When Kievan Rus broke up into principalities. The collapse of the Old Russian state: history, causes and consequences. Formation of new government centers

It is believed that the disintegration into principalities began under (1019-1054) and intensified after his death. The process under (1113-1125) - the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise - was suspended due to the strength of his authority.

In 1097, on the initiative of Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich, the princes were organized, at which two decisions were made:

• stop ;
• be guided by the principle “Princes should rule only on those lands that belonged to their fathers.”

This fragmentation of the lands of Rus' was practically legitimized.

The final collapse of the Old Russian state

The period of fragmentation of the state of Kievan Rus is associated with the death of the last Kyiv prince - Mstislav the Great, son of Vladimir Monomakh, in 1132.

The division of the Old Russian state into independent principalities did not solve the problem of civil strife. The situation was complicated by the order of succession by seniority - the brother, nephew, son and the rest of the relatives of the deceased claimed the inheritance, but seniority was not always easy to establish. The principalities began to be fragmented and divided into fiefs. The princes are becoming poor, their power is weakening.

Conflicts between the boyars and the princes are intensifying, as the boyars want to influence politics and reduce the power of the princes.

The main reasons for the collapse of Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus was not a centralized state.

Economic reasons:

• exploitation of the dependent population;
• the prince's desire to strengthen his principality;
• lack of opportunity to gain wealth through overseas trade;
• the influence of the natural method of farming (remote territories, developing on the basis of economic and economic isolation, were self-sufficient social organisms), which created.

Political reasons:

• independent governing bodies in the volosts;
• the desire of the governors (representatives of the prince of Kyiv) to separate from Kyiv;
• support by townspeople for governors;
• lack of a firm order of government;
• the desire and efforts of the prince to transfer power by inheritance.

Consequences of the collapse of Kievan Rus

As a result, new political formations will take the place of the Old Russian state.

Negative consequences of the collapse of Kievan Rus:

• fragmentation had a negative impact on the defense capability of the state in the face of foreign policy enemies (from the north-west - Catholic German orders and Lithuanian tribes, in the south-east - and to a lesser extent - since 1185 there have been no invasions outside the framework of Russian civil strife);
• inter-princely strife intensified.

Positive consequences of the collapse of Kievan Rus:

• fragmentation contributed to the active development of the economy and culture of Russian lands;
• a general increase in the territories of Rus' due to intensive colonization.

 Political fragmentation.
The strife that began in 972 in the 11th century. became permanent. The establishment of a ladder system of succession to the throne did not put an end to the struggle of representatives of the Rurikovich house for power. In 1054, the division of lands actually took place between the Yaroslavichs, the sons of Yaroslav the Wise. Congresses of the most influential princes at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries. in Lyubech, Vitichev (Uvetichi) and at Dolobskoye Lake also did not ensure peace between the brothers and the unity of the Old Russian state. On the contrary, the congress of 1097 in Lyubech legally secured the division of lands between the princes.
Vladimir Monomakh managed to unite 3/4 of the Russian lands for a short time. But after the death of his son Mstislav the Great in 1132, Ancient Rus' finally disintegrated into independent principalities. From the 1130s Rus' entered the period political (feudal) fragmentation, which we also call Specific Rus'.
After the death of Mstislav the Great, the struggle for the title of Grand Duke of Kyiv continued for 10 years between the sons and grandsons of Monomakh and the Chernigov princes. Kyiv retains its nominal status as a “capital city” for some time, and there is a stubborn struggle for it. From the middle of the XII to the middle of the XIII century. The Kiev throne, along with the title of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, changed hands 46 times. Some of the princes ruled in Kyiv for less than a year. It happened that the Grand Duke stayed in Kyiv for only a few days. For example, Igor Olgovich was able to hold out on the Kiev throne for only 4 days in 1146.
In 1169, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky captured Kyiv, gave it to the plunder of the squad, declared himself the prince of Kyiv, but did not stay in Kyiv, returned to Suzdal. According to the Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, Andrei Bogolyubsky “separated seniority from place.” Kyiv is gradually losing its importance as the capital of the Russian state.

