Relations of Rus' with European countries. Foreign policy of Kievan Rus: relationship with Byzantium and European states

Tsar Ivan III (1462-1505) was the first and only Eastern European monarch to independently free himself from the Mongol yoke, while he was not dependent on the European thrones. Indeed, in the fateful time of Ivan III, the first post-Mongol Western ties of Rus' were established. But Rus' was looked at as a possible object of influence, and not as a member of the European, Christian family of nations. Pope Paul II tried to take advantage of the king's intention to marry Zoe Palaeologus (who took the name Sophia), the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, who, having emigrated to Northern Italy, was converted to Catholicism. Contrary to the papal wishes, she nevertheless accepted the royal condition - in the very first Russian city she was converted to Orthodoxy. The marriage took place in November 1472. It can be said that Rus' first met the West during the journey of Princess Sophia’s retinue to Moscow through the Baltic ports (Revel) and Pskov. The people of Pskov looked with surprise at the papal legate in the red cardinal's robe, who did not bow to Russian icons, did not impose the sign of the cross on himself where Orthodox Russians were crossing themselves on their knees. It was then that the first meeting of the two worlds took place. “The introduction of the double-headed eagle coat of arms in Russia, allegedly borrowed from Byzantium, is usually associated with Ivan III’s marriage to Sophia Paleologus... By introducing a new coat of arms, Ivan III sought to show the Habsburgs the increased role of their state and its international significance.” The first representatives of the West to visit Moscow, liberated from the Mongols, were Catholic missionaries pursuing their goals, dictated by the pope’s desire to expand the limits of his influence. Some Western travelers left very unpleasant descriptions of Muscovy as a “rude and barbaric kingdom” with cruel morals. The first Russian-Western problem discussed by Ivan III with the boyars was whether the papal legate with a silver cast crucifix could be allowed into the princely capital - Moscow. The Moscow Metropolitan, who opposed such blasphemy, announced to the Grand Duke that if the Roman envoy was given official honors, he would leave the capital. The representative of the West immediately invited the Moscow Metropolitan to fight in the world of abstract ideas, and lost. Eleven weeks of stay in Moscow convinced the Roman legate that the hope of subordinating the Russian Church to the Pope was quite ephemeral. The Pope also made a mistake in counting on the pro-Western orientation of Queen Sophia Paleologus. She remained faithful to Orthodoxy and refused the role of a conductor of papal influence and assistance in introducing the Union of Florence in Rus'.

The first permanent ambassador of Rus' to the West, a certain Tolbuzin (1472), represented Moscow in Venice. His main concern was not theoretical debate, but the adoption of Western technology. The Grand Duke wanted to see Western architects in Moscow. Aristotle Fioravanti from Bologna was the first bearer of Western knowledge who considered it acceptable (and desirable) to show his technical skill in Rus'. “Italian architects built the Assumption Cathedral,” the Palace of Facets and the Kremlin itself; Italian craftsmen cast cannons and minted coins. The Russian embassy was sent in 1472 to Milan. An exchange of embassies followed with the ruler Stephen the Great (1478), Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1485) and, finally, the first ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire, Nicholas Poppel (I486), arrived from Vienna to Moscow.

Naturally, along with interest in the West at that fundamental time, a reaction of the opposite direction arises - a trend of major significance for Russia. It is not surprising that the opposition to Westernism was carried out primarily under the banner of defending Orthodoxy. The idea of a “Third Rome” (and there would be no “fourth”) very quickly became the core of ideological opposition to the then weak manifestations of Westernization of Russia. Thus, during the reign of Ivan III and his successor Vasily III, Russia begins to feel the influence of the West. Therefore, directly opposite the fortress of the Teutonic Order, Ivan III in 1492 erected the stone fortress of Ivangorod. In 1502, the Teutonic Order defeated Russian troops south of Pskov. From that time on, the proximity of Rus' to the West was already presented as an immediate danger. One of the forms of response was an attempt at rapprochement - foreigners were invited to join them. Responding to the calls of the Russian Tsar, several newcomers from the West settled in Moscow, distinguishing themselves in crafts and art. The most famous was Vicenza resident Gianbattista della Volpe, who established the minting of state coins. But in general, the first wave of Western influence on Rus' was mainly associated with medicine, in which the West achieved undoubted success. Even the first Russian translations from Latin were medical texts, encyclopedias of herbs, and the treatise “Aristotle’s Secret Revelations to Alexander the Great about the True Nature of the World, Depending on Biology.” “Representatives of the West had rather contradictory impressions of Rus'. On the one hand, Rus' was a Christian state... On the other, the exceptional uniqueness of the eastern Christian people itself was obvious. Even experienced travelers were amazed by the scale of Russian open spaces.”

Another external distinctive feature: the growing cities in the West and the peculiar cities of Rus' are to a much lesser extent the concentration of artisans, traders and townspeople. What was most striking to foreigners as Westerners was the absence of a self-regulating middle class in Russia. Only Novgorod and Pskov, distant from the Trans-Volga horde and close to the Hansa, had city self-government. In those years when the population of the West set sail, established extensive trade and created manufactories, the bulk of the Russian people lived in peace, in a rural community connected with the land, and not with crafts and commodity exchange. Communication with foreigners was hampered by lack of knowledge of languages. Foreigners noted that Russians learn only their native language and do not tolerate any other in their country and in their society, and that all their church services take place in their native language. The diplomat of the Livonian Order T. Herner characterized (1557) the reading circle of literate Muscovites as follows: “They have in translation various books of the Holy Fathers and many historical works that treat both the Romans and other peoples; they have no philosophical, astrological or medical books.” The next wave of Western influence begins to penetrate through diplomatic channels through the main center of contacts with the West - the Decree for Foreign Relations, the future Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first head of the officially recognized foreign policy department, Fyodor Kuritsyn, arrived to serve Tsar Ivan III from the western lands. This Russian diplomat can be called one of the first active disseminators of Western culture and customs in Russia. “A circle of admirers of the West is beginning to take shape in Moscow, the informal leader of which was the boyar Fyodor Ivanovich Karpov, who was interested in astronomy and advocated the unification of Christian churches.” At the beginning of the 16th century. The political and psychological situation in the capital of Rus' is beginning to be more conducive to the rapprochement of the two worlds. As later historians admit, Tsar Vasily III, who succeeded Ivan III, was raised by his mother Sophia in a Western manner. This was the first Russian sovereign who openly favored the idea of rapprochement with the West. The subject of Vasily III's thoughts is the split in the Christian world; he was worried about the religious divisions in Europe. “In 1517, the Reformation begins... Both Catholics and Protestants persistently sought to win Russia over to their side, intensively sending missionaries.” Vasily III considered it possible for himself to discuss what had recently been considered a heresy - the possibility of uniting the Russian and Western churches. He recruited Lithuanians who had visited the West into his service. How far Vasily III was ready to go in his Western sympathies is unknown, but the very fact that he shaved his beard was an expression of a new influence unknown to Moscow. Vasily III's pro-Western sympathies were emphasized by his marriage to Elena Glinskaya, who came from a family known for its contacts with the West. Elena's uncle Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky served for a long time in the troops of Albert of Saxony and Emperor Maximilian I. He was converted to Catholicism and knew several Western languages. After the marriage of his niece, this Westerner held important government positions under Vasily III.

At the beginning of the 16th century. Rus' could become closer to the West for political reasons: a common foreign policy enemy had emerged. In this sense, the West's first genuine interest in Russia was associated with strategic goals: in alliance with Russia, to weaken the pressure of the Ottoman Empire on the Holy Roman Empire, to strike a blow at it. Such an alliance was proposed to Tsar Vasily III in 1519 by the Pope through Nicholas von Schoenberg. The Imperial Ambassador, Baron Herberstein, was also a zealous adherent of this idea and urged Pope Clement VII to overcome Polish opposition to this union. Such a strategic alliance would undoubtedly immediately bring Moscow and Vienna closer together, but in Rus' they feared the strengthening of the influence of Catholic Poland. Herberstein emphasized that the power of the Grand Duke in Moscow significantly exceeds the power of Western monarchs over their subjects. "The Russians publicly declare that the will of the prince is the will of God." Freedom is an unknown concept to them. Baron Herberstein called on Pope Clement VII to “establish direct relations with Moscow and reject the mediation of the Polish king in this matter.” Irritated by such attempts, the Poles even threatened Rome in 1553 to break off political relations with it and enter into an alliance with the Sultan. But we are already hurting the interests of Ivan the Terrible... If the first contacts with the West were carried out under the auspices of the popes and the German emperor, then in the second half of the 16th century. In Rus' the influence of the Protestant part of Europe begins to be felt. A sign of the “coming of the Protestant West” was the construction in Moscow in 1575-1576. Lutheran Church for foreigners. Tsar Ivan the Terrible loved the Italians and the British most of all. But knights in armor and on horseback, who came mainly from Germany, could safely count on a special position at court. Italian-style artillery was ordered from the West; German officers were invited to organize the troops.

