In the 16th century, the Moscow state occupied about 2.9 million square meters. m. Since by the 16th century the peasants had ceased to be taxed (the tax was imposed on the land), becoming more independent people could move to other territories.
Vital role in the process of settling and developing new territories by the people, monasteries played. Despite the fact that the economy retains its natural character, in some areas arable farming and productive cattle breeding takes its development.
Goes active development industry and crafts, centers of iron production. Despite the fact that sparsely populated cities remain a trade center, the number of trade villages has increased.
During the reign Prince Vasily 3 developed in many Russian cities stone construction... For this purpose, as well as the cannon business, the prince attracted foreign workers.
Livonian war and oprichnina not without consequences for Russia:
· The ruin of cities and villages, peasants fleeing to new lands;
The country's economy froze in place, and the plague epidemic and extremely terrible crop yields exacerbated the situation - economic crisis;
· Almost all land in the central regions was abandoned. The surviving peasants left the land.
Desire find a way out of the crisis led the government to decide to introduce "reserve years" (from 1581 to 1582), during which people were not allowed to leave their lands. The feudal lords tried to lease land to the peasants, but this did not bring much success. In the 90s of the 16th century, the rise of agriculture was planned, but it was extremely vulnerable. The land was owned mainly by secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords, whose possessions were taxed with various privileges, enshrined in grand ducal letters.
In the 16th century, important changes took place in the structure of feudal property: the share of local landholdings increased greatly, the development of the local system led to a decrease in the number of black-sowed peasants in the center of the country. In Russia, territorially divided 2 forms of feudal land tenure naturally arose:
· The previously established local patrimony (secular and church feudal lords) in the central regions;
· Communal peasant in sparsely populated areas, periodically controlled by the state, and as a result - fell into the sphere of wide demand.
This was hallmark development of the Russian economy in the Middle Ages.
The general direction of the country's socio-economic development in the 16th century was the strengthening of the feudal-serf system. The economic basis of serfdom was feudal ownership of land.
According to the social status of the peasants, they were divided into 3 groups:
· Proprietary - belonged to secular and church feudal lords;
· Palace - belonged to the palace department of the Moscow princes, and then the tsars;
· Black-haired (state) - lived in territories that did not belong to one or another owner, but were obliged to perform public works for the benefit of the state.
In the 16th century, trade with centers in Moscow and other cities grew greatly. Bread was delivered to the northern lands, and from there - salt, fish and furs. For domestic trade great importance had feudal lords who had privileges, as well as himself Grand Duke... In the field of commodity education, products of the fishing industry and handicrafts were listed. Foreign trade was actively gaining momentum. Novgorod and Smolensk were the link in trade ties with the West. In 1553, a trade route to England was opened across the White Sea. Products of Russian crafts and timber were exported, and weapons, metals, cloth were imported. Chinese fabrics, porcelain, jewelry were imported from the East to Russia, and furs and wax were exported.
The growth of the country's commodity turnover in the 16th century led to the development of monetary relations and the accumulation of capital. But due to the dominance of the feudal-serf system and the brutal fiscal policy of the state, capital or the enrichment of the treasury was directed to lending money at interest and drawing the population into heavy debt dependence.
During the expansion of trade, a rich merchant stratum was formed from different social strata. Merchant associations with privileges were created in Moscow. In legal terms, they were equated with the feudal landowners.
In the 16th century, the Stroganovs were the largest merchants; they were from the Pomor peasants who became the founders of a powerful commercial and industrial house in the 15th century, operating until 1917.
13) Socio-political crisis of the late 16th - early 17th centuries in Russia. "Time of Troubles" and its consequences Early XVII century is characterized by an extreme exacerbation of social and political contradictions caused and moderated by the economic crisis and the deterioration of the international situation in the country. Contemporaries designated these phenomena with the term "Troubles" (1605-1613). The Troubles can be viewed as the first civil war in the history of the country. The oprichnina and the Livonian War caused the economic desolation of the country. Due to the increase in taxes, a mass exodus of peasants to the outskirts of the country to the Cossacks began. Trying to stop the flight of peasants and overcome the labor deficit, the government in 1597 forbids the peasant transition on St. George's Day and announces a five-year term to search for fugitive peasants. The social crisis coincided with the dynastic one. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, his son Fyodor Ivanovich (1594-1598) became tsar. Fedor was married to the daughter of Boris Godunov, who actually ruled the country. After the death of the childless Fyodor, the Zemsky Sobor elected Boris Godunov (1598–1605) to the throne. However, the close blood relatives of Ivan the Terrible - the Shuisky princes and the Romanov boyars - also claimed the throne. Boris Godunov (1598-1605). Initially, circumstances were favorable for Boris. By the beginning of the 90s, economic recovery began in the country, the development of the chernozem center began, and international position... In 1598, Godunov managed to achieve the arrival of the Patriarch of Constantinople to Moscow and the establishment of a patriarchate in Russia. The first Russian patriarch was Metropolitan Job, a native of Staritsa. However, the famine of 1601–1603 exacerbated the socio-economic crisis. In order to mitigate the crisis, Godunov restored St. George's Day norms in 1601–1602. But this restoration concerned only the peasants of the small-land nobility. The law provoked the discontent of the border nobles, and its abolition aroused the discontent of the peasants. As a result, dissatisfaction with Godunov swept all strata of society - from boyars to peasants: 1) the boyars were ruined by the oprichnina and dissatisfied with Godunov's personality; 2) the nobility is increasing numerically, while its land and peasantry are decreasing; 3) the peasantry is dissatisfied with taxes, poverty and the abolition of freedom; 4) the Cossacks are dissatisfied with the desire to enslave the Cossack lands. In 1605 Boris died and his son Fyodor Borisovich ascended the throne. Thus, the Godunov dynasty was entrenched in power. False Dmitry I. The reason for the open uprising against the Godunov dynasty was the appearance of the impostor Grigory Otrepiev (False Dmitry I), posing as the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who was killed in Uglich in 1591. The impostor was helped by the Polish king Sigismund III, in Russia False Dmitry relied on anti-Godun forces. In June 1605, False Dmitry took possession of Moscow, Fyodor was killed. Trying to please everyone, the impostor conducted an extremely controversial domestic policy: he freed fugitive peasants from responsibility and increased the search term for fugitives, increased taxation of monasteries, introduced into the Kremlin Polish army, increased land grants to nobles. IN AND. Shuisky (1606-1610). During the uprising in May 1606, False Dmitry was killed, and the Zemsky Sobor elected Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky as tsar. Shuisky was opposed by the peasants of the southern and southwestern outskirts of the country and the Cossacks, who received tax benefits from False Dmitry. The insurgents were led by Ivan Bolotnikov (1606 - October 1607). With great difficulty, the government coped with the uprising. The remnants of the Boltnikovites in 1607 joined the army of False Dmitry II (Tushinsky thief). False Dmitry II (1608-1609). The bulk of the troops were Cossacks and Lithuanian-Polish troops. False Dmitry stopped in the village of Tushino (Tushinsky thief) and partially besieged it. The Trinity-Sergius Monastery was also besieged (September 1608 - January 1610). Metropolitan Filaret (boyar Fyodor Romanov) was also in the Tushino camp. To fight the thief, the tsar's nephew, Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky, entered into an alliance with Sweden, which sent a detachment to Russia. Skopin-Shuisky managed to lift the siege of the Trinity-Sergmev Monastery and strengthen the defenses of Moscow. Swedish interference in Russian affairs gave rise to the Polish intervention, which laid siege to Smolensk. Deprived of Polish aid, the Tushino camp fell apart. Seven Boyars and the occupation of Moscow (1610-1612). Vasily Shuisky in 1610 was dethroned. A council of seven boyars (seven-boyars) came to power. Trying to strengthen the power and overcome the Cossacks, the council went to negotiations with Poland and let the Poles into the Kremlin, headed by Tsarevich Vladislav. There was a threat of the death of Russia as a state. Patriarch Hermogenes was at the head of the national forces. At his call, a militia was formed in Ryazan from the nobles and Tushins, led by Lyapunov and the ataman Zarutsky. However, due to disagreements between the leaders, the militia fell apart. In August 1611 in Nizhny Novgorod, the second civil uprising led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and merchant Kuzma Minin. On October 26, 1612, the militia liberated Moscow. The provisional government began preparations for the Zemsky Sobor, which was assembled in January 1613. At the council, 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the son of Metropolitan Philaret, was elected tsar. After the cathedral, relations were established with Poland and Sweden. According to the Stolbovsky Peace Treaty of 1617 with Sweden, Russia returned Novgorod, but lost land in the Baltic. Under the treaty with Poland in 1618, Russia lost Smolensk. The consequences of the Troubles: 1) further weakening of the boyars and strengthening of the nobility; 2) the economic consequences of the war entailed an increase in the enslavement of the peasants; 3) strengthening the sense of national and religious unity. “The election of Mikhail strengthened her self-conscious unity,” writes A.S. Khomyakov.
In the 16th century. The Moscow state occupied about 2.9 million square meters. m. By the 16th century. peasants ceased to be taxed (the tax was imposed on land), and, having become more independent, people could move to other territories.
Monasteries played the most important role in the process of settlement and development of new territories by the people. Although the economy retains its natural character, in some areas arable farming and productive livestock raising take their development.
There is an active development of industry and handicrafts, centers of iron production. Shopping center sparsely populated cities remain, but the number of trading villages is increasing.
During the reign, it developed in many Russian cities. For this purpose, as well as the cannon business, the prince attracted foreign workers.
And not without consequences for Russia:
- the ruin of cities and villages, peasants fleeing to new lands;
- the country's economy froze in place, and the plague epidemic and extremely terrible crop yields aggravated the situation - an economic crisis came;
- almost all land in the central regions was abandoned. The surviving peasants left the land.
A strong desire to find a way out of the crisis prompted the government to decide to introduce "reserve years" (from 1581 to 1582), during which people were not allowed to leave their lands. The feudal lords tried to lease land to the peasants, but this did not bring much success. In the 90s. 16th c. the rise of agriculture was planned, but it was extremely vulnerable. The land was owned mainly by secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords, whose possessions were taxed with various privileges, enshrined in grand ducal letters.