 Reasons for feudal fragmentation:
 economic:
– the subsistence nature of the economy made it possible for individual principalities to exist economically autonomously;
– the level of economic development allowed the local princes to maintain a government apparatus and military formations (teams) sufficient to solve internal (fighting unrest) and external (defending borders and campaigns of conquest) tasks;
- the presence of central power meant for the local population and administration only double taxation - in favor of the local prince and the Kyiv prince;
– growth of feudal land ownership;
- strengthening the city elite - princes, boyars, clergy and merchants;
– with the decline in the importance of the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” the relevance of its control by the central political power disappeared. political:
– the large size of the state did not allow the Kyiv prince to directly manage all the principalities, which led to the emergence of governors and a management system similar to the Kyiv one;
- the size of the state did not allow the Kyiv prince to quickly respond to events in the principalities (uprisings, attacks by neighbors). This required the governors to maintain their own squads, which led to increased independence from the central government;
– unresolved dynastic issues. Established since the 11th century. the ladder system of succession to the throne was too cumbersome and did not prevent new strife;
– the need to maintain social order.

 Consequences of feudal fragmentation:

Feudal fragmentation is an inevitable and natural process of historical development. It contributed to the further economic and political development of society, although it damaged the unified statehood.

 Political centers of Udelnaya Rus'.
In the Russian lands there were three main centers, principalities that differed in the type of state power.
 Southern (Galician-Volyn) Rus'. In the south, princely power was still strong, relying on the squad. At critical moments, the veche took real power into its own hands, including inviting and expelling princes. It was the Galicia-Volyn land that, earlier than other Russian principalities, began to emerge from the state of political confusion, and the princely government, relying on the support of the townspeople, tried to calm the willfulness of the boyar groups. The Principality of Galicia reached great power in the 1160s–1180s. - during the reign of Yaroslav Osmomysl. His marriage to Yuri Dolgoruky's daughter Olga provided him with the support of the strong Rostov-Suzdal princes.
After the death of Yaroslav Osmomysl in 1187, power in Galich was seized by the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Roman Mstislavich (1187–1205). He managed to unite Galich and Volyn under his rule and create a single Galician-Volyn principality. A few years later, he annexed the Principality of Kiev to his possessions. On the southwestern borders of Rus' a new huge state grew up, equal in territory to the German Empire.
An outstanding statesman, a brave and talented commander was the son of Roman Mstislavich, Daniil Galitsky (1221–1264), who managed to restore the unity of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Byzantium reckoned with Galician-Volyn Rus.
In terms of the type of state power, Galician-Volyn Rus retained the main features of the early feudal monarchy.
 Northwestern Rus'. In 1136, the princely power in Novgorod ceased to exist as an independent political force. Novgorodians arrested and then expelled the protege of the Kyiv prince from the city. From then on, the prince became part of the administrative apparatus. His duties were limited to military matters. The voivode was responsible for maintaining law and order in the city. All power was concentrated in the hands of the mayor and the bishop (from 1165 - the archbishop). The most important issues of the political life of Novgorod were decided at the assembly. Including the election of officials - mayors, thousand, bishop (archbishop), archimandrite, prince. Only members of influential (aristocratic) boyar families were elected to senior positions, for example, representatives of the Mishinich-Ontsiforovich family.
A similar system of organizing political power existed in Pskov.
This type of government is called a feudal (veche) republic. Moreover, these republics were boyar and aristocratic.
 North-Eastern (Vladimir-Suzdal) Rus'. The region, settled by the Slavs relatively late, apparently did not have deep veche traditions. Although, up to a certain point, here too, political governance was based on the interaction of the city council and princes appointed from Kyiv. In 1157, the residents of Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir elected the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky, as their prince. In 1162, Andrei Bogolyubsky expelled his brothers, nephews, stepmother and father's squad from his principality. The Vladimir princes relied on the “merciful people,” that is, people who depended on the mercy of the prince. Unlike the warriors, for the courtyard (nobles, as they began to be called from the end of the 12th century), the prince was a master, not a comrade. The service of the servants to the prince was built on principles close to the concept citizenship.
Thus, in Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' the foundation was laid for the formation of unlimited despotic power (in the words of the chronicler - “autocracy”) of the Vladimir prince.

