The main categories of the population according to Russian truth. The legal status of the population according to Russkaya Pravda: features, characteristics and interesting facts

According to modern demographers, from 2.5 to 4.5 million people lived on the territory of Kievan Rus. Medieval Russia was characterized by a low population density (2 times less than in Western Europe) with huge undeveloped spaces and large distances between settlements.

By the end of the XI century. include the first information about the princes granting their entourage (boyars, bishops, monasteries) land holdings - villages with peasants. The first owner known to us was in the 70s. 11th century Kiev-Pechersky monastery. Archaeological research already clearly distinguishes dozens of feudal estates in the 12th century - fortified settlements measuring 1000 m2 or more, with the owner's mansions and craft workshops that produced "urban" products (for example, glass bracelets).

Behind the high walls of such estates stood the mansions of the boyar, numerous office premises, “cells” - storerooms, stables, craft workshops belonging to the patrimony. The inhabitants of the estate differed sharply in their social and property status. In the first place were representatives of the administration of the patrimony: tiun, groom, ratai (arable) headman. Their life was protected by a fine much higher than for the murder of a common man; they led the servants, among whom were artisans, and captive or hired servants. Personally free "smerds" lived in princely villages - they performed military service and were part of the prince's army. The main population of the boyar or monastic patrimony were personally free peasants - "people", whose dependence was expressed in the payment of the annual quitrent. The master's arable land was usually cultivated by ruined peasants or serfs "planted" on the land, who did not have any rights.

The instability of the peasant economy (it was associated with crop failures, epidemics, raids of nomads) forced the community member to apply to the owner with a request for a loan - a "compartment" or an agreement - a "row" on the terms of issuing such a "ryadovich" or "purchase" seeds or a worker. livestock. The flight of the “purchase” or the theft committed by him turned him into a slave. Thus, the feudal patrimony not only tied the peasants to itself by "non-economic" violence, but also became a kind of guarantee of the stability of society.

Around the estate were arable land, meadows, hunting grounds with beaver traps. "Large Truth" fixes in detail in the legislative norms the penalties for violating the master's boundaries and any attempt on the property of the patrimony, up to the rope from the hunting trap; regulates his relations with the “ryadoviches” and “purchases” (who, in particular, can be beaten “about the case” and cannot be drunk); indicates the procedure for the implementation of the "code" - the search for a runaway serf.

It was the XII century that became the time of intensive formation and growth of ancient Russian cities: at the turn of the X-XI centuries. there were only 20-25 urban centers; in the 11th century chronicles mention 64 new centers, and in the XII century. - 134 more. However, a real city can be considered a settlement that combined several functions, i.e. which was both a trade and craft, and an administrative, and military, and spiritual center.

In the center of the city there was a fortified citadel with a garrison, the residence of the prince or his posadnik and the city cathedral. Detinets surrounded the trade and craft settlement, divided into "ends" (districts) and streets, often on a professional basis. From the center to the chopped wooden walls and gates, the main roads-streets diverged, along which, within the radius of the ring of fortifications and behind them, the city itself grew, acquiring a radial-circular layout. Already from the tenth century the streets began to be paved, and the design of the pavements remained unchanged for about a thousand years. The "average" Old Russian city occupied from 2.5 to 40 hectares and had a population of 3-5 thousand; only in the largest centers there were 8-10 thousand (Old Ryazan) or 20-30 thousand inhabitants (Kyiv and Novgorod). A significant part of the townspeople - about 15% - led a completely peasant way of life. Within the city limits were gardens and orchards, and immediately outside the walls - arable land and pastures; rye, oats and wheat were stored in the barns of the townspeople.

The houses of the townspeople were often combined with workshops - leather, jewelry, foundry, weaving. In large cities, there were about a hundred different craft specialties, the division of which was based on the finished product. The products of artisans went to merchants; some products - jewelry "forge", "Russian" padlocks - were even exported along with furs and wax traditional for Russia. Merchants and artisans were associated with moneylenders who provided them with credit; the uprising in Kyiv in 1113 forced Vladimir Monomakh to limit the loan rate to 20% per annum.

Novgorod and Smolensk entered into trade agreements with the North German cities, united in a trade and political union - the Hansa. In Novgorod there were German and Goth courts, and in Kyiv already in the XII-XIII centuries. there was a Jewish quarter and along with it a "Latin" monastery, while the surviving sources do not contain evidence of national-religious intolerance.

