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 Kyiv's foreign policy 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, during the 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.

For the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the Kiev principality was the first among all Russian principalities. He soberly looks at the contemporary world and no longer considers Kyiv the capital of Russia. The Grand Duke of Kyiv does not order other princes, but asks them to enter "into the golden stirrup ... for the Russian land," and sometimes, as it were, asks: "Don't you think to fly here from afar to guard your father's golden throne?", as he turned to Vsevolod Big Nest.

The author of the Lay has great respect for sovereign sovereigns, princes of other lands, and does not at all suggest reshaping political map Russia. When he talks about unity, he means only what was quite real then: a military alliance against the "nasty", a single defense system, a single plan for a distant raid into the steppe. But the author of the Lay does not lay claim to the hegemony of Kyiv, since Kyiv had long ago turned from the capital of Russia into the capital of one of the principalities and was almost on an equal footing with such cities as Galich, Chernigov, Vladimir on the Klyazma, Novgorod, Smolensk. Kyiv was distinguished from these cities only by its historical glory and the position of the church center of all Russian lands.

Until the middle of the 12th century, the Kiev principality occupied significant areas on the Right Bank of the Dnieper: almost the entire Pripyat basin and the Teterev, Irpen and Ros basins. Only later did Pinsk and Turov separate from Kyiv, and the lands to the west of Goryn and Sluch went to the Volyn land.

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 Polovtsians 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. Defending Russia from the Polovtsy, the Torks and Berendeys gradually adopted the Russian language, Russian culture, and even the Russian epic epic.

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.

Black Hoods played important role in political life Rus XII centuries and often influenced the choice of one or another prince. There were times when the Black Hoods proudly declared to one of the pretenders to the Kyiv throne: "In us, prince, there is both good and evil," that is, that the achievement of the grand prince's throne depends on them, border cavalry constantly ready for battle, located two days way from the capital.

For half a century that separates "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" from the time of Monomakh, the Kiev principality lived a difficult life.

In 1132, after the death of Mstislav the Great, Russian principalities began to fall away from Kyiv one after another: either Yuri Dolgoruky would ride from Suzdal to seize the Pereyaslav principality, then the neighboring Chernigov Vsevolod Olgovich, together with his Polovtsian friends, "went fighting villages and cities ... and people the secant even came to Kyiv ... ".

Facial image of Grand Duke Mstislav Vladimirovich. Titular. 1672

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 expelled by Vsevolod Olgovich, the 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 to return Novgorod was unsuccessful, since the Novgorodians expelled Svyatoslav Olgovich "for his malice", "for his violence."

Igor and Svyatoslav Olgovichi, brothers of Vsevolod, were dissatisfied with him, and all six years of reigning passed in mutual struggle, violations of the oath, conspiracies and reconciliations. Of the major events, one can note the stubborn struggle between Kyiv and Galich in 1144-1146.

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 the husband was large in stature and very fat, had few hairs on his head, a wide beard, considerable eyes, a long nose. Wise (cunning - B. R.) was in the councils and courts, for whomever 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 at the same time, more ... hardships from Igor (his brother. - B.R.), knowing his ferocious and proud temper, they feared.

Main character"Words about Igor's Campaign" - Svyatoslav of Kyiv - was the son of this Vsevolod. Vsevolod died in 1146. Subsequent events clearly showed that main force in the principality of Kiev, as in Novgorod, and in other lands at that time, the boyars appeared.

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 "kiyans" rushed to smash the yards of the hated tiuns and swordsmen, which was reminiscent of the events of 1113.

The leaders of the Kyiv boyars, Uleb Tysyatsky and Ivan Voitishich, secretly sent an embassy to Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of Monomakh, in 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 it was agreed, surrendered to him. Igor was tonsured a monk and exiled to Pereyaslavl. A new stage of the struggle between Monomashich and Olgovichi began.

The clever Kyiv historian of the end of the 12th century, Abbot Moses, who had a whole library of annals of various principalities, compiled a description of these turbulent years (1146-1154) from fragments of the personal chronicles of the warring princes. It turned out to be a very interesting picture: the same event is described from different points of view, the same act was described by one chronicler as a good deed inspired by God, and by others as the intrigues of the "all-sly devil".

The chronicler of Svyatoslav Olgovich carefully conducted all the economic affairs of his prince and, with each victory of his enemies, meticulously listed how many horses and mares were stolen by the enemies, how many haystacks were burned, what utensils were taken in the church and how many troughs of wine and honey stood in the prince's cellar.

Of particular interest is the chronicler of the Grand Duke Izyaslav Mstislavich (1146-1154). This is a man who knew military affairs well, participated in campaigns and military councils, and carried out the diplomatic missions of his prince. In all likelihood, this is the boyar, Kievan thousand Peter Borislavich, mentioned many times in the annals. He conducts, as it were, a political account of his prince and tries to put him in the most favorable light, to show him as a good commander, a managerial ruler, a caring overlord. Exalting his prince, he skillfully vilifies all his enemies, showing an outstanding literary talent.

To document his chronicle-report, obviously intended for influential princely-boyar circles, Peter Borislavich widely used the authentic correspondence of his prince with other princes, the people of Kiev, the Hungarian king and his vassals. He also used the minutes of princely congresses and diaries of campaigns. Only in one case does he disagree with the prince and begins to condemn him - when Izyaslav acts against the will of the Kyiv boyars.

The reign of Izyaslav was filled with a struggle with the Olgovichi, with Yuri Dolgoruky, who twice managed to briefly capture Kyiv.

In the process of this struggle, the prisoner of Izyaslav, Prince Igor Olgovich (1147), was killed in Kyiv by the verdict of the veche.

In 1157 Yuri Dolgoruky died in Kyiv. It is believed that the Suzdal prince, unloved in Kyiv, was poisoned.

During these strife in the middle of the XII century, the future heroes of the Tale of Igor's Campaign are repeatedly mentioned - Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and his cousin Igor Svyatoslavich. So far, these are third-rate young princes who went into battle in the vanguard detachments, received small cities as inheritance and "kissed the cross with all their will" of the older princes. Somewhat later, they are fixed in major cities: since 1164 Svyatoslav in Chernigov, and Igor in Novgorod-de-Seversky. In 1180, not long before the events described in the Lay, Svyatoslav became the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

Treasure with hryvnia money bars

Due to the fact that Kyiv was often a bone of contention between the princes, the Kiev boyars entered into a “row” 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 Vsevolodich 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.

Foreign policy The principality of Kyiv was sometimes determined by the interests of one or another prince, but, in addition, there were two permanent lines 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 Ros-Sula line was created. In this regard, the importance 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 Sula, now moved down the Dnieper to Orel and Sneporod-Samara.

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.

Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1180-1194) "Word" characterizes as a talented commander.

His cousins, Igor and Vsevolod Svyatoslavich, with their haste awakened the evil that Svyatoslav, their feudal overlord, managed to cope with shortly before:

Svyatoslav, the formidable great Kievan thunderstorm Byashet ruffled his strong regiments and haraluzhny swords;

Step on the Polovtsian land;
Pritopta hills and yarugas;
Stir up rivers and lakes;
Dry up streams and swamps.
And the filthy Kobyak from the bow of the sea
From the great iron regiments of the Polovtsians,
Like a whirlwind, vytorzhe:
And pvdesya Kobyak in the city of Kyiv,
In the grid of Svyatoslavl.
Tu Nemtsi and Veneditsi, that Gretsi and Morava
Sing the glory of Svyatoslav
Prince Igor's cabin...

The poet had in mind here the victorious campaign of the united Russian forces against Khan Kobyak in 1183.

Svyatoslav's co-ruler was, as it is said, Rurik Rostislavich, who reigned in the "Russian Land" from 1180 to 1202, and then became for some time the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is entirely on the side of Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and says very little about Rurik. Chronicle, on the contrary, was in the sphere of influence of Rurik. Therefore, the activities of the duumvirs are biased by the sources. We know about the conflicts and disagreements between them, but we also know that Kyiv at the end of the 12th century experienced an era of prosperity and even tried to play the role of an all-Russian cultural center.

This is evidenced by the Kyiv chronicle of 1198 of Abbot Moses, which, together with the Galician chronicle of the 13th century, was included in the so-called Ipatiev Chronicle.

The Kyiv Code gives a broad idea of the different Russian lands in the 12th century, using a number of annals of individual principalities. It opens with The Tale of Bygone Years, which tells about the early history of all of Russia, and ends with the entry solemn speech Moses about the construction at the expense of Prince Rurik of a wall that strengthens the banks of the Dnieper. The orator, who prepared his work for collective performance by "one mouth" (cantata?), calls the Grand Duke the king, and his principality magnifies "an autocratic power ... known not only in Russian borders, but also in distant overseas countries, to the end of the universe."

