The political basis of Kievan Rus was princely power, which belonged to the Rurik dynasty. In the IX-X centuries. she was inherited from father to son. Under Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, power began to be transferred to the oldest man in the family. Then all the princes began to receive inheritance. This principle laid the foundation for the political fragmentation that arose in the 12th century.
Princely power
Each inheritance and city of the ancient Russian state eventually turned out to be assigned to a certain branch of the Rurikovich. For example, Chernigov became the patrimony of the descendants of Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich. Kiev and Pereyaslavl went to Vladimir Monomakh and his sons. The results that the political and socio-economic development of Kievan Rus led to were secured at the Lyubech Congress in 1097 in the form of a ladder system of inheritance. At the same time, the “mother of Russian cities” formally remained the main city of the Eastern Slavs. The Kiev prince was recognized by relatives as elder.
However, already in the XI century, military clashes between the Rurikovich among themselves became the norm. Both political and economic development of Kievan Rus led to this disappointing result. Briefly, this pattern can be explained by several reasons. First, the growing Russian provincial cities wanted to achieve independence from the center in order to develop faster and easier. Secondly, a combination of three political traditions of the country led to the fragmentation of the Kiev state: monarchist, aristocratic and democratic.
Rurikovich and aristocracy
As in any medieval European country, the political and socio-economic development of Kievan Rus was directly dependent on the monarchical system. It arose at the dawn of national statehood. The prince was not only the personification of the executive branch: he ruled, determined the laws and led the army, transferring his powers by inheritance. In this principle, both the tribal Slavic tradition itself and the foreign influence affected. Along with religion, the Old Russian state took over many political institutions from the Byzantine Empire. That is why the prince has always been considered as the main defender of the Orthodox Church.
The economic and political development of Kievan Rus also depended on long-standing aristocratic traditions, which were defended by the boyar council. This institution acted as a significant complement to the power of the princes. It is known that monarchs regularly consulted with the nobility in matters of domestic and foreign policy. The boyars could rule the state in the format of a regency council during the prince's infancy. Adults Rurikovich often discussed the agenda with their surroundings during feasts and hunting.
The functions of civil administration were often transferred to key combatants. Numerous examples of army intervention in politics are known through chronicles. For example, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich refused to accept Christianity because of the position of his own pagan squad, opposed to the incoming Greek faith.
The boyar estate at that time was not a closed caste. Any capable person and even a mercenary could become an aristocrat. In this case, the boyars were not obliged to the princes service. They could leave their overlords and move on to other Rurikovichs (albeit losing ground). It is known that Vladimir Svyatoslavovich actively distributed estates to the Vikings, having seized the throne of Kiev thanks to their help.
Veche
The conductor of democratic principles in the Old Russian state was the city chamber. It performed a representative function and gave people the opportunity to influence the decisions made by the authorities. Only men (heads of families) had the right to vote. The opinions of unmarried offspring were not taken into account.
The appearance of the veche as an important institution was facilitated by the features of the socio-economic development of Kievan Rus related to the growth of the urban community. A similar community was formed from several strata: merchants, artisans, church ministers, the princely administration. At first, the veche played a minor role in political life, but over time its weight only increased. The peak of the importance of such meetings occurred in the XI-XIII centuries.
The first Kiev princes could not pay attention to the opinions of people. They forcibly seized the cities and in the same imperious form they baptized yesterday's pagans. In this case, why did the veche still gain significant political weight? Over time, the city militia became an important part of the squad. In addition, wealthy residents began to lend money to the princes (for example, for the same wars). Finally, the Rurikovich had their own economic interests associated with the settlement.
The result of all these slow but inexorable processes was the fact that in 1068 the veche of Kiev elected Vseslav a prisoner as its prince, and in 1113 invited Vladimir Monomakh to rule. Democratic regimes especially took root in the north. The most independent was the Novgorod Veche, which during the period of political fragmentation became the basis of the Novgorod Republic.
Officials
In another unified Kievan Rus in every major provincial city, the prince had a governor. Such posts existed in Novgorod, Pereslavl, Vladimir, Chernigov, etc. As a rule, the close relatives of the prince became governors. On the ground, they performed judicial, administrative and tax functions.