In the middle of the century, maritime ties between Russia and the West were established. After the transformation of Arkhangelsk into an international port, Russia had two “points of contact” with the West: Narva and the White Sea. Through Narva, which passed to the Russians, Western merchants began to develop the Russian market in 1558. In 1553 in search of an Arctic route to China, Captain R. Chancellor dropped anchor in Arkhangelsk, which became a symbol of the first serious economic contacts between the West and Russia. Ivan the Terrible most kindly met the enterprising Englishman in Moscow, and the English Russian Company received a monopoly on duty-free trade with Russia.

The counter-reformation that began in Europe, which made Germany and the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania a battlefield for intra-Western forces, definitely slowed down the advance of the West to the East. It was with the British that Ivan the Terrible tried to formalize a military-political alliance. “England at one time received significant privileges in Russian foreign trade, which gave it an almost monopoly position. In exchange, Ivan counted on an alliance in the Livonian War. But the queen did not intend to be drawn into a war on the continent and agreed only to provide Tsar Ivan with political asylum if he was forced to flee Russia.” Having received a refusal, the king turned to the continental powers. “With the Swedish king Eric XIV in 1567, Russia concluded an agreement on the union and division of Livonia.” This was partly explained by the need to find allies in the West, and the desire to strengthen Moscow’s position on the eve of its expansion. However, feeling the increasing pressure from the West, Ivan the Terrible, relying on the increased power of his state, proposed to the West to divide the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between Moscow and the Holy Roman Empire (preceding Catherine II by almost two centuries). In a certain sense, this was an attempt to create a barrier against Western pressure and to unite Russian and Western interests. But rapprochement with the West was hindered by the unfortunate Livonian War: its unsuccessful outcome for Russia devalued Ivan the Terrible’s 25-year attempts to find his own road to the West. Moreover, Russia lost Narva, the stronghold of its ties with the West, in the Livonian War. In the winter of 1581, Ivan the Terrible, under pressure from the failures of the Livonian War, sent his ambassador Leonty Shevrigin to Rome with a proposal to the pope to mediate in the war between Rus' and Poland, and subsequently to conclude an alliance to fight Turkey. The envoy of Pope Gregory XIII, Antonio Possevino, for help in concluding peace, demanded that the Roman Catholic Church be given new opportunities in Rus', which did not find understanding in Moscow. “In August 1582, the embassy of Fyodor Pisemsky was sent to London, the purpose of which was to establish allied relations with Elizabeth I... Ivan IV insisted that Elizabeth get Batory to renounce Polotsk and Livonia. However, the English queen was not inclined to support Ivan IV’s proposals and thought only about receiving new trade benefits.” After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the British tried not to weaken their position in Russia. Immediately after the stabilization of political life in Moscow, associated with the rise to power of Boris Godunov, Queen Elizabeth I sent an embassy of more than forty people to Moscow. The queen's ambassador promised "to supply Muscovy with everything necessary; (English) goods will be cheaper and of better quality than the goods of the Dutch and other peoples." Intuitively opposed to a monopoly, Tsar Boris ultimately provided the British and Dutch with the same terms for concluding trade deals. Boris Godunov sent his ambassador to Denmark and in September 1602 received the Danish Duke Johann with great pomp. Foreign guests looked with great surprise at the splendor of the eastern capital and the scale of the royal reception. For his part, the Duke brought with him pastors, doctors, a surgeon, and an executioner. Johann arrived with serious intentions - he asked for the hand of Godunov’s daughter. For reasons beyond Godunov’s control, the marriage did not take place, but Russia significantly expanded its contacts with the West in the last years before the Time of Troubles. In 1604, an ambassador from the Roman Emperor arrived in Moscow. “Boris,” writes the Italian Massa, “was merciful and kind to foreigners; he had a tremendous memory and, although he could neither read nor write, he knew everything better than those who could do it all.” Hundreds and even thousands of foreigners poured into the state, weakened after the cataclysms of the era of Ivan the Terrible. Western penetration into Russia became especially intense during the Time of Troubles. Under Boris Godunov, real cultural “self-defense” began for the state, which found itself in a difficult period of development. Thus, a patriarchate was created in Moscow, which the tsar considered to be a stronghold of Russian beliefs and traditions. The war between Russia and Sweden at the end of the 16th century. was Russia's first war with a truly Western power, and it ended in defeat for Russia. In 1592, the Polish king Sigismund III became the Swedish king, and clouds from the West gathered over Russia. At this time, Tsar Boris was discussing plans to create a higher school in Moscow, in which foreigners were invited to teach, which can be considered the first official recognition of the superiority of the West. At the same time, for the first time, many young people were sent to the West for knowledge - also a fairly clear sign. In April 1604, at the height of the political crisis in Russia, the unknown monk Gregory, who converted to Catholicism, pretended to be the (deceased) son of Ivan the Terrible Dmitry and marched with the Polish army to Moscow. The following spring, Tsar Boris Godunov dies, and the impostor enters the Kremlin. He was anointed as king in 1605 by Metropolitan Ignatius, who was called from Ryazan and was ready to recognize the Union of Brest. Westernization, in modern language, becomes the specific task of False Dmitry - reform of the state administration system, restructuring, establishing ties with the West, in particular, obtaining education abroad.

Under pressure from the Poles and due to feudal enmity, a group of boyars elected Vladislav, the son of the Polish king, descended from the Swedish royal house of Vasa, as Russian Tsar in 1610. Swedish troops launched an offensive in the north-west, and the Poles went straight to Moscow, capturing it in 1610. But three thousand soldiers of the Polish army and several dozen German bodyguards of False Dmitry I were not the striking force of the West, which at that time was colonizing the whole world . As an organism, as a society, the Polish world was not distinguished by Western efficiency. In addition, the Polish king Sigismund III began to encroach on the Russian throne of his son. And in Novgorod, the Swedes insisted on recognition of the Swedish pretender as the Russian Tsar. In the summer of 1612, Holy Roman Emperor Matthias nominated his brother and then his nephew to the Russian throne. Even the British began to develop plans for an English protectorate over Northern Russia. Russia was at the lowest point of its influence in Europe. She was really close to losing both her freedom and her identity. After the Polish occupation of Moscow, there could be no talk of either accepting a union or subordinating to Catholicism. The patriotic national movement, led by Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, showed all contenders for the Russian throne the impossibility of realizing their plans. Russia, like other great states: China, India, the Ottoman Empire, in the 17th century. faced a harsh prospect - to stand or submit to the West. Russia has set an example of the longest historical confrontation with the West in its practical, scientific, methodically organized subjugation of the entire surrounding world. Russia sought to preserve itself, and its epic struggle was practically the only alternative to gradual surrender - the share of the rest of the world. Thus, the Moscow state successfully took advantage of the geopolitical situation that had developed at that time: the collapse of the Golden Horde elevated Moscow to the rank of successor to vast territories in the east, which will happen in the future; the presence of Western interest in military and trade cooperation; patronage of the Orthodox population is the most important direction of foreign policy. But such an overactive foreign policy led to an overexertion of forces, and a solution was found first in cultural “self-defense”, and then in the national-patriotic movement to expel the Poles from Russia.

The term "West" is used here with reservations. The two "pillars" of the medieval West were the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. From a religious point of view, some of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe discussed in the previous chapter - the peoples of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary and Croatia - belonged to the "West" rather than to the "East", and Bohemia was actually part of the empire. On the other hand, in Western Europe as such, there was no strong unity at that time. As we have already seen, Scandinavia remained aloof in many respects and was converted to Christianity much later than most other countries. England was for some time under Danish control, and it entered into closer relations with the continent through the Normans - that is, the Scandinavians, however, in this case, Gallicized.

In the south, Spain, like Sicily, became part of the Arab world for a time. And in terms of trade, Italy was closer to Byzantium than to the West. Thus, the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France formed the backbone of Western Europe during the Kievan period.

Let us first turn to Russian-German relations. Until the German expansion into the eastern Baltic in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, German lands did not come into contact with the Russians. However, some contacts between the two peoples were maintained through trade and diplomacy, as well as through dynastic ties. The main German-Russian trade route in that early period passed through Bohemia and Poland. As early as 906, the Raffelstadt Customs Regulations mentioned Bohemians and Rugs among foreign merchants coming to Germany. It is clear that the former means the Czechs, while the latter can be identified with the Russians.

