The Eastern Slavs 500 A.D.—1035 A.D.

Chapter 23

The Eastern Slavs

Words, Terms and People to Know

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Yaroslav Dmitry Volga Dnieper Ivan the Great Ivan the Terrible Vladimir I Sophia Mongols

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Oleg Varangians Kiev Boyars Czar Oprichnina 1

Winston Churchill, in a radio broadcast in October 1939: "I cannot forecast to you the action of The Eastern Slavs Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a inside an enigma; but perhaps 500mystery, A.D.—1035 A.D. there is a key. That key is Russian national

interest."

Feudalism and Transitions 3. Describe the conditions that gave rise to feudalism, as well as political, economic and social characteristics of feudalism, in "A peculiar feature of Russian Orthodox churches is the presence Asia and Europe. of

onion-shaped domes on top of the cupolas. In the early history of the 4. Explain the lasting Russian Church, especially in Kiev, the first capital, the domes of effects of military conquests during the the churches followed the typical Byzantine rounded style, but later, Ages including: especially after the Mongol Period, RussianMiddle churches tended toward a. Muslim conquests; the onion domes, which, in many places, became quite stylized. b. The Crusades; Historiansare not in agreement as to the origin of this style, c. Theparticular Mongol invasions. butsome point to the possible influence of Persia on this peculiar feature of Russian church architecture, while others argue that since this style

was more popular in the far North of Russia, it had a practical application, in that the shape was particularly suited to shed the 2 large amounts of snow common in the region."

• Chapter 23 in a Nutshell • A visual representation of the Rise of Russia to 1725

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Former Soviet Region Compared in Latitude & Area with the United States

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Topography & biomes of Russia

The wider area of the Urals, showing the transition of temperate forest, taiga (conifers), , steppe and semi-desert. 5

Run Time: [21:14] Russia's challenging climate and its varied landforms provide the themes of this program.

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Section One: Describes the influences that transformed the early Slav agricultural settlements into trading centers

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I. Early Eastern Slavs –

A. 500 A.D. Eastern Slavs move toward the Volga River. • • • •

1. settled in villages made up of 25 related families 2. land, animals, tools and seed belonged to village 3. oldest male governed with help of council 4. by 600 Eastern Slavs controlled all land as far east as the Volga (see next slide) 5. practiced slash-and-burn agriculture 6. forests provides all the timber they needed

• • –

(a.) homes called

izaba (one room log cabin)

were built partly underground and were surrounded by a wall and a stockade.

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VOLGA The Volga River, the largest and longest river system is Europe is the location of the first Rus settlements. It rises in

the hills just northwest of Moscow, and then flows 2,300 miles (3,700 km) to the east and southeast before emptying into the Caspian Sea. More than 200 tributaries merge with the main river, including the Kama, Samara and Oka. And in fact, the Volga and its tributaries occupy a watershed covering about 560,000 sq. mi. (1,450,000 sq. km), which is almost 41% of the European landmass. When a series of canals were finished in the early 19th century - canals that eventually linked the Volga and the Baltic Sea - economic 8 development along the river increased dramatically

I. Cont. •

7. worshipped many gods and honored nature – – – – – – –

(a.) Volos (Veles)—protected cattle and sheep (b.) Perun the god of thunder and lightening (c.) Great Mother—goddess of land and harvest (d.) Built wooden images on high ground outside village (e.) Use slow moving rivers as roads for trade (f.) By end of 800s East Slavs had many trading towns along riverbanks (g.) Eastern Slavs relied on Viking warriors to protect their trade routes ( Called Vikings Varangians) 9

Run Time: [05:52] Kiev was at a strategic point leading to the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople, and it was key that the Vikings have a presence here.

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KIEV & THE BIRTH OF RUSSIA, from 800 a.d.

IN

KIEV, A HEROIC STATUE OF KIEV’S VIKING FOUNDERS

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Varangian routes and towns to Constantinople and to the Caspian Sea

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Section Two: discusses the emergence of a Rus state. II. Kievan Rus A. 862 Varangian named Rurik becomes prince of Novgorod •

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B. 882 Rurik’s Varangian friend Oleg becomes first and his brothers Grand Prince Rurik of Kiev and establishes the state of Kievan Rus Truvor and Sineus arrive in Ladoga C. Kiev was southern most town on the Varangian trading route. To get their goods to Byzantium Rus traders used boats – 1. control of Kiev by these Viking warriors helped controlled trade with Byzantium – 2. Kiev protected merchant ships from attack by people of the steppe 13

Russian Boyars –Boyars were upper nobility in Russia from the 10th through 17th cent. The boyars originally obtained influence and government posts through their military support of the Kievan princes. Their power and prestige, however, soon came to depend almost completely on landownership. The boyars occupied the highest state offices.

