Principality of Chernigov- one of the largest and most powerful state formations of Kievan Rus in the 11th-13th centuries. Most of the Chernigov principality was located on the left bank of the Dnieper in the basin of the Desna and Seim rivers. The principality was inhabited by northerners and, partly, by glades. Later his possessions spread to the lands of the Radimichi, as well as the Vyatichi and Dregovichi. The capital of the principality was the city of Chernigov. Other significant cities were Novgorod-Seversky, Starodub, Bryansk, Putivl, Kursk, Lyubech, Glukhov, Chechersk and Gomel. The possessions and influence of the Chernigov principality reached deep to the north, including the Murom-Ryazan lands, as well as to the southeast, to the Tmutarakan principality.
Until the 11th century, the principality was governed by local tribal elders and governors from Kyiv, appointed by the Grand Duke to collect taxes from the population, resolve litigation, and also to protect the principality from external enemies, mainly nomads.
At the end of the 11th and 12th centuries, the principality was divided into a number of fiefs. In 1239 it was devastated by the Mongol-Tatars and soon broke up into a number of independent principalities, of which Bryansk became the most influential. From 1401 to 1503 - as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Story
The city of Chernigov was first mentioned in chronicles in 907, where it talks about the peace treaty of Prince Oleg with the Greeks, and it was made the first city after Kyiv. In 1024, Chernigov was captured by the Prince of Tmutarakan Mstislav Vladimirovich, who reigned there until his death in 1036. His only son, Eustathius, died childless before his father and Chernigov was again annexed to Kyiv. The Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise, shortly before his death, assigned appanages to his sons, of whom the second, Svyatoslav, received Chernigov (1054). The unbroken line of Chernigov princes begins with him. The next independent prince was Svyatoslav's eldest son Davyd, after whom, by right of seniority, the Chernigov throne passed in 1123 to Yaroslav, who was expelled by his own nephew Vsevolod Olgovich in 1127. Thus, the Chernigov principality remained in the possession of the descendants of two princes - David and Oleg Svyatoslavich. The elder line, the Davydovich line, ceased with the death in 1166 of the great-grandson of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, Prince Svyatoslav Vladimirovich. The younger line - the descendants of Oleg Svyatoslavich (“Gorislavich” - according to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”), that is, the line of the Olgovichs, was divided into two branches: the elder - the descendants of Vsevolod Olgovich, through the latter’s son Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, and the younger - the descendants of Svyatoslav Olgovich, through his sons Oleg and Igor Svyatoslavich.
After the death of Mikhail Vsevolodovich in 1246, the Chernigov principality broke up into separate fiefs: Bryansk, Novosilsky, Karachevsky and Tarussky. Bryansk became the actual capital of the Chernigov-Seversk land, since the defeat of Chernigov by Mongol-Tatar troops no longer allowed it to perform capital functions. The Bryansk princes were also titled as the Grand Dukes of Chernigov. In the 14th century, the fragmentation of the Chernigov-Seversky lands continued: in addition to those mentioned above, the principalities emerged: Mosalsky, Volkonsky, Mezetsky, Myshetsky, Zvenigorod and others; The Novosilsk principality splits into Vorotynskoye, Odoevskoye and Belevskoye. In 1357, Bryansk was captured by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd, and the principality lost its independence. However, even under Lithuanian rule it maintained autonomous governance for several decades; The last Prince of Bryansk and Grand Duke of Chernigov was Roman Mikhailovich. Subsequently, he was the Lithuanian governor in Smolensk, where in 1401 he was killed by rebel townspeople. By the end of the 15th century, most of the appanage principalities in the Chernigov-Seversk land were liquidated and the corresponding territories belonged directly to the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who installed his governors in the cities.
The owners of the small Chernigov principalities at different times lost their independence and became serving princes under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The largest of them (the Novosilsk princes) retained complete internal autonomy from Lithuania and their relations with Vilna were determined by agreements (terminations), the smaller ones lost part of their princely rights and approached the status of ordinary patrimonial owners.
In the middle of the 15th century, part of the southern Russian lands, on which appanages had already been liquidated, was granted by the Lithuanian princes to princes descended from the Moscow grand ducal family and who fled to Lithuania. Thus, several appanage principalities were restored in the Seversk land: Rylskoye and Novgorod-Severskoye (descendants of Dmitry Shemyaka), Bryansk (descendants of Ivan Andreevich Mozhaisky), Pinskoye (descendants of Ivan Vasilyevich Serpukhovsky).
The descendants of many of the appanage Chernigov-Seversk princes at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries returned to Moscow jurisdiction (Vorotynsky, Odoevsky, Belevsky, Mosalsky and others), while retaining their possessions and using them (until the middle of the 16th century, when the appanages were liquidated in Moscow, existing on the territory of the Chernigov-Seversk land) with the status of serving princes. Many of them became the founders of the Russian princely families that still exist today.
Destinations of the Chernigov principality
- Novgorod-Seversk Principality
- Principality of Kursk
- Principality of Putivl
- Bryansk Principality
- Trubchevsky Principality
- Glukhov Principality
- Principality of Ustiv
- Novosilsk Principality
- Principality of Karachev
- Rila Principality
- Lipovichi Principality
- Obolensky Principality
Novgorod-Seversk Principality
Before the Mongol invasion, Novgorod-Seversky was the second most important princely center in the Chernigov-Seversky land after Chernigov. After the Mongol invasion, the principality disintegrated, part of the lands went to the Bryansk principality, the southern outskirts were subjected to repeated devastation and partially went to the Kyiv principality (Putivl) and partially came under the direct control of the Golden Horde (Kursk). The northernmost appanage of the Novgorod-Seversky principality, Trubchevsk, remained important.
Bryansk Principality
After the Mongol invasion, Bryansk became the political center of all Chernigov-Seversky lands, although the southern and eastern princely centers were assigned to individual lines of the Olgovichi. Starodub was also an important princely center of the Bryansk Principality.
Russian princely families originating from the Principality of Chernigov
- Belevskys
- Vorotynsky
- Odoevsky
- Mosalsky
- Koltsov-Mosalskie
- Oginsky
- Puzyna
- Gorchakovs
- Yeletskys
- Zvenigorodsky
- Bolkhovsky
- Volkonsky
- Baryatinsky
- Myshetsky
- Obolensky
- Repnins
- Tyufyakins
- Dolgorukovs
- Shcherbatovs
- Kromsky
The Rus' of Yaroslav the Wise was a huge empire (according to the ideas of that time), and after its collapse due to feudal fragmentation, some new principalities themselves became strong economic and political units. One of them was the Principality of Chernigov.
Geographical position of the Chernigov principality
Chernigov lands lay northeast of Kyiv, on the left bank of the Dnieper. It was mainly a forest zone, with a large number of rivers (Desna, Seim), a temperate climate, convenient for living and farming. Dense forests and considerable distances separated the Chernihiv region from the steppe zone where the nomads lived, and largely protected them from destructive raids (it is known that the nomadic steppe people were afraid of the forest and preferred not to go deep into it).
The Principality of Chernigov captured the lands of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Its neighbors were the Murom-Ryazan, Turovo-Pinsk, Pereyaslavl and Smolensk principalities. The location features contributed to economic development, and the principality had many cities: Chernigov, Bryansk, Novgorod-Seversky, Starodub, Putivl, Kozelsk.
Result of the Wise One's error
Before his death, the princes appeared in Chernigov only temporarily (in particular, Mstislav the Brave, brother of Yaroslav, ruled there for some time). But Yaroslav himself bequeathed Chernigov to his son Svyatoslav after his death. This decision of the wise prince marked the beginning of the feudal fragmentation of Rus', and Svyatoslav, through his son Oleg, became the founder of the Chernigov Olgovich dynasty.
Like other territories, before the Mongol invasion, the Chernihiv region was rocked by civil strife. The reasons could be both the attempts of local rulers to extend power to foreign land, and the claims of neighbors to the rich Chernigov. So, in 1205, after the death of the “buy-tur” Roman Mstislavich, the Olgovichs laid claim to the Principality of Galicia, but were killed. And Mikhail Vsevolodovich (the last Chernigov prince before the Mongol invasion) for some time kept Novgorod and even Kyiv under control.
Also, internal squabbles took place between the two branches of the heirs of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich - the Olgovichs and Davydovichs. As a result, the principality quickly began to further fragment (Bryansk, Starodub, Kursk, Novgorod-Seversk and other principalities appeared).
During the Mongol invasion, Prince Mikhail refused to send help to his relative Yuri Ryazansky (it was Evpatiy Kolovrat who went to him for help), and he himself “sat out” the dangerous time in Hungary. However, some appanage estates, formally dependent on the Chernigov prince, fought bravely. In particular, tiny Kozelsk received the honorary nickname “evil city” from the Mongols and held the second place in terms of duration of defense after Kyiv (although it was 10 times smaller).
After this, the lands of the principality ended up in different states - under the control of the Mongols and Lithuania. But formally it existed until 1401, when it was finally abolished by the Lithuanians.
Rich lands
Chernihiv region was considered one of the richest regions of Rus'. Its soil and good moisture contributed to the growth of grain crops. Vast forests and reservoirs provided good opportunities for fishing - hunting, picking mushrooms and berries, beekeeping, and fishing.
The location on trade routes (in particular, next to the famous route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”) was of great importance for the economy of the Chernigov principality. Therefore, trade became one of the main occupations of the local population and stimulated the growth of cities. The townspeople were also engaged in crafts - woodworking, weapons and jewelry making, and leather processing. The results were often for sale.
The Chernigov land was considered very comfortable for living from the point of view of the Russians. However, feudal squabbles led to its capture by enemies and the disappearance of Chernigov statehood.
The Chernigov-Seversk land is a plain, which the closer to the Dnieper, the lower it is, and in the northeast it gradually rises and imperceptibly passes into the Alaun Upland. The latter actually begins on the upper reaches of the main Dnieper tributaries, namely: Sozh, Desna with Sem, Sula, Psela and Vorskla. A watershed highland runs along all these upper reaches, separating them from the tributaries of the upper Oka and upper Don. The low-lying, flat surface of the Dnieper strip is disturbed only by river hollows and many adjoining winding ravines, which are easily formed by spring water in loose chernozem-clayey soil. While the southern part of this strip resembles the proximity of the steppe, the northern part has quite a lot of swamps, lakes and forests; and on the lower reaches of the Sozh, the nature of nature is almost no different from the humid Pripyat Polesie. The part of the Alaun space adjacent to the watershed has the character of a dry, elevated plane, disturbed by hillocks and valleys, abundantly irrigated by flowing waters and rich in dense forest.
This entire wide strip from the middle Dnieper to the upper Don and middle Oka was occupied by solid Slavic tribes, namely: the northerners who lived along the Desna, Semi and Sula rivers, the Radimichi along the Sozha and the Vyatichi along the Oka. Our first chronicler says that even in the 9th century these tribes were distinguished by the savagery of their morals, that they lived in the forests like animals, ate everything unclean, and had several wives; the latter were kidnapped, however, by mutual consent, during games that took place between the villages. The dead were burned on a large bonfire, then the bones were collected in a vessel and a mound was poured over it, and a funeral feast was held. According to the chronicler, the Radimichi and Vyatichi came with their ancestors from the land of the Poles; from this we can conclude that these two tribes had their own differences in dialect; Probably, they were closer to the northern group of Russian Slavs, while the Northerners were adjacent to the South Russian dialect.
There are many pagan burial mounds scattered in the Seversk land, which, in addition to burnt corpses, contain various household utensils, weapons and clothing that belonged to the dead. These objects convince us that, contrary to the words of the chronicler, in that region, long before the adoption of Christianity, there were already significant rudiments of citizenship; that an enterprising, warlike population dominated here. The remains of the funeral feast, such as the bones of fish, ram, calf, goose, duck and other domestic animals, as well as grains of rye, oats, barley, not only indicate agriculture, but also indicate a certain degree of prosperity. All this contradicts the above news about the savagery of the Northerners, who lived in the forest and devoured everything unclean. Numerous settlements, i.e. the earthen remains of fortified places clearly indicate that the population knew how to protect themselves from restless neighbors and consolidate their possession of an open country, little protected by natural barriers.
The two main centers of the Severyansk land, Chernigov and Pereyaslavl, are mentioned in Oleg’s treaty along with Kiev. Consequently, by the beginning of the 10th century these were already significant trading cities, the origin of which dates back to even more distant centuries. According to the division of Yaroslav I, confirmed at the Lyubetsk Congress, the reign of Chernigov went to the family of Svyatoslav, and Pereyaslavl became the fatherland of the descendants of Vsevolod Yaroslavich or his son Monomakh.
The possessions of the Chernigov princes at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries - in the era of greatest isolation - approximately had the following limits. In the east, i.e. on the border with Ryazan, they walked along the upper reaches of the Don, from where they headed to the mouth of the Smyadva, the right tributary of the Oka, and ended at Lopasna, its left tributary. In the north they converged with the lands of Suzdal and Smolensk, crossing the flow of the Protva, Ugra, Sozh and abutting the Dnieper. This river served as the border of the Chernigov reign from Kyiv almost to the very mouth of the Desna. The left tributary of the latter, Oster, separated it in the south from the Pzreyaslav inheritance; and further in the southeast, the Chernigov-Seversk land merged with the Polovtsian steppe.
In the Chernigov principality there was the same appanage-volost order as in other Russian regions, i.e. There was a customary right of seniority when occupying tables, and violation of this right sometimes caused civil strife. However, the latter are less common here than in other lands of Rus'. In terms of seniority of tables, Chernigov was followed by Novgorod-Seversky, and during the 12th century we see the following phenomenon more than once. Novgorod, in conjunction with other fiefs that lay between the Desna and the Seven, such as especially Putivl, Rylsk, Kursk and Trubchevsk, shows a tendency to stand out from the general composition of the Chernigov possessions and form a special, actually Seversky reign, under the authority of the younger line of the princely family; just as in the first half of this century the Ryazan region separated from Chernigov. However, various circumstances, especially the geographical location and energy of some Seversk princes, who managed not only to take possession of the Chernigov table, but also move from here to the great Kiev, prevented such separation and isolation.
Ownership of Chernigov fluctuates for some time between two branches of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich: the Davidovichs and the Olgovichs. The latter, as a junior line, inherit the Novgorod-Seversky inheritance proper; but this ambitious tribe is not content with a secondary role. It is known that Vsevolod Olgovich not only expelled his uncle Yaroslav (Ryazansky) from Chernigov, but then occupied Kyiv itself, giving the Chernigov region to Vladimir and Izyaslav Davidovich, and the Seversk region to his brothers Igor and Svyatoslav. The younger ones, in turn, strive to follow in the footsteps of their older brother. Igor, seeking the great table, died a victim of the Kyiv mob; and Svyatoslav, after the battle on Ruta, did not occupy Chernigov only because Izyaslav Davidovich managed to ride there from the battlefield before him. However, he achieved his goal with the removal of Izyaslav Davidovich to Kyiv. Soon afterwards the Davidovich family itself was extinguished. The Olgovichi remained the rulers of the entire Chernigov-Seversk land. Then the previous phenomenon was not slow in repeating itself: the Olgovich family split into an older, or Chernigov, line and a younger, or Severskaya line. The latter again does not have time to separate itself due mainly to the fact that older relatives constantly strive to cross the Dnieper to Kyiv, and sometimes clear Chernigov for the younger line. Thus, Novgorod-Seversky has served as a transition table for quite a long time, i.e. transitional stage to Chernigov.
