Galician Rus'. Galicia-Volyn principality: geographical location. Formation of the Galicia-Volyn principality of Galicia-Volyn

In the 50-60s pp. XI century Volyn, the Przemysl land and other lands of the Carpathian region were owned by Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich, the grandson of the son of Yaroslav the Wise Vsevolod. After him, Prince Izyaslav, then his son Yaropolk, exercised guardianship over Rostislav's three minor sons. Growing up, all three - ruler Vasilko and Rurik - went to Kyiv, to Grand Duke Vsevolod and began to demand the return of their “father’s possession” - Volyn and the Carpathian region. He did not give them Volhynia, but returned the Carpathian region.

Therefore, Rurik “settled” in Przemysl, Vasilko - in Terebovlya, Volodar - in Zvenigorod ^ These lands became separate principalities. After the death of Yaropolk, Volyn was taken over by David Igorevich from the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

The Rostislavich brothers stubbornly defended their patrimony from enemy encroachments from the Volyn prince David, who tried to seize their principalities, and then from the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk, who took the throne after the death of Vsevolod. The troops of Svyatopolk Rostislavich were defeated, and subsequently the Hungarian army, which therefore came to the rescue.

The lands of the Rurikovichs were freed from claims by the Volyn and Kyiv princes. In search of allies, they established contact with Byzantium, began to strengthen their western borders, establishing military settlements, fortifications, cities - Sanok, Prshevorsky, Lyubachev, etc. In Europe, the Rostislavichs became well known, and the eldest of them - the Lord (though in 1094 one of them - Rurik - died, and Vasilko was lured into a trap and blinded by David) European sources titled "Konig Ruthenorum", "Rex Ruthenorum" - the king of the Rusyns.

The lands of the Rurikovichs began to be called Galician Russia, since in the 11th century. in this region the role of another large city- Galich. The owner “kept” Przemysl and Zvenigorod, that is, Nadsyanya, the Bug region and the upper Dniester region, and Vasilko - Galich and Terebovlya, that is, the middle Dniester region. They lived in harmony among themselves, which could not be said about most other princes of the then Kievan Rus.

In 1124, in the same year, both brothers, who had reigned for 40 years (since 1084), died. their balanced, coordinated and firm rule had great importance not only for the Carpathian lands, but in general, as M. Grushevsky writes, “for Ukraine-Rus. A number of... inveterate wars defended the independence of the Galician land from Volyn, from Poland and Hungary... Galicia emerged from the role of a Kyiv clothespin, which Volyn has been for so long... The existence of the Galician state and the Galician dynasty has been ensured... the foundation has been laid for the greater significance of the seeding of the distant Russian volost." After the death of the elder Rostislavichs, the Sovereign’s son, Volodymyrko, ruled the Przemysl-Galician land. From this time on, Kyiv political influences were finally forced out in the Carpathian lands.

Principality of Galicia since the 11th century. gradually turns into one of the most powerful principalities of ancient Ukraine-Rus. As a result of colonization to the south, significant territories were annexed to it - right up to the Danube. True, Volodimirko, trying to strengthen the princely power, centralize control, and increase the army, first came into conflict with his brother Rostislav and Vasilko’s two sons - Yuri and Ivan. It came to the point of internecine war. But in the end he won. In 1141 Volodimirko moved the capital of the united principality to Galich and it became known as the Galician principality. The main force on which he relied was his military wife and boyars. While developing the state, Volodimirko tried to conduct a peaceful foreign policy - he almost did not attack Poland, did not fight with Hungary, and maintained friendly relations with the Kyiv princes. But when Vsevolod Olegovich sat on the Kiev throne, relations with Kiev in Vladimirovka deteriorated.

Vsevolod 1144 and 1146, trying to force Vladimirovka to obedience and recognition of the superiority of the Kyiv prince, organized two large campaigns against Galicia. Many princes took part in them - Volyn, Chernigov, Pereyaslav and others, even the Polovtsians. Volodimirko must recognize the “superiority” of Kyiv. Subsequently, he again pursued an independent policy, often interfering in the political struggle around the Kyiv throne, supporting one or another contender (Prince Vsevolod of Kiev died in 1146). At this time, relations between Vladimirovka and the Volyn prince Izyaslav sharply worsened, who also (in 1151) took the Kiev throne. It came to war. Volodymyrko could defend the independence of the Galician principality, and did not allow it to be turned into the fiefdom of the Volyn or Kyiv princes. He finally united the scattered destinies of the Carpathian region, “built,” as M. Grushevsky writes, “the strength and glory of Galicia... and led Galicia to important significance in Russian political system, and not even only in it."

In 1153, the son of Vladimir (he died in 1153, reigned for 29 years) Yaroslav ascended the Galician throne. Nicknamed Osmomysl in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” for his wise and far-sighted activities, he continued his father’s policy of strengthening the Galician principality. Under him, it became strong, stable, centralized, neighbors were afraid to attack it, it developed intensively economically, and the population grew. Yaroslav, taking care of economic development country, had significant funds, a large army. In 1154, in a great battle on the banks of the Seret, he met with the troops of the Kyiv-Volyn prince Izyaslav, who wanted to take away part of the territory from Yaroslav. Although Yaroslav was defeated, Izyaslav did not rejoice at the victory for long, because he died that same year. But Yaroslav installed a good relationship with the Poles, Hungarians, Prince Yuri Olegovich of Suzdal, helping them in wars. When Prince Rostislav “sat” on the Kiev throne in 1158, Yaroslav entered into an alliance with him, to which he remained faithful to the end and more than once sent his regiments to help Rostislav.

The authority, strength and power of Prince Yaroslav internally and externally political life grew up. No wonder the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” wrote about him: “Galician Osmomysl Yaroslav, you sit high on your gold-plated table, propped up by the Ugric mountains (that is, the Carpathians - auto) With your iron regiments, having blocked the king’s path, you closed the gates of the Danube... Your thunderstorms are flowing across the lands, you are opening the gates of Kyiv, you are shooting from your father’s table at the lands.”

Yaroslav secured the Dniester-Danube region for the Galician principality, colonized the lower reaches of the Dniester, Prut and Seret, and received access to the Danube into the Black Sea. Here, on the lower reaches of these rivers, were built or fortified support centers Galician politics - Drestvin, Chern, Belgorod, Romanov Torg, Berlad, Maly Galich (now Galati on the territory of Romania), Banya, Suceava, Kelya, etc. Here, according to archaeological sources and chronicles, one could see ships from Byzantium, loaded with various goods - wines, silks, silks, glass, marble and the like. Hungarian, German, and Polish goods were delivered here. Galicia exported grain, honey, furs, salt, etc.

The strategic ally of the Galician principality at that time was Byzantium, with which a military alliance and trade agreement were concluded. At Yaroslav's for a long time Andronikos Komnenos, a cousin of the Byzantine Emperor Emmanuel, visited and took part in meetings of the boyar council and received several cities “for his maintenance.” Yaroslav also maintained allied relations with the German Empire. One of Yaroslav's daughters became the Hungarian queen by marrying King Stephen. True, in his personal life Yaroslav was not happy, sometimes he clashed with the boyars, whose positions in the Galician principality were always strong.

In 1187, Yaroslav, having caught a cold while hunting at the age of about 55-56 years, died. After a series of political conflicts between Yaroslav’s sons Oleg and Vladimir (Yaroslav’s will to hand over the “table” to Oleg by the boyars was not fulfilled), Vladimir sat on the Galician throne. But his boyars soon kicked him out, and he fled for help to the Hungarian king Bela III.

The Hungarian king went with his army to Galicia and occupied Galich. But after seeing Vladimir’s cool meeting with the Galicians, he changed his plans. He proclaimed himself king of Galicia, and appointed his son Andrew as his governor in Galicia (1189). To support him, Bela left a significant garrison.

The southwestern principalities of Rus' - Vladimir-Volyn and Galicia, which united the lands of the Dulebs, Tiverts, Croats, Buzhans, became part of Kievan Rus at the end of the 10th century. under Vladimir Svyatoslavich. However, the policy of the great Kyiv princes regarding Volyn and Galicia did not find support among the local landed nobility, and already from the end of the 11th century. The struggle for the isolation of these lands began, although the Volyn land traditionally had close ties with Kiev.

In Volyn until the middle of the 12th century. there was no own dynasty of princes. As a rule, it was directly ruled from Kyiv or at times Kyiv proteges sat at the Vladimir table.

The formation of the Galician principality began in the second half of the 11th century. This process is associated with the activities of the founder of the Galician dynasty, Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich, grandson of Yaroslav the Wise.

The heyday of the Principality of Galicia occurred during the reign of Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153-1187), who gave a decisive rebuff to the Hungarians and Poles who were pressing on him and waged a fierce struggle against the boyars. With the death of his son Vladimir Yaroslavich, the Rostislavich dynasty ceased to exist, and in 1199 the Vladimir-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich took possession of the Galician principality and united the Galician and Volyn lands into a single. Its center was Galich, then Kholm, and from 1272 Lvov. The victorious campaigns of Roman's squads against Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and the Polovtsians created high international authority for him and the principality.

After the death of Roman (1205), the western lands of Rus' again entered a period of unrest and princely-boyar civil strife. The struggle between the feudal groups in the western lands of Rus' reached its greatest intensity under the young sons of Roman Mstislavich - Daniil and Vasilka.

The Galician-Volyn principality broke up into appanages - Galician, Zvenigorod and Vladimir. This made it possible for Hungary, where young Daniel was raised at the court of King Andrew II, to constantly interfere in Galician-Volyn affairs, and soon to occupy Western Russian lands. The boyar opposition was not so organized and mature as to turn the Galician land into a boyar republic, but it had enough strength to organize endless conspiracies and riots against the princes.

