Culture of North-Eastern Rus' of the 14th and 15th centuries. Culture of North-Eastern Rus'
Author: Kovaleva Natalya Alexandrovna,A history teacher
2017
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
Territorial features
North-Eastern Rus', between the Oka andVolga (Zalessky region)
The forest zone is a natural protection from
nomads
Harsh climate
Marginal lands
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna Slow development of agriculture.
Arable farming since the 13th century.
Forestry trades: hunting, fishing,
beekeeping.
Developed craft.
Development of trade along the Volga with the West and
East.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna The weakness of veche traditions in new
cities. Fighting the old, the local
boyars. Emergence
unlimited monarchy.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
The most famous princes
Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky (1125-1157) son of Vladimir MonomakhAndrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky (1157-1174) son of Yuri Dolgoruky
Vsevolod Yuryevich Big Nest
(1174 – 1212) son of Yuri Dolgoruky
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky (1125-1157) son of Vladimir Monomakh
A worthy descendant of the great Vladimir Monomakh, his seventh son Yuri Dolgoruky, went down in Russian history not only as a great princeKiev and appanage Rostov-Suzdal, founder of the city of Moscow. He
left a memory of himself as an ambitious, energetic, straightforward person
moving towards our goal. The assessment of his life is ambiguous and
activities, however, like the deeds, actions and decisions of many great
military leaders of those ancient times.
Nickname "Dolgoruky"
received due to constant
encroachment on others
land.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna N. M. Karamzin spoke about him as a person who noted
transformation of the eastern expanses of ancient Rus': the foundation
many cities and settlements, construction of roads and churches,
the spread of Christianity. And he also claims that, having a hard
disposition and not distinguished by his kindheartedness, Dolgoruky did not stand on ceremony with
enemies and rebellious boyars, which earned him an active popular
rejection.
Strengthening the North-Eastern Russian lands
Participation in the most famous and successful campaign of 1111 against the Polovtsy in
composition of the army of Russian princes became Yuri's first victory: daughter
Polovtsian Khan becomes his first wife. Prince Yuri Dolgoruky,
whose biography emphasizes that one can count on inheritance
He could not gain the throne of Kyiv, being one of the younger sons
Monomakh, from 1113 he became the appanage ruler of the Rostov-Suzdal principality, practically the outskirts of Rus' between the Oka and
Volga. He is primarily involved in the transformation and
strengthening this region, building cities and temples. Yuri
Dolgoruky became the first prince to rule the lands entrusted to him
more than forty years. Strengthening the Rostov-Suzdal region and
registration of its borders Yuri Dolgoruky (years of reign led to
the creation of many fortified cities in North-Eastern Rus') strengthened
their influence and position.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna Strengthening Christianity
While building the cities, the prince did not forget about the spread of the Orthodox faith.
Christian faith, building magnificent churches. He is still revered to this day.
as the founder of many churches and monasteries, in particular St. George's
monastery in Vladimir-on-Klyazma, Borisoglebsky - on the Nerl River,
Church of Our Lady in Suzdal, Church of St. George in Vladimir and
Yuryev, the Church of the Savior in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and Suzdal.
Campaigns and victories
In 1120, at the behest of his father, Yuri Dolgoruky headed the successful
campaign together with the Polovtsy - nomads of Turkic origin against the Volga Bulgars who lived on the lands of modern Tatarstan,
Chuvashia, Samara and Penza regions. Biography of Yuri Dolgoruky
replete with military victories - he rarely fought, but, possessing endless
courage and skill of a military leader, used these qualities to
achieving your goals. He was probably quite educated
a person who understands the need for the unification of Russian lands. He
participated in this process, strengthening the northeast of Rus'.
Since 1125, Suzdal became the capital of the region instead of Rostov. Principality
became known as the Rostov-Suzdal land.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna Prince's aspirations
Strengthening his position in the northeast of Rus', Prince Yuri Dolgoruky
strives to the southern possessions, to the inaccessible Kyiv, where “great things are being done
policy". It was for this activity that the chroniclers nicknamed Yuri
Dolgoruky. After the death of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, Kiev
the throne was inherited by his eldest son Mstislav, then (after his death
in 1139) - Yaropolk Vladimirovich, who soon ceded power to Vyacheslav
Vladimirovich - the sixth son of Monomakh. Princely discord was
ubiquitous, and the struggle for power remained at all times
the most cruel and unprincipled. In the period from 1146 to 1154, Prince
Yuri Dolgoruky is trying to win power in Kyiv. It's becoming
the main goal of his life. And during this time he twice won the throne from
nephews - the sons of Mstislav, but cannot keep him. Join on
He succeeds to the Kiev throne on March 20, 1155 by right of inheritance
after the death of brother and sixth son of Monomakh - Vyacheslav
Vladimirovich. The short reign of Yuri Vladimirovich in the city
the Golden Gate was not calm, but he died on May 15, 1157,
realizing his dream of being the Grand Duke of Kyiv.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
10.
Foundation of MoscowThe first mentions of Moscow in ancient chronicles date back to 1147
year. Biography of Yuri Dolgoruky and chronicle evidence of that
time they claim that the construction of the city began after the meeting of the prince
with Svyatoslav Olgovich in a small settlement on the Moscow River.
The year of the first mention of Moscow began to be considered the date of its foundation. Yuri
Dolgoruky closely followed the development of the city, in 1156 according to him
According to the order, the future capital was fortified with a moat and new
wooden walls. Construction began around the same time
wooden Kremlin.
Settlements on the site of present-day Moscow arose much earlier than those indicated
Events. Archaeological finds indicate that people appeared here
7-9 thousand years ago, and about 2.5 thousand years ago the territory of the future Moscow
first settled by a settled agricultural population,
who was already familiar with iron processing.
In the 5th century BC. the first appeared in this territory
fortified settlements, fortified with ditches and ramparts, along
along the ridge of which a wooden palisade was built. There were
These settlements have been around for a very long time, about one and a half thousand years. Then
Finnish and Baltic tribes lived here. In the 9th – early 10th centuries
archaeologists have found evidence of Krivichi living here
and Vyatichi. All R. In the 12th century, the village of Krasnoye belonged to a boyar
Stefan Kuchka, who was soon killed on the orders of Yuri Dolgoruky.
The prince himself began to own Moscow.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
11.
Wives and childrenThe biography of Yuri Dolgoruky mentions two marriages of the prince. First wife
there was a Polovtsian woman whose name was not preserved in the chronicles, the second name was
Olga. These marriages brought Yuri eleven sons and two daughters. TO
Unfortunately, historical documents do not contain any details about
family relations of the prince. The name of the last daughter of the ruler has not been clarified.
The characterization of Yuri Dolgoruky by ancient chroniclers is very unflattering:
The prince’s difficult temperament contributed to his extreme unpopularity among the people of Kiev,
his cunning and resourcefulness in achieving his goals.
Perhaps this was the reason for his death. Chroniclers do not deny
possibility of poisoning Yuri. However, despite all the contradictions of this
strong nature, the fact is clear: Yuri Dolgoruky, short biography
which emphasizes the implementation of tough policies, contributed greatly
strengthening and unity of Rus' as a great state.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
12. Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky (1157-1174) son of Yuri Dolgoruky
Andrei's father, Prince of SuzdalYuri Dolgoruky, strived
establish himself in Kyiv and led
endless quarrels with their own
opponents. Andrey was
forced for the time being
obey the father's will. IN
periods of short reigns
Yuri in Kyiv, he ruled in neighboring
destinies - Vyshgorod, Turov,
Pinsk (1149-1151, 1155). But
he did not like reigning in
troubled southern lands, where he
fate would depend on the mood
squads and veche decisions
townspeople
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
13.
Vladimir iconMother of God
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
Power-hungry and capricious
character, Andrei cherished the idea of giving
dominant position among Russians
principalities
Rostov-Suzdal
earth,
make it the center of state
life in Rus'. This is what pushed him to 1155
d. flee to Suzdal land against his will
father. In Rostov and Suzdal then reigned
Andrei's younger brothers. That's why his way
lay in small Vladimir on Klyazma,
which he planned to make the center of everything
principalities.
This
neglect
the oldest cities on earth could cause
dissatisfaction of Rostovites and Suzdal residents.
Andrei needed the support of the Church. By
he stole the way to Vladimir from
Vyshgorod monastery miraculous
icon
Mother of God,
By
legend
written
evangelist
Luka
And
exported
from
Constantinople.
The transfer of this revered in Rus'
shrines in Vladimir would give the city
meaning of a blessed place.
14.
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir Princely Palace in Bogolyubovo Church of the Intercession onNerl
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
15.
According to legend, not far from Vladimir, the Mother of God appeared to Andrei in a dreamand ordered to build a church in the name of Christmas in the village where he spent the night
Mother of God, and around her a monastery. Founded by the prince in Bogolyubovo
the residence became Andrei's favorite place to stay, who has since
nicknamed Bogolyubsky. In 1157, after the death of Yuri Dolgoruky,
Rostovites and Suzdal residents unanimously proclaimed Andrei prince. But
he chose not Suzdal as the capital of the principality, but Vladimir, where on a grand scale
started stone construction.
Under Andrei, the Golden Gates, the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl,
Assumption Cathedral - world-famous masterpieces of ancient Russian
architecture - many monasteries, temples, fortifications.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
16.
Bogolyubsky deprived of his possessions and expelled four of his brothers, twonephews, dissatisfied with his autocracy, the boyars. These measures strengthened
princely positions, but at the same time increased the number of enemies.
However, Andrei's political interests extended much further
borders of North-Eastern Rus'. The reason for one of the disputes was that
that the Kiev prince Mstislav Izyaslavich - Andrei’s longtime enemy -
of his own free will, he sent his son Roman to reign in Novgorod.
