The main export items of Kievan Rus. Trade in Kievan Rus

State foreign trade policy of Kievan Rus (IX - XII centuries)

The foreign policy of Kievan Rus was aimed at strengthening the state, protecting borders, developing trade and cultural ties with neighbors, and expanding territories. Obtaining additional resources through military campaigns. Rus' had broad economic and political ties with Europe. Relations with Byzantium occupied a special place. Relations with nomads were based on the refusal of territorial acquisitions. The sedentary agricultural and urban life of Rus' was incompatible with the nomadic culture. Therefore, the borders with the steppe were strengthened, their raids were repelled, pre-emptive strikes were carried out, etc.

In the VIII - IX centuries. there is a large influx of masses of Slavic immigrants to the Dnieper region. This was not only a territorial displacement, but also an economic event of enormous importance, upending the previous order. The Slavs had the opportunity to develop trade, which was also greatly facilitated by the Khazar state that dominated the space between the Volga and Dnieper, where this type of activity predominated. Having settled along the Dnieper and its tributaries in lonely fortified courtyards, East Slavic settlers began to establish an exchange of goods.

Among the one-yard buildings, small prefabricated trading points appeared, where they exchanged and traded the manufactured product. Such gathering places were called graveyards. These small rural markets led to larger ones that formed along especially busy trade routes associated with the external Black Sea-Caspian trade.

More important churchyards served as places for collecting tribute and conducting legal cases. Therefore, even before the emergence of an internal centralizing government, they became administrative and judicial districts, i.e. territorial government organizations. Being trading centers and storage points for the industrial districts that developed around them, playing the role of administrative and judicial bodies, the main churchyards independently governed their districts. Finally, the most important - 4 churchyards, due to the advantages of location in the process of trade, industrial and cultural exchange, grew into cities with the significance of volost centers.

In these cities, the position of princes, boyars and merchants strengthened. An important area of government activity was the marketing of the results of Polyudye. The foreign trade of Rus' was a direct continuation of the collection of princely rent in the lands subordinate to Kyiv. The power of the state body of Kievan Rus was felt in the scope of trading enterprises, in their organizational coherence and in the powerful support they enjoyed from the grand ducal army. Every spring, she exported countless quantities of goods collected during six months of circular polyud. Tribute collectors became sailors, participants in overland trade routes, warriors who repelled attacks from hunters for easy money, merchants who sold Russian goods and bought foreign ones.

Boats with wax, honey, furs and other export items were usually equipped for overseas voyages in Kyiv or the cities closest to it on the Dnieper. Russian merchants were well known in the East, Central and Northern Europe. Their land caravans carried the results of Polyudny to Baghdad and India. Russian military-trade expeditions sailed along the Black Sea to Bulgaria and Byzantium.

Rus' was located on the transit routes between the West and the East - along the Volga and along the Dnieper. And if Venice became rich because it held in its hands the transit road along the Mediterranean Sea, trade between Asia and Southern Europe, then the transit road between Asia and Northern Europe, of course, should have contributed to the prosperity of Kievan Rus.

Some of our historians, including the greatest historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, even derive the birth of Russian statehood from this transit trade. Its significance for Kievan Rus is evidenced by the following circumstances.

1. The Eastern Slavs, the original farmers, as we know, moved from the southern steppes to the north, into forests and swamps, where conditions for agriculture were much worse, because transit river routes from southern Asia to northern Europe went there, to the Baltic Sea . It was necessary to master these paths along their entire length. Novgorod initially emerged as a trading city, a transit trading point on the approaches to the Baltic.

2. To participate in this transit trade, you had to have your own goods. Forest products - furs, honey, wax - were highly valued both in the West and in the East. Naturally, these products could be obtained not in the steppe, but in the forests, and therefore it was also necessary to move north, into the forests.

As is known, the Kyiv princes collected tribute not in bread, but in furs, honey, wax - goods for export.

Of course, on these transit routes Rus' met with competitors. In the north these were the Varangians. The Normans were masters of the sea, and they came to Western Europe from the sea in armadas of hundreds of drakars. These were pirates - robbers who attacked to rob. But Russian cities did not stand on the sea coast, but on rivers. On the river route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” with portages along the watersheds, the Normans and their drakars were powerless against the Russians. Therefore, they came here not as pirates, but as armed merchants who had to go through Rus' to rich Byzantium. And for this they joined the Russian ruling elite, became warriors and participated in the defense of Russian lands.

And from the south Venice and Genoa were approaching this route. Venetian and Genoese fortresses have been preserved on the rocks of the southern coast of Crimea. But at the same time, Russian military-trading outposts were born on the shores of the “Russian Sea”: Tmutorokan, Pereyaslavets, Surozh (Sudak).

Two stages of this transit trade can be distinguished:

1) In the 8th-10th centuries, trade went along the Volga and Caspian Sea with the vast Arab Caliphate, with Baghdad - the capital of the caliphs.

There was a flow of Arab dirhams along the Volga. Treasures of them are still found here, while in Central Asia and Iraq they have not been found for a long time. But most of all Arab coins are found on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. And Gotland was the point where the flows of eastern and western goods met.

The Kyiv princes took military action to establish control over this route. As you know, Prince Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Kaganate on the Volga;

2) Approximately from the middle of the 10th century. the direction of trade is changing. Now goods move through Byzantium along the famous route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” along the Dnieper, and not along the Volga.

It is necessary to note the main circumstance: the prince traded with Byzantium with his retinue, the “military trade aristocracy,” as historian N.P. Pavlov-Silvansky put it. It was they, the warrior merchants, who controlled foreign trade, collected tribute in furs, honey, wax, and then exchanged them for handicrafts, expensive fabrics, gold and silver.

Southern direction in Russian foreign trade (Byzantium)

In addition to the Church, princes and army, another social group of Kievan Rus was in constant relationship with the Byzantines: the merchants. We know that Russian merchants came to Constantinople in large numbers from the beginning of the tenth century, and a permanent headquarters was allocated for them in one of the suburbs of Constantinople. There is less direct evidence about Russian trade with Byzantium in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but in the chronicles of this period Russian merchants “trading with Greece” (Grechniki) are mentioned on various occasions.

The Russians exported furs, honey, wax and slaves to Byzantium in the tenth century; The situation in the eleventh and twelfth centuries is not entirely clear. Christian slaves were no longer sold by the Russians outside the country, and we do not know whether pagan slaves, such as Polovtsian prisoners of war, were sold to the Greeks, but it is well known that the Polovtsians sold Russian prisoners as slaves to overseas merchants. It is very likely that in the twelfth century Rus' exported grain to the Byzantine Empire. From Byzantium during these three centuries, Rus' imported mainly wines, silks and art objects such as icons and jewelry, as well as fruit and glassware.

Trade between Rus' and Byzantium had a state character. A significant part of the tribute collected by the Kyiv princes was sold in the markets of Constantinople. The princes sought to secure for themselves the most favorable conditions in this trade and tried to strengthen their positions in the Crimea and the Black Sea region. Attempts by Byzantium to limit Russian influence or violate the terms of trade led to military clashes. Under Prince Oleg, the combined forces of the Kyiv state besieged the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople (Russian name - Constantinople) and forced the Byzantine emperor to sign a trade agreement beneficial for Rus'. Another agreement with Byzantium has reached us, concluded after the less successful campaign against Constantinople by Prince Igor in 944. In accordance with the agreements, Russian merchants came to Constantinople every year in the summer for the trading season and lived there for six months.

