Pereyaslavl land, before being separated into an independent principality, occupied the southeastern part of the "Russian land" - the political core of the Old Russian state in the 9th - first half of the 11th century. "Russian land", adjoining on both sides of the Dnieper to the steppe areas occupied by nomads, covered the territory of several East Slavic tribes. Its largest centers were Kiev, Chernigov and Pereyaslavl.

The region of the future Pereyaslavsky principality, which occupied the forest-steppe zone of the Dnieper left bank, was also not ethnically uniform. Its borders included the possessions of the northerners and glades. Severyansky settlements, represented by the settlements of the Romny culture of the 8th-10th centuries, occupied the eastern part of the Pereyaslavl region, stretching from the upper Desna and Posemye far to the utah, up to Vorskla and the Seversky Donets. In the western part, adjacent to the Dnieper, there were the lands of the Kiev glades.

Severyansky monuments on the territory of interest to us are concentrated in the basins of the Seim, Sula, Psla, Vorskla, Seversky Donets. In contrast to the chronicle data, which indicate Sulu as the southern border of the Severian territory, archaeological data make it possible to significantly expand the boundaries of the settlement of the Severian tribes to the south.

According to written sources, the northerners were included in ancient Russia at the end of the 9th century. Under 884, the chronicler notes: "Ide Oleg is on the Northerners, and defeat the Northerners, and pay tribute to the light ..." Apparently, Oleg did not subdue all the northerners, and at the end of the 9th century. the eastern part of the northerners' territory was still outside the state. Svyatoslav's campaigns to the east, his defeat in 965 of the Khazar Kaganate made possible the final subordination of the territory of the Severyan land to the Kiev prince.

Borders of the northerners' land of the 9th-10th centuries. within the limits of the future Pereyaslavl principality are outlined according to archaeological data as follows (Fig. 1). The western border ran from the interfluve of the Ostra and Romna in the north to the lower reaches of the Sula (below the mouth of the Uday) and the lower reaches of the Vorskla (below Poltava) in the south. The southern border ran from the lower course of the Vorskla to the Seversky Donets at the confluence of the Uda and Mozha (south of Kharkov). The eastern limits reached the headwaters of the Seim, Pela, Vorskla.

The most densely populated banks were the Seim, Psla, Vorskla, Sula, Romna. At the same time, along the course of the Sula, Vorskla and Seversky Donets, the northerners moved far to the southwest and south of the main area of ​​their settlement.

To the west of the distribution line of the Severyan monuments, from the upper reaches of the Ostra, Uday, along the Supoy, Trubezh up to the Dnieper, were the lands of the Kiev glades. Archaeological monuments that preceded the formation of the Old Russian state have been studied very poorly on this territory. Not so long ago I.P. Rusanova made an attempt to clarify the boundaries of the Polyanskaya land according to the funerary monuments of the 10th-12th centuries, dating back to the time when the actual polyana as an ethnic community no longer existed. She came to the conclusion that on the left bank of the Dnieper, the glades belonged to the territory up to the interfluve of the Sula and Khorol (see Fig. 1). Thus, a significant part of the territory along the Sula is attributed to the glades within the Pereyaslav region, including the lower course of the Uday and the interfluve of the Romna and the Seim, which is actually occupied by the northerners of the Romny culture. Undoubtedly, the northerners kept their ethnographic characteristics in the material culture longer than the meadows, and talking about the Polyanskaya territory in relation to the period of existence of the Old Russian state, with its strong military-administrative and cultural impact on the Dnieper left bank, is possible only conditionally. Apparently, in the western part of the Pereyaslav region, the Polyan population was small, it concentrated mainly in the Dnieper region.

In the initial period of the existence of the Old Russian state, the local nobility of the Severyansko-Polyanskaya Pereyaslavschina took an active part in the political life of Russia. This is evidenced by the treaties of Oleg with the Greeks, who mention "great princes" and boyars sitting in large cities, including Pereyaslavl. In the annals under 968, the left-bank voivode Pretych is mentioned, who came from "the people of this Dnieper country" to help the Kievites besieged by the Pechenegs. Probably, Pretich was a descendant of one of the local left-bank princes, the very "bright princes" mentioned in the treaties between Russians and Greeks.

At the end of the 9th and 10th centuries. the process of state development of the Pereyaslavskaya oblast by its nature, apparently, did not differ in any way from the analogous process of spreading the power of the Kiev princes to the territory of the Severyansky Chernigov region. Both the Chernigov and Pereyaslavl nobles took part in the campaigns of the Kiev prince. Both those and others received "structures" for their cities and, led by Kiev, jointly defended the foreign policy interests of Russia. The local nobility was obliged to take part in collecting tribute from the subordinate population in favor of the Kiev prince. The chronicle mention of the voivode Pretich from "this country of the Dnieper" testifies that in the second half of the 10th century. Kiev's power over the population of the left bank of the Dnieper began to increase.

The activities of Vladimir Svyatoslavich played an extremely important role in strengthening the domination of Kiev over the Pereyaslavl left bank. Under the year 988, the chronicle notes the construction of fortresses undertaken by him: “And Volodimer's speech:“ this is not good, there is a small town near Kiev ”. And I began to build cities along the Desna, and along the Vostri, and along the Trubezhev, and along the Sule, and along the Stugna. And why men chop the rays from Sloven, and from Krivich, and from Chyuda, and from Vyatich, and from these they inhabited cities; protect from the Pechenegs. And fighting with them and overpowering them. "

The construction of "cities", carried out mainly in the Pereyaslav region, was aimed at strengthening the southeastern borders of Russia, by that time, probably already disturbed by the Pechenegs. At the same time, a powerful barrier was created to protect Kiev itself, especially from the east. As a result, the Pereyaslavl land turned out to be covered with a network of fortress towns, which firmly connected it with the capital of Russia - Kiev. Vladimirov's "cities" were the centers of the political domination of the Kiev prince over the surrounding population. The conductor of this domination was the feudalized nobility in the person of the "best men" who had the authority to organize a military guard service in order to protect the state territory. The "best men" who grew up in the depths of the old tribal society became part of the state apparatus of Kievan Rus.

Some researchers are inclined to regard Vladimir's measures for the construction of "cities" as evidence of separatist tendencies among the local northerners, allegedly prompting Vladimir to entrust the protection of the Seversk land not to the local, but to a newcomer, alien population. Without denying the possibility of the desire of the local northerners to preserve independence under certain conditions, one should, however, recognize the message of the chronicle about the Pechenezh danger as the main reason for Vladimir's construction activities. In fact, the richest northerners nobility were concentrated, according to written sources and archaeological data, within the Chernihiv region. At the same time, Vladimir built the left-bank "cities" mainly in the Pereyaslav region, mainly in its western, "non-northern" part. On the territory of the northerners proper, long before Vladimir there were quite numerous fortifications, the remains of which are the settlements of the Romny culture. Most of these fortifications-townships survived until the XII-XIII centuries. To the east of Sula, along the Psla and Vorskla, almost all the settlements known here, inhabited in the XI-XIII centuries, belonged in the VIII-X centuries. Romny culture of the northerners. To the west of Sula and Uday, on the contrary, such settlements are known in isolated cases (Fig. 2).

The massive construction of fortress towns in the southeastern limits of the state required a significant additional population for the material support and defense of new settlements. The northern tribes became such a reserve for strengthening the southern borderland and partial colonization of Pereyaslavshchina under Vladimir.

By the end of the X century. the Pechenegs posed a serious threat to the "Russian land". In 968 they besieged Kiev, in 972 they killed Prince Svyatoslav on the Dnieper rapids, in 980 they fought against Vladimir, in 992 they invaded the Left Bank from the side of Sula, reaching Trubezh, in 996 they approached Vasilev, in 997 Belgorod was besieged.

Under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the left bank of the Middle Dnieper region was politically a single whole with the Kiev land proper. Vladimir's sons ruled in many regions, but the Chernigov-Pereyaslavl left bank, together with the Kiev right bank, remained in his direct control.

An attempt to divide the "Russian land" along the Dnieper was carried out by the Tmutarakan Mstislav under Yaroslav Vladimirovich. In 1024 Mstislav Vladimirovich occupied Chernigov. After the battle of Listven, Yaroslav was forced to cede Chernigov-Pereyaslavl territory to Mstislav. However, after the death of Mstislav in 1036, Yaroslav again became the autocratic prince of the entire “Russian land”. The separation of the Pereyaslav region into a separate principality took place in 1054, when, according to Yaroslav's "will", it was given to his son Vsevolod, and Chernigov region - to his other son - Svyatoslav.

The boundaries of the Pereyaslavl reign are outlined as follows (Fig. 3). The northern border of the Pereyaslavl land, separating it from the Chernigov land, ran along the lower course of the Ostra and further to the east went through the upper reaches of the Uday and Sula. On this side, the border towns of Pereyaslavl were Ostersky town at the mouth of the Ostra and Romen at the mouth of the Romna. The city of Lutava (6 km north of Ostersky town), Bialowieza in the upper reaches of the Ostra and Vyr on the Vyri were already part of the Chernigov land. True, in the northeastern part of the Pereyaslavl land, Posemye with Kursk sometimes entered its boundaries.

In the west and south-west, the Pereyaslavl principality bordered on the Kiev land along the Desna and Dnieper. At the same time, in the western part (from the mouth of the Ostra to the Dnieper at the latitude of Pereyaslavl), a number of villages on the left side of the Dnieper belonged to Kiev.

From the southeast, the stable border of the Pereyaslav region was Sula, with a chain of fortresses and settlements located on it. It separated the main territory of the Pereyaslavl principality from the nomadic steppe. It is no coincidence that the annalistic cities of the Pereyaslavsky principality are concentrated precisely in the region west of Sula. To the east of the Sula, judging by the distribution of ancient Russian archaeological monuments, the territory of the Pereyaslavl land covered the middle reaches of the Psla and Vorskla and then in the lower reaches of the Uda it wedged in the direction of the Seversky Donets. The indicated limits, up to Vorskla and the Seversky Donets, outline the eastern borders of the Pereyaslav region and according to written sources. Here, on the Ude, a tributary of the Seversky Donets, the Russian city of Donets is known, mentioned in the "Lay of Igor's Host", and on the Vorskla, perhaps, there was the predecessor of modern Poltava - the chronicle Ltava.

This marginal territory, apparently, was in very weak subordination to the princely power. The responsibilities of the small population living here were limited, perhaps, to providing assistance to the Russians during their frequent campaigns against the Polovtsians, as well as ensuring the safety of the movement of trade caravans. At the same time, the services of the local population were used not only by the Pereyaslavl princes, but also by the Novgorod-Seversk ones.

The Russian population penetrated especially far to the south along the Dnieper. Old Russian unfortified settlements of the XII-XIII centuries. found on the right bank of the Dnieper in the area of ​​the reservoir of the Dneprodzerzhinsk hydroelectric power station and much further south - on both banks of the Dnieper in Nadporozhye. Obviously, these settlements had some kind of connection with the Old Russian state, with its southern Pereyaslav and Kiev principalities.

The separation of the Pereyaslav region into a separate principality became possible as a result of the addition of the "administrative apparatus" here, which subjugated the main territory of this region and was able to independently carry out state policy. Pereyaslavl became the center of the principality.

One cannot completely agree with the opinion that the alleged reason for the formation of the Pereyaslavl principality was the struggle between the large feudal centers of the Middle Dnieper region - Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, as well as Kiev and Chernigov. The desire of the Pereyaslavl boyars for independence, their unwillingness to share power with the Chernigov boyars only coincided with the interests of the Kiev nobility, interested in weakening their powerful rival, the Chernigov boyars. Naturally, the Pereyaslavl boyars were primarily interested in gaining independence.

Among the left-bank cities, Pereyaslavl played the main role in organizing the resistance to the Polovtsian invasions. This is also one of the reasons for the isolation of the Pereyaslavl land into an independent principality.

The role of the Pereyaslavl land in the defense of Kiev, which was determined since the time of Vladimir, the joint struggle of the Kiev and Pereyaslavl princes against the steppe nomads, at the same time determined the relatively incomplete independence of the Pereyaslavl principality, its well-known dependence on the Kiev land. The long-standing tutelage of the Kiev princes also affected. This, obviously, explains the fact that the border between the Kiev and Pereyaslav principalities in the area from the lower reaches of the Desna to the mouth of the Trubezh passed not along the Dnieper, but east of it.

Among the reasons for the isolation of the Pereyaslavskaya region from the Chernigov region, some researchers named the difference in the ethnic composition of the population of these regions. Even during the existence of the Severian tribal reign, the population of the Pereyaslav region should have included the remnants of the non-Slavic Bulgarian-Alan tribes. Subsequently, as a result of the grand-ducal colonization, the population of the Pereyaslav region was replenished with immigrants from the northern tribes, and then nomads who were moving to a settled way were partially settled on its territory.

However, the noted ethnic differences could not seriously affect the formation of the northern border of the Pereyaslavl land. The Pereyaslavl principality, like the neighboring Chernigov principality, was not one-ethnic, already because it included both part of the territory of the northerners and part of the territory of the meadows. The center of the principality - Pereyaslavl - arose on the land of the meadows. Obviously, the borders of the Pereyaslavl and Chernigov principalities, as well as the Kiev land, did not coincide with the borders of individual tribal unions, since the tribal division in this territory was erased even during the existence of the "Russian land".

The territorial demarcation between the Pereyaslavl and Chernigov principalities does not go back to the tribal era, it was determined during the existence of the Old Russian state. A.N. Nasonov, noting the stability of the borders between the Pereyaslavl and Chernigov principalities, assumed that these borders "were not established suddenly, not by accident, but were determined by relations that had developed long ago, before the division of the" Russian land "according to Yaroslav's will."

The point of view of A.N. Nasonov should be clarified by the observations of V.G. Lyaskoronsky, who pointed out that along the northern border of the Pereyaslavsky principality - to the north of the lower reaches of the Desna, along the Ostra, in the upper reaches of the Ostra and Uday and further to the east, along the Romn and other tributaries of the upper Sula - inaccessible swamps stretched in a wide strip. The presence of a natural geographical border to a certain extent predetermined the future border between the principalities.

A decisive role in the formation of the borders of the Pereyaslavl principality was played by defensive construction under Vladimir at the end of the 10th century, which not accidentally covers its main territory. The northwestern border of the Pereyaslavsky principality along the Desna, its northern border along the Ostra and the southeastern border along the Sule correspond to the defensive lines of Vladimir's time.

Thus, the core of the Pereyaslavsky principality was formed on the left bank of the Dnieper within the region, fortified at the end of the 10th century. grand-ducal power. This fortified area did not include the southeastern part of the former northerners' possessions, which, due to the Polovtsian invasions, remained incompletely developed by Pereyaslavl.

Pereyaslavskaya oblast, small in size, having become a separate reign, continued to remain the southeastern outpost of Russia, which defended the approaches to Kiev. The population of the Pereyaslav region had to experience the constant danger of invasions of the steppe nomadic tribes. Archaeological excavations on Posulye have discovered the remains of the heroic outposts of the 10th-12th centuries, which, despite the devastation accompanied by fires, were rebuilt again and continued to stand on the "guard of the Russian land" from the "filthy" - Pechenegs, Torks and Polovtsians.

The first Pereyaslavl prince Vsevolod, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, becoming prince in 1054, immediately undertook a campaign against the Torks to the Voin at the mouth of the Sula and defeated them. In the same 1054, the Polovtsy of Khan Bolush appeared in the steppes and entered the territory of the Pereyaslav region. Vsevolod made peace with the Polovtsians, and they returned to the steppe. In 1060 the Torks, pressed by the Polovtsy, tried to penetrate into the Pereyaslavl principality. Under the blow of the combined forces of the Russian principalities, the Torki were defeated. In 1061, the Polovtsy made a devastating raid on the Pereyaslav region. In 1068 they penetrated deep into the Pereyaslavl principality; Princes Vsevolod, Svyatoslav (Chernigov) and Izyaslav (Kiev) who came out to meet them were defeated. Only later, within the Chernigov region, Svyatoslav managed to defeat the Polovtsy.

In 1073 Vsevolod Yaroslavich occupied the Chernigov table, apparently retaining the Pereyaslavl principality.

Oleg Svyatoslavich, the son of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who died in 1076, who occupied the Chernigov table until 1073, acted vigorously against Vsevolod. Oleg Svyatoslavich organized a campaign against Vsevolod in 1078 together with the Polovtsy and captured Chernigov. The Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich with his son Yaropolk and Vsevolod with his son Vladimir set out from Kiev to Chernigov and defeated opponents on the Nezhatina field. Oleg fled to Tmutarakan. In this battle, the Kiev prince Izyaslav died. Instead, Vsevolod reigned in Kiev, keeping Pereyaslavl behind him, and Chernigov gave it to his son Vladimir.

Under 1080 the chronicle reports about the uprising of the Torks, settled in the Pereyaslavl land: "... the Tordi of Pereyaslavstiya was transferred to Russia." Vladimir Monomakh, sent by Vsevolod, defeated the Torks. Subsequently, Vsevolod put Vladimir Monomakh in Pereyaslavl for some time, from where he undertook campaigns against the Polovtsy to the cities of Priluk and Belaya Vezha. Shortly before this, Vladimir Monomakh expelled the Polovtsy from Goroshyn and pursued them to Khorol. At one time, Vladimir's younger brother, Rostislav, reigned in Pereyaslavl, who died in 1093 at Stugna during a campaign against the Polovtsy, who, having learned about the death of the Kiev prince Vsevolod, invaded the Kiev region. Vladimir Monomakh moved to the orphaned Pereyaslavl, yielding to Chernigov to Oleg Svyatoslavich of Tmutarakansky, who, in alliance with the Polovtsy, advanced to Chernigov and laid siege to it.

Having become the Pereyaslavl prince, Vladimir Monomakh immediately took energetic actions against the Polovtsians. He fought for Rimov, who was on Sula, and defeated the Polovtsians in the steppe.

In 1095, the Polovtsians, led by the princes Itlar and Kitan, approached Pereyaslavl itself. The people of Pereyaslavl managed to shackle the actions of the Polovtsians, and then Vladimir Monomakh, in alliance with the Kiev prince Svyatopolk, set out into the steppe and defeated the Polovtsian vezhes.

In 1103, at the Dolobsky Congress, Vladimir Monomakh convinced Svyatopolk of the need to organize a new joint campaign against the Polovtsians. Gathering a large army, the Russian princes set out from Pereyaslavl along the Dnieper below the rapids and crushed the Polovtsian forces in the steppe. The Russians with a large population, "hares of the Pechenegs and torques with vezhy", returned to their lands.

In 1107, the Polovtsy, led by Bonyak, penetrated to Pereyaslavl, and then approached the city of Lubno on Sula. Svyatopolk with Vladimir and other Russian princes expelled the Polovtsi, pursuing them to Vorskla. In 1110, the Polovtsy appeared at the Voin at the mouth of the Sula, and then broke through to Pereyaslavl and devastated its surroundings. A large and successful campaign against the Polovtsians was undertaken at the initiative of Vladimir Monomakh in 1111, when Russian troops reached the Don.