In 1169, the united army of 11 princes, equipped by Bogolyubsky, moved
to Kyiv. The ruined and plundered city has forever lost its past
the importance of the center of Rus', and dominance in the Russian lands finally passed to
Vladimir.
Bogolyubsky’s despotic character, his tough and sometimes cruel
treatment of those close to him, quarrels with church hierarchs led to
that a conspiracy had been formed against him, in which his most
close boyars and servants.
Behind the murder on the night of June 28-29
1174 in Bogolyubovo, once beloved
all the princes were followed by robberies and massacres
princely mayors and managers,
lasting six days.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
17. Vsevolod Yuryevich Big Nest (1174 – 1212) son of Yuri Dolgoruky
Vsevolod Yurievich BolshoyeKyiv nest and then
Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal;
one of the most notable
political figures of their
time. Got his nickname for
that he had many children and
big family.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
18.
Brief biography of Vsevolod the Big NestThe death of Yuri Dolgoruky, who had many heirs, led
to the fact that a struggle for power began between them. Vladimir's older brother
Andrei Bogolyubsky, after the death of his father, became the head of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and expelled his own mother and
brothers, among whom was Vsevolod.
However, in 1169 Vsevolod returned and entered the fight for
power at the age of 16. First, together with his army with the support
other brothers and uncles, Vsevolod becomes the head of Kyiv, but the reign
Vsevolod's Big Nest in Kyiv does not last long, only five weeks, after
why he is expelled and even taken prisoner. He was freed from captivity by his brother
Mikhail.
In 1173, as a result of a conspiracy by the boyars, Andrei Bogolyubsky died, and
then Mikhail and the Vladimir-Suzdal principality are left without a prince.
Taking advantage of the moment, Mstislav attacks Vladimir with
Novgorod army, but Vsevolod fights back. In the same year Vsevolod
becomes the Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, and a long period begins
the heyday of the principality and the shift of central power from Kyiv to Vladimir.
Vsevolod the Big Nest ruled in Vladimir until his death.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
19.
Politics of Vsevolod the Big NestPrince Vsevolod Yuryevich is considered one of the most skilled politicians and
leaders of Kievan Rus, since it was he who managed to put
the beginning of the idea of autocracy and seize power in his principality, and
also subjugate half of all Rus'.
In foreign policy, Vsevolod was most noted for the following
affairs:
- military campaigns in Mordva;
- military campaigns in Bulgaria in 1183-1185;
- fight against the Polovtsians, for which Vsevolod teamed up with others
princes.
In general, Vsevolod managed to significantly expand the eastern
territory of Rus' thanks to the seizure of Bulgarian lands. However
Vsevolod did not set the initial goal of his military campaigns at all
military superiority, but the conquest of new trade territories and
ways, since it was the economy and the development of trade that he considered
priority task.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
20.
In domestic politics, among his victories were:- conquest of power in Vladimir and becoming the sole ruler
their lands (the boyars and nobles did not have significant power under him);
- close relations with Kiev and surrounding lands, thanks to which
During his reign, Vsevolod the Big Nest succeeded significantly
increase their influence on the Kyiv prince and move the center of power to
Vladimir;
- conquest of power over the Novgorod lands and subjugation of their princes.
Results of the reign of Vsevolod the Big Nest
Thanks to skillful politics and wisdom, Vsevolod was able to concentrate
power over a significant territory of Rus' in their hands, expand the borders
states, open new trade routes and boost the economy. For my
activities Vsevolod the Big Nest received the title of Grand Duke and was
noted in “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and others
significant works.
He bequeathed to his sons to continue his policy and, fearing
civil strife, distributed power between them in advance, but the children
Vsevolod the Big Nest did not listen to him. As a result, after 1212
the single powerful principality that Vsevolod created for so long collapsed
into several parts, and Rus' was again mired in internecine wars.
© Fokina Lidia Petrovna
Campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars 1237-1239. to North-Eastern Rus' led to unprecedented devastation of the country, mass destruction of the population, and destruction of many cities. The words of the chronicler who described Batu’s invasion are that “there was no place, not all (i.e. weights - V.K.), nor the villages of Tatskkh rudko, and there was no war on the Suzhdal lands,” although, perhaps, and written late, on the whole they correctly reflected the picture of the horrific pogrom and desolation of the earth. And after Batu, the Horde khans repeatedly organized cruel punitive expeditions to the Russian North-East. They took on a particularly wide scale in 1252, 1281 and 1293.
The foreign yoke led not only to the political subordination of the Karakoram and Sarai rulers of the Russian princes, the disruption of the historical ties of the northeastern principalities with the principalities of the southern “Russian land”, the strengthening of the isolation of Novgorod and Pskov, the end in the first decades of foreign domination of church and urban construction in the Northeast Rus', but also to the conservation of its territory, and within the latter - to the decline of a number of old principalities and to the emergence and rise of new state formations that determined the further historical destinies of Rus'. The judgments of a major Russian historian of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are now perceived as a hopeless anachronism, who proposed to forget “for a while that before the first generation of Vsevolodovichs left the scene, Rus' was conquered by the Tatars... The phenomena that we observe in Suzdal land after this defeat (we are talking about the processes of feudal fragmentation - V.K.), consistently, without interruption, develop from the conditions that began to operate even before the defeat, in the 12th century." In fact, during the period of Mongol rule, the formation of the territories of the principalities of North-Eastern Rus' took place under the indirect and sometimes direct influence of the Horde.
Unfortunately, the course of this process until the end of the 13th century. covered in historiography very sparingly, and modern researchers do not pay any attention to it at all, thereby incompletely and inaccurately assessing the consequences of Batu’s conquest for the Russian lands. Their well-known justification is the extreme lapidary nature of the sources, mainly chronicles, which, like other areas of ancient Russian culture, experienced the withering influence of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
Nevertheless, even S.M. Soloviev, trying to explain the rise of Moscow in the post-Mongol period, drew attention to the influx of population into the Moscow Principality not only from the South, but “also from the nearest regions - Ryazan, Tver, Rostov, which were constantly less safe... ." . Perhaps this idea of S.M. Solovyov became the starting point for M.K. Lyubavsky, who did a lot to study the historical geography of the East European Plain during the Middle Ages and outlined the right path to clarify the specifics of the territorial development of North-Eastern Rus' during the Horde period. According to M.K. Lyubavsky, after the invasion of Batu and under the influence of subsequent campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars, a transition of the population began from the east and center of the Suzdal region to its militarily safer western outskirts: Tver and Moscow. This revealed the reason for the rapid strengthening of not only the Moscow, but also the Tver principality, already in the last third of the 13th century. who began to play a major political role in the Russian Northeast. The same demographic factor led to the emergence and development of two new northeastern Russian principalities, unknown in the pre-Mongol period, formed on the borderland of old Suzdalytsin. The geography of political centers in the Northeast has changed. This predetermined the territorial basis, which later became the basis for the unification of the country.
Such a cautious researcher as A.E. Presnyakov joined the opinion of M.K. Lyubavsky about the reasons for the growth of Moscow and Tver. However, in subsequent years, M.K. Lyubavsky’s conclusion was not properly assessed and developed. While stating the fruitfulness of the explanation proposed by M.K. Lyubavsky for the rise of the so-called “younger cities” in North-Eastern Rus' after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, at the same time one cannot help but point out the incomplete and insufficient analysis of the material carried out by the researcher. As a result, some of M.K. Lyubavsky’s conclusions do not always seem justified, and even downright erroneous. The latter relates to the determination of the main directions of the Mongol-Tatar campaigns and the associated movement of the population of North-Eastern Rus', the time of the emergence and stabilization of various principalities here, not only Moscow and Tver.
Obviously, in order to obtain a correct picture of the evolution of the state territory of North-Eastern Rus' in post-Mongol times, it is necessary to study data relating to all principalities of this region without exception. Such a study should be preceded by a list of those cities and regions that in the 13th century. became targets of military attacks by the Mongol-Tatars. Then the features of the political map of the Russian North-East of the 13th century will become clear.
Description of northeastern cities and related territories during the 13th century. experienced blows from the Mongol-Tatar armies, is quite extensive.
Stolny Vladimir was captured and robbed four times by the Mongol-Tatars. In 1238, the city’s fortifications were partially destroyed (probably the walls of the New City), partially damaged by fire (Pechersk City). The Assumption Cathedral was set on fire and looted, the population was killed. With a high degree of probability we can assume; that Vladimir or its districts also suffered in 1252, when the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Yaroslavich refused, as the chronicle puts it, to “serve as Caesar,” i.e. Khanam. Vladimir was the residence of Andrei, and the Horde expedition directed against him could not, of course, fail to undertake some kind of reprisals against the population of the capital and its environs, in particular against the boyars who supported their prince. In 1281, places near Vladimir were plundered by the Mongol-Tatars, who came with Prince Andrei Alexandrovich to attack Grand Duke Dmitry - Andrei's elder brother. Finally, in 1293, Duden’s army, brought by the same Andrei Alexandrovich, “Volodimer took and plundered the churches, and tore out the bottom of the wonderful copper mine (in the Assumption Cathedral - V.K.), and books, and icons, and honest crosses, and you plundered sacred vessels and all kinds of ornaments, and you conquered villages and volosts, and churchyards, and monasteries...”
The small town of Volok Lamsky was first captured by the Mongol-Tatars in 1238. In 1293, the troops of Duden and the troops of Andrei Alexandrovich “took the Volok, and brought the people out of the forest.”
Galich Mersky, apparently, suffered from the Mongol-Tatars in 1238, when Batu’s hordes “destroyed everything along the Volz and even to Galich Mersky.”
On the same campaign, Gorodets Radilov on the Volga was taken by the Mongol-Tatars.
Gorokhovets Mongol-Tatars "pozhgosha" in the fall of 1239
During the invasion of Batu and "Dyudenev's army" Dmitrov and Moscow were captured, and Duden with the troops of the allied Russian princes "took all of Moscow and the volosts and villages."
