Russian culture during the period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Tatars: Material culture of the Tatars of Genghis Khan

The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused serious damage to Russian culture. Military defeat, heavy tribute, and the deportation of masters significantly impoverished the cultural process. However, the tradition did not stop. Moreover, one can hardly talk about any noticeable influence Mongolian culture into Russian, especially at first. For a long time The steppe world of the nomadic Mongols and the world of the cities of the Slavic farmers existed estrangedly; it took more than one century for mutual rapprochement.

First of all, the influence Tatar-Mongol yoke had an impact on literature.

The Battle of Kulikovo was a natural result and a striking manifestation of the socio-economic and political development of Russian lands in the 14th century. The works of literature and art dedicated to her in a bright, distinct form revealed the main ideas and moods that determined the character of Russian social thought of that period.

The Battle of Kulikovo and related events accelerated the formation of the ideology of a single centralized state. The ideological richness of the monuments allows us to assert that from the end of the 14th century. A new stage in the development of Russian social thought began. Its development in the second half of the XIV-XV centuries. was determined by the main factor in the political life of Rus' - the existence of the Mongol- Tatar yoke. Understanding the reasons for the establishment of the yoke, the search for ways to revive the country, and the glorification of the first successes in the fight against enslavers constitute the main content of Russian social thought of the 13th-15th centuries. Its development in the second half of the XIII-XV centuries. Accordingly, the changes in attitude towards the main issue - the issue of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the national revival - can be divided into three stages.

The first stage, which lasted approximately until the beginning of the 14th century, is characterized by the absence of any coherent political theory, any consistently pursued socio-political idea. Grief over the death of Rus' and a deepening sense of national dignity constitute the main content of the monuments created during this period.

At the second stage, the ideology of new political centers, especially Moscow and Tver, is gradually formed, a slow gathering of the spiritual forces of the people occurs, which served as one of the foundations for the national upsurge of the late XIV - early XV centuries. These theories could not, of course, be of an openly anti-Horde nature, but their very appearance meant new step in the spiritual revival of the country.

The Battle of Kulikovo and the national upsurge that accompanied it determined the beginning of a new, third, stage in the development of Russian medieval thought. The idea of ​​the unity of all Russian principalities triumphs. The most developed and proved its vitality and strength during the events of 1380. the idea of ​​Moscow's priority in the Russian lands, one of the main grounds of which is Moscow's leading role in the struggle to overthrow the Horde yoke, becomes the core of Russian social thought of the next century. The idea of ​​readiness for self-sacrifice in open armed struggle triumphs in literature. The main idea of ​​all literary monuments becomes the thought of the unity of the Russian land as the basis for victory over the enemy.

One of the first responses to what happened was “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu.” The “Tale” describes the death of Ryazan and the family of Ryazan princes. The Mongol invasion was perceived by contemporaries as the end of the world, as “the great final destruction.” Hence the tragedy that fills the works of that period. The motive of heroic death is the leading one in literature devoted to invasion. The call for unity is the ideological core of all editions of “The Chronicle Tale”, “Zadonshchina”, “The Tale of Mamaev's massacre" The theme of heroism, military glory, and the ideals of military valor, traditional for ancient Russian literature, sounded with particular force. These ideals were reflected in such earlier literary works of the period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke as “The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk”, “The Life of Alexander Nevsky”, the chronicle story “about the battle on the Vozhzha River”, as well as in folklore. Memories of the Mamaev Massacre remained forever in the memory of the people. The bright ideals of selfless service and self-sacrifice, created by the intense spiritual work of the best people of that time Rus', were sealed with the blood of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo and therefore gained strength and indestructibility.

The Tatar-Mongol yoke had a great impact on the development of architecture. The establishment of the Mongol-Tatar yoke led to a long decline in stone construction in almost all Russian lands. Even in the first half of the 14th century. In northeastern Rus', the construction of a stone temple was an outstanding event that attracted everyone's attention. The ideological and political “load” of each monument has increased sharply. The great political significance of the construction of each stone church and the memorial nature of architectural monuments were especially clearly manifested in Moscow construction in the second half of the 14th - early 15th centuries.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion and the establishment of a foreign yoke influenced the development of Russian architecture in many ways. The construction of cities, both in Mongolia itself and in the Golden Horde, was carried out only to a small extent by Russian builders. What was much more difficult was the fact that the Mongols, in various ways, pumped out of the Russian land a huge part of its wealth. Terrible impoverishment, the constant threat of a repeat invasion—these were the main factors that “froze” the development of Russian architecture in the 13th century. Architecture, which needed security and peace more than other types of art, suffered most from the Mongol conquest...

The difficult economic situation of the Russian lands and the decline in the skill of architects lead to the fact that the construction of the XIV-XV centuries. (before Ivan III) does not go beyond the framework of pillarless or four-pillar churches. The almost complete cessation of stone construction, as well as later the spasmodic nature of its revival, practically destroyed the possibility of consistent development of compositional and decorative solutions, due to the presence of continuous construction practice. The extreme scarcity of temples erected during the period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke led to a sharp increase in the ideological significance of each of them. Over the course of two and a half centuries of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, Russian architecture was invariably associated with the struggle for national liberation.

In 1374, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, cousin and faithful associate of Dmitry Donskoy, built a wooden fortress in Serpukhov. In 1380, just before the Battle of Kulikovo, the wooden Trinity Cathedral was solemnly consecrated in the Serpukhov Kremlin. The dedication of this temple seemed to call for unity, for feat. Simultaneously with the construction of the Serpukhov Kremlin, by order of Vladimir Andreevich, the Vysotsky Monastery was founded near the city, which strengthened the defensive potential of Serpukhov. The cathedral of the new monastery was dedicated to the Conception of Anna. The cult of Anna, mother of the Virgin Mary, was integral part the cult of the Mother of God, which since the time of Kalita has taken on the character of an official Moscow cult. In 1379, construction began on the stone Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna. In the same year, Sergius of Radonezh founded a monastery, which was also dedicated to the Dormition. In Moscow itself, in 1379, the Assumption Cathedral of the Simonov Monastery was founded. Such dedication of Moscow and Moscow region cathedrals, built or founded on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, apparently was caused not only by the special political significance of the cult of the Mother of God for Moscow. It also had an effect that the battle on the Vozha River took place a few days before the Assumption of the Mother of God was celebrated.

The stagnation of construction in the Moscow lands, caused primarily by the temporary strengthening of the Horde yoke in the 80s of the 14th century, continued until the early 90s.

Since the beginning of the 90s, the international situation has been developing more favorably for Moscow. The time of relative “silence” (90s of the 14th century) was marked primarily by construction in the Moscow Kremlin. This construction had a clear ideological orientation and continued the connection between Moscow stone construction and the armed struggle against the Horde yoke that arose in the 70s.

The first, at the very beginning of the 90s, was the Church of the Annunciation, built in honor of the reconciliation of the princes after numerous strife on the feast of the Annunciation. The Annunciation Church was, as it were, a symbol of unity, the subordination of selfish interests to a common cause, which made it possible to defeat the Horde on the Kulikovo Field.

In 1392, at the direction of Vasily I, the Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna was painted. Large, expensive paintings were still rare in Moscow at that time. By decorating the temple, the history of which was reminiscent of the Battle of Kulikovo, with paintings, the young Moscow prince demonstrated his loyalty to the heroic liberation tradition and his respect for the memory of his father.

The connection between Moscow architecture and the struggle for the liberation of Rus' from the Horde yoke remained until the end of the 15th century. The memorial character of stone churches, which received special development in connection with the struggle for national independence in the 14th-15th centuries, became a characteristic feature of Russian architecture in subsequent centuries.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke slowed down the development of ancient Russian painting for more than a century. The question of direct or indirect reflection of the struggle against the Golden Horde yoke in Russian medieval painting- one of the most complex and little-studied issues in the history of Russian art. Determining the influence of the Horde yoke on the development of ancient Russian painting is an extremely difficult task, firstly, due to the almost complete absence of precisely dated paintings of this period, and secondly, due to the very nature of medieval painting, based on the creation of an extremely generalized image-sign, like a rule that does not accept any momentary traits.

Trying to connect the appearance of new images and moods in painting with reality, to find specific historical content in these images, the researcher constantly risks falling into simplification and being accused of vulgarizing the history of ancient Russian painting. And yet, the traditional interpretation of the development of Russian medieval painting as a closed process, subordinate only to its internal laws, is gradually giving way to more or less successful attempts to better understand the language of colors, images and symbols, to find hidden connections between painting and the living reality of Rus'.

The influence of the Battle of Kulikovo on the work of artists of that time can be seen in a number of paintings associated with the Principality of Moscow. The icon “Archangel Michael”, apparently painted for the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, erected in 1394 in the Moscow Kremlin, became a kind of picturesque hymn to the Battle of Kulikovo. The pathos of the icon corresponded to the ideological orientation of the construction of the temple, the dedication of which was reminiscent of the day of September 8, 1380. The angry archangel with a raised sword, depicted in the center of the icon, can be recognized as a classic symbol of the heroic period of the history of Moscow Rus'.

The drama of the Golden Horde era determined, according to researchers, the high emotional tension of the images of the “Assumption of the Mother of God” icon, written on the reverse side of the famous “Our Lady of the Don”. The same symbolism can be seen in the surviving fragments of the paintings of the Zvenigorod cathedrals. On the pillars of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Gorodok there are images of Florus and Laurus placed in circles, contemporary with the construction of the temple. Images of Florus and Laurus, patrons of horse breeding, as well as the equestrian army, are rare in Moscow art of that time. Their appearance in the paintings of the Assumption Cathedral is apparently connected with memories of the Battle of Kulikovo: on the day of remembrance of Florus and Laurus, August 18, 1380, Sergius of Radonezh, according to the “Tale of the Massacre of Mamai,” blessed Dmitry Donskoy for the battle with Mamai.

