The concept of internecine wars. Internecine wars in Rus'. The struggle between Yaroslav and Svyatopolk for the Kyiv throne

Civil strife is an internal discord, a war between people living in the same territory.

Kievan Rus from the 9th to the 11th centuries quite often faced internecine wars; The reason for the princely feuds was the struggle for power.

The largest princely feuds in Rus'

• The first civil strife of the princes (late 10th - early 11th century). The enmity of the sons of Prince Svyatoslav, caused by their desire to achieve independence from the authorities of Kyiv.
• Second civil strife (early 11th century). Enmity between the sons of Prince Vladimir for power.
• Third civil strife (second half of the 11th century). Enmity between the sons of Prince Yaroslav the Wise for power.

The first civil strife in Rus'

Old Russian princes had a tradition of starting a large number of children, which was the reason for subsequent disputes over the right of inheritance, since the rule of inheritance from father to eldest son did not exist then. After the death of Prince Svyatoslav in 972, he was left with three sons who had the right to inheritance.

• Yaropolk Svyatoslavich - he received power in Kyiv.
• Oleg Svyatoslavich - received power in the territory of the Drevlyans
• Vladimir Svyatoslavich - received power in Novgorod, and later in Kyiv.

After the death of Svyatoslav, his sons received sole power in their lands and could now govern them according to their own understanding. Vladimir and Oleg wanted to gain complete independence for their principalities from the will of Kyiv, so they launched their first campaigns against each other.

Oleg was the first to speak; on his orders, in the lands of the Drevlyans, where Vladimir ruled, the son of the governor Yaropolk, Seneveld, was killed. Having learned about this, Seneveld decided to take revenge and forced Yaropolk, on whom he had great influence, to go with his army against his brother Oleg.

977 - the beginning of the civil strife between the sons of Svyatoslav began. Yaropolk attacked Oleg, who was not prepared, and the Drevlyans, together with their prince, were forced to retreat from the borders to the capital - the city of Ovruch. As a result, during the retreat, Prince Oleg died - he was crushed under the hooves of one of the horses. The Drevlyans began to submit to Kyiv. Prince Vladimir, having learned about the death of his brother and the outbreak of family feud, runs to the Varangians.

980 - Vladimir returns to Rus' along with the Varangian army. As a result of battles with the troops of Yaropolk, Vladimir managed to recapture Novgorod, Polotsk and move towards Kyiv.

Yaropolk, having learned about his brother’s victories, convenes advisers. One of them persuades the prince to leave Kyiv and hide in the city of Rodna, but later it becomes clear that the adviser is a traitor - he conspired with Vladimir and sent Yaropolk to the city dying of hunger. As a result, Yaropolk is forced to enter into negotiations with Vladimir. He goes to the meeting, however, upon arrival he dies at the hands of two Varangian warriors.

Vladimir becomes prince in Kyiv and rules there until his death.

Second civil strife in Rus'

In 1015, Prince Vladimir, who had 12 sons, dies. Started new war for power between the sons of Vladimir.

1015 - Svyatopolk becomes prince in Kyiv, having killed his own brothers Boris and Gleb.

1016 - the struggle between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav the Wise begins.

Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod, gathered a detachment of Varangians and Novgorodians and moved to Kyiv. After bloody battle near the city of Lyubech, Kyiv was captured and Yaroslav was forced to retreat. However, the feud did not end there. In the same year, Yaroslav gathered an army, using the support Polish prince, and recaptured Kyiv, driving Yaroslav back to Novgorod. A few months later, Svyatopolk was again expelled from Kyiv by Yaroslav, who gathered a new army. This time Yaroslav forever became a prince in Kyiv.

The third civil strife in Rus'

Another civil strife began after the death of Yaroslav the Wise. Grand Duke died in 1054, which provoked civil strife between the Yaroslavichs.

Yaroslav the Wise, fearing another enmity, himself distributed the lands among his sons:

• Izyaslav - Kyiv;
• Svyatoslav - Chernigov;
• Vsevolod - Pereyaslavl;
• Igor – Vladimir;
• Vyacheslav - Smolensk.

