One of the sad pages of our history is the fragmentation of Ancient Russia in the Middle Ages. But civil war is not the prerogative of the ancient Russian principalities. All of Europe was engulfed in feudal wars, in France alone there were 14 large feudal majorates, between which there were continuous bloody clashes. Internecine warfare is a characteristic feature of the Middle Ages.
Weak power of Kyiv and right of the ladder
The main cause of civil strife was the weak centralization of power. From time to time, strong leaders appeared, such as Vladimir Monomakh or Yaroslav the Wise, who cared about the unity of the state, but, as a rule, after their death, the sons started strife again.
And there have always been many children, and each branch of the family, coming from the common grandfather Rurik, tried to secure supremacy for itself. Aggravated all the specifics of succession to the throne - the right of the ladder, when powerpassed not by direct inheritance to the eldest son, but the eldest in the family. Russia was wracked by internecine wars until the death of the Moscow prince Vasily II the Dark, that is, until the second half of the 15th century.
Disunity
In the early stages of the development of the state, some kind of alliances were periodically formed between several princes, and wars were fought in blocs, or for a while the entire Kievan Rus united to repel the raids of the steppe peoples.
But all this was temporary, and the princes again locked themselves in their destinies, each of which individually did not have the strength or resources to unite all of Russia under his command.
Very weak federation
A civil war is a civil war. This is a bloody major confrontation between the inhabitants of one country, united in certain groups. Despite the fact that in those distant times our country consisted of several independent states, it remained in history as Kievan Rus, and its unity, albeit inactive, was still felt. It was such a weak federation, whose inhabitants called representatives of neighboring principalities non-residents, and foreigners - strangers.
Explicit and secret causes of civil strife
It is necessary to note the fact that the decision to go to war against his brother was made not only by the prince, but also by the townspeople, and the merchants, and the church. The princely power was severely limited by both the Boyar Duma and the city Veche. The causes of internecine wars lie much deeper.
And if the principalities fought among themselves, then there were strong and numerous motives for this, including ethnic, economic, and trade ones. Ethnic because new states were formed on the outskirts of Russia, the population of which began to speak their dialects and had their own traditions and way of life. For example, Belarus and Ukraine. The desire of the princes to transfer power by direct inheritance also led to the isolation of the principalities. The struggle between them was due to dissatisfaction with the distribution of territories, for the throne of Kyiv, for independence from Kyiv.
Disunity of brothers
The internecine war in Russia began in the 9th century, and petty skirmishes between the princes, in fact, never stopped. But there were also major feuds. The first strife arose at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries, after the death of Svyatoslav. His three sons, Yaropolk, Vladimir and Oleg, had different mothers.
Grandmother, Grand Duchess Olga, who was able to unite them, died in 969, and 3 years later, her father also died. There are few exact dates of birth of the early Kyiv princes and their heirs, but there are suggestions that by the time the Svyatoslavichs were orphaned, the elder Yaropolk was only 15 years old, and each of them already had his allotment left by Svyatoslav. All this did not contribute to the emergence of strong fraternal ties.
First major feud
The beginning of the internecine war falls at the time of the growing up of the brothers - they have already gained strength, had squads and watched theirestates. The specific reason was the moment when Oleg discovered the hunters of Yaropolk in his forests, led by the son of the voivode Sveneld Lyut. After a skirmish, Lut was killed, and, according to some reports, his father Svenald strongly incited Yaropolk to attack and in every possible way fueled hatred for the brothers, who allegedly dream of the throne of Kiev.
One way or another, but in 977 Yaropolk kills his brother Oleg. Having heard about the murder of his younger brother, Vladimir, who was sitting in Veliky Novgorod, fled to Sweden, from which he returned with a strong army of mercenaries led by his governor Dobrynya. Vladimir immediately moved to Kyiv. Taking the recalcitrant Polotsk, he laid siege to the capital city. After some time, Yaropolk agreed to a meeting with his brother, but did not have time to reach the headquarters, as he was killed by two mercenaries. Vladimir reigned on the throne of Kiev only 7 years after the death of his father. Yaropolk in history, oddly enough, remained a meek ruler, and it is believed that very young brothers became victims of intrigues led by experienced and cunning associates, such as Sveneld and Blud. Vladimir reigned in Kyiv for 35 years and received the nickname Red Sun.