Shortly before the invasion of Batu's hordes, Daniil Romanovich managed to overcome the opposition from the powerful Galician and Volyn boyars and in 1238 entered Galich in triumph. In the fight against the feudal opposition, power relied on the squad, city leaders and feudal service lords. The masses strongly supported Daniel's unifying policy. In 1239, the Galician-Volyn army captured Kiev, but the success was short-lived.

Hoping to create an anti-Horde coalition on a European scale with the help of the pope, Daniil Romanovich agreed to accept the royal crown offered to him by Innocent IV. The coronation took place in 1253.

during campaigns against the Lithuanian Yatvingians in the small town of Dorogichina near the western border of the principality. The Roman Curia turned its attention to Galicia and Volhynia, hoping to spread Catholicism to these lands. In 1264, Daniil Romanovich died in Kholm. After his death, the decline of the Galicia-Volyn principality began, breaking up into four appanages.

In the XIV century. Galicia was captured by Poland, and Volyn by Lithuania. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Galician and Volyn lands became part of a single multinational Polish-Lithuanian state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Social system. A feature of the social structure of the Galicia-Volyn principality was that a large group of boyars was created there, in whose hands almost all land holdings were concentrated. However, the process of formation of large feudal landownership did not proceed in the same way everywhere. In Galicia, its growth outpaced the formation of the princely domain. In Volyn, on the contrary, along with boyar land tenure, domain land ownership received significant development. This is explained by the fact that it was in Galicia that the economic and political prerequisites for a more rapid growth of large feudal landownership matured earlier than in Volyn. The princely domain began to take shape when the predominant part of the communal lands was seized by the boyars and the circle of free lands for the princely domains was limited. In addition, the Galician princes, trying to enlist the support of local feudal lords, distributed part of their lands to them and thereby reduced the princely domain.

The most important role among the feudal lords of the Galician-Volyn principality was played by the Galician boyars - “Galician men.” They owned large estates and dependent peasants. In the source

Nikahs of the 12th century the ancestors of the Galician boyars act as “princely men.” The strength of this boyars, who expanded the boundaries of their possessions and conducted large-scale trade, continuously increased. There was a constant struggle within the boyars for lands and power. Already in the 12th century. “Galician men” oppose any attempts to limit their rights in favor of princely power and growing cities.

Another group consisted of service feudal lords, whose sources of land holdings were princely grants, boyar lands confiscated and redistributed by the princes, as well as unauthorized seizures of communal lands. In the vast majority of cases, they held land conditionally while they served, i.e. for service and under the condition of service. Serving feudal lords supplied the prince with an army consisting of feudal-dependent peasants. The Galician princes relied on them in their fight against the boyars.

The ruling class of the Galicia-Volyn principality also included large church nobility in the person of archbishops, bishops, abbots of monasteries and others, who also owned vast lands and peasants. Churches and monasteries acquired land holdings through grants and donations from princes. Often they, like princes and boyars, seized communal lands, and turned peasants into monastic or church feudal dependent people.

Bulk rural population in the Galicia-Volyn principality were peasants. Both free and dependent peasants were called smerds. The predominant form of peasant land ownership was communal, later called “dvorishche”. Gradually the community broke up into individual households.

The process of the formation of large land holdings and the formation of a class of feudal lords was accompanied by an increase in the feudal dependence of the peasants and the emergence of feudal rent. Labor rent in the XI-XII centuries. gradually replaced by product rent. The amount of feudal duties was set by the feudal lords at their own discretion.

The brutal exploitation of peasants increased class struggle, which often took the form of popular uprisings against feudal lords. Such a mass uprising of peasants was, for example, the uprising in 1159 under Yaroslav Osmomysl.

Serfdom in the Galicia-Volyn principality was preserved, but the number of serfs decreased, many of them were planted on the land and merged with the peasants.

In the Galicia-Volyn principality there were over 80 cities, including the largest - Berestye (later Brest), Vladimir, Galich, Lvov, Lutsk, Przemysl, Kholm.

The largest group of the urban population were artisans. Jewelry, pottery, blacksmithing and glass-making workshops were located in the cities. They worked both for the customer and for the market, internal or external. The salt trade brought great profits. Being a large commercial and industrial center, Galich quickly also acquired the significance of a cultural center. The famous Galician-Volyn chronicle and other written monuments of the 12th-13th centuries were created there.

Political system. The peculiarity of the Galicia-Volyn principality was that for a long time it was not divided into appanages. After the death of Daniil Romanovich, it split into Galician and Volyn lands, and then each of these lands began to split up in turn. Another special feature was that power was essentially in the hands of the large boyars.

Since the Galician-Volyn princes did not have a broad economic and social base, their power was fragile. It was passed down through generations. The place of the deceased father was taken by the eldest of the sons, whom his other brothers were supposed to “honor in their father’s place.” The widow-mother enjoyed significant political influence under her sons. Despite the system of vassalage on which relations between members of the princely house were built, each princely domain was politically largely independent.

Although the princes expressed the interests of the feudal lords as a whole, nevertheless they could not concentrate in their hands the entirety of state power. The Galician boyars played a major role in the political life of the country. It even controlled the princely table - it invited and removed princes. The history of the Galicia-Volyn principality is full of examples when princes who lost the support of the boyars were forced to leave their principalities. The forms of struggle of the boyars against unwanted princes are also characteristic. They invited Hungarians and Poles against them, put to death unwanted princes (this is how the princes Igorevich were hanged in 1208), and removed them from Galicia (in 1226). There is a known case when the boyar Volodislav Kormilchich, who did not belong to the dynasty, proclaimed himself a prince in 1231. Often, representatives of the ecclesiastical nobility were at the head of boyar revolts directed against the prince. In such a situation, the main

Chapter 5. Rus' during the period of feudal fragmentation

§ 3. Galicia-Volyn principality

The main support of the princes were the middle and small feudal lords, as well as the city elite.

The Galician-Volyn princes had certain administrative, military, judicial and legislative powers. In particular, they appointed officials in cities and towns, giving them land holdings under the condition of service, they were formally the commander-in-chief of all armed forces. But each boyar had his own military militia, and since the Galician boyars’ regiments often outnumbered the prince’s, in case of disagreement, the boyars could argue with the prince using military force. The supreme judicial power of the princes in case of disagreements with the boyars passed to the boyar elite. Finally, the princes issued letters concerning various issues of government, but they were often not recognized by the boyars.

The boyars exercised their power with the help of the boyar council. Its members included the largest landowners, bishops and persons holding the highest government positions. The composition, rights, and competence of the council were not determined.

The boyar council was convened, as a rule, on the initiative of the boyars themselves. The prince did not have the right to convene a council at his own request, and could not issue a single state act without his consent. The council zealously protected the interests of the boyars, even interfering in the prince's family affairs. This body, without being formally supreme body power, actually ruled the principality. Since the council included boyars who occupied the largest administrative positions, the entire state administrative apparatus was actually subordinate to it.

The Galician-Volyn princes from time to time, under emergency circumstances, convened a veche in order to strengthen their power, but it did not have much influence. Small merchants and artisans could be present, but the decisive role was played by the top feudal lords.

The Galician-Volyn princes took part in all-Russian feudal congresses. Occasionally, congresses of feudal lords were convened, relating only to the Galicia-Volyn principality. So, in the first half of the 12th century. A congress of feudal lords took place in the city of Shartse to resolve the issue of civil strife over the volosts between the sons of the Przemysl prince Volodar Rostislav and Vladimirk.

In the Galicia-Volyn principality, palace-patrimonial administration arose earlier than in other Russian lands. In the system of this administration, the courtier, or butler, played a significant role. He was in charge of basically all matters relating to the court

prince, he was entrusted with the command of individual regiments; during military operations he protected the life of the prince.

Among the palace ranks, mention is made of a printer, a steward, a cup keeper, a falconer, a hunter, a stable keeper, etc. The printer was in charge of the princely office and was the custodian of the princely treasury, which at the same time was also the princely archive. In his hands was the princely seal. The steward was in charge of the prince's table, served him during meals, and was responsible for the quality of the table. Chashnichiy was in charge of the side forests, cellars and everything related to the supply of drinks to the princely table. The falconer was in charge of bird hunting. The hunter was in charge of hunting the beast. The main function of the groom was to serve the princely cavalry. Numerous princely keykeepers acted under the control of these officials. The positions of butler, printer, steward, groom and others gradually turned into palace ranks.

The territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality was initially divided into thousands and hundreds. As the thousand and sotskys with their administrative apparatus gradually became part of the palace-patrimonial apparatus of the prince, the positions of governors and volostels arose in their place. Accordingly, the territory of the principality was divided into voivodeships and volosts. The communities elected elders who were in charge of administrative and minor judicial matters.

Posadniks were appointed and sent directly to the cities by the prince. They not only had administrative and military power, but also performed judicial functions and collected tributes and duties from the population.

Right. The legal system of the Galicia-Volyn principality was not much different from the legal systems that existed in other Russian lands during the period of feudal fragmentation. The norms of Russian Truth, only slightly modified, continued to apply here.

