The first Russian princes and their activities. The activities of the first Kyiv princes

"Kievan Rus" is a concept that is subject to numerous speculations today. Historians argue not only whether there was a state with that name, but also who inhabited it.

Where did Kievan Rus come from?

If today in Russia the phrase "Kievan Rus" is gradually leaving scientific use, being replaced by the concept of "Old Russian state", then Ukrainian historians use it everywhere, and in the context of "Kievan Rus - Ukraine", emphasizing the historical continuity of the two states.

However, up to early XIX century the term "Kievan Rus" did not exist, the ancient inhabitants of the Kyiv lands did not even suspect that they live in a state with such a name. The first to use the phrase "Kievan Rus" was the historian Mikhail Maksimovich in his work "Where does the Russian land come from", which was completed in the year of Pushkin's death.

It is important to note that Maksimovich used this expression not in the sense of the state, but in a number of other names of Rus' - Chervonnaya, White, Suzdal, that is, in the sense of geographical location. Historians Sergei Solovyov and Nikolai Kostomarov used it in the same sense.

Some authors of the beginning of the 20th century, including Sergei Platonov and Alexander Presnyakov, began to use the term "Kievan Rus" already in the sovereign-political sense, as the name of the state of the Eastern Slavs with a single political center in Kyiv.

However, Kievan Rus became a full-fledged state in the Stalin era. There is a curious story about how Academician Boris Grekov, while working on the books "Kievan Rus" and "Culture Kievan Rus”, he asked his colleague: “You are a party member, advise, you should know what concept He (Stalin) will like.”

Using the term “Kievan Rus”, Grekov considered it necessary to explain its meaning: “In my work, I deal with Kievan Rus not in the narrow territorial sense of this term (Ukraine), but precisely in that broad sense of the “Rurik Empire”, corresponding to the Western European empire Charlemagne - which includes a vast territory, on which several independent state units were subsequently formed.

State before Rurik

The official domestic historiography says that statehood in Rus' arose in 862 after the Rurik dynasty came to power. However, for example, political scientist Sergei Chernyakhovsky argues that the beginning of Russian statehood should be pushed back at least 200 years into history.

He draws attention to the fact that the Byzantine sources, when describing the life of the Rus, reflected clear signs of their state structure: the presence of writing, the hierarchy of the nobility, Administrative division lands, petty princes are also mentioned, over which "kings" stood.

And yet, despite the fact that Kievan Rus united vast territories inhabited by East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes under its rule, many historians are inclined to believe that in the pre-Christian period it cannot be called a full-fledged state, since there were no class structures there. and there was no centralized authority. On the other hand, it was not a monarchy, not a despotism, not a republic, most of all, according to historians, it looked like some kind of corporate governance.

It is known that the ancient Russians lived in tribal settlements, were engaged in crafts, hunting, fishing, trade, agriculture, and cattle breeding. The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan in 928 described that the Russians built large houses in which 30-50 people lived.

“Archaeological monuments of the Eastern Slavs recreate a society without any clear traces of property stratification. In the most different regions forest-steppe belt, there is no way to indicate those that, in terms of their architectural appearance and the content of household and household equipment found in them, would be distinguished by wealth, ”stressed the historian Ivan Lyapushkin.

Russian archaeologist Valentin Sedov notes that the emergence of economic inequality on the basis of existing archaeological data cannot yet be established. “It seems that there are no distinct traces of the property differentiation of the Slavic society in the grave monuments of the 6th-8th centuries,” the scientist concludes.

Historians conclude that the accumulation of wealth and their transmission by inheritance in ancient Russian society was not an end in itself, it apparently was neither a moral value nor a vital necessity. Moreover, hoarding was clearly not welcomed and even condemned.

For example, in one of the treaties between the Russians and the Byzantine emperor there is a fragment of the oath of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, telling about what will happen in case of violation of obligations: “let us be golden, like this gold” (meaning the golden plate-stand of the Byzantine scribe) . This once again shows the despicable attitude of the Rus to the golden calf.

A more correct definition political structure pre-dynastic Kievan Rus is a veche society, where the prince was completely dependent on the people's assembly. Veche could approve the transfer of power of the prince by inheritance, or could re-elect him. The historian Igor Froyanov noted that “an ancient Russian prince is not an emperor or even a monarch, because a veche, or a people’s assembly, to which he was accountable, stood above him.”

