History of the development of the Smolensk principality download slides. Old Russian principalities. Features of political management

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Coat of arms of the Principality of Kyiv

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After the death of Mstislav the Great in 1132, during the reign of Yaropolk Vladimirovich, a conflict arose between the Mstislavichs and Vladimirovichs over the South Russian tables. The Mstislavichs were supported by Vsevolod Olgovich, who was thus able to return Kursk and Posemye, which had been lost during the reign of Mstislav. Also during the conflict, Polotsk (1132) and Novgorod (1136) left the power of the Kyiv prince.

After the death of Yaropolk in 1139, Vsevolod Olgovich expelled the next Vladimirovich, Vyacheslav, from Kyiv. In 1140, the Galician principality was unified under the rule of Vladimir Volodarevich. Despite the power struggle in Galich between Vladimir and his nephew Ivan Berladnik in 1144, to the prince of Kyiv It was never possible to maintain control over the southwestern outskirts of Rus'. After the death of Vsevolod Olgovich (1146), the yards of his warriors were plundered, his brother Igor Olgovich was killed (1147).

The Kiev boyars sympathized with the power of the senior branch of the descendants of Mstislav the Great, but external pressure was too strong for the position of the local nobility to become decisive in the choice of princes.

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In the next period, there was a fierce struggle for the reign of Kiev between Monomakh’s grandson Izyaslav Mstislavich and the younger Monomakhovich Yuri. Izyaslav Mstislavich Volynsky expelled Yuri Dolgoruky from Kyiv several times because he was not notified in time about the enemy’s approach (Yuri’s ally Vladimir Volodarevich Galitsky was perplexed about this), but was forced to take into account the rights of his uncle Vyacheslav. Yuri was able to establish himself in Kyiv only after the death of his nephew while reigning in Kiev, but he died under mysterious circumstances (presumably he was poisoned by the people of Kiev), after which the courtyards of his warriors were plundered.

Izyaslav's son Mstislav led the fight for Kyiv against Izyaslav Davydovich Chernigovsky (as a result of being killed by black hoods), but was forced to cede Kyiv to his uncle Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky. Coming to power after his death (1167) and conducting the first campaign against the Polovtsians after a long break (1168), he then tried to concentrate the entire Kiev region in his hands, as a result of which the younger Rostislavichs went over to the side of Andrei Bogolyubsky, and Kyiv was taken by his troops in 1169. And if Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1151 said that the place does not go to the head, but the head to the place, justifying his attempt to seize Kyiv by force from his uncle Yuri Dolgoruky, then in 1169 Andrei Bogolyubsky, taking Kyiv, planted his younger brother Gleb of Pereyaslavsky to reign there and remaining in Vladimir, according to V.V. Klyuchevsky, for the first time separated seniority from place. The Smolensk Rostislavichs, who were entrenched in the Kyiv land, were able to reject Andrei’s attempts to dispose of their possessions (1173).

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In 1181-1194, a duumvirate of the heads of the Chernigov and Smolensk princely houses - Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, who actually occupied Kyiv throne, and Rurik Rostislavich, who owned Kyiv land. However, the Ipatiev Chronicle, which covers events in this way, was significantly influenced by the so-called Vydubitsky Chronicle (from the monastery of the same name), close to the Smolensk Rostislavichs. Such an alliance made it possible for a short time not only to protect themselves from the influence of Galich and Vladimir, but also to influence the internal political situation in these principalities.

In the Polovtsian steppe in the second half of the 12th century, feudal khanates were created that united individual tribes. Usually Kyiv coordinated its defensive actions with Pereyaslavl, and thus a more or less unified line Ros - Sula was created. In this regard, the importance of the headquarters of such a common defense passed from Belgorod to Kanev. Southern border outposts of the Kyiv land, located in the 10th century. on Stugna and Sula, in late XII centuries moved down the Dnieper to Orel and Sneporod-Samara. The campaign of Svyatoslav and Rurik in 1183 became significant (after which the Polovtsian Khan Kobyak fell in the city of Kyiv, in the grid of Svyatoslavova).

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After the death of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, the struggle between the Chernigov Olgovichs and the Smolensk Rostislavichs for Kyiv intensified, and Rurik Rostislavich agreed to recognize Vsevolod the Big Nest as the eldest in the Monomakhovich family. The following year, Rurik gave possession to his son-in-law Roman of a fairly large volost in the Kiev region in Porosye, which included five cities: Torchesk, Trepol, Korsun, Boguslav and Kanev. Vsevolod the Big Nest, Rurik’s main ally, claimed the Roman parish for himself, giving Torchesk from it to Rurik’s son Rostislav. So Vsevolod destroyed the union of the southern Monomakhovichs, so as not to lose influence on southern affairs. The joint onslaught on the Chernigov-Seversk land from several directions forced the Olgovichs to abandon Kyiv and Smolensk during the lifetime of Rurik and Davyd Rostislavichs.

