Creation of the first all-Russian code of laws. Russian truth. See what “Russian Truth” is in other dictionaries
Lesson type: laboratory-practical lesson based on group work.
Lesson objectives: to introduce students to the Russian Truth as the oldest written law in Rus', as well as the most valuable historical source of information about ancient Russian society.
Lesson plan:
1. How and for what they were tried in Rus'.
2. Old Russian society according to Russian Truth.
3. The meaning of Russian Truth.
Concepts and terms: law, law, hryvnia, serf, procurement, outcast, “Russian Truth”, personality in history, Yaroslav the Wise.
Equipment: texts of articles and assignments
During the classes
I.Teacher's opening speech
At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher updates the students’ knowledge about the process of formation of Ancient Rus', the formation of the signs of a state in it, and also, together with the students, formulates the topic of the lesson, its goals and objectives.
What are the characteristics that characterize a state? Were all the signs formed by the 11th century in our state? Which one is missing? Were there no laws before? What is law? Why does the state need laws? What sets of laws from the history of other states do we already know? The laws of which country could the inhabitants of ancient Rus' be familiar with?
II.Main part of the lesson
The appearance of “Russian Truth”, the first collection of laws, is associated with the reign of Prince Yaroslav, whom the people nicknamed the Wise.
When did Yaroslav rule? Does Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise live up to the nickname Wise?
Another proof of his wisdom was the creation of “Russian Truth”. When did it appear in Rus'?
The time of creation cannot be determined precisely, since the Truth came to us only in later copies.
The Sofia Chronicle for 1019 says that “Yaroslav, releasing the Novgorodians from Kyiv, gave them the truth and the charter.” In all likelihood, this is about “Russian Truth”.
Thus, “The Truth of Yaroslav” appeared approximately in 1016. It initially consisted of 17 articles, and was written for the Novgorodians; later the law would be adopted and distributed throughout Rus'. The sons of Yaroslav will continue the work of their father and supplement the Truth with new articles.
How and for what were they tried in Rus' according to Russian Truth?
Let's move on to some articles.
Article I: “If a free man kills a free man, then (he has the right) to avenge brother for brother, or son for father. Either father for son, or sons of brother and sister; if any of them does not want or cannot take revenge, then let him receive 40 hryvnia for the person killed.”
What conclusions did you come to? ( the law allowed blood feud, but limited it to the circle of immediate relatives, and proposed replacing revenge with a fine. That is, revenge is gradually being eliminated, and later it will generally be consolidated, this indicates the strengthening of the state.)
Many provisions of “Russian Truth” are quite modern.
For example, article 2. “If someone is beaten to the point of blood or bruises and he cannot take revenge for himself (the offender), then he receives 3 hryvnia for the offense and payment to the doctor.” (just compensation for moral and material damage.)
Truth also fought against thieves - for theft - a fine, for robbery - sale into slavery with your family.
It obliges residents to take care of order in the community themselves. Guilt in court is established by the testimony of a witness - a witness, and there is also an accuser - a scoundrel.
We will get to the trial according to the “Russian Truth” with the help of reviving the painting by the artist Bilibin “The Trial in the Times of the Russian Truth”. (pay attention to the text of the characters, it will help answer the questions.)
1) Who administers the court?
2) What punishments does Russkaya Pravda provide?
3) Is such a trial fair?
Having already listened to the first lines of Russkaya Pravda, did you notice the phrase “if a free man kills a free man...” What does it indicate?
Now we will move on to the question of ancient Russian society, about the free and not free, about their position in society.
Laboratory work in groups.
The purpose of the work is to analyze excerpts from the text of “Russian Truth” to fill out the table and hierarchical ladder of Old Russian society (based on the size of the fine for murder).
The questions on the board are common to all groups.
1. What population group are we talking about in “Russkaya Pravda”?
2. What are the features of the position of this group in ancient society?
3. How is the life of a member of each of these groups assessed?
Group work - 7 minutes, presentations - 2-3 minutes. (see Appendix 1)
Table 1.
Group name | Amount of fine |
Boyars, squad | 80 hryvnia |
People | 40 hryvnia |
Smerda | 5 hryvnia |
Purchases | 5 hryvnia |
Serfs | 5 hryvnia |
Old Russian Society on Russian Truth
How can we explain the unequal amounts of fines? What was more important for identifying a particular person (position or property status)? List: who was included in the category of free settler? How do they differ in your opinion? Name the dependent settlement groups? What is the difference? What conclusions can be drawn from the above?
III. The final part of the lesson
Let's summarize:
1. What did we learn in class today?
2. What changes in the state did the introduction of “Russian Truth” lead to?
3. How is ancient Russian society presented according to “Russian Truth”?
4. What is the significance of the first written law in Rus'? (Strengthens the state, princely power, testifies to the high level of the state).
Homework: learn §4, paragraph 6 from the textbook, create a crossword puzzle “Inhabitants of the Old Russian State.”
Annex 1.
№1 Excerpt from the collection of laws “Russian Truth”
Art. 3. If someone kills a prince’s husband (prince’s servant, warrior, boyar), and the members of the vervi do not find the killer, then the viru for him in the amount of 80 hryvnia will be paid to the vervi on whose land the murdered person is found.
Art. 12. For an artisan or craftswoman pay 12 hryvnia.
Art. 86. If a boyar or warrior dies, then their property does not go to the prince, but if there are no sons, then their daughters receive the inheritance.
No. 2 Excerpt from the collection of laws “Russian Truth”
Art. 3. If anyone kills a man, he pays the prince 40 hryvnia.
Art. 6. If one (of the members) does not contribute his share to the viru, people should not help him, but he himself pays.
Art.21. If the rope begins to pay the viru for the murdered person (when the killer is not found), then she is given an installment plan. But if the murderer is in the vervi (and pays the viru himself), then she must help him pay.
No. 3 Excerpt from the collection of laws “Russian Truth”
Art. 71. If a smerd subjects a smerd to torment (beating), he will pay 3 hryvnia to the prince and the victim 1 hryvnia for the torment.
Art. 85. If the smerd dies (without leaving sons), then the inheritance goes to the prince; if there are daughters left after him, then allocate part of the property to them.
Art. 26. And for killing a smerd 5 hryvnia.
No. 4 Excerpt from the collection of laws “Russian Truth”
Article 52. If the purchase runs away from the master without paying him for the loan ( kupa-debt), then he becomes a complete slave ( slave). If he goes to look for money with the permission of his master or runs to the prince and his judges with a complaint about the insult on the part of his master, he cannot be made a slave for this, but should be given justice. (Could gain freedom by returning a kupa twice as large).
