Location of the Kievan principality 12-13 century. South Russian principalities in the 12th - early 13th centuries. Reasons for the defeat of Russia in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars

Kievan state Under St. Vladimir (980-1015) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054), Kievan Rus - a completely unusual and even strange historical phenomenon - in less than a century turned into a powerful and prosperous state. The historian Rostovtsev, who studied Greek and

Kievan State Sources We have the first information about the state of Kievan Rus from the annals. It is generally accepted that the original chronicle was the so-called "Initial Chronicle", written by Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. But this is not entirely accurate,

Kievan principality. The Kiev principality, although it lost its significance as the political center of the Russian lands, was still considered the first among other principalities. Kyiv has retained its historical glory as the "mother of Russian cities". It also remained the church center of the Russian lands. The Kiev principality was the center of the most fertile lands in Russia. The largest number of large patrimonial farms and the largest amount of arable land were located here. Thousands of artisans worked in Kyiv itself and the cities of the Kyiv land, whose products were famous not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

The death of Mstislav the Great in 1132 and the subsequent struggle for the throne of Kyiv became a turning point in the history of Kyiv. It was in the 30s and 40s. 12th century he irretrievably lost control over the Rostov-Suzdal land, where the energetic and power-hungry youngest son of Vladimir Monomakh, Yuri Dolgoruky, ruled, over Novgorod and Smolensk, whose boyars themselves began to select princes for themselves.

For Kievan land, big European politics and long-distance campaigns are a thing of the past. Now foreign policy Kyiv is limited to two directions. The old exhausting struggle with the Polovtsy continues. The principality of Vladimir-Suzdal becomes a new strong adversary.

The Kyiv princes managed to contain the Polovtsian danger, relying on the help of other principalities, which themselves suffered from Polovtsian raids. However, it was much more difficult to deal with the northeastern neighbor. Yuri Dolgoruky and his son Andrey Bogolyubsky more than once made trips to Kyiv, took it by storm several times and subjected it to pogroms. The victors plundered the city, burned the churches, killed the inhabitants and took them into captivity. As the chronicler said, there were then “on all people there is groaning and longing, inconsolable sadness and incessant tears”.

However, in peaceful years Kyiv continued to live a full-blooded life as the capital of a large principality. Beautiful palaces and temples have been preserved here, here, in monasteries, primarily in the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, or lavra (from the Greek word "Laura"- a large monastery), pilgrims converged from all over Russia. An all-Russian chronicle was also written in Kyiv.

There were periods in the history of the Kyiv principality when, under a strong and skillful ruler, it achieved certain successes and partially regained its former authority. This happened at the end of the 12th century. under the grandson of Oleg Chernigov Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, a hero "Words about Igor's Campaign". Svyatoslav shared power in the principality with the great-grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Rurik Rostislavich, brother of the Smolensk prince. So the Kyiv boyars sometimes united representatives of the warring princely groups on the throne and avoided another civil strife. When Svyatoslav died, Roman Mstislavich, Prince of Volyn, great-great-grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, became co-ruler of Rurik.

After some time, the co-rulers began to fight among themselves. During the struggle of the warring parties Kyiv several times passed from hand to hand. During the war, Rurik burned Podil, plundered the St. Sophia Cathedral and the Church of the Tithes - Russian shrines. The Polovtsians allied with him plundered the Kyiv land, took people into captivity, cut down old monks in monasteries, and "young maids, wives and daughters of Kiev were taken to their camps". But then Roman captured Rurik and tonsured him a monk.

The Kiev principality is one of the specific lands formed as a result of the collapse of Kievan Rus. After the death of Prince Yaroslav the Wise in the middle of the 11th century, the principality began to separate and by the 30s of the 12th century it became absolutely independent.

Its territory covered the original lands of the Drevlyans and Polyans along the Dnieper River and its tributaries (Teterev, Pripyat, Irpen and Ros). It also included part of the left bank of the Dnieper opposite Kyiv. All these are modern lands of Kyiv and Ukraine and the southern part of Belarus. In the east, the principality was bordered by the Pereyaslav and Chernigov principalities, in the west - Vladimir-Volyn, in the south it was closely adjacent

Thanks to the mild climate, agriculture developed intensively here as well. Also, the inhabitants of these lands were actively engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Quite early there was a specialization of crafts. "Woodworking", leather and pottery crafts acquired particular importance. Iron deposits allowed the development of blacksmithing.