The Galician-Volyn princes, of course, also issued their own acts. Among them, a valuable source characterizing the economic relations of the Galician principality with Czech, Hungarian and other merchants is the charter of Prince Ivan Rosti-slavich Berladnik in 1134. It established a number of benefits for foreign merchants. Around 1287, the Manuscript of Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich was published, concerning the rules of inheritance law in the Vladimir-Volyn principality. The document says-

Chapter 5. Rus' during the period of feudal fragmentation

about the transfer by Prince Vladimir of the right to exploit the feudally dependent population to the heirs. At the same time, it provides materials for studying the management of villages and cities. Around 1289, the Charter of Volyn Prince Mstislav Daniilovich was published, characterizing the duties that fell on the shoulders of the feudally dependent population of Southwestern Rus'.

tttnChapter 6. MONGOL-TATAR STATES

ON THE TERRITORY OF OUR COUNTRY

tttk During the period of fragmentation in Rus', the development of the early feudal state continued. Relatively centralized Ancient Rus' breaks up into a mass of large, medium, small and tiny states. In their political forms, even small feudal estates are trying to copy the Kiev state.

During this period, it appears fundamentally new form government - republic. The Novgorod and Pskov feudal republics are widely known. Less known is Vyatka, a colony of Novgorod that arose at the end of the 12th century. on the Mari and Udmurt lands, which became an independent state and existed until the end of the 15th century.1

All the considered feudal powers are united, in principle, by a single legal system, which is based on the epochal legal act- Russian Truth. Not a single principality is creating a new law that can at least to some extent replace the Russian Truth. Only its new editions are being formed. Only in feudal republics (and this is not accidental) do new major legislative acts arise.

The feudal fragmentation of Rus', like other regions of the country, was an inevitable stage in the development of the state. But this inevitability cost our people dearly. In the 13th century Mongol-Tatar hordes fell on Rus'.

Principality of Galicia

The Principality of Galicia occupied the extreme southwestern corner of the East European plain and the northeastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. Carpathian terraces, between the main ridge and pp. Sanom and Dniester make up the so-called foothills, then a valley extends to the northeast. Podgorje was occupied by the Slavic tribe of Croats, already known to Constantine Porphyrogenitus; the valley was occupied by the Buzhans, known in the chronicles under different names (first the Dulebs, then the Buzhans, and finally the Volynians or Velynyans). The western part of the land of the Buzhans, which became part of the G. principality, is known in the chronicle under the name of the Cherven cities, which received this name from one of them, Chervna. To the southeast of the Croats and south of the Buzhans lived two Slavic tribes - the Ulichi and the Tivertsi, along the Dniester to the Danube and the Black Sea. In the 10th century, the names of the streets and Tiverts disappeared from the chronicle; probably, under the pressure of the steppe nomads, they had to move to the north and northeast and merged with the Croats and Buzhans; Subsequently, their territory was part of the Georgian principality.

The land of the Croats and Buzhans has long been part of either Rus' or Poland. Under Oleg, Croats and Dulebs are mentioned among the tribes that took part in his campaign against Constantinople. Then these areas went to the Poles. Under 981, the chronicle says that Vladimir occupied “their cities of Przemysl, Cherven and other cities.” After the death of Vladimir, the Cherven cities were captured by Boleslav the Brave and transferred to Poland, but not for long: in 1030 - 1031. Yaroslav won them back. At the end of the 11th century. the Rostislavich brothers, Vasilko and Volodar, were established here, who laid the foundation for the existence of the Galician land as a special principality. Volodar's son, Vladimirko or Vladimir, united the Galician land and moved the capital further west, to the mountainous country of the Croats, to Galich, which gave its name to the entire principality. Vladimir's only nephew, Ivan Rostislavovich Berladnik, was deprived of his inheritance.

The Galician land was surrounded by various peoples: in the north-west it bordered on the Poles, in the south-west - on the Hungarians; in the south - with the steppe nomads, in the east and north - with the principalities of Kyiv and Vladimir. It was one of the richest Russian regions, produced grain and livestock in abundance, and supplied all of Rus' with salt. Its position between Western Europe and the rest of Russia contributed to the development of its trade. In 1224, during the gathering against the Tatars, a Galician flotilla of 1000 boats appeared on the Dnieper. The Galician land was quite densely populated: in the first half of the 13th century, up to 50 Galician and Volynian cities were mentioned in the chronicles.

The boundaries of the Principality of Galicia under Vladimir expanded to the west, south and east. He actively took care of the colonization of the southern part of his possessions and populated it with prisoners. In 1146, during the siege of Zvenigorod by Vsevolod of Kyiv, the veche decided to surrender the city, but the governor of Vladimir, Ivan Khaldeyevich, hanged the three main eternal men and thereby frightened the townspeople so much that they abandoned the idea of ​​surrender. With such drastic measures, Vladimir and his warriors managed to largely suppress the veche movement. Vladimir was succeeded by his only son Yaroslav, whom the Tale of Igor's Campaign calls Osmomysl. In the first years of Yaroslav's reign, his cousin, Ivan Berladnik, caused him a lot of trouble, especially since the latter enjoyed the sympathy of the people. The reign of Yaroslav was generally peaceful. Only at the very beginning of his reign there was a clash with Izyaslav of Kyiv for the cities, the return of which Izyaslav sought in vain from Vladimir. After the death of his father, Yaroslav expressed a desire to fulfill the demand of the Grand Duke, but the Galician boyars opposed this. Izyaslav decided to act by force and approached Terebovl. Yaroslav wanted to lead the Galician regiments into battle himself, but the boyars did not allow him to do this, under the pretext that he was young and, moreover, the only representative of the princely family. Izyaslav lost the battle, and the disputed cities remained with Galich. The sharp strengthening of the boyars under Yaroslav is a characteristic feature of the history of Galich. The veche in the Galician region was early suppressed by the combined efforts of the prince and the squad, and could no longer present opposition to the strengthened boyars, who entered into a struggle with the princely power. The main reason for the strengthening of the boyars was the small number of the princely family that ruled in Galich. More than two representatives of the princely family were rarely here at the same time. As a result, the Galician warriors received into their hands the functions that were performed in the rest of Rus' by the younger members of the princely family: they sat as princely governors not only in small but also in the most important cities, commanded troops, and were in charge of finances. The G. boyars were not, however, a closed class and did not have legally defined advantages over the rest of the population; it relied only on actual force.

Yaroslav ruled for a long time (died 1187). The chronicle speaks of this prince with great praise, and the singer of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” paints his power with bright colors. Dying, Yaroslav bequeathed Galich to his son from his concubine Nastasya, Oleg, and gave only Przemysl to his son from his wife Olga, Vladimir. But after the death of the prince, the boyars drove Oleg out and gave all the land to Vladimir, which caused new strife, in which the Hungarians intervened. The Hungarian king Bela occupied Galich, imprisoned his son Andrei there, and kept Vladimir in custody in Hungary. In 1190, Vladimir, with the help of the Poles, managed to expel the Hungarians from Galich, where they had incited everyone against themselves with their violence, and sat on the Galician table. With his death, the Rostislavich clan ceased in Galich and the Galician table was occupied by another line in the person of Roman Mstislavich Volynsky, who, during Vladimir’s lifetime, tried to take possession of Galich. Under Roman, the importance of Kyiv finally declines, whose role passes in the north to Vladimir, in the west to Galich. Your energetic foreign policy, which, however, did not prevent him from fighting the boyars within the country, Roman completed the work of his predecessors - he raised the principality to the level strong state. But his reign was too short to break the dominance of the boyars and establish a new order. Immediately after his death (1205), unrest began in the land of Greece. Roman left two sons: Daniil, 4 years old, and Vasilko, 2 years old. There were many contenders for G.'s table, both among Russian princes and between foreign neighbors - the Hungarians and Poles. The boyars played an important role in the events that followed. They did not side with the Romanovichs, both out of dislike for Roman, and because the Romanovichs could lay claim to Galich as their homeland, and the boyars sought to make the princely table electoral. In the Galician land, already at this time the opinion that the princely table was the property of representatives of the Rurik house ceased to prevail; Here even the fact of the ascendancy of the boyar Daniil Romanovich, impossible in other regions, occurs. Only in 1249 did Daniel manage to defeat his last opponents. The reign of Daniel, which began from this time, lasted about 15 years and was the time of the greatest power of the Galician land. During the first half of Daniel's reign, the conquest of Rus' by the Mongols took place. Mongol yoke resonated much more easily in Galich and Volyn than in the rest of Rus'. True, the Tatars devastated both Volyn and Galich during their campaign against Hungary; but here they did not carry out a national census to collect tribute and did not send their Baskaks here. It is not even clear from the chronicle that Galich paid a certain tribute; Daniel was only obliged to help the Tatars with troops. Only a few years after the Tatar invasion, Daniel went to the horde to bow. There he was received with greater honor than other princes. He was only required to surrender several fortresses and auxiliary troops to the Tatars in the event of war. No matter how easy Galich’s dependence on the Tatars was, comparatively speaking, Daniil was still burdened by it and the goal of his activity was liberation from the Tatars. To secure his country, Daniel diligently began to fortify the cities. At first the Tatars did not pay attention to this, but when Daniil began to behave towards them defiantly, then the newly appointed Tatar temnik Burundai appeared at the head of a large horde and demanded that Daniel demolish fortresses and auxiliary troops against his allied Lithuania. Daniel had to obey. Soon internal troubles distracted the attention of the Tatars, and they left Galich alone. Only the southern part of Daniil’s possessions moved away from him due to the invasion of the Tatars: the inhabitants of the Ponizhya region chose to submit directly to the Tatars. The inhabitants of the eastern outskirts of Daniil’s state found the same aspirations, but they were forced to obey Daniil.