However, in the West of the XII century. became the time of the birth of commune cities, freed from the power of the feudal lords. Already in the X-XI centuries. in the cities of Italy, England and France, merchant guilds, craft workshops, corporations of lawyers, scientists, and even “brotherhoods of the lame and blind” appeared with their own court and other rights enshrined in statutes and charters. The town hall and the market became the center of such a "commune"; the feudal castle was located, as a rule, outside the city walls.

In Russia, not a single city (with the exception of Novgorod) was outside the state-princely jurisdiction and did not achieve self-government. Cities were created by princely power; The “heart” of the Russian city became the detinets (Kremlin) with the princely administration and boyar courts. Next to the princely possessions in the cities there were boyar courts with a mass of dependent people. Their presence prevented the consolidation of townspeople along professional lines; therefore, in Russia, the guild organizations characteristic of Western European cities did not take shape.

We can only talk about the elements of the "urban system", which began to appear from the XII century. These include the bodies of district self-government - "ends", and later - more or less autonomous "settlements", which could unite people of the same profession, and the structure of the city militia. Starting from the XII century. merchant corporations began to appear: an association of Novgorod wax merchants (“Ivanskoe hundred”). However, even in the heyday of Russia in the XII-XIII centuries. universities in our cities did not arise; the only organization that ensured the development of education until the end of the 17th century. the church remained.

Already in the treaties with Byzantium, the norms of Russian customary law - the "Russian law" - were mentioned, which later became part of the "Russian Pravda" - the first written code of laws. Yaroslav the Wise created the oldest part of Russkaya Pravda; these norms established payment for murder, insults, mutilations and beatings, for theft and damage to other people's property. The “Truth of the Yaroslavichs” (sons of Yaroslav the Wise; created around 1072) included a “charter on fines” in favor of the prince for killing free people and a “lesson for bridgemen” - rules for those who pave the roadway in cities. Supplemented and revised in the XII century. the legislation began to be called the "Various Truth", it regulated the relations of landowners and peasants in the princely and boyar households. The name of Vladimir Monomakh is associated with an addition to the Russkaya Pravda of 1113 - the Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich, which regulated the collection of interest by usurers.

At the same time, state law did not oppose tradition, but coexisted with it, gradually crowding out the most cruel forms of lynching. K XII century. blood feud is gone. Now the offender paid a "vira" (fine) in favor of the prince and money to the relatives of the victim. From the end of the XI century. lynching was forbidden in relation to a thief caught at the scene of a crime - he was supposed to be tied up and led to a princely court. If on the territory of their “world” the community members discovered the corpse of a person they knew, they had to help the authorities find the killer. For the shelter of the “murderer”, the community members paid a large fine - “wild virus”.

Among property crimes, Russkaya Pravda paid the most attention to theft (“tabbing”) and arson. Horse stealing was considered the most serious type of tatba, since the horse was the main means of production and combat property. The arson of one house in wooden Russia could lead to the burning out of an entire village or even a city; if the fire happened in winter, it led to the death of people left without shelter and property. When clarifying the fact of the theft, the victim called the neighbors with a cry, and they “chased the trail” - according to the signs, they installed and caught the thief - “tatya”. Suspicion could fall on any family, and then she had to "take the trail" - to prove her innocence. If the lost thing or the thief was not found, the victim could make a “cry” - an announcement on the square about the loss in the hope that someone saw the stolen property from another person. If the new owner of the thing declared that he had bought it, then he had to prove the conscientiousness of its acquisition with the involvement of two witnesses or a "collector" - a collector of trade duties.

The court was held at the princely court in the presence of community members. Even then, the plaintiff, the defendant, and, if necessary, witnesses - “vidoks” and “rumors” took part in any lawsuit. When there was no clear evidence against the suspect, the plaintiff and the defendant (or their representatives) began a legal duel - "field"; the victorious won the case, because it was believed that God helps the right. Another type of God's judgment was the testing of participants with red-hot iron and water: a bound person was lowered into the water; if he began to sink, he was considered to have won the case.