The first Kyiv princes

The Tale of Bygone Years tells how Kiy, who lived on the Dnieper "mountains", together with the brothers Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid, built a city on the right bank of the Dnieper, later named Kiev in honor of the founder. Kiy, according to the annals, he was the first prince of Kyiv. However, modern authors are more inclined to believe that the story of the founding of the city is an etymological myth designed to explain the names of Kievan areas.

Thus, the hypothesis of the American-Ukrainian orientalist Omelyan Pritsak, who believed that the emergence of Kyiv is associated with the Khazars, and Kiy as a person is identical to the hypothetical Khazar vizier Kuya, became widely known.

At the end of the 9th century, no less legendary princes, Askold and Dir, appeared on the historical stage of Kyiv. It is believed that they were members of the Varangian squad of Rurik, who later became the rulers of the capital city, converted to Christianity and laid the foundations of ancient Russian statehood. But even here there are many questions.

in Ustyug chronicle it is said that Askold and Dir were "neither the tribe of the prince, nor the boyars, and Rurik will not give them either a city or a village." Historians believe that their desire to go to Kyiv was stimulated by the desire to obtain land and a princely title. According to the historian Yuri Begunov, Askold and Dir, having betrayed Rurik, turned into Khazar vassals.

The chronicler Nestor writes that the troops of Askold and Dir in 866 made a campaign against Byzantium and plundered the environs of Constantinople. However, Academician Aleksey Shakhmatov argued that in the older chronicles telling about the campaign against Constantinople there is no mention of Askold and Dir, nothing is said about them either in Byzantine or Arabic sources. “Their names were inserted later,” the scientist believed.

Some researchers suggest that Askold and Dir ruled in Kyiv in different time. Others put forward the version that Askold and Dir are one and the same person. According to this assumption, in the Old Norse spelling of the name "Haskuldr", the last two letters "d" and "r" could be separated into a separate word, and eventually become an independent person.

If you look at the Byzantine sources, you can see that during the siege of Constantinople, the chronicler speaks of only one commander, though without naming him.
Historian Boris Rybakov explained: “The personality of Prince Dir is not clear to us. It is felt that his name is artificially attached to Askold, because when describing their joint actions, the grammatical form gives us a single, not a double number, as it should be when describing the joint actions of two persons.

Kievan Rus and Khazaria

The Khazar Khaganate is considered a powerful state, under whose control the most important trade routes from Europe to Asia turned out to be. + During its heyday (at the beginning of the 8th century), the territory of the Khazar Khaganate extended from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, including the lower Dnieper region.

The Khazars made regular raids on the Slavic lands, plundering them. According to the testimony of the medieval traveler Ibrahim ibn Yakub, they mined not only wax, furs and horses, but mainly prisoners of war for sale into slavery, as well as young men, girls and children. In other words, the lands of Southern Rus' actually fell into the Khazar bondage.

Maybe the state of the Khazars was looking in the wrong place? Publicist Alexander Polyukh is trying to sort out this issue. In his research, he focuses on genetics, in particular, on the position according to which the blood type corresponds to the way of life of the people and determines the ethnos.

He notes that according to genetic data, Russians and Belarusians, like most Europeans, have more than 90% of blood type I (O), and ethnic Ukrainians are 40% carriers of group III (B). This is a sign of peoples who led a nomadic lifestyle (here he also includes the Khazars), whose blood group III (B) approaches 100% of the population.

These conclusions are largely supported by the archaeological finds of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valentin Yanin, who confirmed that Kiev at the time of its capture by the Novgorodians (IX century) was not a Slavic city, this is also evidenced by "birch bark letters".
According to Polyukh, the conquest of Kyiv by the Novgorodians and the revenge on the Khazars, carried out by Prophetic Oleg, suspiciously coincide in time. Perhaps it was the same event? Here he makes a loud conclusion: "Kyiv is a possible capital of the Khazar Khaganate, and ethnic Ukrainians are the direct descendants of the Khazars."