An important factor was that the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” (from Byzantium to the Baltic) passed through the Kiev principality. Therefore, an influential layer of merchants and artisans formed early in Kyiv.

From the 9th to the 10th centuries, these lands were the central part of the Old Russian state. During the reign of Vladimir, they became the core of the grand ducal domain, and Kyiv - the church center of all Russia. Although the Kyiv prince was no longer the supreme owner of all the lands, he was the actual head of the feudal hierarchy, he was considered "senior" in relation to other princes. It was the center of the Old Russian principality, around which all other destinies were concentrated.

However, this situation had not only positive aspects. Very soon, the Kievan lands turned into an object of intense struggle between separate branches. The powerful Kievan boyars and the top of the trade and craft population also joined the struggle.

Until 1139, Monomashichs sat on the throne of Kiev: after Mstislav the Great, his brother Yaropolk (1132-1139), and then Vyacheslav (1139) came to power. After that, the throne passed into the hands of the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich, who seized it by force. The reign of the Olgovichi was very short-lived. In 1146, power passed to (a representative of the Monomashichs). In 1154, it was captured by the Suzdal branch of the Monomashichs, who was on the throne of Kiev until his death in 1157). Then power again passed to the Olgovichi, and in 1159 returned to the Mstislavichi.

Already from the middle of the XII century, the political significance that the Kiev principality had before began to decrease. At the same time, it was disintegrating into destinies. By the 1170s, the Kotelnichesky, Belgorod, Trepolsky, Vyshgorodsky, Torchesky, Kanevsky and Dorogobuzh principalities had already stood out. Kyiv ceased to play the role of the center of Russian lands. At the same time, Vladimir and Galicia-Volyn make every effort to subjugate Kyiv. Periodically, they succeed and their henchmen appear on the Kiev throne.

In 1240, the Kievan principality came under the rule of Batu. In early December, after a desperate nine-day resistance, he captured and defeated Kyiv. The Principality was devastated, after which it could not recover. Since the 1240s, Kyiv has been formally dependent on the princes of Vladimir (Alexander Nevsky, then Yaroslav Yaroslavich). In 1299, the metropolitan see was transferred from Kyiv to Vladimir.

KIEV PRINCIPALITY

The Kiev principality consisted of lands washed by the middle course of the Dnieper, the western tributaries of the Dnieper - from the Uzh in the north to the Ros in the south, and the southern tributary of the Pripyat, the Sluch River. The total area of ​​the principality was less than the Suzdal land. Chernigov, Smolensk, Polotsk principalities or Volyn land. There were virtually no borders in the south. It is difficult to say where the Kyiv land ended and where the territory began steppe nomads Polovtsy. An approximate, albeit flexible, dividing line can be drawn from the southern course of the Ros River to the upper reaches of the Southern Bug. Eastern border between Kyiv, on the one hand, and Chernigov and Pereyaslavl, on the other, passed along the Dnieper, although the 15-kilometer strip of land east of the Dnieper between the Desna and Trubezh belonged to Kyiv. In the north, the border with the Turov-Pinsk Principality ran along the southern course of the Prinyat River, and western border Kyiv with Volyn land ran along the line east of the upper reaches of the Goryn River.

The city of Kyiv itself, built on the hills, was ideally located militarily. Near Kyiv were the well-fortified cities of Vruchiy (or Ovruch, as it was sometimes called), Vyshgorod and Belgorod, which controlled the approaches to the capital from the northwest, west and southwest, respectively. From the south, Kyiv was covered by a system of forts built along the banks of the Dnieper, and a number of well-defended cities on the Ros River.

