Which has developed along with world civilization. It was the time of the Great Ones geographical discoveries(America was discovered in 1493), the beginning of the era of capitalism in European countries (the first bourgeois revolution in Europe, 1566-1609, began in the Netherlands). But development The Russian state took place in rather peculiar conditions. There was a process of developing new territories in Siberia, the Volga region, Wild Field (on the Dnieper, Don, Middle and Lower Volga, Yaik rivers), the country had no outlet to the seas, the economy was subsistence farming, based on the dominance of the feudal order of the boyar patrimony. On the southern outskirts of Russia in the second half of the 16th century, Cossacks began to appear (from fugitive peasants).
By the end of the 16th century, there were approximately 220. The largest of them was Moscow, and the most important and developed were Kazan and, and Tula, Astrakhan, etc. Production was closely related to the availability of local raw materials and was of a natural geographical character, for example, leather production was developed in Yaroslavl and Kazan, and in Vologda, a large number of salt, Tula and Novgorod specialized in the production of metal. In Moscow, stone construction was carried out, the Cannon Yard, the Cloth Yard, and the Armory were built.
An outstanding event in the history of Russia in the 16th century was the emergence of Russian book printing (in 1564 the book "Apostle" was published). The church had a great influence on the spiritual life of society. In painting, creativity was a model; the architecture of that time was characterized by the construction of hipped-roof temples (without pillars, holding only on the foundation) - St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, the Church of the Ascension in the village of Kolomenskoye, the Church of John the Baptist in the village of Dyakovo.
The 16th century in the history of Russia is the century of the reign of the "talented villain" Ivan the Terrible.
In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, a great-grandson ruled (1462-1505). He called himself the "Sovereign of All Russia" or "Caesar". Took on a two-headed eagle. The two heads of the eagle said that Russia was turned to the East and to the West, and the eagle was standing with one mighty paw in Europe, and the other in Asia.
believed that Moscow should become the third Rome, and all the Russian lands that were previously part of it should unite around it.
In 1497 he publishes the first Russian Code of Laws - a set of basic laws. In the Sudebnik, the position of the peasantry was consolidated (the peasants had the right to change their place of residence on St. George's Day (November 26), but in fact the peasants were attached to the land. Since it was possible to buy 14 poods of honey for a ruble in the 15-16th century, it was not easy to collect it. in the 16th century, almost all peasants became serfs.
Ivan III overthrew the Mongol-Tatar rule (1480) and did it as an experienced politician. He stopped feuds on, creates a professional army. So, a forged army appears - infantry, dressed in metal armor; artillery (Russian cannons "Unicorn" were the best for three hundred years); squeakers (squeaked - firearms, but they beat close, a maximum of 100 m).
Ivan III overcame feudal fragmentation. The Novgorod Republic, together with the Moscow principality, remained an independent entity, but in 1478 its independence was abolished, in 1485 it was annexed to the Russian state, and in 1489 - Vyatka.
In 1510, during the reign of the son of Ivan III, (1505-1533) the republic ceased to exist, and in 1521 - the Ryazan principality. The unification of the Russian lands was basically completed. According to the German ambassador, none of the Western European monarchs could compare with the Moscow sovereign in the full power over his subjects. Well, the grandson of Ivan III, more than anyone else in the grand-ducal family, has earned his nickname - Terrible.
When Ivan was three years old, his father died in 1533, Grand Duke Vasily III. Mother, Elena Glinskaya, the second wife of Vasily III, did not pay attention to her son. She decided to eliminate all pretenders to the Russian throne: the brothers Vasily III - Prince Yuri Ivanovich and Andrei Ivanovich, her uncle Mikhail Glinsky. Prince Ivan Fedorovich Ovchina-Telepnev-Obolensky became Elena's support. When Ivan was 8 years old, his mother was poisoned (April 3, 1538). Over the next eight years, the boyars (Shuisky, Glinsky, Belsky) ruled instead, they fought for influence on Ivan, but did not particularly burden themselves with caring for the child. As a result, Ivan falls ill with paranoia; from the age of 12 he takes part in torture, and at the age of 16 he becomes the best master torture cases. 