On February 15, 1164, the last of Oleg Gorislavich’s sons, Svyatoslav, died in Chernigov. Seniority in the Olgovich family now belonged to his nephew Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, Prince of Novgorod-Seversky. But the Chernigov boyars wanted to deliver their table to the eldest son of the deceased prince Oleg Starodubsky (known to us from the Moscow meeting in 1147). The widow princess, in agreement with the boyars and Bishop Anthony, hid her husband’s death from the people for three days; and meanwhile she sent a messenger for her stepson Oleg to his inheritance. All accomplices swore that no one would notify Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich before his arrival in Chernigov. But among those who took the oath, there was an oathbreaker, and it was the bishop himself. Tysyatsky Yuri did not even advise taking an oath from him, as from a saint and, moreover, known for his devotion to the late prince. Anthony himself wanted to kiss the cross. And then he secretly sent a letter to Novgorod-Seversky to Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich with the news that his uncle had died, the squad was scattered throughout the cities, and the princess was in confusion with her children and the great property left from her husband; the bishop invited the prince to hurry to Chernigov. The chronicler explains this behavior of the bishop only by the fact that he was Greek, i.e. confirms the widespread opinion at that time about the moral depravity of the Byzantine Greeks. Consequently, the same phenomenon that occurred after the battle on Ruta was repeated: Chernigov was supposed to go to the one of the cousins who would ride into it earlier. Having received Anthony's letter, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich immediately sent one of his sons to capture Gomel-on-Sozhi, and sent his mayors to some Chernigov cities. But he himself did not make it to Chernigov on time; Oleg warned him. Then the princes entered into negotiations and began to “get along about the volosts.” Oleg recognized Svyatoslav's seniority and ceded Chernigov to him, and he himself received Novgorod-Seversky. The dispute about the volosts, however, soon resumed, because the senior prince, contrary to the conditions, did not properly allocate Oleg’s brothers, the future heroes of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” and it came to the point of civil strife between the Seversky princes and the Chernigov princes. Bishop Anthony, who broke his oath out of zeal for Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, did not get along with this prince for long. Four years later, as is known, he was deprived of his bishopric because he forbade the Chernigov prince to eat meat on the Lord's holidays, which fell on Wednesday or Friday.
When Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, after much effort, finally achieved the great Kyiv table and divided the Kyiv region with his rival Rurik Rostislavich, he handed over Chernigov to his brother Yaroslav. Around the same time (in 1180), Oleg Svyatoslavich died, and his brother Igor remained the head of the younger line of the Olgovichs, who received Novgorod-Seversky as an inheritance. His exploits in the fight against the Polovtsy are known, and especially the campaign of 1185, undertaken jointly with his brother Vsevolod Trubchevsky, son Vladimir Putivlsky and nephew Svyatoslav Olgovich Rylsky - a campaign so famous by the Seversky poet unknown to us.
It cannot be said that Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied the senior Chernigov table with great honor; Thus, in the then lively struggle between the South Russian princes and the Polovtsians, he did not show any energy or desire. The chronicle, contrary to custom, did not even find anything to say in praise of this prince, mentioning his death in 1198. The representative of the younger branch, Igor Seversky, now received seniority in the whole Olgovich family and unhinderedly occupied the Chernigov table, but not for long: in 1202 he died, not yet reaching old age. Then Chernigov again passes to the senior branch, namely to the son of Svyatoslav Vsevolodich, Vsevolod Chermny. This restless, ambitious prince, faithful to the aspirations of the senior line, as is known, after a stubborn struggle achieved the Kyiv table; but then he was expelled from there by the alliance of the princes of Volyn and Smolensk. When the Tatars appeared, we find his younger brother Mstislav in Chernigov; and in the Seversky inheritance the descendants of the famous Igor Svyatoslavich and his wife Euphrosyne Yaroslavna Galitskaya reigned. We saw what a tragic end their attempt to inherit the land of Galicia had, when the male knee of Vladimir was cut short there. Only the eldest Igorevich, Vladimir, managed to escape from Galich in time.
Thus, despite the family accounts that sometimes elevated the younger line of the Olgovichs to the Chernigov table, history, however, led to some isolation of the Novgorod-Seversky inheritance, until the Tatar pogrom disrupted the natural course in the development of the Chernigov-Seversky region. However, this isolation was hampered by the very position of the Seversk region; its entire southeastern half lay on the border with the Polovtsian steppe and had to constantly fight with predatory nomads. In the fight against them, the daring Severn princes accomplished many feats; but at the same time they needed the active support of their older relatives. We saw how, after the defeat of the Seversky militia on the banks of Kayala, only the energetic measures of the head of the Olgovichi, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Kyiv, saved Posemye from the pogrom that threatened it.
The core of the Chernigov-Seversk land was the angle between the Desna, on the one hand, and its tributaries Ostrom and Semyu, on the other, as well as the adjacent strip of the right Desna region. If we climb up the Desna from its lower reaches, then the first Chernigov cities that we meet here were called Lutava and Moraviysk. They were located on the right bank of the river, like other cities of the Desna region, because its right bank usually dominates the left. Lutava was located almost opposite the Oster estuary, and Moraviysk was slightly higher than it. The latter is known to us from the peace concluded here in 1139 after a brutal war between the Monomakhovichs and the Olgovichs. In general, both named cities are usually mentioned in connection with the civil strife of these two princely generations over the Kyiv table. Being on a direct shipping route between Kiev and Chernigov, they probably took an active part in the trade movement. This geographical location explains why they often served as the site of princely congresses when concluding peace, as well as defensive or offensive alliances. But the same situation exposed them to frequent enemy sieges and devastation during civil strife between the Chernigov and Kyiv princes. One day (in 1159) Izyaslav Davidovich, who temporarily owned Kiev, was angry with his cousin Svyatoslav Olgovich, to whom he lost Chernigov. He ordered to tell Svyatoslav that he would force him to go back to Novgorod-Seversky. Hearing such a threat, Olgovich said: “Lord! You see my humility. Not wanting to shed Christian blood and destroy my fatherland, I agreed to take Chernigov with seven empty cities in which the hounds and Polovtsians sit; and he and his nephew hold the entire Chernigov volost behind him , and that’s not enough for him.” Svyatoslav named the first of these empty cities Moraviysk; but his contemptuous review of them shows an undoubted exaggeration.
Climbing further up the Desna, we will land at the capital Chernigov, which flaunts on its right bank, at the confluence of the Strizhnya River. From the mouth of this river to the right down along the Desna, at a distance of several miles, there are quite significant coastal hills, leaving a small meadow strip flooded with spring water. These are the so-called Boldin Mountains, along the ridge of which the city itself is located, with its two ancient monasteries. The inner city, or "detinets", fenced with a rampart and wooden walls, was located on a fairly flat hill, bounded on one side by the Desna valley, on the other by Strizhnya, and on the other sides by hollows and ravines. His face was turned towards Desna or towards his ship's pier. On the opposite side it is adjacent to the “outer” or “roundabout” city, otherwise called the “prison”; the latter was surrounded by an earthen rampart, which at one end rested on Strizhen and the other on the Desna. The gates of this roundabout city, facing Strizhn, judging by the chronicle, were called “Eastern”. The remains of a third circular rampart, located a considerable distance from the city, confirm that the filling of ramparts for a long time served in Southern Rus' as a usual method of protection from neighboring peoples, especially from predatory nomads, whose raids in those days extended not only to Chernigov, but also beyond it to North. Inside this last rampart there were probably country courtyards, princely and boyar, as well as suburban farmsteads, vegetable gardens and pastures. In the event of an invasion of the steppe cavalry, the surrounding villagers with their herds and grain reserves took refuge behind these ramparts, of course.
The main shrine of Chernigov and its main decoration was the elegant cathedral Church of the Transfiguration, built, according to legend, on the site of an ancient pagan temple. This temple is a contemporary of the Kyiv Sophia and even several years older than it. Its foundation was laid by Mstislav of Tmutarakan. At the death of this prince, the walls of the cathedral, according to the chronicle, were already built to such a height that a man, standing on a horse, could barely reach the top with his hand, therefore, two fathoms. It was probably founded about two years ago, shortly after the successful campaign of Mstislav and his brother Yaroslav against the Poles: this campaign (undertaken in 1031) ended with the conquest of Red Rus'. Perhaps the temple itself was conceived in memory of this glorious event, like the Kyiv Sophia, which five years later was founded in memory of the great victory of Yaroslav over the Pechenegs. The construction of the Spassky Cathedral, in all likelihood, was completed by Mstislav's nephew and his successor Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. We know the usual desire of Russian princes to be buried in churches that they themselves built. And not only Mstislav Vladimirovich, but also Svyatoslav Yaroslavich were buried in the Spassky Cathedral, although the latter died while occupying the great table of Kiev.
The architectural style, masonry of walls and decorations of the Chernigov Cathedral are exactly the same as those of the main Kyiv churches; undoubtedly, it was also built by Byzantine architects. According to its basic plan and three altar semicircles, it is more suitable for the Kyiv Tithe Church than for the St. Sophia Church; but is much inferior in size to both. The number of tops, or domes, apparently did not exceed the usual five. It resembles the Kyiv Sophia with its vezheya, or round tower, which is adjacent to the northwestern corner of the building, i.e. on the left side of the main entrance. This vezha contains a stone twisted staircase leading to the temple floor, or to the choirs, designated for the female sex and especially for the princely family. As in the Kiev Cathedral, the choirs go around three internal walls, i.e. with the exception of the eastern, or altar. Eight slender columns of reddish marble, four each on the north and south sides, support these floors; eight other smaller columns make up the upper tier, i.e. frame the choirs and, in turn, support the tops of the temple. The wall painting, apparently, consisted exclusively of fresco iconography. It is not noticeable that the walls of the altar and pre-altarium were ever decorated with mosaic images. Mosaics in those days were a very expensive decoration in Rus', available only to the most important churches of the capital city.
In addition to its builders Mstislav and Svyatoslav, buried in the Spassky Cathedral are: the latter’s son Oleg, grandson Vladimir Davidovich and great-grandson Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, as well as the Kiev Metropolitan Constantine, a rival of the famous Kliment Smolyatich. The following news is interesting. In 1150, when Yuri Dolgoruky temporarily occupied the Kiev throne, his ally Svyatoslav Olgovich took the body of his brother Igor, killed by the Kievites, from the Kiev Simeon Monastery, and transferred it to his native Chernigov, where it was buried, according to the chronicle, “at the Holy Savior’s house.” ", therefore, not in the cathedral itself, but in its annex. And indeed, on the southern side of the temple you can see the base of some building with an apse, or altar semicircle. Maybe this was the mentioned tower, i.e. a small side church with a chamber designed to satisfy some of the needs of the cathedral or bishopric.
The main princely palace stood right next to St. Spasa. On the eastern side of the latter there was a stone church in the name of the Archangel Michael, founded by Svyatoslav Vsevolodich when he sat on the Chernigov table. The same prince, obviously a zealous temple builder, built another church in the prince’s courtyard, in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos; she defended herself from St. Savior is somewhat further than St. Mikhail, and closer to the shore of Strizhnya. In this Annunciation Church in 1196, the cousin of its founder, Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Trubchevsky, famous Buitur "Tales of Igor's Campaign", was buried. The chronicle notes in this regard that he surpassed all the Olgovichs in the kindness of his heart, courageous character and majestic appearance. The burial of Vsevolod was performed with great honor by the bishop and all the Chernigov abbots, in the presence of “all his Olgovich brothers.” Vladimir Monomakh in “Teachings to Children” recalls that once, when he was the prince of Chernigov, he treated his father Vsevolod and cousin Oleg Svyatoslavich at his Red Court, and presented his father with a gift of 300 hryvnia of gold. We don’t know where this Red Court was located: whether it was the same as the main prince’s tower in Detinets, or, more likely, a special country palace.
The veneration and glorification of the two martyred princes began in Chernigov as early as in Kyiv. While Oleg Svyatoslavich completed the stone Boris and Gleb Church, begun by his father in Vyshgorod, and Vladimir Monomakh was building the same one near Pereyaslavl, the Chernigov temple in the name of these martyrs, by all indications, was built by Oleg’s elder brother, David. He was the same name as St. Gleb, in the baptism of David, and it is curious that the Chernigov temple was called not Borisoglebsky, as everywhere else, but Glebo-Borisovsky. A monastery was also founded under him. David Svyatoslavich, known for his meek, gentle character and piety, is buried here, of course, as its founder. Immediately, his son Izyaslav Davidovich, the unsuccessful prince of Kiev, who with his restless disposition and ambition was the opposite of his father, found peace. There was also a convent in the city itself in the name of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, perhaps founded by Princess Predislava, sister of the same David Svyatoslavich; at least it is known that she died a nun. Church of St. Paraskeva, with its high arches, pillars and dome, still resembles the character of Byzantine-Russian architecture of the pre-Mongol era. But the main place between the Chernigov monasteries has always been occupied by the Ilyinskaya and Yeletskaya monasteries. Both of them are located on the Boldin Mountains: Yeletskaya - near the city itself, in the middle of gardens and vegetable gardens, and Ilyinskaya - about two miles away from it, on a steep wooded cliff in the Desna valley. Tradition attributes the origin of the Elias Monastery to St. Anthony of Pechersk and dates it precisely to the time when Anthony, as a result of slander, was subjected to the wrath of Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich and found protection from his brother Svyatoslav in Chernigov. Here he also settled in a cave that he himself had dug in the Boldin Mountains, and the cave brethren were not slow to gather around him. After his return to Kyiv, the Chernigov prince built a monastery church over these caves in the name of St. Elijah. Consequently, the origin of the Chernigov Ilyinsky Monastery was the same as the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. Tradition also attributes to the same prince Svyatoslav the founding of the Yelets monastery with the main temple in honor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, perhaps also following the example of the Pechersk monastery in Kyiv. The Eletsk Assumption Church still retains common architectural features with the Kiev-Pechersk Church. Both the Spassky Cathedral and the mentioned monasteries were generously endowed with lands, various lands and income from their pious founders and their successors.
The peaks of the Boldin Mountains are dotted with burial mounds from pagan times. Of these, two mounds in particular stood out in our time in terms of their size: one near the Yeletsky Monastery, which was called the “Black Grave,” and the other near the Ilyinsky Monastery, “Gulbishche.” Folk legend connected them with the memory of their ancient princes. Recent excavations have uncovered from them items of weapons, hunting, household items and various decorations that were badly damaged by fire, but in some samples retained traces of elegant workmanship, partly Greek, partly Oriental. By all indications, these mounds actually contained the remains of Russian princes or nobles, burned at the stake along with their weapons and utensils in accordance with the customs of pagan Rus'. As for the outskirts of Chernigov, in the pre-Mongol era they apparently abounded in villages and hamlets. Of the nearby villages, judging by the chronicle, the most significant was Boloves or Belous; it lay to the west of Chernigov behind the so-called “Olgov Field”, on the Belous River, the right tributary of the Desna. The enemy army, which during the princely civil strife came to Chernigov from the Kyiv side, usually encamped on this Olga field.