In the 16th century. important changes took place in the structure of feudal property: the share of local land ownership is growing strongly, the development of the local system has led to a decrease in the number of black-sowed peasants in the center of the country. In Russia, territorially divided two forms of feudal land tenure naturally arose:
- the previously established local patrimony (secular and church feudal lords) in the central regions;
- communal peasant in sparsely populated areas, periodically controlled by the state and, as a result, falling into the sphere of wide demand.
This was a distinctive feature of the development of the Russian economy in the Middle Ages.
The general direction of the country's socio-economic development in the 16th century. was the strengthening of the feudal serf system. The economic basis of serfdom was feudal ownership of land.
According to the social status of the peasants, they were divided into three groups:
- proprietary - belonged to secular and church feudal lords;
- palace - belonged to the palace department of the Moscow princes, and then the tsars;
- black-haired (state) - lived in territories that did not belong to one or another owner, but were obliged to perform public works for the benefit of the state.
In the 16th century. increased trade with centers in Moscow and other cities. Bread was delivered to the northern lands, and from there - salt, fish and furs. For domestic trade, the feudal lords, who had privileges, as well as the Grand Duke himself, were of great importance. In the field of commodity education, products of the fishing industry and handicrafts were listed. Foreign trade was actively gaining momentum. Novgorod and Smolensk were the link in trade ties with the West. In 1553, a trade route to England was opened across the White Sea. Products of Russian crafts and timber were exported, and weapons, metals, cloth were imported. Chinese fabrics, porcelain, jewelry were imported from the East to Russia, and furs and wax were exported.
The growth of the country's commodity turnover in the 16th century. led to the development of monetary relations and the accumulation of capital. But due to the dominance of the feudal-serf system and the brutal fiscal policy of the state, capital or enrichment of the treasury was directed to lending money at interest and drawing the population into heavy debt dependence.
During the expansion of trade, a rich merchant stratum was formed from different social strata. Merchant associations with privileges were created in Moscow. In legal terms, they were equated with the feudal landowners.
In the 16th century. the largest merchants were the Stroganovs, they were from the Pomor peasants who became the founders of a powerful commercial and industrial house in the 15th century, operating until 1917.
1.1. The nature of agriculture. Russia was an agrarian country with a significant predominance rural population... (By the middle of the 16th century, out of about 6 million inhabitants, the urban population was no more than 5%). Agriculture remained the main occupation.
More and more the three-field system was spreading, gradually displacing the sweep to the north. The main instrument of labor of the peasants, as before, was the plow, which was somewhat improved (the so-called plow-roe deer) and approached the plow in terms of its arable potential. Rye, barley, oats, wheat, and garden crops were grown.
Due to low soil fertility and unfavorable climate (short agricultural season of 5.5 months), the yield remained extremely low. As a result, farming retained an extensive character, what gave rise to colonization both new territories (in the North, in the Urals, beyond the Oka), and the development of forest for arable land in the inner regions.
The peasants contrasted the difficult natural conditions with centuries of experience, the ability to adapt and the unification of efforts within the framework of large patriarchal families, which, in turn, rallied into communities.
1.2. Peasant economy. The first half of the 16th century. can be described as the "golden age" of the Russian farmer.
Thanks to the development of the forest for arable land (ie, "internal colonization"), the allotment of land to the peasant households increased (from 10 to 15 acres of land in three fields). The number of peasant families also increased (up to 10 souls of both sexes on average), which provided the economy with the necessary labor force... True, there was a shortage of hayfields, and a relative deficit remained. livestock... The peasants continued to engage in various kinds of trades, and domestic crafts were developed.
At this time, the traditional rates of taxes and fees were still preserved, which were not very burdensome. On average, the peasant economy gave the state and its feudal lord up to 30% of the total produced product, which did not restrain the economic initiative. Thus, the state and the service class, on the one hand, ensured external security and internal political stability for economic activity peasantry, and on the other hand, they are not yet strong enough to seize a significant share of the product produced and thereby deprive producers of material interest in the results of their labor.
All this created conditions for the growth of production and the accumulation of resources by peasant farms. but main goal peasants were not expanding production and, moreover, not receiving income, but meeting the family's needs for food, clothing, heat and housing, as well as providing conditions for the continuation of simple production. Thus, the peasant economy in its essence remained consumer, accumulation was condemned by both communal and Christian morality, which also hindered the expansion of production. In addition, there were also natural factors that limited the possibilities of the peasant economy. As a result, all this made him extremely vulnerable to various kinds of accidents, "external factors", and especially from the policy of the state.
1.3. Social and legal status of peasants. In addition to the economic, at this time, there is an improvement in social and legal status farmers. This is evidenced by the very fact of the spread of the term "peasants", displacing the class-defective, reflecting the unequal position of farmers, the concept of "smerda", "orphans". The right of the peasants to a free "exit" on St. George's Day was legally confirmed.
The peasant was a subject of law - he could sue his feudal lord, testify against him in court. Moreover, according to
The Code of Law of 1497, “the best peasants” were present at the trial of the boyars-feedingmen as “judging men”. The peasant was not yet responsible with his property for the failure of his feudal lord. Since the 30s of the XVI century. black-moored peasants took part in the activities of local self-government bodies.