In 1113, the Kiev prince Svyatopolk died, and Vladimir Monomakh took the grand-princely throne, passing Pereyaslavl to his son Svyatoslav. But in the same year Vladimir Monomakh appointed another son to Pereyaslavl - Yaropolk; obviously Svyatoslav was ill: in 1114 he died. In 1116, taking part in the campaign of Vladimir Monomakh against Gleb Minsky, Yaropolk captured part of the inhabitants of the city of Drutsk and settled them in the newly rebuilt city of Zhelii (Zheldi) in the lower reaches of the Sula. In the same year, Yaropolk, in alliance with the son of the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Davydovich, opposed the Polovtsy in the Don region and took three cities - Sugrov, Sharukan and Balin.

These offensive actions forced the Polovtsians to temporarily refrain from raiding Russia: from 1116 until the end of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kiev (1125), the chronicle never mentions their invasions. However, having learned about the death of Vladimir Monomakh, the Polovtsy again came to Russia in 1125, penetrating from the east into the northern reaches of the Pereyaslav region. Yaropolk sent an army to Baruch, Bron and other northern cities of the principality, and the Polovtsy, retreating, began to plunder Posulie. Yaropolk attacked the Polovtsians near the city of Polkosten on the Udai (right tributary of the Sula) and drove them out of the principality.

In 1132, with the death of the Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, Yaropolk took his place. Pereyaslavl was claimed by the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, who in turn expelled from there two of his nephews - first Vsevolod, and then Izyaslav Mstislavichi, sons of the deceased Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich. Then in 1134 the Kiev prince Yaropolk handed over Pereyaslavl to Yuri Dolgoruky, which aroused the discontent of the Chernigov Olgovichi. The latter, in alliance with the Polovtsy, began to devastate the Pereyaslav region and approached Kiev, but at the end of the same year, peace was concluded between Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov and Yaropolk Vladimirovich of Kiev. Pereyaslavl received the younger brother of Yaropolk and Yuri - Andrei Vladimirovich. Soon the Olgovichi, with the help of the Polovtsy, resumed hostilities. In 1135 they laid siege to Pereyaslavl, and then in the upper reaches of the Supoy they defeated the troops of the Monomakhovichs - brothers Yaropolk, Yuri, Vyacheslav and Andrey. In 1138 Vsevolod Olgovich with the Polovtsy again attacked the Pereyaslav region, took Priluk on Uday and other cities.

The danger from the Olgovichi, their energetic interference in the affairs of Southern Russia forced Yaropolk to gather a large army and march towards Chernigov, as a result of which peace was concluded with Vsevolod: the Olgovichi received the Family with Kursk, which from 1127 was part of the Pereyaslavl principality.

In 1139 Vsevolod Olgovich, becoming a Kiev prince, tried to take Pereyaslavl away from Andrei Vladimirovich in favor of his brother Svyatoslav. But Andrei Vladimirovich pushed back the troops of Svyatoslav and defended Pereyaslavl. Despite the transition of the grand ducal table to the Olgovichs, the Pereyaslavl land remained with Monomakhovich. In 1140 Vsevolod and Andrey went out to meet the Polovtsy who invaded the southern borders of the Pereyaslav region, and made peace with them in the town of Malotin. Andrei, having entered into an alliance with Vsevolod, did not lose his independence in political affairs.

In 1141, the Novgorodians invited Rostislav, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, to reign. In revenge on the Monomakhovichs, Vsevolod occupied the Pereyaslavl Ostersky town.

In 1142 Andrey Vladimirovich died, and Vsevolod brought his brother Vyacheslav Vladimirovich from Turov to Pereyaslavl. In Turov, Vsevolod planted his son Svyatoslav, and in Vladimir-Volynsky, Vyacheslav's nephew, Izyaslav Mstislavich. All this caused discontent on the part of the Olgovichi - the brothers of Vsevolod. In 1142 they repeatedly attacked Pereyaslavl.

At the end of 1142, Vsevolod endowed Igor Olgovich with the Ostersky town, and Vyacheslav, with the consent of the Kiev prince, gave Pereyaslavl to his nephew Izyaslav Mstislavich and returned to Turov.

In 1146, after the death of Vsevolod Olgovich, his brother Igor Olgovich became the prince of Kiev. At the same time, a popular uprising broke out in Kiev. Kievans sent to Pereyaslavl to Izyaslav Mstislavich an invitation to take the grand-ducal throne. Izyaslav with an army went to Kiev, captured it and took Igor prisoner. Izyaslav's son, Mstislav, was planted in Pereyaslavl. For the division of the Olgovichi possessions, Kursk was given to Pereyaslavl. However, in the spring of 1147 Svyatoslav Olgovich, with the support of Yuri Dolgoruky, returned most of his possessions. Kursk was transferred to Dolgoruky's son - Gleb. Gleb Yurievich, in alliance with the Polovtsy, laid siege to the cities at the northeastern border of the Pereyaslavl land - Vyr, Vyakhan and Popash. Izyaslav, with his brother Rostislav Smolensky, who came to the rescue, set out to the upper reaches of the Sula, where the Olgovichi and the Polovtsy were located. Learning about the movement of Izyaslav, Svyatoslav Olgovich with his allies hastily retreated to Chernigov.

In the same 1147, the Kursk prince Gleb, hatching plans to subjugate the Pereyaslav region, suddenly seized the Ostersky town and approached Pereyaslavl, but failed. Near the northern border of the Pereyaslavl land, near Nosov, Mstislav overtook Gleb retreating to the north and captured part of his squad. After Gleb took refuge in the Ostersky town, Mstislav returned to Pereyaslavl. Izyaslav hurried to the Ostersky town, who, after three days of siege, forced Gleb to leave the city.

Having made peace with the Davydovich and Olgovichi, Izyaslav decided to protect himself from the contender for the Kiev table - Yuri Dolgoruky. To this end, in the fall of 1148, he summoned the princes to a congress in Ostersky town, where it was decided to jointly oppose Yuri. Izyaslav, in alliance with the people of Smolensk and Novgorod, attacked the possessions of Yuri Dolgoruky in the Volga region, but did not achieve decisive success and returned to Kiev with the approach of spring.

Claiming Kiev, Yuri decided to take advantage of the strategic advantages of the Pereyaslavl territory and, having enlisted the support of Svyatoslav Olgovich, in alliance with the Polovtsy in 1149 approached Pereyaslavl. Izyaslav's army with allies came to the rescue of Pereyaslavl. Even before the start of the battle, Yuri invited Izyaslav to stay in Kiev, but to transfer Pereyaslavl to his son. However, given the role of Pereyaslavl in Kiev affairs, Izyaslav did not agree with Yuri's proposal.

The next day Izyaslav was defeated in battle. Yuri stayed in Pereyaslavl for three days and entered Kiev, Izyaslav retired to Vladimir-Volynsky. In Pereyaslavl Dolgoruky planted his eldest son Rostislav. However, in 1150, when Izyaslav Mstislavich again seized Kiev, and Yuri Dolgoruky took refuge in the Ostersky town, Pereyaslavl again became a bone of contention.

As soon as Izyaslav began to gather an army to capture Pereyaslavl, Yuri immediately sent his son Andrey to help Rostislav and turned for reinforcements to the Olgovichs and Davydovichs. Pereyaslavl remained with Rostislav.

In the same year, Yuri again occupied Kiev. Soon the Polovtsy, called by Yuri to fight against Izyaslav, approached Pereyaslavl, and began to devastate the outskirts of the city. Yuri sent Andrey to help Rostislav, and he pacified the Polovtsians. After a while, Izyaslav entered Kiev with an army. Dolgoruky again fled to Ostersky town. However, the Pereyaslavl land with its extremely important strategic points - Pereyaslavl and Ostersky town - this time remained in the hands of Yuri Dolgoruky as a springboard for seizing the Kiev throne.

In April 1151 Rostislav Yuryevich died, and Yuri gave Pereyaslavl to his son Gleb. In the same spring, Yuri Dolgoruky, with the Davydovichs, Olgovichs and the invited Polovtsy, besieged Kiev, but failed and returned to Pereyaslavl. Izyaslav, approaching Pereyaslavl, forced Yuri Dolgoruky to accept peaceful conditions, according to which he had to retire to Suzdal, handing Pereyaslavl to his son. However, Yuri was in no hurry to leave Pereyaslavl. After a second reminder from Izyaslav, Yuri went to the Ostersky town, leaving his son Gleb in Pereyaslavl. With a large army, Izyaslav laid siege to Oster town. Having received no outside help, Yuri surrendered and went to Suzdal, leaving his son Gleb in the Ostersky town. In Pereyaslavl Izyaslav planted his son Mstislav.

In 1152 Izyaslav Mstislavich destroyed the Ostersky town, which played the role of Yuri Dolgoruky's stronghold in the struggle for Kiev. The garrison of the fortress was withdrawn, and the fortifications of the city were burned.

In the same year, Mstislav Izyaslavich undertook a campaign in the left-bank steppe and defeated the Polovtsy at the Coal and Samara. At the same time, he freed from the Polovtsian captivity "a multitude of Christian souls", captured many horses and cattle. In 1153 Mstislav Izyaslavich with the Pereyaslavl regiment fought on the side of his father against Yaroslav Galitsky and took part in the famous battle on the banks of Seret.

In 1154, with the death of Izyaslav Mstislavich, Izyaslav's brother Rostislav, who had reigned in Smolensk before that, became the prince of Kiev. Yuri Dolgoruky, considering himself more entitled to the Kiev table, decided to immediately go to Kiev. As a first step towards the implementation of his plans, he made an attempt to seize Pereyaslavl. Yuri's son Gleb with many Polovtsians approached Pereyaslavl. Fighting off the Polovtsi, the Pereyaslavl prince Mstislav Izyaslavich turned to Kiev for help. Rostislav sent him reinforcements led by his son Svyatoslav. Having received a decisive rebuff from the defenders of Pereyaslavl, Gleb Yurievich retreated to the upper reaches of the Sula and Uday, ruining the town of Pyriatin on the way. Following this, the Kiev Rostislav, defeated by the Chernigov Izyaslav Davydovich in alliance with Gleb Yurievich, left Kiev. Mstislav Izyaslavich left Pereyaslavl for Volyn. Izyaslav Davydovich gave Pereyaslavl to Gleb Yurievich.

Gleb occupied the Pereyaslavl table until 1169. That year he became the prince of Kiev, and gave Pereyaslavl to his young son Vladimir. The next year, the Polovtsy invaded South Russia. Some of them went to Pereyaslavl and stopped at Pesochna. Gleb went to Pereyaslavl to negotiate with the Polovtsy and made peace with them. A few years later, the Polovtsians again invaded Pereyaslavschina and ravaged the vicinity of Serebryany and Baruch. In 1179 the Polovtsy in the vicinity of Pereyaslavl made a terrible devastation, plundering and killing many inhabitants. The Kiev prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and his allies quickly set out on Sula to the Lukoml settlement. Upon learning of this, the Polovtsians fled to the steppe.

Since the 80s of the XII century. Russian princes again begin to pay serious attention to the protection of the southern borders, especially the Pereyaslav region, from the Polovtsians. Large forces of the united Russian troops moved against the Polovtsy on the left bank of the Dnieper in 1184. Ereli (Uglu) they defeated the Polovtsians and captured their prince Kobyak. In this campaign, the Pereyaslavsky regiment of Vladimir Glebovich distinguished himself.

The Polovtsi also began to unite their efforts. The organizer of the devastating raids on Russia was Khan Konchak. At the beginning of 1185, the Polovtsian campaign was preempted by the actions of the Russian troops, including the Pereyaslavl prince. On the river Khorol Konchak was dealt a tangible blow, and he fled to the steppe. But in the same year, after an unsuccessful campaign of the Seversk princes, Konchak attacked the posul fortifications, destroyed them, after which he quickly moved forward and laid siege to Pereyaslavl. Pereyaslavl prince Vladimir Glebovich "byasha is daring and strong to the army", bravely defended the city. Fighting off the advancing enemies, he received three spear wounds. The news of the movement of the troops of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav to Pereyaslavl forced the Polovtsians to lift the siege and hastily retreat. On the way, they attacked the Rims in the lower reaches of the Sula and captured its inhabitants. In 1187, returning from a campaign undertaken by Kiev Svyatoslav against the Polovtsy, Prince Vladimir Glebovich suddenly fell ill and soon died.

Subsequently, the Pereyaslavl princes often changed, and at times Pereyaslavl did not have them at all. Usually, the change of princes in Kiev entailed changes at the Pereyaslavl table. After Vladimir Glebovich, the Pereyaslavl land remained under the jurisdiction of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, and in 1194, under his successor Rurik Rostislavich, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Vsevolod Yuryevich and the Chernigov Olgovichi fought for influence in southern Russia. Pereyaslavl land passed to Vsevolod. He renewed the fortifications of the Oster town. In Pereyaslavl, Vsevolod alternately keeps his son Konstantin, then the nephew of Yaroslav Mstislavich, then another son - Yaroslav.

In 1206, with the transfer of power to the Olgovichi in Kiev, the son of the Kiev prince Vsevolod Chermny Mikhail was imprisoned in Pereyaslavl. But when, in the same 1206, the Kiev table passed to Rurik Rostislavich, the latter put his son Vladimir in Pereyaslavl. Over time, Pereyaslavschina, being the fatherland of the Monomakhovichs, was entrenched in the Vladimir-Suzdal princes. In 1213 the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Yuri Vsevolodovich sent his brother Vladimir Vsevolodovich to reign in Pereyaslavl, who twice expelled the Polovtsians from the Pereyaslavl land. After his release from Polovtsian captivity (1217), Vladimir went to Suzdal. Who replaced Vladimir in Pereyaslavl is unknown. In 1227 Yuri Vsevolodovich appointed his nephew Vsevolod Konstantinovich to Pereyaslavl, and in 1228 he was replaced by Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. How many years Svyatoslav reigned in Pereyaslavl is also unknown: in 1234 he was already in the north. There is no information about the subsequent princes of Pereyaslavl.

A feature of the political history of the Pereyaslavl land was that for a long time it was under the direct influence and tutelage of the Kiev princes. At the same time, the Pereyaslavl princes often became princes of Kiev after the release of the Kiev table.

In the Pereyaslavl land, the military-feudal administrative apparatus was significantly developed. The squad was the mainstay of the prince in the management of the land. Ensuring the functioning of a large number of fortresses and castles, the regulation of relations with the Torks who settled on the territory of the principality, the management of the prince's economy and the dependent rural population required the organization of the versatile activities of the prince's administration.

Boyars in the Pereyaslavl land did not show oppositional tendencies towards the princely power, similar to those that took place in other lands. The constant danger of Polovtsian invasions and the organization of princely campaigns to repel them deprived the Zemstvo boyars of the opportunity to rely on their own forces and resist the princely power.

The large Pereyaslavl boyars were the closest circle of the prince. The chronicle informs about the boyar Ratibor, who had his own squad. In 1095 the Pereyaslavl prince Vladimir Monomakh consulted with this squad; Polovtsian Khan Itlar, who arrived in Pereyaslavl for negotiations with Monomakh, stayed in the house of Ratibor. Under 1167, the chronicle mentions the boyar Shvarna. For Pereyaslavl, his squad was defeated by the Polovtsy, he himself was captured and was released for a large ransom. In 1180 the boyar Boris Zakharievich with the regiment of the Pereyaslavl prince Vladimir Glebovich took part in the campaign against the Polovtsians.

In connection with the campaigns, the chronicle mentions villages along with cities in some cases. The latter were usually located in the vicinity of cities. The separation of the local feudal stratum was facilitated by the fact that the income from the population of the Pereyaslav region, obviously, did not go to the benefit of the Kiev feudal lords, but went to the needs of defense.

Around Pereyaslavl there were a number of princely, boyar and monastic possessions. The chronicle mentions the villages of Karan, Stryakovo, Kudnovo, Mazhevo, Yapchino. There was also the suburban princely "Red Yard", the monasteries of the Nativity of the Virgin, Savva, Boris and Gleb. In a number of cases, the chronicle mentions villages around Pereyaslavl, without indicating their names (under 1110 - the Polovtsians fought "near Pereyaslavl in the villages"; 1142 - the Polovtsians burned villages near Pereyaslavl; 1143 - the Polovtsians near Pereyaslavl "villages pozhgosha and zhita popasosh "; 1154 - the Polovtsy near Pereyaslavl," the whole village was burnt "). There are also mentions of villages in other places of the Pereyaslav region. So, in 1092 the Polovtsy took three cities on Udai and "many villages fought on both sides". In 1135 the Polovtsians burned villages near Baruch, and in 1136 they ravaged cities and villages along the Sula.

The representatives of the prince in the cities were mayors. They were appointed by the prince to observe his interests in the districts under his control. Under 1128, the annals mention the posadniki of the Pereyaslavl prince Yaropolk Vladimirovich ("Yaropolchi posadnitsi"), who intercepted the Polovtsian ambassadors near Vyr, coming from the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich. In 1147, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Gleb, took the Semeye from the Pereyaslavl prince Mstislav Izyaslavich "and imprisoned his posadniki." In an effort to get more income, the mayor sometimes drove the population to ruin. So it was in 1138 on Posulie: "... there was a ruin by the Posul, an ovo from the Polovtsian, but an ovo from his own mayor."

The economic development of the Pereyaslavl land was facilitated by its proximity to the trade routes that connected Russia with the East and South - Greek, Salt and Zalozny.

The Greek route is the southern continuation of the most ancient waterway along the Dnieper “from the Varangians to the Greeks”. He connected Russia with Crimea and Byzantium. In the Pereyaslavl land, this path was approached along Trubezh, Sule, Pslu, Vorskla. The salt road led to the salt-rich coasts of the Black and Azov seas. The zalous path went through the Don. Traded on it with the Volga region and Tmutarakan.

To protect these routes, Russian princes undertook campaigns in the steppe. In 1168, the Kiev prince Mstislav Izyaslavich, anxious that the Polovtsians "seize the Grechsky way and Solonyi and Zalozny", together with other Russian princes moved to the left-bank steppes and defeated the Polovtsians in the area of ​​the Ugol and Snoporod rivers. Along the northern outskirts of the Pereyaslavsky principality, along the border with Chernigov land (along the watershed between the Desna, the Seim and the upper reaches of the Supoy, Sula and Psla), there was a land trade route to Kursk, known from the 10th century. The main trade routes on the territory of the principality were protected by fortified towns.

Only a few of the cities mentioned in the chronicle can be considered true centers of craft and trade. The rest were small administrative centers, small princely fortress towns and feudal castles.

The capital of the principality - Pereyaslavl (now the regional center of the Kiev region Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky) was one of the largest Russian cities. He occupied a cape between the river. Trubezh and the mouth of the river. Alty and consisted of two fortified parts: a detinets, with an area of ​​about 10 hectares, located at the end of the cape, and a posad with an area of ​​about 80 hectares, adjacent to the detinets from the floor.

