What is a community in Ancient Rus?

Historians who study what a community in Ancient Rus distinguish two types of such social groups - urban and rural. Most of the population of the East Slavic state resided in them.

Rural communities

Villagers in Ancient Russia were engaged in fish and animal industries and, of course, cultivation of land. Residents of remote farms and villages joined together to make it easier to grow a rich harvest, as well as pay taxes to the princes. What is the community, if you use the vocabulary of that time? It's a rope. Do not confuse this concept with the place where ships are built. Vervi received the name thanks to the ropes, with the help of which the earth was demarcated.

This is the answer to the question of what a community is. One verst could include several villages. On average, the distance between the communities was about 30 kilometers.

The general use of land was the norm for all medieval countries, in which there were many lands, but the state of agriculture remained at a fairly primitive level (simple inventory, etc.). At the same time, the community system was convenient for princely power. Collectors of taxes (tax collectors, tiuns) it was much easier to interact with a large group of peasants than with several families separately.

Distinctive features

An important distinctive feature of the Slavic community was belonging to one or another territory. This custom demonstrates the importance of the terrain, and not the kind (as was the case with other peoples of the time). To understand what a community is, it is enough to look at the names of tribal alliances of the Eastern Slavs. The glade got its name due to the fact that they lived in the fields, the Drevlyane settled in the deaf forests, in thickets of trees, etc.

All historians who studied what the community in the Middle Ages, stressed the importance of a territorial feature, similar to the principle adopted by tribal unions.

Equality of vertex members

The secondary importance of the clan did not allow the advancement of various family clans. Even the gradual enrichment of communities and the increase in labor productivity within them did not lead to an increase in inequality. The blessings were distributed approximately equally among all members of the rope.

This way of life was preserved among the Slavs for several centuries. It is because of this that the Russian people have always been suspicious and disapproving of greedy money-grants, for whom wealth was above all else. Cohesion and moderation in everyday life - that's what a community is.

Relations within the community

The above-described relations in the village were extremely stable. They did not allow the development of "capitalism" in the countryside, when everyone earned for himself. On the contrary, the harsh climate of most of the territory of Russia forced the members of the Verve to live side by side and take care of each other in the event of a crop failure.

The life of the peasant was completely dependent on how much he grew agricultural products. If premature colds or war negated the results of his labor, then the branch came to the aid of such an injured worker. For comparison: in Europe, agricultural relations developed differently. For example, in medieval England there always existed a class of impoverished peasants-paupers.

Fighting against boyars

Until the XIV century, the cohesion of the peasants prevented feudal lords from obtaining all the agricultural lands of the country. This important feature of the social group we are considering once again clearly shows what a community in the history of the Middle Ages is and what its significance is. While the old order was preserved in Russia, European capitalism ruined many individual farms.

Western peasants could not create a strong community that would protect their interests, because of the predominance of clan relations in the village. All this led to the fact that the wealthy feudal lords gradually enslave all the poor. In Ancient Russia, this did not happen precisely because of the solidarity of the verteb. Even in the most difficult times, the state did not restrict the freedom of the peasants. As a last resort, the product tax was raised, the deductions of which went to the center (for example, to Kiev or Vladimir). But in Europe at this time, compulsory work was already widespread in the estate of the feudal lords. So the rich exploited the free labor of the peasants, increasingly increasing the difference between the wealthy and the poor.

Support of princes

Among other things, the peasant community in Russia was also protected by the prince's power. The rulers of the lands distributed the land as their vassal for military service, while in Europe large plots were bought by rich barons and counts. The royal power there was weakened and could not withstand this natural process. In Russia, the princes, not wanting to weaken their own positions, gave vassals (boyars) limited plots of land.

Rurikovich also did not allow his subordinates to take possession of peasant communities, maintaining a balance in the village, on which the subsistence of the entire state depended. Norms of relations between villagers and boyars were fixed in the "Russian Truth" - a set of Slavic laws adopted under Yaroslav the Wise. This document spoke about the supreme right of the prince to judge the feudal lords for the arbitrariness committed against the community.

People and smerds

The parallel existence of a free and unfree peasantry is another factor that helps to determine what a community is in Ancient Rus. This difference between the villagers is even fixed in the language. The free peasants were called people, and the dependent peasants were called smerds. The latter were the de facto property of the prince - they worked on his land and carried out labor service in his favor.

"Russian Truth" legally ensured the unequal position of the community members (for their murder, a fine of 40 hryvnia was imposed) and smerds (the fine for the deprivation of life was 5 hryvnias). Criminal offenses were also punished by the princely court. So, let us now, taking into account this factor, try to formulate what is the community in ancient Russia. Definition will necessarily mean free peasants who lived much better than smerds who stayed outside the community.

City community

The medieval Russian city is another social environment, without study it is difficult to determine what a community is. On the history of this topic are in the 6th grade. It is important for children to know that large settlements appeared on the lands of the Eastern Slavs in the IX century. They differed from conventional villages by defensive fortifications, necessary for defense against enemy armies and nomads. The power of such cities extended to the surrounding territories. They were called "lands" or "volosts".

At the dawn of the Slavic statehood, the city community was governed by the Veche Assembly. Every visitor of this event had the right to vote. Therefore it is not surprising that Ancient Rus is even now considered a democratic country, where the people's decision often stood above the prince's will. This principle was especially noticeable in Veliky Novgorod, where the veche remained the center of political life until 1478, when the entire republic was annexed to the Moscow state.

But the people's assemblies also had their shortcomings. The variety of interests and the lack of a clear system of counting of votes led to the emergence of sharp disputes and even urban unrest. Often such situations led to anarchy. Therefore, the presence of the prince, who could act as an arbiter between the opposing sides, was also important for the tranquility of the inhabitants. One way or another, in each specific case, the decision was made through the achievement of a compromise between the dissenting members of the urban community.

Importance of Veche

The sole authority of the prince was especially important for the city when it was a question of military campaigns. When it came to managing the army, there could not be several opinions - it would destroy the army. Therefore, in this issue, every prince had authority, here it was very important to preserve the sacredness of power.

When a single Old Russian state broke up into a number of destinies, the petty princes began to experience difficulties in relations with both the army and the city community. A case in point is the same Novgorod, where Vsevolod was expelled in 1136. Veche accused him of cowardice and flight from the battlefield during the war against Yuri Dolgoruky. The conflict led to the fact that the prince's power in the city was finally under the control of the aristocracy and the people's congress.

A similar political architecture was in neighboring Pskov. There the princes did not inherit the title from father to son, but were elected by the inhabitants. So in Pskov in the 13th century Dovmont was in power - a Lithuanian by birth, who achieved recognition of the townspeople thanks to his courage and honesty.