and then after the death of Mstislav became "autocratic".

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 little worlds not connected with each other and to the state-political separatism of local boyar unions.

Feudal fragmentation- a progressive phenomenon in the development of feudal relations. The collapse of the early feudal empires into independent principalities-kingdoms was an inevitable stage in the development of feudal society, whether it concerned Russia 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, the number of smerds dependent on them. The 12th-beginning of the 13th centuries were characterized by the further development of boyar land ownership in various principalities of Russia. The boyars expanded their possession by seizing the lands of free community smerds, enslaving them, buying lands. In various lands of Russia, economically powerful boyar corporations began to take shape, striving to become sovereign masters of the lands where their estates were located. They wanted to judge their peasants themselves, to receive vira fines from them. Many boyars had feudal immunity (the right not to interfere in the affairs of the patrimony). However, the Grand Duke (and such is the nature of princely power) sought to retain full power in his hands. He intervened 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 Russia. The Grand Duke, considered the supreme owner of all the lands of Russia, 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, tearing them away from their estates. The boyars began to be burdened by the service of the Grand Duke, sought to elude her, which led to numerous conflicts.

The growth of clashes between smerds and townspeople with the boyars became the second reason for feudal fragmentation. The need for local princely power, the creation of a state apparatus forced the local boyars to invite the prince and his retinue to their lands. But, inviting the prince, the boyars were inclined to see in him only a police and military force, not interfering in boyar affairs. Such an invitation was also beneficial for the princes and squad.

The prince received a permanent reign, his land estate, 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 struggle against the great Kyiv prince. The growing role of the boyars and local princes led to the revival of city veche assemblies. Veche, a peculiar form of feudal democracy, was a political body. In fact, it was in the hands of the boyars, which excluded the real decisive participation in the management of ordinary citizens.

The reasons for feudal fragmentation should also include the decline of the Kievan land from the constant Polovtsian raids and the decline in the power of the Grand Duke, whose land patrimony decreased in the 12th century. Russia split into 14 principalities

The collapse of Russia did not lead, however, to the collapse of the ancient Russian nationality, the historically established linguistic, territorial, economic and cultural community. In the Russian lands, a single concept of Russia, the Russian land, continued to exist.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, three centers emerged in the Russian lands: the Vladimir-Suzdal, Galicia-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 ownership and economy, medieval crafts and cities of feudal immunity and the feudal estate hierarchy, the dependence of the peasants, the main elements of the feudal state apparatus.

Topic 3. The struggle of Russia with an external invasion in the XIII century.

At the beginning of the 13th century in Central Asia the Mongolian state was formed. By the name of one of the tribes, these peoples were also called Tatars. Subsequently, all the nomadic peoples with whom Russia waged a struggle began to be called Mongolo-Tatars. In 1206, a congress of the Mongol nobility, the kurultai, took place, at which Temuchin was elected leader of the Mongol tribes, who received the name Genghis Khan (Great Khan). The Mongol-Tatars began their campaigns with the conquest of 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 to the Polovtsian steppes. The Polovtsian Khan KOTYAN turned to the Russian princes for help. Kyiv, Smolensk, Galician, 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-Mongolian ambassadors arrived in Russia, 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 banks of the river. Kalki began a bloody battle. But not all princes took part in it. The Polovtsy rushed 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 soldiers returned home). Reconnaissance in force showed that aggressive campaigns against Russia and its neighbors could be carried out only by organizing a general Mongolian campaign against the countries of Europe. At the head of this campaign was the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu. In 1236 Mongol-Tatars captured the 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 the Russian lands. In 1237 Ryazan suffered the first blow. Vladimir and Chernigov princes refused to help Ryazyan. The battle was very hard, 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 perished, predetermining the fate of North-Eastern Russia. In mid-January, Batu occupies Moscow, then, after a 5-day siege, Vladimir. All the cities in the north, except for 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, he killed everyone, right down to 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 terrify and fear the inhabitants. But Russia still resisted. In 1241 Batu returned to Russia. In 1242, Batu-khan in the lower reaches of the Volga, where he sets up his new capital - Saray-bata. The Horde yoke was established in Russia 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 done to the economic, political and cultural development of Russia. The old agricultural centers and the once developed territories were abandoned and fell into decay. Russian cities were subjected to mass destruction. Simplified, and sometimes disappeared, many crafts. Tens of thousands of people were killed or driven into slavery. The main meaning of enslavement was to receive tribute from the conquered people. The tribute was very large. Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the forces to overthrow the Tatar-Mongol yoke were still not enough.

Understanding this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - undertook 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 recovery 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 Russia was alarming. The Russian land was devastated by the Tatar-Mongols, the forces of German, Swedish and Danish feudal lords were drawn to the northwestern borders of the Novgorod-Pskov land. The Swedish government decided to send an expedition. The purpose 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 Russia, and deprived of Russian support, they could easily become the prey of the Swedish feudal lords; secondly, with the capture of the Neva, the only access to the Baltic Sea for Novgorod and all of Russia was in the hands of the Swedes. All foreign trade in the north-west of Russia was to fall under Swedish control.

At the beginning of 1241, the knights began to increasingly invade the Novgorod possessions. They, together with the auxiliary detachments of the Estonians, attacked the land of the Vodi and imposed tribute on it. Part of the local nobility went over to the side of the invaders. The crusaders set themselves the goal of capturing not only the land of the Vod, but also the coast of the Neva and Karelia. In the same year, Prince Alexander, having gathered an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga, as well as Karelians and Izhorians, opposed the crusaders. The victory on Lake Peipus - the Battle of the Ice - was of great importance for all of Russia, for all Russians and peoples associated with it, because. this victory saved them from the foreign yoke.

Alexander Nevsky (1221-1263), Prince of Novgorod in 1236-51, Grand Duke of Vladimir from 1252. Son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva 1240) and the German knights of the Livonian Order (Battle on the Ice 1242) secured the western borders of Russia. Canonized by Russian Orthodox Church.

Topic 4. Formation of a centralized state

(XIV - first half of the XVI centuries).

The process of formation of a unified Russian state took place from about the beginning of the 14th to the middle of the 16th, a new state mechanism began to take shape. Reasons for the rise of Moscow:

1. Geographical position, giving political and commercial benefits;

2. The personalities of the Moscow princes and their politics (the princes of the Tatars themselves made a weapon for exalting power, as can be seen from the struggle between Tver and Moscow);

3. The policy of the Tatars determined in favor of Moscow;

4. Sympathy of the boyars and the clergy;

5. The correctness of the succession to the throne in Moscow.

Moscow became in the XIV century. Large trade and craft center. Moscow craftsmen gained fame as skillful masters of foundry, blacksmithing and jewelry. It was in Moscow that Russian artillery was born and received its baptism of fire.

First stage formation of a single state (n. XIV-XIV centuries). The Moscow princes were gradually withdrawing their principality from its original narrow limits. In the possession of Prince Daniel were counties: Moscow, Zvenigorod, Ruza and Bogorodsk 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 Konstantin by surprise, and took Kolomna from him, and the city of Mozhaisk from the Smolensk prince. In addition, Daniel received the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky by will.

Yuri Daniilovich decided to look in the Horde for a shortcut to the great Vladimir and entered the struggle for Vladimir with the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich. The struggle was waged 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 parties. 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 most powerful rival. Having taken part in the punitive campaign of the Mongol-Tatar rati, in 1328. Kalita, who thus earned the trust of the khan, received a 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. 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: 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 by united forces it was possible to achieve victory over foreign invaders. The authority of Moscow 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 the Klyazma and Galich with Dmitrov.

The son of Dmitry Donskoy Vasily "bribed" 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 XIV century. starts second phase the unification process, the main content of which was the defeat by Moscow of its main political rivals and the transition to the state unification of Russian lands around it and the organization of a nationwide struggle for the overthrow of the Horde yoke.

With the unification into a single whole of the "Great Prince of Vladimir" with the Principality of Moscow, Moscow asserted the role and importance of the territorial and national center of the emerging Russian state. In 1393 Vasily I obtained consent to the transfer of the Murom and Nizhny Novgorod principalities to Moscow, with the accession of which it became possible to start creating an all-Russian system of defense of the borders with the Horde. At the end of the XIV century. Moscow takes 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 single state (1462 - 1533) took about 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 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 in de facto subordination to Moscow, ceased to exist.

The unification of the Russian lands was basically completed. A huge power was formed, the largest in Europe. Within the framework of this state, the Russian (Great Russian) nationality was united. From the end of the XV 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 south-west - the regions of Orel, Kursk, Tula. Kaluga was a border town. Further - a wild field - the steppe, which was under the constant threat of an attack by the Crimean Khan. In the east, Russia ended with the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan districts. The state was already united, but the unification of the 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. All the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy, the prince decided with her.

The system of local self-government was archaic. The existing specific principalities also presented an inconvenience for the centralization of the state: there were still two of them, they belonged to the younger brothers of Vasily III - Yuri (Dmitrov and Zvenigorod) and Andrei (Tverskaya land and Vereya).

Ivan IV was born on August 25, 1530. When Ivan was 3 years old, his father, 54-year-old Prince Vasily III, died, 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, opponents of the centralization of power, the Shuisky princes, seized power, they were soon pushed aside by the Belsky princes, in 1543 the Vorontsov boyars came to power, then again the Shuiskys. In 1546, power again returned to the Glinskys, headed by Ivan IV's grandmother, Princess Anna.

Ivan IV possessed a sharp natural mind, brilliant eloquence and the talent of a writer and publicist. At the age of 17-20, he impressed those around him with an exorbitant number of experiences and thoughtful thoughts, which his ancestors did not even think of in adulthood. He was a subtle politician, a skilled diplomat and a major military organizer. But a man of violent passions, nervous, sharp, quick-tempered, Ivan IV was endowed with a very difficult despotic character. He quickly lost his temper, came into a terrible rage. From early youth, he showed two traits: suspicion and cruelty.