In addition to the above-mentioned works, travels, dictionaries, maps and other works covering European Russia or a significant part of it, for the Chernigov land we also indicate the following manuals: “Historical and Statistical Description of the Chernigov Diocese” (Reverend Philaret). 7 books, Chernigov. 1873 (See “Notes” on this work by N. Konstantinovich in the Notes of the Chernigov Statistical Committee. Book 2. issue 5.) “Chernigov province” lieutenant colonel. Domontovich. St. Petersburg 1865. and "Kaluga province" lieutenant colonel. Poprocki. St. Petersburg 1864 (matured, assembled by officers of the General Staff). "Extracts from an archaeological journey through Russia in 1.825." Pig (Proceedings Ob. Ist. and Others, part III. book 1). "The Book of the Big Drawing". M. 1846. “Description of the rivers of the Chernigov governorship” in 1785 and “Description of the rivers of the Chernigov governorship” in 1781. Pashchenko (both in the Notes of Chernigov. stat. com. book. 2. Issue 1–4). "Topographic description of the Chernigov governorship in 1781" by A. Shafonsky. (Published by Sudienko. Kyiv. 1851.) Lyubets Synodikon on Thursday. O.I. and D. 1871. book. 2. “Ancient earthen embankments” by Samokvasov (Ancient and New Russia. 1876. 3 and 4). "Northern burial mounds and their significance for history" by him. (Proceedings of the Third Archaeological Congress. K. 1878.) His reasoning is about the same thing. (News of the Archaeological Society. St. Petersburg, 1878.) In 1878, in Chernigov, on the banks of the Strizhnya River, the remains of a temple were discovered in washed-out soil, and excavations carried out by Samokvasov discovered a large number of coffins in the niches of the foundation. Obviously, there was a tomb under this temple. This was probably the Church of the Annunciation, in which the buoy-tur Vsevolod Svyatoslavich was buried. P. Golubovsky "History of the Seversk land until the half of the 14th century." Kyiv. 1881. Monograph by prof. Bagaleya "History of the Seversk land until the half of the 14th century." K. 1882. His “Response” to the review of the said monograph by Mr. Linnichenko. Kharkiv. 1884. Zotov’s study “On the Chernigov princes according to the Lyubetsk Synodik and on the Chernigov principality in Tatar times.” (Chronicle. Archaeological Commission. IX. St. Petersburg. 1893).
CHERNIGOV PRINCIPALITY- an ancient Russian principality that included lands along the middle Dnieper, Desna, Seim and upper Oka.
Arose in the 2nd half. XI century The core of the principality consisted of lands on which in the 9th century. Slavic tribes of northerners lived. In the X-XI centuries. The Chernigov land was ruled by governors from Kyiv and local nobility. The principality became isolated in 1024, after the brother of Yaroslav the Wise, the Tmutarakan prince Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave, came to reign in Chernigov. After his death, the territory of the Chernigov principality again went to Kyiv. According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Chernigov land, together with Murom and Tmutarakan, passed to his son Svyatoslav Yaroslavich in 1054. In the 12th century. the Chernigov princes had quite an impressive weight in the political life of Rus'. They interfered in the affairs of other principalities, repeatedly occupied the Kiev table, and expanded their possessions to the north at the expense of the lands of the Vyatichi.
From the end XI century strife began in Chernigov land. In 1097, the Seversk Principality emerged; in the 12th century. Kursk, Putivl, Rylsk, Trubchevsk and others became isolated. In 1239, the principality was devastated by the Mongol-Tatar conquerors and ceased to exist.
Originated in the second half of the 10th century. and became in the 11th century. The practice of distributing lands in conditional holding by the rulers of the Old Russian state (the great princes of Kyiv) to their sons and other relatives became the norm in the second quarter of the 12th century. to its actual collapse. Conditional holders sought, on the one hand, to transform their conditional holdings into unconditional ones and achieve economic and political independence from the center, and on the other, by subjugating the local nobility, to establish complete control over their possessions. In all regions (with the exception of the Novgorod land, where in fact a republican regime was established and princely power acquired a military-service character), the princes from the house of Rurikovich managed to become sovereign sovereigns with the highest legislative, executive and judicial functions. They relied on the administrative apparatus, whose members constituted a special service class: for their service they received either part of the income from the exploitation of the subject territory (feeding) or land in their possession. The prince's main vassals (boyars), together with the top of the local clergy, formed an advisory and advisory body under him - the boyar duma. The prince was considered the supreme owner of all lands in the principality: part of them belonged to him as a personal possession (domain), and he disposed of the rest as the ruler of the territory; they were divided into domain possessions of the church and conditional holdings of the boyars and their vassals (boyar servants).
The socio-political structure of Rus' in the era of fragmentation was based on a complex system of suzerainty and vassalage (feudal ladder). The feudal hierarchy was headed by the Grand Duke (until the mid-12th century, the ruler of the Kyiv table; later this status was acquired by the Vladimir-Suzdal and Galician-Volyn princes). Below were the rulers of the large principalities (Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk, Rostov-Suzdal, Vladimir-Volyn, Galician, Murom-Ryazan, Smolensk), and even lower were the owners of appanages within each of these principalities. At the lowest level were the untitled service nobility (boyars and their vassals).
From the middle of the 11th century. The process of disintegration of large principalities began, first of all affecting the most developed agricultural regions (Kiev region, Chernihiv region). In the 12th - first half of the 13th century. this trend has become universal. Fragmentation was especially intense in the Kiev, Chernigov, Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk and Murom-Ryazan principalities. To a lesser extent, it affected the Smolensk land, and in the Galicia-Volyn and Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir) principalities, periods of collapse alternated with periods of temporary unification of destinies under the rule of the “senior” ruler. Only the Novgorod land continued to maintain political integrity throughout its history.
In conditions of feudal fragmentation, all-Russian and regional princely congresses acquired great importance, at which domestic and foreign policy issues were resolved (interprincely feuds, the fight against external enemies). However, they did not become a permanent, regularly operating political institution and were unable to slow down the process of dissipation.
By the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Rus' found itself divided into many small principalities and was unable to unite forces to repel external aggression. Devastated by the hordes of Batu, it lost a significant part of its western and southwestern lands, which became in the second half of the 13th–14th centuries. easy prey for Lithuania (Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk, Vladimir-Volyn, Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk principalities) and Poland (Galician). Only North-Eastern Rus' (Vladimir, Murom-Ryazan and Novgorod lands) managed to maintain its independence. In the 14th - early 16th centuries. it was “collected” by the Moscow princes, who restored a unified Russian state.
Principality of Kiev.
It was located in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Sluch, Ros and Pripyat (modern Kiev and Zhitomir regions of Ukraine and the south of the Gomel region of Belarus). It bordered in the north with Turovo-Pinsk, in the east with Chernigov and Pereyaslavl, in the west with the Vladimir-Volyn principality, and in the south it abutted the Polovtsian steppes. The population consisted of the Slavic tribes of the Polyans and Drevlyans.
Fertile soils and a mild climate encouraged intensive farming; the inhabitants were also engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Specialization of crafts occurred here early; Woodworking, pottery and leatherworking acquired particular importance. The presence of iron deposits in the Drevlyansky land (included in the Kyiv region at the turn of the 9th–10th centuries) favored the development of blacksmithing; many types of metals (copper, lead, tin, silver, gold) were imported from neighboring countries. The famous trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” (from the Baltic Sea to Byzantium) passed through the Kiev region; through Pripyat it was connected with the Vistula and Neman basin, through the Desna - with the upper reaches of the Oka, through the Seim - with the Don basin and the Sea of Azov. An influential trade and craft stratum was formed early in Kyiv and nearby cities.
From the end of the 9th to the end of the 10th century. The land of Kiev was the central region of the Old Russian state. Under Vladimir the Holy, with the allocation of a number of semi-independent appanages, it became the core of the grand ducal domain; at the same time Kyiv turned into the ecclesiastical center of Rus' (as the residence of the metropolitan); an episcopal see was also established in nearby Belgorod. After the death of Mstislav the Great in 1132, the actual collapse of the Old Russian state occurred, and the land of Kiev was constituted as a special principality.
Despite the fact that the Kiev prince ceased to be the supreme owner of all Russian lands, he remained the head of the feudal hierarchy and continued to be considered the “senior” among other princes. This made the Principality of Kiev the object of a bitter struggle between various branches of the Rurik dynasty. The powerful Kiev boyars and the trade and craft population also took an active part in this struggle, although the role of the people's assembly (veche) by the beginning of the 12th century. decreased significantly.
Until 1139, the Kiev table was in the hands of the Monomashichs - Mstislav the Great was succeeded by his brothers Yaropolk (1132–1139) and Vyacheslav (1139). In 1139 it was taken from them by the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich. However, the reign of the Chernigov Olgovichs was short-lived: after the death of Vsevolod in 1146, the local boyars, dissatisfied with the transfer of power to his brother Igor, summoned Izyaslav Mstislavich, a representative of the senior branch of the Monomashichs (Mstislavichs), to the Kiev table. Having defeated the troops of Igor and Svyatoslav Olgovich at Olga’s grave on August 13, 1146, Izyaslav took possession of the ancient capital; Igor, who was captured by him, was killed in 1147. In 1149, the Suzdal branch of the Monomashichs, represented by Yuri Dolgoruky, entered the fight for Kyiv. After the death of Izyaslav (November 1154) and his co-ruler Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (December 1154), Yuri established himself on the Kiev table and held it until his death in 1157. Feuds within the Monomashich house helped the Olgovichs take revenge: in May 1157, Izyaslav Davydovich of Chernigov (1157) seized princely power –1159). But his unsuccessful attempt to take possession of Galich cost him the grand-ducal throne, which returned to the Mstislavichs - the Smolensk prince Rostislav (1159–1167), and then to his nephew Mstislav Izyaslavich (1167–1169).
From the middle of the 12th century. the political significance of the Kyiv land is declining. Its disintegration into appanages begins: in the 1150s–1170s, the Belgorod, Vyshgorod, Trepol, Kanev, Torcheskoe, Kotelnicheskoe and Dorogobuzh principalities were distinguished. Kyiv ceases to play the role of the only center of Russian lands; In the northeast and southwest, two new centers of political attraction and influence arise, claiming the status of great principalities - Vladimir on the Klyazma and Galich. The Vladimir and Galician-Volyn princes no longer strive to occupy the Kiev table; periodically subjugating Kyiv, they put their proteges there.
In 1169–1174, the Vladimir prince Andrei Bogolyubsky dictated his will to Kyiv: in 1169 he expelled Mstislav Izyaslavich from there and gave the reign to his brother Gleb (1169–1171). When, after the death of Gleb (January 1171) and Vladimir Mstislavich, who replaced him (May 1171), the Kiev table was occupied by his other brother Mikhalko without his consent, Andrei forced him to give way to Roman Rostislavich, a representative of the Smolensk branch of the Mstislavichs (Rostislavichs); in 1172, Andrei drove out Roman and imprisoned another of his brothers, Vsevolod the Big Nest, in Kyiv; in 1173 he forced Rurik Rostislavich, who had seized the Kiev throne, to flee to Belgorod.
After the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, Kyiv came under the control of the Smolensk Rostislavichs in the person of Roman Rostislavich (1174–1176). But in 1176, having failed in a campaign against the Polovtsians, Roman was forced to relinquish power, which the Olgovichi took advantage of. At the call of the townspeople, the Kiev table was occupied by Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky (1176–1194 with a break in 1181). However, he failed to oust the Rostislavichs from the Kyiv land; in the early 1180s he recognized their rights to Porosye and the Drevlyansky land; The Olgovichi fortified themselves in the Kyiv district. Having reached an agreement with the Rostislavichs, Svyatoslav concentrated his efforts on the fight against the Polovtsians, managing to seriously weaken their onslaught on Russian lands.
After his death in 1194, the Rostislavichs returned to the Kiev table in the person of Rurik Rostislavich, but already at the beginning of the 13th century. Kyiv fell into the sphere of influence of the powerful Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who in 1202 expelled Rurik and installed his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich Dorogobuzh in his place. In 1203, Rurik, in alliance with the Cumans and Chernigov Olgovichs, captured Kyiv and, with the diplomatic support of the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, the ruler of North-Eastern Rus', retained the reign of Kiev for several months. However, in 1204, during a joint campaign of the southern Russian rulers against the Polovtsians, he was arrested by Roman and tonsured as a monk, and his son Rostislav was thrown into prison; Ingvar returned to the Kyiv table. But soon, at the request of Vsevolod, Roman freed Rostislav and made him the prince of Kyiv.
After the death of Roman in October 1205, Rurik left the monastery and at the beginning of 1206 occupied Kyiv. In the same year, the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny entered the fight against him. Their four-year rivalry ended in 1210 with a compromise agreement: Rurik recognized Vsevolod as Kyiv and received Chernigov as compensation.
After the death of Vsevolod, the Rostislavichs re-established themselves on the Kiev table: Mstislav Romanovich the Old (1212/1214–1223 with a break in 1219) and his cousin Vladimir Rurikovich (1223–1235). In 1235, Vladimir, having been defeated by the Polovtsy near Torchesky, was captured by them, and power in Kyiv was seized first by the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich, and then by Yaroslav, the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. However, in 1236, Vladimir, having redeemed himself from captivity, without much difficulty regained the grand-ducal table and remained on it until his death in 1239.
In 1239–1240, Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky and Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky sat in Kyiv, and on the eve of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, he found himself under the control of the Galician-Volyn prince Daniil Romanovich, who appointed governor Dmitry there. In the fall of 1240, Batu moved to Southern Rus' and in early December took and defeated Kyiv, despite the desperate nine-day resistance of the residents and Dmitr’s small squad; he subjected the principality to terrible devastation, from which it could no longer recover. Mikhail Vsevolodich, who returned to the capital in 1241, was summoned to the Horde in 1246 and killed there. Since the 1240s, Kyiv fell into formal dependence on the great princes of Vladimir (Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav Yaroslavich). In the second half of the 13th century. a significant part of the population emigrated to the northern Russian regions. In 1299, the metropolitan see was moved from Kyiv to Vladimir. In the first half of the 14th century. the weakened Principality of Kiev became the object of Lithuanian aggression and in 1362 under Olgerd it became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Principality of Polotsk.
It was located in the middle reaches of the Dvina and Polota and in the upper reaches of the Svisloch and Berezina (the territory of the modern Vitebsk, Minsk and Mogilev regions of Belarus and southeastern Lithuania). In the south it bordered with Turovo-Pinsk, in the east - with the Smolensk principality, in the north - with the Pskov-Novgorod land, in the west and north-west - with Finno-Ugric tribes (Livs, Latgalians). It was inhabited by the Polotsk people (the name comes from the river Polota) - a branch of the East Slavic Krivichi tribe, partially mixed with the Baltic tribes.