A feature of the Kyiv principality was a large number of old boyar estates with fortified castles, concentrated in the old land of glades to the south of Kyiv. To protect these estates from the Polovtsy, as early as the 11th century, along the Ros River (in “Porosye”), significant masses of nomads expelled by the Polovtsy from the steppes were settled: Torks, Pechenegs and Berendeys, united in the 12th century by a common name - Black Hoods. They seemed to anticipate the future border noble cavalry and carried out border service in the vast steppe space between the Dnieper, Stugna and Ros. Cities populated by the Chernoklobutsky nobility (Yuriev, Torchesk, Korsun, Dveren, etc.) arose along the banks of the Ros. The capital of the semi-autonomous Porosye was either Kanev or Torchesk, a huge city with two fortresses on the northern bank of the Ros. The Black Hoods played an important role in the political life of Russia in the 12th century and often influenced the choice of this or that prince.

From an economic point of view, the Dnieper provided direct communication not only with the Black Sea, but also connected the city with the Baltic through the Berezina and the Western Dvina, with the Oka and Don - along the Desna and the Seim, and with the Dniester and Neman basins - along the Pripyat and the Western Bug.

At the beginning of the XII century, under the great rulers Vladimir Monomakh(1113-1125) and his son Mstislav the Great(1125-1132) the limits of the territories subject to them were not strictly defined. It is difficult to say whether there were borders under them that separated what later became known as the Principality of Kyiv and the Volyn land, Turovo-Pinsk, Smolensk and Southern Pereyaslavl, which were under the control of close relatives (and henchmen) of the Kyiv prince. The Kyiv land was Rus, and Rus consisted of all the southern lands, excluding the Galician land, the Chernigov and Ryazan principalities. Even separate parts of the Principality of Polotsk in the northwest were ruled by Monomakh and Mstislav. But the unity of the Kyiv land, restored by Vladimir Monomakh after the internecine wars of the XI century. survived last days. Already the reign of Yaropolk (1132-1139). who succeeded his brother Mstislav, was overshadowed by the division and struggle within the very kind of descendants of Monomakh.

In 1132, after the death of Mstislav the Great, Russian principalities began to fall away from Kyiv one after another. Novgorod was finally freed from the power of Kyiv. The Rostov-Suzdal land was already acting independently. Smolensk voluntarily accepted the princes. Galich, Polotsk, Turov had their own special princes. The horizons of the Kyiv chronicler narrowed down to the Kiev-Chernigov conflicts, in which, however, the Byzantine prince, the Hungarian troops, the Berendeys, and the Polovtsy took part.

After the death of the unlucky Yaropolk in 1139, the even more unlucky Vyacheslav sat on the Kyiv table, but lasted only eight days - he was kicked out Vsevolod Olegovich, son of Oleg "Gorislavich". The Kyiv Chronicle depicts Vsevolod and his brothers as cunning, greedy and crooked people. The Grand Duke constantly led intrigues, quarreled with relatives, granted distant destinies in bearish corners to dangerous rivals in order to remove them from Kyiv. An attempt by Vsevolod to return Novgorod under his hand, planting his brother there Svyatoslav Olegovich was not successful. The brothers of the new Kyiv prince, Igor and Svyatoslav, fought with him for inheritances, accompanied by conspiracies, rebellions and reconciliations. Vsevolod did not enjoy the sympathy of the Kyiv boyars; this was reflected both in the annals and in the description that V.N. Tatishchev took from sources unknown to us:

“This Grand Duke’s husband was great in stature and very fat, he had few hairs on his head, a wide beard, considerable eyes, a long nose. He was wise in councils and courts, for whom he wanted, he could justify or accuse him. He had many concubines and more in fun than in reprisals he practiced. Through this, the burden of him was great for the people of Kiev. And when he died, hardly anyone, except for his beloved women, wept, but more were glad. But moreover, they feared burdens from Igor, knowing his ferocious and proud temperament.