For the first time Pereyaslavl was mentioned in the chronicle under 907 in the message about the treaty between Oleg and the Greeks. However, in another place the chronicler conveys a legend according to which Pereyaslavl was founded by Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 993. Archaeological research has established that the oldest surviving fortifications of Pereyaslavl really date back to the time of Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

Detinets was the residence of the prince and the higher clergy. Episcopal court in the second half of the 11th century was fenced with a stone wall with the gateway church of Fyodor. There were also St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Andrew's Church at the gate and other stone structures. Archaeological excavations have uncovered the foundations of the Mikhailovsky Cathedral and the remains of the Episcopal Gate with a part of the wall of the Episcopal Court. In the prince's courtyard there was a stone church of the Mother of God, built by Vladimir Monomakh in 1098. The remains of this church were examined in 1958.

At different times, finds were made at the posad, indicating the development of craft and trade in it, the remains of a glass workshop were discovered. There were also the "Blacksmith's Gate" mentioned in the chronicle. Along with the semi-earthen dwellings of artisans in the settlement, the remains of two stone churches of the 11th-12th centuries have been investigated.

In 1239 Pereyaslavl was destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols.

Archaeological reconnaissance surveys were carried out at the site of the chronicle Ustye, at the confluence of Trubezh into the Dnieper, 8 km from the old Russian Detinets of Pereyaslavl. It was found that in the XI-XIII centuries. on the elevated right bank of Trubezh, 0.5 km from its modern mouth, opposite the chronicle Zarub, there was a relatively large settlement with an area of ​​at least 10 hectares. On the territory of the settlement there is a tract "Gorodishche" - a sandy hillock, deformed by the spring floods of the Dnieper. Traces of a fire are noticeable in the erosion at the Gorodishche. The cultural layer throughout the entire area of ​​the settlement is dominated by materials from the 12th-13th centuries, finds from the 11th century. are less common.

The mouth of Trubezh was a convenient place for anchorage of trade caravans moving along the Dnieper. Only from here could the boats of Pereyaslavl merchants go to the Dnieper. This assumption is confirmed by the finds in the Ustye of fragments of Byzantine vessels for transporting wine and oil - amphorae.

On the opposite bank of the Trubezh, on the hills, along the lakes, the remains of ancient Russian settlements of the XII-XIII centuries have also been discovered. and partly XI century. Bronze book clasps, an encolpion cross, an iron stirrup and other things of the urban type found here indicate the close connection of this territory with Pereyaslavl.

15 km south of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, the remains of a fortress were investigated near the village. Settlements located on a sandy hill in the Dnieper floodplain. A round earthen fortress with a diameter of 57 m is protected by a powerful rampart with the remains of a moat on the outside. Three rows of oak log cabins filled with sand are exposed in the rampart. The two outer rows of log cabins initially came out to the surface, forming hollow stands in the ground part of the shaft. The fortress was located on the territory of a large settlement (over 15 hectares), which occupied a promontory between two lakes. The settlement existed in the XI century. At the end of the XI - the beginning of the XII century. it was burned.

The fortress was founded in the 11th century, but after the emergence of the settlement. It is possible that this settlement is the remains of the chronicle Pesochna, located south of Pereyaslavl. V. Lyaskoronsky localized the Pesochen in the lower reaches of the Supoy, although there is no settlement there. The probability of identifying the settlement near the village. Fortified settlements with the chronicle Pesochny, in addition to chronicle information about its location near Pereyaslavl, to the south of it, is confirmed by the name "Peschanka", which refers to a part of the modern village. Settlements.

A well fortified city and a large princely castle in the northwestern corner of the Pereyaslavl land was Ostersky town. From it, a settlement in the village has been preserved. An old town near the town of Ostra, Chernihiv region, on the right bank of the river. Oster, not far from its confluence with the Desna. The settlement consists of three fortified parts. The main part - Detinets occupies a hill above the Ostra floodplain. On the side opposite to the river, two more parts of the settlement adjoin the detinets, fortified with the remains of earthen ramparts and ditches. The total area of ​​Ostersky town was about 30 hectares. Of these, Detinets occupied about 0.75 hectares, the second part - 4.8 hectares, the third part - about 25 hectares.

The chronicle informs about the construction of the Ostersky town by Vladimir Monomakh in 1098: “The same summer Volodimer Monomakh laid the city on the Vastri”. It is possible that Vladimir Monomakh only renovated and expanded the fortifications of the town. At the corner of Detinets, on the side of the Ostra floodplain, there are the remains of a small stone church of Michael - Osterskaya goddess, which, judging by the construction techniques of the end of the 11th century, was founded in 1098 by Vladimir Monomakh.

The location of the church on the line of fortifications that ran along the perimeter of the Detinets testifies to its simultaneous use for defensive purposes. According to chronicles, the top of this church was chopped up with a tree. Some researchers, not without reason, believe that at the top of the church there could be a rectangular log tower, possibly with a hipped roof.

Ostersky town strategically occupied an important place in the Middle Dnieper region, on the borderlands of Pereyaslav, Chernigov and Kiev lands. Possession of it allowed him to influence political events in the three main centers of South Russia - Pereyaslavl, Kiev and Chernigov. It is no coincidence that the Ostersky town occupied a somewhat isolated position in relation to Pereyaslavl, at times becoming an independent specific possession.

In the middle of the 12th century, during the great inter-princely feudal war over Kiev, Ostersky town repeatedly passed from hand to hand, but more often it was held by Yuri Dolgoruky. In 1148, a meeting of the Kiev prince Izyaslav Mstislavich with his allies took place in the Ostersky town, and in 1151, on the eve of the campaign against Kiev, Yuri Dolgoruky consulted with his allies. In 1152 the fortifications of the town were burned by Izyaslav Mstislavich. In 1194, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, entering the struggle for Southern Russia, restored the fortifications of the Ostersky town, which was his patrimonial possession.

The Chronicle Voin, which was at the same time a transit point in the foreign trade of Russia with the South, belongs to the border fortress towns of the Pereyaslavl land. In the annals Voin is mentioned in connection with the struggle of the Russians against the nomads. In 1054, the Pereyaslavl prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich defeated the Warrior of Torks. In 1110 the Cumans approached this city, in 1147 the Kiev prince Izyaslav Mstislavich made peace with the Cumans at the Voin.

At the site of the ancient Warrior, on the right bank of the Sula near its confluence with the Dnieper, near the village. Military rowing (flooded by the reservoir of the Kremenchug hydroelectric power station), archaeological research was carried out. The warrior occupied a small elevation in the Sula floodplain (with an area of ​​about 28 hectares). The remains of its fortified part, the Detinets, consisted of a settlement on the very edge of the hill. The arched rampart of the settlement came close to Sule at one end. In the shaft, the remains of three rows of oak log cabins were discovered, of which the inner row remained hollow and was used for utility rooms, workshops, and partly for dwellings. A feature of the settlement is that it covered with its fortifications a part of the floodplain on the banks of the Sula that was not suitable for settlement. In addition, an artificial ditch entered the city from the Sula side, which is also not typical for ordinary fortified settlements. This suggested that Detinets Voinya was a fortified harbor where merchant caravans entered or formed, sailing along the Dnieper to the south. The trade value of the Voin is evidenced by the weight weights found during excavations, Byzantine coins of the late X - early XI centuries. etc.

Several construction periods have been traced in the fortifications of Detinets, of which the first belongs to the second half of the 10th - early 11th centuries, which makes it possible to connect the foundation of Voin with the construction activities of Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Posad Voinya was protected by lakes and the marshy floodplain of Sula. Remains of ground and semi-earthen dwellings of the 11th-12th centuries were discovered there, tools of handicraft (blacksmithing, jewelry, etc.) and agriculture were found. After the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Voin is gradually losing importance, turning into a small rural settlement.

An idea of ​​the nameless southern fortresses on the territory of the Pereyaslavl land is given by archaeological excavations carried out on settlements near the former Miklashevsky farm, in the Dnieper floodplain, 15 km above the mouth of the Sula, and near the former Kiziver farm, on the right bank of the Sula, 30 km from its mouth.

Miklashevskoe settlement occupied a small rounded elevation above the lake in the floodplain of the left bank of the Dnieper. The inner diameter of the settlement is about 60 m. The remains of two defensive structures of different times were discovered in its rampart. In the second half of the X - beginning of the XI century. during the construction of the fortress, oak log cabins were placed in a circle in three rows, of which one outer row was filled with an embankment of a rampart, and two rows of log cabins on the inner side remained hollow and were used for military-economic needs. At the end of the XI century. both inner rows of log stands were destroyed by fire; their remains were preserved in a charred state under the spreading sandy embankment of the rampart. At the beginning of the XII century. with the restoration of fortifications on the remains of burnt-out stands, covered with a layer of embankment 1.5 m thick, new log stands were built along the inner edge of the shaft, but in one row. At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. they were also destroyed by fire.

Posad, on the edge of which the described Detinets was located, occupied an area of ​​about 60 hectares and was protected by lakes and the swampy floodplain of the Dnieper. On the territory of the posad, semi-earthen dwellings of the late X - early XIII centuries were opened. and pits with iron slags indicating local iron processing. In the cultural layer, finds of the 11th century prevail. There is reason to believe that after the fire at the end of the 11th century. the population in the settlement decreased and the settlement ceased to exist even before the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

It is possible that the settlement near the Miklashevsky farm is the remains of the annalistic Malotin, near which in 1140 the Kiev and Pereyaslavl princes made peace with the Polovtsy. Researchers believe that Malotin was somewhere near the Sula and the Dnieper, and therefore V. Lyaskoronsky was inclined to identify him with the Klimyatin fortress, mentioned in the documents of the Lithuanian time, near the mouth of the Sula, the location of which, however, is unknown.

The unnamed fortress near the Kizivera farm on Sula was located on the promontory of the high right bank of the river and also had a rounded shape with an internal diameter of about 50 m. On the floor side, it was protected by two defensive lines. Excavations along the edge of the cape revealed two rows of oak log cabins in the rampart, of which the inner row remained hollow, and the outer one was filled with earthen soil to the height of the rampart. In the outer shaft on the floor side there was one narrow row of the same log cabins filled with a shaft embankment. These fortifications were built at the end of the 10th century, their wooden parts were destroyed by fire no later than the beginning of the 12th century. After a short time, on the site of the burnt-out cages along the inner perimeter of the fortress, the shaft was filled up without the use of wooden structures, and the outer shaft on the floor side, also without the use of wooden structures, was expanded and filled up. In the corner on the site of the settlement, a hole with a diameter of 20 m in the upper part was preserved, which is, obviously, the remains of a reservoir for water needed by the defenders in case of a siege of the fortress.

Near the fortress, which ceased to exist in the first half of the 13th century, there are insignificant remnants of two more settlements eroded by Sula. On one of them, a semi-earthen building of the 12th-13th centuries was discovered, which died in a fire. On an unfortified settlement, saturated with cultural remains of the 11th-12th centuries, the remains of an economic pit with charred grains of rye and wheat were discovered. Thus, this unnamed settlement has apparently experienced repeated fires.

Founded in the second half of the 10th century. and which became in the 11th century. the norm of the practice of distribution by the rulers of the Old Russian state (the great Kiev princes) of lands in conditional holding to their sons and other relatives led in the second quarter of the 12th century. to its actual decay. The conditional holders sought, on the one hand, to transform their conditional holdings into unconditional ones and to achieve economic and political independence from the center, and on the other, by subjugating the local nobility, to establish complete control over their possessions. In all regions (with the exception of the Novgorod land, where in fact the republican regime was established and the princely power acquired a military-official character), the princes from the house of Rurikovich managed to become sovereign sovereigns with supreme legislative, executive and judicial functions. They relied on the administrative apparatus, whose members constituted a special service class: for their service, they received either part of the income from the exploitation of the subject territory (feeding), or the land for holding. The main vassals of the prince (boyars), together with the upper echelons of the local clergy, formed an advisory and consultative body under him - the boyar duma. The prince was considered the supreme owner of all lands in the principality: some of them belonged to him as personal property (domain), and the rest he disposed of as the ruler of the territory; they were divided into the domains of the church and the conditional holdings of the boyars and their vassals (boyars' servants).

The socio-political structure of Russia in the era of fragmentation was based on a complex system of suzerainty and vassalage (feudal ladder). The feudal hierarchy was headed by the Grand Duke (until the middle of the 12th century, the ruler of the Kiev table, later this status was acquired by the Vladimir-Suzdal and Galician-Volyn princes). Below were the rulers of large principalities (Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk, Rostov-Suzdal, Vladimir-Volynsk, Galitsk, Muromo-Ryazan, Smolensk), even lower - the owners of the lands within each of these principalities. At the lowest level was the non-titled servant nobility (boyars and their vassals).

From the middle of the 11th century. the process of disintegration of large principalities began, which first of all affected the most developed agricultural regions (Kiev region, Chernigov region). In the 12th - first half of the 13th century. this trend has become universal. Particularly intense fragmentation was in the Kiev, Chernigov, Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk and Muromo-Ryazan principalities. To a lesser extent, it touched the Smolensk land, and in the Galicia-Volyn and Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir) principalities, periods of disintegration alternated with periods of temporary unification of appanages under the rule of the “senior” ruler. Only the Novgorod land throughout its history continued to maintain political integrity.

In conditions of feudal fragmentation, all-Russian and regional princely congresses acquired great importance, at which internal and foreign policy issues (inter-princely feuds, the struggle with external enemies) were resolved. However, they did not become a permanent, regularly functioning political institution and could not slow down the process of dissipation.

By the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Russia was divided into many small principalities and could not join forces to repel external aggression. Devastated by the hordes of Batu, it lost a significant part of its western and southwestern lands, which became in the second half of the 13-14th centuries. easy prey of Lithuania (Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk, Vladimir-Volynsk, Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk principality) and Poland (Galician). Only North-Eastern Russia (Vladimir, Muromo-Ryazan and Novgorod lands) managed to maintain its independence. In the 14th - early 16th century. it was "collected" by the Moscow princes, who restored a single Russian state.

Kiev principality.

It was located in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Sluch, Ros and Pripyat (modern Kiev and Zhitomir regions of Ukraine and the south of the Gomel region of Belarus). Bordered in the north with Turovo-Pinsk, in the east - with Chernigov and Pereyaslavl, in the west with the Vladimir-Volyn principality, and in the south rested on the Polovtsian steppes. The population was made up of the Slavic tribes of the Polyans and Drevlyans.

Fertile soils and mild climate favored intensive farming; the inhabitants were also engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Here the specialization of handicrafts took place early; wood-breeding, pottery and leatherwork have acquired special importance. The presence of iron deposits in the Drevlyansky land (included in the Kiev region at the turn of the 9th – 10th centuries) favored the development of blacksmith's craft; many types of metals (copper, lead, tin, silver, gold) were brought from neighboring countries. The famous trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" (from the Baltic Sea to Byzantium) passed through the Kiev region; through the Pripyat it was connected with the basin of the Vistula and Neman, through the Desna - with the upper reaches of the Oka, through the Seim - with the basin of the Don and the Sea of ​​Azov. An influential trade and craft stratum was formed early in Kiev and nearby cities.

From the end of the 9th to the end of the 10th century. The Kiev land was the central region of the Old Russian state. Under Vladimir Svyat, with the separation of a number of semi-independent appanages, it became the nucleus of the grand-ducal domain; at the same time Kiev turned into the ecclesiastical center of Rus (as the residence of the metropolitan); an episcopal see was also established in nearby Belgorod. After the death of Mstislav the Great in 1132, the actual disintegration of the Old Russian state took place, and the Kiev land was constituted as a special principality.

Despite the fact that the Kiev prince ceased to be the supreme owner of all Russian lands, he remained the head of the feudal hierarchy and continued to be considered “senior” among other princes. This made the Kiev principality the object of a fierce struggle between the various branches of the Rurik dynasty. The powerful Kievan boyars and the trade and craft population also took an active part in this struggle, although the role of the people's assembly (veche) by the beginning of the 12th century was. decreased significantly.

Until 1139, the Kiev table was in the hands of the Monomashiches - Mstislav the Great was succeeded by his brothers Yaropolk (1132-1139) and Vyacheslav (1139). In 1139 it was taken from them by the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich. However, the reign of the Chernigov Olgovichi was short-lived: after the death of Vsevolod in 1146, the local boyars, dissatisfied with the transfer of power to his brother Igor, summoned Izyaslav Mstislavich, a representative of the senior branch of the Monomashiches (Mstislavichi), to the Kiev table. Having defeated the troops of Igor and Svyatoslav Olgovichi on August 13, 1146 at the Olga's grave, Izyaslav captured the ancient capital; Igor captured by him was killed in 1147. In 1149, the Suzdal branch of the Monomashichi, represented by Yuri Dolgoruky, entered the struggle for Kiev. After the death of Izyaslav (November 1154) and his co-ruler Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (December 1154), Yuri established himself on the Kiev table and held it until his death in 1157. The feuds within the Monomashic family helped the Olgovichs take revenge: in May 1157, Izyaslav Davidovich Chernigovsky seized the prince's power (1157 –1159). But his unsuccessful attempt to seize Galich cost him the grand-ducal table, which returned to the Mstislavichs - Prince Rostislav of Smolensk (1159-1167), and then to his nephew Mstislav Izyaslavich (1167-1169).

From the middle of the 12th century. the political significance of the Kiev land is falling. Its disintegration into appanages begins: in the 1150s – 1170s, the Belgorodskoe, Vyshgorodskoe, Trepolskoe, Kanevskoe, Torcheskoe, Kotelnicheskoe and Dorogobuzh principalities stand out. Kiev ceases to play the role of the only center of the Russian lands; in the north-east and south-west, two new centers of political attraction and influence are emerging, claiming the status of great principalities - Vladimir on the Klyazma and Galich. The Vladimir and Galicia-Volyn princes no longer seek to occupy the Kiev table; periodically subjugating Kiev, they put their henchmen there.

In 1169-1174 the Vladimir prince Andrey Bogolyubsky dictated his will to Kiev: in 1169 he expelled Mstislav Izyaslavich from there and gave the reign to his brother Gleb (1169-1171). When, after the death of Gleb (January 1171) and Vladimir Mstislavich, who replaced him (May 1171), the Kiev table was taken without his consent by his other brother Mikhalko, Andrei forced him to give way to Roman Rostislavich, a representative of the Smolensk branch of the Mstislavichi (Rostislavichi); in 1172 Andrei drove out Roman and planted another of his brother Vsevolod the Big Nest in Kiev; in 1173 he forced Rurik Rostislavich, who seized the Kiev table, to flee to Belgorod.

After the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174 Kiev fell under the control of the Smolensk Rostislavichs represented by Roman Rostislavich (1174-1176). But in 1176, having failed in a campaign against the Polovtsy, Roman was forced to relinquish power, which the Olgovichi took advantage of. At the call of the townspeople, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky (1176-1194 with a break in 1181) took the Kiev table. However, he did not succeed in ousting the Rostislavichs from the Kiev land; in the early 1180s, he recognized their rights to Porosye and Drevlyanskaya land; The Olgovichi fortified themselves in the Kiev district. Having reached an agreement with the Rostislavichs, Svyatoslav concentrated his efforts on the fight against the Polovtsy, having managed to seriously weaken their onslaught on the Russian lands.

