home For men Creation of a single centralized state. Prerequisites and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state

Creation of a single centralized state. Prerequisites and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state

Reasons and prerequisites for the formation of a centralized state.

At the end of the 13th century. the formation of a centralized state begins. This process actually continued until the 15th century. Feature The unification process was that the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion delayed the economic development of Russian lands and contributed to the preservation of feudal fragmentation. Political centralization significantly outpaced the beginning of overcoming economic disunity and was accelerated by the struggle for national independence.

One of the prerequisites for centralization was the approximate synchronicity in the development of all principalities.

Reasons the formation of a centralized state was the growth and development of feudal land ownership, and the absorption of the peasant community by the feudal lords (the feudal lords were interested in creating a centralized apparatus of power to suppress the resistance of the peasants); the rise of cities (city residents were interested in eliminating feudal fragmentation, which impeded free trade); princely strife devastated peasant lands, so the peasants were also interested in stabilizing power.

In addition, the patrimonial owners (boyars) were interested in the unity of the country, since, for example, they did not have the right to buy land outside the borders of their principality.

Stages of formation of a centralized state.

Conventionally, the process of formation of a centralized state can be divided into three periods:

1) The end of the XIII - first half of the XIV centuries - the movement of the economic center to the North-East; strengthening of the Moscow and Tver principalities, the struggle between them; growth of the territory of the Moscow Principality, its victory over Tver.

2) II half of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries - defeat by Moscow in the 60-70s. its main rivals and the transition from the assertion of political supremacy to the state unification of Russian lands around Moscow. Moscow's organization of a nationwide struggle to overthrow the Horde yoke. The feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century was the defeat of a coalition of appanage princes who tried to defend the independence of their principalities.

3) Second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries. - subordination of Novgorod to Moscow; completion of the unification of lands around Moscow; elimination of the Mongol-Tatar yoke; registration of statehood.

The fight between Moscow and Tver.

At the end of the 13th century. center economic life moves to the Northeast. About 14 principalities arose here, of which the most significant were: Suzdal, Gorodets, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl, Tver and Moscow. However, most of them could not maintain their political independence for long and were forced to submit, one way or another, to a stronger neighbor.

The main rivals at the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV centuries. become Moscow and Tver.

The founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. Daniel (1271-1303). The Tver principality in 1247 was received by the younger brother of Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Yaroslavich.

At the first stage, both principalities fought to increase their territories.

Alexander Nevsky allocated the Moscow principality to his youngest son when Daniil was only two years old, so until 1271 the principality was ruled by the governors of the Grand Duke of Vladimir. From the beginning of the 80s, Daniil began to actively participate in the struggle of his brothers (princes Dmitry Pereyaslavsky and Andrei Gorodetsky) for the reign of Vladimir. In 1301, Daniel captured Kolomna from the Ryazan princes; in 1302, according to the will of the childless" Pereyaslavl prince Ivan Dmitrievich, who was at enmity with Tver, the Pereyaslavl principality passed to him; in 1303, Mozhaisk was annexed. Thus, in the interfluve of the Oka and Volga, the Moscow principality was formed, which included four cities, each of which had its own fortress-kremlin. In Moscow itself, two fortified monasteries were built - Epiphany, next to the Kremlin, and Danilov (founded in 1298) - in the south, on the road along which the Tatars most often approached the city. g., before his death, Prince Daniil became a monk at the Donskoy Monastery.

After the death of Daniel, the Principality of Moscow passes to his eldest son, Yuri (1303-1325), who, after the death of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Yaroslavich, enters the struggle for the grand-ducal throne.

In 1304, Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver received a label from the Horde for a great reign.

In 1315, Yuri Danilovich went to the Horde. Having married the sister of Uzbek Khan, Konchak (Agafya), and promising to increase the tribute from Russian lands, he finally received the label for the great reign. But the Tver prince did not obey the khan’s decision and started a war against Yuri. In December 1318, in a battle near the village of Borteneva, Mikhail defeated Yuri’s squad and captured his wife. Agafya died in captivity, and Yuri blamed Mikhail for her death. The Tver prince was summoned to the Horde and killed. The Moscow prince received the label for the great reign in 1319.

But in 1325, Yuri Danilovich was killed in the Horde by the Tver prince Dmitry Mikhailovich. Khan executed Dmitry, but the label was again transferred to Tver (Prince Alexander Mikhailovich).

Ivan Kalita.

The youngest son of Daniil Alexandrovich, Ivan Kalita (1325-1341), becomes the Prince of Moscow.

In 1326, Metropolitan Peter moved his residence from Vladimir to Moscow. It was officially moved under Theognostus in 1328. In 1327, an uprising against the Horde broke out in Tver. The Tatar took the horse from the local deacon, and he called on his fellow countrymen for help. People came running and rushed at the Tatars. Baskak Chol Khan and his entourage took refuge in the princely palace, but it was set on fire along with the Horde. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich initially tried to dissuade the townspeople from the uprising, but in the end he was forced to join them.

Ivan Danilovich, together with the Horde troops, came to Tver and suppressed the uprising. The Tver prince fled to Pskov, but Metropolitan Theognost, an ally of Kalita, cursed the Pskovites and excommunicated them. Alexander Mikhailovich had to flee to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Having defeated the uprising in Tver, Ivan Kalita in 1328 received the label for the Great Reign of Vladimir. In addition, he receives the right to collect tribute 6 Russian principalities and delivering it to the Horde.

Under Ivan Kalita, the boundaries of the Moscow Principality expanded significantly; The Galich, Uglich, and Beloozersk principalities submitted to him. Active construction is underway - four stone churches are being built in the Moscow Kremlin: the Assumption Cathedral (1326), the Church of Ivan Climacus (1329), the Church of the Savior on the Bor (1330), the Archangel Cathedral (1333).

Historians have different assessments of the role of Ivan Kalita in the formation of a centralized state. Some believe that Ivan Kalita did not set himself any major state goals, but pursued only selfish goals of enriching himself and strengthening his personal power. Others, on the contrary, believe that he sought to make the Moscow principality not “just one of the largest in Rus', but a center for the unification of lands. Ivan Kalita died on March 31, 1341.

Semyon Proud.

After his death, Semyon the Proud (1341-1353) becomes the Grand Duke. During this period of time, four great principalities were active on the political scene in North-Eastern Rus': Moscow, Tver, Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan. From the mid-40s, a long internecine struggle began in the Tver Principality, which was skillfully supported by Moscow. At the same time, the Moscow princes have to put up with the loss of the Nizhny Novgorod territories, which in 1341 Uzbek Khan transferred from the Grand Duchy of Vladimir to the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Principality. The conflict with Ryazan over Lopasny also did not continue. Relations with Novgorod became complicated - they were only able to be established under Ivan the Red. Tensions are growing in relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1353-1357 there was a plague epidemic in Moscow, from which Metropolitan Theognost died in March 1353, and later Semyon the Proud. His heir was his brother, Ivan the Red (1353-1359). Under the sons of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow principality included the Dmitrov, Kostroma, Starodub principalities and the Kaluga region. At the same time, the independence of most Russian lands is increasing.

The second stage of the creation of a centralized state begins in the second half of the 14th century.

Dmitry Donskoy.

After the death of Ivan Ivanovich the Red in 1359, his son, nine-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich, became the prince of Moscow. Taking advantage of his early childhood, Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod tried to obtain a label from the Horde for the Great Reign. However, Metropolitan Alexei and the Moscow boyars achieved in 1362 the transfer of the label to Dmitry Ivanovich. Soon, in 1363, Dmitry Konstantinovich again received the label, but this time his great reign lasted only 12 days - the Moscow army ravaged the outskirts of Vladimir, and the prince himself was expelled. In 1366, he renounced his claims to the Grand Duke's throne, and even married his daughter Evdokia to Dmitry Ivanovich.

In 1367, the construction of the stone Kremlin in Moscow began.

Tver remained a serious rival of Moscow. Based on an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich attacked Moscow several times. Having failed to subjugate the Muscovites by force, he turned to the Horde and in 1371 received a label for the Great Reign. But the residents of Vladimir did not let Mikhail in. In 1375, Mikhail again received the label, but Dmitry refused to recognize him. Dmitry was supported by Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and even Novgorod, and the residents of Tver themselves, after a three-day siege of the city by Moscow regiments, demanded that their prince renounce his claims to the Grand Duke's throne. The peace of Tver and Moscow in 1375 lasted until 1383.

The struggle for the Grand Duke's throne showed a new balance of forces - the Horde increasingly supported the opponents of Moscow, but itself had already weakened (from the late 50s, fragmentation began in the Horde) and was unable to provide active support to its proteges. In addition, the very appeal to the Horde compromised the princes. On the other hand, the Moscow princes already enjoy significant authority and support from other Russian lands.

It was at this moment that the policy of the Moscow princes towards the Horde changed. If earlier the Moscow princes were somehow forced to maintain peaceful relations with the Horde, now they are leading an all-Russian campaign against the Mongol-Tatars. This began in 1374 at the congress of princes in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

Having united his allies, Prince Dmitry won his first major victory over the Mongol-Tatars - in 1380 on the Kulikovo Field. And although after some time it will be necessary to resume paying tribute to the Horde, the prestige of the Moscow princes increases significantly.

In 1389, Dmitry Donskoy, drawing up his will, transferred the Vladimir Grand Duke's throne to his eldest son as the “patrimony” of the Moscow princes, without mentioning the label. Thus, the territory of the Vladimir and Moscow principalities merged.