Never confuse a Russian Boyar with…

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Prince Igor Exacting Tribute from the Drevlyans, by Klavdiy Lebedev (1852-1916).

II. Cont.

• 3. Kiev Rus state really a group of small territories ruled by the Grand Prince of Kiev Grand Prince of Kiev who helped local princes called Boyars (wealthy landowning nobles) – (a.) Grand Prince collected tribute from Princes who in turn collected it from the people in their territory – (b.) an assembly (veche) handled daily concerns. freemen could call a meeting 15

II. Cont. reported …"And we went into the

Icon of Saint Vladimir, Novgorod, emissaries sent to16th Constantinople century

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Greek lands, and we were led into a place where they serve of Saint Prince Vladimir D.God, Vladimir I and the1890,Baptism Eastern their and we did not know where we were, on heaven or a painting by Viktor Vasnetsov on earth; and do not know how to tell about this. All we know Orthodox Church is that God lives there with people and their service is better Around 987, the pagan Prince Vladimir of Kiev sent envoys to neighboring lands than in any other country. forget that Islam beauty since out988 about other religions. We Somecannot say that he (1.) rejected because of –toits find 1. Vladimir chose Eastern on alcohol, (2.)eats Judaism because its sweet, loss of Jerusalem loss of each ban person, if he something will notdemonstrated take divine support, and (3.) finally Catholicism because the Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the country’s something bitter afterwards; so we cannot remain any more in churches were more beautiful. Some historians say that Vladimir's real motive paganism.“ wasofficial to ally his landreligion with its most powerful neighbors through religion, a (Primary Chronicle, trans. George decision which led toKalbouss) his adoption

of Orthodox Christianity.

– 2. Eastern Orthodox Church brings Byzantine culture to Kievan Rus 16

The Law Of Iaroslav

II. Cont.

1. If a man kills a man, the brother is to avenge his brother; the son, his father; or the father, his

son; or nephews, their uncles; and if there is no avenger [the murderer pays] forty grivnas fine. (1) If [the killed man] is a Kievan Russian, whether a temporarily de-classed Forensic facial person (2) or a merchant, or – 3. learn to read and write in Cyrillic alphabet reconstruction a sheriff, or an agent of the prince, or a serf, or even a Novgorodian Russian, the fine is forty grivnas. – 4. architecture reflects Byzantine influences 2. If a–man5. isportrait bleeding is blue Yaroslav from bruises, does(977 not need any- eyewitness [to justify Sculptural oforPrince thehe Wise or 978 1054), acceptance of eastern orthodoxy separates retaliation]. If he has Rus. no sign [of injury] he is to produce anthe eyewitness; ifby he cannot, the matter ruler of theKievan Kievan Facial reconstruction from cranium the western Europe ends there. If he cannotRus avengefrom himself he is torest receiveof three grivnas [from the perpetrator] while Soviet anthropologist and sculptor Mikhail Mikhailovich Gerasimov, his physician is to get an honorarium. (3)

•3. If a person E. Yaroslav the Wise (known as such as hits another with a stick, or a rod, or a fist, or a bowl, or a drinking horn, or the dull side of a a sword, he is toof pay his twelve interest grivnas fine. If the is not hit back [by his victim], he result inoffender learning) 1939.

must pay, and there the matter ends.

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1. son of Vladimir I

4. If a person strikes another with an unsheathed sword, or with the hilt of a sword, he pays twelve Seen here listening to towns people is Yaroslav. Yaroslav Novgorod grivnas the offence. – for 2. becomes Grand Prince ofgranted Kiev inYaroslav's 1019Justice, believed to have been the first written code of laws in Kievan Russia. Later, Yaroslav's successors took it as a 5. If a person [another's] arm and the armtheis oldest severed orByzantium shrinks, he pays forty grivnas fine. And if he hits the • hitsbasis (a.) brings scholars from to create the Russian Justice, Russian code of laws. leg [but does not sever it], and then he [the victim] becomes lame, let both [parties] reach an agreement.