In order to better understand the historical significance of another monument of Moscow painting of the late 14th century. - Deesis tier from the current iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, let us once again turn to the political history of Rus' during this period. The end of the 90s of the 14th century. was full of war worries. Two huge armies were amassing to the south and west of the borders of Muscovite Rus'. It was assumed that a great duel between Lithuania and the Horde was being prepared. However, no one could be sure how events would develop. The events of 1395 were fresh in everyone’s memory, when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, having spread rumors that he was going to war against Timur, the new master of the Golden Horde, actually moved to Russian lands and took possession of Smolensk. They also remembered the events of 1380, when the alliance of the Horde and Lithuanian princes against Rus' became a formidable political reality. The danger was especially great from the west, where a powerful anti-Russian coalition was clearly taking shape. The Russian land was preparing for the fight. It was necessary again, as before the Battle of Kulikovo, to inspire people to a feat of arms. This purpose was served not only by the Mozhaisk-Zvenigorod construction, but also by the painting of the Grand Ducal Cathedral, dedicated to the leader of the heavenly army, Michael the Archangel, completed in 1399 by Theophanes the Greek. In this regard, the Deesis order of the current iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin deserves special attention. Let us turn to the images of Dmitry of Thessaloniki and St. George the Victorious, the images of which were included in the Deesis rite. The popularity of George at the end of the 14th century. in the princely environment, they sometimes explain the name to the second son of Dmitry Donskoy, Yuri Zvenigorodsky, or, justifying the appearance of George in the Deesis rite of the Annunciation Cathedral, they point to his name to Kalita’s elder brother Yuri Danilovich. All these interpretations cause whole line questions. However, everything falls into place if we assume that Vasily I Dmitrievich considered George his heavenly patron, with whose memorial day some important events in his life were associated.

It is possible that Vasily, like some other Russian princes, had two Christian names: Vasily and George. The second name was not mentioned by chroniclers in order to avoid confusion between Vasily I and his brother Yuri of Zvenigorod. It is significant that Vasily I named his first-born, born almost a month before the spring St. George’s Day, George. Basil I's veneration of St. George the Victorious as his own personal patron the language of religious symbols, generally understood in Ancient Rus', expressed the idea of ​​​​the continuity of his policies in relation to the policies of his father. The image of George directly recalled the heroic times of the Battle of Kulikovo. Gradually it became a symbol of the military valor of Muscovites. It was this idea of ​​the continuity of the heroic deeds of the son and father, loyalty to the glorious memory of the Battle of Kulikovo that found its expression in the appearance of the images of George and Dmitry in the Deesis rite of the Annunciation Cathedral and, following it, in other prominent Deesis ranks of the time of Vasily I.

The history of painting in the era of Vasily I is unthinkable without the name of Andrei Rublev. The literature dedicated to Rublev is truly immense. And yet the connection between the work of the great artist and the living, suffering and jubilant Russia of the late XIV - early XV centuries. remains completely undisclosed. It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast than the horror of the Tatar pogroms and the silent conversation of the angels of Rublev’s “Trinity”. And yet Rublev’s painting is a product of its time. Moreover, it is a kind of result of one and a half centuries of Russian history. Rublev's paintings do not fit into the dark and cramped cells of Moscow hesychasts. It is more significant than just a “call for unity” of warring appanage uncles and nephews from time immemorial. And although this painting is vitally connected with its time, its historicism lies in the fact that it is, first of all, the product of an entire period in the history of Rus' - the period of the struggle against the Horde yoke.

Rublev, like any great artist, carried the burden of the history of his people on his shoulders. And his merit is that he was able to understand and express the most tragic and at the same time the most heroic period of this history. Rublev's "Trinity" is the work of a spiritually free person. And this is its enormous historical value.

This was the view of the best people of a whole generation, that generation that led an open struggle for the liberation of the Motherland from the hated Golden Horde yoke.

The beginning of the Vladimir paintings partly allows us to understand what thoughts took possession of the artist when he entered the arches of the ancient Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and found himself alone with the majestic images of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' that disappeared in the fire of the Horde pogroms. The work of Rublev and Daniil Cherny in Vladimir was the first time that the artists of Muscovite Rus' came face to face with the works of their great predecessors. This obliged them to realize historical significance almost two centuries that have passed since the times of Vsevolod the Big Nest and Yuri Vladimirsky. And having begun their work, the artists thereby, as it were, expressed the result of their thoughts - the firm belief that the shrine that had finally been acquired - the freedom of the native land from the foreign yoke - would never be lost.

The impact of the Battle of Kulikovo on the development of Russian culture was profound and varied. The main ideas of that era were the ideas of unity, the heroic struggle for the Russian land, the revival of the Kyiv and Vladimir historical and cultural traditions- found vivid embodiment in a variety of monuments of literature and art. The development of these areas of spiritual culture proceeded in close connection with the struggle for national liberation. The Battle of Kulikovo filled it with new historical content and gave a special patriotic flavor to the traditional images and subjects of ancient Russian art.

Thus, despite the heroic resistance of the Russian people, Rus' was devastated by the Mongols and was deprived of: old cities and urban culture; a number of crafts; many princes, a strong squad; opportunities for democratic development. The whirlwind of the Mongol invasion wiped out wonderful monuments of ancient Russian culture from the face of the earth, because... the works of ancient Russian architects, artists, chroniclers and artisans about whom songs and legends were composed and chronicles were written were destroyed in the fires. Many talented craftsmen were taken into Horde captivity, and there was no one to pass on to new generations the traditions of crafts and architecture that had accumulated over many years. And the consequences, according to historians, were quite depressing for our country: the population of Rus' decreased; out of 74 cities, 49 were destroyed by Batu, life was not restored in 14, and many turned into villages; trade relations suffered, which led to the decline of crafts; Most of the Russian craftsmen were driven away to the Golden Horde.

If during Kievan Rus the basis of economic development was foreign trade and exploitation natural resources, then by the end of the XII-XIII centuries. the economy reoriented towards agricultural production within the framework of the feudal fiefdom. This had a negative impact on the level of entrepreneurial activity. Even greater damage was caused by the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted almost two and a half centuries.

Villages and cities were destroyed, including a number of large economic centers: Vladimir, Ryazan, Tver, Suzdal, Kyiv. A significant part of the working population and means of production were destroyed. The payment of tribute meant the regular withdrawal of a significant part of the gross product. The center of economic life has shifted to the northeast; which significantly changed the economy and life. Traditional foreign economic relations have sharply decreased. Critical incentives have been undermined economic activity: prosperity could only increase the tribute to the Golden Horde. The destruction (during the first period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion) of most of the large trading cities, the periodic deportations of skilled artisans to the Horde led to the decline of Russian crafts, and some of the industries were no longer revived (filigree, stone carving, etc.). Agriculture suffered significantly less trade and crafts. Its extensive development continued, and as a result, it gradually became a leading sector of the economy. It was during the Mongol period that Russia became predominantly agrarian. The center of trade entrepreneurship remained in the north-west, where it survived the Tatar-Mongol invasion Velikiy Novgorod. On the one hand, the difficult natural conditions that hampered the development played a certain role. Agriculture in these parts. The forested, swampy area, in which meadows and deciduous trees were rarely found in those days, was absolutely impassable for the equestrian Tatar hordes, who did not find enough food for their horses. The Tatars tried twice to conquer the Novgorod lands, and both times were unsuccessful. On the other hand, the Novgorodians, who had significant experience in dealing with eastern nomads, developed during the Volga trade, were able to diplomatically establish relations with the Golden Horde. Gifts to the khans and their entourage allowed Novgorod to get rid of oppression and even maintain the former freedom of trade on the Volga. Having lost practically nothing, during the period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke Novgorod managed to achieve the highest prosperity, remaining in fact the only major intermediary between Western and North-Eastern Europe, and partly Asia.

Thus, the center of Russian entrepreneurship during the period of the Mongol-Tatar conquest remained in Veliky Novgorod. Novgorod trade was based on the following principles: exploitation of the richest forestry industries of Northern Rus'; purchasing raw materials throughout Rus' for export to Hanseatic cities; close ties with the Hanseatic League; trade with the Volga region.

Forestry industries became somewhat scarcer compared to the early period, although furs still remained the main Russian product and often replaced money: fines were taken with furs, travel and trade duties were paid, and donations were even made to monasteries and churches. Furs were used not only in foreign trade, but also in domestic markets. Fur clothing not only protected from the cold, but was also a sign of social status. Thus, the lower classes wore only goat or sheepskin furs, while the upper classes dressed in squirrel, fox, beaver, mustel, and sable fur coats. Thus, each type of fur had its own market segment, and there was a steady demand for each type in the domestic market. Of course, not only Novgorodians traded such goods, but furs were concentrated primarily in their hands through an extensive network of trading agents and associated traders. The massive demand for fur in the domestic and foreign markets led to the depletion of resources in the Novgorod lands and gave rise to the need to colonize the north of the European part of Russia. As a result, Novgorodians came to the banks of the Northern Dvina, to the Vyatka and Pechora regions, to the Urals and even to Siberia. At the same time, Novgorodians rarely engaged directly in fishing outside the Novgorod lands, limiting themselves to buying, i.e. mediation operations, which were fraught with considerable dangers. Conducting trade required significant skills in military affairs, and in the XIV-XV centuries. A layer of merchant-warriors arose, called ushkuiniki, who made trips both to the northern territories and to the Volga on river oared ships.

Fisheries were for Novgorodians great importance, since salted and dried fish were a convenient food product during long trading trips. In other areas, meat was more widely consumed. The Novgorodians' need for salt for processing fish early led to the emergence of salt making. Salt trades were no less important than fur trades.

As a result of the conquest by the German knights in the 13th century. Baltic territories, which previously belonged to the Pomeranian and Polabian Slavs, long-standing trade ties with northern Russian cities were interrupted. However, the vacated niche was soon filled by the trade and political union of North German cities - the Great German Hanse, which was formed in the 13th century. initially around Cologne and then around Lübeck.

The Hansa actively bought not only furs, but also bread, flax, hemp, honey, wax, leather, wool, sheepskins and other raw materials. The production of these goods in the Novgorod lands was insufficient even for their own consumption, and therefore local merchants actively bought them in other areas. Since the basis of the economic prosperity of Veliky Novgorod was intermediary trade, the preservation and development of trade relations with the Russian principalities was of great importance. Grain, wax, hemp and honey were bought mainly in the Dnieper region, flax - in the upper reaches of the Volga, as well as in the Smolensk and Pskov lands, leather, wool, sheepskins - partly on the Dnieper, but mainly from the Tatars and other nomads. Trade remained predominantly barter. Novgorod merchants brought furs, salt and items of Hanseatic trade, mainly metal products and fabrics, and wine, to domestic markets. At the same time, imported goods were highly valued. Being monopolists, Novgorod merchants set prices arbitrarily.

Internal: trade remained, as before, under the auspices of the church, which continued to maintain order in trade and moderation of interest on loans.

Trade people were still not allocated to a special class. Not only professionals, but also princes, clergy, and even peasants were engaged in trade. Moreover, engaging in trade significantly increased social status: for an offense inflicted on a trading person, the fine was doubled. The merchants had experience communicating with foreigners and therefore often participated in embassies. As a rule, they also had experience in military affairs.