Vasily I (1389-1425) continued his father's policies. In 1392, he bought a label for the Nizhny Novgorod principality, and then annexed Murom, Tarusa and Gorodets to Moscow. The annexation of these lands made it possible to create an all-Russian border defense system. But the attempt to annex the Dvina land ended in failure.

After the death of Vasily I, the ten-year-old son of Vasily I, Vasily, and the younger brother of Vasily I, Yuri Dmitrievich, became contenders for the grand-ducal throne.

According to the will of Dmitry Donskoy, after the death of Vasily, the Grand Duke's throne was supposed to pass to Yuri, but it was not stipulated that this order would continue after the birth of Vasily's son. The guardian of young Vasily was the father of Vasily I's wife Grand Duke Lithuanian Vitovt, therefore Yuri recognized his nephew as “eldest brother” and Grand Duke. But in 1430 Vytautas died, and Yuri opposed Vasily. In 1433 and 1434 he captured Moscow, but could not stay there. After the death of Yuri (June 5, 1434), the fight was continued by his sons: Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. In 1445, the Kazan Khan Ulu-Mukhammed captured Vasily II, and Shemyak seized power. Soon, however, Vasily returned, promising a ransom to the khan. In February 1446, Shemyaka again seized power in Moscow. The arrested Vasily II was blinded and sent into exile in Uglich. In September, Vasily swore that he would not strive for the Grand Duke's throne and became an appanage prince in Vologda.

But Shemyak aroused discontent among Muscovites: the Moscow boyars were pushed aside by Shemyakin’s entourage; when the independence of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality was restored, the estates seized or purchased by Moscow boyars were returned to local feudal lords; collection of funds continued to pay the ransom to the Kazan Khan. Vasily the Dark was supported not only by the boyars close to him, but also by the Tver Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich (this union was sealed by the betrothal of Vasily II's six-year-old son Ivan and the four-year-old Tver princess Marya).

At the end of 1446 Shemyaka was expelled from Moscow, but the feudal war continued until his death (1453).

In 1456, Vasily the Dark defeated the Novgorod troops and in Yazhelbitsy concluded an agreement with Novgorod, according to which the power of the prince was strengthened in Novgorod (he, and not the veche, was now the highest court). Novgorod lost the right to foreign relations; paid a large indemnity and pledged not to provide support to Moscow’s opponents. The cities of Bezhetsky Verkh, Volok Lamsky, and Vologda were assigned to Moscow.

Feudal War of the Second QuarterXVV.

After the death of Vasily the Dark, his son Ivan III (1462-1505) becomes the Grand Duke. Under him, the Yaroslavl (1463-1468) and Rostov (1474) principalities lost their independence.

The struggle between Moscow and Novgorod.

But the main task remained the fight against Novgorod.

After the defeat of the Novgorodians on the Shelon River, inflicted by the troops of Ivan III (July 14, 1471), and the execution of Dmitry Boretsky, there was a further reduction in the independence of Novgorod - the Grand Duke acquired control over the judicial activities of the Novgorod authorities.

November 23, 1475 Ivan III enters Novgorod for “trial.” As a result, many boyars were arrested, some of them were sent to Moscow.

In 1477, some of Moscow's supporters were killed at a veche in Novgorod. As a result, a new campaign against Novgorod was undertaken. In January 1478, the Novgorod authorities capitulated. The veche was cancelled, the veche bell was taken to Moscow. Instead of mayors and thousanders, Moscow governors began to govern the city. The confiscation of boyar lands began.

In 1480, after standing on the Ugra River, the yoke of the Mongol-Tatars was finally overthrown.

In September 1485, Tver was annexed. On September 8, Moscow troops approached Tver. On the night of September 11-12, Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania. On September 15, Ivan III and his son Ivan solemnly entered Tver.

Completion of land consolidation. Formation of statehood.

The annexation of Tver meant the creation of a single state. It was from this moment that Ivan III titled himself the sovereign of all Rus'.

In 1489 the Vyatka land was annexed.

After the death in 1490 of the son of Ivan III from the Tver princess Maria Borisovna, Ivan was left with a six-year-old grandson, Dmitry Ivanovich; on the other hand, from his marriage with the niece of the Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleologus 1, he had a ten-year-old son, Vasily.

At the end of the 90s. A struggle for power unfolds between these two contenders for the throne, with Ivan III himself first supporting his grandson (crowned in 1498), then his son (crowned in 1502).

In October 1505, Ivan III died and Vasily III (1505-1533) became Grand Duke. Under him, Pskov was annexed in 1510, and Ryazan in 1521. In 1514, Smolensk, conquered from Lithuania, was included in the Moscow lands.

In addition, the size of appanages and the rights of appanage princes were being reduced: escheated appanages were to go to the Grand Duke, and the court in the Moscow villages of appanage princes was to be carried out by the viceroy of the Grand Duke. The brothers of the Grand Duke were forbidden to mint their own coins, trade in Moscow, and even enter Moscow unnecessarily.

After twenty years of fruitless marriage with Solomonia Saburova, in 1526 Vasily divorced her (Solomonia was forcibly tonsured a nun) and

marries Elena Glinskaya. From this marriage, in August 1530, Elena gave birth to a son, Ivan, and later, Yuri.

In December 1533, Vasily III died.

Social and political structure of the new state.

So, by the first quarter of the 16th century. the process of creating a centralized state is almost complete, although many remnants of feudal fragmentation will still persist for quite a long time.

The state is formed in the form monarchy with strong Grand Ducal power. The Grand Duke already systematically used the title “sovereign” (from 1485 Ivan III began to be called the sovereign of all Russia), and the features of an autocrat appeared in his power.

The advisory body under the Grand Duke was the Boyar Duma. The Duma included about 24 people (Duma officials - boyars and okolnichy). In the 16th century Duma boyars will begin to favor princes (which actually lowered the status of princes and deprived them of the remnants of independence).

The organization of public administration was based on the principles of the inseparability of judicial and administrative powers. Functional management bodies have only just begun to take shape.

Until the middle of the 16th century. Two national departments emerged and operated: the Palace and the Treasury.

The palace, headed by the dvorsky (butler), was in charge of the personal lands of the Grand Duke. Subordinate to him were “servants under the court” (good boyars), who managed the “paths” - individual branches of the princely economy (stables, stewards, chashniki, hunters, falconers, etc.). Over time, the functions of the butlers became broader: they considered litigation about land ownership, judged the population of some counties, were in charge of collecting taxes, etc. As new lands were annexed to Moscow, local “palaces” were created to manage them (Dmitrovsky, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Ryazan, Tverskoy, Uglitsky).

Another department - the Treasury - was in charge not only of financial affairs, but also of the state archive and state seal. Since 1467, the positions of state clerk and clerks in charge of office work appeared.

With the increase in the functions of public administration, the need arose to create special institutions that would manage military, foreign, judicial and other affairs. Inside the Grand Palace and the Treasury, special departments began to form - “tables” managed by clerks. Later they developed into orders. The first mention of orders dates back to 1512. Some historians believe that they arose somewhat earlier and by the time of the death of Vasily III there were already about 20 orders. According to others, the order system began to take shape only in the middle of the 16th century.

There was no clear division of functions in the state apparatus. There was no clear administrative-territorial division. The country was divided into

counties, and those, in turn, into camps and volosts. The districts were governed by governors, and the camps and volosts were governed by volostels. These positions were given, as a rule, for previous military service and there was no strict order in these appointments.

Speaking about the structure of local government, historians express almost opposite points of view on a number of issues. For example, some argue that “feeding” was given for a limited time, others - that it was a lifelong hold. Some believe that the “breadwinner’s income” (part of the taxes collected) and the “judgment” (court fees) were remuneration for judicial-administrative activities, while others believe that this remuneration was not for the performance of administrative and judicial duties, but for previous service in troops, etc.

In order to centralize and unify the procedure for judicial and administrative activities throughout the state, in 1497 the Code of Laws 1 was drawn up, which established uniform norms of tax liability and the procedure for conducting investigations and trials. In addition, in the Code of Laws in general outline the competence of individual officials was determined.

The strengthening of centralized power also contributed to changes social structure of society.

If at the beginning of the formation of a centralized state there was a complex system of feudal vassalage, and the immune rights of feudal lords developed, then gradually the independence of individual landowners is reduced. The Grand Duke becomes not just the head of the hierarchy - he is considered “father in place.” The number of appanage princes has been reduced, and their rights have been significantly curtailed. Princely land holdings are approaching patrimonial ones. The “conquest of the princes” begins; “departure” is prohibited.

The independence of the boyars is significantly limited. In the 15th century The boyars lost the right of free passage. Now they were obliged to serve not the appanage princes, but the Grand Duke of Moscow, and they swore allegiance to him in this. He, in turn, had the right to take away the boyar estates, impose disgraces, and deprive them of property and life.

In the 15th century a layer of “service princes” also appears, who went into the service of the Moscow prince (from the Lithuanian). Gradually, the number of service people increases significantly. They became the force on which the central government relies in the fight against local separatism. Receiving

land on the terms of service in favor of the Grand Duke, service people - landowners - were more interested in stable grand-ducal power than all other social groups.

Local land ownership was given to service people under certain conditions (administrative control or military service) for a certain period. The main difference was that the estates were forbidden to be sold or given away, they were not inherited and formally belonged to the Grand Duke.

