Social and political structure of Kievan Rus. Features of the socio-political structure of Kievan Rus IX - early. XII centuries Tribal ideals and political practice
Kievan Rus is an early feudal monarchy. At its head was the Grand Duke of Kyiv. After the adoption of Eastern Christianity, princes are perceived as persons sanctified by the power established by God.
The powers of the prince are to collect taxes; legislative activity; judicial and administrative functions; military functions (the prince was the supreme military leader); representing the state in foreign relations.
Power was inherited by the eldest in the family.
IN Kievan Rus there was no distinction between government bodies and bodies managing the affairs of the Grand Duke.
Often entrusting the court to his deputies, “mayors and tiuns,” the prince headed the administration of the principality. He appointed regional managers - “posadniks”. In his activities, the prince relied on the council of elders (princely council). Advice- This is an advisory body that is not legally formalized, but has serious influence on the monarch in resolving the most important legislative and religious issues, foreign policy problems, and the collection of polyudia. The council consisted of boyars, city nobility, and representatives of the highest clergy. The obligation for the prince to confer with them was established by custom.
Strengthening the feudal lords in the 11th century. caused the emergence of a new authority - sleep, i.e. feudal congress. At the congress, issues of inter-princely disputes, war and peace, military campaigns, and division of lands were resolved.
In the Old Russian state there was veche. A veche is a people's meeting for discussing and resolving important common matters. All free residents of the city and adjacent settlements took part in the meeting. The method of convening was varied: through heralds (birichi), and by ringing a bell (in Novgorod). The veche resolved issues of taxation, city defense and organization of military campaigns. The decisions of the veche were binding on everyone.
8. Socio-economic system of Kievan Rus
There were two forms of production organization:
fiefdom(or fatherland) - paternal possession, inherited from father to son, the owner of the estate was a prince or boyar;
community lands, not yet subject to private feudal lords, they paid tribute to the Grand Duke in favor of the state.
Main population The country had free people who did not know class barriers and divisions.
The entire free population enjoyed the same rights, but its various groups differed from each other in their actual status, wealth and social influence.
The upper stratum of the population or boyars consisted of two elements:
"Zemstvo boyars", the local aristocracy that arose before the formation of the Old Russian state. These were the descendants of clan elders and clan princes, large traders, armed merchants;
“princely men”, princely boyars, the highest layer of warriors.
During the XI-XII centuries. there is a rapprochement and merging of the zemstvo and princely boyars. As a result of this process, the boyars turn into feudal lords.
The middle strata of the population include the ordinary mass of princely warriors and the middle strata of the urban merchants.
The lower strata - the urban and rural common people - are “smerds”. They made up the bulk of the population, were personally free and united in territorial communities. The Smerds paid tribute to the prince, and the boyars were economically dependent on him.
A significant layer of the dependent population were slaves who lived on the lands of large landowners.
There were two types of servitude: complete and incomplete.
Full – “servants”, slaves, etc. - cultivated the boyar lands, served their yards.
Incomplete - purchases that went into bondage to the prince, since they could not return the loan to him; ryadovichi - those who entered into a row (agreement) with the feudal lord; outcast - expelled from the community.
Slavery in Rus' was patriarchal in nature.
By the beginning of the 10th century. formed single state Rus. But by the standards we are accustomed to, it was unusual - it was a territorial and political unification of unions of tribal principalities. The borders of the new state, marked on historical maps, no one carried out and no one (with the exception of stronghold guard points) guarded. An important mechanism for maintaining control over state territory was polyudye - a tour by the prince together with a retinue of subject lands from late autumn to early spring. Polyudye is not only a collection of tribute taxes, but also a way of governing the country in the absence of a state apparatus: during the tour, the prince personally resolved conflicts, held court, and settled border disputes. But this did not mean that he could govern himself: in 945, an arbitrary collection of tribute in the Drevlyan land ended with the murder of Prince Igor and his entourage. As is known from the chronicle, his widow avenged him - the powerful and wise ruler of Rus', Princess Olga (945-957). From the same story it turns out that the Drevlyans had their own capital Iskorosten, their supreme prince Mal, and he had “men who held the land of Derevsk.” Thus, in the Old Russian state with its center in Kyiv, under the rule of the first all-Russian princes, local tribal structures were preserved, with which they had to be taken into account. It is no coincidence that the famous treaties with the Greeks of the 10th century. were concluded by Oleg and Igor on behalf of the “great and holy princes” who headed the unions of tribal principalities. Therefore, the wise Princess Olga, having defeated the Drevlyans, carried out the first tax reform: she approved the exact amount of payments to Kyiv - statutes and lessons and created a system administrative centers- graveyards, where princes and princely “men” stayed to collect tribute and administer administrative and judicial administration.
In the spring, the prince returns to Kyiv with the collected tribute. And in the summer, the tribute, along with other goods, was loaded onto ships and sent down the Dnieper - along the “route from the Varangians to the Greeks” - to the capital Byzantine Empire Constantinople. It is no coincidence that in the treaties between Rus' and Byzantium that have reached our time in 911 and 944. Most of the articles are devoted to the legal regulation of trade of Russian merchants in the empire.
A new stage in the development of ancient Russian statehood occurred during the reign of the great princes in Rus' Vladimir Svyatoslavich(980-1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise(1019-1054) - the era when the Rurik power was on the rise. Under Vladimir, the minting of its own coins (zlagniki and silver coins) began for the first time; around 1015, Yaroslav created the oldest part (Short edition) of "Russian Truth" - the first written code of laws of the Old Russian state.