In internal trade, Novgorodians were forced to widely use credit. Small merchants from the Russian principalities were used by Novgorod wholesalers and as sales agents for the purchase of raw materials. In case of lack of equity capital, agents required a loan. Credit transactions were certified by rumors (witnesses) and the clergy. Violation of obligations was considered a sin, so there was practically no non-repayment of loans in domestic trade. Obligations to people of other faiths were fulfilled less strictly, and therefore relations with them were more wary. Being very interested in buying raw materials, the Hanseatic people were forced to lend, but given the danger of not repaying the loan, they increased the price of goods and used other indirect means of reducing risk. Apparently, due to frequent non-returns, soon (the charter of the German court) of the 13th century. contains a ban on both providing loans and borrowing from Russians.

Novgorodians, in turn, were also not always satisfied with the quality of Hanseatic goods: wines, beer, jam, even salt. However, the great benefits from intermediary trade made relations with the Hansa attractive to the Novgorodians. The closest ties were established with the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. The Lübeck people founded a large trading court in Novgorod, called Petershof. There was an elected representative - the alderman of the courtyard, who was essentially a consul, as well as the alderman of St. Peter (after the name of the German church in the courtyard), who was in charge of the economic part, the center of which was the church of St. Peter. The procedure for interaction between Hanseatic and Novgorod merchants was strictly regulated by agreements; the intermediary was the main Hanseatic office in Novgorod. Hanseatic guests were divided into summer guests, who arrived by sea, and winter guests, who arrived by land. In 1344, fearing the strengthening of Novgorod's ties with German cities and possible competition, the Lübeck Senate decided to stop overland trade. There were no more winter guests in Novgorod.

Novgorodians were supposed to meet summer guests on Kotlin Island at the mouth of the Neva. A special bailiff and pilots were sent there, and they led the Hanseatic ships up the Neva and Lake Ladoga.

The charter of the Hanseatic trading court, which regulated the relationship of the Hansa with Novgorod, was a set of acts called skra. The skra was first compiled at the beginning of the 13th century; the second time at the end of the 13th century; in the third - in the middle of the 14th century. In addition, the Hanseatic people were guided by a charter in Latin (the so-called Latin charter), which was a kind of standard of Lübeck law, on the basis of which representatives of the Hanseatic League drew up agreements with one or another state. Naturally, the agreements drawn up on the basis of the Latin charter resolved all issues in favor of the Hanseatic people, with which Novgorod could not agree. The Hansa's privileges in Novgorod were fewer than in Sweden, Denmark or England. This was explained by the fact that the government of Novgorod did not have loan obligations to the Hansa, like the kings of England and Norway, on the one hand; on the other hand, the benefit of Novgorod trade for the Hansa consisted precisely in mediation with the East, which other countries did not provide.

At the same time, relations with the Hansa were legally formalized in accordance with the acts of the Skry and numerous agreements approved by the Novgorod government. At the same time, the Hanseatic. had significant privileges: they had the right not to allow Russians into their courtyard, loans were issued only with the consent of the main Hanseatic office and the Novgorod authorities. The Hansa leadership largely regulated the activities of its merchants. To keep prices high, the volume of imports of goods and money was limited. Thus, the Hanseatic people were allowed to import money in the amount of no more than 1 thousand marks, so that there would be no temptation to inflate prices when purchasing Novgorod goods, even if it seemed profitable. In its turn. Novgorod allowed German merchants only wholesale trade, and only as an exception, retail trade was allowed for teenagers on a small scale (for training purposes).

The methods of trade chosen were very simple: goods were bought from Novgorodians locally at higher prices than overseas, i.e. used a completely modern method of price competition. Thus, two goals were achieved, the first was to ruin the Gothic and Pomeranian trade, the second was to wean the Novgorodians from navigation, building ships, and sailing independently to foreign cities. Gradually these goals were achieved.

The monopoly of the Hansa and the restriction of independent trade in the West prompted the Novgorodians to concentrate their efforts in the East. Despite the Tatar Mongol invasion, already in 1265 Novgorod merchants traded widely on the Volga and even had permanent clerks and permanent shops in the capital of the Golden Horde - Capae. Furs, which were in great demand there, were still imported into the Horde, as well as European goods: lead, tin, linens, cloth, metalwork, walrus ivory. From the Horde they brought bread, steppe and Asian goods: spices, dried fruits, flowers, medicinal herbs (aloe, camphor), silk and satin fabrics, gems, jewelry, pearls, beads.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, other Western Russian lands conducted foreign trade less actively. Smolensk, Vitebsk and Polotsk lands traded mainly along the Western Dvina. In the middle of the 12th century. Bremen ships that accidentally found themselves at the mouth of the Dvina became convinced that profitable trade could be conducted there, and founded the trading posts of Ukskul and Dalen. Through these trading posts, Dvina trade fell into the hands of the Hanseatic people. Salt, malt, herring, wine, beer, silk, linen, etc. came from Riga to the Russian lands. By the 15th century. Even Moscow joined this trade, using mainly two ways to promote goods: the first route: Moscow - Smolensk - Grodno - Augustovo - Lik - Wildminnen - Koenigsberg; the second route: Moscow - Pskov - Riga - Curonian Lagoon - Memel (meaning the Neman River) - Schaaken - Koenigsberg.

A significant role in the economic development of Rus' was played by the transfer of the center of economic and political life from southern regions to the northeast - between the Oka and Volga rivers (the land of the Vyatichi). New shopping centers (Moscow, Kostroma, Ryazan, Tver) arose and grew rapidly in the 11th-12th centuries. They were located on profitable trade routes and were relatively less subject to destruction. As a result of the decline and plunder of the southern lands, it was to the northeast that refugees flowed in a stream, finding inhabited land there. Local princes showed interest in receiving and settling migrants. This favored the further colonization of the northeast, and then the north, the population increased, arable land expanded, and crafts developed. Subsequently, these lands became the stronghold of the new Russian state and the center of the fight against the Golden Horde.

Before the fall of Veliky Novgorod, Moscow could not become the center of foreign trade of Rus', but already from the 14th century. it was a significant center of internal trade. According to the testimony of foreigners, Muscovites had an extraordinary penchant for small trade; almost every resident of Moscow traded in something. The markets of Moscow were extremely crowded and lively. Connections with the East gave rise to a certain penchant for oriental luxury; Moscow became a major consumer of Asian goods.

The trading rules of Muscovites were in many ways similar to the trading rules of Novgorodians, but it was believed that Moscow merchants were more conscientious and less selfish. Muscovites showed interest in fishing and craft activities, striving to use foreign experience, especially Asian experience. This was the key to the future commercial prosperity of Moscow, which relied not only on trade, but also on production activities. At the same time, craft production developed a work culture, and, accordingly, a general culture.

After the establishment of Peaceful relations with the Tatars in the south, the Don Road acquired great importance. So Muscovite Rus' established trade relations with the Italians who traded on the Taninsky route. The goods were sent to the city of Dankov on the Don and further along the Don to Azov, some even ended up in Kafa (Feodosia). The Don Road played an important role in Moscow's trade with the Crimean Tatars. South Tatar trade was concentrated in the city of Surozh and was of serious importance for Moscow. Guests from Surozh enjoyed significant privileges in Moscow. The Don trade flourished in the 15th century, but it did not last long. The fall, apparently, was connected, firstly, with the increasing frequency of robbery attacks on the Don by Ryazan and Azov Cossacks; secondly, with the transfer of centers of Italian trade with Asia in connection with the discovery of new ones by Europeans trade routes. The Don route continued to be used by the Nogais, who delivered mainly horses to Moscow. The Nogai trade was important for Moscow, connecting Rus' with the peoples of the Caucasus and even with Persia. Trade along the Northern Dvina and in the northeast had not yet received significant development and during the period under review was of a purely local nature. The main routes of communication were still rivers. The shortage of stone was the reason for the lack of paved roads such as those in Western Europe. Overland freight transportation was only possible in winter along frozen rivers and in the steppes. Moreover, additional difficulties arose due to the lack of horses. Trade was also complicated by the fact that, when crossing desert territories, merchants could always be attacked by bandits or nomads. We should not forget that the period under review is a time of unrest and civil strife. All these factors significantly hampered the development of trade relations and reduced entrepreneurial activity.

With the exception of the Novgorod and northern lands, in all Russian lands the main source of prosperity was agriculture. Resettlement to the Upper Volga region from the more fertile and warm Dnieper region required new approaches to organizing the economy and life, and left its mark on the nature of labor and trade. Rural settlements and settlements became smaller than in Kievan Rus, where villages were, as a rule, large. It was necessary to conquer islands from nature for agricultural cultivation. Since the forests in the north were denser, it was necessary to return to the slash-and-shift farming system in a more complex form than before. The abundance of swamps made it even more difficult to find suitable sites. The loamy soil required fertilizer, and the peasant was forced to burn the forest in order to increase soil fertility for a relatively short period of time, and then go in search of a new place. This led to a gradual movement to the northeast, away from the raids of nomads and the exactions of the Golden Horde.

Let us note that colonization proceeded mainly peacefully: in the order not of conquest, but of settlement of free territories, on which islands of habitation of the Chuds, the people of the Finno-Ugric group, were only rarely found.

At the same time, the processes of securing land ownership for service people intensified. If in Kievan Rus the service of the prince was rewarded through a system of feeding, and by the 12th century. cash salary (due to the fact that foreign trade provided significant funds), then during the period of appanage principalities, these items of income became extremely unreliable due to the impoverishment of the economy of both princes and the population. The search for more stable sources of income led to the development of land tenure. There were incentives to stop the migration of the population, make it more settled and consolidated on the land.

Low soil fertility forced the search for additional sources of life support. Forests and rivers provided raw materials that could be processed during the long autumn-winter period. Thus, conditions have long been created for the development of local rural crafts, which later became known as handicrafts. Although the decline and stagnation in the development of urban crafts and trade gradually pushed agriculture, which continued to develop, into the main branch of the Russian economy, the enterprising population mastered new types of activities, such as tar smoking, salt making, ironwork, etc. At the same time, hunting and hunting, which had already become traditional, were not forgotten. beekeeping.

Constant movement, new living conditions, variability and unpredictability of nature have given rise to new features of the nature of work: on the one hand, observation and caution, necessary in unfamiliar conditions, and on the other, a willingness to take risks and play luck, which is usually called " hope for the Russian maybe." The instability of the external environment made the concept of labor discipline relative, but it fostered work ingenuity and endurance, unpretentiousness and patience. These newly acquired in the XIII-XV centuries. qualities of the Russian character are to a certain extent found to this day in Russian economic culture.