Vsevolod's successor, his brother Igor, the same ferocious prince whom the people of Kiev so feared, was forced to swear allegiance to them at the veche "with all their will." But the new prince had not yet had time to leave the veche meeting for dinner, when the people of Kiev rushed to smash the courtyards of the hated tiuns and swordsmen. The leaders of the Kyiv boyars, Uleb Tysyatsky and Ivan Voitishich, secretly sent an embassy to the prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of Monomakh, to Pereyaslavl with an invitation to reign in Kyiv, and when he approached the walls of the city with his troops, the boyars threw down their banner and, as agreed, surrendered to him. Igor was tonsured a monk and exiled to Pereyaslavl. The reign of Izyaslav was filled with a struggle with the Olegovichs and with Yuri Dolgoruky, who twice managed to briefly capture Kyiv. In the process of this struggle, the prisoner of Izyaslav, Prince Igor Olegovich (1147), was killed in Kyiv by the verdict of the veche.

Due to the fact that Kyiv was often a bone of contention between the princes, the Kiev boyars concluded an agreement with the princes and introduced a curious system of duumvirate, which lasted the entire second half of the 12th century. Duumvir co-rulers were Izyaslav Mstislavich and his uncle Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and Rurik Rostislavich. The meaning of this original measure was that at the same time representatives of two warring princely branches were invited and thereby partly eliminated strife and established a relative balance. One of the princes, who was considered the eldest, lived in Kyiv, and the other - in Vyshgorod or Belgorod (he disposed of the land). On campaigns, they acted together and diplomatic correspondence was carried out in concert.

The foreign policy of the Kyiv principality was sometimes determined by the interests of one or another prince, but, in addition, there were two constant directions of struggle that required daily readiness. The first and most important is, of course, the Polovtsian steppe, where in the second half of the 12th century feudal khanates were created that united individual tribes. Usually, Kyiv coordinated its defensive actions with Pereyaslavl (which was in the possession of the Rostov-Suzdal princes), and thus a more or less unified line of Ros - Court was created. In this regard, the significance of the headquarters of such a general defense passed from Belgorod to Kanev. The southern border outposts of the Kievan land, located in the 10th century on the Stugna and on the Court, now moved down the Dnieper to Orel and Sneporod-Samara.

The second direction of the struggle was the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Since the time of Yuri Dolgoruky, the northeastern princes, freed by their geographical position from the need to wage a constant war with the Polovtsy, directed their military forces to subjugate Kyiv, using the border Principality of Pereyaslavl for this purpose. The arrogant tone of the Vladimir chroniclers sometimes misled historians, and they sometimes believed that Kyiv at that time was completely stalled. Particular importance was attached to the campaign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, the son of Dolgoruky, against Kyiv in 1169.

The Kyiv chronicler, who witnessed the three-day robbery of the city by the victors, described this event so vividly that he created an idea of ​​some kind of catastrophe. In fact, Kyiv continued to live a full-blooded life as the capital of a rich principality even after 1169. Churches were built here, an all-Russian chronicle was written, the “Word about Igor's Campaign” was created, which is incompatible with the concept of decline.

In modern historiography, the title "Kyiv princes" is used to designate a number of rulers of the Kyiv principality and the Old Russian state. The classical period of their reign began in 912 with the reign of Igor Rurikovich, who was the first to bear the title of "Grand Duke of Kyiv", and lasted until about the middle of the 12th century, when the collapse of the Old Russian state began. Let's take a brief look at the most prominent rulers during this period.

Oleg the Prophet (882-912)

Igor Rurikovich (912-945) - the first ruler of Kyiv, called the "Grand Duke of Kyiv." During his reign, he conducted a number of military campaigns, both against neighboring tribes (Pechenegs and Drevlyans), and against the Byzantine kingdom. The Pechenegs and the Drevlyans recognized the supremacy of Igor, but the Byzantines, militarily better equipped, put up stubborn resistance. In 944, Igor was forced to sign a peace treaty with Byzantium. At the same time, the terms of the agreement were beneficial for Igor, since Byzantium paid a significant tribute. A year later, he decided to attack the Drevlyans again, despite the fact that they had already recognized his authority and paid tribute to him. Igor's warriors, in turn, got the opportunity to cash in on the robberies of the local population. The Drevlyans ambushed in 945 and, having captured Igor, executed him.