The first step towards strengthening power is the coronation of Ivan IV to the kingdom, conducted by Metropolitan Macarius in 1547. This, according to the then concepts, sharply elevated Ivan above the Russian nobility and equalized him with the Western European sovereigns. The capital of the state, Moscow, was now adorned with a new title - it became the "royal city", and the Russian land - the Russian kingdom. But for the peoples of Russia began one of the most tragic periods of its history. The "time of Ivan the Terrible" was coming.

The first steps of the sovereign of Moscow are aimed at reaching a compromise between the feudal lords. A "Chosen Rada" is being created, which includes representatives of different classes from the tsar's close associates. In 1549 the Zemsky Sobor is created - an advisory body in which the aristocracy, clergy, "sovereign people" are represented, later representatives of the merchants and the city elite are elected.

To achieve his goals, the tsar establishes the sovereign's land allotment - the oprichnina (from the ancient "oprich" - except), where the best lands go in arable and military-strategic terms, expanded due to the disgraced boyars. To put into practice the idea of ​​centralization and the fight against objectionable, a “sovereign’s court” is created, a special army of a semi-monastic, half-knightly image, an oprichnina duma. The guardsmen are selected loyal, ready to unquestioningly obey the tsar's close associates from the princely-boyar aristocracy, foreign mercenaries. Establishing the oprichnina, Ivan IV negotiated for himself the right to execute the boyars without trial or investigation, which was one of the means of strengthening absolute power.

Foreign policy of Russia 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 hotbed of aggression in Kazan. Only by 1556, as a result of the siege and subsequent suppression of the actions of the Udmurts, Chuvashs, and Mari, Kazan was turned into a Russian administrative and commercial center. In 1556, the Astrakhan Khanate was annexed to Russia, in 1557. The 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.

In order to develop economic and cultural ties with Western Europe, Russia needed free access to the Baltic Sea. But the Baltic was in the hands of the German feudal lords, who founded the Livonian Order of Knights there, which prevented Russia from trading 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 forces of the Russian state during the war were also undermined by a sharp internal struggle, primarily by the oprichnina, and the Russian economy could not withstand such a prolonged strain. After almost 25 years, a truce was concluded, as a result of which almost all the gains in the Baltic 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 asserted in the country. The word "Russian" began to be used to denote belonging to the Russian people, and the word "Russian" was used to denote belonging to the Russian state. This was finally confirmed 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 Muscovite state was going through a severe and complex moral-political and socio-economic crisis. While the sovereigns of the old customary dynasty, direct descendants of Rurik and Vladimir the Holy, were on the Moscow throne, 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 "no one's", the earth was confused and went into ferment.

The upper layer of the Moscow population, the boyars, economically weakened and morally belittled by the policy of Grozny, began the turmoil by the struggle for power in a country that had become “stateless”.

Upon the death of the childless Tsar Fyodor Oannovich (in January 1598), Moscow swore allegiance to his wife, Tsarina Irina, but Irina renounced the throne and took the vows of monasticism. When Moscow was suddenly left without a tsar, everyone's eyes turned to the ruler, Boris Godunov. A zemstvo sobor was convened from representatives of all ranks of all cities of the Muscovite 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

In the general government, Boris tried to maintain order and justice ... Under him, the Russian colonization of Siberia and the construction of Russian cities (Turinsk, Tomsk) continued successfully.

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 is 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 is not blessed by heaven, because, achieved by lawlessness, it is supported by untruth; they interpreted that if the family of Boris was established on the throne, it would not bring happiness to the Russian land.

At this time, in Poland, a young man came out against Tsar Boris, who called himself Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, and announced his intention to go to Moscow, to get himself the ancestral throne. The Moscow government claimed that he was the Galich boyar son Grigory Otrepiev.

Some Polish lords agreed to help him, and in October 1604 False Dmitry entered the Moscow limits; issued an appeal to the people that God saved him, the prince, from the villainous intentions of Boris Godunov, and he calls on the population to accept him as the legitimate heir to the Russian throne. The fight between the unknown young adventurer and the powerful tsar began, and Rastriga was the winner in this fight.

In 1605, Boris Godunov died, and the throne was transferred to his son Theodore and the queen-widow. 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.

In the movement against the “boyar tsar” Vasily Shuisky, various sections of the population were involved: the lower classes, the nobility, 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 used the direct help of the Polish-Lithuanian gentry. False Dmitry II moved his troops from Poland. In 1610, Shuisky's army was defeated, the tsar 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, disagreements and a struggle for supremacy soon began between the leaders of the militia. Taking advantage of the fact that power in the militia passed into the hands of the "good nobles", they organized the murder of Prokopy Lyapunov.

The organizer of the second militia was the “zemstvo headman” Kuzma Minin, who appealed to the people of Nizhny Novgorod: Kuzma Minin also played a decisive role in choosing the military leader of the militia: it was he who formulated the stringent requirements for the future governor. All these requirements were met by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In August 1612, after a heavy battle, the militia drove the Poles out of Moscow and locked up their garrison in the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod. After a two-month siege, the invaders, exhausted by hunger, surrendered.

The most important thing was to choose a king. A strong government was also needed in order to make peace with Poland and Sweden, to restore order in the country. In the winter of 1613 Zemsky Sobor was convened, the most representative of all the former before and after. Long and stormy meetings finally led to the choice of the young 16-year-old boyar Mikhail Romanov, the nephew of the female line 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 tried to harm him (to kill or capture him). However, the Polish detachment was led into the forests to certain death by the peasant Ivan Susanin, who accomplished a feat in the name of the motherland, 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 system to a capitalist one is complex and multifaceted. The beginning of the capitalist development of Russia dates back to the 17th century.

Already in the XVI century. The Russian state was covered with a wide network of trade fairs and fairs, at which a variety of products of industry and agriculture were sold, ranging from bread and livestock to products of small industry. On the one hand, a group of prosperous commodity producers formed among the township artisans, who became buyers or owners of large workshops, on the other hand, a significant stratum of the poor, who lost the opportunity to conduct independent production. The same phenomenon was observed among the rural population, which consisted of many impoverished and ruined owners, in contrast to the wealthy peasants, who acted as tenants and merchants.

Russian state of the XVI-XVII 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 wealth of Siberia could not compete with the inexhaustible values ​​of the American and South Asian colonies. Russia received in the XVII century. the importance of the raw material market, the supplier of agricultural products to economically more developed countries. Huge land reserves, relatively easily accessible to settlers, beckoning them with the fertility of the soil and the mildness of the climate, contributed to the gradual thinning of the population in the historical center, thereby mitigating the sharpness 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 growth of noble land ownership, the introduction of new fees and duties.

In the second half of the 17th century, a broad religious movement arose in the Muscovite state known as the schism. The external reason for this movement was the church reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikon and caused a sharp clash within the Orthodox Church between the defenders of the reform and opponents. But the main reason was the struggle of peasants and townspeople against feudal exploitation. The schismatics tried to gloss over class contradictions, disputes about faith and rituals came to the fore.

In 1648 a movement broke out in Moscow, called the "salt riot". To stabilize the situation, the authorities convened the Zemsky Sobor, which decided to prepare a new Code. 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 On the Don, an uprising of Cossacks led by Stepan Razin broke out.

The introduction of a new code of laws, the "Cathedral Code" of 1649, the cruel investigation of the fugitives, the increase in taxes for the war heated up the already tense situation in the state. The bulk of the Cossacks, especially the fugitives, lived poorly, meagerly. The Cossacks were not engaged in agriculture. The salary 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 uprisings of the Cossacks 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 the 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 under the Andrusovo truce of 1667. managed to return Smolensk and take possession of the 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. If a balance was established based on the equality of forces and a well-known coincidence of interests, then Russia's position relative to its other western neighbor, Sweden, was fraught with long-term conflicts.

According to the Stolbovsky Treaty of 1617, the Swedes completely pushed Russia away from the Baltic Sea, capturing the original Russian lands on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.

The Russian state was deprived of a natural way of communication with the countries of Western Europe, communication with which was an important condition for overcoming the backwardness of the country. In the XVII century. (in 1654) there was a reunification of the Left-bank Ukraine with Russia.

Topic 8. The era of Peter I. The birth of the empire. Russia at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

Russia of the 17th century, by the very course of historical development, was faced with the need for radical reforms, since only in this way could it secure a worthy place among the states of the West and East.

In the second half of the 17th century, the nature of the state system in Russia began to change, and absolutism began to take shape more and more clearly. Got further development Russian culture and sciences: 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 the gap between Russia and Europe. As a result of the 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, which submitted various issues for consideration by the monarch for legislative resolution. The boards that were in charge of the economic life of Russia and organized according to the Swedish model instead of the complex and clumsy apparatus of orders were subordinate to the Senate. In total, by the end of the 1st quarter of the 17th century. there were 13 collegiums, which became central state institutions, formed according to a functional principle. 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 estates and exercised judicial functions in relation to such crimes as heresy, blasphemy, schism, etc. Of great importance was the administrative reform, which divided Russia into 8 (and then into 10) provinces headed by governors "in order to better keep an eye on money 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 by Peter in honor of the patron saint of St. Petersburg. Petersburg became the capital of the Russian state in 1712.

Peter's transformations affected all spheres of public life: the Decree on Uniform Heritage secured noble ownership of land, the Table of Ranks established the order of ranks of military and civil servants not by nobility, but by personal merits 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 the peasants from the landowners. The soul tax was heavier than those duties that the serfs served in favor of the master. The people responded to the deterioration of their situation with increased resistance: the escapes of serfs, the destruction of lordly 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 device armed forces was the recruitment duty, introduced in 1705, and the compulsory military service of the nobles, who received the rank of officer after graduating from a military school or serving as a private. The organization, weapons, tactics, rights and obligations of all ranks were determined by the Military Charter (1716), the Marine Charter (1720) and the Marine Regulations (1722), in the development of which Peter himself participated.

In 1722 Peter I issued a Charter on the succession to the throne, according to which the monarch could determine his successor "recognizing convenient" and had the right, seeing "lewdness in the heir", to deprive him of the throne "seeing a worthy one." The legislation of that time defined actions against the king and the state as the most serious crimes.