After his death in 1194, the Rostislavichs returned to the Kiev table in the person of Rurik Rostislavich, but already at the beginning of the 13th century. Kiev fell into the sphere of influence of the powerful Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who in 1202 expelled Rurik and put his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich Dorogobuzhsky in his place. In 1203, Rurik, in alliance with the Polovtsy and the Chernigov Olgovichs, seized Kiev and, with the diplomatic support of the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, the ruler of North-Eastern Russia, held the Kiev reign for several months. However, in 1204, during a joint campaign of the South Russian rulers against the Polovtsy, he was arrested by Roman and tonsured a monk, and his son Rostislav was thrown into prison; Ingvar returned to the Kiev table. But soon, at the request of Vsevolod, Roman freed Rostislav and made him the prince of Kiev.

After the death of Roman in October 1205, Rurik left the monastery and at the beginning of 1206 occupied Kiev. In the same year, the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny joined the fight against him. Their four-year rivalry ended in 1210 with a compromise agreement: Rurik recognized Kiev for Vsevolod and received Chernigov as compensation.

After the death of Vsevolod, Rostislavichi again established themselves on the Kiev table: Mstislav Romanovich Stary (1212 / 1214-1223 with a break in 1219) and his cousin Vladimir Rurikovich (1223-1235). In 1235, Vladimir, having suffered a defeat from the Polovtsy at Torskiy, was captured by them, and power in Kiev was seized first by the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich, and then by Yaroslav, the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. However, in 1236, Vladimir, having redeemed from captivity, without much difficulty regained the grand ducal table and remained on it until his death in 1239.

In 1239-1240, Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky, Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky sat in Kiev, and on the eve of the Tatar-Mongol invasion he was under the control of the Galician-Volyn prince Daniil Romanovich, who appointed governor Dmitry there. In the fall of 1240, Batu moved to southern Russia and in early December took and defeated Kiev, despite the desperate nine-day resistance of the inhabitants and a small squad of Dmitri; he subjected the principality to terrible devastation, after which it could no longer recover. Returning to the capital in 1241, Mikhail Vsevolodich was summoned to the Horde in 1246 and killed there. From the 1240s Kiev fell into formal dependence on the great Vladimir princes (Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Yaroslavich). In the second half of the 13th century. a significant part of the population emigrated to the northern Russian regions. In 1299 the metropolitan see was transferred from Kiev to Vladimir. In the first half of the 14th century. the weakened Kiev principality became the object of Lithuanian aggression and in 1362 under Olgerd became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Polotsk principality.

It was located in the middle reaches of the Dvina and Polota and in the upper reaches of the Svisloch and Berezina (the territory of the present-day Vitebsk, Minsk and Mogilev regions of Belarus and southeastern Lithuania). In the south it bordered on Turovo-Pinsk, in the east - on the Smolensk principality, in the north - on the Pskov-Novgorod land, in the west and north-west - on the Finno-Ugric tribes (Livs, Latgalians). It was inhabited by the Polotsk people (the name came from the Polota River) - a branch of the East Slavic tribe Krivichi, partially mixed with the Baltic tribes.

As an independent territorial entity, the Polotsk land existed even before the emergence of the Old Russian state. In the 870s, the Novgorod prince Rurik imposed a tribute on the Polotsk residents, and then they submitted to the Kiev prince Oleg. Under the Kiev prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich (972–980), the Polotsk land was a dependent principality, ruled by the Norman Rogvolod. In 980 Vladimir Svyatoslavich captured her, killed Rogvolod and his two sons, and married his daughter Rogneda; from that time on, the Polotsk land finally became part of the Old Russian state. Having become a Kiev prince, Vladimir transferred part of it to Rogneda and their eldest son Izyaslav for joint holding. In 988/989 he made Izyaslav Prince of Polotsk; Izyaslav became the ancestor of the local princely dynasty (Polotsk Izyaslavichi). In 992 the Diocese of Polotsk was established.

Although the principality was poor in fertile lands, it had rich hunting and fishing grounds and was located at the crossroads of important trade routes along the Dvina, Neman and Berezina; rugged forests and water barriers protected it from outside attacks. This attracted numerous settlers here; cities grew rapidly, turning into trade and craft centers (Polotsk, Izyaslavl, Minsk, Drutsk, etc.). Economic prosperity contributed to the concentration in the hands of the Izyaslavichs of significant resources, on which they relied in their struggle to achieve independence from the authorities of Kiev.

Izyaslav's heir Bryachislav (1001-1044), taking advantage of the princely feuds in Russia, pursued an independent policy and tried to expand his possessions. In 1021, with his retinue and a detachment of Scandinavian mercenaries, he captured and plundered Veliky Novgorod, but then was defeated by the ruler of the Novgorod land, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, on the Sudom River; nevertheless, in order to secure the loyalty of Bryachislav, Yaroslav ceded to him the Usvyat and Vitebsk volosts.

The Polotsk principality reached particular power under Bryachislav's son Vseslav (1044-1101), who expanded to the north and north-west. Livs and Latgalians became his tributes. In the 1060s, he made several trips to Pskov and Novgorod the Great. In 1067 Vseslav ravaged Novgorod, but was unable to keep the Novgorod land. In the same year, Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich struck back at his growing vassal: he invaded the Principality of Polotsk, captured Minsk, defeated Vseslav's squad on the river. Nemige, cunningly took him prisoner along with his two sons and sent him to prison in Kiev; the principality became part of the extensive possessions of Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav by the insurgent Kievites on September 14, 1068, Vseslav regained Polotsk and even for a short time occupied the Kiev grand-ducal table; in the course of a fierce struggle with Izyaslav and his sons Mstislav, Svyatopolk and Yaropolk in 1069–1072, he managed to retain the Polotsk principality. In 1078, he renewed aggression against neighboring regions: he seized the Smolensk principality and ravaged the northern part of Chernigov land. However, in the winter of 1078-1079, the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich carried out a punitive expedition to the Principality of Polotsk and burned Lukoml, Logozhsk, Drutsk and the suburb of Polotsk; in 1084 the Chernigov prince Vladimir Monomakh took Minsk and subjected the Polotsk land to a brutal defeat. Vseslav's resources were exhausted, and he no longer tried to expand the boundaries of his possessions.

With the death of Vseslav in 1101, the decline of the Polotsk principality begins. It breaks up into portions; from it the Minsk, Izyaslavskoe and Vitebsk principalities stand out. The sons of Vseslav waste their strength in civil strife. After the predatory campaign of Gleb Vseslavich to the Turovo-Pinsk land in 1116 and his unsuccessful attempt to seize Novgorod and the Smolensk principality in 1119, the Izyaslavich's aggression against neighboring regions practically ceased. The weakening of the principality opens the way for Kiev's intervention: in 1119 Vladimir Monomakh easily defeats Gleb Vseslavich, seizes his inheritance, and imprisons himself; in 1127 Mstislav the Great devastated the southwestern regions of the Polotsk land; in 1129, taking advantage of the refusal of the Izyaslavichs to take part in the joint campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsy, he occupies the principality and at the Kiev congress seeks the condemnation of five Polotsk rulers (Svyatoslav, David and Rostislav Vseslavich, Rogvolod and Ivan Borisovich) and their deportation to Byzantium. Mstislav transfers the Polotsk land to his son Izyaslav, and puts his governors in the cities.

Although in 1132 the Izyaslavichs in the person of Vasilko Svyatoslavich (1132-1144) managed to return the ancestral principality, they were no longer able to revive its former power. In the middle of the 12th century. a fierce struggle for the Polotsk princely table breaks out between Rogvolod Borisovich (1144-1151, 1159-1162) and Rostislav Glebovich (1151-1159). At the turn of the 1150s – 1160s, Rogvolod Borisovich made a last attempt to unite the principality, which, however, collapsed due to the opposition of other Izyaslavichi and the interference of neighboring princes (Yuri Dolgorukov and others). In the second half of the 7th century. the crushing process deepens; Drutskoye, Gorodenskoye, Logozhskoye and Strizhevskoye princedoms appear the most important regions (Polotsk, Vitebsk, Izyaslavl) are in the hands of the Vasilkovichs (descendants of Vasilko Svyatoslavich); the influence of the Minsk branch of the Izyaslavichi (Glebovichi), on the contrary, is declining. The Polotsk land becomes the object of the expansion of the Smolensk princes; in 1164 Davyd Rostislavich Smolensky even seized the Vitebsk volost for some time; in the second half of the 1210s, his sons Mstislav and Boris settled in Vitebsk and Polotsk.

At the beginning of the 13th century. aggression of the German knights begins in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina; by 1212 the swordsmen were conquering the lands of the Livs and southwestern Latgale, the tributaries of Polotsk. Since the 1230s, the Polotsk rulers have also had to repel the onslaught of the newly formed Lithuanian state; mutual feuds prevent them from uniting their forces, and by 1252 the Lithuanian princes seized Polotsk, Vitebsk and Drutsk. In the second half of the 13th century. for the Polotsk lands, a fierce struggle unfolded between Lithuania, the Teutonic Order and the Smolensk princes, in which the Lithuanians turned out to be the winner. Lithuanian prince Viten (1293–1316) took Polotsk from the German knights in 1307, and his successor Gedemin (1316–1341) subjugated the Minsk and Vitebsk principalities. Finally, the Polotsk land became part of the Lithuanian state in 1385.

Chernigov principality.

It was located to the east of the Dnieper between the Desna valley and the middle course of the Oka (the territory of the modern Kursk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, western Lipetsk and southern parts of Moscow regions of Russia, northern Chernigov and Sumy regions of Ukraine and eastern part of Gomel region of Belarus ). In the south it bordered on Pereyaslavsky, in the east - on Muromo-Ryazan, in the north - on Smolensk, in the west - on the Kiev and Turovo-Pinsk principalities. It was inhabited by the East Slavic tribes of the Polyans, Northerners, Radimichs and Vyatichs. It is believed that it received its name either from a certain prince of the Black, or from the Black Guy (forest).

With a mild climate, fertile soils, numerous rivers rich in fish, and forests full of game in the north, the Chernihiv land was one of the most attractive regions for settlement. Ancient Rus... The main trade route from Kiev to northeastern Russia passed through it (along the Desna and Sozh rivers). Cities with a significant handicraft population arose early here. In the 11-12 centuries. The Chernigov principality was one of the richest and most politically significant regions of Russia.

By the 9th century. the northerners, who formerly lived on the left bank of the Dnieper, subjugating the Radimichi, Vyatichi and part of the meadows, extended their power to the upper reaches of the Don. As a result, a semi-state entity arose that paid tribute to the Khazar Kaganate. At the beginning of the 10th century. it recognized its dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg. In the second half of the 10th century. Chernihiv land became part of the grand ducal domain. Under Vladimir the Holy, the Chernigov diocese was established. In 1024 it fell under the rule of Mstislav the Brave, brother of Yaroslav the Wise, and became a principality virtually independent of Kiev. After his death in 1036, it was again included in the grand ducal domain. By the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Chernigov principality, together with the Muromo-Ryazan land, passed to his son Svyatoslav (1054–1073), who became the ancestor of the local princely dynasty of Svyatoslavich; they, however, managed to establish themselves in Chernigov only by the end of the 11th century. In 1073 Svyatoslavich lost the principality, which was in the hands of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and from 1078 - his son Vladimir Monomakh (until 1094). Attempts by the most active of the Svyatoslavichs, Oleg "Gorislavich", to regain control of the principality in 1078 (with the help of his cousin Boris Vyacheslavich) and in 1094-1096 (with the help of the Polovtsi) ended in failure. Nevertheless, by the decision of the Lyubech princely congress of 1097, the Chernigov and Muromo-Ryazan lands were recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs; the son of Svyatoslav Davyd (1097–1123) became the prince of Chernigov. After Davyd's death, his brother Yaroslav Ryazansky took the princely table, who in 1127 was expelled by his nephew Vsevolod, the son of Oleg "Gorislavich". Yaroslav retained the Muromo-Ryazan land, which since that time has turned into an independent principality. The Chernigov land was divided among themselves by the sons of Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavichi (Davydovichi and Olgovichi), who entered into a fierce struggle for allotments and the Chernigov table. In 1127-1139 it was occupied by the Olgovichi, in 1139 they were replaced by the Davydovichi - Vladimir (1139-1151) and his brother Izyaslav (1151-1157), but in 1157 he finally passed to the Olgovichi: Svyatoslav Olgovich (1157-1164) and his nephews Svyatoslav (1164-1177) and Yaroslav (1177-1198) Vsevolodich. At the same time, the Chernigov princes tried to subjugate Kiev: the Kiev grand-ducal table was owned by Vsevolod Olgovich (1139-1146), Igor Olgovich (1146) and Izyaslav Davydovich (1154 and 1157-1159). They also fought with varying success for Novgorod the Great, Turovo-Pinsk principality and even for distant Galich. In internal strife and in wars with neighbors, the Svyatoslavichs often resorted to the help of the Polovtsians.

In the second half of the 12th century, despite the extinction of the Davydovich family, the process of fragmentation of the Chernigov land intensified. It includes the Novgorod-Seversk, Putivl, Kursk, Starodub and Vshchizh princedoms; the Chernigov principality itself was limited to the lower reaches of the Desna, from time to time including also the Vshchizhskaya and Starobudskaya volosts. The dependence of the princes-vassals on the Chernigov ruler becomes nominal; some of them (for example, Svyatoslav Vladimirovich Vshchizhsky in the early 1160s) show a desire for complete independence. The fierce feuds of the Olgovichi do not prevent them from waging an active struggle for Kiev with the Smolensk Rostislavichs: in 1176-1194 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich ruled there, in 1206-1212 / 1214 his son Vsevolod Chermny was intermittent. They are trying to gain a foothold in Novgorod the Great (1180-1181, 1197); in 1205 they managed to take possession of the Galician land, where, however, in 1211 a catastrophe befell them - three princes of the Olgovichi (Roman, Svyatoslav and Rostislav Igorevich) were captured and hanged by the verdict of the Galician boyars. In 1210 they even lost the Chernigov table, which for two years passed to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (Rurik Rostislavich).

In the first third of the 13th century. The Chernigov principality breaks up into many small estates, only formally subordinate to Chernigov; the Kozelskoe, Lopasninskoe, Rylskoe, Snovskoe, then Trubchevskoe, Glukhovo-Novosilskoe, Karachevskoe and Tarusa principalities are distinguished. Despite this, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodich of Chernigov (1223–1241) does not stop active policy towards neighboring regions, trying to establish control over Novgorod the Great (1225, 1228–1230) and Kiev (1235, 1238); in 1235 he took possession of the Galician principality, and later the Przemysl volost.

The waste of significant human and material resources in civil strife and in wars with neighbors, fragmentation of forces and lack of unity among the princes contributed to the success of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In the fall of 1239, Batu took Chernigov and subjected the principality to such a terrible defeat that it actually ceased to exist. In 1241, the son and heir of Mikhail Vsevolodich Rostislav left his fiefdom and went to fight the Galician land, and then fled to Hungary. Obviously, the last prince of Chernigov was his uncle Andrew (mid 1240s - early 1260s). After 1261, the Chernigov principality became part of the Bryansk principality, founded in 1246 by Roman, another son of Mikhail Vsevolodich; the Chernigov bishop also moved to Bryansk. In the middle of the 14th century. The Bryansk principality and the Chernigov lands were conquered by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd.

Muromo-Ryazan principality.

It occupied the southeastern outskirts of Russia - the basin of the Oka and its tributaries Prony, Sturgeon and Tsna, the upper reaches of the Don and Voronezh (modern Ryazan, Lipetsk, north-east of Tambov and south of Vladimir regions). Bordered in the west with Chernigov, in the north with the Rostov-Suzdal principality; in the east, its neighbors were the Mordovian tribes, and in the south, the Polovtsians. The population of the principality was mixed: both the Slavs (Krivichi, Vyatichi) and the Finno-Ugric (Mordvinians, Muroma, Meschera) lived here.

In the south and in the central regions of the principality, fertile (black earth and podzolized) soils prevailed, which contributed to the development of agriculture. Its northern part was densely covered with forests, rich in game, and marshes; local residents were mainly engaged in hunting. In the 11-12 centuries. a number of urban centers arose on the territory of the principality: Murom, Ryazan (from the word "cassock" - a swampy swampy place overgrown with bushes), Pereyaslavl, Kolomna, Rostislavl, Pronsk, Zaraysk. However, in terms of the level of economic development, it lagged behind most other regions of Russia.

The Murom land was annexed to the Old Russian state in the third quarter of the 10th century. under the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. In 988-989 St. Vladimir included her in the Rostov inheritance of his son Yaroslav the Wise. In 1010 Vladimir allocated it as an independent principality to his other son Gleb. After tragic death Gleb in 1015, she returned to the Grand Duke's domain, and in 1023-1036 was part of the Chernigov estate of Mstislav the Brave.

According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Murom land, as part of the Chernigov principality, passed in 1054 to his son Svyatoslav, and in 1073 he transferred it to his brother Vsevolod. In 1078, having become the great Kiev prince, Vsevolod gave Murom to the sons of Svyatoslav Roman and David. In 1095 Davyd ceded it to Izyaslav, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, receiving Smolensk in return. In 1096, Davyd's brother Oleg "Gorislavich" expelled Izyaslav, but then he himself was expelled by Izyaslav's older brother Mstislav the Great. However, according to the decision of the Lyubech Congress, the Murom land as a vassal possession of Chernigov was recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs: it was given to Oleg "Gorislavich", and for his brother Yaroslav a special Ryazan volost was allocated from it.

In 1123, Yaroslav, who occupied the Chernigov table, handed over Murom and Ryazan to his nephew Vsevolod Davydovich. But after his expulsion from Chernigov in 1127, Yaroslav returned to the Murom table; from that time on, the Murom-Ryazan land became an independent principality, in which the descendants of Yaroslav (the younger Murom branch of the Svyatoslavichs) were established. They had to constantly repel the raids of the Polovtsians and other nomads, which distracted their forces from participating in the all-Russian princely strife, but by no means from internal strife associated with the process of fragmentation that had begun (already in the 1140s, the Yeletsky principality stood out on its southwestern outskirts). Since the mid-1140s, the Muromo-Ryazan land has become an object of expansion from the Rostov-Suzdal rulers - Yuri Dolgoruky and his son Andrei Bogolyubsky. In 1146 Andrei Bogolyubsky intervened in the conflict between Prince Rostislav Yaroslavich and his nephews Davyd and Igor Svyatoslavich and helped them capture Ryazan. Rostislav kept Moore behind him; only a few years later he was able to regain the Ryazan table. In the early 1160s, his grand-nephew Yuri Vladimirovich was established in Murom, who became the ancestor of a special branch of the Murom princes, and from that time the Murom principality separated from Ryazan. Soon (by 1164) it fell into vassal dependence on the Vadimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky; under the subsequent rulers - Vladimir Yuryevich (1176-1205), Davyd Yuryevich (1205-1228) and Yuri Davydovich (1228-1237), the Murom principality gradually lost its significance.

Ryazan princes (Rostislav and his son Gleb), however, actively resisted the Vladimir-Suzdal aggression. Moreover, after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, Gleb tried to establish control over the entire North-Eastern Russia. In alliance with the sons of the Pereyaslavl prince Rostislav Yuryevich Mstislav and Yaropolk, he began a struggle with the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest for the Vladimir-Suzdal principality; in 1176 he captured and burned Moscow, but in 1177 he was defeated on the Koloksha River, was captured by Vsevolod and died in 1178 in prison.