Another large category of feudal lords are church lords. Large church landholdings are attracting increasing attention from the grand ducal authorities, who are seeking to find a way to take away the church’s lands. A confrontation is brewing between church and state. It is expressed in the support of “heresies” by the secular authorities and active intervention in the struggle of non-possessors and Josephites.

As for the feudal-dependent population, the position of its various categories is gradually getting closer - in the 14th century. a single term appeared for everyone - “peasants”.

According to the degree of involvement in feudal dependence, peasants can be divided into black moss(the feudal lord in relation to them, according to most historians, was the state) and privately owned: a) living in the estate of a prince or boyar or on church and monastery lands; b) belonging to the Grand Duke personally.

Article 57 of the Code of Law of 1497 limited the right of a peasant to transfer from one feudal lord to another a week before and a week after the autumn St. George's Day (November 26); for care, the peasant had to pay “elderly”: a ruble in the steppe and half a ruble in forest areas (a quarter of this amount for each year lived). Some historians believe that the “elderly” was payment for the use of real estate (house) on land owned by the feudal lord. Others believe that this was a kind of compensation for the loss of an employee.

The social structure of the urban population was determined both by the existing mode of production in general and by the specific occupation of the townspeople. In the structure of cities, “white” settlements began to form, the population of which was in personal feudal dependence on secular or spiritual feudal lords and did not pay city taxes. Personally, the free population, who paid the tax, lived on the black lands (black hundreds 1). The top of the urban population were merchants and urban feudal lords.

Formation of the Russian centralized state (second half of the XV - first half of the XVI)

Reasons and features of the formation of a single state

The process of formation of the Russian centralized state began in the second half of the 13th century and ended at the beginning of the 16th century.

Certain economic, social, political and spiritual prerequisites led to the formation of the Russian centralized state:

· the main economic reason is the further development of feudal relations “in breadth” and “in depth” - the emergence, along with fiefdoms, of conditional feudal land ownership, which was accompanied by increased feudal exploitation and aggravation of social contradictions. The feudal lords needed a strong centralized power that could keep the peasants in obedience and limit the feudal rights and privileges of the patrimonial boyars.

· the internal political reason is the rise and growth of the political influence of several feudal centers: Moscow, Tver, Suzdal. There is a process of strengthening of princely power, seeking to subjugate appanage princes and boyars - patrimonial lords. · the foreign policy reason was the need to confront the Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

1. The absence in Rus' of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for folding single state. Since, in Western Europe:

· seigneurial relations prevailed

· personal dependence of peasants was weakened

· cities and the third estate grew stronger

· state-feudal forms prevailed

· relations of personal dependence of peasants on feudal lords were just emerging

· cities were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility.

2. The leading role in the formation of the state is the foreign policy factor.

3. East style political activity.

Stages of political unification in Rus'

Stage 1 (1301-1389).

The rise of Moscow (late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the 13th century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former significance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

Stage 2 (1389-1462).

Moscow is the center of the fight against the Mongol-Tatars (second half of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries). The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Gordom (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). This would inevitably lead to a clash with the Tatars.

Stage 3 (second quarter of the 15th century)

Feudal War - 1431-1453 Civil war of the second quarter of the 15th century. The feuds, called the feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century, began after the death of Vasily I. By the end of the 14th century. In the Moscow principality, several appanage estates were formed, belonging to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. The largest of them were Galitskoye and Zvenigorodskoye, which were received by the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri. After the death of the Grand Duke, Yuri, as the eldest in the princely family, began the struggle for the Grand Duke's throne with his nephew, Vasily II (1425-1462). After the death of Yuri, the fight was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The fight followed all the “rules of the Middle Ages”, i.e. Blinding, poisoning, deception, and conspiracies were used. The feudal war ended with the victory of the forces of centralization. By the end of the reign of Vasily II, the possessions of the Moscow principality increased 30 times compared to the beginning of the 14th century. The Moscow Principality included Murom (1343), Nizhny Novgorod(1393) and a number of lands on the outskirts of Rus'.

Stage 4 (1462-1533).

The process of completing the formation of the Russian state occurred during the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Vasily III (1505-1533).

On March 28, 1462, Moscow welcomed its new ruler - Ivan III Ivan. III - (1440-1505) Grand Duke of Moscow, son of Vasily II and Princess Maria Yaroslavovna. Opens the era of Muscovite Rus', which lasted until Peter I moved the capital to St. Petersburg. A troubled childhood taught the future Grand Duke a lot. He was ten years old when his blind father appointed him as his co-ruler. It was Ivan III who completed the two-century process of unifying Russian lands and overthrowing the Golden Horde yoke.

Ivan III pursued a consistent policy of unifying Russian lands around Moscow and was in fact the creator of the Moscow state. He inherited from his father the Principality of Moscow with a territory of 4,000 thousand km, and left a huge power to his son: its area increased 6 times and amounted to more than 2.5 million square meters. km. The population was 2-3 million people.

Under him, the Grand Duchy of Yaroslavl (1463) and Rostov (1474), which had already lost their real political power, were relatively easily annexed to Moscow. Things related to the annexation of a strong and independent Novgorod were more complicated. It took Ivan III seven long years during which, with the help of military and diplomatic measures, Veliky Novgorod lost its independence. In Novgorod there was a struggle between pro-Moscow and anti-Moscow parties. The Boretskys intensified their activities and led activities aimed against the strengthening of the pro-Moscow party. The Boretsky party pursued a policy aimed at bringing Novgorod closer to Lithuania. Ivan 3 in July 1471 went to war against the traitors. The Novgorod land was devastated and destroyed. The Moscow army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Novgorodians on the river. Shelon. According to the Treaty of Korostyn, signed on August 11, 1471, Novgorod recognized itself as the fatherland of the Moscow prince. From the document “And for the king and for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, whoever the king or grand duke in Lithuania is, from you, from the great princes, we, your fatherland Veliky Novgorod, are a free husband, not to give in to any cunning, but to be from you, from great princes, unrelenting to anyone." Thus, the first step was taken aimed at eliminating the republic. The final, main blow to Novgorod was dealt by the campaign of 1478, as a result of which the Novgorod boyar republic ceased to exist. The veche system was liquidated, the bell, as a symbol of freedom, was taken to Moscow.

In 1485, Ivan III annexed another long-time enemy and rival of Moscow - Tver. Thus, Ivan III was able to unite North-Eastern and North-Western Rus'. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to Moscow.

As an independent sovereign, Ivan III began to behave towards the Tatars. Even by the beginning of the reign of Ivan III Golden Horde has already split into several uluses. As it lost strength, Rus', on the contrary, strengthened its power. In 1476, Ivan III refused to pay them an annual tribute and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan, an enemy of the Golden Horde. Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat, who considered himself the successor to the khans of the Golden Horde that had disintegrated by this time, watched with alarm the strengthening of Moscow. In 1480, he gathered an army and moved to Rus', trying to restore the shaky power of the Horde. In the autumn, the army of Khan Akhmat approached the Ugra River, but on the opposite bank there was a large Moscow army. Khan Akhmat did not dare to enter the battle and, after standing for two months, returned to the Nogai steppes, where he died in a skirmish with the Siberian Tatars. “Standing on the Ugra” ended the hated Horde yoke. The Russian state regained its independence. End information Tatar yoke contained in the Second Sophia Chronicle. "In 1480. The news came to the Grand Duke that King Akhmat was definitely coming (against him) with his entire horde - with princes, lancers and princes, as well as with King Casimir in the general Duma; king and led the king against the Grand Duke, wanting to ruin the Christians...

The Grand Duke took the blessing and went to the Ugra... The Tsar with all his Tatars walked across the Lithuanian land, past Mtsensk, Lyubutsk and Odoev and, having reached it, stood at Vorotynsk, expecting help from the king. The king himself did not go to him, nor did he send help, because he had his own affairs: at that time Mengli-Girey, the king of Perekop, was fighting the Volyn land, serving the Grand Duke...

And the Tatars were looking for roads where they could secretly cross (the river) and quickly go to Moscow. And they came to the Ugra River, near Kaluga, and wanted to ford it. But they were guarded and let the son of the Grand Duke know. The Grand Duke, the son of the Grand Duke, moved with his army and, having gone, stood on the bank of the Ugra River and did not allow the Tatars to cross to this side...

The king was afraid and ran away with the Tatars, because the Tatars were naked and barefoot, they were ragged... When the king arrived in the Horde, he was killed there by the Nogais..."

Ivan III himself played a significant role in overthrowing the yoke, who, in the difficult situation of 1480, showed prudence, reasonable restraint and diplomatic skill, which made it possible to unite Russian forces and leave Akhmat without allies.

In 1493, Ivan III was the first of the Moscow princes to call himself the sovereign of “all Rus',” openly laying claim to the lands of Lithuanian Rus'. Acting as a defender of the Orthodox faith and leading the movement for the creation of the Great Russian nation, Ivan III fought a series of successful wars with Lithuania, tearing away the Vekhi and Chernigov-Seversk principalities from it. Under the terms of the truce with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander (1503), 25 cities and 70 volosts went to Moscow. So, by the end of the reign of Ivan III, the bulk of the Russian lands were again gathered under the rule of the Moscow prince.