The Northern War started by Peter the Great was aimed at returning to Russia those lands, the possession of which was absolutely necessary for its further development. The victorious Northern War provided Russia with a full-fledged place in Europe. From now on, the history of the Russian Empire is the 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 XVIII century. there has been a massive change. The territory of the country has grown significantly, after many centuries of struggle, it received access to the sea, eliminating political and economic isolation, entered the international arena and turned into 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 was not going to break her vow to save his life. Elizaveta Petrovna already November 28, 1741. hastened to proclaim the son of Duke Karl Friedrich and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, Karl-Peter-Ulrich, heir to the Russian throne. February 5, 1742 The 14-year-old prince was brought to St. Petersburg, baptized according to the Orthodox rite, and already officially declared the heir to the Russian crown - Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.

December 25, 1761 Empress Elizabeth, having reigned 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 granting liberties to the Russian nobility - the nobles were exempted from compulsory public service, and could now continue or stop serving at their own request and at any time. A number of decrees were devoted to a more humane treatment of serfs. Decree of January 29, 1762. The emperor put an end to the persecution of the Old Believers for their faith. The emperor took steps to strengthen military discipline in the guards. His attitude towards the guardsmen was negative: Peter did not hide his intention to abolish the guards regiments altogether in the future. All this could not but give rise to opposition Peter III in the officer environment, especially among the guards. Both the clergy and part of the nobility were dissatisfied, shocked by some of the emperor's antics and neglect of the rules of court etiquette. Ekaterina Alekseevna took advantage of the discontent of these very circles. Relying on the guards regiments, she proclaimed herself an 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 was able to complete what the Muscovite sovereigns had been striving for for centuries. Under Catherine, Russia waged wars with Turkey, Sweden, participated in the three partitions of Poland and, as a result, annexed all Russian regions except Galicia, conquered the Crimea, significant territories in Belarus, Lithuania, western Ukraine, Courland.

Catherine made a significant contribution to the development of culture and art in Russia.

The legislation on the peasants of Catherine's time continued to further restrict peasant rights and strengthen the landowner's power over him. During the peasant unrest in 1765-1766. the landlords received the right to exile their peasants not only to a settlement in Siberia (this had already happened before), but also to hard labor, "for impudence" to the landowner. The landowner at any time could give the peasant to the soldiers, without waiting for the recruitment time. Decree of 1767. peasants were forbidden to file 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 administration of provinces" were published. Instead of the previous 20 provinces that existed in 1766, these “institutions about provinces” 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 XIX century. The disintegration of the feudal-serf system and the formation of the capitalist structure in its depths were accompanied by phenomena characteristic of the transitional period in the socio-economic development of Russia. Agriculture remained the backbone of the country's economy at that time.

Paul I, after ascending the throne, pushed the army and the people away from him. 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 came to the throne after the assassination of his father in a conspiracy

The first half of the reign of Alexander I was marked by moderate liberal reforms. The emperor granted freedom to prisoners and those exiled by his father, issued a decree on the elimination of torture, and restored the validity of the Letters of Complaint of 1785. At this time, important changes were made in administrative system empire: in 1802 ministries and the Council of State were established. In 1803, the Decree on Free Growers was issued, according to which landlords were allowed to dismiss peasants from the land. However, this decree had no noticeable practical significance. It was more of a farce than a real attempt to end the feudal system.

In foreign policy in the first decade of the 19th century, Russia maneuvered between England and France. In 1805-1807. Russia participated 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 took on an openly hostile character. 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 triumphant entry into Paris. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov gave the famous battle of Borodino, which was of great strategic and political importance 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 Russia's international position. In the reign of Alexander I, Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812), Azerbaijan (1813) were annexed to Russia. In 1825, during a trip to Taganrog, Emperor Alexander I caught a bad 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 autocracy after Patriotic War 1812, the course, which received the name "Arakcheevshchina". In the memoirs and research literature, many unflattering words were said about this temporary worker. Arakcheev during the years of his power was hated by both "right" and "left".

February 9 will be a memorable day in the history of Russia. A group of young officers created their first secret society, which they would call the Union of Salvation, and a little later, the Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland. Pavel Pestel, Ivan Pushchin, Mikhail Lunin, about 30 young people, mostly guard officers, have joined this society and will swear that the only goal of their life will be the struggle against serfdom, for the introduction of constitutional laws in Russia that restrict absolutism. The policy of Alexander I, his attitude to the suffering of serfs, to the torment of the people, the scourge of Arakcheevism gave rise to anger and rebellion of Russian honest people, the uprising of the Decembrists (December 14, 1826).

The accession of Nicholas I brought a clear revival to the life of the country. Pretty soon, the new emperor managed to win the sympathy of secular society. And not only him. Despite the reputation of a limited martinet, which Nicholas deserved as a Grand Duke, he was presented as a new Peter.

The second quarter of the 19th century is characterized by the growing crisis of the feudal system, which hampered the development of productive forces. At the same time, the processes of disintegration of the old forms of economic management have already become more definite. As the foreign market took shape and foreign trade expanded, the share of industry in the economy increased. Manufactory grew into a capitalist factory. Domestic engineering is on the rise. In rural areas, serf forms also experienced a crisis. In transport, the impact of new economic demands was already felt. This was 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 was the peasant question. The first step in this direction was to be the reform of the management of the state village.

flared up 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 crush 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 North-Western 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 centers of resistance in the North Caucasus were suppressed only in 1864.

Topic 11. Russia in the second half of the XIX century.

Emperor of All Russia (18.02.1856-1.03.1881) 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 (Regulations of February 19, 1861), for that the emperor was called the king-liberator. More than 22 million Russian peasants were liberated and a new order of social peasant administration was established. Under the Judicial Reform of 1864, the judiciary was separated from the executive, administrative and legislative powers. In civil and criminal trials, the principles of publicity and trial by jury were introduced, and the irremovability of judges was declared. In 1874, a decree was issued on all-class military service, which removed the hardships of 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 on the exemption from preliminary censorship of the capital's periodicals, as well as some books. The gradual abolition of excluding and restrictive laws in relation to schismatics and Jews was carried out. However, after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. the government gradually switched to the course of restricting reforms with a number of temporary rules and ministerial circulars ... Emperor Nicholas I left his heir the Crimean War, which ended in the defeat of Russia and the signing of peace in Paris in March 1856. In 1864, the conquest of the Caucasus was completed. Under the Aigun Treaty with China, the Amur Territory was annexed to Russia (1858), and under 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 Territory (1867) and the Ferghana Region (1873) were captured. Russian rule extended up 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 Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878, which ended with the victory of the Russian troops. The result of this was the proclamation of the independence of Serbia, Romania and Montenegro. Russia received part of Bessarabia, torn away in 1856 (except for the islands of the Danube Delta) and a cash contribution in the amount of 302.5 million rubles. In addition, Ardagan, 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 (2.03.1881-20.10.1894) March 1, 1881, after the assassination of Emperor Alexander II by terrorists, his son ascended the throne Alexander III. 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 prevailing 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 landed property. On foreign policy, during these years, Russian-German relations deteriorated and there was a gradual rapprochement between Russia and France, ending with the conclusion of the Franco-Russian alliance (1891-1893). Alexander III died in the autumn of 1894.

At the turn of the century, Russian social democracy entered a qualitatively new stage in its development. There was a process of transition from circles to the formation of a single political party of the working class. But since within the social democracy, several currents continued to exist that had their own vision of the paths of the revolution, then this process was not easy. The greatest authority and recognition among the Russian Social Democrats enjoyed the so-called. an orthodox trend that traces its genealogy 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 organizations similar to it.

In the late 90s. 19th century In the Russian Social Democracy, "legal Marxists" and "Economists" appeared, whose representatives made an attempt to "modernize" Marxist orthodoxy. Sharing many of the ideas of E. Bernstein, "legal Marxists" and "economists" sought to adapt and develop them in relation to specific Russian conditions. The formation of the RSDLP in 1989 became a logical stage in the development of the workers' and social democratic movement in Russia.

Section III. Russia, the USSR in modern times.

Topic 12. Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

During the post-reform forty years, thanks to high growth rates, primarily in industry, Russia has traveled a path that took the West centuries to complete. After the industrial upsurge of the 1990s, Russia went through a severe economic crisis of 1900-1903, then a period of long depression in 1904-1908. In 1909-1913. the country's economy made a new sharp jump, the volume of industrial production increased by 1.5 times. The process of monopolization of the Russian economy received a new impetus. Leading positions in the country's economy by the beginning of the XX century. occupied by the bourgeoisie. However, until the mid-1990s, it did not actually 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, it by 1905. was the most important social pillar of the regime.

People who made a significant contribution to the solution of the main issue for tsarist Russia - agrarian, of course, S.Yu. Witte and P.A. Stolypin. In 1894-95. Witte achieved the stabilization of the ruble, and in 1897 he did what his predecessors had not been able to do - he introduced gold money 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 pocket was the state monopoly introduced by Witte on the sale of alcohol, wine and vodka products.

A document compiled under the leadership of Witte was published, which became known as the manifesto on October 17th.

This manifesto provided Russian citizens with civil liberties, and the future State Duma (which was convened on August 6) was endowed with legislative rights. Witte achieved the publication, along with the manifesto, of his report with a program of reforms.

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 setting limits on the constant growth of armaments. In 1899 and 1907, the Hague Peace Conferences were held, some decisions of which are still valid today. In 1904, Japan declared war on Russia, which ended in 1905 with the defeat of the Russian army. In the same years, Russia intervenes in the struggle for the redistribution of sales markets. The war between Russia and Japan for dominance in the Chinese market, 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 catastrophe on the Khodynka field in Moscow. The entire reign of Nicholas II passed in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement.

In early 1905, a revolution broke out in Russia, initiating some reforms. The impetus for the beginning of the revolution was the execution on January 9, 1905 of a peaceful workers' demonstration in St. Petersburg. On October 17, 1905, the Manifesto was issued, according to which the foundations of civil freedom were recognized: the inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, assembly and unions. A large and influential party that united broad circles of the liberal and radical intelligentsia was the People's Freedom Party, or the Constitutional Democratic Party. Its leader was professor-historian P.N.Milyukov. Between the left and radical currents, on the one hand, and the right, conservative and reactionary, on the other, there was a moderately liberal “Union of October 17th” (“Octobrists”), (the leader of the Union was a 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 connection with this. The Second Congress separated Trotsky from Lenin and Martov.