At the turn of the X-XI centuries. Vladimir gradually eliminated tribal reigns: archaeological research has shown that many tribal centers at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. lost their former significance, and some of them were destroyed - so in the Drevlyansky land, instead of the burned Iskorosten, the princely castle of Ovruch appeared. New princely “cities” began to appear (Smolensk, Turov, Vladimir-Volynsky, Belgorod, Ryazan); there the prince began to place his children in the “volosts” as governors. For example, his son Yaroslav (future Wise) first went to Rostov and here, on the northeastern outskirts of Rus', founded the city of Yaroslavl, and then reigned in Novgorod.
This type of state is often called early feudal monarchy. However, it should be borne in mind that Rus' X - early XII centuries. was closer in type of development to the states of Eastern and Northern Europe- Norway, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary. These countries differed from the countries of Western Europe primarily in the absence of private feudal ownership of land and the predominance of centralized exploitation of free communal peasants by a corporation of druzhina nobility led by the prince.
The squad in Rus' was the main and comprehensive body of state power and administration. With her, the princes and kings went to “Polyudye” (“Weizla” - hospitality in Scandinavia). Princely senior warriors - boyars and younger ones - youths and children performed judicial and administrative functions, receiving for this part of the tribute, duties and booty in military campaigns; the population had to feed them while performing their duties as judges and bailiffs. In the X-XII centuries. A skilled warrior, “Ion’s grandson,” and even a person “from the Smerdya tribe,” i.e., could become a boyar. simple community member-smerd.
In new cities and castles the prince left his garrisons with governors(in Rus' - posadniks, in Poland and the Czech Republic - “kastelans”, in Hungary - “ispans”). Tribute flowed here, a third of which went to the benefit of the governor and his soldiers; This is where the trial took place. The surrounding population - residents of princely villages - was obliged not only to pay tribute, but also to perform certain “services” - duties: build fortresses, supply them with food, graze princely herds, etc. Archaeologists have found in Ukraine the remains of large bakeries where they made bread for the princely people; and documents of the XIV-XV centuries. confirm that the services of princely beaver-keepers, beaver-keepers, and fishermen continued later. Therefore, in the literature one can find a description of this type of state as a squad state, and the relationship between power and subjects - service organization of the society.
At the same time, the government has not yet completely “broken away” from the people. One of the time-honored customs was the feasts of Prince Vladimir, sung in legends and fairy tales. In the era of the formation of statehood, such feasts were a kind of social institution - a meeting of the prince with his squad and “many people”, where issues of war and peace, collection of tribute from subject lands were discussed, ambassadors were received; In the epics, heroes at a feast were called up “for distant service.” In a solemn atmosphere, the prince held court, rewarded those who distinguished himself, and endowed the disadvantaged, i.e. communicated directly with his subjects and responded appropriately to public sentiment.
One of the important state institutions ancient Russian statehood was veche, about which for a century (997-1097) there are only a few chronicle references: “... told at the veche. And deciding for the people,” “holding a veche,” “speaking to them at the veche.” It can be assumed that this phenomenon experienced a serious transformation over several centuries: from an archaic supreme body of tribal people's self-government, it turned into the 12th-13th centuries. to the city representative body. Judging by fragmentary data, the veche played (especially during acute socio-political conflicts) an important political role: it held money collections, decided on defense issues, and invited princes; but him social composition cannot be precisely defined. At the same time, the veche manifested itself mainly in critical situations; it could judge and punish princely servants, but did not replace princely power and nowhere, with the exception of Novgorod and Pskov, did it develop into a permanent and organized structure of state and government activity.
The territory of the state of Rus' was considered as the collective property (domain) of the ruling grand-ducal family of the Rurikovichs, each of whose representatives had the right to their share of power and income. In practice, this was expressed in the fact that the Kyiv princes Svyatoslav Igorevich (945-972), Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Yaroslav the Wise allocated “cities” to their children as their “fatherland”, dividing the territory of Rus' into “volosts” on the terms of transferring part of the tribute to Kyiv from these lands. At the same time, the princes retained the hereditary right of power, and in the event of the death of one of them, the remaining “young” moved, occupying increasingly more prestigious reigns. After the death of the father, as happened in 972 and 1015-1019, a struggle began between the brothers for ownership of the Kyiv “table”, and each time the winner revived this staircase system. After the death of Yaroslav the Wise, the heirs - the elder Yaroslavichs: Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod - lived together. But after the defeat from the Polovtsians in 1068 on the Alta River, a struggle for Kyiv began between the brothers. At several princely congresses-"snemas" they tried to agree on the principles of dividing the "tables", but each time the descendants of Yaroslav the Wise resumed strife for new redistribution reigns. As a result, an agreement was reached only in 1097, at a congress in Lyubech, when the grandchildren of Yaroslav - Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, Vasilko Rostislavich, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich established a new principle of organizing power: “let each one keep his fatherland.” From now on, the principalities of the fathers - the "fatherland" - were to be passed on to the children - the heirs of each of the princely lines. After the departure of the three senior Yaroslavichs from the political scene, the Kiev throne passed to Izyaslav’s son Svyatopolk. But he turned out to be a bad commander and a selfish ruler, and his death in 1113 served as a signal for a popular uprising in Kyiv. At the request of the people of Kiev, Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125), famous for his many years of struggle with the Polovtsians, became the Grand Duke of Kyiv. His name is associated with the compilation of a new set of laws - the so-called Long Edition of Russian Pravda, which reflected changes in the socio-political development of Rus'. With his authority and skillful politics, this prince managed to maintain peace and relative unity of Rus': his children ruled such “volosts” as Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Suzdal, Novgorod, Vladimir-Volynsky, Turov. Monomakh's son Mstislav (1125-1132) acted just as decisively: by his decree, the princes under his control made a successful campaign against Polotsk, and the local princes Vseslavich were imprisoned. But after the death of Mstislav the Great, from the mid-30s of the 12th century, the Russian lands lost their political unity and disintegrated into virtually sovereign principalities-states.
