The struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsy (XI-XIII centuries.). Vladimir Monomakh, Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich. History of Kievan Rus

In the middle of the XI century Kievan Rus faced a serious threat in the person of the Polovtsians. These nomads came from the Asian steppes and captured the Black Sea coast. The Polovtsi (or the Kumans) ousted their predecessors from the Pechenegs from these places. The new steppe inhabitants differed little from the old ones. They lived by looting and invasion of neighboring countries, in which settled people lived.

The new threat

The appearance of nomads coincided with the beginning of the process of political disintegration of Rus. The East Slavic state was uniform until the XI century, when its territory was divided into several small principalities. Each of them was ruled by an independent native of the Rurik dynasty. The struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsi was complicated by this fragmentation.

The rulers often quarreled among themselves, they organized internecine wars and made their own country vulnerable to steppe people. In addition, some princes began to hire nomads for money. The presence in the army of his own little horde became an important advantage on the battlefield. All these factors in total led to the fact that for nearly two centuries Russia was in a state of constant conflict with the Polovtsians.

First blood

For the first time the nomads invaded Rus territory in 1054. Their appearance coincided with the death of Yaroslav the Wise. Today he is considered the last prince of Kiev, who ruled all of Russia. After him, the throne passed to the eldest son of Izyaslav. However, Yaroslav had several more offspring. Each of them received an inheritance (part of the state), although formally they submitted to Izyaslav. The second son of Yaroslav, Svyatoslav, ruled in Chernigov, and the third, Vsevolod Yaroslavich, received Pereyaslavl. This city was located slightly to the east of Kiev and was closest to the steppe. That is why the Polovtsi often attacked the Pereyaslavl principality in the first place.

When the nomads were on the Russian land for the first time, Vsevolod managed to reach an agreement with them, sending an embassy with gifts to the uninvited guests. Peace was concluded between the parties. However, it could not be durable, since the steppe people lived at the expense of the robbery of their neighbors.

The Horde again invaded the Pereyaslavl Principality in 1061. This time, many peaceful, defenseless villages were plundered and destroyed. Nomads never stayed in Russia for long. Their horses feared winter, in addition, animals had to be fed. Therefore, the raids were committed in the spring or summer. After a break for the autumn and winter, the southern guests returned.

The defeat of Yaroslavich

The armed struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsians initially had an unsystematic character. The rulers of destinies could not alone fight large hordes. This state of affairs made a vital alliance between the Russian princes. The sons of Yaroslav the Wise were able to negotiate among themselves, so in their era there were no problems with coordination of actions.

In 1068 the united Yaroslavichi squad met with the steppe army led by Polovtsian Khan Sharukan. The battlefield was the bank of the Alta River near Pereyaslavl. The princes were defeated, they had to flee in a hurry from the battlefield. After the battle, Izyaslav and Vsevolod returned to Kiev. They had neither the strength nor the means to organize a new campaign against the Polovtsians. The apathy of the princes led to an uprising of the population, tired of the constant raids of the steppe inhabitants and seeing the inability of their rulers to counter something with this terrible threat. The people of Kiev called a people's veche. Residents of the city demanded that the authorities arm ordinary citizens. When this ultimatum was ignored, the discontented crushed the voevoda's dwelling. Prince Izyaslav had to hide from the Polish king.

In the meantime, the Polovtsian raids on Rus continued. In the absence of Izyaslav, his younger brother Svyatoslav in the same year 1068 defeated the steppe people in the battle on the river Snova. Sharukan was taken prisoner. This first victory allowed for a time to paralyze the nomads.

Polovtsy in the service of princes

Although the Polovtsian raids stopped, the steppe people continued to appear on Russian soil. The reason for this was that nomads were hired by Russian princes who fought each other in internecine conflicts. The first such case took place in 1076. The son of Vsevolod Yaroslavovich, Vladimir Monomakh, together with the Polovtsi, devastated the lands of the Polotsk prince Vseslav.

In the same year, Svyatoslav, who had occupied Kiev before, died. His death allowed Izyaslav to return to the capital and again become a prince. Chernigov (hereditary destiny of Svyatoslav) was occupied by Vsevolod. Thus the brothers left their nephews Roman and Oleg without the lands that they should have received from their father. The children of Svyatoslav did not have their own squad. But along with them the Polovtsy went to war. Often nomads went to war at the call of the princes, without even asking for a reward, as they received a reward during the robbery of peaceful villages and towns.

However, such an alliance was dangerous. Although in 1078 Svyatoslavich defeated Izyaslav in the battle on Nezhatinoi Niva (the Kiev ruler died in battle), very soon Prince Roman himself was killed by the Polovtsians, whom he called for.