The city of Ratisbon became the starting point for German trade with Russia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; here German merchants doing business with Russia formed a special corporation, the members of which are known as “Rusarii”. As already mentioned, Jews also played an important role in Ratisbon's trade with Bohemia and Russia. In the mid-twelfth century, commercial ties between Germans and Russians were also established in the eastern Baltic, where Riga had been the main German trading base since the thirteenth century. On the Russian side, both Novgorod and Pskov took part in this trade, but its main center during this period was Smolensk. As already mentioned, in 1229 an important trade agreement was signed between the city of Smolensk, on the one hand, and a number of German cities, on the other. The following German and Frisian cities were represented: Riga, Lübeck, Sest, Münster, Groningen, Dortmund and Bremen. German merchants often visited Smolensk; some of them lived there permanently. The agreement mentions the German Church of the Holy Virgin in Smolensk.

With the development of active commercial relations between Germans and Russians and through diplomatic and family connections between German and Russian ruling houses, the Germans must have collected a significant amount of information about Rus'. Indeed, the notes of German travelers and the records of German chroniclers constituted an important source of knowledge about Rus' not only for the Germans themselves, but also for the French and other Western Europeans. In 1008, the German missionary St. Bruno visited Kyiv on his way to the lands of the Pechenegs to spread Christianity there. He was warmly received by Vladimir the Saint and given all the help that could be offered. Vladimir personally accompanied the missionary to the border of the Pecheneg lands. Rus' made the most favorable impression on Bruno, as did the Russian people, and in his message to Emperor Henry II he presented the ruler of Rus' as a great and rich ruler.

The chronicler Thietmar from Merseburg (975 - 1018) also emphasized the wealth of Rus'. He claimed that there were forty churches and eight markets in Kyiv. Canon Adam from Bremen in his book “History of the Diocese of Hamburg” called Kyiv a rival of Constantinople and a bright adornment of the Greek Orthodox world. A German reader of that time could also find interesting information about Rus' in the Annals of Lambert Hersfeld. Valuable information about Rus' was also collected by the German Jew Rabbi Moses Petahia from Ratisbon and Prague, who visited Kyiv in the seventies of the twelfth century on his way to Syria.

As for diplomatic relations between Germany and Kiev, they began in the tenth century, as evidenced by the attempt of Otto II to organize a Roman Catholic mission to Princess Olga. In the second half of the eleventh century, during civil strife among the Russian princes, Prince Izyaslav I attempted to turn to the German emperor as an arbitrator in Russian inter-princely relations. Driven out of Kyiv by his brother Svyatoslav II, Izyaslav first turned to the King of Poland, Boleslav II; having received no help from this ruler, he headed to Mainz, where he asked for support from Emperor Henry IV. To support his request, Izyaslav brought rich gifts: gold and silver vessels, precious fabrics, and so on. At that time, Henry was involved in the Saxon War and could not send troops to Rus', even if he wanted to. However, he sent an envoy to Svyatoslav to clarify the matter. The envoy, Burchardt, was Svyatoslav's son-in-law and was therefore naturally inclined to compromise. Burchardt returned from Kyiv with rich gifts given in support of Svyatoslav’s request to Henry not to interfere in Kyiv affairs, a request Henry reluctantly agreed to. Turning now to German-Russian marital relations, it must be said that at least six Russian princes had German wives, including two Kyiv princes - the aforementioned Svyatoslav II and Izyaslav II. Svyatoslav's wife was Burchardt's sister Cilicia from Dithmarschen. The name of Izyaslav's German wife (his first wife) is unknown. Two German margraves, one count, one landgrave and one emperor had Russian wives. The emperor was the same Henry IV, from whom Izyaslav I sought protection in 1075. He married Eupraxia, daughter of the Kiev prince Vsevolod I, at that time a widow (her first husband was Henry the Long, Margrave of Staden. In her first marriage she was apparently happy. Her second marriage, however, ended tragically; for a worthy description and Dostoevsky would be needed to interpret its dramatic history.

Eupraxia's first husband died when she was barely sixteen years old (1087). There were no children in this marriage, and it turned out that Eupraxia intended to take monastic vows at the Quedlinburg monastery. However, it so happened that Emperor Henry IV, during one of his visits to the abbess of Quedlinburg, met a young widow and was struck by her beauty. In December 1087, his first wife Bertha died. In 1088 the betrothal of Henry and Eupraxia was announced, and in the summer of 1089 they were married in Cologne. Eupraxia was crowned empress under the name Adelheide. Henry's passionate love for his bride did not last long, and Adelheide's position at court soon became precarious. Soon Henry's palace became the site of obscene orgies; according to at least two contemporary chroniclers, Henry joined the perverted sect of the so-called Nicolaitans. Adelheide, who at first suspected nothing, was forced to take part in some of these orgies. Chroniclers also say that one day the emperor offered Adelheid to his son Conrad. Conrad, who was about the same age as the Empress and was friendly towards her, refused indignantly. He soon rebelled against his father. Russian ties with Italy were due to a number of factors, of which the Roman Church was probably the most important. Relations between the pope and Russia began at the end of the tenth century and continued, partly through the mediation of Germany and Poland, even after the division of the Churches in 1054. In 1075, as we have seen, Izyaslav turned to Henry IV for help. At the same time, he sent his son Yaropolk to Rome to negotiate with the pope. It should be noted that Izyaslav’s wife was the Polish princess Gertrude, daughter of Mieszko II, and Yaropolk’s wife was the German princess, Kunegunda from Orlamünde. Although both of these women were supposed to officially join the Greek Orthodox Church after their marriage, they apparently did not break with Roman Catholicism in their hearts. Probably, under their pressure and on their advice, Izyaslav and his son turned to their dad for help. We saw earlier that Yaropolk, on his own behalf and on behalf of his father, swore allegiance to the Pope and placed the Principality of Kiev under the protection of St. Peter. The Pope, in turn, in a bull of May 17, 1075, granted the Kiev principality to Izyaslav and Yaropolk as fiefs and confirmed their rights to govern the principality. After this, he convinced the Polish king Boleslav to provide all possible assistance to his new vassals. While Boleslav hesitated, Izyaslav's rival Svyatopolk died in Kyiv (1076). ), and this made it possible for Izyaslav to return there. As is known, he was killed in a battle against his nephews in 1078, and Yaropolk, who did not have the opportunity to hold Kyiv, was sent by the senior princes to the Principality of Turov. He was killed in 1087.

This put an end to the Pope’s dreams of extending power over Kiev. However, Catholic prelates closely watched further events in Western Rus'. In 1204, as we have seen, papal envoys visited Roman, the prince of Galicia and Volhynia, to persuade him to convert to Catholicism, but they failed.

Religious contacts between Rus' and Italy should not be associated only with the activities of the pope; in some cases they were the result of generally held sentiments. The most interesting example of such spontaneous religious connections between Russia and Italy was the veneration of the relic of St. Nicholas in Bari. Of course, in this case the object of veneration was a saint of the pre-schismatic period, popular both in the West and in the East. And yet, this case is quite typical, since it demonstrates the absence of confessional barriers in the Russian religious mentality of that period. Although the Greeks celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6, the Russians had a second feast day of St. Nicholas on May 9. It was established in 1087 in memory of the so-called “transfer of relics” of St. Nicholas from Myra (Lycia) to Bari (Italy). In fact, the relics were transported by a group of merchants from Bari who traded with the Levant and visited Myra under the guise of pilgrims. They managed to break through to their ship before the Greek guards realized what was happening, then they headed straight to Bari, where they were enthusiastically received by the clergy and authorities. Later, this whole enterprise was explained as a desire to move the relics to a safer place than Mira, since this city was in danger of potential Seljuk raids.

From the point of view of the inhabitants of Myra, this was simply a robbery, and it is clear that the Greek Church refused to celebrate this event. The joy of the residents of Bari, who could now install a new shrine in their city, and the Roman Church, which blessed it, is also quite understandable. The speed with which the Russians accepted the Feast of the Transfer is much more difficult to explain. However, if we take into account the historical background of southern Italy and Sicily, the Russian connections with them become clearer. This affects long-standing Byzantine interests in that region and relates to the even earlier advance of the Normans from the west. The Normans, whose original goal was to fight the Arabs in Sicily, later established their control over the entire territory of southern Italy, and this situation caused a number of clashes with Byzantium. We have already seen that the Byzantine army had auxiliary Russian-Varangian troops at least from the beginning of the tenth century. It is known that a strong Russian-Varangian connection took part in the Byzantine campaign against Sicily in 1038 - 1042. Among other Varangians, the Norwegian Harald took part in the expedition, who later married Yaroslav’s daughter Elizabeth and became the king of Norway. In 1066, another Russian-Varangian detachment, which was in Byzantine service, was stationed in Bari. This was before the "transfer" of the relics of St. Nicholas, but it should be noted that some of the Russians liked the place so much that they settled there permanently and eventually became Italianized. Apparently, through their mediation, Rus' learned about Italian affairs and took the joy over the new shrine in Bari especially close to its heart.