1.4. Peculiarities of the situation of black-sowed peasants. Along with various forms of feudal land tenure, free peasant holdings in the so-called "Black land"(The plow was called the measure of the area of cultivated land, "black", in contrast to the "whitewashed" - those who paid taxes to the state). The black-haired peasants remained completely free and paid taxes to the Grand Duke.
At the beginning of the XVI century. they were quite numerous even in the central counties. Gradually, the state began to transfer the black-wooded lands to estates, which meant for the peasants a change in their status - the transformation into "proprietary" ones. But since at first the landowner acted only as their patron, he did not take away communal lands for his direct disposal (the growth of lordly plowing began later - not earlier mid XVI c.) and protected the peasants from external encroachments, then, while maintaining general level life, but in fact - social and legal status, the peasants resigned themselves to the change in their position.
1.5. Rural communities. The peasants united in a community, the norms and traditions of which regulated their economic and spiritual life. She influenced peasant land use, controlled hayfields and fishing grounds, and served as an intermediary in relations between peasants and their feudal lord and the state. In general, the community provided economic, social, legal and spiritual conditions for the life of its members.
2. Feudal land tenure. Boyars and service people
2.1. Fiefdoms. From the end of the 15th century. the structure of land tenure was changing. On the one hand, it became shallow from constant family sections boyar patrimony, on the other - there was a reduction common fund boyar lands as a result of their partial transfer into the hands of monasteries. Boyars donated part of their possessions to monasteries, hoping to save their sinful soul through the prayers of monks - intercessors before God. But the crushing and dispossession of some of the patrimonials threatened the interests of the state, as it undermined its military forces. In conditions of a shortage of funds, the soldiers received a land "salary" for the service. From the land, at the expense of the labor of the peasants "sitting" on it, the patrimonials "fed", and also provided themselves and their military servants with combat horses and the necessary weapons. According to some reports, the rent of five peasant farms was spent on the maintenance of one equestrian soldier.
2.2. Estates. Active foreign policy, the need to strengthen statehood demanded an increase in the size of the army. After the unification of the country and the concentration of an extensive land fund in his hands, the Grand Duke received such an opportunity due to land distributions. However, the allotment of land to the patrimonials became unprofitable: the “leakage” of land into the hands of the church (many feudal lords donated or bequeathed part of their lands to monasteries) led to the declassification of the “boyar children”. As a result, for the performance of military service, the state began to allocate lands to the servants of the Grand Duke and the "children of the boyars" on limited conditions - forbidding them to sell and donate land. This is how a new group of the feudal class was formed - landlords("Placed on the land") and a new form of feudal land tenure - estate. The term "noblemen" in relation to this group of landowners became widespread later.
2.3. Common features of estates and estates in the 16th century However, the differences between boyar and local land tenure should not be absolutized, much less characterized as reactionary or progressive. The differences between them were minor, as:
The estate, like the patrimony, was inherited, because the state did not benefit from the withdrawal of the land from service;
Usually, a landowner, along with an estate, could also own an estate, and a boyar - an estate;
The estate owner was also obliged to serve under the threat of confiscation of his property, for the Grand Duke was considered the supreme owner of all lands.
2.4. The social status of service people. At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. social status boyars change: from vassals, connected with personal relations with their prince, they turn into subjects. Now, for example, the "departure" from the prince without loss of estates, which was widely practiced in the middle of the 15th century, began to be regarded as high treason.
Numerous service people united in local territorial corporations, and their leaders, along with the boyars, were gradually included in the Tsar's court. Its representatives had the right to receive command military and government positions, draft lands, etc. Contradictions emerged between various groups of boyars and service people due to the receipt of certain positions, lands and awards. At the same time, they were united by the consciousness that only those carrying "military, mortal service" have the right to land holdings with peasants, as well as a negative attitude towards physical labor... Thus, the functions of power in Russia more and more merged with the right of ownership.
3. City and urban population
3.1. general characteristics... At the beginning of the XVI century. on the vast territory of the Russian state, there were about 130 urban-type settlements. Of these, only Moscow (130 thousand) and Novgorod (32 thousand) can be attributed to a sufficiently large cities... Significant urban centers were Tver, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Kostroma, Nizhniy Novgorod and a number of others, while most of the rest retained their rural appearance. The total urban population did not exceed 300 thousand people.
3.2. Economic development. The cities became centers of craft and trade. Potters and tanners, shoemakers and jewelers, etc., produced their products on the market. The number and specialization of urban crafts as a whole met the needs of rural residents. Local markets are formed around the cities, but since the bulk of the peasants were too far and inconvenient to get to them, they produced a significant part of the handicraft products themselves.
Thus, the natural character of the peasant economy, the general economic backwardness of the country stood in the way of the formation of market relations.
At the end of the 15th century. a state-owned manufactory for the manufacture of guns and other firearms... But it could not fully cover the needs of the army in modern weapons. In addition, Russia did not have proven deposits of non-ferrous and noble metals, iron was mined only from poor swampy ores. All this made it necessary both to develop our own production and expand economic ties with the countries of Western Europe. The volume of foreign trade of that era was in direct proportion to the success of sea trade.