In 1546 Ivan, not satisfied with the title of grand duke, wished to become tsar. The emperors of Byzantium and Germany, as well as the khans of the Great Horde, were called tsars in Russia before. Therefore, having become a tsar, Ivan rose above numerous princes; showed the independence of Russia from the Horde; rose on the same level with the German emperor.
At the age of 16, they decide to marry Ivan. For this, up to one and a half thousand girls were gathered in the tower. They put 12 beds in each room, where they lived for about a month, and their life was reported to the king. After a month, the tsar went around the wards with gifts and chose Anastasia Romanova as his wife, who smiled at him.
In January 1547 Ivan was crowned king, and in March 1547 he was married to Anastasia. His wife replaced his parents, and he changed in better side.
In 1549, the tsar brought Alexei Fedorovich Adashev, Sylvester, the archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral closer to him, who entered the so-called. They helped initiate reforms.
In 1556, Ivan IV abolished feeding the boyars at the expense of funds from land management, which came to their personal disposal after the payment of taxes to the treasury. Ivan introduces local government, the whole state was divided into lips (districts), at the head of the lip was the headman. The laborer could be chosen from among the peasants, nobles, he could be influenced.
replaces (duplicates) the boyar duma, orders are obeyed to it. Order-"order" turns into order-institution. Military affairs were supervised by the Razryadny, Pushkarsky, Streletsky orders, the Armory. Foreign affairs were in charge of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, public finances - the order of the Big Parish, state lands - the Local Prikaz, serfs - the Serf Prikaz.
Ivan begins an attack on the boyars, restricts localism (he himself seated the boyars on benches around him), creates a new army of noble cavalry and archers (noblemen serve for a fee). This is almost 100 thousand people - the power on which Ivan IV relied.
In 1550 Ivan IV introduces a new Code of Law. The nobles receive equal rights with the boyars, it confirmed the right of the peasants to change their place of residence on St. George's Day, but the payment for the "elderly" was increased. For the first time in the Sudebnik, a punishment for bribery was established.
In 1560, Anastasia dies, the tsar becomes insane and he begins terror against his recent advisers - Adashev and Sylvester, since it is their king who blames sudden death Anastasia. Sylvester was tonsured in and exiled in. Alexei Adashev was sent as a voivode to (1558-1583), where he died. Repression fell upon other supporters of Adashev. And Ivan IV introduces.
Period - the second half of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The oprichnina terror was announced unexpectedly for both supporters and enemies of Ivan the Terrible.
In 1564, at night, with his retinue, children and the treasury, the tsar disappeared from the Kremlin. He went to and stated that he did not want to rule anymore. A month after his disappearance from Moscow, the tsar sent two letters:
One Boyar Duma, the Metropolitan, in which he accuses them of betrayal, unwillingness to serve him;
- the second to the townspeople, in which he announced that the boyars offend him, but he has no grudges against ordinary people, and the boyars are to blame for everything.
Thus, he wants to show the people who is to blame for all their troubles.
By his sudden departure, he ensured that his opponents were afraid of uncertainty, and the people with tears went to ask the king to return. Ivan the Terrible agreed, but with the terms:
1) the division of the country into two parts - zemstvo and oprichnina;
2) Tsar Ivan the Terrible is at the head of the Zemshchina, and the Grand Duke Ivan the Terrible is at the head of the Oprichnina.
In the oprichnina lands, he singled out the most developed regions and boyar lands. These lands were settled by those nobles who were part of the oprichnina army. The population of the Zemshchyna was supposed to support this army. armed the army and within 7 years this army destroys the boyars.
The meaning of the oprichnina was as follows:
- the establishment of autocracy through the destruction of the opposition (boyars);
- the elimination of the remnants of feudal fragmentation (finally conquers Novgorod);
- forms a new social base of autocracy - the nobility, i.e. these were people who were completely dependent on the king.