The 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 minds 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 is growing in the country (1905-1907). Russia needed both political and economic reforms that could strengthen and improve the economy. The leader of these reforms was supposed to be a person for whom the fate of Russia was important. They became Pyotr Arkadevich Stolypin.

According to the project of P.A. Stolypin, an agrarian reform was carried out: the peasants were allowed to freely dispose of their land, create farms. 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 Decree "On supplementing some of the provisions of the current law relating to peasant land ownership and land use" was issued. Revised in the III State Duma, it began to operate as a law of June 14, 1910. May 29, 1911 The Law on Land Management was passed.

The last three acts formed the legal basis for the events that went down in history as the "Stolypin agrarian reform."

June 15, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinant, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo. Serbian terrorist student Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke and his wife. In response to this assassination, on July 10, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing 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, on the side of the Entente countries against Germany, entered the first world war. Failures at the front in World War I, revolutionary propaganda in the rear and among the troops, and so on. caused sharp dissatisfaction with the autocracy in various circles of society. The defeat in East Prussia somewhat cooled the enthusiasm in Russia caused by the outbreak of the 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 gained stability. However, a dull dissatisfaction with the endless war had already accumulated in the armies, and the thirst for an early peace intensified.

The uprising broke out spontaneously, taking everyone by surprise. The February Revolution began in 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 intrigues of 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 between 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 Soviet - 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 have directed 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 prevent this.

But the Provisional Government proved unable to bring about the much-needed changes: stop the war and give land to the peasants. Perhaps his main mistake and vice was the continuation of the imperialist war, in which Russia was drawn into 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! The land is for the peasants! Enterprises - 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 gave his calls in 1917, fully met the aspirations of the majority of ordinary people. Power fell from the hands of the Provisional Government, there was no force in the whole country, except for the Bolsheviks, who could lay claim to their heavy legacy fully armed with 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 clash 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 rest of the troops were on the side of the Soviets, they were joined by sailors who arrived from Kronstadt and several ships of the fleet. On October 25-26, power in the capital changed.

On October 25, at 10:40 p.m., the 2nd Congress of Soviets began its work. The congress legislated the transfer of power to the Bolsheviks, adopted decrees on peace and land, approved the first Soviet government - SNK, according to Trotsky's report. In the first Soviet government, Lenin became chairman. Trotsky took over as 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 the 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 Kerensky 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 negotiations for peace”, on the transfer of land to the volost land committees, workers controlling factories, on “equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia”, on the abolition of courts and laws.

The problem of armed protection of power required an immediate solution, and at the beginning of 1918, the Bolsheviks created armed detachments from volunteer soldiers and selected commanders. But with the growth of opposition and the beginning of foreign intervention, the government was forced on June 9, 1918 to announce compulsory military service. The emergency commissioner for the 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 on the most extreme forms, bringing with it mutual cruelty, terror, and irreconcilable malice. The denial of the past 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, the war became the main content of the life of the country. The Bolsheviks defended the gains of the October Revolution. Their opponents pursued a variety of goals - from "united and indivisible" monarchist Russia to Soviet Russia, but without the communists. The Entente intervention contributed to the growth of the civil war. The intervention sharply activated the forces of internal counter-revolution. A wave of rebellions swept across Russia. On the Don, the army of Ataman Krasnov was formed, on the Kuban - the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin.

Under the new conditions, the peasants should be patient, regularly deliver grain to the city according to the surplus appropriation, and the authorities “distribute it to plants and factories”, promptly restore on this basis the industry almost completely destroyed over the years of hard times, return the debt to the peasantry - and then something , according to Lenin, "communist production and distribution will come out with us."

The years of "war communism" became the period of the establishment of a political dictatorship, which completed a two-pronged process that had stretched over 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 “recalcitrant” Soviets were forcibly dissolved.

Topic 15. Russia, USSR in 1920 - 1930

From the end of 1920, the position of the ruling Communist Party in Russia began to deteriorate rapidly. The multi-million Russian peasantry, having defended the land in battles with the White Guards and interventionists, more and more insistently expressed its unwillingness to put up with the economic policy 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, "war communism" was regarded by them not simply as the 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 uprisings of peasants break out. In March, the sailors and Red Army men of Kronstadt, the largest naval base of the Baltic Fleet, took up arms against the Communists. A wave of mass strikes and demonstrations of workers grew in the cities.

At the end of 1921 the Leninist formula of "state capitalism" is enriched with the concept of "transferring state enterprises to the so-called cost accounting", i.e. in his words, "largely on commercial, capitalist grounds". Not without reason, in the early 1920s, the Politburo of the Central Committee paid special attention to the legal side of the regulation of private-economic relations in order to have the 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 autonomies, because. while it was possible to fully control the entire territory. At the same 10th congress, Stalin proposed an end to the national question forever and proposed an administrative redistribution 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 considered the national question and the opinion 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 the period of the establishment of a political dictatorship that completed a two-pronged process that had stretched over 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 given by the commodity farms of strong peasants, including kulak ones. The kulak, by its nature an economically free commodity producer, did not "fit" into the framework of the administrative regulation of the economy. In his household, he used hired force, i.e. was an exploiter, a class enemy. "Complete collectivization" was the result of a mass forced movement of peasants to the collective farm. It was an action, the result of which was the "depeasantization" of the country.

The kulak was declared the main enemy, and all the difficulties, mistakes, miscalculations began to be explained by kulak intrigues. This is understandable: the alienation of the producer from the means of production required the use of violent actions.

Famine of 1932-1933 for Ukrainians was the same as the Nazi genocide for the Jews or the massacre of 1915. for Armenians. The most terrible in 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 the requests and warnings of the Ukrainian communists, Stalin raised the task of grain procurement in Ukraine by 44%. His decision and the cruelty with which it was carried out doomed millions of people to death from artificially created hunger.

The 1936 or "Stalinist" Constitution of the USSR was a fictitious basic law. Its text proclaimed many of the rights that were recorded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and the rights were enshrined as universal and equal for all "working people" (meaning that "exploiters and their accomplices" had already been destroyed). But in reality, a person was completely powerless and powerless in the face of a super-powerful machine of total terror.

The main reason for the repressions that were organized by Stalin was disappointment in him as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of a certain part of the party workers and communists. They condemned him for organizing forced collectivization, the famine caused by it, the unthinkable pace of industrialization, which caused numerous victims. This dissatisfaction found expression in 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 assassination of Kirov, used him to instill fear in the country, to crack down on the remnants of the previously crushed opposition, its new manifestations. In March 1935 A law was adopted on the punishment of members of the families of traitors to the Motherland, and a month later a decree on bringing to criminal responsibility children of 12 years of age. Millions of people, the vast majority of whom were not guilty, found themselves behind the wire and the walls of the Gulag. Archival materials, which have been published since the early 1990s, will ultimately help to name the exact number of Stalinist repressions. However, individual figures and facts give a sufficient idea of ​​the past of the 1930s. Only in 1939. 2103 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: a second industrial and economic base was being created at an accelerated pace 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" is issued, the main idea of ​​the "Barbarossa" plan was as follows: to defeat Soviet Russia through a fleeting military operation.

Sudden invasion of Germany on June 22, 1941. on the territory of the USSR demanded quick and precise actions 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 subunits were formed.

On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command of the Armed Forces of the SSR was formed for the strategic leadership of military operations, headed by I.V. Stalin, who was appointed People's Commissar of Defense, and then the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

Defeats 1941-1942 led to the irretrievable loss of a significant part of the cadre army, along with large quantity weapons, occupation by the enemy of a vast territory with the main centers of the defense industry.

The victory of the Soviet troops near Moscow was of great importance in the fight against fascism. Hitler's Germany, which had enslaved dozens of European nations, suffered a serious defeat for the first time in the Second World War. The myth of the "invincibility" of the Wehrmacht was dispelled near the walls of the Soviet capital. 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 fascist Germany and its allies: two German, two Romanian and one Italian. Under the influence of the Battle of Stalingrad, major changes took place in the international situation. The death of the elite troops of the Wehrmacht near Stalingrad caused a moral decline among the population of Germany. A 3-day mourning was declared in the country.

As a result of the successful offensive of the Soviet Army in 1944. Leningrad was completely liberated from the blockade.

The Battle of Stalingrad took place from July 17, 1942. to February 2, 1943 It was the beginning of a radical change and the collapse of the offensive strategy of the Wehrmacht. The enemy suffered the second major defeat on the Soviet-German front in the Battle of Kursk - July 5-August 23, 1943. Fifty days lasted the Battle of Kursk - one of the greatest battles of the 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. The remnants of German troops in northern Germany, pressed against the coast of the Baltic Sea, also capitulated. On May 9, an act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. It was a victory.

Fearing a possible prolongation of the war with Japan, Roosevelt offered Stalin very favorable terms in exchange for the USSR opening military operations against Japan three months after the surrender of Germany:

In connection with the rapid advance of the German troops to the east, there was an urgent need to evacuate the population, factories and valuables from territories that were endangered 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. Such plants were transported as: "Zaporizhstal" 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 for the production of 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 conclude a separate peace with Germany. On June 24, the United States also declared its support for the USSR. On October 1, the first trilateral agreement was signed, under 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 was achieved. Tehran, the capital of Iran, hosted the first summit meeting of the leaders of the three main states of the anti-Hitler coalition - Franklin Roosevelt, JV Stalin and Winston Churchill. The purpose of the conference was to coordinate actions for 1944. and discussion of questions of the post-war order of the world. Among the main decisions of the conference is the determination of the date and place of the opening of the second front.

On February 4–11, the Crimean Conference took place. It was decided to seek the unconditional surrender of Germany with its subsequent occupation. At the same time, in addition to the USSR, the USA and England, France was supposed to receive the zone of occupation. July 17 - Berlin (Potsdam) conference of the leaders of the USSR, August 2, USA and Great Britain, 1945.

In Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania, the position of the bourgeoisie was attacked by establishing state and workers' control over private enterprises. That. almost already in 1945-1946. Communist parties managed to achieve that the process of seizing the property of the bourgeoisie and its transfer into the hands of the state began. This meant going beyond the programs of the National Fronts, the 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, in which it won at the cost of heavy losses, was paradoxical in the highest degree. The country was ruined. At the same time, its leaders had a legitimate claim to a prominent role in the life of the world community.

Stalin, who fully supported the concept of zones of influence, encouraged by the successes in Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia, and who wanted to achieve the final recognition of the USSR as a superpower.

In an increasingly polarizing world, this policy led in subsequent years to the formation of blocs, confrontations, primarily around the German question, and a real war in Korea. After the clashes of 1945-1946. " 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 (since 1949 - the FRG). The Greek and Turkish crises served as the source of the Truman Doctrine, which became the first step towards the formalization of American obligations towards Europe, towards the creation in 1949 of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO).

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 in Warsaw the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Warsaw Pact). This treaty was an important milestone on the path to achieving pan-European security.

The war between the two Korean states was at the same time a confrontation between the USSR, which acted jointly with the PRC, and the United States. In October 1950 units of the Chinese "People's Volunteers" crossed the border of the DPRK, took part in military operations Soviet aviation. The USSR supplied the army of the DPRK and the "people's volunteers" with weapons and ammunition. After lengthy negotiations, July 27, 1953. an armistice agreement was signed.

The 38th parallel remained 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, to reach the pre-war level of the national economy and then to surpass this level. By the end of 1948, 6200 large industrial enterprises were restored, built and put into operation (the Dneproges was restored, the metallurgical plants of the South, the mines of Donbass). Gross industrial output by 1950 increased compared to pre-war 1940g. by 72%.

The restoration of agriculture proceeded in difficult conditions. In 1946 There was a crop failure caused by drought. The transfer of industry to a peaceful way, the restoration and construction of tractor factories, agricultural machinery factories made it possible to supply agriculture with 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), the reduction in prices for manufactured goods and foodstuffs. The real wages of workers have risen.

In the postwar period, science began to play an increasingly important role in the development of the national economy and the strengthening of the country's defense might. Soviet scientists have achieved major successes in the field of nuclear physics, rocket technology, electronics, radio engineering, and so on. In 1949 in the USSR, the first test of an atomic bomb, then (1953) of a hydrogen bomb, was carried out. This eliminated the US monopoly on nuclear weapons.

Topic 18. The USSR and the period of Nikita Khrushchev's reign

(1953-1964).

March 5, 1953 Stalin is dead. After the death of Stalin in 1953, Khrushchev came to power, who three years later at the XX Congress announced the cult of personality of Stalin and the harm brought by this cult. Many thousands of innocent victims were rehabilitated.

The campaign against the "enemies of the people" was stopped at once. Amnesties were proclaimed for all minor crimes and sentences for longer 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 aspiration was: to put the Ministry of Internal Affairs over the party and the government. There was no other way to change the situation but a decisive struggle against Beria and his apparatus.

The dangerous work of overthrowing Beria was headed by N.S. Khrushchev. Malenkov gave him every support. At a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU in June 1953, Beria was arrested and taken into custody. On June 10, this was announced to the whole country after the Plenum of the Central Committee of the party, which lasted six days. In December 1953, Beria's trial and execution were reported.

Social life in the country also required important changes. The existing dogmas about the role of Stalin began to be revised. Several thousand illegally arrested were released. Ilya Orenburg called this period the word “thaw”.

In 1955, the population of the USSR reached the pre-war level. In 1959, the urban population equaled the rural population, and in 1960 it exceeded it. In the second half of the 1950s, the USSR completed the tasks of industrialization. The need to improve the standard of living was brought to the fore. Post-Stalinist reforms began to produce tangible results. The most acute problem was housing. 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 did not cope with their tasks.

The poorest collective farms were united and for their improvement were transformed into state farms.

Khrushchev's third reform affected the education system. N.S. Khrushchev liquidated the system of labor reserves. They were replaced by ordinary vocational schools, which could be entered after the seventh grade.

The first plan for the development of the country, which was based mainly on industrialization, was the seven-year plan adopted by the 21st Party Congress. The Seven Year Plan brought the Soviet economy out of stagnation. The economic gap between the USSR and the USA has narrowed. However, not all industries developed uniformly. The production of consumer goods grew slowly.

The development of virgin lands pushed back the revival of old-arable agricultural regions of Russia. In 1954-56. 36 million hectares of virgin and fallow lands of Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Volga region, the South Urals, and the North Caucasus have been developed. And yet, the initial stage of 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 the famous Caribbean crisis of October 1962. The US tried to overthrow the Castro government in Cuba. In response to this, the USSR deployed its missiles on the island in the summer of 1962, 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 pledged not to organize or support invasions of Cuba. Thus, having reached the edge of the abyss, both opponents retreated.

Soviet policy in Eastern Europe socialist countries remained almost as rigid 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 around the world. The armed suppression of uprisings in Hungary in 1956 was a genuine national tragedy. and in the GDR in 1961, although smaller-scale anti-Soviet actions also took place in other countries, primarily in Poland (1956 unrest in Poznan).

Hungarian events in 1956 led to the fall of the prestige 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 towards socialism. A great merit in restoring relations with this country belonged to Khrushchev.

Topic 19. USSR in 1964-1985.

Khrushchev is the only ruler of the USSR who left the 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 general secretary. His reign was marked by total corruption penetrating into all spheres of society: the internal affairs bodies, the prosecutor's office, the party leadership, trade, and so on. In Central Asia, real feudal mini-states based on bribes were formed. In the treasury of their "rulers" valuables for millions of rubles settled. From here the money went “upstairs”, to Moscow.

Brezhnev's character was soft and good-natured, he did not resort to repression.

The standard of living of the people grew due to the receipt of currency from the sale of oil abroad. This time is now often remembered, sighing nostalgically, but everything was there ... Total distribution, the suppression of initiative, entrepreneurship, the lack of economic incentives for labor, its replacement with political slogans lead to the stagnation of the legal economy and the prosperity of the "shadow", in which there were all normal commodity-money relations.

The essence of the reform was as follows: reduction of planned indicators brought to the enterprise; creation of financial incentive funds at enterprises; the introduction of a firm, income-independent payment for the use of production assets by enterprises.

An attempt to carry out reform while 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 curtailment of the reform was not as painful as in previous period. The development of West Siberian sources of oil made it possible to organize a significant export of it 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-Chernozem zone of the RSFSR, the creation of the West Siberian territorial production complex, the construction of BAM, etc. etc.

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 reduced cooperation.

The Carter administration (second half of the 1970s) pursued an inconsistent policy, which was a consequence of the inconsistency of the American concept of détente. During this period, unfavorable trends were created for the United States in the global direction. The internal affairs of the USSR became the object of American policy.

Initially, Carter endorsed nuclear test ban talks, advocated limiting all types of weapons, and efforts were made to strengthen the nonproliferation regime. nuclear weapons, negotiations were held with the USSR on limiting military activities in the Indian Ocean zone. Carter reintroduced the term "détente". The rivalry continued, but not along military lines. The military budget was reduced.

The thaw, which became a reality, was reinforced by the signing in 1963 of the The USSR and the USA of the Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Weapons Tests, in nine years - the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Arms (SALT-1), in 1979. - according to OSV-2. But the last treaty was not ratified by the American side, the reason for this was the introduction Soviet Union troops in 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 United States, and the Monroe Doctrine dominated 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 the state-legal and socio-political institutions of the USSR that took place in the period 1985-1991.

The stage of 1985-1991 is associated primarily with the name of Gorbachev. Gorbachev chose a completely Marxist method - the method of trial and error. First there was "acceleration" - a naive attempt to use ideological incantations and appeals to "everyone in his workplace" to make the rusted economic mechanism spin faster. But persuasion alone was not enough: only one-seventh of the fixed production assets were involved in the production of consumer goods. And the government started a small industrialization - in order to eventually modernize the backward light industry. All this, however, ended in failure.

Then they reduced the purchase of consumer goods and threw hard currency on the purchase of equipment abroad. The result is minimal. Part of the equipment remained in warehouses and in the open air due to the 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 reform of 1987 inflicted on our socialist economy is generally incalculable. The second wind to socialism did not come - the agony began.

The First Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (May 25 - June 9, 1989) became a very major political event. There were few practical results of the Congress, in particular, a new USSR Supreme Council was elected. Several general decrees were adopted, for example, the Decree on the main directions of the domestic and foreign policy of the USSR.

The discussions at the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (December 12-24, 1989) were more businesslike than at 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 considered the reports of the commission devoted to both foreign policy issues (assessment of the non-aggression pact 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 (on the Gdlyan investigation group, on the events in Tbilisi on April 9 1989, on privileges).

The days from 19 to 21 August 1991 were remembered throughout the country as the days of the victory of democracy in Russia. On August 19, the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) headed by G. Yanaev was organized by the country's top leaders. This was an attempt to reverse all reforms.

On December 8, 1991, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha - B. Yeltsin, L. Kravchuk and S. Shushkevich. They signed a statement saying that the republics of the USSR were becoming independent. Instead of the USSR, they created the Union of Independent States (CIS).

On December 25, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced on television in his last address to the people that he was leaving this post. In the evening of the same day there was a solemn change of flags over the Kremlin.

On April 14, 1988, a joint Soviet-American agreement "On the relationship for the settlement of the situation relating 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 exactly fulfilled by the Soviet side.

Topic 21. Sovereign Russia (1993-2000)

After the collapse of the USSR, a new era began. 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 the most important achievements of Boris Yeltsin 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 autocracy and redistributed power in favor of the President of Russia. The new Constitution gave the President more power, as she (the power) was necessary to carry out democratic reforms. On September 21, 1993, as a result of the ongoing contradictions that hindered the reform process, President Yeltsin decided to dissolve the Supreme Soviet of Russia. However, members of the Supreme Council announced their decision to stay and work in the "White House".