The next sharp change in the balance of forces occurred with the coming to power in Galich of Roman Mstislavich of Volyn in 1199. In 1202, he was invited by the people of Kiev and the black hoods to reign in Kiev. In the very first year of his great reign, Roman led a campaign against the Polovtsians (in the bitter winter... there was a great burden against them), for which he was awarded comparison with his ancestor Vladimir Monomakh and became a hero of epics. But on January 2, 1203, Kyiv suffered the second defeat during the strife by the united forces of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, Olgovichs and Polovtsians. Then, after a joint campaign against the Polovtsians, Roman captured Rurik in Ovruch and tonsured him as a monk, thereby concentrating the entire principality in his hands. The death of Roman in 1205 opened a new stage in the struggle for Kyiv between Rurik and Vsevolod Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, which ended under diplomatic pressure from Vsevolod the Big Nest in 1210, when Vsevolod sat in Kyiv, and Rurik in Chernigov. After the death of Rurik in 1214, Vsevolod tried to deprive the Smolensk Rostislavichs of their possessions in the south, as a result of which he was expelled from Kyiv, where Mstislav Romanovich the Old reigned.

I found interesting material on Wiki.

Smolensk Grand Duchy - public education in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River in the XII-XV centuries. (known as an inheritance in Kievan Rus since the 10th century). The capital is the city of Smolensk. The territory of the principality in its heyday (XII century) - 92.8 thousand square meters. km. (which roughly corresponds to the territory of modern Hungary), population - approx. 1 million people

The principality included many famous cities, including: Bely, Bryansk, Vyazma, Dorogobuzh, Yelnya, Zhizhets, Zubtsov, Izyaslavl, Krasny, Krichev, Medyn, Mozhaisk, Mstislavl, Orsha, Rzhev, Rostislavl, Rudnya, Slavgorod, Toropets.

The Smolensk principality reached particular power under Rostislav Mstislavich and Roman Rostislavich (1161-1180).

The new strengthening of Smolensk occurred during the reign of Mstislav Davidovich. It was connected with the situation in the Principality of Polotsk. Lithuania's attack on it began in the 12th century. The constant raids were supplemented by defeats from the German knights of the Order of the Sword (Livonian Order). As a result, Polotsk loses a number of lands in the northeast of the principality. At the same time, the influence and authority of the Smolensk princes, also at war with Lithuania, is growing. After the death of Vladimir of Polotsk in 1216, his principality weakened, and discord began between the appanage princes. The weakening of Polotsk was unprofitable for its neighbors - Novgorod and Smolensk. And then, in order to end the unrest in the Polotsk Land, in 1222 Mstislav Davidovich introduced the troops of Smolensk into the Polotsk Land, took Polotsk and placed Svyatoslav Mstislavich on the princely table there. Thus, during the reign of Mstislav Davidovich, Smolensk again strengthened its position and expanded its borders.

The Battle of the Kalka River undermined the military capabilities of the Smolensk princes, and in subsequent decades the importance of the Smolensk principality fell; for successful defense against Lithuania, it was forced to resort to the help of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. In 1230, an earthquake occurs, then famine lasts for two years. The consequence of the famine was a pestilence that claimed a very large number of lives in all the towns of the volost. But worse than all the natural disasters were the political unrest associated with the death of Mstislav. There is a struggle for the grand ducal table. Victory in it is ultimately won by Svyatoslav Mstislavich of Polotsk, who took Smolensk in 1232 and killed many townspeople hostile to him. However, the unrest continued, since the predominance of Polotsk was unusual for the Smolensk people. As a result, due to the discontent of the people and the weakening central government, Polotsk is separated again. In the middle of the 13th century, Lithuanian raids began on Smolensk, then the principality, increasingly weakened, began to gradually lose its lands (in 1303, for example, Mozhaisk went to Moscow).

Smolensk differs significantly from other principalities in that during the fragmentation it managed to reduce fragmentation into appanages and even expand the borders of the principality. Thus, in the second half of the 13th century, Bryansk, which was previously part of the Chernigov land and was a very important city, was annexed. However, throughout the entire time there was a strong sentiment of “having your own prince” and being autonomous from Smolensk. The chronicle even reports that in 1341 the inhabitants of Bryansk killed their unloved Prince Gleb, who came from Smolensk. Bryansk was eventually captured by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd in 1356, who took advantage of the city's turmoil.