Thus, at the end of the 15th century, a powerful state arose in eastern Europe - Russia. According to Karl Marx, “amazed Europe, which at the beginning of Ivan’s reign barely noticed the existence of Muscovy, squeezed between the Tatars and Lithuanians, was amazed by the sudden appearance of a huge state on its eastern borders, and Sultan Bayazet himself, before whom all of Europe was in awe, heard arrogant speeches for the first time Moscovita."

Being a far-sighted politician, Ivan III intensified trade and diplomatic relations with the countries of Western Europe. Under Ivan III, diplomatic relations were established with Germany, Venice, Denmark, Hungary and Turkey. This was facilitated by his second marriage to Sophia Paleologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Having become the head of a vast Orthodox power, Ivan III considered the Russian state as the successor to the Byzantine Empire. Moscow is beginning to be called the “third Rome”. It was at this time that the name “Russia” appeared.

Important symbolic and political significance was attached to the (second) marriage of Ivan III with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Fominichna Paleolog. “Sophia’s marriage to the Russian Grand Duke had the significance of transferring the inheritance rights of the descendants of the Paleologians to the grand-ducal house of Rus',” wrote the Russian historian N. Kostomarov. - But most important and significant was the internal change in the dignity of the Grand Duke, strongly felt and clearly visible in the actions of the slow Ivan Vasilyevich. The Grand Duke became an autocrat."

The Moscow Grand Duke's court under Ivan III acquired special pomp and splendor. Unprecedented construction has unfolded on the territory of the Kremlin. It was at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century that the Kremlin ensemble was formed, which amazes with its grandeur and monumentality.

In 1485, construction began on the new residence of the sovereign - the princely palace. Special attention was given to the fortress walls. Built during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, they fell into disrepair. During the years 1485-1495, the red brick walls and towers of the Kremlin rose, which still exist today.

During the reign of Vasily III foreign policy The Russian state also continued the traditions of its predecessor. Under him, Pskov (1510) and Ryazan (1521) were completely annexed. In addition, successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led to the annexation of the Seversk and Smolensk lands. This completes the process of gathering Russian lands around Moscow. In general, in contrast to the advanced countries of Western Europe, the formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the feudal method of economy, i.e. on a feudal basis. This allows us to understand why a bourgeois, democratic, civil society began to form in Europe, while in Russia serfdom, class, and inequality of citizens before the law will dominate for a long time.

In the second half of the 14th century. in northeastern Rus', the tendency towards land unification intensified. The center of unification was the Moscow principality, which separated from the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the 12th century.

Causes.

The role of unifying factors was played by: the weakening and collapse of the Golden Horde, the development of economic ties and trade, the formation of new cities and the strengthening of the social stratum of the nobility. A system developed in the Moscow Principality local relations: the nobles received land from the Grand Duke for their service and for the duration of their service. This made them dependent on the prince and strengthened his power. Also the reason for the merger was struggle for national independence.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

When talking about “centralization,” two processes should be kept in mind: the unification of Russian lands around a new center - Moscow and the creation of a centralized state apparatus, a new power structure in the Moscow state.

The state arose in the northeastern and northwestern lands of the former Kievan Rus; From the 13th century Moscow princes and the church begin to carry out widespread colonization of the Trans-Volga territories, new monasteries, fortresses and cities are formed, and the local population is conquered.

The formation of the state took place in a very short term, which was due to the presence of external danger in the form of the Golden Horde; internal structure the state was fragile; the state could at any moment disintegrate into separate principalities;

the creation of the state took place on a feudal basis; a feudal society began to form in Russia: serfdom, estates, etc.; in Western Europe, the formation of states took place on a capitalist basis, and bourgeois society began to form there.

Features of the process of state centralization And boiled down to the following: Byzantine and Eastern influence determined strong despotic tendencies in the structure and politics of power; the main support of autocratic power was not the union of cities with the nobility, but the local nobility; centralization was accompanied by the enslavement of the peasantry and increased class differentiation.

The formation of the Russian centralized state took place in several stages:

Stage 1. The Rise of Moscow(late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the 13th century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former significance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

The rise of Tver began after the death of Alexander Nevsky (1263). During last decades XIII century Tver acts as a political center and organizer of the struggle against Lithuania and the Tatars and tried to subjugate the most important political centers: Novgorod, Kostroma, Pereyaslavl, Nizhny Novgorod. But this desire encountered strong resistance from other principalities, and above all from Moscow.

The beginning of the rise of Moscow is associated with the name youngest son Alexander Nevsky - Daniel (1276 - 1303). Daniel inherited the small village of Moscow. In three years, the territory of Daniil’s possession tripled: Kolomna and Pereyaslavl joined Moscow. Moscow became a principality.

His son Yuri (1303 - 1325). entered into a struggle with the Tver prince for the Vladimir throne. A long and stubborn struggle for the title of Grand Duke began. Yuri's brother Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita, in 1327 in Tver, Ivan Kalita went to Tver with an army and suppressed the uprising. In gratitude, in 1327 the Tatars gave him a label for the Great Reign.

Stage 2. Moscow - the center of the fight against the Mongol-Tatars(second half of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries). The strengthening of Moscow continued under the children of Ivan Kalita - Simeon Gordom (1340-1353) and Ivan II the Red (1353-1359). During the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380. The Tatar army of Khan Mamai was defeated.

Stage 3. Completion of the formation of the Russian centralized state (end of the 10th - beginning of the 16th centuries). The unification of Russian lands was completed under the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy Ivan III (1462 - 1505) and Vasily III(1505 - 1533). Ivan III annexed the entire North-East of Rus' to Moscow: in 1463 - the Yaroslavl principality, in 1474 - the Rostov principality. After several campaigns in 1478, the independence of Novgorod was finally eliminated.

Under Ivan III, one of the most important events in Russian history took place - the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off (in 1480 after standing on the Ugra River).

13. Code of Law of 1497. General characteristics. Evolution of law.

Code of laws of 1497- a set of laws of the Russian state; a normative legal act created for the purpose of systematization existing standards rights.

A monument of Russian feudal law of the 15th century, created during the reign of Ivan III. Compilation of the Code of Laws long time was attributed to clerk Vladimir Gusev, however, according to L.V. Cherepnin, supported by other historians, there was a typo in the original document and it was about the execution of the mentioned Gusev. According to the same Cherepnin, the most likely compilers of the Code of Law were Prince I. Yu. Patrikeev, as well as clerks: Vasily Dolmatov, Vasily Zhuk, Fyodor Kuritsyn.

Prerequisites for the adoption of the Law Code:

1. extension of the power of the Grand Duke to the entire territory of the centralized state;

2. destruction of the legal sovereignty of individual lands, destinies and regions;

3. the presence of central management and court in the absence of their formal consolidation.

Sources of the Code of Laws:

1. charter documents of local government;

2. Pskov Judicial Certificate;

3. customs, isolated cases (precedents), judicial practice;

4. Russian Truth.

Features of the Law Code of 1497:

1. the legislation of the veche is equated to the acts of the “Grassroots State”;

2. the text of the Code of Law is an amended Pskov Judicial Charter;

3. The Sudebnik is poorer than the Pskov Judicial Charter in terms of language, legal concept and editorial art.

System of the Grand Duke's Code of Law:

1. first part (Articles 1-36) – about the central court;

2. second (articles 37–44) – about the provincial court (viceroy);

3. third part (45–55 and 67–68 articles) – substantive law.

Procedural law was regulated in detail by the Code of Laws. The process is adversarial with elements of inquisition. Torture (for example, in Tatba cases) and written records of court proceedings appear as means of proof.

The trial was carried out with the participation of " the best people”, who were part of the court together with the grand ducal (royal) governor (analogous to the modern jury).

The process and procedural actions are paid, at the expense of the plaintiff.

The Sudebnik adopted the process as a whole from the Pskov Judicial Charter.

A higher (second) judicial authority appeared - the Boyar Duma and the Grand Duke (Tsar).

Material law according to the Code of Laws concerned real rights, inheritance rights, contracts, transfer of peasants, and servitude. The code of law allowed for the application of customary law.

Civil law: The Code of Law of 1497 establishes the procedure for the transition of peasants on St. George’s Day and during the week before and after this day, the transition is possible after payment of the elderly.

According to the Code of Laws of 1497, city key management appears - new source servility.

The slave received release if he escaped from Tatar captivity.

The Code of Law duplicates the contract law of the Pskov Judicial Charter, but expands the application of the personal rental agreement, and the purchase and sale must now be carried out only in the presence of witnesses.

The Code of Laws of 1497 regulated bankruptcy.

According to the Code of Laws, the following were distinguished: types of inheritance:

1. by law;

2. according to a will (“handwriting”).

Criminal law: crime began to be understood as a “dashing matter” (these are serious crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke).

The code of law of 1497 expanded the number of crimes new compounds:

1. sedition (state crime);

2. rise (anti-government agitation);

3. arson with the aim of causing great damage (terrorist act);

4. head theft (theft of slaves, theft of people in general, or theft leading to murder).

The Code of Justice introduces new penalties; now criminal law has become punitive. The death penalty and trade penalty (beating with sticks in a shopping area) are used; fines are a thing of the past.

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Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

The middle of the 15th century found the Russian lands and principalities in a state of political fragmentation. There were several strong centers towards which all other areas gravitated; Each of these centers pursued a completely independent internal policy and resisted all external enemies.