Mosaic image of the prophet. 11th century Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

After the death of Svyatoslav, when Rurik began to reign in Kyiv, his co-ruler in the "Russian land", that is, the southern Kiev region, was briefly his son-in-law Roman Mstislavich Volynsky (great-great-grandson of Monomakh). He received the best lands with the cities of Trepol, Torchesky, Kanev and others, which made up half of the principality.

However, Vsevolod the Big Nest, the prince of the Suzdach land, envied this "goddamn volost", who wanted to be in some form an accomplice in the management of the Kyiv region. A long feud began between Rurik, who supported Vsevolod, and the offended Roman Volynsky. As always, the Olgovichi, Poland, and Galich were quickly drawn into the strife. The case ended with the fact that Roman was supported by many cities, Black Hoods, and finally in 1202 "opened the gates for him."

In the very first year of the great reign, Roman organized a campaign deep into the Polovtsian steppe "and took the Polovtsian vines and brought a lot of souls full of peasants from them (from the Polovtsy. - B.R.), and there was great joy in the lands of Rus" .

Rurik did not remain in debt and on January 2, 1203, in alliance with the Olgovichi and "the entire Polovtsian land" took Kyiv. "And great evil was done in the Russtey of the land, as if there was no evil from baptism over Kiev ...

Taking the hem and burning it; otherwise you took Mount and plundered St. Sophia and the Tithes (church) as metropolis ... plundered and robed all the monasteries and adorned the icons ... then put everything in full. and nuns, and the young black women, wives and daughters of Kiev were taken to their camps.

Obviously, Rurik did not hope to gain a foothold in Kyiv, if he robbed him like that, and went to his own castle in Ovruch.

In the same year, after a joint campaign against the Polovtsy in Trepol, Roman captured Rurik and tonsured his entire family (including his own wife, Rurik's daughter) as monks. But Roman did not rule for long in Kyiv, in 1205 he was killed by the Poles when he rode too far from his squads while hunting in his western possessions.

The poetic lines of the chronicle are connected with Roman Mstislavich, which, unfortunately, has come down to us only partially. The author calls him the autocrat of all Russia, praises his mind and courage, noting especially his struggle with the Polovtsy: before their land, like an eagle; hrobor bo be, like a tour. Regarding the Polovtsian campaigns of Roman, the chronicler recalls Vladimir Monomakh and his victorious struggle against the Polovtsians. Epics with the name of Roman have also been preserved.

One of the chronicles that has not come down to us, used by V.N. Tatishchev, reports extremely interesting information about Roman Mstislavich. As if after the forcible tonsure of Rurik and his family, Roman announced to all Russian princes that his father-in-law had been dethroned by him for violating the treaty.

This is followed by a presentation of Roman’s views on the political structure of Russia in the 13th century: the Kyiv prince must “defend the Russian land from everywhere, and keep good order among the brethren, Russian princes, so that one cannot offend another and run into and ruin other people’s regions.” The novel blames the younger princes who are trying to capture Kyiv, having no strength for defense, and those princes who "bring in the filthy Polovtsians."

Then the draft of the election of the Kyiv prince in the event of the death of his predecessor is presented. Six princes must choose: Suzdal, Chernigov, Galician, Smolensk, Polotsk, Ryazan; "Junior princes are not needed for that election." These six principalities should be inherited by the eldest son, but not divided into parts, "so that the Russian land does not diminish in strength." Roman proposed to convene a princely congress to approve this order.

It is difficult to say how reliable this information is, but in the conditions of 1203 such an order, if it could be put into practice, would be a positive phenomenon. However, it is worth remembering the good wishes on the eve of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, his good decisions and tragic events who followed him.

V. N. Tatishchev retained the characteristics of Roman and his rival Rurik:

"This Roman Mstislavich, the grandson of the Izyaslavs, was although not very large, but broad and overbearingly strong; his face was red, his eyes were black, his nose was large with a hump, his hair was black and short; he was very angry; his tongue was slanted, when he was angry, he did not could pronounce words for a long time; had a lot of fun with nobles, but he was never drunk. He loved many wives, but owned none of them. The warrior was brave and cunning in organizing regiments ... He spent his whole life in wars, received many victories, and once. - B. R.) was defeated. "

Rurik Rostislavich is characterized differently. It is said that he was in the great reign for 37 years, but during this time he was expelled six times and "suffered a lot, having no rest from anywhere. After all, he himself had a lot of drink and wives, he was diligent about the government of the state and his security. His judges and in the cities, the rulers caused a lot of burdens for the people; for this, he had very little love among the people and had respect from the princes.

Obviously, these characteristics, full of medieval juiciness, were compiled by some Galician-Volynian or Kievan chronicler who sympathized with Roman.

It is interesting to note that Roman is the last of the Russian princes sung by epics; book and folk assessments coincided, which happened very rarely: the people very carefully selected heroes for their epic fund.

Roman Mstislavich and the "wise-loving" Rurik Rostislavich are the last bright figures in the list of Kievan princes of the 12th-13th centuries. Next come the weak rulers, who left no memory of themselves either in the annals or in folk songs.

The strife around Kyiv continued even in those years when a new unprecedented danger loomed over Russia - the Tatar-Mongol invasion. During the time from the battle on the Kalka in 1223 to the arrival of Batu near Kyiv in 1240, many princes were replaced, there were many battles over Kyiv. In 1238, Prince Michael of Kyiv, fearing the Tatars, fled to Hungary, and in the terrible year of Batu's arrival, he collected feudal dues donated to him in the principality of Daniel of Galicia: wheat, honey, "beef" and sheep.

"Mother of Russian cities" - Kyiv has lived a vibrant life for a number of centuries, but in the last three decades of its pre-Mongolian history, it has been too affected negative traits feudal fragmentation, which actually led to the dismemberment of the Kyiv principality into a number of destinies.

The singer of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" could not stop with his inspirational stanzas historical process.

Chernigov and Seversk principalities

Chernigov and Seversk principalities, like Kiev and Pereyaslav, were parts of the ancient "Russian land", that original core of Russia, which was formed back in the 6th-7th centuries, but retained its name for a long time.

Seversk land with Novgorod on the Desna, Putivl, Rylsky, Kursk on the Seym and Donets (near modern Kharkov) did not immediately separate from Chernigov land; this happened only in the 1140-1150s, but their connection was felt in the future. Both principalities were in the hands of the Olgoviches. Perhaps, Svyatoslav Vsevolodich of Kyiv was therefore considered in the Tale of Igor's Campaign as overlords of both the Chernigov and Seversk princes, because he was the grandson of Oleg Svyatoslavich, that is, a direct Olgovich and the eldest of them. Before coming to Kyiv, he was the Grand Duke of Chernigov and, having become the Prince of Kyiv, he often traveled to Chernigov, then to Lyubech, then to distant Karachev.

The Chernigov principality owned the lands of the Radimichi and Vyatichi; the northeastern border of the principality reached almost to Moscow. In dynastic and ecclesiastical terms, even distant Ryazan was drawn to Chernigov.

Especially important were the southern connections of Chernigov with the Polovtsian steppe and the seaside Tmutarakan. The Chernigov-Seversky lands were open to the steppes over a large area; border defensive lines were built here, defeated nomads settled here, ousted from good pastures by new owners - the Polovtsians.

The border principality of Kursk, which withstood many Polovtsian raids, became something like the later Cossack regions, where constant danger brought up courageous and experienced warriors of the "kmets". Bui Tour Vsevolod says to Igor:

And my ty Kuryani - bring the swept away:
Under the trumpets, cherish, under the helmets,
End copy of feeding;
Lead them the way, we know the yarugi,
Luci is tense with them, open the tuli,
Sharpen your sabers;
Jump yourself, like a gray wolf in the field,
Look for honor (honor) for yourself, and glory for the prince.

Chernigov princes, starting with " brave Mstislav, even the cut of Rededu before the Kasozh regiments "and until the beginning of the 12th century, belonged to Tmutarakan (modern Taman) - ancient city near the Kerch Strait, a large international port in which Greeks, Russians, Khazars, Armenians, Jews, Adyghes lived.

Medieval geographers, when calculating the lengths of the Black Sea routes, Tmutarakan was often taken as one of the main reference points.

By the middle of the 12th century, Tmutarakan's ties with Chernigov broke off, and this seaport passed into the hands of the Polovtsy, which explains Igor's desire

Look for the city of Darkness,

And it is a pleasure to drink the sliver of the Don, that is, to renew the old ways to the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Crimea and Byzantium. If Kyiv owned the Dnieper route "from the Greeks to the Varangians", then Chernigov had its own roads to the blue sea; only these roads were too firmly closed by the nomad camps of several Polovtsian tribes.

If the Kyiv princes widely used Cherny Klobuks as a barrier against the Polovtsians, then the Chernigov Olgovichi also had "their nasty ones."