Despite all the paradoxical conclusions, perhaps they are not so divorced from reality. Indeed, in a number of sources of the 9th century, the ruler of the Rus was called not a prince, but a kagan (khakan). The earliest report of this refers to the year 839, when, according to ancient Russian chronicles, Rurik's combatants have not yet come to Kyiv.

The princely family is traditionally considered to be in a direct male line, so for the first Russian princes the family tree will look like this:

The activities of the first Russian princes: domestic and foreign policy.

Rurik.

The first of the Russian princes, who laid the foundation for the dynasty. He came to Rus' at the call of the Novgorod elders together with his brothers, Truvor and Sineus, and after their death he ruled all the lands around Novgorod. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about the accomplishments of Rurik - the annals of that time have not been preserved.

Oleg.

After the death of Rurik in 879, the reign passed to one of his commanders, Oleg, since Rurik's son was still too young. Prince Oleg made a great contribution to the creation of the Russian state: under him in 882 Kyiv was annexed, then Smolensk, the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” was opened, the Drevlyansk and some other tribes were annexed.

Oleg was also engaged in the development of economic relations - his campaign against Constantinople, or Constantinople, ended with the signing of a peace trade agreement. For wisdom and insight, Prince Oleg was nicknamed "prophetic."

Igor.

The son of Rurik, who entered the reign in 912 after the death of Oleg. The most famous story of his death - trying to collect tribute from the Drevlyans for the second time, Igor paid for his greed and was killed. However, the years of the reign of this prince also include new campaigns against Byzantium - in 941 and 944 - another peace treaty with this power, the annexation of the Uglich tribes, and the successful defense of the borders from Pecheneg raids.

Olga.

The widow of Prince Igor became the first female princess in Rus'. Having cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for the death of her husband, she nevertheless established a clear amount of tribute and places for its collection. She was the first to try to bring Christianity to Rus', but Svyatoslav and his squad opposed new faith. Christianity was adopted only under Prince Vladimir, Olga's grandson.

Svyatoslav.

The son of Igor and Olga, Prince Svyatoslav, went down in history as a ruler-warrior, ruler-soldier. All his reign consisted of continuous military campaigns - against the Vyatichi, the Khazars, Byzantium, the Pechenegs. military power Rus' grew stronger under him, and then Byzantium, united with the Pechenegs, attacked the army of the prince on the Dnieper when Svyatoslav returned home from the next campaign. The prince was killed, and the leader of the Pechenegs made a bowl out of his skull.

The results of the reign of the first princes.

All the first rulers of Rus' have one thing in common - one way or another they were engaged in the expansion and strengthening of the young state. Boundaries changed, economic unions, the princes tried to restore order within the country, establishing the first laws.

Hello friends!

In this post, we will focus on such a difficult topic as the first Kyiv princes. Today, 7 historical portraits from Oleg the Prophet to Vladimir II Monomakh will be presented, all these historical portraits are written in maximum score and meet all the criteria for assessing work on the exam.

You see a map in front of you Ancient Rus', or rather the tribes that lived on their territory. You see that this is the territory of present-day Ukraine and Belarus. Ancient Rus' stretched from the Carpathians in the West, to the Oka and Volga in the East, and from the Baltic in the North, to the Black Sea steppes in the South. Of course, Kyiv was the capital of this Old Russian state, and it was there that the princes of Kyiv sat. We will begin the study of Ancient Rus' with Prince Oleg. Unfortunately, no information about this prince has been preserved, and only the legend “The Legend of Prophetic Oleg which you all know very well. And in 882, Oleg went to Kyiv from Novgorod. He was Rurik's combatant (862-882) and while Rurik's son, Igor, was small, Oleg was his regent. And in 882, Oleg captured Kyiv, killing Askold and Dir, and from that moment the time of his reign began.

Oleg the Prophet - historical portrait

Lifetime:9th century - beginning10th century

Years of government: 882-912

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. He made Kyiv the capital of Ancient Rus', so some historians consider Oleg the founder of the Old Russian state. “Let Kyiv be the mother of Russian cities”

1.2. united northern and southern centers Eastern Slavs, by conquering the lands of the streets, Tivertsy, Radimichi, Northerners, Drevlyans, subjugating such cities as Smolensk, Lyubech, Kyiv.