Such centers of power were Moscow, Novgorod the Great, Tver, as well as the Lithuanian capital - Vilna, which controlled the entire colossal Russian region, called “Lithuanian Rus”. A century and a half earlier, the dispersion political power and the strength was much greater: independent centers, actually independent states, on the same territory could be numbered in dozens.

Political games, civil strife, external wars, economic and geographical factors gradually subjugated the weak to the strong (primarily Moscow and Lithuania); the strongest acquired such influence and such power that they could lay claim to power over all of Russia.

The possibility of creating a unified state arose. The benefits of his education consisted primarily in the ability joint forces organize opposition to numerous external enemies: the Tatar khanates formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde, Lithuanians, Livonian knights and Swedes. In addition, internal civil wars would be impossible, and economic development would be facilitated by the introduction of uniform legislation.

In the last quarter of the 15th - early 16th centuries, a single all-Russian state was emerging, with a recognized political center - Moscow, governed by the Grand Duke of Moscow and the metropolitan administration subordinate to him, as well as local institutions in large Russian cities and counties subordinate to the central government.

Without forgetting the importance in the study of any era of the peculiarities of the manifestation of economic patterns, the work places emphasis on a thorough study of the socio-political institutions of power and management, their relations to various segments of the Russian population.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the reasons and conditions that contributed to the unification of Russian lands and principalities into a powerful power, which required a series of brutal, bloody wars, in which one of the rivals, in turn, had to crush the forces of all the others. This period was the most fateful in the history of Russia and influenced the final strengthening of the Moscow state. Also in the work, namely in its first part, we will reveal the reasons that contributed to the birth and strengthening of the Moscow state and give an assessment of the internal transformation, in particular the transformations in the sphere of the state and social system, as well as legal reform during the period of Ivan III.

To achieve these goals, it is necessary to solve the following problems:

Consider the reasons and features of the formation of a single state;

Study the stages of political unification in Rus';

To identify the specifics of the formation of a unified Russian state in the 15th - early 16th centuries;

Reveal the political system during the formation of the Russian centralized state;

Consider the sources of law in the Russian centralized state;

Analyze the socio-economic and political system of Russia at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries.

Chapter 1. Formation of the Russian centralized state (second half of the XV - first half of the XVI)

Rus' political state system

1.1 Reasons and features of the formation of a single state

The process of formation of the Russian centralized state began in the second half of the 13th century and ended at the beginning of the 16th century.

Certain economic, social, political and spiritual prerequisites led to the formation of the Russian centralized state:

The relevance of this topic is to reveal the development of feudal relations “in breadth” and “in depth” - the emergence, along with fiefdoms, of conditional feudal land ownership, which was accompanied by increased feudal exploitation and aggravation of social contradictions. The feudal lords needed a strong centralized power that could keep the peasants in obedience and limit the feudal rights and privileges of the patrimonial boyars;

The internal political reason is the rise and growth of the political influence of several feudal centers: Moscow, Tver, Suzdal. There is a process of strengthening of princely power, seeking to subjugate appanage princes and boyars - patrimonial lords;

The foreign policy reason was the need to confront the Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Features of the formation of the Russian centralized state:

1. The absence in Rus' of sufficient socio-economic prerequisites for the formation of a single state. Since, in Western Europe:

Seignorial relations prevailed

The personal dependence of peasants was weakened

The cities and the third estate grew stronger

2. In Rus':

State-feudal forms predominated

The relationship of personal dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords was just forming

Cities were in a subordinate position in relation to the feudal nobility.

3. The leading role in the formation of the state is the foreign policy factor.

4. Eastern style of political activity.

1.2 Stages of political unification in Rus'

Stage 1 (1301-1389).

In my work I wanted to express that the rise of Moscow (late XIII - early XIV centuries). By the end of the 13th century. the old cities of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir are losing their former significance. The new cities of Moscow and Tver are rising.

Stage 2 (1389-1462).

Stage 3 (second quarter of the 15th century)

Feudal War - 1431-1453 Civil war of the second quarter of the 15th century. The feuds, called the feudal war of the second quarter of the 15th century, began after the death of Vasily I. By the end of the 14th century. In the Moscow principality, several appanage estates were formed, belonging to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. The largest of them were Galitskoye and Zvenigorodskoye, which were received by the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri. After the death of the Grand Duke, Yuri, as the eldest in the princely family, began the struggle for the Grand Duke's throne with his nephew, Vasily II (1425-1462). After the death of Yuri, the fight was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. The fight followed all the “rules of the Middle Ages”, i.e. Blinding, poisoning, deception, and conspiracies were used. The feudal war ended with the victory of the forces of centralization. By the end of the reign of Vasily II, the possessions of the Moscow principality increased 30 times compared to the beginning of the 14th century. The Moscow Principality included Murom (1343), Nizhny Novgorod (1393) and a number of lands on the outskirts of Rus'.

Stage 4 (1462-1533).

The process of completing the formation of the Russian state occurred during the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and Vasily III (1505-1533).

Under him, the Grand Duchy of Yaroslavl (1463) and Rostov (1474), which had already lost their real political power, were relatively easily annexed to Moscow. Things related to the annexation of a strong and independent Novgorod were more complicated. It took Ivan III seven long years, during which, with the help of military and diplomatic measures, Veliky Novgorod lost its independence. In Novgorod there was a struggle between pro-Moscow and anti-Moscow parties. The Boretskys intensified their activities and led activities aimed against the strengthening of the pro-Moscow party. The Boretsky party pursued a policy aimed at bringing Novgorod closer to Lithuania. Ivan 3 in July 1471 went to war against the traitors. The Novgorod land was devastated and destroyed. The Moscow army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Novgorodians on the river. Shelon. According to the Treaty of Korostyn, signed on August 11, 1471, Novgorod recognized itself as the fatherland of the Moscow prince. From the document “And for the king and for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, whatever the king or grand duke in Lithuania may be, from you, from the great princes, we, your fatherland Veliky Novgorod, are free husbands, not to give in to any cunning, but to us being from you, from great princes, unrelenting to anyone." Thus, the first step was taken aimed at eliminating the republic. The final, main blow to Novgorod was dealt by the campaign of 1478, as a result of which the Novgorod boyar republic ceased to exist. The veche system was liquidated, the bell, as a symbol of freedom, was taken to Moscow.

In 1485, Ivan III annexed another long-time enemy and rival of Moscow - Tver. Thus, Ivan III was able to unite North-Eastern and North-Western Rus'. In 1489, Vyatka was annexed to Moscow.

As an independent sovereign, Ivan III began to behave towards the Tatars. Even by the beginning of the reign of Ivan III, the Golden Horde had already split into several uluses. As it lost strength, Rus', on the contrary, strengthened its power. In 1476, Ivan III refused to pay them an annual tribute and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan, an enemy of the Golden Horde. Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat, who considered himself the successor to the khans of the Golden Horde that had disintegrated by this time, watched with alarm the strengthening of Moscow. In 1480, he gathered an army and moved to Rus', trying to restore the shaky power of the Horde. In the autumn, the army of Khan Akhmat approached the Ugra River, but on the opposite bank there was a large Moscow army. Khan Akhmat did not dare to enter the battle and, after standing for two months, returned to the Nogai steppes, where he died in a skirmish with the Siberian Tatars. “Standing on the Ugra” ended the hated Horde yoke. The Russian state regained its independence. Information about the end of the Tatar yoke is contained in the “Second Sofia Chronicle”. "In 1480. The news came to the Grand Duke that King Akhmat was definitely coming (against him) with his entire horde - with princes, lancers and princes, as well as with King Casimir in the general Duma; the king and led the king against the Grand Duke, wanting to ruin the Christians.

The king was afraid and ran away with the Tatars, because the Tatars were naked and barefoot, and they were ragged. When the king arrived in the Horde, he was killed there by the Nogais..."

The equality of Ivan III with the first monarchs of Europe was emphasized by the appearance on the seal of the Russian sovereign of a double-headed eagle, crowned with two crowns. With this seal in 1497, Ivan III sealed the sovereign's letter of grant to his nephews, the Volotsk princes Fyodor and Ivan. The images placed on the seal of 1497 formed the basis of Russian state symbols. Its later interpretation is as follows: the first head of the eagle is turned to the east, the second - to the west, for it is impossible to survey such great expanses of the Russian state with one head. Another component of the coat of arms inherited from Byzantium was the horseman St. George the Victorious, striking a serpent with a spear - the enemies of the Fatherland. George the Victorious became the patron saint of the Moscow Grand Dukes and the city of Moscow. The symbol of supreme power became the Monomakh cap, a luxuriously decorated headdress of the ruler of the state. The foundations were laid for the cult of personality of the top leadership, which later became known as the tsar: special ceremonies of appearances to the people, meetings with ambassadors, signs of royal power. The Moscow Grand Duke's court under Ivan III acquired special pomp and splendor. Unprecedented construction has unfolded on the territory of the Kremlin. It was at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century that the Kremlin ensemble was formed, which amazes with its grandeur and monumentality. In 1485, construction began on the new residence of the sovereign - the princely palace. Particular attention was paid to the fortress walls. Built during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, they fell into disrepair. During the years 1485-1495, the red brick walls and towers of the Kremlin rose, which still exist today.