A significant increase in yield was greatly hampered by the shortage of horses and livestock, which was observed almost everywhere in the Russian lands. Only after 1380, when the pressure of the Mongol-Tatar yoke diminished, did crafts begin to revive.

Mills appeared only in the 14th century; before that, grain was ground on hand millstones. Vegetable growing and horticulture developed, but had a purely consumer value. Fisheries also developed rapidly and widely. Ownership of waters and fisheries was combined with the right to land ownership.

In the ancient Russian state there was no unified monetary system, although by the end of the period under review there was more coined money in circulation, since from the 14th century. coinage resumed. In the Principality of Moscow, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy began minting the Tatar silver coin - dengu, then other principalities joined the process. The dominant monetary unit in the Russian principalities was the silver ruble, obtained from a silver stick chopped into small pieces and flattened. The coins were irregular in shape, weighing in most cases about 0.25 pounds of silver, but sometimes significantly less. Therefore, when concluding transactions, money was necessarily weighed. A ruble contained 100 money, 6 money were equal to an altyn, and one money was equal to 4 half rubles. Foreign coins were used in circulation, which were accepted by weight at the rate of 0.25 pounds of silver per ruble; gold was valued at 12 times more expensive.

The large number of principalities gave rise to many trade duties. The main type of duties was washed, i.e. fee from a cart or boat for admission to certain place, a kind of customs duty. In addition, for trade in churches, and this was commonplace, a fee was charged for the right to trade - tithe (10% of the value of the goods). The tax collectors were called mytniks, and the tithe was collected by elected representatives from among the merchants - foremen. We were going to different places several times and it wasn’t much. The right to collect toll belonged to the princes, but they often transferred or donated this right to the church and even to private individuals. The size of the moat could vary greatly. In addition to customs and tithes, during the time of the Tatar-Mongols, a tax was levied on capital - tamga. The size of the tamga also varied, but, as a rule, it amounted to 7 money per ruble from the sales volume. For evading the payment of customs, a fine was collected, called “promyt”; for evading the payment of tamga, a fine was collected - “protamozhe”.

A number of duties were levied not for the treasury, but for the improvement of trade itself: for the creation of warehouses and scales; for payment and maintenance of guards at warehouses; for branding services, etc. Such duties were usually calculated based on the actual volume of the goods, but partly also on the cost.

Duties were divided into darazh and customs. The first were paid at the outposts, while tamga was not collected; customs - directly in cities along with tamga. Darazh duties were taken from transit goods, customs duties only when the goods entered the market.

Only the clergy were exempt from paying duties; other traders, regardless of class, were obliged to pay.

The duty system was extremely complex and burdened not so much with the size of the fee, but with the variety of types and sizes. Merchants could never plan the amount of taxes in advance and therefore inflated the price in order to remain profitable in any case.

In foreign trade, things were simpler. Foreigners did not impose duties on Russian goods at all due to their high profitability, agreeing to pay export duties on Russian goods. The Hansa, which itself paid import duties, did not impose duties on Russian goods. Duties on the Dvina, Don and Volga were not levied on either imported or exported goods. The Tatars were content with gifts from Russian merchants and did not collect any duties.

Foreigners in Russian lands paid some special taxes. Foreigners paid all duties without complaint due to the extreme profitability of Russian trade. High profits were ensured due to the difference in prices between Russia and Europe, which arose as a result of the artificial isolation of Rus' created by the Hansa.

Economic and social upheavals of the 13th century. trade and crafts fell into decline for a long time, but gradually life improved, which was greatly facilitated by the preserved trade ties with the northern Russian lands. In the Russian Volga region by the 14th century. Nizhny Novgorod became an important trading center, where the Tatars actively traded.

The inability to clearly predict the results of economic activity has created a tendency to analyze the past rather than to set goals and determine ways to achieve them.

The gradual restoration of commodity production and the rise of great duchies and cities were created in the second half of the 14th century. conditions for the resumption of Russian coinage.

Thus, during the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke and feudal fragmentation, entrepreneurial activity did not freeze, but continued to develop, adapting to new conditions. The movement of the economic center to the north-west stimulated the interaction of disparate Russian lands, and also made it possible to create a system of relationships with Asian partners. The preservation of the center of foreign trade with Western Europe in Veliky Novgorod and Pskov also contributed to the preservation and development of the entrepreneurial spirit, although trade there was limited mainly to intermediation.

The primary concern of the church rulers was the restoration and increase of the material property of the church.

This was greatly facilitated by the fact that the Mongol-Tatar conquerors endowed the church in Rus', as well as everywhere in the countries they conquered, with great privileges. The church was exempt from paying tribute to the Horde. The possessions of the church became inviolable. The conquerors understood the power of church influence and, not without reason, hoped to receive their ally in her person. The privileged position of the church was one of the most important reasons why the church in the 14th - 15th centuries, especially in North-Eastern Rus', became the largest feudal landowner. The acquisitiveness of the church has always been justified by “divine” interests. In the acts that assigned land ownership to the church, it was usually written that the land did not belong to the monastery itself, but to the “Most Pure Mother of God,” “Holy Trinity,” etc. Letter of grant from the Ryazan Grand Duke Oleg Ivanovich to the Olgov Monastery in the second half of the 14th century. was richly decorated with images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, apostles, and saints; this expressed the sacredness of monastic ownership of land. The lands of monasteries, metropolitan houses, episcopal sees, cathedral churches grew in different ways. Princely grants played a significant role in the growth of church land ownership, but it should be borne in mind that in many cases princely charters only formalized the possessions of clergymen on peasant lands they had already seized.

The formation of the Russian people is associated with the struggle against the Mongol-Tatar yoke and the creation of a centralized Russian state around Moscow in the 14th-15th centuries. This state included the northern and north-eastern ancient Russian lands, where, in addition to the descendants of the Slavs - the Vyatichi, Krivichi and Slovenes, there were many immigrants from other regions. In the 14th-15th centuries. these lands began to be called Russia in the 16th century. - Russia. Neighbors called the country Muscovy. The names “Great Rus'” as applied to lands inhabited by Russians, “Little Rus'” to Ukrainian lands, and “White Rus'” to Belarusian lands appeared in the 15th century. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, along with the ancient name, Russians were sometimes called Great Russians. The colonization of the northern lands by the Slavs (the Baltics, Zavolochye), which began in ancient times, Verkh. The Volga and Kama regions continued in the 14th-15th centuries, and in the 16th-17th centuries. The Russian population appeared in the Middle and Lower Volga region and in Siberia. Russians here came into close contact with other peoples, exerted economic and cultural influence on them, and themselves perceived the best achievements of their economy and culture.

The Vladmir-Suzdal land suffered the most from the invasion of Batu in 1237 - 1238. The destruction of works of art was all the more noticeable because many of them were created literally on the eve of the invasion. Only in 1237 did Bishop Mitrofai place an icon case over the altar in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, decorated with gold and silver. Rostov Bishop Kirill in 1231 decorated the cathedral in Rostov with “valuable” icons, shrouds, two icon cases, an altar table, vessels and rhinids, as well as “golden” doors installed in the southern portal, altar crosses and brought the relics of saints into the temple “ in beautiful crayfish." In 1226, i.e. already three years after the battle of Kalka, the stone Church of the Savior was founded in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1234, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich “founded a church in Yuryev and in the region of Yu...”. At the same time, “golden” doors were created for the Nativity Cathedral in Suzdal. The cathedral was decorated with frescoes, and its floor was paved with red “various marbles.”

The Tatars first of all devastated the richest treasury of Russian art - the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. They tore off the ancient frame of gold and silver, decorated with precious stones, from the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God; They also robbed other churches and monasteries - they removed precious frames from the altar Gospels, took away crosses and vessels, as well as the clothes of princes, which were customary to hang in churches in memory of them. Having ravaged Vladimir, the Tatars moved to Rostov, and then to Yaroslavl and Gorodets and along the Volga all the way “to Galich Mersky.” Others went to Yuriev, Pereslavl, Dmitrov and Tver.

We have to find out how devastating the destruction of ancient works of art was and how quickly the process of restoration of ancient monuments proceeded. This has a direct bearing on clarifying the continuity of traditions and the emergence of new qualities in art.

The Vladimir Assumption Cathedral, devastated by the Tatars, still retained something from pre-Mongol applied and visual arts. Here, from the temple utensils of Andrei Bogolyubsky, the 12th century Zion, which was later brought to Moscow, has been preserved. The revered image of the Vladimir Mother of God of the 12th century has survived, on which there remains a fragment of a gold chased and basma frame with a seven-faced deesis. This is apparently part of the salary that was again made in the 13th century. after the fire of 1185, when the church ornamentation was badly damaged, given by Andrey Bogolyubsky. Perhaps this is where the icon of the Almighty (“Savior, golden hair”), painted in early XIII V. in the tradition of high Vladimir-Suzdal art. The badly damaged 12th-century image of Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya also survived. In Yaroslav, a large temple image from the early 13th century was miraculously preserved. The Mother of God “Great Panagia” and the prayer icon of the Savior from the mid-13th century. Yaroslavl princes Vasily and Konstantin.

The fewest surviving works of applied art were those that attracted attention with their preciousness and were easier to carry away. However, when at the end of the 13th century. The Tatar army, together with princes Andrei Alexandrovich Gorodetsky and Fyodor Rostislavich Yaroslavsky, took Vladimir, then the Assumption Cathedral still kept works of applied art. They were plundered again: “... and the wonderful copper bottom was torn out, and all the sacred vessels were taken.” Throughout the second half of the 13th century. The chronicles do not provide information about the construction of temples in Vladimir or Suzdal. Rostov the Great awakens before them. Already in 1253, the newly built wooden church of Boris and Gleb was consecrated in Rostov by the grandchildren of Konstantin Vsevolodovich - Boris of Rostov and Gleb Belozersky. The new temple did not stand for long and, apparently, burned down, and in 1287 it was rebuilt and consecrated by the Rostov bishop Ignatius.

We do not have any information about works of applied art in Rostov. But the continuous restoration of churches almost immediately after Batu’s pogrom indicates that there were still experienced builders, painters and masters of church “patterning” on the Vladimir-Suzdal land. And, despite the absence of the works of applied art of the 13th century themselves, there is no reason to talk about the complete loss of pre-Mongol traditions in art. Judging by the surviving works painting XIII- the beginning of the 14th century, the features of high art Rostov-Suzdal school. 13 in applied art, some decline in the level of skill was undoubtedly due to the theft of masters and a decrease in the material base for creating works of art (primarily the lack precious metals) and learn some complex technical skills. But it was enriched by folk art, and therefore more clearly revealed its national characteristics. The latter also manifested themselves in the professional art of Rostov painting.