Since throughout this period the war was closely connected with trade, the result of all these military campaigns, apparently, was some kind of commercial relationship between the Russians and Italians. At the end of the twelfth century, Italian merchants expanded their trading activities to. Black Sea region. According to the terms of the Byzantine-Genoese treaty of 1169, the Genoese were allowed to trade in all parts of the Byzantine Empire, with the exception of “Rus” and “Matrakha”.

During the period of the Latin Empire (1204 - 1261), the Black Sea was open to the Venetians. Both the Genoese and the Venetians eventually founded a number of trading bases ("factories") in the Crimea and the Azov region. Although there is no evidence of the existence of such trading posts in the pre-Mongol period, both Genoese and Venetian merchants must have visited the Crimean ports long before 1237. Since they were also visited by Russian merchants, there was an obvious possibility of some contacts between Russians and Italians in the Black Sea region and the Azov region even in the pre-Mongol period.

It may be noted that a considerable number of Russians must have come to Venice and other Italian cities against their will, in other connection with the Black Sea trade. They were not traders, but on the contrary, objects of trade, that is, slaves whom Italian merchants bought from the Cumans (Cumans). Speaking about Venice, we can recall the “Venedic” singers mentioned in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”. As we have seen, they can be considered either Baltic Slavs or Veneti, but most likely they were Venetians.

The Khazars corresponded with Spain, or, more precisely, with Spanish Jews in the tenth century. If any Russians came to Spain during the Kievan period, they, too, were probably slaves. It should be noted that in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the Muslim rulers of Spain used slaves as bodyguards or mercenaries. Such troops are known as "Slavic", although in reality only part of them were Slavs. Many of the Arab rulers of Spain relied on these Slavic formations of several thousand people, who strengthened their power. However, knowledge about Spain in Rus' was vague. In Spain, however, thanks to the research and travel of Muslim scientists who lived there, a certain amount of information was gradually collected about Rus' - ancient and modern. Al-Bakri's treatise, written in the eleventh century, contains valuable information about the pre-Kievan and early Kievan periods. Along with other sources, AlBakri used the narrative of the Jewish merchant Ben-Yakub. Another important Arabic work containing information about Rus' belongs to Idrisi, also a resident of Spain, who completed his treatise in 1154. The Spanish Jew, Benjamin of Tudela, left valuable notes on his travels in the Middle East in 1160 - 1173, during whom he met with many Russian merchants.

Course work

Foreign policy of Kievan Rus: relationship with Byzantium and European states

INTRODUCTION

Rus' and Byzantium

Relations with European countries

Rus' and Slavs

Rus' and the West

Rus' and the East

CONCLUSION

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Basically, the attitude of Russians towards foreigners during the Kiev period was friendly. In peacetime, a foreigner who came to Rus', especially a foreign merchant, was called a “guest”; in Old Russian, the word “guest” had the accompanying meaning “merchant” in addition to the main meaning.

In relation to foreigners, Russian law stood out clearly against the background of German law, which included such provisions. According to the first, any foreigner (or any native resident who did not have a master over him) could be captured by local authorities and imprisoned for the rest of his days. According to the second, shipwrecked foreigners, together with all their property, became the property of the ruler of the land on the coast where their ship was washed ashore - the duke or king. In the tenth century, in treaties with Byzantium, the Russians promised not to use coastal rights when it came to Greek travelers. As for the first position, it is not mentioned in any of the Russian sources of this period. Also in Kievan Rus there was no knowledge of the state’s right to inherit the property of a foreigner who died within the borders of this state.

When considering the problem of relations between Russia and foreign countries, one should take into account not only the sphere of organizational political and economic relations, but also mutual cultural influence, as well as private contacts between Russians and foreigners. From this point of view, we should take special interest in information relating to Russians who traveled and stayed abroad, as well as about foreigners who visited Rus' on official missions on business matters or for some other reason.

1. Rus' and Byzantium

The Byzantine Empire was politically and culturally the main power of the medieval world, at least until the era of the Crusades. Even after the first crusade, the empire still occupied an extremely important place in the Middle East, and only after the fourth crusade did the decline of its power become apparent. Thus, throughout almost the entire Kievan period, Byzantium represented the highest level of civilization not only for Rus', but also in relation to Western Europe. It is characteristic enough that from the Byzantine point of view, the knights - participants in the Fourth Crusade - were nothing more than rude barbarians, and it must be said that they really behaved that way.

For Rus', the influence of Byzantine civilization meant more than for any other European country, with the possible exception of Italy and, of course, the Balkans. Together with the latter, Rus' became part of the Greek Orthodox world, that is, speaking in terms of that period, part of the Byzantine world. The Russian Church was nothing more than a branch of the Byzantine Church, Russian art was permeated with Byzantine influence.

It should be taken into account that, according to Byzantine doctrine, the Greek Orthodox world should be led by two heads - the patriarch and the emperor. Theory does not always correspond to fact. First of all, the Patriarch of Constantinople was not the head of the entire Greek Orthodox Church, since there were four other patriarchs, namely the Bishop of Rome and the three Eastern Patriarchs (Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem). As for Rus', this did not matter much, since in the Kiev period the Russian Church was nothing more than a diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the power of that patriarch was enormous. But the nature of the relationship between the emperor and the patriarch of Constantinople could, and sometimes did, affect Rus'. Although in theory the patriarch was not subordinate to the emperor, in fact in many cases the election of a new patriarch depended on the attitude of the emperor, who was in a position to interfere in church affairs. Consequently, if a foreign people recognized the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, this meant that they fell within the sphere of political influence of the Byzantine emperor. Russian princes, as well as rulers of other countries who were ready to accept Christianity, understood this danger and made efforts to avoid the political consequences of conversion.

The desire of Vladimir I to preserve his independence resulted in a military conflict with Byzantium, as well as an attempt to organize the Russian Church as a body of self-government outside the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Yaroslav the Wise, however, came to an agreement with Byzantium and received a metropolitan from Constantinople (1037). Following this, the emperor, apparently, began to consider Yaroslav as his vassal, and when the war between Russia and the Empire began in 1043, the Byzantine historian Psellus treated it as a “Russian revolt.”

Although the Byzantine doctrine of the suzerainty of the emperor over other Christian rulers was never accepted by Yaroslav's successors in Kyiv, the prince of Galicia formally recognized himself as a vassal of the emperor in the mid-twelfth century. However, generally speaking, Kievan Rus cannot be considered a vassal state of Byzantium. The Kiev subordination followed church lines, and even in this area the Russians twice attempted to free themselves: under Metropolitan Hilarion in the eleventh century and Clement in the twelfth.

Although the Russian princes defended their political independence from Constantinople, the prestige of imperial power and the authority of the patriarch was great enough to influence the policies of the Russian princes in many cases. Constantinople, the "Imperial City", or Constantinople, as the Russians usually called it, was considered the intellectual and social capital of the world. Thanks to all these various factors, in the relations between Russia and its neighbors, the Byzantine Empire occupied a unique position: while cultural interaction with other peoples was carried out on equal terms, in relation to Byzantium, Rus' found itself in the position of a debtor in a cultural sense.

At the same time, it would be a mistake to imagine Kievan Rus as completely dependent on Byzantium, even in terms of culture. Although the Russians adopted the principles of Byzantine civilization, they adapted them to their own conditions. Neither in religion nor in art did they slavishly imitate the Greeks, but, moreover, they developed their own approaches to these areas. As for religion, the use of the Slavic language in church services, of course, was of enormous importance for the naturalization of the Church and the growth of a national religious consciousness, somewhat different from Byzantine spirituality. Since church ties were the strongest principle that strengthened Russian-Byzantine relations, any review of the latter, as well as private contacts between Russians and Byzantines, should begin with the Church and religion.