Every year in the summer, Russian traders came to Constantinople for a trading season that lasted 6 months; According to Igor's treaty, none of them had the right to stay there for the winter. Russian merchants stayed on the outskirts of Constantinople at St. Mothers, where the monastery of St. Mamanta. Since the time of the same agreement, imperial officials took away from the arriving merchants the princely charter indicating the number of ships sent from Kiev and copied the names of the arriving princely ambassadors and ordinary merchants, guests, “may we also,” the Greeks add on their own in the agreement, “may peace be upon us.” are coming": this was a precaution so that Russian pirates would not sneak into Constantinople under the guise of agents of the Kyiv prince.

Russian ambassadors and guests throughout their stay in Constantinople enjoyed free food and a free bath from the local government - a sign that these trade trips of Rus' in Constantinople were viewed not as private industrial enterprises, but as trade embassies of the allied Kyiv court. In the treatise between Tzimiskes and Svyatoslav, where the emperor undertook to accept the Russians coming to Constantinople for trade as allies, it was directly stated “as has been the custom from time immemorial.” It should be noted that Rus' was a paid ally of Byzantium and was obliged by treaties to provide the Greeks with some defensive services on the borders of the empire for an agreed “tribute.” Thus, Igor’s treaty obliged the Russian prince not to allow the Black Bulgarians into Crimea to “do dirty tricks” in the country of Korsun. The trade ambassadors of Rus' received their ambassadorial salaries in Constantinople, and ordinary merchants received a month's food, which was distributed to them in a certain order according to the seniority of Russian cities, first Kyiv, then Chernigov, Pereyaslavl and other cities. The Greeks were afraid of Rus', even when it came with a legitimate appearance: merchants entered the city with their goods without weapons, in parties of no more than 50 people, at the same gate, with an imperial bailiff who monitored the correctness of trade transactions between buyers and sellers; In Igor’s agreement it was added: “If Rus' enters the city, let them not do dirty tricks.”

According to Oleg's agreement, Russian merchants did not pay any duty. Trade was predominantly barter: this can explain the relatively small amount of Byzantine coins found in ancient Russian treasures and burial mounds. Rus' traded furs, honey, wax and servants for pavoloki (silk fabrics), gold, wine, and vegetables. After the expiration of the trade period, leaving home, Rus' received food and ship gear, anchors, ropes, sails, everything that it needed from the Greek treasury for the journey. Under Askold, Rus' attacked Constantinople, irritated, according to Patriarch Photius, by the killing of its fellow countrymen, apparently Russian merchants, after the Byzantine government refused to pay for this insult, thereby terminating its treaty with Russia. In 1043, Yaroslav sent his son with a fleet against the Greeks, because Russian merchants were beaten in Constantinople and one of them was killed. So, the Byzantine campaigns were caused, for the most part, by the desire of Rus' to support or restore broken trade relations with Byzantium. That is why they usually ended with trade treatises. All the agreements between Rus' and the Greeks that have come down to us since the 10th century have such a commercial character. Of these, two treaties of Oleg, one of Igor and one short treaty, or only the beginning of the treaty of Svyatoslav, have reached us. The agreements were drawn up in Greek and, with appropriate changes in form, were translated into a language understandable to Rus'. Reading these treaties, it is easy to notice what interest was associated in the 10th century. Rus' with Byzantium. In total, they define in more detail and more accurately the order of annual trade relations between Rus' and Byzantium, as well as the order of private relations between Russians in Constantinople and the Greeks: on this side, the treaties are distinguished by the remarkable development of legal norms, especially international law.

The Byzantine Empire was politically and culturally the main power of the medieval world, at least until the era of the Crusades. Even after the first crusade, the empire still occupied an extremely important place in the Middle East, and only after the fourth crusade did the decline of its power become apparent. Thus, throughout almost the entire Kievan period, Byzantium represented the highest level of civilization not only for Rus', but also in relation to Western Europe. It is characteristic enough that from the Byzantine point of view, the knights - participants in the Fourth Crusade - were nothing more than rude barbarians, and it must be said that they really behaved that way.

For Rus', the influence of Byzantine civilization meant more than for any other European country, with the possible exception of Italy and, of course, the Balkans. Together with the latter, Rus' became part of the Greek Orthodox world; that is, speaking in terms of that period, part of the Byzantine world.

Western direction of foreign trade (Northern and Western Europe)

Let us first turn to Russian-German relations. Until the German expansion into the eastern Baltic in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, German lands did not come into contact with the Russians. However, some contacts between the two peoples were maintained through trade and diplomacy, as well as through dynastic ties. The main German-Russian trade route in that early period passed through Bohemia and Poland. As early as 906, the Raffelstadt Customs Establishment mentions Bohemians and Rugs among foreign merchants coming to Germany. It is clear that the former means the Czechs, while the latter can be identified with the Russians.

The city of Ratisbon became the starting point for German trade with Russia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; here German merchants doing business with Russia formed a special corporation, the members of which are known as “Rusarii”. As already mentioned, Jews also played an important role in Ratisbon's trade with Bohemia and Russia. In the mid-twelfth century, commercial ties between Germans and Russians were also established in the eastern Baltic, where Riga had been the main German trading base since the thirteenth century. On the Russian side, both Novgorod and Pskov took part in this trade, but its main center during this period was Smolensk. As already mentioned, in 1229 an important trade agreement was signed between the city of Smolensk, on the one hand, and a number of German cities, on the other. The following German and Frisian cities were represented: Riga, Lübeck, Sest, Münster, Groningen, Dortmund and Bremen. German merchants often visited Smolensk; some of them lived there permanently. The agreement mentions the German Church of the Holy Virgin in Smolensk.

With the development of active commercial relations between Germans and Russians and through diplomatic and family connections between German and Russian ruling houses, the Germans must have collected a significant amount of information about Rus'. Indeed, the notes of German travelers and the records of German chroniclers constituted an important source of knowledge about Rus' not only for the Germans themselves, but also for the French and other Western Europeans.

The main exports of Novgorod and Smolensk to Western Europe were the same three leading categories of goods as in the Russian-Byzantine trade - furs, wax and honey. To these you can add flax, hemp, ropes, canvas and hops, as well as lard, beef fat, sheepskins and hides. Silver and silver items were also exported from Smolensk. Woolen cloth, silk, linen, needles, weapons and glassware were imported from the West. In addition, metals such as iron, copper, tin and lead arrived in Rus' along the Baltic; as well as herring, wine, salt and beer.

Analyzing the range of goods in Russian foreign trade, we see that Rus' sent abroad mainly - if not exclusively - raw materials, and received finished products and metals from abroad.

Back in the X - first half of the XI centuries. Frankish swords and armor, glazes and glassware were imported to Rus' from Europe. Development in the 12th century The overland trade of Kievan Rus with Central Europe softened the consequences of the loss of Byzantine and Arab markets and contributed to its structural changes.

The northern trade route to Western European countries passed through the Baltic countries, along the Baltic coast through Riga and Estonia to Novgorod, Polotsk, Smolensk. The concentration of finds of European coins (denarii) in the regions of Novgorod land and in the river basin. Kama is associated with the importance of trade in valuable furs in this direction.

Another trade route to Western Europe went in the direction of Regensburg on the Danube - Krakow - Galich - Kyiv - Chernigov - Ryazan - Vladimir. The topography of Western European imports (works of artistic craft) shows that Rus''s connections with France, Germany, and Italy were most intense at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. On this route, trade in valuable furs was not so important, because in the areas where he passed there were no such animals.

