What is a lesson in Ancient Rus? The concept of "lessons" in Ancient Rus

What is a lesson in Ancient Rus? This concept is closely related to the name of Olga (circa 920 - 969) - the widow of the Kiev prince Igor, who was killed in the town of Istoriene by the Drevlyans.

Prince of Kiev Igor Rurikovich

In order to fully disclose the concept of "lessons" in Ancient Rus, one must begin to view history from the sources, from the very beginning, that is, from the death of Prince Igor. He was on the throne after the death of the Varangian Oleg Veschy. It's amazing that this prince did not show himself. Several campaigns to Byzantium ended unsuccessfully. In addition to the prolongation of the trade agreement with the Greeks, already signed by Oleg in 911, the ruler's career is not noticeable. It remains only an episode of an inglorious demise.

Igor's act may seem strange. He concludes that, after completing the annual collection of tribute in the lands of his subjects, the Druzhivniks remain unhappy with its size. And then the prince returns to the drevlyanskuyu capital of the city of Iskorosten (Korosten) for the purpose of repeated chowing. A rebellious population kills him.

Princess Olga - the first woman on the throne

Power goes to the widow of the prince. In a country where warriors ruled, a weak woman had to prove to her people and opponents what could be equal to her husband. She begins with revenge. In the annals are mentioned 4 acts, included in the history of her reign.

These are peculiar riddles of Drevlyane, connected with funeral ritual. The last massacre of the Drevlyans was the destruction of their capital. Having made a military campaign against the Iskorosteni together with his son Svyatoslav at the head of a large detachment, the princess burnt down the wooden city.

What did they call "lessons" in Ancient Rus? After the suppression of the Drevlyans, Olga began to work to eliminate the causes of the rebellion and the shortcomings of the state system, and this concept received the notion that has come down to our times.

The economic and political situation in the beginning of the tenth century in Ancient Rus

Prior to the reign of the Princess of Kiev, Russia remained in Varangian jurisdiction. Its rulers Rurikovich made distant campaigns, built fortresses. From ancient sources it is clear that the Varangians did not have their own statehood and could not bring this experience to Russia. They actively mastered the rivers and trade routes, and also related with the local nobility.

With the advent of water trading nodes, urban growth begins, and infrastructure arises. This was a powerful impetus to the development of socio-economic relations and a certain order. The power already in an antiquity became the legislator and the organizer of economy. The princes take control of the waterway. A state is being formed under the name of Kievan Rus.

Attempts to control and centralize: what does "lessons" in Ancient Rus

The emerging elite received funds to realize their ambitions to seize Byzantium, legitimizing tribute from the conquered tribes and Novgorod: 300 hryvnas per year for the sake of peace. The polyudye described in the textbooks, that is, the collection of tribute by the Kiev princes with money and natural products, did not end with the accumulation of the collected goods. In the spring court with a tribute from Novgorod, Smolensk, Chernigov and others gathered in Kiev. And in June the fleet with the goods went to Constantinople. Medieval treaties with Byzantium speak of this, where most of the articles are devoted to the legal regulation of trade.

The prince and his squad were the only authority that bound the Slavic tribal lands. They were collectors of tribute and bailiffs. The squad received part of the money through the polyudye, part of the duties and from military campaigns. The population had to provide them during the performance of their official duty. In ancient Russia, a special management mechanism developed: the neo-feudal-vassal type of relations. The bulk of the population are community members (free peasants), the other part is a squad. In the absence of land ownership, the prince received income from the population, that is, a tribute.

Taxation in the 9th-10th Centuries

Every year from November to April the prince's squad received income in two ways:

• Transportation - mandatory delivery to the prince's household of agricultural products and fisheries;
• Polyudye - the detour of detainees and collecting money, food, and goods.

The executors of the tax program were younger combatants.