At the end of the 13th century, Vyazma was separated from the principality, and appanage tables appeared in Bryansk, Mozhaisk, Fominsky town, Vyazma and other cities. All of them sought, if not complete separation, then at least internal autonomy, which further weakened Smolensk. Under the Smolensk prince Svyatoslav Ivanovich and his successors, despite all efforts to delay the collapse of the principality, ties with Kiev ceased, influence on Polotsk and Novgorod was lost, and Smolensk increasingly found itself sandwiched between Moscow and Lithuania. Some of the Smolensk princes began to move to the service of the strong Moscow prince, for example, Fyodor Konstantinovich Fominsky.

Apparently, Ivan Alexandrovich, trying in every possible way to avoid political collapse, entered into close relations with Lithuania, since in 1345 Olgerd moved to liberate Mozhaisk, but failed. In 1351 Semyon Ivanovich Proud moved to Smolensk with the Moscow army; he forced the Smolensk people to “stand aside” from the union with Lithuania. In 1355, Olgerd captured Rzhev, after which all relations between Smolensk and Lithuania were broken, and the Smolensk rulers declared themselves “helpers” of Moscow (in 1375 they, together with Dmitry Donskoy, went to Tver).

In 1386, in a battle near Mstislavl, Vitovt defeated Smolensk regiments and began to imprison princes he liked in Smolensk. In 1395, Vytautas besieged Smolensk, took it by storm, captured the local prince and installed his governors in the city.

In 1401, the Smolensk princes managed to return the appanage table, but not for long - in 1404 Vitovt reoccupied Smolensk and finally annexed it to Lithuania. From that time on, the independence of the Smolensk principality was ended forever, and its lands were included in Lithuania.

Smolensk princes:

* 1010-1015 Stanislav Vladimirovich
* 1054-1057 Vyacheslav Yaroslavich
* 1057-1060 Igor Yaroslavich Volynsky
* 1073-1078 Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh
* 1093-1094 Izyaslav Vladimirovich Kursk
* 1094-1094 Davyd Svyatoslavich of Chernigov
* 1094-1095 Mstislav Vladimirovich the Great of Kyiv
* 1095-1097 Davyd Svyatoslavich Chernigov (repeatedly)
* 1097-1113 Svyatoslav Vladimirovich Pereyaslavsky
* 1113-1125 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Kyiv
* 1125-1160 Rostislav Mstislavich of Kyiv
* 1160-1172 Roman Rostislavich Kyiv
* 1172-1174 Yaropolk Romanovich
* 1174-1175 Roman Rostislavich Kyiv (repeatedly)
* 1175-1177 Mstislav Rostislavich Brave of Novgorod
* 1177-1180 Roman Rostislavich Kyiv (repeatedly)
* 1180-1197 David Rostislavich
* 1197-1213 Mstislav Romanovich Old Kyiv
* 1213-1219 Vladimir Rurikovich of Kyiv
* 1219-1230 Mstislav-Fyodor Davidovich
* 1230-1232 Rostislav Mstislavich of Smolensk
* 1232-1239 Svyatoslav Mstislavich
* 1239-1249 Vsevolod Mstislavich Smolensky
* 1249-1278 Gleb Rostislavich Smolensky
* 1278-1279 Mikhail Rostislavich
* 1280-1297 Fyodor Rostislavich Black of Yaroslavl
* 1297-1313 Alexander Glebovich
* 1313-1356 Vasily Alexandrovich (Prince of Smolensk)
* 1356-1359 Ivan Alexandrovich
* 1359-1386 Svyatoslav Ivanovich
* 1386-1392 Yuri Svyatoslavich
* 1392-1399 Gleb Svyatoslavich of Smolensk
* 1401-1405 Yuri Svyatoslavich (repeat)

The eastern part of the Smolensk land reached Mozhaisk and, judging by the testimony of contemporaries, also in the 15th-16th centuries. was densely forested (and there are also almost no mounds here). The path from Smolensk to Moscow was all through forest. 130 versts between Vyazma and Mozhaisk, according to A. Meyerberg (1661), stretched a continuous forest, “the desert of which is protected by one village of Tsarevo-Zaymishche.” “The path from Smolensk to Moscow,” echoes Adolf Lisek (1675), “is as dangerous from bears as it is boring due to continuous forests. The only road between these cities runs along a strip of cleared forest about 30 feet wide with a log deck running through the swamps.”