Art.56. If the gentleman takes more money from the purchase than was agreed upon, then the excess money received should also be returned to the purchase and pay him 3 hryvnia for the offense.
Art.57. If a gentleman beats a purchaser for business, then he is not responsible for it, but beats without reason, then he must pay as much as a free person is paid.
No. 5 Excerpt from the collection of laws “Russian Truth”
Art.42. If the thieves turn out to be the slaves of the defendant, from whom the prince does not collect the sale because they are not free, then the defendant must pay the victim double the price of the stolen property.
Art.84. But for the murder of a serf (slave) there is no vira (fine); but if he is killed without guilt (on his part), then the killer is obliged to pay its value to the owner, and to the prince - 2 hryvnias of sale (since the murderer is considered at the princely court).
Art. 102. There are three types of servility: if someone buys a free man for at least half a hryvnia
Art. 103. And the second is servility: whoever marries a slave (servant) without an agreement with her master, but marries with an agreement, then as agreed, so be it.
Art. 104. But here is the third servitude: whoever becomes a servant to the master without a contract, but if with a contract, then as it happens, so be it.”
Russian Truth is a collection of legal norms of Kievan Rus.
Russian Truth became the first legal document in Ancient Rus', which combined all existing laws and decrees and formed a kind of unified regulatory and legislative system. At the same time, Russian Pravda is an important cultural monument, as it represents a brilliant example of writing and written culture from the earliest period of the development of the state.
Russian Truth contains norms of criminal, inheritance, trade and procedural legislation; is the main source of legal, social and economic relations of Ancient Rus'.
The creation of Russian Truth is associated with the name of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. At the moment, the original of this document has not survived; only later copies exist. There is also debate about the origin of the Russian Truth, but scientists are inclined to believe that the document arose during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, who collected all existing laws into one book in approximately 1016-1054. Later, the document was finalized and rewritten by other princes.
Sources of Russian Truth
Russian truth is presented in two versions - short and lengthy. The short version includes the following documents:
- Yaroslav's Truth, 1016 or 1030s;
- Truth of the Yaroslavichs (Izyaslav, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav;
- Pokon virny - determination of the order of feeding virniks (prince's servants, vira collectors), 1020s or 1030s;
- A lesson for bridge workers - regulation of wages for bridge workers - pavement builders, or, according to some versions, bridge builders - 1020s or 1030s.
The short edition contains 43 articles, it describes new state traditions, and also preserves some old customs such as blood feud. The second part describes some rules for collecting fines and types of violations. In both parts, justice is based on the concept of class - the severity of the crime depends on the class of the criminal.
A more complete version includes the charter of Yaroslav Vladimirovich and the charter of Vladimir Monomakh. The number of articles is about 121, the Russian Truth in an expanded edition was used in civil and ecclesiastical courts to determine punishments for criminals, and also regulated some commodity-money relations.
The norms of criminal law in Russian Pravda correspond to the norms adopted in many early state societies. The death penalty was retained, intentional murder was separated from unintentional murder, and the degrees of damage (also intentional or unintentional) and fines were determined depending on the severity of the offense. It is interesting that the monetary fines mentioned in the Russian Pravda were calculated in different monetary units.
A criminal offense was followed by a trial. Russian Pravda determined the norms of procedural legislation - how and where trials were held, who could take part in them, how it was necessary to contain criminals during the trial and how to judge them. Here the class principle was preserved, when more noble citizens could count on a weaker punishment. Regarding the collection of debts, the document also provided for a procedure according to which it was necessary to withdraw a sum of money from the debtor.
Russian Truth determined the categories of citizens and their social status. Thus, all citizens were divided into several categories: nobility and privileged servants (this included warriors and the prince, who had privileged rights); ordinary free residents (younger warriors, tax collectors, as well as residents of Novgorod and Novgorod land); dependent population (lower strata - smerds, serfs, purchases and ryadovichi - that is, peasants who were dependent on the feudal lords and the prince).
The meaning of Russian Truth
Russian Truth became the first legal document in Rus' and was very important for the development of statehood. Scattered laws and decrees adopted in different lands could not provide sufficient legal support for public life and legal proceedings, Russian Pravda corrected this deficiency - now there was a document that served as a legal code and was used in courts. Russian Truth laid the foundations for the future legal system, and also became the first source that officially consolidated the class division of the state, the privilege of the nobles over the common people and the beginning of feudalism. Judicial documents that were written later always included Russian Pravda in their basis and were formed precisely on its basis (for example, the Code of Law of 1497).
It is also important to note that Russian Truth is the most important source of knowledge about the life of Kievan Rus at the very initial stage of the development of the state.
“Russian Truth” in a short version
1. If a husband kills his husband, then brother takes revenge on brother, or son on father, or son on brother, or son on sister; if no one takes revenge, then 40 hryvnia for the person killed.
If the person killed is a Rusyn, or a Gridin, or a merchant, or a sneak, or a swordsman, or an outcast, or from Slovenia, then 40 hryvnia must be paid for him.
2. If someone is beaten to the point of blood or bruises, then he does not need to look for a witness, but if there are no marks (of beatings) on him, then let him bring a witness, and if he cannot (bring a witness), then the matter is over. If (the victim) cannot take revenge for himself, then let him take 3 hryvnia from the perpetrator for the offense, and payment to the doctor.
3. If someone hits someone with a stick, pole, palm, bowl, horn or the back of a weapon, pay 12 hryvnia. If the victim does not catch up with the one (the offender), then pay, and that’s the end of the matter.
4. If you hit with a sword without taking it out of its sheath, or with the hilt of a sword, then 12 hryvnia for the offense.
5. If he hits the hand and the hand falls off or withers, then 40 hryvnia, and if (he hits the leg) and the leg remains intact, but begins to limp, then the children (of the victim) take revenge. 6. If anyone cuts off any finger, he pays 3 hryvnia for the offense.
7. And for a mustache 12 hryvnia, for a beard 12 hryvnia.
8. If someone draws a sword and does not hit, then he pays a hryvnia.
9. If the husband pushes the husband away from him or towards him - 3 hryvnia - if he brings two witnesses to the court. And if it is a Varangian or a kolbyag, then he will be sworn in.
10. If a slave runs and hides with a Varangian or a kolbyag, and they do not bring him out within three days, but discover him on the third day, then the master will take away his slave, and 3 hryvnia for the offense.
