Chapter 23
The Eastern Slavs
Words, Terms and People to Know
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yaroslav
Dmitry
Volga
Dnieper
Ivan the Great
Ivan the Terrible
Vladimir I
Sophia
Mongols
•
•
•
•
•
•
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
3
Former Soviet Region
Compared in Latitude & Area
with the United States
4
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.
6
Section One: Describes the influences that
transformed the early Slav agricultural settlements into
trading centers
•
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.
7
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.
10
KIEV & THE BIRTH OF RUSSIA,
from 800 a.d.
IN
KIEV, A HEROIC STATUE OF KIEV’S VIKING FOUNDERS
11
Varangian routes and towns to Constantinople and to the Caspian Sea
12
Section Two: discusses the emergence of a Rus state.
II. Kievan Rus
A. 862 Varangian named Rurik becomes prince of
Novgorod
•
•
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…
14
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
•
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.
–
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
17
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.
18
STEPPE
19
THE STEPPE: great for growing grain; easy travel; great for invasions!
20
The Mongols Invade Russia
21
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
•
IV. The Rise of Moscow
–
A. Moscow (Muscovy) was founded in 1147
–
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".
–
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
–
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.
26
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
28
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. )
•
29
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
33
• 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
•
•
•
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