In the "golden word" Svyatoslav reproaches his brother Yaroslav of Chernigov for evading general campaign against the Polovtsy and took up only the defense of his land:

And I no longer see the power of the strong and rich
And many of my brother Yaroslav
With Chernigov past,
From the can and from the Tatras,
From shelbira, and from topchaks,
And from the roar, and from the olbera;
Tii bo demon shield, with shoemakers
With a click the regiments win,
Ringing in great-grandfather glory.

It is possible that here some Turkic-speaking squads are meant, a very long time ago, since the time of their "great-grandfathers", who ended up in the Chernihiv region; perhaps these are Turko-Bulgarians or some tribes brought by Mstislav from the Caucasus at the beginning of the 11th century.

The Chernihiv principality, in essence, separated from Kievan Rus in the second half of the 11th century, and only temporarily under Monomakh was in vassal submission to the Kievan prince. Unexpected evidence that the Chernigov princes considered themselves equal in the 12th century as Kyiv princes was provided by excavations in the capital of the Golden Horde, in Saray, where a huge silver zazravnaya charade was found with the inscription: "And here is the char of Grand Duke Volodimer Davydovich ..." Vladimir was a Chernigov prince in 1140-1151 in co-rule with his younger brother Izyaslav (died in 1161).

The geographical location, the family ties of the princes and the long tradition of friendship with the nomads made the Chernigov principality a kind of wedge that cut into the rest of the Russian lands; inside the wedge, the Polovtsy invited by the Olgovichs often hosted. For this they did not like Oleg Svyatoslavich himself, his sons Vsevolod and Svyatoslav; for this, the third son, Igor Olgovich, was killed in Kyiv. Oleg's grandson, the hero of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - Igor Svyatoslavich - at one time was connected by friendship with none other than Konchak.

Igor was born in 1150 (during the famous campaign he was only 35 years old) and in 1178 he became Prince of Novgorod-Seversky. In 1180, among other Olgovichi, together with the Polovtsians, he went far into the depths of the Smolensk principality and gave battle to Davyd Rostislavich near Drutsk. Then Igor, together with Konchak and Ko-byak, moved to Kyiv, and they won the great reign for Svyatoslav Vsevolodich. Igor, who led the Polovtsian troops, guarded the Dnieper, but Rurik Rostislavich, expelled by them from Kyiv, defeated the Polovtsy. "Igor, having seen Polovtsy, was defeated, and tacos with Konchak jumped into the boat, running to Gorodets to Chernigov."

And three years later, Igor is already fighting against the Polovtsians, against the same Konchak who attacked Russia. In this campaign, Igor quarreled with Vladimir Pereyaslavsky because of which of them to go "ahead". It was not about military glory, but about the fact that the vanguard units captured a lot of booty. Angry, Vladimir turned the regiments and robbed Igor's Seversky principality.

In 1183, Igor had the idea of separate campaigns against the Polovtsians. Kyiv, Pereyaslav, Volyn and Galician troops defeated Kobyak and many other khans on the Orel River, near the Dnieper rapids. The Olgovichi refused to participate in this campaign, but Igor, having learned that the main forces of the Polovtsian land were defeated far from his principality, together with his brother Vsevolod, undertook a campaign against the Polovtsian camps along the Merla River, not far from the city of Donets. The trip was successful.

The year 1185 was full of major events. In early spring, the "cursed and damned" Konchak moved to Russia. The princes of Chernigov maintained a friendly neutrality, sending their own boyar to Konchak.

Igor Svyatoslavich Seversky did not participate in this campaign, but the chronicler tried to shield him, reporting that the messenger from Kyiv arrived late and that the squad in the boyar duma dissuaded the prince.

In April, Svyatoslav won another victory over the Polovtsy: their baggage, many prisoners and horses were taken.

Igor, having learned about this, seemed to have said to his vassals: "Well, aren't we princes, or what? Let's go on a campaign and get glory for ourselves too!" The trip started on April 23rd. On May 1, 1185, when the troops approached the Russian borders, it was solar eclipse, widely used in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" as a poetic image:

The sun blocks the way for him with darkness;
Night moaning to him with a thunderstorm, wake the bird;
The whistle of the animals is up.

White-stone carved capitals (Borisoglebsky Cathedral of the 12th century)

Igor neglected the warning "signs" of nature and moved to the steppe to the south from the Seversky Donets towards the Sea of Azov. On Friday, May 10, the troops met with the first Polovtsian nomad camp, the male population of which "everyone from young to old" covered the wagons, but was defeated.

Early in advance (Friday. - B. R.)
Potoptasha filthy Polovtsian regiments,
And drying up with arrows across the field,
Polovtsian girls run faster,
And with them gold, and pavoloks, and precious oxamites.

The next day, Konchak arrived here with the combined Polovtsian forces and surrounded "Olgo's Good Nest". A terrible three-day slaughter on the banks of the Kayala ended in the complete annihilation of the Russian forces: Igor and part of the princes and boyars were taken prisoner (they wanted to get a huge ransom for them), 15 people slipped out of the encirclement, and all the rest perished in "the unknown field, among the Polovtsian land" .

Tu bloody wine is not enough;
That feast to the end of the courage of the Russians
The matchmakers are drunk, and they themselves have gone to the land of Russia.

After the victory, the Polovtsian regiments moved to Russia in three directions: to the depopulated principalities of Igor and Vsevolod's Bui Tur, to Pereyaslavl and to Kyiv itself, where Konchak was attracted by the memories of Khan Bonyak, who pounded with his saber at the Golden Gates of Kyiv.

At the time of Igor's campaign, Prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv peacefully circled his old Chernigov domain, and only when the Grand Duke sailed in boats to Chernigov did a member of the unfortunate "Igor's regiment", who escaped from the encirclement, get here - Belovolod Prosovich. He spoke about the tragedy on the banks of the Kaya-la and that the defeat of Igor "opened the gates to the Russian land."

One must think that after the news received in Chernigov, the Grand Duke did not continue sailing along the winding Desna, but, remembering the swift ride of Monomakh, rushed to Kyiv on horseback at a speed "from matins to vespers."

The defense strategy was as follows: the son of Svyatoslav Oleg with the governor Tudor was immediately sent to repel the Polovtsy from the banks of the Seim (in the principality of the captive Igor), in Pereyaslavl Dolgoruky's grandson Vladimir Glebovich had already fought with them, and the main forces began to "guard the land of Russkoe" on the Dnieper near Kanev , guarding Ros and the strategically important Zarubinsky ford, which connected with the Pereyaslavl left bank.

The whole summer of 1185 was spent on such a confrontation with the Polovtsians; the chronicle also reports on the arrival of troops from Smolensk, and on the exchange of messengers with Pereyaslavl and Trepol, and on the internal maneuvers of the Polovtsy, who were groping for weaknesses in the six-hundred-kilometer-long Russian defense, organized hastily, in the most difficult conditions.

The need for new forces, for the participation of distant principalities, was great all summer. But, perhaps, the need was even more felt for the unity of all Russian forces, even those that had already come under the banner of the Kyiv prince.

Pyatnitskaya church in Chernihiv. Restored by P. R. Baranovsky. An example of a new rising building. The turn of the XII - XIII centuries.

The princes were reluctant to oppose the Polovtsians. Yaroslav of Chernigov gathered troops, but did not move to unite with Svyatoslav, for which he deserved condemnation in the "golden word". Davyd Rostislavich Smolensky led his regiments to the Kiev region, but stood in the rear of the Kyiv regiments, near Trepol, at the mouth of the Stugna, and refused to go further.

And at this time Konchak laid siege to Pereyaslavl; Prince Vladimir barely escaped from the battle, wounded by three spears. "Behold the floor with me, but help me!" - he sent to Svyatoslav to say.

Svyatoslav and his co-ruler Rurik Rostislavich could not immediately move their forces, as Davyd Smolensky was preparing to return home. The Smolensk regiments held a veche and declared that they had agreed to march only as far as Kyiv, that there was no battle now, and that they could not participate in the further campaign: "We are already exhausted."

While this unworthy bargaining with Davyd was going on, Konchak attacked the Rims on the Sula and the Polovtsy cut down or captured all its inhabitants.

Svyatoslav and Rurik, who went to the aid of Perey-slavl and Rimov, were delayed because of Davyd's "koromol". The death of the Rimov chronicle directly connects with the fact that the Russian forces "was late, waiting for Davyd Smolny".

When the united regiments of Svyatoslav and Rurik crossed the Dnieper to drive Konchak away, Davyd left Trepol and turned back his Smolensk troops.

The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign writes about this with great bitterness. He remembered the ancient princes, regretted that the old Vladimir (Svyatoslavich) could not be left here forever, on the Kyiv mountains, he spoke about how Russia was groaning, because "now there are banners of Rurik, and next to him - his brother Davyd, but according to their bunchuks flutter differently, but their spears sing differently.