Sich on Stugna

At the end of the XI - early XII centuries. Vladimir Monomakh became the main fighter with the steppe threat. The Polovtsi decided to reassert themselves in 1092, when Vsevolod fell seriously ill, who then ruled in Kiev. The nomads often attacked Russia when the country was without power or was weakened. This time the Polovtsi decided that Vsevolod's illness would not allow the people of Kiev to gather strength and repel the attack.

The first invasion remained without punishment. The Kumans, without encountering resistance, calmly returned to their winter wanderings. The campaigns were then led by Khan Tugorkan and Khan Bonyak. The powerful onslaught of the steppe people after a long break was made possible after the hordes that had been scattered for several years united around these two leaders.

All the Polovtsy favored. In 1093 Vsevolod Yaroslavich died. In Kiev began to rule the inexperienced nephew of the deceased, Svyatopolk Yaroslavovich. Tugorkan together with his horde besieged Torchesk - an important town in Porosye on the southern borders of Russia. Soon the defenders heard about the approaching assistance. Russian princes temporarily forgot about mutual claims to each other and gathered their squads for a campaign in the steppe. In this army there were regiments of Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich, Vladimir Monomakh and his younger brother Rostislav Vsevolodovich.

The united squad was defeated in the battle on the Stugne River, which took place on May 26, 1093. The first blow of the Polovtsians fell on the people of Kiev, who flinched and fled from the battlefield. Behind them the Chernigovites were defeated. The army was pinned to the river. The soldiers had to swim in a hurry in the river right in the armor. Many of them simply drowned, including Rostislav Vsevolodovich. Vladimir Monomakh tried to save his brother, but could not help him get out of the stagnant Stugna stream. After the victory Polovtsy returned to Torchesk and finally took the city. Defenders of the fortress surrendered. They were taken prisoner, and the city was betrayed by fire. The history of Kievan Rus was overshadowed by one of the most devastating and terrible defeats.

Backstab

Despite the great losses, the struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsi continued. In 1094, continuing to fight for his father's fate, Oleg Svyatoslavovich besieged Monomakh in Chernigov. Vladimir Vsevolodovich left the city, after which he was given to the nomads for looting. After the concession of Chernigov, the conflict with Oleg was exhausted. However, soon the Polovtsi besieged Pereyaslavl and appeared under the walls of Kiev. Steppenaks took advantage of the absence in the south of the country of strong squads who had gone north to participate in another civil strife in Rostov land. In that war the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the Murom prince Izyaslav, was killed. Meanwhile, Tugorkan was already close to taking Pereyaslavl by frost.

At the very last moment, the squad came back to the city and returned from the north. It was conducted by Vladimir Monomakh and Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich. The decisive battle took place on the River Trubezh on July 19, 1096. Russian princes finally defeated the Polovtsians. This was the first major success of Slavic weapons in the confrontation with the steppe over the past 30 years. Under a powerful blow, the Polovtsians rushed in all directions. In this pursuit, together with his son Tugorkan was killed. The following year, after the victory at the Trubezh, the Russian princes gathered at the famous congress in Lyubech. At this meeting the Rurikovichs settled their own relations. Hereditary destinies of the late Svyatoslav finally returned to his children. Now the princes could get down to the problem of the Polovtsians, as Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich insisted, who was formally continued to be considered senior.

Hiking in the steppe

At first, the struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsians did not go beyond the limit of Russia. The squads gathered only if the nomads threatened the Slavic cities and villages. This tactic was ineffective. Even if the Cumans were defeated, they returned to their own steppes, regained their strength, and after a while crossed the border again.

Monomakh realized that a fundamentally new strategy was needed against the nomads. In 1103, the Rurikovichs met at the next congress on the shore of the Dolobski Lake. At the meeting, a universal decision was made to go with the army to the steppe, into the enemy's den. So began the military campaigns of the Russian princes in places of nomadic Polovtsians. The campaign was attended by Svyatopolk of Kiev, Davyd Svyatoslavovich of Chernigov, Vladimir Monomakh, Davyd Vseslavovich Polotsky and heir of Monomakh Yaropolk Vladimirovich. After the general gathering in Pereyaslavl, the Russian army went to the steppe in the early spring of 1103. The princes hurried, hoping to overtake the enemy as quickly as possible. Polovtsian horses needed a long rest after the previous campaigns. In March, they were still fragile, which should have been in the hands of the Slavic squad.

The history of Kievan Rus did not yet know such a military campaign. Not only the cavalry went to the south, but also a large foot force. The princes counted on him in case the cavalry was too tired after a long journey. Polovtsi, learning about the unexpected approach of the enemy, began to hastily collect the combined army. At the head of it stood Khan Urusoba. Another group of 20 steppe princes led their detachments. The decisive battle took place on April 4, 1103 on the banks of the Suteni River. The Polovtsy were routed. Many of their princes were killed or taken prisoner. He died and Urusoba. The victory allowed Svyatopolk to rebuild the city of Yuryev on the river Rosi, which was burnt back in 1095 and for many years was empty without residents.

