The political structure of Kyiv. Political organization of Kievan Rus. Reforms of Alexander II

LITERATURE

1. Alkushin A.I. Operation of oil and gas wells. M.: Nedra, 1989. 360 p.

2. Bobritsky N.V., Yufin V.A. Fundamentals of the oil and gas industry. M.: Nedra, 1988. 200 p.

3. Vasilievsky V.N., Petrov A.I. Well survey operator. M.: Nedra, 1983. 310 p.

4. Gimatudinov Sh.K., Dunyushkin I.I. and etc.
Hosted on ref.rf
Development and operation of oil, gas and gas condensate fields. M.: Nedra, 1988. 322 p.

5. Information systems in the economy / Ed. V.V. Dick, 1996.

6. Krets V.G., Lene G.V. Fundamentals of oil and gas production: Textbook / Ed. cand. geol.-miner.
Hosted on ref.rf
Sciences G.M. Voloshchuk. - Tomsk: Publishing House Vol. Univ. 2000. 220 p.

7. Oilfield equipment: a set of catalogs / Ed. V.G. Krets, Tomsk.: Publishing house in TGU, 1999. 900p.

8. Podgornov Yu.M. Production and exploration drilling for oil and gas. M.: Nedra, 1988. 325 p.

9. Suleimanov A.B., Karapetov K.A., Yashin A.S. Technique and technology overhaul wells. Moscow: Nedra, 1987. 316 p.

Briefly:

History of Kievan Rus:

1 period: IX - the middle of the X century; the first Kyiv princes (ʼʼpolyudyeʼʼ - tribute collection; Olga established ʼʼʼʼʼ - the amount of tribute and ʼʼpogostovʼʼ - places of tribute collection after the murder of Igor)

2 period: the second half of the 10th - the first half of the 11th century; heyday, the time of Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise (Vladimir: 988 ᴦ. - the adoption of Christianity, the introduction of ʼʼtithesʼʼ - a tax in favor of the church, the church becomes a powerful landowner; Yaroslav: ʼʼRusskaya Pravdaʼʼ [ʼʼTruth of Yaroslavʼʼ and ʼʼTruth of Yaroslavichʼʼ] - a set of laws, mainly hereditary, criminal and procedural law; ʼʼʼʼʼʼ system of transferring the throne - to the eldest in the family, with a strict hierarchy of the significance of territories)

3 period: second half of XI beginning of XII in.; transition to territorial and political fragmentation (strife due to personal conflicts of princes, ambitions, the growth of the power of individual principalities; 1097 ᴦ. - Lyubech Congress - ʼʼLet everyone keep his fatherland; under Vladimir Monomakh - temporary strengthening and unity, ʼʼThe Charter of Vladimir Monomakhʼʼ - a new part ʼʼRussian Truthʼʼ, ʼʼThe Tale of Bygone Yearsʼʼ Nestor; after 1132 - disintegration into separate principalities)

The main institutions of governance (early feudal monarchy):

Grand Duke of Kyiv (supreme owner of the land)

Druzhina (professional warriors; the eldest - the boyars, the youngest - the grid; they were the state apparatus)

Local (specific) princes (from the Kyiv princely dynasty), posadniks

local squad

Pogosts (administrative and tax centers and points where trade was carried out), camps, volosts (rural territories subordinate to the city)

Veche - it is not known exactly what role they played in importance. In general, influence was preserved only in Novgorod.

*Early feudal monarchy- a form of government when, in a military democracy, the prince, relying on the squad, becomes not an elected military leader, but a hereditary head of state. In some territories there are princely governors.

Main:

1. The main functions of power in Ancient Russia belonged to the prince, squad and veche. At the same time, it should be noted that there is no clear division of powers between these subjects of power. The main part of the population - the peasants - formally, apparently, were not yet separated from power, but in fact they did not take a direct part in the activities of power institutions (in particular, the vecha).

2. Relations between the prince and the squad were built on personal ties, reinforced by a system of gifts and joint feasts. The prince in his decisions largely depended on the squad. At the same time, the squad was largely guided by the prince. The princely power gradually increased, which was expressed, among other things, in the fall of the authority of the “senior” squad.