It is no coincidence that the poet remembered the old Vladimir - after all, it was here, on the banks of the Stugna, where the betrayal of the Smolensk prince took place, two centuries ago Vladimir Svyatoslavich set up a chain of his heroic outposts. The author's thought once again persistently returns to this river: when describing Igor's escape, recalling the death of Monomakhov's brother in 1093 in the waters of Stugna, he contrasts it with the Donets, "cherishing the prince on the waves":

Prince Igor. Hawthorns and children. Costume design. N.K. Roerich

Not so, speech, Stugna River;
Having a thin stream, devour other people's streams and plows,
Rostren to the mouth,
I'm taking away Prince Rostislav shut up ...

One can think that the author of the Lay, being with his prince Svyatoslav, spent this terrible summer of 1185 in the camp of Russian troops between Kanev and Trepol, between Ros and Stugna, witnessed the arrival of messengers from the besieged cities, and the dispatch of messengers for new ones " help", and the cowardly treachery of Davyd near Trepol on Stugna.

Was it not during these months of "confrontation", when it was necessary to find special inspired words to unite the Russian forces, to attract the princes of distant lands to the defense, and a wonderful "golden word" was formed? Indeed, in this section of the "Words about Igor's Campaign", ending with the words about the betrayal of Da-Vyd, there is not a single fact that would go beyond the chronological framework of those few months when Svyatoslav and Rurik held the defense on the Dnieper from the Vitichevsky ford to Zarubinsky, from Trepol to Kanev. Was it not from the impregnable heights of Kanev, full of pagan antiquity, that the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign was looking at Russia and the steppe at that time?

He deeply regretted the death of the Russians and could not resist bitter reproaches against Igor. Igor is not the hero of the Lay, but only an excuse for writing a patriotic appeal, the significance of which is not exhausted by the events of 1185.

In the spring of 1186, Igor had already escaped from captivity: for 11 days he wandered through secluded river thickets and finally returned to his homeland.

In 1199, after the death of Yaroslav, Igor Svyatoslavich became the Grand Duke of Chernigov and succeeded in last years start their own chronicle, which ended up in the Kyiv code. Here Igor is represented by a very noble prince, constantly thinking about the good of the Russian land. Igor died in 1202. His sons, who ended up in the Galician land, pursued a tough anti-boyar policy, killed about 500 noble boyars, and were eventually hanged in Galicia in 1208.

The further history of the Chernigov-Seversk land is not of particular interest. The multiplied Olgovichi still willingly took part in strife and gradually divided the land into several small lands. In 1234, Chernigov withstood a heavy siege by the troops of Daniil of Galicia: "There is a fierce battle near Chernigov; he put a ram on it, he shot a stone and a half.

In 1239, Chernigov, along with the entire Left Bank, was taken by the Tatar army.

Galicia-Volyn lands

In the most solemn form, the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" appeals to the Galician prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, defining with his inherent genius in a few lines the important role of the rich and flourishing Galician principality:

Galichka Osmomysl Yaroslav!
Sit high on your gold-plated table,
Supported the Ugorsky Mountains (Carpathians. - B.R.)
With their iron shelves
Stepping on the queen's path
Having closed the gates of the Danube,
Sword burdens through the clouds,
Courts as far as the Danube.
Your thunderstorms flow through the lands:
Opening the gates to Kyiv;
You shoot from the gold of the saltani table for the lands.
Shoot, sir, Konchak, filthy koshchei,
For the Russian land, for the wounds of Igor, the buoy of Svyatoslavlich!

The reader or listener of the poem vividly imagined a powerful Western Russian state, relying on the Carpathians and the Danube on one side and stretching out its imperious hand in the other direction, to Kyiv and to the Polovtsian "sultans". The lines correctly reflected the rapid rise of the Galician principality, which grew up on the site of the destinies of the minor princes of the 11th - early 12th centuries who had fled here and were exiled here.

Less pompously, but also respectfully, the author of the Lay greets the princes of Volyn and especially the famous Roman Mstislavich, who "soars high above the earth like a falcon." He and his vassals have "iron paporzi (breastplates. - B.R.) under Latin helmets", and his regiments dressed in armor defeat both Polovtsy and Lithuanians. Mentioned here are the minor princes of the small Lutsk principality - Ingvar and Vsevolod Yaroslavichi. The poet calls on all the Volyn princes, great-great-grandchildren of Monomakh: "Block the field (to the steppe inhabitants - B.R.) with your sharp arrows for the Russian land, for the wounds of Igor."

In the history of the Galicia-Volyn lands, we see the movement of the historical center: in ancient times, the Duleb union of tribes, located at the junction of the East and West Slavic tribes of the Carpathians and Volhynia, was in the first place. In the 6th century, this union of tribes was defeated by the Avars, the old tribal center - Volyn - died out, and Vladimir Volynsky became the center of these lands, bearing the name of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who paid great attention to the Western Russian lands.

Fertile soil, mild climate, relative safety from nomads made the fertile land of Volhynia one of the richest in Russia. Here feudal relations are developing very intensively and a strong boyar stratum is being formed. Here arise such cities as Przemysl, Lutsk, Terebovl, Cherven, Holm, Berestye, Drogichin. For a long time we find nothing in the chronicles about Galich. But in the XII century, Galich quickly turned from a small specific town of minor princes into the capital of a significant principality that arose on the lands of such Slavic tribes as the White Croats, Tivertsy and Ulichs. At the turn of the XII-XIII centuries, Roman Mstislavich Volynsky united the Galician land and Volyn into one large state that survived the Tatar-Mongol invasion and lasted until the XIV century. Such is the scheme of the history of Western Russia.

Western Russian princes tried to pursue an independent policy towards Kyiv as early as the 11th century, for example, Vasilko Rostislavich Terebovskiy, blinded after the Lyubech Congress, his brother Volodar, Prince Przemysl, and their enemy Davyd Igorevich Volynsky, and then Dorogobuzhsky.

The last representative of the petty outcast princes was Ivan Rostislavich Berladnik, the grandson of Volodar, whose biography is full of various adventures. In 1144, he reigned in the small Zvenigorod (to the north of Galich), and the Galicians, taking advantage of the fact that their prince Vladimir Volodarevich was away hunting, invited Ivan and "brought him to Galich." When Vladimir besieged Galich, the whole city defended Ivan, but in the end he had to flee to the Danube, and Vladimir, entering the city, "many people were cut off." On the Danube, Ivan Rostislavich in the Berlady region received the nickname Berladnik.

In 1156, we see Berladnik in the Vyatka forests, where he serves the unfortunate ally of Yuri Dolgoruky, Svyatoslav Olgovich, for 12 hryvnias of gold and 200 hryvnias of silver. Then he moved to another camp, and immediately Yuri Dolgoruky became interested in his fate, who managed to capture him and imprison him in Suzdal, and at the other end of Russia, in Galich, Yaroslav Osmomysl, who remembered Berladnik's enmity with his father. He sends a whole army to Yuri to deliver Berladnik to Galich and execute him. But on the way unexpectedly squads prince of Chernigov Izyaslav Davydovich was repulsed by Berladnik from the Suzdal troops, and he escaped cruel reprisals.

In 1158, he left the hospitable Izyaslav, who had already become the Grand Duke of Kyiv, since the diplomatic conflict because of him took on a European scale: the ambassadors of Galich, Chernigov, Hungary and Poland arrived in Izyaslav in Kyiv, demanding the extradition of Ivan Berladnik. He again returned to the Danube, and from there, at the head of a six thousandth army, he went to the Galician principality. Smerds openly went over to his side, but the allied Polovtsy left him, since he did not allow them to rob Russian cities. Izyaslav and Olgovichi supported Berladnik and started a campaign against Galich, but Yaroslav's Galician troops were ahead of them, ended up near Kyiv and soon captured the capital. Yaroslav "opened the gates to Kyiv", and Izyaslav and Berladnik fled to Vyr and Vshchizh.

Three years later, in 1161, Ivan Berladnik ended up in Byzantium and died in Thessaloniki; the hatred of the princes overtook him here: "Inii tako say - as if from poison be his death." The prince, for whom the townspeople of Galich fought to the death for a whole month, the prince who did not allow Polovtsian robberies, the prince to whom "smerds jump over the fence", of course, an interesting figure for the XII century, but too one-sidedly described by hostile chronicles.

The Volyn principality from 1118 onwards was retained by the offspring of Monomakh and his son Mstislav. From here, Izyaslav Mstislavich with lightning marches, making 100 kilometers a day, suddenly broke into the feasting Belgorod and Kyiv, he left here for his Vladimir Volynsky, losing battles when the "kyans" and Black Hoods told him: "You are our prince, if you will be strong, but now is not your time, go away!" The grandchildren of Izyaslav Mstislavich divided the land into five destinies, and by the time of the Lay of Igor's Campaign, their unification had not yet taken place.

From the middle of the XII century, next to the Volyn principality, the principality of Galicia grew up, immediately entering into rivalry with its neighbor and even with Kyiv. The first Galician prince, Vladimir Volodarevich (1141-1153), as we have just seen, had to overcome the resistance not only of the specific princes, like Ivan Berladnik, but also of the townspeople and the local boyars, who had strongly strengthened here during the existence of small destinies.

