The Ancient East Slav Tribes
p The East Slavs were the original settlers of the lands they inhabit today. From time immemorial they inhabited the Dnieper, Dniester and Vistula valleys and the foothills of the Carpathians, as traces of their Neolithic and Bronze Age ancestors show. In the west their lands extended as far as the upper reaches of the Danube, the Oder and the Elbe. Slavonic tribes were to be found on the territory of the southern part of the present-day Soviet Union as far back as the time of the Scythians. The first written historical references to the Slavonic peoples appeared soon after the beginning of our era and were to appear more and more frequently. The names of many early Slavonic tribes and the sites of their settlements are known to us. The polyanye lived on the east bank of the Dnieper and their main town was Kiev. The severyanye lived in the valley of the Desna on the west bank of the Dnieper as far as the Northern Donets. The woodland between the Pripet and the Ros was inhabited by the drevlyanye, whose tribal centre was Iskorosten. Further north, on the Pripet, lived the dregovichi, and between the Dnieper and the Sozh there lived the radimichi. The shores of Lake Ilmen were inhabited by Ilmen Slavs or Slovenes. The tribes which settled furthest east were the vyalichi, who lived in the valleys of the rivers Oka and Moskva. Transcarpathia in the west was inhabited by the White Groats and the Southern Bug valley by the volynians. Apart from the above-mentioned tribes there existed other Slavonic peoples as well. The East Slav tribes were the ancient forbears of the Russian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian peoples.
p The main occupation of all these tribes was agriculture. This part of the world was difficult to cultivate in that most of it 169 consisted of forest which had to be cleared. After cutting down trees and undergrowth a whole summer was required for the logs to dry and then the dry timber was burnt. Heavy branches were used to harrow the land, ashes were dug into the top layer and the seed was sown.
p When the earth had been exhausted after a number of harvests a new patch was sown, the old one being abandoned for many years at a stretch. The Slavs sowed rye, wheat, barley and millet, and kept cows, horses and sheep. Iron tools appeared at an early stage, and iron axes and ploughshares were used. The fact that the Slavs began to develop arable farming at an early stage marked an important step forward. Development was slow until the art of working iron had been mastered, an achievement which ushered in a virtual revolution in production. Iron ploughshares for wooden ploughs and later more advanced ploughs appeared, while iron axes were used to cut down trees for the clearing of new agricultural land.
p Other occupations of the Slavonic tribes were fishing and hunting. In the woods along the banks of the Dnieper there were great quantities of game and the rivers were teeming with fish. Bees used to store in the trunks of hollow trees their honey and the Slavs of old used to hollow out tree trunks to make additional stores of honey. Thus the honey of wild bees soon came to make up an important part of their diet.
p These ancient peoples originally lived in tribal communities organised on a clan basis. As their economic system grew more complex, individual families in the various communes started to occupy a position of prominence. Fortified settlements were set up on river banks. Various crafts developed rapidly and soon there were large numbers of skilled blacksmiths, potters, masons, stone- and wood-carvers. Gradually towns appeared, Kiev and Novgorod being the first important Slav towns. The clan structure of society soon came to impede the development of the economy and it gradually disappeared. It persisted longest of all in the north and remote areas, disappearing first among the polyanye in the south.
p Rich chieftains or princes were soon to emerge in the Slavonic communities. Each of them rallied to their services groups of armed retainers (druzhiny). The princes used to collect tribute from the peasants under their rule, and also added to their wealth by plundering the possessions of their fellow-princes. Long-term alliances between various Slavonic princes, beginning with the sixth century, represented the first kind of state in this part of the world.
p The Slavonic peoples were constantly exposed to hostile invasions by the Eastern nomads such as the Huns and the Avars. 170 They would sweep across their lands like a raging pestilence, leaving a trail of bloodshed behind them, plundering corn and livestock, burning down dwellings and taking men, women and children into captivity.
p The Slavs had to be always on their guard against surprise attack. At times they even did their ploughing armed, and they were soon to become extremely skilled in the art of war.
p The early Slavs were nature-worshippers: the sun, wind, storms and forest and all other natural phenomena were considered animate. The Sun God was called Dazhdbog, the Wind God Stribog and the Storm God Perun. Festivals were held in honour of the Sun. In the spring, celebrations were held to mark the end of winter and welcome spring, when round pancakes symbolising the Sun were baked. A straw figure symbolising winter was ceremoniously burnt or drowned in a near-by river and this rite was accompanied by dancing and singing.