1068 - Despite the fact that each of the sons had his own inheritance, they all disobeyed the will of their father and wanted to claim power in Kyiv. Having replaced each other several times as the prince of Kyiv, power finally went to Izyaslav, as Yaroslav the Wise bequeathed.

After the death of Izyaslav and until the 15th century, there were princely feuds in Rus', but never again was the struggle for power so large-scale.

Majority modern countries went through a period feudal fragmentation. This means that once large states were fragmented into a number of smaller ones. They were weaker and could not resist the common enemy. Fragmentation is associated with the transfer of land to inheritance. Since there could be many heirs, this led to the virtual disappearance of a single state.

What is meant by the expression “internecine war”

To understand what internecine wars are, you need to understand the meaning of this expression. It can best be explained as follows:

• fragmentation leads to the formation of a number of small and independent states. Each of them has its own ruler with his own ambitions and interests;
• contradictions between rulers lead to wars between them. Often such wars arose after the death of one of the rulers. With imperfect inheritance law, each local ruler could lay claim to the lands of the deceased. This led to large-scale wars in which coalitions and alliances were created;
• wars between rulers of parts of the same country were called internecine. They brought ruin to traders and farmers. Meanwhile, internecine wars continued for centuries in Europe and Russia, stopping only for short periods.

Thus, internecine wars are a prototype civil wars. They occur between people of the same nationality, representatives of the same culture. And they arise between rulers.

Examples of internecine wars

A striking example is Kievan Rus. Strong princes divided their lands among their sons. At the same time, one person must be in charge. But after the death of the prince, his sons began to challenge each other for primacy. In addition, they further fragmented their plots, distributing land to allies and relatives.

As a result of fragmentation, by the time Tatar-Mongol invasion in Rus' there were several dozen separate principalities. The consequence of this state of affairs was the seizure of the principalities by the Tatar-Mongols and their subjugation of Rus' until the end of the 15th century.

Being offended is nothing if you don't remember it.

Confucius

After the death of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav, three sons remained: the eldest Yaropolk, the middle Oleg, and the youngest Vladimir. The first two were of noble birth. Vladimir was the son of Svyatopolk from Olga’s slave, Malusha. Even during Svyatopolk’s life, his children were endowed with power. The Grand Duke divided his lands between his sons, and they ruled the country while Svyatoslav was on campaign. Yaropolk ruled Kyiv. Oleg - the territory of the Drevlyans. The youngest son ruled Novgorod. Moreover, the Novgorodians themselves elected this young man as their prince. This example of the division of power between sons was new to Kievan Rus. Svyatoslav was the first to introduce such an order. But It is precisely this division of inheritance between sons that will be a real disaster for the country in the future.

The first internecine war in Rus'

As a result of the premature death of Prince Svyatoslav, as well as because of his attempt to divide power between his sons, the first internecine war between the princes began. The reason for the war was the following event. While hunting in his domain, Oleg met the son of Sveneld, the governor of Yaropolk. Dissatisfied with this fact, Oleg orders to kill uninvited guest. Having received the news of the death of the son of his governor, and also under the pressure of the latter, Prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich decides to go to war against his brother. This happened in 977.

After the first battle, Oleg could not withstand the onslaught of the army, led by his older brother, and retreated to the city of Ovruch. The essence of this retreat was quite clear: Oleg wanted to get a respite after the defeat and hide his army behind the walls of the city. This is where the saddest thing happened. Hastily retreating into the city, the army created a real stampede on the bridge leading into the city. In this crush, Oleg Svyatoslavovich fell into a deep ditch. The crush continued after that. Many people and horses then fell into this ditch. Prince Oleg died crushed by the bodies of people and horses that fell on top of him. Thus, the Kiev ruler prevailed over his brother. Entering the conquered city, he gives the order to deliver Oleg’s corpse to him. This order was carried out. Seeing the lifeless body of his brother in front of him, Kyiv prince came to despair. Brotherly feelings triumphed.