The entire subsequent history of the Galicia-Volyn lands is a struggle between the centripetal and the centrifugal. The first was personified by the princes of Vladimir Volynsky and Galich, and the second - by the specific princes and the rich boyars, accustomed to independence.

The heyday of the Galician principality is associated with Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153-1187), the son of Vladimir Volodarevich, the cousin of Ivan Berladnik, sung in the Lay.

We get acquainted with him in the annals under the following circumstances: the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, who fought a lot with Vladimir Volodarevich and, with the help of the Hungarian king, defeated him in 1152, sent his boyar Pyotr Borislavich to Galich in early 1153 (who, apparently, was the author princely chronicle). The ambassador reminded Prince Vladimir of some of his promises, sealed with the rite of kissing the cross. Mocking the ambassador, the Galician prince asked: "What, did I kiss this little cross?" - and in the end he drove out the Kyiv boyar and his retinue: "They said you had your fill, but now - get out!"

Decorative tiles XII-XIII centuries. Galich

The ambassador left letters of cross-kissing to the prince and rode out of the city on unfed horses. New war was announced. Again, the royal regiments from the west had to ride to Galich, Kyiv from the east, and Volyn from the north, again the Galician prince had to send messengers to the other end of Russia for help to Yuri Dolgoruky, his matchmaker and longtime ally. But the messenger galloped along the Kyiv road and brought Pyotr Borislavich back from the path. In Galich, servants in black robes descended from the palace to meet the ambassador; on the "gold-forged table" sat a young prince in a black robe and black hood, and a knight's guard stood at the coffin of the old prince Vladimir Volodarevich.

Yaroslav hurried to make amends for his father’s careless arrogance and expressed complete obedience to the Grand Duke: “Accept me, like your son Mstislav. With such a figurative recognition of feudal dependence, Yaroslav released the ambassador, "but there are other thoughts in his heart," the chronicle adds. And already in the same year the war took place.

Prince Yaroslav did not participate in the battle, the boyars told him: "You are young ... and go, prince, to the city." Probably, the boyars simply did not really trust the prince, who shortly before this swore allegiance to Kyiv. Yaroslav Osmomysl was not so young at that time - three years before the battle he married the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky Olga.

The boyars continued to actively intervene in princely affairs. In 1159, when the conflict over Ivan Berladnik had not yet been completed, the Galicians stubbornly continued to show sympathy for the Danube daring man and turned to his patron, the Kievan prince Izyaslav Davydovich, with a proposal to march on their hometown: retreat from Yaroslav!"

A new conflict between Yaroslav and the boyars arose in 1173. Princess Olga and her son Vladimir fled from her husband, along with prominent Galician boyars, to Poland. Vladimir Yaroslavich begged from his father's rival the city of Cherven, strategically convenient both for ties with Poland and for attacking his father. This is the same Vladimir Galitsky, a hawker and hawker, whose image is so colorfully reproduced in Borodin's opera "Prince Igor". Igor Svyatoslavich was married to his sister Evfrosinya, daughter of Yaroslav Osmomysl (Yaroslavna). The break with his father was caused by the fact that Yaroslav had a mistress Nastasya and her son Oleg Yaroslav gave preference to his legitimate son Vladimir.

Olga Yurievna and Vladimir were away for eight months, but finally received a letter from the Galician boyars with a request to return to Galich and a promise to take her husband into custody. The promise was more than fulfilled - Yaroslav Osmomysl was arrested, his friends, the allied Polovtsy, were chopped up, and his mistress Nastasya was burned at the stake. "The Galicians, on the other hand, laid fire, burning her, and her son was imprisoned in a slash, leading the prince to the cross, as if he really had a princess. And taco settled down." The seemingly family conflict was temporarily settled in this peculiar medieval way.

The next year, Vladimir fled to Volyn, but Yaroslav Osmomysl, having hired Poles for 3,000 hryvnias, burned two Volyn cities and demanded the extradition of his rebellious son; the same fled to Porosye and was going to hide in Suzdal. Having traveled to many cities in search of asylum, Vladimir Galitsky finally ended up with his sister in Putivl, where he lived for several years, until Igor reconciled him with his father.

In the autumn of 1187, Yaroslav Osmomysl died, leaving not Vladimir, but Oleg "Nastasich" as his heir. Immediately, "there was a great rebellion in the Galician land." The boyars expelled Oleg and gave the throne to Vladimir, but this prince did not satisfy them either. "Prince Volodimer in the Galich land. And be kind to drink a lot and do not like to think with your husbands." Everything was decided by this - if the prince neglects the boyar thought, if he leaves the will of the “sane”, then he is already bad and all sorts of discrediting details are entered into the annals about him: that he drinks a lot, and that he “sings at the priest wife and appoint (to yourself) a wife," and that he is in the city, "having fallen in love with his wife or whose daughter, he will use violence."

Roman. Mstislavich Volynsky, knowing about the dissatisfaction of the Galician boyars with Vladimir, suggested that they expel Vladimir and accept him, Roman. The boyars repeated what they had done under the father of their prince - they threatened Vladimir's mistress with death: "We don't want to bow to the priest, but we want to kill her!" Vladimir Galitsky, taking gold, silver, "popadya" and her two sons, fled to Hungary.

Roman Mstislavich briefly reigned in Galich, he was expelled by the Hungarian king, who, taking advantage of the preponderance of forces, planted in Galich not Vladimir, who sought his help, but his son Andrei. Vladimir was imprisoned in the tower of the Hungarian castle.

The Galicians secretly continued to look for a prince of their own free will: either Roman reported that "the Galicians would take me to their reign", then the boyar embassy invited Berladnik's son Rostislav Ivanovich.

Relying on the Galician boyars, Rostislav in 1188 with a small army appeared under the walls of Galich. "Men of Galicia do not shout everything in one thought," and Berladnichich's detachment was surrounded by the Hungarians and part of the Galicians; the prince himself was knocked off his horse.

When the seriously wounded prince was carried by the Hungarians to Galich, the townspeople "revolted, though they were taken away from the eel (Hungarians. - B. R.) and accepted to reign. Ufa, having seen that, and applied a mortal potion to the wounds."

In 1189, Vladimir of Galicia escaped from prison. He cut the tent that was on the top of his tower, twisted the ropes and climbed down them; two supporters helped him get to Germany. Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa agreed (subject to an annual payment of 2 thousand hryvnias to him) to help the exile in obtaining Galich. With the support of Germany and Poland, Vladimir again reigned in his "fatherland and grandfather."

In 1199, after the death of Vladimir, Roman Mstislavich became the prince of Galicia, Volyn and Galich united in one hand and formed a large and powerful principality, equal to large European kingdoms. When Roman captured Kyiv as well, then in his hands was a huge compact piece of Russian lands, equal to the "Holy Roman Empire" of Frederick Barbarossa. Forced to swear allegiance to the Galician boyars upon accession to the throne, Roman subsequently acted abruptly, causing dissatisfaction with the boyars.

From chronicle allusions, we can conclude that Roman was very concerned about the enrichment of his princely domain and settled captives on his land. Byzantine emperor Alexei III Angel, expelled from Constantinople in 1204 by the crusader knights, who found richer booty in Christian Byzantium than the distant "Holy Sepulcher" somewhere in Palestine, sought shelter from Roman.

The short reign of the victorious Roman in Galich, Kyiv and Vladimir-Volynsky, when he was called the "autocrat of all Russia", strengthened the position of the Western Russian lands and prepared for their further flourishing.

In addition to the colorful and dramatic external history of the principalities and princes outlined above, this era is extremely interesting for us in those aggravated relations between the princes and the boyars, which were so clearly identified already in the time of Yaroslav Osmomysl. If we discard the element of personal gain and self-interest, which undoubtedly determined many of the actions of the princes, then it should be recognized that the policy pursued by them of concentrating land, weakening appanages and strengthening the central princely power was objectively progressive, since it coincided with the interests of the people. In carrying out this policy, the princes relied on broad sections of the townspeople and on the reserves of petty feudal lords (youths, children, merciful ones), who were completely dependent on the prince, grown by them.

The anti-princely actions of the boyars led to the struggle of the boyar parties among themselves, to the intensification of strife, to the defenselessness of the state in the face of external danger. Given the interweaving of princely interests and the relative balance of power among the major principalities, the issue of succession to the throne acquired a special character.