3. Relations between the prince, who led the squad, and the cities with adjoining rural settlements were built on regular payments of polyudya and (or) tribute. The distribution of the funds received was the prerogative of the prince. At the same time, he acted as a kind of personification of the collective owner of the funds collected by the squad in the form of tribute and polyudya.

4. A “service organization” was engaged in servicing the prince and the squad, in the depths of which new social relations were formed, comparable to the Western European ministeriality (ministerials in medieval Europe were representatives of petty chivalry, owning small fiefs and obligated to military service to the monarch, or to a large feudal lord).

5. In a certain period, all of the listed power “bodies” were in a state of unstable balance. Over time, however, the balance of power began to change, and in each land in its own way.

Prince:

1. supreme institute authorities

2. legislator

3. supreme military leader

4. judicial and administrative functions (chief judge; sets the amount and timing of payment of tribute)

5. could have personal (private) hereditary lands

Squad:

1. professional warriors

2. closest advisers to the prince

3. performed administrative functions (collection of court fees - ʼʼviryʼʼ, collection of tribute and land management)

4. they received a fixed salary for their service, military booty was divided between them, the boyars received land in possession

Veche:

1. ancient princely power

2. representative body of cities

3. the solution of the widest range of issues: from raising funds for the city militia and hiring military detachments to the expulsion or election of a prince (it is only unclear whether the veche has always dealt with such problems or the sources recorded exceptional cases, usually associated with serious social crises and cataclysms)

4. Judging by everything, in the early stages of the development of the state, city veche meetings existed everywhere, but later they flourished by the 12th century. in the Northwest, and in other lands practically ceased to exist

5. legal - convened by the decision of the prince; illegal - against the will of the prince

6. the value of the vecha decreased with a strong prince and increased with a weak one

7. with the strong power of the prince, the veche deals not with political issues, but with issues of urban life

8. local veche meetings began to intensify in individual principalities during the period of fragmentation

Detailed response:

The political structure of the Kyiv principality was unstable. Composed of many tribal and urban worlds, this principality could not form into a single state in our sense of the word even in the 12th century. fell apart. For this reason, it will be most accurate to define Kievan Rus as a collection of many principalities united by one dynasty, the unity of religion, tribe, language and national identity. This self-consciousness authentically existed: from its height, the people condemned their political disorder, condemned the princes for the fact that they ʼʼcarried the land differentlyʼʼ with their ʼʼwhichʼʼ, that is, strife, and urged them to be in unity for the sake of a single ʼʼRussian landʼʼ.

The political connection of Kievan society was weaker than all its other connections, which was one of the most prominent reasons for the fall of Kievan Rus.

The first political form that originated in Russia was urban or regional life. When regional and city life had already taken shape, a princely dynasty appeared in the cities and regions, uniting all these regions into one principality. Next to the authorities of the city became the power of the princes. This is the reason for the fact that in the XI-XII centuries. there are two political authorities in Russia: 1) princely and 2) city, or veche. The veche is older than the prince, but the prince is often more visible than the veche; the latter sometimes temporarily loses its significance to it.

princes Kievan Rus, older or younger, were all politically independent from each other, they had only moral duties: the princes of the volost had to honor the elder, the Grand Duke, “in the place of the father”, together with him they had to protect their volost, “from the filthy”, jointly with him to think and guess about the Russian land and solve important issues of Russian life. We distinguish three main functions of the activity of the ancient Kievan princes. First of all, the prince legislated, and the ancient law, ʼʼRusskaya Pravdaʼʼ, directly confirms this with several of its articles. In ʼʼPravdaʼʼ we read, for example, that the sons of Yaroslav, Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, jointly decided to replace revenge for the murder with a fine. The titles of some articles of Pravda ʼʼ indicate that these articles were ʼʼcourtʼʼ princely, that is, they were established by the princes.

Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, legislative function princes is attested by an ancient monument. The second function of their power is military. The princes appeared for the first time in the Russian land, as defenders of its borders, and in this respect the subsequent princes did not differ from the first. Let us recall that Vladimir Monomakh almost considered his main task to be the defense of the borders from the Polovtsy; he also persuaded other princes at congresses to fight against the Polovtsians and undertook with them general hikes on nomads. The third function is judicial and administrative function. ʼʼRussian Pravdaʼʼ testifies that the princes themselves judged criminal cases. According to ʼʼRusskaya Pravdaʼʼ, a fine of 80 hryvnia was levied for the murder of the princely equerry, as if Izyaslav had put him in his horse, he was also killed by Dorogobuzhtsiʼʼ. Here ʼʼTrueʼʼ indicates a valid case. With regard to the administrative activities of the princes, we can say that for a long time they have been in charge of administration, establishing ʼʼgraveyards and tributesʼʼ. Even on the very first pages of the chronicle, we read how Olga ʼʼ set graveyards and tributes in the Place and tributes and tributes in Luza. (Pogosts were administrative districts.) Here are the main duties of the prince of the Kievan era: he legislates, he is a military leader, he is the supreme judge and supreme administrator.
Hosted on ref.rf

These signs always characterize the highest political power. In accordance with the nature of their activities, princes also have servants, the so-called squad, their closest advisers, with the help of which they govern the country. In the annals one can find a lot of evidence, even with a poetic character, about the close relationship of the squad to the prince. Even St. Vladimir, according to chronicle legend, expressed the idea that you can’t get a squad with silver and gold, but with a squad you can get both gold and silver. Such a view of the squad, as something incorruptible, standing up to the prince in moral relations, runs through the entire chronicle. The squad in ancient Russia enjoyed great influence on affairs; she demanded that the prince do nothing without her, and when one young prince of Kyiv decided to go on a campaign without consulting her, she refused to help him, and the prince's allies did not go with him without her. The solidarity of the prince with the retinue followed from the most real life conditions, although it was not determined by any law. The squad was hiding behind the princely authority, but she supported him; a prince with a large squad was strong, with a small one - weak. The squad was divided into senior and junior.

The eldest was called ʼʼhusbandsʼʼ and ʼʼboyarsʼʼ (the origin of this word is interpreted differently, by the way, there is an assumption that it came from the word ʼʼbolijʼʼ, larger). The boyars were influential advisers to the prince, they undoubtedly constituted the highest stratum in the squad and often had their own squad. They were followed by the so-called ʼʼmuzhiʼʼ or ʼʼprinces muzhiʼʼ - warriors and princely officials. The younger squad is usually called ʼʼgridiʼʼ; sometimes they are called ʼʼladsʼʼ, and this word should be understood only as a term of social life͵ which could refer, probably, to a very old person. This is how the squad was divided. All of it, with the exception of the prince's slaves - serfs, treats the prince equally; she came to the latter and entered into ʼʼsʼʼ with him, in which she designated her duties and rights. The prince had to treat the combatant and the "husband" as a completely independent person, because the combatant could always leave the prince and look for another service.

From the squad, the prince took his administrators, with the help of whom he manages the land and protects it. These assistants were called ʼʼvirnikiʼʼ and tiuns; their duty was to court and collect the vira, i.e. court fee, manage the land and collect tribute. Tribute and vira fed the prince and squad. The prince collected tribute sometimes with the help of officials, and sometimes Tribute was collected in kind and money, and in the same way, not only in kind, but also in money, it was given to the squad. One chronicler of the beginning of the 13th century writes about an earlier time that the prince “was even more vira right, and that was possible,” dayashe The salary of 200 hryvnias for each combatant is very high according to the then concepts and undoubtedly testifies about the wealth of the Kievan princes (if one counts 1/2 pound of silver in a hryvnia, then its weight value is about 10 rubles.) Where did this wealth come from, what sources of income did the princes use? th, the princes received tribute, which has already been mentioned. Thirdly, military booty was in favor of the princes. Finally, the last type of princely income is private income. Taking advantage of their privileged position, the princes acquire private lands (villages) for themselves, which they strictly distinguish from political possessions. A prince cannot bequeath political possessions to a woman, but only to a son or brother, and yet we see that he gives his private lands to his wife or daughter, or to monasteries.