There were also dense forests in the southeastern reaches of the Smolensk land. In 1370, driving away Olgerd, “the mozhaichi were driven away and the Smolnyans were beaten in the forest on Bolognese, and they were full of waste.” The village of Belonovtsy on the river. Desnoga, 16.5 versts from Yelnya, indicates to us that this forest began somewhere to the southeast of this city. Most likely, in the upper reaches of the Bolva, where there are few mound groups, there was a Bleve point.

There are still many forests in the southern Smolensk region. In Roslavl district. back at the beginning of the 20th century. they occupied 40.5%, and in ancient times there were significantly more of them. The forest crossed at the headwaters of the river. Bolva to the so-called Bryn Forest, which stretched from Kaluga to Bryansk, according to the Book of the Big Drawing. In addition to the border Smolensk forests, which went deep into the Earth, there were forests that did not extend to the borders. Smolensk, according to S. Herberstein, “is surrounded by vast forests from which various furs are extracted.” A. Lizek also writes about the dense forests between the border of Lithuania and Smolensk: having traveled 8 miles from the border of Lithuania, he had to spend the night among the dense forest, lighting fires from the bears. Near Smolensk, his embassy was waiting for an invitation to the city, also in a large forest. Finding himself in a large flood, S. Herberstein was forced to transfer to a boat driven by a monk and sail from Smolensk to Vyazma among the forests, etc.

It is important for us that the spaces that were deserted, according to the reviews of travelers of the 16th-17th centuries, do not have burial mounds. This means that the picture of population for the pre-Mongol period based on the mounds is quite objective.

Clusters of settlements in the ancient Smolensk region. Let us turn to the study of territories taken by man from the forest. In the Smolensk land there are three largest concentrations of settlements of the ancient Slavs: in the area between the Sozh - Dnieper - Kaspli rivers, in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina (near the Toropets and Zhizhetskoye lakes), in the Dnieper - Desna interfluve.

About the population of the Western Dvina - Toropa V.V. Sedov noted that these were areas in which earlier (VII-IX centuries) the population was buried in long mounds, which gave him the right to talk about the genetic continuity of these places of the population of the X-XII centuries. from earlier. Abundance of burial mounds in Toropetsk district. already noted by M.I. Semevsky, there are a large number of them on the river. Velese (formerly Moninsky parish) was also indicated in the literature. Works by Ya.V. Stankevich found out that the Toropets cluster of settlements arose at the beginning of the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. At the same time, population clusters began to appear near the lake. Zhizhetskoye, to the northeast between the lake. Luchansky and Okhvat, the history of the population of these areas is undoubtedly close to the Toropets population. A different picture awaits us further south: between the Velizh current of the Western Dvina and the Dnieper; here on the river Gobze density is very low; judging by the mounds, ancient villages stretched in narrow strips across the watershed. The western one went through Kasplya, the middle one - from Smolensk north to Verzhavsk, the eastern one - from the mouth of the Vopi, also to Verzhavsk (Fig. 2). The volost of Verzhavlyane the Great, which we read about in the Charter of Rostislav in 1136 as the most solvent, consisting of 9 churchyards, should be seen in small clusters of settlements scattered along the rivers around Verzhavsk; a comparatively larger cluster on the left bank of the Western Dvina, obviously, was considered to be two graveyards, and the most remote Verzhavsk churchyard northeast of Verzhavsk should be seen in the village of Devyataya, where there are mounds and a settlement of pre-Mongol times (Fig. 4). In the northern part of the Smolensk land there were also clusters of settlements, albeit of a smaller size: on the river. Pyryshne at the very edge of the Okovsky forest, where near the village. Okovets there are mounds and a fortified settlement of the 9th-10th centuries, as well as on the upper Mezha with its tributaries.