Many princely marriages were concluded then with a political calculation between children of five to eight years of age. When a young prince grew up and the marriage was carried out, he received not the relatives that he could choose for himself, based on his own interests, but the one that met the interests of his parents decades ago. The boyars had to use these contradictions, and for the princes there was only one way out - to transfer the throne to a rootless illegitimate son. This is probably the reason for the tenacity with which both Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, Yaroslav Osmomysl, and his son Vladimir held on to their mistresses and illegitimate sons. Yaroslav's father-in-law was the powerful and daring Yuri Dolgoruky, who sought to interfere in other people's affairs. Vladimir's father-in-law is the "great and formidable" Svyatoslav Vsevolodich of Kyiv. While Vladimir, with his mistress and children, was sitting in a tower in Hungary, his father-in-law decided to get Galich, his son-in-law's fatherland, for himself (1189). Such actions could easily be dressed up in the form of protecting the legal rights of his daughter and grandchildren, for whom the Galician boyars were already standing up. When the boyars of Galich burned Nastasya, expelled Oleg "Nastasich" or rebelled against the Vladimir world hit, it was not so much about the morality of the princes, but about not allowing the prince to be "autocracy" in those conditions so that the boyars would not lose their allies inside princely family and powerful support from the crowned relatives of the princess.

Such a struggle between princely and royalty with the feudal lords, who sought to withdraw into their estates, was conducted at that time and in Western Europe, and in the Georgian kingdom, and in the east, and in a number of Russian principalities.

It is not necessary to think that all the boyars without exception opposed the prince. Significant and influential boyar circles actively contributed to the strong and effective princely power.

In Galicia-Volyn Rus, this struggle between different feudal elements reached its climax during the reign of Roman's son, no less famous than his father, Daniil of Galicia (born around 1201 - died around 1264). Daniel was orphaned four years old, and all his childhood and adolescence passed in the conditions of strife and fierce feudal struggle. The boyars of Vladimir Volynsky wanted after the death of Roman to leave his widow-princess with children to reign, and the Galician boyars invited the sons of Igor Svyatoslavich of Chernigov. The princess had to flee; Uncle Miroslav carried Daniil out of the city through an underground passage. The fugitives found shelter in Poland.

Galicia-Volyn principality disintegrated into a number of destinies, which allowed Hungary to conquer it. The Igorevich princes, who had no support in these lands, tried to hold on through repressions - they killed about 500 noble boyars, but in this way they only strengthened the supporters of the exiled dowager princess. In 1211, the boyars solemnly installed the boy Daniel to reign in the cathedral church of Galich. The Igorevich boyars were hanged, "for the sake of revenge."

Very quickly, the Galician boyars wanted to get rid of the princess, who had strong intercessors in Poland.

The court chronicler of Daniel of Galicia, who wrote much later, recalls the following episode: the Galicians drove the princess out of the city; Daniel accompanied her with tears, not wanting to part. Some tiun grabbed the reins of Daniil's horse, and Daniil grabbed his sword and began to cut with it until his mother took the weapon away from him. It is possible that the chronicler deliberately told this episode as an epigraph to the description of Daniel's further actions directed against the boyars. In Galich, the boyar Vladislav reigned, which caused indignation in the feudal elite: "It is not absurd for a boyar to reign in Galicia." After that, the Galician land was again subjected to foreign intervention.

Trade routes of pan-European importance, passing through the Galicia-Volyn principality.

Only in 1221, with the support of his father-in-law Mstislav the Udaly, did Daniel become a prince in Vladimir, and only in 1234 did he finally establish himself in Galich.

The Galician land magnates behaved like princes: “The boyars of Galicia Danila call themselves a prince, and they themselves hold the whole land ...” Such was the boyar Dobroslav, who even controlled the princely domain, such was Sudislav, whose castle was a fortress filled with supplies and weapons and ready for fight against the prince.

The boyars either invited Daniel or plotted against him. So, in 1230, "sedition was in the godless Galich boyars." The boyars decided to set fire to the palace during a meeting of the boyar duma and kill the prince. Daniil's brother Vasilko managed to thwart the plot. Then one of the boyars invited the princes to dinner at Vyshensky Castle; tysyatsky, a friend of Daniel, managed to warn, "there is a feast of evil ... as if I would kill you." 28 boyars were captured, but Daniel was afraid to execute them. Some time later, when Daniil "is having fun at the feast, one of those godless boyars poured a cup on his face. And then I endured him."

It was necessary to find a new, more reliable support. And Daniel convened a "veche" of youths, service soldiers, junior members of the squad, who were the prototype of the later nobility. The youths supported their prince: "We are faithful to God and to you, our lord!" - and Sotsky Mikula gave Daniil advice that determined the future policy of the prince: "Lord! Do not crush the bees - do not eat honey!"

Following the battle on the Kalka (before which Daniel went to watch the "unprecedented rati", and after which, wounded, "turn your horse to bep]), feudal strife and fragmentation continued to corrode the rich Russian lands, and the centripetal forces personified here by Daniel were not enough fortified, could not yet withstand both the internal and external enemy.The boyar opposition, constantly relying on Poland, then on Hungary, did not turn the Galicia-Volyn land into a boyar republic, but significantly weakened the principality. No wonder the chronicler, moving on to this pre-Tatar period of life one of the most developed and cultured Russian principalities, wrote woefully: "Let's start by saying countless armies and great labors and frequent wars and many seditions and frequent uprisings and many rebellions ..."

The cities of the Galicia-Volyn land - Galich, Vladimir, Przemysl, Lutsk, Lviv, Danilov, Berestye (Brest) and others - were rich, populous and beautiful. Through the labor of local craftsmen and architects, they were surrounded by strong walls and built up with graceful buildings. Here, as in Vladimir-Suz-Dal Rus, they loved stone sculpture; known "sly" Avdey, skillfully cut stone. We know about the wise scribe Timothy, who denounced the cruelty of the conquerors with his allegorical parables, we know about the proud singer Mitus. In our hands is the Galician Chronicle of the 13th century, exceptional in its completeness and brilliance, which is a historical biography of Prince Daniel.

The most important trade routes of all-European significance passed through the Galicia-Volyn lands, leading to Krakow, Prague, Regensburg and Gdansk. Drogichin on the Bug was a kind of all-Russian customs - tens of thousands of trade seals of the 11th-13th centuries with signs of many Russian princes were preserved there. The well-known medieval world map of the Arab geographer Idrisi, compiled in Palermo around 1154, shows cities such as Galich, Belgorod Dneprovsky, Lutsk and Przemysl. Access to the Danube and the Black Sea connected with the Byzantine world. No wonder in different time emperors who failed in the empire sought refuge in Galich and received cities here "as a consolation" (Andronicus, Alexei III).

Archaeological excavations in the Galicia-Volyn cities give us a good idea about the life of ordinary citizens, and about high level the whole culture of this southwestern corner of the Russian lands. The affairs of Galicia-Volyn Rus were keenly interested not only in neighboring lands, but also in Germany, Rome, France, and Byzantium.

Kievan Rus and Russian principalities of the XII-XIII centuries. Rybakov Boris Alexandrovich

Kiev principality

Kiev principality

For the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the Principality of Kiev was the first among all Russian principalities. He soberly looks at the contemporary world and no longer considers Kyiv the capital of Russia. The Grand Duke of Kyiv does not order other princes, but asks them to enter "into the golden stirrup ... for the Russian land," and sometimes, as it were, asks: "Don't you think to fly here from afar to guard your father's golden throne?" So he turned to Vsevolod the Big Nest.

“The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign has great respect for sovereign sovereigns, princes of other lands, and does not at all suggest redrawing the political map of Russia. When he talks about unity, he means only what was quite real then - a military alliance against the "nasty", a single defense system, a single plan for a distant raid into the steppe. But he does not claim the hegemony of Kyiv, since Kyiv has long turned from the capital of Russia into the capital of one of the principalities and was almost on an equal footing with such cities as Galich, Chernigov, (Vladimir on Klyazma, Novgorod, Smolensk. Kyiv distinguished from these cities only its historical glory and the position of the church center of all Russian lands. Until the middle of the 12th century, the Kiev principality occupied significant areas on the Right Bank of the Dnieper: almost the entire Pripyat basin and the Teterev, Irpen and Ros basins. Only later did Pinsk and Turov separate from Kyiv, and the lands west of Goryn and Sluch went to the Volyn land.

A feature of the Kyiv principality was a large number of old boyar estates with fortified castles, concentrated in the old land of Polyany to the south of Kyiv. To protect these estates from the Polovtsians back in the 11th century. along the river Rosi (in "Porosye") were settled by significant masses of nomads expelled by the Polovtsy from the steppes: Torks, Pechenegs and Berendeys, united in the XII century. common name - Black Cowls. 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. Defending Russia from the Polovtsy, the Torks and Berendeys gradually adopted the Russian language, Russian culture, and even the Russian epic epic.

Kyiv land. Pereyaslav land (east of the Dnieper) (according to A. N. Nasonov)

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.

Black hoods played an important role in the political life of Russia in the 12th century. and often influenced the choice of one or another prince. There were cases when the Black Hoods proudly declared to one of the pretenders to the Kyiv throne: “In us, prince, there is both good and evil,” that is, that the achievement of the grand prince’s throne depends on them, border cavalry constantly ready for battle, located two days from the capital.