• (b.) encouraged artisans 6. And if a finger is cut off, three grivnas for the offence. • (c.) developed closer ties with west thru marriage 7. For the moustache twelve grivnas; and for the beard twelve grivnas. • (d.) organized Kievian Rus laws based on old Slavic customs and Byzantine law. – –

(1.) crimes against property more serious than against people (2.) no death penalty

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II. Cont. • F. Decline of Kievan Rus

Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1169 sacks Kiev. The city declines from then onward.

• 1. 1054 after Yaroslav’s death fighting for control of the throne breaks out and people from the steppes attack Kievan frontier regions • 2. stoppage of trade caused Kievan Rus to decline and revert to the Chronicler merely Nestor farming land and peasants Saint

(c. 1056 - c. 1114, in Kiev) was the reputed author of

Primary Chronicle

the , (the earliest East Slavic chronicle), the Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves the Life of the Holy Passo Bearers, Boris and Glb, and of the socalled Reading. His works are the only source of information about this time.

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STEPPE

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THE STEPPE: great for growing grain; easy travel; great for invasions! 20

The Mongols Invade Russia

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MONGOL CAVALRY WAS FAST, FURIOUS, AND INVINCIBLE! 22

Section Three: describes the effected of the Mongol invasions on the Rus states. •

III. The Mongol Conquest (The Golden Horde) – A. 1240 Mongols from central Asia take control of Rus states – B. people pay tribute to theAKhan, and serve in basqaq (official in the Mongol Empire in charge of taxes and administration) Mongol armies from the Horde to a Rus' city. – Basil's C. The Church Saint Cathedral Kazan Cathedral, Moscow Moscow • 1. Eastern Orthodox Church remained after its reconstruction in 1993. strong during Mongol rule • 2. monks found monasteries deep in northern forests • 3. towns and villages grow up around monasteries • 4. Mongol conquest isolated the Rus Church – (a.) Church develops local rituals and practices 23

III. Cont. – D. Daily Life • 1. great differences between rich and poor remain • 2. Peasants were subsistence farmers • 3. peasant men wore white tunics • 4. Rich merchants and boyars wore tall fur hats and robes called Russian clothing is unique and special tocaftans. its history and geography. Holiday headwear RussianThis kaftans of tsar Peter the girl, in traditional Russian is presenting a loaf would consist of the kokoshnik (a head-dress) whichclothing, would be embroidered with river 5.bread women wore blouses, and In the Great,• 1680-90 of symbolizing welcome orskirts hospitality. pearls, golden threads, and a hanging meshwork of pearl or mother-of-pearl. The forms traditional "bread and salt" ceremony, a cellar of salt was would vary from locality to locality with a distinct separation of married women andthe headdresses with decorations that indicated Armiak (aka ermiak, labamakh, ormiak, riabik, sermiak, kharapai, yarmiak) is a heavy cloth coat mainly worn by placed upon the loaf of bread (usually presented upon an maidens. Thea main was married according the ancient eastern men and put on over caftan, distinction a fur coat, a sheepskin jacket orwomen, a sheepskin coat in badtoweather at any season and region she came from embroidered towel) during celebrations of welcome and uponSlav the road. It became known in Russia fromher the 16th customs, could not uncover haircentury. while in public or when doing housework. marriage. This tradition is still sometimes practiced. The

maiden could plait her hair or goofabout It wasAmade of armiachina (i.e. camel's-hair cloth) naturalbareheaded. colours, such as white, yellow-brownish, or pea-green; or traditional dress worn by this is called ascloth sarafan andInthe of homemade union cloth of black, white, grey, or brown colour;girl or sometimes of thick dyed dark-blue. the late 19th – early 20th century the armiak was sewn of dense factory-made cloth. It was robe-like, broad and long (to the traditional cap is called a kokoshnik. ankles) and single-breasted, with a deep right to left wrap over, broad straight sleeves and a large collar. 24

Section Four: discusses the reigns of Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible

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IV. The Rise of Moscow –

A. Moscow (Muscovy) was founded in 1147

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In 1156, Yuri Dolgoruki fortified Moscow with wooden walls and a moat. Although the settlement probably existed earlier, Dolgoruki is often called "The Founder of Moscow".