 The struggle of Russian lands against invasions from the East and West
Feudal fragmentation led to the military weakening of Russian lands. Individual principalities were unable to resist the Mongol conquest at the beginning of the 13th century. In 1206, at the kurultai - a meeting of the Mongolian nobility - Temujin was proclaimed Genghis Khan, that is, the Supreme Khan. Genghis Khan begins the conquest of neighboring countries and peoples. Having conquered Northern China, Southern Siberia, Central and Central Asia, the Mongol army under the command of Jebe and Subede in 1223 entered the Northern Caucasus through Transcaucasia, where it conquered the Alans and attacked the Polovtsians. Polovtsian Khan Kotyan turned for help to his son-in-law, the Galician prince Mstislav the Udal. Mstislav appealed to other Russian princes to unite and help the Polovtsians repel their enemies. Not everyone responded. But there was no unity among the princes who brought their squads to the battlefield: they could not decide which of them would lead the battle, and therefore all the Russian squads. As a result, Mstislav of Kiev did not take part in the battle at all, which did not save his squad. The Battle of Kalka on May 31, 1223 ended in the complete defeat of the Polovtsians and Russians. 6 Russian princes died, only every tenth of the vigilantes returned home.
After the battle on Kalka, the Mongols attacked Volga Bulgaria, but suffered a series of defeats and in 1225 returned to Asia.
In 1227, Genghis Khan bequeathed the not yet conquered western lands to his eldest son Jochi. In 1235, at the kurultai, a decision was made to march against Volga Bulgaria and Rus'. The campaign was led by Jochi Khan's son Batu (Batu). In 1237–1238 Batu made a trip to North-Eastern Rus'. In December 1237 he captured Ryazan. In January-February 1238 - the cities of Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal, Galich, Tver, Yuryev, etc. After the capture of Torzhok, not reaching 100 miles from Novgorod, the Mongol army returned to the southern steppes. On March 4, 1238, on the City River there was a battle between the army of the great Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodovich and a large Mongol formation under the command of Temnik Burundai, which ended in the complete defeat of the Vladimir squad and the death of the prince.
The defense of the city of Kozelsk was stubborn. The Mongols managed to capture it only after a seven-week siege.
In 1239–1242 Batu makes a trip to Southern Rus' and Eastern Europe. In December 1240, after a three-month siege, Batu's troops captured Kyiv.
In the early 1240s, the Jochi ulus took shape, which in the Russian lands received the name Golden Horde. The Golden Horde established control over the Russian principalities ( Mongol-Tatar, or Horde yoke). Russian lands were subject to tribute ( "kings", or "Horde", exit). To determine the amount of tribute, a population census was conducted ( "number"). The Baskaks, who came to Rus' every year, collected tribute. In some large cities, the Baskaks lived permanently, observing the state of affairs. The rights to reign of Russian princes were confirmed by special khan's charters - labels.
 Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Horde yoke for Russian lands:
– death of the population;
- theft of artisans into the Horde;
– payment of tribute;
– economic decline, slowdown in economic development;
– conservation of feudal fragmentation;
– breaking or weakening of traditional political and cultural ties with other countries;
– slowdown in the pace of cultural development.
Simultaneously with the invasion from the East to the northern Russian lands, pressure from the West is increasing. In 1202, the knightly Order of the Swordsmen was created in the Baltic States, the unification of which in 1237 with the Teutonic Order led to the creation of the Livonian Order, which threatened Pskov and Novgorod.
In 1240, a Swedish detachment led by Earl Birger landed at the mouth of the Neva. On July 15, 1240, the Swedes were defeated by the squad of the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who received the nickname Nevsky for this victory ( Battle of Neva).
From the summer of 1240 to the winter of 1241, the knights of the Livonian Order captured Izborsk, Pskov and Koporye. On April 5, 1242, on the ice of Lake Peipus, the Suzdal-Novgorod army under the command of Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonians ( Battle on the Ice).