Pereyaslavl Zalessky experienced heavy blows from the Mongol-Tatars. In 1238 the city was captured by Batu's troops. In 1252, the Mongol-Tatars, who overtook the disobedient Grand Duke Andrei Yaroslavich near Pereyaslavl, “spread across the earth... and led the people without mercy (into captivity - V.K.), down to their horses and cattle.” In 1281, the Mongol-Tatars “created everything around Pereyaslavl and plundered people.” It is no wonder that in 1293, hearing rumors about Duden’s army, the population of Pereyaslavl and neighboring volosts fled. The Mongol-Tatars stood near Pereyaslavl “for many days, until the people escaped from Pereyaslavl.”
It is sometimes believed that during the Batu invasion, Rostov avoided the sad fate of other Russian cities and did not suffer from the Mongol-Tatars. They judge this way on the basis of the phrase of the Novgorod First Chronicle of the older edition: “Rostov and Suzhdal parted ways.” But the given names in this case do not mean cities, but Rostov and Suzdal detachments that were on the City River as part of the army of Grand Duke Yuri and escaped from defeat. The Laurentian Chronicle reports the capture of Rostov by the Mongol-Tatars in 1238. In 1281, the Mongol-Tatar army devastated the outskirts of Rostov and plundered Rostov villages.
Ancient Suzdal was destroyed three times. In 1238, the Mongol-Tatars “took Suzhdal and plundered the Holy Mother of God, and burned the prince’s courtyard with fire and the monastery of St. Dmitry, and plundered the others.” In 1281 they devastated the outskirts of Suzdal, and in 1293 Duden’s army “took the entire city.”
The Mongol-Tatars first appeared in Tver in 1238. Here they killed the son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. In 1281, according to the chronicle, they “created an empty place near Tfiri.” In 1293, Khan Toktomer undertook a special campaign against Tver and “inflicted a great burden on the people, flogged them, and told them in full...”.
Torzhok was taken by the Mongol-Tatars only once - in 1238.
Direct evidence of the capture of Uglich by the Horde troops is found in the chronicle around 1293. Perhaps Uglich suffered from the Mongol-Tatars even earlier in 1238. The Laurentian Chronicle reports that after the capture of Pereyaslavl, Batu’s regiments “removed that entire country and many cities, all of which even to Torzhok..." . Among the “many cities” was probably Uglich. In any case, an archaeological examination of villages near Uglich indicates their desolation due to the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars.
There is no doubt that among the “many cities” captured by Batu was Yuryev. The road from Vladimir to Pereyaslavl passed through it. In 1238, both last cities were taken by the Mongol-Tatars. Yuryev, who lay between them, could not avoid this fate. In 1281, the Mongol-Tatars plundered the outskirts of Yuryev, and in 1293 the city itself was captured by Duden’s army.
The Mongol-Tatars reached Yaroslavl, which was located relatively far in the north, only once - in 1238.
As the above material shows, the most frequent attacks by the Mongol-Tatars were Vladimir, Pereyaslavl Zalessky, Suzdal, Yuryev, and Tver. Geographically, these cities can be divided into two groups. One group consists of the first four cities. All of them lay in the very center of the ancient Rostov-Suzdal land, in its most fertile, rich and populated part. Apart from Rostov, these were the largest cities in North-Eastern Rus' in pre-Mongol times; the political and military power of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes was based on their possession. Therefore, it is far from accidental that the attacks of the Mongol-Tatars were directed primarily at Vladimir, Pereyaslavl, Suzdal and Yuryev. Old, long-colonized and densely populated areas were periodically subjected to destruction. In this way, the material basis of the power of the princes of North-Eastern Rus', especially the eldest of them, the Grand Duke of Vladimir, was undermined, the possibility of their strengthening, the desire to unite and repel the conquerors was radically suppressed. On the part of the Mongol-Tatars, this was a well-thought-out policy aimed at preserving and strengthening their dominance over the Russian lands.
Tver is clearly separated from this group. It was no less subjected to destruction in the 13th century than the central regions. attacks by the Mongol-Tatars. These attacks on the westernmost principality of North-Eastern Rus' were intended to reduce the power of the Tver princes, whose political importance in the last third of the 13th century. has increased significantly. The Tver princes even dared to openly fight the Horde. However, the invasions of the Mongol-Tatars into the Tver territory did not lead to its desolation and depopulation. The fact is that since the 40s of the 13th century. Lithuania's pressure on the western Russian lands intensified, and the population of these lands began to move east to the regions of Tver, and partly Moscow.
Batu's campaigns and subsequent punitive expeditions of the Mongol-Tatars had a noticeable impact on the formation of the territories of the principalities of North-Eastern Rus' in the second half of the 13th century. In the 70s of the XIII century. in the North-East there were 14 principalities instead of the 6 that existed by 1237. To this it must be added that the territories of the two largest of them, Vladimir, which remained the main one, and Pereyaslavl, merged together as a result of the fact that Yaroslav Pereyaslavl, after the death of his brother Yuri Vsevolodovich on the City River, who turned out to be the eldest among the descendants of Vsevolod the Big Nest, in 1238 became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. However, in the same 1238, he transferred Suzdal to his brother Svyatoslav, and Starodub to his brother Ivan. The process of transformation of the former Vladimir and Pereyaslavl lands began, leading to the emergence of new principalities. All the details of this process, including such important ones as the exact composition of the newly formed principalities, the dates of their appearance and disappearance, are not always determined due to the fragmentation of sources, but in general this process is recorded quite clearly by the entire body of data.
The Starodub principality remained with Ivan Vsevolodovich and his family. In the 13th century, precisely under 1276 and 1281, Prince Mikhail Ivanovich is mentioned, in whom they rightly see the son of Ivan Starodubsky. In the XIV century. the descendants of Prince Ivan appear with very specific nicknames Starodubsky, which for that time served as evidence of the existence of the Starodub principality.
As for the Principality of Suzdal, its fate was more complicated. First of all, it is necessary to find out what the transfer of Suzdal to Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich meant. The previous chapter stated that in 1212/13 Prince Svyatoslav received from his brother Grand Duke Yuri Yuryev of Poland. He owned this principality until 1237. The transfer of Suzdal into his hands in 1238 cannot but raise the question as to whether Suzdal was given to Svyatoslav instead of Yuryev or whether it was assigned to Yuryev.
A.V. Ekzemplyarsky believed that Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich simultaneously owned both Yuryev and Suzdal, and Suzdal became the center of his reign. A.E. Presnyakov considered Suzdal as some kind of special possession of Svyatoslav, received by him as the heir to the Vladimir grand-ducal table. A.E. Presnyakov did not determine the status of the Yuryev territory at that time.
The conclusion of A.V. Ekzemplyarsky is based on a misunderstanding. He believed that in 1242 Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich decorated the St. George Cathedral in Yuryev, and deduced from this the fact that the latter belonged to Svyatoslav. In fact, the decoration of the Yuryev Cathedral dates back to 1234. There is no direct news in the post-Mongol period connecting Prince Svyatoslav with the Yuryev Principality in the chronicles. By analogy with Starodub, one must think that in 1238 Suzdal became the capital city of Svyatoslav. The Yuriev principality became part of the possessions of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. This, however, lasted only a few years.
When Grand Duke Yaroslav died on September 30, 1246, poisoned by the Mongol-Tatars, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich took the Vladimir table. He “planted his nephews around the city, as if their father had given them orders to Yaroslav.” Yaroslav had seven sons left, and the very fact of vesting each of them with a principality meant the fragmentation of the old Vladimir-Pereyaslav territory into a number of smaller possessions. The Yaroslavichs were dissatisfied with the distribution of tables among them by their uncle. In 1247, Prince Andrei Yaroslavich went to Batu, apparently to seek the expansion of his fatherland. He was followed by Alexander Nevsky. And their brother Mikhail Khorobrit in 1248 expelled Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich from the great reign and himself became the prince of Vladimir. In the winter of 1248/49, Mikhail died in a battle with the Lithuanians, and at the end of 1249, Alexander and Andrey returned to Rus' from Karakorum. The Mongol-Tatars “ordered Oleksandrov Kiev and the entire Russian land, and Andrei was placed on the table in Volodymeri.” The transfer of Kyiv and Southern Rus' to Nevsky was apparently a fiction. Alexander Yaroslavich preferred untouched Novgorod the Great to this region plundered by the Mongol-Tatars. He stayed there until 1252, when he received the label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and “eldership in all his brethren.” Andrei Yaroslavich, who risked ceasing to “serve as Tsar,” was deprived of the Vladimir table and was forced to seek refuge in Sweden.
The turbulent events of the late 40s and early 50s of the 13th century. in North-Eastern Rus', apparently, were accompanied by frequent movements of princes, the emergence and liquidation of principalities, but with the installation of Alexander Nevsky in Vladimir, the political situation largely stabilized.
From 1250, news has been preserved about the trip of Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich with his son Dmitry to the Horde. Although the purpose of the trip is hidden in the chronicles, such trips of Russian princes with their sons-heirs to the khans were usually made when it came to assigning their principalities-fatherland to the Rurikovichs. Obviously, by 1250 Svyatoslav already possessed such a principality. Since the great-grandson of Svyatoslav bore the nickname of Yuryevsky, one can think that in 1250 Svyatoslav no longer owned the Suzdal, but the Yuryevsky principality. Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich could part with the Suzdal principality either in 1247, when, having become the Grand Duke, he ceded it to one of his nephews, or in 1248, when he lost the reign of Vladimir. In any case, Svyatoslav turned into the Prince of Yuryev, apparently as a result of the events of 1248. Thus, Suzdal was in the hands of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich until approximately 1247-1248. It is difficult to say whether the reunification of the territories of the Suzdal and the great Vladimir principalities took place in 1247, or whether the Suzdal principality continued to function, but under the rule of one of the Yaroslavichs. It is indisputable, however, that later, in the second half of the 13th century, the Suzdal principality existed. Evidence of this is the news of 1264 about the death of Prince Andrei Yaroslavich of Suzdal and the message in 1279 about the death of Andrei's son, Prince Yuri of Suzdal and his burial in Suzdal in the Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary.
