One of the sad pages of our history is the fragmentation of Ancient Russia in the Middle Ages. But internecine warfare is not the prerogative of the Old Russian principalities. Inter-feudal wars covered the whole of Europe; in France alone, there were 14 large feudal marriages, between which there were continuous bloody clashes. Civil war is a characteristic feature of the Middle Ages.
Weak power of Kiev and ladder law
The main cause of civil strife was a weak centralization of power. From time to time, powerful leaders appeared, such as Vladimir Monomakh or Yaroslav the Wise, who were glad about the unity of the state, but, as a rule, after their death, the sons again began to fight.
And there were always many children, and each branch of the family, coming from the common grandfather of Rurik, tried to secure supremacy. Complicated by all the specifics of the succession to the throne - ladder law, when power was transferred not by direct inheritance to the eldest son, but to the eldest in the family. The internecine wars plagued Russia until the death of Moscow Prince Vasily II of the Dark, that is, until the second half of the 15th century.
Disunity
In the early stages of the development of the state, alliances between several princes were periodically formed, and wars were waged by blocs, or for a time the whole of Kievan Rus united to repel raids by the steppe peoples.
But all this was temporary, and the princes again locked themselves in their inheritance, each of which individually did not have the strength or resources to unite all of Russia under its leadership.
Very weak federation
Civil war is a civil war. This is a bloody major confrontation between the inhabitants of one country, united in certain groups. Despite the fact that in those days, our country was a few independent states, in history it remained as Kievan Rus, and its unity, albeit inactive, was still felt. It was such a weak federation, whose inhabitants called the representatives of neighboring principalities nonresident, and foreigners - foreigners.
Explicit and secret causes of civil strife
It should be noted that the decision to go to war against his brother was made not only by the prince, but townspeople, the merchants, and the church stood behind him. The princely power was very strongly limited by both the Boyar Duma and the city Veche. The causes of internecine wars lie much deeper.
And if the principalities fought among themselves, then for this there were strong and numerous motives, including ethnic, economic, and commercial ones. Ethnic because new states were forming on the outskirts of Rus, whose populations began to speak their own dialects and had their own traditions and ways. For example, Belarus and Ukraine. The princes ’isolation was also driven by the desire of the princes to transfer power by direct inheritance. The struggle between them was fought because of dissatisfaction with the distribution of territories, for the throne of Kiev, for independence from Kiev.
Disunity of brothers
The internecine war in Russia began as early as the 9th century, and the small skirmishes between the princes, in fact, never stopped. But there were major feuds. The first feud arose at the end of the X - beginning of the XI centuries, after the death of Svyatoslav. His three sons, Yaropolk, Vladimir and Oleg, had different mothers.
Grandmother, Grand Duchess Olga, able to unite them, died in 969, and after 3 years, his father died. There are few exact birth dates for the early Kiev princes and their heirs, but there are suggestions that by the time the Svyatoslavichs were orphaned, the senior Yaropolk was only 15 years old, and each of them already had their allotment left by Svyatoslav. All this did not contribute to the emergence of strong fraternal ties.
The first major feud
The internecine war began at the time the brothers were growing up - they had already gained strength, had squads and watched their estates. A specific occasion was the moment Oleg discovered in his forests hunters of Yaropolk, led by the son of the governor Sveneld Lut. After the quarrel arose, Lut was killed, and, according to some reports, his father Svenald strongly incited Yaropolk to attack and in every possible way fueled hatred for the brothers who allegedly dream of the Kiev throne.
One way or another, but in 977, Yaropolk kills his brother Oleg. Having heard about the murder of his younger brother, Vladimir, who was sitting in Veliky Novgorod, fled to Sweden, from which he returned with a strong army of mercenaries led by his governor Dobrynya. Vladimir immediately moved to Kiev. Having taken the rebellious Polotsk, he besieged the capital city. After some time, Yaropolk agreed to meet with his brother, but did not reach the headquarters, as he was killed by two mercenaries. Vladimir reigned on the throne of Kiev only 7 years after the death of his father. Yaropolk in history, strangely enough, remained a meek ruler, and it is believed that very young brothers became victims of intrigues led by experienced and cunning close associates, such as Sveneld and Fornication. Vladimir reigned in Kiev for 35 years and received the nickname Krasno Solnyshko.