At this time, Vladimir, while in Novgorod, received news that his brother had been murdered, and decided to flee overseas, fearing that his older brother might now want to rule alone. Upon learning of the escape younger brother, prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich sends his representatives, governors, to Novgorod, who were to govern the city. As a result of the first Russian internecine war, Oleg was killed, Vladimir fled, and Yaropolk became the sole ruler of Kievan Rus.

End of reign

Until 980, Vladimir was in flight. However, this year, having gathered a powerful army from the Varangians, he returns to Novgorod, removes the governors of Yaropolk and sends them to his brother with a message that Vladimir is gathering an army and going to war against Kyiv. In 980 this military campaign begins. Prince Yaropolk, seeing the numerical strength of his brother, decided to avoid an open battle and with his army took up defense in the city. And then Vladimir went to cunning trick. Secretly, he entered into an alliance with the Kyiv governor, who managed to convince Yaropolk that the people of Kiev were dissatisfied with the siege of the city and demanded Vladimir to reign in Kyiv. Prince Yaropolk succumbed to these persuasion and decided to flee from the capital to Small town Rotnyu. Vladimir’s troops also went there after him. Having besieged the city, they forced Yaropolk to surrender and head to Kyiv to see his brother. In Kyiv, he was sent to his brother’s home and the door was closed behind him. There were two Varangians in the room, who killed Yaropolk.

So in 980 Vladimir Svyatoslavovich became the sole prince of Kievan Rus.

The first internecine war in Rus' began after the death of Prince Svyatoslav: his sons Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir could not divide the empty throne of Kiev. It was not possible to resolve the issue amicably, so it was not possible to avoid fraternal bloodshed. Subsequently, similar stories were repeated several times. Read about the strife that followed this conflict in our material.

Sources:

Presnyakov A.E. “Princely law in Ancient Rus'»
Bokhanov A. N., Gorinov M. M.“History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 20th century”

Announcement image on the main page: tayni.info
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The fate of Prince Vladimir was shared by his children: they were also destined to become participants in the internecine war. The main contenders for the Kiev throne were Svyatopolk, who went down in history under the nickname Damned, and Yaroslav, well known as the Wise. As a result of this conflict, Vladimir's other sons, Boris and Gleb, were killed (they later became the first Russian saints). Svyatopolk fled to Eastern Europe, but never managed to settle there: he died of illness.

During the civil strife, Boris and Gleb were killed

By the way, historians do not rule out that Svyatopolk was simply “framed”: Yaroslav himself could have given the order to kill Boris and Gleb, who, if you follow this logic, then contributed to the formation of the image of the “cursed” brother. As they say, the one who wins is the one who wins.

Image: wikipedia.org

Another civil strife began after the death of the Kyiv prince Vsevolod Olgovich. This time the main opponents were Izyaslav Mstislavich and Yuri Vladimirovich, widely known as Dolgoruky. First of all, the war was fought for Kyiv. The end to the irreconcilable struggle was set only when Izyaslav died: only soon after this did Yuri finally manage to take root on the Kiev throne.

Yuri Dolgoruky strengthened himself in Kyiv only after the death of Izyaslav

Yuri Vladimirovich also managed to separate Pereyaslavl and Volyn from Kyiv. True, the prince did not rejoice at his achievements for long: he settled in Kyiv in 1155, and already died in 1157.

Image: runivers.ru

In 1158, the struggle for reign in Kyiv and other territories began again. Izyaslav Davydovich reigned over the “mother of Russian cities” at that time, but, as usual, his possessions were not enough for him, and he got involved in the struggle for the Principality of Galicia. This led to Izyaslav’s position being shaken. Rostislav Mstislavich, Prince of Smolensk, and Mstislav Izyaslavich, Prince of Volyn, turned their gaze to the Kiev throne.

Izyaslav Davydovich was killed by black hoods

As a result of the struggle, Izyaslav Davidovich died. During one of the armed clashes, he was killed by black hoods - the so-called Turkic mercenaries who served the Russian princes.