The Slavs were a strong, stalwart people renowned for their hospitality.
The Emergence of Feudal Relations Among
the East Slavs
p Gradually numerous changes took place in the economic and social life of the Slavonic peoples. The initial changes were those of an economic variety. In the southern black earth regions oxen were increasingly used for ploughing. More and more land was cultivated and woods cleared to make room for crops. Horses were also used as draught animals. New lands to the north were opened up and agricultural methods advanced: spring and autumn sowing were introduced. Soon the Slavs were producing much more rye, wheat, barley, oats and millet. Peas, turnips and lentils also came to be cultivated on a large scale, and the peasants started to keep more livestock and poultry.
p Of course this did not mean that an age of plenty had arrived. Man was still scantily equipped for his struggle with nature, his tools were still primitive and his work slow and onerous. However, techniques were by now relatively well-advanced and produce much more abundant than in the time of the primitive communes. Patterns of social life and production were steadily advancing.
p The position of the more wealthy members of the communes and the old tribal aristocracy grew stronger as the economy developed. They tried to work their land as well as possible and to lay their hands on as much land—man’s main source of livelihood at that time—as they could. In this way the emergent prosperous stratum of society consolidated its power and extended its landed 171 possessions. They bound the peasants living on the seized territories to the land. Thus the (free) peasants or smerds, who formed the bulk of the rural population in the early Russian princedoms, gradually lost their freedom while the number of estates belonging to noble landowners or boyars grew.
p Some slave labour was used but peasants constituted the main labour force in this early Slav society. The slaves or kholops were used as an unskilled, subsidiary labour force. Vital agricultural work was carried out by the smerds. After the boyars captured lands from the peasant communes they allocated plots to the peasants, so that the latter could support themselves and their families while working for the boyars.
Soon two distinct classes were to emerge—peasants bound to their master’s land which they worked for him and feudal lords who owned the land. This development marked the beginning of the mediaeval period in Russian society.
The First Russian State
p Various alliances were concluded between the Russian princedoms as early as the sixth century. This process took place gradually in the lands around the River Dnieper. At the end of the ninth century, during the reign of Prince Oleg (879-912) the princedoms of Kiev and Novgorod united. Kiev became the centre of the new Russian state, which consisted of a number of large Slav princedoms peopled by the polyanye, severyanye, drevlyanye and other alliances of Slavonic tribes.
p The princes of this early Russian state collected tribute from their subjects themselves. They used to set off to collect this tribute at the beginning of winter together with a large troop of retainers. The prince’s subjects would bring out tribute to their ruler when he entered their village: great store was set by furs such as beaver, squirrel and marten. They brought out honey in jugs and wooden buckets, wax and farm produce.
p The common people eventually rebelled against this extortion and in the year 945 Prince Igor was slain in revenge for his excessive demands.
p On her accession, Igor’s widow Olga (ruled from 945 to 969) took cruel vengeance on the insurgents: the story goes that she burnt down their village and then had many of the inhabitants burnt alive. Nevertheless, the story also goes that she was obliged to stipulate more realistic tribute quotas and subsequently abide by the new rules.
Gradually the state of Rus extended its frontiers. Its armed might and military skills came to represent a more formidable 172 challenge. Svyatoslav (942-972) added many lands to the state of Rus and subjugated the vyatichi, the Volga Bulgars and the Khazar kingdom."He also captured Bulgarian territory in the Danube valley.