The destruction of the boyars was a means to achieve all these goals of Ivan the Terrible.
As a result of the oprichnina, Moscow weakened, Crimean Khan in 1571 he burned down the Moscow posad, which showed the inability of the oprichnina army to fight external enemies. As a result, the tsar canceled the oprichnina, forbade even mentioning this word, and in 1572 transformed it into the "Tsar's court". Before his death, he tried to reintroduce the oprichnina, but his guardsmen were unhappy with the tsar's policy and wanted stability. Ivan the Terrible destroys his army and dies at the age of 54, in 1584.
During the reign of Ivan IV, there were also merits. So, the red-brick Kremlin was built, but the builders were killed so that they could not build such beautiful buildings and temples anywhere else.
Results.
1.During the reign of Ivan IV, the country was destroyed, he actually arranged civil war... The central regions were depopulated, because people died (about 7 million people died an unnatural death).
2. The loss of foreign policy influence by Russia, it has become vulnerable. Ivan IV lost the Livonian War, and Poland and Sweden launched extensive activities to seize Russian territories.
3.Ivan the Terrible doomed not only six wives to death, but also destroyed his children. The heir, the son of Ivan, he killed in a fit of rage in 1581. After the death of the tsarevich, Ivan the Terrible thought to give up the throne and go to a monastery. He had something to worry about. The feeble-minded Fyodor, the son of Anastasia Romanova, the first wife of the tsar, became the heir to the throne. In addition to him, there was still Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of the last, sixth wife, Maria Nagoya, who in 1584 turned two years old.
Thus, after half a century of the rule of a tyrant, albeit a talented, but nevertheless a villain, power, unlimited by anyone and nothing, should have passed to a miserable person who was not capable of running the state. After Ivan IV, there was left a frightened, tormented, devastated country. The activity brought the country to the edge of the abyss, whose name is.
16th century in Russia - the time of the formation of the centralized It was during this period that feudal fragmentation was overcome - a process that characterizes the natural development of feudalism. Cities are growing, the population is increasing, trade and foreign policy relations are developing. Socio-economic changes lead to the inevitable intensive exploitation of the peasants and their subsequent enslavement.
The 16-17th century is not easy - this is the period of the formation of statehood, the formation of the foundations. Bloody events, wars, attempts to defend against the echoes of the Golden Horde and the Time of Troubles that followed, demanded a tough hand of government, the rallying of the people.
Formation of a centralized state
The preconditions for the unification of Rus and the overcoming of feudal fragmentation were outlined as early as the 13th century. This was especially noticeable in Vladimir principality located in the northeast. Development was interrupted by the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, which not only slowed down the process of unification, but also caused significant damage to the Russian people. The revival began only in the 14th century: restoration Agriculture, building cities, building economic ties... The principality of Moscow and Moscow were gaining more and more weight, the territory of which was gradually growing. The development of Russia in the 16th century followed the path of strengthening class contradictions. In order to subjugate the peasants, the feudal lords had to act as one, use new forms of political ties, and strengthen the central apparatus.
The second factor that contributed to the unification of principalities and the centralization of power is a vulnerable foreign policy position. To fight against foreign invaders and the Golden Horde, it was necessary to unite all. Only in this way were the Russians able to win a victory at the Kulikovo field and at the end of the 15th century. finally throw off the Tatar-Mongol oppression, which lasted more than two hundred years.
Education process united state expressed itself primarily in the unification of the territories of previously independent states into one great Moscow principality and in the change in the political organization of society, the nature of statehood. From a geographical point of view, the process was completed by the beginning of the 16th century, but the political apparatus was formed only by the second half of it.