Gleb's son and heir Roman (1178–1207) took the vassal oath to Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the 1180s, he made two attempts to deprive his younger brothers of the inheritance and unite the principality, but the intervention of Vsevolod prevented the implementation of his plans. The progressive fragmentation of the Ryazan land (in 1185-1186 the Pronskoe and Kolomenskoe princedoms separated) led to increased rivalry within the princely house. In 1207, Roman's nephews Gleb and Oleg Vladimirovichi accused him of conspiring against Vsevolod the Big Nest; The novel was summoned to Vladimir and thrown into prison. Vsevolod tried to take advantage of these strife: in 1209 he captured Ryazan, put his son Yaroslav on the Ryazan table, and appointed Vladimir-Suzdal mayors to the rest of the cities; however, in the same year, the Ryazan people expelled Yaroslav and his henchmen.

In the 1210s, the struggle for allotments intensified even more. In 1217, Gleb and Konstantin Vladimirovich organized in the village of Isady (6 km from Ryazan) the murder of six of their brothers - one native and five cousins. But Roman's nephew Ingvar Igorevich defeated Gleb and Konstantin, forced them to flee to the Polovtsian steppes and occupied the Ryazan table. During his twenty-year reign (1217-1237), the fragmentation process became irreversible.

In 1237 the Ryazan and Murom principalities were defeated by the hordes of Batu. The Ryazan prince Yuri Ingvarevich, the Murom prince Yuri Davydovich and most of the local princes were killed. In the second half of the 13th century. The Murom land fell into complete desolation; Murom episcopate at the beginning of the 14th century. was moved to Ryazan; only in the middle of the 14th century. the Murom ruler Yuri Yaroslavich revived his principality for some time. The forces of the Ryazan principality, which were subjected to constant Tatar-Mongol raids, were undermined by the internecine struggle between the Ryazan and Pronskaya branches of the ruling house. From the beginning of the 14th century. it began to experience pressure from the Moscow principality that had arisen on its northwestern borders. In 1301, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich captured Kolomna and captured Ryazan prince Konstantin Romanovich. In the second half of the 14th century. Oleg Ivanovich (1350-1402) was able to temporarily consolidate the forces of the principality, expand its boundaries and strengthen the central government; in 1353 he took Lopasnya from Ivan II of Moscow. However, in the 1370s-1380s, during the struggle between Dimitri Donskoy and the Tatars, he failed to play the role of a "third force" and create his own center for unification of the northeastern Russian lands .

Turovo-Pinsk principality.

It was located in the basin of the Pripyat River (south of modern Minsk, east of Brest and west of Gomel regions of Belarus). Bordered in the north with Polotsk, in the south with Kiev, and in the east with the Chernigov principality, reaching almost to the Dnieper; the border with its western neighbor - the Volodymyr-Volyn principality - was not stable: the upper reaches of the Pripyat and the Goryn valley passed either to the Turov or Volyn princes. The Turov land was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of the Dregovichi.

Most of the territory was covered with rugged forests and swamps; hunting and fishing were the main occupations of the inhabitants. Only certain areas were suitable for agriculture; it was there that the city centers arose first of all - Turov, Pinsk, Mozyr, Sluchesk, Klechesk, which, however, in terms of economic importance and population size, could not compete with the leading cities of other regions of Russia. The limited resources of the principality did not allow its rulers to participate on an equal footing in all-Russian civil strife.

In the 970s, the land of the Dregovichi was a semi-independent principality, which was in vassal dependence on Kiev; its ruler was a certain Tur, from which the name of the region came. In 988-989 St. Vladimir allocated the "Drevlyansky land and Pinsk" as an inheritance to his nephew Svyatopolk the Accursed. At the beginning of the 11th century, after the disclosure of the conspiracy of Svyatopolk against Vladimir, the Turov principality was included in the grand duchy domain. In the middle of the 11th century. Yaroslav the Wise passed it on to his third son Izyaslav, the ancestor of the local princely dynasty (Izyaslavichi from Turov). When in 1054 Yaroslav died and Izyaslav occupied the grand-ducal table, Turovshchina became part of his vast domains (1054-1068, 1069-1073, 1077-1078). After his death in 1078, the new Kiev prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich gave Turov land to his nephew Davyd Igorevich, who held it until 1081. In 1088, it ended up in the hands of Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who in 1093 sat on the grand prince's table. By the decision of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, Turovshchina was assigned to him and his offspring, but soon after his death in 1113 it passed to the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh. According to the section that followed the death of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, the Turov principality went to his son Vyacheslav. From 1132 it became an object of rivalry between Vyacheslav and his nephew Izyaslav, the son of Mstislav the Great. In 1142-1143, it was briefly owned by the Chernigov Olgovichi (the Grand Duke of Kiev Vsevolod Olgovich and his son Svyatoslav). In 1146-1147 Izyaslav Mstislavich finally expelled Vyacheslav from Turov and gave him to his son Yaroslav.

In the middle of the 12th century. the Suzdal branch of the Vsevolodiches intervened in the struggle for the Turov principality: in 1155, Yuri Dolgoruky, becoming the great Kiev prince, put his son Andrei Bogolyubsky on the Turov table, in 1155 - his other son Boris; however, they could not hold on to it. In the second half of the 1150s, the principality returned to the Turov Izyaslavichs: by 1158 Yuri Yaroslavich, the grandson of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, managed to unite the entire Turov land under his rule. Under his sons Svyatopolk (up to 1190) and Gleb (up to 1195), it split into several appanages. By the beginning of the 13th century. the Turov, Pinsk, Slutsk and Dubrovitsky principalities were formed. During the 13th century. the fragmentation process progressed inexorably; Turov lost his role as the center of the principality; Pinsk began to gain more and more importance. Weak petty rulers could not organize any serious resistance to external aggression. In the second quarter of the 14th century. The Turovo-Pinsk land turned out to be an easy prey for the Lithuanian prince Gedemin (1316-1347).

Smolensk principality.

It was located in the basin of the Upper Dnieper (modern Smolensk, southeast of the Tver regions of Russia and the east of the Mogilev region of Belarus). It bordered in the west with Polotsk, in the south with Chernigov, in the east with the Rostov-Suzdal principality, and in the north with the Pskov-Novgorod earth. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of the Krivichi.

The Smolensk principality had an extremely advantageous geographical position. The upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina converged on its territory, and it lay at the intersection of two most important trade routes - from Kiev to Polotsk and the Baltic States (along the Dnieper, then by dragging to the Kasplya river, a tributary of the Western Dvina) and to Novgorod and the Upper Volga region ( across Rzhev and Lake Seliger). Here early cities arose that became important trade and craft centers (Vyazma, Orsha).

In 882, the Kiev prince Oleg subdued the Smolensk Krivichi and planted his governors in their land, which became his possession. At the end of the 10th century. Vladimir the Holy gave her as an inheritance to his son Stanislav, but after a while she returned to the grand ducal domain. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Smolensk region passed to his son Vyacheslav. In 1057, the great Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich handed it over to his brother Igor, and after his death in 1060 he divided it by his two other brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. In 1078, by agreement between Izyaslav and Vsevolod, the Smolensk land was given to Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh; soon Vladimir moved to reign in Chernigov, and the Smolensk region was in the hands of Vsevolod. After his death in 1093, Vladimir Monomakh imprisoned his eldest son, Mstislav, in Smolensk, and in 1095, his other son, Izyaslav. Although in 1095 the Smolensk land for a short time fell into the hands of the Olgovichs (Davyd Olgovich), the Lyubech congress of 1097 recognized it as the fiefdom of the Monomashiches, and the sons of Vladimir Monomakh Yaropolk, Svyatoslav, Gleb and Vyacheslav ruled in it.

After the death of Vladimir in 1125, the new Kiev prince Mstislav the Great allocated the Smolensk land as an inheritance to his son Rostislav (1125-1159), the ancestor of the local princely dynasty of Rostislavichs; henceforth it became an independent principality. In 1136 Rostislav achieved the creation of an episcopal see in Smolensk, in 1140 he repelled the attempt of the Chernigov Olgovichi (the great Kiev prince Vsevolod) to seize the principality, and in the 1150s he entered the struggle for Kiev. In 1154 he had to cede the Kiev table to the Olgovichs (Izyaslav Davydovich of Chernigov), but in 1159 he established himself on it (he owned it until his death in 1167). He gave the Smolensk table to his son Roman (1159-1180 with interruptions), who was succeeded by his brother Davyd (1180-1197), son Mstislav Stary (1197-1206, 1207-1212 / 1214), nephews Vladimir Rurikovich (1215-1223 with a break in 1219) and Mstislav Davydovich (1223-1230).

In the second half of the 12th - early 13th century. The Rostislavichs actively tried to control the most prestigious and richest regions of Russia. The sons of Rostislav (Roman, Davyd, Rurik and Mstislav the Brave) waged a fierce struggle for the Kiev land with the older branch of the Monomashichs (Izyaslavichi), with the Olgovichs and with the Suzdal Yuryevichs (especially with Andrey Bogolyubsky in the late 1160s - early 1170s); they were able to gain a foothold in the most important areas of the Kiev region - in Posemye, Ovruch, Vyshgorod, Torcheskaya, Trepolskaya and Belgorod volosts. In the period from 1171 to 1210, Roman and Rurik sat down at the grand ducal table eight times. In the north, the Novgorod land became the object of expansion of the Rostislavichi: Davyd (1154-1155), Svyatoslav (1158-1167) and Mstislav Rostislavichi (1179-1180), Mstislav Davydovich (1184-1187) and Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny (1210-1215) ruled in Novgorod 1216-1218); in the late 1170s and 1210s the Rostislavichs held Pskov; sometimes they even managed to create appanages independent of Novgorod (in the late 1160s - early 1170s in Torzhok and Velikiye Luki). In 1164-1166 the Rostislavichs owned Vitebsk (Davyd Rostislavich), in 1206 - Pereyaslavl Russian (Rurik Rostislavich and his son Vladimir), and in 1210-1212 - even Chernigov (Rurik Rostislavich). Their successes were facilitated by both the strategically advantageous position of the Smolensk region and the relatively slow (in comparison with the neighboring principalities) process of its fragmentation, although some estates (Toropetsky, Vasilevsko-Krasnensky) were periodically separated from it.

In 1210-1220, the political and economic importance of the Smolensk principality increased even more. Smolensk merchants became important partners of the Hansa, as shown by their trade agreement 1229 (Smolenskaya Torgovaya Pravda). Continuing the struggle for Novgorod (in 1218-1221 the sons of Mstislav the Old Svyatoslav and Vsevolod reigned in Novgorod) and the Kiev lands (in 1213-1223, with a break in 1219, Mstislav Stary sat in Kiev, and in 1119, 1123-1235 and 1236-1238 - Vladimir Rurikovich), the Rostislavichi also intensified their onslaught to the west and southwest. In 1219 Mstislav Stary took possession of Galich, which then passed to his cousin Mstislav Udatny (until 1227). In the second half of the 1210s, the sons of Davyd Rostislavich Boris and Davyd subdued Polotsk and Vitebsk; the sons of Boris Vasilko and Vyachko vigorously fought against the Teutonic Order and the Lithuanians for Podvinye.

However, from the end of the 1220s, the weakening of the Smolensk principality began. The process of its fragmentation into appanages intensified, the rivalry of the Rostislavichs for the Smolensk table intensified; in 1232 the son of Mstislav the Old Svyatoslav took Smolensk by storm and subjected it to a terrible defeat. The influence of the local boyars increased, which began to interfere in the princely strife; in 1239 the boyars put their brother Vsevolod, Svyatoslav's brother, on the Smolensk table. The decline of the principality predetermined the setbacks in foreign policy. By the middle of the 1220s the Rostislavichs had lost the Podvinye; in 1227 Mstislav Udatnaya ceded Galician land to the Hungarian prince Andrey. Although in 1238 and 1242 the Rostislavichs managed to repel the attack of the Tatar-Mongol detachments on Smolensk, they could not repulse the Lithuanians, who at the end of the 1240s captured Vitebsk, Polotsk and even Smolensk itself. Alexander Nevsky drove them out of the Smolensk region, but the Polotsk and Vitebsk lands were finally lost.

In the second half of the 13th century. on the Smolensk table, the line of Davyd Rostislavich was established: he was consistently occupied by the sons of his grandson Rostislav Gleb, Mikhail and Theodor. Under them, the disintegration of the Smolensk land became irreversible; from it Vyazemskoye and a number of other destinies emerged. The Smolensk princes had to recognize the vassal dependence on the great Vladimir prince and the Tatar khan (1274). In the 14th century. under Alexander Glebovich (1297-1313), his son Ivan (1313-1358) and grandson Svyatoslav (1358-1386), the principality completely lost its former political and economic power; Smolensk rulers tried unsuccessfully to stop the Lithuanian expansion in the west. After the defeat and death of Svyatoslav Ivanovich in 1386 in a battle with the Lithuanians on the Vekhra River near Mstislavl, the Smolensk land fell into dependence on the Lithuanian prince Vitovt, who began to appoint and remove the Smolensk princes at his discretion, and in 1395 established his direct rule. In 1401 the Smolyans revolted and, with the help of the Ryazan prince Oleg, expelled the Lithuanians; Smolensk table was taken by the son of Svyatoslav Yuri. However, in 1404 Vitovt took the city, liquidated the Smolensk principality and included its lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Pereyaslavl principality.

It was located in the forest-steppe part of the Dnieper left bank and occupied the interfluve of the Desna, Seim, Vorskla and Northern Donets (modern Poltava, east of Kiev, south of Chernigov and Sumy, west of Kharkov regions of Ukraine). Bordered in the west with Kiev, in the north with the Chernigov principality; in the east and south, its neighbors were nomadic tribes (Pechenegs, Torks, Polovtsians). The southeastern border was not stable - it either advanced into the steppe or retreated back; the constant threat of attacks forced to create a line of border fortifications and settle along the borders of those nomads who moved to a settled life and recognized the power of the Pereyaslavl rulers. The population of the principality was mixed: both the Slavs (glades, northerners) and the descendants of the Alans and Sarmatians lived here.

The mild temperate continental climate and podzolized chernozem soils created favorable conditions for intensive farming and cattle breeding. However, the neighborhood with the warlike nomadic tribes that periodically devastated the principality had a negative impact on its economic development.

By the end of the 9th century. on this territory a semi-state formation arose with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl. At the beginning of the 10th century. it fell into vassal dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg. According to a number of scholars, the old city of Pereyaslavl was burned by nomads, and in 992 Vladimir the Saint, during a campaign against the Pechenegs, founded a new Pereyaslavl (Russian Pereyaslavl) in the place where the Russian daring Yan Usmoshvets defeated the Pechenezh hero in a duel. Under him and in the first years of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, Pereyaslavschina was part of the grand ducal domain, and in 1024-1036 it became part of the vast domains of Yaroslav's brother Mstislav the Brave on the left bank of the Dnieper. After the death of Mstislav in 1036, the Kiev prince again took possession of it. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Pereyaslavl land passed to his son Vsevolod; from that time on, it separated from the Kiev principality and became an independent principality. In 1073 Vsevolod handed it over to his brother, the great Kiev prince Svyatoslav, who, possibly, planted his son Gleb in Pereyaslavl. In 1077, after the death of Svyatoslav, the Pereyaslav region was again in the hands of Vsevolod; the attempt of Roman, the son of Svyatoslav, to capture it in 1079 with the help of the Polovtsy ended in failure: Vsevolod entered into a secret agreement with the Polovtsian Khan, and he ordered to kill Roman. After some time, Vsevolod handed over the principality to his son Rostislav, after whose death in 1093 his brother Vladimir Monomakh began to reign there (with the consent of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich). By the decision of the Lyubech Congress 1097, the Pereyaslavl land was assigned to the Monomashichi. From that time on, it remained their fiefdom; as a rule, the great Kiev princes from the Monomashic family allocated it to their sons or younger brothers; for some of them the Pereyaslavl reign became a stepping stone to the Kiev table (Vladimir Monomakh himself in 1113, Yaropolk Vladimirovich in 1132, Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1146, Gleb Yurievich in 1169). True, the Chernigov Olgovichi tried several times to put it under their control; but they managed to seize only the Bryansk Posemie in the northern part of the principality.

Vladimir Monomakh, having made a series of successful campaigns against the Polovtsians, secured for a time the southeastern border of the Pereyaslav region. In 1113 he transferred the principality to his son Svyatoslav, after his death in 1114 - to another son Yaropolk, and in 1118 - to another son Gleb. According to the will of Vladimir Monomakh, in 1125, Yaropolk again inherited the Pereyaslavl land. When Yaropolk left to reign in Kiev in 1132, the Pereyaslavsky table became a bone of contention within the Monomashic household - between the Rostov prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky and his nephews Vsevolod and Izyaslav Mstislavichi. Yuri Dolgoruky captured Pereyaslavl, but reigned there for only eight days: he was expelled by the Grand Duke Yaropolk, who gave the Pereyaslavl table to Izyaslav Mstislavich, and in the next, 1133, to his brother Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. In 1135, after Vyacheslav left to reign in Turov, Pereyaslavl was again seized by Yuri Dolgoruky, who planted his brother Andrei the Good there. In the same year, the Olgovichi, in alliance with the Polovtsy, invaded the principality, but the Monomashichi joined forces and helped Andrey repel the attack. After Andrei's death in 1142, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich returned to Pereyaslavl, who, however, soon had to transfer the reign to Izyaslav Mstislavich. When in 1146 Izyaslav took the Kiev table, he planted his son Mstislav in Pereyaslavl.

In 1149, Yuri Dolgoruky resumed the struggle with Izyaslav and his sons for dominion in the southern Russian lands. For five years, the Pereyaslavl principality was either in the hands of Mstislav Izyaslavich (1150-1151, 1151-1154), then in the hands of the sons of Yuri Rostislav (1149-1150, 1151) and Gleb (1151). In 1154, the Yuryevichs established themselves in the principality for a long time: Gleb Yuryevich (1155-1169), his son Vladimir (1169-1174), brother of Gleb Mikhalko (1174-1175), again Vladimir (1175-1187), grandson of Yuri Dolgorukov Yaroslav Krasny (until 1199 ) and the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest Constantine (1199-1201) and Yaroslav (1201-1206). In 1206, the Grand Duke of Kiev Vsevolod Chermny of the Chernigov Olgovichi planted his son Mikhail in Pereyaslavl, who, however, in the same year was expelled by the new Grand Duke Rurik Rostislavich. Since that time, the principality was held either by the Rostislavichs of Smolensk or by the Yuryevichs. In the spring of 1239, the Tatar-Mongol hordes invaded the Pereyaslavl land; they burned Pereyaslavl and subjected the principality to a terrible defeat, after which it could no longer be reborn; the Tatars included him in the Wild Field. In the third quarter of the 14th century. Pereyaslavschina became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Vladimir-Volyn principality.