The Adoption of the Christian Religion
p As the state of Rus grew in size and strength it came into closer contact with Byzantium and Europe, where Christianity was already the universally accepted religion, while Rus was still a pagan state. The cult of the pagan nature-gods reflected the Slavs’ concepts of the power of nature but could not be used by the princes to enhance their power over their subjects.
p Christianity however held out very different prospects: it had long extolled the emperor as God’s representative on earth, and the’ Christian God was declared to be the one, omnipotent and omniscient ruler of the whole world, a factor which was stressed in support of the principle of single undivided rule in the sphere of temporal administration. As new, more complex social relations emerged the princes required a religion which would promote their unchallenged power.
p The Christian faith taught that there was no power apart from that ordained by the Lord and consequently that all good Christians should without question obey their earthly rulers, who after all were God’s representatives.
p The Christian teaching also furthered the submission of the masses with its doctrine of a life after death. All those who accepted their fate meekly were assured of a life in paradise with God and the angels, while torture in hell awaited the sinners. The ignorant masses followed this teaching and became more submissive. The magnificent churches built at that period, the elaborate services with fine singing, much ritual, and icons lit up with candles—all reflected the growing power of the feudal state, and attracted the common people.
p The Kiev Prince Vladimir (who reigned till 1015), son ol Svyatoslav, was converted to Christianity and declared it to be the official religion of Rus in the year 988. Portrayals of pagan gods and idols were forbidden and existing ones were destroyed. The men of Kiev were summoned to the banks of the Dnieper where they were baptised at the command of Vladimir.
p The nobility in the Kiev state willingly adopted this new religion, which assisted it to assert its power over the working people. However, in many districts the common people resisted the new teaching and on frequent occasions Christianity was introduced by force. There were uprisings against the introduction of the new religion in Novgorod and other towns. The Church received 173 174 large tracts of land from the ruling princes and a tenth part of the state revenues.
p Christianity brought new strength to the state of Rus. It enhanced the prince’s power and made relations with other states which had already adopted Christianity much simpler. It was no longer possible for foreigners to look with contempt on the Slavs, for they had now adopted the same faith. The Christian priests were all literate men and in the church libraries many books were collected, which were then recopied. Church schools were also opened. Cultural development advanced more rapidly than in the pagan era. This was particularly noticeable in the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054).
p During Yaroslav’s reign many magnificent buildings were erected in Kiev, including the unique Cathedral of Saint Sofia and new city walls with the Golden Gates. Many skilled artists and architects were employed in Kiev during his reign, both Russians and foreigners. Although the buildings, church paintings and icons showed a marked Byzantine influence, gradually a new, Russian style of architecture and painting was emerging.
p The power of Rus grew remarkably during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. Foreign kings sought to conclude alliances with him and Yaroslav himself married a Swedish princess and married his daughters to French, Hungarian and Norwegian kings, while his son married a Byzantine princess. All these alliances served to strengthen the links between Kiev Rus and other powers.
In the reign of Yaroslav the Wise Russian laws were first codified. The new code of laws known as the Russkaya Pravda was based on ancient Russian custom. Yaroslav’s sons supplemented the code with new decrees, one of which was particularly important, forbidding blood feuds between clans, and thus abolishing a significant vestige of clan society. The drawing up of a code of laws was an important step forward in the establishment of a state administrative network.
Popular Uprisings in the Eleventh Century
p As the feudal state was consolidated so the two classes of peasants and landowners became more and more clearly defined. The princes and the boyars started to seize peasants’ lands more and more frequently and increase the extent of the peasants’ labour services. The Church had also become an important landowner and started to oppress the peasants.
p The resistance of the oppressed also gathered momentum, particularly in years of natural disasters such as bad harvests and famine. In 1024 there was an exceptionally bad harvest and the 175 local nobility horded large stores of grain in the province of Suzdal. The old pagan priests exploited the wave of popular discontent, and stirred up the people. They rose up against the nobility demanding bread and protesting against the Christian Church, which had become yet another oppressive landowner. At this the Kiev prince marched to Suzdal and crushed the popular uprising, executing and incarcerating many of the insurgents.
p In Kiev itself in the year 1068 the working people rose up against their prince, at the time when dangerous new nomad tribes, the Polovtsi, were threatening Kiev from the East. The Kiev army of Prince Izyaslav (1024-1078) was defeated. Prince Izyaslav took refuge within the walls of the city after the defeat, and the land of the Kiev princedom was abandoned to the enemy. This alarmed the urban and country dwellers and they convened a popular assembly or vyeche on the Market Square and proclaimed: "The Polovtsi are abroad in our land! Prince, give us weapons and horses so that we can ride out and fight them!" The prince refused because he feared that the people would use those weapons against him and the boyars. This refusal sparked off an insurrection: the people drove Izyaslav from the town, seized his castle and distributed his wealth among themselves, his gold, silver and furs. The vyeche elected another ruler and then put up successful resistance to the Polovtsi.