11. If anyone rides someone else’s horse without asking, then pay 3 hryvnia.
12. If someone takes someone else’s horse, weapon or clothing, and the owner identifies the missing person in his community, then he should take what is his, and 3 hryvnia for the offense.
13. If someone recognizes (his missing thing) from someone, then he does not take it, do not tell him that it is mine, but tell him this: go to the vault where you took it. If he does not go, then let him (provide) a guarantor within 5 days.
14. If someone collects money from another, and he refuses, then he will go to court with 12 people. And if he, deceiving, did not give it back, then the plaintiff can (take) his money, and for the offense 3 hryvnia.
15. If someone, having identified a slave, wants to take him, then the master of the slave should lead him to the one from whom the slave was bought, and let him lead him to another seller, and when he reaches the third, then tell the third: give me your slave, and you look for your money in front of a witness.
16. If a slave hits a free husband and runs into the mansion of his master and he begins not to give him up, then take the slave and the master pays 12 hryvnia for him, and then, where the slave finds the hit man, let him beat him.
17. And if someone breaks a spear, shield, or spoils clothing, and the one who spoiled it wants to keep it for himself, then take it from him in money; and if the one who damaged it begins to insist (on the return of the damaged item), pay in money, how much the item is worth.
The truth laid down for the Russian land when the princes Izyaslav, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav and their husbands Kosnyachko, Pereneg, Nikifor of Kiev, Chudin, Mikula gathered.
18. If a fireman is killed intentionally, then the killer will have to pay 80 hryvnia for him, but people don’t pay; and for the princely entrance 80 hryvnia.
19. And if a fireman is killed like a robber, and people are not looking for the killer, then the vira is paid by the rope where the murdered person was found.
20. If they kill a fireman near a cage, near a horse, or near a herd, or when a cow is dying, then kill him like a dog; the same law applies to tiun.
21. And for the princely tiun 80 hryvnia, and for the senior groom of the herd also 80 hryvnia, as Izyaslav decreed when the Dorogobuzhites killed his groom.
22. For a princely village headman or a field headman, pay 12 hryvnia, and for a princely rank and file 5 hryvnia.
23. And for a killed scum or serf - 5 hryvnia.
24. If a slave-nurse or breadwinner is killed, then 12 hryvnia.
25. And for a princely horse, if it has a spot, 3 hryvnia, and for a stinking horse 2 hryvnia.
26. For a mare 60 kn, for an ox 40 kn, for a cow 40 kn, for a three-year-old cow 15 kn, for a one-year-old half a hryvnia, for a calf 5 kn, for a lamb nogat, for a ram nogat.
27. And if he takes away someone else’s slave or slave, then he pays 12 hryvnia for the offense.
28. If a husband comes bleeding or bruised, then he does not need to look for a witness. 46
29. And whoever steals a horse or an ox, or steals a cage, if he was alone, then he pays a hryvnia and is cut 30; if there were 10 of them, then each of them pays 3 hryvnia and 30 rez.
30. And for the prince’s side 3 hryvnia if they burn it or break it.
31. For torturing a stinker, without a princely command, for insult - 3 hryvnia.
32. And for a fireman, tiun or swordsman 12 hryvnia.
33. And whoever plows a field boundary or spoils a boundary sign, then 12 hryvnia for the offense.
34. And whoever steals a rook, then pay 30 rezan (to the owner) for the rook and 60 rezan for the sale.
35. And for a pigeon and chicken 9 kunas.
36. And for a duck, goose, crane and swan you pay 30 rez, and 60 rez for sales.
37. And if someone else’s dog, or hawk, or falcon is stolen, then 3 hryvnia for the offense.
38. If they kill a thief in their yard, or at a cage, or at a stable, then he is killed, but if the thief is kept until dawn, then bring him to the prince’s court, and if he is killed, and people saw the thief tied up, then pay him .
39. If hay is stolen, then pay 9 kunas, and for firewood 9 kunas.
40. If a sheep, or a goat, or a pig is stolen, and 10 thieves steal one sheep, let each one pay 60 rez for the sale.
41. And the one who captured the thief receives 10 rez, from 3 hryvnia to the swordsman 15 kunas, for a tithe 15 kunas, and to the prince 3 hryvnias. And out of 12 hryvnias, the one who caught the thief gets 70 kunas, and for the tithe, 2 hryvnias, and the prince gets 10 hryvnias.
42. And here is the virnica rule: for the virnik, take 7 buckets of malt for a week, also a lamb or half a carcass of meat, or 2 nogata, and on Wednesday, cut for three cheeses, on Friday the same. same; and as much bread and millet as they can eat, and two chickens per day. And put 4 horses and give them as much food as they can eat. And take 60 hryvnia for the virnik and 10 rez and 12 vereveritsa, and first the hryvnia. And if fasting happens, give the virnik fish, and take him 7 rez for the fish. All that money is 15 kunas per week, and they can give as much flour as they can eat until the virniks collect the virins. Here's Yaroslav's charter for you.
43. And here is the rule for bridge workers: if they pave a bridge, then take a nogat for the work, and from each abutment of the bridge one nogat; if the dilapidated bridge is repaired by several daughters, 3, 4 or 5, then the same.
INTRODUCTION
The largest monument of Old Russian law and the main legal document of the Old Russian state was a collection of legal norms, called Russian Truth, which retained its significance in later periods of history. Its norms underlie the Pskov and
Novgorod judgment letters and subsequent legislative acts of not only Russian, but also Lithuanian law. More than a hundred lists of Russian Truth have survived to this day. Unfortunately, the original text of Russian Truth has not reached us. The first text was discovered and prepared for publication by the famous Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev in
1738. The name of the monument differs from European traditions, where similar collections of law received purely legal titles - law, lawyer. In Rus' at that time the concepts were known
“charter”, “law”, “custom”, but the document is designated by the legal-moral term “Truth”. It represents a whole complex of legal documents of the 11th - 12th centuries, the components of which were the Most Ancient Truth (circa 1015), Truth
Yaroslavich (about 1072), Charter of Monomakh (about 1120-1130)
.Russian Truth, depending on the edition, is divided into Brief,
Extensive and Abbreviated.