 Culture of Appanage Rus' before the Mongol invasion
With the advent of the Slavic alphabet (Cyrillic alphabet) in Rus' after the adoption of Christianity, literacy became widespread among the population, as evidenced by the discovery in Novgorod, Pskov, Staraya Russa and Moscow of a large number of birch bark letters written by representatives of different segments of the population. Not only boys, but also girls were taught literacy. Vladimir Monomakh's sister Yanka, the founder of a convent in Kyiv, created a school at the monastery to educate girls.
Chronicle writing is developing. Various ancient Russian cities began to create their own chronicle collections, reflecting the peculiarities of the development of their region. But their basis, as a rule, remained the “Tale of Bygone Years,” created by Nestor at the end of the 11th – beginning of the 12th century. Libraries were created at the monasteries, which stored not only liturgical books and chronicles, but also translated literature.
Common genres in ancient Russian literature were “Teachings” and “Walkings”.
The masterpieces of ancient Russian literature are: “The Word” and “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik (late 12th–early 13th century), “Message” to priest Thomas by Metropolitan of Kiev Klimenty Smolyatich (mid-12th century), “Parable of the Human Soul” by Cyril of Turov (late 12th century ), “The Tale of Igor’s Host” (about 1186), etc.
Architecture is developing. In the 12th century, the Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir-on-Klyazma and the Cathedral of St. George in Yuryev-Polsky were built. During the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, the Assumption Cathedral and the Golden Gate in Vladimir, a white-stone palace in the village of Bogolyubovo, and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl were created. Under Andrei's brother Vsevolod III, the majestic Demetrius Cathedral was built in Vladimir.
A characteristic feature of Russian architecture of that time was the stone carving decorating buildings. Wooden carved decorations became an invariable attribute not only of wooden churches, but also of the homes of townspeople and peasants.
Local icon painting schools are emerging, for example, Novgorod and Yaroslavl. The works of Novgorod painters of the 12th century “Angel of Golden Hair”, “The Savior Not Made by Hands”, “The Dormition of the Virgin Mary”, the icon of Yaroslavl masters of the 13th century “Yaroslavl Oranta”, frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa near Novgorod, the Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir, etc. have reached us.
Oral folk art is developing. The favorite characters of Russian epics are the heroes Ilya Muromets, Volkhv Vseslavich, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich.

Lecture: Reasons for the collapse of the Old Russian state. The largest lands and principalities. Monarchies and republics

Reasons for the collapse of the Old Russian state

The reasons for the collapse of the Old Russian state are:

weak centralization of the state,

fragmentation of lands during inheritance,

complex inheritance system

the desires of the princes to develop their principality, and not a common state,

dominance of subsistence farming.

Before his death, Prince Yaroslav the Wise divided the cities between his sons: Izyaslav, as the eldest son, began to rule Kiev, Svyatoslav went to Chernigov, Vsevolod became a prince in Pereyaslavl. He ordered that after his death each son would rule in his own principality, but the eldest Izyaslav was respected as a father.

Yaroslav the Wise died in 1054, and for some time the sons lived in peace and harmony, even improved the Russian Pravda code of laws, and introduced some new laws. The new arch was named - Truth Yaroslavich. But the next order of succession to the throne, established by Yaroslav the Wise, became the cause of discord and strife between his sons. This order consisted in the fact that power passed from the elder brother to the younger, and after the death of the last of the princely brothers to the eldest nephew. And if one of the brothers died before becoming a prince, then his children became outcasts and could not lay claim to the throne. But the power of each Russian principality grew, and along with it, the personal ambitions of the heirs to the throne grew.

Some time after the death of Yaroslav, another nomadic tribe came from the East instead of the Pechenegs - the Polovtsians. The Polovtsians defeated the Pechenegs and began to attack the southern lands of Kievan Rus. They waged more of a war of robbery, plundering the village, burning it, and taking people away to be sold in the slave markets of the East. Having finally occupied the territories of the Pechenegs and significantly expanded them, they lived throughout the entire territory from the Don to the Dnieper. And they even reached the Byzantine fortresses on the Danube River. The Principality of Polotsk, which was part of Kievan Rus, separated from Kyiv at the end of the 10th century. Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, a distant relative of the Yaroslavichs, began to fight with Kiev for political hegemony in Northwestern Rus'. His surprise attack on Pskov in 1065 was unsuccessful, but over the next two years he launched a devastating raid on Novgorod. But on the way back, in March 1067, Vseslav was defeated by Izyaslav Yaroslavich and captured in Kyiv.