Vasily III (1479-1533) - Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus', was the eldest son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus. According to the marriage agreements, the children of the Grand Duke from the Greek princess could not occupy the Moscow throne. But Sophia Paleologue could not come to terms with this and continued to fight for power. With his second marriage he married Elena Glinskaya, the mother of Ivan the Terrible. He ascended the throne in 1505 and sought to continue his father’s traditions. Baron S. Herberstein visited the Russian state as an ambassador of the German Emperor. Subsequently, he created an extensive scientific work, in which he emphasized the desire of Vasily III to strengthen centralization. “The power he exercises over his subjects easily surpasses all the monarchs of the world. And he also finished what his father began, namely: he took away all their cities and fortifications from all the princes and other rulers. In any case, he does not even entrust fortresses to his own brothers, not trusting them. He oppresses everyone equally with cruel slavery, so that if he orders someone to be at his court or to go to war, or to rule some embassy, he is forced to do all this at his own expense. The exception is the young sons of boyars, that is, noble persons with more modest incomes; He usually accepts such persons, oppressed by their poverty, every year and supports them, assigning a salary, but not the same.” During the reign of Vasily III, the foreign policy of the Russian state also continued the traditions of its predecessor. Under him, Pskov (1510) and Ryazan (1521) were completely annexed. In addition, successful wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led to the annexation of the Seversk and Smolensk lands. This completes the process of gathering Russian lands around Moscow. In general, in contrast to the advanced countries of Western Europe, the formation of a single state in Russia took place under the complete dominance of the feudal method of economy, i.e. on a feudal basis. This allows us to understand why a bourgeois, democratic, civil society began to form in Europe, while in Russia serfdom, class, and inequality of citizens before the law will dominate for a long time.

1.3 Specifics of the formation of a unified Russian state in the 15th - early 16th centuries.

The unification of Russian lands and the final liberation from the Tatar yoke and general socio-economic changes occurring in the country led to the establishment of autocracy and created the preconditions for the transformation of the great Moscow reign into an estate-representative monarchy.

The supreme ruler of the state was the Moscow prince. He was the supreme owner of the land and had full judicial and executive power. Under the prince, there was a Boyar Duma, which included the most notable feudal lords and clergy. The Metropolitan and the Consecrated Cathedral, the meeting of the highest clergy, began to play a significant role in the state. National bodies appeared - the Palace and the Treasury. The butlers were in charge of the personal lands of the Grand Duke, sorted out land disputes, and judged the population. The treasury was in charge of state finances. The formation of central authorities - orders - began.

The palace order was in charge of the Grand Duke's own possessions, the ambassadorial order was in charge of external relations, the discharge order was in charge of military affairs, etc. Clerks and clerks were engaged in office work.

Under Ivan III, local government remained conservative. As before, it was based on the feeding system - one of the sources of enrichment for the upper classes at the expense of the population. “Feeders”, i.e. governors and volostels (governors of volosts) were supported by the local population - literally fed. Their powers were varied: rulers, judges, collectors of princely taxes. Princes, boyars, and former “free servants” of the Grand Duke had the right to receive feedings.

The institution of localism was important, according to the system of which all boyar families were distributed along the steps of the hierarchical ladder, and all their appointments (military and civilian) had to correspond to their birth.

For the first time after Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan III began to streamline legislation. In 1497, a new collection of laws was published - the Code of Laws. The new collection of laws established a unified procedure for judicial and administrative activities. Laws on land use, especially the law on St. George's Day, occupied an important place in the Code of Laws. In Rus' there was an old custom: in the fall, after harvesting, peasants could move from one owner to another. By the beginning of the 16th century. this custom took on the character of a disaster: the peasants left their master even before the harvest, and often the fields remained unharvested. The Code of Law of Ivan III limited the right of peasants to transfer from one owner to another to two weeks a year - before and after St. George's Day (November 26).

The formation of serfdom began in Rus'.

Serfdom is the dependence of the peasant on the feudal lord in personal, land, property, and legal relations, based on their attachment to the land.

This was still the period when they ruled in the old way, having all gathered together in harmony - conciliarly: all authoritative forces were involved in resolving the most important issues of the country - the Grand Duke himself, the Boyar Duma, the clergy. The Grand Duke was a strong and respected figure, but the attitude towards him was “simple”; in the eyes of the Russians he was only the eldest among equals.

Under Ivan III, important changes took place in the system of government: the process of establishing an unlimited monarchy began.

The reasons for the formation of an unlimited monarchy are Mongol and Byzantine influence.

Mongolian influence - by this time, the Mongol-Tatar yoke had lasted in Rus' for more than 200 years. Russian princes began to adopt the style of behavior of the Mongol khans, the model of the political structure of the Horde. In the Horde, the khan was an unlimited ruler.

Byzantine influence - the second marriage of Ivan III was married to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologus. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell under the blows of the Ottoman Turks. The emperor died on the streets of Constantinople defending the city. His niece Sophia found refuge with the Pope, who later had the idea to marry her to the widowed Russian ruler. The Byzantine princess brought the idea of absolute monarchy to distant Rus'.

Ivan III was the first of the Russian princes to pursue a policy of increasing the power of the Grand Duke. Before this, appanage princes and boyars were free servants. At their own request, they could serve the Moscow Grand Duke or go to serve in Lithuania and Poland. Now they began to swear allegiance to the Moscow prince and sign special oaths. From now on, the transfer of a boyar or prince to the service of another sovereign began to be considered as treason, a crime against the state. Ivan III was the first to take the title “Sovereign of All Rus'”. In 1497, Ivan III for the first time adopted the unofficial coat of arms of Byzantium as the coat of arms of the Moscow state - the double-headed eagle - a sacred religious symbol (By this time, the double-headed eagle in Byzantium symbolized the unity of spiritual and secular power). Under him, signs of grand-princely dignity were adopted: the “Monomakh cap”, which became a symbol of autocracy, precious mantles - barmas and a scepter. Under the influence of Sophia, a magnificent court ceremony according to the Byzantine model was introduced at the court of Ivan III.

Ideology of the times of Ivan III and Vasily III. At the end of the 15th century. A number of important events took place in Russian statehood:

The unification of Russian lands was basically completed;

In 1480, the Russian lands were freed from the Mongol-Tatar yoke;

Ivan III, in the Byzantine manner, began to call himself the title “Tsar”.

The historical process in Rus' was led by the Moscow princes. The Moscow princes rose rapidly. According to the ancient right of inheritance, they did not have the right to the first throne in Rus'. “In truth” the Tver princes should have owned the first throne. The Moscow princes, using a whole range of political means, “wrested” the right to all-Russian primacy from the Tver princes.

And now the moment had come when the Moscow princes needed to prove to everyone by what right they owned the Russian land.

In addition, Ivan III needed to establish himself among Western European monarchs. Russian state appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. suddenly for Western Europe. Large Western European states had already taken shape, the system of relationships between them had also already taken shape, the most important trade routes were already occupied.

To survive in these conditions, the huge Moscow state needed ideas, an ideology that would reflect the dominant position of the Moscow princes in Rus', the antiquity of the state, the truth of the Orthodox faith, the importance and necessity of the existence of Muscovy among other states. Such ideas appeared at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries.

Three ideas became the most important.

1. The idea of succession of power of the Moscow princes from the princes of Vladimir and Kyiv. Chronicles appeared in which it was stated that the Moscow princes received power over the Russian land from their ancestors - the Vladimir and Kyiv princes. After all, the head of the Russian Church - the Metropolitan - lived first in Kyiv, then in Vladimir (1299-1328) and Moscow (from 1328). Therefore, the Russian land was owned by the Kyiv, Vladimir, and then Moscow princes. This idea also emphasized the idea that the source of grand-ducal power is the will of the Lord himself. The Grand Duke is the deputy of the Lord - God on earth. The Lord God gave the Grand Duke the control of the Russian land. Therefore, the Russian sovereign bore personal responsibility before the Lord - God for the way he ruled the Russian land. Since it was handed over by the Lord himself - God, the Orthodox sovereign should not share his power (responsibility) with anyone. Any refusal of power is sacrilege.

2. The idea of kinship between Russian princes and Roman emperors. At this time, “The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir” appears. The “Tale” is based on two legends. One contained a statement that the family of Russian princes was connected with the king of “the whole universe” Augustus. In Rome from 27 BC. Octavian ruled. He managed to unite under his rule all the territories of the inhabited world. After this, the Roman state began to be called an empire, and Octavian was given the title “Augusta”, i.e. "divine". The Tale said that Augustus had a younger brother named Prus. Augustus sent Prus as ruler to the banks of the Vistula and Neman (This is how Prussia arose). And Prus had a descendant, Rurik. It was this Rurik that the Novgorodians called to reign in Novgorod (It should be noted that almost all Western European monarchs tried to connect their ancestry with the Roman emperors). Another legend said that in the 12th century. the heir to the Roman emperors, the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh, passed on to his grandson - to the prince of Kyiv Vladimir Monomakh - symbols of imperial power: a cross, a crown (in Rus' they began to call Monomakh's cap), the cup of Emperor Augustus and other objects. It followed that the Russian rulers (Monomashichi) had the legal right to the title “Caesar” (in Rus', tsar).

