Throughout the history of mankind, in order to consolidate state power, in addition to military force, spiritual ties (bonds) were needed that unite the people into a single whole and create an ideological prerequisite for managing it. It was for this purpose that pagan reform was carried out in 980 by Prince Vladimir, in the framework of which he established the highest pantheon of gods, Perun reigned supreme. This was to remind people of the picture of the real world and give princely power proper sacredness.
Unpopular innovations
Despite the fact that pagan reform was carried out within the framework of the religion that has prevailed in Russia for several centuries and has become an integral part of public life, it did not meet with popular support, and in some cases provoked an open protest. The reason, according to historians, is that, pursuing the interests of the upper class, the prince destroyed the general system of mythological representations of the people, arbitrarily exalting some gods and overthrowing others. Thus, the cult he established was narrow group and did not meet the spiritual needs of the whole people.
The deities whose status was elevated by pagan reform made up the so-called Pantheon of Prince Vladimir. Of course, this is a modern term, in those same ancient times they were simply singled out from the general mass of gods and tried to make it an object of special worship. Immediately there were excessively zealous executors of princely will, who, despite the general grumble, began to throw out idols of disgraced gods from the temples and establish new ones in their place.
Overthrown gods
This is exactly what happened in Novgorod, where in the year of pagan reform a certain governor named Dobrynya ruled. He, not at all embarrassed, expelled the idols of the local gods, the Sort and the Lizard, from the ancient temple and, instead, erected the stone Perun. When the hunter encroached on Veles, who was highly revered by the Novgorodians, but rejected by Prince Vladimir, the crowd around him bristled with hornets.
This immediately cooled his ardor, and since then both deities have been neighbors peacefully, until in 988, in connection with the baptism of Russia, the government ideology again underwent changes. They were immediately declared both remnants of the past and drowned in Volkhov under the painful silence of the gathered crowd. Could the semi-literate Dobrynya then have imagined how many more ascended to heaven and overthrown gods will be in Russia and how many "only true" teachings will turn out to be utopian nonsense? .. However, we will not be distracted.
Dangerous precedent
The pagan reform carried out by Prince Vladimir from year to year was gaining momentum until it was choked under the onslaught of a new state ideology, in the role of which Christianity acted. Nevertheless, it had very tangible cultural and historical consequences for the state.
First of all, the reform has changed the Russians' view of the mythological picture of the world around them. With a change in the hierarchy of the gods, the semantic accents have largely shifted in relation to the natural forces personified by them. In addition, it is important to note that the pagan reform of Prince Vladimir was the first in Russian history to experience violent interference in the consciousness of the people and their faith. Cult and mythology have become instruments of ideological manipulation. This created an extremely dangerous precedent, which in the following centuries was widely developed.
On the way to monotheism
It is important to take into account the fact that the pagan reform announced by Prince Vladimir greatly narrowed the pantheon of gods and thereby prepared the people for the transition from polytheism to monotheism, that is, the monotheism that underlies all the major world religions. Just as in Christianity the host of Heavenly Forces is grouped around a single Creator and Lord of the universe, so in the version of paganism that he proposed, the entire pantheon of gods was surrounded by the central figure of the supreme deity - the formidable and omnipotent Perun.
Smashing god
One can hardly be surprised that the Grand Duke chose this god for such a crucial role. Despite the fact that before, Perun was not particularly distinguished from other mythical characters and could not boast of popularity among the people, his candidacy was the best suited for the role of the supreme deity and patron of the prince, and at the same time his squad.
First of all, Perun spoke in favor of his name, translated from Old Slavic as “smashing” or “beating”. It fully reflected the tasks facing the prince and his soldiers - mercilessly smash all the enemies of the state. In addition, Perun was considered a thunder god - the lord and lord of lightning, which also impressed the ambitious prince. But the main thing, in all likelihood, was the desire to assert his will contrary to the opinion of the mob and to prove once again that not only earthly lords, but also deities endowed with higher powers are exalted and cast down.
Idol with a golden mustache
Having proclaimed Perun his patron and ruler of all other gods, Prince Vladimir established the requirements that the idols depicting him should meet. So, he ordered the heads mounted on stone bodies to be cast from silver and decorated with a golden mustache (there were no indications about the beard). However, due to the high cost of such a project, it was possible to fully realize it only in Kiev, but even there, according to the annals, a silver-headed idol was drowned in the Dnieper on the occasion of the adoption of Christianity by the people.
Outdated Religion
In the mid 80-ies of the X century, the political situation in which the Old Russian state developed, significantly changed, and before Prince Vladimir in full, the question arose of finding a new ideological base that could become the spiritual core around which all the lands subject to it would unite. The former official religion no longer met the essential requirements and was doomed to oblivion. Together with her, all the fruits of the recently carried out pagan reform also came to naught.
There were several reasons for the rejection of polytheism, and the main one was that it impeded the integration of Ancient Russia into the community of more developed states that had long been established on the foundation of monotheism, albeit in different forms. The former faith prevented the establishment of commercial and military cooperation with Western European countries, whose rulers perceived the pagans as a gathering of barbarian tribes, stuck in their development and incapable of enlightenment. Decisive action was required, and they were taken.
Afterword
We must pay tribute to Prince Vladimir - not without reason he went down in history with the title Great. Not long ago, having carried out pagan reform and using the power of arms to elevate Perun, unpopular among the people, he did not consider it humiliating to admit this as his mistake and proceed to correct it. The famous "Tale of Bygone Years" tells how in 987 the Grand Duke, deciding to break with paganism, sent his ambassadors to countries where the main world religions - Islam, Judaism, and Christianity in its Latin and Greek versions were professed. And only after their return and a report on everything he saw, he made a choice in favor of Byzantine Orthodoxy, which in 988 became the official state religion of Kievan Rus. This decision of the prince determined the whole future path of the country's historical development and laid the foundation for his spirituality.