The second and third civil wars of Kievan Rus
The second internecine war of the princes begins after the death of Vladimir, between his sons, whom he had 12. But the main struggle unfolded between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.
In this feud, Boris and Gleb, who became the first Russian saints, perish. In the end, Yaroslav wins, later nicknamed the Wise. He ascended the Kiev throne in 1016 and reigned until 1054, in which he died.
Naturally, the third major feud began after his death between his seven sons. Although Yaroslav during his lifetime clearly defined his estates as sons, and the throne of Kiev bequeathed to Izyaslav, as a result of fratricidal wars, he reigned on it only in 1069.
Century of fragmentation and dependence on the Golden Horde
The subsequent period of time until the end of the XIV century is considered a period of political fragmentation. Independent principalities began to form, and the process of fragmentation and the emergence of new destinies became irreversible. If in the XII century there were 12 principalities on the territory of Russia, then in the XIII century there were 50 principalities, and in the XIV century - 250.
In science, this process is called feudal fragmentation. Even the conquest of Rus by the Tatar-Mongols in 1240 failed to stop the crushing process. Only being within the 2.5 century under the yoke of the Golden Horde began to persuade the Kiev princes to create a centralized strong state.
Negative and positive aspects of fragmentation
Internal wars in Russia destroyed and bled the country, preventing it from developing properly. But, as noted above, civil strife and fragmentation were not only the shortcomings of Russia. Quilts resembled France, and Germany, and England. Oddly enough, but at some stage of development, fragmentation also played a positive role. Within the framework of one state, individual lands began to actively develop, turning into large estates, new cities were erected and flourished, churches were built, large squads were created and equipped. The political, economic and cultural development of the peripheral principalities under the weak political power of Kiev contributed to the growth of their independence and independence. And in some way the emergence of democracy.
However, a feud in Russia was always skillfully used by its enemies, of whom there were plenty. So the growth of the peripheral estates was put to an end by the attack on Russia by the Golden Horde. The process of centralization of Russian lands began slowly in the 13th century and went on until the 15th. But then there were internecine clashes.
Duality of succession rules
Separate words deserve the beginning of the internecine war in the Principality of Moscow in 1425-1453. After the death of Basil I, power passes into the hands of his son Basil II the Dark, all of whose reign was marked by civil strife. Immediately after the death of Basil I in 1425 until the 1433th war was fought between Vasily the Dark and his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich. The fact is that in Kievan Rus until the thirteenth century the rules of succession were determined by ladder law. According to him, power was transferred to the eldest in the family, and Dmitry Donskoy in 1389 appointed the youngest son Yuri the heir to the throne in the event of the death of the eldest son Vasily. Vasily I died, having his heirs, in particular the son of Vasily, who also had rights to the Moscow throne, because since the 13th century, power was increasingly transferred from father to his eldest son.
In general, Mstislav I the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, who ruled from 1125 to 1132, was the first to violate this right. Then, thanks to the authority of Monomakh, the will of Mstislav, the support of the boyars, the remaining princes were silent. And the rights of Vasily Yuri disputed, and some of his relatives supported him.
Strong ruler
The outbreak of the internecine war in the Principality of Moscow was accompanied by the destruction of small estates and the strengthening of tsarist power. Vasily the Dark fought for the unification of all Russian lands. Throughout his reign, which intermittently lasted from 1425 to 1453, Vasily Dark repeatedly lost the throne in the struggle, first with his uncle, and then his sons and other people who were eager for the Moscow throne, but always returned him. In 1446, he went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he was captivated and blinded, which is why he received the nickname Dark. Power in Moscow at that time was captured by Dmitry Shemyaka. But, even being blinded, Vasily the Dark continued a tough battle with the Tatar raids and internal enemies, tearing Russia to pieces.
The internecine war in the Principality of Moscow ended after the death of Basil II the Dark. The result of his reign was a significant increase in the territory of the Moscow principality (he annexed Pskov and Novgorod), a significant weakening and loss of sovereignty of other princes who were forced to obey Moscow.