3.3. Urban population. The population of the cities ("townspeople") was quite variegated in its composition and differentiated by occupation.
. Craftsmen, small traders, gardeners united on a territorial basis in hundreds and fifty. Russia did not know pure craft shops.
. The top of the merchant class united in a corporation of guests, the Sukonnaya and the Living Room of hundreds, whose members had great privileges, and on a number of points their status approached the position of the boyars - they did not pay taxes, the "guests" could own land with the peasants. It was from them that the heads of the city government were elected, in charge of collecting taxes and organizing the serving of various duties.
but general management of cities was in the hands of the grand ducal power and was carried out through its governors. Urban land was considered the property of the state. On the whole, in Russian cities, a “city system” similar to the Western European one did not develop; the urban population increasingly fell into dependence on the state.
4. Cossacks
4.1. General characteristics. In the XVI century. on the southern and southeastern borders of the Russian state, folding continued Cossacks(from the Turkic "Cossack" - a free man, a daring man) - a special social group from the fugitive peasant and posad population, as well as representatives of various local peoples.
Trades were the basis of the economic life of the Cossacks; agriculture began to spread not earlier late XVII v. Probably, the fugitives did not plow, fearing to attract government officials - tax collectors and landlords to new lands. There is another version - free people considered it shameful to return to productive labor, which they associated with an unequal position, dependence on a feudal lord or community, and many of the fugitives were servants who did not know agricultural labor. But, most likely, the Cossacks did not plow the land because they were afraid to attract nomads who could destroy the crops. As a result, the sources of existence of the Cossacks were military prey, fishing, trade, and later - the salary from the sovereign for military service.
4.2. Internal organization and relationship with central authority... All the most important matters were discussed at a general meeting - a Cossack circle. Atamans and foremen were also elected here. The autonomous Cossack freemen for a long time existed independently of the state and did not return the fugitives. For example, the Don Cossacks had the principle: "There is no issue from the Don." At the same time, some of the Cossacks entered the service of the state, for example, as border guards, for which they received a salary. These Cossacks were later called registered, since they were entered in special list(registry). On the other hand, the Cossack freemen periodically shook the foundations of the Russian state, and as it strengthened supreme power tried to take control of it, eventually managing to turn the Cossacks into their reliable support.
5. Conclusions
5.1. Russian village the first half of XVI v. was going through a period of recovery, achieved due to "large clearing" of land for arable land, population growth, development of domestic crafts, relative internal political stability and external security. At the same time, the state and the feudal lords have not yet become so strong as to deprive the peasant of interest in the results of his labor with excessive taxes and taxes.
5.2. However, on the way of development of the village were significant obstacles: unfavorable climatic conditions, sparsely populated vast territory of the country, consumer-communal nature of the peasant economy.
5.3. Has been further developed feudal land tenure, the distinctions between estates and estates began to fade. The boyars and the upper classes of the service class were united within the framework of the "Tsar's Court", and their material and official position was increasingly determined by their proximity to the princely power.
5.4. Russian city in general, it lagged behind in its development and could not fully meet the needs of society and the state in industrial products. Local markets developed around cities, but a national market would appear much later.
The cities were completely dependent on the grand ducal power. The absence of class organizations of artisans and merchants, similar to the European ones, who defended their rights and freedoms, hindered the formation of a "city system", without which the true flourishing of cities was impossible.
5.5. On the outskirts of Russia Cossacks with their own way of life, which in many respects retained a pre-state character.
5.6. Thus, the development of Russia in the first half of the 16th century. characterized by a variety socio-economic structures and, in general, a forward movement forward, the political basis of which was created by the unification of the country. However, with the huge role that the state acquired, which decisively influenced all spheres of life, the country's future largely depended on the policy of the grand ducal power.
A new period in Russian history V.O. Klyuchevsky called "Great Russia, Moscow, Tsarist-boyar, military-agricultural", which quite fully characterizes the changes in the political and economic development of the country. At this time, the process of internal colonization was completed, as a result of which the territory of the country increased six times. There was a state unification of the Russian lands under the rule of Moscow, which made it possible to eliminate feudal fragmentation and overthrow Tatar-Mongol yoke, as well as create a centralized management system.
The territorial expansion of lands lagged behind their qualitative increment: the average population density in XVI-lane. floor. XVII century ranged from 0.3-0.4 to 8 people per 1 sq. km. Agriculture remained the basis of the Russian economy, based on feudal ownership of land while maintaining private (patrimony, "granted patrimony", estates), church-monastic, palace, Cossack and black-wooded farms. Agricultural technologies were not very productive. Even by the beginning of the 16th century. threefields in many lands were combined with undercutting and fallowing. The primitive tools of labor (plow with a moldboard, wooden plow, harrows, scythes, chains) were preserved. The predominance of one-horse farms also hindered the use of more sophisticated land cultivation methods. As a result, the agrarian sector was characterized by poor development of the territory (even in the European part, plowing was 20% of the total land in the middle of the 17th century) and low yields at the level of "sam - 2", by the end of the 16th century. - "myself - 3-4" (getting a surplus product starts from the level "self - 5"). The insufficient level of development of agriculture and animal husbandry contributed to the preservation of industries: beekeeping, fishing, hunting and salt production. The development of agriculture continued to be natural in nature, supporting the isolation of peasant farms. Their main feature remains patriarchal-family corporatism, in which all relations of subordination and dependence were softened by forms of paternalism.