On October 3, headed by Vice President A. Rutskoi and Chairman of the Supreme Council R. Khasbulatov, they blockaded themselves in the White House and called on the people to go and defend " White House". They provoked armed actions. In fact, they pushed the people into a civil war. Boris Yeltsin, by his decree, introduced a state of emergency in Moscow, and on the morning of October 4, the troops completely surrounded the house of the Supreme Soviet and continued tank shelling until the middle of the day. A curfew was introduced in Moscow. Thus, the coup attempt was severely suppressed. The introduction of tanks into Moscow was, perhaps, the only way out of this situation. On December 12, 1993, a new Constitution was adopted by popular vote. Russian Federation.

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 insecurity of such strata of society as pensioners, the public sector, the army. The rampant crime and its introduction into the economic life of society also instills anxiety and uncertainty in Russians. In the economy, there is such a thing as non-payment wages, which in turn creates social tension in society. The most important tasks are now concentrated in the area of ​​national policy. The main thing is to preserve the integrity of Russia as a state, to increase the feeling 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 completely 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 control. At the same time, Russia has retained significant oil reserves located on the territory of this republic.

Literature.

1. Gumilyov L.N. The search for an imaginary 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 the state and law of Russia. Full course of lectures. M., 1994;

5. Ipatiev Chronicle//Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. - M .: Publishing House of the East. lit., 1962. - V.2;

6. History of the Orenburg region. - Tutorial. Orenburg, 1996;

7. Karamzin N.M. Traditions of the ages: Tales, legends, stories from the "History of the Russian State" / Comp. and intro. Art. G.P. Makogonenko; comments 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. Yekaterinburg: Ural. state tech. un-t. 1995, p. 212-233;

13. Minenko N.A. Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th century. In: History of Russia from ancient times to the second half of the 19th century;

14. Mylnikov A.S. Temptation by a miracle: "The Russian Prince", his prototypes and impostor doubles. M., 1991;

15. Platonov S.F. A complete course of lectures on Russian history. Petrozavodsk, 1996;

16. Political history of Russia. Reader / Comp. V. I. Kovalenko et al. M., 1996;

On March 27, 1462, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II died after, according to his order, smoldering tinder was applied to various parts of his body. Such, according to the chronicler, was the usual procedure for treating patients with dryness in Russia. In this case, the remedy turned out to be more dangerous than the disease itself. burns caused gangrene. Sensing the approach of the end, he expressed a desire to take monastic vows, but for some unknown reason he did not receive permission to do so and died a layman.

Vasily lived and died in the old Kremlin wooden palace, small and stuffy. Later, the rulers began to build stone palaces and luxurious cathedrals and hire Western architects and engineers, as well as doctors. Under the heirs of Vasily, the Muscovite state and the city of Moscow grew, and in a few decades Moscow became the capital of a large nation and one of the important centers of international diplomacy and intrigue.

Tenacious, unscrupulous in his means and cruel, Vasily II did not seem to possess the qualities of a good ruler, and yet he had a definite goal that guided his policy: the unification of all the possessions of the Moscow branch of the Rurik family (the house of Daniel) under a single rule. In this he had the support of the church, a strong group of close princes, the new nobility and a number of boyars. With their help, by the end of his reign, he achieved the main goal. Moreover, during his reign, the Muscovite state became in fact, if not legally, independent of the power of the Tatars; and the Moscow church gained independence from the power of the Patriarch of Constantinople. The foundations were laid on which the mighty edifice of Muscovite tsarism was soon to be erected. As a result, Basil's reign can be regarded as one of the important turning points in the history of Russia.

By the time of his death, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was just one of many Russian states and lands. Next to it there were two other East Russian grand principalities - Tver and Ryazan. In the northwest (from Moscow) there were two prosperous city-states - Novgorod and Pskov. Novgorod possessions occupied the entire northern part of Russia, stretching to the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the polar part Ural mountains in the north, and further from them - to the Lower Ob in the east.

To the west of Muscovy, the land of Smolensk, present-day Belarus, and most of present-day Ukraine were under the rule of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. Eastern Galicia was part of Poland (attached to it in 1349). Carpathian Rus belonged to Hungary.

From a linguistic point of view, by the middle of the 15th century, the differentiation of the three modern East Slavic languages ​​- Russian (Great Russian), Ukrainian (Little Russian) and Belarusian - took on a certain form. However, Church Slavonic remained the language of the church in both eastern and western Russia. He also formed the basis of the literary language of each of the three groups. Characteristic for the people of both eastern and western Russia was that they continued to call themselves Russians, and their land Russia (Rus). This practice was reflected in the titles of the rulers of the two main states that appeared on ancient Russian territory - Muscovy and Lithuania. Beginning with Ivan I (1328-1341), the rulers of Muscovy called themselves "Grand Dukes of Moscow and All Russia", while the Lithuanians were known as "Grand Dukes of Lithuania and Russia". An interesting example of the existence of the concept of the unity of the Russian land, despite all the political divisions among the educated people of Russia, is presented in the "List of Russian cities, far and near", which is placed in the remarks preceding the text of one of the variants of the first Novgorod chronicle. The manuscript dates from the middle of the 15th century, but the list itself probably belongs to the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries. The names of Russian cities are organized into seven groups corresponding to the following territories: (1) the lower Danubian region, including the Iasi Torg - "Alan market" (now Iasi in Romania) and Kolomia; (2) Kyiv region, including Chernihiv; (3) Volyn, including Lvov and Galich; (4) Lithuania, primarily Belarusian cities; (5) Smolensk region; (6) Ryazan region; (7) the territory of Zalesye, i.e. Suzdal (including Moscow), Novgorod and Pskov.

Map 1. Russian cities of the 15th century.

The Tatar threat was to a certain extent reduced by the separation (about 1445) from the old khanate (the "Golden Horde") of two new khanates - Crimean and Kazan. However, all these three khanates jointly continued to control South Russia and the Ukrainian steppes, as well as the regions of the Middle and Lower Volga. Huge herds grazed in the rich black earth belt of Southern Russia, preventing its use for agriculture. Each of the three khanates was strong enough to pose a constant danger to either Moscow or Lithuania. (If the two of them could combine their forces, they would put up a barrier to the Tatars everywhere.) Both in Lithuania and in Muscovy there were statesmen and military figures who understood the importance of creating a united Christian front against the Tatars, but they could not overcome mutual suspicion, fueled by the ruling groups of the two states. In general, people in both Eastern and Western Russia instinctively felt the need to unite against the Tatars or, lacking the opportunity for this, the formation of a strong Russian state, having its center either in the west or in the east and controlling at least part of the resources of both . For this reason, every strong ruler who tried to unite Russia could at that time count on the support of a significant part of its population.

Around 1425, the year in which Vasily I, the father of Vasily II, died, it seemed that the role of the unifier of most of the Russian lands would be played by the Grand Duke of Lithuania rather than the Grand Duke of Moscow. At this time, Vasily II was a ten-year-old boy, and there was no unity in the Moscow princely family. One of the boy's uncles claimed the throne of the grand duke. It was possible to foresee misfortune even before the death of Vasily I. To prevent this, Vasily I in his will (made in 1423) gave his wife and sons under the protection of his father-in-law, the powerful Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas. This gave Vitovt a reason to interfere in the affairs of the Grand Duchy of Moscow after the death of Vasily. Moreover, a few years later the Grand Dukes of both Tver and Ryazan recognized Vitovt as their overlord. The possibility of a permanent expansion of the power of the Grand Duke of Lithuania over the whole of Eastern Russia, however, did not materialize. After the death of Vitovt in 1430, unrest began, both in Western and Eastern Russia. When Vasily II subdued his enemies in Muscovy in 1447, he emerged as the strongest ruler in Eastern Russia, and in 1449 a treaty of friendship and non-aggression was signed between Moscow and Lithuania. Tver was brought into the Lithuanian sphere of influence, which did not happen with Ryazan. This treaty is an important milestone in relations between Eastern and Western Russia, marking the end of Lithuania's brief predominance in Eastern Russian affairs. Thus, the supremacy of Moscow was a foregone conclusion.

During this time, three distinct types of government and administration developed. The Moscow trend was to strengthen the power of the Grand Duke. This affected, first of all, the Moscow princely family itself. Most of the possessions of the less important princes were confiscated by Vasily II, and these princes recognized the Grand Duke as their sovereign. Some of the princes of other branches of the house of Rurik, as well as many Lithuanian-Russian princes of the house of Gediminas, began to serve the Grand Duke of Moscow and eventually mixed with the Moscow boyars. The Grand Duke was assisted both in lawmaking and in administration by the Boyar Duma (State Council), but the Duma itself did not have clearly defined powers of authority. In many cases, the grand duke used the dyaks (secretaries of state) as his people instead of the boyars. They were appointed by the Grand Duke from among the commoners and were completely dependent on him.

As a former vassal of the Mongol khan and his de facto heir in supreme power over Moscow, the great princes assumed the functions of the khan's power in the field of taxation and military administration. Both Dmitry Donskoy and his son Vasily I used the conscription system in 1380 and 1396, respectively. Under Basil II there was no general military service; it depended on a small but well-trained number of guards - a court comparable to the Mongol "horde". However, the Grand Duke of Moscow never abandoned his right to a general recruitment of troops, and this system was revived under the heirs of Vasily II, especially under his great-grandson Ivan IV.

To administer and exercise local judicial power, the Grand Duke relied on his deputies and volostels. They did not receive a salary from the Grand Duke's treasury, but had to "feed themselves" in a given territory (feeding system) - i.e. they received support from the local population and kept a share of the fees from legal proceedings and part of the taxes received from the area.

The old Russian institute veche (city assembly) was shaken by the Mongol khans with the help of Russian princes and ceased to exist except in cases of attacks by enemies or other extreme situations.