It was against this background of intense class struggle that feudal society gradually took definite shape.
The Formation of Independent Princedoms
p Up until the twelfth century Rus was a unified state ruled over by the Grand Prince of Kiev. Admittedly, that unity had never been particularly strong or deep: the predominant form of economy was a natural subsistence variety, the links between the various settlements were far from firmly established and the economic and political organisation of the country was not particularly far advanced.
p Gradually feudal patterns of landownership started to take much firmer root in the separate princedoms of Rus—those of Vladimir, Novgorod, Chernigov, Ryazan and many others. The princes, warlords, and boyars started seizing more and more land from the smerds and enlarging their landed estates. More farm buildings appeared and agricultural labour became more organised. The labour services of the peasants for their lords were carried out under constant and strict supervision either by the lord himself or his bailiff. Groups of the peasants came to be employed in the boyar’s household and the outbuildings.
176p The three-field system came to be widely adopted: one field would lie fallow, a second would be sown in the spring and a third in the autumn. This led to increased harvests and a slow but steady development of farm implements, which was an important step forward. Towns and crafts also developed considerably.
p As these feudal estates became more prosperous and their owners more powerful, the power of the local princes grew, while the power of the Grand Prince of Kiev was weakened. The emergence of independent princedoms was at the outset a progressive historical phenomenon.
p Among the large number of independent provinces which had formerly been part of Rus were Great Novgorod and the princedom of Vladimir. The lands of the province of Novgorod were centred round Lake Ilmen and stretched far to the north beyond the Byeloye Ozero (White Lake), Lake Onega, the Northern Dvina and the Northern Urals.
p The boyars were powerful landowners who constituted the highest class in Novgorod society. Next to them came the rich merchants and other landowners, prosperous but not as powerful as the boyars. These three groups were referred to as the “finest” men and it was they who held sway over the province of Novgorod. It was they who ruled the destinies of the working people, the peasants, craftsmen, carriers, ferrymen, and the townsfolk. Although there were many more of the latter than there were boyars and merchants, they were known as “lesser” or “black” folk.
p The produce from the land and the work of the town craftsmen were sold at the bustling Novgorod market. Many merchants, or “guests”, as they were known in those days, came to Novgorod to buy the city’s highly prized wares. Among their number were frequent visitors from foreign lands. Overseas merchants brought with them expensive cloth, wines, copper, tin, dried fruit and sweetmeats. German merchants set up their own trading post which was surrounded by a high palisade. Merchants from the East also came to Novgorod, from such countries as Persia, India and Afghanistan.
p Novgorod was a leading cultural centre as well. It was an advanced city for those times, with cobbled streets and piped water. There was a large number of craftsmen in the city and many of its citizens were literate. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a large number of charters written on birch bark.
p The vyeche, formed of all the free householders of the town, played an important part in the government of Novgorod. The ruler of Novgorod was called the posadnik, and was elected exclusively from among the powerful boyars. The vyeche also 177 elected a commander of the city guard (a thousand), special troops selected from among the townsfolk. The archbishop played an important role in the city’s affairs too. There was also a prince, but this title was not hereditary. The princes of Novgorod were elected and then invited to the city. They were in charge of the troops and the court ot justice, although they were obliged to make judgements in accordance with Novgorod customs.
p There were frequent uprisings in Novgorod of the “lesser” men against the “finest” (the richer, powerful citizens). Sometimes two separate vyeches were convened, one in the Market Side and the other in Sofia Side, and the bells would ring out loudly at both ends of town. The two groups would then meet on the bridge over the river Volkhov and fierce fighting often ensued. 178 In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries about fifty uprisings of the “lesser” men against the’“finest” were recorded.