For Russia, a crowded-nesting and nesting type of rural settlement was characteristic (a village with villages "stretching" to it). Sectoral differentiation did not take the form of a sharp functional demarcation of the Western European type. Cities of military-political origin with a backyard type of building had conditions for practicing not only handicrafts, but also agriculture. At the same time, the cities were trade and handicraft centers, usually of significant radius areas. For the sixteenth century. identified 210 names of urban crafts; for the beginning of the seventeenth century. - 250 with a numerical predominance of specialties related to the manufacture of food supplies, the production of clothing, fabric and household utensils. The organization of handicraft production was within the framework of the level of simple cooperation, but in the 15th century. new transitional forms of the type of state-owned manufactories began to emerge to meet the needs of the royal court and the army.
Let's consider the features of their organization using the example of Khamovny (textile) courtyards:
the lack of a clear craft specialization, the execution of a boorish duty was associated with the ownership of a courtyard and a land plot in the settlement;
the population was not enslaved; had the opportunity to engage in trade and other industries (provision of benefits);
production was not connected with the market, was unprofitable, did not go beyond the framework of the patrimonial economy.
Hamovnye courtyards, being a national form of craft organization, have undergone evolution from the level of individual production at home to the formation of closed production with a subjective division of labor in a special room, that is, from scattered to mixed and centralized manufacture.
Along with state-owned in the XVI century. merchant manufactories appeared (metalworking, leather, ceramic and textile), where freelance labor (peasants on a quitrent) was mainly used. Hired labor was also used in handicraft production (zagrebetniki and neighbors).
The development of the craft was accompanied by the strengthening of its territorial specialization. By the end of the sixteenth century. a pronounced territorial structure of the economy is taking shape.
1. Craft centers:
Tula-Serpukhov region, Ustyuzhna, Tikhvin, Zaonezhie, Ustyug the Great, the Urals and Western Siberia are centers for the production of iron. The most active entrepreneurs in the extraction and processing of ore were peasants, less often feudal lords and the state, monasteries;
Tula - weapons production;
Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Rzhev, Pskov, Smolensk - flax processing and linen production.
2. Agricultural centers:
Chernozem and northern Volga regions - grain growing;
western and north-western regions - production of industrial crops (flax and hemp).
The growth of productive forces in agriculture and handicrafts, the deepening of the social division of labor and territorial specialization led to a steady expansion of trade ties. Trade was carried out at fairs and markets. From the second half of the XVI century. large regional markets began to take shape, at the end of the 16th century. trade ties already existed on a national scale.
The establishment and expansion of economic ties between all economic entities, as well as between individual markets on a national scale, meant the formation of an all-Russian market.
However, in general, the economic development of the Moscow state at the end of the XVI-beginning. XVII centuries. was comparable to the XIII-XIV centuries in Western Europe... In the absence of good land communications and the freezing of rivers, trade was very slow; the trading capital was often turned over only once a year. Roads, impassable due to swamps and forests, were also dangerous due to looting. In addition, all kinds of trading fees, customs duties, travel cards, tamga, mostovschina, myt, etc.
An important characteristic of the Russian merchants was their role as an intermediary wholesaler: the purchase of goods from artisans and peasants for subsequent resale at a profit. This was determined by:
lack of capital and credit among the bulk of traders;
low purchasing power of the population, which does not allow narrow specialization in trade;
a tradition of economic behavior that requires the storage of food in reserve.
The professional merchant class was heterogeneous. The merchant elite consisted of only 13 guests with capital from 20 to 100 thousand rubles. The middle stratum included 158 people living in the living room and 116 people of the woolen cloth hundreds, exempt from the posad tax, but once every 2-6 years (depending on the number of members of a hundred) carrying out government orders (buying goods for the treasury, carrying out customs and tax services, etc.) .). The lowest stratum was made up of hired workers.
clerks acting as companions;
inmates working in a shop on a contract basis;
peddlers carrying out trade from the "tray" to the "post";
people who are personally dependent on the merchant (as a rule, prisoners of war: Turks or Tatars).
Expansion of trade required the unification of the monetary system, characterized by the parallel circulation of "Novgorodka" and "Muscovy". The reform of 1535 by Elena Glinskaya not only eliminated the monetary dualism existing in the country, but also established state control over the minting of the coin. The underdevelopment of monetary relations can be traced in usury. Until the seventeenth century. an increase in interest on loans was considered normal. The decree of 1626 limited the period for charging interest to 5 years, until the amount of interest is equal to the loan received (that is, from 20% per annum). The Code of 1649 completely banned interest on loans, but unofficially they continued to exist.