As an independent territorial entity, the Polotsk land existed even before the emergence of the Old Russian state. In the 870s, the Novgorod prince Rurik imposed tribute on the Polotsk people, and then they submitted to the Kyiv prince Oleg. Under the Kiev prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich (972–980), the Polotsk land was a dependent principality ruled by the Norman Rogvolod. In 980, Vladimir Svyatoslavich captured her, killed Rogvolod and his two sons, and took his daughter Rogneda as his wife; from that time on, the Polotsk land finally became part of the Old Russian state. Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir transferred part of it to joint ownership by Rogneda and their eldest son Izyaslav. In 988/989 he made Izyaslav the prince of Polotsk; Izyaslav became the founder of the local princely dynasty (Polotsk Izyaslavichs). In 992 the Polotsk diocese was established.
Although the principality was poor in fertile lands, it had rich hunting and fishing grounds and was located at the crossroads of important trade routes along the Dvina, Neman and Berezina; Impenetrable forests and water barriers protected it from outside attacks. This attracted numerous settlers here; Cities grew rapidly and turned into trade and craft centers (Polotsk, Izyaslavl, Minsk, Drutsk, etc.). Economic prosperity contributed to the concentration in the hands of the Izyaslavichs of significant resources, on which they relied in their struggle to achieve independence from the authorities of Kyiv.
Izyaslav's heir Bryachislav (1001–1044), taking advantage of the princely civil strife in Rus', pursued an independent policy and tried to expand his possessions. In 1021, with his squad and a detachment of Scandinavian mercenaries, he captured and plundered Veliky Novgorod, but then was defeated by the ruler of the Novgorod land, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, on the Sudom River; nevertheless, in order to ensure Bryachislav’s loyalty, Yaroslav ceded to him the Usvyatsky and Vitebsk volosts.
The Principality of Polotsk achieved particular power under Bryachislav’s son Vseslav (1044–1101), who expanded to the north and northwest. The Livs and Latgalians became his tributaries. In the 1060s he made several campaigns against Pskov and Novgorod the Great. In 1067 Vseslav ravaged Novgorod, but could not hold onto the Novgorod land. In the same year, Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich struck back at his strengthened vassal: he invaded the Principality of Polotsk, captured Minsk, and defeated Vseslav’s squad on the river. Nemige, by cunning, took him prisoner along with his two sons and sent him to prison in Kyiv; the principality became part of the vast possessions of Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav by the rebels of Kiev on September 14, 1068, Vseslav regained Polotsk and even occupied the Kiev grand-ducal table for a short time; during a fierce struggle with Izyaslav and his sons Mstislav, Svyatopolk and Yaropolk in 1069–1072, he managed to retain the Principality of Polotsk. In 1078, he resumed aggression against neighboring regions: he captured the Smolensk principality and ravaged the northern part of Chernigov land. However, already in the winter of 1078–1079, Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich carried out a punitive expedition to the Principality of Polotsk and burned Lukoml, Logozhsk, Drutsk and the outskirts of Polotsk; in 1084, the Chernigov prince Vladimir Monomakh took Minsk and subjected the Polotsk land to a brutal defeat. Vseslav's resources were exhausted, and he no longer tried to expand the boundaries of his possessions.
With the death of Vseslav in 1101, the decline of the Principality of Polotsk began. It breaks up into destinies; The principalities of Minsk, Izyaslavl and Vitebsk stand out from it. The sons of Vseslav are wasting their strength in civil strife. After the predatory campaign of Gleb Vseslavich in the Turovo-Pinsk land in 1116 and his unsuccessful attempt to seize Novgorod and the Smolensk principality in 1119, the Izyaslavich aggression against neighboring regions practically ceased. The weakening of the principality opens the way for the intervention of Kyiv: in 1119, Vladimir Monomakh without much difficulty defeats Gleb Vseslavich, seizes his inheritance, and imprisons himself; in 1127 Mstislav the Great devastates the southwestern regions of the Polotsk land; in 1129, taking advantage of the refusal of the Izyaslavichs to take part in the joint campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians, he occupied the principality and at the Kiev Congress sought the condemnation of the five Polotsk rulers (Svyatoslav, Davyd and Rostislav Vseslavich, Rogvolod and Ivan Borisovich) and their deportation to Byzantium. Mstislav transfers the Polotsk land to his son Izyaslav, and installs his governors in the cities.
Although in 1132 the Izyaslavichs, represented by Vasilko Svyatoslavich (1132–1144), managed to return the ancestral principality, they were no longer able to revive its former power. In the middle of the 12th century. A fierce struggle for the Polotsk princely table breaks out between Rogvolod Borisovich (1144–1151, 1159–1162) and Rostislav Glebovich (1151–1159). At the turn of the 1150s–1160s, Rogvolod Borisovich makes a last attempt to unite the principality, which, however, fails due to the opposition of other Izyaslavichs and the intervention of neighboring princes (Yuri Dolgorukov and others). In the second half of the 7th century. the crushing process deepens; the Drutskoe, Gorodenskoe, Logozhskoe and Strizhevskoe principalities arise; the most important regions (Polotsk, Vitebsk, Izyaslavl) end up in the hands of the Vasilkovichs (descendants of Vasilko Svyatoslavich); the influence of the Minsk branch of the Izyaslavichs (Glebovichs), on the contrary, is declining. Polotsk land becomes the object of expansion of the Smolensk princes; in 1164 Davyd Rostislavich of Smolensk even took possession of the Vitebsk volost for some time; in the second half of the 1210s, his sons Mstislav and Boris established themselves in Vitebsk and Polotsk.
At the beginning of the 13th century. the aggression of German knights begins in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina; by 1212 the Swordsmen conquered the lands of the Livs and southwestern Latgale, tributaries of Polotsk. Since the 1230s, the Polotsk rulers also had to repel the onslaught of the newly formed Lithuanian state; mutual strife prevented them from uniting their forces, and by 1252 the Lithuanian princes captured Polotsk, Vitebsk and Drutsk. In the second half of the 13th century. A fierce struggle unfolds for the Polotsk lands between Lithuania, the Teutonic Order and the Smolensk princes, in which the Lithuanians turn out to be the winner. The Lithuanian prince Viten (1293–1316) took Polotsk from the German knights in 1307, and his successor Gedemin (1316–1341) subjugated the Minsk and Vitebsk principalities. The Polotsk land finally became part of the Lithuanian state in 1385.
Principality of Chernigov.
It was located east of the Dnieper between the Desna valley and the middle reaches of the Oka (the territory of modern Kursk, Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, the western part of the Lipetsk and southern parts of the Moscow regions of Russia, the northern part of the Chernigov and Sumy regions of Ukraine and the eastern part of the Gomel region of Belarus ). In the south it bordered with Pereyaslavl, in the east with Murom-Ryazan, in the north with Smolensk, and in the west with the Kyiv and Turovo-Pinsk principalities. It was inhabited by the East Slavic tribes of Polyans, Severians, Radimichi and Vyatichi. It is believed that it received its name either from a certain Prince Cherny, or from the Black Guy (forest).
Possessing a mild climate, fertile soils, numerous rivers rich in fish, and in the north forests full of game, the Chernigov land was one of the most attractive regions of Ancient Rus' for settlement. The main trade route from Kyiv to northeastern Rus' passed through it (along the Desna and Sozh rivers). Cities with a significant craft population arose here early. In the 11th–12th centuries. The Chernigov principality was one of the richest and politically significant regions of Rus'.
By the 9th century The northerners, who previously lived on the left bank of the Dnieper, subjugated the Radimichi, Vyatichi and part of the glades, and extended their power to the upper reaches of the Don. As a result, a semi-state entity arose that paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. At the beginning of the 10th century. it recognized dependence on the Kyiv prince Oleg. In the second half of the 10th century. The Chernigov land became part of the Grand Duke's domain. Under Saint Vladimir, the Chernigov diocese was established. In 1024 it came under the rule of Mstislav the Brave, brother of Yaroslav the Wise, and became a virtually independent principality from Kyiv. After his death in 1036 it was again included in the grand ducal domain. According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Principality of Chernigov, together with the Murom-Ryazan land, passed to his son Svyatoslav (1054–1073), who became the founder of the local princely dynasty of the Svyatoslavichs; they, however, managed to establish themselves in Chernigov only towards the end of the 11th century. In 1073, the Svyatoslavichs lost their principality, which ended up in the hands of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and from 1078 - his son Vladimir Monomakh (until 1094). Attempts by the most active of the Svyatoslavichs, Oleg “Gorislavich,” to regain control of the principality in 1078 (with the help of his cousin Boris Vyacheslavich) and in 1094–1096 (with the help of the Cumans) ended in failure. Nevertheless, by the decision of the Lyubech princely congress of 1097, the Chernigov and Murom-Ryazan lands were recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs; Svyatoslav's son Davyd (1097–1123) became the prince of Chernigov. After the death of Davyd, the princely throne was taken by his brother Yaroslav of Ryazan, who in 1127 was expelled by his nephew Vsevolod, the son of Oleg “Gorislavich”. Yaroslav retained the Murom-Ryazan land, which from that time turned into an independent principality. The Chernigov land was divided among themselves by the sons of Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich (Davydovich and Olgovich), who entered into a fierce struggle for allotments and the Chernigov table. In 1127–1139 it was occupied by the Olgovichi, in 1139 they were replaced by the Davydovichi - Vladimir (1139–1151) and his brother Izyaslav (1151–1157), but in 1157 it finally passed to the Olgovichi: Svyatoslav Olgovich (1157–1164) and his nephews Svyatoslav (1164–1177) and Yaroslav (1177–1198) Vsevolodich. At the same time, the Chernigov princes tried to subjugate Kyiv: the Kyiv grand-ducal table was owned by Vsevolod Olgovich (1139–1146), Igor Olgovich (1146) and Izyaslav Davydovich (1154 and 1157–1159). They also fought with varying success for Novgorod the Great, the Turovo-Pinsk principality, and even for distant Galich. In internal strife and in wars with neighbors, the Svyatoslavichs often resorted to the help of the Polovtsians.
In the second half of the 12th century, despite the extinction of the Davydovich family, the process of fragmentation of the Chernigov land intensified. The Novgorod-Seversky, Putivl, Kursk, Starodub and Vshchizhsky principalities are formed within it; The Chernigov principality itself was limited to the lower reaches of the Desna, from time to time also including Vshchizhskaya and Starobudskaya volosts. The dependence of the vassal princes on the Chernigov ruler becomes nominal; some of them (for example, Svyatoslav Vladimirovich Vshchizhsky in the early 1160s) showed a desire for complete independence. Fierce feuds of the Olgovichs do not prevent them from actively fighting for Kyiv with the Smolensk Rostislavichs: in 1176–1194 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich ruled there, in 1206–1212/1214, with interruptions, his son Vsevolod Chermny ruled. They try to gain a foothold in Novgorod the Great (1180–1181, 1197); in 1205 they managed to take possession of the Galician land, where, however, in 1211 a disaster befell them - three Olgovich princes (Roman, Svyatoslav and Rostislav Igorevich) were captured and hanged by the verdict of the Galician boyars. In 1210 they even lost the Chernigov table, which passed to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (Rurik Rostislavich) for two years.
In the first third of the 13th century. The Chernigov principality breaks up into many small fiefs, only formally subordinate to Chernigov; Kozelskoye, Lopasninskoye, Rylskoye, Snovskoye, then Trubchevskoye, Glukhovo-Novosilskoye, Karachevskoye and Tarusskoye principalities stand out. Despite this, the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodich (1223–1241) did not stop his active policy in relation to neighboring regions, trying to establish control over Novgorod the Great (1225, 1228–1230) and Kiev (1235, 1238); in 1235 he took possession of the Galician principality, and later the Przemysl volost.
The waste of significant human and material resources in civil strife and wars with neighbors, fragmentation of forces and lack of unity among the princes contributed to the success of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In the fall of 1239, Batu took Chernigov and subjected the principality to such a terrible defeat that it virtually ceased to exist. In 1241, the son and heir of Mikhail Vsevolodich Rostislav left his patrimony and went to fight the Galician land, and then fled to Hungary. Obviously, the last Chernigov prince was his uncle Andrei (mid-1240s - early 1260s). After 1261, the Chernigov principality became part of the Bryansk principality, founded back in 1246 by Roman, another son of Mikhail Vsevolodich; The bishop of Chernigov also moved to Bryansk. In the middle of the 14th century. The Principality of Bryansk and Chernigov lands were conquered by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd.
Murom-Ryazan principality.
It occupied the southeastern outskirts of Rus' - the basin of the Oka and its tributaries Pronya, Osetra and Tsna, the upper reaches of the Don and Voronezh (modern Ryazan, Lipetsk, northeast Tambov and south Vladimir regions). It bordered on the west with Chernigov, on the north with the Rostov-Suzdal principality; in the east its neighbors were the Mordovian tribes, and in the south the Cumans. The population of the principality was mixed: both Slavs (Krivichi, Vyatichi) and Finno-Ugric people (Mordovians, Murom, Meshchera) lived here.
In the south and central regions of the principality, fertile (chernozem and podzolized) soils predominated, which contributed to the development of agriculture. Its northern part was densely covered with forests rich in game and swamps; local residents were mainly engaged in hunting. In the 11th–12th centuries. A number of urban centers arose on the territory of the principality: Murom, Ryazan (from the word “cassock” - a marshy swampy place overgrown with bushes), Pereyaslavl, Kolomna, Rostislavl, Pronsk, Zaraysk. However, in terms of economic development it lagged behind most other regions of Rus'.
The Murom land was annexed to the Old Russian state in the third quarter of the 10th century. under the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. In 988–989, Vladimir the Holy included it in the Rostov inheritance of his son Yaroslav the Wise. In 1010, Vladimir allocated it as an independent principality to his other son Gleb. After the tragic death of Gleb in 1015, it returned to the grand ducal domain, and in 1023–1036 it was part of the Chernigov appanage of Mstislav the Brave.
According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Murom land, as part of the Chernigov principality, passed in 1054 to his son Svyatoslav, and in 1073 he transferred it to his brother Vsevolod. In 1078, having become the great prince of Kyiv, Vsevolod gave Murom to Svyatoslav’s sons Roman and Davyd. In 1095, David ceded it to Izyaslav, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, receiving Smolensk in return. In 1096, Davyd's brother Oleg "Gorislavich" expelled Izyaslav, but was then himself expelled by Izyaslav's elder brother Mstislav the Great. However, by the decision of the Lyubech Congress, the Murom land as a vassal possession of Chernigov was recognized as the patrimony of the Svyatoslavichs: it was given to Oleg “Gorislavich” as an inheritance, and for his brother Yaroslav a special Ryazan volost was allocated from it.
In 1123, Yaroslav, who occupied the Chernigov throne, transferred Murom and Ryazan to his nephew Vsevolod Davydovich. But after being expelled from Chernigov in 1127, Yaroslav returned to the Murom table; from that time on, the Murom-Ryazan land became an independent principality, in which the descendants of Yaroslav (the younger Murom branch of the Svyatoslavichs) established themselves. They had to constantly repel the raids of the Polovtsians and other nomads, which distracted their forces from participating in all-Russian princely strife, but not from internal strife associated with the beginning of the fragmentation process (already in the 1140s, the Yelets Principality stood out on its southwestern outskirts). From the mid-1140s, the Murom-Ryazan land became the object of expansion by the Rostov-Suzdal rulers - Yuri Dolgoruky and his son Andrei Bogolyubsky. In 1146, Andrei Bogolyubsky intervened in the conflict between Prince Rostislav Yaroslavich and his nephews Davyd and Igor Svyatoslavich and helped them capture Ryazan. Rostislav kept Murom behind him; only a few years later he was able to regain the Ryazan table. In the early 1160s, his great-nephew Yuri Vladimirovich established himself in Murom, becoming the founder of a special branch of the Murom princes, and from that time the Murom principality separated from the Ryazan principality. Soon (by 1164) it fell into vassal dependence on the Vadimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky; under subsequent rulers - Vladimir Yuryevich (1176–1205), Davyd Yuryevich (1205–1228) and Yuri Davydovich (1228–1237), the Murom principality gradually lost its importance.