In contrast to the growth of the authoritarian and centralized regime in Muscovy, the government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was based on the principles of federation and constitutional rights. After the first unification treaty between Poland and Lithuania (1385), the constitution of Lithuania was revised in accordance with the Polish model. The Grand Duke was appointed by a council of nobility, known as the Panskaya Rada, which corresponded to the boyar Duma of Muscovy, but had more power. In Poland, in parallel with this aristocratic body, an assembly of representatives of the provincial petty nobility, an embassy hut (house of representatives), arose. Together, both bodies made up the Sejm (Parliament). The Parliament controlled the Polish budget, including spending on the army. Without the sanction of Parliament, the king could not take important decisions in the field of public affairs. Similar institutions gradually arose also in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The Grand Duchy was not a centralized state, but a loose federation of "lands" and principalities. Each land had a significant autonomy, guaranteed privileges (special charter). In local as well as in federal affairs, the aristocracy played a leading role.

The veche underwent gradual restrictions on its powers in Western Russia, and then completely ceased to operate. Instead, the main cities were given a German-style corporate municipal government based on the so-called Magdeburg legislation.

The third type of government in Russia in the 15th century - the type that we can call "democratic" with certain reservations - was the city-state, comparable in many respects to the ancient Greek polis. The Russian city-state, based on the power of the veche, prevailed in Northern Russia: in Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka. Vyatka was a republic; Novgorod and Pskov had princes, but their power was limited, and the supreme power belonged to the people, not to the prince. Symbolically, the Pskov state was called "Lord of Pskov", and Novgorod - "Lord Veliky Novgorod" or "Sovereign Veliky Novgorod". Veche was the main source of power both in Novgorod and Pskov; all civil servants were elected by the veche, and not appointed by the prince.

Simultaneously with the veche, both in Novgorod and in Pskov there were councils of the nobility - gentlemen. In accordance with the law, it was not the upper house, but a committee of the veche. In fact, however, especially in Novgorod, she successfully exerted a significant influence on the decisions of the veche and thus did a lot for the consistency of Novgorod policy.

It should be noted that Pskov was originally a suburb of Novgorod, i.e. was under the control of Novgorod. In 1347, the Novgorodians granted independence to Pskov, and after that it was sometimes called "the younger brother of Novgorod." The Pskov church, however, remained subordinate to the archbishop of Novgorod.

The city of Novgorod was an association consisting of five communes or city districts (ends). Accordingly, the main territory of Novgorod was divided into five parts, known as pyatins. The outer provinces were called volosts. Of these, either Tver or Moscow alternately presented their claims to the Torchka region, but the Novgorodians managed to maintain control over them until the loss of Novgorodian independence. Further to the east was the land of the Dvina and other territories stretching to the Ural Mountains. Novgorod, therefore, was not just a city-state, but a huge empire, over which the city dominated.

Both in Eastern and Western Russia, the owners of large landed estates constituted the highest stratum of Russian society. This elite group was known during the Kievan period as the boyars, and the term continued to be used in Eastern Russia during the Muscovite period. In Western Russia, with a gradual change in its semantic content, it was applied only to a certain group of less important owners, and the "boyar" in the old sense became a pan (master). The petty nobility was in the process of being formed in both Eastern and Western Russia from various groups of small landowners and service people of princes, who in Western Russia became known under the Polish name "gentry". In Eastern Russia, some of them were called "boyar children"; others are nobles (i.e., those who belonged to the court of the prince in the military sound of the word).

Urban people consisted of two main groups - merchants and artisans. In Poland and Lithuania (and in some parts of Western Russia) there were many Germans and Jews among the urban population. Most of the merchants and artisans in Eastern Russia were born Russians. In Novgorod and Pskov, the merchant class enjoyed considerable prestige and was influential in shaping government policy. This top layer tended to mix with the boyars. In Moscow, by contrast, only a few of the richest merchants involved in foreign trade (known as guests) had a similar position.

It should be noted that as a result of the Mongol invasion, the development of Russian cities as a whole stopped. Many large cities, like Kyiv and Vladimir-on-Klyazma, were completely destroyed by the Mongols, and after the fall Kyiv remained a small city for a long time. Novgorod was the only major city that not only escaped destruction, but even, in a certain respect, took advantage of Mongol rule.

In general, the ratio of the urban population to the general population of Russia has significantly decreased. Even before the Mongol invasion, about 85% of the people lived in rural areas. After the invasion, the rural population became even more significant (possibly over 95%), with the exception of the Novgorodians.

Most of the population of the 15th century can be called peasant, although not all cultivated the land. Since the steppes of Southern Russia were controlled by the Tatars, the main part of the Russians lived in the forest zone, cleared in places and suitable for arable land. The peasants were engaged not only in agriculture, their well-being depended on fishing, hunting, apiary farming and various timber industries, such as the manufacture of various utensils, carts and boats, as well as tar and potash.

According to Russian concepts, the tiller had rights to the piece of land he cultivated (the so-called labor law), regardless of who legally owned the land. But since a significant part of the land belonged to the state, and the princes and boyars, as well as the monasteries, owned land, there were many rights. A peasant who lived in such a property could retain the right to his plot as long as he cultivated it, and could only be expelled by a court decision. On the other hand, he was free to leave his allotment (thus losing rights to it) and move where he pleased.

In the middle of the XV century in Eastern Russia, the peasants were free. They nevertheless had to pay taxes to the state and perform certain duties, and those who lived in private or ecclesiastical estates had to do certain work instead of paying rent. During the Kyiv period, a group of peasants - smerds living on state lands - were under the special jurisdiction of the princes. This group survived in the Novgorod dominions (as well as in Pskov) under the same name; it was under the jurisdiction of the state (and not the prince) of Novgorod and Pskov.

During the Kyiv period, there was no difference in social status and position of the peasants of the eastern and western Russian lands, but in the 15th century the government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to restrict their freedom of movement, and the "Privilei" ("Charter") of 1447 forbade peasants to move from private lands for the state. This decree foreshadowed the enslavement of the peasants.

Along the southern borders of both the eastern and western Russian principalities, in the forest-steppe zone and in places within the steppe zone itself, free communities of a new type appeared in the 15th century - communities of frontier people known as Circassians or Cossacks. The earliest mention of them in Russian chronicles dates back to 1444 - the Ryazan Cossacks.

A review of the old Russian social stratification is incomplete without mentioning those who were outside the community of free people. From a legal point of view, slaves were not individuals, but were movable property. The preservation of the ancient institution of slavery until modern times, both in Eastern and Western Russia, is one of the features of Russian social history; but the truth is that slaves were quite a large group even in the Kievan period. After that, their number in relation to the total population should have decreased significantly (relative to the 15th century, there are no exact figures). Most of them belonged to princes and boyars and were used as household servants or as agricultural laborers on larger estates.

In the spiritual life of Russians in the 15th century, two main traditions can be distinguished: an ancient one, which can be called Old Slavonic, and a younger one, Byzantine-Christian. The concepts of the ancient Slavic religion - the veneration of the sun and the ancestral cult - deeply cut into people's hearts and minds. In many places in rural areas, Russians, although they were officially Christians, still secretly revered the ancient gods, and especially the forefathers and progenitors of the clan - the clan and women in childbirth. Folk literature, based on oral tradition, was imbued with pre-Christian beliefs, and folk art followed the examples of the Scytho-Alanian era. Byzantine Christianity was superimposed on this ancient foundation in the 10th century. During the Kievan period, although all Russians were officially converted to the new faith, Christianity took root only in the cities, and churches were few in rural areas. It was not until the Mongol period (during the 14th and 15th centuries) that serious efforts were made to establish churches and parishes throughout the country. But with the establishment of Christianity, Byzantine literature and art penetrated Russia; in contrast to oral literature, written literature, supported by the church, was based on Christian concepts and traditions, and both in architecture and in painting, the spirit of Byzantine Christianity found a fitting embodiment on Russian soil.

The two streams of medieval Russian culture could not but affect each other over time. On the other hand, Christian literature and art were, to a certain extent, under the influence of pre-Christian folk motifs. Some of the stories of Christian saints were similar to epics (epic stories) both in form and in content. The ancient Slavic gods were not directly rejected by the clergy and monks, but were regarded as demons (evil spirits or demons), with whom the believer had to wage constant war. Most of the Old Slavic holidays were still celebrated, albeit in a form adapted to the Christian calendar. So, the folk ritual of carols (winter solstice) merged with the celebration of Christmas.

Although the East Slavic culture of the 15th century was fundamentally self-sufficient, it was subject to external influences. First of all, Byzantium, which was the source of Russian Christianity, continued to exercise its influence on Russia - either directly or through the southern Slavs (Bulgarians and Serbs) and Romanians, as well as through the Crimea. Also, through Byzantium and the Balkans, many Christian apocrypha and legends of eastern and western origin reached Russia.

Due to the Eurasian background of Russia, as well as due to the long-term control over it by the Mongols, it is natural to expect a significant influence of Eastern stereotypes on Russian life and culture of this period, although the sharp difference between Christianity and Islam prevented the possibility of any decisive Eastern influence on Russian religious life. But in the sphere of epic poetry and folk art, the Eastern influence was strong and fruitful; and of course the Muscovite administrative system and army organization followed the Mongol type in many respects. A fairly large number of Russian terms regarding financial administration were borrowed from the Tatars (for example, tamga - customs duties; denga - money). Moreover, it should be noted that during the reign of Vasily II, several groups of Tata were settled in Russia (mainly along the southern border) as vassals and service people. Among them, the most important was the group led by Prince Qasim. The situation led to friendly personal contacts between the Russian and Tatar military leaders. Many Tatar princes of the house of Genghis Khan joined the Russian aristocracy.

Although the foundations of Christian culture in Russia and in Catholic Europe were identical, the split between the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations resulted in the gradual creation of a cultural barrier between Russia and the West. However, this barrier was not impenetrable. Both Novgorod and Pskov supported the living trade relations with the Baltic Germans and the Hanseatic League, as well as with Visby (Gotland). There was a settlement of German merchants (dvor, in German Hof) in Novgorod, as well as a Scandinavian settlement (Varangian dvor). Some Novgorodians knew German and Latin, and Western influences can be found in Novgorodian art, literature, and crafts.