The underdevelopment of the system of economic relations required the formation of a rigid authoritarian system of government both in the center and in the localities. The old primitive system of government with the help of introduced and worthy boyars, as well as institutions of the order type in the middle of the 16th century. replaced by a new order system, including special military institutions, the apparatus of the palace administration, financial and judicial-police bodies. The system of local government also changed: the power of the breeders was limited, new officials appeared (city clerks, laborers and zemstvo chiefs, customs and tavern elected heads). In such conditions, representatives of the producing class found themselves politically and civically disenfranchised.
According to their position, various groups of the dependent population are converging, the division into quitrent and corvee courts disappears. However, new forms of personal dependence are emerging: compulsory lending when transferring from the tax of arable land to empty and desolate lands; bobsledness; full and service servitude.
In the most favorable position were the state-owned (black-haired) peasants, who carried out only state taxes and duties, in the least favorable position were the church-monastic and local estates peasants, bearing not only the state tax, but also performing feudal rent in favor of the owner. The expansion of the state apparatus required an increase in the share of state taxes (from 10% in 1540 to 66% in 1576, and from the middle of the 16th century to the middle of the 17th century, the size of taxes doubled). Their number has also increased. At this time, tribute, yamskie money, accepts (for the construction of siege structures), payback (ransom of prisoners), treasurers, clerks 'and clerks' duties, money for the maintenance of foreign ambassadors, fed ransom, etc. are collected. Under Ivan the Terrible, a single measure for determining profitability was established for the entire state - "plow", depending on the ownership and quality of the land. Special taxes were introduced for the maintenance of the troops.
The strengthening of the economy, which became a direct consequence of the formation of the Russian centralized state, led to the expansion of foreign economic relations. However, their development was hampered by the isolation of Russia from the seas. Defeat in Livonian War(1558-1583) finally closed the way to the Baltic for the country. At the same time, the opening of the Northern Sea Route, the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan, the gradual development of Siberia contributed to the intensification of domestic and foreign trade through the mediation of England and Holland. The Arkhangelsk Fair began to play the main role, trade at which was predominantly one-sided and exchangeable. The balance of trade of Western countries with Russia in the Baltic and the White Sea was passive, therefore, along with goods, Western merchants brought money to buy Russian goods. Trade with the East was less brisk. At the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. the trade turnover with the West reached 150 thousand rubles, and with the East - a little more than 4 thousand rubles.
The Mongol invasion led to the death of huge masses of people, the desolation of a number of regions, the displacement of a significant part of the population from the Dnieper region to North-Eastern and South-Western Russia. Epidemics also inflicted terrible damage on the population. Nevertheless, the reproduction of the population was of an expanded nature, over 300 years (from 1200 to 1500) it increased by about a quarter. The population of the Russian state in the 16th century, according to D.K. Shelestov, was 6-7 million people.
However, population growth lagged significantly behind the growth of the country's territory, which increased more than 10 times, including such vast regions as the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia. For Russia was characterized by a low population density, its concentration in certain areas. The most densely populated were the central regions of the country, from Tver to Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod land. It had the highest population density - 5 people per 1 sq. Km. The population was clearly not enough for the development of such vast areas.
The Russian state was formed as a multinational state from the very beginning. The most important phenomenon of this time was the formation of the Great Russian (Russian) nationality. The formation of city-states only contributed to the accumulation of these differences, but the consciousness of the unity of the Russian lands remained. Arslanov R.A., V.V. Kerov, M.N. Moseikina, T.M. Smirnov. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 20th century. A guide for applicants to universities. - 2000 519 s.
The Slavic population between the Volga and Oka rivers experienced
strong influence of the local Finno-Ugric population. Caught under the rule of the Horde, the inhabitants of these lands could not help but absorb many features of the steppe culture. Over time, the language, culture and life of the more developed Moscow land began to increasingly influence the language, culture and life of the population of the whole of North-Eastern Russia.
The development of the economy contributed to the strengthening of political, religious and cultural ties between residents of cities and villages. Identical natural, economic and other conditions helped to create some common traits among the population in their occupations and character, in family and social life. In their sum, all these common features made up national characteristics population of the north-east of Russia. Moscow in the minds of the people became a national center, and from the second half of the XIV century. a new name for this land appears - Great Russia.
Throughout this period, many peoples of the Volga region, Bashkirs, and others entered the Russian state. VO Klyuchevsky. Russian history: A complete course of lectures: In 2 kn .: Book. 1. - Minsk: Harvest, Moscow: AST, 2000. - 1056 p. - Classics of historical thought.
After the Mongol invasion, the economy of North-Eastern Russia experienced a crisis, starting only from about the middle of the XIV century. slowly revive.
The main arable implements, as in the pre-Mongol period, were the plow and plow. In the XVI century. the plow is replacing the plow throughout the territory of Great Russia. The plow is being improved - a special board is attached to it - a policeman, which carries along the loosened earth with it and rakes it to one side.
The main crops grown at this time are rye and oats that have replaced wheat and barley, which is associated with a general cooling, the spread of a more improved plow and, accordingly, the development of previously inaccessible areas for plowing. Garden crops were also widespread.
The farming systems were diverse, there was a lot of archaism here: along with the recently appeared three-field, the two-field, the shifting system, arable land by collision were widespread, and the slash-and-burn system prevailed for a very long time in the north.