Prince Andrei, who fled from the Mongol-Tatars “overseas” in 1252, was already in Rus' by 1257. That year he traveled to the Horde and returned, together with Alexander Nevsky and Boris Rostovsky, “to his homeland.” Apparently, Andrei’s trip to the khan was caused by the need to establish a principality for him, and specifically Suzdal. Suzdal was to be allocated to him by Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich. If so, then we must assume that until 1257 Suzdal was part of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. And since Alexander became the Grand Duke in 1252, we can assume that at least in 1252-1257. Suzdal territory formed a single whole with Vladimir. From the above it follows that the Principality of Suzdal as an independent political unit during 1238-1257. existed intermittently. And only in 1257 it finally separated from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.
The history of another old center of North-Eastern Rus' - Pereyaslavl - during the first 10-15 years of the Horde yoke also presents a lot of unclear things. True, at one time A.V. Ekzemplyarsky was convinced that the Pereyaslavl principality was still in existence during his father’s lifetime, i.e. between 1238 and 1246, received by Alexander Nevsky. In his opinion, “Pereyaslavl, after the formation of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, was, as it were, a necessary accessory of this latter: the great princes planted in it either their sons or their closest relatives...”. And the eldest son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Alexander, according to A.V. Ekzemplyarsky, “sat in Pereyaslavl not only with his father, but also with the great princes - his successors”, owned Pereyaslavl “until he occupied the Grand Duke’s table.”
The observations and conclusions of A.V. Ekzemplyarsky were supported and developed by A.E. Presnyakov. He came to the conclusion that in post-Mongol times, the Pereyaslavl principality was constantly passed down in a descending line to the eldest of the sons of the Grand Duke, who was the successor of his father at the table of the great reign of Vladimir. “The close and long-term connection of the Pereyaslavl table with the great reign,” summarized A.E. Presnyakov, “left a special stamp on the attitude of the princes towards Pereyaslavl and gave it somewhat exceptional significance.”
Meanwhile, the idea of researchers about the ownership of the Pereyaslav principality by Alexander Yaroslavich in 1238-1252. is based on the only chronicle news of 1240, and as amended by later chronicles. If we turn to the earliest chronicle monument that preserved this message, then the following text is read there: “On the same summer, the same winter, Prince Oleksandr went out from Novgorod to his father in Pereyaslavl with his mother and wife and with his entire household, having been born with Novgorodians" The very terminology of the message (“to your father in Pereyaslavl”, and not “to yourself in Pereyaslavl”), the departure of the elder Yaroslavich to Pereyaslavl with his mother, for whom it was more natural to stay in the grand ducal city, and not in the center of the appanage reign, the absence in Pereyaslavl of any representatives of Prince Alexander’s “own court” say that Pereyaslavl belonged not to Nevsky, but to his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
It is characteristic that a contemporary of Alexander Yaroslavich, who compiled his biography, called Novgorod the Great “fatherland” of Alexander, but did not mention Pereyaslavl at all.
Also indicative is the message of the Novgorod I Chronicle of the older edition about the repulsion of the Lithuanian attack on Torzhok and Bezhitsy in 1245: “I chased after them Yavid and Erbet with Tfirichi and Dmitrovtsi, and Yaroslav with Novotorzhtsi; and I was near Toropchem, and their princesses were driven to Toropech The next morning Alexander slept with the Novgorodians, and he was full of tiredness..." Thanks to this record, it turns out that Tver and Dmitrov, components of the Pereyaslav principality of the pre-Mongol era, were ruled by governors Yavid and Kerbet. Their non-participation in the subsequent military actions of Alexander Nevsky, who besieged Toropets and then pursued the fleeing Lithuanians, indicates that they were not Alexander's governors, but his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Consequently, the Pereyaslavl territory did not belong to Alexander, but was part of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.
The three evidence cited indicate that Pereyaslavl and the territory of the former Pereyaslavl principality were held by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich under his own hand and during his lifetime were not transferred to any of his sons.
From the fourth evidence one can extract direct data about the destiny of Alexander Nevsky. The contractual document between the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich and Novgorod the Great, drawn up between November 1296 and February 1297, contains the following clause: “And who was the old people in Torzhka and in Volots, and dishonored the Tfri under Oleksandr and under Yaroslav, tm So go and disgrace them to me." Obviously, the letter mentions people who “disgraced” Tver when it became the center of an independent principality. From this point of view, the mention in the ending of Father Mikhail Yaroslav Yaroslavich, who at one time sat on the Tver table, is quite understandable. But earlier Yaroslav was named Alexander in the letter, and one cannot help but see Yaroslav’s older brother Alexander Nevsky in him. It becomes obvious that he was the first Tver prince.
Since in 1245 Tver was ruled by the viceroy of Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, we must assume that the Tver Principality was formed after the mentioned date. Apparently, Tver was received by Alexander according to his father’s will, implemented in 1247 by Grand Duke Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. It was not for nothing that the westernmost part of the Vladimir territory was intended for Alexander: it directly adjoined the lands of Veliky Novgorod, where Alexander reigned.
As for his brother Yaroslav, who is still unanimously accepted by all researchers as the first prince of Tver, the earliest record where he is called the Tver prince dates back only to 1255. The oldest news about his possessions paints him as a prince of a completely different principality.
The chronicle story from 1252 about the “fleeing” of Grand Duke Andrei Yaroslavich before the Mongol-Tatars, who almost captured him at Pereyaslavl, was already quoted above. The Grand Duke managed to escape. Then the Mongol-Tatars began to plunder the outskirts of Pereyaslavl, "and Princess Yaroslavl Yasha and the children of Yaroslavl were taken away and the governor of Zhidoslav was killed and the prince(s) were killed and the children of Yaroslavl were completely poslash." From this text, A.E. Presnyakov concluded that Pereyaslavl belonged to Andrei. But if Yaroslav’s wife and his children were in Pereyaslavl or in the Pereyaslavl district, then this is the surest indication that Pereyaslavl was his residence.
Yaroslav could have received Pereyaslavl in 1247 according to his father’s will or later, in 1248-1249, by agreement with his brothers, Grand Dukes Mikhail or Andrey. But after the establishment of Alexander Yaroslavich in Vladimir, Pereyaslavl became part of the great reign, and in 1263 Nevsky bequeathed the Pereyaslavl principality to his eldest son Dmitry. Consequently, at some point after 1252, Yaroslav was deprived of the Pereyaslav table. Apparently, a violent exchange took place between Alexander and Yaroslav: Alexander took Pereyaslavl for himself, again including it in the Vladimir territory, and gave Yaroslav his ancestral principality of Tver. Subsequently, the Principality of Tver was established in the hands of Yaroslav Yaroslavich and his descendants, and the Principality of Pereyaslavl - in the eldest descendants of Alexander Nevsky.
Under 1280, the chronicle reports that “Prince Davyd Kostyantinovich, grandson of Yaroslavl, Galich and Dmitrov” died. The prince's nickname testifies to the existence of the Galicia-Dmitrov principality, composed rather artificially from two centers separated by long distances: Dmitrov, formerly part of the Pereyaslav principality, and Galich Mersky, which was part of the Vladimir grand-ducal territory. Following the researchers, the formation of this principality can be attributed to 1247, when Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich distributed “hailstones” to his nephews. Apparently, then Konstantin Yaroslavich received Dmitrov and Galich. In any case, the unusual geography of his son’s possessions indirectly indicates their early formation, since it was in the first years after Batu’s invasion that it was not easy to carve out territorially compact destinies from the devastated North-Eastern Rus'. Mentions under 1334 and 1335 Princes Boris Dmitrovsky and Fyodor Galitsky indicate that between 1280 and 1334. The Galicia-Dmitrov principality split into two, corresponding to its two centers.
The formation of the Moscow principality also dates back to the post-Mongol period.
During the XII - first decades of the XIII century. Moscow was part of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. As M.N. Tikhomirov showed, in the second half of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries. There is an undoubted economic growth in Moscow. The latter circumstance explains the actions of the fourth son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Vladimir, who in 1213 made an attempt to gain a foothold in Moscow, giving it preference over Yuryev of Poland, allocated to him by his father’s line. Nevertheless, Moscow did not then become the capital of an independent principality. The chronicle emphasizes that Vladimir captured the city of “his brother” Yuri Vladimirsky, that Moscow was “his city” to Yuri. In addition, Vladimir was in Moscow for only a few months. In subsequent times, Moscow continued to be part of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.