Vasily III
We can say that the 16th century in Russian history began with the reign of Vasily III, who ascended the throne in 1505 at the age of 26. He was the second son of Ivan III the Great. The sovereign of all Russia was married twice. For the first time on the representative of the old boyar family Solomonia Saburova (pictured below - face reconstruction from the skull). The wedding took place on 04.09.1505, but for 20 years of marriage she never gave birth to an heir to him. The worried prince demanded a divorce. He quickly obtained the consent of the church and boyar duma... Such a case of an official divorce with the subsequent exile of his wife to a monastery is unprecedented in the history of Russia.
The second wife of the sovereign was Elena Glinskaya, who came from an old Lithuanian family. She bore him two sons. Widowed in 1533, she literally made a coup at court, and Russia in the 16th century for the first time received a ruler, however, not particularly popular with the boyars and the people.
In fact, it was a natural continuation of the actions of his father, which were entirely aimed at centralizing power and strengthening the authority of the church.
Domestic policy
Vasily III advocated unlimited power of the sovereign. In the fight against feudal fragmentation Rus and its supporters actively enjoyed the support of the church. Those who were disagreeable were easily dealt with by sending them into exile or executing them. The despotic character, noticeable even in his youth, was fully manifested. During the years of his reign, the importance of the boyars at the court fell significantly, but the landed nobility increased. When implementing church policy, he gave preference to the Josephites.
In 1497, Vasily III adopted a new Code of Law, based on Russian Truth, Charter and Judicial Charters, and court decisions on certain categories of issues. It was a set of laws and was created with the aim of systematizing and streamlining the existing rules of law at that time and was an important measure on the way to centralizing power. The sovereign actively supported the construction, during the years of his reign the Archangel Cathedral, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye, new settlements, fortresses and forts were erected. In addition, he actively, like his father, continued to "collect" Russian lands, annexing the Pskov Republic, Ryazan.
Relations with the Kazan Khanate under Vasily III
In the 16th century, or rather, in its first half, it is largely a reflection of the internal. The sovereign strove to unite as many lands as possible, to subordinate them to the central authority, which, in fact, can be considered as the conquest of new territories. Having put an end to the Golden Horde, Russia almost immediately launched an offensive against the khanates formed as a result of its disintegration. Turkey and the Crimean Khanate showed interest in Kazan, which was of great importance for Russia due to the fertility of the lands and their successful strategic location, as well as because of the constant threat of raids. In anticipation of the death of Ivan III in 1505, the Kazan Khan suddenly began a war that lasted until 1507. After several defeats, the Russians were forced to retreat and then make peace. History repeated itself in 1522-1523, and then in 1530-1531. The Kazan Khanate did not surrender until Ivan the Terrible came to the throne.
Russian-Lithuanian war
The main reason for the military conflict is the desire of the Moscow prince to conquer and take control of all Russian lands, as well as Lithuania's attempt to take revenge for the past defeat in 1500-1503, which cost it the loss of 1-3 parts of all territories. Russia in the 16th century, after Vasily III came to power, was in a rather difficult foreign policy situation. Suffering defeat from the Kazan Khanate, she was forced to confront the Lithuanian principality, which signed an anti-Russian agreement with the Crimean Khan.
The war began as a result of Vasily III's refusal to fulfill the ultimatum (return of land) in the summer of 1507 after the attack on the Chernigov and Bryansk lands of the Lithuanian army and on the Verkhovsk principalities - Crimean Tatars... In 1508, the rulers began negotiations and concluded a peace agreement, according to which Lublich and the surrounding area were returned to the Lithuanian principality.
War 1512-1522 became a natural continuation of previous conflicts over territory. Despite the concluded peace, relations between the parties were extremely tense, robberies and clashes at the borders continued. The reason for active action death served grand duchess Lithuanian and sister of Vasily III Helena Ivanovna. Lithuanian principality concluded another alliance with the Crimean Khanate, after which the latter began to make numerous raids in 1512. The Russian prince declared war on Sigismund I and advanced his main forces to Smolensk. In the following years, a number of hikes were undertaken with varying success. One of the largest battles took place near Orsha on September 8, 1514. In 1521, both sides had other foreign policy problems, and they were forced to conclude peace for 5 years. According to the agreement, Russia in the 16th century received the Smolensk lands, but at the same time refused Vitebsk, Polotsk and Kiev, as well as the return of prisoners of war.