The Brief Truth is the oldest edition of the Russian Truth, which consisted of two parts. Its first part was adopted in the 30s. XI century . The place of publication of this part of the Russian Pravda is controversial, the chronicle points to Novgorod, but many authors admit that it was created in the center of the Russian land - Kiev and associate it with the name of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Pravda Yaroslav). It included 18 articles (1-18) and was entirely devoted to criminal law. Most likely, it arose during the struggle for the throne between Yaroslav and his brother Svyatopolk (1015 - 1019).
. Yaroslav's hired Varangian squad came into conflict with the Novgorodians, which was accompanied by murders and beatings. In an effort to resolve the situation, Yaroslav appeased the Novgorodians by “giving them the Truth and writing off the charter, thus telling them: walk according to its charter.” Behind these words in the 1st Novgorod Chronicle is the text of the Most Ancient Truth.
The characteristic features of the first part of the Russian Truth are the following: the action of the custom of blood feud, the lack of a clear differentiation of the size of fines depending on the social affiliation of the victim. The second part was adopted in Kyiv at the congress of princes and major feudal lords after the suppression of the uprising of the lower classes in 1086 and received the name Pravda
Yaroslavich. It consisted of 25 articles (19-43), but in some sources articles 42-43 are separate parts and are called accordingly: Pokonvirny and Lesson of Bridge Workers. Its title indicates that the collection was developed by three sons
Yaroslav the Wise with the participation of major persons from the feudal environment. There are clarifications in the texts, from which we can conclude that the collection was approved no earlier than the year of Yaroslav’s death (1054) and no later than 1077 (the year of the death of one of his sons)
The second part of the Russian Truth reflects the process of development of feudal relations: the abolition of blood feud, the protection of the life and property of feudal lords with increased penalties. Most of the articles
The Brief Truth contains norms of criminal law and judicial process
.
The Extensive Truth was compiled after the suppression of the uprising in Kyiv in 1113. It consisted of two parts - the Court of Yaroslav and the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh. Long edition of the Russian
Pravda contains 121 articles.
Extensive Truth is a more developed code of feudal law, which enshrined the privileges of feudal lords, the dependent position of smerds, purchases, and the lack of rights of serfs. Extensive Truth testified to the process of further development of feudal land ownership, paying much attention to the protection of ownership of land and other property. Certain norms of the Extensive Truth determined the procedure for transferring property by inheritance and concluding contracts.
Most of the articles relate to criminal law and judicial process.
The Abridged Truth was formed in the middle of the 15th century. from recycled
Dimensional Truth.
It is indisputable that, like any other legal act, Russian
Truth could not arise out of nowhere, without a basis in the form of sources of law. All that remains for me is to list and analyze these sources, to evaluate their contribution to the creation of the Russian
Truth. I would like to add that the study of the legal process is not only purely cognitive, academic, but also political and practical in nature. It allows a deeper understanding of the social nature of law, features and traits, and makes it possible to analyze the causes and conditions of its emergence and development.
1.1. SOURCES OF ANCIENT RUSSIAN LAW
The most ancient source of any law, including Russian, is custom, that is, a rule that was followed due to repeated application and became a habit of people. There were no antagonisms in the clan society, therefore customs were observed voluntarily. There were no special bodies to protect customs from violation. Customs changed very slowly, which was quite consistent with the pace of change in society itself. Initially, the law developed as a set of new customs, the observance of which was obligated by the nascent state bodies, and primarily by the courts.
Later, legal norms (rules of behavior) were established by acts of princes. When a custom is sanctioned by government authority, it becomes a rule of customary law.
In the 9th – 10th centuries in Rus' it was precisely the system of norms of oral
, common law. Some of these norms, unfortunately, were not recorded in the collections of law and chronicles that have reached us. one can only guess about them from individual fragments in literary monuments and treaties between Rus' and Byzantium in the 10th century.
One of the most famous ancient Russian legal monuments of that time, in which these norms were reflected, as I already mentioned in the introduction, is the largest source of ancient Russian law - Russian Truth. The sources of its codification were the norms of customary law and princely judicial practice. The norms of customary law recorded in the Russian Pravda include, first of all, the provisions on blood feud (Article 1 of the Communist Code) and mutual responsibility. (Art.
20 CP). The legislator shows a different attitude towards these customs: he seeks to limit blood feud (narrowing the circle of avengers) or completely abolish it, replacing it with a monetary fine - vira (there is a similarity with the “Salic truth” of the Franks, where blood feud was also replaced by a monetary fine); in contrast to blood feud, mutual responsibility is preserved as a measure that binds all members of the community with responsibility for their member who committed a crime (“Wild Virus” was imposed on the entire community)
In our literature on the history of Russian law, there is no consensus on the origin of Russian Pravda. Some consider it not an official document, not a genuine monument of legislation, but a private legal collection compiled by some ancient Russian lawyer or group of lawyers for their own personal purposes.. Others believe
The Russian Pravda is an official document, a genuine work of the Russian legislative power, only spoiled by copyists, as a result of which many different lists of Pravda appeared, which differ in the number, order and even text of the articles.
One of the sources of Russian Truth was the Russian Law
(rules of criminal, inheritance, family, procedural law). Disputes about its essence still continue to this day. In history
Russian law does not have a consensus on this document. According to some historians, supporters of the Norman theory of origin
The Old Russian state, the Russian Law was Scandinavian law, and the famous Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky believed that the Russian Law was a “legal custom”, and as a source of Russian Pravda it is not “the primitive legal custom of the Eastern Slavs, but the law of urban Rus', formed from quite diverse elements in 9-
11th centuries." According to other historians, the Russian Law was customary law created in Rus' over the centuries and reflected relations of social inequality and was the law of an early feudal society, located at a lower stage of feudalization than the one at which the Most Ancient Truth arose. Russian Law was necessary for the conduct of princely policies in the annexed Slavic and non-Slavic lands. It represented a qualitatively new stage in the development of Russian oral law in the conditions of the existence of the state. It is known that it is also partially reflected in the treaties between Rus' and the Greeks.
Treaties with the Greeks are a source of exceptional importance that allowed the researcher to penetrate the secrets of Rus' in the 9th – 10th centuries. These treaties are the clearest indicator of the high international position of the Old Russian state; they are the first documents of the history of Rus' in the Middle Ages. Their very appearance speaks of the seriousness of relations between the two states, of class society, and the details quite clearly introduce us to the nature of the direct relations between Rus' and Byzantium. This is explained by this. that in Rus' there was already a powerful class interested in concluding treaties. They were needed not by the peasant masses, but by princes, boyars and merchants. We have four of them: 907, 911, 944, 972. They pay a lot of attention to the regulation of trade relations, the definition of the rights that Russian merchants enjoyed in
Byzantium, as well as the norms of criminal law. From the agreements with the Greeks, we have private property, which its owner has the right to dispose of and, among other things, transfer it by will.