Image: history.sgu.ru

The internecine war of 1094–1097 had hardly ended when it was replaced by a new one. This time the struggle was for the western lands: Terebovl, Volyn, Przemysl. The most striking and, perhaps, the most famous episode of this strife was the blinding of the Terebovl prince Vasilko Rostislavich, described in detail in The Tale of Bygone Years. This happened immediately after the Lyubech Congress of 1097, within the framework of which the princes tried to agree on an end to the strife. The result, however, was the opposite.

After the Lyubech Congress, Prince Vasilko was blinded

During the war, the Kiev prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich managed to achieve the annexation of Volyn and gave it to his son Yaroslav Svyatopolchich. One of the main participants in this conflict, Davyd Igorevich, who managed to visit both sides of the barricades, was deprived of Volyn with the words: “We don’t want to give you Vladimir’s table, because you threw a knife into us, which has never happened in Russian land.” However, in return, Davyd received other lands and even a monetary payoff.

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In 1094, the heirs of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, began to fight for the lands that belonged to their father. At the same time, Svyatoslav had been dead for almost twenty years. Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, also the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, reigned in Kyiv at that time.

The internecine war coincided with the attacks of the Cumans

The enmity between the Svyatoslavichs - Oleg, David and Yaroslav - and Svyatopolk, as well as Vladimir Monomakh and other princes, escalated precisely during the period when southern Rus' had difficulty fighting off the Polovtsians. In many ways, this was precisely what contributed to the fact that many lands that had previously belonged to the patrimony of Svyatoslav, his sons still managed to return, even though during the civil strife they allowed a lot strategic mistakes. However, Kyiv still remained with Svyatopolk Izyaslavich.

Image: wikipedia.org

After the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 1015, a long war began between his numerous sons, who ruled separate parts of Rus'. The instigator of the strife was Svyatopolk the Accursed, who killed his brothers Boris and Gleb. In internecine wars, the princes-brothers brought to Rus' either the Pechenegs, or the Poles, or mercenary detachments of the Varangians. In the end, the winner was Yaroslav the Wise, who divided Rus' (along the Dnieper) with his brother Mstislav of Tmutarakan from 1024 to 1036, and then became “autocracy” after Mstislav’s death.

In the last quarter of the 11th century. V difficult conditions internal crisis and constant threat external danger On the part of the Polovtsian khans, the princely strife acquired the character of a nationwide disaster. The grand-ducal throne became the object of contention: Svyatoslav Yaroslavich expelled his elder brother from Kyiv, “labelling the beginning of the expulsion of the brothers.”

The strife became especially terrible after Svyatoslav’s son Oleg entered into allied relations with the Polovtsians and repeatedly brought the Polovtsian hordes to Rus' for a selfish decision between the princely quarrels. Oleg’s enemy was the young Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, who reigned in border Pereyaslavl.

Monomakh managed to assemble a princely congress in Lyubech in 1097, the task of which was to assign “fatherland” to the princes, condemn the instigator of the strife Oleg and, if possible, eliminate future strife in order to resist the Polovtsians with united forces. However, the princes were powerless to establish order not only throughout the Russian land, but even within their princely circle of relatives and cousins and nephews. Immediately after the congress, a new strife broke out in Lyubech, which lasted for several years. The only force that, under those conditions, could really stop the rotation of princes and princely squabbles was the boyars - the main part of the then young and progressive feudal class. Boyar program at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. consisted of limiting princely tyranny and excesses of princely officials, eliminating strife and the general defense of Rus' from the Polovtsians. Coinciding in these points with the aspirations of the townspeople, this program reflected the general interests of the people and was, of course, progressive. In 1093, after the death of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, the people of Kiev invited the insignificant Turov prince Svyatopolk to the throne, but they miscalculated significantly, since he turned out to be a bad commander and a greedy ruler. Svyatopolk died in 1113; his death served as a signal for a widespread uprising in Kyiv. The people attacked the courts of princely rulers and moneylenders. The Kiev boyars, bypassing the princely seniority, chose Vladimir Monomakh as Grand Duke, who reigned successfully until his death in 1125. After him, the unity of Rus' still held together under his son Mstislav (1125-1132), and then, in the words of the chronicler, “became angry the whole Russian land" into separate independent reigns.