For half a century that separates "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" from the time of Monomakh, the Kiev Principality lived a difficult life.

In 1132, after the death of Mstislav the Great, Russian principalities began to fall away from Kyiv one after another: either Yuri Dolgoruky would ride from Suzdal to seize the Principality of Pereyaslav, then the neighboring Chernigov Vsevolod Olgovich, together with his Polovtsy friends, “went fighting villages and cities ... and people even came to Kyiv…” Novgorod finally freed itself 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.

The Kyiv Chronicle depicts Vsevolod and his brothers as cunning, greedy and crooked people. The Grand Duke waged incessant intrigues, quarreled with his relatives, granted dangerous rivals distant destinies in bearish corners in order to remove them from Kyiv.

An attempt to return Novgorod to Kyiv was unsuccessful, since the Novgorodians expelled Svyatoslav Olgovich “for his malice”, “for his violence”.

Vsevolod did not enjoy the sympathy of the Kyiv boyars; this was reflected both in the chronicle and in the characterization that V. N. Tatishchev took from sources unknown to us: “This Grand Duke was a man of great stature and very fat, had little hair on his head, a wide beard, considerable eyes, a long nose. Wise (cunning - B.R.) was in the councils and courts, for that - whom he wanted, he could justify or accuse. He had many concubines and practiced more in fun than in reprisals. 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 at the same time, they feared more burdens from Igor (his brother. - B.R.), knowing his ferocious and proud temper.

The protagonist "" The Tale of Igor's Campaign "- Svyatoslav of Kyiv - was the son of this Vsevolod.

Vsevolod died in 1146. Subsequent events clearly showed that the main force in the principality of Kiev, as well as in Novgorod and other lands at that time, was the boyars.

Vsevolod's successor, his brother Igor, the same prince of a ferocious temper, 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 “kiyans” rushed to smash the courtyards of the hated tiuns and swordsmen, which was reminiscent of the events of 1113.

The leaders of the Kyiv boyars, Uleb Tysyatsky and Ivan Voitishich, secretly sent an embassy to 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. A new stage of the struggle between the Monomashichs and the Olgoviches began.

Smart Kyiv historian of the late XII century. hegumen Moses, who had a whole library of annals of various principalities, compiled a description of these turbulent years (1146-1154) from fragments of the personal chronicles of the warring princes. It turned out to be a very interesting picture: the same event is described from different points of view, the same act was described by one chronicler as a good deed inspired by God, and by others as the machinations of the “evil devil”.

Of particular interest is the chronicler of Grand Duke Izyaslav Mstislavich (1146–1154). This is a man who knew military affairs well, participated in campaigns and military councils, and carried out the diplomatic missions of his prince. In all likelihood, this is the boyar, Kievan thousand Peter Borislavich, mentioned many times in the annals. He conducts, as it were, a political account of his prince and tries to put him in the most favorable light, to show him as a good commander, a managerial ruler, a caring overlord. Exalting his prince, he skillfully vilifies all his enemies, showing an outstanding literary talent. To document his chronicle-report, obviously intended for influential princely-boyar circles, Peter Borislavich widely used the authentic correspondence of his prince with other princes, the people of Kiev, the Hungarian king and his vassals. He also used the minutes of princely congresses and diaries of campaigns. Only in one case does he disagree with the prince and begins to condemn him - when Izyaslav acts against the will of the Kyiv boyars.

The reign of Izyaslav was filled with a struggle with the Olgovichi, with Yuri Dolgoruky, who twice managed to briefly capture Kyiv.

In the process of this struggle, Prince Igor Olgovich, a prisoner of Izyaslav (1147), was killed in Kyiv, by the verdict of the veche.

In 1157 Yuri Dolgoruky died in Kyiv. It is believed that the Suzdal prince, unloved in Kyiv, was poisoned.

During these strife in the middle of the XII century. the future heroes of The Tale of Igor's Campaign are repeatedly mentioned - Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and his cousin Igor Svyatoslavich. So far, these are third-rate young princes who went into battle in the avant-garde detachments, received small cities as inheritance and “kissed the cross with all their will” of the older princes. Somewhat later, they were fixed in large cities: from 1164 Svyatoslav in Chernigov, and Igor in Novgorod-Seversky. In 1180, not long before the events described in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, Svyatoslav became the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

Monetary hryvnias of the XII century.

Due to the fact that Kyiv was often a bone of contention between the princes, the Kiev boyars entered into a “row” with the princes and introduced a curious duumvirate system that lasted the entire second half of the 12th century. Duumvir co-rulers were Izyaslav Mstislavich and his uncle Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, Svyatoslav Vsevolodich 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 this or that prince, but, in addition, there were two permanent lines of struggle that always required readiness. The first and most important is, of course, the Polovtsian steppe, where in the second half of the XII century. feudal khanates were created, uniting separate 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 Ros-Sula line was created. In this regard, the importance of the headquarters of such a general defense passed from Belgorod to Kanev. Southern border outposts of the Kyiv land, located in the X century. on the Stugna and on the Sula, now moved down the Dnieper to Orel and Sneporod-Samara.

Kyiv bracelets of the 12th-13th centuries.

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 colorfully that he created the idea of some kind of catastrophe. In fact, Kyiv continued to live a full-blooded life as the capital of a wealthy principality even after 1169. Churches were built here, an all-Russian chronicle was written, and “The Tale of the Regiment…” was created, incompatible with the concept of decline.

The Kievan prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1180-1194) is characterized by the "Word" as a talented commander. His cousins Igor and Vsevolod Svyatoslavich, with their haste, awakened the evil that Svyatoslav, their feudal overlord, managed to cope with shortly before:

Svyatoslav the formidable great Kiev thunderstorm

Byashet ruffled his strong regiments and haraluzhny swords;

Step on the Polovtsian land;

Pritopta hills and yarugi;

Stir up rivers and lakes;

Dry up streams and swamps.

And the filthy Kobyak from the bow of the sea

From the great iron regiments of the Polovtsians,

Like a whirlwind, vytorzhe

And falling Kobyak in the city of Kyiv,

In the grid of Svyatoslavl.

Tu Nemtsi and Veneditsi, that Gretsi and Morava

Sing the glory of Svyatoslav

Prince Igor's cabin...

The poet meant here the victorious campaign of the united Russian forces against Khan Kobyak in 1183.

Svyatoslav's co-ruler was, as it is said, Rurik Rostislavich, who reigned in the "Russian Land" from 1180 to 1202, and then became for some time the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

The Tale of Igor's Campaign is entirely on the side of Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and says very little about Rurik. Chronicle, on the contrary, was in the sphere of influence of Rurik. Therefore, the activities of the duumvirs are biased by the sources. We know about the conflicts and disagreements between them, but we also know that Kyiv at the end of the XII century. experienced an era of prosperity and even tried to play the role of an all-Russian cultural center. This is evidenced by the Kyiv annals of 1198 of Abbot Moses, which entered together with the Galician chronicle of the XIII century. in the so-called Ipatiev Chronicle.

The Kyiv collection gives a broad idea of the various Russian lands in the 12th century, using a number of annals of individual principalities. It opens with The Tale of Bygone Years, which tells about the early history of all of Russia, and ends with a recording of Moses' solemn speech on the construction of a wall at the expense of Prince Rurik, strengthening the banks of the Dnieper. The orator, who prepared his work for the collective performance of “one mouth” (cantata?), calls the Grand Duke the king, and his principality magnifies “an autocratic power ... known not only in Russian borders, but also in distant overseas countries, to the end of the universe.”

After the death of Svyatoslav, when Rurik began to reign in Kyiv, his son-in-law Roman Mstislavich Volynsky (great-great-grandson of Monomakh) became his co-ruler for a short time in the "Russian land", that is, the southern Kiev region. He received the best lands with the cities of Trepol, Torchesky, Kanev and others, which made up half of the principality. However, Vsevolod the Big Nest, the prince of the Suzdal land, who wanted to be in some form an accomplice in the management of the Kiev region, envied this "goddamn volost".

A long enmity began between Rurik, who supported Vsevolod, and the offended Roman Volynsky. As always, the Olgovichi, Poland, and Galich were quickly drawn into the strife. The case ended with the fact that Roman was supported by many cities, Black hoods, and, finally, in 1202, "opened the gates for him."

In the very first year of the great reign, Roman organized a campaign deep into the Polovtsian steppe "and took the Polovtsian vezhe and brought a lot of souls full of Christians from them (from the Polovtsy. - V.R.), and there was great joy in the lands of Rus'."

Rurik did not remain in debt and on January 2, 1203, in alliance with the Olgovichi and "the whole Polovtsian land" took Kyiv. “And great evil was created in the Russtey of the earth, what evil was not from baptism over Kyiv ... Podolia took and burned; otherwise you took Mount and plundered Saint Sophia and the Tithes (church) as metropolitan ... plundered all the monasteries and adorned icons ... then put everything in your chest. Further, it is said that Rurik's allies, the Polovtsians, hacked to death all the old monks, priests and nuns, and took the young black women, wives and daughters of the people of Kiev to their camps.