The taxation system was direct and did not provide for norms and a clear order. Taxes were irregular, and sometimes above the norm, which caused discontent and rebellion. Only in the middle of the tenth century there appeared for the first time an orderly procedure explaining what a lesson in Ancient Rus was.

There were a number of indirect taxes in the form of trade taxes and fines:

• Myt was collected for the transportation of goods through mountain borders and waterways;
• Weight and measure - respectively for weighing and measuring goods;
• Trading took from traders in the markets;
• The living room was charged for the arrangement of warehouses;
• Vira - the penalty for killing a servant.

Reforms of Princess Olga

Igor's death pushes Olga to the first state act. Gossips and lessons are being introduced. This in Ancient Rus marked the start of economic activity. Prior to it, the main direction of the developed state was aggressive policy, not internal management. "Lessons" meaning in Ancient Russia, their definition and importance for the country are detailed in the annals of Nestor. Olga did not plunder the land, but flexibly ruled: "Volga is going with her druzhina, stating the rules and lessons." Its reforms were peaceful.

Princesses were transformed into:

• Determination of the amount of tribute;
• Appointment of dinters - responsible persons for collection of tribute;
• The definition of strong points - special places for fees.

Lessons and graveyards in Ancient Rus

To fully understand what a lesson in Ancient Rus, you need to study article 8 of the current Tax Code. In fact, this reform was the first attempt on the way to the rule of law and the rule of law. The innovation required new conditions and relations. The statutes and lessons consisted in the regulation of duties and the issuance of legal acts for the leadership of the authorities. Stanovishcha and graveyards testify to the delineation of borders and the appointment of persons in charge, and since the collection of tribute was carried out in winter, warm rooms and provisions were needed. The remoteness of the churchyards required management on the ground. Thus, a set of measures was taken to peacefully develop the domestic economy.

First of all, the princess shared the land in the volost, whose centers were made by graveyards - large trading villages, standing along the banks of rivers.

So what are the lessons in Ancient Russia? The definition is given in the "Russian Truth", which refers to important officials-tiunas. They collected tribute from tribes and executed the court. Usually the truth was established through witnesses. If they did not turn out, the tiunas resorted to the help of pagan clairvoyants. The perpetrator paid a fine, and in case of disobedience of local authorities, the militia was called to the rescue. The princess's supreme authority exercised control when she could suddenly appear with the inspection, and grief was to the guilty or lazy tiune.

The origin of the word "lesson"

The meaning of the word "lessons" in Ancient Rus has the meaning of a contract, a transaction, a mutually beneficial relationship. The etymology of the term will help to understand in more detail what it is. The word leads into the Proto-Slavonic language and comes from the one-root "speech / rush", when the language was formed in pagan conditions and in the process of ritual actions. The word "river" expresses a certain worldview and is associated with witchcraft, and later with the adoption of Christianity, with God and his rules established on the Earth.

The Russian verb "to learn" close in sounding with "prophesying" makes sense to "bewitch, assign", a lesson - "witchcraft with the help of words". With the influence of impurity sounds, several derivatives of the "river" appeared: rock, utter, prophet, blame, call, pledge, lesson. Then the word "lesson" acquires more precise forms and is defined as "rule, tax or payment". Subsequently, the meaning narrows and has a figurative meaning: "something instructive," where we have a combination of "school occupation", "school hour".

What is the lesson in Ancient Rus: the conclusion

The development of new commodity-money relations was based on a lesson-a fixed amount of tax. Repeated collection from the payer under this system was impossible. Reforms strengthened the central government, created a solid taxation organization, defined administrative boundaries, expanded the management apparatus. Own and state possessions and incomes were demarcated.
Olga actively pursued not only domestic policy, but also grew spiritually, implementing foreign policy. By adopting Christianity, being the ruler of a pagan state, she performs the second act - the spiritual act. She gave the country a state-cultural outline, which was greatly facilitated by the development of the lesson. Orthodoxy in ancient Russia gained strength and self-consciousness.