The Ryazan princes (Rostislav and his son Gleb), however, actively resisted the Vladimir-Suzdal aggression. Moreover, after the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, Gleb tried to establish control over all of North-Eastern Russia. In alliance with the sons of the Pereyaslavl prince Rostislav Yuryevich Mstislav and Yaropolk, he began to fight with the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest for the Vladimir-Suzdal principality; in 1176 he captured and burned Moscow, but in 1177 he was defeated on the Koloksha River, was captured by Vsevolod and died in 1178 in prison.
Gleb's son and heir Roman (1178–1207) took the vassal oath to Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the 1180s, he made two attempts to deprive his younger brothers of their inheritance and unite the principality, but the intervention of Vsevolod prevented the implementation of his plans. The progressive fragmentation of the Ryazan land (in 1185–1186 the Pronsky and Kolomna principalities emerged) led to increased rivalry within the princely house. In 1207, Roman's nephews Gleb and Oleg Vladimirovich accused him of plotting against Vsevolod the Big Nest; Roman was summoned to Vladimir and thrown into prison. Vsevolod tried to take advantage of these strife: in 1209 he captured Ryazan, placed his son Yaroslav on the Ryazan table, and appointed Vladimir-Suzdal mayors to the rest of the cities; however, in the same year the Ryazan people expelled Yaroslav and his henchmen.
In the 1210s, the struggle for allotments intensified even more. In 1217, Gleb and Konstantin Vladimirovich organized the murder of six of their brothers in the village of Isady (6 km from Ryazan) - one brother and five cousins. But Roman's nephew Ingvar Igorevich defeated Gleb and Konstantin, forced them to flee to the Polovtsian steppes and took the Ryazan table. During his twenty-year reign (1217–1237), the process of fragmentation became irreversible.
In 1237, the Ryazan and Murom principalities were defeated by the hordes of Batu. The Ryazan prince Yuri Ingvarevich, the Murom prince Yuri Davydovich and most of the local princes died. In the second half of the 13th century. The Murom land fell into complete desolation; Murom bishopric at the beginning of the 14th century. was moved to Ryazan; only in the middle of the 14th century. Murom ruler Yuri Yaroslavich revived his principality for some time. The forces of the Ryazan principality, subjected to constant Tatar-Mongol raids, were undermined by the internecine struggle of the Ryazan and Pron branches of the ruling house. From the beginning of the 14th century. it began to experience pressure from the Moscow Principality that had arisen on its northwestern borders. In 1301, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich captured Kolomna and captured the Ryazan prince Konstantin Romanovich. In the second half of the 14th century. Oleg Ivanovich (1350–1402) was able to temporarily consolidate the forces of the principality, expand its borders and strengthen the central power; in 1353 he took Lopasnya from Ivan II of Moscow. However, in the 1370s–1380s, during the struggle of Dmitry Donskoy against the Tatars, he failed to play the role of a “third force” and create his own center for the unification of the northeastern Russian lands .
Turovo-Pinsk Principality.
It was located in the Pripyat River basin (south of modern Minsk, east of Brest and west of Gomel regions of Belarus). It bordered in the north with Polotsk, in the south with Kyiv, and in the east with the Chernigov principality, reaching almost to the Dnieper; The border with its western neighbor - the Vladimir-Volyn principality - was not stable: the upper reaches of the Pripyat and the Goryn valley passed either to the Turov or to the Volyn princes. The Turov land was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of Dregovichs.
Most of the territory was covered with impenetrable forests and swamps; hunting and fishing were the main occupations of the inhabitants. Only certain areas were suitable for agriculture; This is where urban centers arose first - Turov, Pinsk, Mozyr, Sluchesk, Klechesk, which, however, in terms of economic importance and population could not compete with the leading cities of other regions of Rus'. The limited resources of the principality did not allow its rulers to participate on equal terms in all-Russian civil strife.
In the 970s, the land of the Dregovichi was a semi-independent principality, in vassal dependence on Kyiv; its ruler was a certain Tour, from whom the name of the region came. In 988–989, Vladimir the Holy allocated “Drevlyansky land and Pinsk” as an inheritance to his nephew Svyatopolk the Accursed. At the beginning of the 11th century, after the discovery of Svyatopolk’s conspiracy against Vladimir, the Principality of Turov was included in the grand ducal domain. In the middle of the 11th century. Yaroslav the Wise passed it on to his third son Izyaslav, the founder of the local princely dynasty (Turov Izyaslavichs). When Yaroslav died in 1054 and Izyaslav took the grand-ducal table, the Turov region became part of his vast possessions (1054–1068, 1069–1073, 1077–1078). After his death in 1078, the new Kiev prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich gave the Turov land to his nephew Davyd Igorevich, who held it until 1081. In 1088 it ended up in the hands of Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who sat on the grand-ducal table in 1093. By decision of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, the Turov region was assigned to him and his descendants, but soon after his death in 1113 it passed to the new Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh. According to the division that followed the death of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, the Principality of Turov went to his son Vyacheslav. From 1132 it became the object of rivalry between Vyacheslav and his nephew Izyaslav, the son of Mstislav the Great. In 1142–1143 it was briefly owned by the Chernigov Olgovichs (Grand Prince of Kiev Vsevolod Olgovich and his son Svyatoslav). In 1146–1147, Izyaslav Mstislavich finally expelled Vyacheslav from Turov and gave it to his son Yaroslav.
In the middle of the 12th century. the Suzdal branch of the Vsevolodichs intervened in the struggle for the Principality of Turov: in 1155 Yuri Dolgoruky, having become the great prince of Kyiv, placed his son Andrei Bogolyubsky on the Turov table, in 1155 - his other son Boris; however, they were unable to hold on to it. In the second half of the 1150s, the principality returned to the Turov Izyaslavichs: by 1158, Yuri Yaroslavich, the grandson of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, managed to unite the entire Turov land under his rule. Under his sons Svyatopolk (before 1190) and Gleb (before 1195) it broke up into several fiefs. By the beginning of the 13th century. The Turov, Pinsk, Slutsk and Dubrovitsky principalities themselves took shape. During the 13th century. the crushing process progressed inexorably; Turov lost its role as the center of the principality; Pinsk began to acquire increasing importance. Weak small lords could not organize any serious resistance to external aggression. In the second quarter of the 14th century. The Turovo-Pinsk land turned out to be easy prey for the Lithuanian prince Gedemin (1316–1347).
Smolensk Principality.
It was located in the Upper Dnieper basin (modern Smolensk, the southeast of the Tver regions of Russia and the east of the Mogilev region of Belarus). It bordered in the west with Polotsk, in the south with Chernigov, in the east with the Rostov-Suzdal principality, and in the north with the Pskov-Novgorod earth. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of Krivichi.
The Smolensk principality had an extremely advantageous geographical position. The upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina converged on its territory, and it lay at the intersection of two important trade routes - from Kiev to Polotsk and the Baltic states (along the Dnieper, then along the Kasplya River, a tributary of the Western Dvina) and to Novgorod and the Upper Volga region ( through Rzhev and Lake Seliger). Cities arose here early and became important trade and craft centers (Vyazma, Orsha).
In 882, the Kiev prince Oleg subjugated the Smolensk Krivichi and installed his governors in their land, which became his possession. At the end of the 10th century. Vladimir the Holy allocated it as an inheritance to his son Stanislav, but after some time it returned to the grand ducal domain. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Smolensk region passed to his son Vyacheslav. In 1057, the great Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich transferred it to his brother Igor, and after his death in 1060 he divided it with his other two brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. In 1078, by agreement of Izyaslav and Vsevolod, the Smolensk land was given to Vsevolod’s son Vladimir Monomakh; Soon Vladimir moved to reign in Chernigov, and the Smolensk region found itself in the hands of Vsevolod. After his death in 1093, Vladimir Monomakh planted his eldest son Mstislav in Smolensk, and in 1095 his other son Izyaslav. Although in 1095 the Smolensk land briefly fell into the hands of the Olgovichs (Davyd Olgovich), the Lyubech Congress of 1097 recognized it as the patrimony of the Monomashichs, and it was ruled by the sons of Vladimir Monomakh Yaropolk, Svyatoslav, Gleb and Vyacheslav.
After the death of Vladimir in 1125, the new Kiev prince Mstislav the Great allocated the Smolensk land as an inheritance to his son Rostislav (1125–1159), the founder of the local princely dynasty of the Rostislavichs; from now on it became an independent principality. In 1136, Rostislav achieved the creation of an episcopal see in Smolensk, in 1140 he repelled the attempt of the Chernigov Olgovichi (Grand Prince Vsevolod of Kyiv) to seize the principality, and in the 1150s he entered the struggle for Kyiv. In 1154 he had to cede the Kiev table to the Olgovichs (Izyaslav Davydovich of Chernigov), but in 1159 he established himself on it (he owned it until his death in 1167). He gave the Smolensk table to his son Roman (1159–1180 with interruptions), who was succeeded by his brother Davyd (1180–1197), son Mstislav the Old (1197–1206, 1207–1212/1214), nephews Vladimir Rurikovich (1215–1223 with interruptions in 1219) and Mstislav Davydovich (1223–1230).
In the second half of the 12th - early 13th centuries. The Rostislavichs actively tried to bring the most prestigious and richest regions of Rus' under their control. The sons of Rostislav (Roman, Davyd, Rurik and Mstislav the Brave) waged a fierce struggle for the Kiev land with the senior branch of the Monomashichs (Izyaslavichs), with the Olgovichs and with the Suzdal Yuryeviches (especially with Andrei Bogolyubsky in the late 1160s - early 1170s); they were able to gain a foothold in the most important areas of the Kiev region - in Posemye, Ovruch, Vyshgorod, Torchesky, Trepolsky and Belgorod volosts. In the period from 1171 to 1210, Roman and Rurik sat on the grand ducal table eight times. In the north, the Novgorod land became the object of expansion of the Rostislavichs: Novgorod was ruled by Davyd (1154–1155), Svyatoslav (1158–1167) and Mstislav Rostislavich (1179–1180), Mstislav Davydovich (1184–1187) and Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny (1210–1215 and 1216–1218); at the end of the 1170s and in the 1210s the Rostislavichs held Pskov; sometimes they even managed to create fiefs independent of Novgorod (in the late 1160s - early 1170s in Torzhok and Velikiye Luki). In 1164–1166, the Rostislavichs owned Vitebsk (Davyd Rostislavich), in 1206 – Pereyaslavl (Rurik Rostislavich and his son Vladimir), and in 1210–1212 – even Chernigov (Rurik Rostislavich). Their successes were facilitated by both the strategically advantageous position of the Smolensk region and the relatively slow (compared to neighboring principalities) process of its fragmentation, although some appanages were periodically allocated from it (Toropetsky, Vasilevsko-Krasnensky).
In the 1210–1220s, the political and economic importance of the Smolensk Principality increased even more. Smolensk merchants became important partners of the Hansa, as their trade agreement of 1229 shows (Smolenskaya Torgovaya Pravda). Continuing the struggle for Novgorod (in 1218–1221 the sons of Mstislav the Old reigned in Novgorod, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod) and Kiev lands (in 1213–1223, with a break in 1219, Mstislav the Old sat in Kiev, and in 1119, 1123–1235 and 1236–1238 - Vladimir Rurikovich), the Rostislavichs also intensified their onslaught to the west and southwest. In 1219 Mstislav the Old took possession of Galich, which then passed to his cousin Mstislav Udatny (until 1227). In the second half of the 1210s, the sons of Davyd Rostislavich Boris and Davyd subdued Polotsk and Vitebsk; Boris's sons Vasilko and Vyachko vigorously fought the Teutonic Order and the Lithuanians for the Podvina region.
However, from the late 1220s, the weakening of the Smolensk principality began. The process of its fragmentation into appanages intensified, the rivalry of the Rostislavichs for the Smolensk table intensified; in 1232, the son of Mstislav the Old, Svyatoslav, took Smolensk by storm and subjected it to a terrible defeat. The influence of the local boyars increased, which began to interfere in princely strife; in 1239, the boyars placed their beloved Vsevolod, brother of Svyatoslav, on the Smolensk table. The decline of the principality predetermined failures in foreign policy. Already by the mid-1220s, the Rostislavichs had lost Podvinia; in 1227 Mstislav Udatnoy ceded the Galician land to the Hungarian prince Andrew. Although in 1238 and 1242 the Rostislavichs managed to repel the attack of Tatar-Mongol troops on Smolensk, they were unable to repel the Lithuanians, who captured Vitebsk, Polotsk and even Smolensk itself in the late 1240s. Alexander Nevsky knocked them out of the Smolensk region, but the Polotsk and Vitebsk lands were completely lost.
In the second half of the 13th century. The line of Davyd Rostislavich was established on the Smolensk table: it was successively occupied by the sons of his grandson Rostislav Gleb, Mikhail and Feodor. Under them, the collapse of the Smolensk land became irreversible; Vyazemskoye and a number of other appanages emerged from it. The Smolensk princes had to recognize vassal dependence on the Great Prince of Vladimir and the Tatar Khan (1274). In the 14th century under Alexander Glebovich (1297–1313), his son Ivan (1313–1358) and grandson Svyatoslav (1358–1386), the principality completely lost its former political and economic power; Smolensk rulers tried unsuccessfully to stop Lithuanian expansion in the west. After the defeat and death of Svyatoslav Ivanovich in 1386 in a battle with the Lithuanians on the Vehra River near Mstislavl, the Smolensk land became dependent on the Lithuanian prince Vitovt, who began to appoint and remove Smolensk princes at his discretion, and in 1395 established his direct rule. In 1401, the Smolensk people rebelled and, with the help of the Ryazan prince Oleg, expelled the Lithuanians; The Smolensk table was occupied by Svyatoslav's son Yuri. However, in 1404 Vytautas took the city, liquidated the Smolensk Principality and included its lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Pereyaslavl Principality.
It was located in the forest-steppe part of the Dnieper left bank and occupied the interfluve of the Desna, Seim, Vorskla and Northern Donets (modern Poltava, eastern Kyiv, southern Chernigov and Sumy, western Kharkov regions of Ukraine). It bordered in the west with Kyiv, in the north with the Chernigov principality; in the east and south its neighbors were nomadic tribes (Pechenegs, Torques, Cumans). The southeastern border was not stable - it either advanced into the steppe or retreated back; the constant threat of attacks forced the creation of a line of border fortifications and the settlement along the borders of those nomads who moved to a settled life and recognized the power of the Pereyaslav rulers. The population of the principality was mixed: both Slavs (Polyans, Northerners) and descendants of Alans and Sarmatians lived here.
