Ancient Russia, although it was distant from the civilized countries of that time and was considered a barbaric region, went through exactly the same stages of the formation of the state as all other powers. Feudalism was not an exception, in which the primitive primitive relations began to transform in the 10th century. What indicates the emergence of feudal relations? Many factors have become decisive in Russia - from the growing economy of the state to a wide class division. An increasingly complex state system could no longer fit into the old framework of prefeudal relations and began to transform. What are the stages of these changes?
Economic growth
The economy of Ancient Russia was built on three pillars: trade services on the great path "from the Varangians to the Greeks", agriculture and hunting, or rather, the production of furs. At the same time, agriculture for a rather long time was primitive and extremely non-widespread among the majority of the population. Residents cultivated the land on which they lived. When it was exhausted, people simply moved to neighboring areas and began to cultivate them. As soon as the growth of cities, and with them the settled population, led to the fact that there was nowhere to move, a certain agricultural evolution took place. The peasants began to fertilize the land, began to sort out what type of soil is more suitable for growing a particular crop. Finally, all this led to an increase in productivity. So, agricultural products firmly became the basis of the state economy.
What is the relationship, and what indicates the emergence of feudal relations in ancient Russia in these facts? Yield growth allowed the then state to exploit fertile land and its population by levying taxes or tribute. In the same way they did with income from trade, crafts and crafts. All activities were subject to the analogue of modern taxation.
Farms or industries were significantly interested in increasing productivity in order to be able to give up the lion's share to the feudal lord and not to remain after paying corvee with nothing. Therefore, the answer to the question that indicates the emergence of feudal relations is economic growth.
The increasing complexity of the political structure
For the proper collection of part of the crop or products of production and crafts in favor of the treasury, state people were needed, a certain ruling class. In Europe they were called feudal lords. In ancient Russia, this elite included local princes, metropolitan warriors and boyars, granted lands for their services to the state. Their duty included not only the retention of part of the harvest in the treasury, but also the maintenance of order on the lands entrusted to them, in other words, the estates. It was at this time that such a specific class stratum as officialdom was born, which indicates the emergence of feudal relations in Russia.
Land relations
As already mentioned, the Kiev prince generously granted his subjects land holdings. The feudal lords received the so-called estates, large plots of land with the right to inheritance. This right was even secured at the legal level under Yaroslav the Wise, which indicates the emergence of feudal relations is already quite official.
The law stood for the protection of land property. Later, the church became a large landowner. The peasants were no longer and could not be full owners of the land on which they worked all their lives. They fell into dependence on the masters and were forced to pay for the right to cultivate their land, and even for work equipment and livestock.
Class division
One of the determining factors, which indicates the emergence of feudal relations, is the emergence of new classes. At the same time, the ruling class and the oppressed are necessarily present. In Russia, it was the boyars with the princes and stinks with slaves.
An ordinary peasant, who had just recently freely cultivated his land, very quickly turned into a bondage and disenfranchised. As soon as the territory with peasant farms passed into the possession of the feudal lord, the farmer automatically had to pay an analogue of the modern land tax. For most people, it was all a livelihood, often an overwhelming fee. If it was not possible to contribute the full amount of the assigned corvee, the peasant had to additionally work out on improving the estates of the feudal lord: to build roads, crossings and bridges, as well as fortress walls, towers, etc. When trying to disobey or flee, the person turned into a master serf, that is, in fact a slave feudal lord.
Division of labor
The emergence of feudal relations is also evidenced by the fact that the need arose for a clear division of labor. In the conditions of the early primitive system, each family almost completely provided its own needs. Men themselves made tools for themselves and hunting, dishes and furniture. Women independently made clothes and utensils for cooking, household items, etc.
Feudalism is characterized by the fact that in its early stages, society began to separate agriculture and craft. Inside the craft class, craftsmen are also divided into narrower specialties. Many craftsmen turn into feudal dependence. The outflow of the unemployed population to large cities begins, where there are more opportunities for earning.
Urban growth
Cities quickly became centers of craft. In large settlements near the local feudal lord, whole artisanal gardens grew: blacksmithing, weapons, jewelry, and many others. Here, in cities, trade began to develop rapidly. The active development of foreign trade relations is what indicates the emergence of feudal relations. And if in small towns in the markets you could see mainly locally produced products, then in Kiev, Novgorod, Chernihiv there were many counters where foreign merchants were selling with might and main, and you could buy whatever you like.
What indicates the emergence of feudal relations in the history of Russia, and what after only a hundred years became evidence of their collapse? Sometimes the same factors. For example, the enlargement and growth of independence of significant cities of Ancient Russia gradually questioned the authority of Kiev as the capital of an ancient state. Settlements were poorly interconnected both literally and economically. Each major city was on its own, had its own fortifications, its own squad, and was able to provide for itself. This, coupled with the flattering principle of inheritance, when representatives of the same kind ruled in different estates, ultimately led to feudal fragmentation.