The history of Kievan Rus, the chronological framework of which most historians define as IX - beginning of XII centuries, can be conditionally divided into three periods:
- 1) IX - mid-X century. - initial, the time of the first Kyiv princes;
- 2) second half of the X - first half of the XI century. - the time of Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise, the heyday of Kievan Rus;
- 3) second half of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century, transition to territorial and political fragmentation.
The East Slavic state was formed at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries, when the Kyiv princes gradually subjugated the East Slavic unions of tribal principalities. Played a leading role in this process military service nobility- squad of Kyiv princes.
Some of the unions of tribal principalities were subordinated Kyiv princes in two stages:
- 1) unions of tribal principalities paid tribute while maintaining internal autonomy. In the 2nd half of the 10th century. tribute was levied in fixed amounts, in kind or in cash;
- 2) at the second stage, the unions of tribal principalities were directly subordinated. The local reign was liquidated, and a representative of the Kyiv dynasty was appointed as governor.
The lands of the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Radimichis and Krivichis were subjugated in the 9th-10th centuries. (Drevlyans - by the middle of the 10th century). The Vyatichi fought for their independence the longest (they were subordinated by the second half of the 10th century).
The liquidation of the “autonomy” of all East Slavic unions of tribal principalities meant the completion of the formation by the end of the 10th century. territorial structure of the state of Rus'.
The territories within the framework of a single early feudal state, ruled by princes - vassals of the Kyiv ruler, received the name volost. In general, in the 10th century. the state was called “Rus”, “Russian land”.
The structure of the state was finally formalized under Prince Vladimir (980–1015). He appointed his sons to reign in the 9 largest centers of Rus'.
- 1) the unification of all East Slavic (and part of the Finnish) tribes under the rule of the Grand Duke of Kyiv;
- 2) the acquisition of overseas markets for Russian trade and the protection of trade routes that led to these markets;
- 3) protection of the borders of the Russian land from attacks by steppe nomads.
Old Russian state by form of government it is early feudal monarchy. Except monarchical element͵ which, undoubtedly, is the basis, the political organization of the Russian principalities of the Kyiv period also had a combination aristocratic and democratic board.
Monarchical the element represented the prince. The head of the state was the Grand Duke of Kiev, who, however, Ancient Rus' was not an autocratic ruler (but rather was “first among equals”). His brothers, sons and warriors carried out: 1) government of the country, 2) court, 3) collection of tribute and duties.
The prince's main function was military; his first duty was the defense of the city from external enemies. Other functions include judicial. He appointed local judges to hear cases among his wards. In important cases he judged himself as the supreme judge.
Aristocratic the element was represented by the Council (Boyar Duma), which included senior warriors - local nobility, representatives of cities, and sometimes the clergy. At the Council, as an advisory body under the prince, the most important issues were decided government issues(the full composition of the council was convened in cases of extreme importance): election of a prince, declaration of war and peace, conclusion of treaties, publication of laws, consideration of a number of judicial and financial cases, etc. The Boyar Duma symbolized the rights and autonomy of vassals and had the right of “veto”.
The younger squad, which included boyar children and youths, and courtyard servants, as a rule, were not included in the Prince’s Council. But when resolving the most important tactical issues, the prince usually consulted with the squad as a whole. There is a widespread opinion (G.V. Vernadsky) that the boyars were completely free in their service to the prince. The boyar could always leave his court or enter the service of another prince. Moreover, since the boyars became the owners of land holdings, they could only do so by sacrificing their rights to the land. Sometimes it happened that a boyar who was the owner of land in one principality served the prince of another. But nevertheless, usually the growth of land holdings forced the boyars to more often combine their interests with the principality where they lived.
With the participation of princes, noble boyars and representatives of cities, the feudal congresses, which discussed issues affecting the interests of all principalities. A management apparatus was formed that was in charge of legal proceedings and the collection of duties and tariffs. From among the warriors, the prince appointed mayors- governors to manage the city, region; governor- leaders (voivode: large, great, city, local, military, elder, etc.) of various military detachments; thousand- senior officials (in the so-called decimal system military-administrative division of society, dating back to the pre-state period); land tax collectors - tributaries, judicial officials - virnikov, entrance, trade tax collectors - Mytnikov. The managers of the princely patrimonial farm also stood out from the squad - tiuns(later they became special government officials and were included in the public administration system).
Democratic element governance is found in the city assembly, known as the veche. It was not a body of representatives, but a meeting of all adult men. Unanimity was extremely important for any decision to be made. In practice, it happened that this demand led to armed clashes between groups arguing at the meeting. The losing side was forced to agree with the winners' decision. The veche in the capital of the principality influenced the veche of smaller cities. In the XI-XII centuries. The veche fell under the influence of the social elite, losing the functions of management and self-government (A.P. Novoseltsev).
An important feature of Kievan Rus, which developed as a result of constant danger, especially from the steppe nomads, was the general armament of the people, organized according to the decimal system (hundreds, thousands). It was the numerous people's militia that often decided the outcome of battles, and it was subordinate not to the prince, but to the veche. But as a democratic institution it was already in the 11th century. began to gradually lose its dominant role, retaining its strength for several centuries only in Novgorod, Kyiv, Pskov and other cities, while continuing to exert a noticeable influence on the course of the socio-political life of the Russian land.