The mild temperate continental climate and podzolized chernozem soils created favorable conditions for intensive farming and cattle breeding. However, the proximity to warlike nomadic tribes, which periodically devastated the principality, negatively affected its economic development.
By the end of the 9th century. a semi-state formation arose in this territory with its center in the city of Pereyaslavl. At the beginning of the 10th century. it fell into vassal dependence on the Kyiv prince Oleg. According to a number of scientists, the old city of Pereyaslavl was burned by nomads, and in 992, Vladimir the Holy, during a campaign against the Pechenegs, founded the new Pereyaslavl (Russian Pereyaslavl) on the place where the Russian daredevil Jan Usmoshvets defeated the Pecheneg hero in a duel. Under him and in the first years of the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, the Pereyaslav region was part of the grand ducal domain, and in 1024–1036 it became part of the vast possessions of Yaroslav's brother Mstislav the Brave on the left bank of the Dnieper. After the death of Mstislav in 1036, the Kiev prince took possession of it again. In 1054, according to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, the Pereyaslavl land passed to his son Vsevolod; from that time on, it separated from the Principality of Kyiv and became an independent principality. In 1073 Vsevolod handed it over to his brother, the Great Prince of Kyiv Svyatoslav, who may have imprisoned his son Gleb in Pereyaslavl. In 1077, after the death of Svyatoslav, the Pereyaslav region again found itself in the hands of Vsevolod; An attempt by Roman, the son of Svyatoslav, to capture it in 1079 with the help of the Polovtsians ended in failure: Vsevolod entered into a secret agreement with the Polovtsian khan, and he ordered the death of Roman. After some time, Vsevolod transferred the principality to his son Rostislav, after whose death in 1093 his brother Vladimir Monomakh began to reign there (with the consent of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich). By decision of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, the Pereyaslav land was assigned to the Monomashichs. From that time on, it remained their fiefdom; as a rule, the great Kyiv princes from the Monomashich family allocated it to their sons or younger brothers; for some of them, the Pereyaslav reign became a step to the Kyiv table (Vladimir Monomakh himself in 1113, Yaropolk Vladimirovich in 1132, Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1146, Gleb Yuryevich in 1169). True, the Chernigov Olgovichi tried several times to bring it under their control; but they managed to capture only the Bryansk Posem in the northern part of the principality.
Vladimir Monomakh, having made a number of successful campaigns against the Polovtsians, temporarily secured the southeastern border of the Pereyaslav region. In 1113 he transferred the principality to his son Svyatoslav, after his death in 1114 - to another son Yaropolk, and in 1118 - to another son Gleb. According to the will of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125, the Pereyaslavl land again went to Yaropolk. When Yaropolk went to reign in Kyiv in 1132, the Pereyaslav table became a bone of discord within the Monomashich house - between the Rostov prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky and his nephews Vsevolod and Izyaslav Mstislavich. Yuri Dolgoruky captured Pereyaslavl, but reigned there only for eight days: he was expelled by the Grand Duke Yaropolk, who gave the Pereyaslavl table to Izyaslav Mstislavich, and the next year, 1133, to his brother Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. In 1135, after Vyacheslav left to reign in Turov, Pereyaslavl was again captured by Yuri Dolgoruky, who planted his brother Andrei the Good there. In the same year, the Olgovichi, in alliance with the Polovtsians, invaded the principality, but the Monomashichi joined forces and helped Andrei repel the attack. After the death of Andrei in 1142, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich returned to Pereyaslavl, who, however, soon had to transfer the reign to Izyaslav Mstislavich. When Izyaslav took the Kiev throne in 1146, he installed his son Mstislav in Pereyaslavl.
In 1149, Yuri Dolgoruky resumed the struggle with Izyaslav and his sons for dominion in the southern Russian lands. For five years, the Pereyaslav principality found itself either in the hands of Mstislav Izyaslavich (1150–1151, 1151–1154), or in the hands of the sons of Yuri Rostislav (1149–1150, 1151) and Gleb (1151). In 1154, the Yuryevichs established themselves in the principality for a long time: Gleb Yuryevich (1155–1169), his son Vladimir (1169–1174), Gleb’s brother Mikhalko (1174–1175), again Vladimir (1175–1187), grandson of Yuri Dolgorukov Yaroslav the Red (until 1199 ) and the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest Konstantin (1199–1201) and Yaroslav (1201–1206). In 1206, the Grand Duke of Kiev Vsevolod Chermny from the Chernigov Olgovichi planted his son Mikhail in Pereyaslavl, who, however, was expelled in the same year by the new Grand Duke Rurik Rostislavich. From that time on, the principality was held either by the Smolensk Rostislavichs or by the Yuryevichs. In the spring of 1239, Tatar-Mongol hordes invaded the Pereyaslavl land; they burned Pereyaslavl and subjected the principality to a terrible defeat, after which it could no longer be revived; the Tatars included it in the “Wild Field”. In the third quarter of the 14th century. The Pereyaslav region became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Vladimir-Volyn principality.
It was located in the west of Rus' and occupied a vast territory from the headwaters of the Southern Bug in the south to the headwaters of the Narev (a tributary of the Vistula) in the north, from the valley of the Western Bug in the west to the Sluch River (a tributary of the Pripyat) in the east (modern Volyn, Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa, north of Ternopil, northeast of Lviv, most of the Rivne region of Ukraine, west of the Brest and southwest of the Grodno region of Belarus, east of the Lublin and southeast of the Bialystok region of Poland). It bordered in the east with Polotsk, Turovo-Pinsk and Kyiv, in the west with the Principality of Galicia, in the northwest with Poland, in the southeast with the Polovtsian steppes. It was inhabited by the Slavic tribe of Dulebs, who were later called Buzhans or Volynians.
Southern Volyn was a mountainous area formed by the eastern spurs of the Carpathians, the northern was lowland and wooded woodland. The diversity of natural and climatic conditions contributed to economic diversity; The inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, and fishing. The economic development of the principality was favored by its unusually advantageous geographical position: the main trade routes from the Baltic States to the Black Sea and from Rus' to Central Europe passed through it; At their intersection, the main urban centers arose - Vladimir-Volynsky, Dorogichin, Lutsk, Berestye, Shumsk.
At the beginning of the 10th century. Volyn, together with the territory adjacent to it from the southwest (the future Galician land), became dependent on the Kyiv prince Oleg. In 981, Vladimir the Holy annexed the Przemysl and Cherven volosts that he had taken from the Poles, moving the Russian border from the Western Bug to the San River; in Vladimir-Volynsky he established an episcopal see, and made the Volyn land itself a semi-independent principality, transferring it to his sons - Pozvizd, Vsevolod, Boris. During the internecine war in Rus' in 1015–1019, the Polish king Boleslaw I the Brave regained Przemysl and Cherven, but in the early 1030s they were recaptured by Yaroslav the Wise, who also annexed Belz to Volhynia.
In the early 1050s, Yaroslav placed his son Svyatoslav on the Vladimir-Volyn table. According to Yaroslav's will, in 1054 it passed to his other son Igor, who held it until 1057. According to some sources, in 1060 Vladimir-Volynsky was transferred to Igor's nephew Rostislav Vladimirovich; he, however, did not own it for long. In 1073, Volyn returned to Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who occupied the grand-ducal throne, who gave it as an inheritance to his son Oleg “Gorislavich,” but after Svyatoslav’s death at the end of 1076, the new Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich took this region from him.
When Izyaslav died in 1078 and the great reign passed to his brother Vsevolod, he installed Yaropolk, the son of Izyaslav, in Vladimir-Volynsky. However, after some time, Vsevolod separated the Przemysl and Terebovl volosts from Volyn, transferring them to the sons of Rostislav Vladimirovich (the future Principality of Galicia). The attempt of the Rostislavichs in 1084–1086 to take away the Vladimir-Volyn table from Yaropolk was unsuccessful; after the murder of Yaropolk in 1086, Grand Duke Vsevolod made his nephew Davyd Igorevich ruler of Volyn. The Lyubech Congress of 1097 assigned Volyn to him, but as a result of the war with the Rostislavichs, and then with the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich (1097–1098), Davyd lost it. By decision of the Uvetich Congress of 1100, Vladimir-Volynsky went to Svyatopolk’s son Yaroslav; Davyd got Buzhsk, Ostrog, Czartorysk and Duben (later Dorogobuzh).
In 1117, Yaroslav rebelled against the new Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh, for which he was expelled from Volyn. Vladimir passed it on to his son Roman (1117–1119), and after his death to his other son Andrei the Good (1119–1135); in 1123 Yaroslav tried to regain his inheritance with the help of the Poles and Hungarians, but died during the siege of Vladimir-Volynsky. In 1135, the Kiev prince Yaropolk replaced Andrei with his nephew Izyaslav, the son of Mstislav the Great.
When in 1139 the Chernigov Olgovichi took possession of the Kyiv table, they decided to oust the Monomashichs from Volyn. In 1142, Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich managed to plant his son Svyatoslav in Vladimir-Volynsky instead of Izyaslav. However, in 1146, after the death of Vsevolod, Izyaslav seized the great reign in Kyiv and removed Svyatoslav from Vladimir, allocating Buzhsk and six other Volyn cities to him as an inheritance. From this time, Volyn finally passed into the hands of the Mstislavichs, the senior branch of the Monomashichs, who ruled it until 1337. In 1148, Izyaslav transferred the Vladimir-Volyn table to his brother Svyatopolk (1148–1154), who was succeeded by his younger brother Vladimir (1154–1156) and son Izyaslav Mstislav (1156–1170). Under them, the process of fragmentation of the Volyn land began: in the 1140–1160s, the Buzh, Lutsk and Peresopnytsia principalities emerged.
In 1170, the Vladimir-Volyn table was occupied by the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich Roman (1170–1205 with a break in 1188). His reign was marked by the economic and political strengthening of the principality. Unlike the Galician princes, the Volyn rulers had a vast princely domain and were able to concentrate significant material resources in their hands. Having strengthened his power within the principality, Roman began to pursue an active foreign policy in the second half of the 1180s. In 1188 he intervened in civil strife in the neighboring Principality of Galicia and tried to take possession of the Galician table, but failed. In 1195 he came into conflict with the Smolensk Rostislavichs and destroyed their possessions. In 1199 he managed to subjugate the Galician land and create a single Galician-Volyn principality. At the beginning of the 13th century. Roman extended his influence to Kyiv: in 1202 he expelled Rurik Rostislavich from the Kyiv table and installed his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich on him; in 1204 he arrested and tonsured Rurik, who had once again established himself in Kyiv, as a monk and reinstated Ingvar there. He invaded Lithuania and Poland several times. By the end of his reign, Roman became the de facto hegemon of Western and Southern Rus' and called himself the “Russian King”; nevertheless, he was unable to put an end to feudal fragmentation - under him, old appanages continued to exist in Volyn and even new ones arose (Drogichinsky, Belzsky, Chervensko-Kholmsky).
After the death of Roman in 1205 in a campaign against the Poles, there was a temporary weakening of the princely power. His heir Daniel already lost the Galician land in 1206, and then was forced to flee Volyn. The Vladimir-Volyn table turned out to be the object of rivalry between his cousin Ingvar Yaroslavich and his cousin Yaroslav Vsevolodich, who constantly turned to the Poles and the Hungarians for support. Only in 1212 was Daniil Romanovich able to establish himself in the Vladimir-Volyn reign; he managed to achieve the liquidation of a number of fiefs. After a long struggle with the Hungarians, Poles and Chernigov Olgovichs, he subjugated the Galician land in 1238 and restored the unified Galician-Volyn principality. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, Daniel transferred Volhynia to his younger brother Vasilko (1238–1269). In 1240, the Volyn land was devastated by the Tatar-Mongol hordes; Vladimir-Volynsky was taken and plundered. In 1259, the Tatar commander Burundai invaded Volyn and forced Vasilko to demolish the fortifications of Vladimir-Volynsky, Danilov, Kremenets and Lutsk; however, after the unsuccessful siege of the Hill, he was forced to retreat. In the same year, Vasilko repelled the attack of the Lithuanians.
Vasilko was succeeded by his son Vladimir (1269–1288). During his reign, Volyn was subject to periodic Tatar raids (especially devastating in 1285). Vladimir restored many devastated cities (Berestye and others), built a number of new ones (Kamenets on Losnya), erected temples, patronized trade, and attracted foreign artisans. At the same time, he waged constant wars with the Lithuanians and Yatvingians and intervened in the feuds of the Polish princes. This active foreign policy was continued by his successor Mstislav (1289–1301), the youngest son of Daniil Romanovich.
After death approx. In 1301, the childless Mstislav, the Galician prince Yuri Lvovich, again united the Volyn and Galician lands. In 1315 he failed in the war with the Lithuanian prince Gedemin, who took Berestye, Drogichin and besieged Vladimir-Volynsky. In 1316, Yuri died (perhaps he died under the walls of besieged Vladimir), and the principality was divided again: most of Volyn was received by his eldest son, the Galician prince Andrey (1316–1324), and the Lutsk inheritance was given to his youngest son Lev. The last independent Galician-Volyn ruler was Andrei's son Yuri (1324–1337), after whose death the struggle for Volyn lands began between Lithuania and Poland. By the end of the 14th century. Volyn became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Principality of Galicia.
It was located on the southwestern outskirts of Rus' east of the Carpathians in the upper reaches of the Dniester and Prut (modern Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Lviv regions of Ukraine and Rzeszow voivodeship of Poland). It bordered in the east with the Volyn principality, in the north with Poland, in the west with Hungary, and in the south it abutted the Polovtsian steppes. The population was mixed - Slavic tribes occupied the Dniester valley (Tivertsy and Ulichs) and the upper reaches of the Bug (Dulebs, or Buzhans); Croats (herbs, carps, hrovats) lived in the Przemysl region.
Fertile soils, mild climate, numerous rivers and vast forests created favorable conditions for intensive farming and cattle breeding. The most important trade routes passed through the territory of the principality - river from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea (via the Vistula, Western Bug and Dniester) and land from Rus' to Central and South-Eastern Europe; periodically extending its power to the Dniester-Danube lowland, the principality also controlled the Danube communications between Europe and the East. Large shopping centers arose here early: Galich, Przemysl, Terebovl, Zvenigorod.
In the 10th–11th centuries. this region was part of the Vladimir-Volyn land. In the late 1070s - early 1080s, the great Kiev prince Vsevolod, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, separated the Przemysl and Terebovl volosts from it and gave it to his great-nephews: the first to Rurik and Volodar Rostislavich, and the second to their brother Vasilko. In 1084–1086 the Rostislavichs unsuccessfully tried to establish control over Volyn. After the death of Rurik in 1092, Volodar became the sole ruler of Przemysl. The Lyubech Congress of 1097 assigned the Przemysl volost to him, and the Terebovl volost to Vasilko. In the same year, the Rostislavichs, with the support of Vladimir Monomakh and the Chernigov Svyatoslavichs, repelled the attempt of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich to seize their possessions. In 1124 Volodar and Vasilko died, and their estates were divided among themselves by their sons: Przemysl went to Rostislav Volodarevich, Zvenigorod to Vladimirko Volodarevich; Rostislav Vasilkovich received the Terebovl region, allocating from it a special Galician volost for his brother Ivan. After the death of Rostislav, Ivan annexed Terebovl to his possessions, leaving a small Berladsky inheritance to his son Ivan Rostislavich (Berladnik).