The features of folk interpretation of images in rustic but emotionally intense faces have already been identified in the coinage of the Deesis on a gold frame of the 13th century. from the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God. At the same time, this work preserves the monumental grandeur of the figures with the skillful pre-Mongol plasticity of clothing in the Byzantine tradition.

Novgorod was not devastated during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, but Novgorod applied art in the second half of the 13th century. experienced a great breakdown, as did the art of Central Russian lands. This can be seen primarily in iconographic images on gold and silver, i.e. on works made not by simple artisans, but by urban craftsmen of applied art. There are no signed and accurately dated works of Novgorod origin dating back to this time. In Novgorod itself and its environs, not a single unscattered complex of church or monastery sacristies has survived, except for the sacristy of the St. Sophia Cathedral. The most valuable source for identifying Novgorod antiquities is the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin and the sacristy of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Archaeological excavations in Novgorod help little in the development of the history of applied art, since they provide more ordinary material for everyday use, such as crosspieces, temple rings, earrings, pins, rings, and bracelets.

At the end of the 15th century. A significant number of ancient Novgorod works came from Novgorod to Moscow as “commemorations” received by Ivan 3 and seizures made after the conquest of Novgorod. Ivan the Terrible also exported works of art from Novgorod.

Veliky Novgorod was one of the centers for the production of cloisonne enamels in pre-Mongol times. This fact is now firmly established thanks to archaeological finds. Researchers now have a fairly large number of Novgorod works with cloisonné enamels from the 12th - 13th centuries.

In the process of preserving and collecting the artistic heritage of North-Eastern Rus' after its devastation by the Tatar-Mongols, Tver has a particularly important place. Residents fled to Tver from many places in the Rostov-Suzdal land, “... then many people who had fled from everywhere gathered in Tver and all conferred among themselves with the Tatars to fight.” These newcomers from the highly developed centers of Russian culture of pre-Mongol times transferred the knowledge and artistic traditions of their homeland to Tver. Ties with ancient Rostov are also strengthened by dynastic marriage. In 1294, Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy married the daughter of Dmitry Borisovich of Rostov, Anna: Like no other cultural center, Tver quickly revived after the devastating invasion of Batu. Already in the middle of the 13th century. Throughout the Tver region there is a large scale of wooden construction. In 1240, in Tver, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich moved the fortress to the right bank of the Volga and re-cut it down. In different places of the Tver principality, many wooden churches and monasteries were built, which later disappeared, but left behind news collected in the 19th century. local historians. To the 13th century: for example, there is news of an ancient monastery on the Zhabna River near Kalyazin, devastated by the Tatars. In the XIII - XIV centuries. The number of ordinary Tver cities also increased, which expanded and became overgrown with suburbs, “which serves as a clear indicator of the process of revival of the economy and culture of the Russian city, which was moving inland, despite Tatar oppression and feudal civil strife.”

In the last quarter of the 13th century. Construction in Tver is proceeding at such a pace that it presupposed both the stability of the material base of the Tver princes and the presence of a sufficient number of craftsmen of various specialties. And, what is especially important, stone architecture was already developing in Tver. In 1285, the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich and his mother Oksinya founded the stone Church of the Transfiguration on the site of the wooden cathedral church of Cosmas and Damian of 1271, which burned down in 1282. In 1290 the temple was already completed, and in 1292 it was painted fresco painting. The Tver ruler Andrei took care of this, hiring best artists and icon painters. In 1297, the Church of Athanasius was consecrated and the city of Zubkov was cut down. During the fire in Tver in 1298, it is reported that “a lot of property burned down - gold and silver, guns, and spoil.” “The circumstance or fact that already in the 13th century. in Tver there was a need for a stone cathedral church and that there were craftsmen who were able to build it, while in other cities, as is known, even in later times they did not know how to build stone churches themselves and turned to foreign craftsmen - a very remarkable and revealing how high Tver stood culturally at that time.”

The restoration of the culture of Tver was also facilitated by old centers of education, such as the Otroch Monastery, which became a center for the correspondence of books and literary activity, as well as the establishment of an episcopal see in 1271. The first Bishop of Tver, Simon, was one of the most educated people of his time. According to the chronicle, he was “virtuous and learned and strong in the books of divine scripture... and honest and very intelligent...”. An important fact in the cultural history of Tver there was the beginning of the Tver chronicle, which A.I. Nasonov dates it back to 1285.

Tver rose at the same time as Moscow, and sometimes the scale of construction activity in Tver was more significant than in Moscow.

Art of Moscow in the second half of the 13th century. almost nothing is represented, with the exception of a few archaeological finds. The latter are difficult to separate from the pre-Mongol XIII century. Everything that is known from this time relates to a typical urban craft, familiar from excavations in Kyiv, Chernigov, Staraya Ryazan, and Smolensk.

Archaeological observations in the Moscow Kremlin are of interest primarily because they state the following fact: after the burning of Moscow by Batu in 1237, there was no break in the stratification of the cultural layer. Moscow immediately rebuilt itself after the pogrom, apparently attracting refugees from other places in the Vladimir-Suzdal region, and possibly even the Kiev region.

The research revealed a very important circumstance - more ancient date began stone construction in Moscow, dating back to the 80s of the 13th century. This extremely interesting discovery sheds light on the relationship between Moscow and Tver. The rivalry between two simultaneously rising centers on the outskirts of the Vladimir-Suzdal land was expressed not only in political matters, but also in temple construction, in the creation of their own chronicles, monuments of writing, painting and applied art. The time of the founder of the dynasty of Moscow Grand Dukes, Daniil Alexandrovich, known until now only from written sources, now acquires archaeological sources. The conclusions of historians that the culture of Moscow relied primarily on the Vladimir-Suzdal artistic heritage of the times of Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest, and therefore on the cultural riches of Kievan Rus, are gaining more and more evidence in the research of cultural historians and archaeologists.

XIII century was a turning point in Russian culture, when a new understanding of images and the folk character of their interpretation were born. This was connected not only with the establishment of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, but also with the cultural and historical process that swept across Western Europe on the threshold of the Renaissance, which brought new humanistic ideas. In Russian applied art they had a particularly pronounced effect in the last quarter of the 14th - early 15th centuries. During this period, Moscow and Novgorod were in the general mainstream of Western and South Slavic culture, which adopted the rich heritage of Byzantium. And we do not see in Russian applied art those direct “borrowings” and “influences” that would put this art in a second, subordinate place. “Borrowings” and “influences” could only be bilateral. And at times the creative nature of Russian art placed it above South Slavic and late Byzantine art. Wherein Russian art never lost its national characteristics and was not imitative.

Two and a half centuries have been a bloody wound in Russian history. Tatar-Mongol yoke. Before the invasion at the beginning of the 13th century, Rus' was a flourishing Christian country, with a population of about seven million people, with 400 cities. 50,000 people lived in Kyiv, in cities such as Novgorod, Smolensk, Chernigov - 30,000 each. For comparison, in Paris at that time there were 10,000 inhabitants. And the princely civil strife in Kievan Rus - this is an unconditional internal evil - was quite natural for the early stage of the formation of statehood. After a hundred or two hundred years of peaceful life, a prosperous country could organically acquire a unified statehood. The spiritual rise of the Russian people could not help but cause a militia of world evil: Tatar-Mongol invasion sweeps away the flourishing Russian civilization from the face of the earth, most cities are burned to the ground, most of their inhabitants are exterminated. “The raids lasted four years (1237-1241). And almost everywhere they fought the Tatars to the death. And almost everywhere after their invasion there were conflagrations and piles of bones. The population of Torzhok was completely slaughtered. In Kozelsk, for which the battle was especially fierce (the Tatars later called it the “evil city”), women and children were also exterminated to a man. There were only 200 houses left in Kiev, and it was impossible to breathe within the city for months - the air was so poisoned... Usually residents flocked to the fortress, which, if built of stone, was called the Kremlin (from the word flint - hard stone). The Tatars besieged the fortress and took it by storm; last Stand was already fought in cathedrals, which as a result were full of corpses... Three years of such battles exhausted the strength and power of the nomads. In addition, the prey was already up to their necks, and they moved to the southeast. Western Europe was saved... After the first invasion (1237-1241), the country turned into a desert - there were ruins and devastation all around.”(I.A. Ilyin).

The barbarians completely destroyed most of the flourishing Russian cities, exterminated a huge number of Russian people, interrupted the flourishing of Russian culture - stone construction stopped in Rus' for two centuries, icon painting was simplified, the tradition of high culture of the aristocracy and literacy of the urban population was interrupted. Almost the entire book stock of pre-Mongol Rus' was destroyed in the fires: modern scientists believe that only hundredths of a percent of the number of books from that era have reached us. “The consequences of the Tatar yoke were terrible. First of all, it was an unheard of mental shock that will never be erased from the people’s soul - a kind of “psychic trauma”, a wound. Devastation, material damage, extermination of the population, lifelong captivity of deported people, the atrocities of the Tatars (for example, the skin of the captives was cut on the heels and finely chopped horsehair was poured into the wound to prevent escape - the pain was unimaginable, and the martyrs were used for sitting works); then the appearance of the Tatars: small, fierce eyes behind cheekbones as thick as a fist; a black pigtail on a shaved skull, a wild Asian guttural speech and an unbearable smell that emanated from them - partly due to the fact that they did not wash, partly from their mouths, since they ate raw horse meat, which they heated and softened by laying them on their backs horse, under the saddle, so that when riding on horseback, it was also soaked in horse sweat.”(I.A. Ilyin).

Having made unprecedented sacrifices, the Russian people once again saved Western Europe from devastating invasions: “Russia has been assigned a high destiny. Its vast plains absorbed the power of the Mongols and stopped their invasion at the very edge of Europe; The barbarians did not dare to leave enslaved Rus' in their rear and returned to the steppes of their east. The resulting enlightenment was saved by a torn and dying Russia.”(A.S. Pushkin). Few people in the West recognize this historical achievement of Russia: “Indeed, could outstanding monuments of the high Western Middle Ages have been born if the militant Christian civilization in Eastern Europe had not softened the blows of numerous invasions of less civilized steppe peoples?”(D.H. Billington).

