Domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise: highlights

The domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise is a matter worthy of separate attention. The history of Kievan Rus would follow a completely different path, if not for the actions of this ruler. What was the peculiarity of his domestic policy? We will answer this and other questions below.

Yaroslav's ascension to the throne

In 1015, Prince Vladimir dies. Naturally, the struggle between the heirs for the throne began. For four years of fratricidal strife, Gleb, Svyatopolk, Boris and Svyatoslav died.

In Kiev, Yaroslav ascended the throne. Noteworthy. that from 1024 to 1036 in Kievan Rus there were two princes who did not fight among themselves, but reigned together from two administrative centers - Kiev and Chernigov. According to the chroniclers, the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise, briefly described, was the policy of the enlightener and builder of a centralized state. But first things first.

Domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise regarding the church

Yaroslav the Wise, wanting to get out of the "guardianship" of Byzantium, appoints in 1051 Metropolitan Illarion, a church figure. This marks the beginning of the complete and final adoption of Christianity in Russia. As mentioned above, Yaroslav was mainly famous not for his conquests, but for his work on the improvement of Kievan Rus. In particular, he did a lot for the Christian church, continuing the work of Vladimir - the introduction of Christianity. In addition, with the spread of the new faith, an increasing need for clerics arose. Even Vladimir ordered to teach the boyar children to read and write, then to make them clergy, so necessary for Kievan Rus. The mothers of these children cried for them, because they had not yet strengthened in their faith. Yaroslav continued this tradition, later organizing a religious school in Novgorod for 300 boys, sons of elders and priests.

The prince was distinguished by a love of books and hired scribes to rewrite Bulgarian manuscripts. Sometimes he even instructed to correct Bulgarian translations or translate directly from Greek. The chronicle says that he himself rewrote some books, and then brought them as a gift to the church of St. Sophia. It was under Yaroslav the Wise that monastic communities began to appear, which were engaged in copying books.

The legal legislation of Russia - the merit of Yaroslav

It was the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise that was marked by the creation of the first set of laws - the “Russian Truth”. The prince seriously approached the issue of reforming the legal system of the state. Historians associate the appearance of the oldest part of "Russian Truth" with the name of Yaroslav the Wise. And they even call the approximate place of its publication - Novgorod. Unfortunately, the original version of the code did not reach us. It is authentically known that in the 11-12th century the sons of Yaroslav changed the text of the scripture and called it "The Truth of Yaroslavich". With the introduction of Christianity, pagan concepts of morality, crime, and punishment began to be replaced by the norms and rules of Christian morality.

Crime in the "Russian Truth" was defined not as a violation of the will of the prince or anyone else, but as damage. That is, the criminal violation did not differ from the civil law one, since the culprit had to pay certain compensation to the injured party. Thus, the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise was mainly aimed at strengthening the state. The description of the punishments for a crime in Russian Pravda clearly shows that Yaroslav strove to create a system of uniform legislation for all.

Culture and urban development of Kievan Rus during the reign of Yaroslav

The reign of this enlightening prince is often called by historians the "golden age" of the development of the culture and sciences of Kievan Rus. In addition to the development of Christianity and the census of books, the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise was characterized by an unprecedented flowering of urban development.

The church of Hagia Sophia was erected - the pearl of medieval architecture, as well as other large and small temples. Moreover, if before the adoption of Christianity, all the buildings in the cities were wooden, then with a new faith stone architecture came to Russia. Mostly temples were built, since developing Christianity was in dire need of places of worship. In Kievan Rus, the cross-domed model was the most popular model of the temple, since the temples were a two-vaulted cross crowned with a dome. In a nutshell, this was the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise. The table is presented below.

As you can see, Yaroslav acted in three main directions. A rather complicated topic is the domestic policy of Yaroslav the Wise. The table will help to better understand it.