In 1141, Ivan Vasilkovich died, and the Terebovl-Galician volost was captured by his cousin Vladimirko Volodarevich Zvenigorodsky, who made Galich the capital of his possessions (from now on the Principality of Galicia). In 1144 Ivan Berladnik tried to take Galich from him, but failed and lost his Berlad inheritance. In 1143, after the death of Rostislav Volodarevich, Vladimirko included Przemysl into his principality; thereby he united all the Carpathian lands under his rule. In 1149–1154, Vladimirko supported Yuri Dolgoruky in his struggle with Izyaslav Mstislavich for the Kiev table; he repelled the attack of Izyaslav's ally, the Hungarian king Geyza, and in 1152 captured Verkhneye Pogorynye (the cities of Buzhsk, Shumsk, Tikhoml, Vyshegoshev and Gnoinitsa) that belonged to Izyaslav. As a result, he became the ruler of a vast territory from the upper reaches of the San and Goryn to the middle reaches of the Dniester and the lower reaches of the Danube. Under him, the Principality of Galicia became the leading political force in Southwestern Rus' and entered a period of economic prosperity; its ties with Poland and Hungary strengthened; it began to experience strong cultural influences from Catholic Europe.
In 1153, Vladimirko was succeeded by his son Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153–1187), under whom the Principality of Galicia reached the peak of its political and economic power. He patronized trade, invited foreign artisans, and built new cities; under him, the population of the principality increased significantly. Yaroslav's foreign policy was also successful. In 1157 he repelled an attack on Galich by Ivan Berladnik, who settled in the Danube region and robbed Galician merchants. When in 1159 the Kiev prince Izyaslav Davydovich tried to place Berladnik on the Galician table by force of arms, Yaroslav, in alliance with Mstislav Izyaslavich Volynsky, defeated him, expelled him from Kiev and transferred the reign of Kiev to Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky (1159–1167); in 1174 he made his vassal Yaroslav Izyaslavich of Lutsk prince of Kyiv. Galich's international authority increased enormously. Author Words about Igor's Campaign described Yaroslav as one of the most powerful Russian princes: “Galician Osmomysl Yaroslav! / You sit high on your gold-plated throne, / propped up the Hungarian mountains with your iron regiments, / interceding the king’s path, closing the gates of the Danube, / wielding the sword of gravity through the clouds, / rowing judgments to the Danube. / Your thunderstorms flow across the lands, / you open the gates of Kyiv, / you shoot from the golden throne of the Saltans beyond the lands.”
During the reign of Yaroslav, however, the local boyars strengthened. Like his father, he, trying to avoid fragmentation, transferred cities and volosts to the boyars rather than to his relatives. The most influential of them (“great boyars”) became the owners of huge estates, fortified castles and numerous vassals. Boyar landownership surpassed the princely landownership in size. The power of the Galician boyars increased so much that in 1170 they even intervened in the internal conflict in the princely family: they burned Yaroslav’s concubine Nastasya at the stake and forced him to swear an oath to return his legal wife Olga, the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky, who had been rejected by him.
Yaroslav bequeathed the principality to Oleg, his son from Nastasya; He allocated the Przemysl volost to his legitimate son Vladimir. But after his death in 1187, the boyars overthrew Oleg and elevated Vladimir to the Galician table. Vladimir's attempt to get rid of boyar tutelage and rule autocratically in the next year 1188 ended with his flight to Hungary. Oleg returned to the Galician table, but he was soon poisoned by the boyars, and Galich was occupied by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. In the same year, Vladimir expelled Roman with the help of the Hungarian king Bela, but he gave the reign not to him, but to his son Andrei. In 1189, Vladimir fled from Hungary to the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, promising him to become his vassal and tributary. By order of Frederick, the Polish king Casimir II the Just sent his army to the Galician land, upon the approach of which the boyars of Galich overthrew Andrei and opened the gates to Vladimir. With the support of the ruler of North-Eastern Rus', Vsevolod the Big Nest, Vladimir was able to subjugate the boyars and remain in power until his death in 1199.
With the death of Vladimir, the line of Galician Rostislavichs ceased, and the Galician land became part of the vast possessions of Roman Mstislavich Volynsky, a representative of the senior branch of the Monomashichs. The new prince pursued a policy of terror towards the local boyars and achieved their significant weakening. However, soon after the death of Roman in 1205, his power collapsed. Already in 1206, his heir Daniel was forced to leave the Galician land and go to Volyn. A long period of unrest began (1206–1238). The Galician table passed either to Daniel (1211, 1230–1232, 1233), then to the Chernigov Olgovichs (1206–1207, 1209–1211, 1235–1238), then to the Smolensk Rostislavichs (1206, 1219–1227), then to the Hungarian princes (1207–1209, 1214–1219, 1227–1230); in 1212–1213, power in Galich was even usurped by a boyar, Volodislav Kormilichich (a unique case in ancient Russian history). Only in 1238 did Daniel manage to establish himself in Galich and restore the unified Galician-Volyn state. In the same year, while remaining its supreme ruler, he allocated Volyn as an inheritance to his brother Vasilko.
In the 1240s, the foreign policy situation of the principality became more complicated. In 1242 it was devastated by the hordes of Batu. In 1245, Daniil and Vasilko had to recognize themselves as tributaries of the Tatar Khan. In the same year, the Chernigov Olgovichi (Rostislav Mikhailovich), having entered into an alliance with the Hungarians, invaded the Galician land; Only with great effort did the brothers manage to repel the invasion, winning a victory on the river. San.
In the 1250s, Daniil launched active diplomatic activities to create an anti-Tatar coalition. He concluded a military-political alliance with the Hungarian king Béla IV and began negotiations with Pope Innocent IV about church union, a crusade by European powers against the Tatars and recognition of his royal title. In 1254, the papal legate crowned Daniel with the royal crown. However, the failure of the Vatican to organize a crusade removed the issue of union from the agenda. In 1257, Daniel agreed on joint actions against the Tatars with the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas, but the Tatars managed to provoke a conflict between the allies.
After the death of Daniel in 1264, the Galician land was divided between his sons Lev, who received Galich, Przemysl and Drogichin, and Shvarn, to whom Kholm, Cherven and Belz passed. In 1269, Schwarn died, and the entire Principality of Galicia passed into the hands of Lev, who in 1272 moved his residence to the newly built Lviv. Lev intervened in internal political feuds in Lithuania and fought (albeit unsuccessfully) with the Polish prince Leshko the Black for the Lublin parish.
After Leo’s death in 1301, his son Yuri again united the Galician and Volyn lands and took the title “King of Rus', Prince of Lodimeria (i.e. Volyn).” He entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and tried to achieve the establishment of an independent church metropolis in Galich. After the death of Yuri in 1316, the Galician land and most of Volyn were received by his eldest son Andrei, who was succeeded by his son Yuri in 1324. With the death of Yuri in 1337, the senior branch of the descendants of Daniil Romanovich died out, and a fierce struggle between Lithuanian, Hungarian and Polish pretenders to the Galician-Volyn table began. In 1349–1352, the Galician land was captured by the Polish king Casimir III. In 1387, under Vladislav II (Jagiello), it finally became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Rostov-Suzdal (Vladimir-Suzdal) principality.
It was located on the northeastern outskirts of Rus' in the basin of the Upper Volga and its tributaries Klyazma, Unzha, Sheksna (modern Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, most of the Moscow, Vladimir and Vologda, southeast Tver, western Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma regions); in the 12th–14th centuries. the principality constantly expanded in the eastern and northeastern directions. In the west it bordered with Smolensk, in the south with Chernigov and Murom-Ryazan principalities, in the northwest with Novgorod, and in the east with Vyatka land and Finno-Ugric tribes (Merya, Mari, etc.). The population of the principality was mixed: it consisted of both Finno-Ugric autochthons (mostly Merya) and Slavic colonists (mostly Krivichi).
Most of the territory was occupied by forests and swamps; Fur trading played an important role in the economy. Numerous rivers abounded in valuable species of fish. Despite the rather harsh climate, the presence of podzolic and sod-podzolic soils created favorable conditions for agriculture (rye, barley, oats, garden crops). Natural barriers (forests, swamps, rivers) reliably protected the principality from external enemies.
In the 1st millennium AD. The Upper Volga basin was inhabited by the Finno-Ugric tribe Merya. In the 8th–9th centuries. an influx of Slavic colonists began here, moving both from the west (from the Novgorod land) and from the south (from the Dnieper region); in the 9th century Rostov was founded by them, and in the 10th century. - Suzdal. At the beginning of the 10th century. The Rostov land became dependent on the Kyiv prince Oleg, and under his immediate successors it became part of the grand ducal domain. In 988/989 Vladimir the Holy allocated it as an inheritance to his son Yaroslav the Wise, and in 1010 he transferred it to his other son Boris. After the murder of Boris in 1015 by Svyatopolk the Accursed, direct control of the Kyiv princes was restored here.
According to the will of Yaroslav the Wise, in 1054 the Rostov land passed to Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who in 1068 sent his son Vladimir Monomakh to reign there; under him, Vladimir was founded on the Klyazma River. Thanks to the activities of the Rostov bishop St. Leonty, Christianity began to actively penetrate into this area; St. Abraham organized the first monastery here (Epiphany). In 1093 and 1095, Vladimir's son Mstislav the Great sat in Rostov. In 1095, Vladimir allocated the Rostov land as an independent principality as an inheritance to his other son Yuri Dolgoruky (1095–1157). The Lyubech Congress of 1097 assigned it to the Monomashichs. Yuri moved the princely residence from Rostov to Suzdal. He contributed to the final establishment of Christianity, widely attracted settlers from other Russian principalities, and founded new cities (Moscow, Dmitrov, Yuryev-Polsky, Uglich, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Kostroma). During his reign, the Rostov-Suzdal land experienced economic and political prosperity; The boyars and the trade and craft layer strengthened. Significant resources allowed Yuri to intervene in princely feuds and spread his influence to neighboring territories. In 1132 and 1135 he tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to bring Pereyaslavl Russky under control, in 1147 he made a campaign against Novgorod the Great and took Torzhok, in 1149 he began the fight for Kyiv with Izyaslav Mstislavovich. In 1155 he managed to establish himself on the Kiev grand-ducal table and secure the Pereyaslav region for his sons.
After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157, the Rostov-Suzdal land split into several fiefs. However, already in 1161, Yuri’s son Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157–1174) restored its unity, depriving his three brothers (Mstislav, Vasilko and Vsevolod) and two nephews (Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich) of their possessions. In an effort to get rid of the tutelage of the influential Rostov and Suzdal boyars, he moved the capital to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, where there was a numerous trade and craft settlement, and, relying on the support of the townspeople and squad, began to pursue an absolutist policy. Andrei renounced his claims to the Kiev throne and accepted the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir. In 1169–1170 he subjugated Kyiv and Novgorod the Great, handing them over to his brother Gleb and his ally Rurik Rostislavich, respectively. By the early 1170s, the Polotsk, Turov, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Murom and Smolensk principalities recognized their dependence on the Vladimir table. However, his 1173 campaign against Kyiv, which fell into the hands of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, failed. In 1174 he was killed by conspiratorial boyars in the village. Bogolyubovo near Vladimir.
After Andrei's death, the local boyars invited his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich to the Rostov table; Mstislav's brother Yaropolk received Suzdal, Vladimir and Yuryev-Polsky. But in 1175 they were expelled by Andrei's brothers Mikhalko and Vsevolod the Big Nest; Mikhalko became the ruler of Vladimir-Suzdal, and Vsevolod became the ruler of Rostov. In 1176 Mikhalko died, and Vsevolod remained the sole ruler of all these lands, for which the name of the great Vladimir principality was firmly established. In 1177, he finally eliminated the threat from Mstislav and Yaropolk, inflicting a decisive defeat on them on the Koloksha River; they themselves were captured and blinded.
Vsevolod (1175–1212) continued the foreign policy course of his father and brother, becoming the main arbiter among the Russian princes and dictating his will to Kyiv, Novgorod the Great, Smolensk and Ryazan. However, already during his lifetime, the process of fragmentation of the Vladimir-Suzdal land began: in 1208 he gave Rostov and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky as an inheritance to his sons Konstantin and Yaroslav. After the death of Vsevolod in 1212, a war broke out between Constantine and his brothers Yuri and Yaroslav in 1214, which ended in April 1216 with the victory of Constantine in the Battle of the Lipitsa River. But, although Constantine became the great prince of Vladimir, the unity of the principality was not restored: in 1216–1217 he gave Gorodets-Rodilov and Suzdal to Yuri, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky to Yaroslav, and Yuryev-Polsky and Starodub to his younger brothers Svyatoslav and Vladimir. . After the death of Constantine in 1218, Yuri (1218–1238), who occupied the grand-ducal throne, allocated lands to his sons Vasilko (Rostov, Kostroma, Galich) and Vsevolod (Yaroslavl, Uglich). As a result, the Vladimir-Suzdal land broke up into ten appanage principalities - Rostov, Suzdal, Pereyaslavskoe, Yuryevskoe, Starodubskoe, Gorodetskoe, Yaroslavskoe, Uglichskoe, Kostroma, Galitskoe; the Grand Duke of Vladimir retained only formal supremacy over them.
In February-March 1238, North-Eastern Rus' became a victim of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The Vladimir-Suzdal regiments were defeated on the river. City, Prince Yuri fell on the battlefield, Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal and other cities suffered terrible defeat. After the departure of the Tatars, the grand-ducal table was taken by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who transferred to his brothers Svyatoslav and Ivan Suzdal and Starodubskoye, to his eldest son Alexander (Nevsky) Pereyaslavskoye, and to his nephew Boris Vasilkovich the Rostov principality, from which the Belozersk inheritance (Gleb Vasilkovich) was separated. In 1243, Yaroslav received from Batu a label for the great reign of Vladimir (d. 1246). Under his successors, brother Svyatoslav (1246–1247), sons Andrei (1247–1252), Alexander (1252–1263), Yaroslav (1263–1271/1272), Vasily (1272–1276/1277) and grandchildren Dmitry (1277–1293) ) and Andrei Alexandrovich (1293–1304), the process of fragmentation was increasing. In 1247 the Tver (Yaroslav Yaroslavich) principality was finally formed, and in 1283 the Moscow (Daniil Alexandrovich) principality. Although in 1299 the metropolitan, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, moved to Vladimir from Kyiv, its importance as a capital gradually decreased; from the end of the 13th century. the grand dukes ceased to use Vladimir as a permanent residence.