3. The idea of Moscow - as the keeper of the true Christian faith. This idea is better known as “Moscow - the third Rome”. This idea was formulated by the monk of the Pskov Eleazar Monastery Philotheus in his letters to Vasily III in 1510-1511. Monk Philotheus was sure that Moscow was called upon to play a special role in history. After all, it is the capital of the last state where the true Christian faith has been preserved in its original, unspoiled form. At first, Rome preserved the purity of the Christian faith. But the apostates muddied the pure source, and as punishment for this, in 476 Rome fell under the blows of the barbarians. Rome was replaced by Constantinople, but even there they abandoned the true faith, agreeing to a union (union) with Catholic Church. By the middle of the 15th century. The Byzantine Empire perished under the blows of the Ottoman Turks. Hoping for help from Western European powers, the Patriarch of Constantinople signed a union with the Pope in Florence in 1439. Under the terms of the union, the Orthodox recognized the primacy of the Pope over themselves, and not Orthodox Patriarch, switched to Catholic dogmas during worship, but Orthodox rituals were preserved. Before this, the power of the Patriarch of Constantinople had universal significance. It extended to Byzantium, Rus', Serbia, Georgia, and Bulgaria. The conclusion of a union with the Pope meant that the Greeks abandoned the universal mission of guardians Orthodox tradition which they took upon themselves. Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize the union and broke off relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Philotheus wrote that for apostasy from Orthodoxy - the true Christian faith - ancient Constantinople was captured by the Turks. Since then, Moscow has become the center of world Orthodoxy, the “third Rome” - the capital of the largest Orthodox state. “Watch and listen, for two Romes have fallen, and the third (Moscow) stands, but the fourth does not exist,” wrote Philotheus. Therefore, the role of Rus' in world history is to be the patroness of all Orthodox peoples.

1.4 The political system during the formation of the Russian centralized state

During the period of formation of a single centralized state, Rus' was an early feudal monarchy.

Signs of the presence of centralized power at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries: - the presence of central authorities throughout the territory of the Russian state;

Replacement of vassal relations with relations of citizenship;

Development of national legislation;

A unified organization of armed forces subordinate to the supreme authority.

Characteristic features of the political system of this period:

The concept of “tsar” appeared, which unites all other princes under his rule, all of them are vassals of the tsar (this was formed thanks to the experience of the Golden Horde);

Centralized management of the outskirts by the monarch's viceroys;

The term “autocracy” appears (i.e., a form of limited monarchy, the power of a single monarch is limited by the power of rulers, local princes; autocracy and absolutism are not identical);

Settled relations between the Grand Duke and the Boyar Duma are formed, localism is born (i.e., the appointment of persons to positions based on the merits of their parents), the Boyar Duma is of a formal nature, the relationship between the Tsar and the Duma develops according to the principle: the Tsar said - the boyars sentenced. Monarch in the XV-XVI centuries. - Grand Duke of Moscow.

Although his power has not yet acquired the features of absolute power, it has nevertheless expanded significantly. Already Ivan III in all documents calls himself the Grand Duke of Moscow.

The increase in the power of the Grand Duke occurred against the backdrop of restrictions on the rights of patrimonial owners. Thus, the right to collect tribute and taxes passed from the latter to government agencies. Secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords lost the right to trial for the most important criminal offenses - murder, robbery and red-handed theft. The political consolidation of the power of the Moscow prince is connected with:

With the marriage of Ivan III and the niece of the Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleologus (this strengthened the importance of the power of the Moscow Grand Dukes within the state and in Europe; the Moscow Grand Dukes began to be called “sovereigns of all Rus'”);

With the crowning of Ivan IV in 1547 (the title of Tsar appeared).

Boyars in the XV-XVI centuries. - people already close to the Grand Duke.

The Boyar Duma is the highest body of the state in the 15th-16th centuries.

Initially, the Duma was convened, but under Ivan IV it became a permanent body. The Boyar Duma included the so-called Duma ranks, i.e. introduced boyars and okolnichy. In the 16th century The Consecrated Cathedral began to participate in the meetings of the Duma.

Powers of the Boyar Duma:

Resolution, together with the prince, of all major issues of public administration, court, legislation, foreign policy;

Monitoring the activities of orders and local authorities;

Diplomatic activities of the state (negotiations with foreign ambassadors, sending Russian and foreign ambassadors, assigning their contents, sending sovereign letters to neighboring states);

- “administration of Moscow” (a special power of this body) is the management of the entire city economy during the absence of the sovereign.

Chapter 2. Development of law. Law books of 1497 and 1550

2.1 Sources of law in the Russian centralized state

As the main legislative act of the Moscow state of the 14th-15th centuries. Russian Truth continued to operate. A new edition of this law was created - the so-called Abbreviated from Prostransnaya, which adapted ancient Russian law to Moscow conditions. Customary law was also in effect. However, the development of feudal relations and the formation of a centralized state required the creation of new legislative acts. In order to centralize the state and subordinate the places of power of the Moscow prince, statutory charters of the viceroyal administration were issued, regulating the activities of feeders and limiting to some extent their arbitrariness. The earliest statutory charters were Dvinskaya (1397 or 1398) and Belozerskaya (1488). A monument of financial law is the Belozersk customs charter of 1497, which provided for a tax-farm procedure for collecting internal customs duties.

The largest legal monument of this period was the Sudebnik of 1497 (Diagram 11). He brought uniformity to judicial practice Russian state. The Code of Law also had another goal - to consolidate new social orders, in particular the promotion of small and medium-sized feudal lords - nobles and children of boyars. The Code of Law contains various norms, but its main content is the norms of criminal and criminal procedural law. The sources of the Code of Laws were the Russian Pravda, the Pskov Judicial Charter, and the current legislation of the Moscow princes.

Civil and family law. The Code of Law of 1497 contained mainly the norms of criminal procedural law. Issues of civil law are regulated here less fully than in “Russian Pravda” or the Pskov Judicial Charter.

Ownership. The development of land relations was characterized by the complete or almost complete disappearance of independent communal ownership of land. Communal lands passed into the hands of patrimonial owners and landowners and were included in the princely domain. The votchina was distinguished by the fact that the owner had almost unlimited rights to it. He could not only own and use his land, but also dispose of it: sell, donate, pass on by inheritance.

An even more conventional form of land ownership is an estate. It was given by the lord to his vassals only for the duration of their service as a reward for it.

Therefore, the landowner could not dispose of the land.

The Grand Duke's domain was divided into black tax and palace lands.

They differed only in the form of exploitation of the peasants who inhabited these lands and in the organization of their management. The palace peasants bore corvée or quitrent in kind and were controlled by representatives of the palace authorities. The black tax people paid cash rent and were subordinate to state officials. The lands of the domain were gradually distributed by the grand dukes into fiefs and estates.

Several articles of the Code of Law of 1497, devoted to land disputes (60 - 63), determine the procedure for proceedings regarding the ownership of property. The verbosity of the content of these articles indicates the scrupulous attitude of the authorities to the protection of property rights to real estate.

The norms of the law of obligations are also very incompletely presented in the Code of Laws. Contracts of purchase and sale (Articles 46 - 47), loans (Articles 6, 38, 48, 55), personal hire (Article 54) are mentioned.

The code of law of 1497, more clearly than the Russian Truth, distinguished obligations from causing harm, however, only in one case: Art. 61 provided for property liability for damage. The Code of Law considers some offenses related to judicial activities as a kind of obligation to cause harm. The judge who made an incorrect decision was obliged to compensate the parties for the losses incurred as a result. The same measure was applied to false witnesses. The law directly states that a judge is not subject to punishment for his misconduct (Article 19).

Inheritance law. Inheritance law has changed little. The Code of Law established a general and clear rule on inheritance. When inheriting by law, the son received the inheritance; in the absence of sons, the daughter received the inheritance. The daughter received not only movable property, but also the land (Art. 60). In the absence of daughters, the inheritance passed to the closest relative.

Criminal law. If civil legal relations developed relatively slowly, then criminal law during this period underwent significant changes, reflecting the aggravation of the contradictions of feudal society.

By crime the legislator understood any actions that in one way or another threaten the state. The serf is already considered as a person and, unlike Russian Pravda, is considered capable of independently answering for his actions.

In accordance with the change in the concept of crime, the system of crimes became more complex. The Sudebnik introduces crimes unknown to Russkaya Pravda and only outlined in the Pskov Judgment Charter - state crimes. The judge indicated two such crimes - sedition and incitement. Sedition was understood as an act committed primarily by representatives of the ruling class. The concept of "lift" is controversial. Podymschiki were people who incited people to revolt. The death penalty was established as a punishment for state crimes.

The law provided for a developed system of property crimes.

These include robbery, theft, destruction and damage to other people's property. All these crimes, which undermined the basis of feudal relations - property, were strictly punished. The judge also knew crimes against the person: murder (murder), insult by action and word.

Goals change, and along with them, the system of punishments. If earlier the princes saw in punishments - vires and sales - one of the income items that significantly replenished the treasury, now another interest came to the fore. In punishment, deterrence came first. For most crimes, the Code of Law introduces the death penalty (for 10 offenses, while according to the PST there are only 4) and the trade penalty. Trade execution consisted of whipping on the trading floor and often entailed the death of the person punished. The Sudebnik, like Russian Pravda, knows the sale, but it is now rarely used and usually in combination with the death or trade penalty. In addition to those indicated, the Code of Practice also knew such punishments as imprisonment and self-harm. Self-mutilating punishments (cutting of ears, tongue, branding), introduced by the Code of Law, in addition to intimidation, performed an important practical function - separating the criminal from the general mass.