The Kiev and Chernigov principalities were much more devastated by the Tatars than Galich and could no longer compete with Galician-Volyn Rus. In relation to Poland, Daniel continued the traditional policy of the Galician princes - he supported the weak and distant Mazovian princes against the stronger Krakow ones. Intervening in Polish affairs, Daniel captured the Lublin land, which fluctuated between Russia and Poland. At this time, a strong Lithuanian state arose on the northeastern borders of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Daniel's son, Roman, received Black Rus' with the condition of recognizing the supreme power of the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas. The Hungarian king renounced his claims to Galich and even became related to Daniel, marrying his daughter to his son Leo. Daniel's other son, Roman, was married to the sister of the Duke of Austria; this marriage gave Roman a reason, after the end of the male line of the Austrian dukes, to lay claim to their possessions. Daniel also entered into relations with the Pope, hoping to receive help from the Pope to fight the Tatars. In 1255 he recognized the spiritual supremacy of the pope, and Pope Innocent IV gave Daniel a royal title. But two years later, Daniel, disappointed in his hopes for papal help. refused to recognize the pope as the head of the church; He, however, retained the royal title. Daniel did not enjoy the favor of the boyars. To maintain his power, he sometimes had to resort to military force. The Tatar invasion and Lithuanian raids greatly devastated Galician Rus'. The population fled to the wooded Carpathian mountains, from where, after the danger had passed, they returned to their native ashes. Daniel made a lot of efforts to populate the newly devastated lands. He built a number of cities, of which Hill is especially remarkable; Daniel made it his capital. Frequent relations with the West in previous times and especially in the era of Daniel did not pass without leaving a mark for Galician Rus'. Cut off from the rest of Rus' after the Tatar invasion, the Galician region is closer to the West and assimilates Western culture. There was no religious prejudice against Western Europeans here; but Galician Rus' retained Orthodox faith, which contributed to the preservation of the nationality. With the death of Daniel (1264), the flourishing period in the history of Galich ended. Since then, the Galician-Russian state has been declining and finally losing its independence. On the borders of Georgia, the states in which the process of unification took place (Lithuania and Poland) are strengthening. They absorbed Galician-Volyn Rus. At first, Daniel’s heirs had to intervene in Lithuanian affairs. The unifier of Lithuania, Mindovg, was killed, and unrest began there. One of the sons of Mindaugas, Voishelk, managed to seize power. He adopted Daniil's son Shvarn. On this basis, Schwarn made a claim to Lithuania, and he managed to reign there, although not for long, since he was soon expelled by the strengthened pagan party.

After the death of Vasilko, who led the sons of Daniel, discord began in the Romanovich family. The eldest of Daniel’s sons, Lev, tried to unite the entire Galician land under his rule. In the fight against the princes who opposed his plans, as well as Poland and Lithuania, Leo resorted to the help of the Tatars; The appearance of the Tatars in Georgia was accompanied by great disasters for the population, and this is probably why Leo was not popular. On the contrary, his opponent, defender of the appanage system, Vladimir Vasilkovich, was very loved by the population. Vladimir, dying, bequeathed his possessions to Lev's brother, Mstislav. Leo moved the capital of Georgia to Lvov and fought against Poland, which at that time had already united under the rule of Vladislav Lokotok; this struggle ended unsuccessfully for Leo, he lost the Lublin land. Leo's death dates back to 1301. Very little is known about the reign of Leo’s son, Yuri, who died no later than 1316. He was succeeded in Galich and Volyn by two sons - Andrei and Lev. There is news that these princes died - probably in the fight against the Tatars, around 1324. The period from the death of Andrei and Lev to the fall of the independence of Galich is very dark. The matter is usually presented in the following form: after the death of Andrei and Leo, Yuri II reigned in Galich until 1336: the childless Yuri was succeeded by the son of his sister, who was married to the Mazovian prince Troyden, Boleslav. Bolesław reigned until 1340 and was poisoned by the Russians for attempting to introduce Catholicism. Currently, the Czech scientist Rzezabk has managed to prove the previously expressed opinion that Yuri II and Boleslav Troydenovich are one and the same person. According to Rzhezhabok, Andrei and Lev were succeeded by their nephew Boleslav, having adopted both Orthodoxy and the name of Yuri II; then he converted again to Catholicism and was poisoned by his subjects. Several letters have reached us from Yuri II. In one of them, Yuri is called “Dei gratia natus dux minoris Russiae” (here the term Little Rus' appears for the first time). In addition to the signature and seal of the prince, these documents have the signatures and seals of nobles; The positions of these nobles are also named: bishop, detko (prince's uncle), judge and governors - Belz, Przemysl, Lviv and Lutsk. Thus, the power of the prince at that time was, apparently, very limited, and under his direct jurisdiction there was almost one city, Vladimir, where some of the charters were given. Yuri II - Boleslav was the last Galician prince. He had no offspring left. Two claimants appeared on the Galician land: Casimir III of Poland, as a relative and overlord of the Mazovian princes, and one of his sons. book Lithuanian Gediminas - Lubart, married to the daughter of Lev Yuryevich. A struggle began between these contenders, which lasted about 40 years. In the year of the death of Yuri Boleslav, Casimir III undertook a campaign against Galich, took possession of the Przemysl and Lvov lands and took princely treasures from Lvov to Poland. Meanwhile, Lubart captured Vladimir, Kremenets and part of the Cherven land. After Casimir left, the Galicians rebelled, resorted to the protection of the Tatars and, with their help, expelled the Poles. A boyar government is established in Galich, headed by boyar Dimitri Detko (i.e., a princely uncle), with the title of guardian and headman of the Russian Land (provisor seu capitaneus terrae Russiae). This state of affairs continued until 1349, when Casimir launched a second campaign against Rus', ousted Lubart from Volhynia and subjugated the petty princes sitting there (probably these were descendants of Mstislav Danilovich). Lubart, in turn, went to Galician Rus', penetrated all the way to Galich and the matter ended with a treaty, according to which Casimir received the lands of Lviv, Przemysl and Galician, and Lubart - Volyn, Kholm and Belz. After this, Casimir once again tried to take possession of Volyn, but it remained with Lithuania. After the death of Casimir, the Polish crown went to his nephew Louis of Hungary, who considered Hungary his native possession and therefore wanted to annex Galician Rus' to it. After the death of Louis, Hungary went to one of his daughters, Mary, and Poland to another, Jadwiga. In 1386, Jadwiga undertook a campaign in Galician Rus' and annexed it to Poland. From then on, Germany remained one of its provinces until the partitions of Poland.

The most important works on the history of the Galician principality: Smirnov, “The Fates of Red or Galician Rus” (St. Petersburg, 1860); book Trubetskoy, “Histoire de la Russie Rouge” (1861); Lelevel, “Histoire de la Lithuanie et de la Rutenie”; Zubritsky, “History of the ancient Galician-Russian principality” (Lvov, 1852 – 55); his, “Historical-critical story of the bygone years of Red Rus'” (M., 1855); Sharanevich, “History of Galicia-Volodymyr Rus” (Lvov, 1863); his, “Essay on the internal relations of the Galicians in the 2nd half of the 15th century.” (in Polish); N. P. Dashkevich, “The Reign of Daniil Galitsky” (Kyiv, 1873); Rezabek, “Iuri II, posledni knize veskere Male Rusi” (“Casopis musea cesk.”, 1883); Filevich, “The Struggle of Poland and Lithuania-Rus for the Galician-Volodimir Heritage” (St. Petersburg, 1890). For a review of the latest works, see Linnichenko’s article, “A critical review of the latest literature on the history of Galician Rus'” (“Journal of Min. Nar. Ave.,” 1891).

With the death of his son Vladimir Yaroslavich, the Rostislavich dynasty ceased to exist, and in 1199 the Vladimir-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich took possession of the Galician principality and united the Galician and Volyn lands into a single
	Galich (1199-1340) Vladimir (1340-1392)
	Old Russian
	Orthodoxy
Form of government:	Monarchy
Dynasty:	Rurikovich
	Creation of the principality
	Remerging
	Coronation of Daniel
	Creation of the metropolis
	Loss of Galicia
	Loss of Volyn, cessation of existence

Galicia-Volyn Principality(lat. Regnum Rusiae - kingdom of Rus'; 1199-1392) - southwestern Old Russian principality of the Rurik dynasty, created as a result of the unification of the Volyn and Galician principalities by Roman

Mstislavich. After Daniil Galitsky accepted the title of “King of Rus'” from Pope Innocent IV in Dorogochina in 1254, he and his descendants used the royal title.

The Galicia-Volyn principality was one of the largest principalities during the period of feudal fragmentation of Rus'. It included the Galician, Przemysl, Zvenigorod, Terebovlyan, Volyn, Lutsk, Belz, Polissya and Kholm lands, as well as the territories of modern Podlasie, Podolia, Transcarpathia and Moldova.

The Principality pursued an active foreign policy in Eastern and Central Europe. Its main neighbors and competitors were the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Cumans, and from the mid-13th century also Golden Horde and the Principality of Lithuania. To protect against them, the Galician-Volyn principality repeatedly signed agreements with Catholic Rome, the Holy Roman Empire and the Teutonic Order.

The Galicia-Volyn principality fell into decline under the influence of a number of factors. Among them were strained relations with the Golden Horde, to which the principality continued to be a vassal during the period of its unification and subsequent strengthening at the beginning of the 14th century. After the simultaneous death of Leo and Andrei Yuryevich (1323), the lands of the principality began to be captured by its neighbors - the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dependence of the rulers on the boyar aristocracy increased, and the Romanovich dynasty was stopped. The principality ceased to exist after the complete division of its territories following the war for the Galician-Volyn inheritance (1392).