In the first third of the 14th century. Moscow and Tver begin to play a leading role in North-Eastern Rus', which enter into competition for the Vladimir grand-ducal table: in 1304/1305–1317 it was occupied by Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy, in 1317–1322 by Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky, in 1322–1326 by Dmitry Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1326-1327 - Alexander Mikhailovich Tverskoy, in 1327-1340 - Ivan Danilovich (Kalita) Moskovsky (in 1327-1331 together with Alexander Vasilyevich Suzdalsky). After Ivan Kalita, it becomes a monopoly of the Moscow princes (with the exception of 1359–1362). At the same time, their main rivals - the Tver and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes - in the mid-14th century. also accept the title of great. Struggle for control of North-Eastern Russia during the 14th–15th centuries. ends with the victory of the Moscow princes, who include the disintegrated parts of the Vladimir-Suzdal land into the Moscow state: Pereyaslavl-Zalesskoe (1302), Mozhaiskoe (1303), Uglichskoe (1329), Vladimirskoe, Starodubskoe, Galitskoe, Kostroma and Dmitrovskoe (1362–1364), Belozersk (1389), Nizhny Novgorod (1393), Suzdal (1451), Yaroslavl (1463), Rostov (1474) and Tver (1485) principalities.
Novgorod land.
It occupied a huge territory (almost 200 thousand sq. km.) between the Baltic Sea and the lower reaches of the Ob. Its western border was the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus, in the north it included Lakes Ladoga and Onega and reached the White Sea, in the east it captured the Pechora basin, and in the south it was adjacent to the Polotsk, Smolensk and Rostov-Suzdal principalities (modern Novgorod, Pskov, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, most of the Tver and Vologda regions, Karelian and Komi autonomous republics). It was inhabited by Slavic (Ilmen Slavs, Krivichi) and Finno-Ugric tribes (Vod, Izhora, Korela, Chud, Ves, Perm, Pechora, Lapps).
The unfavorable natural conditions of the North hindered the development of agriculture; grain was one of the main imports. At the same time, huge forests and numerous rivers were conducive to fishing, hunting, and fur trading; The extraction of salt and iron ore gained great importance. Since ancient times, the Novgorod land has been famous for its variety of crafts and high quality handicrafts. Its advantageous location at the intersection of routes from the Baltic Sea to the Black and Caspian Sea ensured its role as an intermediary in the trade of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries with the Black Sea and Volga regions. Craftsmen and merchants, united in territorial and professional corporations, represented one of the most economically and politically influential layers of Novgorod society. Its highest stratum – large landowners (boyars) – also actively participated in international trade.
The Novgorod land was divided into administrative districts - Pyatina, directly adjacent to Novgorod (Votskaya, Shelonskaya, Obonezhskaya, Derevskaya, Bezhetskaya), and remote volosts: one stretched from Torzhok and Volok to the Suzdal border and the upper reaches of the Onega, the other included Zavolochye (the interfluve of the Onega and Mezen), and the third - lands east of Mezen (Pechora, Perm and Yugorsk territories).
The Novgorod land was the cradle of the Old Russian state. It was here that in the 860–870s a strong political entity arose, uniting the Ilmen Slavs, Polotsk Krivichi, Merya, all and part of Chud. In 882, the Novgorod prince Oleg subjugated the glades and Smolensk Krivichi and moved the capital to Kyiv. From that time on, Novgorod land became the second most important region of the Rurik power. From 882 to 988/989 it was ruled by governors sent from Kyiv (with the exception of 972–977, when it was the domain of St. Vladimir).
At the end of the 10th–11th centuries. The Novgorod land, as the most important part of the grand ducal domain, was usually transferred by the Kyiv princes to their eldest sons. In 988/989, Vladimir the Holy placed his eldest son Vysheslav in Novgorod, and after his death in 1010, his other son Yaroslav the Wise, who, having taken the grand-ducal table in 1019, in turn passed it on to his eldest son Ilya. After the death of Ilya approx. 1020 The Novgorod land was captured by the Polotsk ruler Bryachislav Izyaslavich, but was expelled by Yaroslav's troops. In 1034 Yaroslav transferred Novgorod to his second son Vladimir, who held it until his death in 1052.
In 1054, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, Novgorod found itself in the hands of his third son, the new Grand Duke Izyaslav, who ruled it through his governors, and then installed his youngest son Mstislav in it. In 1067 Novgorod was captured by Vseslav Bryachislavich of Polotsk, but in the same year he was expelled by Izyaslav. After the overthrow of Izyaslav from the Kyiv throne in 1068, the Novgorodians did not submit to Vseslav of Polotsk, who reigned in Kyiv, and turned for help to Izyaslav’s brother, the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav, who sent his eldest son Gleb to them. Gleb defeated Vseslav's troops in October 1069, but soon, apparently, was forced to hand over Novgorod to Izyaslav, who returned to the grand prince's throne. When Izyaslav was overthrown again in 1073, Novgorod passed to Svyatoslav of Chernigov, who received the great reign, who installed his other son Davyd in it. After the death of Svyatoslav in December 1076, Gleb again occupied the Novgorod table. However, in July 1077, when Izyaslav regained the reign of Kiev, he had to cede it to Svyatopolk, the son of Izyaslav, who regained the reign of Kiev. Izyaslav's brother Vsevolod, who became the Grand Duke in 1078, retained Novgorod for Svyatopolk and only in 1088 replaced him with his grandson Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of Vsevolod in 1093, Davyd Svyatoslavich again sat in Novgorod, but in 1095 he came into conflict with the townspeople and left his reign. At the request of the Novgorodians, Vladimir Monomakh, who then owned Chernigov, returned Mstislav to them (1095–1117).
In the second half of the 11th century. in Novgorod, the economic power and, accordingly, the political influence of the boyars and the trade and craft layer increased significantly. Large boyar land ownership became dominant. The Novgorod boyars were hereditary landowners and were not a service class; ownership of land did not depend on service to the prince. At the same time, the constant change of representatives of different princely families on the Novgorod table prevented the formation of any significant princely domain. In the face of a growing local elite, the prince's position gradually weakened.
In 1102, the Novgorod elite (boyars and merchants) refused to accept the reign of the son of the new Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, wishing to retain Mstislav, and the Novgorod land ceased to be part of the grand ducal possessions. In 1117 Mstislav handed over the Novgorod table to his son Vsevolod (1117–1136).
In 1136 the Novgorodians rebelled against Vsevolod. Accusing him of misgovernment and neglect of the interests of Novgorod, they imprisoned him and his family, and after a month and a half they expelled him from the city. From that time on, a de facto republican system was established in Novgorod, although princely power was not abolished. The supreme governing body was the people's assembly (veche), which included all free citizens. The Veche had broad powers - it invited and removed the prince, elected and controlled the entire administration, decided issues of war and peace, was the highest court, and introduced taxes and duties. The prince turned from a sovereign ruler into a supreme official. He was the supreme commander-in-chief, could convene a veche and make laws if they did not contradict customs; Embassies were sent and received on his behalf. However, upon election, the prince entered into contractual relations with Novgorod and gave an obligation to rule “in the old way”, to appoint only Novgorodians as governors in the volost and not to impose tribute on them, to wage war and make peace only with the consent of the veche. He did not have the right to remove other officials without a trial. His actions were controlled by the elected mayor, without whose approval he could not make judicial decisions or make appointments.
The local bishop (lord) played a special role in the political life of Novgorod. From the middle of the 12th century. the right to elect him passed from the Kyiv metropolitan to the veche; the metropolitan only sanctioned the election. The Novgorod ruler was considered not only the main clergyman, but also the first dignitary of the state after the prince. He was the largest landowner, had his own boyars and military regiments with a banner and governors, certainly participated in negotiations for peace and the invitation of princes, and was a mediator in internal political conflicts.
Despite the significant narrowing of princely prerogatives, the rich Novgorod land remained attractive to the most powerful princely dynasties. First of all, the elder (Mstislavich) and younger (Suzdal Yuryevich) branches of the Monomashichs competed for the Novgorod table; The Chernigov Olgovichi tried to intervene in this struggle, but they achieved only episodic success (1138–1139, 1139–1141, 1180–1181, 1197, 1225–1226, 1229–1230). In the 12th century the advantage was on the side of the Mstislavich family and its three main branches (Izyaslavich, Rostislavich and Vladimirovich); they occupied the Novgorod table in 1117–1136, 1142–1155, 1158–1160, 1161–1171, 1179–1180, 1182–1197, 1197–1199; some of them (especially the Rostislavichs) managed to create independent, but short-lived principalities (Novotorzhskoye and Velikolukskoye) in the Novgorod land. However, already in the second half of the 12th century. The position of the Yuryevichs began to strengthen, who enjoyed the support of the influential party of Novgorod boyars and, in addition, periodically put pressure on Novgorod, closing the routes for the supply of grain from North-Eastern Rus'. In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruky made a campaign in the Novgorod land and captured Torzhok; in 1155, the Novgorodians had to invite his son Mstislav to reign (until 1157). In 1160, Andrei Bogolyubsky imposed his nephew Mstislav Rostislavich on the Novgorodians (until 1161); he forced them in 1171 to return Rurik Rostislavich, whom they had expelled, to the Novgorod table, and in 1172 to transfer him to his son Yuri (until 1175). In 1176, Vsevolod the Big Nest managed to plant his nephew Yaroslav Mstislavich in Novgorod (until 1178).
In the 13th century The Yuryevichs (the line of Vsevolod the Big Nest) achieved complete dominance. In the 1200s, the Novgorod table was occupied by Vsevolod's sons Svyatoslav (1200–1205, 1208–1210) and Constantine (1205–1208). True, in 1210 the Novgorodians were able to get rid of the control of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes with the help of the Toropets ruler Mstislav Udatny from the Smolensk Rostislavich family; The Rostislavichs held Novgorod until 1221 (with a break in 1215–1216). However, then they were finally forced out of the Novgorod land by the Yuryevichs.
The success of the Yuryevichs was facilitated by the deterioration of the foreign policy situation of Novgorod. In the face of an increased threat to its western possessions from Sweden, Denmark and the Livonian Order, the Novgorodians needed an alliance with the most powerful Russian principality at that time - Vladimir. Thanks to this alliance, Novgorod managed to protect its borders. Summoned to the Novgorod table in 1236, Alexander Yaroslavich, nephew of the Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodich, defeated the Swedes at the mouth of the Neva in 1240, and then stopped the aggression of the German knights.
The temporary strengthening of princely power under Alexander Yaroslavich (Nevsky) gave way at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century. its complete degradation, which was facilitated by the weakening of external danger and the progressive collapse of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. At the same time, the role of the veche decreased. An oligarchic system was actually established in Novgorod. The boyars turned into a closed ruling caste, sharing power with the archbishop. The rise of the Moscow Principality under Ivan Kalita (1325–1340) and its emergence as a center for the unification of Russian lands aroused fear among the Novgorod elite and led to their attempts to use the powerful Lithuanian Principality that had arisen on the southwestern borders as a counterweight: in 1333, it was first invited to the Novgorod table Lithuanian prince Narimunt Gedeminovich (although he only lasted a year); in the 1440s, the Grand Duke of Lithuania was granted the right to collect irregular tribute from some Novgorod volosts.
Although 14–15 centuries. became a period of rapid economic prosperity for Novgorod, largely due to its close ties with the Hanseatic Trade Union, the Novgorod elite did not take advantage of it to strengthen their military-political potential and preferred to pay off the aggressive Moscow and Lithuanian princes. At the end of the 14th century. Moscow launched an offensive against Novgorod. Vasily I captured the Novgorod cities of Bezhetsky Verkh, Volok Lamsky and Vologda with adjacent regions; in 1401 and 1417 he tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to take possession of Zavolochye. In the second quarter of the 15th century. the advance of Moscow was suspended due to the internecine war of 1425–1453 between Grand Duke Vasily II and his uncle Yuri and his sons; in this war, the Novgorod boyars supported the opponents of Vasily II. Having established himself on the throne, Vasily II imposed tribute on Novgorod, and in 1456 he entered into war with it. Having been defeated at Russa, the Novgorodians were forced to conclude a humiliating Peace of Yazhelbitsky with Moscow: they paid a significant indemnity and pledged not to enter into an alliance with the enemies of the Moscow prince; The legislative prerogatives of the veche were abolished and the possibilities of conducting an independent foreign policy were seriously limited. As a result, Novgorod became dependent on Moscow. In 1460, Pskov came under the control of the Moscow prince.
At the end of the 1460s, the Pro-Lithuanian party led by the Boretskys triumphed in Novgorod. She achieved the conclusion of an alliance treaty with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV and an invitation to his protege Mikhail Olelkovich to the Novgorod table (1470). In response, Moscow Prince Ivan III sent a large army against the Novgorodians, which defeated them on the river. Shelone; Novgorod had to cancel the treaty with Lithuania, pay a huge indemnity and cede part of Zavolochye. In 1472, Ivan III annexed the Perm region; in 1475 he arrived in Novgorod and carried out reprisals against anti-Moscow boyars, and in 1478 he liquidated the independence of the Novgorod land and included it in the Moscow state. In 1570, Ivan IV the Terrible finally destroyed the liberties of Novgorod.
Ivan Krivushin
GREAT Kyiv PRINCE
(from the death of Yaroslav the Wise to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Before the name of the prince is the year of his accession to the throne, the number in brackets indicates at what time the prince took the throne, if this happened again.)
1054 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (1)
1068 Vseslav Bryachislavich
1069 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (2)
1073 Svyatoslav Yaroslavich
1077 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (1)
1077 Izyaslav Yaroslavich (3)
1078 Vsevolod Yaroslavich (2)
1093 Svyatopolk Izyaslavich
1113 Vladimir Vsevolodich (Monomakh)
1125 Mstislav Vladimirovich (Great)
1132 Yaropolk Vladimirovich
1139 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (1)
1139 Vsevolod Olgovich
1146 Igor Olgovich
1146 Izyaslav Mstislavich (1)
1149 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (1)
1149 Izyaslav Mstislavich (2)
1151 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (2)
1151 Izyaslav Mstislavich (3) and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2)
1154 Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (2) and Rostislav Mstislavich (1)
1154 Rostislav Mstislavich (1)
1154 Izyaslav Davydovich (1)
1155 Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky) (3)
1157 Izyaslav Davydovich (2)
1159 Rostislav Mstislavich (2)
1167 Mstislav Izyaslavich
1169 Gleb Yurievich
1171 Vladimir Mstislavich
1171 Mikhalko Yurievich
1171 Roman Rostislavich (1)
1172 Vsevolod Yurievich (Big Nest) and Yaropolk Rostislavich
1173 Rurik Rostislavich (1)
1174 Roman Rostislavich (2)
1176 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1)
1181 Rurik Rostislavich (2)
1181 Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (2)
1194 Rurik Rostislavich (3)
1202 Ingvar Yaroslavich (1)
1203 Rurik Rostislavich (4)
1204 Ingvar Yaroslavich (2)
1204 Rostislav Rurikovich
1206 Rurik Rostislavich (5)
1206 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (1)
1206 Rurik Rostislavich (6)
1207 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (2)
1207 Rurik Rostislavich (7)
1210 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (3)
1211 Ingvar Yaroslavich (3)
1211 Vsevolod Svyatoslavich (4)
1212/1214 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (1)
1219 Vladimir Rurikovich (1)
1219 Mstislav Romanovich (Old) (2), possibly with his son Vsevolod
1223 Vladimir Rurikovich (2)
1235 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)
1235 Yaroslav Vsevolodich
1236 Vladimir Rurikovich (3)
1239 Mikhail Vsevolodich (1)
1240 Rostislav Mstislavich
1240 Daniil Romanovich
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