Another universal characteristic of the form of a state is the method of territorial and political organization of state power.
The form of state political-territorial structure is a way of territorial organization of state... [read more]
- State and political organization of society
- Political system is the political organization of social life.
Politics is the sphere of public relations associated with the regulation of social relations. The political system of society is the broadest concept, including a set of social processes, institutions that arise and function in the sphere...
Norman theory:
The Old Russian state can be characterized as an early feudal monarchy. The head of state was Grand Duke Kyiv His brothers, sons and warriors carried out the administration of the country, the court, and the collection of tribute and duties. The first Russian princes:
Rurik (862-879) established himself in Novgorod. Oleg (879-912). 882 campaign against Kyiv, 907 and 911 successfully fought in Constantinople twice - as a result of agreements with the Greeks, according to which Russian merchants had the right to live for a month at the expense of the Greeks in Constantinople. Igor (912-945) 1st popular uprising (revolt of the Drevlyans 945), as a result of which Igor was executed. Olga (945-957) avenged the death of her husband, established lessons and graveyards, and annexed the lands of the Tiverts, Ulichs, and Drevlyans. Svyatoslav (957-972) son. Svyatoslav, in the course of his numerous campaigns, began annexing the lands of the Vyatichi, defeated Volga Bulgaria, conquered the Mordovian tribes, defeated the Khazar Khaganate, and repelled the onslaught of the Pechenegs. He tried to bring the borders of Rus' closer to Byzantium and became involved in the Bulgarian-Byzantine conflict, and then waged a stubborn struggle with the Emperor of Constantinople for the Balkan Peninsula. However, the fight with Byzantium ended unsuccessfully; Svyatoslav was surrounded by a hundred thousand Greek army. With great difficulty he managed to leave for Rus'. A non-aggression treaty was concluded with Byzantium, but the Danube lands had to be returned.
Sons of Svyatoslav: Yaropolk-Kyiv, Oleg-Drevlyanskaya land, Vladmir-Novgorod. Under Vladimir I (980-1015) all lands Eastern Slavs united as part of Kievan Rus. There was protection of Russian lands from raids by Pecheneg tribes. In 988, under Vladimir I, Christianity was adopted as the state religion. Korsun (Crimea). Then Svyatopolk ruled (1015-1019), but he was expelled from Kyiv to Poland
Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) Under Yaroslav Mur, the St. Sophia Cathedral was built, the Golden Gate was built, books were translated into Russian, and literacy was taught. A common form of organization of production has become feudal fiefdom, i.e. paternal possession, passed from father to son by inheritance. The owner of the estate was a prince or boyar.
Yaroslav the Wise divided the territory of the state between his five sons and a nephew from the deceased eldest son Vladimir (laddered order of succession to the throne). With the death of the last of the Yaroslavichs, Vsevolod, in 1093, power over Kiev passed to the oldest in the family, Svyatopolk II Izyaslavich (1093-1113). The new prince was unable to cope with the strife and resist the Polovtsians.
After the death of Svyatopolk II in 1113, an uprising broke out in Kyiv. The Kyiv boyars called Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to the grand-ducal throne.
Vladimir Monomakh The Charter streamlined the collection of interest by moneylenders, improved the legal status of the merchants,
The son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav I the Great (1125-1132), managed to maintain the unity of the Russian lands for some time. After the death of Mstislav, Kievan Rus finally disintegrated into one and a half dozen principalities-states.
Stages of the unification of Rus'. Alternative centers for the unification of Rus' into a single state. Activities of the first Moscow princes.
The struggle to overthrow the Golden Horde yoke and restore the country’s economy and its further development created the prerequisites for the unification of Russian lands. Tver and Moscow claimed leadership. The Tver principality was then the strongest in Rus'. But he was not destined to lead the unification process. At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. The Principality of Moscow is rapidly rising.
Prerequisites for the rise of Moscow:
1. Peripheral position
2. Moscow was a center of developed crafts, agricultural production and trade
3. The flexible policy of the Moscow princes, who attracted other Russian principalities and the church to their side.
The founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes was the younger Daniil Alexandrovich (1276-1303). Under him, the territory of the Moscow Principality doubled in three years. The Moscow prince entered into the struggle for the Great Reign.
The struggle of Moscow and Tver for the grand-ducal throne. At that time, Mikhail Yaroslavich (1304-1319) ruled in Tver, and in Moscow, the son of Daniil Alexandrovich Yuri (1303-1325). In 1315, Mikhail started a war with Yuri, defeated his squad, and captured the khan’s sister, who soon died in Tver. Yuri blamed the Tver prince for the death of his wife. Summoned to the Horde, Mikhail was executed. For the first time in 1319, the Moscow prince received the label for the Great Reign. However, already in 1325, Yuri was killed by the eldest son of Mikhail Tverskoy, Dmitry Groznye Ochi. Khan Uzbek executed Dmitry, but continuing the policy of pitting Russian princes against each other, he transferred the Great Reign to the brother of the executed man, Alexander Mikhailovich (1325-1327).
Uprising in Tver. In 1327, the population of Tver rebelled against the tax collector Shchelkan. The rebels of Tver killed the Tatars. Taking advantage of this, the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich came to Tver with a Mongol-Tatar army and suppressed the uprising. At the cost of the lives of the population of another Russian land, he contributed to the rise of his own principality. At the same time, the defeat of Tver deflected the blow from the rest of the Russian lands.
Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1325-1340) His main policy was the annexation of lands. Methods of collecting lands: direct seizure, purchase, dynastic marriages, annexation of escheated lands. He strengthened the capital (the first wooden Kremlin), agreed with the horde on a tax-farm system, transferred the metropolitan see from Vladimir to Moscow, and established unified inheritance.