And in 1068, having finally gained strength in the new land, they made a huge invasion of Rus'. Three princely squads of Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod came to the defense. After a bloody battle on the Alta River, the Russian army was completely defeated. Izyaslav with the remnants of the army returned to Kyiv. The People's Assembly began to demand the return of the army to the battlefield in order to defeat and drive out the Polovtsians. But Izyaslav refused under the pretext that his warriors needed to rest. Popular unrest arose, since in addition to the atrocities and destruction that the Polovtsians committed, they also completely blocked the trade route to Byzantium. Russian merchants could not tolerate this. Ultimately, the indignant crowd plundered the princely court, and Prince Izyaslav had to flee to his father-in-law, the Polish king Boleslav. The angry Kievans decided to free Vseslav from captivity and proclaimed him Grand Duke. But having enlisted the support of a Polish relative and part of his army, Izyaslav quickly returned Kyiv under his control.

At this time, the prince of Chernigov, Svyatoslav, secured the support of the people's council in Kyiv and his brother, Prince Vsevolod of Pereyaslavl. The basis for his support was the fact that he was able to repel the attack of the Cumans in his principality. Svyatoslav decided to expel Izyaslav from Kyiv. Thus began internecine hostility between the princely brothers, with the involvement of Polovtsian tribes as support. In 1073 Svyatoslav became Grand Duke. He died in 1076 and Izyaslav took the Kiev throne for the third time. In 1078, Kyiv was attacked by Izyaslav’s nephew Oleg Svyatoslavich, who was dissatisfied with the size of his inheritance and wanted to expand. Izyaslav died in this fight. The Principality of Kiev in turn came to Vsevolod, the last son of Yaroslav, who died in 1093. Although several years before his death he completely entrusted the rule to his son Vladimir Monomakh, after the death of Vsevolod, Izyaslav’s eldest son, Svyatopolk, legally ascended to the throne. And the hushed civil strife began with renewed vigor. These events became the root cause of the collapse of the Old Russian state.

Lyubech Congress

The legal strengthening of the division of Kievan Rus was the peace treaty in 1097 in Lyubech. The princes agreed to expel the Polovtsians from the Russian land, and they confirmed that everyone now rules independently in their principality. But strife could easily flare up again. And only the external threat emanating from the Polovtsians kept Kievan Rus from splitting into separate principalities. In 1111, Vladimir Monomakh, together with other Russian princes, made a successful campaign against the Polovtsians and defeated them. Two years after this, Svyatopolk died. An uprising began in Kyiv against the boyars of Svyatopolk and moneylenders (people who lent money at interest). The Kiev elite, concerned about the current situation, out of turn called Vladimir Monomakh to the throne. So, from 1113 to 1125, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, was the Grand Duke. He became a wise legislator and ruler, made every effort to preserve the unity of Rus', and severely punished those who caused strife. By introducing the “Charter of Vladimir Monomakh” into “Russkaya Pravda”, Vladimir defended purchasing rights, which suffered from lawlessness and abuse by moneylenders. He compiled the most valuable source of Russian history, “Instruction”. The arrival of Vladimir Monomakh temporarily united the Old Russian state, 3/4 of the Russian land was subordinated to him. Under him, Rus' was the strongest power. Trade developed well, he preserved the “Road from the Varangians to the Greeks.”

After the death of Monomakh in 1125, his son Mstislav, who ruled until 1132, was able to preserve the unity of Rus' for a short time. But after his death, everything returned back to internal war, the “specific period” began - the period of fragmentation of Kievan Rus. And if before that Kievan Rus was united, then by the 12th century it was already divided into 15 principalities, and after another 100 years, it represented about 50 different principalities, with their own rulers. During 1146–1246 power in Kyiv changed 47 times, which completely destroyed the authority of the capital.

The largest lands and principalities. Monarchies and republics

Although there were almost fifty principalities, three main ones can be distinguished, which had a huge influence on the entire territory as a whole.

The greatest influence among the Russian lands of the period of fragmentation had:

Vladimir-Suzdal land,

Novgorod Republic,

Galicia-Volyn principality.

Vladimir-Suzdal land

The Vladimir-Suzdal land was geographically located between the Oka and Volga rivers. It was significantly removed from the borders, and therefore from raids, and was a very fertile plain, which was perfect for all agricultural needs such as farming and cattle breeding. These factors contributed to the constant influx of people from different categories, such as farmers, cattle breeders, artisans, etc. There were many merchants and junior warriors, mainly from the border lands. The Vladimir-Suzdal principality became independent and independent of Kyiv under Prince Yuri Dolgoruky (1155-1157). A massive influx of population occurred in the 11th-12th centuries. Those who came from the southern regions of Rus' were attracted by the fact that the principality was relatively safe from Polovtsian raids (the territory was significantly covered with dense forests), fertile lands and pastures, rivers, along which dozens of cities grew (Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Kostroma, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod).