According to the peace treaty of 907, the Byzantines agreed to pay
Rus' a monetary indemnity, and then pay a monthly tribute, provide a certain food allowance for Russian ambassadors and merchants coming to Byzantium, as well as for representatives of other states. Prince Oleg achieved duty-free trading rights in Byzantine markets for Russian merchants. The Russians even received the right to wash in the baths of Constantinople, before which only free subjects of Byzantium could visit them. The agreement was sealed during Oleg’s personal meeting with the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI. As a sign of the end of hostilities, the conclusion of peace,
Oleg hung his shield on the gates of the city. This was the custom of many peoples of Eastern Europe. This treaty presents us with Russians no longer as wild Varangians, but as people who know the sanctity of honor and national solemn conditions, have their own laws establishing personal security, property, the right of inheritance, the power of wills, and have internal and external trade.
In 911, Oleg confirmed his peace treaty with Byzantium. In the course of lengthy ambassadorial treaties, the first detailed written agreement in the history of Eastern Europe was concluded between Byzantium and
Russia. This agreement opened with an ambiguous phrase: “We are from the Russian family... sent from Oleg the Grand Duke of Russia and from everyone who is at his hand - the bright and great princes and his great boyars...”
The treaty confirmed “peace and love” between the two states. IN
In 13 articles, the parties agreed on all economic, political, and legal issues of interest to them, and determined the responsibility of their subjects if they committed any crimes. One of the articles talked about concluding a military alliance between them. From now on, Russian troops regularly appeared as part of the Byzantine army during its campaigns against enemies. It should be noted that among the names of the 14 nobles used by the Grand Duke to conclude peace terms with the Greeks, there is not a single Slavic one. Having read this text, you might think that only the Varangians surrounded our first sovereigns and used their power of attorney, participating in the affairs of government.
The 944 treaty mentions all Russian people in order to more strongly emphasize the idea immediately following this phrase about the binding nature of treaties for all Russian people. Treaties were concluded not on behalf of the veche, but on behalf of the prince and the boyars. Now we can have no doubt that all these noble and powerful men were large landowners, not just yesterday, but with a long history of their own, who managed to grow stronger in their estates. This is evidenced by the fact that with the death of the head of the family, his wife became the head of such a noble house. Russian Truth confirms this position: “What a husband has laid on a nude, there is also a mistress” (Trinity List, art. 93). A significant part of the norms of customary oral law in a processed form entered the Russian
The truth. For example, Article 4 of the 944 treaty is generally absent from the 911 treaty, which establishes a reward for the return of a runaway servant, but a similar provision is included in the Longitudinal
Truth (Article 113). Analyzing Russian-Byzantine treaties, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that there can be no talk of any dominance of Byzantine law. They either give the so-called contractual, on the basis of a compromise between Russian and Byzantine law (a typical example is the rule on murder) or implement the principles of Russian law - Russian law, as we see in the rule on blows with a sword “Whether to strike with a sword or to hit with a sword or a vessel, for that emphasis or beating and give a liter
5 silver according to the Russian law” or in the norm on theft of property.
They indicate a fairly high development of inheritance law in Rus'.
But I think Russia’s adoption of Christianity had a special influence on the development of the law of ancient Rus'. In 988, during the reign of
In Kyiv, Prince Vladimir, the so-called “Baptism of Rus'” takes place. The process of Rus''s transition to the new faith proceeds gradually, encountering certain difficulties associated with the change in the old, established worldview and the reluctance of part of the population to convert to the new faith.
At the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, along with the new religion, new legislative acts came to pagan Rus', mainly Byzantine and South Slavic, containing the fundamental foundations of church - Byzantine law, which later became one of the sources of the legal monument I was studying. In the process of strengthening the position of Christianity and its spread on the territory of Kievan Rus, a number of Byzantine legal documents - nomocanons, i.e. associations of canonical collections of church rules of the Christian church and decrees of the Roman and Byzantine emperors on the church.
The most famous of them are: a) The Nomocanon of John Scholasticus, written in the 6th century and containing the most important church rules, divided into 50 titles, and a collection of secular laws of 87 chapters; b) Nomocanon 14 titles; c) Eclogue, published in 741 by the Byzantine Emperor Leo
Iosovryanin and his son Konstantin, dedicated to civil law (16 titles out of 18) and regulating mainly feudal land ownership; d) Prochiron, published at the end of the 8th century by Emperor Constantine, called in Rus' the City Law or the Manual Book of Laws; e) The Law of Judgment for People, created by the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon.
Over time, these church-legal documents, called in Rus'
The Helmsmen's Books take on the force of full-fledged legislative acts, and soon after their dissemination the institution of church courts, existing along with princely ones, begins to take root. Now we should describe in more detail the functions of church courts. Since the adoption of Christianity, the Russian Church has been granted dual jurisdiction. Firstly, she judged all Christians, both clergy and laity, on certain matters of a spiritual and moral nature. Such a trial was to be carried out on the basis of the nomocanon brought from Byzantium and on the basis of church statutes issued by the first Christian princes of Rus' Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and Yaroslav
Vladimirovich. The second function of church courts was the right to trial Christians (clergy and laity) in all matters: church and non-church, civil and criminal. Church court in non-church civil and criminal cases, which extended only to church people, was to be carried out according to local law and caused the need for a written set of local laws, which was the Russian Truth.
I would highlight two reasons for the need to create such a set of laws:
1) The first church judges in Russia were Greeks and southern Slavs, not familiar with Russian legal customs, 2) Russian legal customs contained many norms of pagan customary law, which often did not correspond to the new Christian morality, so church courts sought, if not completely eliminated, then at least try to soften some of the customs that were most distasteful to the moral and legal sense of Christian judges brought up on Byzantine law. It was these reasons that prompted the legislator to create the document I was studying.
I believe that the creation of a written code of laws is directly related to the adoption of Christianity and the introduction of the institution of church courts. After all, earlier, until the middle of the 11th century, the princely judge did not need a written code of laws, because The ancient legal customs that guided the prince and princely judges in judicial practice were still strong. The adversarial process also dominated, in which the litigants actually led the process. And, finally, the prince, possessing legislative power, could, if necessary, fill in legal gaps or resolve the casual perplexity of the judge.