The city administration was headed by thousands. During the war they formed a militia. There were officials of the lower level - sotsky and ten. They collected taxes and maintained order in distant districts. Judicial fines were collected by virniks. The village administration was headed by the elders of the communities, and the administration in the lands of the prince was headed by the tyunami.
The elite
The social structure of Kievan Rus was unstable and dynamic - a large part of the population could change their social status with age. At the top of this staircase were the prince and his entourage - dynasty, squad, boyars. At the dawn of the existence of the Old Russian state, the elite was largely composed of Varangians who came from Scandinavia after the first Rurikovich. Gradually, the number of Normans decreased. Some were assimilated, others were replaced by hereditary East Slavs.
The general characteristic of the socio-economic development of Kievan Rus cannot do without mentioning the privileged position of the state apparatus. In his favor, redistributed income from trade, military production, taxes, etc. Prestigious were the positions of bailiffs (firemen), who were in charge of the princely economy (tyuns), and managers of feasts (Kravch).
Until the 12th century, Russia did not suffer from the feudalization inherent in Western Europe. Therefore, although the boyars played an important role in the life of East Slavic society, they were not independent owners of their own estates. The younger squad subordinate to them was called the grid.
Free inhabitants and slaves
The middle social layer of Kievan Rus consisted of citizens and free peasants. About 75% of the country's population belonged to it. Another layer is the active merchants, without which the social and economic development of Kievan Rus would be unthinkable. Briefly, the importance of merchants can be explained even by the fact that the state spent all the necessary (and significant) resources on protecting the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Residents of urban settlements united into communities. They were compiled on the basis of a territorial district basis.
Personally, free peasants were also called lyudins, and their communities were called vervins. In addition to them, the village also had stinks. So called the peasants belonging to the prince. They worked on the land of the monarch. They were supervised by tyuns. The social situation of smerds was the most vulnerable in the whole country. Offenses against them required low fines. In other words, the status of smerds was emphasized in the fundamental law of Kievan Rus - Russian Truth.
Researchers attribute rank and file to another stratum. These were civilian employees not affiliated with any other stratum of the population. Their work was an important contribution to the country's economic growth. Debtors who were unable to pay their debts were forced into forced labor. In Russian Truth, they received the talking name of procurements. Slaves and servants belonged to slaves. These were people who were considered the property of princes or aristocracy and had a certain specialty in the economy. For example, the slaves belonged to the key keeper.
Separately from all in the social system were ministers of the church. They appeared at the end of the 9th century, when Vladimir Svyatoslavovich baptized Russia and made Orthodoxy the state religion. Important hierarchs (bishops, archbishops and metropolitan) immediately occupied a privileged position. At the same time, the status of monks was slowly forming. National minorities had a special situation: the Ugrians, Finns in the north and black hoods in the south. At the end of the XI century, Jews were entrenched in Russia. Many of them were engaged in usury and were wealthy people. The growth of Jewish migration occurred after the defeat of the Khazaria.
Economics and Agriculture
As in other neighboring countries, the economic development of Kievan Rus was based on several key sectors: agriculture, domestic and foreign trade, crafts and crafts. In the IX-X centuries. there was a qualitative change in agriculture. During this period, the former shifted agrarian system died out. Its principle was that after the first harvest, the plot was left under steam for several years. At the same time, there was no alternation in crop rotation.
This practice has been replaced by two-field and three-field land use systems. Without its implementation, the economic development of Kievan Rus would be inferior and belated. With a three-field, different cultures alternated on one site: steam, spring and winter. Thanks to the new method of crop rotation, peasants increased the productivity of their farms. In the northern regions of the eastern Slavs during this period, former slaughter agriculture was gradually replaced by constant cultivation.
Economic development of Kievan Rus 9-12 centuries. depended on the yields of key crops. Buckwheat and wheat were grown in the south, and oats, barley and rye in the north. Separate fields were reserved for turnips. Cultivated and industrial crops used in weaving (hemp and flax). The key tool of labor in the north was plow. In the XII century, peasants improved a three-toed wooden plow, adding a metal share to it.