It was located in the west of Russia and occupied a vast territory from the upper reaches of the Southern Bug in the south to the upper reaches of the Narev (tributary of the Vistula) in the north, from the valley of the Western Bug in the west to the river Sluch (tributary of the Pripyat) in the east (modern Volynskaya, Khmelnitskaya, Vinnitskaya, north of Ternopil, north-east of Lviv, most of the Rivne region of Ukraine, west of Brest and south-west of Grodno region of Belarus, east of Lublin and south-east of Bialystok voivodeship of Poland). Bordered in the east with Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk and Kiev, in the west with the Galician principality, in the northwest with Poland, in the southeast with the Polovtsian steppes. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of the Dulebs, who were later called the Buzhans or Volynians.

South Volyn was a mountainous area formed by the eastern spurs of the Carpathians, the northern one was a low-lying and wooded woodland. A variety of natural and climatic conditions contributed to economic diversity; the inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, and cattle breeding, and hunting, and fishing. The economic development of the principality was favored by its unusually advantageous geographical position: the main trade routes from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from Russia to Central Europe passed through it; at their intersection, the main urban centers arose - Vladimir-Volynsky, Dorogichin, Lutsk, Berestye, Shumsk.

At the beginning of the 10th century. Volhynia, along with the territory adjacent to it from the south-west (the future Galician land) fell into dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg. In 981, Vladimir the Saint annexed the Przemyshl and Cherven volosts, which he had taken from the Poles, moving the Russian border from the Western Bug to the San River; in Volodymyr-Volynsk, he established an episcopal see, and made the Volyn land itself a semi-independent principality, transferring it to his sons - Pozvizd, Vsevolod, Boris. During the internecine war in Russia in 1015-1019, the Polish king Boleslav I the Brave returned Przemysl and Cherven, but in the early 1030s they were conquered by Yaroslav the Wise, who also annexed Belz to Volyn.

In the early 1050s, Yaroslav put his son Svyatoslav on the Vladimir-Volyn table. According to Yaroslav's will in 1054, he passed to his other son Igor, who held him until 1057. According to some reports, in 1060 Vladimir-Volynsky was transferred to Igor's nephew Rostislav Vladimirovich; he, however, did not possess it for long. In 1073 Volhynia returned to Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who had occupied the grand-ducal table, who gave it to his son Oleg "Gorislavich", but after the death of Svyatoslav at the end of 1076, the new Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich took this region away from him.

When Izyaslav died in 1078 and the great reign passed to his brother Vsevolod, he planted Yaropolk, the son of Izyaslav, in Vladimir-Volynsky. However, after a while Vsevolod separated the Peremyshl and Terebovl volosts from Volyn, transferring them to the sons of Rostislav Vladimirovich (the future Galician principality). An attempt by the Rostislavichs in 1084-1086 to take away the Vladimir-Volyn table from Yaropolk was unsuccessful; after the assassination of Yaropolk in 1086, the Grand Duke Vsevolod made his nephew Davyd Igorevich the Volyn ruler. The Lyubech congress of 1097 assigned Volhynia to him, but as a result of the war with the Rostislavichs, and then with the Kiev prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich (1097-1098), Davyd lost it. By the decision of the Uvetichesky Congress 1100 Vladimir-Volynsky went to the son of Svyatopolk Yaroslav; Davyd got Buzhsk, Ostrog, Czartorysk and Duben (later Dorogobuzh).

In 1117, Yaroslav rebelled against the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh, for which he was expelled from Volyn. Vladimir passed it on to his son Roman (1117-1119), and after his death to his other son Andrey the Good (1119-1135); in 1123 Yaroslav tried to regain his inheritance with the help of the Poles and Hungarians, but died during the siege of Volodymyr-Volynsky. In 1135 the Kiev prince Yaropolk put his nephew Izyaslav, the son of Mstislav the Great, in the place of Andrey.

When in 1139 the Chernigov Olgovichi took possession of the Kiev table, they decided to oust the Monomashichi from Volyn. In 1142, the Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich managed to plant his son Svyatoslav instead of Izyaslav in Vladimir-Volynsky. However, in 1146, after the death of Vsevolod, Izyaslav seized the great reign in Kiev and removed Svyatoslav from Vladimir, allocating Buzhsk and six more Volyn cities to him. From that time on, Volhynia finally passed into the hands of the Mstislavichi, the senior branch of the Monomashichi, who ruled it until 1337. In 1148 Izyaslav handed over the Vladimir-Volyn table to his brother Svyatopolk (1148-1154), who was succeeded by his younger brother Vladimir (1154-1156) and his son Izyaslav Mstislav (1156-1170). Under them, the process of crushing the Volyn land began: in the 1140s – 1160s, the Buzh, Lutsk and Peresopnytsia princedoms emerged.

In 1170 the Vladimir-Volyn table was occupied by the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich Roman (1170-1205 with a break in 1188). His reign was marked by the economic and political strengthening of the principality. Unlike the Galician princes, the Volyn rulers had an extensive princely domain and were able to concentrate significant material resources in their hands. Having consolidated his power within the principality, Roman began to pursue an active foreign policy in the second half of the 1180s. In 1188, he intervened in civil strife in the neighboring Galician principality and tried to take possession of the Galician table, but failed. In 1195 he came into conflict with the Rostislavichs of Smolensk and ruined their possessions. In 1199 he managed to subjugate the Galician land and create a single Galicia-Volyn principality. At the beginning of the XIII century. The novel extended its influence to Kiev: in 1202 he expelled Rurik Rostislavich from the Kiev table and put his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich on him; in 1204 he arrested and tonsured Rurik, who had re-established himself in Kiev, and restored Ingvar there. He invaded Lithuania and Poland several times. Towards the end of his reign, Roman became the de facto hegemon of Western and Southern Russia and called himself “the Russian king”; nevertheless, he did not manage to put an end to feudal fragmentation - during his reign, the old ones continued to exist in Volhynia, and even new estates arose (Drogichinsky, Belzsky, Chervensko-Kholmsky).

After the death of Roman in 1205 in a campaign against the Poles, there was a temporary weakening of the princely power. His heir Daniel already in 1206 lost the Galician land, and then was forced to flee from Volyn. The Volodymyr-Volynsky table turned out to be an object of rivalry between his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich and his cousin Yaroslav Vsevolodich, who constantly turned to the Poles for support, then the Hungarians. Only in 1212 Daniil Romanovich was able to establish himself in the Vladimir-Volyn reign; he managed to achieve the liquidation of a number of appanages. After a long struggle with the Hungarians, Poles and Chernigov Olgovichi, he subdued the Galician land in 1238 and restored the united Galicia-Volyn principality. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, Daniel handed over Volhynia to his younger brother Vasilko (1238-1269). In 1240 the Volyn land was devastated by the Tatar-Mongol hordes; Volodymyr-Volynsky was taken and plundered. In 1259, the Tatar commander Burunday invaded Volyn and forced Vasilko to tear down the fortifications of Volodymyr-Volynsky, Danilov, Kremenets and Lutsk; however, after an unsuccessful siege of the Hill, he had to retreat. In the same year Vasilko repelled the attack of the Lithuanians.

Vasilko was succeeded by his son Vladimir (1269–1288). During his reign, Volhynia was subject to periodic Tatar raids (especially devastating in 1285). Vladimir restored many devastated cities (Berestye and others), built a number of new ones (Kamenets on Losna), erected temples, patronized trade, and attracted foreign artisans. At the same time, he waged constant wars with the Lithuanians and Yatvingians and intervened in the feuds of the Polish princes. This active foreign policy was continued by his successor Mstislav (1289–1301), the youngest son of Daniil Romanovich.

After death approx. 1301 childless Mstislav, the Galician prince Yuri Lvovich once again united the Volyn and Galician lands. In 1315 he failed in a war with the Lithuanian prince Gedemin, who took Berestye, Drogichin and laid siege to Vladimir-Volynsky. In 1316, Yuri died (possibly, died under the walls of besieged Vladimir), and the principality was divided again: most of Volhynia was received by his eldest son, the Galician prince Andrei (1316–1324), and the Lutsk inheritance was the youngest son Lev. The last independent Galician-Volyn ruler was the son of Andrei Yuri (1324-1337), after whose death the struggle for the Volyn lands between Lithuania and Poland began. By the end of the 14th century. Volhynia became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Galician principality.

It was located on the southwestern outskirts of Rus to the east of the Carpathians in the upper reaches of the Dniester and Prut (modern Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Lvov regions of Ukraine and the Rzeszow Voivodeship of Poland). It bordered in the east with the Volyn principality, in the north with Poland, in the west with Hungary, and in the south it rested on the Polovtsian steppes. The population was mixed - Slavic tribes occupied the Dniester valley (Tivertsy and Ulitsy) and the upper reaches of the Bug (Duleby, or Buzhany); Croats (herbs, carps, Khrovats) lived in the Przemysl region.

Fertile soils, mild climate, numerous rivers and vast forests created favorable conditions for intensive farming and livestock raising. The most important trade routes passed through the territory of the principality - the river from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea (through the Vistula, the Western Bug and the Dniester) and the land route from Russia to Central and Southeastern Europe; periodically extending its power to the Dniester-Danube lowland, the principality also controlled the Danube communications of Europe with the East. Large shopping centers appeared here early: Galich, Przemysl, Terebovl, Zvenigorod.

In the 10-11 centuries. this area was part of the Vladimir-Volyn land. In the late 1070s - early 1080s, the great Kiev prince Vsevolod, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, separated the Peremyshl and Terebovl volosts from it and gave it to his grand-nephews: the first to Rurik and Volodar Rostislavich, and the second to their brother Vasilko. In 1084-1086 the Rostislavichs unsuccessfully tried to establish control over Volhynia. After the death of Rurik in 1092 Volodar became the sole ruler of Przemysl. The Lyubech congress of 1097 assigned him the Peremyshl volost, and the Terebovl volost for Vasilko. In the same year, the Rostislavichs, with the support of Vladimir Monomakh and the Chernigov Svyatoslavichs, repulsed the attempt of the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich to seize their possessions. In 1124 Volodar and Vasilko died, and their inheritance was divided among themselves by their sons: Przemysl went to Rostislav Volodarevich, Zvenigorod to Vladimirko Volodarevich; Rostislav Vasilkovich received the Terebovl region, allocating from it a special Galician volost for his brother Ivan. After Rostislav's death, Ivan annexed Terebovl to his possessions, leaving a small Berlad inheritance to his son Ivan Rostislavich (Berladnik).

In 1141, Ivan Vasilkovich died, and the Terebovl-Galician volost was captured by his cousin Vladimirko Volodarevich Zvenigorodsky, who made Galich the capital of his possessions (henceforth Galician principality). In 1144 Ivan Berladnik tried to take Galich away from him, but failed and lost his Berlad inheritance. In 1143, after the death of Rostislav Volodarevich, Vladimirko incorporated Przemysl into his principality; thus he united all the Carpathian lands under his rule. In 1149-1154 Vladimirko supported Yuri Dolgoruky in his fight with Izyaslav Mstislavich for the Kiev table; he repelled the attack of Izyaslav's ally, the Hungarian king Geiza, and in 1152 captured the Upper Pogoryn'e belonging to Izyaslav (the cities of Buzhsk, Shumsk, Tihoml, Vyshihyshev and Gnoinitsa). As a result, he became the ruler of a vast territory from the headwaters of the San and Goryn to the middle reaches of the Dniester and the lower reaches of the Danube. Under him, the Galician principality became the leading political force in South-Western Russia and entered a period of economic prosperity; his ties with Poland and Hungary were strengthened; it began to experience the strong cultural influence of Catholic Europe.

In 1153 Vladimirko was succeeded by his son Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153–1187), under which the Galician principality reached the peak of its political and economic power. He patronized trade, invited foreign artisans, built new cities; under him the population of the principality increased significantly. Yaroslav's foreign policy was also successful. In 1157 he repulsed the attack on Galich by Ivan Berladnik, who settled in the Danube and robbed Galician merchants. When in 1159 the Kiev prince Izyaslav Davydovich tried to put Berladnik on the Galician table by force of arms, Yaroslav, in alliance with Mstislav Izyaslavich Volynsky, defeated him, expelled him from Kiev and transferred the Kiev reign to Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky (1159-1167); in 1174 he made his vassal Yaroslav Izyaslavich Lutsky a prince of Kiev. The international authority of Galich has grown tremendously. author Words about Igor's regiment described Yaroslav as one of the most powerful Russian princes: “Galician Osmomysl Yaroslav! / You sit high on your golden throne, / propped up the Hungarian mountains with your iron shelves, / blocking the king's path, closing the gates of the Danube, / sword of gravity through the clouds, / courts rowing to the Danube. / Your thunderstorms flow through the lands, / you open the gates of Kiev, / you shoot from the golden throne of the Saltans beyond the lands. "

During the reign of Yaroslav, however, the local boyars grew stronger. Like his father, he, in an effort to avoid fragmentation, handed over the cities and volosts not to their relatives, but to the boyars. The most influential of them ("great boyars") became the owners of huge estates, fortified castles and numerous vassals. Boyar land tenure surpassed the prince's in size. The strength of the Galician boyars increased so much that in 1170 they even intervened in an internal conflict in the princely family: they burned the concubine of Yaroslav Nastasya at the stake and forced him to take an oath to return his legal wife Olga, the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky, who had been rejected by him.

Yaroslav bequeathed the principality to Oleg, his son from Nastasya; he allocated the Przemysl volost to his legitimate son Vladimir. But after his death in 1187, the boyars overthrew Oleg and elevated Vladimir to the Galician table. Vladimir's attempt to get rid of the boyar guardianship and rule autocraticly as early as the next 1188 ended with his flight to Hungary. Oleg returned to the Galician table, but soon he was poisoned by the boyars, and Galich was occupied by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. In the same year, Vladimir expelled Roman with the help of the Hungarian king Bela, but he gave the reign not to him, but to his son Andrei. In 1189, Vladimir fled from Hungary to the German emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, promising him to become his vassal and tributary. By order of Frederick, the Polish king Casimir II the Just sent his army to the Galician land, at the approach of which the boyars of Galich overthrew Andrei and opened the gates to Vladimir. With the support of the ruler of North-Eastern Russia Vsevolod the Big Nest, Vladimir was able to subdue the boyars and hold out in power until his death in 1199.

With the death of Vladimir, the family of Galician Rostislavichs ceased, and the Galician land became part of the vast possessions of Roman Mstislavich Volynsky, a representative of the senior branch of the Monomashiches. The new prince pursued a policy of terror in relation to the local boyars and achieved its significant weakening. However, soon after the death of Roman in 1205, his state collapsed. Already in 1206, his heir Daniel was forced to leave the Galician land and go to Volyn. A long period of Troubles began (1206-1238). The Galician table passed either to Daniel (1211, 1230-1232, 1233), then to the Chernigov Olgovichs (1206-1207, 1209-1211, 1235-1238), then to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (1206, 1219-1227), then to the Hungarian princes (1207-1209, 1214-1219, 1227-1230); in 1212–1213, power in Galich was even usurped by a boyar - Volodislav Kormilichich (a unique case in ancient Russian history). Only in 1238, Daniel managed to establish himself in Galich and restore the united Galicia-Volyn state. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, he allocated Volhynia as an inheritance to his brother Vasilko.

In the 1240s, the foreign policy of the principality became more complicated. In 1242 it was devastated by the hordes of Batu. In 1245, Daniel and Vasilko had to recognize themselves as tributaries of the Tatar khan. In the same year, the Chernigov Olgovichi (Rostislav Mikhailovich), having entered into an alliance with the Hungarians, invaded the Galician land; only with great effort did the brothers manage to repel the invasion, gaining a victory on the river. San.

In the 1250s, Daniel launched an active diplomatic activity to create an anti-Tatar coalition. He entered into a military-political alliance with the Hungarian king White IV and began negotiations with Pope Innocent IV on the church union, the crusade of the European powers against the Tatars and the recognition of his royal title. In 1254, the papal legate crowned Daniel with a royal crown. However, the inability of the Vatican to organize a crusade removed the question of union from the agenda. In 1257, Daniel agreed on joint actions against the Tatars with the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas, but the Tatars managed to provoke a conflict between the allies.

After Daniel's death in 1264, the Galician land was divided between his sons Leo, who received Galich, Przemysl and Drogichin, and Schwarn, to whom Kholm, Cherven and Belz passed. In 1269, Schwarn died, and the entire Galician principality passed into the hands of Leo, who in 1272 moved his residence to the newly rebuilt Lviv. Lev intervened in internal political strife in Lithuania and fought (albeit unsuccessfully) with the Polish prince Leshko Cherny for the Lublin volost.

After the death of Leo in 1301, his son Yuri again united the Galician and Volyn lands and took the title "King of Russia, Prince of Lodimeria (ie Volyn)". He entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and tried to achieve the establishment of an independent ecclesiastical metropolis in Galich. After the death of Yuri in 1316, the Galician land and most of Volhynia were received by his eldest son Andrei, who was succeeded by his son Yuri in 1324. With the death of Yuri in 1337, the older branch of the descendants of Daniil Romanovich died out, and a fierce struggle began between Lithuanian, Hungarian and Polish contenders for the Galician-Volyn table. In 1349-1352 Galician land was seized by the Polish king Casimir III. In 1387, under Vladislav II (Yagailo), it finally became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir-Suzdal) principality.

It was located on the northeastern outskirts of Russia in the basin of the Upper Volga and its tributaries Klyazma, Unzha, Sheksna (modern Yaroslavl, Ivanovskaya, most of Moscow, Vladimir and Vologda, southeast Tver, west of Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma regions); in the 12-14 centuries. the principality was constantly expanding in the eastern and northeastern directions. In the west, it bordered on the Smolensk, in the south - on the Chernigov and Muromo-Ryazan principalities, in the north-west - on the Novgorod, and in the east - on the Vyatka land and the Finno-Ugric tribes (Merya, Mari, etc.). The population of the principality was mixed: it consisted of both Finno-Ugric autochthons (mainly Meria) and Slavic colonists (mainly Krivichi).

Most of the territory was occupied by forests and swamps; the fur trade played an important role in the economy. Numerous rivers were rich in valuable fish species. Despite the rather harsh climate, the presence of podzolic and soddy-podzolic soils created favorable conditions for agriculture (rye, barley, oats, garden crops). Natural barriers (forests, swamps, rivers) reliably protected the principality from external enemies.

In the 1st millennium A.D. The Upper Volga basin was inhabited by the Finno-Ugric tribe Merya. In the 8-9 centuries. here the influx of Slavic colonists began, who moved both from the west (from the Novgorod land) and from the south (from the Dnieper region); in the 9th century. they founded Rostov, and in the 10th century. - Suzdal. At the beginning of the 10th century. The Rostov land fell into dependence on the Kiev prince Oleg, and under his closest successors it became part of the grand ducal domain. In 988/989 Vladimir the Saint allocated it as an inheritance to his son Yaroslav the Wise, and in 1010 he gave it to his other son Boris. After the assassination of Boris in 1015 by Svyatopolk the Damned, direct control of the Kiev princes was restored here.

