What is polyude and what is its meaning

People who are faced with the history of the emergence of the state among the Eastern Slavs, certainly met the concept of "polyude". Indeed, at an early stage of the country's existence, this process can be described as tax collection.

Formation of signs of statehood in Russia

So, what is polyude? Let's try to understand this issue in more detail. At the end of the eighth century, in the territory of the settlement of the East Slavic tribes , powerful tribal alliances formed, which rivaled each other for supremacy. The greatest influence and power was acquired by the tribal union of glades. They gradually dominated most of the Slavs. There were also the first signs of an emerging state, such as a single leader, a court, laws, an army and, of course, the most important component of this system - taxes. That's what polude. This is a way of collecting tax from surrounding tribes in favor of the Grand Duke. Such a system was common in all European countries at the dawn of their appearance, simply called differently depending on national nuances, but the essence was one in all - this is a replenishment of the treasury.

The taxation system of the Eastern Slavs

Russia was not the exception. The tribute, expressed in compulsory taxes, was an integral part of the state system. However, the prince, in turn, also assumed certain obligations, in particular, he had to protect the peace and peaceful life of his subjects from foreign encroachments, to protect the identity of each person, and all required a large sum of money for this. What is polyude for a resident of ancient Russia? The same as for the modern population of our country income tax, with a difference only in the method of weaning material resources. When the clearing was liberated from the Khazars by a number of Slavic tribes, they imposed their compulsory payments in their favor. But now, unlike the Khazar tribute, the population could contribute it not only with money, but also with products, products of artisans.

"Pitfalls" polyudea

Thus, the inflow of the necessary financial and monetary resources necessary for the young state was adjusted. This system was far from perfect, nevertheless lasted for a long period. In late autumn, the Grand Duke, together with his squad, began to go round all his possessions in order to collect the payments due to him and his retinue. "Walking on people" - this is what Polyudye is, the definition is very precise, because during this trip the prince stayed in large settlements, in small settlements. This went on until all lands belonging to the prince of Kiev were visited by him. At the same time, in addition to the actual payments, the population should have kept the ruler and his entourage during their entire stay in one area or another. A variety of injustices prevailed in the collection of tribute, and its main reason was the actual absence of a fixed amount of tax.

The tragedy of Grand Duke Igor or irrepressible greed?

This was the reason for the death of Prince Igor. During the next pole, he took a tribute from the Drevlyane tribe and shared it with his squad, considered the tax insufficient. Then the joint decision of the prince and his soldiers decided to return for a second tribute. They again came to the lands of the Drevlyans and demanded to pay again. Of course, this outraged the people, and they simply killed the squad along with the prince. So the lack of an order of levying taxes caused the death of Igor. The death of the Grand Duke put the state on the brink of collapse, but Igor's wife, Olga, turned out to be a very smart and far-sighted woman. She understood that this method of taxation needs to be changed, and first of all to establish the exact figure of the necessary payments. With quick and resolute strides, she pacified the agitated tribes and restored the unity of Rus.

The reform of charging the tribute of Princess Olga

Then Olga started the first serious reform of the system of tax collection from the moment of its appearance. Its first action was the establishment of a solid amount of tribute. This in the future will avoid many abuses, and as a result, make this process more legitimate. In addition, she understood that such a polyudye was a great danger for the ruler herself, and therefore she decided that all the collected resources would be taken to a certain place indicated from Kiev. Such places were called pogosts, it was there that all the collected taxes were taken by different tribes, and then representatives of the prince's power took them from there. Thus, Princess Olga simultaneously simplified the taxation system, and made it safer for the collectors themselves. This reform has allowed the state to become even more consolidated, all the quarrels over the injustice of tribute are gradually disappearing into the past.

Kievan Rus made an important step in its further development. The former scheme "tributary-lord" was a thing of the past. That's what polude on the history of Russia. The departure of such a tax system is indicative of the progress of feudal relations within the Old Russian society, and Olga's reforms were a dictate of the times, which she very accurately caught and did not allow the state to separate into separate warring parts.