Reforms of Alexander II.
February 1861, Alexander signed the “Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom” and the “Manifesto on the liberation of peasants.” They were declared free in legal terms. The beginning of the transition of the peasantry from serfdom. dependence on the state of free rural inhabitants and land owners. During this period, peasants were obliged to “serve their duties in favor of the landowners with work or money,” since their former owners provided them with estate land, field and pasture plots for indefinite use. The fundamental difference between this state and serf: the duties of the peasants were strictly regulated by law and limited in time. During the transition period, the former serfs were called temporarily obliged.
Since 1864, a judicial reform was carried out in the country, according to which an unclassified, public court with the participation of juries, the defense and adversarial system of the parties was established. one system judicial institutions (formal equality before the law of all social groups of the population). Judicial reform ended by 1870, when new courts were created in almost 70 provinces.
In the 1860s, education reform took place. Primary public schools were created in the cities; along with classical gymnasiums, real schools began to function, in which more attention was paid to the study of mathematics, natural sciences, and the acquisition of practical skills in technology.
In 1863, the university charter of 1803 was recreated, according to which the partial autonomy of universities, the election of rectors and deans, etc. was re-established. In 1869, the first women's educational establishments–Higher women's courses with university programs. In this regard, Russia was ahead of many European countries.
In the 1860-1870s, military reform was carried out in Russia, necessary due to the defeat in the Crimean War. The period of military service was reduced to 12 years, and later corporal punishment in the army was abolished. 15 military districts were created with their own administration, subordinate only to the minister. Junker schools were created in which junior officers were trained, as well as military academicians for the training of middle and senior command personnel.
Crimean War showed that a regular army, based on conscription, cannot resist the bourgeois armies of European states.
On January 1, 1874, a MANIFESTO ON UNIVERSAL CONVICTION was published. At the same time, a new “Charter on Military Service” was issued.
In 1874, conscription was abolished and universal conscription was established, which applied to the entire male population over the age of 20, without class distinctions. Duration of active military service in ground forces 6 years were established, and 9 years - stay in the reserve, in the navy - 7 and 3 years, respectively. Moreover, the higher the level of education, the shorter the period of active service. For those who graduated primary school it was equal to 4 years, gymnasium - 1.5 years, for those who had higher education– six months. The only son of his parents, the only breadwinner in the family, and also was not subject to conscription for military service. younger son, if the elder is on military service or had already served his term. Peasant recruits were trained not only in military affairs, but also in literacy, which made up for the lack school education in the village. Benefits were maintained for nobles who served mainly as officers. In general, military reform contributed to improving the combat effectiveness of the Russian army.
Counter-reforms of Alexander III
After the assassination of Tsar Alexander 2, his son Alexander 3 (1881-1894) ascended the throne. Shocked by the violent death of his father, fearing the intensification of revolutionary manifestations, at the beginning of his reign he hesitated in choosing a political course. But, having fallen under the influence of the initiators of the reactionary ideology K.P. Pobedonostsev and D.A. Tolstoy, Alexander 3 gave political priorities to the preservation of autocracy, the insulation of the class system, traditions and foundations Russian society, hostility to liberal reforms. Under these conditions, a turn to counter-reforms in the policy of Alexander 3 became possible. This was clearly outlined in the Manifesto published on April 29, 1881, in which the emperor declared his will to preserve the foundations of autocracy and thereby eliminated the hopes of the democrats for the transformation of the regime into a constitutional monarchy. Alexander III replaced liberal figures in the government with hardliners. The concept of counter-reforms was developed by its main ideologist K.N. Pobedonostsev. He argued that the liberal reforms of the 60s led to upheavals in society, and the people, left without guardianship, became lazy and savage; called for a return to the traditional foundations of national existence.
To strengthen the autocratic system, the system of zemstvo self-government was subjected to changes. Judicial and administrative powers were combined in the hands of zemstvo chiefs. They had unlimited power over the peasants. The “Regulations on Zemstvo Institutions,” published in 1890, strengthened the role of the nobility in zemstvo institutions and the administration’s control over them. The representation of landowners in zemstvos increased significantly through the introduction of a high property qualification.
Seeing the main threat to the existing system in the face of the intelligentsia, the emperor, in order to strengthen the positions of the nobility and bureaucracy loyal to him, in 1881 issued the “Regulations on measures to preserve state security and public peace,” which granted numerous repressive rights to the local administration (to declare a state of emergency, local authorities received the right to arrest “suspicious persons”, exile without trial for up to five years to any locality and bring them before a military court, close educational institutions and press organs). This law was used until the reforms of 1917 and became a tool for the fight against the revolutionary and liberal movement.
In 1892, a new “City Regulation” was published, which infringed on the independence of city government bodies. The government included them in common system government agencies, thereby putting it under control.
Alexander 3 considered strengthening the peasant community an important direction of his policy. In the 80s, a process began to free peasants from the shackles of the community, which interfered with their free movement and initiative. Alexander 3, by law of 1893, prohibited the sale and mortgage of peasant lands, negating all the successes of previous years.
In 1884, Alexander launched a university counter-reform. There was a restriction on the self-government of universities. Rectors, deans, and professors were no longer elected, but appointed by the Ministry of Education.
Under Alexander 3, the development of factory legislation began, which restrained the initiative of the owners of the enterprise and excluded the possibility of workers fighting for their rights.
The results of the counter-reforms of Alexander 3 are contradictory: the country managed to achieve industrial growth and refrain from participating in wars, but at the same time social unrest and tension increased.