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. He made a successful campaign against Constantinople in 907.

2.2. Concluded favorable for the country peace and trade agreements with Byzantium.

Results of activity:

Prince Oleg during the years of his reign significantly increased the territory of Rus', concluded the first trade agreement with Byzantium (Constantinople)

The second ruler after Oleg was Igor Stary and about his reign modern history much is unknown and we only know about the last four years of his reign in Kyiv.

Historical portrait of Igor Stary

Life time: endIX century -II quarterX century

Years of government: 912-945

Main activities:

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. Continued the unification of the East Slavic tribes

1.2. He was the governor in Kyiv during the reign of Oleg

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. Russian-Byzantine war 941-944

2.2. War with the Pechenegs

2.3. War with the Drevlyans

2.4. Military campaign against Byzantium

Results of activity:

He extended his power to the Slavic tribes between the Dniester and the Danube, concluded a military-trade agreement with Byzantium, conquered the Drevlyans.

After the murder of Igor by the Drevlyans for excessive collection of tribute, his wife, Olga, ascended the throne.

Duchess Olga

Lifetime:II-3rd quarterX century.

Years of government: 945-962

Main activities:

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. Strengthening the central government by reprisals against the Drevlyane tribe

1.2. She carried out the first tax reform in Rus': she introduced lessons - a fixed amount of tribute collection and graveyards - places of tribute collection.

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. She was the first Russian princess and ruler in general who converted to Christianity.

2.2. She was able to prevent the Drevlyan dynasty of princes from reigning in Kyiv.

Results of activity:

Olga strengthened the internal position of the young Russian state, established relations with Byzantium, increased the authority of Rus', and was able to maintain the Russian throne for her son Svyatoslav.

After the death of Olga, the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich, known for his rich foreign policy, began in Kyiv.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Time of life: second half of the 10th century.

Years of reign 945 - 972

Main activities:

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. He led the further strengthening of the ancient Russian state, like his predecessors.

1.2. Tried to create an empire.

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. He conducted a military campaign against Bulgaria in 967.

2.2. Defeated the Khazar Khaganate in 965.

2.3. Conducted a military campaign against Byzantium.

Results of activity:

He established diplomatic relations with many peoples of the world, strengthened the position of Rus' on the world stage, removed the threat from the Volga Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate, expanded the possessions of the Kiev prince, wanted to create an empire, but his plans were not destined to come true.

After the death of Svyatoslav, Prince Yaropolk (972-980) ascended the throne of Kiev, who, over the 8 years of his reign, made a very small contribution to the history of Ancient Rus'. After his reign, Vladimir I, popularly nicknamed the Red Sun, entered the throne of Kiev.

Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich (Saint, Red Sun) – Historical portrait

Life time: 3rd quarter of the 10th century - first half of the 11th century (~ 960-1015);
Years of government: 980-1015

Main activities:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. The final annexation of the lands of the Vyatichi, Cherven cities, as well as lands on both sides of the Carpathians.
1.2. pagan reform. In order to strengthen the power of the grand duke and join Rus' to the rest of the world, in 980 Vladimir carried out a pagan reform, according to which, at the head of the pantheon Slavic gods put Perun. After the failure of the reform, Vladimir I decided to baptize Rus' according to the Byzantine rite.
1.3. Acceptance of Christianity. After the failure of the pagan reform, under Vladimir in 988, Christianity was adopted as the state religion. The baptism of Vladimir and his entourage was performed in the city of Korsun. The reason for choosing Christianity as the main religion was the marriage of Vladimir to Byzantine princess Anna and the prevalence of this belief in Rus'.
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. Protection of the borders of Rus'. Under Vladimir, in order to protect, the Unified Defensive System from nomads and the Alert System were created.
2.2. The defeat of the Radimichi militia, a campaign in the Volga Bulgaria, the first clash of Rus' with Poland, as well as the conquest of the Polotsk principality.