Veche was older than the prince. We read from the chronicler: “From the beginning, Novgorodians and Smolnyans and Kyyans, and Polochans, and all the authorities seem to agree on a thought at a veche, and what the elders think, the suburbs will become.” The meaning of these words is as follows: from the beginning, cities and volosts (ʼʼslustiʼʼ) were ruled by veche, and the veche of the older city ruled not only the city, but also its entire volost. Next to these eve, in which all the heads of families used the right to vote, the power of the princes appeared, but the princes did not abolish the eve, but ruled the earth, sometimes with the assistance, and sometimes with the opposition of the latter. The relationship of the prince to the vecha and, on the contrary, the vecha to the prince, many historians tried to determine from the point of view of our political concepts, but this only led to stretching. The facts of veche activity collected in the book by V. I. Sergeevich ʼʼPrince and vecheʼʼ, first of all, do not allow to establish the very form of the veche, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ is very easy to confuse with simple folk gatherings, and the uncertainty of the form often forced researchers to distinguish between legal and illegal.

A veche convened by a prince was called legal; veche, gathered against the will of the prince, rebelliously, was considered illegal. The consequence of the legal uncertainty of the position of the veche was that the latter was highly dependent on purely local or temporary conditions: its political significance decreased with a strong prince who had a large squad, and, on the contrary, increased with a weak one; moreover, in large cities it had a greater political significance than in small ones. The study of this question makes us convinced that the relationship between the prince and the veche is constantly fluctuating. So, under Yaroslav and his sons, the veche was far from having the same power as under his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When the power of the princes intensified and was determined, the veche from political activity moved to economic - began to deal with the affairs of the inner life of the city. But when the family of Rurikovich multiplied and hereditary accounts got confused, the city councils sought to regain their political significance. Taking advantage of the turmoil, they themselves called to themselves the prince they wanted, and concluded ʼʼ ranks ʼʼ with him. Little by little, the veche felt so strong that it decided to argue with the prince: it happened that the prince stood for one thing, and the veche for another, and then the veche often "shows the way to the prince", that is, expels him.

The political structure of Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus is an early feudal monarchy. At the head was the Grand Duke of Kyiv. After the adoption of Eastern Christianity, the princes are perceived as persons sanctified by the authority established by God.

The powers of the prince are the collection of taxes; legislative activity; judicial and administrative functions; military functions (the prince was the supreme commander); representation of the state in foreign relations.

Power was inherited by the eldest in the family.

In Kievan Rus there was no distinction between organs government controlled and governing bodies of the Grand Duke.

Often entrusting the court to his deputies "posadniks and tiuns", the prince headed the administration of the principality. He appointed regional governors - "posadniks". In his activities, the prince relied on the council of elders (princely council). The Council is an advisory body that is not legally formalized, but has a serious influence on the monarch in solving the most important legislative and religious issues, problems foreign policy, collecting polyudya. The council consisted of boyars, city nobility, representatives of the higher clergy. The obligation for the prince to consult with them was affirmed by custom.

Strengthening of the feudal lords in the XI century. caused the emergence of a new authority - snema, i.e. feudal congress. At the congress, issues of inter-princely disputes, war and peace, military campaigns, and division of lands were resolved.

Veche existed in the Old Russian state. A veche is a people's meeting to discuss and resolve important common issues. All free residents of the city and adjacent settlements took part in the veche. The method of convocation was varied: through heralds (biriches), and by ringing a bell (in Novgorod). The veche resolved the issues of taxation, defense of the city and organization of military campaigns. The decisions of the veche were binding on everyone.

Socio-economic structure of Kievan Rus

There were two forms of organization of production:

patrimony (or patrimony) - paternal possession, inherited from father to son, the owner of the patrimony was a prince or boyar;

· the lands of the community members, not yet subject to private feudal lords, they paid tribute to the Grand Duke in favor of the state.

The main population of the country were free people who did not know class partitions and divisions.

