The internecine war of the Russian princes: description, causes and consequences. The beginning of internecine war in the Moscow principality

One of the sad pages of our history is the fragmentation of Ancient Rus in the Middle Ages. But the internecine war is not the prerogative of the ancient Russian principalities. The whole of Europe was covered with feudal wars, in France alone there were 14 major feudal majorants, between which there were continuous bloody clashes. The internecine war is a characteristic feature of the Middle Ages.

Weak power of Kiev and the law of leverage

The main reason for the outbreak of internal strife was the weak centralization of power. Periodically appeared strong leaders, such as Vladimir Monomakh or Yaroslav the Wise, who care about the unity of the state, but, as a rule, after their death, the sons again began to quarrel. And there were always a lot of children, and every branch of the family, coming from Rurik's grandfather, tried to secure a supremacy. Aggravated all the specifics of succession to the throne - the lefthanded right, when power was transferred not by direct heritage to the eldest son, but to the elder in the family. Rus internecine wars raged right up to the death of the Moscow prince Vasily II of the Dark, that is, until the second half of the 15th century.

Dissociation

In the early stages of the development of the state, there were periodically formed some alliances between several princes, and wars were waged by blocs, or for a time all of Kievan Rus united to repel raids of steppe peoples. But all this was of a temporary nature, and the princes again locked themselves in their possessions, each of which individually had neither the strength nor the resources to unite under its own head all of Rus.

Very weak federation

The internecine war is a civil war. This bloody major confrontation between the inhabitants of one country, united in certain groups. Despite the fact that in those distant times our country represented several independent states, in history it remained as Kievan Rus, and its unity, even inactive, was still felt. It was such a weak federation, whose inhabitants called representatives of neighboring principalities out of town, and foreigners - foreigners.

Explicit and secret reasons for the outbreak of civil strife

It should be noted that the decision to go to war with his brother was accepted not only by the prince, behind him stood the townspeople, merchants, and the church. The prince's power was very much limited both by the Boyar Duma and the city Veche. The causes of internecine wars lie much deeper. And if the principalities fought among themselves, then for this there were strong and numerous motives, including ethnic, and economic, and trade. Ethnic because on the outskirts of Russia new states were formed, the population of which began to speak their dialects and had their own traditions and way of life. For example, Belarus and Ukraine. The isolation of principalities led to the desire of princes to transfer power by direct inheritance. The struggle between them was fought because of discontent with the distribution of territories, for the Kiev throne, for independence from Kiev.

Dissociation of the brothers

The internecine war in Russia began in the 9th century, and minor clashes between princes, in fact, never ceased. But there were also major strife. The first dispute arose in the late 10th - early 11th centuries, after Svyatoslav's death. His three sons, Yaropolk, Vladimir and Oleg, had different mothers. Grandma, Grand Duchess Olga, able to unite them, died in 969, and 3 years later her father died. The exact dates of birth of the early princes of Kiev and their heirs are few, but there are suggestions that by the time of the orphanage of Svyatoslavich, the oldest Yaropolk was only 15 years old, and each of them already had his allotment left by Svyatoslav. All this did not contribute to the emergence of strong fraternal ties.

The first major internecine strife

The beginning of internecine war is at the moment of the brothers growing up - they have already gained strength, had detachments and watched their patrimonies. A specific reason was the moment when Oleg was discovered in his forests by hunters Yaropolk, led by the son of the governor Sveneld Lyut. After the controversy, Lut was killed, and according to some sources, his father Svenald strongly attacked Yaropolk and attacked the brothers who allegedly dreamed of the throne of Kiev. Anyway, but in 977 Yaropolk kills his brother Oleg. Upon hearing about the murder of his younger brother, Vladimir, who was in Veliky Novgorod, fled to Sweden, from which he returned with a strong army of mercenaries led by his commander Dobrynia. Vladimir immediately moved to Kiev. Taking the rebellious Polotsk, he besieged the capital city. After some time Yaropolk agreed to meet with his brother, but did not manage to reach the rate, since he was killed by two mercenaries. Vladimir reigned in Kiev throne only 7 years after the death of his father. Yaropolk in history, strangely enough, remained a gentle ruler, and it is believed that very young brothers were victims of intrigues led by experienced and cunning approximate ones, such as Sveneld and Blud. Vladimir reigned in Kiev for 35 years and received the nickname Krasnoy Solnyshko.