Olga (945-964)- The widow of Prince Rurik, who was killed in 945 by the Drevlyane tribe. She headed the state until her son, Svyatoslav Igorevich, became an adult. It is not known exactly when she transferred power to her son. Olga was the first of the rulers of Russia to accept Christianity, while the whole country, the army and even her son were still pagans. Important facts of her reign were the subjugation of the Drevlyans who killed her husband Igor Rurikovich. Olga established the exact amount of taxes that the lands subject to Kyiv had to pay, systematized the frequency of their payment and the timing. An administrative reform was carried out, dividing the lands subordinate to Kyiv into clearly defined units, each of which was headed by a princely official "tiun". Under Olga, the first stone buildings appeared in Kyiv, Olga's tower and the city palace.

Svyatoslav (964-972)- the son of Igor Rurik and Princess Olga. characteristic feature board was that most his time was actually ruled by Olga, first due to the minority of Svyatoslav, and then because of his constant military campaigns and absence in Kyiv. Assumed power around 950. He did not follow the example of his mother, and did not accept Christianity, which was then unpopular among the secular and military nobility. The reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich was marked by a series of continuous conquest campaigns that he carried out against neighboring tribes and state formations. The Khazars, Vyatichi, the Bulgarian kingdom (968-969) and Byzantium (970-971) were attacked. The war with Byzantium brought heavy losses to both sides, and ended, in fact, in a draw. Returning from this campaign, Svyatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs and was killed.

Yaropolk (972-978)

Vladimir the Saint (978-1015)- Kyiv prince, best known for the baptism of Russia. He was a prince of Novgorod from 970 to 978, when he seized the throne of Kyiv. During his reign, he continuously conducted campaigns against neighboring tribes and states. He conquered and annexed to his state the tribes of the Vyatichi, Yatvyag, Radimichi and Pechenegs. He carried out a number of state reforms aimed at strengthening the power of the prince. In particular, he began minting a single state coin, replacing the previously used Arab and Byzantine money. With the help of invited Bulgarian and Byzantine teachers, he began to spread literacy in Russia, forcibly sending children to study. He founded the cities of Pereyaslavl and Belgorod. The main achievement is the baptism of Russia, carried out in 988. The introduction of Christianity as the state religion also contributed to the centralization of the Old Russian state. The resistance of various pagan cults, then widespread in Russia, weakened the power of the Kyiv throne and was brutally suppressed. Prince Vladimir died in 1015 during another military campaign against the Pechenegs.

SvyatopolkCursed (1015-1016)

Yaroslav the Wise (1016-1054) is the son of Vladimir. He feuded with his father and seized power in Kyiv in 1016, driving his brother Svyatopolk away. The reign of Yaroslav is represented in history by traditional raids on neighboring states and internecine wars with numerous relatives who claimed the throne. For this reason, Yaroslav was forced to temporarily leave the throne of Kyiv. He built the churches of Hagia Sophia in Novgorod and Kyiv. It is dedicated to her main temple in Constantinople, so the fact of such a construction spoke of the equality of the Russian church with the Byzantine one. As part of the confrontation with the Byzantine Church, he independently appointed the first Russian Metropolitan Hilarion in 1051. Yaroslav also founded the first Russian monasteries: the Kiev Caves Monastery in Kyiv and the Yuryev Monastery in Novgorod. For the first time he codified feudal law by issuing a code of laws "Russian Truth" and a church charter. He did a great job of translating Greek and Byzantine books into Old Russian and Church Slavonic, constantly spending large sums on the correspondence of new books. Founded in Novgorod big school in which children of elders and priests learned to read and write. He strengthened diplomatic and military ties with the Varangians, thus securing the northern borders of the state. He died in Vyshgorod in February 1054.

SvyatopolkCursed (1018-1019)- secondary interim rule

Izyaslav (1054-1068)- son of Yaroslav the Wise. According to his father's will, he sat on the throne of Kyiv in 1054. Throughout almost the entire reign, he was at enmity with his younger brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, who sought to seize the prestigious Kyiv throne. In 1068, the troops of Izyaslav were defeated by the Polovtsians in a battle on the Alta River. This led to the Kyiv uprising in 1068. At the veche meeting, the remnants of the defeated militia demanded that they be given weapons in order to continue the fight against the Polovtsy, but Izyaslav refused to do this, which forced the people of Kiev to revolt. Izyaslav was forced to flee to the Polish king, his nephew. With the military help of the Poles, Izyaslav regained the throne for the period 1069-1073, was again overthrown, and ruled for the last time from 1077 to 1078.