Obviously, Rurik did not hope to gain a foothold in Kyiv, if he robbed him like that, and went to his own castle in Ovruch.

In the same year, after a joint campaign against the Polovtsy in Trepol, Roman captured Rurik and tonsured his entire family (including his own wife, Rurik's daughter) as monks. But Roman did not rule long in Kyiv - in 1205 he was killed by the Poles, when he drove too far from his squads while hunting in his western possessions.

The poetic lines of the chronicle are connected with Roman Mstislavich, which, unfortunately, has come down to us only partially. The author calls him the autocrat of all Russia, praises his mind and courage, noting especially his struggle with the Polovtsians: them, like an eagle; hrobor bo be, yako and tour. Regarding the Polovtsian campaigns of Roman, the chronicler recalls Vladimir Monomakh and his victorious struggle against the Polovtsians. Epics with the name of Roman have also been preserved.

One of the chronicles that has not come down to us, used by V. N. Tatishchev, provides extremely interesting information about Roman Mstislavich. As if after the forcible tonsure of Rurik and his family, Roman announced to all Russian princes that his father-in-law had been dethroned by him for violating the treaty. This is followed by a presentation of Roman’s views on the political structure of Russia in the 13th century: the Kyiv prince must “defend the Russian land from everywhere, and keep good order among the brethren, Russian princes, so that one cannot offend another and run into and ruin other people’s regions.” The novel blames the younger princes who are trying to capture Kyiv, having no strength for defense, and those princes who "bring in the filthy Polovtsy." Then follows the draft of the election of the prince of Kyiv in the event of the death of his predecessor. Six princes must choose: Suzdal, Chernigov, Galicia, Smolensk, Polotsk, Ryazan; "Junior princes are not needed for that election." These six principalities should be inherited by the eldest son, but not divided into parts, "so that the Russian land does not diminish in strength." Roman proposed to convene a princely congress to approve this order.

V. N. Tatishchev retained the characteristics of Roman and his rival Rurik:

“This Roman Mstislavich, the grandson of the Izyaslavs, although not very large, was broad and overbearingly strong; his face is red, his eyes are black, his nose is great with a hump, his hair is black and short; Velmy Yar was angry; stagnant tongue, when angry, could not pronounce a word for a long time; he had a lot of fun with the nobles, but he was never drunk. He loved many wives, but not a single one owned him. The warrior was brave and cunning in organizing regiments ... He spent his whole life in wars, received many victories, and was defeated by one (only once. - B.R.).

Rurik Rostislavich is characterized differently. It is said that he was in the great reign for 37 years, but during this time he was expelled six times and “suffered a lot, having no peace from anywhere. Ponezhe he himself was drinking a lot and possessing wives, he was diligent about the government of the state and his own security. His judges and rulers over the cities caused a lot of burden to the people, for this he had very little love among the people and respect from the princes.

Obviously, these characteristics, full of medieval juiciness, were compiled by some Galician-Volynian or Kievan chronicler who sympathized with Roman.

The strife around Kyiv continued even in those years when an unprecedented new danger hung over Russia - the Tatar-Mongol invasion. During the time from the battle on the Kalka in 1223 to the arrival of Batu near Kyiv in 1240, many princes were replaced, there were many battles over Kyiv. In 1238, Prince Michael of Kyiv fled, fearing the Tatars, to Hungary, and in the terrible year of the arrival of Batu, he collected feudal dues donated to him in the principality of Daniel of Galicia: wheat, honey, "beef" and sheep.

The "mother of Russian cities" - Kyiv - lived a bright life for a number of centuries, but in the last three decades of its pre-Mongol history, the negative features of feudal fragmentation, which led to the dismemberment of the Kyiv principality into a number of destinies, were too strong.

The singer of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" could not stop the historical process with his inspired stanzas.

Golden diadems of the 12th–13th centuries from the composition of the treasures buried in the ground during the invasion of Batu in 1240.

From the book Course of Russian History (Lectures I-XXXII) author Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich

Kiev principality - the first form of the Russian state These were the conditions, with the assistance of which the great principality of Kiev arose. It was at first one of the local Varangian principalities: Askold and his brother settled in Kyiv as simple Varangian konings guarding

From the book History of Russia from ancient times to late XVII century author Bokhanov Alexander Nikolaevich

§ 1. The Principality of Kiev Although it has lost its significance as the political center of the Russian lands, Kyiv has retained its historical glory as the “mother of Russian cities”. It also remained the church center of the Russian lands. But most importantly, the Kiev principality continued to remain

From the book The Birth of Russia author

Principality of Kiev For the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the Principality of Kiev was the first among all Russian principalities. He soberly looks at the contemporary world and no longer considers Kyiv the capital of Russia. The Grand Duke of Kyiv does not order other princes, but asks them to enter "in

From the book Unperverted History of Ukraine-Rus Volume I the author Wild Andrew

Kiev State Sources The first information about the State of Kievan Rus we have 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

From the book Love Joys of Bohemia author Orion Vega

From the book Unified textbook of the history of Russia from ancient times to 1917. With a preface by Nikolai Starikov author Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich

Kievan state in the XI-XII centuries § 16. Prince Yaroslav the Wise. After the death of St. Vladimir (1015), princely civil strife arose in Russia. The eldest son of Vladimir Svyatopolk, having taken the Kyiv "table", sought to exterminate his brothers. Two of them, princes Boris and Gleb, were

From the book Ancient Russian History to Mongolian yoke. Volume 1 author Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich

THE GRAND PRINCIPALITY OF KIEV After reviewing the Norman period of Russian History, we proceed to a presentation of the events that make up the content of the period, mainly specific, from the death of Yaroslav to the conquest of Russia by the Mongols (1054–1240).

From the book Kievan Rus and Russian principalities of the XII-XIII centuries. author Rybakov Boris Alexandrovich

author Tolochko Petr Petrovich

2. Kiev chronicle of the 11th century. Kiev Chronicle of the 11th century. if not contemporary with the events described, then closer to them than the chronicle of the 10th century. It is already marked by the presence of the author, enlivened by the names of writers or compilers. Among them is Metropolitan Hilarion (author

From the book Russian chronicles and chroniclers of the X-XIII centuries. author Tolochko Petr Petrovich

5. Kiev chronicle of the XII century. The immediate continuation of The Tale of Bygone Years is the Kyiv Chronicle of the end of the 12th century. AT historical literature it is variously dated: 1200 (M. D. Priselkov), 1198–1199. (A. A. Shakhmatov), 1198 (B. A. Rybakov). Concerning

From the book Russian chronicles and chroniclers of the X-XIII centuries. author Tolochko Petr Petrovich

7. Kiev chronicle of the XIII century. Continuation of the Kyiv Chronicle of the end of the XII century. in the Ipatiev Chronicle there is the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle. This circumstance, due to chance, the presence in the hands of the compiler of the Ipatiev list of just such chronicles,

author Tike Wilhelm

BATTLE FOR KIEV AND MOLDAVAN 101st Jaeger Division in hell near Gorchichny - 500th battalion special purpose bleeding - Colonel Aulok and his young grenadiers - Lieutenant Lumpp with the 1st battalion of the 226th grenadier regiment defends BorisovkaIsthmus

From the book March to the Caucasus. Battle for oil 1942-1943 author Tike Wilhelm

Fights for Kiev and Moldavan

From the book History of the USSR. Short course author Shestakov Andrey Vasilievich

II. Kievan state 6. Formation of the Kievan principality Varangian raids. In the 9th century, the lands of the Slavs, who lived around Novgorod and along the Dnieper, were raided by robber gangs of the Varangians - inhabitants of Scandinavia. The Varangian princes with their retinues took furs, honey and

From the book History of Ukraine. South Russian lands from the first Kyiv princes to Joseph Stalin author Allen William Edward David

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

From the book The Missing Letter. The unperverted history of Ukraine-Rus the author Wild Andrew

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,

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 of the steppe nomads of the Polovtsy began. 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. The eastern border between Kyiv, on the one hand, and Chernigov and Pereyaslavl, on the other, ran 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 the western border of Kyiv with Volyn land ran along a 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 duumvirate system that 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 importance 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 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.

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 by Vladimir-Volyn, in the south it was closely adjacent to

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 century, these lands were the central part 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 was not only positive sides. Very soon the Kyiv lands turned into an object of intense struggle between separate branches. The powerful Kyiv boyars and the elite 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 12th century, the political significance that the Kievan principality had previously had 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.

total:0
In contact with 0
Google Plus 0
OK 0
Facebook 0

Kiev principality: geographical location and characteristics of the government. South Russian principalities in the 12th - early 13th centuries Territories of the Kievan principality in the 12th and 13th centuries

Kiev principality

KIEV PRINCIPALITY