The highest measure was “flood and plunder”: sometimes it meant killing the convict and stealing his property, sometimes exile and confiscation of property, sometimes selling into slaves. The next most severe punishment was "vira" (fine), which was imposed for murder. The main punishment for most crimes was a fine - "sale". “Vira” and “sales” in favor of the prince were accompanied by compensation for damage to the victim or his family (the so-called “golovnichestvo” and “lesson”). Charged fines princely virnik. He came to the convict's house with his entourage and waited for the payment of the vira, receiving daily maintenance in kind. Therefore, it was more profitable for the criminal to pay the fine or debt as soon as possible.

Men - in the pre-state and early state period - are free people.

City people are city dwellers. In turn, they were divided into "best" or "higher" (prosperous) and "younger" or "black" (poor). By occupation they were called "merchants" and "artisans".

Smerdy - free communal peasants who had their own farm and their own arable land.

Purchases - smerds who have taken a loan ("kupu") from another landowner with livestock, grain, tools, etc. and must work for the lender until they repay the debt. Before that, they had no right to leave the owner. The owner was responsible for the purchase in case of theft, etc.

Ryadovichi are smerds who have concluded an agreement ("row") with the landowner on the conditions of their work for him or the use of his land and tools.

Outcasts are people who have lost their former social status and are unable to run an independent household.

Forgiveness - freed ("forgiven") serfs. They were under the auspices of the church, lived on its land for duties.

Kholops are a category of the feudally dependent population, in terms of legal status close to slaves. Initially, they did not have their own economy and performed various work in the economy of the feudal lords. The sources of the formations of this estate were: captivity, sale for debts, marriage with a serf or serf.

Vigilantes - warriors of the armed detachments of princes, participating in wars, managing the principality and the personal household of the prince for a monetary reward.

Boyars - representatives of the upper class of feudal lords in Russian: and, descendants of the tribal nobility, large landowners. They enjoyed immunity and the right to leave for other princes.

Princes - the leaders of the tribes, later - the rulers of the state or state formations within the framework of a single state. The prince of Kyiv was considered the senior prince in Ancient Russia, and the rest - appanage.V.O. Klyuchevsky. Russian history course

Upcoming questions about the compilation of Russian Truth. Traces of partial codification In ancient Russian legal writing. Mixing and processing of partially compiled articles. Compilation and composition of Russian truth; mutual relation of its main editions. The relation of truth to the law in force. Civil order according to Russian truth. Preliminary Note on the Significance of Monuments of Law For the Historical Study of Civil Society. Separate line between criminal and civil law according to Russian truth. Punishment system. The Ancient Foundation of Truth and later layers. Comparative assessment of the property and personality of a Person. twofold division of society. Property transactions and obligations. Russian truth - the code of capital.

A law cannot be a law if there is no strong one behind it.

Mahatma Gandhi

The entire population of Ancient Russia can be divided into free and dependent. The first category included nobles and ordinary people who did not have debts, were engaged in crafts and were not burdened with restrictions. With dependent (involuntary) categories, everything is more complicated. In general, these were people who were deprived of certain rights, but the entire composition of unwilling people in Russia was different.

The entire dependent population of Russia can be divided into 2 classes: completely deprived of rights and retained partial rights.

• serfs- slaves who fell into this position due to debts or by decision of the community.
• Servants- slaves, who were acquired at auction, were taken prisoner. They were slaves in the classical sense of the word.
• Smerdy people born into addiction.
• Ryadovichi- people who were hired under a contract (a number).
• Procurement- Worked out a certain amount (loan or kupa), which they owed, but could not pay back.
• Tiunes- Managers of the princely estates.

Russian truth also divided the population into categories. In it you can find the following categories of the dependent population of Russia in the 11th century.

It is important to note that the categories of the personally dependent population in the era of Ancient Russia were serfs, serfs and servants. They also had complete dependence on the prince (owner).

Completely dependent (whitewashed) segments of the population

The main part of the population in Ancient Russia belonged to the category of completely dependent. These were serfs and servants. In fact, these were people who, according to their social status, were slaves. But here it is important to note that the concept of "slave" in Russia and in Western Europe was very different. If in Europe slaves did not have rights, and everyone recognized this, then in Russia serfs and servants did not have rights, but the church condemned any elements of violence against them. Therefore, the position of the church was important for this category of the population and provided relatively comfortable living conditions for them.