The first Moscow prince is considered to be Mikhail Yaroslavich Khorobrit, the son of the already mentioned Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. It is quite possible that under him Moscow truly became the center of an independent principality. However, one cannot categorically insist on this. The fact is that the opinion of researchers about Mikhail Khorobrit as the first Moscow prince is based on the texts of the Novgorod IV Chronicle and the Tver collection, where Mikhail is called Moscow. Compared to the text of the Novgorod IV Chronicle, the text of the Tver collection is clearly secondary. Consequently, the oldest is the message of the IV Novgorod Chronicle: “the princes of Suzdal were beaten by Lithuania at Zubtsev. And Mikhail Yaroslavich of Moscow was killed quickly by Lithuania at Porotv.” In the main source of the IV Novgorod Chronicle - the Novgorod-Sophia vault of the 30s of the 15th century. - this news, apparently, did not happen. It is absent from the lists of the Sofia I Chronicle of the senior edition, in almost all lists of the Sofia I Chronicle of the younger edition, and in the Synodal list No. 154 Mikhail is not named as Moscow. There was no message about the death of Khorobrit in one of the additional sources of the IV Novgorod Chronicle - the Sophia vremennik, reflected in the Novgorod I Chronicle of the younger edition. It could have ended up in the Novgorod IV Chronicle from the Rostov archbishop of the times of Archbishop Ephraim. This Rostov vault has not reached the present day. As far as can be judged from the abbreviated Rostov code of the late 15th century, news of Mikhail’s death was in the Rostov chronicle. But whether in Ephraim’s code Khorobrit was called a Moscow prince is difficult to say. In the mentioned Rostov vault of the late 15th century. there is no such definition. He is also not in the record of the death of Mikhail in the Laurentian and Simeon Chronicles. In addition, the Novgorod IV Chronicle calls Mikhail of Moscow after its own message about his seizure of the table of the great reign of Vladimir, i.e. when Mikhail was no longer a Moscow, but a Vladimir prince. In this last connection, it is noteworthy that Mikhail, who was killed on the Protva River, was buried not in Moscow, but in Vladimir. Therefore, it is impossible to draw an indisputable conclusion about the reign of Mikhail Khorobrit in Moscow based on the message of the IV Novgorod Chronicle. It is possible that Mikhail Yaroslavich was called Moscow by later scribes.
However, if we accept the version about Khorobrit as the first Moscow prince, his reign in Moscow should have been very short-lived. Moscow apparently went to him under the section of 1247. Mikhail died in the winter, at the end of 1248 or the beginning of 1249. Before that, he expelled his uncle Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich from his great reign and sat on the Vladimir table. If you believe the message of the IV Novgorod Chronicle, Svyatoslav occupied the grand-ducal table for one year. From this it follows that Mikhail Khorobrit could reign in Moscow for no more than a year.
After Khorobrig, the sources do not mention princes in Moscow. In all likelihood, the city with the territory adjacent to it became part of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In any case, Moscow was controlled by Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich, who allocated the Principality of Moscow as an inheritance to his youngest son Daniil.
But two-year-old Daniel did not become a Moscow prince in 1263. This can be judged on the basis of one piece of news from the Tver Chronicle. It mentions a letter, which was essentially a diplomatic note sent by the Tver prince Ivan Mikhailovich to the Moscow prince Vasily Dmitrievich in 1408 regarding joint actions against Lithuania. The letter contained an interesting reference to the fact that Daniil Alexandrovich, the ancestor of Vasily of Moscow, was raised by Ivan Mikhailovich's ancestor Yaroslav Yaroslavich, whose tyuns sat in Moscow for seven years. The authenticity of this message, included in an important official document, can hardly be doubted. Yaroslav Yaroslavich was not only the prince of Tver. After the death of Alexander Nevsky, he sat on the Grand Duke's table in Vladimir and occupied it for seven years until his death. It was these seven years that Ivan Tverskoy’s letter had in mind. From the message of the letter it follows that during his great reign, Yaroslav kept Moscow under his authority, and it was ruled by the grand ducal governors - tiuns. Consequently, the final separation of the Moscow principality from the Vladimir principality occurred no earlier than the 70s of the 13th century. In any case, Daniil Alexandrovich as a Moscow prince was mentioned for the first time in 1283.
The chronicle news of 1265 testifies to the existence of the Kostroma Principality. Kostroma belonged to Vasily Yaroslavich, the son of Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. He probably received it during the distribution of principalities by Svyatoslav in 1247. Then Vasily was less than six years old, and it is possible that Kostroma actually became the center of a special principality a little later, around the mid-50s of the 13th century. In the 70s of the XIII century. The Kostroma prince already played an active political role in the affairs of North-Eastern Rus'. In 1272, Vasily of Kostroma became the Grand Duke of Vladimir, and then, after an armed struggle with his nephew Dmitry Alexandrovich, established himself in Novgorod the Great. However, with the death of Vasily Yaroslavich in January 1277, the Principality of Kostroma ceased to exist, and its territory was reunited with the territory of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In 1293, Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich made an attempt to re-allocate the Kostroma principality from the Vladimir lands, but this principality, led by his son Ivan, lasted for at most a few months, after which Kostroma again became part of the grand ducal possessions.
The Principality of Gorodets was formed in the east of Suzdalytsin. The first news about him dates back to 1282. But since the third son of Alexander Nevsky, Andrei, was the Gorodets prince, it should be assumed that Gorodets was allocated to him according to his father’s will. Therefore, the formation of the Gorodets principality should be attributed to the period between 1263 and 1282. In addition to Gorodets, this principality included Nizhny Novgorod and, probably, Unzha.
Among the possessions of the descendants of Vsevolod’s eldest son, the Big Nest of Constantine, a new state entity also appeared in the post-Mongol period.
After the death of the Rostov prince Vasilko Konstantinovich in 1238, the Belozersk principality was separated from his possessions. Under 1251, the Laurentian Chronicle reports that “Glub went to Byloozero to his homeland.” We are talking here about Vasilko’s youngest son, born in 1237. It is quite plausible to assume that Vasilko himself allocated Beloozero from the Rostov principality to the diaper maker Gleb. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Gleb went to Beloozero precisely in 1251, when, according to the concepts of those times, he became an adult (he was 13 years old) and could take possession of the fatherland bequeathed to him.
Gleb's older brother Boris received Rostov. But in 1277, after the death of Boris, Gleb became the prince of Rostov. Then the Rostov principality was owned by Boris's sons Dmitry and Konstantin. At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. The Principality of Rostov included Rostov and Ustyug. The owner's fate of Beloozer is rather vague. Gleb Belozersky's son Mikhail was buried not in his ancestral city, but in Rostov. During his lifetime, Beloozero fell into the hands of Boris of Rostov's eldest son, Dmitry, apparently as a result of a violent seizure in 1279. According to the section of 1286, with his brother Konstantin, Dmitry received Uglich and Beloozero, and Konstantin received Rostov and Ustyug. However, later Rostov and Ustyug fell into the hands of Dmitry. Konstantin was in charge of Uglich: in 1292 he put his son Alexander there. In all likelihood, the brothers exchanged possessions. In this case, Beloozero should have gone to Konstantin and remained with him even when, after the death of Dmitry in 1294, he sat down in Rostov, inheriting his brother’s lands. About staying in the 13th century. There is no information about the grandson of the Beloozero prince Gleb Vasilkovich Fedor on Beloozero. It is possible, therefore, that the Belozersk principality was resumed only in the 14th century, when Fyodor Mikhailovich married in the Horde and reinforced his paternal rights with Horde help.
On the Uglitsky table, which became escheat after the death in 1283 of the youngest son of the first Uglitsk prince Vladimir Konstantinovich Roman, at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries. Apparently, the son of the Rostov prince Konstantin Borisovich, Alexander, was sitting there.
After the suppression of the male line of the Vsevolod Konstantinovich family, the Yaroslavl principality was taken over by the scion of the Smolensk princes Fyodor Rostislavich, who married around 1260 Vsevolod's granddaughter Maria Vasilievna. Yaroslavl fell out of the common fatherland of the Konstantinovichs. It was preserved by the descendants of Fyodor Smolensky.
For the post-Mongol period of the 13th century. It is important to note one circumstance that influenced the formation of the territories of various principalities of North-Eastern Rus'. Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, his brothers and sons, as well as their descendants did not look for the lands that once belonged to Konstantin Vsevolodovich of Rostov. For their part, the Konstantinovichs did not lay claim to any possessions of the Yaroslavichs and younger Vsevolodovichs. A strict demarcation of the territories that were the homelands of two large princely branches can be traced. It seems that the only exception was the capture of Pereyaslavl in 1293 by the Yaroslavl prince Fyodor Rostislavich. However, he occupied it with the consent of Andrei Alexandrovich Gorodetsky, who became Grand Duke. Prince Fyodor held Pereyaslavl for about a year. Then the city was returned to his stepfather - Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich. But it is possible that as a result of the seizure of the Pereyaslav territory in 1293. The Yaroslavl princes retained lands near Sol Velikaya and Nerekhta, as evidenced by data from the 15th-17th centuries.
So, in the period from 1238 to 1300, eight new principalities appeared in North-Eastern Rus': Starodub, Suzdal, Tver, Galicia-Dmitrov, Kostroma, Moscow, Gorodets and Belozersk. Two of them - Suzdal and Starodub - existed in the pre-Mongol period, although for a rather short time. Therefore, it would be more accurate to talk about the renewal of these two principalities. But the remaining six first became such in post-Mongol times.
The geography of the new state formations is very indicative. In the central part of the old Rostov-Suzdal land, only three principalities were formed: Starodub, Suzdal and Dmitrov (part of the Galicia-Dmitrov principality). Of these, only one is completely new - Dmitrovskoye. The remaining five principalities and the Galician part of the Galician-Dmitrov principality arose on the outskirts of the ancient Suzdal region, covering its territorial core with a wide horseshoe from the west (Moscow, Tver), north (Beloozero, Kostroma, Galich) and east (Gorodets). (See Figure 4).
This location of new princely centers in the Russian Northeast in the post-Mongol period (until the end of the 13th century) is far from accidental. As shown above, Mongol-Tatar attacks in the second half of the 13th century. The central regions of North-Eastern Rus' were mainly affected. The natural consequence of the Horde campaigns undertaken from the south was the flight of the Russian population to places safer from Mongol-Tatar invasions.
Already the invasion of Batu caused a certain displacement of the population. Under the threat of foreign conquest, a significant part of the inhabitants of the cities and villages of the Suzdal region fled to the northwest, to Novgorod the Great. Evidence of this is the bitter and figurative picture of the beating of people who tried to escape from Batu from Torzhok “by the Sereger way” to Novgorod. According to the Novgorod chronicler, the Mongol-Tatars “all people eat more food, like grass.” Death from a Mongol-Tatar saber on the “Sereger Road” was apparently found not only by residents of nearby places, but also by refugees from the interior regions of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. Another part of the population of the Suzdal region fled to the north, to the Beloozero region. Rostov Bishop Kirill waited out the Batu pogrom there. Of course, he was not the only one who fled to Beloozero; other residents of Rostov went there with him.