Also, to make the assertion that the creation of
Russian Pravda was influenced by monuments of church-Byzantine law; the following examples can be given:
1) Russian Truth is silent about the judicial duels that undoubtedly took place in Russian legal proceedings of the 11th - 12th centuries, which were established in the “Russian Law” I mentioned earlier. Also, many other phenomena that took place, but were contrary to the Church, or actions that fell under the jurisdiction of church courts, but on the basis of no
Russian Pravda, but church laws (for example, insult with words, insult of women and children, etc.).
2) Even by its appearance, Russian Truth indicates its connection with Byzantine legislation. This is a small codex like the Eclogue and
Prochirona (synoptic codex).
In Byzantium, according to the tradition that came from Roman jurisprudence, a special form of codification was diligently processed, which can be called synoptic codification. Its example was given by the Institutes of Justinian, and further examples are the neighbors of Russian Truth in the Book of the Pilot - Eclogue and
Prochiron. These are brief systematic statements of law, rather works of jurisprudence than legislation, not so much codes as textbooks, adapted for the easiest knowledge of laws.
Comparing the Russian Truth with the monuments of Byzantine church law, summing up the above observations, I came to the conclusion that the text
Russian Pravda was formed in the environment not of a princely court, but of a church court, in the environment of church jurisdiction, the goals of which guided the compiler of this legal monument in his work.
Russian Truth is one of the largest legal works of the Middle Ages. By the time of its origin, it is the oldest monument of Slavic law, entirely based on the judicial practice of the Eastern Slavs. Even Procopius of Caesarea in the 6th century noted that among the Slavs and Antes “all life and laws are the same.” Of course, there is no reason to mean “legalization” of the Russian Truth here, but it is necessary to recognize the existence of some norms according to which the life of the Antes flowed and which were remembered by experts in customs and preserved by the clan authorities. It is not for nothing that the Russian word “law” passed on to the Pechenegs and was in use among them in the 12th century. It is safe to say that blood feud was well known at that time, although in a reduced form in Russian Pravda. There is no doubt that a tribal community with customs in the process of decomposition, occurring under the influence of the development of the institution of private ownership of land, turned into a neighboring community with a certain range of rights and obligations. This new community was reflected in Russian Pravda. All attempts to prove any influence on Russian Truth on the part of Byzantine, South Slavic, Scandinavian legislation turned out to be completely fruitless. Russian Truth arose entirely on Russian soil and was the result of the development of Russian legal thought of the X-XII centuries.
1. 2. LEGAL STATUS OF THE POPULATION
All feudal societies were strictly stratified, that is, they consisted of classes, the rights and responsibilities of which were clearly defined by law as unequal in relation to each other and to the state. In other words, each class had its own legal status. It would be a great simplification to consider feudal society from the point of view of exploiters and exploited. The class of feudal lords, constituting the fighting force of the princely squads, despite all their material benefits, could lose their lives - the most valuable thing - easier and more likely than the poor class of peasants. The feudal class was formed gradually. It included princes, boyars, squads, local nobility, posadniks, and tiuns. The feudal lords exercised civil administration and were responsible for a professional military organization. They were mutually connected by a system of vassalage, regulating rights and obligations to each other and to the state. To ensure management functions, the population paid tribute and court fines. The material needs of the military organization were provided by land property.
Feudal society was religiously static, not prone to dramatic evolution. In an effort to consolidate this static nature, the state preserved relations with the estates in legislation.
The Russian Pravda contains a number of norms that determine the legal status of certain groups of the population. The personality of the prince occupies a special place. He is treated as an individual, which indicates his high position and privileges. But further in its text it is quite difficult to draw a line dividing the legal status of the ruling stratum and the rest of the population. We find only two legal criteria that particularly distinguish these groups in society: norms on increased (double) criminal liability - double penalty (80 hryvnia ) for the murder of a representative of the privileged layer (Article 1 of the PP) of princely servants, grooms, tiuns, firemen. But the code is silent about the boyars and warriors themselves. Probably, the death penalty was applied to them for encroachment. The chronicles repeatedly describe the use of execution during popular unrest. And also rules on a special procedure for inheriting real estate (land) for representatives of this layer
(Article 91 PP). In the feudal stratum, the earliest of all was the abolition of restrictions on female inheritance. Church statutes establish high fines for violence against boyars’ wives and daughters, ranging from 1 to 5 hryvnia silver. Also, a number of articles protect the property of feudal lords
. A fine of 12 hryvnia is established for violating the land boundary; fines are also levied for the destruction of beekeepers, boyar lands, and for the theft of hunting falcons and hawks.
The bulk of the population was divided into free and dependent people; there were also intermediate and transitional categories.
The urban population was divided into a number of social groups: boyars, clergy, merchants. “lower classes” (artisans, small traders, workers, etc.) In science, the question of its legal status has not been adequately resolved due to a lack of sources. It is difficult to determine to what extent the population of Russian cities enjoyed urban liberties similar to those in Europe, which further contributed to the development of capitalism in cities. According to the historian's calculations
M.N. Tikhomirov, in Rus' in the pre-Mongol period there existed before
300 cities. City life was so developed that it allowed
IN. Klyuchevsky came up with the theory of “merchant capitalism” in the Ancient
Rus'. M.L. Tikhomirov believed that in Rus' “the air of the city made a person free,” and many runaway slaves were hiding in the cities.
Free city residents enjoyed the legal protection of the Russian
True, they were subject to all articles on the protection of honor, dignity and life. The merchant class played a special role. It early began to unite into corporations (guilds), called hundreds. Usually the “merchant hundred” operated under some church. "Ivanovo Sto" in Novgorod was one of the first merchant organizations in Europe.
The smerds, the community members, were also a legally and economically independent group (they paid taxes and performed duties only in favor of the state).
In science, there are a number of opinions about smerds; they are considered free peasants, feudal dependents, persons in a slave state, serfs, and even a category similar to petty knighthood. But the main debate is conducted along the lines of: free or dependent (slaves). Many historians, for example S.A. Pokrovsky, consider smerds as commoners, ordinary citizens, everywhere presented as Russian Pravda, a free person unlimited in his legal capacity. So S.V. Yushkov saw in the smerds a special category of the enslaved rural population, and B.D. Grekov believed that there were dependent smerds and free smerds. A.A. Zimin defended the idea of the origin of smerds from slaves.
Two articles of Russian Pravda have an important place in substantiating opinions.