Despite the position of the church, completely dependent categories of the population were deprived of all rights. This demonstrates well Russian Truth. This document in one of the articles provided for payment in the event of the murder of a person. So, for a free citizen, the fee was 40 hryvnias, and for a dependent - 5.

serfs

Kholops - so in Russia they called people who served others. It was the most massive stratum of the population. People who fell into complete addiction were also called " whitewashed serfs».

People became serfs as a result of ruin, misdemeanors, decisions of the patrimony. They could also become free people who, for certain reasons, have lost part of their freedom. Some volunteered to become slaves. This is due to the fact that a part (small of course) of this category of the population was actually “privileged”. Among the serfs were people from the personal service of the prince, housekeepers, firemen and others. They were quoted in society even higher than free people.

Servants

The servants are people who have lost their freedom not as a result of debts. These were prisoners of war, thieves condemned by the community, and so on. As a rule, these people did the dirtiest and hardest work. It was a minor layer.

Differences between servants and servants

How did servants differ from serfs? It is as difficult to answer this question as it is today to tell how a social accountant differs from a cashier ... But if you try to characterize the differences, then the servants consisted of people who became addicted as a result of their misconduct. Slaves could become voluntarily. If it is even simpler: the servants served, the servants performed. They were united by the fact that they were completely deprived of their rights.

Partially dependent population

Partially dependent categories of the population included those people and groups of people who had lost only part of their freedom. They were not serfs or servants. Yes, they depended on the "owner", but they could run a personal household, trade and other things.

Procurement

Purchases - ruined people. They were given to work for a certain kupa (loan). In most cases, these were people who borrowed money and could not repay the debt. Then the person became a "purchase". He became economically dependent on his master, but after he fully repaid the debt, he again became free. This category of people could be deprived of all rights only if the law was violated and after the decision of the community. The most common reason why Zakupy became serfs was the theft of the master's property.

Ryadovichi

Ryadovichi - were hired to work under an agreement (row). These people were deprived of personal freedom, but at the same time they retained the right to conduct a personal subsidiary plot. As a rule, a row was concluded with the land user and it was concluded by people who went bankrupt, or were unable to lead a free lifestyle. For example, often the rows were for 5 years. Ryadovich was obliged to work on the princely land and for this he received food and a place to sleep.

Tiunes

Tiuns are managers, that is, people who managed the household locally and were responsible to the prince for the results. In all estates and villages there was a management system:

• Fire tyun. This is always 1 person - a senior manager. His position in society was very high. If we measure this position by modern standards, then the fiery tiun is the head of a city or village.
• common tiun. He obeyed the fireman, being responsible for a certain element of the economy, for example: productivity, raising animals, collecting honey, hunting, and so on. Each department had its own manager.

Ryadovichi could often get into tiuns, but basically they were completely dependent serfs. In general, this category of the dependent population of Ancient Russia was privileged. They lived in the princely court, had direct contact with the prince, were exempt from taxes, some were allowed to start a personal household.

Russkaya Pravda (categories of the population, public relations)

Rumsskaya Pravda (other Russian: Russian Pravda (XI century, 1019-1054), Russian Pravda (second half of the 15th century) (here “pravda” in the meaning of lat. iustitia, Greek dykbYapmb) - the legal code of Russia. The truth of Yaroslav is based on the oral law and customary law of Russia.

Russian Truth contains, first of all, the norms of criminal, hereditary, commercial and procedural legislation; is the main source of legal, social and economic relations of the Eastern Slavs.

Origin

The conditional name of the Old Russian legal collection, which was preserved only in the lists (copies) of the XIII-XV centuries and later. It is similar to numerous early European legal collections, for example, Salic Pravda, a collection of legislative acts of the Frankish state. Also known are the Ripuarian and Burgundian truths, compiled in the 5th-6th centuries. n. e., and others. Anglo-Saxon judicial books, as well as Irish, Alemannic, Basar and some other legal collections also belong to Barbarian truths. The name of these collections of laws "Pravda" is debatable.

In Latin sources Lex Salica - Salic law. The question of the time of origin of its oldest part in science is debatable. Some historians date it even to the 7th century. However, most modern researchers associate the Most Ancient Truth with the name of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise. The approximate period of its creation is 1019-1054. The norms of Russian Truth were gradually codified by the Kyiv princes on the basis of oral tribal law, with the inclusion of elements of Scandinavian and Byzantine law, as well as church influence.