The son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky, during his reign maximized the princely power and displaced the rule of the boyars, who were often practically equal to the prince. In order to reduce the influence of the people's council, he moved the capital from Suzdal. Due to the fact that the veche in Vladimir was not so powerful, it became the capital of the principality. He also completely dispersed all possible contenders for the throne. His reign can be seen as the beginning of the dawn of a monarchy with one-man despotic elements. He replaced the boyars with nobles, who were completely subordinate to him and were appointed by him. They might not be from the nobility, but they had to obey him completely. He was actively involved in foreign policy, tried to gain influence among the boyars and nobility of Kyiv and Novgorod, and organized campaigns against them.

After his death, Vsevolod the Big Nest ascended the throne, who, instead of trying to subjugate power in old cities, actively built and improved new ones, receiving great support from the population and minor nobility. Vladimir, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Dmitrov, Gorodets, Kostroma, Tver - these cities became the stronghold of his power. He carried out large-scale stone construction and provided support to architecture. Vsevolod's son Yuri conquered a significant part of the territories of the Novgorod Republic, and in 1221 he founded Nizhny Novgorod - the largest city in the eastern part of the principality.

Novgorod Republic

In Novgorod, unlike other principalities, power was not with the prince, but with the rich and noble families of the boyars. The Novgorod Republic, or Northwestern Rus' as it is also called, did not have fertile plains or other conditions for the development of agricultural labor. Therefore, the main occupation of the population was handicrafts, beekeeping (honey collection) and fur trade. Therefore, for a successful existence and obtaining food, it was necessary to conduct trade relations. This was greatly facilitated by the location of the Novgorod Republic on the trade route. Not only merchants were engaged in trade; the boyars also took an active part. Through trade, the nobility quickly became rich and began to play an important role in the political structure, without losing the opportunity to gain a little power during the change of princes.

And so, after the overthrow, arrest, and then expulsion of Prince Vsevolod, the complete formation of the Novgorod Republic took place. The main apparatus of power became the veche; it was it that made decisions on issues of war and peace and appointed senior leadership positions. The positions that the veche appointed looked like this:

Posadnik was the main person, the ruler.

Voivode is responsible for law and order in the city.

The bishop is the head of the Novgorod church.

Also, it was the veche that decided the issue of inviting the prince, whose powers were reduced to a military leader. Moreover, all decisions were made under the supervision of the gentlemen and the mayor.

This structure of Novgorod allowed it to become an aristocratic republic, based on the veche traditions of Ancient Rus'.

Southern Rus', Galicia-Volyn principality

Initially, during the reign of Yaroslav Osmomysl in 1160–1180, the Principality of Galicia achieved normalization of relations within the principality. An agreement was reached between the boyars, the veche and the prince, and the self-will of the boyar communities passes. To ensure support for himself, Yaroslav Osmomysl marries the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky, Princess Olga. Under his rule, the Principality of Galicia achieved sufficient power.

After his death in 1187, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Roman Mstislavich, came to power. First, he subjugates Volyn, creates a strong Galician-Volyn principality, and then captures Kyiv. Having united all three principalities, he became the ruler of a huge state, equal in area to the German Empire.

His son Daniil Galitsky was also an influential political figure who did not allow the disunity of the principality. The Principality was actively involved in international politics, having many relations with Germany, Poland, Byzantium and Hungary. In terms of the type of government, it was no different from the early feudal monarchy in Europe.

The Old Russian state of Kievan Rus existed in the area IX-XII V. ad. The main reasons for the collapse of Kievan Rus, like all medieval powers, were historically logical.

1. State power of Kievan Rus.
In the ancient state of Kievan Rus there were two opposing poles of state power - these are veche and prince. The Veche is a collective method of government, and the Prince is authoritarian.

The functions of the veche included issues of war, peace, coordination of military battles, but the main decision was the choice of the prince. The expulsion of unwanted princes was not such a rare occurrence.