The central cluster of settlements in the Sozh-Dnieper and Kaspli region most spread to the left bank of the Dnieper (Fig. 4). E.A. Schmidt divided this population into three chronological groups: at the first stage (VII-VIII centuries) there was a small population here, forests abounded, one might think. In the second (IX-X centuries) to the west of modern Smolensk (which did not yet exist at that time), on both sides of the Dnieper, a colossal Krivichi tribal center grew up, which, as I tried to show, was the ancient Smolensk, as they rightly propose to consider, similar to the Scandinavian Viks - Birke and others. At the third stage (XI-XIII centuries) this city died out, since feudal Smolensk was moved to its modern location. However, the territory of this cluster on the left bank was intensively populated. Residents cut into forests, expanding crops. Archaeological sites this time, showed E.A. Schmidt, varied - they reflected villages, churchyards, feudal estates, etc. The remains of settlements of the same cluster in its eastern part were studied by V.V. Sedov and were also divided into three groups according to time, however, his late stage also included the developed Middle Ages. Close to the central group of settlements there is a cluster of them in the area of ​​that part of the upper Dnieper, where the path to the portage to the Ugra with the toponyms Volochek (Dnieper side) and Luchin-Gorodok (bank of the Ugra) departed. The spontaneous enrichment of the population of the Volok of the 11th-12th centuries, which traded in transportation along the watershed, was soon (mid-second half of the 12th century) stopped by the feudal center of Dorogobuzh, which, apparently, moved into the zone of the princely domain. To the north of the Dorogobuzh population cluster we will mention the clusters of ancient inhabitants of the 10th-11th centuries. and later on the river. Vyazma, the upper reaches of which were close to the upper reaches of the Vazuza, and other tributaries of the Ugra (Fig. 2; 4). These accumulations also led to the formation of early XIII V. feudal center Vyazma (first mention - 1239).

Rice. 5. Coin treasures and individual finds of coins in the Smolensk land. 1. Treasures. 2. Single finds of coins. 3. Clusters of settlements (by mounds). 4. Borders of Smolensk land. 5. Portages, according to toponyms. 1 - “Gnezdovsky Smolensk”, 2 - Ilovka, 3 - Kislaya, 4 - Slobodka (Przhevalsk), 5 - Saki, 6 - Glazunovo, 7 - Toropets, >8 - Kurovo, 9 - Paltsevo, 10 - Zhabachev, 11 - Gultse , 12 - Gorki, 13 - Semenov-Gorodok, 14 - Rzhev, 15 - Dunaevo, 16 - Panovo, 17 - Kharlapovo, 18 - Dorogobuzh, 19 - Yartsevo, 20 - Zhigulino, 21 - Mutyshkino, 21 - Borshchevshchina, 23 - Sobolevo , 24 - Zastenok, 25 - Staroselye, 26 - Old Dedin, 27 - Gorki, 28 - Popovka, 29 - Peschanka, 30 - Zimnitsa

We see scattered Smolensk villages (sparse clusters) to the east and again in the areas of convergence of the right tributaries of the Vazuza and the left Ugra, among them the village of Panovo stands out, where during excavations foreign things, dirhems, etc. were discovered (see section “Trade” "), as well as p. Iskona, even further east, near the border of Vyatichi and Krivichi, is a volost known from the Charter of Rostislav of 1136 - Iskona, which paid tribute directly to Smolensk and, therefore, is quite independent.

The third large cluster of settlements is located in the southern Smolensk region, inhabited by the Radimichi. A few cremation mounds (9th-10th centuries) show that at that time only small settlements of several houses were scattered here. Obviously, the bulk of the inhabitants of these places, judging by the inhumation mounds, arose in the 11th-12th centuries. But this process was internal, because there are no foreign materials in the mounds that indicate migration. The Radimichi intensively populated the upper reaches of Stometi, Ostra, middle Sozh, and the upper reaches of Besedi. There are fewer mounds near the southern border of the Smolensk lands; forests abounded here, separating the northern Radimichi from the rest, which were the border between the principalities. How can we explain the existence of such a border within the large Radimichi tribe? Based on the funeral rite, G.F. Solovyova outlined 8 small tribes of Radimichi. In the zone of the Smolensk Radimichi, she managed to isolate only one such tribe (group eight). The remaining radimic territory, where it was not possible to detect signs of small tribes, is twice as large in area and number of monuments as the neighboring small tribes. It is possible that two small tribes of Radimichi lived here, separated together with the third (the eighth group of Solovyova) from the rest by forests, which Rostislav of Smolensk took advantage of, annexing them to his land (1127?, see below). If the assumption about these two small tribes is confirmed and the Radimichi had, therefore, 10 such tribes, then this will confirm the interesting hypothesis about the decimal division of the ancient Russian large tribes put forward by B.A. Rybakov.

PRINCIPALITY OF SMOLENSK , an ancient Russian principality located along the upper reaches of the Dnieper. The capital is Smolensk. Formed on waterway"from the Varangians to the Greeks." Stands out from Old Russian state in the 30s 12th century In the 2nd half of the 14th century. fought with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to which it was annexed in 1404.

Source: Encyclopedia "Fatherland"

Source: Encyclopedia "Russian Civilization"

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• - 1812 - 4-6.8, during the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian troops, defending near Smolensk against the superior main forces of the army of Napoleon I, withstood the enemy’s attack and retreated in an organized manner beyond the Dnieper...

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