The spiritual inoculation of Orthodoxy allowed the Russian people, who defended the Christian civilization of Europe with their bloody sacrifice, to resist. The earth and vast spaces played a protective role for the Russian people. The Orthodox faith gave him the strength to survive two centuries of a devastating and debilitating yoke. The tormented people, having lost the main achievements of civilization, as well as their ancestral lands, seek refuge in the rugged forests of the northeast, making new sacrifices in the development of harsh lands. As a result, the geographical center of Rus' shifted from the warm territories of the middle Dnieper to the dense forests of the upper Volga. The ancient Russian cities of Novgorod, Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, as well as new cities such as Moscow, replaced the devastated Kyiv as the cultural center of Russian civilization. But this was a different culture - simplified, more severe. Complex crafts disappeared for a long time, stone construction stopped for almost two centuries, and some Byzantine traditions were lost, in particular in icon painting. If Kievan Rus had intensive ties with Byzantium and Europe, then the cold Zalesskaya land was too far from them. The new Russian lands were cut off from the cultural centers of that time from the southeast by the Tatar-Mongols, and from the west by the crusaders. “Mentions of Rus', so often found in French literature early Middle Ages, VXIVV. completely disappear... Forests are like an evergreen curtain, which in the initial period of the formation of culture protected consciousness from increasingly distant worlds - Byzantium and the urban West"(D.H. Billington). Rus' was experiencing a cultural decline at the moment when Greek philosophy was rediscovered in Western Europe, thanks to the Arab invasion, and universities began to be created. Tatar influence, as well as life among endless impenetrable forests, strengthened pagan tendencies in Russian religiosity. On the other hand, the need for collective action to protect life in the harshest conditions, common suffering and the historical memory of the flourishing Kyiv era strengthened the sense of national connection.

The harsh life in the Northeast changed the traditions, character and worldview of the Russian people. “It can be said without exaggeration that the forested plain determined the way of life of the Christian Muscovite state to the same extent that the desert determined the way of life of Muslim Arabia. In both of these territories food and friendship were sometimes difficult to find, and the Slavs, like the Semitic peoples, developed warm traditions of hospitality. The lower strata - the peasants - offered ritual bread and salt to everyone who came to the house, the upper strata - the princes - greeted the guests with lush feasts and toasts, which became a characteristic feature of official Russian hospitality. If in the sultry desert life was concentrated around oases and sources of water, then in the frozen forest it huddled in dwellings in cleared space with their source of heat. Of the many words denoting housing in Kievan Rus, only the word “izba” - meaning “heated building” - became commonly used in the Moscow state. Permission to sit on or near a clay stove in a Russian hut was the highest manifestation of peasant hospitality, comparable only to a sip of cold water in the desert. The hot public bath also had a semi-religious meaning, which is still felt today in Russian public steam rooms and Finnish saunas and in some sense analogous to ritual bathing in desert religions... The feeling of spiritual closeness with natural forces, which already existed in ancient times, especially increased in the forest of Great Russia, which easily fell prey to flames and in which fire and fertility, the masculine power of Perun and the mother of cheese, the earth, vied for power over a world where human beings seemed strangely insignificant"(D.H. Billington).

Exorbitant tribute to the Golden Horde and terror during the centuries of yoke drained the strength of the people. Slavery inflicted deep wounds on the worldview, morals, culture and language of the people. “Their domination was the domination of nomadic predators, a rampant of endless tyranny, humiliation, abuse, terror, a state of eternal “divide and conquer!”, eternal uncertainty and eternal surrender to mercy and disgrace. The law of nomadism operated flawlessly, it read: “What is mine is mine”, “Might is above right”, “Fire and sword are the basis of social order”, “Torture and death as the last argument”. And for two hundred and fifty years, all this as an internal attitude - the beginning of domination and the formation of domination, ridicule and mockery in defiance of all rights and legal consciousness - was supposed to have a bad influence on the chained people. It was a sharp clash of barbarism and young culture, quantity and quality, paganism and Christianity; and culture had to give way for a long time. In all the old songs, legends, and fairy tales of Rus', one can hear a cry to the sky, a cry of horror and disgust: disgusting, dirty, unbelieving Tatars began to be called in one word - filthy.”(I.A. Ilyin). Such conditions contributed to the establishment of best qualities: the obsequious, servile, cruel survived, the best people were exterminated first.

“It was one of those national disasters that bring not only material, but moral ruin, plunging the people into deathly stupor for a long time. An external accident threatened to turn into an internal chronic illness; panic horror one generation could develop into popular timidity, into a national character trait.”(V.O. Klyuchevsky). Some spiritual traditions were lost, and character traits were eradicated - they had to be restored. There will be more robbery and rebellion in Russian life, and less sense of justice than before the invasion. This affected the formation of a sense of ownership and attitude towards economic life. “This eternal threat - “whatever you build will turn into ruins”, “everything is yours - only for your time”; this loss of prospects for honest and hard farming; This need to always build again from fires and start from scratch has caused irreparable damage to the Russian people. Over the course of centuries, the people got used to treating their condition as something unreliable (having already given in in advance) and to other people’s property as indifferently as to their own, without caring about frugality and economy, a hopeless “maybe” took possession of the soul of the people, as well as and a frivolous and condescending interpretation of predatory excesses; hence the lack of a strong loyal sense of justice on a personal level, as well as on a social level, a frivolous attitude towards the rule of law and its elementary legal provisions. Here we also need to take into account the fact that Russians in their past, in practice, did not go through the school of Roman law.”(I.A. Ilyin).

What they had, they lost in many ways, but they did not have time to gain anything new. At the same time “the long Mongol yoke also fostered positive qualities in the Russians: insight, inexhaustible patience and fortitude, the ability to endure the lowest standard of living without losing heart, the art of self-sacrifice and reckless dedication, a certain independence from earthly things, as well as dependence on them, religious fortitude of soul, amazing complaisance and flexibility, hereditary courage, a clearly expressed art of defensive warfare cultivated over generations; led to linguistic enrichment, to the art of horse riding (for example, among the Cossacks). And in politically- the belief that federal structure state in a huge country with many nationalities is not suitable... that in a space of 21 million square meters. km with 170 million people, the state based on the principles of the federation will immediately disintegrate"(I.A. Ilyin). The Russian worldview under the Tatar-Mongol yoke became somewhat simpler, lost some cultural nuances and subtleties, but became deeper, more tragic, and polarized.

The combination of natural power and Orthodox fortitude allowed the Russian people to survive in the harshest conditions. “An explanation for why the Russians did not fall into deep fatalism and despair in that hopeless timeXIII- XIVcenturies, two pairs of artifacts can serve: ax and icon- in the village, bell and cannon- in the monastery and the city. Each element in these pairs is internally related to the other, demonstrating the close connection between church service and war, beauty and cruelty in the warlike world of Muscovy. In other societies, these objects were also significant, but in Rus' they acquired a special, symbolic meaning, which they retained even in the complex forms of culture of modern times... Conjugacy struggle for material origin And triumph of the spirit in Ancient Rus', two objects are best demonstrated, traditionally hanging side by side on the wall, in the red corner of every peasant hut: an ax and an icon. The ax was the main and irreplaceable weapon in Great Rus': with its help, a person subjugated the forest. The icon, or sacred image, was an omnipresent reminder of the faith that protected the resident of the troubled outskirts and indicated the highest goal of his earthly existence."(D.H. Billington).

Christian spirituality, which was ineradicable among the people, saved the Russian soul and preserved the people in tragic centuries. B unbearable terrible life Russian people found consolation and salvation in the Orthodox faith. At the hour of death, the people seek Christ the Savior. The revival of man, people, culture and state in Rus' began in ecclesiastical life. “The Church brought faith, strength and consolation to people; The Church helped the Moscow Grand Dukes with advice, and it must be said that they were positive and far-sighted; the Christian faith became the deepest source and focus of national existence"(I.A. Ilyin). In the origins of the Great Russian people lies a peculiar the formative role of monasticism. « Historical tragedy The Tatar defeat of Rus' brought unexpected consequences not only to the life of the Russian Church, but also to the construction of the very corps of national statehood. The territorial base of the southern Kyiv statehood seemed to have become shallow. The masses of the population, fleeing, fled to the northwestern forest expanses, conquering and assimilating the local Finnish population with their ethnic superiority and the superiority of state culture. Against the background of this general fact, the Tatar occupation naturally weakened, and at the same time it legalized this fact of self-preservation of the Russian tribe, which took on forms that corresponded to the religious worldview of the Asian conquerors. For those, without any restrictions, all professional communities of monks and pilgrims were people who, by their very existence, had won for themselves the right not to bear the state tax, military and tax. Their public service was that of prayer workers for the state. Both by calculation and by instinct, a significant percentage of the entire Russian population of north-eastern Rus' of the Tatar era clothed themselves in these Eastern prayer clothes. The worldly, agricultural population surrounded the modest hermit-prayer, helped him build the most primitive monastery courtyard, served his physical existence and presented in the face of the Tatar baskaks (tax collectors) the picture familiar to them of a Buddhist monastery, served by the population adjacent to it and liberated for this from the excessive tax burden of the Asian, theocratic state. The statistically rapid, epic-fabulous growth and proliferation of North Russian monasticism was largely created by this Asian mimicry of the North Russian tribe out of an instinct of self-preservation before the Asian conquerors.”(A.V. Kartashev).

Despite all the atrocities, the pagan Tatar-Mongols felt fear of any religion and clergy, so they issued safe-conduct to the Church. “The clergy, spared by the amazing ingenuity of the Tatars, alone - for two dark centuries - nourished the pale sparks of Byzantine education. In the silence of the monasteries, the monks kept their continuous chronicle. The bishops in their messages talked with princes and boyars, comforting hearts in difficult times of temptation and hopelessness.”(A.S. Pushkin). Tatar-Mongol law contributed to the independence of the Church from state power and the inviolability of the property rights of the Church. These complex processes strengthened the religious motive in the awareness of national unity - with a fragmented and defeated statehood, people felt themselves Russian primarily because they considered themselves Orthodox, the Russian land was perceived as united on religious grounds. Monasticism as the most literate class becomes the mind of the nation - the carrier not only church culture, but national consciousness And historical memory(Russian chronicles were written in monasteries). Learned monasticism filled the Russian people with a sense of historical destiny, awakened the national will, and inspired a pioneering spirit: “We owe the monks our history, therefore our enlightenment”(A.S. Pushkin).

Reverend Sergius of Radonezh was the first Russian saint who holistically and completely expressed Russian national identity. The elder of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery united different traditions of Orthodox monasticism. Being a hermit and ascetic, a highly enlightened man, he was a supporter of the active mission of the Church. The monastery of St. Sergius was a spiritual center, a center of economic colonization of vast lands, a fortress, influencing all aspects of the life of Rus'. St. Sergius was an unconditional authority for the people and authorities; in the lives he was called builder of Rus'.