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B. Most people settled near the Kremlin (fortress) – C. Princes of Moscow cooperated with the Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoi or Mongols Dimitri of the Don – D. Moscow expands sizeyears and power During in the early of Dmitriy's reign was construction of thethus first stone Moscow Kremlin, completed in 1367. – E. Throne inherited preventing power struggle – F. Muscovite metropolitan lived in Moscow creating a second center of the Eastern Orthodox Church 1.early people obeyed the prince a leader chosen The graphic•shows an 20th century rendering of the holy manas (starets) Sergius (later sainted)by blessing God Prince Dmitry as he set forth to battle the Khanate of the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380. Dmitry ascended the ducal throne of Moscow as a mere lad of 9, but was encouraged by Sergius to launch a holy crusade against the infidel. Dmitry's defeat of Mamai did not free Muscovy/Russia, but it marked a psychological turning point, proving that the Horde could, in fact, be defeated. 25

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G. 1380 the Price of Moscow, Dmitry, attacked and defeated the Mongols in the Battle of 1907 painting by Kulikovo Ernst Lesser. (1380)

Run Time: [05:02] Moscow has many famous landmarks; Red Square and St Basils just to name two. Then there is the city's incredible history; revolution, war and reform, all within the past century. But modern Muscovites are writing their own history and it is certainly not based on the old communist model.

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IV. Cont. – H. Ivan the Great •

1. Ivan III becomes prince of Moscow in 1462. In 1480 ended Mongol control of Muscovy

Ivan III Tearing the Great Khan’s Letter Requesting More Tribute in 1480. 27

Sophia Palaiologina her Greek changed to Sophia. In 1469

The head on the left (West) symbolizes Rome, the head on the right (East) symbolizes Constantinople. The cross andZoe orb in was the claws symbolize, respectively, name spiritual and secular authority.

• 2. Married Sophia, niece of last Byzantine emperor and tied Moscow to the glory of Byzantium • 3. Church believed it meant Moscow had taken Byzantium’s place as center of Christianity • 4. used two headed eagle of Byzantium on royal seal • 5. raised the walls that still guard Kremlin • 6. called himself czar • 7. dies in 1505 after having consolidated church and state

–I. Ivan the Terrible

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Ivan's throne (ivory, wood) • metal, 1. Ivan

• • •

• • –

IV. Cont.

IV Crowned Czar in 1547 2. hated boyars—begins killing people for going against his wishes—breaks power of boyars. 3.Orders peasants not to leave their land and in this way took the first step in turning free peasants into serfs. 4. defeats Mongols in 1552 at their capital of Kazan the struggle for years (until 1556) using gunpowder against their bows. 5. 1558-- attacks Livonia and loses, Ivan blames the boyars private court or household created by Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (1565) that 6.oprichnina, 1564 —lives a(also monastery gives upbeenthrone administered those Russianin lands known as oprichnina) that had separated from the rest(a.) of Muscovy and placed underfor the tsar’s control. The term alsohim refers authority generally to the to people plead hisdirect return and give economic and administrative policy that divided the Russian punish traitors and take their land lands into two parts and established the new court.

– http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/430289/oprichnina (b.) loyal supporters form the Oprichnina (Oprichnina is actually the name of the administrative area under the total control of Ivan and his secret police, the opricnhiki. )

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The Oprichnina of Ivan IV • 1. The oprichniki played a central role in Ivan's oprichnina; (oprichnina, a territory within

Muscovy governed solely and absolutely by him. He also wanted the power to deal with traitors as he wished). Under pressure from the church and the people, the Council of Boyars agreed. The opricnhiki, were the soldiers and ministers, the police and the bureaucrats who enforced Ivan’s will. Drawn mainly from the lower levels of the military and society, each member was questioned and their past checked. Those that passed were rewarded with land, property and payments. The result was a cadre of individuals whose loyalty to the Tsar was without question, and which included very few boyars. 30

• 2.Upon his return,Ivan divided the country into two: the oprichnina and the zemschina. The former was to be his private domain, constructed from any land and property he wished and run by his own administration, the oprichniki. Estimates vary, but between one third and one half of Muscovy became oprichnina. Situated mainly in the north, this land was a piecemeal selection of wealthy and important areas, ranging from whole towns, of which the oprichnina included about twenty, to individual buildings. Moscow was carved up street by street, and sometimes building by building. Existing landowners were often evicted, and their fates varied from resettlement to execution. The rest of Muscovy became the zemschina, which continued to operate under the existing governmental and legal institutions, with a puppet Grand Prince in charge 31

• 3. Their numbers grew from 1000 to 6000 between 1565 - 72, and included some foreigners. The oprichniks precise role is unclear, partly because it changed over time, and partly because historians have very few contemporary records from which to work. Some commentators call them bodyguards, while others see them as a new, hand-picked, nobility designed to replace the boyars. The oprichniks have even been described as the 'original' Russian secret police, an ancestor of the KGB. (Soviet Era Secret Police) 32