Estates

Ivan Bilibin. Court in the time of Russian Truth.

By the ninth century, the time of the formation of the Old Russian state, feudal ownership of land was established among the Eastern Slavs and there were feudal landowners and feudal dependent peasants. The ruling class of feudal lords included the princes of Kyiv, local (tribal) princes, the community nobility (boyars), the top of the service people, the squad of princes. According to the doctor of historical sciences A. A. Gorsky, in the 9th century. and later in Russia feudalism as such had not yet developed, but there was a system of advocacy. The ruling class was not the communal nobility, about which we have no information, but the corporation of the squad, headed by the prince. The boyars were representatives and descendants of the "senior" squad, and not the communal nobility.

After the adoption in the X century. Christianity, a significant part of the land was concentrated in the hands of the church, monasteries, and clergy. Another category of feudal lords appears - palace servants, service people who received land for service and for the duration of service.

All groups of feudal lords were in a relationship of suzerainty-vassalage. The grand duke was the supreme suzerain, his vassals were the local princes, the overlords of their boyars and servants. Feudal vassals received land holdings as a reward for their service. This increased the dependence of the peasants, who paid them rent.

In the Old Russian state, a hierarchical organization typical of feudalism of various groups of the ruling class of feudal lords, based on a system of feudal land ownership, took shape.

With the increase in the power of the feudal lords, their political rights grew. The feudal lords received immunities from their overlord princes, were exempted from paying tribute, acquired the right to have a squad, judge the population dependent on them, and collect taxes. At the same time, a right (right-privilege) arose that protected the position of the nobility. Russkaya Pravda determined a number of privileges: increased punishment for the murder of a feudal lord or causing him property damage, broader rights to transfer property by inheritance, including to daughters.

The class of feudally dependent peasants took shape in various ways. The process of feudalization led to the fact that there were almost no free peasants. The main group of the peasantry were the smerds, who lived in a community, had their own house, farm, and a piece of land in use. Dependence on the feudal lord could be greater or less, but mainly it manifested itself in the obligation to pay taxes, to serve feudal duties. The life and property of the smerds was protected by law to a much lesser extent compared to the feudal lords. Their property in the absence of sons did not pass by inheritance to married daughters, but became the property of the master. Only unmarried daughters received part of the property. Smerdy were subject to the court of the prince, his vassals, the church (if they lived on its land).

The position of smerds cannot be defined as serfdom. They were not attached to the land or the personality of the feudal lord, but their dependent state is not in doubt.

Another category of the population consisted of purchases - smerds who fell into a difficult economic situation, borrowed property from their master and guaranteed its return as if by self-mortgage. Zakup worked in the master's household and could not leave him until he repaid the debt (otherwise he was transferred to a full, “whitewashed” serf). But the purchase had some rights and protection of the law.

There were other categories of the population - outcasts, people who left the community, forgiveness - these were those who fell under the so-called "protection", the patronage of the church, monasteries, secular feudal lords, and were obliged to work in their economy.

Along with the feudal-dependent population, the ruling classes also exploited slaves (serfs). Russian Truth also calls them servants. The most ancient sources of servility were captivity and birth from a slave. But Russkaya Pravda also pointed out others: self-sale into slavery, marriage with a slave, entry into the service (tiunas, housekeepers), “without a row” (that is, without any reservations), bankruptcy. A runaway purchase or a person who committed a serious crime could become a serf.

Articles of Russkaya Pravda testified to the position of serfs. For the murder of a serf, his master was paid a compensation of only 5 hryvnia, for a slave - 6 hryvnia. For a stolen serf, the gentleman received 12 hryvnias. The serf was most often considered as an object of law, the owner was responsible for it.

With the development of crafts and trade, cities arose, the size of the urban population increased, from which the rich elite stood out - the “best” people. The urban population was freer than the peasantry. The life and property of the townspeople were protected by the norms relating to full-fledged free people. Russkaya Pravda respectfully calls “gridins”, “merchants”, artisans, usurers.

Property relations, Obligation law

In Russian Pravda, there are concepts: the return of property for storage (luggage), a simple loan, a disinterested loan, a friendship loan, the return of money for growth from a certain agreed percentage, short-term and long-term interest-bearing loans, trade commission, contribution to a trading company enterprise. In Pravda, there is a certain procedure for collecting debts from an insolvent debtor during the liquidation of his affairs, that is, the procedure for a trading competition with a distinction between malicious and unfortunate insolvency. There are several types of credit turnover.