Territory and demographics

Borders

The Galician-Volyn principality was created at the end of the 12th century by uniting the Galician and Volyn principalities. His lands extended in the basins of the Sana, Upper Dniester and Western Bug rivers. The principality bordered on the east with the Russian Turovo-Pinsk and Kyiv principalities, in the south - with Berlady, and eventually the Golden Horde, in the southwest - with the Kingdom of Hungary, in the west - with the Kingdom of Poland, and in the north - with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Teutonic Order and the Principality of Polotsk.

The Carpathian Mountains in the north-west served as the natural border of the Galician-Volyn principality, fencing it off from Hungary. In the 20s of the 14th century, this border was pushed further south in connection with the unification of some part of Transcarpathia by the Galician princes. The western border with Poland passed along the Jaselka, Wisłok, San rivers, as well as 25-30 km west of the Wieprz River. Despite the temporary capture of Nadsanje by the Poles and the annexation of Lublin by Russia, this part of the border was quite stable. The northern border of the principality ran along the Narew and Yaselda rivers, in the north of Beresteyskaya land, but was often changed due to wars with the Lithuanians. The eastern border with the Turovo-Pinsk and Kyiv principalities ran along the Pripyat and Styr rivers and along the right bank of the Goryn River. Southern border The Galician-Volyn principality began in the upper reaches of the Southern Bug and reached the upper reaches of the Prut and Siret. It is likely that from the 12th to the 13th centuries Bessarabia and the Lower Danube were dependent on the Galician princes.

Administrative division

Since 1199, the border between the Galician and Volyn principalities passed between the Galician cities of Lyubachev, Golye Gory, Plesensk, and the Volynian cities of Belz, Busk, Kremenets, Zbrazh and Tihoml. The territory of both principalities was divided into separate lands or principalities.

Volyn was a single principality of Vladimir with its capital in Vladimir. Over time, the principality was divided into smaller appanage principalities, among them were the Lutsk principality with the center in Lutsk, the Dorogobuzh principality with the center in Dorogobuzh, the Peresopnitsa principality with the center in Peresopnitsa, the Belz principality with the center in Belz, the Cherven principality with the center in Cherven, the Kholm the principality with its center in Kholm and the Berestey principality with its center in the city of Brest.

Galicia consisted of four main principalities, which were either liquidated under strong princely power, or re-emerged due to its weakening. These principalities were the Principality of Galicia with its center in Galich, the Principality of Lvov with its center in Lvov, the Principality of Zvenigorod with its center in Zvenigorod, the Principality of Przemysl with its center in Przemysl, and the Principality of Terebovlya with its center in Terebovlya. Later the principalities were united under the rule of Galician. An integral part of these lands were also the territories above the middle Dniester, which were then called Ponizia, and now Podolia.

The division into smaller principalities persisted until the 13th century; later there were references only to the Galician and Volyn principalities as components of the Galician-Volyn principality.

Population

There are no sources from which it is possible to accurately calculate the population of the Galicia-Volyn principality. In the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle there is mention that the princes conducted censuses and compiled lists of villages and cities under their control, but these documents have not reached us or are incomplete. It is known that the Galician-Volyn princes often resettled residents from conquered lands to their territories, which resulted in population growth. It is also known that the inhabitants of the Ukrainian steppes fled to the principality from the Mongol-Tatars, where they settled.

Based on historical documents and topographic names, it can be established that at least a third of the settlements of Volyn and Galicia arose no later than the emergence of the Galician-Volyn principality, and their inhabitants were mainly East Slavs. In addition to them, there were a few settlements founded by Poles, Prussians, Yatvingians, Lithuanians, as well as Tatars and representatives of other nomadic peoples. In the cities there were craft and merchant colonies in which Germans, Armenians, Surozhians, and Jews lived.

Political history

Western lands of Rus'

In the 6th-7th centuries, powerful tribal alliances existed on the territory of modern Galicia and Volyn. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Dulebs are mentioned, and at the end of the same century - the Buzhans, Chervyans, Ulichs and White Croats, whose lands included 200-300 settlements. The centers of tribal political associations were fortified “cities”. It is known that the Croats and Dulebs acted as “tolkovinas,” that is, allies of the Rusyns in Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium in 907.

Historians admit that in the early 60s of the 10th century the lands of Galicia and Volyn were annexed to Kievan Rus by Svyatoslav Igorevich, but after his death in 972 they were annexed by the neighboring Kingdom of Poland. In 981, his son, Vladimir Svyatoslavich, again occupied these lands, including Przemysl and Cherven. In 992, he conquered the White Croats and finally subjugated Subcarpathia to Rus'. In 1018, the Polish king Boleslav the Brave took advantage of the civil strife between the Russian princes and captured the Cherven cities. They remained under his rule for 12 years, until Yaroslav the Wise returned them in the campaigns of 1030-1031. Then a peace was concluded with Poland, which assigned Cherven, Belz and Przemysl to Russia.

Principalities of Galicia and Volhynia

By the middle of the 11th century, the lands of Galicia and Volyn were finally consolidated as part of Kievan Rus. Among them, the main place was occupied by Volyn - a populous land with developed cities and a trade route to the west. The capital of all Western Russian lands was the city of Vladimir (Volyn), where the princely throne was located. The Kyiv monarchs held these strategically important territories for a long time, saving them from fragmentation into specific principalities.

In 1084, the Rostislavichs, princes Rurik Rostislavich, Volodar Rostislavich and Vasilko Rostislavich, came to power in the lands of Galicia. As a result of wars with the Volyn and Kyiv princes at the end of the 11th century, they achieved separate reigns for themselves. In 1141, these principalities were united by Vladimir Volodarevich, the son of Volodar Rostislavich, into a single Principality of Galicia with its capital in Galich. It maintained contact with the Kyiv and Suzdal princes, as well as the Cumans, to confront the Polish, Volyn and Hungarian rulers. Under Yaroslav Osmomysl, the son of Vladimir Volodarevich, the Principality of Galicia gained control over the lands of modern Moldova and the Danube region. After the death of Osmomysl in 1187, the boyars did not accept Oleg’s illegitimate son, who was declared their heir, and therefore “a great conspiracy occurred in the Galician land,” as a result of which it was occupied by the Hungarian troops of Bela III. Only with the help of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Poland, Galich was returned to the last prince from the Rostislavich branch, Vladimir Yaroslavich.

In contrast to the rapid transformation of Galicia into a separate principality, Volyn, strategically important for Kyiv, remained dependent on it until the 50s of the 12th century. Its isolation from Kyiv was started by the Kiev prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, during the period of the Kyiv reign of Yuri Dolgoruky. Izyaslav's son Mstislav managed to leave Volyn to his offspring, and from that time on the Volyn land developed as a separate principality.

Formation of a single principality

The unification of Galicia and Volyn was accomplished by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich. Taking advantage of the unrest in Galicia, he first occupied it in 1188, but could not hold it under the pressure of the Hungarians, who also invaded Galician land at the request of local boyars. For the second time, Roman annexed Galicia to Volyn in 1199, after the death of the last Galician prince Vladimir Yaroslavich from the Rostislavich family. He harshly suppressed the local boyar opposition, which resisted his attempts to centralize government, and thereby laid the foundation for the creation of a unified Galician-Volyn principality.

At the same time, Roman intervened in the struggle for Kyiv, which he received in 1201, and took the title of Grand Duke of Kyiv. In 1202 and 1204 he made several successful campaigns against the Cumans, which gained popularity among ordinary population. In the lists of chronicles and letters, he bears the title of “Grand Duke”, “Autocrat of All Rus'” and is also called “Tsar in the Russian Land”. He died in the Battle of Zavichost in 1205 during his Polish campaign.

Civil strife

Due to the death of Roman during the childhood of his sons Daniil and Vasilko, a power vacuum arose in the Galicia-Volyn principality. Galicia and Volhynia were gripped by a series of ongoing civil strife and foreign interventions.

In the first year after Roman’s death, his widow and children managed to hold Galich with the help of the Hungarian garrison, but in 1206, the boyar group of Kormilichichs, who returned to Galich from exile, contributed to the invitation to the Galicia-Volyn principality of the sons of the Novgorod-Seversky prince, sung in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Igor Svyatoslavich. Vladimir Igorevich and Roman Igorevich reigned in Galicia from 1206 to 1211 in total.

After the death of Roman, Volyn fell into small appanage principalities, and its western lands were captured by Polish troops. Svyatoslav Igorevich failed to establish himself in Volyn, and it returned to the control of the local dynasty. The legal heirs of the Galicia-Volyn principality, the young Daniil and Vasilko Romanovich, retained only minor territories of the principality.

By launching repressions against the Galician boyar opposition, the Igorevichs gave Poland and Hungary a reason for intervention. In 1211, the Romanovichs and their mother returned to Galich, the Igoreviches were defeated, captured and hanged. However, a conflict soon arose between widow Romanova both the boyars and the Romanovichs again had to leave the capital. The princely power in Galich was usurped by the boyar Vladislav Kormilichich, who was expelled in 1214 by the Hungarians and Poles. Andras II, King of Hungary, and Leszek the White, Prince of Krakow, divided Galicia between themselves. Andras II planted his son Koloman in Galich. Soon, the Hungarians quarreled with the Poles and took possession of all of Galicia, as a result of which Leszek called for help from the Novgorod prince Mstislav Udatny, who had recently participated in the triumphant capture of Vyshgorod and Kyiv from the Olgovichi and, according to one version, was the grandson of Yaroslav Osmomysl. In 1215, with Polish help, the Romanovichs regained Vladimir, and in 1219 they conquered lands along the Western Bug from Poland.