Sergius of Radonezh played decisive role in the liberation of Rus' from the Mongol yoke. Prince Dmitry Donskoy timidly avoided a decisive clash with the Tatars, but the blessing of St. Sergius prompted the prince to fight and inspired him to victory. The act of religious consciousness turned out to be comprehensive, including awareness of the historical mission of Rus', so political will obeyed it.

The key event in liberation from the Tatar yoke, in national solidarity, in the spiritual revival of the Russian people was the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. From this moment on, the Russian national consciousness was formed, the revival of the Russian medieval culture, the great Moscow state is being built. “On the Kulikovo Field, the defense of Christianity merged with the national cause of Rus' and the political cause of Moscow. In the inextricability of this connection, the blessing of St. Sergius was given to Moscow, the collector of the Russian state.”(G.P. Fedotov).

To this day there are debates about the role of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russian history. Thus, the Eurasians’ criticism of Western European culture was fair in many ways, but in asserting Russian specifics, the Eurasians went to extremes: without the Tatars there would be no Russia, Tatarism “I didn’t stir it up national creativity. Great is the happiness of Rus' that at the moment when, due to internal decay, it had to fall, it fell to the Tatars and no one else.”(P.N. Savitsky). Eurasians argued that the Tatars, without violating Russian religiosity, had a positive impact on the life of the Russian people: the Tatars introduced a nationwide postal service and a network of communications in Rus', Rus' entered the financial system of the Mongolian state, borrowed the structure of the administrative apparatus and the military art of the Mongols. “By this time there was vigorous creative work in all areas of religious art; increased revival was observed in icon painting, in the church music field, and in the field of art. religious literature» (N.S. Trubetskoy). At the same time, Eurasians ignore the fact that Tatarism that has not muddied the national creativity completely destroyed the greatest cultural heritage of the era. Due to his sympathy for Eurasian concepts, L.N. Gumilyov assesses the devastating Mongol invasion as completely harmless: “Leaving the border open with a mobile enemy - madness; therefore, the Mongols fought with the Polovtsians until they drove them beyond the Carpathians, for this they committed a deep cavalry raid through Rus'» . This is a “raid” for two centuries. And what kind open border- in the direction of China, Iran, Europe, and where are the driven Polovtsians beyond the Carpathians? The remnants of the Golden Horde, primarily the Crimean Khanate, tormented Russia for several more centuries with periodic “raids”, during which Moscow was repeatedly burned, and the Middle Eastern slave trading markets were filled with Russian captives: “Hypocritical diplomacy combined with daring raids allowed Crimean Tatars and other smaller Tatar communities to maintain militarily threatening positions in the southern part European Russia right up to the endXYIIIcenturies", - this is admitted by the director of the US Library of Congress D.H. Billington.

According to the Eurasian concept, the Tatars played an outstanding role in the formation of Russian statehood; the Muscovite kingdom was reviving the Golden Horde in a new guise when the “replacement of the Horde Khan by the Moscow Tsar with the transfer of the Khan’s headquarters to Moscow”(N.S. Trubetskoy). The Russian tsars, it turns out, developed precisely the Tatar state structure: “The Muscovite kingdom arose thanks to the Tatar yoke... Compared to the extremely primitive ideas about statehood that prevailed in pre-Mongol appanage-veche Rus', the Mongolian, Genghis Khan state idea was a big idea, and its greatness could not fail to impress the Russians themselves strong impression "(N.S. Trubetskoy). But the very fact of the military victories of the Mongols does not yet testify to the greatness of their state idea: the great Roman state was destroyed by barbarian tribes that did not have any statehood. And Genghis Khan's "great" the state began to crumble after the death of the creator. The thesis about primitiveness Kyiv statehood is refuted by its flourishing and the military campaigns of the Kyiv princes. But contrary to historical facts, Eurasians are convinced that the Russian state itself was preserved thanks to the Tatars: “The preservation of Novgorod within Russia... in many ways- the merit of the Tatars, who taught the Russian cavalry the techniques of steppe warfare"(L.N. Gumilev).

As is known, the Tatars were indifferent to the religions of the conquered countries with a higher culture. In this they are similar to any barbarian conquerors, since paganism and shamanism generally do not raise any religious issues that require intense comprehension and upholding. This explains their religious tolerance, for the Mongols who converted to Islam ceased to be religiously tolerant. Nikolai Trubetskoy correctly pointed out that “The religion of the Supreme Khan, the only religion that mystically substantiates his power, turned out to be an inferior religion in the eyes of the subjects of this khan. Gradually, all the highest ranks and most of the ordinary representatives of the nomadic ruling element switched from shamanism, either to Buddhism or Islam... But from the point of view of Buddhism or Islam, the power of the supreme khan turned out to be religiously unfounded.”. Which was one of the reasons for the collapse of the Mongol Empire. But, in this case, what is the height of Mongolian statehood?

To apology the state idea of ​​Genghis Khan, it was necessary to exaggerate the importance of the Mongolian religion. In a polemic with Nikolai Trubetskoy, Lev Gumilyov argued that the Mongols professed a certain religion bond, which is both ancient space worship, And theistic system(one excludes the other). Gumilyov is also convinced that the ethics of the Mongolian religion practically no different from the ethics of Buddhism. While Buddhism in general antitheistic. With all this, Eurasians are forced to recognize the influence of Byzantium on the formation of the Russian state, but in the form of a kind of chimera: “The ideas of Genghis Khan came to life again, but in a completely new, unrecognizable form, having received a Christian-Byzantine justification... This is how the miracle of turning the Mongolian state idea into an Orthodox Russian state idea happened.”(N.S. Trubetskoy). Indeed, a completely illogical “miracle”: Russian statehood is built on Christian-Byzantine foundations, V absolutely unrecognizable Mongolian form, but, nevertheless, is Mongolian. Mongolophilia Eurasians is the cause of obvious distortions of both Russian and Mongolian history: it turns out that the War of 1812 “was won largely due to Mongolian traditions ( guerrilla warfare)» (L.N. Gumilev).

On the other hand, Eurasians admit that “The foreign yoke was perceived by religious consciousness as God’s punishment for sins”(N.S. Trubetskoy). Which was also a blessing for Rus', for such eras testify “about the deep shock in the spiritual life of the nation, create a spiritual atmosphere favorable for forging a new national type, and are harbingers of the beginning new era in the history of the nation"(N.S. Trubetskoy). But evil, which is God’s punishment, does not cease to be evil, and goodness consists only in resistance to it: “It is not evil itself that enriches, it is the spiritual power that awakens to overcome evil that enriches.”(N.A. Berdyaev). All the achievements of Rus' were not thanks to, but in spite of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, including the experience of various struggles against the Tatars, and unification in the name of common defense.

The thesis about the Tatar origins of Russian statehood is substantiated by Eurasians naturalistically: Russian tsars annexed those lands that previously belonged to the Mongol empire. Hence violation of historical logic, and many factual historical stretches Eurasians. Genghis Khan first carried out a great historical mission: “Eurasia is a kind of geographically, ethnologically and economically integral, unified system, the state unification of which was historically necessary... Over time, this unity began to be disrupted. The Russian state instinctively strived and strives to recreate this broken unity and therefore is the heir, successor, continuer of the historical work of Genghis Khan."(N.S. Trubetskoy). But “after that” does not mean “therefore.” The development of vast territories by the Russian people was motivated, of course, by something completely different. Those territories that were a source of continuous mortal danger for Rus' were annexed (the Kazan Kingdom, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Crimean Khanate), or the Russian Empire included peoples receiving the protection of the Russian state (Georgia, Armenia, the territories of Kazakhstan, Finland), or territories that were not having statehood and cultural development (Ural, Siberia). Therefore, Russia never laid claim to the Mongol “heritage” in Central Asia, China and Mongolia itself; the Russian people colonized vast spaces that had nothing to do with the Mongol Empire - the North of the Eurasian continent, Alaska, Russian California.