Formation and development of political parties in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
1. RSDLP. (Russian Social Democratic Labor Party)
Formed in 1903 at a congress. Immediately there was a division into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
The minimum program is the implementation of bourgeois-democratic demands: the elimination of autocracy, limiting the working day to 8 hours; introduction of universal, equal, direct suffrage
and other democratic freedoms; returning the plots to the peasants and giving them the right to freely dispose of the land; abolition of redemption payments, return to peasants of amounts taken in the form of redemption and quitrent payments.
The maximum program assumed a socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
The Mensheviks were oriented towards an alliance with the liberals (Martov, Plekhanov - the Mensheviks - received a minority in the elections). They believed that after the democratic revolution in Russia a long stage of bourgeois development would begin, during which backward Russia would be transformed into a capitalist country. During this time, the material base of socialism must mature. They are for the municipalization of land (transferring land to local governments for renting it out to peasants).
Lenin and his supporters, the Bolsheviks, brought to the fore the ultimate goal - a socialist revolution, and sought to bring it as close as possible. The proletariat must form a bloc with the poor peasantry. Those. The main ally of the proletariat is the peasantry. The Bolsheviks advocated the nationalization of land (transferring it into public ownership). After the overthrow of the old system, the “revolutionary-democratic dictatorship” of the working class and peasantry must be established.
2. Social Revolutionaries (Chernov) (Party of Socialist Revolutionaries)
It was formed in 1902 on the basis of the unification of neo-populist circles. The Socialist Revolutionaries considered peasants to be their social support, but the composition of the party was predominantly intellectuals. The leader and ideologist of the Socialist Revolutionaries was V. M. Chernov. Their program provided for the overthrow of the autocracy, the expropriation of capitalist property and the reorganization of society on a collective, socialist basis, the introduction of an 8-hour working day, universal suffrage and democratic freedoms. The main idea of the Social Revolutionaries was the “socialization of the land,” that is, the abolition of private ownership of land, transferring it to the peasants and dividing it among them according to labor standards. The Social Revolutionaries chose terror as their tactics of struggle. The “combat organization of the Socialist Revolutionary Party” led by G. A. Gershuni carried out a number of assassination attempts on ministers and governors, killed the Governor General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, and others. Through terror, the Socialist Revolutionaries tried to incite a revolution and intimidate the government, force it to create Zemsky Sobor(Constituent Assembly).
3. Cadets (Constitutional Democratic Party) (1905) -> later “people's freedom party”. She was predominantly “intellectual”. It consisted of teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, artists and representatives of liberal-minded landowners and the bourgeoisie, some workers and peasants.
Leader: Miliukov, Kornilov, Vernadsky.
The main provisions of the Cadets’ party program were the following: smooth reform of the Russian political system (replacing autocracy with a parliamentary monarchy according to English model, the creation of a government responsible to the State Duma, the introduction of universal suffrage and democratic freedoms); the eradication of semi-feudal remnants in the countryside, the partial confiscation of landowners' lands and an increase in the size of peasant plots; recognition of workers' right to strike, state insurance, 8-hour working day. The cadets brought together representatives of the intellectual Russian elite: teachers, lawyers, philosophers, economists, journalists (S.A. Muromtsev, V.I. Vernadsky, A.A. Kornilov, V.A. Maklakov, A.I. Shingarev, D.I. Shakhovskaya and others), the leader of the party was the famous historian P.N. Miliukov.
Octobrists (Guchkov) 1905
The first congress of the “Union of October 17” (as this political party was officially called) took place in February 1906. The party represented the interests of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, large landowners, as well as some zemstvo leaders who disagreed with the Cadet positions. They advocated the preservation of the monarchy in Russia, did not accept the Western version of parliamentarism, and saw the future political system in a combination of the power of the emperor with the power of parliament (the government should be appointed by the tsar, but be responsible not only to him, but also to the representative body). In the agrarian issue, the main thing for them was to increase peasant land plots at the expense of state resources and the purchase of land through the Peasant Bank by those who could purchase it. Working day 10 hours.
Monarchists or Black Hundreds
1905 Preservation and strengthening of autocracy, there should be no changes, and if there should be, they will be insignificant and minimal.
31. Stolypin’s reforms: last chance Tsarist Russia.
The agrarian question occupied a central place in domestic politics. The struggle of the peasants forced the government to cancel (November 1905) redemption payments in half from 1906, and completely from 1907. But this was not enough. The peasants demanded land. The government was forced to return to the idea of abandoning communal ownership and transitioning to private peasant land ownership. It was expressed back in 1902, but then the government refused to implement it. P. A. Stolypin insisted on carrying out the reform, and therefore it was called Stolypin.
The reform was carried out using several methods: 1) the decree of November 9, 1906 allowed the peasant to leave the community; 2) the peasant could demand the consolidation of allotment plots into a single plot and even move to a separate farm; 3) a fund was created from part of the state and imperial lands;4 ) for the purchase of these and landowners' lands, the Peasant Bank gave cash loans; 5) given the “land famine” in the center of Russia, the government encouraged the resettlement of peasants beyond the Urals. The settlers were given loans to settle in a new place, state-owned warehouses for agricultural machinery were created, and medical care was provided.
The goal of the reform was to preserve landownership and at the same time accelerate the bourgeois evolution of agriculture, to instill in every peasant a sense of ownership, master of the land, thereby relieving social tension in the countryside and creating there a strong social support for the government in the person of the rural bourgeoisie.
The reform contributed to the rise of the country's economy. Agriculture has become sustainable. The purchasing power of the population and foreign exchange earnings associated with the export of grain have increased.
