There was an interesting period in the history of Kievan Rus. In fact, for almost a quarter of a century, the young state was ruled by a woman - Princess Olga (945-969), the wife of Igor Rurikovich and the mother of Svyatoslav the Brave. The years of her reign remained in the people's memory as life under wise leadership. Historical sources confirm this. They preserved many facts that Olga’s domestic and foreign policies benefited the development of the Russian state and strengthened its position in the international arena.
Who is Princess Olga?
According to ancient chronicles, the girl was of peasant origin. Thanks to her positive qualities, as well as extraordinary wisdom, as a young teenager she was noticed by Grand Duke Igor and chosen by him as his wife. It so happened that for quite a long period the princely couple had no children. This fact contributed to the fact that Olga began to pray to the Christian God, and after a short time the couple had an heir. Thus, Olga was the first among the pagan people to accept Christianity and began to help spread it in Rus'. In a sense, the very fact of Olga’s decision to accept the Christian faith testified to her rationality and subtle intellect. Despite this, Olga's husband and son remained faithful to their pagan gods, who helped them in battles. Nevertheless, Olga’s actions had an important influence on her grandson, Prince Vladimir, who baptized Rus'. He also chose the Christian religion as the state religion.
Prince Igor: the beginning of everything
To understand what a lesson was in Ancient Rus', you need to know where it all began. We will begin to look at history from the reign of Prince Igor Rurikovich, who did not become a strong figure in the management of the Russian state, but went down in history as a prince who could not cope with his people because of his stupidity and greed.
Prince Igor began to rule after the death of Prophetic Oleg. Throughout his reign, the prince did not show himself as a worthy ruler. At the same time, he did not show himself as a bad prince. The only thing that Prince Igor became famous for was his unsuccessful attempts to attack Byzantium. It is also worth noting that thanks to Igor, the trade agreement with the Greeks, which was concluded by Prince Oleg the Prophet, was continued. This condition was convenient for Rus' at that time.
Accession to the throne
Princess Olga became a widow early: during the collection of tribute, Igor was brutally killed by the angry Drevlyans. Since the heir was still small, the princess herself ascended the throne.
The first thing she did was deal with the Drevlyans who executed her husband, sharply suppressing their uprising. After this, a period began during which the reforms of Princess Olga were implemented. During this time, structural changes occurred in the system of government. Olga’s main task was to prevent future incidents similar to the one that led to the death of her husband.
Authorities in the ancient state
At this time, there was only one authority - the prince. The prince’s squad can also be called an authority. It was the princely squad that was the official body that collected tribute in Ancient Rus'. Naturally, the collection of taxes took place under the supervision of the princess. However, this authority of the squad is regulated in Russian Pravda. The squad received income, which was provided by the population. In addition, the population was obliged to provide any funds if the vigilante was on duty. Then another type of relationship appeared in the state, which was called “non-feudal-vassal”.
The bulk of the state's population were community members, that is, free peasants who were part of various communities. Since there was no land ownership, the treasury received revenues that brought taxes. The definition of the word “lesson” in Ancient Rus' of that time was still unknown. However, taxes were generally binding. Very harsh rules were applied for non-payment of taxes, including the death penalty.
Innovations and transformations
What reforms did Princess Olga carry out? First of all, she took up the issue of collecting tribute, establishing an orderly system of taxation. Princess Olga carried out a reform, the purpose of which was to weaken tribal power by strengthening its influence. This event is described in the “Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor: “And Olga went with her son and her retinue across the Drevlyansky land, establishing tributes and taxes.” Princess Olga's reforms began in 946.
Conclusion
Economic development and the development of commodity-money relations were determined by the creation of lessons. So what is a lesson in Ancient Rus'? The lesson is a fixed tax amount. It was from the moment of the reign of Princess Olga in Rus' that a constant and fixed income appeared in the state treasury, which could already correct some of the economic problems of Rus'. In addition, the princess created independent administrative units, which have survived to this day in our large state. Olga not only managed foreign policy affairs, but also actively dealt with problems that existed within the state itself.
In addition, the reforms that Olga carried out strengthened power in Rus' and led to the distribution of control throughout the territory of the state.
Among other things, it is important to say that it was thanks to the princess that Rus' began to acquire its cultural and spiritual values. It was from the moment Olga came to power that the state began to develop in a religious and spiritual sense, because Olga actively participated in the spread of Christianity in Rus'. People began to gain self-awareness and a sense of duty to their state. This was greatly facilitated by the creation of a unified taxation system - the introduction of mandatory payment of lessons.
Home » Verbs » Olga’s administrative reform. What is a lesson in Ancient Rus'? Administrative reform of Princess Olga in the 10th century
The meaning of churchyards
Princess Olga's reforms did not end there. An important innovation was the establishment of graveyards. They were small centers of princely power. From now on, each administrative district acquired its own graveyard and camp where tribute was collected. Churchyards were also used for trade. Thus, the administrative reforms of Princess Olga contributed to the creation of territorial divisions that were under the authority of the prince’s governor and capable of repelling anyone dissatisfied with the policies and decrees of the princess. Later, by the 12th century, churchyards turned into district control centers.