Ivan IV (the Terrible)
Vasily III died of illness when his eldest son was only 3 years old. Foreseeing his imminent demise and the subsequent struggle for the throne (at that time the sovereign had two younger brothers Andrei Staritsky and Yuri Dmitrovsky), he formed a "seven-member" commission of boyars. They were the ones who were supposed to save Ivan until his 15th birthday. In fact, the board of trustees was in power for about a year, and then began to fall apart. Russia in the 16th century (1545) received a full-fledged ruler and the first tsar in its history in the person of Ivan IV, known throughout the world as the Terrible. The photo above is a reconstruction of the shape of the skull.
It is impossible not to mention his family. Historians differ in numbers, naming the names of 6 or 7 women who were considered the wives of the king. Some died a mysterious death, others were exiled to a monastery. Ivan the Terrible had three children. The elders (Ivan and Fedor) were born from the first wife, and the youngest (Dmitry Uglitsky) from the last one - M.F. Naga, who played a big role in the history of the country during the time of troubles.
Reforms of Ivan the Terrible
The internal policy of Russia in the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible was still aimed at centralizing power, as well as building important state institutions. To this end, together with " Chosen Rada The tsar carried out a number of reforms. The most significant are the following.
- Organization Zemsky Cathedral in 1549 as the highest estate-representative institution. All estates were represented in it, with the exception of the peasantry.
- Adoption of a new code of law in 1550, which continued the policy of the previous normative legal act, and also for the first time legalized a single unit for measuring taxes.
- Lip and zemstvo reforms in the early 50s of the 16th century.
- Formation of a system of orders, including Chelobitny, Streletsky, Printing, etc.
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Russia's foreign policy developed in three directions: the southern - the fight against the Crimean Khanate, the eastern - the expansion of the state's borders, and the western - the struggle for access to the Baltic Sea.
In the east
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Astrakhan and Kazan khanates created a constant threat to the Russian lands, the Volga trade route was concentrated in their hands. In total, I. the Terrible undertook three campaigns against Kazan, as a result of the latter it was taken by storm (1552). After 4 years Astrakhan was annexed, in 1557 voluntarily joined the Russian state most of Bashkiria and Chuvashia, and then the Nogai Horde recognized its dependence. So the bloody story ended. Russia at the end of the 16th century opened its way to Siberia. Wealthy industrialists, who received letters from the tsar for the ownership of lands along the Tobol River, at their own expense equipped a detachment of free Cossacks, headed by Ermak.
In the West
In an attempt to gain access to the Baltic Sea for 25 years (1558-1583), Ivan IV fought the exhausting Livonian War. Its beginning was accompanied by successful campaigns for the Russians, 20 cities were taken, including Narva and Dorpat, the troops were approaching Tallinn and Riga. The Livonian Order was defeated, but the war became protracted, as several European states... The unification of Lithuania and Poland into the Rzeczpospolita was of great importance. The situation broke in reverse side and after a long confrontation in 1582 an armistice was concluded for 10 years. A year later, it was concluded according to which Russia lost Livonia, but returned all the captured cities except Polotsk.
On South
In the south, the Crimean Khanate, formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde, was still haunted. The main task of the state in this direction was to strengthen the borders from the raids of the Crimean Tatars. For these purposes, actions were taken to develop the Wild Field. The first notch lines began to appear, that is, defensive lines from the debris of the forest, in the intervals of which there were wooden forts (fortresses), in particular, Tula and Belgorod.