The power of the veche at that time was considered very significant, although it had neither a permanent composition nor a place of convening. There was no vote counting at that time either. The veche consisted of boyars, merchants, clergy, and artisans. For example, the Nizhny Novgorod veche consisted of up to 500 people, members of the assembly. But the word of the boyars and merchants was of decisive importance.

The functions of the Old Russian prince included protection of Rus' from attacks, court and tax collection. Was with the prince Boyar Duma, consisting of vigilantes, who participated in meetings of city elders.

In the period from the end of the 10th to the beginning of the 11th century, princely rule took on a different form. During this period, the Russian state was ruled by the Rurikovich family. In Kyiv, the head of the family, Father Vladimir, ruled, and the cities and regions were ruled by his sons, who were considered the prince’s governors.

After the death of the father, according to the rules of patrimonial inheritance, the princely throne should pass to the brother according to seniority, and then if the last of the brothers dies, then to the eldest nephew. This order of inheritance was called sequential or ladder. In Rurik’s mind, this order of inheritance was supposed to preserve the unity of kinship, and therefore the unity of the Kyiv state.
At first, this order was carried out, and relative stabilization was established in Rus'.
But with the growth of the family tree, the problems of inheritance became more complicated, creating the preconditions for conflicts between members of the clan.

Civil strife between princes.

The first conflict occurred between the sons of Prince Vladimir, in particular, Svyatopolk - one side, and Boris and Gleb - the second side, which was of historical significance. Svyatopolk violated the unity of the family, the highest value, by killing his brothers in order to ascend to the throne. He was popularly nicknamed “the accursed one.” His other brother Yaroslav, who headed the city of Novgorod, came to Kyiv with his squad and kicked him out of the throne.

The order of succession to the throne established by Yaroslav was maintained for 19 years.

After Yaroslav, the Russian state was ruled by his eldest son Izyaslav, his other son Svyatoslav ruled Chernigov, Vsevolod ruled Pereyaslavl. The younger sons were governors in distant cities of the Russian state.

Soon, rumors reach the brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod that Izyaslav wants to be an autocrat like their father. Alarmed by this development of events, they send their squads to Kyiv and expel Izyaslav from the throne. As a result of bloody battles, Svyatoslav headed the Grand Duke's throne, and Vsevolod headed the second most important city of Chernigov.
IN 1076 a year after the death of Grand Duke Svyatoslav, Vsevolod voluntarily gives the throne to the exiled Izyaslav in order to avoid repeated bloodshed. Izyaslav and Vsevolod divided the possessions of the Russian state among themselves, while depriving the sons of the late Svyatoslav.

This was the beginning of another protracted unrest in Rus'. A battle began between individual branches of the Yaroslavich family for grand-ducal rule, which gave the right to distribute lands.

Princely internecine wars weakened Rus' in front of external enemies, who benefited from these strife.

Realizing the weakness of the state, the Russian princes came to the conclusion to stop civil strife and unite in the fight against the Polovtsians.
For this purpose, in 1097, princes from different volosts arrived in the city of Lyubeche, where they decided to stop the fratricidal wars and proclaimed a new order of relations among themselves, which read: “Let each one keep his patrimony.” This meant that the princes abandoned the laddered form of succession to the throne, which led to the formation of regional dynasties. The ancestral indivisibility of the Russian land was gradually destroyed.

Historians believe that the adoption of a new order of succession to the throne in Lyubech became the reason for the beginning of the disintegration of Kievan Rus into separate principalities.

Economic strengthening of individual principalities.

The result of the Lyubechsky Congress was the formation of separate independent principalities with independent policies. By the middle of the 12th century there were about 13 of them, and already at the beginning of the 13th century their number reached 50. The princes tried not only to secure territories for themselves, but also to increase their extent.

With the development of agriculture, more and more arable fields were developed, and the land acquired value. Crafts developed and trade flourished. During this period, each principality was distinguished by its identity and culture. The population increased, cities and estates grew and became richer, temples were built and cities were fortified.

The economic and military power of individual principalities was so great that it sometimes surpassed Kyiv.

The largest principalities of that period:
 Novgorodskoe, center in Novgorod;
 Vladimir-Suzdal, center in Vladimir;
 Kyiv, center in Kyiv;
 Chernigovskoe and Severskoe, center in Chernigov;
 Galicia-Volynskoe, center Galich;
 Rostovskoe, center in Rostov.