Russian fur in Western Europe was most often used not for entire fur products, but was used only for finishing. Fur trim or a large fur collar - often made of sable - in France was a distinctive feature of noble people, nobles; it was worn by knights; ermine fur was worn by representatives of the ruling dynasty.

The western trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed through southwestern Rus', connecting the Baltic and Black Seas through the rivers: Vistula, Western Bug, Dniester. One of the land routes to Byzantium along the Dniester - through Lutsk, Vladimir Volynsky, Zavikhost, Krakow - led from Kyiv to Poland, the other - further south, through the Carpathians, connected Russian lands with Hungary, from where roads opened to other Western European countries. Mention is also made of the overland route that began in Prague, passing through Kyiv to the Volga and further to Asia.

East direction

"East" is as vague and relative a concept as "West". Each of Rus''s eastern neighbors was at a different cultural level, and each was endowed with its own specific features.

In historical and economic literature, when characterizing the foreign market of Russia in the 16th century. Often attention is paid almost exclusively to trade with the countries of Western Europe and trade with eastern countries (Turkey, Persia, Central Asia, etc.) is overlooked. Meanwhile, trade relations between Moscow and the East in this century were very broad, and according to some researchers, they even played “a leading role in Russia’s overall foreign trade turnover.”

Rus' traded with Greek and Italian merchants in Surozh, Cafe and Constantinople. It is interesting that the guests-Surozh (merchants who traded with Surozh and the Black Sea colonies) were not only merchants, but also owners of estates where the dependent population lived. It is curious that if Russia in the 16th century. exported mainly raw materials to the countries of Western Europe, then already at that time mainly handicraft products were exported to the eastern countries; among the goods exported from Russia there were also transit goods from Western Europe. The main transport routes to the countries of the East were the Volga and Don.

Rus' sold furs, honey, wax, walrus tusks and - at least in certain periods - woolen cloth and linen to the countries of the East, and bought spices, precious stones, silk and satin fabrics, as well as Damascus steel weapons and horses. It should be noted that some goods purchased by Russians from eastern merchants, such as jewelry stones, spices, carpets, etc., went through Novgorod to Western Europe. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Byzantine goods, especially silk textiles, also reached northern Europe via the Baltic. Novgorod trade, therefore, was partly transit.

Commercial relations between Russia and the East were lively and profitable for both. We know that in the late ninth and tenth centuries Russian merchants visited Persia and even Baghdad. There is no direct evidence to indicate that they continued to travel there in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but they probably visited Khwarezm during this later period. The name of the Khorezm capital Gurganj (or Urganj) was known to Russian chroniclers, who called it Ornach. Here the Russians must have met travelers and merchants from almost every eastern country, including India. Unfortunately, there are no surviving records of Russian travel to Khorezm during this period. Speaking of India, Russians during the Kiev period had rather vague ideas about Hinduism. "Brahmins are pious people" are mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Regarding Egypt, Soloviev claims that Russian merchants visited Alexandria, but the strength of the source of such evidence that he used is problematic.

Although private contacts through trade between the Russian and Volga Bulgars and the inhabitants of Khorezm were apparently lively, the difference in religions presented an almost insurmountable barrier to close social relationships between citizens belonging to different religious groups.

Trade relations with ancient Russia were of outstanding importance for the development of trade in Western Europe in the classical Middle Ages. The cities of ancient Rus' attracted merchants from almost the entire cultural world of that era, and Kyiv for a long time was, along with Constantinople, the largest trading center on the border of Western and Eastern Europe. Foreign merchants were under the special patronage of the Kyiv princes: Vladimir Monomakh in his “Instructions” recommended his sons to provide them with all possible support. Russian merchants themselves actively participated in this trade, penetrating into the countries of central Europe and making long voyages across the Baltic Sea. Russian merchant warriors on the verge of the early and classical Middle Ages were intermediaries between Western Europe and the East. Along the way from the “Varangians to the Greeks,” expensive Byzantine fabrics, and above all silk and brocade, penetrated to the West. In addition to Kyiv, Novgorod, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Polotsk, Rostov, Murom acquired importance as large shopping centers.

The rise of ancient Russian trade was based not only on the abundance of natural resources of Rus' and its favorable geographical position, but primarily on the high development of Russian craft in the 11th-13th centuries. Among the export goods of ancient Rus' were resin, as well as flax and linen fabrics. This is evidenced by one Italian catalog of fabrics of the 13th century, which notes “Russian fabric”. From Kievan Rus in the 10th century. silver jewelry decorated with filigree, niello and granulation was exported, which indicates the high skill of Kyiv jewelers. Finds by archaeologists in Poland, Moravia, the Czech Republic, and the Southern Baltic of items of this kind, similar to those from Kyiv, leave no doubt on this score. Kyiv enamels and silver items decorated with niello were highly valued in Saxony. True, in the XI-XII centuries. The export of jewelry is decreasing, but does not disappear, as evidenced by the finds in the Czech Republic of folding crosses of Kyiv origin. At the same time, the agreement of 1229, concluded by Smolensk with the Germans, provided for cases of the latter purchasing Russian-made silver vessels. Slate whorls made by Russian craftsmen were sold to Poland, Volga Bulgaria, and Chersonesos. Enameled products and clay toys with colored glaze penetrated from Kievan Rus to Sweden. “Fish tooth” was exported not only as raw materials, but also in the form of finished products. Novgorodians exported tanned leather and sheepskins. In the XI-XII centuries. The production of tubular locks with a detachable shackle was very widespread and they were sold to distant markets. Later in the Czech Republic, copper locks of a special kind were called “Russian”, and, probably, the reason for this was the ancient trade relations of the Czech Republic with Russia.

Finally, Kyiv bone carvings in the 12th century. were famous in Byzantium.

In addition to handicraft products, merchants of Kievan Rus exported furs, various types of raw materials and food, as well as slaves. The slave trade acquired great importance in the 9th-11th centuries. Novgorod exported especially a lot of furs to Western Europe, receiving it from its vast possessions in the Northern basin. Dvina and Pechory. In the 12th century Novgorodians penetrate the Urals and expand the base of their export trade from the Gulf of Finland to Siberia. The most valuable export goods of ancient Rus' were wax and honey, which were exported to different countries in large quantities.

As B. A. Rybakov showed, to the markets of ancient Rus' in the X-XII centuries. First of all, fabrics (silk, gold-woven, cloth, velvet), weapons, artistic crafts (until the middle of the 11th century), church utensils (from the end of the 10th century), glass and faience (until the middle of the 11th century), precious stones, spices, incense, fruits and wine, paints, horses, bread (in lean years), salt, precious and non-ferrous metals. Russian merchants undermined the Byzantine monopoly on silk exports: through their mediation, the so-called pavoloks (multi-color silk fabrics) penetrated not only into Rus', but also into Western Europe. In the XI-XII centuries. Frisian and Flemish cloth, swords from the Lower Rhine or Flanders, from the Danube end up on the markets of Russian cities; however, already in the 12th century. mass import of swords ceased. Only steel blades were imported, the finishing of which was then carried out independently by Russian craftsmen. Noble metals were imported by Russia in significant quantities, and silver (in coin form) until the beginning of the 11th century. came mainly from Arab countries, and later from Western Europe. Tin and lead penetrated into Rus' from Western Europe through Novgorod, and lead was used here as roofing material. The import of copper, which came partly from Hungary, was of serious importance. A significant place in Russian imports was occupied by spices, seasonings of all kinds, medicinal plants and dyes. But the import of artistic products remained very rare and they mainly came to Rus' from Byzantium. Western artistic decoration products penetrated into Rus' no earlier than the middle of the 12th century.