Russian Truth became the first collection of laws in Ancient Russia. Its first editions appeared during the reign of the Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise in the first half of the 11th century. He was also the initiator of the creation of Russian Truth. The collection was necessary in order to streamline life in the state, where they still judged and resolved disputes according to unwritten traditions. All of them are reflected in the pages of this collection of documents.

A brief description of Russian Truth suggests that it stipulates the order of social, legal and economic relations. In addition, the collection contains the norms of several types of legislation (hereditary, criminal, procedural and commercial).

Prerequisites

The main goal that Yaroslav the Wise set for the collection is to determine the legal status of the population according to Russian Truth. The emergence of codified norms was common to all medieval European societies. So, in the Frankish state, the “Salic Truth” was similar. Their own judicial officers appeared even in the barbarian northern states and in the British Isles. The only difference is that in Western Europe these documents were created several centuries earlier (starting from the 6th century). This was due to the fact that Russia appeared later than the feudal Catholic states. Therefore, the creation of legal norms among the Eastern Slavs took place several centuries later.

Creation of Russian Pravda

The most ancient Truth, or Truth of Yaroslav, appeared in 1016, when he finally established himself in Kyiv. However, this document was intended not for the southern capital, but for Novgorod, since the prince began his reign there. This edition contains mainly various criminal articles. But it was from this list of 18 articles that the creation of Russian Pravda began.

The second part of the collection appeared a few years later. It was called the Truth of the Yaroslavichs (children of the Grand Duke) and affected the legal relations between the inhabitants of the state. In the 30s, articles appeared concerning the feeding of virniki. These parts exist in the form of a short edition.

However, the collection was supplemented even after the death of Yaroslav. The creation of Russian Pravda continued under his grandson Vladimir Monomakh, who managed to briefly unite the specific principalities (the era of feudal fragmentation was approaching) and complete his Charter. He entered the lengthy edition of Pravda. The lengthy edition touched upon disputes related to the right to property. This was due to the fact that trade and monetary relations developed in Russia.

Existing copies

It is known for certain that the original copies of Russkaya Pravda have not been preserved. Domestic historiography discovered later copies when they were discovered and studied. The earliest copy is considered to be a list placed in the Novgorod First Chronicle of the 11th century. It was she who became for the researchers.

Later, copies and lists were found, created up to the 15th century. Excerpts from them have been used in various Pilot's books. Russian Pravda ceased to be relevant with the publication of the Sudebnik of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century.

Criminal law

The responsibility of a person for crimes is reflected in detail on the pages that Russkaya Pravda contains. Articles fix the difference between intentional and unintentional atrocity. There is also a distinction between minor and major damage. According to this measure, it was decided to what measure of punishment the criminal would be sentenced.

At the same time, the Slavs still practice what Russkaya Pravda speaks about. The articles state that a person has the right to punish the murderer of a father, brother, son, etc. If a relative did not do this, then the state announced a reward of 40 hryvnias for the head of a criminal. These were echoes of the former system that had existed for centuries. It is important to note that Russia had already been baptized, but the remnants of the pagan bloodthirsty era still existed in it.

Types of fines

Criminal law also included monetary fines. Among the Slavs, they were called vira. Fines came to Russia from Scandinavian law. It was vira that over time completely replaced blood feud as a measure of punishment for a crime. It was measured in different ways, depending on the nobility of the person and the severity of the offense committed. Wergeld was an analogue of the Russian vira. It was a monetary penalty, prescribed in the barbarian truths of the Germanic tribes.

Under Yaroslav, vira was a fine exclusively for the murder of a man who was a free man (that is, not a serf). For a simple peasant, the fine was 40 hryvnia. If the victim was a person who was in the service of the prince, then the penalty was doubled.

If a free man was seriously injured or a woman was killed, then the guilty person had to pay a half-wire. That is, the price fell by half - up to 20 hryvnia. Less serious crimes, such as theft, were punishable by small fines, which were determined by the court on an individual basis.

Golovin, flow and plunder

At the same time, a definition of golovnichestvo appeared in Russian criminal law. It was a ransom that the killer had to provide to the family of the deceased. The size was determined by the status of the victim. So, an additional fine to the relatives of the serf was only 5 hryvnia.