Western Russia, through its connection with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was also not isolated from the West. Following the first unification of Poland and Lithuania (1385), Roman Catholicism became the official religion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Russians in this state only with great difficulty asserted their right to remain adherents of Greek Orthodoxy (which became known as the "Russian faith"). In Lithuania proper, the Roman Catholic Church quickly and firmly took root, and through this church Western concepts spread among the Lithuanian nobility. Thanks to the close ties between the Lithuanian and Polish nobility, the Polish cultural influence in Lithuanian society became paramount, and the Western Russian aristocracy could not remain unaffected by it over time. Following the Union of Florence in 1439, an attempt was made to subordinate the Western Russian Orthodox Church to the pope. After some hesitation, the Western Russian bishops remained faithful to Orthodoxy, but the church itself came under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, instead of remaining dependent on the Moscow Metropolitan. Later, in 1596, a union was established between the Western Russian Church and Rome, but even after that, the majority of the Ukrainian people remained faithful to Greek Orthodoxy for a long time. However, the Greek Orthodox Church in Ukraine eventually became a conduit for Western culture itself, adopting many features of the Roman Catholic educational system, including the study of Latin.

Among all the Russian lands, Western influence was the weakest in Muscovy. This can be explained partly geographically - by the remoteness of Moscow from the West - and partly by the fact that Mongol rule lasted a century longer in Eastern Russia than in Western Russia. We should also take into account the important role played by the Orthodox Church in the creation of the Muscovite state; since the middle of the XIV century, the church has been the spiritual leader of the Russian resistance to the Tatars and the struggle for independence. Therefore, most Muscovites were wary of the policy of converting to Roman Catholicism, especially after the Union of Florence. And yet, despite this, Moscow was not completely isolated from the West. At the end of the 14th and throughout the 15th centuries, many Lithuanian and Western Russian princes married Russian princesses and vice versa. Moreover, quite a few Lithuanian and Western Russian princes moved to Muscovy and entered the service of the Grand Duke of Moscow. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, still considered Rus', was not considered a foreign power by Eastern Russians at this time. Through it, it was always possible, although not direct, contact between Moscow and the West.

Although the Muscovites were wary of Roman Catholic influence, they were not in principle hostile to everything Western. Moscow military leaders have always sought to have new weapons, regardless of where they were made. An example is the introduction of firearms in Muscovy. The Russians first became acquainted with eastern-type firearms during the siege of Bulgar in 1376. Recognizing the undeniable advantages of these weapons, they turned to the West and, having received many western-type cannons to strengthen the defense of Moscow, used them for the first time in 1382.

The chances of closer cultural contacts between Eastern Russia and the West were revealed during the short period of Vytautas' rule. In 1429, many Russian princes, including the Grand Duke of Tver, attended an international meeting organized by Vytautas in Lutsk in Volhynia. Among the guests were Sigismund, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Jagiello (Jagiello), King of Poland. The Pope, the Byzantine Emperor John VIII, the King of Denmark and the Teutonic Order sent their representatives to Lutsk. Everyone enjoyed the lavish welcome and entertainment offered by their powerful master. However, from a practical point of view, the conference was not a success. The following year, Grand Duke Vasily II of Moscow and the Grand Dukes of Tver and Ryazan attended another magnificent meeting in Vilna, Lithuania, on the occasion of the proposed coronation of Vytautas, which was disrupted because the Poles detained the envoy of Emperor Sigismund, who was carrying the crown.

Shortly thereafter, an event took place that paved the way for direct contact between Moscow and Italy - the Ferrara-Florentine church cathedral of 1438-1439. (recognized by Roman Catholics as the XVII Ecumenical Council). The Russian Church was represented there by Metropolitan Isidore, a Greek born in Thessaloniki, who was accompanied by about a hundred Russian clergy and laity. (One of them left a description of their trip to Florence). Isidore signed the Florentine Declaration on the Union of the Churches, but when he returned to Moscow, he was not received by the Moscow authorities and had to flee Russia. Despite the failure of the Muscovites to recognize the union, this whole episode turned out to be an important milestone in the mutual acquaintance of Russia and the West.

The Old Russian state is a country on the territory of Eastern Europe, inhabited by Slavic tribes. It arose after the unification of two centers - Novgorod and Kyiv on the lands along the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks."

862-879 Rule of Rurik 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. Since that time, we can talk about the formation of Kievan Rus. In 907 he made a trip to Byzantium and, as a sign of victory, nailed his shield on the gates of Constantinople (Tsargrad). In 907 and 911 he concluded profitable agreements with Byzantium. He subjugated the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi.

980-1015 Reign of the Grand Duke of 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 prestige of Russia increased.

1019-1054 The reign of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise. A number of victories secured the southern and western borders of Russia. Established dynastic ties with many European countries. Under him, "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 Kyiv boyars during the popular uprising. Fought against feudal civil strife. Developed a charter limiting the arbitrariness of usurers. In the "Instruction" he called on his sons to strengthen the unity of Russia.

1120-1157 Reign of the Prince of Suzdal and the 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, in 1155 he again took possession of this city. Under him, Moscow was mentioned for the first time in the annals (1147).

1157-1174 Reign of Prince Andrei (Yuryevich) Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal. He made the city of Vladimir on the Klyazma the capital. In 1169 he captured Kyiv. Killed by the boyars in his residence, the village of Bogolyubovo.

1216, April 21-22, the 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 Udaly, Konstantin Vsevolodovich and others. It ended in the defeat of Yaroslav and Yuri, led to 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 Polovtsy led to their defeat.

1236-1263 The reign of the Novgorod prince Alexander (Yaroslavich) Nevsky. From 1252 - Grand Duke of Vladimir. Victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva July 15, 1240) and the knights of the Livonian Order in the Battle on the Ice on Lake Peipus (April 5, 1242) secured the western borders of Russia. Skillful policy weakened the hardships of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

1237-1241 Two devastating campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars led by Batu Khan against Russia. 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 Russia. During this period, the princes received a label for a great reign from the hands of the Golden Horde Khan.

Moscow State

1325-1340 Board of the Moscow Prince Ivan I (Daniilovich) Kalita, from 1328 - the Grand Duke of Vladimir. He obtained from the Golden Horde the right to collect tribute in Russia. He laid the foundations for the political and economic power of Moscow; under him, the residence of the metropolitan was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow.

1359-1389 Reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir (since 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 on the Vozha River (1378). September 8, 1380 in the battle of Russian troops with the Horde under the command of Mamai, he showed an outstanding military talent. This victory, for which the prince was nicknamed Donskoy, was 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 leadership 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 (Vasilyevich) the Great. The territorial core of the unified Russian state was formed, the creation of the state apparatus began. Attached to Moscow Yaroslavl (1463), Perm (1472), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka. In 1500-1503 he conquered the cities of Seversk land (the 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 Sudebnik was compiled (1497), and large-scale construction began in Moscow. There was a registration of the title - the Grand Duke of "All Russia". 1584-1598 He married Sophia (Zoya) Paleolog, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, which made it possible to consider the Russian state the successor of Byzantium ("Third Rome").

1505-1533 The reign of the Grand Duke of "All Russia" Vasily III (Ivanovich). He completed the unification of Russia around Moscow by joining Pskov (1510), Smolensk (1514), Ryazan (1521).

1533-1584 Reign of the Grand Duke of "All Russia" Ivan IV (Vasilyevich) the Terrible, from 1547 - the first Russian Tsar. Since the late 1540s, he ruled together with the Chosen Rada (unofficial government). Under him, the convocation of Zemsky Sobors began, a new Code of Laws was drawn up (1550), and a system of centralized administration was established. Reforms of administration and courts have been carried out. Khanates of Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) were conquered. In 1565, the oprichnina was introduced. Trade relations with England were established (1553), the first printing house was set up in Moscow. In 1558-1583, the Livonian War was fought for access to the Baltic Sea, which ended in an unfavorable peace for Russia. In 1581, the annexation of Siberia began. Domestic policy was accompanied by mass disgraces and executions, and the enslavement of the peasants intensified.

1572, July 26 - August 3 Battle of Molodin. The Russian army defeated the Tatar-Turkish troops of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray 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. Incapable of state activity, he left the government of the country to his brother-in-law Boris Godunov. In 1589 a patriarchate was established, and Job (until 1605) became the first patriarch of Moscow "of all Russia".

1598-1605 Reign of Tsar Boris Godunov. Moved forward during the oprichnina; brother of Xenia Godunova, the wife of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, and the de facto ruler under him. Strengthened the central government, relying on the nobility; continued the enslavement of the peasants.

1605-1613 "Time of Troubles". The crisis of state power, popular uprisings, Polish and Swedish interventions, the reign of the impostor False Dmitry I (Grigory Otrepiev?) 1605-1606 and Tsar Vasily IV (Ivanovich) Shuisky 1606-1610, the ruin of the country.

1609-1618 Polish intervention in Russia. Siege of Smolensk from September 1609, a campaign against Moscow and its capture (1610). In the same year, the Russian government "Seven Boyars" proclaimed the king of the Polish prince Vladislav. The liberation of Moscow in October 1612. The second militia under the leadership of 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 Peace of Stolbov (February 1617).

1613-1645 Reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the first of the Romanov dynasty. Elected by the Zemsky Sobor. Granted 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 The reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The central government was strengthened and serfdom took shape ( Cathedral Code, 1649), the Smolensk and Seversk lands were returned. The peasant war of 1670-1671 was suppressed under the leadership of Stepan Razin.

1654 Church reforms Patriarch Nikon. The beginning of the split in the Russian Orthodox Church.

1654, January 8 Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky proclaimed the reunification of Left-Bank Ukraine with Russia at the Pereyaslav Rada.

1676-1681 War between Russia and Turkey and the Crimean Khanate. It ended with the Bakhchisaray peace treaty of 1681, according to which Turkey recognized the Left-bank Ukraine as part of the Russian state.

1682-1696 Joint reign of the infant tsars Peter I and Ivan V Alekseevich. Regency of Princess Sophia (until 1689).