Trade between Rus' and Western Europe went in two directions. One of them originated from Kyiv, from where trade routes went to Central Europe, i.e. to Moravia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Southern Germany. For the second, the starting point was Novgorod and Polotsk, with the Baltic Sea serving as the main trade route. From the 9th century both routes became of great importance for European trade, since Kievan Rus for almost two centuries was the main supplier of Byzantine goods for Northern and Western Europe.

Russian merchants enjoyed the right to trade on the Danube and in a number of cities in Bavaria. Through Krakow and Moravia, Russian merchants reached Vienna, Pest, Prague, Regensburg, and Augsburg. In the 11th century Strong trade ties are established between Kiev and Regensburg: at the end of the 12th century, there was a special group of merchants (the so-called Rusarii) who traded with Russia. Finds in Drohochin of a large number of lead seals from the late 11th and first half of the 12th centuries. show that Kievan Rus had close trade ties with Poland.

The northern direction of foreign trade of ancient Rus' followed the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” that is, through Novgorod, Ladoga, Neva, the Baltic Sea or from Polotsk along the Western Dvina. Trade relations in this direction covered Gotland, Sweden, the Southern Baltic states and Denmark. Novgorodians visited Hildesheim; It is also known that in 1134 a caravan of Novgorod ships was detained in Denmark.

In the IX-XI centuries. The Russian center of trade relations with the Baltic states was Kyiv, which exported Byzantine fabrics and its jewelry there. Slavic cities in the Baltic states (Szczecin, Wolin and others) played a significant role in this.

Then in the XI-XIII centuries. the rise of Novgorod is observed; its trade in furs and other goods is acquiring enormous economic importance for a number of countries in Western Europe. In Kyiv itself, the Novgorodians had a representative office, which was located in the Church of St. Michael on Podol, and in the 12th century. through pilgrims they are looking for new ways for trade relations with Byzantium, Asia, and Syria.

The development of Russian crafts and trade was dealt a severe blow in the middle of the 13th century. The Mongol invasion, which led to a terrible pogrom in Russian lands, led to the desolation of many flourishing cities. The Mongols took the artisans into captivity and settled them in their domains. As a result, the construction of stone buildings stopped in a number of places, the production of glazed building ceramics disappeared, and the secrets of jewelry production were lost. Only from the 15th century. we can talk about a new rise in Russian crafts.

Consequently, the Mongol invasion had a detrimental effect on the development of Russian crafts and trade, delaying this development, while the medieval craft of the advanced countries of Europe was flourishing.

Characteristics of the economic development of the Old Russian state - Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, on whose territory a large number of ethnic groups lived, taking into account the fact that the state was at the junction of “opposite” worlds: nomadic and sedentary, Christian and Muslim, pagan and Jewish. Thus, unlike eastern and western countries, the process of the emergence and formation of statehood in Kievan Rus cannot be considered based only on geopolitical and spatial features.

Prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state.

1. Social division of labor.

2. Economic development. The development of agriculture, the emergence of new crafts, processing methods, relationships that accompany commercial farming.

3. Society's interest in the emergence of a state. The formation and emergence of the state is the result of a “desire”, a need that was experienced by most members of society. After all, the state was not only based on solving a military problem, it itself solved judicial problems related to inter-tribal conflicts.

In the 9th–12th centuries. The economy of the Old Russian state is characterized as the period of early feudalism. This period is associated with the beginning of the emergence of the very basis of the relationship between the state, feudal lords and agriculture. After all, the core of the “Russian land” is agriculture, which occupies the main place in the economy of Kievan Rus. It was based on arable farming.

By the 9th-10th centuries. A fallow system appeared and began to be used, in which the arable land was abandoned for some time. Two-field and three-field with spring and winter crops have become famous.

A characteristic feature was also how developed the commercial economy was, because almost everything necessary for life was produced. Crafts developed, the center of which, of course, became cities, but certain industries also developed in villages. The leading role was occupied by ferrous metallurgy for the simple reason that Ancient Rus' was rich in swamp ores from which iron was extracted. All kinds of processing of iron were carried out, making numerous things from it for the economy, military affairs and everyday life, and various technological techniques were used: forging, welding, cementing, turning, inlaying with non-ferrous metals. However, along with metallurgy, there was a big push in the development of woodworking, pottery, and leather crafts.

Thus, metallurgy and agriculture become a strong support and the main article of the economy of Kievan Rus.

Features of the economic development of Russian lands during the period of feudal fragmentation

Time from the beginning of the 12th century. until the end of the fifteenth century. called the period of feudal fragmentation or the appanage period. Feudal fragmentation is a process of economic strengthening and political isolation of individual lands. All major Western European countries experienced this process. The beginning of this process dates back to the death of Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054), when Kievan Rus was divided between his sons: Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. Vladimir Monomakh (1113–1125) managed to maintain the unity of the Russian land only by the power of his authority, but after his death the collapse of the state became unstoppable. At the beginning of the 12th century. About 10 independent principalities were formed in the middle of the 12th century. was 15, and in the XIV century. – 250. Each of the principalities was ruled by its own Rurik dynasty.

The economic basis of feudal fragmentation is the natural nature of the feudal economy, each of which is adapted for independent existence. Everything here is produced for our own consumption.

Each of the economically isolated principalities had its own internal trade exchange. Rural products and handicrafts were produced and sold here. As a result of such economic fragmentation, political fragmentation followed, which was the reason for the formation of small principalities-states.

There was practically no stable economic connection between such local markets (districts). With the exception of trade, which was imposed by the location of the principality, i.e. depended on geographical conditions.

As a result of such fragmentation, Rus' was no longer considered as a single state with established economic traditions. Now each of the princes was the owner of the land, which provided him with everything. Therefore, the prince himself decided whether he should establish (or continue) certain economic relations with other feudal princes or not. Gradually, each principality began to pursue an independent foreign policy.

There are several reasons for feudal fragmentation.

– economic – within the framework of a single state, over three centuries, independent economic regions emerged, new cities grew, and large patrimonial estates of monasteries and churches arose. The subsistence nature of the economy provided each region with the opportunity to separate from the center and exist as an independent land or principality;

Positive features - at first, in the Russian lands there was a rise in agriculture, a flourishing of crafts, the growth of cities, and the development of trade in individual lands.

The state of the economy of the Russian centralized state at the turnXVII–XVIII centuries

In the 17th century Due to the constant flight of peasants abroad to the “wild field”, where they developed new lands and built settlements, the territory of the Russian state gradually expanded.

Feudal power also increased in cities. After the destruction of Russian cities by the Mongols, the craft almost ceased to exist. The peasantry solved the growing need for handicraft products (for example, pottery, etc.) on their own, producing everything they needed for their own needs. So instead of crafts, trades arose. Over time, the craft began to revive again. But it was easier for the city artisan to sell the goods due to the large number of people living in the city. A peasant artisan engaged in fishing is forced to look for sales of his products on the side, i.e. go to work.

An important part of the economic development of the Russian state was large-scale state production.

By the 17th century refers to the emergence of an all-Russian market by merging individual regions and establishing a stable exchange of goods between them. Specialization of agriculture began

Due to weak economic ties between individual regions, the price of the same product in different places varies greatly. Merchants skillfully take advantage of this circumstance, receiving up to one hundred percent profit. The goods were purchased mainly at fairs, of which the most famous are Makaryevskaya near Nizhny Novgorod and Irbitskaya in the Urals.