Subsequently, the outflow of population from the central regions of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' continued. Above we have already given information about the departure of the population of Pereyaslavl and its surroundings before Duden’s army. Archaeological study of rural settlements along the river. Klyazma and north of it, i.e. within the Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereyaslav and Yuryev territories, allows us to come to the conclusion that most of them were abandoned no later than the 13th century. At the same time, archaeological data indicate an influx of population into the regions of the Yaroslavl Volga region, Moscow, Tver, and the Sheksna River. A vivid story about how, during the invasion of Duden in the fall of 1293, people fled from different places to Tver, was preserved by the chronicle: “For fear of this, it multiplied the people who came to Tferi and from other princes and volosts.” The testimony of written sources thus confirms the fact that the population left the center to the west, to the Tver Principality. The population of the eastern outskirts also increased. In 1274, when Serapion was appointed bishop of Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod was named among the three main cities of his diocese. At the same time, such large cities as Pereyaslavl and Moscow, which were also under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Vladimir ruler, were not mentioned. And if Nizhny Novgorod was considered one of the main cities of the bishopric, then this, of course, is an indirect indicator of population growth in the area. In the 60-70s of the 13th century. The role of Kostroma in Volga trade increased noticeably. Thus, in 1270, merchants returning with goods to Novgorod the Great were detained here. The growth of the commercial importance of Kostroma was to a certain extent associated with the increase in population in the Volga region.
The influx of population into the “locations” safe from the Mongol-Tatars, not only the western, as M.K. Lyubavsky believed, but also the northern and eastern outskirts of the old Rostov-Suzdal land contributed to the rise of these outskirts. The princes and boyars found here a sufficient number of payers of feudal duties and warriors for their squads. The result was the formation of new, peripheral principalities, designed to play their historical role in the destinies of the Russian North-East. The Grand Duke of Vladimir, who had traditional political seniority, diplomatic and military prerogatives among the princes - the descendants of Vsevolod the Big Nest, was no longer able to maintain his power, disposing only of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, which was greatly reduced by the last third of the 13th century. After the death of Alexander Nevsky in 1263, the struggle for the grand-ducal table began and it was occupied by the Tver prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, the Kostroma prince Vasily Yaroslavich, the Pereyaslavl prince Dmitry Alexandrovich, and his brother Andrei Gorodetsky. Since the mid-90s of the 13th century. Moscow Prince Daniil Alexandrovich actively intervenes in the fight for the table of the great reign. It is extremely significant that, except for the Pereyaslavl prince, all the other contenders and bearers of the high title represented principalities that arose on the periphery of the Suzdal region in the post-Mongol period. The participation of the Tver, Kostroma, Gorodets and Moscow princes in the struggle for the Vladimir heritage indicates that in the second half of the 13th century. The political significance of the ancient cities of the Volga-Oka interfluve is receding into the irrevocable past. An objective process of changing the territorial basis of the consolidation of the northeastern principalities is taking place. The advantages of the geographical position of Tver, Kostroma, Gorodets and Moscow, which were the result of demographic changes in North-Eastern Rus' caused by the Mongol-Tatar yoke, undoubtedly favored the fact that these cities, as opposed to all others, were able to successfully claim the role of the center around which in the future, all of North-Eastern Rus' could unite.
North-Eastern Rus' (Vladimir-Suzdal Principality)
At the turn of the XII–XIII centuries. the principality located between the Oka and Volga rivers became isolated. Before the arrival of the Slavs, Finno-Ugric tribes lived here - all and Merya, in the VI-VIII centuries. squeezed out by the Vyatichi tribes. They established their control over all the most important river routes and assimilated the Finno-Ugric population living here. Initially, the lands beyond the Oka were called the Zalessk Territory.
The Prioksky and Zaoksky lands were in relatively favorable natural conditions, which contributed to their rapid economic development. Forests rich in game, fertile soils, rivers that opened up southern and eastern trade routes - all this, combined with the relative safety of the region, attracted many immigrants from Southern Rus' and even from the Novgorod lands. The pearl of the region was Suzdal Opolye - an area extremely convenient for agriculture. The cities of Opole - Suzdal, Vladimir - grew rich in the trade of bread, which they even supplied to Novgorod.
Thanks to its favorable geographical position, North-Eastern Rus', hidden in the forests, was outside the control of the Kyiv princely administration for quite a long time, and it did not suffer from the raids of the steppe nomads. The oldest city in the Zalessk region was Rostov. Soon Suzdal and Vladimir-on-Klyazma will be built here, the latter will later become the new capital of the principality.
Rostov is first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years in article 862, in the story about the calling of Rurik. The new ruler began to distribute cities to his “husbands” for possession: “to one Polotesk (Polotsk), to another Rostov, to another Beloozero”; Rostov was also named in the treaties of Prince Oleg with the Greeks, and Suzdal, located on the Kamenka River, was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1024. Under Yuri Dolgoruky, Suzdal became the capital of the principality.
Opinion of historians
Two assumptions have been made about the time of the founding of Vladimir. M.V. Lomonosov believed that the city on Klyazma was built and named in his honor by Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 992. Lomonosov’s contemporary V.N. Tatishchev doubted this, saying that Vladimir-on-Klyazma “was not anywhere” before the time of Yuri Dolgoruky mentioned, especially in the war between Mstislav and Oleg, if there had been one, then, of course, one should have walked by and mentioned him.” A similar point of view was expressed by N. M. Karamzin, who suggested that Vladimir was founded not by Vladimir Svyatoslavich, but by his great-grandson Vladimir Vsevolodich Monomakh in 1108. In Soviet times, version N prevailed. N. Voronin, who creatively revised Tatishchev’s thesis. He initially attributed the construction of Vladimir-on-Klyazma to 1098, while recognizing that the city was not created out of nowhere and “in any case, at the beginning of the 11th century, the city existed as a large settlement on the banks of the Klyazma...”. Later, Voronin began to consider the founding date of Vladimir to be 1108. The “mistake” of the chroniclers and Lomonosov was also pointed out by the publishers of the academic collection of his works of 1952.
Having considered all these arguments, O. M. Rapov came to the conclusion about the reliability of the news about the more ancient origin of the city on the Klyazma, thereby agreeing with the arguments of M. V. Lomonosov.
Under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, his sons sat in Rostov - first Yaroslav (for more than 20 years, then his father moved to Novgorod) and Boris Vladimirovich, who died in the civil strife of 1015.
After the death of Yaroslav the Wise, the Rostov-Suzdal lands were owned by his son Vsevolod and grandson Vladimir Monomakh, after whom the inheritance, in turn, passed to one of his younger sons, Yuri Dolgoruky. It was under this prince, in the 12th century, that the Suzdal land became independent from Kyiv.
Yuri Dolgoruky received his nickname due to constant attempts to reach out to Kyiv and Novgorod, other Russian lands. In 1155 he finally became the Grand Duke of Kyiv. But, striving with all his heart for the “golden table,” he did not forget about the interests of the Suzdal land.
Yuri Dolgoruky begins to strengthen the western and southwestern borders of his inheritance. Around the same time, in the middle of the 12th century, he erected the first wooden Kremlin on the Moscow River. In 1147, the prince invited his ally Svyatoslav of Chernigov to stay in the new princely fortress - Moscow. As you know, the chronicle record of this became the first mention of the existence of the future capital of Russia. Then he builds the Dmitrov fortress to control the Dubna and Yakhroma rivers, and closes the mouth of the Volga Nerl with the city of Konstantin (Ksnyatin). At the junction of water roads - Lake Kleshchina (Lake Pleshcheyevo) - the new city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky is being built, where administrative control of the region was transferred from the city of Kleshchina and the garrison was transferred, which had increased in accordance with the new tasks.
In addition to these fortresses, the prince founded several more cities: Yuryev Polskoy, Zvenigorod, Mikulin, Gorodets.
After the death of Yuri Vladimirovich, the Suzdal land passed to his son Andrei Bogolyubsky. Unlike his parent, he did not like Kyiv and preferred to live in his native Suzdal land. In 1156, Andrei, leaving Vyshgorod, returned to Suzdal without his parents' blessing. At the same time, he took with him from the Vyshgorod Mother of God convent the famous icon of the Mother of God, painted, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke. This icon subsequently began to be revered as the greatest Russian shrine.
After the death of his father, Andrei took power in Suzdal and Rostov, but did not go to these old cities, but made Vladimir the capital city.
The peculiarity of the Suzdal land was that the old boyars, but traditions at the head of the veche representation, were concentrated in the ancient cities of Rostov and Suzdal. But the new prince in his policy did not rely on them, but on the younger warriors personally devoted to him and the masses of the newcomer population from the south, who had not yet become dependent on the Suzdal boyars and were more dependent on the princely administration.
Already in 1157, Andrei Yuryevich began to concentrate power in his hands. He expelled his younger brothers and nephews from the Russian land to Byzantium. “Behold, do this, wanting to be self-owner in the Suzdal and Rostov lands,” the chronicler explained these actions of the prince. At the same time, Andrei proclaimed the capital of the rapidly growing Vladimir-on-Klyazma, which was inhabited mainly by immigrants from Southern Rus'. New fortifications are being built there, churches are being erected, including the white-stone Assumption Church, and the Golden and Silver Gates are being built, in imitation of Kyiv.
Prince Andrei sought to extend his power to all Russian lands, continuing in this sense his father’s undertakings. Only Andrei Yuryevich’s hands extended much further than his father’s hand. In addition to the usual south, the aspirations of the Vladimir prince required the subjugation of all neighboring regions, including the Novgorod, Ryazan and Smolensk lands, Volga Bulgaria.