p As the power of Kiev declined the princedom of Vladimir consolidated its power and came to play a more and more dominant role. This princedom, also known as the princedom of VladimirSuzdal, stretched from the Volga to the Klyazma. It was rich in woodland, honey and fish, and contained much fertile land. Its oldest centres were Rostov and Suzdal.
p It was in this princedom that Moscow grew up. It was first mentioned in the chronicles in the year 1147, when Prince Yuri Dolgoruky (1090-1157) was recorded to have invited one of his allies, the prince of Chernigov, to Moscow and arranged a large feast in his honour. At that time Moscow was still a small settlement, occupying the territory of the modern Kremlin. It was situated in a well-fortified position on the high bank of the river Moskva and consisted of a small fortress surrounded by the dwellings of craftsmen and traders. Excavations during which arrow tips, needles and knives were unearthed have shown that this site had long been inhabited by Slavs.
p Vladimir on the Klyazma was to become the capital of the princedom of Vladimir. In its immediate vicinity Prince Andrei (1111-1174) built himself the castle of Bogolyubov—hence his name Andrei Bogolyubsky. The town of Vladimir soon became an important political centre. A cruel and despotic ruler, Prince Andrei tried to dictate his will to the lesser princes, and the local nobility eventually rose up against him and slew him.
Soon after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod Big Nest (a nickname received on account of his large family), became the ruler of Vladimir-Suzdal (until 1212). He was also a despotic ruler and gave the boyars little freedom. In the famous mediaeval epic The Lay of Igor’s Host a vivid picture is conjured up of how his army could drain the water of the Volga by tplashing it with their oars and empty the Don by drinking it from their helmets, so powerful was Vsevolod’s armed might.
The Culture of Ancient Rus
Ancient Rus had a flourishing and varied culture. The art of oral story-telling became a firm tradition, fairy-stories, tales and legends being handed down from generation to generation. Legendary figures who enjoyed great popularity were the mighty heroes Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, the shrewd and light-hearted Alyosha Popovich and the rich Novgorod merchant Sadko whose adventures took him to the underwater kingdom of the sea-king.
179p These legends, fairy-tales and proverbs reflected the spirit and rich artistic imagination of the common folk, the lives they led with their joys and sorrows, their interpretation of the past and hopes for the future. Ancient Rus had its own written language before the advent of Christianity and this was drawn on for some letters by the Greek monks who devised the Cyrillic alphabet in
p All small twigs were employed for writing on fine calf hide. Birch bark was also used with letters either embossed or cut into it Excavations m Novgorod brought to light a large number of mediaeval letters written on birch bark. Books took a long time to produce and were prized very highly.
p The first Russian chronicles were drawn up in the monasteries, where year by year important events were recorded in chronological order. One of he earliest Russian chronicles was written by the monk Nestor m the Kiev-Pechersky monastery. This and other chronicles provide unique records of Russia’s past and the study ot her early history owes a great deal to them.
p Ancient Rus was also famed for its skilled craftsmen in a great variety of crafts. The potters of that period produced a farge quantity of elegant earthenware complete with attractive 180 ornament and coloured glaze—jugs, dishes, pots, bowls and children’s toys. Another common practice was the smelting of metal in small furnaces: this was then used to fashion ploughshares, sickles, blades for wooden spades, knives, nails, horseshoes and locks. Of particular renown were the armourers, who fashioned doubleedged swords, shields, suits of armour and chain mail.
p Kiev jewellers and artisans were also famed for their fine metalwork, rich ornaments and tableware. They specialised in metal-chasing, engraving and gilding. Sometimes these artists decorated their work with whole scenes, for example an aurochs’ horn decorated with silverwork might be complete with a whole scene from a Russian legend. Sometimes artists signed their compositions: for example in Novgorod magnificent drinking cups, decorated with chase-work were found with inscriptions on the bottom such as "Bratila’s work”, "Kosta’s work”. The accomplished masters taught their crafts to their apprentices, handing down to them the secrets of their art.
Another cultural landmark of this period is the mediaeval epos The Lay of Igor’s Host dating from the XII century, which tells of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich’s campaign against the Polovtsi in the year 1185. This work by an unknown author is one of the masterpieces of early Russian poetry. Composed shortly before the Mongol invasion, the Lay contains a plea for unity among the princes of Russia.
Notes