What else influenced the economic development of Kievan Rus? Agriculture could not exist without horses. It was they who pulled the plow. In addition, horses were needed by the army. Their breeding has become an important part of the old Russian economy. Huge herds belonged to the princely economy. Cattle breeding coexisted with agriculture. Developing from all these sectors, the economic development of Kievan Rus and the Old Russian state was a complex and multilateral process that is still being studied by specialists.
Hunting, fishing, flight-staying
In addition to agriculture, the features of the economic development of Kievan Rus were associated with hunting. She was engaged in a variety of population groups. For the boyars and princes, hunting was entertainment. But for residents of forest and forest-steppe regions, it was a way of earning and food. Furs were used in sewing warm clothes and economic exchange with neighbors (barter). For hunting in someone else’s possessions, a person could receive a huge fine or even corporal punishment (the same applies to the killing of hunting dogs and damage to hunting nets).
The economic development of Kievan Rus could not do without fishing. They hunted them on the shores of lakes, rivers and streams, which were always abundant on the East European Plain. Also in Kievan Rus a large number of outbuildings arose. If the beekeeper marked the tree as a worker, it fell under the protection of the law. The destructive sign of the owner of the hive was expected to pay a fine of 12 hryvnia.
Trade
Crafts and hunting provided products that were popular in the foreign market. The export of Kievan Rus consisted mainly of crops and forest raw materials. In the X century, trade with Byzantium flourished. The Eastern Slavs sold the Greeks honey, wax, furs, grain and slaves. In exchange for this, Kievan Rus through the efforts of its merchants received icons, jewelry, fruits and silk. Also, trade with the countries of the East and Western Europe always remained lively.
Thanks to profitable trade in Constantinople, a permanent merchant settlement of guests from Kiev appeared. According to tradition, there were more Novgorodians in German and Scandinavian cities. Without these initiative and courageous people, the economic development of Kievan Rus would not have gained the pace with which the country developed in the years of political integrity and stability.
The stay of merchants in other countries was regulated by international trade agreements. For example, such documents were signed with Byzantium in 907 and 944, and with Volga Bulgaria in 1006. At the same time, the reverse process took place. Foreign merchants settled in Russia. The Germans and the Dutch (the "Latin people") created several merchant yards in Novgorod. In Kiev, there were colonies of Greek and Armenian merchants. Suzdal’s land with its Volga route was the bridgehead of trade with the eastern peoples: Bulgars, Caucasians and residents of Khorezm. Persian and Georgian goods arrived in the Kiev enclave of Tmutorakan.
Why did the economic development of Kievan Rus suffer? Briefly, the main problems can be reduced to wars, as well as theft and robbery of merchants by “dashing people”. Merchants transporting their goods between different countries created caravans and united in organizations to protect their rights. Such guilds regulated relations with the state and tax revenues. In Novgorod, merchant "hundreds" were created for this purpose. The most influential and wealthy entrepreneurs were part of a privileged community. To get into it, it was necessary to pay an entrance fee (about fifty silver hryvnia). Merchant law appeared as legally enshrined norms in the "Russian Truth" by Yaroslav the Wise. In particular, it is in this document that the article on bankruptcy first appears.
Handicrafts
There is no doubt that the socio-economic development of Kievan Rus depended not only on foreign, but also on domestic trade. Its main engine was handicraft. In Kievan Rus there were about 40 such specialties. These were masons, carpenters, bridge builders, brick manufacturers, shipbuilders. The work of the people who built the first Russian Orthodox churches was especially appreciated. Many specialists received education abroad, due to which the economic development of Kievan Rus only accelerated. Craft flourished in small villages. Weaving was common in rural areas. The demand for textile products grew along with an increase in the country's population.
Another prestigious profession was blacksmithing. For warriors, boyars and princes, craftsmen made weapons; for the townspeople and farmers - bronze and iron tools. The socio-economic development of Kievan Rus was pushed forward along with the modernization of production, and without a high-quality inventory this process would have been impossible.
In pottery in the X century, the molding technique was replaced by a pottery wheel. Ceramic dishes became widespread in Russia. Generation after generation, Eastern Slavic jewelers honed their skills. The ancient Russian tradition was famous in many countries for its unique techniques of scanning, grains, etc.