Article 26 of the Brief Truth, which establishes a fine for the murder of slaves, in one reading reads: “And in the stink and in the slave 5 hryvnia” (Academic list) In the Archaeographic list we read: “And in the stink in the serf 5 hryvnia” In the first reading it turns out that in case of murder of a serf and a serf, the same fine is paid. From the second list it follows that Smerd has a slave who is killed
. It is impossible to resolve the situation.
Article 90 of the Extensive Truth states: “If the smerd dies, then the inheritance goes to the prince; if he has daughters, then give them a dowry.” Some researchers interpret it in the sense that after the death of Smerd, his property passed entirely to the prince and he is a man of a “dead hand,” that is, unable to pass on an inheritance. But further articles explain the situation - we are talking only about those smerdas who died without sons, and the exclusion of women from inheritance is characteristic at a certain stage of all the peoples of Europe. From this we see that the smerd ran the household together with his family.
However, the difficulties of determining the status of a smerd do not end there. Smerd, according to other sources, acts as a peasant who owns a house, property, and a horse. For the theft of his horse, the law establishes a fine of 2 hryvnia. For “flour” stink, a fine of 3 hryvnia is established. Russian Pravda nowhere specifically indicates a limitation on the legal capacity of smerds; there are indications that they pay fines (sales) characteristic of free citizens. The law protected the person and property of the smerda. For the committed misdeeds and crimes, as well as for obligations and contracts, he bore personal and property liability; for debts, the smerd was in danger of becoming a feudal-dependent purchase; in the legal process, the smerd acted as a full participant.
Russian Pravda always indicates, if necessary, membership in a specific social group (combatant, serf, etc.) In the mass of articles about free people, it is the free people who are meant; about smerds, it comes only where their status needs to be highlighted.
Tributes, polyudye and other exactions undermined the foundations of the community, and many of its members, in order to pay the tribute in full and somehow survive themselves, were forced to go into debt bondage with their rich neighbors. Debt bondage has become the most important source of creating economically dependent people. They turned into servants and slaves who bent their backs on their masters and had virtually no rights. One of these categories were the rank and file
(from the word “row” - agreement) - those who enter into an agreement on their temporary servile position, and his life was valued at 5 hryvnia.
Being a private employee was not always bad; he could turn out to be a key holder or a manager.. A more complex legal figure is procurement.
The Brief Pravda does not mention procurement, but the Long Pravda contains a special charter on procurement. Zakup - a person who worked on the feudal lord’s farm for a “kupa”, a loan, which could include various valuables: land, livestock, money, etc. This debt had to be worked off, and there were no standards. The scope of work was determined by the lender. Therefore, with the increase in interest on the loan, bondage increased and could continue for a long time. The first legal settlement of debt relations between purchases and creditors was made in the Charter of Vladimir
Monomakh after the procurement uprising in 1113. Maximum interest rates on debt were established. The law protected the person and property of the purchaser, prohibiting the master from punishing and taking away property without cause. If the purchase itself committed an offense, the responsibility was twofold: the master paid a fine for it to the victim, but the purchase itself could be issued by the head, i.e. turned into a complete serf. Its legal status changed dramatically.
For attempting to leave the master without paying, the purchaser was turned into a serf. The purchaser could act as a witness in a trial only in special cases: in minor cases (“in small claims”) or in the absence of other witnesses (“out of need”). The purchase was the legal figure who most clearly illustrated the process
“feudalization”, enslavement, enslavement of former free community members.
In Russian Pravda, “role” (arable) procurement, working on someone else’s land, in its legal status did not differ from procurement
"non-role." Both differed from hired workers, in particular in that they received payment for work in advance, and not after completion. Role purchases, working on someone else's land, cultivated it partly for the master, partly for themselves. Non-role purchases provided personal services to the master in his home. In the feudal economy, the labor of slaves was widely used, the ranks of which were replenished by prisoners, as well as by ruined fellow tribesmen. The position of the slaves was extremely difficult - they
“They ate below rye bread and without salt because of their extreme poverty.” Feudal shackles tenaciously held a person in a slave position. Sometimes, completely despairing and giving up on all earthly and heavenly hopes, the slaves tried to break them and raised their hands against the offenders-masters. So, in 1066, reports
Novgorod Chronicle, one of the church fanatics, Bishop Stefan, was strangled by his own slaves. The serf is the most powerless subject of law. His property status is special: everything he owned was the property of the master. His personality as a subject of law was not protected by law. In a lawsuit, a slave cannot act as a party. (plaintiff, defendant, witness). Referring to his testimony in court, a free man had to make a reservation that he was referring to the “words of a serf.” The law regulated various sources of servility of the Russian Truth and provided for the following cases: sale into slavery itself, birth from a slave, marriage to a slave, “key holding”, i.e. entering the service of a master, but without a reservation about maintaining the status of a free person. The most common source of servility, not mentioned however in
Russian Pravda, was captured. But if the slave was a prisoner - “taken from the army,” then his fellow tribesmen could ransom him. The price for a prisoner was high - 10 zlatniks, full-weight gold coins of Russian or Byzantine mintage. Not everyone expected such a ransom to be paid for him. And if the slave came from his own Russian family-tribe, then he waited and wished for the death of his master. The owner could, by his spiritual testament, hoping to atone for earthly sins, set his slaves free. After this, the slave turned into a freedman, that is, set free. Slaves stood at the lowest rung even in those ancient times on the ladder of social relations. The sources of servitude were also: the commission of a crime (punishment such as “flow and plunder” included the extradition of the criminal with his head, turning into a slave), the flight of a purchase from the master, malicious bankruptcy (the merchant loses or squanders other people’s property) Life became more difficult, tributes and quitrents increased. The ruin of the community smerds through unbearable exactions gave rise to another category of dependent outcast people. An outcast is a person expelled from his circle by the force of difficult life circumstances, going bankrupt, losing his home, family, and household. The name “outcast” apparently comes from the ancient verb “goit”, which in ancient times was equivalent to the word
"live". The very emergence of a special word to designate such people speaks of a large number of disadvantaged people. Izgoystvo as a social phenomenon became widespread in Ancient Rus', and feudal legislators had to include articles about outcasts in the codes of ancient laws, and the church fathers constantly mentioned them in their sermons
So from all of the above, you can get some idea of the legal status of the main categories of the population in
Rus'.
CONCLUSION
Undoubtedly, Russian Truth is a unique monument of ancient Russian law. Being the first written set of laws, it nevertheless quite fully covers a very wide area of \u200b\u200bthe relations of that time. It represents a set of developed feudal law, which reflected the norms of criminal and civil law and procedure.