Victor Aksyuchits

Socio-economic development of Russia in the 14th century
In the socio-economic field, the 14th century was characterized by serious changes. After the crisis caused by the destruction of the mid-second half of the 13th century, agriculture was restored in North-Eastern Rus', and handicraft production revived again.
In the XIV century. There is a growth and increase in the economic importance of cities that did not play a serious role in the pre-Mongol period (Moscow, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma). Fortress construction is actively underway, the construction of stone churches, interrupted for half a century after Batu’s invasion, is being resumed.
In the 14th century, patrimonial estates grew through the distribution of lands by princes to their boyars and nobles. But a significant part of the territories remained in state ownership - these lands were called “black”. Black volosts were often given by the princes to the boyars for “feeding” (i.e., management) with the right to collect taxes in their favor. From the second half of the 14th century. Monastic land ownership begins to grow rapidly. The ordinary rural population began to be called "peasants" ("Christians") - later this term became established as its general name. The category of serfs has also been preserved.
The 14th century was marked by the rapid development of crafts and agriculture in North-Eastern Rus'. Everywhere there was not only differentiation of existing technologies, but also the emergence of new ones. In ore production, for example, there is a separation of mining and smelting of ore from its subsequent processing.
In the leather industry, in addition to shoemakers, such professions as belt makers, bag makers, chebotari, bridle makers, etc. appeared. In Rus', water wheels and water mills became widespread, parchment began to be actively replaced by paper, and the size of the iron working parts of the plow increased.
Salt production is becoming widespread (in the regions of Staraya Russa, Sol Galitskaya, Kostroma, etc.). Workshops for the production of books appeared in large princely centers and monasteries. Massive casting (bell production) is developing, copper foundries for artistic casting are emerging, and the art of filigree and dimpled enamel is being revived.
Agriculture developed somewhat more slowly than crafts. However, clearing continued to be replaced by field arable land, two-field farming became widespread, virgin lands were actively developed and new villages were built. The number of domestic animals also increased, which meant the application of organic fertilizers to the fields.
Russian culture during the Mongol-Tatar invasion
The development of culture in the Russian lands after the invasion and the establishment of Horde rule as a whole did not undergo such serious destructive changes, similar to those that occurred in the socio-political sphere. However, as a result of the Tatar raids, severe damage was caused to material and cultural values. A sharp increase in the disunity of Russian lands began to be felt from the middle of the 13th century, which negatively affected the development of all-Russian cultural processes. Immediately after the establishment of Horde rule in Rus', the construction of stone buildings temporarily ceased. The art of a number of artistic crafts was lost (production of products with niello and grain, with cloisonne enamel, etc.). Manufacturing scale has been reduced handwritten books. The horizons of the chroniclers are significantly narrowed; they almost lose interest in the events taking place in other principalities.
At the same time, the most important genre of literature in the 13th century, which received dynamic development, became oral folk art: epics, songs, tales, military stories. They reflected the ideas of Russian people about their past and the world around them.
In the XIV century. A whole series of stories and legends are devoted to the understanding of the Mongol conquest: about the battle of Kalka, about the devastation of Ryazan, about the invasion of Batu, the legend about Evpatiy Kolovrat, as well as about the defender of Smolensk, the young man from Smolensk Mercury, who saved the city at the behest of the Mother of God from Batu’s army.
In North-Eastern Rus', which during the XIV - early XV centuries. gradually moved towards the restoration of state unity, favorable preconditions were created for cultural upsurge, enriched by the growth of national self-awareness. The Battle of Kulikovo gave a powerful impetus to the development of patriotic feelings of the Russian people. A number of outstanding works of literature are dedicated to the brilliant victory of Russian soldiers on the Kulikovo field: a chronicle story, a military story. Another work from the anti-Horde cycle is historical song about Shchelkan Dudentievich, telling about the uprising in Tver in 1327, about the destruction of Moscow by Tokhtamysh in 1382, about the invasions of Tamerlane and Khan Edigei into Rus'.
The idea of ​​national liberation and patriotism is also reflected in works dedicated to the defense of the northwestern borders of the Russian Land: “The Life of Dovmont” and.
A number of hagiographies are dedicated to the princes who died in the Horde. This and. The princes appear in these works as defenders of the Orthodox faith and their Fatherland.
Gradually from the second half of the 13th century. Chronicle writing is gradually being restored in Russian lands. Its main centers remained the Galicia-Volyn principality, Novgorod, Rostov the Great, Ryazan, a little later (from about 1250) Vladimir, and from the end of the 13th century - Tver. From the second half of the 14th century. the compilation of chronicles and handwritten books is experiencing a significant rise. The leading place is gradually occupied by the Moscow chronicle tradition, and Simonov, Andronikov and other monasteries become its centers. It came to us as part of the Trinity Chronicle of the early 15th century. and, unlike local chronicles, is the first collection of an all-Russian character since the times of Ancient Rus'.
Along with the development of literature, writing develops. An indicator of the degree of spread of literacy among all segments of the population are those found in the 20th century. birch bark documents during excavations in Novgorod. Gradually, with the development of bookishness, the nature of writing changes and business documentation expands. In the XIV century. is being replaced by more fluent and free writing. And from the end of the 14th century. The development of cursive writing begins, the very name of which speaks about the principle of writing. Expensive parchment is gradually being replaced by a cheaper material - paper.
At the end of the XIII-XIV centuries. Stone construction is being resumed in Russian lands. To this day, the Church of St. Nicholas on Lipna (1292), the Church of Fyodor Stratilates on the Stream (1360) and the Church of the Savior on Ilyin Street (1374) have been preserved in Novgorod. Several civil buildings from the 14th - early 15th centuries have also been preserved in Novgorod. The most interesting building among them is the Faceted Chamber (the name appeared later), created in 1433. It was erected on the orders of Archbishop Euthymius of Novgorod, an ardent opponent of Moscow, to emphasize the sovereignty of Novgorod.
Under Ivan Kalita, four are being built in the Moscow Kremlin stone temple: Assumption Cathedral (1326), Church of Ivan the Climacus (1329), Church of the Savior on Bor (1330) and Archangel Cathedral (1333). Some fragments have survived from some of them. The resumption of stone construction in Moscow is associated with the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, during which the white stone fortifications of the Moscow Kremlin were erected (1360s). Monuments of stone architecture that have reached us from the first quarter of the 15th century. indicate their new technical quality. An example of this kind of monument is the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod. In addition to Moscow, stone fortresses are being built around a number of monasteries, as well as in Izborsk, Oreshok, Yama, Koporye and Porkhov.
The powerful rise of Russian culture at the end of the 14th century. was reflected in the development of Russian painting. One of the most early monuments monumental painting are the frescoes of the cathedral of the Snetogorsk monastery in Pskov (1313). The most important artist of this period was Theophanes the Greek (c. 1340 - 61 after 1405), a Byzantine master. The fresco paintings of Theophanes the Greek in the surviving Novgorod churches are distinguished by extraordinary virtuosity of execution, freedom in handling eschatological traditions, and original monochrome execution in deep red-brown tones.
In addition to fresco painting, Theophanes the Greek is credited with depicting the Assumption on the back of a famous icon from the Annunciation Cathedral in Moscow. The large icon from Pereyaslavl Zalessky belongs to his brush. At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries, the Russian national school iconography. The early period of creativity of the brilliant Russian artist Andrei Rublev dates back to this time.
A huge role in the development of culture in Rus' in this era was played by the great spiritual shepherds Metropolitan Alexy (c. 1310-1378) and Abbot Sergius of Radonezh (1314 (or 1319)-1392). The latter, the founder of the Trinity Monastery near Moscow, is the true inspirer of the struggle of the Russian people against Horde rule.
Golden Horde: rise and fall
Golden Horde, Juchi ulus, feudal state founded in the early 40s. 13th century, led by Khan Batu (1236-1255), son of Khan Jochi. The power of the khans of the Golden Horde extended over the territory from the lower Danube and the Gulf of Finland in the west to the Irtysh basin and the lower Ob on the Volga, from the Black, Caspian and Aral seas and Lake Balkhash in the south to the Novgorod lands in the north. However, the indigenous Russian lands were not territorially part of the Golden Horde, but were in vassal dependence on it, paid tribute and obeyed the orders of the khans. The center of the Golden Horde was the Lower Volga region, where under Batu the city of Sarai-Batu (near modern Astrakhan) became the capital in the 1st half of the 14th century. the capital was moved to Sarai-Berke [founded by Khan Berke (1255-1266), near modern Volgograd].
The Golden Horde was an artificial and fragile state association. The population of the Golden Horde was varied in composition. The Volga Bulgarians, Mordovians, Russians, Greeks, Khorezmians, etc. lived in the sedentary areas. The bulk of the nomads were the Turkic tribes of the Polovtsians (Kipchaks), Kanglys, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, etc. The level of social and cultural development of the population of the Golden Horde was also different. Semi-patriarchal, semi-feudal relations prevailed among the nomadic population, and feudal relations prevailed in areas with a settled population.
After the conquests, which were accompanied by monstrous destruction and human casualties, the main goal of the Golden Horde rulers was to plunder the enslaved population. This was achieved through brutal exactions. The bulk of the lands and pastures were concentrated in the hands of the Mongolian feudal nobility, in whose favor the working population bore duties.
The handicraft production of the nomads of the Golden Horde took the form of home crafts. In the cities of the Golden Horde there were a variety of crafts with production for the market, but the producers were, as a rule, craftsmen brought from Khorezm, the North Caucasus, Crimea, as well as newcomers Russians, Armenians, Greeks, etc. Many cities in the conquered territories, devastated by the Mongols, were in decline or disappeared altogether. Large centers of mainly caravan trade were Sarai-Batu, Sarai-Berke, Urgench, the Crimean cities of Sudak, Kafa (Feodosia), Azak (Azov) on the Sea of ​​​​Azov, etc.
The state was headed by khans from the house of Batu. In particularly important cases of political life, kurultai were convened - congresses of the military-feudal nobility led by members of the ruling dynasty. State affairs were led by beklyare-bek (prince over princes), and individual branches by viziers. Darugs were sent to cities and their subordinate regions, whose main duty was to collect taxes and taxes. Often, along with the Darugs, military leaders - Baskaks - were appointed. State structure was of a paramilitary nature, because Military and administrative positions, as a rule, were not separated. The most important positions were occupied by members of the ruling dynasty, princes (“oglans”), who owned appanages in the Golden Horde and headed the army. From among the begs (noyns) and tarkhanovs came the main command cadres of the army - temniks, thousanders, centurions, as well as bakauls (officials who distributed military contents, booty, etc.).
The fragile nature of the state unification of the Golden Horde and especially the growth of the liberation struggle of the conquered and dependent peoples became the main reasons for the collapse and death of the Golden Horde. Already at its formation, the Golden Horde was divided into uluses, which belonged to 14 sons of Jochi: 13 brothers were semi-independent sovereigns, subordinate to the supreme power of Batu. Decentralization tendencies appeared after the death of Khan Mengu-Timur (1266-82), when a feudal war began between the princes of the house of Jochi. Under the khans Tuda-Mengu (1282-87) and Talabug (1287-91), the temnik Nogai became the de facto ruler of the state. Only Khan Tokhta (1291-1312) managed to get rid of Nogai and his supporters.
After 5 years, a new turmoil arose. Its termination is associated with the name of Khan Uzbek (1312-42); under him and his successor Khan Janibek (1342-57), the Golden Horde reached its maximum military power. The military forces under Uzbekistan numbered up to 300 thousand people. However, the unrest that began in 1357 with the murder of Janibek indicated the beginning of its collapse. From 1357 to 1380, more than 25 khans occupied the Golden Horde throne. In the 60-70s. Temnik Mamai became the de facto ruler. In the early 60s. 14th century Khorezm fell from the Golden Horde, Poland and Lithuania seized lands in the Dnieper River basin, Astrakhan separated. Mamai, in addition, had to face the strengthening union of Russian principalities led by Moscow. Mamai's attempt to weaken Rus' again by organizing a huge predatory campaign led to the defeat of the Tatars by united Russian troops in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Under Khan Tokhtamysh (1380-95), the unrest ceased, and the central government began to control the main territory of the Golden Horde. In 1380, Tokhtamysh defeated the army of Mamai on the Kalka River, and in 1382 he went to Moscow, which he captured by deception and burned. After consolidating his power, he opposed Timur. As a result of a series of devastating campaigns, Timur defeated the troops of Tokhtamysh, captured and destroyed Volga cities, including Sarai-Berke, plundered the cities of Crimea, etc. The Golden Horde was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover.
In the early 20s. 15th century The Siberian Khanate was formed in the 40s. - Nogai Horde, then the Kazan Khanate (1438) and the Crimean Khanate (1443) arose, and in the 60s. - Kazakh, Uzbek Khanates, as well as the Astrakhan KhanateOrda in the 15th century. Rus''s dependence on the Golden Horde significantly weakened. In 1480, Akhmat, Khan of the Great Horde, which for some time was the successor of the Golden Horde, tried to achieve obedience from Ivan III, but this attempt ended unsuccessfully. In 1480, the Russian people finally freed themselves from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The Great Horde ceased to exist at the beginning of the 16th century.