All the free population enjoyed the same rights, but its various groups differed from each other in their actual position, wealth and social influence.

The upper stratum of the population or the boyars consisted of two elements:

"Zemsky boyars", the local aristocracy that arose before the formation Old Russian state. These were the descendants of tribal elders and tribal princes, large merchants, armed merchants;

· “princely men”, princely boyars, the highest stratum of combatants.

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 rank and file of the prince's combatants and the middle strata of the urban merchant class.

The lower strata - urban and rural common people - "smerds". They made up the bulk of the population, were personally free and united in territorial communities. Smerdy paid tribute to the prince, economically they were dependent on him and the boyars.

A significant layer of the dependent population were serfs, who lived on the lands of large landowners.

Slavery was of two types: complete and incomplete.

Complete - "servants", slaves, etc. - cultivated boyar lands, served their yards.

Incomplete - purchases that went into bondage to the prince, since they could not return the loan to him; ryadovichi - who concluded a row (agreement) with the feudal lord; outcast - expelled from the community.

Slavery in Russia had a patriarchal character.

Military organization and military affairs

The main tasks of the military organization of Russia in the IX - XII centuries. were: the protection of subject territories and protection from nomadic tribes; support and protection of trade caravans and routes; the conquest of neighboring tribes, the seizure of new lands; maintenance of order in the territory of the state.

At the disposal of the Kievan princes was a retinue military organization. The squad was the main core of the armed forces. When the prince passed to another inheritance, then the squad also passed with him. The combatants constituted a partnership or brotherhood, an alliance of the faithful, on whom the prince could rely at any moment. Usually they were strong and well-trained professional warriors, connected with the prince by a personal contract of service and loyalty. The princely squad was divided into the highest - princely men and boyars, and the youngest - "rents", "chad", "gridba" later - the court or servants. The older boyars acted as governors, while the younger ones acted as administrative agents: swordsmen (bailiffs), virniks (fine collectors), etc. The squad came from the environment of the merchants of large cities.

The warriors did not have land holdings and were not connected with the prince by land relations. They lived at the court of the prince and were kept at his expense: they received clothes, food, weapons, horses, and as an additional reward they received a share of tribute and military booty after campaigns. Subsequently (in the 11th century), most of the combatants settled on the ground, acquired their own combatants, who took part in all the campaigns of the prince. According to various estimates, the quantitative composition of the squads was approx. 700 - 800 people

In the event of large campaigns or attacks by nomads, the zemstvo city army was called up, which was the result of the military organization of trading cities. The trading cities formed an organized regiment (a thousand), which was subdivided into hundreds and tens. Thousands were commanded by a voivode or thousand, who was chosen by the city, and then appointed by the prince, hundreds and tens were elected sotskys and tenths. These commanders of the “old men of the city” made up the military administration of the city and the region belonging to it. This army included all citizens capable of bearing arms, with the exception of the youngest adult son in each family. Rural residents (smerds) were recruited into the army extremely rarely and in limited numbers. The warriors went on a campaign with their weapons and equipment or received it from the prince. Depending on their financial situation, the warriors went on a campaign on horseback or on foot. At the end of the campaign, the howls disbanded. Into the armed forces Kyiv princes also included mercenaries from nomadic eastern tribes: Ugrians, Pechenegs, Berendeys, trades, Polovtsy, and later - Polovtsy, who carried out frontier service on the southern borders of Russia.

The army was divided into infantry and cavalry, and the main clan was the infantry, which, according to the armament and nature of the actions, was divided into heavy and light.

The cavalry was of secondary importance. It consisted mainly of princely and boyar warriors, noble and wealthy people, partly mercenaries. This is due to the need for movement mainly along rivers and seas, as well as the high cost and difficulty of maintaining cavalry troops.

From con. In the 10th century, under Prince Vladimir, due to constant clashes between Russians and Turkic tribes and Ugrians who fought on horseback, the number of cavalry began to increase for rapid movement and maneuvering. The main weapon of a professional warrior was a double-edged sword with a heavy and long blade (up to 90 cm).