The connections between Russian princes and members of the Byzantine royal family were also very extensive. As for dynastic ties, the most important event, of course, was the marriage of Vladimir the Saint to the Byzantine princess Anna, sister of Emperor Basil II. By the way, one of Vladimir’s wives, when he was still a pagan, was also Greek (formerly the wife of his brother Yaropolk). Vladimir's grandson Vsevolod I (son of Yaroslav the Wise) was also married to a Greek princess. Of the grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise, two had Greek wives: Oleg of Chernigov and Svyatopolk II. The first married Theofania Mouzalon (before 1083); the second - on Varvara Komnenos (about 1103) - she was the third wife of Svyatopolk. The second wife of Vladimir Monomakh's son Yuri was, apparently, of Byzantine origin. In 1200, Prince Roman of Galicia married a Byzantine princess, a relative of Emperor Isaac II, from the Angel family. The Greeks, for their part, showed interest in Russian brides. In 1074, Constantine Dukas was engaged to the Kyiv princess Anna (Yanka), daughter of Vsevolod I. For reasons unknown to us, the wedding did not take place, as we know. Yanka took monastic vows. In 1104, Isaac Komnenos married Princess Irina of Przemysl, daughter of Volodar. About ten years later, Vladimir Monomakh gave his daughter Maria in marriage to the exiled Byzantine prince Leo Diogenes, the supposed son of Emperor Romanus Diogenes. In 1116 Leo invaded the Byzantine province of Bulgaria; At first he was lucky, but later he was killed. Their son Vasily was killed in a battle between the Monomashichs and the Olgovichs in 1136. Heartbroken, Maria died ten years later. The granddaughter of Vladimir Monomakh Irina, daughter of Mstislav I, was more successful in marriage; her wedding to Andronikos Komnenos took place in 1122. In 1194, a member of the Byzantine House of Angels married Princess Euphemia of Chernigov, daughter of Svyatoslav III's son, Gleb.

Thanks to these dynastic intermarriages, many Russian princes felt at home in Constantinople, and indeed many members of the house of Rurik visited Constantinople, the first of them being Princess Olga in the tenth century. It is interesting to note that in some cases Russian princes were sent to Constantinople by their relatives. Thus, in 1079, Prince Oleg of Tmutarakan and Chernigov was exiled “across the sea to Constantinople.” In 1130, the princes of Polotsk with their wives and children were exiled by Mstislav I “to Greece because they broke their oath.” According to Vasiliev, “this can be explained by the fact that the small princes who rebelled against their ruler were called to account not only by the Russian prince, but also by the overlord of Rus' - the Byzantine emperor. They were exiled as dangerous and undesirable not only for the Russian prince, but also for the emperor. First of all, the Russian princes, with the exception of the Prince of Galicia, recognized the Byzantine emperor as their overlord. Secondly, there is no evidence that the princes exiled to Byzantium were brought before the court of the emperor; one way or another they were given refuge. It was in the tradition of Byzantine emperors to show hospitality to exiled rulers of other countries. Their presence not only increased the emperor's prestige, but some of them could eventually be used as a tool of Byzantine diplomacy, as was the case with Boris, son of Koloman In addition, the Russian princes, in turn, provided refuge to exiled members of the Byzantine royal houses, as was the case with Leo Diogenes.

Not only the princes, but also members of their retinue also, in all likelihood, had sufficient opportunities for contacts with the Byzantines. Russian troops took part in the Byzantine campaigns in southern Italy and Sicily in the eleventh century. Russians served in the Byzantine army operating in the Levant during the first and second crusades.

In addition to the Church, princes and army, another social group of Kievan Rus was in constant relationship with the Byzantines: the merchants. We know that Russian merchants came to Constantinople in large numbers from the beginning of the tenth century, and a permanent headquarters was allocated for them in one of the suburbs of Constantinople. There is less direct evidence about Russian trade with Byzantium in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but in the chronicles of this period Russian merchants “trading with Greece” (Grechniki) are mentioned on various occasions.

2. Relations with European countries

Relations with European countries began to actively develop at the end of the 10th-11th centuries, after the baptism of Rus'. Having become Christian, Rus' joined the unified family of European states. Dynastic marriages began. Already Vladimir's grandchildren were married to Polish, Byzantine and German princesses, and his granddaughters became queens of Norway, Hungary and France.

In the X-XI centuries. Rus' fought with the Poles and ancient Lithuanian tribes, began to establish itself in the Baltic states, where Prince Yaroslav the Wise founded the city Yuryev (now Tartu).

3. Rus' and Slavs

Before the start of the German Drang nach Osten, the Slavs occupied most of Central and Eastern Europe, including some areas west of the Elbe. Around 800 AD e. the western borders of the Slavic settlements approximately ran along a line from the mouth of the Elbe south to the Gulf of Trieste, that is, from Hamburg to Trieste.

Over the next three centuries - the ninth, tenth and eleventh - the Germans consolidated their possessions on the Elbe and tried, with varying success, to extend their dominance to the Slavic tribes to the east of it. During the twelfth century, the Germans managed to establish strong control over the area between the Elbe and Oder. At the same time, the Danes attacked the Slavs from the north, and in 1168 Arkona, a Slav stronghold on the island of Rügen, fell to them. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, as we know, the Germans intensified their advance into the Baltic states, where knightly Prussia arose, which became the stronghold of Germanism in Eastern Europe. By combining various means, such as the extension of the political suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as dynastic alliances, colonization, penetration into foreign lands, and so on, the Germans, by the end of the nineteenth century, in one way or another established their control in the east up to the Carpathian region and the Danube lands, including also Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Adriatic coast of Dalmatia.

During the First World War, they tried to move further east, and for some time they managed to capture Ukraine, Crimea and Transcaucasia. During World War II, their plans were even more ambitious and included a program of complete political and economic enslavement of the Slavic peoples, as well as the consistent destruction of the Slavic civilization. The failure of the German plans resulted not only in the restoration by the Slavs of their positions as they were on the eve of the Second World War, but also in the return of some western territories that had long been lost to them. The western border of the Slavic world now again runs where it was around 1200 - along the line from Stettin to Trieste.

In this Slavic “sea” in Central and Eastern Europe, two “islands” with a different ethnic composition have been preserved. These are Hungary and Romania. The Hungarians, or Magyars, are a mixture of Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes. The Hungarian language is still permeated with Turkic elements; In addition, the Hungarian dictionary contains many words borrowed from Slavic. The Magyars invaded the middle Danube valleys at the end of the ninth century and still control these lands. Romanian language belongs to the family of Romance languages. Romanians speak a Romance language that, historically, was based on Vulgar Latin, spoken by Roman soldiers and settlers on the Lower Danube. The Latin basis of the Romanian language has been largely influenced by other linguistic elements, especially Slavic. Modern Romania was formed in the mid-nineteenth century, thanks to the unification of two regions - Moldavia and Wallachia. In fact, the Romanian tribes of the early period did not have any political organization at that time and did not inhabit the entire territory in which modern Romania is located. Most of them were pastoral peoples. Some of them, the so-called Kutso-Vlachs, or Kutso-Vlachs, lived in Macedonia and Albania. Another group led an isolated life on the Transylvanian upland until the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, when some of the tribes of this group were driven south and east by the Magyars and descended into the valley of the Prut and Danube, where they founded the regions of Moldavia and Wallachia.

During the Kievan period, there was neither political nor cultural unity among the Slavs. On the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgarians, Serbs and Croats formed their own states. The Bulgarian kingdom was founded by the Turkic Bulgar tribe at the end of the seventh century; by the middle of the ninth it was partially Slavicized. Under the rule of Tsar Simeon (888 - 927), it became the leading one among the Slavic states. Later, its power was undermined by internal strife and the imperial claims of Byzantium. The Russian invasion led by Svyatoslav added new worries to the Bulgarian people. It should be noted that Svyatoslav's goal was to create a vast Russian-Slavic empire with Bulgaria as the cornerstone. At the beginning of the eleventh century, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (nicknamed "Bulgarokton" - "killer of the Bulgarians") defeated the Bulgarian army and made Bulgaria a Byzantine province. Only at the end of the twelfth century did the Bulgarians, with the help of the Vlachs, manage to free themselves from Byzantium and restore their own kingdom.

The “centrifugal forces” in Serbia were stronger than in Bulgaria, and only in the second half of the twelfth century did the majority of Serbian tribes recognize the authority of the “Great Župan” of Stefan Nemanja (1159-1195) over themselves. The Kingdom of Croatia was created throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries. In 1102, the Croats chose Koloman (Kalman) of Hungary as their king, and thus a union between Croatia and Hungary arose, in which the latter played a leading role. Even earlier than the Croats, the Slovaks in northern Hungary recognized the dominance of the Magyars.