For several years, Mstislav Udatny fought for Galich against the Hungarians with varying success, until in 1221 he finally established himself in the Galician reign, making peace with the king and marrying his daughter to Prince Andrew. To strengthen his power, Mstislav entered into an alliance with the young princes and married his daughter to Daniel. However, soon after the Battle of Kalka (1223), a conflict arose between Leshek and Daniil, on the one hand, and Mstislav and the appanage Belz prince Alexander Vsevolodovich, on the other. Causing discontent among the boyars and not having the strength to stay in power, Mstislav, during his lifetime, transferred the Galician reign to Prince Andrew. In 1227, Daniil and his brother defeated the appanage Volyn princes and by 1230 united Volyn in their hands. Thus, Daniil and Vasilko regained half of the lands that belonged to their father. For the next eight years they fought a war for Galicia, first against the Hungarians, then against Mikhail of Chernigov. In 1238, Daniel finally occupied Galich and recreated the Galicia-Volyn principality.

Reign of Daniil Romanovich

Having united the fragmented possessions of Father Roman, brothers Daniil and Vasilko peacefully distributed power. The first one sat in Galich, and the second one in Vladimir. The leadership in this duumvirate belonged to Daniil, since he was the eldest son of Roman Mstislavich.

Before the Mongol invasion of Rus', the Galicia-Volyn principality managed to expand its borders. In 1238, Konrad Mazowiecki donated the Russian city of Dorogoczyn to the Dobrzyn Order of Crusaders, and Daniil Romanovich occupied it and the northwestern lands of Beresteyshchyna. In the spring of 1238, a raid on Mazovia was carried out by Mindovg, an ally of Daniel. In 1239, Daniel annexed the Turovo-Pinsk principality to his lands and took possession of Kiev the following winter.

With the arrival of the Mongols, the positions of the Galician-Volyn princes were shaken. In 1240, the Mongols took Kyiv, and in 1241 they invaded Galicia and Volyn, where they sacked and burned many cities, including Galich and Vladimir. Taking advantage of the departure of the princes to Hungary and Poland, the boyar elite rebelled. Its neighbors took advantage of the weakness of the principality and tried to capture Galich. In response, the Galicians captured Polish Lublin in 1244, and in 1245 they defeated the Hungarians, Poles and rebellious boyars in the Battle of Yaroslav. The boyar opposition was completely destroyed, and Daniil was able to centralize the administration of the principality.

The Golden Horde was dissatisfied with the strengthening of the positions of the Galicia-Volyn lands, which delivered an ultimatum to the principality demanding that Galicia be transferred to it. Lacking the strength to resist the Mongols, Daniel was forced to recognize the suzerainty of the Golden Horde Khan in 1245, but retained the rights to the Galicia-Volyn principality. Having become dependent on the Golden Horde, the prince directed his foreign policy towards the creation of an anti-Horde coalition of states. To this end, he entered into an alliance with Poland, Hungary, Mazovia and the Teutonic Order, and also captured the Yatvingian lands and Black Rus' in 1250-1253, thereby eliminating the threat of a Lithuanian attack on Volhynia.

In 1254, Daniil received the title of King of Rus' from Pope Innocent IV in Dorogochina. The Pope promised to organize a crusade against the Mongols and actually called on the Christians of Central Europe and then the Baltic states to join him.

But Daniel did not go for the Catholicization of the subject lands, so he had to not only fight against the Mongols himself, but also, instead of expelling the Horde Baskaks from Kyiv, repel an attack on Lutsk by the Lithuanians, whom the pope had already allowed in 1255 fight Russian land. The rupture of allied relations occurred after the independent capture of Vozvyagl by Galician-Volynian troops in Kyiv land before the approach of the Lithuanians. The first war (1254-1257) against the troops of Kuremsa was victorious, but in 1258 the Mongol troops were led by Burundai, who in the next two years, together with Vasilko Romanovich, carried out military campaigns against Lithuania and Poland, and also forced the demolition of the fortifications of several Volyn cities.

In 1264, Daniel died without liberating the Galicia-Volyn principality from the Horde yoke.

Galicia-Volyn principality at the end of the XIII-XIV centuries

In the second half of the 13th century, after the death of Daniil Romanovich, seniority in the dynasty passed to Vasilko, but he continued to reign in Vladimir. Lev, his father's successor, got Galich, Przemysl and Belz, Mstislav - Lutsk, Shvarn, married to the daughter of Mindovg, - Kholm with Dorogochin.

In the mid-1260s, a contender for the Lithuanian throne, Voishelk, the son of Mindovg, turned to Vasilko for help. Vasilko and Shwarn helped Voishelko establish himself in Lithuania. In 1267, Voishelk entered a monastery and transferred his principality to Schwarn, who was his son-in-law. Shwarn's reign on the Lithuanian table was shaky, because it relied on Voishelk's orders. And when the Galician prince Lev killed Voyshelk during a feast in 1268, Shvarn’s position in the Lithuanian land became completely unsightly. Schwarn himself soon died. Troyden settled under the Lithuanian reign, and Lev Danilovich took the Shvarna volost in Rus'.

In 1269, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vasilko Romanovich died. Vasilko's vast possessions were inherited by his son, Vladimir. In the 70s, Vladimir and Lev fought with the Yatvingians; At this time, the Galician-Volyn princes began border conflicts with the “Poles”. Together with the Tatars, the squads of Lev and Vladimir went to the Lithuanian land in 1277, “to the Ugra” in 1285, and in 1286 they devastated the Krakow and Sandomierz lands. In 1288-89, Lev Danilovich actively supported the contender for the Krakow throne - the Płock prince Bolesław Zemowitovich, his nephew - in his fight against Henry of Wraclaw. In this campaign, Leo managed to capture the Lublin land. In 1288, the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich died. Vladimir had no children, and he bequeathed all his lands to Mstislav Danilovich. Shortly before his death, Leo made a raid on Poland, from where he returned with great booty and a full load. The news about the double defeat of Leo by Gediminas, and about the latter’s conquest of Volyn, taken by the compiler of the Gustyn Chronicle from the Bykhovets Chronicle, is considered unreliable.

The new Galician prince Yuri I Lvovich, the son of Lev Danilovich, in 1303 obtained recognition of a separate Little Russian Metropolis from the Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1305, wanting to emphasize the power of the Galician-Volyn state and inheriting his grandfather Daniil of Galicia, he took the title of “King of Little Rus'”. In foreign policy Yuri I maintained good relations and formed alliances with the Teutonic Order to contain the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Horde, and Masovia against Poland. After his death in 1308, the Galician-Volyn principality passed to his sons Andrei Yuryevich and Lev Yuryevich, who began the fight against the Golden Horde, traditionally relying on Teutonic Knights and Mazovian princes. It is believed that the princes died in one of the battles with the Mongols or were poisoned by them (1323). Also, some historians claim that they died defending Podlasie from Gediminas. They were succeeded by Vladimir Lvovich, who became the last representative of the Romanovich dynasty.

After the end of the rule of the Rurik dynasty, Yuri II Boleslav, the son of Maria Yurievna, daughter of Yuri Lvovich, and the Mazovian prince Troyden, became the Galician-Volyn monarch. He regulated relations with the Golden Horde khans, recognizing his dependence on them and making a joint campaign against Poland with the Mongols in 1337. While maintaining peace with Lithuania and the Teutonic Order, Yuri II had poor relations with Hungary and Poland, which were preparing a joint attack on the Galician-Volyn principality. In domestic policy he promoted the development of cities, granting them Magdeburg law, intensified international trade and wanted to limit the power of the boyar elite. To implement his plans, Yuri II attracted foreign specialists and helped the Uniate processes between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. These actions of the prince eventually displeased the boyars, who poisoned him in 1340.

The death of Yuri II put an end to the independence of the Galician-Volyn principality. A period of struggle for these lands began, which ended with the division of the principality between its neighbors. In Volyn, Lyubart-Dmitry Gediminovich, the son of the Lithuanian prince Gedimin, was recognized as prince, and in Galicia, the noble boyar Dmitry Detko was the deputy of the Volyn prince. In 1349, the Polish king Casimir III the Great organized a large campaign against the Galician-Volyn principality, seized the Galician lands and began a war with the Lithuanians for Volyn. The war for the Galician-Volyn inheritance between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1392 with the loss of lands in Volyn by the Volyn prince Fedor Lyubartovich. Galicia with the Principality of Belz and the Kholm region became part of the Kingdom of Poland, and Volyn went to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Galicia-Volyn principality finally ceased to exist.

Socio-economic history

Society

The society of the Galicia-Volyn principality consisted of three layers, membership of which was determined by both pedigree and type of occupation. The social elite was formed by princes, boyars, and clergy. They controlled the lands of the state and its population.

The prince was considered a sacred person, “a ruler given by God,” the owner of all the land and cities of the principality, and the head of the army. He had the right to give his subordinates allotments for their service, and also to deprive them of lands and privileges for disobedience. In state affairs, the prince relied on the boyars, the local aristocracy. They were divided into “old” and “young”, who were also called “the best”, “great” or “deliberate”. The great senior boyars made up the administrative elite and the “senior squad” of the prince. They owned “Batkovshchina” or “dednitstva”, ancient family lands, and new land plots and cities granted from the prince. Their sons, “youths,” or junior boyars, constituted the prince’s “junior squad” and served at his court as close “court servants.” The administration of the clergy was represented by six dioceses in Vladimir (Volyn), Przemysl, Galich and Ugrovsk (later in Kholm), Lutsk and Turovsk. These bishoprics owned vast lands near these cities. In addition to them, there were a number of monasteries that controlled significant territories and the population living on them. After the creation in 1303 of the Galician Metropolis, dependent on the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Galician Metropolitan became the head of the church in the Galician-Volyn lands.