Vseslav Charodey (1068-1069)

Svyatoslav (1073-1076)

Vsevolod (1076-1077)

Svyatopolk (1093-1113)- the son of Izyaslav Yaroslavich, before taking the throne of Kyiv, he periodically headed the Novgorod and Turov principalities. Start Kyiv principality Svyatopolk was marked by the invasion of the Polovtsy, who inflicted a serious defeat on the troops of Svyatopolk in the battle near the Stugna River. This was followed by several more battles, the outcome of which is not known for certain, but in the end, peace was concluded with the Polovtsy, and Svyatopolk took the daughter of Khan Tugorkan as his wife. The subsequent reign of Svyatopolk was overshadowed by the continuous struggle between Vladimir Monomakh and Oleg Svyatoslavich, in which Svyatopolk usually supported Monomakh. Svyatopolk also repelled the constant raids of the Polovtsians led by the khans Tugorkan and Bonyak. He died suddenly in the spring of 1113, possibly by poisoning.

Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) was a prince of Chernigov when his father died. He had the right to the Kyiv throne, but gave it to his cousin Svyatopolk, because he did not want war at that time. In 1113, the people of Kiev raised an uprising, and, having thrown Svyatopolk, they invited Vladimir to the kingdom. For this reason, he was forced to accept the so-called "Charter of Vladimir Monomakh", which alleviates the situation of the city's lower classes. The law did not affect the foundations of the feudal system, but regulated the conditions of enslavement and limited the profits of usurers. Under Monomakh, Russia reached the peak of its power. The Minsk principality was conquered, and the Polovtsy were forced to migrate east of the Russian borders. With the help of an impostor who pretended to be the son of a previously murdered Byzantine emperor, Monomakh organized an adventure aimed at placing him on the Byzantine throne. Several Danubian cities were conquered, but success could not be further developed. The campaign ended in 1123 with the signing of peace. Monomakh organized the publication of improved editions of The Tale of Bygone Years, which have survived in this form to this day. Monomakh also created several works on his own: the autobiographical Ways and Fishes, the code of laws “the charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich” and “Instructions of Vladimir Monomakh”.

Mstislav the Great (1125-1132)- the son of Monomakh, formerly the prince of Belgorod. He ascended the throne of Kyiv in 1125 without resistance from the other brothers. Among the most outstanding deeds of Mstislav, one can name a campaign against the Polovtsians in 1127 and the sacking of the cities of Izyaslav, Strezhev and Lagozhsk. After a similar campaign in 1129, the Principality of Polotsk was finally annexed to the possessions of Mstislav. In order to collect tribute, several campaigns were made in the Baltic states, against the Chud tribe, but they ended in failure. In April 1132, Mstislav died suddenly, but managed to transfer the throne to Yaropolk, his brother.

Yaropolk (1132-1139)- Being the son of Monomakh, he inherited the throne when his brother Mstislav died. At the time of coming to power, he was 49 years old. In fact, he controlled only Kyiv and its environs. By his natural inclinations he was a good warrior, but he did not possess diplomatic and political abilities. Immediately after the assumption of the throne, the traditional civil strife began, connected with the succession to the throne in the Principality of Pereyaslavl. Yuri and Andrei Vladimirovich expelled Vsevolod Mstislavich from Pereyaslavl, who was imprisoned there by Yaropolk. Also, the situation in the country was complicated by the frequent raids of the Polovtsy, who, together with the allied Chernigov, plundered the outskirts of Kyiv. The indecisive policy of Yaropolk led to a military defeat in the battle on the Supoy River with the troops of Vsevolod Olgovich. The cities of Kursk and Posemye were also lost during the reign of Yaropolk. This development of events further weakened his authority, which was used by the Novgorodians, who announced their separation in 1136. The result of the reign of Yaropolk was the actual collapse of the Old Russian state. Formally, only the Principality of Rostov-Suzdal retained submission to Kyiv.

Vyacheslav (1139, 1150, 1151-1154)