As for the Czechs, their first state, formed around 623, did not last long. The Kingdom of Great Moravia was the second attempt at state unification among the Western Slavs, but it was destroyed by the Hungarians at the beginning of the tenth century. The third Czech state was formed in the mid-tenth century and played an important role in European politics throughout the Middle Ages, especially due to its alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. From the mid-tenth century, most rulers of Bohemia recognized the German emperor as their overlord.

The Polish tribes achieved political unity at the end of the tenth century under the rule of King Bolesław I the Brave (992 -1025). After the death of Bolesław III (1138), the Polish kingdom became a loose association of local regions, similar to the unification of Russian lands. Before the collapse of Poland, the Polish kings pursued an aggressive foreign policy, from time to time threatening both the integrity of the Kyiv state and the Czech kingdom. An interesting trend of Polish expansion was its westward direction. It was Boleslaw I who first developed an ambitious plan to unite the Baltic and Polabian Slavs under his rule in order to prevent the German "Drang nach Osten".

The Baltic Slavs are linguistically related to the Poles. They were divided into a large number of tribes, which sometimes formed loose alliances and associations. In this sense, we can talk about four main groups of Baltic Slavs. The most western were the obodrichs. They settled in Holstein, Lüneburg and western Mecklenburg. Next door to them, in eastern Mecklenburg, western Pomerania and western Brandenburg, lived the Luticians. To the north of them, on the island of Rügen, as well as on two other islands in the Oder estuary (Usedom and Wolin), lived tribes of brave seafarers - the Ranyans and the Volyns. The territory between the lower Oder and the lower Vistula was occupied by the Pomeranians (or Pomeranians), their name comes from the word “sea” - “people living by the sea”. Of these four tribal groups, the first three (Obodrichi, Lutichi and Island tribes) disappeared completely, and only the eastern group of Pomeranians partially survived, thanks to the fact that they were included in the Polish state and thereby avoided Germanization.

There was even less political unity among the Baltic Slavs than between the Balkan Slavs. The Obodrichs sometimes even entered into an alliance with the Germans against their Slavic neighbors. Only at the end of the eleventh and beginning of the twelfth centuries did the Obodrich princes try to unite the Slavic tribes in the Baltic states. Their state, however, turned out to be short-lived, especially due to the fact that at that time political divisions among the Slavs were aggravated by religious strife - the struggle between Christianity and paganism.

The first Slavic tribe to convert to Christianity at the beginning of the ninth century were the Dalmatians, but, as is known, it was in Moravia, thanks to the efforts of Saints Cyril and Methodius, around 863 that Christianity won its first important victory on Slavic soil. Bulgaria followed, around 866. Serbs and Croats adopted Christianity in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. Some of the Russians were converted, as we know, at about the same time as the Bulgarians, but it was not until the end of the tenth century that both Rus' and Poland officially became Christian countries.

In view of the diversity of political and cultural foundations in the life of the Slavs during the Kievan period, when considering the relationship of Rus' with its Slavic neighbors, it is advisable to divide them into three regions: 1 - the Balkan Peninsula, 2 - Central and Eastern Europe and 3 - the Baltic states.

In the Balkans, Bulgaria had the greatest importance for Rus'. During the pagan period, Rus' was close to extending its control to this Balkan country. After the conversion of Rus' to Christianity, Bulgaria became an important factor in the development of Russian civilizations, providing Rus' with liturgical and theological books in Slavic translation, as well as sending priests and translators to Kyiv. Some Bulgarian authors, for example, John the Exarch, became very popular in Rus'. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Russian church literature of the early Kievan period was based on a Bulgarian foundation. Bulgarian literature of that time consisted mainly of translations from Greek, therefore, from the Russian point of view, the role of Bulgaria was primarily to mediate between Russia and Byzantium. This is also true of trade: Russian trade caravans passed through Bulgaria on their way to Constantinople, and there is little evidence of direct trade links with the Bulgarians.

While Bulgaria was a Greek Orthodox country and Serbia, after some hesitation, also joined the Greek Church, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe - the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - became part of the Roman Catholic world, as did Croatia. It should be noted, however, that in each of these four countries the people had great doubts before choosing the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and all of them came to Catholicism after a period of intense internal struggle. The final schism between the Greek and Roman Churches occurred in 1054. Before this, the main problem for the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe was not which Church to join - Roman or Constantinople - but in the language of church services, in the choice between Latin and Slavic.

The Slavic influence on Hungary was very strong in the tenth and eleventh centuries, since the Magyars were at first less numerous than the Slavs under them. Initially, the ancestors of the Magyars - Ugrians and Turks - were pagans, but during their stay in the North Caucasus and the Black Sea steppes they came into contact with Byzantine Christianity. In the second half of the ninth century, at a time when the Slavs in both Bulgaria and Moravia had already been converted to Christianity, some Magyars came to the Danube lands and were also baptized.

In a broader cultural as well as political sense, the union with Croatia strengthened the Slavic element in Hungary for a time. It is noteworthy that Koloman's code of laws was issued, at least according to K. Groth, in the Slavic language. During the reigns of Béla II (1131-41) and Géza II (1141-61), Bosnia was placed under the Hungarian protectorate, and thus close relations were established between Hungary and the Serbian lands, since Béla II's wife Helena was a Serbian princess from the house of Nemenyi. From the end of the twelfth century, however, the Slavic element in Hungary began to decline.

An interesting aspect of the cultural relationship between Russia and its West Slavic neighbors is contained in the historiography of that time. According to the plausible argument of N.K. Nikolsky, the compiler of The Tale of Bygone Years used some Czech-Moravian legends and traditions when describing the relations between Russians, Poles and Czechs. Probably, Czech scientists took part in the translation of theological and historical books, which was organized in Kyiv by Yaroslav the Wise. It is also noteworthy that some information about Rus' and Russian affairs can be found in the works of Czech and Polish chroniclers of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, for example, in the continuation of the chronicle Cosmas of Prague and in Vincent Kadlubek from Poland.

As for commerce, the trade route from Ratisbon to Kyiv passed through both Poland and Bohemia. In addition to this transit trade, both countries undoubtedly had direct commercial relations with Russia. Unfortunately, only fragments of evidence can be found about them in the surviving written sources of that period. It should be noted that Jewish merchants from Ratisbon had close connections with those from Prague. Thus, the Jews were the link between German and Czech trade and the Russians.

Private contacts of a military and commercial nature between the Russians, on the one hand, and the Poles, Hungarians and Czechs, on the other, were apparently extensive. In some cases, Polish prisoners of war settled in Russian cities, while at the same time, Polish merchants were frequent guests in the south of Rus', especially in Kyiv. One of the Kyiv city gates was known as the Polish Gate, which is an indication that numerous Polish settlers lived in this part of the city. As a result of the Polish invasion of Kyiv in the eleventh century, many prominent Kyivians were taken hostage to Poland. Most of them were later returned.

Private relations between Russians and Poles, as well as between Russians and Hungarians, were especially lively in the western Russian lands - in Volyn and Galicia. Not only princes, but also other nobility of the named countries had rich opportunities for meetings here.

Information about relations between Russians and Baltic Slavs during the Kievan period is scarce. Nevertheless, trade relations between Novgorod and the cities of the Baltic Slavs were probably quite lively. Russian merchants frequently visited Wolin in the eleventh century, and in the twelfth century there was a corporation of Novgorod merchants trading with Szczecin. In "The Tale of Igor's Host" Venedians are mentioned among the foreign singers at the court of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav III. There is a temptation to see them as residents of Vineta on the island of Woline, but it seems more reasonable to identify them with the Venetians. Regarding dynastic connections, at least two Russian princes had Pomeranian wives, and three Pomeranian princes had Russian wives.

Rus' and Scandinavia

The Scandinavian peoples are now considered - and rightly so - part of the Western world. Therefore, from a modern point of view, it would be logical to consider Scandinavian-Russian relations under the heading “Rus and the West.” And yet, of course, it is more convenient to consider Scandinavia separately, since from the point of view of history and culture in the early Middle Ages it was a separate world, more of a bridge between East and West, rather than part of both. Indeed, during the Viking Age, the Scandinavians not only ravaged many eastern and western lands with their constant raids, but also established control over certain territories, both in the Baltic and North Seas, not to mention their expansion in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea region.

From a cultural point of view, the Scandinavian peoples remained outside the Roman Church for a long time. Although the "Scandinavian Apostle" St. Ansgarius began preaching Christianity in Denmark and Sweden in the ninth century, it was not until the end of the eleventh century that the Church really developed in Denmark, and its rights and privileges were not formally established there until 1162. In Sweden there is an old pagan sanctuary in Uppsala was destroyed at the end of the eleventh century, in 1248 the church hierarchy was finally established and the celibacy of the clergy was approved. In Norway, the first king to make an attempt to Christianize the country was Haakon the Good (936 - 960), who himself was baptized in England. Neither he nor his immediate heirs were able to complete the religious reform. The privileges of the Church were finally established in Norway in 1147. From a social point of view, slavery did not exist in Norway and Sweden, unlike France and West Germany, and it was not introduced in Denmark until the sixteenth century. Therefore, peasants in Scandinavia remained free during the Kievan period and throughout the Middle Ages.