Separate from the princes and boyars, there was a group of city administrators, “moulded men,” who controlled the life of the city, carrying out the orders of the princes, boyars or clergy to whom this city belonged. The urban patriciate gradually formed from them. Next to them in the city lived “ordinary people”, the so-called “citizens” or “mestichs”. All of them were obliged to pay taxes in favor of the princes and boyars.

The largest group of the population in the principality were the so-called “simple” villagers - “smerds”. Most of them were free, lived in communities and paid taxes in kind to the authorities. Sometimes, due to excessive extortions, the smerdas left their homes and moved to the virtually uncontrolled lands of Podolia and the Danube region.

Economy

The economy of the Galicia-Volyn principality was mainly subsistence. It was based on agriculture, which was based on self-sufficient land - courtyards. These economic units had their own arable land, hayfields, meadows, forests, places for fishing and hunting. The main agricultural crops were mainly oats and wheat, less wheat and barley. In addition, livestock breeding was developed, especially horse breeding, as well as sheep and pig breeding. Important components of the economy were trades - beekeeping, hunting and fishing.

Among the crafts, blacksmithing, leatherworking, pottery, weapons and jewelry were famous. Since the principality was located in forest and forest-steppe zones, which were densely covered with forest, woodworking and construction reached special development. One of the leading industries was salt making. The Galician-Volyn principality, together with the Crimea, supplied salt to the entire Kievan Rus, as well as to Western Europe. Favorable location principalities - on black soil lands - especially near the rivers Sana, Dniester, Vistula, etc., made it possible active development Agriculture. Therefore, Galich was also one of the leaders in bread exports.

Trade in the Galician-Volyn lands was not developed properly. Most of the manufactured products were used internally. The lack of access to the sea and large rivers prevented the conduct of widespread international trade, and, naturally, the replenishment of the treasury. The main trade routes were overland. In the east they connected Galich and Vladimir with the Kyiv and Polotsk principalities and the Golden Horde, in the south and west - with Byzantium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Holy Roman Empire, and in the north - with Lithuania and the Teutonic Order. The Galician-Volyn principality exported mainly salt, furs, wax and weapons to these countries. Imported goods were Kyiv art and jewelry, Lithuanian furs, Western European sheep wool, cloth, weapons, glass, marble, gold and silver, as well as Byzantine and oriental wines, silks and spices.

Trade took place in the cities of the Galicia-Volyn principality, of which there were more than eighty by the end of the 13th century. The largest of them were Galich, Kholm, Lvov, Vladimir (Volynsky), Zvenigorod, Dorogochin, Terebovlya, Belz, Przemysl, Lutsk and Berestye. Princes encouraged international trade by reducing taxes on merchants along trade routes and town squares.

The state treasury was replenished through tribute, taxes, extortions from the population, wars and confiscation of properties from unwanted boyars. Russian hryvnias, Czech groschen and Hungarian dinars were used in the territory of the principality.

Control

The head and highest representative of power in the principality was the prince. He united in his hands the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, and also had a monopoly on the right to conduct diplomatic relations. Trying to become an absolute “autocrat,” the prince was constantly in conflict with the boyars, who sought to maintain their independence and turn the monarch into their own political instrument. The strengthening of princely power was also hampered by the duumvirates of princes, the fragmentation of principalities and the intervention of neighboring states. Although the monarch had the right to make decisions on his own, he sometimes convened boyar “dumas” to resolve the most important issues and problems. These meetings acquired a permanent character from the 14th century, finally blocking the “autocracy” of the prince, which was one of the reasons for the decline of the Galician-Volyn principality.

The princely central administration consisted of boyars appointed by the prince and was quite differentiated; had a number of special titles, such as “court”, “printer”, “scribe”, “steward” and others. But these were rather titles than positions, since the persons occupying them often carried out orders from the prince that were not related to their official duties. That is, in the Galicia-Volyn principality there was no effective bureaucratic apparatus, and specialization in management had not yet been consistently carried out, which was characteristic feature for all European states of the Middle Ages.

Until the end of the 13th century, the regional administration was concentrated in the hands of appanage princes, and from the beginning of the 14th century, in connection with the transformation of the appanage principalities of the Galician-Volyn state into volosts, in the hands of princely volost governors. The prince chose most of the governors from the boyars, and sometimes from the clergy. In addition to volosts, princely governors were sent to cities and large urban areas.

The structure of cities in the 12th - 13th centuries was the same as in other Russian lands - with the advantage of the boyar-patrician elite, with a division into taxation units - hundreds and streets, with a city council - the veche. During this period, the cities belonged directly to the princes or boyars. In the 14th century, with the penetration of Magdeburg law into the Galicia-Volyn principality, a number of cities, including Vladimir (Volyn) and Sanok, adopted a new semi-self-governing system.

The judicial power was combined with the administrative power. The highest court was held by the prince, and below - by the tivuns. The basic law remained the provisions of “Russian Pravda”. The city court was often based on German law.

Army

The army of the Galicia-Volyn principality was organized following the example of the traditional Russian one. It consisted of two main parts - the “squad” and the “warriors”.

The squad served as the basis of the princely army and was formed from units of the boyars. The “big” boyars were obliged to go on campaign personally with a certain number of cavalry and their subjects, the number of which could reach a thousand people. Ordinary boyars were required to arrive at positions only accompanied by two warriors - a heavily armed gunsmith and an archer-sagittarius. The young boyars “youths” formed a kind of guard for the prince, constantly staying with him. In turn, the warriors were the people's militia and were formed from “ordinary people” - townspeople and villagers; they were used only in emergency situations. However, due to constant internal struggle, the prince could not always count on the help of the boyars.

The military reforms of Daniil Romanovich, who was the first in the space of the former Kievan Rus to create a princely army independent of the boyar squad, recruited from ordinary people and landless boyars, became epoch-making for the Galician-Volyn state. It was divided into heavily armed gunsmiths and lightly armed archers. The former performed shock functions, both cavalry and infantry, and the latter played the role of instigator of the battle and covering units. This army did not have unified weapons, but used a modern arsenal of the Western European model - lightweight iron armor, spears, sulitsa, slingshots, swords, lightweight Rozhan bows, slings, crossbows, as well as medieval artillery with “military and hail vessels.” This army was personally commanded by the prince or the governor or tysyatsky loyal to him.

In the 13th century, fortification construction underwent changes. Old Russian fortifications made of earthen ramparts and wooden walls began to be replaced by castles made of stone and brick. The first new fortresses were erected in Kholm, Kamenets, Berestye, Chertorysk.

Culture

On the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality, a distinctive culture was formed, which not only inherited the traditions of Kievan Rus, but also absorbed many innovations from neighboring countries. Most modern information about this culture has come to us in the form of written evidence and archaeological artifacts.

The main cultural centers of the principality were large cities and Orthodox monasteries, which at the same time played the role of the main educational centers of the country. Volyn played a leading role in the cultural life of the country. The city of Vladimir itself, the main city of the Volyn principality, was an ancient citadel of the Rurikovichs. The city became famous thanks to Prince Vasily, whom the chronicler recalled as “a great scribe and philosopher, the likes of whom have never existed in all the earth and who will not exist after him.” This prince developed the cities of Berestya and Kamenets, created his own library, and built many churches throughout Volyn, to which he gave icons and books. Another significant cultural center was Galich, famous for its Metropolitan Cathedral and the Church of St. Panteleimon. The Galician-Volyn Chronicle was also written in Galich and the Galician Gospel was created. The largest and most famous monasteries in the principality were Poloninsky, Bogorodichny and Spassky.

Little is known about the architecture of the principality. Written sources describe mainly churches, without mentioning the secular houses of princes or boyars. There is also little data from archaeological excavations, and they are not enough for an accurate reconstruction of the structures of that time. The remains of the principality's temples and records in chronicles make it possible to assert that in these lands the traditions of the architecture of Kievan Rus remained strong, but new trends in Western European architectural styles were felt.

The fine arts of the principality were strongly influenced by Byzantine art. Galicia-Volyn icons were especially valued in Western Europe, many of them ended up in Polish churches after the conquest of the principality. The art of icon painting of the Galician-Volyn lands had common features with the Moscow icon painting school of the 14th-15th centuries. Although Orthodox traditions did not encourage the development of sculpture in connection with the fight against idolatry, the pages of the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle mention sculptural masterpieces in Galich, Przemysl and other cities, which indicates Catholic influence on the masters of the principality. Fashion in decorative art, especially in the processing of weapons and military devices, was dictated by Asian countries, in particular the Golden Horde.

The development of culture in the Galician-Volyn principality contributed to the consolidation of the historical traditions of Kievan Rus; for many centuries they have been preserved in architecture, fine arts, literature, chronicles and historical works. But at the same time, the principality came under the influence of Western Europe, where the Galician-Volyn princes and nobility sought protection from aggression from the east.

Russian princely families originating from the Galicia-Volyn principality

The descendants of the Galician-Volyn princes are considered to be the following:

• Drutsky
• Drutsky-Sokolinsky
• Drutsky-Sokolinsky-Gurko-Romeiko
• Drutsky-Lyubezhsetsky
• Babichevs
• Putyatiny

Sources and historiography

Sources

The main sources for studying the history of the Galicia-Volyn principality are local and foreign chronicles, travel descriptions, various letters, and archaeological excavation data.