Flood and looting is another type of punishment that Russkaya Pravda introduced. The right of the state to punish the criminal was supplemented by the deportation of the offender and the confiscation of property. He could also be sent into slavery. At the same time, the property was looted (hence the name). The measure of punishment varied depending on the era. Stream and plunder were assigned to those guilty of robbery or arson. It was believed that these are the most serious crimes.

The social structure of society

Society was divided into several categories. The legal status of the population according to Russian Pravda completely depended on it. The highest stratum was considered to be nobility. It was the prince and his senior warriors (boyars). At first, these were professional military men who were the backbone of power. It was in the name of the prince that the court was decided. Also, all fines for crimes went to him. Servants of the prince and boyars (tiuns and firemen) also had a privileged position in society.

On the next step were free men. In Russian Pravda there was a special term for such a status. The word "husband" corresponded to him. Free persons included junior vigilantes, collectors of fines, as well as residents of the Novgorod land.

Dependent sections of society

According to Russkaya Pravda, the worst legal position of the population was among dependent people. They fell into several categories. Smerdy were dependent peasants (but with their own allotments), working for the boyar. Lifelong slaves were called serfs. They didn't have property.

If a person borrowed and did not have time to pay off, then he fell into a special form of slavery. It was called a purchase. Such dependents became the property of the borrower until they paid off their debts.

The provisions of Russian Truth also spoke of such an agreement as Ryad. This was the name of the agreement, according to which they voluntarily went to the service of the feudal lord. They were called rowers.

All these categories of residents were at the very bottom of the social ladder. Such a legal status of the population, according to Russian Pravda, practically devalued the life of dependents in the literal sense of the word. The penalties for killing such people were minimal.

In conclusion, we can say that society in Russia was very different from the classical feudal model in Western Europe. In the Catholic states in the 11th century, the leading position was already occupied by large landowners, who often did not even pay attention to the central government. In Russia, things were different. The top of the Slavs was the prince's squad, which had access to the most expensive and valuable resources. The legal status of population groups according to Russian Pravda made them the most influential people in the state. At the same time, a class of large landowners has not yet had time to form among them.

Private right

Among other things, Russkaya Pravda by Yaroslav included articles on private law. For example, they stipulated the rights and privileges of the merchant class, which was the engine of trade and the economy.

The merchant could engage in usury, that is, give loans. The penalty for them was also paid in the form of barter, such as food and products. Jews were actively engaged in usury. In the 12th century, this led to numerous pogroms and outbreaks of anti-Semitism. It is known that when Vladimir Monomakh came to rule in Kyiv, he first of all tried to settle the issue of Jewish borrowers.

Russian Pravda, whose history includes several editions, also touched upon issues of inheritance. The charter allowed free people to receive property under a paper will.

Court

A complete characterization of Russkaya Pravda cannot omit articles relating to procedural law. Criminal offenses were considered in the princely court. It was administered by a specially appointed representative of the authorities. In some cases, they resorted to face-to-face confrontation, when the two sides proved their case face-to-face. The procedure for collecting a fine from the debtor was also prescribed.

A person could go to court if he lost a thing. For example, merchants who suffered from theft often used it. If within three days the loss could be found, then the person who had it became a defendant in court. He had to justify himself and provide evidence of innocence. Otherwise, a fine was paid.

Testimony in court

Witnesses could be present in court. Their testimony was called the Code. The same word denoted the procedure for searching for the loss. If she led the proceedings outside the city or community, then the last suspect was recognized as a thief. He had the right to live up to his name. To do this, he could conduct the code himself and find the person who committed the theft. If he did not succeed, then it was he who was fined.

Witnesses were divided into two types. Vidocqs are people who saw the committed crime with their own eyes (murder, theft, etc.). Rumors - Witnesses who, in their testimony, reported unverified rumors.

If it was not possible to find any crimes, then they resorted to the last measure. It was an oath by kissing the cross, when a person gave his evidence in court not only before the princely authorities, but also before God.

The water test was also used. It was a form of God's judgment, when the testimony was checked for truth by removing the ring from boiling water. If the defendant could not do this, he was found guilty. In Western Europe, this practice was called ordeals. People believed that God would not allow a conscientious person to get hurt.