The second and third internecine wars of Kievan Rus

The second internecine war of the princes begins after the death of Vladimir, between his sons, whom he had 12. But the main struggle unfolded between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.

Boris and Gleb, who became the first Russian saints, perish in this mess. In the end, the upper hand is won by Yaroslav, who later received the nickname Wise. On the throne of Kiev, he ascended to 1016 and ruled until 1054, in which he died.

Naturally, the third major strife began after his death between his seven sons. Although Yaroslav during his life clearly defined the fiefdom of his sons, and the Kiev throne bequeathed to Izyaslav, as a result of fratricidal wars, he reigned on it only in 1069.

The age of fragmentation and dependence on the Golden Horde

The next period of time until the end of the XIV century is considered a period of political fragmentation. Independent principalities began to be formed, and the process of fragmentation and the emergence of new destinies became irreversible. If in the 12th century there were 12 principalities on the territory of Rus, then in the 13th century there are 50 of them, and in the XIV - 250.

In science, this process was called feudal fragmentation. Even the conquest of Rus by the Tatar-Mongols in 1240 failed to stop the process of fragmentation. Only being in the 2,5th century under the yoke of the Golden Horde began to incline the Kiev princes to create a centralized strong state.

Negative and positive aspects of fragmentation

The internecine wars in Russia destroyed and exsanguinated the country, preventing it from developing properly. But, as noted above, internecine strife and fragmentation were disadvantages not only of Russia. The quilt was also reminiscent of France, Germany, and England. Strangely enough, at some stage of development, fragmentation has played a positive role. Within the framework of one state, individual lands began to develop actively, turning into large patrimonies, new cities were built and blossomed, churches were built, large squads were created and equipped. The political, economic and cultural development of peripheral principalities under the weak political power of Kiev contributed to the growth of their independence and independence. And in some way the emergence of democracy.

However, the enemy in Russia was always skillfully used by her enemies, which was abundant. Here and the growth of peripheral patrimonies was put an end to the attack on the Rus of the Golden Horde. The process of centralization of Russian lands began slowly in the 13th century and continued until the fifteenth century. But then there were internecine clashes.

The duality of the rules of succession

Separate words deserve the beginning of internecine war in the Moscow principality in 1425-1453. After the death of Basil I the power passes into the hands of his son Basil II of the Dark, all the years of his rule were marked by feuds. Immediately after the death of Basil I in 1425 up to 1433 the war was fought between Vasily the Dark and his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich. The fact is that in Kievan Rus until the XIII century the rules of succession to the throne were determined by the lefthand law. According to him, power was passed on to the elder in the family, and Dmitry Donskoy in 1389 appointed Yuri's younger son to be the heir to the throne in the event of the death of Vasily's eldest son. Basil I died having his heirs, in particular the son of Basil, who also had the rights to the throne of Moscow, because since the thirteenth century power was increasingly passed from father to elder son.

In general, the first to violate this right was Mstislav I the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, who ruled from 1125 to 1132. Then thanks to the authority of Monomakh, the will of Mstislav, the support of the boyars, the other princes were silent. And Vasily Yuri challenged the rights, and some relatives supported him.

Strong ruler

The outbreak of internecine war in the Moscow principality was accompanied by the destruction of small areas and the strengthening of royal power. Vasily the Dark was fighting for the unification of all Russian lands. Throughout his reign, which intermittently lasted from 1425 to 1453, Vasily the Dark one repeatedly lost his throne in the struggle first with his uncle, and then with his sons and other people who were eager to the throne of Moscow, but always returned him. In 1446 he went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he was captured and blinded, and why he received the nickname Dark. Power in Moscow at this time was captured by Dmitry Shemyaka. But, even being blinded, Basil the Dark continued to fight hard with the Tatar raids and internal enemies, tearing Russia to pieces.

The internecine war in the Moscow principality ceased after the death of Basil II of the Dark. The result of his reign was a significant increase in the territory of the Moscow principality (he annexed Pskov and Novgorod), a significant weakening and loss of sovereignty of other princes, who were compelled to obey Moscow.