However, the social goals set by the government were not achieved. In different regions, only 20-35% of peasants left the community, since the majority retained their collectivist psychology and traditions. Only 10% of householders started farming. Kulaks left the community more often than the poor. The first ones bought land from landowners and impoverished fellow villagers and started a profitable commodity economy. The poor went to the cities or became agricultural workers. 20% of peasants who received loans from the Peasant Bank went bankrupt. About 16% of the displaced were unable to settle in a new place and returned to central areas countries and joined the ranks of the proletarians. The reform accelerated social stratification - the formation of the rural bourgeoisie and proletariat. The government did not find strong social support in the village, since it did not satisfy the peasants' needs for land.
Causes of the revolution
In 1914, 1 World War, which lasted until 1918. Russia was the defending side in this war. The army lost its soldiers and suffered defeats. Growing shortage of raw materials, fuel, transport, and skilled labor. The role of government regulation increased along with the growth of negative economic factors. Queues appeared in cities (a psychological breakdown for hundreds of thousands of male and female workers).
The predominance of military production over civilian production and rising food prices led to rising prices for all consumer goods. At the same time, wages did not keep pace with rising prices. Discontent in the rear and at the front.
Events of February 1917. Unrest in the army, in villages, the inability of the political and military leadership to protect the national interests of Russia, which catastrophically aggravated internal position country, the tsarist government was not alerted, therefore, the February revolution that began spontaneously came as a surprise to the government.
The beginning of the first unrest: a strike by workers at the Putilov plant on February 17 (they demanded an increase in prices by 50% and the hiring of laid-off workers). The administration did not satisfy the stated demands. Together with Putilov’s workers, many Petrograd enterprises went on strike, and they were joined by thousands of random people: teenagers, students, minor employees, and intellectuals.
In Petrograd, demonstrations demanding bread escalated into clashes with the police (they were taken by surprise by the events). Part of the Pavlovsk regiment also spoke out against the police.
The government did not give an order to open fire on the demonstrators. In areas of the city where police were disarmed, dozens of revolvers and sabers were taken from them. Finally, the police stopped opposing the demonstrators, and the city was in their hands.
The number of strikers is about 300 thousand! The main slogans: Down with autocracy!, Down with war!, Down with the Tsar!, Down with Nicholas!, Bread and peace!.
On the evening of February 25 Nicholas II gave the order to stop the unrest in the capital. The State Duma has been dissolved. 171 people were arrested overnight. February 26 - rifle shots into an unarmed crowd, which managed to disperse huge crowds of people. Only the 4th company of the Pavlovsk regiment refused to act against the people.
On the night of 26 to 27 February. to the workers join. rebel soldiers, on the morning of the 27th, the district court was burned and the pre-trial detention house was seized, prisoners were released from prison, among them were members of revolutionary parties arrested in last days. 27 Feb Arsenal and Winter Palace captured. The autocracy was overthrown. 2 Mar. 1917, having learned of the opinion of the commanders of all fronts that he should leave, Nicholas II signed an abdication of the throne.
On March 2, at the request of the Chairman of the Provisional Committee of the Duma M.V. Rodzianko and with the consent of Nicholas II, L.G. was appointed temporary commander of the Petrograd District. Kornilov.
Arriving in Petrograd on March 5, Kornilov showed the qualities of a politician: demonstrative measures - the arrest of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the royal children, the purge of officers, the development of a project for the Petrograd Front - Kornilov's real steps to calm the revolutionary city.
With the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, several politics arose. groups that proclaimed themselves the government of Russia:
1) The Provisional Committee of State Duma members formed the Provisional Government; The main task is to gain the trust of the population. It declared itself legislative and executive powers.
2) The Petrograd Council, consisting of moderate-left politicians. It declared itself a guarantor against a return to the past, against the restoration of the monarchy and the suppression of political freedoms.
3) Other local bodies of actual power were also formed: factory committees, district councils, etc.
The current watering the situation began to be called “dual power,” although in practice it was multiple power.
CONCLUSION.
Russia is a republic. The February Revolution of 1917 turned Russia into one of the most democratic countries. An 8-hour working day was established. The agrarian question and the question of exit from the war were not resolved.
Brezhnev. The era of "stagnation".
With the resignation of N.S. Khrushchev completed the process of liberalization of socio-political life, the transformations he began ended. New leadership has come to power. First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee (from 1968 - Secretary General) became L.I. Brezhnev, who was in party work for many years. It was he who was one of the initiators and organizers of the removal of N.S. Khrushchev. A cautious, conservative man, he most of all strived for the stability of society. A.N. was appointed head of government. Kosygin, who headed the different years State Planning Committee of the USSR, ministries of finance, light and textile industries. The ideological and theoretical basis for the activities of the new leadership was the concept of “developed socialism” developed in the late 60s. In official documents, “developed socialism” was interpreted as a mandatory stage in the advancement of Soviet society towards communism, during which it was necessary to achieve an organic connection of all spheres public life. The concept was not questioned theoretical principles about the communist perspective contained in party documents of previous years, in particular in the CPSU Program. The departure from the course of de-Stalinization began. Criticism of I.V.’s cult of personality has ceased in the press. Stalin, exposing the lawlessness of the Stalinist regime. Censorship was tightened again. As before, access to sources of scientific information - domestic and foreign - for researchers was limited. This measure entailed severe consequences Day of Science Development. In the early 70s L.I. Brezhnev stated that in the USSR the equality of the republics in terms of economic and cultural levels had been achieved and that the national issue in the country had been resolved. It was also stated about the formation of a new historical community - Soviet people. However, neither during this period nor later was complete de facto equality of the republics achieved. Moreover, new problems arose in interethnic relations that required immediate resolution. Representatives of the republics demanded an expansion of the network of schools with teaching at native language. The movement to protect the environment, to preserve historical monuments and national traditions has intensified. But the country’s leadership did not pay enough attention to the growing conflicts in the national sphere. The growth of national self-awareness of peoples, speeches in defense of national interests were considered as a manifestation of local nationalism. By the end of the 60s, the economic reform that began in 1965 began to decline. The average annual growth rate of national income decreased from 6.8% to 3%. The stagnation was due to a number of reasons, including subjective and objective ones. Brezhnev himself was a conservative sympathetic to the Stalin era. With his arrival, the time of energetic change gave way to a time of stability. Reliance on the command-bureaucratic system was unshakable. “Personnel decide everything” - this principle led to the fact that a narrow layer of the nomenklatura was entrenched in power, concentrating all power in its hands. In the international arena, the Brezhnev Doctrine (limitation of the sovereignty of socialist countries) was implemented. By declaring a peace-loving policy, the USSR increased its military potential, provided support to its allies, and sought to maintain parity with the United States. Detente – a new wave of warming international relations. Limitation of strategic weapons. 1979 – agreement on the limitation of strategists. Voor. Setting a ceiling strategist. Offensive means.