During the period under consideration, soil fertilization begins to be applied, which, however, lags somewhat behind the spread of the three-field system. In areas where arable farming with manure fertilization prevailed, animal husbandry occupied a very great place in agriculture. The role of animal husbandry was also great in those northern latitudes where little grain was sown. Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century. Book I. M., 2001. - 347 p.
When talking about agriculture and economics, it is imperative to take into account that the non-black earth lands became the main proscenium of Russian history. All this space is dominated by marginal, mainly sod-podzolic, podzolic and podzolic-boggy soils. This thinness of the soil was one of the reasons for the low yield. The main reason for it is the specific nature and climatic conditions. The agricultural cycle here was unusually short, taking only 125-130 working days. That is why the peasant economy of the indigenous territory of Russia had extremely limited opportunities for the production of commercial agricultural products. Due to the same circumstances, there was practically no commercial cattle breeding in the Non-Black Earth Region. It was then that the age-old problem of the Russian agrarian system arises - the peasant land shortage.
Still big role Ancient crafts played in the life of the Eastern Slavs: hunting, fishing, bee-keeping. On the scale of the use of "gifts of nature" up to the 17th century. many materials testify, including the notes of foreigners about Russia.
However, the craft is gradually beginning to revive. There are a number of significant shifts in craft technology and production: the emergence of water mills, deep drilling salt wells, the beginning of the production of firearms, etc. In the XVI century. the process of differentiation of the craft is very intensive, workshops appear that carry out successive operations for the manufacture of a product. Handicraft production grew especially rapidly in Moscow and other major cities.
Marketable products circulated mainly in local markets, but the bread trade was already outgrowing their scope.
Many ancient trade relations have lost their former significance, but others have appeared, and trade with the countries of the West and the East is getting quite widespread. However, a feature of Russia's foreign trade was the high proportion of such handicrafts as furs and wax. The scale of commercial transactions was small, and the trade was carried out mainly by small traders. However, there were also rich merchants, who in the XIV-XV centuries. appear in sources under the name of guests or deliberate guests.
In the XIV century. patrimonial land tenure begins to develop.
In more favorable terms turned out to be a church patrimony. After the invasion, the church enjoyed the support of the khans, who showed religious tolerance and pursued a flexible policy in the conquered lands.
From the middle of the XIV century. in monasteries there is a transition from a "cell" charter to a "communal" one - the monastic commune, which had collective property, was replacing the lives of monks in separate cells with a separate meal and household.
Russian state Troubles of the novels
Over time, the head of the Russian Church, the Metropolitan, who was in charge of a ramified and multifunctional economy, also became a major landowner. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history: A complete course of lectures: In 2 kn .: Book. 1. - Minsk: Harvest, Moscow: AST, 2000. - 1056 p. - Classics of historical thought.
However, the main body of land in the XIV-XV centuries. constituted the so-called black volosts - a kind of state land, the manager of which was the prince, and the peasants considered it "God, sovereign and their own." In the XVI century. from the array of black lands, "palace lands" are gradually emerging, and the Grand Duke becomes one of the largest landowners. But another process was more important - the collapse of the black volost due to the distribution of land to church and secular landowners.
The estate, which has become widespread since the end of the 15th century. and becomes the economic and social support of power until later times.
Before the wide spread of the estate, the main income of the boyars consisted of all kinds of feeding and maintenance, i.e. remuneration for the performance of administrative, judicial and other socially useful functions. Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century. Book I. M., 2001. - 347 p.
Remnants of the former princely families, boyars, "landowners" are gradually forming the backbone of the "upper class". The bulk of the population in the XIV-XV centuries. still constituted free people, who received the name "peasants".
The peasants, even finding themselves within the framework of the patrimony, enjoyed the right of free transition, which is formalized as large land tenure developed and is included in the first all-Russian Code of Laws of 1497. This is the famous St. George's Day - the norm according to which peasants, having paid the so-called elderly, could transfer from one landowner to another.
V worse situation there were dependent peasants: ladles and silverware. Apparently, both of them found themselves in such a difficult life situation that they had to take out loans and then work them off. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history: A complete course of lectures: In 2 kn .: Book. 1. - Minsk: Harvest, Moscow: AST, 2000. - 1056 p. - Classics of historical thought.
The main labor force of the patrimony was still serfs. However, the number of bonded slaves decreased, and the contingent of bonded slaves increased, i.e. people who have become enslaved by the so-called service bondage.
At the end of the XVI century. the process of intensive enslavement of the peasants begins. Some years are declared "reserved", i.e. during these years, the transition to St. George's Day is prohibited. However, the main way of enslaving the peasants is becoming "regular summer", that is. the term of the search for fugitive peasants, which is becoming more and more lengthy. It should also be borne in mind that from the very beginning the process of enslavement captured not only the peasants, but also the townspeople of the country.
The townspeople - black townspeople - are united in the so-called black township community, which existed in archaic forms in Russia until the 18th century. Arslanov R.A., V.V. Kerov, M.N. Moseikina, T.M. Smirnov. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 20th century. A guide for applicants to universities. - 2000 519 s.
Another important feature that characterizes the estates of the East Slavic lands of that time is their service character. All of them had to perform one or another official function in relation to the state.