Taxes are introduced to replenish the royal treasury. Trade in many goods is subject to a government monopoly. Merchants undertake to “purchase” the right to trade from the treasury. Later, with the help of farming, the initial accumulation of capital in Russia took place. The introduction of indirect taxes does not bring much replenishment to the treasury. The issue of copper money also does not bring economic stability to the country.

End of the 17th century in Russia was marked by a fierce struggle between political factions. Ordinary nobles gradually pushed aside the noble boyar nobility. After the Time of Troubles, Rus' took a long time to recover. Only in the middle of the 17th century. positive trends appeared in the growth of the country's well-being. The development of commodity-money relations, the growing exchange of trade and agricultural products contributed to the formation of the internal market, the development process of which was completed by the end of the 17th century.

In the 17th century The Russian economy came to the point where the first elements of a capitalist society—manufacturing—were formed on its territory. Manufacturing production was developing, where labor was divided (for now manual). Manufactories were mainly engaged in metalworking, and in the 17th century. there were only no more than thirty of them. This period is characterized by the emergence of an all-Russian market and the accumulation of initial capital (merchant capital). The 18th century in Russia began under the sign of Peter’s reforms,

The general situation of the state economy in the country was not the best. Treasury funds were spent not on state needs, but on the whims of the ruler, on his wardrobe and on palace entertainment. Bribery reigned everywhere. Trade declined due to changes affecting merchants. They were allowed to trade only in their city (i.e., according to their registration), and even then only in specially designated places - shops and guest yards. Trade in other places (other cities, villages) was allowed only in wholesale. Agriculture suffered greatly, where fields were not cultivated for up to 4–6 years. As a result of regular extortions, the payment power of the population dried up, and therefore little funds were received into the country's budget (unlike the personal budget of the royal nobles, who were practically not affected by this difficult time). The country's economy was also undermined by other negative phenomena - crop failure, famine, pestilence.

In addition to everything stated above, tax arrears were collected from the people on Russian territory. With the help of specially equipped expeditions, money was extorted from people. Few fund-raisers, regional rulers were shackled in iron, elders and landowners were starved to death, and peasants were mercilessly beaten and everything taken from them, and then everything found was sold. If we consider in general the economic policy pursued by the successors of Tsar Peter I, it is quite obvious that it practically did not affect the entire economic mechanism of the country. Governments were more concerned with the struggle for power, for proximity to the throne and their own enrichment than with the continuation of Peter's reforms.

Domestic trade

Internal trade in Kievan Rus developed under the influence of the social division of labor, the allocation of crafts, the growth of cities, the emergence and accumulation of surplus products. In large cities there were permanent auctions or trading centers - the predecessors of today's markets. In 1017 there were 8 of them in Kyiv, each with its own specialization. Usually these are areas where trade, warehouse and other buildings and a church were located. Food products, handicrafts and other goods were sold and bought there; The city council met, the prince’s decrees were announced, and so on. At the auction, various goods were bought and sold for money or by measurement; in the presence of rumors or a mytnik, contracts and trade transactions were concluded, and statements were made about the loss of property. To weigh goods, traders used various scales and weights (weights).

Another early form of trade was fairs. They were characterized by: relatively rare frequency, large crowds of people, the presence of imported and local goods, and the accompaniment of trade with entertainment events. During the Kievan period, there were more than 100 large and small cities in Rus', where fairs were regularly held, which were trade conventions.

The trade activities of the monasteries were limited to the domestic market, however, guests could also export the products of the monastery artisans.

Sources of that time mention the following goods of regular demand: grain, bread, honey, wax, incense, domestic animals, weapons, metal products, salt, clothing, furs, linen, pottery, wood, etc.

According to archaeological studies of the northeastern region, during excavations in remote rural communities, along with locally produced products, imported goods were also found, which could get there through city auctions and fairs, or delivered by wandering merchants-peddlers.

There is evidence of the activities of out-of-town and foreign merchants in large cities. They were called guests (living room hundred), and guest courtyards were built for them. Novgorod merchants were active in opening their representative offices throughout Rus'.

Internal trade routes of the 12th-13th centuries, connecting populated areas, in some sections passed along: well-worn roads, crossings, portages, rivers and lakes, forest clearings, etc. There were few convenient roads connecting not only distant Kyiv and Novgorod, Suzdal and Galich, but also neighboring lands and cities. An attempt to transport a convoy or ship with grain - for example, from Pereyaslavl to Novgorod - technically accessible to large merchants and their associations, could lead to such a significant increase in cost that even very rich people would not be able to buy it. This in particular explains the local nature of the grain trade and its problems in subsequent centuries. According to the chronicle, the price of a kadirzha in lean years in Novgorod rose to 4, 6 and even 20 hryvnia, which was many times higher than its usual cost.

The needs of Southern Rus' for salt were satisfied by its import from the Crimea and the Carpathian region, and in Northwestern Rus' it came from Staraya Russa and the White Sea coast or from the Baltic countries (Germany, etc.).

International trade

In the last centuries of the 1st millennium AD. The territory of Eastern Europe was crossed by two large transit trade routes of the Middle Ages - “the path from the Varangians to the Greeks” and the Volga-Baltic. Both of them passed through Novgorod: the first played a significant role in the development of central and southern Rus', the other - the northeastern region.

Baltic-Black Sea trade route

The time of the emergence and formation of Kievan Rus coincided with the heyday of trade along the Dnieper trade route - this was largely explained by the fact that the needs of the princes and Varangian warriors for weapons, equipment, clothing, shoes, etc. could not be satisfied with natural tributes and products of local artisans, which stimulated the development of trade and the search for foreign markets. Trade with Byzantium reached its greatest development in the first half of the 10th century; during this period it had the character and scale of organized export of polyudye and was associated with the activities of trade and craft settlements. Particularly favorable conditions for Russian foreign trade along the Baltic-Black Sea route arose after the military campaign and subsequent treaties of Oleg in the period 907-944. Less beneficial for Rus' were the agreements of 944 (Igor), which preserved the continuity of previous agreements and a general approach favorable to Russian-Byzantine trade. In 955, Princess Olga conducted new negotiations in Constantinople on political and trade issues.

Heavily loaded Russian ships descended the Dnieper, passed the rapids, where they stopped at Khortitsa, making sacrifices to their gods. Then they advanced to the Dnieper mouth to the island of Berezan (Borysthenes - Dnieper), and moved along the Black Sea coast through the mouth of the Danube (Dobrudzha) to Constantinople. Further through Constantinople, where there was a settlement of Russian merchants, the path lay to the countries of the Arab Caliphate. The main exports were furs, wax and honey, as well as slaves. In the X-XI centuries. Rus' traded directly with Constantinople, where merchants bought: expensive fabrics, household utensils, jewelry, weapons, spices, wines, works of artistic craft and art, icons, jewelry, glassware; They also took coin money - there weren’t any of our own in Rus' at that time. Black fox fur was in demand among Arab merchants.

The slave trade on the Black Sea, known not only in the Kiev period, was very profitable - it was carried out by feudal lords and their merchant assistants.

By the end of the 10th century. after the death of Svyatoslav, conditions for southern trade of Kievan Rus began to deteriorate, and by the end of the 11th century. due to political disagreements with Byzantium and the military failures of Rus' in the campaigns of 1024 and 1043, they became unfavorable. After the war between Byzantium and Sicily, the first crusade (1096-1099) and the subsequent decline of the Arab Caliphate, trade routes from Europe to Western Asia, India and China shifted to the Mediterranean basin, where Venice and some other countries gained advantages.