Russian Truth is an official act. Its text itself contains references to the princes who adopted or changed the law (Yaroslav
Wise, Yaroslavichi, Vladimir Monomakh).
Russian Truth is a monument of feudal law. It comprehensively defends the interests of the ruling class and openly proclaims the lack of rights of unfree workers - serfs, servants.
Russian Truth in all its editions and lists is a monument of enormous historical significance. For several centuries it served as the main guide in legal proceedings. In one form or another, the Russian Truth became part of or served as one of the sources of later judicial charters: the Pskov judicial charter, the Dvina charter of 1550, even some articles of the Council Code of 1649.
The long use of the Russian Pravda in court cases explains to us the appearance of such types of lengthy editions of the Russian Pravda, which were subject to alterations and additions back in the 14th and 16th centuries.
Russian Truth satisfied the needs of princely courts so well that it was included in legal collections until the 15th century. Lists
Extensive Truth was actively disseminated back in the 15th - 16th centuries. And only in
In 1497, the Code of Law of Ivan III Vasilyevich was published, replacing the Extensive
Truth as the main source of law in the territories united within the centralized Russian state.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. GREKOV B.D. Kievan Rus. Politizdat. 1953.
2. ZIMIN A.A. Serfs in Rus'. M. Science. 1973.
3. ISAEV I. A. History of the state and law of Russia. M. 1999.
4. SVERDLOV M.B. From Russian law to Russian Truth. M. 1988.
5. TIKHOMIROV M.N. A manual for studying Russian Truth. Publishing house
Moscow University. 1953.
6. CHRESTOMATHY on the history of state and law of the USSR. Pre-October period.
Edited by TITOV Y.P. and CHISTYAKOVA I.O. M. 1990.
7. KLYUCHEVSKY V.O. Course of Russian history, part 1.5-ed.M
8. SHCHAPOV Y.N. Princely charters and the church in Ancient Rus' 9-14 centuries.
9. YUSHKOV S.V. Russian Truth: Origin, sources, its meaning. M.
“Russian Truth” is a legal document of Ancient Rus', a collection of all laws and legal norms that existed in the 10th-11th centuries.
“Russian Truth” is the first legal document in Ancient Rus', which united all the old legal acts, princely decrees, laws and other administrative documents issued by different authorities. “Russian Truth” is not only an important part of the history of law in Russia, but also an important cultural monument, since it reflects the way of life of Ancient Rus', its traditions, principles of economic management, and is also an important source of information about the written culture of the state, which that moment was just emerging.
The document includes rules of inheritance, trade, criminal law, as well as principles of procedural law. “Russian Truth” was at that time the main written source of information about social, legal and economic relations on the territory of Rus'.
The origin of “Russian Truth” today raises quite a few questions among scientists. The creation of this document is associated primarily with the name - the prince collected all the legal documents and decrees that existed in Rus' and issued a new document around 1016-1054. Unfortunately, not a single copy of the original “Russian Pravda” has survived, only later censuses, so it is difficult to say exactly about the author and the date of creation of “Russian Pravda”. “Russian Truth” was rewritten several times by other princes, who made modifications to it according to the realities of the time.
Main sources of "Russian Truth"
The document exists in two editions: short and lengthy (more complete). The short version of “Russian Truth” includes the following sources:
- Pokon virny - determining the order of feeding the prince's servants, vira collectors (created in the 1020s or 1030s);
- Pravda Yaroslav (created in 1016 or in the 1030s);
- Pravda Yaroslavich (does not have an exact date);
- A lesson for bridge workers - regulation of wages for builders, pavement workers, or, according to some versions, bridge builders (created in the 1020s or 1030s).
The short edition contained 43 articles and described new state traditions that appeared shortly before the creation of the document, as well as a number of older legal norms and customs (in particular, the rules of blood feud). The second part contained information about fines, violations, etc. The legal foundations in both parts were built on a principle quite common for that time - class. This meant that the severity of the crime, the punishment or the size of the fine depended not so much on the crime itself, but on what class the person who committed it belonged to. In addition, different categories of citizens had different rights.
A later version of “Russian Truth” was supplemented by the charter of Yaroslav Vladimirovich and Vladimir Monomakh, the number of articles in it was 121. “Russkaya Pravda” in an expanded edition was used in court, civil and ecclesiastical, to determine punishment and settle commodity-money litigation and relations in general .
In general, the norms of criminal law described in Russian Pravda correspond to the norms adopted in many early state societies of that period. The death penalty is still retained, but the typology of crimes is significantly expanding: murder is now divided into intentional and unintentional, different degrees of damage are designated, from intentional to unintentional, fines are levied not at a single rate, but depending on the severity of the offense. It is worth noting that “Russkaya Pravda” describes fines in several currencies at once for the convenience of the legal process in different territories.
The document also contained a lot of information about the legal process. “Russian Truth” determined the basic principles and norms of procedural legislation: where and how it is necessary to hold court hearings, how it is necessary to contain criminals during and before the trial, how to judge them and how to carry out the sentence. In this process, the class principle mentioned above is preserved, which implies that more noble citizens could count on a more lenient punishment and more comfortable conditions of detention. “Russian Truth” also provided for a procedure for collecting monetary debt from a debtor; prototypes of bailiffs appeared who dealt with similar issues.
Another side described in “Russkaya Pravda” is social. The document defined different categories of citizens and their social status. Thus, all citizens of the state were divided into several categories: noble people and privileged servants, which included princes, warriors, then ordinary free citizens, that is, those who were not dependent on the feudal lord (all residents of Novgorod were included here), and the lowest category were considered dependent people - peasants, serfs, serfs and many others who were in the power of feudal lords or the prince.
The meaning of "Russian Truth"
“Russian Truth” is one of the most important sources of information about the life of Ancient Rus' at the earliest period of its development. The presented legislative norms allow us to get a fairly complete picture of the traditions and way of life of all segments of the population of the Russian land. In addition, “Russian Truth” became one of the very first legal documents that was used as the main national legal code.
The creation of the “Russian Pravda” laid the foundations for the future legal system, and when creating new codes of law in the future (in particular, the creation of the Code of Laws of 1497), it always remained the main source, which was taken as a basis by legislators not only as a document containing all acts and laws, but also as an example of a single legal document. “Russian Truth” for the first time officially consolidated class relations in Rus'.
