Poljudie in Ancient Russia is a kind of tax

Everyone who studies the history of the Eastern Slavs faced the term "polyude". What is it? And how can we characterize this process? Read about this in our article.

Signs of early statehood

What do you think, polyudye in Ancient Russia is what? We will begin to deal with this issue together. In the eighth century on the land occupied by the tribes of the Eastern Slavs, already strong tribal alliances were formed. They have long rivaled each other for supremacy. As history has shown, the union of glades had a serious impact on other tribes. Over the years, they subdued most of the Slavs.

Thus, we can observe the appearance of the first signs of the nascent state:

• A single chief;
• court;
• law;
• army;
• Tax collection system.

And we with you go on to explain what the definition of polyudye is. This is one way of collecting taxes from tribes in the treasury of the Grand Duke. Such a system was distributed to all European states at the time of their inception, but due to national interests it had different names. However, their essence remained the same - the replenishment of the treasury of the prince. Now you know the meaning of the word "polyude".

The system of taxes of Russians (Eastern) Slavs

As you guessed, taxes were collected in Russia. In principle, the fees, which were expressed in compulsory fees, were part of the structure of the state system. In view of the fact that the prince collected gold from people, he had certain obligations before them. One of them was that he had to ensure a peaceful life and peace for his subjects. In other words, he had to protect his tribes from foreign invaders. The patronage of every Rusich required funds.

So, for a Slav, polyudye in Ancient Russia - is it a tax or is it still a tax? A modern analogue of polyudja is the income tax. Their difference is only in volume and resources. For example, once the clearings recaptured several Slavic tribes from the Khazars. For this they imposed their fees on their own behalf. However, these charges were distinguished by humanity. Now the Slavs could pay a fee not only with gold, but with food and a wide variety of artisans' products. Here's another definition of polyudye.

Hidden danger

There is a time. Peasants grow crops and harvest. Artisans produce various products. Tribes traded among themselves. The guards guard the borders. The Grand Duke issues laws. Taxes are collected, the treasury replenishes, and the state is strengthened. However, the polyudian system is far from perfect, but it has been used for a long time.

In the autumn period, the prince together with the squad began collecting tribute. Poljudie in Ancient Russia - this literally means walking around people, that is, walking around in yards and collecting tax. The prince went until he had gone all his possessions. This was another meaning of the word "polyude".

The people, in addition to this tribute, paid some more money so that the prince could keep the squad. Injustice reigned everywhere, but all because there was no specific amount of tax.

Igor's greed ruined

As it turned out, the polyudye in Ancient Rus is not only a tax, but also the reason for the death of one of the princes. In one of these campaigns, Prince Igor divided the polyudje of the Drevlyane with the squad and found that the tax was inadequate. Together they decided that it was necessary to take payment from them again. The squad again invaded the territory of the Drevlyane and demanded a repayment! Naturally, the Drevlyane were indignant. The result of the repeated selection was the murder of the squad and the prince himself.

The death of the prince threatened with the collapse of the state. But his wise and far-sighted wife - Princess Olga - quickly realized that this is a serious reason to change the taxation system. So she decided to set an exact amount for payments. Olga quickly and decisively reassured the agitated tribes, and also restored unity among the tribes in Russia.

Reform of the princesses

So, as already mentioned above, Olga began to reform the tax collection system. The first thing she did was to fix the exact amount. As practice has shown, this measure has allowed to avoid abuse, and the process of levying the tax became legal. The widow also understood that walking around people is a danger to the future of the Grand Duke, so another decree approved the decision that the resources would be taken to a certain place indicated from the capital. So there was a phenomenon of the churchyard in Russia. From there the collected funds passed into the hands of representatives of the prince's power. Princess Olga not only simplified the taxation system, but also made it safe for the collectors.

Thus, the reforms of the princess further strengthened and rallied the state and the tribes among themselves, and disputes and strife about injustice began to fade into the past.

In other words, polyudye is the collection of taxes in the period of Ancient Rus. We see how the reforms of Princess Olga were introduced on time. These measures did not allow the young state to fall apart into separate warring tribes.