The breakthrough of the Cuman Turks in the Black Sea region became a new obstacle to trade with Byzantium - the Kyiv princes had to go down the Dnieper with their squad to protect the Greek merchants. In the middle of the 12th century, Prince Mstislav Izyaslavovich said that the Polovtsians were “taking away the path.” Other difficulties in trade along the Dnieper trade route were associated with the actions of the princes of Polotsk (Usvyatsky port and Vitebsk) and Chernigov (Lubech).

The peculiarity of transit trade from the “Varangians to the Greeks” was that it was carried out by local merchants; there is no information about the participation of Byzantines or other foreigners in it.

Trade and economic relations between Rus' and Byzantium and Chersonesus continued periodically in the 12th-13th centuries. and later, however, in the import of this period, the products of Soluki, Corinth and other provincial cities are better known, whose craftsmen found it difficult to compete with the capital's craftsmen. Ambassador of Louis IX Guillaume Rubruk in the 50s. XIII century met Russian merchants in Sudak, where they brought “ermines, squirrels and other precious furs.”

Volga-Baltic trade route

Another transcontinental trade route from northwestern and central Rus' along the Itil River to the Khvalyn Sea passed through the lands of Volga Bulgaria and its cities: Bulgar, Suvar, “The Great City of Bilyar”, etc. where trade routes passing through Khazaria converged to Central Asia and Iran, to Rus', the Baltic states and Scandinavia, the Caucasus and Byzantium, as well as to the North - to the “Land of Darkness”.

By the 70-80s. VIII century Arabic silver from the countries of the Near East and Central Asia, through the North Caucasus along the Volga reaches the Volga-Oka interfluve and Ladoga. The first information about the trade of the Eastern Slavs with the Caspian countries dates back to the pre-Kiev period - sailing on ships along the Volga, they reached the capital of Khazaria, where they paid duties, and then went out into the Caspian Sea. According to Arab sources (Ibn-Dast), one can roughly judge the relationship between coin money and furs in the 10th century. - in Khazaria they gave two and a half dirhams for marten fur; in Rus' it cost one dirham, and for squirrel fur they gave a quarter of a dirham.

Bulgars, back in the 9th century. those who converted to Islam were the first in Europe to learn how to smelt cast iron, master the production of steel, and even in the 10th century they erected stone and wooden mosques, schools, palaces with central heating and running water; later they traded rye along the Volga and occasionally minted their own coins. Their shoes and leather goods were famous in many countries. By the beginning of the 13th century, stone and brick buildings in the city were heated by an underground heating system, and there was colored glass in the windows of the houses. During the coinless period, merchants in the city used lead or fur money - their equivalent was the skins of martens and squirrels. Merchants who came from afar stayed in caravanserais. Items of Novgorod and Bulgar origin discovered during archaeological research in Lower Pechora and Vaygach Island indicate the penetration of both Novgorodians and Bulgars into this area. In military affairs, the Bulgars used camels, which confused the enemy’s cavalry, because horses were afraid of these animals.

For 7 years after Kalka, Volga Bulgaria fought alone against the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In 1236, after the Mongol siege, Bilyar, like other Bulgarian cities, was taken, plundered and completely destroyed.

Attempts by Kievan Rus to establish control over the Volga trade and trade relations with eastern countries were made at the end of the 10th century. The first campaign against Volga Bulgaria and Khazaria was led by Svyatoslav (965-969) - the next was undertaken by Prince Vladimir (985). The historian V.N. Tatishchev writes about this: “In 990, Vladimir summoned many artisans to Russia from the Greeks and Bolgars and started many handicrafts” (Bulgar). Around 1006, a trade agreement was concluded between Russia and Bulgaria.

The reduction in trade between Rus' and the East in the 11th century is evidenced by a decrease in the flow of Arab dirhams, which served as the main coin in Rus'. However, this does not apply to Russian-Bulgar trade. The regional significance of the Volga and Volga-Dvina route, as noted by M. N. Tikhomirov, determines the decline of the ancient ones - Rostov and Suzdal and the advancement of a number of cities located along the Volga and Oka (Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma) with a center in Moscow.

In 1024 and 1229, the Bulgars supplied food to starving Russian cities.

XII-XIII centuries There was an alternation of military clashes between the Bulgarian state and the Vladimir-Suzdal land (dispute over Mordovian lands) with peaceful periods when trade developed. Around 1229 there is mention of a peace in which both sides were allowed to trade by paying duties.

In the areas of the Kama and Vyatka river basins, silver utensils of Iranian origin were discovered. In a number of cities of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, during excavations, finds of Bulgarian red ceramics were discovered. It is believed that later Moscow ceramics developed under the influence of Bulgarian ceramics.

There is information that back in the 9th century. products made from flax and hemp, the main supplier of which was the Vladimir-Suzdal land, where it was accepted as payment of taxes, were exported in significant quantities through Derbent to Central Asia and then reached Iran by sea, and in the 13th century. were also known in Europe (Italy).

At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. White clay earthenware of Iranian origin was brought to Novgorod. These were, as a rule, bowls and dishes decorated with geometric motifs.

Volga-Baltic trade experienced difficulties due to clashes between Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod.

Velikiy Novgorod

Novgorod, located in the north-west of Russian lands, was connected by the Volkhov River with the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea with Livonia, Sweden, and many Norwegian and German cities. The closest cities with which Novgorod traded were Narva, Dorpat, Riga, and Revel. This Baltic sea route was a stable center of foreign trade during the Kiev period. Through the Baltic, Novgorod merchants reached the German cities of Danzig and Lubeck, Gotland, as well as Abo and Vyborg.

During the period of Kievan Rus, the process of the formation of the merchant class was underway in the city; they conducted trade, acted as clerks and intermediaries in trade transactions. Large property fortunes acquired by foreign trade were noted in Novgorod by the end of the 12th century; At the same time, trade unions appeared in the city, which united merchants who carried out operations abroad, such as: Ivan Sto, Overseas Merchants, Nizovsky Merchants, Yugorshchina. Merchant associations regulated foreign trade activities, determining the procedure for collecting customs duties on goods and their rates, as evidenced by the “Charter of a merchant society in Novgorod,” according to which a preferential duty was established for Novgorod merchants, a higher one for foreign guests. The Novgorod merchants, unlike other cities, had greater economic and political importance.

Novgorod held in its hands the transit trade of Europe with Russia: Polotsk, Smolensk, Vladimir-Suzdal and other lands. Through Novgorod, Pskov, Torzhok (Novy Torg - a trade and craft settlement) valuable furs were exported to Europe - sable, ermine, etc., which came in large quantities from all parts of the vast Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal lands, as well as traditional goods of Russian trade : honey, wax, flax, leather, wood, resin, whale and walrus oil, fish tooth, etc. Bread was also brought here from neighboring Russian lands (Smolensk, Polotsk, Suzdal and from European countries), Arab, Byzantine and other goods along transcontinental trade routes: weapons, silk, gold and silver products, wines, works of artistic craft, leather shoes , luxury goods, jewelry, etc.

Trade in wax and honey has long flourished in Novgorod. Smolensk, Polotsk, Torzhok, and Bezhet merchants sold these products here. In 1170, a pound of honey cost about 10 kunas. Honey and wax were sold in special wax and honey aisles.

Veliky Novgorod exported timber abroad: timber was among the first goods it traded. This is evidenced by its trade with the Hansa - the annual export of forest products by this merchant association subsequently reached 20 thousand tons. Many European countries bought conifers (pine, spruce, fir, larch, cedar), as well as deciduous trees (oak, beech, ash, birch, linden).