According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, in 1054 the Rostov land passed to Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who in 1068 sent his son Vladimir Monomakh there to reign; under him, Vladimir was founded on the Klyazma River. Thanks to the activities of the Rostov bishop St. Leontius, Christianity began to actively penetrate into this area; St. Abraham organized the first monastery here (Epiphany). In 1093 and 1095, Vladimir's son Mstislav the Great was in Rostov. In 1095 Vladimir allocated Rostov land as an independent principality to his other son Yuri Dolgoruky (1095-1157). The Lyubech congress of 1097 assigned it to the Monomashichs. Yuri moved the prince's residence from Rostov to Suzdal. He contributed to the final establishment of Christianity, widely attracted settlers from other Russian principalities, founded new cities (Moscow, Dmitrov, Yuryev-Polsky, Uglich, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma). During his reign, the Rostov-Suzdal land experienced economic and political flourishing; the boyars and the trade and handicraft stratum increased. Significant resources allowed Yuri to intervene in the princely feuds and spread his influence to neighboring territories. In 1132 and 1135 he tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to control Pereyaslavl Russky, in 1147 he made a campaign against Novgorod the Great and took Torzhok, in 1149 he began a struggle for Kiev with Izyaslav Mstislavovich. In 1155 he managed to establish himself on the Kiev grand-ducal table and secure the Pereyaslav region for his sons.

After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157, the Rostov-Suzdal land split into several appanages. However, already in 1161, Yuri's son Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174) restored its unity, depriving the possessions of his three brothers (Mstislav, Vasilko and Vsevolod) and two nephews (Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavichi). In an effort to get rid of the tutelage of the influential Rostov and Suzdal boyars, he moved the capital to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, where there was a large trade and craft settlement, and, relying on the support of the townspeople and the squad, began to pursue an absolutist policy. Andrew renounced his claims to the Kiev table and accepted the title of the great Vladimir prince. In 1169-1170, he subdued Kiev and Novgorod the Great, handing them over to his brother Gleb and his ally Rurik Rostislavich, respectively. By the beginning of the 1170s, the Polotsk, Turov, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Murom and Smolensk principalities had recognized the dependence on the Vladimir table. However, his 1173 campaign against Kiev, which fell into the hands of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, failed. In 1174 he was killed by conspiratorial boyars in the village. Bogolyubovo near Vladimir.

After Andrei's death, the local boyars invited his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich to the Rostov table; Suzdal, Vladimir and Yuryev-Polsky received Mstislav's brother Yaropolk. But in 1175 they were expelled by brothers Andrei Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest; Mikhalko became Vladimir-Suzdal, and Vsevolod became the ruler of Rostov. In 1176 Mikhalko died, and Vsevolod remained the sole ruler of all these lands, behind which the name of the great Vladimir principality was firmly established. In 1177 he finally eliminated the threat from Mstislav and Yaropolk, inflicting a decisive defeat on them on the Koloksha River; they themselves were captured and blinded.

Vsevolod (1175-1212) continued the foreign policy course of his father and brother, becoming the chief arbiter among the Russian princes and dictating his will to Kiev, Novgorod the Great, Smolensk and Ryazan. However, already during his lifetime, the process of crushing the Vladimir-Suzdal land began: in 1208 he gave Rostov and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky to his sons Konstantin and Yaroslav. After the death of Vsevolod in 1212, a war broke out between Constantine and his brothers Yuri and Yaroslav in 1214, which ended in April 1216 with the victory of Constantine in the battle on the Lipitsa River. But, although Konstantin became the great Vladimir prince, the unity of the principality was not restored: in 1216-1217 he gave Gorodets-Rodilov and Suzdal to Yuri, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky to Yaroslav, and Yuryev-Polsky and Starodub to his younger brothers Svyatoslav and Vladimir ... After the death of Constantine in 1218, Yuri (1218–1238), who occupied the grand-ducal table, gave lands to his sons Vasilko (Rostov, Kostroma, Galich) and Vsevolod (Yaroslavl, Uglich). As a result, the Vladimir-Suzdal land split into ten specific principalities - Rostov, Suzdal, Pereyaslavskoe, Yuryevskoe, Starodubskoe, Gorodetskoe, Yaroslavskoe, Uglichskoe, Kostromskoe, Galitskoe; the great Vladimir prince retained only formal supremacy over them.

In February-March 1238 Northeastern Russia became a victim of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The Vladimir-Suzdal regiments were defeated on the river. City, Prince Yuri fell on the battlefield, Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal and other cities were devastated. After the Tatars left, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich took the grand-ducal table, who handed over to his brothers Svyatoslav and Ivan Suzdal and Starodubskoye, the eldest son Alexander (Nevsky) Pereyaslavskoye, and to his nephew Boris Vasilkovich the Rostov principality, from which the Belozersky inheritance (Gleb Vasilkovich) separated. In 1243, Yaroslav received from Batu a label for the great reign of Vladimir (died in 1246). Under his successors brother Svyatoslav (1246-1247), sons Andrei (1247-1252), Alexander (1252-1263), Yaroslav (1263-1271 / 1272), Vasily (1272-1276 / 1277) and grandsons of Dmitry (1277-1293) ) and Andrei Alexandrovich (1293–1304), the fragmentation process was increasing. In 1247 the Tver (Yaroslav Yaroslavich) principality was finally formed, and in 1283 - the Moscow (Daniil Alexandrovich) principality. Although in 1299 the Metropolitan, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, moved to Vladimir from Kiev, his importance as a capital gradually decreases; from the end of the 13th century. the grand dukes cease to use Vladimir as a permanent residence.

In the first third of the 14th century. Moscow and Tver begin to play the leading role in North-Eastern Russia, which enter into rivalry for the Vladimir Grand Duke's table: in 1304 / 1305-1317 it is occupied by Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy, in 1317-1322 - Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky, in 1322-1326 - Dmitry Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1326-1327 - Alexander Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1327-1340 - Ivan Danilovich (Kalita) of Moscow (in 1327-1331 together with Alexander Vasilyevich Suzdalsky). After Ivan Kalita, he became a monopoly of the Moscow princes (with the exception of 1359-1362). At the same time, their main rivals - the Tver and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes - in the middle of the 14th century. also take the title of greats. Struggle for control over North-Eastern Russia during the 14th and 15th centuries. ends with the victory of the Moscow princes, who include the disintegrated parts of the Vladimir-Suzdal land into the Moscow state: Pereyaslavl-Zalesskoe (1302), Mozhaisk (1303), Uglichskoe (1329), Vladimirskoe, Starodubskoe, Galitskoe, Kostromskoe and Dmitrovskoe (1362-1364), Belozerskoe (1389), Nizhny Novgorod (1393), Suzdal (1451), Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474) and Tver (1485) princedoms.

Novgorod land.

It occupied a huge territory (almost 200 thousand sq. Km.) Between the Baltic Sea and the lower reaches of the Ob. Its western border was the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipsi, in the north it included the Ladoga and Onega lakes and reached the White Sea, in the east it captured the Pechora basin, and in the south it was adjacent to the Polotsk, Smolensk and Rostov-Suzdal principalities (modern Novgorod. Pskov, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, most of the Tver and Vologda regions, Karelian and Komi autonomous republics). It was inhabited by Slavic (Ilmenian Slavs, Krivichi) and Finno-Ugric tribes (Vod, Izhora, Korela, Chud, all, Perm, Pechora, Lapps).

The unfavorable natural conditions of the North hindered the development of agriculture; grain was one of the main imports. At the same time, huge forests and numerous rivers favored fishing, hunting, and fur trade; the extraction of salt and iron ore was of great importance. Since ancient times, the Novgorod land has been famous for its various crafts and high quality handicraft products. Its favorable location at the intersection of the routes from the Baltic Sea to the Black and Caspian Seas provided it with the role of an intermediary in the trade of the Baltic and Scandinavian regions with the Black Sea and the Volga regions. Craftsmen and merchants, united in territorial and professional corporations, represented one of the most economically and politically influential strata of Novgorod society. Its highest stratum, large landowners (boyars), also actively participated in international trade.

The Novgorod land was divided into administrative districts - pyatina, directly adjacent to Novgorod (Votskaya, Shelonskaya, Obonezhskaya, Derevskaya, Bezhetskaya), and remote volosts: one stretched from Torzhok and Volok to the Suzdal border and the upper reaches of Onega, the other included Zavolochye (interfluve of the Onega and Mezen), and the third - the land to the east of the Mezen (Pechora, Perm and Yugorsk territories).

The Novgorod land was the cradle of the Old Russian state. It was here in the 860s – 870s that a strong political formation emerged, uniting the Priilmen Slavs, Polotsk Krivichi, Meria, all and partly a Chud. In 882, Prince Oleg of Novgorod subdued the Polyans and Smolensk Krivichi and moved the capital to Kiev. Since that time, the Novgorod land has become the second most important region of the state of the Rurikovich. From 882 to 988/989 it was ruled by governors sent from Kiev (with the exception of 972-977, when it was the inheritance of St. Vladimir).

At the end of 10-11 centuries. The Novgorod land, as the most important part of the grand princely domain, was usually transferred by the Kiev princes to the possession of their eldest sons. In 988/989, Vladimir the Saint planted his eldest son Vysheslav in Novgorod, and after his death in 1010 - his other son Yaroslav the Wise, who, having occupied the grand-ducal table in 1019, in turn handed it over to his eldest son Ilya. After the death of Ilya approx. 1020 Novgorod land was seized by the Polotsk ruler Bryachislav Izyaslavich, but was expelled by the troops of Yaroslav. In 1034 Yaroslav gave Novgorod to his second son Vladimir, who held it until his death in 1052.

In 1054, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, Novgorod fell into the hands of his third son, the new Grand Duke Izyaslav, who ruled it through his governors, and then put his youngest son Mstislav in it. In 1067 Novgorod was captured by Vseslav Bryachislavich Polotsk, but in the same year he was expelled by Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav from the Kiev table in 1068, the Novgorodians did not obey Vseslav of Polotsk, who reigned in Kiev, and turned for help to Izyaslav's brother, Prince of Chernigov, Svyatoslav, who sent his eldest son Gleb to them. Gleb defeated Vseslav's troops in October 1069, but soon, apparently, he was forced to transfer Novgorod to Izyaslav, who had returned to the grand-ducal table. When in 1073 Izyaslav was again overthrown, Novgorod passed to Svyatoslav of Chernigov, who received a great reign, who put his other son Davyd in it. After the death of Svyatoslav in December 1076, Gleb again occupied the Novgorod table. However, in July 1077, when Izyaslav regained the Kiev reign, he had to cede it to Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who had regained the Kiev reign. Izyaslav's brother Vsevolod, who became the Grand Duke in 1078, retained Novgorod for Svyatopolk and only in 1088 replaced him with his grandson Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of Vsevolod in 1093, Davyd Svyatoslavich again sat down in Novgorod, but in 1095 he came into conflict with the townspeople and left the reign. At the request of the Novgorodians, Vladimir Monomakh, who then owned Chernigov, returned them Mstislav (1095-1117).

In the second half of the 11th century. in Novgorod, the economic power and, accordingly, the political influence of the boyars and the trade and craft layer increased significantly. Large boyar land tenure became dominant. The Novgorod boyars were hereditary landowners and were not a service class; the possession of land did not depend on the service to the prince. At the same time, the constant change of representatives of different princely families on the Novgorod table prevented the formation of any significant princely domain. In the face of the growing local elite, the position of the prince gradually weakened.

In 1102, the Novgorod elite (boyars and merchants) refused to accept the son of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich for reign, wishing to keep Mstislav, and the Novgorod land ceased to be part of the grand ducal possessions. In 1117 Mstislav handed over the Novgorod table to his son Vsevolod (1117-1136).

In 1136 Novgorodians revolted against Vsevolod. Accusing him of mismanagement and neglect of the interests of Novgorod, they imprisoned him with his family, and a month and a half later expelled from the city. From that time on, a virtually republican system was established in Novgorod, although the princely power was not abolished. The supreme governing body was the people's assembly (veche), which included all free citizens. Veche had broad powers - it invited and removed the prince, elected and controlled the entire administration, resolved issues of war and peace, was the highest court, introduced taxes and duties. The prince was transformed from a sovereign ruler into a top official. He was the supreme commander in chief, could convene veche and issue laws, if they did not contradict custom; embassies were sent and received on his behalf. However, when elected, the prince entered into a contractual relationship with Novgorod and gave the obligation to govern "in the old days", to appoint only Novgorodians as governors in the volost and not impose tribute on them, to wage war and conclude peace only with the consent of the veche. He had no right to remove other officials without trial. His actions were controlled by an elected mayor, without whose approval he could not pass judgments and make appointments.

The local bishop (lord) played a special role in the political life of Novgorod. From the middle of the 12th century. the right to elect him passed from the Kiev metropolitan to the veche; the metropolitan only sanctioned the election. Vladyka of Novgorod was considered not only the main clergyman, but also the first dignitary of the state after the prince. He was the largest landowner, had his own boyars and military regiments with a banner and governors, certainly participated in the negotiations on peace and the invitation of princes, was a mediator in internal political conflicts.

Despite the significant narrowing of the princely prerogatives, the rich Novgorod land remained attractive to the most powerful princely dynasties. The senior (Mstislavichi) and junior (Suzdal Yuryevichi) branches of the Monomashichi competed primarily for the Novgorodian table; the Chernigov Olgovichi tried to interfere in this struggle, but they achieved only episodic successes (1138-1139, 1139-1141, 1180-1181, 1197, 1225-1226, 1229-1230). In the 12th century. the preponderance was on the side of the Mstislavich family and its three main branches (Izyaslavichi, Rostislavichi and Vladimirovichi); they occupied the Novgorod table in 1117-1136, 1142-1155, 1158-1160, 1161-1171, 1179-1180, 1182-1197, 1197-1199; some of them (especially the Rostislavichs) managed to create independent, but short-lived principalities (Novotorzhskoe and Velikolukskoe) in the Novgorod land. However, already in the second half of the 12th century. began to strengthen the position of the Yuryevichs, who enjoyed the support of the influential party of the Novgorod boyars and, in addition, periodically put pressure on Novgorod, blocking the routes for the supply of grain from North-Eastern Russia. In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruky made a campaign in the Novgorod land and captured Torzhok, in 1155 the Novgorodians had to invite his son Mstislav to reign (until 1157). In 1160 Andrei Bogolyubsky imposed his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich on the Novgorodians (until 1161); he forced them in 1171 to return Rurik Rostislavich, who had been expelled by them, to the Novgorod table, and in 1172 to hand him over to his son Yuri (until 1175). In 1176 Vsevolod the Big Nest managed to plant his nephew Yaroslav Mstislavich in Novgorod (until 1178).

In the 13th century. The Yuryevichs (the line of Vsevolod Bolshoye Gnezdo) achieved complete predominance. In the 1200s, the Novgorodian table was occupied by the sons of Vsevolod Svyatoslav (1200–1205, 1208–1210) and Konstantin (1205–1208). True, in 1210 the Novgorodians were able to get rid of the control of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes with the help of the Toropets ruler Mstislav Udatny from the Smolensk Rostislavich family; Rostislavich held Novgorod until 1221 (with a break in 1215-1216). However, then they were finally ousted from the Novgorod land by the Yuryevichs.

The success of the Yuryevichs was facilitated by the deterioration of the foreign policy position of Novgorod. In the face of an increased threat to his western possessions from Sweden, Denmark and the Livonian Order, the Novgorodians needed an alliance with the most powerful Russian principality at that time - Vladimir. Thanks to this alliance, Novgorod was able to defend its borders. Summoned to the Novgorod table in 1236, Alexander Yaroslavich, nephew of the Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodich, defeated the Swedes at the mouth of the Neva in 1240, and then stopped the aggression of the German knights.

The temporary strengthening of princely power under Alexander Yaroslavich (Nevsky) was replaced at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century. its complete degradation, which was facilitated by the weakening of external danger and the progressive disintegration of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. At the same time, the role of the veche decreased. An oligarchic system was actually established in Novgorod. The boyars turned into a closed ruling caste, sharing power with the archbishop. The rise of the Moscow principality under Ivan Kalita (1325-1340) and its formation as a center for the unification of Russian lands aroused fear among the Novgorod elites and caused their attempts to use the powerful Lithuanian principality that had arisen on the southwestern borders as a counterbalance: in 1333 he was first invited to the Novgorod table Lithuanian prince Narimunt Gedeminovich (though he only lasted a year); in the 1440s, the Grand Duke of Lithuania was granted the right to collect irregular tribute from some Novgorod volosts.

Although the 14-15 centuries. became a period of rapid economic prosperity of Novgorod, largely due to its close ties with the Hanseatic Trade Union, the Novgorod elites did not use it to strengthen their military-political potential and preferred to buy off the aggressive Moscow and Lithuanian princes. At the end of the 14th century. Moscow launched an offensive against Novgorod. Vasily I captured the Novgorod cities of Bezhetsky Verkh, Volok Lamsky and Vologda with the adjacent regions; in 1401 and 1417 he tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to seize Zavoloch. In the second quarter of the 15th century. Moscow's offensive was halted due to the internecine war of 1425-1453 between Grand Duke Vasily II and his uncle Yuri and his sons; in this war, the Novgorod boyars supported the opponents of Vasily II. Having established himself on the throne, Vasily II imposed a tribute on Novgorod, and in 1456 entered the war with it. Having suffered defeat at Russa, the Novgorodians were forced to conclude a humiliating Yazhelbitsky peace with Moscow: they paid a significant indemnity and pledged not to enter into an alliance with the enemies of the Moscow prince; the legislative prerogatives of the veche were abolished and the possibilities of conducting an independent foreign policy were seriously limited. As a result, Novgorod fell into dependence on Moscow. In 1460, Pskov came under the control of the Moscow prince.

At the end of the 1460s, the pro-Lithuanian party led by the Boretskys triumphed in Novgorod. She achieved the conclusion of an alliance agreement with the great Lithuanian prince Casimir IV and an invitation to the Novgorod table of his protege Mikhail Olelkovich (1470). In response, the Moscow prince Ivan III sent a large army against the Novgorodians, which defeated them on the river. Shelon; Novgorod had to cancel the contract with Lithuania, pay a huge indemnity and cede part of Zavolochye. In 1472, Ivan III annexed the Perm Territory; in 1475 he arrived in Novgorod and carried out reprisals against the anti-Moscow-minded boyars, and in 1478 he abolished the independence of the Novgorod land and included it in the Moscow state. In 1570 Ivan IV the Terrible finally destroyed the Novgorodian liberties.

Ivan Krivushin

GREAT DUCHES OF KIEV

(from the death of Yaroslav the Wise to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Before the name of the prince - the year of his accession to the throne, the number in brackets indicates how many times the prince took the throne, if this happened again.)