Politically, also in contrast to the West, the assembly of freemen was of particular importance, fulfilling administrative and judicial roles in the Scandinavian countries, at least until the twelfth century.

The Swedes, who apparently were the first to come and penetrate the south of Rus' back in the eighth century, mixed with the local Anto-Slavic tribes, borrowing the very name “Rus” from the indigenous population; the Danes and Norwegians, whose representatives were Rurik and Oleg, came in the second half of the ninth century and immediately mixed with the Swedish Russians. Participants in these two early streams of Scandinavian expansion firmly established themselves on Russian soil and united their interests with those of the indigenous Slavic population, especially in the Azov and Kyiv lands.

Scandinavian immigration to Rus' did not stop with Rurik and Oleg. The princes invited new detachments of Scandinavian warriors to Rus' at the end of the tenth and throughout the eleventh centuries. Some came on their own initiative. Russian chroniclers called these newcomers Varangians to distinguish them from the old settlers called Rus. It is clear that the old Scandinavian settlers formed part of the Russian people already in the ninth century. The Varangians, however, were foreigners, both from the point of view of the native Russians and the Russified Scandinavians, representatives of the early Scandinavian penetration.

The Scandinavians also visited Rus' on their way to Constantinople and the Holy Land. Thus, in 1102, the king of Denmark, Erik Eyegod, appeared in Kyiv and was warmly received by Prince Svyatopolk II. The latter sent his squad, consisting of the best warriors, to accompany Eric to the holy land. On the way from Kyiv to the Russian border, Eric was greeted with enthusiasm everywhere. “Priests joined the procession, carrying holy relics while hymns were sung and church bells were rung.”

Varangian merchants were regular guests in Novgorod, and some of them lived there permanently; they eventually built a church, which is mentioned in Russian chronicles as the “Varangian church”. In the twelfth century, Baltic, or Varangian, trade with Novgorod passed through the island of Gotland. Hence the formation of the so-called Gotlandic "factory" in Novgorod. When German cities expanded the scope of their trade affairs to Novgorod, at first they also depended on Gotlandic mediation. In 1195, a trade agreement was signed between Novgorod, on the one hand, and the Gotlanders and Germans, on the other.

It should be remembered that Baltic trade involved movement in both directions, and while Scandinavian merchants often traveled throughout Rus', Novgorod merchants also traveled abroad. They formed their own “factory” and built a church in Visby on the island of Gotland, came to Denmark, as well as to Lubeck and Schleswig. The Novgorod chronicles record that in 1131, on the way back from Denmark, seven Russian ships with all their cargo were lost. In 1157, the Swedish king Svein III captured many Russian ships and divided all the goods they had between his soldiers. By the way, it can be noted here that in 1187 Emperor Frederick II granted equal rights to trade in Lübeck to the Gotlanders and Russians.

As far as social relations with other peoples are concerned, the private connections between the Russians and the Scandinavians can best be evidenced by reference to dynastic ties. Apparently, four of Vladimir I's wives (before his conversion) were of Scandinavian origin. The wife of Yaroslav I was Ingigerda, the daughter of the Swedish king Olaf. The son of Vladimir II, Mstislav I, had a Swedish wife - Christina, daughter of King Inge. In turn, two Norwegian kings (Haardrode in the eleventh century and Sigurd in the twelfth century) took Russian brides. It should be noted that after Harald's death, his Russian widow Elizabeth (daughter of Yaroslav I) married King Svein II of Denmark; and after Sigurd's death, his widow Malfrid (daughter of Mstislav I) married King Erik Eymun of Denmark. Another Danish king, Valdemar I, also had a Russian wife. In view of the close ties between Scandinavia and England, it is worth mentioning here the marriage between the English princess Gita and Vladimir Monomakh. Gytha was the daughter of Harald II. After his defeat and death at the Battle of Hastings (1066), his family took refuge in Sweden, and it was the Swedish king who arranged the marriage between Gita and Vladimir.

Due to the lively relationship between the Scandinavians and the Russians, the Scandinavian influence on the course of development of Russian civilization was of significant importance. Indeed, in modern historical science there is even a tendency to overestimate this influence and present the Scandinavian element as the leading factor in the formation of the Kyiv state and culture.

4. Rus' and the West

5. Rus' and the East

"East" is as vague and relative a concept as "West". Each of Rus''s eastern neighbors was at a different cultural level, and each was endowed with its own specific features.

Ethnographically, most of the eastern peoples living in the neighborhood of Russia were Turkic. In the Caucasus, as we know, the Ossetians represented the Iranian element. The Russians had some dealings with the Iranians in Persia, at least from time to time. Russian knowledge of the Arab world was limited mainly to the Christian elements in it, like, say, in Syria. They were familiar with the peoples of the Far East - the Mongols, Manchus and Chinese - insofar as these peoples interfered in Turkestan affairs. In Turkestan, too, Russians could meet Indians, at least occasionally.

From a religious and cultural point of view, a distinction must be made between the areas of paganism and Islam. The nomadic Turkic tribes in the south of Rus' - the Pechenegs, Cumans and others - were pagans. In Kazakhstan and northern Turkestan, the majority of the Turks were originally pagan, but when they began to expand the area of their raids to the south, they came into contact with the Muslims, and were quickly converted to Islam. The Volga Bulgars represented the northernmost outpost of Islam during this period. Despite the fact that they were separated from the main core of the Islamic world by pagan Turkic tribes, they managed to maintain close ties, both in trade and religion, with the Muslims of Khorezm and southern Turkestan.

It should be noted that politically the Iranian element in Central Asia had been in decline since the end of the tenth century. The Iranian state under the Samanid dynasty, which flourished in the late ninth and tenth centuries, was overthrown by the Turks around 1000.

Some of the former Samanid vassals now created a new state in Afghanistan and Iran. Their dynasty is known as the Ghaznavids. The Ghaznavids also controlled the northwestern part of India. However, their state did not last long, being destroyed by the new Turkic Seljuk horde (1040). The latter, under the rule of Sultan Alp Arslan (1063 - 1072), soon invaded Transcaucasia, and then launched an offensive to the west against the Byzantine Empire. In the twelfth century they already controlled most of Anatolia and also spread south, devastating Syria and Iraq. However, they recognized the spiritual authority of the Baghdad Caliphate over themselves. In Egypt, by that time, a separate Cairo Caliphate had formed, in which the ruling dynasty was known as the Fatimids. At the end of the twelfth century, Syria and Egypt were politically united by Saladin, famous for his success in opposing the Crusaders. In general, it can be said that the Islamic zone to the east and southeast of Rus' during the Kievan period formed a limit to the extent of Rus''s acquaintance with the East. However, beyond this limit, powerful peoples of Turkic, Mongol and Manchu origin were in constant motion, fighting each other. The dynamics of the history of the Far East led to the fact that some Far Eastern tribes from time to time came into the Central Asian and Russian field of view. So, around 1137, part of the Kitan people, ousted from northern China by the Jurchens, invaded Turkestan and established their power there, which lasted about half a century until the power of the Khorezm Empire grew. It is from the name “Kitan” (also known as Kara-Kitai) that the Russian name for China comes from. The next Far Eastern breakthrough to the west was the Mongolian one.

It seems that, apparently, relations with Islamic peoples were more beneficial for the Russians than with the pagan Turks. The Turkic tribes in the southern Russian steppes were typically nomadic, and although relations with them greatly enriched Russian folklore and folk art, they could not be expected to make a serious contribution to Russian science and education. Unfortunately, the irreconcilable attitude of the Russian clergy towards Islam, and vice versa, did not provide the opportunity for any serious intellectual contact between Russians and Muslims, although it could easily be established on the lands of the Volga Bulgars or in Turkestan. They had only some intellectual connections with the Christians of Syria and Egypt. It was said that one of the Russian priests in the early Kievan period was a Syrian. It is also known that Syrian doctors practiced in Rus' during the Kievan period. And, of course, through Byzantium, the Russians were familiar with Syrian religious literature and Syrian monasticism.