During the Kiev period, trade relations between Novgorod merchants and the Hanseatic League arose, which developed in subsequent centuries. The oldest document preserved in the archives is the treaty of Novgorod with German cities in 1189-1199. As follows from the contents, the agreement was a continuation of a previously existing agreement.

The life of Novgorod was closely connected with river and sea transport; it sometimes chartered German or Swedish ships and built its own. The lack of convenient land roads, as well as dependence on grain supplies and the absence of a universal currency, made the city’s position in foreign trade vulnerable. An important source of Novgorod exports were the trade and military expeditions of the ushkuyniks (ushkuya - a river oared vessel) to the lands of the northern peoples - the Nenets, Zyryans, Perm, Yugra, etc., as well as tribute from the territories under their control.

Trade with the West

The northern trade route to Western European countries passed through the Baltic countries along the Baltic coast through Riga and Estonia to Novgorod, Polotsk, Smolensk. The concentration of finds of European coins (denarii) in the regions of Novgorod land and in the river basin. Kama is associated with the importance of trade in valuable furs in this direction.

Another trade route to Western Europe went in the direction of Regensburg on the Danube - Krakow - Galich - Kyiv - Chernigov - Ryazan - Vladimir. The topography of Western European imports (works of artistic craft) shows that Rus'’s connections with France, Germany, and Italy were most intense at the end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th centuries. On this route, trade in valuable furs was not so important, because There were no such animals in the areas where he passed.

8. Trade

Foreign trade has traditionally been considered the main pillar of the Kyiv economy, and even if, as we have seen, it is necessary to make reservations about the traditional point of view, the importance of foreign trade cannot be denied. However, we also cannot neglect the role of internal trade in the Kiev period; if the well-being of the upper classes depended to a large extent on foreign trade, then the life of the mass of the population was even more connected with internal trade. Historically, in many cases, internal trade connections between cities and remote regions of Rus' preceded the development of foreign trade or, at least, developed in areas not directly related to foreign trade. Thus, regarding the Dnieper river route, trade between Kiev and Smolensk occurred even before the establishment of regular trade relations between Novgorod, Kiev and Constantinople.

The main factor in the development of internal trade in Kievan Rus, as in other countries, can be seen in the differences in the country's natural resources. In Rus' there was a fundamental difference between the North and the South - the forest and steppe zones. Differences between the southern provinces - grain producers and the northern provinces - bread consumers run through the entire history of Russia and persist even today. Indeed, the history of relations between Novgorod, on the one hand, and Kiev and Suzdal, on the other, cannot be correctly understood without taking into account the dependence of the northern city on the supply of southern grain. The trade in iron and salt was also a result of differences in the economic geography of Rus'.

Another factor in the development of internal trade - social rather than geographical - was the difference between cities and rural areas. Here we have a case of the dependence of city dwellers on the supply of agricultural products by peasants and the need of peasants for tools and other goods produced by urban artisans.

The social importance of internal trade in Kievan Rus can best be appreciated by examining the role of the market square in the life of the city and its surrounding rural areas. The market square was usually a vast area surrounded by shops and warehouses. Tents and trays filled part of the area between them. Scales, inspected by city officials, were provided to both sellers and buyers for a small fee. Once a week, usually on Fridays, peasants brought their products for sale, and the market square turned into a fair95.

All this relates to the commercial nature of the market place itself. But in Kievan Rus it was equally connected with political life and governance. It was on the market square that all official announcements were made. According to Russkaya Pravda, if a thief was caught in the city or surrounding area, the applicant had to first of all announce it in the market square - this was the first step in litigation of this kind, without which no judge would begin the proceedings (see Chapter. VII, 10).

In city markets, people gathered for a veche, especially in those cases when the townspeople were dissatisfied with the prince and the veche was convened by the opposition. It was precisely in order to prevent the opposition council from accumulating forces that Prince Izyaslav I moved the main market from the city center to a hill, closer to his own palace (1069).

Returning to the trading functions of market squares in the Kiev period, we can say that a wide variety of goods were bought and sold in the markets of the main Russian cities. A number of sources from that period mention the following goods: weapons, metal products, metals, salt, clothing, hats, furs, linen, pottery, timber, wood, wheat, rye, millet, flour, bread, honey, wax, incense, horses, cows, sheep, meat, geese, ducks and game. In small towns, only local merchants appear to have traded, while in larger cities merchants operated on a national scale. There is a lot of evidence in sources about the presence of out-of-town merchants in almost every major Russian city. Novgorod merchants were particularly active in opening their representative offices throughout Rus'.

Now let's turn to foreign trade96. As we know, in the eighth and ninth centuries the Varangians established a trade route through Rus' from the Baltic to the Azov and Caspian Seas. In the tenth century, the Russians established their own trade on a national scale, continuing to profit from transit trade. The Dnieper river route soon became the main artery of Russian trade, the main southern end of which was now in Constantinople. Thus, the Black Sea began to play a more important role in Russian trade than the Caspian; nevertheless, the Russians continued to desperately guard the route to the Caspian, and it is from this point of view that we can best understand the interest of the Russian princes of the tenth and eleventh centuries in Tmutarakan and the importance of this city in the Russian history of the early Kievan period. At the end of the eleventh century, the road to the Azov and Caspian Seas was blocked by the Cumans, who from that moment on - during periods of truce - served as intermediaries between Russia and the East. The Volga Bulgars played a similar role.

The significant changes that occurred in Mediterranean trade after the First Crusade (1096–1099) undermined Byzantine and Russian Black Sea trade, and the sack of Constantinople by the knights during the Fourth Crusade (1204) meant the complete end of Kyiv's Black Sea trade. However, the development of overland trade between Kiev and Central Europe in the twelfth century somewhat mitigated the unpleasant consequences of the loss of Byzantine markets. In the Baltic, trade continued to grow, and with it the importance of the northern Russian city-republics of Novgorod and Pskov. There was also an overland trade route from Germany to these cities; Bremen merchants used it in the mid-twelfth century.

It is most convenient to review the main goods of Russian import and export by region. The Russians exported furs, honey, wax and slaves to Byzantium in the tenth century; The situation in the eleventh and twelfth centuries is not entirely clear. Christian slaves were no longer sold by Russians outside the country, and we do not know whether pagan slaves, such as Polovtsian prisoners of war, were sold to the Greeks, but it is well known that the Polovtsians sold Russian prisoners as slaves to overseas merchants. It is very likely that in the twelfth century Rus' exported grain to the Byzantine Empire. From Byzantium during these three centuries, Rus' imported mainly wines, silks and art objects such as icons and jewelry, as well as fruit and glassware.

Another feature of Baltic trade was that similar categories of goods were exported or imported in different cases, depending on the situation on the international market. The main exports of Novgorod and Smolensk to Western Europe were the same three leading categories of goods as in the Russian-Byzantine trade - furs, wax and honey. To these you can add flax, hemp, ropes, canvas and hops, as well as lard, beef fat, sheepskins and hides. Silver and silver items were also exported from Smolensk. Woolen cloth, silk, linen, needles, weapons and glassware were imported from the West. In addition, metals such as iron, copper, tin and lead arrived in Rus' along the Baltic; as well as herring, wine, salt and beer.

Analyzing the range of goods in Russian foreign trade, we see that Rus' sent abroad mainly - if not exclusively - raw materials, and received finished products and metals from abroad.