Tsar Fedor I
Ivan the Terrible died on March 18, 1584. The circumstances of the royal illness are questioned by historians to this day. His son ascended the throne, having received this right after the death of the eldest son of Ivan. According to Grozny himself, he was rather a hermit and fasting person, more suitable for church services than for reign. Historians are generally inclined to believe that he was weak in health and mind. The new tsar took little part in governing the state. He was under the tutelage of first boyars and nobles, and then his enterprising brother-in-law Boris Godunov. The first reigned, and the second ruled, and everyone knew that. Fedor I died on January 7, 1598, leaving no offspring and thus interrupting the Moscow dynasty of Rurikovich.
Russia at the turn of the 16-17 centuries was experiencing a deep socio-economic and political crisis, whose growth was facilitated by the protracted Livonian War, the oprichnina and the Tatar invasion. All these circumstances ultimately led to the Time of Troubles, which began with the struggle for the emptied royal throne.
In the first half of the 16th century, the Russian economy developed upward. At this time, Russia did not wage ruinous wars - neither external nor internal civil wars. At that time, only clashes with the Tatars on the southern and eastern borders demanded a great exertion of forces.
At this time, the specialization of regions in the production of one type of goods is outlined. First of all, this applies to areas where salt is mined and fishing for sale. Salt production develops in Staraya Russa, Salt Vychegodskaya, Salt Kama, Salt Galich, Kostroma. The Pskov land was defined as the center of flax growing, where the commercial production of linen and linen took shape. Yaroslavl became a major center for leather processing, and Novgorod for metalworking. At the end of the 16th century, there were over 230 iron workers there. At the same time, the famous iron-making center was formed in the Serpukhov-Tula region.
Handicraft production was concentrated mainly in cities. The largest cities in terms of population in the middle of the 16th century were: Moscow (100 thousand people), Novgorod (about 25 thousand people), Mozhaisk (about 6 thousand people), Kolomna (3 thousand people). Moscow is gradually becoming not only the administrative, but also the economic center of the state. Simultaneously with the cities, smaller trade and craft settlements - "posadi", "ryadki" are growing. Such settlements often had their own narrow specialization. Subsequently, many of them turned into cities. A network of small "torzhoks" began to form, located at monasteries or in villages and settlements.
The main product on domestic market there was bread. Posad people, peasants, monasteries took part in the grain trade. Fish and salt were also important commodities. The northern monasteries, Solovetsky and Spaso-Prilutsky, specialized in salt trade, which had sources of salt extraction in their possessions. The growth of economic ties was facilitated by fairs, usually organized in cities and monasteries. The monasteries were interested in having fairs near the monastery walls, since customs revenues were partially transferred to their treasury.
In the middle of the 16th century, attempts were made to streamline the collection of various duties related to trade and the transport of goods. In the era of fragmentation, each of the principalities and lands had its own procedure for collecting trade and travel duties. Now unified norms are being introduced and the concept of a “state border”, common for the whole country, is being established. Measures are being taken to prevent illegal (duty-free) import and export of goods: "along the Lithuanian, German, and Tatar frontiers, strong outposts, and the turnout and wash are good ... breach of everything, and inspect both fugitive people and protected goods."
In the 16th century, foreign trade flourishes, which becomes the most important state affairs... After the capture of Narva by Russian troops in 1558, it became the gate through which Russian goods went to the countries Western Europe... Flax, hemp, lard were exported from Russia, and lead, sulfur, tin, copper, and cloth were imported.
To attract foreign merchants (and, therefore, an influx of precious metals) the Russian government was ready to make big concessions. In 1554, the Englishman Richard Chancellor, in search of a way to the east through the northern seas, arrived at the mouth of the Northern Dvina. He visited Moscow, was received by Ivan the Terrible and spent several months in the capital. This expedition laid the foundation for the development of direct relations between Russia and the Western states. The city of Arkhangelsk at the mouth of the Northern Dvina for a century and a half became the focus of Russia's foreign trade.
Ivan the Terrible had great sympathy for England, which, due to its remoteness from Russia, seemed to him a friendly country. An English trading company received great benefits in Russia: exemption from the payment of duties, free passage through Russian lands to the East, complete internal self-government.