It was under Andrei Bogolyubsky that ancient Kyiv, captured and plundered by his troops in 1169, lost its seniority, yielding to other princely capitals.
Trying to subordinate not only his neighboring princes to his will, but also his own boyars, Andrei Bogolyubsky came into conflict with him. The local nobility demonstrated their attitude to him in 1173, when Andrei conceived a new campaign against Volga Bulgaria. In Gorodets on the Volga at the mouth of the Oka, a gathering of troops and boyar squads was appointed. But the prince waited in vain for his servants: they “didn’t like” the path, and they, without showing direct disobedience, found a cunning way to evade the unwanted campaign: “Iduchi ne idyahu” (Iduchi, did not go to their prince).
The conflict grew and already in the next 1174 led to the murder of the prince by conspiratorial boyars. On June 28, 1174, 20 of his boyar enemies, among whom were Peter and Yakim Kuchkovich, the prince's housekeeper Anbal and the prince's wife Ulita Stepanovna (Kuchkovna), broke into Andrei's residence in Bogolyubovo (now Bogolyubovo) and killed him.
After the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky, strife began in the Vladimir land between his half-brothers, supported by the Chernigov princes and nephews, on whose side was the Ryazan prince Gleb. The strife was largely a consequence of the actions of Andrei himself, who, having become the Grand Duke, expelled his stepmother and her sons Vasilko, Mstislav, Mikhalko (Mikhail) and Vsevolod.
Opinion of historians
The assumption that Gleb’s stepmother was a “Greek” - a Byzantine princess - and bore the name Olga (this is not a Roman name, especially not found in the basileus family), is now disputed by many historians.
In exile, the brothers initially lived in Constantinople with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel, then in the Bulgarian cities on the Danube that belonged to the Roman Empire, as a yogi with another brother, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Gleb Yuryevich. He made Vasilko the prince of Poros, and granted Mikhalka and Vsevolod the small fortress of Gorodets Ostersky (Mstislav died in Byzantium). They took part in the internecine war of the Suzdal and Chernigov princes with Rurik, Davyd and Mstislav Rostislavich, who were entrenched in the Kyiv land. The actions of Mikhalko and Vsevolod, as well as other allied princes, were unsuccessful. Only once, in 1173, for only five weeks, Vsevolod, with the consent of Mikhalko, who ceded this right to him, managed to take possession of the Kyiv “golden table”, but then he was again knocked out of there by the Rostislavichs.
Having lost their cities this time, Vsevolod and Mikhalko went to Chernigov to visit Svyatoslav Vsevolodich. Their nephews Yaropolk and Mstislav Rostislavich (grandsons of Yuri Dolgoruky), who also did not have their own volosts, also lived here at that time.
In 1175, after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky, power in the Zalessk region was taken over by Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich, nephews of Vsevolod and Mikhalko, sons of Yuri Dolgoruky’s eldest son, Rostislav. They were invited to reign by the Rostov and Suzdal boyars. Their reign turned out to be short-lived, overshadowed by enmity with the people of Vladimir. The chronicler explains this by the youth of the princes, who, moreover, committed an unrighteous act on the advice of their associates - robbing the sacristy of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. Then, having gathered at the meeting, the most determined residents of Vladimir announced: “We voluntarily accepted the prince (Yaropolk Rostislavich) to us, and kissed the cross on everything, but he rules his own volost, as if he is not going to stay here, he robs not only the entire volost, but and the churches, think about this, brethren."
Recognizing the correctness of these words, the townspeople unanimously swore allegiance to Mikhalka Yuryevich and sent for him to Chernigov, ordering their ambassadors to tell the prince: “You are the eldest in your brethren, go to Vladimir, but if the Rostovites and Suzdalians plan anything against us because of this, then how God and the Holy Mother of God will give us with them."
Having assembled regiments with the help of Svyatoslav Chernigovsky, Mikhalko and Vsevolod entered their native Zalessky region, which they left almost 15 years ago. The Rostislavichs were not going to give up power and moved forward. On July 15, 1176, a battle took place near Vladimir. The Suzdal army was commanded by Mstislav Rostislavich, the Chernigov regiments by Vsevolod Yuryevich, since his brother Mikhalko fell ill and could not get up from the stretcher. Vsevolod completely defeated the Suzdal squads. The entire land of Vladimir immediately recognized Mikhail Yuryevich as sovereign.
So Vsevolod helped his elder brother Mikhalk take possession of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, receiving from him the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky for his help. But on June 20, 1177, Mikhalko died. After the death of his brother, Vsevolod the Big Nest inherited the entire Grand Duchy of Vladimir. He ruled for 35 years. The territory of his state in the north reached Beloozero and the Sukhona River. In the west and north, the Vladimir-Suzdal land bordered on the Novgorod land, in the south - on the Chernigov principality, in the east - on the peoples of the Volga region, including Volga Bulgaria. Here, in relative safety from the raids of the steppes, under the firm hand of Vsevolod, a hearth developed future Russian statehood. In the past, a stream of immigrants from the southern Russian lands was sent here, but now it has become a full-flowing river. The Russians moved further and further, quickly mastering even the Trans-Volga region, converting the peoples and tribes living there to their faith.
Creative work had to be supported both by force of arms and skillful diplomacy. It should be admitted that there were no princes equal in this matter to Vsevolod in Rus' at that time. His enemies were afraid of his anger, his friends were looking for help. The years of the reign of the Vladimir prince marked the time of the greatest prosperity of the Suzdal land. Vsevolod's power reached the peak of its power in the mid-90s. XII century, when he was recognized in Rus' as the “eldest in the tribe” of Vladimir Monomakh, remaining by that time his only grandson. It was Vsevolod who began to be titled Grand Duke of Vladimir. Often, by his own will alone, he seated princes on other “tables” who listened to his wise advice. At the same time, in cruel and bloody wars with the Volga-Kama Bulgars and Mordovians, he consistently expanded the borders of his state, which turned into the largest Russian principality of that time.
By order of Vsevolod, many monuments of ancient Russian architecture were erected: the Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir, the Vladimir Detinets, built in the southern part of the city, the Nativity Cathedral, and the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, which was significantly expanded after the fire. Amazingly beautiful churches were built in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and Suzdal. Under Vsevolod the Big Nest, the cities were founded - Gledep (Veliky Ustyug), Unzha, Tver (Tver) and Zubtsov.
Vsevolod the Big Nest died on April 15, 1212. Before his death, distributing the cities of his land to his sons, he wanted to give the capital of the principality of Vladimir to his eldest son Konstantin, and Rostov to his second son Yuri. However, contrary to tradition, Konstantin, not content with what he received, began to demand from his father both main cities of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. Then Vsevolod Yuryevich gathered his boyars and clergy into a large council and, after a common “thought” with them, decided to transfer the eldership in the clan, and therefore the capital city of Vladimir, to his son Yuri, and sent Konstantin to Rostov.
Soon after the death of Vsevolod, his old enemy, the Toropets prince Mstislav Udatnoy (Udaly) from the Smolensk branch of the Moiomashichi, sat down to reign in Veliky Novgorod. Yuri and Yaroslav Vsevolodich opposed him, but their older brother Konstantin went over to Mstislav’s side. The Novgorod prince was supported by his ally Vladimir Rurikovich Pskovsky and relative Vladimir Mstislavich Smolensky. A fratricidal war broke out again in Rus', about which the chronicler said: “It was a terrible and wonderful miracle, brothers. Sons went against father, fathers against children, brother against brother, slaves against the master, and the master against slaves...”.
The decisive battle of this war took place on April 21, 1216 on the Linitsa River, becoming one of the bloodiest in Ancient Rus'. The Novgorod army defeated the Vladimir regiments. The army of the princes Vsevolodich lost 17,250 people in killed alone. The winners lost about 2,550 soldiers killed.
Having driven three horses, Grand Duke Yuri galloped to Vladimir, but he did not have the strength to organize a rebuff to the victors. After the siege of the city began, he was forced to agree to all Mstislav’s conditions and cede the reign of Vladimir to Constantine. In exchange, Yuri Vsevolodich received not even Rostov, but the small town of Radilov Gorodets on the Volga. Soon, however, he managed to reconcile with his brother, and after his death, in February 1218, he regained the grand-ducal throne.
One of the important events of the reign of Yuri Vsevolodich was his foundation in 1221 on the eastern borders of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, on the Dyatlov Mountains, near the confluence of the Oka and the Volga, Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1223, during the first arrival of the Mongols in Rus', Yuri Vsevolodich himself did not take part in the campaign of the southern Russian princes, but sent his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich of Rostov to help them. However, this army did not make it to the battlefield in time. Having reached Chernigov, the Rostov prince learned about the terrible defeat on Kalka and took his regiments back.
Yuri Vsevolodich ruled North-Eastern Russia until the Mongol invasion, during which he died (March 4, 1238). Under him, the Principality of Vladimir maintained its unity and remained the strongest in Rus'. It is no coincidence that it was this that later served as the basis for the unification of the country.
- Voronin N. N. Vladimir-Suzdal land X–XIII centuries. // Problems of the history of pre-capitalist societies. 1935. Issue. 5-6.
- Voronin N. N. Social topography of Vladimir XII–XIII centuries. and “drawing” of 1715 // Soviet archeology. 1946. Issue. VIII. P. 168.
- Rapov O. M. Russian Church in the 9th – first third of the 12th century. Acceptance of Christianity. – M.: Higher School, 1988. P. 288–302.
History of Russia [for students of technical universities] Shubin Alexander Vladlenovich
§ 4. NORTHEASTERN Rus'
§ 4. NORTHEASTERN Rus'
Socio-political specificity of the region. The first Slavic settlements in the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka date back to the 8th–9th centuries. The Ilmen Slovenes penetrated here from the north-west, the Krivichi from the west, and the Vyatichi from the south. The first cities in this region were Rostov and Murom (reliable information about them dates back to the end of the 10th century). In the 11th century Suzdal, Ryazan, Pronsk, Yaroslavl and Uglich were founded.