46. Perestroika: plans and implementation.
The nature of perestroika (1985-1991) was determined by the desire to reform Soviet society; by the early 80s. entered into a protracted socio-economic and spiritual-moral crisis. At the same time, the specific content and even the goals of the reform course changed. There are three stages in the history of perestroika: 1985-1986, 1987-1988, 1989-1991.
1985-1986: period of acceleration. Elected in March 1985 as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev proceeded from the fact that, firstly, reforms are necessary and, secondly, they must realize the enormous economic and political opportunities that socialism built in the USSR has. The concept of accelerating socio-economic development was put forward. The goal was set to double the industrial potential of the USSR by 2000. The methods for implementing this strategy turned out to be quite traditional: activation of the “human factor” (socialist competition, strengthening labor discipline, combating drunkenness - the famous anti-alcohol campaign); use of hidden reserves. It was not possible to achieve a significant increase in growth rates.
1987-1988: “glasnost” and perestroika.
In 1988, the next step was taken: small private enterprise was allowed.
In 1987 the concept of new political thinking was formulated in foreign policy: the world was recognized as integral and indivisible, universal human values were placed above class and party values, and a balance of interests was recognized as a universal way to solve international problems.
1989-1991: late perestroika. In 1989, elections for the Congress of People's Deputies took place. Meanwhile, by 1990-1991. the situation became conflicting and explosive. The basic structures of the Soviet system were collapsing.
1990-1991 were marked by the so-called “parade of sovereignties”, when all the union republics declared themselves sovereign states. In 1991, Russian presidential elections took place. It became B. N. Yeltsin. A national referendum held in March 1991 showed that the majority of citizens were in favor of preserving the USSR. In the summer of 1991, an agreement was prepared on the reform of the federal state and the expansion of the powers of the republics. Its signing provided a chance to maintain unity.
In 1989-1990 the world system of socialism actually collapsed. Revolutions in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe led to the victory of democratic forces oriented towards Western countries. In 1990, Germany was reunified. The following year, the CMEA and the Department of Internal Affairs were dissolved.
On August 21, the coup attempt was suppressed. Gorbachev returned to Moscow, but the union treaty was never signed.
In December 1991, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed a statement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the termination of the 1922 Union Treaty and on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December 25, Gorbachev announced his resignation from the presidency. The collapse of the USSR has become a fact.
Perestroika failed.
East Slavs. Formation of the Old Russian state.
The first written evidence about the Slavs dates back to the beginning of the 1st millennium AD.
The prerequisites for this unification were: the ethnic community of the Old Russian people, who spoke the same language;
the desire to join forces in the fight against nomads and Byzantium; economic interests ancient Russian principalities on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks"
Territory of the Eastern Slavs (VI-IX centuries). The Eastern Slavs occupied the territory from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Middle Oka and the upper reaches of the Don in the east, from the Neva and Lake Ladoga in the north to the Middle Dnieper region in the south. In the VI-IX centuries. the Slavs united in communities
In the chronicle story about the settlement of the Slavic tribes, one and a half dozen associations of the Eastern Slavs are named. These unions included 120-150 separate tribes.
Polyans, northerners (Chernigov), Drevlyans, Buzhans and Volynians, Ulichi, Tivertsy, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Radimichi, Croats.
The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. Livestock breeding was closely related to agriculture.
The ancient Slavs were pagans
the widespread spread of agriculture using iron tools, the collapse of the clan community and its transformation into a neighboring one, the growth in the number of cities, the emergence of squads - evidence of emerging statehood.
Politics is the sphere of public relations associated with the regulation of social relations. The political system of society is the broadest concept, including a set of social processes, institutions that arise and function in the sphere...
In the 18th century, those invited to Russian Academy Sciences, German scientists Bayer and Miller, and later A. Schletser, uncritically interpreted the chronicles and put forward the so-called Norman theory of the emergence of the Russian state. According to this theory Russian state created by the Varangians (Normans). This theory was later given political meaning; on its basis, the enemies of our country tried to prove that the Russians were not capable of creating a state organization themselves and for this they needed the “help” of foreign conquerors. gave the Slavs a state
Norman theory:
Features of the socio-political structure of Kievan Rus IX - early. XII centuries
The Old Russian state can be characterized as an early feudal monarchy. The head of the state was the Grand Duke of Kyiv. His brothers, sons and warriors carried out the administration of the country, the court, and the collection of tribute and duties. The first Russian princes.