Procedural law. The process was characterized by the development of the old form, i.e. adversarial process, and the emergence of a new one - the search. In an adversarial process, the case began based on a complaint from the plaintiff, which was called a petition. It was usually given orally. Upon receipt of the petition, the judicial authority took measures to bring the defendant to court. The appearance of the defendant was ensured by guarantors. If the defendant evaded trial in any way, he lost the case even without a trial. In this case, the plaintiff was issued a so-called non-court certificate. The plaintiff's failure to appear in court meant the case was dismissed.

The system of evidence has changed somewhat. Unlike Russkaya Pravda, Sudebnik does not distinguish between rumors and vidoks, calling them all rumors. Serfs could now listen (i.e., testify).

The “field” - a judicial duel - was also recognized as evidence.

The winner in single combat was considered right and won the case.

The loser was the one who did not show up for the duel or who ran away from it.

The investigative (or inquisitorial) process was used in the consideration of the most serious criminal cases, including political crimes. The search differed from the adversarial process in that the court itself initiated, conducted and completed the case on its own initiative and solely at its discretion. The defendant was the object of the trial. The main method of “finding out the truth” during a search was torture. The main evidence of guilt was the confession of the accused himself.

The Code of Law of 1550, called the Tsar's Code of Law. It was a new edition of the Code of Laws of 1497. It reflected changes in Russian legislation over the past half century. The Code of Law was approved during the reforms of Ivan IV and served as the legal basis for their implementation at the height of the government’s reform activities in the 50s. XVI century It consisted of 100 articles and, in terms of the variety of regulated situations and the legal institutions reflected in it, surpassed the Code of Laws of 1497. It presented the relations of nobles and peasants in more detail and in more detail. The Code of Law was adopted after its discussion by representatives of various classes. It was aimed at achieving national stability after a period of inter-class disagreements during the childhood of Ivan IV. After the death of Ivan IV, various governments in Russia sought to restore in full legal principles, enshrined in the Code of Laws of 1550.

2.2 Socio-economic and political system of Russia at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries.

The creation of a centralized state had an impact on the development of the economy and social system of Russia. The cessation of feudal strife contributed to the development of productive forces. The development of new territories by Russian peasants continued: colonization flows moved to the Urals, beyond the Oka, and the population of Pomerania increased.

The extensive slash-and-burn farming system retained its leading role in many regions of the country. At the same time, two-field and, in some places, three-field crop rotations appeared.

Important changes occurred in the structure of feudal land ownership. The nature of land ownership of princes changed. Having become subjects of the sovereign of all Rus', they largely retained their former domain lands, which were increasingly closer to ordinary feudal estates.

Under Ivan III, land distributions were widely carried out to service people at the expense of the possessions of Novgorod patrimonial lands and other annexed lands.

Such feudal lords, resettled to new places and “settled” there, began to be called landowners, and their possessions - estates. Initially, estates were not much different from votchinas: they were practically inherited, and votchinniki were also obliged to serve. The main thing was that the estates were prohibited from being sold or given away. Soon, landowners began to distribute the lands of black-sown peasants; in the first third of the 16th century, there were already estates in almost all districts of the country, and in many of them mass local distributions were carried out. Service people - landowners were the main social support of the emerging autocracy.

The creation of a centralized state served as one of the prerequisites for the enslavement of the peasantry. There has long been a rule according to which a peasant could leave his owner only for two weeks a year. Now this has become a national norm. The Code of Law of 1497 established a single deadline for the transition of peasants: a week before the autumn St. George’s Day (November 26) and a week after. This was the first nationwide restriction of peasant freedom, but not yet the enslavement of the peasants.

Among the feudal duties of peasants, quitrent in kind dominated, although in some places monetary taxes were also collected. The corvee industry was still poorly developed, and the feudal lord's own plowing was worked mainly by slaves.

Crafts continued to develop, the main centers of which were cities. Craft specialization grew, major cities often there were settlements inhabited by artisans of the same specialty (pottery, blacksmithing, armor in Moscow, etc.). Weapons manufacturing has reached a high level. At the end of the 15th century, the Cannon Yard was created in Moscow, where artillery pieces were manufactured. The development of the craft of masons made it possible to carry out work on an unprecedented scale in Moscow on the construction of new Kremlin walls.

In the second half of the XV - first third of the XVI centuries. economic ties continued to develop between different areas countries. This was facilitated by the creation of a centralized state. But it would be wrong to exaggerate these connections. The share of the urban population was too insignificant for the development of lively trade. Subsistence farming retained its undivided dominant position.

The speed with which the political unification of the Russian lands took place led to the fact that the old, associated with specific times, turned out to be tenacious and intricately intertwined with the new, national. Along with the sovereign of all Rus', “sovereigns” of lower rank, former princes, retained a share of their power locally.

Some princes from the relatives of the Grand Duke (usually his brothers) even had their own appanages and issued letters of grant.

But the political system of the Russian state at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. developed towards greater centralization. The Grand Dukes Ivan III and Vasily III increasingly showed themselves as autocrats. Even appearance The sovereign had to show his difference from his subjects during ceremonies. In his hands he held a scepter and an orb, on his head was a grand-ducal crown, “Monomakh’s cap” - a skullcap forged from gold, trimmed with fur and crowned with a cross. It was assumed that it was presented to Ivan Kalita by Uzbek Khan. The official Moscow legend “The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir” said that this was supposedly a Byzantine crown that passed to Vladimir Monomakh from his grandfather, the Byzantine emperor1 Constantine Monomakh, as a sign of royal dignity.

In 1472, the widowed Ivan III married the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Sophia (Zoe) Palaeologus, after which the grand ducal coat of arms of the flock was the Byzantine double-headed eagle. At the same time, the idea of Moscow as the third Rome was spreading.

The advisory body under the Grand Duke was the Boyar Duma. Until the middle of the 15th century, only people from the old Moscow boyar families sat in it, but with the formation of a centralized state, the boyars included princes of previously independent principalities. Formally, they were “favored” as boyars, but in fact, the transition to the boyar rank was a sign of their transformation from vassals into subjects of the Grand Duke, that is, they reduced them social status. Due to the fact that the Duma was small, the sovereign could make his advisers only those aristocrats on whose loyalty he could firmly count.

The management system of a centralized state at the beginning of the 16th century had not yet taken shape and was quite archaic; many remnants of feudal fragmentation still remained. In 1497, the Code of Laws was adopted

The first set of laws of a centralized state. Although the Sudebnik was used in practice, it was not widely used and, probably after the death of Ivan III (1505), was almost forgotten: only one copy of this document has reached us.

In the 15th century, as a result of a long process of development, the Great Russian people with their own language emerged. On the territory of the North Eastern Rus' In connection with the influx of people moving there from other regions under the threat of external danger, there was a mixture of the features of various dialects: “Akanya,” typical of the South-Eastern Russian lands, and “Okanya,” characteristic of the North-Western regions. The Rostov-Suzdal dialect acquired leading importance in the emerging Russian language. Subsequently, dialect diversity began to increase on the expanding1 territory of the Russian state due to the annexation of new lands.

The process of formation of the Great Russian nationality found a vivid expression in the rise of Russian culture, which, developing on the basis of cultural traditions ancient Rus', acquired a number of specific features at this time.

Thus, as a result of complex historical processes, by the beginning of the 16th century, a Russian centralized state had emerged. The circumstances in which his formation took place left their mark on the entire further history Russia.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be noted that the peculiarity of the formation of the Russian centralized state was that it developed as a multinational one. Russia included the Mari, Udmurts, Sami, Komi, Khanty, Mordovians, Karelians, Chuvash, Meshchera, etc. Under the influence of the more developed economy and culture of the Russian people, their economic and cultural growth accelerated, and their strength to resist feudal and foreign oppression increased.

The elimination of the borders of individual principalities on the territory of the country and the cessation of feudal wars created more favorable conditions for development National economy and to repel external enemies.

The unified Russian state was based on feudal socio-economic relations. It was a state of feudal lords. Secular and spiritual, its development was based primarily on the growth of serfdom and serfdom. Secular and spiritual feudal lords had greater independence, resting on their land ownership and economy, while the nobility and townspeople as classes were still relatively poorly developed. The process of forming the economic development of the country was a matter of the future. Using purely feudal methods, the grand ducal government achieved the unity of the governance system in the country.

The prestige of the Russian state in Europe gradually increased with the beginning of centralization. They began to reckon with Muscovy. One of the leading countries in the world has appeared on the world stage.

Thus, the formation of a centralized Russian state was a progressive phenomenon in the history of Russia. The elimination of feudal fragmentation created the opportunity for the further development of production forces, the economic and cultural development of the country, and the international authority of the Russian state.

So, at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. The process of creating a Russian centralized state is being completed. Moscow became the capital of a huge, independent power, and the Moscow prince became the sovereign of all Rus'.

List of used literature

1. PLDR: The end of the 15th - the first half of the 16th century. M., 1984.

2. V.M. Solovyova. "Essays". T. t. 1-20. M., 1988-1993;

3. V.O. Klyuchevsky. "Essays in 3 volumes." M., 1987-1990;

4. Power and property in medieval Russia (XV-XVI centuries). M., 1985.

5. History of the Russian state and law / Ed. O.I. Chistyakova. Part I. and Part II M., 2006

6. History of state and law of Russia: Textbook. allowance. / I.A. Isaev. - M., 2006.

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Creation of a single centralized state. Prerequisites and features of the formation of the Russian centralized state

Formation of the Russian centralized state (second half of the XV - first half of the XVI)

Reasons and features of the formation of a single state

Stages of political unification in Rus'

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