Due to its distance from the center, this region was not attractive to the Kyiv princes. The eldest sons and brothers of the Kyiv prince did not want to move here. Therefore, at the end of the 10th century. or at the beginning of the 11th century. the younger sons of Vladimir I were planted here. Rostov went to Boris, and Murom to Gleb.
Over the next century and a half, the situation did not change. Vladimir Monomakh gave the Rostov principality to his seventh son, Yuri (1117–1157). It was with his reign that the development of the region began. During his reign, Yuryev-Polskoy, Dmitrov, Przemysl, Zvenigorod, Kideksha, Mikulin, Gorodets were built. For his desire to expand his principality at the expense of neighboring lands, Yuri received the nickname Dolgoruky. When the opportunity arose, he began the fight for the Kiev throne and took it. The Rostov-Suzdal principality went to his eldest son Andrei (1157–1174). Soon Andrei moved the capital to Vladimir. The Principality began to be called Vladimir-Suzdal.
Meanwhile, throughout the 12th century. migration from the southern lands of Kievan Rus increased. The future settlers were pushed to search for a better life, firstly, by the struggle of the princes with each other for the land (as a result of which ordinary people died), secondly, the beginning of the process of enslavement of the peasants, and thirdly, the increasing frequency of Polovtsian raids, which were up to individual princes to contain was no longer possible. The agrarian overpopulation of the southern principalities also played an important role. A stream of fishing colonists also came here from the north-west. In the 12th century. in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality the cities of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Moscow, Zvenigorod, Rzhev, Zubtsov, Mologa, Tver, Kostroma, Veliky Ustyug, Beloozero, Klin, Dubna, Gorokhovets, Starodub appeared.
In the southeast of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was the Ryazan principality. It separated from Chernigov in the 20s. XII century In addition to Ryazan itself, the principality included three cities: Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, Kolomna and Pronsk. The youngest principality of the region - Nizhny Novgorod - arose in 1221.
The specifics of political governance in this territory began to take shape in the second half of the 12th century. Until this time, the northeastern region did not have deep veche traditions. The main reason for this was the low population density, which did not allow the formation of political institutions that could act as limiters of princely power. Nevertheless, administration in Rostov and Suzdal in the first half of the 12th century. was built on the interaction of the city council and princes appointed from Kyiv. The situation changed when in 1157 Andrei Bogolyubsky, the eldest son of Yuri Dolgoruky and the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan Aepa, became the Grand Duke of Kyiv.
Back in 1149, his father gave him “holding” of Vyshgorod, but a year later Andrei received possession of the Western Russian cities of Turov, Pinsk and Peresopnitsa. In 1151, with the consent of his father, he returned to his native Suzdal region, where, apparently, he had an inheritance (Vladimir-on-Klyazma). In 1155, Andrei was again transferred to Vyshgorod, from where - now against his father's will - he fled to Vladimir-on-Klyazma. After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei inherited the Kiev grand-ducal throne, but, despite the custom, he did not go to live in Kyiv. In the same year, the residents of Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir elected him as their prince. In 1162, Andrei Bogolyubsky expelled his brothers, nephews and stepmother, as well as his father’s squad, from the Rostov-Suzdal land. Thus the foundations were laid for the unlimited despotic power of the Vladimir prince.
After the expulsion of the senior squad, Andrei's support became the almsmen - the prince's courtyard slaves. Rights that previously belonged only to princely warriors began to extend to the most influential servants. However, unlike the warriors, the servants, or nobles (as they began to be called from the end of the 12th century), could not be considered equal to the prince. He was their master, not their comrade. The servant was personally dependent on the master and was his property, although he could occupy high positions and have large estates.
Andrei Bogolyubsky subjugated Kyiv and Novgorod to his power. He placed his assistants, dependent princes, to reign there. In case of disobedience, he organized grandiose military campaigns against them. Thus, in the last (unsuccessful) campaign against Kiev in 1173, detachments of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir, Pereyaslavl, Belozersk, Murom, Novgorod, Ryazan troops took part, as well as squads of Turov, Polotsk, Pinsk, Gorodensky, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl, Kursk, Pereyaslavl-South, Torchesky and Smolensk princes.
Starting from the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, squad orders became a thing of the past. The warriors lost their rights, and the prince increasingly relied not on them, but on the servants. Their power grew steadily. The basis of the new system of state power - the despotic monarchy - was the direct subordination of slave subjects to their master, the prince. So in the second half of the 12th century. In Northwestern Rus', new social forms of citizenship-ministry are beginning to take shape, which are fundamentally different from Western European vassal-suzerain relations in that they completely lack a contractual basis, and the servant is in direct and unconditional dependence on the master. Subsequently, it is they who will become dominant and create the basis of a despotic system of government in all Russian lands.
Socio-economic specifics of the region. An economic feature of the region was the slow development of productive forces. In the agricultural sector, this was determined by the following reasons.
The natural and climatic conditions and geographical position of this region were worse than in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and Danube, in the Dniester basin, where the demographic center of Kievan Rus was located. Moreover, they differed significantly from Western Europe. Summer heat in North-Eastern Rus' was only enough for the ripening of barley and rye. It was quite rare to grow a good harvest of heat-loving crops - wheat, oats and millet. Winters could be severe and with frequent thaws, which harmed winter crops. In the spring, the harvest was under threat of late frosts, and in the fall - early frosts. In Europe, agricultural work started earlier and ended later, and livestock farming could be done all year round. In the central non-chernozem zone of Rus', cattle were kept in stalls for up to 200 days. This is despite the fact that due to the extremely short agricultural summer (on average about 120 days), the peasant, who was fully occupied with field work, did not have time to stock up a sufficient amount of feed for the winter.
The second reason that complicated the development of agriculture was the nature of the vegetation. There were very few territories more or less free from forests: Vladimir, Suzdal and Rostov regions. The forests there were not a continuous mass; there were many edges between them, which freed the colonists from the need to uproot trees. Therefore, the common names Rus Zalesskaya or Opole were assigned to the three named regions. The rest of the territory was covered with dense forest thickets, the uprooting of which made agricultural work extremely labor-intensive.
The third reason for the low profitability of agricultural labor was the nature of the soil. Only in the Vladimir and Rostov regions there were relatively good soils - dark-colored carbonate. The soil in the remaining areas consisted of loams, gray podzolic soils and sandy loam soils.
The development of crafts and trade was hampered by other reasons. First of all, this is low population density and poverty. As a result, trade and craft cities did not arise here. The overwhelming number of fortified settlements were fortresses or administrative centers that belonged to some prince, boyar or monastery. Craft here was not actually separated from agriculture: due to poverty, peasants tried to do everything they needed themselves.
The development of foreign trade was hampered by the distance from world trade routes. North-Eastern Rus' was separated from the Baltic route by the lands of Novgorod, which did not need competitors in trade. From the Volga route to the 13th century. the Slavs were cut off by the Polovtsians, and from 1237 by the Horde. The routes to the south were also under enemy control. Therefore, the market mechanism in the region was formed extremely slowly. In trade operations, crystal and carnelian beads, multi-colored glass bracelets, and slate whorls (weights for spindles) were used as coin equivalents.
From a technological point of view, the artisans of North-Eastern Rus' reached a high level, for example, the products of locksmiths were exported to Europe, and the quality of weapons, according to the Crimean Khan, was higher than that of Italian, Turkish and Syrian craftsmen. However, artisans mainly worked to order, so the market mechanism did not form among them. It is no coincidence that there is no information in written sources about the sale of artisans' products at the market.
The further development of the established systems of administrative management of Russian lands was due to the invasion in the second third of the 13th century. Mongolian troops, which significantly changed the political situation in the country.
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- Rostov-Suzdal Principality(XI century - 1157);
- Grand Duchy of Vladimir, or Vladimir-Suzdal Principality (1157 - mid-13th century).
In the chronicles of that time it was mentioned as
Suzdal land, Great Reign of Vladimir, Zalesie, Nizovskaya land.According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, North-Eastern Rus' (between the Oka and Volga) went to his son Vsevolod. He eventually transferred these lands to his eldest son Vladimir Monomakh. Busy with the struggle in the south, Monomakh sent his son Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) to the distant northeast as governor.
Andrey Bogolyubsky
Vsevolod the Big Nest
Yuri Vsevolodovich
The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich (1218-1238) managed to establish peaceful relations with his brothers and nephews. In general, he was a worthy successor to his father’s politics. In 1221, after another campaign against the Bulgars, Yuri founded the fortress city of Nizhny Novgorod at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga. For a long time it became the eastern outpost of Rus', a fulcrum in the struggle for the Great Volga Route.
The Slavic population came to North-Eastern Rus' from the southwest (Vyati-chi), west (Krivichi) and north-west (Ilmen Slovenes). Before the arrival of the Slavs, the main inhabitants of Zalesye (as settlers from Southern Rus' called this region) were representatives of the Finno-Ugric tribe Merya. Without delving into the subtleties of the tribal division of the Finno-Ugrians, the Slavs often called these strange, unlike forest people with a common word - Chud.
The history of the miracle is completely unknown to us. These people did not know writing and were mainly engaged in hunting, fishing and forestry. There were probably skirmishes and even massacres between the visiting Slavs and local residents, although in general their relations were peaceful. More numerous and better organized aliens displaced the Chud. Over time, the Finno-Ugric tribes were assimilated by the Slavs. Words from their language are preserved mainly in the names of rivers (Oka, Klyazma) and lakes (Nero).
Architecture
- Architecture of North-Eastern Rus' of the 12th century ( see Architecture of the 12th century in Rus'#Architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality of the 12th century).
- Architecture of North-Eastern Rus' of the 13th century ( see Architecture of the 13th century in Rus'#Architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality of the 13th century).