Second and third internecine wars of Kievan Rus
The second internecine war of the princes begins after the death of Vladimir, between his sons, whom he had 12. But the main struggle unfolded between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.
In this strife, Boris and Gleb, who became the first Russian saints, perish. Finally the topwon by Yaroslav, who later received the nickname the Wise. He ascended the throne of Kyiv in 1016 and ruled until 1054, in which he died.
Naturally, the third major civil strife began after his death between his seven sons. Although Yaroslav during his lifetime clearly defined the patrimonies of his sons, and bequeathed the throne of Kyiv to Izyaslav, as a result of fratricidal wars, he reigned on it only in 1069.
Centuries of fragmentation and dependence on the Golden Horde
The next period of time until the end of the XIV century is considered a period of political fragmentation. Independent principalities began to form, and the process of fragmentation and the emergence of new destinies became irreversible. If in the XII century there were 12 principalities on the territory of Russia, then already in the XIII century there were 50 of them, and in the XIV - 250.
In science, this process is called feudal fragmentation. Even the conquest of Russia by the Tatar-Mongols in 1240 failed to stop the process of fragmentation. Only being under the yoke of the Golden Horde during the 2nd, 5th centuries began to persuade the Kievan princes to create a centralized strong state.
Negative and positive aspects of fragmentation
Internecine wars in Russia destroyed and bled the country, preventing it from developing properly. But, as noted above, civil strife and fragmentation were the shortcomings of not only Russia. The patchwork quilt was reminiscent of France, Germany, and England. Oddly enough, but at some stage of development, fragmentation also played a positive role. Within the framework of one state, separatelands, turning into large estates, new cities were built and flourished, churches were built, large squads were created and equipped. The political, economic and cultural development of the peripheral principalities with the weak political power of Kyiv contributed to the growth of their independence and independence. And in some way the emergence of democracy.
However, feuds in Russia were always skillfully used by her enemies, who were in abundance. So the growth of peripheral estates was put to an end by the attack on Russia by the Golden Horde. The process of centralization of Russian lands slowly began in the XIII century and continued until the XV century. But then there were internecine clashes.
Dual succession rules
The beginning of the internecine war in the Moscow principality in 1425-1453 deserves separate words. After the death of Vasily I, power passes into the hands of his son Vasily II the Dark, all the years of whose reign were marked by civil strife. Immediately after the death of Vasily I in 1425, until 1433, the war was fought between Vasily the Dark and his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich. The fact is that in Kievan Rus until the 13th century the rules of succession to the throne were determined by ladder law. According to him, power was transferred to the eldest in the family, and Dmitry Donskoy in 1389 appointed his youngest son Yuri as heir to the throne in the event of the death of his eldest son Vasily. Vasily I died with his heirs, in particular, his son Vasily, who also had rights to the Moscow throne, because from the 13th century power was increasingly transferred from father to eldest son.
In general, Mstislav was the first to violate this rightI the Great, son of Vladimir Monomakh, who ruled from 1125 to 1132. Then, thanks to the authority of Monomakh, the will of Mstislav, the support of the boyars, the rest of the princes were silent. And Yury disputed the rights of Vasily, and some of the relatives supported him.
Strong ruler
The beginning of the internecine war in the Moscow principality was accompanied by the destruction of small destinies and the strengthening of royal power. Vasily the Dark fought for the unification of all Russian lands. Throughout his reign, which lasted intermittently from 1425 to 1453, Vasily the Dark repeatedly lost the throne in a fight, first with his uncle, and then with his sons and other people eager for the Moscow throne, but always returned it. In 1446, he went on a pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he was captured and blinded, which is why he received the nickname Dark. Power in Moscow at that time was seized by Dmitry Shemyaka. But, even being blinded, Vasily the Dark continued a tough fight against the Tatar raids and internal enemies, tearing Russia to pieces.
The internecine war in the Moscow principality ended after the death of Vasily II the Dark. The result of his reign was a significant increase in the territory of the Moscow principality (he annexed Pskov and Novgorod), a significant weakening and loss of the sovereignty of other princes who were forced to obey Moscow.