Russia's eastern foreign trade also flourished. Furs, leather, products of Russian jewelers were exported to Turkey. Silk, pearls and spices were brought from there. Crimea played an intermediary role in this trade. Another eastern neighbor of Russia, the Nogai Horde, supplied great amount horses. There were connections with the Central Asian and Transcaucasian countries, although the Kazan Khanate significantly hindered these contacts.
Russia at that time also knew the "eternal" economic problems faced by the population: rising prices and rising taxes. Over the course of the 16th century, prices for agricultural and handicraft products increased by about three to four times. This increase took place in several stages: the 1920s and 1930s, the second half of the 1950s and the very end of the 1970s and 1980s. At the end of the 15th century, the unit of taxation in Russia was a certain amount of cultivated arable land. Since the middle of the 16th century it has been the so-called “big Moscow plow”. Depending on the number of "sokh" from the landowner, the main state tax was collected - tribute.
After the reform of local government in the middle of the 16th century, the peasant population began to pay a quitrent, which was used to pay service people. In addition, the main state taxes included "polyanny money" (they were used to ransom prisoners), "pososnaya service" (support for military campaigns) and "city affairs" (repair and construction of city fortifications).
Since the late 1560s in economic life recession begins. The situation in the 1570s and 1580s is usually characterized as an economic crisis. By the mid-1580s, almost the entire territory of the country, to one degree or another, was “empty”. The population decline by 60-80% in different regions of the country meant the cessation of tax revenues. The ruin began with a poor harvest in 1570, and soon the country was seized by a strong pestilence. It was one of those terrible epidemics of the Middle Ages that occurred about once every 100 years. Even after more than ten years, many villages that were deserted during the years of the plague continued to remain uninhabited. Oprichnina pogroms and redistribution of land also completed the devastation of the rural population.
The events associated with the Livonian War had grave consequences for the socio-economic situation of the country. In those territories where hostilities were waged, Polish-Lithuanian soldiers killed peasants and burned villages. Was connected with the needs of the war and extremely fast growth taxes and levies, which became an unbearable burden for the peasants. From the middle of the century to the 70s, the state rent doubled, and from the early 70s to the early 80s - by another 80%. Emergency taxes began to be collected annually - "polyanny money", "penny money". On the lands of the black-moss (state) peasants, the so-called "tithe arable land" was established: each peasant had to plow four tithes of land per sovereign.
During the reign of Tsar Fedor (1584-1598), there is some economic recovery. Some of the peasants who fled to the outskirts return to their former places of residence, begin to rebuild yards, and cultivate arable land. But the subsequent events of the Time of Troubles swept away these achievements of the government.
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. Here was the most high density population - 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. The same natural, economic and other conditions helped to create some common features in his occupations and character, in family and social life. In sum, all these common features and made up the national characteristics of the population of the north-east of Russia. Moscow in the minds of the people has become 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: Complete course 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 large place in agriculture. The role of animal husbandry was also great in those northern latitudes where little bread was sown. Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. History of Russia from ancient times to late XVI 1st 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 a big part in life Eastern Slavs played ancient crafts: 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, start of production 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.
The church estates turned out to be in more favorable conditions. 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.
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.
Monasteries played the most important role in the process of settlement and development of new territories by the people. Despite the fact that the economy retains its natural character, in some areas arable farming and productive cattle breeding takes its development.
There is an active development of industry and handicrafts, centers of iron production. Although shopping center sparsely populated cities remain, and the number of trading 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 the Grand Duke himself. In the field of commodity education, products of the fishing industry and handicrafts were listed. International trade 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 cruel 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. V legally 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. The Time of Troubles and its Consequences The beginning of the 17th century is characterized by an extreme exacerbation of social and political contradictions caused and humbled 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 deficit work force the government in 1597 prohibits the peasant transition on St. George's Day and announces a five-year period 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 very 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 a second militia is formed, headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and the 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.