It may be added that, along with the Greek Orthodox Christian Church, there were also two other Christian churches in the Middle East and Central Asia - the Monophysite and the Nestorian, but the Russians undoubtedly avoided any relationship with them. On the other hand, some Nestorians, as well as some Monophysites, were interested in Russia, at least judging by the Syrian chronicle of Ab-ul-Faraj, nicknamed Bar Hebreus, which contains a certain amount of information about Russian affairs. It was written in the thirteenth century, but is based in part on the work of Michael, the Jacobite patriarch of Antioch, who lived in the twelfth century, as well as on other Syrian materials.

Commercial relations between Russia and the East were lively and profitable for both. We know that in the late ninth and tenth centuries Russian merchants visited Persia and even Baghdad. There is no direct evidence to indicate that they continued to travel there in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but they probably visited Khwarezm during this later period. The name of the Khorezm capital Gurganj (or Urganj) was known to Russian chroniclers, who called it Ornach. Here the Russians must have met travelers and merchants from almost every eastern country, including India. Unfortunately, there are no records of Russian travel to Khorezm during this period. Speaking of India, Russians during the Kiev period had rather vague ideas about Hinduism. "Brahmins are pious people" are mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Regarding Egypt, Soloviev claims that Russian merchants visited Alexandria, but the strength of the source of such evidence that he used is problematic.

Although private contacts through trade between the Russian and Volga Bulgars and the inhabitants of Khorezm were apparently lively, the difference in religions presented an almost insurmountable barrier to close social relationships between citizens belonging to different religious groups. Marital relations between followers of Greek Orthodoxy and Muslims were impossible, unless, of course, one of the parties expressed a willingness to renounce their religion. During this period, practically no cases of conversion to Islam by Russians were known, with the exception of those Russian slaves who were transported on ships by Italian and eastern merchants to various eastern countries. In this regard, it was much easier for the Russians to have contacts with the Cumans, since the pagans were less attached to their religion than the Muslims, and did not mind accepting Christianity if necessary, especially for women. As a result, mixed marriages between Russian princes and Polovtsian princesses were frequent. Among the princes who entered into such alliances were such outstanding rulers as Svyatopolk II and Vladimir II of Kyiv, Oleg of Chernigov, Yuri I of Suzdal and Kiev, Yaroslav of Suzdal and Mstislav the Brave.

Religious isolation excluded the possibility of direct intellectual contact between Russians and Muslims; in the field of art the situation was different. In Russian decorative art, the influence of oriental designs (such as arabesques, for example) is clearly visible, but, of course, some of these designs could have come to Rus' not directly, but through contacts either with Byzantium or with Transcaucasia. However, as far as folklore is concerned, we should recognize the direct influence of eastern folklore on Russian. Regarding the influence of Iranian epic poetry on Russian, its main conductor, obviously, was Ossetian folklore. Turkic patterns are also clearly visible in Russian folklore, both in epics and fairy tales. It has already been noted the striking similarity in the structure of the scale of Russian folk songs with the songs of some Turkic tribes. Since many of these tribes were under the control of the Cumans, or were in close contact with them, the role of the latter in the development of Russian folk music was probably extremely important.

Summarizing, the Russian people throughout the Kyiv period were in close and varied contacts with their neighbors - both eastern and western. There is no doubt that these contacts were very beneficial for Russian civilization, but mainly they demonstrated the increase in the creative forces of the Russian people themselves.

political connection west Kievan Rus

CONCLUSION

In the 9th century. Most of the Slavic tribes merged into a territorial union, called the “Russian Land”. The center of the unification was Kyiv, where the semi-legendary dynasty of Kiya, Dir and Askold ruled. In 882, the two largest political centers of the ancient Slavs - Kiev and Novgorod - united under the rule of Kyiv, forming the Old Russian state.

From the end of IX to the beginning of XI, this state included the territories of other Slavic tribes - the Drevlyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Ulichi Tivertsi, Vyatichi. At the center of the new state formation was the Polyan tribe. The Old Russian state became a kind of federation of tribes; in its form it was an early feudal monarchy.

The territory of the Kyiv state was concentrated around several political centers that were once tribal. In the second half of the 11th - early 12th centuries. Quite stable principalities began to form within Kievan Rus. As a result of the merger of East Slavic tribes during the period of Kievan Rus, the Old Russian people gradually formed, which was characterized by a certain common language, territory and mental makeup, manifested in a common culture.

The Old Russian state was one of the largest European states. Kievan Rus pursued an active foreign policy. Its rulers established diplomatic relations with neighboring countries.

Rus''s trade relations were extensive. Rus' maintained political, trade and cultural relations with Byzantium, and also established connections with France and England. The international significance of Rus' is evidenced by the dynastic marriages concluded by Russian princes. Treaties with Byzantium preserve valuable evidence about social relations in Kievan Rus and its international significance.

Bibliography

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Gurevich A.Ya. Selected works. T. 1. Ancient Germans. Vikings. M, 2001.

Litavrin G.G. Byzantium, Bulgaria, Ancient Rus'. - St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2000. - 415 s.

Munchaev Sh. M., Ustinov V. M. History of Russia: Textbook for universities. - 3rd ed., rev. and additional - M.: Publishing house NORMA, 2003. - 768 p.

Katsva L. A. “History of the Fatherland: A Handbook for High School Students and University Entrants” AST-Press, 2007, 848 p.

Kuchkin V.A.: “Formation of the state territory of North-Eastern Rus' in the X - XIV centuries.” Executive editor academician B. A. Rybakov - M.: Nauka, 1984. - 353 s.

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The Tatar-Mongol invasion of Russian lands coincided with the beginning of the expansion to the east of a number of Western European countries and religious and political organizations. Taking advantage of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars in the summer of 1240, Swedish, Norwegian and Livonian knights, supported by Danish feudal lords, with the blessing of the Pope and with the assistance of the German Emperor Frederick II, undertook a crusade against Northwestern Rus'.

The offensive against Rus' intensified due to its weakening. The Swedes, led by Duke Birger, were the first to act. Having passed the Neva to the mouth of the Izhora, the knightly cavalry landed on the shore. The Swedes hoped to capture Staraya Ladoga and Novgorod. The rapid and hidden advance of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich's squad to the enemy landing site justified the expectation of the success of a surprise attack. The cavalry attacked the center of the Swedes, and the militia struck the flank, along the Neva, to capture the bridges connecting the ships to the shore, cutting off the route of retreat. The complete victory on July 15, 1240, for which Alexander was popularly nicknamed “Nevsky,” preserved Russia’s access to the shores of the Gulf of Finland, its trade routes to the countries of the West, and stopped Swedish aggression in the East for a long time. A new danger in the form of the Livonian Order, Danish and German knights approached Novgorod in the summer of 1240. The enemy captured the Pskov fortress of Izborsk. Due to the betrayal of the mayor Tverdila and part of the Pskov boyars, longtime supporters of the knights, Pskov was surrendered in 1241. These same traitors helped the enemy “fight” the Novgorod villages. Having recruited an army in 1241, the prince with the first quick blow expelled the invaders from Koporye, cleared the Vyatka land of them, and in the winter of 1242 liberated Pskov, Izborsk and other cities. Alexander inflicted a crushing defeat on the German knights in the Battle of Lake Peipsi. Taking into account the usual formation of knightly troops in an armored wedge, he positioned the Russian troops not in one line, but in the form of a triangle, the tip resting on the shore. On the part of the order, 10-12 thousand people took part in the battle, on the Russian side - 15-17 thousand soldiers. The knightly cavalry clad in heavy armor, having broken through the center of the Russian army, was drawn deep into its battle formations and got bogged down. The flank attack crushed and overthrew the crusaders, who wavered and fled in panic. The Russians drove them 7 miles across the ice and flogged many of them, and 50 knights were marched in disgrace through the streets of Novgorod.

After the battle, the military power of the order was weakened, and for 10 years he did not dare to take offensive actions against Rus'. The response to this victory was the growth of the liberation struggle of the Baltic peoples, however, with the help of the Roman Catholic Church and the German Empire by the end of the 13th century. the invaders established themselves in the Eastern Baltic. In 1245, the Novgorodians, under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky, defeated the invading Lithuanians. During the same period, Russian expansion to the north and northeast developed quite widely. Colonization took place with little resistance from local tribes. In 1268, the united Russian regiments inflicted a crushing defeat on the German and Danish knights. The successful struggle of the Russian people against invaders from the West made it possible for the lands of North-Eastern Rus' to unite and fight the Mongol-Tatar yoke. An attempt at a crusade to capture Galician-Volyn Rus was successfully repulsed. The troops of Prince Daniil Romanovich near Yaroslav completely defeated the combined army of Polish and Hungarian feudal lords and traitors from among the Galician boyars, forcing them to flee abroad.