In the spring of 1097 the Polovtsy again went on the offensive. Khan Bonyak led the siege of the city of Lubin, which belonged to the Pereyaslav princedom. Svyatopolk and Monomakh together defeated his army, met with him on the river Sula. Bonyak was running. Nevertheless, the world was fragile. Later, the military campaigns of the Russian princes were repeated (three times in 1109 - 1111 gg.). All of them were successful. The Polovtsi had to move away from the Russian borders. Some of them even moved to the North Caucasus. For two decades, Rus forgot about the threat of the Polovtsians. It is interesting that in 1111 Vladimir Monomakh arranged a march in analogy with the Crusade of Catholics in Palestine. The struggle of the Eastern Slavs and Polovtsians was also religious. The nomads were pagans (in the annals they were called "filthy"). In the same year 1111 the Russian army reached the Don. This river became its last frontier. The Polovtsian towns of Sugrov and Sharukan were captured and plundered, in which the nomads, as usual, spent the winter.

Long neighborhood

In 1113 Vladimir Monomakh became the prince of Kiev. Under him and his son Mstislav (until 1132), Rus was the last time a united and united state. Polovtsy did not disturb either Kiev, Pereyaslavl, or any other East Slavic cities. However, after the death of Mstislav Vladimirovich, numerous disputes arose between the numerous Russian princes over the rights to the throne. Someone wanted to get Kiev, someone fought for gaining independence in other provinces. In the wars between themselves the Rurikovichs again began to hire the Polovtsians.

For example, Yuri Dolgoruky, who ruled in Rostov, five times, along with the nomads, besieged the "mother of Russian cities." Polovtsi were actively involved in internecine wars in the Galicia-Volyn principality. In 1203, they, under the command of Rurik Rostislavovich, seized and plundered Kiev. Then in the ancient capital, Prince Roman Mstislavovich Galitsky ruled.

Trade protection

In the XI-XII centuries. Polovtsy did not always invade Rus at the call of one of the princes. In periods when there were no other ways to rob and kill, nomads arbitrarily attacked Slavic settlements and cities. At the Kiev prince Mstislav Izyaslavovich (ruled in 1167-1169) for the first time in a long time was organized and conducted a campaign in the steppe. The squads traveled to places of nomadism, not only to protect the border settlements, but also to preserve Dnieper trade. Merchants for many centuries used the way from the Varangians to the Greeks, through which Byzantine goods were delivered. In addition, Russian traders sold northern wealth in Constantinople, which brought princes a big profit. Horde robbers were a constant threat to this important exchange of goods. Therefore, the frequent Russian-Polovtsian wars were also conditioned by the economic interests of the Kiev rulers.

In 1185, Prince Novgorod-Seversky Igor Svyatoslavovich undertook another campaign in the steppe. The day before there was a solar eclipse, which contemporaries regarded as a bad sign. Despite this, the squad nevertheless went to the Polovtsian den. This army was defeated, and the prince was taken prisoner. The events of the campaign formed the basis of the "Lay of Igor's Host". This text is today considered to be the most significant monument of ancient Russian literature.

The appearance of the Mongols

Relations Slavs and Polovtsians for nearly two centuries fit into the system of regular alternation of war and peace. However, in the thirteenth century the established order collapsed. In 1222 the Mongols first appeared in Eastern Europe. The hordes of these ferocious nomads have conquered China and now moved to the west.

The campaign of 1222-1223 years. Was a trial and in fact was a reconnaissance. However, even then the Polovtsi and the Russians felt helpless before the new enemy. These two nations have always been at war with each other, but this time they decided to come out together against the unexpected enemy. In the battle of Kalka, the Polovetsian-Russian army suffered a crushing defeat. Thousands of warriors perished. However, after the victory, the Mongols suddenly turned back and went to their native lands.

It seemed that the storm was over. Everyone began to live as before: the princes fought each other, the Polovtsi plundered the border settlements. A few years later, the unwarranted relaxation of the Polovtsians and Russians was punished. In 1236, the Mongols, under the guidance of the grandson of Genghis Khan Batu, began their great western campaign. This time they went to distant countries in order to conquer them. First the Polovtsians were defeated, then the Mongols plundered Rus. The Horde reached the Balkans and only there turned back. New nomads settled in the former Polovtsian steppe. Gradually, two people assimilated. However, as an independent force, the Polovtsians disappeared precisely in the 1230s-1240s. Now Russia had to deal with a much more terrible enemy.