The initial period of the history of Galicia and Volyn during the period of the first Rostislavichs is described by the Tale of Bygone Years, and the events of 1117-1199 are narrated by the Kiev Chronicle. The years 1205-1292 are covered by the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, which is conventionally divided into two parts - the reign of Daniil Romanovich and the reign of Vladimir Vasilyevich.

The main sources describing the history of Galicia and Volhynia include the Polish chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, the chronicles of Vincent Kadlubek and the chronicles of Jan Dlugosz, the Czech Chronicle of Kozma of Prague, the German chronicles of Thietmar of Marseburg and the Hungarian chronicles of Janos Turoczy and Chronicon Pictum. ABOUT recent years The existence of the Galicia-Volhynia principality is narrated by the Polish chronicles of Janko of Czarnkov, Trask, Lesser Poland Chronicle, as well as the Czech chronicles of Frantisek of Prague and the Hungarian Dubgicka chronicle.

Valuable are the charters of Vladimir Vasilyevich in 1287 and Mstislav Daniilovich in 1289, inscribed in the Galician-Volyn Chronicle, and the originals of the charters of Andrei and Lev Yuryevich in 1316-1325 and Yuri II in 1325-1339.

Historiography

The first studies on the history of Galicia and Volyn appeared at the end of the 18th century. These were the works of Austrian historians L. A. Gebhard, R. A. Hoppe and J. H. Engel. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Polish historian F. Syarchinsky published works on the history of the principalities of Przemysl and Belz, Z. M. Garasevich compiled materials on the history of the church in Galicia.

The first historian who wrote the scientific “History of the Ancient Galician-Russian Principality” in three parts (1852-1855) was D. Zubritsky. His work was followed by A. Petrushevich, who in 1854, in the article “Review of the most important political and church incidents in the Principality of Galicia from the half of the 12th to the end of the 13th century.” gave overall rating history of Galicia. In 1863, a professor at Lvov University, I. Sharanevich, for the first time, based on historical, archaeological and toponymic sources, published in Lvov “The History of Galician-Volyn Rus from Ancient Times to the Summer of 1453.” His work was continued by historians S. Smirnov, A. Belevsky and A. Levitsky.

In the first half of the 19th century, the history of Volyn and the Kholm region was studied by S. Russov, M. Maksimovich, V. Komashko, L. Perlstein and M. Verbitsky, Yu. T. Stetsky, A. Krushinsky and others. Their works were of a review-popular nature. In 1885, a specialized work by A. V. Longinov, “Cherven Cities, a Historical Sketch, in Connection with the Ethnography and Topography of Chervona Rus,” dedicated to the history of the Kholm region, was published in Warsaw. Ancient history Volyn was covered in 1887 in the work of O. Andreyashev and in 1895 in the monograph of P. Ivanov.

Most works of the 19th century covered mainly the political themes of the Galicia-Volyn principality, without touching on the socio-economic ones. Also, the history of Galicia and Volyn was viewed through the prism of the political existence of Austria-Hungary and Russian Empire, legalizing the rights and claims of these states to the above-mentioned lands.

After the annexation of Western Ukraine to the USSR in 1939, the topic of the Galicia-Volyn principality was raised by Soviet historiography. Researchers of the 20th century paid attention mainly to the socio-economic situation in the principality. New approaches to covering the history of the principality were presented in the works of B. D. Grekov, V. I. Picheta, V. T. Pashuto. In 1984, the first fundamental monograph on the history of the Galicia-Volyn principality was published under the authorship of I. Kripyakevich.

The territory of the Galician-Volyn land extended from the Carpathians to Polesie, covering the flows of the Dniester, Prut, Western and Southern Bug, and Pripyat rivers. Natural conditions The principalities favored the development of agriculture in the river valleys, and in the foothills of the Carpathians - salt mining and mining. Trade with other countries played an important place in the life of the region, in which the cities of Galich, Przemysl, and Vladimir-Volynsky were of great importance.

The strong local boyars played an active role in the life of the principality, in constant struggle with which the princely authorities tried to establish control over the state of affairs in their lands. The processes taking place in the Galicia-Volyn land were constantly influenced by the policies of the neighboring states of Poland and Hungary, where both princes and representatives of boyar groups turned for help or to find refuge.

The rise of the Galician principality began in the second half of the 12th century. under Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl (1152-1187). After the unrest that began with his death, the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich managed to establish himself on the Galich throne, who in 1199 united the Galich land and most of the Volyn land as part of one principality. Waging a fierce struggle with the local boyars, Roman Mstislavich tried to subjugate other lands of Southern Rus'.

After the death of Roman Mstislavich in 1205, his eldest son Daniel (1205-1264), who was then only four years old, became his heir. A long period of civil strife began, during which Poland and Hungary tried to divide Galicia and Volyn between themselves. Only in 1238, shortly before Batu’s invasion, Daniil Romanovich managed to establish himself in Galich. After the conquest of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars, Daniil Romanovich found himself in vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. However, the Galician prince, who had great diplomatic talents, skillfully used the contradictions between the Mongolian state and Western European countries.

The Golden Horde was interested in preserving the Principality of Galicia as a barrier from the West. In turn, the Vatican hoped, with the assistance of Daniil Romanovich, to subjugate the Russian Church and for this promised support in the fight against the Golden Horde and even a royal title. In 1253 (according to other sources in 1255) Daniil Romanovich was crowned, but did not accept Catholicism and did not receive real support from Rome to fight the Tatars.

After the death of Daniil Romanovich, his successors were unable to resist the collapse of the Galicia-Volyn principality. By the middle of the 14th century. Volyn was captured by Lithuania, and the Galician land by Poland.

Novgorod land

From the very beginning of the history of Rus', the Novgorod land played a special role in it. The most important feature of this land was that the traditional farming practice of the Slavs, with the exception of growing flax and hemp, did not provide much income here. The main source of enrichment for the largest landowners of Novgorod - the boyars - was profit from the sale of trade products - beekeeping, hunting fur and sea animals.

Along with the Slavs who lived here since ancient times, the population of the Novgorod land included representatives of the Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. In the XI-XII centuries. Novgorodians mastered the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and held access to the Baltic Sea in their hands from the beginning of the 13th century. The Novgorod border in the West ran along the line of Lakes Peipus and Pskov. The annexation of the vast territory of Pomerania from the Kola Peninsula to the Urals was important for Novgorod. Novgorod maritime and forestry industries brought enormous wealth.

Trade ties of Novgorod with its neighbors, especially with the countries of the Baltic basin, strengthened from the middle of the 12th century. Furs, walrus ivory, lard, flax, etc. were exported to the West from Novgorod. Items imported to Rus' were cloth, weapons, metals, etc.

But despite the size of the territory of the Novgorod land, it was distinguished by a low level of population density and a relatively small number of cities compared to other Russian lands. All cities, except for the “younger brother” of Pskov (separated from 1268), were noticeably inferior in number of inhabitants and in importance to the main city of the Russian medieval North - Mister Veliky Novgorod.

The economic growth of Novgorod prepared the necessary conditions for its political isolation into an independent feudal boyar republic in 1136. The princes in Novgorod retained exclusively official functions. The princes acted in Novgorod as military leaders, their actions were under the constant control of the Novgorod authorities. The right of the princes to court was limited, their purchase of lands in Novgorod was prohibited, and the income they received from the properties determined for their service was strictly fixed. From the middle of the 12th century. The Grand Duke of Vladimir was formally considered the Prince of Novgorod, but until the middle of the 15th century. he did not have the opportunity to really influence the state of affairs in Novgorod.

The highest governing body of Novgorod was evening, real power was concentrated in the hands of the Novgorod boyars. Three to four dozen Novgorod boyar families held in their hands more than half of the privately owned lands of the republic and, skillfully using the patriarchal-democratic traditions of Novgorod antiquity to their advantage, did not let go of the power over the richest land of the Russian Middle Ages from under their control.

Elections to positions were carried out from the environment and under the control of the boyars mayor(head of city administration) and Tysyatsky(leaders of the militia). Under boyar influence, the post of head of the church was replaced - archbishop. The archbishop was in charge of the treasury of the republic, the external relations of Novgorod, the law of court, etc. The city was divided into 3 (later 5) parts - “ends”, whose trade and craft representatives, along with the boyars, took a noticeable part in the management of the Novgorod land.

The socio-political history of Novgorod is characterized by private urban uprisings (1136, 1207, 1228-29, 1270). However, these movements, as a rule, did not lead to fundamental changes in the structure of the republic. In most cases, social tension in Novgorod was skillfully

used in their struggle for power by representatives of rival boyar groups, who dealt with their political opponents with the hands of the people.

The historical isolation of Novgorod from other Russian lands had important political consequences. Novgorod was reluctant to participate in all-Russian affairs, in particular, the payment of tribute to the Mongols. The richest and largest land of the Russian Middle Ages, Novgorod, could not become a potential center for the unification of Russian lands. The ruling boyar nobility in the republic sought to protect the “antiquities” and to prevent any changes in the existing balance of political forces within Novgorod society.

Strengthening from the beginning of the 15th century. in Novgorod the trend towards oligarchies, those. The usurpation of power exclusively by the boyars played a fatal role in the fate of the republic. In conditions that intensified from the middle of the 15th century. Moscow's attack on Novgorod independence, a significant part of Novgorod society, including the agricultural and trading elite that did not belong to the boyars, either went over to Moscow's side or took a position of passive non-interference.