Since the X century. in Russia, a saber began to be used, more convenient in equestrian combat. In addition, long and short spears for throwing (sulits), axes, horns, maces, knives, and bows were used. Warriors had good protective equipment for that time, which was called armor, and later armor. These were helmets with chain mail mesh, chain mail, large almond-shaped shields. Versatile and perfect weapons in many ways contributed to the feats of arms and the glory of Russian soldiers who fought against the enemies of the Fatherland.

The basis of the battle order of the ancient Russian army in the IX-XI centuries. was a "wall" - a tightly closed and deep formation of 10 - 20 lines (a kind of ancient Greek phalanx). Its flanks were covered by cavalry, and light infantry acted in front of the front, which threw arrows and light spears (sulits) at the enemy. Such a battle order was used in numerous battles by Prince Svyatoslav.

The strength of the “wall” was in its solidity and powerful attack, the disadvantage was in the inactivity and vulnerability of the flanks and rear. Subsequently, the second line of the wall was introduced into the battle order, which played the role of a reserve and protected the flanks and rear from enemy cavalry attacks.

From the 11th century Russian army lined up for battle in a line consisting of three parts: the central regiment (“brow”), the regiments of the right and left hands (flanks). This battle formation was called "regimental row". It allowed the combined placement of infantry and cavalry, maneuver and strike at the enemy.

The Slavs fortified their cities with wooden walls impregnable for the barbarian peoples, the then neighbors of Russia, surrounded with deep ditches not only fortresses, but also their field camps for security.

Our ancestors knew how to take foreign cities and knew the art of siege earthworks.

The Slavs borrowed the art of navigation from the Varangians. Warships were propeller-driven with large sails, they could accommodate from 40 to 60 people.



Before the arrival of the Varangians, the main political unit Eastern Slavs tribe performed. Scanty information about their tribal organization indicates that a wide

power, the use of which was dictated by custom and tradition. Important issues were decided by agreement between the elders, who met in tribal councils and were the dominant figures. political life, starting from the lowest level - the community (the world, zadrugi) and up to the highest level - the union of tribes, such as, say, existed among the glades, northerners and drevlyans. The centers of political power were numerous tribal settlements surrounded by a palisade, which arose on hills cleared of forests, around which members of the tribe settled.

On this tribal system of the Eastern Slavs, the Varangians imposed their commercial and military-oriented forms of organization, establishing among the local tribes such order and unity that allowed them to effectively manage their economy. The largest "rulers" of their trading enterprises were members of the Rurik dynasty, and it was they who had more income and power. However, since the princes were largely dependent on their wives, they had to share a significant amount of their food with warriors. It is characteristic that one of the main concerns of the first Kyiv rulers was the desire to satisfy their own warriors so that they would not go over to the rival. With the spread of the influence of the Varangians political power concentrated in cities, arose on the main trade routes. The most important of these cities was Kyiv.

The Kyiv princes managed to monopolize power to varying degrees. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise in the middle of the XI century. the most ambitious, talented and cruel members of the dynasty repeatedly managed to seize the Kyiv table and assert their superiority over their brothers and other competitors. During this period of strong power, centrifugal tendencies were restrained and the unity of possessions was ensured. Following the reform of Yaroslav the Wise in the system of inheritance of power, according to which each member of the rapidly growing Rurik dynasty received a practical or theoretical part of the possessions, decentralization of power began. As a result of this, the Grand Duke of Kyiv eventually became no more than a titled head of a dynastically connected conglomerate of principalities, continuously at enmity with each other.