As one would expect, in the process of lively foreign trade relations, Russian merchants often traveled abroad, and foreign ones came to Rus'. Russian merchants appeared in Persia and Baghdad as early as the ninth and tenth centuries. And in Constantinople, as we know, there was a permanent settlement of Russian merchants. Novgorod merchants regularly visited the island of Visby and cities along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea - the Pomeranian coast. It would not be amiss to note that until the middle of the twelfth century, some of these cities, for example Volyn and Arkona, remained Slavic.

In turn, foreign merchants settled in Rus'. In Novgorod there were two “foreign courts”: Gotlandic and German. A fairly large colony of German merchants flourished in Smolensk. Armenian, Greek and German merchants settled in Kyiv. Jewish merchants are also mentioned in the sources, but most of them were not foreigners. In the Principality of Suzdal, foreign trade was represented by Bulgar, Khorezm and Caucasian merchants.

Some Russian and foreign merchants traveled independently, but the bulk of trade, both overland and by water, was carried out by merchant fleets of ships and caravans of carts. This method of transportation was the most preferred due to the difficult conditions of that period. At sea, if one of the ships of the flotilla was in distress, its crew could receive help from other ships; similarly, on land, a broken cart was easier to repair through joint efforts than alone. When moving along rivers, overcoming rapids also required cooperation. And of course, traveling in caravans provided better protection against theft and robbery, especially in overland trade when crossing uninhabited border areas.

Caravans contributed to the creation of merchant associations, which were useful in many other respects - for example, in the general protection of merchant rights and regulation of the level of duties and taxes. Associations of merchants formed early in Kievan Rus. From Russian-Byzantine treaties of the tenth century, we know that the Greeks had to allocate funds for the maintenance of Russian merchants separately by city. Typically, the merchants of one city formed something of a joint venture. It is known that in Novgorod they united into “hundreds”. Rich merchants who participated in foreign trade created their own society called “Ivanovo Sto”. The entry fee into it reached fifty hryvnia in silver plus an indefinite amount of linen97.

In addition to official associations, there were also private associations. Two, three or more people could cooperate, pooling their capital, or services, or both. The credit system developed rapidly. A merchant could borrow money from both the prince and other merchants. While traveling around the cities of Rus', he needed warehouse services, which appeared under the influence of demand. In order to prevent any possible misunderstanding between members of the association, between the merchant and creditors, as well as between him and the trustee, a well-developed system of commercial law appeared in the princely legislation. The lengthy edition of Russkaya Pravda contains provisions that can be called bankruptcy law. Interestingly, when repaying debts, the law gives an advantage to foreign creditors over local ones.

Russian trade law of the Kievan period had an international dimension, since relations between Russian and foreign merchants were regulated by a number of international trade treaties and agreements, starting with the Russo-Byzantine treaty of the tenth century. At the beginning of the eleventh century, a trade convention was concluded between Russia and the Volga Bulgars (1006) 98.

Trade clauses were also most likely included in the peace treaties concluded with the Khazars during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

In 1195, a trade treaty was concluded between Novgorod, on the one hand, and the Germans, Gotlanders and every “Latin (meaning Roman Catholic) people” on the other. Even more important and more carefully developed is the agreement between the city of Smolensk and Riga, Gotland and a number of German cities on the Pomeranian coast (1229) 99. Both agreements contain not only trade articles, but also criminal provisions in case of injury or murder of Russians by foreigners and vice versa . Complete mutual equality of the parties is an unprecedented feature of these documents.

From the book History of Ancient Greece author Andreev Yuri Viktorovich

4. Trade Quite a populous population of trade and craft policies with its diverse needs, increasingly increasing as urban life becomes more complex, a lack of grain and various types of raw materials for crafts, on the one hand, surpluses of wine and oil, supplies

From the book A Short Course in Russian History author Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich

XI. Trade From the underdevelopment of arts and crafts and from the predominance of the original industry, one can already conclude what trade items the country put on the market and what it itself needed: it supplied agricultural products, furs and generally raw products, it needed

author Kovalev Sergey Ivanovich

Trade The gradual separation of crafts from agriculture, which can be traced throughout the first four centuries of Roman history, is inextricably linked with the development of internal trade. A professional artisan usually sold his products himself.

From the book History of Rome (with illustrations) author Kovalev Sergey Ivanovich

Trade Growth of local production against the backdrop of a general improvement in the situation of the provinces, development of transport, increased safety of communications, etc. led in the era of the Empire to a significant revival of Italian-provincial and interprovincial trade. In the 1st century

From the book History of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century author Bokhanov Alexander Nikolaevich

§ 4. Trade Internal trade based on the geographical division of labor relied heavily on the grain trade. At the beginning of the 18th century. the main grain flow was associated with Moscow and the Moscow region. Along the Oka and Moscow rivers, grain products, hemp, hemp oil,

From the book Ireland. History of the country by Neville Peter

TRADE In the 16th century, economic development was hampered by the position of the leaders of the Gaelic clans. This happened because of the financial tax they imposed on merchants trying to trade with the Gaelic areas. Therefore trade within and outside Ireland (always small)

From the book “The History of Ukraine Illustrated” author Grushevsky Mikhail Sergeevich

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From the book History of Denmark by Paludan Helge

Trade Skone fairs, which in the XIII and XIV centuries. represented an international market for all kinds of goods in the 15th century. were limited to just the herring trade. The Dutch passed by on their ships, buying grain from Prussia, primarily from Danzig; Prussian merchants

From the book of Gauls by Bruno Jean-Louis

TRADE The Gauls are not traders. They don't have that spirit. They prefer to provide themselves with natural resources or plunder what they themselves cannot produce. Moreover, trade networks have been established in Gaul since the Neolithic era. Primarily for transportation to the south

From the book The Mayan People by Rus Alberto

Trade Differences in geological, orographic, hydrographic and climatic conditions between individual areas of the Maya region determined a noticeable diversity of natural resources in each of them. Although in order to satisfy their basic needs the peoples of this

From the book The Mayan People by Rus Alberto

Trade Often ethnographers describe Mayan communities as completely or almost completely isolated, as if they were excluded from the life of the country. In fact, the Mayan Indian is drawn into the regional economy and, accordingly, into national life through trade. In Indian markets

author Golubets Nikolay

Trade “Mother of Ukrainian Cities” - Kiev, the largest possible up to the level of the capital of the largest European power, is invariably positioned with such an important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” as the Dnieper with a bundle of its additions iv. Trade was carried out by this official, who brought

From the book Great History of Ukraine author Golubets Nikolay

Trade In the world that, as a result of the Khmelnytchyna revolution, the revolutionary agitation will calm down, Ukrainian trade will return to normal. On the way to the Baltic ports, and most importantly Königsberg and Danzig, the Syrians go from Ukraine to the wider world in exchange for the industry

From the book World History. Volume 3 Age of Iron author Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

Trade The production of products specifically intended for sale was very poorly developed in Homeric society. True, the poems contain mention of individual cases of exchange, for example, the exchange of prisoners for bulls, weapons, and wine. The subject of exchange in

author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

4. Trade 4.1. Internal trade expanded rapidly. The most important factor in the rapid growth of trade was the development of small-scale commodity production, an increase in the agricultural specialization of regions, and an increase in demand. Peasant trade in handicraft products and

From the book A Short Course in the History of Russia from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the 21st Century author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

5. Trade In the post-reform era, the growth of domestic and foreign trade accelerated. Commodity farming was acquiring ever larger proportions.5.1. Domestic trade in the 60-90s. has increased many times over. The most significant was the grain market, which provided a 3-fold increase in