Economically strong principalities no longer needed the protection of the central government as before. They had their own boyars, merchants, clergy, churches, monasteries, good artisans and their own squad, who supported the desire for independence of their princes.

In addition, at this time Kievan Rus was headed by Svyatopolk II, who proved himself to be a weak ruler. Some princes did not respect him as a Grand Duke.

The economic and political independence of individual principalities became another reason for the collapse of Kievan Rus.

The large territorial extent of the ancient Russian state and the difference in natural and economic conditions.

Another reason for the collapse of the Russian state was the factor of the huge territorial space. The territories where the principalities were located differed in individual natural and climatic characteristics, and in connection with this, there were differences in the conduct of agriculture and fishing, and the development of handicraft and industrial production. These differences determined the varying degrees of economic status of the principalities.

Local conditions of the territories affected the political structure of the principalities.

For example, Veliky Novgorod was a member of the trade union of the Baltic cities. City merchants had significant importance in the self-government body of this union.

The Galician-Volyn principality was out of reach of the Kyiv enemies - the Polovtsians, while at the same time, on its borders it held back constant attacks from the Poles, Magyars and Lithuanians. The boyars, who became rich in the production of salt, had great political weight in resolving state issues and were the first to express a desire to secede from Kyiv.

And the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was located at a distance of more than one thousand kilometers from Volyn. These were completely different worlds.

Multinationality of the ancient Russian state.

The composition of the population of Ancient Rus' included more than 20 nationalities and nationalities. Not a single European state had so many different peoples in its composition. The language barrier did not have the best effect on economic and political ties between individual principalities and Kiev.

At the end of the 12th century, Kievan Rus turned into a federation of unique state entities with a vibrant social life. Theoretically, the head of the state was the Kiev prince, but in fact the new Rus' no longer needed him as a centralized state power.

All these reasons together served as the impetus for the beginning of the process of collapse of Kievan Rus. This process was more progressive and was not a Russian peculiarity, but, on the contrary, became a step in the future economic and political development of the state on a new basis.

Feudal fragmentation is a natural historical process. Kievan Rus did not escape it either. However, each state has its own prerequisites for this stage of development, its own consequences and its own ways of overcoming it. And the processes that caused the period of land fragmentation in Rus' deserve special attention.

This long period left an indelible mark on the future development of the entire state and society. But it is impossible to deny some facts of the positive impact of the fragmentation of territories. The independent and uneven development of the old urban centers led to many cultural and foreign policy achievements.

There is no consensus among historians as to which of the reasons for feudal fragmentation should be considered the main one: some historians consider legal prerequisites to prevail, in particular, the law on heritage or the so-called law of the ladder, others - economic ones, including the increased role of subsistence farming.

By the middle of the 12th century, three main fiefs had emerged in Rus', around which further centralization of lands took place. These are the Galicia-Volyn principality, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and the Novgorod principality/republic.

However, to call the period of feudal fragmentation the time of the decline of Rus' would be completely wrong. This era has brought its fruits, and the consequences of fragmentation can be assessed both positively and negatively.

Consequences of fragmentation

The consequences of feudal fragmentation include the increased role of the Orthodox Church in the life of the country. On the one hand, due to the lack of control from the central government, the church gradually became a “state within a state,” often subordinate to the prince only nominally. On the other hand, church hierarchs unconditionally condemned the princely strife and squabbles, calling for unity and asserting that only by uniting, Rus' could become a strong state.

The significance of the era of fragmentation

The period of feudal fragmentation is a natural stage in the development of any medieval society. In Rus', it coincided with the activation of nomadic tribes neighboring Russia and the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The internecine struggle of dozens of princes for the great reign and the factor of dependence on the Horde slowed down the process of unification of the Russian lands. Also, unlike similar processes in France, England or Spain, two centers of land unification were formed in Rus': in the northeast and in the northwest. Accordingly, already in the 15th century, two great principalities laid claim to the heritage of Kievan Rus: Moscow and Lithuania.

The combination of external and internal factors led to the fact that the era of feudal fragmentation in Rus' lasted longer than in France, Hungary or England. On the other hand, after the weakening of the Horde yoke, the consolidation of the principalities accelerated. Under Ivan III the Great, fragmentation was virtually eliminated, and another hundred years later the remnants of the appanage system in the centralized Russian state disappeared.