Having outlined the political development of Kievan Rus, let us turn to the mechanisms through which power was exercised. The most important of them were the princely power, the council of the boyars (the Duma) and the assembly of the townspeople (the Veche). Each of these institutions was a manifestation of the conformity of monarchical, aristocratic and democratic tendencies in the political structure of Kyiv. The power and prestige enjoyed by the prince, in turn, obliged him to provide his subjects with justice, order and protection. In the performance of his military functions, the prince used to depend on his wife. In case of need for large forces, a militia of the townspeople gathered or, more rarely, a general mobilization was carried out. The number of this army was relatively small - somewhere around 2-3 thousand people, or even less. Similarly to societies that did not yet have a state organization, the principality as a whole was also managed by the personal servants of the prince, such as, in particular, the butler, the manager of the estate and others, since there was no clear difference between public and private administrative functions. In remote cities and lands, the princes appointed posadniks, who, as a rule, were elected from members of their own family. On the peripheral lands, the will of the prince was carried out by the thousandth of the local militia with his subordinates. Justice was administered by the prince himself or judges appointed by him according to Yaroslav the Wise's Russkaya Pravda. It is clear that the princely power was of paramount importance in the administration of Kievan Rus, but at the same time, the combination of military, judicial and administrative functions in it testifies to how relatively undeveloped and primitive this system was.

In financing their activities, the princes formerly depended on tribute. Subsequently, a complex system of taxation developed, including each farm (which was called "smoke" or "plow"). Other sources of princely income included trade duties, court fees and fines. The latter constituted an important source of income, since the Kyiv laws on punishment for crime were preferred to monetary payments before the death penalty.

For advice and support, the prince had to turn to the boyar duma - a body that arose from the senior members of his wife, many of whom were descendants of the Varangian leaders or Slavic tribal leaders. Later, church hierarchs also received a seat in the Duma. The functions of the Duma were never clearly defined, and the prince was not obliged to consult with her. However, ignoring it, he risked losing the support of this influential body, which represented the entire boyar nobility. Therefore, the princes, as a rule, took into account the position of the boyar duma. The democratic side of the political structure of Kyiv was represented by a veche, or a meeting of townspeople, which arose even before the appearance of princes and, obviously, came from the tribal councils of the Eastern Slavs. Veche was convened by the prince or the townspeople when there was a need to consult or express their opinion. Among the issues discussed before our eyes were military campaigns, the conclusion of agreements, succession to the throne, the distribution of posts in the state, the organization of the army. The veche could criticize or approve the princely policy, but it did not have the right to determine its own policy or legislate. However, when a new prince sat on the throne, the veche could conclude a formal agreement (“row”) with him, according to which the prince pledged not to cross the traditionally established limits of power by the veche, and it, in turn, recognized his authority over itself. Although the heads of families had the right to participate in the eyes, in fact, the veche gatherings were dominated by the city merchant nobility, which turned them into an arena of inter-factional disputes.

In the ninth to twelfth centuries Ancient Russia was a so-called proto-state, only being formed by its political system. The previously disparate communities began to gradually unite into one state, at the head of which it was decided to put the Rurik dynasty.

At the same time, historians agree that in that period (early) Kievan Rus had a feudal monarchy as a form of government.

Ancient Russia was formed on the territory of the Eastern Slavs at the end of the tenth century. A prince is placed at the head of this state, who promises protection and patronage to the surrounding feudal lords. In return for these services, the feudal lords give him part of their own territories for use as a payment.

At the same time, part of the territories that were conquered as a result of military campaigns is given to the boyars, who collect tribute from these lands. For this procedure, combatants are hired who were allowed to stay in the territory to which they were attached. This is how the feudal hierarchy began to form (Prince - votchinniki - boyars - small land holders).

This system contributed to the fact that the prince himself began to turn from a military leader into an actual political figure. This is how the beginnings of the monarchy appear and feudal power develops.

Socio-political system of Ancient Russia

The first legal document was Russkaya Pravda, which was created by Yaroslav the Wise.

The main objective of this document was to protect people from all sorts of unrest, as well as the regulation of social relations.

However, besides this, this document divided society into certain social categories. For example, there were dependents and community members. The former were considered incomplete citizens and did not have any freedoms at all (they also did not have the right to serve in the army). They were divided into temporarily dependent, serfs (servants), as well as commoners (smerds).

Free community members were divided into people and smerds.

Features of the political system of Russia

At the head of the state was the prince, to whom the warriors and boyars were subordinate, with the help of which he implemented state administration. The squad was divided into senior and junior.

The final formation of the state political system of Russia was completed only by the end of the twelfth century.