Before Olga's reign, tribute collection was carried out in the form of a polyudya - an annual winter tour of the estates of government officials, during which tax could be collected twice from one household. Of course, this fact caused dissatisfaction and indignation among payers. However, with the introduction of graveyards, people who brought tribute received a special princely seal, which protected them from collecting the tax again. Olga carefully put this reform into action, gradually honing its mechanism. During the implementation of the new system, most local princes lost their power, and the independence of autonomous tribes was sharply curtailed. The work carried out by Olga did not receive publicity or enthusiastic reviews, but it was of great importance in the development of statehood.
Revenge on the Drevlyans
In 945, Prince Igor was assassinated. He was killed by the Drevlyans on the orders of the local prince Mal. The successor of the Rurik dynasty was only 3 years old at that time. The history of the dynasty and the entire Russian state could have taken a different path if Princess Olga (945-969) had not taken the reins of power into her own hands. The widow began her reign with revenge on her husband's murderers, which was perpetuated by popular rumor.
This point of the biography does not quite fit in with the image of the future saint and the first famous woman to convert to Orthodoxy in Rus'. But the laws of the ancient state of the 10th century were precisely this: for the death of a person, his relatives could take revenge with retaliatory actions. According to the norms of Kyiv law, only Olga could do this, since her son was too young.
Important. Olga had a choice: she could not avenge her husband, but marry his murderer, the Drevlyan prince Mal. The winner received the wife, property and the Kiev throne of the killed enemy. Then the Rurik dynasty would have been interrupted. The princess chose revenge.
Olga took revenge for a long time and sophisticatedly, instilling such fear in her enemies with her actions that everyone immediately realized how wise and dangerous she was as a rival. First, on her orders, the messengers who arrived with the news of the matchmaking of Prince Mal were killed. They were buried alive in the boat on which they arrived. The news about this was hidden, so Olga managed to lure the noble men of the Drevlyan tribe to visit. She started a rumor that she agreed to accept the offer and would greet the guests with honor. But a terrible fate was in store for them: they were invited to a bathhouse and burned there.
Then Olga went to celebrate her husband's funeral in the Drevlyan land, supposedly for peaceful purposes. Having lulled the enemy's vigilance through deception, she gave the order to attack the Drevlyans, who did not expect this at all. Realizing the horror of the enraged widow’s revenge, the surviving members of the tribe hastened to take refuge behind the walls of the main city of the Drevlyans, Iskorosten. Olga's governors were unable to take the fortress by storm. Then she promised to leave in peace if she was given a small tribute from each courtyard:
“three doves, and three sparrows.”
The trusting Drevlyans agreed. The people of Kiev tied ropes to each bird and set them on fire. The pigeons returned to their homes, and the whole city caught fire.
“And the people fled from the city, and Olga ordered her soldiers to grab them.”
Revenge against the Drevlyans led to the almost complete destruction of the noble families of the tribe and the male population. Olga did this not only for personal reasons, but also to intimidate other tribes that could threaten the young dynasty on the Kiev throne.
Approval of tiuns
The next stage was the appointment of tiuns as tribute collectors at churchyards. Before entering the Old Russian state, the Eastern Slavs called the tiuns “cattlemen.” First of all, this reform testified to the development of commodity-money relations. Instead of livestock, the Russians adopted a special form of equivalent, reminiscent of metal money.
If we briefly list the reforms of Princess Olga, we can highlight certain aspects. This is the approval of lessons, the creation of graveyards and the appointment of tribute collectors. During her reign, Princess Olga carried out the first financial reform in Rus'. She established a fixed amount of tribute and the procedure for its collection. The meaning of Princess Olga's activities was to normalize duties, centralize Kyiv power, and weaken local (tribal) power.
In other words, the reforms of Princess Olga contributed to the fact that the tribute that was collected from autonomous tribes was replaced by the same flat tax, which was paid by the entire population. At the same time, the possibility of repeated collection from one payer was avoided.
Thus, the reforms of Princess Olga finally established the central power of Kyiv, streamlined the taxation system, and created an administrative division of the state. Later, Olga's internal policy was glorified by the people in legends and songs. Thanks to the introduction of the Christian religion, Olga was elevated to the rank of saint and became an equal-to-the-apostles preacher. Changes in the social, political, economic, and spiritual spheres made it possible to strengthen Rus'. Of course, this became the most important stage in the history of the creation of Russian statehood.
The violent death of the prince
Real glory comes to Prince Igor after his tragic death, about which there are now many legends and myths, many of which have not yet been scientifically proven. Despite this, historians are of the opinion that Igor was brutally killed by the Drevlyans, from whom he unjustly collected tribute.
The strangest thing in the history of Prince Igor remains his act. It is known that the collection of tribute in Rus' was accepted a very long time ago. This ritual, proving respect for the king, was mandatory for everyone. A well-known historical fact: the prince collected tribute from the Drevlyans, but it seemed to him that the funds he collected were not enough. Then Igor returned to re-collect tribute. This was repeated several times until the Drevlyans became furious at such impudence and injustice of the prince. According to legend, the Drevlyans killed Igor, considering him a dishonest, unworthy and unjust ruler who simply “robbed” his people. Prince Igor was brutally killed by the Drevlyan people, for which they soon paid very heavily.