1054 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (1)

1068 Vseslav Bryachislavich

1069 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (2)

1073 Svyatoslav Yaroslavich

1077 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (1)

1077 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (3)

1078 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (2)

1093 Svyatopolk Izyaslavich

1113 Vladimir Vsevolodich (Monomakh)

1125 Mstislav Vladimirovich (Great)

1132 Yaropolk Vladimirovich

1139 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (1)

1139 Vsevolod Olgovich

1146 Igor Olgovich

1146 Izyaslav Mstislavich (1)

1149 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (1)

1149 Izyaslav Mstislavich (2)

1151 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (2)

1151 Izyaslav Mstislavich (3) and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2)

1154 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2) and Rostislav Mstislavich (1)

1154 Rostislav Mstislavich (1)

1154 Izyaslav Davydovich (1)

1155 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (3)

1157 Izyaslav Davydovich (2)

1159 Rostislav Mstislavich (2)

1167 Mstislav Izyaslavich

1169 Gleb Yurievich

1171 Vladimir Mstislavich

1171 Mikhalko Yurievich

1171 Roman Rostislavich (1)

1172 Vsevolod Yurievich (Big Nest) and Yaropolk Rostislavich

1173 Rurik Rostislavich (1)

1174 Roman Rostislavich (2)

1176 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1)

1181 Rurik Rostislavich (2)

1181 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (2)

1194 Rurik Rostislavich (3)

1202 Ingvar Yaroslavich (1)

1203 Rurik Rostislavich (4)

1204 Ingvar Yaroslavich (2)

1204 Rostislav Rurikovich

1206 Rurik Rostislavich (5)

1206 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (1)

1206 Rurik Rostislavich (6)

1207 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (2)

1207 Rurik Rostislavich (7)

1210 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (3)

1211 Ingvar Yaroslavich (3)

1211 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (4)

1212/1214 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (1)

1219 Vladimir Rurikovich (1)

1219 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (2), possibly with his son Vsevolod

1223 Vladimir Rurikovich (2)

1235 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)

1235 Yaroslav Vsevolodich

1236 Vladimir Rurikovich (3)

1239 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)

1240 Rostislav Mstislavich

1240 Daniil Romanovich

Literature:

Old Russian principalities of the X-XIII centuries. M., 1975
Rapov O.M. Princely possessions in Russia in the X - first half of the XIII century. M., 1977
Alekseev L.V. Smolensk land in the IX-XIII centuries. Essays on the history of the Smolensk region and Eastern Belarus. M., 1980
Kiev and the western lands of Russia in the IX-XIII centuries. Minsk, 1982
Yu.A. Limonov Vladimir-Suzdal Rus: Essays on socio-political history. L., 1987
Chernigov and its districts in the IX-XIII centuries. Kiev, 1988
N. N. Korinny Pereyaslavl land X - first half of the XIII century. Kiev, 1992
A. A. Gorsky Russian lands in the XIII-XIV centuries: Ways of political development. M., 1996
Alexandrov D.N. Russian principalities in the XIII-XIV centuries. M., 1997
Ilovaisky D.I. Ryazan principality. M., 1997
Ryabchikov S.V. Mysterious Tmutarakan. Krasnodar, 1998
Lysenko P.F. Turov land, IX-XIII centuries. Minsk, 1999
Pogodin M.P. Ancient Russian history before the Mongol yoke. M., 1999.Vol. 1–2
Alexandrov D.N. Feudal fragmentation of Russia... M., 2001
Mayorov A.V. Galicia-Volyn Rus: Essays on socio-political relations in the pre-Mongol period. Prince, boyars and city community. SPb., 2001



THE PEREYASLAV PRINCIPALITY, an ancient Russian principality, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, the Sud, Pslu, and others; 2nd half of 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Tatar Mongol conquerors. The capital is Pereyaslavl (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky; Ukraine). Source: Encyclopedia ... ... Russian history

Pereyaslavl principality- Old Russian, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Pslu, etc. 2nd floor 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Mongol Tatars. Capital Pereyaslav (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Pereyaslavl principality- Old Russian, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Pslu, etc. second half of the 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Mongol Tatars. The capital is Pereyaslavl Yuzhny (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). * * * PEREJASLAV PRINCIPLE PEREJASLAV PRINCIPLE, Old Russian ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Pereyaslavl principality- (Zalessky) feudal principality of Russia 12-13 centuries. with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl Zalessky (Suzdal). It occupied the area around Lake Pleshcheevo. Arose about 1175 76. Its first prince was Vsevolod the Big Nest. In 1238 the principality ... ...

Pereyaslavl principality- adjacent to Kiev and serving as a shoulder for Kiev from the attacks of the steppe dwellers, occupied the region along Trubezh, Supoy and Sule to Vorskla, extending to the upper reaches of these rivers. In the northwest, it adjoined the Kiev possessions on the left side of the Dnieper; southern ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Pereyaslavl principality- one . see the principality of Zaleskoe 2. Old Russian. principality with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl (see. Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). Formed approx. ser. 11th century, having separated from the Kiev principality. Occupying territory. along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Supoy, Pselu, Vorskla, P. to ... Soviet Historical Encyclopedia

III.2.5.5. Pereyaslavl principality (1175 - 1302)- ⇑ III.2.5. Principality of Eastern Russia Capital Pereyaslavl (now Pereyaslavl Zalessky). 1. Vsevolod Yurievich, son of Yuri Dolgoruky (1175 76). 2. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1238) (in Vladimir 1238 46). 3. Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1238 52) (in ... ... Rulers of the World

III.2.2.4. Pereyaslavl principality (1054 - 1239)- ⇑ III.2.2. Principality of Southern Russia South of Chernigov, north of Donetsk, east of Kiev, east of Cherkassk, east of Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkov regions of Ukraine. Capital Pereyaslavl South (Russian) (n. Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). 1. Vsevolod ... ... Rulers of the World

Principality of Turovskoe- Turovo Pinsk principality (Turov principality) was a Russian principality in the X XIV centuries, located in Polesie along the middle and lower reaches of the Pripyat. Most of it lay on the territory inhabited by Dregovichi, smaller by Drevlyans. The main city ... ... Wikipedia

Pereyaslavskoe (Zalesskoe) principality- Pereyaslavskoe (Zalesskoe) principality, feudal principality of Russia 12-13 centuries. with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl Zalessky (Suzdal). It occupied the area around Lake Pleshcheyevo. Arose about 1175-76. Vsevolod the Big Nest was his first prince. In 1238 ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

THE PEREYASLAV PRINCIPALITY, an ancient Russian principality, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, the Sud, Pslu, and others; 2nd half of 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Tatar Mongol conquerors. The capital is Pereyaslavl (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky; Ukraine). Source: Encyclopedia ... ... Russian history

Old Russian, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Pslu and others; 2nd floor 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Mongol Tatars. Capital Pereyaslav (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Old Russian, along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Pslu and others; second half of the 11th century 1239. Ruined by the Mongol Tatars. The capital is Pereyaslavl Yuzhny (now Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). * * * Pereyaslavl principality Pereyaslavl principality, old Russian ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Zalessky) feudal principality of Russia 12-13 centuries. with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl Zalessky (Suzdal). It occupied the area around Lake Pleshcheevo. Arose about 1175 76. Its first prince was Vsevolod the Big Nest. In 1238 the principality ... ...

Neighboring with Kiev and serving as a shoulder for Kiev from the attacks of the steppe inhabitants, it occupied the region along Trubezh, Supoy and Sule to Vorskla, extending to the upper reaches of these rivers. In the northwest, it adjoined the Kiev possessions on the left side of the Dnieper; southern ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

one . see the principality of Zaleskoe 2. Old Russian. principality with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl (see Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). Formed approx. ser. 11th century, having separated from the Kiev principality. Occupying territory. along the left tributaries of the Dnieper, Sule, Supoy, Pselu, Vorskla, P. to ... Soviet Historical Encyclopedia

III.2.5.5. Pereyaslavl principality (1175 - 1302)- ⇑ III.2.5. Principality of Eastern Russia Capital Pereyaslavl (now Pereyaslavl Zalessky). 1. Vsevolod Yurievich, son of Yuri Dolgoruky (1175 76). 2. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1238) (in Vladimir 1238 46). 3. Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1238 52) (in ... ... Rulers of the World

III.2.2.4. Pereyaslavl principality (1054 - 1239)- ⇑ III.2.2. Principality of Southern Russia South of Chernigov, north of Donetsk, east of Kiev, east of Cherkassk, east of Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkov regions of Ukraine. Capital Pereyaslavl South (Russian) (n. Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky). 1. Vsevolod ... ... Rulers of the World

Turovo Pinsk principality (Turov principality) was a Russian principality in the X XIV centuries, located in Polesie along the middle and lower reaches of the Pripyat. Most of it lay on the territory inhabited by the Dregovichi, smaller by the Drevlyans. The main city ... ... Wikipedia

Pereyaslavskoe (Zalesskoe) principality, feudal principality of Russia 12-13 centuries. with the center in the city of Pereyaslavl Zalessky (Suzdal). It occupied the area around Lake Pleshcheyevo. Arose about 1175-76. Vsevolod the Big Nest was his first prince. In 1238 ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Pereyaslavl principality.

A special place in the consolidation of Ukrainian lands belonged to the Pereyaslavl principality. It did not have complete political independence, depended on the Kiev princes, and therefore is inextricably linked with the Kiev principality. The Pereyaslavl principality occupied the territory from the Dnieper in the west to Psl in the east, from the upper reaches of the Sula, Khorol and Psl in the north to the Dnieper in the south. Mostly Ukrainians, descendants of the ancient Ukrainian tribe of the northerners, lived in these open spaces. But over time, Berendeys, Torks, TURP, Pechenegs and other Turkic-speaking tribes began to settle here. In the course of economic and everyday communication, the settlers borrowed the best material and spiritual achievements of the people of Pereyaslavl, passed on to them their own in the management of animal husbandry and the like. There was a natural process of integration of territorially close Ukrainian and Turkic cultures. That is, the Pereyaslavl principality did not stand aside from the ethnic processes taking place in other Ukrainian lands. The Ukrainian ethnos included the Turkic-speaking tribes of the steppe in its sphere of influence.

The political history of the Pereyaslav region was closely connected with the Kiev principality. It so happened that the Pereyaslavsky princely table was the last step to the grand princely Kiev throne. After the reign in Pereyaslav, the son of Vladimir Monomakh Yaropolk became the great Kiev prince. Taking aim at the Kiev throne, Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky was ready to sacrifice most of his northwestern possessions for Pereyaslavshchina. After a long bloody struggle in Pereyaslav, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky Gleb, who in 1169 became the prince of Kiev, was established. His son Vladimir also took the place of his father in the Pereyaslav region. Vladimir Glebovich was a prominent figure among the Pereyaslavl princes after

Vladimir Monomakh. He was especially famous for his irreconcilable and at the same time successful struggle against nomads. His vanguard of 2100 Pereyaslav and Berendeys in 1184, as part of the troops of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, defeated the Polovtsians and captured the formidable Khan Kobyak. The next 1185, he, together with the allies, broke the Polovtsian camp of Khan Konchak on the river. Horole. True, in the same year Vladimir Glebovich was forced to flee from the Polovtsian horde behind the strong walls of Pereyaslavl, but in the end he drove them away from the city. Retreating, the Polovtsians inflicted heavy losses on the Pereyaslav region, about which the chronicler Nestor wrote with pain: “It is in Rome (the Ukrainian city of Rimov) they shout under the Polovtsian sabers, and Vladimir under the wounds.” During the campaign against the Polovtsians in 1187, Vladimir Glebovich caught a cold and died. him in Pereyaslav there were no princes capable of leaving a noticeable mark in the history of Ukraine.

The fight against the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the revival of the Ukrainian state.

In the early 20s. XIII century on the approaches to Rus-Ukraine from the depths of Asia and the Far East, warlike tribes of Mongols and Tatars appeared. Currently, the owner of the Mongol state, Genghis Khan (the great khan), conquered North China, South Siberia and Central Asia. The huge empire stirred up half the world, its salvation was only in the further continuous territorial expansion and physical destruction of tribes and peoples who did not want to obey. Moving westward, the Mongol-Tatars bypassed the Caspian Sea from the south, invaded the Caucasus, defeated Georgia and in the Ciscaucasia faced the combined forces of the Polovtsy, Yass, Circassians and other local peoples. The 25-month-old army of the Mongol-Tatars could not do anything with them, and then the commanders of Subudai and Jebe resorted to previously tested tricks. Playing on the ethnic feelings of the Polovtsian khans regarding their common origin, they achieved the departure of the Polovtsians from their allies and, taking advantage of this, first dispersed the tribes of the Yases and Kasogs, then caught up with the Polovtsians on the Don and in 1222 defeated them. The remnants of the Polovtsian hordes of Khan Kobyak retreated to the Dnieper under the protection of the Ukrainian princes. Mortal danger forced the Ukrainian and Polovtsians to unite. At the Kiev congress of Ukrainian princes in 1223, it was decided to help the southern neighbors in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars. This spring on about. Khortitsa was led by the Galician, Volyn, Kiev, Chernigov, Smolensk, Trubchevsky, Putivl and Kursk princes. Since the time of Svyatoslav Igorevich, Russia has not collected such an army. Rus and Cumans crossed to the left bank of the Dnieper near Oleshie, defeated the vanguard of the Mongol-Tatar army, captured large herds of horses, flocks of sheep and many other booty.

An easy victory put the princes to sleep. On the river Kalka, their wives, tired of a long campaign, faced the main forces of the Mongol-Tatars, ready for battle. But worse than fatigue was the lack of coordination in the actions of the Slavic princes. None of them wanted to give up the primacy, each aspired to gain the glory of a victor over an unprecedented enemy. May 31 (according to other sources June 16) 1223, without waiting for other princes, Mstislav Udaloy and Daniil Galitsky with their regiments and Polovtsy crossed the river and entered into battle with the Mongol-Tatars. The Polovtsian cavalry could not withstand the pressure of the enemy, rushed to flee in a disorderly manner and initiated the battle formations of the Galicians and Volynians. The regiments of Mstislav the Bold and Daniil Galitsky were defeated in front of the other princes. The victors surrounded the army of the Kiev prince Mstislav Romanovich on the right bank of the Kalka and stormed his camp for three days. Finally, the prince succumbed to the proposal of Jebe and Subudai to leave the camp and return home. Unimpeded retreat was guaranteed to the defeated. But military leaders did not make promises to keep them. Only the Kiev warriors left the camp, the Mongol-Tatars and pounced on them and killed many. The Tatar khans put the captured princes under the boards, sat down on them and, so full, strangled them. Of the participants in the campaign, a little every tenth returned to Russia, the rest died in the Ukrainian steppes. Pursuing the movement in, the Mongol-Tatars reached the Dnieper, devastated the southern outskirts of the Kiev land and, as unexpectedly as they appeared, disappeared.

After the death of Genghis Khan, the lands of the Mongol state were divided between his sons. The unconquered western expanses was received by the grandson of the great khan, the son of Jochi - Batu. In 1236 the Mongol-Tatars defeated the kingdom of the Volga Bulgars, and in the fall of the next year they began to conquer the Ryazan principality. Despite the heroic resistance of the population, the attackers captured and completely destroyed Ryazan, Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow, Pereyaslavl-Ryazan and other cities and hundreds of villages. Having passed the northeastern lands with fire and sword and did not reach Novgorod for 100 miles, the nomadic detachments turned south.

The defeat of the northeastern principalities did not teach the Russian to know anything. The princes continued to be at enmity with each other and did not even attempt to unite to repel an enemy attack. Everyone believed that his turn would not come, and if it did, he would sit outside the strong city walls. In the spring of 1239, the Mongol-Tatars invaded the border Ukrainian lands. The first blow was taken by the ancient Pereyaslav, an impregnable outpost of Ukraine on the southeastern border. Its courageous defenders, led by Bishop Simeon, were destroyed, and the city was captured and burned. The defenders of Chernigov also bravely defended themselves in October 1239. Prince Mstislav Glebovich managed to help the besieged with his retinue, but almost all of his soldiers died under the walls of the city. Mongol-Tatars broke into Chernigov, killed the inhabitants and burned down the buildings. From Chernigov Menguhan sent a messenger to the Kiev prince with a demand to surrender the city, and he himself with the entire horde moved down along the Desna. Ordering to kill the messenger, Prince Michael left Kiev and fled to Hungary. However, Menguhan did not dare to storm the strongest fortress in Russia and led his troops to the south. At the end of the year, the Mongol-Tatar cavalry, following the defeated Polovtsy, broke into the Crimea and took possession of almost the entire peninsula.

1240 began with attacks of the Mongol-Tatars on the still not destroyed southern Ukrainian cities. Prince Horus falls one after another. Vitich, Belgorod, Vasiliev and other fortresses of the Kiev land, which replaced the capital from the south.

In the fall of 1240, almost the entire army of Khan Baty surrounded Kiev. The creak of carts, the roar of cattle, the neighing of horses and human noise drowned out the voices of the alarmed Kievites. Having placed wooden vices (machine guns), the attackers beat them day and night into the walls and stormed the fortress walls. In about four weeks, they managed to make a gap in the wall at the Lyadsky Gate (modern Maidan Nezalezhnosti) and seize part of the rampart. But help arrived and, after a fierce battle, rejected the Tatars. The next day, the defenders occupied the fortifications of the "city of Vladimir" and prepared for the defense. But the Tatars broke through into Kiev near the Sofia Gate and, destroying everyone in a row, rushed to the princely palaces on Starokievskaya Hill. The defenders of the city, led by voivode Dmitry, overnight put in front of Church of the Tithes a fence made of logs pointed at the top. Here the last page of the defense of the "mother of Russian cities" was cut off. On the morning of December 6, the last defenders of Kiev were killed by arrows and sabers of the Mongol-Tatars. Out of 50 thousand Kiev residents, only 2 thousand were saved, and only 200 of all buildings remained. Kiev lay in ruins and ashes, littered with thousands of corpses. After a short rest, the Mongol-Tatar detachments moved westward, destroying cities and villages on their way. The population of Ukraine courageously defended their homes, property and their lives. The defenders of Vyshgorod, Belgorod, Vladimir and many other cities and settlements showed fierce resistance to the invaders. Unheard of heroism was shown by the defenders of the small settlement of Raiki in the Zhytomyr region. For a long time they repelled the assaults of the Tatars, and even when they broke into the settlement, they continued to fight them in the streets and in houses. Almost the entire territory of the settlement was strewn with the corpses of men, women and children.

But scattered islands of popular resistance could not save Ukraine, and in 1241 it was conquered by the Mongol-Tatars for a long time. Then came the turn of the enslavement of other European countries, in particular Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia. Having stumbled upon the heroic resistance of the southern Slavs, the weakened army of the Mongol-Tatars retreated to the east in 1242. In the lower reaches of the Volga, the Mongol-Tatars formed their own state - the Golden Horde with the capital in Sarai.

With the loss of political independence, a new stage began in the history of Ukraine. The forms of political power, the alignment of social forces, the socio-economic situation of the population, foreign policy relations have changed, and the adaptation of all forms of life to new conditions of existence has begun. The Golden Horde khans were in control inner life, tried to prevent the revival of a single state. To do this, they kindled enmity between the local princes and did not allow anyone to strengthen. Kiev and the Kiev land were first transferred to the jurisdiction of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes, and then to the authority of the khan's governors. Although the Kiev prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich returned to Kiev, he lived outside the city, on an island, and in 1246 he was killed in Sarai. The Kiev land was decapitated, the princely families did not claim the highest power. The Pereyaslavl principality ceased to exist altogether as a separate territorial-political association. Chernigov with the lands went to the Bryansk principality. Constant predatory raids of the Mongol-Tatar rulers left-bank Ukrainian lands were accompanied by the destruction of people, decline Agriculture and crafts. Representatives of local princely families in the second half of the XIII century. did not dare to armed confrontation with the powerful empire.