• 4. The oprichniki are often described in semimythical terms, and it's easy to see why. They dressed in black: black clothes, black horses The Nazgûl (The and black carriages. They used the broom and The Black Riders the dog's head as their symbols, one Oprichnina representing the 'sweeping away' of traitors, and the other 'snapping at the heels' of their enemies; it is possible that some oprichniks carried actual brooms and severed dogs heads. Answerable only to Ivan and their own commanders, these individuals had free run of the country, oprichnina and zemschina, and a prerogative to remove traitors. Although they sometimes used false charges and forged documents, as in the case of Prince Staritsky who was executed after his cook 'confessed', this was normally unnecessary. Lord of the Rings Tolkein may have gotten the idea from the

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• 5. Having created a climate of fear and murder, the oprichniki could just exploit the human propensity to 'inform' on enemies; besides, this black clad corps could kill anyone they wished. • The stories associated with the oprichniks range from the grotesque and outlandish, to the equally grotesque and factual. People were impaled and mutilated, while whipping, torture and rapes were common. The Oprichniki Palace features in many tales: Ivan built this in Moscow, and the dungeons were supposedly full of prisoners, of which at least twenty were tortured to death everyday in front of the laughing Tsar. 34

• 6. The actual height of this terror is well documented. In 1570 Ivan and his men attacked the city of Novgorod, which the Tsar believed was planning to ally with Lithuania. Using forged documents as a pretext, thousands were hanged, drowned or deported, while the buildings and countryside were plundered and destroyed. Estimates of the death toll vary between 15,000 and 60,000 people. A similar, but less brutal, sacking of Pskov followed this, as did the execution of zemschina (any area outside of the control of the oprichnina) officials in Moscow. 35

Andrey Mikhailovich Kurbsky was an intimate friend and then a leading political opponent of the Russian tsar

• 7. Ivan alternated between periods of savagery and piety, often sending great memorial payments and treasure to monasteries. During one such period the Tsar endowed a new monastic order, which to defected draw its brothers One of Ivan's advisors, Prince Andrei was Kurbsky, to the Lithuanians, headed the Lithuanian troops and devastated the from the oprichniks. Although this foundation Russian of Velikiye This treachery deeply hurt Ivan. didregion not turn theLuki. oprichniki into a corrupted church of sadistic monks (as some accounts might claim), it did became an instrument interwoven in both church and state, further blurring the organization's role. The oprichniks also acquired a reputation in the rest of Europe: Prince Kurbsky, who had fled Muscovy in 1564, described them as “…children of darkness...hundreds and thousands of times worse than hangmen." (Bonney, The European Dynastic States, Oxford, 1991, pg. 277). 36

• 8. Like most organizations that rule through terror, the oprichniki also began to cannibalize itself. Internal quarrels and rivalries led many oprichniki leaders to accuse each other of treason, and increasing numbers of zemschina officials were drafted in as replacements. Leading Muscovite families attempted to join, seeking protection through membership. Perhaps crucially, the oprichniki did not act in a pure orgy of bloodshed; they achieved motives and aims in a calculating and cruel manner making them, for a time, an effective instrument of Ivan’s autocratic37 state.

IV. Continued . In 1581 an enraged Ivan struck and killed his eldest son, namesake, and heir to the throne, a scene immortalized by the great 19th-century artist Ilya Repin in his painting Ivan the Terrible and the Death of His Son.

• 7. encouraged art and learning and establishes link between Moscow and the west-England & Holland in particular

– When he died in 1584 he left no suitable heir. He had killed his eldest of three sons in a fit of rage, his middle son was feeble-minded, and his youngest son was still a baby. As a result 25 years after Ivan’s death Muscovy was in chaos ushering in Russia’s “Time of Troubles.” 38

Essay Questions Chapter 23 Pick one of the possible essay questions to prepare for tomorrow’s test • •

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1. Explain how the Eastern Orthodox Church became the official church of the Kievan Rus state. 2. Relate in an essay what Ivan the Terrible did to earn his nickname and explain why, despite his failings, many Muscovites thought Ivan the Terrible was a great ruler? 3. What do you think are the drawbacks of the slash-and-burn farming techniques used by the Eastern Slavs living near the Volga in the early 600s? 39