Results of activity:
1. Domestic policy:
1.1. The unification of all the lands of the Eastern Slavs as part of Kievan Rus.
1.2. The reform streamlined the pagan pantheon. It prompted Prince Vladimir to turn to the principle new religion.
1.3. Strengthening princely power, raising the authority of the country on the world stage, borrowing Byzantine culture: fresco, architecture, icon painting, the Bible was translated into Slavic...
2. Foreign policy:
2.1. The Unified Defense System from nomads and the Alert System helped to quickly notify the center about crossing the border, and accordingly about the attack, which gave Rus' an advantage.
2.2. Expansion of the borders of Rus' through the active foreign policy of Prince Vladimir the Holy.

After Vladimir, a very prominent ruler was Yaroslav, nicknamed the Wise.

Yaroslav the Wise

Life time: endX- middleXI century

Years of government: 1019-1054

Main activities:

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. Establishment of dynastic ties with Europe and Byzantium, through the conclusion of dynastic marriages.

1.2. The founder of written Russian legislation - "Russian Pravda"

1.3. Erected St. Sophia Cathedral and the Golden Gate

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. Military campaigns in the Baltic

2.2. The final defeat of the Pechenegs

2.3. Military campaign against Byzantium and the Polish-Lithuanian lands

Results of activity:

During the reign of Yaroslav, Rus' reached its peak. Kyiv became one of the largest cities in Europe, the prestige of Rus' increased on the world stage, the active construction of temples and cathedrals began.

And the last prince, whose characteristics we will give in this post, will be Vladimir II.

Vladimir Monomakh

INTime of life: second half of the 11th century - first quarter of the 12th century.

Years of government: 1113-1125

Main activities:

1. Domestic policy:

1.1. He stopped the collapse of the Old Russian state. "Let each one keep his fatherland"

1.2. Nestor compiled "The Tale of Bygone Years"

1.3. Introduced the "Charter of Vladimir Monomakh"

2. Foreign policy:

2.1. He organized successful campaigns of princes against the Polovtsians

2.2. Continued the policy of strengthening dynastic ties with Europe

Results of activity:

He was able to unite the Russian lands for a short time, became the author of Teachings to Children, he managed to stop the Polovtsian raids on Rus'.

© Ivan Nekrasov 2014

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The period of formation of the Old Russian state begins with the reign of the Norman prince Rurik. His descendants sought to annex new territories to their principalities, to establish trade and allied relations with Byzantium and other countries.

Domestic and foreign policy of the ancient Kyiv princes

Management system of ancient Russian lands

The territory of Kievan Rus has undergone repeated changes over the more than 3-century history of the existence of the state. According to Nestor, the Eastern Slavs numbered 10-15 tribes (Polyans, Drevlyans, Ilmen Slovenes, etc.), settled over a large area. However, it is unlikely that the land of the Vyatichi, with whom the princes of Kyiv regularly fought until the end of the 11th century, can be attributed to Kievan Rus. And in the XII-XIII centuries, feudal fragmentation led to the fact that part of the Russian principalities were captured by Lithuanians and Poles (Polotsk, Minsk, etc.).

During the 3 centuries, not only the territory changed, but also the regional administration, as they would say now. Initially, the tribes ruled themselves. In the 9th century, Oleg, regent under the prince of Novgorod, conquered Kyiv, thus establishing a centralized power. Subsequently, he and his followers on the Kiev princely throne imposed tribute on several neighboring tribes. The management of the territories in the 9th-10th centuries consisted in the collection of tribute and was carried out in the form of polyudya - the prince and his retinue traveled around the cities and villages and collected tribute. In addition, the prince led the defense of the land from common external enemies, and could also organize a military campaign (most often in the direction of Byzantium).

Since there was enough land in Kievan Rus, and it would be difficult for one prince to lead such a vast territory, the grand dukes practiced distributing appanages to their combatants. First with a return as payment for military affairs, and then in hereditary possession. In addition, the grand dukes had many children. As a result, in the XI-XII centuries, the Kiev dynasty ousted the tribal princes from their ancestral principalities.

At the same time, the land in the principalities began to belong to the prince himself, the boyars, and monasteries. The exception was the Pskov-Novgorod land, in which at that time there was still a feudal republic.
To manage their allotments, the princes and boyars - large landowners divided the territory into hundreds, fifths, rows, counties. However, there was no unambiguous definition of these territorial units.

Often there were no unambiguously defined boundaries of these units. City management was carried out by posadniks and thousandths, at a lower level they were centurions, tenths, governors, elders, depending on the traditions of a particular land. However, if candidates for top positions were appointed more often, then they were elected to lower positions. Even to collect tribute, the peasants chose "good people."

The people's assembly among the Eastern Slavs was called veche.

1. Olesya

   Very detailed and historically correct table. This period Old Russian history is usually best remembered by both schoolchildren and students. The thing is that the reign of the ancient Russian princes is certainly associated with various myths, chronicle fables and unusual stories. My favorite stage in the development of the ancient Russian state remains the period of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. If there were more such rulers in Russia, the country would not have to regularly experience dynastic crises and popular riots.

2. Irina

   Olesya, I completely agree with you about Yaroslav the Wise. By the way, it is interesting that, after all, initially he had no desire to become the head of state: circumstances prompted him to do so. However, the period of his personal reign became for Rus' a time of stability and prosperity. So you say after that that a person does not make history: he does, and how! If it were not for Yaroslav, Rus' would not have received rest from strife and would not have had in the XI century. "Russian Truth". He managed to improve the international situation. Talented statesman! There would be more of these in our time.

3. Lana

   The table shows only individual Russian princes, therefore it cannot be considered complete, if we consider everything in detail, then we can count more than 20 princes who were in family ties and managing their own estates.

4. Irina

   The table is useful but incomplete. In my opinion, it would be better to highlight the features of the external and domestic policy princes. Attention is paid more to changes and innovations, and not to character traits period of government.

5. Angelina

   There is very little information about the domestic and foreign policy of the rulers! It would be much more informative to present the main achievements of the princes in the form of a single table - the information is a little scattered - you can get confused. Sense in the first table I do not see at all. For some rulers, there is little information at all. For example, Vladimir the Great carried out a number of important reforms that are not mentioned at all in the tables.

6. Igor

   Vladimir Monomakh succeeded in a short time his reign to unite more than half of the lands of Rus', which fell apart after the triumvirate of the Yaroslavichs. Vladimir Monomakh improved the legislative system. For a short time, his son Mstislav managed to maintain the unity of the country.

7. Olga

   Nothing is said about the important reforms of Volodymyr the Great. In addition to the baptism of Rus', he carried out administrative and military reform- this helped to strengthen the borders and strengthen the unity of the territories of the state.

8. Anna

   It is worth noting the features of the rulers of the period of formation and the heyday of Rus'. If at the formation stage they were strong warriors, an example of courage, then at the heyday stage they were politicians and diplomats who practically did not even participate in campaigns. This concerns, first of all, Yaroslav the Wise.

9. Vyacheslav

   In the comments, many approve and admire the personality of Yaroslav the Wise and argue that Yaroslav saved Rus' from strife and strife. I completely disagree with such a position of commentators in relation to the personality of Yaroslav the Wise. There is a Scandinavian saga about Edmund. This saga tells that the squad of Scandinavians was hired by Yaroslav for the war with his brother Boris. By order of Yaroslav, the Scandinavians send assassins to his brother Boris and kill him (Prince Boris, who was later recognized as a saint with his brother Gleb). Also, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 1014 Yaroslav raised an uprising against his father Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko (the baptizer of Rus') and hired the Varangians to fight him, wanting to rule in Veliky Novgorod on his own. The Varangians, while in Novgorod, robbed the population and committed violence against the inhabitants, which led to an uprising against Yaroslav. After the death of his brothers Boris, Gleb and Svyatopolk, Yaroslav took the throne of Kiev and fought with his brother Mstislav Tmutorokan, nicknamed the Brave. Until 1036 (year of Mstislav's death) Russian state was divided between Yaroslav and Mstislav into two independent political associations. Until the death of Mstislav, Yaroslav preferred to live in Novgorod, and not in the capital Kyiv. Yaroslav also began to pay tribute to the Varangians in the amount of 300 hryvnias. Introduced a rather heavy fine in favor of the bishop for non-compliance Christian rules. This despite the fact that 90% of the population were pagans or dual faith. He sent his son Vladimir, together with the Varangian Harold, on a predatory campaign against Orthodox Byzantium. The army was defeated and most of the soldiers died in battles from the use of Greek fire. During his reign, nomadic tribes cut off the Tmutarakan principality from Kyiv, and as a result, it fell under the influence of neighboring states. The relatives of the Swedish king Olaf Shetkonung handed over the native Russian lands around Ladoga to hereditary possession. Then these lands became known as Ingria. The code of laws Russian Truth reflects the enslavement of the population, which actively took place during the reign of Yaroslav, as well as the uprisings and resistance to his power. In the course of recent studies of the Russian Chronicles, in the description of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, there is a large number of changes and insertions in the original text of the annals made, most likely at his direction. Yaroslav distorted the annals, killed the brothers, started civil strife with the brothers and declared war on his father, being essentially a separatist, and he is praised in the annals and the church recognized him as faithful. Maybe that's why Yaroslav was nicknamed the Wise?

The article briefly talks about the great princes of Russian Rus' - a topic studied in the history of the 10th grade. What were they famous for? What were their deeds and role in history?

Summoned Vikings

In 862, the northwestern tribes of the Eastern Slavs decided to stop wars among themselves and invite an independent ruler to rule over them fairly. Slav Gostomysl from the Ilmen tribe led a campaign to the Varangians and returned from there with Rurik and his squad. Together with Rurik came his two brothers - Sienus and Truvor. Rurik sat down to reign in Ladoga, and two years later, according to the Ipatiev Chronicle, he built Novgorod. Rurik had a son, Igor, who was to become a prince after his death. The hereditary rule became the foundation of the ruling dynasty.

Rice. 1. Map of Kievan Rus in the 10th century.

In 879, Rurik died, and Igor was still too small. Oleg acted as regent - either Rurik's brother-in-law, or his governor. Already in 882, he captured Kyiv, where he transferred the capital of Ancient Rus' from Novgorod. Having captured Kyiv, Oleg established full control over the trade route "From the Varangians to the Greeks." Oleg managed to conclude a profitable agreement with Byzantium on duty-free trade, which is a great achievement for the Russian economy of that time.

In 912 Oleg died and Igor became the Prince of Kyiv. In 914, Igor re-conquered the Drevlyans, setting a tribute greater than Oleg's. In 945, Igor, collecting tribute from the Drevlyans, considered that he had not collected enough. Returning with a small detachment for re-assembly, he was killed in the city of Iskorosten for his greed.

Both Rurik, and Oleg, and Igor reduced their domestic political activity to the subjugation of the Slavic tribes surrounding Rus' and imposing tribute on them. Their activities were largely aimed at conducting military campaigns to gain authority within Rus' and in the international arena.

The reign of Olga and Svyatoslav

In 945, Olga suppressed the rebellion of the Drevlyans and avenged Igor by destroying Iskorosten. Olga left the external and began to practice internal politics. She carried out the first reform in Rus', creating a system of lessons and graveyards - the amount of tribute and places and time of its collection. In 955 Olga goes to Constantinople and accepts Christianity.

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Rice. 2. Burning Iskorosten.

It is not known exactly when Svyatoslav came to power. The Tale of Bygone Years speaks of his first military campaign in 964. Svyatoslav was a big fan of war and battles, so he continued the policy of his father and grandfather and spent his whole life in battles, and Olga continued to rule Russia on his behalf until her death. Having conquered Bulgaria, he moved the capital to Pereyaslavets-on-the-Danube and planned to govern the young state from there. But these lands were in the sphere of interests of Byzantium, which forced Svyatoslav to return to Rus' within a year.

Rice. 3. Svyatoslav and John Tzimiskes.

Svyatoslav did not survive his mother for long. He died near the Dnieper rapids from a scimitar of the Pechenegs, who ambushed him when he was returning from Bulgaria to Kyiv in 972.

The foreign policy of Rus' in the 9th-10th centuries

Byzantium remained the main direction of the campaigns of the first Russian princes, although periodically military campaigns were carried out in other countries. To illuminate this issue, we will compile a table The first Russian princes and their activities in foreign policy.

It should be noted that the first Russian princes were also engaged in the defense of the southern borders from the constant raids of the nomadic Khazar and Pecheneg tribes.

What have we learned?

Generally, foreign policy the first Russian princes dominated the internal. This was due to the desire to unite under one authority all East Slavic tribes and protect them from external military aggression.

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